Morning News | Bitmine launches institutional Ethereum staking platform MAVAN; Franklin Templeton launches tokenized ETF; Morgan Stanley to issue and sponsor Bitcoin ETF

整理：ChainCatcher

Important News:

• YZI Labs launches Atlas Scout program to help college students support Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology startups
• OpenAI reveals additional $10 billion funding, total pre-IPO financing exceeds $120 billion
• Interactive Brokers launches cryptocurrency portfolio transfer feature, supporting transfers from external wallets
• Bloomberg: Morgan Stanley to become the first U.S. bank to issue and sponsor a Bitcoin ETF
• Bitmine launches institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform MAVAN, current ETH staking volume exceeds 3.142 million
• Franklin Templeton launches tokenized ETF, enabling 24/7 cryptocurrency wallet trading
• Opinion: GENIUS Act accelerates dollar hegemony, non-U.S. economies face dilemmas

What important events happened in the past 24 hours?

Bitmine launches institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform MAVAN, current ETH staking volume exceeds 3.142 million

According to ChainCatcher, Bitmine, a Nasdaq-listed Ethereum treasury company, officially launched its institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network), aimed at providing institutions with high security, high performance, and high resilience staking infrastructure.

MAVAN combines domestic validator nodes with a globally distributed architecture, meeting the needs of institutions that require local compliance infrastructure while also supporting global customer access. The platform was initially used to support Bitmine's own Ethereum asset allocation and will be opened to institutional investors, custodians, and ecosystem partners in the future. As of 2026, Bitmine has staked approximately 3.1426 million ETH (about $6.8 billion).

Bloomberg: Morgan Stanley to become the first U.S. bank to issue and sponsor a Bitcoin ETF
According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg reported on-site that Morgan Stanley, which manages $10 trillion in assets, will become the first major U.S. bank to issue and sponsor a Bitcoin ETF.

Metaplanet announces the launch of a Bitcoin cashback credit card

According to ChainCatcher, Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet announced the launch of a shareholder limited edition credit card "Metaplanet Card," which will be put into use this summer.

Cardholders will automatically receive 1.6% of their spending in equivalent Bitcoin, turning every card payment directly into a Bitcoin investment.

Franklin Templeton launches tokenized ETF, enabling 24/7 cryptocurrency wallet trading

According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg reported that Franklin Templeton announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to launch a tokenized ETF that can be traded directly in cryptocurrency wallets, enabling around-the-clock (24/7) trading, breaking through the limitations of traditional brokerage accounts and trading hours.

The product covers asset classes such as U.S. stocks, fixed income, and gold, and will initially launch in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. The launch in the U.S. market still depends on regulatory clarification regarding on-chain distribution registered funds.

Opinion: GENIUS Act accelerates dollar hegemony, non-U.S. economies face dilemmas

According to ChainCatcher, the South China Morning Post published a debate. Terminal 3 co-founder Gary Liu pointed out that the GENIUS Act will convert 99% of the $300 billion stablecoin market into a tool to consolidate dollar hegemony, and the window for countries to establish parallel systems is rapidly closing. Liu Xiaochun, an economist from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, characterized stablecoins as casino chips, criticizing Washington for blocking CBDCs while allowing private stablecoins, essentially protecting the interests of crypto operators rather than promoting monetary innovation.

The demand for stablecoins is indeed real—people in Turkey, Nigeria, and Argentina use them to hedge against currency depreciation, and the global cross-border remittance market is nearly $1 trillion. Previously, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority had reviewed 36 license applications, with a consortium led by HSBC and Standard Chartered, as well as OSL Group making the cut. However, the peg of the Hong Kong dollar to the U.S. dollar means that the Hong Kong version of stablecoins will ultimately struggle to break free from the dollar's orbit.

YZI Labs launches Atlas Scout program to help college students support Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology startups

According to ChainCatcher, YZI Labs has launched the Atlas Scout program to help college students support Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology startups.

Ella Zhang, head of YZI Labs, stated: "During recent meetings with founders, I was impressed by young entrepreneurs aged 16 to 18. In this AI-driven new era, the pace of learning and entrepreneurship is accelerating exponentially. We launched the Atlas Scout Program to empower the next generation of investors, allowing them not only to witness the future but also to identify, fund, and help shape it."

The Atlas Scout Program is a student-managed $1 million venture capital initiative that will support 5 to 10 top college students as investors, providing funding for founders in the fields of Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. Atlas Scouts will receive a global travel budget, rewards aligned with incentive mechanisms, and direct access to YZI Labs' ecosystem of over 300 portfolio projects.

Ethereum Foundation expects to complete quantum security upgrade by 2029

According to ChainCatcher, the Ethereum Foundation released a new roadmap on Tuesday outlining how the development team is preparing for the threat of quantum computing.

The foundation's quantum team expects a series of preliminary upgrades to the network to be completed by 2029, primarily involving four key hard forks. The foundation stated that quantum computing will eventually break the public key cryptography that protects ownership, authentication, and consensus in all digital systems, but this threat is not expected to arrive immediately. Researchers on the foundation's quantum team anticipate that quantum computing with cryptographic capabilities will not emerge for another 8 to 12 years.

Among the four hard forks, the "I" fork will provide network validators with quantum-safe public keys, while the "J" fork will reduce the gas fees for validating quantum-safe signatures; these two upgrades have been included in the considerations for the Hegota fork expected later this year. The "L" fork will compress the network state representation into zero-knowledge proofs, and the "M" fork will protect Layer 2 networks from quantum threats.

Researchers indicated that Layer 1 protocol upgrades could be completed by 2029, while a complete execution layer migration would require several additional years afterward. The Ethereum Foundation established a dedicated quantum team in January this year, and a developer testnet began testing some quantum features in March.

Pump.fun updates fee mechanism to reduce manipulation behavior, creators have only one opportunity for fee redirection

According to ChainCatcher, Pump.fun co-founder alon disclosed on the X platform that the platform has updated its fee mechanism to address malicious manipulation issues in token issuance. Previously, each token issued on pump.fun had an associated Coin Admin who could change the fee recipient and distribution method at will, leading to manipulation: creators would first set fees directed to others, and once the token gained popularity, they would redirect the fees back to their own wallets, harming user interests.

After the update, all tokens will default to regular creator fees (except for rebate tokens), and creators will have only one opportunity to redirect fees to another wallet; thereafter, the fee settings will be locked. If creators do not use this opportunity, they can operate it later when needed. Existing allocated fees for tokens will be locked, and existing regular fee tokens will have one chance to change.

Morgan Stanley plans to support tokenized stock trading in alternative trading systems in the second half of 2026

According to ChainCatcher, Amy Oldenburg, head of digital asset strategy at Morgan Stanley, stated that Wall Street's push into crypto is not driven by FOMO, but rather the result of years of internal work on modernizing financial infrastructure.

She pointed out that Morgan Stanley is expanding its digital asset strategy into areas such as trading, asset management, and infrastructure. Previously, the bank's related business mainly focused on providing high-net-worth clients with exposure to Bitcoin funds and offering spot Bitcoin ETFs on its E*Trade platform, while recently it has submitted an application to launch its own spot Bitcoin ETF.

Amy Oldenburg revealed that Morgan Stanley plans to support tokenized stock trading in its alternative trading system in the second half of 2026, with the platform currently processing stocks, ETFs, and American Depositary Receipts.

She also emphasized that upgrading the decades-old core banking systems, enhancing system connectivity, and coordinating advancement in the global financial network remain major challenges, despite the rising attention to tools like stablecoins and the ongoing accumulation of institutional crypto activities.

OpenAI reveals additional $10 billion funding, total pre-IPO financing exceeds $120 billion

According to ChainCatcher, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar revealed in an interview that as part of its historic funding round, OpenAI is raising an additional $10 billion from investors.

Friar stated that this new funding brings OpenAI's total for this funding round to "over $120 billion," far exceeding the $110 billion announced last month. OpenAI announced its first round of funding at the end of February, which is seen as its last round of private financing before a potential initial public offering (IPO).

According to Friar, Andreessen Horowitz, D.E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, and T. Rowe Price participated in this new $10 billion funding round. Notably, Microsoft, as a long-term investor and one of OpenAI's main computing service providers, also participated in this round of financing.

OpenAI announces closure of Sora, Disney's $1 billion collaboration ends

According to ChainCatcher, OpenAI announced the closure of the AI video generation platform Sora's applications and APIs, citing that the company will shift its focus to world simulation research to advance robotics. Sora debuted in February 2024 as a text-to-video tool and later expanded into an independent social video platform, adding a "cameos" feature for users to embed AI scenes, but its daily operating costs reached approximately $15 million.

The closure decision simultaneously terminates a significant collaboration—Disney had originally planned to invest $1 billion, authorizing OpenAI to use over 250 Disney characters to create AI videos. Disney stated it respects OpenAI's decision and will continue to explore other AI collaboration methods. OpenAI emphasized that the AI image generation feature within ChatGPT will not be affected and will announce the timeline for the closure of applications and APIs along with user data preservation plans.

Interactive Brokers launches cryptocurrency portfolio transfer feature, supporting transfers from external wallets

According to ChainCatcher, Interactive Brokers announced the launch of a cryptocurrency portfolio transfer feature, allowing customers to directly transfer digital assets supported by its platform from external wallets or platforms into their cryptocurrency accounts associated with Interactive Brokers, without needing to liquidate their cryptocurrency positions first, enabling users to manage digital assets, stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, and other investments simultaneously.

Interactive Brokers will provide a comprehensive solution that integrates digital assets and traditional investments on the same platform, thereby offering cryptocurrency pricing and broader investment opportunities.

Robinhood approves $1.5 billion stock buyback plan

According to ChainCatcher, Robinhood announced a new stock buyback plan, authorizing the company to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of its stock. After more than doubling in price last year, Robinhood's stock has fallen 39% since the beginning of 2026.

Robinhood CFO Shiv Verma stated that this authorization reflects the management team's and board's confidence in the company's continued innovation in providing products for customers, creating value for shareholders, and gradually returning capital. Verma took over as CFO in February this year, and this buyback plan has no expiration date, with execution expected to occur over approximately three years.

Stablecoin startup Payy completes $6 million seed round financing, led by FirstMark Capital

According to ChainCatcher, Payy, a stablecoin startup, completed a $6 million seed round financing led by FirstMark Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures and DBA Crypto. The financing was structured as a SAFE agreement with attached token warrants and was completed in December last year. To date, Payy has raised a total of $8 million.

Originally named Polybase, Payy is a Web3 database project that transformed into a stablecoin payment platform in 2023.

Iran sets five conditions for ceasefire, stating "accept conditions before negotiations"

According to ChainCatcher, citing the Iranian government-controlled news outlet Press TV, Iranian government officials issued a statement mentioning that Iran has rejected the U.S. proposal and insists that the war will only end on Iran's terms and timeline.

An official familiar with the Iranian government's details stated that Iran will not allow Trump to decide when the war ends. He also emphasized Tehran's determination to continue defending and inflicting "heavy blows" on the enemy until its demands are met. The official outlined five specific conditions for Iran to agree to end the war, including:

1. A complete halt to the enemy's "aggression and assassination" actions.
2. Establishing specific mechanisms to ensure that war will not be imposed on Iran again.
3. Guarantees and clear definitions of compensation and repair costs for war losses.
4. Ending the war across all fronts and within the scope of all resistance organizations involved in the region.
5. The international community recognizes and guarantees Iran's sovereign rights to exercise jurisdiction over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has communicated to all well-meaning intermediaries that the precondition for a ceasefire is the acceptance of all its conditions. The official emphasized, "No negotiations will take place before this," and reiterated that Iran's defensive actions will continue until the above conditions are met.

Binance releases market maker guidelines, warning projects and users to guard against market manipulation risks

According to ChainCatcher, Binance's official blog reported that Binance has released a red flag guide for cryptocurrency market makers, alerting users and projects to be wary of the following risky behaviors: aggressive sell-offs conflicting with token release plans, one-sided sell orders, cross-platform coordinated sell-offs, high trading volumes not matching price trends, and abnormal price fluctuations due to insufficient liquidity.

Binance recommends that projects conduct strict due diligence when selecting market makers, clarify contract terms, prohibit profit-sharing models, and continuously monitor market maker activities after listing. Binance stated it will take punitive measures against non-compliant market makers, including blacklisting, and will open reporting channels.

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of March 26, 09:00,

The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: SHIB, LINK, PEPE, UNI, ONDO

The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: PENGUIN, Punch, neet, Buttcoin, WOJAK

The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: PEPE, BASED, B3, TOSHI, toby

What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?

These days, even hackers are losing money

In September 2025, the multi-signature wallet of the Web3 social platform UXLink was brutally robbed, with hackers stealing over $10 million in assets within just a few hours and maliciously crashing the token price by minting a massive amount of tokens, causing a flash crash of over 70%. However, the most absurd aspect of this disaster was not the attack itself, but the hacker's "amateur" performance afterward.

Unlike typical money laundering schemes, this hacker did not rush to disappear; instead, they frequently traded the stolen ETH and stablecoins on DEX, particularly on CoW Swap. According to Arkham on-chain data, within just six months, this address accumulated nearly 625 transactions, with paper losses peaking at $4.8 million.

By reconstructing the technical path of this attack, one can observe the hacker's unusual behavior patterns and the harsh reality behind it: in this bear market cycle, even with advanced technology to steal money on the chain, once back in market trading, everyone is treated equally.

SIREN, yet another leveraged scam

$SIREN, the token that launched during the "broccoli" era guessing what CZ's dog was named, has almost been forgotten.

But just two days ago, when the entire network was buzzing about its "surge," the token's total liquidation volume was second only to Bitcoin, ETH, and XAU, ranking about $23.25 million at 4th place. If it weren't for Trump giving gold's volatility another boost, SIREN would have been 3rd.

Token has completely exploded, blockchain is very sad

Suddenly, the word "Token" has appeared in public view with unprecedented frequency. As the billing unit for various AI products, Token has become well-known with the explosive popularity of products like OpenClaw, ChatGPT, and Deepseek.

On March 24, the National Data Bureau officially confirmed the Chinese translation of Token as "词元," and this news quickly spread across social media platforms like WeChat Moments and Douyin.

This is undoubtedly a bittersweet moment for those in the blockchain industry. Once upon a time, we struggled to explain what a Token was to outsiders, discussing decentralization, economic models, and consensus mechanisms; now, large models have completed a nationwide popularization of this term in just one year with a nearly crude commercial logic.

Web3 is sick, but the cure is not AI

In the past year, the speed of breakthroughs in AI technology has far exceeded expectations. From GPT-4o to the emergence of various AI Agent tools, new capability boundaries have been broken every few months.

Especially with the explosive popularity of next-generation AI Agent products like OpenClaw, many crypto practitioners have felt for the first time that AI is beginning to touch their work boundaries.

As a result, a wave of "AI anxiety" has spread in the crypto circle.

From macro strategies to micro work methods, from leading institutions to frontline practitioners, many crypto projects and practitioners have begun to reevaluate their value and work models—will what they do be replaced? Does the industry still have a future? These questions have been repeatedly raised over the past year.