Web3 Industry Weekly Report: Highlights from Week 2 of April 2026
Tech Headlines
1. Abnormal Minting and Transfers of Cross-Chain Bridged Assets, Community Focuses on Custody and Permission-Governance Risks
https://x.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/2043552128980185162
Around April 13, multiple security monitoring parties disclosed on-chain clues indicating that bridged assets related to the Polkadot ecosystem saw abnormal minting and large-scale transfers on the Ethereum network, with the attack path involving typical cross-chain custody risk patterns such as administrator privileges being tampered with and contract control being migrated. The incident points to differences in the risk exposure surface between "on-chain wrapped assets" and native mainnet assets, and the community is calling on the project team to disclose the audit scope, multisig, and emergency pause mechanisms. As of the time of compiling the material, it is recommended to continue tracking based on official announcements and on-chain forensics.
2. Alchemy Launches AgentPay, Using a Unified API to Connect Multi-Protocol AI Agent Payments
On April 8, blockchain infrastructure provider Alchemy announced AgentPay, positioned as an interoperability layer for "agentic finance" scenarios: consolidating AI payment protocols across different tracks such as Coinbase, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, and Circle into a merchant-side integration model that requires a one-time integration with multi-protocol routable connectivity. The team emphasized that AgentPay primarily handles instruction translation and routing, while funds still move through existing channels of each payment network, in order to reduce the cost for merchants to separately modify their checkout and risk-control stacks for each protocol; it has already undergone limited pilot use and plans to expand availability over the coming weeks.
3. Polymarket Upgrades Trading Infrastructure: Introducing New USDC-Backed Contracts and Token Formats
https://cointelegraph.com/news/polymarket-replace-usdce-usdc-backed-token-exchange-upgrade
On April 7, Polymarket announced that it will upgrade the exchange's underlying contracts and clearing-related components over the coming weeks, introducing a new USDC-backed token and settlement path, and gradually replacing the legacy USDC.e-related format to improve consistency across deposits, redemptions, and reconciliation. The upgrade is an infrastructure-layer iteration; the platform also reminded users to pay attention to cross-version asset compatibility and interface changes during the migration window, and to complete necessary wallet and authorization updates according to the announcement.
4. Ethereum Core Development Checkpoint #9: Key Engineering Progress and Risk Points for Glamsterdam and Hegotá
https://blog.ethereum.org/2026/04/10/checkpoint-9
On April 10, the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Support team published the ninth installment of the Checkpoint series, systematically outlining implementation progress for the Glamsterdam upgrade in areas such as ePBS (enshrined proposer-builder separation) and block-level access lists, and explaining why "partial blocks" and coordination between the two sides would drive substantial changes to both the execution layer and the consensus layer. The article also updated that the Hegotá upgrade has confirmed FOCIL as the consensus-layer mainline feature, and opened the proposal process for non-mainline features. For readers, the piece provides a verifiable timeline and engineering trade-offs, making it a benchmark read for observing the pace of Ethereum mainnet upgrades and the risks of client cross-testing.
Industry Dynamics
1. Hong Kong Monetary Authority Grants Stablecoin Issuer Licenses to Two Institutions, Accelerating Business Readiness Under the Stablecoin Ordinance Framework
https://www.jinse2.com/blockchain/3731540.html
On April 10, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced that the Monetary Authority, under the Stablecoin Ordinance, has granted stablecoin issuer licenses to Dingdian Financial Technology Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, with the licenses taking effect immediately. Public information stated that, after completing technical and compliance preparations, the licensed institutions will advance related business over the coming months. This move is seen as a key milestone in Hong Kong's regulatory pathway for stablecoin issuers, and it also provides an institutional lever for auditable reserves and redemption mechanisms in both institutional and retail scenarios.
2. U.S. Treasury Secretary Urges Congress to Advance the CLARITY Act, While Also Emphasizing Stablecoin Compliance and Sanctions Responsiveness
On April 9, the U.S. Treasury Secretary publicly urged Congress to accelerate passage of the CLARITY Act, aiming to establish more predictable federal-level rules for digital assets, decentralized trading platforms, and the like. In the same context, the Treasury Department was also reported to be continuing to push for the implementation of stablecoin-related legislation such as GENIUS, focusing on issuers' anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and sanctions compliance capabilities, including the technical feasibility of freezing, intercepting, and rejecting specific transactions. The Senate Banking Committee has also reportedly signaled a timeline to advance a crypto market structure bill in April, indicating that the regulatory framework is entering an intensive legislative window.
3. SEC Appoints a New Enforcement Director, Crypto Enforcement Strategy Shifts Draw Market Attention
https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-enforcement-director-questions-crypto
On April 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appointed David Woodcock as the new head of enforcement. Media reports said that the SEC has recently moved to dismiss or adjust its strategy in some crypto-related cases, prompting discussion over whether a structural change is occurring in its enforcement priorities and boundary definitions. Market participants are broadly watching whether future enforcement resources will be directed more toward disclosures, intermediary compliance, or new on-chain product formats, in order to assess how accommodating U.S. securities regulation will be toward Web3 innovation.
In-Depth Analysis
1. TEAMZ Summit 2026 Recap: The Global Web3 Community Gathers at a Historic Venue in Tokyo
The TEAMZ Web3 and AI Summit 2026 was held on April 7–8 at Happo-en in Tokyo. As the flagship event of "Tokyo Web3 / AI Week," it attracted 10,625 attendees, a record high. The summit brought together more than 100 sponsors and exhibitors, including Binance, XRP, Cardano, and SBI, and hosted more than 100 side events. Japan's Minister of Finance delivered a keynote speech exploring the social transformation driven by digital assets and AI.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this document is based on publicly available market data and industry trends, and is for reference only. Please note that this information does not constitute any form of investment advice or recommendation, nor should it be considered as the basis for buying or selling any financial products or services. In case of any translation errors in English, inaccuracies, or situations requiring further clarification, please contact us through 'Contact Us' so that we can verify and make necessary corrections in a timely manner.
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