CNB Governor Aleš Michl became the first sitting central bank governor to keynote The Bitcoin Conference, arguing that a 1% Bitcoin allocation could lift portfolio returns without raising risk. The CNB previously bought a $1 million digital asset test portfolio in November 2025.
At Money20/20 Asia 2026 in Bangkok, the lines between traditional finance and DeFi continued to blur. From J.P. Morgan’s blockchain scale to EMURGO’s self custody push, the event revealed a clear shift toward interoperable, user controlled financial systems.
KelpDAO's 1-of-1 bridge verifier was exploited for $292M on April 18. Aave lost $9B in 48 hours. $5B in USDT/USDC locked. $13B DeFi TVL gone. Justin Sun-linked wallet exited $274M in 21 minutes.
Drift Protocol was drained for $285M by North Korean hackers on April 1. Circle didn't freeze $230M in stolen USDC. Now Tether is backing a $148M recovery and Drift relaunches on USDT.
Hong Kong just handed its first stablecoin licences to the same banks that print its banknotes. The HKMA chose HSBC and Standard Chartered's Anchorpoint venture from 36 applicants — a deliberate bet that trusted institutions make the safest foundation for digital money.
