Meta lays off nearly 200 employees; Iran warns it will destroy all US assets in the Middle East

The Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry recap column launched by Golden Finance. It covers industry updates such as the week’s key news, mining information, project developments, technology progress, and more. This article is the news weekly within it, taking you through the major blockchain industry events of this week.

Top Stories

▌Meta to lay off nearly 200 employees in Silicon Valley

Meta is continuing to推进 its human resources reorganization and layoff plans in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to two official documents submitted this week to the California Employment Development Department, Meta plans to cut 124 and 74 jobs, respectively, at its two office locations in Burlingame and Sunnyvale, California. The documents disclose that the layoff procedures for these nearly 200 employees are scheduled to take effect in late May this year, and are clearly designated as permanent layoffs. This latest move is a continuation of a series of broad personnel adjustments by Meta in recent times. In the past few weeks, the company has cumulatively laid off about 700 positions across the system. The impacted business segments span recruiting, business sales, day-to-day operations, and the Reality Labs division that was once heavily expected to focus on and drive the metaverse business.

▌Iran warns it will destroy all U.S. and Israeli assets and infrastructure in the Middle East

Iranian media reports on March 3 that the Iranian military issued a statement saying that if the United States dares to act against Iranian infrastructure, Iran will destroy all “assets and infrastructure” of the United States and Israel in the Middle East. According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the statement is a response to remarks by U.S. President Trump in recent times repeatedly threatening to sabotage the bridge, power stations, and energy infrastructure of Iran. The statement says that if these threats are carried out, Iran will destroy all “assets and infrastructure” of the United States and Israel in the Middle East; the scope of the strikes may also be expanded to “important assets in the Middle East of the U.S.’s followers.” The statement also says that countries hosting U.S. military bases, if they hope to avoid being affected, should urge U.S. forces to withdraw from their territory.

▌SpaceX is poised to target a $2 trillion valuation, surpassing Meta and Tesla

On April 3, sources said that SpaceX has raised its target valuation for its initial public offering to more than $2 trillion. These sources say the company and its advisors are briefing potential investors on this valuation target in preparation for meetings in the coming weeks. Media reports earlier said that these so-called “testing-the-waters” decks may include more support for the valuation. In February, it was reported that after SpaceX acquired Musk’s xAI, the valuation of the combined company was $1.25 trillion. At a $2 trillion valuation, SpaceX would surpass all companies in the S&P 500 except NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent), Microsoft, and Amazon—and also surpass two more of the U.S. “Magnificent Seven,” namely Meta and Tesla, which is also owned by Musk.

▌Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Explore innovative businesses such as “computing power banks” and “computing power supermarkets”

On April 2, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on carrying out a special campaign to empower small and medium-sized enterprises with inclusive computing power. It mentions innovating computing power service models to make them inclusive. It will improve the computing power platform’s small-and-medium-enterprise special sections—China’s small and medium-sized enterprise service website’s computing resource docking special section, as well as national computing internet service node special sections (collectively referred to as the small-and-medium-enterprise platform special sections). It will promote precise docking between small and medium-sized enterprise demand and computing power supply, and roll out flexible payment models such as billing by “card hours,” “nuclear hours,” and tokens. It will explore innovative businesses such as “computing power banks” and “computing power supermarkets,” support small and medium-sized enterprises to deposit idle computing power resources, and enable flexible utilization through cross-regional and cross-cycle scheduling. It will implement an AI small-and-medium-enterprise entrepreneurship support plan, encouraging local departments to subsidize industrially oriented small and medium-sized enterprises with “computing power vouchers,” “storage power vouchers,” and “transport power vouchers” through the small-and-medium-enterprise platform special sections. The plan will simplify the processes for obtaining and using them.

▌Drift hacker swaps 2.45 million USDC for 1,195 ETH

On April 2, according to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa monitoring, the Drift hacker swapped 2.45 million USDC for 1,195 ETH within the past 5 minutes. Currently, four addresses have cumulatively held 130,293 ETH, worth approximately $266 million.

Policy

▌Trump appoints Todd Blanche, the author of the crypto enforcement memorandum, as Acting Attorney General

On April 3, U.S. President Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from office and appointed Todd Blanche, her former private attorney and current Deputy Attorney General, as Acting Attorney General. Blanche previously represented Trump in New York criminal cases. After taking office as Deputy Attorney General, he ordered the dismantling of the Department of Justice’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and signed a memorandum directing prosecutors not to pursue regulatory violations in the crypto industry. According to disclosed documents, when Blanche signed the crypto enforcement memorandum, he still held various cryptocurrencies worth between $159k and $485k, including Bitcoin, Solana, Cardano, Ethereum, Polygon, Polkadot, Quant, and Coinbase stock, violating ethical rules and his earlier commitment to divest assets before handling matters related to crypto.

▌Fed’s Logan: Can reduce the balance sheet by changing regulatory rules

On April 2, Dallas Fed Chair Logan outlined the paths and options for reducing the size of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet on Thursday. She also noted that the current system is operating well and brings benefits to overall financial stability. Logan said that the Fed’s current system for managing financial liquidity is designed to provide “ample” reserve levels, and that system is “efficient and effective.” However, under the current system, there are still multiple ways to help reduce the Fed’s holdings, and many of these measures involve rules governing how financial institutions manage cash reserves. Recent research within and outside the Federal Reserve has suggested that by prompting banks to hold lower reserve levels through regulatory adjustments, the Fed could further reduce its balance sheet under the current system. Logan said she agrees, stating that the Fed is working to make reserve management “more efficient” during periods of stress. She also said that some liquidity rules increase reserves but do not enhance safety, because banks are unwilling to use these reserves during crises. “This is an inefficient use of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, and we can completely avoid this situation.”

▌The U.S. CFTC and the DOJ sue Illinois governor and attorney general, alleging they lack authority to regulate prediction markets

On April 3, according to market news, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the governor of Illinois and the attorney general, accusing them of attempting to regulate prediction markets beyond their legal authority. Both agencies said the relevant regulatory measures in Illinois are ineffective because the state government lacks jurisdiction over federally regulated prediction markets. The lawsuit emphasizes protecting innovative financial instruments from overreaching interference by local governments.

▌IMF warns tokenized finance could amplify market crises beyond regulators’ ability to respond

On April 5, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that moving trading infrastructure on Wall Street to blockchain-based systems could accelerate the outbreak of financial crises, exceeding regulators’ response capacity, even though the technology is expected to reduce costs and eliminate settlement delays. IMF’s Tobias Adrian wrote in a report released on Thursday that tokenization—representing assets such as stocks, bonds, and cash with digital tokens on a shared ledger—is a structural reshaping of financial system architecture, rather than a marginal improvement in efficiency. Banks, clearing institutions, and asset management firms such as BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase are already running field pilot tests of this technology. They hope to increase fee income by improving trading convenience for traditional assets such as stocks and bonds. (East News Agency)

▌U.S. judge rejects Powell case for reconsideration; appeal or delaying confirmation of Wosch’s nomination

On April 4, local time Friday, U.S. Chief District Judge James Boasberg for the District of Columbia rejected the Department of Justice’s request to reconsider the ruling in the Powell criminal case. Earlier, that ruling had blocked subpoenas issued for the criminal investigation involving Powell. In a March 13 ruling, Boasberg said that the subpoena issued in January of last year to the Federal Reserve Board was issued for improper purposes, aiming to force Powell to agree to conditions for Trump’s demand for a rapid rate cut or resignation. The subpoenas to Powell were issued by Jennyne N. Piro, Chief U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (a staunch supporter of Trump). Piro has promised to continue the investigation and said her office is ready to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. According to sources, senior DOJ leadership supports this appeal decision. This appeal could delay confirmation of Kevin Wosch’s nomination for Fed chair. U.S. Senator Tom Tillis is a Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee. He previously criticized the investigation of Powell and vowed to continue blocking Wosch’s nomination during the appeal process.

Blockchain Applications

▌YZi Labs announces strategic follow-on investment in Predict.fun

On April 2, YZi Labs announced a strategic follow-on investment in Predict.fun after EASY Residency Season 2. Other participating parties also include Susquehanna Crypto, a global leading digital asset trading firm. Predict.fun has seen rapid growth since graduating from the project EASY Residency incubated by YZi Labs, with more than 4 million matched orders to date and trading volume exceeding $1.8 billion.

▌European Central Bank executive board member: Digital euro has “good momentum,” expected to launch in July 2029

On April 2, Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, said that the digital euro has “good momentum” and is expected to be launched in July 2029. The Italian official said on Wednesday in an interview on Latvian television: “There is enough consensus on this project already.” “We’re on the right track, and I also see good momentum on the legislative side. I see growing interest from banks in participating in the pilot.”

▌JPMorgan Chase CEO: Considering offering prediction market services to clients

On April 1, according to CBS News, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he is considering offering prediction market services to clients, but made it clear it would not involve areas such as sports and politics. Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz responded on X, saying he believes JPMorgan will not face “absurd” risk due to specific election outcomes. He noted that, with efficient and regulated products already available, shareholders may in the future demand appropriate hedging strategies for event risks such as elections, and he likened it to interest rate risk management.

▌Cross-border remittance startup OpenFX completes $94 million financing, with Pantera and others leading

On March 31, cross-border remittance and FX market maker startup OpenFX completed $94 million in financing. The round was led by Accel, Lightspeed Faction, M13, Northzone, and Pantera, among others, and the post-money valuation is about $500 million. OpenFX provides faster, lower-cost settlement services for large cross-border transfers by using stablecoins as a bridge linking bank systems and blockchain infrastructure. OpenFX plans to expand into the Southeast Asia and Latin America markets using this round of funding.

▌Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to launch a free Bitcoin faucet

On April 4, Bitcoin at Block, Jack Dorsey’s subsidiary under Twitter, will launch a free Bitcoin faucet. This means that Bitcoin faucets are returning after 16 years. Jack Dorsey disclosed the faucet locations on the X platform, at “btc.day.” It is said that the total distribution pool is approximately $1 million worth of BTC (about 15 BTC), funded from Bitcoin treasury of Block, the company under Jack Dorsey.

Cryptocurrencies

▌Tether launches final push for financing at a $500 billion valuation

On April 3, according to The Information: Tether is launching a final push for financing at a $500 billion valuation and is urging investors to commit to reaching an agreement within the next two weeks.

▌ZeroStack reaches final agreement for a $107 million financing transaction anchored by 0G tokens

ZeroStack Corp., a Nasdaq-listed company, announced that it has reached a final agreement for a $107 million financing transaction anchored by 0G tokens. After the transaction is completed, ZeroStack will hold approximately 21% of the total supply of 0G tokens. Under the financing terms, to facilitate the transaction, ZeroStack will establish a company in Texas, Texas Blocker. The investors plan to contribute 142,232,948 native 0G tokens (worth approximately $107 million). After the share exchange is completed, Texas Blocker will become a wholly owned subsidiary of ZeroStack. The share exchange is expected to be completed around July 5, 2026, but it will be subject to customary closing conditions and shareholder approval.

▌MetaPlanet has received $255 million in financing, and may buy more than 3,800 BTC

On March 31, MetaPlanet received the previously announced financing from global institutional investors, totaling $255 million. At current prices, this funding can be used to buy more than 3,800 BTC, and may make it the third-largest company in the world by BTC holdings.

▌Michael Saylor: The biggest risk for Bitcoin is that bad ideas lead to人为协议 changes

On April 4, Michael Saylor posted that “Bitcoin has already won. The global consensus is that BTC is digital capital. The four-year cycle has ended. Price is now driven by capital flows. Banks and digital credit will determine Bitcoin’s growth trajectory. The biggest risk is that bad ideas lead to人为协议 changes.”

▌Decentralized email platform Dmail will stop service on May 15

After operating for five years, the decentralized email platform Dmail Network announced that it will shut down due to high infrastructure costs, insufficient profitability, failed fundraising, and limited token utility. The platform said it will gradually stop all services starting May 15, and urged users to export their data before then. The platform said that all nodes will be shut down after May 15, at which point users will be unable to access emails and accounts.

Major Economic Developments

▌After the release of the non-farm payrolls report, the probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in June rises

On April 3, according to CME “FedWatch”: The probability the Fed will raise rates by 25 basis points in April is 0.5%, while the probability of keeping rates unchanged is 99.5%—both the same as before the release. The probability the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points cumulatively by June is 2.0% (7.8% before the release), the probability of keeping rates unchanged is 97.5% (91.7% before the release), and the probability of cumulative rate hikes of 25 basis points is 0.5% (the same as before the release).

▌Market pricing shows reduced bets on Fed rate cuts in 2026

On April 3, according to market pricing, expectations for the Fed to cut rates in 2026 have declined.

▌U.S. March non-farm payrolls add 178k jobs, far exceeding market expectations

On April 3, U.S. March non-farm payrolls increased by 178k, compared with an estimate of an increase of 65k, and a prior value of a decrease of 92k.

▌UBS: Gold still has a chance to hit new highs this year; average for the year $5,000

On April 2, UBS strategist Jonny Travis expected that although the gold price has been volatile recently, the gold price this year will set a new high, and views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. UBS expects the average gold price in 2026 to be $5,000 per ounce, and in 2027 and 2028 it to be $4,800 and $4,250, respectively. (Jinshi)

▌Trump on oil prices: “As long as we withdraw troops from Iran”

On April 4, Trump said that once U.S. troops withdraw, high oil prices will ease. “All I have to do is leave Iran, and we’ll do it very soon.”