ME News reported that on April 9 (UTC+8), Nasdaq-listed Brag House Holdings said shareholders approved its proposed merger with House of Doge, the official entity of the Dogecoin Foundation, with more than 98% of votes cast in favor. The companies plan to build a public-market platform spanning sports, digital finance and blockchain infrastructure, combining Brag House's collegiate sports and media assets. House of Doge is expected to use the transaction to access public capital markets and list on Nasdaq. House of Doge has previously partnered with 21Shares to launch Europe's first Dogecoin ETP and has worked with CleanCore and Robinhood on treasury and custody services. (Source: PANews)

U.S. crude exports are expected to hit a record in April, with Kpler estimating volumes rise nearly one third to 5.2 million barrels a day from 3.9 million in March, driven by Asia demand projected up 82% to 2.5 million. Financial Times data also shows 68 empty tankers heading to the U.S., up from 24 a week before Feb. 28.

Bitcoin rose 6% in four hours on April 9 after a global stock rally tied to a U.S. Iran two week ceasefire, triggering about $280 million in short liquidations. Open interest increased 2.5% to 593,930 BTC, but derivatives positioning showed limited bullish shift, suggesting short covering has not accelerated.

The Ethereum Foundation has sold 3,750 ETH—valued at about $8.3 million—after moving 5,000 ETH into stablecoins, with proceeds earmarked for research and development, ecosystem grants, and donations. The decision is drawing attention across the crypto market given the foundation's central role in backing Ethereum's long-term progress, from core technical work to community and public-goods programs. By converting part of its ETH holdings into stablecoins, the foundation is positioning its treasury for steadier budgeting and greater flexibility rather than staying fully exposed to short-term price swings. For major crypto organizations, the transaction highlights a familiar challenge: continuing to finance builders and initiatives while managing volatility. Stablecoin reserves can make spending plans more predictable—an important factor for research teams, developers, and nonprofit efforts that rely on clear funding timelines. Some market participants often interpret token sales as bearish, but the foundation's stated rationale ties the move to operating needs rather than capitulation. The funding is intended to support development and ecosystem growth, underscoring how foundations balance mission priorities with treasury strategy as large on-chain transactions remain under close scrutiny. Cointelegraph reported the update on April 9, 2026.

A South Korean court has ruled for Dunamu, the operator of crypto exchange Upbit, in an administrative lawsuit against the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), nullifying the FIU's order for a three-month partial suspension of business, according to DigitalAsset. The court said that, in the absence of specific implementation guidance from regulators, Dunamu took reasonable steps such as obtaining customer commitment letters and running internal monitoring. While the court noted it remains contested whether these actions were sufficient to fully prevent transactions with unregistered entities, it found Dunamu had met its reasonable obligations given the lack of clear direction. The FIU had previously ordered the three-month partial suspension on the basis that Upbit's controls for handling transactions involving unregistered entities were inadequate.

Spot crypto ETF flow data for Apr. 8 showed net redemptions across Bitcoin, Ether and Solana funds. BTC spot ETFs recorded net outflows of $124.55M, ETH spot ETFs saw $618.63M leave, and SOL spot ETFs posted $1.92M in net outflows. XRP spot ETFs were unchanged at $0.

In U.S. retirement saving, what becomes the default often becomes the norm. The pension system has repeatedly been reshaped by “default choices” that most workers never actively selected—from the shift toward 401(k)s in the 1980s to the widespread adoption of target-date funds in the early 2000s. Each change redirected vast pools of money and quietly altered how Americans retire. A new shift may be forming. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a proposed rule—now in a 60-day public comment period—that for the first time could meaningfully clear a path for cryptocurrencies inside the roughly $12 trillion 401(k) market. While the proposal is framed around fiduciary duty and compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), its practical effect is to reduce the personal legal risk that has kept plan decision-makers away from crypto. States are already moving ahead. Indiana passed legislation in March requiring state pension plans to offer at least one cryptocurrency investment option by July 2027. Wisconsin's pension system reports $321 million in Bitcoin ETFs, and Michigan has allocated $45 million to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Florida and New Jersey are advancing similar efforts. Why crypto stayed out: the ERISA liability problem Crypto was never explicitly banned from 401(k) plans. The real deterrent was ERISA's liability structure: fiduciaries can be personally on the hook for investment decisions that lead to losses. Since 2016, more than 500 lawsuits have alleged ERISA violations; since 2020, settlements have topped $1 billion. Fiduciaries have watched peers sued over fees, index fund selection, and mutual fund share-class decisions—cases that are frequent and often target individuals directly. That creates a one-way incentive. Buy Bitcoin and it falls 50%, and a fiduciary can face years of litigation. Don't buy Bitcoin and it later rallies to $200,000, and no one sues. The rational response has been to avoid crypto—especially after the DOL said in 2022 that fiduciaries should exercise "particular care" with digital assets. The new proposal would replace that posture with a six-element safe-harbor framework. Fiduciaries who follow a documented process evaluating performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks, and complexity would be treated as having met ERISA's prudence standard. The proposal is aimed less at changing crypto's risk profile for savers than at reducing asymmetric legal exposure for plan fiduciaries. How it could reach workers: target-date funds The DOL expects target-date funds to be the main conduit—an important detail because these funds are the default option for many employees. Participants typically pick the fund closest to their retirement year (for example, a 2045 fund) and rarely revisit allocations afterward. A target-date fund could embed a small crypto sleeve—potentially 1%–3%—that is professionally managed and rebalanced, meaning many savers would gain Bitcoin exposure without ever actively purchasing it. This is the same mechanism through which other asset classes have entered retirement portfolios over time. Fidelity moved early in 2022, offering plan sponsors the option to add Bitcoin and allowing participants to allocate up to 20% of account balances to it. Even so, broad adoption has been constrained by the lack of clear legal protections for sponsors and fiduciaries. What even small allocations could mean At $12 trillion, the 401(k) market has outsized influence. A 1% allocation would imply roughly $120 billion flowing to digital assets—more than the total value locked in DeFi. Even 0.1% would be about $12 billion, comparable to the combined size of the top five Bitcoin ETFs. Unlike previous institutional adoption waves—where companies could sell treasury holdings, or ETF investors could redeem—401(k) capital is structurally stickier. Retirement money can stay invested for decades, is generally less reactive to market swings, and is typically guided by professional advisors. Morgan Stanley's Amy Oldenburg has noted that about 80% of crypto ETF trading currently comes from self-directed investors, whereas 401(k) allocations are largely driven by advisors. Risks, litigation uncertainty, and timeline The stakes for retirement savers are different from those for traders. A 50% drawdown in a brokerage account may be a bad quarter; a 50% decline in a 55-year-old teacher's retirement account is a different kind of harm. Bitcoin has fallen more than 80% in prior bear markets, and even this cycle's roughly 50% decline tests risk tolerance. TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg argues trustees may still hesitate until courts confirm that the safe-harbor process genuinely provides protection from lawsuits. ERISA is process-based, but courts ultimately decide whether a fiduciary's process was sufficient. Whether the safe harbor will hold up in the first major case—say, if a target-date fund with crypto drops 40% in a downturn—remains unknown. The comment period ends June 1. The DOL could revise the proposal, withdraw it, or adopt it largely as written. Even with final rules in place, moving from guidance to actual 401(k) integration requires compliance review, investment committee approval, recordkeeper system changes, and trustee oversight—steps that could take months, and more likely years. Indiana's July 2027 requirement is a firm mandate; federal rules would function more as guidance, implying a slower, uneven rollout. Over past decades, new assets entered retirement accounts through similar channels: stocks via mutual funds in the 1980s; international equities via target-date funds in the early 2000s; then REITs, inflation-protected bonds, and commodities. Crypto now appears to be approaching a comparable inflection point. Spot ETFs provide the product, the DOL proposal would supply the regulatory framework, major firms such as Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Morgan Stanley offer distribution, and the CLARITY Act would further codify how crypto assets are classified—supporting fiduciaries' ability to document prudent review. The unresolved question is what happens when a plan adds Bitcoin through a default vehicle and a major drawdown follows. If Bitcoin drops 60% after being included in a target-date fund, lawsuits are likely. The outcome would hinge on whether judges accept that the safe-harbor process protects the decision-makers. For now, nobody can say with certainty.

AiCoin data show U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $93.9 million yesterday. FBTC posted the largest single-day redemption at $79.1 million, while ARKB saw net outflows of $74.7 million. AiCoin's live "Spot BTC ETF Tracking" strategy indicates ETF flow trends have a strong positive correlation with BTC price moves. Users can subscribe to the signal to set up automated trades based on fund-flow momentum. For reference only.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has entered the debate over crypto oversight, casting the Clarity Act as a national security imperative rather than a purely financial issue. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Bessent described the Clarity Act as the foundation of any credible regulatory framework for digital assets, arguing that without it broader crypto legislation—including the GENIUS Act—cannot be fully realised. He pointed to adoption and market scale, noting that nearly one in six Americans holds some form of digital asset and that global crypto market capitalisation stands at roughly $2 trillion to $3 trillion. Bessent said America’s advantage has long been clear rules backed by credible enforcement, and warned that Senate floor time is running short, urging Congress to act quickly.