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Japan’s Financial Services Agency and three other agencies issued a joint request in April, warning of money laundering risks in real estate transactions conducted using crypto assets. They urged real estate businesses to strictly comply with the Funds Settlement Act and the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, and to implement KYC, suspicious transaction reporting, and police notifications. If crypto asset exchange businesses handle transactions that are large in amount and where the customer’s attributes do not match, they must strictly confirm and report the transaction at the time of dealing. Under the Foreign Exchange Act, crypto assets received from overseas exceeding 30,000,000 yen, and non-residents who acquire real estate in Japan, must be reported, and the requirements will apply comprehensively starting from 2026-04-01. This is administrative guidance, indicating that AML risk has become concrete.

According to a report by News.Bitcoin.com on April 28, NYSE Arca, a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, has submitted an amendment proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Rule 8.201-E (Generic). The SEC published a notice on April 27 to solicit public comments. The core of the proposal is to set a quantitative “qualified asset threshold” for crypto ETF trusts.
85% threshold: the specific definition of qualified assets
The core provision of the proposal is: at least 85% of the trust’s net assets (NAV) must hold “qualified assets” that are permitted under the rules as they currently exist, including:
commodities
commodity-based derivatives (commodity-based

According to reports from OilPrice and AP on April 28, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national news agency WAM announced that it will withdraw from the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and OPEC+ mechanisms on May 1, 2026. The UAE joined OPEC in 1967—four years earlier than the United Arab Emirates was founded (1971)—making it one of OPEC’s founding members. After the withdrawal takes effect, OPEC will lose its third-largest oil producer (after Saudi Arabia and Iraq).
Withdrawal mechanism: takes effect on May 1; official statement emphasizes national strategy
In its statement, the UAE government said: “This decision reflects the UAE’s long-term strategy and economic vision, as well as an energy structure that continues to evolve, including accelerating investment in domestic energy production, and strengthening our commitment to a responsible, reliable, and forward-looking role in the global energy market.”
Another segment via W

According to a CoinDesk report on April 28, Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority has officially approved the issuance of stablecoin BILS by local exchange Bits of Gold—this is the first regulated fiat-backed stablecoin in Israel’s history, pegged 1:1 to the Israeli shekel (NIS). BILS is issued on the Solana blockchain, has passed a regulatory sandbox pilot program lasting up to two years, and has officially entered a limited-scale live launch stage.
BILS: The first time the shekel goes on-chain, with Solana as the underlying layer
Key specifications of BILS:
Issuer: Bits of Gold (a longstanding local crypto exchange in Israel)
Peg: 1:1 fully backed by the Israeli shekel (NIS)

Citi’s April 27 report revised the 2030 global AI market upward to $4.2T, and corporate AI to $1.9T; CapEx for 2026–2030 was also raised to $8.9T. The most notable part is that corporate AI was revised up by 58%, indicating that the adoption pace is far faster than expected. The drivers include AI programming automation and the spread of application-layer CapEx expansion; Anthropic’s 2026 Q1 annualized revenue reached $30B, showing growth. For Taiwan’s technology stocks, CapEx moving higher is a positive catalyst for downstream chip and packaging demand.

The editorial notes that since ChatGPT went live, the number of posts has increased by 42%, and the editorial department’s staffing has also been significantly expanded. An AI-driven flood of low-quality submissions has doubled the burden of peer review, and the pressure on the initial screening remains particularly acute. Mollick points out that the problem lies in an incentive structure that favors “more” rather than “better.” He argues that mechanisms such as a quality-oriented approach and verifiable research processes are needed to increase credibility, and he warns that other fields requiring human review are facing similar challenges.

DeepMind CEO Hassabis personally traveled to Seoul to sign an MOU with the South Korean government to accelerate life sciences, climate research, and scientific discovery with AI. The core is to establish an overseas AI Campus at Google Seoul to provide model access and facilitate interaction among research personnel, and to launch a national-level AI science research center in 2026, focusing on life sciences, climate, and basic science. At the same time, it will carry out collaborations with companies such as Samsung, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and LG, demonstrating South Korea’s global competitiveness and influence in AI and semiconductors.

According to foreign media, Google and the U.S. government have signed a confidential AI contract that would allow the company to support the Department of Defense’s missions with its AI models, making it a supplier of classified AI technology to the U.S. military. The contract says it can be used for legitimate government purposes, involving mission planning and weapon target targeting; however, it prohibits large-scale monitoring or autonomous weapons without human oversight, and it does not grant the right to veto combat decisions. It also requires adjustments to safety settings. More than 600 employees signed a petition opposing it and calling for a refusal; Google has not yet responded.

The AI wave is turning advanced packaging into a new profit engine for semiconductors. A single CoWoS die is about $10k, roughly equivalent to a 7nm process, and its gross margin potential is increasing. TSMC is shifting its focus to system-level integration and 2.5D/3D stacking; in 2025, packaging will account for about 10% of revenue, with capacity of 1.3 million in 2026 and 2 million units in 2027. EMIB is gradually taking market share due to its cost and flexibility advantages, but bandwidth is limited; CoWoS faces issues such as mask stitching and waste in the interposer layer. In the future, the landscape will be led by training-focused CoWoS, with EMIB used for inference/ASIC, as packaging layouts are being reshaped.

According to Macworld, Apple may release its first foldable smartphone this year, named iPhone Ultra, positioned above the Pro line. It is expected to be announced in September, and initial availability may be limited, debuting alongside the iPhone 18 Pro. Ultra may use a book-style vertical folding design, do away with Face ID, and switch to side Touch ID, while removing the telephoto camera. The software will be a custom iOS build. Another report says the MacBook Ultra will feature an OLED touchscreen, but due to a shortage of RAM it has been pushed back to the first half of 2027.

AI-driven demand spikes CPU requirements, and due to insufficient production capacity, Intel prioritizes supplying Xeon, causing delayed delivery times and price increases for mid-to-low-end and Chromebook devices. MediaTek and AMD quickly fill the gap in the laptop/desktop/Chromebook market, reshaping the market-share landscape. AMD, NVIDIA, and Arm also accelerate the expansion of server CPUs; meanwhile, Intel increases capital expenditures to expand production, with expectations that both 2026 revenue and growth will reach double digits.

According to information submitted to the SEC, under Tesla’s 2018 CEO performance incentive plan, it issued about 300 million shares of common stock as stock options, with a service-oriented forfeiture condition that requires continued employment. Musk benefited from holdings of about 717 million shares, or 20.3%, but his voting power is limited by a voting rights agreement, which decouples economic rights from voting rights. If fully exercised at $23.34, the theoretical gain would reach $108 billion. This figure has not yet included his current share value of $649 billion.

AI hardware demand is driving a global reshuffling of capital, with rapid expansion in South Korean and Taiwanese stock markets. Korea’s market capitalization of $4.04 trillion surpasses the UK to become the 8th-largest; Taiwan’s $4.48 trillion also surpasses the UK and, for the first time, exceeds China in MSCI emerging-markets weighting. Samsung and SK hynix are lifting the Kospi, supported by policy measures and strong foreign-investor sentiment; TSMC’s terms are relaxed to 25%, and the Taiwan index is pushed higher.

According to a Microsoft official blog post dated April 27, Microsoft and OpenAI have formally announced the re-signing of their cooperation agreement. There are three major changes: removing OpenAI’s exclusivity over Microsoft cloud, scrapping the most controversial “AGI achievement trigger provisions” from the past, and extending the IP license to 2032 but changing it to non-exclusive. For the AI industry, this is a key moment in the structural reshaping of the relationship between the two parties, since OpenAI first accepted Microsoft’s investment in 2019.
Exclusivity ends: OpenAI can choose any cloud service
Under the new agreement, OpenAI is no longer forced to be limited to Microsoft

As user growth slows and competition intensifies, OpenAI has not met its 2025 goals for weekly active users and revenue, and the CFO warns that it may be unable to pay data center contracts. Computing power commitments total as much as about $600B, with internal disagreements arising from cost control and expansion strategy. Despite completing a massive round of financing, the funds could be depleted within three years, the IPO timeline is unknown, and lawsuits and internal conflicts also add uncertainty.

This article says Tesla has been hit by a transition period and high capital expenditures, with its stock down about 17% this year and the worst performance. If SpaceX were to go public, its valuation could reach $1.75 trillion; Starlink growth may support full-year revenue of about $22 billion, and market capital could therefore crowd out Tesla. There are also concerns about overlapping governance and resources, and investors may shift toward SpaceX.