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On April 16, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea announced that the "pilot project for the use of blockchain-based digital currency for treasury fund execution" has been selected as a topic for the 2026 targeted regulatory sandbox. Under this pilot, the business promotion expenses for government departments will be transitioned from the current government procurement cards to be issued and paid using blockchain-based deposit tokens. The South Korean government stated that this initiative is expected to enhance the transparency of fund usage through predefined usable time periods and industry scopes, while also reducing transaction fees for small merchants through a no-intermediary payment structure. The pilot program is set to officially launch in the fourth quarter of this year, starting in Sejong City, with plans to gradually expand its applicability.

Dogecoin continues its recent rally, rising 4.5% to nearly $0.1, outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum, as capital inflows into high-risk crypto assets drive its increase. This rise is mainly driven by derivatives and leveraged positions, but on-chain activity and daily active addresses continue to decline. Traders are watching $0.096 as short-term support and $0.104 as a key resistance level; if the price falls below the $0.092 to $0.090 range, a deeper pullback may occur.

Golden Ten Data reported on April 16 that Macquarie Bank strategists Thierry Wizman and Gareth Berry noted in a report that the most hawkish central banks in the face of rising oil prices will return to their pre-war policy stance, provided a peace agreement is reached and oil prices remain low. In our view, the Bank of England (and perhaps the European Central Bank) have the most room to revert back to their pre-war stance, as they became particularly hawkish since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran. Therefore, these policy rate expectations may become less "hawkish".