Hong Kong stocks closed lower on April 17, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 0.89%. Blue-chip stocks varied, as Alibaba gained amid AI advancements. Newly listed stocks surged, showcasing strong investor interest, while gold stocks fell due to geopolitical tensions.

The Korea Battery Industry Association and Germany's Fraunhofer Institute signed an MOU to enhance battery technology cooperation, aiming to help Korean companies meet EU market requirements. Their collaboration focuses on R&D, supply chain development, and safety solutions in line with the EU's new regulations.

James Wynn launched a memecoin presale, $ASSDAQ, on Solana, raising just $8,000 in ten hours, attracting criticism over past scam allegations. Despite Wynn's claims of trading success, market reluctance signals skepticism about his new project.

Nigeria's SEC warns against Tofro.com, labeling it a fraudulent, unregistered Ponzi scheme offering high returns and failing withdrawal requests. The SEC urges public caution and verifies investments through its website. Penalties for promoters have increased under new regulations.

Gate News message, according to an announcement from the LeverFi project team, the LeverFi (LEVER) token will soon be swapped for a new Sedunia (SED) token. Gate will delist the LeverFi (LEVER) trading service on April 18, 2026 at 11:00 (UTC+8), including the LEVER_USDT spot trading pair and quantitative grid. At the same time, Gate has suspended deposits for LEVER. Users need to complete the token swap themselves via the channels specified by the project team; it is recommended to withdraw LEVER tokens to your personal wallet before April 21. Any ongoing LEVER quantitative trading strategies must be adjusted in advance, otherwise they will be forcibly stopped before the delisting.

Elon Musk's xAI will provide computing power to programming startup Cursor, utilizing thousands of GPUs to train its new code model. This shift enhances xAI’s role in computing services, potentially increasing revenue and addressing operational costs amid ongoing losses.

Gate News update: On April 17, according to Gate market data, as of the time of writing, MOVR (Moonriver) is trading at $2.96. It is up 132.99% over the past 24 hours, reaching a high of $2.97 and falling to a low of $1.25. The total 24-hour trading volume is $494.5k. The current market cap is approximately $33.7163 million. Moonriver is an EVM-compatible blockchain running on the Kusama network, providing developers with features such as deploying Solidity smart contracts, Web3-compatible APIs, oracle data, and Ethereum network bridge relays. MOVR is the platform’s utility and governance token. It can be used to pay transaction fees, for network governance, to earn rewards by participating in network consensus through staking, and to provide liquidity for decentralized exchanges built on the Moonriver blockchain. As the Kusama ecosystem version of Moonbeam, Moonriver won eligibility for a parachain slot auction through a crowd sale, giving developers a sandbox environment to test new code under real economic conditions, with full Ethereum compatibility and efficient smart contract execution capabilities.

The SFPA advocates for lowering financial thresholds for dual-class shares in Hong Kong to attract more innovative companies, proposing new requirements aimed at easing entry for mid-sized tech firms and enhancing the city's competitive edge.

Sequoia Capital has raised $7 billion for a new fund under Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, focusing on AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic. This marks a shift in strategy, allowing investments in competing companies within the same sector.

GoTyme Bank has introduced an in-app stock trading feature, allowing users to invest in the Philippine Stock Exchange directly from their banking app. This service, in partnership with DragonFi Securities, aims to simplify investment for new and existing customers.