Baidu's ERNIE 5.1 showcases a strategic shift in AI development, emphasizing cost efficiency amid geopolitical tech constraints.

The post Baidu’s ERNIE 5.1 tops AI leaderboards, costs 94% less to train appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

GitLab's AI-driven restructuring highlights a tech trend prioritizing automation over human roles, impacting workforce dynamics and innovation.

The post GitLab cuts jobs to invest in AI agents market opportunity appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The sanctions could strain US-China relations, impact global oil markets, and intensify geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear activities.

The post US sanctions twelve entities for sales of Iranian oil to China appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The launch of THYP ETF on NASDAQ could accelerate mainstream adoption of DeFi, but investors must navigate inherent protocol risks.

The post 21Shares launches Hyperliquid ETF on NASDAQ tomorrow appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ondo's rapid growth in tokenized stocks highlights the potential for increased market accessibility and liquidity, but regulatory clarity remains crucial.

The post ONDO Global Markets reaches $1B in tokenized stock TVL in 8 months appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

What’s Really at Stake in the Market Structure Debate: The BRCA

If you’ve been following the headlines lately, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that the fight over stablecoin yields is the only sticking point holding the United States back from the crypto industry’s long awaited comprehensive market structure legislation. But sadly, you’d be wrong.

For months now, the headlines have fixated on a genuine but ultimately tractable disagreement: whether crypto platforms should be allowed to share yield from their Treasury bill reserves with stablecoin holders, or whether that practice should be restricted to protect traditional banks from competition for consumer deposits. It’s a real fight. The American Bankers Association has mobilized their entire lobbying arsenal against it. Coinbase has made it a red line. Senate negotiators have spent months trying to thread the needle. And they’ll probably figure it out eventually.

But while bank lobbyists and the media obsess over who exactly will get the privilege of pocketing stablecoin interest, Congress is getting dangerously close to gutting the single provision that will determine whether market structure actually delivers on its promise — or ends up crippling the very industry it claims to support. That provision – Section 604 of the current Senate draft – has to do with developer protections and whether those who write non-custodial software can be held liable by the USG as bona-fide money transmitters. Whether this section survives the Senate negotiation process intact will determine the fate of the entire bill.

This provision isn’t a technical footnote. It’s not some abstract philosophical debate. It is the load-bearing wall that supports the entire policy objective of this bill. And right now, it’s cracking.

The BRCA Is the Whole Ballgame

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, or BRCA, is a narrowly tailored provision with bipartisan origins. Introduced by Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), it does one essential thing: it clarifies that software developers and infrastructure providers who do not custody or control user funds are not money transmitters under federal law. That’s it. It doesn’t weaken anti-money laundering statutes. It doesn’t shield bad actors. It simply draws a line that should have been obvious from the start — that writing code is not the same as transmitting money.

Without the BRCA, developers of non-custodial software — the people who build the wallets, the protocols, and the decentralized applications that millions of Americans already use — face potential criminal liability under Section 1960 of the federal criminal code. Not civil penalties. Not regulatory fines. Criminal prosecution for the mere act of publishing software. 

This is not a hypothetical. We’ve already seen what “regulation by prosecution” looks like. In 2025, the developers behind Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet were criminally prosecuted — not for personally laundering money, not for actively conspiring with criminals, but for simply writing and publishing code that other people used in ways the government didn’t like. Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill are now locked up serving federal sentences following their respective convictions in what often looked like a show trial. Roman Storm is being re-prosecuted and faces over a century in prison. And all this despite standing DOJ guidance to the contrary, a Treasury department which acknowledges the valid need for privacy/mixers, and an administration that claims to be “the most crypto-friendly” in history. No matter what shade of lipstick you want to put on it, the message from federal prosecutors is unmistakable: if you build non-custodial software in the United States, you do so at your own peril.

If the Senate CLARITY Act passes without robust BRCA protections, that message becomes the law of the land. And the rational response from every developer, every startup, and every venture-backed crypto firm in America will be the same: leave.

This is not an exaggeration. It is an economic certainty. No founder with competent legal counsel will accept a regulatory framework where writing open-source code can land you in a federal penitentiary based on which way the wind is blowing in Washington D.C. Instead they will incorporate in Singapore, in Switzerland, in the UAE — in any jurisdiction that doesn’t treat software engineers like unlicensed money transmitters. A CLARITY Act without strong BRCA developer protections, won’t just fail to bring clarity. It will accelerate the very capital flight that Congress claims to be trying to prevent.

Congress Could Kill the Agentic Economy in Its Crib

The developer exodus would be catastrophic enough on its own. But the timing here couldn’t be worse because Congress could very well end up strangling a nascent technological revolution that has the potential to generate material GDP growth for decades to come: the agentic economy.

Autonomous AI agents — software systems that can negotiate, transact, and execute tasks on behalf of users without the need for human intervention — are emerging as the next great computing paradigm. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang projected a $1 trillion agentic AI opportunity at GTC 2026. OpenAI is building models purpose-designed for multi-agent architectures. Institutional capital is flooding in. And the infrastructure these agents need to operate at scale — micropayments, 24/7 settlement, programmable wallets, cryptographic verification — is all built using blockchains.

This is not a crypto-native fever dream. It is the consensus view of the world’s largest technology companies and investors. AI agents need permissionless, always-on financial rails. Traditional payment systems, with their batch settlements, minimum transaction fees, and business-hour limitations, cannot support an economy where machines transact with machines thousands of times per second. Blockchains can. And the developers building that nascent infrastructure are the same developers the CLARITY Act threatens to criminalize and drive offshore.

We’ve been here before. In the late 1990s, Congress faced a similar inflection point with the early internet. Lawmakers could have imposed heavy-handed regulations on the nascent web — requiring licenses for website operators, imposing liability on platform developers for user-generated content, taxing digital transactions before the market had a chance to mature. They chose restraint. That decision — deliberate, bipartisan, and far-sighted — enabled the creation of the most extraordinary engine of economic value in modern history. Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Tesla — trillions of dollars in publicly traded equity, millions of American jobs, and an entire generation of global technological leadership — all trace their origins to a Congress that understood that overzealous regulation kills innovation.

The agentic economy is the internet boom of the 2020s. The question is whether this Congress will show the same wisdom — or whether it will over-legislate a transformative technology in its infancy, ceding what should be a new generation of American economic dominance to competing jurisdictions that won’t make the same mistake.

An Affront to the Toolmaker Principle

Even if we set aside the economic catastrophe sure to follow in the wake of any official criminalization of crypto/AI software development, the government’s current approach to developer liability – which would become permanently anchored by a CLARITY Act without strong BRCA protections – represents something more fundamental: a violation of the basic principles of American law.

We do not prosecute automobile executives as accessories to bank robberies because the getaway driver used a Ford. We do not charge Google engineers with conspiracy because criminals coordinated an attack over Gmail. We do not indict Microsoft engineers for money laundering because a cartel tracked its finances using Excel. In every other domain of American commerce, we recognize a foundational legal principle: the maker of a tool is not liable for its misuse.

Crypto developers are the only class of toolmakers in the American economy being singled out for this retributive treatment. And the tool they are building — non-custodial, open-source software that empowers individuals to transact without intermediaries — is arguably more aligned with American values of individual liberty, financial privacy, and free enterprise than any technology since the printing press.

This is not a partisan observation. The BRCA was co-introduced by a Republican and a Democrat. It passed in the House of Representatives with a 70% margin. The principle it embodies — that publishing code is not a crime — should be as uncontroversial as the principle that publishing a newspaper is not a crime. Yet here we are, watching a Congress that promised to make America the crypto capital of the world negotiate away the one provision that would actually make that possible.

What Congress Needs to Hear

Making America the crypto capital of the world was a central promise of the current administration and the congressional majority that rode into office alongside it. Voters heard that promise. The industry heard it. The world heard it. The CLARITY Act, without bulletproof developer protections, would fall catastrophically short of delivering on that promise.

The fight over stablecoin yields will get resolved. Nobody wants to see the digital yuan win because bank lobbyists needed the gravy train to keep running through Wall Street. The regulatory competition between the SEC and the CFTC will get resolved. A new Howey framework will be developed. These are all important details, but ultimately they are just that – implementation details. The existential question — the one that determines whether there will even be an American crypto industry left to regulate by 2030 — is whether Congress will protect the developers who build this technology from criminal prosecution for the act of writing code.

The BRCA must be included in any market structure bill. It must be included with teeth. And it must not be diluted, carved out, or traded away in backroom negotiations over provisions that, however important, are not the difference between an industry that thrives in America and one that packs its bags for Hong Kong or Singapore.

Congress has a very narrow window of opportunity left. The midterm elections in November look poised to be a political earthquake. The legislative timer in Washington D.C. is rapidly running out of sand. A generational opportunity for the United States to assert its continued leadership in the new multi-polar world order is disappearing. The time to get this right is now — not because the crypto lobby is demanding it, but because the principles of American innovation, equal treatment under the law, and our continued economic and technological leadership of the world demand it.

The question is not whether the United States will have a market structure bill. The question is whether that bill will be worth the paper it’s printed on.

This is a guest post by Kyle Olney. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

This post What’s Really at Stake in the Market Structure Debate: The BRCA first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Kyle Olney.

Bitcoin Magazine

Square Crosses 1 Million Bitcoin-Enabled Merchants as Real-World Adoption Continues to Grow

Block Inc.’s (XYZ) Square has crossed a threshold of roughly 1 million merchants now enabled to accept Bitcoin payments.

The figure, cited by a member of Block’s team, reflects a wave of auto-enrollment that began March 30, when Square automatically switched on BTC payments by default for eligible U.S. sellers.

At its peak pace, a new business was activating the feature every eight seconds. The rollout is powered by the Lightning Network, enabling near-instant settlement while merchants receive U.S. dollars by default, removing currency risk from the equation.

In other words, customers can pay in Bitcoin via Lightning while merchants still receive USD settlements, with the system handling conversion in the background and allowing sellers to opt out if needed.

Bitcoin as everyday money

At the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Block outlined an expanded push to make bitcoin usable as everyday money rather than simply a long-term investment. Speaking on the Nakamoto Stage, Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter said BTC “must circulate, not just sit still,” arguing that the cryptocurrency loses its transformational value if it does not function as peer-to-peer cash.

Suter highlighted Block’s growing adoption metrics, revealing at the time that there were more than 800,000 Square merchants who now have BTC payments auto-enrollment enabled. This number seems to be above According to Suter, a new business activates the feature every eight seconds. The company is also rolling out a tap-to-pay BTC feature using NFC hardware and the Lightning Network, eliminating QR codes and offering zero processing fees through 2026.

The company’s broader strategy centers on integrating bitcoin across its ecosystem. Cash App users can now automatically convert peer-to-peer payments into BTC, earn 5% Bitcoin Back rewards at Square merchants, and withdraw up to $10,000 per day and $25,000 per week. 

Block also introduced an updated Bitkey hardware wallet featuring a touchscreen and 2-of-3 multisig security model designed to simplify self-custody.

Alongside the product announcements, Block released its Q1 2026 proof-of-reserves report showing holdings of 28,355.05 BTC worth roughly $2.2 billion.

This post Square Crosses 1 Million Bitcoin-Enabled Merchants as Real-World Adoption Continues to Grow first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Senate Confirms Bitcoin-Friendly Kevin Warsh to Fed Board, Clearing Path to Chairmanship

President Donald Trump’s push to install Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve moved closer to completion Tuesday after the Senate confirmed him to the Fed’s Board of Governors, a step that clears the path for a final vote on the chairmanship later this week.

The Senate approved Warsh in a 51-45 vote that fell along party lines, with Sen. John Fetterman joining Republicans in support of the nominee. If confirmed as chair, Warsh would replace Jerome Powell, whose term leading the central bank ends Friday.

Warsh’s rise has drawn attention across financial markets and the Bitcoin industry because of his public support for bitcoin and his ties to crypto-related firms. 

Warsh’s consideration of bitcoin

Unlike past Fed leaders who treated digital assets with skepticism, Warsh has described bitcoin as “an important asset” and “a very good policeman for policy,” arguing that its price can reflect confidence in the Federal Reserve’s handling of inflation and monetary policy.

“Bitcoin doesn’t trouble me,” Warsh said during a Hoover Institution event last year, where he framed the asset as a signal of monetary credibility rather than a threat to the U.S. dollar.

His confirmation follows financial disclosures showing Warsh held an equity stake in Flashnet, a Bitcoin payments startup focused on lightning-style transaction infrastructure for merchants and fintech companies. The disclosure marked one of the clearest links yet between a potential Federal Reserve chair and a company tied to Bitcoin adoption.

Warsh has also maintained ties to the crypto sector through advisory work and investments connected to digital asset firms, including crypto index manager Bitwise and stablecoin project Basis.

At the same time, Warsh remains known as an inflation hawk. During his earlier tenure as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, he warned about inflation risks and criticized loose monetary policy following the financial crisis. 

Recent comments calling for “regime change” at the Fed and signaling openness to lower interest rates have created debate among investors over how he would balance inflation concerns with pressure from the White House.

Markets now face a Fed transition during a period of renewed inflation pressure, rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around future rate policy. 

Bitcoin traders and crypto investors are watching closely to see whether Warsh’s views on digital assets translate into a shift in tone from the nation’s most powerful financial institution.

This post Senate Confirms Bitcoin-Friendly Kevin Warsh to Fed Board, Clearing Path to Chairmanship first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

MARA Dumps $1.5B in Bitcoin as Miner Trades Treasury Hoard for AI Power Bet

MARA Holdings has begun to shed its pure-play bitcoin miner identity, unloading $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in the first quarter as it refocuses on power infrastructure and artificial intelligence data centers.

The shift comes as the company reports weaker financial results and leans on its bitcoin treasury to retire debt and fund a large energy acquisition in Ohio.

The company reported first-quarter revenue of $174.6 million, an 18% drop from a year earlier, and a net loss of about $1.3 billion. Management tied that result to a roughly $1 billion negative change in the fair value of its digital assets after a double-digit slide in the bitcoin price over the period.

MARA produced 2,247 bitcoin in the quarter and lifted energized hashrate 33% year over year to 72.2 exahash per second, but those operational gains did not offset the mark-to-market hit on its holdings.

To strengthen its balance sheet, MARA sold about $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin during the quarter, including a $1.1 billion block near the end of the period used to repurchase convertible notes. 

The miner sold 20,880 bitcoin and ended the quarter with 35,303 coins, down from 38,689 earlier in the year. That sale pushed the company from the second- to the fourth-largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.

Management framed the move as a use of bitcoin as “ammunition” on the balance sheet rather than an untouchable reserve.

MARA is pivoting from bitcoin to AI 

Even as it continues to mine, MARA is signaling a strategic pivot away from aggressive expansion of dedicated mining capacity. In its earnings statement the company said it does not expect to make large purchases of new ASIC miners, a sharp contrast with the playbook miners used during the last cycle to chase hashrate growth.

Instead, MARA is steering capital toward energy and data infrastructure that can support both bitcoin mining and high-performance computing workloads.

A centerpiece of that plan is the pending $1.5 billion acquisition of the Long Ridge Energy & Power campus in Hannibal, Ohio, which includes a 505-megawatt gas-fired power plant and extensive land for expansion.

MARA says the site could support more than 600 megawatts of AI and critical IT loads through staged buildouts, with its existing mining footprint integrated into the campus. 

The company has also partnered with Starwood Capital to convert selected mining sites into AI and high-performance computing data centers, broadening its revenue base beyond block rewards.

Around 90% of MARA’s non-hosted mining capacity could eventually support AI and IT infrastructure, according to company disclosures. 

The strategy positions MARA at the center of two energy-hungry sectors, bitcoin mining and AI compute, while giving it the option to tilt power toward whichever market offers stronger returns at a given time. 

This post MARA Dumps $1.5B in Bitcoin as Miner Trades Treasury Hoard for AI Power Bet first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Labor Unions Join Banking Industry in Opposition to Senate Crypto Bill, The Clarity Act

Five of the nation’s largest labor organizations are urging the Senate to vote against a pending cryptocurrency market structure bill, warning that the legislation would expose retirement accounts to digital asset volatility ahead of a key committee vote Thursday.

The AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sent letters and emails to Senate Banking Committee members, according to CNBC, which obtained the correspondence first.

The crypto industry takes ‘risks’

The groups wrote that the bill “jeopardizes the stability of workers’ retirement plans, including public pensions, and introduces significant volatility to retirement savings accounts.”

“This legislation invites the cryptocurrency industry to take outsized risks, knowing that if those risky bets do not pay off, it is working people and retirees, not crypto billionaires, who will pay the price,” the unions wrote in a joint letter to all senators.

The AFL-CIO, in a separate email to Banking Committee members, warned that “absent sufficient regulation, embedding cryptocurrencies and other digital assets into the real economy will have a destabilizing effect, while benefiting issuers and platforms at the expense of working people.”

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to mark up and vote on the bill Thursday. Despite months of bipartisan talks, it remains unclear whether any Democrats on the committee will vote in favor of the measure. Several lawmakers say the bill needs more work on ethics, conflict-of-interest, and security provisions.

Labor groups are not the sole source of opposition. The American Bankers Association has also pushed back on updated language in the bill concerning stablecoin holdings. ABA CEO Rob Nichols wrote to bank executives on May 10 that a provision barring cryptocurrency firms from paying yield on payment stablecoins remains a threat to traditional bank deposits, arguing it would “unnecessarily incentivize the flight of bank deposits.” 

The crypto industry, in contrast, has backed the revised language, with Coinbase voicing support for the restriction.

Michael Saylor chimes in

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor took a position in favor of the legislation. In a post on X, Saylor wrote that the bill “would unlock the next wave of Digital Capital, Digital Credit, and Digital Equity in the U.S. and globally,” calling it a framework for “STRC-powered digital yield markets” and a signal of “institutional validation for BTC.”

The crypto industry has identified the bill as its top legislative priority this session. Whether that momentum carries through committee — and into a full Senate vote — now depends on resolving opposition from organized labor, traditional banks, and a block of Senate Democrats who have yet to commit their support.

This post Labor Unions Join Banking Industry in Opposition to Senate Crypto Bill, The Clarity Act first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Circle's $222 million ARC token presale has given Wall Street a new way to value the USDC issuer, while raising a harder question for one of crypto’s most profitable alliances.

On May 11, Circle said investors led by a16z Crypto backed the presale of ARC, the native token for Arc, its planned public blockchain for institutional finance.

The sale valued the network at $3 billion on a fully diluted basis and came alongside first-quarter results that showed $694 million in total revenue and reserve income, up 20% from a year earlier.

At the same time, USDC in circulation rose 28% to $77 billion, while on-chain transaction volume reached $21.5 trillion, up 263% year over year.

Those figures reinforced Circle’s position as one of the main issuers in the global stablecoin market, where tokenized dollars have become core infrastructure for trading, payments, and settlement.

However, the more important development was Circle’s attempt to move beyond issuance through its new blockchain network, Arc.

Arc gives the company a network-level growth story built around payments, tokenized assets, foreign exchange, capital markets, and AI-driven commerce.

That push places Circle closer to the terrain already occupied by Coinbase, its longtime USDC partner and the operator of Base, the Layer 2 network that the US-based exchange has positioned as a settlement layer for stablecoins, consumer payments, and agentic transactions.

Considering this, Circle’s aggressive expansion could bring a new competition to the crypto landscape: a looming, head-to-head battle with Coinbase.

Circle gives investors a wider story

Circle’s business has long been tied to the economics of stablecoin reserves. The company issues USDC, holds safe assets backing the token, and earns income on those reserves.

That model can be powerful when rates are elevated, but it also raises questions about how durable its earnings will be as interest income declines.

Arc is Circle’s answer to that concern.

The company is pitching the network as an “economic operating system” for the internet, a shared environment where stablecoins, tokenized assets, and financial applications can operate on common infrastructure.

The chain is expected to be EVM-compatible, with stablecoin-native fees, deterministic sub-second finality, and configurable privacy designed for institutions that need auditability without exposing every transaction detail to the public.

Circle Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire framed the quarter around the convergence of AI platforms and on-chain money, saying:

“Circle’s first quarter reflected strong execution against a much bigger opportunity: the rapid convergence of AI platforms and economic operating systems into a new internet stack. With the ARC token presale, momentum behind the Arc network, and the launch of our Agent Stack, we are building trusted infrastructure for AI-native economic activity and a more programmable internet financial system.”

The investor list shows how far that pitch now reaches. a16z Crypto led the presale with a $75 million investment.

Other participants included BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, SBI Group, Janus Henderson Investors, Standard Chartered Ventures, General Catalyst,a IDG Capital, Haun Ventures, and Bullish.

The message to investors is clear: Circle wants to be valued less as a stablecoin issuer exposed to rate cycles and more as a full-stack infrastructure company for on-chain finance.

In a note shared with CryptoSlate, Clear Street analysts echoed that view, writing that Circle is “no longer a pure crypto play” and has built the Layer 1 network, application layer, and partner ecosystem required to become a critical infrastructure provider.

The firm raised its price target on the stock from $152 to $157, citing Arc, Agent Stack, Circle Payments Network, and regulatory momentum as potential sources of upside.

Arc gives Circle its own venue

Circle's new Arc blockchain changes the firm's role in the stablecoin economy.

USDC already moves across more than 30 blockchains and is integrated throughout exchanges, wallets, fintech platforms, and institutional systems.

That distribution has been one of the stablecoin’s main strengths. Circle could grow as USDC became more widely used, regardless of where the activity settled.

Arc gives Circle a reason to bring more of that activity onto the infrastructure it controls.

The network is designed to support payments, lending, foreign exchange, capital markets, and tokenized assets. Circle has also positioned ARC as a coordination token for validators, builders, liquidity providers, exchanges, institutions, and users.

In that structure, USDC remains the transactional asset, while ARC is intended to help govern economic rules and align network participants.

That creates a broader economic layer around Circle’s core product. If Arc gains traction, investors will not only measure Circle by USDC circulation and reserve income.

They will also track transaction volume, developer adoption, institutional participation, validator activity, and the degree to which Circle can capture revenue from the infrastructure surrounding USDC.

Circle Payments Network adds another part of that strategy. Clear Street said CPN reached $8.3 billion in annualized total payment volume and approached $10 billion by May 7, with 136 financial institutions enrolled.

Managed Payments is intended to reduce friction for banks and payment service providers by handling licensing, liquidity, custody, and compliance burdens.

Taken together, Arc, Agent Stack, CPN, and Managed Payments give Circle a more ambitious public-market story. The company is trying to become the platform where digital dollars move, settle, and interact with software.

That ambition makes the Coinbase relationship more complicated.

Coinbase already controls much of the flow

However, Coinbase has its own claim to the USDC infrastructure story.

In its first-quarter report, the company described itself as the distribution engine for USDC, with more than 25% of total USDC in circulation, or about $19 billion on average, held across Coinbase products.

Coinbase said Base processed 62% of global on-chain stablecoin transaction volume during the quarter, more than all other chains combined.

The company also said more than 90% of on-chain agentic stablecoin transaction volume occurred on Base, making Coinbase the leading platform for agentic commerce.

At the same time, more than 100 million payments were processed through its x402 protocol, with more than 99% completed using USDC.

Those figures show why Arc is sensitive for Coinbase.

Coinbase is no longer merely a distribution channel for Circle’s stablecoin. It is building the rails around the asset.

Its stack includes USDC as the programmable dollar, Base as the low-cost settlement network, and Coinbase Developer Platform, AgentKit, and x402 as infrastructure for developers and AI-enabled payments.

Circle’s emerging stack points in the same direction. USDC provides the dollar asset, Arc provides the network, Agent Stack targets AI-native commerce, and CPN connects financial institutions and payment companies.

The companies remain commercially aligned around USDC growth. But their infrastructure strategies increasingly point toward the same flows.

The alliance gets a new scoreboard

For years, the Circle-Coinbase relationship was one of crypto’s cleanest partnerships. Circle issued USDC. Coinbase distributed it across its exchange, wallet, and institutional products. The stablecoin gained scale, and Coinbase shared in the economics.

That relationship helped make USDC one of the most important dollar assets in crypto. It also gave Coinbase a major stablecoin revenue line and helped turn USDC into a regulated alternative to Tether’s USDT for many US-based institutions.

However, Arc introduces a different incentive structure.

Omar Kanji, an investor at Dragonfly, captured the concern in a post asking how long the “marriage” between Circle and Coinbase can stay clean.

His argument was that the old model worked when Circle was the issuer, and Coinbase was the distributor. But Circle’s public-market demands and Arc’s token-backed network now require the company to show investors that it can own more customers, flows, and infrastructure directly.

That is where Arc overlaps with Base. Circle wants Arc to host USDC balances, tokenized assets, payments, settlement, and eventually foreign-exchange activity. Coinbase wants Base to serve as the main venue for stablecoin payments, on-chain consumer transactions, AI-agent activity, and institutional settlement.

The tension is already visible in adjacent products. Coinbase has cbBTC, a wrapped BTC product used across DeFi. Circle is preparing cirBTC, which is designed to integrate with Arc and Circle Mint.

While this overlap does not signal an immediate rupture, it shows that the companies are no longer staying in separate lanes and are beginning to compete on similar products.

AI payments raise the stakes

The competition becomes more significant when viewed through the lens of agentic commerce.

AI agents are expected to become a larger share of internet activity, handling tasks such as purchasing data, paying for software, settling invoices, managing subscriptions, and executing business processes.

Those transactions require programmable money, low-cost settlement, and infrastructure that can authorize spending without constant human intervention.

Stablecoins are well-suited to that environment because they operate continuously, settle quickly, and can be embedded directly into software. That has made agentic commerce one of the most attractive long-term narratives for stablecoin infrastructure providers.

Coinbase is already claiming early leadership. Its first-quarter materials pointed to Base’s share of on-chain agentic stablecoin transaction volume and the rapid growth of x402 payments. The company is presenting Base, USDC, AgentKit, and x402 as a ready-made stack for machine-driven economic activity.

Circle is moving to meet that opportunity with Agent Stack and Arc. Allaire has framed AI platforms and on-chain money as part of a new internet stack, and Circle’s product roadmap suggests the company wants USDC to become a settlement layer not only for humans and institutions, but also for software agents.

Considering this, Tom Wan, the head of data at Entropy Research, concluded:

“[Circle and Coinbase] business lines are converging across blockchain, tokenization, payments and stablecoins. A formal split is unlikely given the mutual benefits still on the table, but the trajectory is clear. Both sides are building toward a less dependent relationship, and the overlap will only create more friction over time.”

The post Circle adds $3 billion Wall Street Arc token risking an uncomfortable rivalry with Coinbase appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin's path through 2026 now runs through global economic policy.

The disruption around the Strait of Hormuz has moved beyond a commodity-price event and into the machinery of governments.

The International Energy Agency said crude and refined-product exports through the strait had fallen to less than 10% of pre-conflict levels after about 20 million barrels per day moved through the route in 2025, equal to roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

That is the scale of shock that stops being only a Brent chart.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration now expects Middle East production shut-ins to average 7.5 million b/d in March, peak at 9.1 million b/d in April, and drive a 5.1 million b/d global inventory draw in the second quarter. It also sees Brent averaging $115 a barrel in 2Q26 before easing later in the year.

For Bitcoin, the issue is whether markets treat the oil shock as a force that keeps inflation sticky and financial conditions tight, or as a shock severe enough to pull governments and central banks toward more support.

That fork leaves Bitcoin with two defensible pathways into year-end: a stagflation-driven liquidity squeeze that pushes it back into high-beta collateral behavior, or a policy-accommodation trade that lets it reclaim its scarce-asset narrative.

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The shock has moved into global economic policy

The policy response is already visible. IEA members agreed to release 400 million barrels from emergency stocks, the largest coordinated release in the agency's history.

The U.S. Department of Energy said the White House authorized 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with delivery expected to take about 120 days at planned discharge rates.

Supply additions elsewhere do not change the scale problem. Eight OPEC+ members agreed to add 206 thousand b/d in April, a move that may matter at the margin but sits far below the disruption estimates now embedded in EIA's outlook.

The more important signal is the spread of emergency policy.

The IEA's 2026 Energy Crisis Policy Response Tracker, updated May 6, lists governments using conservation rules and consumer support to manage fuel stress.

Sri Lanka has introduced QR-based fuel rationing, Korea has odd-even driving restrictions and fuel-price measures, India has LPG and fuel controls, Pakistan has remote-work and public-transport steps, Japan has a subsidy-backed fuel-price cap, Germany has fuel-tax and pricing rules, China has refined-oil price controls, and the UK has heating-oil and industrial support.

The IEA's separate demand-side report lays out options such as remote work, lower speed limits, public transport, car-access limits, LPG prioritization, and reduced air travel.

Those measures matter for Bitcoin because they shift the oil story from a market-clearing problem to a policy reaction function.

Once governments are cutting taxes, capping prices, rationing fuel, releasing reserves, or subsidizing exposed sectors, the macro signal becomes less clean.

Bitcoin is close enough to the key zone that this macro classification matters immediately. CryptoSlate's market page showed Bitcoin around $80,794 on May 12, with the broader crypto market near $2.69 trillion and BTC dominance around 60%.

Further, ETF inflows, geopolitical risk, U.S. macro data, Fed signals, and oil stress continue to shape sentiment.

Flows still give the upside case something to work with, but they are not an all-clear signal.

The latest fund-flow report showed $117 million of digital-asset product inflows, a fifth consecutive positive week. Bitcoin products attracted $192 million, while Ethereum products saw $81.6 million of outflows.

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The same report noted that four days of outflows were reversed by one strong Friday session, so the flow picture looks resilient but fragile.

That is why the $78,000 to $80,000 area is more than a trading level in this setup. Recent CryptoSlate coverage has tied that band to Bitcoin's struggle around the Fed, oil-driven inflation pressure, and on-chain supply levels.

If Bitcoin holds it while energy-policy stress stays visible, markets can argue that ETF demand and scarcity narratives are absorbing the macro shock. If it loses the area, the oil shock starts to look less like a debasement trade and more like a real-yield problem.

Two paths now define Bitcoin's 2026 map

The downside pathway starts with EIA's oil forecast becoming the macro base case rather than a temporary stress scenario.

Brent at a 2Q26 average of $115, a 5.1 million b/d inventory draw, and multi-million-barrel-per-day shut-ins would keep energy in the inflation conversation even if reserve releases ease the first hit.

Governments can soften the pain with subsidies, tax relief, price caps, direct sector aid, and fuel rules. Those measures can also preserve demand, add fiscal cost, and make it harder for central banks to treat the shock as a clean one-off.

In that version of the year, rate cuts are delayed, real yields stay firm, the dollar remains hard to fight, and Bitcoin trades less like digital scarcity and more like collateral in a risk book.

ETF demand is the transmission channel to watch. CoinShares' Bitcoin inflow number shows that the bid has not disappeared, but the midweek outflows show how quickly macro caution can drain participation.

If energy inflation keeps Fed expectations tight and ETF flows fade or reverse, Bitcoin does not need a crypto-specific failure to move lower. It only needs the macro backdrop to force de-risking.

Under that pathway, failure to hold $78,000 to $80,000 would make $76,000 to $78,000 the first risk-control zone.

A deeper macro-stress retest would put $70,000 to $73,000 in view. If forced selling and ETF redemptions intensify, the $62,000 to $66,000 area becomes the wider stress band.

These are not stand-alone technical targets; they are the price expression of a market deciding that oil policy is tightening liquidity rather than creating it.

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Apr 30, 2026 · Gino Matos

The upside pathway classifies the policy response differently.

In this version, governments absorb enough of the energy shock that growth risk starts to matter more than near-term inflation. Reserve releases, price caps, targeted aid, fuel-tax relief, and demand-reduction measures become a bridge between the shock and eventual policy accommodation.

Markets do not need central banks to ease immediately for that trade to begin. They need real yields to soften, the dollar to stop acting as a wrecking ball, and investors to believe the policy system is moving from inflation restraint toward growth protection.

That is when Bitcoin's scarce-asset story can return, especially if ETF demand keeps appearing on dips.

The latest CoinShares report does not prove that this path has won, but it keeps it alive. Bitcoin attracted more inflows than the total digital-asset product universe because Ethereum outflows and thinner participation offset BTC demand elsewhere.

That divergence matters. It suggests investors are still willing to isolate Bitcoin as the macro vehicle even when broader crypto participation is uneven.

The confirmation ladder is clear. Bitcoin first has to keep $78,000 to $80,000 intact. It then needs to reclaim roughly $82,500, build acceptance through $88,000 to $92,000, and test $100,000.

A move toward $115,000 to $125,000 into year-end requires more than a chart breakout. It would require continued ETF accumulation, softer real-yield pressure, and policy signals that turn energy relief into a broader liquidity expectation.

That is the mirror image of the downside case. The same subsidies, tax cuts, reserve releases, and conservation measures that can keep inflation sticky can also become the first sign that policymakers will not allow the shock to crush demand.

Bitcoin rises if markets decide that policy support is bigger than the inflation drag.

The test is policy, then price

Bitcoin does not need the oil market to return to normal before it can move higher. It needs markets to decide what the policy response means.

If policy keeps consumers spending while energy remains expensive, central banks have less room to ease and Bitcoin remains vulnerable to the high-beta path.

If policy absorbs enough pain to shift the conversation toward growth support, liquidity, and currency debasement, Bitcoin has a route back into the scarce-asset trade.

The live test is therefore simple but demanding. Bitcoin must keep the $78,000 to $80,000 area while oil stress stays visible in government action.

Holding that zone and reclaiming $82,500 would strengthen the accommodation pathway. Losing it would point back to the stagflation squeeze, where oil policy tightens the financial conditions Bitcoin needs to escape.

The post Hormuz oil contagion spreads to 8 major economies and Bitcoin has just one route through appeared first on CryptoSlate.

OpenAI introduced a new cybersecurity initiative, Daybreak, on May 11, designed to find, validate, and help fix software vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

The firm describes the approach as making software “resilient by design,” moving security earlier into the build cycle through AI-assisted code review, threat modeling, patch validation, and dependency analysis.

For crypto, where a software failure can result in an immediate capital loss within a single block, the urgency is clear.

The standard pattern in the crypto industry is reactive, going through a pre-launch audit, post-deployment monitoring, response when funds move, a post-mortem on the method, vulnerability patching, reimbursement negotiation, and governance debate.

That model has the weakness that the bug comes to light only once the capital has already moved. The window between deployment and exploit is when risk runs highest, and defenses run thinnest.

TRM Labs' 2026 Crypto Crime Report showed that illicit actors stole $2.87 billion across nearly 150 hacks and exploits in 2025. Infrastructure attacks via compromised keys, wallet infrastructure, privileged access, front-end surfaces, and control planes drove $2.2 billion of that total.

Code exploits, the category most audits directly address, accounted for $350 million, or 12.1%.

Hacken's data for the first quarter reinforces that audit-centric security has real limits, since Web3 lost $482 million across 44 incidents in a single quarter. Six of those incidents involved audited protocols, including one that had received 18 separate audits.

A $282 million theft involved no code exploit, with the attacker bypassing the contract layer entirely and compromising the operational and social infrastructure around it.

CertiK's most recent wrench-attack report noted that 34 verified physical coercion incidents occurred globally between January and April 2026, up 41% from the same period in 2025, with estimated losses of approximately $101 million over those four months.

At that trajectory, CertiK estimates 2026 could close with around 130 incidents. The attack vector is now the person holding the key, the signer in the multisig, and the engineer with cloud console access.

The three datasets together describe a threat that has migrated well above the smart contract.

What “resilient by design” requires in crypto

Daybreak's logic, applied to crypto, points toward a security posture that runs continuously through the protocol lifecycle.

OpenAI describes AI that can reason across entire codebases, identify subtle vulnerabilities, validate that fixes actually resolve the underlying issue, and bring that capability into the everyday build-and-deploy workflow as an ongoing function.

For crypto, that translates into specific operational requirements across the full stack where losses are now concentrated.

AI-assisted secure code review running before and throughout deployment would catch logic errors, access-control gaps, and unsafe assumptions before they reach mainnet. Continuous threat modeling across protocol upgrades would assess how each architecture update, oracle dependency, bridge design, or governance mechanism opens new attack surfaces.

Dependency and oracle risk analysis would flag when a third-party integration weakens the security model of the protocol that relies on it.

Patch validation before governance execution would confirm that the proposed fixes close the vulnerability and that the fixes themselves hold under adversarial conditions.

Privileged-access review for multisigs, signers, front-end deployments, and custody systems would run on a regular cadence as part of standard operating procedures. Monitoring that catches abnormal behavior before funds leave would compress the time between detection and response.

Crypto protocols with extensive audit records can still have unmonitored front-end deployments or misconfigured multisigs, leaving them in an operational blind spot where 2025's largest losses occurred.

OpenAI said bad actors can misuse expanded cyber capability, and Daybreak pairs its defensive tooling with verification, scoped access, safeguards, misuse monitoring, and stronger account controls.

The same AI capabilities that help defenders review code, validate patches, and model threats can help attackers accelerate phishing, generate convincing fake front ends, clone legitimate protocols, analyze dependency chains for exploitable weaknesses, and scale social engineering across custodians, signers, and support channels.

Hacken's data ranked phishing among the leading attack vectors, and CertiK's data on physical coercion showed attackers targeting people directly. Both categories involve social and operational manipulation, and AI operates at scale in both.

Two outcomes for crypto security

The bull case is that “resilient by design” becomes a competitive standard.

Protocols begin treating continuous code review, signer-policy audits, dependency checks, front-end integrity monitoring, and governance-execution validation as standard requirements throughout the protocol lifecycle.

In that model, audit certification gives way to the full operational stack of signers, upgrades, dependencies, and access controls proving resilience before execution.

OpenAI's own approach, coupling more capable tooling with stronger verification and process controls, is an external template for that direction.

According to TRM's data, if 76% of losses come from infrastructure, that is where the next security standard needs to operate. Protocols that can demonstrate continuous operational resilience would have an easier time making their case with insurers, regulators, and institutional allocators than those that present only a stack of audit certifications.

The bear case is that AI-assisted security stays a marketing layer.

Protocols add AI-powered security language to their documentation, and the underlying operational model stays fixed in pre-launch audits and post-exploit post-mortems.

Attackers use the same tools to scale phishing, clone front ends faster, and compromise support channels more convincingly than defenders improve their workflows.

Hacken's finding that one attacker stole $282 million without touching a single line of contract code shows that the attack surface extends beyond the contract layer, and the industry's current security framework covers only a portion of it.

The crypto industry has focused its security model on post-exploit response and point-in-time review, and the attack surface has moved well beyond that frame.

The post OpenAI’s new cybersecurity push has a lesson for crypto: stop waiting for the hack appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A prominent figure from the Washington foreign-policy establishment has said openly what markets have been pricing in fragments: the United States has likely suffered a strategic defeat in Iran, and the failure runs through the Strait of Hormuz. Accepting this premise would introduce a new macro risk for Bitcoin.

The warning comes from an article by Robert Kagan in The Atlantic. Kagan sits inside the interventionist wing of U.S. foreign policy, the Project for the New American Century, and the broader doctrine that treated American military dominance as the organizing principle of the post-Cold War order.

Kagan is not a fringe dissenter warning about imperial overreach from the outside. He helped define the intellectual framework behind the post-Cold War expansion of U.S. power.

His work shaped the worldview that American military primacy could stabilize trade routes, contain adversaries, and preserve the liberal international order through sustained forward projection. That framework influenced both Republican and Democratic administrations across Iraq, Afghanistan, NATO expansion, and the broader interventionist consensus that dominated Washington for decades.

When a figure within that architecture argues that the United States has likely suffered a strategic defeat in Iran, markets must treat it differently from routine geopolitical commentary.

Thus, his position comes from inside the intellectual infrastructure that helped build the policy architecture now under stress.

Kagan argues that Vietnam and Afghanistan were costly but survivable for the U.S. position in the world.

Iran is different because the loss sits inside a live energy chokepoint, inside the Gulf security architecture, and inside the credibility of U.S. military deterrence.

The market question follows directly from that strategic diagnosis.

If Washington’s own think-tank class now believes Iran has imposed a new operating reality in Hormuz, the downstream issue is whether oil, LNG, shipping, insurance, inflation expectations, Treasury yields, Fed policy, and Bitcoin begin trading around a world where U.S. maritime guarantees carry a measurable discount.

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Hormuz has become the transmission channel from military failure to inflation risk

The Strait of Hormuz is the mechanism that turns a regional defeat into a global macro variable.

The passage handles roughly a fifth of global oil flows and remains central to Gulf LNG traffic.

Once Iran establishes even partial discretionary control over passage, the market prices Hormuz as a conditional route governed by military risk, diplomatic side deals, insurance costs, naval credibility, and Iranian tolerance.

That is the real content of Kagan’s argument.

He reportedly frames Iran’s leverage over Hormuz as a durable consequence rather than a temporary disruption.

Entrepreneur Arnaud Bertrand extends that point by arguing that “freedom of navigation” has been inverted into a permission-based regime.

The distinction is crucial. A closure is an event. A permission regime is a new pricing layer.

It can function without daily explosions, seizures, or a full blockade.

It requires sufficient uncertainty to force every cargo owner, insurer, refiner, and state buyer to ask whether transit remains automatic. Recent reporting already points in that direction.

AP reported that the U.S. military moved to guide stranded ships through the strait while Iran-linked pressure tested the fragile ceasefire. The Financial Times reported that a Qatari LNG shipment cleared Hormuz after Pakistan-Iran talks, a detail that shows the new order in miniature.

Cargo moves, while movement increasingly depends on mediation. That is a very different market signal from open passage under U.S. naval dominance.

The inflation channel begins with energy and then moves through the rest of the supply system. Higher crude prices lift gasoline and diesel. LNG disruption feeds into electricity costs and industrial input prices, especially in Europe and Asia.

Shipping delays increase working capital needs. War-risk premiums raise delivered costs. Inventories become more valuable, which encourages hoarding by states and firms.

Each layer adds friction to the global supply chain.

A 1973-style embargo is no longer required to affect policy. The Fed reacts to realized inflation, inflation expectations, financial conditions, and the credibility of its own path.

If Hormuz risk becomes persistent, energy prices can remain high enough to slow disinflation without delivering a classic demand boom.

That is the worst configuration for central banks: weaker growth with sticky headline pressure and renewed pass-through risk.

It narrows the room for rate cuts even as households absorb higher fuel, utility, and transport costs.

The White House can call that victory. Bond markets will call it term premium.

Rates become harder to cut when the security guarantee itself carries a Bitcoin macro risk premium

The rates implications are larger than one oil spike.

A war that reveals depleted U.S. weapons stocks, a weaker naval deterrent, and Gulf-state hedging changes how markets think about U.S. power as a macro stabilizer.

Kagan’s reported claim that weeks of war reduced American weapons stocks to perilously low levels is especially important because it moves the issue from battlefield optics to industrial capacity.

The problem becomes inventory, production cycles, fiscal demand, and alliance confidence. That feeds directly into the Treasury market.

A U.S. security guarantee has historically operated as a deflationary asset in the global system. It reduced the perceived need for regional arms races, secured energy lanes, and allowed Gulf producers to operate inside a U.S.-centered order.

When that guarantee weakens, several consequences follow. Gulf states diversify security relationships. Energy buyers build redundancy. Shipping routes become more expensive. Defense budgets rise. Fiscal pressure increases. Investors demand compensation for a wider distribution of outcomes.

This is where Bertrand’s take is strongest. He sees Kagan’s essay as an establishment acknowledgment that the old equation has broken. The U.S. fought to demonstrate control and instead exposed the limits of control.

Gulf states now have to weigh a distant superpower against a regional power that can impose costs at the point of transit. East Asian and European allies have to ask whether U.S. staying power remains adequate in a higher-intensity conflict.

China and Russia have to assess whether their critique of American overreach has gained operational evidence.

That is also why a comparison to Suez is more useful than Vietnam. Vietnam damaged U.S. prestige but left the core financial and energy architecture of the American-led system intact. Suez exposed the limits of British and French imperial power in a way that accelerated recognition of a new hierarchy.

If Hormuz has become the place where American naval dominance no longer guarantees open passage, the comparison becomes uncomfortable for Washington.

Markets will express that shift across oil curves, shipping rates, gold, defense equities, inflation breakevens, long-end yields, the dollar, and eventually Bitcoin.

The timing is uneven. Oil and shipping react first. Rates then absorb the inflation and fiscal implications.

Bitcoin usually reacts later, once the market begins translating geopolitical stress into questions about monetary credibility, sovereign balance sheets, and the value of politically neutral settlement assets.

Bitcoin macro test is liquidity, while its larger test is credibility

The near-term risk is straightforward.

A Hormuz premium can slow the Fed’s easing path. A slower easing path keeps real yields tighter than risk assets would prefer. That can pressure Bitcoin initially, especially if liquidity expectations are repriced downward.

The medium-term risk points in the opposite direction.

If the U.S. is forced into higher defense spending, higher energy support, larger deficits, and more politically constrained monetary policy, Bitcoin’s sovereign-risk hedge begins to regain relevance. Bitcoin rarely leads the first phase of a geopolitical macro shock.

The first response usually belongs to oil, gold, the dollar, and front-end rate expectations.

Bitcoin enters the frame when the shock shifts from energy pricing to institutional credibility. That distinction is essential. A pure oil shock can hurt Bitcoin if it pushes yields higher and drains liquidity from speculative assets.

A geopolitical credibility shock can help Bitcoin if it weakens confidence in the fiscal and monetary order that underwrites fiat stability.

The Iran conflict now sits between those two regimes.

PolitiFact’s review of Trump’s victory claims pointed to the unresolved structure beneath the political language: Iran remained in control domestically, retained leverage over Hormuz, and preserved key strategic capabilities. Al Jazeera’s ceasefire analysis similarly showed that both sides claimed success while the underlying concessions left the maritime question unresolved.

The important point for markets is that ambiguity itself has value.

If Iran can extract concessions, delay transit, force mediation, or selectively permit passage, then the strait has become an instrument of state power rather than a neutral artery.

For Bitcoin, the base case is a two-stage sequence.

First comes volatility. Higher oil, higher breakevens, delayed rate cuts, and stronger dollar demand can pressure crypto liquidity.

That phase is mechanical. It reflects funding costs and risk appetite.

The second stage begins if the conflict confirms a broader perception that U.S. power can no longer suppress geopolitical risk at the system level.

That phase is structural. It speaks to reserve diversification, censorship resistance, capital mobility, and distrust of state-managed monetary outcomes.

The next macro test for Bitcoin is whether markets price a permanent Hormuz discount into U.S. power

The strongest Bitcoin argument does not require an immediate flight from Treasury markets or a sudden abandonment of the dollar.

It requires a gradual rise in the cost of trusting the old system. The U.S. can still borrow. The dollar can still rally in stress. Treasuries can still function as collateral.

Yet each new shock can force investors to hold a larger allocation to assets outside the state balance-sheet complex.

Gold is the traditional expression. Bitcoin is the digital expression. The key threshold is the Fed.

If Hormuz pressure keeps inflation sticky while growth softens, the central bank faces a narrower policy corridor.

Cut too soon, and energy inflation risks bleeding into expectations.

Stay tight too long, and the economy absorbs a geopolitical tax through credit, consumption, and investment.

Either path can strengthen Bitcoin’s longer-term thesis. One path points toward eventual liquidity rescue. The other points toward sovereign stress and fiscal dominance.

That is why Kagan’s Atlantic essay and Bertrand’s response should be treated as a macro signal, rather than only as a foreign-policy dispute.

The claim that America has been checkmated in Iran is a claim about control.

Control over escalation. Control over shipping lanes. Control over allies. Control over energy prices. Control over inflation. Control over the policy path.

Once that control is questioned by the very institutions built to defend it, markets have to price the loss in layers.

Oil prices the chokepoint. Rates price the inflation and fiscal burden.

Bitcoin prices the credibility gap that remains after the official victory language runs out.

The post Washington insider warns US defeat in Iran now “likely” – adding a new macro risk for Bitcoin appeared first on CryptoSlate.

XRP price is testing a breakout zone near $1.50 as institutional inflows, rising derivatives activity, and easing whale-related selling improve the token's setup, but the trade still depends on whether Bitcoin can hold above $80,000 through a critical macro week.

CoinShares data released May 11 showed XRP investment products attracted $39.6 million in weekly inflows, while Bitcoin absorbed $706.1 million of the $858 million total that entered digital-asset funds.

Bitcoin absorbed $706.1 million of the total $858 million, roughly 82% of all weekly fund flows, broke above $80,000, and lifted total crypto-product AUM to $160 billion.

XRP has real demand indicators, such as fund inflows, elevated derivatives positioning, and easing whale-related selling activity, but the broader market's risk appetite still runs through Bitcoin.

The April CPI is due on May 12 at 8:30 a.m. ET and major banks are pushing Fed rate-cut expectations further out, XRP's $1.50 breakout test is arriving at a moment when macro could confirm or derail the trade.

Bitcoin's current session range is roughly $80,000 to $82,000, with $80,000 at the lower end. Bitcoin reclaimed that level alongside the fund-flow surge, which gave XRP room to attract fresh institutional interest, and is why $80,000 serves as the risk-on filter for this week's setup.

When CPI lands on May 12, Bitcoin's response will either keep the broader risk appetite intact or pull it apart.

If Bitcoin holds $80,000, XRP's own demand data gets room to convert into price action. If Bitcoin loses its current floor, altcoin-specific arguments become much harder to sustain regardless of XRP's inflow numbers.

On May 11, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs pushed back their timelines for Fed rate cuts, citing elevated inflation tied to energy prices and a labor market that has stayed firm.

Bank of America now expects the Fed to hold for the rest of 2026, while Goldman Sachs moved its first expected cut to December 2026, with the next Fed meeting on June 16-17.

That leaves crypto a short window to trade the inflation print first, then absorb whatever repricing of the rate path follows.

What the XRP price data shows

CoinShares measured $39.6 million in weekly XRP product inflows last week, with SoSoValue's spot ETF tracker recording $34.21 million in net inflows to US XRP ETFs over the same week.

That cross-source overlap lends credibility to the inflow reading, as institutional demand for XRP is showing up in two distinct product structures simultaneously.

CryptoQuant's recent QuickTake adds a supply-side layer, since XRP whale inflows to Binance dropped to their lowest level since November 2021.

Large holder deposits to exchanges are a direct and measurable source of selling activity. When those deposits fall to four-year lows alongside fresh fund inflows, two independent supply-demand forces move in the same direction at once.

That combination gives the current XRP setup more depth than the price chart alone captures.

CoinGlass shows XRP at around $1.48, with over $3 billion in open interest and $4.9 billion in 24-hour futures volume, compared to $871.7 million in spot volume.

Futures are running at roughly 5.6 times spot, showing that traders have already made a directional bet. A favorable macro outcome from the CPI results could accelerate the move toward $1.50, and an adverse one could quickly flush the built-up open positions.

The $6.84 million in 24-hour futures liquidations is contained, the positioning carrying directional tension into a data release that will test it.

Together, those three data streams describe a token with demand improvement but unresolved directional tension.

Two scenarios for $1.50 XRP price

The bull case rests on the CPI on May 12 landing within or below market expectations, and on Bitcoin holding $80,000 when the report drops. With both in place, XRP has a cleaner path to reclaim $1.50 and build on it.

The first upside target is $1.60, and the next zone above that is $1.75-$1.80. These levels represent an editorial scenario map built from present data.

If Bitcoin extends toward the upper edge of its current range and XRP converts $1.50 from resistance into support, the $2.00 level opens as a psychological extension. This outcome requires full macro and Bitcoin confirmation, with $1.60 and $1.75-$1.80 as intermediate checkpoints.

The bear case activates with a hot April CPI print. If inflation data pushes yields higher and firms the case for the Fed holding through year-end, Bitcoin losing $80,000 would pull XRP's setup back with it.

The near-term downside retest zone sits at $1.44, then $1.40. The XRP-specific positives would lose their directional power to a macro-driven risk-off move that tends to overwhelm token-level demand data in the short run.

The $4.9 billion in open futures positions could amplify a decline quickly if the $80,000 floor breaks and long positions unwind.

Bitcoin absorbed more than four-fifths of last week's digital asset product inflows, and its move above $80,000 drove most of the sector-wide AUM gain. XRP's $39.6 million in weekly inflows represent a real pickup in institutional interest, but they occur within a market structure that still prices altcoin risk through Bitcoin.

A CPI print that lands within expectations, with Bitcoin holding $80,000, would allow XRP's demand data to translate into price action. A hot print with Bitcoin losing that floor would put XRP's setup on hold and direct attention back toward $1.44.

The post XRP price has the bullish signal traders wanted, but one Bitcoin level could wreck it appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to oscillate above the critical $80,000 psychological barrier, supported by a historic six-week streak of ETF inflows. Meanwhile, XRP has emerged as a top performer, outshining both Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) in recent trading sessions.

Market Snapshot: Bitcoin and XRP Performance

Investors are currently witnessing a Divergence in momentum across the board. While Bitcoin faces slight selling pressure near its local highs, Ripple's XRP has captured the market's attention with a significant breakout.

1. Bitcoin (BTC) Price Stability

As of May 12, 2026, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $80,750, down slightly by 0.20% over the last 24 hours. The asset has established a firm trading range between $80,400 and $82,100. This consolidation is widely viewed as healthy by analysts, especially following the massive surge in late April.

2. XRP Leads the Altcoin Charge

The most notable move comes from XRP, which successfully breached the $1.45 resistance level on high trading volume. Although sellers stepped in near the $1.50 mark, XRP's ability to outpace Ethereum and Bitcoin suggests a shifting appetite toward high-utility altcoins.

Institutional Era: The ETF Inflow Phenomenon

A major catalyst for the current price floor is the relentless demand from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. According to recent, these funds have recorded their longest inflow streak since 2025.

• Six-Week Inflow Streak: ETFs have attracted over $3.4 billion since early April.
• AUM Records: Total Assets Under Management (AUM) for Bitcoin ETFs reached $109 billion this week, the highest level recorded in 2026.
• Supply Shock: ETFs are currently absorbing between 4,500 and 5,000 BTC daily, while only 450 BTC are mined per day—a 10:1 demand-to-supply ratio.

This "institutional era" of crypto investing is fundamentally different from previous retail-driven cycles. Wall Street wholesalers are now acting as a stabilizing force, preventing deep drawdowns even when market sentiment wavers.

What’s Next for Crypto in May 2026?

The current market structure suggests that while Bitcoin provides the foundation, the real "alpha" is currently found in selective altcoins like $XRP and $Solana. Investors are no longer buying the entire market; instead, they are rewarding projects with clear regulatory standing and technical strength. As we look toward the second half of May, the sustainability of the $80,000 level for Bitcoin will be the ultimate litmus test for the next leg toward $100,000.

The US Senate Banking Committee has officially released an expanded 309-page draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly referred to as the Clarity Act. This updated version, which grew from a 278-page draft seen in January, marks a significant step forward in establishing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. The bill arrives at a critical juncture as the industry seeks to move beyond "regulation by enforcement" and toward statutory certainty.

Jurisdictional Split: SEC vs. CFTC Authority

Investors and industry participants asking whether the new draft changes the core jurisdictional split can rest assured: the fundamental division of labor remains. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is slated to oversee most initial token sales, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will govern the spot markets and trading of tokens once they are deemed sufficiently decentralized or "mature."

What is the "Clarity" in the Act

The Clarity Act is designed to be the "ultimate rulebook" for the US digital asset market. It seeks to define three main categories:

1. Digital Commodities: Under CFTC jurisdiction.
2. Digital Asset Securities: Under SEC jurisdiction.
3. Payment Stablecoins: Governed by a combination of the Federal Reserve and state regulators.

By creating these legal buckets, the bill aims to eliminate the gray areas that have led to years of litigation between the SEC and major exchanges.

Expanded Investor Protections and Antifraud Measures

A major addition to the 309-page text is the strengthening of investor-protection language. The draft explicitly grants the SEC enhanced authority to pursue insider trading and antifraud cases involving specific crypto offerings. This move is seen as a compromise to win over skeptical lawmakers who argue that the crypto market remains a "Wild West" for retail investors.

The Stablecoin Yield Crackdown: No More "Bank-Style" Interest

One of the most contentious sections of the bill focuses on stablecoins. The draft aims to prevent crypto platforms from operating like unregulated banks. Under the new rules:

• Passive Yield Prohibited: Platforms are barred from offering "bank-style" interest just for holding payment stablecoins (like USDC or USDT) in an account.
• Activity-Based Rewards Allowed: The bill leaves the door open for rewards tied to staking, liquidity provision, governance, or loyalty programs.

This distinction ensures that while simple "interest-bearing" accounts are restricted to licensed banks, the functional utility of DeFi and blockchain ecosystems remains intact.

Refined Focus on Tokenization and the "Build Now" Surprise

The section regarding tokenization has been narrowed. While earlier versions used broad "real-world assets" (RWA) terminology, the current draft focuses more precisely on tokenized securities. This adjustment provides clearer pathways for traditional financial institutions to bring equities and bonds on-chain.

In a move clearly designed to garner broader political support, the draft now incorporates the "Build Now Act." This housing-related legislation has no direct connection to cryptocurrency but is a strategic "rider" intended to attract votes from senators focused on urban development and affordable housing.

What’s Next for the Clarity Act?

The Senate Banking Committee is expected to move toward a formal markup session soon. For the latest updates on how these regulations might affect specific assets, you can monitor the $Bitcoin price and other major tokens on our live tickers.

The United Arab Emirates has officially authorized residents to pay government fees using cryptocurrency. This development comes through a strategic partnership between the Dubai Department of Finance (DOF) and Crypto.com, following the exchange's successful acquisition of a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE.

Crypto for Public Services: How It Works

The new integration allows Dubai residents to settle various government-related charges—ranging from utility bills to permit fees—directly using their digital assets. While users pay in cryptocurrency, the backend system ensures that all settlements are received by the government in UAE Dirhams (AED) or Central Bank-approved, dirham-backed stablecoins.

"This initiative supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy, which aims to reach 90% cashless transactions across the public and private sectors by 2026." — Dubai Department of Finance Statement

Regulatory Framework and Access

To access this service, residents must be onboarded through the VARA-licensed (Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority) platform of Crypto.com. The SVF license issued to Foris DAX Middle East FZE (Crypto.com's local entity) is a critical component, as it bridges the gap between virtual asset wallets and traditional financial settlements under the Central Bank's framework.

Key Technical Details:

• Settlement Currency: UAE Dirham (AED).
• Approved Assets: Large-cap cryptocurrencies and approved dirham-backed stablecoins.
• Compliance: Users must undergo full KYC on the Crypto.com platform.
• Infrastructure: Integration with the Dubai Department of Finance's existing payment gateways.

What’s Next: Emirates Airline and Beyond

The scope of crypto payments in the UAE is expected to expand rapidly. Sources indicate that once further approvals from the Central Bank of the UAE are secured, the payment model could be integrated into Emirates Airline and Dubai Duty Free. This would effectively allow travelers to fund their journeys and retail purchases using their crypto portfolios.

This move reinforces Dubai's position as a premier global hub for the digital economy, providing a seamless bridge between the Bitcoin ecosystem and daily administrative life.

OMR Festival 2026: AI Takes Center Stage in Hamburg

The OMR Festival keeps getting bigger. This year's edition wrapped up on May 6 in Hamburg, drawing more than 70,000 visitors to the festival grounds, with roughly 85,000 people making their way to Hamburg in total as part of the broader event. Over 1,000 exhibitors and partners and more than 800 speakers took part, spanning tech, politics, marketing, finance, and culture.

What made 2026 stand out? More than 20% of attendees came from outside the DACH region — the most international crowd in the festival's 15-year history. The vibe on the floor matched the numbers: packed halls, live music, brand activations from the likes of Porsche, Google, Meta, and Amazon, and conversations that felt genuinely urgent.

AI Isn't the Future Anymore — It's Now

If there was one theme that ran through every stage, every panel, and every side conversation, it was AI. But not in the breathless, hype-cycle way of years past — where the year before was still an exploratory experiment, 2026 saw AI treated as a strategic necessity.

The most-quoted moment of the festival came from Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI. He signaled the arrival of agentic AI, describing a shift from reactive to proactive assistants: "In the near future, AI will be our personal assistant that prompts us — not the other way around." He also revealed that Germany is today OpenAI's largest ChatGPT market in Europe and ranks among the top three globally for paying subscribers and weekly active users. For anyone in the crypto and fintech space, where AI-driven trading tools and automation are accelerating fast, this framing of AI as a proactive agent — not a reactive tool — is a signal worth paying attention to.

German Federal Minister for Digital Transformation Dr. Karsten Wildberger put it plainly: "AI is our chance for a comeback in industry." He stressed that building selective partnerships while also developing homegrown models was the only path forward, adding: "Germany has the talent, we have the capabilities. Now it's about scaling Germany."

Data Sovereignty: The Crypto Argument Goes Mainstream

One of the sharpest talks of the two days came from Rolf Schumann, Co-CEO of Schwarz Digits, who made a case that will resonate with anyone in the Web3 space. "In China, data belongs to the state. In America, data belongs to companies. In Europe, data still belongs to us." His core argument: AI models are essentially a delivery mechanism — what really matters is who controls the data they're trained on. "Data is the new code," he said. The parallel to blockchain's foundational premise around data ownership isn't subtle.

Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Foundation, added a cautionary note, warning about the risks of AI agents and careless handling of personal data, noting that people are increasingly anxious about the collateral damage of AI systems that are helpful on one hand and deeply problematic on the other.

Politics Gets Digital

Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil used the OMR stage for some of the bluntest political statements of the festival. He declared that Europe needed to assert itself and stop letting its future be decided in Washington, Beijing, or Moscow — and specifically said he had no interest in the future of artificial intelligence being shaped by the likes of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. On a more constructive note, he pledged to strengthen financing for scale-ups, acknowledging that Germany has a real gap in the growth-phase funding of startups. For fintech founders, that's worth watching.

Beyond the Panels

The festival was also a full-on cultural event — brand experiences from major players, rooftop dinners, creator breakfasts, and music across both evenings turned all of Hamburg into a festival footprint. Tom Brady and Heidi Klum brought the celebrity firepower, with Brady speaking openly about performance pressure, leadership, and how sport has become a global entertainment product — and Wladimir Klitschko reminding the crowd not to forget Ukraine amidst the party atmosphere.

What's Next: OMR27 Goes Three Days

OMR Festival 2027 is already confirmed and will expand to three days for the first time — running May 3–5, 2027 in Hamburg. Pre-sale tickets are available now at early-bird pricing.

Overall, OMR 2026 was a clear signal: the conversations that matter in tech, finance, and digital business are no longer happening in isolation. AI, sovereignty, data, and regulation are converging — and Hamburg, for two days in May, was where Europe's digital industry chose to hash it all out.

After weeks of outsized gains driven by the expansion of decentralized AI agents and Model Context Protocols (MCP), the market has entered a sharp correction phase. While major assets like $Bitcoin have shown resilience near the $80,000 mark, smaller, high-beta projects are experiencing double-digit drawdowns.

Analysis of the Top 3 Worst Performers

Based on current market data, the following three assets have faced the most significant selling pressure over the last week.

1. SKYAI (SKYAI): The -23.46% Correction

$SKYAI currently holds the title for the worst weekly performance. After hitting an all-time high of approximately $0.85 on May 6, the price plummeted to the $0.46 range.

• The Reason: This is a textbook "sell the news" event following its recent listing on major exchanges like Bitget. Additionally, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) reached an extreme overbought level of 85, signaling a technical exhaustion.
• Current Outlook: The token is currently testing psychological support at $0.45. A failure to hold this level could see a further slide toward the $0.35 liquidity zone.

2. Pi (PI): -2.37% Weekly Decline

While the loss is modest compared to the lead loser, $Pi has struggled to maintain its momentum above the $0.19 resistance zone.

• The Reason: The decline is largely attributed to a lack of concrete updates regarding the Open Mainnet transition. Speculative fatigue is setting in as the community awaits version 26 of the ecosystem upgrades.
• Technical Status: PI is currently hovering around $0.17, consolidating within a tight range. Traders are watching for a breakout above the 50-day EMA to confirm a reversal.

3. Sky (SKY): -2.36% Weekly Decline

The governance token for the rebranded MakerDAO ecosystem, $Sky, mirrors the slight bearish bias of the broader altcoin market.

• The Reason: Unlike the AI-driven volatility of its namesake (SKYAI), this asset's decline is linked to a decrease in USDS stablecoin minting activity over the past week.
• Market Context: At a price of $0.078, the token remains a core DeFi play, though it currently lacks the short-term catalysts needed to overcome the $0.085 resistance level.

Technical Factors: RSI Overextension and Whale Movements

The common thread among this week's losers—particularly the AI-themed tokens—is the extreme concentration of supply. Data from Etherscan and BNB Chain trackers suggest that a small number of "whale" wallets initiated the sell-off in SKYAI.

When an asset gains over 1,116% in a few months, liquidity becomes thin at the top. Even moderate sell orders can cause a "slippage" effect, driving the price down rapidly and triggering automated stop-loss orders from retail traders.

Microsoft Threat Intelligence said attackers placed malicious code inside a Mistral AI software download distributed through a Python package.

Global banking giant JPMorgan filed for a new tokenized money market fund that will initially run on the Ethereum network.

Publicly traded Bitcoin wallet firm Exodus (EXOD) is moving beyond that initial category to focus on the full crypto payments stack.

A lookalike repository impersonating OpenAI's Privacy Filter model racked up 244,000 downloads in under 18 hours before Hugging Face pulled it.

Google launched Gemini Intelligence, a feature suite that aims to turn Android devices into proactive AI assistants.

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has posted a much-needed clarification regarding a fundamental misconception of the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

The market is on the verge of a potential volatility boost, as multiple assets are squeezed below key resistance levels.

Binance's Chief Marketing Officer, Rachel Conlan, is set to exit the world’s largest exchange on June 15.

The Federal Reserve is on the brink of a historic leadership shift following the Senate's narrow 51-45 confirmation of Kevin Warsh to the Board of Governors.

MARA Holdings has executed a substantial strategic shift, offloading 3,386 BTC in Q1 2026 to capitalize on the surging demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.

TLDR:

• The CLARITY Act passed the House with 78 Democratic votes but remains stalled in the U.S. Senate after ten months.
• Binance clears nearly 40% of global spot crypto volume while Coinbase, the top U.S. exchange, handles only 6%.
• Senators Gallego and Torres are pushing crypto legislation to serve working-class Black and Latino constituents.
• Tokenization on public blockchains could extend American financial products to billions of people who lack U.S. brokerage access.

The CLARITY Act remains stuck in the U.S. Senate despite strong bipartisan support in the House. Mike Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital, is urging Democrats to act on crypto regulation.

He argues that inaction is pushing American crypto activity offshore. With 55 million Americans owning crypto, the stakes for U.S. financial leadership are high.

The longer the Senate delays, the more ground the U.S. cedes to rival financial hubs like Singapore, Dubai, and London.

Senate Inaction Drives Crypto Activity Offshore

The CLARITY Act passed the House last July with backing from 78 Democrats. However, the bill has not advanced in the Senate, leaving American crypto companies without clear legal footing. Novogratz points to this regulatory vacuum as a key driver of offshore activity.

Binance, which holds no formal headquarters but operates under an Abu Dhabi license, now clears nearly 40% of global spot crypto volume.

Meanwhile, Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based exchange, handles roughly 6%. The gap between these numbers tells the story clearly.

The U.S. poured $2.4 trillion into crypto markets in a single year — nearly four times the next country. Yet without domestic rules, that capital flows through foreign platforms.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand crossed party lines in 2022 to introduce a bipartisan crypto framework. Writing on X, Novogratz noted that “the Senate’s job now is to finish it.”

Novogratz frames the delay not as a policy disagreement but as a posture problem. A vocal segment of the Democratic caucus views crypto legislation as a corporate giveaway. That view, he says, is producing the opposite of its intended effect — an unregulated offshore market.

Democratic Lawmakers and Tokenization Could Redefine U.S. Financial Power

Senator Ruben Gallego, Arizona’s first Latino senator, took up crypto policy directly because his constituents were asking about it. Many of them are working-class, Hispanic, or Black Americans with a growing interest in digital assets.

In a statement referenced by Novogratz, Gallego made his position clear: “If your constituents are showing interest in this, then you should show interest in it too.”

Representative Ritchie Torres, who grew up in public housing in the Bronx, represents one of the poorest congressional districts in America.

He has publicly argued that blockchain technology can “liberate the lowest income communities from the high fees of the traditional financial system.” Both lawmakers are actively legislating while much of the caucus remains on the sidelines.

Beyond domestic regulation, Novogratz sees a larger opportunity in tokenization. Public blockchains could allow American equities, Treasury bonds, and investment funds to reach billions of people globally who will never open a U.S. brokerage account. The CLARITY Act could make that possible.

Passing the bill, Novogratz argues, is not just a financial decision — it is a projection of American economic power. Countries like Singapore and the UAE are already moving.

Novogratz put it plainly: “Pass the CLARITY Act. Show up. This is how Democrats win. This is how America wins.” The U.S. has the capital markets, the demand, and the legal infrastructure to lead. What it needs now is legislative follow-through.

The post Novogratz to Democrats: Pass the CLARITY Act or Hand Crypto’s Future to Foreign Rivals appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Bitcoin surpassed $80,000 for the first time since January, briefly reaching $83K before pulling back slightly.

• Open interest surged from $48B to $58B while spot volumes hit two-year lows, signaling leverage-driven movement.

• Bitcoin ETF inflows added $623M, with Morgan Stanley’s new BTC ETF pulling $194M in its debut month alone.

• Tuesday’s CPI print and the Fed chair transition from Powell to Warsh are the next key macro triggers to watch.
  

Bitcoin’s return above $80,000 has drawn attention from market analysts, with trading firm Wintermute raising concerns about what is driving the move.

While the price milestone marks the first time BTC has traded at this level since January, Wintermute warns that the rally may not be as solid as it appears on the surface.

Short Squeeze Mechanics Behind Bitcoin’s Price Move

Bitcoin climbed to approximately $83,000 last week, breaking above its 200-day moving average for the first time in seven months.

The move coincided with a broader equity rally, with the Nasdaq gaining 4.5% and the S&P 500 rising 2.3% to fresh all-time highs. U.S. nonfarm payrolls also beat expectations, coming in at 115,000 against a consensus of 65,000.

Wintermute, however, pointed to the mechanics behind BTC’s price action as a reason for caution. Open interest in Bitcoin futures jumped from $48 billion to $58 billion over the past month. At the same time, spot trading volumes fell to two-year lows.

The firm noted on X: “BTC ground above $70k, nobody believed it, shorts piled in, got liquidated, and had to be covered by buying.” That dynamic, rather than fresh demand, appears to be what pushed prices higher.

Funding rates remain predominantly short, which means additional squeeze pressure could still push prices up. That said, Wintermute was clear that forced covering is not the same as genuine market conviction.

Institutional Flows Offer a More Constructive Long-Term View

Despite the short-term concerns, longer-term indicators tell a different story. Bitcoin ETF flows added $623 million during the period, and Morgan Stanley’s new BTC ETF pulled in $194 million in its first month without a single day of outflows. Exchange reserves remain at seven-year lows, pointing to steady accumulation by long-term holders.

Wintermute noted that whale accumulation and ETF inflows continue to absorb supply at current levels. However, the firm also observed that the institutional bid tends to reduce in size as prices move higher, which limits upside pressure over time.

The near-term focus now turns to macroeconomic events. Tuesday’s CPI release will offer the first clear look at how energy prices have fed into inflation.

Additionally, Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s term ends Thursday, with Kevin Warsh’s confirmation expected to follow.

Wintermute stated that if Bitcoin holds above $80,000 through a macro shock, that would serve as genuine confirmation of a trend change.

A selloff in line with equities, however, would suggest the short squeeze was the primary driver all along. RSI is currently entering overbought territory, and spot demand needs to step in for the rally to hold.

The post Bitcoin’s $80K Rally Raises Questions About Sustainability, Wintermute Says appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Ethereum’s Clear Signing standard now displays transactions in plain language instead of unreadable hex data. 
• Blind signing has contributed to billions in ecosystem losses, prompting this open standard’s coordinated launch. 
• ERC-7730 and ERC-8176 are the two core frameworks introduced to support human-readable transaction signing. 
• Contributors include Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, Fireblocks, and WalletConnect, coordinated by the Ethereum Foundation.

Ethereum has officially launched the Clear Signing open standard, marking a major step forward in transaction security.

The initiative converts unreadable hexadecimal data into plain, human-readable text during transaction approvals. The Ethereum Foundation coordinated the effort alongside key industry contributors.

Together, they aim to address one of the most persistent security vulnerabilities in the Ethereum ecosystem. Blind signing has cost the industry billions of dollars over the years.

What the Clear Signing Standard Brings to Ethereum

The Ethereum Foundation announced the launch via its official X account on May 12, 2026. The post stated that clear signing is now live as an open standard to end blind signing.

It described the development as a major upgrade to both user experience and transaction security on Ethereum.

Until now, signing a transaction often meant approving a string of unreadable hex data. This practice, known as blind signing, has contributed to billions in losses across the ecosystem. Users had no way to verify what they were actually approving before confirming transactions.

The new standard changes that by displaying transaction details in plain language. Instead of raw technical data, users now see clear descriptions of what each transaction does. This gives people better control and awareness before they confirm any on-chain action.

The Ethereum Foundation noted the effort builds on existing clear signing work already present in the ecosystem. In particular, it acknowledged the approach pioneered by Ledger as a foundation for this broader, unified standard.

Key Components and Contributors Behind the Initiative

Several prominent names in the crypto industry contributed to the Clear Signing initiative. Wallet and hardware contributors include Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, WalletConnect, and ZKnox. On the security side, Cyfrin participated, while Fireblocks and Zama represented infrastructure. Sourcify and Argot contributed tooling support.

The standard introduces ERC-7730, which provides an open framework for human-readable transaction descriptions.

Alongside it comes a neutral, mirrorable descriptor registry for broader accessibility. An attestation framework under ERC-8176 allows auditors to verify the integrity of transaction descriptors.

Open developer tooling has also been released for wallets, protocols, and auditors to use. These tools make it easier for developers to integrate the standard across different platforms. The goal is to drive adoption and expand coverage across the Ethereum ecosystem consistently.

The Ethereum Foundation confirmed the work is ongoing and not a one-time release. Contributors will continue expanding coverage, refining tooling, and pushing for wider adoption.

As more wallets and protocols integrate the standard, blind signing risks are expected to decrease steadily across the network.

The post Ethereum Launches Clear Signing Standard to Combat Blind Signing Risks appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Exodus launched Exodus Pay, a platform letting users spend crypto directly from wallets across the U.S. and Europe.

• The firm acquired Monavate and Baanx to build out its full-stack crypto payments infrastructure in Q1 2026.

• Exodus cut Bitcoin holdings from 1,704 BTC to 628 BTC, using proceeds to become fully debt-free this quarter.

• XO Cash, Exodus’s new dollar-backed stablecoin, is positioned as the first stablecoin designed for AI agents.

Exodus (EXOD), the publicly traded Bitcoin wallet firm, is broadening its scope beyond wallets into a full crypto payments company.

The firm announced this shift alongside its Q1 earnings report, backed by two strategic acquisitions and a new stablecoin launch.

Its balance sheet also changed sharply, with Bitcoin holdings cut significantly to fund debt repayment and acquisition costs. Shares closed Tuesday at $6.97, down 9.6% on the day.

Exodus Pay and XO Cash Drive the Payments Expansion

Exodus is now positioning itself as a full-stack payments business through its Exodus Pay platform. The platform lets users spend crypto directly from their wallets without surrendering private keys. It is currently live across the United States and Europe.

The company closed two acquisitions to support this move — financial services firms Monavate and Baanx. These deals gave Exodus the infrastructure needed to support crypto spending at scale. CEO JP Richardson described the expansion as a natural extension of the firm’s founding vision.

“Exodus has always been about simplicity and control; that vision hasn’t changed since 2015,” Richardson told Decrypt. “We are expanding what we’re offering, we are not pivoting.”

He added that enabling customers to send and spend digital dollars without handing over their keys is what the firm has been building toward from day one.

Alongside Exodus Pay, the firm launched XO Cash, a dollar-backed stablecoin. Exodus claims it is the first stablecoin built specifically for AI agents, adding another layer to its growing payments ecosystem.

Bitcoin Holdings Drop as Exodus Clears Its Debt

Exodus ended Q1 2026 with $48 million in digital assets, down sharply from $156 million at the close of 2025. Cash and cash equivalents rose to nearly $73 million, compared to under $5 million at year-end. The shift reflects a deliberate treasury reallocation.

Bitcoin holdings fell from 1,704 BTC to 628 BTC during the quarter. The firm also shed 37 ETH, worth roughly $87,000.

These moves helped Exodus pay down a Bitcoin-backed loan from Galaxy and cover acquisition-related costs, leaving the company debt-free.

Richardson addressed the treasury changes directly: “Most of the treasury adjustments you saw in Q1 reflect paying down a Bitcoin-backed loan to Galaxy and other acquisition-related costs. We’re debt-free as a result.” He also reaffirmed that the firm’s long-term conviction in Bitcoin has not changed.

Meanwhile, Exodus added to its Solana position, growing holdings from 12,473 SOL to 17,541 SOL. At Tuesday’s price of around $93.91 per SOL, that stake is worth approximately $1.65 million.

Richardson also noted that Exodus will track transaction volume and the quarterly split between payments and trading revenues going forward. “Spending is a different behavior and a different business,” he said, pointing to the shift away from wallet-only revenue.

The post Exodus Shifts from Wallet to Full Crypto Payments Company After Selling $87M in Bitcoin appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Dalio warns Bitcoin’s publicly visible transactions make it an unsuitable reserve for central banks.
• Bitcoin’s high correlation with tech stocks weakens its role as a hedge during market downturns.
• Investors tend to sell Bitcoin first when under portfolio pressure, reducing its safe-haven appeal.
• Gold’s centuries-old track record and broad institutional ownership keep it ahead of Bitcoin globally.

Bitcoin has yet to establish itself as a genuine safe-haven asset, according to Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio. The veteran investor pointed to the cryptocurrency’s lack of privacy and the potential for transaction monitoring.

He also cited its high correlation with technology stocks during periods of market stress. Dalio argued that gold holds a more central and trusted role in the global financial system. His remarks come as debate over Bitcoin’s place in global portfolios continues among institutional investors.

Bitcoin’s Privacy Gap and Tech Stock Correlation Draw Scrutiny

One of Dalio’s primary concerns about Bitcoin centers on its transparency across the blockchain. Unlike gold or cash, every Bitcoin transaction is publicly recorded and traceable by outside parties.

Dalio noted that this visibility makes the cryptocurrency unattractive as a reserve holding for central banks. Governments and financial institutions tend to prefer assets that do not expose all transaction activity.

In a post on X, Dalio stated that Bitcoin lacks privacy and that transactions can be monitored. He added that this is why central banks are not looking to hold it as a reserve.

That reasoning aligns with longstanding hesitancy among major financial institutions toward cryptocurrency adoption.

Beyond privacy, Dalio noted that the cryptocurrency carries a relatively high correlation with technology stocks. When investors face pressure elsewhere in their portfolios, they often sell it first to raise liquidity. This behavior reduces its effectiveness as a buffer during broader market downturns.

This pattern of liquidating the digital asset under pressure has repeated across multiple market cycles. At the moments a safe-haven is needed most, it often declines alongside other risk assets. That dynamic makes it a less reliable hedge compared to instruments traditionally used to protect wealth.

Gold Holds Its Ground as the Preferred Safe-Haven Asset

Dalio also raised concerns about Bitcoin’s relatively small market size compared to gold. He described it as a market more susceptible to influence by large participants.

That susceptibility weakens its case as an independent and stable store of value. In contrast, gold’s market is far deeper and more resistant to such concentrated influence.

Gold has been held by governments, central banks, and individuals across centuries of financial history. That long track record gives it a level of institutional trust that Bitcoin has not yet earned.

Dalio pointed out that gold’s broad ownership sets it apart from any competing asset. No other asset class has replicated gold’s deeply established place in the global financial system.

Dalio’s position reflects a broader view that the digital currency still needs time to mature. Gold’s centuries-old history as a monetary metal gives it a structural advantage over newer alternatives. Central banks continue to accumulate gold as part of their official reserves worldwide.

As uncertainty continues to shape financial markets, the comparison between Bitcoin and gold remains active. Dalio’s stance represents a cautious view shared by many in traditional finance and institutional circles. Gold, for now, retains its standing as the benchmark safe-haven asset globally.

The post Ray Dalio: Why Bitcoin Has Not Lived Up to Its Safe-Haven Reputation appeared first on Blockonomi.

The last few months have been volatile for the price of ETH, the company stated on X on Wednesday. The asset has consolidated around bear market lows of $2,000 since the beginning of February and has yet to make any move to pre-crash levels.

Nevertheless, “the structural indicators of long-term institutional adoption of Ethereum continued to build,” stated SharpLink.

Sharplink Gaming is the world’s second-largest Ether DAT with 863,000 ETH worth around $1.89 billion. However, it has not made any further significant purchases since October 2025.

Staking, ETFs, and RWA Momentum

The firm highlighted several key metrics for its thesis, including continually increasing total value staked. Staking deposits have not slowed through bear markets, including a 50% price drawdown from the 2025 peak, it stated. There are currently 38.7 million ETH staked, worth around $89 billion, and equating to 32% of the total supply.

“Conviction in Ethereum’s yield layer is compounding regardless of price.”

Additionally, long-term holders did not flinch at the bear market drawdown, with every cohort holding ETH for more than six months holding its position through the recent volatility.

It also observed that short-term ETH holders were at breakeven with an MVRV sitting at 1.0, which indicates “recent buyers have no meaningful profit to sell, and loss-cutters have cleared out.”

“At the same time, exchange balances have fallen to 15 million ETH, a multi-year low. Less ETH available to sell. Less incentive to sell it. That is a supply constraint.”

Meanwhile, US spot ETH ETF flows turned positive in April after several months of net outflows as investors poured back into regulated ether products, even during a month that included a major DeFi exploit, it stated.

The last few months have been volatile for the price of ETH. But in parallel, the structural indicators of long-term institutional adoption of Ethereum continued to build.

A look at the data.

— Sharplink (@Sharplink) May 12, 2026

SharpLink also noted Ethereum’s dominance in real-world asset tokenization, and this week’s news that BlackRock said it would begin tokenizing an existing multibillion-dollar money market fund on Ethereum. Also this week, JP Morgan announced the launch of a second tokenized money market fund on Ethereum.

“These are not separate trends. They are the same story told in different ways,” stated SharpLink.

“Asset managers tokenizing on-chain choose Ethereum. Stablecoins settle on Ethereum. Autonomous agents operate on Ethereum.”

Meanwhile, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy and SharpLink launched a $125 million Ethereum-powered DeFi yield fund this week.

Not Reflected in ETH Prices

Despite these solid fundamentals, spot Ether prices are still deflated. ETH fell back to its lowest level for almost two weeks, just above $2,250 in late trading on Tuesday, following the US CPI print and increase in inflation.

It managed to recover to just below $2,300 during Asian trading on Wednesday, but failed to break above it at the time of writing.

The asset has been tightly range-bound for the past month and remains almost 54% down from its all-time high in August 2025, so those institutional adoption fundamentals are not being reflected in spot markets yet.

The post Structural Indicators of Long-term Institutional Ethereum Adoption Building: SharpLink appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Zurich, Switzerland, May 12th, 2026]

The fintech project SNC Scandic Coin (SNC) was launched by the global Scandic Finance Group (SFG). In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, Uwe Sellmer, a specialist in the financial sector, explained how the SNC token differs from speculative cryptocurrencies: it will serve as a regulated payment, access and loyalty instrument integrated into the SFG Group’s services, rather than merely being an object of speculation. Specifically, users within the network can pay for media apps, private jet flights, yachts, cars, AI products and domains, amongst other things, and benefit from loyalty programmes. This practical range of applications is a key feature of the RWA project, as many competitors offer only a vague ‘vision of the future’ without any tangible benefits.

Transparency, Audit and Compliance

The developers have ensured that the SNC SCANDIC Coin meets the requirements of regulatory oversight and strict compliance. The smart contract was audited by CertiK https://skynet.certik.com/projects/scandic-coin: according to the public Skynet report dated 2 March 2026, the SNC Scandic Coin has no critical vulnerabilities. The project has a KYC-KYB and anti-money laundering (AML) system, which is contractually managed by the data and credit service provider CRIF, which also certifies ESG certificates, thereby emphasising sustainable practices. A multi-layered AML risk management system underscores the commitment to creating a trustworthy product.

A broad ecosystem rather than a standalone product

The SNC Scandic Coin is not viewed in isolation, but as part of a broad Scandic ecosystem. The official website lists numerous divisions – such as SNC Scandic Fly, SNC Scandic Pay, Scandic Cars, SNC Scandic Estate, SNC Scandic DEV, SNC Scandic SEC, SNC Scandic Domains and SNC Scandic Yachts. These divisions are intended to use the coin as a common means of payment and deploy it for various RWA (Real-World Asset) services. According to Sellmer, the Legier Group publishing network – which comprises over 115 globally active daily newspapers across all continents offering 24/7 breaking news and its own news app – will provide media coverage.

Value proposition and fee model

From the user’s perspective, the SNC Coin offers several advantages: real-world utility through integration with specific services, low fees and fast processing thanks to optimised smart contract technology, an integrated ecosystem combining travel, property, brokerage services and lifestyle offerings, as well as a transparent structure with a fixed token supply and traceable distribution. The FAQ explains that the coin supports payments, access levels, rewards and ecosystem functions. Digital assets and data are secured using decentralised storage methods and institutional cold wallets, and for maximum security, the extensive SNC development team recommends the use of hardware wallets and, to safeguard every token holder, relies among other things on a vesting period for SNC Coins, which further ensures that the legal regulations of the supervisory authorities are fully complied with.

Tokenomics: Limited supply and clear allocation

The comprehensive white paper (210 A4 pages) and the website provide insight into the token economy. The total supply of SNC is capped at one billion tokens. According to the tokenomics model, the launch price is set at 0.02 EUR. A detailed schedule governs when these tokens will be released. The valuation at launch amounts to 20 million US dollars; according to the project description, this is not a legal commitment regarding the value of the token, but rather reflects assumptions regarding supply, market launch and development. Furthermore, the technical requirements for staking the SNC Scandic Coin have already been established in this context.

Milestones and Timeline

The roadmap focuses on transparency and stages: the foundation phase and development, including the audit, have been completed. Next up is the Token Generation Event (TGE); this will be followed by integration steps with partner services before the SNC Scandic Coin finally scales globally. An FAQ section notes that the SNC Coin is currently still in the preparatory phase and no live mainnet token is available; trading will commence shortly after the mainnet launch on a major centralised exchange (BitMart) and other major exchanges. Those interested should monitor the official channels, as exact launch dates will only be published https://x.com/SCANDICCOINECO.

Assessment and Outlook

Uwe Sellmer emphasises that “SNC” stands for S: Security/Synergy, N: Network and C: Community, and represents Scandinavian values such as transparency and modern design. The combination of real-world utility, limited supply, regulatory clarity and a comprehensive ecosystem sets the coin apart from many crypto projects where speculative hype takes centre stage. However, in accordance with legal requirements, the project highlights risks in its FAQs: Digital assets carry technical, market, liquidity, regulatory and execution risks, and interested parties should refer to official risk disclosures and the launch documentation.

In this context, the SNC Scandic Coin has potential to become a milestone in the fintech sector; however, as is always the case in any business, this depends not only on the technology and marketing, but also on the acceptance of the token.

Imprint of SNC Scandic Coin

https://snccoin.dev/en/imprint

About NEUE ZÜRICHER NACHRICHTEN

Founded in Zurich in 1904, the “Neue Zürcher Nachrichten” (“NZN”) is a Swiss daily newspaper known for its liberal-conservative perspective and commitment to high-quality journalism. Published around the clock in six languages, NZN covers Swiss, European, and global news, with a strong focus on in-depth analysis, background reporting, and opinion coverage. Through its ongoing digital expansion, NZN continues to provide reliable and diverse news coverage to a broad international audience.

The post SNC Scandic Coin (SNC) Project Launch: Real Assets Meet Digital Utility appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Zug, Switzerland, May 12th, 2026]

Bitcoin Suisse (International) Ltd., an affiliate of the Bitcoin Suisse Group, has received a Class F license under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act and Class B registration approval under the Investment Business Act from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, authorising regulated digital asset management and investment advisory services for professional and institutional clients.

The Bitcoin Suisse Group today announced that its affiliate Bitcoin Suisse (International) Ltd. has obtained a Class F digital asset business license under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act and Class B registration under the Investment Business Act 2003 from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). The approval has been granted on a pre‑operational basis, subject to the completion of customary conditions prior to commencing regulated digital asset management and investment advisory services for professional and institutional clients.

The BMA’s approval marks a significant step in Bitcoin Suisse’s international expansion. Bitcoin Suisse (International) Ltd. now has the regulatory foundation to provide investment advisory and asset management services to professional and institutional clients outside Switzerland through a dedicated entity.

“Institutional investors increasingly recognize digital assets as a permanent part of their portfolios. What they need is a partner who combines deep crypto-native expertise with the governance and regulatory standards they expect from traditional financial services. The BMA approvals mark an important step in Bitcoin Suisse’s transition towards a global wealth management platform and allow us to be exactly that partner for clients internationally.” – Andrej Majcen, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Bitcoin Suisse.

Regulated Investment Advisory and Asset Management

Bitcoin Suisse (International) Ltd. is domiciled in Hamilton, Bermuda, and is fully owned by BTCS Holding Ltd., the group’s holding entity. The DABA license covers the provision of regulated digital asset business services, while the IBA registration enables the entity to provide investment advisory and discretionary portfolio management. The entity will serve professional and institutional clients with a suite of services spanning investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management mandates, and proprietary investment strategies. Clients may fund mandates in Bitcoin, stablecoins, or fiat currency.

The entity operates on a non-custodial basis and relies on regulated custodial providers and partner banks to deliver institutional-grade security. An experienced CIO Office and dedicated research function underpin all investment decisions, drawing on Bitcoin Suisse’s proprietary Crypto Analysis Framework and its Global Crypto Taxonomy – a classification system covering approximately 600 digital assets across six sectors, developed over more than a decade of crypto-native research.

Bermuda: A Premier Jurisdiction for Regulated Digital Asset Services

Bermuda has established itself as one of the world’s leading jurisdictions for digital assets, having introduced the Digital Asset Business Act in 2018 as one of the first comprehensive frameworks of its kind. The granting of both a DABA license and an IBA registration to Bitcoin Suisse (International) Ltd. reflects the group’s compliance infrastructure, governance standards, and operational maturity.

Part of a Broader Global Regulatory Rollout

The presence in Bermuda complements Bitcoin Suisse’s existing international footprint. The group already holds an In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), reflecting its commitment to serving clients across the Middle East under a regulated framework. Together, these milestones underline Bitcoin Suisse’s ambition to bring its native crypto expertise to professional and institutional clients across multiple jurisdictions, including (U)HNWIs, family offices, external asset managers, and corporate counterparties.

About Bitcoin Suisse AG

Bitcoin Suisse AG is a leading premium crypto financial services provider. Founded in 2013 by crypto-native experts, it provides a cohesive suite of trading, custody, staking and lending services for institutional clients, crypto foundations, family offices, asset managers and high-net-worth individuals. Bitcoin Suisse is headquartered in Zug and has built a team of over 200 highly qualified experts in Switzerland, Europe and the Middle East. www.bitcoinsuisse.com

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[PRESS RELEASE – Zug, Switzerland, May 12th, 2026]

As part of a broader initiative to expand access to essential banking infrastructure across Africa, Cantor8 has revealed plans to bring leading mobile money systems such as M-PESA and EVC Plus onchain via Yiksi Limited.

Cantor8 has secured exclusive MOUs with Yiksi Limited, outlining plans to bring leading mobile money systems onchain and enable direct digital money services-to-crypto conversion via blockchain rails.

Through its partnership with Taran App, a leading African fintech platform, and Yiksi, Taran App’s cryptocurrency exchange, Cantor8 will leverage Taran App’s infrastructure to bring two of Africa’s most widely used forms of mobile money on-chain via the Canton Network.

The partnership serves as a crucial pilot for a broader rollout across additional African nations and mobile money ecosystems, demonstrating how onchain digital money infrastructure can scale across the continent.

Mobile Money Infrastructure and Blockchain Integration

Limited banking infrastructure in regions like Kenya and Somalia has led to the widespread adoption of mobile money systems like M-PESA and EVC Plus.

These platforms are vital for financial inclusion and economic activity in mobile-first ecosystems where traditional bank penetration, around 15% in Somalia, remains low due to physical and documentation barriers.

Migrating these systems to blockchain networks like the Canton offers a significant opportunity to enhance interoperability, settlement efficiency, and global connectivity. This evolution, in turn, provides users with a fully integrated digital financial system that bypasses conventional infrastructure.

Despite access challenges, ongoing innovation in digital onboarding continues to reduce barriers, scaling payments and remittances across these emerging markets.

The Need for Digital Money in African Economies

To understand the impact of digital money and mobile-based transfer systems like M-PESA and EVC Plus, it helps to first understand the regions in which they operate and have seen widespread adoption.

At the core, three key factors have driven the success of these systems in emerging economies like Somalia and Kenya:

• Limited-to-non-existent access to reliable banking infrastructure.
• A high degree of mobile phone access and competence.
• Unworkable local currencies.

The Banking Gap

Since 1991, Somalia has transitioned into a mobile-first economy led by services like EVC Plus, filling the void left by a sparse traditional banking sector. According to the US State Department’s 2025 Investment Climate Statement, formal banking penetration sits at just 15% due to branch scarcity and rigid ID requirements.

Cantor8 aims to bridge this gap by integrating secure digital infrastructure and modernizing mobile connectivity.

The firm is targeting similar inclusion gaps in Kenya, where M-PESA dominates but rural barriers persist. By deploying mobile-first technology, Cantor8 intends to scale financial access and integrate these emerging markets into a cohesive digital ecosystem.

Nonviable Local Currencies

Somalia and Kenya are increasingly pivoting toward mobile-first financial systems to navigate structural economic challenges.

In Somalia, decades of central banking limitations and counterfeit Somali Shilling (SOS) circulation have driven a market shift toward the US Dollar and mobile money for stability.

Kenya’s Shilling (KES) remains more integrated into global markets, though its debt profile reflects heavy infrastructure investment. Despite macroeconomic pressures, Kenya continues to lead in digital innovation, utilizing mobile platforms to deepen economic participation.

Together, both nations demonstrate a move away from physical cash toward digital foundations, clearly setting the stage for next-generation payment infrastructure and improved fiscal stability across East Africa.

Mobile-Native Populations

Somalia and Kenya are cementing their status as mobile-first economies as cellular connectivity outpaces traditional banking growth. Somalia’s mobile penetration has reached nearly 60%, with 11.5 million connections growing at a 7% annual clip, driving widespread adoption of digital finance.

Kenya’s ecosystem is even more saturated; as of late 2025, SIM subscriptions hit 78.4 million (a 149.5% penetration rate). This high density of roughly 1.5 SIMs per person underscores the central role of telecoms in regional commerce.

Together, these metrics provide a robust foundation for next-generation digital payment infrastructure across East Africa’s most connected populations.

The Rise of Digital Money

The aforementioned factors create the perfect conditions for a financial system that is (a) denoted in USD, (b) immediately accessible through mobile devices, and (c) provides similar functionality to bank accounts, to flourish.

Digital money system, EVC Plus (operated by Hormuud Telecom) is now the backbone of Somalia’s economy. Mobile money adoption in Somalia is among the highest in the world, with over 87% of the population using mobile money services.

For additional context, Hormuud currently serves nearly 5 million users, the vast majority of which use EVC Plus for daily transactions.

Similarly, as of 2025, a staggering 85% of Kenyan adults had access to financial services through digital platforms like M-PESA. Indeed, several estimates put M-PESA’s share of mobile money transaction value in Kenya at well over 90%.

Enter Canton Network & Cantor8

By leveraging Cantor8’s cutting edge infrastructure components, such as its C8 Registry token issuance engine, mobile money systems like M-PESA and EVC Plus can be brought directly onto blockchain rails – Canton Network specifically.

In doing so, said mobile money gains access to both the advantages brought by blockchain generally, and those that only Canton Network can deliver.

Instant Settlement

Blockchain rails are able to provide atomic settlement on transactions, meaning transfers and other actions are settled instantly, all in one single transaction. This entirely eliminates the aforementioned ‘in-transit’ risk and dramatically reduces the operational burden placed on mobile money providers.

No settlement gap. No extractive middlemen. More efficient money.

Compliant Privacy

While public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana expose all historical transaction data, the Canton Network provides a privacy-focused alternative essential for regulated industries like banking. Built to shield sensitive details, including counterparties, balances, and timing, Canton ensures transaction data remains confidential.

To meet compliance standards, the network generates tamper-proof audit trails accessible only to authorized regulators and auditors. Integrating M-PESA and EVC Plus onto Canton’s rails allows users to maintain total financial privacy while enabling seamless, foolproof oversight for authorities.

Interoperability

Canton operates a so-called ‘network-of-networks’ where differing institutions operate and maintain their own blockchain ledgers, ensuring privacy is maintained, while the network’s key interoperability component (The Global Synchronizer) allows for these separate networks to interact seamlessly.

In the case of mobile money, users will be able to put their funds to use in different countries and at different merchants, without undertaking lengthy and high-risk conversation processes.

Banking Africa

Through an interoperable system of mobile money platforms, users will be able to leverage the stability of the US Dollar, seamlessly use and transfer their funds across borders, and much more.

The end goal of Cantor8’s initiative is to create a seamless pan-African payments system that remedies inequalities around banking infrastructure and creates a more interconnected and efficient African economy. This is just the beginning.

About Cantor8

Cantor8 is the leading infrastructure provider for the Canton Network ecosystem. Founded and operated by Oxbridge alumni, exited founders, and best-in-class DAML developers, Cantor8’s product suite spans self-custody wallet solutions, private transfer infrastructure, compliant token issuance, bespoke development services, and much more besides.

If you are interested in speaking with us, users can reach out to reni@cantor8.tech.

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Following a period of speculation-driven surges, bitcoin (BTC) appears to be rallying due to spot demand. Within a short time, spot demand metrics have shifted from contraction to growth. This development comes as the crypto market digests U.S. economic data.

According to the latest Bitfinex Alpha report, the ongoing bitcoin breakout reflects a widening gap between historical information about the U.S. economy and rapidly deteriorating sentiment evident in consumer data. This macro dynamic is significantly affecting risk assets like BTC and driving their prices higher.

BTC Sees Structural Improvement

Since the beginning of April, the crypto market capitalization has risen by $200 billion, following a 12% BTC rally that led to the strongest monthly performance in a year. By early May, BTC had broken above $80,000 – a level not touched since January 31. The move cleared the $78,000–$79,000, which had a dense overhead supply zone. Although the digital asset traded around $80,900 at the time of writing, the rally pushed it close to $83,000.

Bitfinex analysts have stated that the move marked a structural improvement and shifted BTC above a major aggregate cost-basis level near $79,800. This price doubles as the True Market Mean, which BTC has now reclaimed.

The most interesting part of this rally is that it was driven by aggressive spot demand. CryptoPotato reported last week that the market was not positioned for a surge above $80,000 due to weak demand.

Spot Demand Recovers

On-chain data shows that spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) rose sharply after May 8, reflecting buyers absorbing supply at premium levels. Additionally, order books moved from bid-skewed to more neutral. Spot demand has stemmed from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and from open-market accumulation.

As of two weeks ago, Michael Saylor’s Strategy was also a major driver of spot demand. However, there is less momentum from the company’s end because the purchases have been linked to the yield-bearing product, STRC. Unfortunately, the stock has not traded at or above its $100 par value, which is a threshold required for Strategy to purchase more BTC. In fact, the business intelligence entity is even looking to sell some of its bitcoins.

Nevertheless, conviction buyers, who are entities that accumulate BTC and rarely sell regardless of price, have increased their holdings. Analysts say they currently hold roughly 4 million BTC, following their largest surge since the COVID-19 crash. Historical data show that such growth from this cohort often precedes major price recoveries.

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