CADD's launch could streamline crypto transactions in Canada, but its success hinges on maintaining peg stability and gaining wider regulatory acceptance.

The post Base welcomes CADD, Canada’s first regulated dollar stablecoin appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Cerebras' strategic alignment with OpenAI could reshape AI chip market dynamics, challenging Nvidia's dominance amid geopolitical tensions.

The post Cerebras partners with OpenAI, targets $50B market cap on IPO day appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Heightened US-Iran tensions could destabilize global markets, impacting oil prices and crypto, while boosting demand for privacy tokens.

The post Trump says US-Iran ceasefire on ‘massive life support,’ crypto markets brace for fallout appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

eBay's rejection highlights significant barriers in acquisition talks, impacting market confidence and potentially altering future strategic moves.

The post EBay rejects GameStop’s $125 per share takeover proposal appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Venture capital's shift towards younger founders signals a tech industry evolution amid bubble concerns.

The post Kevin Hartz: AI branding lacks genuine innovation, larger VC funds exhibit arrogance, and the startup landscape is shifting towards younger founders | Uncapped with Jack Altman appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Holds Near $82,000 as ETF Inflows Surge and CLARITY Act Battle Intensifies

Bitcoin price hovered in a tight range around 82,000 today, extending a week of steady but cautious gains as structural forces, not retail hype, set the tone for the market.

At time of writing, Bitcoin price trades near 82,000, up about 0.65% from Sunday morning but still roughly 22% below its level a year ago and far off the October 2025 peak above 126,000. 

Over the past week the coin has held mostly between 80,000 and 82,000. The latest leg higher came late last week after the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled reduced risk of further military escalation with Iran, which eased pressure on the dollar and crude oil and supported risk assets.

Behind the calm price band sits a surge in activity from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded funds. U.S. issuers drew about 1.9 billion dollars of net inflows in April, the strongest month since October 2025 and enough to flip year‑to‑date flows positive, while cumulative inflows since the products launched in 2024 now stand near 58 billion dollars. 

Those funds hold more than 1.3 million BTC and absorb several hundred coins a day on average, well above fresh mining supply at recent points in April, which tightens liquid supply on exchanges.

Bitcoin ETFs logged nine consecutive days of net inflows through early May, totaling about 2.7 billion dollars and removing an estimated 33,000 to 35,000 BTC from tradable supply. The bulk of that demand has concentrated in BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, turning IBIT in particular into a proxy for institutional sentiment on the asset.

The CLARITY Act is the center of attention

Regulation now sits on equal footing with flows as a driver of price. In Washington, the CLARITY Act, a wide‑ranging market‑structure bill that would define jurisdiction for most digital assets between the SEC and CFTC, is approaching a markup in the Senate Banking Committee, with a floor vote targeted for summer after a compromise over stablecoin yield. 

That process builds on last year’s GENIUS Act, which created a full regime for payment stablecoins and set a July 2026 deadline for follow‑on rules.

On Sunday, the American Bankers Association launched a last-minute lobbying campaign against the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with ABA CEO Rob Nichols urging bank executives across the country to pressure senators ahead of Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee markup. 

In a letter to member banks, Nichols warned that the bill’s stablecoin yield provisions could drive deposits out of traditional banks and into payment stablecoins, which he said would threaten financial stability and economic growth. The effort sparked immediate backlash from crypto advocates and lawmakers supporting the legislation. 

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said the banking industry had already won concessions during prior White House negotiations, while Senator Bernie Moreno accused banks of trying to kill innovation and pledged to support advancing the bill.

The White House is also continually working on a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve framework that would govern how the government manages seized coins without direct budget outlays, a plan that, if written into statute rather than left as an executive program, would cement state‑level participation on the demand side of the market.

This post Bitcoin Price Holds Near $82,000 as ETF Inflows Surge and CLARITY Act Battle Intensifies first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

American Bankers Attempt Last Ditch Effort To Kill Crypto Market Structure Bill Regarding Stablecoins

American Bankers Association (ABA) CEO Rob Nichols sent an emergency Sunday letter to every bank CEO in the country, urging “immediate engagement” against what he called a stablecoin yield loophole in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, days before a Senate Banking Committee markup scheduled for Thursday.

The letter, dated May 11 — Mother’s Day — and addressed to ABA member bank CEOs, asked bank leaders to contact their senators and mobilize their employees to do the same before the committee convenes for a scheduled May 14 executive session on the bill.

“I am reaching out to make every bank leader in this country aware of an urgent advocacy fight that requires your immediate engagement,” Nichols wrote, according to the letter. He warned that, without further changes, “we believe the current proposal would unnecessarily incentivize the flight of bank deposits into payment stablecoins, putting both economic growth and financial stability at risk”.

CLARITY Act vote looms

The ABA’s emergency outreach came hours after the Senate Banking Committee on Friday announced plans to mark up H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 — a bipartisan bill that would establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital assets, resolve longstanding jurisdictional questions between the SEC and CFTC, and set trading rules for crypto markets.

The timing of the letter drew sharp public pushback from Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, who posted on X that the ABA’s alarm bells were misplaced. “Maybe the CEO didn’t get the message from the people actually in the room at the WH in meeting after meeting,” Grewal wrote. “We’ve already had ‘immediate engagement.’ You got ‘idle yield’ killed. I know because I was there — you weren’t. Take yes for an answer. Move on. Stop wasting the time of the Senate and the American people.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, fired back at the ABA in a social media post, saying “the banking cartel in full panic mode” and accusing it of deceiving lawmakers by characterizing stablecoin yield as a “loophole” — a term he said was an insult to the bipartisan work already done during the GENIUS Act debate. 

Moreno said he would vote to advance the Clarity Act Thursday, declaring: “Innovation, freedom, and the American people will win.

Grewal and Moreno’s posts referenced months of negotiations that included at least three White House-convened sessions between crypto industry representatives and banking trade groups aimed at resolving the stablecoin yield dispute.

Those talks produced a compromise, negotiated by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD.), that bans passive yield on stablecoin balances while permitting certain narrowly defined activity-based rewards. The ABA and its allied bank groups have said that framework does not go far enough.

Speaking at Consensus Miami on May 7, Grewal said he supports the current compromise as “decent” and described the banking sector’s continued opposition as sour grapes over a fight they had already largely won.

Patrick Witt, who hosted the White House stablecoin yield meetings in February, said he personally invited Nichols and other bank trade CEOs to attend — and they declined.

The banking industry’s failing crypto lobby

The banking industry has spent months arguing that even partial stablecoin yield — particularly when routed through exchanges and third-party platforms rather than issuers directly — could trigger massive deposit outflows from federally insured banks.

A joint fact sheet released by the ABA, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, and Independent Community Bankers of America cited a Treasury Department report estimating that stablecoins could lead to as much as $6.6 trillion in deposit outflows if yield is permitted.

That figure faces pushback from within the executive branch. The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report in April finding that prohibiting stablecoin yield “would do very little to protect bank lending,” estimating that a ban would increase bank lending by only 0.02%. The ABA objected to that report’s findings within days of its release.

Nichols sent a separate joint letter with 52 state bankers associations to Congress in December urging lawmakers to close the yield loophole, and the ABA joined those same groups in a similar letter to the OCC in April.

The Senate Banking Committee markup on May 14 represents a critical procedural hurdle for the Clarity Act. Even if the bill clears the committee, it still requires 60 votes on the Senate floor, reconciliation with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s version, alignment with the House-passed bill from July 2025, and a presidential signature. 

The White House has set a July 4 target for the bill’s passage.

This post American Bankers Attempt Last Ditch Effort To Kill Crypto Market Structure Bill Regarding Stablecoins first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Senate Schedules CLARITY Act Markup as Banking Lobby, Democrats Mount Resistance

The Senate Banking Committee has set May 14 as the date for its long-delayed markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the most consequential piece of cryptocurrency legislation ever to reach this stage in Congress, as a last-minute lobbying blitz from major banks and a Democratic ethics standoff threaten to derail the bill before it clears committee.

The executive session is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., where committee members will debate amendments and vote on whether to advance the legislation to the full Senate floor. Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) confirmed the date last week, and live video feed of the proceedings will be available to the public.

The CLARITY Act — formally H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 — passed the House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, by a 294–134 bipartisan vote, with all 216 Republicans in support and 78 Democrats crossing the aisle. Since then, the bill has stalled in the Senate through two cancelled markup sessions, extended negotiations over stablecoin regulation, and an intensifying lobbying fight between the crypto industry and the traditional banking sector.

At its core, the legislation would draw a regulatory boundary between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, settling years of jurisdictional litigation over whether digital assets are securities or commodities. 

Under the bill, the CFTC would receive exclusive jurisdiction over spot and cash markets for “digital commodities” — tokens intrinsically linked to a functioning, decentralized blockchain — while the SEC retains authority over investment contract assets and primary market fundraising. Stablecoins are carved out as a separate category under shared oversight.

Crypto jurisdiction fight reaches the U.S. Senate

The Senate version of the bill expanded well beyond the House text, growing to nine titles covering decentralized finance protections, illicit finance provisions, bankruptcy safeguards for crypto customers, and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which provides safe harbors for software developers.

The May 14 session marks the Senate’s first formal committee vote on CLARITY after months of procedural slippage. Committee Chairman Scott had originally targeted September 2025 for a Senate floor vote, then moved the goalposts to the end of 2025, and most recently told Fox Business he hoped to bring the bill to the Senate floor by June or July 2026.

The calendar pressure is severe: if the bill does not clear the Senate Banking Committee before the May 21 Memorial Day recess, the entire process resets — and Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) have both warned that failure before Memorial Day could push the next viable legislative window to 2030 or beyond.

The White House has set July 4 as its target for a presidential signature.

Democrats threaten withdrawal of CLARITY Act as heavy-hitters chime in

The bill carries heavyweight backing from within the Trump administration. SEC Chair Paul Atkins publicly urged Congress on April 9 to move CLARITY to President Trump’s desk, stating that both the SEC and CFTC stand ready to implement the law the moment it is signed. Atkins has cited a project he calls “Project Crypto” as an internal agency readiness effort.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal framing the CLARITY Act as a national security matter, warning that without U.S. regulatory certainty, blockchain developers and crypto companies continue to migrate to Singapore and Abu Dhabi. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt has described the stablecoin yield compromise as closed.

Senator Lummis, who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, posted a single word on X after the Senate returned from Easter recess — “Clarity.” Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in late April, she was direct: “We are gonna markup the CLARITY Act in May. We are gonna get it to the finish line. We are gonna have the market structure that allows us to innovate.”

Meanwhile, Democrats are threatening to withhold support unless the bill includes ethics provisions targeting crypto holdings by public officials, a demand Republicans argue could derail the legislation entirely. 

This post Senate Schedules CLARITY Act Markup as Banking Lobby, Democrats Mount Resistance first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Strategy (MSTR) Buys $43 Million More Bitcoin After Saylor Defends Potential BTC Sales

Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) purchased 535 bitcoin for approximately $43.0 million at an average price of $80,340 per coin, the company disclosed Monday in a Form 8-K filing. The firm now holds 818,869 BTC, acquired for roughly $61.86 billion at an average cost of $75,540 per bitcoin, and has recorded a bitcoin yield of 9.4% year-to-date in 2026.

The acquisition was funded through $0.1 million raised via Strategy’s STRC ATM program and $42.9 million from its MSTR ATM offering.

The purchase comes six days after executive chairman Michael Saylor told investors on the company’s Q1 earnings call that Strategy was prepared to sell a portion of its bitcoin holdings for the first time. This statement drew immediate scrutiny from a market that had long viewed the company’s accumulation strategy as one-directional.

Saylor: End every year with more bitcoin than you started

Saylor moved to contain the narrative over the weekend. In a podcast interview, he said that for every bitcoin sold, the company would buy 10 to 20 more. “You should be a net accumulator of bitcoin,” he said. “You want to end every year with more bitcoin than you started.” Monday’s purchase suggests the buying has not slowed.

The backdrop is financial pressure. Bitcoin fell 23% in Q1 2026 — from $87,500 to $67,700 — and under FASB fair value accounting rules adopted in January 2025, Strategy is required to mark its full bitcoin position to market each quarter. In Q1, that produced a $12.54 billion unrealized loss running directly through the income statement. More than 434,000 of the company’s coins were purchased above $80,000, generating a $7.6 billion unrealized loss and a $2.2 billion deferred tax asset at a 29% effective tax rate.

It is that deferred tax asset — not a change of heart — that explains Saylor’s openness to selling. The same move was made before. On Dec. 22, 2022, Strategy sold 704 BTC at $16,776 per coin and repurchased 810 BTC two days later in a tax-loss harvesting maneuver designed to carry capital losses back against prior gains. The structure now is larger, but the logic is identical.

CEO Phong Le put the decision framework on the record during the earnings call. “I believe in math over ideology,” Le said. “At the point where selling bitcoin versus selling equity to pay a dividend is better for our bitcoin-per-share, and for our common shareholders, we will do it.”

The company carries $8.2 billion in convertible debt and owes $1.5 billion annually in dividend obligations tied to its perpetual preferred stock, STRC. Both create real cash demands that equity issuance alone may not always cover at favorable terms.

Bitcoin per share — the ratio of total BTC holdings to diluted shares outstanding — remains the metric every financing decision runs through. JPMorgan analysts wrote last week that if Strategy maintains its current pace, total bitcoin purchases in 2026 could reach approximately $30 billion.

Strategy’s bitcoin and software business

The company’s software division, long treated as background noise, is gaining attention. Le said Q1 2026 was its strongest quarter in a decade, with revenue up 12%. Strategy has built an internal AI infrastructure layer called “Mosaic” and is rebuilding core workflows using multiple AI models. “I’m sometimes asked why a bitcoin treasury company should also operate a software business,” Le wrote Sunday on X. “The two create powerful and unique synergies.”

MSTR shares closed up 4.31% Friday at $187.59. The stock has gained 41.7% over the past month, though it remains down 18.9% over the past six months. In pre-market trading Monday, shares were up roughly 1%. Bitcoin traded around $81,000.

On Sunday evening, Saylor posted two words to X: “Back to work. BTC.” He has made similar posts before prior purchase announcements. Monday’s filing confirmed the pattern.

This post Strategy (MSTR) Buys $43 Million More Bitcoin After Saylor Defends Potential BTC Sales first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

What does Bitcoin “Power Projection” mean to the U.S. Military? 

On April 21st and 22nd 2026, during a Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral Samuel Paparo of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command made comments on Bitcoin’s utility in cybersecurity for the country’s military, calling it a “valuable computer science tool as power projection,” and disclosing that INCOPACOM is running a Bitcoin node in their experiments with the protocol.  

The comments by the INCOPACOM Commander came just days after the Islamic Republic of Iran demanded payment in Bitcoin for safe passage across the Strait of Hormuz. The mention of “power projection” echoed the work of a famous and controversial Bitcoiner, Jason Lowery, author of Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection, MIT Fellow and Special Assistant to the Commander of INDOPACOM. 

In his work — which involved an MIT thesis and book expanding on his work — Lowery discussed the cybersecurity value of Bitcoin and its unique ability to deliver “power projection” in cyberspace, a landscape of national security and military operations that otherwise lacks traditional deterrence options. 

The book gained significant popularity and earned Lowery both fans and critics across the Bitcoin industry, but was later taken down from distribution by Lowery at the request of his superiors. An event that suggested to some that the book might have something important enough that the U.S. military wants to keep it quiet. 

But what is this unique value that Bitcoin brings to military matters, and what does “Power Projection” in this context actually mean? 

According to Department of Defense’s 2002 Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, power projection is; “The ability of a nation to apply all or some of its elements of national power – political, economic, informational, or military – to rapidly and effectively deploy and sustain forces in and from multiple dispersed locations to respond to crises, to contribute to deterrence, and to enhance regional stability.” In other words, the ability of a nation to influence the behavior of other nations or political entities of interest, at a range beyond its national borders. Examples can range from diplomatic to economic influence, as well as military capabilities such as long-range missiles, drones or a powerful navy. 

The word deterrence is also doing a lot of work here. The DoD defines it as: “The prevention from action by fear of the consequences. Deterrence is a state of mind brought about by the existence of a credible threat of unacceptable counteraction.”

Lowery brings Bitcoin into the world of deterrence in the physical world by presenting a particularly interesting insight. That just as microchips are essentially wires moving electric power in “encoded logic” inside a computer’s motherboard, so can the globe’s electric grid be seen as a kind of “macrochip”, with giant wires moving large amounts of electricity from power sources across nations and throughout the world. These macrochips now also have logic gates in the form of Bitcoin mines — Lowery argues — they consume large quantities of energy, converting it into the scarce digital asset, which can be programmed via Bitcoin script. 

The Bitcoin macrochip could, in theory, bind cybersecurity matters to the physical world, since energy output is one of the most important and expensive resources a nation can muster. While governments can print paper money at will, summoning massive amounts of electricity to influence something like Bitcoin’s proof of work competition is orders of magnitude more difficult and is the basis of Bitcoin’s resilience.

Bitcoin’s Multisignature Deterrence

The most obvious and powerful demonstration of Bitcoin’s “embedded logic” security is the invention of multisignature Bitcoin wallets, which safeguard much of the Bitcoin wealth today. 

Multisignature wallets require multiple predefined private keys to sign valid transactions before Bitcoin can be transferred, making it possible to geographically decentralize the storage of Bitcoin private keys across space and jurisdictions. 

Multisig challenges hackers not just to hack one key pair, but multiple, across multiple locations under time constraints, since users have the advantage of legitimate access to those keys and can potentially move the bitcoin quickly in response to a threat. Hackers must gain access to enough keys while also fooling alarms and safeguards, avoiding getting caught. Multisig imposes high costs on attackers and, as such, might very well fit the definition of ‘deterrence’. It may even fit the definition of ‘power projection’ as Bitcoin funds can be kept secure and available to be sent when needed anywhere in the world, thanks to Bitcoin’s other networking-based censorship resistance qualities. 

This differs from traditional finance and its centralized databases since Banks can freeze and confiscate assets from their rightful owners when pressured politically, as seen in cases like that of Cyprus and their 40% bail in, or the United States’ confiscation of Russia’s foreign treasury reserves held in European custody.

But INDOPACOM did not explicitly talk about Bitcoin, the asset, in their comments; they seemed to think Bitcoin’s proof of work protocol could secure data and networks external to the Bitcoin asset. But the Bitcoin script, the logic internal to the Bitcoin blockchain, only governs BTC, its internal asset. 

For external networks to benefit from Bitcoin’s powerful proof of work macrochip, they would have to be anchored to Bitcoin somehow, and that’s where much of Lowery’s thesis starts to stall out. He does, however, develop this idea further by proposing the “Electro-Cyber Dome”.

Cyber Security Threats and the Electro-Cyber Dome

In Software 2.5, Lowery argues that “software system security vulnerabilities are derived from insufficient constraints on control signals” sent to networked machines. An example of this might be fake login attempts that cost a website more computer resources to authenticate than they cost attackers to send. Lowery adds that such vulnerabilities “can be exploited in such a way that it puts software into insecure or hazardous states.” Examples of such network security exploits include, but are not limited to:

• Email spam and comment spam — superfluous emails and comments that flood inboxes or forums.
• Sybil attacks — creation of large numbers of fake identities to manipulate systems.
• Bots and troll farms — automated or coordinated accounts used to amplify malicious activity.
• Weaponized misinformation/disinformation campaigns — flooding networks with false or manipulated information.
• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks — flooding networks with superfluous control signals (service requests) to overwhelm bandwidth.
• Forged or replayed control signals — impersonating legitimate commands, orders, or data that put software into insecure/hazardous states.
• Systemic exploitation of administrative permissions/insider abuse — exploitation of trust-based hierarchies where high-privilege accounts can be compromised or misused.

Lowery suggests that other networks could defend themselves against all of these threats to some significant degree using proof of work (POW) protocols like Bitcoin’s.

In the Bitcoin white paper, Satoshi Nakamoto defined Bitcoin’s POW quite elegantly: “The proof-of-work involves scanning for a value that when hashed, such as with SHA-256, the hash begins with a number of zero bits. The average work required is exponential in the number of zero bits required and can be verified by executing a single hash.”

Nakamoto specifically references Adam Back’s “Hash Cash, A Denial of Service Counter-Measure”, which was designed to make email spam costly by requiring computers sending an email to produce a POW stamp of a difficulty defined by the recipient of the email. Recipient servers would need to keep a list of stamps already used, in order to prevent reuse of the same work by attackers, aka to prevent “double-spending” attacks. These stamps, however, were not transferable, a quality which some cypherpunks wanted in their pursuit of digital money. Hal Finney was one such engineer who furthered the field by inventing RPOW, or reusable proof of work.

RPOW essentially tokenized POW stamps via a centralized server that kept track and facilitated transfers. One of Nakamoto’s key innovations was decentralizing this server and its list of spent stamps, in the form of the blockchain, while also defining a global difficulty algorithm that all Bitcoin miners must satisfy, rather than relative difficulty targets chosen by each website at will. 

Lowery, in his concept of the Electro-Cyber Dome, is essentially talking about Hash Cash. He specifically says that servers can choose the difficulty target they see fit, and never proposes that the Dome would or should use Bitcoin’s SHA-256 protocol, though it is implied in his idea of the macrochip. What he does do is use Bitcoin as the principal example of such a cybersecurity network actually working at scale; “We know for sure that electro-cyber domes can function successfully as a security protocol because this is what Bitcoin uses to secure itself and its own bits of information against systemic exploitation.”

Lowery goes further than defense, pointing out that as such systems gain adoption, a concept of aggression becomes possible by large miners, he writes; “it should be noted that this wouldn’t be a strictly “defensive” power projection capability…People with access to proof-of-power can theoretically “smash” through these electro-cyber dome defenses if desired. Thus, proof-of-power protocols are not strictly “defense only” protocols as some have argued. A top threat to people using physical cost function protocols like Bitcoin is other people using the same protocol (hence why Nakamoto mentions the word “attack” 25 times in an 8-page whitepaper, each time referring to people running the same protocol).”

Criticisms of Lowery’s Softwar Thesis 

Lowery’s Softwar thesis can be fairly described as controversial within the Bitcoin community. It’s optimistic take that large portions of military conflict could instead be settled via hash rate wars in some future has been described by Shinobi at Bicoin Magazine as “delusional”. 

Broadly speaking, critics reject the idea that data or networks external to Bitcoin can be secured in any way with Bitcoin’s technology stack, be it its POW, its blockchain or its native asset. Jameson Lopp did a multi-part review of Lowery’s thesis and book, praising many aspects of the thesis but ultimately dismissing its conclusions, saying that: “Softwar falls short on acting as a blueprint for how we should build the future.”

The most obvious question to me is whether using SHA-256 proof of work to gatekeep access to networks outside of Bitcoin makes sense in the first place, or if it could even be considered using Bitcoin. If the Electro-Cyber Dome is not demanding a high enough POW difficulty to mine any Bitcoin, if it does not use Bitcoin’s target difficulty, its asset or its blockchain, then is it using Bitcoin? 

Furthermore, given that China has the bulk of the ASIC manufacturing industry for Bitcoin mining, would INDOPACOM — the U.S. military branch in charge of keeping the Indo Pacific in check — really want to secure its cyber networks with algorithms that China mass produces chips to brute force? That seems like an awkward decision to make at best, and is more likely to lead them to consider alternative POW algorithms. But at that point, they certainly would not be using Bitcoin and would lose the macrochip argument. It would instead be using classic Hash Cash, and maybe that’s the lesson in this story. Lowery’s affinity with Bitcoin might be more of a marketing strategy and a shout-out to an industry that inspired him, rather than the actual tool that INDOPACOM might end up using.  

The Happy Middle Ground

In the gap between theory, implementation, and criticisms of Software style ideas, there exist some projects that serve as young but curious examples of how Bitcoin can secure more than money. 

SimpleProof, an Open Time Stamps-based Bitcoin notary of sorts, has been using the blockchain to record hashes of data, demonstrating that a certain version existed at a certain time. This very narrow use of Bitcoin as a time-stamping server helped defend one side of the Guatemala elections a few years ago from accusations of fraud by the opposition, resulting in real political consequences for the country. 

Michael Saylor, on the other hand, led the creation of what some have called the Orange Checkmark protocol on top of Bitcoin. This tech stack, which can be found on Github, is a privacy preserving Bitcoin native decentralized digital identity system. It gained some interest from the Bitcoin community when it was announced a couple of years ago, but it does not appear to have gained any adoption. 

Finally and ironically enough, Jameson Lopp, perhaps Lowery’s most verbose critic with three dedicated articles on the topic, actually implemented a proof-of-work-based spam protection mechanism on his website for a submission form, which, according to Lopp, works well. So if even he can see the use of these old ideas, even if just based on Hash Cash, then perhaps we will one day see Bitcoin-like technologies used to secure the networks and data of the world. 

This post What does Bitcoin “Power Projection” mean to the U.S. Military?  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

On May 12, the Senate Banking Committee released updated text of the CLARITY Act ahead of a scheduled May 14 markup.

The bill would establish new rules for digital asset intermediaries, define how certain network tokens are treated, expand the role of federal market regulators, and create a path for banks to offer crypto-related services.

It also preserves protections sought by decentralized finance developers and adds restrictions to prevent crypto platforms from offering deposit-like yield on payment stablecoin balances.

The release moves the Senate effort from private negotiation into a public committee process. If approved by the panel, the bill would still require further negotiations before reaching the Senate floor.

However, its path remains uncertain because Democratic concerns over ethics restrictions for federal officials were not resolved in the text released this week.

Still, several US lawmakers believe that the legislation could reach President Donald Trump's desk before July 4. Senator Thom Tillis said:

“After months of painstaking negotiations with stakeholders, the updated CLARITY Act language is a bipartisan compromise that will provide regulatory certainty needed to foster innovation in the United States.

I was proud to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop this improved, consensus-based product, and I look forward to Congress quickly passing this legislation and sending it to President Trump’s desk soon.”

Stablecoin rewards face new limits in CLARITY Act

The most closely watched provision in the updated bill is Section 404, which targets stablecoin yield.

The text would prohibit covered digital asset service providers and their affiliates from paying US customers passive interest or yield on payment stablecoin balances.

That language is designed to prevent exchanges and other crypto platforms from offering products that resemble interest-bearing bank deposits without being regulated as banks.

However, the bill still leaves room for activity-based rewards. Programs tied to transactions, payments, platform use, staking, governance, or loyalty activity would remain possible under future rules from the SEC, CFTC, and Treasury.

That distinction gives crypto firms a narrower path to preserve customer incentives while handing banks a partial victory in their push to stop stablecoin issuers and exchanges from competing directly with deposits.

Banking groups have argued that stablecoin reward programs could accelerate deposit flight from the banking system, especially if customers can earn yield-like benefits on dollar tokens outside insured accounts.

However, crypto firms have countered that rewards tied to platform activity are not equivalent to bank interest and should not be banned outright.

The compromise attempts to separate passive yield from commercial incentives. That line will be tested during markup, where banks, exchanges, and stablecoin issuers are likely to press lawmakers for narrower or broader wording before the bill advances.

DeFi developers keep core protections

The bill preserves key protections for software developers and infrastructure providers, a major win for DeFi advocates who had been watching whether law-enforcement concerns would narrow the language.

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) language would clarify that non-custodial blockchain developers and service providers are not money transmitters merely because they build software, validate transactions, provide computational work, or support decentralized networks.

The text also preserves criminal liability for those who intentionally transfer funds on behalf of another person while knowing the assets are tied to unlawful activity.

That balance reflects one of the bill’s central dividing lines: regulation would attach more clearly to control, custody, and customer-facing intermediation, while software development and network participation would receive explicit protection.

The DeFi provisions also address concerns that decentralized governance systems could be treated as a single controlling person or group. The text would clarify that routine governance actions, infrastructure participation, and limited cybersecurity emergency measures do not automatically establish centralized control.

Other sections of the CLARITY Act would direct regulators to develop rules for non-decentralized finance trading protocols, require risk-management programs for intermediaries routing activity through DeFi protocols, and instruct the Treasury to provide guidance for certain web-hosted front ends.

The result is a framework that protects core development activity while still giving regulators channels to police financial crime, sanctions evasion, fraud, and market manipulation.

Banks get clearer crypto clarity

The updated CLARITY Act text would also give banks and credit unions a broader statutory basis for digital asset activity.

Section 401 would clarify that national banks, state banks, financial holding companies, and certain credit unions may use digital assets and blockchain technology for activities they are otherwise allowed to conduct, including payments, lending, custody, and trading.

That provision could prove significant for traditional financial firms that have moved cautiously into crypto because of regulatory uncertainty.

Banks have long sought clearer rules on custody, tokenized assets, settlement activity, and the extent to which digital assets can be treated as incidental to existing banking powers.

However, the bill does not give banks unlimited authority to enter any crypto business. Activities would still need to fit within permissible banking functions and remain subject to prudential supervision.

Nonetheless, this language would give regulated institutions more confidence to build custody, settlement, lending, and market infrastructure around digital assets.

Meanwhile, the banking provisions also sit beside broader market reforms.

The bill would require joint SEC and CFTC rules for portfolio margining, direct regulators to modernize recordkeeping for distributed ledger systems, and create mechanisms for regulatory coordination across tokenized securities, digital commodities, and digital asset intermediaries.

For crypto firms, the banking language cuts both ways. It could bring more institutional liquidity and custody capacity to the market, but it could also intensify competition from established financial institutions once legal uncertainty subsides.

Other provisions broaden the CLARITY Act

Beyond stablecoins, DeFi, and banking powers, the CLARITY Act includes several provisions on market supervision, customer protection, tokenization, and agency coordination.

The bill would create a disclosure regime for certain network tokens classified as ancillary assets, treating the tokens themselves as commodities while requiring initial and semiannual disclosures for covered transactions.

It would also create a rebuttable presumption that a network token is an ancillary asset unless an originator or digital asset intermediary certifies that the token does not meet that standard.

The text includes resale restrictions for related persons and preserves federal insider trading laws for securities transactions involving ancillary assets.

It also states that tokenized securities remain securities, while directing the SEC to study custody, cross-border coordination, consumer protection, and other issues related to tokenized financial instruments.

Customer property receives separate treatment. The bill would treat ancillary assets and digital commodities as customer property in Chapter 7 liquidation and create an insolvency safe harbor for digital commodity transactions, mirroring protections available in conventional derivatives and securities markets.

The legislation would also require educational materials from the SEC and CFTC, disclosures on how digital commodities and payment stablecoins would be treated if a broker-dealer enters insolvency, and studies on retail financial literacy in digital asset markets.

Other provisions include a CFTC-SEC micro-innovation sandbox, an SEC-CFTC memorandum of understanding, an advisory committee on digital assets, voluntary adoption of post-quantum cryptography standards, and additional Treasury-led work on illicit finance risks.

The bill would authorize $30 million per year for FinCEN for five years and allow the agency to pay salary premiums to recruit qualified personnel.

One provision outside the core crypto framework would create a pilot program to incentivize housing development in certain Community Development Block Grant jurisdictions, giving the bill a broader legislative footprint than market structure alone.

Ethics dispute remains unresolved in the latest CLARITY Act

Despite all the progress in the CLARITY Act, its biggest political vulnerability lies outside its technical market rules.

The latest text does not include provisions restricting federal officials, including the president, vice president, lawmakers, or senior officials, from profiting from digital asset ventures while participating in crypto policy.

Democrats have increasingly tied their support to ethics language addressing public officials’ crypto holdings, transactions, and business interests.

Notably, Senator Elizabeth Warren has consistently reiterated this stance, saying:

“Any crypto legislation that doesn’t shut down this presidential corruption and protect investors isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”

Considering this, its omission in the updated bill could complicate the committee vote, even after negotiators narrowed fights over stablecoin rewards and DeFi protections.

The post CLARITY Act’s final draft has been released ahead of May 14 markup – What’s in it? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A fund manager, treasury desk, custodian, or regulated fintech function with vault accounts, policy-based approvals, granular access controls, audit trails, API access, and operational continuity when employees rotate.

That structure is reshaping how capital is allocated within DeFi, and it explains why Cardano's latest infrastructure push via Iagon's Cardano Vault, built with Fireblocks, is a bet on the operating model that serious capital actually requires.

Announced on May 8, the vault builds an enterprise control layer for Cardano-native operations comprising native assets, staking, reward withdrawals, and governance, inside a framework with vault accounts, controlled signing, approval workflows, and auditability that extends beyond a block explorer.

The vault layer

DeFi's vault industry has consolidated around a three-tier structure consisting of protocols that provide the yield or liquidity rails, curators and risk managers that define mandates and risk limits for capital deployment, and distribution platforms that make the product usable for regulated capital.

Assets under management (AUM) across Morpho and Spark grew from $2.46 billion to $5.9 billion during 2025, and capital flowing into vault structures surpassed $6 billion last year.

Bitwise predicts on-chain vaults will double in AUM through 2026, framing them as “ETFs 2.0,” a product layer that abstracts complex on-chain mechanics into manageable, parameterized exposure.

RWA.xyz defines the core model as a smart contract allocation machine in which a risk manager or curator sets the strategy and parameters that govern how deposits move across isolated lending markets.

Gauntlet's VaultBook frames vaults as non-custodial, transparent, and parameterized. They add that vaults are a critical integration layer for banks, fintechs, and payment providers moving on-chain.

The structural question both sources surface is which chains can fit inside a curator-led, risk-bounded, policy-enforced capital stack and deliver the auditability and workflow control that institutional risk teams demand.

Fireblocks' April 2026 survey found 88% of financial institutions have committed or will commit budget to digital-asset infrastructure this year, with 53% spending at production scale. Yet, only 16% have actually reached production.

Infrastructure positioning at this stage determines which chains are included in the next allocation cycle and which are bypassed.

Ethereum currently holds the deepest institutional vault infrastructure. Protocols like Morpho have established curated lending markets with risk manager-defined parameters.

Meanwhile, Solana's lower latency and expanding institutional DEX volumes position it as the performance layer for active strategies.

A curator selecting a vault deployment in 2026 defaults to Ethereum or Solana first, then evaluates alternatives based on demonstrated liquidity depth, exit reliability, and audit completeness.

Cardano's assembly

Cardano built its native feature set with staking, governance, native assets, and programmable tokens for individual users.

Delegation to stake pools, voting through DReps, and minting native assets function cleanly from a personal wallet.

An institution running a treasury or custodial operation requires workflow authorization, MPC-secured signing, approval routing across counterparties, and audit records that satisfy internal compliance requirements.

Cardano's moves have focused on creating tools for these institutional needs over the last 60-75 days. USDCx went live on Cardano on Feb. 27, with Circle xReserve backing and CCTP-based cross-chain flows providing the stablecoin foundation that institutional workflows require.

The Cardano Foundation announced in March that integration with Archax allows tokenized assets to operate inside an established regulatory framework.

CIP-0113 introduced a programmable tokens framework that embeds compliance logic directly into native assets, enabling on-chain enforcement of rules at the asset level through native protocol logic. The new Cardano Vault adds the custody and operational control layer above all of that.

The vault model also opens an opportunity in staking.

Ethereum-based vaults primarily allocate capital to lending markets and liquidity pools, while Cardano's proof-of-stake design continuously generates ADA staking rewards, without lockup periods or exposure to slashing.

A curator running a vault mandated to hold ADA with a defined yield floor can automate delegation, reward withdrawal, and reallocation inside Cardano Vault's approval framework. This yield profile is different from what Ethereum or Solana vault operators offer.

CIP-0113 extends that logic to any native asset, allowing curators to embed eligibility rules and compliance triggers at the token level within the native protocol.

DefiLlama places Cardano's total value locked (TVL) at approximately $141.2 million, stablecoin capitalization at nearly $47 million, and lending total value locked at $33.8 million. Those are modest numbers for an institutional-vault pitch, with seven-day DEX volume at $7.15 million, up 32.43% week over week.

The institutional infrastructure build is arriving before Cardano has institutional-scale on-chain depth, either reflecting a deliberate positioning or exposing a disconnect between announced rails and actual capital.

The open questions

The bull case requires USDCx, Archax, CIP-0113, and Cardano Vault to function as a coherent stack.

If real treasuries, custodians, or fintech applications run ADA, native assets, staking, and governance through Cardano Vault's control environment, and a few deployments reach production, Cardano's TVL could reach $300 million to $450 million within 12 months.

Stablecoin capitalization could also reach $100 million to $180 million, and lending TVL could reach $80 million to $120 million. The operative mechanism is curated capital entering through controlled institutional workflows, the model that drove the leading vault platforms from $2.46 billion to $5.9 billion in AUM through 2025.

The bear case is durable, with Fireblocks integrating with more than 150 blockchain networks, and Ethereum and Solana having deeper liquidity, longer institutional track records, and larger curator networks.

If Cardano Vault stays as a demo or a narrow custody extension, and Fireblocks' institutional clients continue allocating through deeper ETH- and SOL-centered vault structures, Cardano TVL holds in the $110 million-$150 million range, stablecoins edge between $35 million and $55 million, and lending barely moves.

Bitwise noted that the October 2025 volatility spike hit poorly managed vault strategies and argued that institutional-grade risk management is becoming a baseline requirement for vault participation.

That is a standard that Cardano's thinner liquidity base makes harder to meet in any scenario where curators prioritize depth and exit reliability over native-asset features.

DeFi's institutional phase belongs to the chains that can be operated inside the vault, policy, and risk-control infrastructure institutions already use, which is the stack Fireblocks, Gauntlet, Archax, and similar players provide today.

Cardano Vault is the network's bid to build enough institutional depth before allocation decisions consolidate around Ethereum and Solana.

The post Cardano wants in on the tokenized institutional vault race as DeFi’s retail focus fades appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin faces 2026's densest macro test as CPI, Warsh, and Trump-Xi collide

This week (May 11-15) has a credible claim to being the most consequential macro window of 2026 so far, as it compresses every channel currently driving risk assets into a single sequence.

Inflation, producer costs, consumer demand, Fed liquidity, central bank leadership, trade risk, oil risk, and the dollar are all scheduled to move within five trading days.

Bitcoin enters that window as a liquidity-sensitive institutional asset, making the calendar a direct test of whether the recovery above $80,000 has macro sponsorship or only positioning support.

The strongest rival week came earlier in the year, when the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz shock pushed energy markets into the center of the inflation debate.

The St. Louis Fed's review of market reactions to military action against Iran marked Feb. 28, Mar. 1, and Apr. 13 as key shock points for oil, volatility, and geopolitical repricing.

That episode carried the larger single exogenous impulse. It changed the inflation path through energy, widened the risk premium in crude, and forced investors to reprice the Fed's tolerance for cutting into a supply shock.

The March inflation data then showed how that shock entered the official series. The March CPI report showed consumer prices rising 0.9% month over month and 3.3% year over year, with energy up 10.9% and gasoline up 21.2%. The March PPI report showed final demand prices rising 0.5% in March and 4.0% over the prior 12 months, the largest annual increase since February 2023.

Those prints gave 2026 a genuine inflation shock rather than a routine data scare.

April 28-29 was the other major comparison point because it combined an FOMC decision, dissents, oil-related inflation anxiety, and the Senate Banking Committee's movement on Kevin Warsh.

The Fed held rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, but the April FOMC statement carried an unusually fractured vote. One governor dissented in favor of a 25 basis point cut, while three officials supported the hold and opposed language that leaned toward easing.

That meeting exposed a central bank split between inflation caution and growth insurance.

May 11-15 ranks above those weeks in event density.

The Iran shock was larger as a geopolitical impulse. The April FOMC was sharper as a policy signal.

This week combines both transmission paths and adds a leadership handoff. It forces markets to price in inflation persistence, consumer resilience, Treasury and reserve mechanics, Fed credibility, and U.S.-China geopolitical risk simultaneously.

For Bitcoin, that makes it the broadest macro stress test of the year so far.

The official calendar stacks inflation, demand, Fed liquidity, leadership risk, and China into one macro test sequence

The official sequence begins with inflation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has the April CPI release scheduled for Tuesday, May 12 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

It then has the April PPI release scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

That pairing gives markets a two-day signal on whether the March energy shock and tariff pressure are still moving through consumer and producer prices, or whether the inflation impulse is already losing force.

Thursday broadens the test from prices to demand and liquidity.

The Census Bureau has April retail sales scheduled for Thursday, May 14 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The Federal Reserve's May calendar lists H.4.1 balance sheet data for the same day at 4:30 p.m. ET.

That means markets receive a consumer-demand signal in the morning and a liquidity signal after the close.

A strong retail number alongside hot inflation would reinforce the case for policy restraint. A weaker retail print alongside softer inflation would give the next Fed chair more room to argue that the economy can absorb lower rates.

The balance sheet release carries direct information for crypto. The May 7 H.4.1 report showed total Fed assets near $6.71 trillion, reserve balances around $3.03 trillion on average, and the Treasury General Account near $878 billion on average.

For Bitcoin, the direction of reserves and Treasury cash balances often carries more direct market information than the headline size of the Fed's asset portfolio.

Falling reserves and a large Treasury cash balance can keep liquidity tight even when investors expect easier policy later.

Friday then adds the leadership handoff.

Jerome Powell's official term as Fed chair ends May 15, while his Board term runs to January 2028.

Powell also said at the Apr. 29 press conference that he expected to continue serving as a governor for a period after the chair term, while keeping a low public profile.

Kevin Warsh's nomination sits on the same track. The Senate Banking Committee held a nomination hearing on Apr. 21, and the committee later advanced him on a party-line vote.

Warsh could inherit his first inflation test before markets know his reaction function

Wednesday's official anchor is PPI, while the Fed calendar lists other officials and provides no primary-source basis for making a chair speech the central event.

The larger issue sits at the end of the week: Warsh could inherit his first inflation signal before his reaction function is visible.

If CPI or PPI accelerates, the new chair begins boxed in by data.

If inflation cools, he begins with room to define how quickly the Fed can pivot without inviting a bond-market credibility premium.

President Donald Trump's China trip then widens the map. He is scheduled to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing during a May 14-15 visit, according to AP.

That summit adds trade, tariffs, Taiwan, oil logistics, and dollar-risk channels to the same window as CPI, PPI, retail sales, H.4.1, and the Fed leadership transition.

A constructive summit could lower the trade-risk premium and ease the dollar bid.

A tense summit could lift the dollar and pressure offshore liquidity, especially if energy security and the Iran war remain tied to the negotiations.

That combination makes the week structurally different from the usual CPI cycle. Inflation data alone can move Bitcoin. A new Fed chair inheriting that data can change how markets price the next several meetings.

Warsh's nomination has already been framed around institutional change at the central bank, including questions about models, communications, bond holdings, and the Fed's reaction function.

That creates an immediate test: does the market treat the transition as a path toward a more responsive Fed, or as a source of uncertainty around independence, inflation tolerance, and the long-run policy framework?

A hotter sequence would put Warsh in the hardest possible opening position.

CPI and PPI strength would raise doubts about near-term cuts.

Strong retail sales would reduce the urgency for demand support.

Elevated oil prices would keep the inflation path vulnerable.

A tense Beijing summit would support the dollar through trade and geopolitical risk.

In that environment, a dovish signal from the incoming chair could backfire if bonds interpret it as political pressure or premature easing.

Bitcoin might initially respond to the idea of easier policy, but a rise in real yields and the dollar would likely cap that response.

Bitcoin's macro test transmission map runs through real yields, the dollar, ETF flows, leverage, and reserves

Bitcoin enters the week near $81,000 after recovering from the high-$75,000s around the Apr. 29 FOMC period.

That rally improved the chart structure, but the next leg depends on whether macro variables confirm the move. The relevant channel is now broader than spot demand on crypto exchanges.

Bitcoin now trades through real yields, the dollar, ETF allocation flows, leverage conditions, and the same liquidity variables that shape equities and credit.

The first channel is rates.

A hot CPI print would likely lift nominal yields and real yields if markets conclude that the Fed has less room to cut. A cooler CPI print would likely ease that pressure, especially if core inflation softens alongside headline inflation.

The distinction is important because an energy-driven headline shock can produce an awkward signal.

Powell said after the Apr. 29 meeting that officials wanted to see progress beyond the energy shock and tariff effects before easing.

If April shows hot headline inflation with cooler core inflation, the market reaction may depend on whether Warsh signals patience, urgency, or a willingness to look through the oil impulse.

The second channel is the dollar.

CryptoSlate's prior work on Bitcoin, M2, and dollar strength showed how a stronger dollar can interrupt the transmission from expanding global liquidity to BTC.

That remains the central macro risk. Bitcoin can benefit from easier policy expectations, but a rising dollar can offset that impulse by tightening global financial conditions.

This is why the Trump-Xi meeting sits inside the Bitcoin trade. Trade relief can soften the dollar and lower risk premia. Escalation can lift the dollar and pressure offshore liquidity.

The third channel is the Fed balance sheet and Treasury cash.

A Thursday H.4.1 release showing rising reserves and easing pressure from the Treasury General Account would give Bitcoin a stronger liquidity foundation.

A release showing reserve drain alongside a still-large Treasury cash pile would make any rally more dependent on ETF inflows and leverage.

CryptoSlate's analysis of debt, liquidity, and Bitcoin has already shown that aggregate liquidity can look supportive while the usable liquidity reaching risk assets remains constrained.

The next major Bitcoin move depends on whether macro test channels align

The fourth channel is institutional flow.

Since the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, BTC has become easier for traditional portfolios to buy, rebalance, and sell.

CryptoSlate's coverage of the ETF-driven market-structure shift described how institutions have become a primary force in Bitcoin liquidity and price formation.

A separate analysis of passive money noted that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had accumulated roughly $58.4 billion in cumulative net inflows by late April, with IBIT above $60 billion in net assets, reinforcing how far Bitcoin has moved into traditional allocation workflows through ETF wrappers.

That structure works in both directions.

ETF inflows can amplify a macro relief rally when yields fall, and the dollar weakens. ETF outflows can accelerate downside when real yields rise, the dollar strengthens, and leveraged traders are forced to reduce exposure.

A hot CPI and PPI sequence, strong retail sales, falling reserves, and a tense Trump-Xi outcome would be the most difficult mix for BTC because every transmission channel would point toward tighter financial conditions.

A cooler inflation sequence, resilient but slowing retail sales, improving reserves, and a less hostile China signal would give Bitcoin the strongest macro foundation it has had in 2026.

A cooler sequence would change the setup. Softer CPI and PPI would validate the idea that the March energy spike was passing through rather than embedding.

A slower but stable retail number would support a soft-landing path. A Thursday balance sheet release showing firmer reserves would improve the liquidity backdrop. A constructive Trump-Xi meeting would reduce the trade-risk premium and could weaken the dollar.

In that scenario, Warsh would have more room to define a gradual policy pivot without starting his tenure under immediate inflation pressure.

Bitcoin would then have a clearer path to test higher levels, provided ETF creations expand, and derivatives positioning avoids an unstable long build.

The mixed outcome may be the most realistic one.

Headline inflation can stay firm because of energy while core inflation cools. Retail sales can remain solid in nominal terms while real demand slows. The Fed balance sheet can show a large aggregate asset base while reserves remain under pressure. Trump and Xi can produce limited trade relief while leaving Taiwan, oil logistics, and tariff enforcement unresolved.

That mix would keep Bitcoin in a macro waiting zone. It would reward intraday volatility, but it would withhold the confirmation needed for a durable range expansion.

The next test is specific.

• Watch Warsh's first signals on inflation tolerance, balance-sheet policy, and central-bank independence.
• Watch the June FOMC path, especially whether the statement language shifts after the leadership handoff.
• Watch real yields and DXY before treating Bitcoin's move as confirmation.
• Watch H.4.1 reserves and the Treasury General Account before assuming liquidity has improved.
• Watch spot ETF net flows, funding rates, and liquidation clusters before treating a breakout as structurally supported.

If those variables align, May 11-15 becomes the week Bitcoin regained a macro tailwind after months of rate, dollar, and oil pressure.

If they fail to align, the week becomes a sharper lesson in the post-ETF regime: Bitcoin can trade like a scarce asset, a liquidity asset, and an institutional risk asset at the same time.

The direction of the next major move will come from which identity markets choose after CPI, PPI, retail sales, H.4.1, Warsh, and Trump-Xi all hit the same window.

The post This week Bitcoin faces as a new fed chair colliding with inflation in its biggest macro test of the year appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A senior White House official has accused major banking trade leaders of refusing to join earlier talks on stablecoin rewards, escalating a dispute that has become one of the final pressure points ahead of the Senate Banking Committee taking up the CLARITY Act this week.

In a May 11 post on the social media platform X, Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Presidential Advisory Committee on Digital Assets, said he had asked American Bankers Association President Rob Nichols and other bank trade CEOs to attend the February meetings aimed at resolving the question of stablecoin rewards and yield.

He stated:

“I specifically requested the attendance of Mr. Nichols and other bank trade CEOs at the meetings we hosted back in February to resolve the stablecoin rewards/yield issue. They refused. I guess the White House was beneath them?”

The criticism injected the White House more directly into a fight that has divided banks, crypto companies, and lawmakers ahead of a scheduled May 14 markup of the CLARITY Act.

The bill is designed to create a broader market structure framework for digital assets, but the treatment of stablecoin rewards has become a flashpoint over competition for deposits, consumer yield, and the future shape of dollar-based payments.

Witt’s comments also reframed the timing of the banking industry’s objections. Rather than a new technical concern emerging before a committee vote, the White House official cast the dispute as an unresolved issue that banking leaders had an opportunity to address months earlier.

Banks reopen stablecoin rewards fight before markup

Over the weekend, the American Bankers Association (ABA) urged bank executives and employees to press senators for tighter restrictions in the CLARITY Act before the committee vote, warning that the current bill could still allow crypto firms to offer reward structures that resemble interest on deposit-like products.

Nichols told bankers that lawmakers needed to hear from the industry before the legislation advanced.

The ABA’s concern is that stablecoin issuers, exchanges, or related companies could attract customer funds by offering returns on assets that compete directly with traditional bank deposits.

That argument has become central to the US bank lobby’s campaign.

Banks rely on deposits as a funding base for loans to households, small businesses, farms, and corporations. If customers move cash into stablecoins that offer rewards, banks argue that lenders could face higher funding costs, tighter margins, and less capacity to extend credit.

The banking industry has described the current compromise language as leaving a loophole.

In its view, a ban on stablecoin issuers paying yield would be insufficient if affiliated exchanges, brokers, or other crypto platforms could deliver similar economic benefits through rewards, rebates, or incentive programs.

That position has put banks at odds with crypto companies that see the rewards language as a basic competition issue.

Stablecoin reserves are typically held in cash, short-term Treasuries, or other liquid instruments that generate income. The policy fight centers on whether consumers should be able to receive part of that return, and which type of institution should be allowed to offer it.

The recent Senate compromise has attempted to separate passive yield from activity-based rewards.

That distinction was meant to prevent stablecoins from becoming direct substitutes for interest-bearing deposits while preserving room for crypto platforms to reward users for participation, payments, or other services.

White House analysis undercuts the lending warning

The banking industry’s warnings have met resistance from the White House’s own economic analysis.

The Council of Economic Advisers said in an April report that banning stablecoin yield would provide only a marginal lift to bank lending under its baseline assumptions. The CEA estimated that such a ban would increase bank lending by about $2.1 billion, equal to roughly 0.02% of total lending in the base case.

That finding gives the administration a counterweight to the banking sector’s claim that stablecoin rewards could meaningfully damage credit creation.

The report argued that most stablecoin reserves would not be permanently removed from the banking system. Instead, reserves held in cash, bank deposits, or Treasury instruments would continue to circulate through financial markets in different forms.

The CEA also said a more severe impact would require a much larger stablecoin market and more restrictive assumptions about how reserves are held. In the administration’s framing, stablecoin rewards may affect bank margins, but the baseline effect on lending capacity appears limited.

Moreover, a separate analysis by Galaxy Research furthered the argument by focusing on the international flow of dollars.

Galaxy said banks were overstating the risk that stablecoin growth would simply drain domestic deposits. Its model projected that much of the growth under a regulated stablecoin framework would come from offshore users seeking easier access to dollar-denominated assets.

That finding changes the economic lens. If stablecoins mostly draw funds from US bank accounts, banks face a direct deposit migration problem.

However, if much of the growth comes from foreign users moving into dollar stablecoins, the effect could be an inflow into US financial infrastructure rather than a one-way drain from domestic lenders.

Galaxy estimated that 60% to 70% of stablecoin growth under the GENIUS Act framework could originate offshore. It also projected that imported deposits from foreign demand could exceed domestic deposit migration by roughly 2:1.

The firm said each newly minted stablecoin dollar could generate about 32 cents of net US credit, with total credit expansion reaching about $400 billion through 2030 in its base case and as much as $1.2 trillion in a stronger growth scenario.

It also projected that stablecoin reserve demand could compress Treasury bill yields by 3 to 5 basis points, potentially lowering federal borrowing costs.

Meanwhile, Galaxy did not dismiss the pressure on banks. The report said some low-cost deposits would likely migrate, funding costs could rise at the margin, and net interest margins could compress in business lines sensitive to rate competition.

Still, the firm concluded that stablecoins could pressure banks that rely on cheap deposits, increase demand for US Treasury bills, import offshore dollar capital, and expand the reach of the US financial system.

Crypto allies accuse banks of protecting margins

Crypto advocacy groups have seized on the ABA’s push as evidence that banks are trying to block competition days before the committee vote on the CLARITY Act.

Coinbase-backed Stand With Crypto urged supporters to contact senators, saying banking lobbyists were trying to weaken stablecoin rewards language before the markup.

The group framed the dispute as a consumer-rights issue, arguing that users should be able to earn returns on their own digital assets rather than have that value captured by intermediaries.

Cody Carbone, CEO of The Digital Chamber, said banks had months to negotiate over the issue and were now trying to force changes late in the process. He described the ABA campaign as an attempt to shield incumbents from competition after earlier opportunities to engage had passed.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican on the Banking Committee and a supporter of crypto legislation, used sharper language about the bank's opposition to CLARITY Act.

He accused the “banking cartel” of trying to preserve a system in which banks pay depositors little while earning profits from lending and securities portfolios.

Moreno wrote on X:

“During the Biden era, these same banks worked hand-in-glove with Sen. Warren and her allies to debank Americans, including President Trump’s own family. They shut down accounts of conservatives, patriots, and anyone who dared challenge the regime, all while regulators applied pressure under schemes like Operation Choke Point 2.0. It wasn’t about risk. It was about political control. Now that innovative stablecoins threaten to break their monopoly and give you actual financial freedom? They’re running to Congress again, screaming about ‘threats to economic growth and financial stability.'”

Moreno’s statement showed how the stablecoin rewards dispute has moved beyond technical drafting.

The fight now carries a broader political message about financial competition, consumer returns, and resentment toward large banking institutions.

That rhetoric could help crypto advocates rally support, especially among Republicans who view stablecoins as part of a broader agenda around financial innovation and dollar competitiveness.

However, it also risks hardening opposition from lawmakers who are already concerned that crypto firms are seeking bank-like privileges without equivalent oversight.

Markup will test whether the stablecoin compromise can hold

The Senate Banking Committee’s May 14 markup will show whether the rewards compromise can withstand a coordinated pushback from the banking industry.

If the committee advances the CLARITY Act with the current language largely intact, crypto firms will claim momentum, and banks will likely shift their campaign to the full Senate.

If lawmakers tighten the rewards provisions, the banking industry will have succeeded in reopening one of the most contested parts of the bill at the final stage before markup.

Meanwhile, the vote will also test the broader coalition behind the CLARITY Act. Republicans have pushed digital-asset legislation as a priority, while some Democrats have remained open to a market-structure bill if it includes stronger consumer protections, ethics, and anti-money-laundering provisions.

The stablecoin fight complicates that effort because it cuts across several policy lines at once. It raises questions about bank funding, consumer yield, Treasury demand, offshore dollar usage, and the role of crypto firms in payments.

That gives senators several reasons to demand changes, but also makes the issue difficult to settle cleanly.

The post White House reveals US banks ‘refused’ to attend meetings to resolve stablecoin rewards issue in CLARITY Act appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin is entering one of its most consequential trading weeks since its February correction, with Middle East tensions pushing oil prices higher, inflation expectations hardening, and options traders positioning for a possible break above $85,000.

According to CryptoSlate's data, the largest digital asset briefly dipped on Sunday after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest response to a US peace proposal, then recovered above $82,000 before easing near $81,034 as of press time.

The move kept Bitcoin inside the narrow range that has defined trading in recent weeks, even as geopolitical risk continued to feed into energy markets and rate expectations.

Notably, Trump called Iran’s counteroffer “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE” after Tehran sought war reparations, the unfreezing of blocked financial assets, and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway has become the main channel through which the US-Iran conflict is reaching global markets, given its role in the movement of oil and liquefied natural gas.

That continued market tension has created a difficult setup for Bitcoin, as a prolonged oil shock can keep inflation sticky, delay Federal Reserve rate cuts, and pressure speculative assets.

Yet Bitcoin has continued to hold near $80,000, while options data, fund flows, and Washington’s crypto calendar suggest traders may be underestimating the risk of an upside squeeze.

Oil shock puts inflation back at the center

The immediate test comes Tuesday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases April consumer price index data.

Markets are bracing for a reacceleration in headline inflation after the surge in global oil prices, with economists expecting CPI to rise 0.6% from March and 3.7% from a year earlier, up from 3.3% in March. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, is expected to hold near 2.7% year over year.

March already showed the strain from higher energy prices. CPI rose at the year's fastest annual pace, with the energy component surging as gasoline prices climbed.

That has made April’s report a direct test of whether the oil shock remains contained in headline inflation or is beginning to filter into broader goods and services prices.

David Auerbach, chief investment officer at Hoya Capital, said the coming data slate could shape expectations for the Fed’s policy path, with CPI on Tuesday, followed by producer prices on Wednesday, retail sales on Thursday, and jobless claims later in the week.

He said headline CPI is expected to show a notable reacceleration tied to oil, while core CPI will be watched for signs that energy costs are moving into broader categories.

Prediction markets have leaned toward the same sticky-inflation view. Polymarket traders assigned a 100% probability that 2026 inflation tops 3% and a 94% probability that it exceeds 3.5%, while Kalshi pricing showed April CPI above 3.2% year-over-year.

Polymarket traders also showed a 55.6% probability that the Fed will deliver no rate cuts in 2026, while traders assigned a 95.5% probability to the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting ending with rates unchanged.

However, the counterpoint is coming from real-time inflation gauges. Truflation’s US inflation index has been running near 2% year over year, with its methodology designed to track price changes daily rather than through the lagged monthly process used in official CPI data.

That softer reading has given crypto bulls an argument that goods, food, and gasoline pressures may already be cooling beneath the surface, even as official inflation forecasts rise on the oil shock.

For Bitcoin, the distinction is critical. A hot CPI print would reinforce expectations that the Fed remains on hold, potentially dragging Bitcoin back toward $80,000 and then the $78,000 support zone.

However, a cooler print would weaken the sticky-inflation trade, improve risk appetite, and reopen the path toward the $85,000 zone watched by traders.

Washington gives Bitcoin bulls a catalyst

The political calendar adds another source of potential volatility for BTC this week.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to consider the CLARITY Act on May 14, advancing a long-awaited crypto market-structure bill that would define when digital tokens fall under securities or commodities rules.

The bill has become a focal point for crypto firms, banks, and investors seeking a clearer US regulatory framework.

A compromise negotiated by Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks would prohibit customer rewards on idle stablecoin holdings, which banks argue resemble deposit interest, while allowing rewards tied to active stablecoin usage, such as payments.

That language has kept banking groups and crypto advocates locked in a late-stage dispute before the markup.

For Bitcoin traders, the May 14 vote is less about any single stablecoin provision than the signal it sends about whether Congress can move a crypto bill through a divided Senate.

A smooth markup would strengthen the argument that US digital-asset rules are moving toward legislation after years of enforcement-driven uncertainty. However, a delay or fractured vote would remove one of the week’s potential upside catalysts.

The Fed calendar is also in focus. Senate Republicans have made Kevin Warsh’s confirmation a priority, with the process unfolding as Jerome Powell’s term nears its end, according to Roll Call.

The leadership transition is landing at the same time as the CPI report, giving markets little room to separate inflation data from expectations for the central bank’s next phase.

Options book leaves room for a break higher

The macro risk is colliding with a market structure that has started to tilt away from the heavy defensive positioning seen earlier this year.

In a note shared with CryptoSlate, crypto research firm 10x Research said:

“The Kevin Warsh Senate confirmation vote on Monday May 11 and expected CLARITY Act progress on Thursday May 14 are precisely the kind of macro and regulatory catalysts that force defensive positioning to unwind. Institutions that placed put hedges during the January-to-April drawdown have no reason to maintain them into a confirmed Fed leadership transition and legislative crypto clarity.”

According to the firm, Bitcoin traders remain too complacent about the effect of expiring put positions, even as demand for upside calls has increased.

Since mid-January, Bitcoin’s aggregate gamma exposure has been deeply negative, reaching roughly -$3.2 billion around the $82,000 strike, according to the firm’s analysis.

Negative gamma forces dealers to hedge in the direction of the market. When Bitcoin rises, dealers buy to maintain their hedges. When it falls, they sell. That dynamic can intensify both rallies and selloffs, especially when a directional catalyst arrives.

10x Research stated that the same structure has helped keep Bitcoin pinned in a narrow band in recent weeks.

According to the firm, BTC rallies have been met by covered-call selling from yield-focused holders, while dips have been cushioned by put hedges.

The result has been a market that moves violently intraday but repeatedly returns to the $78,000 to $82,000 area.

However, that balance could change as the May 29 and June 26 expiries approach. The May expiry carries significant near-term put open interest, while June 26 is the largest expiry in the structure, with about $12 billion in notional exposure and calls and puts nearly balanced.

If those positions expire without being replaced, the hedging pressure that has restrained Bitcoin’s direction could fade.

Considering the above, the levels are straightforward. BTC holding above $80,000 into the May 29 expiry would reduce the near-term put overhang.

However, a move through $85,000 would put Bitcoin above the gamma-flip level identified by 10x Research, shifting dealer positioning in a way that could make rallies less constrained and force traders positioned defensively to chase upside.

The post These forces could push Bitcoin higher this week even as US-Iran tensions continue to rattle markets appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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.

Michael Saylor is once again at the centre of the Bitcoin conversation after hinting that Strategy could be preparing for more BTC activity. His latest “back to work” style message caught the attention of crypto traders, especially as Bitcoin price continues to hold above the important $80,000 level.

The timing matters. Bitcoin is trading around $81,000, while the broader crypto market is showing signs of recovery. Ethereum is back above $2,300, XRP is outperforming several major coins, and Solana is also moving higher. In this environment, any signal from Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, can quickly become a market catalyst.

Michael Saylor Bitcoin Signal: Why Traders Are Watching Strategy Again

Michael Saylor has built a strong reputation in the crypto market because of Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy. Over the past years, the company has turned into a corporate Bitcoin proxy, with investors often watching its moves as a signal of institutional conviction.

According to recent reports, Strategy holds around 818,334 BTC, making it the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the market. The company also recently reported a major quarterly loss linked to Bitcoin’s earlier price decline, but it still remains deeply exposed to the long-term Bitcoin thesis.

This is why Saylor’s public signals matter. Whenever he posts or hints at renewed activity, traders often speculate that another Bitcoin purchase could follow. While a post alone does not confirm a new buy, the market tends to treat Saylor’s messages as important because they have often appeared around periods of Strategy Bitcoin accumulation.

Bitcoin Holds Above $80K as Market Sentiment Improves

Bitcoin price is currently holding around $81,272, according to the latest market data shown on TradingView. The coin is up slightly over the past 24 hours, while its market cap remains above $1.6 trillion.

This is important because the $80,000 zone has become a key psychological level for BTC. After the recent correction and recovery, traders are watching whether Bitcoin can hold this area as support. If BTC stays above $80K, the market could begin pricing in another move toward higher resistance levels.

The broader market also supports this narrative. Ethereum is trading around $2,348, Solana is near $94.5, XRP is around $1.47, and BNB is above $656. This shows that the recovery is not limited to Bitcoin only. However, BTC remains the main driver of crypto market direction.

Could More Strategy Bitcoin Buying Push BTC Higher?

If Strategy announces another Bitcoin purchase, it could strengthen bullish sentiment in the short term. Corporate buying does not guarantee a price rally, but it can create confidence among traders, especially during uncertain market phases.

There are three reasons why a new Strategy purchase would matter now.

First, it would show that Saylor and Strategy are still committed to the Bitcoin accumulation strategy despite recent volatility and financial pressure.

Second, it would reinforce the idea that institutional buyers are willing to buy BTC even above $80,000.

Third, it could bring fresh attention to Bitcoin at a time when the market is already trying to recover from recent weakness.

At the same time, traders should remain careful. Strategy’s Bitcoin exposure is already massive, and recent reports showed that the company faced a large quarterly loss due to Bitcoin’s earlier decline. That means every new purchase also increases the company’s dependence on BTC price performance.

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Can BTC Move Toward $85K Next?

From a market structure perspective, Bitcoin holding above $80K keeps the short-term outlook constructive. If buyers defend this level, BTC could attempt another move toward the $84,000 to $85,000 range. A clean breakout above that zone could open the door for a stronger move toward $88,000 and possibly $90,000.

However, if Bitcoin loses the $80K support again, the market could see renewed selling pressure. In that case, traders may watch the $78,000 to $76,000 area as the next important support zone.

For now, the key question is simple: can Bitcoin stay above $80,000 long enough for institutional and retail confidence to return? If Saylor’s hint turns into another confirmed Strategy purchase, BTC could receive the extra push it needs to continue its recovery.

What This Means for the Crypto Market

Michael Saylor’s latest hint comes at a sensitive moment for crypto. Bitcoin is recovering, altcoins are starting to move, and traders are looking for confirmation that the market has enough strength to continue higher.

A new Strategy Bitcoin buy would not only affect BTC sentiment. It could also support the broader crypto market by improving confidence in digital assets as a long-term investment class. Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and other major altcoins could benefit if Bitcoin continues to lead the market upward.

Still, the market remains volatile. Macro risks, regulatory uncertainty, and profit-taking can quickly change the trend. For now, Bitcoin holding above $80K is the level to watch, and Michael Saylor may have just given traders another reason to stay focused on the next move.

$BTC, $ETH, $XRP, $SOL, $BNB

OpenAI said its new Daybreak initiative uses AI to help companies identify software vulnerabilities and speed up cyber defense.

ERNIE 5.1 hits the top of Chinese AI leaderboards while spending a fraction of what rivals do. Baidu calls it a "parameter efficiency" leap.

USDC issuer Circle launched a suite of tools designed to let AI agents hold money, pay for services, and transact without human involvement.

Crypto leaders are the most confident they’ve been in months—but a major vote on the Senate Banking Committee this week could still go many ways.

Cybercriminals used an AI model to find and weaponize a previously unknown software flaw, Google's threat team confirmed Monday.

Shiba Inu community turns up the heat with 710% SHIB burn rate surge emerging.

Ripple's veteran Schwartz breaks down his biggest crypto profit, his strict risk-mitigation strategy, and the math behind a $100 million missed opportunity.

The clarity is finally here–both the act and clarity for investors.

South Korea’s current cryptocurrency stagnation is merely the "calm before the storm," according to Bitwise advisor Jeff Park.

Legendary hedge fund manager Ray Dalio has reignited the debate over Bitcoin’s viability as a safe haven.

Key Takeaways

• Shares of Advanced Micro Devices peaked at $469.22 during Monday’s trading session, finishing 0.79% higher at $458.79
• According to GF Securities projections, the server CPU sector may expand from $26 billion in 2025 to $135 billion by decade’s end, representing 38% compound annual growth
• AMD’s data center CPU division is projected to experience 73% expansion in 2026, while CEO Lisa Su has doubled the company’s long-term growth forecast to 35%
• Major Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Bernstein elevated their ratings to Buy after the chipmaker delivered results exceeding expectations across all metrics
• Prominent investor Stone Fox Capital projects shares could climb to $600, with company revenues potentially crossing $100 billion next year

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices finished Monday’s trading at $458.79, gaining 0.79%, after establishing a fresh 52-week peak of $469.22 earlier in the session. The upward momentum reflects Wall Street’s growing interest in CPU manufacturers and data center equipment providers amid the expanding AI infrastructure landscape.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD

What’s fueling this rally? A powerful combination of impressive quarterly results and mounting evidence that the next wave of artificial intelligence investment will flow heavily through server processors — extending beyond GPU-only strategies.

The semiconductor giant exceeded Wall Street projections across earnings, revenue, and forward guidance in its most recent quarterly disclosure. Chief Executive Lisa Su highlighted AI agents as creating “tremendous demand” throughout the entire AI adoption spectrum.

Su dramatically revised the company’s long-term server CPU market projections upward — jumping from an 18% growth forecast issued in November to a 35% compound annual growth rate, with the addressable market potentially expanding to $120 billion by 2030. AMD is actively increasing wafer procurement and back-end production capabilities to address anticipated demand levels.

According to Su, the data-center business unit has evolved into the “primary driver” of the company’s revenue expansion and profit growth, with inference workloads and agentic AI applications accelerating demand for high-performance processors and accelerators.

Wall Street Analysts Raise Ratings

Both Goldman Sachs and Bernstein elevated Advanced Micro Devices to Buy recommendations following the quarterly report, emphasizing robust CPU demand linked to AI computing requirements.

JPMorgan characterized the results as demonstrating a “structural inflection” across both server processor and data-center accelerator segments.

Wedbush’s Matt Bryson increased his price objective to $450 with an Outperform designation, highlighting improved unit volumes and favorable pricing dynamics associated with compute infrastructure supporting agentic AI.

Citi’s Atif Malik elevated his target to $358 while maintaining a Neutral stance, expressing optimism regarding AMD’s CPU market opportunity.

The prevailing Wall Street consensus reflects a Strong Buy recommendation, comprising 27 Buy ratings alongside 8 Hold ratings. The mean 12-month price objective stands at $442.94.

The Optimistic Outlook

Analytical firm GF Securities identified AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm as well-positioned to capitalize on an emerging server CPU supercycle. The research house forecasts 73% revenue growth for AMD’s server CPU business in 2026.

Mizuho’s Jordan Klein suggested to CNBC that the semiconductor sector’s momentum might represent a “changing of the guard in AI,” with capital flowing toward AMD, Intel, Micron, and Corning.

Prominent investor Stone Fox Capital, ranked among the top 4% of equity analysts on TipRanks, describes the CPU market opportunity as “huge” and anticipates AMD’s server processor revenue expanding tenfold by 2030.

Stone Fox projects the company could achieve $100 billion in aggregate revenue next year — surpassing consensus analyst projections of $75 billion for 2027 — and potentially exceeding $175 billion by decade’s end.

This revenue trajectory, according to Stone Fox’s analysis, supports a valuation of $600 per share when applying a 20x price-to-earnings multiple.

Cautionary Voices Emerge

BTIG’s Jonathan Krinsky sounded a cautionary note, drawing parallels between the current semiconductor rally and the late-1990s technology bubble. He cautioned the sector might experience a correction ranging from 25% to 30% following aggressive valuation expansion.

Bank of America projects the data-center CPU market expanding from $27 billion in 2025 to $60 billion by 2030, a notably more restrained forecast compared to GF Securities’ $135 billion estimate.

Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan reinforced AMD’s optimistic CPU outlook during his company’s recent quarterly call, validating the perspective that server processors represent a significant growth catalyst throughout the semiconductor industry.

The post Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Stock Surges to New 52-Week Peak Amid AI Server Boom appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Quantum Computing Inc. delivered Q1 2026 revenue of $3.69 million, compared to merely $39,000 in the year-ago quarter, surpassing analyst projections of $3.13 million.
• Shares climbed 16% during premarket hours after the earnings announcement.
• The company’s Arizona manufacturing facility has started producing initial revenue streams, with plans underway for a second location.
• CEO Yuping Huang emphasized the strategic importance of acquiring Luminar Semiconductor and NuCrypt to achieve manufacturing scale.
• Operating deficits expanded to $20 million compared to $8.3 million in the prior-year period, attributed to elevated costs and reduced accounting gains from an earlier business combination.

Shares of Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) rallied 16% in premarket activity Tuesday following the company’s announcement of first-quarter revenue totaling $3.69 million — significantly exceeding Wall Street’s $3.13 million projection and representing a dramatic increase from the modest $39,000 recorded during the first quarter of 2025.

Quantum Computing, Inc., QUBT

Prior to the earnings release, the stock had been underperforming. As of Monday’s market close, QUBT had declined 0.8% year to date, substantially lagging behind the Nasdaq 100’s robust 16% advance.

The impressive revenue performance offered fresh momentum for an enterprise that has long faced investor doubt regarding its historically negligible income generation and questions about operational clarity.

However, the financial picture contained some concerning elements. Operating deficits grew to $20 million versus $8.3 million twelve months earlier. The company recorded a net loss of $4.1 million, contrasting with nearly $17 million in profit during the comparable 2025 period — though that earlier profitability was substantially inflated by accounting benefits connected to a prior corporate merger.

Escalating operational expenditures primarily accounted for the expanding losses.

Arizona Manufacturing Site Starting to Contribute

The company’s thin-film lithium niobate chip manufacturing center in Arizona — a facility that has faced examination from bearish investors — has begun delivering initial revenue contributions, according to management.

Specific revenue figures from the facility were not disclosed in the quarterly report. QCi additionally announced intentions to establish a second production location to boost manufacturing throughput.

Bearish research firm Iceberg Research claimed in the final months of 2024 that the Arizona location was merely a modest laboratory lacking industrial-scale production capabilities, providing photographic evidence and architectural layouts to support their assertions. The company has not issued a formal rebuttal to these charges.

Executive Team and Strategic Acquisitions

Chief Executive Yuping Huang, who officially assumed the position in January 2026 following an interim appointment, highlighted two recent corporate acquisitions as critical strategic achievements.

Quantum Computing finalized its acquisition of Luminar Semiconductor in February 2026. The semiconductor unit’s former parent organization had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last December before approving the asset sale.

The firm also completed the purchase of quantum optics specialist NuCrypt. Huang indicated both transactions will accelerate the organization’s trajectory toward production scalability and enhance its competitive position in quantum communications and photonic technologies.

Industry competitor Rigetti Computing (RGTI), which released its own quarterly results after market hours, declined 0.8% in premarket trading.

Quantum Computing’s market capitalization currently stands near $2.3 billion. The company’s price-to-sales multiple remains at approximately 3,393, signaling market participants are pricing in substantial future revenue expansion far exceeding present levels.

Company insiders disposed of $0.6 million in shares over the past ninety days, with zero insider buying activity recorded throughout the same timeframe.

The post Quantum Computing (QUBT) Stock Soars 16% on Explosive Revenue Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• First-quarter earnings showed a 66-cent per share loss alongside $14.7 million in revenue, falling short of analyst projections calling for a 23-cent loss and $39 million in sales.
• Despite the quarterly miss, AST SpaceMobile kept its 2026 annual revenue forecast unchanged at $150 million to $200 million.
• Shares of ASTS declined approximately 11% during Tuesday’s premarket session, trading near $73.10.
• The satellite company closed the first quarter holding roughly $3.5 billion in cash reserves and more than $1.2 billion in committed revenue contracts.
• Analysts anticipate the company won’t achieve profitability until 2028, with forecasted revenue reaching $1.6 billion that year.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) tumbled approximately 11% during Tuesday’s premarket hours, settling around $73.10, following the release of first-quarter financial results that significantly underperformed analyst expectations.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc., ASTS

The satellite communications company disclosed a quarterly loss of 66 cents per share alongside revenue totaling $14.7 million. This performance fell notably short of Wall Street’s consensus forecast, which anticipated a loss of merely 23 cents per share on sales of $39 million. For comparison, the same period last year saw AST record a loss of 20 cents per share with revenue of only $718,000.

The first-quarter shortfall is substantial. Sales figures reached barely 38% of analyst projections.

Yet the company chose not to revise its forward-looking projections. AST SpaceMobile reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue target ranging from $150 million to $200 million. Current Wall Street estimates center around $177 million for the full year.

This unchanged guidance provided some reassurance to shareholders following an underwhelming quarterly performance.

Context matters here: ASTS had climbed 10% during Monday’s regular session leading up to the earnings announcement, and had surged 220% throughout the preceding twelve months. Investor enthusiasm was clearly elevated.

Expanding Satellite Infrastructure

AST is constructing a satellite-based cellular network designed to enable ordinary smartphones to communicate directly with orbiting satellites — eliminating the need for specialized equipment.

The company has demonstrated peak download speeds of 98.9 megabits per second utilizing its operational Block 1 satellites. Additionally, it secured Federal Communications Commission approval to commercially deploy its Bluebird satellite constellation across the United States.

AST’s roadmap calls for 45 satellites to reach orbit by year-end 2026. The company operates manufacturing facilities spanning over half a million square feet internationally to facilitate production capacity.

Committed revenue agreements with commercial partners surpassed $1.2 billion as of the March quarter-end. However, an updated backlog valuation wasn’t disclosed in the quarterly earnings announcement.

A notable challenge emerged: AST lost its Bluebird 7 satellite following an upper stage malfunction during the launch sequence — highlighting the inherent operational risks in satellite deployment missions.

Timeline to Financial Break-Even

Analysts on Wall Street don’t forecast AST achieving positive net income until 2028, the same year annual revenue is expected to reach $1.6 billion.

The company concluded the first quarter holding approximately $3.5 billion in available cash. Financial analysts project cash consumption of roughly $1.6 billion throughout 2026 and $800 million during 2027, before achieving positive free cash flow in 2028.

Capital spending is scheduled to increase dramatically in the second quarter, with management projecting expenditures between $575 million and $650 million — primarily attributed to launch service payments.

AST currently maintains a market capitalization approaching $32 billion.

The company depends on several launch service providers, and potential scheduling delays from these partners could impact deployment timelines and subsequently affect revenue growth trajectories.

The Q2 capital expenditure guidance ranging from $575 million to $650 million highlights the considerable financial investment required during this infrastructure development phase.

The post AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Stock Plunges 11% as Q1 Revenue Misses Expectations by Over 60% appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Q1 2026 revenue reached $163.5 million, surpassing analyst consensus of approximately $140 million.
• Shares gained 12.8% during Monday’s session and extended gains by 6.3% in Tuesday’s premarket.
• Loss per share of -$0.08 exceeded forecasts calling for -$0.10, representing a 20% earnings surprise.
• Year-over-year gross margin expansion of 42 percentage points, climbing from -55% to -13%.
• Company reaffirms pathway to achieving positive EBITDA during the fourth quarter of 2026.

The hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer delivered first-quarter financial results that significantly exceeded analyst expectations, triggering a sharp rally in shares. Plug Power (PLUG) generated revenue of $163.5 million compared to the Street’s consensus of approximately $140 million.

Plug Power Inc., PLUG

Shares jumped 12.8% during Monday’s regular session. Extended-hours trading on Tuesday morning showed additional gains of 6.3%, pushing the price to $3.74.

The company’s loss per share registered at -$0.08, outperforming the anticipated -$0.10. This represents a favorable variance of 20% and marks a 53% sequential improvement from the -$0.17 loss recorded during the first quarter of 2025.

Top-line growth came in at 22% compared to the prior-year period. During Q1 2025, the company reported an operational deficit of approximately $180 million against revenue of roughly $134 million.

This quarter’s operating deficit narrowed to about $109 million. Analyst projections had anticipated a loss near $110 million.

The market’s short interest positioning added intrigue to the report. Approximately 25% of the company’s float remains sold short—translating to roughly 350 million borrowed shares. This contrasts sharply with the Russell 2000’s average short interest of around 8%.

Given the positive results, some short sellers likely closed positions preemptively, potentially amplifying upward price momentum.

Profitability Metrics Advancing

Gross margin demonstrated substantial progress, expanding from -55% in the year-ago quarter to -13% currently—a remarkable 42-point improvement. Per-unit service expenses declined by more than 30%.

The electrolyzer segment delivered particularly impressive results, with revenue climbing 343% year-over-year. Meanwhile, hydrogen fuel sales posted 22% annual growth.

Capital spending remained conservative at only $7 million during the quarter. The balance sheet reflected $802 million in available cash at quarter-end.

Analyst consensus for full-year 2026 anticipates an operating loss around $350 million on total revenue near $800 million. Annual cash consumption is projected at approximately $250 million.

Timeline for Profitability Unchanged

Executive leadership confirmed the company remains on track to achieve positive EBITDA by the final quarter of 2026. CEO Andy Marsh emphasized that margin enhancement and revenue acceleration align with strategic objectives.

This isn’t the first earnings-driven surge for the stock. Following fourth-quarter results released on March 2, Plug shares spiked 23% when management initially outlined the EBITDA timeline alongside better-than-feared losses.

Over the trailing twelve months, the stock has delivered returns exceeding 300% and has climbed approximately 78% year-to-date. However, shares remain substantially below the five-year peak of over $46.

The 52-week trading range spans from $0.69 to $4.58. PLUG settled at $3.09 in after-hours trading Monday following the earnings announcement.

The post Plug Power (PLUG) Stock Jumps Over 12% Following Strong Q1 Revenue Beat appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Qualcomm shares jumped 8.4% Monday, closing at an unprecedented $237.53
• Year-to-date gains stand at 39%, with a remarkable 32% surge in May alone
• CEO Cristiano Amon announced a custom data-center chip scheduled for delivery to a major hyperscaler in Q4 2026
• Daiwa Securities elevated its rating from Neutral to Outperform, setting a $225 target
• The stock’s five-session winning streak represents its strongest performance since April 2019

Qualcomm shares finished Monday’s trading session at $237.53, marking an 8.4% daily increase and surpassing the company’s prior record close of $227.09 from June 2024. The chipmaker ranked among the S&P 500’s top performers for the day.

QUALCOMM Incorporated, QCOM

This surge extends an impressive momentum streak. The stock has posted gains for five consecutive trading days, accumulating a 41% increase during that period. Market data from Dow Jones indicates this represents QCOM’s strongest five-day performance since late April 2019.

The upward trajectory follows Qualcomm’s April 29 fiscal second-quarter earnings release, which exceeded Wall Street projections for both top-line revenue and bottom-line earnings. While the financial results were impressive, subsequent announcements sparked even greater investor enthusiasm.

During the analyst call, CEO Cristiano Amon revealed that preliminary deliveries of a custom data-center chip are planned for the December quarter, destined for a significant hyperscaler client. While the customer’s identity remains undisclosed, Amon characterized it as a “large hyperscaler” and suggested an ongoing, multi-generation partnership. Additional information is anticipated during Qualcomm’s June investor day.

This announcement fundamentally altered market perception. While investors traditionally categorized Qualcomm as a smartphone-focused semiconductor company, the data-center initiative demonstrates a strategic pivot — transforming into a player in AI infrastructure at an enterprise scale.

Analyst Community Takes Notice

In the wake of the earnings announcement and Amon’s strategic revelations, several analysts revised their positions. Daiwa Securities upgraded QCOM from Neutral to Outperform while establishing a $225 price objective. Both Tigress Financial and Benchmark similarly increased their price targets.

Despite the optimistic trading activity, the consensus rating among more than 40 analysts surveyed by FactSet remains at Hold, with an aggregate price target of $176.72. Current trading levels place QCOM approximately 34% above that consensus forecast.

Broader semiconductor sector strength contributed to Monday’s rally. Intel shares rose 3.6% following reports of a tentative agreement to produce chips for Apple products. The PHLX Semiconductor Index recently recorded its most substantial 25-day advance since the dot-com era in 2000.

Diversification Strategy Unfolds

Qualcomm has systematically expanded its revenue portfolio beyond traditional smartphone components, incorporating automotive applications, internet-of-things devices, and AI-powered solutions. The company’s fiscal Q2 performance illustrated this strategic diversification, with meaningful contributions across multiple market segments.

Industry analysts project global semiconductor revenue will exceed $1 trillion this year, primarily driven by AI infrastructure and data-center expansion. This industry-wide catalyst has elevated the entire sector, and Qualcomm appears strategically positioned to capture market share in data-center segments where it hasn’t historically maintained a presence.

QCOM has appreciated 36% since the beginning of January. The trailing twelve-month performance shows a 56% gain.

The company plans to elaborate on its data-center strategy during its upcoming investor day scheduled for June.

The post Qualcomm (QCOM) Stock Soars to Record Peak Fueled by AI Data-Center Push appeared first on Blockonomi.

US President Donald Trump is set to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing from May 13 to 15.

The visit, which will be Trump’s first return to China since 2017, will reportedly touch on issues such as AI, semiconductors, new trades and investments, as well as Middle East tensions, but for Bitcoin (BTC) and digital asset markets, it also carries some implications.

The Crypto Angle

Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports in his first term and did the same when he came back to the Oval Office in 2025, creating pressure for Chinese mining equipment manufacturers such as Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT.

The trade tensions also led to a constant see-sawing in BTC’s price, with the flagship cryptocurrency reacting negatively to almost all the threats Trump made to China and several other countries.

With all eyes on the upcoming Trump-Xi summit, many in the crypto space are hoping it could lead to China softening its stance on BTC and digital assets in general. There are indeed crypto undertones to the meeting, with several of the 17 executives traveling with the US president having meaningful digital asset exposure.

For instance, the CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, manages the largest spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund; meanwhile, Tesla, represented by Elon Musk, owns 11,509 BTC.

Visa’s Ryan McInerney and Mastercard’s Michael Miebach are both scaling stablecoin settlement infrastructure, while David Solomon, whose Goldman Sachs recently expanded its crypto trading operations, also made the cut. If the summit eases US-China financial flows, those institutions stand to benefit, and markets would likely price that in quickly.

However, according to a May 12 analysis from XWIN Japan, the hopes that the Chinese government may rethink its crypto policy are misguided, considering Chinese authorities recently reinforced restrictions on crypto-related activities, real-world asset tokenization, and yuan-linked stablecoins.

As such, direct expansion of mainland Chinese Bitcoin demand remains off the table for now.

How It Could Move Bitcoin Mining

Another sector that could profit from this meeting includes the Bitcoin mining supply chains, which, although North America dominates in terms of global hashrate growth, are still supplied to a great extent by China.

Were the meeting to result in the easing of tensions, it could speed up mining investments and hashrate expansion, which could positively affect the price of BTC. On the other hand, a breakdown would possibly put more pressure on equipment costs and create supply delays for miners globally, hitting Bitcoin in ways that go beyond simple sentiment shifts.

At the time of writing, BTC was trading near $81,000, having gained less than 1% in the last seven days, per data from CoinGecko. However, the 30-day picture was much better, as the cryptocurrency was up around 13% in that period.

Meanwhile, the macro background heading into the summit is not clean, with oil prices going up by as much as 4% to $105.50 on Monday after US-Iran peace talks stalled. Higher oil feeds inflation expectations, which in turn reduce the probability of Federal Reserve rate cuts, tightening financial conditions for risk assets, including Bitcoin.

The post Trump Heads to Beijing for High-Stakes Xi Summit: What It Means for Bitcoin appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin initiated another breakout attempt in the past 12 hours or so, only to be rejected once again at $82,000 and driven south by more than a grand.

Most larger-cap alts have remained relatively flat on a daily scale, aside from ETH, which is under $2,300 once again. XRP and BNB keep fighting for the fourth spot in terms of market cap.

BTC Stopped at $82K

The previous business week saw a notable price surge from the larger cryptocurrency to a three-month peak of almost $83,000. Thus, the asset had added $8,000 from the previous Wednesday, and it seemed primed for a correction as many analysts warned about the rally’s structure.

BTC indeed slipped to $79,000 by Friday before the bulls stepped up and didn’t allow another breakdown. Instead, bitcoin started to recover some ground and quickly returned to over $80,000 during the weekend.

More volatility ensued on Monday morning when BTC first dipped to $80,250, before it shot up to $82,500, but it was rejected and dropped by two grand immediately when US President Trump deemed Iran’s latest peace proposal “totally unacceptable.”

It bounced again yesterday, but this time, its attempt was halted at $82,000. The subsequent rejection brought it south to a familiar territory of under $81,000, where it currently sits. Its market cap remains sideways at $1.620 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts is up to 58.3%.

BUILDon Enters Top 100, PI Exits Top 50

Today’s top performer from the largest 100 alts is BUILDon (B). The token is up a mind-blowing 44% to $0.63, making it the 93rd-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. In contrast, PI’s continuous declines have pushed the asset out of the top 50 alts by the same metric, after a 6% weekly decline.

CRO, STABLE, TON, and CC follow suit in terms of daily gains, while JUP, VVV, and PUMP have declined the most.

Ethereum has slipped by 2% daily and now trades well below $2,300. XRP, BNB, SOL, and DOGE have posted minor gains, while HYPE, ZEC, and LINK are down by over 1%.

The total crypto market cap has remained at the same level as yesterday, at around $2.8 trillion on CG.

The post Pi Network’s PI Token Falls Out of Top 50 Alts, Bitcoin (BTC) Stopped at $82K: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The Senate Banking Committee has moved forward with revised language under the CLARITY Act framework to build a US crypto market structure. The move could affect how digital assets are classified and handled within regulated financial systems, depending on how the final rules are shaped and adopted.

While the draft continues to face unresolved political hurdles, including controversial ethics provisions and debate over the scope of regulatory oversight, market participants are increasingly focused on what clearer classification rules could mean for major crypto assets such as XRP.

XRP Institutional Outlook

The discussion has been amplified by expectations that, under a scenario where XRP is treated as a commodity, institutional demand could increase significantly through exchange-traded products. Standard Chartered has projected that XRP ETF inflows could range between $4 billion and $8 billion by the end of the year if such regulatory conditions materialize.

This has led to renewed focus on how XRP-linked capital would be deployed once it enters institutional channels. The asset has not developed the same level of native programmable finance infrastructure seen in other major blockchain ecosystems. As a result, questions are emerging around where large-scale XRP capital would flow for purposes such as yield generation, lending, or structured deployment beyond simple holding or secondary trading activity.

One of the most active areas attempting to address this gap is the emerging XRPFi ecosystem built on Flare, which enables XRP to be deployed into decentralized finance applications through FXRP. According to data cited from DeFiLlama, Flare’s total value locked has reached approximately $457 million, out of which around $200 million is attributed specifically to XRP-related activity.

FXRP allows XRP to be used in lending, staking, trading, collateralization, and vault-based strategies across Flare applications. Since its introduction, XRPFi activity has recorded more than 3.4 million transactions across roughly 16,500 users.

Infrastructure development around XRPFi is also being supported by distribution and protocol-level changes to reduce friction between XRP holdings and DeFi participation. Uphold has announced plans to support direct FXRP minting during the summer, which would allow XRP to be converted into FXRP through exchange-level integration rather than separate bridging interfaces.

Flare Targets Vault and Yield Growth

At the protocol level, Flare is undergoing a governance and economic overhaul that includes a reported 40% reduction in emissions, updated mechanisms for protocol-level MEV capture, and revised burn mechanics as part of its ongoing design changes. Further developments include planned upgrades to XRPFi infrastructure to expand vault availability and improve access to yield strategies, along with the introduction of FAssets v1.3. The update enables direct minting of FXRP using XRPL destination tags.

A separate application layer built on Flare Smart Accounts is also being developed to simplify user interaction with XRPFi systems by enabling XRPL wallet-based access to vaults and strategies while abstracting transaction processes across the Flare execution layer.

The post CLARITY Act Momentum Revives XRP ETF Narrative as Flare XRPFi Sees Growing Institutional Attention appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin has spent the last week grinding higher from around $78,000 to top $82,000 twice, with buyers “continuing to absorb pullbacks even as momentum started to cool near local highs,” reported Glassnode on Monday.

The asset dipped below $81,000 briefly in early trading in Asia on Tuesday, but there has been “strong bullish sentiment” and “heightened conviction” in upward price movements, it added.

The analytics provider noted that spot trading volume has increased, suggesting recent price movements are “gaining traction with stronger investor participation.”

Bullish Undertones Are Building

This means that BTC’s market structure continues to improve, supported by stronger on-chain activity, healthier profitability, and more stable holder positioning, the analysts concluded.

“While bullish undertones are building, softer capital inflows and cautious sentiment indicate the market remains sensitive to shifts in risk appetite.”

Swissblock reported on Tuesday that Bitcoin is “still at full momentum” with the latest reset looking similar to previous failed ignition attempts.

“Bitcoin has now consolidated inside the cost-basis battlefield while momentum remains structurally strong. As long as momentum stays above the transition area, bulls retain control.”

Bitcoin is still at full momentum.

The latest reset looked similar to previous failed ignition attempts:

→ Momentum briefly recovered
→ Failed to sustain above the transition zone
→ Rolled back into negative momentum

But this time was different.

Momentum successfully… pic.twitter.com/EBZdNLW0rD

— Swissblock (@swissblock__) May 11, 2026

Alphractal founder and CEO Joao Wedson observed that the 30-day change in exchange reserves paints a different picture, with BTC falling every time this metric turns positive. Bitcoin entering exchanges is usually a sign of investors preparing to sell or short the asset.

Meanwhile, permabull ‘Sykodelic’ remained upbeat as ever, saying that there have been no hard rejections, no massive sell-offs, and no weak price action. “What we have had are small rejections and then higher highs.”

They observed that BTC is now above the bull market support band, the true market mean, and the short-term holder cost basis for ten days, including a daily close above the 200-day exponential moving average.

“The wider market is fully risk on, and I am expecting $85,000 to be breached, likely this week,” they predicted.

BTC Price Outlook

The asset had taken a dip on the day, falling from another retest of $82,000 to $81,100 at the time of writing.

The asset has been sideways for the past seven days, but has gained more than 13% over the past month. It has been in a slow but steady upward trend for the past six weeks.

The post Bitcoin Market Structure Continues to Improve as Bullish Undertones Build: Glassnode appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Pi Network’s PI has seen a few sporadic bursts of momentum in recent months, but its price has remained in a steep downtrend since February last year.

The token’s performance is among the most-talked-about topics in the crypto space, and we asked three of the most popular AI-powered chatbots to weigh in on what seems more likely for the rest of 2026: a collapse to $0 or a major revival to $1.

Unanimous Decision

According to ChatGPT, a crash to $0 is less plausible because assets typically plummet so much only when they lose all liquidity, community interest, and exchange access simultaneously.

“As long as millions of people still hold the token, speculate on it, mine it, discuss it online, and hope for future adoption, there is usually some market demand preventing a total wipeout,” it stated.

The chatbot claimed that a rise to $1 is more realistic but is far from guaranteed and would depend on several strong catalysts, including a Binance listing rumor becoming reality, significant ecosystem progress, a broader altcoin bull run, and renewed retail FOMO.

At the same time, ChatGPT is rather skeptical that all of these elements could align and trigger such a massive pump this year. It argued that the most realistic upper target for PI in 2026 is around $0.80.

Perplexity also estimated that a meltdown to $0 is out of the equation, noting that even the bearish analysts on X don’t foresee such a catastrophe. An ascent to $1 is possible but would require stronger exchange liquidity, real app usage, and a sustained crypto bull market, it added.

The chatbot stated that the most likely path for PI this year is to trade in the $0.12-$0.25 range, unless Protocol 23 and subsequent ecosystem upgrades drive real usage growth.

Lastly, we consulted Google’s Gemini, which largely supported the aforementioned predictions. It dismissed the possibility of a collapse to zero, given that there are millions of Pioneers, and outlined the project’s progress over the years.

“A crash to $0 is mathematically and socially unlikely for Pi Network in 2026. While many “hype” projects vanish PI has transitioned from a simple mobile app into a functional Layer-1 blockchain with several structural “safety nets” that prevent its value from hitting zero.”

Moreover, the chatbot noted that well-known exchanges like Kraken, Bitget, and MEXC have embraced the asset, providing a baseline level of liquidity and strengthening PI’s reputation.

Similar to ChatGPT, Gemini estimated that PI’s “golden ticket” for $1 and beyond is an official listing on Binance. The world’s biggest crypto exchange has been rumored to allow trading services with the asset for almost a year and even asked its users whether it should do so. The majority of the voters supported that step, yet Binance remains silent on the matter.

The Analysts’ Take

PI currently trades at around $0.17, and some analysts say this might be a good buying opportunity. Last month, X user JAVON MARKS envisioned a 1,400% price explosion to $2.80, while several months ago, they called for a triple-digit surge to $1.23.

According to A2Z BOSS, PI has been seeking balance below $0.40 and consolidating beneath $0.20. “Let the value continue to develop and consolidate below $0.20 for the next few weeks,” they added.

Of course, some believe PI could skyrocket to $10 or even $20 in the coming months, but such predictions seem unrealistic (to put it mildly) given the current price levels.

The post Pi Network Price Crash to $0 or Jump to $1: 3 AIs Speculate What Is More Likely for PI This Year appeared first on CryptoPotato.