The halt highlights the challenges smaller firms face in emulating large-scale Bitcoin strategies, emphasizing the need for robust capital access.

The post The Bitcoin Society halts plans to build crypto treasury after brutal Q1 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Suspending the federal gas tax could offer minor consumer relief but risks underfunding crucial infrastructure projects, impacting long-term growth.

The post Trump proposes temporary suspension of federal gas tax amid rising fuel prices due to Iran war appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

GameStop's failed bid highlights challenges in financing large acquisitions, impacting market confidence and future tech sector consolidation.

The post GameStop’s $56B bid for eBay rejected, market doubts acquisition success appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Enhanced US-Japan currency coordination may stabilize forex markets, potentially reducing volatility in risk assets and impacting global investments.

The post Scott Bessent reaffirms US, Japan coordination on currency moves appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

A potential BOJ rate hike could strengthen the yen, impacting global carry trades and creating selling pressure across various risk assets.

The post Bank of Japan debates near-term rate hike, eyes June move appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Coinbase CEO Says Crypto Bill Could Rewire American Finance — Senate Votes Thursday

A long-stalled crypto market structure bill is moving through Congress with new momentum — and Coinbase’s top executive says it could reshape the American financial system.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong declared his company’s support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Wednesday, calling the legislation a “true compromise” that balances the demands of the crypto industry against the interests of the traditional banking sector and signaling the bill is in the best shape he has seen since negotiations began.

The statements, via Fox News, came as the Senate Banking Committee prepared to hold its markup of the CLARITY Act on May 14, the first formal committee vote on the legislation in the Senate after months of procedural delays and two cancelled markups.

Committee Chairman Tim Scott has set a target of June or July 2026 for a full Senate floor vote, while the White House has marked July 4 as its goal for a presidential signature.

A legislative marathon is taking place

The CLARITY Act — formally H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 — cleared the House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, in a 294–134 bipartisan vote, with all 216 House Republicans in support and 78 Democrats crossing the aisle. 

Since then, the bill sat in the Senate Banking Committee through two cancelled markups, extended stablecoin negotiations, and an intensifying lobbying war between crypto firms and Wall Street banks.

At its core, the legislation draws a regulatory line between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

Under the bill, the CFTC would hold exclusive jurisdiction over spot and cash markets for digital commodities while the SEC retains authority over investment contract assets and primary market fundraising. Stablecoins are carved out as a separate category under shared oversight.

The Senate version of the bill expanded beyond the House text, growing to nine titles that cover decentralized finance protections, illicit finance provisions, bankruptcy safeguards for crypto customers, and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which creates safe harbors for software developers who publish code without controlling customer funds.

The stablecoin standoff

The bill’s most contested provision centered on stablecoin yield. Banks warned that permitting crypto platforms to pay rewards on stablecoin balances would trigger deposit flight from traditional bank accounts and threaten lending operations. Crypto firms, led by Coinbase, argued that restrictions would hand banks a competitive advantage and strip Americans of new financial tools.

The standoff produced a compromise brokered by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). Under the final language in Section 404 of the bill, stablecoin issuers and affiliated digital asset service providers cannot pay yield on balances if that yield is the functional or economic equivalent of bank interest. 

Activity-based rewards — cashback on payments, transaction-based incentives, and rewards tied to commerce — remain permitted. A stablecoin holder who takes no action generates no return.

Armstrong confirmed his support after the compromise text became public, with Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad declaring the industry “secured what is important.” 

Speaking on Fox, Armstrong credited Senators Tillis, Alsobrooks, and their staffs for bringing both sides to the table. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Senators Brooks and Tillis and their staff who worked tirelessly on this,” he said.

Armstrong described a financial sector moving fast toward digital asset integration.

 “I go around and I speak with lots of different bank CEOs, and many of them are just leaning into this as an opportunity to grow their business,” he said. “They’re integrating stablecoins as fast as they can.”

More than 100 crypto firms and industry groups, including the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, wrote to the Senate Banking Committee in April urging the panel to advance the bill, warning that continued delays risk pushing innovation and capital outside the United States. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that call, telling a Senate panel the legislation is essential to protecting the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.

The Thursday markup is not the finish line. If the Banking Committee approves the bill, it must merge with a version passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee in a party-line 12–11 vote in January 2026.

A full Senate floor vote requires 60 votes, making Democratic support a practical requirement and leaving an ongoing fight over ethics provisions — specifically language addressing President Trump and his family’s crypto holdings — as the bill’s biggest remaining fault line.

This post Coinbase CEO Says Crypto Bill Could Rewire American Finance — Senate Votes Thursday first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Suisse Secures Bermuda Regulatory Approvals for International Digital Asset Expansion

Bitcoin Suisse (International) Ltd., an affiliate of the Switzerland-based Bitcoin Suisse Group, has obtained dual regulatory approvals from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, according to a note shared with Bitcoin Magazine. 

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) granted the entity a Class F license under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act (DABA) and a Class B registration under the Investment Business Act 2003. 

The approvals, granted on a pre-operational basis, authorize Bitcoin Suisse to provide regulated digital asset management and investment advisory services to professional and institutional clients. The entity is domiciled in Hamilton, Bermuda, and is a subsidiary of BTCS Holding Ltd., the group’s parent holding company.

The DABA license covers the provision of regulated digital asset business services, while the IBA registration permits investment advisory and discretionary portfolio management. 

Clients may fund mandates in Bitcoin, stablecoins, or fiat currency, the company said. The entity operates on a non-custodial basis, relying on regulated custodial providers and partner banks for institutional-grade security.

Andrej Majcen, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Bitcoin Suisse, framed the approvals as a turning point for the firm’s global ambitions. 

“Institutional investors recognize digital assets as a permanent part of their portfolios. What they need is a partner who combines deep crypto-native expertise with the governance and regulatory standards they expect from traditional financial services,” Majcen said. “The BMA approvals mark an important step in Bitcoin Suisse’s transition towards a global wealth management platform.”

Multi-region bitcoin expansion strategy

Investment decisions will draw on Bitcoin Suisse’s proprietary Crypto Analysis Framework and its Global Crypto Taxonomy — a classification system covering approximately 600 digital assets across six sectors, developed over more than a decade of research. An experienced CIO Office and dedicated research function will underpin all client mandates.

Bermuda has positioned itself as a global hub for digital asset regulation since introducing the Digital Asset Business Act in 2018, one of the first comprehensive frameworks of its kind in the world. The jurisdiction’s regulatory architecture has attracted crypto-native firms seeking institutional credibility and offshore reach.

The Bermuda approvals build on Bitcoin Suisse’s existing international presence. The group holds an In-Principle Approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, establishing a regulated footprint in the Middle East. Together, the two jurisdictions form the foundation of a multi-region expansion strategy targeting ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, external asset managers, and corporate counterparties.

This post Bitcoin Suisse Secures Bermuda Regulatory Approvals for International Digital Asset Expansion first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

The 2036 Issue: Letter From The Editor

None of us can see the future. We don’t know what 2036 will bring. 

We all like to tell ourselves that we can, or do, and maybe we do actually see small pieces of it coming before we catch up to them, but none of us see the whole picture. That’s, at the end of the day, part of what it is to be human. 

Nevertheless we can’t seem to help ourselves from at least trying. 

Going into the second half of the 2020s we are coming out of a time period that marked wild and tumultuous disruption, with the world changing in both big and small ways that none of us could have imagined in our wildest dreams at the start of 2020. As we enter the second half of the decade, events around the world are starting to push us in a direction that seems like it will be even more disruptive and unpredictable than the first half of the decade. 

In this issue, we are going to do what we can’t help ourselves doing, we’re going to try to predict the shape of the next decade. I say shape, and not just the future itself, because that is the best that human beings can actually do. 

These pages are filled with pieces written by some of the most influential and intelligent people that engage in this space trying to look ahead and provide something of value to you, the reader. Some have given deep analysis of how larger geopolitical trends will unfold, others have written more lighthearted musings on what different aspects of our lives will be like day-to-day, and some have written what I can only call warnings or reminders of what to keep in mind while navigating the coming ten years. 

Every few generations, the world seems to go through some tumultuous upheaval. A radical shift that upends the order and institutions that maintained the previous shape of the world. I think we are entering that next period now, and we’ve probably been standing in its doorway since 2020. 

Chaos and change are not solely reasons to give in to fear, or anxiety, they are also reasons to have hope and optimism. When things fall apart, it doesn’t just mean the end of what was there before, it means there is space to build something new. It signals the beginning of something new in the exact same moment that it signals the end of something old. 

The next ten years are going to be the biggest opportunity yet for Bitcoin. We can either spend them optimistically building, putting our energy into bringing into reality the positive impact we see that Bitcoin can have on the world, or we can squander them doing the opposite. 

Ultimately, the shape the future has when it finally arrives at our doorstep will be the shape that all of our individual actions and choices mold it into. 

Make them count. 

Don’t miss your chance to own The 2036 Issue — featuring articles written by many influential figures in the space pondering the challenges of the next decade!

This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The 2036 Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.

This post The 2036 Issue: Letter From The Editor first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Shinobi.

Bitcoin Magazine

Senate Crypto Bill Faces Over 100 Amendments Ahead of Thursday Markup

Senate Banking Committee members have filed more than 100 proposed amendments to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, according to Politico reporting. The panel is set to convene on Thursday for a long-awaited markup vote that crypto and industry leaders say could reshape digital asset regulation in the United States.

The committee scheduled its executive session for 10:30 a.m. on May 14 at Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., where lawmakers will debate the amendments and vote on whether to send the bill to the full Senate floor. 

The flood of filings follows the release of an updated 309-page draft of the bill earlier this week, expanded from the 278-page version proposed in January.

Senator Elizabeth Warren leads the opposition push, submitting more than 40 amendments alone, with the bulk of proposed changes coming from Democratic members of the Banking Committee. 

The wave of filings mirrors the January markup session, which drew 137 amendments before that session was cancelled, signaling that resistance to the bill remains strong even as its supporters push for a final vote.

At the center of the dispute is how the bill handles stablecoin yield products — crypto that offer returns to holders. Banking groups argue such crypto products threaten traditional deposit bases; crypto firms counter that reward programs support liquidity and customer activity without functioning as bank deposits.

The American Bankers Association has sent more than 8,000 letters to Senate offices since last Friday, targeting the stablecoin yield compromise brokered by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks. That compromise, reached after months of negotiations, prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield to users who hold tokens passively, while preserving exceptions for rewards tied to genuine platform transactions and payment activity.

Senators Jack Reed and Tina Smith filed amendments to tighten those standards further, targeting products that deliver returns in ways that resemble traditional interest-bearing deposit accounts. 

The banking lobby maintains the existing compromise language still leaves room for stablecoin platforms to replicate high-yield savings products without meeting bank-level regulatory requirements.

Senate ethics provisions and developer protections

Senator Chris Van Hollen introduced a proposal that would prohibit senior government officials and their families from owning or promoting crypto-related businesses — a demand Democrats say is non-negotiable given President Trump’s close ties to the crypto industry. 

Republican sponsors have resisted the provision, with some warning that ethics riders could fracture the coalition needed for the bill to advance.

A recent draft of the bill already included language shielding noncustodial developers from being classified as money transmitting businesses, with that protection extended retroactively to cover past conduct.

The broader stakes for the crypto industry

The CLARITY Act, formally H.R. 3633, passed the House on July 17, 2025, by a 294–134 bipartisan vote before stalling in the Senate through two cancelled markup sessions and protracted stablecoin negotiations.

At its core, the bill would draw a clear jurisdictional line between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, ending years of enforcement-based policymaking that left crypto firms operating under legal ambiguity.

Prediction markets have priced the odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 roughly at 60%, the highest level in months, with the White House setting a July 4 target for a presidential signature.

Committee Chairman Tim Scott had originally targeted a Senate floor vote for September 2025, then pushed that deadline to end-of-year, and most recently said he hoped to reach a full Senate vote by June or July 2026. 

Thursday’s markup is the first formal committee vote on the bill in the Senate, and its outcome will determine whether that timeline is still within reach.

This post Senate Crypto Bill Faces Over 100 Amendments Ahead of Thursday Markup first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Blockaid Launches Real-Time Compliance Suite as Institutions Deepen Crypto Exposure

Blockchain security firm Blockaid has introduced Risk Exposure, a real-time compliance infrastructure suite built for institutions that now operate inside crypto and decentralized finance but still answer to regulators.

The launch extends Blockaid’s platform beyond scam and exploit prevention into what the company calls programmable, real-time compliance for institutional onchain finance, a category it argues has no adequate solution today.

The need is real. Banks, asset managers, custodians, and payment processors have moved from occasional crypto experimentation into continuous onchain operations. They hold positions in liquidity pools, run stablecoin settlement across multiple chains, and manage treasury exposure through DeFi protocols around the clock. 

A wallet or pool that screens clean at 9 a.m. can carry tainted exposure by noon — without the institution touching a single transaction — as stolen funds move through bridges, mixers, and smart contracts faster than any compliance team can track.

The numbers behind that risk are substantial. Over the past 18 months, North Korean-linked actors moved more than $1.5 billion through the Bybit hack. Exploits at Cetus, Balancer, and KelpDAO pushed combined losses past $600 million. In most cases, tainted funds spread across wallets, liquidity pools, and counterparties before legacy compliance systems flagged anything. The forensic model — tag addresses after the fact, file a report — was not designed for this environment.

Real-time crypto compliance

Risk Exposure is built around three functions. A Risk Screening API evaluates inflows before funds are accepted, returning structured verdicts with exposure categories, dollar amounts, and severity scores formatted for audits and SAR filings. A Cosigner Policy Engine embeds AML thresholds into multisig workflows, rejecting transactions that breach preset limits even after internal approvals have cleared. DeFi Toxicity Monitors track protocols, liquidity pools, and counterparty positions throughout the day, sending alerts when exposure to sanctioned entities, stolen crypto funds, scam infrastructure, or mixers crosses defined thresholds.

Blockaid also points to a parallel threat: AI-driven “pig butchering” fraud has pushed crypto investment scams into the tens of billions of dollars each year. The FBI’s Operation Level Up found that roughly 8 in 10 victims never file a report, which means compliance tools that rely on law enforcement records to tag addresses miss the bulk of that activity. 

Blockaid’s system uses transaction simulation, behavioral analysis, and AI-driven threat identification to surface exposure earlier — before scam proceeds enter institutional systems undetected.

The firm screens more than 500 million transactions each month for clients including Coinbase, MetaMask, Uniswap, Fireblocks, Polymarket, and OKX, processing hundreds of transactions per second with verdicts returned in under 300 milliseconds at 99.99% accuracy. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $83 million from Ribbit Capital, Sequoia, Greylock, and others.

For Bitcoin specifically, the implications are pointed. As BTC custody, BTC-backed lending, and Bitcoin treasury strategies move deeper into institutional balance sheets, the compliance infrastructure those institutions carry will determine how far that integration can go. 

Risk Exposure is the kind of tooling that lets a regulated bank or asset manager maintain onchain exposure without asking a regulator to accept ambiguity in return.

This post Blockaid Launches Real-Time Compliance Suite as Institutions Deepen Crypto Exposure first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

XRP is rising into a market split between traditional finance infrastructure and crypto-native skepticism.

According to CryptoSlate's data, the token recently traded above $1.46 as spot-market indicators improved, exchange-traded funds drew their strongest daily inflows in more than four months, and Ripple expanded the credit capacity behind its institutional prime brokerage business.

However, this came at a time when derivatives traders continue to lean against the move, with Binance futures data showing persistent selling pressure even as leverage rebuilds across major exchanges.

That tension has turned XRP into a test case for whether institutional access, ledger utility, and market infrastructure can overpower a futures market still positioned for weakness.

Spot demand meets futures resistance

The divide between spot demand and derivatives positioning has become the clearest feature of XRP’s market structure.

US spot XRP ETFs recorded $25.8 million in net inflows on May 11, their largest daily intake since early January, SoSoValue data show.

This extends the four funds' positive performance this month, attracting more than $60 million in inflows. XRP-focused funds have registered total inflows of over $1.35 billion since their launch last year.

Those inflows give XRP a regulated channel at a time when exchange-based positioning remains conflicted. ETFs allow investors to gain exposure through brokerage accounts and adviser platforms without managing direct custody or trading on crypto exchanges.

That opens the asset to a wider pool of allocators than the offshore derivatives venues that have historically shaped much of XRP’s short-term price action.

However, the mood in the derivatives market is different.

CryptoQuant data show that the Binance perpetual cumulative volume delta has fallen to about -$434 million, even as XRP has pushed higher. Open interest on Binance has climbed from about 207 million XRP on April 30 to nearly 232 million, showing leverage is returning after the latest reset.

The increase is not limited to Binance. On May 11, open interest rose by about $18 million on Binance, $10.4 million on OKX, and $8.5 million on Bybit, adding almost $36.9 million across the three exchanges.

Ordinarily, rising open interest can confirm a stronger trend when spot demand is also expanding.

However, XRP’s setup is more complicated. Spot estimated cumulative volume delta across centralized exchanges has slipped to about $575 million, even as the token trades higher.

That suggests the rally is not yet being driven by broad, clean spot accumulation.

Notably, XRP funding rates point to the same tension. XRP funding on Binance has carried a bearish bias for nearly three months, CryptoQuant data show, even as the token has gained roughly 27% over the same period.

This negative funding means shorts are paying longs to keep bearish exposure open.

Ripple adds Wall Street credit to the ecosystem

This bearish futures positioning is running headlong into a massive institutional buildout around Ripple.

On May 11, Ripple announced that it had secured a $200 million asset-backed debt facility from funds managed by Neuberger Specialty Finance, the dedicated asset-based investment team within Neuberger.

The firm said the facility would support Ripple Prime's continued growth amid increasing demand for “institutional-grade prime services and margin financing solutions.” The facility is backed by Ripple Prime’s institutional loan portfolio and structured for flexible drawdowns.

Noel Kimmel, president of Ripple Prime, said:

“Dependable access to financing and balance sheet strength are critical to institutional participants in today’s dynamic markets. This facility enables us to grow alongside our clients by delivering increased margin capacity, greater responsiveness, and improved capital efficiency.”

Ripple acquired Hidden Road last year and later rebranded it as Ripple Prime. The Brad Garlinghouse-led company revealed that the brokerage platform's revenue has tripled, driven by “sustained growth in client activity and demand for its prime services.”

Against this backdrop, this new credit facility fundamentally strengthens the market structure surrounding the Ripple ecosystem. Institutions require robust financing, custody, settlement certainty, and reliable counterparties before deploying capital at scale.

By embedding XRP and RLUSD within this broader institutional stack, Ripple is positioning itself directly against heavyweight service providers.

XRPL upgrades lead to increased activity on the ledger

Ripple’s corporate expansion is unfolding alongside a technical buildout of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) that is beginning to show up in network activity.

Over the past several months, the blockchain network developers have added features to meet the needs of regulated financial institutions.

The upgrades are designed to give banks, asset managers, and payment firms the controls they need to use public blockchain infrastructure without sacrificing compliance, privacy, settlement certainty, or auditability.

The new tools include Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPT), which allow issuers to embed compliance features into tokenized assets. Other upgrades, including Permissioned Domains and Permissioned DEX, are designed to create more controlled trading environments.

Additionally, the network recently implemented the Token Escrow feature, which extends escrow functionality beyond XRP to issued currencies, laying the foundation for on-chain delivery-versus-payment settlement.

Meanwhile, the ledger’s development roadmap also includes native lending markets and privacy-focused Smart Escrows.

Together, those changes point to a network being adapted for institutions that want the speed and transparency of shared blockchain rails, but still require permissioning, risk controls, and confidentiality.

Unsurprisingly, that institutional thesis is beginning to find support in ledger activity and institutional adoption.

Last week, Ripple piloted the cross-border redemption of a tokenized US Treasury fund alongside JPMorgan, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance on the XRPL.

Evernorth, an XRP-focused treasury firm, argued that these institutional activities, alongside rising retail adoption, contributed to XRP transaction activity increasing 65% over the past 12 months to 71 million.

According to the firm, these activities were driven by Bitstamp, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, Justoken, Braza Bank, and VERT.

It stated:

“Speculative volume on a blockchain comes in bursts. Real utility looks different. Steady. Programmatic. Tied to real businesses moving real money.”

What's next for the XRP price?

Considering the above, XRP’s near-term trajectory ultimately hinges on whether spot demand can translate this institutional progress into sustained buying pressure.

If ETF inflows persist, the spot cumulative volume delta improves, and the taker buy-sell ratio remains above parity, the heavily bearish derivatives positioning could backfire, triggering a wave of forced buying.

In that scenario, negative funding and climbing open interest would act as rocket fuel for an XRP rally toward the $1.50 to $1.60 range.

Conversely, if spot demand falters, that same leverage leaves XRP highly vulnerable to a sharp reversal.

A market propped up by rising open interest without underlying spot support can unwind violently, particularly when traders are deeply divided near a contested price range.

This dynamic makes the current market setup less about a single upcoming catalyst and more about a fundamental regime change.

Ultimately, XRP is transitioning from an asset dominated by offshore exchange speculation to one defined by ETFs, institutional credit, ledger utility, and tokenized-asset infrastructure.

The post Wall Street is buying XRP while Binance traders keep betting against it appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Prediction markets have been growing fast, from crypto price bets to election forecasting and sports outcomes. But there's a persistent problem most platforms don't address: users are essentially guessing.

They pick a side based on gut feeling, social media noise, or whatever narrative feels convincing in the moment. Poly Truth is attempting to solve that. Rather than just giving people a place to bet on outcomes, it positions itself as an intelligence layer sitting on top of prediction markets, one that tells you which side the data actually supports. You can explore the project directly on the $PTRUE Coin official website.

The project is currently in presale with its native $PTRUE token, and it's worth understanding what the system actually does before looking at the token economics.

What Is Poly Truth?

Poly Truth is a prediction market intelligence tool. That distinction matters: it's not a trading bot, not a prediction platform itself, and not an automated system that places positions on your behalf. The core idea is to give users data-backed probability analysis on active prediction events, whether those events involve sports results, political races, crypto price movements, or any other outcome-based market.

Think of it like having a research analyst who, instead of giving you a tip, walks you through the reasoning: here's what the data shows, here's the probability each outcome occurs, and here's why. Users still make their own decisions; Poly Truth just gives them more to work with.

How the Poly Truth System Works

The project explains its process through a three-part framework it calls its “characters.” It's a useful framing for understanding how data moves through the system.

The Runners are automated bots that continuously scrape data across the internet (news, odds movements, historical patterns, social sentiment), focused on whatever prediction events are currently active. They're the data collection layer, running in the background without user involvement.

The Starlet is the AI analyst component. Once the Runners pull in raw data, The Starlet cross-references sources, identifies patterns, and produces probability scores. This is where the intelligence layer actually sits: it's not simply aggregating data but interpreting it to determine which outcome has stronger statistical backing.

The Presenter is what users see. It delivers the final output: which events have meaningful data behind them, what the probability breakdown looks like, and the reasoning that led to those numbers.

The flow is clean: collect → analyze → present. Whether the AI analysis proves consistently accurate in live conditions is something that will only be tested over time, but the architecture is logically sound for what it's trying to do.

What Markets Does Poly Truth Cover?

The system is designed to work across several categories of prediction events:

• Sports: match outcomes, player performance, tournament results
• Politics: elections, policy decisions, geopolitical events
• Crypto: price movement predictions, project milestone outcomes
• General events: any outcome-based market with sufficient data to analyze

The breadth of coverage is worth noting. Most prediction market tools that incorporate AI tend to focus narrowly on one vertical. Poly Truth's multi-market approach means The Runners need to scrape and contextualize very different data types depending on the event category, which is a more complex engineering challenge but also a wider potential use case if executed well.

The $PTRUE Token: Key Details

PTRUE is the native token of the Poly Truth ecosystem, currently available in presale. Here's a breakdown of the core numbers:

Token Distribution:

• Presale: 40%
• Liquidity: 17%
• Development: 13%
• Team: 10%
• Staking: 10%
• Marketing: 8%
• Community/Airdrops: 2%

The 40% presale allocation is substantial, which means a significant portion of the total supply is being distributed early. The staking APY of 1,346% is an eye-catching figure — high staking yields are common in early-stage crypto projects as a mechanism to reduce circulating supply and reward early participants, but they are also inherently unsustainable at that rate long-term. Anyone considering staking should factor in how yield rates typically compress as a project matures and token supply dynamics shift.

The payment flexibility is genuinely broad for a presale; accepting ETH, BNB, SOL, stablecoins, card, and SEPA means the project is trying to reduce friction for buyers coming from different ecosystems. Full presale details are available on the PolyTruth platform.

How to Buy $PTRUE in the Presale

The process is straightforward:

1. Visit the official Poly Truth website and connect a compatible wallet (MetaMask or similar)
2. Select your preferred payment method — ETH, BNB, SOL, USDT, USDC, card, or SEPA
3. Enter the amount you want to purchase
4. Confirm the transaction

Since the contract is deployed on Ethereum, buyers using ETH will want to account for gas fees. Those paying with BNB or SOL will likely have lower transaction costs, though the mechanics of cross-chain purchases should be reviewed on the site before committing.

Who Is Poly Truth Actually For?

The most natural audience is people already active in prediction markets who want a research edge. If you're regularly using platforms like Polymarket or similar and making judgment calls based on partial information, a tool that systematically aggregates and scores probability data could be genuinely useful.

It's less directly relevant to passive crypto investors who aren't engaging with prediction markets at all. The token itself offers staking, but the utility case is tied to using the intelligence tool rather than simply holding.

The project sits in an interesting space; prediction markets have seen real growth in visibility and volume over the past few years, and AI-powered analysis layered on top of that trend is a logical product direction. Whether Poly Truth's implementation delivers on that concept is the question any prospective user or token buyer should be asking.

Final Thoughts

Poly Truth is a focused concept, not one trying to be everything, but one specifically targeting the information gap in prediction market participation. The three-part system (Runners, Starlet, Presenter) gives it a clear product identity, and the multi-market coverage broadens its potential reach beyond any single niche.

As with any presale-stage project, the gap between concept and working product is where real evaluation happens. The architecture makes sense on paper; live performance across diverse event categories will be the real test. Anyone wanting to dig into the details, review the smart contract, or participate in the presale can learn more on the Poly Truth coin website.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. CryptoSlate does not endorse any of the projects mentioned in this article. Investors are encouraged to perform necessary due diligence.

The post How to Buy Poly Truth ($PTRUE): The AI Prediction Market Tool Explained appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The Senate Banking Committee’s crypto market structure bill is heading into CLARITY Act markup with more than 100 proposed amendments.

This is turning a long-delayed vote on the CLARITY Act into a test of whether a fragile stablecoin compromise can survive pressure from banks, Democrats, and crypto industry groups.

The final number of amendments has not been formally confirmed. However, the current markup amendment proposal puts it in the same range as the January effort, when 137 amendments were submitted before a planned committee vote was scrapped.

The size of the amendment pile underscores how unsettled the bill remains even after months of negotiations.

Banks force stablecoin rewards vote

The most consequential fight is over stablecoin rewards, the issue that helped stall earlier negotiations and now threatens to reopen the divide between crypto companies and the banking industry.

The Senate compromise would prohibit rewards on idle stablecoin holdings when those rewards resemble interest on bank deposits. It would still allow incentives tied to other stablecoin activity, such as payments or transactions.

That distinction was designed to keep stablecoins from becoming deposit substitutes while allowing firms to reward usage rather than passive balances.

Banks say the language does not go far enough. Their concern is that crypto exchanges and other intermediaries could structure rewards around stablecoin activity in ways that still pull deposits away from insured banks.

Banking groups have pushed senators to close what they view as a loophole and to prevent stablecoin issuers or affiliates from offering yield-like incentives that compete with bank accounts.

Sens. Jack Reed and Tina Smith reportedly filed an amendment to tighten that standard.

Their proposal would target rewards that are “substantially similar” to deposit interest, a formulation that could give regulators more room to block incentive programs that banks see as functionally equivalent to yield.

That amendment could become one of the clearest votes of the markup. Supporting it would move the bill closer to the banking industry’s position. Opposing it would preserve the Tillis-led compromise and signal that committee members are unwilling to use the market structure bill to further restrict stablecoin incentives.

The lobbying campaign around the provision has already intensified. Stand With Crypto, the Coinbase-backed advocacy group, said banking lobbyists sent 8,000 letters seeking to stop stablecoin rewards.

The group said its own advocates made 8,000 calls and sent 300,000 emails in recent months, and that supporters have contacted lawmakers almost 1.5 million times in favor of CLARITY.

On the other hand, traditional finance leaders are actively maintaining the pressure to ensure the amendment's success.

Lorrie Trogden, president and CEO of the Arkansas Bankers Association, recently issued a public call to action. On X, she urged banking industry members to make their voices heard ahead of the Thursday markup.

These efforts reflect an unusually visible outside campaign for a committee markup. They also show how a technical debate over reward language has become a proxy fight over whether banks or crypto platforms will control the next layer of dollar-based payments.

Warren pushes ethics and Fed access limits

Meanwhile, the stablecoin fight is not the only pressure point Democrats are bringing into the markup.

Crypto skeptic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has reportedly filed more than 40 amendments, the largest individual batch among committee members.

Her proposals target several parts of the bill, but one of the most significant would prevent the Federal Reserve from granting master accounts to crypto companies.

A Fed master account gives an eligible institution direct access to the central bank’s payment rails.

Crypto firms have long sought clearer paths into the banking system, while regulators and banks have warned that granting direct access to novel financial firms could create new supervisory and stability risks.

Warren’s amendment would put that fight directly into the CLARITY Act debate. If adopted, it would limit crypto companies' ability to use the market structure bill as a path to deeper integration with the Fed’s core payment infrastructure.

Notably, banking associations such as the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) previously criticized the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s approval of a master account for the crypto exchange Kraken.

According to the group:

“Granting nonbank entities and crypto institutions access to the master accounts poses risks to the banking system.”

Meanwhile, Warren is also pressing the ethics argument that has become central to Democratic resistance.

The lawmaker has said that new crypto legislation should not move through the Banking Committee without stronger guardrails to address conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump and his family’s crypto ventures.

That line of attack gives Democrats a broader political frame than just investor protection. It links the bill to concerns that public officials could benefit from policies that expand the digital asset market, especially if the legislation leaves gaps around affiliated projects, stablecoin activity or token holdings connected to political figures.

The ethics push complicates the Republican case for speed. Supporters argue the bill is needed to end regulatory uncertainty.

Warren and other skeptics argue that speed without additional safeguards could entrench conflicts before Congress has built a durable oversight framework.

DeFi and legal tender amendments widen the fight

Other Democratic amendments would expand the debate beyond stablecoins and ethics into the structure of decentralized finance and the legal status of crypto assets.

Sen. Mark Warner filed an amendment that would overhaul the bill’s decentralized finance provisions.

The latest CLARITY Act text attempts to define when a protocol is sufficiently decentralized and when an operator, platform, or intermediary should face bank-like compliance obligations.

That section is among the most technically sensitive parts of the bill because it determines whether some DeFi systems can operate outside traditional intermediary rules or must comply with reporting, monitoring, and anti-money laundering requirements.

Warner’s amendment signals that some Democrats remain uncomfortable with the bill’s treatment of DeFi.

Their concern is that broad exemptions for decentralized protocols could allow firms to avoid oversight by claiming that no central entity controls the system.

Crypto developers counter that rules built for custodial intermediaries cannot be applied cleanly to open-source protocols without forcing some projects offshore or shutting them down.

Reed also filed a separate amendment that would prohibit cryptocurrencies from being used as legal tender, including for tax payments.

That proposal would push against efforts by some crypto-friendly lawmakers to give Bitcoin or other digital assets a more formal role in public payments.

Together, the DeFi and legal tender amendments show that the impending markup will not be limited to one banking dispute.

Senators will also be asked to decide how much autonomy decentralized systems should have, how far crypto assets should be allowed to enter public finance, and whether the bill gives regulators sufficient authority to police risks across the market.

Crypto industry urges senators to hold the line

Despite all of these pressures, crypto industry groups are urging the committee to move the CLARITY Act forward without amendments that would weaken the compromise.

On X, the Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation have called the markup a defining moment for US leadership in financial technology.

Their argument is that the bill would replace fragmented enforcement-driven oversight with a statutory framework that lets companies build in the US under clearer rules.

Stand With Crypto has taken a more direct political approach, framing the bank-backed push against stablecoin rewards as an attempt to protect incumbents from competition.

The group’s campaign is aimed at showing senators that crypto supporters are organized enough to match the pressure coming from banks and trade associations.

For pro-crypto lawmakers, the challenge is holding together a coalition broad enough to get the bill out of committee while preserving language that can survive the Senate floor.

Republicans control the committee, but the broader bill will still need Democratic support to clear the broader Senate floor. That makes the markup both a policy negotiation and an early vote-counting exercise.

The post CLARITY Act faces 100+ amendments as bankers send 8,000 demand letters against stablecoin rewards appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin just fell below $80,000 as a hotter-than-expected US inflation print pushed crypto and equities lower.

BTC price slipped from the low $81,000 area into $79,706, with the session low marked near $79,557. The break turned $80,000 from a round-number reference into the first tactical line for intraday structure.

The move followed the April US Producer Price Index. Final demand PPI rose 1.4% month over month, far above the 0.5% consensus and the prior 0.7% reading.

The annual rate accelerated to 6.0% from 4.3%, above the 4.9% consensus. Core PPI rose 1.0% month over month against expectations for 0.3%, while core PPI year over year moved to 5.2% from 4.0%.

Trading Economics data also shows the narrower measure excluding food, energy, and trade services also firmed, rising 0.6% month over month and 4.4% year over year.

The PPI surprise followed yesterday’s CPI report, in which headline consumer inflation accelerated to 4.8% year over year from the prior 3.3% reading, above expectations of 4.5%.

Related Reading

Bitcoin was waiting for cuts. Hot CPI inflation data just put hikes back on the table

A hotter-than-expected inflation report could pressure Bitcoin by delaying Fed rate cuts and tightening liquidity.

May 13, 2026 · Gino Matos

That mix changes the market’s inflation map. A broad upside miss in producer prices pressures the Fed's path because it feeds directly into the cost pipeline and parts of the PCE calculation. It also reduces room for a benign rate reaction when energy is rising at the same time.

The cross-asset response clearly showed the repricing. SPY sold off from above $740 to $737, with a lower wick extending toward $735.48. Long-end rates moved higher, with the 30-year Treasury yield around 5.034% and the 10-year yield around 4.471%. The US Dollar Index held near 98.49, while WTI crude traded around $102.15.

Bitcoin’s immediate price issue is acceptance below $80,000. A quick reclaim would narrow the damage to an event-driven flush. Continued trade below that level leaves the $79,557 low exposed and makes every failed bounce into the prior support zone a test of seller control.

Markets attempted a modest stabilization after the initial post-PPI selloff, but the rebound remained fragile. Bitcoin briefly recovered from the $79,557 low, rising toward $79,700, while SPY bounced off the $735 area and Treasury yields pulled back slightly from session highs.

However, renewed buying in crude and a firm US dollar are still keeping broader macro pressure elevated, leaving cross-asset price action reactive rather than decisively recovered.

The next signal is simple: BTC needs to recover $80,000 while SPY stabilizes and yields stop rising. Until that sequence appears, the PPI shock remains the active driver, and Bitcoin’s intraday structure stays broken.

The post Bitcoin price just lost $80k because US PPI hit 6% matching 2022 levels, stoking inflation fears appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Starknet launched strkBTC on May 12, locking BTC on Bitcoin's base layer to back an ERC-20 token that brings shielded balances into a smart contract environment at scale.

The token runs in the public mode, where it behaves like any other wrapped Bitcoin asset, and shielded mode, where users can hide selected balances and transfers from outside observers.

Starknet routes viewing keys to an independent third-party auditor, preserving selective disclosure when regulators or counterparties require it.

A five-member federation handles BTC movement between Bitcoin and Starknet, with its roadmap pointing to greater trust minimization. Atomiq and Garden provide bridge routes from BTC and WBTC into the new token.

Starknet published its privacy argument on Apr. 10, framing on-chain visibility as incompatible with real financial use.

By Apr. 20, v0.14.2 was live, with native in-protocol proof verification and the infrastructure layer for encrypted balances. On Apr. 28, Starknet confirmed that Atomiq and Garden would wire BTC and WBTC liquidity directly into strkBTC.

On May 7, it disclosed the five-member federation, and seven days later, the product went live.

That build sequence reflects that the most active Bitcoin privacy development is happening outside the Bitcoin protocol, in environments designed for rapid iteration.

Bitcoin built transparency into its ledger by design. Every transaction is verifiable, every address is traceable, and the complete payment history of any wallet is visible to anyone with a block explorer.

For corporate treasury managers, large-value OTC desks, or any entity that prefers not to broadcast its full wallet balance to the market on every outbound payment, it creates a real operational problem.

The market response has been to build privacy into adjacent systems that can move faster than Bitcoin's base layer.

Private Bitcoin built elsewhere

Liquid, Blockstream's Bitcoin sidechain, has operated on this principle for years.

Users lock BTC into the peg and receive L-BTC on a network where Confidential Transactions hide both the asset type and amount from outside observers, making third-party inspection of amounts impossible.

Liquid's functionaries sign the blocks, federation infrastructure handles peg-outs, and users trade Bitcoin's security model for Liquid's in the process. Real privacy, available inside Liquid's federated architecture, with its own trust assumptions baked into every peg transaction.

WBTC paired with RAILGUN shows the same pattern in EVM territory. WBTC brings Bitcoin exposure to Ethereum, and RAILGUN shields ERC-20 assets in private 0zk balances, where users can send, swap, and interact with DeFi without those actions appearing on a public ledger.

RAILGUN requires assets to be in ERC-20 form before it can shield them. The privacy covers a Bitcoin-derived instrument that has already crossed into Ethereum, with WBTC's issuer and bridge touching the Bitcoin before RAILGUN can shield it.

Fedimint and Cashu build privacy through custody, as users deposit Bitcoin into a federated system and receive private payment claims in return.

Fedimint's federation guardians cannot trace individual members' balances or transaction histories, and Cashu uses Chaumian blind signatures, allowing users to spend privately against a mint without the mint seeing who holds what.

Both deliver genuine payment privacy, and both carry the same cost of making trust a third-party responsibility.

0xbow's Privacy Pools add a compliance layer to that same pattern, vetting deposits and providing users with zero-knowledge proofs that their funds are not connected to flagged addresses before admitting them into an association set.

That parallels Starknet's viewing-key architecture closely enough to show that selective disclosure is becoming a design standard across the sector.

What each model trades for privacy

Every solution solves a distinct problem and adds a distinct assumption.

Liquid hides amounts and asset types through Confidential Transactions, but users have accepted federation governance and peg mechanics to access that privacy. strkBTC layers a five-member federation, a bridge, smart contracts, and a third-party auditor underneath its shielded mode.

RAILGUN's DeFi privacy reaches users only once WBTC's issuer and bridge have already touched the Bitcoin, and Fedimint's strong transactional privacy inside a community mint vanishes if the federation does.

Cashu is the most transparent about its terms, offering fast private payments at the explicit cost of mint custody. Across all of them, the privacy improvement is real and attached to bridge, federation, or mint assumptions.

Bitcoin-native privacy is advancing toward narrower goals on a longer timeline.

BIP 352, which addresses Silent Payments, lets receivers publish a single reusable off-chain address while each incoming payment lands at a unique on-chain address, removing the address-reuse linkability that makes wallet tracking straightforward.

Bitcoin Optech has documented steady progress in scanning performance and wallet integration, and the privacy gain adds almost no new trust. Users keep their BTC on the Bitcoin network, use no bridges or federations, and maintain Bitcoin's full base-layer security.

Silent Payments deliver receiver-level privacy, with each incoming payment reaching a unique on-chain address, making wallet clustering difficult and requiring no BTC movement.

The scope stops at the payment layer. Shielded portfolio balances, private DeFi execution, and concealed smart-contract interactions belong to wrapped and sidechain systems that are outpacing Bitcoin's own development.

That difference between Bitcoin-native privacy primitives and the shielded environments that wrapped and sidechain systems can build is where the market is currently filling in with external solutions.

The bull case for strkBTC-style architectures is that auditable privacy is exactly what institutions need.

Selective disclosure through viewing keys, association sets, and view-only wallets provides compliance officers with a workable audit trail without publicly exposing every transaction.

In this scenario, wallets make shielding a one-tap option, federations mature toward trust minimization as Starknet's roadmap describes, and Bitcoin privacy becomes a competitive feature in BTCFi.

That would attract treasury managers and market makers who need transaction privacy for counterparty reasons but cannot accept opacity for regulatory ones.

The bear case is that the trust stack proves too thick. A five-member federation, a bridge, a smart contract environment, and a viewing-key auditor each introduce trust layers absent from Bitcoin's base chain.

Users who understand those layers, or who watch one of them fail, may decide the sovereignty cost exceeds the privacy gain.

In that world, demand for private Bitcoin transactions splinters. Cashu and Fedimint serve communities comfortable with mint or federation custody, while wrapped asset DeFi privacy stalls short of institutional scale.

Bitcoin's base-layer privacy work continues in either scenario. Whether users wait for it or adopt a new trust layer to get something functional today is the decision now facing every BTC holder who needs financial privacy.

The post Bitcoin holders can now hide more of their activity, but only by trusting new middlemen appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The digital asset market has been hit by a wave of intense volatility, leaving traders and long-term holders in a state of shock. After a period of bullish consolidation where Bitcoin ($BTC) appeared to be building a base for a six-figure run, the tide has turned. Today, the leading cryptocurrency plummeted below the psychological $80,000 mark, dragging the rest of the market, including Ethereum ($ETH), down with it.

Bitcoin Price Crash Today

Bitcoin is currently trading at approximately $79,100, having officially lost the $80,000 support level that bulls defended for weeks. This 5% intraday drop has triggered over $300 million in liquidations, primarily affecting over-leveraged long positions. The sudden move has shifted market sentiment from "Greed" to "Fear" almost instantly.

Why did Bitcoin Price Crash? 

The primary catalyst for today's market crash is the release of the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for April 2026. The data, published this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, revealed that wholesale inflation is surging at its fastest pace in years.

The PPI Shock by the Numbers

• Headline PPI: Increased by 1.4% month-over-month, vastly exceeding the 0.5% forecast.
• Year-over-Year PPI: Hit 6.0%, the highest level in 3.5 years (since late 2022).
• Core PPI (ex-food & energy): Jumped 1.0% MoM, signaling that inflation is broad-based and not just tied to volatile sectors.

A significant driver of this spike was a 15.6% surge in gasoline prices and a 7.8% rise in energy goods, largely due to the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East affecting global supply chains.

Why High PPI Destroys the Crypto Narrative

Bitcoin is often touted as an "inflation hedge," but in practice, it behaves as a high-beta liquidity asset. When the US PPI comes in this high, it forces the Federal Reserve to maintain a hawkish stance.

The market is now pricing in a "higher-for-longer" interest rate environment. Higher rates make the US Dollar stronger and Treasury yields more attractive, which naturally sucks liquidity out of risk assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Technical Analysis: Is $75k the Next Stop?

From a technical perspective, the Bitcoin kurs has broken below its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). This is a major bearish signal for swing traders.

• Crucial Resistance: For any hope of a recovery, BTC must reclaim $80,500 on the daily candle.
• Support Levels: The next major "liquidity pocket" is located at $75,000. If the selling pressure continues, analysts expect a rapid descent to this level as stop-losses are triggered.
• Ethereum Impact: ETH cours has also broken its support at $2,275, currently eyeing the $2,100 zone.

To manage the current volatility, many investors are moving their funds to safety. You can compare the most secure storage options in our hardware wallets comparison or look for exchanges with higher liquidity on our exchange comparison page.

As of May 13, 2026, PEPE remains a central figure in the meme coin landscape. While many expected the "frog" to fade into obscurity, it has maintained a significant market presence. However, the 2026 market is vastly different from the speculative frenzy of years past. With $Bitcoin dominance rising to over 58.5%, the question for retail investors is simple: Is PEPE a hidden gem or a falling knife?

Is PEPE Worth Buying?

Currently trading at $0.00000418, PEPE is in a "make or break" consolidation phase.

• The Bull Case: If PEPE breaks the current descending resistance, it could target $0.00000580 in the short term.
• The Bear Case: Analysts warn that if support at $0.00000304 fails, PEPE could see a further 23% drop by mid-May.

For those seeking high-risk, high-reward plays, PEPE is still "worth it" as a speculative tool, but it is no longer the "easy money" it was during its inception.

PEPE as a High-Beta Asset

In 2026, professional traders treat PEPE as a High-Beta asset. This means PEPE tends to move in the same direction as Bitcoin but with much greater intensity. When the market is "Risk-On," PEPE outperforms; when the market consolidates—as it is doing now in May 2026—PEPE often bleeds value faster than major coins.

Performance Comparison: PEPE vs. The Giants

To determine if PEPE is worth buying, we must look at how it stacks up against the "Serious" assets in May 2026.

PEPE vs. Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is currently the preferred choice for institutional capital, with funds flowing back into BTC as altcoins struggle. PEPE is only a superior buy if you anticipate a massive retail surge that lowers Bitcoin's dominance.

PEPE vs. XRP

XRP has found a floor at $1.40, backed by its utility in cross-border payments. PEPE lacks this fundamental "floor," making it more susceptible to total retracements if community interest dips.

PEPE Price Analysis: Key Levels for PEPE Coin

The weekly chart shows a tightening wedge. The RSI is at 45.02, which is firmly in "no man's land."

Key Support and Resistance

• Resistance ($0.00000479 - $0.00000592): PEPE has failed to break this level four times in 2026. A daily close above this is the primary "Buy" signal for trend followers.
• Support ($0.00000304): This is the ultimate "safety net." According to recent crypto news, a breach here would likely invalidate the 2026 bull thesis.

2026 Market Catalysts

• Other Frogs Threat: New competitors are siphoning liquidity from the original PEPE community, posing a significant threat to PEPE's "meme-king" status.
• Institutional Moves: While JPMorgan is launching tokenized funds on Ethereum, meme coins like PEPE rely entirely on social media virality and potential "Spot Meme ETF" rumors.

IS PEPE Coin Worth Buying in 2026?

PEPE is worth buying in 2026 only if you are using "play money." It remains a powerful tool for catching volatility, but it is underperforming compared to the stability of Bitcoin.

JPMorgan Chase intensified its foray into the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem by filing for a new tokenized money-market fund on the Ethereum blockchain. This move, identified through recent SEC filings, underscores a major shift in how "Global Systemically Important Banks" (GSIBs) view public blockchain infrastructure not just as an experiment, but as a primary settlement layer for institutional liquidity.

JPMorgan’s Ethereum Strategy

The bank’s latest vehicle, the JPMorgan OnChain Liquidity-Token Money Market Fund (JLTXX), follows the successful late-2025 launch of its first public-chain fund, MONY (My OnChain Net Yield Fund). Unlike early permissioned experiments, these funds leverage the public Ethereum network, allowing for greater interoperability with the broader digital asset ecosystem.

Tokenized Money Market Funds

A tokenized money-market fund is a traditional financial product—typically investing in short-term U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements—where ownership is represented by digital tokens (often ERC-20 on Ethereum).

• Yield on-chain: Investors earn dividends that accrue daily and are distributed as additional tokens.
• 24/7 Liquidity: Unlike traditional banking hours, these tokens can be transferred or redeemed near-instantaneously.
• Programmability: The fund’s "shares" can be integrated into smart contracts to serve as collateral.

Bridging Traditional Finance and Stablecoins

The timing of this launch is strategic. With the implementation of the GENIUS Act (the 2025 U.S. stablecoin legislation), stablecoin issuers are now required to hold high-quality liquid assets as reserves. JPMorgan is positioning JLTXX specifically to satisfy these legal requirements, effectively turning Ethereum into a bridge between the $240 billion stablecoin market and U.S. Treasury yields.

Institutional Competition: JPMorgan vs. BlackRock

JPMorgan is moving into a space currently dominated by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, which recently surpassed $2.5 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM). While BlackRock has a head start, JPMorgan’s deep integration with corporate treasury desks through its Morgan Money platform gives it a unique distribution advantage.

Services and Utility on Ethereum

The launch of JLTXX on Ethereum entails several key services that were previously manual or siloed within internal bank ledgers:

• Atomic Settlement: Subscriptions and redemptions can happen in real-time using stablecoins or tokenized deposits, eliminating the T+1 or T+2 settlement lag.
• Collateral Mobility: Through JPMorgan’s Tokenized Collateral Network (TCN), these fund tokens can be used as collateral for derivatives or repo trades without moving the underlying assets.
• Transparent Registry: While identity is verified off-chain to meet KYC/AML standards, the record of ownership exists on a transparent, immutable ledger, reducing audit friction.

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

Market Snapshot: Bitcoin and XRP Performance

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

1. Bitcoin (BTC) Price Stability

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

2. XRP Leads the Altcoin Charge

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

Institutional Era: The ETF Inflow Phenomenon

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

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

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

What’s Next for Crypto in May 2026?

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

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

Jurisdictional Split: SEC vs. CFTC Authority

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

What is the "Clarity" in the Act

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

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

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

Expanded Investor Protections and Antifraud Measures

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

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

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

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

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

Refined Focus on Tokenization and the "Build Now" Surprise

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

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

What’s Next for the Clarity Act?

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

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich acknowledged that preferred shares unveiled in November have yet to be issued.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury highlighted an upcoming consultation on payments encompassing digital assets and AI agents.

Peter Jackson says Hollywood’s fears around AI could hurt recognition for performance-capture acting, as debates about how the technology will reshape the movie industry grow.

As digital assets make inroads into the mainstream, crypto lender Figure is helping to turn them into viable collateral for credit.

Charles Schwab started allowing select users to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum directly alongside their other investments.

Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz is sounding the alarm for his own party, urging Democrats to "seize the center of the ring" by immediately passing the CLARITY Act.

Dogecoin maintains positive futures activity while other top cryptocurrencies flip negative in their open interest.

Legendary trader warns Bitcoin hasn't bottomed, predicting a bear channel drop as surging 6% US PPI inflation shatters market optimism.

On-chain data from CryptoQuant reveals the largest corporate XRP treasury is facing a $389 million unrealized loss after buying near the market top.

Metaplanet CEO reveals company’s plans to expand its Bitcoin treasury by introducing a Bitcoin-backed product that could become Japan’s first-ever perpetual preferred shares.

TLDR

• Transit Finance lost $1.8 million in DAI after attackers exploited the cross-chain swap protocol.
• Blockchain security firm PeckShield traced the stolen funds to a single Ethereum wallet.
• The exploit adds to more than $600 million in DeFi losses recorded in April alone.
• Kelp DAO and Drift Protocol accounted for most of April’s hacking losses.
• TRM Labs estimates that Lazarus Group represents about 76% of crypto hack losses in 2026 through April.

Transit Finance, a cross-chain swap aggregator, has suffered a $1.8 million exploit involving DAI stablecoins. Blockchain security firm PeckShield flagged the incident on Wednesday and traced the funds to one Ethereum address. The breach adds to a wave of DeFi attacks that have pushed 2026 losses toward $2.3 billion.

Transit Finance Breach Exposes $1.8 Million in DAI

PeckShield reported that attackers drained about $1.8 million in DAI from Transit Finance. The firm said it identified a single Ethereum wallet holding the stolen assets. It shared the alert publicly and tracked the movement on-chain.

Transit Finance operates as a cross-chain swap aggregator across more than a dozen networks. The platform routes trades between blockchains to offer pricing efficiency and execution speed. However, its interconnected design increases exposure to multiple attack surfaces.

PeckShield did not disclose the exact technical vector used in the exploit. However, it confirmed the loss amount and wallet address linked to the funds. Transit Finance has not released a detailed public statement at the time of reporting.

The exploit follows a series of high-value breaches across decentralized finance platforms. April alone recorded more than $600 million in losses across various protocols. Two major cases accounted for most of that figure.

DeFi Losses Surge as Transit Finance Joins April Breach List

Kelp DAO lost $293 million on April 19 after attackers drained its liquid restaking contracts. Drift Protocol lost $280 million on April 1 in a separate exploit affecting its Solana-based exchange. Together, those two attacks drove April’s total losses.

Security researchers now project full-year 2026 DeFi hack losses could reach $2.3 billion. TRM Labs reported that North Korea-linked Lazarus Group accounts for roughly 76% of crypto hack losses through April 2026. The firm based its estimate on blockchain tracing and forensic analysis.

Cross-chain protocols remain frequent targets because they bridge assets across networks. Transit Finance fits that category since it connects more than a dozen blockchain ecosystems. Attackers often exploit smart contract weaknesses or approval mechanisms in such systems.

Transit Finance faced a major breach in October 2022 that resulted in $28.9 million in losses. Attackers exploited improper input validation within its swap function. That flaw enabled unauthorized transfers from users who had granted token approvals.

Following that 2022 incident, the team recovered a portion of the stolen funds. The platform implemented security updates and reviewed its validation logic. However, the latest $1.8 million exploit shows attackers continue to target the protocol.

PeckShield continues to monitor the Ethereum address holding the stolen DAI. The firm has not reported any movement of funds since the initial alert. Transit Finance has yet to disclose further operational details as of Wednesday.

The post Transit Finance Hit by $1.8M DAI Exploit, PeckShield Says appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• UNH reached a 52-week peak of $404.14 mid-week, climbing approximately 30% in the last 30 days
• First quarter revenues totaled $111.7 billion, representing a 2% annual increase, while adjusted EPS exceeded forecasts at $7.23
• Operating margins at UnitedHealthcare expanded from 6.2% to 6.6% during the first quarter
• The company’s Medical Care Ratio declined to 83.9% in Q1, a significant improvement from the previous quarter’s 88.9%
• Strategic reduction of 1.3 million Medicare Advantage members in 2026 aims to preserve profitability

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) reached a 52-week peak of $404.14 during Wednesday’s trading session, concluding an impressive rally that pushed shares up approximately 30% during the previous month.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UNH

For the current year, UNH has advanced roughly 21%. Looking at the trailing twelve-month period, the stock has delivered gains of about 29%.

This upward momentum represents a dramatic reversal from earlier weakness. Between January and late March, shares tumbled from $336 down to $259 — representing approximately a 23% decline.

The turnaround gained momentum following UnitedHealth’s first quarter earnings report in late April, which surpassed Wall Street estimates and included an upward revision to full-year guidance.

First quarter revenues reached $111.7 billion, marking a 2% year-over-year expansion. Adjusted earnings per share landed at $7.23, exceeding analyst projections. Reported EPS registered at $6.90.

UnitedHealthcare’s operating margins expanded from 6.2% to 6.6%, representing a modest yet significant enhancement for an organization navigating a transitional phase.

Medicare Advantage Continues to Present Challenges

Medicare Advantage has emerged as one of the more prominent headwinds for UNH. Federal reimbursement rates have failed to match the acceleration in program expenses, creating margin compression in recent years.

To address this dynamic, UnitedHealth strategically reduced its Medicare Advantage enrollment by 1.3 million participants for 2026. While challenging, leadership characterized this decision as essential for maintaining long-term financial health.

The financial results are reflecting this strategic shift. UnitedHealth’s Medical Care Ratio — representing the portion of premium revenue allocated to claims payments — dropped to 83.9% in Q1, compared to 88.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

This substantial quarter-over-quarter improvement indicates the enrollment reductions are already positively impacting the company’s cost profile.

Early 2025 Presented a Contrasting Scenario

The start of 2025 proved turbulent. UnitedHealth experienced significant selling pressure in early January following disappointing fourth quarter 2024 results and a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposal for Medicare Advantage rate adjustments that fell short of industry expectations.

The organization has additionally navigated executive transitions and an active antitrust review. While these concerns persist, market participants currently appear focused on operational performance rather than these ongoing issues.

At its current valuation near $400, UNH offers a dividend yield of approximately 2.3%, with a market capitalization hovering around $360 billion.

The stock’s 52-week trading range extends from $234.60 to $404.15 — with Wednesday’s high matching the upper boundary of that range.

Wednesday’s volume registered approximately 4.8 million shares, trailing the average daily volume of 8.5 million, indicating the advance occurred without exceptional trading activity.

UNH closed Wednesday’s session at $400.38 according to the most recent available pricing data.

The post UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Surges to 52-Week Peak Following Impressive Q1 Performance appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman delivered approximately 4 hours of testimony in the federal lawsuit filed by Elon Musk in Oakland, California
• Altman maintained that Musk left OpenAI voluntarily, contradicting Musk’s allegations of a stolen charitable mission
• According to Altman, Musk demanded complete majority ownership of OpenAI, a proposal that left him “extremely uncomfortable”
• Defense attorneys questioned Altman’s credibility, referencing previous allegations of dishonesty from former colleagues
• The trial moves to closing statements on Thursday; the jury will provide an advisory verdict only

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, appeared in federal court on Tuesday to defend against claims made by Elon Musk that he and fellow executives undermined OpenAI’s foundational nonprofit principles.

During his roughly four-hour testimony at the Oakland, California federal courthouse, Altman presented a clear counternarrative: rather than having his charitable endeavor taken from him, Musk chose to walk away from the project.

“We were kind of left for dead,” Altman stated during his testimony.

The legal proceedings originated from a 2024 complaint filed by Musk against OpenAI, Altman, and Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president. Musk alleges that this trio diverted the organization from its initial nonprofit framework. Additionally, he contends that his approximately $38 million in contributions were redirected toward commercial ventures without his consent.

Altman denied making any commitments to Musk regarding maintaining OpenAI’s nonprofit status. He characterized their relationship as one marked by fundamental disagreements over strategic direction, ultimately leading to Musk’s complete loss of confidence in the organization.

To support his account, Altman referenced a December 2018 email from Musk stating: “My probability assessment of OpenAI being relevant to DeepMind/Google without a dramatic change in execution and resources is 0%. Not 1%.”

Altman emphasized these words were “burned into my memory.”

The Battle Over Ownership

A significant portion of Altman’s court appearance centered on Musk’s insistence on securing majority ownership of any for-profit iteration of OpenAI. According to Altman, Musk demanded controlling authority while making only vague references to potentially reducing his stake in the future.

Altman expressed skepticism about this happening. “My belief is he wanted to have long-term control,” he told the court.

He recounted what he characterized as a “hair-raising” exchange. When fellow co-founders questioned what would become of OpenAI should Musk pass away while maintaining control, Musk allegedly responded casually, suggesting his children could potentially inherit his stake.

Altman emphasized that OpenAI’s founding principle centered on preventing any individual from controlling artificial general intelligence. This made Musk’s ownership demands fundamentally incompatible with the organization’s values.

During negotiations, Musk floated the idea of combining OpenAI with Tesla. Altman declined, arguing that Tesla’s identity as an automotive manufacturer made it unsuitable for advancing OpenAI’s objectives.

Musk officially departed from OpenAI’s board in February 2018. Altman testified that staff reactions were mixed, with some experiencing a “morale boost,” while others feared Musk might pursue “vengeance.”

Defense Targets Altman’s Trustworthiness

Steven Molo, representing Musk, utilized cross-examination to cast doubt on Altman’s reliability. His questioning began bluntly: “Are you completely trustworthy?” Altman initially responded “I believe so,” before modifying his answer to an unqualified yes.

Molo highlighted previous accusations from former associates, including Dario Amodei, who founded Anthropic, and cited Monday’s testimony from Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s former chief scientist. Sutskever claimed to have documented what he characterized as recurring instances of dishonesty by Altman.

Altman also discussed his temporary 2023 ouster as CEO. He described the experience as an “incredible betrayal” and noted that board members offered minimal justification beyond claiming he hadn’t been forthcoming with them.

“I had poured the last years of my life into this,” Altman testified. “I was watching it about to be destroyed.”

OpenAI currently carries a valuation exceeding $850 billion according to private market investors. Musk’s lawsuit seeks the removal of both Altman and Brockman, along with redirecting over $130 billion to OpenAI’s nonprofit foundation. Final arguments are set for Thursday. The jury will deliver an advisory opinion, with final authority resting with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

The post Sam Altman Claims Elon Musk Abandoned OpenAI After Control Dispute appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Micron shares climbed approximately 4.8%, positioning the company to reach a $900 billion market capitalization milestone.
• Bank of America upgraded its price outlook while maintaining its Buy recommendation, driven by robust AI data center growth projections.
• BofA increased its 2030 AI data center market size estimate to $1.7 trillion, up from a previous $1.4 trillion forecast.
• DA Davidson established a Wall Street-leading $1,000 price objective, with long-term earnings projections reaching $139 per share by decade’s end.
• Institutional shareholders control over 80% of outstanding shares and have been net buyers, though recent quarterly data indicates some profit-taking.

Micron Technology (MU) shares were changing hands near $804 during Tuesday’s session, representing a gain of approximately 4.8%, placing the memory chipmaker on track to exceed $900 billion in market capitalization—a first for the company.

Micron Technology, Inc., MU

Reaching this valuation threshold would position Micron as the 11th most valuable U.S. corporation. The semiconductor manufacturer now trails pharmaceutical powerhouse Eli Lilly by a relatively narrow margin, with Lilly currently valued near $944 billion. To officially achieve the $900 billion mark, Micron must close at $798.06 or higher.

The stock’s upward trajectory follows an optimistic assessment from Bank of America, which elevated its price objective while reaffirming its Buy stance. The financial institution highlighted strengthening demand fundamentals for AI-focused data center infrastructure and anticipates accelerated AI-driven revenue growth along with improved profitability metrics beginning in 2026.

BofA simultaneously revised its projection for the AI data center addressable market in 2030 upward to $1.7 trillion from $1.4 trillion. This substantial increase reflects mounting confidence that memory semiconductor demand has significant expansion potential ahead.

Price Objectives Climb to New Heights

DA Davidson established an even more ambitious outlook, setting a Wall Street-leading $1,000 price target on MU, suggesting approximately 25% appreciation potential from the $750 mark. Their extended forecast model projects even greater optimism, estimating earnings per share could reach $139 by 2030. Such earnings would translate to the stock trading below 6x forward earnings within a five-year timeframe.

The thesis centers heavily on HBM (high bandwidth memory) technology, which has become critical infrastructure for artificial intelligence computing tasks. Manufacturing capacity is reportedly fully allocated through the conclusion of next year, and pricing dynamics remain favorable, with quarterly pricing adjustments anticipated to persist through late 2027.

DA Davidson’s research team characterized the current demand environment as a “positive feedback loop”—where AI system deployments generate practical value, that value spawns additional applications, and those applications fuel escalating memory requirements. Their view suggests this cycle remains in early innings with years of expansion ahead.

MU stock has appreciated more than 100% from its April trough and has multiplied several times over since early 2025. Technical indicators present a somewhat mixed short-term outlook, with MACD patterns suggesting potential consolidation ahead. The consensus analyst target currently sits approximately 35% beneath prevailing prices, which some market watchers interpret as indicating healthy pullback potential rather than fundamental concern.

Institutional Investors Provide Support Base

Institutional investment firms collectively hold more than 80% of Micron’s equity and have demonstrated consistent accumulation patterns throughout the trailing twelve months. This concentrated institutional ownership typically establishes price support during market corrections.

However, preliminary second-quarter data reveals some distribution patterns among major stakeholders, which analysts identify as a factor potentially contributing to near-term price consolidation. Key support zones around $695 and $545 are currently monitored by technical analysts.

The next significant market-moving event will be Micron’s fiscal third quarter 2026 earnings announcement, currently slated for late June. Every analyst providing coverage has raised price targets following the Q2 results. Market participants will focus intently on management guidance regarding DRAM pricing trajectories, product development roadmaps, and manufacturing capacity expansion strategies. New production facilities located in Japan and the United States are projected to commence volume production ramp-up later this year.

The post Micron (MU) Stock Rallies Toward Historic $900B Valuation Milestone appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Walmart stock rose 2.16% to $132.95 in early trading on May 13.
• The company confirmed a restructuring plan that affects about 1,000 employees.
• Management stated that the changes aim to improve coordination and reduce overlapping roles.
• Walmart is consolidating global technology and product teams across its divisions.
• Some affected employees can apply for other internal roles or relocate to key hubs.

Walmart shares advanced in early trading even as the company confirmed a workforce reduction. The retailer outlined a restructuring plan that will affect about 1,000 employees. At the same time, leadership reaffirmed its focus on efficiency, technology integration, and grocery expansion.

Walmart Stock Climbs as Company Restructures Operations

Walmart stock rose 2.16% to $132.95 on May 13 during early trading. The gain came after the company disclosed a restructuring that affects around 1,000 employees. However, management framed the move as an operational realignment rather than a cost-driven action.

Walmart Inc., WMT

The company has started consolidating global technology and product teams across divisions. Internal memos showed that separate teams often worked on similar projects. Therefore, executives chose to streamline resources and remove overlapping roles.

Many affected employees can apply for other internal positions within the company. Some workers must relocate to hubs in Bentonville, Arkansas, or Northern California offices. Leadership stated that the goal centers on coordination and long-term growth.

Executives clarified that the restructuring does not focus on replacing staff with artificial intelligence. Instead, leaders aim to align teams and improve execution speed. The company continues to adjust staffing to match strategic priorities.

The changes reflect wider adjustments across the technology sector this year. Companies have reported over 92,000 tech layoffs during the first five months of 2026. In the first quarter alone, firms disclosed more than 81,000 job cuts.

Grocery Investment and Walmart Stock Outlook

While restructuring continues, Walmart expanded its grocery infrastructure. The retailer opened a $350 million milk processing plant to support private-label products. This move strengthens supply chain control and improves margin management.

Food sales remain central to Walmart’s retail model. Groceries drive recurring store visits and steady revenue flows. As a result, the company continues to prioritize this segment.

Competition from Amazon has intensified pressure on fulfillment speed. The e-commerce company expanded its 30-minute delivery service across major U.S. cities. Consequently, Walmart increased its focus on faster logistics and integrated distribution systems.

Walmart has merged technology platforms across Sam’s Club, U.S. stores, and international units. Executives expect unified systems to reduce duplication and lower incremental costs. The strategy targets scale and operational consistency.

Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on Walmart with a $140 price target. The firm maintained its outlook ahead of Walmart’s earnings report scheduled for May 21. The stock has also outperformed the S&P 500 across several timeframes.

Management emphasized that the restructuring supports long-term efficiency goals. Leaders stated in internal communications that the company seeks better alignment across teams. Walmart stock traded at $132.95 as of the latest update on May 13.

The post Walmart Stock Gains as Restructuring Hits 1,000 Jobs appeared first on Blockonomi.

A closely watched chart pattern has flipped bullish, and at least one analyst says it mirrors the setup that preceded some of the biggest altcoin rallies on record.

According to trader Mark Chadwick, the pattern has historically occurred just before rallies of between 2,000% and 10,000%.

Altcoins Flash Their Strongest Setup in Years, Analysts Say

Chadwick posted on X on May 13 that the altcoin market is showing “one of the cleanest setups we’ve seen since 2020.” In his view, alts have spent months consolidating along a long-term ascending support line, absorbing selling pressure without breaking down, and now momentum is starting to flip.

“That’s historically how Alt Season starts,” he wrote.

He pointed to the 2020-2021 cycle as the clearest comparison, saying that when similar signals appeared then, they pushed many major alts up by “2,000-10,000% within months.”

He also cited the Russell 2000 hitting all-time highs as corroborating evidence that broader risk appetite is returning, arguing that capital rotation out of safer assets and into higher-beta plays is already starting.

That view is quite similar to that shared by another analyst, Michaël van de Poppe, who said earlier in the week that altcoins are currently trailing Bitcoin by one to three weeks and that if the pattern continues, they could start posting gains between 100% and 300%, depending on liquidity conditions and market momentum.

Some on-chain data also offered backing for Chadwick’s thesis, with crypto analyst Darkfost noting that altcoin performance among tokens listed on Binance has returned to levels not seen since September 2025.

Per his data, about 21% of Binance-listed altcoins have now reclaimed their 200-day moving averages. In February, only 2% of those assets held above that level. However, he was careful not to overstate the trend.

“It is far too early to start calling an altseason; the road ahead is still long and liquidity remains constrained,” he pointed out.

Liquidity and Regulation Remain Central Concerns for Traders

Despite the improving charts, some market watchers are still pointing to weak liquidity as a major obstacle for a bigger rally.

Darkfost himself noted that the crypto market has become heavily diluted, with at least 51 million altcoins now in circulation, with 46% of those tokens on Solana, while 36% are on Base and 10% are on BNB Smart Chain.

Macroeconomic concerns are also still weighing on sentiment. Darkfost cited the ongoing US-Iran conflict and inflation worries as factors that are still putting pressure on risk assets.

At the same time, traders are closely watching developments in Washington, with Chadwick, in an earlier post, suggesting that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 could encourage more institutional participation in crypto markets if it paves the way for clearer market structure rules.

The bill is scheduled for markup tomorrow, but has been hit with multiple amendments as well as more than 8,000 letters from members of the American Bankers Association opposing its stablecoin yield provisions.

The post 10,000% Gains? Why One Analyst Says the Strongest Altcoin Setup in Years Is Here appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Many leading cryptocurrencies have seen some volatility over the past 24 hours, yet their price swings don’t compare to the devastating crash that five lesser-known altcoins experienced.

The culprit behind that meltdown was Binance, which recently announced its latest delisting effort.

The Heavy Bleeding

The world’s largest crypto exchange revealed that it has conducted another review to ensure that all coins listed on the platform meet high standards and industry requirements. Based on its analysis, it decided to terminate all services involving Automata (ATA), Harvest Finance (FARM), Enzyme (MLN), Phoenix (PHB), and Syscoin (SYS).

The delisting will take place on May 27, with Binance explaining that deposits of these tokens will not be credited to users’ accounts after May 28. Moreover, withdrawals will remain available until July 27.

The news has caused a major decline for the involved coins. All of them have plunged by double digits immediately after the disclosure, with SYS taking the biggest blow as its valuation has tumbled by 34%.

Such price reactions are hardly surprising, since losing backing from a crypto behemoth like Binance typically leads to reduced liquidity, lower market visibility, and reputational damage.

In April, Beefy.Finance (BIFI), FunToken (FUN), FIO Protocol (FIO), Orchid (OXT), Measurable Data Token (MDT), and Wanchain (WAN) posted similar losses after the exchange removed them from its platform. Shortly after, Dego Finance (DEGO), DENT (DENT), and TrueFi (TRU) met the same fate.

Other Recent Updates

Earlier this week, Binance listed the trading pairs MEGA/U, TON/U, and TON/USD1 to its margin program. The initiative was once again primarily centered on United Stables (U) – a stablecoin launched in late 2025 and pegged to the American dollar.

Over the past months, the exchange expanded the list of trading pairs on Binance Spot by adding XRP/U, SUI/U, ASTER/U, and PAXG/U. It also included AVNT/U, BIO/U, CHIP/U, KAT/U, CHIP/USD1, and XAUT/USD1 on Cross Margin.

Just recently, it announced that users can spend U tokens with their Binance Cards and earn 15% cashback. The offering comes with 0 conversion fees and 0 Foreign Exchange (FX) charges.

The company explained that the reward will be distributed in tokens designated by the company, at its sole discretion, before June 30. The cashback is non-transferable, non-exchangeable, and cannot be redeemed for cash or any other benefit, it added.

The post Brutal Price Collapse for 5 Altcoins After Binance Says Goodbye: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Prediction market platforms such as Polymarket regularly observe millions in volume on most of their events, ranging from election outcomes to crypto price targets. That said, one persistent problem remains: most participants are essentially just guessing. They pick a side based on brief research, gut instinct, social media noise, or whatever narrative may feel more convincing that specific week.

Poly Truth is positioning itself as a platform that wants to fix that. Rather than being just another prediction platform, it’s an intelligence layer, which is built on top of prediction markets. Think of it as an AI-powered tool designed to analyze active events, score outcomes by probability, and explain the reasoning behind each call. The project’s website lays out the pitch in full, along with details of its live presale for the native token PTRUE.

The project has raised $170,000 in the first 24 hours of the presale, suggesting a real audience for this kind of tool and an understanding of what it helps with and why.

How Poly Truth Works: The Three-Character System

Poly Truth frames its architecture around three main functions, each one of which is represented by a character. This can serve more like a useful mental model, so let’s walk through each one of them.

The Runners are automated bots that are designed to continuously scrape information from across the internet. Whenever there is an active prediction event (an election, a crypto market call, a sports match, etc.), the Runners are pulling relevant information from multiple different sources in real time.

The Starlet, on the other hand, is the AI analyst at the heart of the system. It’s designed to take the raw data from the Runners, cross-reference sources, identify patterns, and generate a probability score for each possible outcome. This is where the actual intelligence is nested.

The Presenter is how the users interact with the results. It surfaces the findings in plain language – which events have strong data-based support, and what the probability breakdown looks like, as well as why the model made the decisions it did.

When these are put together, the system is designed in a way that turns noisy and scattered information into a structured view of a prediction event, giving the user more context on whether to take a position or not.

What Poly Truth Isn’t

It’s important to note that this is not a trading bot, and it’s not a financial advisor. The platform doesn’t manage funds, guarantee outcomes, or execute trades. The value proposition here is strictly informational. It’s designed to give users a more grounded basis for their own decisions when it comes to prediction markets.

This is a critical distinction. Many projects in this space are blurring the lines between an automated trading system and a signal tool. Poly Truth’s framing is analytical, and that’s explicit. Whether that’s how it ultimately gets used in practice is a question that’s completely separate. However, the design intent is not automation – it’s education and data.

The PTRUE Token

The native token of the platform carries the ticker PTRUE. It’s live in presale with a current price of $0.001190. Here is the supply breakdown:

• Total supply: 11.5 billion tokens
• Presale allocation: 40%
• Liquidity: 17%
• Development: 13%
• Team: 10%
• Staking: 10%
• Marketing: 8%
• Community/Airdrops: 2%

At the time of this writing, there is a listed staking APY of 4,452%, which is definitely an impressive number. However, keep in mind that these yields are fairly common in early-stage presale projects and tend to compress significantly as more tokens enter circulation. This is a mechanism that is designed to incentivize early holders to lock their tokens rather than sell them right off the bat – it’s not a figure that reflects long-term sustainable yield.

The token is built on Ethereum, with the contract address listed on the site. Payment options are flexible: ETH, BNB, SOL, USDT, USDC, card, and SEPA – all of these are accepted. This should remove most of the friction for buyers who come from different chains or even traditional finance.

Who is This For?

The primary audience for the project is undoubtedly active participants in prediction markets – people who are interested and are already using platforms like Polymarket or similar services and are looking for a smarter and more data-informed approach to the way they evaluate probabilities.

However, it could also appeal to:

• Crypto-native users
• Researchers and analysts
• Casual participants

The interface is designed to be beginner-friendly, at least that’s how it’s described, and it matters. Prediction markets do have a reputation for being a bit overwhelming. If Poly Truth can make probability reasoning a bit more accessible to a broader audience, then the product might become really interesting.

Early Traction and What to Watch

Raising $170,000 in the first 24 hours of the presale doesn’t validate the project on its own. However, it’s an indication that there is genuine early demand. The more meaningful metrics will, of course, come after launch: how accurate the AI’s probability scores are over time, whether the platform will be able to sustain a user base that’s engaged beyond the initial presale excitement, and so forth.

The prediction market space is undoubtedly becoming much more competitive. Tools that add analytical value rather than just another token tend to have more staying power.

For anyone researching the project in detail, the full tokenomics, contract address, and presale mechanics are available on the Poly Truth website.

Disclaimer: The above article is sponsored content; it’s written by a third party. CryptoPotato doesn’t endorse or assume responsibility for the content, advertising, products, quality, accuracy, or other materials on this page. Nothing in it should be construed as financial advice. Readers are strongly advised to verify the information independently and carefully before engaging with any company or project mentioned and to do their own research. Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a risk of capital loss, and readers are also advised to consult a professional before making any decisions that may or may not be based on the above-sponsored content.

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The post Poly Truth Hit $170K in 24 Hours: Here’s What This AI Prediction Tool Actually Does appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Sports and fans have always had a dialectical relationship. In some cultures and organisations, the club or sport calls all the shots and the fans adapt. In others, there is fan ownership of the team and shared governance.

Sports web3 has made it easier for this tense relationship to be more of a two-way street. Fans are more engaged than before, and the newfound digital fan experience all comes down to technology. It started off as Twitter and YouTube, but not blockchain is truly offering infrastructural opportunities, like fan tokens.

For clubs, the fan data captured on the blockchain is a useful marker of sentiment, predictive behaviour, and a way to more accurately reward loyalty. For fans, it’s about having evidence of their support – a new currency.

The information gap

The use of fan tokens in major sports leagues has created a need for dedicated educational resources. Platforms like Socios have helped explain token-based fan participation models to global audiences, because it is extremely novel and strange at first, and it’s helping supporters to engage with their favorite teams in new ways.

For this ecosystem to mature though, users really do need convincing. They need context and to trust the motivations, and this is where information hubs come in. For example, FanTokens provides help to people track market movements, understand concepts, and look at governance utility so they can understand what’s going on behind these digital assets.

By offering fan tokens data insights, these platforms put minds at rest over market volatility. They’re analytical reference points for those getting to grips with web3 sports platforms, and even stabilize the market so that it’s grounded in fan token data rather than just speculation. It’s the difference between just guessing a player’s popularity given its actual jersey sales and knowing how many fans across three continents voted on a specific kit design.

Transparency and ownership

At the heart of this infrastructure is digital ownership. Traditional engagement metrics have never been transparent like the public blockchain ledgers, nor immutable, regarding fan participation. Things like on-chain voting or performance-related token burns – it’s helping build trust because of the transparency.

Tokenized sports ecosystems encourage better support for their club because it reflects how their involvement impacts the broader network too. Sports blockchain adoption is still in its infancy despite being taken on by major soccer clubs. Both fans and stakeholders alike are enjoying the visibility of metrics and reward distributions – it’s not just about pushing a like button anymore, but actual stake-weighted governance. We aren’t too far away from a fan-managed team with on-field tactical inputs or player selection, at least as an experiment.

Such decentralized sports communities can’t use complex technology without everyday usability and understanding. It’s still maturing, and while it continues to do so, the demand for structured education and analytics will only mount up. Prioritizing transparent information is a must for all parties so that data-driven fandom can continue to reflect and reward the masses. There simply are no sports without fans.

Disclaimer: The above article is sponsored content; it’s written by a third party. CryptoPotato doesn’t endorse or assume responsibility for the content, advertising, products, quality, accuracy, or other materials on this page. Nothing in it should be construed as financial advice. Readers are strongly advised to verify the information independently and carefully before engaging with any company or project mentioned and to do their own research. Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a risk of capital loss, and readers are also advised to consult a professional before making any decisions that may or may not be based on the above-sponsored content.

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The post How Fan Tokens are Becoming Trusted Data Sources in the Sports Web3 Ecosystem appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The company behind the popular cryptocurrency XRP made headlines again by collaborating with some well-known names.

The price of its native token has risen by 9% over the past month, while the sustained institutional interest suggests a further ascent could be on the way.

Partnerships and More

Earlier this week, Ripple announced the successful closing of a $200 million debt facility from funds managed by Neuberger Specialty Finance, the dedicated asset-based division within the global investment management firm Neuberger.

The new capital will help Ripple Prime (formerly known as Hidden Road) to expand its services and support more institutional clients. Ripple also noted that demand for reliable, large-scale financing solutions continues to grow across both traditional and digital markets. Speaking on the matter was Noel Kimmel, President of Ripple Prime:

“This facility enables us to grow alongside our clients by delivering increased margin capacity, greater responsiveness, and improved capital efficiency. Neuberger Specialty Finance has deep expertise in asset-based finance and a strong understanding of our business model, and its support reflects the differentiated prime services platform we have built and the many growth opportunities available to us.”

For his part, Peter Sterling (Head of Neuberger Specialty Finance) applauded Ripple Prime for building an innovative brokerage platform that combines “fintech-grade technology and agility with bank-level compliance and operational rigor.”

The initiative caught the eye of numerous crypto commentators. The popular X user Vincent Van Code claimed this has marked Ripple’s jump into “financial liquidity.”

“Land wait til this $200m number becomes $20BN on chain. And then wait for XRP to become not only the bridge but a margin facility,” they added.

In the meantime, the Brazilian fintech and blockchain infrastructure company Levery joined Ripple UDAX and the local research and educational foundation FGV “to bring institutional on-chain liquidity” to LatAm banks. UDAX stands for the University Digital Asset Xcelerator – a mutual initiative between Ripple’s University Blockchain Research and UC Berkeley.

The ETF Front

Institutional interest in spot XRP ETFs has strengthened lately, with millions of dollars flowing into these products daily. On May 11 alone, inflows topped $25 million, marking the best day since the beginning of January. In fact, the last time outflows surpassed inflows was on April 30.

When new capital enters these products, issuers must buy actual XRP to back the sold shares. This steady demand can lift the asset’s price, especially when it outpaces available supply.

The companies that offer such ETFs in the USA include Canary Capital, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares. The cumulative total net inflow generated by these financial vehicles since their launch is over $1.36 billion.

RLUSD’s Progress

Ripple is best known for its native token XRP, but its ecosystem also includes the stablecoin RLUSD, which is pegged 1:1 to the American dollar.

It officially saw the light of day towards the end of 2024, and since then, numerous financial giants and exchanges have embraced it. Some examples include the oldest bank in the US, BNY Mellon, as well as the popular trading venues Binance and OKX. Recently, Quick AI revealed that RLUSD is available on its payment protocol Q402.

“Users can pay in RLUSD without holding gas. Q402 covers execution. Every payment also gets a Trust Receipt: signed, shareable, and verifiable in the browser,” the announcement reads.

As of press time, the stablecoin’s market capitalization stands at almost $1.6 billion, making it the 56th-biggest cryptocurrency.

XRP Price Outlook

The asset trades at roughly $1.42 after posting a solid 9% increase over the past month. Moreover, several factors suggest that a more substantial pump could be on the horizon. A few days ago, the renowned analyst Ali Martinez disclosed that the TD Sequential indicator had flashed a buy signal on XRP’s price chart, expecting an ascent to $1.82 if the valuation decisively breaks through the $1.45 resistance.

Moreover, the analytics platform Santiment revealed that the number of wallets holding at least 10,000 tokens has reached a new all-time high of 332,230.

“Historically, rising numbers of mid-to-large wallets suggest increasing conviction from investors who are less focused on short-term price swings and more interested in long-term positioning. This is especially notable because XRP has spent much of 2026 trading below previous highs, meaning many holders appear willing to accumulate during fear rather than chase momentum,” the team added.

The post Ripple (XRP) News Today: May 13 appeared first on CryptoPotato.