Today's top news highlights:

Tether held approximately $7 billion in Bitcoin and approximately $20 billion in physical gold in the first quarter, with net profits reaching $1.04 billion.

Federal Reserve's Hamak: Given the current economic outlook, the Fed's "clearly accommodative stance" is no longer appropriate.

In April, venture capital funding for the crypto industry plummeted 74% month-over-month to $659 million, the lowest level in nearly two years.

Regulation & Macro

Anchorage Digital submitted its GENIUS Act implementation comments, emphasizing the importance of a stablecoin regulatory framework.

Anchorage Digital submitted its GENIUS Act implementation comments to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, emphasizing the importance of a stablecoin regulatory framework. Its recommendations include recognizing the segregation of reserve assets through a South Dakota trust structure, opposing rigid quantitative requirements such as mandatory 10% daily liquidity deposits, and advocating for principle-based regulation; suggesting the removal of the automatic triggering of a maximum 7-day redemption delay mechanism for daily redemptions exceeding 10%; and opposing the presumption that all payments of returns to stablecoin holders by third parties or related parties are "avoidance of interest-free periods."

Trump told the US Congress that the conflict with Iran was over, circumventing the war authorization process.

Trump notified Congress that the conflict with Iran was over, aiming to bypass the war authorization process. His letter stated that the United States ceased military action against Iran on April 7, and that the 60-day war authorization expired on May 1. If hostilities resume, the 60-day countdown will reset.

Coinbase reaches compromise with banks on stablecoin yield terms, potentially advancing US Senate crypto legislation.

Coinbase has reached a compromise with banks on stablecoin reward terms, clearing a path for the US Senate to push through a crypto market structure bill. Banks gain more restrictions but retain the option for users to earn rewards based on real-world use cases. This agreement is expected to push the "Clarity Act" to a vote in the Senate Banking Committee.

The Bank of England is considering shelving its digital pound plan and instead looking to private tokenization innovation.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal to change quarterly reports to semi-annual reports has passed White House review.

Bessant: The blockade will continue until Iran restores pre-war freedom of navigation.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessenter stated that the United States has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is facing a dollar shortage and food and gasoline rationing, the international community has turned against Iran, and the blockade will continue until freedom of navigation is restored on February 27.

Project Updates

Zhao Changpeng: He will hold the first offline book signing event for his new book "Freedom of Money" in Dubai.

Zhao Changpeng's new book, "Freedom of Money," has been released, and proceeds will be donated to charity. The first offline book signing event will be held in Dubai, and will be a small-scale event.

The US military has reached an agreement with seven technology companies to use a classified AI system.

The U.S. Department of Defense has reached agreements with Google, Microsoft, AWS, Nvidia, OpenAI, Reflection, and SpaceX to deploy AI capabilities in classified networks for battlefield situational analysis and other purposes. Tools are available through the GenAI.mil platform, reducing the time required for some tasks from months to days. Anthropic is not included in the list of partners.

xAI launches voice cloning feature, supporting 80+ voices and 28 languages.

The xAI API now features a voice cloning function, allowing users to create custom voices in approximately 2 minutes or choose from a library of over 80 preset voices covering 28 languages. This feature is currently only available to users in the United States, excluding Illinois.

Coinbase will list Billions (BILL)

Coinbase will list the Billions (BILL) token. Users can generate deposit addresses, but deposits will only be possible after the project team enables the transfer function.

The Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH to Bitmine via OTC again early this morning.

The Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH to Bitmine through an over-the-counter transaction early this morning at an average price of approximately $2,292, raising about $22.92 million. In the past month and a half, the foundation has sold a total of 30,000 ETH, including 5,000 on March 15, 5,000 on April 11, 10,000 on April 24, and this latest sale of 10,000.

Bitwise announced it will close and liquidate two cryptocurrency ETFs, BTOP and BWEB.

Bitwise announced the closure and liquidation of two crypto ETFs, BTOP and BWEB, without disclosing the specific reasons. Investors who did not actively sell their holdings after May 21, 2026, will have their positions automatically redeemed at net asset value, with funds expected to be distributed around May 29.

Loracle, a HYPE whale, has apparently had his X platform account banned.

The X platform account of Loracle, an early contributor to Hyperliquid and a HYPE whale, appears to have been banned or deleted; search results show "This account does not exist".

The Pentagon announced agreements with SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, and others related to cyber-artificial intelligence.

The Pentagon announced that it has signed agreements with SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, and Nvidia related to cyber-artificial intelligence.

Investment and financing news

In April, venture capital funding for the crypto industry plummeted 74% month-over-month to $659 million, the lowest level in nearly two years.

In April, total VC funding in the crypto industry fell to $659 million, with 63 funding rounds, a 74% decrease month-over-month and the lowest level since July 2024. Year-to-date funding in 2026 totals $5.64 billion. DeFi protocols led the way with 12 funding rounds, followed by blockchain services and AI-related projects with 8 rounds each. GSR Ventures was the most active investor, participating in 4 funding rounds.

Cryptocurrency exchange service Fun has raised $72 million in Series A funding, led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire.

Cryptocurrency exchange service company Fun has raised $72 million in Series A funding, led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire. Fun provides cryptocurrency and fiat currency exchange infrastructure for its platform, with clients including Polymarket, Lighter, and Aave, and processes over $18 billion in payments annually.

Opinions & Analysis

a16z Crypto executive: The term "stablecoin" may gradually become obsolete.

An executive at a16z Crypto wrote that the term "stablecoin" is becoming obsolete. As technology evolves, stability has become a basic requirement, and the focus is shifting to "what else can be built upon it." In the future, it may be referred to as "digital dollar," "on-chain asset," or even integrated into the underlying financial system.

Federal Reserve's Hamak: Given the current economic outlook, the Fed's "clearly accommodative stance" is no longer appropriate.

Federal Reserve official Hamak stated that given the current economic outlook, the Fed's "clearly accommodative stance" is no longer appropriate. Kashkari said that even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens soon, inflation will remain high, and interest rates will need to remain unchanged for an extended period; a prolonged closure of the strait could jeopardize inflation expectations, requiring a "strong policy response."

Fed's Logan: Disagrees with statements suggesting the next adjustment is most likely to be a rate cut.

Federal Reserve official Logan stated that he disagreed with statements suggesting the next adjustment would most likely be a rate cut; the next rate adjustment could be either a rate cut or a rate hike, and forward guidance is an important policy tool.

Analysts: New Bitcoin buyers' holdings rise to 3.68 million coins, approaching levels seen in the late stages of the 2022 bear market.

Analyst Murphy stated that new Bitcoin holdings have risen to 3.68 million, approaching levels seen in the later stages of the 2022 bear market. While still some distance from the bull market peak, this indicates a return of investor risk appetite. The current situation is similar to August 2022, but holding the same amount of BTC requires 3-4 times the capital of that time.

Important data

Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 2.3% to 132.47 T.

Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 2.30% to 132.47 T at block height 947,520, and the current network hashrate is 957.63 EH/s.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $630 million yesterday, with IBIT leading the way.

On May 1st, Eastern Time, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $630 million. BlackRock's IBIT led the way with a net inflow of $284 million, followed by Fidelity's FBTC with a net inflow of $213 million. The total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs reached $103.785 billion, representing 6.66% of total assets, with historical cumulative net inflows rising to $58.718 billion.

Morgan Stanley increased its holdings by 286.7 BTC five hours ago, bringing its total holdings to 2,620 BTC.

Morgan Stanley increased its holdings by 286.7 BTC, or about $22.48 million, about 5 hours ago. After the increase, it holds a total of 2,620 BTC, with a market value of about $205 million.

Eightco disclosed asset reserves of $333 million, holding 283 million WLD and over 11,000 ETH.

Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings disclosed its holdings as of April 27, totaling approximately $333 million, including 283 million WLDs, 11,000 ETH, a $90 million investment in OpenAI, a $25 million investment in Beast Industries, and $121 million in cash and stablecoins.

BlackRock deposited 26,273 ETH and 226.677 BTC into Coinbase Prime.

BlackRock deposited 26,273 ETH, worth approximately $59.89 million, into Coinbase Prime via ETHA and 226.677 BTC, worth $17.54 million, into IBIT.

Tether held approximately $7 billion in Bitcoin and approximately $20 billion in physical gold in the first quarter, with net profits reaching $1.04 billion.

Tether released its Q1 2026 earnings report, showing net income of approximately $1.04 billion and excess reserves rising to $8.23 billion. Total assets are approximately $191.77 billion, and total liabilities are approximately $183.54 billion. Reserves include approximately $141 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, approximately $20 billion in physical gold, and approximately $7 billion in Bitcoin. USDT circulation is near an all-time high, with an increase of over $5 billion since then.

The Ethereum Foundation-linked wallet deposited 1,744 ETH into Kraken, worth $4.03 million.

A wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation deposited 1,744 ETH into Kraken, worth $4.03 million.

WisdomTree saw net inflows of $137 million into crypto ETPs in Q1, with AUM increasing by over 30% year-over-year.

WisdomTree saw a net inflow of $137 million into crypto ETPs in Q1, compared to a net outflow of $89 million in the same period last year. AUM rose to $152.6 billion, a year-over-year increase of over 30%. Crypto ETP AUM grew to approximately $1.8 billion, but shrank by about $596 million due to price declines. The company launched new products tracking Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, and is advancing its RWA tokenization strategy.

A weaker dollar and continued declines in oil prices led to a 4% surge in spot silver prices during the day.

US and Brent crude oil prices continued to fall, while spot gold rose by $20 in the short term.

Crypto stocks opened higher across the board, with Riot rising 9.16%.

Crypto stocks opened higher across the board, with Riot up 9.16%, Circle up 1.87%, Robinhood up 1.25%, Coinbase up 1.66%, and Strategy up 3.61%.

Strategy's stock price recorded its first monthly gain in nine months, and the STRC dividend yield is expected to remain at 11.5% in May.

Strategy common stock closed at $165 in April, up 33% for the month, marking its first monthly gain in nine months. Its perpetual preferred stock, STRC, maintained its dividend yield at 11.5% in May, marking the third consecutive month at that level.

Both WTI and Brent crude oil prices fell in the short term, while spot gold rose by nearly $20 at one point.

Spot gold rose nearly $20 in the short term, while WTI and Brent crude oil fell by more than $1 to $104.59 and $108.9 per barrel, respectively.

Texas Senator Submits SB 778 to Establish State-Level Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

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