GM — quick update for crypto traders and builders. Today’s highlights: NFTs surge, Aave’s debt scare eases, Powell probe ends, Western Union launches a Solana stablecoin, and a Mar‑a‑Lago meme‑coin meetup. NFTs roar back, led by Bored Apes - Blue‑chip NFTs posted their best week of 2026, with most major collections up double digits. CryptoPunks climbed to 30.95 ETH (~$72k), +16.2% on the week. - Bored Apes reclaimed levels above 9.65 ETH after two headline “grail” sales in 24 hours — a Gold Fur at 121.9 ETH and a Trippy Fur at 49 ETH. BAYC is up nearly 100% over the last month following the appointment of a new CEO and chatter about an IRL clubhouse. - Other movers: Azuki +49%, BAKC +50.1%, Azuki Elementals +37.5%, Otherside Koda +32.2%, Meebits +29.3%, MAYC +24.2%. Nouns spiked 284.6% but on just 33 sales (51 ETH), so that outlier needs context. The lone red was Hypurr (denominated in HYPE), -6.1%. - Why now? Many point to the end of marketplace “farming” incentives (OpenSea, Blur, Magic Eden). With rewards programs winding down, trading is less distorted by token subsidies and real supply/demand dynamics appear to be reasserting themselves. DeFi United reaches target — Aave’s worst‑case avoided (for now) - Six days after the $292M Kelp DAO exploit threatening Aave, Aave founder Stani Kulechov announced the DeFi United recovery fund has hit its target to fully back rsETH — pending votes, agreements, and execution. - Arkham reported ~ $160–161M raised of roughly $200M needed. Major contributors include Mantle + Aave DAO (totaling 55,000 ETH). Stani added 5,000 ETH (~$11.7M). EtherFi 5,000 ETH, Lido 2,500 ETH, and Golem Foundation 1,000 ETH also contributed. Several groups (LayerZero, Ethena, Frax Finance, Ink Foundation) have indicative commitments awaiting formalization. - An additional cushion: the Arbitrum Security Council has frozen ~$71.5M of attacker funds, which could be deployed pending governance. Crucially, governance votes still need to clear, but the dire $230M bad‑debt scenario now looks unlikely. DeFi United’s design aimed to prevent a mass rsETH depeg and large unrecoverable losses — and so far it seems to be working. DOJ drops Powell probe — Warsh confirmation advances - The DOJ closed its criminal inquiry into Fed Chair Jerome Powell and referred the matter to the Fed’s inspector general. Jeanine Pirro, who had signaled continuation of the probe days earlier, announced the closure. - That decision removed a major hold on Kevin Warsh’s Senate confirmation; Sen. Thom Tillis lifted his hold after receiving assurances. The Senate Banking Committee set a confirmation vote for Wednesday. Powell’s term as Fed chair ends May 15; whether he stays on the Fed board after that remains unresolved. Expect more political heat: Trump said he’d be “disappointed” if Warsh doesn’t cut rates immediately, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the DOJ move as clearing the path for a political appointee. Western Union to issue USDPT on Solana in May - Western Union confirmed a U.S. dollar‑backed stablecoin, USDPT, will launch in May on Solana, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and backed 1:1 by USD. CEO Devin McGranahan framed the move as a scaling imperative for the legacy remittance giant. - Rationale: SWIFT is slow and costly; Solana settles in seconds with sub‑cent fees — a potentially large cost advantage for a firm that handled 4.5B transactions in 2024. WU also aims to “own the economics” of stablecoin rails (float, spreads, fees) instead of ceding them to third‑party issuers. - Complementary launches: a Digital Asset Network to connect crypto wallets to WU’s 360k+ retail payout locations via API, and a USD Stable Card planned later in 2026 (initial focus: high‑inflation markets such as Argentina). Mar‑a‑Lago hosts $TRUMP token holders — token tumbles - Organizers invited the top 297 $TRUMP holders to Mar‑a‑Lago; the top 29 got a private champagne reception with former President Trump. Attendees reportedly included Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, investor Tim Draper, and Cathie Wood. Trump delivered a 45‑minute keynote covering crypto, AI, geopolitics, and branded sneakers. - The token slid 14% on Saturday and is down ~47% YTD and more than 90% from its January 2025 peak. Reuters also reported the Trump family has taken in over $1B from crypto asset sales, including at least $336M tied to meme‑coin sales in H1 2025 — a stark contrast between owner revenue and token holder returns. That’s the pulse this morning — NFTs heating up, DeFi dodging a major dent, traditional finance leaning into crypto rails, and politics continuing to intersect with tokens. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news