CryptoNews

Cardano’s Web3 wallet Lace has received fresh updates as the network prepares for the Van Rossem hard fork. 

Summary

Lace 2.0.3 fixed migration, DApp connection, loading, and legacy wallet issues.

Lace 2.0.4 added view mode options, auto-lock settings, and language fixes.

Cardano’s Van Rossem hard fork targets Protocol Version 11 in late June.

The wallet’s recent 2.0 releases focus on smoother migration, better DApp access, and easier wallet use.

Lace 2.0 brings Cardano, Midnight, and Bitcoin into one wallet interface. The update aims to reduce the need for users to move between separate wallets when managing assets across ecosystems.

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Lace 2.0.3 and 2.0.4 improve user access

Lace 2.0.3 fixed a white screen issue that stopped some users from completing migration or connecting to DApps. It also fixed a problem affecting some older wallets imported from Nami.

Lace 2.0.4 added a default view mode, letting users switch between Side Panel and Tab. It also introduced an auto-lock timer and fixed missing Spanish and Japanese translations.

Moreover, Cardano is preparing the Van Rossem hard fork, an intra-era upgrade to Protocol Version 11. The upgrade is expected to improve Plutus performance, ledger consistency, and node-level security.

Cardano Node 11.0.1 Pre-Release is required to safely cross the hard fork. Stake pool operators and developers on preview have been asked to upgrade before the mainnet step.

Network upgrade avoids major disruption

The Van Rossem upgrade does not move Cardano into a new era. That matters because transaction formats remain unchanged, reducing work for wallets, DApps, and exchanges.

“Late June 2026” remains the date to watch, but the rollout still depends on readiness and governance steps.

Read more: Bitcoin stays bullish above 21-MA as altcoins flash danger signs

Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $80,874 on May 10, with an intraday high of $81,026 and a low of $80,237. The move kept BTC close to the $81,000 area after a steady weekly recovery.

Summary

Van de Poppe says Bitcoin can grind higher while price holds above the 21-MA.

The $79K and $76K levels remain key supports for Bitcoin’s short-term structure.

CryptoQuant data shows Bitcoin’s aSOPR stayed above 1 for nine straight days.

Michaël van de Poppe said Bitcoin’s setup remains simple. In his view, BTC can keep moving higher as long as price stays above the 21-period moving average.

Van de Poppe pointed to $79,000 as the main short-term support. He added that $76,000 could still protect the broader structure if Bitcoin loses the first level.

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“As long as the 21-MA remains beneath price” remains the key condition in his outlook. The view depends on Bitcoin holding its trend and avoiding a deeper move below support.

Bitcoin profit-taking signal improves

CryptoQuant analyst Carmelo Alemán said Bitcoin’s adjusted SOPR has stayed above 1 for nine straight days since May 1. The metric tracks whether spent BTC moved at a profit or loss.

A reading above 1 shows that sellers are realizing profits. Alemán said the longer streak makes the signal less noisy and shows the market has absorbed profit-taking so far.

Altcoin strength brings correction warning

Van de Poppe also warned that more altcoins are showing strength. He said that phase may continue for several weeks but could mark the later stage of this upward run.

He warned that some altcoins could face 30% to 50% corrections around June or July. For Bitcoin, he still sees $86,000 to $88,000 as the next major resistance zone, followed by $93,000 to $95,000 near the 50-week moving average.

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Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

Meta launched Muse Spark on April 8, its first fully closed AI model, abandoning its open-source Llama strategy

Summary

Meta launched Muse Spark on April 8, the first product from its Meta Superintelligence Labs unit, built from scratch by Alexandr Wang’s team after a $14.3bn Scale AI deal.

The model is fully proprietary with no open weights, a direct reversal of the Llama strategy that reached 1.2 billion downloads by early 2026.

Meta stock rose 9% on launch day, and the model will roll out across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger in the coming weeks.

Meta launched Muse Spark on April 8, its first fully closed AI model, abandoning its open-source Llama strategy. The launch marks the inaugural product from Meta Superintelligence Labs, the unit built around Alexandr Wang after Meta’s $14.3bn investment in Scale AI.

Wang said in a statement: “Nine months ago, we rebuilt our AI stack from scratch. New infrastructure, new architecture, new data pipelines. This is step one. Bigger models are already in development with plans to open-source future versions.”

Unlike Llama, Muse Spark’s weights are not publicly accessible. API access is currently by invitation only, targeting select partners. Meta has said it hopes to open-source future versions, framing the current closure as temporary.

Gartner analyst Arun Chandrasekaran described the move as a “major shift,” saying it signals Meta’s intention to move away from the Llama brand entirely.

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What Muse Spark actually does

The model is natively multimodal, handling text, image, and voice inputs. Its flagship feature is a “Contemplating” mode that runs multiple reasoning agents in parallel before responding, competing directly with Gemini Deep Think and GPT Pro.

Meta collaborated with over 1,000 physicians to curate health-related training data, and the model is being marketed as a personal health reasoning tool alongside its general assistant capabilities.

Muse Spark sits below GPT-5.4 and Gemini 3.1 Pro on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, scoring 52 against their 57. Meta has not disclosed the model’s parameter count or architecture details. As crypto.news reported, the model beat Gemini 3.1 Pro on several health-related benchmarks that Meta prioritized in its evaluation suite.

Why Meta made the switch now

As crypto.news documented, Meta had been signaling a phased approach to its next AI generation, keeping core components proprietary while assessing safety risks.

The switch to a fully closed first release reflects the competitive pressure from OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which have proprietary models generating billions in API revenue that Meta’s open-source approach could not capture.

Meta’s 2026 capital expenditure is guided at $115bn to $135bn, nearly double 2025 levels. Meta stock rose more than 9% on launch day, the strongest single-day response to a Meta product announcement in over two years. The developer community that built on Llama is now being asked to wait for a future open-source release with no confirmed timeline.

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OpenAI has released GPT-5.5-Cyber to vetted cyber defenders, giving them reduced guardrails for specialized security workflows.

Summary

OpenAI’s GPT-5.5-Cyber is the most permissive model in its lineup, available in limited preview to approved partners doing advanced security work.

Vetted teams can use it for bug hunting, malware analysis, and reverse engineering, but malware writing and credential theft remain blocked.

The launch follows rival Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview rollout a month earlier, which drew investor and government attention.

OpenAI released GPT-5.5-Cyber on May 7 in limited preview, targeting security professionals defending critical infrastructure. The company describes it as the most permissive model in its cybersecurity lineup, aimed at specialized authorized workflows for a smaller group of approved partners with stronger verification requirements and account-level controls.

The cyber-specific version makes it easier for vetted teams to use OpenAI’s latest model for vulnerability identification, patch validation, and malware analysis, workflows where the guardrails built into the generally available GPT-5.5 would have created friction.

OpenAI said: “GPT-5.5-Cyber lets a smaller set of partners study advanced workflows where specialized access behavior may matter.”

What defenders can and cannot do

Defenders approved for the highest tier of OpenAI’s Trusted Access for Cyber program receive a version of GPT-5.5 with fewer guardrails than the public model, enabling bug hunting, malware study, and reverse engineering of attacks. Credential theft and writing malware remain blocked regardless of access level.

During early testing, selected partners used GPT-5.5-Cyber to automate and expand red-teaming exercises on infrastructure systems and to validate high-severity vulnerabilities. OpenAI plans to document the findings in a future technical deep dive as part of a responsible disclosure process.

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The UK AI Security Institute published an evaluation of GPT-5.5 across 95 narrow cyber tasks. The institute found that basic tasks have been fully saturated by leading models since at least February 2026, though it cautioned its testing does not reflect performance against well-defended real-world targets with active defenders and alert penalties.

Competitive pressure

The rollout comes a month after Anthropic released Claude Mythos Preview, a cyber-focused model that drew attention from investors and senior members of the Trump administration, even after Anthropic had been blacklisted by the Pentagon weeks earlier.

AI cybersecurity has become a formal competitive front, with both companies raising questions about who controls AI offense and defense tools and who bears responsibility when those capabilities are misused.

OpenAI noted it has also provided access to an earlier model, GPT-5.4-Cyber, to the US Center for AI Standards and Innovation and the UK AI Security Institute for independent evaluation. The standard GPT-5.5 remains its recommended entry point for most defenders.

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Pi Network (PI) trades around $0.19 with most quant models pinning it in a cramped $0.12–$0.20 band through 2026 as token unlocks, patchy listings and soft demand keep any meaningful upside firmly capped.

Summary

Pi Network (PI) is trading around $0.19 today, with a live market cap near $1.88 billion and 24‑hour volume of about $25–26 million.

Quant models mostly see PI stuck in a $0.12–$0.18 range through 2026, with a base‑case year‑end target around $0.13–$0.18—down modestly from current levels.

Recent and upcoming token unlocks, combined with tepid demand and limited exchange access, are keeping a lid on price even as open mainnet and ecosystem promises remain in place.

Where PI trades today

Pi Network (PI) is currently changing hands at about $0.1898, according to the Pi Network price page on crypto.news, with 24‑hour volume near $25.47 million and a market capitalization of roughly $1.88 billion. That puts PI at rank 46 by market cap, with a fully diluted valuation of about $2.89 billion based on a 100 billion maximum supply.

Other trackers line up in the same band. CoinGecko quotes PI at $0.1702 with a 24‑hour volume of around $22.9 million and a 7.7 billion circulating supply figure, implying a market cap closer to $1.31 billion. Crypto.com shows a spot price of $0.1699, down about 4.97% on the day and 9.21% over the week, and Kraken’s listing has PI at $0.17 with a 5.86% 24‑hour drop. The slight discrepancies stem from different circulating‑supply assumptions and which IOU versus mainnet markets each site tracks.

2026 outlook: narrow range, modest downside bias

Model‑driven forecasts lean cautious. CoinCodex, summarized in a recent Capital.com analysis, pegs PI’s current reference price at about $0.1726 and projects an end‑2026 level of roughly $0.1316—about 25% below that mark. Its table shows a 2026 trading range between $0.1207 and $0.1760, with sentiment flagged as “bearish,” a neutral 14‑day RSI of 50.83, and PI sitting below its 200‑day SMA of $0.1966 but near its 50‑day SMA of $0.1768.

Gate’s research desk, also cited by Capital.com, is slightly more constructive. It estimates an average PI price around $0.2082 for 2026, with a band between roughly $0.1582 and $0.2706, arguing that current levels sit near the center of its modeled range. Binance’s dedicated Pi Network prediction page is more short term, projecting daily values in a tight $0.175–$0.176 corridor for early May 2026 and an incremental climb toward roughly $0.223 by 2031, implying a 27–30% gain over five years.

Crypto.news took a longer perspective in its Pi coin 2030 story, noting that PI sat near $0.20 in late 2025 with high volatility and that 2030 forecasts spanned from fractions of a cent to around $1 depending on assumptions about exchange listings, token unlocks and real‑world utility. That piece made two blunt points: a $1,000 target is fantasy, and even $1 requires a combination of full open‑mainnet adoption, sustained app growth and much broader listings than exist today.

Token unlocks, weak demand and key risks

The immediate headwind is supply. A February 2026 crypto.news story highlighted that PI had “crashed for three consecutive days” and was hovering near all‑time lows ahead of a big token unlock. Data from PiScan cited in that piece showed that roughly 205 million tokens—worth over $27 million at the time—were scheduled to be released over the remainder of the month, including more than 37 million in just two days. The article argued that with demand waning, those unlocks were likely to push price toward $0.10, especially as macro data (strong U.S. jobs numbers) kept rate‑cut hopes in check and weighed on risk assets broadly.

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The structural uncertainty goes beyond any one unlock. As the 2030 story stressed, a huge share of PI remains locked, KYC completion is uneven, and exchange access is still partial, which makes price discovery messy and amplifies slippage when large holders move. Capital.com’s forecast roundup points to the same issues: future performance depends heavily on how and when more tokens enter circulation, how the project manages sell pressure from early miners, and whether it can convert its large nominal user base into on‑chain activity that justifies a richer multiple.

Taken together, the base case for 2026 is not a moonshot but a grind: most quantitative models cluster PI somewhere in the $0.12–$0.20 area, with a slightly negative skew from today’s ~$0.19 and wide uncertainty bands tied to unlock schedules and liquidity. If listings broaden and actual usage ramps, you can make a case for the upper ends of those ranges. If unlocks keep outrunning demand, the path toward $0.10 that crypto.news flagged in February may not be finished yet.

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Upbit will add Pharos to its KRW, BTC, and USDT markets on May 8, giving Korean traders new spot access to PROS. 

Summary

PROS jumped 47.8% to $0.9457 after Upbit and Bithumb expanded Korean market access.

Pharos trading volume rose 209.6% to $28.7 million as listing momentum boosted activity.

CoinGecko ranked PROS at #255, with a $127.5 million market cap after the rally.

The exchange notice said trading support was scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Korea time.

Deposits and withdrawals are expected to open within one hour and 30 minutes after the notice. Upbit said users must send PROS through the Pharos network only, as deposits through unsupported networks may take longer to return.

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Interestingly, CoinGecko data showed Pharos trading at $0.9457, up 47.8% over 24 hours. The token also gained 45.7% over seven days, placing it above the wider crypto market’s daily move.

Trading activity also increased. CoinGecko placed 24-hour PROS volume at $28.7 million, up 209.6% from the previous day. The token had a market cap of about $127.5 million and ranked #255 on CoinGecko.

The price move also came as Bithumb added Pharos to its Korean won market. That gave PROS another local listing on the same day and expanded access beyond Upbit

Early trading limits will apply

Upbit will apply normal trading controls after the listing opens. Buy orders will be restricted for about five minutes after trading starts. The exchange will also block sell orders priced more than 10% below the previous closing price for a short period.

For around two hours, Upbit will only allow limit orders. These controls are common during new listings, when liquidity is still forming and prices may move quickly.

Meanwhile, Pharos is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that uses an asynchronous BFT-based proof-of-stake consensus model. The network also uses parallel processing and aims to support Web3 and real-world asset applications.

Messari describes Pharos as a modular Layer 1 built for real-world assets. Its report says the network targets 30,000 transactions per second and sub-second block times, while combining EVM and WASM under one runtime.

Korean exchange activity stays busy

The PROS listing follows recent Upbit market additions. Related crypto.news coverage said Upbit added B3 to its Korean won market on May 7, giving the Base-linked token direct local access.

Moreover, as crypto.news reported, Upbit listed Dogwifhat on KRW, BTC, and USDT markets on May 6. That report noted that new Upbit listings can draw fast retail attention, but may also bring sharp short-term price moves.

The listing comes as South Korea’s crypto sector faces tighter compliance pressure. Recent crypto.news coverage said local industry groups warned that planned AML changes could raise exchange reporting loads sharply.

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Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs have committed more than $50 million to grow the Aptos ecosystem. 

Summary

Aptos Foundation and Labs committed $50 million to support trading, AI agents, research, and protocol infrastructure.

Decibel and Shelby sit at the center of Aptos’ plan for markets, data, and agents.

Crypto firms are racing into AI payments as stablecoin tools gain adoption across agents.

The funding will cover first-party products, research, protocol infrastructure, and a strategic fund for trading and AI partners.

The plan centers on markets and autonomous systems that can transact at machine speed. Aptos said it is building for AI agents that can operate without human checks, using fast settlement and low-cost blockchain infrastructure.

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Decibel and Shelby lead the plan

Decibel is one of the main products in the plan. It is an onchain order book and perpetuals exchange that went live on Aptos mainnet in February. Aptos said Decibel has crossed $1 billion in cumulative volume.

Shelby is the other key product. Aptos describes it as a storage protocol for data-heavy workloads, including AI agents. The network said data could become the next major agentic workload as agents license, exchange, and trade datasets.

Moreover, Aptos is moving as more crypto firms build payment rails for AI agents. Crypto.news recently reported that Coinbase launched Agentic.market, where AI agents can find services and pay with USDC through x402. That report said x402 had settled about 165 million transactions across more than 480,000 agents.

Other projects are also testing agent payments. Oobit launched Visa-backed Agent Cards that allow AI agents to spend USDT under business controls. As previously reported, Solana and Google Cloud also launched Pay.sh, which lets agents pay for API services using stablecoins.

APT gets a central role

Aptos said APT will remain tied to network use. The token is burned in transactions, used for access to advanced features, and staked to support higher performance for large workloads.

The network also said stablecoin market cap on Aptos has grown nearly tenfold since late 2024, reaching a peak of $1.93 billion. It added that real-world assets on Aptos have reached $1.2 billion, while major asset managers have already deployed on the network.

Aptos is also working on privacy features for institutional use. Recently, Aptos launched Confidential APT on April 24, adding concealed transfer data while keeping verifiability.

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Arbitrum DAO’s proposal to release nearly $71 million in frozen Ether tied to the Kelp DAO exploit has secured overwhelming support ahead of its final on-chain governance vote.

Summary

More than 90% of Arbitrum DAO voters backed the proposal to release $71 million in frozen ETH tied to the Kelp DAO exploit.

The proposed recovery plan would move 30,765 ETH into a multisig wallet managed by Aave Labs, Kelp DAO, Certora, and EtherFi.

According to Snapshot voting data, more than 90.5% of participating voting power backed the proposal before the voting window was scheduled to close Thursday at 6:54 pm UTC, with 173.9 million ARB tokens cast in favor. Around 18.1 million ARB, representing 9.4% of the vote, abstained, while fewer than 2,000 ARB tokens opposed the measure.

Co-authored by Aave Labs, Kelp DAO, LayerZero, EtherFi, and Compound, the proposal would release 30,765 ETH that Arbitrum’s Security Council froze on April 21 after the attacker behind the Kelp DAO exploit moved assets onto Arbitrum One. At current prices, the frozen ETH is worth about $71 million.

Arbitrum said at the time that the Security Council acted with input from law enforcement regarding the exploiter’s identity and transferred the assets into a controlled wallet without affecting network activity or user applications.

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The latest vote advances the “DeFi United” recovery initiative toward a binding on-chain proposal that would be submitted through Tally as a Constitutional Arbitrum Improvement Proposal. If approved, the ETH would be transferred into a recovery wallet controlled through a 3-of-4 Gnosis Safe managed by representatives from Aave Labs, Kelp DAO, Certora, and EtherFi.

Legal claims continue hanging over frozen ETH

Court filings previously submitted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York introduced competing claims over the same funds after plaintiffs tied to unpaid terrorism-related judgments against North Korea sought to restrain any movement of the ETH.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs argued that the frozen assets constituted property linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea because LayerZero’s investigation had attributed the exploit to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The filing named both Lazarus Group and APT-38 as instrumentalities of the DPRK under legal arguments tied to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

Gerstein Harrow LLP filed the action on behalf of Han Kim and Yong Seok Kim, whose case stems from the killing of Reverend Kim Dong-shik by North Korean agents. Combined claims tied to three separate judgments exceeded $877 million before interest, according to the filing.

Arbitrum DAO’s recovery proposal also included an indemnification clause drafted by Aave Labs to protect the Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain Labs, and Security Council members from claims connected to the freeze or release of the assets.

Recovery effort still faces major shortfall

Even if the governance proposal ultimately passes, the recovery plan still faces a gap of roughly 76,127 rsETH, currently valued at about $174.5 million, according to the proposal authors.

Protocols participating in the “DeFi United” initiative, including Mantle, EtherFi Foundation, Lido DAO, Ethena, Golem Foundation, Ink Foundation, LayerZero, and Tydro, have collectively pledged around 43,000 ETH worth roughly $101 million to contain fallout from the exploit and partially restore rsETH backing.

The exploit itself drained approximately 116,500 rsETH worth nearly $292 million from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge on April 18. LayerZero said its investigation found that compromised RPC nodes and a 1-of-1 decentralized verifier network configuration allowed forged cross-chain messages to mint unbacked rsETH.

Kelp DAO disputed LayerZero’s criticism over the bridge configuration, stating that the setup followed LayerZero’s documented default deployment framework and had previously been discussed with the protocol.

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Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu told Consensus Miami 2026 that the metaverse is over as a consumer destination, and that 100 billion AI agents will become blockchain’s primary users.

Summary

Yat Siu said the pandemic-era vision of humans living in virtual worlds was wrong, and that the metaverse was a proof of concept for AI agent infrastructure rather than a consumer product.

He predicted 50 to 100 billion AI agents will eventually operate on the internet, outnumbering humans and transacting autonomously on blockchain networks.

Animoca announced a $10 million investment initiative for developers building AI agent applications through its Animoca Minds platform.

Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu told Consensus Miami 2026 on Thursday that the metaverse, as the crypto industry imagined it during the pandemic, was never really built for humans.

“Where we’re landing is that the metaverse, the blockchain-based one, was really the proof of concept for agents,” he said. “In other words, it was never really destined for humans as a prime consumer.”

The remarks mark a clean break from Animoca’s earlier positioning. The firm was among the most prominent advocates of the pandemic-era metaverse vision, which assumed users would spend growing amounts of their social and economic lives in immersive virtual environments.

Siu attributed that misconception to the distorting conditions of COVID lockdowns, when it seemed remote digital life would become permanent. “Everyone thought, ‘Oh, we’re going to be at home, and we’re never going to travel as much anymore,'” he said. “Which, of course, turned out to be quite the opposite.”

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What comes next: the agent economy

Siu’s new thesis is that blockchain’s most scalable user base will not be humans but autonomous AI agents. “I think the point is that it’s going to be more agents than humans,” he said, estimating 50 to 100 billion agents could eventually operate on the internet.

On current population math, 10 to 20 agents per human produces between 70 and 140 billion agents globally. “Blockchain technology is the ideal financial system for machines,” Siu said. “We, the humans, were basically the guinea pigs.”

The argument centres on a practical problem that has limited crypto’s reach. Approximately 700 to 800 million people globally own some form of cryptocurrency, but as crypto.news reported, fewer than 70 million actively use blockchain applications, largely because the technology remains too complex for mainstream consumers. AI agents do not face that barrier.

They interact directly through code, require no traditional banking infrastructure, and can transact autonomously on-chain. As part of the pivot, Animoca announced a $10 million initiative for developers building AI agent applications through its Animoca Minds platform, framing agents as its next major investment category after the metaverse era closes.

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Prediction markets closed out Consensus Miami 2026 as the subject of a live debate on whether they are regulated financial derivatives or gambling products operating outside state law.

Summary

The closing Consensus Miami 2026 session debated whether prediction markets are CFTC-regulated financial instruments or unlicensed gambling under state gaming laws.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the fight could reach the Supreme Court, as the agency has already sued five states for treating its registered exchanges as gambling platforms.

Kalshi’s valuation surged from $22 million in 2024 to $22 billion by March 2026, with sports contracts now accounting for 85% to 90% of its trading volume.

Prediction markets closed out Consensus Miami 2026 on Thursday as the subject of the conference’s final debate, pitting the CFTC’s position that event contracts are swaps against a growing coalition of state attorneys general who argue the platforms are unlicensed gambling businesses.

The session brought the conference’s policy agenda to a head after three days of regulatory and legislative sessions.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, who attended Consensus for the first time this year, has made the prediction markets jurisdictional fight a defining feature of his tenure.

“We expect these matters to go up to the Supreme Court,” Selig said, as the agency has already sued Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin for attempting to regulate CFTC-registered exchanges under state gambling law.

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Why states are pushing back

The core disagreement is structural. Kalshi and Polymarket argue their platforms operate like futures markets, with no house setting odds and no counterparty absorbing all risk.

DraftKings president Paul Liberman acknowledged the consumer experience is identical to sports betting. “For the end user, yes,” he said, “whether they’re putting a bet on the sportsbook or whether they’re doing a trade on the Celtics here, they definitely feel as though it’s the same.”

Wisconsin filed complaints against Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and Robinhood in April, arguing their contracts meet the state’s legal definition of a bet.

A bipartisan coalition of 41 state attorneys general has separately called for federal clarity on jurisdiction. Senator Marsha Blackburn’s subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for May 20, sitting directly between the Consensus debate and the Senate’s CLARITY Act markup window.

As crypto.news reported, Selig has offered platforms a framework: the CFTC will fight state interference, but exchanges must accept surveillance, insider trading enforcement, and a derivatives-style rulebook in return.

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Executives at federally regulated banks told a Consensus Miami 2026 panel that crypto companies are increasingly seeking bank licenses as the industry moves toward regulated financial infrastructure.

Summary

Panelists at the Consensus Miami 2026 Policy Summit said the push for bank licenses is accelerating among crypto firms under the current regulatory environment.

A bank charter gives crypto companies direct access to client deposits, reduces borrowing costs, and pulls operations out of regulatory grey zones.

The session follows a broader Trump-era deregulatory shift that has encouraged firms to pursue national and state bank charters.

Executives at federally regulated banks told the Consensus Miami 2026 Policy Summit on Thursday that the number of crypto companies seeking bank charters is rising sharply, as the industry pursues regulated status to gain credibility and reduce costs.

The session formed part of the Day 3 policy agenda, which also featured discussions on PAC spending, midterm strategy, and crypto legislation.

A bank charter gives a company direct access to customer deposits, federal oversight, and the legal authority to offer banking services.

For crypto firms, the appeal is structural: chartered status reduces borrowing costs, moves operations out of regulatory grey areas, and signals legitimacy to institutional clients who remain cautious about unregulated counterparties.

As crypto.news reported, at least half a dozen crypto industry executives confirmed in early 2025 that their firms saw an opportunity under the Trump administration to apply for banking licenses.

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What is driving the charter push

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reversed its anti-crypto stance and permitted banks to engage in cryptocurrency-related activity including stablecoins operations and custody. Law firm Troutman Pepper Locke said it was “working on several applications now,” according to filings.

World Liberty Financial applied for a national trust bank charter through its WLTC Holdings entity in January, making it one of the most high-profile applications to date, even as Senator Elizabeth Warren called for the OCC to pause the review.

As crypto.news documented, chartered crypto firms can offer services like loans and deposits that previously required costly third-party arrangements, with SoFi’s relaunch as a nationally chartered bank offering crypto trading the most prominent recent example.

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American Bitcoin posted an $81.8 million net loss in Q1 2026, even as the Trump-backed miner set a new quarterly production record of 817 BTC and cut its mining cost by 23%.

Summary

American Bitcoin reported an $81.8 million net loss in Q1, up from a $59.5 million loss in Q4 2025.

Bitcoin fell 22% during the quarter, triggering a $117.2 million non-cash impairment charge on the company’s holdings.

The company mined a record 817 BTC and reduced its cost per coin to $36,200, a 23% improvement from $46,900 in Q4 2025.

American Bitcoin reported a net loss of $81.8 million in Q1 2026, driven by a 22% bitcoin price decline that triggered a $117.2 million non-cash impairment on its digital asset holdings. Revenue from mining fell to $62.1 million from $78.3 million in the prior quarter.

Despite the headline loss, CEO Mike Ho pushed back. “Strip out the non-cash mark-to-market adjustment on our Bitcoin required by FASB,” he said, “and the underlying business was profitable and we did not sell a single coin.”

Gross mining margins held above 50% and the cost per coin fell to $36,200, a 23% improvement from $46,900 in Q4 2025.

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Record production, widening paper losses

American Bitcoin mined 817 BTC in Q1, its highest quarterly output to date, and purchased an additional 803 BTC for its treasury. Total holdings reached 7,021 BTC as of March 31. Co-founder Eric Trump told Consensus Miami on Wednesday:

“In just over eight months as a public company, we have become the 16th largest bitcoin holder globally and scaled to more than 28 exahash of capacity.”

The company completed the deployment of 11,298 new Bitmain miners in early March, bringing its total fleet to 89,242 machines and 28.1 EH/s of capacity. Operating expenses for the quarter totalled $150.7 million.

ABTC shares fell roughly 7% in pre-market trading after the results missed analyst estimates by 17%. As crypto.news reported, ABTC debuted on Nasdaq through a reverse merger in September 2025, briefly pushing Eric Trump’s paper stake into billionaire territory before a sustained selloff.

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South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has added B3 to its Korean won market, giving local traders direct access to the Base-linked token. 

Summary

Upbit opened B3 trading against the Korean won, giving the Base token local market access.

The exchange delayed trading to 14:00 KST and applied early order restrictions for stability.

B3’s Base network support links the listing to growing Korean interest in OP Stack projects.

Trading was first scheduled for 13:45 KST on May 7, before Upbit moved the start time to 14:00 KST.

B3 is a layer-3 blockchain built on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network developed with the OP Stack. The Upbit listing gives the token access to one of Asia’s most active retail crypto markets.

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Exchange sets early trading limits

Upbit said deposits and withdrawals will only support B3 through the Base network. The exchange also asked users to confirm the contract address before sending funds. Deposits through unsupported networks may face a long refund process.

The exchange placed normal controls on early trading. Buy orders were restricted for about five minutes after launch. Upbit also limited low-price sell orders and restricted non-limit order types for about two hours.

Upbit warned, “If a certain level of liquidity is not secured after the commencement of deposit and withdrawal services, the start of trading support may be postponed.” The notice shows the exchange kept room to adjust trading if market depth was weak.

B3 joins recent Upbit listing wave

The listing comes after several Upbit market additions drove fresh attention to selected tokens. As crypto.news reported yesterday, Dogwifhat rose after Upbit added WIF trading pairs against KRW, BTC, and USDT on May 6. The report also noted that new listings can expose traders to fast price swings.

Earlier, crypto.news reported that Centrifuge jumped more than 180% after Upbit announced trading support. Another report said Internet Computer added about $100 million in market value after Upbit opened ICP trading against KRW, BTC, and USDT.

These cases show why new KRW pairs draw close market attention. They create direct local currency access and can bring sudden liquidity from South Korean retail traders.

OP Stack link adds market context

B3’s Base and OP Stack link also fits a wider infrastructure trend at Upbit. Crypto.news reported this week that Upbit partnered with Optimism to build GIWA Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network using the OP Stack.

That report said GIWA Chain will let Upbit run its own infrastructure under Optimism’s self-managed enterprise setup. The exchange will operate its own sequencer, which controls transaction ordering and collects network fees.

The B3 listing is separate from GIWA Chain, but both relate to OP Stack-based blockchain activity. For traders, the listing places B3 inside South Korea’s won market while giving Base-linked layer-3 projects more visibility.

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Bittrex has asked a U.S. federal court to overturn its $24 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the regulator abandoned the crypto enforcement approach used against the exchange under the Biden administration.

Summary

Bittrex has asked a federal judge to cancel its $24 million SEC settlement after the regulator dropped similar crypto cases.

Court filings stated that the SEC now no longer considers most crypto tokens to be securities under its current approach.

The bankrupt exchange has also requested that the SEC return funds before the money is transferred to former customers through the Treasury Department.

According to a motion filed this week by attorneys representing Bittrex, the bankrupt crypto exchange has requested that the court vacate the earlier judgment and direct the SEC to return the $24 million penalty paid in 2023. 

The filing argues that the regulator no longer supports the legal theory used to pursue the case, after repeatedly stating under President Donald Trump’s administration that most crypto tokens do not qualify as securities.

Filed in federal court on Monday, the motion stated that the SEC has already dropped nearly all comparable enforcement actions and investigations involving crypto exchanges and token issuers. Bittrex’s legal team argued that continuing to enforce the settlement while abandoning similar cases would be unfair treatment.

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“Two-and-a-half years after extracting a settlement from a bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange premised on the legal theory that the tokens that traded on the exchange were securities, the SEC has (a) conceded that its legal theory was wrong and those tokens were not securities, (b) acknowledged that its enforcement strategy was misguided from the start, and (c) dropped every similar case and investigation except this one,” Bittrex’s attorneys wrote in the filing.

SEC’s crypto reversal becomes central to Bittrex request

The SEC originally sued Bittrex during Joe Biden’s presidency, accusing the Seattle-based exchange of offering unregistered securities through crypto token trading services. Bittrex later agreed to settle the case for $24 million without admitting or denying the allegations.

Court records cited in the latest filing also pointed to a March request from the SEC seeking permission to transfer the $24 million to the U.S. Treasury Department for distribution to former Bittrex customers who allegedly suffered financial losses.

Bittrex’s attorneys have now asked the judge to stop the transfer process and return the funds before any distribution takes place.

Operations at the exchange were shut down shortly after the settlement, with Bittrex stating at the time that continuing business operations in the existing U.S. regulatory and economic environment was no longer economically viable.

Separate from the SEC case, Bittrex reached another settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022 over alleged sanctions violations involving countries including Iran, Cuba, and Syria. Treasury officials announced at the time that the exchange had agreed to pay roughly $29 million tied to what regulators described as apparent violations of sanctions and anti-money laundering rules.

Since Trump returned to office last year, SEC leadership has repeatedly pulled back from the agency’s earlier crypto enforcement campaign. The regulator has dismissed or paused several high-profile lawsuits against crypto companies, while senior officials have publicly stated that many digital assets fall outside securities laws.

Read more: Swiss bank AMINA brings Canton Coin into regulated finance

Swiss crypto bank AMINA has become the first FINMA-regulated lender to offer custody and trading support for Canton Coin.

Summary

AMINA has become the first FINMA-regulated bank to support Canton Coin trading and custody services.

Institutional clients can now access the Canton Network infrastructure through a regulated Swiss banking platform.

According to AMINA, the new integration gives clients regulated access to the Canton Network, a blockchain built for capital markets activity such as tokenized assets, collateral management, repo transactions, and settlement. Digital Asset developed the network, while backers include the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Visa, BitGo, Goldman Sachs, and Citadel.

Institutional investors using AMINA’s banking platform can now hold and trade Canton Coin without relying on crypto-native custodians or exchanges. The bank said the setup could support firms using Canton Network infrastructure for tokenization and financial settlement operations.

From Zug, Switzerland, AMINA has continued adding regulated crypto services across multiple jurisdictions over the past year. In November 2025, the bank received a Type 1 license uplift from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, allowing its local subsidiary to provide crypto trading and custody services to institutional investors in the city. At the time, AMINA said Hong Kong had become one of Asia’s most active regulated crypto markets for professional investors and family offices.

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Under the Hong Kong approval, AMINA expanded support for 13 digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, and Tether. Michael Benz, head of AMINA Hong Kong and APAC, said the regulatory clearance would help the bank meet institutional demand for regulated crypto access and tokenized financial products.

Canton pushes deeper into institutional markets

Canton Network has been building infrastructure tailored for traditional finance firms rather than retail crypto users.

Institutional activity around the network has increased in recent months. In April, BitGo expanded its Canton-related services to include trading and on-chain settlement after previously supporting custody functions alone.

S&P Dow Jones Indices also brought its US Treasury Index benchmark onto the Canton Network, allowing institutions to access benchmark fixed-income data through tokenized systems.

Competition in the institutional blockchain sector has intensified as regulated financial firms experiment with tokenized assets and settlement rails. R3’s Corda continues targeting banks and regulated markets through privacy-focused permissioned infrastructure, while Hyperledger Fabric has maintained adoption among financial institutions and enterprise firms running blockchain-based internal systems.

AMINA has also expanded its regulated digital asset footprint in Europe. Earlier in November 2025, Austria’s Financial Market Authority approved the bank’s Austrian subsidiary under the European Union’s MiCA framework, allowing it to offer crypto trading, custody, and portfolio management services across the European Economic Area.

Beyond geographic expansion, the bank has added institutional-focused products tied to Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, Polygon staking services, and USD Coin reward accounts as competition among regulated crypto banks continues to grow.

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Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez has appealed for public donations after legal costs tied to his U.S. criminal case left him with more than $2 million in debt and a $250,000 court-imposed fine.

Summary

Keonne Rodriguez said legal fees tied to the Samourai Wallet case left him with more than $2M in debt. A U.S. court sentenced Rodriguez and William

Lonergan Hill to prison over charges linked to the crypto mixing protocol.

Rodriguez said he hopes for a presidential pardon, but his hopes have faded as he prepares to serve his sentence.

According to a Wednesday post Rodriguez published on X, the former Samourai Wallet developer said the financial pressure from his legal defense had exhausted his remaining resources while he prepares to serve a prison sentence tied to money laundering charges connected to the crypto mixing service.

“We are entirely out of options,” Rodriguez wrote, adding that legal bills and related debts accumulated during his defense had left him “financially wiped out.” He asked the crypto community for help covering the remaining costs.

In November, Rodriguez and fellow Samourai Wallet co-founder William Lonergan Hill received prison sentences of five and four years, respectively, after prosecutors pursued charges linked to the operation of the privacy-focused crypto mixer. U.S. authorities had accused the pair of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Federal prosecutors first charged Rodriguez and Hill in April 2024. Court records later showed both men initially pleaded not guilty before agreeing in July 2025 to plead guilty to operating an illegal money transmitting business.

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During a December interview with journalist and Bitcoin educator Natalie Brunell, Rodriguez said the decision to plead guilty came after calculating the financial and legal risks tied to a full trial. According to Rodriguez, a conviction after trial could have added years to his sentence, while driving legal expenses even higher.

Legal marketplace Lawful estimates that criminal defense lawyers in the U.S. can charge between $200 and $500 per hour, while retainers in complex criminal cases can exceed $10,000 depending on the number of attorneys involved and the nature of the charges.

Privacy advocates across the crypto sector have closely tracked the Samourai Wallet case alongside proceedings involving Roman Storm, arguing that developers of open-source privacy software should not automatically face criminal liability for how third parties use their code. Several supporters have also warned that prosecutions targeting crypto privacy tools could discourage software developers from building financial privacy applications.

Rodriguez says pardon hopes are fading

U.S. President Donald Trump said in December that he would review Rodriguez’s case and consider a possible pardon. An online petition supporting a pardon had gathered 15,953 signatures as of Thursday.

Rodriguez, however, said he no longer expects presidential intervention. Comparing his situation to the pardons granted to Changpeng Zhao and Ross Ulbricht, Rodriguez said he lacked the influence and financial backing needed to attract similar political support.

“There was some hope during the Bitcoin 2026 conference, but that has now come and gone,” Rodriguez wrote on X, adding that he now expects to serve his full federal prison sentence.

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Representative James Baird won the Republican primary for Indiana’s 4th Congressional District, keeping his reelection campaign on track before the 2026 midterms. 

Summary

Baird won Indiana’s Republican primary after crypto-linked PAC Defend American Jobs spent heavily supporting him.

Fairshake’s political network is targeting 2026 races to support candidates backing crypto market rules.

The victory comes as lawmakers debate the CLARITY Act and stablecoin yield rules in Washington.

Decision Desk HQ data showed Baird ahead with 35,805 votes, or 60.28%, while Craig Haggard had 18,256 votes, or 30.73%. John Piper followed with 5,340 votes.

The race drew attention from the crypto sector because Baird received support from Defend American Jobs, a political action committee linked to Fairshake. Crypto.news reported that the PAC spent about $514,000 on media buys to support Baird before the Indiana primary.

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Crypto PAC money enters the race

Defend American Jobs backed Baird after he supported crypto-related legislation in Congress. Crypto.news reported that Stand With Crypto rated him as strongly supportive of digital assets after his votes on the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act.

Fairshake has become one of the most active crypto-funded groups in U.S. politics. A Fairshake spokesperson said, “Representative Baird has been a proven leader for pro-job, pro-consumer, and pro-innovation policies in Congress.” The group said it supports candidates who back responsible digital asset regulation.

Meanwhile, the Indiana result comes as crypto groups prepare for a larger role in the 2026 midterm elections. Crypto.news reported that Fairshake and AI-focused PACs have already deployed more than $100 million into midterm races.

At the same time, public trust remains mixed. A Public First poll cited by crypto.news found that 45% of Americans viewed crypto investing as too risky. The same report said 44% of respondents believed AI was moving too fast.

Baird also received an endorsement from Donald Trump. AP reported that Trump-backed candidates performed strongly in several Indiana Republican races, showing how national political spending and endorsements shaped local contests.

CLARITY Act debate stays in focus

Baird’s win comes as Congress weighs digital asset rules, including the CLARITY Act. Crypto.news reported that Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached a compromise on stablecoin yield, but banking groups later pushed back against the text.

The compromise would block passive stablecoin yield that acts like bank interest while allowing rewards linked to platform activity. Crypto firms see the deal as a possible path for the bill, while banking groups argue it still leaves room for deposit outflows.

The Indiana primary shows how crypto policy has become part of campaign strategy. Baird’s win gives the sector another preferred candidate heading into November, while the stablecoin and market structure debates continue in Washington.

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Fairshake has spent $28 million in 2026 primaries as a new poll shows most Americans distrust crypto and AI, raising questions about the political value of industry-backed super PAC money.

Summary

Fairshake and pro-AI PAC Leading the Future have together spent over $100 million in 2026 midterm races, according to federal filings and published reporting.

A Public First poll for Politico in April found 45% of Americans say investing in crypto is too risky, and 44% say AI is developing too fast.

Only 3% of survey respondents recognise Fairshake by name, but analysts warn backlash could be swift once voters connect the spending to the industries behind it.

Fairshake, the pro-crypto super PAC backed by Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ripple, has spent $28 million across competitive 2026 primaries. Combined with pro-AI group Leading the Future, which launched in August 2025 and has raised more than $75 million, the two industry-aligned groups have together deployed over $100 million in the current midterm cycle.

The spending arrives against a difficult backdrop. A Public First poll conducted for Politico in April, surveying 2,035 US adults, found 45% of Americans say investing in cryptocurrency is not worth the risk, 44% say AI is developing too fast, and nearly two-thirds want Congress to impose strict regulations or broad AI oversight.

“I do think if they see somebody is backed by crypto, that’s always going to be a problem,” former Ohio Representative Jim Renacci was quoted as saying.

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Despite those distrust numbers, public awareness of both groups remains remarkably low. Only 3% of respondents recognised Fairshake, and just 9% had heard of Leading the Future.

Political observers told Politico that backlash could be swift once voters make the connection between the spending and the industries behind it.

The stakes for crypto legislation are direct. As crypto.news reported, if Democrats take either chamber in November, the CLARITY Act’s passage odds are described as close to zero, with Senator Elizabeth Warren likely to take over the Senate Banking Committee chair.

Fairshake’s current $193 million war chest is explicitly aimed at preventing that scenario. In 2024, a Fairshake-affiliated PAC spent over $40 million helping unseat Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a longtime crypto critic who is now running again.

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Eric Trump mocked JPMorgan at Consensus Miami 2026 for reversing its bitcoin stance within 18 months, saying banks have accepted they can no longer hold back the tide.

Summary

Eric Trump told Consensus Miami that JPMorgan dismissed bitcoin as a “joke asset” 18 months ago and is now allowing clients to take out mortgages against it.

Trump said traditional financial institutions have “lost” the fight against crypto and are now joining the current rather than fighting it.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was a longtime critic of bitcoin before his bank built out its Kinexys blockchain platform and sponsored Consensus Miami 2026.

Eric Trump took the stage at Consensus Miami 2026 on Wednesday and attacked JPMorgan over its reversal on bitcoin, framing a timeline that moved from public hostility to mortgage products in under two years. Trump, co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin, cast the shift as a concession by the banking establishment.

“JPMorgan, who was crapping all over bitcoin 18 months ago, saying it was a joke asset,” Trump told the Consensus crowd. “It’s really interesting — now they’re allowing people to take down home mortgages against their bitcoin holdings at JPMorgan, this happened in a period of 18 months, my friends.”

Trump argued the broader financial industry has been forced to capitulate. “The financial institutions all realize that they’ve lost and they can no longer push back,” he said. “And so instead of actually fighting against the tide, you know what they’re doing, they’re swimming with it for the first time.”

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JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon described bitcoin as a fraud and a speculative asset at multiple points over the past decade. The bank has since pivoted, building out its Kinexys blockchain platform, which has processed more than $1 trillion in transactions, and sponsoring Consensus Miami 2026 for the first time. As crypto.news documented, JPMorgan is now embedded across crypto infrastructure, including as a key institutional partner for Chainlink.

Trump also referenced his family’s history of being debanked, calling it the experience that pushed him toward advocating for bitcoin’s censorship-resistant rails. American Bitcoin holds all mined coins without selling. For Trump, JPMorgan’s shift from critic to mortgage provider in 18 months is the clearest evidence yet that institutional resistance to bitcoin is over.

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Hut 8 has signed a 15-year, $9.8 billion AI data center lease at its Beacon Point campus in Nueces County, Texas, sending its stock nearly 30% higher on Wednesday.

Summary

Hut 8 signed a triple-net lease covering 352 megawatts of IT capacity with an unnamed investment-grade tenant at its Beacon Point campus in Texas.

The base contract is valued at $9.8 billion, rising to $25.1 billion if the tenant exercises all three five-year renewal options.

Hut 8 stock surged nearly 30% on the announcement, with the facility set to be built using NVIDIA’s DSX reference architecture.

Hut 8 has signed a 15-year, $9.8 billion AI data center lease at its Beacon Point campus in Nueces County, Texas, with a company it described only as a “high-investment-grade” tenant.

The lease covers 352 megawatts of IT capacity and is structured as a triple-net agreement with a 3% annual rent escalator, projected to generate approximately $655 million in annual revenue at full operation.

The deal is the second AI campus commercialised under Hut 8’s greenfield development model, following its River Bend site in Louisiana. CEO Asher Genoot said in a statement: “Beacon Point underscores why we start with power and maintain flexibility across end markets. Operating across multiple applications lets us underwrite assets that single-use-case developers cannot.”

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Stock and pipeline

Hut 8 stock jumped nearly 30% on Wednesday. Renewal options lift the total contract value to $25.1 billion. The deal brings the company’s total contracted AI data center capacity to 597 megawatts, with a combined base-term value of $16.8 billion.

The facility will be built to NVIDIA’s DSX reference architecture with partners American Electric Power, Vertiv, and Jacobs. Initial energization is expected in Q1 2027, with the first data hall delivered by Q3 2027. Hut 8’s total development pipeline now stands at 8,375 megawatts across sites at various stages of construction, development, and exclusivity.

The announcement came alongside Q1 2026 earnings showing revenue of $71 million, up from $21.8 million in Q1 2025 but below Wall Street’s $79.4 million consensus.

The company posted a net loss of $253.1 million for the quarter, driven primarily by $295.7 million in unrealized losses on digital assets. Hut 8 also reported access to approximately $1.3 billion in combined cash and bitcoin reserves as of March 31.

Hut 8 is among several former bitcoin miners pivoting to AI infrastructure as mining margins compress. As crypto.news documented, Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and IREN have made similar conversions, with publicly listed miners facing losses of approximately $19,000 per bitcoin produced under current market conditions.

For Hut 8, the Beacon Point lease establishes a long-term revenue base designed to insulate the company from continued bitcoin mining volatility.

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