Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Toobit’s Halloween Horror Hunt Event Comes Back With 500,000 USDT in Rewards

Digital assets have moved from a speculative curiosity to infrastructure that touches payments, portfolios and everyday spending for millions of people across very different regulatory environments.

Platforms that operated through that shift did not earn a permanent reputation on day one. They earned it, or lost it, one market cycle, one product decision and one disclosure at a time. Eight years into operating in that environment, XT Exchange has built its anniversary reflection around a single idea: trust is not a milestone a platform reaches and keeps. It is a standard a platform has to meet again every day it operates.

“The people who choose XT give us something we have to keep earning: their trust,” said Arman Achmed, COO of XT Exchange. “As we celebrate eight years, we’re grateful for that responsibility and excited about the possibilities ahead. Build the NeXT carries our commitment into the coming year, with a focus on thoughtful product development, responsive service and practical improvements our users can see.”

That sentence, not a product list or a campaign, is the argument of this anniversary.

XT Exchange launched in 2018, during a period when the digital asset industry was still defining what a trustworthy platform should look like. It has operated through several distinct market cycles since then, each one testing a different part of that definition: whether a platform could remain transparent when conditions were volatile, whether it could keep expanding access without expanding risk carelessly, and whether it could communicate honestly about what it does and does not guarantee.

A 2025 brand refresh, built around the vision “Xplore Crypto Trade with Trust,” was less a redesign than a restatement of that standard for a platform that now serves more than 12 million registered users across more than 200 countries and regions.

XT Exchange publishes Proof of Reserves information on its website as one part of how it makes its operations more legible to the people who use it. That disclosure is one input among several, not a complete statement of solvency, a guarantee of platform reliability, or a full accounting of every liability, and XT treats it as a starting point for transparency rather than a finished one.

The same standard shapes how XT Exchange has expanded what users can do on the platform. Spot, margin and futures trading sit alongside access to TradFi market exposure, a real world asset marketplace, prediction markets through XPredict, and, for eligible users in supported markets, the ability to spend directly from a USDT balance through XT Pay, with licensed third party providers handling settlement. None of these exist to demonstrate scale for its own sake. Each one is a test of whether the platform can extend access without losing the discipline that access requires, from clear risk disclosure on leveraged products to precise language about what a listing or a partnership does and does not mean.

Build the NeXT is XT Exchange’s name for what that discipline looks like going into its next year of operating: continuing to explain its decisions, support its users and improve what it offers, rather than treating eight years as a finish line. XT Exchange will mark the anniversary with its community through the XT 8th Anniversary Treasure Hunt, running through October 15, 2026, but the standard the company is asking to be judged on remains the same: trust that has to be earned again, every day.

About XT ExchangeFounded in 2018, XT Exchange is a global digital asset trading platform serving more than 12 million registered users across over 200 countries and regions. Its services span spot, margin and futures trading, TradFi market exposure, a real-world asset marketplace, and everyday payments through XT Pay. Guided by Xplore Crypto Trade with Trust, XT Exchange enters its ninth year with Build the NeXT, reflecting its focus on trust, broader market access, and practical uses for digital assets.

Disclaimer

This third-party press release is published substantially as received and does not reflect BeInCrypto's editorial views. BeInCrypto has not independently verified its claims or assessed the suitability, legality or appropriateness of any referenced asset, product or service; publication is not an endorsement. The content is general information, not investment research, financial, investment, legal or tax advice, a personal recommendation, offer or solicitation. Verify all information and seek professional advice where appropriate before acting. Crypto-assets may result in total loss.

Analysis

A class-action lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California alleges that Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Google violated antitrust law by collectively agreeing to pace the frontier. The same week the Senate blocked the exemption they would have needed.

Lena ParkForkast mind

On September 18, 2026, four paid subscribers to major AI platforms filed a class-action lawsuit, Buist et al. v. Anthropic PBC et al., in the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs—Charles Buist, Nick Spetsas, Cheyenne Hunt, and Christine Bullock—allege that Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Google have entered into an unlawful agreement to restrain trade. By collectively slowing the pace of AI development, the suit argues, these labs are artificially reducing output and stifling product improvements, directly harming the consumers who pay for access to frontier models.

This litigation arrives at the intersection of three converging events that have defined the industry’s current volatility. On September 12, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published his essay, We Must Pace the Frontier, which advocated for a deliberate deceleration in model deployment. That same day, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Demis Hassabis offered public endorsements of this pacing strategy. By September 15, OpenAI’s Chris Lehane confirmed to TechCrunch and Bloomberg that the major labs had been coordinating on safety protocols for weeks. The lawsuit landed just three days later, testing whether this coordination constitutes a valid safety defense or a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

The plaintiffs are applying traditional antitrust scrutiny to what the labs frame as altruistic safety measures. If competitors agree to limit the speed or capability of their products, they are, by definition, restricting output. The court must now determine if the labs’ stated safety objectives provide a legal shield for what the plaintiffs characterize as a cartel-like reduction in market competition. This tension echoes broader industry debates regarding the proposed FINRA-style safety body, which critics fear could entrench incumbents at the expense of smaller players.

The political environment has seen increased scrutiny toward these industry-led initiatives. Just days before the filing, Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz blocked a national-security antitrust exemption for AI companies within the NDAA manager’s package. Hawley’s declaration—”No antitrust exemptions for AI. Not a chance”—signaled that the labs would not receive the legislative cover they sought to formalize their safety pacts. White House AI czar David Sacks has further complicated the narrative, dismissing these self-regulatory proposals as potential regulatory capture or a distraction from the election cycle.

Third-party observers are already framing the industry’s behavior in harsh terms. Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez, in a recent essay, labeled the push for a FINRA-style regulatory body “a cartel by any other name.” Gomez drew direct parallels to the SEC’s 1975 NRSRO designation and Europe’s 1985 Motor Vehicle Block Exemption, suggesting that such frameworks historically serve to protect established players rather than ensure public safety.

The defendants have yet to respond to the allegations, and the case remains in the early pleading stage with no merits ruling in sight. For the broader ecosystem, the implications are profound. The industry is currently navigating a complex transition, marked by the Anthropic IPO, the OpenAI no-IPO stance, and the ongoing refinement of the Amodei pacing framework. If the courts find that coordinated safety slowdowns are subject to the Sherman Act, the labs may be forced to choose between their self-imposed safety mandates and the legal requirement to compete aggressively.

Builders and investors must now consider the legal viability of the industry’s governance model alongside the technical feasibility of AGI. As the case proceeds, the focus will shift to whether the labs can prove that their coordination is essential for safety, or if the market will force them to accelerate development to satisfy the demands of their paying subscribers.

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Fundstrat’s Tom Lee says Wall Street overreacted to Wednesday’s rate decision. He’s calling the sharp stock selloff a buying opportunity, not a warning sign.

Cyclical stocks, financials, and energy names took the brunt of the selloff. Lee expects those same groups to lead any rebound.

Dow Jones Sheds 631 PointsThe Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 631 points, or 1.2%, to close at 51,461 on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 7,551. The Nasdaq Composite held roughly flat at 25,978. Retail sales for August also topped forecasts, easing some recession worries.

The selloff followed a move Lee had flagged days earlier. It deepened once officials signaled more hikes ahead before year-end.

Financials and energy stocks led the decline as traders rotated out of rate-sensitive sectors. J.B. Hunt sank 13.3% after warning of a sharp earnings decline.

Lee Sees a Buying OpportunityLee cited Goldman Sachs research pointing to fading inflation pressures over the next two quarters. He argued that shift should let cyclicals, financials, and other rate-sensitive stocks rebound.

I would be buying this dip.

Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, on CNBC

Lee named cyclicals, technology, consumer discretionary, and financials as the sectors best placed to lead.

A Contrarian TakeDan Greenhaus, chief economist and strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management, was less convinced. He didn’t think the Fed needed to hike at all. Still, Greenhaus agreed Wednesday’s market reaction looked overdone.

I didn’t think they should hike rates.

Dan Greenhaus, Solus Alternative Asset Management, on CNBC

Greenhaus pointed to weak spots outside the AI-driven data center boom. He said non-residential construction has dragged on GDP for roughly eight or nine quarters. Higher rates, he added, will only add more pressure there.

Greenhaus also cautioned that much of Wednesday’s sharp swing was likely algorithm-driven.

Whether Lee’s call pays off may hinge on how fast that disinflation trend shows up.

Quick Overview CFO Brad Delco projected Q3 earnings could fall 5% to 10% sequentially from Q2 results. Diesel fuel prices exceeding $6 per gallon are expected to create a $10M sequential cost burden. Driver hiring and retention expenses will add an additional $25M in Q3 compared to Q2. Shares of JBHT tumbled 11% during premarket hours to $243. The cautionary announcement triggered declines across the trucking sector, impacting ODFL, KNX, XPO, SNDR, LSTR, and RXO. Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) plummeted 11% during premarket trading on Wednesday, sliding to $243, following CFO Brad Delco’s warning at a Morgan Stanley investor conference that third-quarter earnings are projected to decline between 5% and 10% compared to second-quarter results.

The announcement comes as a significant blow to investors, particularly given that shares had surged 41% year-to-date prior to Wednesday’s trading session.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., JBHT

According to Delco, the primary culprit behind the anticipated earnings decline is a timing disconnect between pricing adjustments and escalating fuel expenses. Diesel fuel prices have surged past $6 per gallon, representing a dramatic increase from approximately $3.70 during the same period last year.

“There is a little bit of a mismatch, based upon the delay part of pricing, that we see in intermodal relative to the costs we’re feeling now,” Delco said.

While the transportation company typically refrains from issuing formal earnings guidance, Delco emphasized that J.B. Hunt is experiencing some of the “most radical and abnormal swings in fuel prices” in company history.

$JBHT -10% after hours. Here’s why:

J.B. Hunt issued a rare Q3 earnings update, saying earnings are expected to fall 5% to 10% sequentially from Q2, well below prior expectations.

The biggest hit is costs:

• About $25M in higher drayage driver costs, including hiring, sign-on… pic.twitter.com/srDoWojLJg

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) September 16, 2026

The fuel cost pressure alone is anticipated to produce a $10M sequential cost increase between the second and third quarters.

Adding to the financial strain, driver-related expenses are mounting. Increased expenditures on recruitment efforts, advertising campaigns, onboarding processes, training programs, and sign-on incentives are projected to contribute an additional $25M in costs during Q3 compared to the previous quarter.

Breaking Down the Financial Impact Prior to this announcement, Wall Street analysts had projected third-quarter earnings per share of $2.09, representing an increase from $1.76 reported in the same quarter last year.

The revised outlook now suggests Q3 EPS will land closer to $1.77, essentially flat compared to the prior-year period. This represents a substantial shortfall from analyst expectations.

To put this in perspective, J.B. Hunt generated over $9 per share in earnings during 2022. That figure declined to approximately $6 in 2025. According to FactSet data, analysts currently anticipate full-year 2026 earnings of roughly $7.75 per share.

“Gas prices jumped another $0.30 this week,” Delco added at the conference. “We should be concerned about the consumer.”

Broader Industry Implications The earnings warning has sent ripples throughout the transportation sector. Industry competitors including Schneider National (SNDR), Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), Knight-Swift Transportation (KNX), RXO (RXO), XPO (XPO), and Landstar System (LSTR) all experienced share price declines ahead of Wednesday’s market open.

Despite the mounting cost challenges, both Delco and intermodal division president Darren Field highlighted “very strong” demand for intermodal shipping services, attributing this strength to an ongoing shortage of qualified truck drivers.

Field observed that conventional intermodal shipping routes have reached their highest price points ever recorded, and suggested that the approaching 2027 intermodal bid season represents a “big opportunity” to narrow the pricing gap between company costs and prevailing truckload rates.

The driver capacity shortage shows no signs of abating. Delco indicated that systemic issues affecting driver availability are “probably getting worse.”

As of Wednesday morning, JBHT shares traded down 11% at $243 in premarket activity.

The top memecoin list now includes a mix of established names, fast-moving micro-caps, and early-stage infrastructure projects. DOGE is testing $0.08, USELESS has gained more than 500% in a month, and CASHCAT is attracting attention from traders looking for smaller breakout opportunities.

MemeToro brings a separate AI crypto story through its Stage 7 presale and open-source launch technology. Comparing all four shows why traders are looking beyond the largest memecoins.

Top Memecoin List: DOGE Faces Smaller Competitors The top memecoin list is changing as traders compare established memecoins with smaller projects. Dogecoin remains one of the sector’s biggest names, but DOGE is currently testing the $0.08 support level.

That support test matters because traders need evidence that buyers are still willing to defend the price. A stable hold could create room for recovery, while weakness could push attention toward other tokens.

Smaller memecoins can attract traders for a different reason. Their lower market sizes can allow relatively small changes in demand to create much larger percentage movements.

This is why USELESS and CASHCAT are appearing alongside DOGE in current market discussions.

The four projects represent different market characteristics:

DOGE: established memecoin and major market name USELESS: strong recent momentum CASHCAT: emerging micro-cap opportunity MemeToro: AI and launch infrastructure The top memecoin list therefore needs to be viewed as a comparison of different opportunities rather than a simple ranking.

USELESS Delivers a Major Monthly Move USELESS has become a major talking point after gaining more than 500% within one month. The move shows how quickly speculative capital can rotate into micro-cap memecoins.

Large gains can bring more traders into an asset because people begin searching for the next breakout. However, rapid appreciation can also make the market more unstable.

If buying pressure slows, traders who entered after a large move may take profits. In a small market, this can lead to sharp price changes.

CASHCAT is also being watched for possible micro-liquidity breakout potential. Like USELESS, its appeal is connected to the possibility of strong speculative movement rather than the established market position that DOGE has.

This makes the top memecoin list useful for comparing risk profiles. Established tokens may have broader recognition, while smaller tokens can offer greater movement but usually carry higher volatility.

MemeToro Adds a Technology Story MemeToro stands apart from the other names in the top memecoin list because it is building an ecosystem around AI memecoin launches.

The project has reached Stage 7 of its presale and raised more than $121,171 in the latest update. Its development work includes the open-source FairLaunchEscrow Solidity contract.

The contract is designed with a hardcoded zero-insider-allocation mechanism. The goal is to prevent hidden developer allocations and support transparent community distribution.

MemeToro is also developing an AI memecoin launchpad on BNB Chain and open-source AI agent scripts. These tools are intended to support future token launches using AI-focused infrastructure.

This means MemeToro’s market story is not based only on current price momentum. Its potential depends partly on whether the project can successfully build and develop the technology it is proposing.

That is different from DOGE, USELESS, and CASHCAT, where market demand and trading momentum are more central to the current discussion.

Top Memecoin List Shows Four Different Paths The top memecoin list now highlights four very different ways traders can approach the memecoin sector. DOGE provides an established name but is currently testing $0.08.

USELESS has demonstrated powerful short-term momentum with a gain of more than 500% in one month. CASHCAT is being watched as traders search for smaller tokens that could benefit from renewed speculative activity.

MemeToro represents an infrastructure-focused approach. Its Stage 7 progress, AI launchpad, open-source agents, and FairLaunchEscrow contract give it a development story that goes beyond a simple meme narrative.

None of these differences guarantees future performance. DOGE can lose support, high-momentum tokens can correct, and early-stage projects must still prove their technology.

The top memecoin list is most useful when traders understand what is driving each asset. That makes it easier to separate established market strength, short-term speculation, and longer-term infrastructure development.

FAQs Why is DOGE included despite testing $0.08?DOGE remains one of the largest and most established memecoins, making its support test important to the wider sector.

What makes USELESS stand out?USELESS has gained more than 500% in one month, giving it strong recent momentum.

How does MemeToro differ from the other three?MemeToro is building AI memecoin launch infrastructure, open-source AI agents, and a fair-launch smart contract system on BNB Chain.

More Information on MemeToro ($MT) Presale Here:

Website: https://memetoro.com/

X: https://x.com/memetoro_mt

Telegram: https://t.me/memetoro_mt

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY0jgWy_DtA

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Altın ve gümüş fiyatlarındaki güçlü yükseliş, değerli metallerde 1970’li yıllardaki tarihi boğa koşusunun yeniden yaşanıp yaşanamayacağı sorusunu gündeme taşıdı. 2025’in başlarında altın ons fiyatı birkaç kez 2.400 doların üzerinde rekor seviyeler görürken, gümüş de 30 doların üzerine çıktı. Merkez bankalarının yoğun alımları, jeopolitik riskler ve faiz indirimi beklentileri bu hareketin temel destekleri arasında yer aldı.

Altın Ve Gümüş Fiyatlarını Neler Destekliyor? Mevcut yükselişin arkasında birden fazla makroekonomik faktör bulunuyor. Özellikle gelişmekte olan ülkelerin merkez bankaları, rezervlerini ABD dolarından çeşitlendirmek amacıyla altın alımlarını artırıyor. Bu eğilim, merkez bankalarının son yılların en yüksek hızlarından biriyle altın toplamasına neden oluyor.

Enflasyon endişeleri ve büyük ekonomilerdeki yüksek bütçe açıkları da yatırımcıların fiziksel varlıklara ilgisini artırıyor. Altın bu ortamda değer koruma aracı olarak öne çıkarken, gümüş hem değerli metal niteliği hem de sanayi kullanım alanları sayesinde ek destek buluyor.

Gümüşün özellikle güneş panelleri ve elektronik ürünlerde kullanılan önemli bir sanayi girdisi olması, talep tarafında farklı bir avantaj yaratıyor. Bu nedenle gümüş, altına kıyasla daha yüksek fiyat oynaklığı gösterse de ekonomik ve teknolojik gelişmelerden çift yönlü etkilenebiliyor.

1970’lerdeki Ralliyle Bugün Arasında Ne Fark Var? 1970’li yıllar değerli metal piyasası açısından olağanüstü bir dönemdi. Altının ons fiyatı 1971’de 35 dolardan işlem görürken, Ocak 1980’de 850 dolara kadar yükseldi. Bu hareket yaklaşık yüzde 2.300’lük bir artış anlamına geliyordu.

Gümüşteki yükseliş ise daha da dikkat çekiciydi. Ocak 1980’de gümüş 49,45 dolara ulaşırken, Hunt kardeşlerin piyasadaki arzı kontrol etmeye yönelik girişimleri fiyat hareketinin önemli unsurlarından biri oldu.

Dönemin rallisini çift haneli enflasyon, petrol şokları ve Bretton Woods sisteminin sona ermesi gibi gelişmeler destekledi. Günümüzde yüksek kamu borçları, jeopolitik gerilimler ve enflasyon baskısı gibi benzer unsurlar bulunsa da ekonomik yapı tamamen aynı değil.

Bugün enflasyon 1970’lerdeki çift haneli seviyelerin oldukça altında. Ayrıca merkez bankaları daha bağımsız hareket ediyor ve para politikalarını çok daha aktif biçimde kullanıyor. Bununla birlikte, küresel ekonomide doların ağırlığının azaltılması yönündeki eğilim ve dijital para teknolojilerinin yükselişi, değerli metaller için geçmişte bulunmayan yeni dinamikler oluşturuyor.

Değerli Metaller İçin Faiz Kararı Neden Önemli? ABD Merkez Bankası’nın para politikası, altın ve gümüş açısından yakından izlenen başlıklardan biri olmaya devam ediyor. Fed’in ilerleyen dönemde faiz indirimlerine yönelebileceği beklentisi, dolar üzerinde baskı oluştururken değerli metalleri yatırımcılar açısından daha cazip hale getirebilir.

Buna ek olarak Rusya-Ukrayna savaşı ve Orta Doğu’daki gerilimler gibi jeopolitik gelişmeler güvenli liman talebini artırıyor. Yatırımcılar belirsizlik dönemlerinde altın ve gümüş gibi fiziksel varlıklara yönelerek portföylerindeki riski dengelemeye çalışabiliyor.

Bu nedenle değerli metal fiyatlarını değerlendirirken yalnızca fiyat grafiğine bakmak yeterli değil. Merkez bankası alımları, enflasyon verileri, faiz beklentileri ve jeopolitik gelişmeler birlikte takip edilmeli.

Altın Ve Gümüşe Yatırım Yapmak Mantıklı Mı? Kalıcı bir yükseliş trendi oluşması halinde altın ve gümüş, enflasyona ve para birimlerinin değer kaybına karşı korunma amacı taşıyan portföylerde önemli rol oynayabilir. Ancak güçlü yükseliş dönemlerinin ardından sert düzeltmeler de görülebileceği için değerli metaller risksiz yatırım araçları olarak değerlendirilmemeli.

Özellikle gümüş, altına göre daha yüksek volatilite gösterebilir. Ekonomik büyümenin hızlandığı ve risk iştahının güçlendiği dönemlerde değerli metaller diğer yatırım araçlarının gerisinde de kalabilir.

Bugünkü koşullar 1970’lerin birebir tekrarı değil. Buna rağmen merkez bankalarının güçlü altın talebi, jeopolitik belirsizlikler, enflasyon endişeleri ve olası para politikası gevşemesi değerli metaller açısından destekleyici bir tablo oluşturuyor. Bu nedenle yatırımcıların kendi risk toleranslarını dikkate alarak gelişmeleri yakından takip etmesi gerekiyor.

Altın Ve Gümüşte Ralli Sürecek Mi? Mevcut veriler güçlü bir değerli metal rallisi için uygun bir zemin oluştuğunu gösterse de 1970’lerdeki gibi olağanüstü bir yükselişin kesin olarak tekrarlanacağını söylemek mümkün değil. Özellikle merkez bankalarının politikaları, enflasyonun seyri ve küresel jeopolitik gelişmeler fiyatların yönünde belirleyici olabilir.

Geçmişteki performans gelecekte aynı sonuçların ortaya çıkacağını garanti etmez. Bu nedenle yatırım kararı verirken yalnızca yükseliş beklentisine değil, olası fiyat dalgalanmalarına da hazırlıklı olmak gerekir.

Bu içerik kesinlikle yatırım tavsiyesi niteliği taşımamaktadır. Piyasalar yüksek risk içermektedir ve yatırım kararlarınızı almadan önce kendi araştırmanızı yapmanız önemlidir.

Son Dakika kripto para haberleri için hemen tıkla.

Konu ile ilgili yorumlarınızı bize yazabilirsiniz. Ayrıca, bu tarz bilgilendirici içeriklerin devamının gelmesini isterseniz, bizleri Telegram, Youtube ve Twitter kanallarımızdan takip edebilirsiniz.

In brief Kraken parent Payward has joined Anthropic’s Project Glasswing and is using Claude Mythos 5 for cybersecurity. The company said Mythos 5 will scan its systems for vulnerabilities, with findings reviewed and patched through its existing security program. Project Glasswing gives vetted organizations access to Anthropic’s cyber-capable AI models for defensive security work. Kraken parent company Payward has joined Anthropic’s Project Glasswing and is using Claude Mythos to hunt for security flaws.

The move follows an open letter from over 40 Bitcoin and crypto companies, including Kraken, sent last week to Anthropic, OpenAI, and other leading AI labs demanding frontier labs open trusted-access programs to qualified defenders to help guard against threats.

Myriad: When will OpenAI release GPT-6? Click to make your prediction.Payward said Monday that the company will use Mythos 5 to scan its systems for vulnerabilities, with findings sent to its security teams for review. It’s the first reported crypto company to join the project and gain access to Claude Mythos 5.

“Selection gives Payward’s security division early access to the same class of model, sharpening its ability to combat sophisticated software vulnerabilities and protect millions of customers across the globe,” Payward wrote.

Flaws found in third-party open-source software will be reported to project maintainers, the company said, adding that the approach could help protect its financial infrastructure and strengthen open-source software used across the crypto industry.

Project Glasswing is Anthropic’s cybersecurity program that gives vetted organizations access to its most capable cyber models. Launched in April and expanded in June, the program’s partners have since uncovered thousands of high- or critical-severity vulnerabilities.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Decrypt.

The news comes amid growing evidence that AI models can be powerful tools for both finding and exploiting software vulnerabilities. In April, Mozilla reported Anthropic’s Claude Mythos identified 271 vulnerabilities in Firefox during testing.

Last week, more than 40 Bitcoin and crypto companies, including Ark Invest, Coinbase, Block and BitGo, called on major AI labs to give qualified security researchers access to their most powerful models. Organized by the Bitcoin Policy Institute, the letter argued that developers protecting open-source financial infrastructure need access to frontier AI to find and fix vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.

“Security has always been an unfair game. An attacker needs to find one flaw. A defender has to find all of them, first, every single day,” Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said. “Frontier AI is the first thing that flips that asymmetry. A model can read every line of code the way an attacker would, at machine scale, so we find the flaw before anyone can build the exploit.”

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BloFin Research: Silver, 50 Years of Boom and Bust

July 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC

Crypto criminals are increasingly targeting people, not just digital wallets, as violent attacks climb globally.

So-called wrench attacks — where criminals use violence to coerce victims to hand over cryptocurrency — have accelerated this year, according to a new report by blockchain security firm CertiK, which tracks cyber threats and security incidents in the digital asset industry. CertiK verified 52 physical attacks against digital asset holders globally in the first half of 2026, up 33% from a year earlier. France, with 33 attacks, accounted for nearly two-thirds of publicly reported cases.

U.S. stock futures declined on Thursday, as the Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 indices fell, following Wednesday’s higher close.

President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate even as U.S. forces launched a second wave of strikes against Iranian military targets.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions targeting an international network accused of procuring weapons for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.57%, and the two-year bond was at 4.15%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing an 89.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during July’s meeting.

IndexPerformance (+/-)Dow Jones-0.01%S&P 500-0.08%Nasdaq 100-0.36%Russell 2000-0.28%Stocks In FocusJB Hunt Transport Services Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that JBHT maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a moderate quality score. Agape ATP Agape ATP Corp. (NASDAQ:ATPC) surged 55.56% following the Securities and Exchange Commission filing that disclosed a new stake held by proprietary trading firm and liquidity provider Jane Street Group LLC. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ATPC maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms. AST SpaceMobile AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) tumbled 10.01% after the company announced a $1.0 billion proposed public offering of Convertible Senior Notes. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ASTS maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms. Growhub Growhub Ltd. (NASDAQ:TGHL) gained 33.89% after the company announced a $400 million merger agreement with EnChem. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TGHL maintains a weak price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the short and medium terms. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ATAI maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms. Cues From Last SessionConsumer discretionary, financial, and communication services stocks recorded the biggest gains on Wednesday, while utilities and energy stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session lower.

Insights From AnalystsBlackRock remains tactically constructive on the U.S. stock market while navigating a fundamentally transformed economic landscape. In its commentary, the firm maintains an overweight position on U.S. equities, noting that “strong corporate earnings, fueled by the AI buildout and a favorable macro backdrop, are outpacing higher interest rate expectations.”

Within equities, BlackRock advises focusing closely on AI bottleneck opportunities such as power, chips, and data centers.

Regarding the broader economy and policy environment, BlackRock emphasizes that a structural shift has taken hold, reinforcing its view that “the global rates reset is real and significant.”

The firm cautions that underlying inflation remains too firm to confidently return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, which will likely keep the central bank on hold.

In this “new regime” of elevated rates, fixed-income dynamics have changed. While higher yields have made durable income an opportunity again,

BlackRock warns that long-term bonds are “less reliable diversifiers”. Consequently, the firm prefers the front end and belly of the U.S. yield curve, advising investors to target areas where they are best compensated for risk.

Upcoming Economic DataHere’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this Thursday.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity MarketsCrude Oil WTI futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.08% to hover around $79.54 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.65% to hover around $4,033.80 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.05% higher at the 100.5320 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.00% lower at $64,042.02 per coin over the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, except Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and India’s Nifty 50 indices. China’s CSI 300, Australia’s ASX 200, South Korea’s Kospi, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.

Photo courtesy: Frontpage / Shutterstock.com

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Security researchers are turning artificial intelligence into a powerful new tool for protecting blockchain infrastructure.

The Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Security team says it’s running a fleet of coordinated AI agents against critical protocol code, reports the Ethereum Foundation.

The effort uncovered genuine vulnerabilities, including a remotely triggerable panic in the libp2p gossipsub library that underpins Ethereum’s peer-to-peer communications.

“Agents finding bugs wasn’t the surprise. The surprise was how little of the work went into finding them, and how much went into telling the real bugs from the ones that just looked real…

AI didn’t replace the security researcher. It moved the work. The time that used to go into coming up with and chasing down hypotheses now goes into judging them at scale, including building the oracle, running the triage, keeping the list of known issues, and handling disclosure.

The bottleneck didn’t go away. It moved from finding bugs to trusting the results, which is a better place for it, because that’s where human judgment actually matters. But it’s still a bottleneck, and ignoring that is how you end up shipping a wrong “it’s fine.”

That specific issue has been resolved and publicly disclosed as CVE-2026-34219.

The project revealed that the hardest part of AI-assisted security work is not finding potential bugs but rigorously triaging them to separate real issues from false positives.

Agents were organized into roles for reconnaissance, hunting, gap-filling, and independent validation, with every candidate requiring a reproducible proof against real code.

The approach demonstrates how AI can expand coverage of complex systems while human judgment remains essential for verification.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Another Publicly Traded Company Just Cut Bitcoin Holdings by 48%

Web3 security has changed dramatically over the past few years.

As protocols become more sophisticated and billions of dollars in value move on-chain every day, traditional bug bounty programs are increasingly struggling to keep pace. Security teams face growing volumes of spam, low-quality submissions, and operational overhead, while experienced security researchers often spend weeks waiting for responses, dealing with unclear processes, or wondering whether valid findings will ultimately be rewarded.

Today, we're introducing CertiK Hunt, our next-generation security research platform built to address these challenges.

CertiK Hunt connects high-quality security researchers with trusted Web3 projects through invite-only security programs designed to identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

CertiK Hunt brings together bug bounty programs, audit competitions, and AI-powered security challenges in one curated ecosystem focused on quality over quantity.

Why We Built CertiK Hunt CertiK has been deeply embedded in the Web3 space for years, working with hundreds of projects across the ecosystem. Through this experience, we've identified significant gaps in the current bug bounty and audit competition landscape, making it clear that Web3 projects need a more continuous and comprehensive security solution to effectively protect themselves.

We've closely monitored how other platforms operate and have noticed that projects often receive overwhelming numbers of duplicate, AI-generated, or out-of-scope reports that consume valuable engineering time without improving security.

At the same time, talented researchers frequently encounter slow response times, inconsistent communication, unclear reward processes, and platforms where signal is buried beneath noise.

The result is frustration on both sides.

CertiK Hunt was designed to change that.

Built Around Quality Unlike open platforms that allow anyone to submit reports, CertiK Hunt is intentionally invite-only.

Security researchers are selected based on their technical expertise, previous findings, contributions to the security community, and overall reputation. By maintaining a curated researcher network, projects can spend less time filtering submissions and more time fixing real vulnerabilities.

Projects also undergo a review process before launching programs. This helps ensure that participating teams are committed to running professional security programs and treating researchers fairly throughout the disclosure process.

Our goal is simple: create an environment where high-quality researchers and serious projects can work together efficiently.

CertiK Hunt is designed to support multiple ways of improving protocol security.

Bug Bounty Programs Continuous security testing is conducted by experienced researchers who are rewarded for responsibly disclosing valid vulnerabilities. Bug bounty programs are one of the most effective and necessary crowdsourced defenses, relying on multiple sets of eyes to uncover issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. This approach has already proven its value by helping companies save billions of dollars through responsibly disclosed vulnerabilities, making it an essential component for any Web3 project that takes security seriously.

Audit Competitions Have you made an upgrade to your code? Did you add a fresh batch of smart contracts that require immediate attention? Do you have a timeframe for when you need your code to be checked? Then run an audit competition—a unique and efficient way to get all security researchers’ eyes on your code as they compete to find bugs.

AI Security Challenges As AI becomes an increasingly important tool for security research, CertiK Hunt will also host AI-focused challenges that encourage new approaches to vulnerability discovery and analysis. These challenges will help researchers explore innovative techniques and push the boundaries of automated security testing.

Designed for Researchers Researchers deserve more than a submission form.

CertiK Hunt provides a dedicated portal where participants can:

Track the status of their submissions Communicate directly throughout the review process Participate in exclusive security programs Our objective is to create a platform where researchers can focus on what they do best: finding impactful vulnerabilities.

A quick preview: you can expect a leaderboard, exclusive rewards, and plenty of exciting features ahead!

Designed for Projects For projects, CertiK Hunt provides access to an experienced network of security researchers without the operational burden that often comes with public programs. By limiting participation to approved researchers, projects receive higher-quality submissions, reduce time spent triaging spam, and can work more closely with trusted security professionals.

For your convenience, we offer a range of flexible triaging tiers designed to accommodate projects of all sizes and needs. Whether you're looking for basic support or a more comprehensive, hands-on approach, you can choose the level of service that best aligns with your project's goals, complexity, and available resources.

Whether launching a bug bounty after an audit, running a competitive code review before a major release, or continuously strengthening protocol security, CertiK Hunt provides a flexible platform tailored to modern Web3 development.

The Next Chapter of Web3 Security CertiK Hunt builds on years of experience protecting the Web3 ecosystem while introducing a new approach centered around quality, collaboration, and trust.

As the platform evolves, we plan to continue expanding its capabilities with additional program types, new researcher tools, deeper analytics, and features that improve collaboration between projects and security researchers.

Our mission remains the same: help make Web3 more secure by connecting exceptional researchers with the projects building the future of blockchain.

Join CertiK Hunt If you're an experienced security researcher interested in joining our invite-only community, request an invitation today.

If you're building in Web3 and want to launch a bug bounty program, audit competition, or AI security challenge, connect with our team to learn how CertiK Hunt can help secure your protocol.

REUTERS: Texas billionaires Hunt, Crow join bitcoin firm in $1 billion data center deal, sources say

The ‘Singapore Collapse’ Went Viral: Here’s What’s Actually Happening

PANews reported on November 29th that Gate Alpha launched its 24th round of the Points Lucky Draw on November 29th at 14:00 (UTC+8). Users with ≥ 100 Gate Alpha Points can participate in the Lucky Draw. Users can invest 1-10 Alpha Points to participate in each round of the draw, with the probability of winning proportional to the number of points invested. The Lucky Draw consists of 20 rounds, with each participant receiving 2,000 ADO points in each round.

Gate Alpha now supports popular public chains such as SOL, ETH, Gate Layer, BNB Chain, Base, SUI, ARB, World Chain, AVAX, Polygon, LINEA, ZK, OP, and Berachain. It also enables seamless trading of tokens across the entire chain through the contract address search function, opening up cross-chain transaction links and making all on-chain tokens available with a single click.

The Open Art by Blum, TONX, and TON Society Draws 11,280+ Registered Attendees, Becoming the Largest Event of Token2049 Week

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps warned that any vessels using the Strait of Hormuz route without Tehran's approval will be targeted.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a stern warning to international shipping on Wednesday, stating that any new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz established without coordination with Tehran is unacceptable and dangerous, and threatening to take direct action against vessels that ignore its orders. The IRGC declared that vessels can only safely transit the Strait of Hormuz via routes designated by Iran. The IRGC Navy added that all vessels seeking to transit the strait must coordinate with the Iranian military via International Maritime Distress and Safety Frequency Channel 16, a requirement that effectively places Iranian military approval at the core of all commercial shipping transiting this key chokepoint. (Jinshi)

1 seconds ago

A crypto whale holding 120,000 ETH long positions has an unrealized loss of over $77 million, and added $8 million in margin in the early hours.

According to on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa’s monitoring, a whale holding 120,000 ETH in long positions added $8 million in margin in the early hours. Currently, the total unrealized loss on its ETH long positions across four linked addresses stands at approximately $77.047 million, with an average entry price of around $2,265. Data shows the liquidation prices for the four addresses are $1,174.6, $1,059.1, $1,064.7, and $1,143.6 respectively. Despite the significant paper losses, there remains a large buffer before liquidation, and over 6 million USDC is still held on-chain to replenish margin, resulting in low short-term liquidation risk.

1 seconds ago

A crypto whale holding 120,000 ETH long positions is sitting on an unrealized loss of over $77 million, and added $8 million in margin in the early hours.

According to on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa’s monitoring, the whale holding a long position of 120,000 ETH added $8 million in margin again in the early hours. Currently, the ETH long positions across its four associated addresses have accumulated an unrealized loss of approximately $77.047 million, with an average entry price of around $2,265. Data shows the liquidation prices for the four addresses are $1,174.6, $1,059.1, $1,064.7, and $1,143.6 respectively. Despite the massive unrealized loss, there is still a significant buffer before liquidation, and over 6 million USDC are still held on-chain to supplement margin, leading to low short-term liquidation risk.

1 seconds ago

Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD approved to enter Japanese market

According to official announcements, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD has been officially approved by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA) and launched in Japan. Through a partnership with SBI Group and its subsidiary trading platform VCTRADE, RLUSD will be accessible to institutional and retail users for use in scenarios including payments, asset tokenization, and collateral management.

1 seconds ago

WSJ: CoinEx Linked to Iran-Related Cryptocurrency Fund Flows

According to a Wall Street Journal report, since 2019, wallets linked to Iran have transferred over $3.84 billion in assets via cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx. On-chain data shows that CoinEx’s custodial wallet received crypto proceeds from hacks tied to Iran’s central bank, and conducted direct transactions with accounts previously designated by U.S. officials as belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Additionally, in 2024, CoinEx replaced Binance to become the largest overseas counterparty for Iranian exchange Nobitex, with the two parties recording over $763 million in fund flows last year. Between 2022 and 2025, CoinEx’s custodial wallet also processed transactions involving individuals suspected of participating in the sanctioned Iranian oil sales network.

1 seconds ago

Market Sentiment: Current sentiment among smart money and retail funds in the market is at a neutral level.

According to the latest data from SentimenTrader, as of June 24, the Smart Money Confidence Index stands at 0.56, while the Dumb Money Confidence Index is at 0.49. Both smart money and retail investor sentiment are currently in the neutral range, with no clear optimistic or pessimistic bias emerging in the market.

1 seconds ago

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

A years-long race to de-anonymize Satoshi Nakamoto appears to have reached an ideological dead end, one that has paradoxically benefited the industry. Against the backdrop of the film "Finding Satoshi," leaders of major crypto companies have voiced a synchronized thesis: Nakamoto's identity has definitively become a historical artifact rather than a market factor.

Phong Le, CEO of MicroStrategy, commenting on the film, emphasized that Bitcoin has earned an approach grounded in humility and recognition of contributions, rather than attempts at exposure. He was supported by Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, who stated that Bitcoin's code and economic model now "stand on their own," regardless of who held the pen in 2008.

Who Satoshi is no longer matters for Bitcoin. That said, I agree this is the most thoughtful piece I've seen on the topic. It stands in contrast to prior self-indulgent exposés, approaching the topic with humility and kindness - qualities Satoshi and Bitcoin have earned. https://t.co/atGPtw6Pe6

HOT Stories

— Phong Le (@phongle) April 22, 2026 Who is Satoshi?An interesting angle is that the Finding Satoshi version suggesting a duo of Hal Finney and Len Sassaman is the most "market-neutral." Unlike past theories involving Peter Todd or Adam Back, this version implies that the "keys to paradise" are physically inaccessible, as both presumed creators are deceased - Finney since 2014 and Sassaman since 2011.

This removes the long-standing "black swan" risk of a sudden release of 1.1 million BTC from Satoshi-linked wallets. Moreover, acknowledgment from their widows of the plausibility of this theory puts a cap on speculation, transforming Satoshi from a mysterious manipulator into a tragic genius.

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The numbers confirm that Bitcoin has outgrown its creator. Today, MicroStrategy holds 815,000 BTC and BlackRock holds 806,000 BTC, effectively becoming a collective "Satoshi" of the present era. Their combined holdings balance the founder's share.

Whether this makes the network more decentralized and resilient to any individual reputational risks remains an open question.

Bitcoin is currently showing a structure that often precedes sharp volatility, with liquidity building above key levels while price consolidates below. This kind of setup typically signals that the market may first move to hunt those liquidity zones before establishing its next clear directional trend.

Bitcoin Builds Liquidity Cluster Around $80K Zone Crypto analyst Cryptorphic noted that Bitcoin is once again building a dense cluster of liquidity around the $80,000 level. This area is becoming increasingly important, as leveraged positions continue to stack above current price action, creating a potential target zone for the market.

At present, Bitcoin is trading below this liquidity pocket and moving within a relatively compressed range, reflecting indecision in the market, where price consolidates before a larger expansion. Historically, similar setups have frequently led to liquidity sweeps as the market seeks out areas of unfilled orders.

Source: Chart from Cryptorphic on X These liquidity zones tend to act like magnets, drawing price toward them as stop-losses and liquidation points accumulate. With so much interest positioned around $80,000, the upside liquidity becomes a natural target if momentum shifts even slightly in favor of buyers. The broader implication is that Bitcoin may first attempt to sweep this $80,000 zone or reach that liquidity level and react from it before any sustained directional move becomes clear. 

Markets Move In Two Clear Phases According to the analyst Mags, the market moves through two distinct phases. The first being the Bull Phase, Mags highlights that while the primary trend is upward, it is never a straight line to the top. Instead, price action is characterized by multiple pullbacks, often ranging from 20% to 30%, which occur before a cycle peak is reached. These corrections are presented not as threats, but as a normal and necessary part of every cycle‘s journey, resting sentiment, and fueling continuation.

The second stage identified by Mags is the Bear Phase, which is triggered when the underlying market structure finally breaks. This shift leads to a much deeper correction than the standard pullbacks seen during the ascent. During this period, the market undergoes a process of finding a definitive bottom, clearing the stage for the next trend to begin. 

Ultimately, Mags argues that while the phases transition, the presence of volatility is the one that never changes. The difference between success and failure lies in the ability to recognize your current position within the cycle. As Mags points out, history has consistently rewarded those who can ignore the noise of short-term swings and focus on the long-term game, recognizing that each phase is simply a part of the market’s natural rhythm.

BTC trading at $77,638 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Bitcoin’s recent rejection near key resistance has raised fresh concerns about the strength of its ongoing rally. After a steady climb, signs of selling pressure are beginning to emerge, hinting that bullish momentum may be weakening. With price now hovering around critical support zones, the next move could determine whether the uptrend regains traction or starts to lose steam. 

2–618 Pattern Triggers: BTC Rejected At $78,000 In a market update, analyst Kamile Uray revealed that the long-anticipated 2-618 pattern for Bitcoin has officially activated. After the price approached the $78,037 mark, significant selling pressure stalled the upward momentum. This reaction at the local peak confirms that the market is currently responding to technical overhead, initiating a corrective phase.

The immediate outlook suggests the current decline could extend down to the $73,762 level, which serves as a critical decision point for the asset. If Bitcoin manages to hold this floor, the possibility of a renewed bullish push remains on the table. 

Source: Chart from Kamile Uray on X Should the price slip below the $73,762 bottom, the next major target is $70,165, which aligns with the 0.618 Fibonacci support of the most recent upward wave. A successful defense of this area would likely spark another upward move. Conversely, if bulls want to reclaim full control, they must achieve a close above $79,555. Such a move would establish the first higher high on the 4-hour chart relative to the recent downturn, signaling a continuation of the macro uptrend toward the $98,000 and $107,000–$109,000 range.

In the event of a more severe retracement, secondary supports are identified at $65,666, $63,823, $62,433, and $60,000. The stakes are particularly high at this lower limit; a daily close below $60,000 would be a highly bearish signal, potentially marking the beginning of a more substantial market decline.

Key Levels In Focus: Mapping Bitcoin’s Critical Zones Highlighting the key levels marked on the chart, Daan Crypto Trades emphasized that the low $80,000 region remains a pivotal zone for bulls in the short to mid-term. He also noted that the $72,000 level, which previously acted as resistance for over two months, has now flipped into a critical support zone. 

Maintaining price above this level would reinforce bullish control and suggest that the market is building a solid base for further upside, providing the foundation needed for another leg higher. A breakdown below $72,000, however, would likely indicate that the momentum from the recent bounce is fading, opening the door for more sideways market structure. Although Bitcoin has posted a steady 20% gain throughout April, the price action may not last long, as volatility is expected to emerge at any point.

BTC trading at $76,038 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

BloFin WOW (War of Whales) 2026 Grand Prix Opens Registration for $5,000,000 Trading Championship 

The Gauge of Stability is surging! We have already accumulated a 500 GUSDC bounty to push back the darkness. Remember, this entire pool is the reward you will be fighting to win the moment the gauge fills and the World Boss spawns! Plus, we have rolled out a bunch of highly anticipated updates for you to explore.

🔄 The Give Back System Because you truly own your assets, you have the flexibility to utilize the “Give Back” system for the premium NFTs you bought. At any time, you can choose to give your item back to the ecosystem, provided it is the exact same NFT you originally purchased from the store (this option is not available for NFTs acquired through player trades).

Choosing to give back your item will burn the NFT and automatically close its specific liquidity position on the DEX, giving the resulting $GALA and GUSDC directly to your wallet. (Note: Because this relies on live decentralized exchange mechanics, the final token amount you receive may be more or less than the original 50% backing, depending on the position’s market performance and transaction fees).

The Cosmic Hunt is almost here with a GUARANTEED 1,000 GUSDC Bounty!

A massive Apex Threat is preparing to emerge from the shadows, and the hunt begins soon.

Every time players make NFT purchases using GUSDC, it contributes to filling the gauge. 

Once the boss appears:

• 70%  goes to the top damage dealer

• 30% of the bounty goes to the final hit

Stock up on strong potions, prepare your loadout, sharpen your strategy, and get your gear ready to dominate the leaderboard. 

Jun 3, 2026, 4:13 p.m.

8 min read

(Greg Pappas/ Unsplash)Summary

You're reading Crypto Long & Short, our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.

Welcome to our institutional newsletter, Crypto Long & Short. This week:

Alex Tapscott on the stalling of the CLARITY Act and how it’s impacting the average American consumer.Aisha Hunt writes that crypto will grow by upgrading Wall Street’s trusted products rather than replacing them.Top headlines institutions should pay attention to by Helene Braun“RWA Perp Volume by Category: Equities Overtake Commodities” in Chart of the Week-Alexandra Levis

Expert Insights

What about the American consumer?By Alex Tapscott, CEO, CMCC Global Capital Markets

The little guy is getting lost in the political horse-trading around the CLARITY Act.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee recently advanced the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, legislation that, if enacted, could finally establish clear rules for digital assets in the United States. The bill has survived months of bipartisan negotiations and horse trading between banking interests and upstart fintech companies.

A bipartisan compromise brokered by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) broke a log-jam that had slowed down the bill’s progress. In the end, the banks got most of what they wanted in this “deal”: the legislation explicitly prevents fintech platforms from treating stablecoins, digital assets backed by dollars, as interest bearing accounts, while still permitting them to pay rewards and bonuses, as banks and credit card issuers do.

That should have ended the debate. Yet banking lobby groups are demanding tighter restrictions to eliminate many forms of consumer rewards altogether. Clearly, they seek to squash this already compromised bill before a full Senate vote, so that it never reaches the Resolute Desk.

Lost amid the political wrangling of crypto and banking interests is the average American consumer.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Americans paid roughly $5.8 billion in overdraft fees in 2023, even after years of industry efforts to reduce so-called “junk fees.” Overdraft charges disproportionately hit financially vulnerable households, with nearly 80% of fees concentrated among 9% of accounts. And then there are account minimums, wire charges and payment delays, which add friction. Meanwhile, the average savings rate is only 0.38%.

Consumers want financial services to move faster, cost less and earn them more.

Stablecoins are gaining popularity because they herald a world where digital dollars move across the internet as cheaply and seamlessly as a WhatsApp message. They can lower remittance costs, improve access to digital commerce, expedite real-time payments and create new ways for consumers to save, spend and transact online.

And Americans are asking for CLARITY because many already use these tools. According to the Crypto Council for Innovation, one in five American adults now owns cryptocurrency. That’s roughly 68.5 million people. Stablecoins are among the fastest-growing categories of digital assets, particularly among younger consumers, immigrants, freelancers and underserved communities seeking faster and cheaper financial tools. Four in five merchants believe accepting crypto could help attract new customers, while 73% of small business owners expect crypto payments to grow.

That’s what makes this debate so politically mystifying. For years, progressives argued that concentrated financial power harmed consumers and Main Street. They criticized large banks for extracting rents while lobbying against regulations that diluted bank influence. Those critiques were often correct. Today some of those progressives, like Elizabeth Warren, who championed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are now defending banking profits against a technology that could inject real competition into financial services and empower consumers and small businesses.

Congress should pass CLARITY in its current form to benefit American consumers and preserve American competitiveness and leadership in the next era of financial technology. This lead is by no means assured: today, 88% of global crypto trading volume occurs on non-U.S.-based exchanges, while foreign-issued stablecoins account for 75% of stablecoin volume. Over the past decade, the U.S. share of global crypto developers has fallen from 38% to just 19%.

Do American politicians want their country to continue leading, or do they prefer watching such financial transformation from the sidelines?

In the 1990s, the Clinton administration helped usher in the commercial internet through the Telecommunications Act of 1996, a bipartisan effort expanding innovation and competition. Now, Congress has an opportunity to unleash the new internet of value by passing CLARITY.

Under GENIUS and CLARITY, stablecoin issuers must meet strong reserve requirements, transparency obligations, anti-money laundering standards, cybersecurity rules and consumer protections. Sensible public policy will unleash investment and innovation, as it did in the internet era.

This story need not end in conflict between banks and blockchains. Incumbents can just as easily embrace blockchain and its various benefits, from real-time global settlement and tokenized assets, to new forms of on-chain lending, payments, savings and commerce.

The question is whether lawmakers will vote to lead this next technological revolution and advance the interests of American consumers or cede the future to entrenched interests.

Principled Perspectives

Why Crypto May Need ETFs More Than ETFs Need CryptoBy Aisha Hunt, founder of Kelley Hunt, PLLC

Crypto spent its first decade trying to replace Wall Street. Its next trillion dollars may come from partnering with it. The first wave of tokenization focused on creating new assets, new venues and new systems outside traditional finance. Some of that innovation mattered. Much of it struggled with the same problem: markets do not scale on technology alone. They scale on trust, liquidity and distribution. That reality favors ETFs.

The ETF wrapper became one of the most successful financial products of the modern era because it solved practical investor problems at scale: low-cost access, transparency, intraday liquidity, operational simplicity and broad distribution across brokerage platforms and advisory channels.

Those advantages took decades to build. Tokenization does not erase them. In fact, it may amplify them. If blockchain rails can be integrated into ETFs, investors may not have to choose between innovation and protection. They could gain exposure to familiar products with the potential benefits of faster settlement, programmable ownership, collateral mobility and broader digital interoperability, all inside a structure already trusted by institutions, advisors and retail investors.

That is a far bigger commercial opportunity than asking trillions of dollars to migrate into unfamiliar vehicles. This is why one underappreciated development matters. On January 21, 2026, F/m Investments LLC and The RBB Fund, Inc. filed what is believed to be the first exemptive application by an ETF issuer seeking to tokenize shares of an exchange-traded fund, TBIL, the U.S. Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF. The proposal would record ownership on a permissioned blockchain ledger while preserving the same fund, same economics, same exchange listing and same regulatory framework. The application remains pending before the SEC, and there can be no assurance relief will be granted. That may sound like a niche legal filing. It is not. It is a test of whether capital markets modernization happens inside the regulatory perimeter or outside it.

That distinction matters to investors because the next major on-chain growth category may not be speculative tokens. It may be trusted yield, usable collateral and regulated exposure. Stablecoins already demonstrated the demand for digitally native dollars. The next logical step is digitally native instruments backed by real portfolios, real governance and real investor protections.

That is where tokenized ETFs could become powerful.

Imagine Treasury exposure that can plug into next-generation collateral networks. Imagine ETF shares that remain within familiar regulatory guardrails while operating on more modern rails. Imagine advisors and institutions accessing blockchain efficiency without having to underwrite experimental structures.

The first tokenization narrative was “replace incumbents.” The stronger narrative may be “upgrade incumbents.” That does not diminish crypto; it commercializes it.

For regulators, tokenized ETFs may offer a pragmatic path forward: enable innovation where investor protections remain intact, rather than pushing demand into parallel channels with greater uncertainty. For exchanges, custodians, brokers and market makers, it could create a new infrastructure layer around products investors already understand.

For issuers, it may become a race. The firms that combine trusted wrappers, credible assets and functional on-chain rails could capture disproportionate flows. And for allocators, the signal may be simple: blockchain technology is becoming less about novelty and more about plumbing.That is usually when real adoption begins.

The broader lesson is that distribution often beats disruption:

Who already has trusted wrappers?

Who already has liquidity?

Who already has access to advisors, retirement assets and institutions?

Who can bridge old rails and new rails fastest?

Those questions point toward ETFs.

The next trillion dollars of tokenized assets may not come from inventing something entirely new; they may come from upgrading what already works. Crypto’s first era was about building outside the system. Its next era may be about powering the system.

Headlines of the weekBy Helene Braun

A few of crypto's biggest debates converged this past week as Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) sold bitcoin to fund preferred stock dividends, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon escalated his fight against yield-bearing stablecoins during the CLARITY Act debate, and Citi projected tokenized securities could grow into a $5.5 trillion market by 2030, driven by rising demand for onchain Treasuries and tokenized stocks.

Michael Saylor's Strategy sold 32 bitcoin for $2.5 million to fund dividend payments: The 8-K filing Monday says proceeds from the May 26–31 sale, executed at an average price of $77,135 per coin, will fund distributions on Strategy's preferred stock.‘The banks will not accept it’: Dimon escalates battle over stablecoin rewards in CLARITY Act debate: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and warned the current CLARITY Act framework could ultimately fail, as banks and crypto firms clash over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield-bearing rewards that resemble bank deposits.Citi predicts the tokenized securities market will grow to $5.5 trillion by 2030: Stablecoins alone will generate a demand for up to $1 trillion worth of onchain U.S. Treasury bills and $2.6 trillion for tokenized stocks, said Citi.Chart of the Week

RWA Perp Volume by Category: Equities Overtake Commodities (excluding oil)RWA perps run ~$45–60 billion/week, and flow is rotating out of commodities into equities. Equities roughly tripled to ~$18 billion and just overtook the commodities (excluding oil) block, while oil faded after its April macro spike. This implies that crypto-venue derivatives are increasingly used for 24/7 equity exposure, with commodities now the episodic, event-driven slice.

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