News linked to both this project and an event.
Investment bank TD Cowen stated that as the relevant political environment continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of the US crypto market structure bill, the "Clarity Act," passing this year is declining.TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg pointed out that while the Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill earlier this month, this does not signify a substantive bipartisan agreement; rather, it merely pushes the controversy to the full Senate floor.The report indicated that the escalating controversies surrounding US President Donald Trump and his administration related to crypto in recent days are making it harder for Democrats to support the bill. If the bill does not include clear conflict-of-interest provisions, it will face even greater difficulty in gaining sufficient support in the current political environment.
: Base, the Ethereum scaling network incubated by Coinbase, has launched Base MCP, aiming to connect AI interfaces with Base wallet infrastructure.Through this integration, users can use natural language commands in AI tools that support the MCP open standard to complete token swaps, fund transfers, and interact with Base ecosystem applications. Supported AI interfaces include Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and others.Base MCP will serve as a secure gateway between user Base accounts and AI interfaces. At its initial launch, it will connect with applications such as Morpho, Bankr, Moonwell, Avantis, Aerodrome, Virtuals, and Uniswap, covering scenarios including lending, swaps, perpetual contracts, new tokens, and AI Agent issuance.MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, originally proposed by Anthropic, and is an open standard for connecting AI models with external tools and data sources.
the Spanish government is taking action to block Polymarket and Kalshi, stating that the two prediction market platforms are operating in the country without obtaining gambling licenses, allegedly violating the law. Spain's consumer affairs department stated that it has issued preventive blocking orders targeting the websites of Polymarket and Kalshi. Officials will investigate suspected violations of gambling laws, with the relevant procedures expected to last three to four months.The Spanish Gambling Regulatory Authority stated that when prediction platforms allow users to place bets on uncertain outcomes, they carry gambling risks, and companies seeking to offer such services require specific administrative licenses. Currently, Polymarket and Kalshi have not responded to requests for comment. (WSJ)
According to The Block, Bitcoin continued trading below $78,000 on Monday, following net outflows of $1.26 billion from spot Bitcoin ETFs during the week of May 18–22—the second consecutive week of outflows exceeding $1 billion. Nevertheless, Timothy Misir, Research Head at BRN, noted that institutional demand has not vanished but is rotating: during the same period, the XRP ETF attracted $22 million in inflows, the Solana ETF drew $16 million, the newly launched Hyperliquid HYPE ETF garnered $72 million, while the Ethereum ETF saw outflows of $216 million. Ethereum also faced pressure due to the SEC’s delay of its tokenized stock trading initiative, though it posted a modest rebound on Sunday amid heightened optimism surrounding the Iran deal. On the options front, for Bitcoin expiring on May 29, the largest open interest concentrations were at the $75,000 put and $80,000 call strikes; for Ethereum, the largest open interest concentration was at the $2,100 put strike. On the macro front, U.S. and European markets were closed for public holidays, and analysts warned of low market liquidity. Should the Iran deal materialize, it could trigger a sharp drop in oil prices and push equity markets to new highs.
According to The Block, cross-chain infrastructure platform Squid has raised $6 million in strategic funding, led by North Island Ventures, with participation from Ripple, Dialectic, and Borderless. The funds will be used to launch a new consumer-facing product. Fig, co-founder of Squid, stated that the product will leverage Squid’s routing and settlement infrastructure to enhance the experience of accessing and managing crypto assets. Squid said that since its launch in 2023, the platform has processed over $6 billion in transaction volume and more than 4 million transactions across more than 100 blockchain networks, serving over 1 million users.
According to The Block, Ethereum Layer 2 project Zero Network has announced its imminent official shutdown—just about 1.5 years after launch. Launched by the Zerion team in November 2024, Zero Network positioned itself as the first EVM-compatible rollup offering fully gas-free transactions, aiming to lower barriers to entry and drive mainstream adoption. The team stated it will now focus its resources on Zerion’s API and wallet business. Users must bridge their NFTs, ETH, and other tokens out of the Zero Network by the end of July; the bridge’s deposit functionality is currently suspended.
According to The Block, Foundation, a Bitcoin hardware wallet manufacturer, has raised $6.4 million in funding. The round was led by Fulgur Ventures, with participation from Arche Capital. The company plans to accelerate its expansion from Bitcoin self-custody wallets into identity authentication, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and AI agent authorization. Following this round, Foundation’s total funding has reached $16.5 million. Meanwhile, Foundation has announced the full commercial launch of its flagship device, the Passport Prime, and opened its KeyOS platform SDK to developers. The device integrates a Bitcoin hardware wallet, FIDO security key, 2FA storage, secure vault, and 50 GB of encrypted storage.
Odaily Odaily News: Flipcash, an app created by Kik founder Ted Livingston, has launched a native stablecoin USDF on Solana, based on Coinbase's "Stablecoin as a Service" platform.According to reports, USDF is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and fully backed by USDC. Coinbase handles issuance, reserves, and compliance matters. Flipcash has become the first application to use the Coinbase stablecoin-as-a-service platform.It is understood that USDF will primarily be used for cash-like payment scenarios within the Flipcash app. Flipcash is a digital payment application built on Solana, allowing users to create and trade "community currencies" with a fixed supply.Coinbase launched its stablecoin-as-a-service platform in late 2025, aiming to help enterprises issue branded stablecoins without needing to build their own infrastructure. (The Block)
According to The Block, Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, stated that the UK’s future financial system will advance tokenization, with the retail payments system incorporating tokenized deposits, regulated stablecoins, and potentially a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Bank of England plans to publish a draft regulatory framework for systemic stablecoins next month and finalize it by the end of 2026—imposing temporary caps on stablecoin issuance volumes if necessary. Breeden also noted that the Bank of England will continue supporting banks in developing tokenized deposits and advancing initiatives such as the Digital Securities Sandbox and Digital Gilt.
According to The Block, privacy computing company Zama has acquired TokenOps, an enterprise-grade token lifecycle management platform, with plans to integrate fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) into institutional-grade token vesting, airdrops, and equity structure management. Zama stated that TokenOps has processed over $2 billion in distributions. Following the acquisition, issuers will be able to execute end-to-end token distribution, release schedules, and recipient identity verification—all on-chain and encrypted—based on the ERC-7984 Confidential Token standard. This solution is already live in production at KAIO, whose partner institutions include BlackRock, Hamilton Lane, and Brevan Howard. TokenOps will continue operating under its independent brand post-acquisition.
non-custodial crypto wallet Sorted Wallet has completed a $4.4 million seed funding round, co-led by Tether and Gnosis with a $3.4 million equity investment. Vox Solutions provided an additional $1 million in strategic support, with angel investors including Movement, Angel Invest Group, and the founder of RWA.io also participating. (The Block)
According to The Block, non-custodial crypto wallet Sorted Wallet has raised $4.4 million in seed funding. Tether and Gnosis co-led a $3.4 million equity financing round, while Vox Solutions provided $1 million in strategic support. Angel investors—including Movement, Angel Invest Group, and the founder of RWA.io—also participated in the round.
According to The Block, crypto market maker Wintermute has launched Armitage, a DeFi treasury curation platform offering non-custodial treasuries tailored to varying risk appetites to access decentralized lending opportunities. Wintermute stated that, leveraging its market-making operations and liquidation execution capabilities, Armitage can accept “collateral types unsupported by other curators.” The announcement notes that user deposits require no KYC, and users retain full control over their funds. As institutions continue to deploy treasury strategies on Ethereum-based Morpho, Solana-based Kamino, and others, treasuries are becoming a key tool for institutional participation in crypto markets.
According to The Block, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has officially approved a policy proposal to build a next-generation national financial system based on blockchain and AI. The proposal also supports advancing tokenized deposits and yen-denominated stablecoins. The report notes that this initiative is being formally advanced at the ruling party level and involves strategic directions for Web3 and financial infrastructure development.
According to The Block, WLFI treasury company AI Financial released its financial results for the quarter ended March 28, 2026, reporting a net loss of $271.5 million, compared to a net loss of $2.4 million in the same period last year; the company stated that its financial condition raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern over the next year. Revenue for the same period totaled $4.7 million, entirely derived from its crypto payment fintech business. AI Financial holds 7.28 billion WLFI tokens, with a fair value of approximately $706 million—markedly down from over $1 billion at the end of December 2025—and recognized an unrealized loss of $348.3 million. The company also noted that certain WLFI tokens are subject to lock-up restrictions, and its liquidity improvement, revenue growth, and ability to secure future financing will impact its continued operations.
Odaily. Bernstein stated in its latest research report that the newly reached compromise on stablecoin yields under the U.S. CLARITY Act is structurally beneficial for Circle and the USDC ecosystem.The report notes that the current version of the bill prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest to passive holders that is "economically equivalent" to bank deposits, but allows reward mechanisms tied to actual transaction, payment, and usage activities to continue. Bernstein believes this means Circle's current model, which relies on partners like Coinbase to provide USDC reward programs, will gain regulatory recognition, while also limiting the industry's ability to compete for market share through high yields.Bernstein points out that the bill effectively reinforces the positioning of stablecoins as "payment tools" rather than "deposit substitutes," helping to protect Circle's current business model that relies on reserve income. The firm maintains an "Outperform" rating for Circle with a $190 target price.Data shows that the total global supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, with USDT and USDC collectively accounting for approximately 97% of the market share. Bernstein notes that USDC's share in on-chain payments and wallet transfers is steadily increasing, and its share of payments in the AI Agent payment protocol x402 has exceeded 99%.Additionally, Bernstein mentioned that Circle's ARC chain has cumulatively completed 244 million testnet transactions. The ARC token pre-sale previously raised $222 million, with investors including a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, and BlackRock.However, the report also points out that the CLARITY Act still needs to complete multiple legislative procedures before it takes effect, including a 60-vote threshold in the full Senate and coordination with the House version. Polymarket currently estimates its probability of passage by 2026 at approximately 62%. (The Block)
Bitcoin has fallen below the $77,000 mark, hitting a low of approximately $76,720. Analysts attribute the market decline primarily to multiple macroeconomic pressures, including the renewed escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, rising inflation concerns, and increased risk aversion across risk assets. Former US President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran on social media, intensifying geopolitical uncertainty.Meanwhile, rising oil prices have further elevated inflation expectations, with Brent crude climbing to around $111 and WTI rising above $107. This has sparked concerns that the Federal Reserve may maintain higher interest rates for a longer period.The current selling pressure is also compounded by factors such as rising US Treasury yields, a strengthening US dollar, and ETF outflows. Data shows that Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of approximately $1 billion in the week ending May 17, ending six consecutive weeks of net inflows.In terms of market sentiment, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has fallen back to 27, re-entering the "fear zone." Analysts believe that short-term trends will remain highly dependent on macroeconomic data and policy expectations. However, some institutions view the current correction as a "healthy digestion" period, suggesting the long-term structure remains unchanged. (The Block)
VanEck filed the fifth amendment to its BNB ETF registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 15. Grayscale also submitted the second amendment to the Grayscale BNB ETF prospectus on the same day.Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated that the simultaneous submission of amended documents by both institutions indicates they are responding to SEC feedback and may be planning to advance product launches in the near term.James Seyffart also noted that BNB could become the next crypto asset to pass SEC review and potentially be listed in the United States. (The Block)
the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has advanced the crypto market structure bill, the Clarity Act, by a vote of 15 to 9. The bill aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the crypto industry at the federal level for the first time, garnering support from Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks.While the industry generally views the committee's passage as positive progress, analysts believe the bill still faces significant obstacles before becoming law. TD Cowen has raised the bill's passage probability from approximately one-third to 40%, noting that some Democratic lawmakers are showing willingness to find a path to support it, though substantive disagreements have not been fully resolved.Previously, the bill had long been affected by issues such as stablecoin yield arrangements, conflicts of interest, and ethical provisions. Additionally, to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, the bill will need to secure more Democratic support than it currently has. Benchmark analysts also pointed out that the current number of supporting votes is insufficient to ensure its eventual passage. (The Block)
Adam Hollander, Chief Marketing Officer of OpenSea, stated that the next cycle of NFTs could look very different from the speculative frenzy of 2022, which saw over $1.6 billion in trading volume. Speaking to The Block at Consensus Miami, Hollander noted that it "makes perfect sense" to put assets like collectible cards, luxury watches, and digital tickets on-chain for trading, and that these could be the core drivers of a new wave of NFTs.Adam Hollander emphasized that although avatar-based NFTs like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks have experienced a value crash, NFT technology still has potential to prove ownership of both digital and physical assets. He believes the previous NFT boom relied too heavily on speculation, with buyers treating NFTs more like a digital casino rather than focusing on their technology and real-world value. The future application of NFTs will be driven by actual demand for collectibles, in-game items, AI tools, and more. The development of artificial intelligence will also lower the barrier to creating digital art, animations, and games, thereby accelerating NFT adoption.Regarding platform development, OpenSea is working to build an ecosystem that allows users to manage all their crypto assets and NFTs across different wallets and chains, while optimizing the user experience. This includes simplifying the onboarding process, supporting Apple Pay-like fiat payments, and displaying NFT prices in US dollars. When asked about the delay in launching the much-anticipated SEA token, Hollander stated that the decision lies with the OpenSea Foundation, and he personally has no further information on the timeline. He emphasized that if the token were merely an "airdrop meme coin," it would not create value for users. (The Block)