News linked to both this project and an event.
: tZERO, a regulated securities trading platform, has announced the integration of its tokenization issuance platform with the Aptos network, enabling issuers to directly issue Real World Asset (RWA) tokens on this high-performance public chain, further broadening the path for institutional-grade assets to be placed on-chain.Aptos is being positioned as the underlying network for institutional-grade tokenization infrastructure and is consistently attracting integration by traditional finance and compliant tokenization platforms. Currently, tokenized funds from institutions including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are already operating on the chain. With tZERO's integration, the compliant asset issuance and trading infrastructure on Aptos is further enhanced, covering the full-chain capabilities from issuance, circulation, to settlement.
Franklin Templeton, the parent company of Kraken and a global asset management giant, has announced a collaboration with Kraken to develop on-chain investment products and advance the tokenization of traditional financial assets. The two parties will combine Franklin Templeton's experience in asset tokenization and compliant fund issuance with Kraken's trading, custody, and global user infrastructure, focusing on launching compliant products such as tokenized funds and on-chain wealth management. This initiative aims to bridge the connection between traditional finance and the crypto market. (Coindesk)
Odaily Odaily, the Stellar Development Foundation and the Government of Bermuda have jointly announced that Bermuda will migrate key payment and financial services to the Stellar network, officially advancing the construction of a "fully on-chain national economy." The initiative is based on Bermuda's 2018 Digital Asset Business Act regulatory framework and aims to significantly reduce the 3%-5% (or even higher) payment processing costs currently borne by local merchants.According to the plan, Bermuda residents will soon be able to receive wages, pay for goods and services, settle government fees, and hold digital assets through digital wallets on the Stellar network. The government will pilot stablecoin payments, financial institutions will be able to access tokenized instruments, and related assets will also be used for government disbursements such as social service payments.
Sky (formerly MakerDAO) announced on X that the cross-chain bridging of USDS OFT on the Solana network, which was suspended due to the security review of the rsETH vulnerability incident, has resumed operation.Sky emphasized that during the review, its USDS-related contracts and the protocol itself were not affected. USDS has always maintained a fully overcollateralized state as designed, which can be verified in real-time on-chain. The suspension was a precautionary security measure. Currently, the bridging function on the Solana side has been reopened, while the Avalanche-related bridging will resume after further review is completed.
: Crypto analyst Axel Adler Jr stated that although Bitcoin rebounded after falling from around $125,000 to $60,000, the current trend remains a "repair after decline" and has not yet been confirmed as entering a new bull market cycle.He pointed out that from an on-chain data perspective, multiple key indicators have not yet entered the historical bear market bottom range. This includes the "Supply in Loss" and 90-day UTXO-related metrics, which have not yet shown a sufficient cyclical bottom structure. Meanwhile, the "LTH Realized Supply" has also not displayed the typical accumulation pattern seen at the end of a bear market, indicating that the market has not yet entered a deep reallocation phase.Additionally, spot selling pressure indicators have not shown obvious "capitulation selling", suggesting that a typical comprehensive market cleansing has not occurred during this decline. Axel Adler Jr believes that before improvements are seen simultaneously in on-chain structure, spot demand, and supply pressure, the current upward move is more likely a technical rebound rather than a trend reversal.On a macro level, he pointed out that the global risk environment remains tight. The conflict between the US and Iran has pushed Brent crude oil close to $100 per barrel, reigniting inflationary pressure. Consumer confidence and financial health indices are weakening, indicating pressure on the demand side. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields remain high, with real interest rates and inflation expectations rising concurrently, further suppressing risk asset valuations.He also mentioned that the leadership of the US Federal Reserve is about to enter a potential transition phase, but the interest rate market is no longer pricing in rapid rate cuts and has even begun to price in the probability of rate hikes. Market expectations have clearly shifted towards "higher for longer". In an environment of high oil prices, high interest rates, and uncertain monetary policy, overall financial conditions remain tight.Axel Adler Jr stated that the current market needs to wait for clearer on-chain bottom structures and signs of demand-side recovery. Until then, he maintains a cautious stance on the market outlook.
According to the SEC’s official website, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul S. Atkins delivered a speech on May 8 at the Special Competitive Study Project’s AI+ Expo, outlining the SEC’s regulatory approach toward AI and on-chain financial markets. Atkins stated that the SEC will advance several regulatory initiatives targeting on-chain markets, including: establishing rules defining “exchanges” for on-chain trading systems; clarifying the applicability of definitions for “brokers” and “dealers” to on-chain activities; delineating the scope of the “clearing agency” definition as it applies to on-chain clearing and settlement activities; and issuing regulatory guidance for activities related to “crypto vaults.” Regarding AI regulation, Atkins emphasized that the SEC will not mandate specific AI models for firms but will uphold its core mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation—while requiring firms to take responsibility for the outputs of their deployed AI tools. Atkins also urged Congress to promptly send the CLARITY Act to the President for signature, thereby providing long-term regulatory certainty for digital asset markets through legislation. He warned that driving innovation offshore would repeat the FTX debacle and harm U.S. investors.
: SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has stated that the regulator is considering establishing new rules for on-chain financial markets and related software applications.Atkins pointed out that current DeFi software protocols are difficult to classify within traditional regulatory frameworks as exchanges, brokers, or clearing agencies, as a single protocol often simultaneously performs multiple functions such as trade execution, collateral management, liquidity routing, and settlement.His remarks are seen as a sign of the SEC adopting a more open attitude towards the crypto industry, appearing friendlier compared to his predecessor Gary Gensler. Meanwhile, the SEC is also exploring innovative exemption mechanisms for tokenized securities and advancing the clarification of digital asset classification systems.
According to an official announcement, Alchemy Pay stated that the Alchemy Chain mainnet has officially launched. Positioned as a payment-centric Layer 1 blockchain, the network targets real-world stablecoin transactions and claims to be the world’s first global stablecoin payment network compliant with both EU and Hong Kong regulatory frameworks. Alchemy Pay says Alchemy Chain offers predictable fees, fast settlement, and scalability, and is powered by the ACH token.
Ekubo Protocol officially stated on the X platform that an active security incident has been identified in the Ekubo Swap Router contract on EVM chains. The impact is limited to EVM chains, with LPs unaffected; Starknet is also unaffected. The team is investigating the scope of the issue, but as a safety precaution, users are advised to revoke all approvals.
Securitize announced partnerships with Jump Trading and Jupiter Exchange to launch a fully on-chain, compliant tokenized stock trading service on Solana. The solution integrates regulatory compliance infrastructure, liquidity support, and distribution channels to build an integrated on-chain securities trading system, accelerating the migration of traditional financial assets onto blockchain.
According to CertiK, Syndicate Protocol suffered an exploit due to a security breach in the Commons cross-chain bridge. The attacker exploited the vulnerability to acquire approximately 18.5 million SYND tokens, which were subsequently sold for roughly $330,000. The related funds have already been transferred to the Ethereum network via the cross-chain bridge. Syndicate’s official response states that it is investigating the security incident involving the Commons bridge. The team is tracking the attack and collaborating with security firms. It is also evaluating various options to compensate affected users. Syndicate holds sufficient token reserves to assist users who lost SYND.
According to The Block, Visa has partnered with WeFi—a “blockchain-based bank” founded by Reeve Collins, former CEO of Tether—to enable users to hold digital assets in self-custodial wallets and spend them directly across the global Visa acceptance network, without depositing assets into centralized exchanges. Maksym Sakharov, Co-Founder and CEO of WeFi, stated that stablecoins are natively embedded into the underlying infrastructure, with settlements processed automatically in the background, delivering a user experience indistinguishable from conventional payments. This partnership will initially launch in select markets across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with further expansion contingent upon regulatory approvals.
According to an official announcement, ZetaChain stated that its GatewayEVM contract was attacked today, with the impact limited solely to internal wallets controlled by the ZetaChain team. The official statement confirmed that the attack vector has been blocked and no further funds are currently at risk. As a precautionary measure, ZetaChain has suspended cross-chain transactions. Meanwhile, the investigation remains ongoing; according to the official statement, no user funds have been affected by this incident, and a detailed post-mortem report will be released upon completion of the investigation.
A research report released by a16z Crypto states that stablecoins have evolved from niche trading tools into the foundational layer of a new global financial infrastructure, giving rise to a new generation of “Banking-as-a-Service” (BaaS) models. Unlike the previous wave of BaaS, this new model is built on onchain infrastructure and integrates account management, payments, foreign exchange, and credit functions via self-custodial wallets—significantly reducing reliance on traditional intermediaries. The report classifies blockchains into three categories: general-purpose public chains (e.g., Solana and Ethereum), purpose-built chains optimized for payment use cases (e.g., Stripe’s Tempo and Circle’s Arc), and compliance-focused networks designed for regulated institutions (e.g., Canton). On the regulatory front, following the passage of the GENIUS Act, stablecoin issuers are competing aggressively for national trust charters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), aiming to gain direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment rails and secure a central position within the payments stack. The report also notes that stablecoins have made significant progress in the “middle mile” of cross-border payments; however, liquidity bottlenecks between stablecoins and local fiat currencies remain unresolved in emerging markets. Looking ahead, as stablecoin scale grows, the onchain credit market is poised to become the next major opportunity after payments—providing capital to borrowers underserved by traditional financial systems. Moreover, the widespread adoption of stablecoins is expected to further reinforce the U.S. dollar’s global dominance.
According to Natalie Newson, Senior Blockchain Investigator at CertiK, real-time deepfakes, phishing attacks, supply-chain compromises, and cross-chain vulnerabilities will be the primary drivers of cryptocurrency hacks in 2026. So far this year, the industry has lost over $600 million to hacking incidents—including the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit and the $280 million theft from Drift Protocol in April—both linked to a North Korean hacker group. Newson warns that the accelerated advancement of AI will make attack methods increasingly sophisticated, including more realistic deepfakes, autonomous attack agents, and “agent AIs” capable of automatically scanning smart contracts for vulnerabilities. However, AI can also serve as a defensive tool. CertiK advises investors to verify URL authenticity and store assets in cold wallets to mitigate risk.
According to Caixin, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released a consultation paper on April 17, 2026, proposing more accommodating regulatory capital guidelines for crypto assets on permissionless blockchains (i.e., public blockchains) ahead of implementing the Basel Committee’s new capital requirements for crypto assets. The current Basel framework is viewed as overly stringent in its classification of public blockchain-based assets, potentially stifling banking-sector innovation. MAS plans to abandon a “one-size-fits-all” classification approach and instead allow public blockchain-based crypto assets that meet a set of principle-based criteria to be classified as Group 1 crypto assets—carrying lower risk weights and less stringent prudential requirements—to achieve regulatory technology neutrality.
U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered a speech marking his first anniversary in office at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. The SEC is advancing reforms to its digital asset regulatory framework, integrating them into its “A-C-T” strategy—modernizing regulation, clarifying regulatory boundaries, and reshaping the rulemaking system. Regarding crypto assets, the SEC has released a classification framework for crypto tokens, categorizing digital assets into five types—four of which are not considered securities. Atkins stated that the SEC will soon introduce an “Innovation Exemption” mechanism, providing a limited, compliant framework for market participants to conduct tokenized securities transactions on-chain. The SEC has also launched Project Crypto to adapt securities rules and the regulatory system to the growing trend of capital markets moving on-chain. Additionally, last month the SEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the CFTC to harmonize key definitions, clarify regulatory jurisdictions, and coordinate oversight of shared regulatory matters—including digital assets. Atkins further noted that the U.S.’s prior approach to crypto asset regulation had driven innovation overseas.
According to an official announcement by USDT0 (@USDT0_to), the USDT0 cross-chain bridging infrastructure resumed normal operations today. System integrity and risk exposure remain unaffected, and all pending transactions submitted prior to the suspension have been safely settled. Previously, on April 19, USDT0 proactively suspended its OFT bridging service as a precautionary measure pending the conclusion of the KelpDAO rsETH incident investigation. USDT0 emphasized that it bears no risk exposure related to this incident, and all USDT0 tokens remain fully backed 1:1 by USDT.
According to an official announcement from Curve Finance, due to a hacker attack on the rsETH LayerZero infrastructure, Curve Finance has suspended its LayerZero infrastructure for security reasons, pending further investigation into the root cause before resuming operations. This suspension affects the following: cross-chain bridging of CRV tokens from BNB Chain, Sonic, Avalanche, Fantom, Etherlink, and Kava (chains using native bridges remain unaffected), as well as the crvUSD fast bridge functionality (the L2 slow bridge remains fully operational). Meanwhile, KelpDAO is also reported to have suffered a vulnerability exploit involving approximately $291 million; the exact extent of losses is still under investigation.
According to CoinDesk, Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-based cross-chain bridge was attacked, with the attacker withdrawing 116,500 rsETH—worth approximately $292 million at current prices, or roughly 18% of its circulating supply. This incident has become the largest DeFi attack of 2026 to date. In response, Aave, SparkLend, and Fluid have frozen rsETH-related markets, and Lido Finance has suspended new deposits into its earnETH product. Kelp DAO stated it is jointly investigating the incident with LayerZero, auditing firms, and external security experts.