Author: John Smith

Kraken revenue rose 3% year-on-year to $507m in Q1 2026 as futures trading jumped 51%, Payward said Monday. Summary Payward posted $507m in Q1 2026 adjusted revenue, up 3% year-on-year, despite Bitcoin falling 22% during the quarter and industry-wide spot volumes dropping 38%. Futures daily average revenue trades rose 51%, driven by NinjaTrader, Breakout, and expanded derivatives offerings from the recently completed Bitnomial acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $18m as Payward continued spending on acquisitions, product development, and regulatory infrastructure ahead of a planned IPO. Payward, Kraken’s Wyoming-based parent company, said in a Monday press release that it generated $507…

Standard Chartered projects $4 trillion in tokenized assets onchain by 2028, with mature DeFi protocols as the main beneficiaries. Summary Standard Chartered forecasts $4 trillion in tokenized assets by end-2028, split evenly between stablecoins and real-world assets. Mature DeFi protocols with strong risk metrics will capture the bulk of the throughput, the bank said. Passage of the CLARITY Act is viewed as the most significant near-term catalyst for the shift from traditional rails. Standard Chartered projects that $4 trillion in tokenized assets will sit onchain by the end of 2028, evenly split between stablecoins and real-world assets. The forecast positions…

The White House says it has achieved a legal and custody “breakthrough” for the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, finally giving Washington a compliant way to safeguard billions in seized BTC. Summary White House Digital Assets Executive Director Patrick Witt confirmed legal and custody frameworks for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve are now in place The announcement signals the administration has cleared key regulatory hurdles without requiring immediate congressional action Witt described the development as a “breakthrough” that allows proper safeguarding of government-held digital assets The White House has confirmed a major operational breakthrough for the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, with an announcement…

Vitalik Buterin says AI‑assisted formal verification could be the “final form” of software, letting Ethereum ship ultra‑optimized code with machine‑checked proofs of correctness. Summary Vitalik Buterin argued that AI‑assisted formal verification may represent a “final form” of software development, where code is both highly efficient and mathematically verified. He highlighted applications across Ethereum’s core roadmap, including ZK‑EVMs, STARK proofs, consensus, and quantum‑resistant cryptography, while stressing that formal verification is powerful but not a panacea. The comments build on his earlier calls to direct roughly half of AI’s productivity gains into testing and formal verification to make near bug‑free crypto code…

The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England have opened a joint consultation on tokenized UK wholesale markets.  Summary The FCA and Bank of England want market feedback before setting a digital wholesale roadmap. The consultation covers tokenized securities, collateral, settlement tools and market infrastructure rules. crypto.news reported the UK is also aligning stablecoins and tokenized deposits with payment rules. The call asks banks, investment firms, asset managers, trading venues, post-trade firms and fintech companies to share views on market rules and infrastructure. The consultation focuses on tokenized securities, including bonds, equities and fund units. Regulators said firms want…

Hyperliquid price stabilized over the weekend after reclaiming a key bullish chart structure, while growing institutional adoption narratives continued supporting investor sentiment around the decentralized derivatives protocol. Summary Hyperliquid price rebounded above $45 after reentering a bullish ascending wedge pattern following a recent pullback toward the $38 support zone. CME Group and ICE reportedly urged U.S. regulators to scrutinize Hyperliquid over potential manipulation and sanctions risks, contributing to recent volatility in HYPE price. Institutional interest in Hyperliquid continued rising as Bitwise and 21Shares expanded spot and leveraged HYPE ETF offerings in the U.S. According to data from crypto.news, Hyperliquid (HYPE)…

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $1 billion in cumulative net outflows over the past week as institutional investors reduced exposure to the asset. Summary U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $1 billion in cumulative net outflows last week as institutional demand for crypto exposure weakened sharply. Bitcoin fell below the $77,000 support level after over $661 million in crypto liquidations wiped out heavily leveraged bullish positions. Rising inflation concerns and WTI crude prices above $107 added pressure on risk assets as traders reduced expectations for Fed rate cuts. According to data from SoSoValue, the latest withdrawals mark a…

Aave has restored borrowing against wrapped Ether across affected markets as the decentralized lending protocol continues recovering from the fallout tied to Kelp DAO’s April exploit. Summary Aave has restored wrapped Ether borrowing across affected markets as recovery efforts tied to the Kelp DAO exploit continue. Court approved transfers involving 30,765 ETH remain tied to an unresolved legal dispute linked to North Korean hacking allegations. Kelp DAO plans to discontinue rsETH bridging on several networks after June 15 while Aave liquidity conditions continue adjusting after the exploit. In a post published Sunday, Stani Kulechov said Aave had reinstated loan-to-value ratios…

USDC users are again asking whether Circle should offer a clearer recovery process for mistaken token transfers.  Summary USDC users are questioning Circle’s recovery options after claims of mistaken transfers to inaccessible contracts. Tether’s official recovery page says some mistaken USDT deposits may be reviewed case by case. Tether freezes far more stablecoin value than Circle across blacklist cases globally. The debate followed posts from users who said they sent USDC to addresses or contracts they could not access. One user, Weilin Li, asked on X whether Circle provides a service similar to Tether’s token recovery process after sending USDC…

Police from China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates carried out their first joint international law enforcement operation against telecom and online fraud in Dubai, according to Xinhua.  Summary China, the U.S. and UAE reported their first joint crackdown on Dubai crypto romance scams. Authorities said nine fraud dens were dismantled and 276 suspects were captured in the operation. DOJ documents link similar networks to fake crypto platforms and millions in victim losses globally. China’s Ministry of Public Security said the operation dismantled nine fraud dens and led to 276 arrests. Investigators said the groups used social media…