Author: John Smith

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House have pushed to turn a temporary restriction on a central bank digital currency into a permanent ban as Congress prepares to vote on a major housing bill later this week. Summary House Republicans have pushed to make the proposed U.S. CBDC ban permanent in the revised 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Representative Warren Davidson said the Senate’s 2030 expiration date could create a future pathway for a Federal Reserve-issued digital dollar. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has continued urging the Senate to pass his Anti CBDC Surveillance State Act after it cleared the…

Minnesota has signed a new crypto custody law that lets banks and credit unions hold digital assets for customers from Aug. 1. Summary Minnesota banks can hold crypto from Aug. 1 if they meet notice and control rules New law requires crypto segregation, cybersecurity policies, and state review before custody services launch statewide Crypto ATM ban starts same day, showing Minnesota’s split approach to digital asset access statewide Gov. Tim Walz signed HF 3709 into law, allowing state-chartered banks and credit unions to offer virtual-currency custody services. The law covers the safekeeping, control, or management of virtual currency and private…

Shiba Inu saw billions of SHIB hit exchanges on May 18 as crypto market liquidations accelerated. Summary Over 3 billion SHIB tokens were pushed onto exchanges on May 18, raising sell-side pressure as broader crypto market liquidations accelerated. CoinGlass data shows SHIB open interest at $61.2 million with $42,485 in futures positions liquidated in the 24-hour session ending May 18. SHIB was trading at $0.00000567 on May 18, down roughly 10% on the week and 54% over the past year. On-chain exchange flow data tracked by CoinGlass shows SHIB open interest at $61.2 million on May 18, with $42,485 in…

Revolut launched its first physical crypto card on May 18, a Dogecoin-themed LED card for the UK and EEA. Summary Revolut unveiled its first physical crypto card with a Dogecoin theme and LED display, usable anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted. The card links to users’ crypto balances and converts holdings to fiat at real-time exchange rates, with no additional exchange fees charged on purchases. The launch follows Revolut’s full UK banking licence in March 2026 and FCA approval last week for leveraged investment products and private wealth services. Revolut announced on May 18 that it is launching its first…

Galaxy Digital secured a BitLicense from New York on May 18 to offer regulated crypto services to institutions. Summary Galaxy Digital’s subsidiary GalaxyOne Prime NY received a BitLicense and Money Transmission License from NYDFS on May 18, 2026. The approval allows Galaxy to offer regulated trading and custody to hedge funds, registered investment advisers, and family offices across New York State. Galaxy manages approximately $9 billion in client assets and New York now joins a regulatory footprint of more than 50 global licences. Galaxy Digital announced on May 18 that the New York State Department of Financial Services granted its…

Bitwise will devote 10% of its HYPE ETF management fee to buying HYPE on its balance sheet. Summary Bitwise announced it will devote 10% of its BHYP Hyperliquid ETF management fee to purchasing and holding HYPE tokens on its balance sheet. The BHYP ETF launched on NYSE on May 15 with a 0.34% sponsor fee, the first US product to offer in-house staking through Bitwise Onchain Solutions. Combined with 21Shares’ THYP product, the two Hyperliquid ETFs have accumulated over $5.6 million in net inflows since launching last week. Bitwise Asset Management announced that it will devote 10% of the management…

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…