crypto

Robert Hackett, head of special projects at a16z Crypto, pointed out that the term "stablecoin" is gradually losing its relevance. Stablecoins were originally born during a period of high volatility in the crypto market, hence the emphasis on the characteristic of "stability."However, with technological evolution, stability has become a foundational aspect evolving into global financial infrastructure. The focus of the crypto industry has shifted from "is it stable" to "what else can be built," with stability becoming a basic threshold rather than the innovation itself.Therefore, the term "stablecoin" seems more like a patch for an old problem rather than a definition of a new financial system. In the future, the concept of stablecoins may ultimately fade into broader expressions like "digital dollar" or "on-chain assets," or even fully integrate into the underlying financial system, much like how "electric light" replaced the concept of "electric illumination."

According to The Block, asset management company WisdomTree disclosed that its cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded a net inflow of $137 million, a significant improvement compared to a net outflow of $89 million during the same period in 2025.As of the end of the first quarter, WisdomTree's total assets under management (AUM) rose to $152.6 billion, an increase of over 30% year-on-year, with strong capital inflows in the U.S. and European market products being the main driving force.Its cryptocurrency ETP AUM grew to approximately $1.8 billion in the first three months, a year-on-year increase of 15%. However, affected by the decline in digital asset prices, the initial AUM of about $2.2 billion for cryptocurrency ETPs shrank by approximately $596 million during the quarter.WisdomTree also stated that it has launched new cryptocurrency ETP products tracking Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana this quarter, and continues to advance the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). Related products have been deployed on Ethereum and multiple chains such as Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Optimism, as well as the Stellar network.

According to Cointelegraph, the venture capital market in the cryptocurrency industry significantly cooled down in April, with the total amount of cryptocurrency VC financing dropping to $659 million, completing 63 rounds of financing, a sharp decline of 74% compared to March's $2.6 billion (84 rounds), marking the lowest monthly financing level since 2024.As of 2026, the cumulative financing amount in the cryptocurrency industry has reached $5.64 billion. Since peaking at $3.84 billion in October 2025, cryptocurrency VC financing has continued to decline, during which the total market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency market has also fallen by about 37%. In terms of sectors, DeFi protocols led with 12 rounds of financing, while blockchain services and AI-related cryptocurrency projects each completed 8 rounds. The venture capital department of market maker GSR became the most active investor in April, participating in 4 financing deals; institutions such as Tether, Animoca Brands, and Coinbase Ventures also participated in 3 transactions each.

Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has begun negotiations to acquire shares in the cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitbank, aiming to turn it into a consolidated subsidiary. SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao stated that the company has submitted a letter of intent for the acquisition and has started discussions with Bitbank regarding capital and business cooperation. The specific timing and structure of the acquisition will be determined after due diligence and internal procedures are completed.Bitbank is one of Japan's major domestic cryptocurrency exchange platforms and has not experienced any hacking incidents since its establishment in 2014, with security as its core selling point. As cryptocurrency assets are gradually incorporated into Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, SBI believes that integrating Bitbank into the group will enhance its position in the Japanese cryptocurrency market. This move comes as SBI continues to consolidate its cryptocurrency exchange platform SBI VC Trade. Last month, SBI incorporated another exchange platform, Bitpoint Japan, into this department to streamline operations and improve profitability.Earlier this week, Bitbank also launched Japan's first credit card linked to cryptocurrency assets, allowing users to pay bills using assets like Bitcoin based on their exchange holdings, and offering a 0.5% cashback on cryptocurrency asset spending.

According to Cointelegraph, the Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil, BCB) issued Resolution No. 561, prohibiting the use of virtual assets for settlement within the regulated international payment and transfer services (eFX) framework, further tightening the regulation of crypto assets in the cross-border payment sector.Under the new regulations, payments and receipts between eFX service providers and their overseas counterparts must be completed solely through foreign exchange transactions or transfers of funds from non-resident Brazilian real accounts, and the use of crypto assets or stablecoins for settlement is not allowed. This restriction also applies to eFX service providers that have not yet been formally included in the approved category but are in a transitional period; these institutions must apply for authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil by May 31, 2027, if they wish to continue operating.This regulation does not constitute a comprehensive ban on crypto asset transfers in Brazil, but rather explicitly excludes crypto assets and stablecoins from the regulated eFX cross-border payment channels, reinforcing that cross-border capital flows must be regulated through the official foreign exchange system.

According to the latest 13F filing disclosed by Dan Bin's fund "Oriental Harbor," the fund increased its holdings of 31,700 shares of CRCL during the latest reporting period, valued at 3.02 million dollars.According to market news, the cryptocurrency company Coinbase was newly included in the Oriental Harbor portfolio in the second quarter of 2025, with a holding value of approximately 54.7 million dollars.

Japanese cryptocurrency media Coinpost's AI platform Coinpost Terminal has reached a collaboration with the Web3 asset data platform RootData to comprehensively empower its business processes using RootData's data. Through the RootData API, Coinpost Terminal will provide higher quality investment information and market intelligence to local investors, financial institutions, and media in Japan.It is reported that Coinpost is under the SBI Group, providing diversified services in a secure and compliant environment, while actively conducting high-end B2B event planning through large conferences like WebX, fully laying out the Web3 ecosystem.

Miles Jennings, the policy head and general counsel of a16z Crypto, and others wrote "Getting prediction market regulation right," which points out that the current push by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to reform the regulatory framework for prediction markets is at a critical juncture, as prediction markets are transitioning from niche products to important infrastructure.With the integration of AI and blockchain-driven new risk management models, prediction markets can enable AI agents to automatically hedge risks, adjust on-chain event contract positions in real-time, and play a core role in risk management, information aggregation, and authenticity judgment. a16z Crypto believes that if the regulatory framework is too conservative, it will limit the development potential of prediction markets. Therefore, they have submitted a comment letter providing opinions on key issues such as the application of statutory core principles and CFTC regulations in prediction markets, and public interest considerations related to event contracts. They also proposed five regulatory recommendations for prediction markets, including: the CFTC implementing unified regulatory authority over event contracts, optimizing contract dispute resolution mechanisms, strengthening monitoring of insider trading and market manipulation, re-evaluating "special rules," and exploring clearer compliance pathways for on-chain prediction markets.

According to the latest report from TRM Labs, North Korean hackers stole nearly $600 million worth of cryptocurrency in the attacks on Drift Protocol and Kelp DAO, accounting for 76% of the total losses. TRM Labs estimates that since 2017, hackers associated with North Korea have stolen over $6 billion from cryptocurrency protocols and projects.The report shows that the share of losses caused by North Korean hackers in global cryptocurrency hacking attack losses has increased from less than 10% in 2020 and 2021 to 22% in 2022, 37% in 2023, 39% in 2024, and 64% in 2025.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 25, down 3 points from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 31, and the average over the past 30 days is 23.

Cryptocurrency mining company Riot Platforms deposited 500 BTC ($38.24 million) to NYDIG 5 hours ago. In early April, Riot Platforms deposited a total of 1,500 BTC to NYDIG, worth approximately $102.3 million.

The cryptocurrency market structure bill may advance in mid-May.This Wednesday, a key figure in the cryptocurrency bill negotiations, North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, stated that he has requested Senate Banking Committee Chairman, South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, to expedite the scheduling of a hearing for the bill to be revised and voted on. Additionally, another negotiator this week, Angela Alsobrooks, indicated that if lawmakers want a bipartisan vote in the Senate Banking Committee, they need to address issues of illegal financing and ethics. However, Senate Chairman Scott stated that he believes the ethics provision does not need to be reviewed by his committee. It is currently unclear where the provision will go next, whether it should be reviewed by other committees, but it will likely need to be discussed before being submitted for a vote by the full Senate.

The legislative process for the structure of the U.S. cryptocurrency market is accelerating, with Congress pushing for the earliest possible review stage. However, uncertainties remain regarding ethical issues and the cryptocurrency interests related to Donald Trump, which complicate the path forward.One of the main proponents, Senator Thom Tillis, stated that he has requested Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott to arrange hearings and advance the amendment and voting process, while also hoping to release a new version of the bill text before the review. However, Tillis emphasized that he would oppose the bill's passage if it does not include clear ethical provisions. With the midterm elections approaching, related ethical issues are expected to become a key focus for the Democratic Party.

The prediction market platform Polymarket has partnered with blockchain analysis company Chainalysis to monitor trading activities and enforce market rules in response to concerns about insider trading and market integrity.The two parties announced on Thursday that Chainalysis will provide a comprehensive set of tools, including investigative software and on-chain monitoring systems, to identify suspicious behavior. Its models are designed to detect patterns consistent with "trading based on non-public information." This move comes as regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets is increasing. Critics argue that platforms like Polymarket may be susceptible to influence from insiders (such as political staff or corporate employees) who place "information advantage bets" before information is made public. Such behavior is illegal and heavily regulated in traditional financial markets, but regulatory definitions remain unclear in the crypto prediction market space.Polymarket's response is to enhance the transparency advantages of blockchain. Since all transactions are recorded on-chain, trading activities can be tracked and analyzed post-factum. By overlaying Chainalysis's data tools, the company hopes to identify suspicious transactions in real-time and provide relevant evidence to regulators when necessary.

The latest report from blockchain intelligence agency TRM Labs shows that approximately 76% of global cryptocurrency hacking losses are related to organizations associated with North Korea, with a total stolen amount of about $577 million.North Korea's share of global crypto theft continues to rise: 22% in 2022, 37% in 2023, 39% in 2024, rising to 64% in 2025, and further increasing to 76% in 2026. Since 2017, the total illegal profits have exceeded $6 billion. The report points out that these losses mainly stem from two major incidents in April: a $292 million attack on KelpDAO and a $285 million theft from Drift Protocol, with the two attacks accounting for about 3% of all hacking incidents during the same period.

According to CoinDesk, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Basset stated that as part of the "Economic Fury Action," the U.S. has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto assets.

According to CertiK Alert monitoring, the total losses from cryptocurrency security incidents in the month of 2026 amounted to approximately $651 million, of which about $3.5 million originated from phishing attacks. This is the highest single-month loss recorded since 2022, second only to the Bybit theft incident in 2025.

Payment giant PayPal officially announced the launch of a strategic restructuring, simplifying its business into three core segments: payment checkout and PayPal, consumer financial services and Venmo, and cryptocurrency and payment services. Among them, cryptocurrency and payment services are listed as a separate core business unit, integrating payment processing, platform capabilities, and cryptocurrency operations, including Braintree, payment processing for small and medium-sized merchants, value-added services, and the stablecoin PYUSD. Jeff Pomeroy has been appointed as the interim head of this segment.Analysts believe that the independent inclusion of cryptocurrency business into the core operational structure means that PayPal is further strengthening its stablecoin PYUSD and digital asset payment ecosystem layout.

Web3 asset data platform RootData released the eighth issue of the "Cryptocurrency Exchange Transparency Rankings (Stock Category)," continuing to focus on the growth trend of stock assets in cryptocurrency exchanges. In this ranking, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate, and Bitget continue to occupy the top five positions.In terms of ranking changes, BingX entered the list for the first time at ninth place due to a significant increase in traffic, while XT.com fell out of the top ten this issue due to a decline in trading volume and insufficient compliance transparency.In terms of traffic, leading platforms showed a moderate decline. Newly ranked BingX had a weekly traffic of 7.6 million, placing it second, just behind Binance. Meanwhile, Ourbit's traffic plummeted from 1.33 million to below 310,000, a drop of over 76%, making it the exchange with the largest decline in traffic this issue.Additionally, according to the ranking data, almost all exchanges experienced a significant decline in daily average trading volume, with decreases generally between 10% and 25%.It is reported that RootData adheres to the principle of "transparency first" and has taken the lead in establishing a dual evaluation system of "transparency + liquidity" in the field of stock cryptocurrency exchanges, thereby providing investors with more effective data references. The platform will continue to enhance and publish this ranking in the future.