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At the Tencent shareholder meeting, Chairman and CEO Ma Huateng gave the most candid response to date regarding doubts about whether Tencent is falling behind in AI. He stated, "A year ago, we thought we were on board, but later found that the boat was leaking. Now it feels like we are on board, but we can't sit down yet. We hope the speed of the boat can be a bit faster." Ma Huateng acknowledged the company's bumpy journey in the field of artificial intelligence and humorously illustrated the current situation: on the boat, but not yet stable.Ma Huateng also emphasized that Tencent may not be the fastest in the industry to seize opportunities, but it insists on following the right path, combining its unique advantages to proceed steadily. "We can't just look at others doing things and casually jump in to take over their territory. We have done that in the past but mostly failed."

NASDAQ-listed Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings has initiated a consent solicitation process for holders of its $600 million senior secured notes to amend certain covenant terms.MARA had previously signed an agreement on April 29 to acquire 100% of the parent company of Long Ridge. Since this transaction would trigger the "change of control" clause in the notes, it theoretically requires a cash buyback of all outstanding notes at 101% of the price. MARA is seeking the consent of noteholders to exclude this transaction from the definition of "change of control" and to designate MARA and its affiliates as "permitted holders."

According to market news, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings has initiated a holder consent solicitation process regarding Long Ridge Energy's $600 million senior secured notes to amend the relevant covenant terms.MARA had previously signed an agreement on April 29 to acquire 100% of the parent company of Long Ridge. Since this transaction would trigger the "change of control" clause in the notes, it theoretically requires a cash buyback of all outstanding notes at 101% of the price. MARA is seeking the consent of the noteholders to exclude this transaction from the definition of "change of control" and to list MARA and its affiliates as "permitted holders."

According to BBX data, this week the outflow channels of cryptocurrency infrastructure and the forward-looking financial reports of mining companies are advancing on two fronts, with the core dynamics as follows:Kraken (parent company Payward, Inc.) and the global payment network MoneyGram announced the establishment of a global strategic partnership through PR Newswire on May 5. Kraken users can withdraw cash exchanged for cryptocurrency in hundreds of fiat currencies at nearly 500,000 MoneyGram physical locations covering over 100 countries; initially focusing on cryptocurrency outflows, with plans to expand to local bank deposits and cross-border remittance flows; Kraken is responsible for customer identity verification, while MoneyGram provides licensed remittance services and compliance frameworks. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed in an interview with Fortune that the company's IPO progress is "close to 80%," having previously submitted its confidential S-1 filing to the SEC. Bloomberg estimates the current valuation at approximately $13.3 billion based on a $200 million equity investment from Deutsche Börse.MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: $MARA) officially announced on ir.mara.com on May 4 that its Q1 2026 financial report will be released after the market closes on May 11, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 PM (ET); analyst consensus expects an EPS of approximately -$2.34 and revenue of about $184.2 million. As of the end of 2025, the company holds 53,822 BTC, with full-year revenue for 2025 at $907 million (up 38% year-on-year) and a hash rate of 66.4 EH/s; during Q1 2026, the price of BTC fell from about $87,000 to around $68,000, putting pressure on the mining company's total costs. The market will focus on the progress of its AI/HPC data center transformation and the rollout pace of the Starwood JV, which exceeds 1 gigawatt capacity.The U.S. Department of Labor released the April non-farm employment data on May 8, showing an increase of 115,000 jobs, nearly double the market expectation; Bitcoin maintained a range of $79,000---$80,000 after the data was released, with the market interpreting this "soft landing" signal as favorable for risk assets—an unheated job market means an increased probability of the Federal Reserve maintaining current interest rates, keeping the mid-term liquidity environment for cryptocurrency stable. The monthly net inflow for Bitcoin spot ETFs in April was approximately $2.44 billion, the strongest single month data of the year; April's monthly close rose by 16%, and if May's closing price remains above $76,000, it will confirm three consecutive months of positive monthly closes for Bitcoin, which Fundstrat founder Tom Lee defines as a "bear market ending signal."

According to CoinDesk, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng stated at the Consensus conference that he hopes to restart Binance.US to allow American users to regain access to global crypto liquidity. He pointed out that cryptocurrency is one of the few markets in the U.S. where optimal prices are not available, and Binance has the best liquidity in that market.Zhao Changpeng mentioned that U.S. crypto policy has changed over the past year and a half, and the country is now in a leading position globally, with many developers and crypto companies that had previously left returning. Zhao Changpeng also stated that BNB Chain has insufficient exposure in the U.S., while other Layer 1 blockchains have done more market promotion and community building in the U.S., and the limited access for institutions to BNB actually provides opportunities for investors.He believes that AI agents need to transact through crypto payment rails, and that blockchain is more suitable for automating cross-border payments than credit cards or banking systems, with BNB Chain positioned as the payment infrastructure for AI agents.

Kara Calvert, Vice President of U.S. Policy at Coinbase, stated that the CLARITY Act could enter the review stage in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee as early as next week. Calvert said at the Consensus 2026 conference, "My prediction is that we will be reviewing it next week." She pointed out that the bill needs at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass and requires bipartisan support to officially become law.She stated, "This means you need Democrats. You need a bipartisan-supported bill, and we have been working very hard to ensure that bipartisan cooperation can be maintained. I think the biggest question is how the votes will shape up in the coming days." A survey released by HarrisX on Thursday showed strong, broad, and consistent demand for clear federal rules. More than 70% of voters said the U.S. should have already passed clear cryptocurrency legislation, and 62% said it is important for the U.S. to set global rules for digital finance. Calvert also mentioned that the lack of consistent tax policy is a major "barrier" to institutional adoption of cryptocurrency, adding that tax reform is a bigger issue for institutions than market structure legislation.

Gate officially launches a localized fiat recharge channel for certain countries in the CIS, further strengthening its service capabilities in the regional market. This initiative aims to meet the growing demand for cryptocurrency purchases locally, with the current daily trading volume in the region at approximately $650 million and an active user base reaching millions, significantly increasing the demand for convenient, secure, and compliant recharge methods.The localized recharge channel launched by Gate allows users to use local currency and directly purchase mainstream cryptocurrency assets through familiar payment methods, effectively lowering the barriers to cross-border transactions. In terms of functionality, the platform supports real-time bank transfers, bank cards, and other mainstream local payment channels, effectively avoiding the high fees and delays associated with traditional cross-border transfers, enabling users to complete fund entry at a lower cost.At the same time, this channel provides complete localized support, including interface, customer service, and documentation in the local language, and supports selected mainstream cryptocurrency asset trading, achieving an efficient connection from fiat recharge to asset allocation, further promoting the popularization and development of the regional cryptocurrency market.In the future, Gate will continue to integrate payment infrastructure, enhancing transaction efficiency while improving the stability and reliability of fund circulation, further optimizing the user experience.

Nathan McCauley, co-founder of Anchorage Digital, announced on the X platform the launch of Agentic Banking, aimed at providing compliant and governable funding access for AI systems, covering identity verification, policy control, and settlement capabilities across both crypto and traditional financial systems, allowing AI to directly participate in economic activities within a regulated framework. This system relies on its U.S. federal chartered crypto bank qualification, which can provide a compliant "execution layer" to ensure transactions have permission control, real-time risk control, and auditability.Nathan McCauley further pointed out that the financial system is entering an "autonomous era," where AI is transitioning from a decision-support tool to an entity capable of independently executing tasks, including executing workflows, participating in negotiations, and conducting operations on behalf of organizations. The current financial system is not yet prepared for "non-human participants," lacking an identity system for AI, policy execution mechanisms, and compliant funding access methods, forcing institutions to balance between automation and risk.Previously, Anchorage had partnered with Google Cloud, which will build an "intelligent layer" to support discovery, collaboration, and decision-making among AI agents, while Anchorage is responsible for funding execution and settlement, promoting the cloud integration of institutional-level digital asset infrastructure, consolidating capabilities such as custody, key management, transaction governance, and staking, helping financial institutions embed stablecoins and digital assets into their products.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that the next two weeks will be a critical window for advancing cryptocurrency legislation in the United States.He pointed out that if the Senate Banking Committee fails to complete the bill review in the near term, the probability of the bill passing will "significantly decrease," especially with the midterm elections approaching, as related issues may become further politicized. Currently, the U.S. is pushing for the first federal-level cryptocurrency regulatory framework, involving the regulatory division of responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC. Although the House version has passed, progress in the Senate has been relatively slow, but recent compromises around stablecoin yield issues may bring a turning point for advancement this month.

According to Jinshi reports, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated that if the economy falls into recession, interest rates will drop to 1%.

According to Arkham monitoring, the Binance SAFU fund address successfully bottomed out, holding 15,000 BTC currently valued at $1.21 billion, with an unrealized profit of about 20%, worth approximately $200 million.It is reported that the Binance SAFU fund has completed a $1 billion Bitcoin purchase plan, holding 15,000 BTC valued at $1.005 billion (calculated at the price when transferred to the SAFU fund).

According to Reuters, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed the review of the first batch of predictive market ETFs, resulting in the postponement of more than 24 products originally scheduled for launch. Insiders revealed that the SEC is requesting issuers to provide further clarification on product mechanisms and information disclosure details, and this delay is expected to be temporary.Issuers such as Roundhill Investments, Bitwise Asset Management, and GraniteShares submitted applications in February this year to launch ETF products linked to real-world events such as election results, economic recessions, tech layoffs, and oil prices.According to SEC rules, ETF applications typically become effective automatically 75 days after submission unless the regulatory agency intervenes. Currently, Roundhill has set May 5 as the effective date, and Bitwise and GraniteShares' products are also expected to launch around the same time. The market is closely watching whether the SEC will ultimately approve these products that open up the "event contract" asset class.Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated, "This is a rapidly maturing field, and regulation is maturing in parallel," noting that innovative products like Bitcoin ETFs have also gone through a lengthy review process but ultimately launched successfully.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve official Kashkari stated that before the outbreak of the war, he believed inflation might decline and that it was necessary to cut interest rates again this year. However, the changes in March were not sufficient to prompt a revision of the policy statement.

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.

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett posted on the X platform that U.S. Senator Thom Tillis plans to push the Clarity Act into the Senate Banking Committee's markup stage as soon as possible, stating that there has been "a significant consensus" on the legislative progress, and it should now enter the formal advancement process.Thom Tillis stated in Congress that he will request the committee chair to schedule a hearing after the congressional recess and expects to release the legislative text regarding stablecoin yield provisions 4 to 5 days before the hearing for the industry and stakeholders to review in advance. Most concerns from the banking sector regarding the risks associated with stablecoin yield have been addressed in discussions, and institutions with remaining opinions are encouraged to "participate in good faith to improve the legislation."Additionally, Thom Tillis mentioned that he generally supports the legislative framework proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis regarding issues such as the potential impact of applying 1960 criminal provisions to software developers and law enforcement. This statement indicates that U.S. crypto regulatory legislation is accelerating into a substantive advancement phase concerning the definition of stablecoins and developer responsibilities.

As market sentiment warms and liquidity returns, AI technology is accelerating its leap from a mere "analytical tool" to a core "trading hub," deeply reconstructing the underlying logic of the financial market's game.At 8 PM on April 28, a cutting-edge roundtable discussion focusing on "AI Trading" will be held in Space. At that time, several industry experts will engage in in-depth discussions from the perspectives of AI infrastructure evolution, trading structure reshaping, and financial paradigm shifts, jointly analyzing whether AI's deep integration into the trading process is becoming the true starting point driving a new cycle of evolution in Web3, guiding participants to accurately capture real Alpha opportunities with long-term value in a market landscape full of uncertainties.Users are encouraged to follow the official accounts @sunpumpmeme and @Agent_SunGenX, retweet the post, and @ three friends. The official account will randomly select 5 lucky users from the participants to receive a reward of 10 USDT each.

According to CoinDesk, the open interest (OI) of the Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund IBIT under BlackRock once surged to $27.61 billion, surpassing the $26.9 billion scale of the Bitcoin options market on the crypto derivatives platform Deribit for the first time. Analysts believe this milestone indicates that the institutionalization process of the Bitcoin market in the United States is accelerating.Additionally, according to Volmex data, the open interest volume of IBIT call options suggests that its call options primarily expect the Bitcoin trading price to rise to $109,709, which is about 41% higher than the current market price of $77,400. Furthermore, the average expiration date of IBIT options is also about two months longer than that of Deribit, indicating stronger bullish sentiment and a preference for longer-term holdings.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has signed agreements with European Card Payment Cooperation, Nexo Standards, and Berlin Group to reuse existing open payment standards for digital euro transactions, aiming to reduce the system access costs for banks, merchants, and payment service providers.The relevant standards cover contactless payments, connections between merchants and payment service providers, as well as alias payments based on mobile phone numbers. The European Central Bank stated that this move helps to reduce market adoption costs and promotes a unified digital euro user experience in the euro area. Previously, the European Central Bank analyzed that the digital euro could bring about 4 billion to 6 billion euros in costs to EU banks within 4 years.

Microsoft had evaluated the possibility of acquiring the AI programming tool company Cursor, but ultimately did not proceed with the deal. Subsequently, SpaceX quickly reached an agreement to obtain an option to acquire Cursor at a valuation of $60 billion, with a $10 billion penalty for cancellation if the acquisition is not completed.Cursor is currently an important player in the AI programming sector, benefiting from the strong demand for automated programming tools from developers. Competition in this field has become increasingly fierce, with OpenAI and Anthropic being major players. On the other hand, Microsoft is facing multiple pressures, with its stock price down 10% this year, underperforming its peers in the hyperscale data center sector.