Key Takeaways Bitcoin hit a 3-month peak of $80,617 on May 4, possibly signaling the end of the latest crypto winter. Volatility caused $554 million in liquidations as Brent crude hit $115 amid Strait of Hormuz tensions. Economists warn of a global recession unless the Trump administration and Iran reach a peace agreement. Ending the
Key Takeaways: DTCC plans July live trades before an October rollout for tokenized securities markets. Participation includes over 50 firms across banking, custody, trading, and digital asset sectors. DTC supports the effort with over $114 trillion in assets held across its custody system. DTCC Tokenization Service Moves Toward Live Production The Depository Trust & Clearing
Key Takeaways: Binance introduced Withdraw Protection to block on-chain withdrawals during user-selected lockdown windows. Coercion risks can bypass passwords, 2FA, and other standard digital safeguards. Users can choose one- to seven-day locks, with optional early unlock requiring a security key and authenticator app. Binance Withdraw Protection Targets Forced Crypto Transfers Crypto exchange Binance has expanded
Key Takeaways: CENTCOM denied reports of 2 IRGC missiles striking a U.S. ship during Trump’s Project Freedom. Fearing disruptions to 20% of global crude, WTI futures spiked to $107.28 before cooling. Following the April 7 truce, Iran’s Aliabadi warned that entering U.S. forces will be attacked. Oil Shoots Up As Reports Of Strikes In Strait
Key Takeaways: ZachXBT warned on May 4, 2026, that Polyarb hosts an active wallet drainer targeting crypto users. Prominent accounts replying to Polyarb posts amplify the scam to new audiences without realizing it. The alert follows ZachXBT’s recent exposure of a U.S. law firm seeking $71 million in Lazarus-linked frozen funds. What Polyarb Is Doing
Global cryptocurrency exchange OKX has announced a collaboration with asset management giant BlackRock and multinational bank Standard Chartered to introduce a new utility framework for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Announced on April 28, 2026, the initiative allows qualified institutional investors to deploy BlackRock’s BUIDL, a tokenized U.S. Treasury fund issued on public blockchains, as trading
Key Takeaways: Zcash (ZEC) surged past $400 on May 3, marking its first climb to that level since early 2026. Over $10.5 million in ZEC short positions were liquidated as the coin reached a $7 billion market cap. Barry Silbert and Raoul Pal suggest Zcash may capture 10% of bitcoin capital as privacy demand grows.
Frustrated by the confusing and scattered process of finding educational funding, a team of Filipino college students took matters into their own hands. They built iSkolar, a centralized scholarship platform powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence, which recently earned a Top 10 spot and a ₱100,000 cash prize at the Project RISE startup competition. The
Key Takeaways: $150 million in crypto shorts were liquidated in 60 minutes as bitcoin crossed $80,039. Binance futures showed a 62.8% short ratio before the breakout, one of the most lopsided setups in months. Sustained ETF inflows and institutional absorption make a pullback below $80K structurally harder to sustain. A Market Built for Pain The
Key Takeaways: On May 2, China’s MOFCOM invoked the Blocking Statute against U.S. OFAC sanctions on 5 local oil refiners. SMU’s Henry Gao notes this 1st use of the statute since 2021 forces global companies to pick between markets. Next, Chinese firms can sue for losses from these sanctions, as Beijing might prepare countermeasures. China’s