Key Takeaways: Bitcoin difficulty fell 2.3% on May 1, marking 6 cuts in 2026 as hashrate dipped below 1 ZH/s. Over the last seven days, Foundry USA mined 31.51% of 987 blocks, and with Antpool and ViaBTC combined, it pushes the three pools’ share to 58.35%. Hashprice rose to $37.52/PH/s as block times hit 10:28,
Key Takeaways: On April 30, Brazil’s Central Bank banned crypto in cross-border payments, impacting institutions by Oct 1. Bitso’s 2025 report reveals stablecoins drove 40% of Latam crypto buys, shifting the market toward stability. In 2026, Meta and Stripe launched USDC payouts in Colombia, targeting frictionless future creator payments. Brazil Bans Crypto in Cross-Border Payments
This week’s crypto stories spanned enforcement, mining, regulation, adoption, and institutional flows. Chainalysis traced Iran-linked stablecoin routing behind a major USDT freeze, while Riot continued its steady BTC sales to NYDIG. France dropped a proposed self-custody reporting rule, Binance argued crypto’s next wave of users will come through payments and utility, and Canada’s AIMCo disclosed
Key Takeaways: The Hangzhou Court ruled that replacing Zhou with an AI model didn’t justify his forced termination. This decision sets a vital precedent in China, the 2nd top AI nation, in dealing with AI-driven layoffs. Xinhua’s Wang Tianyu noted future laws must prioritize 1 goal: managing AI substitution properly. Chinese Worker Wins Case Against
This Week in Crypto Law The opinion editorial below was written by Alex Forehand and Michael Handelsman for Kelman.Law. The final week of April highlighted a pivotal shift in crypto law: the migration of core crypto products and infrastructure into regulated frameworks—paired with expanding enforcement into previously overlooked corners of the market. From anticipated U.S.
Key Takeaways: Academy Board bans AI for the 99th Oscars, requiring human-only billing for acting and writing by March 2027. Tyler Perry halted an $800M studio expansion in 2024 to protest AI threats to editors and sound specialists. Starting in 2026, Cannes and Venice winners bypass committees, allowing 1 country multiple nominations. The Industry’s Response
Modernizing Global Settlement Bakkt Inc. has finalized its acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research (DTR), a developer of agentic payments and stablecoin infrastructure, about three months after formally agreeing to the purchase. The move follows a transformative third quarter in which the company reported $402.2 million in GAAP revenue—a 27% year-over-year increase—and completed a major structural
Key Takeaways: Stablecoins face disruption as OCC rules may expand yield limits to third-party partners. Consensys argues proposal misclassifies DeFi activity and independent distribution arrangements. Regulatory outcomes could determine whether stablecoin markets expand broadly or consolidate. OCC Stablecoin Rules Raise Distribution Concerns On May 1, 2026, Consensys Software Inc. sent a comment letter to the
Key Takeaways: MEGA token launched on Binance, Coinbase, and a dozen other exchanges on April 30, dropping -38% from its $0.225 ATH within 72 hours. MegaETH TVL climbed toward $600M despite MEGA trading near $0.138, signaling onchain strength decoupled from price. Bulls need MEGA to reclaim $0.156 on the 4H chart; a breakdown below $0.134
Key Takeaways: WLFI sold 5.9 billion tokens privately without disclosing buyers, sending the token to an all-time low. Early investors who bought WLFI at $0.05 remain locked out of 80% of their holdings as of May 2026. WLFI is pushing a 62 billion token unlock vote, raising concerns it benefits insiders over early backers. Private