Author: James Wilson
Strive, Inc. has pushed its Bitcoin treasury past 15,000 BTC after its latest purchase added to a months-long accumulation run. Summary Strive has crossed 15,000 BTC after buying 444 bitcoin for $33.9 million, according to its SEC filing. Company disclosures show the treasury has grown by over 2,200 BTC since its Semler Scientific acquisition in January 2026. Investor filings indicate Strive raised $225 million through its SATA preferred stock, with demand exceeding $600 million. According to an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Dallas-based firm bought 444 BTC for $33.9 million at an average price of…
U.S. banking groups have pushed back against the latest CLARITY Act language on stablecoin rewards, arguing it does not sufficiently prevent risks to bank deposits. Summary U.S. banking groups have said the CLARITY Act’s updated language still allows stablecoin rewards that could pull deposits from traditional banks. Trade associations warned that incentives tied to balances or holding periods may replicate deposit-like returns despite the proposed ban on yield. Lawmakers including Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks have defended the compromise as a path forward, even as disagreements with banks continue. According to a joint statement from the American Bankers Association,…
Prediction markets are moving closer to institutional finance as large investors seek direct ways to trade event risk, according to a May 4 Bernstein report. Summary Bernstein says Kalshi’s first bespoke block trade could attract institutions seeking direct event-risk exposure. Greenlight brokered the Kalshi trade, with Jump Trading providing liquidity for a carbon allowance contract. Retail still drives prediction markets, with Polymarket and Bitget reporting $25.7B in March volume. The firm said these markets can help investors track outcomes tied to tariffs, elections, policy decisions and geopolitics through clear yes-or-no contracts. Bernstein pointed to Kalshi’s first bespoke institutional block trade…
Paradigm Bitcoin general partner Dan Robinson published a proposal on May 1 for Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs, a system that lets dormant Bitcoin holders privately timestamp proof of key ownership before quantum computers arrive, creating a potential rescue path for Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million BTC. Summary PACTs use three steps: a secret salt, a BIP-322 ownership proof, and an OpenTimestamps commitment anchored on-chain, all without any public on-chain transaction. If Bitcoin later implements a quantum sunset soft fork, PACT holders can submit a STARK zero-knowledge proof to reclaim coins while keeping their keys hidden. Robinson wrote that Satoshi…
US voters ranked crypto last among election priorities in an April poll of 1,000 registered Americans. Summary Just 1% of registered US voters named crypto their top concern; only 3% called it the single most important 2026 midterm issue. Majorities of independents, Democrat-leaning voters, and base Democrats all held unfavorable views of cryptocurrency in the poll. Despite low priority rankings, 22% said crypto is an important issue and 40% would vote for a candidate aligned on digital assets. Public Opinion Strategies conducted the poll in late April on behalf of CoinDesk, surveying 1,000 randomly selected registered US voters with a…
Chainlink price rose 3% on May 4, its biggest single-day gain in two weeks, as Consensus 2026 opened. Summary LINK climbed alongside Bitcoin’s return above $80,000, with the broader risk-on session lifting infrastructure tokens across the board on May 4. Chainlink’s CCIP cross-chain protocol averaged $90 million in weekly token transfers in recent months, providing a fundamental backdrop for the price move. LINK had been trading in a tight range between $8.70 and $9.58 for most of April, making May 4’s move its most decisive session in two weeks. LINK rose alongside Bitcoin’s $80,000 reclaim and the Consensus 2026 conference…
ZeroStack CEO Daniel Reis-Faria says the CLARITY Act stablecoin deal reduces investor uncertainty but has not resolved institutional hesitation yet. Summary Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks reached a CLARITY Act yield compromise on May 1, banning passive stablecoin yield and preserving activity-based rewards. Polymarket odds of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 jumped from 46% to 64% hours after the stablecoin deal landed. Reis-Faria says larger investors will still hold back until implementation rules are fully in place, not just agreed in principle. The stablecoin deal was finalised on May 1 by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, drawing a clear…
Pi Network co-founder Dr. Chengdiao Fan is set to speak at Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 6, delivering a session titled “Aligning Web3, AI, and Blockchain for Utility” at the Convergence Stage, six days before Protocol 23 brings full smart contracts to the Pi blockchain on May 11. Summary Fan’s session argues that verified human identity is the competitive advantage that AI cannot replicate, directly connecting Pi’s 18 million verified users to the AI era’s core governance problem. Pi Network has completed over 526 million human KYC validation tasks and runs 421,000 active Mainnet nodes entering Consensus week. Protocol…
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only. Crypto payments gain mainstream traction as trust and infrastructure become central to industry growth. Summary Crypto payments are mainstream, with trust and security now critical as infrastructure maturity defines industry credibility. The CoinsPaid incident shows strong security lies in response, protecting funds, restoring services, and transparent communication. Upgrades like CCSS Level 3 for CryptoProcessing by CoinPaid highlight ongoing security improvements shaping trust in crypto payments. Crypto payments are joining credit cards and bank payments as mainstream payment methods. In…
Summary Kraken’s parent company, Payward, has filed a second amended complaint in Colorado federal court accusing former custody partner Etana Custody and its CEO of misappropriating more than $25 million in client funds. The suit alleges Etana ran a “Ponzi scheme” by commingling custodial assets with its own, funding expenses and risky bets, and papering over a growing hole with falsified account statements. Colorado regulators have already hit Etana with a cease-and-desist order; the firm entered liquidation in November 2025 and is now controlled by a court‑appointed receiver. In a second amended complaint submitted to the U.S. District Court for…