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forklog.media Arthur Hayes Foresees Hyperliquid’s Dominance in Prediction Markets with HYPE

The primary competitive edge of the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid in the prediction market sector will be its HYPE token. This view was shared by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes in an interview with CoinDesk.  According to him, users will not only trade bets on event outcomes but also directly participate in the platform's economy through the native coin. This structurally distinguishes Hyperliquid from Kalshi and Polymarket. “HIP-4 will take the lead due to the platform's user base, low fees, and solid technical foundation. Holders of the native token will directly benefit from its activity,” the expert explained. On Kalshi, a trader does not gain a share in the platform's economy — they simply buy and sell contracts. The platform is regulated by the CFTC and remains without a tokenized incentive layer.  Polymarket is preparing to launch its own token. In the Gate pre-market, perpetual contracts for POLY trade around $14 — this corresponds to an FDV of approximately $14 billion. For comparison, HYPE's current figure exceeds $38 billion.  Source: CoinGecko.  Hyperliquid enters the market with a ready mechanism for redistributing value within its ecosystem, Hayes emphasized.  Geography Hayes also cited regulatory asymmetry as an additional factor. Kalshi operates in the US under the supervision of the CFTC — for it, compliance is more important than tokenomics. Polymarket, after registering in the US, is tightening its legal framework and facing restrictions in Asia: the service is blocked or partially restricted in Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan. Hyperliquid faces no such barriers. Its audience is initially skewed towards Asian traders — where retail and semi-institutional event betting has long been a significant part of the market. Active Testing  In March, the leading perp-DEX deployed the HIP-4 protocol with prediction markets in the testnet. Betting on event outcomes will become an additional layer within the already existing Hyperliquid ecosystem. Users will be able to open positions on event outcomes just as they currently trade perpetual contracts. For now, during testing, clients have access to binary options on HyperCore's base prices.  The new feature will be based on so-called outcome tokens. In April, the platform introduced a fee structure for these assets: opening a position will be free, with fees charged only upon closing or settling a trade. Back in April, a group of scholars from the London Business School and Yale University analyzed transactions on Polymarket from 2023 to 2025. The authors concluded that the platform's prediction accuracy is ensured by an “informed minority,” rather than the “wisdom of the crowd.”

forklog.media Samsung’s Chip Profits Surge 48-Fold Amid AI Boom

Samsung's semiconductor division reported record profits in the first quarter, surpassing expert expectations, according to Bloomberg. The 48-fold increase was driven by high margins on equipment for AI infrastructure and data centers. The operating profit of the company, a competitor to SK Hynix and Micron Technology, reached 53.7 trillion won ($36 billion), while analysts had anticipated 35.3 trillion won. The results reflect significant spending by hyperscalers to support AI operations. Meta and Alphabet have planned to increase capital expenditures. Some investors believe that high-bandwidth memory has moved beyond traditional boom-and-bust cycles and can demonstrate stable growth. “The pertinent question is duration: how long will the pricing power of HBM4 last, and will infrastructure spending remain sustainable?” noted Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Investments. Samsung plans to “significantly” increase capital investments this year and is preparing for the release of HBM4e, the next-generation memory chips for AI. “The company has limited stockpiles that do not meet client demand,” stated one of the firm's executives. Expected profits of Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC. Source: Bloomberg. The performance of Nvidia accelerators is limited by the speed and volume of memory that supplies data. As a result, DRAM becomes a key factor in the quality of AI services. Cloud service providers are paying for increasingly expensive memory, which is reflected in Samsung's shares: they have risen by 88% this year following a doubling last year. Memory Prices Set to Rise Further Analysts believe Samsung's chip division will set new profit records in the coming quarters as contract prices continue to rise amid limited supply. They cite a more than 180% increase in semiconductor exports from Korea in the first 20 days of April as evidence. Tom Kang, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, forecasts a 60% rise in DRAM prices this quarter compared to the previous one. From February to March, they have already increased by 42%. Earlier, Samsung considered transitioning to multi-year contracts for memory chip supply.

forklog.media Layer 2 Project MegaETH Launches MEGA Token

On April 30, the Layer 2 network MegaETH launched the MEGA token. The asset began trading on leading exchanges at approximately $0.2. MEGA Now Trading. pic.twitter.com/OVx62C0Fjs— MegaETH (@megaeth) April 30, 2026 The coin's release followed the achievement of the first planned on-chain activity milestone. On April 23, the team announced that 10 applications from the Mega Mafia ecosystem had launched and surpassed the target threshold. Emerging market asset issuer @brix_money represents the next frontier of RWAs onchain.Their first product, wiTRY, is a yield-bearing instrument for the Turkish lira. It's the first of many assets the vast majority of the world struggles to access.10/10 Mafia apps live. pic.twitter.com/dl7YJKmcDu— MegaETH (@megaeth) April 23, 2026 The issuance of MEGA will total 10 billion tokens. A key feature is that a large portion of the supply is tied not to timeframes but to the achievement of specific metrics. Such conditional staking rewards account for 53.3% of the tokens. MEGA trading commenced on several major platforms, including Binance, KuCoin, and Bitget. At the time of writing, the asset's price stands at $0.1, according to TradingView. Following the listing, quotes fell by 21%. Only participants of the Sonar Sale received the full amount of coins, while others in the rewards program received only a portion. MegaETH is positioned as a high-performance scaling solution for Ethereum, focused on real-time on-chain applications and consumer scenarios. The project aims for a throughput of 100,000 TPS and nearly instant finalization of operations. Current average daily figures are around 30 TPS. Source: MegaETH. MegaETH also has its own US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDm, supported by all applications in the ecosystem. As of last week, approximately 62.9 million coins were in circulation, about 13% of the rollup's stated goal of reaching 500 million in issuance. The MegaETH Foundation intends to direct all revenues from the use of USDm towards the buyback and accumulation of MEGA. Back in February, the L2 network team launched the public mainnet. Prior to this, the platform was in the testing phase for several months. In October 2025, MegaETH conducted an ICO, raising $1.39 billion from the token sale.

blockonomi.com Crypto News: Bitcoin Price Holds $76,602 as Western Union Picks Solana for USDPT Launch and Pepeto Targets 150x

The top crypto news today just dropped from Western Union, which confirmed during its Q1 earnings call that its USDPT stablecoin will launch in May on the Solana blockchain through Anchorage Digital Bank, according to Cryptopolitan. A 175 year old money transfer giant connecting 360,000 cash pickup locations across 200 countries is plugging directly into [...] The post Crypto News: Bitcoin Price Holds $76,602 as Western Union Picks Solana for USDPT Launch and Pepeto Targets 150x appeared first on Blockonomi.

news.bitcoin.com Traders Push MEGA to $200M Market Cap as MegaETH Lists on 13 Exchanges at Once

MegaETH launched its native governance token MEGA on Thursday, opening trading simultaneously on more than a dozen centralized exchanges and its own layer two decentralized exchange ( DEX) at 10:00 UTC. Key Takeaways: MegaETH’s MEGA token began trading on April 30, 2026, on Binance, Coinbase, and 11 other major exchanges at 11:00 UTC. MEGA opened […]

blockonomi.com Chimera Wallet Review 2026: Non-Custodial, PWA-Based — Is It Worth It?

Quick Summary Chimera is the first Bitcoin super-app to integrate Arkade as its primary payment layer rather than as an add-on, launching as a Progressive Web App (PWA) on 20 April 2026. Chimera is built natively on Arkade Protocol, integrating Arkade as its primary payment layer rather than as an add-on. A Visa-compatible spending card is [...] The post Chimera Wallet Review 2026: Non-Custodial, PWA-Based — Is It Worth It? appeared first on Blockonomi.

forklog.media Hacker Extracts Over $5 Million from Wasabi Protocol

On April 30th, the Wasabi project was hacked. According to PeckShield experts, the damage exceeded $5 million.  #PeckShieldAlert @wasabi_protocol has been exploited for $5M+ across multiple chains, including Ethereum, Base, Berachain, & Blast. pic.twitter.com/zkWjEkZMMp— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) April 30, 2026 Experts from CertiK estimated the losses at $5.5 million. The attack affected funds across several networks: Ethereum, Base, Berachain, and Blast.  UPDATE:Total losses amount to ~$5.5M across the ETH, BASE, BLAST, and BERA chains:https://t.co/c37s3gNtwBhttps://t.co/Sj9gtovG5Khttps://t.co/E5W6LLDuenhttps://t.co/fUZrwM5NmK— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) April 30, 2026 According to Blockaid, the attacker gained access to an administrative key and through a special Wasabi wallet, appointed their version of the contract as the manager. Using UUPS upgrade, they altered the internal logic of the platform's storage and extracted the assets.  The founder of SlowMist, under the pseudonym Cos, highlighted the protocol's weak security mechanisms. According to him, storage management was conducted by a single EOA without multisig, time lock, or DAO. This allowed the hacker to compromise the private key easily, raising questions within the community. Why did a single EOA seemingly have so much control without basic safeguards?Seems your runway was burned on KOL grifters like Kook…. https://t.co/sRNtM8Ai8K pic.twitter.com/rXzCSZpCD0— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 30, 2026 BlockSec added that administrative roles were assigned to wallets funded through the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.  According to Cyvers, the cybercriminal stole WETH, PEPE, MOG, USDC, ZYN, REKT, cbBTC, AERO, VIRTUAL and has already converted the assets into ETH, distributing them across multiple addresses.  🚨ALERT🚨Our system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving @wasabi_protocol An address funded via @TornadoCash deployed a malicious contract on both #Base and #Ethereum, extracting approximately $4.5M across multiple assets, including $WETH, $PEPE, $MOG, $USDC,… pic.twitter.com/UHTRNvqZ15— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) April 30, 2026 The Wasabi team confirmed the hack and advised users not to interact with the protocol's contracts until further notice.  “We will provide updated information as soon as new data becomes available,” the developers noted.  Earlier, on April 28th, the Ethereum infrastructure project Syndicate was also hacked. Cybersecurity experts estimated the losses at $330,000.  At the same time, attackers breached the Aftermath Finance exchange in the Sui ecosystem, extracting about $900,000 in USDC. The day before, the L1 network ZetaChain was affected. Developers stated that the incident only impacted the team's internal wallets, with damages amounting to $333,868. 

forklog.media Tether Proposes Bitcoin Conglomerate with XXI, Strike, and Elektron

Tether's investment division has proposed merging three companies to create a leading public entity in the bitcoin industry. Tether Investments Proposes Merger Plans at Twenty-One Capital to Accelerate its Strategic DirectionRead more: https://t.co/aed2IjaWwj— Tether (@tether) April 29, 2026 The merger involves Twenty-One Capital (XXI), financial services provider Strike, and mining platform Elektron Energy. The combined entity will hold bitcoin treasury reserves, engage in cryptocurrency mining, and offer lending services. Strike will provide the financial services platform, global distribution, and regulatory infrastructure. Elektron will contribute bitcoin mining infrastructure and operational expertise. The platform manages a capacity of about 50 EH/s, representing approximately 5% of the hashrate of the network, and has mined over 5500 BTC. Tether Investments recommended appointing Elektron head Raphael Zagury as president of the merged company. He will oversee capital markets and operations, while Strike founder Jack Mallers will focus on product and brand development. The initiators believe the merger will transform XXI from a mere bitcoin holder into a platform with operational business, regular income sources, and cryptocurrency accumulation opportunities. Details of the deal will be disclosed as negotiations progress. At the time of writing, XXI ranks second among public companies in terms of bitcoin reserves, holding 43,514 BTC valued at approximately $3.3 billion. Source: BitcoinTreasuries. The company trails only Strategy (818,334 BTC) but surpasses Japan's Metaplanet (40,177 BTC) and miner MARA Holdings (38,689 BTC). Institutional interest in such assets is also confirmed by actions of government entities. Canadian sovereign fund AIMCo, with assets of $142 billion, disclosed the purchase of 1.38 million shares of Strategy worth $219 million. This marks the first direct allocation in bitcoin-related instruments for one of Canada's largest investment managers. JUST IN: $142 Billion Canadian government-owned Alberta Investment Management Corp just disclosed they bought 1.38 million shares worth $219 million of #Bitcoin treasury company Strategy $MSTR for the first time.One of Canada's largest institutional manager just made first BTC… pic.twitter.com/oAwDleKbW5— BitcoinTreasuries.NET (@BTCtreasuries) April 30, 2026 Earlier in April, Tether, in partnership with Canaan and ACME Swisstech, introduced modular infrastructure for mining.

cryptobriefing.com Louisa Nicola: Alzheimer’s prevalence projected to triple by 2050, the critical role of deep sleep in brain health, and how digital content consumption impacts cognitive decline | Shawn Ryan Show

Alzheimer's cases are set to triple by 2050, underscoring the urgent need for brain health innovations. The post Louisa Nicola: Alzheimer’s prevalence projected to triple by 2050, the critical role of deep sleep in brain health, and how digital content consumption impacts cognitive decline | Shawn Ryan Show appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

blockmanity.com Could Ethereum Skyrocket 2,500% to $62,000? Wall Street Strategist’s Bold Crypto Prediction Analyzed

What’s Behind the Hype: A Jump for ? Imagine turning every $1,000 you invest in crypto into $26,000. That’s the kind of talk grabbing headlines right now. A top Wall Street strategist named Tom Lee has predicted that (ETH) could […] The post Could Ethereum Skyrocket 2,500% to $62,000? Wall Street Strategist’s Bold Crypto Prediction Analyzed appeared first on Blockmanity.

news.bitcoin.com Shinhan Card Partners Solana Foundation to Pilot Stablecoin Payments

Shinhan Card has partnered with the Solana Foundation to explore stablecoin payments and hybrid finance models. The initiative reflects growing interest among traditional financial firms in blockchain-based infrastructure. Key Takeaways: Shinhan Card and Solana Foundation to launch a stablecoin pilot via testnet. Solana-backed tests signal TradFi shift, as Shinhan explores hybrid finance models. Shinhan Card […]

news.bitcoin.com ViaBTC CEO Defines Blockchain’s Role as Crypto Market Matures

This sponsored press release was provided by ViaBTC and was not written by Bitcoin.com News. Bitcoin.com News does not necessarily endorse the statements made within this announcement. PRESS RELEASE. As the crypto market matures, ViaBTC, a global cryptocurrency mining pool, is bringing sharper focus to blockchain’s role in modern finance. With institutional adoption increasing and […]

themerkle.com Market Concerns And Governance Debate Ramp Up As World Liberty Financial Token Unlock Nears Approval

  One of the biggest token unlock proposals to get approval in recent memory looks set to succeed at World Liberty Financial. As part of the roadmap, 62m $WLFI tokens will be unlocked which currently has 99.5% voter approval. A phased release schedule on which tokens are appropriately put into circulation gradually is what the proposal outlines. This is mainly to ensure that the project does not employ long-term sustainability at the expense of short-term liquidity needs and also alleviate concerns pertaining to insider allocations. Voters have the option for seven days to weigh in on what might be a The post Market Concerns And Governance Debate Ramp Up As World Liberty Financial Token Unlock Nears Approval appeared first on The Merkle News.

forklog.media Russian Government Approves Tax Amendments for Cryptocurrencies and Digital Financial Assets

The bill on the taxation of digital financial assets (DFA) and cryptocurrencies will be submitted to the State Duma in early May. This was announced by the Director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, Alexey Yakovlev, at the "Alpha Summit," reports RBC. The discussion concerns amendments to the Tax Code. On April 27th, they were approved by the governmental commission on legislative activities. The amendments accompany the main bill — "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights." What Will Change The amendments affect four areas: VAT, personal income tax for individuals, a special tax regime for exchange-traded digital financial assets, and corporate profit tax. Income from cryptocurrency transactions for individuals will be subject to personal income tax similarly to securities. Income and expenses from transactions with digital currency and digital rights will be allowed to offset within the tax period. Brokers and trust managers making payments on such transactions will act as tax agents. For debt DFAs in the exchange market, loss carryforwards to future periods will be provided. For companies, income and expenses from crypto operations (excluding mining) will be included in the overall tax base for profit tax. Periodic payments on debt digital financial assets will be equated to interest income on loans. VAT will not be charged on services of digital depositories and exchanges, as well as on the sale of non-documentary foreign virtual rights certifying exclusively monetary claims. For ruble-denominated debt DFAs of Russian issuers, a separate tax base and preferential rate will be introduced. In the case of over-the-counter buybacks of such assets, firms will be able to account for income and expenses if the transaction price is close to the exchange price. Earlier in April, the Bank of Russia suggested criminal liability for unlicensed crypto exchanges. ForkLog spoke with experts about who might be affected by these measures if adopted.

blockonomi.com Ether.fi Hardens weETH Bridge Security Across 20 Chains After $292M rsETH Exploit

TLDR: A forged cross-chain message released $292M in unbacked rsETH due to a single-DVN bridge misconfiguration. Ether.fi pinned message libraries and raised DVN verification to a unanimous 4/4 threshold on all chains. weETH bridging will be deprecated on Scroll, Swell, Bera, zkSync, Mode, Blast, Morph, and Sonic by June. Ether.fi joins DeFi United and contributes [...] The post Ether.fi Hardens weETH Bridge Security Across 20 Chains After $292M rsETH Exploit appeared first on Blockonomi.

forklog.media Analysts Assess Bitcoin’s Potential for Further Decline

Analysts are divided on the current state of the leading cryptocurrency, though they have noted signs of a local bottom being reached. An expert known as Zizcrypto pointed out that the current price drop from the all-time high is 39%. Source: Zizcrypto/CryptoQuant. In previous cycles, the decline was deeper: 86% in 2015, 83% in 2018, and 76% in 2022. According to him, losses in bear phases are gradually decreasing as the market matures, yet current conditions still differ from previous cyclical lows. The founder of MN Trading, Michaël van de Poppe, believes that the leading cryptocurrency has reached a capitulation point. #Bitcoin is at its capitulation point.Eleven indicators are signaling that we're at the best opportunity to buy the asset in the last five years.The last time all these signals flashed was Q4 2022.That also resonates with the current market sentiment, where nobody is… pic.twitter.com/I4cqHygdMi— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 29, 2026 He highlighted several key factors: eleven indicators are signaling the best buying opportunity in five years; negative funding rates indicate the dominance of short positions; the basis of three-month futures has fallen to its lowest since the end of 2022. Van de Poppe noted that there are almost no leveraged longs left in the market, and everyone who wanted to sell the asset has already done so. An indirect confirmation is the inflow into spot Bitcoin ETFs amounting to $1.5 billion since mid-April. According to the expert, the market has become "spot-driven," and forced sales have ceased. Fidelity's Director of Macro Research, Jurrien Timmer, added that Bitcoin is showing resilience as it attempts to break through the upper boundary of a "bear flag" pattern. Bitcoin also continues to show resilience as it tests the upper bounds of a potential bear flag. Technical Analysis 101 states that when bear market rallies get overbought (per the stochastics below), it’s usually the kiss of death and time to sell. However, during bull markets… pic.twitter.com/Xn2Xbl5hKD— Jurrien Timmer (@TimmerFidelity) April 29, 2026 He explained that in a bullish trend, overbought conditions signal market strength rather than an imminent collapse. If the price holds at current levels despite resistance, it will confirm the start of a new growth phase. On April 29, Bitcoin and many other crypto assets declined following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to maintain the interest rate at its current level.

blockonomi.com Shinhan Card Partners with Solana Foundation to Pioneer Stablecoin Payments in South Korea

TLDR: Shinhan Card is running a proof-of-concept on Solana’s testnet to test real-world stablecoin payment systems. Non-custodial wallet security and stability are central to Shinhan Card’s blockchain deployment strategy this year. Oracle technology will connect real-world transaction data to Solana’s blockchain for smart contract deployment. South Korea’s pending Digital Asset Basic Act is driving financial [...] The post Shinhan Card Partners with Solana Foundation to Pioneer Stablecoin Payments in South Korea appeared first on Blockonomi.

news.bitcoin.com Wasabi Protocol Loses $5M After Attacker Seizes Deployer Admin Key Across 3 Chains

An attacker seized control of Wasabi Protocol’s deployer admin key on Thursday, draining an estimated $4.5 million to $5.5 million from perp vaults and liquidity pools across three blockchains. Key Takeaways: An attacker drained $4.5M to $5.5M from Wasabi Protocol by compromising the deployer EOA admin key on April 30, 2026. Virtuals Protocol froze margin […]

forklog.media Alphabet’s Q1 Revenue Hits $94.7 Billion Amid AI Surge

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has reported a strong demand for its cloud services and artificial intelligence solutions, according to Bloomberg. Robust Report The corporation's revenue for the first quarter reached $94.7 billion, surpassing analysts' forecast of $91.6 billion. Earnings per share were $5.11, while Wall Street had expected $2.62. Alphabet's shares rose by more than 6%. Alphabet's stock pricing dynamics. Source: Yahoo Finance. The results have dispelled investors' concerns about the future of Google's core business—search monetization. Instead of a decline, the company is actively transforming this area with AI. The cloud segment continues to grow rapidly due to demand for AI software and infrastructure. The Gemini application and corporate tools are gaining popularity, and the number of search queries reached a record high following the integration of neural networks. "AI has improved search, not killed it," wrote Zacks Investment Research strategist Andrew Rocco. In 2026, Alphabet plans to allocate up to $190 billion for capital investments, with even higher spending anticipated in 2027. "These strong results reinforce our conviction in the need to invest in the capital required to further leverage AI opportunities," stated CFO Anato Ashkenazi. Google CEO Sundar Pichai noted that the company managed to reduce user query processing costs using LLM. Cloud Figures Google's cloud division reported revenue of $20 billion, exceeding analysts' forecast of $18.4 billion. It showed "significant growth acceleration" due to demand for AI software and infrastructure. The order portfolio nearly doubled compared to the previous quarter, exceeding $460 billion. "We faced computational capacity constraints. Cloud service revenue could have been higher if we had met the demand. We are working on solving this issue and investing," said Pichai. Google will offer tensor processing units (TPUs) to some clients for use in their own data centers. Demand for AI software remains high. The number of active Gemini Enterprise users with paid subscriptions grew by 40% over the quarter. The Gemini chatbot had 750 million users as of the end of 2025. New Releases In addition to the financial report, Google introduced several new AI products. Google Photos The service now features an AI function for creating a digital wardrobe, allowing users to devise new outfit combinations and virtually try them on. The tool uses artificial intelligence to automatically create a wardrobe copy based on clothing available in the Google Photos library. The app includes a category filter. Users can share outfit ideas with friends or save them in a digital album, enabling them to assemble outfits for various occasions—travel, events, dates, work, etc. The update will be released in the summer: first on Android, later on iOS. Google TV The platform received a package of AI features based on Gemini and a short video feed. The update centers on enhanced Gemini capabilities. The "Create" button provides access to experiments with Nano Banana and Veo. The first model allows photo transformation via voice commands. Veo creates videos or animates still images. Developers position these tools as a new format for shared leisure in the living room. The "Photos" app for TVs has also been updated. Gemini's smart search helps quickly find desired shots (e.g., from a specific holiday). The "Remix" feature stylizes images, while "Dynamic Slideshows" add animation, frames, and color effects. Additionally, the Google TV home screen will feature a "Short Videos for You" section with content from YouTube Shorts. Document Export in Gemini The Gemini AI assistant now can generate and download ready-made files for Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Excel. Supported formats include: .pdf, .docx, .xlsx, .csv, LaTeX, Plain Text (.txt), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Markdown (.md). Google Translate For the translator's twentieth anniversary, developers have introduced a pronunciation training tool. In the "Practice" menu, by pressing the "Speak" button, the app listens to the user, evaluates speech, and provides feedback. Celebrating 20 years of Google Translate and… the launch of a top-requested feature! 🎂One of the toughest things about speaking a new language is getting the nuances of pronunciation just right. Now, you can get instant feedback with "pronunciation practice,” which uses AI… pic.twitter.com/DdMfiMB9dz— Nick Fox (@thefox) April 28, 2026 The feature is launching in the US and India and currently supports English, Spanish, and Hindi. As reported, Google is investing up to $40 billion in Anthropic, deepening its partnership with the AI startup.

blockonomi.com Arbitrum Security Council Member Slams Circle Over Inaction on North Korea Hack Funds

TLDR: Arbitrum nine-of-twelve Security Council used emergency powers to freeze $72M in stolen Kelp DAO funds. Griff Green accused Circle of prioritizing profits over action, calling it “clearly not full of good men.” Tether actively froze North Korean hacker wallets, contrasting sharply with Circle’s reported inaction on stolen funds. Green proposed community-led USDC sell-offs as [...] The post Arbitrum Security Council Member Slams Circle Over Inaction on North Korea Hack Funds appeared first on Blockonomi.

blockonomi.com Gate Joins Mastercard Crypto Partner Program to Connect Blockchain with Global Payment Networks

TLDR: Gate officially joins Mastercard’s Crypto Partner Program launched in March 2026 to bridge blockchain and payments. The program targets cross-border payments, stablecoin networks, fiat-crypto on/off ramps, and crypto payment cards. Gate holds regulatory approvals in Malta, Italy, Gibraltar, and the Bahamas, supporting its global payment expansion. Gate will prioritize stablecoin use in cross-border settlement, [...] The post Gate Joins Mastercard Crypto Partner Program to Connect Blockchain with Global Payment Networks appeared first on Blockonomi.

bitcoinist.com Meta Picks Solana And Polygon For Creator Stablecoin Payouts

Meta has begun rolling out USDC payouts for select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, marking the company’s most concrete return to crypto payments since the collapse of its Libra and Diem ambitions. The feature uses Solana and Polygon as supported blockchain rails, putting two major public networks inside a creator-payment flow run through Meta’s […]

cryptobriefing.com Rob Goldstein: Technology is reshaping financial services, AI’s unpredictability challenges accountability, and asset management relies on information processing | Odd Lots

AI integration in finance is reshaping enterprise systems, enhancing efficiency and transforming user interactions globally. The post Rob Goldstein: Technology is reshaping financial services, AI’s unpredictability challenges accountability, and asset management relies on information processing | Odd Lots appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

blockonomi.com Ripple Opens Middle East and Africa HQ in Dubai’s DIFC to Double Regional Team

TLDR: Ripple opened its new Middle East and Africa regional headquarters inside Dubai’s DIFC on April 30, 2026. The new DIFC office creates capacity to double Ripple’s regional team to meet growing market demand. Ripple became the first blockchain payments provider fully licensed by the DFSA in March 2025. The DFSA approved RLUSD as a [...] The post Ripple Opens Middle East and Africa HQ in Dubai’s DIFC to Double Regional Team appeared first on Blockonomi.

forklog.media Arthur Hayes Foresees Hyperliquid’s Dominance in Prediction Markets with HYPE

The primary competitive edge of the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid in the prediction market sector will be its HYPE token. This view was shared by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes in an interview with CoinDesk.  According to him, users will not only trade bets on event outcomes but also directly participate in the platform's economy through the native coin. This structurally distinguishes Hyperliquid from Kalshi and Polymarket. “HIP-4 will take the lead due to the platform's user base, low fees, and solid technical foundation. Holders of the native token will directly benefit from its activity,” the expert explained. On Kalshi, a trader does not gain a share in the platform's economy — they simply buy and sell contracts. The platform is regulated by the CFTC and remains without a tokenized incentive layer.  Polymarket is preparing to launch its own token. In the Gate pre-market, perpetual contracts for POLY trade around $14 — this corresponds to an FDV of approximately $14 billion. For comparison, HYPE's current figure exceeds $38 billion.  Source: CoinGecko.  Hyperliquid enters the market with a ready mechanism for redistributing value within its ecosystem, Hayes emphasized.  Geography Hayes also cited regulatory asymmetry as an additional factor. Kalshi operates in the US under the supervision of the CFTC — for it, compliance is more important than tokenomics. Polymarket, after registering in the US, is tightening its legal framework and facing restrictions in Asia: the service is blocked or partially restricted in Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan. Hyperliquid faces no such barriers. Its audience is initially skewed towards Asian traders — where retail and semi-institutional event betting has long been a significant part of the market. Active Testing  In March, the leading perp-DEX deployed the HIP-4 protocol with prediction markets in the testnet. Betting on event outcomes will become an additional layer within the already existing Hyperliquid ecosystem. Users will be able to open positions on event outcomes just as they currently trade perpetual contracts. For now, during testing, clients have access to binary options on HyperCore's base prices.  The new feature will be based on so-called outcome tokens. In April, the platform introduced a fee structure for these assets: opening a position will be free, with fees charged only upon closing or settling a trade. Back in April, a group of scholars from the London Business School and Yale University analyzed transactions on Polymarket from 2023 to 2025. The authors concluded that the platform's prediction accuracy is ensured by an “informed minority,” rather than the “wisdom of the crowd.”

forklog.media The Wisdom of Whales

Marketers have become adept at luring users onto prediction venues like Polymarket or Kalshi with tales of the “wisdom of crowds”, to which anyone might belong. But is that really so? ForkLog examined just two recent episodes on Polymarket in which whales secured the outcomes they wanted against objective reality and the events on which hefty wagers had been placed. The wisdom of insider crowds Backers of prediction markets often point out that such platforms neatly illustrate the “wisdom of crowds”. The notion was popularised by the American journalist James Surowiecki in the eponymous bestseller of 2004, though some version of it has existed for centuries. In 1906 Francis Galton, an English polymath who founded differential psychology (and, alas, eugenics), ran an experiment novel for its time. At a fair, visitors could pay sixpence to guess the weight of an ox. Galton hoped to collect the “votes” of a crowd with disparate knowledge and skills to buttress his hunch about the dangers of universal suffrage. Just as a broker cannot eyeball an animal’s weight, he supposed, neither can a farmer judge politicians’ competence.  The results said otherwise. Aggregating 787 entries and taking the median, Galton found, to his surprise, that the “average voter” missed by a single pound—remarkably accurate, given the ox weighed 1,198 pounds. The claim that, in forecasting, the uninformed majority can outperform individual experts is enticing to democrats—and, as specialists in behavioral economics know, flatters consumers of all political stripes. But does “wisdom of crowds” apply to modern prediction markets? This was questioned by researchers at London Business School and Yale. Analysing Polymarket transactions from 2023 to 2025, they reached a deflating conclusion for most: 3.14% of participants capture 30% of profits.   “Prediction markets are remarkably accurate, but the source of this accuracy is not the ‘crowd’. […] Information aggregation in prediction markets operates differently than traditional ‘wisdom of crowds’ narratives assume. Rather than many participants each contributing partial information, prices appear to be set by a small number of informed and skilled traders whose trades move markets toward final outcomes. Other participants provide liquidity and volume, but have little influence on price formation,” the authors conclude. They point not only to speculative behaviour by traders, but also to numerous signs of insider dealing.  Such accusations are routinely levelled at Polymarket and Kalshi, for which Donald Trump Jr., the elder son of the sitting US president, serves as a strategic adviser. After a scandal over bets on a military operation in Venezuela, Congress began debating a ban on prediction markets that touch on matters of public importance. Kalshi has already responded to possible regulation and began blocking accounts, for instance those of politicians wagering on their own campaigns.      Incidents of another sort attract far less attention. Seemingly minor, they are increasingly ensnaring ordinary users.  Beirut’s 3D chess In early March the radical Shia group Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel. In response the IDF resumed a ground operation in southern Lebanon while striking Beirut and Tyre from the air.  As American diplomacy joined efforts to calm the conflict, Polymarket opened a prediction market inviting users to bet on the date of an officially declared ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.  On 16 April US President Donald Trump announced a truce to take effect at midnight on 17 April. Soon after, the market—having amassed more than $112m—was closed early at the request of a user who had bet on “Yes” before 18 April.  Source: Polymarket.  The decision angered those who had forecast that no ceasefire would be reached by the stated date. First, the ceasefire was largely formal: within hours of its supposed start, official Beirut accused the IDF of fresh strikes on its territory. Second, Lebanon is not an active party to the current conflict, and Hezbollah said it would not join talks until Israel withdrew its troops and freed the group’s imprisoned supporters.  Those unhappy with the closure, as the rules allow, tried to contest it via UMA’s oracle platform. They failed there, too: 86.6% of votes, weighted by delegates’ token holdings, backed Polymarket’s decision and just 1.48% opposed it. “Yes” amassed ~14.5m tokens. On 16–17 April UMA traded around $0.45.  Voting on the disputed market. Source: UMA. That sparked another wave of comments on the closed market. Angry users accuse Polymarket and UMA of collusion, criticise the oracle’s model for letting whales sway outcomes, complain about the admins’ silence and demand compensation.  “If Polymarket cannot reverse a final on-chain result, it should still consider refunds or compensation in cases where a disputed market failed to provide adequate protection against contested rule interpretation. This is a matter of market integrity, not just trader displeasure,” one user notes.  A $50m “crime” At the same time, a similar incident unfolded, also tied to the Middle East. Yuri Yatsenko, co-founder of a Web3 start-up, posted on X: “Right now, a $50m crime is happening on Polymarket.”  The trigger was a market on a ceasefire between the US–Israeli coalition and Iran. Under the rules, a positive resolution would be counted if the parties observed a ceasefire for 14 days, or 336 hours. Polymarket’s admins held that they had. Yet, Yatsenko notes, on 7 April—the day the market was resolved in favour of “Yes”—rocket attacks continued for 20 of the 24 hours. Source: Polymarket. “The disputed resolutions were sent to a vote in UMA; 50 new wallets open large ‘Yes’ positions before results are announced; one wallet turned roughly $72,000 into roughly $200,000 within hours,” Yatsenko concludes. Experience suggests such disputes rarely end well for prediction-market punters who feel cheated. In March 2025 Polymarket refused to compensate users harmed by the premature, incorrect resolution of a market on a US–Ukraine minerals deal.  Researchers found that three large UMA tokenholders, accounting for 25% of votes, pushed through the unjust outcome. Polymarket acknowledged a governance attack, calling it “unprecedented”.  “This is not part of the future we want to build. We will create systems, monitoring and more to ensure it does not happen again,” the platform said at the time. Back in August 2024 Vitalik Buterin wrote that “to classify Polymarket as gambling is to misunderstand what prediction markets are.” In that, the Ethereum co-founder—himself well-versed in how such venues work—was quite right.  By 2026, prediction markets had indeed shifted from advanced bookmakers into yet another piece of infrastructure in which ordinary users are merely liquidity for big players. ForkLog contacted Polymarket on 23 and 28 April to request comment on these developments. We have yet to receive a reply.

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