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bitcoinist.com XRP Is Not The Real Leader Of RWA Despite Its Popularity, Here’s Where The Real Volume Is

Ethereum has emerged as the leader in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization despite the XRP Ledger’s (XRPL) popularity in this sector. This comes amid the rise in tokenization, with institutions bringing their products on-chain.  Ethereum Leads XRP In The RWA Sector  Token Terminal data shows that Ethereum currently leads the XRP Ledger and other networks in […]

themerkle.com Tether Partner Lydian Expands Stablecoin Payments in Partnership With Shift4

Stablecoin issuer Tether is pushing further into the international merchant payments space, teaming with Lydian and Shift4 to give USD₮ payment capabilities to an ecosystem of 200,000+ merchants. Such integration allows businesses processing payments with Shift4’s “Pay with Crypto” platform to start accepting USD₮ directly from customers while still receiving the settlement in their local fiat currency. The purpose of the initiative is to simplify integration for merchants by removing barriers or operational frameworks specific to crypto or requiring completely new payment workflows around stablecoin adoption. With the implementation, customers are able to spend USD₮ from just about any suitable The post Tether Partner Lydian Expands Stablecoin Payments in Partnership With Shift4 appeared first on The Merkle News.

blockonomi.com Three Dividend-Paying Healthcare Giants: Pfizer (PFE), AbbVie (ABBV), and Medtronic (MDT) Compared for 2026

Compare Pfizer (PFE), AbbVie (ABBV), and Medtronic (MDT) dividend stocks. Each offers unique income opportunities for healthcare investors in 2026. The post Three Dividend-Paying Healthcare Giants: Pfizer (PFE), AbbVie (ABBV), and Medtronic (MDT) Compared for 2026 appeared first on Blockonomi.

bitcoinmagazine.com The 2036 Issue: Bitcoin Mining Is Dead, Long Live the Miners!

Bitcoin Magazine The 2036 Issue: Bitcoin Mining Is Dead, Long Live the Miners! From The 2036 Issue: A look at the dynamics of miners and dwindling coinbase subsidy, by Colin Harper from Blockspace Media. This post The 2036 Issue: Bitcoin Mining Is Dead, Long Live the Miners! first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Colin Harper.

bitcoinmagazine.com Tether Takes Control of Twenty One Capital After Buying Out SoftBank

Bitcoin Magazine Tether Takes Control of Twenty One Capital After Buying Out SoftBank Tether has bought out SoftBank’s stake in Twenty One Capital, giving it full control of the Jack Mallers-cofounded firm and positioning it as Tether’s primary public Bitcoin vehicle. This post Tether Takes Control of Twenty One Capital After Buying Out SoftBank first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

forklog.media Google Intensifies Efforts Against AI Search Manipulation

Google has tightened its policy on the use of AI search tools following a public experiment by BBC journalist Thomas Germain. Back in February, Germain observed that AI search results could be manipulated. Unscrupulous companies exploit this for their own benefit, typically for advertising purposes. “We found instances where ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI responses at the top of Google search results were used to provide biased answers on serious topics like health and personal finance,” he wrote. In just 20 minutes, the journalist managed to “trick” the neural network. In public results, Google's Gemini referred to Germain as the “world champion hot dog eater.” Gemini calls Germain an international hot dog eating champion. Source: BBC. “The joke is silly. The problem is serious,” added the BBC author. Earlier in April, Google reported that it was already detecting indirect “prompt injection” attacks. However, the recent incident prompted the firm to take a closer look at the issue. The company specifically mentioned SEO scenarios where website owners attempt to make AI recommend their business or product. Google has officially linked such practices to its anti-spam policy. Now, spam includes not only manipulating link rankings but also attempts to influence generative responses. Thus, sites inserting hidden instructions for AI Overviews or AI Mode may be downgraded in rankings or even excluded from search results. Essentially, Google is extending its existing principles of combating SEO manipulation to AI search (AIO/GEO). What is Indirect “Prompt Injection” From a technical standpoint, indirect “prompt injection” involves the indirect introduction of prompts to the model. Unlike classic AI hacking, where the user directly tries to bypass restrictions, here the malicious instruction is hidden within an external data source: web pages; documents; emails; other content that AI uses when forming a response. Google has identified indirect “prompt injection” as one of the key threats to agent AI systems. The problem is that the model is not always able to reliably separate the user's request from the malicious instruction. Gemini's security documentation states that resilience to such attacks cannot be ensured by a single method. The corporation relies on a combination of content filtering, model behavior adjustments, and continuous testing of new manipulation scenarios. At the same time, Google does not prohibit the use of artificial intelligence or automation per se. The company's position is that AI content is permissible as long as it is created for benefit, not manipulation. Back in May, the corporation introduced Gemini 3.5 Flash — the “most powerful” AI model in programming and agent creation.

bitcoinist.com Are Ethereum Investors Losing Faith? Market Mood Shifts Deep Into Bearish Territory

Ethereum is just a few dollars away from losing the $2,100 price level as volatility across the broader cryptocurrency market continues to intensify. After days of downside pressure, this price action has started to impact investors’ behavior, which is currently leaning heavily toward the bearish side. Extreme Bearishness Takes Hold Among Ethereum Traders While the […]

news.bitcoin.com South Carolina Gov. McMaster Signs Anti-CBDC Crypto Law, Protects Self-Custody Rights

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed S.163 into law this week, enacting one of the most wide-ranging state-level crypto protection bills in the country. South Carolina Lawmakers Back Crypto Bill 110-1, McMaster Signs It Into Law The legislation, formally designated R131 and adding Chapter 47 to Title 34 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, […]

forklog.media Bank of England to Focus on Tokenisation

The Bank of England will focus its future strategy on RWA to modernise the country's economic sector. This was stated by Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Sarah Breeden. At the City Week 2026 conference in London, the official explained that the retail payment system of the future should include various interchangeable forms of money—tokenised deposits, stablecoins, and possibly a central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to her, distributed ledger technology will reduce costs and speed up payments, with fewer intermediaries. Smart contracts will add flexibility by setting conditions and automating processes. She also noted that the regulator actively supports the implementation of AI, including agent payments and commerce. Next month, the Bank of England will publish draft rules for systemic 'stablecoins' and approve them by the end of the year, Breeden noted. To mitigate the risks of rapid spread of such assets, the regulator may temporarily limit their issuance volume. Regulator's Plans On May 18, the Bank of England and FCA launched a joint consultation on the tokenisation programme. At its core is the Digital Securities Sandbox, which began in 2024 and will run until January 2029. The platform allows companies to launch trading systems and settlements for tokenised securities. Since the end of 2026, 16 companies, including Euroclear, HSBC, and London Stock Exchange Group, are preparing to join the sandbox. "The prudential regime for UK banks on tokenised assets will be the same as for non-tokenised counterparts if legal rights are identical and risks are comparable," said Breeden. Additionally, the Bank of England will continue to support the Digital Gilt initiative—a pilot project for tokenised sovereign bonds. The results of the CBDC design phase will be presented by the regulator by the end of the year. "The task of the authorities, government, and industry is to build on the UK's strong foundation and demonstrate that we are deepening the tokenised financial ecosystem," Breeden noted. The approach of the British authorities aligns with global trends. On May 19, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party officially established a course for building the financial system of the future using AI and blockchain, with a focus on tokenisation, stablecoins, and agent commerce. In April, the UK Treasury announced plans to introduce 'stablecoins' into the payment sector.

blockonomi.com Ethereum Bearish Breakdown Signals Deeper Decline Toward $1,350 Support

TLDR: Ethereum has broken below a key triangle formation, shifting market structure in favor of sellers across short-term charts. Short-term moving averages are now trading below long-term averages, confirming that bearish momentum continues to build steadily. Sharp long liquidations on Binance are flushing out leveraged positions, adding extra downward pressure to ETH spot price action. [...] The post Ethereum Bearish Breakdown Signals Deeper Decline Toward $1,350 Support appeared first on Blockonomi.

blockonomi.com Babylon Unveils Trustless Bitcoin Vault Ahead of Public Testnet Launch

TLDR: Babylon plans to launch the Trustless Bitcoin Vault public testnet during the final week of May. The TBV protocol enables Bitcoin-backed DeFi borrowing without bridges or wrapped Bitcoin exposure. Babylon reduced peg-in times to nearly three hours while lowering on-chain costs by over three times. The BABY token redesign may include governance, staking access, [...] The post Babylon Unveils Trustless Bitcoin Vault Ahead of Public Testnet Launch appeared first on Blockonomi.

blockmanity.com Crypto Owners Under Physical Attack: Rising Threats and Smart Protection Tips

Crypto Owners Under Physical Attack: Rising Threats and Smart Protection Tips Many people picture crypto crime as online hacks or fake investment schemes. But a growing danger is real-world violence aimed at cryptocurrency holders. These include kidnappings, home break-ins, and […] The post Crypto Owners Under Physical Attack: Rising Threats and Smart Protection Tips appeared first on Blockmanity.

forklog.media K33 Analysts Predict Bitcoin’s Floor at $60,000

Since the beginning of the month, the price of the leading cryptocurrency has dropped by 6% after testing the 200-day moving average around $82,000. Analysts at K33 Research believe that the February low of $60,000 will remain the bottom of the current cycle. According to the report, the market dynamics differ from the bear cycles of 2014, 2018, and 2022. During those periods, rallies quickly gave way to new lows. Currently, the recovery is slower, preventing the accumulation of excessive leverage. Source: K33. Derivative data indicates "uniquely pessimistic sentiment." According to K33 expert Vetle Lunde, the market structure now resembles the growth phases of 2025 rather than the false rebounds of previous years. Caution among participants is evident in institutional flows. According to 13F reports, major players reduced positions by 26,733 BTC in the first quarter. Meanwhile, retail investors purchased 19,395 BTC. The bulk of the sales came from delta-neutral firms like Millennium and Jane Street. Analysts linked this to declining yields in the crypto sector and the growing appeal of alternative markets. Exchange-traded funds (ETF) recorded one of the largest five-day outflows. Sales intensified as the price of digital gold approached the average purchase price of ETF shares. K33 explained this as investors' desire to break even or minimize losses after a steep decline. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $77,535 (+0.8% over the day). Hourly chart of BTC/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView. Earlier, on May 18, the net outflow from American ETFs amounted to $648.6 million — the worst daily result since late January. 

blockonomi.com Could Meme Coins Outperform Bitcoin Again This Cycle?

Bitcoin is still leading this market, but meme coins are not dead. As of May 20, 2026, CoinGecko showed BTC at about $77,125, while Bitcoin dominance sat near 58.3%. That usually tells traders the market is still in a Bitcoin-led phase, not a full altcoin rotation. Even so, meme coins are showing signs of life, [...] The post Could Meme Coins Outperform Bitcoin Again This Cycle? appeared first on Blockonomi.

news.bitcoin.com Traders Price Zero Fed Rate Cuts in 2026 as New Fed Boss Kevin Warsh Inherits 3.8% Inflation

Traders have largely abandoned expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, with CME Fedwatch data showing 95% to 98% odds of no change at any of the upcoming meetings, and prediction market bettors backing that view for June with tens of millions of dollars. Markets Price Out Every Rate Cut for 2026 The Fed’s […]

cryptobriefing.com Catena Labs secures $30M Series A, files for US bank charter to build financial rails for AI agents

Catena Labs' bank charter pursuit could redefine financial infrastructure, enabling AI agents to operate within regulatory frameworks autonomously. The post Catena Labs secures $30M Series A, files for US bank charter to build financial rails for AI agents appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

bitcoinmagazine.com Trump Orders Fed to Review Crypto Access to U.S. Payment Rails

Bitcoin Magazine Trump Orders Fed to Review Crypto Access to U.S. Payment Rails President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday instructing the Federal Reserve and other regulators to dismantle longstanding barriers that have excluded crypto and fintech firms from the U.S. payment system, escalating a years-long battle over access. This post Trump Orders Fed to Review Crypto Access to U.S. Payment Rails first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

cryptopotato.com What Is Meme Punch? The Medieval Meme Battle Game That Pays You to Play

Meme punch is a play-to-earn crypto game built around one of the easiest crypto concepts to understand. Players are able to choose a meme-inspired knight, fight in a medieval arena, climb the leaderboard, and earn MEPU tokens through battle rewards. It’s important to note that the project is not built solely as a passive meme […]

bitcoinmagazine.com New Bitcoin, Energy, and Compute Hub Node NBO Opens in Nairobi, Kenya

Bitcoin Magazine New Bitcoin, Energy, and Compute Hub Node NBO Opens in Nairobi, Kenya On May 16, 2026, Node NBO, the world’s newest physical Bitcoin space opened in Nairobi, Kenya. This post New Bitcoin, Energy, and Compute Hub Node NBO Opens in Nairobi, Kenya first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Frank Corva.

blockonomi.com Bet365 vs DraftKings: Two Titans Tested — and the Rise of ZunaBet

Two Platforms That Defined an Industry Bet365 and DraftKings come from different worlds but ended up competing for the same thing — the attention of online gamblers everywhere. One grew up in the English Midlands and became the world’s biggest online bookmaker. The other was born in Boston during the fantasy sports craze and fought [...] The post Bet365 vs DraftKings: Two Titans Tested — and the Rise of ZunaBet appeared first on Blockonomi.

cryptopotato.com Pi Network (PI) Price Predictions for This Week, May 20

PI loses key support. Where will buyers return? PI Network (PI) Price Predictions: Analysis Key support levels: $0.15, $0.13 Key resistance levels: $0.16, $0.20 PI Loses Key Support as Sellers Return Since late last week, selling has intensified, which put pressure on the $0.16 support until this level could not hold any longer and broke. […]

bitcoinist.com XRP Is Not The Real Leader Of RWA Despite Its Popularity, Here’s Where The Real Volume Is

Ethereum has emerged as the leader in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization despite the XRP Ledger’s (XRPL) popularity in this sector. This comes amid the rise in tokenization, with institutions bringing their products on-chain.  Ethereum Leads XRP In The RWA Sector  Token Terminal data shows that Ethereum currently leads the XRP Ledger and other networks in […]

news.bitcoin.com AEON Raises $8M Led by YZi Labs to Build the Settlement Layer for Agentic Economy

PRESS RELEASE. AEON, the settlement layer built for the agentic economy, today announced it has successfully closed a $8 million pre-seed funding round. The round was led by YZi Labs, with participation from a robust group of leading investors, including IDG Capital, HashKey Capital, Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund, Oak Grove Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Alchemy Ventures, […]

news.bitcoin.com Blackrock Drives $331M Bitcoin ETF Outflow as XRP and Solana Funds Attract Inflows

Institutional selling pressure remained firmly in control on Tuesday as bitcoin ETFs posted another major wave of outflows, while ether funds extended their losing streak to seven consecutive sessions. In contrast, solana and XRP ETFs continued to attract modest but steady inflows, reinforcing a growing divide in investor sentiment across the crypto market. Institutional Investors […]

bitcoinmagazine.com South Carolina Enacts Bitcoin-Friendly Law, Bans CBDC Use by State Entities

Bitcoin Magazine South Carolina Enacts Bitcoin-Friendly Law, Bans CBDC Use by State Entities South Carolina has enacted a new law aimed at establishing a clear and supportive framework for cryptocurrency use, marking one of the most comprehensive state-level efforts to date. Governor Henry McMaster signed Senate Bill 163 into law on May 19 after it passed the legislature with strong bipartisan support, clearing the Senate in a 38–1 […] This post South Carolina Enacts Bitcoin-Friendly Law, Bans CBDC Use by State Entities first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

forklog.media Generative AI Employed in Hypersonic Engine Design

Researchers at GE Aerospace have developed a preliminary design for a hypersonic dual-mode ramjet engine using their proprietary generative AI. The LLM tool generates hundreds of engine layout variations in mere seconds for different flight scenarios. Previously, this initial design stage took weeks or months. The work aligns with the U.S. Department of Defense's intention to expedite the development of new solutions. Technical Features The ramjet uses the aircraft's speed to "ram" air into the engine, compressing it in the process. Fuel is injected into the compressed air, and the hot exhaust gases exit from the rear, creating powerful thrust. Ramjet engines operate only at high speeds. A conventional aircraft cannot be launched using a ramjet, but they are ideal for use in hypersonic cruise missiles. This design achievement potentially allows for faster creation of more advanced structures while reducing costs. According to Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu, the aerospace industry could become one of the main beneficiaries of AI. GE Aerospace's defense division supplies and services engines for helicopters, aircraft, and ships. Approximately 30,000 of its power units are in operation, with about 700 sold annually. The defense sector is experiencing growth. Kahyaoglu forecasts that over 1,000 engines will be delivered by 2028. This growth may partly be driven by hypersonic models and units for new autonomous combat aircraft capable of operating in groups. Accelerating the Development Cycle GE Aerospace focuses not on the mere use of artificial intelligence, but on integrating the system into the early engineering phase—before testing and final modeling. At this stage, the basic geometry of the engine is formed, and key design trade-offs are determined. AI allows for the simultaneous consideration of multiple operating modes and customer requirements, speeding up the transition from concept to the first installation variant. Thus, the company aims to shorten one of the slowest stages of aerospace development—the iteration of configurations and the search for a workable scheme for further testing. In July 2024, GE Aerospace announced the successful demonstration of a hypersonic ramjet engine, which was developed and prepared for testing in less than 11 months. At that time, the firm emphasized that the development provided three times the airflow compared to previous systems. Against this backdrop, the current project with generative artificial intelligence appears as the next step—an attempt to accelerate the already existing hypersonic engine development cycle. The company reported that it is expanding the use of AI tools to civilian projects, including CFM RISE—a program for developing technologies for the next generation of narrow-body aircraft engines. GE Aerospace is attempting to turn generative artificial intelligence into a universal engineering tool for aerospace systems. The hypersonic direction is being developed through the Edison Works division. In its 2024 annual report, the company already linked the development of digital tools with future defense programs. A New Approach GE Aerospace is attempting to solve one of the main problems of the aerospace industry—the lengthy and costly transition from concept to finished product. The aerospace sector is particularly suited for AI implementation due to the high cost of engineering errors, capital intensity, and complex regulatory environment. However, the company does not claim that AI independently "created the engine." GE Aerospace speaks of a viable concept at the prototyping stage. It does not disclose project parameters, publish new test results, or announce a transition to mass production. AI is beginning to transform from a presentation stage into a real engineering element of complex aerospace systems. In the case of GE Aerospace, this is no longer about abstract experiments but about technology integrated into an active hypersonic program. Back in May, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll gathered leading contractors and representatives from Palantir and Anduril to improve system interoperability and deepen AI integration. Earlier, the Pentagon entered into agreements with Nvidia, Microsoft, Reflection, and Amazon Web Services to apply advanced AI tools in classified military environments.

blockonomi.com Animoca, ViaBTC, Everwood, CANDAQ, WAGMI, Credit Scend and Web3 Labs Bet $3.8M on IOTrader’s Hybrid Perp DEX

Singapore– Seven of the more recognisable names in the current Web3 funding cycle, Animoca Brands, ViaBTC Capital, Everwood Capital, CANDAQ, WAGMI Ventures, Credit Scend, and Web3 Labs, have committed $3.8 million to IOTrader, a BNB Smart Chain protocol pairing leveraged perpetuals with permissionless prediction markets. The lineup itself signals more than capital. It reads as a [...] The post Animoca, ViaBTC, Everwood, CANDAQ, WAGMI, Credit Scend and Web3 Labs Bet $3.8M on IOTrader’s Hybrid Perp DEX appeared first on Blockonomi.

forklog.media Crypto without the punk

Over the years the crypto industry has acquired a thick crust of manifestos: “money without states”, “code is law”. Such slogans would be unworkable without cryptographic engineering and alternative economic mechanisms. ForkLog examined which blockchain technologies retain value without cypherpunk ideology, which rely mainly on community faith, and gathered views from researchers and project representatives. Ideology and technology: where the boundary lies Bitcoin appeared in 2008 as a political response to the banking crisis. Later concepts — Web3, DeFi, DAO — largely inherited the original idea: decentralisation was seen not only as a technical fix but as an ethical principle. Over the years the technology has outgrown its initial ideology. Cryptographically protected ledgers are used by JPMorgan, BlackRock, SWIFT and the central banks of Hong Kong, Singapore and the EU. In July 2025 America’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched Project Crypto — a migration of market infrastructure onto blockchain rails, including tokenisation of equities and clearing. None of these players shares cypherpunk ideals. This suggests the technological foundations of blockchain can exist apart from the political and cultural precepts with which they were first associated. With BTC, however, the line is harder to draw. Web3 researcher Vladimir Menaskop argues that ideology is embedded in Bitcoin’s very architecture: “What is written in the white paper of the first cryptocurrency? That is the ideology embodied in technology — if you know how to read between the lines.” The expert noted that Bitcoin’s uniqueness is not only its capped issuance. Every component at its core existed long before the cryptocurrency: the PoW algorithm, hash functions, timestamps. The obvious question follows: what stopped anyone from assembling these elements into a single system earlier? Why did even such eminent specialists as Hal Finney, and the whole cypherpunk community, wait for Satoshi Nakamoto? According to Menaskop, a brilliant technical composition was not enough: Bitcoin also needed a powerful ideological foundation, which the anonymous creator of BTC provided. A similar view comes from Nikolai Bordunenko, CPO at MetaLamp. In his opinion, separating technology from ideology in Bitcoin is a mistake, and the hard cap of 21m coins is above all a political statement. “In the Coinbase message of the genesis block there is a quote from a 2009 The Times headline: ‘Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks’. This is a direct allusion to the events of those years — the British government was preparing to pour taxpayer money into failed banks again, and central banks were launching issuance on an unprecedented scale. And it is precisely against this backdrop that an asset appears whose issuance no one can change by fiat,” the expert explained. Georgy Verbitsky, founder of TYMIO, allows only a partial separation. Fixed issuance, he says, is an engineering decision but also a fundamental ideological choice, reflecting limits on money supply and independence from centralised monetary policy. Mikhail Pshenichnikov, head of development at Dash, sees it differently. He argues that it is better to separate the technological and ideological components, since the former can exist on its own: fixed issuance is merely one Bitcoin feature, and there are projects that do not follow this rule. “The emergence of Bitcoin gave a boost to a new industry united by a common foundation, but now everyone builds their own principles and values,” the expert summed up. What endures beyond ideology Cryptographic primitives Hash functions, digital signatures, zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) — the maths predated Bitcoin. Crypto has become their main proving ground. Today ZK technologies are used beyond digital assets. They are being tested for identity verification without disclosure, authenticity checks for AI content and audits of ML models. This layer will persist under any scenario — it is useful in its own right. Tokenisation of real assets RWA is among the industry’s fastest-growing segments, not grounded in anarchist values. Big finance is interested mainly for pragmatic reasons: faster settlement, programmability of transactions and lower infrastructure costs. Settlement networks After the adoption in the US of the GENIUS Act, stablecoins obtained a clearer regulatory status. Firms like Tether and Circle have already become important providers of infrastructure for cross-border dollar transfers, especially in underbanked countries. USDT’s popularity is not about decentralisation but simple efficiency: transfers via stablecoins are often cheaper and faster than traditional payment systems. According to Andrey Velikiy, co-founder of Allbridge.io, without widespread crypto cards it would be all but impossible to use digital assets in everyday life. He likens Bitcoin to digital gold locked safely in a vault, while actual payments have shifted towards regulated, centralised stablecoins. Smart contracts as a class of software Automatic execution of conditions without an intermediary is a useful abstraction for escrow, derivatives, subscriptions and royalties. It works in both private and public networks. What rests on ideology “Maximalism” and money-replacement narratives The thesis “Bitcoin will replace the dollar” lives in the media, not in financial statements. The market’s flagship behaves like a risk asset correlated with the Nasdaq, not a means of payment — the share of P2P transactions in its volume is small. This does not negate its role as a store of value, but it weakens scenarios of fully displacing fiat currencies. Radical decentralisation for its own sake Many projects are formally decentralised but in practice depend on a narrow circle of developers, concentrated staking and centralised access interfaces. Velikiy mentioned the exchange Kraken, which introduced compulsory application of the Travel Rule for European accounts to all transactions over €1000, as well as Tether, blocking wallets at the first request of regulators. “There is now almost more freedom in the banking system than on centralised exchanges,” Velikiy believes. Does a structural difference from traditional finance remain? Bordunenko thinks it does. Looking at the concentration of validators, developers and stablecoin issuers, the gap is smaller than is often claimed. One structural distinction endures, however — permissionless entry. No regulator’s approval is needed to issue a new stablecoin or build a settlement rail. The expert recalled that when USDT began freezing addresses at the behest of American regulators, the market responded with alternatives and a shift of volumes into networks facing less pressure. Verbitsky identified openness as the key distinction: in public blockchains the system’s rules, code, architecture and often decision-making processes are available for market scrutiny. That does not eliminate centralisation risks, but it makes them far more visible. In his view, the distributed ledger today forms an intermediate model between classical centralised finance and fully decentralised systems. Menaskop urged people “not to mix all blockchains into one flask” — they differ radically. A validator, he says, can be “if not everyone, then anyone”: not everyone has 32 ETH, but upgrades and pooling are being created, so a figure above a million validators no longer looks frightening. At the same time there are projects like TON, where 400 validators is an outlandish figure. The expert also allowed for the emergence of projects that are hard to distinguish from financial institutions, citing Base, XRP Ledger and BNB Chain. Meme coins and “culture” Meme coins rely heavily on community attention and media effects. Technically, most are standard tokens without unique infrastructure. That does not make the segment pointless, but it places it closer to digital entertainment and speculative assets than to financial transformation. Where capital will flow Experts’ 3–5 year allocation forecasts diverge markedly, reflecting market uncertainty. Bordunenko bets on infrastructure and security. Big capital goes where rules are clear: custody of cryptoassets, stablecoins and tokenisation. He singles out security for huge investment: protection from the quantum threat, audits and remediation of software vulnerabilities. He sees insurance as especially “under-ripe” — not all threats can be prevented, but hedging against the loss of billions is quite realistic. As for the cultural layer — DAOs, DeSoc, everything that reimagines social structures via blockchain — it is losing scope to attract capital, Bordunenko believes. He sees a chance for serious inflows only in one scenario: a crisis on the scale of 2008. A new wave, he says, could come when people en masse realise they own neither their data, nor digital identity, nor intellectual property. That would require an incident of incredible scale — a major platform hack, a data leak or serious damage affecting officials as well. Verbitsky offers a similar forecast, with a geopolitical caveat. In his view, the infrastructure layer will see the largest inflows: blockchain is gradually turning from a purely “cryptocurrency” technology into a universal financial infrastructure. Platforms such as Hyperliquid, he notes, already allow trading not only cryptoassets but also derivatives linked to traditional markets. Should doubts about the resilience of state currencies intensify, the narrative of independent money and “hard assets” could return to the fore. Menaskop sees an asymmetry in funding. Infrastructure gets so much money, he argues, because many analytic firms and venture funds insisted: “It is almost 100% ready — just take it and assemble dapps like Lego bricks.” They were wrong, and the LayerZero hack is the best confirmation. He predicts money will flow not where crypto-enthusiasts would like: into various corporate “blockchains” and the RWA segment. Even so, the ZKP sphere will not stall — the balance of power will simply shift. Pshenichnikov emphasises the cultural and consumer segment. Projects with strong communities and marketing support, he observes, traditionally attract more attention and liquidity. This demand pattern does not always align with a project’s technological significance, but it largely determines capital allocation in the industry. Openness as a practical advantage Ideological theses about “open finance” are often stress-tested by hacks and scandals. Menaskop points to a comparative argument: access to open data is itself a breakthrough. “Many shriek that DeFi is hacked at every turn,” he says, yet a single comparison with hacks in banking shows the problem is not DeFi. Traditional institutions keep failures secret for years, and when they surface the sums are in the billions. He calls the “head-in-the-sand” effect the burden of centralised finance — and a very frightening one. Bordunenko shares a similar view, but for states rather than users. To some degree, he argues, governments are also interested in decentralisation. After 2022 it again became clear that the dollar can be used as a tool of political influence, and no one knows whose head it will “hit” next. A permissionless network turns from ideological whim into a backup plan: those who yesterday pressed on crypto-infrastructure and demanded blockages may turn to it tomorrow — simply because there will be no other options. A de-ideologised scenario: what a mature industry looks like If today’s trends are extrapolated — regulation in the EU and US, licensing in Hong Kong and the UAE — a three-layered industry emerges: Infrastructure: blockchain as a backend for settlement, clearing and rights registries. Users will not see it, just as they do not see the TCP/IP protocol. Regulated financial products: spot ETFs, tokenised Treasuries, stablecoin payments. Public networks as testbeds: DeFi, on-chain games, identity, ZK-privacy applications. There remains space for what was originally deemed the “spirit of crypto” — but without claims to replace the rest of the world. What will endure? Strip out ideology and crypto leaves: cryptography, tokenisation, programmable settlement, a new class of financial products. What departs is the eschatology, the maximalism and a chunk of the marketing. The technological layer proves sturdier than the ideological — normal for a mature industry: electricity outlived 19th-century utopias of a “new human of the electric age”, and the internet outlived the libertarian manifestos of the 1990s. The picture painted by experts is contradictory — which is itself a diagnosis of the industry’s condition. Capital goes where rules are clear: into infrastructure, stablecoins, tokenisation, security and insurance. Ideology either awaits “its 2008”, or returns in spurts. Bitcoin remains the point where the technical and the ideological are still stitched together — a manifesto for some, an engineering compromise for others. Public blockchains are in an intermediate state: no longer entirely decentralised, yet still more transparent and open than regulated finance — even if Tether’s latest decisions and those of large CEXs make one doubt even that. Web3 has ceased to be a single project. It is a set of distinct networks, communities and values. Each segment is progressing through its own stage of maturity.

cryptopotato.com Bitcoin Price Analysis: On-Chain Metric Says BTC Is Coiling for a Big Move

Bitcoin is trading at $77.5k as the third week of May draws to a close. The market is recovering quietly from the $75k–$76k support zone after last week’s failed breakout attempt above $80k. The structure has absorbed the pullback without breaking, the ascending channel floor continues to rise, and the on-chain picture tells a story […]

news.bitcoin.com Bitcoin Eyes $78K Breakout as Momentum Indicators Remain Neutral

Bitcoin trades modestly higher early May 20 at 8 a.m. ET, holding near the mid-$77,000 range as traders evaluate mixed technical indicators and tightening resistance levels. Market participants continue watching whether BTC can reclaim higher resistance zones after stabilizing above a key support cluster near $76,000. Bitcoin Chart Outlook Bitcoin is priced at $77,440 during […]

blockonomi.com Bitcoin Slides 5.7% as April CPI Surprise Erases Fed Rate-Cut Bets

TLDR: April CPI came in at 3.8% YoY, beating estimates and erasing all Fed rate cut expectations for 2026.  Bitcoin dropped 5.7% to $78K, rejected five times at the 200-day MA amid rising macro pressure.  BTC spot ETFs recorded $1B in weekly outflows, snapping six consecutive weeks of positive inflows.  Ethereum fell 10.2% on the [...] The post Bitcoin Slides 5.7% as April CPI Surprise Erases Fed Rate-Cut Bets appeared first on Blockonomi.

blockonomi.com SEC Proposes Sweeping Reforms to Modernize Public Company Offerings and Reporting Requirements

TLDR: The SEC proposed raising the large accelerated filer threshold from $700 million to $2 billion in public float. New public companies would receive a minimum five-year IPO on-ramp before facing heightened reporting requirements. Approximately 81 percent of all current public companies would qualify for expanded disclosure scaling accommodations. All non-accelerated filers would be exempt [...] The post SEC Proposes Sweeping Reforms to Modernize Public Company Offerings and Reporting Requirements appeared first on Blockonomi.