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forklog.media Dopamine and Uncertainty: How Perpetuals Turn Crypto Markets Into a Casino

Disclaimer ForkLog is not responsible for readers’ investment decisions. In April 2026, spot trading volumes on crypto exchanges fell to their lowest since November 2023, while derivatives reached 77.1% of turnover. It looks almost paradoxical: actual asset trading is shrinking, but appetite for leveraged bets remains high. The shift isn’t driven by market conditions alone. As noted by crypto journalist Colin Wu, perpetual contracts have become embedded in the industry partly because they tap a quirk of the human brain — the same one slot machines have exploited for generations. Here’s how rational trading morphs into gambling — and why it’s harder to step away than it seems. Spot deflates as bets rise A perpetual contract (perpetual, “perp”) is a futures contract with no expiry date. As far back as 1992, economist Robert Shiller floated the idea of a “perpetual” derivative for assets that are hard to price directly, such as real estate. The concept never caught on in traditional finance, but it proved a natural fit for crypto. BitMEX launched a bitcoin perpetual (XBTUSD) on May 13, 2016, and the product quickly became an industry standard. That was the mass-market rollout. The “perp” itself was pioneered earlier — the first inverse perpetual was implemented by ICBIT in 2011. Why crypto specifically? A few reasons: The market runs 24/7 with no weekends or trading sessions, making expiring futures less convenient here; digital assets have no single authoritative price — quotes are scattered across dozens of venues. The funding rate keeps the contract near a spot index, replacing expiry-based settlement; speculation is baked into the culture, and perps offer leveraged access and a way to profit in both directions with a relatively low barrier to entry. According to CoinGlass, bitcoin perpetual volumes steadily exceed spot by 5–10 times. Real asset trades are increasingly giving way to directional wagers. The paradox: a tool designed for hedging and price anchoring has, for the mass user, become a mechanism for rapid-fire betting. Turnover dynamics in spot and derivatives since April 2025, plus derivatives’ share of total volume. Source: CoinDesk. The brain craves uncertainty, not winnings Gambling hooks people not with winnings but with unpredictability. In the mid-20th century, psychologist B. F. Skinner showed that behavior is reinforced most strongly by random rewards — the so‑called variable reinforcement schedule. In his experiments, pigeons that received food after a random number of lever presses pecked more often and persistently than those rewarded on a fixed schedule. What drove them was anticipation born of uncertainty. Students place a pigeon in a Skinner box. Source: Wikipedia.  The same mechanism drives humans, and dopamine is central to it — a neurotransmitter of anticipation, not pleasure per se. These neurons respond less to the reward itself than to the error in predicting it: the more surprising the outcome, the stronger the spike. When a win is guaranteed and predictable, the response is muted. When the result is unknown, the brain fires at full tilt. It’s no accident slot machines long ago overtook card tables and roulette as casinos’ top earners. Anthropologist Natasha Dow Schull, in her study of Las Vegas gambling industry, showed how solitary, continuous, rapid play induces a trance‑like state regulars call the “machine zone.” A slot doesn’t pay on schedule but unpredictably, and that very uncertainty becomes pleasurable. Losses barely sober a player up: the next spin could hit the jackpot. The “near-miss” is especially insidious — when a combination almost lines up. The brain reacts much like it would to a real win, and the hand reaches for the lever again. Neurobiology backs this up: the dopaminergic system is highly sensitive to unpredictable rewards, while it habituates to what’s expected and routine. That helps explain why players fixate on risky, low‑probability bets: the thrill comes from uncertainty itself, not the odds. The win is almost secondary — the brain wants not to know the outcome in advance. Pleasure tied to the unknown can thus sustain itself even without regular rewards. For dependency to form, winnings needn’t be frequent or large — it’s enough that outcomes stay unpredictable. A slot machine in your pocket Perp trading reproduces this variable‑reward loop. Traders place frequent bets with immediate but unpredictable outcomes — essentially spin after spin on price direction. Researchers compare intraday trading with gambling disorder: in both, people repeatedly stake money on unknown outcomes and receive irregular rewards. Each app open and chart refresh works like a slot pull: a position either ticks into profit — even a small one — or bleeds, sometimes all the way to liquidation. Modern trading apps supercharge the effect. Price alerts, flashing P&L; badges, flickering candles — they fragment trading into a nonstop stream of micro‑wins and micro‑losses. Social feeds use the same trick: at any moment the timeline might surface a like, a repost or a riveting post — that very unpredictability keeps many from closing the app. An extra layer comes from the funding rate. Every eight hours, longs and shorts pay each other: when the rate is positive, longs pay shorts; when negative — the reverse. Formally it anchors the contract to spot. Psychologically it’s a small win or loss inside an open position, arriving with the regularity of a machine that dispenses a token payout every few spins. The reward cycle shortens further. Behavioral finance calls the state that follows an “illusion of control” — the belief that constant monitoring and tinkering can steer a fundamentally random process. A trader can’t leave the screen for fear of missing a move — a fixation barely distinguishable from a gambler hovering over the roulette wheel. A casino that never closes Perps trade 24/7 — pushing the thrill to a new level. Traditional exchanges shut overnight and on weekends, offering natural breaks to cool off. Crypto never closes. The casino literally sits in your pocket, its doors unlocked: no breaks, no forced time‑outs to slow the spiral. Leverage turns up the heat. Many venues allow multiples in the dozens and, in places, up to 100x and beyond. That’s akin to raising the slot stake: risk and potential reward soar — as does the urge to go all‑in. Combined with round‑the‑clock access, it becomes an endless high‑speed game where balances swing in seconds and traders’ brains stay on high alert. Researchers note that a 24/7 schedule materially amplifies compulsive trading — people simply don’t get a natural signal to step away. Bets placed in such a mode can prove costly. Analysts warn that if traditional markets move to 24/7, investors will face the same psychological risks as online‑casino users. When the market resembles a round‑the‑clock slot hall, some participants become so dependent they may need medical help. And this isn’t a side effect — it’s the business model. Economically, casinos thrive on nonstop play and high unpredictability — and crypto exchanges mirror those principles. High‑frequency interfaces, leverage tools and 24/7 access ensure there’s always a reason — and a way — to place one more bet. Trading itself gets gamified: the “trade — settle — instant feedback” loop is as gripping as a video game. Why traders lose to themselves It’s not just dopamine. Cognitive biases push retail traders into decisions against their interests. Three core mechanisms: Loss aversion  The pain of loss outweighs the joy of a comparable gain. Instead of realizing a loss, people average down, deny reality or simply close the app to avoid looking. Small cuts turn into a deep hole.Many take profits too early — afraid gains will vanish. Professionals do the opposite: they treat losses as a planned expense, not a personal defeat. Illusion of control  This is the conviction that the market can be outplayed. It motivates hyperactivity that only entangles traders deeper in noise. Experienced players, by contrast, accept that uncertainty can’t be tamed — and rely on risk‑management tools instead of fighting it. Peer pressure  Screenshots of others’ profits and overnight‑riches stories set a “success at any cost” template, while FOMO whispers that the “next 10x” is about to slip away.In such groups, blowing up an account is hardly shameful — a gripping liquidation tale draws sympathy. Emotional, even reckless trading becomes a badge of belonging. A vivid example: in spring 2025, trader James Winn opened a 10,200 BTC long ($1.14 billion at the time) with 40x leverage on Hyperliquid. At the peak, the “paper” profit reached $87 million on roughly $3–4 million of initial capital. Then the very biases above kicked in. After bitcoin fell below $105,000, Winn faced liquidation: the drawdown from the peak totaled $99.3 million — in a single week. He conceded it would have been wiser to keep bitcoin in cold storage. Yet days later he resumed trading, building a new position up to $140 million. Winn blamed his setbacks on a conspiracy — the machinations of market makers and a supposed “deep state” steering prices. He repeatedly announced he was quitting the “Hyperliquid casino,” only to return soon after — pure loss aversion and illusion of control. How the house stays ahead If retail mostly gambles, professionals take the casino’s side. Their strategies rely on positive expected value — a statistical edge that compounds over long series of trades. Common approaches include: 1. Statistical arbitrage. Quant models capture short‑term dislocations in related assets. Market‑neutral positions isolate profits from market direction. High trade frequency and tight risk controls turn many small wins into steady results. 2. Trend following. Entries by strict rules when momentum appears, and decisive stop‑loss exits on reversals. Big wins in strong trends offset small losses — producing a positive expectation. 3. Market making. Continuous two‑sided quotes earn the spread regardless of direction. A very high share of winning trades with minimal margin on each. 4. Non‑directional option strategies. Delta‑ and gamma‑neutral portfolios earn from time decay and risk premia. What unites these strategies isn’t foresight but discipline. Pros cap per‑trade risk at a small slice of equity (typically 0.5%–2%), use stop‑losses and position limits. After losses, they follow the rules and review mistakes instead of trying to “win it back.” That composure — not entry precision — explains the long‑run gap between the groups. The seasoned participant aims to be the house with a statistical edge, not the player at the machine. Math also matters. Fees, spreads and funding steadily leak from traders’ pockets, turning trading into a negative‑expectation game. Those who collect these costs — exchanges and market makers — reliably stay ahead. Just like in a casino. The price of lax discipline shows up at the macro level. In October 2025, the market saw the largest liquidation cascade on record: more than $19 billion in positions were force‑closed in a day. The trigger was a macro shock — the announcement of 100% US tariffs on imports from China — and the fall was amplified by the large stock of leverage in the system. Up to 90% of closures hit longs, with Hyperliquid the epicenter — $10.3 billion. Each downtick triggered new liquidations, which pushed prices lower — a self‑reinforcing spiral. Mass all‑in bets became a systemic risk not just for individual accounts but for the entire market. Is the casino moving on‑chain? Barriers keep falling. Perpetuals are migrating to decentralized venues with no KYC and no intermediaries — everything is non‑custodial, fast and nearly seamless. The segment’s new center of gravity is the Hyperliquid exchange. The leading platform accounts for more than 30% of volume across perp DEXs. Perp DEX rankings by trading volume and open interest. Source: CoinGecko.  The “casino in your pocket” is getting more accessible, but it’s still niche — perhaps the only good news in this story of removing the last brakes. For years, trading has seemed to many the most direct and thrilling path to wealth. You can enter and exit positions anonymously, without trading hours or TradFi intermediaries. Leverage, instant execution and the ability to play both ways complete the picture — making the market look like a perfect arena for endless play. But that very freedom, paired with the siren song of fast riches, quietly blurs trading into gambling. A newcomer believes they’re mastering cutting‑edge finance. In reality, they’re slipping deeper into the psychological trap of speculative dependence. Web3 and the on‑chain world aren’t just a “casino for screen‑glued traders,” but a space to rebuild trust mechanisms, cooperation models and data ownership. DeFi, DAOs, RWA, digital identity, confidential computing and transactions — these are all evolving frontiers. Perp trading is only one lane, not the essence of Web3 or a mandatory route. While retail migrates to derivatives and thrills, the other pole is increasingly visible: institutions and holders who long ago moved coins to cold storage. What makes this world complex and compelling is precisely the lack of one right answer. Speculation and creation coexist, narratives and technologies matter equally, and whales and regulars share the same liquidity pool. Some earn on perpetuals, some exit after their first liquidation. Some build protocols and reshape industries, others find a home in community life. There is no single correct script here. Before visiting the “casino” again, it’s worth asking a simple question: does the silent whale‑hodler who parked bitcoin in cold storage long ago really need to become a trader glued to charts day and night?

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forklog.media edgeX Team Attributes Token Plunge to External Interference

Representatives of the decentralized exchange edgeX attributed the approximately 67% drop in the native token EDGE's value to "deliberate actions by an external party." We all know edgeX supply was being controlled by a few insiders with a low float. If you care about transparency at all you will name the counterparties / MM agreements which lead to these events. pic.twitter.com/qn2LvNPg2H— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 2, 2026 However, on-chain detective ZachXBT questioned the project's explanation, pointing to potential insider manipulation. He urged the team to disclose details of agreements with market makers and counterparties whose actions might have triggered the dump. On June 2, edgeX recorded a "sudden and irregular" price movement of the asset and initiated an investigation. According to CoinGecko, the EDGE price plummeted from $1.21 to $0.4 within a day. At the time of writing, the token is valued at $0.6576. Hourly chart of EDGE/USDT on OKX exchange. Source: TradingView. Project representatives emphasized that the protocol was not hacked. They blamed external participants for the incident, describing it as a "market integrity" issue. We want to share an update on the irregular EDGE price movement and address any concerns about platform security directly.The edgeX protocol were not compromised in any way. This was not a hack, exploit, or security breach.What we have identified so far suggests deliberate… https://t.co/BV4rTz7aa8— edgeX🦭 (@edgeX_exchange) June 2, 2026 The team promised to publish a detailed report after completing work with exchanges to identify those responsible. Developers also clarified that the address of the perpetrator is an official smart contract of the spot platform used solely for user deposits and withdrawals. The address: 0x7f861a7db997b4f6e5ef9954a3b5d5b29c463cb2 (https://t.co/aj00QsSwyR) is an official edgeX spot smart contract address used solely for user deposits and withdrawals on edgeX protocol. https://t.co/BV4rTz7aa8— edgeX🦭 (@edgeX_exchange) June 2, 2026 ZachXBT criticized edgeX's stance. According to him, the EDGE supply was controlled by a narrow group of insiders with an extremely low token float. “We investigated ourselves and did not find ourselves guilty even though we control nearly the entire supply” pic.twitter.com/78l9tT01WT— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 2, 2026 “We investigated ourselves and did not find ourselves guilty even though we control nearly the entire supply,” the researcher commented sarcastically. The EDGE issuance is 1 billion tokens. Currently, 350 million coins (~35%) are in circulation. The distribution allocates 30% to early users, 25% to the core team, and 30% to the fund reserve. edgeX ranks 17th among DEXs by daily trading volume, with a TVL of $134.54 million. Source: DefiLlama. Back in May, the SUPERFORTUNE project team reported a security incident in which an attacker withdrew about $15 million.

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bitcoinmagazine.com Bitcoin Price Crashes to $67,000 Range, Down 13% in a Week Amid ETF Outflows and Market Fears

Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin Price Crashes to $67,000 Range, Down 13% in a Week Amid ETF Outflows and Market Fears Bitcoin price fell below $68,000 amid a mix of symbolic selling by Strategy, heavy ETF outflows, renewed Mt. Gox activity, and rising geopolitical tension tied to Iran–U.S. developments. This post Bitcoin Price Crashes to $67,000 Range, Down 13% in a Week Amid ETF Outflows and Market Fears first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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news.bitcoin.com Charles Schwab Targets 2027 Crypto Trading and Custody Launch for Financial Advisors

Charles Schwab is preparing to offer crypto spot trading and custody services to financial advisors by mid-2027. The move would give advisory clients a regulated way to buy, sell, and hold digital assets through one of the largest U.S. brokerage platforms. Charles Schwab Prepares Regulated Crypto Access for Advisory Clients Charles Schwab is laying the […]

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bitcoinist.com Solana Takes Aim At Hyperliquid With Push For Fully Onchain Perps

Solana Foundation is moving to back teams building fully onchain perpetual futures, setting up a clear challenge to the market structure that has powered Hyperliquid’s rapid rise. The initiative targets one of crypto’s most lucrative trading segments: perps, where volume still sits largely on centralized exchanges or hybrid venues. Solana Vs. Hyperliquid The Foundation framed […]

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news.bitcoin.com NY Lawsuit Served a 2011 Bitcoin Wallet — Owner Moves $2.54M to Prove It’s Not Abandoned

A bitcoin wallet, silent since March 27, 2011, moved 35.55 BTC worth approximately $2.54 million on June 2, 2026, not too long after being named as a defendant in a New York court case that claims nearly 3.8 million dormant bitcoins are legally abandoned property. The Move Noah Doe Likely Did Not Expect Galaxy Research […]

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blockonomi.com Best Meme Coin to Buy 2026: Bitcoin Slides to $70,308 as $GRUNTLE Hits 85% of Round 7

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $2.9 billion in capital outflows this week, triggering a market-wide correction that highlights the $GRUNTLE presale as a structured alternative for exhausted traders. As escalating geopolitical tensions push capital out of high-risk assets, the search for the best meme coin to buy 2026 shifts away from over-hyped tokens toward projects with clear mechanics [...] The post Best Meme Coin to Buy 2026: Bitcoin Slides to $70,308 as $GRUNTLE Hits 85% of Round 7 appeared first on Blockonomi.

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forklog.media Sebastian Hassinger Predicts 50-Qubit Quantum Computers Within Five Years

Quantum computers with 50 logical qubits are expected to emerge within the next five years, according to Sebastian Hassinger, host of The New Quantum Era podcast and author of the book by the same name. He believes this will be a "point of no return," after which classical simulation methods will become ineffective. Hassinger shared this forecast during a special edition of the Quantum Computing Report in a conversation with Yuval Boger, Chief Commercial Officer of QuEra Computing. The expert, who spent about 10 years at IBM Quantum and AWS, focused on his own consulting project, The New Quantum Era, starting in early 2026. According to Hassinger's assessment, the technology development roadmap will be as follows: Short-term: Advantage of neutral atom systems; Medium-term: Dominance of superconducting qubits; Long-term: Emergence of spin and photonic solutions. Hassinger noted that platforms based on neutral atoms show excellent scaling and error correction (LDPC codes), but their "Achilles' heel" remains a lower operational clock speed compared to superconducting systems. Boger described his colleague's forecast as "conservative," recalling recent successes by Harvard and QuEra in demonstrating 48 logical qubits. He referred to the opinion of QuEra's CTO Vladan Vuletic, who extended his confidence horizon in the leadership of neutral atoms from five to 10 years.  Boger also emphasized that thanks to new algorithms and memory efficiency (where the ratio of physical to logical qubits can reach nearly 2:1), the industry will not require millions of physical qubits to achieve practical supremacy. In May, Quantum Machines announced a median accuracy of 99.5% for two-qubit operations on Rigetti's commercial superconducting processor Novera.  On June 1, D-Wave Quantum revealed plans to develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer with 100 logical qubits by 2032. 

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bitcoinmagazine.com Mt. Gox Moves 10,422 Bitcoin While Bitcoin Price Craters Below $69,000

Bitcoin Magazine Mt. Gox Moves 10,422 Bitcoin While Bitcoin Price Craters Below $69,000 Mt. Gox moved 10,422 BTC worth $739 million ahead of its 2026 repayment deadline, triggering market jitters and contributing to Bitcoin’s drop below $69,000 despite no confirmed selling activity. This post Mt. Gox Moves 10,422 Bitcoin While Bitcoin Price Craters Below $69,000 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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news.bitcoin.com Polymarket Trader Loses $527K as Strategy’s First Bitcoin Sale Since 2022 Settles a Heated Bet

A trader on the decentralized prediction market Polymarket lost about $527,000 in a single day after Strategy disclosed its first bitcoin sale since 2022, per Lookonchain. A Bet Settled by an SEC Filing A Polymarket trader identified onchain as ‘willo2’ lost around $527,000 in a day after Strategy’s bitcoin sale was made public. The wager […]

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bitcoinmagazine.com Strive (ASST) Adds $185 Million in Bitcoin as Holdings Reach 19,000 BTC

Bitcoin Magazine Strive (ASST) Adds $185 Million in Bitcoin as Holdings Reach 19,000 BTC Strive added 2,500 BTC for $185.2 million, boosting its holdings to 19,000 BTC and cementing its position among the largest public corporate Bitcoin holders. This post Strive (ASST) Adds $185 Million in Bitcoin as Holdings Reach 19,000 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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news.bitcoin.com Securitize Launches Private Credit Fund on TRON Blockchain

PRESS RELEASE. Miami, Florida – June 2, 2026 – Securitize, the leading platform for tokenizing real-world assets – and which has announced a proposed business combination with Cantor Equity Partners II (Nasdaq: CEPT)* — today announced that Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE)’s tokenized Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (“HLSCOPE”) is now launching on the TRON blockchain, expanding […]

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news.bitcoin.com 60 Million Moneygram Users Gain Access to a Self-Custodial Dollar via Stellar Stablecoin

Moneygram launched MGUSD on June 2, 2026, a U.S. dollar stablecoin built natively on the Stellar blockchain and integrated directly into the Moneygram app for self-custodial wallet access. What MGUSD Is and How It Works The stablecoin is issued by Bridge, a Stripe company that the firm describes as GENIUS Act-ready. Minting and burning run […]

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blockonomi.com Kooc Media Rolls Out Dedicated Global PR Service Targeting AI Companies and Developers

Kooc Media, a PR distribution agency specialising in fast-moving tech sectors since 2017, has launched a new service aimed directly at artificial intelligence companies, AI developers, and technology startups building in the AI space. The service is built for AI businesses that need reliable, fast media coverage — without the guesswork that typically comes with [...] The post Kooc Media Rolls Out Dedicated Global PR Service Targeting AI Companies and Developers appeared first on Blockonomi.

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forklog.media Vitalik Buterin Proposes Crash-Resistant Synthetic Asset Model

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin introduced a concept for recreating synthetic assets based on options instead of traditional debt positions. He believes this approach will eliminate forced liquidations and reduce reliance on high-speed oracles. The developer noted that current DeFi protocol models are vulnerable during sharp market downturns. The use of secured debt leads to cascading liquidations, which create excessive pressure on the network and market prices. The proposed scheme is built on a pair of assets (P and N) with a strike price S and an expiration date M. They are issued by splitting 1 ETH and can be redeemed at any time. At expiration, an oracle records the index value, and funds are distributed between the owners of P and N. “Since the total payout is always 1 ETH, the possibility of liquidation is absent,” Buterin emphasized. The main advantage of the model, according to the programmer, is its resistance to manipulation. Existing protocols require real-time price updates, creating security risks and MEV vulnerabilities. The option structure allows for the use of "slow" oracles, similar to those used in prediction markets. To maintain stable exposure (e.g., pegging to the dollar), Buterin suggested using deep-in-the-money options with regular automatic rebalancing through a DAO or local scripts. Among the potential drawbacks of the concept, the developer highlighted: the risk of slippage during frequent rebalancing (costs can reach 2% per year); quadratic deviation from the target index; the complexity of implementing effective on-chain automation. Buterin added that he would feel “much safer” holding algorithmic stablecoins built on such an architecture, rather than those based on latency-sensitive price feeds. In early March, Ethereum's founder introduced a plan for two key changes to the network's execution layer: transitioning to a binary state tree and the long-term replacement of the EVM. In March, Buterin called for the ecosystem to be restructured around privacy and AI.

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themerkle.com Ripple’s RLUSD Goes Live in Türkiye, Hits $1.7 Billion Market Cap

Ripple is not pausing for breath. The company has brought its dollar-pegged stablecoin, $RLUSD, to Türkiye, and it has done so through three local exchange partners that Turkish crypto traders already know and trust: BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo. For a stablecoin that did not exist twelve months ago, crossing $1.7 billion in market capitalization while planting flags in new markets is the kind of run that gets people’s attention. Türkiye Was Always an Obvious Target Türkiye runs a $1.3 trillion economy. Its citizens trade nearly $200 billion worth of crypto every single year. That is not a fringe market dabbling The post Ripple’s RLUSD Goes Live in Türkiye, Hits $1.7 Billion Market Cap appeared first on The Merkle News.

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news.bitcoin.com Mt Gox Moves $953 Million in Bitcoin After Eight-Month Pause

The defunct Mt Gox exchange transferred roughly 10,608 BTC, worth about $953 million, to a new wallet, its first large-scale bitcoin movement in eight months and a shift that revived concerns over creditor repayments. The First Big Move in Many Months A Mt Gox-labeled cold wallet moved about 10,608 BTC, valued at roughly $953 million, […]

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bitcoinist.com Bitcoin Could Benefit From A Global Debt Reckoning, Bitwise Argues

Bitwise is looking past Bitcoin’s recent slide and toward a much larger pressure point: close to $30 trillion in global debt that needs refinancing in 2026. The firm said higher Japanese government bond yields and a warning from the IMF about waning demand for government debt could push markets into a tighter corner, a setup […]

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cryptopotato.com Ripple Price Analysis: XRP Shows Deeper Correction Signs Against Both USD and BTC

Ripple’s XRP remains under pressure against both the US dollar and Bitcoin, with the price action continuing to respect a broader bearish structure. The daily charts show the token trading below key moving averages while approaching important support zones that could determine the next major directional move. Ripple Price Analysis: The Daily Chart Against the […]

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forklog.media Cryptocurrency Treasury Inflows Hit Lowest Level Since October 2024

In May, inflows to companies with digital asset treasuries (DAT) amounted to $180.5 million, compared to $4 billion the previous month. Nearly the entire volume was attributed to structures holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets. Source: DefiLlama. The figure is 95% lower than in April and approximately 93% below the average for January-May. This followed two months of heightened activity: $4.28 billion in March and $4 billion in April. Companies with Bitcoin on their balance sheets accounted for $177.85 million (about 98% of the total volume). For comparison, this segment attracted $3.88 billion in April. There were no significant changes for other assets: minor inflows were seen in Zcash and Sui, while Litecoin experienced an outflow of $1.89 million. End of the Passive Accumulation Era According to a report by Galaxy, amid the market downturn in 2025-2026, premiums for DAT firms' shares began to decline. Investors are no longer willing to pay extra just for access to Bitcoin or Ethereum through the stock market. Research by Everstake confirms this trend: staking accounted for an average of 60% of total revenue for companies that disclosed data. Meanwhile, the combined net losses of the analyzed firms amounted to $1.41 billion. Galaxy analysts highlighted several survival strategies for "DAT 2.0": Staking and MEV: operating own validators to earn rewards and transaction fees; DeFi strategies: providing liquidity in AMM and arbitrage on liquidations; Basis trading: using futures to generate returns with neutral risk; Mergers and investments: acquiring operational businesses within the ecosystem (media, infrastructure). An example of market transformation is Nakamoto's acquisition of media holding BTC Inc. and the UTXO Management division. This allowed the firm to generate income not directly dependent on Bitcoin's price volatility. Experts emphasize that the emergence of spot crypto-ETFs has deprived public companies of the monopoly on providing regulated access to crypto assets. Now, their viability depends on the effective use of their balance sheets rather than the volume of coins held. Earlier this year, corporate Ethereum holders faced billion-dollar "paper" losses following a market correction.

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forklog.media Florida Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman Over Child Safety Concerns

The state of Florida, USA, has accused the startup OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of aggressively promoting the ChatGPT chatbot among teenagers and has demanded a ban on controversial practices along with the imposition of fines. This was reported by CNN citing court documents. In the lawsuit, Attorney General James Uthmeier claims that the company deliberately promoted ChatGPT while concealing the service's risks—from "instructions" for minors with suicidal thoughts to aiding suspects in planning crimes. The allegations relate to the law on unfair and deceptive trade practices, as well as software defects, lack of appropriate warnings, and creating a public threat. Florida seeks a court injunction against the disputed practices, civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each intentional violation, and compensation for affected parties. State authorities insist that ChatGPT harms children and teenagers by encouraging self-harm, fostering behavioral addiction, and leading to a decline in critical thinking skills. Furthermore, the free version lacks an age verification mechanism, and in the paid subscription, age can be entered without verification. A separate set of allegations concerns data. According to the document, OpenAI was aware of the service being used by children under 13, collected their personal information, and did not obtain parental consent. The lawsuit cites several incidents of violations. For example, an investigation into ChatGPT's role in the Florida State University shooting. It also mentions a case involving the murder of two graduate students: the accused had asked the chatbot for advice on eliminating evidence shortly before their disappearance. Another case is the tragedy of 16-year-old Adam Rayne, who, according to authorities, committed suicide after prolonged conversations with ChatGPT. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT chose the race for artificial intelligence over the safety of our children. They chose profit over public safety, and we will not tolerate it here in Florida," the prosecutor emphasized. Uthmeier stated that he expects support for the legal initiative from other states.In May, a court dismissed Elon Musk's lawsuit against Altman, Greg Brockman, OpenAI, and Microsoft due to late filing.

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cryptopotato.com Outpoll: A New Paradigm in Prediction Markets

Outpoll introduces a new global prediction market platform that enables users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events. Categories include, but are not limited to, politics, sports, crypto, culture, and more – with a product layer that is centered on professional trading tools, access through a public API, integrated news layer, a native mobile […]

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blockonomi.com Not All Crypto Growth Is Real Growth

For most of the last cycle, the metrics that defined growth in crypto were the metrics that were easiest to inflate. Total Value Locked. Transaction count. Active wallet count over the previous day. Twitter follower count. Each of these has a number that goes up, and each of them was treated as evidence that something [...] The post Not All Crypto Growth Is Real Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

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forklog.media Keyrock to Acquire Bankrupt BlockFills’ Assets for $3.25 Million

Brussels-based Keyrock has agreed to purchase nearly all assets of the bankrupt crypto trading and lending firm BlockFills, allocating up to $3.25 million for the deal. Following an auction, Keyrock acquired the company's assets, some liabilities, stakes in related entities, client base, technologies, and intellectual property. The closure of the agreement is subject to court and regulatory approval.

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cryptopotato.com Ethereum Price Prediction: How Low Can ETH Go If $2K Support Decisively Cracks?

Ethereum remains under pressure after failing to reclaim a major resistance cluster. The price is now hovering around a key long-term support zone. The broader structure suggests sellers still dominate the market, while weakening demand from US investors adds another layer of caution. Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart On the weekly timeframe, ETH has […]

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news.bitcoin.com Solana Tops All Blockchains With $91 Million in May App Revenue, Beating Ethereum

Solana generated $91 million in application revenue in May, more than any other blockchain and ahead of Ethereum’s $52 million, according to data shared by Defillama. Solana out-Earns Every Layer 1 and Layer 2 Solana booked $91 million for the month, placing it ahead of the Hyperliquid L1 at $53 million, Ethereum at $52 million, […]

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bitcoinist.com Ethereum Foundation President Breaks Silence On New Mandate And Internal Tensions

Ethereum Foundation President Aya Miyaguchi has laid out her view of the organization’s new mandate, framing the shift as a necessary reset after internal debates became increasingly strained and the Foundation faced pressure to be too many things at once. Her comments, posted on X after Vitalik Buterin shared his own view of the Foundation’s […]

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forklog.media Russian Capital on Foreign Crypto Exchanges Falls to 720 Billion Rubles

By the end of March, the funds of Russian citizens on foreign centralized crypto exchanges decreased by 23% compared to the previous two quarters, reaching 720 billion rubles, according to a recent financial stability review by the Bank of Russia. The regulator estimated that 60% of these assets were in Bitcoin, 8% in Ethereum, and 32% in other coins. According to the "Transparent Blockchain" service, during the reporting period, Russian traffic on foreign CEX websites fell by 32% to 56.5 million visits. Growth in Synthetic Investments Additionally, the central bank noted an increase in investments in Russian instruments linked to the value of crypto assets. As of April 1, they reached approximately 3.8 billion rubles. Specifically, the volume of bonds based on ETFs in circulation amounted to 4.1 billion rubles. Of this, 1.7 billion rubles or 42% was held by individuals and non-profit organizations. The central bank mentioned structured bonds linked to shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF from BlackRock. It also referred to Moscow Exchange futures on Bitcoin and Ethereum indices (MOEXBTC, MOEXETH) and on cryptocurrency ETF shares (IBIT, ETHA). The net open position of retail investors in cryptocurrency futures was estimated at 1.7 billion rubles, with about 5,600 participants. Approximately 3,800 people invested 354 million rubles in DFAs. Within auto-following strategies, 271 individuals invested 85.6 million rubles in synthetic crypto instruments. BTC and ETH Prices Below October Levels The review states that the crypto market did not recover during the reporting period from the sharp decline in October 2025, unlike the stock market. In April 2026, the average monthly price of Bitcoin was $73,500—36% below the October 2025 level. Ethereum averaged $2,300—45% lower. The Bank of Russia attributed the correction to a shift of investors to traditional assets amid political tensions, expectations of a more hawkish stance from major central banks, and Bitcoin sell-offs by miners due to rising production costs. The Bank of Russia also highlighted stablecoins, whose capitalization has remained around $300 billion since October 2025, with transaction volumes reaching $1.5 trillion in March 2026. In late April, the first reading of the bill "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights" took place. It defines cryptocurrencies as currency value for foreign trade settlements and mandates transactions through licensed intermediaries. The procedure for administering wallets by digital depositories sparked particular debate. ForkLog discussed the document in detail in a podcast.

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