Author: James Wilson

Bittrex has asked a U.S. federal court to overturn its $24 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the regulator abandoned the crypto enforcement approach used against the exchange under the Biden administration. Summary Bittrex has asked a federal judge to cancel its $24 million SEC settlement after the regulator dropped similar crypto cases. Court filings stated that the SEC now no longer considers most crypto tokens to be securities under its current approach. The bankrupt exchange has also requested that the SEC return funds before the money is transferred to former customers through the Treasury Department. According…

TrustedVolumes, a liquidity provider and market maker connected to 1inch, was hit by an ongoing exploit that drained about $5.87 million from its Ethereum resolver contract, according to blockchain security firm Blockaid. Summary Blockaid said TrustedVolumes lost nearly $6 million from its Ethereum resolver contract during the exploit. The attacker was linked to the earlier 1inch Fusion V1 exploit from March 2025. The case adds pressure on DeFi market makers to review approvals and custom proxy risks. The stolen assets included 1,291.16 WETH, 206,282 USDT, 16.939 WBTC, and 1,268,771 USDC. The attack affected a TrustedVolumes-controlled custom RFQ swap proxy, not…

Robinhood said at Consensus Miami 2026 that Wall Street is now actively building on crypto rails, though institutional adoption is moving slower and more fragmented than the industry expected. Summary Executives from Robinhood-owned Bitstamp, Ondo Finance, and Babylon Labs told Consensus Miami 2026 that banks are actively integrating blockchain infrastructure and tokenized products. Robinhood VP Nicola White said the conversation with banks has shifted from asking what blockchain is to asking how to build on it. Panelists said institutional adoption will develop along two parallel tracks: regulated US finance and offshore permissionless crypto markets. Executives from Robinhood-owned Bitstamp, Ondo Finance,…

Erik Reppel said at Consensus Miami 2026 that AI agents bypass internet ads entirely, threatening the web’s core business model and pointing to x402 stablecoin micropayments as the structural replacement. Summary Coinbase Developer Platform head Erik Reppel told Consensus Miami that autonomous AI agents do not interact with online advertising, breaking the internet’s foundational revenue model. Reppel cited estimates projecting the agentic economy could reach between $3 trillion and $5 trillion by 2030, arguing this shift will displace ad-funded content at scale. He argued that x402, a Coinbase-backed protocol for stablecoin micropayments, could replace advertising as the primary way web…

Box Elder County commissioners approved Kevin O’Leary’s 9GW Stratos AI campus in Utah on May 4, amid loud public protests from hundreds of local residents. Summary Kevin O’Leary’s Stratos project, a 40,000-acre AI campus in Utah, received county approval on May 4 despite strong community opposition over water, energy, and environmental concerns. The campus will generate up to 9 gigawatts at full buildout, more than twice Utah’s current total electricity consumption, powered by an on-site natural gas pipeline. O’Leary framed the project as a direct response to China building 400 gigawatts of AI-capable power over the past two years, calling…

Fairshake has spent $28 million in 2026 primaries as a new poll shows most Americans distrust crypto and AI, raising questions about the political value of industry-backed super PAC money. Summary Fairshake and pro-AI PAC Leading the Future have together spent over $100 million in 2026 midterm races, according to federal filings and published reporting. A Public First poll for Politico in April found 45% of Americans say investing in crypto is too risky, and 44% say AI is developing too fast. Only 3% of survey respondents recognise Fairshake by name, but analysts warn backlash could be swift once voters…

NYSE parent ICE and Securitize warned at Consensus Miami 2026 that offshore synthetic tokenized stocks are misleading retail investors and creating serious risks for the broader market. Summary Executives from ICE, OKX, and Securitize said at Consensus Miami that synthetic tokenized stocks often do not represent underlying equity and use company names without issuer approval. Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said some stocks have five different tokenized versions on the market, none of which represent actual equity. NYSE, owned by ICE, is building a regulated tokenized equity platform starting with pre-funded tokens trading against stablecoins. NYSE executives and partners raised the…

Summary The US and Iran are close to agreeing a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the current war and set up detailed nuclear talks, according to Axios. The 14-clause draft would pause Iran’s uranium enrichment, ease sanctions, unlock billions in frozen funds, and gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. De-escalation around Iran has repeatedly moved Bitcoin, gold, and oil this year, with prior ceasefire headlines helping push BTC back toward the $78,000–$79,000 range. The White House believes it is “getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and…

Tim Scott said the Senate Banking Committee is nearing consensus and working toward a bipartisan CLARITY Act markup in May, setting the most concrete timeline commitment yet on the long-delayed legislation. Summary Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott said his panel is working toward a bipartisan CLARITY Act markup in May, the firmest timeline commitment yet from the committee chair on the bill. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded publicly with “Mark it up,” and Circle urged the committee to act without further delay. Congress breaks for Memorial Day recess on May 21, leaving fewer than four weeks of effective legislative…

RootData data shows CeFi raised about $606 million across 8 deals, infrastructure $105 million across 14, and DeFi $90 million. Summary The crypto primary market saw approximately $860 million in disclosed fundraising in April 2026 across 55 deals, with centralized finance (CeFi) dominating capital flows. CeFi, infrastructure, and DeFi led sector allocations with roughly $606 million, $105 million, and $90 million raised, respectively, while prediction markets and AI projects drew a growing number of early‑stage checks. Two exchanges, Vietnamese CEX CAEX and global giant Kraken, accounted for about $580 million, or 67% of the month’s total, underscoring extreme capital concentration…