Author: James Wilson

Meta has begun paying select creators in USDC stablecoin on Solana and Polygon via Stripe, marking Facebook’s first crypto payout program four years after the company shut down its Libra project under regulatory pressure. Summary Meta USDC creator payouts launched April 29 for select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, with eligible users able to link a MetaMask, Phantom, or Binance wallet and receive earnings in Circle’s USDC directly. Stripe handles the backend and provides tax reporting for the transactions. Meta emphasized it is not issuing its own stablecoin and is using Circle’s existing USDC, which has a market cap…

Polymarket is rolling out an onchain integrity monitor with Chainalysis to detect insider trading and manipulation across its prediction markets and reassure regulators and institutions. Summary Polymarket is launching an on-chain market integrity monitoring system, built with Chainalysis, to police insider trading and manipulation across its DeFi prediction markets. The system will run real-time analytics on trades, positions, and settlements on public blockchains to flag suspicious behavior and support enforcement of platform rules. Polymarket says the move aims to set a new compliance benchmark for prediction markets and reinforce its role as a trusted source of market information for crypto…

Gemini’s Olympus unit won CFTC clearing license enabling in-house derivatives infrastructure for futures, options, perpetuals, and prediction markets. Gemini announced April 30 that its affiliate Gemini Olympus received a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, positioning the exchange… Source link

Oman has moved to formalise its artificial intelligence strategy with a Royal Decree from Haitham bin Tarik creating a dedicated economic zone for AI in the capital governorate of Muscat. Summary Oman establishes a dedicated Special Artificial Intelligence Zone in Muscat through a Royal Decree issued by Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. The zone will offer incentives under existing free zone laws to attract global tech firms and local innovators, with OPAZ overseeing its development. The initiative forms part of Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy to expand AI adoption across key sectors and boost foreign investment in emerging technologies. State media said…

MegaETH’s MEGA token went live on Thursday after the Ethereum scaling project completed a seven-day launch countdown.  Summary MegaETH launched MEGA after 10 ecosystem apps met the first KPI target. MEGA’s token model ties 53.3% of supply to performance-based rewards. USDM supply rose above $300 million during the MEGA token launch period. The token started trading on major exchanges after the network met its first ecosystem milestone. MegaETH confirmed the launch in a post on X, saying, “MEGA — Now Trading.” The team said all tokens would be distributed to users by 7 a.m. ET. The token generation event started…

Ethereum price fell 5% to nearly $2,200 on Thursday, as the asset remains in a downtrend for the fourth straight day. Now, a confirmed breakdown below a key ascending trendline positions it for more downside in the coming sessions. Summary Ethereum price drops 5% to near $2,200, extending losses for a fourth straight day after rejection at $2,400. Ethereum has broken below a key ascending trendline support, signaling a shift in momentum toward bears and increased downside risk. Bearish indicators have strengthened, with Aroon Down at 92.86% and a MACD crossover, pointing to potential decline toward $2,000. According to data…

The crypto market fell 2.6% to $2.60 trillion on Thursday as concerns over a prolonged blockade at the Strait of Hormuz and the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on rate cuts weighed on investor sentiment. Summary Crypto market cap drops 2.6% to $2.60T as Bitcoin falls to $75,102 and major altcoins decline amid risk-off sentiment. Escalating U.S.–Iran tensions and a prolonged Strait of Hormuz blockade push oil above $110, raising inflation and recession concerns. Federal Reserve holds rates at 3.5%–3.75% and signals no near-term cuts, reinforcing a “higher-for-longer” outlook that pressures crypto markets. Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped 3.5% to an intraday…

Crypto exchange OKX has launched an open protocol designed to let AI agents carry out full business transactions, extending machine payments into end-to-end commercial activity. Summary OKX has launched an open Agent Payments Protocol designed to let AI agents handle full business transactions, including quoting, escrow, and settlement. The exchange said existing agentic payment systems do not support complete transaction cycles, with escrow and dispute resolution features still under development. According to OKX, the Agent Payments Protocol enables AI systems to handle not only payments but also quoting, negotiating, escrow, usage tracking, settlement, and dispute handling within a single framework.…

Twenty One Capital shares rose after hours after Tether backed a proposed merger with Strike and Elektron Energy.  Summary Twenty One Capital shares gained after hours after Tether backed a three-way Bitcoin merger plan. Strike would add payments and financial services, while Elektron would bring Bitcoin mining infrastructure. Tether said the deal could move Twenty One beyond Bitcoin treasury exposure alone. The plan could move the Bitcoin-buying company beyond treasury holdings and into payments, mining, and financial services. Tether said it intends to vote in favor of merging Twenty One Capital with Strike. The combined company would then merge with…

A $59 million RLUSD settlement was completed on the XRP Ledger on April 29 at a total transaction fee of $0.000188, cited by on-chain researcher Ripple Bull Winkle as live proof that Ripple’s payment network is already handling large-scale cross-border settlements in production. Summary The $59 million transaction used Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger and settled for a fee of $0.000188, less than one cent, while SWIFT-based settlements of equivalent size typically take two to three business days and cost significantly more. The settlement was flagged by crypto researcher Ripple Bull Winkle on X and cited in Coinpedia…