Crypto

Bitcoin prices were a big loser at the end of Q1, after soaring to a record high in January and posting world-class market gains in Q4, 2024. But April turned out different at the end.

The month of May is light on AAA hits, but still brings claymation horror and a Doom prequel with a skull-crushing gun.

Tokenization is gaining real traction as BlackRock, Libre, and MultiBank make billion-dollar moves, signaling the shift from theory to execution. Tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is evolving from an abstract concept to a practical financial tool as institutional players increasingly test and deploy blockchain-based infrastructure at scale. This past week alone saw a flurry of announcements from both traditional financial institutions and blockchain-native firms advancing their RWA initiatives. On April 30, BlackRock filed to create a digital ledger technology shares class for its $150 billion Treasury Trust fund. It will leverage blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of share ownership for investors. Read more

A popular social media influencer explained why XRP might be a sleeping giant.

The following is a guest post and opinion of Matej Janež, Head of Partnerships at Oasis. At EthDenver earlier this year, one topic kept coming up again and again: AI and autonomous AI Agents. That excitement has carried over into other crypto conferences as the year has gone on. There is good reason for the […] The post Why DeFi agents need a private brain appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Wall Street's boldest Bitcoin forecasts now approach Hayes' vision - with BlackRock and Chamath predicting $500-700K targets.

Binance has partnered with Kyrgyzstan to roll out crypto payments and launch blockchain education programs in the country. Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kyrgyzstan’s National Agency for Investments to introduce crypto payment infrastructure and blockchain education in the country. The MoU was formalized during the inaugural meeting of the Council for the Development of Digital Assets, attended by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the exchange said in a May 4 press release. As part of the agreement, Binance will introduce Binance Pay to Kyrgyzstan, enabling crypto-based transactions for visitors and residents. Read more

OKX CEO Star Xu has responded to accusations from Tron founder Justin Sun, who claimed the exchange failed to act on a law enforcement request to freeze stolen funds. The post OKX CEO Defends Exchange Amid Justin Sun Freeze Dispute appeared first on Cryptonews.

TRUMP and IMX are the biggest losers on a daily scale.

A group of nine US Senate Democrats say they will oppose the stablecoin bill in its current form, threatening its chances of passing. A group of US Senate Democrats known for supporting the crypto industry have said they would oppose a Republican-led stablecoin bill if it moves forward in its current form. The move threatens to stall legislation that could establish the first US regulatory framework for stablecoins, according to a May 3 report from Politico. Per the report, nine Senate Democrats said in a joint statement that the bill “still has numerous issues that must be addressed.” They warned they would not support a procedural vote to advance the legislation unless changes are made. Read more

XRP's price has slipped in the past few days, but Ripple is trying to make some big moves.

Arizona state senator and Bitcoin advocate Wendy Rogers said, “Bitcoin doesn’t need Arizona, Arizona needs Bitcoin." Bitcoiners and United States government officials have criticized Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ decision to veto a bill that would have allowed the state to hold Bitcoin as part of its official reserves. “This will age poorly,” Casa co-founder and cypherpunk Jameson Lopp said in a May 3 X post. Bitcoin (BTC) entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano said, “Imagine the ignorance of a politician to believe they can make investment decisions.” “If she can’t outperform Bitcoin, she must buy it,” Pompliano said. Crypto lawyer Andrew Gordon said, “We need more elected officials who understand that Bitcoin and crypto are the future.” Read more

A bullish SOL cup and handle pattern has formed on the price chart. Meanwhile, Solana is moving to tokenize stocks on the blockchain while ETF issuers are applying to trade SOL on Wall Street.

The following is a guest post and opinion from Hart Lambur, Co-Founder of RIsk Labs (UMA and Across). Solana’s recent growth didn’t come at Ethereum’s expense. It expanded the total crypto user base. Instead of pulling users away from Ethereum, Solana served as a gateway for new entrants into web3. With fast transactions and low fees, […] The post Solana’s moment is good for Ethereum and Web3 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

OKX claims to have not received any requests from law enforcement to freeze funds after Tron’s X account was compromised. OKX founder and CEO Star Xu has publicly defended the crypto exchange after Tron founder Justin Sun accused it of failing to act on a law enforcement request to freeze stolen funds following a recent hack of Tron’s official X account. “OKX also has consumers protection policy according to law, we can’t freeze a customer’s funds according to your personal X post or an oral communication. I think you should understand it as the CEO of HTX,” Xu said in an X post. Xu said that the crypto exchange had not received any related correspondence through OKX’s official channels. “Our LE cooperation team just checked the email, including the spam box; we haven’t received any request related with this case,” Xu said. Read more

Bitwise says its “in house” prediction for Bitcoin is $1 million by 2029, deputy CIA director says Bitcoin “here to stay” — Hodler’s Digest The US Central Intelligence Agency is increasingly incorporating Bitcoin as a tool in its operations, and working with the cryptocurrency is a matter of national security, Michael Ellis, the agencys deputy director, told podcast host Anthony Pompliano. In an appearance on the market analyst and investors The Pomp Podcast show, Ellis told Pompliano that the intelligence agency works with law enforcement to track BTC, and it is a point of data collection in counter-intelligence operations. Ellis added: Bitcoin is here to stay cryptocurrency is here to stay. As you know, more and more institutions are adopting it, and I think that is a great trend. One that this administration has obviously been leaning forward into. Read more

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that the blockchain’s long-term resilience and scalability hinge on making it simple, like Bitcoin. In a blog post on May 3, he described how “Ethereum 5 years from now can become close to as simple as Bitcoin.” Buterin wrote: “One of the best things about Bitcoin is how beautifully simple […] The post Vitalik Buterin wants to make Ethereum ‘as simple as Bitcoin’ by 2030 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Buffett said he was confident that Berkshire Hathaway's board would "unanimously" approve his successor as CEO of the investment company. Warren Buffett, the CEO of publicly traded investment company Berkshire Hathaway, announced at the company's annual shareholder meeting that he will step down by the end of 2025, and his chosen successor will take over as CEO, pending approval from Berkshire's board of directors. According to CNBC, Buffett reiterated that Greg Abel, the company's vice chairman of non-insurance operations, who was previously named by Buffett as his successor, will take over. The Berkshire founder announced: Buffett added that he would stay at the company in an advisory role "but the final word would be what Greg decided," the CEO said. Buffett's decision to step down as CEO comes at a time when Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on cash reserves of roughly $348 billion. Read more

The following is a guest post and opinion by Adam Gągol, Co-founder of Aleph Zero. It’s often said that if you want something done, make it easy to do. This truism runs across disciplines from marketing to sales. Perhaps it has never been more true than in crypto, with ten centralized exchanges accounting for 90% of […] The post In crypto, privacy simply isn’t simple enough appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Taking advantage of the increasingly divergent fundamentals of Bitcoin and fiat currency could be a way out for struggling miners. Bitcoin (BTC) mining firms should hold their mined Bitcoin and use it as collateral for fiat-denominated loans to pay operating expenses instead of selling BTC and losing the upside of an asset that miners expect to surge in price, according to John Glover, chief investment officer at Bitcoin lending firm Ledn. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Glover said that holding onto the BTC carries several benefits including, price appreciation, tax deferment, and the potential to make extra revenue by lending out BTC held in corporate treasuries. The executive added: This debt-based approach is similar to companies like Strategy, which issue corporate debt and equity to finance Bitcoin acquisition and profit from the diverging fundamentals of BTC and the fiat currencies the corporate capital raises are denominated in. Read more