President Trump signed an executive order on April 30 directing the Labor Department to allow Trump retirement account access to cryptocurrency, private equity, and other alternative assets inside US 401(k) plans, targeting the roughly $12.5 trillion defined-contribution market that has been largely closed to digital assets under existing ERISA guidance. Summary The executive order instructs
Tether posted $1.04 billion in Q1 2026 net profit and a record Tether profit reserve buffer of $8.23 billion, backed primarily by $141 billion in US Treasuries, in a quarterly attestation published May 1 by accounting firm BDO, its most detailed financial disclosure to date. Summary Tether profit of $1.04 billion in Q1 represents a
The US Senate voted unanimously to bar all senators and their staff from placing bets on political prediction market platforms including Polymarket and Kalshi, with the resolution authored by Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who also set the end-of-May CLARITY Act deadline. Summary The Senate ban passed unanimously, a notable bipartisan outcome that reflects shared concern
Pi Network confirmed its sponsorship of Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 5 to 7, with co-founders Dr. Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis each scheduled to speak at the Convergence Stage, marking the project’s most prominent mainstream industry appearance as its Protocol 23 smart contract launch on May 11 approaches. Summary Dr. Chengdiao Fan speaks
Major US banking trade groups have asked the Treasury Department and the FDIC to pause three GENIUS Act rulemaking comment periods until the OCC finalises its primary stablecoin framework, while stablecoin startup Agora simultaneously filed for a national trust bank charter on April 24 to establish a federal presence before the rules harden. Summary The
Coinbase activated Trade at Settlement for XRP futures on May 1, making XRP TAS the first altcoin to receive the same institutional block-trade execution mechanism already available for Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, and crude oil futures, following a CFTC filing on April 21. Summary XRP TAS allows institutional investors to execute large block orders for both
Pi Network has set May 11 as the activation date for Protocol 23, the upgrade that introduces full smart contract functionality to the Pi blockchain and transforms the network from a mobile mining project into a programmable platform capable of supporting DeFi applications and real-world asset tokenisation. Summary Pi Network Protocol 23 lands on May
Microsoft and OpenAI restructured their landmark 2019 partnership on April 27, converting Microsoft’s cloud license from exclusive to non-exclusive, allowing OpenAI to sell its full model suite on Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud for the first time, as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed OpenAI models will arrive on AWS Bedrock within weeks. Summary OpenAI
Mantle’s proposal to lend up to 30,000 ETH to Aave’s DeFi United rsETH rescue has gone live on Snapshot, adding structured credit to a $314m multi‑DAO war chest. Summary Mantle Network says its rsETH relief credit facility proposal for Aave has moved into the governance voting stage on Snapshot, with MNT holders required to delegate
Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari has shifted from penciling in one or two 2026 cuts to a data‑dependent stance as the Iran war and higher oil muddy the inflation path. Summary Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari says he had expected inflation to cool enough to justify cutting interest rates once or twice in 2026, but
