Good afternoon,

Bitcoin hovers near $67,000 and Ether around $1,970 as volatility cools following the recent selloff, though altcoins continue to slide amid heavy outflows pointing to fading retail participation. Meanwhile, hawkish Fed minutes revived rate-hike chatter, CME Group is moving toward 24/7 crypto derivatives trading, and the Ethereum Foundation outlined a 2026 roadmap centered on scaling, user experience and strengthening the base layer.

More news below! 👇

News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

  • OpenAI and Paradigm Roll Out AI Benchmark for Smart Contract Security (CoinDesk)

  • OpenAI Nears Record $100B Funding Round at $850B Valuation (Bloomberg)

  • GLM-5 Outsmarts Claude by Faking Identity in AI Business Showdown (Decrypt)

  • Accenture Ties Promotions to AI Tool Usage as Workplace Anxiety Grows (Decrypt)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

  • Ledn Sells $188M Bitcoin-Backed Bonds (Bitcoin Magazine)

  • World Liberty Financial Plans Tokenized Offering Tied to Trump Maldives Resort (PR Newswire)

  • Fed Minutes Strike Hawkish Tone as Some Officials Float Possibility of Rate Hike (Bloomberg)

  • Uniswap Considers Protocol Fee Expansion Across All v3 Pools and Eight Chains (The Block)

  • Soil Brings Yield Protocol on XRP Ledger, Expanding Utility for RLUSD (The Block)

  • Voltage Launches USD-Settled Revolving Credit Line on Lightning Network (The Block)

  • CME Group to Offer 24/7 Trading for Crypto Futures and Options Starting May 29 (PR Newswire)

  • PayPal’s PYUSD Tops $4B Market Cap as Arbitrum Supply Surges (The Defiant)

  • Susquehanna-Backed Blockfills Seeks Buyer After $75M Lending Loss (CoinDesk)

  • Tokenized xStocks Surpasse $25B in Total Transaction Volume (The Block)

  • Polymarket Acquires Prediction Market API Startup Dome (The Block)

Exchange-Traded Funds

Infrastructure

  • Ether.fi Moves Crypto Card Platform to Optimism’s OP Mainnet (The Block)

  • Ethereum Foundation Sets 2026 Roadmap Focused on Scaling, UX, and Hardening the L1 (Ethereum Foundation)

  • Robinhood’s Layer 2 Testnet Logs 4 Million Transactions in Debut Week (The Block)

Markets

  • Altcoin Sell-Off Deepens as $209B in Outflows Signal Retail Retreat (Decrypt)

  • Bitcoin Near $67K, Ether Around $1,970 as Volatility Cools After Selloff (CoinDesk)

  • Fed Paper Finds Prediction Markets Rival Traditional Economic Forecasts (FRB)

  • Aptos Proposes Lower Staking Rewards, 2.1B APT Cap in Tokenomics Overhaul (Aptos)

  • Optimism Token Slides Over 20% After Base Announces Stack Overhaul (Decrypt)

  • Bitcoin Nears Longest Weekly Losing Streak Since 2022 as Geopolitical Tensions Rise (CoinDesk)

  • U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending Feb.14: 206k, Exp. 223k, Prev. 229k (DOL)

  • ‘Bitcoin Going to Zero’ Searches Spike as Market Hits Extreme Fear (Decrypt)

Mining

  • Activist Investor Pushes Riot Platforms to Accelerate AI Pivot (DL News)

  • UAE Royal-Linked Miners Hold $453M in Bitcoin With $344M in Paper Gains (Bitcoin Magazine)

  • Bitdeer Stock Slides as $300M Convertible Note Deal Funds HPC and AI Pivot (The Block)

Politics & Regulation

  • Polymarket Lawsuit Tests Federal vs. State Control Over U.S. Prediction Markets (Cointelegraph)

  • Sen. Warren Urges Treasury and Fed to Reject Any Bitcoin Bailout Amid Market Slide (Decrypt)

  • SEC Signals ‘Incremental’ Innovation Exemption for Tokenized Securities (The Block)

Treasuries

  • Sharplink’s Ethereum Treasury Swells to 867,798 ETH (The Block)

Venture Capital

  • DBA Raises $68M for Its Second Venture Fund (The Block)

  • Newity Raises $11M to Move Small Business Loans Onchain (The Block)

Other News

  • ETH Denver Returns to Its Builder Roots as Bear Market Thins the Crowd (Decrypt)

  • How Address Poisoning Scams Bypass Private Keys to Drain Crypto Wallets (Cointelegraph)

  • Hacker Returns $21M in Bitcoin Stolen From South Korean Prosecutors (The Block)

  • Ex-Secret Service Agent Urges Crypto Investors to Prioritize Awareness Amid Rise in ‘Wrench Attacks’ (DL News)

  • Fund Manager Freed After Plea Deal in $40M Bitcoin Embezzlement Case (DL News)

  • OpenAI’s KYC Provider Accused of Sharing User Crypto Data With U.S. Authorities (DL News)

  • Onchain Analytics Platform Parsec Shuts Down After Five Years (The Block)

Check This Out!

River data shows a notable shift in Bitcoin’s holder composition last year: institutional and government accumulation increased, while individual ownership contracted significantly.

Meme of the Day

Source: Key_Patient5620

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