Stablecoins: Depegging, fraudsters and decentralization

Opinion by: Merav Ozair, PhD Lately, stablecoins are everywhere — this time around, headed by “traditional” financial institutions. Bank of America and Standard Chartered are considering launching their own stablecoin, joining JPMorgan, which launched its stablecoin, JPM Coin — rebranded as Kinexys Digital Payments — to facilitate transactions with their institutional clients on their blockchain …

Artificial general intelligence (AGI): Can it really think like a human?

What is AGI? When the lines blur between man and machine, you’re looking at artificial general intelligence (AGI). Unlike its counterpart, artificial narrow intelligence (ANI), which is the use of AI for solving individual problem statements, AGI represents artificial intelligence that can understand, learn and apply knowledge in a way that is indistinguishable from human …

Crypto in ‘gamble mindset’ as memecoin mentions hit YTD high: Santiment

Online discussions about memecoins have hit a year-to-date high, gaining considerable attention after sentiment cooled earlier in the year, according to onchain analytics platform Santiment.  Two weeks ago, discussions around Bitcoin (BTC) and layer-1 protocols peaked during the market volatility brought on by the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. However, that’s since shifted to high market …

US Treasury wants to cut off Huione over ties to crypto crime

The US Treasury Department wants to block the Cambodia-based Huione Group from accessing the US banking system, accusing it of helping North Korea’s state-backed Lazarus Group to launder its crypto. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed on May 1 to prohibit US financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts for …

SEC files to drop crypto promo case against YouTuber Ian Balina

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed to drop another of its crypto lawsuits, this time its unregistered securities sales case against crypto influencer and YouTuber Ian Balina.  The SEC said in a May 1 joint stipulation with Balina to an Austin federal court that it “believes the dismissal of this case is appropriate,” …

Sky pitches ousting Maker token, enabling staking, to complete upgrade

Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Sky has pitched a proposal to finalize its upgrade from Maker by replacing its governance token and enabling staking. The proposal, posted on May 1 to Sky’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) forum, would see the Sky (SKY) token take over the Maker (MKR) token as the protocol’s governance token. If …

Kraken details how it spotted North Korean hacker in job interview

US crypto exchange Kraken has detailed a North Korean hacker’s attempt to infiltrate the organization by applying for a job interview. “What started as a routine hiring process for an engineering role quickly turned into an intelligence-gathering operation,” the company wrote in a May 1 blog post. Kraken said the applicant’s red flags appeared early …

Kraken finalizes NinjaTrader buy as Q1 revenue jumps 19%

Crypto exchange Kraken has completed its acquisition of the futures trading platform NinjaTrader and reported its first quarter revenues jumped 19% year-on-year to $471.7 million. Kraken said in a May 1 report that its NinjaTrader acquisition would give its US customers access to the traditional derivatives market, aligning with its plans to expand its offerings …

Tether posts $1B in Q1 operating profit, $5.6 billion excess in reserves

Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has released its financials for the first quarter of 2025, disclosing nearly $120 billion in exposure to US Treasurys and over $1 billion in operating profit. According to Tether’s Q1 2025 financial report, the company’s assets include $98.5 billion in direct US Treasury bills, …

Crypto ‘decoupling’ story ends as stocks follow Bitcoin’s rally

Key takeaways: Despite weak US manufacturing data, Federal Reserve liquidity plans and strong corporate earnings keep equities and crypto afloat. The total crypto market capitalization rose 8.5% since March. Cryptocurrency traders have frequently zoomed in on the need for crypto to show a clear “decoupling” from the stock market, and over the past 10 days, …