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OKX exec warns against hype amid real-world asset tokenization boom

Crypto exchange OKX’s CEO for its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) arm urged the industry to focus on delivering real-world utility as interest in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization accelerates.

In a Cointelegraph interview at the Token20249 event in Dubai, OKX MENA CEO Rifad Mahasneh warned that while tokenization is promising, projects must “clearly demonstrate” the benefits of tokenizing specific assets.

“In some cases, we’re tokenizing things that don’t need tokenization, but in some cases, we’re tokenizing things that actually give you real, everyday value, right? And if you can see that everyday value, then that is a promising project,” Mahasneh told Cointelegraph.

He said hype can drive project growth in the Web3 space, but providing everyday value should be the priority.

OKX MENA CEO Rifad Mahasneh at the Token2049 media lounge. Source: CointelegraphRWA tokenization gains traction in the UAE

Mahasneh’s comments come amid an increase in real-world asset tokenization projects in the Middle East,

Bitcoin vs. digital fiat is freedom vs. serfdom

Opinion by: Simon Cain, contributor at Bitcoin Policy UK

Most jurisdictions globally are researching, developing or implementing retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). If you see these as harmless move-with-the-times digital updates of old-fashioned paper money, look again. CBDCs potentially mean financial serfdom via a monetary panopticon where the authorities closely control every transaction.

If you think this sounds paranoid, just consider the words of Augustin Carstens, head of the Bank for International Settlements — the central bank for the world’s central banks. Lamenting the authorities’ current inability to control cash transactions, he says that with a CBDC, a “central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that will determine use… also we will have the technology to enforce that.. that makes a huge difference with respect to what cash is.”

How “absolute control” might work

CBDCs could be programmed so

US Senate crypto bills stall amid Trump ties and ethics concerns

Efforts to pass crypto legislation in the US Senate face mounting resistance amid growing ethical concerns around US President Donald Trump’s ties to crypto.

In a May 5 letter to the Office of Government Ethics, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley said that Trump and his family stand to personally profit from an investment involving UAE state-backed firm MGX, crypto exchange Binance and World Liberty Financial (WLFI).

The senators called for an urgent probe, warning the deal may violate the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause and federal bribery statutes.

At the center of the controversy is WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin, reportedly chosen for a $2 billion investment MGX plans to make into Binance.

The senators said the transaction amounts to a potential backdoor for foreign influence and self-enrichment, with Trump’s allies allegedly set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars:

“This deal raises the troubling prospect that

Bitcoin Core to unilaterally remove controversial OP-Return limit

Bitcoin Core developers have decided to remove a limit on transaction data in the next network upgrade, enabling more data to be included in a more efficient way.

“Bitcoin Core’s next release will, by default, relay and mine transactions whose OP_RETURN outputs exceed 80 bytes and allow any number of these outputs,” read the announcement on GitHub by Bitcoin developer Greg Sanders on May 5.

The long-standing limit was originally a “gentle signal that block space should be used sparingly for non-payment proof of publication data,” has outlived its utility, he added.

The proposal (PR 32359) was created by Bitcoin pioneer Peter Todd at the request of Chaincode Labs.

OP_RETURN is a special type of Bitcoin (BTC) transaction output that allows storing small amounts of data on the blockchain, popularized during the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null"

Celsius’ Mashinsky lashes out at ‘death-in-prison sentence’

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius, has blasted the government’s 20-year “venom-laced” sentence request, declaring it a “death-in-prison sentence.”

The US Department of Justice requested Mashinsky receive at least 20 years behind bars in the May 8 sentencing for his role in misleading Celsius users and profiting from the price manipulation of Celsius (CEL), which would make the 59-year-old 79 if he serves the whole sentence.

Lawyers acting for Mashinsky argued in a May 5 reply memorandum filed in a New York district court that he should receive no more than 366 days, because the DOJ hasn’t taken into account his status as a nonviolent first-time offender with a previously unblemished 30-year history in business.

“The government’s venom-laced submission recasts this case as one involving a

eToro aims for $4B valuation, $500M raise for US IPO

The Israel-based eToro Group says it’s looking for a valuation of up to $4 billion with its initial public offering in the US, as the stock and crypto trading platform forges ahead with listing on the Nasdaq.

The company and existing stockholders are aiming to raise $500 million through offering a total of 10 million shares priced between $46 to $50 apiece, eToro said on May 5.

A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows eToro is offering 5 million shares, with a further 5 million being put up by the likes of the company’s co-founder and CEO, Yoni Assia; his brother and executive director, Ronen Assia; along with venture firms Spark Capital, BRM Group and Andalusian Private Capital, among others.

The company offers stock and crypto trading targeting retail and plans to list on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Global Select Market

Suspect in $190M Nomad hack to be extradited to the US: Report

A Russian-Israeli citizen allegedly involved in the $190 million Nomad bridge hack will soon be extradited to the US after he was reportedly arrested at an Israeli airport while boarding a flight to Russia.

Alexander Gurevich will be investigated for his alleged involvement in several “computer crimes,” including laundering millions of dollars and transferring stolen property allegedly connected to the Nomad Bridge hack in 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported on May 5.

Gurevich returned to Israel from an overseas trip on April 19 but was ordered to appear before the Jerusalem District Court for an extradition hearing soon after, according to the report.

On April 29, Gurevich changed his name in Israel’s Population Registry to “Alexander Block” and received a passport under that name at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport the next day.

He was arrested at the same airport two days later, on May 1, while waiting to board a

Florida takes strategic Bitcoin reserve bills off the table

Two Florida crypto bills have been removed from the legislative process in the latest blow to American state-level strategic Bitcoin reserve ambitions.

Florida’s House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550 have been “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration” on May 3, according to the Florida Senate.

Florida’s legislative session adjourned on May 2 without the passage of these two bills, which would have advanced legislation to establish a crypto reserve for the state. The Senate and House agreed to extend the session until June 6 to address budget plans.

Lawmakers passed about 230 bills during the session, dealing with things like prohibiting putting fluoride in the water, protecting state parks, and a school smartphone ban, but diversifying state treasury portfolios was not among them.

State strategic Bitcoin reserve legislation race. Source: Bitcoin Laws

HB 487,

Tron says DAO X hack cost victims $45K, Curve Finance also hit

A hacker who took over the Tron DAO X account is estimated to have made around $45,000 in improperly solicited funds, according to a spokesperson from Tron.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, the Tron public relations team confirmed that on May 2, the Tron DAO account posted a contract address and sent direct messages to solicit payments in exchange for promotional advertising on the Tron account.

“Our security team quickly identified the intrusion and cut off access to the hacker, but we ask the community to continue to be vigilant. We will never ask anyone for payments like this via DM or otherwise,” they said.

The team said that based on the illicit contract address the hacker posted, the amount improperly solicited appeared to be around $45,000.

Asked whether the same hacker could be responsible for the supposed New York Post’s X account hack on May 3, the Tron team told

Fresh $1B in Tether mints on Tron, closing gap again with Ethereum

The Tron network has drawn closer to regaining the lead from Ethereum in Tether circulation after another big mint by the US stablecoin issuer.

On May 5, Tether minted another $1 billion Tether (USDT) on the Tron network, according to Arkham Intelligence. This brings the total USDT on Tron to $71.4 billion, according to the Tether Transparency report.

In comparison, there is currently $72.8 billion USDT circulating on the Ethereum network, so just $1.4 billion more USDT on Tron will see it become the leading network for the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, as it has been previously over the last two years.

Tron was ahead of Ethereum for USDT circulation between July 2022 and November 2024, but a large $18 billion mint on Ethereum pushed the network ahead again, according to CryptoQuant.

The third-largest network for USDT is Solana,