Senate Banking Panel Releases CLARITY Act Draft Ahead of Thursday Markup

Senate Banking Republicans released the draft text of the crypto market structure bill Wednesday ahead of a key committee vote on Thursday.Two provisions, a January 1, 2026 ETF cutoff and a 60-day auto-certification window, would sharply limit the SECs jurisdiction over digital assets.The current draft draws a clearer regulatory perimeter for digital assets than any prior legislation, Decrypt was told.  The Senate Banking Committee released draft text for the CLARITY Act just past midnight Wednesday that could permanently exempt and from federal securities law, ahead of a markup thats been scheduled for Thursday this week.  Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Subcommittee on Digital Assets Chair Cynthia Lummis, and Senator Thom Tillis jointly released the text after months of bipartisan negotiations that included a last-minute yield compromise and a deal on developer protections.  The bill “reflects serious, good-faith work across the Committee,” Scott said in a joint statement, adding it “delivers the certainty, safeguards, and accountability Americans deserve.”  Lummis said the text represented “nearly a year of bipartisan, blood, sweat, and tears.” “Wyoming led the way, and Washington is catching up,” she added.  The bill stalled in January after Coinbase pulled its support over stablecoin yield restrictions, delaying a committee vote that had already been scheduled. Tillis

05-12Industry

Ethereum Eyes 200M Gas Limit as Aave Pushes $71M Vote and Bitmine Targets 5% Supply

The Ethereum Foundation has cleared several technical milestones for the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade, including a credible post-upgrade target of a 200 million gas limit floor — more than triple the current ceiling near 60 million. Developers also finalized EIP-8037, which raises the cost of state-creation operations to keep state growth manageable as larger blocks roll out. Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) was stabilized, embedding builder-validator separation into protocol rules with less reliance on external relays. Originally pencilled in for June, Glamsterdam now looks set for the third quarter of 2026, with devnets already live on the public Ethereum blockchain.  The Foundation simultaneously confirmed a leadership reshuffle inside its Protocol cluster, naming Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn, and Fredrik as the new triumvirate guiding core development. Long-serving researchers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko are stepping away, while Alex Stokes will take a sabbatical, marking one of the most significant personnel changes inside the organization in years. The reshuffle arrives alongside continued scoping of Hegotà, the upgrade slated to follow Glamsterdam, and ongoing work on the Strawmap quantum-resistant roadmap. Analysts view the transition as a deliberate generational handover designed to keep Ethereums research pipeline funded and on schedule through the next two major hard forks.  A

05-12Ethereum

Hyperliquid Gains Wall Street Momentum as Grayscale Updates HYPE ETF Proposal

Grayscale Investments filed Amendment No. 2 to its Form S-1 registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11, 2026, to formally advance its proposed Hyperliquid ETF.  Hyperliquid enters institutional stage  As competition for altcoin ETF products heats up, institutional interest in Hyperliquids native token, HYPE, continues to grow, according to the updated filing. The proposed product, which is currently known as the Grayscale HYPE ETF, is intended to give investors direct exposure to HYPE tokens without requiring them to hold the asset themselves, according to the filing. By keeping actual HYPE tokens inside the fund structure, the trust would operate similarly to spot Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs.  You Might Also Like  Ray Dalio: Bitcoin Fails as Safe Haven  Can Toncoin (TON) Lose All Gains? Ethereum (ETH) $2,000 Plunge Is Possible, Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Is in Strongest State Since March: Crypto Market Review  The addition of staking language is one of the amendments most significant changes. Grayscale included clauses that might allow the ETF to profit from staking HYPE holdings if U.S. regulators approve the structure. The company even hinted that the product might eventually be known as the Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF.  The filing also demonstrates Hyperliquid‘s rapid transformation from a

05-12Industry

XRP To $10? Thesis Links CLARITY Act To Bank-Scale Liquidity

Jake Simmons, a dedicated crypto journalist, has been passionate about Bitcoin since 2016 when he first learned about it. Through his extensive work with NewsBTC.com and Bitcoinist.com, Jake has become a trusted voice in the crypto community, guiding newcomers and seasoned enthusiasts alike towards a deeper understanding of this dynamic field.  His mission is simple yet profound: to demystify Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and make them accessible to everyone.  With a professional career in the Bitcoin and crypto scene that began right after graduating with a degree in Information Systems in 2017, Jake has immersed himself in the industry. Jake joined the NewsBTC Group in late 2022. His educational background provides him with the technical prowess and analytical skills necessary to dissect complex topics and present them in an understandable format. Whether you are a casual reader curious about Bitcoin or an investor seeking to navigate the latest market trends, Jakes insights offer valuable perspectives that bridge the gap between complex technology and everyday usage.  Jake is not just a reporter on technological trends; he is a firm believer in the transformative potential of Bitcoin over traditional fiat currencies. To him, the current financial system is on the brink of chaos, propelled by unchecked

05-12Industry

US April CPI Report Sparks Fresh Fears of Fed Rate Hikes in 2026

Markets now price in growing odds of Fed rate hikes as April CPI data approaches.Rising oil and gasoline prices continue adding pressure to U.S. inflation expectations.Softer wage and shelter inflation may help limit further Fed tightening concerns.  The upcoming release of the U.S. April Consumer Price Index (CPI) report has raised attention on the Federal Reserves next policy move, as financial markets continue to price in a prolonged period of high interest rates.  Current expectations from major investment banks indicate that the Fed is unlikely to begin cutting rates before 2027, while market participants have also started assigning higher probabilities to possible rate hikes later this year. The inflation report is expected to provide further clarity on whether price pressures tied to energy costs and core inflation trends could change the central banks policy direction.  According to CME FedWatch data, markets currently assign a 97.7% probability that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged in June and a 94.6% probability of no change in July. The probability that rates will remain unchanged in September stands at 89.2%. However, traders are also pricing in a 5.7% chance of a 25-basis-point rate increase in September, rising to 14% in October and 23.7% by December.  Related:

05-12Industry

Ether weakness against bitcoin deepens as ETH/BTC ratio hits 10-month low

One widely watched indicator for assessing whether the crypto market is in a bullish or bearish phase is the ether-to-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio.  On Tuesday, the ratio fell to 0.02835, its lowest level in 10 months and the weakest reading since July 2025. The decline comes as ether dropped more than 2% on Tuesday, compared with bitcoins decline of just over 1%. The ETH/BTC ratio is now down more than 35% from its August high of 0.04324.  The ETH/BTC ratio measures ether‘s relative performance against bitcoin across crypto exchanges and is considered a key gauge of market risk appetite. A rising ratio typically signals that investors are rotating capital into ether and other higher risk crypto assets, reflecting stronger risk sentiment. Conversely, a falling ratio suggests investors are favoring bitcoin’s relative stability and defensive characteristics.  The pair peaked above 0.08 in December 2021 before entering a prolonged multi year downtrend. Much of the weakness through 2024 and into 2025 was driven by bitcoins outperformance following the launch and success of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, which attracted significant institutional inflows.  The ratio eventually bottomed at 0.01770 in April 2025 during the market turmoil surrounding President Trumps “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. It then rebounded

05-12Industry

Bitcoin Holds $80.8K as Dalio Flags Privacy Gap, Strategy Adds 535 BTC and ETPs Pull $858M

Ray Dalio has stepped into the long-running privacy debate, arguing that Bitcoin‘s radical transparency is precisely why central banks remain reluctant to add it to their reserves. The billionaire, who personally allocates roughly 1% of his portfolio to BTC, said transactions on the network can be monitored and potentially controlled, a feature private wealth tolerates but sovereign treasuries do not. Every transfer is permanently inscribed on a public ledger, and blockchain analytics firms can frequently trace flows back to entities even when wallet addresses appear pseudonymous. Dalio also flagged Bitcoin’s tightening correlation with equities as a structural drawback when compared with golds diversification profile.  Technical analysts are warning that BTC remains pinned beneath a multi-month ceiling that has repeatedly produced double-digit drawdowns. Bitcoin slid 2.25% to roughly $80,500 after another failed attempt to clear its 200-day exponential moving average near $82,580, a level that has rejected every rebound attempt since November 2025. Prior rejections from the same line triggered sell-offs of 25% and 36%, averaging a 30% drawdown. A repeat performance could pull spot toward $56,600, an area aligning with a long-term lifetime-support model that places macro floor zones in the mid-$50,000s and a secondary band near $46,760.  The Wall Street–Main Street

05-12Industry

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Stock Plunges 11% as Q1 Revenue Misses Expectations by Over 60%

AST SpaceMobile, Inc., ASTS  The satellite communications company disclosed a quarterly loss of 66 cents per share alongside revenue totaling $14.7 million. This performance fell notably short of Wall Streets consensus forecast, which anticipated a loss of merely 23 cents per share on sales of $39 million. For comparison, the same period last year saw AST record a loss of 20 cents per share with revenue of only $718,000.  The first-quarter shortfall is substantial. Sales figures reached barely 38% of analyst projections.  Yet the company chose not to revise its forward-looking projections. AST SpaceMobile reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue target ranging from $150 million to $200 million. Current Wall Street estimates center around $177 million for the full year.  This unchanged guidance provided some reassurance to shareholders following an underwhelming quarterly performance.  Context matters here: ASTS had climbed 10% during Mondays regular session leading up to the earnings announcement, and had surged 220% throughout the preceding twelve months. Investor enthusiasm was clearly elevated.  Expanding Satellite Infrastructure  AST is constructing a satellite-based cellular network designed to enable ordinary smartphones to communicate directly with orbiting satellites — eliminating the need for specialized equipment.  The company has demonstrated peak download speeds of 98.9 megabits per second utilizing its operational Block 1

05-12Industry

Bhutan Opens Accelerated Fintech Licensing With 0% Corporate Tax and Free Banking – Bitcoin News

DK Bank Guarantees Accounts for Every GMC-Licensed Firm Starting May 2026  rogram, qualifying companies move through incorporation, regulatory review, and bank account opening as a single coordinated process rather than sequential steps that can stretch across months.  The integrated model connects directly to DK Bank, Bhutan‘s state-linked financial institution, and GMC’s official banking partner. Every company that earns a GMC license receives a corporate account with DK Bank as part of the process. That removes what regulators and founders commonly describe as the most stubborn friction point in setting up operations in a new jurisdiction: get  dividend tax, or inheritance tax. Foreign talent tax exemptions run through 2030.  For legal infrastructure, GMC uses common law frameworks drawn from Singapore, with regulatory principles modeled on ADGM. The region offers Variable Capital Company structures based on Singapores VCC model and operates an International Dispute Resolution Centre for cross-border investment disputes. A double taxation agreement with Singapore is already in place.  set and fintech licensing, at a time when companies in those sectors are searching for jurisdictions that can offer regulatory clarity alongside working banking rails. Bhutan is also well known for being a nation that holds bitcoin reserves.  Earlier this morning, onchain analysts noticed that Bhutan sent 100

05-12Industry

AI Is Now Both the Weapon and the Shield in Crypto’s Fraud War

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become both the most effective weapon and the strongest shield in cryptocurrency fraud.  The cost of running a crypto scam keeps tumbling as AI accelerates the trend. However, exchanges are turning to the same technology to strengthen their defenses.  Inside the AI vs AI Arms Race Reshaping Crypto Security  Binance Research recently highlighted that AI tools exploit smart contracts about twice as efficiently as they detect vulnerabilities. Attacks cost as little as $1.22 per contract, down 22% month-on-month, with advanced models succeeding 72.2% of the time.  “The barrier to entry for scam perpetrators is falling fast, with AI accelerating the drop. What once required technical expertise can now be executed for next to nothing and at scale,” Binance noted.  The problem extends beyond code. Chainalysis reports that scammers are using deepfakes, face-swap tools, and language models to power romance and investment scams.  Notably, AI-driven operations earn an average of $3.2 million each, roughly 4.5 times as much as traditional crypto scams.  “Today, 76% of AI-driven scams fall within the highest quartile for both scale and severity, and in 2025 alone, crypto-related fraud reached $17 billion – a 30% year-on-year increase. Without a proportionate response, the impact is likely to worsen,” the blog added.  Binance

05-12Industry
1
...
511513
...
1000