Layoffs Accelerate in May 2026 as Firms Restructure Around AI

More layoffs swept across industries in early May 2026 as a fresh wave of firms announced job cuts.  Many of the cuts share a common driver. Companies are rebuilding around artificial intelligence (AI).  Cloudflare Announces Layoffs in May 2026  Cloudflare announced Thursday it would cut more than 1,100 jobs globally, about 20% of its 5,156-person workforce, as reported at the end of 2025. The firm revealed that internal AI usage increased by more than 600% in three months.  “We have to be intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era in order to supercharge the value we deliver to our customers and to honor our mission to help build a better Internet for everyone, everywhere,” the email read.  On the same day, payments firm BILL said it would slash headcount by up to 30%. In addition, Upwork CEO Hayden Brown informed employees that the company would cut roughly a quarter of its workforce.  “We chose to take this step now for two reasons: (1) we know we move faster with smaller teams. Our 2024 layoff followed by excellent 2025 execution give us confidence this works. (2) To meet our profitability goals in a challenging environment,” Brown said.  Media reports also revealed that Ticketmaster

05-08Industry

Why Ethereum at $1 Felt Too Risky for Ripple CTO David Schwartz

Schwartz sold Ethereum near $1, prioritizing risk control over long-term upside.Even 1% belief in major upside would have changed his Ethereum holding decision.Schwartz reduces crypto exposure, relying on Ripple equity and a conservative stance.  Ripple CTO David Schwartz reignited debate across the crypto community after revisiting one of his most discussed investment decisions. Schwartz reflected on selling his Ethereum holdings near $1, long before the asset surged into the thousands. His comments revealed a cautious approach toward wealth preservation, despite his early involvement in several successful digital assets.  Schwartz Explains His Ethereum Decision  Schwartz recalled selling his Ethereum at roughly $1.05 during cryptos early years. However, he argued that the decision matched his understanding of risk at the time. He explained that he never believed Ethereum realistically carried strong odds of reaching prices above $2,000.  Besides, Schwartz emphasized that even a small belief in Ethereums future potential would have changed his decision entirely. He noted that a mere 1% confidence level in such an outcome would have convinced him to hold the asset longer.  His remarks sparked fresh reactions among crypto investors. Many users questioned how someone deeply connected to blockchain innovation could part with Ethereum so early.  However, Schwartz framed the situation differently. He argued

05-08Ethereum

$396 mln ETH moves: Are Ethereum whales preparing for another sell-off?

Paradigm Capital deposits $27 million in ETH  their positions entirely, Ethereum is facing significant sell-side pressure.  On the 6th of May, Ethereums Exchange Netflow rose to a monthly 160.9k ETH, with 983.3k ETH entering exchanges. This trend persisted at press time, with Netflow remaining positive at 7.4k ETH.  Netflow at such extreme levels suggests sellers have been highly active. As a result, supply on exchanges has also increased significantly.  Source: CryptoQuant  Exchange Supply Ratio made a significant trend reversal, rising from 0.121 to 0.122 over two consecutive days. The rising ESR signaled increased sell-side activity, while buyers have slowed down significantly.  Often, a higher exchange supply has strengthened downside risk, leading to lower prices.  What momentum indicators say  With selling pressure overwhelming the market, downside momentum has slightly strengthened. Ethereums Directional Movement Index (DMI) formed a bearish crossover, with +DI falling below ADX.  With the momentum indicators set as they are, this suggests that although the market trend is strong, bullish pressure has weakened significantly.  Thus, the trend grew faster than the bullish momentum. However, with the -DI holding both the ADX and the +DI below, it suggests buyers still have a slight edge over the market.  Thus, if sellers manage to push bullish pressure aside, ETH could drop below $2.3k

05-08Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin gets sandwiched by JaredfromSubway as Ethereum MEV risks linger

Buterin has spent the past several months pitching encrypted mempools as a fix for toxic MEV in Ethereums 2026 roadmap.  MEV is the profit that whoever orders transactions on a blockchain can pocket by reshuffling them. Anyone running a bot that watches the public mempool, the holding pen where pending transactions sit before being added to a block, can spot opportunities to insert their own trades around someone elses.  Sandwich attacks are the most aggressive form, with cumulative MEV extracted on Ethereum is now over $1.2 billion and these type of attacks accounting for roughly 51% of the total volume.  Buterin, among other developers, argue that MEV creates a hidden tax on regular users that can favour large, specialized operators over everyone else.  Jaredfromsubway.eth rose to prominence in 2023 as it sandwiched traders of meme coins like pepe and wojak during the then meme frenzy.  It briefly accounted for 7% of all gas fees on the network in April that year, and has reportedly extracted more than $7 million from victims across hundreds of thousands of transactions since.  The bot adapts faster than the protocols trying to stop it. It has survived contract upgrades, mempool filtering, and several attempts by builders to design exploits that drain

05-08Ethereum

Toncoin (TON) Price Rally Might End at $3, Ethereum (ETH) Becomes Falling Star, Bitcoin (BTC) First $82,000 Attempt in 380 Days: Crypto Market Review

Over the past few days, Toncoin has produced one of the markets biggest rallies, blowing through significant resistance zones and surprising traders with how quickly it moved. The price quickly recovered the 50, 100, and 200 EMAs after surging from a protracted accumulation range into a nearly vertical breakout.  Momentum is still very bullish on shorter timeframes as of right now. During the breakout, RSI moved far into overheated territory, while volume expanded rapidly. Technically speaking, the move represents a classic momentum squeeze, in which buyers flooded in at the same time that shorts became trapped.  However, there are increasing indications that the rally may be nearing exhaustion in the vicinity of $3. The structure, as it is now, appears to be stretched. Rarely do vertical rallies last forever without significant corrections, particularly following such a rapid expansion from low levels. The likelihood of severe volatility and aggressive profit-taking is increased because TON is currently trading well above its recent average price range.  Toncoin (TON) Price Rally Might End at $3, Ethereum (ETH) Becomes Falling Star, Bitcoin (BTC) First $82,000 Attempt in 380 Days: Crypto Market Review  XRP Holdings Disclosed by Worlds Leading Asset Manager  In fact, one of the main bullish factors driving the

05-08Ethereum

Why Yat Siu says the metaverse is over

Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu told Consensus Miami 2026 that the metaverse is over as a consumer destination, and that 100 billion AI agents will become blockchains primary users.Yat Siu said the pandemic-era vision of humans living in virtual worlds was wrong, and that the metaverse was a proof of concept for AI agent infrastructure rather than a consumer product.He predicted 50 to 100 billion AI agents will eventually operate on the internet, outnumbering humans and transacting autonomously on blockchain networks.Animoca announced a $10 million investment initiative for developers building AI agent applications through its Animoca Minds platform.  Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu told Consensus Miami 2026 on Thursday that the metaverse, as the crypto industry imagined it during the pandemic, was never really built for humans.  “Where were landing is that the metaverse, the blockchain-based one, was really the proof of concept for agents,” he said. “In other words, it was never really destined for humans as a prime consumer.”  The remarks mark a clean break from Animocas earlier positioning. The firm was among the most prominent advocates of the pandemic-era metaverse vision, which assumed users would spend growing amounts of their social and economic lives in immersive virtual environments.  Siu attributed that

05-08Industry

Shopify Inc Stock Climbs 3.55% on Renewed Earnings Focus

Shopify Inc., SHOPShopify Inc Stock Rebounds After Earnings Reassessment  Shopify released its Q1 2026 results on May 5 and exceeded analyst estimates for revenue and earnings per share. The company reported Gross Merchandise Volume above $100 billion for the second consecutive quarter. It also maintained healthy free cash flow margins and reported growth in Merchant Solutions revenue.  However, the stock declined on May 5 and May 6 after management issued softer second-quarter revenue guidance. Executives projected slower growth compared with the first quarter, which prompted short-term selling pressure. Despite that reaction, the May 7 rebound indicated that traders reassessed the guidance in context with overall performance.  Shopify highlighted higher AI-driven order volumes during the quarter, reflecting expanded product capabilities. The company also continued to grow its fintech offerings and international operations. Management emphasized disciplined cost control and sustained margin performance during its earnings call.  Sector Performance and Market Activity Support Gains  The broader Software & IT Services sector advanced 2.16% during the same session. Microsoft Corp climbed 2.76%, while Palantir Technologies Inc gained 4.58%. Meta Platforms Inc added 1.66%, placing them among the top three stocks by turnover in the sector.  Analysts responded to the earnings report by adjusting certain price targets while maintaining favorable ratings.

05-08Industry

Nvidia Stock Advances 3% Ahead of Earnings Report

NVIDIA Corporation, NVDANvidia Stock Rises as Goldman Backs $250 target  Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its Buy rating on Nvidia and kept a $250 price target on the shares. The bank said demand for data center products continues to support upside potential. It also stated that investors may focus on the possible upside to Nvidias $1 trillion data center guidance.  The firm expects a “beat-and-raise” quarter based on current supply and demand trends. However, it said expectations remain high, setting a strong bar for further gains. Goldman added that valuation could improve if hyperscalers show stronger profitability and broader enterprise adoption increases.  The bank also cited opportunities linked to agentic systems and server central processing units. It said these trends could expand Nvidias reach beyond traditional large-scale buyers. The company will release its quarterly earnings results later this month.  AI Spending Plans Support Nvidia Stock Outlook  Large technology companies recently increased capital expenditure forecasts for 2026. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft raised combined spending projections to about $725 billion. Analysts at Bank of America and Evercore estimate total capital expenditure could exceed $1 trillion by 2027.  This level of spending supports continued demand for Nvidias graphics processing units. These chips remain central to artificial intelligence workloads in

05-08Industry

Brad Garlinghouse Explains What CLARITY Act Means For Ripple and XRP

The post Brad Garlinghouse Explains What CLARITY Act Means For Ripple and XRP appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News  The CLARITY Act passing would be good for crypto and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes that. Garlinghouse said Ripple has actively leaned into supporting the CLARITY Act.  “If we want the largest economy in the world, the United States, to lean into crypto in the way that helps, its good for Ripple if that happens,” he said. “But XRP has clarity.”  The distinction matters. Ripple is not lobbying for the CLARITY Act because it needs it. It is supporting it because the broader crypto industry does, and because a healthy US crypto regulatory environment is ultimately good for everyone operating in the space, including Ripple.  Garlinghouse also pointed to a concern he hears repeatedly from bank CEOs and senior financial executives. They are nervous. Not about XRP specifically, but about what happens when the current regulatory leadership changes. Paul Atkins is at the SEC today. But guidance is not law, and guidance can change the moment a new administration arrives.  “If you‘re a big financial institution that’s had to deal with an SEC that has fined them billions of dollars, they dont want to take a

05-08Industry

Prediction markets debate closes Consensus Miami

Prediction markets closed out Consensus Miami 2026 as the subject of a live debate on whether they are regulated financial derivatives or gambling products operating outside state law.The closing Consensus Miami 2026 session debated whether prediction markets are CFTC-regulated financial instruments or unlicensed gambling under state gaming laws.CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the fight could reach the Supreme Court, as the agency has already sued five states for treating its registered exchanges as gambling platforms.Kalshis valuation surged from $22 million in 2024 to $22 billion by March 2026, with sports contracts now accounting for 85% to 90% of its trading volume.  Prediction markets closed out Consensus Miami 2026 on Thursday as the subject of the conference‘s final debate, pitting the CFTC’s position that event contracts are swaps against a growing coalition of state attorneys general who argue the platforms are unlicensed gambling businesses.  The session brought the conferences policy agenda to a head after three days of regulatory and legislative sessions.  CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, who attended Consensus for the first time this year, has made the prediction markets jurisdictional fight a defining feature of his tenure.  “We expect these matters to go up to the Supreme Court,” Selig said, as the agency has

05-08Industry
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