Fed rate hike odds rise amid memory shortage, energy disruptions

Wall Street traders are now pricing an 11% chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year, up from 5% earlier Wednesday. The odds of a rate cut have dwindled to 2%.  The shift follows hawkish signals from policymakers amid ongoing supply shocks, including the global memory shortage and energy price surges from Middle Eastern disruptions. The Fed Rate Decisions market sits at 0.1% YES for a 25 bps cut, with the 50+ bps cut market showing the same odds.  The Fed Rate Cuts Predictions for 2026 market remains inactive, consistent with growing consensus against cuts as hawkish signals persist. The June and July 2026 meeting markets tell a clearer story. Odds for a 25 bps cut in June are at 3.4%, while July prices at 84.5% for no change.  Volume on the Fed Rate Decisions market is $9,464 in USDC traded daily. It takes $2,075 to move the market five points, which means its relatively stable but could shift with larger trades. The biggest single move in the past 24 hours was a two-point drop in the July market at 3:40 PM.  The markets tilt toward a rate hike tracks external inflation pressures, specifically the “RAMmageddon” memory shortage and Middle Eastern energy disruptions.

04-30Industry

Visa (V) expands stablecoin settlement network as volume hits $7 billion run rate

Visa (V) is expanding its stablecoin push by adding support for five more blockchains as it leans into a multichain approach to global payments.  The payments giant said Wednesday its stablecoin settlement pilot now spans nine networks and has reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, up 50% from the prior quarter. The program lets issuers and acquirers settle transactions using stablecoins instead of traditional banking rails.  The newly supported blockchains are Coinbase‘s Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Circle’s Arc and Stripe-backed Tempo, joining existing integrations with Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar.  Visas move comes as stablecoins — cryptocurrencies with prices tied to fiat money — are gaining ground as a way to move money across borders. Visa has been testing that model through pilots and regional rollouts, including USDC settlement tied to card programs in more than 50 countries.  Instead of waiting days for funds to move through banking systems, partners can settle transactions using blockchain-based dollars that move in near real time. By supporting multiple networks, Visa is aiming to give partners access to different pools of liquidity without added complexity.  “Our partners are building in a multi-chain world, and they expect their options to reflect that reality,” said Rubail Birwadker, Visas global head

04-30Industry

BNB Chain Leads With 150,000 AI Agents Deployed

BNB Chain has surpassed 150,000 on-chain AI agent deployments as of April 2026, a 43,750% increase since January, while Binance simultaneously launched its Agentic Wallet, a keyless wallet allowing AI bots to trade and transfer tokens on behalf of its 250 million users without accessing their primary accounts.BNB Chain‘s AI agent count grew from a minimal base in January 2026 to over 150,000 deployments by April, driven by the network’s low fees, high throughput, and developer tooling for autonomous agent deployment.Binance‘s Agentic Wallet is a keyless wallet architecture specifically designed for AI agents, allowing automated trading and transfers within defined parameters without the bot touching the user’s main account keys.BNB price held above $625 during the broader April 28 to 29 market decline, with analysts citing BNB Chains structural AI agent demand as a driver of relative price resilience compared to Ethereum and XRP.  BNB Chain became the leading blockchain for autonomous AI agent deployments by April 2026, with Bitget News confirming over 150,000 on-chain agents operating across the network, a 43,750% increase since January 2026. The same period saw Binance launch its Agentic Wallet, a keyless wallet infrastructure designed to let AI bots execute trades and token transfers on behalf

04-30Industry

WTI rises to near $105.00 as Trump maintains Iran naval blockade

Finance  WTI rises to near $105.00 as Trump maintains Iran naval blockade  West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $104.90 during the early Asian trading hours on Thursday. The WTI price climbs amid an escalating naval blockade of Iranian ports and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) shock withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).  US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will continue the naval blockade of Iran until he secures a deal with Tehran to address the countrys nuclear program, per Bloomberg. Trump rejected proposals to reopen the vital waterway, declaring the economic strangulation more effective than military bombardment.  Iran warned on Wednesday of “unprecedented military action” against continued US blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran stated its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. Ongoing tensions between the US and Iran continue to boost the WTI price.  The UAE will exit OPEC on May 1, dealing a blow to the oil-producing group as an unprecedented energy crisis, caused by the Iran war, exposes discord among Gulf nations. The announcement on Tuesday came after the UAE was the target of missile and drone attacks for weeks by fellow OPEC

04-30Industry

Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP Prices Drop As Fed Holds Rates and Trump Rejects Iran Deal

The post Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP Prices Drop As Fed Holds Rates and Trump Rejects Iran Deal appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News  Crypto markets turned lower today as two major macro developments hit simultaneously. The Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged in what marks Jerome Powell‘s final policy decision as Fed Chair, while President Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and signalled a fresh wave of military strikes is being prepared.  Bitcoin fell to $75,164, down 1.29% on the day and 4.83% over the past week. Ethereum dropped to $2,241, off 2.09% in 24 hours. XRP slipped to $1.35, down 2.03% on the day. The broader crypto market cap sits at $2.53 trillion with the Fear and Greed Index reading 39, in fear territory.  The Feds Alarming Language Shift  The interest rate decision itself was widely expected. What was not expected was a change in how the Fed described inflation. For months, policymakers had characterised inflation as “somewhat elevated” in official statements. Wednesdays decision removed that qualifier entirely.  The Fed now says inflation “is elevated.” That single word change carries substantial weight for risk assets. It signals that rate cuts, which markets had been pricing in for later this year,

04-30Industry

Pi Network Price Rises Ahead of Consensus 2026

Pi Network‘s token climbed more than 5% on April 29 ahead of Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 5 to 7, where both co-founders Dr. Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis are confirmed speakers, marking the project’s most prominent mainstream industry appearance since its Mainnet launch.Dr. Chengdiao Fan will speak at Consensus 2026 on how Pi Network‘s human verification model addresses AI-era identity challenges, while Nicolas Kokkalis will address the protocol’s proof-of-personhood infrastructure.PI has risen approximately 11% on a weekly basis as of April 29, outperforming most large-cap altcoins during a broader market decline driven by FOMC and Iran uncertainty.Pi Network sponsored Consensus 2026 and has 421,000 active Mainnet nodes, over 10 billion PI migrated to Mainnet, and the Protocol 23 smart contract upgrade now targeted for May 11.  Pi Network price gained more than 5% on April 29, BanklessTimes reported, as the market reacted to the confirmation that both Pi Network co-founders will appear at Consensus 2026 in Miami from May 5 to 7. Dr. Chengdiao Fan is scheduled to speak on proving human identity in the AI era, a topic directly connected to Pi‘s core proof-of-personhood architecture, while Nicolas Kokkalis will address the protocol’s broader Mainnet development trajectory.  Pi Network Price

04-30Industry

Bitget Wallet and VeloraDEX for Deeper Liquidity and Better Pricing

Bitget Wallet, a top-tier, non-custodial Web3 multi-chain wallet that provides an all-in-one platform for managing over 1 million crypto assets, has announced its strategic partnership with VeloraDEX, a cross-chain decentralized exchange platform. The hidden purpose of this landmark collaboration is to expand multi-chain trading with wider liquidity and better pricing. Bitget Wallet has shared this news through its official social media X account.  Another day, another DEX.  VeloraDEX Gains Broader Chain Access and Liquidity via Bitget Wallet API  VeloraDEX is one of the best decentralized exchange platforms. VeloraDEXs partnership with Bitget Wallet API increases access to 7 major blockchain networks, deeper liquidity pools, and better swapping pricing, and streamlined decentralized trading functionality. The integration of VeloraDEX and Bitget Wallet API enables multiple functions under a single platform.  The partnership of Bitget Wallet and VeloraDEX is beneficial for both platforms and builds a strong connection between these two platforms for further growth in the future. VeloraDEX enjoys faster deployment, broader chain compatibility, expanded liquidity access, and more competitive trading routes.  Redefining DeFi with Scalable Web3 Solutions  Users will be satisfied with potentially better rates, wider token coverage, improved swap execution, and easier multi-chain trading. Bitget Wallet is entirely built on Web3 technology and is always ready to

04-30Industry

Bitcoin Funding Metrics Hit 2022 Lows as BTC Trades Near $76K

The chart he shared also showed the three-month futures basis near 2% to 3%. According to his post, that level is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2022. He compared the current derivatives reset with March 2020 and November 2022, when similar stress appeared during major market shocks.  Van de Poppe said the market now has fewer leveraged longs left to liquidate. Additionally, he pointed to Bitcoin ETF inflows of $1.5 billion since April 13 as evidence that spot demand has remained active while derivatives positioning stays weak.  Bitcoin Trades Below $76K  Bitcoin changed hands at $75,962.16, according to CoinMarketCap data shared on Wednesday. The assets 24-hour range showed a low of $75,684.21 and a high of $77,884.97, placing BTC below its earlier intraday recovery level.  Market capitalization stood at $1.52 trillion, while fully diluted valuation reached $1.59 trillion. Bitcoins circulating supply stood at 20.02 million BTC, against a maximum supply of 21 million BTC. Treasury holdings were listed at 1.27 million BTC.  Nevertheless, BTC remains far below its all-time high of $126,198.07, reached on October 6, 2025. Data showed Bitcoin trading 39.96% below that level, while remaining sharply above its July 2010 low of $0.04865.  Meanwhile, community sentiment on CoinMarketCap showed 80% bullish votes

04-30Industry

Toncoin Price Prediction – TON Price Estimated to Reach $1.76 By May 04, 2026

Toncoin is up 4.67% today against the US DollarTON/BTC increased by 2.88% todayTON/ETH increased by 2.30% todayToncoin is currently trading 23.19% below our prediction on May 04, 2026Toncoin gained 11.75% in the last month and is down -58.21% since 1 year agoToncoin price$ 1.35Toncoin prediction$ 1.76SentimentFear & Greed indexKey support levels$ 1.29, $ 1.27, $ 1.26Key resistance levels$ 1.31, $ 1.33, $ 1.34  TON price is expected to rise by 33.12% in the next 5 days according to our Toncoin price prediction  Toncoin price today is trading at $ 1.35 after gaining 4.67% in the last 24 hours. The coin outperformed the cryptocurrency market, as the total crypto market cap increased by 4.08% in the same time period. TON performed well against BTC today and recorded a 2.88% gain against the worlds largest cryptocurrency.  According to our Toncoin price prediction, TON is expected to reach a price of $ 1.76 by May 04, 2026. This would represent a 33.12% price increase for TON in the next 5 days.  TON Price Prediction Chart  Buy/Sell Toncoin  What has been going on with Toncoin in the last 30 days  Toncoin has been displaying a positive trend recently, as the coin gained 11.75% in the last 30-days. The medium-term trend for

04-30Industry

Ledger Celebrates Golden Week with Up to $80 Bitcoin Gift and Extra Perks

Bitcoin  Ledger Celebrates Golden Week with Up to $80 Bitcoin Gift and Extra Perks  Both China and Japan are about to have their Golden Weeks, which are periods with multiple national holidays in short succession. In both countries, the Golden Week period is known for a significant increase in traveling because people often take the opportunity to go on vacation or visit their loved ones.  To celebrate the occasion and encourage users to keep their crypto safe during their travels, leading crypto hardware wallet company Ledger is holding a Golden Week promotion, providing up to $80 in bonus Bitcoin and other perks with each hardware wallet purchase.  Heres a quick breakdown of the bonuses:Ledger Stax: $80 worth of Bitcoin + Ledger Recovery Key + Magnet ShellLedger Flex: $70 worth of Bitcoin + Ledger Recovery KeyLedger Nano Gen 5: $30 worth of Bitcoin + Ledger Recovery KeyLedger Nano X: $20 worth of BitcoinLedger Nano S Plus: $10 worth of Bitcoin  Get a Ledger Wallet + Bitcoin Gift  The bonus Bitcoin is included alongside the hardware wallet as a physical voucher that contains a code which can be redeemed for BTC using the Ledger Wallet app.  The Ledger Recovery Key is an NFC-equipped card that you can use to

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