Trump meets with national security officials to discuss Iran war strategy as Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens

President Donald Trump convened his national security team to discuss the escalating standoff with Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz blockade and potential military options dominating the agenda. Nine weeks into a conflict that has rattled global energy markets and strained alliances, the meeting signals that Washington is still searching for its playbook.  The gathering comes as Iran floated a proposal to reopen the strait, offering to lift its blockade in exchange for, among other things, the right to impose tolls on ships passing through the waterway. The US dismissed the toll plan as a non-starter.  The Strait that holds the worlds energy hostage  The Strait of Hormuz is the single most important chokepoint for global oil and liquefied natural gas supply, facilitating approximately one-fifth of global oil supplies and significant LNG shipments.  Iran‘s Revolutionary Guard has maintained its blockade of the strait as a cornerstone of the country’s deterrence strategy, insisting on control of the waterway as key to its deterrence and dismissing suggestions of lifting the blockade.  Iran communicated its nuclear red lines and its reasoning for the blockade through written messages delivered via Pakistan.  During the security meeting, Trump discussed further military options, including the possibility of a strike on Iran. The US

05-18Industry

Chamath Palihapitiya warns Taiwan could lose strategic importance in 18 months

Chamath Palihapitiya, the venture capitalist and former Facebook executive, is making a bold claim: Taiwan‘s stranglehold on the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing could be irrelevant within 18 months. The reason, he argues, is that the US is getting close enough to producing comparable chips domestically that Taiwans status as the single critical chokepoint in the global semiconductor supply chain is about to change.  TSMC, Taiwans crown jewel chipmaker, controls over 90% of global production at advanced logic nodes of 7 nanometers and below.  The case Chamath is making  Palihapitiya‘s argument rests on a straightforward premise. The US and allied nations are building out semiconductor fabrication capacity at a pace that will, in his view, erode Taiwan’s unique leverage. He suggests the US is nearing the ability to manufacture chips that rival what TSMC currently produces on the island, which would fundamentally alter the strategic math that has made Taiwan one of the most geopolitically sensitive places on Earth.  What the ground reality looks like  The US CHIPS and Science Act has allocated more than $52 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research. TSMC itself is investing in multiple fabrication facilities in Arizona, with mass production of advanced chips planned for the 2026 to 2028

05-18Industry

BCH Price Prediction: $380 Support Test Before $500 Rally - 70% Probability Within 30 Days

Bitcoin Cash sits in a precarious position at $415, caught between the undertow of broader crypto weakness and its own technical deterioration. The 7% gap below the 20-day moving average at $444 signals institutional disinterest, while the negative funding rate of -0.0050% shows futures traders are actually paying shorts to hold positions. This divergence from typical altcoin behavior suggests BCH is building a spring-loaded setup that Blockchain.news has been tracking closely.  The proximity to Bollinger Band lower support at $417 creates an immediate decision point. Either buyers step in here, or were looking at a swift move toward the $380-$400 zone where real accumulation typically occurs.  Indicator Alignment  The technicals paint a picture of oversold conditions without capitulation. RSI at 34.67 hovers just above the traditional oversold threshold, while the flattened MACD histogram shows selling pressure has stalled rather than accelerated. This is classic bottoming action – not the violent washout that creates V-shaped reversals, but the grinding base-building that leads to sustained rallies.  The Stochastic readings at 6.10/%K and 4.88/%D are deeply oversold, historically correlating with 10-15% bounces within 5-7 trading days. When combined with the current 14-day ATR of $14.51, were looking at natural volatility expansion that favors upside momentum once support

05-18Industry

ATOM Price Prediction: $2.50 Rally Imminent as Technical Breakout Setup Develops

Cosmos has entered a methodical accumulation phase while most retail attention focuses elsewhere. The 6.42% daily surge lifted ATOM back above critical moving averages, with the token now trading at $2.07 – a full 11% above its 20-day SMA. This move coincides with growing institutional interest in interchain infrastructure protocols, positioning ATOM as a direct beneficiary of multi-chain adoption trends.  The derivatives market reveals measured buying rather than speculative excess. Funding rates remain neutral at 0.01%, indicating this advance stems from patient capital accumulation rather than overleveraged positioning. Blockchain.news analysis shows such conditions typically precede sustained uptrends when combined with improving technical momentum.  Technical Momentum Building  ATOMs current setup demonstrates controlled accumulation across multiple timeframes. RSI at 60.82 shows building momentum without reaching overbought extremes that often mark cycle peaks. The MACD histogram sits near zero, suggesting momentum is coiling rather than exhausting – a pattern that frequently precedes explosive moves higher.  Hourly candlesticks (about 96 bars), same endpoint as our cryptocurrency price pages. Numbers below refresh from 1-minute klines.  Full ATOM price, calculator & analysis  Price action at 0.89 on the Bollinger Bands indicates ATOM is pressing against upper band resistance at $2.10 while maintaining elevated volume. This compression pattern suggests buyers are absorbing available

05-18Industry

XLM Price Prediction: $0.18 Target Within 14 Days as Consolidation Breaks

The Immediate Setup  Stellar trades at $0.15 with minimal volatility over 24 hours, creating a textbook consolidation pattern that typically precedes directional moves. The RSI reading of 39.42 indicates selling pressure without triggering oversold conditions, while the MACD histogram flatlining near zero suggests momentum is building for the next leg.  The Bollinger Bands position reveals buyer interest at technical levels. XLM maintains proximity to the lower band while holding above the psychological $0.15 support, indicating institutional accumulation during retail disinterest. This price action mirrors patterns that have preceded significant rallies in previous cycles.  Technical Structure Analysis  Moving averages from the 7-period to 26-period cluster tightly around $0.16, creating a resistance zone that has contained price action for weeks. This convergence represents institutional distribution levels, and breaking above this cluster would signal genuine upside momentum rather than temporary relief bounces.  Hourly candlesticks (about 96 bars), same endpoint as our cryptocurrency price pages. Numbers below refresh from 1-minute klines.  Full XLM price, calculator & analysis  Support structure remains intact above the critical $0.14 level, where previous consolidation phases found buyers. Blockchain.news technical data shows this zone has historically provided strong rebounds during similar RSI conditions. The $0.20 level above current resistance serves as the next major target if momentum

05-18Industry

ATOM Price Prediction: $2.50 Rally Imminent as Technical Breakout Setup Develops

Market Context: Why ATOM is Moving Now  Cosmos has entered a methodical accumulation phase while most retail attention focuses elsewhere. The 6.42% daily surge lifted ATOM back above critical moving averages, with the token now trading at $2.07 – a full 11% above its 20-day SMA. This move coincides with growing institutional interest in interchain infrastructure protocols, positioning ATOM as a direct beneficiary of multi-chain adoption trends.  The derivatives market reveals measured buying rather than speculative excess. Funding rates remain neutral at 0.01%, indicating this advance stems from patient capital accumulation rather than overleveraged positioning. Blockchain.news analysis shows such conditions typically precede sustained uptrends when combined with improving technical momentum.  Technical Momentum Building  ATOMs current setup demonstrates controlled accumulation across multiple timeframes. RSI at 60.82 shows building momentum without reaching overbought extremes that often mark cycle peaks. The MACD histogram sits near zero, suggesting momentum is coiling rather than exhausting – a pattern that frequently precedes explosive moves higher.  Hourly candlesticks (about 96 bars), same endpoint as our cryptocurrency price pages. Numbers below refresh from 1-minute klines.  Full ATOM price, calculator & analysis  Price action at 0.89 on the Bollinger Bands indicates ATOM is pressing against upper band resistance at $2.10 while maintaining elevated volume. This compression

05-18Industry

CME and NYSE lobby CFTC against Hyperliquid amid USDC liquidity risks

Two of the largest traditional exchanges in the world are asking US regulators to put a leash on a decentralized platform that didnt exist a few years ago.  CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, which operates the New York Stock Exchange, are lobbying the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to impose tighter regulations on Hyperliquid, the on-chain perpetual futures exchange that currently dominates decentralized derivatives trading. Their stated concerns include potential market manipulation, sanctions evasion, and the risk of undermining traditional commodity price discovery, particularly in oil markets.  The platform they want to rein in  Hyperliquid commands roughly 53% of fees in the on-chain derivatives sector, with over $2.45 billion in open interest. It‘s processing more perpetual futures volume than every other decentralized competitor combined, and it’s doing so without a traditional exchange license.  The HYPE token dropped between 9% and 14% following reports of the lobbying effort.  The USDC dependency problem  Hyperliquid‘s market infrastructure is built around Circle’s stablecoin. Through integrations with both Coinbase and Circle, USDC serves as the foundational collateral asset for trading on the platform. If the CFTC or other regulators lean on Circle to restrict USDC flows to Hyperliquid, the platforms liquidity could evaporate without regulators ever having to touch the protocol itself.  Circle

05-18Industry

Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH Hits New Lows Against BTC

Ethereum has fallen to a new yearly low against Bitcoin, showing continued weakness on the ETH/BTC chart. However, negative exchange flows and positive spot ETH ETF inflows suggest that accumulation is still building under the surface.  ETH/BTC Hits New Yearly Low as Ethereum Weakness Extends Against Bitcoin  ETH/BTC fell to a new yearly low on the daily Binance chart shared by TedPillows, showing Ethereum still losing strength against Bitcoin.  The chart shows ETH/BTC trading below the 0.02995 support area after failing to reclaim the 200 day moving averages. The 200 day SMA sits near 0.03168, while the 200 day EMA sits near 0.03109. Both now act as resistance above price.  ETH/BTC Daily Price Chart. Source:  ETH/BTC also broke below the recent consolidation range that formed between March and April. That breakdown pushed the pair toward the next visible support near 0.02619.  If ETH/BTC fails to hold the 0.02619 level, the chart leaves room for a deeper move toward the lower support zone near 0.02194. That area marked the earlier low before the strong July rally.  TedPillows noted that the new yearly low came despite Tom Lee buying more than $200 million in ETH every week, according to the post. That makes the chart weaker because institutional buying

05-18Ethereum

Logistics Managers Index transportation prices surge 5.6 points in April, hitting second-highest level ever

US freight is getting expensive fast. The April 2026 Logistics Managers‘ Index registered Transportation Prices at 95.0, a 5.6-point jump from March and the second-highest reading in the index’s entire history. The only time prices ran hotter was during March and April of 2018.  The capacity crunch behind the price spike  Transportation Capacity cratered 10.9 points in April to 28.4, the second-lowest recording the LMI has ever produced. Any reading below 50 signals contraction, so 28.4 isn‘t just contraction. It’s a market gasping for air.  The spread between Transportation Prices at 95.0 and Transportation Capacity at 28.4 is 66.6 points. That‘s a record gap, the largest delta in the index’s history.  The headline LMI itself climbed to 69.9, up 4.2 points from Marchs reading of 65.7. That represents the fastest pace of expansion since March 2022, when supply chain chaos from the pandemic era was still rattling through the system.  Aggregate logistics costs reached approximately 242, the highest since April 2022.  The Strait of Hormuz factor  The proximate cause of this tightening appears to be fuel costs. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil transit, has driven energy prices higher.  Transportation prices have been climbing steadily since September 2025, but Aprils jump

05-18Industry

Forsage co-founder Olena Oblamska extradited, pleads not guilty in $340M Ponzi case

Olena Oblamska, a Ukrainian national also known as Lola Ferrari, has been extradited from Thailand to face federal charges in Oregon for her alleged role in Forsage, a DeFi platform that prosecutors say operated as a $340 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme. She has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  What was Forsage, and how did it work  Forsage launched in 2019 and marketed itself as a decentralized, smart-contract-based investment platform. The pitch was familiar: low risk, high yields, all powered by the magic of DeFi. In reality, according to prosecutors, the platform had no genuine underlying economic activity.  The platform allegedly collected approximately $340 million from investors around the world. New participants funds were diverted to pay earlier users, the textbook structure of both Ponzi and pyramid schemes.  Forsage gained particular traction in emerging markets, where multi-level marketing communities served as a natural distribution network.  The defendants and the Kevin Spacey connection  Oblamska is not the only person charged. Her co-defendants include Vladimir Okhotnikov, described as the alleged mastermind behind Forsage, along with Mikhail Sergeev and Sergey Maslakov. All face wire fraud conspiracy charges.  Okhotnikov reportedly resurfaced last year in a film featuring disgraced actor Kevin Spacey.  Regulatory backdrop and what it means for

05-18Industry
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