DTCC builds blockchain-based collateral system with Chainlink integration

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the backbone of US securities settlement, is building a blockchain-native collateral management platform powered by Chainlink. The system, called the Collateral AppChain, is designed to handle asset pricing, valuation, and settlement around the clock across international markets.  What DTCC is actually building  The Collateral AppChain integrates Chainlinks Runtime Environment, known as CRE, to automate collateral workflows that have historically relied on manual processes. Instead of humans shuffling spreadsheets and making phone calls to verify asset values across time zones, smart contracts handle the pricing and settlement automatically.  The platform is designed to operate 24/7, a meaningful departure from the traditional finance world where collateral management is typically constrained by business hours and geographic boundaries. The goal is near-real-time collateral movement across different blockchains and international markets.  DTCC unveiled the initiative on May 12, 2026, during what the firm calls its Great Collateral Experiment. The Collateral AppChain is slated to launch in Q4 2026.  Nadine Chakar, DTCCs Managing Director, framed the partnership around the transformative potential of unified onchain data. The vision is a shared infrastructure layer that multiple participants in the collateral ecosystem, think banks, asset managers, custodians, can plug into rather than each maintaining their own siloed systems.  The

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2026 Preakness Stakes Preview: Laurel Park Hosts Historic Running, Full Field Analysis

The 2026 Preakness Stakes will be contested at Laurel Park in the great state of Maryland for the first time ever. Historically run at Pimlico Race Course, also in Maryland, the second jewel in the Triple Crown series for three-year-old Thoroughbreds has been relocated this year due to renovations being made to this Baltimore oval.  This 151st edition of one of the nations most historic races has a full field of fourteen colts bucking for their spot in the history books and their share of $2 million in purse money. A notable absentee from the group will be Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo as his connections have decided to bypass the race and await the Belmont Stakes on June 6. Because only three Kentucky Derby runners (Ocelli, Robusta, Incredibolt) have decided to make the two-week turnaround, a larger group of glory-seekers are eager to enter the starting gates. That is great news for fans and the speculating public.  A capacity field makes for great competition and hefty potential payouts for those who invest wisely. Let‘s take a look at the field and provide a thought on each. The runner’s will be listed by post position with trainer, jockey, and morning line. The

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MEXC Confirms Strong Asset Backing in Hacken-Audited May 2026 Proof of Reserves Report

The May 2026 Proof of Reserves snapshot has been audited by Hacken, a globally recognized blockchain security firm, validating the Merkle Tree construction, wallet ownership, and reserve adequacy. MEXC consistently publishes a verifiable Proof of Reserves every month, setting a transparency standard for the industry and providing users with clear, verifiable asset information.  Since its founding, MEXC has placed users at the core of its operations. The regular publication of Proof of Reserves reflects its ongoing commitment to transparency and user protection. In addition, MEXC is further strengthening its multi-layered asset protection framework through the Guardian Fund initiative. The fund is set to expand from $100 million to $500 million over the next two years and includes the acquisition of 1,000 Bitcoin, forming a dual-reserve structure composed of highly liquid USDT reserves and long-term Bitcoin holdings. This structure is designed to enhance liquidity readiness and structural resilience, reinforcing asset protection across all market conditions.  To view the latest Proof of Reserves snapshot and audit report, please visit MEXCs Proof of Reserves page.  About MEXC  MEXC is the worlds fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchange, trusted by more than 40 million users across 170+ markets. Built on a user-first philosophy, MEXC offers industry-leading 0-fee trading and access to

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British Pound: Volatility focus shifts to politics – DBS

Finance  British Pound: Volatility focus shifts to politics – DBS  DBS Bank‘s Philip Wee reviews recent FX volatility through the Pound, noting that GBP has been more resilient than EUR and CHF since Operation Epic Fury, helped by the UK’s lower exposure to the energy shock and higher policy rates. However, he highlights that GBP has recently underperformed as markets refocus on UK political risks and reassess Bank of England tightening expectations.  Pound resilience gives way to politics risk  “Following the start of Operation Epic Fury, GBP (-1.9%) was more resilient than the EUR (-2.2%) and CHF (-3.8%) in March.”  “In April, GBP (+2.9%) outperformed the CHF (+2.3%) and EUR(+1.5%).”  “However, GBP (-0.6%) underperformed the EUR (-0.2%) and CHF(-0.1%) in the first half of May.”  “Markets now see GBP facing a reality check as focus shifts from the US-Iran conflict to 10 Downing Street.”  “In the end, the GBP‘s outlook remains tethered to the escalation or resolution of the Iran conflict, primarily because of how it dictates the USD’s strength.”  “UK politics drives GBP when it threatens fiscal solvency in a major way, such as Lizz Trusss mini-budget crisis in 2022. Like it or not, GBP is still holding on to its post-Operation Epic Fury appreciation, in contrast to

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BoE Considers Easing UK Stablecoin Caps After Industry Backlash

The central bank argued that limits were needed to avoid a sudden outflow of deposits from commercial banks into new forms of “tokenised” money if a large stablecoin were rapidly adopted for payments.  Industry groups and prospective issuers countered that the caps were operationally cumbersome, hard to supervise across platforms, and could deter serious institutional use of regulated UK stablecoins in areas like corporate treasury, payroll and settlement.  BoE rethinks stablecoin caps after pushback  Breeden has been one of the most cautious voices on stablecoins within the BoE. In November 2025, she warned that diluting the rules too far could damage financial stability, stressing that stablecoins are money-like instruments that must be at least as safe and robust as existing payments infrastructure.  At the time, she backed stringent liquidity requirements that would force stablecoin issuers to park large portions of their reserves at the central bank and hold the rest in high-quality liquid securities such as UK government bonds.  Law firms and potential issuers argue that such a structure would significantly compress margins and make UK stablecoin issuance far less attractive than operating under the United States or European Union regimes.  UK hunts for middle ground on stablecoins  The shift in tone highlights how UK policymakers are

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NVIDIA and Alphabet Surge While Bitcoin Awaits CLARITY Act

Bitcoin has already shown it can move into the same valuation conversation as mega-cap tech companies. In April 2025, Bitcoin became the fifth-largest global asset by market capitalization after surging above $94,000.  Its valuation reached roughly $1.86 trillion at the time, briefly pushing it ahead of Alphabet, Googles parent company. The move came during improving risk sentiment tied to easing US-China trade tensions.  The market environment differed from Bitcoin‘s earlier move above $109,000. Even though Bitcoin’s market cap had previously crossed $2 trillion, large tech stocks were trading at much higher valuations at that time, preventing BTC from overtaking them in the rankings.  CLARITY Act Could Become the Next Trigger  Crypto markets are closely watching the CLARITY Act as the Senate Banking Committee prepares for markup discussions.  The bill is viewed as one of the largest attempts to establish federal market structure rules for digital assets in the United States. A positive outcome could reduce regulatory uncertainty around exchanges, custody, token classification, and institutional participation.  If the CLARITY Act passes, Bitcoin could see increased institutional demand and capital inflows as regulatory uncertainty declines. Currently, BTC ranks as the 12th-largest asset globally. Bitcoin previously surpassed Alphabet during the 2025 rally, and some market participants believe clearer U.S.

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Ethereum Leverage Tells Two Different Stories On Binance And OKX: Traders Face A Fragile Setup

Ethereum is consolidating between $2,250 and $2,450 as the market searches for the catalyst or the structural shift that forces a decisive move in either direction. The price is holding but not breaking — and CryptoQuant analyst MorenoDV has identified a divergence in the derivatives data across two of the largest exchanges in the world that adds a specific risk dimension to the current setup that most participants are not watching.  The analysis examines the Estimated Leverage Ratio — the measure of how much derivatives exposure is being built on top of the ETH reserve base held by each exchange. A higher ratio does not automatically signal danger, but it does describe a more sensitive market structure: more open positions relative to available reserves means more potential volatility per unit of the underlying asset, and a lower tolerance for adverse price movements before liquidation dynamics begin to take hold.  Since the October 10 crash, Binance‘s ETH reserves have declined approximately 5.9% — from 4.037 million to 3.8 million ETH. Over the same period, OKX reserves have collapsed by approximately 82.3%, falling from 861,000 to just 152,600 ETH. Despite that dramatic reserve reduction, OKX’s Estimated Leverage Ratio now sits at approximately 5.6 —

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Bitcoins recent $80,000 breakout was led by something other than U.S. spot buyers, data show

Bitcoins recent rise above $80,000 was led by leveraged trades and lacked strong participation from the U.S.-based investor pool, which typically plays a key role in sustaining bullish trends.  Their underperformance of U.S. spot buyers relative to their global peers is evident in the Coinbase Premium, which measures the price gap between bitcoin on Coinbase and on offshore exchanges, has stayed negative since late April, per CryptoQuant data.  A positive premium typically signals U.S. institutional demand outpacing the rest of the worlds spot buying, since Coinbase is the primary on-ramp for American capital. A negative premium means the opposite: offshore traders are paying more for bitcoin than U.S. investors are willing to pay, driving prices higher.  That divergence has now held through a 5% rally. Bitcoin traded above $82,000 on Tuesday before slipping back below $80,000 after Wednesdays hot producer price index print, with the cryptocurrency changing hands near $79,500 at the time of writing.  The price action played out entirely above the $80,000 level at which the Coinbase Premium turned negative. CoinDesk first flagged the negative flip in the premium on April 29 alongside a $5.97 billion spike in realized losses from underwater holders selling into the rally.  Other onchain metrics, such as CryptoQuants

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Coinbase Validators Hit 99.98% Uptime With 4.5M ETH Staked Across 5 Countries

Coinbase Holds 12% of Staked With Self-Imposed 30% Network Cap in Q1 2026  According to the report, the exchange averaged 4.5 million ETH staked to its validators during the quarter, representing 12.17% of total staked Ethereum on the network. Coinbase has set a self-imposed ceiling of 30% network penetration, a threshold it says it will not cross.  Uptime came in at 99.98% for the quarter, above the network average of 99.77%. The company recorded zero slashing or double-signing events since it first launched validator operations.  Image source: Coinbase report.  Participation rate, which Coinbase treats as interchangeable with uptime, measures how consistently validators sign, submit, and get their attestations included in blocks. The company says its validators outperformed the network average across two of three key duties tracked: block proposals and sync committee participation.  Coinbase distributes its validators across data centers in Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, and Singapore. Each region operates with multiple availability zones. The company runs workloads on both AWS and GCP to reduce exposure to a single cloud provider and to contain the impact of any regional outage.  The company says a validator orchestration system exists to migrate validators between data centers if a prolonged cloud or regional failure occurs. That system has

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Bank of England weighs softer rules for UK stablecoin issuers

The Bank of England has begun reconsidering parts of its proposed stablecoin framework after digital asset firms warned that strict reserve rules and ownership caps could make pound-backed tokens difficult to use at scale.Bank of England officials are reviewing proposed stablecoin holding caps after crypto firms warned the rules could limit adoption.The central bank is also reassessing reserve requirements that would force issuers to keep 40% of backing assets at the BoE.  According to the Financial Times, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the central bank is reviewing whether temporary holding limits on sterling stablecoins are necessary and is also assessing if its reserve requirements are too restrictive for issuers.  Under proposals released in the Bank of Englands November 2025 consultation paper, individuals would have been limited to holding £20,000 of a single UK stablecoin during an initial transition phase, while corporate users would have faced caps of roughly $13.5 million.  Officials at the central bank said at the time that the limits were intended to prevent a rapid movement of deposits out of commercial banks if stablecoins gained traction in payments.  At the same time, the consultation proposed that issuers keep at least 40% of reserves in non-interest-bearing deposits at the

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