Squads Secures $18M Investment: Altitude is Growing on Solana

Squads $18 Million Strategic Investment  Squads, known for its Solana-based multisig protocol, has completed an $18 million strategic funding round to grow its new stablecoin platform Altitude. Solana Ventures led the round, with support from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, L1D, and other investors. The company‘s co-founder and CEO Stepan Simkin stated that the funding was executed as a single priced equity round, but did not share details on valuation or board seats. This capital brings Squads’ total funding to $42.9 million.  Squads began talks for this round in October and finalized the deal in December; Haun Ventures also provided additional support following its investment in May last year.  Altitude Platform Transforms Stablecoin Payments  The Altitude platform enables businesses to transact with stablecoins 24/7 without relying on traditional banks; user treasuries are held in self-custodial wallets instead of fractional reserve bank accounts. The company states that the platform has processed over $200 million in payments for exporters, global agencies, crypto-focused firms, and cross-border teams. This system is backed by compliance programs meeting fintech standards such as continuous sanctions screening, anti-money laundering checks, transaction monitoring, and business verification; it integrates with platforms like SOL detailed analysis to offer global access and competitive pricing via Bridge or

04-30

Bitcoin spot volumes on crypto exchanges hits lowest levels since 2023

Bitcoin Ethereum News  The Bitcoin (BTC) spot volume has continued to capitulate in recent weeks, returning to the level seen in October 2023.  As of April 29, the Bitcoin spot volume, which represents the total value of BTC traded on exchanges at the current market price, across major crypto exchanges, dropped below $5 billion, according to metrics from .  Bitcoin spot volume on all exchanges. Source: Glassnode  The sharp decline in market participation persisted in April, despite the mild BTC price recovery. Investors appetite for spot Bitcoin declined recently amid the prevailing macroeconomic backdrop, exacerbated by the geopolitical crisis.  Over the past month, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by traded volume, fell by nearly $25 billion, based on data from . Meanwhile, Gate.io and OKX recorded a decline in Bitcoin spot volume of $13 billion and $6 billion, respectively.  What next for Bitcoin price amid record-low spot volume?  The significant decline in Bitcoin spot volume signals reduced market depth, a measure of liquidity. As such, the BTC price remains highly sensitive to any shift in spot market flows.  In the past two days, BlackRocks iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT) has led spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other United States-based institutional investors in renewed selling pressure, as Finbold

04-30

Solana Ventures Leads $18M Round for Squads Altitude Growth

Solana Ventures has led an $18 million strategic funding round for Squads as the company pushes deeper into stablecoin payments. The new capital lifts Squads total funding to $42.9 million and strengthens its Altitude platform. Coinbase Ventures, Haun, L1D, Collab+Currency, Electric Capital, Placeholder, Jump Crypto, and Robot Ventures also joined the round.  Significantly, the investment comes as more firms move toward blockchain-based financial systems. Altitude aims to replace many traditional banking functions with a stablecoin-driven platform that gives businesses faster global access to payments, treasury tools, and multi-currency accounts.  Altitude Expands Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure  Squads designed Altitude as a financial operating system instead of a traditional banking service. The platform lets businesses hold treasury funds in stablecoins instead of standard bank accounts. Additionally, it connects companies to payment providers that handle fiat conversions across multiple regions.  The company said Altitude now supports payment coverage in more than 150 countries. It routes transactions through providers such as Bridge, MoonPay, Infinite, and Due. Consequently, businesses can send ACH, SEPA, wire, SWIFT, and stablecoin payments from one balance.  Altitude also removes repeated onboarding for each payment provider. Customers complete compliance verification once through Altitude. The platform then manages sanctions checks, AML screening, transaction monitoring, and KYB verification. Hence,

04-30

BoC: Vigilant stance with steady rates – RBC

Finance  BoC: Vigilant stance with steady rates – RBC  Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) economist Claire Fan notes that the Bank of Canada (BoC) kept its overnight rate at 2.25% and signaled that a policy rate near current levels remains appropriate if its base-case outlook holds. The Bank and RBC both expect moderate Canadian growth, gradual slack absorption, and no rate changes in 2026, with hikes only in 2027 as conditions tighten.  BoC holds as risks stay balanced  “As expected, the Bank of Canada held the overnight rate at 2.25% at its third meeting of 2026 (a fourth consecutive hold) and reiterated that, should the central banks base-case economic outlook hold true, a policy rate close to current levels remains appropriate.”  “Excess supply in the economy still renders the current policy setting as ”appropriate“ at the lower end of the estimated ‘neutral range’ (unchanged from previous estimates at 2.25% to 3.25%) but this is also contingent on economic data evolving in line with their base case forecast, which is very much consistent with our own.”  “Overall, both the BoC and we expect moderate economic growth this year to lead to a gradual absorption of economic slack over time.”  “We continue to expect no change in the overnight

04-30

White House Weighs Plan to Bypass AI Restrictions Tied to Anthropic

White House drafts plan to bypass Anthropic risk flag for AI onboarding.Pentagon tensions persist despite signals of easing ties with Anthropic.Lawmakers push AI rules targeting child safety and oversight of OpenAI.  The White House is weighing draft guidance that could allow federal agencies to move forward with onboarding new artificial intelligence systems despite an existing supply-chain risk designation tied to Anthropic.  The proposal, still under consideration, would create a pathway for agencies to bypass the restriction and adopt models such as Mythos, Anthropics latest release. The move points to a possible shift in how the administration manages its relationship with the AI developer, following months of tension linked to defense-related concerns.  Draft Guidance Targets Onboarding Flexibility  According to reports, the draft executive action could provide a mechanism to de-escalate the dispute between federal authorities and Anthropic. While details remain limited, the reported approach would enable agencies to proceed with integrating advanced AI tools without being blocked by prior risk classifications.  Anthropic declined to comment on the development, while the White House did not immediately respond to requests for clarification. However, the reported proposal comes shortly after Anthropic introduced Mythos, described as its most advanced AI system to date. Experts cited in the report noted that

04-30

Pudgy Penguins Price Prediction – PENGU Price Estimated to Drop to $0.007743 By May 03, 2026

Pudgy Penguins is up 4.51% today against the US DollarPENGU/BTC increased by 6.60% todayPENGU/ETH increased by 6.45% todayPudgy Penguins is currently trading 28.10% above our prediction on May 03, 2026Pudgy Penguins gained 56.70% in the last month and is down -21.88% since 1 year agoPudgy Penguins price$ 0.009919Pudgy Penguins prediction$ 0.007743SentimentFear & Greed indexKey support levels$ 0.009388, $ 0.008455, $ 0.007955Key resistance levels$ 0.010820, $ 0.011320, $ 0.012252  PENGU price is expected to drop by -23.67% in the next 5 days according to our Pudgy Penguins price prediction  Pudgy Penguins price today is trading at $ 0.009919 after gaining 4.51% in the last 24 hours. The coin outperformed the cryptocurrency market, as the total crypto market cap increased by 1.21% in the same time period. PENGU performed well against BTC today and recorded a 6.60% gain against the worlds largest cryptocurrency.  According to our Pudgy Penguins price prediction, PENGU is expected to reach a price of $ 0.007743 by May 03, 2026. This would represent a -23.67% price decrease for PENGU in the next 5 days.  PENGU Price Prediction Chart  Buy/Sell Pudgy Penguins  What has been going on with Pudgy Penguins in the last 30 days  Pudgy Penguins has been displaying a positive trend recently, as the

04-30

Bitcoin Falls as Trump Rejects Iran Offer to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

As CoinGape reported earlier, Bitcoin and the broader crypto market are experiencing significant volatility amid stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks. President Trump had canceled his envoys trip to Pakistan for the second round of peace talks over the weekend.  Now, the president appears content with simply keeping the blockade at the Strait of Hormuz in force until Iran puts forward a deal that also addresses the countrys nuclear program. He told Axios that he sees the blockade as “somewhat more effective than the bombing.”  Meanwhile, President Trump also posted a Truth Social post, which contained an image with the caption, “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.” He also told Iran to “better get smart soon,” as they are so far showing that they dont know how to sign a non-nuclear deal.  Strikes Against Iran Still On The Table  Axios also reported that the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock. This also poses a risk to the Bitcoin price and the broader crypto market, as it could further escalate tensions between the two sides.  According to the report, these strikes would likely include infrastructure targets after which the U.S.

04-30

PayPal makes Venmo a standalone business unit as potential buyers circle

Enrique Lores, then-CEO of Hewlett-Packard speaks on CNBC outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025.  CEO Enrique Lores has this week told managers that he is reorganizing the firm‘s reporting lines to separate Venmo, the popular mobile payments app, from the company’s other operations, CNBC has learned exclusively.  Venmo will soon be its own standalone segment within PayPal, making it easier to track its progress or potentially sell the business to another company, said people with knowledge of the changes.  PayPal is looking to recruit a digital banking executive to run the new Venmo segment, said the people, who werent authorized to speak publicly.  The other two segments will be a PayPal-branded business for merchants and consumers and a payment services unit that includes its Braintree unit and crypto operations, the people said.  Lores, who spent six years as CEO of computer maker HP before stepping in as PayPal CEO in March, is betting that a sharper corporate structure can reignite growth at a company that has lost ground to , and Stripe in the battle over e-commerce transactions. Lores replaced Alex Chriss, a former Intuit executive who struggled to revive a stock that had fallen roughly 80% from its

04-30

Fed Rates Hold as Crypto Watches Powell

The Federal Reserve held Fed rates unchanged at 3.50 to 3.75% on April 29, the third consecutive pause of 2026, as Bitcoin and crypto markets focused entirely on Chair Jerome Powells 2:30 PM press conference, which marked his final FOMC appearance before his term ends on May 15.The hold was priced at 99 to 100% certainty by CME FedWatch before the meeting, making Powells language on inflation and the transition to incoming chair Kevin Warsh the only real market variable.Bitcoin has fallen after 8 of the last 9 FOMC meetings, and entered April 29 trading near $77,000 after a 21% rally, a setup that historically produces post-meeting selling pressure.No updated Summary of Economic Projections was released at this meeting, making Powells press conference tone the sole input for how markets price the path to any 2026 rate cuts.  Fed rates stayed at 3.50 to 3.75% on April 29 as the Federal Reserve confirmed its third consecutive hold of 2026, a decision the market had already priced with near-perfect certainty. With no new dot plot or economic projections released at this meeting, all attention fell on what Powell would say about inflation, geopolitical uncertainty from the Iran conflict, and the monetary policy

04-30

White House Weighs Plan to Bypass AI Restrictions Tied to Anthropic

White House drafts plan to bypass Anthropic risk flag for AI onboarding.Pentagon tensions persist despite signals of easing ties with Anthropic.Lawmakers push AI rules targeting child safety and oversight of OpenAI.  The White House is weighing draft guidance that could allow federal agencies to move forward with onboarding new artificial intelligence systems despite an existing supply-chain risk designation tied to Anthropic.  The proposal, still under consideration, would create a pathway for agencies to bypass the restriction and adopt models such as Mythos, Anthropics latest release. The move points to a possible shift in how the administration manages its relationship with the AI developer, following months of tension linked to defense-related concerns.  Draft Guidance Targets Onboarding Flexibility  According to reports, the draft executive action could provide a mechanism to de-escalate the dispute between federal authorities and Anthropic. While details remain limited, the reported approach would enable agencies to proceed with integrating advanced AI tools without being blocked by prior risk classifications.  Anthropic declined to comment on the development, while the White House did not immediately respond to requests for clarification. However, the reported proposal comes shortly after Anthropic introduced Mythos, described as its most advanced AI system to date. Experts cited in the report noted that

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