Vitalik Buterin Unveils Q-STARK Hard Fork

Security in the age of quantum computing has moved from a theoretical concern to an urgent priority, and today, May 19, 2026, Ethereum took a decisive step forward.   Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum core team announced the imminent “Q-STARK” hard fork, a massive network-wide upgrade designed to migrate the ecosystem to quantum-resistant cryptography.  This upgrade, scheduled for late Q3 2026, focuses on replacing legacy ECDSA digital signature schemes, which are theoretically vulnerable to advanced quantum algorithms, with lattice-based signature schemes that are immune to quantum-shors algorithm attacks.  Q-STARK  The “Q-STARK” upgrade is the most complex technical migration in the history of decentralized networks. It requires existing users, smart contracts, and decentralized applications (dApps) to undergo a transition to new, quantum-hardened address formats. To facilitate this, the Ethereum Foundation is introducing an “Account Abstraction” standard that makes the migration seamless, requiring only a single on-chain signature to upgrade a legacy wallet to a quantum-proof state.  While the technical complexity is high, the urgency is undeniable. Recent breakthroughs in quantum hardware have significantly shortened the timeline for “Q-Day” — the hypothetical point at which quantum computers could break existing standards. By acting now, the Ethereum community is proactively eliminating the single biggest existential threat to its

05-20

Lighter jumps 11% - But 2 major factors stand in LITs place

Lighter, the perpetual DEX protocol, saw its native token LIT surge 11% in the past day as market sentiment shifted in favor of the bulls.  Indicator analysis and chart patterns point to further upside, though obstacles remain above the current price that could slow the rally if momentum fades.  Golden Cross and MFI confirm bullish momentum  Lighters [LIT] rally follows a bullish crossover pattern known as the Golden Cross, as the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator sees its MACD line cross above the 9-day signal line.  This pattern typically precedes a strengthening rally, with momentum tracked through price action and growing histogram bars on the chart.  Source: TradingView  Alongside this, the Money Flow Index, which tracks the inflow and outflow of capital from an asset, has surged into bullish territory with a reading of 56.  Any reading between 50 and 80 sits within the bullish zone. A slight decline in the MFI from its recent high points to some profit-taking activity, but the overall reading confirms the market remains in bullish condition.  Resistance above price has turned back LIT three times  The path upward, while largely bullish, still carries a significant obstacle that AMBCryptos analysis has identified above current price levels. LIT is heading toward an upper resistance level

05-20

SEC will no longer silence settling defendants, says Paul Atkins

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rescinded its decades-old policy that barred defendants in enforcement settlements from publicly denying the agencys allegations.The SEC has removed its long-standing rule that barred settling defendants from publicly denying enforcement allegations.SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the policy created unnecessary limits on criticism of the agency during settlement agreements.Commissioner Hester Peirce said allowing both sides to speak freely would improve transparency around SEC enforcement actions.  In a statement released Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the repeal removes a rule first adopted in 1972 that required settling parties to agree not to challenge the agencys claims in public. Regulators said the policy had created the impression that the SEC was attempting to insulate itself from criticism, while also placing the agency out of step with most other federal regulators.  “For more than 50 years, the Commission has conditioned settlement on a defendant‘s promise not to publicly deny the Commission’s allegations. I am pleased that we are rescinding the no-deny policy today,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said. “This rescission ends the policy prohibiting such criticism by settling defendants.”  Under the old framework, companies or individuals settling with the SEC could neither deny the allegations nor allow

05-20

Hyperliquid price nears ATH as HYPE rallies 24% in 6 days

Santiment previously said HYPE gained 12% after Coinbase became Hyperliquids official USDC treasury deployer. That move added to market attention around Hyperliquid, while other tokens also saw smaller breakouts during the same period.  The rally also came as traders reacted to the CLARITY Act clearing a key U.S. Senate committee on May 14. The bill is aimed at creating clearer market structure rules for digital assets, and its progress helped lift sentiment around crypto trading platforms, including Hyperliquid.  Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF adds HYPE demand  Bitwise has added another catalyst. The asset manager said it will devote 10% of the management fee from its Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF, trading under BHYP, to holding HYPE on its balance sheet. The firm linked the move to Hyperliquids model, where about 99% of protocol revenue goes toward buying and burning HYPE.  Bitwises official launch note said BHYP began trading on NYSE on May 15. The fund carries a 0.34% sponsor fee, waived for the first month on the first $500 million in assets.  Bitwise also said HYPE had reached more than $11 billion in market cap and had become the tenth-largest crypto asset. Bitwise said in its X post, “Were holding HYPE.”  USDC expansion strengthens Hyperliquid trading rails  The HYPE rally also

05-20

Here’s How XRP Is Making Its Next Major Push Into The Trillion-Dollar Wall Street

Scott Matherson is a prominent crypto writer at NewsBTC with a knack for capturing the pulse of the market, covering pivotal shifts, technological advancements, and regulatory changes with precision. Having witnessed the evolving landscape of the crypto world firsthand, Scott is able to dissect complex crypto topics and present them in an accessible and engaging manner. Scotts dedication to clarity and accuracy has made him an indispensable asset, helping to demystify the complex world of cryptocurrency for countless readers.  Scott‘s experience spans a number of industries outside of crypto including banking and investment. He has brought his vast experience from these industries into crypto, which allows him to understand even the most complex topics and break them down in a way that is easy for readers from all works of life to understand. Scott’s pieces have helped to break down cryptocurrency processes and how they work, as well as the underlying groundbreaking technology that makes them so important to everyday life.  With years of experience in the crypto market, Scott began to focus on his true passion: writing. During this time, Scott has been able to author countless influential pieces that have drawn in millions of readers and have shaped public opinion

05-20

BSC Post-Quantum Upgrade Passes Test, But TPS Falls 40%

BNB Chain has replaced its existing ECDSA encryption algorithm with ML-DSA-44.Test data showed signature size increased from 65 bytes to 2,420 bytes, while TPS dropped by ~40%.BSCs latest test keeps the user-facing stack familiar while changing the cryptography.  BNB Chain released its BSC Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration Report, confirming that quantum-resistant transaction signing is feasible, but at the cost of significant performance overhead.  Replacing ECDSA With ML-DSA-44  The latest protocol replaces the existing ECDSA transaction signatures with ML-DSA-44 and moves consensus vote aggregation toward pqSTARKs, while maintaining compatibility with existing addresses, RPC endpoints, and wallets.  Notably, the data overhead recorded from the test shows that signature size rose from 65 bytes to 2,420 bytes, and cross-region TPS fell by about 40%. BNB Chain said network and data-layer scaling remain the main challenges before production deployment.  From an analytical point of view, the compatibility point is crucial, considering that a disruptive post-quantum migration would be hard for such a large EVM chain. That is because users, apps, wallets, exchanges, custodians, and infrastructure providers already depend on existing account formats and developer tooling.  What Really Changed?  However, BNB Chains report noted that the test keeps the user-facing stack familiar while changing the cryptography underlying transaction authorization and validator vote aggregation.

05-20

US Treasury Hits Over 50 Firms and Vessels in Iran Shadow Banking Crackdown

The US Treasury sanctioned more than 50 companies, vessels, and individuals tied to Iran‘s shadow banking and oil networks this week, escalating the Trump administration’s Economic Fury campaign against Tehrans financial workarounds.  The Office of Foreign Assets Control hit Iranian exchange house Amin Exchange and blocked 19 oil and petrochemical tankers, while Secretary Scott Bessent warned global banks to monitor how Tehran continues moving funds through the international financial system.  Amin Exchange Anchors the Sanctions Sweep  OFAC designated Iran-based Ebrahimi and Associates Partnership Company, known as Amin Exchange, for moving hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks.  CEO Samad Nemati, a former IRGC officer, and owner Yousef Ebrahimi were also designated.  The firm runs front companies across the UAE, Türkiye, Hong Kong, and China, with eight entities added to the Specially Designated Nationals list.  Counterparties named in the action included the National Iranian Oil Company and Triliance Petrochemical, both already under US sanctions.  Today, as a part of Economic Fury, Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a prominent Iranian foreign currency exchange house and associated front companies that oversee hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks.…  The 19 tankers blocked by OFAC have transported millions of barrels

05-20

In Just 4 Pitches, J.T. Ginn Loses A No-Hitter And The Game

For eight innings Monday night, Athletics pitcher J.T. Ginn threw 99 pitches, sixty for strikes, and recorded 24 outs. After retiring 13 straight, he walked Yoán Moncada with one out in the fifth inning. He then struck out Jo Adell and got Josh Lowe to ground back to the box to end the frame.  In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ginn hit Zach Neto with a 93-mph sinker before getting Mike Trout to ground out four pitches later.  He struck out the side in the seventh inning on twelve pitches. And then it took Ginn just nine more to get through the Angels in the eighth. Unfortunately, four Angels pitchers had been nearly as impressive, holding the Athletics to zero runs through the same eight innings, leaving the score 0-0.  No-hitters don‘t officially count as such unless the pitcher finishes the game, and this one looked to be headed to extra innings. But in the top of the ninth, Athletics’ third baseman Zack Gelof lined a 1-1 slider into center field for a single, and then promptly stole second base. Pinch-hitter Lawrence Butler then laced a 2-2 slider into center to score the games first run, making things very interesting.  The next two

05-20

The High Price Of Underperforming Employees: Have The Conversation

Harvey Mackay, author of , said something that is perhaps ever truer today as it was then. “It isn‘t the people you fire who make your life miserable. It’s the people you dont.”  If you have an underperforming employee (or more), you can‘t afford to wait to have a conversation with them, a serious one. Researchers from CultureAmp standardized the rating scales of 741 companies and over 200,000 employees. Employees who were defined and rated by their managers and peers as being in that organization’s bottom performance bucket made up the “under performers” group. Depending on the organization, underperforming employees typically make up between 0 and 20 percent of the workforce. The average is 4 percent.  Employees working remotely create even more problems because those problems and the causes can take more time to spot, and time has a price tag on it. We in managerial positions have a widespread shortage of qualified team members. Retention is crucial. Pruning out the non-performers is equally important to the future of your company. No one wants to fire an employee; I dont want to fire an employee, but now more than ever, we have to fight to keep the performers on our team.  Underperforming Types  Praveen

05-20

Bitcoin Price Slides Below $77,000, ETF Sales Top $1 Billion

Bitcoin price‘s recovery narrative is under pressure. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has shed nearly $5,000 from its recent high of $82,000, dropping to around $76,900 as of this morning — a four-day losing streak driven by a powerful convergence of macro headwinds, accelerating institutional outflows, and on-chain metrics that reveal a recovery without the capital conviction of prior bull cycles.  Bitcoin price opened Monday at roughly $77,500 before slipping further throughout the session. The total crypto market cap has shed over $100 billion in valuation since last Friday, falling to approximately $2.65 trillion.  Liquidations have been severe. Total crypto liquidations reached near $657 million in a single 24-hour window on Monday, with $584 million — roughly 89% — coming from long positions, according to data and data.  On top of this, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $648.6 million in net outflows on Monday alone — their largest single-day net negative since January 29. BlackRock‘s IBIT led the exodus with $448.3 million in outflows, followed by Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB at $109.6 million and Fidelitys FBTC at $63.4 million.  Combined with last weeks total net outflows of $1 billion — which snapped a six-week positive streak — cumulative outflows since May 16 now sit just

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