News

SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced on May 20 that the agency is temporarily halting the review of newly filed ETF applications, including those related to prediction market funds. According to NS3.AI, this pause is intended to gather public feedback before determining the next steps. Atkins emphasized that novel products present unique challenges that require careful consideration. Previous delays have impacted prediction market ETF filings from companies such as Bitwise, Roundhill Investments, and GraniteShares.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a revised proposal Wednesday establishing a framework for limited payment accounts—commonly called "skinny" master accounts—that would allow non-bank firms, including crypto companies, to clear and settle payments through Fed rails. Payment account holders would not receive intraday credit, discount window access, or interest on balances, and automated controls would prevent overdrafts. The proposal, now open for a 60-day comment period, follows a December 2025 request for information and increases maximum closing balance limits based on expected payment activity. The Fed also asked regional banks to pause consideration of certain applications while finalizing the rule, a day after President Trump's executive order directing a review of crypto firms' access to Fed payment rails.

According to CoinDesk, Representatives Steven Horsford (D-NV), Max Miller (R-OH), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Mike Carey (R-OH) reintroduced a revised version of the Parity Act on Wednesday, directing the IRS to study the feasibility and potential abuse of a de minimis exemption for crypto transactions. The new bill also creates a tax safe harbor for "regulated payment stablecoins" — no gain or loss would be recognized unless the cost basis falls below 99% of the stablecoin's redemption value — and defines how wash sale rules apply to digital assets. The IRS review would examine how many transactions worth less than $200 are captured under current law and what infrastructure would be needed to implement a carveout. Horsford previously called tax policy "the foundation" for integrating digital assets into the financial system, arguing that unresolved tax questions remain a barrier to consumer and institutional adoption.

Nvidia's stock, currently at $223, has shown signs of bearish divergence despite a recent earnings beat, according to BeInCrypto. The company reported Q1 revenue of $81.6 billion, surpassing the $78.8 billion estimate, and an adjusted EPS of $1.87, above the $1.76 consensus. However, indicators such as the Chaikin Money Flow and Relative Strength Index suggest big-money exits and weakening momentum. The put-call volume ratio has increased post-earnings, indicating growing bearish sentiment. Nvidia must reclaim $226 to avoid further downside pressure.

Some analysts project Amazon's stock could reach $375 by 2026, while 55 analysts cited in the article provide an average target of $315.69. According to NS3.AI, the optimistic outlook for Amazon is driven by growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and savings from automation. However, Michael Collins of WinCap Financial cautions that valuation and capital efficiency might constrain potential returns.

According to CoinDesk, Polymarket filed to list "combinatorial outcome contracts" — effectively parlays — in U.S. sports event contracts with the CFTC on Wednesday, self-certifying the product for launch no earlier than May 21. Each parlay would resolve to $1 only if every underlying leg settles in the user's favor; a single loss zeroes the contract.Separately, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said his agency is seeking public input on event contract ETFs, acknowledging that "novel products raise novel questions" and noting ETF assets have tripled in seven years. The dual developments add fuel to an escalating jurisdictional fight, with the CFTC asserting exclusive federal authority under the Commodity Exchange Act while state regulators and gambling firms argue sports prediction markets infringe on state rights to regulate and tax gambling. The Supreme Court is widely expected to eventually take up the issue.

According to the announcement from Binance, the platform is set to introduce the SPCXUSDT USDⓈ-M Futures Pre-IPO Perpetual Contract. Trading for this new contract will commence on 2026-05-21 at 03:45 (UTC). This initiative aims to broaden the trading options available on Binance Futures and enhance the overall trading experience for users.
The SPCXUSDT contract is based on the underlying equity of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) and will be settled in USDT. The contract features a tick size of 0.01 and a minimum trade amount of 1 SPCX, with a minimum notional value of 5 USDT. During the Pre-IPO trading period, the capped funding rate is set at +0.005% per funding interval, which will adjust to +2.00% / -2.00% after the Pre-IPO trading concludes. The interest rate during the Pre-IPO period is fixed at 0.015% daily, with funding fees settled every eight hours. The contract supports a maximum leverage of 5x and is available for trading 24/7.
The mark price methodology during the Pre-IPO trading period involves calculating the average of the last 10 seconds’ trade prices on Binance RIE every second. A ±1% price cap is imposed to limit price changes within this range during the Pre-IPO trading and transition period. Once the official IPO listing occurs, the Pre-IPO Perps will transition to standard TradFi Perps, with the mark price gradually converging to the standard calculation. The funding rate will also transition to the standard TradFi Perp Funding Rate Mechanism as outlined in the Clearing Procedures. Binance may adjust leverage and margin requirements in accordance with the Clearing Rules.

According to the announcement from Binance, the platform has introduced a new feature called Live Trading Hub on Binance Square Live, accompanied by a promotional event offering a total prize pool of 15,000 USDT. This initiative aims to enhance social trading by allowing creators to share real-time trading data, including positions, profit and loss (PnL), and trade history during livestreams. Viewers can participate and compete on a live leaderboard, making trading a more interactive and communal experience.
The promotion period is set from 2026-05-21 00:00 (UTC) to 2026-05-30 23:59 (UTC). Creators can unlock livestream access automatically upon reaching 1,000 Binance Square followers. Those with prior livestreaming experience or a strong content creation background can apply for access through a survey. Creators participating in the promotion can compete for a share of 10,000 USDT across two leaderboards: the Popular Streamer Leaderboard and the Skilled Streamer Leaderboard. The former ranks creators based on the cumulative number of valid participants in their sessions, while the latter ranks them by the realized PnL of their best session.
For viewers, a separate reward structure offers a 5,000 USDT prize pool. The first 1,666 users who join a Live Trading Hub session, make their first TradFi USDⓈ-M Futures trade, and achieve a trading volume of at least 100 USDT will receive a 3 USDT Futures Bonus Voucher. Rewards are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Binance Square aims to be a comprehensive social platform for Web3 trends, connecting content creators with followers and customizing user feeds based on engagement history.

Syndicate, a DAO infrastructure service provider, has announced plans to gradually cease operations. According to Foresight News, the company cited a fundamental shift in the Rollup market after five years of building on-chain developer infrastructure. The Rollup market has significantly contracted, with many Rollups quietly shutting down, and the focus has shifted from EVM Rollups to custom chains built from scratch by consulting teams, resulting in low reusability of technology and network value.
Syndicate consists of two parts: Syndicate Labs, the development company, is closing, while Syndicate Network Collective, a Wyoming DUNA holding SYND tokens with governance rights, remains an independent entity. The governance of SYND will not be affected in the short term. The decision to cease operations is unrelated to recent cross-chain events, and affected users and SYND holders have been fully compensated through treasury reserves. Tokens held by the team and investors remain locked, with no short-term profits.

The National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) reports that 67 million Americans now own cryptocurrency, highlighting the need for federal regulations to pass Congress this year. According to BeInCrypto, this announcement follows the Senate Banking Committee's 15-9 vote on May 14, advancing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 to a full Senate floor test. The NCA's 2026 State of Crypto Holders Report, conducted with The Harris Poll, shows 12 million new crypto owners, bringing the total to roughly one in four U.S. adults. California leads with 9.5 million holders, followed by Texas, Florida, and New York. The CLARITY Act proposes splitting oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bill, which passed the House in July 2025, now requires 60 Senate votes to overcome a filibuster.

OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file for an initial public offering as soon as Friday, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley advising on the draft prospectus, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The ChatGPT maker, last valued at $852 billion, aims to be ready to go public as early as September, though plans remain fluid. The filing follows OpenAI's courtroom victory over co-founder Elon Musk earlier this week, removing a key obstacle to the listing. CFO Sarah Friar has cautioned internally that the company may need more time, while OpenAI also faces intensifying competition from Anthropic and Google and has recently missed internal revenue and user targets. The IPO would cap what could become the largest year ever for public offerings, with SpaceX and Anthropic also exploring blockbuster debuts.

According to WatcherGuru, Wall Street firms raised their Nvidia stock price targets following the company's fiscal Q1 2027 earnings release after the May 20 close, with the revised range spanning $270 to $325 and led by HSBC at $325. Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $285 and framed its thesis around a $1 trillion long-run revenue scenario, with analyst Joseph Moore noting "visibility into the supply chain has improved materially." Other adjustments included GF Securities to $308, DA Davidson and KeyBanc both to $300, and TD Cowen to $275. China remains an overhang: Nvidia lost H20 market access in April 2025, and H200 sales to 10 Chinese firms are held up by local regulators.

SpaceX has submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to Bloomberg, the statement discloses a first-quarter net loss of $4.28 billion on revenue of $4.69 billion and a dual-class share structure giving Elon Musk 85.1% voting control. The filing shows 2025 full-year revenue of $18.7 billion and a net loss of $4.94 billion, driven by heavy AI spending after the xAI acquisition. Musk could earn up to 1 billion additional shares for hitting milestones including a 1-million-person Mars settlement. The IPO targets as much as $75 billion at a valuation of up to $2 trillion, with marketing expected June 4 and pricing as soon as June 11 on Nasdaq under ticker SPCX.

According to Bloomberg, Anthropic PBC has agreed to pay SpaceX nearly $45 billion over three years for computing resources to support its Claude artificial intelligence software, according to a securities filing related to SpaceX's initial public offering. Anthropic is expected to pay $1.25 billion per month through May 2029, with capacity ramping at a reduced fee in May and June 2026. Either party may terminate the agreement with 90 days' notice.

On-chain analyst MLM reported that wallets associated with Multicoin Capital might have exchanged ETH for HYPE following the transfer of 87,100 ETH, valued at $220 million, to a Galaxy Digital deposit address on January 22. According to NS3.AI, Arkham analyst Emmett Gallic supported the plausibility of this analysis.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow model has updated its forecast for the U.S. GDP growth in the second quarter, projecting an increase to 4.3%. According to Jin10, this is an upward revision from the previous estimate of 4.0%. The GDPNow model is a real-time economic forecasting tool that provides insights into the U.S. economy's performance by analyzing various economic data.

The Avalanche Foundation has announced the launch of a new research grant program focused on crypto economics, offering awards of up to $50,000. According to NS3.AI, the initiative aims to foster research in areas such as crypto asset pricing, valuation, validator economics, and network security design. An independent review committee has been established to evaluate the proposals submitted for these grants.

MoonPay has launched MoonPay Trade, a new platform designed to provide banks, fintechs, and enterprises with access to tokenized assets, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and stablecoin liquidity across more than 200 blockchains. According to CoinDesk, this expansion is supported by Decent.xyz, a cross-chain startup acquired by MoonPay, and aims to serve the firm's financial institutional business led by former acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham. The move comes as tokenization gains traction in finance, with tokenized real-world assets now exceeding $33 billion in market value.

Eightco Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed company, has announced its total holdings amounting to approximately $337 million as of May 20. According to Foresight News, the holdings include $90 million in OpenAI equity held indirectly through a special purpose entity, $18 million in Beast Industries equity, and a $1 million investment in Mythical Games. Additionally, the company holds 11,068 Ethereum and 283.4527 million WLD tokens, valued at $0.25 each, along with approximately $133 million in cash and stablecoins. Eightco's WLD token holdings represent about 8.31% of the circulating supply, making it the largest publicly disclosed institutional holding globally.

Solmate Infrastructure, a Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company, has announced the issuance of 2,298,000 Class B common shares through a registered direct offering. According to Odaily, the shares are priced at $4.97 each, with the total expected proceeds amounting to approximately $11.4 million. The transaction is anticipated to close around May 27, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the natural gas inventory for the week ending May 15 reached 101 billion cubic feet. According to Jin10, this figure exceeded the expected 96 billion cubic feet and was higher than the previous week's 85 billion cubic feet.

The Avalanche Foundation has announced the formation of an independent selection committee for its 'Research Call for Proposals' initiative. According to Foresight News, the committee includes Ava Labs founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer, Avalanche Foundation Chief Investment Officer Matias A., Chief Economist Eric Lu, and external academic experts such as Duke University Professor Campbell Harvey, University of Florida Professor Fahad Saleh, and Columbia University Professor Agostino Capponi.
The 'Research Call for Proposals' is now open for applications, focusing on two main areas: crypto asset pricing and valuation, and validator economics and network security. Proposals will be evaluated based on five criteria: relevance to the research theme, methodological rigor, novelty of contribution, feasibility, and team qualifications.

Arbitrum has introduced a new interface called Arbitrum Portal, allowing users to perform swaps, access earning opportunities, and manage vaults from a single platform. According to Foresight News, the portal includes an Earn feature supported by LiFi Protocol's cross-chain routing, which integrates with protocols such as Aave, Morpho, and Pendle.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Hockey League (NHL) have signed a memorandum of understanding to share information and coordinate efforts to maintain fairness and transparency in prediction markets related to professional hockey and associated events on CFTC-regulated exchanges. According to Foresight News, the memorandum outlines that both the CFTC and NHL will appoint dedicated representatives to communicate regularly, focusing on preventing insider trading, fraud, and other market abuses. The NHL has also stated that it has established multiple layers of market monitoring mechanisms and will work with partners to ensure integrity.

Uniswap's token, UNI, has been launched on the Solana blockchain through Sunrise. According to Foresight News, this development marks a significant step for Uniswap as it expands its presence in the decentralized finance ecosystem.

On May 21, Jin10 reported that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices have reached historic highs, driven by optimism surrounding AI and strong earnings reports. However, the current rally lacks breadth, with most gains attributed to large tech stocks. UBS analysts noted that over the six weeks ending May 15, the market-cap-weighted S&P 500 index outpaced the equal-weighted S&P 500 index by the largest margin in at least 35 years. Given the significant market value growth driven by AI-focused large tech stocks, UBS advises investors to reduce overly concentrated positions and be cautious of concentration risks. Additionally, UBS mentioned that as the earnings season concludes and market attention shifts back to unresolved Middle Eastern issues, the market may enter a temporary pause. Senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, has been monitoring the issue of market breadth, noting that most gains are concentrated in a few tech companies priced with perfect expectations. She warned that any disruption in their pricing logic could lead to a collapse similar to a bubble burst.

Google Cloud reported a revenue of $20.03 billion for the first quarter of 2026, marking a 63% increase compared to the previous year. According to NS3.AI, this makes Google Cloud the fastest-growing major segment of Alphabet. The cloud division now contributes 18% to Alphabet's total revenue. Additionally, Google Cloud's backlog of $462 billion is highlighted as a significant factor supporting a more optimistic outlook on Google stock.

DeFi protocols have experienced significant financial losses due to hacks, totaling more than $840 million in the first five months of 2026. According to NS3.AI, April was particularly devastating, with losses exceeding $600 million. Notable incidents include the $292 million exploit of KelpDAO and the $285 million breach of Drift Protocol. In May, THORChain suspended trading after researchers identified a potential exploit impacting over $10 million. Experts from TRM Labs, CertiK, and Blockaid have highlighted that recurring bridge and admin-control failures, along with AI-assisted reconnaissance, are contributing to the increased pressure of exploits.

U.S. manufacturing activity experienced its most substantial expansion in four years during May, as reported by Bloomberg posted on X. This growth is attributed to customers' efforts to preempt rising price pressures linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran. The surge in manufacturing activity highlights the industry's response to geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties. As businesses aim to mitigate the impact of escalating costs, the manufacturing sector has shown resilience and adaptability in navigating these challenges. The expansion reflects a strategic move by companies to manage supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures effectively.

On May 21, S&P Global's Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson highlighted the growing economic impact of the Middle East conflict, as reflected in business surveys. According to Jin10, preliminary May PMI data indicates only moderate growth in business activity, with demand pressured by further price increases. Companies are cutting staff due to concerns over rising costs and economic outlook. Following weak data in April, the May PMI suggests that second-quarter annualized GDP growth is unlikely to exceed 1%. However, even this slow growth rate may not persist. Over the past three months, order growth has slowed to its lowest in two years, and the boost from precautionary inventory accumulation due to fears of further price hikes and supply delays will not last indefinitely. Demand is expected to cool further as prices rise. Business costs are increasing at the fastest rate since the 2022 energy price shock, and these costs are being passed on to customers through significantly higher sales prices. The survey data suggests that inflation may intensify just as the economy cools.

Asset tokenization platform Securitize is advancing a business merger with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT) to facilitate its Nasdaq listing. According to Odaily, Securitize founder and CEO Carlos Domingo stated that the company has achieved profitability in the asset tokenization sector through partnerships with various financial institutions. The SPAC transaction aims to accelerate the issuance and trading of digital tokens for assets beyond stablecoins.

SUI Group, a Nasdaq-listed company, has updated its business operations data, revealing that its holdings have exceeded 108 million tokens. According to ChainCatcher, as of May 19, the company holds 108,793,779 tokens, with a market value of approximately $115 million, based on a token price of $1.06. The overall staking yield is around 1.8%, and the market value relative to net asset value (mNAV) is approximately 0.91 times, showing a convergence from previous figures.

The U.S. stock market opened with declines as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.27%, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.39%, and the Nasdaq Composite decreased by 0.5%. According to Jin10, Microsoft shares rose 1.1% following reports that Anthropic is in discussions to utilize its artificial intelligence chips. American Rare Earths saw a 2.7% increase after being selected for a U.S. Department of Energy pilot project on rare earth processing. IBM's stock climbed 3% as the company secured $1 billion in U.S. government funding to advance quantum computing. Meanwhile, NIO experienced a 5% rise in its stock price, with first-quarter revenue increasing by 112.2% year-on-year.

U.S. stock futures indicate a lower opening on Thursday, following a rebound in the previous trading session. According to Jin10, the recent rally in U.S. stocks coincided with a sharp decline in U.S. Treasury yields and oil prices. Nvidia's stock is experiencing a pre-market decline, with negative reactions to its earnings report potentially impacting the broader market today. Dan Coatsworth, Market Director at AJ Bell, commented that Nvidia, the chip giant, is increasingly resembling a 'broken record,' repeatedly emphasizing strong AI demand and a long queue of customers waiting for its chips. The focus is now on how long Nvidia can sustain this momentum, as even the fastest and strongest athletes eventually face exhaustion. Investors are beginning to worry that Nvidia may struggle to maintain its current growth pace.

Boerse Stuttgart Group is collaborating with Societe Generale, SG-Forge, and flatexDEGIRO to expand its Seturion platform. According to NS3.AI, this partnership will leverage Societe Generale's network, which spans 3.5 million customers across 16 countries. As part of the initiative, Societe Generale will issue tokenized structured securities on the platform. SG-Forge will facilitate settlements using its EURCV and USDCV stablecoins.

Anthropic is reportedly in discussions with Microsoft to lease computing resources powered by Microsoft's proprietary AI server chips. According to Odaily, the talks involve providing server computing services through Microsoft's data centers using their in-house developed chips. This potential deal is seen as a significant step in Microsoft's AI chip commercialization efforts, offering Anthropic an important option to expand its computing resources for AI model training and inference needs, as revealed by sources familiar with the matter.

Several long-term forecasts predict Nvidia's stock could reach $500 between 2028 and 2030, compared to its current price of $223.47. According to NS3.AI, Nvidia reported a Q1 FY27 revenue of $81.6 billion, marking an 85% increase year over year, and has projected $91 billion for Q2.

Microsoft's shares increased by nearly 2% in pre-market trading. According to Jin10, the rise follows reports that Anthropic is in discussions with Microsoft regarding the use of its artificial intelligence chips. This development highlights the growing interest in AI technology and its potential impact on the tech industry.

JPMorgan reports that tokenized money market funds represent only about 5% of the stablecoin market, primarily due to regulatory challenges. According to CoinDesk, these funds face a 'structural regulatory disadvantage' as they are classified as securities, which imposes restrictions on their circulation within the crypto ecosystem. Despite their yield-generating potential, tokenized funds are unlikely to exceed 10%-15% of the stablecoin market without regulatory changes. Stablecoins remain dominant in crypto trading and payments due to their seamless integration across exchanges and DeFi.

Bill Ackman announced that Pershing Square Capital acquired a 5.6 million-share position in Microsoft during the first quarter of 2026, valued at $2.09 billion. According to NS3.AI, this stake represents approximately 5.3% of Pershing Square Capital's portfolio. The acquisition was financed by selling shares of Alphabet's Google. Ackman emphasized that the decision was driven by valuation and capital allocation strategies, rather than a negative outlook on Alphabet.