The Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary program launched by Golden Finance, covering key news of the week, mining information, project dynamics, technological advancements, and other industry updates. This article is one of the news weekly editions, giving you a glimpse of significant events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headlines
▌Analysis: Trump's crypto assets account for about 37% of his total assets
The State Democratic Defenders Fund (SDDF) reports that cryptocurrency could account for 37% of Donald Trump's wealth. Due to limited public information, the report can only speculate on his potential earnings, including transaction fees from TRUMP and World Liberty Financial tokens (WLFI). The meme coin launched by Trump has significantly increased his crypto assets, but due to price fluctuations and unclear holdings, exact wealth remains difficult to determine.
▌CZ: Satoshi Nakamoto is an AI from the future
Binance founder CZ posted on social media stating, 'Satoshi Nakamoto is an AI from the future. I was just asked in a live interview in Turkey (still ongoing) who I think Satoshi might be. I always tweet while in meetings.'
▌Trump told Musk: You can stay as long as you want
U.S. President Trump told Musk: 'You can stay as long as you want.' Trump said Musk has been a great help and has been treated unfairly, and Musk wants to return to his car business. Earlier reports indicated that on April 23, Musk stated that the work of the U.S. government's efficiency department (DOGE) is very important. In May, he will return to Tesla, significantly reducing the time allocated for the DOGE department. 'As long as the president is willing, I will be in the DOGE department for a day or two each week.'
▌Leaders of the crypto industry write to the Trump administration, urging the cessation of lawsuits against software developers
Led by the DeFi Education Fund, over 70 individuals from the crypto industry have jointly written to David Sacks, the White House official for AI and crypto affairs, urging the Trump administration to terminate the Justice Department's 'over-enforcement' against open-source software developers such as Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, in order to protect U.S. developers and achieve the goal of making the U.S. the 'global crypto capital.'
▌CZ: Providing consultation for multiple countries to establish cryptocurrency reserves
On April 30, CZ spoke at the TOKEN2049 stage in Dubai about the progress of global cryptocurrency strategic reserves, providing consultation for multiple countries outside Europe on how to establish cryptocurrency reserves like the U.S. CZ also mentioned his reason for investing in platform X, stating, 'What I'm most interested in is free capital, but to have that, you need freedom of speech, which is fundamental.'
Policy
▌BlackRock applies to the U.S. SEC to apply blockchain technology to its Treasury Trust Fund
According to Bloomberg, global asset management giant BlackRock has submitted an application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create a blockchain-based stock class for the BlackRock BLF Treasury Trust Fund, labeled as DLT, an abbreviation for Distributed Ledger Technology. DLT will seek to utilize blockchain technology to record stock ownership or simplify certain fund operations of money market funds that invest in high-quality short-term U.S. Treasuries. DLT shares will only be purchasable through Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), which plans to use blockchain technology to maintain mirror records of stock ownership for its clients.
▌Institutions like Solana propose to the U.S. SEC to put U.S. stocks on-chain to promote financial innovation
The Solana Policy Institute, Superstate Inc., Lowenstein Sandler LLP, and Orca Creative submitted a new framework to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto special working group, aimed at putting equity securities like stocks on-chain. This pilot project is called 'Project Open,' and the Solana Policy Institute stated, 'Project Open represents the progress of financial innovation in the U.S., improving transparency in U.S. financial markets, enabling instant settlement, and reducing costs.' BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has also pointed out: 'Every stock, every bond, every fund—every asset—can be tokenized.'
▌U.S. SEC terminates investigation into PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD, taking no enforcement action
PayPal disclosed in a filing submitted on Tuesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has terminated its investigation into its dollar stablecoin PYUSD and will not take enforcement action. PayPal stated that the SEC enforcement division had previously issued a subpoena in November 2023, requesting documents related to PYUSD, and notified them of the investigation's closure in February 2025.
▌Bloomberg ETF analyst: The U.S. SEC is expected to announce the final approval results for five crypto ETFs in October or later
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on the applications for five crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including Franklin Templeton's spot Solana (SOL) and XRP ETFs, and Grayscale's spot Hedera (HBAR) ETF. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated on platform X that this move was expected, as most projects have a final deadline of October 2025 or later, but he did not rule out the possibility of further delays this week. According to the approval schedule, many delayed ETF products will still face final approval deadlines between the third and fourth quarters.
▌Nigerian government recognizes Bitcoin as a security through legislation
Nigerian President Tinubu signed the Investment and Securities Act 2025 last month, officially classifying Bitcoin and other digital assets as securities. This marks the first official recognition of Bitcoin's legal status by Nigerian regulators. The new law will grant the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory authority over virtual asset service providers (VASPs), digital asset operators (DAOPs), and digital asset exchanges (DAEs). The law also imposes strict penalties on Ponzi schemes, with violators facing fines of at least 20 million naira (approximately $12,430) and up to 10 years in prison.
Blockchain applications
▌Crypto project World launches in the U.S., plans to introduce Visa card and Tinder pilot project
The human verification crypto project World has launched in the U.S., allowing users to earn WLD tokens by verifying their identity and establishing a World ID. The project will start in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. Meanwhile, World plans to launch a Visa card that allows users to make payments with WLD tokens and other digital assets. Additionally, World is partnering with Match Group to launch a pilot project among Tinder users in Japan, aiming to help users verify their real identities. World will also provide access to the prediction market Kalshi through its app.
▌Baanx partners with Visa to launch USDC stablecoin payment card
Baanx has partnered with Visa to launch a stablecoin payment card tied to self-custody wallets, initially supporting USDC issued by Circle. The card 'allows cardholders to spend USDC directly from their crypto wallets,' transferring the USDC balance to Baanx in real-time via a smart contract at the time of authorization, which is then converted to fiat for payment. Baanx is also working with Mastercard to develop a wallet card linked to MetaMask. Baanx stated, 'We are empowering people to hold and spend dollar stablecoins in a self-custodial, real-time manner—this is the future of finance.'
▌Trump Media Group plans to launch a utility token for Truth Social
Trump Media and Technology Group stated in a letter to shareholders: 'As part of the reward program, we are exploring the introduction of a utility token within the Truth digital wallet, which can initially be used to pay for Truth+ subscription fees and may later apply to other products and services within the Truth ecosystem.' This January, the company launched the fintech brand Truth.Fi and previously filed for a trademark covering 'downloadable computer software for use as a digital wallet.'
▌European digital bank Bunq launches cryptocurrency services, supported by Kraken's technology
European digital bank Bunq announced on April 29 the launch of Bunq Crypto, allowing users to invest in over 300 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. This service will initially roll out in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Belgium, supported by Kraken's technology. Bunq stated: 'Our global users have long anticipated a simple, secure, and direct way to invest in digital assets.' Bunq's research indicates that 'about 65% of European consumers want to manage their banking, savings, and cryptocurrency investments through a unified platform,' with over 50% of respondents wanting access to cryptocurrencies but finding existing platforms inadequate in terms of convenience and security.
▌Interchain Foundation strategically invests in Stride to launch DEX Stride Swap
According to official news, the Interchain Foundation announced an investment in the liquid staking protocol Stride to support its development of a decentralized trading platform Stride Swap based on IBC Eureka on Cosmos Hub. This DEX will serve as a multi-chain DeFi infrastructure for Cosmos, supporting instant cross-chain exchanges between ETH, SOL, USDT, and Cosmos native assets like ATOM and USDC.
Cryptocurrency
▌Kraken's revenue for the first quarter reached $472 million, driven by volatility during the early days of Trump's presidency
Kraken stated in its blog that its revenue for the first quarter of 2025 was $472 million, a 19% year-on-year increase, primarily driven by market volatility during the first 100 days of Trump's second term. The exchange plans to go public in the first quarter of 2026. Adjusted EBITDA grew 17% year-on-year to $187.4 million, and trading volume increased by 29%. Kraken stated: 'We have also surpassed broader industry benchmarks, indicating expanded market share and deeper customer engagement.' Despite the overall market downturn, platform assets continued to grow during the quarter.
▌Blockchain Group plans to increase Bitcoin holdings to 260,000 by 2033
On May 2, news from Cointelegraph revealed that European Bitcoin financial company Blockchain Group plans to increase its Bitcoin holdings to 260,000 (worth $24 billion) by 2033.
▌USDT market capitalization reaches $149 billion, setting a new high, surpassing Qualcomm and Charles Schwab
Stablecoin issuer Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on platform X that the market capitalization of USDT has reached $149 billion, setting a new historical high, surpassing tech giant Qualcomm and financial giant Charles Schwab to rise to 119th place in global market cap rankings. It is worth mentioning that USDT's market capitalization reached $146 billion on April 24 and $147 billion on April 25, indicating an increase of over $3 billion in about a week.
▌U.S. Senator Lummis: BTC is the only way for the U.S. to escape the $36 trillion debt vortex
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis delivered a speech in Congress stating that the U.S. has no time left, nor traditional options, either default leading to collapse and spiraling inflation, or using Bitcoin and technology to escape the predicament. The Bitcoin Act will be the only solution to the U.S. $36 trillion debt, and the related initiative has already received Trump's support. If the Bitcoin Act is enacted into law, the U.S. will purchase 200,000 Bitcoins annually over the next five years, thus creating a reserve of at least one million Bitcoins held for over twenty years. According to prior estimates by VanEck, if the U.S. follows this roadmap, Bitcoin reserves could offset up to $21 trillion in national debt by 2049.
▌Goldman Sachs: Will increase investment in digital assets and bet on tokenization business
Goldman Sachs' global head of digital assets Mathew McDermott stated at TOKEN2049 that they will expand digital asset trading activities, explore crypto lending, and heavily bet on tokenization. Mathew McDermott mentioned that more and more Goldman Sachs clients are eager to engage more actively in digital asset trading, and Goldman Sachs will focus on making business happen. They hope to obtain various regulatory approvals. Goldman Sachs had previously been mainly active in secondary market trading such as private equity, and will now push for tokenization and collateral liquidity business.
Important economic dynamics
▌U.S. core PCE hits a new low since June last year
The U.S. March core PCE price index annual rate recorded 2.6%, the lowest since June 2024, meeting expectations. The U.S. March core PCE price index month-on-month rate recorded 0%, the lowest since April 2020, below the expected 0.1%.
▌Interest rate futures predict a 100 basis point cut by the Bank of England for the remainder of 2025
Interest rate futures predict a 100 basis point cut by the Bank of England for the remainder of 2025, with 94 basis points on Wednesday. (Jin10)
▌The U.S. adjusted non-farm payrolls for April are 177,000, expected 130,000
According to Jin10 reports, the U.S. adjusted non-farm payrolls for April are 177,000, expected 130,000, with the previous value revised from 228,000 to 185,000.
▌Reuters survey finds analysts expect the average annual gold price to exceed $3,000 for the first time
According to a Reuters survey: The average gold price is expected to reach $3,065 per ounce in 2025 and $3,000 per ounce in 2026, marking the first time analysts expect the average annual gold price to exceed $3,000. The expected average silver price in 2025 is $33.10 per ounce, and $34.58 per ounce in 2026. (Jin10)
▌Traders fully price in that the Federal Reserve will cut rates four times by 25 basis points before the end of 2025
Traders fully price in that the Federal Reserve will cut rates four times by 25 basis points before the end of 2025. (Jin10)
