Author: Gabby

Major US banking associations have formally requested a pause in the rulemaking process for the GENIUS Act, a comprehensive stablecoin regulation signed into law in July 2025. The American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, and two other trade groups sent a letter on April 22 to the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, urging them to suspend the comment periods for three proposed implementation rules until the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency completes its primary stablecoin framework. The groups argue that Treasury’s equivalency rule, the FDIC’s issuer standards rule, and the FinCEN-OFAC anti-money laundering directive are all intricately linked to the OCC’s pending rule, making it impossible to provide meaningful feedback in isolation. The GENIUS Act is set to take effect no later than January 18, 2027.

Meanwhile, stablecoin issuer Agora has taken a different approach by filing for a national trust bank charter with the OCC on April 24. Agora CEO Nick van Eck commented that the banks’ pushback was predictable, noting that their true concern revolves around the potential exodus of deposits to stablecoin platforms that offer higher yields, which would erode the profit spread banks currently enjoy between near-zero deposit rates and returns from Federal Reserve reserves. Van Eck emphasized that obtaining a federal charter would enable Agora to issue stablecoins directly under federal oversight, bypassing what he describes as excessive fees in fiat-to-crypto conversion services, and would allow the company to expand into custody, compliance, and payment services.

The OCC released its proposed stablecoin rulebook in February 2026, addressing issuance, reserves, supervision, and redemption for permitted stablecoin issuers. That proposal had a 60-day comment period that ended on May 1. The Treasury separately proposed rules for state-level oversight of issuers under $10 billion, with a comment deadline of June 2. By seeking to align the three distinct timelines into a single coordinated process, banks could delay the GENIUS Act’s implementation by several months, giving traditional lenders more time to evaluate the competitive threat from nonbank stablecoin issuers before the regulations are finalized.

Bitcoin’s price jumped nearly 3% to $78,700 on May 1, buoyed by news that Iran presented a fresh peace proposal to the United States through Pakistani intermediaries. This development helped ease fears over oil supply disruptions, lifting overall market sentiment. According to CNBC, Iran’s updated offer, delivered via mediators in Pakistan, marks another step in long-running negotiations covering ceasefire terms, sanctions relief, and the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices dipped modestly on the news, reducing one of the key macroeconomic pressures that had dragged on cryptocurrencies and equities throughout the week.

The climb from a multi-week low of $74,900 on April 29—when President Trump received a military briefing on new Iran strike options—to $78,700 on May 1 essentially erased the losses from the post-FOMC selloff. This pattern mirrors earlier recoveries during the conflict, where each credible diplomatic signal triggered a rapid BTC repricing. 21Shares chief market strategist Adrian Fritz noted that $80,000 represents a significant resistance level. He remarked that a strong break above that threshold could generate fresh momentum, especially as recent buyers return to profitability. Fritz added that moving past $85,000 might indicate the start of a broader reversal.

Previously, Bitcoin had touched $78,400 the prior week but was sharply rejected when hostilities flared up again, establishing a consistent pattern: every promising diplomatic move leads to a quick BTC rally, and any setback reverses it within hours. Hopes of a comprehensive US-Iran deal have consistently fueled bets on Bitcoin retesting $80,000, provided ETF inflows resume and oil prices retreat toward pre-war levels. The $80,000 mark has now been tested twice in 2026 without a decisive breakout. A confirmed move above that level, supported by sustained ETF inflows and stable oil prices, would be the clearest indication that the Iran-driven macro overhang on Bitcoin has materially diminished.

Coinbase Derivatives has officially launched Trade at Settlement (TAS) for XRP futures as of May 1, marking a significant milestone for the digital asset. This new functionality makes XRP the first altcoin to gain access to an institutional-grade block-trade execution mechanism previously reserved for Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, and crude oil futures. The move follows a filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on April 21, which outlined the framework for TAS under the Commodity Exchange Act, with Coinbase’s Market Regulation team ensuring fair and transparent oversight.

With TAS, large institutional investors can execute substantial block orders for both nano XRP and full-sized XRP futures at the official 4 PM settlement price, effectively eliminating the risks associated with intraday price fluctuations. This reduces execution costs and position-sizing uncertainties that typically accompany high-volume trades. The activation aligns with the SEC and CFTC’s joint classification of XRP as a digital commodity in March 2026, placing it on equal footing with traditional commodity futures.

The launch is part of a broader institutional push for XRP, which has gained momentum since the regulatory clarity provided in early 2026. Goldman Sachs has disclosed a $153.8 million position across four XRP ETFs, and total assets under management for XRP ETFs have reached $1.53 billion. A survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon revealed that 25% of institutional investors plan to add XRP to their portfolios in 2026, with 65% citing regulatory clarity as a key condition for entry. The TAS activation coincides with a Coinbase market maker program aimed at improving order book depth for XRP and other crypto futures.

Analysts note that TAS is one of several catalysts for XRP in May. Other upcoming events include the launch of 3x leveraged XRP ETFs by GraniteShares on May 7, the departure of Powell as Fed chair on May 15, and the hard markup deadline for the CLARITY Act on May 21. If block trade flows through TAS materialize significantly, it would provide the strongest evidence yet that institutional demand for XRP is transitioning from stated intent to actual capital deployment.

Pi Network has confirmed that Protocol 23 will go live on May 11, marking the blockchain’s first full smart contract deployment. This upgrade will transform the mobile mining network into a programmable ecosystem supporting decentralized finance applications and asset tokenization.

The launch date was moved forward from the previously announced May 18, aligning with the conclusion of the Consensus 2026 conference in Miami, where co-founders Dr. Chengdiao Fan and Nicolas Kokkalis are scheduled to speak on May 6 and 7. This strategic timing places the technical release shortly after key public appearances.

Protocol 23 builds on the foundation established by Protocol 22, which completed on April 27 and removed non-compliant nodes to ensure network stability. The new protocol allows developers to create and deploy smart contracts on Pi’s Mainnet, enabling decentralized exchanges, lending platforms, automated tools, and tokenization of real-world assets through the Pi Launchpad.

The network currently boasts 421,000 active Mainnet nodes, over 10 billion PI migrated to Mainnet, and a market cap of approximately $1.73 billion as of late April 2026. Pi Network’s move into programmable contracts positions it alongside proof-of-personhood projects like Worldcoin and Humanity Protocol, with the Consensus appearance framing Protocol 23 as part of a broader vision for identity and decentralized finance in the AI era.

In a major shift that redefines the AI landscape, OpenAI has ended its seven-year cloud exclusivity deal with Microsoft. As of late April, the partnership transitioned from an exclusive to a non-exclusive arrangement, granting OpenAI the ability to offer its full suite of AI models on competing platforms like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.

The restructuring, announced jointly by both firms, effectively resolves a brewing legal dispute that emerged after OpenAI secured a massive $50 billion investment from Amazon in February. That deal had given AWS exclusive third-party cloud distribution for Frontier, OpenAI’s enterprise agent platform, which conflicted with the prior Microsoft agreement.

Under the new terms, Microsoft will hold a non-exclusive license to OpenAI’s intellectual property through 2032. OpenAI must still deliver new models to Azure first, but now it can also provide them via AWS Bedrock and eventually Google Cloud. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed that OpenAI models will be available on AWS Bedrock within weeks.

Financially, Microsoft will no longer receive a revenue share from OpenAI, while OpenAI will continue paying Microsoft until 2030, subject to an undisclosed cap. Microsoft retains its roughly 27% stake in OpenAI’s for-profit entity, which generated $7.5 billion in revenue last quarter.

OpenAI’s chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, noted that the previous exclusivity limited the company’s ability to meet enterprise demand. AWS CEO Matt Garman echoed this, stating that customers have long requested access to OpenAI models on AWS. Google Cloud is currently reviewing the new terms to explore possible partnerships.

This strategic pivot underscores the growing tension between the two tech giants, as their product lines increasingly overlap—from GitHub Copilot versus OpenAI’s Windsurf to competing proprietary LLMs. The new flexibility is expected to benefit enterprises that previously had to rely solely on Azure for OpenAI access.

Mantle Network has advanced its proposal to lend up to 30,000 ETH to Aave’s DeFi United recovery initiative, now moving to a governance vote on Snapshot. MNT holders must delegate their voting power to participate in the decision.

This strategic credit facility, known as MIP-34, aims to address the shortfalls caused by the April 18 rsETH bridge exploit, providing a structured way to manage bad debt and collateral gaps. If approved, Mantle’s treasury will supply the ETH to Aave DAO, specifically for the DeFi United rescue plan.

The loan is structured with a 36-month term and a floating yield based on Lido’s stETH staking return plus a 1% spread, transforming idle treasury assets into a yield-bearing position. Aave DAO would back the facility with 5% of its protocol revenue and at least $11 million in AAVE tokens, while granting Mantle delegated governance rights over roughly 130,000 AAVE to align incentives.

Collateral will be held in a multisig wallet, with early repayment options and default protections to limit Mantle’s risk. Aave founder Stani Kulechov has praised the DeFi United effort as the largest DAO coordination he has participated in, with parallel governance processes at Arbitrum, Aave, EtherFi, Lido, Compound, and Mantle.

The rescue fund under DeFi United has now accumulated 1,137,714.633 ETH, worth approximately $314.57 million, from contributions by multiple DAOs and protocols. Major pledges include Arbitrum DAO’s 30,765 ETH, Mantle’s planned 30,000 ETH loan, AaveDAO’s 25,000 ETH, EtherFi’s 5,000 ETH, Lido’s 2,500 stETH, and personal commitments from Stani and the Golem Foundation.

The goal is to cover an estimated 68,900 to 118,000 ETH shortfall in rsETH’s backing after the KelpDAO bridge exploit, ensuring healthier collateralization across Aave and other lending markets. Legal experts view this as a landmark case of on-chain interventions coordinated across DAOs, with the Mantle-Aave loan testing structured credit facilities in large DeFi rescues.

For affected users, the combination of direct ETH contributions, governance-approved credit lines, and protocol fixes provides more options to exit or restructure positions, avoiding a simple liquidation process.