Kraken has launched a CFTC-regulated cryptocurrency spot margin trading service for US retail users, just days after its parent company acquired the Bitnomial derivatives platform. Such products were previously largely unavailable to US retail users, forcing them to turn to offshore platforms. Kraken stated that users can use cryptocurrency assets as collateral for leveraged trading up to 10x without having to sell assets. This launch follows Payward's acquisition of Bitnomial, a Chicago-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange holding CFTC-issued broker, contract broker, and clearing licenses. Payward stated that the acquisition will finally enable it to offer regulated spot margin, perpetual futures, and options products to US users, while strengthening Kraken's regulated derivatives infrastructure and preparing for a potential public listing. Payward confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November. The platform has also been expanding its institutional and derivatives business in the UK and Europe since its $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader in March 2025.

According to Huoxun Finance, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Mohamed Mussalaim stated that there is significant uncertainty regarding the outlook for the U.S. economy and monetary policy. He believes that the risks to inflation are currently rising compared to employment risks. Mussalaim pointed out that inflation is significantly above the 2% target level, and the risks are more inclined towards inflation than employment. He mentioned that the Fed's benchmark policy rate is currently at a neutral level, possibly slightly leaning towards easing. There is a reasonable scenario for maintaining the current policy rate unchanged, but further rate cuts or increases may also be necessary.

According to a recent report by Glassnode, Bitcoin has broken through the real market average ($78,200) and the short-term holder cost price ($79,100). If it can maintain its position in this range over the next week, the "deep value phase" since 2026 may become the shortest in Bitcoin's history. The next key resistance level is currently around $85,200. On-chain data shows that the 30-day net realized profit/loss average has turned positive to 0.003% of market capitalization, and long-term holders' realized profits have risen to $180 million per day, but this is still significantly lower than the over $1 billion level at the peak of this cycle. However, realized losses in the market are still as high as $479 million per day, 140% higher than the stable range of this cycle. Glassnode believes that a sustained decline to below $200 million is needed to confirm a healthier recovery in demand. In terms of funding, the 30-day net inflows into the US spot Bitcoin ETF have turned positive again, indicating that institutional demand is recovering. Meanwhile, the funding rate for perpetual contracts remained negative during the upward trend, indicating that short positions in the market remain heavy. If short positions continue to be squeezed, it could further drive the price up. Furthermore, there is a cluster of approximately $2 billion in "Short Gamma" positions around $82,000, and market maker hedging activities could amplify price volatility. Glassnode believes that the overall trend for Bitcoin remains strong, but the market has entered a more sensitive phase. Without sustained support from spot buying, significant selling pressure may emerge around $85,000.

According to Huoxun Finance's official blog, Ondo Finance, in collaboration with Kinexys by JP Morgan, Mastercard, and Ripple, completed the first near-real-time cross-border interbank exchange of tokenized US Treasury bonds. In this pilot project, Ripple exchanged its holdings of Ondo Short-Term US Government Bonds (OUSG) on the XRP Ledger. After processing the exchange, Ondo sent a fiat currency payment instruction through the Mastercard Multi-Token Network. Kinexys by JP Morgan's blockchain infrastructure executed the settlement, and the USD funds were delivered to Ripple's bank account in Singapore through its correspondent banking network. This project demonstrates the feasibility of public blockchain infrastructure working in conjunction with interbank settlement systems, establishing a framework for global banks to conduct 24/7 real-time cross-border settlements using tokenized assets.

According to the official blog of Ondo Finance, as reported by Odaily, Ondo Finance (Ondo), in collaboration with Kinexys by JP Morgan, Mastercard, and Ripple, completed the first near-real-time cross-border interbank exchange of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds. In this pilot project, Ripple exchanged its holdings of Ondo Short-Term U.S. Government Bonds (OUSG) on the XRP Ledger. After processing the exchange, Ondo sent a fiat currency payment instruction through the Mastercard Multi-Token Network. Kinexys by JP Morgan's blockchain infrastructure executed the settlement, and the USD funds were delivered to Ripple's bank account in Singapore through its correspondent banking network. This project demonstrates the feasibility of public blockchain infrastructure working in conjunction with interbank settlement systems, establishing a framework for global banks to conduct 24/7 real-time cross-border settlements using tokenized assets.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, a U.S. government address deposited 3.233 ETH, worth $7,630, into Coinbase Prime approximately one hour ago.

According to Huoxun Finance, a U.S. government-related address (Glenn Olivio Seized Funds) deposited 3.233 ETH, worth approximately $7,630, into Coinbase Prime.

According to on-chain monitoring data, a U.S. government-related address (Glenn Olivio Seized Funds) deposited 3.233 ETH, worth approximately $7,630, into Coinbase Prime.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, sources familiar with the matter said that Iran and the United States are working through a mediator to finalize a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding, establishing a framework for a month-long negotiation aimed at ending the war. These points of discussion will be central to the next round of talks, which could resume as early as next week in Islamabad. Sources also indicated that Iran has expressed a willingness to discuss its nuclear program, a softening of its previous stance. Unresolved issues remain regarding the duration of Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment activities, whether highly enriched uranium will be removed from the country, and Iran's insistence on retaining a permanent supervisory role in the Strait of Hormuz, which are expected to complicate the final negotiations. Furthermore, the timing and scope of sanctions lifting could also hinder the negotiations. Sources said that if progress is made, the one-month negotiation period could be extended by mutual agreement. A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that Iran is reviewing the US proposal and will convey its position to the US through a Pakistani mediator after completing its assessment. (Jinshi)

According to Huoxun Finance, Onchain Lens monitoring shows that a newly created address "0x84b" deposited approximately $8 million USDC into the derivatives trading platform HyperLiquid to open a short position in TON with a notional amount of approximately $2.76 million and a leverage ratio of 2x.

Huoxun Finance reports that Ethos, a London-based AI recruitment platform, has completed a $22.75 million Series A funding round, led by a16z with participation from General Catalyst. Ethos uses AI to interview candidates and analyze their academic papers, code, and other professional content to create detailed skills profiles. The platform then matches experts with paid opportunities, including expert consultations, market research, AI data annotation, consulting services, and full-time jobs. James Lo, co-founder and CEO of Ethos, stated, “Resumes don’t truly reflect a person’s abilities. Ethos aims to help people showcase their full professional capabilities in the AI-reshaped economy and help companies more accurately find the talent they truly need.” Ethos aims to address the problems of rampant fake or AI-generated resumes and the difficulty in verifying candidates’ true abilities.

According to Huoxun Finance, renowned startup accelerator Y Combinator will hold its first-ever offline interviews in New York City, focusing on fintech and cryptocurrency startups, aiming to support the growth of more companies in these sectors. YC stated that this is the first time it has moved a specific industry-specific interview process offline, with the goal of meeting founders of key emerging ecosystems. The interviews will be held in person in New York on May 21st. YC's standard investment condition for selected startups is a $500,000 investment in exchange for a 7% stake. Earlier this year, YC introduced this option, allowing startups to also receive funding in Circle's stablecoin USDC. YC's Winter 2026 round already includes several crypto and fintech startups, including Sponge Wallet (financial infrastructure for the AI agent economy), Unifold (crypto deposit service), Sequence Markets (a unified trading platform integrating crypto, real-world assets, and prediction markets), and Valence (a cross-platform prediction market trading platform). Since its founding in 2005, YC has invested in over 5,000 companies with a combined valuation exceeding $1 trillion. Its portfolio includes OpenAI, Airbnb, Stripe, and Reddit. YC's first crypto investment was in Coinbase in 2012, and since then it has invested in more than 150 crypto and fintech companies, including prediction market platform Kalshi, DeFi trading platform Axiom, and NFT marketplace OpenSea. Last year, YC partnered with Coinbase to support startups building on-chain infrastructure, a shift YC called "Fintech 3.0" at the time.

According to CoinGlass data, the total liquidation amount in the cryptocurrency market reached $584 million in the past 24 hours, including $181 million in long positions and $404 million in short positions. BTC liquidations amounted to $190 million, and ETH liquidations totaled $99.9392 million. A total of 137,592 people were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with the largest single liquidation occurring on Binance's BTCUSDC trading pair, worth $6.1364 million.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that startup incubator Y Combinator will hold its first-ever interviews specifically for fintech and crypto startups in New York City, aiming to support more businesses in this field. The interviews will be held in person on May 21st. Selected startups will join the summer 2026 cohort and receive a standard $500,000 investment. Selected projects can choose to receive funding in the USDC stablecoin. Y Combinator has already invested in over 150 crypto and fintech companies, including Coinbase, OpenSea, and Kalshi.

Huoxun Finance reports that Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated he is very confident the Clarity Act, stablecoin legislation, will be passed before this summer, and publicly supports the compromise proposed by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks. This compromise retains activity-based rewards linked to actual platform usage while limiting idle balance rewards, which banks perceive as a risk of deposit outflows. Grewal stated that banks have failed to provide substantial evidence of deposit outflow risks during multiple meetings and warned that if the compromise is rejected, banks will face the more lenient GENIUS Act framework, which allows any non-issuer to issue arbitrary rewards. He anticipates the Clarity Act will be passed no later than this summer.

Huoxun Finance reports that Coinbase has launched perpetual gold futures (GOLD-PERP) and perpetual silver futures (SILVER-PERP), open to eligible non-US institutional and retail traders. Users can trade in supported regions through the Coinbase International Exchange, coinbase.com, and the Coinbase App. Both products are linear perpetual contracts referenced to one troy ounce of spot gold or silver, settled in USDC, and support 24/7/365 trading, offering up to 25x leverage. Coinbase also stated that it is working with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to transition its US gold and silver futures to 24/7 trading.

According to Coinglass data, Binance saw a net inflow of 34.6125 million USDT in the past hour.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that US President Trump stated he feels the US is close to reaching an agreement with Iran. President Trump: It's unlikely we'll send Witkov and Kushner to participate in the negotiations. President Trump: Post-war oil prices may or may not fall quickly—nobody knows. President Trump: If no agreement is reached with Iran, we will go back to the old ways. (Jinshi)

Huoxun Finance reports that shares of Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 surged over 32% after the company signed a $9.8 billion lease agreement for an AI data center campus designed with Nvidia's computing power architecture. This deal marks the first phase of Hut 8's commercialization of its Beacon Point data center campus in Nuces County, Texas. Hut 8 stated that tenants will use the computing infrastructure to support AI training and "hyperscale inference workloads." Hut 8 stated, "The site was initially underwritten on a speed-to-power logic basis to serve Hut 8's associated client, American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC), but has been repositioned as power demand has accelerated and customer needs have expanded. Hut 8 has shifted Beacon Point from its original commercialization path with ABTC to deliver an AI data center campus with contractual, investment-grade cash flow, marking the first phase of value creation at the asset level." Hut 8 also reported first-quarter earnings on Monday, recording a net loss of $253 million, an 89% increase from the $134 million loss in the same period last year. On the positive side, quarterly revenue rose to $71 million, primarily driven by $66 million in computing power-related revenue.

According to Gate.com data, all three major U.S. stock indexes rose by more than 1%.