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Bitcoin BTC$77,231.70, ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), solana (SOL) and other top 10 coins have had a tough time lately, with each falling at least 2% in the past seven days. Still, there is always a bull market somewhere, and several crypto sub-sectors have chalked up impressive gains.

Coins associated with derivatives protocols, particularly those focused on perpetual futures such as HYPE and LIT, have surged by 40% or more.

HYPE has been rallying since Trade.xyz, a trading interface based on the Hyperliquid blockchain, listed the Space pre-IPO perpetual contract on Monday, valuing the company at $1.78 trillion. Trading volume on the contract topped $30 million on its first day. The protocol consistently earns millions in fee revenue per week, accounting for over 40% of total marketwide fee revenue, according to data source DefiLlama.

And it’s not just Hyperliquid; investors are trading on other venues, too. According to CoinGecko, the monthly average volume on the top 12 decentralized exchanges for perpetual futures contracts has risen to $612 billion in 2026 from $532 billion in 2025.

Privacy and quantum-resistant coins such as Zcash (ZEC), Quantum Resistant Ledger’s QRL, Qubitcoin’s QTC and Starknet’s STRK are also climbing, with gains between 6% and 25%.

Data shows that investors are willing to overlook macro and geopolitical concerns and deploy capital, but only in coins with strong use cases and narratives.

Privacy is the flavor of the season, with fund managers like Arthur Hayes saying it is a fundamental necessity as advanced AI, large tech firms and government surveillance rapidly erode privacy. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin on Wednesday outlined steps taken to bring privacy features to Ethereum, the world’s largest smart-contract blockchain.

As for quantum risks, Google researchers have already warned that a sufficiently powerful quantum machine, could in theory, attack a massive blockchain like Bitcoin with significantly fewer resources that previously estimated.

Bitcoin itself is struggling to recover the ground lost in the past seven days, currently trading around $77,300.

“Softer on final stages” talks between the U.S. and Iran “takes some inflation pressure off the tape and gives risk assets room to bounce,” analysts at Marex said.

This doesn’t, however, feel like a clean restart of the bull trend, they said, but more like a relief bid in a market that is still constrained by rates.

In traditional markets, NVDA closed Wednesday flat despite a blowout quarterly earnings report, while oil dipped to $98 per barrel. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

What’s trending

Today’s signal

Ether’s price has dropped below the trendline connecting March and April lows. This trendline represented the recovery rally.

The breakdown, therefore, suggests an end to the price bounce and may invite more selling pressure from momentum traders, potentially yielding a deeper price slide.

The low of $1,937, from which prices turned higher in late March, is the key support now. A violation there would expose levels below $1,800.

HONG KONG, May 21 — OSL Group (863.HK) (OSL), a global stablecoin payment and trading platform, today announced that its Hong Kong-licensed digital asset exchange OSL HK has officially listed USDKG, the gold-backed stablecoin issued by the Kyrgyz Republic. The listing marks a significant step in bringing a state-supervised, asset-backed digital currency to one of the world’s most established licensed virtual asset markets.

Pegged 1:1 to the U.S. Dollar and fully backed by physical gold reserves, USDKG is now accessible to professional investors through OSL’s institutional-grade infrastructure. The initial trading pair USDKG/USDT is now available to professional investors across OSL HK’s over-the-counter (OTC) platform.

The listing of USDKG aligns with OSL’s commitment to contribute to the development of a secure and compliant digital asset ecosystem in Asia and beyond. It also expands USDKG’s reach into new markets through a regulated platform aligned with institutional standards, supporting its use in cross-border settlement and broader financial applications.

Jason Liu, Global Exchange COO of OSL, said:

“OSL is dedicated to providing investors with access to regulated, innovative assets. The listing of USDKG not only enriches OSL’s product offerings for the market, but also strengthens its compliant stablecoin ecosystem, as the introduction of a state-backed, compliant digital asset further underscores OSL’s credibility and leadership within the industry.”

Biibolot Mamytov, CEO of Gold Dollar (USDKG), said:

“This listing represents an important milestone for USDKG as we enter one of the most established and highly regulated digital asset markets globally. Hong Kong is widely regarded as the gold standard for digital asset regulation, and working with OSL reflects our focus on transparency, gold-backed reserves, and institutional-grade infrastructure.”

About USDKG

USDKG is issued by OJSC Virtual Asset Issuer, a state-owned entity under Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Finance, with an initial issuance of $50 million backed by physical gold reserves audited by Kreston Global. The stablecoin is deployed on Ethereum and TRON, with smart contract audits conducted by ConsenSys Diligence.

The token is already accessible through decentralized exchanges, including Curve and Uniswap, and supported by major wallets such as Ledger Live, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and TronLink. The stablecoin is fully compliant with FATF KYC/AML standards and is designed to facilitate financial inclusion and efficient cross-border value transfer.

With this listing, Kyrgyzstan continues to position itself as a regional first-mover in regulated, asset-backed digital currencies, bridging traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure while maintaining full sovereign oversight and public accountability.

Website: https://www.usdkg.com/

Media Contact

William Campbell, 

Advisory Lead

Email: business@usdkg.com

About OSL Group

OSL Group (HKEX: 863) is a global stablecoin payment and trading platform that strives to provide compliant and efficient digital financial infrastructure services globally, empowering enterprises, financial institutions and individuals to seamlessly exchange, pay, trade, and settle between fiat and digital currencies. Grounded in the core values of Open, Secure, and Licensed, it is committed to building a more efficient ecosystem that connects global markets and enables instant, seamless and compliant value movement worldwide. For media inquiries, please contact: media@osl.com.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, and shall not be construed as, an offer, solicitation, invitation, recommendation, or inducement to buy, sell, subscribe for, or otherwise deal in any digital assets, securities, or financial products. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax, accounting, or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as such. The views, statements, and information contained herein do not necessarily reflect the official positions or commitments of OSL Group or any of its affiliates. Any descriptions of products, services, promotions, or programmes are for general reference only. Participation in any products, services, or promotions mentioned is subject to applicable terms, conditions, and regulatory requirements. This article may contain forward-looking statements or indicative information. Actual outcomes may differ materially, and OSL Group assumes no obligation to update such information.

OpenAI is opening its first applied AI lab outside the US in Singapore through a multiyear partnership with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, backed by more than $234 million.

The AI company said Tuesday that the new lab will add more than 200 technical roles over the next few years, making Singapore one of OpenAI’s global hubs for Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE), or technical specialists who work directly with organizations to implement AI systems.

“Through OpenAI for Singapore, we want to help more organisations benefit from frontier AI, support the next generation of local AI talent, and widen access to these tools across the country,” Denise Dresser, the company’s chief revenue officer, said.

OpenAI for Singapore. Source: OpenAI

The move comes amid Singapore’s push into AI. The country has also struck a collaboration with Google DeepMind in healthcare, while Nvidia is setting up its own AI research lab in the city-state.

OpenAI first set up a Singapore office in 2024.

Related: Singapore Gulf Bank Adds Fiat-to-Stablecoin Conversion Feature

OpenAI to launch training programs in Singapore

The initiative, dubbed “OpenAI for Singapore,” will focus on deploying frontier AI across public service, finance, healthcare and digital infrastructure. It will also target talent development and broader access for small businesses and startups.

OpenAI will work with the Ministry of Education and GovTech on AI learning tools, including support for mother tongue language learning. It will also launch an FDE training program and join Singapore’s National AI Impact Programme to build skills across the wider technology workforce.

For smaller players, the company plans accelerator programs for AI-native startups and workshops for micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Related: Bitcoiner Claims Claude Helped Him Recover 5 Bitcoin

OpenAI expands partnerships with countries

OpenAI is striking similar government partnerships across the globe. Over the weekend, Malta struck a first-of-its-kind deal with OpenAI to offer free ChatGPT Plus access to all citizens who complete a government-backed AI literacy course developed by the University of Malta.

OpenAI has struck similar deals with Estonia, providing ChatGPT Edu to secondary school students and teachers, and launched “OpenAI for Greece” in partnership with the government.

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

IG plans to expand crypto trading across Europe through Bitpanda, as the London-listed trading group grows its digital asset offering beyond the U.K.

IG’s European division will use Bitpanda’s infrastructure to offer digital asset access to investors in Europe, CoinDesk reported, citing an emailed statement. The setup will include liquidity, trading connectivity, and market data from Bitpanda.

The company did not give a timeline for the wider European rollout. The move follows IG’s launch of crypto trading for U.K. retail customers last year, giving the group a base to expand similar services into the European market.

Bitpanda provides liquidity and market data

Bitpanda will support IG’s European crypto expansion through its exchange infrastructure. Bitpanda’s role will cover core services needed to provide crypto access, including liquidity and trading connections.

Bitpanda is based in Vienna and holds licenses under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation in Germany and Malta. Those licenses allow the exchange to offer crypto services across the bloc under MiCA’s passporting framework.

Moreover, IG is one of Europe’s best-known retail trading platforms. The company introduced financial spread betting to the U.K. in the early 1970s and now gives clients access to equities, foreign exchange, commodities, and derivatives markets.

The company has 1.3 million clients globally. That existing user base gives IG a large audience for crypto trading as more traditional platforms add digital asset access.

IG also reported £331.2 million, or about $445 million, in revenue for the first quarter of 2026. Spot crypto contributed £2.4 million, or about $3.2 million, showing that crypto remains a small but active part of the group’s trading business.

European crypto push follows earlier deals

IG has already been expanding its crypto footprint through other deals. Related coverage said IG agreed to acquire 70% of Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve for A$109.6 million, with the full deal valuing the exchange at A$178 million.

The company also sold Small Exchange to Kraken. Related coverage said Kraken acquired the CFTC-regulated derivatives platform from IG Group for $100 million, giving Kraken a stronger base for regulated U.S. derivatives trading.

Bitpanda has also been growing under Europe’s new regulatory structure. Related coverage said Bitpanda’s 2025 revenue rose 16% to €371 million, while users reached 7.4 million and its MiCA licensing went live.

The IG-Bitpanda deal now ties these two trends together. IG wants to expand crypto trading for European investors, while Bitpanda is positioning its infrastructure for brokers and financial firms that want regulated digital asset access.

Tax evaders are increasingly turning to Bitcoin Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, and related on-chain techniques to hide wealth, according to a report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The firm warns that as digital assets become more mainstream, malefactors “frequently attempt to exploit novel technologies” in the hope of evading tax authorities and law enforcement. The development comes amid a broader push by tax agencies to catch up with rapid advances in crypto and blockchain tech.

In a notable Italian case highlighted by Chainalysis, authorities allege that a suspect used Ordinals and the BRC-20 standard to conceal 1 million euros in undeclared capital gains. The investigation, led by Italy’s Economic and Financial Police Unit in Foggia, reveals how on-chain inscriptions and tokenization can be deployed to create and move assets without immediate visibility to traditional tax reporting channels. Chainalysis described the sequence as the creation of tokens via the Ordinals protocol, listing them on marketplaces, and then transferring the proceeds back to the suspect’s primary wallet in Bitcoin, with earnings continually reinvested into new inscriptions.

Ordinals, introduced in 2023, attach a serial number to a satoshi—the smallest unit of Bitcoin—and enable data such as images or text to be embedded in a transaction. The BRC-20 standard, built atop Ordinals, permits the minting and transfer of text-based inscriptions as if they were tokens on the Bitcoin network. This combination has spawned a new class of on-chain assets that can be traded or stored, complicating conventional tax reporting and oversight.

Key takeaways

• Bloomberg-backed findings: Chainalysis identifies growing use of Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 inscriptions as tools for concealing wealth and evading taxes.
• Italy case mechanics: An individual allegedly leveraged Ordinals and BRC-20 to hide 1 million euros in undeclared gains, moving profits through on-chain tokens and consolidating earnings in a Bitcoin wallet before reinvestment.
• On-chain visibility remains a double-edged sword: While the technology can obscure activity, Chainalysis argues that the traceability of blockchain networks remains a fundamental enforcement advantage for investigators.
• Broader tax-gap context: Estimates suggest hundreds of billions in uncollected taxes related to crypto, with the U.S. tax gap pegged around $606 billion and varying degrees of crypto reporting across jurisdictions such as the U.S. and Norway.
• Enforcement and infrastructure: Blockchain intelligence is increasingly viewed as essential infrastructure for cross-referencing exchange data and reconstructing financial networks tied to suspected tax evaders.

Ordinals, BRC-20, and the new tax-evasion playbook

The Ordinals protocol assigns a unique serial number to satoshis, enabling on-chain data inscriptions that can be minted, transferred, and publicly stored on Bitcoin’s ledger. The accompanying BRC-20 standard expands on this by enabling token-like inscriptions with text and other data—effectively turning inscriptions into tradeable digital assets. This evolution has drawn attention from researchers and authorities as tax reporting frameworks grapple with on-chain activity that can be both legitimate and illicit in purpose.

Chainalysis notes that the Italian case illustrates how a relatively new suite of tools can be repurposed to hide gains: tokens are minted, listed on marketplaces, and proceeds routed to a central wallet, with profits continually rolled into new inscriptions. The case underscores the ongoing challenge for tax authorities: even as compliance improves, more complex on-chain structures require sophisticated tracing and data integration to ensure accurate reporting.

Enforcement leverage and the role of blockchain intelligence

It is widely acknowledged that tax authorities face substantial gaps in crypto reporting. The Internal Revenue Service estimates a sizable “tax gap”—the difference between what is legally owed and what is collected—approaching $606 billion. While traditional tax-avoidance methods often involved cash and underreporting, Chainalysis argues that the transparency of blockchains introduces a “fatal flaw” for evasion schemes: the immutable, traceable chain of transactions can, in most cases, be reconstructed and cross-referenced with data from exchanges and other on-ramps.

“The assets were sold for multiples of their original cost, and the profits were routed back to the suspect’s primary wallet in Bitcoin. The suspect continually reinvested these earnings into new inscriptions.”

Chainalysis frames the Italian case as a warning: as new digital asset classes emerge, the gap between on-chain wealth and declared tax positions is likely to become a primary target for global investigative attention. Blockchain intelligence is increasingly positioned as essential infrastructure for modern enforcement, enabling authorities to map financial networks, verify reported gains, and connect on-chain activity to real-world identities and obligations.

Beyond Italy, studies from other jurisdictions highlight varying levels of crypto tax reporting. A March report noted that only about 32% to 56% of U.S. crypto owners report their gains, while a separate August 2024 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research put Norway’s reporting rate at roughly 12%. These figures illustrate the uneven landscape of crypto taxation and the potential for on-chain activity to outpace traditional oversight tools.

In reporting on tax compliance and enforcement, Chainalysis emphasizes that while crypto can enable novel opportunities for innovation, it also creates a persistent, traceable ledger. As authorities expand their capacity to analyze inscriptions, token standards, and exchange data, the on-chain space is likely to become a more prominent battleground in the wider fight against tax evasion.

For readers monitoring the regulatory trajectory, the Italian case signals how authorities may increasingly apply blockchain analytics to standard tax investigations, not only focusing on traditional wallets and fiat conversions but also on tokenized, on-chain assets that encode data in new ways.

Information from this week’s reporting traces back to Chainalysis’s assessment and linked coverage of Italy’s investigation, and to agencies’ ongoing assessments of tax gaps and compliance challenges in crypto markets. The evolving landscape suggests that investors and users should anticipate more granular scrutiny of on-chain assets, particularly those that blend data inscriptions with token-like function.

As the market and technology mature, observers will be watching for how courts interpret on-chain inscriptions for tax purposes and how enforcement agencies adapt their audit playbooks to this rapidly changing toolkit.

Readers should stay tuned for updates as more jurisdictions publish guidance on tax treatment for Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, and related data-embedding technologies, and as enforcement cases like Italy’s begin to shape the practical boundary between innovation and compliance.

TLDR:

• • Over $12 billion in DeFi liquidity sits dormant at any given time due to fragmented stablecoin infrastructure across chains.
  • Between 83% and 95% of deposited DeFi liquidity goes unused, mirroring the inefficiency of traditional nostro and vostro accounts.
  • USDT0 maintains one unified USDT supply across 20+ chains, removing the structural need for pre-positioned buffer capital reserves.
  • Morpho’s sUSDS/USDT0 market on Arbitrum hit 90% utilization, with $4.8M in active borrows against a $5.45M total market size.

The stablecoin market crossed $318 billion in April 2025, yet a considerable share of that capital remains unproductive.

Over $12 billion in DeFi liquidity is estimated to sit dormant at any given time. Between 83% and 95% of deposited liquidity across major protocols goes unused.

The core issue is not a lack of demand. Rather, it stems from fragmented infrastructure that forces capital to remain in reserve across multiple chains.

Pre-Positioned Reserves Drain Capital Efficiency

When stablecoin liquidity is spread across separate chains, protocols have no choice but to pre-position reserves on each one.

A market maker operating across five chains must hold buffer balances on every network. This precaution guards against demand surges that bridges cannot service quickly enough.

Corporate treasuries managing cross-border payments face the same challenge, holding redundant balances across networks to avoid settlement delays.

This pattern mirrors traditional correspondent banking. Banks worldwide hold pre-funded nostro and vostro accounts in foreign currencies across global financial networks.

Estimates of capital locked in such accounts range from $4 trillion to $27 trillion. Onchain finance has replicated this inefficiency at a smaller but rapidly growing scale.

Buffer capital does not earn yield for its owner. It does not support trading activity or settle payments faster. It exists solely as a hedge against infrastructure that cannot move value freely. This makes it a structural tax imposed by architectural limitations, not a deliberate financial decision.

USDT0 described this dynamic directly in a recent post, noting that pre-positioned funds represent capital that is “not earning yield for the individual, supporting trades, or settling payments” and instead sits in reserve against the failure mode of infrastructure that cannot move value freely enough.

USDT0 Removes the Need for Buffer Capital

USDT0 approaches this problem differently from most solutions in the market. Rather than improving how idle capital is deployed after the fact, it removes the structural condition that makes capital idle in the first place.

The protocol maintains a single unified USDT supply that moves directly across more than 20 chains without bridge dependencies or wrapped variants.

When a stablecoin can reach any chain on demand from a single pool, the case for pre-positioning capital on five separate chains collapses.

Operators no longer need to choose between capital efficiency and operational safety. One pool can serve all environments as demand shifts between them.

This effect is visible in live market data. On Morpho’s Arbitrum lending markets, borrowing demand for USDT0 has pushed the sUSDS/USDT0 market above 90% utilization.

Active borrows stand at $4.8 million against a $5.45 million market. That level of usage is only possible because USDT0 operates as a single accessible supply on Arbitrum, without a separately pre-funded reserve pool.

Justin Havins, DeFi Ecosystem Lead at Katana, captured the broader problem in an April 2026 analysis, describing today’s TVL-focused protocols as “the DeFi equivalent of a bank that takes in deposits but barely makes loans.”

His framework of revenue density — protocol revenue relative to capital deployed — offers a cleaner measure of whether liquidity is actually working. Buffer capital inflates the TVL denominator without contributing to the revenue numerator.

As institutional capital enters the space with proven efficiency frameworks, infrastructure that traps funds in idle reserves will become harder to defend.