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Crypto World

Falcon and Anchorage Launch fUSD, a GENIUS-Ready Stablecoin for Institutions

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Crypto Breaking News

New GENIUS-ready stablecoin targets institutional custody and reserve economics

Falcon Finance and Anchorage Digital Bank on Tuesday introduced fUSD, a U.S. dollar stablecoin designed explicitly for institutional counterparties operating under tight compliance constraints. The coin is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally chartered crypto bank, and is supported by Ceffu’s institutional custody and collateral infrastructure. Falcon Finance, which runs a top-ten synthetic dollar product, will operate a separate rewards program that shares a portion of reserve economics with qualifying institutional holders.

What fUSD is and how it works

fUSD is a regulated dollar payment stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A. The bank provides the issuance and reserve attestations, while custody and collateral management are handled through Ceffu, a platform used by many professional trading firms and liquidity providers. Falcon Finance will act as the commercial partner and will also be a launch holder, committing a portion of its corporate reserves to the new token.

Key distinguishing feature: qualifying institutional holders who enter bilateral agreements with Falcon Finance can receive rewards tied to the economics of the stablecoin’s reserves. Falcon has said it is targeting roughly 3% per year for eligible counterparties. Importantly, those rewards will be paid by Falcon under separate contractual arrangements, rather than by Anchorage or Ceffu.

Regulatory context: the GENIUS Act

fUSD is described as GENIUS-ready, referencing the federal framework for payment stablecoins enacted in July 2025. Under that framework, stablecoin issuers face limits on directly paying interest or yield to token holders. The structure behind fUSD appears designed to comply with those rules by separating issuance from the rewards program: Anchorage issues the coin and maintains reserves, while Falcon offers rewards through private contracts tied to the underlying collateral.

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This separation aims to allow regulated desks and treasury functions to access a regulated stablecoin while recouping some of the yield that would otherwise accrue to issuers or sit idle on institutional balance sheets. The approach, however, depends on clear legal separation and may attract regulatory scrutiny if authorities view the arrangement as an attempt to circumvent the GENIUS Act provisions.

Market rationale and demand dynamics

The launch comes as the dollar stablecoin market tops several hundred billion dollars and short-dated Treasury yields sit near the 4% range. Many institutional desks and treasury operations currently hold large stablecoin balances that do not generate yield, creating a demand opportunity for products that can combine regulatory compliance with improved economics.

By issuing a bank-backed dollar and placing it on the custody and collateral rails used by professional players, Falcon and Anchorage are targeting custody-constrained participants such as treasury desks, high-frequency traders, and market makers who require regulated settlement and collateral replenishment workflows.

Operational and counterparty considerations

While fUSD aims to preserve regulatory compliance through issuance and custody choices, the rewards mechanism introduces operational and counterparty complexity. Payouts are contingent on contractual arrangements with Falcon, meaning qualifying entities will need to perform credit and counterparty assessment, negotiate terms, and reconcile the reward mechanics with their internal compliance and accounting rules.

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Moreover, the rewards are described as tied to reserve assets such as Treasuries. That linkage creates exposure to the performance of those reserves and to the mechanics of how Falcon passes through or shares reserve yields, rather than a guaranteed deposit-like return from the issuer. For institutions weighing adoption, operational integration with Ceffu’s custody stack and legal clarity on the reward contracts will be key.

Implications for stablecoin market and competitors

fUSD’s model could prompt similar product experiments from other regulated issuers and commercial partners seeking to serve institutional clients. Firms that control both issuance and treasury functions might explore distinct commercial channels to share reserve economics without altering the issuer’s regulatory obligations. That could expand the variety of regulated dollar primitives available to professional market participants.

At the same time, the market will watch for regulatory responses. Agencies may scrutinize arrangements that shift yield from issuers to third parties to ensure they are not effectively recreating disallowed interest payments. Any enforcement action or regulatory guidance could materially affect the viability of such structures.

Bottom line

fUSD represents a calibrated attempt to marry bank-issued stablecoins with commercial reward programs aimed at institutional users. The product leverages Anchorage’s federal charter and Ceffu’s custody rails to address compliance needs, while Falcon’s rewards contracts seek to reclaim some reserve yield for holders. For treasury desks and professional trading firms, the offering could improve the economics of holding regulated dollars, but adoption will hinge on legal clarity, operational integration and regulatory reception.

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Bitcoin price holds $75K as ETF demand weakens

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BTC volatility chart.

Bitcoin price hovered near the $75,000 zone on Wednesday as volatility cooled and traders watched whether the latest support area could hold.

Summary

  • Bitcoin price trades near $75K as lower volatility and weak spot demand limit buyer conviction.
  • BTC faces pressure from Bitcoin ETF outflows and signs of lower institutional exposure in spot funds.
  • Traders are watching $74,662 support, with $76,327 acting as the first recovery level near term.

(BTC) traded around $74,834 after sliding 2.02% over 24 hours, with intraday movement between $74,708 and $76,140. According to data from crypto.news, the market has lost part of the support that came from steady institutional buying earlier this year. Traders are now focused on whether $74,662 can act as short-term support. A daily break below that area could expose BTC to a move toward $73,000.

Bitcoin price nears $75K as volatility cools further

Bitcoin price’s move lower followed a reset in positioning after BTC failed to hold the low-$80,000 region. That zone became difficult to defend as spot buying slowed and short-term holders faced weaker profit margins.

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Glassnode’s recent market update reveals Bitcoin remains structurally resilient, but spot demand has weakened. The 30-day cost basis near $78,200 has turned into overhead resistance. That level now sits above spot price and may limit recovery attempts.

BTC volatility chart.
BTC volatility chart | Source: Glassnode | X

ETF demand has also lost strength after earlier support from institutional buyers. The 30-day change in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF holdings has flattened in recent weeks, according to Glassnode. That reduces one key demand channel that helped BTC recover earlier in the quarter.

Bitcoin’s decline also came as traders tracked a large reported IBIT block sale. The sale added pressure to sentiment, but the current weakness is not linked to one event alone. ETF outflows, weak spot flows, and macro caution remain major factors behind the move.

Bitcoin price faces ETF pressure and weak spot demand

Bitcoin volatility is now important because the market sits close to a key liquidity zone. Traders are watching the $74,662 support area after BTC broke below its ascending channel. A daily close below that level could open a move toward $73,000.

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The $76,327 area has become near-term resistance. A reclaim of that level could support a relief bounce, especially with RSI near oversold territory. However, weak spot demand limits any recovery unless ETF flows stabilize.

BTC Spot ETF Net Flows.
BTC Spot ETF Net Flows | Source: Glassnode | X

Macro conditions have also kept traders cautious. Higher yields, inflation concerns, and geopolitical risk have reduced appetite for risk assets. Bitcoin’s recent correlation with gold points to a market driven more by macro positioning than crypto-specific momentum.

The U.S.-Iran peace headlines gave stocks a lift, but Bitcoin failed to follow. Instead, BTC moved closer to commodities as oil dropped on hopes of the Strait of Hormuz reopening. That divergence kept traders focused on liquidity clusters below spot.

Traders watch $74K liquidity as BTC momentum slows

In a May 27 X post, trader Daan Crypto Trades said Bitcoin was struggling to choose between the equity rebound and commodity weakness, writing:

“$BTC is indecisive whether to join stocks or commodities today.”

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The comment captured the split across markets as crypto failed to fully track the recovery in stocks.

Some traders remain bearish while BTC trades below short-term resistance. Others argue that the structure can stay constructive if the price holds above the trendline and horizontal support. The divide shows a market without strong conviction.

Options data adds another layer of caution. Glassnode data shows realized volatility has continued falling, while downside protection demand has returned. That setup can keep hedging flows active if BTC trades near short gamma zones around $75,000.

Bitcoin volatility may stay contained if support holds and ETF outflows ease. Still, price needs a stronger spot demand to move beyond a short bounce. Until then, traders are likely to watch $74,662 support and $76,327 resistance as the main near-term levels.

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Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. Neither crypto.news nor the author of this article endorses any product mentioned on this page. Users should conduct their own research before taking any action related to the company.

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HIVE Digital to Report Q4 and FY2026 Results, Call on June 2

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Crypto Breaking News

HIVE schedules Q4 and full-year 2026 results, earnings call to outline mining and AI compute performance

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd., a publicly traded miner and data center operator, will publish its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on June 1, followed by a webcasted earnings call on June 2 at 8:00 AM Eastern Time. The company, listed on the TSX and Nasdaq under the ticker HIVE, operates Bitcoin mining facilities and GPU-accelerated data centers across multiple jurisdictions.

Investors in listed mining companies will be watching HIVE closely. The company presents a hybrid business model that combines traditional proof-of-work Bitcoin mining with growing GPU-based hosting and AI compute services. That mix positions HIVE differently from pure-play miners, and the upcoming disclosure will be parsed for signs of how that strategy is translating into revenue and margin trends.

What investors will look for

While HIVE has not released financial figures ahead of the scheduled date, there are several operational and financial indicators market participants typically focus on for miners and data center operators:

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  • Bitcoin production and holdings – Quarterly BTC mined, the companys selling policy and changes in inventory are key for revenue recognition and balance sheet exposure to price volatility.
  • Hash rate and capacity utilization – Changes in deployed ASICs, average network difficulty and effective hash rate provide insight into output capability and operational scale.
  • Energy costs and sourcing – Miners margin heavily depends on power rates and availability. HIVE has emphasized low-carbon energy in its public materials, which can influence long-term operating costs and regulatory positioning.
  • GPU hosting and AI compute revenue – Demand for GPU capacity from AI workloads has become a diversification avenue for several miners. The degree to which HIVE converts GPU deployment into recurring hosting revenue will be important for assessing revenue mix.
  • Geographic performance – HIVE operates facilities in Canada, Sweden and Paraguay. Regional differences in power pricing, regulatory frameworks and uptime can materially affect results.

Strategic position and sector context

HIVE’s dual emphasis on hashrate services for Bitcoin and GPU-accelerated AI compute follows a broader industry trend where mining companies seek to diversify revenue streams amid cyclical crypto markets. GPU hosting can partially offset the volatility tied to BTC prices, by providing steady, contractual revenue from enterprise AI customers and cloud workloads. That said, GPU markets are competitive and capital intensive, and successful monetization depends on efficient deployment and strong client uptake.

For equity investors, HIVE and peers are often treated as barometers for several interlinked markets: the spot price of Bitcoin, the supply and utilization of mining hardware, and the emerging market for specialized AI compute capacity. Quarterly disclosures can influence sentiment across the miner cohort, particularly if companies adjust capital allocation between ASIC expansion and GPU deployment.

Governance, listings and leadership

HIVE trades on multiple exchanges, including the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The company has described itself publicly as an operator of Tier-I and Tier-III data centers and has highlighted energy sourcing as part of its operational narrative. Executive leaders named in prior corporate communications include Executive Chairman Frank Holmes and President and CEO Aydin Kilic. Management commentary on the earnings call will be closely watched for updates on strategy, capital spending plans and demand for GPU services.

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Event access and disclosures

The company has said it will post the earnings release and a replay of the webcast on its investor relations website. Participation in the live call typically requires advance registration; registered participants receive dial-in details and the webcast link. As with most public companies, the formal financial statement and management discussion will provide the definitive view of performance for the period.

Implications for the market

Quarterly results from HIVE may have outsized relevance for several investor groups. Equity holders in mining firms will parse the report for operational efficiency and capital allocation between ASICs and GPUs. Bond and credit market participants and potential strategic partners may look for indications of stable hosting revenue that could underpin longer-term contracts. Finally, because mining companies often hold BTC on their balance sheets, results can influence both crypto market flows and the valuation multiples investors are willing to pay for miner equities.

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Analysts and market commentators will also be watching for any commentary on supply chain dynamics for ASICs and GPUs, power procurement strategies, and regional expansion plans. These factors will help determine whether HIVE’s hybrid model offers a durable advantage against the backdrop of heightened demand for AI compute and the persistent cyclicality of crypto markets.

The companys full results and management commentary will be available after the scheduled release on June 1, and the earnings call on June 2 will provide additional colour on operational execution and strategic priorities.

How to follow

Investors and analysts can find the earnings release and webcast replay on HIVEs investor relations page. Those seeking the live discussion should register in advance to receive dial-in details and the webcast link.

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Italy’s Banca Sella Gets MiCA Approval for Crypto Services

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Italy’s Banca Sella Gets MiCA Approval for Crypto Services

Italian bank Banca Sella announced that it has completed its notification process with the Bank of Italy under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, allowing it to offer crypto-asset services.

On Wednesday, the bank said it is the first bank in Italy authorized to offer crypto-asset services, adding that the approval will allow it to launch a solution focused on the custody, transfer and receipt of digital assets in 2026, aimed at “selected categories” of customers.

Banca Sella is the commercial bank of Sella Group. According to Sella Group, it has almost 300 branches and more than 2,400 employees.

The approval gives Italy’s banking sector a regulated entry point into digital assets under MiCA, as European financial institutions move from crypto pilots and partnerships toward licensed custody, tokenized payments and stablecoin infrastructure. 

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Andrea Tessera, managing director of digital banking at Banca Sella, said tokenization is contributing to a shift toward “instant, interoperable, and programmable” payments. He said the bank’s planned crypto service is part of that shift.

Sella announces MiCA approval. Source: Sella

Hype gave earlier crypto exposure

The MiCA approval is not Banca Sella’s first connection to crypto. Banca Sella also said in the announcement that its MiCA approval follows its participation in a distributed ledger technology pilot promoted by the Bank of Italy’s Fintech Milano Hub in 2022. 

Banca Sella said it has also created an internal DLT and digital assets team, and added that it’s also among the founders of Qivalis, a consortium of 37 European banks that plans to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin.

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Related: Bank of Italy chief says banks, not stablecoins, anchor digital money

The bank also previously had crypto exposure through Hype, its digital banking brand, which integrated Bitcoin wallet services through Italian crypto firm Conio.

Conio said its first banking integration became operational in March 2020 through a partnership with Hype, Banca Sella Group’s digital banking brand. According to Conio, Hype went live in 2020 and allowed retail customers to buy, sell, send and receive digital assets.

Hype’s current website advertises a Bitcoin wallet that lets adult customers create a wallet and buy, sell or exchange Bitcoin directly from the Hype app. 

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In 2024, Reuters reported that Banca Sella had around 1.3 million customers, while Hype served around 1.7 million customers.

Magazine: 50K investors fight Korean crypto tax, Singapore cancels Bsquared: Asia Express

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Ripple-linked token drops 4%, what next

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Ripple-linked token drops 4%, what next

XRP finally slipped below the $1.30 area traders had been defending for months, and the move came with enough volume to matter. The market had already been weakening beneath resistance near $1.35, but once support gave way, sellers pushed price lower quickly before dip buyers stepped in near session lows.

News Background

• XRP derivatives positioning continued cooling during the session, with falling open interest signaling weaker trader conviction across futures markets.

• Analysts also kept pointing to a symmetrical triangle structure that has compressed XRP price action since early 2025, with the market now nearing the apex of that range.

• On-chain data still showed XRP leaving exchanges, a pattern some traders continue interpreting as longer-term accumulation despite the short-term weakness.

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Price Action Summary

• XRP fell from $1.3267 to $1.2993 during the 24-hour session, briefly dropping as low as $1.2931.
• The sharpest selling came during the May 27 23:00 UTC session, when 64M XRP traded as price broke below support near $1.3150.
• XRP later staged a short-term rebound from session lows, recovering back toward the $1.30 area into the close.

Technical Analysis

• The breakdown below $1.30 matters because that level had repeatedly acted as a floor throughout the broader consolidation structure.
• XRP is now trading beneath several key resistance levels, with sellers continuing to defend the $1.33-$1.36 zone aggressively.
• The bounce from $1.2931 showed some evidence of exhausted selling pressure, though the recovery remained weak relative to the earlier breakdown.
• The broader symmetrical triangle pattern is still intact for now, but price is drifting dangerously close to the lower edge of the structure.

What traders should watch

• $1.30 becomes the immediate recovery level XRP needs to reclaim to stabilize short-term momentum.
• Failure to hold above recent lows increases the risk of a deeper move toward the mid-$1.20s and potentially the $1.10 area highlighted by several analysts.
• The longer XRP trades near the bottom of its compression range, the higher the odds the eventual breakout resolves lower rather than higher.

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Kraken Unveils Bitcoin Vault as Yield-Generating Tool for Holders

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Crypto Breaking News

Kraken is expanding its yield offerings with a new non-custodial Bitcoin product that promises a 2.5% annual return. Built in collaboration with yield infrastructure provider Veda, the solution aims to simplify earning on Bitcoin without the common frictions of wrapping, moving, or managing a crypto wallet. The move comes as Bitcoin holders show growing interest in yield-style products, even as native yield mechanisms on BTC remain limited compared with programmable blockchains.

Kraken unveiled the product with the backing of Veda, which emphasized that the offering is designed to remove the headaches often associated with BTC yield strategies. In Kraken’s own messaging, the product is pitched as a straightforward way to earn on Bitcoin the exchange already intends to hold, addressing user demand for ease of use and reliability.

Key takeaways

  • Kraken launches a non-custodial Bitcoin yield product at 2.5% APY, leveraging Veda’s yield infrastructure to route BTC into lending markets.
  • The system uses Kraken Wrapped Bitcoin (kBTC) as a price-tracking representation of BTC, with Sentora allocating funds across Aave, Morpho, and Tydro through the integration.
  • Withdrawals are non-instant and are expected to take about five days, with a 25% performance fee on rewards paid to the involved service providers.
  • Early traction: roughly $30 million in BTC deposits from around 4,000 unique wallets were reported by Veda about 10 hours after launch.
  • Kraken’s broader yield portfolio—three stablecoin yield products launched in January—has amassed about $245 million in deposits and generated over $2.2 million in yield since Jan. 26.

A fresh approach to Bitcoin yield

The new offering marks a notable evolution in the BTC yield space by delivering a non-custodial structure that lets holders earn on their Bitcoin without surrendering custody or performing intricate wallet operations. Kraken’s Earn product director, John Zettler, framed the initiative as addressing a clear investor preference: “Many Bitcoin holders on Kraken have made it clear they want simple ways to earn on the Bitcoin they already plan to hold.”

In practice, the model begins with BTC being swapped into kBTC, a token designed to mirror Bitcoin’s price. From there, Sentora—another linked component in the pipeline—channels the value into established lending venues such as Aave, Morpho, and Tydro. This multi-step approach allows users to gain exposure to yield-generating activity without the traditional friction of moving assets between wallets or custodians.

What makes this structure distinctive is its non-custodial nature. Depositors retain control over their funds, with withdrawals subject to a multi-day processing window. The arrangement also includes a 25% performance fee on rewards, a rate that’s aligned with other professional yield structures but could impact net returns for users depending on the performance of the underlying lending markets.

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How the product operates and who benefits

At the heart of the offering is a cycle that begins with Bitcoin being represented as kBTC within Kraken’s ecosystem. This representation helps bridge BTC with the yield infrastructure built around decentralized lending protocols. By routing kBTC into traditional lending arenas via Sentora, Kraken users can theoretically earn a yield while maintaining exposure to BTC’s price movements.

For users, the upside is straightforward: a simple, non-custodial way to generate returns on BTC holdings that are otherwise idle. For the ecosystem, the product expands the array of Bitcoin-native yield options, potentially providing greater utility for BTC as a store of value. On the flip side, the non-custodial model concentrates trust in the security and reliability of the involved counterparties—in particular, Kraken, Veda, Sentora, and the lending protocols they tap into.

Deposit growth toward the product has already been significant in its infancy. Veda reported that within roughly 10 hours of launch, the Bitcoin yield product had crossed $30 million in deposits from about 4,000 unique wallets. Such rapid uptake signals a strong appetite among Bitcoin holders for yield-oriented products that avoid custody risk while preserving ownership of funds.

To provide context for readers tracking market evolution, Kraken’s three existing stablecoin yield products, which launched in January, have collectively drawn around $245 million in customer deposits and produced more than $2.2 million in yield since their inception on Jan. 26. This backdrop highlights Kraken’s broader strategy of layering yield offerings across asset classes to meet diverse investor preferences.

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Adoption signals and market context

The Bitcoin yield landscape has been characterized by limited native yield opportunities, primarily because BTC’s design does not include built-in mechanisms to generate interest or rewards like some programmable blockchains. The new Kraken-Veda pairing taps into the broader crypto lending ecosystem to convert BTC exposure into yield potential, while attempting to mitigate the typical custody headaches associated with such strategies.

Analysts and market observers are watching how the model scales, particularly as it relates to liquidity, the stability of the kBTC representation, and the performance of the underlying lending platforms. The reliance on multiple counterparties and cross-network routing could introduce new operational risk layers, even as it offers a potentially compelling path to earn yield without moving away from BTC holdings.

In the broader crypto yield space, the trend toward diversified, user-friendly structures persists. The incorporation of non-custodial approaches contrasts with fully custodial yield products, underscoring a market appetite for options that balance ease of use, control, and risk management. As institutions and retail users alike reassess their BTC allocations, products like Kraken’s non-custodial yield offer a tangible way to monetize BTC holdings beyond price appreciation alone.

The development also sits within a broader regulatory and security context. While non-custodial solutions reduce custody risk, users must still evaluate the security posture of each component in the chain—the exchange, the yield infrastructure provider, and the lending platforms—to understand potential exposure during market stress or asset sharp moves.

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What remains uncertain is how durable the early demand will be and how attractive the net yield will prove once governance and fee structures interact with shifting lending conditions. Observers will be looking for longer-term deposit trends, withdrawal reliability, and any changes to the fee framework as the product matures.

For traders and developers, the continued expansion of Bitcoin yield options is a reminder that BTC as an asset class is increasingly embedded in the broader DeFi and yield-enabled ecosystem. The pace at which new, user-friendly, non-custodial solutions emerge will shape how quickly more Bitcoin holders adopt yield-generating strategies without compromising control over their funds.

Readers should keep an eye on momentum in deposits, any shifts in the underlying lending rate environment, and how regulators respond to non-custodial yield constructs that blend traditional crypto custody with DeFi mechanics.

In the near term, the story to follow is the balance between user uptake and the performance of the lending channels that underpin the yield. If the trajectory holds, Kraken’s non-custodial Bitcoin yield product could become a meaningful reference point for BTC-native yield strategies in a market still eager for practical, secure ways to earn on crypto assets.

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Source signals from Kraken and Veda indicate that the product is designed to deliver simplicity and accessibility for Bitcoin holders seeking yield without the usual operational overhead. As the ecosystem evolves, observers will watch how this model scales and what it implies for the broader adoption of BTC-yield approaches.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Crypto miners in Moscow face new threat as Russia tightens rules

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Crypto miners in Moscow face new threat as Russia tightens rules

Russian officials have moved closer to a long-term shutdown of crypto mining in Moscow and nearby regions as lawmakers have advanced a separate bill to jail unregistered miners.

Summary

  • A Russian power-industry commission has backed a proposal to ban crypto mining in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, and parts of Kursk until at least 2032.
  • Kommersant reported that the government is also weighing a wider mining ban across 19 regions within Moscow’s power distribution zone.
  • The State Duma has advanced a bill to criminalize illegal mining, with fines of up to 2.5 million rubles and prison terms of up to 5 years.

According to TASS, Deputy Energy Minister Evgeniy Grabchak said a government commission overseeing the electric power industry has backed a proposal to ban mining in the city of Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Oblast, and parts of the Kursk region, with the restriction expected to last until at least 2032.

Local officials raised the issue in late April, the ministry said, and the final decision will take their positions into account, according to a report by RBC.

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Moscow area faces proposed six-year prohibition

In Moscow Oblast, regional Energy Minister Sergey Voropanov has argued that crypto mining brings little benefit to the local economy and has said that earlier restrictions elsewhere produced positive results, according to reports cited by RBC and Bits.media.

Bits.media has also recalled that Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin have both proposed limits on mining in their jurisdictions.

The Russian energy ministry has counted at least 65 data processing centers connected to the grid across Moscow and the Moscow region, with a total capacity of 734 megawatts, according to figures cited in the report.

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A separate Kommersant report has said the government is weighing a mining ban across 19 regions within Moscow’s power distribution zone, a move that would curb activity across the Central Federal District, which Kommersant described as the country’s main economic center.

In the Kursk region, Governor Alexander Khinshtein has proposed restricting mining in eight districts and the city of Lgov, according to the same coverage.

Khinshtein’s administration has said the region’s power supply problems have worsened due to the war in neighboring Ukraine, and has argued that a mining ban would free up reserve capacity and save electricity for other users, including residential and industrial customers.

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The planned limits in Kursk have been discussed alongside the Moscow-area proposal, as Russian authorities consider how to reduce strain on local grids in regions with heavy power demand.

State Duma advances bill to criminalize illegal mining

In Moscow, the State Duma has passed a bill on first reading that would criminalize illegal mining, according to RIA Novosti and Prime.

The draft law sets penalties for mining without registration or for using stolen electricity, with punishments that can include fines, forced labor, and prison terms, RIA Novosti and Prime have reported.

Operators whose illegal facilities generate large income or cause major financial damage could face fines up to 2.5 million rubles, or about $35,000, according to the same reports.

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For mining tied to an organized crime group, the legislation allows prison sentences of up to 5 years, forced labor, and additional fines, while also granting authorities the power to confiscate property, RIA Novosti and Prime reported.

Tightening rules after mining was legalized in 2024

Russia legalized cryptocurrency mining in 2024, with officials describing the country’s energy resources and climate as advantages, according to prior reporting referenced in the article.

After miners clustered in places with cheap electricity, energy deficits followed in several areas, the same coverage said, and Russian authorities responded last year by banning mining in 13 regions until spring 2031.

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Those territories include Irkutsk Oblast, the Republic of Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, most republics in the North Caucasus, and four occupied Ukrainian regions, according to the report.

Although individuals and companies can mine legally if they register and pay taxes, an explanatory note to the draft law has said fewer than 1,500 of an estimated 50,000 mining businesses have registered so far.

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Bitcoin drops below $73,000 as US strikes on Iran spark $1 billion liquidations

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(Coinglass)

Bitcoin broke below $73,000 for the first time in months as fresh U.S. strikes on Iran sent risk assets lower and triggered one of the largest liquidation events of the year.

Bitcoin traded at $72,978 in Asian hours Thursday, down 3.4% over 24 hours and 6.3% over the past seven days, per CoinDesk data, after touching a low of $72,912. TEther (ETH) fell 4.2% to $1,976, losing the $2,000 level, and is down 7.7% over the past seven days. Solana (SOL) dropped 3.5% to $80.57, XRP slid 3.6% to $1.28, and Dogecoin lost 3.2% to $0.0979.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) was the only major to hold a weekly gain, down 4.5% on the day but still up 2.4% over the past seven days. Tron (TRX) held a 1.9% weekly gain despite the broad decline.

The drop flushed leveraged traders. CoinGlass data shows $958.8 million in total liquidations over 24 hours across 167,706 traders, with $897 million coming from long positions and $61 million from shorts.

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Bitcoin liquidations led at $386 million, followed by ether at $246 million, with the largest single liquidation order was a $15.34 million BTC position on Hyperliquid.

(Coinglass)

A 93% long-skew on a near-billion-dollar flush is what happens when traders are positioned for a recovery and the market moves the other way. The leverage built up through the mid-May range got cleared in a single session.

The trigger came from the Middle East. U.S. Central Command carried out airstrikes on an Iranian military site near the Strait of Hormuz and shot down four one-way Iranian attack drones fired at a commercial ship, with a U.S. official describing the action as defensive and aimed at maintaining the ceasefire that began last month.

The U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, accusing it of extorting vessels transiting the strait. Iran targeted the American airbase the strikes originated from, according to a report citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Kuwait said it was responding to hostile missile and drone threats, with its army warning that explosions heard in the country were air defense systems intercepting targets.

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President Donald Trump said no single nation would control the waterway. “It’s international waters,” Trump told a cabinet meeting at the White House. “The strait’s going to be open to everybody,” adding that the U.S. would “watch over it.”

Risk assets fell across the board. The MSCI All Country World Index retreated 0.4% from a record high, a gauge of Asian shares dropped 1.7%, and futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 pointed lower. Oil climbed as the strikes clouded the outlook for a deal to reopen the strait.

The reaction shows how quickly the ceasefire optimism that had been building unwound. Crypto had held its range through several weeks of Iran headlines, with bitcoin staying above $74,000 even as ETF demand cooled. Thursday’s strikes broke that floor, and the speed of the liquidation cascade suggests traders were caught leaning the wrong way.

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SpaceX IPO could reveal a $1.4B Bitcoin bet hiding in plain sight: Grayscale

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SpaceX related party maze puts Valor and Musk in creditors’ spotlight

SpaceX has emerged as a potential major public Bitcoin holder as Grayscale Research links the company’s planned June listing to its reported BTC treasury

Summary

  • SpaceX could become the largest diversified public company holding Bitcoin if its planned June listing goes through.
  • Grayscale said SpaceX holds 18,712 BTC worth about $1.4 billion, which would make it the eighth-largest known corporate Bitcoin holder globally.
  • SpaceX’s Bitcoin would still represent only about 0.1% of its projected $1.75 trillion valuation.

Grayscale Research said Elon Musk’s SpaceX could rank as the largest publicly traded diversified company with Bitcoin on its balance sheet if its planned public listing takes place in early June.

Grayscale says SpaceX could lead diversified Bitcoin holders

Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, said SpaceX currently holds 18,712 Bitcoin, worth about $1.4 billion, based on the company’s latest S-1 filing. According to Pandl, those holdings would place SpaceX as the eighth-largest known corporate Bitcoin holder worldwide.

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Pandl added that prediction market estimates around SpaceX’s possible post-IPO valuation could make the company the top publicly traded diversified business holding Bitcoin. Strategy Inc. would still be ahead of other public companies with much larger Bitcoin positions.

Grayscale’s report separated corporate Bitcoin buyers into two main groups. The first group includesDigital Asset Treasuries, such as Strategy, that primarily provide equity investors with exposure to Bitcoin. The second group includes diversified companies such as Tesla, Coinbase, and Block, in which Bitcoin is part of a broader treasury strategy.

Bitcoin would remain small part of SpaceX valuation

According to Grayscale Research, SpaceX is reportedly seeking a valuation close to $1.75 trillion, which could make the listing one of the largest IPOs ever. Pandl estimated that the company’s Bitcoin holdings would equal about 0.1% of its expected market capitalization.

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Because of that small share, Grayscale placed SpaceX in the diversified corporate holder category rather than the Bitcoin treasury company category. The report also noted that Tesla, another Musk-led company, holds more than 11,500 BTC.

Meanwhile, Strategy remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with about 850,000 Bitcoin valued near $65 billion, according to Grayscale’s figures. Pandl said diversified companies usually keep Bitcoin as a limited part of company value, unlike dedicated treasury firms.

Retail interest builds around planned listing

According to Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPCX remained in the “extremely bullish” zone, while message activity also remained at “extremely high” levels over the past day. The strong discussion came as investors watched SpaceX’s expected June public market debut.

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Grayscale Research said more diversified companies could add Bitcoin to their treasuries over time. The firm tied that view to treasury diversification and concerns about fiat currency risk.

Musk pushes GrokaAI, and banks prepare IPO deal

In related developments, Musk urged investors to subscribe to GrokaAI to support the SpaceX IPO campaign. As previously reported by crypto.news, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley are serving as active bookrunners for the deal.

International banks, including Royal Bank of Canada, Mizuho Financial Group, and Macquarie Group, are also involved in share distribution across their markets. Musk separately asked the banks working on the offering to advertise on X.

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If iPhone is Apple stock’s ‘agentic AI moat’ at $312, does tokenization factor into the upside?

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If iPhone is Apple stock's ‘agentic AI moat’ at $312, does tokenization factor into the upside?

Apple is being re-rated as an AI winner on the back of “agentic” iPhone and Mac ecosystems rather than frontier models, and the next question is whether on-device agents eventually plug into tokenized payments and assets.

Summary

  • Bank of America’s Wamsi Mohan argues Apple’s end-to-end ecosystem gives it an “agentic AI moat” despite a late start in models
  • He lifted his Apple price target to $380 from $330, implying roughly 20% upside from the current $312.69 share price
  • Apple’s control over identity, payments and trust could naturally extend to tokenized assets as AI agents automate commerce and finance

Apple’s perceived AI weakness, a sluggish Siri upgrade cycle and no marquee in-house foundation modeL, is being reframed as a strategic strength built around the iPhone and Mac as “agentic AI” hubs. In a recent investor note, Bank of America technology analyst Wamsi Mohan argued that Apple’s control of silicon, operating systems and the services stack gives it an “agentic AI moat,” because the value in an AI agent world accrues less to the model and more to the platform that owns intent, identity and payments. “In an agentic world, value accrues to the platform that controls user intent, personal context, app access, permissions, identity, authentication, payments, and trust,” he wrote, adding that the smartphone is “the scaled consumer device where these factors already converge.”

Mohan’s thesis is simple: if AI assistants become the new front door for search, apps, commerce, scheduling, payments and workflow completion, then the device and ecosystem that intermediate those interactions will hold leverage over model providers, app developers, merchants, advertisers and payment networks. Apple, with the iPhone at the center of a tightly integrated ecosystem and the Mac emerging as a go-to workstation for AI, looks uniquely positioned to capture that choke point. On the back of that argument, he maintained a Buy rating on the stock and raised his price target from $330 to $380, implying about 20% upside from Apple’s roughly $312.69 level in recent trading.

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Agentic AI meets the iPhone – and eventually tokenization

Agentic AI, in this framing, is not just “smarter Siri.” It is a layer of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous digital helpers that live across devices and constantly execute tasks: sorting files, reading email, booking travel, managing subscriptions, triaging notifications and, crucially, initiating and settling payments. Mohan notes that “Apple does not need to own the best frontier model if it owns the trusted interface that routes intent across local models, Apple-controlled cloud models, external models, and app actions.” That interface is the iPhone, fortified by secure enclaves, biometric identity, App Store curation and a deeply entrenched payments stack in Apple Pay and Apple Cash.

As AI agents are given more autonomy over money flows from paying bills, moving savings, refinancing loans, rebalancing portfolios, topping up stablecoins, the underlying financial rails matter. The same GENIUS-Act style logic that is now being used to define compliant, fully reserved stablecoins and tokenized deposits for institutions points toward a future where “money” inside an agentic Apple ecosystem is not just a bank balance, but a collection of tokenized claims: regulated stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, tokenized card receivables, even tokenized Apple services credits. Apple already controls identity, authentication and payments; plugging tokenized instruments into that stack is not a philosophical leap, it is an implementation detail. In that world, the moat is not just AI, but AI plus tokenized, programmable value moving through a closed, trusted interface.

Mac Mini, Mac Studio and the hardware side of the moat

This shift is not theoretical on the hardware side. While the iPhone is the obvious agentic endpoint, Apple’s Macs are already functioning as agent workhorses. The Mac Mini and Mac Studio, powered by Apple Silicon and priced aggressively relative to competing AI-capable desktops, have been selling out as developers and power users adopt them as local agent platforms. Tim Cook underscored this dynamic on Apple’s latest earnings call, calling the Mac Mini and Mac Studio “amazing platforms for AI and agentic tools” and noting that “customer recognition of that is happening faster than what we had predicted,” leading to higher-than-expected demand and several months of anticipated supply-demand imbalance.

That hardware story matters for tokenization too. If developers are building agents on Mac that will eventually run on iPhone, those agents will need to integrate with whatever financial primitives regulators allow at scale: bank APIs, card networks, and increasingly, compliant tokenized instruments. Apple’s incentive is to keep that complexity invisible to the user while keeping the trust layer entirely under its control. For investors staring at a $312 share price and a $380 target, the question is whether the market is properly pricing not just Apple’s agentic AI positioning, but the second-order effect of becoming the default interface for tokenized money and assets in a world where agents do most of the transacting.

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StakeDAO vsdCRV Attacker Limited to $91K By Thin Liquidity

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StakeDAO vsdCRV Attacker Limited to $91K By Thin Liquidity

An attacker minted more than 5.4 trillion vsdCRV on Arbitrum after a suspected compromise of a StakeDAO-linked deployer key, though thin liquidity limited the realized proceeds to about $91,000.

Blockchain security firm PeckShield said Wednesday the attacker swapped part of the minted vsdCRV for 43.7 Ether (ETH), worth about $91,000, and bridged the funds to Ethereum. Onchain analyst EmberCN said the attacker swapped about 16.83 million vsdCRV, while the remaining tokens had little meaningful liquidity to exit.

EmberCN estimated the 5.4 trillion vsdCRV at about $763 billion on paper, though the figure does not represent the attacker’s realized profit or the protocol’s confirmed loss.

The incident highlights the gap between nominal token values and extractable value in decentralized finance exploits, where attackers can mint enormous token amounts but only cash out what available liquidity allows. In this case, the attacker’s proceeds were limited by the small size of vsdCRV liquidity pools.

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StakeDAO said it was aware of the incident and warned its users not to interact with vsdCRV.

Stake DAO said it was aware of the incident. Source: Stake DAO

Incident points to a deployer-key compromise 

Shalev Keren, chief product officer and co-founder of crypto key-management firm Sodot, told Cointelegraph that the StakeDAO incident was “structurally similar” to other deployer-key compromises seen this year, including the Wasabi incident last month, which drained about $5.5 million in crypto. 

Keren said a single StakeDAO deployer key on Arbitrum was used to repoint the vsdCRV cross-chain bridge configuration to an attacker-controlled contract on Ethereum. About 25 seconds later, that contract sent a LayerZero message back to Arbitrum, causing the legitimate Arbitrum token to mint more than 5 trillion vsdCRV to the attacker.

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Related: Crypto hackers stole $17B over past 10 years: DefiLlama

“There is no smart contract bug here and no flaw in LayerZero,” Keren said. “There is one private key, controlling one privileged configuration function, with no multi-signature and no delay between the configuration change going through and the mint clearing onchain.” 

Keren said the broader issue for DeFi protocols in 2026 is no longer only whether contracts are audited, but whether the operational keys behind those contracts remain single points of failure. 

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