Cardless, a firm that has facilitated credit cards for brands like Qatar Airways and Alibaba, said it developed a payment card in conjunction with crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) for stablecoin holders who are unable to obtain one through traditional channels.

The Coinbase stablecoin-secured product is for situations where a regular credit card cannot be approved on an unsecured basis, but the applicant holds digital assets on the exchange, said Cardless co-founder Michael Spelfogel. Some of their stablecoin holdings are set aside as collateral against the debt.

“People apply from all different parts of the credit spectrum,” Spelfogel said in an interview. “There are some people that want to use this method because they believe in cryptocurrency, but they’re just beginning their journeys and accumulating wealth.”

Cardholders, who pay $49.99 for the privilege, still earn yield on their sequestered USDC holdings, Spelfogel said.

The product builds on a partnership that started in September, when the firms introduced a Coinbase-branded card in association with American Express (AXP). That card offered up to 4% cashback in bitcoin BTC$63,271.85. Cardless declined to say how many of the cards have been issued.

Traditional credit programs are slow-moving, rigid systems designed around banks that left billions on the table because companies never had the tools to design credit on their own terms, according to Cardless.

Key Takeaways

• OpenAI has submitted confidential documents to the SEC for an initial public offering, following similar moves by competitors Anthropic and SpaceX
• The AI giant seeks a market valuation reaching up to $1 trillion, with potential market entry as soon as September
• Despite achieving $2 billion in monthly revenue, the company projects profitability won’t arrive until 2030
• Elon Musk’s legal challenge was defeated in court this May, eliminating a significant obstacle to going public
• The ChatGPT platform now serves over 900 million weekly active users alongside more than 50 million paid subscribers

The artificial intelligence leader OpenAI has submitted confidential documentation to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The announcement came via X on Monday, though the company emphasized that no final decision on timing has been made.

“We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it,” OpenAI stated. The organization noted that going public “may be a while” since certain operations remain “easier as a private company.”

Major Tech Players Rush Toward Wall Street

OpenAI enters a crowded field of technology heavyweights preparing for public debuts. Competitor Anthropic submitted its own confidential IPO filing to the SEC on June 1, shortly after securing $65 billion in financing that established a $965 billion valuation.

Meanwhile, SpaceX—the parent company of AI chatbot developer xAI—is also advancing its public offering plans this week. If successful, the offering would represent the largest in market history, targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation.

According to Reuters sources, OpenAI aims for a valuation ceiling of $1 trillion. Should all three enterprises complete their public listings near these levels, it would represent one of the most significant evaluations of technology investor confidence in ten years.

Earlier this year, OpenAI secured $110 billion in funding at an $840 billion valuation. Notable investors include SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia.

Strong Revenue Growth Despite Future Losses

OpenAI disclosed $2 billion in monthly revenue as of March, expanding approximately four times faster than pioneering companies from the internet and mobile eras. This represents a substantial increase from roughly $1 billion in quarterly revenue recorded at 2024’s conclusion.

However, despite this impressive expansion, the company has informed investors that achieving profitability remains a 2030 target.

ChatGPT’s user base has swelled to more than 900 million weekly active users, complemented by over 50 million paying subscribers.

Court Victory Removes Legal Barrier

OpenAI originated in 2015 as a nonprofit organization. The company subsequently established a for-profit division to support the substantial costs associated with AI development.

In December 2024, management announced intentions to reorganize as a public benefit corporation. This strategic pivot prompted legal action from early supporter Elon Musk, who alleged that leadership had abandoned the organization’s founding principles.

A United States jury delivered a verdict against Musk this May. Market analysts indicated the decision eliminated a major legal impediment to the planned public offering.

Employment Impact and Market Activity

The artificial intelligence revolution has created significant workforce disruptions. Approximately 117,000 technology sector employees have lost their positions this year alone, with corporations attributing reductions to AI-enhanced productivity capabilities.

Cryptocurrency firms have eliminated over 5,000 positions in 2026. Block announced 4,000 staff reductions in February, similarly citing artificial intelligence efficiency improvements.

Global initial public offerings have generated $87.5 billion through late May, marking the strongest performance since 2021.

Key takeaways

• Ethereum continues its downtrend after breaking key support levels and testing a low of $1,505 last week.
• The broader crypto market remains under pressure following last week’s massive dump.

The cryptocurrency market starts the week on a weak footing, with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) continuing to trade under heavy selling pressure following steep declines last week. 

Bitcoin lost more than 14%, Ethereum dropped over 15%, and XRP shed more than 13%, leaving technical indicators firmly tilted toward further downside risks. 

BitMine boosts Ethereum holdings with largest ETH purchase of 2026

Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies significantly expanded its holdings last week, purchasing 126,971 ETH as the second-largest cryptocurrency declined toward the $1,500 price region.

The acquisition marks BitMine’s largest weekly Ethereum purchase of 2026, underscoring the firm’s continued commitment to accumulating the digital asset despite recent market volatility.

Following the latest purchase, BitMine’s total Ethereum holdings have climbed to 5.54 million ETH. The company stated that it now controls approximately 4.59% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, moving closer to its long-standing objective of owning 5% of all ETH in circulation.

According to the firm, it remains on track to achieve that milestone before the end of the year, further strengthening its position as one of the largest corporate holders of Ethereum.

Ethereum slides below critical support areas

Ethereum is also extending its bearish trend, trading around $1,684 after breaking several key support levels below. The second-largest cryptocurrency remains firmly below its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs, currently positioned near $2,058, $2,189, and $2,441, respectively.

The concentration of these moving averages above current price levels suggests that any recovery attempts could face strong selling pressure. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s daily RSI sits at 50, indicating a neutral market condition, while the MACD remains deeply negative, reinforcing the dominance of bearish momentum.

For bulls to regain control, Ethereum would need to overcome several resistance levels:

• Immediate resistance at $1,747.
• Psychological resistance at $2,000.
• 50-day EMA near $2,058.
• 100-day EMA around $2,189.
• 200-day EMA near $2,441.

On the downside, the next significant support level is located around $1,385, a zone where buyers could attempt to slow or reverse further declines if selling pressure intensifies.

THORChain has moved into the next phase of its recovery from the May 15 vault exploit. 

Validators are now reviewing version 3.19.0, which combines security patches with the ADR-028 loss-recovery plan.

The release also introduces a mechanism that can quarantine a compromised vault. THORChain said this would stop an affected vault from processing transactions while keeping its activity visible to the network.

Validators review THORChain v3.19.0

“The next major step in the recovery process is now underway,” THORChain said in its sixth incident update. Validators must vote to approve v3.19.0 before the network can begin the staged upgrade.

The release contains patches for the threshold signature system used to control THORChain vaults. It also implements ADR-028, the governance plan approved after the exploit. The protocol said the upgrade would move the network closer to restoring normal operations.

Version 3.19.0 includes a new Compromised Vault Mimir setting. Once enabled, the setting will isolate the drained vault from transaction processing without removing it from network monitoring.

Keyshare checks come before signing resumes

THORChain plans to validate the ADR-028 data migration after validators complete the upgrade. Every node must then verify the integrity of its keyshares through a temporary protocol called keyverify.

Keyshares allow validators to sign vault transactions together without one operator holding the full private key. The added check aims to confirm that the remaining shares are intact before signing restarts.

After those checks, validators will unhalt signing and start a churn. Churning replaces the active validator set and transfers assets into newly generated vaults. The network will wait for that process to finish before restoring other services.

Secured and Trade assets will return first. Liquidity-provider actions will follow, while trading will resume at the end of the 11-step process. Each stage depends on the previous checks completing successfully.

ADR-028 covers losses without new RUNE

As previously reported by crypto.news, THORChain validators approved ADR-028 in May. The plan uses protocol-owned liquidity to absorb losses before allocating any remaining shortfall across synthetic asset holders.

The framework does not mint or sell new RUNE. It also avoids direct dilution for existing holders. Future system income will help rebuild protocol-owned liquidity after the restart.

THORChain also activated a bounty window for the attacker and approved the full slashing of the linked node. The protocol said innocent nodes that shared the affected vault would remain protected.

Full restart still depends on validators

The May 15 exploit drained about $10.7 million from one of THORChain’s five vaults. THORChain’s report said a newly added node exploited a weakness in the GG20 threshold signature implementation. Four other vaults remained unaffected.

Automatic solvency checks detected the imbalance and halted signing within minutes. Node operators later paused trading, chain observation and churning while developers investigated the attack.

Validator approval of v3.19.0 would begin the final technical sequence, but it would not restore every service at once. THORChain will reopen signing, asset functions, liquidity actions and trading in stages after completing the vault, migration, keyshare and churn checks.

More than 200 crypto companies and organizations are pressing the U.S. Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, warning that delays could cost the industry a critical legislative window. A letter circulated Monday, and shared by the crypto lobby group Stand With Crypto, calls on Senate leadership to bring the bill to the floor without delay, arguing that momentum from a bipartisan Banking Committee vote should be built upon to advance durable market-structure legislation.

The CLARITY Act is designed to clarify how the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would regulate digital assets. Yet it has stalled multiple times this year as lawmakers and advocacy groups have debated its provisions. The ongoing negotiations have centered on two high-stakes demands: a prohibition on platforms offering stablecoin yields, backed by banking groups, and protections for developers building decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, championed by the crypto industry. The letter from industry groups underscores the stakes, saying that enactment would keep crypto jobs, investment and market activity in the United States and position the country as a global leader in digital asset innovation.

According to the letter, signed by Stand With Crypto, The Digital Chamber, the Blockchain Association, and the Crypto Council for Innovation, digital asset markets are increasingly global and central to modern financial infrastructure. The signatories argue that the question before Congress is whether the future of digital asset markets will be built within the United States under robust oversight and clear rules, or offshore under less transparency and accountability.

Key takeaways

• Industry coalitions are urging the Senate to bring the CLARITY Act to a floor vote, emphasizing the bipartisan momentum seen in the Banking Committee’s approval.
• The bill aims to harmonize how the SEC and CFTC regulate crypto assets, but negotiations remain unsettled on major reform provisions.
• Disagreements center on a potential ban on stablecoin yield platforms versus protections for DeFi developers, reflecting broader tensions between traditional financial regulators and the crypto sector.
• Timing is uncertain: the Senate has not scheduled floor time for the bill ahead of the November midterm elections, and analysts warn time is running out before a late-July recess.
• Industry observers note ethics and illicit-finance safeguards as critical sticking points that could determine whether lawmakers secure the necessary 60 votes to move forward.

Momentum, timing, and the legislative window

With the Senate yet to schedule floor time for the CLARITY Act, industry groups fear a narrow window ahead of the midterm season. The timing matters because passage would require swift action before lawmakers recess and return to a politically charged environment. Analysts have previously warned that the opportunity to pass meaningful crypto legislation could fade if the bill remains bottled up in committee or fails to reach the floor in a timely manner.

Galaxy Digital’s assessment of the bill’s chances has reflected the evolving political dynamics. In a note published recently, the firm reduced its odds of passage in 2026 to 60% from 75%, noting that the bill would need to clear the Senate before the August recess in late July. “After that, the window effectively closes,” the firm wrote, highlighting how timing could constrain any potential consensus on a comprehensive framework for the sector.

The CLARITY Act has already seen movement in the House-adjacent committees, with the Senate Agriculture and Banking panels advancing their own versions addressing commodities and securities laws. Critics and supporters alike agree that a key hurdle remains: aligning these committee-identified provisions into a single bill that can survive floor debate and garner the necessary bipartisan support. Without an agreed framework, the regulatory roadmap for U.S. crypto markets could remain murky for longer than industry participants can tolerate.

Policy clashes and what remains unresolved

The heart of the stalemate lies in concrete policy choices about how to oversee a rapidly evolving asset class. Banking groups have pressed for a ban on platforms that offer stablecoin yields, arguing that such practices could introduce unsupervised liquidity and risk to financial stability. By contrast, the crypto industry has pressed for measures that would protect developers and operators of non-custodial and DeFi platforms, seeking assurances that innovation won’t be stifled by overly prescriptive rules or punitive penalties for users and builders alike.

Beyond the bifurcated reform agenda, lawmakers are also wrestling with ethics and illicit-finance controls. Senator Cynthia Lummis has been at the forefront of advancing the bill but has signaled openness to amendments that would address potential ethics concerns and strengthen policing of illicit finance flows. Those issues, analysts say, could determine whether the measure can secure the broad support needed to cross the floor, especially in a Senate that has shown bipartisan nerves on digital-asset governance.

Observers note that the process remains a negotiation rather than a finished product. While the Senate Banking Committee’s vote demonstrated that consensus around the general approach exists, the precise balance of protections for users, developers, and market participants remains unsettled. The lack of a settled package means that the industry’s call for certainty — a predictable regulatory environment that could attract investment and job growth — must contend with the political reality of competing priorities as lawmakers prepare for the midterms.

Industry voices and the potential impact on the market ecosystem

Supporters argue that a clear, U.S.-based regulatory framework would reduce uncertainty, entice capital to stay within American markets, and prevent a drift of digital-asset activity to offshore jurisdictions with less transparency and accountability. In the letter shared by Stand With Crypto, the signatories framed the CLARITY Act as a vehicle for “global leadership in digital asset innovation”—a claim that resonates with firms seeking to anchor their operations in a predictable, U.S.-regulated environment.

Yet the road ahead remains contested. The ongoing tug-of-war between groups favoring a stricter stance on stablecoins and those advocating for a rules-based approach that protects developers reflects a broader tension in the sector: balancing consumer protection and market integrity with the need to sustain a thriving ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. The CLARITY Act, if enacted, would set a regulatory frame that could shape everything from product design and fundraising to exchange practices and the deployment of on-chain financial primitives.

For investors and builders, the key takeaway is that a clearer framework could alter risk premiums, funding dynamics, and competitive positioning across wallets, exchanges, and DeFi protocols. As politics and policy continue to unfold, market participants should monitor whether the bill’s sponsors can reconcile the ethics provisions, illicit-finance safeguards, and the two major industry asks into a cohesive package that can win broad support on the Senate floor.

Analysts also keep an eye on how state-level and global developments might influence U.S. policy timing. If the CLARITY Act stalls again, observers warn of a potential shift in investment incentives and project deployments toward jurisdictions with clearer or more favorable regulatory regimes. Conversely, a clear path to floor debate and a timely vote could catalyze a more robust domestic market, with clearer compliance requirements and a more predictable regulatory horizon for startups and incumbents alike.

The drafting process remains dynamic, and industry groups emphasize that any successful version would need to address both the governance needs of developers and the consumer protections that lawmakers want to see. As the debate moves toward potentially blending the different committee proposals, market participants should prepare for a period of heightened policy risk until a finalized framework emerges.

The article’s broader context is not just about a single bill; it’s about how the United States defines itself as a hub for digital-asset innovation. The outcome could influence where companies locate, how they recruit talent, and how they structure their product offerings in a landscape that is increasingly global, competitive, and technologically complex. While the exact details of the final language remain to be seen, the industry’s united plea underscores a shared belief that regulatory clarity is a prerequisite for sustained growth and responsible innovation in the crypto economy.

Readers should watch for a scheduling update on floor time as the summer break approaches, with the understanding that any movement could unfold quickly once leadership commits to a vote. The evolution of the ethics and illicit-finance components, in particular, will likely determine the bill’s fate in the Senate and whether the United States preserves its role as a stable, innovation-forward jurisdiction for digital assets.