Key Takeaways

• Stocks are ownership stakes in actual businesses, not merely fluctuating numbers.
• Purchasing at the correct valuation is equally crucial as selecting quality companies.
• Managing emotions during market volatility distinguishes successful investors from impulsive traders.
• The margin of safety principle involves purchasing assets below their intrinsic value.
• For most individuals, a straightforward diversified approach beats attempting to select individual winners.

Building wealth through equity markets relies on fundamental principles: acquire quality assets, ensure reasonable pricing, maintain composure, and shield yourself from significant errors. Let’s examine how these concepts translate into actionable strategies.

The Critical Role of Valuation Over Popularity

Numerous investors concentrate exclusively on identifying strong companies. However, even exceptional businesses become poor investments when purchased at inflated prices. Trending stocks generate buzz, and that attention inflates valuations. This often leaves shareholders with lackluster performance despite solid corporate fundamentals.

Valuation represents the practice of assessing whether the price you’re paying aligns with what you’re receiving. Savvy investors examine profitability metrics, cash generation, leverage ratios, dividend policies, and expansion prospects. The objective is discovering businesses trading beneath their genuine economic value.

Frequently, overlooked and unsexy stocks present superior value propositions compared to headline-grabbing names.

Maintaining Composure Through Market Turbulence

Stock prices fluctuate constantly. Markets swing between euphoria and panic. Neither sentiment accurately represents a company’s fundamental worth.

Impulsive investors typically liquidate positions during downturns and purchase during rallies. This behavior contradicts successful strategies. Disciplined investors perceive market declines as chances to acquire strong assets at discounted valuations.

The essential perspective change involves treating markets as instruments to leverage, rather than authorities to obey.

Understanding the Margin of Safety Concept

Among the most valuable concepts for wealth-building investors is the margin of safety. This principle requires purchasing only when prices sit substantially below your calculated intrinsic value.

If analysis suggests a stock possesses $100 in true worth, a prudent investor might only initiate positions at $70 or $75. This difference creates protection against analytical errors. Companies miss forecasts. Competitive landscapes evolve. Economic conditions deteriorate.

Perfect foresight doesn’t exist. Incorporating protective buffers represents how thoughtful investors minimize expensive miscalculations.

Individual Stock Selection vs. Broad Market Approaches

Researching individual companies isn’t necessary for everyone. A straightforward portfolio of diversified index vehicles can deliver strong long-term performance without demanding extensive analysis.

Active stock selection requires substantial effort. It involves analyzing financial reports, understanding competitive dynamics, and maintaining conviction when your perspective diverges from prevailing sentiment. Most individuals lack either the bandwidth or inclination for this level of commitment.

Recognizing which approach suits your circumstances represents a crucial strategic choice.

Drawing the Line Between Investing and Speculation

A distinct boundary separates investing from speculation. Investing relies on thorough analysis and logical reasoning supporting the belief that a business trades below its true value. Speculation depends primarily on expectations that prices will continue ascending.

Historically, markets compensate patience while penalizing short-term orientation. Businesses generating genuine profits, maintaining robust financial positions, and operating sustainable models typically compound value consistently.

Pursuing momentum frequently results in buying near market tops and selling near bottoms.

Final thoughts: sustainable wealth creation typically stems from acquiring legitimate businesses at sensible valuations, maintaining positions through inevitable turbulence, and sidestepping the errors that emerge from responding to temporary market noise.

TLDR:

• HIP-1261 introduces a base-plus-extras fee model to make Hedera transaction costs easier to predict for enterprises.
  
• All Hedera fees are paid in HBAR, meaning more network usage directly converts to higher token demand over time.
  
• HBAR holds support between $0.078 and $0.088, with analysts watching $0.103 as the next key resistance level.
  
• A drop below $0.087 would weaken the short-term bullish structure and signal the corrective bounce may have ended.

HBAR is navigating a fragile recovery phase while a new protocol proposal works to lower barriers for enterprise adoption.

The token continues trading within a narrow support band, with analysts watching key technical levels closely. At the same time, HIP-1261 is drawing attention for its potential to make Hedera’s fee system more predictable.

Together, these developments are shaping how institutions and developers view the network’s long-term utility.

HIP-1261 Targets Enterprise Fee Predictability on Hedera

HIP-1261 introduces a simplified fee model built around a base fee plus additional charges. This structure gives developers and institutions a clearer way to estimate transaction costs before execution.

Companies managing budgets, compliance requirements, and auditing processes benefit directly from this kind of cost transparency.

As X Finance Bull noted, “Companies do not like guessing. They need to know costs before they deploy.” That observation speaks to a broader challenge in blockchain adoption. Without predictable pricing, enterprise deployment becomes difficult to justify internally.

The proposal covers a wide range of network activity. Token transfers, smart contracts, NFTs, identity services, HCS messages, and supply chain functions all generate fee demand under the existing model.

HIP-1261 seeks to bring consistency across these use cases rather than leaving each one with separate pricing uncertainty.

Importantly, all fees on Hedera are still paid in HBAR. Even when fees are priced in USD terms, they convert to HBAR at the time of the transaction.

That means broader adoption and more transactions directly translate to higher HBAR demand from a utility standpoint.

HBAR Price Structure Remains Cautious Amid Weak Recovery

On the price side, HBAR is holding within a corrective recovery structure that analysts describe as unconvincing so far.

The token is supported in the $0.078 to $0.088 range, with resistance sitting near $0.103. Movement above that resistance zone would be the next technical milestone for bulls.

More Crypto Online laid out the scenario clearly: “The market could still extend slightly higher toward the yellow trendline and the next resistance around $0.103, as long as the current support region between $0.078 and $0.088 continues to hold.” That condition makes the support band critical in the near term.

However, a break below $0.087 would damage the short-term bullish case. That level marks a recent swing low, and losing it would raise questions about whether the current recovery has already run its course. Traders are watching it closely.

Despite the cautious technical setup, the broader picture ties back to network activity. More real-world usage means more transactions, and more transactions mean ongoing HBAR demand through network fees.

That connection between utility growth and token demand remains the core long-term argument for the asset.

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, more than doubled its crypto exposure in the first quarter of 2026, climbing to about $235 million as of March 31, up from roughly $100 million at year-end 2025. The jump marks a significant step in the Italian lender’s ongoing foray into regulated digital assets, reflecting a broader European trend among traditional banks expanding their crypto footprints.

The uptick was driven primarily by Bitcoin positions. Intesa increased its holdings via both the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. The bank also entered Ethereum exposure for the first time through BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, and added a stake in Ripple’s XRP through the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, valued at about $26 million, according to Criptovaluta.it.

In a first for the bank’s crypto program, Intesa opened a position in iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, marking its initial foray into crypto derivatives. Previously, the bank confirmed to Criptovaluta.it that its crypto holdings are held for proprietary trading purposes, though it has not disclosed whether any assets are used to hedge products offered to professional clients.

Meanwhile, not all positions followed the same trajectory. Solana exposure, which had been a notable feature of the prior quarter, was pared back sharply, with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF stake collapsing from 266,320 shares to just 2,817—a near-total exit that underscores a cautious recalibration of non-Bitcoin bets.

Source: Criptovaluta.it

The reshaping of Intesa’s crypto holdings extended into the equities portion of its portfolio. The bank added 165,600 shares of BitGo for the first time, while exiting its Bitmine position. It also closed out put options on the Strategy vehicle and trimmed its stake in Cantor Equity Partners II, the vehicle linked to tokenization firm Securitize’s planned listing. Coinbase shares also moved higher, rising from 1,500 to 10,357.

The timing of these moves aligns with recent corporate developments in the crypto space. Notably, Ripple announced it would offer custody services to the Italian banking group, signaling deeper institutional alignment as banks seek regulated custody for digital assets.

Ripple custody discussions reflect growing institutional demand for trusted asset safekeeping as more banks explore regulated crypto service models.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s share price closed at €5.74 on a Friday session, down 1.56% for the day and about 3.1% lower year-to-date, according to Yahoo Finance data cited in the coverage. The bank’s evolving holdings illustrate how major European lenders are balancing risk, regulatory considerations, and strategic bets on a long horizon for digital assets.

Key takeaways

• Intesa Sanpaolo’s crypto exposure rose to roughly $235 million as of March 31, 2026, up from ~$100 million at year-end 2025, driven mainly by Bitcoin positions and new Ethereum exposure.
• The bank expanded Bitcoin via two regulated ETFs (ARK 21Shares BTC ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust) and entered Ethereum exposure through iShares Staked Ethereum Trust; it also added Ripple XRP exposure (~$26 million) via the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF.
• Intesa opened its first crypto derivatives position by buying iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, highlighting a shift toward sophisticated risk/return tools within its proprietary trading framework.
• Solana bets were dramatically reduced, with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF position nearly wiped out, signaling a reweighting away from non-Bitcoin ecosystem plays.
• Equities holdings moved in tandem with ecosystem developments: BitGo added, Bitmine dumped, Coinbase shares increased, and Ripple custody ties emerged as a strategic inflection point for the bank’s digital asset program.

European banks expand crypto offerings and infrastructure

Intesa’s activity sits within a broader wave of European banks extending their crypto services to retail and institutional clients. Spain’s BBVA now offers 24/7 Bitcoin and Ether trading through its mobile app, while France’s BPCE has rolled out in-app crypto trading via its regulated subsidiary Hexarq, targeting millions of customers by 2026. Belgium’s KBC is also among institutions delivering crypto access to everyday users, signaling a broader consumer-facing shift in the region.

Beyond client services, a consortium of twelve major European banks—including BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit and Deutsche Bank—formed Qivalis to issue a MiCA-compliant euro-backed stablecoin, aiming for a launch in the second half of 2026. The initiative underscores a collective push to establish regulated, cross-border digital currency rails in Europe, with MiCA-era governance in mind and a focus on interoperability across banking infrastructures.

The cross-border push comes as policymakers in Europe map out a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, a backdrop that lends credibility to banks’ willingness to deploy crypto services at scale. As institutions build out custody, trading, and settlement capabilities, the market is watching how these products perform in real-world use cases, including stablecoin settlement and tokenized asset workflows across traditional finance channels.

In related coverage, European crypto hubs and the evolving regulatory environment continue to be a focal point for institutional-grade adoption, with editorials and market commentary highlighting both opportunities and tensions as banks experiment with regulated digital asset offerings. For a broader discussion of how Europe’s treasury models are adapting to digital assets, see the ongoing discourse in regional coverage such as PBW’s 2026 outlook.

Source-linked reporting on Intesa and the European rollout of crypto services helps illustrate how a single bank’s strategy can mirror a wider continental pattern: institutions are recalibrating exposure, expanding custody capabilities, and pursuing regulated rails that could underpin broader adoption in the years ahead.

For readers seeking the underlying data, Criptovaluta.it summarized Intesa’s quarterly moves and the broader European expansion, while Ripple’s custody announcement underscores one of the pivotal partnerships shaping institutional engagement with digital assets in Europe.

As these developments unfold, investors and users should watch how MiCA-compliant stablecoins gain traction, how custody arrangements evolve, and whether more banks disclose detailed, auditable usage of crypto within their balance sheets and product offerings. The coming quarters will reveal whether these early forays translate into sustained capital allocation and real-world custody utilization across Europe’s banking sector.

Police from China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates carried out their first joint international law enforcement operation against telecom and online fraud in Dubai, according to Xinhua. 

China’s Ministry of Public Security said the operation dismantled nine fraud dens and led to 276 arrests.

Investigators said the groups used social media to build fake romantic relationships with victims before directing them into “so-called high-return cryptocurrency projects.” 

The report said victims suffered financial losses after sending funds into the schemes. Xinhua said Chinese authorities presented the operation as part of wider cross-border cooperation against online fraud.

Crypto.news links raid to wider FBI case

Crypto.news reported earlier that an FBI-led enforcement action disrupted nine crypto scam centers and led to 276 arrests. Dubai police detained 275 people, while authorities in Thailand arrested one suspect tied to the same wider enforcement push.

The report said U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of California charged several suspects with wire fraud and money laundering. It also said investigators linked the activity to Ko Thet Company, Sanduo Group and Giant Company, which authorities described as companies used to run scam centers.

How the crypto romance scams worked

The Justice Department said the defendants targeted people in the United States and other countries by building trust and affection over time. After that, they promoted crypto investments and helped victims move funds to platforms that were not real.

The DOJ said victims lost control of their crypto once they sent funds to the fake platforms. Prosecutors said the money was then moved through other crypto accounts, including accounts controlled by the scammers. The agency said investigators had already found millions of dollars in losses tied to the cases.

Moreover, the crackdown adds to a wider push against organized crypto investment fraud. The DOJ said FBI San Diego opened the investigation in 2025 after identifying companies and people managing scam compounds tied to crypto fraud.

FBI San Diego also said Operation Level Up had notified almost 9,000 victims of crypto investment fraud and saved an estimated $562 million by April 2026. The new arrests show how law enforcement agencies are now targeting the operators, recruiters and managers behind scam centers, not only the wallets used to move funds.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged German citizen Owe Martin Andresen over an alleged money laundering scheme tied to Dream Market, a darknet marketplace that shut down in 2019. 

Prosecutors said Andresen was the suspected main administrator of the site. Meanwhile, the DOJ said Andresen was arrested in Germany last week on parallel German charges. 

U.S. prosecutors said he used dormant Dream Market administrator wallets to move funds and later convert part of the proceeds into gold bars.

Prosecutors cite dormant crypto wallets

Dream Market launched in 2013 and became one of the largest darknet markets before its closure. Prosecutors said the site carried close to 100,000 listings at a time and used Tor and cryptocurrency to hide buyers, sellers and payments.

After the shutdown, the DOJ said Dream Market’s crypto infrastructure stayed mostly untouched. Prosecutors said activity resumed in late 2022, when funds moved from old Dream Market wallets into newly consolidated wallets. They said the transfers “could only have been initiated” by someone with access to the original private keys.

Moreover, prosecutors said Andresen used a crypto service provider based in Atlanta to buy gold bars from international companies in August 2023. The gold bars were allegedly shipped to his home address in Germany.

The DOJ said Andresen allegedly laundered more than $2 million between August 2023 and April 2025. During searches on May 7, authorities found about $1.7 million in gold bars, more than $23,000 in cash, and information tied to bank accounts and crypto wallets holding about $1.2 million believed to be Dream Market proceeds.

Crypto crime cases remain active

A federal grand jury charged Andresen with six counts of international concealment money laundering and six counts of concealment money laundering. Each U.S. charge carries up to 20 years in prison. The DOJ said Andresen is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case follows wider enforcement against crypto-linked laundering. Crypto.news reported that the DOJ finalized forfeiture of over $400 million in assets tied to Helix, a darknet crypto mixer. Separate coverage said a California man received 70 months in prison for laundering funds tied to a $263 million crypto theft group.

The House Agriculture Committee urged President Donald Trump to nominate four new commissioners to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), warning that the agency is not well-equipped to execute its expanded mandate with a single member. In a joint letter, Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson and Ranking Member Angie Craig pressed for a full bipartisan five-member panel to join CFTC Chair Michael Selig, who has served as the agency’s sole commissioner since December after a wave of departures. The letter argues that a complete five-member commission would better serve the public and markets by delivering more durable regulations and by reflecting the divergent views of key derivatives market stakeholders.

The CFTC operates with roughly 543 full-time employees, a staffing level dwarfed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which employs about 4,200. This disparity underscores the challenge of enforcing a broader mandate in a resource-constrained agency, even as congressional timelines push for greater regulatory reach in crypto markets.

Related: Ethics remain sticking point as crypto market structure bill goes to markup

Key takeaways

• The Agriculture Committee calls for filling four vacancies to create a five-member, bipartisan CFTC alongside Chair Selig, arguing that a fuller board would lead to more balanced regulation and increased regulatory durability.
• Legislative momentum around the CLARITY Act continues, with the Senate Banking Committee voting 15–9 to advance the bill. The measure would grant the CFTC sweeping new authority over spot digital commodity trading, complementing the House’s prior passage of a companion bill with broad support (294–135).
• The push for expanded CFTC powers comes amid ongoing legal disputes and questions about how a potentially larger mandate would be implemented, including regulatory actions in the area of prediction markets and non-custodial software development.
• Staffing constraints at the CFTC heighten the significance of any expansion, given the agency’s current headcount versus the size of the agencies it may regulate, and the need for robust rulemaking processes.

Bipartisan push for a full CFTC slate amid expanding duties

In the opening salvo of a renewed push for stronger governance, the committee emphasized that a five-member commission would better serve the public, the markets, and the agency itself. The letter contends that a complete panel would produce better regulations, more durable rules, and greater sensitivity to the diverse viewpoints of derivatives market participants. The appeal comes as the agency contends with an expanded remit that could reshape how spot digital commodities are overseen, a scope previously reserved for broader legislative action.

The five-member configuration is not merely a formal prorogation of authority; it represents a recalibration of how regulatory priorities are set and how nonpartisan checks and balances are applied to the CFTC’s rulemaking, enforcement, and market-supervision roles. With Selig serving as the agency’s lone commissioner since December, the committee argued that the public, markets, and the agency would benefit from a collegial, bipartisan board capable of sustaining durable, well-vetted rules through shifting market dynamics.

According to Cointelegraph, the letter frames the request within a broader context of regulatory readiness, warning that critical rulemaking—especially under an expanded federal mandate—requires a full commission to ensure robust deliberation and cross-cutting oversight across market segments. The administration’s response to this request could influence the tempo of regulatory reform across the U.S. derivatives landscape.

Legislative momentum: CLARITY Act and its regulatory implications

The day after the Agriculture Committee’s letter, the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act by a 15–9 vote. The bill would assign the CFTC sweeping authority over spot digital commodity trading, a major shift in federal oversight for crypto markets. The House had already passed its own version of the bill last July with broad bipartisan support (294 votes in favor).

As outlined by supporters, the CLARITY Act would significantly expand the Commission’s jurisdiction and would necessitate an extensive rulemaking process to implement new requirements across a rapidly evolving market structure. The administration has signaled an openness to a bipartisan slate of nominees to accompany any legislative expansion, though formal nominations beyond Chair Selig had not yet been made at the time of reporting. Bloomberg reported in January that the White House was weighing a bipartisan slate of nominees for the CFTC, signaling an intention to balance regulatory agility with governance standards.

The combination of a larger statutory mandate and a five-member CFTC could accelerate rulemaking cycles and create new compliance benchmarks for market participants, including exchanges, banks, and crypto firms. For policymakers and compliance professionals, the alignment of executive nominations with legislative action will be a key determinant of how quickly, and how robustly, such reforms are implemented.

Under this evolving framework, the CFTC’s approach to market structure, transparency in trading venues, and the treatment of spot digital assets would come under intensified scrutiny. The push is not only about extending authority but ensuring that rulemaking keeps pace with technological innovation and the practical realities faced by regulated entities and their counterparties.

Prediction markets, interstate jurisdiction, and legal risk

The committee’s concerns extend to the CFTC’s ongoing involvement in prediction markets and the challenges posed by intergovernmental jurisdictional questions. The agency has pursued litigation aimed at asserting its jurisdiction over prediction-market activities, leading to a series of state-level lawsuits as it sought to formalize its stance on non-custodial software developers and related platforms. In this space, the CFTC’s single-commissioner posture has drawn particular attention, given the heightened risk of legal challenges to regulatory actions when institutional checks and balances are limited.

According to Cointelegraph, the CFTC has initiated litigation against five states—Wisconsin, New York, Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois—to assert federal oversight over certain prediction-market activities. The legal limelight on these cases underscores the unsettled regulatory terrain in which the agency operates and the potential for cross-border or cross-state friction as the agency expands its reach. These disputes illustrate the practical implications of policy choices, especially as lawmakers weigh centralized federal supervision against state-level experimentation in financial innovation and online commerce.

Beyond prediction markets, the broader question remains: how will a larger CFTC with more personnel and broader authority navigate the interplay between federal rules, state enforcement, and the evolving landscape of non-custodial technologies and digital asset services? The answers will bear on how exchanges, market-makers, and technology providers structure their compliance programs and how they engage with regulators across jurisdictions.

As the regulatory environment evolves, industry participants should monitor not only nomination developments for the five-seat CFTC but also the progress of the CLARITY Act through Congress and the administration’s engagement with nominees and rulemaking timelines. The convergence of legislative momentum and executive governance will shape the pace and direction of federal oversight in cryptocurrency markets and related derivatives.

Closing perspective: The coming months will reveal whether the administration can assemble a bipartisan CFTC slate and how quickly Congress can translate expanded authority into concrete rules. For institutions navigating the crypto regulatory landscape, the priority is to track nominations, legislative milestones, and the evolving posture of prediction-market enforcement across states, as these factors will influence compliance planning, licensing considerations, and cross-border regulatory alignment.

As investors worry about all of the companies that AI will wipe out, they are rotating into the ones that AI will have a harder time disrupting. And the HALO trade, as it is called, is working.

HALO, which stands for “heavy assets, low obsolescence,” was coined by Josh Brown, co-founder and CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, in February, premised on the idea that an era of rapid AI disruption requires a search by investors for companies that are immune to it. In Brown’s view, it is one of the most important investment trends of the year.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have both incorporated HALO into their investment research in 2026 as HALO stocks are doing well across the board. Some of the stocks cited by Brown are examples: FedEx and ExxonMobil are both up close to 30% since the beginning of the year, while Coca-Cola is up close to 17%.

HALO companies share two traits, according to Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Investments, whose firm launched an ET based on the HALO theme last week. These stocks require meaningful hard physical assets in order to generate revenue, and they are durable. While AI may change how work gets done at low obsolescence companies, it does not eliminate the need for work at them, according an article he wrote on the topic. For example, electricity has to flow and goods have to get produced.

The Roundhill Halo ETF (LOHA) launched on Thursday. The fund tracks an index that screens the largest listed U.S. companies for businesses whose value is focused in physical assets and infrastructure AI can not replace, from sectors including industrials to transportation and mining.

“There’s nothing you could type into an LLM, that’s going to change what they do, at least not in a negative way. They’re probably all beneficiaries of AI,” said Brown on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Thursday to discuss the new ETF.

He joined Roundhill on a limited advisory basis after learning the firm was building the product. “I spoke to these guys shortly after they filed. And I said we could do a deal together, or maybe a lawsuit. I don’t know, what do you want to do?” Brown said. He added that he has known the firm’s founders for many years.

Some of the top holdings in the LOHA ETF include Cummins, AutoZone, TFI International, CSX, JB Hunt, and Lennox. “Some of them are 100-years-old,” Brown said, adding that represents a notable flip side to the increasingly visible part of the market where names like Adobe, ServiceNow, and Salesforce have drifted to 52-week lows while investors reassess software companies’ exposure to AI disruption.

Roundhill recently had a huge hit with the launch of its Memory ETF (DRAM) on April 2, which according to VettaFi, hit $9.8 billion in assets in 43 days, the fastest-ever for an ETF. The fund is up 85% since its launch, but Mazza pushed back against the idea that the launch of an ETF was in some way the sign of a top in a thematic trade. “I think it’s a little bit easy just to say that because you’re launching an ETF, it means a trade’s over,” Mazza said on “Halftime Report.”

“In fact, I think it’s actually unlocking the potential for investors to access stocks that they haven’t had before,” he said.

Brown said Roundhill’s new ETF based on the HALO theme isn’t a bet against AI, but a way to stay invested in a world that is being changed by it. “Let’s not be invested in the most disruptible companies. Let’s look for the companies that are AI resistant,” he said.

Disclaimer

Warsh takes the helm as market and policy questions mount

Kevin Warsh was confirmed this week as the 11th chair of the Federal Reserve in a 54-45 Senate vote, ending a contentious transition and setting the stage for a potentially different policy posture at the central bank. The confirmation was unusually partisan, and comes after a delay that followed an inquiry into his predecessor. Jerome Powell will remain on the Board of Governors, marking the first time in roughly 75 years that a former chair has continued as a voting governor.

What it means for crypto: Warsh has previously described bitcoin as a form of digital gold for younger investors and has signaled skepticism toward central bank digital currencies while voicing support for private stablecoin frameworks. Those views offer a degree of structural validation for the industry. At the same time, several committee members have signaled that rate hikes remain on the table, and Warsh inherits an environment where cuts are not yet priced in by markets. Less accommodative monetary policy tends to compress liquidity across risk assets, and bitcoin, which has recently traded like a risk asset, may be vulnerable to those dynamics in the near term.

Markets will be watching Warsh’s first Federal Open Market Committee meeting, scheduled for June 16-17, for early clues about the new chair’s approach to inflation, employment, and market liquidity.

Senate committee advances Clarity Act, but path to passage remains uncertain

The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a comprehensive market-structure bill that would reshape how US authorities regulate crypto trading venues and stablecoins. The measure proposes several notable changes: it seeks a jurisdictional split between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, mandates 1:1 stablecoin backing in high-quality, short-duration Treasury instruments, and creates a registration pathway for digital commodity exchanges.

Legislative hurdles: The bill still must be reconciled with a parallel text in the Senate Agriculture Committee, and significant points of contention remain—most prominently an ethics provision that would restrict public officials from profiting from crypto holdings. The White House has signaled it favors broad ethics rules but objects to provisions that single out the president. Final passage would also require overcoming the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, meaning bipartisan support will be essential.

If enacted, the Clarity Act would reduce regulatory uncertainty around market infrastructure and stablecoins, potentially easing compliance pathways for exchanges and issuers. However, the bill faces opposition from institutions worried about stablecoin yield provisions and from law enforcement and labor groups concerned about illicit finance and financial stability risks. Those debates will shape the bill’s final form.

THORChain suspends operations after suspected $10M exploit

THORChain halted trading on Friday after detecting a suspected exploit that the protocol estimates at about $10 million, affecting assets across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Base. Two addresses linked to the theft were identified and the native token RUNE declined roughly 15% on the news.

This is the latest incident in a history of security and solvency challenges for the cross-chain protocol: THORChain suspended its ThorFi lending operations earlier this year amid significant defaulted obligations, and last fall the protocol’s founder reported funds drained from a personal wallet. On-chain analysis cited by the protocol indicates unusually high weekly volume—approximately $394 million in daily throughput—driven in part by activity tied to laundering from a prior breach.

Broader implications: Cross-chain bridges and swap mechanisms remain prime attack surfaces in decentralized finance. The very mechanisms that enable seamless asset flows between chains also expand the avenues for exploitation and money movement following thefts. THORChain’s recurring incidents highlight the trade-offs between permissionless interoperability and operational resilience, and they are likely to attract heightened scrutiny from users, counterparties and regulators until technical details are disclosed and remediation steps are completed.

AI-assisted research cracks Apple M5 protections, underscoring rising software risk

Security researchers at startup Calif reported using a preview of Anthropic’s Claude Mythos to accelerate development of a kernel exploit that bypassed Apple’s Memory Integrity Enforcement on M5 silicon, escalating from an unprivileged user to root on macOS 26 in under a week. The team delivered a 55-page technical report to Apple in person. According to the researchers, Mythos identified candidate kernel vulnerabilities quickly, while human engineers designed the bypass and exploit chain.

Project Glasswing, Anthropic’s program for enterprise partners, has placed Mythos with select organizations including Apple, major cloud providers and security firms. In controlled testing cited by Anthropic, Mythos identified hundreds of vulnerabilities in large software targets and completed simulated multi-stage cyberattacks.

Why crypto stakeholders should care: The incident illustrates how advanced generative AI tools can compress vulnerability discovery timelines. For crypto, that raises pressure on software wallet providers, custodial services and smart-contract audit practices. While hardware-level protections and transaction-signing isolation can limit exposure, the security community increasingly argues that defenses will need to shift toward hardware-backed and multi-layered approaches if AI continues to accelerate exploit development.

Takeaway: This week combined major policy developments with fresh reminders of operational risk. Warsh’s confirmation and the Clarity Act’s committee progress could reduce regulatory uncertainty over time, but monetary policy and the bill’s final form will materially affect market liquidity and institutional participation. At the same time, repeated DeFi exploits and the advent of AI-accelerated vulnerability research increase the imperative for robust security standards and for market infrastructure that can withstand faster, more automated threat actors. Investors and infrastructure providers should monitor the June FOMC meeting, the Senate’s legislative calendar, and ongoing technical disclosures from THORChain and the security research community for signals on risk and resilience.