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Bitcoin Rallies and Oil Retreats as Markets Stabilize

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Josh Gilbert Market Analyst At Etoro

Markets are navigating ongoing geopolitical uncertainty with volatility persisting, yet signals of cautious resilience are emerging. The release describes a blended picture where crypto momentum interacts with traditional markets amid potential diplomatic progress and ongoing supply considerations. Bitcoin has risen about 5% over the past week and trades near $75,000, on track for a third consecutive weekly gain. Oil has moved back below $100 as expectations for diplomatic developments support risk assets. The report also notes Iran’s exploration of Bitcoin for payments tied to maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz and a possible second round of US-Iran talks ahead of a ceasefire deadline. Near-term volatility may persist.

Key points

  • Bitcoin up about 5% over the past week, trading near $75,000 and on track for a third straight weekly gain.
  • Oil prices retreat below $100 as diplomatic expectations influence risk assets and supply concerns persist in the Persian Gulf.
  • Iran is exploring Bitcoin for payments related to maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
  • A potential second round of US-Iran peace talks could occur within days ahead of the ceasefire deadline, suggesting near-term volatility.

Why it matters

This combination matters because crypto momentum, energy markets, and geopolitical dynamics intersect in a volatile environment. A sustained Bitcoin rally can influence risk sentiment for digital assets, while oil movements interact with inflation and rate expectations. Iran’s reported use of Bitcoin for a real-world payment flow hints at broader crypto infrastructure uptake. The prospect of renewed talks adds a political factor that could ease or renew volatility, making near-term developments important for traders and investors.

What to watch

  • Possible second round of US-Iran talks within days and any ceasefire timeline updates.
  • Updates on Iran’s Bitcoin payments plans for Strait of Hormuz transit.
  • Bitcoin price behavior around the $75,000 level and any breaks above or below key levels.

Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company or its PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.

Bitcoin Rallies and Oil Pulls Back as Markets Show Signs of Stability

Abu Dhabi, UAE -15 April 2026: Global markets continue to navigate a period of heightened volatility, but recent trends suggest investors are becoming more resilient and adaptive in the face of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Investor sentiment appears to be stabilising, with markets increasingly absorbing negative headlines more efficiently than in previous weeks. Developments that once triggered sharp selloffs are now being digested with greater composure, indicating a shift from reactive behaviour to more measured decision-making.

Cautious optimism is emerging as reports suggest a second round of US-Iran peace talks could take place within days, ahead of the upcoming ceasefire deadline. This prospect is supporting risk assets, as investors rotate away from defensive positioning and cautiously re-enter the market. However, uncertainty remains elevated, and in the absence of a concrete resolution, two-way volatility is expected to persist.

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Bitcoin has continued to demonstrate resilience during the current conflict, rising approximately 5% over the past week and trading near $75,000. The asset is on track for its third consecutive week of gains and is up around 9% month-to-date, positioning it for its strongest monthly performance since May 2025. Despite this momentum, Bitcoin remains roughly 40% below its all-time high.

Adding to the constructive narrative around digital assets are reports that Iran is exploring the use of Bitcoin for payments related to maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz. This development reinforces the growing perception that cryptocurrencies could become increasingly embedded in real-world economic infrastructure.

Meanwhile, oil prices have retreated below the $100 mark, reflecting easing tensions and expectations of diplomatic progress. However, a meaningful portion of supply from the Persian Gulf remains offline, which could place upward pressure on prices in the near term. Persistent supply constraints would have broader implications for inflation, interest rate expectations, and overall market stability.

Josh Gilbert Market Analyst At Etoro
Josh Gilbert Market Analyst At Etoro

Commenting on the current market environment, Josh Gilbert, Market Analyst at eToro, said:
“Investors are showing a notable shift in behaviour. Rather than reacting impulsively to geopolitical headlines, we’re seeing a more resilient approach to navigating uncertainty. While there are tentative signs of improvement, markets remain highly sensitive to developments, and volatility is likely to remain a defining feature in the near term.”

About eToro
eToro is the trading and investing platform that empowers you to invest, share and learn. Founded in 2007 with the vision of a world where everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way, today eToro has 40 million registered users from 75 countries.

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eToro believes in the power of shared knowledge and that investors can become more successful by investing together. The platform has built a collaborative investment community designed to provide users with the tools they need to grow their knowledge and wealth. On eToro, users can hold a range of traditional and innovative assets and choose how they invest: trade directly, invest in a portfolio, or copy other investors.

Visit eToro’s media centre for the latest news.

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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a16z Crypto Raises $2.2B Fund to Turn New Infra into Everyday Products

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a16z Crypto Raises $2.2B Fund to Turn New Infra into Everyday Products


a16z crypto’s Crypto Fund 5 was announced just a day after Haun Ventures revealed its $1 billion fund focused on crypto and the agentic economy.

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XRP’s 2025 Chart Fractal May Repeat Another 66% Price Rally to $2.35

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XRP's 2025 Chart Fractal May Repeat Another 66% Price Rally to $2.35

XRP (XRP) is currently displaying a technical pattern that follows a 2025 fractal that produced 66% gains. The daily chart shows XRP price breaking out of a bull flag, which can also result in massive gains.

Key takeaways:

  • XRP is currently displaying a technical pattern similar to the 2025 price action that ignited a 66% price rally
  • XRP’s spot taker CVD has turned positive, suggesting confidence among buyers.

XRP price chart fractal targets $2.35

XRP’s price action in the daily time frame mirrors a technical structure after recovery from the  April 2025 cycle low, preceding a sharp upward continuation. 

The formation came after a multi-week consolidation inside a bull flag, followed by a bullish cross by the 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages (EMAs), as shown in the chart below.

Related: XRP set for ‘strongest’ 2026 monthly ETF inflows as bulls target $2

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The XRP/USD broke above the upper boundary of the flag in early July 2025, triggering a cascade of short liquidations and fresh buying that ultimately delivered 66% gains to its current all-time high of $3.66, less than two weeks later.

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

XRP’s current price action is following a similar pattern, with the price again breaking out of a bull flag pattern and a pending bullish crossover from the moving averages.

If history repeats itself, XRP/USD may rally by more than 66% toward $2.35. Further confirmation of a trend reversal now hinges on the price holding above $1.40, which is also the flag’s upper boundary and the 50-day SMA.

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“XRP is gaining momentum above $1.40, holding firmly over its 100-hour SMA” analyst Jack Straw said in a Tuesday post on X, adding:

“A clean break above $1.420 could trigger the next leg up.”

Fellow analyst Sam Mti said XRP was “looking good” after a buy signal from the MTI indicator, with potential to move above $1.45 as long as support at $1.40 holds. 

XRP/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Sam Mti

As Cointelegraph reported, buyers will gain the upper hand on a close above the $1.40 level, paving the way for an XRP rally toward $2, then to $2.40.

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XRP’s spot taker CVD suggests buyers are back

XRP’s 90-day spot taker cumulative volume delta (CVD) shows that buy-orders (taker buy) have become dominant again. CVD measures the difference between buy and sell volume over three months.

The metric flipped positive (green bars in the chart below) on May 1 as the price broke above the $1.38 resistance and has remained positive since. This indicates optimism among traders, as they’re actively positioning for further gains.

If the CVD remains green, it means buyers are not backing down, which could set the stage for another rally as seen in the past. A similar occurrence in June 2025 accompanied 70% XRP price gains. 

XRP spot taker CVD. Source: CryptoQuant

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Meanwhile, XRP’s open interest (OI) delta flipped positive, rising to as high as $27 million on May 1, reflecting  a change in active derivatives positioning, data from CryptoQuant shows

“A sharp positive reading suggests that new positions are being added to the market,” CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha said in a QuickTake analysis on Tuesday, adding:

“When this happens while price is rising, it often shows that traders are increasing exposure as momentum begins to recover.”

XRP OI delta across exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

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State Street says institutions want improved blockchain security in wake of recent DeFi attacks

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State Street says institutions want improved blockchain security in wake of recent DeFi attacks

Big traditional finance firms need guardrails in a world of blockchain-based assets, particularly given how decentralized finance (DeFi) remains so susceptible to hacks and losses, the head of digital assets at custodial banking giant State Street said on Tuesday at Consensus Miami.

Still fresh in people’s minds, last month turned out to be a hacker’s bonanza in DeFi, with on-chain lending protocol Drift suffering a $295 million exploit early April, followed by a similarly sized attack on KelpDAO later in the month.

Speaking about the future of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), Angus Fletcher, State Street’s head of digital assets, said the young crypto industry needs to find solutions now. “What are the things we actually need to solve now for a future where we’ve got trillions of dollars worth of activity on-chain? We need to start to unpick those issues now,” Fletcher said.

For institutions, interoperability between blockchains needs to be clearly defined and understood, Fletcher said, for crypto to safely scale.

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“There has to be an understanding of what is the legal title and legal right when you have a token on one chain versus on another, on a cross chain basis. Our customers need to know and understand that. As institutions, it’s critical we get there,” he said.

The head of institutional at the blockchain lending protocol Morpho, Dennis Bree, said April was probably the month that has seen the most hacks in DeFi so far. “I think there’s just a general sense of understanding the security vectors, the underlying assets that are used as collateral. And we’re starting now, certainly to see curators do a lot more diligence as we think about the risk of some of those assets,” Bree said.

The everyday barriers to institutional involvement included a plethora of regulatory gray areas, Bree said. He said Morpho has curators coming to them with $10 to $15 billion in assets under management, seeking to understand how a digital vault manages that capital.

“For example, when you’ve got your capital, and you bring it into a blockchain, you have a receipt token, and instead of receipt tokens just increasing by number, they increase by value. So how does the CFO of a treasury firm think about the accounting treatment of that?”

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Market Structure Bill Not Final Amid Stablecoin Deal

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Crypto Breaking News

Brad Garlinghouse, chief executive of Ripple, warned that gains toward enacting the US Senate’s digital asset market structure framework may not translate into actual passage. Speaking at the Consensus crypto conference in Miami, Garlinghouse stressed that the next two weeks would be pivotal for the CLARITY Act, suggesting the political dynamics surrounding the measure could erode momentum during the calendar leading into the 2026 midterms.

Garlinghouse noted that while the CLARITY Act aims to bring regulatory clarity to the digital asset sector, no piece of legislation is without tradeoffs. He argued that clarity is preferable to chaos, even if the bill is not perfect, and underscored the broader objective of reducing uncertainty for market participants. According to Cointelegraph, his remarks reflect a broader industry push to finalize a comprehensive framework as lawmakers weigh competing concerns about stablecoins, tokenized assets, and ethics in the asset class.

Key takeaways

  • The CLARITY Act’s prospects remain uncertain, with timing increasingly sensitive to political dynamics ahead of the 2026 midterm cycle.
  • A compromise on stablecoin yield, announced by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks, could influence momentum toward advancing CLARITY, though significant questions remain about broader market structure provisions.
  • Regulatory oversight coordination between the SEC and CFTC persists as a parallel track, with officials signaling that legislation remains a prerequisite for a comprehensive enforcement framework.
  • Ripple and other industry participants have engaged in informal negotiations involving the White House and financial regulators, highlighting the high-stakes negotiation environment surrounding crypto regulation.

Legislative trajectory for the CLARITY Act

At Consensus, Garlinghouse framed the CLARITY Act as a priority rather than a future consideration, aligning with ongoing parliamentary activity. The measure has already progressed through the Senate Agriculture Committee in a January markup and now requires action by the Senate Banking Committee before it can reach a full chamber vote. The evolving political calculus—particularly in the context of primary campaigns and the 2026 elections—raises the risk that the bill could lose momentum if not pushed decisively in the near term.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a member of the banking committee, has publicly pressed for congressional action, emphasizing that the entire industry operates under a cloud of legal uncertainty that only Congress can dispel. While praise for the bill’s intent exists, critics point to the need to balance consumer protection, market integrity, and innovation incentives as part of any final package.

Beyond the legislative text itself, the negotiations have encompassed a broader set of policy questions—stablecoins, tokenized equities, and ethics—areas that have been sticking points delaying movement in the Senate since the House of Representatives passed the measure in July 2025. The latest signals indicate a potential path forward if adjacent provisions on yield and asset classification can be reconciled with a regulator-friendly framework that still preserves investor protections.

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Regulatory coordination and oversight posture

Even as Congress contemplates the CLARITY Act, executive-branch and agency actions continue to shape the regulatory landscape. In March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate their oversight of the evolving digital-asset market structure. Officials describe this interagency collaboration as a practical step in aligning approaches to market infrastructure, enforcement priorities, and investor protection, pending a broader legislative foundation.

As part of the stakeholder dialogue, SEC leadership has framed crypto regulation as an ongoing process rather than a finished product. The agency has signaled that approval of the CLARITY Act would inform and accelerate its rulemaking and enforcement posture, enabling a more predictable environment for regulated entities and registered market participants.

These developments underscore a critical point for institutions weighing regulatory risk: even with interagency coordination in place, a clear, enacted framework remains essential to reduce legal ambiguity for exchanges, banks engaging in crypto-related services, and other market infrastructure providers. The interagency momentum, while helpful, still leaves substantive questions about licensing, capital requirements, and customer due diligence unresolved in the absence of final congressional action.

Broader policy context and industry impact

The CLARITY Act sits at the intersection of innovation, investor protection, and financial stability. Its fate bears directly on how crypto firms structure licensing, compliance, and cross-border operations in a landscape where different jurisdictions pursue divergent approaches. For institutions involved in tokenized assets, stablecoins, or crypto-enabled banking services, the legislation could translate into clearer standards for registration, reporting, and customer verification, thereby aiding risk management and regulatory alignment.

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From a compliance perspective, the bill’s trajectory matters for AML/KYC frameworks, know-your-customer regimes, and the governance of stablecoins tied to fiat or other reserve assets. Analysts and legal teams will be watching how the bill addresses collateral standards, reserve custody, and disclosure requirements, as well as how it interfaces with existing banking relationships and payment rails. The conversation also intersects with cross-border policy movements, including the European Union’s MiCA framework, which serves as a regional reference point for market structure and stablecoin oversight.

Within the political economy of regulation, industry stakeholders argue that timely clarity is essential to reduce the systemic risk that arises from fragmented supervision and inconsistent enforcement signals. Yet the practical path to a final bill remains constrained by competing sector interests and the broader electoral calendar. As negotiations continue, market participants should prepare for continued uncertainty and scenario planning around licensing timelines, regulatory approvals, and potential transitional rules.

In summary, the forthcoming weeks will test whether legislative action on the CLARITY Act can outpace political headwinds and regulatory tensions. While interagency coordination provides a supportive backdrop, the ultimate resolution will hinge on Congress delivering a comprehensive, workable regime that aligns with enforcement priorities, investor protections, and the evolving structure of the crypto markets.

Closing perspective: The path to a binding framework remains unsettled, and stakeholders should monitor congressional calendars, committee chair statements, and any new interagency guidance that could shape the timing and scope of a final bill. The balance between regulatory certainty and policy flexibility will define the next phase of the US digital asset regime.

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Bitcoin Short Liquidations Top $7.9B as $80K BTC Price Holds Firm

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Bitcoin Short Liquidations Top $7.9B as $80K BTC Price Holds Firm

Bitcoin (BTC) may have a clear path to $90,000 after $7.9 billion in short liquidations in February put pressure on the bears. Data show liquidations came in three waves that extended from February through April. The liquidations highlight a growing imbalance as BTC traders continue to build short positions above $80,000, while the price holds firm, creating repeat conditions for future short squeezes.

Repeat short squeezes pressure bears

Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr. tracked over $7.9 billion in forced short liquidations since early February. The largest spike hit $737 million on Feb. 13, followed by multiple waves through March and April. 

The liquidation volumes ranged from $2–28 million per day before jumping back to $175 million on May 4. That spike came during a quiet week, pointing to renewed short exposure near $80,000. The pattern shows consistent reloading of bearish positions at higher levels.

Bitcoin trend pulse. Source: Axel Adler Jr.

The trend pulse data adds context to this behavior. The model moved from bear mode into neutral mode in early April. The short-term momentum has turned positive, while the long-term trend awaits confirmation from a bullish crossover of the 30-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs). 

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Axel Adler Jr. said each major liquidation wave formed while the trend pulse sat in neutral mode, a transition phase after bear mode without a full bullish confirmation. 

The largest spikes all occurred during this phase. The price was effectively at a crossroads, while traders kept adding short positions. 

That pattern shows repeated strength fading, followed by forced liquidations, creating pressure that can extend higher if current levels hold above $80,000-$81,500. 

Related: Bitcoin price nears $82K as ‘big level’ sparks warning of fresh macro rejection

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BTC price holds key breakout zone above $80,000

Market analyst Coin Niel pointed to continued BTC exchange outflows, with net flows of -837 BTC on May 5. The move signals ongoing accumulation, though smaller than the -6,590 BTC outflows on Monday, keeping the spot sell pressure limited.

Bitcoin open interest on all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant

Funding rates hold near -0.0045, suggesting longs are not crowded while the short-side pressure remains active. BTC open interest climbed 6% to $29 billion, its highest level since Jan. 31, increasing sensitivity to large price swings. 

The BTC price action has turned constructive after Bitcoin broke above a descending trendline that capped rallies through April. The 100-day exponential moving average (EMA) now sits just below the price, acting as dynamic support. 

BTC is also holding near $81,500, aligned with the short-term holder cost basis, a key level that keeps recent buyers in profit, and may further reduce selling pressure. 

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BTC/USDT on the one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The upside range of $86,000 to $90,000 aligns with a prior supply zone, where sellers stepped in and halted the recovery. This area marks a cluster of past selling activity, with relatively fewer resistance levels before it. 

Below, the $76,000–$78,000 range serves as the first demand zone, supported by recent activity and a developed daily fair-value gap from last Friday. 

Crypto trader KriptoHolder noted that liquidation clusters are shaping the near-term direction. The short liquidations sit around $81,000–$82,000, while a larger pool of long exposure rests between $77,000 and $78,000. 

Data indicates $1.12 billion in cumulative shorts are at risk near $82,500, compared with over $4.2 billion in long positions facing liquidation near $77,000, defining a tight liquidity imbalance.

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Related: Bitcoin short-term cost basis approaches profitability, but $80K must flip to support first

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

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AI agents are breaking web economics, but Cloudflare says x402 can help

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AI agents are breaking web economics, but Cloudflare says x402 can help

For decades, the web ran on a simple bargain: Publishers and businesses made information freely accessible, search engines and other crawlers indexed it, and those services sent human traffic back. Sites could then monetize that traffic through ads, subscriptions or commerce.

But that’s all changing fast, Cloudflare Chief Strategy Officer Stephanie Cohen said Tuesday at CoinDesk’s Consensus conference in Miami.

With the rise of AI agents, software can scrape a webpage, summarize content and keep the source user inside a chatbot or automated workflow instead of sending a person back to the original site. Cohen said that shift is breaking the internet’s old business model, with non-human traffic now exceeding human engagement.

Cloudflare’s proposed answer is to give websites more control over automated traffic: identify the bots, verify who they are, understand what they intend to do and decide whether to allow, block or charge them. Cohen pointed to x402, an open payments protocol built around the HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code, as one piece of that stack.

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“We have a billion 402 responses every single day on the Cloudflare network,” Cohen said. The status code has become part of the technical foundation for x402, an open agent-payments framework Cloudflare is developing with Coinbase.

“Think about it as a billion voices saying, I want to keep producing whatever I’m producing, but I need to be paid for it in order to keep doing that,” Cohen said.

CoinDesk reported in March that on-chain activity tied to the protocol remained small and experimental, with x402 processing roughly $28,000 in daily volume at the time. Cohen’s comments suggest Cloudflare sees a much larger pool of latent demand at the network layer.

She framed the shift as a structural change in how the internet works. “More than half of the traffic on the overall Internet today is non-human,” she said, “and that non-human traffic is growing much faster than the human traffic.” A decade ago, she said, crawlers visited a site twice and sent back one human visitor. Today, the ratio is “tens of thousands to one for AI companies that are scraping your site,” undermining the ad-and-subscription model that has long funded online content.

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She positioned Cloudflare as network-layer infrastructure for that rebuild, not as a payment rail itself. The company processes more than 100 million requests per second at peak, Cohen said, citing Swift’s roughly 68 million messages per day as a comparison.

Cohen also pointed to Cloudflare’s Web Bot Auth cryptographic-verification stack and recent work involving Visa and Experian as part of the next layer of agentic commerce. The goal, she said, is to help merchants accept purchases initiated by AI agents while verifying that a real human is behind each transaction.

“We believe that, if we do this right, there will be a golden age of content,” Cohen said, “where high-quality original content is valued.”

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Prophet launches AI-powered prediction market with live $10,000 trading tranche

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Cape Town, South Africa, May 5, 2026 Prophet, an AI-native prediction market platform, has launched its first live trading tranche, introducing a system where an AI model acts as the counterparty to user trades using real capital.

The initial deployment allocates $10,000 in USDC to an AI-powered trading system and opens participation to users on the platform. Instead of matching buyers and sellers, the system allows users to trade directly against the AI, which generates probability-based pricing for each market.

What has launched

Prophet’s “Tranche 1” is a limited-access deployment designed to test the system under live market conditions. Users who deposit gain the ability to create markets, with the AI pricing each market upon creation. Once live, markets can be traded by other participants.

The AI system takes the opposing side of every trade, absorbing directional risk based on its probability estimates. Markets can resolve within relatively short timeframes, with some contracts settling in as little as 24 hours.

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According to the team, the initial tranche is intended as a controlled test of system performance using real capital and user interaction.

One model, one probability

A key feature of the platform is its pricing mechanism. The system aggregates outputs from multiple large language models, including those developed by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, and Meta. These models independently evaluate each market question, with Prophet combining their outputs into a single probability estimate.

The same architecture is used for market resolution. When a market reaches its deadline, the system evaluates real-world outcomes and settles the contract without a formal dispute process.

The team notes that this approach is experimental and may be subject to limitations in interpretation or accuracy.

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Why the prediction market industry is watching

Prediction markets have seen significant growth in recent years, though most platforms continue to rely on human counterparties and manual or committee-based resolution.

Prophet’s model introduces a different structure, where liquidity and settlement are managed programmatically. This may allow for faster market creation and resolution, though its effectiveness at scale remains to be assessed.

Trading as system feedback

The platform is designed to incorporate trading activity into its development cycle. Each trade generates data on pricing accuracy, while each market expands the range of scenarios the system must evaluate.

According to the team, this feedback loop is expected to inform improvements to the model in future tranches.

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Risks and limitations

The current version operates without a formal dispute mechanism. Market outcomes are determined by AI-based interpretation, which may be subject to error.

The initial $10,000 allocation is limited relative to broader market standards, and the tranche is positioned as a testing phase rather than a full-scale deployment.

Regulatory considerations may also apply, as AI-driven prediction markets represent an emerging category with evolving oversight frameworks.

Next steps

Tranche 1 is scheduled to run through May 8, 2026. The team plans to use data from this phase to refine pricing, resolution, and system design ahead of future deployments.

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Subsequent tranches are expected to expand capital allocation and user access.

About Prophet

Prophet is a machine that predicts the future. An AI with a bankroll trades directly against users, allowing for any market to be opened instantly. Prophet is solving liquidity and resolution for the long tail of prediction markets.

Platform: app.prophetmarket.ai
X: @prophetmarketai
Website: prophetmarket.ai

Media contact
Eneo Hollenbach
Chief Marketing Officer
team@prophetmarket.ai

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Disclaimer

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Participation in prediction markets involves risk, including potential loss of capital. AI-based systems may introduce additional uncertainties in pricing and resolution.

This publication is provided by the client. The text below is a paid press release that is not part of Cointelegraph.com independent editorial content. The text has undergone editorial review to ensure quality and relevance, it may not reflect the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.com. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the company. Disclosure.

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Bitcoin Reclaims $81,000 As ETF Inflows Surge Despite Iran Escalation

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Bitcoin Reclaims $81,000 As ETF Inflows Surge Despite Iran Escalation


BTC prints its highest level since January, even as UAE air defenses engage Iranian missiles and drones.

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30% Of Global Crypto Trading is Coming from South Korea, Research Finds

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Upbit and Bithumb Handle Most of Korean Crypto Turnover.

Won-denominated trades have accounted for 30% of all spot cryptocurrency volume globally so far in 2026, putting Korea second only to the US dollar market, according to research firm Kaiko. The country’s 52 million people now produce around $26 billion in weekly crypto turnover.

The surge runs alongside a parallel boom in Korean equities, where the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) has returned over 37% year-to-date through March 11, 2026, fueled by demand for the memory chips powering the global AI buildout.

Korean Crypto Volume Concentrated on Two Venues

Korea’s domestic crypto market is concentrated on two exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb. Together, these exchanges handle most of the country’s roughly $26 billion in average weekly turnover from 2024 through 2026, based on Kaiko data.

Altcoins drive the bulk of activity. About 85% of weekly Korean crypto trades flow into tokens outside Bitcoin, pointing to domestic appetite for higher-volatility assets over the majors.

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Despite the headline volume, Korean order books remain thinner than Japan’s. Upbit shows roughly $1 million to $1.2 million in market depth, while Tokyo-based Bitflyer holds about $3.5 million across its books.

Upbit and Bithumb Handle Most of Korean Crypto Turnover.
Upbit and Bithumb Handle Most of Korea’s Crypto Turnover. Source: Kaiko

Japan’s market trades smaller but steadier, with Yen-denominated volume sitting at $2 billion to $3 billion monthly across four venues.

The split highlights Korea’s retail-driven, high-velocity character against Japan’s deeper institutional liquidity.

AI Memory Cycle Drives Record EWY Call Positioning

The crypto activity coincides with a record rally in Korean tech equities. EWY, the largest US-listed Korea ETF from iShares, returned more than 37% in the first quarter of 2026. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accounted for roughly 45% of holdings.

Options positioning suggests traders expect the rally to extend. Call open interest (buy orders) on EWY climbed to about $5.5 billion in notional value, the highest level on record and well above prior peaks reached in 2015 and 2021.

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EWY Call Open Interest.
EWY Call Open Interest. Source: NoLimit on X

The driver is high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the chip variant required for AI training systems. Samsung and SK Hynix dominate global HBM supply, placing Korean industrial output at the center of every major data center expansion this cycle.

“When call open interest explodes like this, it means traders are making MASSIVE leveraged bets that a stock is about to rip higher…This is the kind of positioning that only happens when big players see something coming. And here’s the key part most people miss: Samsung and SK Hynix make up 45% of EWY. Both are at the center of the AI memory chip cycle. This isn’t really a Korea bet, but it’s a leveraged AI bet through a different door,” an analyst commented.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens 

Same AI Demand Repricing US Energy Markets

The same infrastructure cycle is repricing power markets thousands of miles away. Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon allowances rose 31% over the past week to $47 per metric ton, hitting a four-year high.

The program covers power plant emissions across ten Northeastern US states.

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That level briefly exceeded California’s $44 record from 2024, an unusual inversion given RGGI has historically traded at a discount to the West Coast benchmark.

Virginia’s planned reentry into the program in July is expected to further lift demand, as the state hosts a high concentration of AI data centers.

For Korean investors and traders, the read-through is direct. The AI demand that lifts US power prices is the same demand that inflates Samsung’s order book, drives EWY call positioning, and ultimately circulates through Korean crypto venues as retail risk appetite.

Whether the Korean Won retains its position as the world’s second-largest fiat-to-crypto market depends on how durable the AI capex cycle proves to be through 2026. Q2 earnings from Samsung and SK Hynix will offer one of the clearest near-term signals.

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The post 30% Of Global Crypto Trading is Coming from South Korea, Research Finds appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Forward Industries, RockawayX Back OnRe’s Solana Onchain Reinsurance

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Crypto Breaking News

A Solana-based reinsurance venture, OnRe, has closed a $5 million Series A led by Forward Industries and RockawayX to accelerate the deployment of on-chain risk transfer infrastructure. The round is designed to scale OnRe’s platform and bring more institutional participants into blockchain-driven reinsurance, a niche but increasingly visible segment of decentralized finance. In addition to the fresh capital, Forward intends to deploy up to $25 million into OnRe’s yield-bearing token on Solana, signaling a deeper strategic commitment to tokenized risk transfer on the chain.

Forward Industries, which maintains what is described as the largest corporate Solana (SOL) treasury—holding more than 7.01 million SOL—has seen notable moves in traditional markets as well. In Tuesday’s regular trading session, Forward’s Nasdaq-listed shares rose about 5.8% according to Yahoo Finance, though much of that gain faded in after-hours trading. Solana itself traded near $86.61, up roughly 2.7% on the day. CoinGecko tracks Forward’s SOL holdings as a major component of its treasury strategy, underscoring how traditional balance-sheet assets intersect with blockchain ambitions.

Key takeaways

  • OnRe raises a $5 million Series A led by Forward Industries and RockawayX, with an option for Forward to invest up to $25 million more into OnRe’s Solana-based yield-bearing token.
  • The investment signals growing institutional interest in on-chain reinsurance and tokenized risk transfer, blending traditional risk markets with DeFi rails.
  • Global reinsurance is large—well over $600 billion in market value—with total reinsurance premiums around $2 trillion; pilots aim to streamline underwriting, collateral management and claims through blockchain.
  • OnRe faces competition and collaboration in a nascent space that includes projects like Re and broader efforts to apply blockchain to insurance value chains, including experiments with tokenized assets and stablecoin payments for premiums.
  • Forward’s prominence in SOL and its funding of OnRe highlight a broader theme: established corporate treasuries may increasingly align with blockchain infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization.

OnRe’s funding, strategy and what it aims to change

The Series A funding puts OnRe at the forefront of a small but growing cluster of ventures trying to move reinsurance processes onto blockchain networks. By leveraging tokenization and smart contracts, OnRe aims to automate elements of underwriting and capital flows that have traditionally been managed through manual, paper-driven processes. In practice, the concept envisions insurers transferring portions of risk to tokenized contracts and capital pools that can be tracked in real time across a distributed ledger, potentially reducing conflict between counterparties and accelerating settlement timelines.

Industry observers say the move is less about replacing conventional reinsurers and more about shaving frictions from a market where efficiency gains can unlock new capacity. Reinsurance, often described as the market for insurance of insurance, maintains a sprawling global footprint. But as the sector explores new data, risk modeling, and collateral mechanisms, blockchain pilots are being pitched as a way to improve transparency, reduce operational latency, and align incentives across multiple players—ranging from primary insurers to capital providers and workshops managing collateral requirements.

Solana rails, yield-bearing tokens and the institutional lens

Central to OnRe’s narrative is its plan to back its platform with a yield-bearing token on Solana. While the project has not publicly disclosed the token’s exact mechanics in detail, the arrangement signals a broader trend: the use of blockchain-native tokens to represent risk exposure and to channel yield from insured premia and risk-transfer transactions back to capital providers. For Forward Industries, committing to fund up to $25 million into this token reflects a concrete bet that institutional users can access regulated, on-chain risk alongside real-world risk transfer structures.

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The arrangement also positions a dialogue between traditional treasuries and blockchain-native ecosystems at a time when large holders of blockchain assets—especially those tied to major networks like Solana—are increasingly exploring how to deploy their holdings in ways that complement their core business and investment theses. Forward’s substantial SOL position, combined with active participation in a reinsurance project, illustrates how corporate balance sheets could align with tokenized risk markets if the regulatory and operational frameworks prove workable at scale.

Context: where on-chain reinsurance stands in the broader market

Even as pilots proliferate, the on-chain reinsurance space remains in early stages. Industry data points to a market that is undeniably large but complex, with substantial activity still anchored in traditional processes. Fortune Business Insights has estimated the global reinsurance market at more than $600 billion in value, with total reinsurance premiums approaching the $2 trillion level. In this environment, blockchain-based platforms aim to streamline real-time tracking, underwriting and settlement through shared ledgers and automated governance mechanisms. OnRe is among several projects testing these ideas, including Re, a decentralized reinsurance protocol that seeks to connect institutional capital with collateralized risk and offer tokenized yield products to participants.

Beyond pure reinsurance, other efforts illustrate how tokenized assets and blockchain primitives intersect with insurance at large. For instance, industry coverage has noted Aon’s exploration of stablecoins for premium payments, signaling a broader willingness among traditional insurers to experiment with digital assets within the insurance value chain. Tim Fletcher, who runs Aon’s financial services division, has suggested that tokenized assets are likely to become more integrated with conventional financial systems over time. While these experiments hint at a broad shift, participants acknowledge that regulatory clarity and demonstrated scalability remain critical hurdles before widespread adoption can unfold.

As with any frontier technology, the path ahead is not linear. The current momentum around OnRe’s Series A reflects investor appetite for tangible progress—namely, real-world teams drawing on blockchain to address long-standing inefficiencies in risk transfer. Yet observers emphasize that the sector’s evolution will hinge on disciplined product development, clear governance frameworks and the ability to attract durable capital from diverse institutional backers. The interplay between traditional insurers, crypto-native players and regulators will shape how quickly and how broadly real-world risk can migrate onto blockchain rails.

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Related developments in the insurance-crypto space, including Dubai’s experiments with crypto wallet integration for premium payments and claims, illustrate a wider industry interest in crypto-enabled insurance mechanics. These efforts, while still emerging, underscore a shared goal: to deliver faster, more transparent and more cost-efficient risk transfer using digital assets and programmable contracts. As the ecosystem matures, investors will be watching whether such pilots translate into scalable products that can withstand the cycle dynamics of both insurance markets and crypto markets.

Cointelegraph is committed to independent reporting, and this article reflects information disclosed by the involved parties and public market data. Readers are encouraged to verify details through official statements and primary sources as the OnRe investment round unfolds.

Forward Industries’ ongoing SOL treasury accumulation and its exposure to blockchain ventures remain a notable signal in a space where traditional corporate treasuries are increasingly exploring strategic bets on decentralized finance and tokenized risk frameworks. As OnRe advances, market participants will be watching not only the platform’s technical development but also how institutional capital, governance policies and regulatory developments intersect to determine whether on-chain reinsurance can move from pilot to scalable market practice.

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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