The path to mainstream crypto adoption runs through more visible, controllable product design, executives from PayPal, Robinhood, Public.com and 248 Ventures told CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference Tuesday.

“It’s important to tell users with AI products what the underlying system is not doing in addition to what it is doing,” Public.com CFO Sruthi Lanka said. Public has built its agentic-investing product so that users review and approve a “deterministic recipe” before any trade is placed. “Make sure it’s not a black box,” she said. The result, according to Lanka, is an organization where everyone is now writing code: “I have accountants writing code. We have marketing people playing with code. Everyone is an engineer, and I think that’s only going to become more commonplace.”

Smitha Purohit, PayPal’s senior director of product for crypto, said trust is “a factor of two things;” whether users can start small and experiment, and whether the company has their back when something goes wrong.

“When you build too fast, compliance comes as a secondary thought, and I don’t think that’s the way to build scalable products. It should be compliance first, regulatory first, and that’s how PayPal looks at everything,” she said.

Nicola White, Robinhood’s vice president of crypto institutions and general manager of Bitstamp, said 50% of the company’s new first-quarter users self-identified as first-time investors, pointing to that as the reason to push back on retail product velocity.

“We’re all building so quickly. I think we need to make sure that we’re slowing down and thinking about: is what we’re building the right thing for the customer? […] I think we’re introducing risks that maybe people don’t understand,” she said, citing the Oct. 10 crypto liquidation event and questioning, “Is 100x something that a retail client should be offered?”

Lindsey Bell, Chief Investment Strategist at 248 Ventures, framed adoption as ultimately an emotional decision. “People’s purchasing or usership is really driven by emotion; it’s driven by fear. You have to be able to tap into that. And I think you do that best by talking to your customers and your prospects and really figuring out what’s making their heart beat,” she said, citing earlier remarks from a former Mastercard CMO that traditional market research is now only “23% accurate.”

In a closing lightning round, Lanka predicted users will “increasingly make the wealth manager redundant”; White predicted CLARITY Act passage and tokenized RWAs hitting stride in the U.S.; Bell floated that “by the beginning of next year,” 80% of Americans could be operating with at least one AI agent; and Purohit predicted “pay as you go” models for content, pointing to stablecoins as a way to enable micropayments.

Wall Street executives warned at Consensus 2026 that legacy markets built for slower trading are breaking under 24/7 crypto pressure.

Wall Street executives gathering at Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 5 warned that traditional financial infrastructure was not built to absorb round-the-clock, machine-driven trading.

As crypto markets operate continuously and algorithmic activity accelerates, legacy systems built for scheduled market hours and human-paced settlement are showing strain. Consensus 2026 drew over 20,000 attendees and broke records for regulatory presence, with Bitcoin breaking $80,000 on the conference’s opening day.

The friction is most acute in settlement infrastructure. Traditional clearing systems process trades in scheduled batches tied to market open and close times, a design that works for equities with fixed hours but fails under continuous pressure.

Executives at the conference pointed to tokenized settlement as the most credible path forward, allowing trades to settle continuously on blockchain rails rather than queuing in legacy batch cycles.

Tokenization as the infrastructure answer

The argument maps directly to regulatory developments already in motion. Nasdaq won SEC approval to trial tokenized stock trading in March 2026, allowing eligible participants to trade securities in traditional or blockchain form on the same platform.

The Federal Reserve also issued guidance confirming that tokenized securities receive the same capital treatment as conventional equivalents, removing a key institutional adoption barrier.

Bullish’s $4.2 billion acquisition of transfer agent Equiniti, announced today, offers the most direct institutional response to the infrastructure gap. Bullish described the deal as creating “the global transfer agent for tokenized securities,” a company serving 3,000 existing corporate clients and 20 million shareholders.

The Consensus warnings and the Bullish deal together frame the conference as the moment the gap between legacy market infrastructure and 24/7 crypto reality became a shared institutional problem rather than a fringe concern.

Trust remains a primary barrier to broader crypto adoption, according to representatives from the National Cryptocurrency Association, Circle, U.S. Bank and ChangeNOW at Consensus 2026 in Miami.

Ali Tager of the National Cryptocurrency Association said research shows “the number one barrier to non-crypto holders is they just do not get it,” citing complexity, jargon and misinformation as persistent challenges.

Panelists from Circle, U.S. Bank and ChangeNOW said trust is built gradually through user experience rather than technical claims. Britt Cambas of Circle said “you are not going to get technical trust in 30 seconds,” emphasizing clarity and reducing complexity as prerequisites for adoption.

Rachel Castro of U.S. Bank said trust is central to financial services and “very easily broken,” adding that rebuilding it takes significantly longer once lost.

Speakers highlighted customer support and human interaction as critical differentiators in crypto platforms. Pauline Shangett of ChangeNOW said “the primary factor of trust for me when it comes to a web3 project is a feeling that you are working with real people,” pointing to gaps in user support across the industry.

Cambas said reducing ambiguity in products and partnerships is key, noting that simplifying complex systems can drive adoption more effectively than new features.

Panelists also pointed to education as a necessary step for onboarding new users. Tager said the industry must “make it super simple, make it accessible, make it trustworthy” to reach mainstream audiences.

The discussion, moderated by Ashley Wright, focused on designing systems that prioritize transparency, usability and communication, with speakers agreeing that trust must be embedded across product design, customer engagement and regulatory frameworks rather than treated as a standalone feature.

“We’re moving into a world where essentially the entire economy is going to be tokenized,” said Joseph Lubin, CEO and founder of Consensys during a Fireside chat Tuesday at Consensus Miami 2026.

In his Fireside chat with The Rollup’s Founder Robbie Klages, Lubin said he believes tokenization is no longer experimental, but inevitable.

The global economy is steadily moving on-chain, and Ethereum is structurally positioned to benefit the most, said the founder of Consensys, a blockchain firm founded in 2014 by Lubin, an Ethereum co-founder. His company focuses on building infrastructure, developer tools, and decentralized applications (dApps) primarily for the Ethereum blockchain.

Lubin traced tokenization back to Ethereum’s origins, describing it as the breakthrough that allowed anyone to issue assets without building a new blockchain.

Now, that early design choice is paying off as financial institutions are increasingly moving their assets onto blockchain rails.

Lubin pointed to the evolution from bitcoin as the first decentralised token to Ethereum’s role in enabling the creation of new tokens without building separate blockchains. He said the technology has reached a level of maturity that is drawing in traditional financial institutions and regulators.

“We’re now sufficiently mature to be attractive to traditional finance organisations and regulators,” he said, pointing to Ethereum’s reliability, security, and scalability as key differentiators.

He said tokenisation is expanding from stablecoins into treasuries and other real-world assets, with more financial activity expected to move onto blockchain infrastructure.

Lubin also outlined Ethereum’s scaling approach. Layer-2 networks are increasing capacity, and developments such as synchronous composability aim to allow transactions across multiple networks to execute within a shared system.

“All of those transactions across all these different networks are going to be burning ether,” he said, referring to how activity across the ecosystem feeds value back to Ethereum.

He described ETH as a “trust commodity,” arguing that its role in securing and settling transactions could give it monetary characteristics as more economic activity moves on-chain.

Lubin added that recent disruptions in decentralised finance reflect a developing technology, and said the ecosystem is continuing to strengthen through collaboration.

A crypto-backed political action committee affiliated with Fairshake is intensifying its midterm push, disclosing a six-figure media spend in support of a GOP incumbent in Indiana. A Federal Election Commission filing shows Defend American Jobs, part of Fairshake’s network, spent more than $514,000 on media in favor of James Baird in Indiana’s 4th Congressional District.

The filing details a substantial media buy aimed at aiding Baird’s reelection bid as political groups aligned with cryptocurrency advocacy sharpen their spending as Americans head toward the midterms. Baird, who took office in January 2019, has backed digital-asset policy initiatives in the past, including votes on the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-related payments bill, and the CLARITY Act, a package shaping digital-asset market structure. Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-aligned crypto advocacy organization, rates Baird as a candidate who “strongly supports crypto.”

Fairshake and its affiliates—Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress—have signaled a broader strategy for 2026, signaling that they expect to deploy millions to back “pro-crypto” candidates in the general election cycle. The latest filing places a concrete figure on Indiana activity, but the umbrella aims to sustain a nationwide footprint as candidates with crypto-friendly stances seek advantage ahead of November’s elections.

Cointelegraph has previously reported sizable investments by Fairshake-backed political action committees. In 2024, the group disclosed more than $130 million in media expenditures supporting crypto-friendly candidates, including a roughly $40 million outlay in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, which the PAC framed as part of its broader drive to favor pro-crypto leadership. The Indiana filing comes as the network seeks to translate those nationwide efforts into momentum in key battlegrounds.

The Indiana race itself is straightforward: the primary pits Baird against state Representative Craig Haggard. Backers of Fairshake’s broader effort include notable crypto industry players Coinbase and Ripple Labs. Cointelegraph requested comment from Fairshake but did not receive an immediate reply.

Key takeaways

• Defend American Jobs reported a media spend of about $514,000 to back James Baird in Indiana’s 4th District, illustrating a targeted use of crypto-linked PAC funds in state races.
• Fairshake’s network, including Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress, signals an ongoing plan to spend “millions” in support of pro-crypto candidates during the 2026 cycle.
• The broader crypto-political operation links to major industry players such as Coinbase and Ripple Labs, highlighting the industry’s willingness to mobilize resources through PACs.
• Historical context shows a pattern of large media spending by crypto-aligned PACs in 2024, with Ohio singled out as a major example; what happens in 2026 could inform the broader regulatory and political climate.
• Regulatory dynamics remain central: the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and their movement through Congress frame how the crypto sector seeks formal market structure and regulatory clarity ahead of elections.

Crypto influence in the Indiana primary and beyond

The Indiana filing situates Defend American Jobs and its associated groups within a broader ecosystem that has emerged around the Fairshake umbrella. The groups are positioning themselves as defenders of crypto-friendly policies at a time when policymakers in the United States grapple with how to regulate digital assets, ensure market integrity, and guard consumer protection without stifling innovation. The CLARITY Act, which outlines a proposed framework for digital asset markets, has been stalled in the Senate after clearing the House in mid-2025. Observers note that bipartisan talks and a recent compromise proposal have changed the dynamics, but uncertainty remains about whether the bill will reach a floor vote and what changes, if any, will be accepted by the Senate leadership.

In Indiana, Baird’s voting history on crypto-related legislation has fed into the narrative that he is crypto-friendly. Stand With Crypto’s rating of his stance reinforces the messaging strategy behind the campaign’s sizable media investment. For opponents, the spending underscores a broader effort to elevate crypto policy as a decisive electoral issue, a pattern already seen in other states where the PAC has directed substantial resources.

Data from Fairshake indicates a broader ambition: to mobilize financial support for candidates deemed favorable to crypto interests. The group has previously disclosed substantial war chests, with Fairshake reporting assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars in some periods. In Illinois, for example, the network allocated significant sums to races for governor and the state legislature, and it has noted similarly sizable activity in Texas. While the quantities shift with each cycle, the underlying strategy remains consistent: align political power with policy outcomes favorable to the crypto sector.

Analysts and observers point to the regulatory backdrop as the crucial determinant of political spending. The CREPT or “crypto market structure” framework advanced by the House and the stalled Senate process create a high-stakes environment for investors and builders who seek clarity and early-stage policy certainty. The prospect of broader, standardized rules—covering stablecoins, custody, exchanges, and market surveillance—could translate into a more predictable operating environment for participants and, by extension, influence political calculations in the midterms and beyond.

As campaigns continue to evolve, readers should watch whether the Senate marks up the CLARITY Act or introduces new language that reflects evolving concerns about ethics, disclosure, and stablecoin yields. The degree to which crypto industry players mobilize on the ground—via PACs, donor networks, and advocacy coalitions—will offer a critical gauge of how political finance intersects with technology policy in the coming months.

To corroborate any specific claims or updates, observe the ongoing FEC filings and committee disclosures, which continue to shape the public ledger of crypto-aligned political spending. For the latest on Fairshake and its affiliates’ activity, readers can review the official FEC filing referenced in this report: Defend American Jobs PAC, C00836221, 1972239, se.

What remains uncertain is how the regulatory process will unfold in the Senate and how much of the crypto policy agenda will be reflected in campaign messaging as the midterms approach. Investors and users should weigh the potential implications: more formal market structures could unlock broader adoption, while the political calculus surrounding who controls policy could influence funding landscapes for crypto-friendly candidates in 2026 and beyond.

As the year advances, the industry will continue to monitor both the policy horizon and the political battlefield, where campaign spending and regulatory ambition intersect with the real-world adoption of digital assets.

TLDR:

• Bitcoin’s STH-SOPR has held above 1.0, showing short-term holders are consistently selling at a profit.
  
• The STH Realized Price remains unbroken, acting as the final barrier before a confirmed bull dynamic.
  
• CryptoQuant analyst @cryptometugce warns that rejection at STH Realized Price may prompt hedge positioning.
  
• Full bull market confirmation requires Bitcoin to break, hold, and sustain a move above the STH Realized Price.

Bitcoin is showing early signs of a bullish market shift, according to a recent analysis by crypto analyst @cryptometugce, published via CryptoQuant.

The report points to improving on-chain metrics, particularly around short-term holder behavior. However, analysts caution that a critical resistance level remains unbroken.

Until Bitcoin convincingly clears that barrier, the market cannot be fully confirmed bullish. Investors are advised to watch price reactions closely before making major positioning decisions.

STH-SOPR Climbs Above 1.0, Signaling Short-Term Profit-Taking

Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio, or STH-SOPR, has held above the 1.0 line for a sustained period. This metric measures whether short-term holders are selling at a profit or a loss.

When STH-SOPR stays above 1.0, it means sellers are exiting positions in profit. That pattern is generally associated with growing market confidence among newer investors.

This development carries weight because short-term holders are typically the most reactive group in the market. Their willingness to sell at a profit, rather than panic-sell at a loss, reflects improving sentiment.

It suggests the market is absorbing selling pressure without breaking down. That alone is a constructive signal worth tracking.

In bull markets, STH-SOPR consistently holding above 1.0 is one of the more reliable indicators analysts watch. The current reading aligns with that historical pattern.

However, analysts note that this metric alone is not sufficient to declare a full bull cycle. Additional confirmation is still needed from price structure.

As @cryptometugce stated via CryptoQuant, “In a bull dynamic, STH-SOPR should be above 1.0.” The analyst acknowledged this as a positive development while also noting that one key obstacle still stands in the way of a complete confirmation. That obstacle is the STH Realized Price, which Bitcoin has yet to breach convincingly.

STH Realized Price Remains the Critical Threshold to Watch

The STH Realized Price represents the average cost basis of short-term Bitcoin holders. When Bitcoin trades below this level, short-term holders are collectively sitting on unrealized losses.

Trading above it means most recent buyers are in profit, which typically supports stronger market momentum.

Bitcoin has not yet moved decisively above this level. The analysis from CryptoQuant points to specific price zones marked on charts where Bitcoin has previously reacted to this threshold.

Those reactions have historically determined whether a rally continues or stalls. Traders are encouraged to study those areas carefully.

According to the analyst, “If we pass it, move above it, stay above it, and rise above it, then we will be able to say more easily: we are in a bull dynamic.”

That sequencing matters. A brief spike above the level without sustained follow-through would not qualify as confirmation.

If Bitcoin fails to hold above the STH Realized Price and begins pulling back, the analyst recommends that investors consider hedge positions.

A rejection at that level could signal that the market is not yet ready for a sustained rally. Until then, caution remains the appropriate posture for most market participants.

Miami Beach, FL — Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said the crypto exchange is “about 80% ready” to go public, underscoring the firm’s IPO ambitions as the company rolls out a new partnership with MoneyGram aimed at solving crypto’s “last mile” problem.

Speaking alongside Anthony Soohoo, chairman and CEO of MoneyGram, at Consensus Miami, Sethi framed the deal as a way to bridge the gap between digital assets and physical cash, a critical gap in global adoption. MoneyGram brings scale: roughly 500,000 retail locations worldwide.

CoinDesk reported in March that Kraken had paused its IPO plans after confidentially filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November, with sources saying it may revisit a listing when market conditions improve.

“This is the first step of working together to solve the last mile,” Soohoo said, noting that “in many situations, customers still want access to cash.”

That’s especially true in regions where financial infrastructure lags. “People need cash at an onboarding location,” Sethi said, pointing to markets in Latin America and beyond. “Partnering with MoneyGram helps solve that.”

Moderator Ben Weiss noted that users increasingly treat exchanges like banks. Sethi said that the shift reflects a deeper transformation. “A lot of what banks used to do is now being done by crypto firms.”

Both executives pointed to stablecoins as a key unlock. Soohoo said they can “remove waste” and lower costs across the system, while Sethi was more blunt: “Intermediaries are the losers here, but they should be.”

On Kraken’s IPO, Sethi said the company has filed but is waiting for the right moment. “We’re ready,” he said, citing a broader industry reset driven by automation and tighter cost discipline.

MoneyGram, taken private in 2023, is in no rush. “We’re focused on rebuilding the company,” Soohoo said, emphasizing long-term value over quarterly pressure.

The shared goal: cheaper, faster financial access, especially for those left outside the traditional system.

Read more: Kraken’s parent company Payward to acquire derivatives exchange Bitnomial for $550 million in cash and stock