Latest developments: Bitwise is leaning into Hyperliquid as one of crypto’s breakout platforms this cycle.

• Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen said the firm is seeing strong investor interest in its HYPE ETF products following the recent launch of BHYP.
• Rasmussen said Bitwise differentiates itself by staking HYPE in-house to maximize yield for ETF investors.
• The firm also allocates 10% of management fees toward buying HYPE tokens for its own balance sheet “to align with the Hyperliquid community,” Rasmussen said.
• Bitwise publicly shares wallet addresses tied to its HYPE ETF reserves so investors can verify holdings on-chain.

What this means: Hyperliquid is increasingly being framed as infrastructure.

• Rasmussen argued Hyperliquid could become “one of the systems that most of traditional finance runs on in the future.”
• He pointed to growth in perpetual futures, prediction markets and spot trading as evidence the ecosystem is expanding beyond its initial niche.
• Rasmussen also cited tokenized equities, stablecoins and 24/7 trading as trends that could benefit Hyperliquid over the long term.
• He referenced the recent Coinbase-Hyperliquid partnership tied to USDC liquidity as another sign of institutional momentum.

The bull case: Bitwise believes Hyperliquid benefits from crypto’s changing regulatory climate.

• Rasmussen said projects like Hyperliquid can now launch with stronger token incentives because the industry faces less fear of regulatory crackdowns than in prior cycles.
• He highlighted Hyperliquid’s tokenomics, noting that “99% of fees generated on this platform are used to buy and burn HYPE tokens.”
• Rasmussen compared the mechanism to traditional stock buybacks, arguing it creates an easier narrative for investors to understand.
• Bitwise said it sees long-term upside tied to adoption of perpetuals, tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

The risks: Regulatory scrutiny and macro uncertainty remain major concerns.

• Rasmussen acknowledged that U.S. oversight of perpetual futures markets could create pressure for Hyperliquid and similar platforms.
• He also cited inflation concerns, Federal Reserve policy and geopolitical tensions as broader risks affecting crypto markets.
• Traditional exchanges are reportedly pushing regulators to examine Hyperliquid more closely as decentralized competitors gain traction.
• Rasmussen characterized that resistance as typical of incumbents facing disruptive technologies.

Broader view: Financial advisors are moving beyond basic crypto skepticism.

• Rasmussen said wealth managers are increasingly asking about portfolio allocation, tokenization and stablecoins instead of questioning whether crypto will “go to zero.”
• Rasmussen said institutional adoption remains early despite growing interest from firms managing trillions of dollars.
• He described the quality of advisor conversations today as “so much better” than even two years ago.

Key Highlights

• JPMorgan assigned Oracle an Overweight rating with a $210 price objective, driving ORCL shares up 2.4% during pre-market hours
• The company secured a massive $30 billion cloud infrastructure agreement with the federal government in early 2026
• Third-quarter IaaS revenue reached $4.89 billion, representing an 84% annual increase; RPO skyrocketed to $553 billion
• Oracle exceeded Q3 projections with earnings per share of $1.79 compared to the anticipated $1.71, while revenue totaled $17.19 billion
• Wall Street analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $261.46

Shares of Oracle (ORCL) advanced 2.4% during Wednesday’s pre-market session following JPMorgan’s decision to begin coverage with an Overweight designation and establish a $210 price objective.

Oracle Corporation, ORCL

JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy highlighted a more favorable risk/reward dynamic, observing that market sentiment toward Oracle had shifted dramatically from “unwavering optimism to pervasive skepticism” regarding the company’s fiscal 2030 objectives — suggesting the negative sentiment may be overdone.

The general market context made Oracle’s performance particularly notable. With the S&P 500 trading flat, the Dow Jones showing minimal movement, and the Nasdaq essentially unchanged, Oracle’s gains stood out as company-specific momentum.

The timing of JPMorgan’s coverage initiation follows a transformative period for the enterprise software giant. Oracle finalized a $30 billion cloud infrastructure agreement with federal authorities in early 2026 — representing one of the most substantial cloud computing contracts in history.

This landmark agreement solidified Oracle’s role as a critical AI computing infrastructure provider for sensitive government operations, including national security and defense applications.

Compelling Financial Performance Supports Optimistic Outlook

Oracle’s latest quarterly financial disclosure provided substantial evidence supporting bullish analyst perspectives. The company delivered third-quarter earnings per share of $1.79, surpassing Wall Street’s $1.71 consensus forecast, while revenue reached $17.19 billion versus analyst expectations of $16.91 billion.

Total revenue climbed 21.7% compared to the prior-year period. Infrastructure as a Service revenue specifically totaled $4.89 billion, marking an impressive 84% year-over-year surge.

The most striking metric: Remaining Performance Obligations soared to $553 billion, representing a remarkable 325% annual increase. This enormous deferred revenue figure reflects substantial long-term AI-related contracts.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, Oracle projected earnings per share between $1.96 and $2.00, with full-year analyst consensus estimates settling at $6.08 per share.

Institutional Ownership Continues Strong

Huntington National Bank expanded its Oracle holdings by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, concluding the period with 672,225 shares representing approximately $131 million in market value.

Additional institutional investors joined the buying activity. Brighton Jones LLC dramatically increased its Oracle position by 189.3% in Q4, while both Revolve Wealth Partners and United Bank expanded their respective stakes. Institutional and hedge fund investors collectively control approximately 42.44% of outstanding shares.

Regarding insider transactions, Executive Vice President Stuart Levey divested 15,000 shares on April 16th at an average transaction price of $176.19, generating proceeds of $2.64 million. This disposition occurred pursuant to a predetermined Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.

Wedbush Securities recently elevated its Oracle price target from $225 to $275, reaffirming an Outperform recommendation. Meanwhile, Citigroup maintains a Buy rating with an ambitious $320 price objective.

The overall analyst community currently assigns Oracle 3 Strong Buy recommendations, 29 Buy ratings, 9 Hold ratings, and a single Sell rating. The consensus price target across analysts averages $261.46.

The stock has traded within a 52-week range spanning $134.57 to $345.72. Shares were changing hands near $190.73 prior to Wednesday’s pre-market advance.

Trezor, a leading hardware wallet maker, has integrated native stablecoin yield into Trezor Suite, enabling users to earn returns on USD-pegged tokens through Morpho’s Ethereum-based lending protocol. The feature, announced this week, lets users deposit USDC and USDT directly into Morpho vaults from the desktop or mobile app without needing to connect external wallets or navigate separate DeFi applications.

All deposits, withdrawals and reward claims are signed on the hardware device via Trezor’s clear-signing interface, with transaction details rendered in human-readable form on the device’s screen. At launch, the vault options are USDC Prime and USDT Prime, curated by Steakhouse Financial. Trezor emphasizes that the yield is generated from Morpho’s borrowing demand rather than token incentive programs, a distinction that could affect long-term sustainability and risk profiles.

Key takeaways

• Trezor Suite now offers native stablecoin yield through Morpho vaults, starting with USDC Prime and USDT Prime.
• Yield derives from Morpho’s borrowing demand rather than external token incentive programs.
• Deposits, withdrawals and rewards are signed on-device, preserving security by keeping signing keys within the hardware wallet.
• The integration marks a broader industry trend toward embedding DeFi yield functionality in custody products, following similar moves by Ledger.
• Stablecoin yield strategies carry notable risks, including smart contract risk, liquidity exposure and counterparty risk; Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has cautioned that many USDC-yield approaches rely on centralized elements and may not address core DeFi risk concerns.

A broader shift: DeFi features integrate with custody products

The move places Trezor within a growing cohort of crypto custody providers wiring DeFi functionality directly into their interfaces. Hardware wallets are increasingly seen not merely as storage devices but as gateways to on-chain finance, enabling everyday users to access lending, borrowing and yield opportunities without building fluency in complex smart-contract workflows. In this vein, Trezor is widely regarded as one of the largest crypto hardware wallet providers and is typically described as the second-largest player in the market behind Ledger. By embedding yield-generation capabilities into a trusted custody layer, Trezor aims to reduce the friction that has long deterred non-technical users from engaging with DeFi.

Ledger’s approach provides a useful point of comparison. Ledger Live already supports native stablecoin yield through Kiln-powered integrations with Morpho, as well as with Aave and Compound. The Ledger example underscores how the custody ecosystem is evolving toward a more integrated, user-friendly DeFi experience. Taken together, these developments reflect a broader industry push to blur the lines between traditional custody tools and decentralized finance, with the goal of unlocking passive income options for a wider audience of crypto holders.

How the Morpho integration operates within Trezor Suite

From within Trezor Suite, users can deposit USDC and USDT into Morpho Prime vaults. Morpho’s model emphasizes a borrowing-driven yield instead of reward programs tied to token incentives. This design is intended to offer a more predictable yield signal by aligning with real borrowing demand on the Morpho platform. The two vaults available at launch—USDC Prime and USDT Prime—are curated by Steakhouse Financial, a parameter that helps frame the risk and quality of assets accessible through the integration. The critical security feature remains: all sensitive signing occurs on the hardware device, ensuring users retain control over private keys and signing material even when interacting with DeFi.

The on-device signing flow, coupled with human-readable transaction details on the device screen, is positioned as a core safety feature intended to reduce the common pitfalls of DeFi onboarding—misclicks, phishing and misconfigured approvals. By keeping the signing operation within the hardware wallet, Trezor aims to provide a familiar, secure path to yield while maintaining the custody guarantees users expect from a hardware wallet provider.

Yield, risk and the evolving regulatory conversation

Stablecoin yield has become one of DeFi’s fastest-growing use cases, enabling holders to earn returns on dollar-pegged assets by lending them on-chain. Market data from CoinMarketCap shows that USDC yields vary widely across platforms and market conditions, with some protocols offering double-digit annual percentages under favorable supply-and-demand dynamics. Supporters argue that such yield opportunities can offer crypto holders a form of passive income without abandoning custody principles.

Nevertheless, the model carries notable risks. Smart contract vulnerabilities, liquidity squeezes and exposure to centralized stablecoin issuers or counterparties can all threaten capital. The debate around these dynamics has grown more pointed in recent months. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently highlighted significant concerns with many “USDC yield” strategies, suggesting that they remain heavily tethered to centralized elements and may not adequately mitigate counterparty risk. In his view, which centers on preserving DeFi’s decentralized ethos, more robust models could include Ether-backed algorithmic stablecoins or overcollateralized real-world asset-backed stablecoins. These perspectives inform how market participants assess the risk-adjusted appeal of DeFi-enabled yields embedded in custody products.

As custodians expand DeFi functionality, regulators, users and builders will be watching how these integrations balance security, transparency and user protections. The maturity of on-device DeFi features will likely hinge on ongoing risk management, clear disclosure of yield sources, and the resilience of the underlying protocols during market stress.

For readers tracking industry moves, the Trezor-Morpho integration marks a notable milestone in merging custody-grade security with DeFi yield generation. It signals both renewed confidence in the security model of on-device signing and the continued demand for accessible, yield-bearing exposure to stablecoins from mainstream crypto users.

What remains uncertain is how these integrated pathways will perform across different market regimes and how regulators will frame custody-integrated DeFi products in the coming months. Watch for updates on additional vault options, changes in yield composition, and any guidance from Trezor or Morpho about risk controls, coverage, and user education as adoption expands.

Key Highlights

• Claude Opus 4.8 represents a significant advancement over the previous Opus 4.7 version, featuring enhanced coding capabilities and superior reasoning
• Benchmark testing shows the model exceeding the performance of both OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 and Google’s Gemini 3.1 Pro across multiple evaluations
• Users can now customize processing intensity through an innovative effort control feature tailored to specific task requirements
• The latest model demonstrates a fourfold improvement in detecting coding mistakes that previously went unnoticed
• No price adjustments announced, maintaining $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens for standard tier

Anthropic has introduced Claude Opus 4.8, representing the company’s most advanced AI system to date, now accessible globally. This release builds upon Opus 4.7 with notable enhancements in code generation, logical reasoning, and truthfulness.

Benchmark evaluations conducted by Anthropic demonstrate that Opus 4.8 delivers superior results compared to OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 and Google’s Gemini 3.1 Pro across multiple testing categories. The model excels particularly in autonomous coding tasks, financial data analysis, and computer interaction scenarios.

Autonomous AI describes technology capable of executing complex operations with minimal human oversight. This capability is gaining importance as organizations integrate AI-powered agents into their workflows.

Introducing Customizable Processing Intensity

Among the most notable features is the introduction of effort adjustment controls, now available through Claude.ai and Claude Cowork. This functionality enables users to regulate the computational resources allocated to specific requests.

When handling straightforward queries, users can reduce processing intensity to conserve both time and computational units. Conversely, challenging projects can receive increased processing power for more thorough analysis.

Computational units serve as the measurement standard AI services employ to quantify input and output. Each interaction with an AI system consumes these units, regardless of complexity—from basic questions to sophisticated programming requests.

Lowering processing intensity translates to reduced unit consumption, potentially decreasing expenses for organizations with high usage volumes.

Enhanced Code Validation and Business Features

Regarding reliability improvements, Opus 4.8 demonstrates a 400% enhancement in identifying coding errors compared to Opus 4.7. This represents a substantial upgrade for software developers deploying the model in live production systems.

The company is simultaneously unveiling an experimental version of dynamic workflows within Claude Code. This capability enables the coordination of hundreds of simultaneous sub-processes to manage extensive code migration projects.

The system has also been refined for greater transparency. According to Anthropic, the model will acknowledge limitations in its analysis and refrain from presenting unsubstantiated information.

Fast mode operations have become significantly more economical. Operating costs have decreased by 66% while maintaining the published rate of $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens for end users.

Standard tier pricing remains consistent at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens.

Competition for Public Market Debut

The introduction of Opus 4.8 coincides with reports that Anthropic is finalizing a pre-IPO funding round exceeding $30 billion. This investment could establish a company valuation surpassing $900 billion.

While Anthropic has not officially announced plans for going public, industry sources suggest a potential 2026 stock market debut. This timeline aligns with comparable preparations underway at OpenAI and SpaceX, both of which are considering public offerings.

Established by former OpenAI team members, Anthropic has emerged as a major player in the artificial intelligence sector.

The France-based semiconductor company that announced a move into crypto is “no longer pursuing” a treasury strategy after less than a year.

In a Thursday notice, Sequans Communications said it held 658 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $48 million at the time of publication, which it said was “fully unencumbered” and unrestricted as it looks to refocus solely on Internet of Things (IoT) semiconductor growth.

The company’s NYSE-traded shares, which have shed more than 75% since last June, were up more than 14.5% in morning trading following the announcement.

According to the company, it had concluded the digital asset treasury strategy it launched in June 2025 and would “monetize remaining holdings over time.” The shift in strategy came as Sequans said it had fully redeemed all convertible debt issued in July 2025, funded with the liquidation of some of its BTC holdings at the time.

CEO Georges Karam said that the company was “fully focused on scaling [its] [Internet of Things] semiconductor business,” not mentioning any plans to scale up crypto investments. 

Source: Sequans

Sequans announced the sale of $384 million in equity securities and convertible secured debentures a year ago, with Karam calling Bitcoin “a premier asset and a compelling long-term investment” at the time. Since the launch of its treasury strategy, the price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 30%, from $105,419 to $72,780.

Related: Europe’s Bitcoin treasury playbook won’t be a copy of Strategy: PBW 2026

Capital B shares continue dropping after Bitcoin acquisition

The move away from a digital asset treasury reduces the total number of publicly traded European companies investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to 40, according to website Bitcoin Treasuries. It lists 67 publicly traded US companies, including Strategy, which announced a $2 billion purchase in Bitcoin on May 18, bringing its total holdings to 843,738 BTC.

Another France-based Bitcoin treasury company, Capital B, last week announced that it had purchased more than $15 million worth of BTC, bringing its total holdings up to 3,135 coins. The company’s stock price has since fallen more than 16%.

Source: Yahoo! Finance

BitcoinTreasuries data shows Capital B was the 25th-largest BTC treasury globally, trailing behind Germany’s Bitcoin Group SE.

Magazine: Big Questions: Do we really only need 2–5 cryptocurrencies?

Trezor has integrated native stablecoin yield functionality into Trezor Suite, the hardware wallet provider’s desktop and mobile application, in a move that could make earning yield on stablecoins more accessible to users who have traditionally avoided decentralized finance due to its complexity and security risks.

Announced on Thursday, the feature comes through an integration with Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol built on Ethereum. The integration allows users to deposit USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) into pre-selected Morpho vaults directly through Trezor Suite without connecting external wallets or using separate DeFi applications.

According to Trezor, deposits, withdrawals and reward claims are signed directly on users’ hardware wallets through the company’s clear-signing interface, which displays transaction details in human-readable form on the device screen.

Source: Trezor

At launch, Trezor selected two Morpho vaults curated by Steakhouse Financial — USDC Prime and USDT Prime. The company said yield is generated from borrowing demand on Morpho rather than token incentive programs.

Trezor is one of the largest crypto hardware wallet providers and is widely considered the second-largest player in the market behind Ledger.

Wallet providers have recently been making a broad push to incorporate decentralized finance functionality directly into custody products while reducing the complexity traditionally associated with DeFi protocols. 

Ledger already offers native stablecoin yield through Ledger Live using Kiln-powered integrations with protocols including Morpho, Aave and Compound.

Related: ERC-7943 author says institutions can’t play DeFi’s ‘pirate game’

Stablecoin yield draws growing interest — and scrutiny

Stablecoin yield strategies have become one of the fastest-growing use cases in DeFi, allowing users to earn returns on dollar-pegged assets by lending them through onchain protocols.

According to CoinMarketCap data, USDC yields can vary widely across platforms and market conditions, with some protocols offering double-digit annual returns. Supporters say stablecoin yield products offer crypto holders a way to generate passive income.

However, the strategies also carry risks, including smart contract vulnerabilities, liquidity issues and exposure to centralized stablecoin issuers or counterparties.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently drew a distinction between decentralized finance and many of the yield-focused stablecoin products currently on the market. In a recent post, Buterin said that many “USDC yield” strategies remain heavily dependent on centralized issuers while failing to adequately address counterparty risk.

Source: Vitalik Buterin

Buterin proposed two alternative models that he said align more closely with DeFi’s decentralized ethos: Ether-backed algorithmic stablecoins and overcollateralized real-world asset-backed stablecoins.

Related: Crypto Biz: Institutions tighten their grip on Bitcoin, AI and prediction markets

Stablecoin giant Tether’s U.S.-focused digital dollar token USAT (USAT) expanded more than sixfold month-over-month in April, it still lags far behind its rivals.

According to the latest reserve report signed by Deloitte and published Thursday, the token’s circulating supply hit $140.8 million as of April 30, up from $22 million in March and posting a 540% growth in a month. Reserve assets backing the token rose to $141.2 million from $22.2 million in March, the report showed.

Bo Hines, CEO of Tether USAT, said the growth reflects “increased use across institutional treasury operations, settlement flows, and regulated dollar liquidity management.”

“The broader policy environment is moving in the right direction, and USAT is already operating in the kind of structure that institutions are asking for,” he added.

The stablecoin market has grown past $300 billion in value as the sector is becoming increasingly embedded into global finance and payment rails. The GENIUS Act, which created a federal framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, further boosted that trend, opening the door for banks, fintech firms and crypto companies to offer regulated digital dollars in the U.S.

USAT debuted in January and is issued by Anchorage Digital, the federally chartered crypto bank that Tether partnered with to expand into the U.S. market. Tether’s flagship stablecoin, USDT, remains the largest U.S. dollar-pegged token globally with a market capitalization near $189 billion. USDT is regulated in El Salvador and is widely used in emerging markets for payments, savings and trading.

Despite last month’s spur of growth, USAT still has a lot to catch its main rivals that eye U.S. customers.

Circle’s USDC token has a market capitalization of roughly $76 billion, while PYUSD$0.9999, issued by Paxos, stands at about $5.5 billion. RLUSD$0.9993, which debuted in 2024 December, has grown to roughly $1.7 billion.