Coinbase Markets said it will suspend trading for 12 perpetual futures on May 21 at about 13:00 UTC. 

The affected contracts are KAITO-PERP, SENT-PERP, SAHARA-PERP, CAKE-PERP, TOSHI-PERP, AKT-PERP, VET-PERP, ANIME-PERP, THETA-PERP, ZK-PERP, KERNEL-PERP, and BARD-PERP.

The exchange said any open positions left at the time of suspension will be settled automatically. It also said the final settlement price will be based on the average index price during the 60 minutes before trading stops.

Open positions face automatic settlement

Coinbase said the funding rate will be set to zero for the final funding period before settlement. It also reserved the right to suspend trading at any point and adjust the final settlement price to a reasonable level.

The notice gives traders time to close or reduce exposure before the halt. However, users who keep positions open will move into automatic settlement. That makes timing, margin, and price movement important before May 21.

Moreover, Coinbase said the suspensions reflect its effort to maintain high-quality derivatives markets. The exchange said it is focusing on products that meet liquidity and market-quality standards, while seeking price integrity and deeper liquidity for users.

The affected tokens span several market areas, including AI, DeFi, gaming, infrastructure, and older layer-1 networks. Coinbase’s product page lists these markets as linear perpetual futures settled in USDC, with no expiry date.

Wider derivatives market keeps shifting

The suspension comes as competition in crypto derivatives grows. Related crypto.news coverage said Kalshi has explored crypto perpetual futures as U.S. derivatives rules shift and competition widens against Binance, Hyperliquid, Coinbase, and Kraken.

Coinbase has also been adjusting other listed markets. A recent crypto.news report said the exchange moved to disable DAI trading on Coinbase.com and its mobile app from May 4, while also suspending TIME trading and disabling TRU ahead of migration.

Polygon has reduced its average block time to 1.75 seconds as the network expands infrastructure built around stablecoin payments and institutional settlement tools.

Polygonscan data showed the latest Polygon blocks were being produced in 1.75 seconds after the network implemented its first block-time reduction since launch. Polygon software engineer Lucca Martins said the change increases Polygon’s theoretical throughput to roughly 3,260 transactions per second, allowing the network to process about 14% more payments per second.

Faster block production can shorten transaction queues during periods of congestion, reducing delays and fee spikes tied to payment activity, decentralized finance trading, and stablecoin transfers.

Under Polygon Improvement Proposal PIP-86, the latest upgrade forms part of a two-stage plan that also proposes cutting block times further to 1.5 seconds. The proposal additionally seeks to reduce checkpoint rewards to keep Polygon’s annual POL token emissions near the targeted 1% level after the throughput increase.

Polygon expands stablecoin infrastructure for institutions

Earlier this week, Polygon introduced a wallet feature that routes stablecoin transfers through a shielded pool verified with zero-knowledge proofs as part of its integration with Hinkal. Polygon said the system keeps transaction details hidden from public view while still screening activity through Know Your Transaction checks before execution.

Polygon community lead Smokey said businesses require operational privacy for financial activity rather than systems designed to avoid oversight. Polygon stated in its earlier announcement that institutions already operate within confidential payment environments in traditional finance and require similar protections for blockchain-based transfers.

According to Hinkal’s documentation, users can generate auditable transaction files for regulators and tax authorities without exposing transfers in real time on-chain. Polygon said the feature is intended to preserve compliance access for authorities while limiting public visibility into payment flows.

The network has increasingly focused on stablecoin payment infrastructure over recent months. In an April report, Polygon Labs disclosed plans to seek as much as $100 million in additional funding for a payments stack involving Coinme and Sequence.

Data from DeFiLlama showed Polygon’s stablecoin market capitalization reached $3.6 billion on April 10, placing the network among the larger chains for stablecoin activity. Polygon Labs has also stated that the network processes a significant share of non-USD stablecoin transfers tied to local currency payments.

Traditional payment firms have continued expanding stablecoin settlement experiments on Polygon’s infrastructure. On April 29, Visa added Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc, and Tempo to its stablecoin settlement pilot launched in 2023. Visa said the program allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins instead of conventional banking rails to test whether digital assets can improve settlement speed.

Additional payment integrations have already gone live on the network. In April, Meta Platforms began offering select creators payouts in USDC through wallets on Polygon and Solana, with Stripe processing the transactions and supporting tax reporting tools.

Despite the network upgrades and payment-focused expansion, Crypto.news data showed Polygon’s (POL) token trading near $0.09 at the time of writing, down 54% over the past year.

Bitcoin BTC$79,512.22 slipped back below $80,000 on Wednesday after a brief breakout attempt, as onchain data suggested the rally was already running into profit-taking pressure.

CryptoQuant said bitcoin’s 37% rebound from April lows still looks more like a bear-market rally than a confirmed trend reversal, with realized profits hitting their highest level since December and short-term holders increasingly exiting at a gain.

Bitcoin’s rally has pushed traders back into profit, with holders cashing out at the fastest pace since December, as recent buyers increasingly sell into strength, they wrote.

But the rebound still looks more like a relief rally than a true bull-market breakout, since profits remain well below levels seen in past sustained uptrends while unrealized gains are already high enough to tempt more selling, according to CryptoQuant. Traders are also sitting on an 18% unrealized profit margin, the highest since June 2025, a level where profit-taking has historically accelerated.

Singapore-based market maker Enflux offered a different read, focusing less on holder behavior and more on the macro catalyst that drove bitcoin’s initial move higher.

Enflux said bitcoin’s push through the $80,000 level was part of a broader risk-on reaction after President Donald Trump paused a U.S. naval operation tied to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a move that sent oil prices lower and lifted equities.

But while Enflux said the rally “makes sense mechanically,” it warned markets may be overestimating the durability of the catalyst, noting that previous Trump diplomatic pauses since March either reversed within days or were misread by traders.

Glassnode, however, offered a more constructive view, arguing bitcoin’s recent move reflects an early structural recovery rather than just a short-lived macro bounce.

The analytics firm said bitcoin had reclaimed two closely watched on-chain levels in a note this week: the True Market Mean at $78,200 and the short-term holder cost basis near $79,100, levels that often serve as dividing lines between weaker and stronger market regimes.

Glassnode identified roughly $85,200 as the next major resistance zone, while pointing to improving U.S. spot ETF inflows and persistent negative perpetual funding, a sign some traders remain positioned for downside even as prices recover.

Still, Glassnode stopped short of declaring a clean breakout.

Long-term holders are beginning to realize profits, while elevated realized losses across the broader market suggest bitcoin still needs stronger spot demand to sustain a more durable move higher.

Prediction markets reflected similar caution. On Polymarket, traders assigned relatively low odds to bitcoin extending cleanly toward $85,000 or beyond this week, suggesting the market remains hesitant to treat the recent rebound as a confirmed breakout.

Key Highlights

• IREN shares climbed 27% following the disclosure of a major collaboration with Nvidia for deploying 5 gigawatts of AI infrastructure
• The chip giant received a five-year option to purchase up to 30 million IREN shares at $70 apiece, representing a possible $2.1 billion stake
• IREN’s Sweetwater facility in Texas (2 GW capacity) will function as the primary deployment location for Nvidia’s DSX platform
• Separately, IREN announced the acquisition of Ingenostrum (Nostrum Group), a Spain-based developer, establishing its European presence
• The Spanish acquisition contributes 490 megawatts of grid-secured power capacity, elevating IREN’s combined portfolio to 5 gigawatts

Shares of IREN Limited (IREN) surged 27% during after-hours trading on May 7 following the simultaneous release of two significant corporate developments.

IREN Limited, IREN

The company unveiled a strategic alliance with Nvidia (NVDA) focused on rolling out up to 5 gigawatts of AI-focused infrastructure. Concurrently, IREN disclosed plans to purchase Ingenostrum, a data center development firm based in Spain, alternatively known as Nostrum Group.

Prior to these announcements, IREN shares were hovering near $56. The after-hours surge drove the stock substantially higher, demonstrating strong investor enthusiasm for both initiatives.

The collaboration with Nvidia revolves around implementing Nvidia’s DSX-optimized accelerated computing infrastructure throughout IREN’s worldwide data center network. The partnership encompasses compute resources, networking systems, software platforms, power management, and operational coordination.

A significant portion of this development will take place at IREN’s Sweetwater facility in West Texas. With a total capacity of 2 gigawatts, this location is positioned to become the flagship demonstration site for Nvidia’s DSX AI factory architecture.

Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s founder and CEO, emphasized that AI factories are emerging as critical infrastructure for the worldwide economy, noting that IREN possesses both the scale and technical capability required to expedite this expansion.

Under the agreement’s terms, IREN provided Nvidia with a five-year warrant to acquire up to 30 million IREN shares priced at $70 each. This amounts to a potential $2.1 billion commitment, contingent upon regulatory clearances and additional stipulations.

IREN Establishes European Foothold

Simultaneously, IREN revealed its agreement to purchase Ingenostrum, S.L., a data center development company headquartered in Spain. This transaction represents IREN’s inaugural expansion into European territory.

The acquisition delivers 490 megawatts of secured, grid-integrated power capacity in Spain, alongside an active development pipeline and an experienced local workforce specializing in engineering, construction, and facility management.

Following this transaction, IREN’s aggregate power capacity reaches 5 gigawatts spanning its international operations. The deal remains pending customary closing requirements.

Analyst Perspectives

Financial analysts have maintained an optimistic outlook on IREN leading up to these announcements. The stock holds a Strong Buy consensus rating derived from six Buy recommendations and one Hold rating issued by analysts during the previous three months.

The consensus price target among analysts stands at $78.43, suggesting approximately 39% appreciation potential from pre-announcement trading levels.

The dual impact of the Nvidia collaboration and the European acquisition provides IREN with expanded power infrastructure and a more defined strategy for scaling its AI Cloud offerings across diverse geographic markets.

IREN’s two-gigawatt Sweetwater campus in Texas continues to anchor its immediate strategic priorities, and the facility now benefits from a prominent technology partner in Nvidia to facilitate full-scale deployment.

Crypto-backed political action committees have escalated their spending as the 2026 midterm cycle approaches, with new Federal Election Commission filings showing multi-million dollar media buys aimed at shaping several congressional contests. The activity underscores how industry-affiliated groups intend to influence policy discussions around digital assets as lawmakers prepare to consider a slate of crypto-related legislation and regulatory proposals.

According to filings with the Federal Election Commission this week, the Protect Progress PAC, an affiliate of Fairshake, reported roughly $1.6 million in expenditures supporting two Democratic candidates: Jasmine Clark in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District and Christian Menefee in Texas’s 18th District. Clark faces a May 19 Democratic primary, while Menefee’s path includes a May 26 runoff against Representative Al Green. Protect Progress also asserted that Green has been “actively hostile towards a growing Texas crypto community,” pledging to spend about $1.5 million to oppose his reelection.

Protect Progress is part of a broader Fairshake ecosystem that typically channels support to Democratic candidates, while another affiliate, Defend American Jobs, backs Republican candidates. The Defend American Jobs PAC reported about $5.6 million in expenditures on candidates across Georgia’s 1st and 14th districts, Nebraska’s 3rd district, and United States Senate races in Alabama and Kentucky. These figures emerge as several state primaries unfold in May and as the midterm landscape evolves around crypto policy and political forensics.

Within Defend American Jobs’ activity, Kentucky Senator Andy Barr emerged as a principal beneficiary, receiving more than $3.5 million in media support. Barr has been a vocal advocate for pro-cryptocurrency policies in Congress, including backing for the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act. In Indiana, Defend American Jobs directed approximately $514,000 toward advertising in support of Republican James Baird’s reelection bid. The filings reflect a broader pattern of targeted media buys aligned with the group’s policy priorities.

Fairshake, which reported holding $193 million in cash and other assets as of January, has already deployed significant sums in the 2026 primaries in an effort to shape political outcomes. In its broader online ecosystem, the group has included coverage of races in Texas and Illinois, among others, with a stream of media spending designed to influence voters and potentially shift the balance of power on crypto-related policy issues.

Key takeaways

• Protect Progress PAC disclosed roughly $1.6 million in expenditures supporting Jasmine Clark (GA-13) and Christian Menefee (TX-18), with a separate pledge to spend about $1.5 million opposing Rep. Al Green in Texas.
• Defend American Jobs reported approximately $5.6 million in spending across Georgia’s 1st and 14th districts, Nebraska’s 3rd district, and Alabama and Kentucky Senate contests, illustrating a broad national focus.
• Kentucky Senator Andy Barr received more than $3.5 million in media support through Defend American Jobs, reflecting the group’s investment in pro-crypto policy champions who have backed bills like the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act.
• Indiana’s James Baird reelection bid drew about $514,000 in Defend American Jobs advertising money, highlighting targeted regional focus within the broader national strategy.
• Fairshake’s cash position and historical spending suggest continued climate-shaping activity ahead of 2026 primary dates, reinforcing the link between industry advocacy and policy outcomes.

Crypto policy trajectory and the electoral calculus

The spending arc described above arrives at a moment when lawmakers are closely watching the policy arc around digital-asset market structure and regulation. The CLARITY Act, which aims to clarify the treatment of digital assets for tax, securities, and commodities purposes, has been a touchstone for crypto-friendly policymakers and industry groups seeking clearer regulatory guardrails. Observers say the act’s fate in Congress could serve as a litmus test for the 2026 midterm landscape, given the potential political credit or risk tied to concrete policy commitments on innovation, consumer protection, and financial stability.

According to industry commentary and coverage surrounding these developments, the faith placed in policy outcomes by crypto advocates translates into a broader media and messaging strategy designed to influence voters’ perceptions of candidates’ crypto platforms. The extent of spending by Fairshake and its affiliates signals a view that regulatory clarity and favorable policy alignment could meaningfully affect the sector’s growth, investment, and banking relationships at a time when compliant access to financial rails remains a priority for many firms.

In regulatory terms, some progress has emerged on related questions. Last week, Senate lawmakers disclosed a compromise on stablecoin yield structures that could open a path for CLARITY Act considerations to progress toward markup in the Senate Banking Committee. While the committee had not scheduled a markup as of the latest briefing, the development signals a potential shift toward advancing crypto-regulatory legislation in a framework that includes banking-sector safeguards and consumer protections. This dynamic sits within a broader U.S. policy environment where enforcement, licensing, AML/KYC obligations, and cross-border compliance continue to shape corporate strategies for exchanges, lenders, and asset managers.

For observers tracking cross-border policy, the contrast with the European Union’s MiCA framework remains salient. While MiCA offers a centralized, rules-based approach to crypto assets and crypto-asset service providers within the EU, U.S. policy has tended to emphasize a mosaic of sector-specific bills, agency enforcement actions, and targeted regulatory updates. The ongoing debate over market structure, asset classification, and stablecoin regulation underscores how directional policy signals—whether through committee markups, public statements, or campaign-era messaging—can influence corporate risk assessments and licensing trajectories for crypto firms seeking to operate across multiple jurisdictions.

From an institutional and compliance perspective, the current landscape underscores several practical considerations. Banks and payment infrastructure providers watch congressional activity closely, given AML/KYC requirements, liquidity risk, and the need for robust due diligence around asset issuers and trading platforms. A clearer, more durable framework could facilitate more predictable onboarding of crypto entities into regulated banking channels, while ambiguity could prolong suspense over licensing and correspondent relationships. In this context, the political spending described above is not merely a headline—it reflects a strategic effort to shape the policy environment in which risk controls, disclosure regimes, and enforcement priorities are set.

Regulatory context, enforcement, and policy implications

As lawmakers deliberate the balance between fostering innovation and safeguarding markets, the activity of Fairshake-affiliated PACs highlights how industry participants translate policy positions into political leverage. The protection of investor interests, the safeguarding of consumer funds, and the integrity of market infrastructure all depend on a coherent regulatory path. The sector’s visibility in high-profile races raises questions about transparency, campaign finance disclosure, and the potential for policy commitments to factor into investment and risk management decisions by institutions, fund managers, and financial partners.

Looking ahead, watchdogs and compliance teams will be assessing not only the policy outcomes but also the procedural integrity of campaign finance disclosures and the way those disclosures intersect with corporate governance. Regulatory filings—paired with legislative developments and enforcement signals from the SEC, CFTC, and DOJ—will help determine the practical implications for licensing, stablecoin operations, custody, and the broader banking interface for crypto firms.

In the broader policy discourse, observers note the importance of ongoing clarity around asset classification, stablecoin stability mechanisms, and the treatment of revenue, taxation, and liquidity provisioning in digital-asset markets. The path forward will likely hinge on a combination of committee activity, executive guidance, and market readiness to integrate compliant, interoperable solutions with traditional financial rails. The interplay between campaign-driven policy advocacy and formal regulatory action will continue to shape the near-term risk and opportunity calculus for institutions operating in this space.

Note: This report incorporates data from Federal Election Commission filings and related reporting, with contextual reference to coverage from industry media. For further framing on related policy debates and governance considerations, readers can consult coverage of crypto PAC activity and legislative developments as they unfold.

What to watch next: committee schedules for CLARITY Act markup, the evolution of stablecoin yield policy, and the unfolding impact of campaign finance disclosures on regulatory risk assessments for crypto firms and their banking counterparts.

Key Takeaways

• Tom Lee declares the crypto bear market finished based on Bitcoin’s three consecutive monthly gains
• Bitcoin has risen approximately 5% in May after positive March and April closes; now trading around $80,000
• AI agents and tokenization identified as primary catalysts for upcoming bull cycle
• Stablecoin transaction volumes now exceed Visa payment networks, according to Lee
• Lee forecasts 2027 may bring “one of the biggest rallies we see in our lifetime”

Tom Lee, Fundstrat’s co-founder and Bitmine’s chairman, declared at Consensus 2026 in Miami on May 7 that the cryptocurrency bear market has concluded.

Lee established a specific threshold: should Bitcoin finish May trading above $76,000, marking three consecutive positive monthly closes, the downward trend has definitively ended. “You have never in a bear market if bitcoin closes up three consecutive months,” Lee stated.

According to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, Bitcoin concluded April at $76,300. Currently, BTC hovers just under $80,000, representing approximately 20% growth over the last month.

Lee’s assessment received support from legendary technical analyst John Bollinger, the inventor of Bollinger Bands. Bollinger announced via X that his trend model for Bitcoin had flipped bullish and his Tactica program had gone fully invested. Lee reshared Bollinger’s post with a straightforward message: “Crypto spring is here.”

Lee characterized the recent decline from $126,000 in October to $60,000 in February as the bearish phase. He contends that market participants remain mentally tethered to that correction and are failing to recognize the strength of the ongoing recovery.

Tokenization and AI Leading Next Bull Run

Lee identified two fundamental forces that will propel the upcoming bull market: the tokenization of real-world assets and AI agents leveraging blockchain infrastructure for autonomous financial transactions.

He highlighted stablecoin adoption as evidence this transformation is underway. Transaction volumes for stablecoins have already eclipsed Visa’s payment network, Lee noted. Research from Grayscale indicates the $300 trillion global securities market could eventually transition onto blockchain platforms as tokenized instruments.

“The networks that host a large share of tokenized activity are going to capture the economic value,” Lee emphasized.

Traditional Finance Versus Crypto-Native Operations

Lee drew comparisons between JPMorgan, expected to generate approximately $60 billion in earnings this year with 300,000 employees, and entities like Tether and Jane Street, which produce comparable profits with significantly smaller workforces.

He explained that crypto-native enterprises remove numerous conventional financial intermediaries. “In 10 years, half of the largest financial institutions in the world will be native digital,” Lee projected.

During a CNBC appearance, Lee also connected cryptocurrency strength to AI-fueled stock market gains, robust corporate earnings reports, and substantial capital remaining uninvested.

He recognized potential headwinds, including uncertainty surrounding the next Federal Reserve chair appointment and global oil supply vulnerabilities.

Lee reaffirmed his previous forecast that Bitcoin could achieve $250,000 this year if it establishes a new all-time high. Bitcoin’s current valuation stands near $79,245.

Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs have committed more than $50 million to grow the Aptos ecosystem. 

The funding will cover first-party products, research, protocol infrastructure, and a strategic fund for trading and AI partners.

The plan centers on markets and autonomous systems that can transact at machine speed. Aptos said it is building for AI agents that can operate without human checks, using fast settlement and low-cost blockchain infrastructure.

Decibel and Shelby lead the plan

Decibel is one of the main products in the plan. It is an onchain order book and perpetuals exchange that went live on Aptos mainnet in February. Aptos said Decibel has crossed $1 billion in cumulative volume.

Shelby is the other key product. Aptos describes it as a storage protocol for data-heavy workloads, including AI agents. The network said data could become the next major agentic workload as agents license, exchange, and trade datasets.

Moreover, Aptos is moving as more crypto firms build payment rails for AI agents. Crypto.news recently reported that Coinbase launched Agentic.market, where AI agents can find services and pay with USDC through x402. That report said x402 had settled about 165 million transactions across more than 480,000 agents.

Other projects are also testing agent payments. Oobit launched Visa-backed Agent Cards that allow AI agents to spend USDT under business controls. As previously reported, Solana and Google Cloud also launched Pay.sh, which lets agents pay for API services using stablecoins.

APT gets a central role

Aptos said APT will remain tied to network use. The token is burned in transactions, used for access to advanced features, and staked to support higher performance for large workloads.

The network also said stablecoin market cap on Aptos has grown nearly tenfold since late 2024, reaching a peak of $1.93 billion. It added that real-world assets on Aptos have reached $1.2 billion, while major asset managers have already deployed on the network.

Aptos is also working on privacy features for institutional use. Recently, Aptos launched Confidential APT on April 24, adding concealed transfer data while keeping verifiability.

Institutional investors have increasingly gained exposure to bitcoin BTC$79,512.22 and other major tokens through ETFs and centralized exchanges.

However, they have largely stayed away from decentralized exchanges (DEXes) offering perpetual (perp) futures tied to crypto and tradfi assets, panelists said at Consensus Miami, citing security risks and a mismatch between DeFi’s permissionless design and institutional identity and compliance requirements.

The session titled “Perp DEX Explosion: Bullish Volumes & Bear Market Resilience” featured Wizard of SoHo, a veteran trader and family office manager; Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CIO of MN Fund & MN Capital; and Michael Anderson of Canary Labs. Jason Atkins, chief commercial officer at liquidity provider Auros, moderated the discussion.

The discussion focused on perpetual-focused decentralized exchanges and what it would take for them to attract institutional capital and scale up.

Wizard of SoHo said that institutions are unlikely to move onto perp DEXs easily due to recurring security/exploit risks highlighted by the recent multi-million-dollar hack of Drift, and that the next major competitive battleground for all perp DEXs will be whether any of them can safely onboard institutional capital.

“How do you convince the big institutional players to go on the perp devs? I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge, especially given the exploit on Drift. And, you know, we’ve had a lot of exploits lately,” he said.

Canary Labs’ Anderson struck a cautious tone on decentralized finance, saying he is reluctant to use it despite having explored parts of the ecosystem.

“I’m scared to use DeFi right now,” he said. “It does feel like a bit of a minefield, and you’re just waiting for the next headline each day.”

Anderson added that while activity has picked up in some areas, particularly from Asia amid tighter KYC enforcement on centralized exchanges, the overall environment still feels risky.

“Right now, it feels slightly dangerous on the product side,” he said.

Anderson argued that the risk perception makes it difficult to see large institutional players adopting decentralized exchanges at scale, especially compared with centralized platforms.

“I think it’s gonna be very difficult for some of the larger firms to use it on the institutional level, versus some of the centralized exchanges,” he said.

Anderson also pointed to product innovation gaps as another constraint, noting that centralized exchanges are increasingly integrating trading tools, such as bots, into futures markets. In contrast, decentralized exchanges have yet to match that pace of development.

KYC, or know-your-customer verification, is another key point of divergence. DeFi is built around open, permissionless participation, where users can interact without formal identity checks or traditional onboarding requirements.

Institutions, by contrast, operate under strict regulatory obligations and must meet full KYC and compliance standards, which makes that permissionless model difficult to adopt at scale.

“Crypto wants to be more non-KYC,” he said, “but to bring on institutional [players] you need to have some form of KYC at the larger size.”

The discussion also broadened into adjacent themes shaping market structure, including the rise of AI-driven trading tools and Hyperliquid’s dominance.

Michaël van de Poppe said AI agents are effectively an evolution of algorithmic trading, rather than a fundamentally new concept.

“To be honest, I think that AI agents are just the next level algorithmic trading anyways, so it’s just a little different execution,” he said. Responding to a moderator’s point about reduced human control in automated systems, he acknowledged the shift in oversight but argued the direction is inevitable.

“Yeah, there are some risks, but I think that at the end of the day, we are not going to be trading ourselves anymore. Nothing will be manual,” he said. “AI agents will be doing it for us, and they are probably better.”

van de Poppe added that the technology is still early and highly dependent on how it is deployed.

“If you start using those AI protocols or LLMs and you’re not putting in the right context or framework, it’s going to build a bad trader for you,” he said. “So if you are not a good trader, then it’s not going to build anything for you.”