Key Points

• Cardano Foundation withdraws plans for 2026 summit following unsuccessful treasury funding vote that missed supermajority requirement
• Modified funding request for 7.8 million ADA (approximately $2 million) achieved 65.21% approval, falling 1.46% below the mandatory 66.67% threshold
• Initial funding proposal sought 14 million ADA (roughly $3.66 million) but faced rejection in May, prompting a reduced resubmission
• EMURGO’s independent TOKEN2049 Singapore conference proposal successfully passed, ensuring Cardano representation at the October gathering
• The outcome highlights growing resistance among Cardano’s delegated representatives toward treasury expenditures by founding entities

The Cardano Foundation has officially withdrawn its 2026 annual summit following a governance vote that came agonizingly close but ultimately failed to authorize necessary treasury funding.

Scheduled for October 5-6 in Singapore, the summit required 7.8 million Cardano tokens—valued at approximately $2 million—to proceed. The voting period concluded on Friday, May 29.

Approval Falls Fractionally Below Supermajority

Cardano’s governance framework mandates that treasury fund releases achieve a two-thirds supermajority from delegated representative (DRep) stake. The proposal garnered 65.21% backing—missing the mark by a mere 1.46 percentage points.

When examining individual votes, 135 delegates supported the measure, 61 opposed it, and 24 chose to abstain. Despite receiving Constitutional Committee endorsement, the proposal couldn’t overcome the network’s stringent voting requirements.

Following the vote’s conclusion, the Cardano Foundation shared on X: “Governance requires not only participation, but also a commitment to accept collective decisions. The Cardano community has spoken and we respect the outcome.”

The organization confirmed it would immediately begin discontinuing summit preparations.

Second Rejection Following Budget Reduction

This marked the proposal’s second unsuccessful attempt. The original May submission requested 14 million ADA—worth approximately $3.66 million—and combined summit funding with an EMURGO-led TOKEN2049 sponsorship. That consolidated proposal secured just 10% DRep backing.

Responding to the rejection, the foundation separated both events, reduced the budget by over 20%, and incorporated audited financial management, milestone-based payment releases, and an independent oversight committee.

Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson and foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard both publicly campaigned for DReps to support the modified proposal in the final hours before voting ended. Notably, the foundation refrained from casting votes on its own request, stating it wanted to avoid influencing the decision.

The separation strategy yielded one positive outcome. EMURGO’s standalone TOKEN2049 proposal received approval independently, guaranteeing Cardano participation at the Singapore cryptocurrency conference on October 7-8. The foundation supported EMURGO’s proposal.

Hoskinson has indicated he’s considering expanding the TOKEN2049 booth presence and potentially organizing a smaller embedded MiniSummit alongside it.

Escalating Treasury Spending Disputes Within Cardano Ecosystem

This unsuccessful vote represents a broader 2026 trend. Cardano’s delegated representatives have consistently rejected multiple treasury requests associated with Hoskinson, EMURGO, and Input Output Global, including reduced funding allocations connected to the Leios mainnet advancement.

Cardano’s token maintains an $8.8 billion market capitalization. The network currently holds under $129 million in total value locked, positioning it 28th among blockchain platforms.

Throughout 2026, the network has produced $356,400 in fees, compared with $8.35 million across the entire 2022 calendar year.

As of Sunday, Cardano’s token traded near $0.233, reflecting approximately 5% decline over the preceding month.

Key Takeaways

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States experienced $1.42 billion in net redemptions over the past week — marking the third-largest weekly outflow in history.
• BlackRock’s IBIT fund dominated the exodus with approximately $966 million in outflows, including a single-day withdrawal of $448 million.
• ETF issuers liquidated roughly 19,021 BTC within seven days — equivalent to 42 days’ worth of fresh mining production.
• Bitcoin’s value declined more than 4% over the week, settling near the $73,000 mark.
• Broader economic factors — persistent inflation data, climbing Treasury yields, and international tensions — continue fueling investor retreat.

Bitcoin retreated more than 4% during the past week, settling around the $73,000 level after temporarily climbing back above $82,000 in May. This downturn coincided with substantial capital flight from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which registered $1.42 billion in net redemptions — representing the third-heaviest weekly withdrawal since these investment vehicles debuted, based on current market data.

This marks the third consecutive week of significant investor withdrawals. Cumulative outflows across this three-week period have now surpassed $3.5 billion.

BlackRock’s IBIT Dominates Redemption Activity

BlackRock’s IBIT, which commands the largest asset base among spot Bitcoin ETFs, spearheaded the selloff. The fund recorded approximately $966 million in weekly exits. During its most severe single-day period, redemptions reached $448 million.

When investors redeem ETF shares, fund managers must liquidate equivalent Bitcoin holdings to fulfill those requests. Collectively, spot ETFs dumped approximately 19,021 BTC into the market last week — a volume matching 42 days of blockchain mining rewards.

Cryptocurrency analyst Ali Charts (@alicharts) identified a crucial price threshold, noting: “I’m monitoring $72,650 carefully on Bitcoin, as the MVRV Pricing Bands persistently flag it as a vital support threshold. Should this level break, the subsequent significant demand area spans between $54,300 and $51,000.” This price point hovers slightly beneath Bitcoin’s current valuation.

Root Causes Behind the Exodus

Macroeconomic conditions represent the primary catalyst. Recent inflation statistics published in May diminished market expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate reductions. Elevated rates enhance the attractiveness of risk-free instruments like Treasury securities, consequently diminishing investor appetite for volatile assets such as Bitcoin.

International instability — including possible renewed escalation in US-Iran relations — has intensified downward pressure. Petroleum price increases connected to these tensions threaten to elevate inflation further, making rate cuts increasingly improbable.

Analyst AlphaBTC (@mark_cullen) outlined a short-term projection, indicating he’s monitoring for a potential rebound toward $79,000 before an eventual decline to the lower $60,000 range during late summer.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index maintained readings in “fear” territory throughout the entire week.

One encouraging signal: the market’s ability to absorb 19,021 BTC of selling pressure without triggering a steeper price collapse indicates residual demand exists at present valuation levels.

Bitcoin was changing hands near $73,000 according to the most recent market data, with the $72,650 MVRV support threshold under intense analyst scrutiny.

More than 1,003 Ether, worth roughly $2 million, have been recovered from a failed 2016 ICO dubbed Hong Coin after a white hat hacker found a way to unlock funds that had remained trapped in a faulty smart contract for nearly 10 years.

According to a Sunday post on X by pseudonymous white hat hacker 0xflorent, the recovered ETH belonged to 48 investors who participated in the Hong Coin (HONG) token sale, a decentralized venture capital project that never launched after failing to meet its fundraising target.

As explained by 0xflorent, the ICO contract was designed to automatically return investors’ ETH if the funding goal was not reached. A flaw in the refund function prevented that process from working, leaving the funds permanently locked despite the sale ending without success.

Blockchain records from Etherscan show refunds have already started. One investor received 96 ETH, currently valued at about $192,500, while another wallet recovered 0.5 ETH.

Hong Coin was introduced in 2016 as a decentralized autonomous organization focused on venture capital investing. A promotional video published at the time described a structure where token holders would vote on projects that could receive funding from the community-managed pool.

The ICO opened on Aug. 29, 2016, and concluded on Oct. 28, 2016. Participants who contributed ETH were expected to receive a share of 250 million HONG tokens distributed across multiple funding stages. Because the project did not achieve its fundraising target, investors became eligible for refunds under the smart contract’s rules.

Integer overflow bug provided path to recovery

Detailing the recovery process, 0xflorent said the solution emerged from an overlooked administrative function that contained an integer overflow vulnerability.

According to the white hat, invoking the function with a specific input reset a token holder’s balance and allowed the contract’s refund conditions to execute correctly. Working alongside the original HONG creators, 0xflorent demonstrated how the flaw could be used to release the trapped ETH without moving funds outside the contract.

“The way out was an admin function with an integer overflow vulnerability,” 0xflorent wrote on X. “Calling it with a specific input resets a holder’s balance and unblocks the refund check.”

The recovery adds to a growing list of cases where white hat hackers have intervened to secure or return cryptocurrency funds after identifying vulnerabilities in smart contracts and protocol infrastructure.

Earlier in May, blockchain security firm Blockaid reported that a white hat attacker exploited a vulnerability in Renegade.fi’s Arbitrum-based dark pool, temporarily draining about $209,000 before returning more than 90% of the assets. 

According to Blockaid, the issue stemmed from deployment and migration errors that allowed unauthorized modification of a smart contract connected to the protocol’s V1 dark pool.

In messages published on-chain following that incident, the Renegade exploiter argued that exposing the weakness was the safest way to protect user funds and pointed to the simplicity of the vulnerability as evidence that more malicious attackers could have caused far greater losses.

Separately, 0xflorent disclosed on May 24 that they had also recovered a combined 19.33 ETH, worth roughly $40,600 at the time, from a failed January 2018 ICO project and from a Liquality Wallet user whose funds became trapped in a cross-chain transfer protocol.

CertiK has reported that crypto losses from hacks and exploits have fallen to $68.3 million in May, nearly 90% lower than the roughly $650 million stolen in April.

According to blockchain security firm CertiK, May became the third month of 2026 to record less than $100 million in crypto-related losses after attackers stole $68.3 million through exploits, scams, and security breaches.

The figure comes after a difficult April, when losses surged to around $650 million. CertiK noted that, excluding the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, April recorded the highest monthly losses since March 2022. A $291 million exploit targeting Kelp DAO accounted for the largest incident that month.

While losses declined sharply in May, several major attacks still affected the sector. Data from CertiK shows that an exploit targeting Verus Protocol’s cross-chain bridge on May 18 resulted in $11.5 million in losses, making it the largest incident of the month. An attack on THORChain followed with roughly $10.1 million stolen from the protocol.

A breakdown of the data shows that code vulnerabilities remained the most expensive attack vector. CertiK reported that flaws in protocol code accounted for approximately $45 million in losses, representing about 66% of the month’s total. Wallet and private key compromises ranked second, with attackers stealing $13.7 million through those incidents.

Cross-chain infrastructure continued to attract significant attention from attackers. According to CertiK, cross-chain bridge exploits caused $28.6 million in losses during May, or roughly 42% of the monthly total, placing them ahead of decentralized finance protocols among the most targeted sectors.

Data from DeFiLlama recorded 29 security incidents during the month, including seven cases involving compromised private keys. 

Among the most recent attacks were exploits affecting Alephium Bridge and Gravity Bridge on May 30. Data shows that the incidents led to losses of approximately $815,000 and $5.4 million, respectively, after attackers gained access to private keys.

AI-powered attacks add to security concerns

Even as total losses declined, security researchers continue to warn about changes in attacker tactics.

In April, CertiK senior blockchain investigator Natalie Newson warned that threat actors were increasingly combining social engineering, phishing campaigns, supply-chain compromises, and cross-chain vulnerabilities to execute large-scale attacks. Newson also warned that artificial intelligence tools were making cybercrime operations more sophisticated and easier to scale.

CertiK’s latest findings suggest that trend is continuing. The company reported that AI-assisted malware activity increased in May, with attackers targeting both crypto developers and AI developers by compromising code repositories and manipulating AI coding assistants.

Newson previously said that tools capable of creating realistic deepfakes, autonomous attack agents, and software that can identify vulnerabilities and generate exploit code are becoming more accessible. 

According to CertiK, such capabilities are adding new risks at a time when attackers are already exploiting weaknesses in cross-chain systems and private key management.

In the meantime, CertiK has advised users to remain cautious of phishing attempts, verify the authenticity of websites and smart contracts, and consider using cold wallets to reduce exposure of private keys during everyday operations.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way music is created, produced and distributed. What once required a studio, a team of professionals and months of work can now be tested, refined and released in a much shorter time through AI-assisted creative tools.

A new example of this shift is Lunayah, a virtual music project that has released its second single, “New Beginning”, now available across major streaming platforms.

The track follows Lunayah’s first release, “Money Magnet,” but marks a more mature and emotional direction for the project. While the debut focused on abundance and affirmation-based music, “New Beginning” explores personal transformation, self-discipline, freedom and the process of becoming a stronger version of oneself.

A Virtual Artist Built Around AI, Music and Identity

Lunayah is not presented as a traditional artist, but as a virtual music identity created through a combination of human direction, digital storytelling and AI-assisted production. The project was developed by Vincenzo Stefanini, entrepreneur and founder of Web3 Digital, a Dubai-based digital agency focused on branding, online growth and emerging technologies.

The idea behind Lunayah is to explore how artificial intelligence can support the creation of a complete music project, from concept and lyrics to visual identity, storytelling and distribution.

“AI didn’t replace creativity. It amplified it,” Stefanini said. “New Beginning is not just a song. It represents a personal transformation.”

“New Beginning” and the Sound of Reinvention

“New Beginning” is built as an energetic pop-dance track with a motivational message. The song speaks about breaking old routines, rebuilding discipline, taking control and moving toward a new phase of life.

Rather than being a sad or nostalgic song, the track carries a sense of momentum. It is about leaving behind limiting patterns while keeping the lessons of the past and using them as fuel for growth.

The chorus is designed around a clear emotional message: the moment has arrived to stop playing small, take back control and build something bigger.

This makes the track especially relevant within the growing self-improvement and motivational music space, where listeners use songs not only for entertainment, but also for energy, focus and emotional reinforcement.

AI as a Creative Accelerator

The release highlights a broader trend: AI is lowering the barrier to entry for music production. Independent creators, entrepreneurs and digital brands can now test concepts that would previously have required significantly more time, budget and technical resources.

At the same time, the project keeps human input at the center. The concept, message, direction, final selection and branding decisions remain human-led, while AI tools help accelerate execution.

“Technology is changing music, but human emotion still remains at the center,” Stefanini added. “This project started as an experiment, but quickly evolved into something much bigger.”

Available Now

“New Beginning” is now available through the official Lunayah project page at lunayah.com.

Listeners can also access the release directly through:

As AI continues to reshape creative industries, projects like Lunayah show how virtual artists, digital storytelling and AI-assisted music production may become a growing part of the future music landscape.

The most expensive DeFi attack of 2026 began with KelpDAO’s restaked ether (rsETH) bridge, not a bug in Aave’s code. That, the lending protocol argues in an official postmortem published this week, is precisely why the industry needs to rethink how it measures risk.

Aave said it is launching a review of every asset listed on V3 and rewriting its listing standards after April’s $230 restaked ETH exploit exposed a new class of DeFi risk.

The protocol’s postmortem traced the attack not to a flaw in Aave’s smart contracts but to a LayerZero bridge verification failure, where a single verifier approved a forged cross-chain message that released 116,500 unbacked rsETH.

Going forward, Aave says collateral assessments will weigh bridges, oracle dependencies, custodians and operational security alongside the financial and smart-contract risks it has traditionally screened for.

KelpDAO is a “restaking” service, which lets users take their ether that is already locked into Ethereum to earn staking rewards and reuse it as collateral to earn additional yield from other protocols. The token rsETH represents a user’s claim on that restaked ether. To move rsETH between blockchains, KelpDAO uses LayerZero, a piece of infrastructure called a cross-chain bridge that passes messages between networks so a token issued on one chain can show up on another.

Bridges rely on a set of independent verifiers who confirm each message is real before the receiving chain releases the equivalent tokens.

In April’s attack, just one of those verifiers approved a fake message, which let the attacker mint 116,500 rsETH on the receiving chain with no actual ether backing it.

Those tokens were then deposited into Aave, a lending protocol where users borrow against collateral they post, and used to take out loans Aave could not recover once the rsETH was revealed as worthless. Aave’s own code worked exactly as designed. The collateral it accepted turned out to be fake because the bridge that delivered it had been compromised.

While LayerZero acknowledged earlier this month that it “made a mistake” by allowing its own verification system to secure high-value assets in a one-of-one configuration, Aave’s postmortem goes further by using the incident to justify a broader overhaul of DeFi risk management.

The protocol argues that traditional reviews focused on volatility, liquidity and smart contract audits failed to capture the risks created by bridges, verification networks and other infrastructure that sits outside application code.

Beyond smart contract audits and financial risk analysis, Aave said it will now evaluate bridge infrastructure, oracle dependencies, third-party contracts, custodial arrangements, operational security practices, and secondary-market liquidity before approving or expanding collateral listings.

The protocol is also building new automated defenses designed to react faster when collateral assets show signs of distress. Among the proposals outlined in the postmortem is a system that would automatically reduce an asset’s loan-to-value ratio to zero once predefined risk thresholds are breached, removing its borrowing power before losses can spread through the broader market.

Since the exploit, Aave says its risk managers have already executed roughly 295 parameter changes across V3 markets, including 168 supply-cap reductions and 66 borrow-cap reductions aimed at limiting exposure to individual assets.

As DeFi protocols become more interconnected, Aave’s postmortem suggests the industry may need to scrutinize not only the assets it lists, but also the infrastructure those assets depend on

TLDR:

• SEC says only 3% of $12.3M was traded, while the rest was funded for personal use and Ponzi payouts.
• Operator allegedly marketed fake AI crypto bots with claims of automated high-frequency returns.
• About 150 investors were affected through misleading performance reports and fabricated statements.
• Case signals tighter scrutiny on AI-branded crypto products and retail fundraising practices.

U.S. regulators have taken action against a Texas operator accused of misleading investors through artificial intelligence trading claims tied to crypto assets, as court filings reveal alleged misuse of funds, fabricated performance data, and widespread retail investor exposure across multiple jurisdictions.

AI Trading Narrative and Investor Fund Breakdown

The SEC alleges that the operator promoted these tools as proprietary bots capable of scanning exchanges and executing high-frequency arbitrage strategies. Investors entered the program expecting algorithm-driven returns supported by consistent and verifiable trading activity.

Investigators found that the system did not operate as described and lacked a transparent execution infrastructure.

Instead, the operator allegedly used promotional material and fabricated performance reports to sustain investor inflows. The structure attracted around 150 investors and accumulated approximately $12.3 million during its run.

The regulator reports that only about 3% of the funds entered actual crypto trading markets. A significant portion moved toward personal expenses, while another portion financed payments to earlier investors. These payments created a cycle that mimicked steady returns without underlying trading profits.

Authorities say the operator distributed about $6.2 million for personal use across various expenditures. Another $5.5 million reportedly went to investor payouts designed to maintain confidence in the system. 

Fake account statements and misleading communications reinforced the perception of stable performance over time.

Promotional claims included promises of high returns within short periods, sometimes exceeding 40% to 100%. The filings state that these promises lacked supporting documentation or audited trading records.

Investigators continue to examine transaction histories using blockchain analysis and banking records to map fund movement patterns.

Regulatory Pressure and Market Reaction to AI Crypto Schemes

Regulators have increased scrutiny on investment products that rely on artificial intelligence branding in crypto markets. They now focus on whether firms can prove actual algorithmic trading activity behind marketing claims.

This approach reflects growing concern over misleading narratives targeting retail investors in digital asset spaces.

The enforcement action shows how authorities trace funds through exchanges, wallets, and traditional banking channels.

Investigators rely on blockchain analytics tools to reconstruct how investor capital moves across different layers. These methods help identify discrepancies between advertised trading performance and actual fund usage patterns.

Market participants reacted cautiously after news of the case emerged across trading communities. The development prompted renewed attention on risk exposure tied to AI-themed crypto investment platforms.

Regulated exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken often benefit from differentiation during enforcement cycles due to compliance frameworks.

The case also pushed global regulators to review disclosure standards for automated trading claims. Agencies across jurisdictions now share intelligence on similar schemes through financial crime coordination networks.

Authorities aim to improve transparency requirements and prevent misuse of AI narratives in fundraising operations.

Investor sentiment remains sensitive as enforcement actions continue to shape expectations around crypto marketing practices.

The sector now faces stronger pressure to validate trading systems before presenting performance-based claims to the public.

XRP slid to its weakest level in more than three months as heavy selling overpowered signs of exchange outflows, leaving the market stuck between two competing signals. Tokens moving off exchanges usually point to accumulation, but price action is saying sellers still have control whenever XRP tries to recover.

News Background

• More than 25 million XRP left exchanges after a large inflow earlier in the week, suggesting some investors used the drop to move tokens into longer-term storage.

• Spot XRP ETFs recorded fresh inflows, bringing cumulative flows to about $1.42 billion, though that demand has not yet been enough to reverse the downtrend.

• Leverage was heavily flushed during May, with most high-risk long positions already liquidated as XRP bounced from the $1.28 area.

Price Action Summary

• XRP dropped from $1.3384 to $1.3208, hitting a 15-week low during the session.
• The key breakdown came on 55.03 million in volume, which pushed price through support near $1.3320.
• Selling later extended toward $1.314 before a modest bounce brought XRP back toward $1.32.

Technical Analysis

• The key issue is that accumulation signals are not yet showing up in price. Exchange outflows are constructive, but XRP continues to get sold into recovery attempts.
• The breakdown below $1.3320 keeps the short-term structure weak, with $1.34 now acting as the first level buyers need to reclaim.
• A large short-liquidation cluster sits between $1.34 and $1.40, meaning a sharp move higher is possible if XRP can break back into that range.
• Until then, the tape remains defensive, with sellers still controlling the lower highs.

What traders should watch

• $1.31 is the immediate support. Losing it would put $1.28 and then $1.20 back in play.
• $1.34 is the first recovery level. A reclaim could trigger momentum toward $1.37 and $1.40.
• The setup is unstable because exchange outflows point one way while price action points the other. One side will have to give.

TLDR:

• Coinbase now supports direct INR deposits and withdrawals in India through IMPS with no deposit fees.
• Indian traders can access spot markets and perpetual futures contracts on major crypto assets via Coinbase.
• Coinbase is registered with FIU-IND and fully compliant with Indian tax laws for long-term operations.
• Over $1 million has been invested by Coinbase into India’s builder community through Base grants and hackathons.

Coinbase has officially launched direct Indian Rupee (INR) support in India, enabling users to deposit and withdraw funds via IMPS.

The platform now offers spot trading and perpetual futures contracts on major crypto assets. Coinbase is registered with FIU-IND and fully compliant with Indian tax laws.

This move marks a major step in the exchange’s long-term commitment to one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets.

Coinbase Opens Full INR Trading Access for Indian Users

Indian customers can now deposit and withdraw INR directly through IMPS, removing the need for P2P rails or third-party intermediaries.

The process is straightforward — users fund their accounts from a bank, trade, and withdraw back to the same account.

Coinbase has built dedicated local INR order books to provide liquidity specifically for Indian traders. At the same time, users retain access to the platform’s global exchange infrastructure.

Spot trading is available across a range of crypto assets, alongside perpetual futures contracts covering major markets.

For traders seeking professional-grade tools, Coinbase Advanced offers APIs built to institutional standards and WebSocket order book streaming.

TradingView charting is also integrated for those who prefer a technical, discretionary approach. A full suite of order types supports both casual and high-frequency trading strategies.

On fees, taker charges on Coinbase Advanced are competitive when compared against local Indian platforms. There are no deposit fees on INR transfers, which reduces the upfront cost for new users.

Beyond headline fees, execution quality plays a role in total trading costs. As Coinbase noted, “Deep global liquidity tends to mean tighter spreads and lower slippage compared to thinner local order books, which affects total cost of trading in ways that aren’t always visible upfront.”

Coinbase’s FIU-IND registration places the exchange under the compliance framework for virtual digital asset service providers in India.

This gives Indian users a regulated environment consistent with local law. The exchange also complies fully with Indian taxation requirements, reinforcing its long-term presence in the market.

Coinbase’s Prior Investment Lays the Ground in India

Coinbase’s entry into Indian retail trading did not happen overnight. The exchange previously invested in CoinDCX, one of India’s leading crypto platforms, signaling early strategic interest.

Through its Ethereum Layer 2 network Base, Coinbase has directed over $1 million into the Indian builder community. That funding covered hackathons, direct grants, and fellowships across the country.

More than 4,000 builders in India have developed projects on Base, with around 150 growing into active startups. Coinbase has also sponsored Indian students and founders to the Network School in Malaysia.

Teams have been flown to New York and San Francisco for demo days and pitch events. As the company stated, “India has long been one of the most important markets in crypto: in terms of developer talent, trading activity, and the broader adoption of blockchain technology.”

Coinbase is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker $COIN and is a member of the S&P 500. The exchange publishes audited quarterly financials and serves as a custody partner for BlackRock.

It holds the majority of customer crypto in cold storage and maintains dedicated crime insurance. Regular security audits further support its standing as a trusted institutional-grade platform.