300,000,000 USDT, valued at about US$299,900,400, was transferred from Bitfinex to the Tether Treasury.

Trader 0x049b opened 20x leveraged long positions in 586.68 BTC (US$45.82 million) and 19,416 ETH (US$44.67 million). The estimated liquidation prices are $75,564.02 for BTC and $2,247.43 for ETH.

Alberta Investment Management Corporation reported a $219 million stake in Strategy after purchasing 1.38 million shares, joining other Canadian institutions that have taken similar positions as a proxy for Bitcoin exposure.

The S&P 500 advanced 10% in April, marking its best monthly rally since November 2020.

BlockBeats reported on May 2 that Nick Timiraos—often dubbed the "voice of the Fed"—said the Federal Reserve has hit a turning point in its internal rate debate. Officials are no longer focused on when to restart rate cuts; they are increasingly weighing what conditions could warrant rate hikes. After Wednesday's policy meeting, three regional Fed presidents—Loretta Mester of the Dallas Fed, Loretta Mester of the Cleveland Fed, and Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed—filed formal dissents, objecting to keeping language implying the next move is more likely a cut. Incoming Chair Jerome Powell said the committee held a "vigorous discussion." He added that the guidance was kept for procedural reasons, but emphasized the committee is shifting from an accommodative posture toward neutral, calling the dissenters' arguments "entirely valid." The shift is being driven by a persistent energy shock tied to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Unlike temporary price spikes that can fade on their own, the supply disruption could keep energy costs elevated for months, feeding into broader prices and lifting inflation expectations. In remarks Friday, Kashkari laid out a potential path to hikes: if the strait does not reopen quickly, a series of rate increases may be needed even if that further weakens the labor market. Former Fed senior economist William English said holding the federal funds rate steady as inflation rises amounts to passive easing, which becomes harder to sustain the longer it continues. The dissent centered on the statement's wording rather than an actual rate decision—an uncommon episode last seen in September 2020. The debate is expected to carry into the tenure of Kevin Warsh, who is set to take over as chair in mid-May. Powell's term is nearing its end, and the Fed's next policy meeting is scheduled for about a month after his departure.

U.S. crypto regulation is moving toward a more standardized regime as lawmakers try to close key legislative gaps and replace the long-running, enforcement-led patchwork with clearer statutory rules. Punchbowl News reported that Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on the most divisive element of the proposed CLARITY Act: how to treat rewards associated with stablecoins. The deal removes a major roadblock that had slowed the bill's momentum. The CLARITY Act, which has already passed the House of Representatives, targets one of the industry's core disputes: whether digital assets should be regulated as securities or commodities. Under the framework, decentralized tokens without centralized control would fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while assets tied to investment expectations or centralized development would remain under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Backers say the split would reduce overlapping oversight and give companies a more predictable compliance pathway. On stablecoin rewards, the compromise text led by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks would curb yield-like incentives. The updated language would bar rewards that resemble bank deposit interest, while still allowing rewards tied to legitimate platform activity. Regulators would be tasked with setting disclosure requirements and defining permitted reward structures. The approach builds on the GENIUS Act, which prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest but left ambiguity around secondary-market and platform-based incentives. With the yield dispute largely settled, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott is preparing to consider the CLARITY Act as early as May. If enacted, the bill would formalize the security-versus-commodity test for digital assets, clarify the SEC's and CFTC's respective roles, and create a more explicit compliance roadmap for crypto firms. Industry groups have argued that these definitions are necessary to shift from "enforcement-based regulation" to predictable legal standards. The latest negotiations also signal a broader policy pivot: as the GENIUS Act takes effect and CLARITY advances, lawmakers are assembling a coordinated framework spanning stablecoins, market structure, and investor protection. Debates continue over other crypto policy issues, including decentralized finance safeguards and potential restrictions on central bank digital currencies. The stablecoin-yield compromise points to narrowing differences between policymakers and industry priorities. While some terms remain under negotiation, the trajectory is becoming clearer: digital assets are being brought more directly under formal financial regulation, with defined rules replacing uncertainty and leaving room for innovation.

The Ethereum Foundation said it has completed its third over-the-counter (OTC) ETH sale as part of its treasury management program, with BitMine Immersion Technologies buying 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,292 per token, worth about $22.9 million. In a post on X dated May 1, 2026, the foundation said the transaction was priced at an average of $2,292.15 and identified @BitMNR as the OTC counterparty. The deal follows a similar transaction the prior week, when 10,000 ETH changed hands at $2,387 per coin. The relationship between the two organizations began in March, when BitMine first bought 5,000 ETH at roughly $2,043 each. The foundation said the sales support its "funding management activities" and follow previously disclosed policy, adding that proceeds fund core operations such as protocol development, ecosystem growth and community grants. BitMine has strengthened its standing as the largest ETH treasury holder. Over recent deals, the Ethereum Foundation has sold tens of millions of dollars' worth of ETH to the firm, with transactions over the past week totaling about $47 million. BitMine, chaired by Tom Lee, now holds nearly 5 million ETH and recently added more than 101,000 ETH in a single week, the biggest weekly increase this year. The company has been gradually staking its holdings, signaling long-term commitment to the second-largest cryptocurrency and reducing the likelihood of a near-term exit. The Ethereum Foundation has previously faced criticism for selling ETH and has sought to address those concerns by staking a portion of its reserves, aiming to balance liquidity needs with long-term alignment to the network.

CoinDesk reported that Michael Saylor delivered a 47-minute presentation at the Bitcoin 2026 conference, laying out what he called STRC, a digital credit instrument built on Bitcoin. Saylor described Bitcoin as human-designed capital and positioned STRC as a structure aimed at turning capital returns into income. In the presentation, Thaler said STRC combines existing financial building blocks such as publicly listed companies, perpetual preferred shares and monthly floating dividends. He stressed that the components themselves are not new, arguing the novelty is packaging them into a credit product tied to Bitcoin's long-term performance. Thaler cited Bitcoin's historical results as the foundation of the model, saying it has posted an average annual return of about 38% over five years. On that basis, he said STRC could support an 11% dividend for credit investors, noting that payouts on credit products cannot exceed the income produced by the collateral behind them. He added that gold could theoretically generate yields of around 16%, while real estate yields can reach about 6%, and argued Bitcoin can underpin a higher-yield digital credit structure. Thaler divided investors into two categories: capital investors, who can tolerate volatility and wait years for appreciation, and credit investors, who prioritize stable cash flow, lower volatility and stronger principal protection. He said Bitcoin naturally serves the first group, while STRC is designed for the second, including retirees, institutions, companies and investors seeking regular income rather than long-term price exposure. Under the structure presented, STRC converts Bitcoin's capital returns into monthly cash flow. Thaler said a 5:1 collateralization ratio could protect credit investors' equity even if Bitcoin fell 80%. He also said STRC grew to $8.5 billion in assets in nine months. Average daily liquidity was said to be close to $400 million, with 2.9% volatility and a Sharpe ratio of 2.7. Retail accounts reportedly represent 80% of holders, and Thaler estimated roughly 3 million households are benefiting from the product. Presentation materials also said BlackRock and VanEck hold STRC in their credit funds, where it ranks as their third-largest position. Saylor said those positions account for 2% to 6% of their overall credit index exposure. Saylor pointed to sharp swings in monthly demand over the year: about $500 million in January, down to $80 million during February's Bitcoin price decline, back to $1.5 billion in March, and rising to $3.5 billion in April. He also highlighted a $21 billion shelf registration for STRC, which he said exceeds the prior $500 million record for credit instruments. Thaler said dividend treatment has been a key factor, describing STRC dividends as classified as a return of capital, allowing taxation to be deferred instead of applied immediately. Saylor outlined a three-layer framework: Bitcoin as digital capital, STRC as digital credit, and digital currencies and yield products built on top of STRC. He cited Apyx, Saturn and Hermetic as examples of third-layer projects. Saylor estimated the downstream, tokenized ecosystem tied to STRC is about $200 million and said it could reach $1 billion in four to eight weeks. The proposal also includes a potential change to the dividend schedule. If shareholders approve, STRC could shift dividend payments from monthly to biweekly, with voting set to conclude in early June. A related item noted that Thaler has initiated a vote to propose moving STRC dividends to a biweekly cadence.

JPMorgan Chase is expanding its crypto-collateral program to include Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), allowing institutional clients to pledge the tokens against loans, including home mortgages. The bank said its Kinexys platform will provide real-time valuation, while a third-party custodian will hold the pledged assets. The move aligns JPMorgan with peers such as Morgan Stanley, State Street, BNY Mellon, and Fidelity as large financial institutions broaden crypto-backed lending. For Bitcoin, broader eligibility as collateral could add structural demand by turning long-held holdings into usable collateral rather than idle capital.