News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Caixin, the global tax “satellite surveillance system,” CRS 2.0, is accelerating its rollout worldwide. Cryptographic assets, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and certain electronic money products have now been included within the scope of financial asset reporting. Hong Kong plans to implement CRS 2.0 by 2028 and simultaneously advance the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). In the future, cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, and operators of crypto ATMs will be required to report cryptocurrency–fiat currency conversions, cross-cryptocurrency swaps, and domestic and cross-border transfers of cryptographic assets. Reports must precisely specify the full names of assets—for example, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT)—and aggregate data by transaction dimension, including total market value, total holdings, and number of transactions. For retail payment transactions, individual transactions exceeding USD 50,000 must be reported separately. Although mainland China has not yet officially announced a timeline for implementing CRS 2.0, since 2025, tax authorities in multiple regions have begun notifying taxpayers—via phone calls and text messages—to self-report overseas income earned between 2022 and 2024 and fulfill their tax obligations accordingly. It is understood that CRS 2.0 will not only fully expose overseas-held cryptographic assets to tax oversight but may also trigger coordinated scrutiny by other regulatory bodies.
According to chart analysis released by independent analyst Markus Thielen on May 19, the current market capitalization of USDT has reached $189.8 billion, while that of USDC stands at $76.9 billion—both exhibiting long-term upward trends. However, since Bitcoin entered a correction phase in October last year, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has remained largely flat, indicating relatively limited inflows of new capital into the crypto market. Thielen noted that although there is a widespread belief that stablecoins will fully replace traditional payment networks, their primary use cases remain concentrated on crypto trading and portfolio management—still far from achieving mainstream payment adoption. While U.S. policy broadly supports stablecoin development—partly because their reserve assets are often reallocated into U.S. Treasury securities—the gap between current usage and true mainstream payment application remains substantial.
Odaily. Bernstein stated in its latest research report that the newly reached compromise on stablecoin yields under the U.S. CLARITY Act is structurally beneficial for Circle and the USDC ecosystem.The report notes that the current version of the bill prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest to passive holders that is "economically equivalent" to bank deposits, but allows reward mechanisms tied to actual transaction, payment, and usage activities to continue. Bernstein believes this means Circle's current model, which relies on partners like Coinbase to provide USDC reward programs, will gain regulatory recognition, while also limiting the industry's ability to compete for market share through high yields.Bernstein points out that the bill effectively reinforces the positioning of stablecoins as "payment tools" rather than "deposit substitutes," helping to protect Circle's current business model that relies on reserve income. The firm maintains an "Outperform" rating for Circle with a $190 target price.Data shows that the total global supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, with USDT and USDC collectively accounting for approximately 97% of the market share. Bernstein notes that USDC's share in on-chain payments and wallet transfers is steadily increasing, and its share of payments in the AI Agent payment protocol x402 has exceeded 99%.Additionally, Bernstein mentioned that Circle's ARC chain has cumulatively completed 244 million testnet transactions. The ARC token pre-sale previously raised $222 million, with investors including a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, and BlackRock.However, the report also points out that the CLARITY Act still needs to complete multiple legislative procedures before it takes effect, including a 60-vote threshold in the full Senate and coordination with the House version. Polymarket currently estimates its probability of passage by 2026 at approximately 62%. (The Block)
According to Zhejiang Daily, Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau in Zhejiang Province, China recently cracked multiple cases involving the smuggling of virtual currency mining rigs, dismantled several criminal gangs, and seized over 400 mining rigs, including Antminer L9 and Binghe KS3 models. The report states that the involved gangs disassembled the mining rigs and falsely declared them as “industrial circuit breakers” and other items, smuggling them into China via international express channels through ports such as Ningbo and Guangzhou. The rigs were then reassembled and sold domestically or shipped to mining farms in regions including Xinjiang and Hunan for hosted mining operations. Investigators noted that the gangs also used USDT for cross-border payment settlements to circumvent financial supervision.
the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is investigating MP Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, for allegedly failing to declare a £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) personal gift from Christopher Harborne, an investor in Tether.Christopher Harborne holds a 12% stake in Tether. Nigel Farage stated that the gift was received in 2024 before he announced his candidacy, and was used for personal security, therefore he was not obligated to declare it. According to the UK House of Commons Code of Conduct, new MPs must register interests received in the 12 months prior to their election. If found in violation, Nigel Farage could face penalties such as an apology, suspension, or expulsion from Parliament. (Decrypt)
According to The Block, the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), jointly established by Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs, announced that since its founding in 2024, it has frozen over $450 million worth of illicit crypto assets globally. In 2025, the unit’s interception of illicit proceeds increased by 43.9% year-on-year, covering 23 jurisdictions including the United States, Spain, and Germany, and has been recognized by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as “a critical resource for global law enforcement agencies.” The T3 FCU has participated in investigations across multiple crime categories, including exchange hacks, North Korea–related activities, terrorist financing, and violent crimes, and assisted Brazil’s Federal Police in freezing over $5.989 billion in assets—including 4.3 million USDT.
According to CoinDesk, Denis Beau, Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, has publicly called on Europe’s public and private sectors to jointly advance the development of euro-tokenized money to counter the dominance of U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins. This stance stands in clear contrast to that of European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, who remains cautious toward private stablecoins—citing financial stability risks posed by USDT, USDC, and others—and favors a central bank–led digital euro initiative expected to launch in 2029. Beau outlined a “triple objective” for Europe’s development: aligning with central bank monetary services; enabling regulated institutions to issue pan-euro tokenized private money; and strengthening the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. His position closely aligns with that of the Qivalis consortium—a group comprising 12 major European banks, including ING, BBVA, and BNP Paribas—which plans to launch a private digital euro this year. Beau also revealed that the eurosystem will roll out its first tokenized wholesale central bank money service before year-end.
According to the official announcement, the second asset launched on Bitget IPO Prime is preOPAI—a digital token issued by the regulated issuer Republic on the Solana blockchain, designed to mirror OpenAI’s post-IPO economic performance on a 1:1 basis. As the world’s leading consumer AI provider, OpenAI reports approximately 900 million weekly active users, according to official data. Its most recent funding round raised $122 billion, with participants including Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, and SoftBank. Bitget IPO Prime operates on a subscription model, whereby users receive subscription quotas based on their account tier. Upon completion of token allocation, users may trade the tokens on the upcoming spot market. Alternatively, after the lock-up period for preOPAI’s underlying debt assets expires, the issuer will authorize Bitget to convert users’ holdings into either stock tokens or USDT, referencing the underlying company’s (OpenAI’s) publicly traded stock price. IPO Prime Details: • OpenAI Implied Valuation: $898.21 billion • Total IPO Prime Subscriptions: 29,082 • Total Subscription Value: $21,084,450 • Subscription Price: 1 preOPAI = $725 • Accepted Subscription Currencies: USDT or USDGO • Total Subscription Pool Cap: $300,000,000
The Fuzhou Gulou District People's Court recently concluded a dispute arising from investment in virtual currency. Chen transferred 480,000 yuan to Liu for foreign exchange financial management. Liu converted the funds into USDT and invested them on an overseas platform. After the platform was shut down, Chen sued the court demanding a refund. The court reviewed the case and found that this transaction model formed a closed loop of receiving RMB, converting to USDT, cross-border transfer, and foreign exchange trading, constituting a disguised form of foreign exchange trading and suspected of economic crimes.The court ruled to dismiss Chen's lawsuit and transferred relevant materials to the public security authorities for handling. The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the original ruling. The court reminded that civil legal acts related to investing in virtual currency that violate public order and good customs are invalid, and any losses incurred therefrom shall be borne by the investor themselves.
According to the New Straits Times, in the case involving “12 Malaysian police officers allegedly conspiring to rob eight Chinese citizens of 50,000 USDT” that occurred in February this year, the victims’ legal counsel criticized the police for excessively delaying their investigation and warned that if internal cover-ups are confirmed, they would file a complaint with Malaysia’s Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Previously, the police were accused of forcibly entering the victims’ residence under the pretext of an “anti-fraud raid,” coercing the victims into transferring cryptocurrency assets despite having no evidence of criminal activity. In his latest response, the Inspector-General of Police stated that all implicated officers have been suspended from active duty; however, the investigation remains pending due to the lengthy process required for cryptocurrency forensic analysis and technical reporting, and the case continues to be investigated as one of “conspiracy to commit robbery.”
According to CoinDesk, Jesse Spiro, Head of Government Affairs at Tether, stated at the Consensus Miami 2026 summit that the 2026 U.S. midterm elections will be a critical test of whether Washington’s recent crypto-friendly policies can endure. He noted that although legislative progress has been made—such as with the GENIUS Act—the election outcome could still have a disruptive impact on the industry’s trajectory, emphasizing that “crypto should not be partisan.” Colin McLaren, Head of Government Relations at the Solana Policy Institute, said the industry’s political efforts have now shifted toward “durability,” ensuring Congress continues advancing priority issues like tax reform and developer protections in the future. Mason Lynaugh, Executive Director of Stand With Crypto, stated that the organization’s nearly 3 million members view the election as a “moment of accountability,” and that highly mobilized crypto voters could sway election outcomes in key districts.
According to the HTX (formerly Huobi) announcement, HTX has enabled deposits for TWT and BILL tokens as of May 7 at 16:00 (GMT+8). Spot trading and grid trading for TWT/USDT and BILL/USDT will go live on May 7 at 18:00 and 19:00 (GMT+8), respectively. Withdrawals for TWT and BILL will be available on May 8 at 18:00 and 19:00 (GMT+8), respectively. Trust Wallet is a popular cryptocurrency hot wallet that allows users to retain full control over their funds. Its core feature is an integrated DApp browser offering a curated selection of decentralized applications, enabling direct staking and token trading. Billions Network is a universal “human-and-AI” collaboration network. It enables anyone to prove, in seconds, that they are a real and unique individual on-chain—without revealing any underlying personal data—providing humanity with a way to rebuild trust in every digital interaction and securely leverage AI agents.
according to Gate Ventures' latest weekly report, the global market performance is generally stable, but inflationary pressures and policy divergences are rising simultaneously. The S&P 500 topped the 7,200 mark for the first time. The Fed kept interest rates unchanged but showed major internal divisions. Compounded by volatile oil prices due to supply shocks in the Strait of Hormuz, market expectations of "stagflation" have intensified. Against this backdrop, the crypto market remains in a consolidation pattern, with BTC largely flat and ETH experiencing a slight pullback. ETF fund flows are diverging, and market sentiment remains cautious.At the industry level, the CLARITY Act has clarified the boundaries for stablecoin yields, further promoting a clearer regulatory framework. EURC is seeing rapid growth in Spanish retail payment scenarios, indicating that localized stablecoin applications are coming to market. The Solana ecosystem is advancing its post-quantum signature scheme, Falcon, reflecting the industry's forward-looking layout for long-term security. In terms of investment and financing, 15 deals were completed this week, with a total volume of $167 million, representing a 205% increase week-over-week. The infrastructure track continues to dominate. Among these, Four Pillars completed a Series A funding round to strengthen institutional-grade research and infrastructure capabilities. Belo secured $14 million in a funding round led by Tether, accelerating the expansion of its stablecoin payment network in Latin America. Overall, capital continues to concentrate towards infrastructure and cross-asset platforms, driving the industry's accelerated evolution towards institutionalization and multi-asset integration.
According to Cointelegraph, the domain name of BG Wealth Sharing—a suspected $150 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme—has been seized by U.S. law enforcement authorities. On-chain investigator ZachXBT revealed that individuals linked to the scheme attempted to launder over $92 million between April 27 and May 3. In collaboration with Tether, Binance, OKX, and U.S. law enforcement, more than $41 million in funds was successfully frozen. The scheme began operations in 2025 and heavily promoted itself via social media, promising daily returns of 1.3%–2.6%, primarily targeting retail investors. Prior to its shutdown, its CEO, Stephen Beard, instructed users to pay a 12% tax on their account balances, citing an “IPO regulatory process”—a move widely perceived by users as the final “harvesting” of retail investors.
SoFi Technologies has announced the expansion of its stablecoin, SoFiUSD, to the Solana network, attracted by its low costs, high throughput, and rapid settlement capabilities.Launched in 2025 as a fully reserved US dollar-pegged stablecoin, SoFiUSD was initially deployed on Ethereum, designed to provide banks, fintech companies, and enterprises with near real-time settlement infrastructure available 24/7.As the regulatory framework gradually becomes clearer, banks and financial institutions are accelerating their entry into the stablecoin赛道, competing with major issuers such as Tether and Circle.
According to Financialit, stablecoin financial services platform UnblockPay has announced the completion of a $4.5 million seed funding round, led by Prelude, with participation from Plug and Play, Wintermute, Reverie, Signature Ventures, Triaxis Capital, Crescera Capital, and a group of angel investors. The new capital will support the development of regulated financial products, enabling businesses to integrate stablecoins into their day-to-day financial operations and facilitating seamless conversions between fiat currencies and major stablecoins such as USDC and USDT for enterprise users.
this week, U.S. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent letters to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, expressing concerns over a loan provided by Tether to a family trust fund benefiting Lutnick’s children.The letter notes that prior to becoming Commerce Secretary, Lutnick led Cantor Fitzgerald, which has served as the custodian for Tether’s reserves since 2021. The senators question whether the loan may have helped Lutnick’s children obtain funds to acquire their father’s stake in Cantor Fitzgerald, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest or bribery. Additionally, the senators expressed concerns over Tether’s past compliance record and its lobbying activities during the legislative process of the GENIUS Act, emphasizing the need to ensure that politically connected crypto stakeholders do not receive special treatment. (The Block)
AethirClaw has officially launched CARA (Pre-configured Crypto AI Agent), running on Aethir's decentralized GPU infrastructure. Equipped with over 50 skills, it covers core crypto scenarios such as real-time market monitoring, whale wallet tracking, on-chain analysis, social media sentiment monitoring, and project due diligence, and users can use it out-of-the-box without any technical configuration.The platform supports payments via credit card as well as USDT, USDC, and ATH tokens. Aethir also disclosed that it will soon launch a Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) layer, running mainstream open-source large models on Aethir's decentralized GPU infrastructure, and expand multimodal capabilities including text-to-image and video generation.
According to SBS Biz, South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission has completed on-site inspections of Upbit and Bithumb and is now reviewing whether the two exchanges violated regulations by transmitting users’ personal information when sharing order books with overseas platforms. Results are expected to be announced in the second half of the year. The core of the dispute lies in whether personally identifiable information was transmitted alongside order books during the sharing process. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act stipulates that cross-border transfers of personal information require prior user consent; violations may trigger sanctions. Currently, Upbit shares its order book with Upbit APAC and Tether’s markets, while Bithumb previously shared its order book with the Australian exchange Stellar. Meanwhile, Bithumb is also engaged in a legal battle with financial regulators over alleged violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Financial Transactions. A court ruling on the validity of certain business suspension orders against Bithumb is imminent.
According to CoinDesk, Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s Reform UK party, is facing a parliamentary standards inquiry after receiving an undisclosed £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) grant from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne—prior to his election as a Member of Parliament in 2024. Harborne resides in Thailand and holds a 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether. Farage stated that the grant was intended to ensure his personal security—not for political activities. However, both the Conservative and Labour parties have accused him of violating House of Commons rules requiring MPs to register any income received within the 12 months preceding their election, and have referred the matter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Reform UK countered that the payment constitutes a “personal unconditional gift,” exempt from disclosure requirements and unrelated to the election. The UK government announced in March this year that it would suspend political parties’ acceptance of cryptocurrency donations to guard against foreign interference. Previously, Christopher Harborne donated £9 million to Reform UK—the largest single political donation ever made by a living individual in the UK. This year, Ben Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, also donated £4 million to the party. Additionally, Farage himself holds a 6.31% stake in Stack BTC, a Bitcoin treasury company.