Report | Crypto

Stablecoins became the default settlement layer for AI agents as crypto payment rails can handle sub-dollar transactions more efficiently, says a report from Keyrock. Artificial intelligence agents settling payments have gone from concept to reality in the last 12 months, with $73 million settled across 176 million transactions from May last year through April 2026, according to crypto investment firm Keyrock. In a report released Thursday, written in collaboration with crypto exchange Coinbase and the blockchain Tempo, Keyrock researcher Ben Harvey said that “in the past 12 months, machine-to-machine payments have gone from concept to a developed ecosystem.” “Agents have settled over $73 million across 176 million transactions, and incumbents have deployed more than $8 billion in acquisitions to secure their position in what is emerging as an entirely new payment stack,” Harvey added. Read more

The SEC has reportedly delayed releasing a proposal permitting tokenized stock trading after receiving industry concerns. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly postponed its plan to allow trading of tokenized stocks after stock exchange officials raised concerns over how the plan would be implemented. Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the SEC’s “innovation exemption” for crypto-based stocks was expected to be released during the week, with SEC staffers having already reviewed a draft of the tokenized stock trading proposal. The SEC has reportedly received input from hundreds of market participants on how to best implement the rules, but it has not made a decision to change its proposal. Read more

Centralized data collection is a honeypot for hackers and organized criminals looking to target crypto holders and their families, according to Bitcoiners. About 70% of all wrench attacks, physical attacks against crypto holders and their families, carried out in an attempt to steal digital assets, occur in France, according to Bitcoin journalist Joe Nakamoto.  There have been 41 crypto-related kidnappings in France so far in 2026, Nakamoto said, or about one attack every two and a half days, he added.  He attributed the rise in wrench attacks to know-your-customer data collection, which is stored in centralized servers that were compromised in several high-profile data leaks, including the 2020 leak of hardware wallet provider Ledger’s customer data. Read more

Polymarket is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid falling trading volumes and rising regulatory scrutiny, targeting approval by 2030. Polymarket, a global prediction market platform, is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid growing regulatory scrutiny of the sector worldwide. The company has appointed Mike Eidlin, head of Japan at crypto firm Jupiter, to lead its local efforts and is preparing to lobby for authorization of prediction markets in the country, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Polymarket is targeting government approval in Japan by 2030, viewing the market as a major untapped opportunity. Read more

Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz reportedly told a court the SEC made it “very difficult” to complete a planned 2021 merger with BitGo. Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz appeared in court on Tuesday to face off against BitGo CEO Mike Belshe in a long-running legal fight over a failed proposed $1.2 billion merger in 2021. The planned deal was the largest-ever crypto merger at the time, set to create a massive conglomerate offering a suite of services at a time when investor interest in crypto was high. Galaxy called off the deal in August 2022 as the crypto market was reeling from the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. BitGo has asked Galaxy to pay a $100 million fee for pulling out of the deal and also hid it was being probed by US authorities, while Galaxy has claimed BitGo failed to provide financial information on time. Read more

Several SEC officials reportedly didn’t support the decision, while tokenization platform Securitize flagged risks with enabling third-party platforms to issue tokenized stocks. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly making an “innovation exemption” for blockchain-based tokenized trading of public companies, even those that don’t consent to the third-party tokens tracking their share prices. Bloomberg reported on Monday that the exemption could come as early as this week, expanding the trading of public companies beyond traditional stock exchanges to decentralized crypto platforms.  The SEC reportedly spoke with “hundreds of market participants” for feedback on how best to tailor the rules for tokenized trading and proposed that third-party tokens carry the same benefits as common stock, such as voting rights and dividends, or risk being delisted. Read more

South Korea’s FSC is reportedly reviewing Hana Bank’s $668 million Dunamu stake under “banking-commerce separation” rules that limit bank ownership tied to crypto firms. South Korea’s financial regulator is reportedly reviewing Hana Bank’s planned $668 million purchase of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, the operator of the largest domestic cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit. Local outlet iNews24 cited an unnamed Financial Services Commission official to report that regulators are examining whether Hana Bank's share purchase from Kakao Investment, rather than directly from Dunamu, falls under broader "banking-commerce separation" rules. The official said Hana’s investment would be assessed under the same standards as a direct stake in the exchange operator. Read more

Kraken has cut 150 staff due to the rising use of AI, adding to more than 5,000 layoffs across the crypto sector so far this year, Bloomberg reports. Crypto exchange Kraken has reportedly laid off some of its staff as a cost-cutting measure, which could delay its planned initial public offering in the US until next year. The company, whose corporate name is Payward, laid off about 150 workers due to efficiencies from deploying artificial intelligence across the business, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The person said AI is being used more extensively throughout Kraken, but the company is not planning further job cuts at the moment. Read more

Japan’s biggest brokerages are racing to bring crypto investment trusts to retail investors, as regulators move to formally allow crypto-holding funds by 2028. Japan’s major brokerages are preparing to bring crypto investment trusts to retail investors, with SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities already developing products in-house, while others like Nomura plan to enter the space once regulations are finalized. SBI Securities plans to sell funds developed by group company SBI Global Asset Management, with products spanning both ETFs and investment trusts focused on liquid assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to a Sunday report by Nikkei. The group intends to handle everything from product development to distribution in-house. Rakuten Securities is taking a similar approach, working with Rakuten Investment Management to build products tradeable directly through smartphone apps, the report revealed. Read more

Intesa Sanpaolo grew its crypto holdings from $100 million to $235 million in Q1 2026, making first-time moves into Ethereum and XRP while nearly exiting Solana entirely. Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, more than doubled its crypto exposure in the first quarter of 2026, with holdings climbing from approximately $100 million at the end of 2025 to around $235 million as of March 31. The growth was driven by expanded Bitcoin positions, with the bank adding to positions in both the ARK 21Shares BTC ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. It also entered Ethereum for the first time through BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, and picked up a fresh stake in Ripple’s XRP via the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, worth approximately $26 million, according to a report by local crypto outlet Criptovaluta.it. Intesa also opened a new position in iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, its first derivatives play in the space. The bank previously confirmed to Criptovaluta.it that its crypto positions are held for p...

The Hyperliquid decentralized exchange allows anyone who stakes 500,000 HYPE tokens, valued at roughly $22.2 million, to deploy new markets. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the two biggest exchanges for energy-linked commodities, are pressuring US regulators to clamp down on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange’s expansion into commodity markets. Executives from both companies say that Hyperliquid’s energy-linked onchain derivatives create insider trading and price manipulation risks, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the ongoing talks with US regulators. ICE and CME cited the “anonymous” and “unregulated” nature of Hyperliquid as major risks to critical energy markets, like oil and gas, which could be used by state actors to circumvent sanctions, the report added. Read more

The cybersecurity threats from North Korea are perpetrated by a myriad of small hacker groups deploying malware and executing social engineering scams. North Korea (DPRK) state-affiliated hackers and threat actors were responsible for more than $2 billion in crypto losses in 2025, a 51% year-over-year increase, despite fewer attacks carried out by the group, according to cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. DPRK hackers represent the “largest” threat group targeting cryptocurrency users, as measured by the dollar amount of assets stolen, according to the company’s 2026 Financial Services Threat Landscape report. Crowdstrike added: The DPRK hackers and scammers focused on targeting Web3 projects and cryptocurrency exchanges because the stolen funds could be “cashed out” and transferred with a greater degree of anonymity than in the traditional financial system, CrowdStrike said. Read more

Vietnam’s deputy minister of finance reportedly said the country is planning to launch its regulated cryptocurrency market in the third quarter of 2026 to answer the growing demand for digital assets. Vietnam could see the first official activity in its regulated crypto asset market as early as the third quarter of 2026, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi said at the Digital Trust in Finance 2026 forum. “We believe that, as early as the third quarter, Vietnam could witness the first official activities of its crypto asset market, operating under a framework designed to ensure safety and transparency,” Chi said Tuesday, according to VnEconomy. The comments mark another step in Vietnam’s effort to bring one of Asia’s most active crypto markets under formal supervision, after regulators opened a licensing pathway for domestic crypto asset trading platforms earlier this year. Read more

The Albanese government’s budget plans to replace the 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held over 12 months with a model taxing full real gains adjusted for inflation. The Australian government is reportedly seeking to replace capital gains tax discounts on crypto and other assets with an inflation indexation tax, which could increase the taxes on long-term crypto gains. The Albanese government’s fiscal year 2027 budget, set to be released on Tuesday, would cut the current 50% capital gains tax discount alongside changes to housing investment taxes, the Australian Financial Review reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the budget. Australian investors can currently claim a 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held for more than 12 months. The proposed indexation model would instead tax full real gains, adjusted for inflation, over the time the asset is held. Read more

Bloomberg reported Digital Asset Holdings is raising money at a $2B valuation in a round led by a16z Crypto, which comes less than a year after an earlier nine-figure round. Digital Asset Holdings, the enterprise blockchain company behind the Canton Network, a permissioned blockchain network for financial institutions with privacy features, is reportedly raising fresh capital at a $2 billion valuation. The $300 million round is being led by venture capital firm a16z crypto, and is expected to close in several weeks, according to Bloomberg, which cited unidentified people with knowledge of the deal. The report comes less than a year after Digital Asset announced it had raised $135 million in a strategic funding round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets. A company spokesman on Sunday declined to comment in response to an email query from Cointelegraph. Read more

Three companies reportedly pressed US senators for changes to a crypto bill, removing language that would require them to offer trading on tokens “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” Earlier in 2026, as a digital asset market structure bill was under consideration in the US Senate, cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini reportedly pressed to remove language in the legislation that could have affected their token listings. According to a Friday Politico report, the three exchanges asked US lawmakers to scrap a provision in the market structure bill that would have required platforms to only offer trading on digital assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” The companies reportedly pressed senators to remove the language as it could have made it difficult for exchanges to list smaller tokens. The edit, which the news outlet reported occurred after the US Senate Agriculture Committee voted to advance its version of the bill in January, signaled the influence crypto companies in commun...

US Treasury officials reportedly sent a letter to Binance pressing the crypto exchange on compliance with a 2023 deal, after reports circulated that the company had facilitated transactions linked to Iran. Update (May 7 at 9:47 PM UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Binance. The US Department of the Treasury reportedly demanded that Binance follow a monitoring program put in place by a 2023 deal between authorities and the cryptocurrency exchange, following reports that the company facilitated $1 billion to entities tied to Iran. According to a Thursday report by The Information, the Treasury Department “privately demanded” that Binance be in compliance with a monitoring program to which it had agreed after reaching a deal with US authorities in 2023. The deal, which included a $4.3 billion settlement with Treasury and the US Department of Justice, required Binance to comply with a three-year monitoring program overseen by government officials.  Read more

South Korea’s Finance Ministry has reportedly confirmed for the first time that a 22% tax on crypto gains will proceed as scheduled in January 2027. South Korea’s Finance Ministry has confirmed that a long-delayed tax on crypto gains will take effect as scheduled in January 2027. Moon Kyung-ho, director of the ministry’s income tax division, announced at an emergency parliamentary forum on virtual asset taxation held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul on Thursday, according to South Korea news outlet Edaily. The forum was hosted by Representative Park Soo-young of the People Power Party and the Korea Tax Policy Association. “We will proceed with virtual asset taxation as scheduled in January next year,” Moon said in what appears to be the first public confirmation from the ministry that the crypto tax framework will move forward after multiple postponements. Read more

The Korea Securities Depository platform is expected to go live by February 2027, aligning with South Korea’s incoming security token framework. Samsung SDS, Samsung’s information technology services subsidiary, will reportedly build a token securities platform for the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), moving South Korea’s central securities depository closer to operating blockchain-based securities infrastructure as the country prepares a legal framework for tokenized assets.  Samsung SDS won a contract to build and operate the platform for KSD, according to local reports from Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Times. The project is expected to be completed by February 2027 and will convert a technology verification testbed into a formal system capable of stable service operations.  KSD plans to link its existing electronic securities account system with blockchain-based distributed ledger data to strengthen tokenized securities issuance and rights management, according to the reports.  Read more

The regulator reportedly requested more information from Roundhill, GraniteShares and Bitwise about how the event contract funds would work. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed the expected launch of the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to prediction markets after requesting more information about their structure and disclosures, Reuters reported Monday. The delay affects more than two dozen proposed ETFs from Roundhill Investments, GraniteShares and Bitwise, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter. The issuers filed for the products in February, and launches had been expected this week after a 75-day review period. The proposed funds would give investors exposure to event contracts tied to binary outcomes, including elections, economic data and market prices, without requiring them to trade directly on prediction market venues such as Kalshi. Read more