Bakkt announced the deal in January, which was originally for 9.3 million shares, along with a corporate name change to Bakkt Inc. Digital asset company Bakkt completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) through an equity-based transaction as part of its bid to create a digital settlement layer. Bakkt CEO Akshay Naheta said on Thursday that the deal aims to combine Bakkt’s institutional infrastructure with DTR’s native artificial intelligence payments engine and stablecoin technology to create a 24/7 digital settlement layer. “The architecture of money movement rarely evolves at this level,” he said. “This transaction accelerates the re-platforming of global financial infrastructure. By fully integrating DTR's technology, we are introducing stablecoin functionality as a critical bridge between legacy financial systems and the next generation of digital assets.” Read more
The card links self-custodied wallets to Mastercard rails, allowing AI agents to spend stablecoins at checkout without preloading funds or moving assets offchain. MoonPay is launching a virtual debit card that allows users and AI agents to spend stablecoins directly from self-custodied onchain wallets at merchants that accept Mastercard, using real-time crypto-to-fiat conversion at checkout. The card, developed with Monavate and Exodus Movement, Inc., connects onchain wallets to traditional card rails, enabling transactions without preloading funds or transferring assets offchain, with smart contracts authorizing spending at the point of purchase. Available through MoonPay’s CLI and agent workflows to users in the UK and Latin America, the card is designed for programmatic use, allowing users to delegate spending permissions to AI agents, with identity verification required before issuance, the company said. Read more
The top stablecoin issuer’s balance sheet remains heavily concentrated in US Treasuries as stablecoin adoption expands across emerging markets. Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) reported $1.04 billion in net profit for the first quarter of 2026, as its excess reserves rose to a record $8.23 billion, according to its latest attestation on Friday. The company said its reserves remain heavily concentrated in US Treasuries, with around $141 billion in direct and indirect exposure, while total assets of about $191.8 billion exceeded liabilities of approximately $183.5 billion as of March 31. Tether said this level of exposure makes it the 17th largest holder of US Treasuries globally. Beyond Treasuries, reserves included about $20 billion in physical gold and $7 billion in Bitcoin (BTC). Read more
Futures drove up Bitcoin's price in April while spot demand declined, which CryptoQuant warned has historically preceded extended price declines. Bitcoin could be setting up for a multimonth price decline, after a rally in April driven mainly by futures traders while spot demand declined, according to the crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant. Bitcoin gained around 20% in April, rising from $66,000 to a peak of $79,000 in a rally “driven entirely by growth in perpetual futures demand,” CryptoQuant said in a report on Thursday. Meanwhile, spot demand for Bitcoin contracted throughout the rally, “indicating that the market’s marginal buyer was speculative, not fundamental,” it said. Read more
The Bitcoin FUD-stopping tool cites over 22 peer-reviewed research papers to address common misconceptions about Bitcoin. A group of Bitcoiners has launched a new open-source AI tool that generates evidence-based responses to misconceptions about Bitcoin’s environmental impact, energy use and its role in the financial system. Nordic-based Bitcoin education platform Bitcoin Beyond 66 said it built “The Bitcoin Evidence Base” at a time when there is a “growing body of peer-reviewed research” showing the environmental benefits of Bitcoin mining, but “outdated data, methodologically weak studies, or plain lack of knowledge” continue to negatively shape public perception. The database seeks to offer users quick access to relevant, evidence-based information about Bitcoin mining and related topics so they can share it with social media posters who have knowingly or unknowingly spread incorrect information about Bitcoin. Read more
Carrot's total value locked has collapsed 93% in a month, from $28 million to $1.99 million, leaving the protocol financially unable to continue. Solana-based decentralized finance yield protocol Carrot said Thursday that it is shutting down permanently, becoming one of the first DeFi protocols to fall due to contagion from the Drift Protocol exploit in early April. In an X post on Thursday, Carrot said the Drift exploit was “catastrophic” for the protocol and had left it financially unable to continue operating. The platform set a May 14 deadline for users to withdraw remaining funds. It said it will continue to help recovery efforts related to Drift and distribute assets once they become available. “We are setting May 14th as the deadline to withdraw any remaining funds from Boost, Turbo, and CRT before we will then begin to deleverage the system. Your deposited funds are still yours, but all leverage will be reduced to zero, freeing up all liquidity for CRT redemption,” the protocol’s team said. Read more
Bitcoin bulls took another swing at the $77,000 resistance, but profit-taking and traders’ reluctance to increase margin and spot longs limit the strength of each breakout. Bitcoin (BTC) traders pushed the price to $77,400, but data suggests profit-taking may thwart the bull's goal of turning the $77,000 to $80,000 zone into support. Orderbook data from TRDR shows over $130 million in asks extending from $76,700 to $79,300. Read more
Tokenized US Treasurys were one of the biggest growth areas of the RWA market, rising from a market capitalization of $3.9 billion at the start of 2025 to more than $15 billion. The size of the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market has increased by more than 420% since the start of 2025, as investors were treated to easier market access and regulatory clarity, according to analysts. The RWA market cap was about $5.8 billion on Jan. 1, 2025, but has since risen to more than $30.2 billion as of Wednesday, according to analytics platform RWA.xyz. Tokenized US Treasurys experienced the largest increase, from $3.9 billion at the start of 2025 to more than $15 billion, followed by commodities. Dominick John, an analyst at Zeus Research, told Cointelegraph the surge in the RWA sector was driven by tokenized Treasurys, which offer compliant onchain access to real-world yield and effectively turn blockchain rails into a distribution layer for institutional capital. Read more
The US Senate unanimously passed a rule banning members and staff from prediction markets, with a similar resolution set to be introduced in the House. The US Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution banning its members and staff, who are often exposed to sensitive information, from using prediction markets. The resolution, passed by unanimous consent, changed the Senate's rules and took immediate effect. “Engaging in any way in a prediction market or trying to place bets where we might have inside information deteriorates the confidence that our constituents have in us,” Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who introduced the resolution, said on the Senate floor. Read more
Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows reached $490 million as crypto investors considered the impact of high oil prices, Big Tech earnings and a shortfall in AI industry growth metrics. Key takeaways: Bitcoin (BTC) faced three consecutive days of outflows from US-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The outflows coincided with a failed attempt to reclaim $78,000. Traders fear more downside, but heightened US inflation will likely act as a catalyst for further bullish momentum. Read more
The Agent Cards launched to a select group of businesses on Thursday, with a limited number of additional companies set to gain access over the next two months. Crypto wallet startup Oobit has launched a Visa-supported virtual card for AI agents to make online purchases in USDT on behalf of businesses without human intervention. The Agent Cards are funded directly from stablecoin issuer Tether’s treasury, meaning no fiat on-ramp or conversions are needed for AI agents to top up USDt (USDT) balances and make online purchases, Oobit said on Thursday. The Tether-backed startup said the AI agents could use the cards to do anything from renewing a software-as-a-service subscription to topping up an advertising budget or even “spinning up cloud infrastructure at 3am because a workflow told it to.” Read more
Short-term traders took profit each time BTC rallied above $77,000, creating overhead sell pressure that has capped BTC’s ability to reach $80,000. Bitcoin's (BTC) attempts to trade above $77,000 have failed multiple times over the past week, despite traders managing a one-day breakout to $79,500. Data shows short-term holders taking profits as the rally peaked, sending 150,000 BTC to exchanges since April 15. Crypto analyst Darkfost noted the continued fragility among short-term holders (STHs), or wallets holding BTC for less than 155 days. As the price rose over the past two weeks, BTC transfers from these wallets to exchanges increased. Three consecutive sessions saw 65,000 BTC, 54,600 BTC and 39,000 BTC sent to exchanges and these flows may have prevented Bitcoin from overtaking the resistance level at $80,000. Read more