Cryptopolitan

Big Tech’s AI debt binge is colliding with a $3.6 trillion refinancing wall across the US and global system as old cheap money turns into expensive refinancing pressure.

The tech sector is sitting on more than $330 billion in high-yield, leveraged loan, and business development company-linked software and technology debt that must mature through 2028. This stack was built in a low-rate era. Now rates are higher, and the math has flipped fast.

A large chunk lands in 2028 alone. About $142 billion matures that year, almost three times the 2026 level. Inside that 2028 wave, roughly $65 billion sits in high-yield bonds and about $77 billion in leveraged loans. Most of this debt was issued when interest rates were near zero during the pandemic. 

That setup is gone. Many companies are already lining up refinancing moves as early as the second half of this year, and the sector is heading into a higher interest rate environment that will reset funding costs across tech balance sheets.

Tech companies begin refinancing pandemic-era debt

The refinancing pressure is not small. More than $330 billion in tech-linked debt is rolling into maturity through 2028, and the 2028 spike of $142 billion stands out as the main pressure point. Companies that locked in ultra-cheap money during the pandemic now face significantly higher borrowing costs when they roll debt forward.

The timing matters. A wave of refinancing is expected to start in the second half of this year, which means the repricing cycle is not years away. It is already starting.

The tech sector, especially software-heavy borrowers tied to high-yield bonds and leveraged loans, is moving from near-zero interest rate financing into a tighter credit regime where every rollover comes at a higher cost. This shift is not isolated. It sits inside a broader global debt squeeze that is hitting both corporate and sovereign borrowers at the same time.

Global debt pressures rise as IMF flags 99% world GDP debt load and US fiscal trajectory climbs toward 142%

The International Monetary Fund mapped a wider stress line across global finances. Global public debt is projected to reach 99% of world GDP by 2028, with scenarios pushing it to 121% under stress cases within three years.

The United States remains a central case, with $39 trillion in national debt and a deficit expected to sit around 7.5% of GDP after a short improvement that faded.

US debt is on track to pass 125% of GDP this year and could reach 142% by 2031. The adjustment needed just to stabilize that path, not reduce it, would require about 4% of GDP in fiscal tightening. Markets are already shifting.

The premium on US Treasuries compared to other advanced debt is shrinking. One IMF fiscal official said, “These are signs that markets are not as sanguine, as forgiving, as they were in the past. This cannot wait forever.”

The fiscal gap has also widened by about one percentage point compared to pre-COVID levels. The IMF linked this to policy choices, not short-term cycles, pointing to higher spending and lower revenues as the base driver.

Real interest rates are now about six percentage points above pre-pandemic levels, adding pressure to every layer of existing debt.

Energy policy is also feeding into the strain. The IMF warned that broad subsidies distort pricing and strain budgets, with one official saying, “They distort price signals, are fiscally costly, regressive, and hard to unwind.”

When many countries shield consumers, the rest absorb the adjustment, with spillover effects that can double price shocks for those not using subsidies.

Fiscal Monitor’s Era Dabla-Norris noted governments have been more restrained than during the 2022 energy crisis, but said fiscal space is now tighter, making old-style support far more expensive.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.

Berkshire Hathaway is moving like it forgot how to compete while the market is flying. Cryptopolitan reported on Friday that the S&P 500 closed above 7,100 for the first time, pushed by rising confidence that the U.S. and Iran are getting closer to ending their conflict.

Wall Street’s alpha index is already up more than 9% this month after hitting its lowest level of the year in late March, when it was close to a 10% drop.

That bounce did not take long before it turned into one of the fastest recoveries seen in at least 36 years. But while everything else pushed higher, Berkshire Hathaway just sat there doing almost nothing. Both share classes slipped, posting month-to-date losses just under 1%.

Now just a day before, Berkshire B shares were actually still ahead of the index by 1.8%, the widest lead seen this year. By Friday, that flipped hard. The same stock closed 9.7% behind the index, the biggest gap recorded so far in 2026.

Berkshire Hathaway stock lags hard as market surges and loses ground fast

This underperformance has been building since May 2, 2025, when the stock hit a record high just before Warren Buffett confirmed he would step down as CEO by the end of that year. Since that moment, both A and B shares have dropped more than 12%.

Prices now sit only about 3% above their early August lows, which shows how little recovery has happened compared to the broader market.

The company’s annual shareholder meeting is just two weeks away, which Cryptopolitan will cover live as usual. At the same time, a new book titled “The Complete Financial History of Berkshire Hathaway, Second Edition” is set for release on April 28 through Harriman House under Pan Macmillan.

The book will reportedly cover six decades of company activity and includes updates through 2024.

Greg Abel changes leadership structure and tightens control across operations

Leadership change is now front and center. In December, just days before taking control, Greg Abel faced employees during a weekly lunch session. One question came up directly about moving headquarters out of Omaha, Nebraska. Abel shut it down fast and said there would be no relocation. That kind of question would not even come up during Warren’s years, but now people expect change.

Abel is already making moves. He raised the profile of executives who worked closely with him before, increased his own salary beyond what Warren took, and said most of that money will go into buying company stock. He also restarted share buybacks after they were paused since 2024. Outside the U.S., he expanded into Japan by taking a stake in an insurance business.

His style is different. He is more involved in day-to-day operations and reviews both company units and stock holdings with tighter control. People close to the company allegedly say he plans to act quickly when expectations are not met, even at senior levels.

In his own words:

“Warren, Charlie and I, we have some differences, just in style and obviously in how we approach things. Our foundational values continue to be what we build our company through.”

His routine shows that hands-on approach. He drives two hours from Des Moines to Omaha several times each week and does not plan to relocate soon, likely staying in Iowa until his son finishes high school. He also travels across multiple states in a single day using a NetJets corporate plane to meet managers directly.

In his February 28 shareholder letter, Abel listed core holdings including Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s. At the same time, he exited positions handled by Todd Combs, who recently moved to JPMorgan Chase. Combs had been one of Warren’s selected investment managers. Abel does not plan to replace him.

The succession itself was not sudden. It had been expected since 2021 when Charlie Munger revealed the plan during the annual meeting. Still, the exact timing stayed unclear through Munger’s death in November 2023 until Warren confirmed on stage last May that he would retire at year-end.

Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank

Trump-Iran war has wiped out over 500 million barrels from global supply and erased more than 50 billion dollars in crude value in about seven weeks. The disruption started in late February and has not slowed. Analysts and Reuters data say the impact will drag on for months and even years as supply chains struggle to recover.

This is not small damage. It is the largest energy supply shock in modern history, based on Kpler data. The missing barrels include crude and condensate that never made it to market, and that gap is already shaking pricing, storage, and trade flows across the system.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Friday the Strait of Hormuz is open after a ceasefire deal linked to Lebanon. At the same time, Trump said a deal to end the war could come soon, but gave no clear timing, leaving markets guessing and traders on edge.

Global markets lose massive supply and price risks surge fast

The scale of the loss is extreme. Five hundred million barrels equals ten weeks of global aviation demand, eleven days with zero road traffic worldwide, or five days where the entire global economy has no oil supply. Iain Mowat from Wood Mackenzie said it directly, linking the numbers to real usage.

Reuters estimates show the same volume covers nearly one month of United States demand and more than a month for Europe. It also equals around six years of fuel used by the US military, based on about 80 million barrels per year, and can run global shipping for four months straight.

Prediction markets now price a forty four percent chance US oil jumps above 100 dollars per barrel this month if Iran shuts the Strait of Hormuz again. Traders are watching that choke point closely because it controls a major share of global flows.

Trump addressed the situation on Saturday and said Iran tried to pressure the United States by threatening another closure of the strait. He rejected that approach and said talks will continue without giving in. Speaking from the Oval Office, he said, “Iran got a little cute… they wanted to close up the strait again… they can’t blackmail us.”

Tankers move through strait while damage slows recovery across region

Ship tracking data shows five LNG vessels from Ras Laffan in Qatar moving toward the Strait of Hormuz. The ships are Al Ghashamiya, Lebrethah, Fuwairit, Rasheeda, and Disha. The first four are controlled by QatarEnergy, while Disha is chartered by Petronet from India.

If these vessels pass through, it will mark the first LNG shipments across the strait since the war started on February 28. Iran reopened the route Friday after a US brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, and by Saturday, a convoy of oil tankers was already moving through the channel.

Before the conflict, the strait handled about one fifth of global LNG trade, making it one of the most critical energy routes on the planet. Qatar holds the position as the second largest LNG exporter, with most cargo heading to Asia, but Iranian strikes cut seventeen percent of its export capacity.

Repairs are expected to remove 12.8 million metric tons per year from supply for three to five years, creating long term pressure on gas markets. Even with the strait open, recovery will not be quick.

Kpler data shows global onshore crude inventories dropped by about 45 million barrels during April alone. Since late March, outages reached around 12 million barrels per day, showing how deep the disruption runs.

Heavy crude fields in Kuwait and Iraq need four to five months to return to normal output levels, pushing supply tightness into summer. Damage to refineries and the Ras Laffan LNG complex adds more delays, meaning full recovery of regional energy systems could take years.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.

A hacker funded his wallet through Tornado Cash on Saturday, waited 10 hours, and then executed a transaction that siphoned $292 million from KelpDAO.

By the time anyone noticed, the money was gone. And by the time KelpDAO paused, two more attempts had failed within minutes.

KelpDAO hacker wanted to drain $391 million

The wallet that carried out the attack was funded through Tornado Cash’s 1 ETH pool. This is a standard obfuscation step that seeded the address with clean gas money.

The wallet called lzReceive on LayerZero’s EndpointV2 contract, and KelpDAO’s OFT bridge released 116,500 rsETH to a separate attacker address. The drain was complete in one transaction.

What followed showed how tight the margins were. The attacker returned twice. Two more LayerZero packets hit the bridge, each targeting 40,000 rsETH, worth about $100 million combined. Both reverted.

Five minutes earlier, Kelp’s emergency pauser multisig had executed pauseAll. The call froze the LRT Deposit Pool, Withdrawal contract, LRT Oracle, and the rsETH token as well. The interval between the successful drain and the pause was 46 minutes. And the interval between the pause and the next attack attempt was five minutes.

KelpDAO’s total loss would have been around $391 million if the attacker’s second and third attempts had succeeded.

The attacker triggers Aave bad debt

The 116,500 rsETH tokens were worth about $292 million at current prices. The amount represents ~18% of rsETH’s circulating supply of ~630,000.

rsETH is a liquid restaking token built on EigenLayer and is deployed across more than 20 networks, including Base, Arbitrum, Linea, Blast, Mantle, and Scroll.

The attacker didn’t simply hold the stolen rsETH tokens. According to on-chain data, the tokens were deposited into Aave V3 as collateral to borrow large amounts of Ether and Wrapped Ether. The funds were routed back through Tornado Cash to obscure the trail.

That step turned a bridge exploit into a potential bad debt problem for Aave, one of DeFi’s largest lending platforms. Aave V3 could face up to $177 million in bad debt exposure as a result.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT flagged the incident on Telegram within an hour. “KelpDAO appears to have had $280M+ stolen one hour ago on Ethereum and Arbitrum,” he wrote, confirming the hacker wallets were funded via Tornado Cash.

Kelp’s first public statement came on X, more than two and a half hours after the drain. “Earlier today we identified suspicious cross-chain activity involving rsETH,” the protocol wrote. “We have paused rsETH contracts across mainnet and several L2s while we investigate. We are working with LayerZero, Unichain, our auditors and top security experts on RCA.”

Aave froze all of rsETH markets on both Aave V3 and V4. The protocol confirmed on X that the vulnerability was in rsETH, not Aave’s own contracts. “We are reviewing information about rsETH borrows on Aave that occurred after the exploit and will share more details as soon as possible,” Aave wrote. The Aave team is also exploring ways to cover the losses.

Aave fell 10.65% on the day to $103.86. Ethereum dropped ~3% and currently trades at $2,358.24.

The attack on KeplerDAO also struck less than two weeks after a $286 million exploit of Drift Protocol, the largest crypto theft of 2026 so far. According to a Cryptopolitan report, the Drift Protocol hack is linked to the same group that stole $1.4 billion from Bybit.

KelpDAO now holds the second spot on the list of biggest crypto hacks in 2026.

Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank

Meta is eliminating roughly 8,000 positions starting May 20, while OpenAI plans to nearly double its staff by year’s end, highlighting a widening divide in the technology sector between companies cutting workers and those building the AI systems driving those cuts.

The Meta layoffs, affecting about 10 percent of its 79,000 employees, come as more than 95,000 tech workers have lost jobs across over 240 separate events in 2026 so far, according to TrueUp’s tracking data.

The first quarter alone saw between 78,000 and 91,000 cuts compared to about 30,000 in the same period last year.

Companies are pointing directly to artificial intelligence as the reason.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year that projects once requiring big teams can now be handled by “a single very talented person.” Salesforce head Marc Benioff said his support staff dropped from 9,000 people to about 5,000 “because I need less heads.” Amazon’s Andy Jassy told workers the company expected new AI tools to “reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains.”

Prediction markets called Meta cuts before official news

Prediction market bettors saw Meta’s cuts coming before Reuters reported them Friday. On Polymarket, a betting platform backed by Intercontinental Exchange, traders put about $112,000 into markets tracking Meta’s employee count and stock price. One market gave 96 percent odds that Meta ended the quarter above 75,000 workers and 55 percent above 77,000.

Polymarket’s broader tech layoffs market has held at 79 percent, expecting increases throughout the month. Kalshi, a competing platform, has a similar market that crossed $30 million in bets.

Traders are treating the job cuts as positive news. A separate poll also gives 79 percent odds that Meta shares will clear $700 in April. Meta’s stock rose roughly 3 percent when the layoff news first leaked. Bank of America set an $885 price target, projecting $7 billion to $8 billion in yearly savings from the restructuring.

OpenAI moves in the opposite direction with a hiring push

While traditional tech companies are cutting, OpenAI is moving in the opposite direction. The Financial Times reported Saturday that the company plans to grow from 4,500 workers to 8,000 by the end of 2026. Most new hires will go into product development, engineering, research, and sales. The company’s latest funding round valued it at $840 billion.  As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, OpenAI has its own hiring platform to be released mid-2026.

While rival CEO Dario Amodei has spent months warning that engineering jobs, especially coding roles, could vanish faster than expected. “I think coding is going away first, or coding is being done by the AI models first,” he said recently. He predicted AI could write 90 percent of code at many companies soon and said, “in 12 months, AI will essentially be writing all the codes.”

Amodei pointed to changes already happening inside Anthropic. Some engineering leaders no longer write code themselves, just reviewing what AI produces. He warned that “there are whole jobs, whole careers that we’ve built for decades that may not be present.”

Yet Anthropic’s careers page shows about 436 open positions right now. The largest hiring area is Sales with 150 open roles, followed by AI Research & Engineering with 68 positions, including Full-Stack Software Engineer and Performance Engineer roles. Several jobs offer between $320,000 and $405,000 in pay.

A Duke and Federal Reserve banks survey of more than 750 chief financial officers found over 80 percent reported zero productivity gains from AI, even as the same survey projected roughly 502,000 AI-related job cuts in 2026, nine times the 2025 figure.

Meta reports first-quarter earnings on April 29. Then comes the May 20 layoff wave. How both events play out will show whether the AI efficiency story holds up or falls apart.

Your keys, your card. Spend without giving up custody and earn 8%+ yield on your balance with Ether.fi Cash.

The Trump Justice Department is not playing along with France, as US officials refused to help French investigators go after Elon Musk’s platform X after a raid hit the company’s Paris office earlier this year.

Washington is not joining what it sees as a politically-motivated case targeting an American tech business, according to a two-page letter sent Friday by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

DOJ rejects France requests and calls investigation political

The letter reportedly said:-

“This investigation seeks to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas and opinions in a manner contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

It also said France’s requests “constitute an effort to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding aimed at wrongfully regulating through prosecution the business activities of a social media platform.”

French authorities had already made three separate requests for US help in 2025. Those included attempts to serve legal summons to X officials.

Investigators had already raided the company’s Paris office in February, pushing tensions higher between European regulators and the platform. X described that raid as “an abusive act of law enforcement theater.”

French officials have since summoned Elon, former CEO Linda Yaccarino, and other employees for what they called voluntary interviews. Elon was scheduled to appear Monday. Under French law, skipping such a summons can lead to arrest warrants. That puts real legal risk on the table.

Authorities are looking into claims tied to deepfake content and alleged bias in X’s algorithm, arguing the system favors Elon’s views.

The case started in January 2025 after complaints from a lawmaker and another official who said the platform’s content selection could count as foreign interference in France. Prosecutors are also reviewing serious charges like distribution of child pornography.

An xAI official allegedly said, “We are grateful to the Justice Department for rejecting this effort by a prosecutor in Paris to compel our CEO and several employees to sit for interviews.”

The same official added, “We hope the Parisian authorities will now come to their senses, recognize that there is no wrongdoing here, and terminate their baseless investigation.” X operates under Elon’s AI firm xAI, which is now owned by SpaceX.

France and UK push independent Hormuz plan without US involvement

While this legal fight plays out, France is also annoying Trump on a totally different front. President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are working on a joint plan focused on the Strait of Hormuz.

They are pushing a European-led mission to reopen the shipping route after conflict ends, without relying on US leadership.

The proposal introduces a naval force made up of Britain, France, and other non-belligerent countries. Deployment would only happen after fighting stops.

According to the boys, their goal is to restore normal shipping, not control the conflict. This approach stands apart from Donald Trump’s strategy, which uses US naval power to block Iranian ports.

A senior European official reportedly said the plan is not meant to bypass Washington. Talks started early in the conflict and are now being finalized with London. Macron confirmed a conference in Paris with multiple countries joining by video, where he said it would support a “multilateral and purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation.”

Starmer described the same plan as a “coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends.” Britain has already involved more than 40 countries, and the US was not part of those earlier discussions.

European officials stressed the mission would be “strictly defensive” and only launch after active fighting ends, saying, “What we want in the end is no blockade, no toll, no nothing that blocks the fluidity of what is going through the Strait of Hormuz,” while adding that Iran remains “the first problem.”

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.

Bitcoin immediately dropped to $76,000 as Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is closed once again, one day after President Trump declared that the strategic oil passage was reopened to traffic except for Iran. 

The development, which came on a weekend when other markets are closed, has left the crypto market as the only option to take the most of the brunt from the panic, following the news that Iran’s military had resumed “strict control” over the strait due to the U.S. refusing to stop its blockade. 

Market reacts to the US-Iran conflict 

The stock market is closed, and bond traders are off the clock for the weekend, leaving the crypto industry as the only market to absorb volatility. 

Iran’s military, after Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” on Friday, reversed that declaration from its Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters today, Saturday. 

A spokesman told Iran’s Tasnim News Agency that the strait is now under “strict management and control by the Armed Forces.” The reason given is that the U.S is continuing its “naval blockade” and engaging in “piracy” against Iranian vessels. 

On Friday, markets celebrated the opening of the Strait, and Bitcoin surged to nearly $78,000. According to Cryptopolitan, this jump triggered a massive liquidation event, wiping out roughly $585 million in short positions. 

Now, less than 24 hours later, the euphoria is gone. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading near $76,304.

There is a notable pattern of global conflicts affecting the crypto market. For instance, when the war began on February 28, it was Saturday. BTC dropped from roughly $65,500 to $63,000 within hours. Approximately $300 million in leveraged positions were liquidated. 

When traditional markets reopened on Monday, Gold surged toward $5,400. Oil spiked as much as 13%. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.35%. The US dollar index (DXY) rose to its highest level in over a month.

In October 2025, “Crypto Black Friday” occurred when President Trump revealed he would impose 100% tariffs on all Chinese imports. BTC dropped roughly 12% while ETH fell nearly 26%. Some smaller altcoins lost over 50% of their value. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index actually rose over 7% in the following six months.

More recently, in March, the Hyperliquid DEX saw its volumes hit $13.6 billion on a weekend as markets reacted to the Iran conflict. This was nearly seven times the previous weekend’s activity. 

What will happen to global trade?

Bitcoin’s current volatility is a result of the confusion currently gripping global energy markets. Ship-tracking data analyzed by Reuters and Kpler shows a very tense standoff happening right now at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Five vessels loaded with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are currently approaching the Strait of Hormuz. These ships, the Al Ghashamiya, Lebrethah, Fuwairit, Rasheeda, and Disha, loaded cargo at Ras Laffan in Qatar, the world’s second-largest LNG exporter. Four are controlled by QatarEnergy, and one is chartered by India’s Petronet (NSE: PETRONET). They are destined for buyers in Pakistan and India.

However, with the Strait being closed again, these vessels are facing a serious problem. Before the war began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s LNG trade. If these five ships successfully cross today, it would be the first LNG transit since the war started. 

However, reports from Saturday suggest that a group of about 20 vessels that attempted to cross on Friday night were forced to abort or turn back. Iran has stated that until the U.S. ends its restrictions, the situation will remain “tightly controlled.”

Analyst Matt Mena noted before the reversal that the reopening of the strait was the “risk-on” signal the market wanted. Now that it is closed again, the fear of supply shocks, which can drive oil prices up and risk assets down, is back.

Still letting the bank keep the best part? Watch our free video on being your own bank.

Rave DAO RAVE žetona publiskā uzraudzība sasniedza DEFCON 1 mirkļus pirms tā sabrukuma sākuma, kad tirgus dalībnieki, tostarp ZachXBT, Bitget, Binance un Gate, tika iesaistīti sarunās par iekšējās manipulācijas sarkano karogu. Līdzīgi brīdinājumi no BubbleMaps par SIREN žetonu iepriekšēja vairāku kārtu klasisku pump-and-dump situāciju, kas noveda pie milzīgiem zaudējumiem īpašniekiem.

Iepriekšējā Cryptopolitan ziņojumā tika pamanītas RAVE un SIREN kāpšanas tuvu visu laiku augstākajām līmenim, kopā ar ziņojumiem par koordinētām pumpām, kas bieži gūst labumu no iekšējiem cilvēkiem. SIREN žetona sabrukums notika tikai stundu pēc Cryptopolitan ziņojuma.

Polish lawmakers tried but failed to overturn the presidential veto on a government-proposed draft law designed to introduce comprehensive rules for Poland’s cryptocurrency market.

The controversial legislation has become the focal point of a political clash in Warsaw, with Prime Minister Tusk now accusing the head of state, Nawrocki, of acting under Russian influence.

Polish cryptocurrency law remains in limbo

Members of the ruling majority in the Sejm were unsuccessful in another attempt to override the veto imposed by the Polish president on their proposal to regulate the country’s crypto space.

At a session on Friday, 243 of them voted against the veto, falling short of the 263 votes required to defeat it. Another 191 deputies supported Karol Nawrocki’s decision to halt the adoption of the bill.

The latter was put forward by the government with the aim of transposing the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules into national law, but critics say it’s much stricter than the European legislation.

So far, Nawrocki has stopped it twice, citing overregulation and excessive burden on small businesses among his motives, and this is the second push to overcome his opposition.

When he sent it back for amendments in December, the president warned that the Polish Crypto-Asset Market Act “threatens the freedom of Poles, their property and the stability of the state.”

Poland becoming ‘El Dorado for fraudsters’

Representatives of the center-left Tusk cabinet have been attacking Nawrocki, who is backed by the right-wing opposition, for blocking cryptocurrency regulation in the country.

Poland remains the only EU member state that is yet to comply with the framework adopted by Brussels in 2024, the public broadcaster TVP noted in a report ahead of the weekend. It must do so by July.

The lack of rules creates an “El Dorado for fraudsters,” Finance Minister Andrzej Domański stated Friday, adding the veto leaves both consumers and entrepreneurs without adequate protection.

Tusk sees Russian money behind crypto veto

The political conflict in Warsaw has already gone far beyond a normal debate over the future of cryptocurrencies and regulations in Poland.

In his latest attack, Donald Tusk claimed that a crypto firm allegedly funded with money coming from Russia has been sponsoring events promoting his opponents.

Among them, a meeting of America’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the Polish city of Rzeszow in March, last year, which backed Nawrocki’s campaign days before the presidential election.

The Prime Minister was referring to Zondarcrypto, a major exchange in Poland. Speaking ahead of the parliamentary vote, and quoted by the Associated Press, he stated:

“The source of this company’s financial success is not only Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva, one of the most important mafia groups in Russia, but also to Russian secret services.”

Citing information from Poland’s security agency ABW, Tusk accused the trading platform’s CEO, Przemysław Kral, of making large donations to foundations linked to opposition figures.

The premier also insisted that the blocking of his government’s crypto regulations is an indication that some politicians are serving the company’s interests.

The Polish-rooted exchange, which is now registered in Estonia, recently became the main topic of multiple media reports that revealed it is facing liquidity issues affecting withdrawals and sponsorship payments.

While its chief executive rejected these claims, he also admitted this week he does not have the key to a crypto wallet holding over $330 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) since the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor, Sylwester Suszek, in 2022.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński vowed that the current government in Warsaw will continue its efforts to regulate the crypto market.

“The plan is to keep addressing this until we succeed, until the awareness of the threats and these strange interests connecting certain right-wing politicians with this exchange finally reaches the president,” Kierwiński commented, quoted by the Polish national television.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.

Beijing’s Satellite Town, a specialized hub for satellite manufacturers and operators in Haidian District, is expected to complete its core area construction by the end of 2026 as China builds industrial ecosystems aimed at challenging American dominance in space, particularly SpaceX’s grip on commercial launches.

The facility, located in Haidian’s Yongfeng area adjacent to China Aerospace City, will leverage the district’s rich aerospace resources to create a complete industrial ecosystem. More than 40 high-quality commercial aerospace companies have already settled in the pilot area at Zhongguancun No. 1, as reported by state media.

The push comes as NASA’s Artemis II mission completed a successful lunar flyby this month, marking a renewed phase of competition in deep space. The 10-day mission launched April 1, carrying four astronauts on the first crewed test of the Artemis program.

China is now targeting around 140 orbital launches in 2026, up sharply from 92 last year and 68 in 2024, according to Yang Yiqiang, founder of CAS Space. The United States conducted 193 orbital launches in 2025, with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 alone completing 165 missions, more than the rest of the world combined.

Beijing’s approach centers on shared infrastructure to help private companies cut costs and ramp up production quickly. At a conference in January, officials unveiled nine production projects, six satellite programs, and six industrial platforms under the “Beijing Rocket Street” initiative.

The 145,000-square-meter site will be China’s first shared commercial aerospace research and production base, offering more than 10 shared services, including vibration, thermal vacuum, and separation testing that companies would otherwise have to build themselves.

Galaxy Space plans to build a factory in the area capable of producing 500 satellites per year, making it China’s largest facility for mass production of low Earth orbit satellites. Rockets developed in the zone launched 24 times last year, accounting for over 90% of China’s commercial rocket missions.

Commercial sector now drives majority of activity

Commercial launches now account for over 60% of all Chinese space missions. Last year, the country sent 311 commercial satellites into orbit, making up 84% of all satellites launched.

Gao Yibin from Future Aerospace said China’s trillion-yuan commercial space market is moving toward standardization and scale. He pointed to faster launch approvals, locally made components, and steady investment from industrial funds as key factors.

“The accelerated implementation of scenarios such as low-Earth orbit constellation networking, satellite internet, space computing power, and 6G air-space-ground integration suggests sustained growth is expected in 2026,” Gao said.

NASA is working to land Americans on the moon by early 2028, before the end of President Donald Trump’s term. China is targeting 2030.

Jared Isaacman, nominated by Trump to lead NASA, put it bluntly: “The difference between success and failure will be measured in months, not years.”

Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar program, said: “By 2030, the Chinese people will definitely be able to set foot on the moon. That’s not a problem.”

Moon’s south pole landing could determine future standards

Both countries are eyeing the moon’s south pole, where permanently shadowed craters may contain water ice. Dean Cheng from the Potomac Institute said whoever establishes a permanent presence first could set the rules.

“Imagine [China] setting up a lunar outpost and rotating a crew every six months,” Cheng said. If the US only goes once a year or less, he argued, China could influence everything from the language of space travel to data formats and technical standards.

Zhang Rusheng from China’s space administration said commercial aerospace has progressed across the full industrial chain, from research and development to satellite launches and applications. Officials want Beijing’s development zone to attract up to 1,000 companies and support more than 1,000 commercial launches.

The crypto card with no spending limits. Get 3% cashback and instant mobile payments. Claim your Ether.fi card.

X is pushing deeper into financial territory, turning its social feed into a live trading surface as its new Cashtags feature scales rapidly. Early data from the rollout suggests the experiment is already moving real money at internet scale.

According to X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, the Cashtags pilot has generated an estimated $1 billion in global trading volume within days of launch, signaling strong prior user engagement in trading stocks and crypto assets directly in the app.

Ideally, Cashtags integrates stock and crypto market information directly into timelines for iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada. Its development is consistent with Elon Musk’s plan to build X into a super app. Cashtags let users tap symbols like $BTC, $ETH, or $AAPL to instantly access live price charts, related posts, and market discussions.

The feature is designed to collapse the gap between “seeing” and “trading.” Instead of switching between apps, users now encounter financial data embedded directly within posts and conversations.

Bier says they planned to build financial tools

Before launching Cashtags, Bier had asserted that crypto had struggled over the past year and floated the idea of launching a feature to improve it. Although at the time he insisted that X only intended to build financial tools rather than act like a brokerage.

Later, when introducing Cashtags, he explained that entering a Cashtag on X would trigger suggested matches for stocks and cryptocurrencies, making it easier to select the intended asset. He added that when users click a Cashtag, they can view discussions and a price chart without leaving X, further contending, “Cashtags are just the first step in our commitment to be the best destination for the finance and crypto community.”

So far, according to The Kobeissi Letter, daily U.S. trading volumes have reached $1 trillion, with roughly a quarter of that influenced by social media discussions and analysis. “That’s $250B+ in daily trading volume. We are bullish on Finance X,” it added. Cashtags has now fueled an estimated $1 billion in trading activity.

Just last month, Musk also announced that X Money, a wallet for peer-to-peer transfers, will begin early public rollout in April. For now, it’s unknown if X Money will facilitate crypto transactions, but doing so would seem like a natural progression. Mizuho analysts have warned that regulatory hurdles may complicate plans for X Money’s digital asset offerings, even with the new Cashtags feature, as traders bet against a near-term launch. Wagers on Polymarket only give Musk a 46% chance of hitting that April 30 deadline. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren also stated that the planned payment system presents significant consumer, financial, and security risks that require swift action from Congress. She added that achieving a 6% APY might compel X to pursue riskier investment options, as it would outpace the Federal Reserve’s current rates.

X has partnered with Wealthsimple, a Canadian brokerage firm

X also announced a test integration with Wealthsimple, a Canadian brokerage, enabling in-app trading of assets on X. Wealthsimple explained that users can select a ticker to view market data and then proceed to their accounts to complete a transaction. 

However, this X partnership arrives as Wealthsimple deepens its push into day trading and prediction markets, which remain controversial in futures trading. Ontario regulators decided last month to allow the company into prediction markets, where Canadians can now bet on economic conditions, climate change, and financial metrics. 

More recently, Wealthsimple’s co-founder and chief product officer, Brett Huneycutt, portrayed the integration as a bridge that turns investment discussions on X into instant trading opportunities. Additionally, to address some critics’ concerns about the partnership, Victoria Belton, a communications specialist at Wealthsimple, clarified that the integration does not give X access to Wealthsimple user data, and trading remains fully on Wealthsimple’s platform. 

Your keys, your card. Spend without giving up custody and earn 8%+ yield on your balance with Ether.fi Cash.

Strategy is planning to switch to semi-monthly payouts for its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC). In its Friday announcement, the company stated that the change would reduce the dead time between dividends, allowing investors to compound their gains more quickly, stabilize stock prices, and attract more investors.

On X, founder Michael Saylor reaffirmed, “These proposed changes are intended to stabilize price, dampen cyclicality, drive liquidity, and grow demand.” He added that the change would not alter STRC’s dividend responsibilities or its current annual payout rate of 11.5%.

Momentum behind the preferred stock has accelerated sharply. STRC recorded roughly $1.1 billion in daily trading volume on April 13, a new high that highlights deepening liquidity and institutional participation. The surge represents a significant jump from its historical averages and signals that the instrument is becoming a central vehicle for capital flows into Strategy’s broader Bitcoin-focused financial model.

Market participants say the updated payout cadence could improve liquidity and trading engagement around STRC, particularly as institutional interest in crypto-linked yield products continues to grow.

STRC’s total value climbed to $6.4 billion 

Shareholders are set to vote on the STRC stock dividend update by June 8. So far, the STRC stock has become a massive hit, with total value ballooning to $6.4 billion. Volatility is now 2.1% over the last two months, significantly below the 13% recorded in the first eight months after launch. Saylor and his team say semi-monthly payments could bring it down even more.

More recently, Saylor also acknowledged that STRC has become a central source of funding for the company’s purchase strategy. Earlier in the week, the company bought 13,927 BTC for around $1 billion, pushing total holdings to 780,897 BTC, all backed by the sale of over 10 million STRC shares.

Aside from STRC, Strategy has also introduced other preferred stocks—STRF (Strife), STRE (Stream), STRK (Strike), and STRD (Stride)—to finance its Bitcoin purchase strategy, and unlike STRC, they feature fixed payout rates. 

Strategy shares surged on Friday after Middle East geopolitical tensions eased

On Friday, Strategy shares surged as peace prospects in the Middle East sent Bitcoin higher. Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, had assured the world that cargo ships could pass through the Strait of Hormuz without incident during the 10-day truce, which led to a rise in asset prices. 

MSTR shares advanced 11.8% as Bitcoin gained 3% to $77,400, marking its highest level since mid-January. The uptick offered some relief to Strategy, which had been under strain as unrealized losses climbed into the billions amid Bitcoin’s fall to $65,600. 

Following the gains, Saylor also posted on X an apparent AI-generated image of him shirtless on a luxury yacht, wearing orange shorts, with the words “Bitcoin and chill.” 

However, IG Group Market Analyst Alex Rudolph noted that, even with the ceasefire news, a quick rally won’t solve underlying problems such as weak crypto demand and traders’ nervous mood. For the past six months, Strategy’s stock has been on a downward slide, losing 42% of its value from a $279 peak.

Last year, traders were worried that if the company’s stock kept crashing, they’d have to dump their Bitcoin, which would tank the whole market. Moreover, Strategy’s use of STRC had heightened concerns for some, given that billions in dividends have created lasting cost burdens for the firm. 

Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon even commented, “Because they have such a large stockpile, they are starting to become a gorilla that can move the market. It adds more psychological pressure to the downside than to the upside, because the worry for investors becomes ever greater when they’re underwater.”  

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.

New study by Chinese scientists has shed more light on how humans age, particularly the immune system. More interestingly, they found a way to slow down the process.

The immune cells are a key part of the body that keep humans healthy. But that also means when the cells age, the body grows weaker, and aging accelerates. The scientists specifically noted that the aging of the immune system is what drives organismal aging.

But for a long time, measuring immune aging in humans or even identifying druggable targets to fix has been difficult due to the diverse cell types and the complexity of the system as a whole. Traditional methods relied on single biomarkers that rarely paint an accurate picture of the immune system. 

That’s the hard nut Chinese scientists just cracked, according to a study report published in Immunity this week.

Chinese scientists develop a clock that tracks immune aging

The scientists were able to create a so-called Human Immune Aging Clock (HIAC) that could precisely map immune aging. 

HIAC was constructed from a single-cell multi-omics dataset of nearly 1.2 million human peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from 230 individuals, with ages ranging from 60 years.

Graphical abstract of the study. Source: Immunity

The study also led to an important discovery that the immune cells hit an inflection point around age 40, from where they quickly begin to remodel and age. It also identified T cell transcriptomes as the key indicators of immune aging. As the immune system ages, the proportion of naive T cells tends to decline as well. 

The scientist found that people with decelerated immune aging had high proportions of T  cells and exhibited more youthfulness. 

RUNX1 spotted as a factor that can slow immune aging

The study identified RUNX1 as a central regulator, key to slowing down immune aging in humans. RUNX1 is one particular transcription factor that keeps T cells youthful. However, its expression in the T cells was found to decline with age. 

The scientists discovered that when RUNX1 is removed from young T cells, they began to show signs of aging. However, it was restored in aged T cells, and those signs were alleviated, enabling the cells to maintain their youthfulness. Animal studies have already proven successful. 

“Our study provides a quantitative tool for assessing immunosenescence and nominates RUNX1 as a target for rejuvenating aged immunity,” the scientists wrote in the report.

The exciting summary of the study would be that, by restoring RUNX1, aged T cells will function more like younger ones. In turn, that will help decelerate immune aging and potentially the overall body aging process. 

The study marks yet another progress in longevity research. Earlier this month, Cryptopolitan reported another big event, with scientists at Life Biosciences planning to begin the first trial of partial reprogramming in humans. The trial begins later this year, treating up to 12 people with glaucoma, via a therapy based on three Yamanaka factors, excluding c-Myc.

The therapy already worked well in animal studies, with the scientists successfully restoring eye cells in mice back to a younger state.

If you want a calmer entry point into DeFi crypto without the usual hype, start with this free video.

Bitcoin’s fresh rally is raising a strange contradiction in the market. It is printing green indexes while sentiment refuses to follow. BTC managed to breach the $77,000 for the first time in 11 weeks, but bears’ bets dominated the liquidations.

The global crypto market cap surged by almost 3% over the last 24 hours. It currently hovers around $2.61 trillion. The digital assets market’s 24-hour trading volume spiked by 12% to hit $172 billion. This suggests that traders are speeding up their positions. 

CoinGlass data shows that more than 164,835 traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours. The total liquidations went on to hit $747.81 million. However, the largest single wipeout came from a BTC/USD trade worth $15.75 million on Hyperliquid.

Bitcoin rally triggers Short Squeeze?

Bears were seen bleeding as more than 78% of the liquidated positions turned out to be short bets. More than $585 million worth of short bets were liquidated in the period. Data shows that Bitcoin itself accounted for around $378 million of the total liquidations. Over 91% of the liquidated positions ($344 million) turned out to be short bets. This suggests that traders were hoping for Bitcoin price to remain low or fall, however, BTC price jumped by more than 3% in the last 24 hours to peek $78,000.

Bitcoin liquidation data (Source: Coinglass)

Yet even as bears bleed, conviction hasn’t flipped. Funding rates for perpetual futures remain negative. This signals that leveraged traders are still betting against the rally. This bearish positioning has now persisted for roughly 46 consecutive days. This is reportedly one of the longest such stretches since the collapse of FTX in 2022.

Markets have already started to show signs of those squeeze patterns. Bitcoin price pump came alongside a broader risk-on shift across global markets. Positive comments from the US and Iran have pushed the market.

Equities climbed, oil and the dollar weakened, and the crypto market followed it. Ethereum price jumped by more than 3% over the last 24 hours. ETH is trading at $2,420 at the press time. Ether price move led to the liquidation of $162 million. However, $142 million worth of the liquidated positions (87%) were short bets.

RaveDAO emerged as the biggest gainer among the top 100 cryptos in this period. RAVE price is up by 25%, it is trading around $21.69.

ETF Inflows lifting BTC?

Derivatives positioning suggests traders are not buying the narrative. Options markets show heavy demand for downside protection. Traders are reportedly paying premiums for puts at $60,000 and even $50,000 levels. Meanwhile, retail participation appears cautious. Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and repeated ceasefire headlines have created fatigue. It is leaving many traders hesitant to chase rallies.

🫨 Bitcoin sentiment is at an extreme low during a time you may expect FOMO to be trickling in. Despite $BTC surpassing $77K today (for the first time in 11 weeks), there are 3 bearish comments for every 2 bullish comments about Bitcoin.

😫 Retail is experiencing quite a bit of… pic.twitter.com/sO22pBLQ42

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 17, 2026

Spot demand is also showing signs of recovery. Bitcoin has climbed around 14% from its April lows. This surge seems to be supported by renewed inflows into crypto-linked ETFs. Fresh data shows that net inflows have breached $332 million this week,

April 16, 2026, saw $26.05 million following in the BTC ETFs. Ether ETFs closed the day with $18.02 million in net inflows. This was their sixth straight positive session.

BlackRock’s IBIT led with $81.71 million in net inflows. This lifts its cumulative total to $64.35 billion. Grayscale’s BTC added $16.67 million. It brings its cumulative total to $2.23 billion. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT added another $13.36 million during the session. Fidelity’s FBTC posted an outflow of almost $36 million. ARK’s ARKB reported an outflow of $27.4 million.

On the other hand, leveraged traders remain positioned for downside. They are leaning against the rally. When prices rise against a crowded short trade, the unwind can accelerate quickly. As losses mount, short sellers are forced to buy back positions. This adds fuel to the rally in a cascading effect. The longer this standoff continues, the more volatility will be seen in the market.

Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank

When DeepSeek’s R1 model dropped in January 2025, it briefly erased nearly a trillion dollars in US market value overnight. Nvidia alone shed close to $600 billion in market capitalization in a single day, then the largest single-day loss in US market history, as investors scrambled to reprice the assumptions that America’s AI spending boom was based upon.

According to The Information, DeepSeek is in talks to raise at least $300 million at a valuation of $10 billion, having previously rebuffed multiple approaches from China’s top venture capital firms and technology giants.

That number is a small fraction of the figures for leading AI companies in America, such as OpenAI, which commands an $852 billion valuation, and Anthropic, which is being courted at up to $800 billion. 

The big question for investors now is whether DeepSeek is the bargain of the decade or if America’s AI companies are priced for a future that may never arrive.

What did DeepSeek do to the market, and can it do it again?

DeepSeek’s R1 release was arguably one of the most disruptive events in the short history of the modern AI industry when it claimed to have trained the model for around $5.6 million, a fraction of the hundreds of millions routinely spent by US laboratories.

Haritha Khandabattu, a senior director analyst at Gartner, reportedly described it as an event that “changed global beliefs about frontier-model cost curves and China’s competitiveness.”

Since that January 2025 shock, DeepSeek has issued seven further model updates, none of which rattled markets with the same force, which has been partly reassuring to US investors. 

However, according to Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index, US and Chinese models have traded the top performance ranking multiple times since early 2025, with Anthropic’s leading model holding an advantage of just 2.7% as of March 2026.

Are OpenAI’s investors right to be nervous?

More voices have been calling out OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation, and the critics are not just outsiders alone. 

The Financial Times (FT) reported that some of the company’s own backers have grown uneasy, pointing to a product roadmap that has been changed twice in six months due to competitive pressures from Google and Anthropic. One early investor reportedly stated that OpenAI was a “deeply unfocused company.”

On the revenue front, OpenAI reported an annualized revenue run rate of $25 billion in February. Anthropic, by contrast, saw its annualized rate surge from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to $30 billion by March, driven mostly by demand for Claude Code.

OpenAI’s new chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, has disputed Anthropic’s revenue figures, stating that the numbers are inflated by gross-basis accounting on cloud partner revenue, a charge Anthropic denies.

One investor who has backed both companies told the FT that justifying OpenAI’s current valuation requires assuming an IPO price of $1.2 trillion or more.

Will the bottom fall out on the AI valuation market?

In the first quarter of 2026, just four deals, OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Waymo, accounted for 63% of total capital raised, with a growing number of voices warning that extreme valuations may reflect speculative appetite and not actual revenue-generating capability.

Elon Musk’s combined SpaceX-xAI entity is targeting a public listing at a valuation that analysts suggest could exceed $1.75 trillion, potentially making it the largest IPO in market history.

On the other hand, DeepSeek’s ask of $300 million at a valuation of $10 billion looks almost unbelievable given its size and also considering that OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are collectively looking at valuations that presuppose they will be worth trillions.

Some quarters also attribute the modest valuation to the consideration of the current market realities for a Chinese company. 

Despite this, the valuation gap is too big to ignore, and this time around, it is raising questions that are not aimed at DeepSeek’s credibility but at the credibility of everything priced above it.

Your keys, your card. Spend without giving up custody and earn 8%+ yield on your balance with Ether.fi Cash.

This week gave beaten-up stock names a strange new job. They stopped acting like laggards and started leading the screen. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) came into Friday on track for huge weekly gains, the kind that reset charts and force traders to stop laughing at names they had written off. 

Oracle rose 27% for the week, its best run since June 1999. AMD added 14% for the week, hit an all-time high on Thursday, and kept alive a 13-session winning streak that has pushed the shares up more than 42%.

Microsoft also climbed 14% in what is its best week since April 2015 after a brutal March quarter in which the software giant lost almost a quarter of its value, its worst quarter since 2008.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) gained about 15% this week after Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the company hit a key milestone on its AI5 chip.

Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Micron (NASDAQ: MU), and ON Semiconductor are each up about 30% so far in April. Marvell is up 41% this month. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF, or IGV, is up about 14% week to date, which puts it on track for its best week since its record week in October 2001.

The SPDR Info Tech Fund, known as XLK, hit an all-time high on Friday for the first time since October 2025 and closed at a record level after 13 straight days of gains. That fund also logged its best week since April 2025.

Oracle locks down power while AMD and Microsoft rip higher

Oracle on Monday had expanded an artificial intelligence data center power deal with Bloom Energy, locking in 1.2 gigawatts of capacity from Bloom.

The week before, Oracle was also issued a warrant to buy $400 million worth of Bloom shares. That added another layer to the story and gave traders more reason to chase the move.

AMD’s run looked even more dramatic on the chart. The stock rose 14% this week, but the weekly number only tells part of it. The shares have climbed more than 42% during a stretch of 13 consecutive up days. That is AMD’s longest winning streak in more than 20 years.

Microsoft, meanwhile, just finished its worst quarter since 2008 in March, when it lost almost a quarter of its market value. Now it has posted its best week since April 2015.

Since the year started, a lot of stocks have been getting sold on the fear that AI would crush old software models or force expensive catch-up spending.

But this week, hopes for a lasting peace deal between the U.S. and Iran helped fuel the rebound across the sector. Even after this rally, IGV is still down about 19% so far this year.

Tesla joins the surge as chip names and tech funds pile on

Tesla’s setup though is more complicated. Musk said Wednesday that Tesla reached a key milestone on its AI5 chip, and the stock rose about 15% for the week.

Wall Street analysts expect revenue of $22.08 billion, down 9% from a year earlier. They also expect adjusted EPS of $0.35. Adjusted EBITDA is seen at $3.217 billion, down 14.4% from the same quarter last year.

Earlier this month, Tesla said it delivered 358,023 vehicles globally in the first quarter. That missed the 364,645 analysts expected, though it was still up 6.3% year over year. There is a catch in those year-over-year numbers.

Last year’s total was unusually weak because of the changeover to the new Model Y, which means the base for comparison was already low. Tesla is also expected to give investors an update on its full self-driving effort and its robotaxi plans.

Meanwhile, Broadcom stayed in focus as Jim Cramer discussed the recent market rotation on Mad Money and said: “You may think it’s fanciable to discuss a no-name company like Broadcom, but did you even realize that it’s actually bigger in market cap size than Meta? After the stock’s 4.2% rally today, isn’t that incredible? I’m going to be sure of this because you never know with these things. But I have to tell you, this Meta is back, okay? But Broadcom is the one that I think you need to focus on.”

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Friday that he is ready to back no rate cuts for the rest of the year if inflation stays the bigger threat.

Speaking in Alabama, Waller said policymakers face a setup: a possible long inflation shock and a labor market with no job growth that looks stable. It raises the chance that the Fed will leave policy unchanged until the economy gives a signal.

Waller said high inflation and a weak labor market would put the Fed in a bind because both sides of its dual mandate would be under pressure at once. He said that if inflation risks outweigh labor risks, the policy rate may need to stay in its current target range for a long period.

Markets already expect the Fed to stay on hold this year because the outlook remains cloudy. Waller had supported rate cuts before, but in March, he voted to keep the benchmark federal funds rate at 3.5% to 3.75%.

Waller hardens his case for holding rates as hiring weakens and inflation risks grow

Friday’s speech showed a change in how Waller is reading the labor market. In recent months, he had stressed the danger of weak hiring.

Now he says the evidence is building that the break-even hiring rate may be close to zero, meaning very little hiring may still be enough to keep unemployment from rising.

“My sense is that employers are walking a tightrope between their earlier challenges in finding qualified workers and where they think the economy is going, leaving them vulnerable to some economic shock that could tip them over and lead to significant job reductions,” Waller said.

He also warned that price pressure could last longer than many hope.

“Beyond the length of these disruptions, with this economic shock coming on the heels of the boost to prices from import tariffs, I believe there is the possibility that this series of price shocks may lead to a more lasting increase in inflation, as we saw with the series of shocks during the pandemic,” he said.

If tariffs and other disruptions keep feeding inflation, the Fed may stay parked longer.

Trump tests Powell’s future at the Fed while Waller enters the interim chair debate

Waller’s speech also landed in a fight over who would lead the Fed if Jerome Powell’s term ends before a successor is confirmed. At the core of President Trump’s threat to fire Powell is a legal question that still is not settled: who decides what happens next if the chair’s term expires first.

This week, the administration signaled that Powell should not keep serving as chair after May 15 if no replacement is confirmed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that several people could serve as interim leader, naming Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Waller as options.

Powell had stated his position last month. He said he would continue as “chair pro tempore” if no successor is confirmed on time.

“That is what the law calls for,” Powell said. “That’s what we’ve done on several occasions, including involving me. And it’s what we’re going to do in this situation.”

His stance raises the chance of a court clash with the White House over Fed independence. Rival legal opinions between the executive branch and the Fed go back to 1978, and no court has settled the matter.

The Senate is set to hold confirmation hearings Tuesday for Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to replace Powell, but that may be delayed because Sen. Thom Tillis has said he will oppose any nomination until a criminal probe into the Fed’s building renovations is resolved.

Since 1935, there have been five times when a chair’s term expired before the Senate confirmed a successor. Each time, the sitting chair stayed in place, and no president challenged it.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.

JPMorgan says the U.S. crypto market structure bill is moving closer to completion as lawmakers narrow down the remaining areas of disagreement.

According to the bank’s latest report, negotiations have reduced the list of disputed issues from more than a dozen to just two or three. The update points to a shift in the legislative process, with stablecoin regulation, one of the most debated areas, now said to be in a better position.

The timing now carries added weight. The bill must clear the Senate Banking Committee by mid-May to reach the Senate floor before Memorial Day. However, Senator Moreno has warned that if lawmakers fail to meet that window, the measure could be delayed until 2027.

JPMorgan says Clarity Act is nearing a breakthrough

JPMorgan reported that discussions in Washington show the Clarity Act is in its final stretch. A senior policy official said only a few matters remain unresolved, down from earlier stages of the talks. That shift implies lawmakers have made progress on the main points that had slowed the bill.

One of those points involved stablecoin rewards. For months, that debate remained a major obstacle as banks raised concerns that such features could resemble deposit-taking without the same safeguards. JPMorgan said the latest proposals now place that issue in a more workable position.

In addition, the officials involved in the discussions have also described the draft as very close to completion. The remaining questions reportedly focus on DeFi oversight and token classification, both of which continue to shape the final language of the bill.

Clarity Act focuses on regulatory structure

The Clarity Act aims to set out how digital assets should be regulated in the United States. At the center of the proposal is the division of oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That split has remained one of the most important parts of the broader legislative effort.

The bill also addresses how stablecoins and decentralized finance platforms would fit within existing financial rules. These provisions have drawn close attention because they would help define how key parts of the digital asset sector operate under federal oversight.

JPMorgan said current proposals could appeal to both crypto firms and traditional financial institutions. Even so, the final legislative text has not been released, and no formal vote has been scheduled.

Deadline pressure builds around Senate action

The bill’s path now depends on the timing. According to a Cryptopolitan report, Senator Cynthia Lummis has warned that if the Senate does not act before the 2026 election cycle changes the political landscape, the Clarity Act could face a delay lasting several years. Her comments have added pressure to ongoing negotiations in Washington.

In addition, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also called for federal digital asset rules, arguing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that regulation is important for attracting and retaining crypto investors in the United States. Meanwhile, debate continues around agency jurisdiction, stablecoin rewards, and DeFi provisions.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.

Ripple’s XRP just launched a Solana version, potentially boosting liquidity and a new pool of traders. XRP launched on Solana just as it lost some of its open interest and trading activity on other networks. 

Ripple’s XRP launched on Solana as an official cross-chain asset. Previously, versions of the token launched unofficially and ended their activity after a while. The Solana X handle has hinted at interest in XRP, but only officially announced the token addition on April 17.

This time, the official Solana team announced the token will be added to a growing list of assets from other chains. 

BREAKING: XRP is live on Solana https://t.co/pWiljVfc6m pic.twitter.com/QZbwd6qEN4

— Solana (@solana) April 17, 2026

XRP will launch on Solana in a wrapped form, similar to WBNB and wrapped Ethereum. The new version was launched in partnership with Ripple, Hex Trust, and other partners. 

The asset will gain access to the entire Solana DEX trading ecosystem, including Phantom wallet, Jupiter DEX, Meteora, and more. XRP attempts to draw in more liquidity to compensate for the relatively slow usage of Ripple’s native chain. 

XRP will be available for trading on some of the most widely used Solana platforms, and the asset may spread to lending protocols. XRP is expected to start with new trading pairs against SOL and USDC.

XRP also heavily relies on centralized exchanges, especially on South Korean assets. With the move to Solana, the token may tap one of the liveliest DEX ecosystems. 

Will XRP recover with Solana liquidity?

XRP recovered to around $1.48 after the latest market rally, after weeks of hovering around $1.30. 

Solana is currently one of the important venues of tokenization, adding both crypto and traditional assets. 

The exact trading velocity and liquidity may vary depending on the available trading pairs and liquidity providers. XRP may take a while before establishing high-velocity trading pairs. 

Solana tokenization accelerated in 2026

There is no single standard of tokenization for Solana-based tokens from other native chains. Sunrise is one of the tokenization services, constantly bringing new assets on the chain, including HYPE. 

Others, like PreStocks, list pre-IPO assets, with instant access reflecting sentiment and price expectations for yet unlisted tokens. 

.@PreStocks is tokenizing access to private companies on Solana.

Pre-IPO upside has historically gone to accredited investors. PreStocks offers retail exposure to names like Anthropic and SpaceX.

Onchain private equities are early and come with caveats, but worth watching. pic.twitter.com/CB72F3Pg9h

— frederick (@f9s216) April 16, 2026

The fastest-growing tokenized assets on Solana are still high-ranking tech stocks, including Anthropic. Solana is also a venue for a tokenized version of Strategy’s STRC. 

The value of tokenized stocks of Solana is still near an all-time peak. | Source: Tokenterminal

Almost all RWA on Solana have expanded to new records of on-chain value. Other issuers include Ondo Finance, Solstice Finance, XStocks, Securitize, and others. Demand for tokenized assets varies by protocol, and the process of adding new tokens on Solana is permissionless. 

Your keys, your card. Spend without giving up custody and earn 8%+ yield on your balance with Ether.fi Cash.