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22 May 2026, 00:54
Cardano eyes $1.5T BTCFi market as new bridges emerge
🚀 Cardano aims to capture part of the $1.5T BTCFi market. Its atomic swaps allow direct BTC to ADA trades with no wrapping. 📊 Critical data: Total bridge-locked value has hit $40B in $ADA-focused DeFi. Continue Reading: Cardano eyes $1.5T BTCFi market as new bridges emerge The post Cardano eyes $1.5T BTCFi market as new bridges emerge appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
22 May 2026, 00:47
Tom Lee Supports Ethereum as AI Agentic Settlement Layer
In the recent post on X, BitMine CEO Tom Lee has raised his support for a new Ethereum organization suggested by a former Ethereum Foundation researcher. According to Tom Lee, Ethereum would play a major role as the settlement layer for agentic AI in the future. Dankrad Feist has shared a few suggestions for the new organization, including new competent leadership. On May 21, Tom Lee, co-founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, shared a post on the recent major discussion about the new Ethereum organization amid the departure of many popular Ethereum Foundation researchers and contributors . In the latest post on X (formerly Twitter), Tom Lee raised his support to lead Ethereum’s new organization along with “ a deep bench of leaders and developers .” It will help the community to ensure that the network remains the future settlement layer of finance and AI . The official tweet from Tom Lee highlights the Ethereum blockchain’s role in the agentic economy. Tom Lee Agrees with Former Ethereum Foundation Researcher’s Suggestion for New Leadership Tom Lee’s post came in response to the post shared by crypto analyst and Bankless co-founder Ryan Sean Adams. In the post on X, Ryan Sean Adams mentioned the name of Lee as a potential leader for a new organization suggested by a former Ethereum Foundation researcher. Tom Lee’s BitMine is continuously accumulating ETH, and it is currently the biggest ETH-holding private company. As per the latest announcement , the company is currently holding 5.27 million ETH tokens in its treasury, making it the biggest ETH holding entity. This makes it the biggest bullish force for the ETH price movement as it provides confidence to institutional investors. It also encourages other financial institutions to move beyond Bitcoin treasuries and hold assets like ETH. The origin of this discussion is a detailed proposal shared by Dankrad Feist, who is a former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. In the post, Feist mentioned that the foundation is now holding less than 0.1%. He also mentioned that there is “no flow” for generating income from staking or fees. According to Dankrad, to bring Ethereum back on the right track, the community should create an organization that “ economically aligned with Ethereum and accountable to it. ” Dankrad has mentioned that the organization must have credible funding of a minimum of $1 billion in the beginning.“ That’s very reasonable for an ecosystem with a $250 billion market cap,” he said. Apart from this, he affirmed that the new foundation needs a competent leader who wants to fight. Also, the new organization must have a board of people “who want ETH to go up, and a charter that holds the org accountable to it.” However, some community members are still raising questions about this proposal suggested by Dankrad Feist. Laura Shin stated in the post that, “ IMO, though, it won’t work unless it can influence tokenomics. That’s the piece that’s been missing, and that needs to be integrated with the tech. Having an outside organization can only help with BD, not the fundamental ways the token works. ” Ethereum Foundation Sees Departure of Major Team Members The Ethereum Foundation is currently facing a crisis as major talent is leaving the organization for different reasons. Recently, many senior researchers, developers, and leaders have abandoned the organization, which has sparked a discussion in the entire community about the future of the organization. The list includes the popular names, including Carl Beek, Julian Ma, Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Josh Stark, Trent Van Epps, Alex Stokes, and Tomasz Stanczak. Most of these departures are connected to internal restructuring in the Ethereum Foundation. In 2025, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin hinted at some changes in leadership. According to these changes, Aya Miyaguchi took the role of President. In March 2026, the Ethereum Foundation revealed a document known as the EF Mandate . In this, the foundation has shared new principles, which include censorship resistance, open source development, privacy, and security. “To be a part of EF, our own teams must remember that Ethereum must, above all, remain censorship resistant, open source, private, and secure (CROPS). Its self-sovereign use must be extraction-resistant and experience seamless. These are the conditions that make Ethereum worth using, and therefore worth building, and worth defending. They must never be traded away for convenience: without them we have nothing,” stated in the official announcement. Tom Lee Mentions Blockchain’s Role in Agentic AI In the tweet, Tom Lee has highlighted blockchain’s important role in the agentic AI economy. He said, “Blockchain is arguably the only way agentic AI interacts in commerce. And blockchain vastly improves the profit profile of the financial system.” Agentic AI is an autonomous system that can think, plan, and execute complex tasks with just small human intervention. According to Goldman Sachs Research , Agentic AI is expected to witness a growth of 24x in token due to growing adoption and consumption by 2030 . Blockchain technology is expected to play a major role in this agentic payment revolution as it can provide permanent records for ownership and agreements. Apart from this, the feature of smart contracts can allow AI agents to automate financial transactions. The integration of agentic AI with blockchain technology will allow them to open a door for trustless settlement, which means that AI agents can talk to each other without any middle authority and make settlements. This will also help developers to create programmable money, such as USDC. On May 11, Circle announced the launch of the Circle Agent Stack , which is a tool that is designed for AI agents. One of the major features of this stack is agent wallets that come with programmable safety limits, which can be used for nanopayments by using USDC stablecoin. Apart from this, there will be an Agent Marketplace where users will be able to find different services and make transactions. On May 21, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire shared a major update regarding the AI agents. The new feature will allow agents to sign up for phone numbers on their own and make real-time AI calls through integrations with services like Twillio and BlandAI. Also Read: Fidelity Boasts FIDD, Europe Counters with Euro Stablecoin
22 May 2026, 00:35
Anonymous Whale Closes HYPE Short at $7 Million Loss Amid Token Rally
BitcoinWorld Anonymous Whale Closes HYPE Short at $7 Million Loss Amid Token Rally An anonymous cryptocurrency investor, commonly referred to as a whale, has closed a short position on the HYPE token at a realized loss exceeding $6.99 million, according to on-chain analytics platform Onchain Lens. The position was opened through two separate addresses on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange. Following the closure, the whale withdrew the remaining USDC collateral from the platform. Market Context and Price Action The liquidation comes as HYPE experiences a significant price rally. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the token has surged 32.56% over the past seven days, currently trading at $58.52. This upward momentum has pushed HYPE to the 10th position among all cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, reflecting growing investor confidence and trading volume. Implications for the HYPE Market Large short positions being forcibly closed, or covered at a loss, often contribute to further upward price pressure — a phenomenon known as a short squeeze. In this case, the whale’s exit may have added to the recent buying activity. The event highlights the risks associated with leveraged short selling in volatile crypto markets, where sudden price swings can lead to substantial losses even for well-capitalized traders. What This Means for Retail Traders For smaller investors, such whale movements serve as a reminder of the market’s unpredictability. While the HYPE rally has benefited long holders, the whale’s $7 million loss underscores the importance of risk management, particularly when using leverage. On-chain data provides transparency into these large moves, allowing traders to gauge market sentiment and potential volatility. Conclusion The closure of this HYPE short position at a $7 million loss represents a notable event in the token’s recent price action. As HYPE continues to trade near its all-time highs, market participants will be watching for further whale activity and its potential impact on price stability. The incident reinforces the value of on-chain analytics in understanding market dynamics. FAQs Q1: What is a short position? A short position is a trading strategy where an investor borrows and sells an asset, hoping to buy it back later at a lower price. If the price rises instead, the trader incurs a loss. Q2: How did Onchain Lens track this whale’s activity? Onchain Lens monitors blockchain transactions and wallet addresses. In this case, they identified two addresses on Hyperliquid that opened the short position and later closed it at a loss, with the remaining collateral withdrawn. Q3: What is a short squeeze? A short squeeze occurs when a rising price forces short sellers to buy back the asset to cover their positions, which can drive the price even higher. This event may have contributed to HYPE’s recent rally. This post Anonymous Whale Closes HYPE Short at $7 Million Loss Amid Token Rally first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
22 May 2026, 00:34
Bitcoin liquidity balance hints at developing rally toward $80K
Data show Bitcoin futures traders are pursuing overhead short positions, raising the chance of a rally to $80,000.
22 May 2026, 00:30
Early Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Demand Was Self-Directed, Exec Reveals
Morgan Stanley’s early Bitcoin ETF demand came largely from self-directed investors rather than financial advisors, according to Amy Oldenburg, the firm’s head of digital asset strategy. The comments add nuance to how one of Wall Street’s largest wealth and asset management platforms is seeing Bitcoin exposure enter its ecosystem. Speaking with Nate Geraci on the Crypto Prime podcast released May 20, Oldenburg said the first weeks of activity in Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETP were driven mostly by investors acting directly through platforms rather than advisor-led allocations. The distinction matters because Morgan Stanley’s footprint in wealth management has made its crypto initiatives a closely watched signal for how digital assets may move deeper into traditional portfolios. My conversation w/ @MorganStanley ‘s Amy Oldenburg… We discuss:-Firm’s approach to crypto overall-Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF (MSBT)-Future crypto product development-Direct spot crypto trading on E*Trade-Crypto infrastructure build-Tokenization efforts via @CryptoPrimePod pic.twitter.com/pBYT2i3hdN — Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) May 20, 2026 “The earliest weeks of the ETF flows were all self-directed,” Oldenburg said. “And I think that’s important to understand because I saw a number of articles out there making statements that our financial advisors were the ones that were using our own.” Retail-Led Demand Powered Early Bitcoin ETF Flows Morgan Stanley Investment Management filed for three crypto ETFs in January, covering Bitcoin, Solana and Ethereum. Its Bitcoin product, ticker MSBT, launched in early April and, according to Geraci’s framing in the interview, was already nearing $300 million in assets after roughly a month and a half of trading. He described it as one of the more successful ETF launches of the year among more than 460 new ETFs. Oldenburg said Morgan Stanley’s advisors can use the product, but she emphasized that the platform is open and that advisors are not limited to the firm’s own Bitcoin ETP. “We launched this specifically for our Morgan Stanley financial advisors to use, which they are absolutely able to use along with any other Bitcoin ETF in the market,” she said. “They have an open platform. There’s a number of solicited Bitcoin ETFs that are available for solicitation on that platform and they make that final fiduciary decision for their client as to what’s best.” Instead, Oldenburg said early demand came through self-directed channels, including bank platforms and E*Trade . That suggests a meaningful portion of Morgan Stanley’s initial Bitcoin ETF uptake may be coming from investors who are already comfortable making crypto allocation decisions themselves, rather than from a top-down advisor push across the firm’s wealth business. “Most of that early flow was self-directed, meaning that individuals were coming through bank platforms, the E*Trade platform and other venues and actively buying that asset directly,” she said. “And that’s, I think, a very interesting thing to see.” For Morgan Stanley, the pattern appears to point to a wider education gap inside the traditional advice channel. Oldenburg said self-directed buying is not unique to MSBT and that Morgan Stanley sees similar behavior across its broader wealth platform. Her takeaway was that there is still room for more conversations between advisors and clients about how Bitcoin exposure fits into asset allocation. That framing is notable because Morgan Stanley has positioned its Bitcoin ETP as part of a broader client-led digital asset strategy rather than an isolated product launch. Oldenburg said the firm does not typically launch products that clients are not asking for. “There was a continued interest from clients and I think that’s one thing to note just in terms of how we think about our business overall for any of our divisions. We really are a client-led culture here. So we’re not launching something that our clients aren’t asking for. We tend to follow and listen to where our clients’ needs are,” she said. The firm has also sought to compete on cost. Oldenburg highlighted the ETF’s 14 basis point management fee , arguing that a passive single-asset product should be priced in line with traditional financial-market expectations. She made a similar point about Morgan Stanley’s direct spot crypto trading initiative through E*Trade, where pricing is set at 50 basis points per transaction. Beyond direct buying, Oldenburg said Morgan Stanley has seen “pretty significant interest” in in-kind transactions, where investors move spot crypto into an ETF wrapper. She said that demand surprised her and suggested it reflects the limits of holding assets purely in crypto-native form, particularly when clients want access to services such as estate planning, lending or broader capital markets functions. At press time, BTC traded at $77,249.
22 May 2026, 00:09
Charles Hoskinson says Cardano has the edge in the race to dominate Bitcoin DeFi
Charles Hoskinson thinks Cardano can make a break in the fast-growing Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi), a booming Bitcoin-based decentralized finance space. He noted that no single blockchain has yet dominated the space, creating opportunities for networks offering secure Bitcoin bridging , enhanced privacy, and improved scalability. His comments come amid rising competition among blockchain projects seeking to tap into Bitcoin liquidity for DeFi applications. Why does Hoskinson believe Cardano can lead Bitcoin DeFi? After reviewing the Starknet presentation on its strkBTC bridge launch, Hoskinson shared his views. The presentation outlined three phases of the bridge’s rollout. It explained that there has been a growing focus lately on bringing Bitcoin into decentralized finance systems without running its operations through multiple centralized intermediaries. Hoskinson argued that the industry had officially entered the race for “competition for dominance in Bitcoin DeFi.” BTCFi is among the biggest untapped opportunities in this crypto space, he said, because current Bitcoin holders carry a ton of excess capital that is not yet being invested in loan-making, trading, or yield-generating businesses. Based on market forecasts, Bitcoin’s market cap is approximately $1.5 trillion, making it the world’s largest crypto ecosystem. However, only a fraction of Bitcoin’s liquidity is used on decentralized financial platforms, at least in the Ethereum-led DeFi space. Hoskinson thinks this creates an opening for Cardano before competitors like Stacks, Rootstock, Bitlayer, and Citrea establish long-term dominance. Another of Cardano’s advantages, he also cited, is research-led UTXO architecture, continuous upgrades to scalability, plus growing privacy infrastructure through its partner chain, Midnight. BTCFi competition is growing as security concerns remain Bitcoin DeFi will allow Bitcoin users to create and use Bitcoin themselves within the system, without the need for central custodians or risk-taking bridge systems. The dual objectives are large in scope: enabling the safe exchange of Bitcoin across all blockchain venues while maintaining user privacy during financial transactions. Increasingly, BTCFi developers are adopting various technologies, including zero-knowledge proofs, BitVM, shielded transactions, and trust-minimized bridge designs, to reduce security risk. These tools aim to tackle a critical task that DeFi faces – the most dangerous threat: bridge hacks. The value locked in crypto bridge protocols is about $40 billion, according to data from DefiLlama . Bridge platforms are among the largest targets in history for hackers, as they hold large pools of liquidity across many chains. Accordingly, developers have been seeking to develop trust-minimized systems that eliminate single points of failure and limit reliance on centralized actors or multisignature wallets. Meanwhile, institutional requirements for privacy-preserving financial infrastructure have steadily increased in 2023. Cardano pushes deeper into Bitcoin integration Cardano has begun, through various technical advancements, to implement its Bitcoin-oriented strategy at scale. A milestone in this ecosystem was reached when FluidTokens achieved (in March 2026) the first native Bitcoin-to-Cardano atomic swap on mainnet. This atomic swap solution would help users to swap BTC and ADA directly without using wrapped assets or centralized bridges. Proponents of the model have argued that this mitigates security risk while improving decentralization. Hoskinson has since stressed plans to introduce additional Bitcoin liquidity into Cardano and Midnight . The greater objective is the development of private lending markets, yield-generation software, and cross-chain financial services linked to Bitcoin assets. He has also commented that adding to Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem in 2026 will be a “do-or-die” phase for the network and an indication of the relevance BTCFi may have to the network’s future vision. Developers of Cardano are also working on continuing efforts for new scaling enhancements based on Leios upgrades and increased node performance. Despite these promising signs, Cardano is still competing against Bitcoin-focused ecosystems that are already building decentralized applications and providing liquidity infrastructure. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
