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19 May 2026, 16:15
OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy joins Anthropic to lead pre-training research team
BitcoinWorld OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy joins Anthropic to lead pre-training research team Andrej Karpathy, the prominent AI researcher who co-founded OpenAI and previously led Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving programs, has joined Anthropic to work on pre-training research. Karpathy announced the move on X Tuesday, calling the next few years at the frontier of large language models especially formative. A strategic hire for Anthropic Karpathy started this week at Anthropic, where he is working under team lead Nick Joseph on pre-training — the computationally intensive phase responsible for giving Claude its core knowledge and capabilities. An Anthropic spokesperson confirmed to Bitcoin World that Karpathy will establish a new team focused on using Claude itself to accelerate pre-training research. This hire signals Anthropic’s belief that AI-assisted research, rather than simply scaling compute, is the key to staying competitive with rivals like OpenAI and Google. Karpathy is one of the few researchers who bridges the gap between theoretical understanding of large language models and the practical realities of large-scale training runs. Karpathy’s career arc Karpathy’s journey through the AI industry has been closely watched. He left OpenAI in 2017 to join Tesla, where he led the company’s Full Self-Driving and Autopilot programs until 2022. He returned to OpenAI for a year before departing again in 2024 to launch Eureka Labs, a startup focused on applying AI assistants to education. Since then, he has shared few updates on Eureka Labs, and it remains unclear whether he will continue that venture alongside his new role at Anthropic. He has also maintained an active presence in AI education through his online course Neural Networks: Zero to Hero and his YouTube channel, where he posts lectures on LLMs and AI. In his announcement, Karpathy said he remains deeply passionate about education and plans to resume that work in time. Anthropic strengthens security team Separately, Anthropic has brought on Chris Rohlf to its frontier red team, which stress-tests advanced AI models against severe threats. Rohlf, a cybersecurity veteran with over 20 years of experience, previously worked at Yahoo’s well-known security team known as The Paranoids and spent six years at Meta. He was also a fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, where he contributed to the CyberAI project. In a post on X, Rohlf said there is a real opportunity to dramatically improve cybersecurity with AI and that he could not think of a better company or team to join at this critical moment. What this means for the AI landscape Karpathy’s move to Anthropic, combined with the addition of a seasoned cybersecurity expert, suggests the company is investing heavily in both frontier model development and safety research. Pre-training remains one of the most expensive and compute-intensive phases of building advanced AI systems, and Anthropic’s decision to focus on using AI to accelerate that work could give it a unique advantage. For readers following the AI industry, this development underscores a broader trend: leading AI labs are increasingly competing not just on raw compute power, but on the quality of their research teams and their ability to innovate in how models are built and trained. Conclusion Andrej Karpathy’s return to frontier AI research at Anthropic, alongside the company’s parallel investment in cybersecurity expertise, reflects a dual focus on capability and safety. As the race to build more advanced language models intensifies, the composition of research teams and the methods they use to accelerate progress will likely become as important as the scale of the hardware they deploy. FAQs Q1: What will Andrej Karpathy do at Anthropic? He will lead a new team focused on using Claude to accelerate pre-training research, working under team lead Nick Joseph. Pre-training is the phase that gives AI models their core knowledge and capabilities. Q2: Why is this hire significant? Karpathy is one of the few researchers with deep experience in both the theory and large-scale practice of training LLMs. His move signals Anthropic’s strategy of prioritizing AI-assisted research over simply scaling compute. Q3: Will Karpathy continue his education work? He has said he remains deeply passionate about education and plans to resume that work in time, but has not provided specific details. His startup Eureka Labs has not shared recent updates. This post OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy joins Anthropic to lead pre-training research team first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
19 May 2026, 16:14
Sen. Elizabeth Warren questions OCC over granting national trust charters to crypto companies
More on related tickers BitGo: Institutional Crypto Infrastructure At A Discount Bitgo Holdings, Inc. (BTGO) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Circle Q1: Good, But Not Enough To Buy (Rating Upgrade) SoftBank exits Circle Internet, Uber; cuts stake in T-Mobile among top Q1 moves Trump discloses $220M in trades tied to U.S. companies in Q1
19 May 2026, 16:05
Bitcoin Options Have Turned Defensive Near $77K
Summary BTC options have turned defensive near $77K, with short-dated puts clustered around $75.5K-77K and net delta flat to slightly negative. BTC daily options volume is thin ($0.08-0.39M over May 16-18), well below the May 1 peak of $12.78M. ETH gave the cleanest single-day signal on May 18: PCR 0.42, Dec 25 $2,200 call dominant, net delta +$0.19M - but it sits at the lower end of its range. The shift from May 7 conviction (PCR 0.13, +$0.93M delta) to May 18 defense (PCR 0.86, -$0.02M delta) is the key change versus earlier reports. My base case is stabilization between $75.5K and $79K. A bullish read requires call activity above $78K with positive delta. A break below $75.5K opens the breakdown case. 1) Investment Thesis BTC ( BTC-USD ) options aren't sending the same recovery signal anymore. In the May 16-19 report, BTC is sitting near $77K, volume is thin, net delta is flat to slightly negative, and the active strikes have moved closer to short-dated protection around $75.5-77K. Right now, BTC looks more like stabilization than continuation. ETH ( ETH-USD ) looks a little better, but only for one day. On May 18, ETH printed the cleanest signal in the current window: spot near $2,118, PCR at 0.42, the Dec. 25 $2,200 call as the dominant instrument, and net delta at +$0.19M. That is constructive. It is also fragile, because ETH was already trading near the lower part of its short-term range, and the same report still shows put activity around $2,100-2,125. My read is simple: BTC is defensive; ETH has a rebound attempt. Neither confirms a fresh bullish regime yet. 2) Market Context The current report covers May 16 through May 19, 2026. May 19 is only a partial signal in practice: BTC volume is effectively zero, the average trade size is $8, and the highlighted May 20 $74.5K put is only a $15 print. I exclude May 19 from the main thesis and use May 16-18 as the real window. After filtering out linear options, the current analysis uses only Deribit inverse BTC and ETH options and futures. BTC moved from $78,252 on May 16 to $76,846 on May 18. That move was not met by strong call demand. The report shows daily BTC options volume of only $0.39M, $0.08M, and $0.26M over May 16-18. That is thin participation. More important, the flow leaned toward short-dated puts close to spot. ETH moved from $2,184 on May 16 to $2,118 on May 18. Unlike BTC, ETH did produce one cleaner positive-delta call day on May 18. But the signal came after spot had already moved lower, so I read it as a rebound attempt, not leadership. 3) What Changed Versus The Previous Reports This article is based on the May 16-19 report. The older May 1-9 and May 10-15 reports are used only as historical comparison. Earlier in May, BTC still had a recovery tape. May 7 was the cleanest example: spot was $80,789, PCR was 0.13, the dominant flow sat in Sep. 25 $66K and $68K calls, and net delta was +$0.93M. It was not enough to call a new regime, but it was real upside confirmation compared with the current report. The May 10-15 report already started to weaken. May 11 looked extremely call-heavy on raw PCR at 0.09, but net delta was -$0.18M. May 14 was better, with PCR at 0.53 and net delta at +$0.20M, but the adjusted PCR moved to 1.64 after removing the dominant Jun. 5 $82K call. So even before the latest report, BTC call signals were becoming less clean. Source for this comparison: IVCompass May 10-15 report. Now the tape is different. May 16 shows PCR at 1.60. May 17 is near-neutral at 1.04. May 18 is 0.86, but net delta is still negative at -$0.02M. The shift is not panic. It is a move from recovery positioning into protection and range defense. 4) Options Market Signal BTC: Protection moved closer to spot BTC's May 16-18 options flow is defensive. On May 16, BTC traded near $78,252. PCR was 1.60, the dominant instrument was the Jun. 5 $75K put, and net delta was only +$0.01M. The bucket breakdown matters here: short-dated 0-7 day puts printed $173,383 versus $77,351 in short-dated calls. That is a 2.24x put/call imbalance in the front bucket. On May 17, the report became thinner. BTC spot was $78,059, total options volume was $0.08M, PCR was 1.04, and the dominant instrument was the May 20 $78K put. Net delta was -$0.01M. I do not take a strong directional signal from a day this small, but it did not repair the upside thesis. On May 18, BTC slipped to $76,846. PCR was 0.86, which looks less defensive at first glance, but the instrument mix still leaned toward protection near spot. The dominant instrument was the May 21 $75.5K put, short-dated put volume was $115,988, and net delta was -$0.02M. The persistent activity table confirms the same zone. The May 20 $79K call was active, but the cluster of May 19 $76.5K put, May 20 $76.5K put, May 20 $77K put, and May 21 $75.5K put sits much closer to the current spot reference. That is the area the options tape is watching now. The current report does not provide a separate adjusted-PCR distortion table for May 16-19. So I do not make an adjusted-PCR claim for this window. I read raw PCR through dominant share and net delta. That check is important: BTC's dominant instruments were not overly concentrated on May 16-18, with dominant share at 12.4%, 18.5%, and 14.9%. This is not a one-instrument distortion story. It is a broader move toward short-dated protection. ETH: One cleaner call day, but not enough ETH has the better single-day signal. On May 16, ETH traded near $2,184 with PCR at 0.75. The dominant instrument was the May 20 $2,100 put, and net delta was essentially flat. That is neutral, with a defensive edge. On May 17, ETH had a low PCR at 0.26, but net delta was -$0.02M. That is why I do not read the day as clean upside demand. May 18 is the real ETH signal. ETH traded near $2,118, PCR was 0.42, the dominant instrument was the Dec. 25 $2,200 call, and net delta was +$0.19M. The high-activity table also shows buy-heavy execution in the May 20 and May 19 $2,100 calls. I still cannot know whether those trades were opening, closing, or part of a wider structure, but the execution and delta both looked more constructive than BTC. There is still a catch. ETH also had active short-dated puts: the May 22 $2,125 put and the May 20 $2,100 put remain important. So ETH is not leading with a clean bullish structure. It is trying to rebound from the $2,100 area. 5. Futures And Spot The futures layer supports a cautious read rather than a breakdown call. For BTC, the allowed inverse term-structure rows show slight backwardation in the May 19 and May 20 contracts: -0.0069% and -0.0113% average basis. The May 21 contract moves back into contango at 0.1616%. That tells me the stress is near-term, not yet structural. BTC futures flow on May 16 and May 17 was marked as aggressive sell in the report, with buy ratios of 0.155 and 0.006. The volumes were tiny, though: $0.01M and $0.02M. That is consistent with the defensive options tape, but it is not enough to call a futures-led breakdown. For ETH, the May 20 contract showed extreme contango, while May 21 shifted into slight backwardation. ETH futures on May 18 leaned buy-heavy, but volume was only $0.02M. Again, useful context, not standalone proof. Liquidation data is clean after the universe filter. BTC inverse rows for May 16-17 show no liquidation event. ETH inverse rows on May 18 also show no liquidation event. I do not explain this move through forced liquidations. 6) BTC Scenario Map These are not mechanical support and resistance levels. They come from the options tape: the $75.5-77K put cluster, the $78K put reference, and the $79K call reference. I rank stabilization as the primary setup, recovery as conditional, and breakdown as the risk case. I am not assigning exact probabilities because the current window is too thin. Right now, stabilization is still the cleaner BTC read. To change that, I need to see call activity near $78-79K that actually adds delta. A low PCR alone is not enough. 7) ETH: One Day Of Optimism, Still Fragile ETH deserves a separate read, not a copy of BTC. The current ETH setup is built around $2,100. That is where both the spot reference and the short-dated options activity sit. The May 18 Dec. 25 $2,200 call gives ETH a cleaner upside reference than BTC had in the same window, and the +$0.19M net delta supports that read. But ETH is not free of risk. The May 20 $2,100 put and May 22 $2,125 put keep the lower side active. If ETH holds $2,100 and the $2,100-2,200 call activity keeps positive delta, ETH can become the stronger rebound candidate. If $2,100 fails, the next visible put references are lower, around $2,050 and $1,900 from the report's put activity. So my ETH read is: better than BTC on May 18, but still fragile. One positive-delta day gives a rebound signal. It does not give a confirmed trend. 8) Forward Setup The next update matters because the current window is thin. Thin data can flip quickly. BTC base setup: Stabilize between $75.5K and $79K This is the cleanest read from the report. BTC has protection around $75.5-77K and a visible call reference near $79K. If spot stays inside that zone and net delta stops drifting negative, the market can spend several sessions building a range. What confirms it: PCR stays near neutral, net delta is flat or slightly positive, and volume does not spike on put-heavy days. What weakens it: new short-dated puts appear below $75K, or May 16-style put imbalance returns with higher volume. BTC bullish setup: Reclaim $78K–$79K with delta A bullish read needs more than a spot bounce. BTC needs call activity that adds positive delta. Earlier reports showed why: May 11 had an extreme call PCR but negative net delta; May 14 improved, but adjusted PCR became much less bullish after the dominant call was removed. So the bullish trigger is specific: BTC reclaims $78-79K, calls become dominant above spot, net delta turns positive, and the near-term basis stress fades. Without those pieces, I treat rallies into $78-79K as tests, not confirmation. BTC bearish setup: Lose $75.5K with expanding puts The bearish case starts if BTC loses the May 21 $75.5K put area and the options tape follows spot lower. A break by itself is not enough. I need to see put-heavy PCR, negative net delta, and higher participation. If that happens, the next downside map opens toward lower protection levels rather than the current $75.5-77K cluster. ETH setup: Hold $2,100 or lose the rebound attempt ETH has one clear task: hold $2,100. If ETH holds that area and call activity around $2,100-2,200 keeps adding delta, the May 18 signal can extend into a rebound. If ETH loses $2,100 and put activity expands, the May 18 call signal turns into a failed rebound attempt. 9) Risks To The Thesis The first risk is liquidity. BTC options volume in the current window is very small. A thin tape can look stable until one larger session changes the picture. The second risk is false call strength. BTC already showed call-heavy days in earlier reports that did not carry positive delta. If calls return but net delta stays flat or negative, I will not treat that as upside demand. The third risk is a deeper put migration. Right now, protection is clustered around $75.5-77K. If new dominant puts move below $75K, the market is no longer defending the current zone. The fourth risk is futures stress spreading beyond the nearest maturities. Current BTC backwardation is short-dated. If it spreads further along the curve, the stabilization view weakens. The fifth risk is ETH failing at $2,100. ETH has the cleaner May 18 call signal, but it sits very close to the lower side of the current range. A break below $2,100 would make that signal much less useful. 10) Final Investor Takeaway BTC's recovery tape has faded. The current report shows thin volume, near-zero or negative net delta, and short-dated put activity close to spot. That is not a continuation signal. It is protection and stabilization. ETH gives the better single-day read because May 18 had positive delta behind the Dec. 25 $2,200 call. I still treat it as a rebound attempt, not a confirmed trend. The metrics I am watching next are ranked. Primary watch points: BTC net delta, BTC PCR with dominant instrument share, short-dated put levels around $75.5-77K, and call activity near $78-79K. Secondary confirmation: BTC near-term basis, ETH net delta around $2,100-2,200, and liquidation spike flags. If BTC holds the $75.5-77K area and delta stabilizes, the base setup stays range-bound. If BTC reclaims $78-79K with positive delta, the recovery case reopens. If BTC loses $75.5K with put-heavy flow and higher volume, I step back from the stabilization thesis. Data: Deribit inverse options + futures, May 16-19, 2026. May 19 appears partial. Historical comparison uses IVCompass reports from May 1-9 and May 10-15, 2026. Linear options excluded. Analysis: IVCompass. Disclaimer: This analysis is intended for informational purposes only. It reflects my reading of market structure and options positioning based on available data and should not be treated as financial or investment advice. Past positioning patterns do not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Original Source: Author
19 May 2026, 16:02
The Sell Side for XRP Might Get Very Thin If This Trend Continues
Large XRP holders now control over 68% of the token’s circulating supply as accumulation among whale wallets continues to climb during XRP’s extended consolidation phase. Zach Humphries (@ZachHumphries), a well-known investor, drew attention to the trend in a recent post, stating that “the sell side for $XRP might get very thin if this whale trend continues.” His chart showed wallets holding at least 10 million XRP now control more than 45 billion tokens, the highest level recorded since May 2018. The chart also compared those holdings against the asset’s price action across multiple years. The sell side for $XRP might get very thin if this whale trend continues. Large holders now control nearly 68% of the supply, matching levels we have not seen in eight years. It looks like smart money is using the current sideways consolidation to absorb liquid supply directly… pic.twitter.com/l8QhvVsA93 — Zach Humphries (@ZachHumphries) May 18, 2026 Whale Holdings Continue Rising During Consolidation The chart showed a sharp increase in accumulation beginning in the second half of 2025 as XRP fell from its all-time high reached in July. Whale wallets steadily increased their holdings even as XRP traded sideways following its strong rally earlier in the cycle. According to the data, wallets holding at least 10 million XRP now control 68.48% of the total supply. The data shows that large investors are absorbing available liquidity directly from exchanges while retail sentiment remains cautious. He described the current market structure as “sideways consolidation” and said a breakout above the current range would completely change the macro setup for XRP. The chart also showed that previous periods of strong whale accumulation preceded major XRP price expansions. From 2022 into mid-2024, large-wallet holdings gradually increased while XRP remained relatively flat. That accumulation phase preceded the sharp upward move that began at the end of 2024. XRP Price Holds Key Structure XRP currently trades in a tight range after experiencing heavy volatility earlier this year. The chart showed the asset stabilizing while whale holdings continued trending upward. That divergence has become a major focus for XRP traders. Rising concentration among large holders during a period of muted price action often signals reduced liquid supply in the market. If demand rises while exchange liquidity shrinks , price movement can accelerate quickly. Humphries questioned whether this could be “the final accumulation before a real breakout.” The chart itself supports the idea that large holders remain active despite XRP failing a major expansion phase. What Comes Next for XRP? A decisive move above the current range would likely shift market sentiment rapidly. XRP still trades well above the levels seen before its late-2024 breakout. The current consolidation sits above previous resistance zones, which many traders now view as support. Whale accumulation has not slowed, and a breakout could cause a swift rise for XRP . Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post The Sell Side for XRP Might Get Very Thin If This Trend Continues appeared first on Times Tabloid .
19 May 2026, 16:00
Zondacrypto loses Estonia license as collapse fallout grows
The recently failed coin trading platform Zondacrypto has had its license suspended by the financial authorities in Estonia, where its operator is based. The Polish-rooted exchange is also being targeted with a bankruptcy motion initiated by lawyers representing customers who lost assets in the crash. Estonia bans Zonda from accepting new funds and clients Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has suspended the license of BB Trade OÜ, the local entity which was running Zondacrypto. Focused on the Polish market, the cryptocurrency exchange was one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe, before it collapsed last month. On Monday, the Estonian regulator announced it’s prohibiting the company from accepting any additional assets, fiat or crypto, and adding new clients. The agency made it clear, however, this is a partial suspension, which will not prevent the return or withdrawal of funds by current customers. It also stated: “By the same decision, the FIU ordered BB Trade Estonia OÜ to bring its operations into compliance with the conditions required for holding the operating license.” The crypto firm has been given 30 days to do so but the measure will remain in effect until the FIU verifies that all legal requirements are met. Failure will result in permanent revocation. The body noted it’s issuing the precept under the country’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act and Economic Activities Code. It also urged clients of Trade Estonia OÜ, who are unable to recover their assets, to contact law enforcement authorities in the countries where they reside. The latest announcement from the FIU comes after earlier in May the authority warned BB Trade about the lack of a published white paper for the TeamPL token it issues. The warning cited a rule from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. It was issued after Zonda had already halted withdrawals amid liquidity issues in April. Polish customers to apply for Zondacrypto’s bankruptcy in Estonia Meanwhile, lawyers representing the Polish victims of the crypto crash have been preparing to file for the bankruptcy of the operating entity behind the troubled exchange. The main purpose of the proceedings is to trace and secure as much as possible of the BB Trade’s remaining assets before they disappear, the Bitcoin.pl portal revealed in a report on Tuesday. The application will be submitted to an Estonian court. Law enforcement officials in the Baltic state are yet to launch a probe into the case but confirmed they are in contact with their Polish colleagues. The Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice is already investigating the collapse. According to its estimates, at least 30,000 people have lost 350 million zloty (over $95 million). The Polish prosecutors have seized 104 electronic devices and over 13 terabytes of data from the company’s servers in Poland. According to an analysis by Recoveris, $21.2 million were transferred out of Zonda wallets, between December 2025 and April 2026, in 511 individual transactions using 30 different coins. Media reports quoting research data from the same market intelligence firm first revealed last month that the exchange had lost 99% of its reserves. While rejecting claims it’s on the brink of insolvency, Zonda CEO Przemysław Kral admitted the company didn’t have access to a wallet with 450 BTC since its founder’s disappearance in 2022. The crypto service provider was established as BitBay in 2014 by Sylwester Suszek, who sold it in 2021 when the platform was rebranded to Zondacrypto. Suszek is still missing, presumed dead. According to an article by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, quoting the Polish counterintelligence agency ABW, Poland’s leading digital-asset exchange has been controlled by the Russian mafia. Kral, who also holds an Israeli passport, has remained silent since mid-April and is believed to be hiding in Dubai , together with a man identified by the Polish news outlet Onet Wiadomości as Marian W. The publication alleged that the latter, also known by his nickname “Maniek,” was the one actually running Zonda from Monaco, while Suszek and later Kral served merely as front men. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
19 May 2026, 16:00
Bitcoin price stays under $77K as US bond yields near 20-year highs
BTC price stayed pinned below $77,000 amid rising US bond yields and oil prices, with market analysts saying Bitcoin is now at a "crucial level of support."
