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Charles Schwab plans to introduce spot crypto trading within the next year, marking a significant expansion into the digital asset space. The move follows a broader trend of traditional financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, entering the crypto market amid growing investor demand and anticipated regulatory clarity.
Galaxy Digital plans to list on Nasdaq on May 16 to expand its U.S. footprint and attract a wider investor base amid rising interest in crypto and AI sectors following strong April performance among crypto-related stocks. CEO Mike Novogratz views the listing as a key step toward making digital and AI asset exposure more accessible.
Aztec Network has released a public testnet for its Ethereum-based Layer 2, enabling developers to build decentralized applications with programmable privacy while maintaining Ethereum's transparency. This milestone paves the way for a mainnet launch and broader adoption of privacy-focused blockchain infrastructure.
Tools for Humanity plans to launch the World Card later this year, allowing verified humans to spend digital assets from their World App wallet anywhere Visa is accepted with seamless crypto-to-fiat conversion. The card will also offer unique AI-era rewards, including incentives for AI subscriptions, and aims to make WLD usable in everyday transactions globally.
Rain has joined Visa's stablecoin settlement pilot, enabling 24/7, 365-day USDC-based settlement for its Visa-issued cards and fully tokenizing its credit card receivables for improved capital efficiency and transparency. This partnership demonstrates how Rain's onchain infrastructure can power global, real-time payments and unlock credit access in underbanked markets through stablecoin-based financing and smart contract automation.
Despite earlier claims that memecoins were “dead,” Solana memecoin trading remains active, with Pumpdotfun generating $1.5M–$2M in daily volume. Around 150,000 wallets engage in daily memecoin trading, with 20,000–40,000 token launches and a graduation rate of 0.4–0.8%. Combined, major terminals facilitate over $100M in daily volume and 1–2 million transactions. Pumpswap, Pumpdotfun's native AMM, generated $25M in fees in its first month.
The original promise of cryptocurrency—financial sovereignty—has been eclipsed by an emphasis on infrastructure over native monetary design. DeFi has gravitated toward dollar-denominated stablecoins and institutional adoption. Lacking mechanisms for supply, stability, and credit management, tokens like BTC and ETH have ceded ground to traditional financial models. Layer-1 tokens are increasingly commoditized, risking long-term value erosion. Reviving the crypto revolution requires building tokens with complete monetary systems rather than simply creating better rails for existing money.
Stablecoins are rapidly becoming commoditized utilities as issuers compete to distribute yield to users and incentivize partners. Leading players like Tether—backed by deep liquidity—are expected to pass on yields as competitive pressure increases. Meanwhile, payment-optimized chains will generate returns through validator fees and custom protocols. Over time, apps and exchanges will abstract stablecoins under a “USD” label, auto-routing funds to the best-yielding source. As platforms evolve into full-service payment providers, they are expected to internalize margins and capture more global payment volume.
Abstract, a consumer-focused Layer 2, has onboarded 1.31 million unique wallets, processed 51.3 million transactions, and secured $46.66 million in Total Value Locked. With 500–700k daily transactions and 50–100k daily active wallets, Abstract issues each user a smart-contract wallet and offers a Consumer Portal with streaming, swaps, quests, and discovery tools. Its vertically integrated design—eliminating MetaMask, seed phrases, and gas fees—creates a self-reinforcing flywheel of adoption and engagement.
Solana is now nearly tied with Ethereum as the top ecosystem for new founders applying to Alliance.
Coinbase will suspend trading for the MOVE token on May 15 as part of its regular asset review.
SoFi is planning a return to crypto with tokenized lending, trading services, and a potential FDIC-insured stablecoin.
Tether reported over $1B in Q1 profit and revealed its total U.S. Treasury exposure reached nearly $120B, with about $99B in direct holdings.