Across Prime introduces a trustless “bonded” relay model that replaces traditional escrow, enabling bridge operators to receive payments instantly using reusable collateral. By decoupling relay collateral from slow-settlement oracles, it reduces bridging to just two transactions while supporting high-throughput transfers. The system remains compatible with ERC-7683 intents and allows for extensions like arbitrary bond collateral and multi-destination routes, defaulting to escrow only when bonds are insufficient.
Pump.fun now shares 50% of PumpSwap trading revenue with coin creators, granting them 5 basis points (0.05%) in SOL per trade on their tokens. Eligible creators – including those with newly launched coins, coins still on the bonding curve, or those graduated to PumpSwap – can now claim on-chain rewards directly through their profile.
Coinbase anticipates decentralized exchanges will eventually surpass centralized ones in volume. To capture this shift, it is integrating on-chain settlement through the Coinbase Wallet frontend. Executives view TradFi players like Stripe and Robinhood as market-expanding tailwinds rather than threats. Strategic efforts include acquiring Deribit and Spindl, pursuing approval for U.S. perpetual futures, and securing licenses in Argentina and India. Venture holdings, carried at cost, offer asymmetric upside potential if crypto adoption outpaces expectations.
Fortnite's 650 million users and $400 million creator economy appear ideal for NFTs, but Epic CEO Tim Sweeney prioritizes interoperability via APIs and open standards over blockchain-based ownership. While Epic is opening Fortnite assets to external games, challenges like royalties, IP rights, and platform moderation hinder cross-platform compatibility. Without NFTs that provide neutral ownership and programmable royalties, users remain under centralized control.
2025.05.13·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto Ethereum developers are investigating an exploit vector introduced by the Pectra upgrade that allows wallets to be drained via malicious off-chain signatures. Users can unknowingly sign payloads later executed via permissive approvals. Core teams are now focused on improving signature UX and educating users on the risks of off-chain signing.
2025.05.13·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto Mountain Protocol, issuer of the USDM stablecoin, has signed an agreement to be acquired by Anchorage Digital, the only federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S. As part of the transition, the minting of USDM was halted yesterday. Existing users will continue to be supported. The acquisition aims to strengthen institutional stablecoin infrastructure.
This dashboard tracks adoption of EIP-7702 smart accounts across EVM-based chains.
Lido DAO has launched a governance vote to replace a validator operator after its oracle node was compromised in a targeted attack.
Strategy has acquired another 13,390 BTC for $1.34 billion at an average price of $99,856, bringing its total holdings to 568,840 BTC (over 2.7% of Bitcoin's total supply).
2025.05.13·links.tldrnewsletter.com·3 min read·TLDR Crypto Through its integration with Morpho, Coinbase has facilitated $168 million in USDC loans backed by $385 million in BTC collateral as of May 5.
BlackRock has met with the SEC's crypto task force to explore incorporating staking rewards and options strategies into its proposed spot crypto ETFs. The firm aims to enhance yield generation and hedging capabilities, signaling a shift beyond passive exposure toward active performance within ETF structures.
2025.05.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·2 min read·TLDR Crypto Coinbase has acquired $150 million in crypto assets, primarily Bitcoin, increasing its long-term investment portfolio to $1.3 billion – roughly 25% of its net cash position. CFO Alesia Haas emphasized that the move is not intended as a MicroStrategy-style treasury strategy focused on Bitcoin, but rather reflects Coinbase's position as an operating company investing alongside the broader crypto ecosystem. CEO Brian Armstrong framed the investment as a testament to the company's conviction in crypto's transformative potential within financial services.
Following the acquisition of Deribit, Coinbase has rolled out 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading on its Advanced platform. The launch targets global retail and institutional demand for non-stop access to crypto derivatives, with contracts sized for accessibility and integrated into Coinbase's regulated framework.
2025.05.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto EigenLayer is introducing a Redistribution upgrade to its Slashing mechanism, enabling AVSs to redirect slashed funds to designated recipients instead of burning them. By repurposing penalties, AVSs can build advanced use cases like lending and insurance with enhanced liquidity and risk controls while offering operators and stakers clearer insight into protocol risk-reward profiles.
This satirical thread highlights the most recognizable (and exasperating) crypto VC archetypes, from ghosting “founder-friendly” firms to ex-TradFi operators trading on past credentials. It candidly critiques behaviors, such as demanding board seats while panic selling or introducing unqualified affiliates into deals. Beneath the parody lies a serious takeaway: exceptional investors are rare, and choosing poorly can jeopardize a project's success.
2025.05.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto Stripe's stablecoin pilot, enabled by its $1.1 billion Bridge acquisition, signals a broader shift in financial services. By unbundling traditional banking functions, such as value storage and transfers, and rebundling them around programmable, on-chain money, Stripe is reshaping infrastructure. Merchant acquirers can now offer global treasury solutions, real-time cross-border payments, and embedded yield. Consumer wallets are evolving into full-service digital banks with payroll, cards, and peer-to-peer capabilities. The next $100 billion financial leaders will be those who control distribution channels and integrate stablecoin rails.
2025.05.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·6 min read·TLDR Crypto While Bitcoin established the store-of-value narrative, it primarily functions as an institutional asset with limited real-world utility. Ethereum, by contrast, powers a dynamic ecosystem of decentralized applications, spanning stablecoins, DeFi, NFTs, and identity protocols, that actively drive user adoption. As these applications grow and increasingly lock up ETH, its utility and distribution may position it to surpass Bitcoin in both use cases and overall value.
Current blockchains require participants to download and validate every transaction and state update, forcing dependence on trusted servers or powerful hardware. By combining shared block propagation with succinct proofs, lightweight devices like phones can securely verify large blocks with minimal bandwidth. This approach decouples block size from verification costs, enabling larger blocks, increased decentralization, and optional privacy without compromising security.
Senate Democrats have formally requested details on Donald Trump's ties to the crypto industry, including financial connections to Binance and campaign fundraising via NFTs.
2025.05.12·links.tldrnewsletter.com·2 min read·TLDR Crypto Over 117 Ethereum validators now hold more than the previous 32 ETH cap, with five reaching the new 2048 ETH maximum enabled by EIP-7251.
Aave has hit a record $25 billion in total value locked (TVL), surpassing its 2021 peak and reaffirming its status as the leading decentralized lending protocol.
A hacker compromised an old private key linked to Lido's Chorus One oracle, draining just 1.4 ETH before being detected by a low-balance alert.
Coinbase is acquiring crypto options exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion to establish a stronger U.S. presence in the rapidly expanding crypto derivatives market. The acquisition followed a bidding contest with Kraken, which instead purchased the futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. Deribit processed $1.2 trillion in trading volume in 2024, marking a 95% year-over-year increase and solidifying its position as a leader in digital asset options trading.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reaffirmed that federally chartered banks are permitted to offer crypto custody services, provided they meet regulatory expectations. In a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren, the OCC emphasized that crypto custody remains legally permissible under prior guidance, subject to robust risk management and compliance protocols.
2025.05.09·links.tldrnewsletter.com·2 min read·TLDR Crypto Bridge has launched USDB, a 1:1 cash- and money market-backed stablecoin held at BlackRock. It is designed to share treasury yield with developers and users, rather than be retained solely for the issuer. The platform supports instant, fee-free conversions between USDB and other stablecoins, while offering customizable, white-labeled stablecoin infrastructure with on-chain and off-chain security features such as token freezing and account whitelisting.
Superstate, led by DeFi veteran Robert Leshner, is launching Opening Bell, a platform that will allow companies to issue and trade SEC-registered public equities directly on the Solana blockchain. The move, starting with Canadian firm SOL Strategies, signals a major push toward regulated, blockchain-native capital markets accessible to both institutional and retail investors.
Zora is positioning itself as a mainstream social platform built on crypto infrastructure designed to tokenize content and equitably distribute value across creators, curators, consumers, and speculators, unlike traditional platforms that capture the majority of revenue. Its flywheel model relies on content creation, amplification, engagement, and speculation, with on-chain tokens rewarding each role. To scale, Zora must streamline the user experience by abstracting financial mechanics, personalizing onboarding with curated moodboards, and meeting conventional UX standards. A dedicated “Pro Mode” is also essential to attract and retain speculators in the competitive attention economy.
2025.05.09·links.tldrnewsletter.com·17 min read·TLDR Crypto The "HODL" era has ended for all but Bitcoin, which remains the only crypto asset with macro-level status. Market dynamics now favor fast, tactical trading. Venture capital has shifted from early-stage enthusiasm to extraction, yet Q1 2025 still saw $4.8 billion in inflows, particularly into real-world asset (RWA) protocols and blockchain infrastructure. DeFi's decentralization ideal has mostly given way to institutional “on-chain finance” using vault strategies and tokenized RWAs, while DAOs are increasingly centralized, prompting critiques of them becoming oligarchic or ineffective.
Meta is revisiting stablecoins three years after shelving its Diem project. The company is holding early-stage discussions with crypto firms and has hired fintech veteran Ginger Baker to explore using USD-pegged stablecoins for cross-border and creator payments. Industry momentum is growing, with Visa partnering with Bridge, Fidelity building a proprietary stablecoin, and Stripe launching stablecoin-backed accounts. Meta's renewed interest comes as enterprise adoption accelerates and U.S. lawmakers move closer to stablecoin legislation.
Privy has launched "Privy Pay," a crypto-native tap-to-pay system designed to replicate the ease of Apple and Google Pay. Built for FarCon attendees, it combines a Raspberry Pi terminal with NFC hardware and a Farcaster mini app, allowing users to make on-chain purchases by tapping their phones. The initiative is a major step toward mainstream, in-person crypto payments.
Mentions of ‘stablecoins' and ‘crypto' reached 786 in April SEC filings, a record high.
Ramp and Stripe are teaming up to launch stablecoin-backed cards in Latin America, aiming to streamline cross-border payments for businesses by making them faster, more reliable, and less vulnerable to currency fluctuations.
The $DOOD airdrop from Doodles kicked off on May 9, starting with registered Doodles Collectibles holders and then expanding to partner communities.
Ethereum developers successfully deployed the Pectra upgrade on May 7 at epoch 364032, marking Ethereum's largest update by number of EIPs since the 2022 Merge. The upgrade includes 11 EIPs, notably EIP-7702 (account abstraction), EIP-7251 (increased validator limits), and EIP-7691 (Layer 2 throughput enhancements). Key improvements such as reduced validator onboarding time (EIP-6110), execution-layer exit controls (EIP-7002), and access to historical block hashes (EIP-2935) are designed to enhance scalability, decentralization, and smart contract functionality in preparation for future milestones like Fusaka.
2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto The U.S. Senate will vote Thursday on the GENIUS Act, a bill that requires stablecoins to be fully backed by U.S. dollars or short-term Treasuries. Despite GOP leadership backing, the bill faces bipartisan resistance, with Democrats demanding stricter safeguards on foreign issuers and anti-money laundering rules and some Republicans raising concerns over tech company involvement. The legislation needs 60 votes to advance, putting pressure on sponsors to win over skeptical lawmakers across both parties.
2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·3 min read·TLDR Crypto Stripe has rolled out stablecoin-based accounts, allowing users in more than 100 countries to send, receive, and hold balances in USDC and USDB, operating similarly to traditional bank accounts. The move targets rising global demand for dollar-backed tokens, particularly in inflation-hit economies across Latin America.
Circle's Paymaster, which enables users to pay gas fees in USDC, now supports externally owned accounts (EOAs) via EIP-7702. The feature is rolling out across seven blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche, and Unichain, removing the need for users to hold native tokens for gas fees.
Pendle transformed from a yield platform into a foundational DeFi layer, growing TVL from $230M to $4.4B in 2024 and daily trading volume to nearly $100M. With rising institutional adoption and protocol integrations, Pendle is expanding to non-EVM chains via “Citadels” and developing new products like Boros to tokenize perpetual funding rates. Despite strong momentum, its $577M market cap remains well below its $1B FDV, signaling potential upside as V2 initiatives gain traction.
2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·8 min read·TLDR Crypto Pendle adapts traditional coupon‐stripping to crypto by wrapping yield‐bearing tokens into SY and splitting them into principal tokens (PT) for fixed‐yield bets and yield tokens (YT) for variable‐rate speculation. By integrating point‐farming campaigns, its TVL exploded from $230 M to nearly $6.7B in early 2024, settling around $2.9B today. Unlike government‐set rates, crypto yields derive mathematically (e.g., Ethereum staking and Solana inflation), so pricing PT and YT demands a framework that accounts for variable rates, AMM liquidity dynamics, and point‐driven volatility. Tailored risk management tools, including dynamic LTV curves, liquidity penalties, and collateral valuation models, are required to safely integrate Pendle's fixed-income primitives into DeFi protocols.
2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·22 min read·TLDR Crypto 2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto Crypto's early embrace of the “fat protocol thesis” misdiagnosed the value of tokenizing non-financial apps like social media and gaming, overlooking the high costs of trustlessness. As institutions adopt blockchain for efficiency, not speculation, value is shifting from infrastructure tokens to practical applications. The next phase of crypto must return to its roots: building better digital money as foundational infrastructure for the broader economy.
2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·9 min read·TLDR Crypto Zerebro developer Jeffy Yu appeared to stage a livestreamed suicide shortly after launching the meme token $LLJEFFY, prompting speculation and briefly driving up the token's value. However, later updates and evidence, including deleted obituaries and activity from linked crypto wallets, suggest he faked his death either as an exit strategy or artistic statement, leading to confusion and financial losses for some traders.
South Korea's top presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, has pledged to legalize spot crypto ETFs, aiming to expand investment opportunities and support young investors.
2025.05.08·links.tldrnewsletter.com·2 min read·TLDR Crypto Privy now supports Ethereum's EIP-7702, unlocking gasless transactions and session key functionality for all users.
President Trump announced a “Crypto & AI Innovation Dinner” hosted by MAGA Inc., following a previously planned gala for top $TRUMP memecoin holders. The events coincided with a 50% surge in $TRUMP trading and revelations that Trump Organization insiders control 80% of the token's supply, earning $325 million in fees since January. Trump denied any personal profit, framing crypto as a counter to China and downplaying the token's price. Legal experts are split, with some raising ethical concerns and others deeming the events legally permissible.
2025.05.07·links.tldrnewsletter.com·4 min read·TLDR Crypto Bitcoin Core developers have proposed removing the 80-byte size cap on OP_RETURN outputs, calling the restriction outdated and frequently bypassed in less secure ways. The proposal has drawn criticism from those concerned about a lack of community consensus and the risk of increased blockchain spam.
2025.05.07·links.tldrnewsletter.com·2 min read·TLDR Crypto Across Protocol has launched Across Prime, a new cross-chain bridge model that enables users to send funds directly to relayers without locking them in escrow. This bonded design improves capital and gas efficiency by using reusable security deposits and eliminating separate claim transactions.
Coinbase has introduced x402, an open-source payments protocol that activates the dormant HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code. It enables on-chain payments through standard web infrastructure, allowing developers to monetize APIs and content via microtransactions without relying on subscriptions or complex billing systems.