Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Powell gets temporary Fed chair role as Senate-confirmed Warsh prepares to take over

The Federal Reserve has extended Jerome Powells tenure on an interim basis as the central bank prepares for a leadership transition to Kevin Warsh.　　The Fed Board on Friday appointed Powell chair pro tempore, a placeholder role he will hold until Warsh is officially sworn in. Powell has led the Fed through some of the most turbulent economic periods in recent history, including the pandemic shock and the inflation spike that followed.　　Warsh is a former Fed governor and longtime Wall Street banker with ties to digital asset investing.　　Interim appointment faces resistance from Fed governors　　Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Stephen Miran said they backed the idea of Powell serving temporarily as Fed chair pending Warshs swearing-in, but objected to the absence of a clear time restriction on the arrangement.　　In a joint statement, the pair said the leadership transition presents a rare situation because Warsh has already been confirmed by the Senate even though Powells term expires before the formal swearing-in process is completed.　　According to officials, any chair pro tempore designation should carry a clearly defined expiration window lasting between one week and one month. They argued that if the transition extends beyond that period, the temporary appointment should require

05-17Industry

SpaceX shareholders approve 5-for-1 stock split as private market liquidity push heats up

SpaceX shareholders have voted to approve a 5-for-1 stock split, a move that will multiply the companys outstanding share count fivefold while cutting the per-share price by roughly 80%. The total valuation and individual ownership stakes remain unchanged, which is how stock splits work: more slices, same pie.　　The vote, reported on May 15, comes as SpaceX sits comfortably among the most valuable private companies on Earth, with a valuation that reached approximately $180B in late 2023 and early 2024.　　What a stock split actually does (and doesnt do)　　A 5-for-1 split means every existing shareholder receives four additional shares for each one they hold, with each share priced at one-fifth of its pre-split value.　　For a publicly traded company, stock splits are often cosmetic, designed to make share prices look more approachable to retail investors. Amazon and Google parent Alphabet both ran splits in 2022 for precisely this reason.　　But SpaceX is not publicly traded. In private markets, shares dont trade on an exchange where buyers and sellers can match instantly. Instead, transactions happen through tender offers, secondary market platforms, and negotiated deals. By splitting shares 5-for-1, SpaceX effectively lowers the minimum ticket size for secondary transactions. A share that might have traded at,

05-17Industry

Virtuals Protocol introduces EconomyOS for managing AI agents inboxes and commerce functions

Heres a question nobody was asking five years ago: does your AI agent need its own email inbox？ Virtuals Protocol thinks so, and it just shipped one.　　The project has rolled out a new managed-agent capability within its EconomyOS stack, giving onchain AI agents a dedicated inbox that can autonomously process one-time passwords, verification links, receipts, and other transactional communications. In English: AI agents can now sign up for services, verify their own accounts, and manage purchase confirmations, all without a human hovering over the keyboard.　　What EconomyOS actually does　　Think of EconomyOS as the operating system that lets an AI agent function like a small business. It bundles together onchain identity, non-custodial wallets, virtual payment cards, and now email management into a single framework.　　The problem it solves is straightforward. Most of the internet still runs on Web2 rails. You need an email to sign up for things. You need to click verification links. You need to receive receipts. If an AI agent can‘t do any of that, it’s functionally locked out of most commerce.　　By giving agents their own inboxes, Virtuals bridges a gap between the onchain world where these agents live and the off-chain world where most economic activity still happens. The

05-17Industry

No Place to Hide? Tether and TRON Block $450M in Illicit USDT

On May 14, 2026, a joint announcement from Tether, the TRON DAO, and blockchain forensics giant TRM Labs sent shockwaves through the industry. 　　Their collaborative task force, the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), revealed it has successfully frozen over $450 million in illicit USDT since its launch in September 2024.　　This milestone highlights a turning point for on-chain enforcement, triggering an intense review of how public-private partnerships are transforming the crypto landscape, alongside the deep philosophical debates it has reignited.　　The T3 Alliance: An On-Chain Enforcement Machine　　Launched in late 2024, the T3 Financial Crime Unit was designed to combine TRON‘s low-cost transaction network, Tether’s stablecoin issuance control, and TRM Labs advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities.　　According to the latest reports, this alliance has quietly become one of the fastest-acting anti-money laundering (AML) networks in the digital asset space.　　Major Case Studies Behind the Numbers　　The $450 million total is anchored by several massive, high-profile enforcement operations. Most notably, a separate but heavily overlapping action in late April 2026 saw Tether freeze $344 million across two specific TRON wallets following intelligence-sharing with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).　　TRM Labs identified these wallets as “reserve storage” accounts used for sanctions evasion by Irans Central Bank and

05-17Industry

Leading cryptos to buy right now before DOGEBALL moves to the next tier

DOGEBALL presale extension draws attention as investors compare top utility-focused crypto projects in 2026.DOGEBALL extended its presale after strong demand, offering another low-entry chance before staged price increases.DOGEBALL combines gaming and payments on DOGECHAIN, using its token for fees, staking, and ecosystem activity.The project has raised $287K+ and burned 4B tokens, with investors watching its staged presale and utility-driven model.　　Missing an extended window to get into an explosive utility project before its price skyrockets can cost thousands in missed profits. Right now, heavy trading volume is shifting toward networks with actual utility as the industry prepares for a major breakout.　　In this structural breakdown, the article examines the concrete data behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Chainlink, and Sui to see how they stack up against a disruptive newcomer. Due to an overwhelming wave of community requests, the highly anticipated DOGEBALL presale has officially been extended after experiencing explosive initial growth.　　This extension gives investors a sudden second chance to lock in massive value before the token shifts to its next pricing tier. For those who want to make an informed, data-backed choice for their portfolio, evaluating these projects will show exactly which asset stands out as the best crypto to buy right

05-17Industry

Palantir CEO expects 100% growth in US operations

Alex Karp has never been accused of underselling his company‘s potential. The Palantir Technologies CEO is now projecting 100% growth in the company’s US operations, a target that sounds aggressive until you look at the numbers the company has already been posting.　　Palantir‘s Q4 revenue climbed 70% year-on-year to $1.41 billion. US commercial revenue, the segment that has become Wall Street’s favorite metric for the company, surged 137% to $507 million.　　The lean machine strategy　　Here‘s the thing about Palantir’s growth thesis: it‘s not built on headcount expansion. Karp has been vocal about his vision of generating “10x revenue with 3,600 people.” In English: he wants to multiply the company’s top line by an order of magnitude without meaningfully growing the workforce.　　The strategy mirrors what high-efficiency SaaS companies like Mercor have pursued, where revenue per employee becomes the metric that matters more than total headcount. For Palantir, which currently operates with roughly 3,600 employees, the math implies the company believes its software can scale in a way that human-intensive consulting simply cannot.　　Defense spending as a tailwind　　Palantirs roots are in defense and intelligence work, and Karp has made no effort to distance the company from that identity. He has stated that the company prioritizes

05-17Industry

Taylor Swift’s Fan-Favorite Album Reaches A Longevity Chart Milestone

Every single one of Taylor Swifts albums has been a success on the charts. Each of her 12 original studio LPs, as well as several re-recordings, have performed well on the Billboard 200, which ranks the most-consumed albums and EPs in the United States each week, and many of them have held on for years.　　When it comes to the charts and promotional campaigns, none experienced a stranger run than . Originally released in 2019, the pure pop effort narrowly missed out on scoring a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on two occasions, as both “Me!” with Brendon Urie from Panic! at the Disco and “You Need to Calm Down” peaked at No. 2, stuck behind “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus.　　Swift had to cease promotion of when the COVID-19 pandemic took over the globe, and that shift allowed her to write and record both and . Years after she stopped pushing , the song “Cruel Summer” began to go viral after it was included in her setlist during The Eras Tour, and Swift and company chose it as a late-in-life single. That track became the albums first leader on the Billboard Hot 100,

05-17Industry

No Place to Hide? Tether and TRON Block $450M in Illicit USDT

On May 14, 2026, a joint announcement from Tether, the TRON DAO, and blockchain forensics giant TRM Labs sent shockwaves through the industry. 　　Their collaborative task force, the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), revealed it has successfully frozen over $450 million in illicit USDT since its launch in September 2024.　　This milestone highlights a turning point for on-chain enforcement, triggering an intense review of how public-private partnerships are transforming the crypto landscape, alongside the deep philosophical debates it has reignited.　　The T3 Alliance: An On-Chain Enforcement Machine　　Launched in late 2024, the T3 Financial Crime Unit was designed to combine TRON‘s low-cost transaction network, Tether’s stablecoin issuance control, and TRM Labs advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities.　　According to the latest reports, this alliance has quietly become one of the fastest-acting anti-money laundering (AML) networks in the digital asset space.　　Major Case Studies Behind the Numbers　　The $450 million total is anchored by several massive, high-profile enforcement operations. Most notably, a separate but heavily overlapping action in late April 2026 saw Tether freeze $344 million across two specific TRON wallets following intelligence-sharing with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).　　TRM Labs identified these wallets as “reserve storage” accounts used for sanctions evasion by Irans Central Bank and

05-17Industry

STABLE plummets 18% - Fakeout above $0.04 traps bulls

In the past 24 hours, the crypto market witnessed $650.35 million in liquidations. Of these, $622.85 million were long liquidations. These forced long closures added to the downward pressure.　　Bitcoin [BTC] saw $205 million in liquidations after losing 3.14% in 24 hours. The move came as a slight surprise after BTC bounced from the $78.9k support level on Wednesday, the 13th of May. It could only reach as high as $82k before sliding lower.　　Stable bulls unable to reclaim range highs　　The recent Bitcoin selling has impacted altcoin market confidence and resulted in market-wide losses. Stable [STABLE] was down 18.7% in the past 24 hours. Earlier in the week, it had looked as if it had breached a range formation it had been trading within since February.　　Source: STABLE/USD on TradingView　　In the final week of April, AMBCrypto had reported that STABLE was trading within a range formation that reached from $0.024 to $0.039. On Tuesday, the 12th of May, a daily session close at $0.04, above the range highs, confirming a breakout.　　This move didnt last. After a sweep of the $0.044 liquidity pocket, the bears seized control, enforcing the rapid losses in recent days.　　Anticipate further losses after a brief bounceSource: STABLE/USD on TradingView　　The 1-hour

05-17Industry

For Will Buxton, ‘No Race Comes Close’ To The Indy 500

Now 18 months on the job with FOX Sports as the lead commentator for the IndyCar series and the Indianapolis 500, Will Buxton has arguably become the series greatest advocate. In an exclusive with me for Forbes, Buxton goes through his evolution heading into the 110th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.　　Talking with Will Buxton is like talking to that kid who discovers racing for the first time. Racing isnt work. Racing is a newborn passion for him again and again. There is a genuine love for motorsports, with the passion coming through each and every time.　　And while he has a bit of rock-star status due to his role as a key figure in Netflix‘s series and his tenure with Formula 1, Buxton is approachable and honest about where he’s at and about his continued education in IndyCar.　　“I guess the biggest thing for me over the last 18 months has been the realization that so much of what I knew about Formula 1 had gone in by osmosis, whether that was as a kid watching it or working in the sport for 25 years,” Buxton says. “And while I‘d always loved IndyCar, I hadn’t taken that kind of studious

05-17Industry