XRP stayed pinned below resistance even as derivatives activity surged ahead of a key Senate vote that could formally reinforce the token’s commodity status.
FE fundinfo on Mastering Data and Unifying Operations in Asset Management
At TSAM London 2026, Rhys Thatcher Jones from FE fundinfo offers a perspective on the operational challenges currently shaping the asset management sector and highlights that asset managers are primarily concerned with maximising the efficiency of their operating models while navigating challenging market conditions. This involves a critical focus on ensuring the integration and performance of their service providers are functioning correctly and delivering maximum value.
Furthermore, Thatcher Jones addresses the pressure from ongoing regulatory changes in the marketplace, specifically pointing to the UKCCI initiative as a major focus for asset managers over the next 12 to 18 months.
Thatcher Jones explains how FE fundinfo is positioned to help asset managers successfully manage these internal and external pressures and addresses these complex demands through the deployment of its Nexus platform, which is a central tool that unifies various aspects of an asset manager’s operating model to ensure seamless efficiency.
The Nexus platform’s positive impact starts at the foundation, focusing on data which extends to creating vital efficiencies and integrations within the middle-office for functions like regulatory reporting, calculations, and marketing outputs. By connecting the middle-office all the way through to front-office, the platform enables asset managers to make their entire operation as efficient and impactful as possible.
Kraken parent Payward cuts 150 staff, streamlining business ahead of planned IPO
The crypto exchange is also seeking fresh funding at a $20 billion valuation as it ramps up acquisitions and prepares for a public listing.
Poland Passes Crypto Bill As Fraud Probe Deepens Political Divide
Polish lawmakers have approved a long-debated cryptocurrency bill, moving to align the country with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation as a fraud probe tied to a major exchange fuels political tension in Warsaw.
The legislation, passed on Friday, sets a framework for licensing, supervision, and consumer protection across the crypto sector, according to Reuters reporting. Poland faces a July deadline to implement MiCA or risk forcing domestic firms to halt crypto-asset services, according to the national financial watchdog.
The vote lands as prosecutors investigate the collapse of Zondacrypto, once the country’s largest exchange, where thousands of users remain unable to access funds. Authorities estimate losses at more than 350 million zlotys, about $96 million, turning the case into one of the most significant crypto failures in Central Europe.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has linked the platform to alleged foreign influence, citing security service findings that point to Russian capital behind the exchange. He has described the company’s origins as opaque and raised concerns about its past sponsorship of events involving figures from the nationalist opposition. Moscow has denied any role in sabotage or covert activity across Europe.
Zondacrypto’s founder, Sylwester Suszek, has been missing since 2022. Polish media report that his successor, Przemyslaw Kral, resides in Israel, where he holds citizenship, a factor that may complicate any extradition effort.
Poland is weighing the regulation of crypto
The scandal has sharpened divisions within Poland’s political system over how to regulate digital assets. President Karol Nawrocki, backed by the opposition, has vetoed earlier versions of the bill, arguing that strict rules and high penalties could push companies out of the country. He has proposed an alternative framework with lower fines and stronger court oversight of enforcement actions.
At the same time, some Polish lawmakers have pushed for far stricter measures. A proposal from members of the Law and Justice party would ban crypto-related business activity, citing consumer risk and limited enforcement capacity. The plan would introduce criminal penalties for operating in the sector, marking one of the most restrictive approaches within the EU.
The government’s bill instead places oversight with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, granting it powers to suspend offerings, block accounts, and impose penalties for market abuse. Supporters argue that alignment with MiCA will provide legal clarity and restore confidence after the Zondacrypto collapse.
For investors and firms, the outcome now hinges on whether the president signs the legislation. Another veto could leave Poland in breach of EU requirements, raising the prospect of market disruption at a time when scrutiny of the sector has intensified.
Iran war shows markets no longer sleep
The latest conflict involving Iran has produced an unexpected proving ground for financial infrastructure, and an unlikely winner has emerged, argues Huang.
Ether price may 20% drop as analysts say ‘downside risks remain’
Market analysts say Ether (ETH) faces “downside risks” that could trigger another 20% downtrend toward $1,700, new analysis said.
Key takeaways:
- Rising Ether supply on exchanges and declining ETF inflows suggested a possible ETH price drop over the coming days.
- Ether’s rising wedge pattern projected a potential 22% drop to $1,725
ETH inflows to exchanges rise
Ether’s 40% recovery from multi-month lows below $1,800 was dampened by resistance from the $2,400 level.
Analysts have outlined several reasons for Ether’s inability to break $2,400, including “significant” inflows into exchanges, according to CryptoQuant analyst BorisD.
The chart below shows a sharp increase in ETH reserves held on Binance to 3.84 million from 3.36 million between May 5 and May 9.
The analyst explained that as inflows accelerated, the “price action failed to show strong continuation to the upside,” dropping 7% to $2,260 from $2,390 over the same period.
“This suggests that liquidity was being both absorbed and distributed within the range,” BorisD said, adding:
“The broader structure still points toward downside risk remaining dominant for now.”
ETH exchange reserve on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant
While other analysts see potential for fresh upside in the coming days, “those moves may primarily serve distribution purposes rather than signal the start of a strong bullish trend,” the analyst added.
Making the same observations, fellow analyst PelinayPA said any short-term rebound in ETH would be “followed by high volatility, and then a continuation of the broader downtrend,” adding:
“The large amount of ETH being moved onto exchanges continues to create significant resistance against upward price movements.”
This coincided with sharp exchange inflows, as the Ether net position change among exchanges rose to 585,000 ETH on May 13, marking the largest spike since December 2025, when ETH was trading at $3,000. This preceded a 42% drop to $1,750 in February.
ETH: Exchange net position change
Such inflows typically indicate distribution by large holders, who move tokens from cold storage or redeem ETH investment products.
Meanwhile, demand for spot Ethereum ETFs continues to decline, with these investment products recording outflows for four consecutive days, totalling $190 million. This points to a drop in demand from US investors, adding to Ether’s headwinds.
Spot ETH ETFs flows chart. Source: SoSoValue
Ether’s rising wedge targets $1,725
The daily chart shows ETH/USD validating a rising wedge breakdown, after the price breached the support provided by the lower trend line of the pattern at $2,280.
A daily candlestick close below this level will confirm the breakdown, clearing that path for Ether’s drop toward the wedge’s measured target at $1,725, representing 22% decline from the current price. This coincides with its previous macro low reached on Feb. 6.
ETH/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Rising wedges are typically bearish reversal patterns, and Ether’s break below the pattern is “starting to become a concern,” analyst ShangoTrades said in a recent X post.
Zooming out, fellow analyst CryptoBullGod said ETH could drop to $1,280, which is the measured target of a bear flag, as shown on the weekly chart below.
ETH/USD weekly chart. Source: CryptoBullGod
Traditional Financial Exchanges Sound Alarm on HYPE’s Commodity Perps
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the two biggest exchanges for energy-linked commodities, are pressuring US regulators to clamp down on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange’s expansion into commodity markets.
Executives from both companies say that Hyperliquid’s energy-linked onchain derivatives create insider trading and price manipulation risks, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the ongoing talks with US regulators.
ICE and CME cited the “anonymous” and “unregulated” nature of Hyperliquid as major risks to critical energy markets, like oil and gas, which could be used by state actors to circumvent sanctions, the report added.
Daily trading volume for HIP-3 perpetual futures markets. Source: DeFiLlama
Hyperliquid introduced HIP-3, also known as “Builder-Deployed Perpetuals,” in January 2025, which allows anyone who stakes 500,000 HYPE tokens, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, to build perpetual futures markets for any electronically traded asset class.
The deployment of HIP-3 represents a broader trend of traditional financial markets coming onchain, as the line between blockchain-based infrastructure and traditional market architecture continues to erode.
Related: Why is Hyperliquid’s HYPE token price up 23% in one day?
Hyperliquid’s token price surges following the introduction of HIP-3
The price of HYPE jumped by over 58% within three days of the launch of HIP-3. The token rose from a low of about $20 to over $38, and is trading at about $44 at the time of publication.
In March, market analyst and crypto investor Arthur Hayes forecast that HYPE could hit $150 per token by August, driven by demand for commodities-linked onchain derivatives instruments.
The HYPE token’s price action. Source: CoinMarketCap
“Hyperliquid, the dominant perp DEX, is the largest revenue-generating project that isn’t a stablecoin,” he said.
The exchange also dedicates 97% of trading fee revenue to HYPE token buybacks, which boosts demand and raises the token’s price over time, according to Hayes.
“If the market believes that HYPE can continue siphoning volumes away from centralized exchanges and add new features to accelerate revenue growth, then HYPE can pump in absolute terms,” he added.
Open interest for HIP-3 markets has continued to rise since their inception, climbing to over $2.5 billion in May, according to data from DeFiLlama.
Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs: Mid-2026
DMND And RootstockLabs Partner To Bring Stratum V2 To Merge-mining
Today DMND and RootstockLabs announce a new feature rollout intending to further the decentralization of Bitcoin mining. The new feature uses Stratum V2 to enable miners at the pool engaging in their own block template construction to also handle the selection and inclusion of merge-mined block commitments from the Rootstock (RSK) sidechain as well.
Merge-mining is a process by which multiple blockchains can share, or “reuse”, the same POW from the same set of miners. One blockchain, the child chain, structures its block headers to include the headers of the parent chain, i.e. the hash of the child chain’s block header is actually included inside a parent chain block (usually in the coinbase transaction), and software for the child chain is aware of this, actually validating part of the parent chain’s blocks in the process of verifying the child chain’s blocks.
This allows miners of the parent chain to mine multiple blockchains at once by simply including blockheader commitments in their coinbase transaction, and then mining blocks for the parent blockchain. When one is found for the parent chain, one is found for all of the child chains as well.
DMND’s integration allows miners to claim the sidechain rewards in rBTC (Rootstock’s bitcoin backed token whose reserves are managed by the federation operating the sidechain) directly on the sidechain, with no revenue sharing or intermediary pool custody.
There is potential for a dynamic like this to actually have the opposite impact on decentralization, but it is nonetheless an important development that will actually put such questions to the test in the real world.
Alejandro De La Torre, CEO and Co-Founder of DMND, had this to say: “The miner controls the merge mining and the miner gets paid for the merge mining. More delegation of control to miners is our key support for further decentralisation of the Bitcoin ecosystem.”
CME, ICE push U.S. regulators to scrutinize Hyperliquid over manipulation risks
CME Group and ICE have reportedly warned the CFTC and Capitol Hill officials that Hyperliquid’s decentralized perpetual futures platform could enable market manipulation and sanctions evasion.
U.S. House lawmakers who oversee the CFTC are urging Trump to fill the commission
As the Commodity Futures Trading Commission takes on a growing task to police U.S. crypto trading, senior lawmakers are saying it needs bipartisan leadership.