The $2 trillion financial services firm has rolled out cryptocurrency trading capabilities on its E*Trade retail brokerage platform.
Morgan Stanley has begun rolling out cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade platform, expanding crypto access to its retail investor base, Bloomberg reported today, May 6. The $2 trillion asset manager’s move integrates digital asset trading directly into E*Trade’s existing infrastructure, allowing its 8.6 million customers on the platform to trade cryptocurrencies alongside traditional equities and bonds, per the report. The rollout, currently in pilot, marks a significant institutional push into mainstream crypto adoption.
E*Trade, acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2020, serves millions of retail investors in the United States. According to the report, Morgan Stanley is taking a similar competitive fee tactic as it did with the launch of its Bitcoin ETF recently, offering its crypto trading with lower fees than Coinbase, Robinhood and Schwab, which began rolling out spot BTC and ETH trading for retail clients in April.
Source: Bloomberg
This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.
Stablecoin infrastructure platform OpenTrade closed a $17 million funding round Wednesday led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z Crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global, bringing its total funding to more than $30 million.
The London-based company said the funding will be used to expand its permissioned and permissionless infrastructure and support plans to grow its asset management and trading teams.
The raise follows earlier backing from a16z Crypto and comes as OpenTrade expands its offerings for fintechs, exchanges, wallets and institutional clients seeking stablecoin-based yield products.
The firm provides support and infrastructure that enables fintechs, exchanges and wallets to offer stablecoin yield products backed by real-world assets (RWAs). OpenTrade said it has total value locked greater than $200 million and claims it processed more than $250 million in transaction volume last year.
“OpenTrade has made it simple for fintechs and neobanks to plug institutional-grade stablecoin yield into their products,” said David Sutter, OpenTrade’s CEO and co-founder. “The platform is expanding to serve non-custodial platforms, treasuries and asset issuers seeking “a safe, scalable way to connect stablecoins to diversified yield strategies,” he added.
The stablecoin market has grown to more than $310 billion in supply, driving demand for infrastructure that connects digital assets to yield strategies across traditional and decentralized finance, the startup said.
UPDATE (May 6, 2026 at 14:00 UTC): Amends OpenTrade’s TVL to $200 million.
Executives from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), OKX and Securitize warned that synthetic tokenized stocks are creating market and retail risks, as ICE moves ahead with a regulated platform for tokenized U.S. equities.
Michael Blaugrund, who works on strategic initiatives at ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), said during a panel at Consensus Miami that NYSE’s first version will start with pre-funded tokenized equities trading against stablecoins.
That model is “not the sexiest way” to build a market, Blaugrund said, but gives issuers, investors and regulators a structure they can evaluate before more complex features such as leverage or self-custody.
Carlos Domingo, founder and CEO of Securitize, said offshore tokenized stock products are taking the opposite approach. Some use public-company names without issuer approval and do not represent the underlying equity, he said.
“For some stocks there’s like five different tokenized versions,” Domingo said, citing Coinbase as an example. “None of them actually represent equity on Coinbase.”
The risk is clearest during corporate actions, Domingo said, as he saw one tokenized stock wrapper trade at prices that differed by five times across markets after a stock split.
Haider Rafique, OKX’s global managing partner officer, noted the exchange has not launched synthetic tokenized securities and does not plan to move before regulated supply is in place.
“We’re not selling a promissory note,” Rafique said. “We’re actually selling the underlying asset.”
The warning follows broader scrutiny of stock tokens and private-market exposure. OpenAI said last year that Robinhood’s OpenAI stock tokens did not represent OpenAI equity and were not approved by the company, while Robinhood later said the tokens were backed by a special purpose vehicle.
Domingo said the issue is regulatory arbitrage. Offshore issuers can create wrappers in permissive jurisdictions and claim they are not targeting the U.S. or Europe, he said. Permissionless tokens can still flow back into those markets.
The SEC has also sharpened its focus on the distinction between true tokenized ownership and synthetic exposure, saying issuer approval is required for true tokenized stock ownership.
Blaugrund compared the shift to tokenized securities with the move from floor trading to electronic markets.
“It’s now ‘when,’ not ‘if,’” Blaugrund said.
NYSE said in January it was developing a platform for 24/7 trading and onchain settlement of tokenized U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, pending regulatory approval. The platform is expected to support fractional trading, immediate settlement and dollar-denominated orders.
ICE later struck a strategic partnership with OKX, giving the crypto exchange’s customers access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities, also subject to approvals.
NYSE also tapped Securitize to help build the tokenized stock platform, with the firm acting as a digital transfer agent for issuer-backed tokenized securities.
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Solana Foundation and Google Cloud have introduced Pay.sh, a Solana-based gateway designed to let AI agents discover, access and pay for APIs on a per-request basis using stablecoins. The launch positions Solana as payment infrastructure for agentic software workflows, with Google Cloud APIs including Gemini, BigQuery, Vertex AI, BigTable and Cloud Run among the first enterprise services supported.
The product addresses a bottleneck that has become more visible as AI agents move from passive assistants to autonomous software operators. Even when an agent can search, code, query data and execute tasks, access to premium APIs still typically requires a human to create accounts, manage billing, handle credentials and maintain subscriptions. Pay.sh attempts to collapse that process into a wallet-based payment flow.
“Agents can now instantly discover, access, and pay-per-request for any API autonomously, for the first time supporting APIs from Google Cloud including Gemini, BigQuery, Vertex AI, and more using stablecoins on Solana,” the Solana Foundation said in its announcement. “No accounts. No API keys. No subscriptions needed.”
Pay.sh begins with a Solana wallet connected to an AI interface, including Gemini, Claude Code, Codex, Openclaw and Hermes, according to the announcement. Developers can fund the wallet with a credit card or stablecoin, after which an agent can browse a unified marketplace of API endpoints, receive live pricing and pay directly from its balance.
The core design is simple: the payment functions as the credential. Rather than requiring every API provider to establish a direct billing relationship with each user or agent, Pay.sh acts as a gateway layer between agents and service providers.
The Foundation said Pay.sh runs as an API proxy built on Google Cloud Platform, sitting in front of Google Cloud services such as BigQuery, Gemini, Cloud Run and others. The user’s Solana wallet acts as the agent’s identity, while the gateway authorizes requests through verified endpoints and applies rate limits, quotas and access controls.
That distinction matters for enterprise APIs. The product is not framed as a way to bypass compliance or security controls, but as a mechanism for handling high-frequency, low-friction payments while still preserving provider-side access management.
Solana Powered-Stablecoin Settlement For Agent Commerce
Payments are processed in stablecoins on Solana and then reconciled with providers, with the announcement emphasizing settlement “in seconds.” Developers pay only for what they consume, while providers avoid manual billing overhead for small or irregular usage patterns.
Solana Foundation Chief Product Officer Vibhu Norby, who announced the launch on X, described Pay.sh as “our pay-as-you-go product for every API,” adding that the collaboration with Google brings micropayments to APIs including “Gemini, BigQuery, YouTube, and Maps.”
“For the first time, developers can access and pay on individual API calls without a billing account or KYC,” Vibhu wrote. “Pay.sh gives your terminal a wallet and financial superpowers with digital dollars on Solana at the root. We’re starting with GCP but you can access 75 other integrations through our open marketplace.”
The marketplace component is broader than Google Cloud. Solana Foundation said Pay.sh also includes more than 50 community API facilitators across ecommerce, market data, communications and onchain infrastructure. Named services include Rye, BigCommerce, Exa, Dune Analytics, Nansen, AgentMail, StablePhone, Helius, Alchemy, QuickNode, Allium and The Graph.
Pay.sh is built on x402 and MPP, which the Foundation described as machine-native payment protocols for agent-to-API commerce. The registry is open-source, and service providers can submit endpoints through GitHub or apply to become official Pay.sh API providers.
Launch partners powering community-sourced endpoints include PayAI, Crossmint, Merit Systems, Corbits, MoonPay, Sponge Wallet, ATXP and Tektonic Company.
For Solana, the launch gives stablecoin payments another concrete enterprise-facing use case beyond trading, remittances and consumer transfers.
At press time, SOL traded at $87.79.
SOL remains below the 200-week EMA, 1-week chart | Source: SOLUSDT on TradingView.com
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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Tokenisation infrastructure provider Ctrl Alt has officially launched its first tokenised structured product on the Solana network. The milestone transaction sets a new benchmark for integrating traditional finance with on-chain capital, having already placed over $400million in tokenized assets on-chain.
The transaction involved Ctrl Alt arranging, structuring, and executing the tokenization of a structured product backed by yield-bearing assets. These underlying assets were sourced directly from a regulated UK financial services firm.
Bridging traditional finance and digital capital
To support the complex legal structuring of the transaction, Ctrl Alt partnered with Carey Olsen, a leading law firm and offshore specialist. The structure was established and tokenized using a specialized vehicle domiciled in Guernsey. This jurisdiction was specifically selected for its innovation-friendly regulatory environment, deep financial expertise, and speed of execution.
The approach highlights the next evolutionary stage of tokenization, proving how innovative structures can effectively bridge on-chain capital with traditional finance opportunities. By combining blockchain technology with established legal frameworks, the approach offers several distinct advantages:
Financial firms can raise, deploy, and manage funds efficiently while maintaining familiar governance and regulatory standards.
The structure provides profound operational efficiency across the entire structured product lifecycle.
It actively supports digital issuance, transfer, and settlement while preserving traditional management and oversight.
Industry perspectives
Matt Ong, CEO and founder of Ctrl Alt
Matt Ong, founder and CEO at Ctrl Alt, emphasized the growing institutional appetite for blockchain-based funding.
“Tokenization is increasingly becoming part of the conversation for financial institutions seeking new ways to access capital,” Ong stated. “By combining innovative structured finance with on-chain funding, we’re able to create solutions that integrate with existing frameworks while providing greater efficiency and flexibility. We’re proud to deliver the first structured product on Solana.”
Ben Brophy, head of institutional growth, Europe at the Solana Foundation
Ben Brophy, head of institutional growth, Europe at the Solana Foundation, noted the importance of this integration for the wider blockchain ecosystem.
“Bringing together traditional experience and technical understanding to design and deliver access to Real World Assets (RWA) is key to greater institutional utilisation of Solana,” Brophy commented. “Internet capital markets on Solana brings together allocators, issuers, and market infrastructure, enabling more efficient access to products and services. Ctrl Alt has demonstrated that they are leading the market in bringing alternative financial instruments on-chain, and driving material capital allocations into these assets.”
Matt Brehaut, partner at Carey Olsen, praised the choice of jurisdiction for the landmark deal.
“Guernsey’s sophisticated regulatory framework, flexibility and financial expertise make it the natural choice for establishing innovative structures of this kind, and Solana and Ctrl Alt’s decision to domicile their first tokenized structured product in Guernsey further reinforces the island’s position as a leading centre for cutting-edge on-chain finance,” Brehaut explained.
Founded in 2022, Ctrl Alt supports the end-to-end asset lifecycle from origination and structuring through to issuance and distribution. As of April 2026, the firm has successfully tokenized over $1.4billion in assets, spanning real estate, private credit, funds, and commodities.
Bitcoin (BTC) buyers resumed their activity during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday, pushing the price to a new multi-month high of $82,240.
Onchain indicators, including the short-term holder (STH) cost basis, suggest that the BTC price can go higher, with the next big target at $92,000.
Key takeaways:
Bitcoin holders are back in profit, increasing the chances of reaching $92,000.
BTC bulls must overcome resistance at $84,000 to continue the uptrend.
Bitcoin price eyes $92,000 next
Data from TradingView shows that BTC/USD had risen 37% to trade above $82,000 from its multi-month low of $60,000 reached on Feb. 6.
This rally has seen Bitcoin rise above the cost basis of its short-term holders, currently at $79,000, according to data from Glassnode.
STH cost basis refers to the average purchase price of investors who have held Bitcoin for less than 155 days.
Historically, reclaiming this level has coincided with extended recovery phases, as investors returning to profit are often less inclined to sell and more willing to add exposure. The shift can also attract fresh buyers and trigger short squeezes as bearish positioning unwinds.
Related: Bitcoin in ‘disbelief rally’ as traders spot $84K BTC price target
The chart below shows that when the price reclaimed its realized price in April 2025, it rallied 30% toward the upper band of this metric at $112,000 four weeks later.
Similar occurrences in October 2024, October 2023 and January 2023 also saw the BTC price rally toward the same onchain level, as shown in the chart below.
If BTC breaks above the line, there is a good chance of seeing $92,423 in the short term, about 13% above the current price.
Bitcoin STH cost basis. Source: Glassnode
“Bitcoin has crossed the coveted ‘short-term holder breakout,’” analyst Mitchell Askew said in a Wednesday post on X, adding:
“This typically signals the end of bear markets and consolidation periods.”
Bitcoin analyst Plan C said if the price “can find sustained support above this level,” it would confirm that the 50% drawdown from the $126,000 all-time high was just a “mid-cycle correction.”
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s STH spent output profit ratio (SOPR) has flipped positive, showing early signs of a shift in market behavior.
The metric is “back above 1, which usually means recent buyers are back in profit and selling pressure is easing,” analyst BitBull said in a Wednesday post on X, adding:
“This is where markets often move from accumulation into early bullish phases.”
Bitcoin STH SOPR. Source: BitBull
As Cointelegraph reported, several technical indicators suggest that Bitcoin’s bottom is in, with analysts setting targets as high as $250,000 within a year.
Bitcoin’s price needs to flip $84,000 into support
Bitcoin’s bullish weekly close above the 20-week exponential moving average and true market mean at $78,300 has convinced traders it can move higher from current levels.
Analysts say the continuation of Bitcoin’s rally now hinges on breaking above the $82,000-$84,000 supply zone.
Bitcoin is retesting the low $80,000s region, which “corresponds with the November lows and the Daily 200MA/EMA coming in a bit higher,” trader and analyst Daan Crypto Trades said in his latest Bitcoin analysis on X.
Note that the 200-day EMA and the 200-day simple moving average are at $82,600 and $83,402, respectively.
This is a “big level” for Bitcoin bulls, the analyst said, adding:
“Acceptance higher can lead to a further bounce back into the $90Ks, but a rejection will likely keep this rangebound with $80K as the ceiling for a while.”
BTC/USD daily chart. Source: X/Daan Crypto Trades
MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe shared a chart showing $84,000-$86,000 as the “next resistance zone,” which, if broken, could potentially see Bitcoin “continue to the 50-Week MA around $90K.”
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s whale order book showed “big ask orders concentrated” between $82,000-$84,000, making it a crucial level for the bulls to overcome.
Bitcoin whale order book. Source: CoinGlass
As Cointelegraph reported, the BTC/USD pair may rise as high as $92,000 if resistance at $84,000 is broken.
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
The odds on a seven-leg parlay and the odds on a fresh memecoin trade are roughly the same, BONK core contributor Nom told audience at the ongoing Consensus Miami on Tuesday.
Most memecoin teams lack the staying power to push their projects through real regulatory steps, Nom said, citing exchange listings, ETF filings and public-company structures as the markers that separate tokens that last from those that rinse retail.
Crypto has built systems “really, really good at incentivizing inorganic traffic,” he added, pointing to points programs and airdrop farms that pull in mercenary capital and then watch network activity collapse the following week.
BONK has worked through several of those rails. Nasdaq-listed Bonk Holdings (BNKK), which rebranded from beverage company Safety Shot in October 2025, holds roughly 2.7% of BONK’s circulating supply and is targeting $115 million in token holdings by the end of 2026.
Tuttle Capital has filed a 2x leveraged BONK ETF with the SEC, and TenX Protocols, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, made a public treasury allocation in January.
The token launched Christmas Day 2022, days after the FTX collapse, with Solana trading below $10 and most builders questioning whether the chain would survive. BONK went out as an airdrop to NFT holders, developers and active wallets with no presale, no venture funding and no whitepaper.
The pitch was distribution rather than a token, Nom said, built to give Solana developers something to rally around in a dead market.
The surrounding stack now includes LetsBonk.fun, the Solana memecoin launchpad that flipped rival Pump.fun on monthly volume earlier this year, plus BonkBot, a Telegram trading interface, and around a million wallets, per figures cited on the panel.
Pressed on where the next breakout community comes from, Nom said it would form around something most people currently dismiss, naming the TON network and Telegram-built projects as candidates worth watching.
Whether BNKK hits its $115 million treasury target by year-end and whether Tuttle’s leveraged ETF clears the SEC are the two cleanest signals for whether Nom’s TradFi-bridge thesis actually plays out.
The fireside was moderated by Lionel Williams, vice president of business development at Light Node Ventures.
The following is the fintech, digital and wider economic development overview of the Central American nation of Costa Rica in 2026
Often regarded as one of Central America’s most stable and prosperous nations, Costa Rica offers a wealth of biodiversity and an economy that is growing. In terms of fintech, what is the country’s fintech landscape like?
Costa Rica has long stood apart in Central America. Known for political stability, environmental stewardship, and a service-oriented economy, it has also increasingly emerged as a quiet contender in Latin America’s digital transformation story. The country of around 5.3 million people historically has been more developed than many regional peers, supported by a strong banking sector and growing digital adoption. By 2026, that trajectory has continued, marked by consolidation, regulatory evolution, and a more defined role within the broader Latin American fintech landscape.
Financial services and fintech overview
Beautiful aerial view of San Jose Downtown City, and the Sabana metropolitan Park In Costa Rica IMAGE SOURCE GETTY
The economic backdrop helps explain why. Costa Rica’s economy is valued at approximately $90billion, with its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reaching around $17,000 in 2026). Its strengths lie in a diversified mix of services, advanced manufacturing (particularly medical devices), tourism, and a growing digital services sector. San José remains the country’s financial hub, home to major institutions such as Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, one of the country’s most influential banks and a key player in digital banking.
That broader economic stability has helped shape a fintech sector that is relatively mature by Central American standards. In 2026, Costa Rica’s ecosystem is estimated to include up to 120 fintech firms operating across payments, lending, wealthtech, and insurtech. That still leaves it smaller than Latin American giants such as Mexico and Brazil, but it places Costa Rica firmly among the more developed fintech markets in Central America.
Key players include fintechs focused on blockchain like Decentral Games, quick loans such as Rayo Credit, and payment integrations such as Olanzo.
What is particularly notable is that Costa Rica’s fintech evolution is no longer simply about access or early adoption. It is increasingly about optimisation. Digital payments, online banking, and e-commerce integration are now mainstream, while fintechs are focusing more on improving user experience, expanding financial products, and deepening interoperability. The result is an ecosystem shaped not just by startups, but by a collaborative relationship between new entrants and incumbent banks.
The Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR – English: Central Bank of Costa Rica) has been instrumental in that transition. BCCR the past few years has continued to modernise the national payments system, most notably through the expansion of SINPE Móvil, the instant payment platform that enables real-time transfers using mobile numbers. Regulatory discussions have also advanced around open banking, data-sharing protocols, and fintech licensing, pointing to a more innovation-friendly environment even if formal frameworks are still evolving.
Financial inclusion
Financial inclusion, meanwhile, remains one of Costa Rica’s strongest comparative advantages. Around 85 per cent of adults are estimated to have access to formal financial accounts as of last year. That figure is high by emerging market standards, underpinned by solid banking penetration and digital infrastructure. Still, some gaps persist, particularly among rural communities and informal workers, which is where fintech providers are increasingly directing mobile-first solutions.
This progress does not exist in isolation. Costa Rica’s digital financial development is closely tied to wider national strategies centred on innovation, sustainability, and digital governance. Government efforts to expand broadband access and implement digital transformation strategies have helped create fertile ground for digital services growth. Combined with a skilled workforce and strong education system, these factors have also strengthened Costa Rica’s appeal to multinational technology firms and digital entrepreneurs alike.
Payments remain one of the clearest indicators of this transformation. SINPE Móvil has become a cornerstone of the country’s financial ecosystem, supporting low-cost, real-time transactions for consumers and businesses. In doing so, it has not only supported inclusion, but also accelerated digital commerce and helped formalise parts of the informal economy.
Costa Rica also benefits from a more developed support ecosystem than many of its neighbours. Organisations such as the Fintech Costa Rica (Costa Rican Fintech Association) and the Asociación Blockchain Costa Rica (English: Blockchain Association of Costa Rica) along with innovation hubs and industry networks, play a meaningful role in advocacy, collaboration, and ecosystem building. They help bridge the interests of regulators, banks, startups, and investors. This is an increasingly important function as the sector grows more sophisticated.
That said, the country still faces challenges. Regulatory clarity on areas such as cryptoassets and digital assets remains incomplete, and while the fintech ecosystem is expanding, access to venture capital and scale-up financing is still more limited than in larger Latin American markets. Costa Rica may be stable and promising, but it is not yet a heavyweight in terms of investment depth.
Even so, Costa Rica offers a compelling example of how a smaller economy can use strong institutions and digital infrastructure to build a resilient fintech ecosystem. Rather than chasing disruption for its own sake, the country has focused on steady and sustainable growth. By 2026, Costa Rica’s fintech ecosystem is defined less by novelty than by integration. Digital financial services are no longer peripheral; they are becoming embedded in the everyday workings of the economy.
Bullish (BLSH) shares surged more than 11% following the company’s $4.2 billion agreement to acquire transfer agent Equiniti, with the stock climbing another 1.5% in pre-market trading Wednesday as analysts framed the deal as a transformational move beyond crypto trading.
The acquisition gives Bullish, the crypto platform led by former NYSE president Tom Farley (also CoinDesk’s parent company), direct access to one of the financial industry’s core pieces of infrastructure: shareholder records.
Equiniti services nearly 3,000 public companies, including more than 30% of the S&P 500 and over half of the FTSE 100. Analysts at Clear Street said the deal marks “a material step in repositioning Bullish from a crypto exchange to a tokenization infrastructure company.”
The logic behind the acquisition centers on tokenization, the process of turning traditional assets like stocks into blockchain-based digital tokens that can trade continuously and settle instantly.
While Bullish already operates trading infrastructure, custody systems and token issuance tools, analysts said the company lacked direct relationships with the corporate issuers whose shares would ultimately need to be tokenized.
“Equiniti fills the most important gap in Bullish’s tokenization thesis: issuer access and transfer-agent authority,” Clear Street wrote.
Transfer agents act as the official record keepers for public companies, tracking who owns shares, processing dividends and handling shareholder communications. Bullish therefore gains the regulated framework and client network needed to potentially bring tokenized equities into mainstream finance.
The deal also reflects intensifying competition around tokenized securities. Analysts pointed to recent moves by DTCC, Computershare and Securitize as signs that Wall Street infrastructure firms are racing to modernize market plumbing using blockchain rails.
Clear Street maintained a Buy rating with a $50 price target, arguing the acquisition could sharply improve Bullish’s earnings quality by adding recurring, fee-based revenue less tied to crypto trading volumes.
Compass Point took a more cautious stance, reiterating a Neutral rating and $36 target. The firm said Bullish’s current valuation already prices in much of the expected growth, though it acknowledged potential upside if Bullish succeeds in cross-selling tokenization services to Equiniti’s issuer base.
Both firms agreed the acquisition represents a long-term bet that tokenized securities move from experimentation to core financial infrastructure over the next several years.
