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Bitcoin Rally Accelerates, But BTC Options Doubt $84K Is Possible

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Bitcoin Rally Accelerates, But BTC Options Doubt $84K Is Possible

Key takeaways:

  • Bitcoin options markets price in low odds of BTC reaching $84,000 in May, while the monthly futures basis rate reflects weakness.
  • Significant Bitcoin accumulation by listed companies and rising spot Bitcoin ETF inflows absorb mining supply, reducing the impact of potential selling.

Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $78,000 level amid broader risk-on sentiment, as the S&P 500 Index jumped to an all-time high on Friday. Despite 15% gains over the past 30 days, options markets are pricing in 25% odds that Bitcoin will trade above $84,000 by the end of May. 

Derivatives markets remain skeptical of further gains, although institutional spot demand remains solid.

Bitcoin monthly options at Deribit. Source: Deribit

Bitcoin call (buy) options with a May 29 expiry and an $84,000 strike price traded at 0.0136 BTC, or $1,063. Considering there are 27 days left until expiry, the implied probability for Bitcoin price gaining 8% in May stood at 25%. Bitcoin put (sell) options have consistently traded at a premium over the past month, indicating heightened demand for downside price protection.

Bitcoin options 30-day delta skew (put-call) at Deribit. Source: Laevitas

The delta skew measures the gap between put and call options, which usually ranges between -6% to +6% in balanced markets. When professional traders are unwilling to take downside price exposure, the indicator jumps above the 6% neutral threshold, a level that has been the norm for the past month. A similar trend has also been prevalent in BTC futures markets.

Bitcoin 2-month futures basis rate. Source: Laevitas

The Bitcoin monthly futures basis rate usually trades at a 4% to 8% premium relative to regular spot markets to account for the cost of capital. However, this metric has displayed weakness over the past 30 days. The lack of demand for bullish leveraged positions can be partially explained by Bitcoin’s 12% decline year-to-date in 2026.

Bitcoin accumulation by spot ETFs and listed companies

While derivatives traders show little confidence that Bitcoin will reach $84,000, US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tell a different story. These instruments accumulated $1.3 billion in net inflows during March and another $2 billion in April, driving total net assets above $100 billion. This metric is commonly used as a proxy for institutional investor demand.

Related: Bitcoin’s surge to $77K pressures shorts, but absent spot and long leverage caps rallies

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs monthly net flows, USD. Source: SoSoValue

Similarly, listed companies have added massive Bitcoin positions to their reserves over the last 30 days. These include 56,235 BTC from Strategy (MSTR US), 5,075 BTC from Metaplanet (3350 JP), and 929 BTC from Strive (ASST US). By acquiring more than the equivalent of five months of future Bitcoin mining supply, these companies greatly reduce potential sell pressure.

The lack of demand for bullish Bitcoin derivative exposure does not invalidate the odds that the BTC price will reach $84,000 or higher by the end of May. As long as institutional appetite remains solid, the bullish momentum should continue.

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.

Bitcoin quantum proposal offers Satoshi Nakamoto a way to prove control without moving BTC

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Bitcoin quantum proposal offers Satoshi Nakamoto a way to prove control without moving BTC

Bitcoin’s quantum computing concerns have always had a Satoshi problem inside it.

Millions of bitcoin sitting in old wallets with exposed public keys could be vulnerable to theft if powerful enough quantum computers arrive. That includes the roughly 1.1 million bitcoin attributed to pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto, currently worth around $84 billion.

The obvious defense is a soft fork (or an upgrade to existing network rules) that eventually stops allowing spends from those legacy address types, forcing holders to move into quantum-safe formats before attackers can derive their private keys.

Prominent developer Jameson Lopp and five other developers proposed exactly that in mid-April through BIP-361, which would phase out quantum-vulnerable addresses on a five-year timeline and freeze any coins that fail to migrate.

That proposal created a different problem, however. Satoshi, and every other long-dormant holder, would have to wake up publicly or risk losing access to their assets.

Dan Robinson, a general partner at Paradigm, published a proposal Friday for a way around that trade-off that revolves around the concept of Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs.

The core idea is not to move coins but timestamp proof of ownership at a specific date and reveal nothing to the public until the owners of those wallets actually need to spend.

A holder generates a random salt, which is a piece of secret data used to make a cryptographic commitment unique and unguessable, and uses BIP-322, a standard for signing messages from a Bitcoin address without spending from it, to produce a proof of ownership.

The salt and proof are bundled together into an onchain commitment and timestamp it through OpenTimestamps, a free service that anchors data onto the Bitcoin blockchain through a single batched transaction. The salt, proof, and timestamp files stay private.

If Bitcoin later activates a soft fork that freezes quantum-vulnerable coins, the protocol could include a rescue path that accepts a STARK proof, a type of zero-knowledge proof that remains secure against quantum computers, showing the holder created their commitment before quantum hardware existed.

The holder submits that proof when they want to spend, and the network releases the coins. The redemption reveals nothing about which address, which amount, or even when the original timestamp was created.

These PACTs also address a specific gap in BIP-361 by including a rescue path for wallets derived through BIP-32, the deterministic key generation standard introduced in 2012. Pre-2012 wallets, including most of Satoshi’s known addresses, do not use BIP-32 and cannot be rescued through that path.

As such, Robinson stated that the PACTs require Bitcoin to eventually adopt a STARK verification protocol, which would itself need a separate soft fork with broad community consensus.

The verification infrastructure does not exist in Bitcoin currently and would need what Robinson calls “substantial new plumbing,” such as multisig wallets, complex scripts, and hardware wallet support that would all need careful standardization.

That last constraint is the one PACTs cannot work around.

The protocol only protects Satoshi if Satoshi himself, or whoever currently controls those keys, makes the commitment. If Satoshi is genuinely gone, no PACT can be retroactively created. The coins remain exposed to whichever scenario plays out first, quantum theft or community freeze.

What PACTs do offer is a way to make the BIP-361 debate less binary. The current freeze proposal forces a choice between protecting against quantum theft and respecting dormant property rights.

Whether Satoshi will use it is the question PACTs cannot answer.

Bitcoin above $78K, ETH, SOL, DOGE higher as Senate clears Clarity Act yield hurdle

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Bitcoin above $78K, ETH, SOL, DOGE higher as Senate clears Clarity Act yield hurdle

The S&P 500 just closed at another record high while bitcoin made another run to the $80,000 level earlier Saturday.

The largest crypto traded at $78,180 in Asian hours Saturday, up 0.8% on the week and recovering from a Wednesday low near $75,500 that came on the back of fresh Iran military escalation reports. The bounce arrived alongside Friday’s reports that Tehran had relayed a new ceasefire proposal to Washington through Pakistan, which sent WTI crude falling nearly 3% to around $102 a barrel.

Equities had a much better week. The S&P 500 closed 0.3% higher Friday at an all-time high, marking a fifth straight weekly gain on the back of strong tech mega-cap earnings.

The Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.9% to its own record. Apple gained 3.2% after a better-than-expected revenue outlook. Oracle climbed 6.5% on news it had joined the list of AI firms working with the Pentagon’s classified networks.

A big crypto development was on the policy side.

The Senate released the long-negotiated Clarity Act compromise text Friday, ending months of negotiations between crypto firms and bank lobbyists. The agreement, hashed out by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, would ban stablecoin issuers from offering yield based purely on holding reserves but preserves activity-based reward programs that crypto firms structure as incentives for using their platforms.

Coinbase, which had been at the center of the talks, signaled support immediately, with Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stating the language “preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms and networks, which is what the bank lobby said they wanted.”

A markup, the Senate Banking Committee hearing where the bill gets formally debated and amended, can now proceed and clears the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate. Treasury and the CFTC would have a year after the bill becomes law to write the detailed rules around what crypto firms can and cannot do with yield products.

Meanwhile, Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, said in a note that bitcoin’s range-bound trading reflects broader macro indecision rather than crypto-specific weakness.

“Bitcoin staying below the $78,000 mark isn’t really about crypto right now, it’s about what’s happening in the broader market. The Fed holding rates wasn’t a surprise, but there is no clear direction on what comes next, and that’s keeping investors from stepping in.”

Reis-Faria pointed to ETF outflows and softer demand as the symptoms. “It doesn’t mean institutions are leaving the market, it just means they’re not increasing their exposure right now. If money starts coming back in, especially from institutions or through ETFs, Bitcoin can move higher pretty quickly.”

Other majors were mixed. Ether held $2,310, XRP at $1.39, solana at $84.57, all close to flat on the week. Dogecoin was the standout, up nearly 10% on the week to $0.105 with futures open interest hitting a year-high earlier in the week.

The setup heading into next week is the same one that has held all month. Bitcoin needs a fresh catalyst to break decisively above $78,000, and the most likely sources, Fed clarity, ETF re-acceleration, or a Hormuz reopening, are all sitting outside the market’s control.

Mashreq Partners with SunTec to Tackle UAE’s Upcoming Mandatory E-Invoicing Framework

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Mashreq Partners with SunTec to Tackle UAE’s Upcoming Mandatory E-Invoicing Framework

SunTec Business Solutions and Mashreq have expanded their compliance partnership into electronic invoicing, actively preparing for the UAE’s mandatory e-invoicing requirements. The latest collaboration builds upon seven years of joint work between the two firms regarding Value Added Tax (VAT) compliance.

Navigating a complex mandate

Established under Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and No. 244 of 2025, the UAE’s e-invoicing mandate requires businesses to issue structured, machine-readable XML invoices. These documents must be transmitted in near real-time to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) via an Accredited Service Provider (ASP). Large institutions boasting annual revenues equal to or exceeding AED 50million must go live by January 1, 2027, and are required to appoint an ASP no later than July 31, 2026.

For the UAE banking sector—which now exceeds AED 5.4trillion in assets—the stakes for efficiency, compliance, and fraud prevention are exceptionally high. Operating across thousands of daily B2B transactions that span standard-rated fees, exempt interest, and out-of-scope items for VAT, banks face a compliance challenge that ranks among the most technically complex of any sector.

Currently, manual invoicing and fragmented VAT processes continue to drive revenue leakage and fraud risks, particularly in high-volume B2B environments where real-time validation is severely limited.

A non-disruptive integration
Nanda Kumar, founder and CEO of SunTec Business Solutions

To meet the impending FTA deadlines, Mashreq is utilizing the SunTec Xelerate e-Invoicing platform. The platform is specifically built to integrate seamlessly with existing banking and enterprise systems, enabling institutions to participate in real-time invoice validation and transmission without disrupting their core infrastructure.

SunTec’s Dubai-registered entity was recently approved by the UAE’s Ministry of Finance as an official e-invoicing ASP after completing all technical and regulatory requirements, which included obtaining Peppol Access Point certification.

Nanda Kumar, founder and CEO of SunTec Business Solutions, highlighted the platform’s banking-specific architecture.

Nassim Tanouti, global head of taxation at Mashreq

“For seven years, SunTec has been the compliance backbone for leading UAE financial institutions navigating an evolving tax landscape,” Kumar stated. “Our e-invoicing product extends that same architecture — over-the-top, non-disruptive, and built from the ground up for the specific complexities of banking.”

Nassim Tanouti, global head of taxation at Mashreq, emphasized the strategic importance of the digital shift.

“E-invoicing represents an important step in the UAE’s broader digital transformation agenda,” Tanouti said. “Leveraging proven platforms and partnerships enables us to accelerate this transition while staying aligned with evolving regulatory expectations.”

Ecosystem-wide benefits

The transition to mandatory e-invoicing is shaping up to be one of the most important back-office transformations in the UAE banking ecosystem, offering far-reaching benefits:

  • Cost Reduction: The technology is expected to reduce processing costs by 60 to 80 per cent, freeing up vital capacity for banks to focus on innovation and customer-facing services.

  • Enhanced Controls: E-invoicing helps address fraud by enabling real-time invoice validation and tighter operational controls.

  • Faster Processing: For end users and businesses, the shift means fewer billing errors, faster processing, and significantly reduced payment delays across transactions.

  • SME Support: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stand to benefit through improved access to financing, as verified digital invoices help strengthen credit assessments and reduce reliance on delayed documentation.

Under the UAE’s phased implementation schedule, the pilot program will officially open on July 1, 2026, for a selected Taxpayer Working Group. Voluntary adoption will be made available to all businesses from that same date. Following the mandatory compliance deadline for large taxpayers on January 1, 2027, all remaining VAT-registered businesses will be required to comply by July 1, 2027.

Businesses that fail to comply face strict penalties, including AED 5,000 monthly fines, per-document penalties, and daily charges for any unreported system failures.

Bitcoin Pushes Above $78,000 as Risk Assets Shake Off Hawkish Fed

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Bitcoin Pushes Above $78,000 as Risk Assets Shake Off Hawkish Fed

Crypto markets open May with a rally despite an unresolved Hormuz blockade.

Bitcoin pushed back above $78,000 on Friday, clawing back some of late April’s losses in the first trading session of May as crypto markets steadied after a three-day streak of institutional outflows.

BTC is changing hands near $78,225, up 2.8% over 24 hours, per CoinGecko. Ether is trading at around $2,303, up 2.2% on the day. Total crypto market capitalization climbed 2.1% to $2.68 trillion.

BTC Chart

Among other large-caps, XRP added 2% to $1.39, BNB rose 0.6% to $619, and Solana gained 1.5% to $84. Hyperliquid’s HYPE rallied 4.4% to $41.

The bounce extends a two-day rally that kicked off shortly after the Fed left benchmark interest rates unchanged, citing elevated inflation that partially reflects “the recent increase in global energy prices”, with WTI crude futures still above $100 a barrel and the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed by the mutual US-Iran blockade.

Leverage is rebuilding alongside the spot bid. Bitcoin futures open interest has increased by nearly 9% over the past 24 hours to $58.5 billion, per CoinGlass. Around $132 million in BTC futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours as today’s bounce caught traders short.

ETF Flows

Spot Bitcoin ETFs snapped a three-session outflow streak on April 30 with $14.76 million in net inflows, per SoSoValue data, lifting cumulative net inflows to $58.09 billion and total net assets back above $100 billion. The modest print followed three straight days of redemptions totaling $490 million.

April still closed as the strongest month for spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2026 by a wide margin. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led with roughly $2 billion in net inflows, while Grayscale’s GBTC posted around $280 million in net outflows. Morgan Stanley’s recently launched MSBT contributed $194 million.

Spot Ether ETFs ended the month worse. The category bled another $23.64 million on April 30, a fourth straight outflow session that brought the streak’s combined redemptions to $183.75 million.

XRP’s Sentiment Turns Bullish, But What Is Stopping a Price Breakout?

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XRP’s Sentiment Turns Bullish, But What Is Stopping a Price Breakout?

XRP’s (XRP) sentiment on social media has risen sharply over the last few days, but overhead resistance at $1.40 kept the price in consolidation.

Key takeaways:

  • XRP’s social media sentiment has risen 240% over the last 30 days to a two-year high.
  • XRP price recovery may face resistance at $1.40, with a prolonged consolidation likely.

.

XRP sentiment jumps on integration with Rakuten Pay 

News of XRP’s integration with the Japanese payment platform, Rakuten Wallet, has sparked renewed optimism among investors. 

Related: XRP set for ‘strongest’ 2026 monthly ETF inflows as bulls target $2

This integration allows Rakuten’s over 44 million users to convert their loyalty points (worth over $23 billion) directly into XRP, trade it in-app, and spend it at over 5 million merchant locations via the Rakuten Pay app. 

This marks “one of the largest retail deployments of $XRP as a payment method to date,” bridging loyalty programs, payments, and crypto utility in a major world economy, Ripple said in an X post on Thursday.

XRP integrates with Rakuten Pay. Source: Ripple

As a result, XRP saw its “2nd highest bullish sentiment across social media in the past 2 years,” Santiment said in a Thursday post on X. 

Santiment’s Positive/Negative sentiment indicator, which measures the ratio of positive to negative social media mentions for a cryptoasset, shows XRP has a score of 3.9, levels last seen in early 2024.

This was more than 240% higher than the 1.135 value recorded on March 29, following a 20% price drop over two weeks. 

Traders are showing excitement over the fact that XRP is “seeing further adoption,” the onchain data provider said, adding:

“As far as price goes, these events don’t often instantly lead to major price outbreaks. It is usually after the initial wave of euphoria, after FOMO calms down, that the impact of this kind of news sees the bullish outcome.”

XRP’s Positive/Negative sentiment metric. source: Santiment

“Buy $XRP with points. Spend it across millions of merchants in Japan,” analyst John Squire said in reaction to the development, adding:

“This is what mass adoption looks like.”

Following this news, XRP/USD jumped 2% over the last 24 hours, but remains 62% below its $3.66 multi-year high reached in July 2025. 

XRP faces stiff resistance above $1.40

XRP’s recent 18% rally from its local low at $1.27 reached on April 5 was stopped at $1.48, coinciding with the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle. 

This trend line has suppressed the price since early February, as shown in the chart below. 

Bulls must push the price above the $1.40-$1.45 resistance zone to confirm a bullish breakout from the triangle. This area is also where the 50-day exponential moving average, the 100-day simple moving average and the upper trend line of the triangle sit, reinforcing the significance of this resistance zone.

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

According to XRP’s cost-basis distribution data, investors hold approximately 2 billion XRP at an average cost of $1.40-$1.45, creating a potential resistance zone. This concentration suggests many investors may sell at break-even, potentially stalling XRP’s upward momentum.

XRP cost basis distribution chart. Source: Glassnode

A break above this supply area could open the way for a rally toward the measured target of the triangle at $2.10, about 50% above the current price. 

In a Friday post on X, analyst ChartNerd said a big move was brewing for XRP price once resistance above $1.40 is “cleared.”

As Cointelegraph reported, the XRP/USD pair was required to hold the $1.27 support and rise above the moving averages around $1.40 to signal a trend change. 

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.

XRP’s Leverage Just Reset To February Levels After the Fed Decision – Here Is the Full Picture

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XRP’s Leverage Just Reset To February Levels After the Fed Decision – Here Is the Full Picture

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

XRP has been struggling to hold above $1.35 as the market absorbs a wave of post-Fed deleveraging that has compressed derivatives activity to levels not seen since the beginning of the year. The price is at a critical juncture — and a CryptoQuant report tracking the aftermath of the April 29 Federal Reserve decision has mapped exactly what happened to XRP’s market structure in the hours and days that followed.

The Fed held rates unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, consistent with expectations. Jerome Powell simultaneously confirmed he would remain on the Federal Reserve Board as a governor after his chairmanship ends — a development that kept macro attention elevated across risk assets rather than allowing markets to settle into the rate decision alone. For XRP, the combined effect was immediate and visible across the derivatives market.

Binance open interest for XRP fell to approximately $208 million on April 29 — a contraction that brought leverage levels back to the same area recorded in February 2026. The significance of that regression is not just the level itself but what it represents: all the leveraged positioning that accumulated between February and late April has been unwound in a compressed period, resetting the derivatives structure back to its starting point.

XRP Multi Exchange Open Interest | Source: CryptoQuant
XRP Multi Exchange Open Interest | Source: CryptoQuant

The reset happened fast. What follows it is the question the current price level is building toward answering.

The Leverage Is Gone. The Demand Has Not Arrived Yet

The CryptoQuant report extends the picture beyond open interest to confirm that the deleveraging has been accompanied by genuine demand weakness rather than simply a technical reset. All CEX Estimated Spot CVD has declined to approximately $920 million since April 17 — meaning real, underlying buying activity across centralized exchanges has weakened during the same period that leverage was being removed. The two forces moving in the same direction simultaneously are the details that prevent the current setup from being read as straightforwardly constructive.

XRP Binance Cumulative Net Taker Volume / OI % Change
XRP Binance Cumulative Net Taker Volume / OI % Change | Source: CryptoQuant

The perpetual market adds a third layer of confirmation. Binance Perpetual CVD declined from approximately -$271 million to -$383 million, a further deepening of $112 million in net sell-side pressure even as open interest was contracting. Sellers remained active in the perpetual market throughout the reset period rather than stepping back alongside the leveraged longs.

The liquidation data ties the structure together. Long positions dominated the liquidation activity from April 17 through the end of the month, with the pressure concentrating particularly around the Fed and Powell headlines on April 29. The participants most exposed were the ones who had built long exposure, and the forced exits from those positions added supply to a market that was already seeing spot demand weaken.

The takeaway the report identifies is precise and conditional. XRP’s market structure is cleaner than it was — excess leverage has been removed, fragile positions have been cleared. But clean is not the same as ready. For a meaningful recovery to develop from the current $1.35 level, spot CVD needs to stabilize and begin recovering. Until that signal appears, the reset is complete, and the next move remains unconfirmed.

XRP Compression Tightens As Market Tests Post-Deleveraging Support

XRP is trading near $1.37, holding a narrow range that has defined price action since the sharp February selloff. The structure is neutral but increasingly compressed. After the capitulation wick toward $1.15, price stabilized and has since formed a sequence of shallow higher lows, suggesting passive accumulation rather than aggressive trend reversal.

XRP consolidates below $1.40 price level | Source: XRPUSDT chart on TradingView
XRP consolidates below the $1.40 price level | Source: XRPUSDT chart on TradingView

However, the broader context remains restrictive. XRP is still trading below all major moving averages, with the 50-day acting as immediate resistance and the 100-day and 200-day trending downward above the price. This alignment keeps the market in a medium-term bearish structure despite short-term stabilization.

The $1.35 zone is the key pivot. It has acted repeatedly as both support and equilibrium, reflecting a balance between buyers absorbing supply and sellers defending upside attempts. The recent rejection near $1.45 reinforces the presence of overhead supply, limiting momentum.

Volume trends support the consolidation thesis. Activity has declined significantly compared to the February breakdown, indicating reduced participation following the deleveraging event. This typically precedes expansion but does not indicate direction.

A decisive break above $1.45 would shift the structure and expose $1.60. Failure to hold $1.33–$1.35 would invalidate the higher-low pattern and likely trigger a move back toward $1.25, where prior demand emerged.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

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Galoy Unveils Bitcoin Banking ‘Sidecar,’ Helps Banks With BTC

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Galoy Unveils Bitcoin Banking ‘Sidecar,’ Helps Banks With BTC

Galoy is widening its push into U.S. banking at a moment when many institutions still wrestle with how, or whether, to bring Bitcoin into their product stack. 

Ahead of this week’s Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Galoy unveiled an expanded version of its Bitcoin-native core banking platform, aiming to turn a fragmented set of experiments into something closer to a coherent operating model for banks and credit unions.

The update bundles six core use cases into a single system: Bitcoin-backed lending, Lightning payments, stablecoin payments aligned with emerging legislative frameworks, Bitcoin exchange under the OCC’s riskless principal model, custody options, and embedded wallet infrastructure. 

Rather than replacing existing core systems, Galoy said the software acts as a “sidecar,” a layer that sits alongside legacy rails. That framing reflects a reality inside most institutions, where replacing core infrastructure remains a multi-year effort few are willing to undertake.

For many banks, the most tangible entry point may be BTC-backed lending. The logic feels familiar. Lenders already understand collateralized loans tied to equities or real estate. Bitcoin introduces volatility, but the structure maps onto existing credit practices. 

What has been missing is tooling that can handle real-time collateral monitoring and liquidation triggers without adding operational strain. Galoy’s platform leans into that gap, offering LTV tracking, accounting systems, and approval workflows that resemble traditional credit processes.

Addressing bitcoin uncertainty

The company also introduced three tools meant to address a quieter obstacle: uncertainty. 

Regulatory posture in the U.S. has shifted in tone but remains complex. Galoy’s “Regulatory Radar” aggregates guidance from federal and state agencies into plain language summaries, a nod to compliance teams that need interpretation as much as raw information.

Meanwhile, its “Portfolio Analyzer” and “LTV Risk Scenarios” tools speak to a deeper concern inside banks: how BTC exposure behaves under stress. By pre-loading data from thousands of U.S. financial institutions, the analyzer allows executives to see how a Bitcoin lending book might fit within their balance sheet. 

The risk scenarios tool pushes further, modeling how sharp price moves could ripple through collateral and capital.

Behind the product expansion sits a broader shift in tone across the industry. A few years ago, Bitcoin in banking often lived in innovation labs or pilot programs. Now, the conversation has moved closer to revenue lines and risk committees. That shift brings a different kind of scrutiny. 

Last year, Galoy launched Lana, software that enables smaller banks to offer bitcoin-backed loans, aiming to expand access and drive down high borrowing rates as more institutions enter the market. 

TradeXYZ Launches Pre-IPO Perpetuals – “The Defiant”

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TradeXYZ Launches Pre-IPO Perpetuals – “The Defiant”

IPOP markets reference anticipated public equity, convert to standard perps once shares list, and settle by TWAP if the listing fails.

Hyperliquid-based perpetuals platform TradeXYZ on Friday launched Pre-IPO Perpetuals (IPOP), a new contract type designed to enable continuous price discovery for companies in the weeks leading up to a public listing.

According to the platform’s documentation, IPOP markets are cash-settled perpetuals that reference a company’s anticipated public equity, trade on share price rather than market capitalization, and are expected to convert into standard externally-priced perps once the underlying company lists and there is sufficient market data to support oracle pricing.

The first IPOP market is Cerebras (CBRS), the wafer-scale AI chipmaker that filed its public S-1 with the SEC on April 17 and is targeting a mid-May Nasdaq debut. The CBRS contract launched today with an Outside Launch Date of May 30 and a 60-day Settlement Period running through July 30. If Cerebras lists by May 30, the market converts to a standard CBRS perp. If not, settlement defaults to a time-weighted average of the IPOP price across the market’s full lifespan.

TradeXYZ said the contracts are not shares, IPO allocations, or tokenized equity, and confer no ownership, voting, or dividend rights. Pricing uses a Hyperp-style mechanism that replaces an external oracle with a market-derived reference price, with funding calculations based on a 30-minute exponentially weighted moving average of the previous day’s minutely mark prices.

The launch extends TradeXYZ’s push into on-chain real-world asset (RWA) exposure. The platform secured a license from S&P Dow Jones Indices in March to launch the first officially sanctioned S&P 500 perpetual.

TradeXYZ flagged risks specific to IPOP markets in a separate disclaimer, including the possibility of step changes in mark price at conversion that could trigger liquidations on positions near maintenance margin, alternative settlement methodologies in cases of acquisition or material adverse events, and the prospect of foreign listings or business combinations being treated as conversion or settlement triggers.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

Qolo Expands Partnership with KeyBank to Launch a New Virtual Commercial Card Program

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Qolo Expands Partnership with KeyBank to Launch a New Virtual Commercial Card Program

WHY THIS MATTERS

The expansion of the partnership between Qolo and KeyBank to launch Key Virtual Card (KeyVC) addresses a significant pain point in corporate treasury: the fragmentation of payment systems. Historically, businesses have had to jump between separate platforms to manage virtual card spending and traditional cash management. By embedding virtual card issuance directly into KeyBank’s Virtual Account Management (KeyVAM) platform, this integration allows commercial clients to treat virtual cards as a native treasury tool. This is particularly vital in 2026, as middle-market and institutional firms face increasing pressure to automate accounts payable and improve the “velocity” of their working capital.

From a security and oversight perspective, this move shifts virtual cards from a niche payment method to a core component of controlled spending. Qolo’s infrastructure provides the back end for fraud monitoring and chargeback support, ensuring that as businesses scale their use of virtual cards, they do not increase their operational risk. For KeyBank, leveraging a fintech partner like Qolo allows it to deploy high-tech commercial card features much faster than building in house, helping it compete with both traditional megabanks and emerging B2B “spend management” unicorns.

Qolo, a leading fintech provider of modern treasury solutions, announced an expanded partnership with KeyBank with the launch of Key Virtual Card (KeyVC), a new virtual commercial card program that helps businesses more easily manage and track payments. The new offering allows KeyBank’s commercial clients to create and manage virtual cards directly within Key’s Virtual Account Management platform (KeyVAM). By bringing virtual cards into the same system clients already use for treasury and cash management, the program helps businesses pay suppliers more efficiently while maintaining stronger oversight of spending and reconciliation.

Qolo and KeyBank have had a multi-year partnership, with KeyVAM launching in 2024. Through the expansion of this partnership, Qolo provides the behind‑the‑scenes technology that enables KeyBank to issue and process virtual commercial cards, including support for fraud monitoring, disputes, and chargebacks. 

“Commercial clients are increasingly looking for simpler and more controlled ways to manage payments.” said John Withrow, Head of Commercial Cards at KeyBank. “By expanding our partnership with Qolo, we’re making virtual cards easier to use within our existing treasury platforms, helping clients streamline accounts payable, improve visibility, and maintain better control over how and when money is spent.”

“Managing commercial payments can be complex, often requiring businesses to juggle multiple systems and reporting processes. KeyVC is designed to reduce that complexity by allowing clients to use virtual cards alongside other treasury tools, with consistent reporting and simplified reconciliation across payment types. Businesses want payment tools that fit naturally into how they already operate,” said Rouzbeh Rotabi, Chief Operating Officer at Qolo. “Working with KeyBank, we’ve built a virtual card solution that feels like a seamless part of the treasury environment – giving finance teams more flexibility, stronger controls, and clearer insight into their spending.”

The virtual commercial card offering will be available to KeyBank’s clients across the bank’s Middle Market and Institutional Banking segments.

FF NEWS TAKE

The launch of KeyVC highlights the ongoing evolution of “embedded treasury,” where the lines between a traditional bank account and an agile fintech platform continue to blur. Qolo is effectively acting as the high-speed engine inside KeyBank’s established banking chassis, allowing the bank to offer “fintech-speed” card issuance while maintaining its status as a trusted, regulated custodian. This “platform-within-a-platform” model is the future of commercial banking, as it allows legacy institutions to offer a unified user experience that keeps clients from moving their payment volume to third-party digital wallets.

However, the real test for KeyVC will be the depth of its “consistent reporting” promise. As finance teams move away from manual reconciliation, the ability to see virtual card data in real time alongside ACH and wire transfers within KeyVAM will be the primary differentiator. If Qolo can ensure that these diverse data streams are truly synchronized, it will solve one of the biggest headaches for CFOs: the month-end “reconciliation lag.” For Qolo, this expanded partnership cements its position as a critical infrastructure layer for the banking industry, moving beyond simple processing to become a holistic enabler of modern commercial finance.

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