Crypto’s Divergent Paths (2026-05-01)

Ethereum Application Guild (EAG) is established to promote the application-layer ecosystem and the construction of a global developer network.

On May 1, according to a retweet by Ethereum’s official X account, the Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG) officially launched. As a global, nonprofit collaborative organization, the guild aims to support the development of the Ethereum application ecosystem and drive its expansion from the infrastructure layer to the application layer.

EAG will operate across four key areas: facilitating the deployment of real-world applications, connecting cross-domain ecosystem networks, establishing unified evaluation and development frameworks, and building sustainable funding mechanisms.

EAG adopts a dual-track approach: first, a membership contribution system based on institutional scale (e.g., valuation, market cap, or AUM); second, a staking-rewards donation mechanism that channels a portion of ETH staking rewards into an ecosystem growth fund.

[PANews]

Riot’s Q1 data center business revenue reached $33.20 million, and AMD’s contracted capacity expanded to 50 megawatts.

Riot Platforms announced its Q1 2026 financial report, showing that the company achieved data center business revenue of $33.20 million for the first time, accounting for approximately 20% of total revenue, marking an important step in its transformation from Bitcoin mining to AI, data centers, and hyperscale customer service.

The financial report shows that Riot’s total revenue for the first quarter was $167.20 million, of which the core Bitcoin mining business contributed $111.90 million, a year-on-year decline due to a decrease in Bitcoin production and a lower average price.

The company sold 3,778 BTC in the quarter and currently holds 15,679 BTC, with a current value of nearly $1.20 billion, making it the seventh-largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder in the world.

[The Block]

Brazilian Central Bank May Ban the Use of Crypto Assets for Settlement in Regulated Cross-Border Payment Systems

On May 1, according to Cointelegraph, the Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil, BCB) issued Resolution No. 561, prohibiting the use of virtual assets for settlement within the regulated framework for international payments and transfers (eFX), further tightening cryptocurrency regulation in cross-border payment services.

Under the new rules, payments and receipts between eFX service providers and their overseas counterparties must be conducted exclusively via foreign exchange transactions or fund transfers from non-resident Brazilian real accounts—cryptocurrencies or stablecoins may not be used for settlement.

This restriction also applies to eFX service providers that have not yet been formally included in the approved category but are operating under a transitional period; such institutions must apply to the Central Bank of Brazil for authorization by May 31, 2027, if they wish to continue operations.

[PANews]

Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran: Mojtaba Khamenei is in good health

On May 1, according to CCTV News, the Deputy Director of the Office of Iran’s Supreme Leader stated that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in good health and actively handling state affairs.

In response to the U.S. Department of State’s recent statement claiming that the United States launched a war against Iran “in self-defense,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani posted on social media: “This so-called ‘self-defense’—against whom exactly? Has Iran launched any ‘armed attack’ to give you a pretext? Absolutely not! Therefore, this is by no means ‘self-defense’—it is a blatant act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

[PANews]

Planet Evening News

1. Tradexyz documentation adds Pre-IPO, or supports pre-IPO stock exposure trading;

2. Machi Big Brother’s ETH and BTC long positions lost another $4.42 million this week, with total losses reaching $75.60 million;

3. Strategy maintains STRC’s May dividend rate at 11.50%, MSTR’s stock price sees its first monthly increase in 9 months;

4. Dan Bin’s fund increases its holdings in crypto concept stocks again, purchasing over $3.00 million worth of Circle;

5. Court rules to suspend the execution of the South Korean regulator’s “partial business suspension” sanction against Bithumb;

6. The Central Bank of Brazil prohibits regulated cross-border payment channels from using crypto assets for settlement;

7. SBI Holdings plans to make bitbank a holding subsidiary through capital business cooperation;

8. Riot Platforms’ first-quarter data center revenue reached $33.20 million, AMD contract capacity doubles.

Huang Liben has lost $4.42 million this week and a total of $75.60 million over the past 7.5 months.

May 1st news, according to Arkham monitoring, Machi Big Brother (Huang Licheng)’s trading account has lost $4.42 million this week, with its market value shrinking by 77% in 4 days.

He has accumulated losses of $75.60 million in 7 and a half months and still holds long positions in ETH and BTC.

[PANews]

Visa launches “Visa Agentic Ready” global program in Hong Kong

According to Ming Pao, Visa has launched its global “Visa Agentic Ready” initiative in Hong Kong. In the first phase, the program will focus on preparing card-issuing institutions by providing them with a comprehensive testing process.

The “Visa Agentic Ready” initiative will integrate tokenization technology, identity verification, risk management, and authorization mechanisms to explore how reliable agent-based payments can be implemented across various use cases.

The “Visa Agentic Ready” program is now officially live in Hong Kong and multiple Asia-Pacific markets, including Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

[Foresight News]

Strategy’s stock price recorded its first monthly increase in 9 months, and the STRC dividend rate for May will remain at 11.50%.

PANews, May 1: Strategy, a Bitcoin treasury company, saw its common stock close at $165 in April, rising 33% for the month—the first monthly gain in the past nine months. Prior to this, the stock had declined for eight consecutive months, from August 2025 through March 2026, with a cumulative drop of 75%.

Additionally, Strategy announced that the dividend yield for its perpetual preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), will remain unchanged at 11.5% for May—marking the third consecutive month at this level.

Trading data shows that STRC’s April volume-weighted average price (VWAP) was $99.76, near its $100 par value. Since April 15, the price has remained below par; however, the market expects it to rebound to around $100 next week, justifying the decision to maintain the current dividend yield.

[CoinDesk]

trade.xyz will change the internal pricing mechanism to a weighted moving average within 30 minutes.

trade.xyz has changed its internal pricing mechanism to a weighted moving average over the past 30 minutes, which will make the oracle respond faster and allow the funding rate to normalize more quickly.

[Foresight News]

trade.xyz will launch Pre-IPO stock perpetual contracts

According to the latest updated documentation from trade.xyz, the platform will launch Pre-IPO stock perpetual contracts. This market reflects only the prices of stocks of companies expected to go public and is not a direct representation of actual shares. trade.xyz states that the opening price will be referenced from the company’s most recent disclosed funding round, valuation disclosures, IPO filings, or other relevant publicly available information.

Prior to the underlying company’s public listing, the Pre-IPO perpetual contract market operates using a mechanism similar to Hyperp. Once the underlying company completes its public listing, the corresponding perpetual contract market will convert into a standard externally priced perpetual contract referencing the listed stock. This conversion will occur once sufficient external market data is available to support standard oracle-based pricing.

[Foresight News]

Japan exchange giant JPX prepares for crypto ETF debut

Japan Exchange Group is preparing for the possible launch of cryptocurrency ETFs once legal reforms are completed. JPX CEO Hiroki Yamamichi said many asset managers are interested in creating crypto-linked ETFs. He told Bloomberg that “it can be done anytime once the legal framework is in place and the tax treatment is clarified.”

The timeline remains tied to the pace of legal and tax changes in Japan. Yamamichi said a crypto ETF listing could happen as early as next year, depending on reform progress. However, the timing could also move to 2028 if legal changes take longer.

JPX has already listed “entering new asset classes” in its medium-term management plan. The exchange operator has been reviewing crypto-related products as part of its plan to expand market choices. A crypto ETF would give investors a regulated product linked to digital assets, helping JPX expand its product lineup beyond traditional securities and derivatives.

The exchange wants to attract more investors by adding new asset classes, though the product launch depends on clear rules for crypto treatment and tax handling. The comments came as global crypto ETF flows showed mixed movement.

On April 30, Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded total net inflows of $14.75 million, according to SoSoValue data. That marked the first positive day after three straight days of net outflows. Ethereum spot ETFs moved in the opposite direction, with $23.64 million in net outflows. Ethereum funds have now posted four straight days of outflows. The split shows uneven demand across crypto investment products as Japan studies its own ETF framework.