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The U.S. House of Representatives on May 1 unanimously passed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill by voice vote, a measure that had already cleared the Senate. The bill, which funds most departments under the DHS, has been sent to the White House for President Donald Trump's signature. The president's approval will officially end a 76-day partial government shutdown that began on Feb. 14. This shutdown marks the longest in U.S. history, causing difficulties for numerous key agencies in maintaining operations and paying employees. The Democratic Party had opposed funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol, which carry out President Trump's immigration policies.

The U.S. Senate on April 30 unanimously passed a rule banning its members from participating in prediction markets, with the regulation taking effect immediately, CNBC reported. The move comes amid growing concerns over insider trading on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, as well as event contracts related to death and violence.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the world has witnessed Iran's tolerance and will for reconciliation. He criticized current measures being taken under the pretext of a maritime blockade, describing them as an extension of military action against nations paying the price for resistance and independence. Pezeshkian emphasized that the continuation of such oppressive measures is absolutely unacceptable.

The vast majority of holders of USDT0, the omnichain token from Tether, possess small amounts, with 99.2% holding less than $1,000, The Block reported. Data shows that approximately 1,200 individuals hold under $1,000. In contrast, 35 people hold between $100,000 and $1 million, and another 35 hold over $10 million. The USDT0 team stated that its active user statistics show greater participation from ordinary retail investors than from large-scale investors managing significant funds.

Global cryptocurrency card payment volume has surged 500% since tracking began in September 2024, Solid Intel reported. According to PaymentsScan, recent monthly payment volume has reached approximately $600 million, with payments made via stablecoin-linked cards showing the fastest growth. Visa processes about 90% of all crypto card transactions.

Wall Street investment bank and research firm Benchmark has asserted that MicroStrategy's model of accumulating Bitcoin by selling perpetual preferred stock is sustainable, The Block reported. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer addressed claims that MicroStrategy's preferred stock product, STRC, resembles a Ponzi scheme, stating that such views misinterpret how the company raises and manages capital. He explained that MicroStrategy's strategy is a deliberate and sustainable model designed to convert long-term demand for STRC dividends into Bitcoin investments. Palmer added that MicroStrategy can, of course, sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings to cover the preferred stock dividend payments.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that most cryptocurrencies are scams during his testimony in a lawsuit against OpenAI, Fortune magazine reported. Appearing as a witness in an Oakland court on April 30, Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, was asked whether the organization had planned a coin offering (ICO) in 2018 to raise funds when it was still a non-profit. He responded that while some cryptocurrencies have value, most are scams. OpenAI has previously asserted in a blog post that Musk supported its plan to raise funds through an ICO and was aware that OpenAI could evolve into a for-profit company. Sam Altman, the current CEO of OpenAI, was a co-founder of Worldcoin (WLD), which launched in 2023.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps said on X that 8,360 addresses were allocated tokens during the token generation event (TGE) for the Ethereum Layer 2 project Megaether (MEGA) on April 30. The firm added that of these recipients, 50% are still holding their tokens, 40% have sold their entire allocation, and 10% have partially sold.

Exponent, a Solana-based yield trading protocol, has raised $5 million in a recent seed round, The Block reported. The round was led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from institutional investors including Solana Ventures, RockawayX, L1D, Prelude, and Theia Blockchain. Angel investors such as Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko also joined the round. This brings Exponent's total funding to $7.1 million, which includes $2.1 million raised in November 2024.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on April 30 that Iran has completely lost its trust in the United States, Xinhua News Agency reported. During a phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Pezeshkian stated that while resolving differences through dialogue has always been a key priority, past attacks by the U.S. and Israel during negotiations have eroded this trust. He added that similar actions could recur.

Crypto custody and banking firm Anchorage Digital has selected stablecoin issuer M0 as its core technology provider as it prepares to enter the regulated stablecoin market, CoinDesk reported. The firm aims to position itself as a platform for institutions looking to issue and manage regulated stablecoins, and plans to offer solutions to these companies through M0.

Sui (SUI) is a Layer 1 blockchain optimized for building consumer-facing Web3 applications, according to Josh Olszewicz, an analyst at crypto asset management firm Canary Capital. He told CoinDesk that Sui employs an object-based architecture and parallel execution to handle high transaction throughput. Olszewicz explained that this selective execution model reduces network bottlenecks and enhances scalability and efficiency, providing an ideal environment for implementing real-world Web3 use cases such as gaming, digital identity verification, and social applications.

U.S. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden have sent a letter demanding details of a loan transaction between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and stablecoin issuer Tether, Bloomberg reported. The loan in question involves a trust owned by Lutnick's children, which borrowed an undisclosed amount from Tether shortly after Lutnick sold his stake in the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald to the trust to comply with federal ethics rules before taking office. The loan is reportedly secured by all of the trust's assets, including convertible notes for a 5% stake in Tether that Cantor Fitzgerald acquired for $600 million in April 2024. The two senators stated they seek to determine whether Tether offered preferential treatment as a bribe or attempted to exert influence, demanding the disclosure of the loan's specific terms and any contact between the two parties since Lutnick's nomination. The Commerce Department maintained that it has complied with ethics regulations, while Tether did not respond to a request for comment.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the country may soon need to take military action again to eliminate what he described as an existential threat from Iran, Israeli media reported on April 30. Katz added that his country supports diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran.

According to an analysis by CryptoPotato, Bitcoin is likely to retest support at its 100-day moving average (MA) around $72,000. This comes after BTC failed to break through the upper boundary of its ascending channel and the horizontal resistance at $80,000 on the daily chart. The outlet noted that BTC is currently consolidating at a point where technical support and resistance levels intersect. If Bitcoin can maintain a daily close above $75,000, the ascending channel structure would remain intact, potentially paving the way for a move toward $80,000. On the 4-hour chart, the lower support of an uptrend line that began in early April has been broken. While this has weakened short-term upward momentum, a resumption of the uptrend toward the $80,000 target is possible if the $74,000-$75,000 support zone holds, CryptoPotato explained.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on April 30 that the United States is not currently in a state of war with Iran, meaning Congress does not need to vote on the Trump administration's military operations, NBC News reported. Johnson explained that he does not see any active military bombing, shelling, or similar operations currently underway. He described the situation as a phase for achieving peace and stated that he does not want to interfere with the administration's sensitive negotiations. When asked if the military conflict was approaching the 60-day deadline stipulated by the War Powers Resolution, he reiterated that the U.S. is not at war. Johnson added that peace is being pursued through patrol missions in the Strait of Hormuz and that the administration is acting as aggressively as possible, with nothing more Congress could do to facilitate the process.

Cryptocurrency startup Agora applied for a federal trust bank charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last week, CoinDesk reported. If approved, the charter would allow the company to issue stablecoins directly under federal supervision. Agora CEO Nick Van Eck said the move could eliminate excessive fees in the fiat-to-crypto conversion process. The company also plans to expand its business beyond issuance to include custody, compliance, and infrastructure services.

Crypto payment app Oobit is launching a Visa corporate expense card designed specifically for AI agents, The Block reported. The virtual "Agent Cards" allow users to make payments directly at Visa-accepting merchants without first converting their USDT balance to fiat currency. Each agent is issued one card, which comes with features for setting spending controls by category and imposing limits per transaction or merchant. Oobit's largest shareholder is Tether, which led the company's $25 million Series A funding round in 2024.

Crypto lender Nexo has announced the addition of Solana (SOL) and XRP as collateral options for its Zero-Interest Credit (ZiC) line. The ZiC product allows users to borrow stablecoins at a 0% annual interest rate without the risk of forced liquidations. In exchange, Nexo captures any excess profits if the collateral's value appreciates beyond a certain threshold. The product also requires a lower loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 30% compared to the company's standard loan offerings.

The on-chain transition of the tokenized asset market is expected to take more than a decade, with institution-focused platforms like Canton having an initial advantage before open networks such as Ethereum and Solana become competitive in the long run, according to a report from Grayscale. The report identified Ethereum, Solana, Canton, Avalanche, BNB Chain, and Chainlink as key protocols poised to benefit. Grayscale noted that the tokenized asset market has grown 217% year-over-year and that the approximately $300 trillion securities market will ultimately move on-chain. The report explained that institution-focused networks are favorable for initial adoption due to built-in compliance and privacy features, while hybrid chains like Avalanche L1, Base, and Arbitrum combine institutional environments with open ecosystems. Although open networks offer deep liquidity, their privacy solutions are still developing. However, Grayscale stated that once these networks secure privacy through technologies like zero-knowledge proofs, they will be able to compete directly for institutional capital.

President Donald Trump has presented a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press reported. According to an anonymous senior official, the plan calls for the U.S. to maintain its blockade of Iranian ports while coordinating with allies to increase pressure on Iran for obstructing the free flow of energy. The official added that President Trump is reviewing various diplomatic and policy options to end Iran's control over the waterway.

Coinbase Asset Management (CBAM) has launched a credit fund linked to the stablecoin market, CUSHY (Coinbase Stablecoin Credit Strategy), CoinDesk reported. The fund aims to generate returns through on-chain lending and can issue equity tokens on the Ethereum, Solana, and Base chains using the FundOS platform from tokenization specialist Superstate. This structure allows institutional investors to hold and manage their fund shares via the blockchain.

Spain has become the primary market for retail payments using Circle's euro-pegged stablecoin, EURC, Cointelegraph reported. Citing data from crypto banking platform Brighty, the report noted that from 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, Spain accounted for approximately 36% of all EURC transactions and 25% of the total volume, making it the largest market in Europe. The average payment amount per transaction was around €49 ($57). Brighty co-founder Nick Denisenko explained that for Spanish users, EURC functions just like a regular euro and offers frictionless exchange when trading with USDC. According to CoinGecko data, EURC currently represents 49% of the total market capitalization for all euro-pegged stablecoins, which stands at approximately $887 million.

White House National Economic Council (NEC) Chairman Kevin Hassett said it would be a policy mistake for the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates.