Decentral Block Post

At least some of the top holders of Donald Trump’s memecoin who apply to attend a private dinner with the president could be based outside the United States.

According to a May 7 Bloomberg report based on an analysis of the top TRUMP tokenholders, 19 of the top 25 wallets on the leaderboard used foreign exchanges that exclude US-based customers, suggesting either foreign nationals or Americans living abroad. In addition, more than half of the top 220 holders — the group eligible to apply for a dinner with the president — also used exchanges in other countries.

Top 10 TRUMP memecoin holders as of May. 7. Source: Trump meme

As of May 7, the identities of the top tokenholders and those who might choose to apply for the May 22 Trump dinner and “special VIP tour” were unknown. However, the project stated that anyone who applied could not bring guests, had to pass a background check, and “can not be from a [Know Your Customer] watchlist country.” 

The implications of having dozens or hundreds of memecoin holders potentially tied to foreign governments and interest groups have raised ethics concerns from some US lawmakers, claiming that Trump was engaging in “pay-to-play” corruption. At least one senator has called for the president’s impeachment, saying Trump was “selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him.”

Memecoin concerns are slowing crypto legislation

Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate have already been pushing back against considering any crypto-related legislation until Republicans address concerns around “Trump’s crypto corruption.” The Senate is expected to vote on a bill regulating stablecoins on May 8, and House Republicans recently introduced a discussion draft of a digital asset market structure bill.

Key points:

Bitcoin investors are making the most of the highest price levels in several months by cashing out profits.

These are averaging $1 billion per day, leading to concerns that the market comeback may stall or even reverse.

Institutional participation has not led to a change in mindset, CryptoQuant says.

Bitcoin (BTC) risks a “local top or sharp correction” if current levels of profit-taking continue, new research warns.

Opinion by: Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Avail 

On paper, SocialFi is a no-brainer. It promises to shift the balance of power in social media — giving people control over how their content and personal data are used and monetized. It even offers users a stake in the $200+ billion social media advertising market, a pie currently devoured almost entirely by giants like Meta.

And yet, SocialFi platforms today feel more like digital ghost towns than the bustling hubs of Web2. Friend.tech, hailed as a breakout star in 2023, peaked at just 80,000 daily active users before falling below 10,000. What's holding SocialFi back? Why does it seem to be following Friend.tech's fade into obscurity rather than rising to rival Facebook's dominance?

The harsh reality is that decentralized social networks have largely failed to attract and retain mainstream users despite genuine enthusiasm from Web3 communities. The fundamental promise of user ownership, data portability, and monetization remains compelling — but deep structural issues bottleneck adoption.

The technical hurdles

Blockchain infrastructure was never designed for the high-throughput, low-latency demands of social networking. Social media users expect instant results when posting pictures, liking comments, or following new accounts — actions that generate hundreds of millions of transactions daily across platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X.

Safeheron, a digital asset infrastructure provider based in Singapore, has introduced an open-source Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) framework. This solution could bolster security and privacy for Web3 in sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi), payment services, and decentralized autonomous organizations.

The TEE framework is the first built upon the native Intel SGX SDK and developed using modern C++, a general-purpose object-oriented programming language often used for operating systems, game development, and high-powered computing.

Safeheron decided to open-source the framework because the company had seen growing concerns across the industry about closed, opaque systems, especially as security incidents have become more widespread.

Related: Fully onchain AI agents can be the key to a more open AI future — Here’s why

“We’re not threatened by competitors,” Safeheron CEO Wade Wang told Cointelegraph. “What worries us is slow innovation due to closed systems.”

Key takeaways:

XRP price is up 2% on May 7, buoyed by US-China trade talk optimism, with key support at $2.08 critical for sustained recovery.

Whale accumulation signals XRP price strength.

XRP price must hold above $1.83–$2.00 support to continue upside, analysts say.

XRP (XRP) price displayed strength on May 7, rising 2% over the last 24 hours after news of possible US-China trade talks flipped investor sentiment. 

Payments behemoth Visa has invested in BVNK, a London-based startup focused on stablecoin payment infrastructure, signaling continued interest in digital asset innovation.

According to a May 7 BVNK announcement, the startup “secured a strategic investment from Visa through their Visa Ventures arm.” Furthermore, while the company does not explain fully what it entails, it refers to the investment as “more than capital” and describes it as a partnership. The company’s CEO, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, wrote:

“I’m particularly excited about what it means to partner with Visa—the original payments innovator. Their deep expertise in building global payment networks, combined with our stablecoin infrastructure, creates powerful possibilities for redefining how businesses operate in today’s digital economy.“BVNK-VISA partnership image. Source: BVNK

Rubail Birwadker, head of products and partnerships at Visa, explained that “stablecoins are fast becoming a part of global payment flows.” He said that Visa invests in new technologies and builders, such as BVNK, who are involved in “what’s next in commerce to better serve our clients and partners.”

Related: Stablecoin fever: 5 major stablecoins are growing crypto adoption

BVNK is on a roll

Visa’s investment in BVNK follows the stablecoin infrastructure company closing a $50 million Series B funding round led by Haun Ventures at the end of 2024, with plans to expand into the United States. The round saw the participation of industry heavyweights including Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, DRW VC, and existing investors Avenir and Tiger Global.

In an industry filled with complexity, jargon and mistrust, women in Web3 say that the way to attract more women into the crypto space starts with clarity, education and community. 

At the Blockchain Baddies side event during Token2049 in Dubai, women shared personal experiences of entering the Web3 world and why they believe more female participation is essential for the future of crypto.

In interviews with Cointelegraph, community members said the path forward begins with simplifying technical concepts and fostering environments where women can learn and grow.

Women in Web3 share experiences in the crypto space. Source: Cointelegraph

From providing clarity to building skills 

From simplifying technical language to creating safe spaces for learning, women in Web3 said that demystifying crypto and making tools more intuitive can unlock more opportunities for women to enter the Web3 industry. 

Caroline York, the marketing director of Web3 firm Serotonin, said that making the space more welcoming to women starts with clarity. “In order to attract more women, we’ve got to make the information much more digestible and a lot clearer,” she said.

USD1, the US dollar stablecoin launched by the President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has become the seventh-largest stablecoin worldwide in just two months since its launch.

WLFI’s snapshot vote for a USD1 airdrop proposal is underway, and USD1’s market capitalization has continued to climb.

Launched in early March with a $3.5 million supply, USD1 has expanded into a market cap of $2.2 billion at the time of writing, leaving rival stablecoins First Digital USD (FDUSD), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Tether Gold (XAUT) behind, according to data from CoinGecko.

Top 10 stablecoins by market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko

Although rising fast, the USD1 market cap is still far from the market value of major stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), whose market caps are worth $149 billion and $61 billion, respectively.

BNB Chain drives USD1 issuance

Trump-backed USD1 is almost exclusively issued on Binance-backed BNB Chain. According to data from BscScan, as much as $2.1 billion of all USD1 supply is issued on BNB Chain, accounting for more than 99% of its total circulating supply, while an Ethereum-based version accounts for just $14.5 million, according to Etherscan.

Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy quietly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania, reportedly leaving behind unplugged wells and regulatory violations.

The site, known as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for nearly a decade when Diversified began using it to fuel on-site generators powering cryptocurrency mining computers, according to a report by the Erie Times-News.

Per the report, the operation was launched without obtaining an air quality permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Though the company was later granted the permit in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already removed the mining infrastructure.

Empty metallic sheds and missing production equipment led the DEP to issue a formal violation notice for well abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the site was abandoned, saying that it may resume gas production.

Bitcoin holders are becoming more comfortable borrowing against their crypto as market confidence grows, according to Seamus Rocca, CEO of the Gibraltar-based private bank, Xapo Bank. 

In an interview at the Token2049 event in Dubai, Rocca told Cointelegraph that with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $95,000 and institutional adoption starting to catch on, the mood among investors has shifted from short-term speculation to a more long-term outlook. 

“I’m not sure that confidence would have been there three or four years ago,” Rocca told Cointelegraph. “But today, people are more comfortable to borrow against Bitcoin because we’re nowhere near the levels that would trigger liquidation.”

On March 18, Xapo Bank launched a lending product that allows users to borrow US dollars using their Bitcoin as collateral. With the product, qualified clients can access up to $1 million in loans while keeping their BTC.

Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca at the Token2049 media lounge. Source: Cointelegraph

Bitcoin-backed loans are an “obvious” next step

Rocca told Cointelegraph that growing confidence in crypto’s long-term trajectory had fueled demand for the product. This has been driven by developments leading to broader institutional adoption. 

Several crypto-focused organizations — including Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies — are eyeing a US return, primarily driven by uncertain geopolitical tensions. Still, BTC miner Hive Digital Technologies is doubling down on the untapped potential of the Latin American (LATAM) market.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Hive Digital Technologies’ president and CEO, Aydin Kilic, said that Paraguay presents a compelling long-term opportunity equipped with “geopolitical stability, low-cost hydro energy, and a government open to foreign investment”.

Picking up from where Bitfarms left off

Hive acquired Bitfarms’ 200 megawatt (MW) Yguazú facility for $56 million in January. Phase one infrastructure of a 100 MW data center at the site was completed in April, supporting five exahashes per second (EH/s) of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining.

Hive plans to expand to 300 MW of mining facilities in Paraguay in 2025. It aims to increase its hashrate to 25 EH/s by September.

Related: Bitfarms sells Paraguay site to Hive for $85M, refocuses on US

Key takeaways:

Inter Milan Fan Token jumped 10.5% after beating Barcelona, showing a direct price correlation with match outcomes.

PSG and AFC fan tokens signal breakout patterns ahead of the Champions League semifinal.

Crypto betting odds favor PSG over Inter Milan, influencing fan token trading volumes and short-term price setups.

The Inter Milan Fan Token ($INTER) rallied sharply after Inter Milan’s 4-3 victory over Barcelona FC in the Champions League semifinal on May 6, rising nearly 10.50% on match day and maintaining gains at $1.19 as of May 7.

Ethereum — the network that unleashed smart contracts on the world — moves on to the next chapter with today’s Pectra upgrade, but what does it mean?

Pectra went live on the Ethereum mainnet at the start of epoch 364032, May 7, 2025, at about 10:00 am UTC. The three main Ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs) included are EIP-7702, EIP-7251 and EIP-7691.

Source: Ethereum.org

EIP-7702 allows externally owned accounts to act as smart contracts and cover gas expenses (transaction fees) and payments in tokens that are not Ether (ETH). EIP-7251 increases the validator staking limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, which makes operations for large stakers easier and simpler.

Finally, EIP-7691 increases the number of data blobs per block, which allows for better layer-2 scalability and potentially significantly reduces transaction fees. Sergej Kunz, co-founder of Ethereum decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch, said Pectra “introduces ‘smart account’ functionality” at deeper protocol levels and “improves Ethereum’s scalability” through layer-2 solutions.

Related: Ethereum to simplify crosschain transactions with new token standards

Bhutan, known for investments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, has launched a tourism crypto payment system in partnership with Binance Pay and DK Bank.

The system allows Bhutan travelers with Binance accounts to pay for services like tickets, hotel stays, tour guides and other products using at least 100 different crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), USDC (USDC) and Binance-backed BNB (BNB).

The initiative also opens a payment gateway for businesses in Bhutan, enabling them to accept crypto payments through a QR code on a phone, according to an announcement by Binance on May 7.

“This is more than a payment solution — it’s a commitment to innovation, inclusion, and convenience,” said Damcho Rinzin, director of Bhutan’s tourism department.

Benefits for small businesses in remote areas

The partnership specifically targets small businesses in Bhutan, such as vendors and rural artisans who may never have had access to card terminals or payment infrastructure.

Despite the $1.4 billion lost in the recent Bybit hack, crypto companies have not changed their approach to cybersecurity, according to Hacken CEO Dyma Budorin. 

In an interview with Cointelegraph at the Token2049 event in Dubai, Budorin said the industry continues to rely on limited measures such as bug bounties and penetration tests, rather than implementing comprehensive, layered security strategies:

“Most of the projects think, ‘Okay, we did pentests. That’s enough. Maybe bug bounty. That’s enough.’ It’s not enough.”

He said that crypto companies must go beyond these isolated security measures and adopt more layered approaches similar to those of traditional industries. These include supply-chain security, operational security and blockchain-specific security assessments. 

“In big Web2 companies, this is mandatory,” Budorin added. 

Dyma Budorin at the Token2049 event in Dubai. Source: Cointelegraph

Real-time blacklisting, a step forward

While crypto security approaches remained the same, post-hack security approaches shifted slightly. Budorin told Cointelegraph there were some improvements in the crypto space’s post-hack security responses. 

Tether deployed its flagship stablecoin, USDt, on the Kaia blockchain as part of a broader collaboration with Line Next, the Web3 arm of Line, Japan’s popular messaging platform with more than 196 million monthly active users.

The integration means USDt (USDT) will now be supported across Line’s messenger-based Mini DApp ecosystem and self-custodial wallet, enabling users to interact with stablecoins inside an interface they already use daily, Tether said in a May 7 announcement.

Line users will be able to use USDt for in-app payments, cross-border transfers and decentralized finance (DeFi) activities.

“Through LINE NEXT’s blockchain infrastructure, over 200 million LINE users will now have a straightforward way to engage with digital assets in everyday life,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said, adding:

“Tether’s expansion to Kaia underscores its commitment to fostering stablecoin adoption across Asia and beyond.”Source: Tether

Related: Tether AI platform to support Bitcoin and USDT payments, CEO says

Key points:

Bitcoin and gold trade in lockstep on low timeframes as macro volatility triggers heighten.

The Federal Reserve interest rate decision and news conference are just hours away.

Market sentiment for rate cuts in 2025 decreases sharply ahead of the FOMC meeting.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a flash short-term trend change on May 7 as geopolitical triggers gave risk assets fresh volatility.

Japan’s Metaplanet purchased an additional 555 Bitcoin as part of its aggressive accumulation strategy, bringing its total holdings to 5,555 BTC, valued at over $536 million at current prices.

On May 7, the Tokyo-listed firm disclosed that it spent $53.4 million acquiring 555 Bitcoin (BTC) at an average price of $96,134. The company now holds 5,555 BTC, purchased for $481.5 million at an average price of $86,672 per Bitcoin, according to CEO Simon Gerovich.

The company also announced the issuance of another $25 million in zero-coupon ordinary bonds to fund its ongoing BTC buys. Since early 2024, the firm has raised over 35 billion yen ($244 million) through zero-coupon bonds and stock acquisition rights via its partner, Evo Fund.

The company’s proprietary key performance indicator, BTC Yield, has surged in recent quarters, reaching 309.8% in Q4 2024, 95.6% in Q1 2025, and 21% in the current quarter.

“In Japanese, the number 5 is pronounced “Go,” so today we’re shouting: Go go go go — to the moon and beyond!” Gerovich said in a post on X.

Movement Labs confirmed the termination of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following controversy over a market maker deal that he brokered.

Movement Labs made the announcement in a May 7 X post, stating it had “terminated Rushi Manche.” The project said it “will continue under a different leadership.” The post also alludes to upcoming governance changes.

The termination follows Movement Labs announcing Manche’s suspension earlier this month, explaining that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.” It also comes after Coinbase’s recent decision to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) token, citing its failure to meet its listing standards.

Source: Movement

Related: Movement Network to buy back tokens with $38M recovered from rogue market maker

Movement Labs launches Move Industries

In addition to terminating Manche, Movement Labs announced the launch of Move Industries, with former Movement Labs employees Torab Torabi as the firm’s CEO and Will Gaines as its chief marketing officer. “In light of recent news, we needed a clean break. Movement started with the community and our builders,“ the announcement stated.