Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, the Ethereum protocol reporter on CoinDesk’s Tech team. In this issue: Solana To Get Major Design Overhaul Proposal For New Ethereum Nodes to Make Them Easier to Run World Network’s $135 Million Token Sale Solana Seeker … Read more
LM Arena, a crowdsourced benchmarking project that major AI labs rely on to test and market their AI models, has raised $100 million in a seed funding round that values the organization at $600 million, according to Bloomberg. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and UC Investments, which manages an investment portfolio for the University of California, led the … Read more
The U.S. crypto industry’s potential primary watchdog, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has a staffing problem at the top, with the last of its sitting commissioners announcing her departure plans before the arrival of the agency’s chairman picked by President Donald Trump. Democrat Kristen Johnson has now joined the other three sitting commissioners in making … Read more
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Jony Ive’s hardware prototype is “the coolest piece of technology that the world has ever seen.” What does this mean for Apple?
Sen. Ron Wyden said in a letter that one U.S. phone carrier turned over Senate data to law enforcement without notifying the target.
In its antitrust case against Meta, the US Federal Trade Commission is asking a judge to consider an alternate reality. In that world, the company never bought Instagram and WhatsApp. The two apps remained competitive with Facebook, developing features that competed for users’ attention. And that competition created a thriving ecosystem of social media apps … Read more
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Bettors flocked to Polymarket, Kalshi and Myriad Markets to wager on Bitcoin’s price action on Wednesday, shortly after the token’s price surpassed $109,000.
Wireless charging is slower and less efficient than plugging in a wire, but it’s certainly convenient — especially when you add magnets. Most people who have an iPhone 12 or later (except the 16E) and want a magnetic charger should get a Qi2 charger. Any Qi2-certified charger will charge a MagSafe iPhone up to 15W … Read more
San Salvador, El Salvador, 22 May, 2025 — Bitget Wallet, the leading non-custodial crypto wallet, has unveiled its product roadmap following a recent brand overhaul, outlining a series of updates designed to simplify crypto and expand real-world use. The roadmap is built around four core functions—Trade, Earn, Pay, and Discover—and is backed by a $1 … Read more
Spotify is launching a new hub dedicated to keeping users informed about soon-to-be-released albums, the company announced on Wednesday. The hub, called “Upcoming Releases,” will feature personalized recommendations based on a user’s listening history. Users will be able to access it through the Search tab on mobile in the “Browse all” section. The hub will … Read more
OpenAI is acquiring io, the device startup that CEO Sam Altman and famed Apple designer Jony Ive have quietly been working on for two years, in a deal that values that startup at $6.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. As part of the unusual deal announced Wednesday, Ive and his design firm, LoveFrom, … Read more
Democratic leaning organizations and members of Congress have announced plans to protest what they describe as the sale of access to the office of the US president, in reference to Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner on May 22. The event’s attendees are said to have collectively spent over $100 million for the chance to meet with … Read more
Dover, United States, May 21st, 2025/CyberNewsWire/–Attaxion, the external attack surface management (EASM) vendor with industry-leading asset coverage, announces the integration of the European Vulnerability Database (EUVD) into its platform. https://www.youtube.com/embed/H7aPxi2YoKo?si=1V46pTMigfdzkt01 Operated by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the EUVD is a publicly accessible vulnerability repository developed in response to the NIS2 Directive. It … Read more
There’s growing concerns around the anonymity of those attending President Trump’s crypto gala. We identified as many as we could.
Zug, Switzerland, May 21st, 2025/Chainwire/–Bitcoin Suisse, the leading Swiss crypto financial service provider, is proud to announce that its subsidiary BTCS (Middle East) Ltd. has received an In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM. This milestone represents a significant step forward in Bitcoin Suisse’s strategic expansion, reinforcing its commitment to … Read more
VILNIUS, Lithuania, May 21st, 2025, /Chainwire/–BTCC, one of the world’s longest-serving cryptocurrency exchanges, today announces the appointment of Dan Liu as its new Chief Executive Officer. Liu, who previously served as Chief Research Officer at BTCC, brings extensive expertise in both traditional finance and cryptocurrency markets to his new role. As BTCC approaches its 14th … Read more
The Texas House of Representatives has passed the third reading of SB 21, a bill that seeks to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the state. The bill passed in a 101-42 vote and will now go to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to either sign into law or veto. SB 21, authored by state Senator … Read more
Hong Kong passed a stablecoin bill that will enable the region to establish a licensing regime for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers. “Hong Kong’s stablecoins are backed by fiat currency as underlying assets, and we welcome global enterprises and institutions interested in issuing stablecoins to apply in Hong Kong,” legislative council member Johnny Ng said on X … Read more
There is a new accounting software in town, coming in with a fresh $17.2 million raise and a desire to shake things up. The company, Filed, hopes to automate the grunt work. “The tax industry is facing a genuine crisis,” Leroy Kerry, Filed’s co-founder CEO, told TechCrunch. Many CPAs are approaching retirement while a dwindling … Read more
Meta is launching a new program to incentivize startups to adopt its Llama AI models. The program, Llama for Startups, provides companies “direct support” from Meta’s Llama team, as well as funding in certain cases. Any U.S.-based firm that is incorporated, has raised less than $10 million in funding, has at least one developer on … Read more