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Jeffrey Lyons Presents at JPPCLE’s 42nd Annual Joint Patent Practice Seminar

Drexel Magazine Names Sara Goldstein to 40 Under 40 2026

Benjamin Wanger Takes Part in Panel at ZogForward 2026

Blockchain Monitor

Blockchain Monitor - Planet earth in outer space with network connection and sunlight.

Weekly Blockchain Blog – May 4, 2026

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<a href="#stablecoin">Traditional Financial Firms and Crypto Companies Launch Stablecoin Initiatives</a>

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<a href="#crypto">Crypto Companies Announce Acquisitions, AI Integrations, Proof of Reserves</a>

<a href="#tokenization">U.S. Companies Announce Tokenization Initiatives</a>

<a href="#bis">BIS Publishes Report on Cryptoasset Intermediaries, Policy Approaches</a>

<a href="#usdt">USDT Issuer Freezes $344M Linked to Illicit Activity; Scam Centers Targeted</a>

<a href="#april">April 2026 Losses to Crypto Hacks Reach Almost $630M; AI Threats Increase</a>

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Traditional Financial Firms and Crypto Companies Launch Stablecoin Initiatives

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By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/RobertAMusiala">Robert A. Musiala Jr.</a>

A major U.S. financial institution recently announced “the launch of the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio (MSNXX) … a new government money market fund designed to align with the stablecoin reserves investment requirements of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act).” According to a press release, “[t]he Fund offers payment stablecoin issuers an eligible money market fund option where they can invest their required reserves that back their outstanding payment stablecoins.”

Another major U.S. financial company recently announced that it is “adding five blockchains to its global stablecoin settlement pilot, expanding how issuers and acquirers can settle with the network.” According to a press release, the company’s settlement pilot “now supports nine blockchains and has reached a $7 billion annualized stablecoin settlement run rate, up 50% since last quarter.”

Two major crypto companies recently announced “a strategic partnership to bring… RLUSD to eligible markets on OKX — significantly expanding global access, liquidity, and trading utility for the enterprise-grade stablecoin.” According to a press release, “RLUSD is now live on OKX for spot trading across 280+ pairs, including the XRP/RLUSD pair, and can be used as institutional-grade margin collateral for derivatives, including perpetual futures where available.”

In a final stablecoin development, an EU-based bank, Banking Circle S.A., recently announced the launch of its “stablecoin settlement services.” According to a press release, “[t]he new offering will provide a suite of fiat-to-stablecoin and stablecoin-to-fiat capabilities, from the bank’s core platform.”

For more information, please refer to the following links:

<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260423878842/en/Morgan-Stanley-Investment-Management-Launches-Stablecoin-Reserves-Portfolio">[] Investment Management Launches Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio</a>

<a href="https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.22336.html">[] Accelerates Stablecoin Momentum: Adding Five Blockchains for Settlement</a>

<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260429310890/en/Ripple-and-OKX-Partner-to-Expand-RLUSD-Access-and-Global-Liquidity">[] Partner to Expand RLUSD Access and Global Liquidity</a>

<a href="https://www.bankingcircle.com/banking-circle-introduces-stablecoin-settlement-services/">Banking Circle Introduces Stablecoin Settlement Services Following CASP License Approval</a>

Crypto Companies Announce Acquisitions, AI Integrations, Proof of Reserves

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/KeithRMurphy">Keith R. Murphy</a>

According to a recent press release, a leading U.S. crypto payments company, has acquired Sodot, an Israeli crypto key management security company. With the acquisition, the crypto payments company reportedly intends to provide “a comprehensive technology infrastructure platform that enables access to the digital asset and DeFi ecosystem for services across banking, payments, trading, wealth management and treasury products.” 

In other news, a major U.S. crypto exchange has incorporated the first agentic trading tool available directly through a regulated U.S.-based exchange, according to a recent press release. The exchange reportedly integrated its API with Model Context Protocol, which will allow users to enable their AI agents to do anything that users can do with a traditional API. The release further notes that users can connect third-party AI agents to “unlock the full range of our trading features, whether you are placing orders or reading market trends agentically.”

In related AI agent news, crypto exchange OKX recently announced the publication of its Agent Payments Protocol (APP), a “new open standard defining how agents communicate and negotiate, pay for services, and pay each other” that is designed to work across every chain, according to a recent press release. The release notes that agents are now able to move beyond simple payments and into full-scale commerce, addressing the full cycle of doing business. According to the release, OKX’s APP is designed to enable agents to (i) operate and communicate autonomously across the full commerce life cycle; (ii) make payments to each other (as well as to merchants and for services); and (iii) pay in different ways, including up-front, top-up and deduct, or via plans. 

In a final notable item, a major U.S. fintech and payments company recently disclosed its bitcoin holdings in its first-quarter proof-of-reserves update, according to a recent report. The company’s stated position is that anyone should be able to independently confirm its bitcoin holdings through so-called proof-of-reserves reporting.

<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moonpay-acquires-sodot-launches-moonpay-institutional-302756470.html">[] Acquires Sodot, Launches [] Institutional</a>

<a href="https://www.gemini.com/blog/introducing-agentic-trading-on-gemini-the-future-of-crypto-is-autonomous">Introducing Agentic Trading on []: The Future of Crypto Is Autonomous</a>

<a href="https://www.okx.com/en-us/learn/agent-payments-protocol">Agents can now do real business, not just make payments</a>

<a href="https://decrypt.co/365771/jack-dorseys-block-discloses-2-2b-bitcoin-holdings-in-q1-proof-of-reserves-report">[] Block Discloses $2.2B Bitcoin Holdings in Q1 Proof-of-Reserves Report</a>

U.S. Companies Announce Tokenization Initiatives

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/RobertAMusiala">Robert A. Musiala Jr.</a><a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/VeronicaReynolds"></a>

A leading real-world asset (RWA) tokenization company, Securitize, recently announced “an agreement with Computershare to support U.S.-listed clients in issuing equity securities in tokenized form, enabling a new pathway for issuers to bring their shares onchain.” According to a press release, the move “highlights tokenization’s role as an enhanced option to public markets, enabling issuers to bring equities onchain, seamless servicing, and full alignment with existing regulatory frameworks.”

In related news, a major U.S. financial asset manager recently announced a collaboration with Stable Sea, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, “to bring tokenized treasury access to businesses.” According to a press release, among other things, the collaboration “enables Stable Sea users to earn yield by investing operating cash in, and gaining exposure to, WisdomTree’s tokenized money market fund” and will allow Stable Sea users “to access WisdomTree tokenized funds in an embedded workflow in Stable Sea’s technology platform.”

<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securitize-and-computershare-announce-an-agreement-to-enable-tokenized-shares-for-us-issuers-302756568.html">Securitize and Computershare Announce An Agreement to Enable Tokenized Shares for U.S. Issuers</a>

<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stable-sea-announces-strategic-relationship-with-wisdomtree-to-bring-tokenized-treasury-access-to-businesses-302756415.html">Stable Sea Announces Strategic Relationship with WisdomTree to Bring Tokenized Treasury Access to Businesses</a>

BIS Publishes Report on Cryptoasset Intermediaries, Policy Approaches

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/professionals/amos-kim/">Amos Kim</a>

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Financial Stability Institute recently published a paper titled <a>“Cryptoasset Service Providers as Financial Intermediaries: Risks and Policy Approaches.</a>” According to the paper, cryptoasset service providers have expanded beyond their initial roles, and the largest firms can now be described as multifunction cryptoasset intermediaries (MCIs), which are “individual firms or groups of affiliated firms that combine a broad range of cryptoasset services, products and functions that are typically conducted by separate legal entities in traditional finance.” According to the paper, when MCIs accept customer cryptoassets through investment programs and use those assets to fund lending, market-making and other activities, “they take on credit, liquidity and maturity risk.”

The paper emphasizes that the financial intermediation functions performed by MCIs introduce significant vulnerabilities given the volatile nature of cryptoassets, interconnectedness and the absence of safeguards such as deposit insurance or central bank liquidity facilities. According to the paper, MCIs operate “without the prudential safeguards … that typically apply to financial intermediaries engaged in comparable risk transformation.” The paper notes that discretionary investments called “earn products” that transfer ownership of customer assets to an MCI create short-term redeemable liabilities economically similar to deposits, while margin loans and derivatives amplify credit and market risks.

To address these risks, the paper concludes that “MCIs engaged in financial intermediation should be subject to prudential requirements, including capital and liquidity buffers, robust governance and risk management frameworks and stress testing.” The paper advocates for a combination of entity-based and activity-based regulation, noting that it “offers the most effective policy mix,” and identifies the following policy challenges facing authorities:

Incomplete coverage of borrowing and lending activities within existing cryptoasset regulatory frameworks

The need for effective cross-border supervisory cooperation

Limited supervisory resources to conduct ongoing reviews of complex and rapidly evolving MCI product offerings

The underdeveloped state of data availability and reporting standards compared with those for traditional financial intermediaries

For more information, please refer to the following link:

<a href="https://www.bis.org/fsi/fsipapers27.htm">Cryptoasset service providers as financial intermediaries: risks and policy approaches</a>

USDT Issuer Freezes $344M Linked to Illicit Activity; Scam Centers Targeted

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/professionals/om-m-kakani/">Om M. Kakani</a>

On April 23, Tether announced that it supported U.S. government efforts to freeze more than $344 million in <a>USDT </a>linked to illicit activity, acting in coordination with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement agencies. According to Tether, the freeze affected two blockchain addresses identified by authorities as connected to unlawful conduct and was implemented to prevent further movement of the funds. The company stated that it regularly cooperates with domestic and international law enforcement when wallets are linked to sanctions evasion, criminal networks or other illegal activity and that this action followed established OFAC guidance and information shared by U.S. authorities during active investigations.

The same day, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced coordinated enforcement actions by the newly formed Scam Center Strike Force targeting Southeast Asian scam centers alleged to have defrauded Americans of billions of dollars. The DOJ reported criminal charges against two Chinese nationals accused of managing a forced-labor cryptocurrency investment fraud compound in Burma and attempting to expand operations to Cambodia, as well as the seizures of a Telegram channel and more than 500 scam websites. According to the DOJ, its efforts have led to the restraint of more than $700 million in cryptocurrency tied to money laundering from scams to date. The DOJ noted that these actions were part of a broader interagency strategy involving the DOJ, the Treasury, the State Department and law enforcement partners to disrupt cyber-enabled fraud, seize illicit proceeds and return funds to victims when possible.

<a href="https://tether.io/news/tether-supports-freeze-of-more-than-344-million-in-usdt-in-coordination-with-ofac-and-u-s-law-enforcement/">Tether Supports Freeze of More Than $344 Million in USD₮ in Coordination with OFAC and U.S. Law Enforcement</a>

<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/scam-center-strike-force-takes-major-actions-against-southeast-asian-scam-centers">Scam Center Strike Force Takes Major Actions Against Southeast Asian Scam Centers Targeting Americans</a>

April 2026 Losses to Crypto Hacks Reach Almost $630M; AI Threats Increase

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/professionals/lauren-bass/">Lauren Bass</a>

According to recent reports, the crypto industry lost almost $630 million in April 2026 – the highest amount in a single month since February 2025’s $1.47 billion loss – with a handful of major decentralized finance (DeFi) breaches tied to weaknesses in offchain infrastructure, privileged access and operational controls accounting for the majority of the damage.

According to analysts, the rise of AI is amplifying these threats, allowing for unprecedented scale and speed in creating real-time deepfakes, phishing attacks, social engineering, supply chain compromises and cross-chain vulnerabilities. At the same time, however, analysts suggest that strategic AI may also be deployed as a defense to such attacks.

<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-hacks-cause-630m-losses-in-april-highest-since-february-2025">Crypto hack losses top $630M in April, highest since February 2025</a>

<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/phishing-deepfakes-supply-chain-attacks-to-fuel-2026-s-biggest-crypto-hacks-certik">Phishing, deepfakes, supply chain attacks to fuel 2026's biggest crypto hacks: CertiK</a>

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