Bitcoin mining company GoMining plans to unveil its Bitcoin-native payment protocol, GoBTC, at the Consensus conference, according to ChainCatcher. The protocol aims to offer users instant authorization and settlement on the Bitcoin mainnet within hours. Merchants will be charged a 0.2% fee, significantly lower than the 1.5% to 3.5% fees typically charged by Visa and Mastercard.

Oil futures continue to exhibit volatility as the market awaits clarity on the reopening prospects of the Hormuz Strait. According to Odaily, analyst Nikos Tsabras noted in a report that renewed hostilities could disrupt the ceasefire agreement, thereby maintaining the risk premium.

On May 5, a whale address deposited approximately 5 million USDC into HyperLiquid, according to BlockBeats On-chain Detection. The address then opened a Bitcoin long position with 5x leverage. Currently, the address holds a total of 629.16 BTC long positions across two wallets. The position's scale is estimated to be around $51 million at the current price.

Key Takeaways Toncoin surged more than 36% in 24 hours to a four-month high of $1.80–$1.86, after Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the blockchain's primary driving forceTelegram will become TON's largest validator, signaling direct operational commitment to the network's security and direction rather than a passive distribution relationshipTransaction fees on The Open Network have dropped sixfold to approximately 0.00039 TON (~$0.0005), with most transactions moving toward a fee-less modelThe broader TON ecosystem surged alongside the native token: Notcoin gained nearly 26%, Dogs rose more than 100%, and several smaller TON-based tokens posted even larger daily movesTON's fundamentals remain weak relative to its narrative -- DeFi TVL sits at just $69 million versus 2024 highs near $800 million, and daily active wallets have fallen from 700,000 to under 50,000 Toncoin is the crypto market's standout performer on Monday, surging more than 36% in 24 hours to a four-month high after Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced a fundamental restructuring of the relationship between Telegram and The Open Network -- a shift the market is interpreting as a reboot of the TON narrative under direct Telegram leadership rather than a foundation-managed blockchain with a messaging app attached. The catalyst was an X post published Monday by Durov, who said Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the driving force behind the TON ecosystem, become the network's largest validator, and roll out new developer tools, performance upgrades, and a refreshed ton.org website within two to three weeks. The announcement was framed as a step toward making TON focused on "tech superiority" in what Durov described as a plan to "Make TON Great Again." What the Validator Announcement Means Becoming the largest validator is more than a symbolic gesture. A validator is a specialized node responsible for verifying transactions, ensuring network security, and maintaining blockchain accuracy. Telegram's commitment to take on that role puts its own operational weight behind the chain's integrity and direction -- a meaningful shift from the prior arrangement where Telegram provided distribution and payment rails while the TON Foundation managed the blockchain's development roadmap. The move likely addresses one of TON's most persistent market overhangs: the gap between the scale of Telegram's user base and the execution capability of the TON Foundation. With Telegram directly in the driver's seat, the alignment between the messaging platform's product decisions and the blockchain's development trajectory becomes significantly tighter. It remains unclear what role the TON Foundation will play after the transition, how Telegram's validator position will be structured, and whether the company will disclose details such as its validator stake or share of network validation. TON had not responded to requests for comment at time of publication. Near-Zero Fees Open the Consumer Use Case The fee reduction announcement may ultimately be the more structurally significant of Monday's two developments. TON transaction costs have fallen sixfold to approximately 0.00039 TON -- roughly $0.0005 per transaction -- with most transactions eventually moving toward a fully fee-less model. The significance of near-zero fees lies in what TON is actually designed for. Unlike Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem where users routinely move hundreds or thousands of dollars per transaction, TON's primary use cases are consumer-facing: in-app tips, mini-app payments, games, collectibles, bot transactions, and small retail transfers among Telegram's estimated one billion monthly users. A fee that is irrelevant to a DeFi participant can kill a consumer app if users are moving cents or dollars at a time. Fixed, near-zero costs make TON genuinely usable for the high-frequency, low-value activity that Telegram's scale enables -- closing the gap between theoretical addressable market and practical utility. Ecosystem Rally The bullish sentiment spread across the broader Telegram-linked ecosystem. Notcoin gained nearly 26%, Dogs surged more than 100%, and several smaller TON-based tokens posted even larger daily moves as traders rotated into the narrative. The ecosystem-wide rally reflects the market repricing TON as a Telegram-operated platform rather than a foundation-run chain -- a distinction that carries significant implications for execution credibility and distribution reach. Fundamentals Tell a More Cautious Story Despite Monday's sharp price action, TON's on-chain fundamentals remain significantly depressed relative to both the narrative and the 2024 peak. DeFiLlama data shows TON's total value locked across DeFi applications at just over $69 million -- a fraction of the near $800 million peak reached in 2024. Daily chain fees sit at approximately $3,600, DEX volume at roughly $29 million, and app revenue at approximately $134,000. User activity tells a similarly sobering story. Daily active wallet activity on TON currently sits at just under 50,000 from approximately 136,000 unique wallets, according to Tonstat data -- a steep decline from the roughly 700,000 daily activities across more than 2.2 million wallets recorded during August and September 2024 at the height of TON's consumer app boom. The gap between Monday's price move and the current fundamental picture suggests the market is pricing a recovery scenario based on Telegram's credibility and distribution reach rather than current on-chain activity levels -- a bet that the structural changes announced by Durov will catalyze a return of users and developers to the network over the coming months. Building on Prior Integrations Monday's announcement extends a deepening relationship between Telegram and TON that has been building for several years. In 2024, Durov announced that Telegram would use TON and Toncoin for ad revenue-sharing payments to channel owners, who receive 50% of ad revenue from their channels. In January 2025, the TON Foundation expanded its Telegram partnership, making TON Connect the exclusive wallet-connect protocol for Telegram Mini Apps and requiring existing mini-apps operating on other blockchains to migrate to TON by February 2025. Monday's validator and fee announcements represent a further step along that integration path -- moving Telegram's role from product distribution and payment rails to direct network infrastructure ownership and operation.

On May 5, Jin10 reported that strategists from ING have indicated in a report that investor expectations for rapid interest rate hikes by the Bank of England are providing support for the British pound, which may remain strong against the euro. According to Jin10, high energy prices have led investors to anticipate rate hikes by the Bank of England to address inflation driven by energy costs. Data shows that the market has fully priced in expectations for two rate hikes by the Bank of England in 2026, with the first hike expected before July. Strategists noted that unless the Bank of England clearly communicates that its rate hikes will be smaller than those of the European Central Bank, the euro-pound exchange rate "seems likely to remain in the mid-range of 0.86-0.88 for a longer period."

Crude oil futures prices continued their sideways movement as the market awaited clarity on the prospects for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Analyst Nikos Chabras stated in a report that the recent resurgence of hostilities could undermine the ceasefire agreement, thus maintaining risk premiums. He added, (Golden Ten)

Boeing has entered into a data integration agreement with Palantir. According to Jin10, this collaboration aims to enhance Boeing's data management capabilities by leveraging Palantir's advanced data analytics platform. The partnership is expected to streamline Boeing's operations and improve decision-making processes through better data insights.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a whale deposited 5 million USDC into HyperLiquid and opened a 5x leveraged long position in BTC. This whale currently holds a total of 629.16 BTC long positions through two wallets, with a notional value of approximately $51 million.

Bitcoin's net realized profits surged to $207.56 million on Sunday, marking the highest level in a month as the cryptocurrency briefly exceeded $80,000 for the first time since January. According to NS3.AI, options positioning remained cautious, with traders opting to pay more for downside protection rather than anticipating a significant upward movement.

Nova Intelligence, an AI platform developer, has announced the completion of a $31.5 million Series A funding round. According to ChainCatcher, the round was led by Chemistry, with participation from Accel, Conviction, and SAP's venture capital arm, SAP.io. Nova's platform is designed to analyze, modernize, and generate custom code for Fortune 500 companies' payroll, supply chain, and financial functions.

I remember when I visited financial institutions in Taipei 10 years ago, they were all complaining: Taiwan's GDP fell by 0.89% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016, marking the third consecutive quarter of decline, while their salaries had not increased for many years.

Court Hearing on May 4: A Self-Inflicted Bombshell Reflects the Entire AI Era

Western Union has officially stepped into the stablecoin arena, launching its US dollar-pegged USDPT on Solana in a move that signals a major shift from traditional remittance rails to blockchain-based settlement.

BitMine has bought over 100,000 ETH for three weeks in a row, lifting its total holdings above 5.18 million ETH. The firm says Ethereum demand is rising due to tokenisation, AI use and staking income growth.

North Korea has been accused of orchestrating more than 75% of the global crypto crime in 2026, with blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs estimating that the stolen funds could reach a whopping $577 million in just the past four months.

Polygon has introduced private stablecoin payments that hide transaction details using zero-knowledge proofs while still applying compliance checks. Users can produce audit files for regulators, targeting institutional use of onchain payments with privacy and oversight.

Tether, the crypto financial giant known for its stablecoins, is extending its reach into the Bitcoin mining field.

The progress of the CLARITY Act legislation has had a direct impact on stablecoin issuers and trading platforms, with Circle's stock price surging nearly 20% intraday and USDC trading activity increasing significantly.

Bitcoin surged past $80,000, hitting a four-month high of $80,529 just hours after Donald Trump unveiled “Project Freedom”—a U.S. naval initiative to escort cargo ships through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions with Iran.

Ben Felix, portfolio manager and chief investment officer at PWL Capital, is an evidence-based investment expert who translates academic financial research into practical decision-making that is understandable to the average person.