U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit China this week, anticipating economic agreements and a warm reception. Bloomberg posted on X that Trump's visit comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated his power, presenting a potentially challenging environment for negotiations. The visit is expected to focus on trade discussions, with Trump aiming to secure favorable deals. However, Xi's strengthened position may influence the dynamics of the talks. Observers are keen to see how the interactions between the two leaders unfold during this significant diplomatic engagement.

France’s central bank deputy governor has called for public and private European entities to engage in digital asset development, according to CoinDesk. This position contrasts with the stance of European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who has been more cautious about digital assets. The deputy governor's comments highlight a growing divergence in views on digital asset strategy within European financial leadership.

eBay has rejected a roughly $56 billion acquisition offer from GameStop, dismissing the bid as "neither credible nor attractive," according to market sources reported on May 12. The rejection sets the stage for a potential proxy battle after GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen signaled he is prepared to take the proposal directly to eBay shareholders if the board refuses to engage. How the bid came together GameStop made its offer on May 4, proposing to acquire eBay at $125 per share in a combination of cash and stock — a price that valued the e-commerce giant at approximately $56 billion. Cohen disclosed that GameStop already held around 5% of eBay's outstanding shares at the time of the offer, giving the company an existing stake in the target it was bidding for. The $125 per share offer represented a meaningful premium to eBay's trading price, and Cohen's public disclosure of GameStop's existing stake was a clear signal that the approach was not a casual inquiry — it was a calculated opening move in what he was prepared to make a prolonged campaign if necessary. eBay's rejection and what comes next eBay's board moved quickly to reject the offer, characterizing it in blunt terms as lacking both credibility and attractiveness. The dismissal leaves Cohen with a decision to make: walk away or escalate. Based on his stated position ahead of the rejection, escalation appears to be the more likely path. Cohen had already made clear that if eBay's board declined the offer, he was prepared to launch a proxy fight — a process through which GameStop would campaign directly to eBay's shareholders to either force a vote on the acquisition or push for board-level changes that would make a transaction more likely. With GameStop holding approximately 5% of eBay shares, Cohen has a meaningful platform from which to build that case to other investors. Proxy fights at this scale are expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain in outcome. But Cohen has a track record of using aggressive shareholder activism to force corporate change — most notably at GameStop itself — which makes the threat more credible than it might be coming from another acquirer. The broader context The bid represents an unusual move for GameStop, a company that has spent the past several years rebuilding its balance sheet and pivoting away from its brick-and-mortar retail roots. An acquisition of eBay at $56 billion would be transformational in scale — eBay's marketplace business would dwarf GameStop's current operations — and the financing structure of a cash-and-stock deal raises questions about how GameStop would fund and integrate an acquisition of that magnitude. Those are likely among the reasons eBay's board felt comfortable rejecting the offer as not credible. Whether shareholders agree with that assessment — or whether Cohen can assemble enough support to force a different outcome — is the question that will drive this story forward.

BlackRock has submitted a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a new tokenized fund structure. According to NS3.AI, this move follows the success of BlackRock's initial tokenized fund, BUIDL, which was developed in collaboration with Securitize and has grown to approximately $2.3 billion in assets. BlackRock has once again chosen Securitize to provide the necessary infrastructure for this new venture. The filing outlines a system where blockchain-based ownership records are integrated with regulated transfer agency and investor onboarding systems.

US inflation came in hotter than expected across every major measure in April, reinforcing the case for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold not just at its June 17 meeting but likely through the remainder of 2026. Bitcoin slipped 1.2% to around $80,600 following the release as Treasury yields climbed, stock futures fell, and markets digested the implications of an inflation print that surprised to the upside on both a monthly and annual basis. The numbers: every measure beat forecasts The Consumer Price Index rose 3.8% year-over-year in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — above economist forecasts of 3.7% and a meaningful acceleration from March's 3.3% reading. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.6%, double the expected 0.3% and well above March's 0.2% increase. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy and is the measure the Federal Reserve watches most closely, also came in above expectations. Monthly core CPI rose 0.4% against forecasts of 0.2% and March's 0.3%. Year-over-year core CPI climbed to 2.8%, above the 2.7% forecast and March's 2.6% reading. There were no soft spots to find in the report. Headline and core inflation both accelerated month-over-month and beat estimates at every level — a clean upside surprise that leaves the Fed with no data-driven justification to begin cutting rates. Market reaction: yields up, stocks down, Bitcoin lower The reaction across asset classes was swift and consistent. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.44% as bond markets priced in a longer period of elevated rates. US stock index futures fell across the board. WTI crude oil added further macro pressure, rising 3% on the day to $101 per barrel — a level that itself feeds back into inflation and complicates the Fed's path forward. Bitcoin traded at approximately $80,600 to $80,800 in the minutes following the release, down 1.2% over the prior 24 hours. The move was contained relative to the equity market reaction, consistent with Bitcoin's recent pattern of holding above $80,000 even as macro headwinds emerge. Whether that support level holds through the week will depend on how markets continue to digest not just the CPI print but the PPI and retail sales data still to come. Fed rate cuts: effectively off the table for 2026 Ahead of the CPI release, markets were already pricing a 98% probability that the Fed would leave rates unchanged at its June 17 meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Wednesday's data does nothing to change that — and likely pushes any meaningful rate cut discussion further out into 2027. The Fed currently holds its benchmark fed funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%. Bank of America had already revised its forecast this week to project no cuts until the second half of 2027. With April CPI accelerating on both a monthly and annual basis — and core inflation moving in the wrong direction — the argument for earlier cuts has become harder to make. The timing is particularly notable given that Kevin Warsh is set to be confirmed as the next Federal Reserve chair this week, expected to take over from Jerome Powell on May 15. Warsh is widely regarded as more hawkish on inflation than Powell. Inheriting a CPI print that shows inflation re-accelerating on his first week in the role sets a clear tone for how his tenure is likely to begin — prioritizing price stability over any pivot toward easier policy. What it means for crypto For Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, the hot CPI print removes one of the near-term bullish catalysts that had been building over the past several weeks. Rate cut expectations had been a supporting narrative for risk assets — the idea that an eventual Fed pivot would push capital into higher-risk, higher-return assets including crypto. That narrative now has to be pushed further into the future. The more immediate risk is whether persistently elevated inflation, combined with oil at $101 and a newly confirmed hawkish Fed chair, begins to weigh on the institutional risk appetite that has been the primary driver of Bitcoin ETF inflows and the broader crypto rally since April. If professional investors begin treating higher-for-longer rates as a reason to reduce risk exposure rather than maintain it, the $80,000 support level that has held through recent turbulence will face a more sustained test. The CLARITY Act deliberations in the Senate Banking Committee this week remain a potential positive offset — regulatory clarity would reduce institutional friction around crypto allocation regardless of the macro backdrop. But Wednesday's CPI data made clear that the path to Bitcoin's next leg higher runs through an inflation problem that is not yet resolved.

Edward Jones Investment Strategy Senior Economist James McCann commented on the U.S. CPI report, stating that American residents continue to face the impact of soaring energy costs, adding to the inflationary pressures that have persisted since the pandemic. According to Jin10, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, suggesting that the peak of this price pressure may not yet have been reached, with risks increasing. The good news is that the economy has shown resilience to this price shock so far. Many consumers have benefited from tax refunds this year, the job market has improved from its near-stagnation in 2025, and corporate profit growth has been quite strong. These buffers are limited, but they are expected to help the economy withstand the shock to some extent.

SharpLink has announced on platform X that since the initiation of its Ethereum treasury strategy, the company has accumulated staking rewards totaling 19,277 ETH. According to ChainCatcher, the company also reported earning 477 ETH in staking rewards last week.

CLARITY 법안, CLARITY 재추진: 미국 암호화폐 규제 법안, 중요한 국면에 접어들다. 골든파이낸스, 미국 암호화폐 자산 규제 법안이 중요한 국면을 맞이했다.

코인베이스, 사방에서 포위당한 코인베이스 – 골든파이낸스, 거래소들이 암호화폐 시장의 구조적 문제에 정면으로 맞서기 시작했다.

이는 스테이블코인 시장의 경쟁이 ‘코인 발행’에서 ‘블록체인 구축’으로 차원이 높아졌으며, 유통량 확보 경쟁에서 인프라 통제권 확보 경쟁으로 전환되었음을 의미합니다.

USDC 발행사인 서클(Circle)이 견조한 1분기 실적을 발표하고 2억 2,200만 달러 규모의 대규모 ARC 토큰 모금 계획을 공개하면서, 급성장하는 스테이블코인 시장에 대한 투자자들의 신뢰가 강화되자 월요일 서클 주가는 16% 가까이 급등해 131.76달러를 기록했으며, 이는 지난 3월 이후 최고치다.

인공지능, 00년대생 중퇴생: 3주간의 코딩, 3인 팀으로 미국 10대 소비자용 AI 애플리케이션 개발. 골든파이낸스, 세 명의 청년이 세계 최대의 여성 대상 AI 로맨스 판타지 웹사이트를 운영 중이다.

예측 시장은 부를 이전하는 기계이며, 봇은 그 운영자다.

캘리포니아주 산타클라라 카운티는 메타를 상대로 소송을 제기하며, 페이스북과 인스타그램의 사기성 광고를 통해 연간 최대 70억 달러의 수익을 올렸다고 주장했다. 산타클라라 카운티 측은 메타가 사기성 광고를 제대로 차단하지 못했으며 수익 창출을 우선시했을 가능성이 있다고 주장하는 반면, 메타는 이러한 혐의를 부인하고 있다.

샘 알트먼이 다시 한번 AI 업계에 파장을 일으켰다. 이번에는 어떤 감독이나 관리도 필요 없이 마치 ‘고블린’처럼 독자적으로 작동하는 완전 자율형 코딩 에이전트를 선보였다.

5월 11일 저녁, 평범한 실적 보고서 하나에 Circle은 시장을 들썩이게 할 미래 비전을 제시했다.

최고의 명문 대학도, 개혁의 선구자라는 명성도, 금융 중심지로서의 위상도 없는 한 산업 도시가 30년이라는 시간 동안 제조업을 AI 시대에 가장 귀중한 자산으로 탈바꿈시켰다.