SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

Michael Saylor said Strategy may sell some of its 818,334 BTC to fund dividend payments, the first crack in the company's never-sell stance. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/saylor-strategy-may-sell-bitcoin-fund-dividend-may-2026/

Solana perpetuals exchange Drift published a recovery plan for users after a $295M exploit that on-chain investigators have linked to North Korean actors. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/drift-295m-dprk-exploit-recovery-plan-may-2026/

SoFi is launching SoFiUSD on Solana, citing low cost and fast settlement. The bank-chartered fintech now joins a growing list of US issuers. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sofi-sofiusd-stablecoin-solana-launch-may-2026/

Morgan Stanley will roll out spot crypto trading on its wealth management platform later in 2026, alongside tokenized assets and ETF integration. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/morgan-stanley-spot-crypto-wealth-platform-may-2026/

Andreessen Horowitz closed $2.2B Crypto Fund 5, a narrower crypto vehicle focused on stablecoins and onchain finance. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/a16z-crypto-fund-5-2-2b-stablecoins-onchain-finance-may-2026/

Coinbase is cutting 14% of headcount and experimenting with one-person teams as it restructures around AI tooling, the company confirmed on May 5, 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-14-percent-layoffs-ai-native-restructure-may-2026/

Spanish lenders Sabadell and Bankinter plan to join a euro stablecoin consortium alongside nine other European banks under MiCA, per Expansion. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sabadell-bankinter-european-stablecoin-consortium-may-2026/

Coinbase rolls out support for self-managed super funds in Australia, giving SMSF trustees direct crypto access inside a retirement pool worth over $1 trillion AUD. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-australia-smsf-self-managed-super-funds-may-2026/

Aave raised the GHO borrow cap to 150 million on its Core instance, signaling steady demand for the protocol's native stablecoin as DeFi TVL hits records. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/aave-gho-borrow-cap-150m-core-may-2026/

Aave is fighting a $71M crypto seizure motion tied to KelpDAO funds and a North Korea debt claim, arguing the protocol has no custody over the disputed ETH. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/aave-court-block-71m-crypto-seizure-north-korea-may-2026/

Tetra Trust has launched CADD, a CAD-pegged stablecoin issued by a federally regulated trust company and backed by Shopify and National Bank of Canada. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tetra-trust-cadd-cad-stablecoin-shopify-national-bank-canada/

Circle led a Monday rally in crypto-linked equities, jumping nearly 20% as the Senate Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/circle-20-percent-surge-clarity-act-crypto-stocks-may-2026/

Binance launches Withdraw Protection, a new account safeguard that adds friction to suspicious withdrawals and gives users a window to reverse risky transfers. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/binance-withdraw-protection-launch-may-2026/

FINRA approved Securitize to expand its broker-dealer activities and custody tokenized securities, a key regulatory step for tokenized fund growth in the US. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/securitize-finra-broker-dealer-tokenized-securities-custody-may-2026/

Pavel Durov says Telegram will take a direct lead on TON and run the network's largest validator, tightening the messenger's grip on the chain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/telegram-ton-largest-validator-durov-may-2026/

The DTCC, which clears $114 trillion in securities annually, plans a July pilot and October launch for a new tokenized securities platform. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/dtcc-tokenized-securities-july-pilot-october-launch-may-2026/

Western Union, the world's largest remittance provider, has launched its USDPT stablecoin on Solana, putting a 175-year-old payments giant on a public chain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/western-union-usdpt-stablecoin-solana-launch-may-2026/

On-chain sleuth ZachXBT alleges DEX aggregator Tokenlon processed funds tied to illicit activity, reigniting debate over compliance gaps in DeFi routing layers. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/zachxbt-tokenlon-illicit-funds-allegation-may-2026/

Nansen says DeFi TVL set a new all-time high on May 4, 2026, with Aave clearing a $1B milestone in 19 days and a ZK rollup transition adding to the move. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/defi-tvl-ath-aave-1b-19-days-may-2026/

US law firm Gerstein Harrow has filed in connection with stolen KelpDAO ETH and a North Korea judgment debt, Coin Bureau reported on May 4, 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kelp-stolen-eth-north-korea-debt-filing-may-2026/

BlackRock's European iShares Bitcoin ETP has surpassed $1.1B in assets under management, holding roughly 14,200 BTC as European demand picks up. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/blackrock-european-bitcoin-etp-1-1b-aum-may-2026/

BlackRock is urging the OCC to drop a proposed 20% ceiling on tokenized reserve assets, arguing the cap would throttle growth of its on-chain treasury fund. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/blackrock-occ-tokenized-reserve-cap-comment-may-2026/

The US government's cash balance has surged $300B in three weeks to hit ~$1 trillion, draining liquidity even as Bitcoin pushes higher. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-treasury-cash-balance-1-trillion-tga-refill-may-2026/

The CFTC received over 1,500 responses to its prediction market rulemaking proposal, with deep splits between operators, gambling regulators, and consumer groups. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/cftc-prediction-market-rulemaking-1500-responses-may-2026/

Strategy paused its weekly bitcoin accumulation before Tuesday's Q1 2026 earnings, the largest corporate BTC holder going quiet ahead of disclosure. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/strategy-pauses-bitcoin-buys-q1-2026-earnings-may-2026/