TL;DR:
President Trump filings show he holds Kaspa:
SEC explores tokenized asset framework: Bloomberg reported the SEC is developing an “innovation exemption” framework that could allow traditional financial firms to experiment with tokenized securities infrastructure outside the full registration process.
Congress revisits crypto tax reform: Lawmakers reintroduced a revised version of the PARITY Act directing the IRS to study a potential de minimis exemption for small crypto transactions while establishing stablecoin tax safe harbors and digital asset wash sale guidance.
Verus bridge exploit highlights cross-chain risks: The Verus Ethereum bridge suffered an estimated $6–7 million exploit involving tBTC, ETH, and USDC, underscoring ongoing security challenges surrounding cross-chain infrastructure.
Senate Banking Committee advances CLARITY Act: The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the CLARITY Act, continuing momentum toward a formal U.S. market structure framework for digital assets.
Toccata stack reaches full Testnet-10 activation stage: Kaspa developers scheduled full activation of the Toccata hard fork stack on Testnet-10, marking the final testing phase before proposed mainnet deployment of covenant, zk verification, and sequencing upgrades.
Institutional tokenization infrastructure accelerates: DTCC announced July pilot trading and an October launch timeline for its tokenized securities platform, while NYSE’s tokenized securities proposal formally took effect under the DTCC pilot framework.
Junny from KEF frames “real-time decentralization” as a coordination solution: Speaking at Hong Kong Web3 Festival, Junny argued that scalable trustless coordination requires systems capable of maintaining both decentralization and real-time responsiveness simultaneously.
Major Tokenization of Traditional Finance Coming On-chain
Wake up. The Tokenization of everything is happening, and it's not coming from within; it's coming from without. Everything in the real world is coming to the chain (or DAG). Beginning May 12, 2026, Charles Schwab started deploying Schwab Crypto accounts for US retail clients. Schwab is offering various exchange traded products (ETPs) for users to directly allocate capital to digital assets. Additionally, users can invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs) for crypto exposure.
Moreover, BlackRock filed paperwork with the SEC for two new tokenized investment products, continuing its expansion into blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
The filings include:
BlackRock Daily Reinvestment Stablecoin Reserve Vehicle, a proposed tokenized Treasury reserve fund.
BlackRock Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund, an existing money-market fund with nearly $7 billion in assets under management that would receive an onchain share class.
BlackRock previously launched its tokenized BUIDL fund in February 2026 after developing the product with Securitize beginning in 2024. The move reflects continued institutional growth in the tokenized real-world asset sector, which recently surpassed $30 billion in total value.
Even more so, on May 12, 2026, JP Morgan filed with the SEC to launch its second tokenized fund, JPMorgan OnChain Liquidity–Token Money Market Fund (ticker: JLTXX). The fund is designed to comply with mandates for stablecoin issuers set forth under the GENIUS Act, investing in US Treasurys, overnight purchase repayments, and cash.
JP Morgan’s dedicated digital asset business unit, Kinexys Digital Assets, designed the fund’s blockchain architecture and will manage the product. The fund is initially being launched on Ethereum, with expansion to additional networks expected. JP Morgan seeded the fund with $100 million of its own capital.
Lastly, Fidelity International launched its first tokenized money market fund, the USD Digital Liquidity Fund, in partnership with Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum. The fund was initially issued on Ethereum, with integration planned for the ZKsync Layer 2 network. It provides “24/7 regulated, yield-bearing U.S. dollar liquidity and collateral-ready mechanics.” Moody’s Switzerland has given the fund an AAA-mf rating.
This launch justifies further evidence of the tokenization of everything, as we are seeing the largest on-chain (or DAG) trading volume for tokenized securities in history. On May 18, 2026, tokenized equities trading volume reached an all-time high of $3.57 billion, according to data reported by The Block. The growth follows a steady rise in on-chain equities trading activity throughout 2026, with Binance and HyperLiquid accounting for the majority of trading volume. Additional platforms, including Kraken’s xStocks, Ondo, and Bitget, have also contributed to the expansion of blockchain-based equities markets.
The report comes as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly developing guidelines and an “innovation exemption” framework that would allow traditional financial institutions to experiment with blockchain-based securities infrastructure without completing the full registration process.
Despite the rapid growth in tokenized stocks, the adoption of tokenized commodities remains comparatively limited, with most activity concentrated in gold, silver, and oil products.
US States Passing Crypto Laws
US state Minnesota passed a law to allow banks and credit unions to custody crypto assets. H.F. 3709 will go into effect on August 1, 2026 in order to keep citizens utilizing banks in the state.
Chief Financial Officer of St. Cloud Financial Credit Union, based in Minnesota, Meggan Schwirtz, shared “reality is that large financial institutions and Wall Street firms are aggressively positioning themselves around digital asset infrastructure because they recognize the long-term implications for payments, settlement, custody, and the future movement of value.”
In addition to this bill, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also signed bill SF3868, which bans crypto ATMs starting on August 1, 2026. This shows a continued shift in the US from crypto being the currency of the common man shifting to Wall Street.
Additionally, South Carolina passed a law to protect crypto users and Bitcoin miners, that also bans CBCD’s. The bill states: “An individual or business shall not be prohibited, restricted, or otherwise prevented from accepting digital assets to purchase legal goods or services; or using a self-hosted wallet or hardware wallet, to maintain self-custody of digital assets.”
The bill also permits the state treasurer to invest up to 10% of public funds in Bitcoin.
SEC Chairman Signals Support for Markets Moving Onchain
Even the SEC is supporting the tokenization of everything. Speaking at the SEC’s AI+ Expo, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency will “keep moving forward in its work to accommodate markets moving onchain,” while outlining potential rulemaking around blockchain-based trading, settlement, and digital asset market structure.
Atkins also acknowledged that existing financial infrastructure assumptions may need to evolve for real-time blockchain systems, stating: “When settlement is near-instantaneous and counterparty risk is managed algorithmically, the traditional clearing agency model requires fresh analysis.”
The remarks were delivered alongside renewed calls for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act to establish a longer-term statutory framework for digital asset markets.
Moreover, this week Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working on an “innovation exemption”, or framework for tokenized equities that could create a parallel 24/7 trading environment for blockchain-based stock representations. Chairman, Paul Atkins, is leading the initiative.
One controversial aspect of this proposal is that unaffiliated third-party issuers could launch tokens to track a company’s shares.THe tokens would trade without general shareholder protections present in publicly traded companies.
Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, described it as such: "An example could be a tokenized version of Apple or Nvidia would be a blockchain-based asset designed to track or represent the underlying stock."
DTCC Sets July Pilot and October Launch Timeline for Tokenized Securities Service
More tokenization! The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) said it plans to begin limited production trades of tokenized real-world assets in July 2026 ahead of a broader launch of DTC’s tokenization service in October.
More than 50 firms across traditional finance and digital assets are participating in the initiative, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Circle, Nasdaq, Robinhood, and Kraken. DTCC President and CEO, Frank La Salla, shared:
“Our vision is coming to fruition: launching our tokenization service and successfully bridging TradFi and DeFi.”
The SEC-approved framework initially covers highly liquid assets including Russell 1000 equities, major ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries, as DTCC continues building tokenized market infrastructure designed to interoperate across multiple chains.
NYSE Tokenized Securities Proposal Officially Takes Effect
And even more tokenization! “On May 12, 2026, NYSE filed a proposed rule change with the SEC to permit trading of eligible tokenized securities through the DTCC pilot framework, and the filing became immediately effective upon submission.
“The proposed rule change would establish that Exchange ETP [Exchange Traded Products] Holders that are eligible to participate in the DTC Pilot Program… may trade tokenized versions of those equity securities and exchange traded products on the Exchange…”
The filing states that tokenized securities would clear and settle through DTCC infrastructure while remaining integrated within the current national market system.
Initially, eligible tokenized assets will be limited to Russell 1000 equities and ETFs tracking major indices.
“This proposal to offer trading in tokenized securities will become effective once the requisite infrastructure and post-trade settlement services have been established by DTC”
The proposal represents one of the clearest regulatory steps yet toward integrating tokenized securities into traditional U.S. exchange infrastructure.
Memorandum of Understanding between the SEC, NFA
On May 21, 2026, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Futures Association (NFA) signed an agreement to work together on regulations.
SEC Chairman, Paul Atkins, stated: “This memorandum is another step in furthering the SEC’s efforts to streamline cooperation with other regulatory organizations and alleviate the potential for duplicative or conflicting oversight.”
Sentiment was echoed by NFA President and CEO, Thomas W. Sexton: “We believe this memorandum represents an important milestone for NFA and will allow us to further foster our mission of protecting customers and ensuring market integrity."
Congress Revisits Crypto Tax Reform
According to CoinDesk, Representatives Steven Horsford, Max Miller, Suzan DelBene, and Mike Carey reintroduced a revised version of the PARITY Act this week, following earlier discussion drafts released in late 2025 and early 2026.
The proposal directs the IRS to study the feasibility and potential abuse of a “de minimis exemption” for small crypto transactions, including how many transactions under $200 are currently captured under existing tax rules and what infrastructure would be required to implement an exemption.
The bill also creates a tax safe harbor for certain regulated payment stablecoins and outlines how wash sale rules would apply to digital assets.
Representative Steven Horsford previously described tax policy as “the foundation” for integrating digital assets into the financial system, arguing that unresolved tax treatment remains a barrier to broader consumer and institutional adoption.
Truth Social Withdrawals Crypto Fund Applications
As of May 20, 2026, the company behind Truth Social, Trump Media and Technology Group, withdrew their filings for its Bitcoin and Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. President Steve Neamtz of Yorkville America Equities, LLC, the sponsor and investment advisor for the Truth Social Fund, stated:
"After careful evaluation, the '40 Act structure allows us to bring more differentiated investment strategies to our investors that are not possible under the '33 Act framework. Our focus has always been on delivering the right strategies through the right structures. This is a forward-looking decision that reflects our commitment to delivering the best possible investment products to our growing base of America First investors. Yorkville America is not stepping back – we are stepping forward with a stronger product platform."
Many online think that the decision is due to the amount of spot BTC funds that already exist. Bloomberg senior analyst, James Seyffart stated:
“it doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Of course a 33 act ETP is different from a 40 act ETF and it has less protections. Anyone in this space knows that. Nothing has changed. I suspect it more has to do with the competitive landscape for spot bitcoin ETFs.”
Federal Reserve Leadership Shifts Toward More Crypto-Friendly Views
Lastly, we are beginning to see a shift in the Fed’s stance on crypto and tokenization. On May 15, 2026 marked Jerome Powell’s final day as Chair of the Federal Reserve, though he will remain a voting member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Kevin Warsh, confirmed earlier this week as the 17th Chair of the Federal Reserve, has previously expressed favorable views toward Bitcoin and blockchain technology.
Warsh has described Bitcoin as “an important asset and a very good policeman for policy” and stated that “if you’re under 40, Bitcoin is your new gold.” He has also characterized the technology behind Bitcoin as “just software,” emphasizing its potential to drive productivity and innovation if developed within the United States.
Warsh has also spoken positively about artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, stating: “AI is the most productivity-enhancing wave of our lifetimes and could be structurally disinflationary.”
Kaspa Community News
KasKad To Go Live
Kaskad announced that its public mainnet launch is scheduled for May 24 at 14:00 CET / 12:00 UTC, marking the transition from testnet to live deployment for the Kaspa-based lending protocol.
According to the timeline, the May 24 rollout will include the public mainnet launch, opening of TGE allocation claims, and KSKD trading on MEXC, with withdrawals opening on May 26.
The announcement follows completion of Kaskad’s external audit with Sherlock. Kaskad is a Kaspa-focused lending and liquidity protocol built on the Igra execution layer, combining bounded governance, epoch-based incentive distribution, and planned oracle infrastructure for the broader Kaspa DeFi ecosystem.
Kaspa Links
Kaspa Links introduced a new tool for creating shareable Kaspa payment links and QR codes designed for tips, invoices, and creator payments. According to the team, it can be setup in under a minute.
The project described the platform as:
“A simple way to create shareable, mobile-friendly Kaspa payment links.
No custody.
No seed phrases.
No private keys.”
Kaspa Links said the platform is designed to provide direct wallet-to-wallet payments with live on-chain confirmation, while remaining open-source and self-hostable.
Kaspa API Explorer Simplifies App Development
Kaspa Developer, Weirdtual Guy (@WeirdtualGuy), shared a beginner-friendly version of api.kaspa.prg. This API terminal allows developers to easily search for APIs. He has them divided into “wallet and balance”, “transactions”, “block explorer”, and “network and market” categories. Users can search for APIs for address balance, address transaction count, Kaspa rich list, daily transaction count, block explorer, price, hashrate, and more.
He shared that he wished to build “for non-technical builders who want to explore the #Kaspa API without feeling overwhelmed by raw docs and complex stuff.”
The tool organizes commonly used API functions into beginner-friendly categories including wallet balances, UTXO lookups, transaction history, block exploration, and network statistics. Users can also search by intended use case, such as a “balance checker” or “payment tracker”, rather than navigating raw endpoint documentation directly.
The interface is positioned as an accessibility layer for developers experimenting with Kaspa integrations, particularly those without prior experience working with blockchain infrastructure or REST APIs. The project is open source and currently available through a public GitHub Pages deployment.
President Trump Holds Kaspa through MARA Shares
President Trump’s Office of Government Ethics (OGE) filing, covering President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and dependent children, disclosed multiple crypto-related holdings including Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and MARA Holdings shares.
The filing, dated May 8, 2026, shows two MARA purchases in the range of 50,000 each, as OGE disclosures report asset values in ranges rather than exact figures.
MARA is one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies and is also known for mining Kaspa alongside Bitcoin operations.
Federal financial disclosures show that more than 20% of President Trump’s top officials reported exposure to crypto-related assets. While the filings disclose holdings in ranges rather than exact figures, the lower end of the reported ranges totals approximately $193 million.
The disclosures reflect a significant increase in visible crypto exposure among senior U.S. government officials compared to prior administrations.
Verus Ethereum Cross-Chain Bridge Exploit
While this isn’t Kaspa specific, it’s important to understand the problems with our competitors. On May 17 - 18, 2026, the Versus Ethereum cross-chain bridge suffered an exploit estimated to be between 6 and 7M USD, approximately 103 tBTC, 1,625 ETH, and 147,000 USDC.
Following the incident, the Verus team paused bridge operations and began investigating the attack alongside security partners. Community discussions suggested the exploit may have involved flaws in cross-chain validation or proof verification logic, though a full post-mortem was still pending at the time of reporting.
The official Verus account described the attack as sophisticated:
“The attack was multi-step, well planned, and sophisticated, almost certainly aided by AI and demonstrating a deep understanding of what they could and could not do in the protocol. Funds used to carry out the exploit came from Tornado Cash on Ethereum and from a community faucet on Verus minutes before the exploit was executed. In both cases, they took precautions to hide the origin of requests, though we did get some evidence, which is still being investigated.”
The event adds to the long-running security challenges surrounding cross-chain bridge architecture, which has remained one of the most exploited sectors in crypto infrastructure due to the complexity of maintaining trust assumptions across multiple chains.
CLARITY Act Passes Senate Banking Committee
On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee advanced the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act in a 15–9 vote. The measure received bipartisan support, with Democratic Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Ruben Gallego voting in favor. The markup hearing lasted roughly 2.5 hours as lawmakers debated a series of amendments and revisions to the bill’s language.
One proposed amendment sought to restrict certain high-ranking government officials from involvement with cryptocurrency-related activities, though supporters of the bill argued the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. While several amendments were adopted during the markup process, lawmakers indicated that outstanding concerns remain as the bill moves toward a full Senate vote.
Following the committee vote, several publicly traded crypto-related companies, including Coinbase, Strategy, and Bitdeer Technologies Group, traded higher.
Toccata Hard Fork Scheduled for Full Activation on Testnet-10
Kaspa developers announced that the Toccata hard fork stack is now ready for full activation on Testnet-10, marking the final testing stage before proposed mainnet deployment. The testnet activation is scheduled for May 18, 2026 at 16:00 UTC at DAA score 467,579,632.
Node operators are instructed to upgrade to the new tn10-toc release of rusty-kaspa, while community members are encouraged to join the testnet and participate in mining using the updated CPU miner release.
The milestone represents another step toward activating Kaspa’s upcoming programmability-related features, including covenant functionality, zk verification primitives, and sequencing-related upgrades planned under the Toccata upgrade stack.
Junny Discusses Coordination Markets and Real-Time Decentralization at Hong Kong Web3 Festival
Speaking at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, Junny framed modern economic fragmentation as a coordination failure, arguing that rising costs, supply chain inefficiencies, and weakening globalization reflect a broader breakdown in large-scale trustless coordination.
“So this is the real problem we see today: coordination is regressing, and people are simply having a degenerated version of civilization.”
Junny described “coordination markets” as systems that transform intentions into economically verifiable commitments between participants:
“turns expectations into observations, where people can price their actions”
“this embeds conditional participation, which is: if you do something, they will do something with you, and this solves the problem of simultaneity.”
“this introduces economic exposure, so participants are now financially committed”
The presentation argued that the only viable solution to large-scale coordination failures is “real-time decentralization,” requiring systems that can maintain both decentralization and immediate responsiveness simultaneously.
Kaspa France Published New Whitepaper
Community member, Kaspa Currency France (@Kas_Currency_Fr) authored a white paper proposing a shift toward “Design-Led Development” within the Kaspa ecosystem, arguing that application development should begin with user problems and product experience rather than infrastructure alone.
In an X post he shared,
“Kaspa enters the era of Design-Led Development.
UX is no longer the finishing touch; it becomes the starting point.
We're no longer building tech for geeks. We're building products that normal people really want to use every day.”
The paper frames Kaspa as “invisible and ultra-powerful infrastructure” beneath consumer-facing applications, emphasizing interfaces, middleware, and usability as the primary drivers of adoption. The document includes diagrams and architectural concepts exploring how future Kaspa-based applications could abstract away blockchain complexity for everyday users.
Yonatan Sompolinsky Replies to Post from Kaspa Silver
A public exchange between Victor Resto (@KaspaSilver), Yonatan Sompolinsky, and Michael Sutton highlighted ongoing discussions around Kaspa’s programmability roadmap, Layer 2 fragmentation, and the balance between long-term architecture and near-term usability.
Kaspa Silver argued that Kaspa should prioritize “no coiners” through real-world usability, particularly stablecoins and consumer-facing applications, writing that Kaspa could become “the first time money will be programmable to scale at internet speeds while keeping true to Bitcoin level properties of security and decentralization.”
Sutton clarified that Toccata’s development focused on practical primitives such as zk opcodes, KIP-21, sequencing commitments, and canonical bridging proofs-of-concept, but not yet full “vProgs” style synchronous composability. He stated:
“this choice and focus shows inherent pragmatism in how kas rnd operates, optimizing for the faster feedback loop path”
Kaspa founder, Dr. Yonatan Sompolinsky responded to Kaspa Silver:
Sompolinsky noted that EVM-based Layer 2s may serve as an interim solution, but warned against allowing external execution layers to become the primary gateway for builders on Kaspa. He added that the larger challenge may ultimately be ecosystem business development rather than technical capability. He concluded:
“I'm all for shifting focus from marveling at the tech to realistic usage vectors, this is a long overdue shift in the discussion.”
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