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The Binance contract will convert the QNTXUSDT Pre-IPO perpetual contract to the standard QNTXUSDT TradFi perpetual contract on June 5, 2026, at 02:00. The marking price smoothing process may take up to 3 hours, trading functionality will not be affected, and unfilled orders and positions will not be canceled.

According to The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, the head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that "the bottom has almost appeared" for Bitcoin after a recent sharp decline, with the current range of about $63,000 being a "buying range." He pointed out that since February, the overall holdings of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF have remained stable, with no concentrated redemptions that would raise concerns, indicating that funds are more "structurally stable."Kendrick expects that after the recent selling pressure triggered by Strategy's sale of 32 BTC, there may be a buyback at a scale of 10 times or even 100 times, following historical practices, which could signal the confirmation of a temporary low. He also cautioned that there is still a downside risk of Bitcoin falling below $60,000, but believes that buying in batches is preferable to trying to time the bottom precisely. The bank maintains its year-end targets of $100,000 for Bitcoin and $4,000 for Ethereum.

According to The Block, Standard Chartered Bank's Head of Digital Asset Research Geoffrey Kendrick stated that Strategy's decision to reduce its holdings by 32 bitcoins last week may mark the beginning of a new phase of "outperformance" for Ethereum relative to Bitcoin. Kendrick pointed out that although the scale of the reduction is "very small," against the backdrop of Bitcoin's decline on that day, ETH/BTC experienced a significant upward movement rarely seen in recent years. He expects ETH/BTC to rise to about 0.04 by the end of this year, currently around 0.028. Kendrick maintains his price targets of $4,000 for ETH by the end of the year and $40,000 by 2030, and stated that the Ethereum treasury can "sell coins with zero necessity" through approximately 3% staking yields, making it easier to achieve a higher net asset multiple (mNAV) and financing capability compared to the Bitcoin treasury.

Aave Labs has released an ARFC proposal, suggesting the establishment of a standardized technical asset listing framework for Aave V3, V4, and Aave Horizon, setting unified technical requirements for asset listing, parameter expansion, and ongoing monitoring. The framework covers core areas such as ERC20 compatibility, oracles, permission control, minting and burning logic, pause and blacklist mechanisms, upgradability, exchange rates and yield mechanisms, token architecture, cross-chain bridge risks, audit and security history, and external dependencies. This framework does not replace market risk analysis and governance judgment but provides a technical qualification baseline.The framework aims to address "hidden risks" such as unlimited issuance, weak upgrade permissions, inconsistent bridging supply, opaque redemption paths, and reliance on off-chain custody. These issues may directly threaten the protocol's solvency, liquidation systems, and collateral parameter security. The framework particularly emphasizes additional scrutiny for cross-chain assets, yield-bearing assets, and off-chain dependent assets such as RWAs, including bridge structures, off-chain legal arrangements, custody mechanisms, and supply integrity. Assets with significant technical flaws may face reduced borrowing limits, restricted collateral parameters, delayed launches, or even recommendations to deny access to the protocol in the future.

According to Decrypt, analysts at Standard Chartered Bank pointed out in a report on Thursday that the current price of Ethereum does not reflect the growth in its on-chain transaction volume, nor does it reflect the value of digital assets deposited in DeFi applications. The price of Ethereum has "significant room" to catch up with its internal metrics, as its native network is expected to benefit from Wall Street's steady migration to digital assets.Ethereum has dominated the stablecoin and tokenization markets, which are set to experience rapid growth. Analysts reiterated a year-end target price of $4,000 for Ethereum, predicting it could reach $40,000 by 2030. This would bring the price ratio of Ethereum to Bitcoin back up to 0.08. Standard Chartered stated that year-to-date, stablecoins have accounted for 33% of Ethereum transactions.The "Economic Zone" supported by the Ethereum Foundation will launch this summer, further enhancing on-chain activity. As real-world assets go on-chain, if RWAs grow as expected by 50 times, the importance of Ethereum will increase dramatically, with transaction volume and total locked value continuously setting new historical highs.

According to The Block, Standard Chartered Bank believes that the recent sharp decline in ETH prices does not reflect the continuous improvement of internal indicators on the Ethereum network, comparing it to Amazon's phase after the tech bubble burst in 2001. The bank maintains its ETH price targets: $4,000 by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by the end of 2030, and expects the ETH/BTC exchange rate to rebound to about 0.08 by the end of this decade.The bank stated that Ethereum dominates the stablecoin and RWA (real-world asset tokenization) sectors, expecting the market value of both stablecoins and non-stablecoin RWAs to increase to about $2 trillion by 2028, which will drive Ethereum's trading volume and TVL to new highs, pushing ETH prices upward.

OpenSea announced the launch of the Ethereum open standard ERC-8257 (Agent Tool Registry), positioning it as the "app store for AI agent tools," allowing developers to register tools on-chain, declare access rules and pricing, and support AI agents in autonomously discovering, purchasing access rights, and invoking tools without human intervention.OpenSea stated that this standard is layered and combined with protocols such as ERC-8004 (Agent Identity), MCP (Tool Discovery), and x402 (Payment Protocol), collectively forming the operational infrastructure for AI agents on-chain. Currently, ERC-8257 is still in the draft stage, and OpenSea invites developers to participate in refining the specification.

Coinbase announced a partnership with Standard Chartered Bank to expand global multi-currency funding channels through Coinbase Prime, supporting Australian dollars, Singapore dollars, Canadian dollars, Swiss francs, euros, and British pounds.Coinbase stated that this move will enhance capital efficiency, reduce foreign exchange friction, and enable institutional clients to seamlessly conduct global market operations on the same platform through Coinbase Prime.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed a new regulation to establish Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and sanctions compliance standards for stablecoin issuers under its supervision. The new regulation requires stablecoin issuing institutions to comply with all applicable regulations related to anti-money laundering / counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT), economic sanctions programs, and reporting requirements, including those issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).The rule will also establish regulatory and enforcement provisions for AML/CFT programs in accordance with FinCEN's requirements. The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular outlining the monitoring measures that should be implemented when opening accounts and maintaining client relationships. This circular was issued after the SFC reviewed the account opening practices of 12 securities brokerage firms.The review identified several significant deficiencies, including insufficient due diligence on account opening documents, acceptance of suspicious or forged documents during the account opening process, and weaknesses in managing cross-border agency relationships with overseas intermediaries. The SFC expressed deep concern about the potential misuse of client accounts for suspicious or illegal transactions, which could exacerbate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.The SFC requires all licensed corporations to conduct internal checks as soon as practicable to detect whether any suspicious or forged documents have been accepted for account opening. The SFC also outlined additional measures for licensed corporations when opening and managing accounts for mainland investors.These additional measures include closing investment accounts opened with suspicious or forged documents, closing zero-balance dormant investment accounts, and requiring a written declaration from investors when opening new investment accounts, stipulating that settlements and fund withdrawals can only be conducted through bank accounts held in the investor's own name at qualified banks.

According to Cryptonomist, Standard Chartered announced a large-scale restructuring plan on Tuesday, aiming to cut more than 7,000 jobs by 2030, which accounts for 15% of the total workforce in the company's functional departments.Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters described the layoffs as a technology-driven long-term transformation, focusing on replacing low-value-added jobs with automation and artificial intelligence, rather than merely reducing costs. The report states that the plan primarily affects back-office support departments in locations such as Chennai and Bangalore in India, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Poland.

According to The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, the global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that the total scale of on-chain tokenized assets is expected to reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028, with stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) each accounting for $2 trillion. Standard Chartered believes that DeFi protocols with mature risk control systems and scalability will be the main beneficiaries of this trend, while the advancement of the U.S. Clarity Act may become an important catalyst for accelerating the on-chain transition of traditional finance.Kendrick pointed out that the core advantage of DeFi lies in "composability." In an on-chain environment, the same asset can simultaneously earn yields, serve as collateral, and maintain liquidity, which the traditional financial system cannot achieve with similar efficiency. He stated that this structural advantage means "1+1=3." Standard Chartered cited BlackRock's tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL as an example, noting that the product not only yields about 4% from U.S. Treasuries but can also be converted into sBUIDL for use in lending protocol collateral and serves as a reserve asset for products like Ethena USDtb and Ondo OUSG.The report also noted that the current scale of off-chain assets is still about 1,000 times that of on-chain assets, and the tokenization of institutional-grade assets may become the core source of growth for the next phase of the industry. Regarding institutional adoption, Standard Chartered mentioned that Aave's asset scale once matched that of the 38th largest bank in the U.S., and the current daily trading volume of on-chain stablecoin lending has reached $1.5 billion to $2 billion.At the same time, the Bitcoin lending product developed in collaboration between Coinbase and Morpho currently has a loan scale of about $1.75 billion, covering approximately 22,000 borrowers, indicating that traditional financial institutions are gradually using DeFi as underlying infrastructure.

According to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank will acquire the cryptocurrency custody business of its holding subsidiary Zodia Custody, and its non-binding acquisition offer has been accepted by other shareholders and noteholders of Zodia Custody. Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that this merger will pave the way for Standard Chartered to launch cryptocurrency custody services in new markets such as the UK and Australia.After the acquisition is completed, Zodia Custody's infrastructure business will continue to operate as an independent software-as-a-service company, renamed Zodia Solutions, led by current CEO Julian Sawyer, with Standard Chartered's venture capital division holding a majority stake in Zodia Solutions. Existing shareholders of Zodia Custody include Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank, and SBI Holdings, and discussions are ongoing regarding whether these parties will continue to hold shares in Zodia Solutions.

The UK Parliament's Standards Commissioner is investigating UK MP and leader of the Reform Party, Nigel Farage, due to allegations of failing to declare a £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) personal donation from Tether investor Christopher Harborne. Christopher Harborne holds a 12% stake in Tether. Nigel Farage stated that the donation was received in 2024 before he announced his candidacy, intended for personal security, and therefore he had no obligation to declare it. According to the House of Commons Code of Conduct, new MPs must register any benefits received in the previous 12 months after being elected. If found in violation, Nigel Farage could face penalties such as an apology, suspension, or expulsion from Parliament.

On May 13, BNB Chain announced the launch of an on-chain autonomous agent framework, enabling autonomous agents to obtain decentralized identities through the ERC-8004 standard, conduct peer-to-peer payments, delegate tasks to other agents via ERC-8183, and accumulate verifiable on-chain reputation on 8004scan. The entire system operates fully on-chain, with transactions being transparent and auditable, supporting hierarchical agency relationships.The framework integrates various skill modules, including native BNB Chain smart contract execution, querying on-chain data through natural language, Nodereal's MegaNode API infrastructure (providing access to over 25 blockchain networks), and meme token management capabilities provided by fourdotmemezh Agent Skills. Additionally, the BNB Chain Knowledge Base Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows agents to query blockchain documents and receive instant answers, extending agent functionalities to applications such as DeFi and asset management.

The Ethereum Foundation officially launched the Clear Signing open standard on Tuesday, aimed at replacing the unreadable hexadecimal strings displayed when wallet users sign transactions with human-readable transaction content.This standard is centered around ERC-7730. When a wallet supports this standard, it will read the descriptor file of the contract and reconstruct the raw transaction data into understandable content, such as displaying a Uniswap V3 swap as sending 1,000 USDC and receiving at least 0.42 WETH. ERC-8176 adds an integrity certification layer on top of this, allowing auditors to publish signature certification confirming the accuracy of the descriptors. Participants include hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), software wallets (MetaMask, WalletConnect), security companies (Cyfrin), and infrastructure (Fireblocks), among others.Blind signing has been a significant cause of losses in crypto assets. The $1.5 billion vulnerability at Bybit in February 2025 and the approximately $235 million WazirX incident both involved signers approving transactions that did not reflect the true intent. Ledger initiated this project in 2021, formalized it as ERC-7730 in 2024, and transferred governance to the foundation earlier this year to ensure the neutrality of the standard. The ERC-7730 V2, released in April 2026, has expanded its coverage to cross-chain use cases, software wallets, and confidential token primitives.

The working group led by the Ethereum Foundation has released a new open standard called "Clear Signing," aimed at addressing the long-standing issue of "blind signing." This new standard is built on the ERC-7730 specification and aims to promote the "WYSIWYS (What You See Is What You Sign)" concept, allowing users to understand the actual execution content of transactions in a unified, readable, and structured manner before signing. This replaces the current common practice of displaying machine-readable but difficult-to-understand low-level transaction information. By using a unified description format, a registry system, and independent verification and auditing mechanisms, the intent of transactions can be clearly expressed and standardized for presentation on wallets.Clear Signing will not change the on-chain transaction structure but will enhance interpretability through off-chain standardized descriptions, thereby improving security without affecting the compatibility of existing protocols.

On May 10, Vitalik Buterin published a research article advocating that cryptocurrency payments need to shift from pseudonymity to default privacy, proposing the use of zero-knowledge proof (ZK) transactions to replace standard transfers, allowing users to prove payment validity without exposing their full balance or transaction history.Vitalik specifically pointed out that in the era of agents, autonomous AI agents need to pay service fees (such as LLM API fees) without leaving traceable footprints. By using recursive SNARKs and ZK APIs for points, Ethereum Layer 2 can handle privacy payments at the same speed and cost as transparent transactions. The proposal also includes selective disclosure and proof of innocence mechanisms, allowing users to provide specific proofs to compliance agencies or tax authorities without disclosing data to the public, in response to anti-money laundering regulatory requirements.Vitalik believes that the public transparency of blockchain is the main obstacle preventing cryptocurrency payments from replacing traditional payments, and the ZK payment standard aims to make privacy a default feature.