Bernstein, a research and brokerage firm known for its analysis of the cryptocurrency market, made noteworthy assessments regarding Bitcoin in its latest report.
The institution stated that Bitcoin has formed a strong bottom around the $60,000 level, laying the foundation for a long-term, structural bull market.
According to the report, as the Bitcoin price approaches the $80,000 level, the fundamental dynamics of the market are strengthening. Analysts stated that stable institutional inflows, particularly from asset management companies and brokerage firms, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin accumulation through STRC, and the increasing integration of blockchain technology with traditional financial infrastructures are supporting an upward asymmetric movement in the market.
Related NewsBloomberg Analyst Mike McGlone: “Cryptocurrencies Are Sick; Prices Need to Fall to Recover Before a Rally”
Bernstein analysts noted that institutional demand largely comes through spot Bitcoin ETFs, which concentrates a significant portion of the supply in the hands of long-term investors. According to current data, over 60% of the Bitcoin supply has remained unmoved for more than a year, indicating a strong “HODL” (holding) behavior in the market.
On the other hand, the fact that the stablecoin supply has surpassed $300 billion, reaching an all-time high, reveals that demand for digital dollar-based payment and settlement systems continues. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the tokenized credit and RWA (Real World Assets) market, which includes real-world assets such as US Treasury bonds, grew by 110% year-on-year to reach $345 billion.
Analysts, noting that the cryptocurrency market has not yet reflected its full potential in light of all these developments, stated, “The best days for crypto assets are yet to come. This process will culminate in a bull market that reaches higher levels and is structurally longer-lasting.”
Bitcoin’s Sunday night rally stalled out near $79,400 and is beginning to show signs of fatigue, with several indicators pointing to potential short-term weakness as the price trades back around $77,000.
First, the Coinbase premium index has turned negative for the first time since April 8, according to Coinglass data.
The move to -0.04% follows a 14-day stretch of positive readings, the longest since October, that signaled consistent demand from U.S. investors and a run-up in the bitcoin price from $66,000 to $79,000.
The index measures the price difference between Coinbase, a platform for U.S. institutions, and offshore exchanges like Binance. A flip into negative territory suggests that this cohort is no longer aggressively buying, leaving the market more reliant on offshore flows. As the Coinbase premium turns negative, this tends to coincide with price pullbacks or consolidation.
At the same time, the large Bitfinex whale, closely tracked for directional pricing, remains near cycle peak long exposure. Holdings currently sit at 79,342 $BTC, just shy of the 80,100 $BTC high. This entity typically divests its position once a local bottom is all but confirmed or when there is clear upside momentum. The fact that exposure remains near the cycle peak despite bitcoin’s push toward $79,000 suggests a lack of short-term upside, raising the risk of a price decline.
Adding to these headwinds, bitcoin failed to reclaim the short-term holder realized price (STHRP) at $79,200. This metric represents the average on-chain acquisition cost of coins held for fewer than 155 days, a cohort that tends to be more reactive to price swings. The longer the price stays below the STH RP, the more likely recent buyers are to continue to exit, putting further pressure on the price.
Last but not least, the flagship Bitcoin conference has begun, with prior gains already fading, and if history is any guide, further downside follows.
When Hollywood historian David Fantle and his friend and writing partner Tom Johnson walked into Vincente Minnelli’s house in 1980, it looked to them like “silent screen siren Norma Desmond’s decaying brick pile from Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard,” Fantle recalled.
The Oscar-winning director told them that his not-yet-wife Judy Garland didn’t want to star for him in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944); she was after “more sophisticated parts” and feared it would “set her career back 20 years.” The film, of course, would become a classic musical and one of Garland’s most beloved movies.
Fantle, who spent a lifetime interviewing Golden Age celebrities to preserve their stories for posterity, died unexpectedly Tuesday at his home in Milwaukee following a cardiovascular emergency. He was 66.
In addition to his role as a Hollywood historian, the St. Paul, Minnesota native had a 40-year career in public relations, serving in top positions at Visit Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism and the United Performing Arts Fund. He also sat on the board of the Holocaust Education Resource Center and taught film and PR classes at Marquette University.
What makes Fantle’s story worth highlighting is his determination and ability to get access to the stars of yesteryear — starting when he was just out of high school.
“What tenacity,” Robert Wagner wrote in the foreword to Fantle and Johnson’s 2018 book, Hollywood Heyday: 75 Candid Interviews With Golden Age Legends. “These are interviews with stars who rarely, if ever, opened up.”
Earlier, Fantle and Johnson teamed on 2009’s Reel to Real: 25 Years of Celebrity Interviews From Vaudeville to Movies to TV.
Starting when he was 18, Fantle used the skills that would build a four-decade PR career by getting these stars to talk about what people wanted to know.
When he and Johnson were in high school in Minneapolis in the ’70s, they would send out 60 or so letters to stars and get maybe 30 in return. They’d also call agents or caretakers, whoever was running the show. They traveled to Los Angeles for three weeks at a time, with three-piece suits and $50 in dimes for pay phones, and did their interviews all over Beverly Hills.
Johnson described Fantle as an “extremely loyal friend, he was like a brother, and he was like a pit bull when it came to seeking out stars to interview. They would try to brush off these kids, and Dave would just give them a reason to see us.”
David Fantle with producer Arthur Freed’s best picture Oscar for ‘An American in Paris.’
Courtesy of Fantle Family
Lucille Ball nearly kicked them out (but didn’t), James Cagney took them to dinner after they were sized up by his caretaker, Fred Astaire did a dance for them, and Mel Brooks kept them laughing.
They sat down with wife and husband Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, who said about his success in Hollywood, “I feel like I snuck in.” Casablanca co-screenwriter Julius Epstein opined about inaccuracies in film history books. The often-cranky Jerry Lewis opened up to them multiple times. They spoke with Charlton Heston on his tennis court and met Gregory Peck at his Bel-Air estate. Bob Hope refused to be called a “legend,” saying, “if you start believing this legend stuff, you’re in trouble.”
Gene Kelly told them about working with Garland in Summer Stock (1950). “She wasn’t a trained dancer,” he said, “but I never worked with a trained dancer who was so quick to learn steps as Judy was.”
About Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Kelly spoke of his “Moses Supposes” number with Donald O’Connor. “Donald and I rehearsed that dance for days, but most critics dismiss it as a zany Marx Brothers romp.”
The Kelly family sent Christmas cards to Fantle and Johnson every year and even invited them back for another visit.
“Film editors have become the choreographers today,” said Kelly, who bemoaned the lack of ingenuity in contemporary musicals,all shot in medium and close-up. “A whole musical can fail or succeed based on the editing.”
Debbie Reynolds discussed her dedication to preserving MGM history after Kirk Kerkorian started to strip the studio for parts, selling the backlot and props. “The MGM auction absolutely broke my heart,” Reynolds told them in 1994, “that’s why I went to the bank, borrowed money and attended the auction every day. I think it’s our fault that we don’t protect our own culture.”
Said Johnson: “We always showed [the legends] respect, and they would quickly brighten up upon our arrival.”
While working for Visit Milwaukee, Fantle had the idea to immortalize Henry Winkler, who of course played “The Fonz” on ABC’s Happy Days, which took place in the Cream City. Other cities had their unique Hollywood connection, so why couldn’t Milwaukee celebrate one of theirs?
Fantle led a campaign to fund the bronze statue, known warmly as the “Bronze Fonz,” and the mini monument on the riverwalk has become a selfie hotspot for tourists. (After Fantle’s death, Winkler called his family with condolences and a jovial comment that without the Bronze Fonz, he’d have nothing to talk about.)
David Zucker, who co-directed and co-wrote Airplane! (1980) with brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, met Fantle through his role at Wisconsin Tourism, and he “got the whole ZAZ gang together for these tourism ads,” he recalled. Fantle was often on the set making suggestions.
Zucker was a big Steve Allen fan and was delighted to hear Fantle share that Allen loved Airplane!
“David Fantle was the guy who thought outside of the box. He had an imagination,” said Zucker. “[He thought], why are we doing these dull vacation ads? Why don’t we shake things up with ZAZ humor! That’s what we did, and they were very successful.”
Regarding Fantle’s work with the Bronze Fonz, Zucker joked that “I think they should pick a bridge [in Milwaukee] and do a ZAZ statue!”
On a personal note, I first met Fantle when I was beginning research for my 2023 book, The Warner Brothers. He told me that he had met Warners house director Mervyn LeRoy [Little Caesar, I Am a FugitiveFrom a Chain Gang] not long before he died in 1987 and that he “looked like a mob boss.”
With decades of experience and lifetimes worth of wisdom, Fantle encouraged my work, shared sources, taught me to watch for (but never fear) family members protecting legacies, began networking for me as soon as it looked like tenure was about to be destroyed at UW-Milwaukee, connected me with Marquette, spoke to my entertainment journalism class at the school and kept a coffee date for years, always making sure things were going well.
You always left a conversation with him feeling like anything was possible. He was a true friend and a genuine gentleman and will be deeply missed.
Funeral services were held Thursday at Congregation Sinai in Fox Point, Wisconsin. Survivors include his wife, Cathy; his children, Grace, Madeline and Max; his older brother, Phillip; his mother, Betty; his grandchildren, Rena, Romi, Lang and Hannah; and his best friend, Johnson.
Trump appeared to soften criticism of prediction markets just two days after saying they helped turn the world into “a casino.”
Over the weekend, he noted “very smart” people support the industry.
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has ties to both Polymarket and Kalshi.
President Donald Trump appeared to walk back criticism of prediction markets over the weekend, suggesting he wasn’t yet sure where he stood on the matter or whether he’d prefer if the emerging sector were regulated differently.
On Thursday, the president told reporters he was “never much in favor” of prediction markets—a booming industry that now accounts for over $7 billion in weekly trading volume—which he said have played a part in turning “the whole world, unfortunately [into] somewhat of a casino.”
The comments came hours after federal law enforcement arrested a U.S. soldier for allegedly using classified intelligence to net over $400,000 from a Polymarket wager on the timing of a high-profile military operation.
But on Saturday, Trump seemed to retract his critique, saying he wasn’t sure where he stood on the subject—and arguing some “very smart” people believe the novel sector is worth supporting.
“Well, I don’t know,” Trump said when asked by Decrypt about his prior statements critical of prediction markets. “I know some people that are very smart. They like it, they disagree.”
When asked if he would consider directing his administration to change its aggressively pro-prediction market policies, the president demurred.
“A lot of other countries are doing it, and when the other countries do it, we get left out in the cold if we don’t do it,” Trump said.
“I know people that are in the prediction market business, and they’re pretty happy with it,” he added.
Decrypt’s White House correspondent @sander_lutz asked President Trump about his comments on prediction markets from earlier this week:
“A lot of other countries are doing it, and when the other countries do it, we get left out in the cold if we don’t.” pic.twitter.com/IWPwxXDP7c
Prediction markets allow their users to wager on the outcome of virtually anything—from crypto and traditional markets to sports, cultural events, and political elections. The industry has experienced massive growth in the last two years, leading to ballooning billion-dollar valuations for the top players in the space.
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is an advisor to both of America’s top prediction market platforms, Polymarket and Kalshi. He is also an investor in Polymarket.
The president’s own media company, meanwhile, has also embraced the novel sector, launching a Trump Predict tie-in to Truth Social, his social media platform.
Because prediction markets trade in what are known as event contracts, a type of derivative contract legally defined as a commodity, they are regulated by the CFTC at the federal level. The regulator, chaired by Trump-appointee Mike Selig, has recently rushed to the legal defense of prediction market platforms, which are facing a flurry of lawsuits from states acrossthepoliticalspectrum.
The states insist new types of prediction market wagers—related to sports and, in some cases, politics and entertainment—violate state gambling laws. The platforms, on the other hand, claim none of their wagers should be regulated at the state level—and all should be treated as event contracts under the exclusive federal purview of the CFTC.
The CFTC’s forceful campaign against state regulators has recently caught attention on Capitol HIll. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about the agency’s stance, and its potential implications for insider trading and the proliferation of unregulated gambling in the United States.
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Publicly traded Strive Inc. purchased an additional 789 Bitcoin for its treasury.
The purchase brings Strive’s total Bitcoin holdings to 14,557 BTC, valued at roughly $1.1 billion.
True North, Strive’s subsidiary, will host a Bitcoin for Business summit in Lake Oswego, Oregon on May 21.
Publicly traded Strive Inc. purchased an additional 789 Bitcoin for its treasury, the structured finance company and institutional asset manager announced Monday.
The company paid an average price of $77,890 per Bitcoin, Strive CEO and Chairman Matt Cole wrote on X, putting the purchase at a price of about $61.45 million. Bitcoin has fallen to a recent price of $76,716, making the addition worth about $60.5 million as of this writing.
The purchase expands Strive’s total Bitcoin holdings to 14,557 BTC, valued at approximately $1.1 billion based on the recent price of Bitcoin.
Alongside the treasury expansion, Strive’s True North subsidiary scheduled a Bitcoin for Business summit for May 21 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The event targets CFOs and business leaders exploring corporate Bitcoin adoption strategies.
“Bitcoin and adjacent securities are transforming how businesses manage their treasuries,” said True North CEO and Strive Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton, in a statement. “We aim to educate the business leaders of today about the financial landscape of the future.”
Publicly traded firms hold more than 1.2 million Bitcoin valued above $93 billion, per data from BitcoinTreasuries.net, led by Strategy with its nearly $63 billion haul. Strategy said Monday that it bought $255 million in Bitcoin last week, down dramatically from a $2.54 billion purchase the week prior.
Strive manages over $2.7 billion in assets as a publicly traded structured finance company and institutional asset manager. The firm’s True North sub-brand provides corporate Bitcoin curriculum and hosts educational events for businesses exploring cryptocurrency integration.
As of April 24, Strive maintained $90.5 million in cash and cash equivalents alongside $50.3 million in Strategy preferred stock holdings, according to SEC filings. The company’s latest Bitcoin purchase represents a continuation of its aggressive treasury diversification strategy.
Strive’s stock (ASST) was down about 3% on Monday, recently trading at $15.33. ASST shares have surged by 55% over the last month, though shares are down 53% in the last six months.
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The trial’s outcome could sway the balance of power in AI, and jury selection starts on Monday.
Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026
Technology tycoons Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial revolving around the alleged betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition that blurred the bickering billionaires’ once-shared vision for the development of artificial intelligence.
The trial, which is scheduled to begin on Monday with jury selection, centres on the 2015 birth of ChatGPT maker OpenAI as a nonprofit start-up primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852bn.
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The trial’s outcome could sway the balance of power in AI, breakthrough technology that is increasingly being feared as a potential job killer and an existential threat to humanity’s survival.
Those perceived risks are among the reasons that Musk, the world’s richest person, has cited for filing a lawsuit in August 2024 that will now be decided by a jury and US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.
The civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, and his top lieutenant and a cofounder, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. The lawsuit alleges they shifted OpenAI into moneymaking mode behind his back.
The bitter legal fight may come down to a few pages in one executive’s personal diary.
“This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon,” wrote Brockman in the autumn of 2017. “Is he the ‘glorious leader’ that I would pick?”
Brockman’s diary entry is part of the thousands of pages of internal documents revealed in court.
Musk said the defendants kept him in the dark about their plans, exploited his name and financial support to create a “wealth machine” for themselves, and owe damages for having conned him and the public.
He also wants OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit, for Altman and Brockman to be removed as officers and for Altman to be removed from its board.
OpenAI has brushed off Musk’s allegations as an unfounded case of sour grapes that’s aimed at undercutting its rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.
The trial also carries risks for Musk, who last month was held liable by another jury for defrauding investors during his $44bn takeover of Twitter in 2022. Any damaging details about Musk and his business tactics could be particularly hurtful now because his rocket ship maker, SpaceX, plans to go public this summer in an initial public offering that could make him the world’s first trillionaire.
Maialen Beloki has been appointed director of Spain’s San Sebastián Film Festival. Beloki, who has served as one of the deputy directors of the San Sebastián Film Festival from 2016, will take over from José Luis Rebordinos in January following 2027.
Rebordinos has made public his desire to step down as the San Sebastián director after this year’s edition, ending 16 years at its helm, making him San Sebastian’s longest serving director. During that time, the Festival has enjoyed a remarkable stability and growth in prestige, industry initiatives and attendance and international impact and partnerships, such as the Proyecta project showcase at Ventana Sur, organized with the Cannes Festival’s Marché du Film.
Though Rebordinos’ departure was known, his successor was not. Beloki has been unanimously selected by San Sebastian’s executive board following an open call for candidates launched on March 4.
Beloki knows the festival inside out. Her appointment marks most likely continuity, at least for the short-term at the festival, in that Beloki was actively engaged in helping to spearhead key initiatives at San Sebastián, such as its transformation from a one-off event in September into a year-round ecosystem, embodied in the Z365 initiative focusing on what the Festival described Monday as the development of new talent (Ikusmira Berriak residency program and Nest shorts showcase), education (the Elias Querejeta Zine Ezkola, for instance) and the generation of knowledge and critical thinking around cinema, embodied, for example, in the Artxiboa project.
A graduate of the University of Navarra, where she studied audiovisual communication, Beloki received a PhD (Cum Laude) in film theory, analysis and documentation from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She also serves on the academic board of San Sebastián’s Elias Querejeta Zine Ezkola where she also lectures.
Paramount+ is reckoning for some “The Madison” Emmy love.
Coming off its first season, the Taylor Sheridan-created neo-Western will submit across 20 Emmy categories via 27 total bids, Variety has learned exclusively.
The freshman drama, which centers on the Clyburn family as it relocates from New York City to Montana’s Madison River valley following a life-altering tragedy, will compete in the outstanding drama series category. The streamer had already renewed the show for Seasons 2 and 3, ahead of its series and second-season premieres, respectively.
Legendary powerhouse performer Michelle Pfeiffer, who anchors the series as Clyburn matriarch Stacy, is the sole lead acting submission. An Emmy nominee for the 2017 television movie “The Wizard of Lies” in supporting actress (limited/movie), the 67-year-old star is having one of the most significant years on television. That includes additional Emmy bids for Apple TV’s comedy “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” for which she’ll compete in supporting comedy actress, and the Prime Video movie “Oh. What. Fun.” Long beloved in Hollywood, Pfeiffer also has three Oscar nominations for “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), “The Fabulous Baker Boys” (1989) and “Love Field” (1992).
Kurt Russell, who plays Preston Clyburn — the husband of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Stacy — dies in a plane crash in the pilot but appears across all six episodes. He is among multiple submissions in supporting drama actor. A one-time Emmy nominee for lead actor (limited/movie) for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the 1979 television movie “Elvis,” Russell could earn his second nomination 47 years later. If recognized, it would mark the longest gap between a performer’s first and second Emmy acting nominations, surpassing Mary Kay Place’s 33-year span between her 1977 win for “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” (at the time called “continuing performance by a supporting actress in a comedy series) and her 2010 nomination for “Big Love” in guest drama actress.
In terms of the longest span between a performer’s first and most recent nominations, Russell would tie for the fourth-longest gap alongside Henry Winkler (“Happy Days” to “Barry”) and Michael Douglas (“The Streets of San Francisco” to “The Kominsky Method”). Ahead of them are Carol Burnett (62 years, from “The Garry Moore Show” to “Palm Royale”), Betty White (60 years, from her first nomination in 1951 to “Hot in Cleveland”) and Diana Rigg (51 years, from “The Avengers” to “Game of Thrones”).
Russell will be among five supporting drama actor submissions, which will also include Patrick J. Adams as Russell McIntosh, Ben Schnetzer as Madison River Valley Sheriff Van Davis, Kevin Zegers as Clyburn neighbor Cade Harris and Matthew Fox as Preston’s brother, Paul Clyburn. Supporting drama actress will have six on its own with Beau Garrett as elder Clyburn daughter Abigail Reese, Elle Chapman as younger daughter Paige McIntosh, Amiah Miller as Bridgette Reese, Alaina Pollack as Macy Reese, Rebecca Spence as Stacy’s friend Liliana Weeks and Danielle Vasinova as Kestrel Harris.
Will Arnett will compete for guest drama actor for his turn as Phil Yorn in the season finale Episode 106, “I Give Me Permission” — the same episode Sheridan submitted for outstanding writing for a drama. Sheridan also has the second season of “Landman” vying for Emmy attention. Although the rules allow him to enter multiple programs, he will not submit a writing representation for the series this cycle.
Sheridan’s selection of the season finale is interesting, given that many new freshman series have shown nomination success with putting forth their pilot/first episode (Season 1) episodes, proven by “Bad Sisters” (“The Prick” by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer) and last year’s “The Pitt” (“7:00 A.M.” by R. Scott Gemmill). The last time a Season 1 finale was submitted and won was “Succession” in 2019. In terms of nominations, that was “Squid Game” in 2022.
Christina Alexandra Voros will pull double duty in the campaign, submitting for outstanding directing for a drama series and outstanding cinematography (one hour), both for Episode 102, “Let the Land Hold Me.” Last year, Jessica Lee Gagné made history as the first woman to earn double noms in those same two categories, walking away with the cinematography prize. Will Voros follow in her footsteps?
On the craft side, Paramount+ is submitting in 13 below-the-line categories. All official episode submissions will be announced at a later date.
Emmy submissions are due on May 7, with the nomination-round voting running from June 11 to June 22. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on July 8.
“The Madison”
The full list of Emmy submissions is below.
Outstanding Drama Series
Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Michelle Pfeiffer
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Kurt Russell, Patrick J. Adams, Ben Schnetzer, Kevin Zegers, Matthew Fox
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Beau Garrett, Elle Chapman, Amiah Miller, Alaina Pollack, Rebecca Spence, Danielle Vasinova
Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Will Arnett (Episode 106, “I Give Me Permission”)
Directing for a Drama Series: Christina Alexandra Voros (Episode 102, “Let the Land Hold Me”)
Writing for a Drama Series: Taylor Sheridan (Episode 106, “I Give Me Permission”)
Cinematography for a Series (One Hour): Christina Alexandra Voros (Episode 102, “Let the Land Hold Me”)
Casting for a Drama Series: John Papsidera
Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More): Charisse Cardenas, Fernando Carrion, Amy Frazzini, Stephen Dudro, Bryan Venegas
Contemporary Costumes: Emma Potter
Contemporary Hairstyling
Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
Main Title Design
Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score): Breton Vivian
Original Main Title Theme Music: Breton Vivian
Picture Editing for a Drama Series: Chad Galster
Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour): Jay Nierenberg
Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
MARA Holdings launched the MARA Foundation, a new initiative focused on strengthening Bitcoin’s long term security, sovereignty, and accessibility through protocol research, open source development, self custody infrastructure, policy advocacy, and global education.
Today at @TheBitcoinConf, @MARA CEO @fgthiel announced the launch of MARA Foundation.
The MARA Foundation represents MARA’s strategic commitment to supporting the health of the Bitcoin network, outside of our responsibilities as miners alone.
We believe Bitcoin embodies the… pic.twitter.com/3HHWF6jPiT
— MARA Foundation (@MARAFoundation_) April 27, 2026
The foundation was unveiled at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, debuting with a $100,000 contribution that will be awarded to one of three organizations selected by a community vote.
Voting is open through the MARA Foundation website until 3:00 p.m. PST on April 29, with Bitcoin 2026 attendees also able to vote in person at MARA’s booth.
The three candidates are SateNet, which focuses on low cost community run wireless internet services powered by Bitcoin in the global South, the 256 Foundation, a public charity funding open source Bitcoin mining hardware and software developers, and Libreria de Satoshi, which works to expand Bitcoin technical education across languages and regions.
MARA framed the foundation as an extension of its role in Bitcoin mining and network security. Fred Thiel, the company’s chairman and CEO, said MARA’s daily role in helping secure the Bitcoin network gives it a responsibility to invest in the protocol’s long term health, not just its short term economics.
The launch comes as MARA continues to position itself as a broader digital energy and compute infrastructure company. In March, MARA sold 15,133 Bitcoin for approximately $1.1 billion between March 4 and March 25 to fund a $1 billion repurchase of its 2030 and 2031 convertible senior notes at a roughly 9% discount, reducing its total convertible debt by about 30%.
The company said the move was designed to increase financial flexibility as it expands beyond pure Bitcoin mining into digital energy and AI and high performance computing infrastructure.
Western Union (WU) is preparing to roll out a stablecoin strategy that could reshape how the 175-year-old money-transfer company settles payments across its global network.
CEO Devin McGranahan said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call that Western Union’s U.S. dollar stablecoin (USDPT) is in the final stages of readiness and is expected to launch next month. The firm announced in October that the digital dollar will run on Solana (SOL) and will be issued with federally chartered crypto bank Anchorage Digital.
Western Union plans to use the stablecoin first as an alternative to the interbank settlement rails it uses today to move money between the company and its agents.
“We are not originally launching [USDPT] as consumer-facing,” McGranahan said. “We are launching it as an alternative to the interbank SWIFT settlement network that we use today.”
That matters, he said, because Western Union’s business still depends on legacy banking systems that settle only on business days and can take two or three days in some markets. Stablecoins could allow the company to settle with partners in real time, including over weekends and holidays, while reducing capital tied up in the system, he added.
The second piece of the company’s strategy is the Digital Asset Network (DAN), which lets crypto wallet companies offer Western Union as a cash-out option. Through that network, wallet users will be able to convert digital assets into local currency through Western Union’s retail footprint, McGranahan said.
The company said its partner pipeline represents tens of millions of crypto wallets globally.
Western Union also plans to launch a Stable Card, expected later this year. It will let customers hold funds in stablecoins and spend through card networks. McGranahan said the card could be useful in inflation-sensitive markets where customers want access to U.S. dollar-denominated value with everyday spending utility.
“We expect to begin rolling this out across dozens of markets with an initial wave targeted for later this year,” he said.
Western Union’s stablecoin push comes as its core remittance business faces pressure, with rival fintechs and crypto payments firms increasingly using blockchain tech for cross-border payments. MoneyGram, for example, is looking to Circle’s USDC stablecoin, while Stripe launched its own stablecoin infrastructure with a payments-focused chain Tempo.
Read more: DoorDash is bringing stablecoin payments to masses with Stripe-backed blockchain
