Kelp Fulfills Revival Fund Donation Commitment; Alphabet Stock Price Rises by 10%

Headlines

▌Kelp: Fulfilled Revival Fund Donation Commitment, rsETH Reserve Support to Gradually Resume

On May 1st, Kelp announced that it has fulfilled its donation commitment to the Revival Fund. It stated that as contributions from all parties led by Aave in DeFi United are received, rsETH reserve support will gradually be restored. Kelp made a one-time donation of 2,000 ETH from its treasury to DeFi United, aiming to restore the nominal exchange rate of rsETH and fully recover the system. The recovery plan for rsETH includes funding cross-chain lockboxes, restoring oracle functions, and clearing deficits in affected markets.
Kelp expressed gratitude to partners involved in the Revival Fund, including Mantle, Consensys, Arbitrum, ether.fi, Lido Finance, LayerZero, Compound, and others, and promised to keep the community updated on progress.

▌Alphabet’s stock price increase expands to 10%, marking the largest rise in over a year

On May 1st, Alphabet’s stock price increased by 10%, the largest gain in over a year.

Market Conditions

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $78,645, with a 24-hour change of +1.3%;

ETH price is $2,369.74, with a 24-hour change of +2.2%;

BNB price is $636.12, with a 24-hour change of +1.2%;

SOL price is $86.96, with a 24-hour change of +0.9%;

DOGE price is $0.099289, with a 24-hour change of +1.2%;

XRP price is $1.43, with a 24-hour change of +0.7%;

TRX price is $0.323488, with a 24-hour change of -0.1%;

WLFI price is $0.075154, with a 24-hour change of +0.2%;

HYPE price is $42.54, with a 24-hour change of +2.5%.

Policy Updates

▌US Crypto Market Structure Bill Approaching, Ethical Controversies Key

On May 1st, the US crypto market structure legislation accelerated, with Congress pushing it into the earliest review stage. However, ethical issues and crypto interests related to Donald Trump still introduce uncertainties in the legislative process.
One of the main advocates, Senator Thom Tillis, stated he has requested Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott to schedule hearings and advance amendments and voting procedures, and hopes to publish the new bill text before review. However, Tillis emphasized that if the bill does not include clear ethical provisions, he will oppose its passage. As midterm elections approach, ethical topics are expected to become a focus for the Democratic Party.

▌US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Finalizes New Small Business Census Regulations

On May 1st, an announcement revealed that the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) officially finalized a regulation on Thursday to replace the rules enacted during the Biden administration that required banks to collect data on small business borrowers. Banking lobbying groups previously argued that this regulation, passed in 2023 under Biden, posed an intrusive burden and could ultimately reduce small business lending. The Trump administration had previously delayed its implementation multiple times citing legal challenges.

Blockchain Applications

▌Exponent completes $5 million seed round, led by Multicoin Capital

On April 30th, Solana-based yield trading platform Exponent Finance announced the completion of a $5 million seed funding round, led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from Solana Ventures, RockawayX, L1D, Prelude, Theia Blockchain, and other institutions, including several core members of the Solana ecosystem as angel investors. The round was initiated last May and closed in August, bringing Exponent’s total funding to $7.1 million. Exponent stated that the funds will be used to expand its yield trading platform and upgrade to a more comprehensive on-chain yield infrastructure, covering active yield management needs within the Solana ecosystem.

Cryptocurrency

▌Bitwise CIO: Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin Accelerating, Will Drive Next Bull Run

On May 1st, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said that with the push from ETFs and major institutions like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, institutional adoption of Bitcoin is accelerating. He also explained factors that could drive the next major price surge for Bitcoin.

****▌Syndicate Labs Suffers Private Key Leak Attack, Cross-Chain Bridge Maliciously Upgraded, About 18.5 Million SYND Transferred

On May 1st, Syndicate Labs disclosed a security incident: attackers exploited a private key leak to infiltrate the system and maliciously upgraded cross-chain bridge contracts on two chains, resulting in approximately 18.5 million SYND tokens and about $50k worth of user assets being transferred. The attack originated from an intrusion into the development endpoint, where the attacker used production environment permissions to upgrade the bridge contract to a malicious version. Other chains were unaffected. Losses include:

• Commons Bridge: about 18.5 million SYND transferred and sold, roughly $330k;
• Another Appchain: about $50k worth of user assets transferred.
  Syndicate Labs stated that affected SYND holders will receive full compensation and additional overcompensation, with total holdings exceeding pre-attack levels; affected users on the Appchain will also be fully reimbursed for their losses.

****▌Bubblemaps: 8,360 wallets received MEGA tokens, half still holding, others sold

On May 1st, according to on-chain visualization platform Bubblemaps, 8,360 wallets received MEGA token airdrops, with 50% still holding, 40% fully sold, and 10% partially sold. The current fully diluted valuation (FDV) of the token is $1.7 billion.

▌Arbitrum DAO initiates vote to release 30,766 ETH for Kelp attack aftermath

On May 1st, Arbitrum DAO launched governance voting to release the previously frozen 30,766 ETH to support the aftermath plan of Kelp DAO attack via DeFi United.
These assets were frozen by Arbitrum Security Committee on April 20th, valued at about $71 million, originally transferred to Arbitrum network by the attacker. If approved, this will be the largest funding support in the DeFi United plan.
In the early voting phase, 17 million ARB support the proposal, with no opposition votes so far. Voting runs until May 7th.

Major Economic Developments

▌US Debt Surpasses 100% of GDP for the First Time Since WWII

According to Cointelegraph, US debt has exceeded 100% of GDP for the first time since World War II.

▌Trump: I Don’t Care if Powell Remains Governor

On May 1st, US President Trump stated that he doesn’t care if Jerome Powell remains a Federal Reserve governor after his term ends. Powell’s term as Fed Chair ends on May 15th, but his board tenure extends until 2028. Trump said he plans to “continue serving as a governor for an indefinite period.” Meanwhile, Kevin Waugh is expected to gain Senate approval before Powell’s term ends, but Powell’s continued tenure could complicate Trump’s efforts to reshape the Fed. When asked if he would take any action regarding Powell’s decision to stay, Trump replied, “No, I don’t care if he stays or leaves. I just want Kevin to be able to serve.”

▌US mortgage rates surge to 6.3%, first increase in a month

On May 1st, US mortgage rates rose for the first time in a month, even before the key spring sales season accelerates. Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased from 6.23% last week to 6.3%. A year ago, it was 6.76%. Since the surge in mortgage rates in 2022, the housing market has been stagnant. Before the Iran war outbreak, rates had fallen below 6%, sparking hopes of at least a modest rebound. Now, geopolitical turmoil is influencing buyer and seller decisions.

****▌Trump claims to have “destroyed” Iran’s nuclear capability

On May 1st, President Trump stated at the White House press conference that recent US military actions have “destroyed” Iran’s nuclear capability and significantly weakened its overall military strength. He claimed Iran’s navy and air force are “almost non-existent,” about 82% of drone factories have been weakened, missile factories are nearly 90% damaged, and most missile systems have been destroyed. Trump said the US completed key strikes quickly and emphasized that without action, Iran “could acquire nuclear weapons,” which “must never happen.” He also said negotiations with Iran are currently blocked but Iran “very much wants to reach an agreement.” He noted that only a few top US officials hold details of the negotiations. Trump stated that under economic sanctions and military pressure, Iran’s economy is suffering severely, with oil revenues plummeting. His goal is to force Iran to abandon nuclear development and to resolve the situation through negotiations as soon as possible. (CCTV News)

****▌Federal Reserve likely to hold interest rates steady in June at 95% probability

According to CME’s “FedWatch,” there is a 95% chance the Fed will keep rates unchanged in June, with a 5% chance of a 25 basis point cut. For July, the probability of holding rates steady is 87.9%, with an 11.7% chance of a 25 basis point cut, and a 0.4% chance of a 50 basis point cut.

****▌Iran stock market halts trading until May 4

On May 1st, Iran’s Securities Exchange Organization announced that, per the decision of the Supreme Securities Council, stock trading will be suspended until May 4th. The organization stated that the resumption date will depend on ongoing assessments of market conditions and whether relevant criteria are met. (CCTV News)

Golden Encyclopedia

▌Can Bitcoin Still Be Called “Digital Gold” Amid Geopolitical Crises?

During every geopolitical crisis, gold prices rise while Bitcoin prices plummet. After six tests, the claim that Bitcoin is “digital gold” has never been substantiated by data. Countries hoard gold but exclude Bitcoin from reserves. For investors, Bitcoin has asymmetries: it tends to fall with stocks but does not rise with stocks. Three structural asymmetries prevent Bitcoin from gaining safe-haven status: excess derivatives (market structure), dominance of leveraged traders (participant composition), and lack of repeated behavioral records (behavioral accumulation).

Bitcoin is not a safe-haven asset, but it is a “crisis-useful asset.” In situations like border closures and bank failures, it can indeed serve a role. If these three asymmetries diminish, Bitcoin may no longer be a copy of gold but could become a new “next-generation gold.” Intergenerational shifts and widespread adoption of algorithms are key factors that could accelerate this process.