Aptos Ecological DEX Tapp Exchange has announced its closure, with withdrawals available until May 31st.

**Tether Q1 2025 Report: Robust Profitability Amid Global Volatility** On May 1, Tether—issuer of the stablecoin USDT—released its Q1 2025 financial report, showing strong profitability despite elevated global market volatility. As of March 31, 2025 (note: original reference to 2026 appears to be a typo, aligning with Q1 2025 reporting), key metrics included: - Net profit: ~$1.04 billion - Total assets: ~$191.768 billion - Total liabilities: ~$183.536 billion - USDT issuance-related liabilities: ~$183.438 billion Tether’s asset reserves hit a record $8.232 billion, marking a significant jump from the prior period. USDT circulation remained stable at a massive ~$183 billion. Reserves consist primarily of highly liquid, high-quality assets: - ~$141 billion in direct/indirect U.S. Treasury holdings (core position, making Tether the 17th largest global holder of U.S. Treasuries) - ~$20 billion in physical gold - ~$7 billion in Bitcoin, with additional BTC accumula

On May 1, Mantle Network announced that its proposed loan facility for the rsETH Relief Coordination Action (targeting Aave) has officially entered the governance voting stage. Per the proposal, Mantle will extend a loan to Aave’s relief initiative to help users exit positions in an orderly manner or address related issues. Currently, MNT token holders must delegate their votes on the Snapshot platform to participate in the vote. Aave founder Stani noted that DeFi United is the largest-scale DAO coordination he’s been part of, with at least six different DAOs (Arbitrum, Aave, EtherFi, Lido, Compound, and Mantle) putting forward governance solutions. He thanked everyone who helped or participated. The ongoing DeFi United ecosystem relief effort—launched by Aave to address the collateral shortfall from the April 18 rsETH event—continues to progress. The designated donation address has raised a cumulative 1,137,714.633 ETH, worth approximately $3.1457 billion.

Per monitoring from On the Beat AI, the U.S. Department of Defense has inked agreements with seven AI-focused companies: SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Pentagon noted these deals will accelerate the U.S. military’s transformation, help build an “AI-dominant” fighting force, and boost its ability to maintain decision-making superiority across all warfighting domains.

On May 1, monitoring data from HyperInsight (via https://t.me/HyperInsight) shows that "Big Brother Whale" Huang Licheng has just boosted his Bitcoin long position to over 40x leverage, with the position valued at $14.5 million. His average entry price is $76,357, and the liquidation price sits at $72,904.5. Additionally, the whale holds a 25x leveraged Ethereum (ETH) long position worth $23.3 million, with an entry price of $2,311.63 and a liquidation price of $2,202.7.

**May 1st Market Update: US Pre-Market & Crypto Stocks** Per Bitget market data, U.S. stock pre-market trading shows: - S&P 500 Index futures: +0.14% - Nasdaq 100 Index futures: -0.09% Most U.S. crypto-related stocks are trading higher, with notable gains including: - MicroStrategy (MSTR): +2.03% - Coinbase (COIN): +0.35% - Circle (CRCL): +0.86% - MARA Holdings (MARA): +0.83% - Riot Platforms (RIOT): +2.09% - BitMine Immersion (BMNR): +0.33% - SharpLink Gaming (SBET): +0.99% This rewrite follows U.S. financial news conventions: - Uses concise, scannable bullet points for key data - Replaces "according to" with "per" (common in quick market briefs) - Highlights percentage moves with "+/-" for readability - Keeps stock tickers (in parentheses) paired with full names (standard for clarity) - Avoids unnecessary repetition while retaining all critical info

May 1 — SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial firm, is in talks to acquire a stake in crypto exchange Bitbank, with plans to make it a subsidiary via merger. SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao said the company has submitted a letter of intent and begun discussions on capital and business collaboration. Specific timing and structure will be finalized after due diligence and internal reviews. Bitbank, a top Japanese crypto exchange, has had no reported hacks since its 2014 launch, with security as its key selling point. As cryptocurrencies gradually fall under Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, SBI expects adding Bitbank to its group will strengthen its position in the Japanese crypto market. The move comes amid SBI’s ongoing consolidation of its crypto exchange unit SBI VC Trade. Last month, it merged fellow exchange Bitpoint Japan into SBI VC Trade to streamline operations and boost profitability. Earlier this week, Bitbank launched Japan’s first cry