Source: Informant Iran is prepared for various scenarios in the Strait of Hormuz

May 4 — OpenAI has raised more than $4 billion to launch a new joint venture focused on helping businesses adopt its AI software, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the new entity, named "The Deployment Company," has secured commitments from 19 investors — including TPG Inc., Brookfield Asset Management, Advent and Bain Capital. The deal values the joint venture at $10 billion, excluding funds already disbursed. OpenAI will hold a majority stake and control the venture, the source added.

On May 4, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced the formation of an industry working group to advance tokenization of the U.S. capital markets, per official sources. Ondo has been selected to join the group, collaborating with firms including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Franklin Templeton, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citadel Securities, the New York Stock Exchange, Circle, Fireblocks, Robinhood, and other players across traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). With over $114 trillion in assets under custody and $37 trillion in annual clearing volume, DTCC is developing a tokenization service to move core U.S. market processes onto blockchain. DTCC President and CEO Frank La Salla noted: “We believe tokenization will transform market operations significantly, delivering new levels of liquidity, transparency, and efficiency for investors.”

On May 4, Bitmine Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee made the following statement: The U.S. Senate has released the compromise text of the CLARITY Act. While the bill prohibits certain yield-bearing stablecoin reserves, it allows for activity-based "rewards," striking a balance between innovation and safeguarding existing depository institutions (i.e., traditional banks). This compromise is broadly acceptable to us, and we hope the bill will pass in 2026. Current predictions from prediction market Polymarket show the probability of the bill passing in 2026 has topped 60%—its highest level in a month. A "Crypto Spring" has begun. Similar to past cycles, investor sentiment remains subdued and somewhat pessimistic even as crypto prices rise. We believe the potential passage or rejection of the CLARITY Act will confirm the arrival of the Crypto Spring. Regarding the drivers behind the future growth of crypto assets, Ethereum (ETH) continues to benefit from a dual tailwind: Wall Street’s block

On May 4th, NASDAQ-listed Solana ecosystem treasury firm SOL Strategies announced it has acquired HoudiniSwap— a non-custodial, privacy-focused cross-chain aggregator— for $18 million. The platform generated roughly $13 million in revenue last year, offering competitive routing for cross-centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchange swaps, plus blockchain bridging services. SOL Strategies noted the acquisition advances its mission to “integrate Solana into institutional finance infrastructure.” By expanding beyond validator operations and staking into transaction routing infrastructure, cross-chain liquidity, and software-driven revenue streams, the firm is building a broader platform to enable institutional capital movement and on-chain participation.

As of May 4, DefiLlama data shows Tokenlon’s 30-day trading volume totals $342 million, its total value locked (TVL) stands at $485,000, and 70% of its LON tokens are staked.

On May 4, per U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), two U.S.-flagged vessels successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, post-transit of the strait, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer is currently operating in the Arabian Gulf to support the "Freedom Initiative."