AI Settlement Layer AEON Completes $8 Million Pre-Seed Funding Round, Led by YZi Labs

May 18 — Data from rwa.xyz shows the total value of on-chain real-world assets (RWA) has climbed to $33.7 billion, hitting a fresh all-time high. The roughly $1.5 billion recent uptick comes mostly from Ethereum-based institutional-grade tokenized U.S. Treasury bond products, including Franklin Templeton’s newly launched iBENJI and BlackRock’s BUIDL, which has kept drawing steady inflows. Commodity tokenized assets have also seen major growth, with JMWH emerging as a key driver behind that gain. Institutional analysts note that current RWA growth remains largely driven by traditional financial institutions, as the so-called “TradFi Wave” accelerates the on-chain migration of real-world assets.

May 18 (Al Arabiya) — Iran’s latest diplomatic proposal shows the country is pushing for a lengthy, multi-stage ceasefire agreement and requesting the gradual, secure opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is willing to freeze its nuclear program for an extended period rather than fully dismantle it, and would unconditionally transfer enriched uranium to Russia instead of the United States. It also aims to include political language in any deal to uphold what it terms its "dignity." Alongside these terms, Iran wants Pakistan and Oman to play a role in managing any tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The proposal also indicates Iran is seeking to swap compensation arrangements for economic facilitation measures, separate maritime navigation routes from the complexity of the nuclear issue, and secure multiple international guarantees for whatever final accord is reached.

May 18 (Bloomberg) — Iran has rolled out a Bitcoin-linked insurance program for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to mitigate the high navigation risks in the strategic waterway, per new reports. Iran recently launched a marine insurance platform called "Hormuz Safe", offering digital coverage for vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz with payment options including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Against a backdrop of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and rising security threats in the Strait of Hormuz, war-risk insurance premiums for ships have spiked. Bloomberg previously reported that insurance costs for some vessels transiting the strait have climbed to roughly 5% of a ship’s total value.

May 18: Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee disclosed in the company’s latest shareholder letter that his firm added 71,672 ETH to its holdings last week, framing Ethereum’s recent drop below $2,200 as an “attractive buying opportunity.” Lee also pointed to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s recent hearing on the nation’s CLARITY Act as a key step toward building a critical regulatory framework for the crypto industry. He estimates the probability of the bill being formally passed is higher than the 61% likelihood currently priced into prediction platform Polymarket. As of May 17, 2026, Bitmine holds a total of 5.28 million ETH—representing roughly 4.37% of Ethereum’s overall supply, putting the company about 87% of the way toward its goal of holding 5% of the network’s total ETH supply. Of these holdings, 4.7129 million ETH is staked. Valued at $2,191 per ETH, that staked portion is worth approximately $10.3 billion.

On May 18, London-based AI audit automation startup Calibre announced it has closed a $3.3 million pre-seed funding round, led by Vicus Ventures and CIV. Calibre, founded by former Palantir executives, aims to leverage AI Agents to boost efficiency in the authentication and audit sectors. The company notes that today’s auditors waste a significant amount of time on document reviews and process organization—instead of applying their core professional judgment. The startup plans to use AI Agents to automate key tasks like document review, information extraction, and compliance verification, to cut labor costs across the authentication industry while lifting overall operational efficiency. Investors believe the authentication and audit space has long suffered from clunky processes and overreliance on manual work, with AI Agents positioned to become critical infrastructure here.

On May 18th, AI Grandma’s monitoring indicates Justin Sun’s crypto address withdrew 41.99 million SPK tokens as staking rewards from Spark following a two-week gap. The withdrawn SPK, valued at $1.23 million, were immediately deposited in full into HTX, presumably for sale. Since September 2025, Sun has transferred a total of $19.08 million worth of SPK — 610 million tokens — to exchanges.