Decentral Block Post

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has signed a bill into law allowing the US state to keep unclaimed crypto and establish a “Bitcoin Reserve Fund” that won’t use any taxpayer money or state funds.

Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 into law on May 7, which allows Arizona to claim ownership of abandoned digital assets if the owner fails to respond to communications within three years.

The state’s custodians can stake the crypto to earn rewards or receive airdrops, which can then be deposited into what Arizona has called a Bitcoin and Digital Asset Reserve Fund.

“This law ensures Arizona doesn’t leave value sitting on the table and puts us in a position to lead the country in how we secure, manage, and ultimately benefit from abandoned digital currency,” the bill’s sponsor, Jeff Weninger, said in a May 7 statement.

Arizona House Representative Jeff Weninger’s statement on the signing of HB 2749 into law. Source: Jeff Weninger

“We’ve built a structure that protects property rights, respects ownership, and gives the state tools to account for a new category of value in the economy,” Weninger added.

Binance founder and convicted felon Changpeng Zhao says that he applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump shortly after denying reports that he was seeking one.

Zhao, also known as CZ, said on a Farokh Radio podcast episode aired May 6 that he “wouldn’t mind” a pardon and that his lawyers have already filed the paperwork on his behalf

“I got lawyers applying,” Zhao said, adding that he submitted the request after Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported in March that he was seeking a pardon from Trump amid discussions of a business deal between the Trump family and Binance.US.

Zhao denied the reports at the time, but said on the podcast that he thought “if they’re writing this article, I may as well just officially apply.”

He added that Trump’s pardon of three BitMEX founders, including Arthur Hayes, also motivated him to submit an application.

Stripe, a global payments platform, has introduced stablecoin-based accounts to clients in over 100 countries.

According to a May 7 announcement, the new feature will allow the platform's clients "to send, receive, and hold US-dollar stablecoin account balances, similar to how a traditional fiat bank account works."

The product's technical page shows that the new account feature will support Circle's USDC (USDC) and Bridge's USDB (USDB) stablecoins. Stripe acquired the Bridge platform in October 2024.

The product will be available to clients in more than 100 countries, including Argentina, Chilé, Turkey, Colombia, and Peru, among others.

Stripe's newly launched product comes at a time when stablecoins are increasingly seen as stores of value in developing economies struggling with high inflation, capital controls, and a lack of financial infrastructure.

The stablecoin market cap has crossed $231 billion and continues to grow due to international demand for US dollar tokens. Source: RWA.XYZ

Related: Stablecoin fever: 5 major stablecoins are growing crypto adoption

Brokerage fintech Robinhood is reportedly developing a blockchain network that will enable retail investors in Europe to trade US securities.

According to a May 7 Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the matter, the move seeks to expand the company's local presence by offering trading of tokenized securities, such as stocks.

Two crypto firms, Arbitrum and the Solana Foundation, are reportedly vying to become partners in the project. Tokenization is the process of turning real-world assets, like stocks, real estate, or commodities, into digital tokens that can be traded on a blockchain.

Tokenizing securities instead of providing direct exposure can offer several advantages: reduced costs by eliminating traditional financial infrastructure, enhanced accessibility, faster settlement times, and quicker transactions. More brokerages and investment firms are exploring asset tokenization.

Robinhood has been preparing to enter the European market. In April 2025, it acquired a brokerage license in Lithuania that allows the firm to offer investment services throughout the European Union. Robinhood has also inked a deal in 2024 to purchase crypto exchange Bitstamp.

What to know:

Lyn Alden says a weaker dollar is necessary for the US to stabilize its financial system.

Bitcoin and gold are well-positioned to benefit from de-dollarization.

Sovereign wealth funds and various nations are already increasing their Bitcoin exposure as the dollar’s global dominance starts to wane.

The weakening of the US dollar (DXY) is no longer headline news. With mounting disruptions across the US economy, a declining greenback has become part of the backdrop. Since the start of 2025, the US Dollar Index has dropped 11%, now hovering around levels last seen in April 2022. Markets have largely responded with a shrug. After all, in times of deep restructuring, isn’t some dollar weakness to be expected?

Braden John Karony, the former CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon, made an out-of-court statement claiming innocence as his criminal trial began in New York.

In a May 6 X post after court proceedings had likely ended for the day, Karony said he was innocent and “did not commit fraud” in response to media coverage of his trial. The former CEO, as well as SafeMoon creator Kyle Nagy and former chief technology officer Thomas Smith, were charged in 2023 for having allegedly “diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth” of the platform’s SFM token.

According to reporting from the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) on May 6, Karony implied that Nagy, who reportedly fled to Russia after authorities filed charges, was responsible for some of the alleged fraud at SafeMoon. On the first day of the trial, after jury selection, Smith reportedly appeared as a witness for the prosecution with a SafeMoon victim.

The trial, expected to run until May 26, has arguably received less media attention and scrutiny than other crypto cases, such as the 2023 trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Karony pleaded not guilty to charges of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and has been free on a $3 million bond since February 2024.

Related: What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?

Binance-affiliated BNB Chain has rebounded after a period of stagnation in 2023 amid accelerating institutional and decentralized finance (DeFi) adoption. 

During the past year, BNB Chain has benefited from multibillion-dollar inflows into DeFi, US exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and rising trading volume at affiliated centralized exchange (CEX) Binance. 

Consequently, the blockchain network’s native BNB token (BNB) has emerged as among the market’s most resilient cryptocurrencies, surpassing all-time highs in the first quarter of 2025 even as the broader crypto market trended downward. 

“This resilience isn't just about price action — strong fundamentals also back it,” Joao Wedson, CEO of investing analytics platform Alphractal, said in an April X post. “Binance has built a massive ecosystem where BNB is used extensively,” Wedson added.

Asset manager Standard Chartered expects the BNB token’s price to continue to rise, reaching highs of $2,775 by the end of 2028. As of May 7, BNB trades at around $600 per coin. It has a market capitalization of nearly $85 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Key takeaways:

Reclaiming the $2,200 level remains the first price challenge for ETH. 

ETH price could recover if the Pectra upgrade leads to a surge in DApp and Ethereum network activity. 

Ethereum successfully implemented a key network upgrade on May 7, but Ether (ETH) price and its derivatives metrics showed little response to the upgrade. The lackluster response surprised traders and led analysts to question whether ETH still has a real chance of climbing 22% to retake the $2,200 level.

Ether 30-day futures annualized premium. Source: Laevitas.ch

The ETH futures premium has remained below the 5% neutral threshold, indicating a lack of appetite from leveraged bulls. More significantly, this indicator was unchanged at 3% after the Pectra upgrade, suggesting traders did not adjust their positions despite the upgrade’s successful deployment. 

Onchain sleuth and security analyst ZackXBT claims to have identified an additional $45 million in funds stolen from Coinbase users through social engineering scams in the past seven days alone.

According to the onchain detective, the $45 million figure represents the latest financial losses in a string of social engineering scams targeting Coinbase users, which ZackXBT said is a problem unique among crypto exchanges:

"Over the past few months, I have reported on nine figures stolen from Coinbase users via similar social engineering scams. Interestingly, no other major exchange has the same problem."

Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase but was unable to get a response by the time of publication.

Source: ZachXBT

The claims made by ZackXBT place the total amount lost by Coinbase users to social engineering scams at $330 million annually and reflect the growing number of sophisticated attack strategies employed by threat actors to defraud crypto holders.

Related: $330M Bitcoin social engineering theft victim is elderly US citizen

Speaking at a hearing, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested support for two crypto-related bills moving through Congress.

Bessent addressed lawmakers at a May 7 hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, saying that the United States should be the “premier destination for digital assets” in response to a question about American dominance over China in crypto-related innovation. The Treasury Secretary added that “good market structure” and “stablecoin legislation” could help ensure this outcome.

US Treasury Secretary speaking at a May 7 hearing. Source: Scott Bessent

Bessent’s remarks echoed those of other Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who initially claimed he wanted to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” during his 2024 campaign. The Treasury Secretary was likely referring to the draft of a digital asset market structure bill released by House Republicans on May 6 and the GENIUS bill to regulate stablecoins, expected to be taken up for a vote in the Senate on May 8.

The Treasury Secretary, a Trump nominee, has stood by the president for significant announcements in crypto-aligned policy, including an executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund and as a member of a working group to explore federal regulations for stablecoins and a national crypto stockpile. He suggested during a confirmation hearing that he would oppose the creation of any US-issued central bank digital currency while in office.

Related: Bitcoin ‘Realized Cap’ hits $890B as BTC traders focus on recapturing $100K

Threat group COLDRIVER is using new malware to steal documents from Western targets, according to a May 7 report from Google Threat Intelligence. The malware, called LOSTKEYS, shows the evolution of the group from credential phishing to more sophisticated attacks.

According to the Google report, the new malware is installed through four steps. The process involves a “lure website” with a fake CAPTCHA, a PowerShell script downloaded to the user’s clipboard, some device evasion, and retrieval of the final payload. Lastly, the malware is installed.

LOSTKEYS payload delivery. Source: Google

LOSTKEYS is capable of stealing files from extensions and directories. It can also send system information and running processes back to COLDRIVER. The address from which the parts of the attack come is “165.227.148[.]68” according to Google.

The company says it has already taken steps to mitigate any damage the LOSTKEYS malware will cause, including adding the malicious websites to the company’s “Safe Browsing” feature.

According to Google, COLDRIVER is a Russian-backed threat group that typically engages in phishing attempts at high-profile Western targets, such as former diplomats, and journalists. In January 2024, it started an attack with a malware called “Spica,” which can execute arbitrary shell commands and download or upload software.

Key Takeaways:

Bitcoin’s realized capitalization hit a record $890 billion, reflecting strong investor conviction as long-term and short-term holders increased allocations.

Large Bitcoin holders with over 1,000 BTC have accumulated significantly since March 2025, reflecting the Q1 2024 trend.

Bitcoin (BTC) price saw a short-squeeze above $97,000 on May 6, shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that trade talks would commence with China on May 10. At the same time, BTC’s realized capitalization, a metric adding the dollar value of all coins at their last moved price, soared to a new all-time high of $890 billion on May 7, 2025. The surge also marks the metric’s third consecutive week of record-breaking growth.

Bitcoin realized cap. Source: CryptoQuant

The realized cap’s rise highlights the total investment held by Bitcoin owners, with long-term holders (LTHs) and short-term holders (STHs) increasing their positions. It reflects investors’ conviction, signaling a potential anticipation for a price breakout. 

Strive Asset Management, founded by entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has revealed plans to transition into a Bitcoin treasury company.

According to a May 7 announcement, Strive is going public through a reverse merger and plans to use the combined company’s stock to accumulate Bitcoin (BTC).

The deal will see Strive merging with Asset Entities — a social media marketing company listed on the Nasdaq. The combined entity will operate under the Strive brand and use its access to the public equity markets to finance Bitcoin purchases, the company said. 

Once the deal closes, Strive plans to issue approximately $1 billion in equity and debt and use the proceeds to accumulate BTC. The asset manager “intends to use all available mechanisms to build a Bitcoin war chest […] and build a long-term investment approach designed to outperform Bitcoin,” it said.

Strive plans to allow “Bitcoin holders to contribute Bitcoin in exchange for public stock through a structure that is intended to be tax-free,” it said. As of May 7, the company manages approximately $2 billion in net assets across a variety of funds. 

Key points:

Bitcoin price hangs near $97,000 as traders await today’s FOMC minutes.

Bitcoin holding $95,000 as support is key for bullish price expansion in the short term.

Select altcoins are holding their respective support levels, opening the gates for a short-term rally.

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls are trying to knock down the immediate resistance at $97,895 and challenge the all-important $100,000 level. Crypto analytics platform Santiment said in a post on X that Bitcoin wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 Bitcoin are positive about further gains as they have acquired 81,338 Bitcoin over the past six weeks.

The Bybit exchange has recovered its liquidity to pre-hack levels just 30 days following the February 2025 attack that drained nearly $1.5 billion in funds.

According to a report from crypto research and analytics firm Kaiko, Bitcoin's (BTC) 1% market depth, a measure of liquidity, returned to pre-hack levels of around $13 million per day in March 2025.

Bitcoin liquidity on Bybit exchange rebounds to pre-hack levels. Source: Kaiko

Altcoin liquidity levels on the exchange have been slower to recover than Bitcoin but have rebounded to around 80% of the pre-hack levels. The authors of the Kaiko report added:

"This lag is largely due to the risk-off market environment, which has impacted altcoins more severely. While Bitcoin is still seen as a risky asset, it remains the crypto market’s safe haven."

Overall, the exchange's trading volumes remain in recovery; however, the report notes that this drop reflects the broader market trend in response to the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty that has rattled risk asset markets and is not an effect of the biggest hack in crypto history.

Altcoin liquidity on the platform has been slower to recover than Bitcoin liquidity. Source: Kaiko

Related: Hacken CEO sees ‘no shift’ in crypto security as April hacks hit $357M

At least some of the top holders of Donald Trump’s memecoin who apply to attend a private dinner with the president could be based outside the United States.

According to a May 7 Bloomberg report based on an analysis of the top TRUMP tokenholders, 19 of the top 25 wallets on the leaderboard used foreign exchanges that exclude US-based customers, suggesting either foreign nationals or Americans living abroad. In addition, more than half of the top 220 holders — the group eligible to apply for a dinner with the president — also used exchanges in other countries.

Top 10 TRUMP memecoin holders as of May. 7. Source: Trump meme

As of May 7, the identities of the top tokenholders and those who might choose to apply for the May 22 Trump dinner and “special VIP tour” were unknown. However, the project stated that anyone who applied could not bring guests, had to pass a background check, and “can not be from a [Know Your Customer] watchlist country.” 

The implications of having dozens or hundreds of memecoin holders potentially tied to foreign governments and interest groups have raised ethics concerns from some US lawmakers, claiming that Trump was engaging in “pay-to-play” corruption. At least one senator has called for the president’s impeachment, saying Trump was “selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him.”

Memecoin concerns are slowing crypto legislation

Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate have already been pushing back against considering any crypto-related legislation until Republicans address concerns around “Trump’s crypto corruption.” The Senate is expected to vote on a bill regulating stablecoins on May 8, and House Republicans recently introduced a discussion draft of a digital asset market structure bill.

Key points:

Bitcoin investors are making the most of the highest price levels in several months by cashing out profits.

These are averaging $1 billion per day, leading to concerns that the market comeback may stall or even reverse.

Institutional participation has not led to a change in mindset, CryptoQuant says.

Bitcoin (BTC) risks a “local top or sharp correction” if current levels of profit-taking continue, new research warns.

Opinion by: Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Avail 

On paper, SocialFi is a no-brainer. It promises to shift the balance of power in social media — giving people control over how their content and personal data are used and monetized. It even offers users a stake in the $200+ billion social media advertising market, a pie currently devoured almost entirely by giants like Meta.

And yet, SocialFi platforms today feel more like digital ghost towns than the bustling hubs of Web2. Friend.tech, hailed as a breakout star in 2023, peaked at just 80,000 daily active users before falling below 10,000. What's holding SocialFi back? Why does it seem to be following Friend.tech's fade into obscurity rather than rising to rival Facebook's dominance?

The harsh reality is that decentralized social networks have largely failed to attract and retain mainstream users despite genuine enthusiasm from Web3 communities. The fundamental promise of user ownership, data portability, and monetization remains compelling — but deep structural issues bottleneck adoption.

The technical hurdles

Blockchain infrastructure was never designed for the high-throughput, low-latency demands of social networking. Social media users expect instant results when posting pictures, liking comments, or following new accounts — actions that generate hundreds of millions of transactions daily across platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X.

Safeheron, a digital asset infrastructure provider based in Singapore, has introduced an open-source Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) framework. This solution could bolster security and privacy for Web3 in sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi), payment services, and decentralized autonomous organizations.

The TEE framework is the first built upon the native Intel SGX SDK and developed using modern C++, a general-purpose object-oriented programming language often used for operating systems, game development, and high-powered computing.

Safeheron decided to open-source the framework because the company had seen growing concerns across the industry about closed, opaque systems, especially as security incidents have become more widespread.

Related: Fully onchain AI agents can be the key to a more open AI future — Here’s why

“We’re not threatened by competitors,” Safeheron CEO Wade Wang told Cointelegraph. “What worries us is slow innovation due to closed systems.”

Key takeaways:

XRP price is up 2% on May 7, buoyed by US-China trade talk optimism, with key support at $2.08 critical for sustained recovery.

Whale accumulation signals XRP price strength.

XRP price must hold above $1.83–$2.00 support to continue upside, analysts say.

XRP (XRP) price displayed strength on May 7, rising 2% over the last 24 hours after news of possible US-China trade talks flipped investor sentiment. 

Payments behemoth Visa has invested in BVNK, a London-based startup focused on stablecoin payment infrastructure, signaling continued interest in digital asset innovation.

According to a May 7 BVNK announcement, the startup “secured a strategic investment from Visa through their Visa Ventures arm.” Furthermore, while the company does not explain fully what it entails, it refers to the investment as “more than capital” and describes it as a partnership. The company’s CEO, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, wrote:

“I’m particularly excited about what it means to partner with Visa—the original payments innovator. Their deep expertise in building global payment networks, combined with our stablecoin infrastructure, creates powerful possibilities for redefining how businesses operate in today’s digital economy.“BVNK-VISA partnership image. Source: BVNK

Rubail Birwadker, head of products and partnerships at Visa, explained that “stablecoins are fast becoming a part of global payment flows.” He said that Visa invests in new technologies and builders, such as BVNK, who are involved in “what’s next in commerce to better serve our clients and partners.”

Related: Stablecoin fever: 5 major stablecoins are growing crypto adoption

BVNK is on a roll

Visa’s investment in BVNK follows the stablecoin infrastructure company closing a $50 million Series B funding round led by Haun Ventures at the end of 2024, with plans to expand into the United States. The round saw the participation of industry heavyweights including Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, DRW VC, and existing investors Avenir and Tiger Global.

In an industry filled with complexity, jargon and mistrust, women in Web3 say that the way to attract more women into the crypto space starts with clarity, education and community. 

At the Blockchain Baddies side event during Token2049 in Dubai, women shared personal experiences of entering the Web3 world and why they believe more female participation is essential for the future of crypto.

In interviews with Cointelegraph, community members said the path forward begins with simplifying technical concepts and fostering environments where women can learn and grow.

Women in Web3 share experiences in the crypto space. Source: Cointelegraph

From providing clarity to building skills 

From simplifying technical language to creating safe spaces for learning, women in Web3 said that demystifying crypto and making tools more intuitive can unlock more opportunities for women to enter the Web3 industry. 

Caroline York, the marketing director of Web3 firm Serotonin, said that making the space more welcoming to women starts with clarity. “In order to attract more women, we’ve got to make the information much more digestible and a lot clearer,” she said.

USD1, the US dollar stablecoin launched by the President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has become the seventh-largest stablecoin worldwide in just two months since its launch.

WLFI’s snapshot vote for a USD1 airdrop proposal is underway, and USD1’s market capitalization has continued to climb.

Launched in early March with a $3.5 million supply, USD1 has expanded into a market cap of $2.2 billion at the time of writing, leaving rival stablecoins First Digital USD (FDUSD), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Tether Gold (XAUT) behind, according to data from CoinGecko.

Top 10 stablecoins by market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko

Although rising fast, the USD1 market cap is still far from the market value of major stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), whose market caps are worth $149 billion and $61 billion, respectively.

BNB Chain drives USD1 issuance

Trump-backed USD1 is almost exclusively issued on Binance-backed BNB Chain. According to data from BscScan, as much as $2.1 billion of all USD1 supply is issued on BNB Chain, accounting for more than 99% of its total circulating supply, while an Ethereum-based version accounts for just $14.5 million, according to Etherscan.

Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy quietly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania, reportedly leaving behind unplugged wells and regulatory violations.

The site, known as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for nearly a decade when Diversified began using it to fuel on-site generators powering cryptocurrency mining computers, according to a report by the Erie Times-News.

Per the report, the operation was launched without obtaining an air quality permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Though the company was later granted the permit in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already removed the mining infrastructure.

Empty metallic sheds and missing production equipment led the DEP to issue a formal violation notice for well abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the site was abandoned, saying that it may resume gas production.

Bitcoin holders are becoming more comfortable borrowing against their crypto as market confidence grows, according to Seamus Rocca, CEO of the Gibraltar-based private bank, Xapo Bank. 

In an interview at the Token2049 event in Dubai, Rocca told Cointelegraph that with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $95,000 and institutional adoption starting to catch on, the mood among investors has shifted from short-term speculation to a more long-term outlook. 

“I’m not sure that confidence would have been there three or four years ago,” Rocca told Cointelegraph. “But today, people are more comfortable to borrow against Bitcoin because we’re nowhere near the levels that would trigger liquidation.”

On March 18, Xapo Bank launched a lending product that allows users to borrow US dollars using their Bitcoin as collateral. With the product, qualified clients can access up to $1 million in loans while keeping their BTC.

Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca at the Token2049 media lounge. Source: Cointelegraph

Bitcoin-backed loans are an “obvious” next step

Rocca told Cointelegraph that growing confidence in crypto’s long-term trajectory had fueled demand for the product. This has been driven by developments leading to broader institutional adoption. 

Several crypto-focused organizations — including Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies — are eyeing a US return, primarily driven by uncertain geopolitical tensions. Still, BTC miner Hive Digital Technologies is doubling down on the untapped potential of the Latin American (LATAM) market.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Hive Digital Technologies’ president and CEO, Aydin Kilic, said that Paraguay presents a compelling long-term opportunity equipped with “geopolitical stability, low-cost hydro energy, and a government open to foreign investment”.

Picking up from where Bitfarms left off

Hive acquired Bitfarms’ 200 megawatt (MW) Yguazú facility for $56 million in January. Phase one infrastructure of a 100 MW data center at the site was completed in April, supporting five exahashes per second (EH/s) of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining.

Hive plans to expand to 300 MW of mining facilities in Paraguay in 2025. It aims to increase its hashrate to 25 EH/s by September.

Related: Bitfarms sells Paraguay site to Hive for $85M, refocuses on US

Key takeaways:

Inter Milan Fan Token jumped 10.5% after beating Barcelona, showing a direct price correlation with match outcomes.

PSG and AFC fan tokens signal breakout patterns ahead of the Champions League semifinal.

Crypto betting odds favor PSG over Inter Milan, influencing fan token trading volumes and short-term price setups.

The Inter Milan Fan Token ($INTER) rallied sharply after Inter Milan’s 4-3 victory over Barcelona FC in the Champions League semifinal on May 6, rising nearly 10.50% on match day and maintaining gains at $1.19 as of May 7.

Ethereum — the network that unleashed smart contracts on the world — moves on to the next chapter with today’s Pectra upgrade, but what does it mean?

Pectra went live on the Ethereum mainnet at the start of epoch 364032, May 7, 2025, at about 10:00 am UTC. The three main Ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs) included are EIP-7702, EIP-7251 and EIP-7691.

Source: Ethereum.org

EIP-7702 allows externally owned accounts to act as smart contracts and cover gas expenses (transaction fees) and payments in tokens that are not Ether (ETH). EIP-7251 increases the validator staking limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, which makes operations for large stakers easier and simpler.

Finally, EIP-7691 increases the number of data blobs per block, which allows for better layer-2 scalability and potentially significantly reduces transaction fees. Sergej Kunz, co-founder of Ethereum decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch, said Pectra “introduces ‘smart account’ functionality” at deeper protocol levels and “improves Ethereum’s scalability” through layer-2 solutions.

Related: Ethereum to simplify crosschain transactions with new token standards

Bhutan, known for investments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, has launched a tourism crypto payment system in partnership with Binance Pay and DK Bank.

The system allows Bhutan travelers with Binance accounts to pay for services like tickets, hotel stays, tour guides and other products using at least 100 different crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), USDC (USDC) and Binance-backed BNB (BNB).

The initiative also opens a payment gateway for businesses in Bhutan, enabling them to accept crypto payments through a QR code on a phone, according to an announcement by Binance on May 7.

“This is more than a payment solution — it’s a commitment to innovation, inclusion, and convenience,” said Damcho Rinzin, director of Bhutan’s tourism department.

Benefits for small businesses in remote areas

The partnership specifically targets small businesses in Bhutan, such as vendors and rural artisans who may never have had access to card terminals or payment infrastructure.