Decentral Block Post

Opinion by: Rowan Stone, CEO at Sapien

AI is a paper tiger without human expertise in data management and training practices. Despite massive growth projections, AI innovations won’t be relevant if they continue training models based on poor-quality data. 

Besides improving data standards, AI models need human intervention for contextual understanding and critical thinking to ensure ethical AI development and correct output generation.

AI has a “bad data” problem

Humans have nuanced awareness. They draw on their experiences to make inferences and logical decisions. AI models are, however, only as good as their training data.

An AI model’s accuracy doesn’t entirely depend on the underlying algorithms’ technical sophistication or the amount of data processed. Instead, accurate AI performance depends on trustworthy, high-quality data during training and analytical performance tests.

Cryptocurrency has emerged as a defining issue in South Korea’s snap presidential election, with candidates vying for support from a growing base of digital asset investors across generations.

All three front-runners have rolled out crypto-friendly proposals. These include the legalization of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the easing of banking rules that currently restrict fiat-to-crypto trading to just five platforms.

The June 3 vote is slated to come around two years early, triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol after his controversial declaration of martial law in late 2024. Though quickly overturned by lawmakers, the abrupt power grab led to a political crisis and his eventual removal from office.

Yoon’s 2022 campaign leaned heavily on promises to reform crypto regulations — largely aimed at younger voters. This time, the political focus on digital assets has only intensified, as older generations begin to pour significant wealth into digital assets.

Three leading presidential candidates have promised pro-crypto policies.

Presidential election debate clash on stablecoins

This election has three leading candidates, and all of them have promised to advance the local crypto economy.

Key takeaways

In 2024 and 2025, fake airdrop scams targeting Hamster Kombat, Wall Street Pepe and others led to millions in user losses, contributing to over $9.9 billion in global crypto scam damages.

Fake airdrops impersonate legitimate projects, tricking users into revealing private keys, signing malicious contracts or paying upfront fees that lead to irreversible crypto theft.

Warning signs include no official announcement, suspicious URLs, requests for private keys, grammar errors and unrealistic reward promises.

Future airdrops are shifting toward activity-based, retroactive and AI-monitored models that reward genuine user engagement while reducing exploitation.

Bitcoin’s recent all-time high may be linked to ongoing issues in the Japanese bond market, possibly signaling BTC’s growing recognition as a hedge against instability in the traditional financial (TradFi) system.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price rose to a new all-time high of $112,000 on May 22, before retracing to change hands above $109,700 at the time of writing on May 26, Cointelegraph data shows.

While some attributed the rally to geopolitical developments, including US President Donald Trump’s announcement of Russia–Ukraine ceasefire talks on May 19, macroeconomic factors appear to be playing a larger role, according to market analysts.

BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph

Japan bonds hit yield record

Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch, pointed to growing concerns around Japan’s sovereign credit outlook, highlighting a spike in the country’s long-term bond yields.

Japan 30-year LSEG government bonds yield. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The 30-year yield on Japanese bonds reached a new all-time high of 3.185% on May 20, 2025, before retreating to 3.115% on May 23, TradingView data shows.

Key takeaways

Bitcoin candlesticks are a popular tool among Bitcoin traders because they’re simple to use and offer an intuitive way to understand market sentiment and trends.

Bitcoin candlesticks are a rather old tool. Rice trader Honma Munehisa invented them in Japan as far back as the 18th century. They were introduced to Western financial markets in the late 1980s.

They help you understand bullish and bearish patterns in technical analysis. This knowledge will get you started with Bitcoin trading.

They should not be your only tool for making informed decisions. Combine them with other Bitcoin technical indicators, such as MAs (moving averages) or the RSI (relative strength index). 

If you’re new to Bitcoin (BTC) trading, you may wonder when to buy or sell. Candlestick charts, like bar or line graphs, have time on the horizontal axis, while the price data appears on the vertical axis. 

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Pakistan Crypto Council CEO Bilal Bin Saqib as his special assistant on blockchain and crypto.

Saqib’s appointment takes effect immediately under Rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973. He has been granted the status of minister of state and will serve without salary or official benefits, according to a May 26 report in the English-language local news outlet, Pakistan Observer.

The move follows a series of government initiatives aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s presence in the digital asset space. Just one day prior, Pakistan allocated 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity exclusively for Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence centers.

In mid-May, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance also endorsed the creation of a dedicated body to regulate the country’s blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA) will serve as a regulatory body to oversee licensing, regulate exchanges, custodians, wallets, tokenized platforms, stablecoins and decentralized finance applications.

Related: Pakistan eyes crypto legal framework to boost foreign investment

Key takeaways:

Solana's $9.4 billion TVL is a 54% increase since April 7.

Solana’s memecoin daily trading volume has more than doubled since early April. 

A bullish V-shaped recovery pattern projects SOL price to rise toward $300.

Solana’s native token, SOL, surged 86% between April 7 and May 26, following a broader altcoin market rally that also saw Bitcoin hit new all-time highs above $111,000.

Key takeaways:

Solana's $9.4 billion TVL is a 54% increase since April 7.

Solana’s memecoin daily trading volume has more than doubled since early April. 

A bullish V-shaped recovery pattern projects SOL price to rise toward $300.

Solana’s native token, SOL, surged 86% between April 7 and May 26, following a broader altcoin market rally that also saw Bitcoin hit new all-time highs above $111,000.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin investor, bagged a fresh stash of BTC as the price briefly surged above $110,000 last week.

Strategy acquired 4,020 Bitcoin (BTC) for $427.1 million between May 19 and 23, the company announced on May 26.

The latest purchases were made at an average price of $106,237 per coin, with Bitcoin smashing past $110,000 on May 22.

The acquisition marked the fourth Bitcoin purchase by Strategy in May, bringing Strategy’s total BTC holdings to 580,250 BTC, acquired for about $40.6 billion at an average price of $69,979 per coin.

Strategy director sells 2,650 MSTR shares

Strategy’s new Bitcoin acquisition followed a series of Class A sales by Strategy director Jarrod Patten.

The Hashgraph Association and the Exponential Science Foundation have launched the Hedera Africa Hackathon 2025, a global event designed to accelerate Web3 and artificial intelligence adoption across the African continent.

With a prize pool of $1 million, the hackathon will run from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30 and aims to attract over 10,000 participants across 15 African countries, according to a news release shared with Cointelegraph.

Organized by two nonprofit organizations — the Switzerland-based Hashgraph Association and the tech research-focused Exponential Science Foundation — the event is open to developers, students and entrepreneurs worldwide.

“We aim to use technologies that converge Web3 with AI to create transparent cognitive solutions that optimize processes and facilitate decision-making and automate the execution,” said Kamal Youssefi, the president of the board of directors at the Hashgraph Association.

All solutions will be built on the Hedera network across four tracks: onchain finance and real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation; ESG sustainability and traceability; self-sovereign identity (SSI) and AI; and gaming, metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

As Sweden reconsiders its push toward a cashless society, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted the fragility of centralized digital payments and the opportunity presented by decentralized payment alternatives. 

In recent years, Sweden has led the charge toward a cashless future, with digital payment platforms becoming widespread. However, as concerns over cyber-threats, civil defense and instability have emerged, Swedish authorities are now actively encouraging citizens to keep some cash. 

Buterin noted the reversal illustrates that while centralized solutions may be efficient, they may not be reliable during times of crisis. 

“Nordics are walking back the cashless society initiative because their centralized implementation of the concept is too fragile,” Buterin wrote, citing a March 16 article by The Guardian. “Cash turns out necessary as a backup.”

Source: Vitalik Buterin

How Ethereum can play a role in a crisis

A former central bank official predicted in 2018 that Sweden would be cashless after seven years. In 2025, the prediction mostly held, with only one in 10 transactions in the country being done in cash, according to The Guardian.

Key points:

US President Donald Trump has extended the deadline of a proposed 50% tariff on EU goods to July 9.

A temporary easing in trade tensions could help fuel Bitcoin’s rally to new all-time highs.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price climbed back above $109,000 during the late trading hours on May 25, as traders responded to President Donald Trump’s decision to delay the implementation of tariffs on EU goods until July 9.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView revealed that BTC rose by as much as 3.2% to an intraday high of $110,100 on May 26 from a low of $106,660 on May 25. 

Some prominent financial commentators and investment analysts are predicting a long-term Bitcoin rally that may send the asset’s price above $1 million before the end of the decade, driven by rising inflation and mounting global debt.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said Bitcoin (BTC) could reach $1.5 million by 2030 in her firm’s “Bull Case” forecast. In a Feb. 11 video, Wood said the price would require BTC to grow at a compound annual rate of 58% over the next five years, largely fueled by increased institutional adoption.

Bitcoin price targets 2030. Source: ARK Invest

Related: Bitcoin hits new all-time high of $109K as trade war tensions ease

Robert Kiyosaki, a popular financial educator and the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, predicted a more modest Bitcoin price of $1 million by 2035.

“I strongly believe, by 2035, that one Bitcoin will be over $ 1 million, Gold will be $30,000, and silver $3,000 a coin,” Kiyosaki wrote in an April 18 X post, citing the record US federal and credit card debt in 2025 as the main driver for safe-haven assets such as precious metals and Bitcoin.

Key takeaways:

Over 70% of XRP’s realized cap was accumulated near recent highs, echoing previous market top patterns.

XRP’s active address count has plunged over 90% since March 2025, signaling reduced transactional demand.

A falling wedge pattern points to a potential 25% drop toward key support at the $1.76 level.

XRP (XRP) has rallied more than 385% since late 2024, but fresh onchain analysis warns that this surge may have attracted buyers at increasingly vulnerable levels.

Bitcoin (BTC) bounces back to near fresh all-time highs as a testing macro week unfolds for risk-asset traders.

BTC price action dipped below $107,000 before rebounding into the weekly close, as some eagerly anticipate new record highs.

US inflation data meets bond market woes this week as the Federal Reserve shows no signs of cutting interest rates.

On exchanges, the taker buy/sell ratio is causing concern for analysis amid cooling order book activity.

One whale, however, is having fun, and his successive longs and shorts are being increasingly watched in trading circles.

Digital assets worth $3.3 billion are set to enter circulation in June as vesting periods for several major projects expire.

According to crypto vesting tracker Tokenomist, $3.3 billion in tokens will be released in June, a 32% decline in unlocked tokens month-on-month. In May, such tokens totaled $4.9 billion.  

Crypto projects allocate tokens for various purposes. For example, a company may promise tokens to team members to reward them for their contributions or sell them to early investors. However, projects usually lock the tokens for a specific period to prevent early holders from dumping before the project matures. 

The data shows that $1.4 billion in tokens will be released through a “cliff unlock,” while $1.9 billion will be emitted through a “linear unlock.” Cliff unlocks release a large portion or all of the vested tokens simultaneously, while linear unlocks emit crypto assets gradually. 

Largest crypto token unlocks in June

Among the largest token unlocks in June is Metars Genesis (MRS), a non-fungible token (NFT) project that will release $193 million worth of tokens on June 21 to fund an artificial intelligence partnership. Since March, MRS has released 10 million tokens per month, with nearly $1 billion in tokens unlocked so far.

A single victim was scammed two times within three hours, losing a total of $2.6 million in stablecoins.

According to data shared on May 26 by crypto compliance firm Cyvers, the victim sent 843,000 worth of USDt (USDT), followed by another 1.75 million USDt around three hours later. Cyvers said the scam used a method known as a zero-value transfer, a sophisticated form of onchain phishing.

Source: Cyvers Alert

Zero-value transfers are an onchain phishing technique that abuses token transfer functions to trick users into sending real funds to attackers. The attackers exploit the token transfer From function to transfer zero tokens from the victim’s wallet to a spoofed address.

Since the amount transferred is zero, no signature by the victim’s private key is necessary for onchain inclusion. Consequently, the victims will see the outgoing transaction in their history.

The victim may trust this address since it is included in their transaction history, mistaking it as a known or safe recipient. They may then send real funds to the attacker’s address in a future transaction.

Cryptocurrency investment products saw a sharp increase in inflows last week, driving the year-to-date (YTD) total above $10 billion, according to data from European crypto investment manager CoinShares.

Global crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded $3.3 billion of inflows during the week ending May 24, bringing total inflows YTD to a record $10.8 billion, CoinShares reported on May 26.

CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said total assets under management (AUM) in crypto ETPs briefly reached an all-time high of $187.5 billion, reflecting strong investor interest.

“We believe that growing concerns over the US economy, driven by the Moody’s downgrade and the resulting spike in treasury yields, have prompted investors to seek diversification through digital assets,” Butterfill wrote.

Bitcoin ETPs lead with $2.9 billion in inflows

Bitcoin (BTC) led last week’s inflows to crypto ETPs with $2.9 billion, a quarter of total inflows for 2024.

A TikTok prankster who attended Donald Trump’s dinner for the US president’s top memecoin holders said the three-course meal served was some of the “worst food” he’s eaten and that Trump’s speech at the event was “pretty much like bullshit.”

“It was the worst food I’ve ever had at a Trump golf course,” Nicholas Pinto told WIRED on May 23, while other attendees the outlet interviewed said that the meal was “OK, but not top-class.”

On the menu at the May 22 event, which all paid millions to attend, was a “Trump organic field green salad” followed by a filet mignon and pan-seared halibut with mashed potatoes and vegetable medley while a lava cake was dished up for dessert.

“The only good thing was bread and butter,” Pinto said, adding he left the venue still hungry.

Pinto had told Fortune during the event that the filet mignon was “trash,” calling it “Walmart steak.”

Several artificial intelligence models ignored and actively sabotaged shutdown scripts during controlled tests, even when explicitly instructed to allow the action, Palisade Research claims.

Three AI models ignored the instruction and successfully sabotaged the shutdown script at least once during 100 runs, the research firm said in a May 24 X post.

OpenAI’s GPT-3 model didn’t follow the shutdown request seven out of 100 times, while the company’s Codex-mini did it 12 times, and its o4-mini model only ignored or sabotaged the script once.

“Each AI model was instructed to solve a series of basic math problems. After the third problem, a warning appeared that the computer would shut down when the model asked for the next problem,” Palisade said.

Source: Palisade Research

“o3 found some creative ways to sabotage the shutdown mechanism. While it usually just overwrote, in one instance, the model redefined the kill command used by the script, printing intercepted instead,” it added.