News

Odaily reports that Bernstein stated in its latest research note that the latest yield compromise reached in the U.S. CLARITY Act structurally benefits Circle and the USDC ecosystem. According to the report, the current version of the act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest to passive holders that is “economically equivalent” to bank deposit interest, but allows reward mechanisms related to real transactions, payments, and usage to continue. Bernstein believes this means that Circle’s current model of offering USDC rewards via exchange partners will receive regulatory approval, while also limiting the industry's space to compete for market share through high yields. Bernstein points out that the act effectively reinforces stablecoins’ positioning as “payment tools” rather than “deposit substitutes,” which helps protect Circle’s current business model that relies on reserve returns. It maintains its “outperform” rating for Circle and a $190 target price. Data shows that the total global supply of dollar stablecoins has now exceeded $300 billion, with USDT and USDC together accounting for about 97% of the market share. Bernstein notes that USDC’s share in on-chain payments and wallet transfers continues to increase, and its share in the AI Agent payment protocol x402 now exceeds 99%. Additionally, Bernstein mentioned that Circle’s ARC chain has completed a cumulative 244 million testnet transactions, and the ARC token presale has previously raised $222 million, with investors including a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, and BlackRock among others. However, the report also noted that the CLARITY Act still needs to complete several legislative procedures before it can come into effect, including a 60-vote full Senate vote and coordination with the House version. Polymarket currently predicts the probability of the act passing by 2026 is about 62%. (The Block)

According to Odaily, Goldman Sachs significantly reduced its crypto ETF exposure in the first quarter of 2026 and has completely liquidated all positions in XRP and Solana-related ETFs. Documents show that in the fourth quarter of 2025, Goldman Sachs held approximately $154 million in XRP-related ETFs, including products from Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares, making it one of the largest institutional holders of XRP ETFs at the time. In addition, it previously held Grayscale Solana Trust ETF, Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, and Fidelity Solana Fund, but has now fully exited all Solana-related ETF positions. However, Goldman Sachs still retains sizable holdings in BTC and ETH ETFs. Its portfolio includes approximately $690 million in BlackRock IBIT and about $25 million in Fidelity FBTC, both down roughly 10% compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, its position in BlackRock ETHA has shrunk by about 70%, with approximately 7.2 million shares remaining, valued at around $114 million. In addition, Goldman Sachs increased its holdings in crypto-related stocks such as Circle, Galaxy Digital, a certain exchange, Robinhood, and PayPal, while reducing holdings in mining and infrastructure companies including Strategy, Bit Digital, Riot Platforms, and IREN. (Cointelegraph)

BlockBeats News, May 18th, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, a trader shorted 5151 SPCX (SpaceX's Pre-IPO perpetual contract) with 3x leverage, with a notional value of approximately $1.07 million, and a liquidation price of $250.41.