Solana staking protocol Fragmetric completes $7 million seed round

May 3rd — Per alternative data, today’s Cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index is 47 (up from 39 yesterday), with market sentiment shifting from "Fear" to "Neutral." Note: The Fear & Greed Index ranges from 0 to 100 and includes the following metrics (with their respective weights): - Volatility (25%) - Market Volume (25%) - Social Media Hype (15%) - Market Surveys (15%) - Bitcoin’s Market Dominance (10%) - Google Trends Analysis (10%)

On May 3, Brazil’s Central Bank banned the use of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies for cross-border payment settlements. The regulation will take effect October 1.

**May 3 Update** BlackRock has pushed back against proposed reserve asset restrictions tied to the OCC’s draft rules implementing the GENIUS Act, submitting a 17-page comment letter on the final day of the agency’s 60-day comment window (which opened March 2 when the draft published in the Federal Register). The OCC posed more than 200 questions spanning reserve composition, capital requirements, custody, and income restrictions. BlackRock’s comments center on rules governing **Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuers (PPSI)**—entities authorized to issue stablecoins as federal-chartered firms last July after a Trump-signed law took effect. The firm is urging the OCC to scrap a proposed 20% limit on tokenized reserve assets for PPSI, arguing the cap is “irrelevant” to the agency’s regulatory goals. BlackRock notes risk hinges on an asset’s credit quality, duration, and liquidity—not whether it’s held or transferred via a distributed ledger. This position ties directly to BlackRock

May 3rd — Sequoia Financial Group announced the completion of a strategic investment in WooshPay, a global financial infrastructure and payment platform, per official sources. This move integrates WooshPay’s leading global payment and settlement capabilities with Sequoia’s existing digital asset infrastructure, AlphaToken, to strengthen the group’s financial ecosystem. With this investment, Sequoia aims to strategically position itself amid Hong Kong’s and the global digital finance boom, building a Sequoia digital finance ecosystem centered on “AI + Web3.”

Cerebras Systems is seeking to raise up to $4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) as market demand for the AI chipmaker and data center operator’s stock heats up, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The California-based company is targeting a valuation of around $40 billion, the sources said, adding they requested anonymity because the details are not yet public. Cerebras is also rumored to kick off its IPO roadshow as early as Monday, per the report. Underwriters have received indications of interest totaling over $10 billion, the sources noted—this comes amid a sharp rally in semiconductor stocks. IPO details, including the offering size, valuation and timing, remain subject to change, the sources added. Cerebras declined to comment on the matter.