The US Department of Defense has reached agreements with 7 AI-related companies to transform the American military into an "AI-driven" fighting force in the future.

May 1 — The key shift in global markets is no longer which central bank is hiking or cutting rates, but that major central banks are all moving into a “wait-and-see” mode. The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), and Bank of England (BoE) have held rates steady — but unlike before, none are offering clear forward guidance. The reason is simple: as energy prices flare up again, inflation and growth are moving in opposite directions. In the U.S., Q1 GDP grew at an annualized 2% — below expectations — while March PCE inflation hit 3.5% year-over-year, the highest level in nearly three years. In the eurozone, growth has nearly stalled, yet inflation has rebounded to around 3%. The BoE has even signaled it could hike rates again. This points to the global economy entering its toughest phase yet: slowing growth paired with resurgent inflation. More importantly, markets are starting to recognize Middle East geopolitical risks won’t fade anytime soon. While U.S. officials hav

On May 1, the U.S. national debt surpassed 100% of GDP for the first time since World War II—currently at $31.265 trillion, while the country’s GDP over the past year totaled $31.216 trillion. That means the U.S. government spends $1.33 for every $1 it collects in revenue.

On May 1, Al Jazeera reports that Iran’s new proposal — submitted via Pakistan — suggests nuclear talks are unlikely to succeed, with focus potentially shifting to ending the war.

On May 1, HTX market data shows Bitcoin topped $78,000, posting a 2.3% 24-hour price gain.

On May 1, cryptocurrency-focused payment infrastructure startup Fun closed a $72 million Series A funding round led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire, with additional participation from Infinity Ventures, Pharsalus Capital, and Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen. Fun specializes in providing crypto-to-fiat onramp and offramp infrastructure for platforms including Polymarket, Lighter, and Aave, and boasts an annual payment processing volume of over $18 billion. The firm plans to allocate the new capital toward expanding its team by roughly 30 employees.

PolyBeats Bot tracking shows MoonPay has launched the **MoonAgents Card**—a Mastercard-powered stablecoin debit card built specifically for AI agents. The virtual card lets users spend directly from an on-chain self-custody wallet, with no preloading of funds or off-chain asset transfers required. Powered by Monavate (in collaboration with Exodus Wallet), the card enables real-time stablecoin-to-fiat conversion for global online merchant payments via the Mastercard network. If a transaction fails, funds are immediately returned to the wallet—and wallet custody remains unchanged at all times. MoonPay’s CEO noted this solves a key pain point: AI agents previously couldn’t transact with merchants. The card is now available in the UK and Latin America via the MoonPay CLI, with U.S. and EU launches coming soon (pending KYC completion). This move taps into the expected trend of AI agents increasingly using crypto for transactions down the line.