The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

On May 4, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France will not participate in the new U.S. "Hormuz Plan." (FXStreet)

May 4 (FX168) — Barclays says it expects the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady through 2026, revising its prior forecast for a 25-basis-point cut in September.

On May 4, Bitget market data shows SK Hynix’s stock price rose 12%.

On May 4, Coinglass data showed that as Bitcoin surged past the $80k mark, funding rates across major centralized (CEXs) and decentralized (DEXs) exchanges indicated a notable reduction in market shorts. Specific funding rates are included in the attached chart. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto exchanges to keep contract prices aligned with underlying asset prices—typically for perpetual contracts. They facilitate fund transfers between long and short traders; the trading platform does not collect this fee itself. This mechanism adjusts the cost or profit for traders holding positions, ensuring contract prices stay close to underlying asset values. Key Rate Context: A 0.01% funding rate is the baseline. Rates above 0.01% signal a broadly bullish market, while rates below 0.005% point to a broadly bearish market.

Binance Alpha will be the first platform to list the Billions Network (BILL) token, per official sources. Listing and trading for BILL on Alpha will launch at 15:00 UTC+8 on May 4, 2026. Eligibility for the BILL airdrop requires holding at least 220 Binance Alpha Points. Users can claim 2,000 BILL tokens on the Alpha event page—on a first-come, first-served basis. The point threshold will drop by 5 points every five minutes while the event is active. Claiming the airdrop requires 15 Binance Alpha Points. Users must confirm their claim on the event page within 24 hours; unconfirmed claims will be forfeited.

**Crypto Fear & Greed Index Falls to 40 on May 4th, Sentiment Shifts to Fear** As of May 4th, alternative data shows the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 40 today—down from 47 yesterday—pushing market sentiment from "Neutral" to "Fear." Note: The index ranges from 0 to 100 and includes these metrics: Volatility (25%), Market Volume (25%), Social Media Hype (15%), Market Surveys (15%), Bitcoin Dominance (10%), and Google Trends Analysis (10%). ### Key adjustments for U.S. English habits: 1. **Terminology standardization**: Used the widely recognized *Crypto Fear & Greed Index* (vs. "cryptocurrency fear and greed index") and *Bitcoin Dominance* (no possessive *'s*, standard industry phrasing). 2. **Flow & brevity**: Swapped "today's cryptocurrency fear and greed index is 40" for the tighter "the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 40 today" + added an em dash to highlight the day-over-day drop (clearer for quick scanning). 3. **Accuracy**: Replaced "threshold is 0-100" with "ran