ZAMA Public Sale Concludes, Raising a Total of $121 Million

On May 3rd, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said oil prices are expected to drop sharply after the war. Futures markets are also forecasting lower oil prices, and more vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz would come as no surprise. Iran’s efforts to impose tolls on vessel passage have met little success. The U.S. is currently hitting record energy exports—its only constraint is infrastructure. The U.S. is a "big winner" in the energy market.

May 3rd — Local time May 3rd, Al Jazeera reports that Iran’s latest negotiation proposal outlines three phases: **Phase One** includes terms such as: - Turning a temporary ceasefire into a full, comprehensive ceasefire within 30 days - Establishing principles for an international mechanism to prevent conflict re-ignition - Securing a region-wide ceasefire with commitments from both sides (including all of Iran’s regional allies and Israel) not to violate the truce - Gradually lifting blockades on Iranian ports in step with the phased opening of the Strait of Hormuz - Iran taking responsibility for mine clearance - Revisiting Iran’s prior proposals on compensation - U.S. withdrawal from Iranian waters and a halt to new troop deployments **Phase Two** covers: - A timeline of up to 15 years for fully halting uranium enrichment - Iran resuming uranium enrichment under the zero-stockpile rule after that period - Opposing the dismantling or destruction of Iran’s nuc

May 3rd — A recent CoinDesk survey of 1,000 registered American voters finds 62% of respondents “distrust” the Trump administration’s ability to effectively regulate the cryptocurrency industry. Additionally, 73% oppose government officials holding personal business interests in or engaging in crypto-related dealings — a sign of growing public concern over potential political-business conflicts of interest and the independence of crypto regulation. At the survey’s release, the U.S. crypto industry is ramping up political lobbying efforts and campaign contributions — including backing the CLARITY Act and seeking to expand its influence ahead of the 2026 midterm election cycle.

May 3 — AI researcher Brian Roemmele disclosed that his “Zero-Human Company” has begun rolling out DPN-LE (Dual Personality Neuron Localization and Editing), a large-scale personality editing tech built to fine-tune AI agents’ behavioral traits with precision. DPN-LE identifies “personality neurons” in large-scale MLP layers to selectively boost or dial back traits like honesty, creativity, prudence, and cooperativeness. The research claims this method only needs to edit ~0.5% of neurons to deliver “surgical” personality adjustments—no model retraining required—while minimizing harm to core reasoning abilities. Roemmele noted his company, now home to over 100 AI agents, runs almost entirely autonomously, making “personality consistency” a top priority. Examples include: - Strategy agents: Boosted “long-term consistency” and “analytical honesty” - Financial/risk control agents: Enhanced “prudence” and “precision” - Content agents: Amplified “empathy” and “creativity” - Mul

On May 3, Figure Technology Solutions CEO Mike Cagney announced the company is working to rebuild traditional credit market infrastructure using blockchain technology, integrating real-world assets (RWAs), securitization, and decentralized finance (DeFi). Recent data shows Figure’s monthly loan origination volume topped $1 billion for the first time in March 2024, with first-quarter 2024 total origination hitting $2.9 billion—equivalent to an annualized rate of roughly $12 billion. Cagney noted the firm aims to cut intermediaries in securitization, lending, and stock lending markets through on-chain processes, reducing costs and boosting liquidity. Currently, Figure has launched the yield-generating stablecoin YLDS and rolled out on-chain lending treasury products on networks like Solana, enabling users to invest in tokenized credit assets or use them as collateral for loans. The company also plans to expand into the Ethereum ecosystem and explore stock tokenization and on-chain

On May 3, Michael Saylor shared an update noting that his firm’s Bitcoin purchasing strategy did not acquire any BTC this week and will resume next week.