Pendle Launches apxUSD on BNB Chain, Offering a 13% Fixed Interest Rate for STRC

May 26: U.S. Stablecoin & Blockchain News Update On May 26, the Stable blockchain project launched its new StableEarn product, officially entering the asset management space with a focus on stablecoin payment solutions. The platform’s first treasury is already live on Morpho, and Stable says this product is targeted at neobanks, fintech companies, payment processors, and individual users alike. Gauntlet, a leading crypto risk management firm, is designing and overseeing this inaugural treasury. It will handle allocating deposited assets to the Morpho lending market, managing fund caps, and rebalancing assets as needed. The treasury is supported by Theo—an institutional-grade real-world asset yield platform—with specific strategies including exposure to tokenized U.S. Treasury Bonds via thBILL, interest-bearing gold tokens backed by loans to jewelers through thGOLD, and an interest-bearing stablecoin thUSD built on gold derivatives. This launch brings Stable into a market space

May 26 — U.S. Bank Managing Director and Head of Metal Research Michael Widmer noted that short-term gold prices are under pressure as market expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts have declined. That said, the firm maintains a bullish stance on gold and reaffirms its forecast that the precious metal will reach $6,000 per ounce over the next 12 months. The near-term headwinds for gold tie back to a market re-assessment of inflation risks and the U.S. interest rate path, driven by rising energy prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Still, several factors are supporting gold: persistent buying from central banks globally, rising investor demand, and weakening economic growth signals. These are expected to keep gold on an upward trajectory.

May 26 – While optimism continues to build around a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, fresh military clashes near the Strait of Hormuz have jolted global markets. This underscores that the Middle East remains locked in a dynamic of parallel negotiations, power plays, and mounting pressure. The U.S. military has claimed it carried out a "self-defense strike" on Iranian missile sites and mine-laying vessels, while Tehran is accusing Washington of breaching the ceasefire – a clear sign of how far the touted peace framework is from delivering real stability. Markets are now zeroing in on whether the Strait of Hormuz can fully reopen for normal shipping. While multiple media outlets have begun leaking details of a draft deal – which includes provisions like resuming navigation within 30 days, easing Iran’s oil export curbs, partially unfreezing overseas assets, and extending the ceasefire by 60 days – the U.S. and Iran remain deadlocked on key sticking points: nuclear enrichment, sanctions

May 26 — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, wrapping up a visit to India, said this morning the U.S. military conducted its so-called "defensive strikes" at multiple sites in southern Iran, while stressing the Strait of Hormuz must remain open "in any case." "The strait must be open, it will be open one way or another, it has to be open," Pompeo stated. He added that an expected agreement with Iran may still need "a few days" of negotiations to finalize its wording. (Note: This is adapted to align with standard American English news structure and tone, retaining all core factual details from the original brief.)

May 26: Digital asset service provider Amber Group has announced its support for Exchange OS—launched by long-term partner OKX—and X Layer, a move expected to drive the development of next-generation open blockchain market networks. According to the announcement, Exchange OS is a neutral, high-performance on-chain execution environment where core trading functions (including order matching, margin management, clearing, and settlement) run entirely at the protocol layer. This setup allows developers to build out a complete suite of exchange infrastructure without having to start from the ground up. Amber Group highlighted key features of Exchange OS, including: support for deploying spot markets, perpetual contracts, and prediction markets via the XIP deployment protocol; a unified execution architecture that enables seamless cross-market use of a single account and set of margins, eliminating the need for asset bridging; and deployed projects retaining full control over their brand,

Per Binance’s official announcement, five new USDT-margined perpetual contracts are set to launch starting May 26, 2026 at 13:30 UTC. The new contracts track stocks of U.S.-listed firms: Nebius Group (Nasdaq: NBIS), Western Digital (WDC), ARM Holdings (ARM), Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE), and Cohere Technologies (COHR). The contracts will roll out sequentially, with one launching every 5 minutes after the initial go-live: - NBISUSDT: 13:30 UTC - WDCUSDT: 13:35 UTC - ARMUSDT: 13:40 UTC - BEUSDT: 13:45 UTC - COHRUSDT: 13:50 UTC All contracts settle in USDT, with core parameters as follows: - Minimum price increment: 0.01 - Minimum order quantity: 0.01 - Minimum initial margin: 5 USDT - Maximum leverage: 20x - Funding rate cap: ±2.00% - Settlement frequency: Every 8 hours Trading is available 24/7, and cross-collateralization is supported for these contracts. Binance noted that contract parameters may be adjusted based on market risk conditions. For full details on these traditional asset pe