US Stock Futures Dive Further

**May 3rd Update** Per Coinglass data, Bitcoin has pulled back into consolidation following a surge. Current funding rates across major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges indicate lingering high short sentiment among traders. Specific rate details are in the attached image. **BlockBeats Note** A funding rate is a fee mechanism set by crypto exchanges to align perpetual contract prices with their underlying asset values. It involves capital transfers between long and short traders—exchanges do not collect this fee. The rate adjusts traders’ holding costs or profits to keep contract prices close to the underlying asset’s price. **Funding Rate Sentiment Signals** - 0.01% = baseline rate - >0.01% = generally bullish sentiment - <0.005% = generally bearish sentiment

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.”