Sam Altman’s World Project Launches in the United States

Human-verification crypto project, World, is officially launching in the United States after receiving favorable treatment from the Trump administration. The rollout begins this week in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco.

Americans will receive WLD tokens after scanning their irises to establish a World ID and verify their personhood. “The World Card will connect directly to an individual’s World App wallet, enabling them to spend their digital assets anywhere Visa is accepted,” the company led by Sam Altman said.

World plans to release a Visa debit card later this year, along with integration into Tinder through a Match Group pilot in Japan to help verify dating profiles. The firm also added decentralized prediction platform Kalshi to its app, letting users place real-money bets from within the World App.

Backed by Tools for Humanity and OpenAI’s CEO, the World project claims 26 million app users, with 12 million verified as “unique humans.” To support its billion-user ambitions, World is developing a portable “mini-Orb” and will soon embed identity checks in Razer gaming stores to differentiate humans from bots.

Aztec Privacy Layer 2 Rollup Launches After Eight Years

Aztec Network announced on May 1 that its long-awaited privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 rollup has entered testnet after more than eight years of development. The rollup encrypts all transaction details at the protocol level, offering confidentiality for institutions processing large batches of onchain data. Unlike other ZK rollups, Aztec deprioritizes scalability in favor of encryption, sacrificing speed to preserve user privacy.

The announcement follows rising institutional demand for privacy-preserving options as more enterprises explore onchain operations. Aztec’s co-founder Zac Williamson said the protocol’s goal is to embed “everything encrypted” directly into the blockchain. The team raised $100 million from a16z in 2022 and joins a growing number of privacy protocols (like Miden) seeing renewed investor interest in 2025.

North Carolina Advances State-Level Bitcoin Reserve Bill

North Carolina’s House of Representatives passed HB92, allowing the state to invest in digital assets and study crypto-based pension options. The bill, dubbed the "Digital Assets Investment Act," now heads to the state Senate, following revisions that cap potential allocations at 5% of fund balances. A related Senate bill proposes creating a formal Bitcoin reserve and enabling staking and lending strategies.

State Treasurer Destin Hall sponsored the House legislation, which also calls for a feasibility study on managing seized crypto assets. North Carolina joins a growing list of states exploring Bitcoin reserves, including Arizona, Texas, and New Hampshire. Meanwhile, several states like Oklahoma and Montana have seen similar proposals stall due to limited political momentum.

Tether Reports $1 Billion Profit in First Quarter of 2025

Stablecoin issuer Tether posted over $1 billion in Q1 2025 profit, a sharp drop from $4.52 billion in Q1 2024 due to weaker Bitcoin performance. The company attributed its earnings to interest from its nearly $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries and reserve instruments like money market funds. Tether also holds around $7.7 billion in Bitcoin, which fell 12% during the first quarter.

While stablecoin usage remains high, as USDT has $148 billion in circulation, volatile market swings significantly affect reserve valuations. Tether’s earlier profits were largely impacted by unrealized gains in crypto assets like BTC and gold. Pending U.S. legislation could require full reserve audits, prompting Tether to explore launching a USA-specific stablecoin to meet future compliance standards.

Data of the Day

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said the odds of a Solana ETF being approved by the SEC in 2025 have climbed to 90%, up from 70% in February. The firm also raised its estimates for XRP and Dogecoin ETF approvals to 75% and 80%, respectively. Analysts cited the Trump administration’s regulatory shift and CME’s Solana futures listing as key catalysts.

Currently, six asset managers have submitted applications for Solana ETFs, including Grayscale and 21Shares. The SEC’s final decision deadline on most proposals is set for October. Bloomberg data shows the agency is evaluating roughly 72 crypto ETF filings, many of which were accelerated under new SEC Chair Paul Atkins.

More Breaking News

• The Sky community is voting on a final proposal to replace MKR with SKY, enabling staking and USDS rewards as part of its full protocol transition.
• Eric Trump announced that Abu Dhabi’s MGX will invest $2B into Binance using USD1, a Trump-linked stablecoin launched earlier this year.
• Kraken said it posed as a potential employer to study a North Korean hacker’s tactics during a job application process, calling it an intelligence exercise.
• Movement’s MOVE token plunged 14% to an all-time low after Coinbase announced it would delist the Ethereum L2 asset later this month.
• 21Shares filed to launch a spot SUI ETF in the U.S. and unveiled a business partnership with the Sui network for future product collaborations.
• Canary Capital filed for a staked Sei ETF with the SEC, as industry leaders push regulators for clarity on staking and token yield classification.
• Ethereum developers have introduced R1, a token-free L2 scaling system centered around neutrality, decentralization, and minimal governance.
• Ethena is bringing its USDe and sUSDe stablecoins into the TON ecosystem, with tsUSDe offering Telegram users boosted rewards and wallet integration.

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