Cointelegraph spoke with OKX MENA and CIS CEO Rifad Mahasneh (@RifadM) after OKX added BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized U.S. Treasury fund to its collateral framework with Standard Chartered. Under the arrangement, eligible institutional and VIP clients can post yield-bearing BUIDL as trading collateral while the assets remain in regulated custody, underscoring the push to bring real-world assets on-chain. "More assets will definitely come onchain and be accessible for users." Full interview:

Polymarket said on X that its upgraded CLOB v2 exchange is now live. The platform has launched a $1 million liquidity incentive program, with $500,000 paid out in the first two hours and the remaining $500,000 scheduled for distribution through the rest of the day. After signing in, users will be prompted to convert their balance to pUSD and approve the new contract.

CoinDesk reports that T. Rowe Price, the $1.71 trillion asset-management group, is in the final stretch of launching an actively managed cryptocurrency ETF under the ticker TKNZ, with a 0.75% fee. The firm has filed a third amended document and confirmed the ticker. The portfolio is set to hold core tokens including Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL), and also names XRP and the memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB). Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the fund could debut "soon," calling the push by active managers into crypto a "land rush." The product is designed to use a quantitative model to select 5 to 15 tokens, offering investors a packaged approach rather than a single-asset bet. The filing lands as crypto ETFs see a short-term shift to risk-off positioning. This week, spot ETF flows turned negative, with $263.2 million leaving BTC ETFs and $50.4 million exiting ETH ETFs. The pullback comes ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting and the April 30 release of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data, where PCE is expected at 3.2%. Bitcoin is testing a key technical zone around $76,500, near the weekly Bollinger Bands midpoint and the 20-day moving average. BTC was last around $76,359, about 3% lower on the week. A weekly close above roughly $76,479 would be viewed as a successful retest, keeping the upside objective near the prior high around $96,600 in play, with the upper Bollinger Band near $95,500. Macro pressures are complicating sentiment. Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have lifted Brent crude above $100 per barrel, reviving inflation concerns and pushing some investors toward defensive positioning. If Bitcoin breaks below $76,500, attention may shift toward support near $72,000, potentially extending consolidation into May. Dogecoin (DOGE) is also back on institutional radar. After nine days of no net inflows in spot ETF products, Grayscale Investments' GDOG fund posted its largest inflow since early March, ending a nine-day stretch of outflows. Even so, the fund remains small, with $11.83 million in AUM, about 0.08% of Dogecoin's market capitalization. DOGE is trading near $0.09913, pressing the $0.10 level. It has held above the 23-day and 50-day moving averages, while a broader recovery target sits at $0.12752, aligned with the 200-day moving average. For bulls, the key task is to flip $0.10 from resistance into support. In broader market positioning ahead of the FOMC decision, investors have been trimming exposure and raising cash as the recent streak of inflows into spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs has broken. Bitcoin is probing support near $77,000, and continued ETF outflows could accelerate long liquidations below that area. On the corporate and equity side, Block disclosed Bitcoin holdings valued at $2.2 billion in its first-quarter report. NVIDIA (NVDA) hit a new record at $212.50, underscoring strong risk appetite in AI-linked equities. The correlation between Bitcoin, the Nasdaq, and NVIDIA suggests crypto could see catch-up strength once Fed-driven volatility eases.

Binance reported close to $6 billion in stablecoin inflows across March and April. April accounted for $3.5 billion of the total.

Fourteen DeFi protocols have now pledged more than $161 million in ETH to DeFi United's effort to restore rsETH backing following the April 18 exploit. Compound is the latest to join, proposing a contribution of 1,900 to 3,000 ETH—worth up to $6.9 million—subject to a community governance vote. Compound said on April 28 that its proposal seeks preliminary approval from the community, with the exact amount within the 1,900–3,000 ETH range to be set later by the Compound Governance Working Group in coordination with Gauntlet, security service providers, and the Compound Foundation. DeFi United's technical plan targets the recovery of about 16,776 ETH from exploiter-related positions on Compound, alongside a separate 13,000 ETH recovery effort on Aave. The proposal outlines conditions for releasing funds, including full restoration of rsETH collateral, equal treatment of all affected parties, and a clear execution plan with transparent updates to governance. Roughly 1,857 ETH of Compound's potential commitment would be contingent on successfully recovering the attacker's active position. The DAO would retain the option to reduce or withdraw support if the conditions are not met. Compound's move adds to one of the largest coordinated recovery efforts in DeFi history. Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin have committed 30,000 ETH, which Lubin described as "a broad, coordinated response to protect users." Aave has pledged 25,000 ETH, with founder Stani Kulechov adding a personal commitment of 5,000 ETH. Mantle provided a 30,000 ETH credit facility, while Lido committed up to 2,500 stETH. The Avalanche Foundation, another backer, said the episode amounts to a public stress test for DeFi—one it argued is unfolding "with transparent books and real accountability." Governance votes remain pending across several participating protocols.

ChainCatcher reports that Arkham data shows Bitmine has newly staked about $214 million in ETH. Bitmine's total staked ETH holdings are valued at roughly $8.45 billion, representing 9.5% of all ETH staked on the network.

Bitmine has staked an additional $214 million in ETH, according to Arkham data cited by Odaily Planet Daily. The firm now holds about $8.45 billion worth of staked ETH, representing roughly 9.5% of the network's total staked ETH.

On-chain analyst Aunt Ai reported that a wallet linked to Galaxy Digital's OTC activity (0x16F6d15381bEE4A25B25F0d1C4161b78f7F21Fde) sent a total of 21,400 ETH to cryptocurrency exchanges over the past 24 hours. The transfers were valued at about $49.3 million, implying an average deposit price of $2,307.34 per ETH.

BlackRock is integrating its $2.5B tokenized money market fund into the OKX cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem. The partnership will let OKX users access institutional-grade yield directly on the $OKX platform, linking traditional Treasury-based assets with retail liquidity. The rollout follows the rapid growth of BlackRock's $BUIDL, which has emerged as a leading tokenized government bond fund. The OKX integration expands distribution of low-risk, yield-bearing products to a global base of digital-asset traders.