The pause in &#8216;Project Freedom&#8217; may signal a shift towards diplomacy, 
potentially easing tensions and impacting global energy security dynamics.
The post Trump pauses &#8216;Project Freedom&#8217; in Hormuz amid Pakistan mediation 
efforts appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Trump pauses ‘Project Freedom’ in Hormuz amid Pakistan mediation efforts

Toncoin extended its rally on Wednesday, climbing to a new local high of 
$2.215 and bringing its three-day gain to more than 60%, as traders continued 
to price in Telegram’s deeper role in The Open Network. With the move, TON 
reaches it highest price since mid-November last year following fresh comments 
from Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who argued that Telegram becoming TON’s 
largest validator would strengthen decentralization rather than weaken it. The 
rally marks TON’s sharpest short-term moves this year. Market data showed 
Toncoin trading near the $2.10–$2.20 zone on Wednesday, with Kraken listing a 
24-hour high of $2.20 and OKX showing TON at $2.215 earlier in the session. 
The token remains well below its prior all-time high near $8.25, but the 
latest move has quickly reset near-term market structure after months of muted 
price action. Durov Post Fuels Toncoin Rally Durov’s latest post on X added a 
new layer to the market narrative. On May 5, he said Telegram becoming TON’s 
largest validator “strengthens decentralization.” He wrote: “Telegram becoming 
TON’s largest validator strengthens decentralization. It lets other major 
players join the validator pool without centralizing the network — with 
Telegram as the counterbalance. More and more TON gets locked in validation as 
everyone competes for 20%+ APR.” Related Reading: TON Jumps 30% As Durov Says 
Telegram Will Take The Lead That statement came shortly after Durov said on 
May 4 Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the main driving force 
behind TON and become the network’s largest validator. In the same post, he 
said TON fees had dropped sixfold “to nearly zero,” while a new TON website, 
new developer tools and performance upgrades were expected within two to three 
weeks. For the market, the timing matters. TON’s rally did not begin with a 
generic ecosystem update. It followed a direct Telegram-led roadmap: lower 
fees, stronger infrastructure, better developer tooling and a validator shift 
that ties the network more closely to the messaging platform’s distribution. 
Related Reading: Top Toncoin Whales Silently Accumulate 189,730 TON Despite 
Market Weakness The key debate now is whether Telegram’s larger role makes TON 
more credible or more centralized. On paper, becoming the largest validator 
gives Telegram greater influence over the network’s security layer. In a 
proof-of-stake system, validators help maintain network stability and security 
by committing large amounts of the native token. TON’s own documentation 
describes validators and nominator pools as core parts of the network’s 
security model. Thus, the optics are complicated. TON was originally created 
as the Telegram Open Network before later moving into a more independent 
foundation-led structure. Toncoin as the native cryptocurrency of The Open 
Network was originally developed in 2018 and later transitioned to the TON 
Foundation. Telegram now moving back into the central operational role 
represents a major shift in how the market is likely to assess TON’s 
governance and execution risk. At press time, TON traded at $2.263. Featured 
image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Toncoin Surges 60% As Durov Defends Telegram’s TON Push

Bitcoin is trading above $82,000 on May 6, while oil, Treasury yields, the 
dollar, and US stocks shift around the same volatile geopolitical and macro 
backdrop that has left investors exhausted after the last few months. The move 
reopens the inflation-hedge debate while leaving it unresolved. It also puts 
pressure on the claim that BTC […]
The post Can Bitcoin break a new 2026 high this week &#8211; or will geopolitics 
cause weekend reset again? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Can Bitcoin break a new 2026 high this week – or will geopolitics cause weekend reset again?

The potential uranium transfer could signal a shift in U.S.-Iran relations, 
impacting global diplomacy and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
The post Iran considers sending enriched uranium to US amid negotiation talks 
appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Iran considers sending enriched uranium to US amid negotiation talks

The incident heightens geopolitical instability, reducing prospects for a 
Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and increasing NATO-Russia conflict risks.
The post Russian drones enter Romanian airspace, escalating NATO tensions 
appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Russian drones enter Romanian airspace, escalating NATO tensions

David Schwartz once sold 40,000 Ethereum tokens for $1.05 each. That trade 
netted him $42,000. Those same tokens are worth roughly $94 million today. 
Related Reading: Trump-Linked WLFI Files Major Defamation Lawsuit Against 
Billionaire Justin Sun A Pattern Of Early Exits It wasn&#8217;t a one-time call. 
Schwartz, the former chief technology officer of Ripple, also held more than 
1,000 Bitcoin at one point. He sold the bulk of it at $1,000 per coin, then 
cleared out most of what remained at $7,500. He now holds less than one BTC. 
His XRP story follows a similar arc — he sold most of his holdings when the 
token hit $0.10, having never believed it would climb to $0.25. Those 
disclosures have drawn scrutiny from corners of the XRP community, with some 
pointing to his early exits as evidence of poor judgment. The criticism 
sharpened recently when Schwartz publicly questioned whether XRP could ever 
reach $100 or $10,000 — price targets that many in the community treat as 
realistic. Everyone had the same opportunity to buy and sell XRP that I did. I 
did the same thing with bitcoin and ETH and nobody seems to have a problem 
with that. I utterly reject the idea that selling is somehow morally inferior 
to buying and have advocated that everyone sell when it&#8217;s… — David &#8216;JoelKatz&#8217; 
Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 5, 2026 What Schwartz Actually Said His response came 
on X. He pushed back on the idea that selling an asset makes someone less 
committed or somehow at fault. According to Schwartz, every investor had the 
same chance to buy and sell XRP that he did. He also noted that he applied the 
same approach to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and that neither of those sales drew 
the same level of backlash. Schwartz went further, saying he has long believed 
that people should sell when it benefits them financially. Reports indicate he 
traced that view back to his early days in the Bitcoin community, where that 
principle was part of the culture that drew him in. One community member 
argued that builders have a duty to hold the tokens tied to their projects. 
Schwartz rejected that reasoning outright, calling it illogical. He did 
confirm, though, that he still holds more than 1 million XRP. Related Reading: 
Long-Dormant Bitcoin Whale Transfers 11,300 BTC, Sparking Market Speculation 
The $10,000 Question On the price debate, Schwartz offered a market-based 
argument. Based on reports from his recent posts, he said that if a group of 
wealthy investors truly believed XRP had even a 1% chance of hitting $10,000, 
they would have already piled in. That buying pressure, he argued, would have 
pushed the price to at least $20 by now. Some community members aren&#8217;t buying 
it. They point to his earlier skepticism about $0.25 — a level XRP has since 
surpassed — as a reason to question his current read on the asset&#8217;s ceiling. 
Schwartz has not walked back his position. Featured image from Bitpanda, chart 
from TradingView

Trump pauses ‘Project Freedom’ in Hormuz amid Pakistan mediation efforts

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