Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says congress needs to quickly advance its stablecoin and market structure bills amidst the FIT21 momentum, hoping to have both passed before August. In a recent post, the Coinbase CEO called for immediate action from congress…

Coinbase CEO pushes congress to pass stablecoin bill before August

Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the fifth-largest billionaire in Mexico, has offered 
major investment advice to his followers on X, which unsurprisingly includes 
bitcoin. Salinas, who owns TV Azteca and Grupo Electra, advised against real 
estate investments and encouraged considering bitcoin instead. &#8220;Investing in 
REAL ESTATE is a BAD INVESTMENT!!! Don&#8217;t be fooled; real estate is NOT […]

Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Salinas: Investing in Real Estate Is ‘Bullshit,’ Buy Bitcoin Instead

Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, Bitcoin miners are showing confidence in 
further upside, as stable reserves signal their belief in continued market 
growth. Bitcoin (BTC) miners have shown no significant signs of capitulation, 
with on-chain data continuing to signal a bullish outlook,…

Bitcoin miners show no sign of capitulation as structural signals stay positive, Bitfinex says

Unconfirmed reports are circulating online that Jeffy Yu, founder of the 
small-cap crypto project Zerebro, may have taken his own life during a 
livestream on Pump.fun on May 4. The video circulating on X appears to show Yu 
smoking a…

Zerebro founder Jeffy Yu reportedly suicides on livestream, after launching a ‘legacoin’

Decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) HydraDAO claims that its 
researchers were able to use a novel technique to repair severed spines in 
rats.
In a May 5 X post, decentralized science (DeSci) project HydraDAO said that 
one of its research projects resulted in &#8220;rats who had their spines fully 
transected&#8221; being able to walk again. More notably, recovery from surgery 
reportedly only took five days.
_Source:__HydraDAO_
The post featured a video of partially shaved (presumably due to surgery) rats 
walking in what appeared to be a laboratory setting. The effort in question is 
the Dowell spinal fusogens project led by Michael Lebenstein-Gumovski, which 
raised 380,700 USDC (USDC) from donors. The dedicated HydraDAO page reads:
&gt; &#8220;The Dowell team submitted a project proposal to HydraDAO. After careful 
&gt; consideration and two peer reviews, HydraCore deems it in the interest of 
&gt; HydraDAO&#8217;s community.&#8221;
_**Related:**__**Experts to gather in Miami to drive longevity research 
forward**_
## More than smoke and mirrors?
Fusogens are chemicals capable of fusing cell membranes and have long been 
researched as a means to reconnect severed nerve fibers. One such chemical is 
polyethylene glycol (PEG), which was shown to promote membrane fusion and seal 
axonal membranes in other research.
The Dowell team adds a biopolymer from crustacean shells called chitosan, 
resulting in a PEG-chitosan compound dubbed neuro-PEG. This compound is also 
photopolymerizable, meaning it can be rapidly solidified using light.
This presumably allows for creating a solid scaffolding that can weld the 
spinal cord more permanently than liquid PEG-based solutions. Dowell also 
implements neuroprotection techniques such as localized hypothermia and 
cellular death inhibitors to prevent further damage to nerve tissue.
A 2023 research paper by Gumovski published in the peer-reviewed scientific 
journal Surgical Neurology International claimed that pigs treated with the 
compound recovered mobility in two months. The study&#8217;s conclusion read:
&gt; &#8220;Neuro-PEG affords sensorimotor recovery after complete spinal cord 
&gt; transection. This opens the door to human experimentation, including trials 
&gt; of spinal cord transplantation.&#8221;
The Dowell team also filed a patent for developed technologies, with a 2022 
Russian patent describing a &#8220;method of restoring spinal cord functions after 
transection using a PEG-chitosan conjugate,&#8221; listing Lebenstein-Gumovski among 
its inventors.
The HydraDAO proposal suggests that &#8220;revenue streams include specialized 
surgical kits priced between $3,500 and $20,000, depending on the market and 
region.&#8221; Furthermore, the team would also provide &#8220;comprehensive training and 
certification for neurosurgeons and emergency medical services&#8221; personnel.
_**Related:**__**Major scientific journal Nature features DeSci project 
ResearchHub**_
## Some interesting connections
Gumovski is a neurosurgery researcher based in Russia (Stavropol State Medical 
University and affiliated institutes). He was a member of Sergio Canavero&#8217;s 
research head-transplant project, cited in at least one relevant paper.
Those articles were also published in Surgical Neurology International, while 
most top scientific publications shied away from the subject. The neurosurgeon 
from Turin, Italy, claimed to have performed a successful head transplant on a 
monkey back in 2016.
The team also experimented on human cadavers in preparation for a 2017 live 
human head transplant, which never took place. Neuroscientist Dean Burnett 
said at the time that head transplantation presented insurmountable challenges 
and that Canavero had &#8220;offered no feasible explanation or science for his 
claims to be able to overcome these hurdles.&#8221;
While the Dowell team&#8217;s project builds on established research and should not 
be dismissed outright, it is hard not to notice the similarity in making 
public claims not unlike those that characterized Canavero&#8217;s career. 
Furthermore, fusogens are well studied and less dramatic but similar results 
have been reported by other teams in the past (2019 example from the 
University of Texas).
## Will the paralyzed walk again?
The evidence provided is promising, but it is advisable to exercise caution, 
especially until multiple third-party teams independently reproduce the 
results.
HydraDAO promised additional electrophysiology experiments and tracing dyes to 
assess connectivity between the brain and lower spine. This extra data may 
enhance the credibility of the research results.
Still, further research is needed to assess whether it will result in a 
clinically viable technique for real-world spinal injuries.
_**Magazine:**__**DeSci: Can crypto improve scientific research?**_

Research DAO claims paralyzed rats recover after spinal cord fix

**Key takeaways:**
 * Berkshire holds $347B in cash, enough to buy ~18% of Bitcoin&#8217;s supply.
 * Greg Abel has not signaled a shift from Warren Buffett&#8217;s anti-Bitcoin stance.
 * Berkshire already has indirect crypto exposure via Nu Holdings, Jefferies.
Warren Buffett announced at Berkshire Hathaway&#8217;s annual shareholder meeting on 
May 3 that he will step down as CEO by the end of 2025, with Greg Abel taking 
over. This transition raises speculation about Berkshire&#8217;s financial capacity 
to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) under the new leadership.
_Source:__Discover Crypto_
## Berkshire can easily surpass Strategy&#8217;s BTC stash
Berkshire ended Q4 2024 with a record $347 billion in cash and US Treasury 
bills, representing about 32% of its $1.1 trillion market capitalization.
The company could acquire approximately 3.52 million BTC if it purchases the 
cryptocurrency at May&#8217;s approximate price of $95,000. This equates to about 
17.88% of Bitcoin&#8217;s circulating supply of 19.69 million coins.
If the company tapped only its estimated $295.98 billion in US Treasury, it 
could buy around 3.12 million BTC, or 15.85% of the circulating supply, 
positioning it as a dominant player in the crypto market.
&gt; Berkshire Hathaway is 20th Century Bitcoin. 
&gt; 
&gt; &#8212; Michael Saylor (@saylor) May 3, 2025
Such a move would easily eclipse Nasdaq-listed Strategy Inc. (formerly 
MicroStrategy), the world&#8217;s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, which owns 
553,555 BTC worth approximately $52.2 billion as of May 6.
In other words, Berkshire can theoretically match Strategy&#8217;s stash with 
roughly one-sixth of its cash pile if it converts it to Bitcoin.
_**Related:**__**Strategy, Semler bag 2K Bitcoin as price edged toward $100K 
last week**_
 _Strategy Inc. Bitcoin holdings over time. Source:__BitcoinTeasuries.net_
Bernstein analysts forecast roughly $330 billion in corporate treasury-driven 
inflows into Bitcoin by 2029, with $205 billion expected from listed companies 
between 2025 and 2029.
Much of this, analysts say, will come from smaller, slow-growing companies 
trying to copy Strategy Inc.&#8217;s Bitcoin strategy. They see it as one of the few 
ways to boost their value when other growth options are scarce.
_Source: X/__Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck US_
Bernstein&#8217;s bull case anticipates an additional $124 billion of Bitcoin 
purchases from Strategy alone, backed by the company&#8217;s recently upsized 
capital-raising plans, which aim to secure $84 billion by 2027, nearly double 
its previous target.
## Is Greg Abel pro-crypto?
Whether Berkshire would buy Bitcoin under Abel&#8217;s leadership is speculative.
The new Berkshire Hathaway leader has not publicly indicated a shift from 
Buffett&#8217;s value-investing philosophy, prioritizing assets with tangible cash 
flows over speculative ones like Bitcoin, which Buffett once termed &#8220;rat 
poison squared.&#8221;
BTC&#8217;s price has climbed by nearly 900% since Buffett&#8217;s criticism in May 2018.
_BTC/USD two-week price chart. Source: TradingView_
However, Berkshire, despite its anti-crypto stance, has indirect exposure in 
the sector through investments in crypto-friendly companies like Nu Holdings 
and Jefferies Financial Group, which holds shares in BlackRock&#8217;s iShares 
Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
The strategy is similar to how Berkshire approached gold, which Buffett 
repeatedly ridiculed for lacking productivity. However, Berkshire surprised 
markets by buying Barrick Gold shares (a gold mining company) in 2020, though 
it later sold that position.
Under Abel, Berkshire may not dive straight into Bitcoin, but its cautious, 
indirect approach could expand as markets evolve. Whether that leads to full 
adoption or careful toe-dipping remains to be seen.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every 
investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their 
own research when making a decision.