Polymarket eyes Japan approval, euro stablecoin volume surges, and a Sandbox executive’s family is targeted while BTC trades near $77.7K amid Fear sentiment. Today coincides with Bitcoin Pizza Day, an annual moment celebrated across the global crypto community and one of the most symbolic cultural milestones in crypto history. On this day in 2010, early Florida-based engineer Laszlo Hanyecz used 10,000 BTC to purchase 2 large pizzas through an online forum, completing the first real-world transaction in which cryptocurrency was used to pay for a physical good. The informal exchange, worth only about USD 41 at the time, not only marked Bitcoin’s first free-market price discovery but also demonstrated that a decentralized peer-to-peer network could function as a real medium of exchange. 16 years later, what began as a niche cryptographic experiment has evolved into a multi-trillion-dollar global financial ecosystem. The value of those 10,000 BTC has also risen to hundreds of millions of dollars based on today’s market prices. Today’s crypto market continued to trade within a narrow range, with major assets showing mild weakness while overall declines remained limited. Market sentiment still stayed cautious. BTC is currently consolidating around $77.7K, indicating that price action remains largely range-bound after recent volatility. ETH is holding near $2,135 and remains above the $2,100 level, although upside momentum has not yet broadened clearly. Across sectors, the market showed a mixed structure, with RWA, Layer2, DeFi, and Layer1 sectors displaying relative resilience. Among them, the RWA sector recorded an intraday gain of more than 2%, making it one of the areas receiving stronger capital attention.

Crypto Markets Overview

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently stands at 28, indicating that market sentiment remains in Fear. In the derivatives market, total crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours reached about USD 200 million, with long and short liquidations remaining broadly balanced. This suggests that the market experienced volatility but did not show a clear one-sided leverage squeeze. From the liquidation data, Bitcoin long liquidations reached USD 26.1191 million, while Bitcoin short liquidations stood at USD 23.9079 million. Ethereum long liquidations reached USD 20.4687 million, while Ethereum short liquidations stood at USD 13.4498 million. If Bitcoin falls below $73,887, cumulative long liquidation intensity across major CEXs could reach USD 1.282 billion. If Bitcoin breaks above $81,234, cumulative short liquidation intensity could reach USD 1.215 billion. For Ethereum, a drop below $2,033 could bring cumulative long liquidation intensity to USD 826 million, while a move above $2,238 could bring cumulative short liquidation intensity to USD 752 million. With spot demand remaining weak, futures traders are playing a larger role in driving short-term price action, and the market is closely watching the concentration of short-side liquidity above $80K. The liquidation for both BTC and ETH remains clustered around key upper and lower price levels. If prices move closer to these major liquidation zones, short-term trading behavior may continue to be influenced by changes in leveraged positioning. Overall, the market has not developed a clear one-sided direction today. Traders are more focused on whether BTC can stabilize back above $78K and whether ETH can continue holding support near $2,100.

Source: Alternative

Key News Highlights:

Polymarket Is Reportedly Seeking Japanese Regulatory Approval To Support Its Global Expansion

Global prediction market platform Polymarket is reportedly planning to expand its business footprint into Asia and has appointed a representative in Japan as it prepares to lobby for the legalization of prediction markets in the country. According to people familiar with the matter, the New York-based cross-border prediction platform aims to obtain formal approval from the Japanese government by 2030 and views Japan as a large untapped business opportunity. At present, Polymarket does not promote its services in Japan due to the country’s strict gambling restrictions, and it blocks Japan-based users from accessing betting functions on its website and app through geographic restrictions. The reported push comes as Polymarket faces legal scrutiny in the United States and rising competitive pressure from platforms such as Kalshi, increasing the need to expand its global user base. Its combined monthly notional trading volume across offshore and U.S. operations fell to USD 1.03 billion in April. Although Japan’s Penal Code imposes strict penalties on habitual gambling and commercial gambling operations, the country also has a large Pachinko industry and is preparing to open its first legal casino resort in 2030. These factors may leave room for compliant market access under a defined regulatory framework. A Polymarket spokesperson said the company has observed meaningful organic interest from users in Japan and across Asia, and that it will continue evaluating ways to expand global access in a compliant and locally appropriate manner.

Euro Stablecoin Volume Processed By Retail VASPs Surges As Regulatory Framework Takes Effect

According to Fireblocks’ latest State of Stablecoins 2025 report, euro stablecoin transaction volume processed by retail virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, increased 12 times over the past 15 months and reached USD 777 million. This sharp growth reflects a broader shift in Europe’s digital asset infrastructure, especially after the implementation of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA. Following the rollout of the framework, European banks and fintech companies have accelerated the production deployment of compliant stablecoins. Banking Circle and SG-Forge have become early movers in the MiCA-compliant stablecoin sector, launching euro-backed digital assets EURI and EURCV, respectively. Both institutions are now expanding their production-scale operations. The report further noted that European banks increasingly view stablecoin and tokenized asset infrastructure as a key part of their 2026 corporate roadmaps. The implementation of MiCA has reduced the regulatory uncertainty that had long constrained the sector. It has also accelerated the deployment of production systems for tokenized assets and stablecoin payment rails among traditional financial institutions.

Suspects In Attempted Kidnapping Of The Sandbox Executive’s Wife Arrested While Fleeing By Ride-Hailing App

An attempted kidnapping targeting the wife of Sébastien Borget, co-founder of the well-known Web3 project The Sandbox, took place in France’s Île-de-France region. Two suspects were intercepted and arrested by local police after attempting to flee the scene through the ride-hailing app Uber. According to local media reports, one suspect disguised as a delivery driver convinced the victim to open the gate to her home. Five masked accomplices then rushed into the courtyard and attempted to force her into a nearby vehicle. Neighbors intervened in time and stopped the attack, forcing the assailants to flee. Four suspects escaped by car, while two others fled on foot and later called an Uber. They were intercepted by the Meaux Anti-Crime Brigade, and police reportedly found a replica handgun, plastic cable ties, and masks in their possession. The victim was not injured. Preliminary police investigations indicate that the case is directly connected to crypto assets, reflecting a broader rise in offline physical attacks, often called wrench attacks, targeting crypto holders since 2025. Reports from blockchain security and intelligence firms including TRM Labs and CertiK have noted that the perceived pseudonymity of crypto transactions, the public visibility of wealth, and the accessibility of on-chain data have made crypto holders and their families more vulnerable to such crimes. Europe, especially France, has become a key hotspot for these incidents. Many cases are reportedly carried out by amateurs recruited through messaging apps such as Telegram or Snapchat, while organizers may be located overseas. Four suspects in this case remain at large.

Countries across Europe have recorded a large number of wrench attacks this year. Source: CertiK

Trending Tokens:

• $PRINTR (Printr)

The launch of Printr V2 marks a major advancement in multi-chain token generation infrastructure. The platform has been deployed across eight major networks, including Solana, BNB Chain, Base, Mantle, Arbitrum, Monad, Avalanche, and Ethereum. This update introduces a custom fee structure that creators can define at launch, while also optimizing strategic launch profiles for different asset categories such as memecoins, growth-oriented tokens, and bluechip projects. To address the widespread issues of copycat launches and liquidity dilution, the platform has integrated anti-vamp protection, which prevents tokens with the same ticker and image from being deployed within a 48-hour window. Integrations with leading trading bots and aggregation protocols such as Trojan, Maestro, and Jupiter ensure that assets can receive immediate market exposure and liquidity routing from the moment they are created. Its underlying technical architecture relies on established infrastructure providers including Meteora, Uniswap, and LayerZero to support cross-chain communication and secure decentralized exchange operations. By combining proof-of-burn staking with comprehensive infrastructure support, Printr positions itself as a robust tool for both institutional and retail token deployment.

• $ALIGN (Aligned)

Aligned has announced a public token sale on the Sonar platform, aiming to establish transparent price discovery through an English auction mechanism. As a decentralized zero-knowledge verification layer built on EigenLayer, the protocol uses the security of Ethereum validators to enable low-cost verification for any SNARK proof without being constrained by mainnet throughput limits. The public sale sets a fully diluted valuation range between $100 million and $1 billion, with final allocations determined through a water-filling mechanism in the event of oversubscription. Participants can receive a 10% discount on their token purchase by committing to a one-year lockup period, while this lockup requirement is mandatory for U.S. accredited investors to meet regulatory compliance conditions. This token distribution event follows the project’s updated economic structure, which clearly defines allocation ratios for the team, strategic investors, ecosystem growth, future provisions, foundation development, and community airdrops. Backed by $36.27 million in total funding from notable investors such as Hack VC and Lemniscap, this actively validated service addresses key cost constraints for Layer 2 networks and cross-chain bridges.

• $MEGA (MegaETH)

MegaETH has further strengthened its market presence after announcing plans to launch its real-time blockchain execution environment in May 2026. The infrastructure project operates as a high-performance EVM Layer 2 network, using node specialization and an optimized network architecture to achieve high throughput and low latency. Its core mechanism separates transaction execution from the verification process through a stateless validation framework, while relying on a single active sequencer for real-time transaction ordering. The platform positions itself as an operating system layer designed to unify cross-application user experiences while giving users personal control over execution rules. By optimizing the throughput capacity of the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the protocol aims to address critical performance bottlenecks and support decentralized applications that require near-instant finality.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this section is for informational purposes only and doesn't represent any investment advice or FameEX's official view.