Web3 Weekly — May 18–25, 2026
At least $400.5M across 17 VC deals and 6 M&A transactions — including Deloitte/Blocknative and Standard Chartered's full Zodia Custody buyout. EU opens MiCA review consultation with 37 days to the July 1 CASP deadline. Ethereum Glamsterdam specs firm up with ePBS devnets; Clear Signing standard published. Aave V4 mainnet AIP incoming; Uniswap fee-expansion votes active.
The week of May 18–25 produced no single blockbuster deal — Kalshi's $200M top-line came from an add-on to an existing round — but the aggregate tells its own story: at least $400.5 million across 17 disclosed transactions, led by DeFi and AI agent infrastructure, with six M&A deals running in parallel. On the regulatory side, the EU moved to reopen its entire crypto framework for review with only 37 days left before the MiCA hard deadline, while the SEC/CFTC data remained unavailable due to a toolchain outage. Here is everything confirmed for the seven days ending May 25.
Funding rounds
Seventeen deals with disclosed amounts totaled approximately $400.5 million. Coinbase Ventures led all investors with four separate participations; Tether made three investments plus one acquisition. The week had no token sales or grant-based deals — all 16 VC rounds were straight equity or SAFE, plus six M&A transactions.
Kalshi — $200M add-on from Baillie Gifford. Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market and event-contract exchange, received a $200 million follow-on from Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh-based asset manager with over $200 billion under management.1 The capital was added to the existing $1 billion round; no new valuation or use-of-proceeds details were disclosed.
Variational — $50M Series A. Variational, a decentralized perpetuals and derivatives trading protocol, closed a $50 million Series A with Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and Bain Capital Crypto participating.1 The stated goal: bring traditional market liquidity onto blockchain infrastructure.
SignalPlus — $40M (undisclosed round). SignalPlus, an options trading and risk management platform, received $40 million from HashKey Capital (Hong Kong-based crypto asset manager and VC) for global expansion.1
Catena Labs — $30M Series A. Catena Labs, a Web3 incubation company focused on AI, digital identity, and digital communications, completed a $30 million Series A with Coinbase Ventures, a16z crypto (Andreessen Horowitz's dedicated crypto fund), IDG Capital, General Catalyst, Breyer Capital, Acrew Capital, QED Investors, and Oak HC/FT.1 The company is building AI-oriented financial infrastructure and payment solutions for autonomous agents.
Eisen — $18.5M combined. Eisen, which provides compliance and tax-reporting automation as a SaaS service for crypto and fintech companies, disclosed a $10 million Series A led by MissionOG (a fintech and enterprise SaaS-focused VC), alongside a previously undisclosed $8.5 million round from First Round Capital, Homebrew, Restive Ventures, and Cowboy Ventures.1
Checker — $8.1M Seed. Checker, which provides stablecoin liquidity infrastructure for banks and fintechs, closed an $8.1 million seed round with a notably broad investor syndicate: Framework Ventures, Galaxy Ventures (Galaxy Digital's VC arm), SNZ Holding, Breed VC, Aquanow, Commerce Ventures, and a further nine firms.1
AEON.xyz — $8M Pre-Seed. AEON.xyz, a payment gateway for AI agents and blockchain transactions, raised $8 million pre-seed from YZi Labs (Binance's former incubator and a leading Asian crypto VC), HashKey Capital, IDG Capital, and the Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund.1
Cycles — $6.4M. Cycles, a stablecoin settlement and liquidity management protocol, raised $6.4 million from Coinbase Ventures, Blockchange Ventures, Primitive Ventures, and Compound VC. The project is building a stablecoin clearing network with two initial products: Cycles Prime (institutional) and Cycles Pay (consumer).1
SizeProp — Pre-Seed (undisclosed amount, SAFE). SizeProp, a crypto-native proprietary trading platform that lets traders access up to $100,000 in firm capital from a one-time $35 evaluation fee, completed a pre-seed round backed solely by Igloo Inc., the Miami-based consumer brand group behind Pudgy Penguins.2 The platform has deployed over $50 million in trading capital to 3,500+ traders across 150 countries since launching in late 2025.
Sorted Wallet — $4.4M Seed. Sorted Wallet, a crypto wallet and financial app designed for low-end and feature-phone users in emerging markets, closed a $4.4 million seed round from Tether (the USDT issuer), Gnosis, Movement Labs (the Move-language L2 developer), and Angel Invest.1
Additional deals this week: Foundation Devices ($6.4M, Bitcoin hardware wallet developer, backed by Fulgur Ventures); Nof1 ($15M, AI trading model evaluation and deployment platform, backed by Karatage, SUI Group Holdings, and Twin Path Ventures); IOTrader ($3.8M Strategic, blockchain derivatives and prediction markets, Animoca Brands participating); Aryze ($3.48M Pre-Seed, full-reserve stablecoin issuer, investors undisclosed); DAOKraft ($3.4M, AI analytics and DAO voting management, Animoca Brands and Castrum Capital participating); Tomoland ($2M, Web3 creator UGC platform); AISIM ($1M Strategic, eSIM and AI services, backed by ENI); and Temple (Strategic round, amount undisclosed, SBI Holdings-backed institutional trading infrastructure on Canton Network).1 LemFi, an international remittance and multi-currency financial services company, also received an undisclosed investment from Tether.1
M&A: six deals in a single week
Six acquisitions were announced, all with undisclosed terms:
- Standard Chartered fully acquired Zodia Custody, the institutional crypto custody platform Standard Chartered had previously co-founded with Northern Trust, consolidating full ownership of the digital asset storage operation.1
- Deloitte acquired Blocknative, the blockchain mempool monitoring and transaction management tooling company, to integrate its infrastructure into Deloitte's Web3 consulting and audit practices.1
- Tether bought out SoftBank's stake in Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin infrastructure company, becoming its sole owner.1
- MoonPay (crypto payment infrastructure) acquired Decent, a cross-chain transaction and automated asset swap protocol, planning a unified on-chain operations API across 200+ blockchains.1
- Zama (fully homomorphic encryption solutions for blockchain and AI) acquired TokenOps, a token management and vesting automation platform, to add confidential vesting, airdrops, and distribution tools to its FHE ecosystem.1
- Kaiko (Paris-based crypto market data provider) acquired Cometh, a Web3 gaming platform, to expand its regulated on-chain infrastructure business.1
The M&A volume — six deals in one week — is the structural signal here. None of the six acquirers are native crypto startups: Standard Chartered, Deloitte, and Tether are each bringing Web3 capabilities in-house, while MoonPay, Zama, and Kaiko are consolidating adjacent tooling. That pattern is different from the venture round activity and worth watching as a separate trend.
EU regulatory: MiCA review opens, 37 days to deadline
The European Commission launched a public consultation on May 20 to assess whether the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) remains "fit for purpose," less than six weeks before its critical July 1, 2026 compliance deadline.34
The consultation runs through August 31, 2026 and includes two tracks: a public questionnaire and a targeted technical consultation for industry stakeholders. The areas under review:
- Stablecoin interest prohibition: MiCA's ban on paying interest or interest-equivalent remuneration on stablecoin balances
- DeFi gaps: decentralized finance, staking, and lending activities that fall outside MiCA's current scope
- Classification boundaries: the blurred line between crypto assets and traditional financial instruments (wrapped tokens, synthetic assets, tokenized fund interests)
- Consumer trust: whether ordinary EU consumers understand and trust digital assets under the current framework, including awareness of Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins
Industry observers have begun referring to the anticipated updates as "MiCA 2." Katie Harries, Coinbase's Director and Head of Policy for Europe, called the review "a key opportunity to look at the broader crypto markets and the future of finance."4
The timing is notable: the Commission opened a review of the regulation it finished implementing while the first major enforcement deadline is still weeks away. MiCA's transitional period — during which pre-existing VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) could continue operating under national licenses — expires July 1. As of the prior tracking window, roughly 75% of pre-MiCA VASPs had not secured full CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) authorization under MiCA and were unlikely to do so by the deadline.
On May 22, ESMA published the weekly update to the Interim MiCA Register, covering authorized CASPs, ART and EMT issuers, crypto-asset white papers, and non-compliant entities.5 The register is updated weekly until ESMA's IT systems formally integrate it, expected by mid-2026.
US regulatory: no confirmed data this week
SEC and CFTC enforcement data for May 18–25 could not be sourced this week due to a toolchain outage that blocked all API and web-fetch access to regulatory primary sources. No SEC or CFTC enforcement actions against crypto entities during this window have been confirmed. The prior window (May 10–17) showed zero crypto-specific SEC litigation releases; whether that pattern continued through May 25 is unverified.
CLARITY Act context as of last confirmed data (May 14): the Senate Banking Committee passed the bill 15–9; it awaits reconciliation with the Senate Agriculture Committee version and requires 60 votes for Senate floor passage. No confirmed floor scheduling updates are available for this window.
Ethereum infrastructure: Glamsterdam spec firms up, Clear Signing launched
Two items from the Ethereum Foundation published in early-to-mid May reached consolidated status this week — one on the core protocol, one on wallet security. The prior issue noted Glamsterdam's delay to Q3; the technical picture now includes additional specifics from the Soldøgn Interop and the May 11 Protocol Cluster update.
Glamsterdam upgrade specifications confirmed. The Soldøgn Interop, held in Svalbard, Norway in early May, gathered over 100 Ethereum core contributors and produced several concrete outcomes for the Glamsterdam upgrade, still targeting Q3 2026; the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Cluster summary was published May 11.67
- 200 million gas limit floor confirmed as a credible post-Glamsterdam target, supported by the convergence of ePBS (enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation), Block-level Access List (BAL) optimizations, and EIP-8037 repricing
- ePBS stabilization: multi-client Glamsterdam devnets are running with end-to-end external builder pipeline tests covering almost all clients
- EIP-8037 finalized: adopts a fixed
cost_per_state_bytemodel; complete repricing data delivered on bal-devnet-6 - Hegotá (next upgrade after Glamsterdam) groundwork: FOCIL prototype operational, native account abstraction scope defined, multi-client devnet planned
The Ethereum Foundation Protocol Cluster team noted that Soldøgn marked Glamsterdam entering its hardening and preparation phase.6
Clear Signing standard published. Published May 12, the Ethereum Foundation's Trillion Dollar Security Initiative released the "Clear Signing" open standard, developed by a working group of wallet developers, security firms, and the EF.8 The standard aims to eliminate blind signing — the structural failure mode where users approve transactions without understanding what they are authorizing. Blind signing has been identified as the enabling step in several billion-dollar exploits, including the Bybit hack. The EF will act as a credibly neutral steward of the Clear Signing registry.
Hester Bruikman of the EF security team wrote that transaction approval should function as the last line of defense for users, and that in major exploits, the final step is typically a user confirming a transaction they don't fully understand.8
Protocol governance: Aave and Uniswap active
Aave. The [ARFC] Pause AAVE Buybacks proposal saw renewed forum activity on May 21, with multiple new posts on that date.10 Pause AAVE Buybacks — Aave Governance Forum|[https://governance.[aave.com/t/arfc-pause-aave-buybacks/24686]]](https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-pause-aave-buybacks/24686]])](https://aave.com/t/arfc-pause-aave-buybacks/24686]]](https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-pause-aave-buybacks/24686]])) The proposal is connected to defensive measures implemented since April 19 — a freeze on all rsETH and wrsETH reserves and interest rates following an earlier risk event. Separately, the [ARFC] BGD. Aave v3.7 proposal was active on May 24, and the Aave V4 activation on Ethereum mainnet Temp Check has already passed its governance vote, with a formal AIP (Aave Improvement Proposal) next.11 BGD. Aave v3.7 — Aave Governance Forum|[https://governance.[aave.com/t/arfc-bgd-aave-v3-7/24075]]](https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-bgd-aave-v3-7/24075]])](https://aave.com/t/arfc-bgd-aave-v3-7/24075]]](https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-bgd-aave-v3-7/24075]]))12 Aave V4 Activation on Ethereum Mainnet — Aave Governance Forum|[https://governance.[aave.com/t/arfc-aave-v4-activation-on-ethereum-mainnet/24293]]](https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-aave-v4-activation-on-ethereum-mainnet/24293]])](https://aave.com/t/arfc-aave-v4-activation-on-ethereum-mainnet/24293]]](https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-aave-v4-activation-on-ethereum-mainnet/24293]]))
Uniswap. Two Protocol Fee Expansion Temp Checks were active in the forum between May 19 and 25: one covering three new chains, and one covering eight additional chains plus remaining mainnet V3 pools.13 Protocol Fee Expansion: Three More Chains|[https://gov.[uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-three-more-chains/26108]]](https://gov.uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-three-more-chains/26108]])](https://uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-three-more-chains/26108]]](https://gov.uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-three-more-chains/26108]]))14 Protocol Fee Expansion: Eight More Chains and Remaining Mainnet v3 Pools|[https://gov.[uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-eight-more-chains-and-remaining-mainnet-v3-pools/26035]]](https://gov.uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-eight-more-chains-and-remaining-mainnet-v3-pools/26035]])](https://uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-eight-more-chains-and-remaining-mainnet-v3-pools/26035]]](https://gov.uniswap.org/t/temp-check-protocol-fee-expansion-eight-more-chains-and-remaining-mainnet-v3-pools/26035]])) The UNIfication Proposal — a potential restructuring of governance or tokenomics — was also under active discussion,9 alongside a separate proposal to return 12.5 million delegated tokens to the governance timelock. The forum had new posts on May 19, 20, 24, and 25, indicating sustained activity across the window.
What to watch next week
- MiCA July 1 deadline (T-37): first member-state enforcement notices against non-compliant VASPs; whether any major operators announce EU exits or license surrenders
- US regulatory catch-up: SEC/CFTC enforcement data and CLARITY Act Senate floor scheduling remain unverified for this window — both worth tracking once tooling is restored
- Ethereum Glamsterdam devnets: progression toward the public testnet phase; watch for multi-client issues given the scope of the ePBS changes
- Aave V4 mainnet AIP: timing and any last-minute governance opposition
- Tether M&A trajectory: three investments and one acquisition in a single week signals an active deployment posture — worth watching for further Bitcoin infrastructure moves
References
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4EU Reviews Stablecoin Interest Ban in Potential MiCA Overhaul
cointelegraph.com
- 5ESMA MiCA Register
esma.europa.eu
- 6Protocol Cluster Updates: May 2026
blog.ethereum.org
- 7Soldøgn Interop Recap
blog.ethereum.org
- 8Clear Signing: Making Transaction Approvals Safer on Ethereum
blog.ethereum.org
- 9UNIfication Proposal — Uniswap Governance Forum
gov.uniswap.org
- 109|[ARFC
- 1110|[ARFC
- 1211|[ARFC
- 1312|[Temp Check
- 1413|[Temp Check
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