The Daily: Sam Altman's World eyes US rollout, Eric Trump says crypto will leave big banks 'in the dust' and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Thursday! Crypto is trading hotter than the desert heat of Dubai at TOKEN2049, with bitcoin back above $97,000 and green candles lighting up almost across the board. The question is: are we so back, or is it time to sell in May and walk away?

In today's newsletter, Sam Altman's human verification crypto project World is launching in the U.S., Ethena brings its synthetic stablecoins to TON, Metaplanet plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary and more.

Meanwhile, Coinbase said it will suspend trading of Movement's token on May 15 amid the recent controversy surrounding "market maker abnormalities" — seeing MOVE plunge to a new all-time low.

Let's get started.

Sam Altman's World eyes US rollout

World, previously known as Worldcoin, is launching in the United States . The project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman enables users to verify their personhood via the crypto project's infamous eyeball-scanning Orbs to establish a World ID and earn WLD tokens.

• The U.S. rollout will kick off in six cities — Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco — marking a major step for the project, which aims to provide a means to differentiate between humans and AI-generated actors like bots.
• World's debut in other countries often led to concerns about data protection and privacy, particularly given the sensitivity of the biometric information collected.
• World says it only uses the data to establish that a person is human and does not store the biometric information, thus eliminating potential privacy risks.
• However, U.S. regulatory openness under the Trump administration is helping to pave the way for the venture.
• The project also plans to offer a Visa card that connects to users' World App wallets for spending digital assets, which is expected to become available in the U.S. later this year.
• Additionally, World is also wading into online dating, partnering with Match Group in a pilot program involving Tinder users in Japan to verify that "the profiles they interact with represent real people seeking real connections."

Ethena brings its synthetic stablecoins to TON

Ethena Labs and the Ethena Foundation have partnered with the TON Foundation to introduce synthetic stablecoins USDe and sUSDe into TON's blockchain ecosystem , which is closely tied to the messaging app giant Telegram.

• Ethena will integrate sUSDe natively within TON under the name "tsUSDe," enabling users to access the asset directly through Telegram's native wallet and other TON-compatible wallets.
• Eligible TON wallet holders can earn an additional 10% yield boost on up to 10,000 tsUSDe tokens, in addition to existing Ethena rewards, according to the projects.
• The move supports Ethena's 2025 expansion plans and taps into Telegram's 1 billion users to promote USDe as a global dollar savings tool.

Metaplanet plans US subsidiary, $250 million raise to accelerate bitcoin treasury strategy

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet plans to establish a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary in Miami, Florida, this month as part of its ongoing global expansion strategy.

• The new entity, Metaplanet Treasury Corp., is expected to raise up to $250 million in capital to accelerate its bitcoin treasury operations, according to CEO Simon Gerovich.
• The move positions Metaplanet closer to U.S. markets with access to institutional liquidity pools and more efficient bitcoin acquisition channels, according to the firm.
• Metaplanet has been actively buying the world's largest cryptocurrency since it introduced its bitcoin adoption strategy in April 2024, reaching the 5,000 BTC ($487 million) milestone last week.

JPMorgan's blockchain unit expands into MENA with 8 major bank deals

JPMorgan's Kinexys blockchain platform has expanded its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa , securing partnerships with eight of the region's leading banks, including Qatar National Bank and Saudi National Bank, to power cross-border payments, treasury functions and transaction efficiency.

• The expansion aims to modernize the region's financial infrastructure with 24/7, near-instant settlement for commercial transactions.
• Initially launched in 2019, Kinexys now handles over $2 billion in daily transactions, with year-over-year payment volume growing tenfold.
• However, the platform still only represents a fraction of the approximate $10 trillion in daily transactions handled by the bank's broader payments division.

Eric Trump says crypto is going to leave big banks 'in the dust'

World Liberty Financial Web3 Ambassador Eric Trump said crypto will leave big banks "in the dust," claiming their refusal to innovate and their hostility toward political outsiders will lead to their downfall.

• Speaking in a fireside chat with WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff and Tron founder Justin Sun at TOKEN2049 in Dubai, President Trump's son praised crypto for offering financial freedom and a level playing field while criticizing banks for clinging to outdated, fee-based models.
• "I believe the crypto world is going to take over the big banks," he said. "Nothing would make me so happy to see them fall to the very people they came after."

In the next 24 hours

• Eurozone CPI data are released at 5 a.m. ET on Friday. U.S. nonfarm payrolls follow at 8:30 a.m.
• Ethena and Moca Network are set for token unlocks.

Never miss a beat with The Block's  daily digest  of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.