Daily News: Trump Plans Retaliatory Tariffs on Nations Taxing U.S., Virtuals Protocol Unveils $VIRTUAL Staking

On May 13, The U.S. April Unadjusted CPI Year-on-Year recorded at 2.3%, while President Trump to Increase Tariffs on Countries Imposing Tariffs on the U.S. Meanwhile, Believe Platform's Native Token $LAUNCHCOIN Market Cap Exceeds $100 Million, Native USDC lives on Sonic and Virtuals Protocol Launches $VIRTUAL Staking.

Other updates include Binance TGE and Alpha Points, and Industry Perspective.

U.S. April Unadjusted CPI Year-on-Year at 2.3%, Expected 2.40%

According to Jin10.com, the U.S. unadjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April was 2.3% year-on-year, against an expected 2.40% and a previous value of 2.40%. The seasonally adjusted CPI month-on-month for April was 0.2%, expected 0.30%, with a previous value of -0.1%. The unadjusted core CPI year-on-year for April was 2.8%, in line with expectations and the previous value. The seasonally adjusted core CPI month-on-month for April was 0.2%, expected 0.30%, with a previous value of 0.10%.

President Trump to Increase Tariffs on Countries Imposing Tariffs on the U.S.

According to Jin10.com, President Trump announced plans to increase tariffs on countries that impose tariffs on the U.S. Congress is set to pass the largest tax cut plan in history. The tax relief bill is progressing smoothly in Congress and is expected to act as a rocket for the U.S. economic boom. The stock market is expected to rise significantly.

Trump Secures $600 Billion Investment Commitment from Saudi Arabia

According to Jin10.com, President Trump received a $600 billion investment commitment from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Trump signed agreements in Riyadh covering energy, defense, mining, and other sectors. According to a White House briefing, the U.S. agreed to sell nearly $142 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, marking the "largest defense cooperation agreement" in Washington's history. The deal includes transactions with more than a dozen U.S. defense companies in areas such as air defense, missile defense, air force, space development, maritime security, and communications.

Believe Platform's Native Token LAUNCHCOIN Market Cap Exceeds $100 Million

According to GMGN, the market capitalization of Believe platform's native token LAUNCHCOIN has surpassed $100 million, currently priced at $0.104, with a 24-hour increase of 480%. The token underwent a rebranding from $PASTERNAK to align with the platform's development.

Binance Wallet Launches Privasea AI (PRAI) TGE Event

According to Binance, Binance Wallet has launched the Privasea AI (PRAI) TGE event. Subscription time is from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (UTC+8) on May 14, 2025. Eligibility for subscription requires qualified users to use Binance Alpha points starting from this TGE.

Binance Alpha Points Reaching 205 Can Participate in Redacted (RDAC) Airdrop

According to Binance, Binance Alpha points reaching 205 can participate in the Redacted (RDAC) airdrop, with 15 points deducted for this event. Users with 170 to 204 Alpha points, whose Binance account UID ends with the number 7, can also claim a lucky airdrop of 482 $RDAC tokens on the Alpha event page starting at 6:00 PM (UTC+8) on May 13, 2025.

Virtuals Protocol Launches $VIRTUAL Staking, Holding $VIRTUAL Alone No Longer Earns Points

According to Virtuals Protocol, $VIRTUAL staking is now live. By locking $VIRTUAL, users will receive veVIRTUAL, a vote-locked version of the token representing a long-term commitment, deeper protocol functionality, and future governance power. From today, 20% of Virgen points will be allocated to veVIRTUAL holders, replacing the previous system where points were earned by holding $VIRTUAL alone. Additionally, veVIRTUAL holders are eligible for the genesis airdrop, and veVIRTUAL will serve as the basis for voting rights.

How it works:

• Stake $VIRTUAL to receive veVIRTUAL

• The amount of veVIRTUAL depends on the amount and duration of the lock (up to 2 years)

• veVIRTUAL decays linearly over time until unlocked

• Enabling automatic maximum lock can achieve the maximum multiplier for up to 2 years (1:1)

Virtuals Protocol also stated: "Users who stake within 24 hours of this tweet's release will be eligible for a major surprise announced tomorrow."

Native USDC Officially Lives on Sonic Chain, Supports CCTP V2 Cross-Chain Functionality

According to Circle, native USDC has been launched on the Sonic blockchain, replacing the previous cross-chain bridge version, with no manual operation required by users. This upgrade introduces CCTP V2, enabling nearly instant USDC cross-chain transfers and supporting automatic operations. Institutional users can mint or redeem USDC directly at a 1:1 rate through Circle Mint. Initial supporters include Aave, Binance, and RedotPay. USDC now natively supports 20 blockchains.

Xiaofeng: Ethereum Foundation Should Not Stay Away from China

According to the ThreeDAO's article, HashKey Group Chairman Xiaofeng suggested to Vitalik in private talks that the Ethereum Foundation should establish an office in Hong Kong. Xiaofeng pointed out that blockchain developers are mainly concentrated in the English-speaking and Chinese-speaking worlds, and losing the Chinese market means losing important global developer resources. Vitalik stated that the Ethereum Foundation's development team in Berlin mainly engages in underlying technology work, which has matured, leaving room for optimization.

Xiaofeng expressed that China's technical departments, government agencies, and developer communities hold Ethereum technology in high regard and suggested that the Foundation should not stay away from the Chinese market.

DeFi Development Corp Increases Holdings by 172,670 SOL, Total Holdings Reach 595,988 SOL

According to Bitcoin.com, U.S. listed company DeFi Development Corp purchased 172,670 SOL at an average price of $136.81, totaling approximately $23.6 million. This marks the company's largest SOL purchase to date and its tenth acquisition under its digital asset reserve strategy. Following the transaction, DeFi Development Corp's total SOL holdings (including staking rewards) reached 595,988 SOL, valued at approximately $102.7 million.

eToro Lists on Nasdaq at $52 per Share, Valuation Reaches $4.2 Billion

According to Coindesk, cryptocurrency and stock trading platform eToro (ticker: ETOR) officially listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on Tuesday evening. The company issued 6 million shares at a price of $52 per share, raising approximately $310 million, with a company valuation reaching $4.2 billion. The offering price was significantly higher than the previously expected range. It was reported that eToro became the first company to complete a listing amid market impacts from tariff negotiations led by President Trump. Previously, several companies, including eToro, had postponed listing plans.

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