Mad News: May 2026
Sell in May and go away?
May was a relatively calm month for the Mad Lads and the broader ecosystem
Meanwhile, the world kept holding its breath over headlines and fake news surrounding the Iran conflict, while traders continued getting slaughtered on the charts…
The market has been moving in strange ways lately. We saw Solana jump from 82 to 96, only to fall back to 82 within a single week. HYPE also experienced a massive rally from 42 to 63, seemingly just to liquidate a whale holding a large short position
Personally, this constant volatility and market manipulation have cost me quite a bit recently… to the point where, for the first time in a long while, it genuinely affected me mentally…
On top of that, Web3 and NFT communities have become noticeably less active, which also impacted the Web3 job I relied on. I did not completely lose it, but the workload and income were significantly reduced. Altogether, it has left me feeling somewhat “Web3-depressed” lately…
Despite all of this, the Lads continue to stand out as one of the strongest communities in the space! We still see creativity, community-driven initiatives, and members building cool things every month. And most importantly, the Lads are still showing up IRL, proudly repping their merch all around the world and continuing to assert their dominance
Backpack News
New Listing
May also brought 5 new listings to Backpack Exchange:
Quests
A new quest is now available: "Trading Trail"
Simply trade on any market, each time your reach a volume threshold, you get rewarded
For your information, we are currently in Week 2, where the bonus for newcomers is higher. Here is the bonus for existing users:
General updates
Despite the fact that no major new feature announcements were made, Backpack kept shipping great improvements:
TP/SL presets on web
Russian language added to the web UI
New trade flow on web: when your USD balance won’t fully cover a trade but you hold USDT, Backpack now surfaces the different ways your collateral can be used, including instantly converting USDT → USD via RFQ at no fee, or continuing to use USDT as collateral to open the position with a USD borrow
Mobile web KYC flow improved, with identity verification now working cleanly end-to-end across onboarding
DTCC
What is DTCC?
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is basically the “plumbing” of the U.S. financial system. It handles the clearing, settlement, and custody of most stock, bond, ETF, and derivatives trades in the United States
Every time someone buys or sells stocks on Wall Street, DTCC infrastructure is usually involved behind the scenes. It processes trillions of dollars in securities transactions and custodies more than $100 trillion in assets
Why is it related with crypto?
What makes this important for crypto is that DTCC is now moving into tokenized securities, meaning real stocks, ETFs, and Treasuries represented on blockchain networks
In 2026, DTCC formed a working group with 50+ firms to help build this system. Backpack was included alongside firms like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nasdaq, and Robinhood
Why this is bullish for Backpack users?
The key point is that Backpack Exchange is not just “using” the system, it is helping shape the infrastructure for tokenized financial markets!
Backpack gains early access to institutional-grade tokenized assets infrastructure
If tokenized stocks and Treasuries become mainstream, Backpack could become one of the first crypto exchanges offering seamless trading between crypto and real-world securities
Being included in the DTCC working group gives Backpack institutional credibility. Wall Street firms generally do not invite random exchanges into core market infrastructure discussions
This aligns with Backpack’s broader strategy of becoming a regulated financial platform rather than only a crypto exchange
The bullish angle is not just “price goes up.” The bigger thesis is that Backpack may be positioning itself at the intersection of:
crypto infrastructure
regulated brokerage services
and tokenized traditional finance
If tokenized equities become a major trend over the next few years, exchanges already integrated into DTCC’s ecosystem could have a significant advantage
Brick by Brick 🧱
Mad Lads
Lads spotted
The Lads are always at the center of the action, even at Solana Summit Kazakhstan
Mad Poker Series
So far, two games of the Mad Poker Series have taken place for the Lads: the first against Geckos from GGSG, and the 2nd against the Monkes from SMB
Both times, a Lad took the crown. During the first game, it was Chocoo, and during the second, it was Metalbear. Once again, the LADS are ON TOP!
Who will win the next game?
Sales bot
Coach reached out to me and said, “Chocoo, we need a new sales bot”. So I opened VS Code, and we shipped the new Mad Lads Sales Bot: @MadLadSales
Give it a follow, and bear with us as we keep improving it day after day!
PODCAST CORNER 🎙️
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