The traditional talent market favored companies that could make employees feel superior by being "selected".

The most widely cited long-term valuation gauge for US equities just broke into uncharted territory. The Buffett Indicator — which measures total US stock market capitalization as a percentage of GDP — surpassed 230% for the first time in May 2026, setting a new all-time record and reigniting debate about whether Wall Street's rally has pushed valuations beyond any reasonable historical precedent. What the Buffett Indicator measures The ratio was popularized by Warren Buffett, who described it in a 2001 Fortune magazine interview as "probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment." The calculation is straightforward: divide the total market capitalization of all US-listed stocks by the country's gross domestic product. The result expresses how large the stock market is relative to the actual size of the underlying economy producing the wealth that stocks are supposed to represent. A reading above 100% has historically been considered overvalued. The ratio peaked at around 140% during the dot-com bubble before the Nasdaq collapsed. It reached approximately 200% in late 2021 before the 2022 bear market. Breaking above 230% in May 2026 puts current valuations in a category with no direct historical comparison. What is driving the record Analysts point primarily to the concentration of market capitalization in a small number of mega-cap technology companies. The AI capital expenditure boom has driven extraordinary earnings growth and valuation expansion at the handful of companies sitting at the top of the index — and because those companies now represent an unusually large share of total market cap, their valuations pull the aggregate ratio higher in ways that do not necessarily reflect conditions across the broader market. This concentration dynamic is important context for interpreting the indicator. A 230% reading driven by five or ten companies trading at extreme multiples tells a different story than a 230% reading spread evenly across thousands of companies. The former reflects a specific bet on a specific technology cycle. The latter would indicate broad-based speculative excess. Both can end badly. But they tend to end differently and on different timelines. What it doesn't mean: this is not a timing signal Analysts are consistent on one point: a record Buffett Indicator reading is not a signal that a crash is imminent or even likely in the near term. The ratio has been elevated relative to historical norms for most of the past decade, and markets have continued higher for extended periods despite persistent overvaluation warnings. The indicator is better understood as a long-term risk assessment tool than a precise market timing mechanism. It tells investors that the margin of safety in US equities is historically thin — that future returns over a ten or twenty year horizon are likely to be lower than they would be if stocks were purchased at more reasonable valuations. It does not tell investors that next month, or next quarter, will be the moment of reckoning. Markets can remain extended for longer than any valuation model predicts, particularly when driven by structural forces — technological transformation, institutional capital flows, or regulatory tailwinds — that are difficult to price conventionally. What it means for Bitcoin and crypto The record Buffett Indicator reading sits uncomfortably alongside the broader market narrative that has supported Bitcoin's rally since April. The same institutional risk appetite and AI-driven optimism that pushed the Nasdaq to record highs and Bitcoin above $80,000 is also the force pushing the Buffett Indicator to levels never seen before. If that risk appetite reverses — whether triggered by a policy shock, a geopolitical escalation, an earnings disappointment from a key tech giant, or simply the weight of extreme valuations becoming too heavy to ignore — the correlation between US equities and Bitcoin that has strengthened significantly since the launch of spot ETFs means crypto would not be insulated from the fallout. The more constructive reading is that the same structural forces driving equity valuations — AI adoption, institutional digitization, tokenization of financial infrastructure — are also long-term tailwinds for crypto specifically. In that framing, Bitcoin and digital assets are not just along for the ride on the equity bubble; they are part of the same technological transformation that is reshaping how capital is allocated and valued. Either way, a Buffett Indicator above 230% is a data point that belongs in every serious investor's risk framework — not as a reason to sell everything today, but as a reminder that the current environment offers less margin for error than almost any point in market history.

Jinse Finance launches the "Jinse Web3.0 Daily," providing you with the latest and fastest news on AI, DeFi, DAO, NFT, and the metaverse industry.

France's central bank deputy governor, Denis Beau, has called for European public and private sectors to collaborate on creating tokenized euro money. According to NS3.AI, this initiative comes as U.S. dollar-pegged tokens dominate 98% of the stablecoin market. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde expressed skepticism, noting that the case for euro-denominated stablecoins might be weaker than perceived. She also warned that the $310 billion stablecoin market could heighten financial vulnerabilities. Beau emphasized the need for Europe to adapt central bank money services, develop pan-European tokenized private money through regulated financial institutions, and enhance the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. He announced that a tokenized wholesale central bank money service is expected to launch by the end of this year.

The prediction market Polymarket has seen significant fluctuations in the event predicting the number of tweets by Elon Musk between May 5 and May 12, 2026. According to ChainCatcher, the probability of the 'Yes' option in the sub-market '100-119' has dropped sharply from 86.8% to 70.8% within the past hour, marking a 16% decrease. Observers are advised to consider the impact of any related breaking news.

Spot silver continued its sharp rally into Monday morning, reaching a high of $87 and hitting its highest level in nearly two months. The move has put significant pressure on at least one large on-chain short position that is now just 2.5% away from forced liquidation — while a whale who went long with 20x leverage during the overnight surge is sitting on floating profits exceeding 100% of their initial investment. Silver's rally: seven percent in 24 hours Spot silver climbed steadily from Sunday night through Monday morning, peaking at $87 before the SILVER perpetual contract on Hyperliquid settled around $85.8 at the time of writing — still representing a 7% gain over the prior 24 hours and a new two-month high for the metal. The move comes against a broader backdrop of elevated commodity prices, with oil also trading above $100 per barrel amid ongoing geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. The short position under pressure Among all whale positions exceeding $1 million opened on-chain in the past week, only one is positioned against the current trend. A single short position worth $1.72 million carries a liquidation price of $88.26 — just 2.5% above current trading levels. If silver continues higher and breaks above $88, this position would become the first on-chain whale liquidation of the current rally, with the forced buyback potentially accelerating the move higher as the liquidation engine closes the position at market. The proximity of that liquidation level to current prices makes it a closely watched technical trigger. Traders monitoring the move will be watching whether silver can sustain momentum above $86 and push toward the $88 zone where the liquidation would activate. The long whale printing over 100% On the other side of the trade, the most profitable on-chain address during this rally is wallet 0x9e8b1e51c642f4c8b87c6ba11c53d516a218afc4. During the main upward wave overnight, this address entered a long position with 20x leverage, deploying $5.17 million at an average entry price of $81.2. At current prices around $85.8, the position is carrying a floating profit of approximately $270,000 — representing more than 100% return on the initial margin deployed. The position has not been closed at the time of writing, meaning the profit remains unrealized and subject to reversal if silver pulls back. At 20x leverage, a 5% adverse move from the entry price would eliminate the initial margin entirely — making position management critical as the metal approaches the $88 level where the opposing short liquidation sits.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit China this week, anticipating economic agreements and a warm reception. Bloomberg posted on X that Trump's visit comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated his power, presenting a potentially challenging environment for negotiations. The visit is expected to focus on trade discussions, with Trump aiming to secure favorable deals. However, Xi's strengthened position may influence the dynamics of the talks. Observers are keen to see how the interactions between the two leaders unfold during this significant diplomatic engagement.

The CLARITY Act, CLARITY Relaunch: US Crypto Regulatory Legislation Enters a Critical Window (Golden Finance) - US cryptocurrency regulatory legislation is entering a critical window.

Coinbase, Coinbase is besieged on all sides. Golden Finance reports that exchanges are beginning to confront the structural problems of the cryptocurrency market.

This signifies that the competition in the stablecoin sector has escalated from "issuing tokens" to "building blockchains," shifting from vying for circulation volume to vying for control of the infrastructure.

Shares of Circle surged nearly 16% Monday to $131.76 — their highest level since March — after the USDC issuer delivered strong Q1 earnings and unveiled a massive $222 million ARC token raise that reinforced investor confidence in the rapidly expanding stablecoin economy.

Artificial Intelligence, Post-2000s Dropouts: Three Weeks of Code, Three-Person Team Creates Top 10 Consumer AI Applications in the US (Golden Finance), Three Young Men Manage the World's Largest Female-Oriented AI Romance Fantasy Website.

Prediction markets are wealth transfer machines, and bots are their operators.

Santa Clara County in California has sued Meta, accusing it of earning up to $7 billion a year from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram. It claims Meta failed to properly stop fraudulent ads and may have prioritised revenue, while Meta denies the allegations.

Sam Altman has once again ignited the AI world — this time launching a fully autonomous coding agent that would work independently like "Goblins" without the need of any supervision or looking after.