🇰🇬🥇🥇 Kyrgyzstan's Gold-Backed Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin USDKG to Debut in Q3

The stablecoin will be backed by $500 million in gold from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance, with plans to expand reserves to $2 billion.

Central Asian country Kyrgyzstan plans to debut the Gold Dollar, or USDKG, the gold-backed stablecoin pegged 1:1 with the U.S. dollar in the third quarter, project's advisor Gabriel Guerra told CoinDesk at the Token2049 conference in Dubai.

The stablecoin, backed by $500 million in gold from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance, is designed to facilitate seamless cross-border transfers in a country where remittances account for 30% of the GDP.

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/05/05/kyrgyzstan-s-gold-backed-dollar-pegged-stablecoin-usdkg-to-debut-in-q3

@FelipeChannel

🇺🇸🇺🇳🌊 Trump’s Push For Deep-Sea Metals Clashes With UN Ocean Treaty

Just days after Trump issued an executive order expediting the processing of seabed mining applications, The Metals Company (TMC) on Tuesday applied for a US license to extract minerals from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an immense region of the Pacific that stretches from Hawaii to Mexico.

There’s a hitch, though. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone and the rest of the ocean floor in international waters falls under jurisdiction of the International Seabed Authority, whose 169 member nations plus the European Union are loath to give up their mandate to regulate deep sea mining for the benefit of humanity while ensuring the effective protection of the marine environment.

ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho on Wednesday warned that unilateral action by the US “sets a dangerous precedent that could destabilize the entire system of global ocean governance.”

At stake is not just who gets to exploit polymetallic nodules — potato-sized rocks rich in cobalt, nickel and other metals that carpet the Clarion-Clipperton seabed — or the fate of the otherworldly deep sea life that lives on them, but the future of a treaty that has kept commercial peace on the world’s oceans for more than 30 years.

https://gcaptain.com/trumps-push-for-deep-sea-metals-clashes-with-un-ocean-treaty/

🇷🇴🇪🇺 Romania’s “pro-EU” PM Marcel Ciolacu resigned after his coalition’s candidate failed to reach the presidential runoff.

Ciolacu lost to nationalist George Simion and centrist Nicușor Dan.

🔗 AF Post

🍻🍷 Alcohol consumption has gone into possibly permanent decline

Global wine production, for instance, reached its high point of 37.5 million metric tons—equivalent to around 50 billion bottles—back in 1979. Since then, it has dropped by roughly 27%, despite years of promotion around the supposed health benefits of a daily glass of red. Beer may have crested too. The amount brewed worldwide has dipped about 2.6% from its peak of 190 million tons in 2016—roughly half a trillion bottles.

Include spirits and other alcoholic beverages, and the picture becomes even more subdued. Market research firm IWSR reports a marked decline in per-person alcohol consumption—from 5 liters of pure alcohol per adult per year in 2013 to 3.9 liters in 2023. Apply population data to those figures, and it appears global alcohol consumption peaked in 2016 at 25.4 billion liters—a drop of about 13% since then.

“This has been a story of gradual, long-term moderation,” says Richard Halstead, IWSR’s head of consumer insights. “We’re seeing a generational transition—from older drinkers who regularly consumed inexpensive alcohol with meals, to younger adults in their 20s and 30s whose drinking is more occasional and socially driven.”

https://unusualwhales.com/news/alcohol-consumption-has-gone-into-possibly-permanent-decline

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israel is reportedly planning a new offensive to “conquer” all of Gaza and establish a lasting military presence.

🔗 AF Post

🇵🇸 What's the endgame in Gaza?

The IDF is drafting 10,000s as operation 'Gideon's Chariots'. It's a long time since Gaza posed a strategic threat, but it still exists as a festering sore, holding 24 hostages & 35 bodies. So what will the endgame be?

🧵 https://fxtwitter.com/Saul_Sadka/status/1919408004295725111

#BREAKING

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪❗️ — Sky News Arabia reports that ALL planes on ground at Saana International Airport as well the entire Airport Terminal were destroyed by Israeli Air Force!

https://fxtwitter.com/SkyNewsArabia_B/status/1919734664689815750

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪⚡️ — Sky News Arabia reports Israeli Airstrikes targeted the Dhahban Central power plant of Saana!

https://x.com/SkyNewsArabia_B/status/1919737693749071972

🇳🇪🤝🇲🇦 — After denouncing "Russian and Turkish Operational weaknesses", the Niger Military Junta hired a Moroccan company specializing in digital intelligence, supported by ARCEP, says LSI Africa

Morocco, a Western-aligned Monarchy, has been leading a swapping wave of influence over Sahelian countries looking to diversify their defense and intelligence partnerships

🇮🇱❌🇾🇪 — Israeli observers report that among sites struck by the IAF in Yemen today are:
➡️ Sanaa International Airport and several planes; according to reports, the airport was fully disabled

➡️ The Yemeni Air Force Al-Dailami Air Base. This base shares with Sana'a Airport a runway. It is mostly used as a radar base.

➡️ Hezyaz, Asr, and Dhahaban power plants

➡️ The Al-Imran Cement Factory

https://x.com/no_itsmyturn/status/1919747391739072690

🇮🇳🇵🇰📝 Ryan Petersen: The rising tensions between India and Pakistan due to the Pahalgam terror attacks are now disrupting ocean shipping.

Over the weekend, both nations imposed bans on cargo originating from each other transshipping to their respective countries.

The Pakistan to India feeder route has gained popularity due to limited direct shipping options from Pakistan, longer transit times to Colombo, and persistent congestion.

Carriers are now adjusting their services, with some vessels being redirected back to Pakistan to unload cargo, while others are rerouting to Colombo.

Currently, there are no confirmed restrictions on Pakistan cargo with a port call in India remaining on board for its final destination.

We are hearing mixed reports from our carriers and Flexport team on the ground in India if this will persist.

If India or Pakistan ban cargo remaining on board we will see carriers add a port call in Oman or Sri Lanka on these services to pick up this cargo.

This will certainly delay cargo transit times and if cargo remaining on board is restricted, the impact will be much larger.

🔗 Ryan Petersen