Russia considers legalizing crypto for global payments as it faces ongoing sanctions

Key Points

The lower house of the Russian Parliament will consider a law that permits making international payments via cryptocurrencies, Russia’s central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said Tuesday.
Russia’s central bank is also itself looking to move money across borders using crypto before the end of 2024, Nabiullina said.
The U.S. and its allies have imposed innumerable sanctions on Russian individuals and entities in retaliation to its assault on Ukraine.

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Finance

Traders are doubtful Cohen’s GameStop can pull off monster eBay acquisition

May 4, 2026

Key Points Traders on prediction markets platform Kalshi give the video game retailer just a 26% chance at successfully completing an acquisition in 2026. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen in an appearance on “Squawk Box” didn’t disclose further details about how it plans to finance its proposal. Source

Finance

Kalshi traders see April jobs report coming in better than economists’ estimates

May 4, 2026

Key Points If Kalshi traders are right, it would be the first month of back-to-back job growth since May 2025. Traders aren’t confident of a big beat, though. They assign just a 30% chance the report will come in at 100,000 jobs gained or more. Source

Finance

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz won’t return to normal until August or later, according to Kalshi traders

May 4, 2026

Key Points Traders think there’s a 59% chance traffic returns to normal by September 1. Odds that happens by August are hovering around 50%. Kalshi defines normal traffic flows on the contract as the 7-day moving average of transit through the strait crossing 60 based on data from IMF PortWatch. Source