Margaret Lea won last week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ with this beauty about how financial disclosures for President Donald Trump showed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions involving securities in major American companies in the first quarter of 2026:

“I’m still glad to live in a country where we can write politically disrespectful haiku and not be arrested,” she writes, celebrating her victory. And she was up against some stiff competition, too:

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Stocks go up and down, Oh to have a crystal ball, Just watch Trump policy ~Stephen Balzac (12)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I can change the rules. My trades are now better than Nancy’s. Follow me, victory! ~Clair Thomas (14)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Blind trust, they all winked | thousands of trades, one address | rules are for others ~Kristin Lanham (39)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Pres gets rich but we | don’t blink an eye it’s not on | top ten of his crimes ~Lodro Rinzler (40)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Manipulating | the market is not very | presidential, Trump. ~Sam Sigelakis-Minski (8)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Pockets lined with gold | Now the Oval isn't square | Billionaires don’t care. ~Carol Wade (26)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Betting on sure things | the investments guaranteed | by leader's decree ~Steve (13)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Why risk losing, when | You can decide the outcome? The Grifter King smirks ~Peter (76)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Insider trading. Illegal for us peasants. No sweat for POTUS. ~Greg Manahan (59)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Explain to me why — Martha Stewart went to jail, but Trump makes billions? ~Margaret Lea (123)

410 Votes via @beehiiv polls

This week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ is about how Iran moved billions of dollars through crypto exchange Binance $BNB ( ▼ 0.78% )  to fund its regime, continuing into this month, despite repeated red flags. Binance says it has “zero tolerance for illicit activity.” Send me your entry — to haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET Thursday, for consideration by your Cheddar peers.

And now? News!

Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Iran moved billions through Binance for regime

• Crypto industry braces for quantum threat

• Markets expect rate rise as Warsh takes over Fed

• Tons of market floats will ignite a trading frenzy

• One defense manufacturer making more missiles

• Poll of the day: Got Iranian crypto billz to pay?

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.37% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.58% ) $NDX ( ▲ 1.59% )  

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$BNB ( ▼ 0.78% )  $WLFI ( ▼ 2.71% )  $IBM ( ▲ 0.34% )  $SPACEX ( ▼ 1.77% )  $OPENAI ( ▼ 36.7% )  $ANTHROPIC ( ▼ 3.13% )  $LMT ( ▲ 2.0% )  

Iran moved billions through Binance for regime

A key Iranian regime financier, Babak Zanjani, built a secret payment network using the Binance $BNB ( ▼ 0.78% ) cryptocurrency exchange to fund Iran's military forces, despite repeated internal red flags, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Over two years, Zanjani's network generated $850 million in transactions on the platform, acting as a crucial financial artery for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Zanjani has publicly embraced his role in bypassing Western financial blockades, noting on social media that recent U.S. sanctions indicate “the effectiveness of our economic activities.” However, a spokesperson for Zanjani denied the allegations, telling the Journal, “He has neither required nor relied upon any cryptocurrency exchange for the purpose of money laundering or sanction evasion.”

Despite internal Binance investigators repeatedly flagging these accounts as a money-laundering network financing the regime, the main account continued to operate for at least 15 months, the Journal reports.

A Binance spokesperson pushed back against the claims, stating that the exchange has “zero-tolerance for illicit activity on its platform.” Defending the company's current practices, the spokesperson added that “since 2024, Binance has transformed and built a best-in-class compliance program,” and argued that the “overwhelming majority of these transactions have nothing to do with the Binance platform.”

The Journal reports that the transactions have continued into this month.

Binance fought off an earlier lawsuit in March — which was dismissed by a New York judge — alleging that the platform had allegedly helped terrorist groups conduct 64 attacks around the world. The Trump administration dropped a separate SEC enforcement lawsuit against Binance a year ago, weeks after World Liberty Financial $WLFI ( ▼ 2.71% ) , a crypto firm started by President Trump’s family, announced that it was helping to facilitate a $2 billion business deal between Binance and an Abu Dubai-backed fund. Executives for World Liberty Financial also met with Binance founder Changpend Zhao.

Quote of the Day

Crypto industry braces for quantum threat

Cryptocurrency companies are urgently preparing for a new technological danger: powerful quantum computers that could soon break the security underpinning global digital assets like bitcoin. As developers slash timelines for practical quantum machines to as early as 2030, digital asset firms are accelerating their preparations for a "post-quantum" age, the Financial Times reports.

The risk is severe because quantum computers could potentially decrypt the private keys of digital wallets, allowing attackers to steal funds anonymously and irretrievably. “The threat has moved from theoretical to credible,” said Ayo Akinyele, head of engineering at RippleX. In response, major players are taking action; the Ethereum Foundation has launched a post-quantum roadmap, and stablecoin issuer Circle is creating quantum-resistant crypto wallets.

However, some remain skeptical about the immediate timeline. Kostas Chalkias, chief cryptographer at Mysten Labs, argued, “It’s a theoretical computer that doesn’t exist yet,” adding that the danger is decades away and that AI vulnerabilities are actually “far more dangerous.” Pushing back against this skepticism, Akinyele pointed out that new AI models are actively being leveraged to accelerate the path to quantum computing, warning, “This is a threat that we can’t afford to be reactive against.”

Yesterday the Trump administration gave $2 billion to a basket of chipmakers including $IBM ( ▲ 0.34% ) to accelerate the quantum leap.

Markets expect rate rise as Warsh takes over Fed

Kevin Warsh has officially taken the helm of the U.S. Federal Reserve, sworn in at the White House by President Donald Trump during a period of mounting economic pressure. As Warsh begins his four-year term, Wall Street is heavily betting that the central bank will raise borrowing costs by the end of 2026 to combat surging inflation exacerbated by the Iran war.

Traders in the futures market are now fully pricing in a quarter-point rate increase by year's end, marking a dramatic shift from early-year expectations of multiple rate cuts. This pivot comes as key wholesale price growth reached 6% in April, driven largely by energy and transportation spikes linked to the conflict. Analysts anticipate Warsh will face immediate pressure; Steven Blitz, an economist at TS Lombard, told the Financial Times that markets will give the new Fed chief "no quarter" if he avoids a rate hike at his first policy meeting in mid-June.

Warsh’s appointment follows Trump’s severe public clashes with former Fed chair Jay Powell over interest rates. Despite this history of executive pressure, Trump has promised Warsh the "full support" of his administration and encouraged the new chief to do his "own thing" as he navigates this critical inflationary threat.

Song of the Day: Olivia Rodrigo, ‘The cure’

Reviewers are highlighting this track’s emotional maturity, noting its shift from "toxic ex" anthems to a deep internal exploration of self-doubt and insecurity. Pretty deep for a super-hot pop star, eh?

Tons of market floats will ignite a trading frenzy

Blockbuster public listings from SpaceX $SPACEX ( ▼ 1.77% ) , OpenAI $OPENAI ( ▼ 36.7% ) , and Anthropic $ANTHROPIC ( ▼ 3.13% ) are set to trigger an unprecedented wave of market activity over the summer. Under new Nasdaq "fast entry" rules, these highly anticipated stocks will be fast-tracked to join major indices in just 15 days, forcing passive investment funds to automatically buy in. This sudden influx will rapidly drive up the new companies' share prices while simultaneously forcing passive investors to dump billions of dollars in existing large-cap tech stocks to make room, reports the Financial Times.

The scale of this market rebalancing is historic. “The SpaceX IPO is like no other single index event in recent history,” Peter Haynes at TD Securities $TD ( ▲ 0.68% ) told the Times, adding that his firm has been overwhelmed by questions from institutional investors. Because the initial "free float" of available shares will be remarkably small, Todd Sohn of Strategas warned the rapid index inclusion will feel “almost a little frantic.” He noted that passive funds will be forced to buy regardless of massive post-IPO price spikes, too: "They have to take that price . . . They can’t discriminate."

Despite what Citi's $C ( ▼ 0.1% ) Christian Raute warned could be a "noisy" and "expensive" transition, Wall Street is aggressively preparing for the opportunity. As one U.S. hedge fund portfolio manager confidently told the Times; “We’re going all in for maximum size on all of them . . . We are not liquidity constrained at all.”

Reminds me of the term “liquid lunch,” that quote. God, I miss those. (Sighs)

One defense manufacturer making more missiles

As wars global geopolitical tensions escalate, Lockheed Martin $LMT ( ▲ 2.0% ) is undertaking a massive expansion of its U.S. defense manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand. To support this vital effort, the defense giant is injecting up to $9 billion into scaling munitions production and strengthening domestic supply chains.

At the forefront of this initiative is a major production increase for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. According to Tim Cahill, president of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin (I would kill for a job title that cool…), the company is breaking ground on an expanded facility in Troy, Alabama, designed to increase THAAD interceptor production fourfold. Cahill highlighted the unique capability of the THAAD interceptor, noting that it "doesn't actually have an explosive in its warhead" but instead relies on pure "kinetic energy" to "literally vaporize that incoming threat" before it reaches population centers or allied bases.

Beyond sheer manufacturing volume, Cahill stressed that reshoring critical defense production is essential for national security to prevent any aggressive or pandemic-related supply interruptions. Looking ahead, Lockheed is focusing on adaptable, AI-driven defense systems capable of neutralizing everything from small drones to high-end ballistic missiles. Because "our adversaries don't stand still," Cahill said. Lockheed is actively building flexible systems while "thinking about what is this going to be in 10 years, 15 years, 20 years down the line."

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