ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has abandoned plans to become a for-profit company and reaffirmed commitment to its nonprofit status. 

In a May 5 blog post, OpenAI confirmed plans to convert its for-profit business unit into a so-called Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), which would remain under the nonprofit’s control. PBCs are for-profit companies that are legally obligated to prioritize a social mission alongside the interests of shareholders.

The plans mark a reversal for OpenAI, which had previously floated a for-profit conversion involving spinning out the nonprofit entity.

“OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, and is today overseen and controlled by that nonprofit. Going forward, it will continue to be overseen and controlled by that nonprofit,” the ChatGPT-maker said. 

This can be done without compromising OpenAI’s ability to raise funds for AI development, which “currently requires hundreds of billions of dollars and may eventually require trillions of dollars,” OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, said in a letter to employees announcing the decision.

In 2024, OpenAI took a starkly different view, asserting that the for-profit entity was “necessary” for raising capital to amass the “vast quantities of compute” needed to run AI models. 

OpenAI’s May 5 governance announcement. Source: OpenAI

Related: OpenAI expects to 3X revenue in 2025 but Chinese AI firms are heating up

Controversial Plans 

OpenAI was originally founded as a nonprofit in 2015, and in 2019 it created a for-profit entity purportedly to help AI developers raise funds. The for-profit unit has remained under the nonprofit’s control since then. 

In 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — one of OpenAI’s cofounders — sued Altman for allegedly “violating terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity,” according to a November court filing. 

In the lawsuit, Musk alleges Altman “assiduously manipulated Musk into co-founding their spurious nonprofit venture, OpenAI,” while secretly planning to convert OpenAI to a for-profit entity. 

Musk has since launched xAI, the developer of AI chatbot Grok, which he said has fallen victim to OpenAI’s allegedly anti-competitive practices.

OpenAI’s leadership expects its revenue to hit $29.4 billion by 2026, Bloomberg reported in March. It forecasts earning revenues of $12.7 billion in 2025.

In March, OpenAI raised $40 billion from Softbank at a $300 billion valuation.

Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest, April 27 – May 3

Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) John Durham has departed as President Donald Trump’s pick takes control of the office.

In a May 5 notice, the US Attorney’s Office for EDNY said Joseph Nocella will serve as interim US Attorney for the region for 120 days or until a Senate-confirmed nominee assumes the role. Nocella’s appointment came as jury selection began in the criminal trial of Braden John Karony, the former CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon.

It’s unclear how the advancement of Nocella, appointed by US President Donald Trump this month, could affect prosecutors’ case against Karony, who faces charges of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Nocella said he intended to help prosecute “narcotics-traffickers, gang members, terrorists, human-traffickers and other criminals.”

The former SafeMoon CEO asked the court in February to consider pushing back the start of the trial based on “significant changes” Trump had proposed affecting US securities laws, potentially impacting his criminal case.

Related: What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?

Though not as well known for criminal cases involving high-profile figures in the crypto industry, the Eastern District of New York has been responsible for overseeing cases against individuals tied to digital assets, including a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint against Hex founder Richard Heart and fraudsters.

Its neighboring district, the Southern District of New York, will oversee the sentencing of former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky on May 8. Jay Clayton, a Wall Street insider and the former chair of the SEC, became the interim US Attorney for the district in April.

Criminal trial to start on May 6

SafeMoon’s Karony, Kyle Nagy, and Thomas Smith were charged in November 2023 for “diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth” of the platform’s SFM token between 2021 and 2022. Karony has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been free on a $3 million bond since February 2024.

In a May 5 filing, Karony agreed to have jury selection for his trial proceed under US Magistrate Judge James Cho. District Judge Eric Komitee is expected to oversee the trial starting on May 6.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin price slips, but BTC dominance is on the rise.

Sizable purchases by Strategy and the spot BTC ETFs highlight institutional investors’ appetite for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has dropped by 4.3% in the last three days after nearly reaching $97,900 on May 2. Despite showing resilience at the $94,000 level on May 5, some traders are disappointed that strong institutional inflows have not been enough to maintain bullish momentum. However, several encouraging signs suggest that a new all-time high for Bitcoin in 2025 remains within reach.

Bitcoin market share excluding stablecoins. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Bitcoin’s dominance over the broader cryptocurrency market has surged, currently standing at 70%, its highest since January 2021. This has occurred despite a wave of new token launches, including several top-50 projects such as SUI, Toncoin (TON), PI, Official Trump (TRUMP), Bittensor (TAO), Ethena (ENA), and Celestia (TIA). This dominance makes riskier altcoins less appealing to new market entrants.

The spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $4.5 billion in net inflows between April 22 and May 2. At the same time, the increasing appetite for Bitcoin futures signals growing institutional adoption regardless of whether leverage is used for downside protection or bullish bets.

Bitcoin futures aggregate open interest, BTC. Source: CoinGlass

According to CoinGlass, the total open interest in Bitcoin futures markets has reached 669,090 BTC, a 21% increase since March 5. Even after Bitcoin’s price crashed below $75,000 in early April, demand for leveraged positions remained strong. The open interest in BTC futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) alone exceeds $13.5 billion, indicating robust institutional demand.

Several factors explain why Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim the $100,000 level. Traders who bought in anticipation of the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill on March 6 are growing increasingly frustrated, as the government has yet to disclose its BTC holdings or announce plans for further purchases. Additionally, similar state-level Bitcoin bills have repeatedly failed, including the latest setback in the US state of Arizona.

Strategy doubles its plans for BTC acquisitions despite the global trade war 

Over the past three months, gold has outperformed most assets, rising 16%, while Bitcoin has declined by 5% and the S&P 500 has corrected by 6.5%. This has challenged the notion of Bitcoin as an uncorrelated asset, as the cryptocurrency has repeatedly failed to decouple from the S&P 500 amid rising economic risks. The global trade war has led investors to favor fixed-income assets and cash positions.

5-year US Treasury yield (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Bitcoin’s recent drop to $94,000 is particularly concerning given that Strategy, a US-listed company led by Michael Saylor, announced the acquisition of 1,895 BTC on May 5, after doubling its capital increase plan to fund further Bitcoin purchases. However, since investors were previously uncertain about Strategy’s ability to raise additional capital, the announcement of an $84 billion plan on May 1 has reduced some of this risk.

For Bitcoin to reach a new all-time high, investors will likely need reassurance that US-China trade relations are improving, as tariffs have negatively impacted overall risk appetite. Nevertheless, the key elements for a BTC bull run above $100,000 appear to be in place.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.