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According to PANews, data from SoSoValue indicates that on May 15 (Eastern Time), Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $115 million. The Blackrock ETF IBIT recorded the highest single-day net inflow of $410 million, bringing its historical total net inflow to $45.423 billion. Conversely, the Ark Invest and 21Shares ETF ARKB experienced the largest single-day net outflow of $132 million, with its historical total net inflow standing at $2.567 billion. As of the time of reporting, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $121.469 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 5.91% compared to Bitcoin's total market value. The cumulative historical net inflow has reached $41.514 billion.

According to PANews, Fold Holdings, a Bitcoin financial services company, reported a first-quarter revenue of $7.1 million, marking a 44% increase compared to the previous year. However, the company's net loss widened to $48.9 million. Fold Holdings' Bitcoin holdings have grown to 1,490 BTC, valued at $150 million, representing a 50% increase from the fourth quarter of last year. The company's trading platform processed $250 million in transaction volume during the first quarter, with active accounts surpassing 600,000. In February of this year, Fold Holdings completed its listing on Nasdaq. Currently, the value of its Bitcoin holdings accounts for approximately 35% of its market capitalization.

According to PANews, Bitcoin Magazine journalist @Vivek4real reported on the X platform that the California pension fund has disclosed its purchase of MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares worth $276 million. This investment represents an indirect approach to investing in Bitcoin.

According to BlockBeats, Brazilian publicly traded company Méliuz has purchased Bitcoin valued at $28.4 million, marking it as the first listed company in Brazil to include Bitcoin in its balance sheet. This strategic asset allocation received overwhelming support from the company's shareholders.

According to BlockBeats, Barclays Plc analysis indicates that the demand for portfolio adjustments on Fridays significantly increases the cost of trading high-grade corporate bonds by 31% compared to other days. Impax's Trzcinka noted increased market activity on Fridays, highlighting uncertainty about weekend developments. Historically, Fridays were the cheapest day for bond trading, but this trend has reversed. Barclays analysts Zornitsa Todorova and Andrea Diaz Lafuente reported that in March and April, investment-grade corporate bond trading on Fridays accounted for 18% of weekly volume, up from 16% in 2023 and 2024. Since U.S. President Donald Trump resumed office, market activity has seen broader fluctuations due to his unpredictable policy decisions on tariffs, immigration, and foreign affairs, contributing to the heightened Friday trading pace. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Athanasios Psarofagis found that the average weekly stock market trading volume in 2025 increased by 37% compared to the previous four years, with Friday trading volume surging by 42%. Last weekend, the reasons for this growth became apparent as Trump and his Treasury Secretary released successive trade-related announcements, leading to significant market changes by Monday. The S&P 500 index rose by 3.3%, the Nasdaq 100 returned to a bull market, and credit markets showed a sharp decline in investor default concerns. Mark Clegg, a senior fixed-income trader at Milwaukee's Allspring Global Investments, emphasized the importance of reducing portfolio risk before the weekend, stating, "No one wants to enter the market on Monday morning trying to correct mistakes after significant changes." Despite increased trading speed and volume, transaction costs remain high, particularly for asset management firms. Cantor Fitzgerald asset management portfolio manager David Schiffman remarked, "Portfolio managers are forced to sell what they can, not what they want. There's a daily lack of direction and certainty, nearing the most extreme levels I've seen in my career."

According to Foresight News, xAI announced that the prompts for its AI chatbot Grok on the platform X were altered without authorization on May 15, 2025, at 10:33 AM UTC+8. The modifications involved political topics, which breached the company's internal policies. In response, xAI has initiated an investigation and is implementing measures to enhance the transparency and reliability of Grok. These measures include making Grok's system prompts publicly available on GitHub, strengthening the review process for prompt modifications, and establishing a team for round-the-clock monitoring. Previously, Foresight News reported that Grok had repeatedly mentioned the topic of "white genocide in South Africa."

According to PANews, DeGods founder Frank, also known as Rohun Vora, experienced a security breach in his Solana wallet, resulting in the unauthorized sale of 16 DeGods NFTs. The incident led to a loss of approximately 108 SOL, equivalent to $19,000. This breach occurred just three days after Frank announced his resignation as CEO. He confirmed to the media that the incident was a hacking attack and dismissed rumors suggesting he had sold the NFTs himself, emphasizing that he still holds a substantial amount of DeGods assets. The floor price of DeGods NFTs has significantly dropped from a peak of $37,000 in 2023 to around $1,000 currently. This week, Frank handed over the project to team members known by the pseudonyms Pasta and Chill, while he continues to hold over $50,000 worth of DEGOD ecosystem tokens. The NFT project has previously faced controversy due to multiple cross-chain migrations and had invested in shares of a BIG3 basketball league team in 2022.

According to PANews, a Singapore-based fintech company's Hong Kong branch experienced a significant theft involving over 3.2 million USDT, valued at approximately 26 million Hong Kong dollars. The incident involved an employee who executed 64 unauthorized transactions from the company's virtual currency account, transferring the funds to various electronic wallets on different trading platforms. Authorities have successfully recovered virtual currency worth about 8.6 million Hong Kong dollars, along with 4.65 million Hong Kong dollars in cash and assets. The individual involved has been charged with one count of theft and three counts of handling property known or believed to represent proceeds from indictable offenses. The accused admitted to the charges in the Hong Kong High Court and was found guilty, receiving a sentence of 78 months in prison.

According to BlockBeats, the Alternative data indicates that the current crypto Fear and Greed Index stands at 71, slightly up from yesterday's 70, with last week's average at 73. This suggests that market sentiment continues to be in the 'greed' zone. The Fear and Greed Index ranges from 0 to 100 and is calculated based on several indicators: volatility (25%), market trading volume (25%), social media activity (15%), market surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market dominance (10%), and Google search trends (10%).

According to Cointelegraph, hackers utilizing deepfake technology are targeting U.S. federal and state officials by impersonating senior government figures in a sophisticated phishing campaign aimed at stealing sensitive data. The FBI issued a warning on May 15, highlighting that these cybercriminals have been active since April, employing deepfake voice and text messages to deceive victims. The agency cautioned against assuming the authenticity of messages purportedly from senior U.S. officials, as compromised accounts could lead to further targeting of government personnel and their contacts using trusted information obtained through these scams. The FBI detailed that the hackers are attempting to access victims' accounts by directing them to malicious links and hacker-controlled platforms designed to harvest sensitive data such as passwords. Additionally, contact information acquired through social engineering tactics could be exploited to impersonate individuals and solicit information or funds. In a separate incident, Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of the blockchain platform Polygon, reported on May 13 that he was targeted in a deepfake scam. Nailwal expressed concern over the attack vector, noting that several individuals contacted him via Telegram, questioning whether he was on a Zoom call and requesting them to install a script. Nailwal explained that the scammers hacked the Telegram account of Polygon's ventures lead, Shreyansh, and invited people to a Zoom call featuring deepfakes of Nailwal, Shreyansh, and another person. The audio was disabled, prompting the scammer to request the installation of an SDK, which Nailwal warned would compromise the victim's security. He also highlighted the lack of a mechanism to report such incidents to Telegram, suggesting the need for a social method to flag suspicious accounts. Responses to Nailwal's post included reports from other users who had been targeted, including Web3 OG Dovey Wan, who shared her experience of being deepfaked in a similar scam. To mitigate the risk of falling victim to these scams, Nailwal advises against installing anything during online interactions initiated by others and recommends using a separate device for accessing crypto wallets. The FBI also emphasizes verifying the identity of anyone who contacts you, scrutinizing sender addresses for errors, and checking images and videos for unrealistic features. The agency further advises against sharing sensitive information with unknown individuals, clicking on links from unfamiliar sources, and advocates for the use of two-factor or multifactor authentication to enhance security.

According to PANews, the Saudi Central Bank has disclosed its ownership of shares in Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, indicating an indirect investment in Bitcoin assets. This move highlights the bank's strategic approach to cryptocurrency investments.

On May 16, 2025, 01:35 AM(UTC). According to Binance Market Data, Bitcoin has crossed the 104,000 USDT benchmark and is now trading at 104,016.328125 USDT, with a narrowed 0.59% increase in 24 hours.

According to PANews, a South Korean woman in her 40s has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Jeju District Court for transferring her boyfriend's cryptocurrency worth 700 million won (approximately $500,000) to her own account without his knowledge. The incident occurred in January this year, and the court found her guilty of fraud.

According to Foresight News, U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has officially filed a motion to end the debate on the GENIUS Act, with a vote scheduled for May 19. Senate insiders have disclosed that the amendments include explicit prohibitions on the misuse of FDIC insurance and enhanced bankruptcy protection clauses to garner bipartisan support. The outcome of this vote will directly influence the regulatory direction of the United States in the digital asset sector. Previously, Foresight News reported, citing crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, that the Senate received a bipartisan amendment text for the GENIUS Act concerning stablecoins. According to two informed Senate sources, the amendment introduces new changes in consumer protection, bankruptcy, and ethical considerations.

According to PANews, the U.S. Department of Justice has charged 12 individuals in connection with a $263 million cryptocurrency fraud network allegedly orchestrated by Malone Lam. The group is accused of employing tactics such as social engineering scams, database breaches, and physical theft of hardware wallets. Lam himself faces charges for a single fraud amounting to $230 million. Currently, 10 of the defendants have been apprehended, while two accomplices remain at large in Dubai. The indictment outlines the group's operations, which included target selection, phone scams, money laundering, and physical theft. Lam reportedly monitored victims' iCloud data remotely and directed associates to conduct burglaries. Records from August 2024 indicate the group stole 4,100 bitcoins, valued at $385.4 million at the time, through peer-to-peer scams. In September of the previous year, ZachXBT revealed that individuals known as Greavys (Malone Lam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), and Box (Jeandiel Serrano) were implicated in a sophisticated social engineering attack, resulting in the theft of $243 million from a Genesis creditor on August 19, 2024.

According to PANews, U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres has dismissed a joint settlement motion filed by the SEC and Ripple. The motion sought to lift an injunction from an August 2024 ruling and to release $50 million from a $125 million civil penalty escrow to the SEC, with the remaining funds returned to Ripple. The judge ruled that the application did not comply with the procedural requirements outlined in Rule 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Ripple's Chief Legal Officer stated that they will resubmit a settlement application that adheres to the rules. Legal experts suggest that both parties need to provide detailed justifications for the settlement under Rule 60, including the SEC's rationale for dropping other charges. The complete process is expected to take an additional 3-5 weeks. The judge emphasized that the dismissal was solely due to procedural issues and did not involve a substantive review of the settlement content.

According to PANews, the Russian Central Bank has identified Bitcoin as the best-performing asset in the Russian financial market for April 2025, with a price increase of 11.2% during the month. The bank also highlighted Bitcoin's year-to-date performance, which leads with a return rate of 17.6%, surpassing stocks, bonds, and gold. Despite experiencing an 18.6% short-term volatility decline from January to April 2025, Bitcoin has been recognized as the best-performing global investment product since 2022, with a cumulative return rate of 121.3%. Over the past year, Bitcoin has been acknowledged by the Russian Central Bank as the most profitable investment product, achieving a return rate of 38%. Since 2022, Bitcoin's cumulative return rate has reached 121.3%, significantly outperforming traditional assets such as gold, stocks, and the S&P 500 index. This recognition comes amid an unprecedented surge in institutional interest in Bitcoin.

According to PANews, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, has increased its holdings in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) to 8.727 million shares, valued at $408.5 million. This marks a 6% growth in its position since the end of 2024. The investment coincides with high-level interactions between the United States and the United Arab Emirates regarding cryptocurrency policies. U.S. President Donald Trump's AI and crypto advisor, David Sacks, engaged in discussions with UAE officials on March 20, exploring opportunities for integrating digital currencies and artificial intelligence.

According to BlockBeats, recent monitoring by Farside Investors revealed substantial net outflows from major investment funds. ARK's ARKB fund experienced a net outflow of $132 million, while Grayscale's GBTC fund saw a net outflow of $39.1 million. These movements indicate significant investor activity and potential shifts in market sentiment.

According to Odaily, a recent 13F report reveals that billionaire investor George Soros's investment fund has made significant investments in satellite manufacturer AST SpaceMobile Inc., a competitor to SpaceX, and technology giant Nvidia. At the same time, the fund has sold shares in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and other major tech companies. Additionally, the fund disclosed new investments in JPMorgan Chase and Bitcoin mining company Cipher Mining Inc.