Here’s what happened in crypto today
May 5, 2025
BTCUSDT−0.27% ,TRXUST+1.01%
Today in crypto, the government of Maldives signs $9 billion deal to establish crypto hub, a group of pro-crypto US Senate Democrats have said they would oppose a stablecoin bill in its current form, and OKX founder and CEO has responded to Justin Sun’s criticism.
Maldives signs $9 billion deal to become international crypto hub
The government of the Maldives signed a $9 billion deal with Dubai-based family office MBS Global Investments to develop a crypto hub in the island nation's capital of Malé and to attract foreign investment opportunities.
Part of the development deal includes plans for an 830,000-square-meter facility used to house and host blockchain, crypto, and Web3 firms.
According to the Financial Times, which first reported the story, the deal was signed in the hopes of diversifying the Maldives' economy away from tourism and low-margin exports like providing fishing stock.
The project's total funding will exceed the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Maldives, which is around $7 billion annually.
Pro-crypto Democrats pull support for stablecoin bill in last minute
A group of US Senate Democrats known for supporting the crypto industry have said they would oppose a Republican-led stablecoin bill if it moves forward in its current form.
The move threatens to stall legislation that could establish the first US regulatory framework for stablecoins, according to a May 3 report from Politico.
Per the report, nine Senate Democrats said in a joint statement that the bill “still has numerous issues that must be addressed.” They warned they would not support a procedural vote to advance the legislation unless changes are made.
Among the signatories were Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Andy Kim — all of whom had previously backed the bill when it passed through the Senate Banking Committee in March.
The bill, introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty, is formally known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
OKX fires back at Tron’s Justin Sun over mysterious “freeze notice”
OKX founder and CEO Star Xu has publicly defended the crypto exchange after Tron founder Justin Sun accused it of failing to act on a law enforcement request to freeze stolen funds following a recent hack of Tron’s official X account.
“OKX also has consumers protection policy according to law, we can’t freeze a customer’s funds according to your personal X post or an oral communication. I think you should understand it as the CEO of HTX,” Xu said in an X post.
Xu said that the crypto exchange had not received any related correspondence through OKX’s official channels. “Our LE cooperation team just checked the email, including the spam box; we haven’t received any request related with this case,” Xu said.
In what is now an unavailable X post, but was screenshotted by Xu, Sun had earlier claimed that OKX has not responded to a “freeze notice” sent to its official email address from a “relevant law enforcement agency.” Sun said that he had no other way to contact OKX’s compliance department.
“These stolen funds do not belong to me; I’m acting to protect the community,” Sun said.