Crypto Daily Recap | May 8, 2025

1. Coinbase becomes exclusive crypto partner for Riot Games’ global League of Legends and Valorant events—bringing Web3 rewards to esports.

2. Metaplanet buys 555 BTC for \$53.4M, now holding a total of 5,555 BTC.

3. Arizona’s Bitcoin Reserve bill (SB 1373) passes Final Reading, heads to the Governor’s desk—again.

4. Bhutan, Binance Pay, and DK Bank launch the first national crypto payment system for tourism.

5. 21Shares launches a Cronos ETP, bringing \$CRO to traditional European markets.

6. Tether integrates Chainalysis compliance tools into its Hadron platform for real-time risk monitoring.

7. Bitwise files for a NEAR ETF, expanding altcoin access to institutional investors.

8. Tether’s USDt launches on Kaia, offering stablecoin payments to 196 million LINE users across Asia.

9. Ethereum activates Pectra upgrade with 11 enhancements improving UX, validator performance, and L2 scaling.

10. USD1, the Trump-backed stablecoin, becomes the 7th largest globally after jumping to \$2B market cap.

11. Visa invests in BVNK, a London-based stablecoin payments startup—deepening its Web3 footprint.

12. Coinbase unveils x402, enabling instant stablecoin payments via HTTP—no banks or cards needed.

13. Bit2Me and Cecabank launch platform to offer crypto trading and custody to Spanish banks—MiCA compliant.

14. Chainalysis launches Sentinel, a tool for token issuers to monitor stablecoins and tokenized assets in real time.