Crypto News – May 17

🏔️ Bhutan and Binance Pay launch the world’s first national tourist payment system, allowing tourists to pay for flights, visas, hotels, tours, and market purchases with cryptocurrency.

📝 A new bill in the U.S., called "MEME," aims to ban the President and Congress members from launching meme tokens, after the TRUMP token became a major corruption scandal.

📉 Metaplanet, a Japanese equivalent of Strategy, bought 555 BTC for \$53.4 million, now holding 5555 BTC in total, acquired for \$481.5 million at an average price of \$86,672.

🦈 Only 58 crypto wallets made million-dollar profits on the TRUMP meme token, while over 764,000 investors are in the red.

🎯 A small group of traders earned \$100 million buying the MELANIA token just before Melania Trump announced its launch. They quickly sold the token during the pump.

📅 Bitcoin has been 141 days since its last ATH, with an average of 211 days between records. A new ATH could come in about 70 days, though some analysts believe it may happen sooner.

💼 EverCoinBank launched a new trading token, Cyber Token AIO, offering daily payouts for holders, reducing volatility risks without staking.

🎬 Netflix is planning a series about the FTX collapse, with Evan Peters as Sam Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner as Caroline Ellison.

🔧 Ethereum's Pectra upgrade has been activated, with improvements like smart contract wallet support and increased staking limits. This aims to make Ethereum more scalable and user-friendly.

💳 Coinbase launched x402, a new online payment tool for AI agents using HTTP protocols to enable autonomous stablecoin transactions.

⚡ Revolut to launch Bitcoin payments via the Lightning network in Europe.

🌍 If the U.S. imposes tariffs on mining equipment, Russia could benefit as mining hash rate may shift there, with potential new hubs in Canada, Northern Europe, Brazil, Argentina, and Ethiopia.

📊 David Baileying raised \$300 million to launch a public cryptocurrency trading company.

💸 Tether printed 1 billion USDT