CryptoNews

Tether and the Government of Georgia plan to launch GEL₮, a stablecoin representing the Georgian lari.
Summary
Tether and Georgia plan GEL₮ as a digital version of the Georgian lari for payments.
GEL₮ will target lower transaction costs, fast settlement, programmable payments, and cross-border digital transfers.
Georgia’s framework covers reserves, redemption rights, issuer oversight, AML rules, and U.S. rule alignment.
In a Monday announcement, Tether said the project would place Georgia’s national currency on digital asset rails under a purpose-built stablecoin framework.
The company said GEL₮ is designed for lower transaction costs, near-instant settlement, programmable payments, and digital value transfers. Further details on the token’s structure, rollout, and regulatory setup will be announced later.
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Georgia targets lari-backed stablecoin payments
GEL₮ is expected to support digital payments, cross-border commerce, fintech products, and value transfers across Georgia and the wider region. Tether said the token will work as a digital version of the Georgian lari, not a dollar-backed asset.
Tether and the Government of Georgia to Launch GEL₮, the Official Stablecoin of Georgiahttps://t.co/ueSLlJzot1
— Tether (@tether) May 25, 2026
The move comes as stablecoins keep growing as payment and settlement tools. Tether said USD₮ has a market capitalization approaching $190 billion, while crypto.news market data recently placed USDT’s market cap near $189.5 billion.
Georgia has already supported digital asset payments in some public finance use cases. Tether said the country allows tax payments through instant conversion of digital assets into local currency.
Tether builds on earlier Georgia activity
The GEL₮ plan follows years of Tether activity in Georgia. In 2023, Tether signed an MoU with the Georgian government to support Bitcoin, web3, and peer-to-peer infrastructure development in the country.
That earlier agreement included support for local web3 startups through grants and investments. Crypto.news reported at the time that the effort was aimed at building Georgia’s blockchain startup base and drawing more international collaboration.
Tether has also invested in Georgia’s payments market through CityPay.io. The company said in 2023 that CityPay.io was active in more than 600 locations across Georgia, including shops, hotels, and restaurants.
In 2024, Tether added another investment into CityPay.io to support expansion across Eastern Europe. The company said CityPay.io planned e-wallet and card products and targeted over 500,000 crypto payment points in the region.
Stablecoin rules shape the GEL₮ launch
Georgia’s stablecoin framework covers reserve management, redemption rights, issuer oversight, and anti-money-laundering compliance, according to Tether. The company said the framework was also designed for substantive compatibility with emerging U.S. rules, including the GENIUS Act.
That regulatory angle matters because stablecoin rules are changing across major markets. Crypto.news reported that U.S. banking groups recently asked regulators to pause three GENIUS Act rulemaking comment periods until the OCC finishes its main stablecoin framework.
Meanwhile, the GENIUS Act is scheduled to take effect no later than Jan. 18, 2027. It also noted that proposed rules cover issuer standards, state oversight, and anti-money-laundering requirements.
Officials frame GEL₮ as digital finance step
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the partnership aims to build a “more connected, transparent, and digitally empowered financial world.” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said stablecoins “are becoming part of the infrastructure layer for global finance.”
National Bank of Georgia President Natia Turnava also welcomed the collaboration as part of a wider strategy for secure and modern digital finance. Vakhtang Turnava, a member of Georgia’s parliament, said the partnership could help Georgia connect traditional finance with the digital economy.
The announcement also fits a wider stablecoin payments trend. Recent crypto.news coverage said stablecoins are moving further into real-world payments, business transfers, payroll, and cross-border settlement.
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TrapDoor malware has emerged as a new threat to crypto and AI developers after researchers uncovered a supply chain attack designed to steal wallet data, API keys, cloud credentials, and SSH access through poisoned developer packages.
Summary
Socket said the TrapDoor malware campaign has spread through more than 34 malicious developer packages across npm, PyPI, and Rust ecosystems.
Attackers targeted crypto and AI developers by stealing wallet data, GitHub tokens, cloud credentials, and SSH keys through disguised software tools.
According to a report published Sunday by developer security platform Socket, the campaign, dubbed “TrapDoor,” was first identified on Friday and has already spread through at least 34 malicious packages and 384 connected versions across multiple software ecosystems.
Socket said the attackers have focused on developers working in cryptocurrency, decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, and security infrastructure, where exposed credentials can provide access to wallets, repositories, cloud environments, and internal systems.
Among the targeted services are wallets and platforms linked to Coinbase, Binance, MetaMask, Brave, along with blockchain ecosystems tied to Solana, Sui, and Aptos.
Ahmad Nassri, chief technology officer at Socket, said the malware also attempts to manipulate AI coding assistants such as Claude and Cursor by injecting hidden prompts into development workflows. Socket’s report stated that the attackers appear to be pushing AI tools into running fake “security scans” that expose secrets and transmit them back to the operators.
A coordinated crypto stealer hitting 36 packages across @npmjs, @pypi, and @cratesiostatus simultaneously. Steals wallets (@SuiNetwork, @solana, @Aptos, @coinbase, @binance, @brave, @MetaMask, and more), SSH keys, AWS creds, GitHub tokens, and browser data. Injects hidden… https://t.co/EGn9mwOISw
— Ahmad Nassri (@AhmadNassri) May 24, 2026
Developer package repositories become attack route
Inside the campaign, malicious packages were disguised as common development utilities, including project setup tools, model-routing software, Solidity frameworks, prompt-engineering packages, and build helpers for Sui and Move-based applications, according to Socket.
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The infected packages were discovered across npm, PyPI, and Rust’s Crates ecosystem, giving attackers access to JavaScript, Python, AI, automation, and blockchain development communities at the same time.
Socket said the package names were intentionally designed to resemble legitimate software developers might install during normal workflows without noticing suspicious behavior.
At the same time, the company said GitHub repositories linked to the operation showed signs of AI-assisted development activity, including rapidly generated lure repositories, partially completed malware components, and prompt-injection documentation built around security themes.
Separately, GitHub disclosed on May 20 that unauthorized actors had accessed internal repositories after compromising an employee’s device.
Attack vectors continue to evolve
The latest campaign follows a growing pattern of attacks targeting crypto developers through trusted workplace tools and professional communication channels.
Last month, researchers at Elastic Security Labs detailed a separate operation that used the Obsidian note-taking app to infect cryptocurrency and finance professionals with malware known as PHANTOMPULSE.
According to Elastic, the attackers approached victims through LinkedIn and Telegram conversations before directing them to shared Obsidian vaults containing trojanized plugins.
Elastic said the malware established a decentralized command-and-control structure using blockchain transaction data spread across three networks, allowing operators to maintain access without relying on centralized servers.
Earlier in April, blockchain security firm CertiK warned that North Korea-linked Lazarus Group operators had used fake Zoom meetings, compromised Telegram accounts, and ClickFix-style social engineering tactics to deliver “Mach-O Man” malware to crypto executives and fintech employees on macOS devices.
CertiK researcher Natalie Newson connected that activity to recent DeFi exploits tied to Drift and KelpDAO, where attackers allegedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars through social engineering and cross-chain infrastructure abuse.
Security researchers have increasingly warned that software supply chains, collaboration apps, AI development tools, and open-source repositories are becoming common entry points for crypto-focused intrusions because developers routinely install third-party packages and plugins with elevated system permissions.
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Senior Commodity Futures Trading Commission officials who raised concerns about prediction market firms were suspended, investigated and pushed out, according to a New York Times investigation.
Summary
NYT reported CFTC officials raised concerns about Polymarket, Crypto.com and a Gemini affiliate before suspensions.
Crypto.news reported CFTC relief for event contracts as prediction market legal fights widened nationwide.
The CFTC sued New York after state actions against Coinbase and Gemini prediction markets.
The NYT reported that career officials questioned activity tied to Polymarket, Crypto.com and a Gemini affiliate. Staff raised concerns over consumer treatment, fraud controls and whether one affiliate had finished a needed regulatory review.
JUST IN: Several Commodity Futures Trading Commission officials who raised concerns over prediction markets were reportedly suspended, according to NYT.
— EyeWhales (@EyeWhales) May 24, 2026
The report said then-acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham and senior counsel Brigitte Weyls later helped the firms move forward. The NYT said two officials who raised questions were placed on administrative leave by late 2025. Three other staff members tied to crypto enforcement also faced the same action.
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Crypto enforcement falls under scrutiny
The NYT report said the CFTC pulled back from crypto enforcement under the current administration. It said the agency dropped at least five crypto probes and filed only two crypto enforcement cases, both against individual operators.
The article also said staff saw a clear message inside the agency: “Don’t cause trouble.” The White House denied conflict claims. Spokesman Davis Ingle told the NYT, “There are no conflicts of interest.”
Prediction market rules remain contested
Related crypto.news coverage reported that the CFTC gave no-action relief for fully collateralized event contracts listed on regulated exchanges. The relief covered some swap data reporting and recordkeeping duties for designated contract markets, clearing firms and market participants.
The CFTC also opened a wider rule process for prediction markets in March. The Federal Register notice said the agency sought public comment on event contracts, public interest limits, cost-benefit issues and possible future rules.
Meanwhile, crypto.news reported that prediction market platforms face state-level legal fights even as federal officials support broader CFTC control. The report said the CFTC had challenged actions in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Wisconsin.
Reuters also reported that the CFTC sued New York on April 24. The agency accused the state of intruding on federal authority after New York sued Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan over prediction market products.
As crypto.news reported, Congress has also raised concern over the CFTC’s thin leadership bench. The House Agriculture Committee last week pressed President Trump to fill the agency’s four vacant commissioner seats, saying a one-member commission cannot keep pace with its expanding crypto and prediction market duties.
Polymarket talks add to pressure
Crypto.news reported that Polymarket has been in active talks with the CFTC to lift a four-year U.S. ban tied to a 2022 enforcement action and $1.4 million settlement. The report said the talks center on contract design, KYC and reporting.
The same coverage said Polymarket bought QCX LLC, a CFTC-registered exchange, for about $112 million in 2025. That deal could help the platform build a regulated U.S. path if officials approve the plan.
The dispute now comes as Congress weighs broader crypto rules. Crypto.news reported that the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act in a 15-9 vote, a bill that would split digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC.
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The Zcash upgrade roadmap includes three advances targeting a 300% speed boost as ZEC gained 73% in a month.
Summary
Zcash’s NU7, planned as the network’s ninth upgrade, will introduce Zcash Shielded Assets and a Network Sustainability Mechanism with more than 90% community support.
Project Tachyon aims to scale shielded transaction throughput to thousands of TPS using proof-carrying wallets and oblivious synchronisation.
FROST v3 brings threshold signatures with cheater detection by default, with the Zcash Foundation expecting finalisation in 2026 as part of the Z3 tech stack.
The Zcash Foundation outlined a three-pronged technical roadmap building toward NU7, its ninth planned network upgrade. The SEC also closed its investigation into the Zcash Foundation on May 20 with no enforcement action, removing a major regulatory overhang.
NU7 is planned to introduce Zcash Shielded Assets, allowing user-defined tokens within shielded pools with full Zcash-grade privacy, alongside a Network Sustainability Mechanism that modernises fee mechanics. Community sentiment polling found more than 90% support among ZCAP members and coinholders for Project Tachyon and Orchard Quantum Recoverability as NU7 priorities.
BREAKING: The first NU7 testnet, doubling shielded TPS and reducing block times from 75 to 25 seconds, is live. pic.twitter.com/1PlhNLcI0y
— Cypherpunk ($CYPH) (@cypherpunk) May 22, 2026
What each of the three upgrades does
Project Tachyon scales Zcash’s shielded throughput using proof-carrying wallets and oblivious synchronisation, targeting thousands of transactions per second. The upgrade removes runaway state growth for validators, eliminating the rising marginal cost that currently limits Zcash’s scale.
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Crypto.news has tracked Zcash’s capital rotation dynamics and the structural drivers behind its recent 73% monthly rally.
FROST v3 brings flexible threshold signatures to Zcash shielded transactions with cheater detection enabled by default and stronger memory protection. The Foundation expects FROST v3 and ZIP-312 finalised in 2026 as part of the Z3 stack integrating Zebra, Zaino, and Zallet with built-in Tor support.
zcash is about to get much faster https://t.co/ZMMGtTO56M
— mert (@mert) May 22, 2026
Why the quantum angle is driving fresh interest in Zcash
ZEC’s 73% monthly gain coincides with growing market attention to quantum-resistant protocols. Zcash’s zero-knowledge proof technology, which now underpins major Ethereum layer-2 networks, is being re-rated as infrastructure rather than speculation.
Crypto.news has covered the quantum threat timeline, including research showing Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography requires approximately 2,330 logical qubits to break.
The NU7 upgrade includes Orchard Quantum Recoverability, enabling recovery pathways for keys that might become vulnerable to future quantum hardware. Citi’s analysis, as crypto.news reported, found a quantum attack on major financial institutions could put $2 to $3.3 trillion of GDP at risk. NU7’s quantum recovery component positions Zcash as one of the few protocols actively preparing for that scenario.
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THORChain has faced criticism from crypto security researchers and investors after proposing to continue using its patched GG20 signing framework following a $10.7 million exploit tied to the system.
Summary
THORChain faced criticism after proposing to retain its patched GG20 signing framework following a $10.7 million vault exploit.
The protocol said automatic solvency checks halted cross-chain signing and trading within minutes, preventing additional losses after a malicious node operator reconstructed a private key.
Separate reports from PeckShield linked a $1.3 million theft targeting THORChain co-founder JP Thor to a deepfake Zoom attack tied to rising North Korean-linked crypto hacks.
According to a post-mortem report released by THORChain on Wednesday, a malicious node operator exploited a flaw in the protocol’s GG20 threshold signature scheme and reconstructed a full private key linked to one of the network’s vaults.
The report said the exploit was made possible through “progressive key material leakage,” allowing the attacker to bypass the protections normally created by distributing signing authority across several node operators.
Within minutes of the breach, THORChain said its automatic solvency checks suspended signing and trading activity across multiple chains without requiring manual intervention. Node operators later coordinated through Discord to halt the network entirely and deploy a fix within roughly two hours.
While the protocol credited the safeguard systems for preventing additional losses, criticism emerged after governance proposal ADR-028 recommended keeping the GG20 threshold signature system in place with upgrades rather than replacing it outright.
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Why are security researchers questioning the GG20 framework?
Concerns around the proposed recovery plan intensified after several crypto analysts publicly questioned the reliability of GG20-based infrastructure.
Pseudonymous crypto project analyst Bird wrote on X that the initial exploit suggested the signing stack may contain “a flaw in randomness generation or local signing isolation.” At the same time, Bird praised THORChain’s automated solvency protections for limiting the damage before more vaults could be drained.
More critical reactions followed from crypto investor JP, who argued on X that GG20 carries “many brittle assumptions” and described the framework as a “black box” that may remain difficult to secure even with repeated patches.
Under ADR-028, THORChain would first absorb losses through protocol-owned liquidity before distributing remaining losses across synth holders. The proposal also seeks to rebuild depleted liquidity reserves over time using a portion of protocol income rather than minting or selling additional THORChain tokens.
At the same time, THORChain said trading activity would remain paused until the vulnerability is fully fixed. The protocol also announced plans to slash the malicious validator node while shielding unrelated node operators that shared the compromised vault.
How does the attack fit into rising crypto security threats?
The exploit arrived as blockchain security firms continue tracking a rise in sophisticated attacks targeting crypto infrastructure and executives.
Data from DefiLlama shows crypto exploits resulted in more than $634 million in losses during April alone. Earlier this year, blockchain investigator ZachXBT was among the first to flag the THORChain exploit before the protocol publicly halted trading and signing operations.
Separately, blockchain security firm PeckShield recently disclosed that THORChain co-founder JP Thor lost roughly $1.3 million in a separate attack linked to a compromised Telegram account and a deepfake Zoom call.
In a detailed post shared on X, JP Thor said the attackers used a fake video feed impersonating a friend before triggering a malicious script that copied files from his iCloud documents folder.
He added that his MetaMask wallet, which was connected to an inactive Chrome profile and stored through iCloud Keychain, was drained without warning prompts or admin approval requests.
Security researchers have linked similar attacks this year to North Korean hacking groups that increasingly rely on deepfake video calls, malware, fake job offers, and social engineering campaigns targeting crypto executives and developer networks.
Earlier this year, blockchain analytics firm TRM and law enforcement agencies attributed the $1.5 billion Bybit theft to North Korea-linked actors.
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Chainlink now secures more than $110 billion in onchain value across cross chain tokens and DeFi markets, underlining how central the oracle network has become to the infrastructure of digital assets and tokenised finance.
Summary
Chainlink reports $110 billion in Total Value Secured, with $60 billion in cross chain tokens over CCIP and $50 billion in DeFi data feeds
The network has enabled $30.31 trillion in cumulative transaction value and published 19.39 billion verified messages onchain as of late May 2026
Chainlink Reserve holds 3.78 million LINK worth about $37 million, funded by protocol revenue that links TVS growth to tokenomics
Recent migrations from LayerZero to CCIP by Solv, Kraken and others have pushed more than $4 billion in assets onto Chainlink’s cross chain stack after a $292 million exploit
Chainlink (LINK) has pushed past $110 billion in Total Value Secured (TVS), marking a new record for the oracle network and underscoring how much of crypto’s plumbing now runs through its rails.
As of May 22, 2026, roughly $60 billion of that is tied to cross-chain tokens moving over Chainlink’s CCIP, while around $50 billion sits in DeFi data feeds that help price loans, derivatives, and stablecoins. In macro terms, that stack of value is now on par with the annual GDP of a mid-sized national economy.
Chainlink officially stepped in to tally the stats—7 top protocols that recently migrated over to CCIP and Data Feeds, with total migrated TVL exceeding $4 billion. CCIP: – Kelp DAO: $1.5 billion – Lombard: $1 billion+ – Solv Protocol: $700 million+ – Re: $475 million+ – Kraken: $330 million+ – Tenbin: Not disclosed.
Chainlink defines Total Value Secured as the dollar value of assets that rely on its services to function safely, rather than deposits locked inside its own contracts, which means TVS captures loans, derivatives, stablecoins and cross chain tokens that depend on its oracle and messaging infrastructure.
Chainlink’s own dashboard shows a narrower DeFi only view of $47.33 billion secured, which lines up with the second bucket in the headline number and underscores how much of the growth has come from cross chain flows.
NOW: @turtledotxyz, a leading liquidity distribution protocol, published an updated due diligence process for asset listings. After an extensive security review, Turtle chose Chainlink CCIP as the gold standard for cross-chain infra due to its secure-by-default architecture. https://t.co/IigxuyFcr0
— Chainlink (@chainlink) May 22, 2026
Beyond the headline, Chainlink metrics show $30.31 trillion in cumulative transaction value enabled and 19.39 billion verified messages, a scale that covers everything from micro DeFi trades to institutional settlement and real world asset flows.
The public ecosystem directory lists 2,672 live integrations as of May 18 2026, ranging from consumer apps to capital markets infrastructure, with names like Swift, DTCC, Fidelity and UBS using Chainlink as a data and interoperability layer.
That footprint has kept Chainlink’s oracle market share in a band between 60 and 68 percent of category TVS over the past two years, according to several independent analyses.
How has Chainlink reached $110b in value secured
The financial side of the network shows the same expansion. The Chainlink Reserve, an onchain buffer funded by protocol revenue, holds 3.78 million LINK with a reported cost basis of $12.48 per token and an aggregate value near $37 million as of May 22 2026, after an inflow of more than 123,000 LINK on May 21 when the $110 billion milestone was confirmed.
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Because the Reserve is topped up by fees from both onchain and offchain services, growth in value secured and growth in the Reserve tend to move together, linking adoption metrics to tokenomics for LINK holders.
For readers looking to track how this feeds into market structure across large cap assets, coverage of Bitcoin (BTC) pricing, Ethereum (ETH) staking and the broader perpetual futures complex is already available on crypto news, including explainers on how data feeds and cross margining shape risk in the sector.
The outstanding question for LINK investors is how much of the enterprise and cross chain activity converts into onchain fee accrual that can be captured through staking and token mechanics, versus revenue retained at the application or institutional layer, a debate that has now been running for at least two years in research from banks and specialist crypto desks.
As one research note from Galaxy framed it, Chainlink is “becoming the data and interoperability layer for onchain finance,” but valuation will ultimately depend on how aggressively that role is monetised at the token level.
Why is CCIP driving the latest surge and how does risk migrate
The fastest moving component of the $110 billion total is CCIP, which has accelerated sharply after bridge security failures pushed protocols to reconsider their cross chain stack.
A $292 million exploit at Kelp DAO’s LayerZero powered bridge in April triggered a visible migration, with projects controlling more than $3 billion in DeFi value shifting infrastructure toward Chainlink’s CCIP in the weeks that followed.
Solv Protocol moved around $700 million in tokenised Bitcoin on May 7, while Kraken announced that it would fully deprecate LayerZero and adopt CCIP as the exclusive cross chain layer for Kraken Wrapped Bitcoin and all future Kraken Wrapped Assets, a change that ultimately covers more than $4 billion in value.
CCIP already supports transfers across dozens of networks, with Coinbase using it for wrapped assets and Lido deploying it for wstETH routing, while cross chain tokens under the CCT standard now move across more than 60 chains.
That breadth matters for tokenised real world assets. BlackRock, JPMorgan and Fidelity have framed their onchain treasury, money market and commodity products as a step toward a more programmable capital market, but those instruments only function at scale if they have reliable price data and a way to move between chains without custom bridges for every deployment, a combination that makes Chainlink’s dual role as oracle and messaging layer strategically important.
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F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang plans to join SpaceX’s Starship program for a two-year mission that would fly beyond the Earth-Moon system and past Mars.
Summary
F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang plans to join SpaceX’s two-year Starship mission for a Mars flyby.
Wang previously commanded Fram2, the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions.
F2Pool remains a major Bitcoin mining pool, holding about 10% market share by recent data.
SpaceX has announced Wang as part of a planned Starship mission that would travel beyond the Earth-Moon system, conduct a Mars flyby, and return to Earth. Universe Today reported that SpaceX described the trip as a two-year round journey, though no launch date has been announced.
Chun will also join Starship’s first commercial spaceflight around the Moon
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2026
Wang said the mission would start with a flyby rather than a landing. He said “It’s going to be a flyby mission of Mars,” adding that such a flight could help build momentum for future missions.
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Lunar flight comes before Mars
Before the Mars trip, Wang is expected to join Dennis Tito and Akiko Tito on a planned commercial Starship flight around the Moon. The weeklong mission would pass within about 200 kilometers of the lunar surface, according to the same report.
Wang said the Moon flyby would test new work for Starship. He said “Even though it’s just a flyby,” the mission would attempt several things that have not been done before.
Meanwhile, Wang is not new to private spaceflight. Earlier reports noted that he funded and commanded Fram2, SpaceX’s first crewed mission to fly over Earth’s polar regions. The mission launched in 2025 with Wang, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge, and Eric Philips aboard Dragon Resilience.
The mission aimed for a 90-degree inclination, sending the crew over both poles. Related coverage said Fram2 carried scientific work linked to human health, space travel, polar auroras, and microgravity.
F2Pool link keeps crypto in the story
Wang co-founded F2Pool in 2013. The pool later became one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools, giving Wang a central place in early Bitcoin mining history.
F2Pool still ranks among the largest Bitcoin mining pools. Hashrate Index data shows F2Pool with about 107.2 EH/s and an 10% Bitcoin mining pool market share, behind Foundry USA and AntPool.
The SpaceX plan now places Wang among the small group of crypto-linked figures using private wealth for human spaceflight. It also adds a new chapter to the link between Bitcoin mining profits and high-risk frontier projects.
For now, the Mars mission remains a plan without a fixed launch date. Starship is still in testing, and long-duration private flights beyond the Moon remain complex. Still, Wang’s role gives the crypto industry a rare connection to SpaceX’s push beyond Earth orbit.
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Pi Network is trying to link token design with real product use as PI continues to trade near the lower end of its recent range.
Summary
Pi Network price holds near $0.153 after losing about 10% over the last seven days.
Chengdiao Fan said token design should support user growth, engagement, feedback, and long-term utility.
Pi’s utility push follows Protocol 23, but PI still faces weak momentum near key support.
Pi Network said founder Chengdiao Fan’s Consensus 2026 talk focused on a common problem in crypto: the gap between token design and real product innovation. The project said her session, “Aligning Web3, AI, and Blockchain for Utility,” framed tokens as tools for user growth, engagement, and long-term use.
Fan’s presentation also discussed Pi Launchpad, a proposed model for ecosystem tokens and launch mechanisms. The goal is to help products reach real users who can test, give feedback, and use tokens inside actual product experiences, rather than only trading them.
Pi Founder Chengdiao Fan’s talk at Consensus 2026 was centred on a simple but important challenge: The frequent misalignment between token design and real product innovation. Her presentation, “Aligning Web3, AI, and Blockchain for Utility,” explored how tokens can be treated…
— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) May 22, 2026
Pi Network’s own blog said Fan argued that AI has made it easier to create applications. That changes the main challenge for builders. In Pi’s view, distribution, verified users, and real usage now matter more than the ability to launch another app.
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The Consensus event page used similar language. It said the session would show how Pi combines blockchain infrastructure, verified identity, and a large engaged network to support utility-driven products and AI-era business models.
PI price remains under pressure
Pi Network’s market data still shows a weak price setup. PI traded near $0.152949 on May 22, with a 24-hour range between $0.150275 and $0.153973. The token was down 10.02% over seven days and 10.14% over 30 days, according to crypto.news price data.
The same data showed Pi Network with a market cap of about $1.62 billion and a fully diluted valuation of about $2.49 billion. PI ranked #54 by market cap, with 24-hour trading volume near $11.5 million.
Pi’s longer-term price picture remains weak. The token is down more than 81% over the past year and remains far below its all-time high of $2.99, reached on Feb. 26, 2025. It is still above its all-time low of $0.131244 from Feb. 11, 2026.
Chart signals also point to limited demand. PI/USDT is trading with muted volume, while the price is struggling to reclaim the $0.17 to $0.20 zone. RSI near 35 shows weak momentum, and the MACD remains negative, keeping sellers in control for now.
PI Network price chart, source: crypto.news Protocol 23 keeps ecosystem hopes alive
Pi Network’s utility message follows a major technical phase for the project. Recent coverage said Protocol 23 activated on May 11, shortly after the project’s Consensus 2026 appearance. The upgrade introduced full smart contract functionality to the Pi blockchain for the first time.
Earlier reports also said Pi’s co-founders used Consensus 2026 to discuss AI, online identity, and Web3 use cases. Fan spoke about utility and token design, while Nicolas Kokkalis joined a panel on proving human identity online without exposing personal data.
That timing matters because Pi is trying to move beyond its long-running mobile mining identity. Protocol 23 gives the network a path toward more programmable applications, while Pi Launchpad would support ecosystem tokens and product launches.
Still, the market has not yet priced in a clear recovery. PI needs a stronger move above $0.17 to $0.18 to weaken the bearish setup. A break below $0.15 could expose another move toward lower support.
Token design becomes Pi’s main test
Fan’s message puts Pi Network inside a wider debate about what tokens should do. Many crypto projects have used tokens mainly for fundraising, speculation, or short-term incentives. Pi is arguing that tokens should help products find users and keep them active.
That pitch fits the project’s existing focus on identity. Pi says its verified user network can help businesses reach real people at a time when AI tools can create fake users, bots, and content at scale. The project says this creates value for apps that need trusted human participation.
The challenge is execution. Utility claims only matter if developers build products that users want and if PI becomes useful inside those products. Price action shows traders remain cautious while they wait for stronger signs of demand.
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Bitcoin options expiry saw traders cut risk, with Greeks.live data pointing to weak activity, lower implied volatility, and defensive positioning.
Summary
Greeks.live said 21,000 Bitcoin options expired with $1.6 billion in notional value settled on Friday.
Ethereum options activity cooled as 129,000 contracts expired, with ETH spot below max pain levels.
Lower implied volatility and defensive whale trades point to weaker appetite after Bitcoin’s rally stalled.
Greeks.live said 21,000 Bitcoin options expired on May 22, carrying a put-call ratio of 0.66, a max pain level of $78,500, and $1.6 billion in notional value. The data also showed 129,000 Ethereum options expired, with a 0.92 put-call ratio, a $2,200 max pain level, and $280 million in notional value.
The expiry came after Bitcoin’s one-and-a-half-month rally lost momentum. Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $77,500 on May 22, while Ethereum (ETH) held close to $2,130, according to crypto.news data. That placed Bitcoin near the BTC max pain level and Ethereum below its ETH level.
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Traders show less appetite for risk
Greeks.live said market activity stayed muted this week. Less than 5% of Bitcoin options expired, while Ethereum’s weekly settlement also made up only about 5% of open positions. The smaller share points to a lighter expiry compared with larger monthly settlement events.
May 22 Options Data 21,000 BTC options expired, with a put-call ratio of 0.66, a maximum strike price of $78,500, and a notional value of $1.6 billion. 129,000 ETH options expired, with a put-call ratio of 0.92, a maximum strike price of $2,200, and a notional value of $280… pic.twitter.com/KrjDMoBad9
— Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) May 22, 2026
The firm said the BTC settlement volume was modest, and the max pain level sat close to spot price. That made the gamma and pin effect more visible near expiry, as traders watched whether Bitcoin would stay near the $78,500 area before settlement.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s options flow also weakened. Greeks.live said ETH settlement volume was about half of last week’s level, while spot price stayed below the $2,200 max pain level. That kept traders focused on whether ETH could regain the settlement zone after a slow week.
The firm added that the short rise in Ethereum options share this month had ended. It said “IV is likely to decline in the short term after settlement.” The statement points to a cautious view, not a confirmed market move.
Lower volatility shapes next setup
Greeks.live said skew continued to fall slightly, while implied volatility dropped across major maturities. Bitcoin’s implied volatility fell below 35% across key terms, while Ethereum’s dropped below 50%, with short-term levels expected to move lower.
That fits the broader options market picture. Related reports noted that Deribit’s Bitcoin options open interest reached $31.3 billion on May 21, while a larger May 29 expiry carries $6.25 billion in contracts and a $75,000 max pain level.
Earlier market coverage also showed the same cooling pattern. Around 25,000 Bitcoin options worth more than $2 billion expired on May 15, with traders watching near-term downside risk despite a lower put-call ratio.
For now, structured trades are leading volume, while whales continue to build low-cost protection. Greeks.live said volatility expectations remain low and market enthusiasm is weaker than expected. That keeps the focus on whether Bitcoin can defend current support or drift toward lower option strikes.
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Privacy coins including Zcash and QRL jumped up to 25% on May 21 as quantum computing fears intensified.
Summary
Zcash gained roughly 7% and QRL surged 25% on May 21 as investors rotated into tokens with privacy features and post-quantum security architecture.
The total privacy coin sector market cap approached $63 billion, with 24-hour trading volume spiking approximately 24% to $4.7 billion.
Zcash has gained more than 73% over the past month, outperforming the broader crypto market which rose just 0.2% in the same period.
Privacy coins surged on May 21, with Zcash up roughly 7% and QRL jumping 25%. Qubitcoin and Starknet also gained as the total privacy coin market cap approached $63 billion.
The move came as investors rotated into tokens combining financial privacy and post-quantum security. Glassnode’s recent report classifying 9.6% of Bitcoin supply as quantum-exposed has sharpened demand for tokens built with quantum resistance as a core property.
Why privacy and quantum narratives are converging in 2026
$ZEC rallies to a new YTD high of $686, pushing its market cap to $11B – a level last seen in November 2025. pic.twitter.com/6wACHOJOdv
— CoinGecko (@coingecko) May 21, 2026
Zcash has risen more than 73% in a month while the broader market gained 0.2%, according to CoinMarketCap data. The divergence reflects a structural re-rating as its zero-knowledge proof technology now underpins major Ethereum layer-2 networks. Crypto.news has tracked how Zcash’s dynamics shifted from speculative to structurally driven in 2026.
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QRL’s 25% gain reflects a different angle. The token is built specifically to resist quantum attacks, using lattice-based cryptography rather than Bitcoin’s elliptic curve system. Investors are pre-positioning in infrastructure designed to survive that transition.
What the Glassnode quantum warning added to the rally
Crypto.news has covered the full quantum threat timeline, including research showing breaking Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography requires approximately 2,330 logical qubits.
Citi’s analysis, as crypto.news reported, concluded a quantum attack could put $2 to $3.3 trillion of GDP at risk. Against that backdrop, investors are finding few liquid quantum-resistant options beyond QRL, Zcash and adjacent tokens. The combined market cap of this sector remains small relative to the perceived risk, which is part of what is driving the premium.
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The FBI’s NexFundAI operation has returned to focus after crypto commentators Evan Luthra and Carl Moon shared new attention-grabbing posts about how U.S. agents allegedly used a fake Ethereum token to catch crypto market makers.
Summary
FBI agents created NexFundAI as a real ERC-20 token to catch alleged wash trading firms.
Evan Luthra said market makers offered fake volume, chart painting, and bot-driven trading services.
Crypto.news previously reported NexFundAI led to charges against 18 individuals and entities.
In an X post, Evan Luthra said the FBI created an ERC-20 token called NexFundAI with a 100 billion token supply, a website, and branding built to look like a normal crypto project. He said undercover agents acted as the project team and approached market makers for help creating fake trading activity.
Carl Moon also posted that the FBI had launched its own crypto token to trap scammers. He said the token had a real site and branding, and that alleged scammers soon offered to fake volume for undercover agents.
Crypto.news previously reported that NexFundAI was created as part of Operation Token Mirrors to expose wash trading and pump-and-dump schemes.
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Luthra says firms offered fake volume
Luthra said Gotbit, MyTrade, CLS Global, and ZM Quant were among the firms caught in the operation. He claimed Gotbit could push NexFundAI’s volume to $1 million per day in six hours for about $200. He also claimed the firm tracked “fake volume” and “market volume” in internal records.
🚨THE FBI CREATED A FAKE CRYPTOCURRENCY.. LISTED IT ON UNISWAP.. HIRED MARKET MAKERS TO PUMP IT.. THEN ARRESTED EVERYONE WHO SAID YES.. THIS IS THE CRAZIEST LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATION IN CRYPTO HISTORY!!! The FBI built an actual ERC-20 token on Ethereum called NexFundAI.. 100… https://t.co/XqaJPp6xSV pic.twitter.com/ViVhFndMPu
— Evan Luthra (@EvanLuthra) May 20, 2026
The post also claimed MyTrade explained the psychology of chart manipulation on a recorded call. Luthra quoted one participant saying, “We make the chart look like a really nice roller coaster ride.” He also quoted the person saying, “We have to make them lose money in order to make profit.”
Retail traders still bought the bait token
Luthra said one of the most striking parts of the case was that real users bought NexFundAI. The token had no real product, no genuine team, and no public utility beyond the investigation, according to his post. Yet fake-looking momentum was enough to attract retail buyers.
He also claimed the FBI later had to set up a restitution portal after liquidity was removed and some users lost money. Luthra added that another actor cloned the NexFundAI smart contract within 24 hours of the DOJ announcement and made $127,000 by using the same hype-driven pattern.
Wider fallout
Crypto.news previously reported that the FBI’s operation led to charges against 18 people and entities. The same report named ZM Quant, CLS Global, MyTrade, and Gotbit in connection with alleged wash trading and market manipulation.
Related coverage also reported that CLS Global received a $428,000 fine for wash trading tied to NexFundAI. The firm was placed on three years of probation and barred from offering services in the U.S. during that period.
In a later crypto.news update, the FBI warned that scammers were using fake tokens on Tron that appeared to copy law enforcement branding. That report also referenced NexFundAI as an earlier example of an FBI-created token used to expose wash trading.
Luthra said the FBI later ran another operation involving a token called Lexobit, which led to 10 more arrests. His post claimed IRS forensics found 1,209 out of 1,221 trades in one firm’s activity went back to wallets it controlled. The wider message was clear: fake volume can make a token look active while real traders become exit liquidity.
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Former Silvergate Bank chief risk officer Kate Fraher has publicly challenged the circumstances surrounding her 2024 settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that regulators never proved the bank’s anti-money laundering controls had failed.
Summary
Former Silvergate executive Kate Fraher said she settled with the SEC to avoid a lengthy court fight and denied that regulators proved the bank’s AML controls had failed.
Fraher linked Silvergate’s closure to regulatory pressure on crypto banking rather than the deposit run that followed FTX’s collapse.
The comments came days after the SEC ended its decades-old rule barring settling defendants from publicly denying enforcement allegations.
In comments published Wednesday, Fraher said she agreed to settle with the SEC to avoid what she described as a “multi-year battle” with the regulator after the agency accused Silvergate executives of misleading investors about the bank’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance procedures tied to crypto clients such as FTX.
Her remarks came days after the SEC, under Chair Paul Atkins, rescinded its long-standing “no deny” settlement policy, which for decades prevented defendants from publicly disputing the agency’s allegations after reaching settlements.
The regulator announced Monday that it would no longer enforce the rule, first adopted in 1972, saying the policy had created concerns that the SEC was shielding itself from criticism.
Fraher said the policy change allowed her to finally speak openly about the case.
“The process itself is designed to apply maximum pressure, and the human costs are real,” Fraher said. She added that she was “personally de-banked” and had credit lines abruptly closed during the investigation.
Back in July 2024, the SEC sued Silvergate Capital Corporation, former CEO Alan Lane and Fraher, alleging they misled investors about how the bank monitored suspicious transactions and complied with anti-money laundering obligations. SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal said at the time that Silvergate failed to detect roughly $9 billion in suspicious transfers involving FTX-related entities.
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As part of the settlement, Silvergate agreed to pay a $50 million civil penalty without admitting or denying the allegations. Lane settled for $1 million, while Fraher agreed to pay $250,000 and accepted a five-year ban from serving as a public company officer or director. Former CFO Antonio Martino did not settle and has continued contesting the SEC’s allegations through his legal team.
Fraher disputes the collapse narrative
While regulators and lawmakers had tied Silvergate’s downfall to the collapse of FTX in late 2022, Fraher said the bank remained operationally stable after restructuring its business in early 2023.
Despite the bank suffering a deposit outflow of roughly 70% following FTX’s bankruptcy, Fraher said Silvergate maintained “appropriate capital levels” and reduced its workforce to continue operating safely.
Instead of market conditions alone, she blamed mounting pressure from financial regulators and policymakers for making the business impossible to continue. Her comments echoed arguments previously made by crypto industry figures who described the period as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” an alleged effort by U.S. banking regulators to distance the financial system from crypto companies.
Among the most prominent voices was venture capitalist Nic Carter, who wrote in September 2024 that unnamed Silvergate insiders had described informal regulatory pressure to reduce crypto-related deposits to 15% of total liabilities. Carter argued that Silvergate’s voluntary liquidation, rather than entering FDIC receivership, suggested the bank had been pushed toward closure through supervisory pressure instead of insolvency alone.
Carter also linked the collapse of Silvergate to the subsequent failures of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank during the 2023 regional banking crisis. According to his reporting, regulators intensified scrutiny on crypto-focused banking relationships after FTX collapsed, even though criminal wrongdoing tied directly to Silvergate’s relationship with FTX was never proven.
Elsewhere in Wednesday’s remarks, Fraher praised Atkins and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce for ending the SEC’s gag policy, which she described as unconstitutional.
Peirce had also criticized the policy earlier in 2024, arguing that settlement agreements restricting public criticism weakened transparency and did little to support investor protection. In a statement released Monday, she said both regulators and defendants should be free to publicly discuss enforcement cases after settlements are reached.
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SpaceX disclosed 18,712 Bitcoin in its SEC filing, giving investors a clearer view of the company’s digital asset exposure before its planned public listing.
Summary
SpaceX disclosed 18,712 Bitcoin in its SEC filing, far above earlier outside estimates.
The company’s Bitcoin holdings are larger than Tesla’s reported 11,509 BTC balance.
SpaceX’s IPO filing links Bitcoin exposure with Starlink, AI, and space growth plans.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. reported holding 18,712 Bitcoin in its S-1 registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing showed that Elon Musk’s aerospace company held far more Bitcoin than earlier blockchain-tracking estimates suggested.
SpaceX disclosed in their IPO paperwork today the company holds 18,712 bitcoin worth $1.4 billion, more than two times as much bitcoin as previously reported. pic.twitter.com/W6CoDhjxzR
— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) May 20, 2026
The disclosure places Bitcoin inside one of the most closely watched IPO filings of 2026. SpaceX is expected to list on Nasdaq in June, with reports pointing to a possible $75 billion raise and a valuation between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion.
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Filing tops earlier Bitcoin estimates
Before the filing, related crypto.news coverage said SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings were estimated at 8,285 BTC, based on Arkham-linked wallet tracking. The SEC filing now shows a much larger official balance of 18,712 BTC, more than 10,000 BTC above that estimate.
The filing also shows that SpaceX holds more Bitcoin than Tesla. According to BitcoinTreasuries data, Tesla’s reported balance stands at 11,509 BTC, while SpaceX disclosed 18,712 BTC. Both companies are tied to Elon Musk, who has backed Bitcoin at several points during the past market cycles.
Moreover, SpaceX’s Bitcoin position gives public-market investors another point to watch as the company moves toward listing. The firm is best known for rockets, Starlink satellite internet, and space transport, but the filing also shows a large digital asset position on its balance sheet.
The company said it is targeting the largest actionable total addressable market in “human history.” The filing placed that market at about $28.5 trillion across space, connectivity, and artificial intelligence. That quote gives investors a view of how SpaceX frames its long-term business plan.
Corporate Bitcoin race remains active
SpaceX’s filing arrives as corporate Bitcoin holdings remain a major market topic. Strategy remains the largest public Bitcoin treasury firm by a wide margin. Related crypto.news coverage said Strategy added 24,869 BTC in one week, raising its total holdings to 843,738 BTC.
That puts SpaceX far below Strategy, but still among the more visible corporate Bitcoin holders. If SpaceX lists as planned, its Bitcoin balance would become part of its public-market story alongside revenue, losses, Starlink growth, AI plans, and capital spending.
The filing does not state whether SpaceX plans to buy more Bitcoin, sell part of its holdings, or keep the position unchanged after listing. For now, the SEC document confirms that the company enters its IPO process with a larger Bitcoin balance than the market had previously tracked.
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Bitcoin longs on Bitfinex surged to 80,636 BTC on May 20, the highest level since December 2023.
Summary
Bitfinex margin long positions rose to 80,636 BTC on May 20, up roughly 10% since the start of 2026 despite Bitcoin falling 13% in the same period.
Bitcoin has declined for five consecutive trading days, sliding from above $80,000 to near $76,000 amid broader market weakness.
The so-called Bitfinex whale has historically expanded long positions during weakness and reduced them near local market tops.
Leveraged traders on Bitfinex continued buying into Bitcoin’s sell-off, with margin long positions rising to 80,636 BTC on May 20 according to TradingView data.
The figure marks the highest level since December 2023 and represents a roughly 10% increase since the start of 2026. Bitcoin has fallen 13% year to date even as these long positions climbed.
The latest pullback saw Bitcoin slide from above $80,000 to approximately $76,000 over five consecutive losing sessions between May 15 and May 19.
It marks the second longest losing streak of the year, with the asset attempting its first daily green candle in six days at the time of writing. Bitcoin is now trading approximately 35% below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,000.
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What the Bitfinex whale data signals
Historically, the so-called Bitfinex whale has acted as a contrarian indicator. Large leveraged long positions on the exchange have frequently expanded during market weakness and been reduced closer to local tops and trend reversals. The pattern does not guarantee a price floor, but it has attracted attention from analysts who track whale positioning as a leading signal.
Bitcoin is currently approaching a key technical zone. The asset is testing both the True Market Mean and the short-term holder cost basis near $78,000, with the 200-day moving average sitting above $81,000. Reclaiming that level would be seen by many traders as a first step toward structural recovery.
Why some traders are not convinced a bottom is in
Rising margin longs during a sustained price decline can also signal that a clear price floor has not yet occurred. When leveraged long positions accumulate, the market becomes vulnerable to a cascade of liquidations if prices continue falling, amplifying downside pressure rather than absorbing it.
Crypto.news has tracked analyst commentary throughout 2026 that consistently pointed to $78,000 to $81,000 as the key zone for Bitcoin to reclaim before a sustained recovery becomes probable.
The divergence between rising margin exposure and falling prices reflects an ongoing standoff between dip buyers and sellers. The Bitcoin price page tracks real-time movements as that standoff plays out.
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Former CFTC chair Timothy Massad says a US CBDC ban cannot stop behind-the-scenes infrastructure work.
Summary
Timothy Massad told a London summit on May 19 that global tokenization trends make a US digital dollar ultimately inevitable.
Massad pointed to Project Agora, a BIS initiative involving seven central banks, as evidence of quiet US participation in CBDC infrastructure.
The Federal Reserve’s chief payments executive said a digital dollar is not currently under the Fed’s remit, but acknowledged it would be if introduced.
Former CFTC chair Timothy Massad told London’s Digital Money Summit on May 19 that a US digital dollar is ultimately inevitable. He said the CBDC ban is politically sensitive but does not reflect activity behind closed doors.
“We don’t have a central bank president who is going to get out there and speak about wholesale or retail CBDC, but that does not mean that we are not looking at how to create one,” Massad said.
Why Massad says the CBDC ban is a political facade
Mark Gould, the Federal Reserve’s chief payments executive, said a digital dollar is not currently within the Fed’s remit. Gould acknowledged it would be the central bank’s responsibility if one were ever introduced.
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Massad pointed to Project Agora as evidence of continued US engagement. The BIS initiative involves the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and six other central banks, testing tokenized deposits alongside wholesale central bank money on a programmable platform.
House Republicans pushed on May 19 to make the CBDC ban permanent inside a major housing bill. Trump originally signed an executive order in early 2025 prohibiting federal agencies from developing a CBDC.
What the US risks by staying out
Massad argued that global tokenization activity is forcing the US to build equivalent digital settlement infrastructure. His concern is that stepping back from international experiments could cost the US influence over global digital payment standards.
His position aligns with analysis crypto.news has tracked questioning whether private stablecoins can preserve dollar dominance. Massad served as CFTC chair from 2014 to 2017 and has long pushed for faster US action on digital currency infrastructure.
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The Bank of England has outlined plans to accelerate tokenized finance infrastructure in the UK while continuing work on stablecoin rules, tokenized deposits, and a potential digital pound.
Summary
Bank of England plans to finalize systemic stablecoin rules this year as it pushes tokenized payments infrastructure forward.
Sarah Breeden said the UK’s future payment system could support tokenized deposits, regulated stablecoins, and a possible digital pound.
Sixteen firms, including HSBC and Euroclear, are preparing tokenized asset launches through the Bank FCA Digital Securities Sandbox from late 2026.
Speaking during London’s City Week 2026 conference on Tuesday, Sarah Breeden said the future of UK retail payments should support multiple digital forms of money operating together, including tokenized bank deposits, regulated stablecoins, and possibly a retail central bank digital currency.
Breeden said distributed ledger technology could lower payment costs and reduce reliance on intermediaries, while smart contracts may allow automated and conditional payments across retail finance systems.
“In retail payments, we want a multi-money system that promotes competition and choice between robust forms of money,” Breeden said. “Alongside traditional bank deposits, people should be able to pay with tokenized bank deposits, regulated stablecoins and, potentially, a retail central bank digital currency.”
Her remarks arrived days after the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England opened a joint consultation on tokenized wholesale markets. The May 18 consultation asked banks, trading venues, fintech firms, and asset managers to provide feedback on rules governing tokenized securities, collateral, settlement infrastructure, and prudential treatment.
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Officials involved in that consultation said firms were increasingly seeking regulatory clarity around tokenized bonds, equities, fund units, and settlement systems as adoption expanded beyond small-scale pilots.
Stablecoin rules move toward finalization
During Tuesday’s speech, Breeden said the Bank of England plans to release draft rules for systemic stablecoins next month before finalizing the framework later this year.
While discussing financial stability concerns, she said the central bank may temporarily limit the total amount of stablecoins issued during the early stages of adoption. Bank officials have repeatedly argued that safeguards are needed to avoid sudden deposit outflows from commercial banks if digital payment tokens gain traction.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the Bank of England had already begun reconsidering parts of its stablecoin framework after digital asset companies criticized proposed reserve rules and ownership caps.
Under the central bank’s November 2025 proposals, individuals would have faced a £20,000 holding limit on a single sterling stablecoin during an initial transition phase, while corporate users would have been capped at roughly $13.5 million. The same proposal also required issuers to keep at least 40% of reserves in non-interest-bearing Bank of England deposits.
Industry participants told policymakers the restrictions could make pound-backed stablecoins commercially difficult to scale. Marcos Viriato, chief executive and co-founder of Parfin, previously said institutions were more focused on compliance, interoperability, and settlement efficiency than strict reserve structures alone.
At the same time, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey recently warned, according to Reuters, that regulators could face growing international tension over stablecoin oversight as the United States advances legislation such as the GENIUS Act.
Sandbox participants prepare launches
Elsewhere in her speech, Breeden pointed to ongoing work under the Bank-FCA Digital Securities Sandbox, which launched in 2024 and will continue until January 2029.
The sandbox allows firms to test live issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenized securities using distributed ledger technology inside regulated market infrastructure. Breeden said 16 firms are now preparing to launch services through the program from late 2026 onward.
Participants include Euroclear, HSBC, and London Stock Exchange Group.
According to the Bank of England and FCA consultation published earlier this week, regulators are also reviewing how tokenized versions of existing eligible assets could be used as collateral in central counterparties and central bank operations.
Additional settlement upgrades are also under review. The Bank of England recently proposed extending RTGS and CHAPS operating hours into longer daily windows and weekends, with long-term plans targeting a near 24/7 settlement infrastructure.
Breeden added that the prudential treatment of tokenized assets held by UK banks would remain aligned with non-tokenized versions where legal rights and underlying risks remain equivalent.
Alongside wholesale market reforms, the Bank of England is continuing work on the UK government’s Digital Gilt initiative, which tests tokenized sovereign bonds.
Later this year, according to Breeden, the central bank is also expected to publish conclusions from the design phase of its digital pound project as UK authorities continue shaping policy around tokenization, stablecoins, and digital settlement infrastructure.
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Pi Network price is holding near $0.15 as the v23 upgrade nears completion, while token unlocks and weak chart signals keep pressure on PI.
Summary
PI trades near $0.150667 after losing 12.38% over seven days.
Most major nodes have upgraded to v23, but the protocol move is still pending.
About 195.65 million PI are scheduled to unlock over the next 30 days.
The daily chart shows PI near its lower Bollinger Band, with $0.17 as first resistance.
Pi Network traded at $0.150667 on May 20, with 24-hour volume at $13.96 million, according to crypto.news market data. The token moved between $0.146809 and $0.151711 during the same period, showing a narrow range around the $0.15 level.
The price remains weak on a longer timeline. PI is down 12.38% over seven days and 12.54% over the past month. It also remains about 95% below its all-time high of $2.99, set on Feb. 26, 2025.
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TradingView chart shows PI trading near the lower Bollinger Band at $0.1494. The middle band sits at $0.1702, while the upper band is near $0.1911. That makes $0.17 the first recovery level to watch.
MACD also remains negative. The MACD line is below the signal line, while the histogram still sits under zero. This shows that sellers still control short-term momentum, even with a small intraday bounce.
PI Network price chart, source: crypto.news Is the v23 upgrade helping Pi Network?
Pi Core Team said most major Mainnet nodes have now upgraded to v23. The official update said,
“Most major Nodes have now been upgraded, and the protocol is expected to move to v23 soon.”
The team also said this was one of its most difficult upgrades because it involved several infrastructure changes. These included Protocol 22 to 23, Ubuntu 20 to 24, and PostgreSQL 12 to 16.
Source: PI Network/X
That progress gives the project a technical catalyst. Still, the market has not treated it as enough to reverse the price trend. PI remains pinned near $0.15, showing that traders are still focused on supply and liquidity risks.
Pi Network is also pushing Pi App Studio as part of its broader ecosystem plan. The update allows creators using external AI coding tools to connect apps to Pi’s ecosystem, which the project says includes more than 60 million engaged users.
Why are 195m PI unlocks weighing on price?
Related market coverage said 195.65 million PI are scheduled to unlock over the next 30 days. That equals about 3.17% of the locked supply and an average of 6.52 million PI per day.
The largest single-day unlock is expected on May 27, when more than 18.22 million PI could become available. At current prices, the 30-day unlock wave is worth about $29.3 million.
This matters because PI still trades with thinner liquidity than larger crypto assets. Related coverage noted that PI remains absent from Binance and Coinbase, which limits the market’s ability to absorb heavy selling.
Early users also received PI through mobile mining over several years. As more tokens migrate and become transferable, some holders may sell to realize gains. This keeps sell-side pressure in focus.
What price levels matter next for PI?
The chart shows PI sitting close to its lower Bollinger Band. If buyers defend the $0.1468 to $0.1494 zone, the token could attempt a short rebound toward $0.1702.
A move above $0.1702 would be the first sign of improving momentum. After that, traders may watch $0.1911 and the broader $0.19 to $0.20 zone, where earlier rallies failed.
On the downside, failure to hold $0.15 keeps the $0.13 area in focus. Related coverage pointed to $0.1297 as a deeper support zone, close to Pi Network’s all-time low region.
For now, PI remains caught between v23 progress and unlock pressure. The upgrade may support the long-term ecosystem, but the chart still needs a clear reclaim of $0.17 before buyers regain control.
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Crypto layoffs are drawing fresh attention as Meta starts a new round of AI-linked job cuts, adding Big Tech context to staff reductions across digital asset firms.
Summary
Meta began global AI-led cuts as Singapore staff received early notices, with more regions expected.
Kraken reportedly cut about 150 roles as AI tools expanded across the major crypto exchange.
Coinbase plans to cut 14% of staff while building leaner AI-native teams this year globally.
Meta has started notifying workers in Singapore as part of a wider restructuring tied to artificial intelligence. Bloomberg reported that some employees received layoff emails around 4 a.m. local time, while staff in Europe and the U.S. were also expected to receive notices.
The cuts are expected to affect engineering and product teams. The same report said Meta had nearly 80,000 employees at the end of March, before the latest restructuring began. A 10% reduction would place the job cuts near 8,000 roles.
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AI push changes Meta’s structure
Meta is also moving workers into AI-focused teams. The Guardian reported that more than 7,000 employees must shift into new teams tied to AI agents and cloud infrastructure. The report said some transfers were not optional.
Meta’s head of people, Janelle Gale, said in a memo that smaller teams would help the company move faster. She wrote, “We believe this will make us more productive and make the work more rewarding.”
Crypto layoffs follow the same AI trend
The crypto sector is facing a similar shift. Related coverage reported that Kraken cut about 150 employees while increasing AI use across its operations. The report said the move could push Kraken’s planned U.S. public listing into 2027.
Coinbase has also moved toward a leaner structure. Earlier reports said the exchange plans to cut 14% of its workforce as CEO Brian Armstrong pushes the company toward AI-native workflows, fewer layers, and smaller teams.
Crypto firms balance costs and automation
The job cuts are not only tied to AI. The crypto market has also faced weak prices, uneven trading activity, and tighter cost controls. March coverage noted that Algorand, Gemini, Crypto.com, Messari, OP Labs, and PIP Labs had also reduced staff this year.
Crypto.com reportedly cut about 180 employees, while Gemini raised its cuts to 30% by mid-March. Some firms cited market pressure, while others pointed to AI tools and faster workflows.
Moreover, the wider labor market shows the same pattern. CFO Dive reported that U.S. employers linked 49,135 planned layoffs to AI-related moves from January through April. AI accounted for about 16% of all announced job cuts this year through April.
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The U.S. Senate advanced a measure that could force President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for the Iran war, while Bitcoin (BTC) remained little changed near $77,200 at press time.
Summary
Senate advanced Kaine’s resolution 50-47, increasing pressure on Trump over the Iran war powers dispute.
Four Republicans backed the measure, while the bill still faces House approval and veto hurdles.
Bitcoin stayed near $76,500 as traders weighed oil risks, inflation pressure, and war headlines closely.
The procedural vote passed 50-47 on May 19, with four Republicans joining most Democrats. Reuters reported that the measure would end the Iran war unless Trump gets authorization from Congress.
The resolution still faces a difficult path. It must pass the full Senate and the Republican-led House. Trump could veto it, and Congress would need two-thirds support in both chambers to override him.
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Kaine says Congress must decide
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who sponsored the bill, said Congress should decide whether the U.S. stays in the conflict. He wrote that Trump launched an “illegal war” 80 days earlier.
Kaine added, “Congress has the power to slam the brakes on this unwise conflict.” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy also backed the vote, saying the White House and Pentagon had left Congress “in the dark” on Operation Epic Fury.
Meanwhile, the conflict has weighed on global markets because of fuel and energy concerns tied to the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that U.S. and Israeli forces began striking Iran on Feb. 28, while the U.S. later said a ceasefire had ended hostilities.
Related market coverage has shown how Iran headlines can move Bitcoin quickly. Bitcoin jumped near $79,500 in April after reports of a new Iran proposal, before a sharp pullback erased the gains and crypto liquidations reached about $275 million.
Bitcoin reaction remains muted
Bitcoin had not moved much after the Senate vote, trading around $77,200 at the time of writing, according to crypto.news data. The muted reaction showed that traders were still focused on macro data, oil prices, inflation, and the next step in Congress.
HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun said the vote “directly indicates” rising political pressure on Trump. He added that the signal was a “relatively mild positive catalyst” for risk assets, not a decisive driver.
Analysts watch risk appetite
Bitrue Research Institute research lead Andri Fauzan Adziima gave a stronger market view. He said the vote could be “a strong bullish catalyst for crypto,” with Bitcoin possibly seeing a 6% to 10% relief rally.
Past market moves support the idea that de-escalation headlines can affect Bitcoin. Separate coverage in April reported that Bitcoin held near $75,000 as ETF inflows reached $597.50 million over two days during renewed U.S.-Iran ceasefire hopes.
Still, the resolution is not law. The next market reaction may depend on whether Congress advances the bill, whether Trump resists it, and whether tension around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz eases.
Read more: Minnesota bans prediction markets, CFTC fires back

Wintermute launched its first DeFi vault product, Armitage, supporting collateral types unavailable on competing curator platforms.
Summary
Wintermute launched Armitage, its first DeFi vault curation product, designed to support collateral types that other vault curators on platforms like Morpho do not accept.
The move expands Wintermute beyond its core role as a market maker and liquidity provider into yield infrastructure, a growing segment of institutional on-chain finance.
Armitage positions Wintermute to leverage its deep liquidity expertise and collateral risk understanding to offer differentiated vault strategies for institutional depositors.
Wintermute, the algorithmic trading firm and liquidity provider, entered the DeFi vault curation space on May 19 with the launch of Armitage, a new vault product designed to accept collateral types that competing curators cannot or will not support. The announcement marks Wintermute’s first direct move into yield infrastructure from its established position as a market maker and DeFi liquidity provider.
Armitage is built as a curator on the Morpho vault model, where independent operators define a vault’s strategy, acceptable collateral, and risk parameters without holding custody of depositor funds.
Wintermute said the product’s differentiation lies in its ability to handle collateral types that other curators treat as too complex or illiquid. As crypto.news reported in January, Bitwise entered the same curator space on Morpho earlier in 2026, targeting institutional USDC depositors at approximately 6% APY through conservative overcollateralised lending markets.
DeFi vault curation becomes institutional battleground
The DeFi vault sector has attracted a wave of institutional curators throughout 2026. Morpho’s total value locked stands at approximately $5.8 billion, with curators including Gauntlet, Steakhouse Financial, MEV Capital, and Bitwise competing for depositor capital.
Wintermute’s entry adds a market-maker perspective to curation: the firm has direct access to liquidity across hundreds of trading venues and deep experience managing collateral risk in leveraged positions, capabilities that could allow it to accept assets that pure risk shops avoid.
As crypto.news documented, even the Ethereum Foundation has deployed ETH into Morpho vaults as part of its shift away from periodic token sales toward yield-generating treasury management.
That institutional migration toward on-chain vaults is expanding the pool of depositors Armitage can target, particularly those holding non-standard collateral such as tokenised real-world assets, long-tail altcoins, or structured products.
As crypto.news covered, Morpho’s expansion to the Flare blockchain earlier in 2026 showed how curator-led vaults are extending beyond Ethereum mainnet to reach XRP and other asset holders.
Wintermute has not disclosed the specific collateral types Armitage accepts, vault APY targets, or initial AUM. The firm said the product is designed for institutional counterparties and will expand its offering as the platform scales.