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Bitcoin rewards platform Lolli has partnered with independent commerce media network Kard to introduce a card-linked Bitcoin cashback service. Users can now link their debit or credit cards to automatically earn Bitcoin when making purchases at affiliated merchants. The new service marks Lolli's largest upgrade since it was acquired by Bitcoin-focused venture studio Thesis last July. The company explained that users can now access offers from thousands of merchants without needing to manually activate each one.

NATO is reportedly considering deploying troops if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by July, according to officials.

Patrick Gruhn, the former head of FTX Europe, has launched UpsideOnly, a platform that allows users to profit from trading without investing any of their own capital, Bloomberg reported. The platform uses AI to analyze crowdsourced simulated investment strategies and execute the most promising ones with real money. Users predict asset prices and make virtual trades, and the platform's proprietary AI selects the strategies with the highest probability of success to fund with its own capital. Any profits generated are split evenly with the trader who provided the strategy, while the platform absorbs all losses. Gruhn explained that while predicting the market itself is nearly impossible, it is possible to predict the outcomes of human trading based on historical data. He stated that traders contribute their time and expertise to train the AI instead of cash, with the company bearing the full risk of loss. Gruhn added that he has already committed $100 million of his own assets to the trading pool.

Polymarket has partnered with Nasdaq to launch prediction markets for private companies, expanding beyond its usual focus on politics, social issues, and cryptocurrency, Reuters reported. Users can now bet on outcomes such as the valuation of private companies, the timing of their initial public offerings (IPOs), and pre-market prices. The trading price on these markets reflects the real-time probability of an event occurring. Through its Private Market, Nasdaq will serve as the data provider to settle the outcomes of these bets.

Research and brokerage firm TD Cowen has raised its price target for Strategy to $400, The Block reporter Naga Avan-Nomayo reported. The firm noted that Strategy's plan to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) by issuing preferred stock is progressing faster than initially anticipated, citing the company's BTC holdings per share as a key basis for the upgrade.

Eisen, a startup specializing in escheatment—the process of unclaimed assets reverting to state control—has raised $10 million in a Series A round, bringing its total funding to $18.5 million, Fortune reported. Alan Osgood, CEO of Eisen and a former Coinbase executive, explained that all platforms holding user funds, including those in crypto, securities, and fintech, are effectively having their funds seized by state governments, which rarely return them. He stated that Eisen processes millions of client accounts for financial institutions in compliance with state-by-state regulations, locating users to return their funds before they are transferred to the state. Osgood added that with many investor accounts from the 2021 bull market now dormant, an estimated $700 million in cryptocurrency is expected to be escheated this year alone. He noted that governments typically liquidate escheated crypto and stocks immediately, preventing investors from profiting from any subsequent appreciation. Eisen protects client assets through its proprietary dormant account management process.

The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower today. - S&P 500: -0.42% - Nasdaq: -0.59% - Dow Jones: -0.46%

The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.177%, marking its highest level since 2007.

Robinhood announced that it has listed VVV for spot trading.

Solana (SOL) has fallen approximately 12% over the past week, marking the largest decline among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, BeInCrypto reported. The drop is attributed to a combination of factors, including selling by large-scale investors, sell-offs related to Pump.fun (PUMP), and institutional fund outflows.

Cryptocurrency trading platform Ouinex has announced it raised $3.5 million in a funding round involving traders on its platform. The platform is known for its system that protects retail investors by hiding its order book from market makers. This round brings Ouinex's total funding to $9 million.

The Solana (SOL)-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun will begin supporting USDC trading pairs for new coin launches, SolanaFloor reported. Currently, the platform only supports trading against SOL. The update is scheduled to be implemented on May 21 and will not affect existing SOL pairs.

Strive (ASST) has purchased an additional 382 BTC for approximately $30.3 million at an average price of $79,348, CEO Matt Cole announced on X. As of May 18, the company holds a total of 15,391 BTC, valued at $1,182.78 million.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

More than 20 leveraged and inverse ETFs were delisted in April, with most failing to survive for a full year, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported on X. The closures included several cryptocurrency-related products. Direxion's 2x long crypto industry ETF (LMBO) and 1x short ETF (REKT) were delisted after just 0.68 and 0.67 years, respectively, while Tidal Investments' Altseason 2x ETF (QXAS) was shut down after 0.96 years. Hybrid products combining stock indices with Bitcoin, such as the S&P500+Bitcoin (OOSB) and Nasdaq100+Bitcoin (OOQB) ETFs, also closed within about a year of launching. Balchunas noted that firms are quick to withdraw these products once they identify a lack of demand, adding that the number of newly launched 2x leveraged ETFs each month far exceeds the number of closures.

The New Jersey State Police & Firemen's Retirement Fund, a $33 billion pension plan, has made its first-ever purchase of stock in Strive (ASST), a company that accumulates Bitcoin (BTC), according to BitcoinTreasuries. The fund acquired 14,077 shares worth approximately $220,000.

The White House has postponed a National Security Council (NSC) meeting scheduled for May 19, U.S. officials said, according to Al Jazeera. The meeting was reportedly delayed after President Trump postponed a planned attack on Iran.

BlackRock deposited 5,847 BTC, worth approximately $449.52 million, to Coinbase, according to Onchain Lens. Deposits to exchanges are typically seen as a precursor to selling. This follows a recorded net outflow of $448.40 million from BlackRock's IBIT on May 18.

Three Wall Street firms—Benchmark, TD Cowen, and Mizuho—have maintained buy or equivalent ratings on four publicly traded crypto companies: Bitdeer, DeFi Technologies, Strive, and Gemini, The Block reported. The shared rationale is that while the market continues to value these companies based on simple trading business models, they have already pivoted to areas such as AI infrastructure and capital market utilities. Benchmark maintained its buy rating on Bitdeer with a $27 price target and kept its buy rating for DeFi Technologies while lowering the target from $3 to $2. TD Cowen raised its price target for Strive from $26 to $30. Mizuho maintained its "outperform" rating for Gemini, lowering the price target from $12 to $10. Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev said the market is underestimating the speed of this transition, noting that Gemini maintained its trading revenue despite a more than 50% decline in volume.

Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun accounted for a significant portion of the network's revenue in the first quarter, despite a slowdown in the memecoin craze, Cointelegraph reported. Total revenue for all Solana-based applications reached $342.2 million, with Pump.fun contributing $124.7 million. The primary sources of fees were memecoins and real-world assets (RWA).

Bitcoin could see a rapid decline to the low $70,000s if it fails to maintain support at $75,000, according to an analysis by crypto market maker Wintermute. The firm noted that this week, only assets driving inflation have risen in the broader market, with cryptocurrencies taking a bigger hit than stocks. Wintermute stated that structural buying pressure remains, with exchange reserves at multi-year lows, long-term holders still accumulating, and progress being made on the Clarity Act. However, the firm pointed out that institutions used the recent price rally as an opportunity to take profits rather than to buy, a trend that currently outweighs the structural buying pressure. The analysis suggests keeping an eye on the $76,000–$78,000 range. If Bitcoin can hold this level until Nvidia's (NVDA) earnings announcement on May 20, the uptrend could resume. A break below $75,000, however, could trigger a swift decline. "Maintaining a long position in the current situation is like hoping for institutions to re-enter amid rising interest rates and re-accelerating inflation," Wintermute explained. "This may be an unreasonable expectation until the market digests the changing macroeconomic environment."

The cryptocurrency industry is building security systems comparable to those of major financial institutions in response to a surge in physical threats, Bloomberg reported. The media outlet noted that Coinbase is set to spend approximately $7.6 million on CEO security in 2025, an increase of over 20% from the previous year and a figure that surpasses the security costs for chief executives at major Wall Street banks. Executive Risk Services, a security firm specializing in the crypto sector, now receives one client inquiry per week, a significant increase from one per quarter just two years ago. The report also highlighted that at last month's Bitcoin 2026 conference, most key speakers were accompanied by personal bodyguards, and a workshop on protecting crypto assets during a home invasion was fully booked, underscoring security's emergence as a core issue for the industry.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a noted cryptocurrency opponent, has accused the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) of failing to control crypto companies that she says are operating as de facto banks. Her criticism targets the trend of stablecoin issuers seeking trust licenses to manage collateral assets, a practice that has grown since the start of the second Trump administration. According to Bloomberg, Warren stated in a letter to the OCC that the agency has chartered at least nine crypto firms in a manner that may violate banking laws. She highlighted that affiliates of Ripple, Paxos, and Coinbase have already received such approvals, allowing them to operate much like traditional banks while evading regulatory oversight.

Bitget Wallet now supports Kraken's xStocks infrastructure, providing users with access to over 130 stock tokens, Cointelegraph reported. This development enables Bitget to support trading for more than 300 real-world assets (RWA).

Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC), a firm that strategically invests in Bitcoin, announced via X that it will move its listing from the AltX market to the Main Board of South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on May 22. The Main Board's higher standards for governance, disclosure, and liquidity will expand the company's access to institutional investors. ABC was formerly known as Altvest Capital.