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Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini have asked the U.S. Senate to remove a provision in the Clarity Act that restricts token listings, Crowdfund Insider reported. The exchanges submitted an amendment seeking to delete language that would permit the listing only of cryptocurrencies that are not easily susceptible to market manipulation. This provision, aimed at curbing trading in highly manipulable tokens, is modeled on existing regulations for the commodity futures market. The industry argues that applying the standards used by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for markets like crude oil and agricultural products to crypto would make it virtually impossible to list new, low-liquidity tokens. They contend that new tokens face a structural handicap, as their initially low trading volume and liquidity make it difficult to demonstrate market stability.

Stablecoin infrastructure startup Checker has raised $8 million in pre-seed and seed funding rounds to expand its institutional services, The Block reported. Key investors in the rounds included Galaxy Ventures, Al Mada Ventures, and Framework Ventures.

Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) Aster (ASTER) has announced the listing of ZEST. To commemorate the event, Aster is holding a campaign with a reward pool of $50,000 in ASTER. The campaign runs from 2:30 p.m. UTC on May 19 to 2:00 p.m. UTC on May 26. During this period, a 1.5x boost will be applied to the ZEST/USDT trading pair. Rewards will be distributed proportionally based on each user's share of total trading fees. The maximum reward for any single user is capped at 3% of the total prize pool. To participate, users must generate over $5 in trading fees and qualify for a minimum reward of at least one ASTER. The campaign is open to all users with no token holding requirements, and trades made through supported channels like Binance Wallet and Trust Wallet are eligible.

Weekly trading volume on Solana-based decentralized perpetual futures exchanges (Perp DEXs) has surpassed $20 billion for the first time, Wu Blockchain reported. Notably, daily trading volume on May 18 reached $5.781 billion. This surge was led by GMTrade, which recorded approximately $4.9 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours.

About 10% of U.S. adults used or held cryptocurrency last year, according to a survey by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed). The figure is an increase from 7% in 2024 and marks the highest level since 2022. The survey also found that 7% of respondents held crypto for investment purposes last year. Ownership and usage rates were notably higher among adults under the age of 45 and in households with median or higher incomes. The findings suggest that market trust, which had contracted following the collapse of several crypto exchanges, is recovering amid growing institutional participation and improving market conditions.

An address associated with crypto custody and banking firm Anchorage Digital has withdrawn 85,226 HYPE, worth $4.08 million, Onchain Lens reported. Such withdrawals are typically interpreted as a move to hold the assets.

Bitcoin mining firm Canaan recorded a net loss of $88.7 million in the first quarter, The Block reported. The company's revenue for the quarter was $62.7 million, which aligned with market guidance but represented a decrease of 68.1% from the previous quarter and 24.3% from the same period last year. Canaan attributed the weak performance to a decline in computing power and a drop in the average price of BTC.

The recent sharp drop in BTC's price was driven by excessive leverage positions, according to Diana Pires, chief business officer at sFOX. In an analysis reported by The Block, she explained that as selling pressure mounted on long positions accumulated over recent weeks, BTC experienced a sharp downturn. Pires added that rapid leverage liquidations can cause the derivatives market to react ahead of the spot market, amplifying volatility and short-term declines. The Block also noted that the macroeconomic environment is becoming increasingly unfavorable, with traders now pricing in a 60% chance of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike by the end of 2026. The outlet pointed out that oil prices remain near triple-digit levels amid a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the next Fed chair will inherit a situation where the inflation target has been missed for five consecutive years. The market's base outlook for the second half of this year is shifting from rate cuts and a soft landing to a regime that must prioritize defending inflation credibility, The Block added.

Very few investors appear to be realizing profits in the current BTC market, on-chain analyst Darkfost stated on X. He noted that the weekly average realized profit—the on-chain gains from sales—is currently holding at around $1.7 billion. Darkfost described this as a very low figure, reaching levels previously seen at the end of past bear markets. He contrasted this with March 2024, when BTC first broke $72,000. At that time, realized profits exceeded $25 billion, about 15 times higher than the current level despite a similar price range. This discrepancy, he explained, is the result of a significant shift in the investor structure as BTC holdings have been reshuffled.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced he has agreed to give Iran two to three more days. He said the deadline could be May 22 or May 23, adding that the time is limited.

U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted at the possibility of further military strikes against Iran, but stressed that nothing is certain yet.

Cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute has unveiled Armitage, a new platform for curating DeFi vaults. According to The Block, Armitage allows users to design DeFi lending strategy vaults tailored to their risk appetite. The vaults are non-custodial, enabling users to retain control over their assets, and deposits can be made without KYC procedures. The platform also allows institutions to seek returns through lending, liquidity provision, and restaking strategies without having to manage DeFi operations directly.

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.