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Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, who had previously been critical of the CLARITY Act, has stated his support for the bill during its markup session in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, according to Eleanor Terrett, host of "Crypto in America." However, Terrett added that Gallego specified his approval at the committee level does not necessarily mean he will support it in a full floor vote. The 24 members of the Banking Committee, comprising 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, are currently debating and voting on dozens of specific provisions within the bill. The final committee vote will determine whether to advance the legislation to the full Senate. If the committee passes the bill, it will then proceed to a jurisdictional coordination and integration process with the Senate Agriculture Committee before facing a vote on the Senate floor.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has rejected an amendment to the CLARITY Act that sought to prevent conflicts of interest for the president and members of Congress regarding cryptocurrency. The measure, which would have banned these officials from participating in crypto businesses and mandated related disclosures, failed in a 13-11 vote during the bill's markup session. Senator Chris Van Hollen argued in favor of the amendment, claiming the Trump family has profited by billions of dollars from projects like World Liberty Financial (WLFI). He also alleged that the president's family benefited from memecoins such as Trump and Melania while ordinary investors suffered billions in losses. In response, Senator Bernie Moreno contended that the issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, not the Banking Committee, and dismissed the allegations as unproven. The committee is continuing to vote on other provisions of the CLARITY Act.

Token sale platform CoinList has launched Passage, a new platform designed to expand its business into the distribution of tokenized assets, The Block reported exclusively. The initiative aims to leverage CoinList's existing token sale infrastructure as an on-chain, compliance-focused model for collaborating with major institutional partners. CoinList recently completed an integration with Superstate and plans to collaborate with other partners, including Peaq and Dualmint, in the future.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has rejected a provision within the CLARITY Act aimed at preventing money laundering through DeFi technology and establishing developer liability. During the bill's markup session, Senator Chris Van Hollen argued for penalizing developers who intentionally facilitate illicit fund flows. However, Senator Cynthia Lummis opposed the measure, contending that existing laws are sufficient and that the new rule could be detrimental to the technology sector.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is currently holding a markup session for the Clarity Act. The committee's 24 members—13 Republicans and 11 Democrats—are debating and voting on dozens of specific provisions, with a final vote to determine whether the bill advances to the full Senate floor. If passed by the committee, the Clarity Act will then need to be reconciled with the Senate Agriculture Committee regarding jurisdiction before a full Senate vote can occur. A previously released amendment to the bill includes proposals to partially allow stablecoin rewards while limiting deposit interest, protect DeFi developers, and clarify the federal jurisdictions of agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Market observers have previously suggested that the bill's final passage could increase institutional capital inflows and spur growth in the ETF and tokenization markets.

Binance has announced the listing of BTC/USD1 perpetual futures. The new contract will go live at 9:00 a.m. UTC on May 18 and will support up to 100x leverage.

The crypto mixing protocol Tornado Cash has come under renewed scrutiny during the U.S. Senate Banking Committee's markup session for the CLARITY Act, according to Eleanor Terrett, host of "Crypto in America." During the session, crypto critic and U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren reportedly addressed Senator John Kennedy, stating that the CLARITY Act is a "Tornado problem." She asked if he remembered the mixer and asserted that its purpose was for terrorists to move their funds. Terrett explained that while Republican lawmakers argue the CLARITY Act can solve illicit finance issues, Warren believes the bill does not go far enough.

Kraken has adopted Chainlink's (LINK) CCIP as its cross-chain standard, replacing LayerZero (ZRO), CoinDesk reported. The decision is part of a broader trend following a security incident where LayerZero's cross-chain bridge was exploited in the hack of Kelp DAO's rsETH, raising concerns about the protocol's security.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $81,000. BTC is trading at $81,040.52 on the Binance USDT market.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered to help with the Iran issue.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent crypto critic, has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate the Trump family's cryptocurrency business. The Democratic senator made the remarks during a Senate Banking Committee markup session for the Clarity Act. Warren and other Democratic lawmakers have persistently advocated for including provisions in the act to prevent conflicts of interest among high-ranking public officials.

Binance announced it has postponed the spot listing of AIGENSYN, which was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. UTC today.

On-chain analyst ZachXBT has alleged that insiders of the recently surging LAB token controlled over 95% of its supply before pumping the price, The Block reported. The token has risen more than 880% over the past month. Citing evidence of discounted over-the-counter (OTC) sales, a hidden supply, and signs of market making linked to exchanges, ZachXBT urged platforms including Bitget, Binance, and Gate.io to freeze any profits made by the insiders. He emphasized that his criticism is not advice to short the token, noting that since insiders hold most of the supply, there is significant potential for further price increases. ZachXBT has been identifying tokens suspected of price manipulation since last month and has consistently raised allegations against LAB throughout this month. He previously accused LAB founder Boba Sadikov of price manipulation and offered a $10,000 bounty for evidence.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has begun its markup process, which includes deliberation and voting, for the CLARITY Act. The committee is composed of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, and the bill requires 13 votes to advance. The legislation is currently expected to proceed with support solely from the Republican party.

On-chain vault platform Upshift has partnered with real-world asset (RWA) token issuer Superstate to launch a new redemption platform called Upshift Clear, The Block reported. The platform supports instant redemptions by operating a dedicated USDC vault that provides immediate liquidity to RWA holders upon request.

The market has not fully priced in the potential impact of the CLARITY Act, according to Samir Kerbage, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at crypto asset manager Hashdex, in an interview with CryptoSlate. He argued that the bill is not just a regulatory adjustment but an event that could further invigorate the market, potentially triggering large-scale capital inflows, new product development, and broader institutional adoption. "Institutions, unlike individuals, require a much higher level of regulatory clarity," Kerbage said, noting that Bitcoin alone saw over $70 billion in cumulative fund inflows within two years of its regulatory approval. He suggested that if the CLARITY Act passes, a similar trend could emerge for stablecoins and tokenization platforms. "It seems the market is currently more focused on the political friction than the possibility of the bill's passage," he added.

Ethena (ENA) announced on its official X account that it is onboarding its token to the Solana (SOL) chain through the cross-chain DeFi protocol Sunrise DeFi.

Prediction market platform Kalshi announced it will support prediction market trading on Interactive Brokers. Interactive Brokers is one of the world's largest brokerage firms, with over $75 billion in assets under management and more than four million client accounts.

Strategy (MSTR) is urging shareholders to vote on a proposal to change the dividend payments for its preferred stock, STRC, from the current once-a-month schedule to twice a month. The company stated that the purpose of introducing semi-monthly dividends is to enhance price stability, increase liquidity, and improve market efficiency. Strategy plans to maintain the targeted 11.5% annual dividend rate even with the proposed change. STRC is a product that pays holders a variable monthly dividend targeting a 11.5% annual yield. The dividend rate decreases if the stock trades above its $100 par value and increases if it falls below. The stock has recently served as a source of funds for Strategy's BTC purchases.

Pro-cryptocurrency U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has urged the passage of the CLARITY Act, stating on X that she has worked with Democrats for over nine months on the legislation. Lummis said the bill creates a much-needed regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector, bringing the industry into the regulatory fold to benefit American consumers. The CLARITY Act is scheduled for a markup by the Senate Banking Committee at 2:30 p.m. UTC today. The committee is composed of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, with 13 votes required for the bill to advance. Republicans are currently expected to advance the bill without Democratic support.

Bitcoin's on-chain indicators are showing their most positive signs since early February, but a new all-time high is unlikely due to underlying selling pressure and derivatives positioning, Bitfinex said in a report. According to CoinDesk, the exchange noted that while on-chain metrics are improving, the daily average loss remains high at $479 million. Bitfinex stated that a true on-chain recovery cannot be confirmed until this figure drops to around the $200 million level. The report added that outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs and the Federal Reserve's hawkish policy stance are creating a macro ceiling, making it difficult to surpass previous peaks without significant geopolitical shifts.

Joshua Riezman, chief legal and strategy officer at crypto market-making firm GSR, said the chances of the CLARITY Act being sent to the president during the current congressional session are less than 50%. According to The Block, Riezman stated that while the probability is below 50%, it is not zero. He explained that the issue extends beyond stablecoin interest, noting that both political parties have questions about President Donald Trump and his family's involvement in the cryptocurrency industry. This introduces additional complexity, particularly regarding whether the issue will be addressed within the bill itself. Riezman emphasized that if the bill does not pass this session, its passage is likely to be significantly delayed.

Bitcoin mining company Canaan mined 90 BTC in April, according to a PR Newswire press release. The company's cryptocurrency holdings now total 1,826 BTC and 3,952 ETH.

Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has addressed the company's legal dispute with Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun and a controversy over a $75 million loan from its ecosystem lending platform, Dolomite. Speaking at Consensus 2026, Folkman stated that WLFI was Dolomite's largest liquidity provider and had taken out a small loan against its collateral to boost the protocol's utilization, The Block reported. He asserted that Sun's lawsuit regarding token freezes and exclusion from governance is factually incorrect, adding that WLFI is preparing a defamation lawsuit and has hired the U.S. law firm Quinn Emanuel.

Global cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay has announced the launch of a new on-ramp solution, Headless On-Ramp. The API-based solution allows partners to directly integrate cryptocurrency payment features into their own applications without displaying the MoonPay brand. MoonPay handles payment processing, regulatory compliance, and Know Your Customer (KYC) on the backend.