Live Feed

An Ohio man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency investment fraud worth approximately $10 million, The Block reported. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he operated a Ponzi scheme, attracting funds by promising high returns and then using money from new investors to make payments to earlier ones.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to unveil a plan for innovation exemptions as early as this week to permit the trading of stock tokens, Bloomberg reported. The policy would establish a framework for trading shares of publicly listed companies in the form of blockchain-based tokens. The move follows the SEC's prior approval of a related rule change proposed by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The Bank of Korea is accelerating its preparations to commercialize deposit tokens based on its central bank digital currency (CBDC), Yonhap News reported. The central bank's Digital Currency Division recently commissioned an external consulting service, allocating a budget of 1.7 billion won ($1.26 million) for the project. This move coincides with the second phase of testing for Project Han River, the BOK's real-transaction pilot for deposit tokens. Through this consultancy, the bank aims to advance its CBDC system and review the institutional and technical preparations necessary for commercialization.

The crypto industry Super PAC Protect Progress has spent $4.2 million to support Democratic candidate Jasmine Clark in the U.S. House of Representatives primary in Georgia, Cointelegraph reported. Protect Progress focuses on supporting candidates who back pro-crypto legislation. The outlet added that the PAC has not performed as well as expected in some primaries, making this election a potential test of its influence.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed today. - S&P 500: -0.07% - Nasdaq: -0.5% - Dow Jones: +0.3%

Ostium, a crypto derivatives platform founded by Harvard University graduates, has partnered with Nasdaq, The Block reported. Under the partnership, Ostium will offer stock perpetuals based on Nasdaq data.

Bitcoin financial services firm Swan Bitcoin is facing a lawsuit seeking the return of approximately $1 billion in assets related to the 2023 collapse of Prime Trust, Decrypt reported. The suit, filed by PCT Litigation Trust, alleges that Swan used non-public internal information to preemptively move its assets just before the bankruptcy to avoid losses. The assets sought for return include approximately 12,000 BTC, stablecoins, and XRP.

Cryptocurrency firm Zerohash has obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Dutch central bank, The Block reported. As a result, Zerohash now holds both a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory license and an EMI license. This approval allows the company to offer both cryptocurrency services and stablecoin-based payments and brokerage across Europe.

On-chain analytics firm Bubblemaps has identified nine Polymarket accounts that accurately predicted U.S. military actions related to Iran, Decrypt reported. The accounts collectively earned approximately $2.4 million by betting on events such as the timing of a U.S. airstrike, a ceasefire announcement, and the potential ouster of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, achieving a 98% win rate. Bubblemaps suggested the accounts appeared to be acting in an organized manner and may have used inside information, speculating they have ties to the U.S. Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment on the matter, according to the report.

Bearish sentiment has spread across social media as Bitcoin fell to the $76,000 level, crypto analytics firm Santiment noted on X. According to its on-chain data, bearish commentary has surpassed bullish sentiment for the first time since April 21. Santiment added that since markets often move contrary to crowd sentiment, an increase in fear-based selling from retail investors could raise the probability of a short-term price rebound.

President Donald Trump announced he is postponing a planned attack on Iran, which was scheduled for May 20, following a request from Middle Eastern countries. In a social media post, Trump stated that these nations are engaged in very important negotiations with Iran, which he said would include a ban on the country possessing nuclear weapons. He added that he has ordered the military to prepare for immediate action if an acceptable agreement is not reached. Following the announcement, WTI and Brent crude oil prices fell sharply, while spot prices for gold and silver rose rapidly.

A memecoin themed after U.S. President Donald Trump (TRUMP) is facing controversy over a promotion that explicitly warns of potential insider selling, CryptoSlate reported. The event, which began on May 12 and runs through July 1, offers rewards to the top 19 token holders, including VIP access to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. The controversy stems from a disclosure stating that entities related to the project may sell their tokens during the promotional period. The outlet noted that this raises concerns about a potential conflict of interest, as the event encourages investors to buy and hold the token while insiders have reserved the right to reduce their positions.

The U.S. Senate is expected to hold a floor vote on the CLARITY Act within the next 30 days, Solid Intel reported. The bill passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 15.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 18 that he is not considering any concessions to Tehran after Iran responded to the latest draft agreement to end the war. President Trump commented that he was not disappointed by Iran's response, while also warning that the country already knows what will happen next. He added that Iran is fully aware the U.S. can deliver a much greater blow and that it wants a deal now more than ever because it knows the alternative.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is facing growing community concern amid an ongoing series of departures by key personnel during a period of organizational restructuring. According to CoinDesk, Carl Beek and Julian Ma have recently left the foundation. Their exits follow previous announcements of departures or cessations of activity by other major contributors, including Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Trent Van Epps, and Alex Stokes. Market analysis suggests the personnel changes are linked to the EF's new operational direction. In a recent announcement of its new operating principles, the foundation stated it would focus on its role as an ecosystem supporter rather than a central authority for Ethereum.

Blockchain analytics firm Messari said in a report that Solana (SOL) is evolving from its memecoin-centric image into an infrastructure for tokenized finance and payments. According to the report, the market capitalization of Solana-based real-world assets (RWA) increased by 43% quarter-over-quarter in the first quarter to $2.01 billion. This growth is attributed to firms like BlackRock, Ondo Finance, and Franklin Templeton introducing tokenized funds, ETFs, and stock products to the Solana ecosystem. Additionally, global payment companies including Visa, Stripe, PayPal, and Western Union are utilizing Solana for their stablecoin payment and remittance infrastructure. Messari projected that Solana's low fees, fast settlement speeds, and the upcoming Alpenglow upgrade—which is expected to improve transaction finality to around 150ms—could positively impact its expansion into institutional finance and AI-based applications.

Neobank Revolut, which offers investment services for both cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks, has announced the launch of its first physical cryptocurrency card, The Block reported. The card features a Dogecoin (DOGE) theme and an LED light function. It will be accepted at merchants supporting the Visa and Mastercard payment networks and is scheduled for an initial release in the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA).

The White House has determined that Iran's latest proposal shows no substantive progress and cannot serve as a basis for an agreement, with President Trump now considering a resumption of military action, Axios reported on May 18, citing a senior U.S. official. Iran delivered its latest draft agreement to end the war to the U.S. through Pakistan on the night of May 17, but the proposal reportedly contained only symbolic fine-tuning compared to previous versions and included no real concessions on its nuclear program. The senior U.S. official described the current negotiations as being at a very grave stage, stating that if Iran does not change its position, the U.S. will have no choice but to continue negotiations through bombing. Regarding reports from Iranian media that the U.S. had agreed to waive some oil sanctions, the official emphasized that no form of sanctions relief would be granted for free without corresponding measures from Iran.

According to a White House official, U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold an inauguration ceremony for Federal Reserve Chairman nominee Kevin Warsh on May 22.

Tempo, a blockchain focused on stablecoins and payments, is introducing a DeFi lending feature based on Morpho, CoinDesk reported. Morpho's current lending market is valued at approximately $7.5 billion. The integration will allow fintech and corporate users on the Tempo network to utilize their stablecoin deposits for on-chain lending, borrowing, and yield generation. The move is seen as an expansion for Tempo from a simple payment network to a comprehensive on-chain financial platform. Morpho will provide risk management and price data using curated markets designed by Gauntlet and Sentora, along with RedStone's oracle infrastructure. Last year, Tempo raised $500 million at a valuation of around $5 billion, with participation from investors including Visa, Mastercard, UBS, Shopify, and Klarna.

Olena Oblamska, co-founder of the cryptocurrency platform Forsage, has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges following her extradition from Thailand to the U.S., FinanceFeeds reported. Forsage, a smart contract-based DApp investment platform launched in 2020, is alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice to have operated as a Ponzi and pyramid scheme. The department claims the platform used smart contracts on the Ethereum, Tron, and BNB chains to automatically distribute funds from new investors to existing ones. Blockchain analysis revealed that over 80% of all investors received less money back than they invested, with more than half receiving no returns at all. The U.S. SEC filed a civil suit against those involved in 2022, with total losses estimated at around $340 million.

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

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on X that the company has collaborated with law enforcement to support criminal investigations using blockchain forensics. Armstrong explained that the company's investigation team identified criminal activity and used on-chain tracking to pinpoint the perpetrators, which ultimately led to the conviction of five individuals. He also expressed his gratitude to the UK's Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.

Ondo Finance announced on X that the total value locked (TVL) in Ondo Global Markets' stock tokens has surpassed $1.5 billion. The market views this as a key growth area leading a shift in how U.S. stocks are accessed. According to Ondo Global Markets, the top assets are CRCLon (Circle), IVVon (S&P 500 ETF), MUon (Micron), NVDAon (Nvidia), and IBITon (Bitcoin ETF). These five assets account for approximately 25% of the entire tokenized stock market.

According to on-chain data, a specific whale address has purchased an additional 4,677 ETH over the past 24 hours. The purchase, valued at approximately $9.94 million, is believed to have been made from the Swiss cryptocurrency exchange Shapeshift. This brings the address's total ETH holdings to 133,666 ETH, worth an estimated $281 million.