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Cryptocurrency exchange OKX, which has Chinese roots, announced the launch of Exchange OS, a major protocol upgrade on its proprietary Ethereum (ETH) Layer 2 blockchain, X Layer. The new protocol allows developers, institutions, and ecosystem participants to leverage OKX's institutional-grade infrastructure to build three types of markets on X Layer: spot, perpetual futures, and prediction markets. As its first use case, OKX plans to launch a simulation-based 2026 World Cup Prediction Market in June, which will be deployed directly on Exchange OS.

The Ethereum Foundation's privacy initiative, Kohaku, has released a software development kit (SDK) to help integrate privacy protocols directly into Ethereum wallets without intermediaries, The Defiant reported. The tool allows users to incorporate protocols such as Railgun, Tornado Cash, and Privacy Pools. Kohaku has launched a version that currently enables Railgun integration and supports a 4337 mempool relay for private transactions. Integration for Tornado Cash and Privacy Pools is reportedly under development. The Ethereum Foundation announced the launch of Kohaku last year as an open-source privacy initiative to enhance privacy and security within the ecosystem.

An anonymous whale address sold 321,574 Hyperliquid (HYPE) for an average price of $61.81, totaling $19.88 million, over the past 24 hours, Onchain Lens reported. The address is currently staking 30,005 HYPE, worth $1.78 million.

Native Markets announced via X that it has begun the process of winding down its Hyperliquid (HYPE) blockchain-based stablecoin, USDH. According to the project, it will unstake HYPE tokens on May 27 to maintain its trading settlement currency status (AQA/PQA), after which the creation of new markets and AQA benefits will be suspended. Existing USDH-denominated HIP-3 markets will continue to operate following the unstaking, with liquidations left to the discretion of each HIP-3 deployer. Meanwhile, HIP-1 spot markets will be terminated, and all open orders will be canceled. Native Markets added that USDH holders can still swap their tokens for USDC through the HyperCore order book after the unstaking is complete.

According to Yonhap News, South Korea's Gyeongnam Province announced today that it has collected 62.4 billion won ($45.7 million) of its 260.1 billion won ($190.5 million) in delinquent local taxes as of May by strengthening its collection efforts against hidden assets, including virtual assets. In the first quarter of this year, the province investigated the holdings of delinquent taxpayers on the country's four major virtual asset exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit—and seized the assets of 976 individuals. From this group, it collected 980 million won ($718,000) in overdue local taxes from 887 people.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has offered a five-year price forecast for Bitcoin, with a base case of $750,000 and a bull case of $1.25 million, Cointelegraph reported. She cited its role as a substitute for gold, its function as a risk hedge or insurance asset, and growing institutional investment as the key drivers behind the forecast.

U.S. Central Command announced that American and Israeli fighter jets have conducted airstrikes on multiple Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed engagement highlights the fragility of a potential U.S.-Iran ceasefire, coming just hours after President Donald Trump noted progress in negotiations for a provisional agreement. President Trump is currently facing pressure from hardliners against Iran, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who argue that the proposed deal is overly lenient.

Strategy (MSTR) made no additional BTC purchases over the past week, while Bitmine (BMNR) also halted its ETH acquisitions, Lookonchain reported. In contrast, several other publicly traded companies continued to accumulate Bitcoin. Four firms—Strive, The Smart Web Company PLC, DDC Enterprise Limited, and Hyperscale Data—collectively bought 612 BTC, valued at approximately $47.5 million, during the same period. The total Bitcoin holdings of these four companies now stand at 21,525 BTC, worth around $1.67 billion.

Political Action Committees (PACs) backed by the cryptocurrency industry and its executives have donated more than $500 million to the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for this November, Cointelegraph reports. The donations have been found to be more concentrated on Republican candidates than Democratic ones.

The North Korean-linked Lazarus Group is targeting cryptocurrency investors with social engineering hacks on Telegram, Cryptopolitan reported. The attacks reportedly use memory-based malware that leaves few traces on a computer, making it extremely difficult to detect. According to the report, Lazarus Group members pose as employees of trading firms on Telegram. They then guide victims to phishing sites that imitate the scheduling platforms Calendly and PicTime. Once a victim grants approval, malware is installed in stages. The attack employs a "human-in-the-loop" approach, building trust through direct interaction to persuade victims to execute malicious files.

The Kenyan government is seeking to impose a 10% consumption tax on Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) through its 2026 Finance Bill, Cryptopolitan reported. The proposed legislation also requires crypto companies to pay a one-time licensing fee of 150 million Kenyan shillings and an annual renewal fee of two million shillings for local operations. Additionally, the bill includes a requirement for firms to submit annual reports containing user and transaction information.

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad has refuted a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article on the risks of stablecoins. In a post on X, Shirzad argued that while the WSJ characterized stablecoins as risky "private money," approximately 90% of the U.S. M2 money supply is already privately issued. He contended that the key issue is not whether money is public or private, but whether regulations adequately address the risks, a role he says the GENIUS Act fulfills. Shirzad explained that under the GENIUS Act, issuers would be prohibited from lending, using leverage, or engaging in fractional reserve banking, and must maintain 1:1 reserves with cash and short-term Treasury bonds. He stated that the concerns raised by the WSJ—such as loss of principal, yield-chasing behavior, and undermining the unity of the currency—are all blocked by the bill's design. He also dismissed the WSJ's analogy to the Free Banking Era, noting that unlike the speculative state bonds of that period, the GENIUS Act would require issuers to hold highly liquid assets, maintain segregated custody, redeem at par, and provide monthly attestations.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that while stablecoins are gaining attention as a tool for financial innovation, they could also introduce new risks to the broader economic system. The newspaper noted that although stablecoins are viewed as the next generation of financial infrastructure, historical experiments with private money have repeatedly led to financial instability and systemic risk. The report also highlighted an analysis suggesting that stablecoin issuers are incentivized to increase usage and incorporate high-yield assets to boost profits. This, combined with a potential liquidity crisis, could lead to a risk of bank runs. According to the WSJ, while the U.S. is currently developing a regulatory framework, experts believe that legislation alone cannot completely eliminate the structural risks of stablecoins. Meanwhile, data from Chainalysis indicates that stablecoins are involved in approximately 84% of illicit cryptocurrency activities, while their use for payments in the real economy accounts for less than 1%.

An anonymous plaintiff named Noah Dora has filed a lawsuit in a New York court claiming ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets, including the address of Satoshi Nakamoto, Cryptopolitan reported. The wallets hold approximately 3.7 million BTC, valued at $290 billion. The plaintiff, who filed the suit through two shell companies established in Wyoming, argues that the Bitcoin constitutes abandoned property under New York's lost property laws.

Selling pressure on Bitcoin is mounting from exchange inflows and spot ETF outflows amid slowing spot demand, according to analysts. On-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr. noted that weekly BTC deposits to exchanges have recently increased by approximately 18,000 BTC, a move he interprets as preparation for selling rather than accumulation, Cointelegraph reported. He added that spot BTC ETFs saw net outflows of around 16,000 BTC over the same period. With institutional capital failing to absorb this supply, risk-off sentiment is growing, creating a combined potential selling pressure of about 34,000 BTC from these two sources, Adler explained. Separately, Glassnode analyst CryptoVizArt pointed out that daily trading volume for spot BTC ETFs has recently fallen below $20 billion, less than half the $50 billion level seen at the end of last year. This signals that speculative buying demand for BTC is weakening and that the market's ability to absorb spot supply has diminished, even during rallies, he said.

Kelp DAO, which previously suffered a $292 million hack, announced it has completed the final stage of its rsETH recovery plan. The project has transferred a final batch of 23,737.72 rsETH to an Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) adapter. In a post on X, Kelp DAO stated that it and Aave have replenished approximately 116,000 rsETH to the OFT adapter over the past two weeks. The project added that since resuming operations, its minting, redemption, and rewards functions are operating normally, and rsETH remains fully collateralized.

According to data from Coinglass, if ETH breaks below $2,009, an estimated $737 million in long positions on major centralized exchanges (CEX) will be liquidated. Conversely, a break above $2,211 would trigger the liquidation of $543 million in short positions.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has risen three points from yesterday to 36. The index measures whether altcoins are outperforming Bitcoin. It is considered an "altcoin season" when 75% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins, have performed better than Bitcoin over the past 90 days. A score closer to 100 indicates a stronger altcoin season.

KOSDAQ-listed company Parataxis Ethereum purchased an additional 310 ETH on May 22, Edaily reported. The acquisition increases its total holdings from 8,691 ETH to 9,001 ETH, making it the largest publicly traded holder of Ethereum in Asia.

The address responsible for causing a more than 90% crash in the ESPORTS token has sold an additional 35.13 million ESPORTS, worth $1.5 million, over the past three hours, according to an analysis by Lookonchain. The on-chain analytics firm added that the sell-off is ongoing and that the address had previously dumped 22.73 million ESPORTS for approximately $987,000. Lookonchain raised suspicions of a rug pull following the token dump and subsequent price collapse, which began yesterday evening. In response, ESPORTS token issuer Yuldo Games stated that it is investigating the cause and details of the crash and will announce its findings upon completion. According to CoinMarketCap, ESPORTS is currently trading at $0.04277, down 93.85% over the past 24 hours.

Garrett Jin, founder of the fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange BitForex, purchased an additional 184,182 HYPE, valued at $11 million, today, Onchain Lens reported. Jin is also reportedly maintaining a $38.98 million long position in BTC with 5x leverage, entered at an average price of $77,394. Additionally, he holds a $37.63 million long position in ZEC with 3x leverage, with an average entry price of $626.

Ondo Finance (ONDO), a platform for tokenizing real-world assets (RWA), has announced the death of its founder, Nathan Allman. In a message of condolence on its official X account, the company stated it was announcing the founder's sudden passing with deep sadness. The statement noted that Allman had helped build a robust organization with experienced leaders to manage all aspects of the business. Ondo Finance affirmed its commitment to continue building on what Allman started, describing it as the most meaningful way to honor him.

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

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index opened at 8070.91, marking a new all-time high.

The Spot CVD chart analyzes the order book for the BTC/USDT spot trading pair. It consists of two main parts: the Volume Heatmap at the top and the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) at the bottom. - The Volume Heatmap (top) tracks trading volume at specific price levels. The background color brightens in areas where the price lingers or moves significantly, indicating potential support or resistance zones. - The Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) indicator (bottom) shows buy and sell orders categorized by trade size. A rising line indicates an increase in buy orders for that category. For example, the yellow line represents orders between $100 and $1,000, while the brown line tracks large orders between $1 million and $10 million.