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Lighter, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange (Perp DEX), announced that its forced withdrawal feature has passed an independent verification. The platform explained on X that users can now generate ZK proofs to withdraw their funds directly from the Ethereum (ETH) network, even if Lighter's sequencer halts.

Duan Yongping, chairman of Bubugao Group and known as 'China's Warren Buffett,' holds approximately $19 million worth of Circle (CRCL) stock, Wu Blockchain reported. According to his portfolio, disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 13F filing, he purchased 200,000 shares of Circle in the first quarter at around $9,541 per share. The position accounts for approximately 0.095% of his total investment portfolio.

Despite falling BTC prices and rising U.S. Treasury yields increasing market uncertainty, the options market's implied volatility (BVIV) remains unusually low at around 42%, CoinDesk reported. This suggests the market may not be fully pricing in the actual risks, with options experts describing the current situation as the calm before the storm. They anticipate that volatility could expand, triggered by upcoming macroeconomic events such as the CPI announcement or remarks from the Federal Reserve. This has led to analysis suggesting that a straddle strategy, which bets on a significant price movement regardless of direction, could be effective in the current environment.

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe sent an open letter to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on May 19, rebutting her criticism of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for granting trust bank charters to crypto firms. Warren had previously suggested that such approvals could potentially violate banking laws. In his letter, Belshe argued that the term "crypto bank," used by Warren, is a rhetorical phrase with no legal definition. He explained that BitGo does not lend or co-mingle client assets, instead holding them separately under a fiduciary duty. He contrasted this with depository banks, which operate on a fractional reserve model by lending out customer deposits. According to Belshe, regulations like deposit insurance and capital requirements exist to address the risks inherent in that structure. Applying deposit insurance to a custodial bank that holds assets on a one-to-one basis, he contended, is like "requiring someone who only rides the bus to have car insurance." Belshe further noted that cases of consumer harm involving firms like FTX, Celsius, and Voyager all occurred at institutions that lacked a fiduciary duty. "The trust bank charter is the solution, not the threat," he concluded.

While the supply of non-dollar stablecoins grew from $261 million in May 2021 to $771 million in April 2026, their market share fell from 0.26% to 0.24%, CoinDesk reported, citing data from Artemis. This means dollar-pegged stablecoins account for 99.76% of the total market. The outlet added that most currencies lack liquidity outside their home countries, making it difficult to back global stablecoins. It noted that while some currencies like the euro or yen show potential, market demand remains limited.

Crypto wallet Sorted Wallet has raised $4.4 million in a seed funding round, The Block reported. The round was led by Tether and Gnosis, with participation from Movement, Angel Invest, and others. The funds will be used to expand operations in South Africa and South Asia.

BTC perp long/short ratios on top exchanges by open interest The following are the 24-hour long/short ratios for BTC perpetual futures on the world’s three largest crypto futures exchanges by open interest: Overall: 50.23% long, 49.77% short - Binance: 48.05% long, 51.95% short - OKX: 49.67% long, 50.33% short - Bybit: 50.19% long, 49.81% short

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has urged developers to periodically replace API keys stored in their code, amid growing concerns in the crypto industry over a recent GitHub hack. GitHub previously confirmed that a hacker stole 3,800 repositories after installing a malicious extension on an employee's device to gain access. The company added that no damage to customer or project accounts has been confirmed so far and that an investigation is ongoing. BeInCrypto noted that the incident has heightened tensions in the crypto market, as exposed API keys could allow attackers to drain trading account balances in minutes or gain access to exchange bots.

The Spot CVD chart analyzes the order book for the BTC/USDT spot pair. The top section shows the Volume Heatmap, and the bottom section displays the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD). - The Volume Heatmap at the top tracks trading volume at specific price levels. The background color brightens when the price lingers in a particular range or experiences significant movement. These brighter areas can indicate potential support and resistance zones. - The Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) indicator at the bottom represents buy and sell orders categorized by trade size. As buy orders increase, the corresponding colored line rises. For example, the yellow line tracks orders between $100 and $1,000, while the brown line tracks large orders between $1 million and $10 million.

Binance has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum-based tokens starting at 5:55 a.m. UTC on May 21 due to wallet maintenance on the Ethereum (ETH) network.

The governor of South Carolina has signed bill S.163 into law, legally protecting the right to self-custody Bitcoin, Cointelegraph reported. The legislation also prohibits discriminatory taxation on Bitcoin and legally protects Proof-of-Work mining activities.

Nasdaq-listed company Tron (TRON) announced it has purchased an additional 140,589 TRX at an average price of $0.3556. The move brings its total holdings to 696.8 million TRX. The company stated that it plans to continue expanding its TRX reserves to enhance shareholder value.

South Korean police have arrested a domestic ring that collaborated with a China-based organization to launder around 110 billion won in criminal proceeds, the Seoul Economic Daily reported. Tether (USDT) was the primary method used, accounting for 72% of the laundered funds. This was followed by schemes disguised as gift certificate businesses (19%) and standard bank transfers (9%). The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced the arrest of 149 individuals, including members of the domestic ring that distributed illegal bank accounts and the Chinese money laundering organization, on charges of violating laws on the concealment of criminal proceeds. Seven of those arrested have been detained.

The appellate trial for the Haru Invest case, involving the alleged misappropriation of 800 billion won (approx. $580 million) in customer crypto assets, has entered a new phase following a change in the judicial panel, according to an exclusive report from Digital Asset. The new court panel has requested additional evidence from both the prosecution and the defense, stating that the initial verdict focused too heavily on business continuity rather than the core issue of fraudulent conduct. The court is scheduled to hear arguments from both sides on July 22 before making a final decision on whether certain actions, such as investing all customer funds with a single firm, constitute fraud.

Binance has announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for tokens on the Polygon (POL) network to support its upcoming upgrade and hard fork. The suspension will begin at 1:00 p.m. UTC on May 21.

24-hour crypto futures liquidations The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - BTC: $29.09 million liquidated (69.02% longs) - ETH: $29.87 million liquidated (77.58% longs) - BSB: $7.17 million liquidated (76.08% shorts)

U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net outflow of approximately $331.03 million yesterday, according to data compiled by Trader T. This marks the third consecutive trading day of net outflows. - BlackRock IBIT: -$325.57 million - Fidelity FBTC: -$1.67 million - Valkyrie BRRR: -$3.79 million

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of $62.27 million on May 19, marking the seventh consecutive day of withdrawals, according to data compiled by Trader T. - BlackRock's ETHA: -$59.37 million - Fidelity's FETH: -$3.68 million - Bitwise's ETHW: +$760,000 - BlackRock's Staking ETHB: +$200,000

Approximately 60 whale addresses holding over 10,000 ETH have either emptied or consolidated their balances over the past two months, according to crypto analyst Ali Martinez. In a post on X, Martinez described the departure of whales in such a short period as a signal of institutional-level profit-taking and asset redistribution. "This suggests they are using recent liquidity to de-risk, indicating weak medium-term investor sentiment," he explained. Martinez added that the decline in whale numbers coincides with recent large inflows to exchanges, concluding that a further decline is likely in the short term and that he is closely watching the $2,000 psychological support level.

Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) has announced an extension of its partnership with English Premier League club Manchester City. The project plans to develop various products for Manchester City fans worldwide, with further details to be announced at a later date.

U.S. digital asset platform Prometheum launched Ethereum (ETH) trading last week for the first time in a decade, but its hard-won regulatory advantage has reportedly become meaningless, according to Decrypt. Since its launch about 10 years ago, Prometheum has raised nearly $100 million and, in 2023, became the first firm in the industry to obtain a special purpose broker-dealer license from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The move was considered unusual at the time, given the Biden administration's then-critical stance on cryptocurrencies. However, the outlet explained that the regulatory environment has fundamentally changed following a shift in government, with the SEC withdrawing crypto-related lawsuits and investigations. Decrypt added that under the SEC's revised guidance, general broker-dealers can now custody crypto securities under existing customer protection rules, making the specialized license unnecessary and erasing Prometheum's regulatory edge.

An analysis suggests that U.S. investors are actively selling Bitcoin. Cointelegraph reported, citing data from CryptoQuant, that the Coinbase Premium Gap has fallen to negative $77. The Coinbase Premium measures the price difference for an asset between U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Binance.

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) may be the largest external holder of Hyperliquid (HYPE), according to on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa. An address believed to belong to a16z currently holds 9.18 million HYPE, valued at $356 million. The wallet has added 206,000 HYPE ($9.95 million) over the past 11 hours and has purchased a total of 2.35 million HYPE ($102 million) since April 16. With an estimated average purchase price of $38.77, a16z's unrealized profit on its HYPE holdings stands at $79.29 million. The analyst noted that the top five HYPE-holding addresses are all linked to Hyperliquid's own ecosystem supply, suggesting a16z is the largest institutional holder outside the project itself.

Upbit has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Filecoin (FIL) starting at 9:00 a.m. UTC on May 27.

Yorkville America, a financial partner of Truth Social, has withdrawn its applications for three cryptocurrency ETFs, Cointelegraph reported. The withdrawn funds are the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, the Truth Social Bitcoin & Ethereum Blend ETF, and the Crypto Blue Chip ETF. While Yorkville cited changes to its legal structure as the reason for the withdrawal, the crypto industry points to concerns over a potential conflict of interest for U.S. President Donald Trump and declining demand for crypto ETFs. The proposed ETFs were also expected to struggle with competitiveness due to higher fees compared to those from large asset managers.