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Upbit announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Cronos (CRO) due to a network upgrade, starting at 3:00 p.m. UTC on May 19.

A Taiwanese news anchor has been indicted on charges of receiving cryptocurrency from a Chinese agent and bribing military personnel to leak confidential information, The Block reported. According to local prosecutors, anchor Lin Chen-yu is accused of paying six active and retired army and navy members since 2023 to obtain photos of classified military documents. In exchange, he allegedly received a total of 169,493 New Taiwan dollars (about $5,395) in cryptocurrency through Binance and OKX. Additionally, he is accused of receiving at least 4,325 USDT from a Chinese national last year to produce news reports critical of a campaign to recall a Kuomintang lawmaker, a move backed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Ronin (RON) starting at 9:00 a.m. UTC on May 11 to support a network upgrade and migration. The network will be upgraded from the existing Ronin to Ronin L2.

Upbit has announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for eCash (XEC) starting at 9:00 a.m. UTC on May 15, due to a network upgrade.

Jack McDonald, Ripple's Senior Vice President of Stablecoins, said at Consensus 2026 in Miami that the company's stablecoin business will soon acquire a license from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). He noted that the business is already licensed in New York State and several other jurisdictions worldwide.

Bitcoin has slipped below $80,000 amid a wave of profit-taking led by short-term holders. According to CoinDesk, analytics firm CryptoQuant suggested that while Bitcoin has rebounded 37% from its April low, the move is more akin to a relief rally than the start of a full-blown bull market. The firm warned that as unrealized profit margins grow, the potential for further selling pressure could increase. Similarly, Enflux noted that while President Donald Trump's decision to suspend military action related to the Strait of Hormuz has boosted risk-on sentiment, the rally's sustainability remains in question, citing historical precedents where such policy directions have been quickly reversed.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has corrected a previous statement regarding the major market crash on Oct. 10 of last year. She clarified that while there was a software error, Binance did not trigger the sharp decline, adding that she wants market participants to have a clear understanding of the situation. Wood had previously mentioned a Binance software error in connection with a deleveraging event of approximately $28 billion during a January interview on Fox Business, which had sparked debate over the exchange's potential responsibility for the crash.

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has warned that euro-denominated stablecoins could threaten financial stability and monetary policy transmission channels. According to Bloomberg, Lagarde stated that while euro stablecoins might offer short-term benefits like reduced financing costs and expanded international influence, the associated costs are greater. She argued that stablecoins are not an efficient tool for strengthening the euro's international status. Lagarde emphasized that Europe's challenge is not to imitate tools developed in other regions but to build a safe asset base appropriate for capital market integration and the euro's standing. Her position contrasts with that of Joachim Nagel, President of Germany's central bank, who expressed support for euro stablecoins in February. However, the ECB noted in a March working paper that the widespread adoption of stablecoins could pose significant risks to Eurozone banks and monetary sovereignty.

Bithumb has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for eCash (XEC) starting at 8:00 a.m. UTC on May 15 to support an upcoming network upgrade.

Deutsche Bank, a German financial institution with approximately $2.1 trillion in assets under management, has acquired an additional 53,215 shares of the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy (MSTR). This brings the bank's total holdings to 784,919 shares, valued at approximately $140.1 million.

Asset management firm Multi Investment will pursue a portfolio diversification strategy after raising 480 million Swiss francs ($615.89 million), according to a PR Newswire press release. The firm has designated fintech, deep tech, blockchain, Web3, and biotechnology as its key next-generation investment areas.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) starting at 8:00 a.m. UTC on May 15. The suspension is to support an upcoming network upgrade for the cryptocurrency.

Crypto analyst MorenoDV, citing CryptoQuant data, has analyzed a growing divergence in the recovery of institutional sentiment between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). According to the analyst, Bitcoin is rapidly regaining market confidence as institutional capital inflows and accumulation trends recover, while Ethereum continues to show signs of weakened sentiment among institutional investors. He added that strong structural buying pressure is flowing into BTC, driven by expanding demand from ETFs and Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) strategies, whereas capital inflows into ETH remain comparatively limited.

A security vulnerability in the default code LayerZero uses to validate cross-chain messages has reportedly exposed over $3 billion in Omnichain Fungible Tokens (OFTs) to potential theft. According to the X account Fishy Catfish, the code could be instantly replaced by developer LayerZero Labs without any time delay, creating a structure that could be exploited to forge messages. The issue sparked a heated debate between LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino and security researchers in the ETHSecurity community's Telegram channel. Banteg, a researcher with 220,000 followers, noted that major projects like Ethena and EtherFi were using this default setting until a few weeks ago and that $178 million in assets remain exposed. Fishy Catfish added that on-chain data suggests operational multi-signature keys were used for routine activities like memecoin trading, raising questions about the project's overall security management, particularly given its history of being targeted by North Korean hackers.

A majority of U.S. voters from both major parties support the Cryptocurrency and Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act (CLARITY), according to a new poll. The survey also suggests that supporting the bill could be an electoral advantage for members of Congress. According to market research firm HarrisX, a national survey of 2,008 U.S. voters showed that 52% support the bill, while only 11% oppose it. Net support, calculated as the percentage of supporters minus opponents, was 48% among Democrats, 43% among Republicans, and 32% among independents. HarrisX reported that 37% of respondents would be more likely to support a member of Congress who votes for the CLARITY Act, compared to 17% who would be less likely. The survey also found that 70% believe the U.S. should have already passed crypto legislation, and 60% prefer the establishment of clear federal laws over litigation-focused regulation. Additionally, 47% said they would consider supporting a candidate from another party if their own party opposed the CLARITY Act. Meanwhile, 56% of respondents believe that digital payment systems built in foreign countries would weaken U.S. national security, indicating that digital finance is widely viewed as a national security issue.

Binance has announced its support for a contract swap of fan tokens based on the Chiliz Chain (CHZ) CAP20 standard. The tokens affected include ACM, ASR, ATM, and BAR. Consequently, deposits and withdrawals for these Chiliz Chain-based tokens will be temporarily suspended starting at 1:00 a.m. UTC on May 11.

Crypto industry insiders at the 2026 Consensus Miami conference noted that institutional investor participation in decentralized perpetual futures exchanges (Perp DEXs) remains limited, citing DeFi security risks and conflicts with Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks, CoinDesk reported. Michael Anderson, co-founder of crypto venture capital firm Framework Ventures, described the current DeFi ecosystem as a "minefield." He explained that Perp DEXs are difficult for institutions to use compared to centralized exchanges (CEX) because DeFi's focus on anonymity and non-KYC structures clashes with the strict regulatory and compliance requirements that institutions must follow.

According to crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe, Bitcoin's recent sideways price action is a natural phase of consolidation. He noted that BTC has entered a short-term trading range. Van de Poppe explained that asset markets generally move in waves, and a temporary correction is a natural process considering Bitcoin's recent sustained rally. He added that as long as the current upward trend holds, there is ample room for further gains in the coming weeks.

Hong Kong-based crypto exchange OSL announced it has joined global payments company Mastercard's "Crypto Partner Program." OSL plans to jointly develop payment use cases and pilot projects utilizing stablecoin infrastructure within the Mastercard ecosystem.

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: 50.03% long, 49.97% short - Binance: 47.93% long, 52.07% short - OKX: 47.57% long, 52.43% short - Bybit: 47.3% long, 52.7% short

Cryptocurrency trading firm Grapefruit Trading has staked 33,370 ETH, worth $76.13 million, to the Ethereum 2.0 staking contract, according to Onchain Lens.

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has initiated sanction proceedings against the crypto exchange Bithumb following a recent 'ghost coin' incident, MTN News reported. The FSS has determined that the grounds for sanctions are Bithumb's failure to reconcile its actual holdings with its on-ledger records, a violation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. The action focuses on the breach of ledger-keeping obligations, as current laws reportedly lack a direct basis for penalizing failures in internal controls. The incident occurred when an input error related to an event reward led Bithumb to create 620,000 BTC on its books, an amount more than 13 times its internal circulation. A key factor in the failure was that a single junior-level employee handled the process alone, indicating a breakdown of internal controls. Industry observers have noted the regulator's use of the ledger violation charge amid a regulatory vacuum, viewing the event as a man-made disaster similar to a past 'ghost stock' incident at Samsung Securities.

Major Wall Street financial institutions, including JPMorgan and BlackRock, are increasingly posting job openings in the cryptocurrency sector, Bloomberg reported. A review of LinkedIn postings shows that the upper salary limit for a digital asset engineer is in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, with Citigroup offering up to $300,000 and BlackRock up to $270,000. However, Bloomberg noted that virtually all positions list traditional finance experience as a mandatory requirement. One role at Morgan Stanley, for instance, requires a minimum of six to eight years of experience in fields such as investment banking or private equity. Paul Przybylski, Global Head of Digital and Tokenized Assets at JPMorgan Asset Management, said that an understanding of both crypto and traditional finance is ultimately necessary.

The planned implementation of a tax on virtual assets in South Korea, scheduled for next January, is facing growing policy uncertainty due to opposition from the People Power Party, ZDNet reported. While the government has clarified its intention to proceed with the tax as planned, the opposition party is countering with a push to repeal it. The People Power Party argues that taxing virtual assets is unfair when the financial investment income tax has been abolished. Lawmaker Park Soo-young of the People Power Party stated that he would reflect the opinions of academia and the media in the legislative process, signaling a confrontation with the government. Adding to the market uncertainty is the ruling Democratic Party's lack of a clear stance on the issue. Some observers suggest the ruling party may join discussions to postpone or repeal the tax to appeal to younger voters ahead of next year's local elections.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced a service disruption caused by rising server room temperatures in the AWS US-EAST-1 region. The exchange said it plans to resume trading soon as systems are normalized. To ensure stability, all markets will first reopen in "Cancel Only" mode, allowing users to cancel existing orders before placing new ones.