French company abandons crypto treasury strategy, will liquidate Bitcoin holdingsIn the year since Sequans Communications announced that it would adopt a digital asset treasury strategy, the price of Bitcoin fell by more than 30%.The France-based semiconductor company that announced a move into crypto is “no longer pursuing” a treasury strategy after less than a year.In a Thursday notice, Sequans Communications said it held 658 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $48 million at the time of publication, which it said was “fully unencumbered” and unrestricted as it looks to refocus solely on Internet of Things (IoT) semiconductor growth.The company's NYSE-traded shares, which have shed more than 75% since last June, were up more than 14.5% in morning trading following the announcement.Read more

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Trezor adds native USDt, USDC yield via Morpho integrationThe feature lets users earn stablecoin yield directly through Trezor Suite without connecting external wallets or using separate DeFi apps.Trezor has integrated native stablecoin yield functionality into Trezor Suite, the hardware wallet provider’s desktop and mobile application, in a move that could make earning yield on stablecoins more accessible to users who have traditionally avoided decentralized finance due to its complexity and security risks.Announced on Thursday, the feature comes through an integration with Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol built on Ethereum. The integration allows users to deposit USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) into pre-selected Morpho vaults directly through Trezor Suite without connecting external wallets or using separate DeFi applications.According to Trezor, deposits, withdrawals and reward claims are signed directly on users’ hardware wallets through the company’s clear-signing interface, which displays transaction details in human-readable form on the device screen.Read more

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France's AMF regulator sets June 30 deadline for MiCA licensingThe European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets regulations first took effect in 2024, but gave crypto service providers time to fully comply with the framework.The French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) warned that crypto companies operating in the country without a license have until June 30 to acquire the permits or exit the country.AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani told a press event on Thursday that crypto companies that fail to obtain a license by the deadline must have "orderly wind-down ⁠plans" to offload customers and end their operations, according to Reuters.Under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, crypto service providers are required to have licenses to operate, but can acquire a license in any of the 27 EU member states and “passport” the license to any of the other member nations.Read more

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Trump claims he can ‘future proof’ crypto regulation with CLARITY ActThe future of a digital asset market structure bill in Congress is still uncertain amid concerns over ethics provisions, with president, whose crypto ties are under scrutiny, weighing in on social media.US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he intended to codify a “future-proof digital asset market structure,” likely referring to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) under consideration in the US Senate.In a post to his Truth Social platform for the second time this week on policy claims potentially affecting the cryptocurrency industry, Trump said the law would prevent “crypto haters” in future administrations from rolling back regulations affecting digital assets.Source: Donald TrumpRead more

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Bitcoin enters cooldown phase under $75K as ‘active distribution’ risesBitcoin’s slide toward $73,000 triggered active distribution signals, but lowered realized losses and weak spot volumes point to easing sell pressure.Bitcoin's drop below $73,000 on Wednesday marks a short-term turning point for the market, as multiple BTC distribution signals point toward rising sell-side pressure. While the increasing chance of a correction into the $60,000 to $70,000 range remains in play, long-term holder data points to improving investor sentiment, suggesting that traders view the current price as a buying opportunity. Crypto analyst CryptoOnChain noted that Bitcoin’s drop to $72,500 followed a period of weakening spot demand and unsustainable long positioning in derivatives markets. The Coinbase premium index posted a -1,083% deviation from its three-month average, one of the deepest discounts recorded since 2025.Read more

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SEC Commissioner Peirce defends crypto privacy tools against surveillance pushThe leader of the regulator's Crypto Task Force said privacy-enhancing technologies can strengthen investor protection and urged regulators not to treat them with suspicion.US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce said financial privacy is becoming increasingly undervalued in US regulation, warning against treating privacy-preserving technologies with suspicion.Speaking Wednesday at Georgetown Law, Peirce described privacy-enhancing technologies, including cryptographic tools, as legitimate components of modern financial infrastructure rather than tools primarily associated with criminal activity.Peirce said that protecting financial privacy does not conflict with national security objectives.Read more

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Bit Digital buys $20M worth of Ethereum, expands treasury to 158K ETHThe purchase pushed the Nasdaq-listed company ahead of Coinbase Global to become the fourth-largest public corporate holder of Ether, according to CoinGecko data.Bit Digital purchased $20 million worth of Ether earlier this month, increasing its holdings to roughly 158,462 ETH. The Nasdaq-listed company said Thursday it acquired 8,568 ETH (ETH) on May 11 at an average price of $2,334.25 per token.CEO Sam Tabar said the purchase reduced Bit Digital’s average ETH acquisition cost and was part of the company’s strategy to grow net asset value per share through Ethereum accumulation, AI infrastructure and acquisitions.Read more

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Prediction markets legal battles heat up in Minnesota, Rhode IslandKalshi sued Minnesota while the CFTC filed against Rhode Island as legal wrangling with state-level authorities seems likely headed to the US Supreme Court.The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and companies behind prediction market platforms are continuing legal fights against state-level authorities, with the latest battlegrounds centered in Rhode Island and Minnesota.Last week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill into law amending statutes to prohibit advertising, creating, operating or otherwise facilitating prediction market platforms. The move prompted CFTC Chair Michael Selig to file in federal court less than 24 hours later, alleging Minnesota and its officials had enacted the “first outright ban” on prediction markets.Source: PACERRead more

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Fidelity Digital Assets highlights 'growing evidence' of shift from dollar-based systemsThe investment firm said nation-states and central banks are increasingly turning to assets like Bitcoin and gold as alternative settlement systems outside of US control.Recent moves by the Iranian government to Bitcoin for oil tolls as gold overtakes US dollar assets in global central bank reserves signals a “shift away from dollar-based systems,” according to crypto financial services company Fidelity Digital Investments.Tehran's acceptance of BTC for oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz represents the emergence of “alternative settlement mechanisms,” according to the company’s just-released "Six Key Trends Shaping Digital Assets in 2026" report. Accepting Bitcoin for shipping toll payments is evidence that the biggest cryptocurrency could replace the US dollar as the global reserve currency because of its neutral, confiscation-resistant and decentralized properties, supporters of BTC say.Read more

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Solana open interest drops 30% as altcoins slump: Is $68 SOL next?Bulls abandon ship as SOL futures open interest dropped 30% in May. With the price weakening near $80, Solana may be destined for new lows.Solana (SOL) futures dropped sharply in May as traders reduced leveraged exposure across all exchanges. SOL open interest (OI) dropped to $1.90 billion on Thursday from $2.75 billion on May 11, a 30% decline, while funding rates remained close to neutral. The combination points to weakening investor sentiment as SOL eyes a retest of its yearly low at $68. The aggregated funding rate for Solana futures held near -0.005, showing balanced positioning between longs and shorts. SOL traders have not built aggressive directional bets despite the recent price slide to $80. Media Read more

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Gemini taps Grok for personalized AI-powered prediction market feeds Gemini is leaning into AI features for its prediction market, following other crypto exchanges in moving beyond crypto trading amid a market slump.Crypto exchange Gemini has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI to launch an artificial intelligence-powered feature for its prediction markets platform that will allow users to curate personalized feeds.Gemini said on Thursday that its “Command Center” offering would show markets based on users’ open positions and watchlists, and can track crypto, sports, commodities, politics, economics and culture.“Rather than forcing you to dig through social feeds to find what's relevant, Command Center meets you where you are,” Gemini said. “It learns from your open positions, watchlists, and prediction history to surface the intelligence most likely to inform your next move.”Read more

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Bitcoin’s trapped under $74K while $9B options expiry looms: Are bears back in control?Bears hold the upper hand for Friday's $9 billion options expiry, keeping Bitcoin under pressure amid heavy ETF outflows and corporate sellingKey takeaways:Bitcoin (BTC) retested the $72,500 level for the first time in six weeks on Thursday, triggering $342 million in liquidations for bullish leveraged positions. Despite a subsequent relief bounce to $73,500, traders are worried that bears will keep control due to the upcoming $9 billion monthly options expiry. Media Read more

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Sui Network back online after ‘crash bug’ causes 6 hour outageThe Sui mainnet has resumed after a bug in a network update took it offline for 5 hours and 55 minutes.Sui Network is back online after a nearly six-hour outage on Thursday, which it attributed to a bug introduced by an update, marking the layer-1 blockchain’s second period of downtime in 2026.Sui posted to X on Thursday that activity on its mainnet had resumed after “a halt due to a crash bug in the gas charging logic introduced by the 1.72 release. A full incident review will be shared in the coming days.”Sui had earlier shared that the blockchain was “experiencing a network stall” and said that transactions could be paused until a fix is rolled out. Read more

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Bitcoin’s major holders halt buys as demand slows: CryptoQuantCryptoQuant says that the holding structure for large Bitcoin holders is deteriorating, a trend that has historically preceded “sustained price weakness.”An increasing number of Bitcoin holders are seeing their investments turn red as the holding structure continues to deteriorate across major cohorts, according to CryptoQuant. Annual balance growth for whale accounts holding between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) has turned negative in the fastest contraction this year, CryptoQuant said in a report on Thursday.Monthly growth has been flat since February, suggesting a shift from accumulation to mild distribution mirroring the 2022 bear market, it added.Read more

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SEC approves Paxos as ‘blockchain-native’ clearing agencyPaxos says its approval as a blockchain-focused clearing agency represents a “critical piece of financial market infrastructure” as Wall Street becomes more interested in crypto.Blockchain infrastructure platform and stablecoin issuer Paxos says it has become the first “blockchain-native” firm that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has granted registration as a clearing agency.Paxos said on Thursday that its subsidiary, Paxos Securities Settlement Company, has become “the only blockchain-native firm” that the SEC approved to provide clearing and settlement services as a central securities depository in the US.The approval represents a “critical piece of financial market infrastructure” as blockchain technology and traditional capital markets continue to converge, the company added. Read more

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Buy $72K dip, or jump ship: What will Bitcoin bulls do?Investors selling across spot, futures and ETF markets pushed Bitcoin into its monthly range lows near $72,000 but data shows retail investors buying the dip and opening longs. When Bitcoin (BTC) finally escaped from its channel pattern and secured a multiple-day close above the $77,000 resistance, traders rejoiced and declared the downtrend over. 
Fast-forward to the present and BTC has fallen below multiple support levels and appears at risk of retesting $70,000, a 16% decline from its range highs. Read more

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OKX Ventures, Korea Investment & Securities to buy 19.6% Coinone stake for $106MOKX Ventures and KIS to invest $53 million each for a 19.6% stake in Coinone, deepening ties between traditional finance and crypto in South Korea’s tightly regulated market.South Korean crypto exchange Coinone said Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) and OKX Ventures agreed to invest a combined 160 billion won ($106 million) for a 19.6% stake in the platform.The investment, which remains subject to regulatory approval, would make KIS and OKX Ventures joint third-largest shareholders in Coinone behind CEO Myung-Hun Cha and existing backer Com2uS Holdings, according to a release shared with Cointelegraph. The transaction combines secondary share purchases from existing holders with newly issued shares, while Cha is expected to remain Coinone’s largest shareholder and retain management control.Read more

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DxSale drained for $7.3M in BNB Chain liquidity exploitDxSale was drained for about $7.3 million from BNB Chain liquidity providers, raising fresh concerns over old DeFi locker contracts.Memecoin launch platform DxSale was drained of $7.3 million in funds in a cyberattack that affected around 1,400 liquidity providers (LPs) on the BNB Chain. The attacker's address "0xC457" transferred $1.87 million worth of BNB (BNB) tokens into two main wallets and subsequently deposited them into multiple Binance deposit addresses, according to blockchain data platform PeckShield in a Friday X post.Back in 2021, DxSale was used to lock in liquidity for tokens launched on the BNB Chain. Blockchain analyst Tahax estimated that the locker still holds liquidity from projects launched years ago and explained that the exploiter wallet was freshly created and funded through crypto exchange Bybit.Read more

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Texas Bitcoin reserve plans shift from ETF to direct BTC custodyTexas is hiring a crypto custodian to move its $10 million Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from BlackRock’s IBIT ETF into directly held coins and build full state‑level BTC plumbing.Texas is seeking a custody and liquidity provider to help move its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) into directly held coins, according to a state procurement document. The move, posted May 7 and announced in a Thursday release from the Texas Comptroller’s office, would move Texas closer to directly held Bitcoin through a third-party custody arrangement rather than relying solely on ETF exposure, marking a shift from ETF exposure to direct onchain ownership.Texas has allocated $10 million to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which the state has used to buy IBIT as an interim way to hold the funds before shifting to directly custodied Bitcoin, according to the request for proposals document.Read more

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Strategy situation ‘out of hand,’ says Arca exec on $15B preferred stock burdenStrategy’s capital structure may be under pressure as Arca’s Jeff Dorman highlights $15 billion in preferred stock obligations and CEO comments on possible Bitcoin sales.Strategy is facing renewed scrutiny over its preferred stock financing model as investors question whether dividend obligations could eventually pressure the company to sell some of its Bitcoin.The Strategy situation has “gotten out of hand,” Arca chief investment officer Jeff Dorman said in an X post on Thursday, referring to its roughly $15 billion in preferred stocks carrying around $1.5 billion in annual dividend obligations.Dorman warned that the structure may become increasingly difficult to manage if market conditions remain volatile, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading about 16% lower year-to-date at roughly $73,737 at the time of writing.Read more

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Bitcoin falls out of the global top 10 assets as market cap dips below $1.5TBitcoin’s market cap has dropped below $1.5 trillion, pushing it out of the world’s top 10 assets amid AI stock and precious metal rallies.Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest drawdown to $72,000 has coincided with a sharp drop in its market capitalization, pushing it out of the global top 10 assets by market cap.Key takeaways:Bitcoin’s price has dropped sharply from around $83,000 in early May to as low as $72,400 on Thursday. This was accompanied by a fall in its market capitalization to $1.45 trillion from $1.66 trillion.Read more

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