Rap star and hip-hop veteran Drake dropped three surprise solo albums on May 15, 2026, totaling 43 tracks, and buried the crypto world’s most talked-about verse inside a single boastful cut called “Dust.” Drake Releases Triple Album in May 2026 and Plants Bitcoin, FTX Shoutout on Iceman Cut The three projects, “Iceman,” “Habibti,” and “Maid […]

Bitcoin’s long-term price structure is once again drawing attention, as the asset continues to follow a powerful historical pattern on the monthly timeframe. Despite short-term volatility and shifting market sentiment, the broader trend suggests BTC may still be tracking well-established cyclical behavior from previous market phases. How Historical Bitcoin Data Supports A Positive May Outlook […]

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Corporate Ethereum accumulation signals a shift towards digital assets as strategic reserves, potentially tightening supply and boosting demand. The post Corporate Ethereum reserves reach $16B as companies stockpile 7.3M ETH appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The summit's lack of progress underscores persistent US-China tensions, with potential market volatility hinging on future trade truce renewals. The post Trump concludes summit in China, achieving stability but no progress appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Rising yields could destabilize tech and AI stocks, potentially triggering broader market corrections and impacting risk asset sentiment globally. The post Rising yields threaten to derail tech and AI stock rally appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Elon Musk has revisited his famous support for Dogecoin for the first time in years, reviving memories of the meme coin boom that helped reshape the crypto market during the last cycle.

THORChain developers have confirmed a breach of the cross-chain protocol amounting to $10 million and denied the launch of a compensation program. THORChain incident update #2 We have become aware of multiple fake accounts and false information circulating regarding “refunds”, “airdrops”, compensation claims, and other alleged initiatives. To be absolutely clear: — Initial findings indicate that no user funds were…— THORChain (@THORChain) May 16, 2026   According to PeckShield, the attacker stole 36.75 BTC and approximately $7 million in EVM tokens across the Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base networks. Following the incident, the THORChain team suspended the protocol's operations. Trading options, liquidity pool operations, and other "sensitive" actions became unavailable. The main theory regarding the attack vector is that the perpetrator exploited a vulnerability in the GG20 TSS threshold signature scheme implementation, which allowed the leakage of confidential key information of the multisig vault participants. Over time, the hacker gathered enough data to reconstruct the private key and execute unauthorized outgoing transactions. “The team continues to work on a comprehensive recovery and network relaunch plan. Returning to trading and full functionality will likely take several days or longer, depending on the complexity of the chosen remediation path,” the statement said. The developers assured that user funds were not affected by the incident. They noted the emergence of numerous resources offering compensation. “THORChain is currently not conducting any refund, airdrop, or compensation programs. Any account claiming otherwise is impersonating us or spreading misinformation,” the team emphasized. One portal, allegedly launched on behalf of the THORChain Foundation, offers to connect the affected wallet for compensation. According to the statement, the “refund window” will close in 21 days. Commentators highlight that this is a scam and urge caution. Source: revoke-thorchain.org. Back in April, a record number of hacks in the crypto industry were recorded in a single month. More than 20 incidents resulted in losses amounting to $651 million.

The rapid retail investment in DRAM highlights growing confidence in AI-driven memory demand but poses risks due to market cyclicality and concentration. The post Roundhill Memory ETF attracts $200M in retail cash in record time amid AI trade surge appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

EconomyOS empowers AI agents to autonomously engage in commerce, bridging Web2 and Web3, potentially transforming digital economies. The post Virtuals Protocol introduces EconomyOS for managing AI agents’ inboxes and commerce functions appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Hezbollah's actions heighten regional instability, reducing prospects for peace and complicating diplomatic efforts for conflict resolution. The post Hezbollah drone strike on Israeli tank signals escalating conflict appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin fell below $78,000 (hitting a session low of $77,614), a drop that erased its monthly gains and shaved over $40 billion off its market cap. Bitcoin Slips Below $78,000 as Geopolitical Tensions Rise Bitcoin dipped below $78,000 Saturday morning amid fears that the U.S. and Israel are about to resume bombing Iranian facilities. Bitstamp […]

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XRP tried to escape consolidation once again but a familiar resistance was too strong.

The CLARITY Act's progress signals a pivotal shift towards clearer crypto regulation, potentially enhancing market stability and investor confidence. The post CLARITY Act clears Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The KelpDAO hack underscores the need for DeFi to prioritize operational security and decentralized verification to mitigate systemic risks. The post KelpDAO hack highlights DeFi’s shift from coding flaws to operational risks appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

TLDR: The CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 after a last-minute bipartisan deal during the markup itself. Senators Alsobrooks and Gallego voted yes in committee but have not committed to supporting the bill on the Senate floor. An ethics provision barring officials from financial interests in digital assets remains the top Democratic demand [...] The post CLARITY Act Advances Through Senate Banking Committee in Landmark Bipartisan Vote appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR: Intesa Sanpaolo more than doubled its crypto exposure from $100M to $235M in the first quarter of 2026. The bank entered Ethereum for the first time via BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust with 3.1M shares. A new XRP position through Grayscale XRP Trust held 712,319 shares, valued at around $18M on March 31. Solana [...] The post Intesa Sanpaolo Doubles Crypto Holdings to $235 Million in Q1 2026 With New ETH and XRP Positions appeared first on Blockonomi.

Heightened enforcement in the Strait of Hormuz exacerbates regional tensions, disrupts global shipping, and complicates diplomatic resolutions. The post US Army helicopter monitors ships amid Strait of Hormuz blockade enforcement appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Legacy exchange operators CME Group and ICE are reportedly lobbying U.S. authorities to force federal oversight onto Hyperliquid. The crypto community and the Hyperliquid Policy Center fiercely rejected the claims, arguing that public blockchain ledgers offer total transparency. Legacy Exchanges Raise National Security Alarms In what is shaping up to be a clash between traditional […]

XRP has just achieved the biggest weekly inflow of the year after seeing a large intake of fresh capital on nearly all days of the week.

Anthropic's strategy may accelerate AI adoption in regulated sectors, influencing market dynamics and boosting decentralized compute solutions. The post Anthropic prioritizes speed to market over compute costs, says analyst appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Space-based data centers could revolutionize AI computing but face challenges like radiation, latency, maintenance, and increased space debris. The post SpaceX and Blue Origin plan to build orbital data centers powered by solar energy appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

TLDR: BNB Chain processes around 40% of all global stablecoin transactions, with millions of monthly active users. Over 179,000 AI agents currently use BNB Chain as a financial layer, a major share of all onchain agents. The network holds roughly $4 billion in RWA assets and supports approximately 60,000 RWA holders onchain. BNB Chain plans [...] The post BNB Chain Targets 20,000 TPS as Stablecoins, RWAs, and AI Agents Drive 2026 Strategy appeared first on Blockonomi.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have executed their boldest financial maneuver yet.

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PI is out of the top 50 alts by market cap again.

Political instability may lead to shifts in leadership and policy direction, impacting Israel's domestic and international relations. The post Israeli coalition calls for early elections amid conscription dispute appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The temporary tariff reduction may ease trade tensions, fostering potential long-term negotiations and impacting global tech supply chains. The post China and US agree to slash tariffs for 90 days, dropping levies from 145% to 30% appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Dalio's warning highlights the urgent need for strategic diplomacy to prevent global instability as power dynamics shift between the US and China. The post Ray Dalio warns US is losing credibility as China gains power appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Caesars and DraftKings are two of the most recognised names in regulated US online gambling. Between them they cover sports betting, online casino, and loyalty programs that tap into decades of brand equity. For millions of American players they represent the default choice. But in 2026 a growing segment of players — particularly those operating [...] The post Caesars vs DraftKings: Why Some Players Are Exploring ZunaBet appeared first on Blockonomi.

Ripple has completed a total burn of 32,075,051 RLUSD tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, over the last 24 hours, potentially boosting its demand in the market.

Americans lost more than $11 billion to crypto-related fraud last year, according to an FBI report released in April — and the pressure on governments across Southeast Asia to crack down has only grown since then. A Deadly Business Myanmar’s military government has now responded with one of the harshest proposed laws of its kind […]

Hana Bank has acquired a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit. The deal marks one of the clearest signs yet that major Korean banks are moving deeper into digital assets. Kakao Sells $670M Dunamu Stake to Hana Bank Hana Bank has agreed to acquire a significant stake in […]

Discover the 7 stock sectors analysts expect to dominate markets through 2030, from AI infrastructure and utilities to robotics, defense, and healthcare. The post 7 Stock Sectors Poised to Dominate the Next Half-Decade: AI, Defense, and Beyond appeared first on Blockonomi.

Is today's decline just the start of bitcoin's troubles?

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SpaceX's stock split enhances private market liquidity, potentially boosting employee flexibility and investor interest in tech equities. The post SpaceX shareholders approve 5-for-1 stock split as private market liquidity push heats up appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Chainlink struggles near $10 as investors debate recovery potential versus growing interest in crypto presales. Chainlink has been one of the more frustrating charts to watch in 2026. The token trades around $10 in mid-May, down roughly 40% over the…

The interim Fed leadership highlights potential governance challenges and market uncertainties during transitions, impacting economic stability. The post Powell gets temporary Fed chair role as Senate-confirmed Warsh prepares to take over appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Memecoins remain dominant as Poly Truth and Meme Punch presales gain traction in 2026 community-driven cycle. Memecoins are not going away. The category is worth tens of billions in market cap, and daily trading volume on these tokens often beats…

Nvidia (NVDA) nearly doubled its CoreWeave (CRWV) stake to 47.2M shares and disclosed a 7.8M position in Coherent (COHR) in its latest SEC filing. The post Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Expands CoreWeave (CRWV) Holdings by 95% in Strategic AI Play appeared first on Blockonomi.

Billionaires bought Microsoft, Alphabet, Delta, Amazon, and Uber in Q1 2026. Here's what Berkshire Hathaway and Bill Ackman were stacking. The post Wall Street’s Elite Quietly Accumulated These 5 Stocks in Q1 2026 – Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) Top the List appeared first on Blockonomi.

Christopher Harborne entered the Sunday Times Rich List in sixth place, as Parliament opened a probe into Farage. The Sunday Times Rich List 2026, published on May 15, placed Christopher Harborne sixth among Britain’s wealthiest individuals. His estimated £18.2bn fortune…

Atlassian (TEAM) stock surged 8.1% on improved tech sentiment and enterprise AI momentum. Despite the rally, TEAM is still down 44% year-to-date. The post Atlassian (TEAM) Surges 8% on Renewed Enterprise AI Momentum appeared first on Blockonomi.

Macy's (M) stock surged 6% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $55M position. Details on the 13F filing and what it signals for the retailer's revival. The post Macy’s (M) Stock Surges 6% as Berkshire Hathaway Takes $55M Position appeared first on Blockonomi.

UAE oil pipeline plans, inflation risks, and presales Poly Truth and Meme Punch shape 2026 crypto outlook. The United Arab Emirates is speeding up work on a major oil pipeline. Abu Dhabi has told ADNOC to fast-track the West-East Pipeline,…

Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne exited Alphabet (GOOGL) entirely in Q1 2026 while buying Broadcom (AVGO). Full breakdown of hedge fund 13F filings. The post Billionaire Druckenmiller Exits Alphabet (GOOGL), Slashes Amazon (AMZN) in Q1 2026 appeared first on Blockonomi.

David Tepper's Appaloosa reduced its portfolio by $1B in Q1 2026, doubling down on Amazon and Uber while exiting all airline stocks. Full 13-F analysis. The post David Tepper’s Appaloosa Slashes Portfolio by $1B — Amazon (AMZN) and Uber Emerge as Top Picks appeared first on Blockonomi.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) acquired a $2.65B stake in Delta Air Lines and more than tripled its Alphabet position in Q1 2026 under CEO Greg Abel. The post Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Makes Bold Moves: Delta Investment and Alphabet Expansion in Q1 2026 appeared first on Blockonomi.

BlackRock is facing renewed selling pressure in its spot Bitcoin ETF as institutional investors pulled hundreds of millions from crypto funds during a sharp market reversal.

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TLDR: Bybit CEO Ben Zhou says companies are using AI as a cover for layoffs, not a genuine workforce shift. Zhou likens AI adoption to Excel — transformative over time, but efficiency gains are still hard to measure.  Bybit has grown to 85 million registered users, with proactive regulation driving government-level meetings. Bybit plans to [...] The post Bybit CEO Ben Zhou Pushes Back on AI Layoff Excuse, Outlines Vision for Full Financial Platform appeared first on Blockonomi.

The Trump ethics fight over crypto is now the biggest obstacle to the CLARITY Act reaching 60 Senate votes. Analysts and lawmakers have identified the ethics provision as the CLARITY Act’s most consequential unresolved issue heading to the Senate floor.…

STABLE and VVV have dropped the most from the lower-cap alts, while HYPE has plunged by 10%.

• #litecoin
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Poly Truth and Meme Punch presales gain traction in 2026 crypto market narrative around utility tokens. The phase where a project sells its token prior to listing on any exchange is known as a crypto presale. The project sets the…

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square disclosed a new Microsoft (MSFT) stake, selling Alphabet to fund it. He sees major upside in OpenAI equity and Azure growth. The post Why Bill Ackman Switched From Google to Microsoft (MSFT) Stock appeared first on Blockonomi.

THORChain has launched a recovery portal following a $10 million exploit, allowing affected users across four chains to revoke malicious approvals and claim refunds.

Most founders pursuing a MiCA license assume they are solving their EU regulatory problem. They are solving part of it. The rest depends on which services they actually offer. MiCA Decoded is a 12-article weekly series for Bitcoin.com News, co-authored by LegalBison’s Co-Founding and Managing Directors: Aaron Glauberman, Viktor Juskin and Sabir Alijev. LegalBison advises […]

Santiment warned that Bitcoin social media euphoria spiked following the CLARITY Act’s Senate Banking Committee vote on May 14. Sentiment analytics platform Santiment posted on X and its community insights platform on May 15, tracking a sharp rise in positive…

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Poly Truth and Meme Punch join major crypto assets in 2026 “best crypto to buy now” discussions. The question of which is the best crypto to buy now does not have one clean answer. As June 2026 approaches, the market…

This week, "Deconstruction" focuses on Trump's agreements with China, a Bitcoin advocate at the helm of the Fed, a "neural network-hacked" crypto wallet, and Palantir's AI warfare ideology. Trump's Visit to China and the AI Market Division Donald Trump's first trip to Beijing since 2017 was a necessary move after a U.S. court overturned the 10% tariffs on Chinese goods. This prompted both sides to discuss new rules of engagement.  Economic issues, including the purchase of Boeing aircraft in exchange for rare earth metals, were only part of the discussion. The key topic was the global restructuring of the IT market. Leaders deliberated on which AI technologies the U.S. would allow China to purchase and set strict controls over autonomous weapons.  The removal of trade barriers will deprive alternative markets (Vietnam, Mexico) of significant investments but will give European factories, where China previously dumped goods at low prices, a chance to survive. Change at the Fed and Banks Against the CLARITY Act The appointment of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair can be considered a unique precedent. Unlike his predecessors, he is favorable towards cryptocurrencies, personally owns coins, and calls Bitcoin an "important asset." In the long run, this is a powerful signal towards industry legalization, although his high interest rate policy will temporarily restrain the growth of risky asset prices.  Meanwhile, the Senate is advancing the CLARITY Act bill, which delineates the powers of the SEC and the CFTC. The most heated debate has centered around stablecoins. The banking lobby demands a ban on crypto exchanges paying users rewards for holding them, fearing that platforms like Coinbase will become more profitable than traditional banks and simply siphon funds from classic deposits. Neural Network Recovers $400,000 in Bitcoin After 11 years, a user was able to regain access to a wallet with 5 BTC using the Claude chatbot. Concerns arose online that AI had learned to "hack" the blockchain, but the neural network merely analyzed a chaotic array of historical data.  The user uploaded the contents of an old computer into Claude, the AI found the necessary backup file and discovered a bug in the password recovery program. The bot corrected the decryption logic and helped unlock the wallet.  Despite AI being a powerful tool for sorting old data, uploading encrypted keys to online services remains a critical security risk. Private IT Corporations Seize Power from the State Palantir, the company that created a unified database for U.S. intelligence agencies, now supplies the military with the Gotham system, capable of autonomously identifying targets on the battlefield.  Moreover, the corporation has begun to covertly influence government policy. Funds sponsored by top managers of Palantir and OpenAI pay TikTokers to stir up panic over the "Chinese AI threat" and spend millions discrediting politicians who wish to regulate artificial intelligence. Analysts note a structural change: formally, laws are passed by government institutions, but the real technical infrastructure, determining what the state sees and whom it targets, is shifting under the control of private IT corporations. This is an abridged version of the podcast. Watch the full episode: Subscribe to the podcast: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Deezer Yandex Music YouTube Music

TLDR: Ondo Global Markets crossed $1B TVL in under eight months, the fastest for any tokenized equity platform. USDY delivers 3.5% APY backed by U.S. Treasuries, with TVL between $2.15B and $2.7B across DeFi chains. OUSG completed a cross-border treasury pilot with JPMorgan, Ripple, and Mastercard in under five seconds. ONDO reached $3.778B in total [...] The post ONDO’s Three-Product Protocol Hits $3.778B TVL as Institutional Giants Join Settlement Pilots appeared first on Blockonomi.

Elon Musk has revisited his famous support for Dogecoin for the first time in years, reviving memories of the meme coin boom that helped reshape the crypto market during the last cycle.

Solayer Pay launched a Visa card allowing users to spend USDC at merchants and ATMs worldwide on May 14. Solayer, the layer-1 blockchain developer behind the infiniSVM network, announced the launch via GlobeNewswire on May 14. The card links directly…

Spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $1 billion in a single week as capital rotated toward AI stocks and macro uncertainty weighed on sentiment, ending a six-week run that had pulled in $3.4 billion.

• #bitcoin

The rest of the world is “really closely” watching the US CLARITY Act as the nation moves further away from the previous “hostile stance,” according to Sharplink’s chief.

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin exchange reserves have been at 8-year lows for the past month despite the recovery that the asset has witnessed. Bitcoin Supply On Exchanges Has Been Flat Recently As highlighted by on-chain analytics firm Santiment in an X post, Bitcoin and Ethereum have differed in their trend of the Supply On […]

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The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15 to 9 on May 14, but analysts say significant obstacles remain before it can become law. The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a 15 to 9 bipartisan vote…

A representative of the sovereign fund Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) refuted claims of bitcoin sales from Bhutan's national reserve in a comment to CoinDesk. According to Arkham Intelligence, at its peak in October 2024, the kingdom held approximately 13,000 BTC. Since then, DHI's asset manager has moved and presumably liquidated most of the cryptocurrency. The wallet tracked by the analytics platform holds 3,121 BTC.    Source: Arkham Intelligence. "I don't recall the last time we sold bitcoins," a DHI representative told the publication. However, he declined to comment on the movement of funds, did not dispute the ownership of the addresses flagged by Arkham, and did not disclose the amount of cryptocurrency remaining under state control. Coins from the fund were transferred to wallets that interacted with centralized exchanges and trading companies, including OKX and Galaxy Digital. According to an Arkham analyst, such cases likely indicate a sale, although this cannot be definitively confirmed, he admitted.    Bhutan's bitcoin reserve was built through mining using surplus hydroelectric power. The state continues to finance at least four cryptocurrency mining sites.  In recent months, coin inflows into the national fund have ceased. This has led journalists to speculate that the government abandoned mining due to declining profitability. DHI stated that the country "was fortunate this year" with early and stable rains, which maintain hydroelectric plants at high capacity and ensure uninterrupted cryptocurrency mining.  "We continuously upgrade our equipment, transitioning to the latest installations to remain competitive," the organization emphasized. Earlier in May, Bhutan's special economic zone, the City of Consciousness Gelephu, introduced a simplified licensing mechanism for crypto companies.

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Bit Digital reported a $146.7 million quarterly loss as lower ether prices weighed on its balance sheet, while the company continued expanding its ethereum treasury and AI infrastructure strategy. The firm now holds more than 155,000 ETH and is increasingly shifting away from bitcoin mining. Bit Digital Expands ETH Treasury to $327M, Staking Income Declines […]

Bitcoin ETFs logged $1 billion in net outflows in the week ending May 15, ending a six week inflow streak. US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $1 billion in net outflows for the week ending May 15, according to data tracked…

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South Korean authorities are set to release detailed rules for the issuance, infrastructure, and distribution of tokenized securities, as the country advances its efforts to implement crypto market regulations in 2027. Related Reading: Bank Of England To Ease ‘Overly Conservative’ Stablecoin Rules After Industry Backlash – Report FSC Eyes July Tokenized Securities Framework On Friday, […]

THORChain lost over $10M in a multi-chain exploit on May 15. RUNE token fell 15% as the protocol activated emergency trading halt across all chains. The post THORChain (RUNE) Suffers $10M Cross-Chain Attack, Token Plunges 15% appeared first on Blockonomi.

OpenAI launches banking integration in ChatGPT for Pro users, connecting 12,000+ institutions via Plaid to track spending, investments, and financial goals. The post ChatGPT Becomes Your Money Manager: OpenAI Rolls Out Banking Integration appeared first on Blockonomi.

Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act 15-9, but Trump ethics concerns may block the crypto regulation bill from reaching the 60-vote threshold. The post Senate Banking Committee Approves Crypto CLARITY Act Despite Democrat Opposition appeared first on Blockonomi.

Poland’s prime minister has tied the country’s repeated failure to pass crypto rules to a high-profile fraud case — a charge that added urgency to a parliamentary vote that had already failed twice before. Related Reading: Crypto Analytics Firm Dune Axes 25% Of Employees Amid Strategic Overhaul A Scandal Shapes The Debate Prime Minister Donald […]

XRP whale addresses hold 45.8B tokens, an 8-year high, but flat ETF demand and tight price range keep XRP trapped near $1.45 despite massive accumulation. The post XRP Whales Accumulate 45.8B Tokens to 8-Year Peak While Price Remains Stagnant appeared first on Blockonomi.

Bitcoin holds near $80K after Senate CLARITY Act vote, but faces pressure from rising yields and $290M in ETF outflows. Is the news already priced in? The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Senate CLARITY Act Vote Triggers Mixed Signals as Yields Surge appeared first on Blockonomi.

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Bitcoin holds near $80K as Senate advances CLARITY Act. ETF outflows hit $290M and Treasury yields surge, creating mixed signals for BTC price action. The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Senate Backs CLARITY Act as Macro Pressures Mount appeared first on Blockonomi.

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Ersham has reportedly been meeting with Venezuelan officials, floating possible investments in the energy and fintech sectors. He recently appeared in a tech event hosted by Banco de Venezuela, promoting the nation’s potential to become the “best country in Latam.” Coinbase’s Fred Ersham Shows Interest in Venezuela’s Economic Recovery Potential While Venezuela has been battling […]

The warning came amid a growing number of scams within the entire market.

The XRP Ledger's actitivity reached a multi-month high of its own.

XRP eyes a $2 breakout as the Senate's CLARITY Act clears the way for a massive weekly Bollinger Bands squeeze for Ripple's "North Star".

We compiled the week’s most important cybersecurity news. ZachXBT unmasked the organiser of $19 million in phishing thefts. Three suspects were charged over a series of “wrench attacks” in California. A fake OpenAI repository spread an infostealer. “AI slop” is flooding platforms used by hackers and cyberfraudsters. ZachXBT unmasks organiser of $19 million phishing heists On-chain sleuth ZachXBT detailed an investigation into phishing-enabled cryptocurrency thefts exceeding $19 million. 1/ Meet Dritan Kapllani Jr, a US based threat actor tied to $19M from social engineering thefts targeting crypto holders.Dritan flexes luxury cars, watches, private jets, & clubs all over social media.Recently he was recorded on a call showing off a wallet with stolen funds. pic.twitter.com/iDKyUjUm4M— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) May 12, 2026 The prime suspect is US hacker Dritan Kapllani Jr. The trail began with his own carelessness. On 23 April 2026, during a Discord video call, Kapllani argued with a user about the size of his capital (band 4 band). To prove his point, he showed the screen of his Exodus wallet with a $3.68 million balance. ZachXBT analysed the transaction history of the associated Ethereum address. The funds were tied to the theft of 185 BTC on 14 March 2026. The research showed that on 15 March, Kapllani’s wallet received his cut—$5.3 million. By the April call he had spent or laundered roughly $1.6 million. The investigation also linked Kapllani to earlier incidents. A cybercriminal, John Dagita, previously arrested for stealing more than $40 million from the US government, aided this connection. Seeking revenge over prior disputes, he posted one of Kapllani’s old addresses in Telegram. ZachXBT confirmed ownership: the cash-out pattern matched that used in the 185 BTC theft. He also found that in autumn 2025 the wallet processed over $5.85 million stolen in five phishing attacks. The investigator assisted one victim but deliberately withheld his findings until authorities acted. On 11 May 2026, court filings in the 185 BTC case were unsealed. Charges have already been filed against: Trenton Johnson—for direct participation in the theft. He faces up to 40 years in prison; a crypto influencer known as yelotree—for helping launder funds through a Miami car-rental business (up to 30 years). Kapllani flaunts a lavish lifestyle on social media, showcasing private jets and luxury cars. He had long avoided arrest—something the sleuth links to routine deferrals of prosecutions involving minors. Now that he has turned 18, ZachXBT expects charges soon. Three suspects charged over a series of “wrench attacks” in California US prosecutors charged Elija Armstrong, Nino Chindavong and Jayden Rucker with robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy in connection with a string of cryptocurrency thefts. According to the case file, the trio moved from Tennessee to California. To enter victims’ homes, they posed as couriers. In November 2025 in San Francisco, a “courier” carrying a box attacked a recipient at an apartment entrance. The victim was bound with tape, pistol-whipped and forced under threats to transfer $10 million in bitcoin and $3 million in Ethereum. In another “wrench attack”, the victim lost $6.5 million in crypto. Armstrong and Rucker were arrested in Los Angeles on 31 December 2025; Chindavong was detained in Sunnyvale on 22 December 2025. They face: up to 20 years in prison for robbery and attempted kidnapping; life imprisonment for conspiracy to kidnap; fines of $250,000 on each count. According to CertiK, there were 72 “wrench attacks” worldwide in 2025, up 75% on the previous year. Losses reached a record $41 million. A fake OpenAI repository spread an infostealer A malicious Hugging Face repository impersonated OpenAI’s Privacy Filter project to deliver an infostealer, researchers at HiddenLayer reported. Hugging Face is a platform where developers and researchers share AI models, datasets and machine-learning tools. According to the team, scammers used a lookalike name in the Open-OSS/privacy-filter repository, which contained a loader.py file that launched Windows-targeting data-theft malware. Source: HiddenLayer. The Python script included bogus AI-related code to appear benign. In the background it disabled SSL key checks, decoded a URL pointing to an external resource, then fetched and executed a PowerShell command. Running in a hidden window, the code downloaded a batch file, start.bat, which escalated privileges and fetched the final payload while adding it to Microsoft Defender exclusions. The payload was a Rust-written infostealer capable of taking screenshots. It stole: cookies, saved passwords, encryption keys and browsing history from Chromium- and Gecko-based browsers; Discord tokens, local databases and master keys; crypto wallets and their browser extensions; SSH, FTP and VPN credentials and configuration files, including FileZilla; system information. The researchers noted that the vast majority of the 667 accounts that “liked” the malicious repository appeared automatically generated. The reported 244,000 downloads could also have been artificially inflated. “AI slop” is flooding platforms used by hackers and cyberfraudsters  Complaints about “AI slop” are increasingly common in the dark web, as it seeps into discussions, guides and technical posts, Wired reports, citing research by the University of Cambridge and the University of Strathclyde. Analysts reviewed about 98,000 AI-related threads on hacker forums from the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 through the end of 2025. Over that period, attitudes toward generative models shifted markedly in criminal circles. Where hackers once discussed using neural networks to write malware or find vulnerabilities, they now increasingly gripe about a flood of “AI slop”: useless posts and simplistic guides on basic topics. Some forum participants also complain that LLM answers in Google search results depress traffic to the forums themselves, hurting their marketing. The researchers saw little meaningful impact on inexperienced fraudsters: AI has not lowered the barrier to entry for novices nor produced sweeping changes in cybersecurity. Belarus-linked hacking group targeted Ukrainian state bodies In March 2026, a new campaign by the Ghostwriter group (also known as UNC1151 and FrostyNeighbor) targeted Ukrainian government and defence organisations, according to ESET researchers. Ghostwriter, which specialises in cyber-espionage in Eastern Europe, has been linked to Belarus. Attackers sent phishing PDFs masquerading as documents from Ukrtelecom. Malicious links in the files delivered the PicassoLoader malware, which then deployed the popular attack framework Cobalt Strike. The hackers used IP-based checks: the infected archive downloaded only if the victim was in Ukraine. Researchers noted the group’s operational maturity. PicassoLoader can send a system “fingerprint” to the attackers’ servers every ten minutes. Based on this, Ghostwriter operators decide whether to continue the intrusion. Unlike its campaigns in Poland or Lithuania, where it hits a broad spectrum of targets from logistics to healthcare, in Ukraine the group focuses exclusively on military and government sectors. TeamPCP hackers put Mistral AI repositories up for sale The TeamPCP hacking group threatened to leak Mistral AI’s project source code unless a buyer emerges for the stolen data, BleepingComputer reports. Mistral AI is a French artificial-intelligence firm founded by former researchers from Google DeepMind and Meta. It develops open-weight LLMs and proprietary software. In a post on a hacker forum, the attackers asked $25,000 for a bundle including nearly 450 repositories. In an official statement to BleepingComputer, Mistral AI confirmed a compromise of its code-management system. The breach followed a large-scale software supply-chain attack dubbed Mini Shai-Hulud. Mistral AI says the affected data are not part of its core source code. According to published information, the attack unfolded in stages. First, the perpetrators accessed official TanStack and Mistral AI packages using stolen CI/CD credentials. The campaign then spread to hundreds of projects in the npm and PyPI registries, including work by UiPath, Guardrails AI and OpenSearch. Mistral AI acknowledged that attackers briefly inserted malicious code into some of the company’s SDK packages. Source: BleepingComputer. TeamPCP claims to have downloaded nearly 5GB of internal data that Mistral uses for training, fine-tuning, benchmarking and experiments. The hackers said they will dump the information publicly if no buyer is found within a week. Also on ForkLog: Attackers drained $10 million from THORChain. An alliance of Tether, TRON and TRM Labs froze $450 million in cryptoassets. The Ethereum Foundation launched a service to protect against blind transaction signing. CertiK reported on North Korea’s “industrialisation” of crypto theft. The Roaring Kitty account was hacked to dump the RKC token. Google observed rising interest in AI among cybercriminals. LayerZero acknowledged mistakes after Kelp’s $292 million hack. What to read this weekend? In a new piece, ForkLog examines how Palantir Technologies, the principal software contractor to the US Department of Defense and intelligence agencies, “ensures the West’s obvious superiority”.

The bullish comments rose after the CLARITY Act progress last week, but that's not always a good thing.

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Crypto On-chain investigator ZachXBT has escalated his accusations against LAB, alleging that insiders likely control more than 95% of the token’s supply after a rally that pushed its fully diluted valuation to roughly $6 billion. The claims center on opaque private loans, OTC deals, changing vesting terms, market-maker coordination and what he described as a […]

XRP is trading at $1.43, rising above the most technically significant resistance cluster it has faced in months. The price has simultaneously broken the 100-day MA and the descending channel’s upper boundary on the USDT pair, while the BTC pair breaks above a short-term resistance level. For the first time this cycle, both pairs are […]

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Marex Group’s own stock climbed more than 15% in a week after the Nasdaq-listed financial services firm disclosed a combined $9.4 million position across two spot XRP exchange-traded funds, landing it among the top institutional holders of XRP ETF shares in the US. Related Reading: Crypto Analytics Firm Dune Axes 25% Of Employees Amid Strategic […]

Entain General Counsel Simon Zinger has written directly to six Premier League clubs, urging them to commit to UK-licensed gambling sponsors only for the 2026/27 season, citing Stake’s “heavy reliance on cryptocurrency” and BJ88’s use of “unregulated payment methods like cryptocurrency to evade financial oversight” in letters reported by SBC News today. Entain’s General Counsel […]

[PRESS RELEASE – New York, USA, May 15th, 2026] E Estate Group Inc. announced that it will host E-Estate 1 Year Live: Washington DC Summit on June 13, 2026, bringing together company leadership, agents, buyers, strategic partners, and guests interested in the future of blockchain-based real estate ownership. The summit will take place at The […]

Ethereum is trading above $2.2k as the third week of May gets underway. The asset is on the lower end of its range over the past two weeks after another rejection. The aggressive long positioning that had built up into the $2.4k resistance zone has been unwound, and the price chart indicates that more consolidation […]

OKX and Korea Investment & Securities are reportedly in talks to acquire stakes in South Korean crypto exchange Coinone. The move could mark a major step in the opening of Korea’s tightly regulated digital asset market to global players. OKX Explores Strategic Coinone Role as South Korea Rethinks Crypto Rules Global crypto exchange OKX is […]

A large pocket of Bitcoin supply is sitting just above the current market, and technical analysis shows that this area may decide the next major Bitcoin move.  On-chain analysis by crypto analyst Sherlockwhale identifies the $84,000 to $88,000 zone as arguably the largest supply cluster in Bitcoin’s current market structure, a region stacked with breakeven […]

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Ethereum is consolidating between $2,200 and $2,400 as the market searches for the catalyst or the structural confirmation that forces a decisive break in either direction. The price is holding but not advancing — and a CryptoOnchain analysis tracking Binance’s on-chain flows has identified a sequence of capital movements between May 10 and May 12 […]

Shiba Inu reaches the point where a rapid reversal could be more than a possibility.

Strategy plans to repurchase about $1.5 billion of convertible notes, with the final price tied partly to its stock performance. The filing also lists bitcoin sales as a possible funding source, renewing focus on its treasury strategy. Strategy Details $1.5 Billion Convertible Note Repurchase Plan On May 15, Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR) announced on X […]

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Santiment warned that the crypto market “typically” moves against crowd expectations, pointing to a recent rise in bullish sentiment driven by renewed momentum around the US CLARITY Act.

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Following a broader cryptocurrency market bounce on Thursday, Cardano (ADA) has flipped into an upward direction again, breaking past the $0.25 barrier. While the ADA’s price has turned positive, the altcoin’s current structure and on-chain signals are starting to align, raising its potential for a major rally. Improving Cardano Investor Outlook Collides With Bullish Momentum […]

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XRP Ledger activity climbed as XRP cleared $1.54, with Santiment reporting 48,453 active wallets and the strongest network growth reading since March. The surge pointed to renewed participation as price momentum returned. XRP Ledger Activity Rises as Price Tests $1.55 The XRP Ledger posted its strongest 24-hour activity since March after XRP moved above $1.54 […]

Investors and traders are paying closer attention to Bitcoin (BTC) after the latest US inflation report was released on May 12. As consumer prices in the US continue to climb, questions are mounting about what that means for BTC and whether the world’s largest cryptocurrency can hold its ground. This change also creates a new […]

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Jerome Powell will remain Federal Reserve chair on a temporary basis as Kevin Warsh waits to take the oath. The board used a chair pro tempore designation after Warsh’s Senate confirmation left the leadership transfer unfinished. Powell Holds Temporary Fed Post as Warsh Awaits Oath The Federal Reserve Board announced on May 15 that Jerome […]

The market is looking like a rollercoaster as multiple assets hit local resistances and squeeze for a potential volatility surge.

Myanmar’s military published a draft bill on May 14 proposing life in prison for crypto scam operators. The draft legislation, called the Anti-Online Scam Bill, states that anyone convicted of “digital currency fraud” or running an online scam center faces…

Ethereum is struggling to push past resistance as the market faces a wave of uncertainty that has kept the price pinned below levels that would signal a genuine recovery. The price action is frustrating — buyers keep arriving but cannot sustain the momentum needed to break through — and CryptoQuant data has surfaced a signal […]