Moody’s downgraded the US credit rating, citing unsustainable debt levels and rising interest costs—setting the stage for a volatile week. Investors eyed a potential "reset" in UK-EU relations, as the two sides announced a breakthrough in post-Brexit talks. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Bessent warned of maximum tariffs if countries do not negotiate, and the ECB's former hawk suggested interest rates may need to be cut below 2% due to downside risks to growth and inflation. Concerns over inflation and consumer sentiment weighed on investor mood, as a University of Michigan survey showed year-ahead inflation expectations jumping to 7.3% and consumer sentiment sliding to its second-lowest level on record. The US economic outlook remains uncertain, with Republicans' economic expectations darkening and GDP forecasts on a lower trajectory, according to a survey of professional forecasters.
In crypto, the global crypto market cap decreased 2.4% over the week end to $3.25tn. The total crypto market 24h volume increased 75.05% to $144bn.
In the past 24 hours, crypto liquidations increased 396% and totaled $685m, with 67% of them long positions. ETH positons made up more than 37% of all liquidated positions.
US Bitcoin spot ETFs saw another strong day of inflows on May 16, 2025, adding $260.27 million and pushing the three-day total to nearly $695 million. BlackRock’s IBIT led with $129.73 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC ($67.95m) and Ark’s ARKB ($57.98m). The consistent inflows mark a continuation of the rebound that began midweek, reinforcing institutional demand after Tuesday’s brief dip. US spot Ether ETFs saw a return to positive flows on Friday May 16, 2025, adding $22.12 million in net inflows and partially reversing Thursday’s $39.79 million outflow. Fidelity’s FETH led with $13.57 million, followed by Grayscale’s ETH trust with $8.55 million—its second straight day of inflows. All other ETFs posted flat activity.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has held discussions with Everstake, a major non-custodial staking provider, to explore clearer regulatory definitions for staking in blockchain networks, which remains in a legal gray zone despite over $193 billion in digital assets being staked across major proof-of-stake networks.
The UK government will require crypto companies to collect and report detailed customer transaction data starting January 1, 2026, as part of a broader effort to improve crypto tax reporting and establish a more robust regulatory framework, with non-compliance penalties and a distinct approach differing from the European Union's regulations.
According to DoubleZero's CEO Austin Federa, the public internet's infrastructure is now the primary constraint on high-throughput blockchain networks, rather than compute power or software development, due to its inability to handle the massive amounts of data required by global validators.
On May 15, Hong Kong police arrested 12 individuals and dismantled a cross-border money laundering scheme that used over 500 bank accounts and cryptocurrency to launder $15 million.
A fake Eric Trump-themed meme coin launched on May 16 on Solana’s Pump.fun platform has rug pulled, collapsing from a $160 million market cap to just $30,000 in seconds. The token, which surged over 6,200% in under a day, had raised red flags ahead of the crash, with blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps warning of “a rug in the making” due to its highly concentrated ownership structure. The deployer, who had previously attempted to launch three failed Eric Trump tokens, exploited the memecoin hype trend fueled by the real TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, but exited once the coin went viral. Despite a widely viewed warning from blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps—posted hours before the collapse and viewed over 100,000 times—the Eric Trump-themed token still attracted millions in speculative inflows.
DDC Enterprise, a US consumer brand operating in mainland China, has announced a bitcoin reserve strategy, acquiring 100 BTC and planning to accumulate 5,000 BTC over 36 months.
AsiaStrategy, formerly known as Top Win, has rebranded and partnered with Sora Ventures to adopt a Bitcoin accumulation strategy, resulting in a over 60% surge in its stock price following the announcement.
Galaxy Digital, a crypto and infrastructure company, has begun trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange after a lengthy process, and is working with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to tokenize its shares for use in decentralized finance applications.
Eric Council Jr. has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in a scheme that involved hacking the US Securities and Exchange Commission's social media account to falsely announce approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
A 67-year-old retired artist lost over $2 million in cryptocurrency after being scammed by individuals posing as Coinbase support representatives who convinced him to reveal his wallet's seed phrase through a fake security procedure.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov rejected a Western European government's request to censor conservative voices on the platform ahead of Romania's presidential elections, citing the importance of freedom of speech and fair elections.
Roman Storm's attorneys have filed a motion to reconsider his case, alleging that prosecutors withheld evidence from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network that non-custodial crypto mixers like Tornado Cash do not qualify as "money transmitting businesses" under the law, despite knowing this since 2023.
Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the Telegram-based crypto project Blum and former Binance Russia operator, has been arrested in Moscow on large-scale fraud allegations related to his involvement in other crypto ventures, with potential imprisonment of up to 12 years and reported investor losses of $15 million.
An Australian man from Queensland has forfeited nearly 25 Bitcoin, a waterfront mansion, and a Mercedes-Benz car, valued at approximately $2.88 million, after the Australian Federal Police linked these assets to alleged proceeds of crime related to hacking and Bitcoin theft.
A group of Illinois Coinbase users have filed a class-action lawsuit against the crypto exchange, alleging its identity verification process violates the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting and storing users' biometric data without proper notification or consent.