Global markets retreated on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones (-0.27%), S&P 500 (-0.39%), and Nasdaq (-0.38%) all closing lower. The decline came as G7 finance ministers gathered in Canada, with trade tensions and tariff concerns remaining in focus. Meanwhile, the IMF urged the US to curb its deficit, warning of an "ever-increasing" debt burden. Nvidia's CEO condemned US chip curbs on China, saying they have accelerated Chinese rivals' advances.
In crypto, the global crypto market cap increased 1.3% in 24h to $3.40tn. The total crypto market 24h volume decreased 7% to $122bn.
In the past 24 hours, crypto liquidations decreased 7.45% and totaled $233m, with 53% of them short positions. ETH positons made up more than 28.1% of all liquidated positions while BTC positions made up 28.3% of all liquidated positions.
US Bitcoin spot ETFs extended their strong inflow streak on May 20, 2025, adding $328.99 million—their second-largest daily intake of the month. BlackRock’s IBIT led with a $287.45 million inflow, while Fidelity’s FBTC added $23.26 million. Smaller contributions came from Ark’s ARKB ($6.36m), Grayscale’s BTC trust ($6.16m), and Bitwise’s BITB ($5.78m). All other ETFs posted flat flows, with no outflows recorded across the group. US spot Ether ETFs recorded $64.89 million in net inflows on May 20, 2025—their strongest daily intake since April 28 and a sharp increase from Monday’s $13.66 million. It marks the third day of positive flows in the past four sessions, reinforcing a clear shift back toward accumulation after last week’s volatility. BlackRock’s ETHA led with $45.04 million, followed by $19.85 million into Fidelity’s FETH. The renewed demand comes even as trading volumes declined, suggesting growing confidence among institutional investors.
$330 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen in what investigators are calling one of the largest social engineering attacks in crypto history. On April 28, blockchain analyst ZachXBT flagged the suspicious transfer of 3,520 BTC—allegedly drained from the wallet of an elderly US citizen who had held the coins since 2017. Unlike conventional hacks, the attackers relied on psychological manipulation, posing as trusted entities and coaxing the victim into revealing wallet access over the phone. The stolen funds were swiftly laundered using peel chains, instant exchanges, and mixers, with much of it converted into privacy-focused Monero, whose price spiked 50% during the laundering. While Binance and ZachXBT froze $7 million, the majority remains missing. Investigators believe the operation was carried out by independent hackers, not state actors, with suspects identified as “X” and “W0rk,” who have since erased their online traces. The incident highlights a harsh truth: even robust crypto security can be undone by human vulnerability.
A data breach at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has compromised sensitive user information, including home addresses, affecting less than 1% of its monthly transacting users and potentially costing the exchange up to $400 million, with some warning of severe consequences, including physical harm or death, for affected users.
Genesis has launched a lawsuit against its parent company Digital Currency Group and CEO Barry Silbert, alleging they fraudulently siphoned over $1 billion in value through reckless mismanagement and self-serving loans, leaving Genesis creditors owed approximately $2.2 billion in crypto assets.
Binance has filed a motion to dismiss a $1.76 billion lawsuit brought by the FTX estate, arguing that FTX's collapse was caused by internal misconduct and not by any actions taken by Binance, and that the lawsuit is an attempt to deflect blame for FTX's own failure.
India's Supreme Court has questioned the government's lack of regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies, citing the danger they pose to the economy and the need for clearer guidelines, despite imposing taxes on digital assets like Bitcoin and recognizing their legitimacy through taxation.
On May 19, the US Senate voted 66–32 to advance the GENIUS stablecoin bill to the floor for debate, after 16 Democratic senators broke with party ranks to support the motion. The shift came despite earlier concerns over potential conflicts involving former President Trump’s crypto ties, reflecting a growing divide within the Democratic Party over how to approach stablecoin regulation.
Kraken has launched regulated derivatives trading on its platform in the European Economic Area, offering perpetual and fixed maturity crypto futures contracts to retail and institutional customers in compliance with the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
Robinhood has submitted a 42-page proposal to the US Securities and Exchange Commission calling for a national framework to regulate tokenized real-world assets, aiming to modernize financial infrastructure and create a trading platform with uniform federal standards and token-asset equivalence.
Argentine President Javier Milei has shut down the government task force investigating the collapse of LIBRA, a memecoin he promoted on social media before it crashed to zero. The Investigative Task Unit (ITU), formed in February following Milei’s endorsement of the token, was officially dissolved by presidential decree on May 19. The move follows political backlash and allegations of insider trading tied to the token’s meteoric rise and sudden collapse. Despite denying any wrongdoing and claiming he merely “shared” the project to support entrepreneurs, Milei now faces eroded public trust, with polls showing nearly 58% of Argentinians no longer believe in his credibility following the scandal.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins reiterated his commitment to regulating digital assets as a key priority in a recent hearing, where he also discussed the crypto task force's ongoing work and hinted at proposed steps forward in the coming months.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Unicoin and its three top executives with making false and misleading statements about its crypto assets, alleging they exploited thousands of investors and raised $100 million through fictitious promises of real-world asset backing.
Strive, founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, is partnering with 117 Castell Advisory Group LLC to purchase distressed bitcoin claims, starting with 75,000 bitcoin tied to Mt. Gox, at a discount to grow its bitcoin holdings ahead of a planned reverse merger expected to be completed mid-year.
Tron founder Justin Sun has claimed to own the wallet that purchased the largest amount of Donald Trump's memecoin, earning him an invitation to a dinner and reception with the US President at his golf club outside Washington, DC, where he plans to discuss crypto and the industry's future.