Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin developer Ben Allen has received a $100,000 grant from investment firm Maelstrom to support the development of Payjoin, a privacy-focused tool aimed at improving Bitcoin’s scalability and privacy.

According to a May 20 announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Maelstrom will finance Allen’s work on his Payjoin devkit alongside Dan Gould. The system allows Bitcoin (BTC) senders and receivers to use batched transactions, with positive implications for scalability and privacy.

Payjoin Developer Kit’s website. Source: Payjoin Dev Kit

Payjoin was first proposed by Nicolas Dorier in 2019 in Bitcoin improvement proposal (BIP) 78. The core principle behind the system is that both senders and receivers may contribute inputs to a transaction.

“Namely that privacy is enhanced and improved consolidation of transaction outputs is achieved, benefiting scalability,“ the Maelstrom announcement states.

A Maelstrom representative told Cointelegraph that grantees are paid monthly for a total of $100,000 per year in Bitcoin and Allen’s grant will last one year. There are no concrete milestones and the grant is managed on a hands-off approach:

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin is nearing a golden cross that led to 45–60% price rallies in the recent past.

Fundamentals like rising M2 supply and easing trade tensions support a bullish outlook.

Bearish divergence and overbought conditions show there’s still a risk of BTC falling below $100,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) will likely confirm a “golden cross” on its daily chart by the end of May, a technical pattern whose occurrences in recent years often preceded rallies.

A recent data breach at crypto exchange Coinbase has raised concerns about user safety after hackers gained access to sensitive information, including home addresses.

Coinbase, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed that less than 1% of its transacting monthly users were affected in an attack that may cost the exchange up to $400 million in reimbursement expenses, Cointelegraph reported on May 15.

However, the “human cost” of this data breach may be much higher for users, according to Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and Arrington Capital.

“Very disappointed in Coinbase right now. Using the cheapest option for customer service has its price,” Arrington said in a May 20 X post, adding:

“Something that has to be said though - this hack - which includes home addresses and account balances - will lead to people dying. It probably has already.”Source: Michael Arrington

While no passwords, private keys or account funds were exposed, cybercriminals reportedly bribed overseas customer service contractors to access internal systems. This allowed them to steal personal data that could be used in social engineering scams or even physical extortion attempts.

South Korea’s Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung proposed creating a stablecoin tied to the Korean won to prevent capital outflows and strengthen national financial sovereignty.

Speaking during a recent policy discussion, Lee argued that a won-based stablecoin would allow South Korea to retain wealth domestically while reducing reliance on foreign-issued digital assets like USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), according to The Korea Herald.

Currently, South Korean law prohibits the issuance of domestic stablecoins, forcing local exchanges to rely on US dollar-based alternatives.

Between January and March, crypto exchanges in the country recorded 56.8 trillion won ($40.8 billion) in asset outflows, nearly half of which were linked to foreign stablecoins, the report said.

“We need to establish a won-backed stablecoin market to prevent national wealth from leaking overseas,” Lee reportedly said.

Update May 20, 11:20 am UTC: This article has been updated with comments from DCG.

Genesis has launched a pair of lawsuits against its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), and its CEO, Barry Silbert, accusing them of fraud, reckless mismanagement and siphoning more than a billion dollars in value from the now-bankrupt crypto lender.

On May 19, the Delaware Court of Chancery unsealed a complaint detailing how DCG allegedly used Genesis as a corporate ATM, draining funds through self-serving loans and concealed transfers while presenting a false image of financial health.

Through their court-appointed Litigation Oversight Committee (LOC), Genesis creditors claim that over a million digital coins — worth about $2.1 billion — were funneled away, even as Genesis edged toward collapse.

As per the complaint, Genesis creditors are still owed around $2.2 billion worth of crypto assets, including 19,086 Bitcoin (BTC), 69,197 Ether (ETH) and over 17.1 million other tokens, along with significant unpaid fees and interest as of Feb. 9, 2025.

Key points:

Bitcoin is not in line to cancel its attack on all-time highs, says the Bitcoin Fundamental Index (BFI).

BTC price strength remains “intact,” says Swissblock Technologies, removing the risk of a double top.

Historically, a return to within 10% of all-time highs delivers price discovery almost every time.

Bitcoin (BTC) does not risk a “double top” bull market reversal with its trip past $107,000, new analysis says.

US President Donald Trump has signed a bill criminalizing nonconsensual artificial intelligence-generated deepfake porn, which also requires websites to take down any illicit images within 48 hours.

Trump signed the bill into law on May 19, known as the TAKE IT DOWN Act, an acronym for Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks.

The bill, backed by first lady Melania Trump, makes it a federal crime to publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate images, including deepfakes, of adults or minors with the intent to harm or harass them. Penalties range from fines to prison.

Source: Melania Trump

Websites, online services, or apps must remove illegal content within 48 hours and establish a takedown process.

Trump said in remarks given at the White House Rose Garden and posted to the social media platform Truth Social that the bill also covers “forgeries generated by an artificial intelligence,” commonly referred to as deepfakes.

Shares in the Indonesian fintech firm DigiAsia Corp nearly doubled after the company said it plans to raise $100 million to seed its first of many Bitcoin buys.

The Jakarta-based Nasdaq-listed company said on May 19 that its board of directors approved creating a Bitcoin (BTC) “treasury reserve” and it was “committing up to 50% of any net profits generated to fund the acquisition of BTC.”

DigiAsia said it was also “actively exploring a capital raise of up to US$100 million” to kickstart its Bitcoin holdings and would look to earn yield on its holdings through means like lending and staking.

DigiAsia said it had “initiated discussions with regulated partners” on yield strategies and managing its planned Bitcoin holdings. The company added that it was also assessing whether to offer convertible notes or crypto finance instruments linked to its planned Bitcoin haul. 

DigiAsia stocks explode on Bitcoin plans

Shares in DigiAsia Corp (FAAS) closed May 19 trading at a gain of just over 91% at 36 cents after the company’s Bitcoin announcement, according to Google Finance.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s sole Democratic Commissioner has said the agency is “playing a game of regulatory Jenga” with its approach to the crypto industry and market regulation under the Trump administration.

In May 19 remarks at the SEC Speaks event, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw cautioned against what she described as a dangerous dismantling of “discrete but interrelated rules” on crypto and the wider market.

She likened market stability to a “Jenga tower” that the agency’s rules had “carefully developed over the years,” which could topple if some rules were removed.

In addition to a lamentable loss of staff, Crenshaw said the SEC has used staff guidance to effectively reverse rules without proper analysis or public comment, particularly around crypto

“Our statements on these crypto-related issues are the equivalent of a wink and nod intended to convey that we do not plan to rigorously apply our laws in certain, specific situations.”

She added that the regulator has abandoned enforcement actions, especially in crypto markets, creating what she calls “regulation by non-enforcement.”

Crypto exchange Binance has asked a US federal judge to send all members of a class-action lawsuit alleging it sold securities to arbitration, arguing that the group waived their ability to form a class action under the company’s terms.

The exchange said in a May 16 filing to a New York federal court that its terms of service, which it claimed the class group agreed to, has a clause that users agree to arbitrate all claims, along with a clause preventing users from launching class actions against the crypto exchange.

“The Court should hold that Plaintiffs are required to arbitrate claims that accrued after Feb. 20, 2019, even if the Court adheres to its initial decision as to claims that accrued before then and that the class-action waiver in the 2019 Terms of Use is enforceable for all of Plaintiffs’ claims,” Binance said.

Binance argues that its terms of service have a clause about users agreeing to arbitrate all claims. Source: PACER

In March, Judge Andrew Carter denied Binance’s request to have all of the class action’s claims sent to arbitration for users who bought tokens on the exchange between April 1, 2017, and Feb. 20, 2019, and partially denied the motion for users who bought tokens after 2019 until a decision could be made to what extend the arbitration clause would apply.  

Binance said in its latest filings that it updated its terms in February 2019 to include the arbitration clause and argued that an earlier version of the terms of service included a clause that informed users that Binance could amend the terms as needed without any individual notice.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, said his bank will soon allow its clients to buy Bitcoin, but it won’t custody the cryptocurrency.

“We are going to allow you to buy it,” Dimon said at JPMorgan’s annual investor day on May 19. “We’re not going to custody it. We’re going to put it in statements for clients.”

CNBC reported that Dimon also remarked on his long-held skepticism about crypto assets, pointing to their use in money laundering, sex trafficking and terrorism.

“I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy Bitcoin,” he said.

Michael Saylor comments on Dimon’s announcement. Source: Michael Saylor

JPMorgan will offer clients access to Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. Until now, the firm has limited its crypto exposure primarily to futures-based products, not direct ownership of digital assets.

Update (May 20, 3:17 am UTC): This article has been updated to add statements from senators and information on the GENIUS Act.

The US Senate has voted to advance a key stablecoin-regulating bill after Democratic senators blocked an earlier attempt to move the bill forward over concerns about President Donald Trump’s sprawling crypto empire.

A key procedural vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed in a 66-32 vote on May 19 local time.

Several Democrats, including Mark Warner, Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego, changed their votes to pass the motion to invoke cloture, which will now set the bill up for debate on the Senate floor.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s key backers, said on May 15 that she thinks it’s a “fair target” to have the GENIUS Act passed by May 26 — Memorial Day in the US.

Anza, a Solana blockchain infrastructure firm spun out of Solana Labs, has proposed a new proof-of-stake consensus called Alpenglow that it claims would be “the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol” and compete with current internet infrastructure.

“We believe that the release of Alpenglow will be a turning point for Solana. Alpenglow is not only a new consensus protocol, but the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol since, well, ever,” Anza’s Quentin Kniep, Kobi Sliwinski and Roger Wattenhofer said on May 19.

Alpenglow consists of Votor, which processes voting transactions and block finalization logic, and Rotor, a data dissemination protocol that would replace Solana’s proof-of-history timestamping system and aim to reduce the time it takes for all nodes to agree on the network state.

Source: Anza

Anza researchers claimed that “Alpenglow will shatter both these latency bounds” and the project expects it to reach actual finality in about 150 milliseconds, rivaling internet infrastructure.

“A median latency of 150 [milliseconds] does not just mean that Solana is fast — it means Solana can compete with Web2 infrastructure in terms of responsiveness, potentially making blockchain technology viable for entirely new categories of applications that demand real-time performance.”

Votor — which would replace TowerBFT — would aim to finalize blocks in a single round if 80% of the stake is participating, and in two rounds if only 60% of the stake is responsive.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s Sharpe ratio converges with gold’s, indicating similar risk-adjusted returns, supporting its store-of-value role.

Gold outperformed Bitcoin in Q1 2025 with a 30.33% price gain versus Bitcoin’s 3.84%, driven by economic uncertainty.

Bitcoin ETF inflows are recovering, and analysts predict BTC could reach $110,000–$444,000 in 2025.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is holding above $100,000, leading Fidelity Director of Global Macro, Jurrien Timmer to say the crypto asset could reclaim its position as a leading store-of-value contender. 

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin onchain and technical data suggest new all-time highs are imminent.

Glassnode data shows most Bitcoin wallet cohorts accumulating BTC.

A daily timeframe bearish divergence signals fading momentum, raising doubt on BTC’s ability to rally into the $120,000 to $130,000 range.

Bitcoin (BTC) price rallied back above $105,000 during the US market trading session, after forming a double bottom pattern in the 1-hour chart.

The US Department of Justice is reportedly conducting a probe over Coinbase’s contracted customer service agents in India, who accepted bribes in exchange for allowing criminals access to user data.

According to a May 19 Bloomberg report, DOJ investigators are looking into the data breach, which Coinbase disclosed to the public on May 15. The exchange reported that a group of customer support contractors — subsequently fired — “abused their access to [...] systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers.”

“We have notified and are working with the DOJ and other US and international law enforcement agencies and welcome law enforcement’s pursuit of criminal charges against these bad actors,” said Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, according to Bloomberg.

Related: New Zealand man arrested in $265M crypto scam tied to FBI probe

Though “no passwords, private keys, or funds were exposed” according to Coinbase, the data breach resulted in social engineering attacks targeting users, including a Sequoia Capital partner, with losses estimated at up to $400 million. The attackers also attempted to extort $20 million from Coinbase in exchange for not disclosing the breach, which the company refused.

On May 22, US President Donald Trump is expected to host up to 220 people who had purchased the most significant quantities of his memecoin at a private event in Washington, DC.

Though the exact number of attendees was unknown as of May 19, reports and blockchain data have revealed some of the tokenholders who qualified to apply for the May 22 dinner and “VIP tour” and reception, presumed to be in the White House. Bloomberg reported on May 7 that more than half of the 220 wallets were likely controlled by foreign nationals.

Among the memecoin dinner applicants, who likely still face background checks ahead of getting a confirmed appearance before the president, included Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, a consultant named Vincent Deriu, and crypto user Morten Christensen, who reportedly only paid $1,200 for the opportunity.

Others included a World Liberty Financial adviser going by the pseudonym “Ogle,” and a representative from the Singapore-based startup MemeCore. Cointelegraph has also learned that Vincent Liu, chief investment officer of the Taiwan-based company Kronos Research, plans to attend.

Trump’s memecoin, even before the announced dinner and reception, was criticized by many members of Congress.

Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC (USDC), is still planning an initial public offering (IPO), but the company is also in informal talks with Ripple and Coinbase about a sale, according to a report from Fortune.

Circle is seeking at least $5 billion, which is its target for the IPO, according to the four banking and private equity sources Fortune cited. Ripple tried to purchase Circle on April 30, but the $4 billion to $5 billion bid was rejected as being too low.

If Ripple or Coinbase were to buy Circle, the details of a purchase would differ. Ripple would pay using cash and XRP (XRP), a cryptocurrency that Ripple created. Coinbase, on the other hand, would use cash and stock.

Coinbase and Circle have a relationship dating to 2018, when they launched the Centre Consortium. That venture was meant to establish standards for fiat-backed stablecoins, including USDC. Coinbase also has an agreement with Circle to put USDC onto its exchange.

Circle filed for an IPO on April 1 with a goal to complete the process by the end of that month. The company backpedaled slightly on April 4, indicating it might delay its IPO due to economic uncertainty.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin buying in the spot and futures markets helped BTC price keep its upward momentum despite $170 million in margin liquidations.

Weak stablecoin demand in China and the limited use of futures leverage suggest Bitcoin’s current rally is sustainable.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has displayed strength at the $102,000 support level on May 19, following the $170 million in liquidations of leveraged positions. The abrupt $5,000 correction after hitting $107,090 may have been unexpected, but it does not mean the odds of reaching an all-time high in the near term are lower, especially since Bitcoin derivatives metrics have shown resilience.

Bitcoin 1-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch

The annualized one-month futures premium for Bitcoin remained close to 6% despite the retest of $102,000 support. This current level is within the 5% to 10% neutral range, which has been the norm over the past week. While at first glance such data might suggest a lack of optimism, at the same time, it proves that the buying pressure is coming from the spot market rather than from leveraged bets.

Quantum Biopharma has purchased an additional $1 million worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Canadian biotechnology company said. 

The buys take Quantum’s total cryptocurrency holdings to approximately $4.5 million, according to a May 19 press release. The biotech company plans to stake a portion of its crypto to generate revenue. 

Quantum expects that holding a treasury of Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets will “provide a return on investment for shareholders and […] provide some hedge against the Canadian dollar,” it said. 

Shares of Quantum’s stock, QNTM, rose by approximately 25% following the announcement, according to data from Google Finance. 

Quantum Biopharma’s stock rose on the announcement. Source: Google Finance

Related: Basel Medical shares down 15% on $1B Bitcoin buying plans

In one of his first speeches since becoming chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April, Paul Atkins addressed some of the regulatory concerns around the cryptocurrency industry.

In prepared remarks for a May 19 speech, Atkins said it was a “new day” for the crypto industry under the current leadership of the SEC. He suggested that the financial regulator would be more open to “adapt to and accommodate new developments” while still abiding by its statutes.

“The crypto markets have been languishing in SEC limbo for years,” said Atkins, adding:

“While I have directed Commission staff across our policy Divisions to begin drafting rule proposals related to crypto, the staff continue to ‘clear the brush’ through staff-level statements.”

Even before Atkins stepped into the role of SEC chair, the commission’s actions under Donald Trump suggested that it would radically depart from the direction of former chair Gary Gensler. In 2025, the SEC has dropped several investigations and enforcement actions against crypto companies and issued guidance on memecoins and security tokens.

Related: CFTC commissioner to leave agency on May 31

Crypto.com and asset manager Canary Capital are launching a US investment fund designed to provide exposure to the Cronos blockchain’s native token, CRO, the cryptocurrency exchange said in a statement.

The Canary CRO Trust will hold the Cronos (CRO) token in a regulated fund wrapper, Crypto.com said, adding that the trust is not an exchange-traded fund (ETF) and is only available to accredited investors. 

Creating regulated funds such as CRO Trust is part of Crypto.com’s plan for “further mainstreaming crypto,” Eric Anziani, president and chief operating officer of Crypto.com, said in a statement.

In March, the crypto exchange partnered with Trump Media & Technology Group, a company affiliated with US President Donald Trump, to launch a series of Trump-branded ETFs, including one holding CRO.

The Trump Media ETFs are still awaiting approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has not yet authorized any CRO ETFs for US trading, Crypto.com said.

Key points:

Bitcoin’s rejection at $107,000 shows sellers are active at higher levels, but the recovery from the intraday low shows solid buying.

Strategy and Metaplanet continue to accumulate Bitcoin, adding steady buy-side pressure to BTC price. 

Select altcoins have pulled back, but they have not yet turned negative.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) attempt to challenge the all-time high faced a strong rejection near $107,100 on May 19, signaling that the bears are unlikely to give up without a fight. However, the long tail on the candlestick shows solid buying at lower levels.

Before discovering Bitcoin (BTC), Ledn co-founder Mauricio di Bartolomeo found success shorting the Venezuelan Bolivar as it rapidly lost value against the stronger US dollar. Now, with the US dollar depreciating against Bitcoin, borrowing against Bitcoin instead of selling it has become a more viable strategy.

“Prior to Bitcoin, my most successful investment was shorting the Bolivar with dollars,” di Bartolomeo told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview at the Consensus conference in Toronto, Canada. 

“I was borrowing Bolivars and buying dollars with them, holding the hard dollars and having a borrow [position] on the weaker currency,” he said.

The arrival of Bitcoin-backed loans means investors can now effectively implement the same strategy by using a harder currency as collateral. 

Ledn co-founder Mauricio di Bartolomeo, right, and Cointelegraph’s Sam Bourgi at Consensus. Source: Cointelegraph

This was part of the motivation behind launching Ledn, a Cayman Islands-based company that gives Bitcoin holders the ability to access dollar liquidity without having to sell their BTC. 

Ripple, the creator of cryptocurrency XRP (XRP), launched cross-border blockchain payments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a development that could spur the adoption of cryptocurrency in a country receptive to digital assets.

Zand Bank, the UAE’s first all-digital bank, and Mamo, a fintech company that offers a digital payment platform for businesses, will be the principal users of the blockchain payments system, according to a May 19 Ripple announcement.

Zand Bank and Mamo will use “Ripple Payments” to facilitate cross-border blockchain payments.

Ripple Payments is a platform that combines stablecoins, cryptocurrency, and fiat to enable payments and quick settlement times, a feature of Web3 that cross-border traditional finance payment systems often lack. Ripple was licensed to offer crypto payments by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in March.

Reece Merrick, Ripple’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa, said acquiring this license “enables Ripple to better serve the demand for solutions to the inefficiencies of traditional cross-border payments, such as high fees, long settlement times, and lack of transparency, in one of the world’s largest cross-border payments hubs.”

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin recovered from its sharp sell-off from $107,000, suggesting it functions as a hedge against uncertainty for investors reacting to Moody’s recent downgrade of US debt.

Moody’s downgraded the US credit rating to Aa1, citing a $36 trillion debt and rising deficits, causing market turbulence and a spike in US Treasury yields.

Despite short-term pressure from macroeconomic shifts, Bitcoin’s long-term outlook remains bullish due to cautious shorting and a weakening US dollar.

Bitcoin (BTC) price faced a sharp 4% correction during the Asian trading session on May 19, tumbling from an “important level” as noted by Glassnode. The data analytics platform indicated that Bitcoin’s surge stalled just below $106,600, a critical level where 31,000 BTC are held. This supply cluster, formed on Dec. 16, 2024, reflects firm holder conviction, as investors have neither sold nor averaged down despite price fluctuations.

Key points:

BTC price action retargets $105,000 after the Wall Street open, rising 2.5% from the day’s lows.

Volatility continues, leading market participants to varying conclusions over what will happen to BTC/USD next.

Perspectives include the Bitcoin bull market being in its final stages.

Bitcoin (BTC) sought a rebound from a 4% dive at the May 19 Wall Street open as traders diverged on bull market strength.

Kazakhstan, the Maldives and Pakistan have recently outlined ambitions to position themselves as crypto hubs and build out their digital economies.

Historically, these countries haven’t been top of mind for global crypto firms — though Kazakhstan did have a brief moment in the spotlight as a go-to destination for Bitcoin (BTC) miners after China’s mining ban.

Meanwhile, established financial centers are now in a race to become the world’s leading crypto hub by finding the right balance of regulation, talent, capital and infrastructure.

Here’s how five of them are backing their crypto dreams.

Singapore is the crypto hub with parental guidance

Singapore has long stood out as a financial hub, bolstered by its AAA credit rating, low corporate tax rates and pro-business regulations. With the emergence of digital assets, the Lion City is among the front-runners in the crypto hub race.

Opinion by: Darius Moukhtarzadeh, Research Strategist at 21Shares

A new wave of crypto fundraising is emerging, changing how Web3 projects launch and who can invest at an early stage: Community Sales. At first glance, community sales may seem reminiscent of the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) era from 2016–2017. Yet, they represent a significant evolution that better aligns with crypto's core values of democratization, transparency, and inclusivity.

Projects should include community sales as a core element of their fundraising strategy, besides raising from angel investors and VCs. Professional investors should embrace community sales as they highly increase the chances of sustainable success of Web3 projects. 

The ICO era

The original ICO boom promised broad retail participation and democratized investment opportunities previously reserved for well-connected insiders. The lack of clear regulatory frameworks led to widespread fraud, rug pulls, and market manipulation. This chaotic environment, rampant exploitation, and regulatory uncertainty eventually forced projects to abandon ICOs, shifting instead to private rounds accessible to well-connected angel investors and venture capitalists. 

Private funding problems

While private funding initially brought much-needed stability and credibility, it also introduced new problems. Over the past two years, many tokens have launched at excessively high FDVs (Fully Diluted Valuation) with a low circulating token supply. These tokens entered exchanges with the majority of supply locked and sky-high valuation, which did not meet the demand. Retail investors, attracted by initial hype, often became collateral damage. The result? Devalued tokens and damaged trust. Most of these tokens will most likely never recover. This market dynamic discouraged investments in new projects and undermined community-building efforts, weakening the overall sustainability of Web3 projects.