Decentral Block Post

Australia’s financial regulator will seek the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling favoring fintech firm Block Earner, which found the company’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning service is not a financial product.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission said on May 21 that it wants to ask the High Court of Australia to clarify what the definition of a financial product is and clarify the circumstances when an interest-earning product and the conversion of assets from one form to another are regulated.

“The definition of financial product was drafted in a broad and technology-neutral way, and ASIC believes it is in the public interest to clarify this,” the watchdog said.

On April 22, Federal Court Justices David O’Callaghan, Wendy Abraham and Catherine Button found that Block Earner’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning product is not a financial product, a managed investment scheme or a derivative under the Corporations Act.

ASIC said the court will consider its application. Special leave is required in an appeal to the High Court, and it’s only granted in cases where it would answer significant legal questions or matters of public interest.

Crypto cybersecurity firm Trugard and onchain trust protocol Webacy have developed an artificial intelligence-based system for detecting crypto wallet address poisoning.

According to a May 21 announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the new tool is part of Webacy’s crypto decisioning tools and “leverages a supervised machine learning model trained on live transaction data in conjunction with onchain analytics, feature engineering and behavioral context.”

The new tool purportedly has a success score of 97%, tested across known attack cases. “Address poisoning is one of the most underreported yet costly scams in crypto, and it preys on the simplest assumption: That what you see is what you get,” said Webacy co-founder Maika Isogawa.

Crypto address poisoning is a scam where attackers send small amounts of cryptocurrency from a wallet address that closely resembles a target’s real address, often with the same starting and ending characters. The goal is to trick the user into accidentally copying and reusing the attacker’s address in future transactions, resulting in lost funds.

The technique exploits how users often rely on partial address matching or clipboard history when sending crypto. A January 2025 study found that over 270 million poisoning attempts occurred on BNB Chain and Ethereum between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024. Of those, 6,000 attempts were successful, leading to losses over $83 million.

Stablecoin adoption among institutions could surge as the United States Senate prepares to debate a key piece of legislation aimed at regulating the sector.

After failing to gain support from key Democrats on May 8, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act passed the US Senate in a 66–32 procedural vote on May 20 and is now heading to a debate on the Senate floor.

The bill seeks to set clear rules for stablecoin collateralization and mandate compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.

Related: German gov’t missed out on $2.3B profit after selling Bitcoin at $57K

“This act doesn’t just regulate stablecoins, it legitimizes them,” said Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs and Falcon Finance.

VanEck plans to launch a private digital assets fund in June targeting tokenized Web3 projects built on the Avalanche blockchain network, the asset manager said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.

The VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund, available only to accredited investors, aims to invest in liquid tokens and venture-backed projects across Web3 sectors, including gaming, financial services, payments, and artificial intelligence. 

Idle capital will be deployed into Avalanche (AVAX) real-world asset (RWA) products, including tokenized money market funds, VanEck said.

The fund will be managed by the team behind VanEck’s Digital Assets Alpha Fund (DAAF), which oversees more than $100 million in net assets as of May 21. 

“The next wave of value in crypto will come from real businesses, not more infrastructure,” Pranav Kanade, portfolio manager for DAAF, said in a statement.

A Democratic representative in the US Congress will support a blockchain bill at a time when many left-leaning lawmakers are blocking crypto-related pieces of legislation due to concerns with President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.

In a May 21 notice, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer said he had reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a bill that “solidifies that digital asset developers and service providers that do not custody consumer funds are not money transmitters.”Emmer, a Republican, said Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres would co-lead the bill, making it a bipartisan effort in Congress.

“The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act reflects a thoughtful, bipartisan effort to get digital asset policy right,” said Torres. “While similar language was voted down in markup last Congress, we took that feedback seriously and returned with a smarter, sharper framework that protects innovation without compromising oversight.”

Representatives of advocacy organizations, including the Crypto Council for Innovation, Solana Policy Institute, Digital Chamber, Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund and Blockchain Association, said they would support the proposed blockchain regulatory bill. It was unclear whether Emmer and Torres had a majority of votes in the House of Representatives for the legislation to pass.

Torres has supported many bills and policies favorable to the crypto industry since assuming office in 2021. Together with Emmer, he has led the Congressional Crypto Caucus to advance crypto-friendly policies in the House since March.

Kristin Johnson of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that she plans to depart the agency before 2026.

In a May 21 notice, Johnson said she planned to step down from the CFTC “later this year,” having completed her term, which ended in April. The commissioner filling a Democratic seat at the financial regulator had served since March 2022 after being nominated by former President Joe Biden.

In her farewell message, Johnson cited her work as a sponsor of the Market Risk Advisory Committee, which dealt with “nascent issues that arise with the introduction of decentralized financial products such as digital assets or cryptocurrency and other emerging markets.” 

Her departure could come before US President Donald Trump nominates a replacement and has them confirmed by a Senate majority. Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Christy Goldsmith Romero previously said they would step down on May 30 and May 31, respectively, and acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham said she planned to move “to the private sector” if Brian Quintenz were to be the next Senate-confirmed head of the agency.

One position on the five-seat CFTC panel has been empty since the departure of former chair Rostin Behnam in February. Under CFTC guidelines, commissioners can continue to serve beyond the end of their terms until a “successor is appointed and has qualified,” provided it is before the next session of Congress.

Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of blockchain technology company Solana Labs, has revealed the next steps for its soon-to-be-shipped Seeker device and the overall ecosystem. The steps include a new, trustless architecture, a native token, and the Seeker ship date.

According to the announcement, Solana Mobile will ship the device starting Aug. 4. Seeker is the company’s second-generation device, after the Saga Web3 phone that launched in April 2023.

The company unveiled the Seeker phone in September 2024, saying it wouldn’t just be a “memecoin phone.” So far, it has pre-sold 150,000 units.

The Solana Seeker has gone through two sale phases: The Founder window, where the price for each device was $450, and the Early Adopter window, where the price per device was $500.

Assuming the lower price window, Solana Mobile could generate at least $67.5 million in gross revenue from device sales. For comparison, the iPhone generated $199.3 billion in revenue for Apple in 2024.

World, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s digital identification project, raised $135 million from venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto, the company said in an announcement.

The capital will be used to expand World's network of iris-scanning orbs and infrastructure in the United States, where the company said in April it would operate in six cities, and increase coverage around the globe, according to the announcement.

More than 12.5 million individuals in over 160 jurisdictions have been issued a World ID, the company said.

The project, which collects biometric data from individuals to establish "proof of personhood," faces regulatory headwinds and bans in several countries. Critics of the project say that offering financial incentives for biometric data violates informed consent, sparking a debate about the ethics of centralized digital ID systems and data privacy.

Related: Alarm bells ring in US over OpenAI’s crypto project World

A New York jury found Braden John Karony, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, guilty of three felony charges after less than a day of deliberation.

According to May 21 reporting from the courtroom, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, a jury convicted Karony of conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering and wire fraud. Prosecutors and defense lawyers presented their cases over the roughly two-week trial that kicked off with jury selection on May 5.

Karony, former chief technology officer Thomas Smith and Kyle Nagy, the platform’s creator, were charged in 2023 for having allegedly “diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth” of SafeMoon’s SFM token. Smith testified against Karony at trial, while Nagy reportedly fled to Russia and was at large as of May 21.

The criminal trial involving a cryptocurrency company executive was seen by many as a bellwether for how Joseph Nocella, the interim US Attorney for the district, would handle cases involving digital assets and fraud. Nocella, a Donald Trump appointee, took office on May 5.

Related: SEC charges Unicoin crypto platform over alleged $100 million fraud

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s $109,458 all-time high aligns with seven consecutive green weekly candles since April, highlighting the strength of the current bullish momentum.

Analysts expect BTC to reach between $135,000 to $320,000 in 2025.

BTC heatmaps show high-leverage zones that may trigger liquidations. Thus, risk management remains crucial.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new all-time high of $109,458 on Binance on May 21, marking seven consecutive green weekly candles in a row since the price bounced from its swing low of $74,500. 

Key takeaways:

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows and low leverage suggest the BTC rally has room to grow.

US Federal Reserve liquidity and weak bond sales support a Bitcoin push beyond $110,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) was unable to sustain its bullish momentum after reaching a new all-time high of $109,827 on May 21, which led traders to question whether derivatives markets mainly drove the rally. From a broad perspective, the $77 billion in Bitcoin futures open interest has undoubtedly played a role. However, a closer look at the data shows a more positive outlook for further price gains.

The current 7% annualized Bitcoin futures premium is well within the neutral range of 5% to 10%, which has been typical for the past two weeks. This indicator can easily exceed 30% during periods of strong optimism, so the current level is relatively low. At the same time, the absence of excessive leverage reduces concerns about a rally driven primarily by derivatives.

A recent filing with Maine’s attorney general sheds new light on Coinbase’s data breach, claiming that nearly 70,000 users were impacted and that the incident went unnoticed for nearly six months.

According to the filing submitted by legal firm Latham and Watkins LLP, 69,461 Coinbase users were compromised by the breach, 217 of whom are residents of the US state of Maine.

The document also indicates the breach occurred on Dec. 26, 2024, but was only discovered on May 11, 2025 — nearly six months following the cybersecurity incident.

Coinbase now faces a flurry of lawsuits from affected clients, who argue that the exchange failed to notify victims of the security breach in a timely manner. The attack caused $400 million in losses through social engineering scams and remediation costs, Coinbase has said.

Cointelegraph contacted Coinbase for comment, but had not received a response at time of publication.

Key points:

Bitcoin made a new all-time high, but the bulls will have to sustain the higher levels for the momentum to pick up.

Several altcoins have bounced off their respective support levels, signaling a positive sentiment.

Analysts expect Bitcoin to maintain its positive momentum and surge above $200,000 by the end of the year.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose to a new all-time high on May 21 on easing macroeconomic fears and continued inflows into the US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Analysts expect the momentum to continue and Bitcoin to surge to $200,000 by the end of the year.

Democratic leaning organizations and members of Congress have announced plans to protest what they describe as the sale of access to the office of the US president, in reference to Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner on May 22. The event’s attendees are said to have collectively spent over $100 million for the chance to meet with the US president.

Since Trump’s memecoin project, Official Trump (TRUMP), announced that its top 220 tokenholders would have an opportunity to apply for an exclusive dinner with the president, many leaders in the crypto industry and US lawmakers have criticized the event, saying Trump was opening his office to potential bribery and corruption.

The memecoin dinner prompted some Democratic lawmakers to withdraw support for crypto-related legislation in Congress, including the market structure and stablecoin bills.

“Trump collecting gifts from foreign governments is unconstitutional,” a spokesperson for the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, which is planning to protest near the memecoin dinner on May 22, told Cointelegraph. “Collecting foreign government investments through his memecoin is not much better. American foreign policy should not be for sale.”

Crypto industry figures such as Tron founder Justin Sun, Kronos Research chief investment officer Vincent Liu, Hyperithm co-CEO Oh Sangrok, and Synthetix founder Kain Warwick are among the tokenholders expected to attend the dinner at the Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, DC. The memecoin project said all applicants had to pass a background check and could not be from a “[Know Your Customer] watchlist country.”

The Texas House of Representatives has passed the third reading of SB 21, a bill that seeks to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the state. The bill passed in a 101-42 vote and will now go to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to either sign into law or veto.

SB 21, authored by state Senator Charles Schwertner, establishes a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve that is managed by the state’s comptroller. The legislation allows the comptroller to invest in any cryptocurrency with a market cap above $500 billion over the previous 12-month period. Currently, the only cryptocurrency fitting the requirement is Bitcoin.

Before the vote, state Representative Giovanni Capriglione said to the chamber that the bill was a “pivotal moment in securing Texas’s leadership in the digital age with the passage of our strategic Bitcoin reserve. Now, we embrace a modern asset with traditional properties for future promise.” The bill passed in the Texas Senate in a 25-5 vote on March 6.

Texas’s economy is the second-largest in the United States, with a gross domestic product of $2.7 trillion in 2024, according to KVUE. If Texas were its own country, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world.

Related: Texas lawmakers refile Bitcoin reserve bill, adding room for more crypto

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin market cycle tops are notoriously hard to time, but combining technical and behavioral indicators can offer strong signals.

The MVRV-Z Score, Pi Cycle Top indicator, trade volume trends, Puell Multiple, and exchange inflows accurately predict Bitcoin price cycle tops.

Bitcoin (BTC) might be approaching the final stage of its current market cycle — a dramatic final rally followed by a sharp correction and, eventually, a bear market. For many, this could be the long-awaited climax of the past four years, and major players are preparing accordingly.

Since late 2024, Bitcoin whale accumulation has surged. Glassnode data shows that the number of addresses holding over 100 BTC has jumped by almost 14%, reaching 18,200 — a level not seen since 2017. The biggest market players appear to be positioning for what could be this cycle’s final run-up.

America’s powerful banking lobby is “panicking” over the potential of stablecoins to disrupt their traditional business model, particularly when it comes to yield-bearing stablecoins, according to Austin Campbell, a New York University professor and founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting.

In a May 21 social media post that begins with, “The Empire Lobbies Back,” Campbell claimed that the banking industry is especially alarmed by the potential for stablecoins to offer interest or rewards to holders. 

In a pointed message aimed at Democratic lawmakers, Campbell wrote that “banks want you to protect their cartel so they can keep screwing your voters.”

He went on to explain how fractional reserve banking enables banks to maximize profits while offering depositors minimal interest.

The banking lobby says that if stablecoins pay interest or any other type of monetary reward, banks will be “harmed,” Campbell added.

Key takeaways:

The Bitcoin Quantile Model shows “heat” with price on the verge of an “acceleration phase,” echoing Q4 2024 when BTC embarked on a 45% post-election rally.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has formed a new intraday high on each daily candle this week, with the crypto asset slowly grinding toward a new all-time high. In line with its current trajectory, 21st Capital co-founder Sina noted that Bitcoin is approaching a pivotal moment around the $108,000 level. 

The Bitcoin Quantile Model update shows that BTC’s market reflects the same “heat” that was present after President Trump’s post-election rally and the spot ETF-driven highs during Q4 2024. The model, which uses quantile regression to map Bitcoin’s price phases on a logarithmic scale, indicates the cryptocurrency is in the Transition Zone, a critical juncture before the Acceleration Phase. Throughout Q4, 2024, Bitcoin rallied by 45% after entering a price discovery period above $74,500. 

As illustrated in the chart, once it breaks into the "Acceleration" Phase, it could trigger BTC’s next leg or the mid-phase, typically between the 33% and 66% range. Based on the model, BTC is expected to progressively target price levels of $130,000 and $163,000 in the coming months. 

Key points:

Ethereum holders are back in profit, increasing chances for a rally to $3,000 and beyond.

Ether sell pressure risk exists at $2,800, where 2.27 million ETH could be sold.

Ether's recent surge to $2,700 on May 14 pushed its value above its realized price, implying that the average holder of ETH is “now back in an unrealized profit,” according to Glassnode.

Ethereum trades above its cost basis

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that Ether’s (ETH) price has risen by more than 52% to a three-month high of $2,700 on May 14 from $1,800 on May 7, fueled by excitement around the Pectra upgrade.

Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high after a temporary trade agreement between the United States and China eased macroeconomic fears and boosted investor confidence.

Bitcoin (BTC) set a new high of $109,400 on May 21, rising more than 26% in the past month, according to data from TradingView. This climb to a record high came nine days after the White House announced a 90-day trade agreement between the US and China on May 12, temporarily slashing import tariffs to 10%.

The 90-day tariff suspension and the cooperative tone in negotiations removed the risk of “sudden re-escalation,” which had a significant impact on risk appetite among traditional and cryptocurrency investors, Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen, told Cointelegraph.

US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs were seen as the biggest macroeconomic threat to traditional equities and cryptocurrency markets in 2025.

Bitcoin briefly fell to a year-to-date low of $74,434 on April 7, five days after Trump announced his reciprocal import tariffs on April 2, sending shockwaves across global markets, with the S&P 500 losing more than $5 trillion in value, its largest drop to date.