Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin’s (BTC) next evolution isn’t just about price. It’s about potential. 

On this week’s episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson sit down with Isabel Foxen Duke, general partner at Unbroken Chain and longtime Bitcoin advocate, to unpack what she calls “Bitcoin Season 2.”

Bitcoin beyond money

“Bitcoin Season 2 is really about seeing what we can do with Bitcoin outside of just being money,” said Duke.

New developments like ordinals, runes, and decentralized financial (DeFi) tools are pushing Bitcoin beyond its traditional identity as a digital store of value.

One key innovation under discussion is trustless lending — allowing users to borrow against their Bitcoin without involving third-party intermediaries. “We don’t have the ability to lend against our Bitcoin in a trustless way without third-party intermediaries,” Duke said.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s price is retracing, but strong ETF inflows, high network activity and whale accumulation suggest BTC is on track to $140,000.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $2.9 billion in net inflows in two weeks, mirroring past rallies.

Declining exchange balances and a rising transaction volume Z-score suggest increasing overall demand.

Bitcoin (BTC) price was down 1.4% over the last 24 hours. It traded 6% below its all-time high of $109,000, reached on Jan. 20. Nevertheless, several fundamental, onchain and technical metrics suggest that Bitcoin’s upside is not over.

A Bahrain-based, listed catering company with a $24.2 million market cap has adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy in partnership with investment firm 10X Capital.

According to a May 15 announcement, AlAbraaj Restaurants Group partnered with 10X Capital to adopt a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy similar to top corporate BTC holder Strategy (previously known as MicroStrategy). The firm also aims to explore Sharia-compliant access to Bitcoin for the Islamic world.

“Our initiative to become a Bitcoin treasury company reflects our forward-looking approach and our commitment to enhancing shareholder value,” said Abdullah Isa, head of AlAbraaj’s Bitcoin Treasury Committee.

Isa added that the company believes “Bitcoin will play a central role in the future of finance.” He cited Strategy’s legacy as an inspiration:

Related: Strive to become Bitcoin treasury company

Key points:

US Treasurys and foreign capital “repatriation” make a recipe for $1 million BTC, says Arthur Hayes.

Europeans face tightening capital controls, inviting a recommendation to take back control of personal funds.

Seven-figure BTC price targets are already gaining traction.

Bitcoin (BTC) will shoot to $1 million in just three years, thanks to global macroeconomic shifts, Arthur Hayes forecasts.

Prominent short-seller Jim Chanos, once a vocal critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, revealed a new trading play that involves shorting shares of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and buying Bitcoin.

At the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, Chanos told CNBC he’s “selling MicroStrategy stock and buying Bitcoin.” The investor described the move as buying something for $1 and selling something for $2.50, referring to what he sees as a significant price mismatch.

Chanos argued that Strategy is selling the idea of buying Bitcoin (BTC) in a corporate structure, and that other companies are following suit in hopes of receiving a similar market premium.

Chanos said this was “ridiculous.” He described his trade as “a good barometer of not only just the arbitrage itself, but I think of retail speculation.”

Selling Strategy stock to buy Bitcoin

Chanos’ recent move assumes investors overpay for Bitcoin exposure through corporate wrappers like Strategy and other firms that follow its Bitcoin accumulation blueprint. The investor’s move reflects a stance that purchasing Bitcoin directly would be better than purchasing Strategy’s stocks for indirect Bitcoin exposure. 

Cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are gaining recognition in the traditional finance (TradFi) space for their ability to streamline payments and increase efficiency in existing financial systems

In finance, collateral management refers to the process of managing the underlying collateral securing other financial transactions, such as loans or derivatives, to mitigate credit risks and ensure smooth transactions.

Digital assets like stablecoins are the “perfect” financial instrument for real-time collateral management, according to a recent pilot by DTCC Digital Assets, which suggests that digital assets, particularly stablecoins, could modernize and simplify this critical function.

“Digital assets really are the perfect use case for collateral management, whether it be uncleared derivatives, clear derivatives, central counterparties, repo, or any other type of collateral,” said Joseph Spiro, product director at DTCC Digital Assets, during a panel at Consensus 2025.

Collateral management requires complicated manual processes due to stringent requirements for locked-up collateral that can only be released to the appropriate parties at pre-set intervals.

Coinbase, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, was hit by a $20 million extortion attempt after cybercriminals recruited overseas support agents to leak user data, the company said.

According to a May 15 blog post, Coinbase said a group of external actors bribed and coordinated with several customer support contractors to access internal systems and steal limited user account data.

“These insiders abused their access to customer support systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers,” Coinbase said, adding that no passwords, private keys, funds or Coinbase Prime accounts were affected.

Less than 1% of Coinbase’s monthly transacting users’ data was affected by the attack, the company said.

After stealing the data, the attackers attempted to extort $20 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from Coinbase in exchange for not disclosing the breach. Coinbase refused the demand.

Key takeaways:

XRP forms a double top and rising wedge, signaling short-term downside risk toward $1.94.

NUPL indicates traders are in denial, resembling past pre-crash phases.

Long-term charts still point to bullish targets between $3.69 and $17.

XRP (XRP) has rebounded by more than 50% in a month after forming a local low at $1.80. Improving risk appetite and prospects of an “altseason” have boosted its price.

Mobile-first blockchain Pi Network has launched a $100 million fund to invest in initiatives built on its infrastructure.

According to a May 14 announcement, the Pi Foundation is launching Pi Network Ventures with an initial investment of $100 million in Pi (PI) tokens and US dollars. The fund will invest in startups and businesses building on Pi Network or contributing to its broader ecosystem.

“This strategic program intends to invest in high-quality startups and companies across sectors, driving innovation and ecosystem growth,” Pi Network said in an X post.

The Pi Foundation, the organization behind Pi Network, is described as an “ownerless” entity focused on supporting long-term ecosystem development. The foundation said the new venture fund will draw from the 10% of Pi tokens reserved for ecosystem initiatives.

Pi Network had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication.

Private credit marketplace Pareto has introduced a new synthetic dollar aimed at linking institutional investors with decentralized finance (DeFi) opportunities — a move that highlights the expanding role of stablecoins in global finance.

The newly launched USP synthetic dollar is fully backed by real-world private credit, Pareto told Cointelegraph on May 15. To mint USP, users must deposit stablecoins such as USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT), which are then held as collateral.

“USP is backed 1:1 by the stablecoins used during the minting process,” Pareto co-founder Matteo Pandolfi told Cointelegraph in a written statement.

The deposited funds are placed into Pareto’s credit vaults and lent to what the company describes as “vetted institutional borrowers,” generating yields for participants.

To maintain its peg to the US dollar, Pareto uses what it calls a “native backing” process. Each USP token is minted only when an equivalent amount of USDC or USDT is deposited, ensuring full collateralization when the token is created. An arbitrage mechanism also supports the dollar peg’s ongoing stability.

Ukraine is reportedly moving closer to adopting Bitcoin as a national reserve asset, a move that could bolster its financial resilience amid the ongoing war with Russia.

Lawmakers are reportedly working on a Bitcoin (BTC) national reserve proposal, with a draft bill in its final stages, according to Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament who confirmed the plan to local media outlet Incrypted.

The proposal was announced during the CRYPTO 2025 conference in Kyiv on Feb. 6. “We will soon submit a draft law from the industry allowing the creation of crypto reserves,” Zhelezniak said.

Cointelegraph reached out to Zhelezniak for comment on the bill’s status but had not received a response by publication.

Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Publicly traded company BTCS announced a $57.8 million financing agreement led by investment firm ATW Partners to purchase Ether as it expands its blockchain infrastructure strategy. 

The Rockville, Maryland-based company announced the deal on May 14, saying that the move will allow it to expand validator node operations and build recurring revenue from Ether (ETH) staking.

BTCS CEO Charles Allen said the move follows Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) high-profile Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation blueprint and will leverage Ethereum for long-term growth. 

“We are executing a disciplined strategy to increase our Ethereum exposure and drive recurring revenue through staking and our block building operations,” Allen said.

BTCS issues initial $7.8 million convertible notes

As part of the agreement, BTCS issued an initial $7.8 million tranche in convertible notes, with the option to draw an additional $50 million in funding subject to mutual agreement.

Opinion by: Yat Siu, executive chairman and co-founder, Animoca Brands

A discussion on digital property rights, copyright, intellectual property, the open metaverse, AI and value without physical form.

When I attend conferences and similar public events, someone almost always approaches me to ask how cryptographic tokens (fungible or non-fungible) can have value even though tokens are virtual and do not exist in the physical world. It's a surprisingly common question, especially one-on-one.

Virtual objects like NFTs and cryptocurrencies are both digital and intangible; their existence is not based in the real (physical) world, and (unlike digital currencies) they generally do not have backing by real-world institutions. 

The ability to have value (specifically, monetary worth) is crucially important regarding the open metaverse, the decentralized internet of Web3 characterized by true digital ownership (see What IS the open metaverse?).

Key points:

Bitcoin has a fight for a $100,000 price and a $2 trillion market cap on its hands this month.

Dips below six figures are “easily possible,” analyst filbfilb says, but the odds are stacked in bulls’ favor.

ETH/BTC needs to hit the 0.03 inflection point as part of an altcoin comeback.

Bitcoin (BTC) is poised for expansion with BTC price action rarely more “bullish-looking,” an analyst says.

Several investors in a non-fungible token (NFT) project, Hashling NFT, have accused its founder of misappropriating millions of dollars in profits from the project and a closely tied Bitcoin mining operation.

According to the May 14 court filing in Illinois, the plaintiffs allege that their former business partner, Jonathan Mills, lied about transferring assets from Hashling NFT and at least $3 million from the Bitcoin mining project to a holding company — Satoshi Labs LLC (formerly known as Proof of Work Labs LLC), which Mills is the founder and CEO of.

The plaintiffs have sued Mills for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, claiming that they have not received any of the equity returns that he supposedly promised. 

They also claim to have raised a combined $1.46 million from two NFT drops on the Solana and Bitcoin blockchains, but didn’t receive any returns from their investment. 

Mills allegedly began ghosting them shortly afterward, according to the plaintiffs, adding that he created a flawed shareholder agreement to falsely support his claim that the holding company controlled the project's assets.

A Singapore High Court has ruled in favor of Sonic Labs’ motion to force the Multichain Foundation to wind up in an effort to recover funds stolen during a 2023 hack.

In the May 9 judgment in the Singapore Supreme Court, Justice Kwek Mean Luck granted a request from Sonic Labs, formerly the Fantom Foundation, to declare Multichain bankrupt and appoint liquidators from global audit, tax and advisory service KPMG.

Sonic Labs CEO Michael Kong said in a May 14 statement to X that the team behind the layer 1 Sonic blockchain felt it had no choice but to file a lawsuit to forcibly wind up Multichain because its former employees were being “completely uncooperative” and “hid from victims.”

“Going forward, the liquidators can now start working with other parties to initiate the process of trying to acquire funds that should eventually be returned to users if those legal proceedings are successful,” Kong said.

In July 2023, the Multichain Foundation experienced abnormally large outflows, later confirmed as a hack, leading to the loss of assets across multiple chains, including Fantom, Ethereum, BNB, Cronos and Polygon.

The US Senate could pass a key bipartisan stablecoin bill as soon as next week after removing language targeting President Donald Trump and his family’s sprawling crypto interests.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis said onstage at an event by Coinbase’s lobbying arm, Stand With Crypto, that she thinks it's a “fair target” to have the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed by May 26 — Memorial Day in the US.

Joining her onstage was Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who hinted that the bill’s language was changed to scrap provisions that targeted Trump’s various crypto projects, which include memecoins, a crypto platform, a stablecoin and a crypto mining company that plans to go public, among others.

“When this language comes out, people will see really good refinement, a lot of progress, on things like consumer protection, and bankruptcy protection, and ethics,” Gillibrand said. “Things beyond just ‘what’s the structure?’ and ‘what’s required for an issuer?’”

Senate Democrats pulled support for the bill on May 8 and stalled its momentum, airing concerns that it wouldn’t help address multiple crypto-tied deals that will personally enrich Trump.

A major Chinese darknet marketplace suspected of facilitating crypto scams and cybercrime has been shut down by the Telegram messaging service, upon which it operated.

The internet’s largest illicit marketplace, Haowang Guarantee, formerly Huione Guarantee, said it will shut down following Telegram’s ban of thousands of associated accounts on May 13. 

“Since all our NFTs, channels and groups were blocked by Telegram on May 13, 2025, Haowang Guarantee will cease operations from now on,” read the notice on the marketplace website.

A report from Wired said that this involved banning thousands of accounts and usernames that served as the infrastructure for the crypto crime marketplace and its vendors.

Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn told the outlet, “communities previously reported to us by WIRED or included in reports published by Elliptic have all been taken down,” before adding that “criminal activities like scamming or money laundering are forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and are always removed whenever discovered.” 

Some criminal organizations are yet to receive the memo — crypto is traceable — and could explain the recent string of crypto-related kidnappings, says Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin. 

Law enforcement has been increasingly successful at tracing stolen funds and crypto ransom payments, resulting in a “lot of arrests,” Levin said during the 2025 Consensus crypto conference, covered by Cointelegraph.

“For whatever reason, there is a perception that’s out there that crypto is an asset that is untraceable, and that really lends itself to criminals acting in a certain way,” he said. 

“Apparently, the know that crypto is not untraceable hasn't been received by some of the organized crime groups that are actually perpetrating these attacks, and some of them are concentrated in, you know, France, but not exclusively.” 

There have been two serious crypto-related attacks in Paris so far this month. On May 13, three assailants attempted to kidnap the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium.