News linked to both this project and an event.
According to an announcement by HTX, HTX will enable ZEST deposits starting at 18:00 (GMT+8) on May 19. ZEST/USDT spot trading and grid trading will go live at 21:00 (GMT+8) on May 19. ZEST withdrawals will be enabled at 21:00 (GMT+8) on May 20. Additionally, HTX Margin will introduce new isolated-margin ZEST/USDT (10x) leveraged trading at 21:00 (GMT+8) on May 19. Zest Protocol is a Bitcoin lending protocol that enables Bitcoin liquidity providers to earn Bitcoin yield through professionally managed lending pools.
Bitget PoolX will soon list the ILY project, with a total airdrop of 220,000 ILY tokens. This event will open 2 BTC staking pools, with the staking channel open from 19:00 on May 19 to 19:00 on May 25 (UTC+8).Among them, the BTC static staking pool is allocated 97,000 ILY, with a personal staking limit of 30 BTC; the BTC dynamic staking pool is allocated 123,000 ILY, where the tiered staking cap will be unlocked based on the user's trading volume in the past 15 days, with a maximum personal staking of 50 BTC.Additionally, during the event, users with a positive net BTC deposit can receive a 2% BTC wealth management booster coupon after the event ends; users participating in PoolX for the first time who meet the net deposit conditions can receive a 10% BTC booster coupon. The net deposit statistics period is from 17:00 on May 19 to 17:00 on May 24 (UTC+8). For more details, please refer to the official Bitget platform.
Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s second son, posted that American Bitcoin, a bitcoin mining company backed by the Trump family, has increased its bitcoin holdings by 200 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 7,500 BTC.
According to chart analysis released by independent analyst Markus Thielen on May 19, the current market capitalization of USDT has reached $189.8 billion, while that of USDC stands at $76.9 billion—both exhibiting long-term upward trends. However, since Bitcoin entered a correction phase in October last year, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has remained largely flat, indicating relatively limited inflows of new capital into the crypto market. Thielen noted that although there is a widespread belief that stablecoins will fully replace traditional payment networks, their primary use cases remain concentrated on crypto trading and portfolio management—still far from achieving mainstream payment adoption. While U.S. policy broadly supports stablecoin development—partly because their reserve assets are often reallocated into U.S. Treasury securities—the gap between current usage and true mainstream payment application remains substantial.
Aster has announced on the X platform the launch of a new Listing Vote mechanism, enabling a permissionless token listing process. According to the rules, any validator staking at least 20 million ASTER tokens on the Aster Chain can submit a proposal to list a new asset. The proposal then enters an on-chain vote, with the outcome determined by the staked ASTER weight.The first round of proposals was submitted by UTechStables, involving BTC/U and ETH/U perpetual contract trading pairs. This round of voting will continue until 06:00 UTC on May 22.
Ionic Digital has released its unaudited mining and operations update for April 2026, disclosing that it mined a total of 20.45 Bitcoin (BTC) in April, a decrease of 27.1% compared to the previous month. The average daily hashrate was 1.51 EH/s, down 26.2% month-over-month, primarily due to the full shutdown of its GXD-hosted mining site in Oklahoma, which is now completely offline. The company currently only operates its four Midland mining sites, which contributed all 20.45 BTC mined in April. During the same period, the global network hashrate decreased by 2.1%, but block production remained largely stable, growing by 0.5% month-over-month.On the financial front, Ionic Digital maintains a zero-debt status and did not sell any BTC in April. As of April 30, the company held 2,836.4 BTC, an increase of approximately 19.9 BTC from the previous month. (Globenewswire)
: Bitcoin financial services company Swan Bitcoin (along with its operating entity Electric Solidus Inc. named as defendants) is facing a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, with claims approaching $1 billion.The lawsuit was filed by PCT Litigation Trust, aiming to recover crypto assets related to the 2023 collapse of Prime Trust. The plaintiff accuses Swan of using "material non-public information" to transfer funds out of Prime Trust before its failure, thereby avoiding significant losses.According to the court filing, Swan had transferred assets including approximately 11,992 Bitcoin (currently valued at around $917 million) out of Prime Trust before it filed for bankruptcy, along with roughly $22.4 million in fiat currency, $5 million in stablecoins, and 91,444 XRP tokens.The plaintiff also alleges that Swan had ties to a senior executive at Prime Trust, who also served as an external consultant for Swan. This individual is suspected of providing Swan with information prior to regulatory meetings, thereby helping the company withdraw its assets early.Swan Bitcoin responded, stating that the relevant assets belong to client trust property and should not be used for bankruptcy liquidation, expressing confidence that the court will ultimately support its position. (Decrypt)
Bitcoin mining company HIVE Digital Technologies has acquired land in the Toronto area for $58 million, planning to build an industrial-scale AI computing center through its subsidiary BUZZ High Performance Computing. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to support approximately 320 MW of capacity and over 100,000 GPUs—potentially making it one of Canada’s largest computing “super-factories.” Following the announcement, HIVE’s stock surged nearly 45%. Just two weeks earlier, HIVE had raised $115 million to expand its global data center footprint and GPU capacity.
former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner has updated the stock holdings of his "Situational Awareness Fund" as of the end of the first quarter of 2026.The disclosure shows that his major positions are concentrated in AI power, data centers, computing infrastructure, and Bitcoin mining companies. Among them, the Bloom Energy position amounts to $878.7 million, Sandisk to $724.4 million, and CoreWeave to $556.1 million.Additionally, he holds significant positions in mining companies and AI infrastructure firms such as Iren Limited, Core Scientific, Applied Digital, Riot Platforms, Cleanspark, Bitdeer, and Bitfarms and holds stocks semiconductor-related stocks including AMD, Intel, TSMC, ASML, and Micron.
法国上市比特币财库公司 Capital B 宣布增持 192 枚 BTC，价值约 1300 万欧元（约 1520 万美元），买入均价约为 78948 美元。此次增持后，Capital B 的比特币总持仓量升至 3135 枚 BTC。此前，该公司曾宣布完成 1780 万美元融资，投资方包括 Blockstream CEO Adam Back 及巴黎资产管理公司 TOBAM。数据显示，Capital B 目前为欧洲第二大比特币财库公司，仅次于持有 3605 枚 BTC 的德国 Bitcoin Group SE。尽管公司持续推进比特币财库策略，其股价在公告发布后仍下跌约 2.4%。（Cointelegraph）
According to an official announcement, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit will list TRAC, supporting trading pairs in Korean Won, Bitcoin, and USDT.
Bitcoin has fallen below the $77,000 mark, hitting a low of approximately $76,720. Analysts attribute the market decline primarily to multiple macroeconomic pressures, including the renewed escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, rising inflation concerns, and increased risk aversion across risk assets. Former US President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran on social media, intensifying geopolitical uncertainty.Meanwhile, rising oil prices have further elevated inflation expectations, with Brent crude climbing to around $111 and WTI rising above $107. This has sparked concerns that the Federal Reserve may maintain higher interest rates for a longer period.The current selling pressure is also compounded by factors such as rising US Treasury yields, a strengthening US dollar, and ETF outflows. Data shows that Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of approximately $1 billion in the week ending May 17, ending six consecutive weeks of net inflows.In terms of market sentiment, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has fallen back to 27, re-entering the "fear zone." Analysts believe that short-term trends will remain highly dependent on macroeconomic data and policy expectations. However, some institutions view the current correction as a "healthy digestion" period, suggesting the long-term structure remains unchanged. (The Block)
Odaily Planet Daily reported that Iran has launched a state-backed digital marine insurance platform, Hormuz Safe, which provides maritime insurance for vessels transiting the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, settled in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The Iranian government believes that if the platform captures a significant share of the Persian Gulf shipping insurance market, it could generate over $10 billion in revenue. Hormuz Safe aims to bypass the SWIFT network and Western intermediaries, reducing reliance on traditional financial infrastructure. The platform faces challenges related to international recognition, and ship owners, trading companies, or port authorities interacting with it may risk triggering secondary sanctions. (Cryptobriefing)
Odaily news: Michael Saylor, founder and Executive Chairman of Bitcoin treasury company Strategy, has once again released information related to the Bitcoin Tracker, captioning it “₿ig Dot Energy.” Based on past patterns, Strategy always discloses its increased Bitcoin holdings the day after releasing related information.
According to CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler, Bitcoin has recently attempted to break above the $82,000 level three times—but each time failed and retreated. Data shows that during each rally, the STH-SOPR indicator rose to around 1.0 before weakening again, indicating that short-term holders are consistently taking profits amid upward price movements rather than holding onto their positions. Axel Adler notes that $82,000 is not only a key technical resistance level but also a significant zone of selling pressure from a market-behavior perspective. Currently, this level coincides with Bitcoin’s 200-day simple moving average (200D SMA). Until the 7-day SMA of STH-SOPR sustains above 1.0 for several consecutive days—and until Bitcoin’s daily closing price decisively breaks above its 200-day SMA—the ongoing rally may still be viewed as a selling opportunity. On the macro front, escalating tensions in the Middle East continue to dampen market risk appetite. Fueled by the Iran conflict, rising oil prices, and expectations of “higher-for-longer” interest rates, U.S. equities closed lower across the board on Friday. WTI crude oil futures surged over 4%, while the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed to approximately 4.6%, hitting a year-to-date high.
According to a research report released by Binance Research, approximately 11% of illicit cryptocurrency transaction volume was seized in 2025—55 times the global fiat recovery rate (less than 1%). Even after excluding the single Prince Group case involving roughly $15 billion worth of BTC, the remaining seized amount still stands at about 10 times the fiat baseline. Data from on-chain security firms SlowMist and PeckShield shows that between 8.3% and 13.2% of stolen funds were recovered or frozen in 2025, reflecting continuously improving collaboration efficiency among exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and law enforcement agencies. Binance Research notes that blockchain’s inherent transparency is being fully leveraged by regulators and investigators, and the notion that “cryptocurrency is a breeding ground for illicit activity” is gradually becoming an outdated misconception.
Odaily Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company Bitdeer posted its latest Bitcoin holdings data on X platform. For the week ending May 15, its Bitcoin mining output was 198.3 BTC, while it sold 198.3 BTC during the same period, resulting in a net increase of 0 BTC. The company currently maintains zero Bitcoin holdings.
According to Russian financial media RBK, the Moscow Exchange is in discussions with multiple brokers regarding cryptocurrency trading solutions. It is currently testing a 7×24全天候 trading model and digital asset deposit/withdrawal functionality, and plans to launch dedicated cryptocurrency accounts. However, due to constraints imposed by the clearing system’s operating hours, round-the-clock trading is unlikely to be implemented in the short term. Meanwhile, Russia’s “Digital Currency and Digital Rights Bill” has passed its first reading. The bill stipulates that Russian citizens may only purchase cryptocurrencies through licensed intermediaries, and that listed cryptocurrencies must meet stringent criteria—including an average market capitalization exceeding 5 trillion rubles over the past two years, an average daily trading volume exceeding 1 trillion rubles, and a trading history of at least five years. In practice, only major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana meet these requirements.
on-chain detective ZachXBT stated that the hacker "Dritan Kapplani Jr" transferred approximately $2.59 million in assets today, including 1.99 million DAI and 259 ETH. The funds were moved from address 0x4487...bba6 to address 0x67ec...125d. The stolen funds currently remain dormant.ZachXBT stated that on May 12, they published an investigation detailing the connection between Dritan Kapplani Jr and Trenton (Trent) Johnson in a social engineering theft involving 185 Bitcoin (approximately $13 million).
CoinShares tweeted that the cryptocurrency market saw a net outflow of $920 million this week. In the short term, macroeconomic headwinds continue to dominate: PPI data came in higher than expected, U.S.-Iran tensions pushed oil prices higher, and the Federal Reserve’s room for rate cuts is constrained—Bitcoin fell 1.4% this week. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed the Clarity Act by a vote of 15–9, bringing long-term regulatory direction into sharper focus. CoinShares noted that the market is currently caught in a tug-of-war between short-term macro pressures and long-term regulatory tailwinds.