Crypto markets flashed green on Wednesday, but falling futures open interest and mixed altcoin performances suggest traders are reducing risk rather than chasing the rebound.
The central bank plans to publish draft rules for systemic sterling stablecoins next month and finalize them by the end of this year.
Irish authorities secured another 500 BTC after accessing a second dormant wallet likely tied to the long-lost Clifton Collins bitcoin cache.
Truth Social's Bitcoin ETF plan is dead for now, and the fee war offers a more compelling explanation than Yorkville's official rationale. The President Donald Trump-linked Truth Social Bitcoin ETF filed to withdraw its S-1 registration statement on May 19, saying it would no longer pursue the public offering “at this time.” For investors searching […]
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Zama's acquisition of TokenOps could revolutionize institutional token management by enhancing privacy and security in blockchain transactions.
The post Zama acquires TokenOps to bring encrypted token distributions to institutional issuers appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Margin longs on Bitfinex have climbed to a two-and-a-half year high as bitcoin struggles below key technical resistance near $78,000.
Qivalis expands to 37 banks after adding 25 new members across 15 countries, boosting euro stablecoin plans ahead of a second-half 2026 launch.
Prime Trust’s estate has sued Strike, claiming the Bitcoin payments company withdrew nearly $29.5 million and 1,939 Bitcoin just weeks before Prime Trust went bankrupt. The lawsuit is now raising questions about whether some crypto firms saw the collapse coming early and quickly moved funds to protect themselves Prime Trust Estate Targets Strike Withdrawals According …
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has suggested that Zcash (ZEC) could eventually reach 10% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization, a long-term bullish thesis on privacy coins rather than a near-term price forecast. Based on ZEC’s circulating supply of around 16 million tokens, that scenario would imply a price in the high four-figure range, roughly $8,000–$10,000, depending on Bitcoin’s valuation. A Chart Pattern Worth Watching On the technical side, traders point to a possible cup-and-handle pattern, but this is a subjective chart formation with no guarantee of outcome. Resistance is often cited around $625–$650, with some speculative projections suggesting a move toward $1,000, though this depends heavily on broader market conditions and is not a confirmed target. The target also lines up with ZEC’s 1.618 Fibonacci extension, drawn from a $745 swing high down to a $185 swing low. Privacy Coins Pull Ahead ZEC is not moving alone. Monero and Dash, both privacy-focused tokens, have also posted gains over the past month. But Zcash leads the pack. Reports indicate the coin climbed more than 80% in 30 days while the total crypto market cap barely moved — up just 0.2% over the same stretch. $ZEC update This thing is running its own bull market rn… gg I closed my short. Especially with $BTC sitting on support around $76k Even a small pump in Bitcoin makes ZEC go absolutely stupid right now https://t.co/xLs6ficv7l pic.twitter.com/obAhbnXqfp — SnorlaX お金 (@SnorlaxOnChain) May 18, 2026 In the past three days alone, ZEC added 18% as the broader market slipped 3%. That split has prompted some traders to say Zcash is running its own bull market. Growing demand for financial privacy appears to be the main force behind the move, pulling fresh interest into a coin that had been largely overlooked for years. Related Reading: XRP Will Go ‘Higher, Much Higher,’ Analyst Says, Betting On Explosive Breakout Institutional Interest Adds Fuel Earlier in May, hedge fund Multicoin Capital disclosed it holds a position in ZEC. Around the same time, Robinhood added the token to its platform, opening it up to a wider pool of retail investors. Both developments landed at a time when the privacy narrative was already building. Hayes’s comment added another layer. His estimate was speculative — based on a market cap comparison to Bitcoin — but it drew attention and, according to data, ZEC’s value in Bitcoin terms has risen about 20.5% since he made the remark. Whether the cup-and-handle plays out or not, the coin has already proven it can move on its own terms. Featured image from Quicknode, chart from TradingView
DisclaimerDon’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more. London, UK — May 20, 2026. WhiteBIT, the largest European cryptocurrency exchange by traffic, has announced the launch of whitebit.uk, …
Zama acquired TokenOps, a token distribution platform, to bring FHE-encrypted vesting and airdrops to institutional issuers.
Ripple has officially landed at No. 16 on CNBC Disruptor 50 2026, putting the crypto giant alongside some of the biggest names in AI, fintech, defense tech, and enterprise software. The ranking is a big moment for Ripple because it shows the company is increasingly being viewed as a serious financial infrastructure player, not just …
White House digital assets adviser Patrick Witt recently confirmed that an announcement regarding the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is coming soon. The comments from Patrick Witt are now fueling fresh speculation that the U.S. government may be moving closer toward securing and managing one of the world’s largest sovereign Bitcoin holdings. White House Says Bitcoin Reserve …
Publicly, the U.S. has fiercely opposed a Central Bank Digital Currency, but former CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad said it is inevitable and there will be one sooner or later.
The DWS and Galaxy-backed firm targets June debut for its SEKAU stablecoin as Europe pushes to build regulated local-currency alternatives to U.S. dollar tokens.
OpenAI is opening its first overseas applied AI lab in Singapore through a $234 million partnership expected to create more than 200 technical roles.
Trump-linked Truth Social has officially withdrawn its spot Bitcoin ETF filing, surprising many in the crypto market. The move was confirmed after Yorkville America Equities pulled multiple ETF registration statements from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 19, including the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, the Bitcoin & Ethereum ETF, and the Crypto …
Qivalis, a stablecoin initiative backed by a group of European banks, aims to issue a stablecoin later this year to deepen the euro's role in tokenized finance.
Bitcoin ETF outflows are turning rising Treasury yields into a direct test for BTC price after Bank of America’s May Global Fund Manager Survey showed professional investors cut bond allocation to a net 44% underweight, the deepest positioning since June 2022, down from 33% underweight in April. At the same time, managers pushed global equity […]
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Wintermute said Bitcoin’s latest rally has failed its first major macro test, arguing that the move was driven more by leverage and short covering than by durable spot demand. In its May 18 market update, the trading firm pointed to hot inflation, rising Treasury yields, ETF outflows and renewed rate-hike pricing as the backdrop behind a sharp reversal across digital assets. “Last week we said we’d find out fast what kind of rally this was. We found out,” Wintermute wrote. “BTC failed at the 200-day on the first real macro shock, which tells you it was the squeeze driving it all along.” The firm’s update framed the week as a macro-led repricing. April CPI came in at 3.8% year over year, above the 3.7% consensus estimate, while core CPI rose 0.4% month over month. Wintermute said the inflation shock has become harder for markets to dismiss, noting that the prolonged energy shock is now moving into core inflation and that real wages turned negative for the first time in three years. Related Reading: Bitcoin Hits ‘Wall Of Resistance,’ CryptoQuant Research Head Warns Rates responded quickly. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 28 basis points on the week to 4.58%, its highest level since September 2025, while fed funds futures erased all expected cuts for 2026 and began pricing a 44% chance of a rate hike by December, up from 22.5% a week earlier. Wintermute said the market narrative shifted from “when do they cut” to “do they hike” in only five trading days. That repricing hit long-duration assets. Wintermute said 20-year-plus Treasuries fell 2.8%, while gold dropped 3.8% despite the geopolitical backdrop. Brent crude rose 8.6%, leaving the firm to conclude that “the only things that worked were the things causing the problem.” Why $75,000 Bitcoin Is The Line In The Sand Bitcoin briefly moved above $82,000 after the CLARITY Act vote, but then reversed sharply and closed Friday near $78,000, down 5.7% for the week. A weekend slide toward $77,000 triggered $657 million in liquidations, including $584 million from long positions. Ethereum underperformed even more, falling 10.2% on the week. Wintermute said ETH continued to weaken across both spot and derivatives markets, with ETH/BTC pressing 0.0275, funding softer and relative implied volatility elevated. The firm described ETH as the “wrong asset for this macro.” ETF flows also turned against the market. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $1 billion of outflows for the week, ending six consecutive weeks of inflows, while ETH ETFs saw $255 million leave the products. Wintermute cited Glassnode data showing institutions were “selling into strength,” with the seven-day moving average of net flows at negative $88 million per day, the weakest level since mid-February. “When leverage is the marginal buyer, the unwind is fast,” Wintermute wrote. Related Reading: Strategy Wants 1,000,000 Bitcoin Treasury And This Is How They Plan To Get To That Number The firm said Bitcoin remains below its 200-day moving average near $82,200 after being rejected five times this month. The immediate support zone is $76,000 to $78,000, according to the update, while a break of $75,000 could open the way toward $70,000 to $72,000. Wintermute did not dismiss the broader structural case for Bitcoin. It noted that exchange reserves remain near multi-year lows, long-term holders are still accumulating, and the CLARITY Act continues to move forward after clearing the Senate banking committee. The firm also said tokenized Treasuries reached $15 billion onchain, describing the segment as an area of continued growth. Still, Wintermute argued that short-term flows matter more than the structural story for now. “The flow data shows institutions used the rally to take profit rather than add, and in the short term that matters more than the structural story,” the firm wrote. The next test, according to the update, is whether Bitcoin can hold the $76,000 to $78,000 area through Nvidia earnings on Wednesday, May 20. A hold would “rebuild some confidence,” Wintermute said, but a break below $75,000 with funding resetting and ETF flows negative could bring the low $70,000s back into view quickly. At press time, BTC traded at $77,297. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The top cryptos, Bitcoin & Ethereum, have remained largely stagnant for the past few days, which suggests indecisiveness among the market participants. Recently, the selling pressure has been elevated among the top tokens, which has kept the rally restricted within the range. A deep observation suggests that the whales and the retail investors are sceptical …
South Carolina's law fosters a pro-crypto environment, potentially attracting digital asset businesses while challenging CBDC adoption trends.
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The new legislation bans state entities from accepting or requiring payments in CBDC, and offers strong support for crypto mining.
Bitwise’s Matt Hougan says Hyperliquid’s token is not priced as if it is tied to a “global super-app,” arguing the platform is more than just a crypto platform.
India is set to meet with major crypto exchanges including Binance, WazirX, and ZebPay to shape future crypto regulations for a market estimated to have up to 200 million users. The talks come after India’s strict 30% crypto tax pushed much of the trading activity offshore instead of slowing adoption. The discussions matter because they …
Financial regulators are also asked to review regulations that could be amended to streamline applications for eligible fintech firms seeking bank and credit union charters.
Meta's job cuts and AI investment highlight a tech shift towards AI, impacting workforce dynamics and emphasizing data privacy concerns.
The post Meta begins 8,000 job cuts globally, starting with Singapore layoffs appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
PENGU price climbed over 3% today, quietly outperforming several meme and NFT-linked tokens as fresh momentum returned to the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem. With community buzz heating up and traders watching key resistance levels, speculation is growing over whether the latest move is just a short-term bounce, or the early signs of a much bigger breakout. …
Pi Network is moving closer toward its major Protocol 23 transition as the team confirmed that most Mainnet node operators have now successfully upgraded to v23. According to the latest update from the Pi Core Team, the protocol is expected to fully migrate very soon after one of the most technically demanding upgrades in the …
The coalition's instability amid Haredi draft bill debates could lead to significant political shifts and impact Netanyahu's government stability.
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