Crypto

Bitcoin surpassed Amazon in market capitalization, hitting $2.205 trillion and marking a symbolic milestone that experts say could boost mainstream investor confidence. Update (May 22, 2025, 2:05 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add statements by Shruti Kohli and Stan Low. The market cap of the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, surpassed that of retail and tech behemoth Amazon on “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” Market data shows that Bitcoin (BTC) had a market cap of $2.205 trillion at the time of writing, $70 billion more than the $2.135 trillion Amazon valuation. Read more

The crypto market is up today, reflecting investors' optimism for a possible continued rally and TOTAL’s strong technicals after BTC price hit new all-time highs. Key points: The crypto market is up 2.5% on May 22, with its capitalization above $3.48 trillion for the first time since February. Bitcoin’s new all-time high of $111,888 is boosting investor confidence across the crypto market. Read more

ChatGPT can help build AI agents that trade crypto, but success depends on the strategy, risk management and market execution, not ChatGPT alone. ChatGPT-powered AI agents automate trading tasks using natural language prompts and API integrations, improving speed and consistency. Successes occur when ChatGPT is used as a support tool, not a fully autonomous trading system. Failures happen when traders over-rely on ChatGPT without real-time data, proper risk management or manual oversight. Read more

Crypto travelers tend to have higher spending per transaction, greater loyalty and more frequent bookings. Travelers using cryptocurrency for booking arrangements spend more than twice as much as regular travelers using fiat money, according to a joint report from Binance Pay and crypto travel platform Travala shared with Cointelegraph. Crypto-based bookings on Travala reached $80 million in 2024, up from $45 million the year before. Crypto travelers are also outspending their fiat counterparts, with an average booking value of  $1,211 per transaction, over 2.5 times more than fiat users who spend $469. Additionally, the report said crypto users were three times more valuable over their lifetime due to longer stays and higher repeat bookings, with crypto travelers 57% more likely to make a repeat hotel purchase. Read more

FIFA will migrate its NFT platform to a custom Avalanche-based blockchain, ending its previous ties with Algorand and Polygon.

FIFA previously released a non-fungible token (NFT) collection on the Algorand blockchain in 2022 ahead of the Qatar World Cup.

Trump adviser David Sacks says the GENIUS Act will pass the Senate with bipartisan support, potentially unlocking trillions in demand for US Treasurys. David Sacks, US President Donald Trump’s top adviser on crypto and artificial intelligence, said the administration expects the stablecoin bill to clear the Senate with bipartisan backing. “We have every expectation now that it’s going to pass,” Sacks told CNBC on May 21, following a key procedural vote that saw 15 Democrats join Republicans to clear the filibuster threshold. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is the most advanced federal effort yet to establish a legal framework for dollar-pegged digital assets. Read more

BNB surges with strong support at $682 as Binance ecosystem activity spikes and Bitcoin’s continued rally lifts market sentiment across majors.

UAE-based lawyer Irina Heaver told Cointelegraph that the new rules allow issuing and listing RWAs on secondary markets. Newly updated guidelines from Dubai’s crypto regulator include provisions on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and clarify rules for issuers.  On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) released its updated Rulebook for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the region. The regulator gave market participants until June 19 to comply with the new rules.  The regulator previously told Cointelegraph that it had enhanced supervisory mechanisms and brought consistency across activity-based rules. One of the more prominent changes includes regulatory clarity on RWA tokens.  Read more

The trade marks a new phase of capital migration from centralized finance to DeFi — one where whales, not just retail, are willing to place big bets outside the traditional system.

Texas lawmakers have approved a bill to create a state-run Bitcoin reserve, leaving one final procedural step before it can become law.

The new law introduces a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers as the city seeks to balance crypto innovation and investor protections.

The new Michigan bills would permit Bitcoin pension investments, bar state CBDC support, and offer tax breaks for crypto mining at oil sites.

Authorities have seized key infrastructure of a malware service used to steal crypto wallet data and other credentials from millions.

Crypto sleuth ZachXBT has revealed that a suspected threat actor behind Coinbase scams is mocking him on-chain.

Allowing performance-enhancing drugs, the controversial event launches Memorial Day 2026 at Resorts World in Las Vegas.

Bitcoin’s record high has analysts eyeing a potential altcoin rally—if market conditions align and the crypto's dominance hits a key level.

Anthony Pompliano’s fintech-focused SPAC, ProCap Acquisition Corp, rose 7% on its Nasdaq debut after bumping its IPO to $220 million a day before listing. Crypto influencer Anthony Pompliano’s fintech-focused blank-check company, ProCap Acquisition Corp (PCAPU), rose 7% on its debut Nasdaq listing after a last-minute upsizing of its initial public offering. ProCap had boosted its IPO from $200 million to $220 million on May 20, a day before its public launch, pricing its 22 million shares on offer at $10 each. ProCap shares closed the May 21 trading day up 7% at $10.70, which continued with a 1.6% bump after-hours to $10.87, Yahoo Finance data shows. Read more

A Block Earner spokesperson told Cointelegraph that ASIC's case against the firm has escalated to a “broader legal question” around the definition of a financial product. 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. Read more

World Assets, a subsidiary of World Foundation (formerly Worldcoin), has raised $135 million through a strategic sale of WLD tokens to venture firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Bain Capital Crypto, both early supporters of the fast-growing digital identity initiative. According to the firm, the tokens were sold at prevailing market prices, which proportionately increased the […] The post World Foundation secures $135M via token sales to expand biometric Orb-verified IDs globally appeared first on CryptoSlate.