AlAbraaj Restaurants Group, a publicly listed Bahraini catering firm, has adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy with plans to expand into Sharia-compliant finance. 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. Read more
Bitcoin can ride international macro tailwinds all the way to seven figures in just three years, says former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes. 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. Read more
Once a staunch Bitcoin critic, famed short-seller Jim Chanos now sees an arbitrage opportunity by shorting Strategy stock and buying BTC. 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. Read more
Stablecoins can streamline collateral management systems in TradFi, but financial institutions may need more straightforward regulatory guidelines for adoption. 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. Read more
Coinbase rejected a $20 million ransom demand after insiders leaked user data in a phishing scheme. The exchange expects up to $400 million in reimbursement and remediation costs. 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. Read more
Crypto and stock trading platform eToro closed its first day of public trading up 28.9% after it jacked up its IPO at the 11th hour. Crypto and stock trading platform eToro has seen its share price gain nearly 30% during its debut on the Nasdaq after the company made a last-minute boost to its initial public offering. Shares in eToro Group Ltd (ETOR) closed May 14 trading at $67, up 28.9% from its initial offering price of $52, according to Yahoo Finance. It brings the company’s market value to over $5.5 billion. Its stock price shot to a high of $74.26 during the trading day before cooling and has also slightly dipped by 0.7% after the bell to $66.53. Read more
Many crypto startups are losing out on venture capital opportunities due to their valuation-to-revenue ratios being excessively high, an industry executive said. Too many crypto startups are pricing themselves out of venture capital funding by chasing valuations far exceeding their revenues, according to Dan Tapeiro, the CEO of crypto-focused venture capital firm 10T Holdings. “For some reason, founders and CEOs think that they should be raising capital at 50 to 80 times revenue. So that makes it very hard for us to make a return for our liquidity providers,” Tapeiro said while speaking in a panel discussion at the Consensus conference in Toronto on May 14. 10T Holdings has passed on over 200 companies for similar reasons, including the now-bankrupt FTX, BlockFi and Celsius, Tapeiro said. Read more
Retail investors have been the biggest net sellers of Bitcoin throughout 2025, but this might change once BTC hits new price highs. Key takeaways: Google search data and app rankings show retail Bitcoin investor demand near 6-month lows. Retail investor interest typically peaks 1 week after BTC breaks all-time highs. Read more