Cointelegraph.com
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Cointelegraph.com - 14:26 May 18, 2026
Bitcoin Depot files for Chapter 11 in Texas, plans asset sale and wind-down as regulatory pressure forces shutdown of its Bitcoin ATM network. Bitcoin Depot, one of the largest Bitcoin ATM operators in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the company moved to wind down operations and sell its assets. In a Monday announcement, Atlanta-based Bitcoin Depot said it started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, citing mounting regulatory pressure and financial strain. CEO Alex Holmes said the company strengthened anti-fraud protections in recent years, including stricter identity checks and lower transaction limits, but argued that growing compliance demands and enforcement actions made the business model “unsustainable.” Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 14:02 May 18, 2026
EUR 1 billion note programme planned for 2026 following completion of global issuance infrastructure by the end of Q3 2026. EUR 1 billion note programme planned for 2026 following completion of global issuance infrastructure by the end of Q3 2026. STOCKHOLM & RIGA — May 14, 2026 — Deploi, the institutional infrastructure layer for digital private credit, today announced the launch of its direct issuance framework on Polygon, following ISIN allocations from Nasdaq CSD for its inaugural UK Consumer Credit Notes. The first issuance, Series 2026/CON/001, enables regulated digital debt issuance for consumer credit assets, with individual notes of up to EUR 5 million. The issuance forms part of Deploi’s EUR 1 billion note programme for 2026, with planned expansion capacity of up to EUR 5 billion following the expected completion of its global issuance infrastructure by the end of Q3 2026. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 13:44 May 18, 2026
Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought 24,869 Bitcoin for $2.01 billion last week, lifting holdings to 843,738 BTC as STRC sales funded around 97% of the acquisition. Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, made another massive BTC acquisition last week as the crypto asset hovered around $80,000. Strategy acquired 24,869 Bitcoin (BTC) for $2.01 billion between May 11 and 17, according Monday's 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 13:31 May 18, 2026
Standard Chartered will absorb Zodia Custody’s regulated crypto business and spin out Zodia Solutions, as big banks move to own core digital asset custody in-house. Standard Chartered has announced that its offer to acquire the business of Zodia Custody has been accepted by shareholders. The deal, announced Monday, will consolidate Standard Chartered’s digital asset custody operations while separating a standalone infrastructure platform for institutional clients. Zodia Solutions will be established as an independent entity under SC Ventures, backed by several banking investors, including existing Zodia Custody shareholders, and will provide “bank-grade infrastructure” to financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, as they expand digital asset services. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 12:42 May 18, 2026
The parent company of South Korea’s largest bank completed a stablecoin payment pilot ahead of the country's proposed digital asset framework. KB Financial Group, the parent company of South Korea's largest bank, KB Kookmin, completed a stablecoin pilot for offline payments and cross-border remittances through the Kaia blockchain. KB tested the lifecycle of a South Korean won-denominated stablecoin, including issuance, merchant settlement and remittances, with Kaia, electronic payments company KG Inicis and fintech firm OpenAsset, local outlet Yonhap reported. The stablecoin pilot adds to the growing list of legacy financial institutions in South Korea experimenting with stablecoins. In late April, one of the nation's largest credit card providers, Shinhan Card, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to test stablecoin payments. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 11:25 May 18, 2026
Bitcoin analysis says BTC price could revisit the $65,000 demand area after fresh US-Iran war tensions soured the crypto market mood. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $76,000 during the early Asian trading hours on Monday as US-Iran tensions resurfaced. Key takeaways Data from TradingView showed BTC price dropped as much as 7% over the last three days to three-week lows of $76,500, erasing all the gains made since May 1. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 11:19 May 18, 2026
XRP still faces short-term downside risk, with a symmetrical triangle breakdown pointing to a possible drop toward $1.00–$1.10. XRP (XRP) may go on a 10x–15x rally from its "quiet accumulation" zone, according to analyst Crypto Patel, who says the muted price action resembles the calm before its major breakout in late 2024. Key takeaways: In his Sunday post, Patel highlighted the $1.00–$0.70 range as a potential long-term accumulation zone, arguing that XRP’s muted sentiment and lack of retail hype could precede a larger upside move. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 11:00 May 18, 2026
Proof of Talk, widely known as the Davos of Web3, today confirmed its 2026 programme and opened remaining passes for its fourth edition at the Louvre Palace in Paris on June 2–3. Paris, May 18, 2026 — Proof of Talk, widely known as the Davos of Web3, today confirmed its 2026 programme and opened remaining passes for its fourth edition at the Louvre Palace in Paris on June 2–3. The gathering will bring together more than 120 speakers, 95% at CEO or Founder level, representing a combined $18 trillion in assets under management. Attendance is capped at 2,500. The event sold out in both 2024 and 2025. When the most senior leaders in digital assets, finance, and infrastructure need a room that matches the weight of the decisions ahead, this is where they come. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:54 May 18, 2026
South Korea’s FSC is reportedly reviewing Hana Bank’s $668 million Dunamu stake under “banking-commerce separation” rules that limit bank ownership tied to crypto firms. South Korea’s financial regulator is reportedly reviewing Hana Bank’s planned $668 million purchase of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, the operator of the largest domestic cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit. Local outlet iNews24 cited an unnamed Financial Services Commission official to report that regulators are examining whether Hana Bank's share purchase from Kakao Investment, rather than directly from Dunamu, falls under broader "banking-commerce separation" rules. The official said Hana’s investment would be assessed under the same standards as a direct stake in the exchange operator. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:47 May 18, 2026
Goldman Sachs cut its crypto ETF exposure in Q1 2026, exiting XRP and Solana funds while trimming Bitcoin and Ether ETFs and reshaping equity bets. US investment bank Goldman Sachs sharply reduced its exposure to cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the first quarter of 2026. No XRP-linked ETFs appeared in Goldman Sachs’ Q1 Form 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In its Q42025 13F filing, Goldman Sachs reported holding nearly $154 million worth of XRP-related ETFs from Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale and 21Shares. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:30 May 18, 2026
AFX launches sovereign Layer 1, providing an optimized execution environment for on-chain perp DEXes
AFX, a sovereign Layer 1 purpose-built for decentralized derivatives trading, has officially commenced the operation of its L1 Mainnet, signaling a definitive end to the era of trade execution compromised by general-purpose blockchain congestion. Road Town, BVI, May 18, 2026 — AFX, a sovereign Layer 1 purpose-built for decentralized derivatives trading, has officially commenced the operation of its L1 Mainnet, signaling a definitive end to the era of trade execution compromised by general-purpose blockchain congestion. Engineered for the world’ s most demanding participants, AFX introduces the Sovereign Trading Layer—a dedicated financial environment where the non-custodial transparency of a Perp DEX meets the uncompromising speed and depth traditionally reserved for institutional-grade centralized entities. At launch, the protocol supports a high-liquidity suite of perpetual markets across both digital and traditional macro assets, featuring BTC, ETH, Gold (XAU), and Crude Oil (CL), with up to 40x leverage t... -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:23 May 18, 2026
Bitcoin started the week with a dip toward new May lows as ongoing BTC price pressures included "collapsing" US bond markets. Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week under pressure as support levels fade and macro gloom intensifies. Key points: Bitcoin felt the pressure as the new weekly candle began, dropping to $76,500 — its lowest levels since May 1, per data from TradingView. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:11 May 18, 2026
The 25th-largest Bitcoin treasury company acquired $15 million worth of BTC as one of only four treasury firms to announce a corporate Bitcoin investment during May. France-listed Bitcoin treasury company Capital B announced Monday that it acquired 192 BTC for 13 million euros ($15.2 million), bringing its total holdings to 3,135 BTC. Capital B purchased its latest tranche at an average price of about $78,948 per Bitcoin, Alexandre Laizet, Bitcoin strategy director at Capital B, said on X. The acquisition comes a week after the company announced a $17.8 million raise from strategic investors, including Blockstream CEO Adam Back and Paris-based asset manager TOBAM. Capital B also raised $1.28 million from Back on May 4. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 07:14 May 18, 2026
Kraken has cut 150 staff due to the rising use of AI, adding to more than 5,000 layoffs across the crypto sector so far this year, Bloomberg reports. Crypto exchange Kraken has reportedly laid off some of its staff as a cost-cutting measure, which could delay its planned initial public offering in the US until next year. The company, whose corporate name is Payward, laid off about 150 workers due to efficiencies from deploying artificial intelligence across the business, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The person said AI is being used more extensively throughout Kraken, but the company is not planning further job cuts at the moment. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 07:11 May 18, 2026
Two security companies have flagged the address where the stolen funds are allegedly being held, showing the cryptocurrencies have been converted into 5,402 Ether. Verus Protocol’s Ethereum bridge was reportedly exploited on Monday through a fake cross-chain transfer message that allowed a hacker to fraudulently transfer out at least $11.58 million in cryptocurrency. Onchain security platform Blockaid said in an X post on Monday that its detection system identified an ongoing exploit on the Verus-Ethereum bridge and shared a transaction on Etherscan showing a transfer of 1,625 Ether (ETH), 147,659 USDC (USDC) and 103.57 tBTC v2, worth over $11.5 million. Blockchain security company PeckShield also called the transfer an exploit, with onchain data showing the funds have since been converted into Ether. The wallet shows a balance of 5,402 Ether, worth over $11.4 million, according to Etherscan. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 07:02 May 18, 2026
Fundstrat's Tom Lee pointed out an inverse correlation between crude and Ether as oil surged back to around $110 on Monday. Rising oil prices since the US-Israeli war have been a consistent weight on the price of Ether for the last three months, according to Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee. “If one is wondering why Ethereum has been under selling pressure … to me, rising oil prices is the biggest headwind,” Lee said on X on Monday. Lee said the inverse correlation between Ether prices and oil is at a record high. Crude oil prices have surged 66% from $65 to more than $100 per barrel since the US-Israeli war began on Feb. 28. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 21:14 May 17, 2026
Figure Technology Solutions latest quarterly results showed Bernstein analysts just how different it is from most balance sheet-based fintech lending platforms. Bernstein analysts said Friday that Figure Technology Solutions’ first-quarter earnings report shows that the fintech is fast becoming a company that is unique among blockchain marketplaces. Figure’s May 11 earnings report soundly beat Wall Street estimates on both revenue and EBITDA, with a business that seeks to turn real-world credit assets into blockchain-native instruments that can be traded, funded and financed more efficiently. As Figures builds out a blockchain-native capital market ecosystem, the analysts expect the company will surprise investors with how it differs from balance sheet-based fintech lending platforms, seeing FIGR stock as a real-time reflection of blockchain loan volumes. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 18:01 May 17, 2026
Michael Saylor signaled another Bitcoin buy on Sunday while urging retail investors to vote on a proxy measure enabling semi-monthly STRC dividend payouts. Strategy chairman Michael Saylor on Sunday signaled the Bitcoin treasury company would be buying more of the cryptocurrency in the week ahead while also encouraging retailer shareholders to vote on a proxy measure enabling semi-monthly dividend payouts on the company’s STRC perpetual preferred stock. “Big Dot Energy” was Saylor's tweet late Sunday morning to accompany a bubble chart tracking Strategy’s BTC purchases over the past nearly six years. That chart, from Iceland-registered StrategyTracker.com, has been consistently posted by Saylor in the days ahead of a corporate purchase. Saylor's "Big Dot Energy" message on Sunday. Source: Michael Saylor on X.com Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 10:51 May 17, 2026
Japan’s biggest brokerages are racing to bring crypto investment trusts to retail investors, as regulators move to formally allow crypto-holding funds by 2028. Japan’s major brokerages are preparing to bring crypto investment trusts to retail investors, with SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities already developing products in-house, while others like Nomura plan to enter the space once regulations are finalized. SBI Securities plans to sell funds developed by group company SBI Global Asset Management, with products spanning both ETFs and investment trusts focused on liquid assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to a Sunday report by Nikkei. The group intends to handle everything from product development to distribution in-house. Rakuten Securities is taking a similar approach, working with Rakuten Investment Management to build products tradeable directly through smartphone apps, the report revealed. Read more -
Cointelegraph.com - 08:50 May 17, 2026
While macro pain and Iran war uncertainty drag Bitcoin below $79K, fixed-income market outflows could trigger a medium-term Bitcoin rebound. Bitcoin (BTC) faced a sharp contraction on Friday following a rejection at $82,000 the prior day. Recent price movements closely resembled the US small-capitalization stock index, hinting that macroeconomic factors are the leading drivers behind the nosedive below $79,000. The anxiety sparked a sell-off in fixed-income markets. Counterintuitively, this may help Bitcoin embark on a sustained bull run over the next few weeks. Key takeaways: Read more
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