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Japanese investment firm Metaplanet’s Bitcoin premium has reached almost $600,000 per coin, as Asia’s leading Bitcoin treasury firm pushes forward with its plan to purchase 21,000 BTC by 2026.

Metaplanet’s stockholders are paying more than a fivefold premium on Bitcoin (BTC) when investing in the Japanese company, according to a report by 10x Research published on May 27.

“A little-known Japanese stock trades as if Bitcoin were worth $596,154, more than five times its actual price,” the report states.

Investors who don’t understand the importance of a firm’s net asset value (NAV) may be “dramatically overpaying for their Bitcoin exposure” on a position that doesn’t provide additional upside leverage, the report adds.

The NAV represents the per-unit price of a fund, calculated by dividing the fund’s total assets minus its liabilities by the number of outstanding shares.

Crypto exchange Bitget has entered the expanding market for crypto investment products with the launch of BGUSD, a yield-bearing stable asset backed by tokenized real-world assets.

The company announced that BGUSD offers an annual yield of 4%, which is credited daily to users’ spot accounts. Subscriptions to BGUSD can be made using either USDC (USDC) or USDt (USDT), and the asset is redeemable back to USDC on demand.

The company said the yield is derived from a basket of tokenized instruments, including US Treasury bills and high-grade money-market funds. “These assets are managed via partnerships with regulated institutional tokenization providers such as Superstate,” Bitget CEO Gracy Chen told Cointelegraph.

The product’s structure is designed to reduce exposure to crypto volatility while delivering returns through traditional financial instruments. 

Bitget to roll out third-party attestations

In response to questions about transparency, Chen said that Bitget is preparing to roll out third-party attestations to provide visibility into BGUSD’s asset backing.

Blockchain.com is stepping up its presence in Africa, targeting markets where governments are beginning to implement crypto regulations.

The UK-based exchange plans to open a physical office during the second quarter in Nigeria — its “fastest-growing market” in West Africa — along with broader expansion efforts in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, according to a May 27 report by Bloomberg.

“Nigeria has taken meaningful steps toward creating a clear framework for crypto,” Owenize Odia, Blockchain.com’s general manager for Africa, reportedly said.

The move comes as global sentiment shifts, including political tailwinds from the United States, where President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance has encouraged industry expansion.

Related: Hedera Africa Hackathon launches with $1M prize pool and Web3 focus

Thailand is preparing to let tourists spend cryptocurrency via credit card-linked platforms as part of a broader strategy to modernize its financial system and embrace digital assets.

The plan was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira during an investment seminar in Bangkok on May 26, according to reports from Bangkok Post and The Nation.

The initiative, currently under review by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand, will enable tourists to link their crypto holdings to credit cards for local purchases.

Merchants will receive Thai baht as usual, often without knowing crypto was used in the transaction. The pilot is expected to roll out after key infrastructure and regulatory checks are in place.

“This approach can be immediately adapted for Thailand, provided the supporting systems are in place,” said Pichai, noting that the model avoids using the Thai baht directly, reducing risks to the domestic currency.

French authorities have arrested more than 12 people who have been linked to two high-profile crypto kidnapping cases in Paris, France, local media reports.

Those arrested include several minors, with charges against them including kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and criminal conspiracy, Le Parisien reported on May 26.

French investigators are exploring the possibility that a criminal organization is behind two recent crypto-linked kidnapping cases, with social media networks being used for recruitment.

In one recent alleged kidnapping attempt on May 13, three men tried to snatch the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium, in broad daylight in Paris.

That attempt, which bystanders captured on video, shows that the alleged attempt was thwarted as Noizat’s daughter fought back and passersby intervened.

Four artificial intelligence-enhanced robots have been put through their paces in a Chinese robot fighting competition, duking it out in kickboxing matches until one was declared the champion.

The World Robot Competition Mecha Fighting Series had four human-controlled robots built by China-based firm Unitree compete in three, two-minute rounds with winners crowned through a points system, according to a May 26 report from the China state-owned outlet the Global Times. 

Chen Xiyun, a Unitree team member, said the “robots fight in a human-machine collaborative way,” with the machines pre-taught moves, but ultimately, a person controls the bot’s movements.

The robots reportedly weighed 35 kilograms and stood 132 centimeters tall. Ahead of the boxing rounds, the pint-sized robots were put through tests to demonstrate a variety of kicks and punches and assist the organizers in refining the rules.

The team with the highest points across the three rounds moves on to fight another opponent. A punch to the head was worth one point, and a kick to the head was worth three. Teams lost five points if their robot fell and 10 points if their robot was down for over eight seconds. 

Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has joined Sygnum in an advisory role, where he will help the crypto bank navigate global regulations amid growing institutional interest in digital assets. 

Giancarlo’s appointment as senior policy adviser places him alongside 11 other members of Sygnum’s Advisory Council, the company disclosed on May 27.

In his role, Giancarlo will advise on regulations and strategic partnerships in both the public and private sectors. 

Sygnum is a Swiss banking group dedicated to providing crypto asset services. It’s often called the first digital asset bank, having recently achieved unicorn status following a $58 million funding round. 

Giancarlo, who headed the CFTC between 2017 and 2019, said he is joining Sygnum at a time when the global digital asset industry is nearing a turning point in institutional adoption.

Bitcoin markets recently experienced two major liquidation events, causing a cascade of forced selling from over-leveraged traders, but analysts say a distinct pattern has emerged.

“Overleveraged short-term traders were flushed out, long-term holders have been quietly capitalizing on the reset,” CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha said on May 26. 

They noted the first flush occurred when Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $111,000, and over $97 million in long positions were liquidated. As its price broke $109,000, another $88 million in longs were wiped out in the second wave.

However, as short-term traders faced margin calls and forced selling, long-term holders (LTH) responded very differently and increased their accumulation.

This caused the long-term holder realized capitalization to surge past $28 billion, a level not seen since April. Realized cap is a measure of the value of each Bitcoin based on the last time it was moved, rather than the current market price.

The Instagram account of former US rap trio Migos was hacked in an apparent attempt to blackmail Solana co-founder Raj Gokal.

On May 27, Migos’ Instagram account posted at least seven images seen by Cointelegraph that have since been deleted. Two of the images appeared to depict Gokal holding up his passport and driver’s license, clearly showing the full details of each document.

The account’s hacker tagged Gokal in one of the images that apparently showed him with the caption “you should’ve paid the 40 btc,” while another image depicting Gokal was captioned “it was only 40 btc.. should’ve paid,” in what appears to be a references to a failed extortion attempt.

Another image posted by the account hacker shows what the caption claimed was Gokal’s wife holding up a driver’s license, while a further two images appear to be a dump of private information, including mobile phone numbers and email addresses.

The type of photos posted, where a person holds personal identifying documents in clear view of the camera with their face visible, are commonly used by crypto exchanges in Know Your Customer checks.

Michael Saylor, the executive chair of major Bitcoin-buying firm Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, says institutions posting onchain proof-of-reserves is a “bad idea” that could pose security risks.

“The current, conventional way to publish proof of reserves is an insecure proof of reserves,” Saylor said when asked about institutions adopting the transparency measure at a May 26 event on the sidelines of the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.

“It actually dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, the exchanges and the investors. It’s not a good idea, it’s a bad idea.”

Saylor didn’t answer whether Strategy would publish its proof-of-reserves when asked by Blockware Solutions head analyst Mitchell Askew whether his firm would do so.

I asked @saylor if @MicroStrategy has any plans to publish on-chain proof of reserves

His answer will SHOCK you

“It’s a bad idea.”

- Security Risk
- Irrelevant without also having Big 4-audited liabilities

Check it out 👇 pic.twitter.com/tIxUckgbEp

— Mitchell ✝️🇺🇸 (@MitchellHODL) May 27, 2025

Proof-of-reserves are common among crypto exchanges and verify that the company holds sufficient crypto reserves to cover customer deposits. They can also confirm that other entities, such as crypto-tracking exchange-traded funds, hold the required amount of crypto for the funds.

Current artificial intelligence models lack the major traits of human intelligence, Meta’s AI chief has reportedly said, claiming that the firm’s latest model will solve this issue. 

Business Insider reported on May 26 that at the AI Action Summit in Paris earlier this year, Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun said that “there are four essential characteristics of intelligent behavior that every animal, or relatively smart animal, can do, and certainly humans.” 

“Understanding the physical world, having persistent memory, being able to reason and being able to plan complex actions, particularly planning hierarchically,” LeCun said.

He said current large language models (LLMs) that power popular AI chatbots have not hit this threshold, and “incorporating these capabilities would require a shift in how they are trained.”

Some of the largest AI and tech giants are “cobbling capabilities” onto existing models in their race to dominate the AI game, LeCun said.

The Paris-based crypto company Blockchain Group is adding more Bitcoin to its growing treasury through a 63.3 million euro ($72 million) bond sale.

The company hopes to buy another 590 Bitcoin (BTC) with the funds, increasing its total holdings to 1,437 BTC, the Blockchain Group said on May 26.

Bitcoin is trading at over $109,00, and at current prices, the Blockchain Group could buy 658 BTC with the total amount it raised, according to CoinGecko.

However, the company said only 95% of the proceeds from the issuance will be used to buy Bitcoin; the remainder is marked for “operational expenses and to pay management fees.”

Source: Alexandre Laizet

Venture capital firm Fulgur Ventures invested the lion’s share for the bond sale, with 55.3 million euros ($62.9 million), while crypto private investment fund Moonlight Capital invested 5 million euros ($5.7 million). The bonds will be convertible into shares of the Blockchain Group at 3.809 euros ($4.34).

A second person suspected of being involved in a high-profile crypto kidnapping case in New York City is expected to turn himself in to police, according to several reports.

The second man is a Swiss crypto investor who allegedly assisted business partner Joel Woeltz, who is accused of kidnapping Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan and torturing him in a Soho apartment in an attempt to pressure him into revealing his crypto wallet phrase, ABC7 New York reported on May 26.

A separate NBC report said the Swiss trader —  who is not named — would turn himself over to police within a week. However, FOX5 New York reported that the man may already be in custody, citing conflicting sources.

The New York Post reported that the man is the co-founder of a Swiss trading firm.

Woeltz, known as the “crypto king of Kentucky,” is facing several charges, including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and assault. He allegedly held the victim at his apartment for 17 days.

Bitlayer’s Bitcoin smart-contract system is being implemented by mining pools behind 31.5% of the network’s hashrate, a development that will help ensure that its system will operate on the Bitcoin blockchain, the company said.

According to a May 27 announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Bitlayer’s BitVM implementation will be supported by major Bitcoin (BTC) mining pools including Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool. Antpool CEO Andy Chow said:

"Antpool has become the bridge operator for Bitlayer to support Bitcoin innovation and protect miners’ interests.”

BitVM (Bitcoin Virtual Machine) is a framework that enables complex smart contracts to be deployed on the Bitcoin blockchain without changing the base protocol. The idea was introduced by Robin Linux in 2023, and allows for the complex computation involved in smart contract systems to be verified onchain and executed offchain in a way resembling optimistic rollups.

Related: Here’s how Bitcoin is transforming into Web3’s backbone

A BitVM implementation

Bitlayer is a BitVM implementation, aiming to allow Bitcoin to flow through decentralized finance (DeFi) systems and layer-2 networks. According to Chow, the implementation might lead to heightened activity in Bitcoin’s network and generate revenue for miners:

Dubai has launched the first licensed tokenized real estate project in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, previewing appetite for real-world tokenization in one of the world’s burgeoning crypto hubs.

Partners in the project include the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and the Dubai Future Foundation, according to an announcement from the Dubai government. The tokens will be tradeable on the newly launched “Prypco Mint” platform, with Zand Digital Bank appointed as the bank for the project’s pilot phase.

On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) updated its rules to include real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, allowing such tokens to be traded on secondary markets.

Related: UAE saw 41% increase in crypto app downloads in 2024 — AppsFlyer

The project will allow individual investors to buy tokenized shares in “ready-to-own properties in Dubai,” with investments starting at 2,000 Emirate dirham ($545). During the pilot phase, all transactions will be carried out in the dirham (AED), with no cryptocurrency to be used. Although the pilot program will be limited to those with UAE ID holders, there are plans to expand it globally.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin is stuck below $110,000 due to macroeconomic uncertainty and Nvidia's earnings cap risk appetite.

Strong spot BTC ETF inflows and Bitcoin options data are hints that US economic clarity could unlock BTC highs.

Investor sentiment improved on May 26 after US President Donald Trump postponed his retaliatory European Union 50% tariffs on imports. European stock markets responded positively to the development, but Bitcoin (BTC) was unable to hold the $110,000 level, leading traders to question whether a new all-time high remains within reach.

Even if Bitcoin revisits the $105,000 mark, rising institutional interest and robust derivatives markets indicate that bullish traders are neither overleveraged nor concerned about a potential correction.

Cryptocurrency industry groups are urging the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue formal guidance on staking, citing continued regulatory uncertainty for Web3 infrastructure providers, according to Allison Muehr, head of staking policy for the Crypto Council for Innovation, a trade group.

Clarifying the SEC’s position on staking has become a top priority for the crypto industry, Muehr said during Solana’s Accelerate conference in New York.

“We’re about 25% of the way there,” Muehr said. “The SEC has done more constructive engagement with us in the past four months than in the last four years, but we still don’t have formal staking guidance.”

Allison Muehr, right, the Crypto Council for Innovation’s head of staking policy, speaks at Accelerate. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: SEC acknowledges slew of crypto ETF filings as reviews, approvals accelerate

Changing regulatory stance

Under the previous US presidential administration, the SEC brought enforcement actions against several crypto firms for offering staking services it alleged were unregistered securities offerings.

Key points:

Bitcoin ETPs continue to witness solid buying, signaling that the bulls expect the uptrend to continue.

Several major altcoins witnessed a pullback, but lower levels continue to attract buyers.

Bitcoin (BTC) is attempting to sustain above $109,588, indicating buying on every minor dip. Bitcoin has risen for seven consecutive weeks, and if buyers can extend the streak to eight weeks, it clears the path for further upside. Crypto analyst and trader Carpe Noctom said in a post on X that Bitcoin has only seen three instances of eight consecutive weekly positive closes, and every time, Bitcoin has been higher in the following 6 and 12 month time period.

Institutional investors sense a long-term opportunity and, hence, have continued to pump money into Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs). CoinShares reported on May 26 that Bitcoin ETPs witnessed $2.9 billion in inflows last week, which is a quarter of the total inflows for 2024.

Update (9:27 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Truth Media and Technology Group.

Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, is planning to raise $3 billion in a mix of equity and convertible bonds to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Financial Times reported. The move would position the company to follow the footsteps of crypto treasury companies like Strategy.

In a statement to the FT, the company denied any plans for a Bitcoin treasury. “Apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources,” it reportedly said. Cointelegraph has reached out for further comment, but has not received a response at the time of publication.

Trump Media will issue $2 billion in equity and $1 billion in convertible bonds, a type of asset that can be converted into equity at a later date. The size of the raise may change, the FT cited sources familiar with the matter as saying.

The equity is expected to be sold at market price as of the close on May 23. On that day, the share price closed at $25.72, marking a 4.6% increase on the day. Trump Media’s market capitalization was $5.7 billion as of May 23.