Decentral Block Post

Michigan lawmakers have introduced four crypto-related bills covering crypto mining, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and crypto in state retirement funds.

Republican state Representative Bill Schuette introduced House Bill 4510 on May 21, which would amend Michigan’s Public Employee Retirement System Investment Act to allow the state treasurer, currently Rachael Eubanks, to invest in cryptocurrencies that have averaged a market cap above $250 million over the last calendar year.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are the only cryptocurrencies that currently meet that threshold. The bill adds that any cryptocurrencies must be held in the form of an exchange-traded product issued by a registered investment company.

A similar bill was introduced in February, permitting the state treasurer to allocate up to 10% of Michigan’s Budget Stabilization Fund into crypto.

Republican Representative Bryan Posthumus led the introduction of the second bipartisan crypto bill on May 21, HB 4511, which would prohibit Michigan from banning crypto or imposing licensing requirements on crypto holders. It would also prohibit state officials from advocating or supporting a proposed CBDC from the federal government.

An American tourist in the United Kingdom was reportedly drugged by an individual posing as a taxi driver, who stole the tourist's $123,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) stored on a cell phone.

According to a report from My London, Jacob Irwin-Cline went out to a London bar and had several drinks before calling an Uber to take him home.

Cline said that he did not thoroughly check the details of the Uber ride on his phone and left with a random private cab driver resembling the Uber driver at first glance, but driving a different vehicle — a detail Cline would only discover after the incident.

Once inside the vehicle, the US tourist said the driver offered him a cigarette, which Cline said was likely laced with a rare and potent sedative drug called scopolamine. Cline added that the cigarette made him feel extremely docile and tired, causing him to pass out for around 30 minutes before regaining consciousness.

Shortly after Cline woke up, the driver ordered him out of the vehicle. As Cline exited, the driver suddenly sped off, striking him with the car and fleeing with his cellphone, which contained his private keys and access to his crypto accounts.

Though a majority of members of the US Senate voted to advance a bill to regulate payment stablecoins on May 20, high-ranking Democrats are planning to propose an amendment to the legislation to address President Donald Trump’s connections to the cryptocurrency industry.

According to a May 22 Axios report, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley will file an amendment to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, to block a US president from profiting from stablecoins. The proposed amendment would come after 18 Democrats sided with Republicans in the Senate in voting to advance the bill on May 20 after it failed a procedural vote on May 8.

“Passing the GENIUS Act without our anti-corruption amendment stamps a Congressional seal of approval on Trump selling access and influence to the highest bidder,” Merkley said in a May 22 X post.

Trump his three sons are involved in the crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI), which launched its USD1 stablecoin in March. Critics have pointed out that the president could continue to personally benefit from legislation that helps recognize stablecoins like USD1 as financial instruments in the US. 

Related: US lawmaker introduces anti-corruption bill ahead of Trump’s dinner

Key takeaways:

The SEC’s decision on a spot XRP ETF could ignite a significant rally.

The current $2.2 billion in XRP futures hints at growing institutional investor demand.

The two most bullish events ever imagined by XRP (XRP) advocates happened in 2025, but XRP continues to underperform the cryptocurrency market. On March 6, XRP was listed as a candidate for the United States' “Digital Asset Reserve,” and Ripple Labs settled a multi-year-long complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8.

XRP fell 6% in the three months leading up to May 22, while overall crypto market capitalization rose 10%. Traders remain hopeful for a 45% rally to $3.50, with derivatives metrics signaling rising confidence.

Cetus, a decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) built atop the Sui blockchain network, said $162 million of over $220 million stolen in a May 22 hack has been frozen.

According to the Cetus team, the DEX is working with the Sui Foundation and other entities within the ecosystem to recover the remainder of the funds. The Sui Foundation also confirmed:

The Cetus hack is the latest in a string of such incidents impacting crypto and Web3 in the first half of 2025. Cybersecurity continues to be a major issue in crypto, with many industry executives calling for the sector to police itself and establish more robust defenses or risk increased regulatory scrutiny.

Related: Germany seizes $38M in crypto from Bybit hack-linked eXch exchange

The Cetus hack: the story so far

On May 22, the Cetus DEX was hacked in what is believed to be a smart contract code exploit that saw the DEX drained of approximately $223 million in user funds.

OpenAI is planning to develop AI “companion” devices that will integrate artificial intelligence capabilities with everyday life, potentially opening the door to a new high-tech innovation used alongside laptops and smartphones.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he and designer Jony Ive are developing these secret devices for mass consumption, with plans to ship 100 million units upon launch.

Ives joined OpenAI after his startup, io, was acquired by Altman’s company in a $6.5 billion deal, the Journal reported on May 21. 

Neither Altman nor Ives specified what these companion devices would look like or how they would operate. Ives simply referred to them as a “new design movement” that would be similar to Apple’s family of hardware and software integrations. 

OpenAI has raised billions of dollars from investors, who view the company as a stalwart in the AI industry following the overwhelming success of its ChatGPT large language model (LLM). As of May, ChatGPT had nearly 800 million weekly active users, according to industry data. 

Key takeaways:

Solana’s bull flag pattern projects a rally to $260, but low spot buy volumes have analysts advising caution.

After briefly dropping to $160 from $184, Solana (SOL) is attempting to reclaim a position above its key resistance at $180 for a second consecutive week. With Bitcoin (BTC) hitting an all-time high, market speculators are banking on eventual capital rotation, which could pump major altcoins like SOL toward new highs.

Solana shows promising signs on the daily chart, forming a textbook bull flag pattern after a strong uptrend. While SOL prices currently trade under $180, a breakout above this level could propel SOL toward its first target at $200, with further upside potential to $220 if momentum sustains.

The trend remains bullish, supported by the relative strength index (RSI) at 64.30, indicating healthy momentum without overbought conditions. However, SOL needs a clear market structure break (MSB) or a decisive bullish breakout above $180 to trigger the next leg of the rally. 

Crypto exchange Kraken is planning to offer non-US customers the option of trading tokenized US stocks, part of the company’s push to offer more traditional assets via tokenization.

The products will be offered through Backed, a new Kraken partner, according to a statement shared with Cointelegraph. Tokens representing the stocks will be stored on the Solana blockchain due to its “unmatched performance, low latency and thriving global ecosystem,” the statement said.

“The whole point of crypto is that we're able to see things very transparently,” Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said during Solana's Accelerate event on May 22. ”It's decentralized. It is open-source. You can innovate as quickly as possible, and there's no reason why companies like us can't morph to do that."

The decision to incorporate more traditional investment options may indicate a shift by Kraken to compete less with crypto-native exchanges like Coinbase and more with larger brokerages like Robinhood, which provide a wide range of investment options.

On April 14, Kraken opened access to exchange-traded funds and stock trading to US clients based in New Jersey, Connecticut, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Alabama and the District of Columbia.

California Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the US House Financial Services Committee, has announced plans to introduce legislation “to block [Donald] Trump’s memecoin and stop his crypto corruption.”

In a May 22 notice, Waters said the Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs (TRUMP) in Crypto Act of 2025 bill would be aimed at blocking the US president, vice president, members of Congress and their families from engaging in “crypto crime.” The US lawmaker referred to Trump and his wife, Melania, issuing personal memecoins in January, his family launching a stablecoin, USD1, through the crypto platform World Liberty Financial, and the president attempting to establish a national Bitcoin (BTC) reserve as his sons back a BTC mining venture.

“Donald Trump is preparing to dine with the top donors of his memecoin who’ve made him, and his family, richer,” said Waters, adding:

Waters’ bill was one of many actions announced to oppose the president’s dinner to reward memecoin holders. Senators Chris Murphy and Elizabeth Warren are expected to attend a press event with representatives for the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, and two Democratic organizations are set to protest at the Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, DC, where the memecoin dinner will be held.

Majority of participants have stayed anonymous ahead of dinner

The number and names of attendees to the May 22 dinner were still largely unknown, but several revealed their intentions through social media and news outlets to apply for background checks and meet the president. Bloomberg reported that more than half of the participants eligible for the dinner and “VIP Tour” — a separate experience limited to the top 25 memecoin holders — were likely foreign nationals.

Key points:

Mixed results for US jobless claims fail to dent risk-asset enthusiasm.

Despite concerns over the bond market, Bitcoin and stocks enjoy stability at the start of the Wall Street trading session.

BTC price expectations remain lofty amid low volatility and a curious lack of profit-taking.

Bitcoin (BTC) focused on $111,000 around the May 22 Wall Street open as record highs met mixed US unemployment data.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s rally to new price highs happened as funding rates and trading sentiment remained unusually subdued.

Rising stablecoin supply and global M2 growth indicate untapped liquidity and the potential for further price increases.

Long-term holders are not aggressively selling, reflecting their expectation for continued Bitcoin price appreciation.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new all-time high on May 21, with prices rising to $111,860 on Binance on May 22, but the markets lack the state of frenzy associated with new highs. Economist and crypto commentator Alex Krüger noted that “this is the least euphoric new all-time highs” for Bitcoin, after highlighting subdued funding rates for Bitcoin across crypto exchanges.

DeLorean launched an onchain reservation system and non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace for its upcoming electric vehicle launch, introducing a new blockchain-based approach for reserving and reselling cars.

According to DeLorean, its Build Slot NFT collection grants holders priority access to purchase DeLorean’s upcoming electric car, Alpha 5 EV. The model is the carmaker’s first vehicle in over 40 years, inspired by the iconic flux capacitor from the movie Back to the Future.

The company created an exclusive marketplace for its NFT holders, in which users can buy or trade the NFTs using the USDC (USDC) stablecoin on the Sui network and will be able to earn rewards.

DeLorean says that each vehicle’s history and performance data will be recorded onchain through the FLUX protocol, including key data such as battery health, maintenance records, accident history, and verified odometer readings. 

This detailed data makes it easier for auto enthusiasts to bid on or resell vehicles in the secondary market, the company said.

Opinion by: Ahmad Shadid of O.xyz

Semiconductors scored a rare exemption from US President Donald Trump’s aggressive reciprocal tariffs, but the relief is symbolic at best. Most semiconductors enter the US embedded in servers, GPUs, laptops, and smartphones. 

The finished goods remain heavily tariffed, some with duties reaching up to 49%. The exemption looks good politically but delivers little practical benefit. Nvidia’s DGX systems, crucial for training advanced AI models, do not fall under the exempted HTS codes. Nvidia could pay effective tariffs nearing 40% on these vital components. Such costs threaten to stall critical AI infrastructure projects across the country. 

Semiconductor tariffs may compromise the goal of the CHIPS Act. The act promised tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to support domestic chip manufacturing. Yet advanced lithography machines — key equipment from countries like the Netherlands and Japan — face 20%–24% tariffs. Ironically, tariffs designed to boost American production increase the cost of essential manufacturing equipment.

The effect of new tariffs is already slowing progress in critical supply chains — just as generative AI and large language models are gaining momentum across sectors like finance and defense. Any delays or cost increases now could blunt America’s technological advantage.

As the question of stablecoin regulation heats up in the US Senate, so has the issue of which members are personally invested in cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency firms.

On May 19, the Senate voted to invoke cloture and move ahead with the GENIUS Act, which would provide a regulatory framework for stablecoins. The measure passed 66-32, with 16 Democrats supporting the bill.

Democratic concerns over corruption and politicians’ ties to cryptocurrency firms made the bipartisan move controversial. After the vote was finished, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet introduced the STABLE GENIUS Act. The bill would prevent members of Congress from issuing or investing in digital currency and require them to put their crypto in a blind trust while in office.

Bills to prevent members of Congress from investing in companies they regulate have had little success. However, lawmakers are still required to disclose rough estimations of their, their spouse’s and their children’s investments. Here are 11 US senators who have invested in crypto firms.

Montana

Tim Sheehy, Republican

Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can help investors protect their eroding purchasing power during an era of exponential currency debasement, according to analysts and industry leaders.

Investing in digital assets is becoming increasingly important in the “world of the exponential age and currency debasement,” according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.

“You don’t own enough crypto. When you do, you don’t own enough NFT’s, as art is upstream of wealth. Both will never be this cheap again,” Pal said.

NFTs are “the single best long term store of wealth I know and you get to buy it before network effects kick in,” he added in another response.

“There is some validity to the statement that NFTs, and in extension art, become a vehicle for the wealthy once a certain level of wealth is reached,” wrote Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen, calling it a “natural move” for asset diversification.

What if a financial system could run itself not by burning electricity, but by rewarding good behavior? That’s the promise of staking, a mechanism that powers many modern blockchains by turning users into network operators. 

In this week’s episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Gareth Jenkinson and Nathan Jeffay sit down with StarkWare’s Noam Nisan to unpack how this trustless engine works, why it matters and what’s really at stake.

Understanding staking

Jeffay began by highlighting how staking is part of the backbone that keeps the blockchain running, and runs itself, with volunteers.

To help unpack this topic further and examine the deeper mechanics behind staking, the hosts are joined by Noam Nisan, principal researcher at StarkWare and a widely respected computer scientist who has held roles at Google and Princeton.

Related: How to handle crypto trading gains and losses on your balance sheet

Key takeaways:

Memecoins like Fartcoin, WIF, SPX6900, and Popcat are outperforming Bitcoin in the short term amid renewed crypto market euphoria.

Bullish technical patterns signal more upside for top-performing memecoins.

Popcat stands out with a potential 350% rally, while Fartcoin and WIF also eye significant gains in the coming weeks.

Bitcoin (BTC) has surged 7.35% over the past three days, hitting a new all-time high near $112,000 on May 22, but memecoins are stealing the spotlight.

Key takeaways:

XRP price has gained 4% over the last 24 hours to $2.43, and its open interest has risen by 25%.

Positive spot market activity flips the futures funding rate positive, suggesting a return of investor optimism.

XRP could rally to $14 if a classic bull flag pattern is confirmed.

XRP printed a “bull flag” triangle on the weekly chart, a technical pattern associated with strong upward momentum. Breaking above this technical setup and a surge in XRP futures demand could signal a rally to $14.

The United Kingdom’s Court of Appeal partially dismissed a lawsuit brought by Bitcoin SV investors against major crypto exchanges, including Binance, for allegedly conspiring to delist the token in 2019.

In a judgment handed down on May 21, the court ruled that investors who held BSV through the delisting period (classified as “sub-class B”) were not entitled to billions in speculative damages based on BSV’s hypothetical growth.

These investors had claimed over 8.9 billion British pounds ($11.9 billion) in damages, asserting that Binance’s delisting deprived holders of the chance to profit from BSV’s potential rise to a “top-tier cryptocurrency” like Bitcoin (BTC) or Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

The court rejected this “foregone growth effect” theory, stating, “BSV was obviously not a unique cryptocurrency without reasonably similar substitutes,” pointing to the representative’s own use of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as comparators.

Sub-class B’s central claim was that delisting led to a missed opportunity to benefit from price appreciation. However, the court determined that those investors had ample opportunity to mitigate losses by selling or reinvesting in other crypto assets.

Update (May 22, 2025, 1:27 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add further data and statements by Hacken.

Cetus, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Sui blockchain, is suspected to have been hit by a massive exploit that may have drained more than $200 million worth of digital assets.

Pseudonymous Web3 researcher COMDARE3 posted on X that “users report” that Sui-based DEX Cetus is being exploited.” They also shared a screenshot of Cetus market data on DEX Screener, showing many assets losing well over half of their value over the last 24 hours.

The team behind Extractor, an onchain monitoring tool developed by crypto cybersecurity company Hacken, confirmed that “at least $63m was already bridged to Ethereum, 20k ETH was just transferred to a fresh wallet” in a single transaction. A Hacken representative told Cointelegraph that these findings were confirmed by the company’s Web3 researcher, Yehor Rudytsia.

Cetus pool data shows that as of the time of writing, the DEX processed $2.9 billion worth of transactions on May 22, a significant increase over the $320 million reported on May 21. This heightened level of activity may have been caused by funds being siphoned out of the protocol.