Brent crude oil fell 5% after reports that the U.S. and Iran are negotiating a deal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and bringing the war to an end.

Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), the parent of Truth Social, moved 2,650 bitcoin to Crypto.com during late U.S. trading hours, according to blockchain tracking data. With Bitcoin around $77,000, the transfer was valued at roughly $205 million, with some reports putting it closer to $204 million. Data cited from Arkham-linked sources said the coins were sent in two transactions at about 8 p.m. ET. The company has not disclosed the reason for the transfer. Moves to centralized exchanges can reflect custody changes, liquidity needs, collateral activity, or potential sales, though no reporting confirmed that Trump Media sold the Bitcoin after the transfer. The transaction follows an earlier shift of 2,000 BTC about four months ago, then worth about $175 million when Bitcoin traded near $87,378. Blockchain data also indicates smaller transfers to Crypto.com earlier this year. After the latest move, Arkham-linked estimates put Trump Media's remaining Bitcoin holdings at about $533 million, depending on market prices. Trump Media built its position at significantly higher levels, purchasing 11,542 BTC for about $1.37 billion at an average cost of $118,522 per coin. With Bitcoin recently trading in the $76,000–$77,000 area, estimates place the company's unrealized loss near $455 million. The loss is not realized unless the company sells, but the mark-to-market drawdown has become a focal point as the firm continues transferring coins. The crypto moves come after Trump Media withdrew its application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, after also pursuing filings tied to Bitcoin and Bitcoin-Ethereum investment products. Analysts cited in reports suggested the decision was driven more by economics than regulatory hurdles, as spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a highly competitive market dominated by large issuers competing on fees and liquidity. Financial results add to the pressure. Trump Media reported a first-quarter net loss of $405.9 million on $871,200 in revenue, widening from a $31.7 million loss a year earlier. The company attributed much of the quarterly loss to non-cash items, including unrealized losses on digital assets, pledged digital assets, and equity securities. DJT shares have also weakened. Recent data showed the stock near $8.02, down more than 39% year-to-date and about 70% below its 52-week high of $27.00, though it edged higher in Friday trading. In the broader market, Bitcoin has been trading in a range after rebounding from February lows, with recent action roughly between $76,000 and $82,000. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe said Bitcoin needs to hold the $75,000–$76,000 zone as support, noting a CME gap near $79,200 that he expects could close in the coming week. A move higher could set up a test near $90,000, identified as a major resistance area near the 50-day moving average. For Trump Media, the price band remains critical: a sustained move below $75,000 could deepen unrealized losses, while a rebound toward $90,000 would reduce part of the gap versus its average purchase price.

A New York Times investigation alleges the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) purged staff members who questioned crypto firms tied to former President Donald Trump.

A pseudonymous trader known as Evaded, who booked $4.6M in realized gains on altcoins last week, was liquidated after shorting Bitcoin. On Saturday, he closed long positions in HYPE, ZEC and ETH for the $4.6M profit, then opened a 990 BTC short valued at $74.84M on @HyperliquidX. The trade initially showed an unrealized gain of about $783,000, but a BTC reversal triggered a forced liquidation, leaving a $320,000 loss. The trader then immediately re-entered the market with a 53,500 ZEC long. Earlier in the week, the same wallet withdrew $7.5M from ZEC and HYPE.

A New York Times investigation says the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sidelined senior officials who raised concerns about large prediction-market and crypto-linked platforms, fueling questions about how the agency is handling oversight of the sector. What the NYT reported Career CFTC staff who flagged issues involving Polymarket, Crypto.com and a Gemini affiliate were suspended, put on administrative leave or otherwise forced out, according to the report. Two officials who questioned the activity were said to be on leave by late 2025, and three other employees linked to crypto enforcement faced similar measures. The officials had raised concerns around consumer protections, fraud controls and whether a Gemini affiliate had completed required regulatory review. The NYT reports that then-acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham and senior counsel Brigitte Weyls later helped the firms move forward. Staff inside the agency reportedly took the message as: "Don't cause trouble." The White House denied conflicts of interest, with spokesman Davis Ingle telling the NYT: "There are no conflicts of interest." Enforcement pullback The NYT says the CFTC has pulled back from crypto enforcement under the current administration, dropping at least five crypto probes and bringing only two crypto enforcement cases, both targeting individual operators. Separately, Reuters reported the CFTC sued New York on April 24, arguing the state overstepped after New York sued Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan over prediction-market products. The CFTC has also challenged state actions in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Wisconsin. Regulatory changes and ongoing rulemaking The CFTC recently issued no-action relief for fully collateralized event contracts traded on regulated exchanges, easing certain swap-data reporting and recordkeeping requirements for designated contract markets, clearing firms and market participants. In March, the agency opened a broader rulemaking on prediction markets, requesting public comment on event contracts, public-interest limits, cost-benefit analysis and potential future rules. Industry positioning and talks with regulators Polymarket is in discussions with the CFTC over lifting a four-year U.S. ban tied to a 2022 enforcement action and a $1.4 million settlement. Talks focus on contract design, KYC and reporting requirements. In 2025, Polymarket acquired QCX LLC, a CFTC-registered exchange, for about $112 million. The deal could provide a path to a regulated U.S. offering if approved. Politics and the broader backdrop On the staffing front, the House Agriculture Committee recently urged President Trump to fill four vacant CFTC commissioner seats, warning that a single-member commission cannot keep up with expanding crypto and prediction-market responsibilities. On Capitol Hill, the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act by a 15-9 vote. The bill would split digital-asset oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, a change that could materially reshape U.S. crypto regulation. Why it matters The NYT account depicts mounting internal tension at the CFTC as prediction markets and crypto-linked products face increasing scrutiny, alongside growing state-federal clashes. The agency's ongoing rulemaking, headline litigation and congressional action will shape whether the CFTC ramps up enforcement, cedes ground to states, or moves toward clearer rules for crypto-based event markets in the U.S.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor (@saylor) said he would not rule out selling a portion of the company's Bitcoin holdings before the end of 2026. Speaking on Natalie Brunell's show on May 21, 2026, Saylor addressed market speculation about potential selloffs and said the firm takes a pragmatic approach to managing its assets. He reiterated Strategy's goal of maximizing bitcoin per share by 2033, noting the company may adjust its capital allocation as needed, including issuing equity and debt, and managing USD and cash reserves.

Michael Burry warned this week that the U.S. could be drifting toward a "Snow Crash cyberpunk future" as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves toward rules that would allow crypto platforms to trade tokenized versions of traditional stocks. In a May 19 post on his Substack, "Cassandra Unchained," later echoed on X, Burry invoked Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel "Snow Crash" to frame his concerns. In the book's dystopian vision, corporate power supplants government, people retreat into virtual worlds, and personal relationships wither amid digital identity and rigid economic sorting. Burry linked that premise to reporting that the SEC, under the Trump administration, was developing a broad innovation exemption that could let crypto firms list tokenized representations of U.S. stocks. "We may be headed fullon to a Snow Crash cyberpunk future with no longterm personal relationships and digital value embedded in all of us directly correlated to the value provided to a society that increasingly devalues humanity," he wrote. In a follow-up comment, he added: "Regulators have one job. Do not open scary doors." Bloomberg reported on May 18 that the SEC's approach would provide a lighter regulatory route for blockchain-based versions of public company shares. Under the proposal, crypto firms could potentially trade tokenized stock without the underlying company's direct consent and without the full scope of traditional oversight, opening the door to 24/7 trading on blockchain platforms. Critics have flagged risks tied to third-party issuance, settlement and operational vulnerabilities, price manipulation, and investor protection. The structure could also pull equities toward crypto-style market dynamics, including round-the-clock volatility. The SEC later put the initiative on hold. Reporting on May 22, 2026 confirmed the delay, with no official explanation provided, suggesting either internal caution or external pressure. Tokenization of real-world assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate has attracted interest from major Wall Street players seeking faster settlement, fractional ownership, and broader global access. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation has explored related concepts. Burry has argued that combining equities with less-regulated crypto infrastructure blurs important lines. His critique extends beyond market plumbing. Through "Cassandra Unchained," Burry has written about what he sees as AI hype, venture capital concentration, and markets drifting away from fundamentals, citing one figure that 87% of venture capital flows went into AI during a recent reporting period. Media coverage of the "Snow Crash" post spread quickly, casting Burry as warning about the accelerating convergence of crypto and traditional finance (TradFi). Crypto supporters often dismiss his stance as reflexive pessimism, while backers point to his call ahead of the 2008 housing crisis as evidence of early pattern recognition. Burry has previously shown limited openness to understanding tokenization in other Substack posts, though his broader posture toward crypto speculation has been cautious for years. The SEC's next step on tokenized stocks is expected to shape how digital-asset platforms interface with equity markets governed by decades of investor-protection law.

Strategy's bitcoin position has climbed to roughly $65 billion. The company's accumulation has been driven by a series of large-scale BTC purchases, with several standout buys representing the biggest additions to its holdings.

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin said the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is moving into a new phase that reduces his personal influence on the board, scales back ETH sales, and tightens the group's mission. He described the Foundation as a single participant in a much larger Ethereum ecosystem, not its central coordinator. Buterin said EF president Aya Miyaguchi is driving much of the transition, which he expects to settle into a steady state over the next few months. EF Steps Further Away From a "Central Coordinator" Role Buterin said the Foundation has been deliberately stepping back from the coordinating role many community members expected it to play, a move he linked in part to sustained criticism. Some critics argued the EF's actions did not consistently reflect the decentralization and privacy values Buterin has promoted publicly. He noted the EF controls about 0.16% of total ether outstanding, a smaller share than several individual holders. By contrast, foundations tied to rival chains often control 10% to 50% of supply. Buterin added that the Foundation's original 2014 mandate effectively concluded in 2022 after Ethereum completed major build phases spanning Frontier, Homestead, Metropolis, and Serenity. As part of the shift, the board is expanding to dilute any single member's influence, including Buterin's. The changes build on an earlier EF leadership restructuring plan aimed at streamlining decision-making and reducing concentrated authority. ETH Sales Reduced as EF Narrows Focus to "CROPS" With its remit redefined, the Foundation will concentrate on a smaller set of priorities Buterin grouped under "CROPS": censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security. He said Ethereum should not try to compete with high-throughput chains purely on speed, where rivals already have an advantage. Instead, EF resources will be directed toward technical work other networks are less likely to attempt. In that context, he said the Foundation is prioritizing longevity over breadth, which includes selling less ETH. Buterin outlined several concrete priorities: - Provably bug-free Ethereum, potentially enabled by AI-assisted formal verification. - "Lean consensus," designed to preserve safety under asynchronous network conditions and in 49% attacker scenarios. - Reducing reliance on intermediaries through proposals such as FOCIL and EIP-8141. He also pointed to wallet-layer efforts such as Kohaku, aimed at reducing dependence on third-party servers. EF's earlier messaging around ETH sales this year aligned with this direction, and a treasury staking program has further reduced reliance on outright token sales. Outside Groups Expected to Fill Gaps As the Foundation narrows its scope, Buterin said outside organizations are expected to take on areas EF no longer prioritizes. This includes initiatives that support ETH as an asset, which was trading around $2,100 at the time of writing and falls outside what EF intends to fund directly. Buterin said nearly 90% of his net worth is held in ETH, with the rest allocated to open-source biotech, software, and hardware projects. He added that the Foundation will offer initial support to organizations stepping into roles it vacates, though he did not provide details on specific partnerships. EF's treasury report released earlier this year showed 99.1% of its reserves remain in ETH. Buterin said the transition should take several months, after which the new mandate is expected to stabilize into the Foundation's long-term form, aligned with the broader Ethereum 2026 vision.