Hong Kong police have taken into custody three employees of a currency exchange shop who are suspected of engaging in fraudulent activities.
This followed an incident where a customer at the shop reportedly encountered stacks of “hell money” before executing a cryptocurrency transfer worth approximately HK$1 million.
Hong Kong Authorities Arrest 3 for Crypto Fraud
On Wednesday, Hong Kong’s technology crime division apprehended three individuals aged between 31 and 34. The authorities seized 3,000 hell banknotes, a safe, and a note-counting machine from a store in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hell banknotes, used in traditional Chinese rituals as offerings to ancestors or deities, were among the confiscated items.
The arrest followed a report from a 35-year-old man on April 12. The man

Reddit and OpenAI, the creator of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, announced a partnership to benefit both the Reddit and OpenAI user communities in various ways.
According to data from Google Finance, Reddit’s stock experienced a 13% surge in after-hours trading immediately following the announcement.
Reddit and OpenAI’s Partnership
On May 16, Reddit announced its decision to grant OpenAI access to its Data API, offering real-time, structured, and exclusive content sourced from platform posts. This collaboration will integrate the social media content into ChatGPT and other upcoming products, facilitating user exploration and interaction with Reddit communities.

Reddit and OpenAI today announced a partnership to benefit both the Reddit and OpenAI user

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis recently posted “Bitcoin laser eyes” on X, showing her support for laws supporting the cryptocurrency.
The move follows the passing of legislation H.J.Res. 109 in the Senate, which aims to overturn the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 121.
Senator Lummis Advocates for Bitcoin Legislation
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, representing Wyoming, is well-known for her advocacy of Bitcoin. She views the asset as a dependable store of value and a safeguard against inflation. Serving on the Senate Banking Committee, she aims to enforce a regulatory framework that fosters crypto innovation while safeguarding consumers.

We are so ₿ack. pic.twitter.com/ckHmXMHFL8
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) May 16, 2024

The Senate recently passed

QCP Capital has forecasted a bullish momentum that could see bitcoin reach its previous highs of $74,000 in the next few months.
This follows a surge in BTC’s price on May 15th, fueled by growing ETF inflows and the April Consumer Price Index (CPI), which indicated a slight decrease in inflation from the previous month.
Institutional Adoption and Bullish Momentum
According to insights provided by QCP Capital, the U.S. CPI figures caused a breakout across various risk assets, propelling BTC back above the $66,000 mark.
“We expect bullish momentum here that could take us back to the highs of $74,000,” remarked QCP Capital.
They observed increased buying activity, with investors acquiring 100-120k BTC Calls for December 2024. There has also been extensive institutional

An anonymous trader has made headlines by making a profit of $46 Million with PEPE within one year, equivalent to a 15,718x gain.
This comes as the Solana-based meme coin recently achieved a milestone that saw it hit a new all-time high on May 15.
The Trader’s Strategy
According to Lookonchain data, the trader acquired 4.9 trillion PEPE tokens, currently valued at $56 million, on April 15, 2023, spending less than $3,000.

Earned more than $46M on $PEPE with only $3K, a gain of 15,718x!😱
This super big winner sold 255B $PEPE($2.3M) for profits again after the price of $PEPE increased.
He spent only $3K to buy 4.9T $PEPE($56M currently) on Apr 15, 2023, and sold 1.41T $PEPE for $7.4M, with 3.5T… pic.twitter.com/VKGxmK9gCt
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 15, 2024

This

According to reports from Cyvers Alerts, the hacker who stole 150,000 ETH from the Parity Multisig Wallet version 1.5 in 2017 has resurfaced, moving stolen Ethereum worth $9 million to cryptocurrency exchange eXch.
The hacker still has control over 83,017 ETH, amounting to $246.6 million stolen during the 2017 incident.
$9M Worth of Ethereum Laundered
A post from X by Cyvers Alerts acknowledges the hacker’s notable patience, marking a significant event in cryptocurrency history. They commenced the laundering of 3,050 ETH, equivalent to $9M, through eXch, employing various consolidated addresses.

🚨ALERT🚨 In 2017, a vulnerability in Parity Multisig Wallet version 1.5+ led to the theft of over 150K ETH, valued at approximately $30M USD at the time.
The hacker behind this

United States President Joe Biden has shut down a Chinese-based cryptocurrency mining firm and banned it from acquiring land close to a Wyoming nuclear missile base.
According to Biden, the firm was built just a mile from an Air Force base with nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, posing a “national security risk.”
MineOne Ordered to Shut Down
MineOne Partners Ltd., a crypto-mining facility close to the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, is partially backed by Chinese nationals. According to the order, the firm used specialized crypto-mining equipment that implements foreign-sourced technology, threatening national security.
Biden emphasized in the order that the foreign-sourced equipment could aid in surveillance and espionage activities. Hence, the firm has

Bracebridge Capital, a hedge fund that manages the finances of institutions like Yale University and Princeton University, has emerged as the largest holder of various spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to a recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Boston-based firm disclosed its ownership of shares in Ark Invest, BlackRock, and Grayscale U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Hedge Fund’s $434 Million Crypto Holdings
The breakdown of Bracebridge Capital’s holdings reveals a large stake in Ark Invest’s ARKB, with 4,327,380 shares, alongside 2,486,750 in BlackRock’s IBIT and 419,910 in Grayscale’s GBTC.
These holdings were reported to be valued at $307.2 million, $100.6 million, and $26.5 million, respectively. As of March 31, Bracebridge

Since its much-hyped debut during the latest Bitcoin halving, activity on the Runes protocol has experienced a significant downturn.
The protocol, which allows users to create fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain, saw a surge in transactions initially but has since declined in activity, particularly on May 10.
Runes Protocol Decline
According to data from a Dune Analytics dashboard, the protocol’s fee revenue has steadily decreased following its launch. While Runes continues to generate notable fees daily, surpassing $1 million only twice in the last 12 days means the trend is on a downward trajectory. This decline contrasts with the frenzied activity witnessed during its first trading week.
Runes, created by Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor, entered the market on

Marathon Digital, a Bitcoin mining company, fell short of revenue expectations set by Wall Street analysts in the first quarter 2024 report.
The firm cited adverse weather conditions and equipment malfunctions as contributing factors to the lower-than-expected performance.
Marathon Digital Faced Production Setbacks
Despite a year-on-year revenue growth of 223% to $165.2 million, as disclosed on May 9, the company’s performance still trailed the projected estimate of $193.9 million by 14.80%, according to investment analyst firm Zacks.
During the first quarter of 2024, Marathon Digital reported mining 2,811 BTC, valued at $176.7 million, marking a 28% increase compared to the previous year. However, this is a 34% decline from the 4,242 BTC mined in Q4 2023.
Marathon CEO

Founder and former CEO of Digitex Futures Exchange, Adam Todd, has pleaded guilty to willingly leading the firm to fail to establish an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.
Notably, the former CEO’s plea was issued in a federal court in the Southern District of Florida on May 7.
Former Digitex CEO Pleads Guilty
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Todd pleaded guilty to “willfully causing” Digitex to violate the Bank Secrecy Act. Indicted earlier this year, Todd was accused of overseeing an unregistered futures platform targeting U.S. customers from 2018 to 2022, allegedly neglecting vital Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols.
In 2020, Todd announced that there would be “no KYC identity verification requirements of any kind” following a data

The leader in Bitcoin mining has announced its financial performance for the first quarter of 2024, revealing an improvement since its emergence from bankruptcy.
The company reported a net income of $210.7 million compared to a net loss of $0.4 million for the same period in 2023.
Core Scientific’s Q1 Results
Total revenue surged to $179.3 million, an increase from the $120.7 million recorded during the same period last year. Operating income also increased significantly, reaching $55.2 million compared to $7.6 million in the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA soared to $88.0 million, reflecting an improvement from $40.3 million in the same period in 2023.
Adam Sullivan, CEO of Core Scientific, attributed the results to the company’s navigation of favorable market conditions

Neel Somani, the founder and CEO of the Ethereum layer 2 blockchain project Eclipse, has announced a temporary reduction in his role following allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a statement posted on May 9th, Somani addressed the accusations, asserting his innocence while acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.
Somani Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations
The allegations against Somani surfaced on Twitter in the past week, prompting his swift response. He denied them, stating, “Serious allegations have been made against me on Twitter in the last week. These allegations are false,” Somani wrote in a post on the platform X.

I have never sexually assaulted or harassed any woman. This is a serious issue endemic to our industry and society in general, and I don’t mean

MarketVector, a subsidiary of the renowned American asset management giant VanEck, has launched the MEMECOIN Index. It has shown impressive performance, surging 195% in the past year and 137% since the start of 2024.
This index aims to track the performance of six popular meme coins, such as DOGE, SHIB, and others.
VanEck’s MEMECOIN Index
The acceptance of meme coins within the cryptocurrency community is gaining traction, notably with the introduction of the “meme coin asset class” by traditional finance (TradFi).

VanEck’s @MarketVector launches $MEMECOIN index, top 6 assets, 30% cap.Warns potential customers: “These coins are intended for entertainment purposes” pic.twitter.com/ihjhfCNIR4
— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) May 8, 2024

These assets are

The individual associated with a recent $71 million wallet phishing attack has finally begun transferring the funds to new addresses.
The scammer’s wallet remained inactive for the last six days after converting the stolen 1,155 WBTC into around 23,000 ETH.
Scammer Transfers Stolen Crypto
The bad actor stole Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on May 3 after creating a wallet address closely resembling the victim’s in an “address poisoning” scam. The address featured similar alphanumeric characters and executed a small transaction to the victim’s account.
Typically, like many investors, the victim validated the authenticity of the wallet address by confirming the matching first and last few characters, a common practice. However, the discrepancy in the middle characters, often obscured

Hong Kong’s Bitcoin ETFs experienced their first setback after launching on April 30, following their first cumulative daily BTC outflows on Monday.
The outflow came from the China Asset Management Bitcoin ETF, while the other Hong Kong-based products had no flows.
Hong Kong ETFs See Modest Inflows
According to Farside data, the China AMC Bitcoin ETF saw an outflow of $4.9 million on Monday. In contrast, the other Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong reported “zero” flows apart from Bosera Ethereum ETF, which saw 3.2 million in inflow on Monday.
Following their launch last week, the three Hong Kong’s Bitcoin ETFs amassed $262 million in assets under management (AUM) within their first week.
Despite these significant AUM figures, the asset inflows for Hong Kong’s Bitcoin

Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange and its CEO, Brian Armstrong, are facing a new lawsuit from a group of plaintiffs from California and Florida alleging that they were deceived into purchasing unregistered securities.
This is not the first of Coinbase’s legal hurdles following the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit from mid-2023.
Lawsuit Alleges Coinbase Sold Unregistered Securities
The new class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. The plaintiffs include Gerardo Aceves, Thomas Fan, Edwin Martinez, Tiffany Smoot, Edouard Cordi, and Brett Maggard.
The lawsuit contends that Coinbase exchange acknowledged in its user agreement that it operated as a securities

A New York court and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have revealed an indictment against Idin Dalpour.
The 39-year-old New York resident is accused of organizing a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $43 million.
$43 Million Ponzi Scheme
According to the indictment, he ran the Ponzi scheme from approximately 2020 through April 2024. He targeted investors in the United States and abroad, soliciting investments through an entity he controlled called “Entity-1.”
This entity had interests in two business ventures: a cryptocurrency trading operation and a Las Vegas hospitality enterprise. Dalpour falsely claimed to purchase cryptocurrency at wholesale prices and sell it at a profit to retail investors promising substantial returns with

Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has released its Q1 2024 earnings report, posting a total revenue of $1.6 billion, a 72% increase quarter on quarter.
The performance has been driven by the rising crypto asset prices and the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. which further improved inflows into the market.
Coinbase Earnings Surged in Q1
Coinbase’s net income reached $1.18 billion, $4.40 per share, translating to $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA in Q1. Comparatively, the adjusted EBITDA, which shows earnings before tax, depreciation, interest, and amortization, was $977.5 million in 2023.

Our Q1 2024 earnings report just dropped onchain.
Mint the latest $COIN Earnings NFT.→ https://t.co/QhsV4V8Tyi
Then, head to coinbaseshop․com to unlock 20% off sitewide.

Former FTX Digital Markets co-chief executive Ryan Salame has agreed to transfer his multimillion-dollar property in the Bamas as part of a plea agreement in his case.
The move comes after Salame pleaded guilty to criminal charges in September 2023, and his plea agreement required him to pay $5.6 million in restitution to the debtors.
The Property Transfer
According to a motion filed by FTX Trading Ltd and affiliated debtors with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on May 1, Salame will give up a luxurious $5.9 million house he owns in the Bahamas.
Instead of paying the restitution amount in cash, Salame proposes to satisfy the debt by transferring the legal title of the residence to FTX Digital Markets Ltd.
The filing stated, “Salame will

On April 29, Dutch law enforcement arrested a man believed to be connected to the fraudulent activities associated with the ZKasino internet gambling platform.
During the operation, authorities confiscated assets valued at approximately 11.4 million euros ($12.2 million), including cryptocurrency, real estate, and luxury vehicles.
Dutch Authorities Seize Millions in Assets
According to a Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) report, the 26-year-old man was arrested under suspicion of fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering in connection with the scam, which has reportedly defrauded victims worldwide of more than $30 million in cryptocurrency.
The suspect, whose identity remains undisclosed, was arrested following an investigation into ZKasino’s activities

A griefing attack on the Bitcoin testnet recently caused a surge in network activity, resulting in the generation of over 165,000 blocks, equivalent to three years’ worth of blocks in just one week.
The attacker, Jameson Lopp, co-founder and Chief Security Officer of Casa, publicly took credit for the incident, facing backlash from other Bitcoin developers.
Lopp Defends Attack as ‘Trivial Exploit’
Speaking on the decentralized social media platform Nostr, Lopp described the attack as a “trivial exploit” requiring only 20 lines of code. When questioned whether the griefing attack justified its consequences, Lopp replied that it only cost him electricity worth $1.
Lopp defended his actions, arguing that his intent was not malicious but rather aimed at drawing attention to an

According to Glassnode data, Runes transactions generated $117 million in cumulative Bitcoin network fee revenue post-halving, with $62.4 million amassed on the day of the halving itself.
However, this rise proved to be short-lived, recent data reveals that on April 28, Runes transactions only contributed $1.03 million in fees.
Runes Dominates Bitcoin Network Post-Halving
On April 20, the day of the halving, transaction fees within the Bitcoin network saw a notable spike. This surge was primarily linked to the implementation of the Runes protocol, leading to higher mining fees.
Runes transactions accounted for 57.7% share of all Bitcoin network transactions. Financial transactions trailed behind with a 41.5% share, while Ordinals and BRC-20 accounted for 0.5% and 0.2%,

Binance’s dominance in Bitcoin trading outside the U.S. is dwindling as offshore exchanges expand their reach and regulatory landscapes evolve, reshaping the competitive dynamics of the digital asset industry.
According to data from Kaiko, Binance, once dominating Bitcoin trading markets outside the U.S., has witnessed a decline in its share of BTC trading over the past year, dropping from 81.3% to 55.3%.
Binance Loses Global Market Share
Similarly, Binance’s proportion fell from 58% to 50.5% for smaller tokens and altcoins. Kaiko attributed these changes to Binance’s discontinuation of its large-scale Bitcoin zero-fee promotion implemented last year.
Smaller exchanges such as Bybit and OKX have gained momentum as trade volumes recovered, leading to less concentration in

A piece of notebook paper featuring the phrase “Buy Bitcoin,” famously seen in the background during a broadcast featuring then-United States Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in 2017, has been sold for 16 BTC, equivalent to approximately $1.027 million.
The auction, held at PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York City, was organized and facilitated by the auction house Scarce.City.
Iconic “Buy Bitcoin” Sign Sold in Auction
The highest bidder, known pseudonymously as “Squirrekkywrath,” acquired the sign in a week-long auction. The auction was organized by Christian Langalis, also known as the “Bitcoin Sign Guy,” who posted it on the auction platform Scarce.City and attended the event himself.
Scarce.City noted that the transaction set a record amount for the platform.

Upbit, a cryptocurrency platform based in South Korea, is responsible for over 80% of the country’s trading activity and has become among the world’s leading five exchanges in terms of trading volume.
According to a Bloomberg report, Upbit’s customers were responsible for nearly a fifth of the total deposits from its major banking partners last year.
Upbit’s Dominance Sparks Concerns
Upbit’s dominance has drawn criticism and concerns, particularly as South Korea moves to enact new legislation aimed at protecting investors following the TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in 2022.
The upcoming regulations, set to be enforced in July under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, will impose strict requirements on crypto exchanges, including measures to increase reserves, enhance

Institutional investors in Canada substantially increased their cryptocurrency exposure last year compared to the previous bull market cycle, according to a recent survey by accounting firm KPMG.
The consulting group’s bi-annual survey, “Institutional Adoption of Cryptoassets,” received 65 responses, including 31 institutional investors managing over $500 million in assets and 34 financial services organizations.
Institutional Interest in Crypto Assets Surged in 2023
In its report released on April 24, KPMG revealed that 39% of institutional investors reported having direct or indirect exposure to crypto assets in 2023, marking an increase from 31% in the firm’s 2021 study.
Half of the financial services respondents stated that they offered crypto asset services in 2023,

The lending market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has witnessed an unprecedented surge, hitting a quarterly high of $2.13 billion in Q1, marking a significant 43.6% quarter-over-quarter growth.
According to data from CoinGecko, five of the six top platforms are seeing increased volumes.
Blend Dominates with 92.9% Market Share
In January, the NFT lending market hit a record $0.9 billion monthly volume, exceeding the previous peak of $0.85 billion in June 2023. Blend emerged as the top NFT lending platform, with a 92.9% market share and a monthly lending volume of $562.33 million in March 2024.
Since its launch in May 2023, Blend has consistently dominated the market, with its monthly share ranging from 88.8% to 96.5%. In Q1 2024, Blend’s lending volume surged by 49.2%

A meme coin trader has reportedly cashed out over $22 million in profits from multiple positions in meme-themed tokens on the Solana blockchain.
According to blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain, the actions of a trader identified as “paulo.sol” on the Solana Name Service account were flagged on April 26.
Meme Coin Trader Profits Over $22 Million
The meme coin trader achieved profitable outcomes from assets like Dogwifhat (WIF), Jeo Boden (BODEN), and Bonk (BONK).
They initiated their investment in BONK as early as November 11, 2023, after observing its upward trajectory. Employing a strategy of purchasing during downturns and selling during peaks, they executed swing trades, resulting in an accumulation of approximately $6.28 million in profits from trading BONK.

What a

An “epic sat,” an extremely rare satoshi (the smallest unit of Bitcoin) from the network’s fourth halving block, was recently sold for over $2 million.
On April 25, the crypto mining pool ViaBTC successfully auctioned off “Sat 1,968,750,000,000,000” for 33.3 BTC, approximately $2.13 million, on the cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx Global.
ViaBTC’s Rare Satoshi Auctioned
CoinEx Global announced that its partner, the ViaBTC mining pool, successfully mined the 840,000th block. This milestone marked Bitcoin’s fourth halving and featured a block identified as an epic “Rare Satoshi.”
According to CoinEx, this event was not just a bidding event but part of Bitcoin’s blockchain history, showing the community’s acknowledgment, media coverage, and wider acceptance of the asset and the