Crypto Weekly Market Wrap May 25 – Policy Shifts, Treasury Moves & Security Breaches

Last week, policy, stablecoin oversight, Bitcoin treasury strategies, exchange compliance, and security breaches shaped the crypto market. Regulators moved carefully on tokenized stocks and stablecoins, while public companies added more digital assets to their balance sheets. Meanwhile, lawsuits, hacks, bankruptcy filings, and tax debates added pressure across the wider crypto sector. In the sections below, we will take a look at the major developments that made headlines last week.

White House Signals Bitcoin Reserve Announcement

Executive Director, the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, Patrick Witt, said on 17 May that the United States could soon issue a formal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve announcement. He cited progress on legal structure, custody, and inter-agency reporting systems for the planned reserve.

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JUST IN: 🇺🇸 White House Executive Director says there is an announcement coming soon regarding a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve:

"We'll have an announcement…It's a breakthrough as far as getting everything in place, legally sound, properly safeguarding the assets." 👀 pic.twitter.com/MJTJ581CWo

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 18, 2026

Trump signed an executive order in March last year, establishing the reserve and blocking Treasury sales of related Bitcoin. The reserve may hold about 328,372 BTC from Silk Road, Bitfinex, and other criminal forfeitures.

Bitcoin Depot Files for Bankruptcy

On May 18, Bitcoin Depot filed for bankruptcy in Texas and plans to cease operations. The crypto ATM operator also intends to liquidate its assets after mounting regulatory pressure. The firm also said its network of Bitcoin ATMs, or BTMs, has been taken offline.

CEO Alex Holmes said, “Under these circumstances, the company’s current business model is unsustainable.” Moreover, the company had faced a Connecticut license revocation, a $3.7 million hack, and a sharp reduction to its revenue forecast.

Warren Challenges OCC Crypto Trust Charters

Senator Elizabeth Warren accused OCC head Jonathan Gould of approving crypto trust charters beyond legal limits. Her letter on May 18 questioned at least nine approvals or conditional approvals. She argued that some firms may conduct broader banking activity.

🇺🇸 NEW: Sen. Elizabeth Warren questioned OCC approvals for crypto trust charters tied to Coinbase, Ripple and Paxos, per Bloomberg.

Warren warned some approvals may violate US banking law. pic.twitter.com/lfz2q150zs

— The Crypto Johannes (@TheCryptoJonny) May 19, 2026

Warren requested applications and communications linked to Coinbase, Crypto.com, Ripple, Stripe, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego, and Paxos. She also warned about consumer risk, bank safety, and regulatory arbitrage.

Strategy Raises Bitcoin Holdings Again

Strategy purchased 24,869 BTC worth approximately $2.01 billion at an average price of $80,985. So far, the company has reported a 12.6% Bitcoin yield this year. As of May 17, Strategy held 843,738 BTC. The total acquisition cost amounts to approximately $63.87 billion, with an average purchase price of $75,700 across all accumulated holdings.

Bitmine Adds More Ethereum to Treasury

Bitmine announced on May 18 that it added 71,700 ETH during the past week, lifting total holdings to 5.278 million ETH. The amount is equivalent to 4.37% of the total Ethereum supply. The company’s ETH holdings are worth approximately $11.56 billion. Moreover, Bitmine has staked 4.71 million ETH, with nearly $289 million in annual staking revenue forecasted from a treasury strategy.

Echo Protocol Regains Control After Hack

Echo Protocol issued a statement on May 19, noting that a compromised admin key led to the unauthorized minting of eBTC on Monad. The incident resulted in actual losses of approximately $0.816 million. The team stated that the exposure on Aptos remained separate.

The team, however, regained control and “burned” 955 eBTC that were held by the attackers. Moreover, it reduced Monad cross-chain functions and cautioned users against fake refund links. The team upgraded related contracts following the incident.

Trump Orders Review of Crypto Banking Limits

Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday instructing agencies to revise rules impacting fintech and digital asset companies. The order is aimed at enhancing access to traditional banking services and banking payment systems.

⚖️NEW: Trump orders Fed to grant crypto firms DIRECT access to master accounts.

This could let crypto firms move money more like banks instead of depending on banks to do it for them. pic.twitter.com/ikCeNNDUtE

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 20, 2026

The agencies under review include the SEC, CFTC, OCC, and FDIC. The order also urges the Federal Reserve to enhance access to payment accounts for uninsured depository institutions and digital asset firms within transparent procedures. 

Capital B Buys More Bitcoin

France-based Capital B announced the acquisition of 192 BTC for $15.1 million on May 18. Capital B now holds 3,135 BTC acquired at an aggregate value of $330 million. Its average acquisition price stands at $105,270 per Bitcoin after this latest purchase.

Strive Adds Bitcoin to Treasury Holdings

Strive bought 382 BTC for about $30 million, according to CEO Matt Cole on May 19. The purchase occurred at an approximate price of $79,348 per Bitcoin. The firm now holds 15,391 BTC, worth nearly $1.2 billion at current prices. Moreover, Strive ranks as the ninth-largest Bitcoin treasury, ahead of Hut 8.

Bank of England Plans Stablecoin Rules

Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said tokenization will shape the United Kingdom’s financial modernization strategy. According to her speech on 19 May, future payment systems should support tokenized deposits, regulated stablecoins, and possible retail CBDCs.

JUST IN: Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden says the BoE will publish draft stablecoin rules next month and finalize them by year-end, as it pushes toward a multi-money retail payment system featuring tokenized deposits, stablecoins and retail CBDC. pic.twitter.com/7aNF77sC1Z

— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) May 20, 2026

The bank plans to release draft systemic stablecoin rules next month and finalize them this year. Additionally, temporary issuance caps may help reduce early-stage risks as firms test regulated payment and settlement models.

Missouri Sues CoinFlip Over ATM Scams

On May 20, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sued GPD Holdings, which operates CoinFlip. The lawsuit alleges crypto ATM transactions helped fraud schemes across the state. It followed a statewide probe launched in December.

The complaint seeks to stop CoinFlip from operating in Missouri. Moreover, it requests restitution and civil penalties of up to $1.826 million for alleged violations over five years. The filing also cited high kiosk fees.

House Republican Revives Bitcoin Reserve Bill

US House Republican Nick Begich introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act on May 21. The bill renewed debate around a federal Bitcoin reserve after earlier campaign promises brought attention to the idea. The proposal would require any Bitcoin held in the reserve to remain unsold for at least 20 years. However, it did not specify how much Bitcoin the government would buy or whether new purchases would follow.

South Korea Reviews Crypto Tax Petition

South Korean lawmakers will review a petition seeking to scrap the planned crypto tax. On May 21, the petition reached 50,000 signatures in eight days and moved to committee review. The tax plan has faced repeated delays.

BREAKING: South Korea’s 22% crypto tax is now under review after a petition to kill it passed 50,000 signatures. pic.twitter.com/3j1T5Acz9O

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 22, 2026

The proposal challenges a 22% tax on crypto income above 2.5 million won. Additionally, the petitioner argued that investor protection gaps make the plan unfair compared with traditional financial investment rules. The petition also cited market volatility.

Saylor Says Bitcoin Can Outperform S&P 500

Michael Saylor said Bitcoin can outperform the S&P 500 over time during a CNBC interview on 21 May. He argued that short-term weakness does not change Bitcoin’s longer path. He also described $60,000 as Bitcoin’s floor. He said Strategy expects about 30% annual Bitcoin returns, though lower growth still supports its case. Additionally, he linked tokenization rules to wider blockchain adoption and future credit market changes. He also pointed to the CLARITY Act.

Trump Media Moves Bitcoin Amid Losses

Trump Media & Technology Group moved 2,650 Bitcoin worth about $205 million on May 22. The move came as unrealized losses on its digital assets reached $455 million. The company bought 11,542 BTC at an average price of $118,522. Moreover, the firm withdrew its spot Bitcoin ETF application on May 18.

Trump Media just sold 2,650 $BTC($205M)?

Trump Media bought 11,542 $BTC($1.37B) at an average cost of $118,522.

4 months ago, they transferred out 2,000 $BTC($175M) at $87,378.

An hour ago, they deposited another 2,650 $BTC($205M) into https://t.co/INIxikglp6.

Trump Media is… pic.twitter.com/unfYm1o70m

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 22, 2026

Sui Launches Gasless Stablecoin Transfers

Sui launched gas-free stablecoin transfers on the mainnet through a protocol-level feature on 22nd May. Users and enterprises can now send supported stablecoins without holding SUI for gas. The feature reduces stablecoin transfer fees on Sui to zero.

The supported tokens include USDsui, SuiUSDe, AUSD, FDUSD, USDB, USDC, and USDY. Moreover, Fireblocks supports the feature for stablecoin transfer operations across enterprise payment use cases. The launch targets peer-to-peer transfers and business payments.

Binance Rejects Iran Transaction Report

Binance CEO Richard Teng refuted $850 million in Iran-linked transactions by the Wall Street Journal. In a post on Friday, he said the report was inaccurate. The report focused on sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani. The report stated that it had identified Babak Zanjani and accused associates who had utilized Binance for more than 2 years. However, Teng said that Binance did not allow sanctioned individuals to transact and had investigated the concerns before publication. He also defended the exchange’s compliance program.

SEC Delays Tokenized Stock Exemption Plan

According to a Bloomberg report on 22 May, the SEC delayed its proposed innovation exemption for tokenized equities after recent talks with exchanges and industry stakeholders. The agency had prepared a draft and planned a possible rollout this week, but concerns slowed the process and extended review discussions.

Officials focused on synthetic third-party tokens issued without the underlying companies. However, Commissioner Hester Peirce had signaled support for issuer-backed tokens that mirror existing equity rights and obligations in today’s secondary market.

Verus Exploiter Returns Most Stolen Funds

On May 22, a hacker returned 4,052.4 ETH after exploiting the Verus-Ethereum Bridge. The bridge had lost about $11.58 million through a transaction validation flaw. The stolen assets included ETH, tBTC, and USDC. The returned funds were worth about $8.5 million at the time. Meanwhile, the exploiter kept 1,350 ETH as a bounty following Verus’s public request for partial fund recovery.

#PeckShieldAlert The @veruscoin Bridge exploiter has returned 4,052.4 $ETH (~$8.5M) to the team address: 0xF9AB…C1A74.

The returned funds represent 75% of the stolen total, leaving a 25% bounty (1,350 $ETH, ~$2.8M) in the exploiter's wallet. https://t.co/ZFIqnHBwZk pic.twitter.com/vPsiOigyQ5

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) May 22, 2026

ECB Opposes Euro Stablecoin Rule Changes

The European Central Bank rejected proposals to relax euro stablecoin liquidity requirements at EU meetings in Nicosia on MAY 22. Officials said wider issuance would put pressure on banks. MiCA and stablecoin reserve requirements were the focus of the debate.

The debate followed a paper by Bruegel calling for stronger euro token markets. However, ECB officials argued that the easing would drain deposits, reduce lending, and add complexity to monetary control during stress. Christine Lagarde preferred tokenized commercial bank deposits, instead.

Grayscale Updates HYPE ETF Filing

On May 22, Grayscale filed a third amended S-1 for its proposed Hyperliquid ETF with the SEC. The fund would trade under the ticker GHYP if regulators approve it. The trust was formed in Delaware on January 8, 2026.

The ETF would hold HYPE in custody and offer brokerage-based exposure. Additionally, the filing lists BNY Mellon, Coinbase, and CSC Delaware Trust Company in key administrative and custody roles. The product may later support a staking-focused structure.

SEC Approves Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options

The SEC approved Nasdaq’s proposal to list cash-settled Bitcoin index options on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange on 22nd May. The contracts will trade under the QBTC structure. Nasdaq first filed the proposal in September last year.

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 SEC approves Nasdaq Bitcoin index options trading.

Bullish 🚀 pic.twitter.com/UoRVmHfFDV

— Whale Satoshi (@WhaleSatoshi) May 23, 2026

However, trading still requires CFTC exemptive relief because regulators classify Bitcoin as a commodity. The options track one-hundredth of the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index and settle in cash. The contracts use a European-style exercise structure.

Fenwick Settles FTX Customer Claims

According to a Reuters report on May 23, Fenwick & West agreed to pay $54 million to settle claims from FTX customers. Plaintiffs alleged the law firm helped create strategies that supported FTX’s fraud. The settlement requires approval from a federal judge in Miami. However, Fenwick said it denied wrongdoing and was not aware of the fraud at FTX, while seeking to close the dispute. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried received a 25-year sentence in 2024.

Bitcoin Price Performance

Bitcoin displayed a sideways performance last week, dropping from highs of $77K to $74K as bears took the lead. Despite the negative trend, the asset recovered towards the end of the week, returning toward the $77K region. Currently, the price is hovering around $77,480 with a market cap of $1.55 trillion.

Looking at the technical perspective, BTC has not lost its overall upward momentum as it holds above the immediate support around $74,349 according to the middle Bollinger band. Key resistance and support levels have been noted at $88,804 and $59,894. 

Moreover, the MACD indicator shows a decline in buying pressure as the histogram bars continue to fade. Should the current trend continue, BTC could correct toward the immediate support at $74,349.

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