THORChain has launched a recovery portal following a $10 million exploit, allowing affected users across four chains to revoke malicious approvals and claim refunds.

THORChain has confirmed a $10 million exploit and launched a recovery portal, giving affected users a self-custodial path to revoke malicious token approvals and submit refund claims backed by a treasury-provisioned refund pool of equal size.

In a Saturday post on X, THORChain Foundation introduced the recovery portal, saying that “affected users are now able to check what they will be paid as compensation following the exploit.”

The portal, citing a PeckShield post-mortem, claims that the attack was detected at 02:14 UTC on May 11, when node operators flagged anomalous outbound transactions. Trading and outbound signing were paused within eight minutes. In total, attackers drained 36.75 BTC, worth around $3 million, and approximately $7 million in tokens across BNB Chain, Ethereum and Base, hitting 12,847 wallets across four chains.

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The rest of the world is “really closely” watching the US CLARITY Act as the nation moves further away from the previous “hostile stance,” according to Sharplink’s chief.

Ethereum needs three catalysts to fall into place for its price to regain momentum and surge higher, according to SharpLink Gaming CEO Joseph Chalom.

“One is the CLARITY Act to pass in the US,” Chalom pointed out in an interview with Robert Baggs on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction show published to YouTube on Thursday. It came on the same day that all 13 Republican members and two Democrats voted to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) at the US Senate Banking Committee meeting.

Chalom said that while many view the legislation, which aims to give the US crypto industry greater clarity, as “a US phenomenon,” it is also being seen as a major signal for other jurisdictions around the world.

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Spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $1 billion in a single week as capital rotated toward AI stocks and macro uncertainty weighed on sentiment, ending a six-week run that had pulled in $3.4 billion.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $1 billion in weekly net outflows, ending a six-week inflow streak that had drawn a combined $3.4 billion.

The week started on a cautiously optimistic note, with Monday posting modest inflows of $27.29 million, according to data from SoSoValue. The tide turned sharply on Tuesday, when investors pulled $233.25 million from the funds. Selling pressure intensified on Wednesday, the worst single day of the week, with outflows reaching $635.23 million.

A brief reprieve came on Thursday, as inflows of $131.31 million offered a momentary reversal. However, Friday erased that recovery as well, when a further $290.42 million exited the products, sealing the week in the red at exactly $1 billion in net outflows.

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Santiment warned that the crypto market “typically” moves against crowd expectations, pointing to a recent rise in bullish sentiment driven by renewed momentum around the US CLARITY Act.

Sentiment around Bitcoin’s near-term price direction has picked up as momentum builds behind the US CLARITY Act, which aims to provide the crypto industry with greater regulatory clarity, according to crypto sentiment platform Santiment.

“Bitcoin has seen a major spike of euphoria across social media following news that the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act in a 15–9 bipartisan vote,” Santiment said in an X post on Friday.

“This brings BTC and crypto one step closer to being ultimately passed,” Santiment said.

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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is currently headed by Chair Michael Selig, with no public statement from Donald Trump about fully staffing the five-member panel of commissioners.

The Republican chair and Democratic ranking member of the US House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture have called on President Donald Trump to fully staff the leadership at a key financial regulator, citing the potential impact of a crypto market structure bill.

In a Friday letter to Trump, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson and ranking member Angie Craig asked the president to “nominate a full panel” of bipartisan leaders for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The representatives cited “urgent regulatory issues” facing the US regulator in addition to a “significant rulemaking process” required if the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) becomes law.

“Ensuring the Commission is well-equipped as the leading derivatives markets regulator in the world is a bipartisan priority for the members of our Committee,” said Thompson and Craig. “A complete commission will allow the agency to best fulfill its mandate of promoting integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of US derivatives markets and will advance US leadership.”

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The crypto ATM company reported financial difficulties amid a changing regulatory environment and ongoing litigation, which have cost it millions of dollars.

Cryptocurrency ATM company Bitcoin Depot reported “substantial doubts” about the company’s ability to continue operating amid ongoing litigation and a challenging regulatory environment.

In a Form 10-Q filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, Bitcoin Depot chief financial officer David Gray reported that the company had accrued more than $20 million in legal judgments in the fourth quarter of 2025 and “ongoing litigation matters.” The company also reported “substantial year-over-year declines in revenue” amid US states and municipalities passing laws and regulations banning or restricting crypto ATMs.

“As a result of these factors, management has concluded that substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” said the report.

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The Hyperliquid decentralized exchange allows anyone who stakes 500,000 HYPE tokens, valued at roughly $22.2 million, to deploy new markets.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the two biggest exchanges for energy-linked commodities, are pressuring US regulators to clamp down on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange’s expansion into commodity markets.

Executives from both companies say that Hyperliquid’s energy-linked onchain derivatives create insider trading and price manipulation risks, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the ongoing talks with US regulators.

ICE and CME cited the “anonymous” and “unregulated” nature of Hyperliquid as major risks to critical energy markets, like oil and gas, which could be used by state actors to circumvent sanctions, the report added.

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The new card lets users spend USDC balances through online, in-store and contactless transactions while accessing ATM withdrawals in supported regions.

Layer-1 blockchain developer Solayer launched a Visa-compatible payment card that allows users to spend USDC balances through in-store, online and contactless transactions.

The card supports ATM withdrawals in supported regions and can be ordered through the Solayer Pay app, according to the announcement. Existing users can request the card for free, while new users pay a $20 annual activation fee.

Source: Solayer Pay

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Law firm Gerstein Harrow LLP is attempting to claim frozen cryptocurrency funds for claimants of unrelated judgments stretching back decades.

Law firm Gerstein Harrow LLP filed a new motion on Thursday in a miscellaneous enforcement lawsuit, asking the court to compel stablecoin company Tether to hand over more than $344 million in frozen USDt linked to Iranian entities.

The motion claims that the plaintiffs are owed more than $532 million in compensatory damages and more than $1.8 billion in punitive damages from acts of “terrorism committed or sponsored by Iran,” stretching back more than 25 years. 

The latest filing is part of a broader lawsuit against North Korea (DPRK) and Iran, attempting to claim and redistribute digital assets as compensation for victims of various and unrelated judgments tied to state-sponsored violence, drawing criticism from the crypto community.

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Sellers have pulled Bitcoin back below the $79,000 level, but buying may emerge as the price nears the $76,000 support.

Key points:

Bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery above $82,000 on Thursday was short-lived, as bears sold at higher levels and pulled the price back to the $79,000 level. Glassnode said in its Week On-chain report that several investors bought BTC between November 2025 and February near the $86,900 level. These holders may sell near their entry price after experiencing large drawdowns, creating a barrier for BTC’s continued rally.

Another negative view came from crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant, which said in a recent report that BTC has hit its major resistance at the 200-day moving average near $82,400. In 2022, BTC had resumed its downtrend after failing to cross above the 200-day SMA. BTC may get into trouble if history repeats itself.

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BHYP offers spot exposure to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and will stake a portion of its holdings through Bitwise’s in-house staking division.

Bitwise Asset Management has launched a US-listed investment product tied to Hyperliquid, offering investors spot exposure to the token and staking rewards linked to the decentralized derivatives platform.

The fund, trading under the ticker BHYP on the New York Stock Exchange, is the second US-listed Hyperliquid product to launch this week. Bitwise said the fund plans to stake a significant portion of its HYPE (HYPE) holdings through its in-house staking division.

Hyperliquid is a decentralized trading-focused layer 1 blockchain launched in 2023 that offers perpetual futures, spot trading and lending services. Bitwise said the platform processed about $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025 and accounted for roughly 60% of global onchain derivatives open interest as of May 5, citing DefiLlama data.

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The text of Myanmar’s Anti-Online Fraud Bill said that anyone who was convicted of committing “digital currency fraud” could face from ten years to life in prison, and possibly the death penalty.

The military government of Myanmar released the text of a bill aimed at combating online fraudsters, with several penalties related to cryptocurrencies and scam centers.

According to the text of the Anti-Online Fraud Bill, made public on Thursday, Myanmar’s parliament, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, proposed the law in response to online fraud in the country, which it said challenged its “sovereignty and stability.”

The law stated that anyone who was convicted of committing “digital currency fraud” or online fraud could face from ten years to life in prison, and possibly the death penalty.

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Ethereum analysts said that increasing supply on exchanges and declining ETF demand put ETH at risk of another leg down to $1,700.

Market analysts say Ether (ETH) faces “downside risks” that could trigger another 20% downtrend toward $1,700, new analysis said.

Key takeaways:

Ether’s 40% recovery from multi-month lows below $1,800 was dampened by resistance from the $2,400 level. 

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While Senator Tim Scott touted yesterday’s markup as bipartisan, just two Democratic senators supported the bill, and no Democratic amendments were adopted.

The US Senate Banking Committee passed the crypto framework CLARITY Act yesterday.

Now, the bill, for which the crypto industry has heavily lobbied since it was introduced in 2025, will head to the Senate floor for a broader debate. 

As Cointelegraph reported, over 100 amendments were proposed while lawmakers hashed out the exact language of the bill. These covered a wide range of issues, including ethics, AI sandboxes and stablecoin yields.

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Bitcoin joined stocks in a sell-off over US bond yields as BTC price action eyed its lowest levels for May after giving up gains.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $80,000 at Friday’s Wall Street open as analysis tied risk-asset weakness to US bond markets.

Key points:

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BloFin, a prominent global cryptocurrency exchange, has officially opened registration for its highly anticipated trading competition, the WOW (War of Whales) 2026 Grand Prix.

May 15, 2026, Press release – BloFin, a prominent global cryptocurrency exchange, has officially opened registration for its highly anticipated trading competition, the WOW (War of Whales) 2026 Grand Prix. Returning bigger and bolder than ever, this year's edition boasts an extraordinary total prize pool of up to $5,000,000 USDT, exclusive luxury giveaways, and a groundbreaking new twist — for the first time, human traders will go head-to-head against AI in a battle to claim the title of the ultimate whale.

Under the rallying cry "Squad Up. Beat AI.", WOW 2026 is set to become one of the most dynamic and forward-looking trading events of the year, bringing together crypto traders, elite squads, and algorithmic challengers worldwide.

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Polish lawmakers approve a Ministry of Finance-backed crypto bill to implement the EU MiCA framework in a 241–200 vote after repeated vetoes.

Polish lawmakers approved a government-backed bill Friday to bring the country’s crypto market under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, after President Karol Nawrocki twice vetoed earlier versions.

The vote took place on Friday during the 57th sitting of the Sejm in Warsaw, where lawmakers adopted the legislation in a 241–200 decision, according to official parliamentary records.

Backed by the Ministry of Finance, the approved bill (No. 2529) designates the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) powers to oversee market participants, impose administrative sanctions and temporarily block accounts and transactions.

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Bitcoin’s break above $82,000 and a return of strong institutional demand are prerequisites to confirm a trend change for BTC price.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) Thursday rally to $82,000, buoyed by the Senate Banking Committee's advancement of the CLARITY Act, has stalled amid stiff overhead resistance and weakening ETF demand. Still, analysts said that BTC’s upward momentum may increase if key conditions are met.

Key takeaways:

Data from TradingView showed BTC tested overhead resistance at $82,000, which has rejected the price since last week.

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South Korea's FSC is preparing detailed rules for tokenized securities before a legal framework for blockchain-based securities takes effect in February 2027.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to release detailed tokenized securities rules in July as the country prepares to bring blockchain-based securities under its capital markets framework in 2027.

The measures are expected to include a roadmap for tokenizing stocks, bonds and money market funds, possible changes to over-the-counter trading limits and rules allowing some fractional investment products to pool similar underlying assets, the FSC announced on Friday at the second meeting of its public-private tokenized securities council, which was launched in March to design issuance, trading, infrastructure and settlement rules before the framework takes effect in 2027.

“The goal is to make an announcement in July,” said FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young, adding that the new rules will serve for the “institutionalization” of tokenized securities.

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Bitcoin traders split between a "massive catch-up" with stocks and the start of its "next downtrend" as BTC price action failed to flip $82,000 to support.

Bitcoin (BTC) risks starting its “next downtrend” as bulls fail to break beyond $82,000, the latest analysis warns.

Key points:

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THORChain paused trading after ZachXBT flagged a suspected $10 million exploit spanning Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain and Base.

Decentralized liquidity protocol THORChain halted trading after blockchain investigator ZachXBT flagged a suspected exploit of more than $10 million.

A THORChain alerts Telegram channel showed all trading and signing halted, with a global node pause extended until block 26191149, or roughly 12 hours and 42 minutes. The halt came shortly after ZachXBT said the protocol had likely been exploited across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain and Base.

A wallet labeled by Arkham as the THORChain exploiter showed $10.8 million in holdings, transferred across several smaller transactions in the 30 minutes before 10:11 am UTC.

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Fresh US ETF launches and Coinbase’s Hyperliquid deal helped fuel HYPE’s rally this week, but technicals warn of a possible pullback.

HYPE, the native token of decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, jumped more than 23% in the past 24 hours, climbing toward $47 on Friday to hit its highest level since October 2025.

HYPE/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

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OKX is reportedly seeking a 20% stake in South Korean crypto exchange Coinone as foreign and domestic firms compete for market access.

Global crypto exchange OKX is reportedly in talks with Korea Investment & Securities to take a major stake in Coinone, marking the latest shakeup in South Korea’s tightly regulated crypto exchange market.

According to a Friday report by Korean media outlet Yonhap, the two firms are discussing plans to each acquire around 20% of Coinone, mainly through the issuance of new shares rather than the sale of existing stock, a structure that would inject fresh capital while initially leaving management control largely unchanged.

In early April, Korean media reported that Korea Investment & Securities was reviewing a possible acquisition of a stake in Coinone as part of a broader push into digital assets, and that no final decision had been made.

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The purchase makes Hana Financial the fourth-largest shareholder in Dunamu, following several crypto-related deals in the last two months, as it dives deeper into the digital assets sector.

Major South Korean financial conglomerate Hana Financial is buying a stake in Dunamu, the operator of the crypto exchange Upbit, in its latest venture into the digital assets sector, amid a broader trend of traditional financial institutions wading into the digital assets market.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Hana Financial announced it is buying more than 2.2 million shares in Dunamu, or roughly 6.55% of the company, from investment firm Kakao Investment, worth over 1.003 trillion Korean won ($668 million).

Hana Financial’s 6.55% stake from Kakao makes it the fourth-largest Dunamu shareholder. South Korean outlet The Chosun Daily reported last September that major shareholders of Dunamu include its chairman Song Chi-hyung with 25.5%; Vice Chairman Kim Hyoung-nyon with 13.1%; Kakao with 10.6% and Woori Technology Investment with 7.2%.

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Signal's vice president of strategy said the firm “would rather pull out of the country” than comply with Bill C-22, which could threaten end-to-end encryption.

Privacy messaging app Signal has said it may exit Canada if forced to comply with the country's proposed lawful access bill, which would require companies to build technical surveillance capabilities that some argue could threaten end-to-end encryption.

In an interview with Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail on Thursday, Signal's vice president of strategy and global affairs, Udbhav Tiwari, argued that the bill could threaten encryption and leave private messaging services vulnerable to potential cyberattacks. 

Bill C-22 is part of a regulatory package introduced in March. It would require electronic service providers to build surveillance capabilities and retain certain user metadata for up to a year as part of a broader push to help law enforcement investigate crimes such as terrorism and child exploitation.

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Robin Singh, CEO and founder of Koinly said the changes will hurt low-income crypto investors most and could encourage more short-term trading.

Australia’s proposed changes to capital gains tax could lead to smaller profits for cryptocurrency traders, especially low-income earners, and could discourage “patient investing,” according to several crypto executives.

The proposed reform, announced by the ruling Labor Party on Tuesday as part of its fiscal year 2027 budget, will bring in a minimum 30% tax on capital gains and scrap the 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held for more than 12 months. 

Robin Singh, CEO and founder of crypto tax platform Koinly, told Cointelegraph the proposed changes are a mixed bag: The new system “theoretically” protects investors from being taxed on purely inflationary gains, but in practice, most crypto investors will pay more tax, with low-income earners hit the hardest.

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LayerZero has come under scrutiny since it was exploited in April, as crypto protocols reevaluate their cross-chain providers and seek safer alternatives.

Crypto exchange Kraken announced Thursday that it had changed its cross-chain provider from LayerZero to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, joining a number of protocols that have made the move following the Kelp DAO exploit in April.

Kraken said it is deprecating its existing cross-chain provider and migrating to Chainlink CCIP as its exclusive cross-chain infrastructure to secure Kraken Wrapped Bitcoin (kBTC) and all future wrapped tokens.

The company added that it chose Chainlink CCIP because it “offers enterprise-grade infrastructure with strict security and risk management requirements.” These include certifications, secure-by-default design, 16 independent nodes and native rate limits.

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Strategy has leaned on Stretch to fund Bitcoin buys over the past 12 months as funding through senior convertible notes and at-the-market equity offerings has tightened.

Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, the company’s primary vehicle for funding its Bitcoin purchases in 2026, hit a new daily trading volume record of $1.5 billion on Thursday.

“All-time high volume. $1.53B of liquidity,” chairman Michael Saylor said, referring to Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock. 

Stretch offers investors an 11.5% dividend without requiring the company to dilute common shares. 

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Bullish stock dropped in trading with the crypto exchange’s first-quarter earnings miss, adding to the crypto companies that have underperformed in the quarter.

Shares in the US crypto exchange Bullish fell on Thursday after the company’s first-quarter earnings missed analysts’ top and bottom line expectations.

Bullish’s adjusted revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $92.8 million, up from $62.4 million a year ago, but below Wall Street expectations of $95.4 million.

The company reported a net loss of $604.9 million, deeper than its $348.6 million loss in the prior-year period. Its adjusted earnings per share were 13 cents, below estimates of 17 cents.

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Gemini credit card revenue surged nearly 300% to $14.7 million in Q1, attributed to significant growth in its user base.

Crypto company Gemini reported a 42% year-on-year increase in revenue in Q1 2026 as it continued its growth from a pure crypto exchange into a financial services company.

Total revenue for the Winklevoss twins' company grew 42% year-on-year to $50.3 million in the first quarter, while transaction revenue remained stable at $24 million, the company reported Thursday.

However, its crypto exchange revenue decreased 27% year-on-year to $17.2 million, “reflecting lower spot trading activity and a moderation in crypto market volumes,” while total trading volume declined to $6.3 billion from $13.5 billion in Q1 2025. 

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