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Top Stories of The Week
CZ refutes claims in latest WSJ article on Trump-linked crypto dealings
Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pushed back against a report in The Wall Street Journal, calling it a “hit piece” filled with inaccuracies and negative assumptions.
In an X post, Zhao criticized the publication’s portrayal of his alleged involvement with World Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance project backed by a business entity affiliated with US President Donald Trump. Trump’s sons — Eric and Donald Jr. — are involved in the management of the company.
Zhao said the WSJ article portrayed him as acting as a “fixer” for the World Liberty Financial team and its co-founder Zach Witkoff during foreign trips.
Hong Kong passes stablecoin bill, set to open licensing by year-end
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoins Bill, paving the way for a regulated framework that could position the region as a global leader in digital assets and Web3 development.
In a May 21 post on X, Legislative Council member Johnny Ng Kit-Chong said the bill had passed its third reading, clearing the final hurdle for adoption.
“It is expected that by the end of this year, major institutions will be able to apply to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to become licensed stablecoin issuers,” Ng said.
OpenAI plans to ship 100 million pocket-sized AI devices for everyday use
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 former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive are developing these secret devices for mass consumption, with plans to ship 100 million units upon launch.
Ive joined OpenAI after his startup, io, was acquired by Altman’s company in a $6.5 billion deal, the WSJ 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.
US lawmaker introduces anti-corruption bill ahead of Trump’s dinner
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 in Crypto Act of 2025 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 reserve as his sons back a BTC mining venture as examples of this “crypto corruption.”
JPMorgan boss says bank users can soon buy Bitcoin
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said his bank will soon allow its clients to buy Bitcoin, but it won’t custody the cryptocurrency.
“We are going to allow you to buy it,” Dimon said at JPMorgan’s annual investor day on May 19. “We’re not going to custody it. We’re going to put it in statements for clients.”
CNBC reported that Dimon also remarked on his long-held skepticism about crypto assets, pointing to their use in money laundering, sex trafficking and terrorism.
“I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy Bitcoin,” he said.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $108,299, Ether (ETH) at $2,543 and XRP at $2.32. The total market cap is at $3.41 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are SPX6900 (SPX) at 25.81%, Hyperliquid (HYPE) at 25.14% and Worldcoin (WLD) at 24.79%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Walrus (WAL) at 16.00%, Pyth Network (PYTH) at 14.22% and EOS (EOS) at 11.99%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“The crypto markets have been languishing in SEC limbo for years.”
Paul Atkins, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission
“After the coin launch, the feds came to granny’s house and knocked on her door, and she called me, having a heart attack, saying: ‘The FBI is here after you, what have you done?”
Haliey Welch, better known as the “Hawk Tuah girl”
“A market structure dominated by a few RPC providers is one that will face strong pressure to deplatform or censor users. Many RPC providers already exclude entire countries.”
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum
“We have every expectation now that it’s going to pass.”
David Sacks, White House crypto and AI czar
“Prior to Bitcoin, my most successful investment was shorting the Bolivar with dollars.”
Mauricio di Bartolomeo, Ledn co-founder
“Given trading volume today, expect these inflow numbers to increase.”
Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store
Top Prediction of The Week
Bitcoin ‘looks exhausted’ as next bear market yields $69K target
Bitcoin traders are calling for a pullback after all-time highs and seven “green” weekly candles.
BTC price momentum continues to be met with skepticism as commentators assume that lower levels will come next.
Bitcoin hit its highest-ever levels this week, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed — but despite being up by a third in Q2 already, BTC/USD remains unconvincing for many.
Long-term analysis suggests that not only is price action due to return lower to consolidate gains, but that the entire bull market is near completion.
The chart itself shows Bitcoin’s next “cycle peak” coming in Q4 this year, with the subsequent bear market taking BTC/USD back to 2021 highs of $69,000.
FUD of The Week
US tourist drugged by fake Uber driver and robbed of $123K BTC — Report
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 stored on a cell phone.
According to a report from MyLondon, 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.
Sui DEX Cetus hit by suspected hack: Over $200M in potential losses
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.
Feds charge Amalgam founder with stealing $1M via ‘sham’ blockchain
A US grand jury has indicted the founder of blockchain startup Amalgam Capital Ventures over allegations he defrauded investors out of over $1 million with a fake blockchain.
Jeremy Jordan-Jones was arrested and indicted on May 21 and charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, making false statements to a bank, and aggravated identity theft, the Department of Justice said on May 21.
Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton claimed Jordan-Jones “touted his company as a groundbreaking blockchain startup,” but alleged that, in reality, the “company was a sham, and investors’ funds were siphoned off to bankroll his lavish lifestyle.”
FBI Assistant Director Christopher Raia alleged that Jordan-Jones defrauded investors of more than 1 million dollars through “misrepresentations of his purported company’s capabilities, partnerships, and investment intentions.”
Top Magazine Stories of The Week
TradFi is building Ethereum L2s to tokenize trillions in RWAs: Inside story
New Ethereum L2s from Securitize and Ant Digital — custom-built for TradFi — plan to win the race to tokenize everything.
AI cures blindness, ‘good’ propaganda bots, OpenAI doomsday bunker: AI Eye
Hilarious examples of AI making stuff up… but also being fantastically useful by curing blindness… and potentially destroying Hollywood. AI Eye
Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express
Viral video of scammers being brought to justice in Philippines, Kakao uncovers 70,000 malicious apps trying to steal users’ crypto, and more.
Editorial Staff
Axie Infinity hacked for $612M, OpenSea expands support to Solana, EU’s unhosted wallet regulations cause a stir: Hodler’s Digest, March 27-April 2
The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — one week on Cointelegraph in one link!
Read more
6 Questions for Lyn Alden Schwartzer of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy
“I think the world will maintain various currencies in various ways, but I expect Bitcoin to grow its market share quite a bit from its current small levels.”
Read moreBitcoin bears eye $69K, CZ denies WLF ‘fixer’ rumors: Hodler’s Digest, May 18 – 24