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 …

Hyperliquid sees $1.1B Bitcoin long bet opened at 40x leverage

A crypto whale has expanded an existing 40x leverage long Bitcoin bet to $1.1 billion on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, which has stunned the crypto community and is believed to be the first-ever position exceeding $1 billion on the platform. The X account “James Wynn” claims to be behind the position, which is now up …

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF notches 2-week high inflow as BTC nears $112K

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen its largest inflow in the past two weeks as traders allocate to US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to scoop up the rocketing cryptocurrency. IBIT’s May 21 net inflows hit $530.6 million, its biggest single-day net inflow since it took in $531.2 million on May 5, according to …

Synthetix scuttles $27M Derive deal after community concerns

Decentralized finance platform Synthetix has axed its $27 million plan to acquire crypto options platform Derive after negative community feedback. A Synthetix spokesperson told Cointelegraph on May 22 that its acquisition proposal, pitched to its community and to Derive’s, “did not resonate,” and both projects agreed to “step back from the proposed acquisition.” Synthetix said …

Bitcoin continues rally to surpass $110K for the first time

Bitcoin has topped $110,000 for the first time in a recent rally that has seen it gain 3% over the past day to break through past price highs from earlier this year. Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new all-time high of $110,788.98 on Coinbase late on May 21, just before 11:30 pm UTC, according to TradingView. …

Pompliano-led crypto-focused SPAC gains 7% on Nasdaq after upsized IPO

Crypto influencer Anthony Pompliano’s fintech-focused blank-check company, ProCap Acquisition Corp (PCAPU), rose 7% on its debut Nasdaq listing after a last-minute upsizing of its initial public offering. ProCap had boosted its IPO from $200 million to $220 million on May 20, a day before its public launch, pricing its 22 million shares on offer at …

Australian regulator asks High Court to allow appeal in Block Earner case

Australia’s financial regulator will seek the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling favoring fintech firm Block Earner, which found the company’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning service is not a financial product. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said on May 21 that it wants to ask the High Court of Australia to …

VanEck to launch Avalanche ecosystem fund

VanEck plans to launch a private digital assets fund in June targeting tokenized Web3 projects built on the Avalanche blockchain network, the asset manager said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph. The VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund, available only to accredited investors, aims to invest in liquid tokens and venture-backed projects across Web3 sectors, including gaming, financial …

US lawmaker reintroduces bill amid pushback on Trump's crypto ties

A Democratic representative in the US Congress will support a blockchain bill at a time when many left-leaning lawmakers are blocking crypto-related pieces of legislation due to concerns with President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest. In a May 21 notice, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer said he had reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a …

CFTC exodus: Fourth commissioner to depart 'later this year'

Kristin Johnson of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that she plans to depart the agency before 2026. In a May 21 notice, Johnson said she planned to step down from the CFTC “later this year,” having completed her term, which ended in April. The commissioner filling a Democratic seat at the …