Crypto Vesting

Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC (USDC), is still planning an initial public offering (IPO), but the company is also in informal talks with Ripple and Coinbase about a sale, according to a report from Fortune.

Circle is seeking at least $5 billion, which is its target for the IPO, according to the four banking and private equity sources Fortune cited. Ripple tried to purchase Circle on April 30, but the $4 billion to $5 billion bid was rejected as being too low.

If Ripple or Coinbase were to buy Circle, the details of a purchase would differ. Ripple would pay using cash and XRP (XRP), a cryptocurrency that Ripple created. Coinbase, on the other hand, would use cash and stock.

Coinbase and Circle have a relationship dating to 2018, when they launched the Centre Consortium. That venture was meant to establish standards for fiat-backed stablecoins, including USDC.

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Key takeaways:

Bitcoin buying in the spot and futures markets helped BTC price keep its upward momentum despite $170 million in margin liquidations.

Weak stablecoin demand in China and the limited use of futures leverage suggest Bitcoin’s current rally is sustainable.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has displayed strength at the $102,000 support level on May 19, following the $170 million in liquidations of leveraged positions. The abrupt $5,000 correction after hitting $107,090 may have been unexpected, but it does not mean the odds of reaching an all-time high in the near term are lower, especially since Bitcoin derivatives metrics have shown resilience.

Bitcoin 1-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch

The annualized one-month futures premium for Bitcoin remained close to 6% despite the retest of $102,000 support. This current level is within the 5% to 10% neutral range, which has been the norm over the past week. While at first glance

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Quantum Biopharma has purchased an additional $1 million worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Canadian biotechnology company said. 

The buys take Quantum’s total cryptocurrency holdings to approximately $4.5 million, according to a May 19 press release. The biotech company plans to stake a portion of its crypto to generate revenue. 

Quantum expects that holding a treasury of Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets will “provide a return on investment for shareholders and […] provide some hedge against the Canadian dollar,” it said. 

Shares of Quantum’s stock, QNTM, rose by approximately 25% following the announcement, according to data from Google Finance. 

Quantum Biopharma’s stock rose on the announcement. Source: Google Finance

Related: Basel Medical shares down 15% on $1B Bitcoin buying plans

Popular treasury strategy

Quantum is one of several healthcare companies accumulating Bitcoin as corporate crypto treasuries become increasingly popular. 

In March, NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company Atai Life Sciences

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In one of his first speeches since becoming chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April, Paul Atkins addressed some of the regulatory concerns around the cryptocurrency industry.

In prepared remarks for a May 19 speech, Atkins said it was a “new day” for the crypto industry under the current leadership of the SEC. He suggested that the financial regulator would be more open to “adapt to and accommodate new developments” while still abiding by its statutes.

“The crypto markets have been languishing in SEC limbo for years,” said Atkins, adding:

“While I have directed Commission staff across our policy Divisions to begin drafting rule proposals related to crypto, the staff continue to ‘clear the brush’ through staff-level statements.”

Even before Atkins stepped into the role of SEC chair, the commission’s actions under Donald Trump suggested that it would radically depart from the direction of former

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Crypto.com and asset manager Canary Capital are launching a US investment fund designed to provide exposure to the Cronos blockchain’s native token, CRO, the cryptocurrency exchange said in a statement.

The Canary CRO Trust will hold the Cronos (CRO) token in a regulated fund wrapper, Crypto.com said, adding that the trust is not an exchange-traded fund (ETF) and is only available to accredited investors. 

Creating regulated funds such as CRO Trust is part of Crypto.com’s plan for “further mainstreaming crypto,” Eric Anziani, president and chief operating officer of Crypto.com, said in a statement.

In March, the crypto exchange partnered with Trump Media & Technology Group, a company affiliated with US President Donald Trump, to launch a series of Trump-branded ETFs, including one holding CRO.

The Trump Media ETFs are still awaiting approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has not yet authorized any CRO ETFs for US trading,

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Key points:

Bitcoin’s rejection at $107,000 shows sellers are active at higher levels, but the recovery from the intraday low shows solid buying.

Strategy and Metaplanet continue to accumulate Bitcoin, adding steady buy-side pressure to BTC price. 

Select altcoins have pulled back, but they have not yet turned negative.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) attempt to challenge the all-time high faced a strong rejection near $107,100 on May 19, signaling that the bears are unlikely to give up without a fight. However, the long tail on the candlestick shows solid buying at lower levels.

The short-term uncertainty has not deterred the long-term buyers from accumulating more Bitcoin. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, announced the purchase of 7,390 Bitcoin for an average price of about $103,500, taking its total holding to 576,230 Bitcoin.  

Similarly, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet said on May 19 that it acquired 1,004 Bitcoin, boosting its total to 7,800 Bitcoin. 

Crypto

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Before discovering Bitcoin (BTC), Ledn co-founder Mauricio di Bartolomeo found success shorting the Venezuelan Bolivar as it rapidly lost value against the stronger US dollar. Now, with the US dollar depreciating against Bitcoin, borrowing against Bitcoin instead of selling it has become a more viable strategy.

“Prior to Bitcoin, my most successful investment was shorting the Bolivar with dollars,” di Bartolomeo told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview at the Consensus conference in Toronto, Canada. 

“I was borrowing Bolivars and buying dollars with them, holding the hard dollars and having a borrow [position] on the weaker currency,” he said.

The arrival of Bitcoin-backed loans means investors can now effectively implement the same strategy by using a harder currency as collateral. 

Ledn co-founder Mauricio di Bartolomeo, right, and Cointelegraph’s Sam Bourgi at Consensus. Source: Cointelegraph

This was part of the motivation behind launching Ledn, a Cayman Islands-based company that gives Bitcoin

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Ripple, the creator of cryptocurrency XRP (XRP), launched cross-border blockchain payments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a development that could spur the adoption of cryptocurrency in a country receptive to digital assets.

Zand Bank, the UAE’s first all-digital bank, and Mamo, a fintech company that offers a digital payment platform for businesses, will be the principal users of the blockchain payments system, according to a May 19 Ripple announcement.

Zand Bank and Mamo will use “Ripple Payments” to facilitate cross-border blockchain payments.

Ripple Payments is a platform that combines stablecoins, cryptocurrency, and fiat to enable payments and quick settlement times, a feature of Web3 that cross-border traditional finance payment systems often lack. Ripple was licensed to offer crypto payments by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in March.

Reece Merrick, Ripple’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa, said acquiring this license “enables

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Key points:

BTC price action retargets $105,000 after the Wall Street open, rising 2.5% from the day’s lows.

Volatility continues, leading market participants to varying conclusions over what will happen to BTC/USD next.

Perspectives include the Bitcoin bull market being in its final stages.

Bitcoin (BTC) sought a rebound from a 4% dive at the May 19 Wall Street open as traders diverged on bull market strength.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView$106,000 becomes BTC price zone to watch

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD passing $104,500, up 2.5% from the day’s low.

The pair had seen flash volatility around the weekly close, which although the highest ever recorded swiftly saw bulls lose control.

Now, opinions differed about when, or if, new all-time highs would come.

“This is exactly what Bitcoin needs to be doing,” an optimistic Rekt Capital wrote in part of

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