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Bitcoin Core to unilaterally remove controversial OP-Return limit

Bitcoin Core developers have decided to remove a limit on transaction data in the next network upgrade, enabling more data to be included in a more efficient way.

“Bitcoin Core’s next release will, by default, relay and mine transactions whose OP_RETURN outputs exceed 80 bytes and allow any number of these outputs,” read the announcement on GitHub by Bitcoin developer Greg Sanders on May 5.

The long-standing limit was originally a “gentle signal that block space should be used sparingly for non-payment proof of publication data,” has outlived its utility, he added.

The proposal (PR 32359) was created by Bitcoin pioneer Peter Todd at the request of Chaincode Labs.

OP_RETURN is a special type of Bitcoin (BTC) transaction output that allows storing small amounts of data on the blockchain, popularized during the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null"

Celsius’ Mashinsky lashes out at ‘death-in-prison sentence’

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius, has blasted the government’s 20-year “venom-laced” sentence request, declaring it a “death-in-prison sentence.”

The US Department of Justice requested Mashinsky receive at least 20 years behind bars in the May 8 sentencing for his role in misleading Celsius users and profiting from the price manipulation of Celsius (CEL), which would make the 59-year-old 79 if he serves the whole sentence.

Lawyers acting for Mashinsky argued in a May 5 reply memorandum filed in a New York district court that he should receive no more than 366 days, because the DOJ hasn’t taken into account his status as a nonviolent first-time offender with a previously unblemished 30-year history in business.

“The government’s venom-laced submission recasts this case as one involving a

eToro aims for $4B valuation, $500M raise for US IPO

The Israel-based eToro Group says it’s looking for a valuation of up to $4 billion with its initial public offering in the US, as the stock and crypto trading platform forges ahead with listing on the Nasdaq.

The company and existing stockholders are aiming to raise $500 million through offering a total of 10 million shares priced between $46 to $50 apiece, eToro said on May 5.

A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows eToro is offering 5 million shares, with a further 5 million being put up by the likes of the company’s co-founder and CEO, Yoni Assia; his brother and executive director, Ronen Assia; along with venture firms Spark Capital, BRM Group and Andalusian Private Capital, among others.

The company offers stock and crypto trading targeting retail and plans to list on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Global Select Market

Suspect in $190M Nomad hack to be extradited to the US: Report

A Russian-Israeli citizen allegedly involved in the $190 million Nomad bridge hack will soon be extradited to the US after he was reportedly arrested at an Israeli airport while boarding a flight to Russia.

Alexander Gurevich will be investigated for his alleged involvement in several “computer crimes,” including laundering millions of dollars and transferring stolen property allegedly connected to the Nomad Bridge hack in 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported on May 5.

Gurevich returned to Israel from an overseas trip on April 19 but was ordered to appear before the Jerusalem District Court for an extradition hearing soon after, according to the report.

On April 29, Gurevich changed his name in Israel’s Population Registry to “Alexander Block” and received a passport under that name at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport the next day.

He was arrested at the same airport two days later, on May 1, while waiting to board a

Florida takes strategic Bitcoin reserve bills off the table

Two Florida crypto bills have been removed from the legislative process in the latest blow to American state-level strategic Bitcoin reserve ambitions.

Florida’s House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550 have been “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration” on May 3, according to the Florida Senate.

Florida’s legislative session adjourned on May 2 without the passage of these two bills, which would have advanced legislation to establish a crypto reserve for the state. The Senate and House agreed to extend the session until June 6 to address budget plans.

Lawmakers passed about 230 bills during the session, dealing with things like prohibiting putting fluoride in the water, protecting state parks, and a school smartphone ban, but diversifying state treasury portfolios was not among them.

State strategic Bitcoin reserve legislation race. Source: Bitcoin Laws

HB 487,

Tron says DAO X hack cost victims $45K, Curve Finance also hit

A hacker who took over the Tron DAO X account is estimated to have made around $45,000 in improperly solicited funds, according to a spokesperson from Tron.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, the Tron public relations team confirmed that on May 2, the Tron DAO account posted a contract address and sent direct messages to solicit payments in exchange for promotional advertising on the Tron account.

“Our security team quickly identified the intrusion and cut off access to the hacker, but we ask the community to continue to be vigilant. We will never ask anyone for payments like this via DM or otherwise,” they said.

The team said that based on the illicit contract address the hacker posted, the amount improperly solicited appeared to be around $45,000.

Asked whether the same hacker could be responsible for the supposed New York Post’s X account hack on May 3, the Tron team told

Fresh $1B in Tether mints on Tron, closing gap again with Ethereum

The Tron network has drawn closer to regaining the lead from Ethereum in Tether circulation after another big mint by the US stablecoin issuer.

On May 5, Tether minted another $1 billion Tether (USDT) on the Tron network, according to Arkham Intelligence. This brings the total USDT on Tron to $71.4 billion, according to the Tether Transparency report.

In comparison, there is currently $72.8 billion USDT circulating on the Ethereum network, so just $1.4 billion more USDT on Tron will see it become the leading network for the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, as it has been previously over the last two years.

Tron was ahead of Ethereum for USDT circulation between July 2022 and November 2024, but a large $18 billion mint on Ethereum pushed the network ahead again, according to CryptoQuant.

The third-largest network for USDT is Solana,

New crypto bill draft seen to curb big crypto firm influence

The new “Digital Asset Market Structure Discussion Draft” introduced by House Republicans on May 5 could work to reduce the dominance of large crypto firms and promote more participation in the broader market, according to an executive from Paradigm.

The discussion draft, led by the House agricultural and financial services committee chairs Glenn Thompson and French Hill, is an “incremental, albeit meaningful, rewrite” of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), Paradigm’s vice president of regulatory affairs Justin Slaughter said in a May 5 X post.

One-pager of the digital asset market structure discussion draft submitted by House Republicans on May 5. Source: US House Agriculture Committee

One of the major changes from FIT21 is that the draft defines an affiliated person as anyone who owns more than 1%

Samourai Wallet says feds hid advice that crypto mixer was in the clear

Samourai Wallet’s lawyers allege federal prosecutors suppressed advice that the firm didn’t need a license before they charged executives at the crypto mixing service months later.

In a May 5 letter to a Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Samourai co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill said prosecutors disclosed that the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) representatives told them six months before they charged the pair “that under FinCEN’s guidance, the Samourai Wallet app would not qualify as a ‘Money Services Business’ requiring a FinCEN license.”

“Shockingly, six months later, the same prosecutors criminally charged Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill with operating just such a business without a FinCEN license,” the lawyers added.

The letter claimed that prosecutors were required to share their discussions with FinCEN over Samourai two weeks after they unsealed charges, making the deadline May 8 last year, but instead “suppressed this information

New York district gets interim US Attorney as ex-SafeMoon CEO trial kicks off

Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) John Durham has departed as President Donald Trump’s pick takes control of the office.

In a May 5 notice, the US Attorney’s Office for EDNY said Joseph Nocella will serve as interim US Attorney for the region for 120 days or until a Senate-confirmed nominee assumes the role. Nocella’s appointment came as jury selection began in the criminal trial of Braden John Karony, the former CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon.

It’s unclear how the advancement of Nocella, appointed by US President Donald Trump this month, could affect prosecutors’ case against Karony, who faces charges of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Nocella said he intended to help prosecute “narcotics-traffickers, gang members, terrorists, human-traffickers and other criminals.”

The former SafeMoon CEO asked the court in February to consider pushing