Suehyeon Lee

Week Ahead in Economics and Crypto: US Jobless Claims, FOMC Minutes

Key Economic Events Next Week ▶ May 18 (Monday): △ China April industrial production ▶ May 19 (Tuesday): △ Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller speaks (9 p.m. Korea time) △ US April existing home sales (11 p.m. Korea time) ▶ May 20 (Wednesday)

Intesa Sanpaolo More Than Doubles Crypto Exposure to $235 Million, Adds Ether and XRP

Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, more than doubled its crypto-related investment exposure in the first quarter. Cointelegraph reported on May 17 that the bank’s crypto exposure increased to about $235 million at the end of March from roughly $1

Washington Post Says More Than 20% of Senior Trump Officials Hold Crypto Assets

A substantial share of senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration have invested in cryptocurrency or blockchain-related assets, according to an analysis. The Washington Post reported on May 17 that it reviewed about 300 senior admini

Bitcoin Flashes Overheating Signal as Average Realized Profit Hits 17%

Bitcoin investors' average realized profit has reached 17%, signaling potential short-term overheating, according to crypto analyst Ali Martinez. On May 17, Martinez wrote that the average realized profit for Bitcoin traders had climbed to 17%. It ma

a16z Crypto Says CLARITY Act Would Boost US Digital-Asset Innovation

a16z Crypto said the CLARITY Act, a bill intended to bring clearer rules to the US digital-asset market, would help spur innovation in the country. Cointelegraph reported on May 16 that providing developers with regulatory clarity in the US would sup

Harvard Exits BlackRock Spot Ether ETF, Cuts IBIT Stake by 43%

Harvard University’s endowment sold its entire position in BlackRock’s spot Ether exchange-traded fund in the first quarter and cut its stake in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, or IBIT, by 43%. The Block reported on May 17 that Harvard fully exited th

Strategy Seeks Early Repayment of $1.5 Billion in Convertible Notes Due 2029

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, plans to repay about $1.5 billion of convertible notes due in 2029 ahead of schedule. Cointelegraph reported on May 16 that Strategy said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission it

Strategy’s STRC Preferred Stock Draws Risk Warning Over Investor Underpricing

Investors may be underestimating the risks in Strategy’s variable-rate Series A perpetual Stretch preferred stock, STRC, according to an analysis. Matt Dines, chief investment officer at credit asset manager Build Markets, told TFTC that STRC remains

House Agriculture Leaders Press Trump to Fill 4 CFTC Vacancies Ahead of CLARITY Act

Leaders of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee have urged President Donald Trump to quickly fill vacancies at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Block reported on May 16 that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson and Ranking

Jump Crypto’s Firedancer Begins Mainnet Block Production on Solana, Handles Tens of Millions of Transactions

Jump Crypto’s Solana validator client Firedancer has started producing blocks on the mainnet, CoinDesk reported on May 16. In an interview, Firedancer Chief Engineer Ritchie Patel said the software is now running in a live production environment and

Moody’s Says Shift to Tokenized Finance May Start Slowly, Then Accelerate Rapidly

Major US banks and financial institutions view a shift to a digital financial system built on asset tokenization as inevitable, according to a Moody’s Ratings analysis. Cointelegraph reported on May 14 that Moody’s said in a report large banks and fi

Bank of England Weighs Easing Stablecoin Rules After Saying Proposal May Have Been Too Conservative

The Bank of England signaled it may ease its approach to stablecoin regulation. In an interview with the Financial Times published on May 14, Sarah Breeden, the BOE's deputy governor for financial stability, said the central bank's initial stablecoin

DeFi Development Says Solana Per Share Rose 108% Over the Past Year

DeFi Development, a Solana-focused treasury company, said its Solana holdings per share rose 108% over the past year. The Block reported on May 14 that the company’s SOL per share increased to 0.0670 from 0.0322 a year earlier. The company said it no

US Spot Ether ETFs See $36.25 Million in Net Outflows, Extending Streak to Three Sessions

US spot Ether exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows for a third straight trading session. Trader T data showed the funds posted combined net outflows of $36.25 million on May 13. That marked the third consecutive session of net withdrawals. Bla

Bitcoin Falls Below $79,000

Trump, Xi Stress Cooperation at First Summit, Say US-China Ties Will Improve

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed cooperation at their first summit, signaling optimism about improving US-China relations. Trump said in remarks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 13 that relations betwe

Bipartisan Talks on US CLARITY Act End Without Deal, Raising Prospect of GOP-Only Push

Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats ended without an agreement ahead of the Senate Banking Committee’s markup of the CLARITY Act. Eleanor Terrett, host of CryptoAmerica, reported on May 13 that talks among a small group of senators to secu

US Spot-Bitcoin ETFs See $630.38 Million in Net Outflows, Most in Three Months

US spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted their largest net outflow in three months. Trader T data showed $630.38 million was pulled from US spot-Bitcoin ETFs on May 13. The outflow extended the streak of net withdrawals to a second straight tradi

Dormant Ethereum ICO Wallet Moves After 10.8 Years, Sitting on 7,303x Gain

An Ethereum initial coin offering, or ICO, wallet that had been dormant for more than a decade has become active again. Lookonchain said on May 13 that Ethereum ICO address 0xeD41 moved its entire 790.17 ETH balance to a new wallet after about 10.8 y

Hyperliquid Leads Blockchain Fee Market With 43% Share, Surpassing Ethereum and Solana

Hyperliquid, the decentralized derivatives platform behind HYPE, is expanding its footprint after posting the largest share of blockchain fees among major networks. The Block reported on May 13 that Hyperliquid accounted for about 43% of the total bl

Coinone Revamps Fixed Staking Interface

Coinone said May 14 that it had revamped the interface for its fixed staking service. The update focuses on improving the user interface and experience so users can more intuitively track the progress of staking and unstaking. Coinone added a feature

Kennedy Backs CLARITY Act, Securing Votes to Clear Senate Banking Panel

Sen. John Kennedy, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, plans to vote for the CLARITY Act, a cryptocurrency market structure bill, a move that increases the measure’s chances of advancing. BeInCrypto reported on May 13 that Kennedy intends to su

Bithumb Rolls Out Campaign Against AI-Driven Voice Phishing

Bithumb said May 14 that it has launched a “Complete Guide to Voice Phishing” campaign with prevention guidelines for new forms of financial fraud that exploit artificial intelligence. The campaign is part of Bithumb’s monthly Information Security Da

S&P 500, Nasdaq Close at Record Highs as AI Chip Rally Overrides Inflation Fears

U.S. stocks closed higher on May 13 as strength in artificial intelligence-linked technology shares offset pressure from a hotter-than-expected producer price report. Reuters reported that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reversed early losses to finish at rec

US April Retail Sales Among Key Economic, Crypto Events on May 14

Key Economic Events Today ▶︎ May 14 (Thursday): △ South Korea's April export and import price indexes and trade balance △ Japan's preliminary first-quarter GDP △ US April retail sales (9:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time) Key Cryptocurrency Events Today ▶︎

Fidelity Backs CLARITY Act, Says US Must Retain Global Leadership in Digital Assets

Fidelity said it supports the CLARITY Act, a U.S. market-structure bill for digital assets. Watcher.Guru reported on May 13 that Fidelity backs the CLARITY Act and believes the measure would help the U.S. maintain global leadership in digital assets.

Polymarket April Volume Falls 9% as Kalshi Expands US Share

Monthly trading volume at decentralized prediction-market platform Polymarket declined in April, while rival Kalshi increased its trading activity and expanded its market share. Cointelegraph reported on May 13 that Polymarket’s US-only trading app r

Ripple CEO Praises Senate Banking Committee's Push on CLARITY Act

Ripple Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse praised the U.S. Senate Banking Committee's efforts to advance the CLARITY Act. Writing on X on May 13, Garlinghouse said the committee was working to move the bill forward and called it "incredible le

Bitcoin Holds Near $80,000 as CLARITY Act Hopes Raise $90,000 Scenario

Bitcoin has been trading sideways near $80,000, and debate around the U.S. CLARITY Act could provide a short-term catalyst for gains. Cointelegraph reported on May 13 that Bitcoin has traded around $80,000 over the past week, with the 200-day exponen

Bitcoin Defends $80,000 After CPI Shock as Structural Buying Holds

Bitcoin held firm above $80,000 despite the shock from the latest US consumer price index report, with buyers quickly stepping in, CoinDesk reported. Bitcoin briefly fell to $79,879 after the release of April US CPI data on May 13, before rebounding