The SEC is unlikely to agree to approve an Ethereum ETF due to the controversial ETH process.

Balchunas made it clear that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classifies Ethereum (ETH) as a security, making approval of an Ethereum spot ETF nearly impossible.

To support his position, he cites the fact that the SEC has asked ETF applicants whether the entities have properly submitted proposals to list commodity ETFs.

James Seyfarth also agrees that since the SEC again designated ETH as a security, the refusal to approve Ethereum ETFs has increased again.

Last week, the SEC extended the deadline for reviewing applications to launch Ethereum-based spot ETFs from Invesco and Galaxy. The new deadline is July 5th.

In addition, on April 23, the SEC set its decision on the Ethereum spot ETF against the Franklin Templeton deadline with a deadline of June 11. Prior to this, the regulator extended the period for consideration of alternative applications from BlackRock.

 

Bitcoins worth $61 million that had been “sleeping” for 10 years began to move.

On May 12, two wallets that had been dormant for more than 10 years transferred 1,000 BTC (~$61 million) to new addresses. This was noticed by Lookonchain.

On September 12, 2013, the “1DUJuH” wallet received 500 BTC ($62,000 at that time), when the price of the first cryptocurrency was $124. The same amount was deposited to the address “16vRqA” the next day with similar quotes.

Outgoing transactions occurred within 20 minutes of each other. The proximity of the transactions in date and time allowed us to assume that the funds belonged to one user.

One of the transferred amounts of 500 BTC has already been distributed to approximately 200 new addresses.

According to an April report from Chainalysis and Fortune, 1.75 million Bitcoin wallets have been inactive for more than 10 years. They hold 1,798,681 BTC (~$121 billion at the time of the report), which is 8.5% of the total emission.

This count does not include about 30,000 addresses associated with the creator of the first cryptocurrency, Satoshi Nakamoto.

However, wallets that have been inactive for a long time periodically “wake up”. At the end of March, the owner of an address that had been dormant for 12 years moved all of his 500 BTC worth almost $35 million, splitting it into smaller deposits.

In April, 246 BTC worth $17 million left a wallet that had been inactive for 10 years, and another 50 BTC (~$3.3 million) began moving 14 years later.

 

Türkiye Prepares New Cryptocurrency Law to Comply with International Standards.

Türkiye is preparing to submit to parliament a new law to regulate crypto assets. The legislation, aimed at complying with international standards and reducing the risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions, will introduce strict regulations for the licensing and operation of cryptocurrency trading platforms under the supervision of the Capital Markets Council. It will also ensure secure storage of assets, establish transparent relationships between the platform and clients, and define sanctions for non-compliance. The bill is expected to be presented to parliament within a week. This initiative, strongly supported by the Minister of the Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, aims to remove Turkey from the financial watchdog's gray list and upgrade its status according to the standards of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

 

Tether froze $5.2 million in USDT linked to the scam.

Blockchain analytics company SlowMist reported that the freeze affected 12 Ethereum addresses with Tether (USDT) disabled. Each wallet was labeled as a “USDT Banned Address,” and security researcher SlowMist said the funds appeared to be linked to a criminal group on the blockchain.

 

Tether has agreed with RAK DAO to expand in the UAE.

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO). The partnership announcement was published on the company's official website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).

The press release states that the agreement with RAK DAO is the first step towards the launch of several strategic initiatives. The collaboration aims to introduce blockchain technology and stablecoins, cryptocurrency payments, and educational initiatives in Ras Al Khaimah, the state's northernmost emirate.

As reported by Tether, RAK DAO is a free economic zone focused on Web3 projects and companies dealing with virtual assets. Through its own Tether Edu division, the USDT stablecoin issuer will develop educational solutions for people with different skill levels.

RAK DAO CEO Samir Al Ansari said the collaboration with Tether marks a turning point in Ras Al Khaimah's journey to become a leading innovation hub.

 

DeFi project Sonne Finance was hacked for $20 million.

The decentralized landing protocol Sonne Finance was exploited, resulting in damage of approximately $20 million.

According to the statement, the attacker used a “known donation attack” on Compound v2 forks, one of which is Sonne Finance.

As a result of the hack, the protocol team suspended its operation on the Optimism L2 solution. Operations at Base continue as normal.

 

The Notcoin price was $0.012 after the start of trading.

On May 16, the largest cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, Bybit, and OKX listed the NOT token of the gaming Web3 project Notcoin.

Binance has opened trading in NOT/BTC, NOT/USDT, NOT/BNB, NOT/FDUSD, and NOT/TRY pairs. Bybit and OKX offer NOT/USDT spot trading.

At the same time, the token was listed on other cryptocurrency platforms, including KuСoin, Gate.io, Bitget, and Bitfinex.

The total supply of NOT is 102.7 billion coins.

At the start of trading, the price of the token on the Binance exchange was $0.012, after which it began to decline.

According to CoinGecko, 15 minutes after the start of trading, the token fell by more than 54% to $0.009836.

 

The US Senate voted to repeal the SEC's Crypto Accounting Policy, checking Biden's veto threat.

On Thursday, the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in seeking to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) controversial Crypto Policy known as Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, although President JOE Biden has vowed to veto the resolution.

 

The Senate voted 60-38 to attempt to repeal the policy, commonly referred to as SAB 121, although Crypto may not breathe a sigh of relief over the initiative's banking restrictions, as Biden said repealing the rule in this way would undermine "the work to protect investors in the crypto asset markets and protecting the financial system as a whole.”

A dozen Democrats voted with most Republicans for the resolution, easily achieving the simple majority needed to pass. However, the resolution did not receive enough votes to make it veto-proof.

 

Tether has partnered with TON and Oobit to facilitate crypto payments.

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has entered into a partnership agreement with the non-profit organization The Open Network Foundation (TON) and the payment service Oobit. The parties will work to create a comprehensive solution for cryptocurrency payments.

The release said the collaboration reaffirms Tether's commitment to building a financial system through decentralized technology solutions that empowers users in the world of digital assets.

Previously, as part of this initiative, the issuer added support for USDT on the TON network to make the funds transfer process faster, safer, and more cost-effective.

According to the press release, one of Tether's key goals is to expand the availability of the US dollar around the world. It is noted that the company continues to lead in transforming the cryptocurrency landscape and disrupting the traditional financial system.