Dubai will become one of the world’s first governments to fully enable crypto payments for public services, following a landmark agreement signed between Dubai’s Department of Finance and Crypto.com. Announced at the Dubai FinTech Summit on May 12, the memorandum…

Dubai to accept crypto for government service payments in global first

Crypto breaks into Wall Street’s top tier as Coinbase becomes the first 
digital asset firm added to the S&amp;P 500, signaling a seismic shift in 
financial market legitimacy. Coinbase Makes History With S&amp;P 500 Inclusion S&amp;P 
Dow Jones Indices, a division of S&amp;P Global (NYSE: SPGI), announced on May 12 
that Coinbase Global Inc. (Nasdaq: […]

Coinbase Joins S&P 500, Setting Stage for Massive Institutional Crypto Shift

PEPE token is hogging the headlines, and for the right reasons. The meme coin, 
defying the odds, has gathered the right amount of steam to spring back to 
life. PEPE surged 16% today, closing a Cup &amp; Handle chart pattern that enabled 
it to recuperate and improve on previous setbacks. Speculators rushed in, 
pushing spot trading volume to nearly $4 billion. That outpaced Dogecoin’s 
$2.84 billion by about $1.10 billion. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Grip Loosens: 
Market Expert Says Dominance Has Hit Its Ceiling Among top trading coins, 
$Pepe ranked No.5 in terms of trading Volume. marked 3.9B today. We are back. 
pic.twitter.com/uCvvppO7aG — M Barbara🐸 (@Barbara_KVH) May 9, 2025 Meme Coin 
Volumes Spike According to data, PEPE&#8217;s smart-contract trades reached $5.74 
billion in derivatives today. That is up 280% from yesterday. Dogecoin 
continues to dominate futures with $6.60 billion volume and a solid Open 
Interest funding rate—the highest since February 2025. DOGE shorts lost $14 
million in liquidations, which is about $3 million less than losses for PEPE 
shorts. Whale Activity Catches Attention As per on-chain analysts at 
LookOnChain, a single large wallet added 500 billion PEPE tokens worth $4.36 
million. Only a few days ago, the same wallet scooped up another 500 billion 
at $4.54 million. This whale just bought 500B $PEPE($4.36M) again and 
currently holds 2T $PEPE($17.42M).https://t.co/lj4QaP0DUW 
pic.twitter.com/sx7hOqkcKG — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 8, 2025 Now, this 
whale owns 1.5 trillion tokens worth approximately $18.6 million at today&#8217;s 
rate of $0.0000123. Such transactions can drive prices higher, but can also 
spark sudden sell-offs. On-Chain Indicators Send Mixed Signals Latest data 
indicates Chaikin Money Flow on the PEPE/USDT pair went positive on May 6, 
2025. That suggests cash is flowing back into the coin as geopolitical 
tensions subside. However, network growth indicators remain down. Fewer new 
wallets are entering the PEPE party. In other words, the rally might be more 
fueled by large traders swapping bags rather than new users piling in. Supply 
Overhang May Weigh On Gains The overall supply of PEPE is around 420 trillion 
tokens. That&#8217;s a massive amount. Even a fraction of that selling off could 
swamp exchanges. Coins with tighter supplies don&#8217;t require as much buzz to 
maintain their price. PEPE has risen by over 112% this month, but big supplies 
mean big gains can turn just as quickly. Bitcoin Boost Fuels Retail Interest 
Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged over $104,000 today. That level tends to attract 
more retail traders into the market. If retail is confident, they go after 
smaller coins afterwards. That might drive PEPE higher if traders believe that 
the meme rally has legs to it. But it also increases the risk of a sharp 
pullback if Bitcoin loses steam. Related Reading: Bitcoin Stays Resilient 
While Wall Street Stumbles – Details What Investors Should Watch Price action 
on meme coins can fluctuate wildly. Large volumes and whale purchases fuel 
headlines but do not always mean sustained growth. Look for changes in open 
interest, new wallet activity, and any adjustments in Bitcoin&#8217;s price. If PEPE 
stays above that Cup &amp; Handle breakout point, it might hang around. If not, 
today&#8217;s surge might be all the pleasant news we get. Featured image from 
Dejavusoul, chart from TradingView

PEPE Becomes Most Traded Meme Coin, Outsmarting DOGE With $4-B Volume

Aave, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, has reached a new record of 
funds onchain, according to data from DefiLlama.
In an X post, Aave said it topped $40.3 billion in total value locked (TVL) on 
May 12. Onchain data reveals that Aave v3, the latest version of the protocol, 
has approximately $40 billion in TVL.
Aave is a DeFi lending protocol that lets users borrow cryptocurrency by 
depositing other types of cryptocurrency as collateral. Meanwhile, lenders 
earn yield from borrowers.
&#8220;With these milestones, Aave is proving its dominance in the Lending Space,&#8221; 
DeFi analyst Jonaso said in a May 12 X post. TVL represents the total value of 
cryptocurrency deposited into a protocol&#8217;s smart contracts.
_Aave v3 &#8216;s TVL over time. Source: __DeFiLlama_
 _**Related: AAVE soars 13% as buyback proposal passes among tokenholders**_
## Breaking all-time highs
In December, Aave achieved an all-time high TVL largely because the price of 
Ether (ETH) rose roughly 60% from the prior month. Ether and its staking 
derivatives make up nearly half of Aave&#8217;s TVL, according to data from 
DefiLlama.
This time around, Aave&#8217;s all-time high TVL is also driven by inflows of 
deposits by users.
In Ether-denominated terms, Aave&#8217;s TVL rose from around 6 million ETH at the 
start of 2025 to nearly 10 million ETH on May 12. Measuring TVL in ETH 
accounts for the impact of fluctuating cryptocurrency prices.
_Aave says its net deposits broke $40 billion this week. Source:__Aave_
Before US President Donald Trump prevailed in the November election, Ether 
traded at less than $2,500. It peaked at almost $4,000 the following month, 
according to data from Google Finance.
In the past month, Ether has also clocked substantial gains, rising from 
around $1,500 per Ether 30 days ago to roughly $2,500 as of May 12, according 
to data from Google Finance.
The price of Aave&#8217;s native AAVE (AAVE) token has risen approximately 25% in 
the past seven days, reflecting a buoyant crypto market and ongoing TVL 
inflows, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
_**Magazine: **__**Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle &#8217;10x bigger&#8217; but will 
still decisively break above $100K**_

DeFi lender Aave reaches $40B in value locked onchain

OP_RETURN is a Bitcoin script opcode enabling users to embed small, 
unspendable data within transactions, striking a balance between functionality 
and network efficiency. A recent proposal to lift its 80-byte cap has ignited 
discussion over Bitcoin’s role as a data carrier versus a streamlined payment 
system. Understanding OP_RETURN: Bitcoin’s Data Carving Tool OP_RETURN, added 
in […]

Decoding OP_RETURN in Bitcoin and What’s the Big Deal?

The list of the top holders of US President Donald Trump&#8217;s memecoin has been 
finalized ahead of background checks to apply for a dinner and &#8220;VIP tour&#8221; with 
the president on May 22.
In a May 12 X post, the TRUMP memecoin project said it would stop considering 
additional purchases for a dinner with the president, adding that the top 
tokenholders had been notified to apply for background checks if they wanted 
to attend.
According to data provided on the project&#8217;s leaderboard, the top 220 wallets 
held more than 13.7 million tokens as of May 12, worth roughly $174 million at 
the time of publication.
_Top 10 TRUMP memecoin holders as of May 12. Source: TRUMP memecoin project_
It&#8217;s unclear who, if any, of the wallet holders will choose to apply for and 
attend the dinner with Trump, or the &#8220;exclusive reception&#8221; expected to be in 
the White House for the top 25 holders, on May 22. A May 7 Bloomberg report 
suggested that the majority of tokenholders were based outside of the United 
States, leading to potential security concerns and conflicts of interest.
Many US lawmakers and figures in the crypto industry criticized the president 
for launching the memecoin just days before taking office on Jan. 20. In the 
wake of his dinner announcement on April 23, the calls for congressional 
oversight and allegations of corruption have intensified, with one senator 
calling for Trump&#8217;s impeachment and other representatives refusing to consider 
crypto-related legislation until their concerns were addressed.
_**Related:**__**FT report suggests advance knowledge of Melania Trump 
memecoin launch**_
Companies also apparently seeking influence over Trump&#8217;s policies have 
invested in the memecoin. In April, Freight Technologies said it would invest 
$20 million in the token, suggesting that it could affect the president&#8217;s 
trade war between the US and Mexico, where the firm conducts some of its 
business. As of May 12, the company had not announced whether it qualified to 
send a representative to the dinner.
## Not Trump&#8217;s first appeal to crypto users
During his 2024 campaign, Trump hosted a dinner with supporters who purchased 
his &#8220;mugshot&#8221; non-fungible tokens, which featured a picture of the then- 
presidential candidate at his surrender to authorities on charges he attempted 
to overturn the 2020 election.
Many of the &#8220;mugshot&#8221; attendees publicly shared their identities on social 
media ahead of and during the event, but at the time of publication, no one 
appeared to be claiming they would apply for the memecoin dinner. Wallets with 
the usernames &#8220;Sun&#8221; and &#8220;elon&#8221; have led to speculation that Tron founder 
Justin Sun and Tesla CEO Elon Musk &#8212; both Trump supporters who have financial 
interests tied to Trump&#8217;s presidency &#8212; could be among the attendees.
_**Magazine:**__**Trump &#8216;s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider 
trading questions**_