Hong Kong police are ramping up efforts to secure the city&#8217;s web3 space with a new tool to help track illegal crypto flows. Hong Kong&#8217;s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau revaled on Wednesday its newly developed crypto tracing tool…

Hong Kong police tease crypto tracing tool to tackle online crime

The stock market faced downside pressure on Thursday, with the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average, S&amp;P 500, and Nasdaq all opening lower amid a wave of news 
developments. Dow opened 190 points lower to extend its negative trend after 
closing -0.4%…

Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq wobble as stocks rally cools

XRP has pushed past $2.60 again this week, marking its second break above that 
level in just a few days. The token is up 17% over the last seven days as 
traders set their sights on the $3 mark. Related Reading: XRP Frenzy Builds: 
Over $1 Billion in Open Interest Signals Breakout Tension Based on reports 
from well‑known trader CryptoWZRD, a fresh all‑time high could be around the 
corner. But what stands behind these bullish calls, and how realistic are 
they? Historical Patterns Point Higher According To CryptoWZRD, XRP’s climb 
follows a familiar script. He highlights two long phases of calm price 
action—in 2014–2017 and again since 2018—that were each followed by big 
rallies. After holding as low as $1.60 in the recent downturn, XRP is now up 
60% from that trough to return to $2.47, when this article was made. His chart 
suggests that this leg could carry XRP past the $5.00 mark. If that plays out, 
the token would more than double from today’s levels. 🚨 THE ONLY WAY IS UP 📈 
Grinding higher.. ⚠️ $XRP held its ground but not only that has reversed, stop 
fighting it.. a new all time high is inevitable 🚀 Patience Pays.. 
pic.twitter.com/ebqPJmDiso — CRYPTOWZRD (@cryptoWZRD_) May 12, 2025 Market Cap 
Could Eclipse Ethereum Based on the analyst&#8217;s math, a $5.90 XRP would push its 
market cap above $345 billion. That sits just above Ethereum’s current $317 
billion valuation. Flipping ETH might feel bold, but it’s worth noting that 
ETH bulls have piled back in. Ethereum jumped 30% over the past week—nearly 
twice XRP’s gain. So even if XRP finds room to run, it may face stiff 
competition on overall market share. Wider Community Weighs In Other analysts 
compared today’s roughly 5% market dominance to the 30% seen in early 2018, 
when XRP reached $3.84. They think a return to that share could drive the 
price past $10 this year. Related Reading: Avalanche Rumbles 21% Amid Record- 
Breaking Address Activity Bull Case Versus Bigger Risks Not Everyone is 
convinced that numbers tell the full story, though. Legal headwinds in the US 
still hang over XRP after its lawsuit with the SEC, and any setback there 
could send prices tumbling. Market experts painted a super‑bullish scenario 
too, saying that if the global crypto market hits $35 trillion, XRP could 
reach a $1.25 trillion cap—roughly $20 per coin. That’s a 750% jump from 
$2.60. But even seasoned investors know that giant leaps rarely happen without 
sharp pullbacks along the way. At this stage, traders have a clear choice. 
They can chase XRP as it tests new ground, or they can wait for a pause or 
pullback before jumping in. The token’s recent strength is real, but the road 
to fresh highs could be bumpy. Whether it’s $5.80 or even $20, odds are the 
journey will be anything but straight. Featured image from The Market 
Periodical, chart from TradingView

XRP Reverses Course—New All-Time High Looks Unstoppable, Analyst Says

Stablecoin issuer Tether minted another 1 billion USDt tokens on Tron, pushing 
the network&#8217;s authorized USDT supply to surpass Ethereum&#8217;s.
On May 15, blockchain data showed that Tether&#8217;s treasury minted $1 billion of 
its dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDt (USDT), into the Tron network.
As of May 14, Tether&#8217;s stablecoin transparency page shows that Tron&#8217;s 
authorized USDT totals $73.7 billion, while Ethereum has $74.5 billion in 
authorized USDT tokens. If the newly minted tokens are added to the number of 
authorized USDT assets, Tron&#8217;s supply would surpass Ethereum&#8217;s USDT supply.
In terms of circulating supply, Tron also has the lead with $73.6 billion USDT 
on the network, while Ethereum only has $71.8 billion.
_Source:__PeckShieldAlert_
## Tether&#8217;s USDT mints replenish the company&#8217;s token inventory
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino previously said on X that some of the company&#8217;s 
blockchain-based USDT mints are used to replenish their USDT inventory on 
blockchain networks. This means the tokens will be used for the next batch of 
issuance requests and chain swaps.
In traditional business settings, inventory replenishment requires stock 
orders to meet demands. Similarly, Tether may mint USDT to maintain a 
sufficient supply and hold on to the assets until they are issued officially. 
This ensures that the firm&#8217;s liquidity management is smooth.
This means that authorized USDT supply on a network means that the stablecoin 
issuer anticipates future issuance demand of the stablecoin on a blockchain.
_**Related:**__**Altcoins &#8216; roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin 
dominance suggest &#8216;altseason&#8217; is here**_
## Ethereum and Tron battle for USDT supply dominance
Tron led USDT circulation between July 2022 and November 2024. However, 
CryptoQuant data showed that an $18 billion USDT mint on Ethereum pushed the 
network ahead in 2025. However, Tron&#8217;s USDT supply quickly caught up, with the 
latest mint putting it on top of Ethereum again.
According to Tether&#8217;s transparency page, Solana has the third-most supply of 
USDT in the market, with $2.3 billion authorized on the network. Avalanche has 
$1.8 billion in authorized USDT, making it the fourth-largest network in 
authorized USDT supply. While Avalanche has over $1 billion in authorized 
USDT, the network only has a net circulation of $752 million in tokens.
Meanwhile, The Open Network, Aptos, Near, Celo and Cosmos have smaller 
authorized and circulating USDT supplies.
CoinGecko data shows that Tether&#8217;s total circulation is at a record high of 
$150 million, a 9.4% increase compared to its supply at the start of 2025. 
This gives the stablecoin issuer 61% of all the USD stablecoins in the market.
Circle, its closest competitor, has $60.4 billion in stablecoins, giving it a 
market share of 24.6%, according to CoinGecko.
_**Magazine:**__**Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to 
institutions: Sky Wee**_

Tron’s USDT supply to surpass Ethereum’s with new $1B mint

As more and more businesses are impacted by tariff volatility, some 
executives, like Ridhima Kahn, vice president of business development at 
Dapper Labs, are viewing the assault on the cost of physical goods as another 
use case for digital markets powered by blockchain to shine.
&#8220;I&#8217;m seeing a lot of brands rethinking where revenue and fan engagement come 
from,&#8221; Kahn said during an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. &#8220;A lot of 
franchises, like the ones we work with &#8212; NBA, NFL, Disney &#8212; have already had 
years of success with digital collection, and we&#8217;re seeing a lot of brands 
express interest in digital collectibles as a way to engage with fan bases at 
a time when physical costs are riskier and unknown.&#8221;
Propelling brands to take a deeper look at digital merch is the desire to 
better understand fandom. Flow now has tradable highlights like a &#8220;LeBron 
Dunk&#8221; or a &#8220;Steph Curry 3-Pointer&#8221; that live inside the NBA app and has 
commemorative NFTs tied to NFL game highlights in NFL All Day.
But with Super Bowl ticket stubs and other digital mementos powered by 
blockchain, digital goods are proving they can unlock deeper in real life 
(IRL) fan experiences, courtside or on the field.
&#8220;When you look at the amount of time folks are spending online or in digital 
environments, it&#8217;s only increasing,&#8221; Kahn said. &#8220;That&#8217;s really motivating 
brands to identify where their fans are spending time and where they can reach 
them where they&#8217;re at. It&#8217;s also a great way to engage a more global fan base 
simultaneously, versus in a more limiting, geo-targeted way, which caters more 
toward the global fan bases that want to engage with these brands.&#8221;
## Digital as a go-to-market strategy
Because fan bases have become more globalized, the online experience just 
happens to offer a faster, more accessible environment for digital goods, 
particularly collectibles, versus the current marketplace for physical goods 
that&#8217;s being hampered by enigmatic tariffs.
_**Related:**__**Are Donald Trump &#8216;s tariffs a legal house of cards?**_
&#8220;Average NFT sales are up 7% quarter-over-quarter, with NFL All Day and NBA 
Top Shot delivering $2.5 million and $5.6 million, respectively,&#8221; Kahn said. 
&#8220;We&#8217;re also seeing total value locked (TVL) at an all-time high of $44.4 
million on Flow, led by protocols like KittyPunch and other markets that offer 
next-gen investing and trading opportunities &#8212; a trend that&#8217;s signaling a 
broadening use case for blockchain and crypto beyond just NFTs.&#8221;
Helping broaden the blockchain use case is the recently enhanced onramping and 
offramping technology that&#8217;s permeated throughout the industry, enabling a 
smoother user experience for those getting started in crypto and the world of 
digital commodities than what was available three years earlier.
Per Kahn:
&gt; A lot of blockchain companies are realizing the number of users they can 
&gt; have is capped if they don&#8217;t enhance the user experience. We&#8217;re seeing the 
&gt; enhanced user experience as a core driver of adoption, and from a regulatory 
&gt; standpoint, the positive moment for blockchain is also really exciting.
_NBA Top Shot sales have dropped significantly since 2022, but the start of 
the 2024-2025 season reignited interest. Source: Flow_
## Less fear, more utility
As more defined blockchain regulation is established, companies that might 
have initially been skeptical of blockchain are now taking it more seriously 
because _regulators_ are taking it more seriously, helping boost confidence in 
the tech, especially among well-known brands.
&#8220;IP-backed collections are winning,&#8221; Kahn said. &#8220;Upon Flow&#8217;s recent 
integration with OpenSea, NBA Top Shot was ranked among OpenSea&#8217;s top-five 
trending collections for four consecutive weeks. We go deep into specific fan 
bases to understand user behavior, and we A/B test our experiences, meaning 
the products we ultimately put out to market for fans are very well-vetted to 
ensure they&#8217;re actually what fans want.&#8221;
Kahn and Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou took a group of VIP collectors 
during the NBA&#8217;s in-season tournament to dinner and openly solicited their 
opinions on what they wanted to see more of on the platform. It&#8217;s the kind of 
swift, efficient, real-life research and development (R&amp;D) that can more 
easily impact the end product, because the end product is digital.
_**Related:**__**4chan rises from the dead: How the imageboard moves crypto 
markets**_
&#8220;We take those insights back to our product team, and we embed those insights 
into our product to ensure we&#8217;re creating the best fan experience, agnostic of 
the technology we&#8217;re using to get there,&#8221; Kahn said. &#8220;It&#8217;s about what the fans 
want, and we leverage blockchain technology to deliver the fan experiences 
people might not be able to get elsewhere.&#8221;
Elsewhere being the physical goods market.
&#8220;The technology in our products really fades into the background, and what&#8217;s 
left is a collectible that feels meaningful, shareable and valuable,&#8221; Kahn 
said. &#8220;Digital collectibles unlock layers of engagement that physical goods 
cannot: They can be personalized, connected to real-world access, or used to 
reward loyalty for years and years to come. They&#8217;re also remixable, 
lightweight and global from day one.&#8221;
But Khan doesn&#8217;t believe the physical goods market is going to go by the 
wayside anytime soon.
&gt; I don&#8217;t think brands are turning their backs on merchandise. It&#8217;s more about 
&gt; expanding the playbook and looking to one of the few revenue streams immune 
&gt; to the volatility of physical goods as a way to engage with fans further.
Outside of the internet, sports and media fans are limited to where they are 
physically when it comes to purchasing a physical good and where they can take 
that physical good. But Kahn believes the next evolution of fandom is mobile.
&#8220;We love the concept of being able to take your most prized possessions with 
you on your phone, wherever you are,&#8221; Kahn said. &#8220;Being limited to trading in 
a physical environment isn&#8217;t nearly as fun as being able to trade wherever you 
are with people all across the world.&#8221;
Moving forward, Kahn believes brands will continue to expand their playbooks 
by engaging more with fans in digital spaces.
&#8220;Consumers are also going to be more willing to adopt new ways to engage with 
brands in digital spaces if the value proposition is there,&#8221; Kahn said. &#8220;If 
we&#8217;re able to continue to offer utility to fans for what they do in a digital 
space &#8212; and what they do in a digital space benefits them in a physical world 
&#8212; that&#8217;s going to be the recipe for success.&#8221;
_**Magazine:**__**Crypto &#8216;more taboo than OnlyFans,&#8217; says Violetta Zironi, who 
sold song for 1 BTC**_

Tariff doubts push NFL, NBA to bet big on digital merch

Creators have long been at the mercy of centralized platforms. Lukso&#8217;s new COO 
explains how Web3 can change it.