Authorities in Europe have dismantled a massive cryptocurrency-based money laundering network that moved over €21 million for criminal groups across China and the Middle East. According to a May 14 statement, Europol coordinated with Spanish, Belgian, and Austrian law enforcement…

Europol busts €21m crypto laundering ring tied to China and Middle East crime groups

Having lingered above the $100,000 threshold for over a week, bitcoin’s 
analysts and enthusiasts are meticulously dissecting every price move in 
pursuit of hints about its next direction. Meanwhile, prediction markets 
assign a considerable likelihood of bitcoin preserving its six-figure status 
by year’s end. Prediction Market Frenzy Prediction marketplaces such as 
Polymarket—a decentralized, blockchain-based platform—and […]

Betting Big: Will Bitcoin Top $150K by Year’s End? 37% of Polymarket Bettors Think So

**Key points:**
 * US treasuries and foreign capital &#8220;repatriation&#8221; make a recipe for $1 million BTC, says Arthur Hayes.
 * Europeans face tightening capital controls, inviting a recommendation to take back control of personal funds.
 * Seven-figure BTC price targets are already gaining traction.
Bitcoin (BTC) will shoot to $1 million in just three years thanks to global 
macroeconomic shifts, Arthur Hayes forecasts.
In his latest blog post released on May 15, the former CEO of crypto exchange 
BitMEX doubled down on his sky-high BTC price prediction.
## Hayes: $1 million Bitcoin due &#8220;between now and 2028&#8221;
Bitcoin has two giant tailwinds that will help propel it to seven digits in 
just a few years.
For Hayes, shifting capital controls worldwide, as well as US treasury 
&#8220;devaluation,&#8221; mean that Bitcoin will become the go-to safety net for 
investors everywhere.
He summarizes:
&gt; &#8220;Foreign capital repatriation and the devaluation of the gargantuan stock of 
&gt; US treasuries will be the two catalysts that will power Bitcoin to $1 
&gt; million sometime between now and 2028.&#8221;
_TLT US exchange-traded fund indexed in gold, Bitcoin (screenshot). Source: 
Arthur Hayes/Substack_
While that date may appear arbitrary and demand 900% BTC price gains, Hayes 
argues that the financial landscape could change in an instant depending on 
the next US governmental administration.
&#8220;I say 2028, because that is when the next US presidential election occurs and 
who knows what type of politician will win and what policies they will enact,&#8221; 
he continues.
While the Presidency of Donald Trump has enacted various pro-crypto policies, 
these could also begin to reverse if a shift in government occurs. In Europe, 
meanwhile, an increasing desire to control and even suppress crypto use by the 
general population signals a growing divergence.
&#8220;Not even China has banned the private ownership of Bitcoin because it knows 
it&#8217;s counterproductive and impossible,&#8221; Hayes writes.
&gt; &#8220;For you Euro-poor-peans, whose governments practice a less effective form 
&gt; of communism than China, don&#8217;t expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to 
&gt; learn this lesson without trying. Therefore, get your money out now!&#8221;
## Betting on a seven-figure breakout
As Cointelegraph reported, Hayes has not been shy about predicting both short- 
term and longer-term BTC price expansion in the years to come.
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin looks &#8216;ridiculous&#8217; as bulls attempt $2T market cap 
flip &#8212; Analyst**_
In April, he foresaw the return to $100,000, and before that, joined those 
seeing the mid-$70,000 zone as a likely local bottom.
Multimillion-dollar targets for the next decade include those of major 
financial players such as Fidelity Investments.
Michael Saylor, CEO of business intelligence firm Strategy, which has the 
world&#8217;s largest Bitcoin treasury of any public company, told mainstream media 
this week that he envisages a $10 trillion valuation.
&#8220;My forecast for 2045 is 13 million a Bitcoin,&#8221; he added.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every 
investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their 
own research when making a decision.

Bitcoin to $1M by 2028 as Hayes tells Europe to ’get your money out’

CoinPayments and Jetcraft have partnered to enable crypto payments for 
aircraft purchases and private aviation services. According to a press release 
shared with crypto.news, CoinPayments Inc., a leading crypto payment gateway, 
has announced a partnership with Jetcraft, the world’s largest…

Jetcraft partners with CoinPayments to bring crypto payments to private aviation

Trump-backed World Liberty Financial has passed a proposal to test its on- 
chain airdrop feature by sending a &#8216;small amount&#8217; of USD1 to all eligible WLFI 
token holders. The proposal passed with a 99.96% approval rate. On May 14, an 
advisory…

World Liberty Financial approves proposal to airdrop a fixed amount of USD1 to WLFI holders

Prominent short-seller Jim Chanos, once a vocal critic of Bitcoin and 
cryptocurrencies, has revealed a new trading play that involves shorting 
shares of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and buying Bitcoin.
At the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, Chanos told CNBC he&#8217;s &#8220;selling 
MicroStrategy stock and buying Bitcoin.&#8221; The investor described the move as 
buying something for $1 and selling something for $2.50, referring to what he 
sees as a significant price mismatch.
Chanos argued that Strategy is selling the idea of buying Bitcoin (BTC) in a 
corporate structure, and that other companies are following suit in hopes of 
receiving a similar market premium.
However, Chanos said this was &#8220;ridiculous.&#8221; Chanos described his trade as &#8220;a 
good barometer of not only just of the arbitrage itself, but I think of retail 
speculation.&#8221;
## Selling Strategy stock to buy Bitcoin
Chanos&#8217; recent move assumes investors overpay for Bitcoin exposure through 
corporate wrappers like Strategy and other firms that follow its Bitcoin 
accumulation blueprint. The investor&#8217;s move reflects a stance that purchasing 
Bitcoin directly would be better than purchasing Strategy&#8217;s stocks for 
indirect Bitcoin exposure.
Chanos&#8217; move suggests holding Bitcoin through companies reflects excessive 
speculation and mispricing of risk. It assumes that retail investors&#8217; idea of 
having Bitcoin indirectly through corporate wrappers can inflate the company&#8217;s 
stock valuations.
While shorting Strategy seems like a good idea, investors have already lost 
billions shorting Saylor&#8217;s company. In 2024, investors who bet against the 
firm lost about $3.3 billion as the company&#8217;s stock started to rise.
As of May 2025, Strategy holds approximately 568,840 Bitcoin, valued at around 
$59 billion. Since the company started accumulating Bitcoin in 2020, its stock 
price surged by 1,500%, outperforming the S&amp;P 500&#8217;s gains during the same 
period.
In a recently released documentary from the Financial Times, Strategy analyst 
Jeff Walton said that the company&#8217;s Bitcoin holdings would help it become the 
&#8220;number one publicly traded equity in the entire market&#8221; in the future.
## Chanos previously called Bitcoin a &#8220;libertarian fantasy&#8221;
Chanos has not always been favorable toward Bitcoin. In a 2018 interview, 
Chanos described Bitcoin as a &#8220;libertarian fantasy.&#8221;
Chanos said that having digital currency as a store of value in the worst-case 
scenario wouldn&#8217;t work. The investor said that if fiat currency brings the 
world down, the last thing he&#8217;d want to own is Bitcoin. &#8220;Food would work the 
best,&#8221; he said.
He also criticized Bitcoin for enabling illicit activity, calling the crypto 
sector &#8220;the dark side of finance&#8221; in a 2023 interview, and accused the 
industry of facilitating tax evasion and money laundering.
Chanos also expressed skepticism about spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds 
(ETFs), saying that Wall Street needs to keep the public interested in crypto 
to profit from the fees.
Despite those critiques, Chanos now appears to see value in holding Bitcoin 
directly, particularly in contrast to investing in public companies with large 
BTC treasuries.
_**Related:**__**$1B Bitcoin exits Coinbase in a day as analysts warn of 
supply shock**_
## Chanos&#8217; history in short-selling
Chanos is best known for his short position against the energy company Enron 
before the firm filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The move generated profits for 
Kynikos Associates, a firm that he founded.
A short position involves borrowing assets from a broker, selling them at the 
current price, and then repurchasing the assets once the value falls to give 
back what is owed to the broker. Short sellers profit when the asset&#8217;s value 
declines, but face losses when the asset appreciates.
While the investor reaped profit from short-selling Enron, Chanos&#8217; predictions 
aren&#8217;t always correct. Chanos has been bearish on Tesla and announced a short 
position in 2016. However, Tesla stock skyrocketed by 2,200% between 2015 and 
2021.
The event caused major losses to Chanos&#8217; fund. In 2020, the fund ended with 
$405 million in assets under management after having over $900 million the 
previous year. The fund was converted into a family office, and external 
assets were returned to investors.
_**Magazine:**__**Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to 
institutions: Sky Wee**_