The SEC is continuing to investigate Coinbase over past statements about its user base, despite recent moves under President Trump to roll back crypto enforcement, The New York Times reported. According to four people familiar with the matter, the SEC…

SEC continues Coinbase investigation over ‘verified users’: report

Global foreign exchange and payments platforms are lobbying hard against 
stablecoins, which stand to significantly disrupt their business models, 
investor Kevin O&#8217;Leary said during a keynote address at Consensus 2025.
Legacy forex and payments platforms often extract large fees for servicing 
cross-border cash transfers and stand to lose out on revenue if regulated 
stablecoins become accepted as a cheaper, faster alternative, O&#8217;Leary said at 
the Toronto conference.
&gt; &#8220;Currency trading is a multi-trillion dollar market &#8212; and it&#8217;s old and ugly 
&gt; and inefficient,&#8221; O&#8217;Leary said, adding that &#8220;[ t]he biggest threat to that 
&gt; monopoly or oligopoly is a regulated stablecoin.&#8221;
&#8220;Once that&#8217;s approved, the multi-trillion dollar FX market becomes efficient, 
transparent, and inexpensive,&#8221; he said.
_Kevin O &#8216;Leary speaking at Consensus. Source: Cointelegraph_
## Stablecoin legislation
US lawmakers are working on legislation that stands to accelerate global 
stablecoin adoption, O&#8217;Leary added.
US Senators are aiming to pass the so-called Genius Act &#8212; a framework for 
regulating stablecoins &#8212; before the end of May. &#8220;As soon as the SEC approves 
the stablecoin act, every regulator in the US&#8217;s circle &#8212; Abu Dhabi, 
Switzerland, England &#8212; will follow,&#8221; O&#8217;Leary said.
&#8220;Who&#8217;s worried about this? The financial services industry. They hate this 
idea, and they&#8217;re working very hard to stop that bill from happening right 
now,&#8221; he added.
O&#8217;Leary said regulatory clarity for stablecoins may be a precursor to broader 
cryptocurrency reform that could potentially unlock trillions of dollars in 
institutional capital.
&#8220;When this language comes out, people will see really good refinement, a lot 
of progress, on things like consumer protection, bankruptcy protection, and 
ethics,&#8221; US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said during an event hosted by 
Coinbase&#8217;s lobbying arm, Stand with Crypto.
As of May 15, stablecoins are collectively worth nearly $250 billion in market 
capitalization, according to data from CoinGecko. Tether&#8217;s US-dollar pegged 
stablecoin USDT is the leader, with a market cap of around $150 million, the 
data showed. It&#8217;s followed by Circle&#8217;s USDC, another US-dollar pegged 
stablecoin with a market cap of more than $60 billion.
_**Magazine: **__**Bitcoin to $1M &#8216;by 2029,&#8217; CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: 
Hodler&#8217;s Digest, April 27 &#8211; May 3**_

Legacy forex, payments platforms ‘hate’ stablecoin adoption — Kevin O’Leary

U.S. authorities have charged 12 additional defendants in a sprawling RICO 
conspiracy involving over $263 million in cryptocurrency thefts, money 
laundering, and coordinated home invasions, according to a superseding 
indictment unsealed this week. DOJ: Crypto Crime Ring Laundered $263M via 
Mixers, Peel Chains, Hermès Birkin Bags, and Stuffed Animal Cash Shipments The 
indictment, announced by […]

Cyber Gang Spent $4M on Nightclubs, $9M on Exotic Cars in $263M Crypto Fraud, DOJ Says

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal addressed some of the concerns raised 
by US lawmakers and industry leaders around President Donald Trump&#8217;s crypto 
ventures, and how they may affect related legislation.
Speaking at the Consensus conference in Toronto on May 15, Grewal said there 
had been &#8220;hiccups&#8221; in Congress since the Senate Banking Committee voted to 
advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, 
or GENIUS Act, in March. Though Grewal said there were disputes over 
&#8220;substantial issues that need to be addressed&#8221; in the bill, he hinted that 
Trump&#8217;s involvement in the industry was a &#8220;complicating factor.&#8221;
&#8220;The discussion around the president&#8217;s support for a certain memecoin or two 
and other efforts does add a certain level of challenge to the effort to get 
Democrats and Republicans aligned on the right way to regulate the [spot 
market], but I have confidence that the Senate and the House are going to sort 
all that out,&#8221; said Grewal.
_Paul Grewal (right) on stage at Consensus in Toronto on May 15. Source: 
Cointelegraph._
Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren explicitly called out the Trump 
family&#8217;s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, and its USD1 stablecoin in 
opposing the GENIUS Act. However, some of the bill&#8217;s supporters, like Senator 
Kirsten Gillibrand, who proposed an earlier version of the legislation, said 
they would remove language specifically targeting the president&#8217;s crypto 
ventures.
_**Related:**__**Democrats seek suspicious activity reports linked to Trump 
crypto ventures**_
Whatever the terms for modifications to the bill may be, many lawmakers still 
expect the Senate to take up another vote in a matter of days. Punchbowl 
reported on May 15 that Democrats &#8220;won major victories&#8221; after receiving 
assurances that some of their concerns around consumer protection, Anti-Money 
Laundering, and national security safeguards would be addressed.
## First stablecoins, then a market structure bill?
The House of Representatives is also considering draft legislation for a 
digital asset market structure bill, a different iteration of the FIT21 bill 
that passed the chamber in May 2024. Democratic representatives have similarly 
pushed back on the legislation, citing &#8220;Trump&#8217;s crypto corruption.&#8221;
&#8220;I think we&#8217;re gonna learn a lot from the progress we see just in the next few 
days on stablecoins on the appetite to really tackle all these problems on any 
schedule that resembles the one that was laid out not long ago by the White 
House and certain leaders in Congress,&#8221; said Grewal.
_**Magazine:**__**Trump &#8216;s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider 
trading questions**_

Trump’s crypto ties ‘add a certain level of challenge’ to passing bills — Coinbase exec

Bitcoin&#8217;s price action in the past 24 hours has seen it slowly retracing from 
the $104,000 zone it started the week at. This range has become particularly 
significant as Bitcoin continues to flirt with levels last seen during its 
recent push toward new all-time highs. Bitcoin&#8217;s price movements over the past 
two days have tightened, and the candlestick behavior on the weekly chart has 
led to a doji formation on the weekly candlestick timeframe, an indicator of 
indecision. Interestingly, a technical analysis from crypto analyst Tony &#8220;The 
Bull&#8221; Severino has highlighted critical levels to watch that will determine 
whether the Bitcoin price is turning bearish or still bullish. Mixed Signals: 
Why the Current Resistance Zone Is Critical Crypto analyst Tony &#8220;The Bull&#8221; 
Severino shared a chart and in-depth breakdown on the social media platform X, 
pointing to horizontal support and resistance levels as the most important 
technical indicators in his view. As shown on his Bitcoin weekly chart, the 
leading cryptocurrency is now pressing against a well-defined resistance zone 
just below its all-time high, marked clearly in red. The proximity of this 
level to its all-time high means it could act as a ceiling, making it an 
important area to watch for either a breakout or a reversal. Related Reading: 
What’s Driving The Bitcoin Price Recovery Above $100,000 And Is It 
Sustainable? Tony outlines three possible interpretations for the current 
market structure around the $108,000 resistance level. The bullish case hinges 
on Bitcoin consolidating under resistance, a pattern often followed by upward 
continuation. The neutral case is that Bitcoin could be forming a broad 
trading range, in which case it makes sense to short the market at resistance 
while buying near support. On the bearish side, the presence of a doji 
candlestick at this key level may be a sign of fading momentum and an early 
signal of a price reversal. His trading strategy reflects this uncertainty. He 
has placed short positions within the red resistance zone, with a stop loss 
just above the all-time high. At the same time, he has set a stop buy order in 
the green breakout zone above the all-time high, ready to switch long should 
the Bitcoin price convincingly break through resistance. Conditions For A 
Bullish Breakout Are Not Yet Fulfilled Although Tony noted that the broader 
investment market, including altcoins and the stock market, looks strong, he 
cautioned that this does not guarantee a bullish breakout for Bitcoin. For 
confirmation, a bullish breakout must be preceded by aligning various 
technical indicators. These include a breakout with substantial trading 
volume, an RSI reading above 70 on the weekly chart, and a weekly close above 
the upper Bollinger Band. Related Reading: ‘The Big Short’ Coming For Bitcoin? 
Why BTC Will Clear $110,000 At the moment, however, the Bitcoin CME Futures 
chart has failed to move past 70 on the daily RSI twice, and trading volume is 
in decline. According to CoinMarketCap, the trading volume of Bitcoin is 
$44.33 billion in the past 24 hours, a 11.40% reduction from the previous 24 
hours. These are early warning signs that a breakout attempt may lack the 
strength needed for sustainability. Nonetheless, the conditions are still very 
mixed and starting to lean more bullish than bearish. At the time of writing, 
Bitcoin is trading at $102,352, down by 1.31% in the past 24 hours. Featured 
image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

Is Bitcoin Price Turning Bullish Or Bearish? Crypto Analyst Reveals Critical Levels To Watch

There is an ongoing race across the world for Bitcoin accumulation, according 
to Eric Trump, the second-eldest son of US President Donald Trump. Speaking at 
a crypto conference in Toronto on May 15, Trump said that from families to 
government funds, &#8220;everybody in the world is trying to hoard Bitcoin right 
now.&#8221;
The remarks came during a panel at Consensus 2025. Sharing the stage with 
Asher Genoot, the CEO of Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Hut 8, Trump said 
Bitcoin adoption has been incredible.
&gt; &#8220;I&#8217;m traveling. I&#8217;m on a plane. Everybody in the world is trying to hoard 
&gt; Bitcoin right now. Everybody. I hear it from sovereign wealth funds. I hear 
&gt; it from the wealthiest families. I hear from the biggest companies.&#8221;
_Asher Genoot and Eric Trump at Consensus 2025. Source: Cointelegraph_
Trump described what he sees as &#8220;two races in Bitcoin&#8221;: the accumulation race 
&#8212; currently led by Michael Saylor, he says &#8212; and the mining race, which 
marks his own involvement in the crypto space.
President Trump&#8217;s third child is co-founder of American Bitcoin, a Hut8 
subsidiary. On May 12, the companies announced American Bitcoin would merge 
with Gryphon Digital Mining in a stock-for-stock transaction that will result 
with a public listing on the Nasdaq.
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin bulls aim for new all-time highs by next week as 
capital inflows soar**_
## Trump crypto ventures cause Democrats consternation
The size of Trump&#8217;s family crypto ventures has grown considerably over several 
years from non-fungible token collections and mining to memecoins and a 
stablecoin. Critics say the ventures pose conflicts of interest and open the 
door to potential corruption.
At various points, Democrats have called for investigations into Trump&#8217;s 
crypto-related activities, proposed legislation aimed at limiting potential 
financial gains by the Trump family from memecoins, and walked out of a joint 
hearing on digital assets, citing concerns over the lack of discussion around 
the president&#8217;s involvement in the crypto space.
Senate Democrats withdrew their support for a bipartisan stablecoin bill amid 
ongoing scrutiny of the president&#8217;s crypto ventures, though a second voting 
session could come as soon as May 26.
_**Magazine:**__**Trump &#8216;s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider 
trading question**_