Monero, the leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency, surged to its highest level in four years as demand rose. Monero (XMR) jumped to $350, bringing its year-to-date gains to 75% and pushing its market cap above $6.3 billion. It has rallied over 155%…

XMR price rally heats up: overbought signals flash caution

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**_

"The world is trying to hoard Bitcoin right now" — Eric Trump

Wintermute, a global algorithmic crypto trading firm and over-the-counter 
(OTC) desk, opened its U.S. headquarters in New York City on May 15, 2025, and 
appointed former Blockchain Association lobbyist Ron Hammond as head of policy 
and advocacy. Crypto Liquidity Provider Wintermute Sets Up New York 
Headquarters According to the announcement shared with Bitcoin.com News, 
Wintermute’s […]

Crypto Trading Firm and OTC Desk Wintermute Enters US Market

**Key takeaway:**
 * Bitcoin&#8217;s struggles to overtake the $105,000 level as US macroeconomic headwinds remain a challenge. 
 * Steady inflows from institutional investors and the strength of the $100,000 support point to growing confidence in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to break above $105,000 since May 10, leading 
traders to question whether the bullish momentum has faded. Although BTC 
managed to reclaim the $104,000 level, demand for leveraged long positions has 
dropped sharply, as indicated by the decline in the Bitcoin futures premium.
_Bitcoin 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch_
On May 14, the annualized Bitcoin futures premium peaked at 7%, but then fell 
to 5%, which is near the neutral-to-bearish threshold and matches the level 
seen four weeks ago when BTC traded around $84,500.
This decline in demand for leveraged bullish positions appears to be linked to 
broader macroeconomic uncertainty, since Bitcoin&#8217;s price has been closely 
following movements in the stock market.
_S &amp;P 500 futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right), 30min. Source: TradingView_
The S&amp;P 500 futures reversed early weakness on May 15, coinciding with 
Bitcoin&#8217;s rebound from $101,800 to $104,000. Investors seem more confident 
that the US Treasury will be compelled to inject liquidity after Federal 
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that &#8220;supply shocks&#8221; could keep interest 
rates higher for longer than expected.
Signs of economic weakness have also emerged. The US Bureau of Labor 
Statistics reported that April&#8217;s Producer Price Index fell 0.5% from the 
previous month, while economists surveyed by FactSet had anticipated a 0.2% 
rise. According to Reuters, investors&#8217; limited risk appetite is also 
influenced by ongoing global trade tensions, as the US-China tariff agreement 
remains only a temporary solution.
_US 10-year Treasury yields. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph_
Demand for fixed income has increased, with the yield on the 10-year US 
Treasury dropping to 4.45% after reaching 4.55% on May 14, reversing the 
previous week&#8217;s trend. Historically, Bitcoin tends to perform better when 
government bond yields are rising, as this signals reduced confidence in the 
Treasury&#8217;s ability to manage its debt.
## Bitcoin&#8217;s rally to $105,000 hinges on macroeconomic trends
To assess whether traders are simply avoiding leverage or actively betting on 
a price decline, it is helpful to analyze Bitcoin options demand. Typically, 
periods of bearish sentiment push the BTC delta skew indicator above the 
neutral 6% threshold.
_Bitcoin 60-day options delta 25% skew (put-call) at Deribit. 
Source:__laevitas.ch_
Contrary to expectations, Bitcoin put (sell) options have been trading at a 
discount compared to call (buy) options, signaling strong confidence in the 
$100,000 support level. However, the optimism seen on May 14 has faded, with 
the indicator now at a neutral -4%.
_**Related:**__**What the 10-year Treasury yield means for crypto yields and 
stablecoins**_
Since Bitcoin&#8217;s price has closely mirrored the US stock market, the chances of 
breaking above $105,000 depend heavily on macroeconomic developments, such as 
trends in the US Federal Reserve&#8217;s balance sheet and recession risks. Notably, 
Bitcoin&#8217;s high correlation with the S&amp;P 500 rarely persists for more than two 
months.
Net inflows of $320 million into US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on 
May 14 point to ongoing institutional demand. This suggests that investors are 
gradually shifting their perception of Bitcoin from a risk-on asset to a non- 
correlated instrument, which may reduce the likelihood of sharp price 
corrections, even in the absence of strong leveraged bullish positions.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and 
should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and 
opinions expressed here are the author&#8217;s alone and do not necessarily reflect 
or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin traders’ evolving view of BTC’s role in every portfolio bolsters $100K support

Asset tokenization is set to accelerate the movement of capital across 
traditional markets, according to Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov. 
Speaking with Cointelegraph at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Nazarov said the 
shift will boost capital velocity in asset classes such as treasuries, 
equities, private credit, commercial debt, and real estate.
&#8220;I think that there are two sides to this equation. One is the asset, and the 
other one is the payment. So, you need more high-quality assets onchain, but 
you also need more frictionless payments that existing institutions can use 
easily,&#8221; Nazarov said on May 14.
The remarks came on the same day Chainlink announced a partnership with 
Kinexys, a blockchain network for institutional-grade tokenized assets by JP 
Morgan, and digital asset firm Ondo Finance. Together, the companies will 
develop payment rails for institutions trading tokenized real-world assets 
onchain.
The partnership tested the exchange of Ondo&#8217;s US Government Treasuries Fund 
(OUSG), a tokenized short-term US debt fund, with Kinexys, using Chainlink&#8217;s 
Runtime Environment &#8212; a framework for connecting legacy financial systems to 
blockchains in a unified environment.
&#8220;What Chainlink is trying to do is kick off a virtuous cycle that triggers 
kind of a runaway success for the industry as a whole. We want more assets 
onchain, Nazarov added. &#8220;We want more payment systems onchain,&#8221; he continued. 
_From left to right: Colin Cunningham, Sergey Nazarov, Nelli Zaltzman and 
Nathan Allman at Consensus 2025. Source: Vince Quill/Cointelegraph_
The partnership reflects the broader institutional acceptance of 
cryptocurrencies and Web3 technologies, following a positive regulatory shift 
in the United States post-2024 elections and the resignation of Gary Gensler, 
former chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
_**Related:**__**&#8217; Everything is lining up&#8217; &#8212; Tokenization is having its 
breakout moment**_
## Chainlink&#8217;s runtime environment
Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts on 
blockchains with real-world data, APIs, and offchain systems. Nazarov said the 
company has been coordinating transactions between financial institutions, 
asset issuers, and regulators.
Chainlink markets its &#8220;Runtime Environment&#8221; as an upgrade to legacy financial 
systems&#8217; protocols, including the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) 
standard &#8212; an operating language developed in 1959 for automated teller 
machines (ATMs) &#8212; and the Java Runtime architecture for online banking 
applications.
_Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov speaking at Consensus 2025. Source: Vince 
Quill/Cointelegraph_
Nazarov previously stressed that the United States needs to establish a 
competitive moat around tokenized assets to keep US capital markets 
competitive and attractive in the age of global, permissionless finance.
_**Magazine:**__**Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi 
tokenization race**_

Asset tokenization expected to speed capital flows, says Chainlink's Nazarov

The New York Times (NYT) reported Thursday that the Securities and Exchange 
Commission is investigating whether Coinbase misrepresented its now- 
discontinued “verified user” metric in past disclosures, according to David 
Yaffe-Bellany and Matthew Goldstein. The probe, citing over 100 million users 
in filings until 2023, began under the Biden administration and continues 
under President Trump’s SEC, […]