The crypto market bounced back this week, with Bitcoin surging to a record high and the total valuation of all coins reaching over $3.5 trillion. Traders are betting on a new crypto bull run that will push Bitcoin (BTC) to…

1 crypto to buy, 1 crypto to sell: Berachain, Polkadot

An American tourist in the United Kingdom was reportedly drugged by an 
individual posing as a taxi driver, who stole the tourist&#8217;s $123,000 in 
Bitcoin stored on a cell phone.
According to a report from My London, Jacob Irwin-Cline went out to a London 
bar and had several drinks before calling an Uber to take him home.
Cline said that he did not thoroughly check the details of the Uber ride on 
his phone and left with a random private cab driver resembling the Uber driver 
at first glance, but driving a different vehicle &#8212; a detail Cline would only 
discover after the incident.
Once inside the vehicle, the US tourist said the driver offered him a 
cigarette, which Cline said was likely laced with a rare and potent sedative 
drug called scopolamine. Cline added that the cigarette made him feel 
extremely docile and tired, causing him to pass out for around 30 minutes 
before regaining consciousness.
Shortly after Cline woke up, the driver ordered him out of the vehicle. As 
Cline exited, the driver suddenly sped off, striking him with the car and 
fleeing with his cellphone, which contained his private keys and access to his 
crypto accounts.
The unfortunate incident comes amid a recent spate of kidnappings, extortion 
incidents, armed robberies, and ransom attempts directed at crypto industry 
executives, investors, and their families.
_**Related:**__**Chainalysis CEO offers a clue into recent spate of Paris 
crypto attacks**_
## Crypto community members become the targets of violent crime
Several kidnapping incidents involving crypto investors, industry executives, 
and their families have occurred in May.
On May 3, the father of an unnamed crypto exchange owner was freed by French 
police after law enforcement officials raided the property where the 
individual was being held captive by organized criminals demanding a ransom 
for his release.
Shortly after that incident, the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the 
CEO of the Paymium crypto exchange, were the targets of an attempted 
kidnapping in Paris.
The incident occurred in broad daylight when the assailants attacked the 
family and attempted to force them into a parked vehicle. However, Noizat&#8217;s 
daughter and another individual were able to fight off the masked attackers.
The rise in violent attacks against crypto investors and professionals has 
prompted an increase in personal security, including requests for bodyguards 
and private security measures for those likely to be victimized.
_**Magazine:**__**China &#8216;s &#8216;point running&#8217; crypto scams, pig butchers kidnap 
kids: Asia Express**_

US tourist drugged by fake Uber driver and robbed of $123K BTC — Report

Though a majority of members of the US Senate voted to advance a bill to 
regulate payment stablecoins on May 20, high-ranking Democrats are planning to 
propose an amendment to the legislation to address President Donald Trump&#8217;s 
connections to the cryptocurrency industry.
According to a May 22 Axios report, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and 
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley will file an amendment to the 
Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS 
Act, to block a US president from profiting from stablecoins. The proposed 
amendment would come after 18 Democrats sided with Republicans in the Senate 
in voting to advance the bill on May 20 after it failed a procedural vote on 
May 8.
&#8220;Passing the GENIUS Act without our anti-corruption amendment stamps a 
Congressional seal of approval on Trump selling access and influence to the 
highest bidder,&#8221; Merkley said in a May 22 X post.
Trump his three sons are involved in the crypto platform World Liberty 
Financial (WLFI), which launched its USD1 stablecoin in March. Critics have 
pointed out that the president could continue to personally benefit from 
legislation that helps recognize stablecoins like USD1 as financial 
instruments in the US.
_**Related:**__**US lawmaker introduces anti-corruption bill ahead of Trump &#8216;s 
dinner**_
An Abu Dhabi-based investment firm said that it would use USD1 to settle a 
$2-billion investment in Binance, effectively allowing the president&#8217;s family 
to profit from the transaction fees. Democratic lawmakers have already called 
for an investigation into Trump&#8217;s connections to the platform, which was 
largely dismissed as &#8220;flawed&#8221; by WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff.
## Stablecoins are just one of many potential conflicts, say Democrats
Merkley and Warren are also planning responses to Trump hosting a dinner at 
his golf club for up to 220 people who purchased the most significant amounts 
of his personal memecoin. Merkley is expected to attend a protest organized by 
the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, in partnership with progressive 
political organization Our Revolution, outside the Trump venue on May 22.
Warren held a press conference with Merkley, Senator Chris Murphy and Public 
Citizen representatives, calling on Trump to &#8220;release the guest list&#8221; for the 
dinner event. Though a few of the potential attendees have publicly announced 
they were the owners of the wallets who purchased the memecoin and intended to 
go, the majority were still anonymous at the time of publication.
&#8220;What is happening tonight &#8212; this private, secret dinner &#8212; in which 
individuals who have put money in Donald Trump&#8217;s pocket, get access to him, is 
maybe the most corrupt of all the corruption,&#8221; said Murphy, adding:
&gt; &#8220;They were able to pay their way in to get an audience with the President of 
&gt; the United States to ask for favorable national security concessions.&#8221;
Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment, but had not received 
a response at the time of publication.
_**Magazine:**__**Trump &#8216;s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider 
trading questions**_

Senators plan to amend GENIUS Act to address Trump family's stablecoin

Markets are flashing warning signs as long-term U.S. Treasury yields spike, 
bond auctions falter, and prediction markets show rising odds of economic 
trouble ahead. Treasury Market Signals Mounting Fiscal Anxiety The 30-year 
U.S. Treasury bond yield surged to 5.18% on Thursday—its highest point since 
2023—before easing slightly later in the session. The benchmark 10-year yield 
[…]

Bond Yields Continue to Soar as Markets Eye Trouble, Bitcoin and Gold Shine

An analyst has pointed out how Dogecoin is showing a break out of a Bull 
Pennant. Here&#8217;s where the target could lie, based on the pattern. Dogecoin Has 
Just Seen A Surge Beyond Bull Pennant Resistance In a new post on X, analyst 
Ali Martinez has talked about a pattern that has been forming in the hourly 
price of Dogecoin recently. The pattern in question is a &#8220;Bull Pennant,&#8221; which 
is a type of Pennant from technical analysis (TA). A Pennant forms whenever 
the price of an asset witnesses consolidation between two converging 
trendlines following a sharp move. The initial rapid move is known as the 
&#8216;pole,&#8217; and the consolidation channel as the &#8216;pennant.&#8217; Related Reading: 
Bitcoin Sets New ATH, But This Metric Says No Overheating Yet This arrangement 
is similar to that seen in Flag patterns, with the main difference between the 
two being the fact that Flags involve parallel consolidation channels, not 
triangular ones. Just like other consolidation patterns in TA, when the price 
is stuck inside the pennant portion, it is likely to face resistance at the 
upper level and support at the lower one. Pennants are usually considered 
continuation patterns, so a breakout is more probable to occur in the same 
direction as the preceding move (that is, the same orientation as the pole). 
When the pole is pointing in the up direction, the resulting Pennant is called 
a Bull Pennant. Similarly, it being in the opposite direction forms what&#8217;s 
known as a Bear Pennant. Now, here is the chart shared by the analyst that 
shows the Bull Pennant that the 1-hour Dogecoin price has potentially been 
trading inside recently: As is visible in the above graph, Dogecoin was 
witnessing net consolidation toward the downside inside this Bull Pennant 
earlier, but now, with the latest rally in the asset, its price has managed to 
find a break above the resistance line. So far, the memecoin hasn&#8217;t gained too 
much distance over the line, so it&#8217;s unconfirmed whether this is a real 
breakout. In the scenario that it is indeed the case and the governing pattern 
here is a Bull Pennant, then it&#8217;s possible that DOGE could end up seeing a 
rally of a similar scale as the pole of the pattern. The length of the pole 
involved in this Bull Pennant puts the breakout target at around $0.31. If the 
memecoin can manage a run to this mark, then its price would have gone up by 
almost 30% from the current level. Related Reading: $3.8 Billion In Capital 
Inflows Behind Ethereum’s Post-Pectra Surge, Data Shows It now remains to be 
seen how Dogecoin would develop in the coming days and whether its path would 
look anything like the one traced by the pattern. DOGE Price At the time of 
writing, Dogecoin is trading around $0.239, up around 6% in the past week. 
Featured image from Dall-E, charts from TradingView.com

Dogecoin Breaks Out Of Bull Pennant—What’s The Target?

**Key takeaways:**
 * The SEC&#8217;s decision on a spot XRP ETF could ignite a significant rally.
 * The current $2.2 billion in XRP futures hints at growing institutional investor demand.
The two most bullish events ever imagined by XRP (XRP) advocates happened in 
2025, but XRP continues to underperform the cryptocurrency market. On March 6, 
XRP was listed as a candidate for the United States&#8217; &#8220;Digital Asset Reserve,&#8221; 
and Ripple Labs settled a multi-year-long complaint with the US Securities and 
Exchange Commission on May 8.
_XRP/USD (blue) vs. crypto market capitalization. Source: TradingView / 
Cointelegraph_
XRP fell 6% in the three months leading up to May 22, while overall crypto 
market capitalization rose 10%. Traders remain hopeful for a 45% rally to 
$3.50, with derivatives metrics signaling rising confidence.
## Leverage use ramps up ahead of potential spot XRP ETF listing
The aggregate open interest on XRP futures on major exchanges jumped to 923 
million XRP on May 22, up 31% from two weeks prior. The $2.2 billion position 
in futures markets signals growing interest from traders, but it is not 
necessarily bullish, as those instruments can also be used to speculate on the 
XRP price downside.
_XRP futures open interest on major exchanges, XRP. Source: CoinGlass_
Some traders argue that the increased demand for leveraged XRP positions 
indicates growing institutional interest, especially as multiple issuers filed 
for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) listing in the US. However, the 
final decision by the US SEC should be made in October.
Excessive demand for bullish leveraged XRP causes a positive funding rate, 
meaning longs (buyers) are the ones paying the carry cost. As cryptocurrency 
traders are generally optimistic, a 7% to 14% annualized funding rate is 
expected in neutral markets, while periods of FOMO can push the indicator 
above 50%.
_XRP futures annualized funding rate. Source:__Laevitas.ch_
The annualized funding rate jumped to 19% on May 22, nearing the highest 
levels in six months. Still, the current optimism level is nowhere near the 
100% annualized funding rate from Dec. 4, 2024, which followed an impressive 
7-day rally to $2.90 from $1.33. Far from being bearish, the current level 
leaves room for bullish positioning on XRP futures markets.
_**Related:**__**Which senators invest in crypto? 11 lawmakers have 
blockchain-related investments**_
## Favorable regulation opens the door for new partnerships and acquisitions
Part of the limited XRP price upside can be explained by the multiple 
rejections of US Senator Cynthia Lummis, Chair of the US Congress Digital 
Assets Subcommittee, to meet Ripple representatives. Ripple CEO Brad 
Garlinghouse asked on May 19 that the lawmaker &#8220;reconsider and be a leader for 
ALL of crypto,&#8221; and discuss &#8220;how to make the US the crypto capital of the 
world.&#8221;
There is nothing stopping XRP from hitting $3.50 or even higher, as Ripple 
Labs is no longer facing direct threats from regulators, which paves the way 
for partnerships and acquisitions. Historically, XRP has reacted very 
positively following those announcements, and the $2.2 billion futures open 
interest could help catapult XRP price above the current $3.25 all-time high.
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.