The US House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act on May 23, a bill that could limit the Federal Reserve's ability to offer certain products or services directly to individuals and restrict the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for monetary policy. The Republican-backed bill sparked debates about potential government abuse of CBDCs and the need for innovation to maintain the dollar's international competitiveness. The bill's implications were disputed, with some arguing it could undermine the US dollar's primacy and hinder the operation of the American economy. The bill now awaits a Senate vote.

Women are making waves in the crypto world, with two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges led by female CEOs. Gracy Chen, the CEO of Bitget, a crypto exchange with a $4 billion trading volume, shared her journey from a mathematics student to a crypto leader. Meanwhile, Yi He, co-founder of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange with a daily volume of $36.5 billion, has a similar story. Born in rural China, she rose to prominence after meeting Star Xu, founder of OKcoin. Both women have used their unique skills and experiences to shape the crypto industry and continue to influence its future.

A 23-year-old crypto enthusiast, Dadvan Yousuf, has planted a flag bearing the Bitcoin logo at the peak of Mount Everest. Yousuf, whose net worth is over $300 million, undertook the grueling 50-day climb to highlight global disparities in financial education. Interestingly, he was quizzed about memecoins by fellow climbers at the summit. Yousuf's feat follows a trend of crypto users promoting digital assets during climbs, with a Bitcoin-funded trip to Mount Kilimanjaro in 2023 and a Ledger wallet placed on Everest's peak in 2018.

Crypto experts predict a more welcoming regulatory landscape by 2025, following recent positive developments. Bloomberg policy analyst Nathan Dean suggests that crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals and stablecoin frameworks could be finalized by the end of 2022. However, he warns that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission still holds the power to regulate projects that classify their tokens as commodities. Meanwhile, the first Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded products (ETPs) have debuted on the London Stock Exchange, and Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission is considering allowing its spot Ether ETF issuers to stake custodied Ether.

Good news for XRP traders in New York! After a nine-month pause, Coinbase has resumed XRP trading for its New York customers. This comes after the SEC's 2020 lawsuit against Ripple Labs, which led to many exchanges, including Coinbase, delisting XRP. The tables turned when Judge Analisa Torres ruled in 2023 that secondary sales of XRP were not securities sales, leading to a relisting of the token. However, XRP still faced regulatory hurdles in some areas, including New York. Now, with the green light from the New York Department of Financial Services, XRP trading is back on track in the Big Apple. Happy trading, folks!

Waves founder Sasha Ivanov has introduced Units Network, a foundational layer connecting ecosystem chains in a fully interoperable and trustless manner. The network enables the launch of layer-1 blockchains based on Waves staking and is fully compatible with Ethereum. It aims to simplify the process of launching your own blockchain network. Units Network also plans to facilitate the launch of several real-world asset projects, including a hybrid stablecoin that combines crypto collateral with less liquid real-world asset collateral. The mainnet launch of the first ecosystem blockchain, Unit0, is planned for this summer.

US House lawmakers are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF). A bipartisan group, including majority whip Tom Emmer and Democrat Josh Gottheimer, sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, arguing that an ETH ETF would provide investors with a safer, more regulated access to the cryptocurrency. The lawmakers also emphasized the need for consistency in reviewing applications for other digital asset-backed ETFs. This comes as the crypto community eagerly awaits the SEC's decision on a potential Ethereum ETF, expected by the end of the month.

Hong Kong's financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), is considering allowing Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers to stake ETH. This move, which could provide issuers with passive income, contrasts with the stance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which views staking services as a violation of securities laws. The SFC has been discussing the possibility with crypto ETF issuers but has not yet set a timeline for implementation. This development could attract more investment into Hong Kong's ETFs, further establishing the country as a hub for crypto services.

Suno, an AI-powered music creation platform, has raised $125 million in funding to make beat-making accessible to everyone. The platform allows users to generate songs based on text prompts and customize the AI-generated lyrics, album artwork, and titles. Since its launch eight months ago, Suno claims that 10 million people, including Grammy-winning artists, have used its platform to create music. Despite the excitement, Suno faces competition from tech giants Google and Meta, who have also released AI-generated music-making platforms. However, Suno stands out with its ability to create tracks up to two minutes long, compared to Google's 30-second limit.

In a landmark ruling, UK High Court Judge James Mellor has debunked Australian computer scientist Craig Wright's claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin. The case was brought against Wright by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), accusing him of forging evidence to support his claim. The court's exhaustive analysis revealed numerous instances of document forgery, manipulation, and fabrication. Judge Mellor stated unequivocally that Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper, nor the creator of the Bitcoin network. Despite the ruling, Wright plans to appeal the decision.

Hong Kong's central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), is urging financial institutions to prepare for the impact of AI on the banking sector. The HKMA is encouraging banks to develop manpower strategies and training programs to help employees adapt to technological advancements. Some financial institutions have already re-skilled their staff, with 2% transitioning into new roles after training. The HKMA plans to conduct a study on the extent of AI's impact on job roles within banking to better support affected employees.

Stepn, a popular move-to-earn game based on the Solana blockchain, is introducing a new social lifestyle app, Stepn Go. This app rewards daily movement and social interactions, and allows users to share their digital sneakers, split earnings, add friends, message, and more. The new game also introduces the Go Gaming Token (GGT), which can be earned by walking, jogging, and running with digital sneakers. This comes as the GameFi industry sees a revival amid a spike in crypto prices. StepN has also recently partnered with Adidas for a 1,000 Genesis Edition NFT drop on Solana.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in talks with potential issuers of Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sparking speculation of an impending approval. These discussions revolve around S-1 forms, which are registration statements that companies must file with the SEC. The SEC might also be working with Ether ETF issuers on these forms over the next few weeks or months. This follows the recent approval of the FIT21 crypto bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin believes the approval of Ether ETFs in the U.S. is "as good as done".

Crypto vaults are emerging as the new frontier in securing digital assets, offering enhanced protection compared to traditional hot wallets or exchange accounts. These offline storage solutions are designed to safeguard cryptocurrencies from online threats with multiple security layers, including multisignature authentication, withdrawal delays, and cold storage solutions. Crypto vaults come in different types, including smart contract, time-locked, multisignature, and hybrid vaults, each offering unique security features and functionalities. However, while they offer robust security, crypto vaults may have limited accessibility, technical complexity, and risks associated with providers, recovery, and fees.

Baidu CEO Robin Li predicts that artificial general intelligence (AGI), a form of AI that surpasses human cognitive abilities, is more than a decade away. Despite concerns about AGI's potential existential risk to humanity, Li believes that focusing on solving societal problems with AI will lead to AGI's development. This comes after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin claimed that OpenAI's GPT-4 AI model passed the Turing test. Baidu, a leading large language model developer in China, has around 200 million AI users. Li suggests that AGI could address population decline concerns by replicating human productivity.

Crypto expert Brian Kelly sparked a debate after suggesting that Solana (SOL) could be the next cryptocurrency to get a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. However, industry observers have mixed views. Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, believes a spot Solana ETF won’t exist until a Solana futures product is listed or Congress establishes a cryptocurrency regulatory framework. James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF analyst, thinks a spot Solana ETF would see more demand than every digital asset outside of Bitcoin and Ether. Adam Cochran from Cinneamhain Ventures, however, believes Litecoin or Dogecoin will be the next coin for a spot ETF.

Nvidia, the semiconductor giant, has reported a record Q1 revenue of $26 billion, an 18% increase from Q4 last year and a 262% surge from a year ago. This has pushed NVDA stock prices to an all-time high and its market cap to over $2.5 trillion, larger than Tesla and Amazon combined. The firm's growth is driven by a $22.6 billion revenue from data centers, fueled by rising demand for AI training. Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, announced the full production of the new Blackwell platform for generative AI supercomputing and a shift to yearly AI chip production. The firm also revealed collaborations with AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Oracle to advance AI innovation.

Crypto analyst James Check suggests Bitcoin (BTC) could reach "escape velocity" if it returns to $73,000, a term he uses to describe the asset's potential to accelerate rapidly. He believes the market is not yet overstretched, and we are still in a steady phase of the bull run. However, he warns that this price point could lead to a sell-off as short-term holders, those who've held Bitcoin for less than 155 days, may cash in their profits. Other analysts agree that market euphoria hasn't yet materialized. Bitcoin is currently priced at $69,088.

The US House of Representatives has passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), a bill aimed at clarifying the roles of securities and commodities regulators in overseeing cryptocurrencies. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future is uncertain due to a lack of a companion bill and opposition from crypto critic Senator Elizabeth Warren. If passed, FIT21 would largely assign control of crypto to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, seen as a more relaxed regulator than the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the latter would still have power over cryptocurrencies deemed not sufficiently decentralized.

Ethereum (ETH) price has soared by over 26% in the last two days, trading at highs unseen since mid-March, fueled by the rising expectations of spot Ethereum ETFs getting approved in the U.S. Despite a slight pullback after hitting $3,800, the altcoin's uptrend remains strong. This is backed by increasing open long ETH positions in the futures market, with Ethereum’s total open interest in the derivatives market jumping from 2.8 to 3.2 million ETH in a few hours on May 20. In U.S. dollar terms, ETH open interest has hit a record-high of $14.68 billion. The potential approval of a spot Ethereum ETF this week has sparked discussions among analysts about the possible implications for Ethereum price.