Bitcoin BTC$79,891.46 tumbled back below $80,000 late Thursday after the U.S. launched fresh airstrikes in Iran, causing brent crude oil to briefly top $100 per barrel before giving back a portion of gains during Asia and European hours.

The crypto market was already slightly jittery after Strategy chairman Michael Saylor said that the company would consider selling bitcoin to cover dividend payments from its STRC, a u-turn from its previous “never sell” strategy.

Ether (ETH) is trading at $2,280 having lost 0.2% since midnight UTC and around 2% over the past 24 hours, with other altcoins like monero (XMR) and dash (DASH) losing between 4% and 5%.

The broader crypto recovery remains intact with bitcoin having rallied from $65,000 in late March, although it’s worth noting that a drop below $75,000 would negate the recent string of higher lows and would signal a reversion to the pervious trading range.

Derivatives positioning

• The crypto futures market has cooled for the second-straight day, with cumulative industry notional open interest down over 1.5% at $131.5 billion and trading volume down over 12% at $191 billion. Investors are clearly deleveraging in the wake of bitcoin’s overnight drop below $80,000.
• Exchanges have liquidated nearly $300 million in bets in 24 hours, with longs accounting for most of the tally. It shows that traders were positioned for continued price rises into the weekend, only to take the brunt of the unexpected market weakness.
• Open interest (OI) has declined in most major tokens, including bitcoin and ether. Meme token DOGE’s OI has dropped by over 4%, the most among top 10 coins. TON is the standout, with OI rising by 6%.
• For the second straight day, OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta for most majors remains negative, a sign of traders aggressively shorting using market orders rather than passive limit orders.
• On Deribit, the most actively traded contract over the past 24 hours was a BTC $105,000 call option expiring June 26. Market positioning has also shifted, with the top five most traded contracts now including put options at $80,000, $75,000, and $60,000 strikes. This marks a clear change from the previous three sessions, when calls dominated trading activity.
• Bitcoin’s annualized 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, remains near 40%, the lowest since late January, a sign of market calm ahead of the pivotal U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.

Token talk

• Despite relative weakness across crypto majors and privacy coins, CoinDesk’s DeFi Select Index (DFX) surged by more than 3% since midnight UTC, buoyed by an 8.2% gain in the price of ONDO.
• Ondo Finance is a real-world asset (RWA) project that on Thursday completed its first cross-border cross-bank redemption of U.S. treasuries having worked with JP Morgan, Mastercard and Ripple, driving price appreciation over the past 24 hours into Friday.
• The CoinDesk Memecoin Select Index (CDMEME) lost ground on Friday, posting a 0.1% swing to the downside to make it the only CoinDesk benchmark in the red.
• CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” indicator is at 42/100, significantly higher than in April when it was as low as 31/100. The total market cap of altcoins during that period has risen from below $1 trillion to $1.05 trillion.

South Korea has passed a new amendment to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, tightening control over companies that move crypto assets overseas. 

The revised law will require firms handling cross-border virtual asset transfers to register with the finance minister.

The rule covers businesses that move virtual assets between South Korea and foreign countries through sale, purchase, or exchange. Crypto exchanges, custody firms, and other transfer service providers fall under the new registration scope.

New bill creates transfer business category

The amendment creates a new legal category called a “virtual-asset transfer service.” This gives authorities a clearer way to track firms that support overseas crypto transfers, including stablecoin movements.

The government plans to bring these transfers into the foreign-exchange oversight system. Rep. Lim I-ja, chair of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, said the measure aims to build a virtual-asset monitoring system and support a sound foreign-exchange trading market.

Additionally, the new bill comes as South Korea prepares broader crypto compliance rules. Local industry groups have raised concerns about planned Travel Rule changes, including the removal of the current 1 million won threshold.

Under the current system, the Travel Rule applies to crypto transfers above 1 million won. Industry groups warned that wider checks could add delays, create return issues, and expose users to losses when prices move during verification.

Crypto tax deadline adds pressure

Related coverage also reported that South Korea plans to tax virtual asset gains from Jan. 1, 2027. Gains above 2.5 million won will face a combined 22% tax, made up of 20% income tax and 2% local income tax.

The National Tax Service is preparing guidance with major local exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax. The first full filing period for affected investors is expected in May 2028, covering income earned in 2027.

South Korea has been moving toward cross-border crypto controls for more than a year. Reuters reported in 2024 that the finance ministry planned registration and monthly reporting rules for businesses handling overseas virtual asset trade.

Overview

As an increasing number of people turn their attention to passive income opportunities within the digital economy, technologies such as smart contracts, cloud mining, and cross-chain asset deployment are redefining how average users participate in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. In contrast to traditional mining—which demands substantial hardware investment, complex maintenance, and specialized technical expertise—blockchain-based cloud mining platforms are rapidly gaining prominence, emerging as a more convenient and accessible alternative for the general public.

This article focuses on how beginners can get started with cryptocurrency mining using SHRMiner. It analyzes hardware solutions suitable for newcomers and aims to help users gain a clearer understanding of current trends within the cloud mining industry.

As a leading global platform for cryptocurrency cloud mining services, SHRMiner allows miners to rent mining rig hashpower without the need to own any physical hardware. The platform serves as a bridge connecting sellers of hashpower with buyers eager to participate in cryptocurrency mining. Unlike traditional mining pools—which often require technical configuration and manual wallet management—SHRMiner streamlines the entire process through an automated system. This platform automatically benchmarks hardware performance, selects the most profitable mining algorithms, and distributes payouts to miners in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, ETH, USDT, and USDC. For newcomers entering the cryptocurrency mining space in 2026, a solid understanding of hardware requirements, profitability calculations, and platform selection remains crucial for making informed investment decisions.

So, how can you earn Bitcoin with SHRMiner?

Once you have leased a mining rig and activated a hash rate contract, you can begin generating returns immediately.

You can start earning in just three simple steps:

1. Register

Create an account to receive $15 in free hash rate, allowing you to earn $0.60 daily by purchasing a free trial contract (click here to complete registration).

2. Select a Contract Plan

Choose a popular short-term or long-term cloud mining contract (ranging from 1 to 50 days) based on your personal needs.

3. Start Earning

Track your daily rewards and withdraw your earnings in your preferred cryptocurrency.

Generate Passive Income Through Daily Mining Rewards

Once your mining hardware is up and running, the mining process continues around the clock. The earnings generated from mining are automatically deposited into your account on a daily basis. This provides you with a steady stream of income without requiring any active effort on your part.

Popular Short-Term Contracts

SHRMiner offers a diverse range of high-yield cloud mining contract plans designed to cater to the varying investment preferences and financial goals of different users. Whether you are seeking flexible short-term returns or prioritizing stable long-term yields, you can find a suitable option on our platform.

Contract Yield Examples

• Entry-Level Bitdeer Sealminer A2 Pro Contract: $500 – 5 Days – Total Revenue: Approx. $531.25
• Intermediate Bitcoin Miner S21 XP Imm Contract: $5,000 – 25 Days – Daily Revenue (over 25 days): Approx. $70
• Professional Bitcoin Miner S21e XP Hyd Contract: $10,000 – 35 Days – Daily Revenue (over 35 days): Approx. $150
• Advanced ANTSPACE HW5 Contract: $50,000 – 45 Days – Daily Revenue (over 45 days): Approx. $900

For instance, by leasing a hash rate of 280 TH/s, a Bitcoin Miner S21e XP Hyd unit could generate approximately $150 worth of Bitcoin per day; you can track your earnings in real-time via your user dashboard.

Compared to DeFi staking or even yield farming within liquidity pools, SHRMiner offers greater stability and is less susceptible to market volatility. It represents a form of “real yield” derived from infrastructure-based operations, rather than speculative rewards. (Click here for more contract details)

Why Investing in SHRminer Is Worth It

The company operates in full compliance within the UK: holding a UK operating license to ensure both regulatory compliance and transparency.

It operates a global network of 150 large-scale mining farms and data centers, providing genuine mining hash power.

100% Remote Access: No hardware is required; you can track your earnings in real-time directly through the SHRMiner app or the platform’s website.

Utilizes McAfee® and Cloudflare® security protocols to safeguard user accounts and funds.

Full Ownership of Your Hardware: Eliminates third-party risks and requires no payment of additional service fees or hidden charges.

Mine, Track Earnings, Reinvest: All operations are managed from a single, unified platform.

The New Landscape of Mining: Secure, Flexible, and Profitable.

Security and Support: The platform integrates enterprise-grade security measures, uptime guarantees, and 24/7 customer support to ensure maximum reliability.

With SHRMiner, you don’t need to be a technical expert or manage your own hardware. You can invest directly in high-performance mining—enjoying complete transparency, zero operational costs, and stable daily returns.

The Final Verdict: Is SHR Miner a Good Tool for Passive Income?

The answer is a resounding yes—its AI-driven cloud mining capabilities are precisely where its strength lies. It offers a sustainable, transparent, and low-maintenance method for generating passive income through legitimate Bitcoin mining infrastructure. This distinct approach sets it apart from the multitude of other Bitcoin mining applications on the market. For those wondering if Bitcoin mining will remain profitable in 2026, SHRMiner represents a prudent choice. It is one of the few platforms capable of transforming mobile-based mining into a genuine source of passive income.

For more details, please visit the official website or download the mobile application.

For more details:

The U.S. stock market is heating up in a way that suggests speculative mania. It matters to bitcoin as analysts have linked the cryptocurrency’s recent rally to increased risk-taking on Wall Street.

The overheating signals come from options tied to the S&P 500. These are derivative contracts that let traders bet on or hedge against moves in the index. A call option is a bet that the index will rise above a certain price within a set time. A put option does the opposite, offering protection from declines in the index.

On Wednesday, U.S. equity derivative exchanges registered a notional volume of $2.6 trillion in S&P 500 call options, according to data tracked by Zero Hedge. That amounted to 60% of total S&P 500 options activity. To put it into context, the notional amount nearly matched the total crypto market valuation of $2.73 trillion, which represents the combined capitalization of thousands of cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin leading the way.

In essence, the majority of market participants were positioned for upside through calls or bullish exposure.

On the surface, the implication for bitcoin is straightforward: it is bullish. A speculative surge in the S&P 500 could spill over into crypto, driving valuations higher. After all, double-digit gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since early April played a big role in lifting bitcoin to $80,000 from under $70,000 a few weeks ago.

QCP Capital put it best early this week when BTC broke above $80,000: “After a solid April, BTC has begun May on firm footing, breaking above $80k for the first time since January 31. The move appears aligned with equities, reinforcing a broader trend as BTC’s correlation with U.S. stocks climbing back toward 2023 levels, signaling a renewed linkage with risk assets broadly.”

That said, the outsized investor bias for bullish exposure in the S&P 500 has raised alarm on social media, with several handles calling it a sign of an overcrowded trade. When too many investors lean in the same direction, in this case, heavily bullish, it leaves the market more vulnerable to sharp reversals in sentiment and positioning if price momentum stalls.

It’s not just social chatter either. Media reports have also cited Goldman Sachs analysts describing the market as being in a “semi-irrational chasing mode,” a phrase widely read as a play on the semiconductor-driven surge in equities.

If that’s not enough, the bullish momentum in the Nasdaq-listed PHLX Semiconductor Sector index (SOX), as measured by the 14-week relative strength index, is strongest since 1999, according to data source TradingView.

All of that is hinting at speculative frenzy. If it unwinds just as quickly, downside volatility could spill over into bitcoin and the broader crypto market, given their positive correlation. Let’s see how things unfold…

Some Revolut users saw bitcoin briefly display far below market prices on Friday, with app charts showing a sudden plunge before snapping back near prevailing levels, in what appeared to be either a pricing display issue or a liquidity-related dislocation.

Revolut’s official bitcoin page shows BTC briefly marked around £29,414 on Revolut’s one-day chart before returning near £58,600. Other social media posts claimed the app showed even lower prints, including near-zero prices as low as 2-cents, though CoinDesk could not independently verify those levels or confirm whether any trades were actually executed there.

The issue seemed isolated as no exchange on lists tracked by CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap showed any bitcoin price anomaly. It trades just over $79,000 as of Asian afternoon hours Friday.

Revolut had not responded to a CoinDesk request for comment by publication time.

Some users on X claimed buy orders executed during the disruption, but those reports remain unconfirmed. If trades were filled, Revolut would likely have to determine whether the prints reflected legitimate liquidity, stale quotes, a routing issue or a platform-side pricing error.

Flash moves in crypto apps can happen for several reasons. A display glitch can show an incorrect price without actual market execution. Thin liquidity on a specific venue or internal pricing rail can also produce sharp wicks if an order sweeps through a shallow book.

“Revolut operates with limited liquidity depth compared to a full exchange, and if a large enough sell order hit a thin book at the wrong moment, it could exhaust all available bids down to that level before the price recovered,” Ranveer Arora, co-founder and CEO of Altura, told CoinDesk in message as a possible explanation.

In other cases, market makers briefly pull quotes, spreads widen, and apps relying on aggregated feeds may display prices that do not match deeper global markets.

Crypto has seen similar isolated dislocations before. Bitcoin briefly printed far below market on Binance’s USD1 pair in December in a move tied to a thinly traded pair rather than broader selling. South Korean exchanges also saw sharp local wicks during the country’s martial-law shock in 2024 as activity surged and local order books briefly broke from global prices.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash (ZEC) has spiked by more than 70% over the past week as crypto traders have been paying closer attention to privacy-focused projects.

Zcash traded at about $346 on Friday, May 1, before hitting a seven-day peak of $593.86 on Wednesday. It has since settled at around $570 as of Friday, according to CoinGecko.

Pav Hundal, lead market analyst at crypto exchange Swyftx, told Cointelegraph that traders have begun paying closer attention to privacy projects “amid broader concerns about the impact of AI, quantum computing and financial surveillance on crypto.”

He added that ZEC was also boosted after Tushar Jain, the co-founder of the investment firm Multicoin Capital, said on Wednesday that it had “built a significant position” in ZEC since February.

Zcash is one of the more prominent privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, trailed by its significant rival Monero (XMR), and Jain said it is an attractive investment as “institutions will increasingly seek private assets to protect themselves” from what he claimed was a “political trend to seize private wealth.”

Several crypto firms have also recently released new privacy features. The Ethereum scaling solution Polygon launched private stablecoin payments on Sunday, while Aptos Labs’ privacy feature Confidential APT, which conceals token balances and transfer amounts, went live on the mainnet in April.

The market intelligence platform Santiment said in an X post on Wednesday that Zcash was “emphatically rebounding,” as fear of missing out and social media mentions of Zcash spiked along with its price.

Santiment pointed to a lack of government trust as a possible catalyst for the surge in interest from retail traders. 

Source: Santiment

“The crowd is increasingly viewing privacy-focused assets as a hedge against growing surveillance concerns, tighter exchange regulations and expanding AI-driven data tracking across financial platforms,” Santiment said.

Related: Dash Evolution chain integrates Zcash Orchard privacy pool

“At the same time, lower market caps across many privacy coins have traders eyeing them as high-upside momentum plays during this mild altcoin rally crypto has seen so far in May,” it added.

Zcash rally could be short-lived

Privacy was a significant investment theme for crypto in 2025, with privacy-focused tokens surging last year despite a broader downturn in the rest of the market.  

Zcash nearly crossed $700 in November, its highest price since 2018, while fellow privacy coin Monero reached a new all-time high of $797.73 in January.

However, neither held on to the gains, and Swyftx’s Hundal said that the recent rally could also be short-lived.

“Zcash’s move has some hallmarks of a narrative rotation into privacy coins,” Hundal said. “I’d be careful calling it a clean fundamental repricing just yet. We need more time to see how durable investor interest is.” 

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026 

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Nearly half of US voters are willing to cross party lines to get clear crypto regulation off the ground, while public support for the CLARITY Act could bring an electoral benefit for politicians, according to a new survey from HarrisX.

The poll included responses from 2,008 registered voters from May 1-4. It found that 52% of respondents support the CLARITY Act, with just 11% opposed. 

About half, or 47%, said they would consider voting for a candidate outside their preferred party if that candidate backed the bill and their own party did not. Among crypto users, that number jumped to 72%.

“Passing the CLARITY Act is a bipartisan, winning issue,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on X on Thursday. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev added: “There’s real momentum now to finally get CLARITY across the finish line. One more small push and we establish the legislative foundation to ensure American dominance in digital finance.”

Source: HarrisX

The crypto industry has been waiting for the CLARITY Act to move through the US legislative process. It is expected to provide long-awaited regulatory clarity for crypto and could help the country become a major hub for crypto and digital finance.

The HarrisX poll also highlighted strong bipartisan support for the bill, with 55% of Democrats, 58% of Republicans and 42% of independents supporting it. Public support for the bill could also give senators a 20-point electoral advantage, it said

Related: Bitmine’s Tom Lee says ‘crypto spring’ has already begun

Some predict the CLARITY Act will receive additional markups as soon as next week.

Speaking at the Consensus 2026 crypto industry conference in Miami on Wednesday, Coinbase’s vice president of US policy, Kara Calvert, said her “prediction is that we have a markup next week” from the Senate Banking Committee.

Calvert stressed that bipartisan support will get the bill across the line, saying it needs at least 60 votes to pass the Senate, but she is unsure how things will unfold in the coming days.

“That means you need Democrats. You need a bipartisan bill, and we have all been working really hard to make sure that bipartisanship holds. I think the big question is, how do these votes shape up over the next few days?”

The timeline for a vote may still be months away, however. US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand recently suggested additional markups are required before the bill can progress, predicting a Senate vote in August.

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026 

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Arbitrum delegates approved the release of $71 million in ether frozen after last month’s Lazarus-linked rsETH exploit, setting up a direct clash between decentralized governance and an active U.S. court fight over who owns the funds.

The on-chain vote, which closed Friday afternoon Hong Kong time with more than 90% support, authorizes the release of 30,765 ETH frozen by Arbitrum’s Security Council after the April 18 exploit, when attackers used unbacked rsETH tokens as collateral on Aave to borrow roughly $230 million in ETH from the protocol.

The funds are earmarked for a coordinated industry recovery effort led by Aave, KelpDAO, LayerZero, EtherFi and Compound, aimed at making affected users whole.

But the frozen ether is also at the center of an escalating legal dispute in Manhattan federal court.

Last week, attorney Charles Gerstein, representing families holding roughly $877 million in unpaid terrorism judgments against North Korea, served a restraining notice on Arbitrum DAO claiming the frozen ETH constitutes North Korean property because the exploit has been widely attributed to Pyongyang’s Lazarus Group.

That triggered an emergency legal fight.

Aave moved earlier this week to vacate the restraining notice, arguing the assets belong to innocent users, not North Korea, and warning that continued delays risk “cascading liquidations” and broader instability across decentralized finance markets.

Gerstein fired back Tuesday, arguing the exploit was not theft but fraud, meaning the attackers obtained legal title to the ETH by deceiving Aave’s lending markets with worthless collateral.

Friday’s governance vote does not mean the funds move immediately.

Because the measure was structured as a Constitutional AIP under Arbitrum’s governance framework, the transfer cannot be executed for at least eight days, giving the Manhattan court time to intervene before any ETH moves.

Arbitrum delegates were also not voting blindly to the legal risk. The proposal included indemnification protections for the Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain Labs, Security Council members, and governance delegates against certain claims arising from either freezing or releasing the ETH, underscoring how unusual the stakes around the vote had already become.

Speaking at Consensus Miami this week, Aave Labs Chief Legal and Policy Officer Linda Jeng said the exploit had already forced the protocol to rethink its risk framework, expanding collateral standards beyond financial metrics to include cybersecurity, interoperability, and technical architecture reviews.

Jeng, who worked as a regulator during the 2008 financial crisis, drew a contrast with traditional finance’s taxpayer-backed rescues.

“In the financial crisis, we had to bail out the banks,” she said. “Here, we came together as an ecosystem to bail ourselves out.”