Bitcoin (BTC) circled $78,000 on Saturday after geopolitical headwinds erased most of its May gains.

Key points:

• Bitcoin falls below $78,000 for the first time since the start of May.
• Oil-supply woes combine with existing nerves over US bond markets, adding to headwinds for risk assets.
• Support weakness has traders looking at $75,000 and under next, while optimists see a “bear trap” forming.

Multiple hurdles “coming together” for crypto, risk assets

Data from TradingView confirmed new lows of $77,614 on the day — the lowest levels since May 1.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Downside pressure stemming from concerns over US government bonds continued, with the US-Iran war also at the forefront of traders’ minds.

Iran appeared to be pressing ahead with a toll system for transit through the Strait of Hormuz — the epicenter of a global oil-supply squeeze — while keeping US traffic out.

As reported by trading resource The Kobeissi Letter among others, Hormuz would reportedly “remain closed to the operators of Project Freedom.”

On Friday, analysis from Mosaic Asset Company spelled out the problems of the current geopolitical and macroeconomic climate for risk assets.

“The prospect for another inflation wave is lining up with similarities to the surge in price levels into mid-2022,” it wrote in its latest Mosaic Chart Alerts blog post. 

“Disrupted supply chains from last year’s trade war, impact of war on energy markets, and stimulus via large federal budget deficits are coming together at the same time.”

CFDs on US WTI crude oil one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

WTI crude oil finished the week trading above $100 per barrel.

Bitcoin price action teases “bear trap”

Among Bitcoin traders, there were ongoing mixed feelings about the bears’ strength below $80,000.

Related: Bitcoin price history suggests 77% odds of new all-time high within a year

“Over the last couple of days, the price has been going down slightly, while the open interest has climbed up. But things become interesting if we correlate this with Funding Rates, which have flipped negative,” X trading account Cryptic Trades wrote on X. 

“This shows us that bears are DOUBLING DOWN right now and betting on a breakdown. It also shows that even though the market structure remains intact, bears are shorting as if a breakdown already happened. That’s generally how bear-traps are formed.”

BTC/USDT chart with open interest, funding rate data. Source: Cryptic Trades/X

For analyst Eric Coleman, a target for new local lows lay at around $75,000.

“BTC went down after the breakdown retest of the ascending triangle,” he summarized alongside a chart showing relevant support/resistance flip levels.

BTC/USDT four-hour chart. Source: Eric Coleman/X

Examining exchange order-book liquidity, Daan Crypto Trades highlighted $71,000 as the nearest zone of interest below price.

“The longer price compresses around this $80K region, the more liquidity will be building up on both sides which should result in a larger more aggressive move at some point,” he told X followers.

BTC/USDT liquidation heatmap. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

OpenAI and the Maltese government have unveiled a world-first partnership to roll out ChatGPT Plus to all Maltese citizens, marking a notable milestone in government-backed AI access. The plan ties free access to a year-long ChatGPT Plus subscription to the completion of a government-supported AI literacy course for residents.

Under the programme, citizens who finish the AI literacy course—developed by the University of Malta—will receive complimentary access to ChatGPT Plus for one year. The course itself covers the basics of what AI is, what it can and cannot do, and how to use it responsibly at home and in the workplace.

“Malta is the first country to launch a partnership of this scale because we refuse to let our citizens stay behind in the digital age,” said Silvio Schembri, Maltese minister for economy, enterprise and strategic projects. “The goal is to turn AI from an unfamiliar concept into practical assistance for our families, students, and workers.”

The Malta Digital Innovation Authority will oversee distribution to eligible participants when the first phase launches this month, with plans to broaden the program as more residents and citizens abroad complete the course.

Key takeaways

• The Maltese government and OpenAI are partnering to provide free ChatGPT Plus access for one year to citizens who complete a government-backed AI literacy course developed by the University of Malta.
• The initiative represents a “world-first” scale in government-AI collaboration and aims to translate AI from a theoretical concept into practical everyday use for families, students, and workers.
• Distribution will be managed by the Malta Digital Innovation Authority, with the first phase starting this month and expansion tied to course completion by more residents and Maltese abroad.
• The partnership sits within OpenAI’s broader “OpenAI for Countries” program, which tailors AI adoption to each nation’s priorities such as education, workforce training and public services.
• OpenAI has signaled a growing global footprint in government partnerships, including work with Estonia on ChatGPT Edu and with Greece under separate country-focused initiatives, as well as defense-related deployments in the U.S. on classified networks.

A first-of-its-kind deal in Malta

At a time when policymakers are weighing how to accelerate AI literacy while managing risks, Malta’s approach pairs education with practical tooling. The University of Malta-led course is designed to demystify AI and provide a framework for responsible usage, a step that could help bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and everyday application. By tying certification and household access to a government-endorsed curriculum, the program signals a deliberate strategy to bake AI familiarity into public life rather than leaving it to private platforms alone.

The one-year ChatGPT Plus subsidy acts as an incentive for citizens to engage with the course and begin integrating AI into daily tasks—from research and writing to workflow automation and problem-solving. The government’s aim is not only to boost digital literacy but to demonstrate how AI can serve as a practical assistant across education, work, and family life. The initial phase is set to roll out this month, with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority charged with ensuring eligible participants receive access and that the rollout scales as more people complete the course, including Maltese residents living abroad.

From a governance perspective, the arrangement underscores a growing willingness among governments to experiment with official AI programs that go beyond mere procurement or pilot projects. It also places a spotlight on how AI access programs can be paired with formal education to produce measurable literacy and usage outcomes rather than ad hoc, platform-centric uptake.

OpenAI for Countries: a tailored, country-by-country approach

The Malta agreement is a notable example within OpenAI’s broader OpenAI for Countries initiative, a programme through which the company collaborates with governments to push AI from early interest to nationwide adoption. Unlike standardized models, this program emphasizes customization aligned with each country’s priorities—spanning education, workforce training and public services. The Malta partnership demonstrates how such a framework can translate into tangible benefits for citizens and institutions alike.

In a broader context, OpenAI has pursued a multi-country strategy designed to fit diverse governance architectures and policy objectives. For example, last year Estonia’s government partnered with OpenAI to provide all secondary school students and teachers with access to ChatGPT Edu, a version tailored to educational needs. Separately, OpenAI has launched an initiative with Greece to expand AI-enabled capabilities within public services. These moves illustrate how governments are experimenting with AI in a structured, policy-aligned manner rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all solution.

The flexibility of the OpenAI for Countries program aligns with a growing trend toward customized public-sector AI tooling, where the focus is not only on how to deploy models but also on how to integrate them into educational curricula, job training, and service delivery. In some arenas, OpenAI’s technology has also found roles beyond civil government—for instance, a reported deal to deploy its models on classified military networks in collaboration with the U.S. defense complex. Such arrangements highlight both the breadth of potential applications and the sensitivities that accompany AI in high-stakes environments.

According to the program’s framing, the goal is to move beyond curiosity about AI to practical, system-wide adoption that can improve efficiency, accessibility and decision-making across public life. The Malta programme signals this broader ambition, illustrating how a national-scale effort can begin with education and access—and scale into ongoing public-sector utility.

What this means for investors, users and builders

From an investor and developer perspective, Malta’s model offers a live-case study in how government partnerships can underpin user onboarding and capability-building around AI tools. For users, the immediate benefit is clear: a structured pathway to use an advanced AI service at no personal cost for a defined period, contingent on completing an educational module that frames safe and responsible use. For builders and policymakers, the initiative tests governance, data governance, privacy protections, and the interoperability of AI services with public-sector workflows. The Malta rollout could inform subsequent programs in other jurisdictions that seek to harmonize AI access with formal education and service delivery standards.

As OpenAI continues to expand country-specific programs, observers will watch how these partnerships navigate issues such as data governance, digital inclusion, and the alignment of AI capabilities with public-interest goals. The Estonia and Greece examples show that governments can tailor AI deployments to educational and administrative ecosystems, potentially creating a blueprint for similar initiatives elsewhere. However, observers will also scrutinize how these programs adapt to different regulatory environments, privacy norms, and financial models as they scale beyond initial pilots.

For developers and platforms building AI-powered tools, Malta’s approach reinforces the importance of establishing clear educational content, public-facing risk disclosures, and governance channels that can handle large-scale adoption. It also underscores the potential for AI literacy to become a prerequisite for broad access to advanced tools, a development that could shape product design, user onboarding, and policy dialogue in the months ahead.

In the broader market context, Malta’s move sits at the intersection of digital literacy, public-sector modernization and AI-enabled public services. While the immediate commercial impact to OpenAI or the University of Malta may be limited by the program’s scope, the symbolic and practical implications could influence how other nations approach AI education and access, potentially accelerating a wave of country-led AI initiatives in the coming years.

Readers should stay tuned to how the first phase unfolds in Malta, including participation rates, user feedback, and any adjustments in eligibility or course content. The evolution of this program will offer important signals about the practical viability of government-backed AI access and its place in a broader strategy to democratize advanced technologies.

OpenAI’s broader strategy to engage with governments remains a developing landscape. As nations explore tailored AI adoption—balancing innovation with safeguards—the Malta initiative adds a concrete data point to the evolving policy and market narrative around AI in the public sector.

For now, the Maltese program marks a notable milestone: a government-backed pathway that connects AI literacy, civic participation and consumer access to a leading AI service, with potential implications that reach far beyond a single country’s borders.

As this initiative unfolds, watchers should monitor not only uptake and satisfaction but also the durability of the model once the year-long free access ends, and how Malta plans to sustain AI-enabled public services in the long term.

OpenAI and the Maltese government have announced a world-first partnership to roll out ChatGPT Plus to all Maltese citizens, marking the first time a government has struck such a deal with the AI company.

Under the programme, citizens who complete a government-backed AI literacy course will receive free access to ChatGPT Plus for one year, OpenAI announced on Saturday. The course, developed by the University of Malta, covers what AI is, what it can and cannot do and how to use it responsibly at home and in the workplace.

“Malta is the first country to launch a partnership of this scale because we refuse to let our citizens stay behind in the digital age,” Maltese minister for economy, enterprise and strategic projects Silvio Schembri said, adding that the goal is to turn AI “from an unfamiliar concept into practical assistance for our families, students, and workers.”

The Malta Digital Innovation Authority will manage distribution to eligible participants when the first phase launches this month, with the programme set to expand as more residents and citizens abroad complete the course.

Related: Robinhood Invests $75M in OpenAI to Provide Equity Tokens for Users

OpenAI partners with governments worldwide

The deal is the latest under OpenAI’s broader OpenAI for Countries initiative, through which the company works with governments to move from early AI interest to national-level adoption. Unlike a standardised model, the programme is tailored to each country’s priorities, including areas like education, workforce training and public services.

Last year, OpenAI partnered with Estonia’s government to provide all secondary school students and teachers with access to ChatGPT Edu, a customized version of ChatGPT built for education systems. The firm has also launched “OpenAI for Greece” in partnership with the Greek government.

As Cointelegraph reported, OpenAI has also struck a deal with the US Department of Defense to deploy its AI models on classified military networks.

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

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.

The crypto market lost nearly $90.3 billion in value in a single hour on May 16, pushing Bitcoin to $77,678 and triggering mass liquidations across the board.

The crypto market shed $90.3 billion in market cap in under an hour on May 16, with total valuation dropping 3.37% to around $2.59 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $77,678 while Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) each posted losses between 3.5% and 6%.

The sell-off was not crypto-specific. It was driven by a macro repricing event that spilled across global risk assets.

New U.S. PPI data released this week came in roughly 6% above analyst forecasts, the highest reading since December 2022, according to official data. April CPI had already printed at 3.8%. Together, the back-to-back inflation prints effectively ended near-term hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts, with CME FedWatch showing more than 44% probability of a rate hike by December. Traders sold risky assets fast.

Bitcoin has recently tracked the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), which follows small-cap U.S. stocks that are highly sensitive to rate expectations. As small-caps fell sharply on the inflation data, Bitcoin followed without delay.

Institutional selling compounded the macro hit

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $290 million in outflows on the day, ending a six-week inflow streak. BlackRock’s IBIT led withdrawals with roughly $136 million in redemptions. Total Bitcoin ETF outflows over the past week reached approximately $1.15 billion, according to SoSoValue data.

Analyst Ali Martinez posted on X that Bitcoin miners sold close to 800 BTC worth roughly $64 million over the four days prior, adding further supply pressure at exactly the wrong moment. “This increase in selling pressure could soon impact price action,” Martinez warned.

The combination of macro-driven selling and institutional redemptions removed two major demand layers simultaneously, leaving the market exposed to leveraged long positions built during the recent inflow streak.

Liquidation cascade accelerated the decline

Once spot prices began falling, the derivatives market amplified the move. According to CoinGlass data, nearly 154,000 traders were liquidated over 24 hours, wiping out roughly $696 million from the derivatives market. Bitcoin liquidations alone surged 125% to over $235 million. Total crypto derivatives open interest fell more than 25% as traders rapidly exited leveraged positions.

Crypto trader Ted Pillows warned on X that Bitcoin has broken below a major multi-month ascending channel on the daily timeframe, with two consecutive red candles confirming the breakdown. “If BTC loses the $78,000 level here, it could drop quickly to $74,000–75,000,” he said.

Analysts say the technical break, if sustained, opens the door to a deeper correction, with the $70,000–$68,000 region cited as the next meaningful downside target.

Altcoins took heavier losses than Bitcoin. XRP, Solana, BNB, Hyperliquid, Zcash, Dogecoin, Chainlink, and Cardano all posted steep declines as market sentiment shifted decisively risk-off, consistent with the broader pattern seen each time macro data has turned hawkish this year.

TLDR:

• Stablecoin payment volume reached $400B in 2025, with 60% of transactions driven by B2B activity.
• Bridge covers 35 countries but holds zero local rail presence in APAC, exposing critical coverage gaps.
• Conduit operates at roughly 10 bps on FX, compared to Bridge’s fee of up to 1% per transaction.
• Fasset hit $32B annualized across 50-plus corridors after securing a $51M Series B funding round.

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Stablecoin payment volume reached $400 billion in 2025, with 60% driven by B2B transactions. Yet many fintechs still rely on a single US-based provider to cover global corridors.

The reality is that stablecoin infrastructure has splintered into regional specialists, each with deep local rail integrations, mobile money networks, and central bank relationships.

For cross-border operators, knowing who controls each corridor is now more critical than ever.

Regional Players Are Outpacing US-Centric APIs

The stablecoin orchestration landscape has shifted dramatically over the past three years. What once existed as a few US-based APIs has grown into a dense network of regional operators.

Each corridor now has its own pure-play infrastructure, built by teams with firsthand knowledge of local payment realities.

In Europe, MiCA-native providers like BVNK are processing $30 billion annualized. That figure reflects how quickly regulated regional operators have gained ground.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, providers like Bitso and dLocal have built around local systems such as PIX and SPEI.

As industry observer Gaspard Lezin noted on X, “every major payment corridor has its own pure-play, built by people who actually understand local rails, mobile money, central bank relationships, and FX realities on the ground.”

Africa presents a strong case for mobile money-stablecoin integration. Providers like Yellow Card, Conduit, and Kotani Pay are operating where traditional banking infrastructure remains thin. Conduit alone covers 23 African countries, offering substantially lower fees than global competitors.

Cost and Coverage Gaps Are Driving the Shift

Fee structures are one of the clearest reasons businesses are moving away from single-provider models. Bridge charges up to 1% on FX transactions, while Conduit operates at approximately 10 basis points. That difference compounds significantly at scale for B2B treasury teams.

Coverage gaps are equally telling. Bridge, which covers 35 countries, has no local rail presence in APAC. By contrast, StraitsX has processed roughly $30 billion in cumulative volume across Asia.

Fasset recently hit $32 billion annualized across 50-plus corridors in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East following its $51 million Series B.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Reap was acquired by Kraken for $600 million, further validating the region’s growth trajectory. FOMO Pay, Triple-A, and PhotonPay are also operating with deepening local integrations across the region.

For businesses managing multi-corridor supplier payments, the practical answer is a regional stack. A B2B treasury team paying suppliers across Lagos, São Paulo, Jakarta, and Dubai requires different infrastructure in each market.

Aggregation layers like Borderless.xyz are emerging to stitch these regional providers into a single API, reducing operational complexity without sacrificing local depth.

Spot Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finished the week with $1.0 billion in net outflows, ending a six-week streak of inflows that had drawn roughly $3.4 billion in total. The week began with faint optimism as funds posted modest inflows, but selling pressure intensified through midweek, culminating in the heaviest outflow on Wednesday. Ether spot ETFs drove a parallel pattern, registering five straight days of red ink and erasing about $254 million from the sector’s assets.

According to SoSoValue, Monday saw a modest inflow of $27.29 million into spot Bitcoin ETFs. On Tuesday, investors pulled $233.25 million, and Wednesday delivered the largest single-day hit with outflows of $635.23 million. A temporary reprieve came on Thursday with inflows of $131.31 million, yet Friday reversed that progress, with another $290.42 million exiting the products. The week closed with net outflows totaling exactly $1 billion. The slide marks a pronounced reversal from the prior six weeks, during which spot BTC ETFs attracted steady inflows, the strongest being the week of April 17 at $996.38 million. By week’s end, total net assets across spot Bitcoin ETFs stood around $104.29 billion, with cumulative net inflows across all products at $58.34 billion.

On the Ether ETF front, the five-day pattern was uniformly negative. Outflows hit every trading day, led by Tuesday’s $130.62 million, followed by $65.65 million on Friday, $36.30 million on Wednesday, $16.89 million on Monday, and $5.65 million on Thursday. The cumulative effect left Ether ETF assets at approximately $12.93 billion by week’s end, with a five-day net decrease of about $254.46 million.

The latest flow data arrives amid broader market shifts that analysts say are shaping risk appetite for crypto products. In a note, the research firm Bitunix described a pronounced capital rotation toward the AI growth narrative and the institutionalization of crypto assets. The backdrop includes a rally in major tech beneficiaries such as NVIDIA, Google, and Apple, with AI-related players like Cerebras spiking intraday on its IPO debut. The dynamic underscores how macro themes are increasingly filtering into crypto allocation decisions, even as spot crypto prices remain volatile.

Key takeaways

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $1.0 billion in weekly net outflows, ending six consecutive weeks of inflows that had accumulated about $3.4 billion.
• Daily flow pattern for BTC ETFs showed modest Monday inflows, heavy midweek outflows peaking Wednesday, a Thursday rebound, and continued Friday selling.
• Total spot BTC ETF assets stood at roughly $104.29 billion, with cumulative inflows across all related products at about $58.34 billion.
• Ether spot ETFs faced a five-day stretch of outflows totaling about $254 million, reducing assets to around $12.93 billion.
• Macro themes—AI-driven capital rotation and evolving crypto regulation—are shaping near-term risk appetite, with regulatory developments and price action providing directional signals.

Markets in the crosswinds of AI and regulation

Beyond the ETF flows, investors have been weighing the interplay between technology-driven narratives and policy shifts. Bitunix’s note highlights a sentiment shift toward AI-related growth and the institutionalization of crypto markets, a combination that could sustain capital inflows or trigger selective reallocation depending on macro data and tech sector momentum. In the broader stock space, several AI-heavy names pushed toward fresh highs, while select AI-chipmakers demonstrated notable intraday strength on debut, illustrating the sector’s capacity to influence crypto risk sentiment through cross-asset dynamics.

On the regulatory front, developments such as the CLARITY Act have been closely watched. The bill is widely viewed as one of the most significant pieces of crypto market structure legislation in the United States. Following the Senate Banking Committee’s movement on the measure, Coinbase shares rallied as investors priced in potential regulatory clarity, and Bitcoin hovered near the $82,000 level. Analysts caution that Bitcoin’s price action remains sensitive to macro liquidity and the ongoing tug-of-war between AI-driven demand themes and regulatory framing. Traders also noted a cluster of short liquidity in the $82,400–$82,600 range with the $80,000 level identified as a critical support anchor to monitor in the near term.

These developments sit alongside ongoing policy debates and market structure reforms that could influence ETF flows and crypto trading volumes in the coming weeks. For instance, coverage of regulatory milestones continues to shape investor expectations and the perceived safety of crypto exposure within diversified portfolios. Related reporting has highlighted how public filings and regulatory chatter can translate into quickly shifting trading dynamics, including moves in large-cap crypto equities alongside the sector’s ETF products.

As traders digest these crosscurrents, the market will be watching for whether inflows resume or outflows intensify, and for more concrete signals about how policymakers intend to balance investor protection with sector growth. The coming weeks could reveal whether current price levels are a temporary pause in a broader uptrend or a prelude to renewed volatility driven by macro data, regulatory decisions, or shifts in the AI narrative that continue to reverberate through risk markets.

Further context on regulatory developments and market reactions can be found in related coverage, which notes ongoing attention to the CLARITY Act and its potential implications for crypto market structure and investor access.

Looking ahead, investors should watch how liquidity dynamics evolve around key support levels for spot BTC and how the evolving regulatory environment affects appetite for crypto exposure within traditional portfolios. The balance of AI-driven demand, geopolitical considerations, and policy clarity will likely continue to shape ETF flows and price action in the weeks ahead.