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Crypto World

US Treasury ‘Privately Demanded’ Binance Comply with Monitoring Deal: Report

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US Treasury ‘Privately Demanded’ Binance Comply with Monitoring Deal: Report

Update (May 7 at 9:47 PM UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Binance.

The US Department of the Treasury reportedly demanded that Binance follow a monitoring program put in place by a 2023 deal between authorities and the cryptocurrency exchange, following reports that the company facilitated $1 billion to entities tied to Iran.

According to a Thursday report by The Information, the Treasury Department “privately demanded” that Binance be in compliance with a monitoring program to which it had agreed after reaching a deal with US authorities in 2023. The deal, which included a $4.3 billion settlement with Treasury and the US Department of Justice, required Binance to comply with a three-year monitoring program overseen by government officials. 

The reported letter from Treasury followed reports that Binance fired individuals responsible for telling the exchange’s executives that $1 billion flowed through the platform to entities tied to Iran. A group of senators followed, urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on Binance’s adherence to the 2023 settlement.

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“Binance is committed to cooperating with the independent monitor and our ongoing collaboration with relevant agencies,” a spokesperson for the exchange told Cointelegraph in response to the report. The spokesperson said:

“We welcome constructive feedback from the Treasury and view this oversight as an important part of continuously strengthening our compliance and anti-money laundering controls. We are providing the monitor with full cooperation and transparency.”

Binance’s ties to the Trump administration have come under scrutiny since a United Arab Emirates-based entity invested $2 billion in the crypto exchange using the USD1 stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, the company co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his sons. Trump also pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in October 2025.

Related: US authorities freeze $344M in crypto linked to Iran

Zhao pleaded guilty to one felony charge related to failure to maintain an anti-money laundering regime at Binance as part of the 2023 settlement.

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Changpeng Zhao speaking at Consensus on Thursday. Source: Cointelegraph

Zhao rules out leading another crypto company

The Information’s report coincided with Zhao’s appearance at the Consensus conference in Miami on Thursday.

The former CEO said he had been “trying to avoid [the] US” but floated the idea of revitalizing Binance.US to give users access to global liquidity. He also dismissed the idea of being in a leadership role at a crypto company again, having resigned as Binance CEO in November 2023.

“I don’t think I’ve got the stamina to run another startup, to lead another company,” said Zhao. “I’m a one-trick pony. I’m okay with that level. I’m done.”

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

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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.

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Circle Shares Jump 20% as Lawmakers Reach Stablecoin Deal

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Circle Internet Group’s stock jumped nearly 20% on Monday after two US senators announced a bipartisan compromise on one of the most contentious issues holding up federal crypto legislation.

The deal, months in the making, drew loud opposition from the banking industry within hours of its release.

Lawmakers Push Stablecoin Compromise Despite Bank Resistance

In posts published on X on May 5, Senator Thom Tillis said he and Senator Angela Alsobrooks had reached a “consensus-based product” after working with industry stakeholders for months. According to Tillis, the agreement directly addresses one of the banking sector’s biggest concerns: deposit flight.

“Our compromise prohibits stablecoin rewards from resembling interest on bank deposits,” Tillis wrote, adding that banks had been “at the table” throughout negotiations.

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At the same time, the proposal still allows crypto companies to offer alternative customer rewards, a concession that keeps parts of the existing business model intact.

The banking industry disagreed. A joint statement from the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Financial Services Forum, and the Independent Community Bankers of America said the senators were “seeking to achieve the correct policy goal” but that the proposed language “falls short.”

The group cited research suggesting yield-bearing stablecoins could reduce consumer, small-business, and farm loans by one-fifth or more and pledged to send detailed suggestions to lawmakers in the coming days.

Tillis and Alsobrooks did not back down, with the pair saying the deal was locked and pointedly telling the banks that they “respectfully agree to disagree.”

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Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, who attended earlier White House meetings on this exact dispute back in February, was characteristically dry on X:

“I must say I feel obligated to offer my congratulations to the banking trades,” he wrote. “They’ve managed to do the impossible in our country these days: bring sensible Rs and Ds together.”

Circle Stock Rebounds

Markets responded almost immediately to the news, with Circle shares closing May 4 at around $120, up from roughly $100 the previous session. They then climbed further in after-hours trading to about $126.

That marks a sharp reversal from late March, when the stock dropped about 20% in a single day after earlier drafts of the legislation raised concerns about a blanket ban on stablecoin yield.

This time, the reaction has been different. The latest compromise still restricts interest-like payments but leaves room for other forms of rewards, which analysts have previously said match Circle’s existing model. The company already keeps the yield generated from reserves backing its USDC stablecoin rather than passing it on to users.

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The post Circle Shares Jump 20% as Lawmakers Reach Stablecoin Deal appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Iran focus at Trump-Xi summit may delay progress on tariffs, rare earths

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Philips CEO: We will ask Trump administraton for tariff rebate

Pictured here is the last time a sitting U.S. president made a state visit to China. President Donald Trump traveled to Beijing in November 2017 during his first term to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Pool | Getty Images

BEIJING — The Iran war is likely to take center stage in the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, leaving less scope to resolve issues like tariffs and rare earth supplies.

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already said that Iran will be a topic in the meetings, which are due to take place May 14 and 15. And earlier this week, China hosted Iran’s foreign minister for the first time since the war began in late February — raising hopes for a peace deal, sending oil prices lower and fueling stock-market gains.

The U.S. government declined China’s invitation to organize industry-specific meetings between senior Chinese leaders and U.S. CEOs, thinking it could make American businesses appear too close to Beijing, according to a U.S. executive with direct knowledge of the arrangements. As of Tuesday, the White House had yet to formally invite executives to join Trump on the trip, and a proposed list of two dozen leaders could be halved, the person added.

Boeing and Citigroup CEOs are among those set to accompany Trump, two separate sources said. The U.S. aircraft giant is expected to seal its first large order from China in nearly a decade around the summit.

Xi has hosted a dozen national leaders this year, from the U.K. to South Korea — who often bring large business delegations. Still, corporations may not object to the decreased focus if it resolves a large geopolitical overhang for them.

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An end to the Iran war would be a “great relief to global business,” said Hai Zhao, a director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state-affiliated think tank. It would “be remembered as very much the success” for the Trump-Xi summit.

However, the U.S. and Iran have traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz again, each blaming the other for initiating the attack. Just a few days earlier, a Chinese-owned oil tanker was also struck, according to Chinese media outlet Caixin. CNBC was unable to independently confirm the report.

Philips CEO: We will ask Trump administraton for tariff rebate

If a smaller group of executives joins Trump’s visit to China, it would contrast with the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia last May, when more than 30 U.S. executives accompanied him. When Trump visited China during his first term in 2017, the last sitting U.S. president to do so, nearly 30 CEOs accompanied him – signing 37 major deals worth more than $250 billion.

But the expected images of Trump and Xi together may still send a signal within China that it’s more acceptable again to engage with U.S. businesses, said Michael Hart, president of the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce of China.

“Since U.S. military actions earlier this year, Chinese officials have been more hesitant to engage with the American business community,” he said.

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China welcomes U.S. business expansion and hopes the companies can keep advancing bilateral economic relations, the foreign ministry told CNBC. China’s commerce ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, the urgency of some business-related issues is declining. Both countries are backpedaling on recent confrontation around U.S. sanctions and tech, while eyeing cooperation on the growing security threat of AI, according to reports.

And some progress may still be made. Trump is expected to notch deals on Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans and Boeing airplanes, according to Scott Kennedy, senior advisor and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He also anticipates Trump will discuss U.S. plans to establish trade and investment organizations – called “boards” – to handle specific bilateral issues.

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“The meeting most likely will solidify the advantages China has gained over the past year,” Kennedy said.

Beijing’s focus will likely be on tariffs, Taiwan’s status and U.S. restrictions on Chinese access to advanced technology, Kennedy said. China was the first major country to retaliate against tariffs announced by the Trump administration in April 2025.

Meanwhile, changes to China’s increasingly tight rare earths export controls would be felt worldwide, and they affect all countries, not just the U.S.

— CNBC’s Matthew Chin contributed to this report.

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Bitcoin Cash (BCH) drops 1.2%, leading index lower

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9am CoinDesk 20 Update for 2026-05-07: vertical

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2171.96, down 0.2% (-4.96) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Thirteen of 20 assets are trading higher.

9am CoinDesk 20 Update for 2026-05-07: vertical

Leaders: ICP (+9.7%) and DOT (+1.7%).

Laggards: BCH (-1.2%) and NEAR (-1.0%).

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The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

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Mason Lynaugh lays out crypto midterm plan

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OpenAI buys tech talk show TBPN as it builds out communication strategy

Mason Lynaugh, executive director of Stand With Crypto, took the Consensus Miami 2026 stage on Thursday to outline how the group’s 2.7 million advocates will engage in the November midterms.

Summary

  • Stand With Crypto’s Mason Lynaugh joined Fellowship PAC’s Jesse Spiro and Sternhell Group’s Alex Sternhell at the Consensus Miami 2026 Policy Summit to discuss midterm engagement.
  • Stand With Crypto has already endorsed six incumbents and is targeting races where its advocates can have a material impact on outcomes.
  • The group’s polling found 59% of crypto owners do not reliably vote for one party, framing them as a decisive swing bloc.

Mason Lynaugh, executive director of Stand With Crypto, outlined the Coinbase-backed group’s 2026 midterm strategy at the Consensus Miami Policy Summit on Thursday, appearing alongside Fellowship PAC’s Jesse Spiro and Sternhell Group’s Alex Sternhell.

The session formed part of a broader Day 3 programme that put crypto’s political infrastructure on public display for the first time at Consensus.

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Stand With Crypto has endorsed six congressional incumbents in its first round for 2026: Representatives Zach Nunn, Susie Lee, Mike Lawler, Don Davis, Greg Landsman, and Rob Bresnahan.

The group is simultaneously opposing Representatives Scott Perry and Marcy Kaptur. “This year crypto voters are poised to play a powerful and decisive role at the ballot box,” Lynaugh said, adding that the goal is to ensure the 120th Congress is “the most pro-crypto session in America’s history.”

Why November matters for crypto policy

The midterm context is defined by the CLARITY Act’s fate. As crypto.news reported, Senator Bernie Moreno has warned that missing the May Senate window could push comprehensive crypto legislation off the calendar until after the midterms, and potentially beyond.

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The composition of the next Congress will determine whether the regulatory framework crypto companies have been pushing for gets a second chance.

Stand With Crypto’s Impact Research polling found nearly six in 10 crypto owners do not reliably vote for one party, and close to half said they would support a candidate they agree with on crypto even if they disagree on other issues.

As crypto.news reported, the broader crypto PAC ecosystem, led by Fairshake, has over $221 million in unspent funds ready to deploy across House and Senate races through November.

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Bitcoin Cycle Breaks Pattern as On-Chain Metrics Hit 4-Year Low

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Bitcoin Cycle Breaks Pattern as On-Chain Metrics Hit 4-Year Low

Bitcoin’s on-chain metrics have hit deep-value readings normally seen at cycle bottoms, even though price has only retraced about 40% from its all-time high. That drawdown sits far below the 75% to 85% declines that defined prior bear cycles.

Six widely tracked indicators now point in the same direction. They describe a market that reset without a euphoric top while long-term holders refused to distribute.

BTC weekly chart and 200MA. Source: Tradingview

Bitcoin Cycle: Capitulation Without a Collapse

Three indicators measure stress in the price-versus-trend relationship, and all three agree.

The Mayer Multiple Z-Score compares Bitcoin’s (BTC) price to its 200-day moving average. The metric recently dropped to roughly -1.5 standard deviations. That zone has been printed only twice before in recent history.

The first instance came in March 2020, for around $3,000. The second arrived during the FTX collapse in late 2022, around $19,000. The current tag occurred at roughly $62,000. BTC has since recovered toward $80,000.

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Mayer Multiple Z-score. Source: X/Michaël van de Poppe

The Bitcoin Sharpe Ratio also confirms this condition. The metric has dropped into its “Low Risk” band. That territory previously defined the 2015, 2019, and 2022 cycle lows.

Each prior tag preceded a major upward leg, although the sample size remains small.

The percentage of supply held in loss has also climbed near 39%, per In The Cryptoverse data. That level historically appeared during the late stages of bear markets, not while the price held in six figures. The divergence between price level and holder pain stands out as the cycle’s defining anomaly.

Bitcoin Sharpe Ratio. Source: X

Bitcoin’s 200-week moving average adds a fourth confirmation. The line has acted as the floor of every prior cycle. It broke briefly in 2018 and was wicked below in 2020 and 2022. This time, the 200WMA tagged and held without a clean violation.

A Bitcoin Cycle With No Top

The capitulation signals are striking in part because they lack a normal counterpart, the euphoric top.

The CBBI Bitcoin Bull Run Index combines multiple cycle metrics. The composite never tagged its red zone above 80 during this run. Every previous bull cycle, including 2013, 2017, and 2021, hit that threshold cleanly. The current chart explicitly marks the missed signal with an X.

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CBBI Historical Chart. Source: X

Glassnode’s Net Unrealized Profit and Loss (NUPL) data tells a similar story. The metric uses color-coded zones that run from blue euphoria to red capitulation. The 2024 to 2026 expansion topped out in the green “belief” zone without ever crossing into blue.

By that measure, the market never reached the mass-greed reading that historically defined a cycle high. NUPL has since rolled lower into orange territory, the band associated with mid-bear or pre-bottom positioning.

That trajectory mirrors the path NUPL traced in 2018 and 2022, although the underlying price action differs sharply.

BTC NUPL. Source: Glassnode

The Cohort That Refused to Sell

The most unusual signal sits in long-term holder behavior.

Glassnode defines long-term holders (LTH) as wallets that have held coins for at least 155 days. In every prior cycle, this cohort distributed heavily into the top. The LTH supply curve dropped as new buyers absorbed the available coins. That pattern repeated cleanly in 2014, 2018, and 2021.

BTC Total Supply Held by Long-Term Holders. Source: Glassnode

This cycle broke that pattern. LTH supply dipped slightly in 2024, but it has since returned to record levels above 14.5 million BTC. Long-term holders now sit near peak conviction with price still well above the 200-week moving average.

The behavior carries two possible readings. The bullish interpretation suggests long-term holders are waiting for a higher peak that has yet to arrive. The structural interpretation points to a different LTH composition. The cohort now includes ETF cold storage, sovereign reserves, and corporate treasuries with non-cyclical mandates.

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Both readings support the broken-cycle thesis. Neither one alone explains a continued bear case from current levels.

An Asymmetric Setup

The combined picture across six on-chain charts presents an unusual triangulation. Capitulation-grade readings appear in three price-derived metrics.

No euphoria appears in two sentiment-derived metrics. No distribution appears in the cohort that historically defines the top.

Markets rarely show all three conditions at once.

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The simplest version of the thesis suggests Bitcoin just absorbed a deep on-chain reset without holding a euphoric top. Meanwhile, the holders most likely to sell have refused.

Historically, that combination has resolved to the upside.

A counterargument deserves space. If the four-year cycle model is genuinely broken, the same logic should apply to the prior cycle bottom signals.

The Mayer Z, Sharpe Ratio, and capitulation reads work as buy zones because they reflect a recurring market psychology. A structurally different cycle could mean those signals carry less predictive weight than past performance suggests.

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For long-term observers, the on-chain picture nonetheless skews asymmetric. Price sits well below the cycle high yet remains above the 200-week moving average.

The Holder conviction remains intact, and historically rare buy signals have aligned. Whether the cycle delivers another leg up or settles into a longer consolidation, the current data set stands out. It is the most coherent on-chain bottom signal Bitcoin has produced in years.

The post Bitcoin Cycle Breaks Pattern as On-Chain Metrics Hit 4-Year Low appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Real-time coverage and highlights from on the ground

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Real-time coverage and highlights from on the ground

It’s the third and final day of Consensus Miami.

To recap yesterday, ICYMI, Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Digital Assets, told the audience at day 2 of Consensus Miami that if the Senate Banking Committee holds a markup this month, it would give the Senate four weeks to merge the bill with the Senate Agriculture Committee version and June to work out issues with the House of Representatives. It’s an aggressive timeline, “but it is an achievable timeline,” he said.

Michael Saylor followed up to lay out his case for yieldcoins, laying out a vision for the potential future of the digital assets sector.

And the time is now to start working on post-quantum security, Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden said.

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Catch up on all of the coverage here.

Today will see panels addressing prediction markets and sports betting, stablecoins, banking and more. Privacy and agentic payments will again take the stage.

Tom Lee will present a keynote, while stablecoin executives will weigh in on recent regulatory advancements. World Liberty Financial’s Donald Trump, Jr. and Zach Witkoff will take the main stage right after lunch, while payments executives will lay out how crypto cards and other tools will work.

CoinDesk will host its Policy & Regulation Summit, diving deep into the key regulatory issues you should be paying attention to: DeFi regulation, the 2026 election and more. The day will end with a debate on prediction markets. Are they just gambling products dressed up in a fancy costume? Or are these contracts actually a novel financial product? And what does that all mean for you? Come through and find out.

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Why Yat Siu says the metaverse is over

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Why Yat Siu says the metaverse is over

Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu told Consensus Miami 2026 that the metaverse is over as a consumer destination, and that 100 billion AI agents will become blockchain’s primary users.

Summary

  • Yat Siu said the pandemic-era vision of humans living in virtual worlds was wrong, and that the metaverse was a proof of concept for AI agent infrastructure rather than a consumer product.
  • He predicted 50 to 100 billion AI agents will eventually operate on the internet, outnumbering humans and transacting autonomously on blockchain networks.
  • Animoca announced a $10 million investment initiative for developers building AI agent applications through its Animoca Minds platform.

Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu told Consensus Miami 2026 on Thursday that the metaverse, as the crypto industry imagined it during the pandemic, was never really built for humans.

“Where we’re landing is that the metaverse, the blockchain-based one, was really the proof of concept for agents,” he said. “In other words, it was never really destined for humans as a prime consumer.”

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The remarks mark a clean break from Animoca’s earlier positioning. The firm was among the most prominent advocates of the pandemic-era metaverse vision, which assumed users would spend growing amounts of their social and economic lives in immersive virtual environments.

Siu attributed that misconception to the distorting conditions of COVID lockdowns, when it seemed remote digital life would become permanent. “Everyone thought, ‘Oh, we’re going to be at home, and we’re never going to travel as much anymore,’” he said. “Which, of course, turned out to be quite the opposite.”

What comes next: the agent economy

Siu’s new thesis is that blockchain’s most scalable user base will not be humans but autonomous AI agents. “I think the point is that it’s going to be more agents than humans,” he said, estimating 50 to 100 billion agents could eventually operate on the internet.

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On current population math, 10 to 20 agents per human produces between 70 and 140 billion agents globally. “Blockchain technology is the ideal financial system for machines,” Siu said. “We, the humans, were basically the guinea pigs.”

The argument centres on a practical problem that has limited crypto’s reach. Approximately 700 to 800 million people globally own some form of cryptocurrency, but as crypto.news reported, fewer than 70 million actively use blockchain applications, largely because the technology remains too complex for mainstream consumers. AI agents do not face that barrier.

They interact directly through code, require no traditional banking infrastructure, and can transact autonomously on-chain. As part of the pivot, Animoca announced a $10 million initiative for developers building AI agent applications through its Animoca Minds platform, framing agents as its next major investment category after the metaverse era closes.

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Vitalik Buterin gets sandwiched by ‘JaredfromSubway’ as Ethereum MEV risks linger

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(CoinDesk)

The MEV gods do not discriminate.

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder and a vocal advocate for fixing toxic maximal extractable value, got hit by the very kind of attack he has been campaigning against, blockchain data from earlier this week shows.

Data shows a transaction by Buterin on April 30 was sandwiched by the bot in block 24993038, per Etherscan data, resulting in a worse execution price for the Ethereum co-founder.

A sandwich attack is when a bot spots a trader’s pending transaction, places its own buy order in front to push the price up, lets the victim execute at the inflated price, then dumps the tokens immediately after to pocket the difference. The victim usually does not even notice, as they just get a slightly worse fill than they should have.

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Analysis by CoinDesk shows Buterin swapped 26,544 digitalbits (XDB) tokens worth roughly $3.86 for 0.00197 ETH worth $4.56. The bot ran $1.14 million worth of WETH through SushiSwap and Uniswap V2 to manipulate the XDB price between the two pools right before Buterin’s swap landed.

After gas fees of $5.14, Jared appears to have lost money on this particular sandwich, and Buterin’s slippage was likely in a few cents.

(CoinDesk)

This shows the bot is so industrialized that it scans every pending transaction in the mempool for any opportunity to insert itself, profitable or not.

(CoinDesk)

Buterin has spent the past several months pitching encrypted mempools as a fix for toxic MEV in Ethereum’s 2026 roadmap.

MEV is the profit that whoever orders transactions on a blockchain can pocket by reshuffling them. Anyone running a bot that watches the public mempool, the holding pen where pending transactions sit before being added to a block, can spot opportunities to insert their own trades around someone else’s.

Sandwich attacks are the most aggressive form, with cumulative MEV extracted on Ethereum is now over $1.2 billion and these type of attacks accounting for roughly 51% of the total volume.

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Buterin, among other developers, argue that MEV creates a hidden tax on regular users that can favour large, specialized operators over everyone else.

Jaredfromsubway.eth rose to prominence in 2023 as it sandwiched traders of meme coins like pepe and wojak during the then meme frenzy.

It briefly accounted for 7% of all gas fees on the network in April that year, and has reportedly extracted more than $7 million from victims across hundreds of thousands of transactions since.

The bot adapts faster than the protocols trying to stop it. It has survived contract upgrades, mempool filtering, and several attempts by builders to design exploits that drain its funds.

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Is $115K BTC Price Realistic?

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Is $115K BTC Price Realistic?

Key takeaways:

  • Half of the $6 billion in Bitcoin options open interest is tied to long-shot strategies used for hedging and neutral price strategies.
  • The 9% put (sell) options premium hints that professional traders are worried about a potential Bitcoin price drop.

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls have high hopes for the year-end options expiry on Dec. 25, which features $6 billion at stake. The 33% price gain since the $60,130 yearly low on Feb. 6 have played a major role in bringing back bullish expectations. However, the huge amount of call (buy) options targeting $115,000 and higher for Dec. 25 raises questions about whether bulls are overconfident.

December Bitcoin call (buy) options open interest at Deribit, BTC. Source: Deribit

Deribit exchange holds a 92% market share in December’s Bitcoin options open interest at $5.5 billion. However, the actual value at expiry will be much lower. Many of these instruments were placed on unlikely outcomes as a hedge or for neutral strategies that do not require large price moves to remain profitable.

Bitcoin call options dominate, but both sides have unrealistic bets

Put (sell) options are underrepresented by 56% on Deribit compared to call options. Crypto traders are known for being bullish, so the put-to-call ratio is usually skewed. Still, the $1.85 billion in open interest in call options targeting $115,000 and higher is significant. This setup makes it worth comparing how optimistic call options are versus the puts.

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December Bitcoin put (sell) options open interest at Deribit, BTC. Source: Deribit

The high volume of put options targeting $55,000 and lower is also notable, totaling $1 billion in open interest. This means the percentage of bets considered improbable is similar for both sides, sitting at roughly 50% of the open interest in each segment. If bulls are seen as overly optimistic, then the bears appear equally extreme in their pessimism.

December Bitcoin options pricing at Deribit on May 7. Source: Deribit

Beyond serving as a counterbalance in strategies with different expiry dates, a call option at $120,000 offers cheap exposure to extreme upside events. Based on Deribit prices on May 7, a buyer pays $2,202 to secure unlimited upside exposure to the equivalent of one full Bitcoin at a price of $120,000 or higher on Dec. 25.

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The options skew metric provides a clearer view of professional traders’ comfort levels regarding both upside and downside price risks.

Related: Bitcoin holds $81K amid flat derivatives markets–Is rally sustainable?

Bitcoin 6-month options delta skew (put-call) at Deribit: Source: Laevitas

Put options are trading at a 9% premium relative to equivalent calls, signaling moderate fear of downside price movements in Bitcoin. Under neutral conditions, the skew indicator should range between -6% and +6%. According to derivatives metrics, investor optimism was not substantially impacted by the rally to $80,000.

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Ultimately, the $1.85 billion in December call options should not be interpreted as a sign of excessive bullish confidence.

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

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BitMine Plans to Slow ETH Buying Near 5% Supply Goal

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

TLDR

  • BitMine may slow its Ethereum purchases as it approaches its 5% supply target.
  • Chairman Tom Lee said the company could reach the 5% goal within six weeks at its current pace.
  • BitMine held 5.18 million ETH as of May 3, equal to 4.29% of total supply.
  • The company bought 101,745 ETH in the previous week to advance its target.
  • BitMine staked 4.36 million ETH, worth about $10.2 billion at recent prices.

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said the company may reduce its Ethereum buying pace as it nears a 5% supply target. He made the remarks at Consensus 2026 in Miami on Thursday. He said the company could reach its goal within six weeks if it maintains its current purchase rate.

BitMine Reassesses ETH Buying Strategy

Lee said BitMine may slow purchases as it approaches its internal threshold. He stated, “I do think we’re going to slow down our pace of buying.” He added, “I’m not sure we want to get to 5% too quickly.”

He explained that the company continues to review its capital allocation plans. He said other priorities now compete for funding within the crypto sector. He pointed to the company’s recent New York Stock Exchange listing and a $4 billion share repurchase authorization.

BitMine reported that it held 5.18 million ETH as of May 3. The company said this amount equals 4.29% of Ethereum’s 120.7 million total supply. It added that it reached 86% of its “Alchemy of 5%” objective after buying 101,745 ETH last week.

Lee said the company could reach the 5% level within six weeks at the same pace. However, he stressed that management may adjust the accumulation rate. He said the firm wants to balance growth with other operational goals.

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Ethereum Holdings and Staking Operations Expand

BitMine disclosed that it staked 4.36 million ETH as of May 3. The company valued those holdings at about $10.2 billion based on a $2,336 ETH price. Tom Lee said annualized staking revenue reached $297 million.

He said the firm’s own staking operations generated a 2.91% annualized seven-day yield. He highlighted staking as a core part of the treasury strategy. He said ETH remains the company’s primary reserve asset.

The company reported total crypto, cash, and moonshot holdings of $13.1 billion. These holdings include 200 BTC and $700 million in cash. It also holds equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.

Lee reiterated his broader Ethereum outlook during the event. He said Wall Street tokenization supports Ethereum adoption. He also said agentic AI systems require public and neutral blockchains.

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ETH traded near $2,300 at press time, down about 2% on the day. Meanwhile, BMNR traded near $21.97. The company’s market capitalization stood at about $11.8 billion at that time.

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