Bitcoin is in line to leave its tight range behind in the coming days — even retaking all-time highs and pushing into price discovery after several months. Key points: Bitcoin is convincing traders that an upside breakout is around the corner, with all-time highs in sight. One target demands $116,000 next week, moving BTC/USD firmly out of its narrow range. Read more
Saifedean Ammous says he would “throw in a few sats” to fund a developer dedicated to making Bitcoin spam more costly. Economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean Ammous, has weighed in on the ongoing debate over spam inscriptions on the Bitcoin network, suggesting he would “throw in a few sats” to fund a full-time developer focused on making Bitcoin spamming more difficult and expensive. Ammous made the remarks in response to a thread initiated by the pseudonymous developer GrassFedBitcoin, who called for Bitcoin Core to merge pull request #28408, which would enable node operators to filter inscriptions more easily. According to GrassFedBitcoin, the lack of inscription filtering tools contributes to unnecessary blockchain bloat and undermines Bitcoin (BTC)’s role as a monetary protocol. Read more
A retired fabricator was tricked into entering his seed phrase on a fake Coinbase site, losing a crypto portfolio worth $2 million. Retired artist Ed Suman lost over $2 million in cryptocurrency earlier this year after falling victim to a scam involving someone posing as a Coinbase support representative. Suman, 67, spent nearly two decades as a fabricator in the art world, helping build high-profile works such as Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog sculptures, according to a May 17 report by Bloomberg. After retiring, he turned to cryptocurrency investing, eventually accumulating 17.5 Bitcoin (BTC) and 225 Ether (ETH) — a portfolio that comprised most of his retirement savings. Read more
UK crypto firms will need to report customer transactions on their platforms from 2026 onward as part of an initiative to strengthen crypto tax reporting practices. United Kingdom crypto companies will need to collect and report data from every customer trade and transfer beginning Jan. 1, 2026 as part of a broader effort to improve crypto tax reporting, the UK government said. Everything from the user’s full name, home address and tax identification number will need to be collected and reported for every transaction, including the cryptocurrency used and the amount moved, the UK Revenue and Customs department said in a May 14 statement. Details of companies, trusts and charities transacting on crypto platforms will also need to be reported. Failure to comply or inaccurate reporting may incur penalties of up to 300 British pounds ($398.4) per user. The UK Revenue and Customs department said it would inform companies on how to comply with the incoming measures in due course. Read more
Hong Kong police have arrested 12 people tied to a $15 million crypto laundering operation, which was dismantled on the same day. Hong Kong police arrested 12 people involved in a cross-border money laundering scheme that relied on crypto and over 500 stooge bank accounts to launder HK$118 million ($15 million), local news outlets reported. The syndicate was dismantled on May 15, resulting in the arrest of nine men and three women in mainland China and Hong Kong. The suspects allegedly recruited others to open bank accounts to receive proceeds from fraud cases, which were then converted into crypto at crypto exchange shops to launder the illicit funds, Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported on May 17. Read more