Crypto Pulse of day: From $330 B Bitcoin Treasuries to New Regulatory Shifts

Regulatory & Policy Developments

• SEC Delays Litecoin ETF Again: On May 5, the SEC requested additional public comments and postponed its decision on Canary Capital’s spot Litecoin ETF application (Coindesk).

• Florida Shelves Bitcoin Reserve Bills: The Florida legislature removed HB 487 and SB 550—measures that would have allowed up to 10 % of state funds to be invested in Bitcoin—from consideration (Cointelegraph).

• New U.S. Crypto Market Bill: Republican lawmakers proposed lowering the disclosure threshold for token holdings from 5 % to 1 %, defining decentralization criteria, and assigning pre-decentralization authority to the SEC before transitioning jurisdiction to the CFTC. DeFi protocols would be exempt from registration, and tokens classified as “investment contract assets,” with secondary sales not deemed securities (Cointelegraph).

• CFTC Observer in Tokenization Pilots: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will participate as an observer in several tokenization pilot programs to gain firsthand experience with digital asset issuance (X.com/EleanorTerrett).

Political & Trade Dynamics

• Trump’s Crypto Push vs. Trade Skepticism: Former President Trump warned that U.S. must develop its crypto industry or risk falling behind China, yet his Commerce Secretary Lutnik criticized Trump–Carney talks, insisting the first trade deal should be with a “Top-10” economy and calling negotiations with Canada “very difficult.”

• Senate Stablecoin Bill Gridlock: A group of nine Democratic senators refused to support the current version of the stablecoin regulation, citing unresolved security concerns and the bill’s ties to Trump allies (Coindesk).

Institutional Forecasts & Market Outlook

• Bernstein’s Bitcoin Treasury Forecast: Analysts at Bernstein predict that by 2029, corporates will hold $330 billion in Bitcoin treasuries—$124 billion from MicroStrategy alone and $205 billion from smaller firms (Decrypt).

• Wells Fargo’s S&P 500 Projection: Wells Fargo strategists forecast the S&P 500 to finish 2025 at 7,007 points (X.com/Barchart).

DeFi & On-Chain Innovations

• Aave V3 Deploys on Aptos: Governance voters approved launching Aave V3’s lending protocol on the Aptos network, marking a major cross-chain expansion (Aave Snapshot).

• Soneium Now on Uniswap: The Soneium token has been listed on Uniswap’s interface for seamless trading (X.com/Uniswap).

• BNB Chain Launches MCP: BNB Chain introduced the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard for secure two-way communication between AI applications and external data systems (BNB Chain Blog).

Incidents & Protocol Updates

• Worldcoin Data Deletion in Kenya: A Kenyan court ordered Worldcoin to purge all biometric data collected without official authorization in exchange for crypto assets (Coinness).

• Treasure Chain Shuts Down: Treasure Chain announced it will cease operations on May 30, 2025; holders of ETH, MAGIC, SMOL, and NFTs must withdraw assets by month-end following a financial crisis and restructuring decision (X.com/Treasure_DAO).

• Ripple Q1 Report: Ripple’s Q1 2025 Markets Report shows a 1.7 % increase in XRP holdings alongside network volume growth (Ripple Insights).

Market Sentiment & Macro Signals

• Hedge Funds Dump Energy Stocks: Over the past six weeks, hedge funds have sold energy equities at the fastest pace in a decade (X.com/Barchart).

• Record Small-Cap Shorts: Short interest in small-cap stocks has reached a six-year high, signaling bearish sentiment in the riskier equity segment (X.com/Barchart).

• U.S. Tech Underperformance: The relative performance of U.S. tech stocks against global peers hit an 18-month low, while tech vs. non-tech sector breadth is at a 1.5-year trough; Nasdaq 100 is down 18 %, versus a 9 % decline in the S&P 500 ex-Information Technology (X.com/KobeissiLetter).

• Melania Trump Memecoin Windfall: Traders who bought the Melania Trump memecoin pre-launch are estimated to have netted over $100 million in gains (Financial Times).

CONCLUSION

This week’s developments underscore a transitional phase for both crypto and traditional markets. Regulatory bodies continue to define the contours of digital-asset inclusion, while policymakers weigh strategic trade and monetary priorities. Institutional forecasts signal massive Bitcoin demand ahead, even as equity markets recalibrate to shifting sector dynamics. For investors and industry participants alike, staying abreast of these regulatory, technological, and macro trends will be crucial for navigating the evolving landscape.