SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

Tether and Georgia announce plans for GEL®, a lari-pegged stablecoin, marking Tether's first national fiat partnership outside the US dollar and euro. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tether-georgia-gel-lari-stablecoin-may-2026/

A supply chain campaign called TrapDoor has shipped 34 malicious packages targeting crypto and AI developers, draining wallets, SSH keys, and API tokens. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/trapdoor-malware-34-packages-crypto-developers-may-2026/

US spot Bitcoin ETFs have shed assets for six straight days. 2026 net inflows have shrunk to $536 million, putting the year close to going net negative. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-etf-6-day-outflow-streak-2026-net-negative-may-2026/

FDIC has proposed a Bank Secrecy Act rule requiring FDIC-supervised stablecoin issuers to run AML/CFT programs, sanctions controls, and reporting under the GENIUS Act. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/fdic-bsa-stablecoin-aml-rule-genius-act-may-2026/

B3 registered the first guaranteed OTC flexible option tied to Hashdex's HASH11 crypto-index ETF, a piece of market plumbing US issuers still cannot offer. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/brazil-b3-hash11-otc-options-may-2026/

CryptoQuant says Bitcoin's apparent demand metric is approaching -147,000 BTC, its most bearish reading since December 2025 as spot price hovers near $77,300. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-apparent-demand-bearish-147000-may-2026/

The Fed's April minutes show policymakers ready to tighten if inflation stays sticky. CME FedWatch now prices a 54% chance of a December hike. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/fed-april-minutes-hike-risk-bitcoin-trade-may-2026/

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair Friday, with early reporting pointing to an Alan Greenspan-style approach to policy. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/warsh-sworn-in-fed-chair-greenspan-approach-may-2026/

BitMine added 60,000 ETH worth $126M near $2,000, building a treasury position large enough to test inclusion in Russell indexes tied to $12.2T in passive assets. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitmine-126m-ethereum-russell-index-test-may-2026/

BTC +3.3%, ETH +4.6%, SOL +5% in 24h after Secretary Rubio cites significant progress in past 48 hours toward an Iran deal covering the Strait of Hormuz. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-rallies-rubio-iran-hormuz-progress-may-2026/

Tether holds $141B in US Treasuries directly and indirectly, ranking 17th globally and entangling stablecoin demand with sovereign debt financing. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tether-141b-us-treasuries-stablecoin-debt-risk-may-2026/

On-chain investigator ZachXBT flagged a roughly $10M exploit affecting smart contracts tied to StablR's EURR and USDR stablecoins, Cointelegraph reports. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/stablr-eurr-usdr-10m-exploit-zachxbt-may-2026/

Hyperliquid has redirected nearly all of its $1.16B trading fee revenue into buying back HYPE, a mechanism unlike anything on rival perp DEXs. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hyperliquid-1-16b-fee-revenue-hype-buyback-may-2026/

NEAR climbs roughly 50% in seven days as AI-themed tokens outpace a soft BTC and ETH tape. Traders are now watching the $5 level for follow-through. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/near-ai-tokens-rotation-50-percent-may-2026/

BTC sits at $76,800 with 10-year Treasury yields back near 5%. The first clean macro test of Bitcoin's hard-money thesis in over a year is now live. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-hard-money-thesis-5-percent-treasury-yields-may-2026/

Serious credit card delinquencies have climbed to 13.1% of accounts, the highest reading since 2010, per data circulating on X this week. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-credit-card-delinquency-13-percent-15-year-high-may-2026/

Trump Media's 11,542 BTC stash is now worth roughly $455M less than it paid, after sliding BTC prices and a second transfer to Crypto.com on May 23. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/trump-media-455m-btc-unrealized-loss-may-2026/

Rio Civil Police raid uncovers a Comando Vermelho scheme converting stolen electricity into crypto, exposing a new model for laundering criminal energy theft. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/rio-comando-vermelho-stolen-power-crypto-mining-may-2026/

Michael Saylor said it is 'not unlikely' Strategy sells some bitcoin before the end of 2026, a softening of the firm's long-held never-sell posture. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/saylor-strategy-may-sell-bitcoin-2026-may-2026/

Bitcoin slid below $75,000 on May 23, 2026, wiping out more than $100 million in long positions within a single hour as the selloff deepened. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-breaks-75000-100m-longs-wiped-may-2026/

US banks are sitting on roughly $306B in unrealized losses while BTC drops to $75,272 and ETH falls under $2,060 on May 23, 2026. Here is the read. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-banks-306b-unrealized-losses-crypto-selloff-may-2026/

Law firm Fenwick & West agreed to pay $54 million to resolve claims it helped Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX structure transactions that hid customer fund misuse. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/fenwick-54m-ftx-settlement-may-2026/

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer says the CLARITY Act will reach President Trump's desk, citing the Senate Banking Committee's 15-9 bipartisan vote. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/emmer-clarity-act-momentum-trump-desk-may-2026/

ICE Markets and OKX rolled out perpetual oil futures tied to Brent and WTI prices, giving 120M OKX retail users access to regulated energy contracts that never expire. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ice-okx-perpetual-oil-futures-brent-wti-may-2026/

BofA's latest 13F shows the second-largest US bank lifting its IBIT position while cutting spot Ether and Solana ETF holdings into a crypto-wide drawdown. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bofa-13f-raises-ibit-cuts-eth-sol-etf-may-2026/