The Bank for International Settlements said on Wednesday that its Project Agora showed tokenization can improve wholesale cross-border payments, and confirmed the initiative will advance into a six-month operational trial using real money. The project uses multi-currency settlement with tokenized central bank reserves and tokenized commercial bank deposits, aiming to reduce delays that can stretch from one to five days or more.

Mastercard said Wednesday it received a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, clearing the way to expand crypto payment activity in the state. The approval lets the company clear and settle crypto and tokenized assets without relying on third parties, as it continues building infrastructure involving stablecoins and tokenized deposits.

OKX has upgraded its X Layer into a permissionless "Exchange OS" designed to support spot trading, perpetual futures, and prediction markets, with a unified account that lets users trade across venues from one shared pool of funds. The company says builders can launch markets with more autonomy while the protocol handles the underlying plumbing. OKB rose 15% on the update and reached $98.8, though it was meeting resistance near the 200-day SMA at the time of writing.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies increased its Ethereum position by buying $125.9 million in ETH (60K tokens) as ETH traded around $2K after a nearly 15% May decline. LSEG also confirmed Bitmine will appear on the preliminary Russell 3000 Index list ahead of the June rebalancing, a step that could place the stock into Russell 3000-tracking ETFs if it is accepted at the end of June.

Harvard University Endowment Fund sold its entire $86.8 million position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) in Q1, while cutting its BTC exposure by about 50% to around $117 million. ETH fund outflows extended beyond Q1, with ETHA showing $922 million in YTD redemptions and ETH trading near $2.1K after falling 12% from early May’s $2.4K high. Market sentiment readings slipped to 28, reflecting heightened fear around Ethereum-linked headlines and ongoing capital rotation.

Minnesota’s SF760 public safety bill, signed by Governor Tim Walz on 18 May, bans prediction markets and allows felony charges after a state cease-and-desist notice. The CFTC filed suit on 19 May seeking to stop the law before it takes effect on 1 August, as the broader fight over oversight plays out while the sector averages about $20 billion in monthly trading volume.

Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal said the CLARITY Act has momentum after advancing out of the Senate Banking Committee, but added that significant work remains before it can become law. The bill cleared committee markup 15–9 and now heads toward a Senate floor vote, where it is expected to be combined with Agriculture Committee language tied to the CFTC. Analysts and lawmakers flagged ethics provisions and stablecoin-yield restrictions as potential hurdles, while Bitcoin traded below $78K after falling 5%.

VanEck and Grayscale have updated their S-1 registration filings for a proposed U.S. spot BNB ETF, a move that Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said points to active SEC engagement. After the updates, some large holders reportedly rotated out of $50M in Ethereum into BNB, while BNB traded at $660 at press time.

Jerome Powell’s second four-year term as U.S. Federal Reserve chair ended on May 15, and the Fed said he will remain in a temporary capacity until Kevin Warsh is sworn in while also staying on the Board of Governors through January 2028. Analysts said sticky inflation and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty could weigh on liquidity and limit Bitcoin and broader crypto upside into the next policy decision expected in mid-June.