Gravity Bridge, a Cosmos-native cross-chain protocol, confirmed a weekend exploit that resulted in roughly $5.4 million in stolen crypto. On Saturday, May 31st, investigator Specter said the incident appears linked to a signing key compromise, and the project advised validators and orchestrators to halt operations while the probe continues.

On 31 May 2026 at 17:58, the European Commission’s internal drafts outlined EU-level taxes on cryptocurrency trading and capital gains as part of funding proposals for the 2028–2034 long-term budget. The package evaluates a 0.1% levy on crypto trading volumes estimated at €3 billion to €4 billion per year and a unified capital gains tax projected at €1 billion to €2.4 billion annually. Any tax measure would still require unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states.

Brazil's central bank introduced Normative Instruction No. 739 on Friday, requiring VASPs to submit CVM-registered independent "reasonable assurance" audits to obtain operating licenses. At the 8th Mexico-EU Summit, Mexico and the European Commission said they are exploring joint steps against crypto money laundering, alongside a trade agreement that includes a €5 billion investment in Mexico. Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Brazil's CV and PCC as SDGTs on Wednesday and said he intends to add FTO designations starting June 5.

Gravity Bridge, a cross-chain bridge linking Ethereum and the Cosmos ecosystem, was attacked on May 30, with about $5.4 million drained across USDT, ETH, USDC, and PAYG. The protocol said validators should halt validators and orchestrators while an investigation continues, and reported the bridge was halted after validator action. The incident coincided with TVL sliding from $11.82 million to $6.24 million in a day.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) proposes a broader U.S. framework that separates certain investment-contract assets under SEC oversight from digital commodities under CFTC oversight via a decentralization certification pathway. It keeps Bank Secrecy Act duties, FinCEN authority, and Treasury sanctions tools in place, while calling for studies on foreign-adversary risks tied to digital-asset intermediaries. On May 28, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cynthia Lummis published opposing views on whether the bill would weaken illicit-finance safeguards or improve consumer protections in bankruptcies.

Polymarket has started testing perpetual contracts, according to an update from executive Josh Stevens. The move would extend the platform beyond event-based prediction markets into crypto derivatives, though no public launch date has been provided. The company has not disclosed which assets, leverage limits, or user regions would be included if the product rolls out.

On May 27, 2026, Intercontinental Exchange CEO and founder Jeffrey Sprecher said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference that Hyperliquid is "bigger than Nasdaq," pointing to its scale despite a core team of 11 people. The piece contrasts that claim with token and equity valuations, then shifts to activity metrics such as roughly $180B in monthly volume and more than 70% share of the decentralized perpetuals market. It also flags regulatory uncertainty for U.S. and U.K. users and highlights upcoming dates including June 11 and the June 30, 2026 MiCA deadline.

OpenZeppelin co-founder and former CTO Manuel Aráoz said DeFi is unsafe and said he has privately advised friends and family to exit major "blue-chip" protocols. Industry figures including 0G Labs CEO Michael Heinrich and Cysic founder Leo Fan disputed the framing, citing about a 98% improvement in DeFi lending security since 2020 and daily loss rates near 0.001% on major lending protocols. They argued security is shifting toward continuous, machine-speed defenses and that regulators should prioritize operational security over a narrow focus on code.