Charles Hoskinson argued on May 17, 2026 that Zcash better matches early cypherpunk ideals than Bitcoin because zk-SNARKs can hide transaction details. In May, U.S. spot XRP ETF net inflows reached $94.71 million, up 16% from April's $81.59 million, while Strategy added 15,466.30 BTC worth more than $1.2 billion between May 11 and May 15. Bitcoin also tested support near $78,000 as weekly ETF outflows totaled $995 million ahead of the May 20 FOMC minutes.

CME Group said its crypto futures and options will begin trading 24/7 on May 29, after the product line reached $3 trillion in notional volume in 2025 and is running 46% above that pace year-to-date. ICE's NYSE is also developing a tokenized securities platform designed for round-the-clock operation and stablecoin-based funding, pending regulatory approval. The moves come as CME and ICE reportedly urge US officials to rein in Hyperliquid, whose WTI-linked perpetuals have posted large volumes and sparked market-integrity concerns.

Japan's large brokerages are gearing up to offer crypto investment trusts to retail clients, with SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities building products internally and Nomura planning to join after rules are set. The push comes as the Financial Services Agency is working toward changes by 2028 that would explicitly let investment trusts hold cryptocurrencies, potentially expanding access via existing securities accounts.

BlackRock's crypto ETFs logged roughly $653.9 million in net outflows across five trading days from May 11 to May 15, led by withdrawals from its Bitcoin and Ethereum products. IBIT recorded about $461.2 million in outflows, while ETHA and ETHB together saw around $192.7 million pulled, as Bitcoin fell below $80,000 and Ethereum traded near $2,100.

Italy’s largest bank reported $235 million in cryptocurrency holdings for Q1 and disclosed first-time positions in Ethereum and XRP. The figures were included in a quarterly regulatory filing published in the U.S. SEC’s EDGAR system under 13F-HR submissions.

In Q1 2026, Nu Holdings said Nubank reached break-even in Mexico for the first time since entering in 2019, while reporting it had grown to 15 million customers and become the market's third-largest financial institution. Revolut, which began operating in Mexico in January, said it scaled investment to $167 million and by end of March had more than 290,000 registrations and $218 million in deposits.

On May 14, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted 15–9 to advance the stablecoin-focused CLARITY Act, a move some view as a pivot from enforcement-led policy toward legislative clarity. Ironwallet CEO Ermo Eero said the bill may support domestic capital growth, but argued a truly global crypto framework would still require international treaties and stronger industry self-policing to earn institutional trust.

Payward, Kraken's parent, eliminated 150 jobs on May 15, saying AI automation made some operations roles redundant. The reduction equals 5% of its roughly 3,000 employees and comes after about 400 cuts in October 2024. Payward has also targeted a $20 billion IPO valuation, though a 2027 listing has been suggested.