This monthly roundup looks at the top cryptocurrency-related news from May. The top cryptocurrency news in May related to US states establishing bitcoin reserves and the popularity of Bitcoin ETFs, cryptocurrency companies’ progress on the stock market, corporate bitcoin holdings, hacks targeting cryptocurrency players, and Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade.
May in the cryptocurrency markets May was a great month for cryptocurrency price movements . Among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin attracted the most attention as its price rose to a new all-time high in dollar terms during May. Bitcoin peaked on May 22 at nearly $112,000 and over €99,000. Its previous all-time high was around $109,500 in late January this year. May was also a great month for Ethereum , with its price increasing by more than 40 percent during the month. Of the other high-cap cryptocurrencies in Northcrypto’s selection, the best performers in May were peer-to-peer lending service Aave and Quant , which specializes in blockchain interoperability, with prices increasing by around 50 and 43 percent respectively. Two US states create bitcoin reserves May began with a historic moment for cryptocurrencies in the US, when two states for the first time passed laws allowing them to establish bitcoin reserves. In practice, this means that states can start owning bitcoin. First came New Hampshire in the northeastern US, followed a few days later by Arizona in the southwestern US. In addition to these, several other US states have similar legislative proposals moving forward through decision-making bodies. The popularity of US Bitcoin spot ETFs remains high The popularity of Bitcoin spot ETFs approved in January 2024 was exceptionally high in May. This popularity is considered one of the driving forces behind Bitcoin’s recent price increase. Overall, around $5.2 billion flowed into all US Bitcoin spot ETFs in May. Not surprisingly, the most popular ETF was from the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, using the ticker IBIT, which attracted a net inflow of around $5.9 billion in May. The difference between this figure and the total is due to net outflows from some ETFs during the month. Cryptocurrency companies advance on the stock market US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) was added to the S&P 500 stock index on May 19, becoming the first crypto sector company to be included in the world’s most well-known stock index. The S&P 500 tracks the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the US. Coinbase’s stock rose more than 15 percent in May following the listing announcement. Another notable stock market-related news emerged from the U.S. crypto sector in May. Circle, the company behind the stablecoin USDC , which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, announced in late May its plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker CRCL. The initial public offering (IPO) would bring Circle’s shares to the broader public market for the first time. Positive news about corporate bitcoin holdings Several announcements regarding bitcoin holdings were made in May:The American company Strategy bought 26,695 bitcoins, increasing their total holdings to 580,250 bitcoinsAmerican video game retailer GameStop made its first purchase of 4,710 bitcoinsJapanese investment firm Metaplanet bought 2,800 bitcoins, increasing their holdings to 7,800 bitcoinsUS medical technology company Semler Scientific bought 630 bitcoins, including (PSG), one of the best in the world and winner of the Champions League at the end of May, which increased its holdings to 4,264 bitcoinsFrench football club Paris Saint-Germain announced at a US Bitcoin conference that they had added bitcoin to their holdings last year.Northcrypto's parent company GreenMerc announced a Bitcoin strategy and ownership of 6.2 bitcoinsTrump Media and Technology Group, the social media company of US President Donald Trump, announced that it has raised nearly $2.5 billion, mainly for bitcoin purchasesHacks targeting cryptocurrency players Despite Coinbase being added to the S&P 500 index, May wasn’t all positive for Coinbase, as the company announced a breach mid-month involving customer data theft. According to Coinbase, cybercriminals exploited customer service representatives working outside the United States to gain access to some customers’ personal information. As a result, cybercriminals stole an estimated $180 million to $400 million from Coinbase customers. Coinbase stated that it would compensate affected users. In addition to Coinbase, another hack occurred in May. Cetus Protocol, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on the smart contract platform Sui, which has gained popularity this year, was hacked in late May. The attack resulted in over $200 million in losses for Cetus Protocol users. The attack targeted a vulnerability in the smart contract mechanism behind Cetus Protocol’s pricing system. Most of the stolen funds were frozen by Sui’s network validators, leading several senior cryptocurrency experts to criticize Sui for its centralized governance. Ethereum successfully underwent the Pectra upgrade Ethereum received its most significant update since the 2022 Merge upgrade on May 8, with the successful implementation of the Pectra upgrade. Ethereum’s price also surged following the update, rising by around 50 percent over six days. Key improvements in the Pectra upgrade included:Wallets can temporarily act as smart contracts, improving the user experience in several waysMaximum bet value increased from 32 ether to 2048 ether, and it became easier and faster to start and end the betReduced transaction fees for Layer 2 scaling solutions and improved data managementVarious technical improvements to increase Ethereum's speed and scalabilitySummary Much of the major cryptocurrency news in May focused on the United States. New Hampshire and Arizona became the first US states to pass laws allowing for bitcoin reserves. With similar legislation being developed in many other states, it is almost certain that these will not be the last, and similar laws are likely to be seen in more states soon. It will also be interesting to see which state is the first to take the next step by actually acquiring bitcoin. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies also rose in May in traditional US investment markets. The popularity of US Bitcoin spot ETFs, particularly BlackRock’s, was exceptionally high. Since institutional players primarily invest in bitcoin via ETFs, this reflects growing institutional interest. Coinbase and Circle’s progress in the stock market can be seen as important steps in the broader adoption of cryptocurrencies in mainstream investing. Corporate Bitcoin holdings have probably been the most reported topic in the crypto market this year, and May was no exception. Even more news emerged on the topic, demonstrating the growing interest of corporates in Bitcoin. The rest of the year will show whether this trend continues to accelerate and whether the increased demand from corporates becomes even more visible in Bitcoin’s price movements. Negative cryptocurrency news in May focused on the Coinbase and Sui-related hacks. In retrospect, both incidents could have likely been prevented, providing valuable lessons for the industry. Going forward, crypto sector players are likely to pay more attention to both human risk and technical vulnerabilities in smart contracts. Ethereum received a significant upgrade in May with the Pectra upgrade, which improved the user experience, scalability, and staking flexibility. The upgrade was also reflected in Ethereum’s price, which rose sharply in May. It will be interesting to see if Ethereum’s price continues towards its record high from 2021, just like Bitcoin did last year. Ville Viitaharju Cryptocurrency specialist The original post is written in English. Translated with Google translator.