Bitcoin’s latest price action has excited many crypto enthusiasts as the coin crossed $100,000 on Sunday following news that China and the US had reached a trade deal. While that has been the main topic within the crypto circle in the last seven days, other developments include:
Alex Mashinsky Jailed for 12 Years
A New York-based court has handed Celsius’s ex-boss, Alex Mashinsky, a 12-year jail term for committing fraud. Before the judgment, the lawyers of the fallen crypto guru attempted to persuade the court to consider giving a light sentence, arguing that their client did not have a criminal history. US prosecutors, on the other hand, insisted that the court hand down a 20-year sentence to Mashinsky for his conduct, which caused massive losses to the involved parties.
US Vice President to Speak at Bitcoin Conference
A notice released on May 10th by organizers of the Bitcoin Conference revealed that American Vice President JD Vance will deliver his speech at the event on May 28th. Vance would be the first sitting vice president to attend a crypto-related conference. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump appeared at the Digital Asset Summit, although via a pre-recorded video.
US Government Deceived My Husband in Plea Deal, Claims Former FTX Executive’s Wife
The wife of FTX’s former co-CEO Ryan Salame is now opposing her husband’s plea deal, arguing that American prosecutors deceived him. The complainant, Michelle Bond, claims that the prosecutors promised Salame he would not serve a jail term if he entered a plea deal. Moreover, he was promised his wife would not face any charges after signing the plea. However, the court documents show that the prosecutors have continued investigating Bond.
Zerebro Developer Found Alive
San Francisco Standard reporters revealed on May 11th that the founder of Zerebro, Jeffy Yu, did not commit suicide while livestreaming on the PumpFun token launch platform at the start of the month.
The reporters said Yu was alive and living with his parents in San Francisco. Following the report, crypto community members have called out Yu for faking his death to manipulate the price of his token.
It is worth highlighting that since Yu’s ‘death,’ onchain observers have noted that his accounts have moved crypto worth $1.4 million, forcing many to believe that he was attempting to execute a ‘pseudocide exit strategy.’
Bitcoin Could Rally to $160,000, Analyst Claims
Popular crypto analyst on X, Aksel Kibar, has told his followers that if Bitcoin surpasses its all-time high of $109,200, it could hit $137,000 and then head toward $160,000. To support his argument, Kibar said that declining inflation could encourage the Federal Reserve board members to cut interest rates, essentially making risky assets like Bitcoin attractive to investors.
Coinbase Users Have Lost $45M to Hackers in May, ZachXBT Reveals
According to onchain sleuth ZachXBT, several Coinbase users were targeted through social engineering scams between May 1st and 7th, losing over $45 million to cybercriminals. He added that no other crypto exchange has faced social engineering attacks this year.
Voltage Finance Hacker Transfers ETH Worth $182k to Tornado Cash
The hacker who exploited DeFi platform Voltage Finance two years ago has transferred some of the stolen Ethereum to crypto mixer Tornado Cash. The 100 ETH tokens, estimated to be worth $182,000, were among the $4.65 million in digital assets siphoned from Voltage Finance via a reentrancy attack, as reported by blockchain security company Certik.
Winners and Losers
After Bitcoin hit $103,000 following a 7-day rally of 7.3%, its market cap crossed the $2 trillion mark again to become the fifth-largest asset in the world. Meanwhile, Ethereum has surged 42% to $2,654 at press time.
Pi Network and Pepe join Ethereum on the top gainers list after rising 106% and 74%, respectively. On the other hand, the Moo Deng meme coin, Neiro, and GOAT are the notable losers this week, dropping 15%, 9.5%, and 8%, respectively.
