Crypto Fear Grips Markets Amid Regulatory Uncertainty (2026-05-17)

A whale sold 213,000 HYPE for a profit of $2.80 million

On May 17, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, a whale sold 213,419 HYPE at a price of $41.84 per token, receiving $8.93 million and realizing a profit of $2.8 million.

Over the past two months, the whale purchased 467,188 HYPE at an average price of $35.59, spending $16.63 million. The whale currently still holds 253,769 HYPE, valued at approximately $10.5 million.

[TechFlow]

British media: British Prime Minister Starmer intends to resign from the post of Prime Minister

May 17th news, according to Jinshi citing the British Daily Mail, British Prime Minister Starmer has revealed to close friends that he intends to resign from his position as Prime Minister and has drawn up an orderly timetable for his departure.

Late yesterday afternoon, a cabinet member said: “Starmer understands the political reality.” “He realizes that the current chaos cannot continue. He just wants to be able to complete all of this in a decent manner, in a way of his choosing. He will set a timetable.”

According to another cabinet source, it is not yet clear when this announcement will be made. Some of Starmer’s senior allies have been urging him to postpone any statement until the first polls and vote counts from the Macclesfield by-election are released.

[PANews]

Shandong police dismantle telecom fraud criminal gang targeting minors: 20,000 virtual currency units seized, over 200 victims

On May 17, according to Red Star News, police in Linyi, Shandong, recently dismantled a telecom fraud gang targeting minors. Authorities seized approximately 140,000 yuan in illegal gains and 20,000 in virtual currency on-site. Preliminary investigations indicate the gang has committed over 200 fraudulent acts nationwide, involving a massive amount of money.

Police disclosed that the criminal group used “free game skins and equipment” as bait to induce minors to use their parents’ mobile phones. By using screen-sharing to remotely control the victims’ devices, they executed fraudulent transfers. The illicit funds were then laundered in batches through mobile phone top-ups, electricity bill payments, and property management fee payments.

Upstream telecom fraud platforms used virtual currency for fund settlement, with criminal suspects taking approximately 20% of the fraudulent proceeds as a commission. It is reported that the gang leader had previously traveled to fraud parks in Myanmar and possessed strong anti-investigation experience. The case is currently under further investigation.

[TechFlow]

The Gates Foundation no longer holds Microsoft stock.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 16 local time, Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ charitable foundation no longer holds Microsoft stock.

The Gates Foundation Trust disclosed that it sold its remaining 7.70 million shares of Microsoft stock in the first quarter of this year, worth $3.20 billion at current prices.

[PANews]

Planet Noon News

1. US Energy Secretary: Strait of Hormuz to reopen no later than this summer;

2. Zhejiang Customs cracked a smuggling case of crypto mining machines, seizing more than 400 machines;

3. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok: Will seek all solutions to avoid Samsung Electronics strike;

4. South Korean Prime Minister: A one-day shutdown of Samsung’s semiconductor factory would result in losses of up to 1 trillion South Korean won;

5. Jump Crypto: Firedancer is live on Solana mainnet and has started producing blocks;

6. Circle CEO: Happy to invest in teams exploring “allowing AI Agents to sign legal contracts” on Arc;

7. Machi Big Brother’s ETH 25x leverage long position increased to 5075, and a new BTC 40x leverage long position was opened, with total losses exceeding $32.00 million;

8. HyperEVM chain Meme coin ALT market value exceeds $7.00 million, with an intraday increase of over 440.0%.

“Ma Ji Da Ge” increased ETH long position with 25x leverage to 5,075 ETH and opened a new BTC long position with 40x leverage; total losses exceed $32 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Machi Big Brother further deposited 200,000 USDC, with a cumulative deposit of 450,000 USDC.

He increased his ETH long position to 5,075 ETH with a leverage of 25x, and newly opened a 20 BTC long position with a leverage of 40x, currently with losses exceeding $32.00M.

[Odaily]

Circle CEO: Willing to invest in teams exploring “AI agents signing legal contracts” on Arc

Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire shared on X an article titled “How to Build AI Agents That Can Sign Legally Binding Contracts.”

Allaire commented on this, stating he would love to back a team building this business using the Circle Agent Stack on Arc.

[Odaily]

Ningbo Customs cracked a smuggling case of virtual currency mining machines, seizing more than 400 mining machines such as Antminer L9.

On May 17, according to Zhejiang Daily, Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau recently dismantled multiple criminal gangs involved in smuggling virtual currency mining rigs, seizing over 400 illegal入境 mining rigs, including Antminer L9 and Ice River KS3 models.

Investigations revealed that the smuggling gangs, seeking illicit profits, purchased mining rigs from overseas suppliers, disassembled the complete units, and then falsely declared the goods’ names via international express delivery channels to smuggle them into China through ports such as Ningbo and Guangzhou. After entry, the gangs reassembled the rigs and either sold them directly on the domestic market or shipped them to concealed mining farms in regions like Xinjiang and Hunan for托管 (hosting), engaging in illegal virtual currency mining activities.

They also used virtual currencies such as USDT for cross-border payments and settlements to circumvent financial supervision.

[PANews]

VanEck and Grayscale Submit BNB ETF Amendment Applications on the Same Day

VanEck filed the fifth amendment to its BNB ETF registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, May 15, while Grayscale filed the second amendment to its Grayscale BNB ETF prospectus on the same day.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that the simultaneous moves indicate both issuers are responding to feedback from the U.S. SEC and may plan to launch soon. James Seyffart speculated that BNB could be the next crypto asset to clear SEC review and gain approval for listing in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Canary Capital separately filed an amendment to its staked TRX ETF proposal, which would package Tron’s staking yields into a regulated framework.

[ChainCatcher]

Ningbo Customs cracked a series of cryptocurrency mining machine smuggling cases, seizing over 400 mining machines, including Antminer L9 models.

According to the Zhejiang Daily, Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau recently cracked down on multiple criminal gangs involved in smuggling cryptocurrency mining rigs. Simultaneously, enforcement operations were conducted in Dongguan and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, resulting in the seizure of over 400 mining rigs, including Antminer L9 and Binghe KS3 models.

Investigations revealed that the smuggling gang, led by Liao某某, procured mining rigs overseas, disassembled the complete units, and falsely declared their commodity names before smuggling them into China via international express channels through ports such as Ningbo and Guangzhou. Upon entry, the rigs were reassembled and either sold domestically or shipped to mining farms in Xinjiang and Hunan provinces for hosted mining operations. Cross-border payments and settlements were conducted using cryptocurrencies such as USDT to circumvent financial supervision. The case originated from a routine customs inspection of an inbound express consignment declared as “industrial circuit breakers.”

Under China’s current regulations, cryptocurrency mining activities have been classified as “elimination category” projects in the “Guiding Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition),” and importing related equipment constitutes an illegal act. In serious cases, perpetrators may face criminal liability under the charge of smuggling goods prohibited from import or export by the state.

[Foresight News]

U.S. Energy Secretary: The Strait of Hormuz Will Reopen No Later Than This Summer

According to The Hill, U.S. Energy Secretary Wright stated on Friday local time that the Strait of Hormuz will “reopen at the latest sometime this summer.”

Wright said the U.S. is “continuing to expand U.S. natural gas exports,” adding that despite losing 10 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas transportation capacity due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. is still adding 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of new natural gas export capacity. “Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will resume as soon as possible—but at the latest, this summer,” Wright said, and added that a related agreement could be reached “as early as in the coming days.”

Wright stated that if Iran “continues holding the global economy hostage,” the U.S. military will “forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz—but this is not an easy task.” “We have already taken preliminary steps, but reaching an agreement remains preferable to using military force.”

[Odaily]

Today’s Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 27, and the market is in a “fear” state.

According to Alternative.me data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 27 today (yesterday the index was 31 “Fear”), indicating that the market is in a “Fear” state.

[Foresight News]