Bitcoin Faces Resistance Amid Institutional Accumulation (2026-05-17)

A whale transferred 500 BTC to Binance one hour ago; if sold, it would realize a profit of $8.42 million.

May 17th news, according to on-chain analyst Ember Monitoring, a whale who bought 807 BTC ($54.59M) at a dip price of $67,646 in February chose to take profit 1 hour ago and transferred 500 BTC ($39.04M) to Binance.

The whale profited $8.42M on BTC: bought at a dip price of $67,646 in February and transferred to Binance today at a price of $78,080.

[PANews]

X is rumored to launch a user interaction scoring system, enabling project teams to track fan data more precisely.

On May 17, Dogan Ural, the official creative ambassador of xAI, released a conceptual design image of a new feature for the X platform. The screenshot shows that users may soon be able to view their interaction history with any account over the past 90 days, along with a comprehensive interaction score—including detailed statistics on likes, replies, retweets, and more.

If this feature is ultimately launched, project teams, exchanges, and marketing teams may be able to more efficiently identify highly active users and build more precise fan profiles and community behavior analytics systems.

The market believes this feature could further strengthen data operations capabilities within the crypto community, while also potentially sparking discussions around user privacy and social data transparency.

[PANews]

Iranian media: The U.S. has demanded that Iran operate only one nuclear facility and explicitly stated it will not pay any compensation.

Sources reported that the U.S. has set conditions in its response to Iran, requiring Iran to operate only one nuclear facility, and the U.S. has explicitly stated it will pay no compensation to Iran.

[Odaily]

Michael Saylor releases Bitcoin tracker information again, possibly disclosing增持 data next week

Michael Saylor, Founder and Executive Chairman of Bitcoin Treasury Company Strategy, once again shared information about the Bitcoin Tracker, captioning it: “₿ig Dot Energy.”

Based on prior patterns, Strategy always discloses its Bitcoin purchases the day after releasing related announcements.

[Odaily]

ADA whale holdings占比 rose to nearly 67%, a new high since 2020

Cardano whales currently hold nearly 67% of the total ADA supply, the highest level of concentration since 2020.

[Cointelegraph]

Crypto industry political donations have unclear destinations; US Republicans are dissatisfied with Fairshake’s midterm election plans.

According to Axios, US Republicans are increasingly dissatisfied with the flow of political donations to the crypto industry, demanding that Fairshake, a pro-crypto Super PAC holding $165.00 million, clearly state its support for Republican candidates in this year’s midterm elections. Republicans believe that Fairshake’s delay in announcing its election investment plan is disappointing, given the significant progress they have made in promoting pro-crypto legislation such as the CLARITY Act.

One of the focal points of the controversy is Sherrod Brown, the Democratic Senatorial candidate from Ohio. Fairshake spent over $40.00 million in 2024 to defeat then-Senator Brown, but since then, Brown’s attitude towards the crypto industry has softened significantly, and Republicans are concerned that Fairshake will avoid his election campaign this year. The situation of Chris Pappas, a Congressman from New Hampshire, has also sparked controversy, with his Stand With Crypto rating rising from “F” to “A” in 8 months. The Republican Party originally expected Fairshake to focus on Pappas in the midterm elections.

In response, Fairshake supporters said that it is still too early to speak out, and emphasized that the PAC is bipartisan in nature, aiming to reward supporters and punish critics, rather than unconditionally supporting the Republican Party. Some pro-crypto Republicans, such as the Winklevoss brothers, have established separate independent groups specifically to support Republican candidates.

[Foresight News]

Analysts: Bitcoin again met resistance at $82,000.00, short-term holders are still selling on every rally

Analyst Axel Adler Jr. posted on the X platform that Bitcoin was rejected again at $82,000.00, marking the third failure at that level.

The short-term holder SOPR indicator still failed to stay above 1.0, indicating that short-term holders continue to sell during each rebound.

Currently, crude oil is near $106.00, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 537 points, and interest rates face the risk of remaining high for an extended period.

[Odaily]

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala increases its holdings of IBIT to nearly $660.0 million

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala increased its IBIT holdings to nearly $660.00 million worth of Bitcoin ETF shares.

[Odaily Planet Daily]

Gate.io will launch Warden Protocol (WARD) spot and instant exchange trading

May 17th news, according to the official announcement, Gate.io will launch Warden Protocol (WARD) spot trading on May 18th at 17:00 (UTC+8).

The platform will also launch Warden Protocol (WARD) on the flash exchange platform at 18:00 (UTC+8).

[PANews]

Michael Saylor releases Bitcoin Tracker information again;增持 data may be disclosed next week

MicroStrategy founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has once again released information related to the Bitcoin Tracker, writing, “₿ig Dot Energy.”

Based on previous patterns, MicroStrategy always discloses its increased Bitcoin holdings the day after such news is released.

[ChainCatcher]

Iranian media: The US refuses to unfreeze 25% of Iran’s frozen funds

On May 17, according to JINSHI citing Iranian media Fars News, the U.S. side rejected unfreezing 25% of Iran’s frozen funds in its response to Iran.

It is reported that, in responding to Iran’s proposal, the U.S. side laid out five key conditions: the U.S. will pay no compensation or war-damage costs; Iran must transport and hand over 400 kg of enriched uranium to the U.S.; Iran may retain only one nuclear facility for continued operation; the U.S. refuses to unfreeze Iran’s frozen assets; and ceasefire across all fronts must be predicated on the commencement of negotiations.

The report stresses that even if Iran meets the above conditions, threats of attack against Iran by the U.S. and Israel will persist. Citing analysts, the report notes that the U.S. proposal is not aimed at resolving the issue but rather seeks to achieve, through negotiations, the political and military objectives it failed to attain during the war.

[PANews]

Michael Saylor has once again released Bitcoin Tracker information, and may disclose increased holdings data next week.

On May 17, news emerged that Michael Saylor, Founder and Executive Chairman of Bitcoin treasury company Strategy, once again shared information about the Bitcoin Tracker, writing: “₿ig Dot Energy.”

Consistent with prior patterns, Strategy always discloses its Bitcoin purchases the day after releasing related announcements.

[PANews]

SharpLink CEO: ETH May Rise if the CLARITY Act Passes, Risk Appetite Recovers, and Tokenization Accelerates

SharpLink CEO stated that ETH could rise if the CLARITY Act is passed, market risk appetite rebounds, and tokenization accelerates.

[Cointelegraph]

Gate will list Warden Protocol (WARD) spot and flash swap trading.

According to the official announcement, Gate will launch spot trading for Warden Protocol (WARD) on May 18 at 17:00 (UTC+8).

Additionally, the platform will list Warden Protocol (WARD) on its flash swap service at 18:00 (UTC+8).

[Odaily Planet Daily]

Iranian Foreign Ministry: US and Israel use “maintaining energy stability” as an excuse to justify war against Iran

On the 17th local time, Bahram Qasemi, Spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on his social media account criticizing the United States and Israel for justifying military actions against Iran under the pretext of “safeguarding peace and stability in the global energy market.”

Qasemi stated that the U.S. and Israel are fabricating yet another “massive lie” to justify their “illegal war”—namely, the claim that they are “safeguarding peace and stability in the global energy market.” He emphasized that it is precisely the U.S. and Israel’s acts of war that have derailed an otherwise “promising” diplomatic process, and that their “unprovoked military aggression” against Iran deliberately introduces insecurity into critical energy transportation routes—only to subsequently accuse Iran of undermining stability.

Qasemi added that this approach merely repeats the familiar playbook of “manufacturing crises and wars, then escalating tensions further under the banner of restoring stability and defending peace.”

[Odaily]

Binance Alpha Will List Zest Protocol (ZEST) on May 19

Binance Wallet announced that Binance Alpha will be the first to launch Zest Protocol (ZEST) on May 19.

After trading opens, eligible users can use Binance Alpha points to claim airdrops on the Alpha activity page. More details will be announced soon.

[Foresight News]

Russia’s stablecoin project aims to break away from the USDT system and promote cross-border ruble cryptocurrency settlements.

The Russia-ruble-based stablecoin project A7A5 stated that even if the Russia-Ukraine situation eases in the future and some sanctions are lifted, the stablecoin will still have long-term viability, with its core value lying in cross-border settlement efficiency, yield generation capability, and regional crypto payment infrastructure development.

The stablecoin’s former market cap was approximately $500 million. It was initially designed to help Russia bypass banking restrictions but aims to evolve further into a “direct settlement channel between stablecoins,” enabling direct swaps with other stablecoins without relying on USDT, USDC, or the U.S. dollar system.

[CoinDesk]