Crypto Digest: Hawkish Fed, Corporate Bitcoin (2026-05-20)

Fed Minutes Turn Hawkish: Rate Cut Discussions Fade, Risk of Rate Hikes Re-emerges

According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, the Federal Reserve meeting minutes show that Federal Reserve officials have almost stopped discussing the issue that has dominated the FOMC debate for the past two years—whether to cut interest rates—and have begun to more seriously weigh the possibility of raising interest rates.

The minutes stated, “Most participants emphasized…that if inflation remains stubbornly above 2%, it may be necessary to tighten policy further.” The minutes, from Jerome Powell’s last meeting as Federal Reserve Chairman, highlight how the Middle East conflict is reshaping the outlook for the rate-setting committee.

Kevin Warsh will be sworn in at the White House on Friday to lead the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for June 16-17.

[Odaily]

Elon Musk’s SpaceX holds $1.45 billion worth of bitcoin as firm looks to go public

Elon Musk’s SpaceX reported holding 18,712 bitcoins, according to the Form S-1 it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for a public listing. The document said those bitcoins, held as of Dec. 31, were acquired at a cost basis of $661 million, equating to about $35,000 per coin.

SpaceX began acquiring bitcoin (BTC) in 2021, around the same time as Tesla’s well-known $1.5 billion purchase that year. The firm has since trimmed its holdings, with Arkham reporting its stash had been reduced as low as 6,095 BTC last year.

Tesla also sold off a bulk of its bitcoin holdings in 2022. Due to the fair value accounting system used by publicly traded companies, holding bitcoin can often cause earnings volatility from price swings.

On Wednesday, Arkham showed SpaceX holding about 8,280 BTC, around the same amount that Bitcoin Treasuries reported. A stockpile of over 18,000 would make SpaceX the seventh-largest Bitcoin holder, ahead of Coinbase. The holdings are worth over $1.45 billion at bitcoin’s current price, according to The Block’s data.

In the S-1, SpaceX said it has identified the “largest actionable total addressable market in human history,” estimating its quantifiable TAM is $28.5 trillion.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

[The Block]

Glassnode says Bitcoin quantum risk covers 1.92M BTC

Bitcoin quantum exposure covers 1.92 million BTC, or 9.6% of total supply, Glassnode warned in a new report. Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode published a full analysis on May 20 classifying 1.92 million BTC, or 9.6% of total supply, as structurally exposed to a future quantum computing breakthrough.

The structural category covers outputs whose design reveals the public key regardless of address management. The three types at risk are Satoshi-era Pay-to-Public-Key outputs, legacy multisig structures and Pay-to-Taproot outputs.

Glassnode classified 4.12 million BTC, or 20.6% of supply, as operationally exposed due to address reuse and poor key management. This is more than twice the structurally unsafe supply. Exchange-held Bitcoin accounts for a disproportionate share; about 1.66 million BTC on exchanges, 8.3% of total supply, falls into the exposed category. Binance shows 85% exposed balances while Coinbase’s labeled balances sit at just 5% exposed.

Glassnode said the exposure could be reduced through better address standards and user behavior. BIP-360 proposes a quantum-resistant Pay-to-Merkle-Root output type offering a voluntary migration path for affected holders. Crypto.news has covered the full quantum threat timeline, including the estimated 2,330 logical qubits needed to break Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography.

Glassnode advised exchanges and custodians to reduce key reuse, improve address hygiene and plan migration to quantum-proof formats before any breakthrough occurs. The firm stressed the risk is structural but not yet active. Citi’s analysis, as crypto.news reported, found a quantum attack on major financial institutions could put $2 to $3.3 trillion of GDP at risk. The Bitcoin price page tracks how markets are pricing these long-term security concerns alongside current price action.

[Crypto.news]

Plume secures Bermuda license for regulated on-chain vault management

Plume has obtained a digital asset business license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, making it the first regulated on-chain vault manager and giving the real-world asset protocol a formal place inside one of crypto’s best-known regulatory regimes. Plume announced the approval in an official post on X, where it said the Bermuda Monetary Authority had granted it a digital asset business license and called the milestone a first for on-chain vault management.

The license gives Plume a regulated foothold in Bermuda as the jurisdiction pushes deeper into tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The development matters because Plume is not a generic Layer 1 pitch anymore. In a public letter to the Bermuda regulator, the company argued for an “activities-based, outcomes-focused” framework for asset tokenization, making clear that it was pushing for formal rules around how tokenized assets are issued and managed.

Plume has also been expanding the operating side of that strategy. In crypto.news coverage of its Genesis mainnet, the company said an earlier alpha phase had already seen more than $150 million in real-world asset capital deployed on-chain.

Plume’s arrival under the Bermuda framework places it in the same regulatory orbit as firms such as Circle and Coinbase, which were central to the government’s plan for a fully onchain national economy. That initiative was also detailed by Circle, which said Bermuda wanted to become “the world’s first fully onchain national economy” with support from both companies. The implication is obvious: Bermuda is trying to build not just a friendly licensing venue, but a genuine operating environment for regulated on-chain finance. Kraken has also been part of that digital asset ecosystem, with Binance noting that the exchange launched derivatives trading in Bermuda under a BMA license.

For Plume, the approval strengthens its attempt to occupy a narrow but valuable category: compliant on-chain asset management for tokenized real-world assets. The protocol’s public materials describe Plume as a blockchain built to bring real-world assets on-chain and make them usable in DeFi, rather than leaving them as static representations disconnected from market utility. That strategy has appeared consistently across its rollout.

Crypto.news coverage of tokenized real estate has pointed to a market that Deloitte expects could reach $4 trillion by 2035, while a separate crypto.news interview detailed Plume’s ambition to scale tokenized real estate to that same level. Bermuda’s license does not prove the model works at scale, but it does give Plume something most on-chain vault protocols do not have: regulatory legitimacy attached directly to the vault business itself.

Iran confirms receipt of US proposal, has not yet responded

In response to Iran’s 14-point proposal submitted three days ago, the United States has sent a new proposal to Iran. Iran is reviewing the proposal and has not yet responded.

Pakistani mediators are trying to help bridge the differences, and no final agreement has been reached yet.

[Golden Ten]

Trump: I need Iran to provide a completely 100% good answer.

Trump said that if he doesn’t get the right answers about Iran, things will develop quickly; he needs Iran to provide completely 100% good answers.

[Odaily]

GitHub Internal Repos Breached; Binance’s CZ Urges Urgent Key Rotation

Earlier today, hackers gained access to GitHub’s internal repositories by exploiting an employee’s computer with the use of a tainted VS Code extension. Following the incident, reports emerged that a threat actor using the alias TeamPCP was now allegedly selling what they claim is roughly 4,000 of GitHub’s private repositories on a cybercriminal forum, with a minimum asking price of $50,000.

GitHub confirmed the breach through several tweets posted on its X account. As per the hosting platform, the attacker gained access to its internal repository via a malicious extension of VS Code loaded onto one of the devices of its employees.

GitHub claims that once it realized there was an attack, it promptly deleted the malicious software from the infected machine. Critically, it pointed out that there is currently no evidence that customer data held outside its internal systems, meaning individual users’ enterprises, organizations, or repositories, was accessed.

The hosting service also confirmed it moved quickly to rotate credentials, moving the highest-impact secrets first. It will also be examining logs to see whether there has been any additional activity, and it will be providing more details on the matter after the investigation concludes.

Meanwhile, French researcher Sébastien Latombe flagged a listing on a criminal message board by a threat actor calling themselves “TeamPCP,” claiming to be the one behind the hack, containing mentions of repositories related to GitHub Actions, GitHub Enterprise, GitHub Copilot, Azure, CodeQL, billing, and authentication services. Allegedly, they are not looking to ransom GitHub but want a single buyer for the stolen data, with the minimum asking price being $50,000.

However, it must be noted that there has been no official confirmation of the content in the forum listing from GitHub or Microsoft, and any claims made in such cybercriminal sites may be taken with a pinch of salt, as any data they provide in such cases may be out of date or overblown to inflate its perceived value.

The reaction online to the breach was swift, with Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) posting a direct message to crypto developers: “If you have API keys in your code, even private repos, now is the time to double check and change them.” The replies painted a familiar picture of an industry-wide problem. Topaz DEX founder Aaron Shames called it “bad practice to have API keys in any repo, private or not,” though he acknowledged the heads-up.

Others pointed out that for builders managing hundreds of keys across projects, this is not a simple fix. “This entire practice of key storage needs an update,” wrote digital artist Tuteth_. Security commentator Dhanush Nehru went further: “No one knows what all permissions each VS Code extension owns. The cybersecurity threat landscape is scary.”

The timing of this incident also contributed to pre-existing worries about crypto security following multiple high-profile hacks this month, which included an attack on Echo Protocol, where hackers managed to mint $76.7 million worth of eBTC. That particular incident came just days after two other multimillion-dollar attacks were carried out on THORChain and the Verus-Ethereum Bridge.

This spate of events has led to renewed debates on the issues of code verification and software supply chain vulnerabilities, where Vitalik Buterin asserts that with the help of AI, formal verification can make software safer by mathematically proving its behavior.

David Bailey’s Nakamoto bitcoin treasury announces 1-for-40 reverse split as shares hit new lows

Nakamoto Inc (Nasdaq: NAKA) said Wednesday that it will enact a 1-for-40 reverse stock split later this week as the bitcoin (BTC) treasury company’s shares continue to slide further below Nasdaq’s minimum listing threshold. The reverse split takes effect at market open on Friday and will keep the same NAKA ticker symbol. The move is intended to help the company regain compliance with Nasdaq’s $1 minimum price requirement.

Nakamoto shares dropped by more than 17% to $0.14 immediately after the announcement before recovering to $0.16. NAKA is now down roughly 99.5% from the $29 highs seen last May when the company revealed a merger with KindlyMD and its subsequent bitcoin accumulation and treasury strategy. The company said the reverse split will reduce its outstanding common shares from about 696.1 million to 17.4 million, with holders receiving cash payments to cancel out any remaining fractional shares.

The decision was approved by investors at a shareholders meeting earlier this month, where the board was weighing a split ratio between 1-to-20 and 1-to-50. Earlier this month, Nakamoto reported a $238.8 million first-quarter net loss, driven mostly by a $102.5 million unrealized loss tied to bitcoin prices.

The company currently holds 5,058 bitcoins worth nearly $391 million after selling 284 BTC during the first quarter to fund working capital needs. It stands as the 20th-largest public bitcoin holder according to Bitcoin Treasuries data, slightly behind Anthony Pompliano’s ProCap Financial.

Nakamoto also launched an actively managed bitcoin derivatives strategy during the quarter to earn yield on its holdings. The company said this generated around 43 bitcoins in premiums before 40 BTC were later sold. “We remain highly confident in the long-term earnings power of the company we are building,” CEO David Bailey said in last week’s earnings release. “Our focus for the remainder of 2026 is execution — scaling our operating businesses, expanding revenue opportunities, and continuing to build durable shareholder value through disciplined capital allocation and long-term conviction in bitcoin.”

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures. © 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

[The Block]

Securitize’s Q1 revenue hits a new high, with tokenized asset management scale reaching $3.4 billion

Tokenization platform Securitize announced its Q1 financial results, with quarterly revenue reaching $19.5 million—the highest in the company’s history—and a 39% year-on-year increase.

As of March 31, Securitize’s tokenized assets under management (AUM) totaled $3.4 billion, while its overall assets under administration approached $25 billion. This quarter, the company also processed $1.9 billion in trading volume and supported approximately 650 active funds via Securitize Fund Services.

During Q1, Securitize partnered with entities including the New York Stock Exchange and Uniswap, and benefited from recent approvals by FINRA and the SEC—paving the way for tokenized equities, IPOs, and on-chain securities products in the U.S. market. The company stated that tokenization is evolving from isolated product formats into a more interconnected financial system.

[Odaily]

Securitize posts record Q1 revenue, $3.4 billion in tokenized assets under management

Securitize posted record revenue in the first quarter, which saw the tokenization firm land partnerships with the New York Stock Exchange and the decentralized exchange Uniswap. The company reported Q1 revenue of $19.5 million — its best to date — up 39% from a year earlier.

Its tokenized assets under management reached $3.4 billion as of March 31, though this is still a fraction of its nearly $25 billion in total assets under administration. Securitize also reported $1.9 billion in transaction volume during the quarter and said it now services roughly 650 funds through its Securitize Fund Services.

The quarter included several large institutional pushes tied to tokenized securities infrastructure. “Tokenization is evolving from isolated products into an interconnected financial system,” Securitize said in the earnings release.

In March, Securitize and the NYSE revealed a collaboration aimed at supporting the tokenized securities market. Under the partnership, Securitize was named the first firm eligible to mint blockchain-based securities for ETFs on the NYSE’s Digital Trading Platform.

Benchmark analysts, who called Securitize a “picks and shovels” play for tokenization, recently argued that even capturing “just one basis point” of the NYSE’s roughly $44 trillion market capitalization would more than double the tokenized asset base on Securitize. The firm also grew the reach of BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized money market fund through new integrations with Uniswap Labs. Shares of the fund are now available to trade on UniswapX infrastructure.

Meanwhile, U.S. regulators are signaling that they are becoming more open to blockchain-based securities infrastructure. Bloomberg reported this week that the SEC could soon unveil an innovation exemption framework for tokenized stocks, while FINRA earlier this month approved Securitize to custody tokenized securities and underwrite tokenized IPOs and secondary offerings.

Securitize is also continuing plans to go public through its previously announced SPAC deal with Cantor Equity Partners II. The IPO is expected to go through in the second half of 2026 and will trade under the ticker SECZ.

[The Block]

Nvidia Shares Tick Positive As Chipmaker Beats Expectations, AI Demand Drives $81.6 Billion Revenue Surge

Nvidia delivered another blockbuster quarter, beating Wall Street estimates on revenue, earnings, and data center growth as global demand for AI infrastructure accelerated. The chipmaker’s results reinforced its position at the center of the AI boom, while strong guidance signaled hyperscalers are still aggressively investing in next-generation computing capacity.

Nvidia reported first-quarter revenue of $81.62 billion, ahead of analyst expectations of $79.19 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.87, also above forecasts. The company’s data center division, the key engine behind the AI rally, generated $75.2 billion in revenue, surpassing estimates of $73.48 billion. Nvidia also projected second-quarter revenue between $89.18 billion and $92.82 billion, well above Wall Street expectations of $87.36 billion. The results highlight continued momentum in AI-related spending from major cloud providers and enterprise customers racing to expand computing capacity for generative AI models and inference workloads.

Nvidia said demand for its Blackwell AI architecture continues to accelerate, helping drive record sales across hyperscalers, sovereign AI projects, and enterprise deployments. The company also announced a new reporting structure focused on two major platforms: Data Center and Edge Computing. Nvidia said the framework better reflects its long-term growth strategy as AI workloads expand beyond centralized cloud infrastructure. Investors have closely watched the Blackwell rollout after concerns earlier this year about supply constraints and execution risks. Instead, the latest quarter suggested Nvidia is maintaining pricing power and scaling production faster than expected.

According to Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, Nvidia’s earnings now carry significance far beyond the company itself. Indeed, AI crypto coins moved higher following the news, with the sector’s market cap rising almost 2% to $24.39 billion. The market reaction reflects Nvidia’s growing influence across equities, semiconductors, crypto-linked AI tokens, and broader risk sentiment. Strong guidance from Nvidia is often interpreted as confirmation that AI capital expenditure trends remain intact.

Markets will now focus on Nvidia’s production ramp for Blackwell systems, future gross margins, and continued AI spending from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. With Nvidia forecasting another quarter of record revenue, investors are likely to watch whether AI demand remains resilient through the second half of 2026 as competition, export restrictions, and valuation concerns continue to intensify. [Capital.com]

Iranian President meets with Pakistani Interior Minister to discuss indirect Iran-U.S. negotiations and other issues

On the 20th local time, Iranian President Pezeshkian met with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who was visiting. The two sides held talks on the regional situation, bilateral relations, and the progress of diplomatic negotiations, and focused on assessing the latest developments in the current indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States and related diplomatic consultations.

During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on changes in the regional situation and bilateral cooperation. The Pakistani side conveyed its views on the current regional dynamics and emphasized the importance of continuing dialogue and mutual understanding.

[Odaily]

SpaceX Files IPO, But Posts $4.28 Billion Q1 Loss

SpaceX has confidentially filed for its long-awaited US IPO on Nasdaq under ticker SPCX, even as it reported explosive Q1 2026 revenue of $4.69 billion alongside a steep $4.28 billion net loss. The filing sets up one of the largest IPOs in history while highlighting the capital-intensive reality behind Musk’s space empire.

SpaceX submitted its draft S-1 registration in April 2026 and is accelerating toward a potential June 12 debut. The company aims to raise up to $75 billion at a $1.75–$2 trillion valuation. A 5-for-1 stock split is planned to make shares more accessible to retail investors.

Q1 results, disclosed in the IPO documents, show robust top-line growth driven by Starlink subscriber expansion and Falcon 9 launch cadence. However, the $4.28 billion GAAP net loss reflects heavy spending on Starship development, AI infrastructure following the February 2026 xAI merger, and ongoing capital expenditures. Analysts estimate full-year 2025 revenue at around $18.5 billion with similar profitability dynamics expected in 2026.

Even after going public, Elon Musk will serve as CEO, CTO, and Chairman of the 9-member board. He holds approximately 42% of equity but commands 85.1% of voting power through a dual-class structure, where Class B shares carry 10 votes each. Musk can only be removed by Class B shareholders, a group he effectively controls. This “controlled company” setup shields Musk’s long-term vision for Mars missions and global internet from short-term investor pressure.

Public Class A shareholders will gain economic upside from Starlink’s recurring revenue, reusable rocket leadership, Starshield government contracts, and AI-space synergies, but minimal governance rights. High retail allocation is expected in the offering. Key risks include Starship technical delays, regulatory hurdles, intense capital needs, and Musk’s divided focus across multiple companies.

The full S-1 prospectus is expected imminently, with roadshow likely starting around June 4 and pricing on June 11. A successful SPCX debut could reshape space investing and trigger rapid index inclusion. For investors, the IPO combines high-growth potential in commercial space with the realities of heavy losses and founder dominance.