Crypto Regulatory Crackdowns & Political Maneuverings (2026-05-31)

SEC Charges Privvy Founder in $12.30 million Crypto Investment Scam

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Privvy founder Nathan Fuller in connection with a $12.30 million cryptocurrency investment scam.

Nathan Fuller claimed to investors that his proprietary AI-based robot could automatically scan cryptocurrency trading platforms to capture price gaps through high-frequency arbitrage, and promised a 40% to 50% return in 30 to 45 days, or a guaranteed return of over 100% in 21 days.

The SEC said that only about 3% of the funds were used for cryptocurrency trading, and Nathan Fuller personally misappropriated at least $6.20 million and paid out approximately $5.50 million to early investors in a Ponzi-like scheme.

[The Block]

Santiment: Bitcoin’s long/short ratio soars to 2.23, a new high this year, potentially indicating a short-term correction

On May 31, Santiment, a crypto sentiment platform, published an analysis stating that the ratio of positive to negative comments about Ethereum has shifted from strong FOMO sentiment in late April to pronounced FUD sentiment today.

Harvard University fully liquidated its $87 million Ethereum ETF position one quarter after purchasing it; researchers at the Ethereum Foundation announced their resignations; and David Hoffman publicly declared his exit from the Ethereum project.

The Santiment team interprets this trend as a moderately bullish signal, similar to the sharp price surge that followed the market sentiment trough in mid-2023. Despite the prevailing panic sentiment, the number of non-zero Ethereum wallets remains as high as 192.92 million—more than three times Bitcoin’s approximately 59 million.

[PANews]

Argentine police arrest 24, seize over $8.00M in crypto in raids

The Attorney General’s Office of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, coordinated judicial authorities and police forces across multiple regions to launch a large-scale joint operation named “Fake Coins” targeting cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes. Police conducted 90 synchronized raids nationwide, arresting 24 suspects.

The operation successfully intercepted and seized a total of 8 million USDT—valued at over $8 million—and confiscated nearly 6 million Argentine pesos in cash, along with a large quantity of electronic devices.

Investigations revealed that the criminal syndicate lured victims into investing via social media platforms and fake mobile applications. Total losses linked to the case amount to nearly 3 billion Argentine pesos. Notably, the San Isidro judicial authority seized the vast majority of the crypto assets during its investigation into a China-based criminal group. This group deployed malware to steal user data and launder funds; some proceeds were converted into USDT via Binance P2P transactions.

[Odaily]

predict.fun’s probability of “Spurs winning the 2026 NBA Championship” rises to 65%, up 38% in 24 hours

In Predict.fun’s “2026 NBA Championship” prediction event, the Spurs’ championship probability has risen to 65%, up 38% over the past 24 hours; the Knicks’ championship probability has risen to 37%, up 4% over the past 24 hours. To date, the total trading volume for this event’s contracts has exceeded $627 million.

This morning, in Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, the Spurs defeated the Thunder on the road, winning the series 4–3 and advancing powerfully to the NBA Finals. Victor Wembanyama—the Spurs’ star player and a first-time playoff participant—was unanimously named Western Conference Finals MVP.

Stay tuned to prediction markets to spot changes before they’re priced in.

[Odaily Seer Channel]

HYPE short positions incurred losses exceeding $36 million; whale Loracle closed short positions on BTC, LIT, TON, and VVV.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, the whale Loracle has closed its short positions in BTC, LIT, TON, and VVV.

The HYPE short position is still being liquidated, with 1.518 million HYPE short positions remaining, valued at approximately $105 million, resulting in losses exceeding $36 million.

It has newly opened 10x long positions in ZEC and 5x long positions in ASTER and TON, and its positions are still increasing.

[Odaily]

U.S. media: Trump’s proposed amendments to the U.S.-Iran agreement involve nuclear material acquisition and the Strait of Hormuz

According to Axios, a senior administration official and another informed source revealed that Trump requested several modifications to the proposed agreement reached between his envoy and Iranian representatives during a meeting held on Friday in the Situation Room. Two U.S. officials stated that Trump wants to finalize this agreement and expects it to be concluded shortly; however, he demanded strengthening several key points critical to him—particularly provisions related to Iran’s nuclear materials. Trump’s request has triggered a new round of back-and-forth communication between the two sides, a process that could last several days.

According to two sources, Trump instructed his team to revise the draft’s provisions concerning Iran’s nuclear program. The current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) includes Iran’s commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons but contains no other specific concessions. The MoU stipulates a 60-day window for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear commitments and corresponding U.S. sanctions relief. Top items on the agenda include how to handle Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium and how to constrain further enrichment activities.

Trump seeks to revise this section. “This is more about the specific details of how the U.S. would acquire [nuclear] material and the precise timing,” said a senior administration official regarding enriched uranium. A second source noted that Trump also wants to revise the wording concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. official added that Trump has been informed Iran will need approximately three days to respond.

[Foresight News]

Data: The crypto industry has donated over $320 million to the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle.

According to Follow the Crypto data, companies and associated individuals in the crypto industry have donated over $320 million to influence the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle, with approximately $127 million flowing to Republican-aligned recipients—about 11 times the $11.5 million directed to Democratic-aligned recipients—and roughly $182 million going to nonpartisan/unknown recipients.

Additionally, according to the same platform, crypto-related Political Action Committees (PACs) currently hold over $259 million in funds, of which FairShake holds approximately $193 million.

[Foresight News]

Trump’s crypto personal interests spark controversy, “Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023” still awaits full Senate vote

Trump’s election as president in 2024 and his support for cryptocurrencies are widely viewed as a major positive catalyst for the digital asset industry; however, his personal financial interests in this space have sparked controversy. Congress is advancing legislation known as the “Clarity Act,” which aims to establish regulatory frameworks for digital assets and could potentially trigger institutional investment.

Currently, the “Clarity Act” is awaiting a full Senate vote, and lawmakers are still debating whether to include an ethics provision restricting elected officials’ participation in digital asset investments—the controversy surrounding Trump’s cryptocurrency-related interests is one of the key catalysts for this debate.

[Odaily]

Trump: A deal with Iran is very close, and if the deal is unfair to the United States, military means will be used again.

Trump said that an agreement with Iran is very close, and if the agreement is unfair to the United States, military means will be used again.

Trump said that the best diplomatic option is to sign an agreement, because it means that the Strait of Hormuz will be immediately reopened for navigation. The only and basic guarantee he insists on is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Iranians have agreed not to develop or purchase nuclear weapons.

[Odaily]

MegaETH: Point settlement has been completed and reward wallet registration is now open. Claim information will be locked after June 10th.

MegaETH announced that the Terminal Program has ended, the final settlement of points has been completed, and they are preparing to distribute rewards to the community.

The Wallet Delegation function is now online. Before June 10th, users should select a wallet address to receive rewards; and subscribe to emails to get the latest updates and reward distribution notifications.

After June 10th, all profile modifications and reward wallet selections will be locked and can no longer be changed.

[Foresight News]

Vietnam Plans to Allow SMEs to Use Digital Assets and Virtual Assets as Collateral for Bank Loans

On May 31, according to Viet Nam News, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance proposed in the revised draft “Law on Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to use digital assets, virtual assets, intellectual property rights, intangible assets, and future formed assets as collateral for bank loans to improve the availability of financing for private enterprises and technology startups.

The draft also encourages credit institutions to issue loans more based on credit ratings, business plans, market expansion potential, and corporate cash flow, reducing reliance on traditional collateral such as real estate.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance stated that the policy aims to release private economic resources and is consistent with Resolution No. 68 – NQ / TW.

[TechFlow]

Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Nomura Securities, has obtained a national trust bank license in the United States.

On May 31, Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Nomura Securities, received conditional approval for a National Trust Bank license to establish Laser Digital National Trust Bank.

Headquartered in Zurich, Laser Digital was spun off from Nomura Securities in 2022 and primarily provides cryptocurrency trading services to institutional clients, offering investment opportunities in this asset class; it currently manages over $250 million in assets.

[PANews]

Analyst: Bitcoin is at a critical price level; if it fails to hold, it may fall below $65,000.

On May 31st, MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe posted on the X platform, “Bitcoin is at a critical price point, and if it can’t hold, it will fall below $65,000.00.” However, he doesn’t think there will be new lows.

If that happens, Bitcoin will fall below $61,000.00, and the 200-day moving average is at this level, and further declines don’t make sense because it won’t bring good results in any market cycle. However, the structure this time is different from the February decline. The reason is that the February range resistance failed to turn into support.

Currently, the $71,000.00 area is still a key support level, and Poppe believes that this support level must be held to prevent further回调.

[PANews]

A smart money investor purchased $956,000 worth of NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals Game 7 merchandise featuring the Spurs’ victory over the Thunder.

Odaily Seer’s Oracle Channel monitoring shows that, in the Polymarket prediction event “NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals Game 7: Thunder vs. Spurs,” a smart money address (0x84cfffc3f16dcc353094de30d4a45226eccd2f63) with a win probability of 47% purchased a total of $956,000 worth of “Spurs beat Thunder” shares, with an average entry price of $0.445 per share and an unrealized profit of $252,000.

The NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals Game 7 between the Thunder and the Spurs tipped off today at 8:00 AM Beijing Time; the fourth quarter is currently underway, with the Spurs leading the Thunder 80–77.

Odaily Seer’s Oracle Channel continues to monitor prediction markets—seeing change before pricing.

[Odaily Seer]

HYPE’s biggest short seller, Loracle, has closed its short positions on BTC, LIT, TON, and VVV, and opened new long positions on ZEC and other assets.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Loracle has closed its short positions on BTC, LIT, TON, and VVV.

The HYPE short position is still being liquidated, with 1.518 million HYPE remaining (approximately $105 million), resulting in losses exceeding $36 million.

Additionally, Loracle has opened new long positions, including ZEC (10x leverage), ASTER, and TON (5x leverage), and these positions are still increasing.

[Foresight News]

Reuters: Israeli military confirms it has occupied Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military has confirmed that it has occupied Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon.

[Odaily Planet Daily]

Lana AI launches Phase 2 testing, adding U.S. stock asset strategies

Lana AI disclosed its latest operational status. In the first-phase testing, the account started with $100 and grew to a peak of $300,000; during this period, a total of $40,000 in profits were withdrawn. Subsequently, the account’s net value experienced a maximum drawdown to approximately $20,000.

Currently, Lana AI has launched the second-phase strategy testing, beginning anew with $20,000. Building upon its existing cryptocurrency trading strategy, Lana AI has added a U.S. equities strategy to validate the performance and sustainability of its cross-market trading model.

[Odaily]

A Chinese national was kidnapped and extorted for $2.00 million in cryptocurrency in Cambodia, but was killed after the ransom demand failed.

According to Cambodian media outlet Koh Santepheap Daily, Yang Weixin, a 53-year-old Chinese national and real estate company owner, was kidnapped by a criminal gang in Phnom Penh. On the early morning of May 30, suspects used the victim’s mobile phone to demand $2 million worth of cryptocurrency from his wife. After failing to receive the ransom, they killed the victim and dumped his body inside a car.

Surveillance footage shows that three suspects forcibly abducted the victim from the parking lot of his residence on the evening of May 29. Local police have confirmed the case as a kidnapping-for-ransom incident resulting in death, and the investigation is ongoing.

[Foresight News]

U.S. media: Trump’s proposed amendments to the U.S.-Iran agreement involve nuclear material acquisition and the Strait of Hormuz

According to a senior administration official and another person familiar with the matter, Trump requested several revisions to the proposed agreement reached by his special envoy and Iranian representatives during a meeting in the Situation Room on Friday. Two U.S. officials said Trump wants to reach the agreement and expects it to be finalized soon, but he has asked to strengthen several key points that are critical to him, particularly around the terms related to Iranian nuclear materials.

Trump’s request has triggered a new round of back-and-forth communication between the two sides, a process that could last for days. According to two sources, Trump asked his team to revise the clauses in the draft concerning Iran’s nuclear program. The current memorandum of understanding includes Iran’s commitment not to seek to develop nuclear weapons, but no specific concessions beyond that. The memorandum stipulates that there will be a 60-day window for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear commitments and U.S. sanctions relief, with the top priority on the agenda being how to dispose of Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium and restrict further enrichment activities.

Trump wants to try to revise this part. “This is more about the specifics of how the U.S. obtains (nuclear) materials and the specific timing,” said a senior administration official when referring to enriched uranium. A second source said Trump also wants to revise the wording regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. official said Trump has been informed that it will take Iran about three days to respond.

[Golden Ten]