Crypto Markets Navigate Regulatory Crossroads (2026-05-29)

US Treasury Sanctions Sinaloa Cartel Associates Over Crypto Money Laundering

The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has enforced sanctions against individuals and entities linked to a Mexican cartel that is trafficking illicit drugs and laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency networks.

According to a press release from the Treasury, these individuals and entities lead networks that launder the proceeds of fentanyl and other narcotics trafficking activities for the Sinaloa Cartel. The laundering schemes funnel the profits back to Mexico through blockchain networks.

A multi-year investigation by U.S. authorities has found that Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas heads the illicit drugs trafficking network in the U.S., while Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles leads the profit laundering schemes on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. This cartel, responsible for multiple violent deaths in Mexico and drug-induced deaths in America, has been deemed a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S.

The sons of the imprisoned drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera run the Sinaloa Cartel, with the help of the just-sanctioned individuals. While steering the wheels of the drug trafficking from Mexico, Aviles depends on associates like Penuelas and Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares to pick up cash and broker transfers through crypto addresses. The drugs that are sold include cocaine and methamphetamine.

A U.S. District Court in Colorado indicted Palomares in April 2024 for laundering drug proceeds. He was found guilty on three counts of laundering drug proceeds via cryptocurrency. During his arrest in October 2023, Mexican authorities found weapons and ammunition in his possession. Despite Palomares’ arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel’s trafficking activities have waxed stronger.

Aviles’ network comprises Mexico-based drug suppliers, money brokers, and coordinators of huge wire transfers across the U.S. He is also affiliated with Los Chapitos, a hyper-violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, having taken over as the primary launderer of the group following the murder of his predecessor, Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro.

Besides Aviles and Penuelas, the Treasury also announced sanctions against Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix, businessman Alfredo Orozco Romero, Amalia Margarita Romero Moreno, and Liliana Orozco Romero, among others. Most of these associates serve as money brokers, security advisors, and trusted front persons.

The sanctions reflect efforts to protect American communities and citizens. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “As President Trump has made clear, this Administration will not allow narco-terrorists to flood our borders with poison.”

Uber Makes Indicative €33 Per Share Offer to Acquire Delivery Hero

Uber Technologies has submitted an indicative offer of €33 per share for Delivery Hero SE, the Berlin-based food delivery group confirmed in a regulatory filing on Saturday. The proposed price sits approximately 1.76% below Delivery Hero’s closing price on Friday, according to LSEG data. Delivery Hero said it will continue its ongoing strategic review process and communicate further details if and when appropriate.

Uber’s approach follows its rapid expansion in Delivery Hero over recent weeks. The ride-sharing and delivery giant, which has separately explored stablecoin payment systems as part of its financial infrastructure push, increased its holding from roughly 7% to approximately 19.5% of issued capital on May 18, becoming the company’s largest shareholder. The stake, which includes a further 5.6% in call options, is worth around €1.7 billion based on the indicative offer price.

The stake build accelerated in April 2026, when Uber acquired a 4.5% block from Prosus for approximately €270 million. Uber had at that point stated it had no intention of crossing the 30% threshold that would trigger a mandatory public tender offer under German securities law. The indicative offer filed Saturday represents a formal step beyond that earlier position.

Delivery Hero has been conducting a strategic review to deliver long-term shareholder value. A key component is reported interest in selling Baemin, its South Korean platform, at a time when Asian equity markets have strengthened considerably. Founding Chief Executive Niklas Östberg confirmed he will step down by March 31, 2027.

The deal also takes shape against a broader macro backdrop. Easing geopolitical pressures have supported risk appetite across European equities in recent weeks, which may factor into how Delivery Hero’s board assesses the offer’s timing relative to the company’s long-term value.

SharpLink is scheduled to be added to the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes on June 29.

Nasdaq-listed Ethereum treasury company SharpLink announced on the X platform that it will be included in the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 index components.

This change will officially take effect at the opening of the US stock market on June 29, 2026, which is also the time for the Russell Index’s semi-annual rebalancing adjustment.

[Odaily Planet Daily]

The United States and Iran are close to reaching an agreement to extend the ceasefire for 60 days.

According to the UK Financial Times, mediators stated that the U.S. and Iran are close to reaching an agreement to extend the ceasefire for 60 days.

Additionally, Saudi media Alhadath disclosed that Iran has proposed maintaining its uranium enrichment level below 3.6% for 10 years and reducing its domestically held enriched uranium by over 20%. Iran confirmed it would commit in the Memorandum of Understanding not to develop nuclear weapons and requested retaining limited uranium enrichment rights in any agreement.

[Odaily]

Binance denies the Wall Street Journal’s allegations regarding $850 million in Iran-related transactions.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Binance allegedly processed approximately $850 million in transactions over two years linked to a financial network associated with Iranian sanctions, ultimately flowing to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In response, Binance CEO Richard Teng posted on X denying the report, calling it “fundamentally inaccurate,” emphasizing that Binance does not permit transactions by sanctioned entities, and noting that the alleged suspicious activities occurred before the involved parties were sanctioned by the U.S.

According to the report, the central figure is Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, whose affiliated companies and linked accounts allegedly operated via the same device to form a covert payment network on the Binance platform. The report also states that Binance’s internal compliance system flagged anomalous access from Tehran at the end of 2024, triggering multiple risk-control alerts—yet the relevant accounts were not promptly suspended. WSJ further noted that the Central Bank of Iran and related entities conducted fund flows via Binance between 2024 and 2025, including approximately $107 million and other cross-border cryptocurrency transactions.

Binance reiterated that its compliance framework is “industry-leading” and emphasized that it has continuously strengthened its risk-control mechanisms since pleading guilty and paying a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023. Additionally, Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against WSJ regarding the report and denied that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the matter.

[ChainCatcher]

Analyst: HYPE and AI tokens may lead the next altcoin rally, as market risk appetite returns.

Hyperliquid has recently significantly outperformed the broader market. Its token, HYPE, hit an all-time high following the U.S. launch of two related ETFs. Meanwhile, European traders—facing restricted access to perpetual contracts on regulated platforms—are accelerating their migration to Hyperliquid.

Market analyst Michael van de Poppe stated that the altcoin market is showing signs of renewed risk appetite, driven by Hyperliquid’s continued rally and a resurgence of interest in AI-related crypto projects. Hyperliquid’s expansion into tokenized equities, commodities, and pre-IPO assets is reinforcing the trend toward on-chain asset tokenization. He added that, under sustained improvement in market sentiment, HYPE’s price could target $100—or even higher.

However, Michael van de Poppe also emphasized that while Hyperliquid holds short-term advantages, Solana offers greater long-term investment certainty as it transitions from a “speculative ecosystem” to institutional-grade infrastructure. Regarding the AI sector, he noted that NEAR Protocol and Bittensor remain significantly undervalued, with fundamentals growing out of sync with current valuations. Specifically, NEAR’s revenue growth potential and Bittensor’s subnet expansion could support higher valuation ranges.

Additionally, he observed that demand for privacy-focused solutions remains strong in the long term, though fully anonymous systems face mounting regulatory pressure. Going forward, zero-knowledge proofs and compliant privacy solutions are likely to dominate. At the macro level, Michael van de Poppe pointed out that bond yields and central bank policy remain the core drivers of the crypto market—particularly Japanese government bond yields, which may serve as a key indicator.

[Odaily]

Bernie Sanders Questions Elon Musk on Universal High Income

Bernie Sanders publicly challenged Elon Musk, demanding to know how the tech billionaire plans to fund a “Universal High Income” while refusing to support a 5% tax on his own $817 billion fortune. Elon Musk posted on X that government checks could be the best solution to AI-driven unemployment. He argued that AI and robotics would generate enough goods and services to offset any increase in the money supply and prevent inflation.

The Vermont senator fired back in a direct post to Musk, pointing to the contradiction. Sanders framed his criticism as a broader challenge to economic fairness and the funding model behind large-scale income-support proposals. Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna have proposed the “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act”. The bill would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on net assets above $1 billion, targeting roughly 938 billionaires and projecting $4.4 trillion in revenue over a decade.

The policy clash arrives as AI layoffs mount in 2026 across major industries. AI agents claimed 9,200 jobs in 2026 alone, with Goldman Sachs estimating AI trimmed roughly 16,000 US monthly payroll positions over the past year. The displacement affects not only entry-level work; Musk has amplified warnings about AI eliminating PhD-level finance and research roles, suggesting the threat extends well up the skills ladder.

Dario Amodei has warned that AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. He also suggested that US unemployment could potentially rise to 20%. Musk has previously stated he expects AI to become the most disruptive economic force in history, predicting a future where no job is ultimately necessary. Whether that future can be managed through government income support, and who would pay for it, is a question neither side has yet answered concretely.

The US CLARITY Act may give rise to a new “yield-as-a-service” track, promoting the development of AI-driven compliance yield infrastructure.

The proposed US crypto market structure bill, the Clarity Act, may spawn a new “Yield-as-a-Service” market in the crypto industry and drive the industry from a passive “Hold-to-Earn” model to an AI-driven compliant yield infrastructure.

The core of the current dispute lies in Section 404 of the bill, which would prohibit Digital Asset Service Providers (DASPs) from directly providing yield solely because a user holds a certain digital asset. Vollono believes this means the industry will shift from “Hold-to-Earn” to “Use-to-Earn,” and the future market will be more reliant on proactive, compliant yield strategies.

STBL Chief Commercial Officer Joe Vollono said the bill could boost the development of DeFi infrastructure, treasury management, collateral management, automated fund management, on-chain lending and reward systems, while AI is expected to become an important foundational layer for coordinating regulated capital flows.

Currently, the Clarity Act has passed the US Senate Banking Committee review and is expected to be submitted to the full Senate for review next, and integrated with the Agriculture Committee version. The market generally believes that the bill is expected to establish a complete regulatory framework for the US digital asset market for the first time, clarifying the regulatory boundaries of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for digital assets, thereby paving the way for large institutional funds to enter the crypto market.

[CoinDesk]

Changqiao Securities: Actively responding to regulatory guidelines from both jurisdictions, the company will steadily advance its compliance efforts.

On May 23, according to E-Company, Longbridge Securities issued a further statement regarding recent regulatory developments concerning cross-border securities business in China. Longbridge Securities stated that the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), along with other mainland regulatory authorities, have recently released updated regulatory requirements for cross-border securities business, establishing industry-wide standardized rules for services targeting mainland investors. These new regulatory rules apply to all overseas financial institutions.

Longbridge Securities has proactively responded to the regulatory guidance from both jurisdictions and will steadily advance its compliance efforts strictly in accordance with the relevant requirements. Longbridge Securities clarified that the scope of accounts targeted for cleanup under these new requirements is limited and clearly defined, focusing on two categories: (1) investment accounts opened using suspicious or forged documents; and (2) dormant investment accounts with zero balances.

Customer accounts that were legitimately and compliantly opened—and which hold genuine assets and positions—are not included in this cleanup initiative.

[PANews]

Iran Proposes Opening the Strait of Hormuz in Exchange for Receiving Compensation from the United States

According to Saudi media Alhadath, Iran has proposed opening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for U.S. compensation.

Iran demands that sanctions and frozen funds be discussed before any agreement is signed.

[Odaily]

Trump is willing to give more time to U.S.-Iran negotiations.

U.S. President Trump has convened a meeting of the national security team, without formally deciding whether to launch a new military strike against Iran, but said he is willing to give diplomatic negotiations “more time.” According to The Wall Street Journal, citing multiple U.S. officials, Trump, after hearing a briefing on relevant dialogues in Iran, said he wanted to give diplomatic negotiations “more time,” but reserved the option of military strikes once negotiations broke down.

Mediators are working to advance diplomatic consultations. The current urgent goal is not to reach a formal U.S.-Iran agreement, but to first determine a memorandum of understanding-like document to extend the ceasefire and set a framework for further negotiations. The two sides are currently deadlocked on what matters should be included in the negotiation framework and what issues should be left for follow-up discussions.

According to U.S. officials, if this limited agreement still cannot be reached, the United States and Israel may launch a short-lived military strike against Iran within days to pressure Iran to make concessions. Currently, some of Trump’s advisers and conservatives still believe that a limited strike against Iran would give the U.S. more bargaining chips.

[Odaily]

Iran: Working to finalize memorandum of understanding, negotiations focus on ending the war

Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in an interview with Iran’s Islamic Republic of Broadcasting on the 23rd that the current negotiations focus on advancing an end to the “imposed war,” and nuclear issues are not being discussed in depth at this stage; Iran and the U.S. are working to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Baghaei said that nuclear issues—and the specific details regarding corresponding sanctions relief—are not part of the current round of negotiations; however, Iran’s demands for sanctions relief—particularly the unfreezing of frozen assets—have already been explicitly included in the text of the 14-point MoU.

He explained that Iran is temporarily refraining from in-depth discussions on nuclear issues because it views the nuclear issue as having served twice as a pretext for launching wars against Iran. At present, Iran is prioritizing efforts to end the war on “all fronts,” including Lebanon; negotiations on nuclear issues may resume in the next phase—potentially within 30 or 60 days.

[Odaily]