News linked to both this project and an event.
Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, stated that the ministry does not wish to allow dollar-denominated stablecoins to circulate in the Russian market.Chebeskov pointed out that issuers of foreign stablecoins like USDT and USDC have the capability to freeze wallet assets held by users. Once such wallets engage in transactions with platforms licensed by the Central Bank of Russia, the risk of asset freezes for holders will significantly increase. He revealed that dollar stablecoins held by Russian legal entities have previously been frozen by issuers, while no similar incidents have occurred with Bitcoin and Ethereum due to the lack of relevant technical means.The Russian Finance Ministry believes it is necessary to establish a regulatory framework specifically for stablecoins, prioritize supporting the development of stablecoins pegged to the ruble and currencies of friendly nations, and grant the Central Bank of Russia the authority to adjust the list of related assets. (Bits.media)
According to Protos, Twenty One Capital (ticker: XXI), a Bitcoin reserve company controlled by Tether, received an official non-compliance notice from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 29 due to insufficient independent directors on its Audit Committee. The company must rectify the issue by Friday, June 6; otherwise, its stock will be assigned the “BC” (Below Compliance) designation starting June 9. The incident stems from May 19, when Tether acquired all 89.1 million Class A shares held by SoftBank and canceled the corresponding Class B shares. Concurrently, Tether terminated the governance agreement granting SoftBank veto rights over the Board of Directors. As a result, the two directors appointed by SoftBank—including Jared Roscoe, a member of the Audit Committee—resigned the same day, reducing the number of independent Audit Committee members from two to one, thereby triggering the NYSE’s compliance threshold. Twenty One Capital has stated it will appoint a new independent Audit Committee member as soon as possible but has not disclosed the specific candidate or who holds the authority to make the appointment. The company currently holds 43,514 BTC, valued at approximately $3.1 billion, yet its total market capitalization remains below $2.5 billion. Amid leadership instability and multiple unfulfilled business commitments, its stock price has plunged over 83% in the past year.
: According to official announcements, leading global digital asset platform Gate has officially launched a real stock market trading service, bridging the gap between crypto assets and traditional financial markets. Users can now directly trade stocks and ETFs listed on major exchanges like Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) using USDT on the Gate platform. Unlike common market practices of stock tokenization and RWA (Real World Asset) mapping, Gate Stocks focuses more on real market access and compliant trading capabilities. It connects with compliant broker-dealers holding US Broker-Dealer licenses and clearing qualifications, providing access to major US stock and ETF trading markets.Currently, Gate supports major US securities trading markets and liquidity networks including NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and BATS, covering over 10,000 stock and ETF assets. After completing KYC and regional access requirements, users can navigate to the stock section within the TradFi module of the Gate App to perform USDT transfers, view market data, and trade stocks, achieving integration between crypto asset accounts and traditional stock trading capabilities. Additionally, Gate Stocks operates an independent account system, allowing users to buy, hold, and sell stock assets with separate fund management. Compared to holding costs such as funding rates in perpetual contracts and swap fees or overnight fees in CFD products, Gate Stock spot trading offers zero holding costs, making it more suitable for users looking to hold US stocks for the long term. Android users can experience stock trading functionality after updating the Gate App to the latest version, while iOS users can access the service after updating to version 8.21.5.
the Attorney General's Office of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, coordinated with judicial authorities and police in multiple regions to launch a large-scale joint operation codenamed Fake Coins targeting cryptocurrency fake investment scams. Police conducted 90 simultaneous searches nationwide, arresting 24 suspects. The operation successfully intercepted and seized a total of 8 million USDT, valued at over $8 million, along with nearly 6 million Argentine pesos in cash and a large number of electronic devices.Investigations revealed that the criminal group induced victims to invest through social media and fake apps, with total losses amounting to nearly 3 billion pesos. The San Isidro judicial department seized the majority of the crypto assets during an investigation into a Chinese criminal group, which developed malware to steal user information for money laundering purposes. Part of the funds were reportedly converted to USDT through Binance P2P transactions. (infobae)
Zhou, a hacker from Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, was sentenced by a court to four years and four months’ imprisonment and fined for the crime of illegally controlling computer information systems. Zhou exploited security vulnerabilities in websites to illegally control over 150 government and enterprise servers, causing links on websites belonging to 157 organizations to redirect to overseas pornographic websites. He also profited by reselling control rights. According to disclosures by the investigating authorities, Zhou settled his illicit proceeds using virtual currencies such as USDT and TRX, dispersing and concealing them across multiple cryptocurrency wallets. Authorities subsequently seized assets valued at over RMB 42 million through a cryptocurrency tracing system. Additionally, Zhou voluntarily surrendered over RMB 28 million in illicit gains.
The Korean National Police Agency has formulated a comprehensive anti-money laundering response plan and established a specialized task force (TF) led by its Economic Crime Investigation Department, focusing on money laundering crimes involving virtual assets such as USDT. This TF will collaborate with departments handling cybercrime, cyberterrorism response, major crimes, and drug investigations to strengthen the tracing of illicit proceeds and separately apply relevant legal provisions to prosecute money laundering activities. Additionally, the police will enhance training on virtual asset tracing, closely monitor high-value bank accounts linked to domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, and assess money laundering risks associated with unregistered virtual asset exchange points.
Oobit, a mobile wallet supported by Tether, issued a clarification on X, stating that after “on-chain detective” ZachXBT disclosed a vulnerability exploit against two smart contracts (EURR and USDR) of stablecoin issuer StablR—resulting in losses of approximately $13.5 million—the attackers attempted to withdraw the stolen funds via Oobit. However, Oobit’s compliance team identified the anomalous activity and successfully froze EURR funds valued in the six-figure range, while also shutting down the withdrawal channel. No user funds were affected in this incident, and Oobit’s own systems were not compromised. Oobit is currently cooperating with StablR and investigators to advance follow-up actions. Earlier reports indicated that StablR suffered a hack resulting in losses of approximately $2.8 million, causing both EURR and USDR to de-peg.
Although the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act are pushing for stablecoin compliance, stablecoins remain essentially "private money" and could introduce structural risks to the financial system.The article points out that stablecoins aim to combine the stability of the US dollar with the payment efficiency of blockchain, but because they operate on fragmented, privatized infrastructure, they lack the uniformity of the traditional dollar system. While USDT and USDC are pegged to the US dollar, their prices can still deviate from $1.Additionally, stablecoin issuers have incentives to boost yields by allocating capital to high-risk, low-liquidity assets. Should the value of these assets decline, it could trigger de-pegging and concentrated redemption risks. Citing Chainalysis data, the article states that stablecoins account for 84% of illicit crypto activity, primarily involving sanctions evasion and money laundering, while their use in real economy payments accounts for less than 1%.The Wall Street Journal argues that stablecoins are essentially repeating the path of the private money experiments seen during the "Free Banking Era" in 19th-century America. In the future, they may need to accept stricter regulation, similar to banks, and require deeper integration into the central banking system. (Wall Street Journal)
Tether announced it will collaborate with the Government of Georgia to launch an official stablecoin, GEL₮, pegged to the Georgian lari and issued under a dedicated stablecoin regulatory framework. GEL₮ is designed as a digital representation of the Georgian lari, aiming to reduce transaction costs, enable near-instant settlement, support programmable payments, and enhance the efficiency of fund flows in cross-border transfers and the broader digital financial system. Tether stated that the initiative is expected to support cross-border trade, fintech development, and digital payments.
According to Caixin, the global tax “satellite surveillance system,” CRS 2.0, is accelerating its rollout worldwide. Cryptographic assets, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and certain electronic money products have now been included within the scope of financial asset reporting. Hong Kong plans to implement CRS 2.0 by 2028 and simultaneously advance the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). In the future, cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, and operators of crypto ATMs will be required to report cryptocurrency–fiat currency conversions, cross-cryptocurrency swaps, and domestic and cross-border transfers of cryptographic assets. Reports must precisely specify the full names of assets—for example, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT)—and aggregate data by transaction dimension, including total market value, total holdings, and number of transactions. For retail payment transactions, individual transactions exceeding USD 50,000 must be reported separately. Although mainland China has not yet officially announced a timeline for implementing CRS 2.0, since 2025, tax authorities in multiple regions have begun notifying taxpayers—via phone calls and text messages—to self-report overseas income earned between 2022 and 2024 and fulfill their tax obligations accordingly. It is understood that CRS 2.0 will not only fully expose overseas-held cryptographic assets to tax oversight but may also trigger coordinated scrutiny by other regulatory bodies.
According to chart analysis released by independent analyst Markus Thielen on May 19, the current market capitalization of USDT has reached $189.8 billion, while that of USDC stands at $76.9 billion—both exhibiting long-term upward trends. However, since Bitcoin entered a correction phase in October last year, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has remained largely flat, indicating relatively limited inflows of new capital into the crypto market. Thielen noted that although there is a widespread belief that stablecoins will fully replace traditional payment networks, their primary use cases remain concentrated on crypto trading and portfolio management—still far from achieving mainstream payment adoption. While U.S. policy broadly supports stablecoin development—partly because their reserve assets are often reallocated into U.S. Treasury securities—the gap between current usage and true mainstream payment application remains substantial.
Odaily. Bernstein stated in its latest research report that the newly reached compromise on stablecoin yields under the U.S. CLARITY Act is structurally beneficial for Circle and the USDC ecosystem.The report notes that the current version of the bill prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest to passive holders that is "economically equivalent" to bank deposits, but allows reward mechanisms tied to actual transaction, payment, and usage activities to continue. Bernstein believes this means Circle's current model, which relies on partners like Coinbase to provide USDC reward programs, will gain regulatory recognition, while also limiting the industry's ability to compete for market share through high yields.Bernstein points out that the bill effectively reinforces the positioning of stablecoins as "payment tools" rather than "deposit substitutes," helping to protect Circle's current business model that relies on reserve income. The firm maintains an "Outperform" rating for Circle with a $190 target price.Data shows that the total global supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, with USDT and USDC collectively accounting for approximately 97% of the market share. Bernstein notes that USDC's share in on-chain payments and wallet transfers is steadily increasing, and its share of payments in the AI Agent payment protocol x402 has exceeded 99%.Additionally, Bernstein mentioned that Circle's ARC chain has cumulatively completed 244 million testnet transactions. The ARC token pre-sale previously raised $222 million, with investors including a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, and BlackRock.However, the report also points out that the CLARITY Act still needs to complete multiple legislative procedures before it takes effect, including a 60-vote threshold in the full Senate and coordination with the House version. Polymarket currently estimates its probability of passage by 2026 at approximately 62%. (The Block)
According to Zhejiang Daily, Ningbo Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau in Zhejiang Province, China recently cracked multiple cases involving the smuggling of virtual currency mining rigs, dismantled several criminal gangs, and seized over 400 mining rigs, including Antminer L9 and Binghe KS3 models. The report states that the involved gangs disassembled the mining rigs and falsely declared them as “industrial circuit breakers” and other items, smuggling them into China via international express channels through ports such as Ningbo and Guangzhou. The rigs were then reassembled and sold domestically or shipped to mining farms in regions including Xinjiang and Hunan for hosted mining operations. Investigators noted that the gangs also used USDT for cross-border payment settlements to circumvent financial supervision.
the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is investigating MP Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, for allegedly failing to declare a £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) personal gift from Christopher Harborne, an investor in Tether.Christopher Harborne holds a 12% stake in Tether. Nigel Farage stated that the gift was received in 2024 before he announced his candidacy, and was used for personal security, therefore he was not obligated to declare it. According to the UK House of Commons Code of Conduct, new MPs must register interests received in the 12 months prior to their election. If found in violation, Nigel Farage could face penalties such as an apology, suspension, or expulsion from Parliament. (Decrypt)
According to The Block, the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), jointly established by Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs, announced that since its founding in 2024, it has frozen over $450 million worth of illicit crypto assets globally. In 2025, the unit’s interception of illicit proceeds increased by 43.9% year-on-year, covering 23 jurisdictions including the United States, Spain, and Germany, and has been recognized by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as “a critical resource for global law enforcement agencies.” The T3 FCU has participated in investigations across multiple crime categories, including exchange hacks, North Korea–related activities, terrorist financing, and violent crimes, and assisted Brazil’s Federal Police in freezing over $5.989 billion in assets—including 4.3 million USDT.
According to CoinDesk, Denis Beau, Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, has publicly called on Europe’s public and private sectors to jointly advance the development of euro-tokenized money to counter the dominance of U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins. This stance stands in clear contrast to that of European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, who remains cautious toward private stablecoins—citing financial stability risks posed by USDT, USDC, and others—and favors a central bank–led digital euro initiative expected to launch in 2029. Beau outlined a “triple objective” for Europe’s development: aligning with central bank monetary services; enabling regulated institutions to issue pan-euro tokenized private money; and strengthening the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. His position closely aligns with that of the Qivalis consortium—a group comprising 12 major European banks, including ING, BBVA, and BNP Paribas—which plans to launch a private digital euro this year. Beau also revealed that the eurosystem will roll out its first tokenized wholesale central bank money service before year-end.
According to the official announcement, the second asset launched on Bitget IPO Prime is preOPAI—a digital token issued by the regulated issuer Republic on the Solana blockchain, designed to mirror OpenAI’s post-IPO economic performance on a 1:1 basis. As the world’s leading consumer AI provider, OpenAI reports approximately 900 million weekly active users, according to official data. Its most recent funding round raised $122 billion, with participants including Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, and SoftBank. Bitget IPO Prime operates on a subscription model, whereby users receive subscription quotas based on their account tier. Upon completion of token allocation, users may trade the tokens on the upcoming spot market. Alternatively, after the lock-up period for preOPAI’s underlying debt assets expires, the issuer will authorize Bitget to convert users’ holdings into either stock tokens or USDT, referencing the underlying company’s (OpenAI’s) publicly traded stock price. IPO Prime Details: • OpenAI Implied Valuation: $898.21 billion • Total IPO Prime Subscriptions: 29,082 • Total Subscription Value: $21,084,450 • Subscription Price: 1 preOPAI = $725 • Accepted Subscription Currencies: USDT or USDGO • Total Subscription Pool Cap: $300,000,000
The Fuzhou Gulou District People's Court recently concluded a dispute arising from investment in virtual currency. Chen transferred 480,000 yuan to Liu for foreign exchange financial management. Liu converted the funds into USDT and invested them on an overseas platform. After the platform was shut down, Chen sued the court demanding a refund. The court reviewed the case and found that this transaction model formed a closed loop of receiving RMB, converting to USDT, cross-border transfer, and foreign exchange trading, constituting a disguised form of foreign exchange trading and suspected of economic crimes.The court ruled to dismiss Chen's lawsuit and transferred relevant materials to the public security authorities for handling. The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the original ruling. The court reminded that civil legal acts related to investing in virtual currency that violate public order and good customs are invalid, and any losses incurred therefrom shall be borne by the investor themselves.
According to the New Straits Times, in the case involving “12 Malaysian police officers allegedly conspiring to rob eight Chinese citizens of 50,000 USDT” that occurred in February this year, the victims’ legal counsel criticized the police for excessively delaying their investigation and warned that if internal cover-ups are confirmed, they would file a complaint with Malaysia’s Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Previously, the police were accused of forcibly entering the victims’ residence under the pretext of an “anti-fraud raid,” coercing the victims into transferring cryptocurrency assets despite having no evidence of criminal activity. In his latest response, the Inspector-General of Police stated that all implicated officers have been suspended from active duty; however, the investigation remains pending due to the lengthy process required for cryptocurrency forensic analysis and technical reporting, and the case continues to be investigated as one of “conspiracy to commit robbery.”
According to CoinDesk, Jesse Spiro, Head of Government Affairs at Tether, stated at the Consensus Miami 2026 summit that the 2026 U.S. midterm elections will be a critical test of whether Washington’s recent crypto-friendly policies can endure. He noted that although legislative progress has been made—such as with the GENIUS Act—the election outcome could still have a disruptive impact on the industry’s trajectory, emphasizing that “crypto should not be partisan.” Colin McLaren, Head of Government Relations at the Solana Policy Institute, said the industry’s political efforts have now shifted toward “durability,” ensuring Congress continues advancing priority issues like tax reform and developer protections in the future. Mason Lynaugh, Executive Director of Stand With Crypto, stated that the organization’s nearly 3 million members view the election as a “moment of accountability,” and that highly mobilized crypto voters could sway election outcomes in key districts.