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May saw bullish momentum in crypto markets as Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high above $111,000 and Coinbase joined the S&P 500.
Markets could breathe a sigh of relief when, on May 12, US President Donald Trump reached a trade deal with China, putting a 90-day hold on tariffs that had markets in a tailspin. The news saw BTC price hit $105,000, a three-month high, before tipping down to $102,000.
On the policy front, five US states enacted new Bitcoin laws. Texas established the long-awaited state Bitcoin reserve. In Alabama, an effort to exempt crypto from certain forms of taxation was indefinitely postponed.
OpenAI is looking to move into the US and set up eye-scanning Orb stations across six cities in five American states. The move follows legal actions against World in 12 countries.
Here’s May by the numbers:
Five states enact crypto-related laws in May, Texas passes Bitcoin reserve bill
In the US, cryptocurrency legislation is moving ahead on multiple fronts, with five states passing or enacting cryptocurrency-related bills.
In Texas, the state passed a bill that establishes a state Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. New Hampshire made a similar move, enabling the state treasurer to invest in public funds containing precious metals and digital assets like Bitcoin with the passage of HB302.
In Arizona, the newly formed Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund will hold unclaimed digital assets. The state of Arizona can now claim ownership of abandoned digital assets if the owner fails to respond to contact attempts for three years. The state can also stake the assets in the fund to earn airdrops and rewards.
In Nebraska, public power utilities now have some authority over Bitcoin miners. LB526, which passed in final reading on May 14, allows them to require Bitcoin miners using 1 megawatt or more to cover the cost of infrastructure upgrades. It also introduces a permit regime and reporting requirements for power consumption.
Oregon has included crypto in its Uniform Commercial Code.
Coinbase stock up 19.37% in May, joins S&P 500
The stock price of crypto exchange Coinbase is up 19.37% over the month, despite disclosing a $400 million security incident on May 15.
Despite the eye-watering sum of the attack, which has reportedly triggered an investigation by the US Department of Justice, the stock price closed May 29 at $248.84.
Furthermore, the crypto company became the first to be included in the benchmark S&P 500 Index, which the crypto industry hailed as a new high for crypto adoption and industry growth.
Not everyone is pleased. Concerns about security and the overall volatility of the stock market have left some observers doubting the exchange’s inclusion in the renowned index. “All I can tell you is this is not good,” said business and economics commentator Ed Elson.
Related: Coinbase in S&P 500: More crypto firms to come?
Major indexes bounce back after 90-day US-China tariff deal
On May 12, the Trump administration announced that it had reached a deal with China to suspend tariffs for 90 days, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq seeing nominal gains of 4.5% and 3%, respectively, a day after the news. Bitcoin was also up 2%.
According to a market analysis by Cointelegraph, Bitcoin failed to smash expectations in the days that followed, as macroeconomic conditions favored stocks over investments like Bitcoin or gold, the latter of which fell 3.4% on May 12.
Before trading opened on May 30, the Nasdaq-100 index was up 9.16% for the month, while the S&P 500 climbed 6.16%.
Bitcoin “Pizza Day” sees market cap top Amazon at $2.2 trillion, BTC ATH
On May 22, “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” the market capitalization of Bitcoin crossed $2.2 trillion, overtaking the market cap of e-commerce giant Amazon.
Pizza day, which marks Bitcoin OG Laszlo Hanyecz’s 10,000 BTC pizza purchase in 2010 (worth $41 at the time), also saw Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high at just over $109,000. Bitcoin broke the record a few days later by reaching $111,970.
By the end of the month, Bitcoin’s rally cooled as demand for the asset slowed, with spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds snapping a 10-day inflow streak and recording $347 million in net outflows on May 29.
OpenAI moves world project to US after enforcement actions in 12 countries
On April 30, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that his company’s digital identity project, World, would be setting up in the United States.
Regulators in 12 different countries have taken some form of legal action against World, with stated reasons ranging from data privacy and protection (Kenya) to concerns over possible economic manipulation through its token (Brazil). In Hong Kong, the project is banned outright.
Related: Alarm bells ring in US over OpenAI’s crypto project World
World has addressed privacy concerns by stating that it holds no identifying information attached to the unique eye scan recorded on its Orb devices. It also states that it does not control or own that information, but that users own and control that information in the form of their World ID.
Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K
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