Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded slightly from the overnight low, trading around $76,840 as of May 19. Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may issue as early as this week an “innovative exemption” rule for tokenized stocks. Echo Protocol suffered an attack on the Monad chain; after hackers minted 1,000 eBTC, they withdrew funds via Curvance.
## Macro Events & Crypto Hotspots
1、According to Bloomberg, insiders revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may issue as early as this week an “innovative exemption” rule for tokenized stocks, establishing a new framework for crypto versions of publicly traded company shares. The SEC is inclined to allow third-party tokens not backed or approved by the issuing public companies; these tokens can be traded on decentralized crypto platforms, but may not necessarily carry voting rights or equity-like entitlements such as dividends. The exemption covers tokens traded on DeFi platforms, and will test whether stock trading can migrate to crypto infrastructure without traditional equity market protection measures.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is the main driver of this exemption, but some SEC officials oppose the decision. Institutions such as Citadel Securities and SIFMA have said they are against it, warning that this could weaken investor protection measures like KYC and anti-money laundering. Peirce said the exemption is an important step, but will not change the entire financial system overnight.
2、According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Echo Protocol suffered an attack on the Monad chain. The attacker minted 1,000 eBTC ($76.7 million) and withdrew funds from Curvance via previously tested attack routes. At present, the attacker has deposited 45 eBTC ($3.45 million) into Curvance as collateral, borrowed about 11.29 WBTC ($867,700), and bridged it to Ethereum. After converting to ETH, the attacker sent 385 ETH (about $818,000) to Tornado Cash. The attacker still controls a large amount of minted eBTC.
## News Updates
1、Google and Blackstone set up a joint-venture AI cloud company, with Blackstone committing to invest $5 billion
2、Russia’s financial regulator requires crypto exchanges to be regulated the same as banks, eliminating regulatory arbitrage
3、Elon Musk’s AI company xAI launches the “Skills” feature
4、Reuters: Iran’s crypto exchange Nobitex has processed at least $2.3 billion in transactions in recent years via Tron and BNB Chain
5、Russia plans to conduct mandatory monitoring of crypto-coin trades worth more than 1 million rubles
6、Stripe-supported Tempo blockchain integrates Morpho, expanding from payments to on-chain lending and yield
7、Meta plans layoffs of 20% and reallocates 7,000 people to AI roles
8、Ethereum Foundation sees two more researchers leave, with the recent wave of departures continuing
9、Revolut launches its first physical crypto card, using a Dogecoin-themed design
10、Commodity trader Trafigura Group and Tether are discussing piloting USDT payments at gas stations
11、The U.S. SEC may issue as early as this week an “innovative exemption” rule for tokenized stocks
## Market Trend
1、Latest on Bitcoin: <a data-currency='BTC' href='/futures/USDT/BTC_USDT'>$BTC rebounded slightly from the overnight low, currently around $76,840; in the past 24 hours, $104 million was liquidated, with long positions being the main ones;
2、U.S. stocks: The four major indexes saw mixed closes on October 18; the S&P 500 edged down, the Nasdaq closed lower, and the Russell 0? (Venture?) index continued the prior day’s sharp drop as investors took profits on Tech Stocks, while rising Treasury yields and higher oil prices intensified concerns that inflation and interest rates could stay elevated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 159.95 points, up 0.32%, at 49,686.12; the S&P 500 fell 5.45 points, down 0.07%, to 7,403.05; the Nasdaq fell 134.41 points, down 0.51%, to 26,090.73.
（Source：Gate）
3、In the Gate BTC/USDT liquidation map, using the current 76,903.60 USDT as the reference: if prices drop to around $76,470, the total liquidation amount for long positions will exceed $216 million; if prices rise to around $77,251, the total liquidation amount for short positions will exceed $432 million. The liquidation amount on the short side is significantly higher than on the long side. It is suggested to manage leverage levels reasonably to avoid triggering large-scale liquidations amid market fluctuations.
（Source：Coinglass）
4、In the past 24 hours, BTC spot inflows totaled $2.28 billion, outflows totaled $2.56 billion, resulting in net outflows of $280 million.
（Source：Coinglass）
5、In the past 24 hours, derivatives trading net outflows led for $ZEC, $HYPE, $LAB, $BSB, $1000PEPE and others, presenting trading opportunities.
## Selected Views from X KOLs
Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): “It’s just like I said yesterday—the U.S. and Iran have been going back and forth all along. Today it’s TACO again, and it’s another day of ping-ponging. First, there was news that the U.S. was preparing to take action against Iran, and WTI jumped straight above $105. Then it was said that Iran submitted a revised ceasefire agreement, and oil prices fell back below $100. Next, the U.S. opposes that agreement, and then Iran sets up a new department and directly publicly announces management of the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Honestly, I really don’t have any temper left about this at this point. I don’t know how the U.S. and Iran can tolerate this kind of back-and-forth stalemate. The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has had a huge impact on Iran’s economy, and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz also affects inflation in the U.S. and even globally. If this drags on, it’s not good not only for both sides, but for the world too.”
“I remember the IEA analyzed that the problem with the Strait of Hormuz would be resolved at the latest by the end of May. Now there are about 10 days left. With this kind of turmoil, it may really be hard to say. If WTI oil prices continue to stay above $100, May inflation will certainly keep rising. And in the June policy meeting, even if you bring in the God himself, there’s no way interest rates will be cut.”
“Coming back to Bitcoin data, just like before, the price rise and fall of $BTC still depends on movements in U.S. stocks—especially Tech Stocks—and the direction of U.S. stocks is closely linked to the U.S. economy, as well as macro and political factors. Based on the data, Bitcoin’s short-term speculators are indeed decreasing, while long-term investors are gradually increasing.”
## What to Watch Today
1、UK March unemployment rate, prior value: 4.41%
2、UK three-month ILO unemployment rate to March, prior value: 4.9%
3、Euro area March seasonally adjusted trade balance (in billions of euros), prior value: 7.0
4、Canada April CPI (year-over-year), prior value: 2.4%
5、Canada April core CPI—core consumer price index, commonly used (year-over-year), prior value: 2.6%
6、U.S. April NAR seasonally adjusted pending home sales index (month-over-month), prior value: 2.5%
7、Russian President Putin will make a state visit to China on May 19–20
8、According to U.S. media reports, U.S. President Trump will hold a meeting in the Situation Room with the national security team to discuss options for military action
9、Lieon, Chief Economist of the European Central Bank, and Waller, a Fed governor, deliver remarks at the ECB research conference
