WuBlockchain Weekly: Ukraine and Binance Partner to Launch National Bitcoin Reserve, Futu and Tiger Brokers Launch Cryptocurrency Services, Coinbase Joins S&P 500, etc

May 16, 2025

1. China and the US Reach a Tariff Moratorium Agreement: 24% of the Tariffs of Both Sides Will Be Suspended for the Initial 90 Days link

China and the United States issued a joint statement on the Geneva Economic and Trade Talks, announcing that the 24% tariffs imposed by both sides will be suspended for an initial 90 days, while retaining the right to impose the remaining 10% tariffs on these goods as stipulated in the executive orders. The U.S. will revoke the additional tariffs on China imposed by the executive orders dated April 8 and April 9. China will suspend or cancel the non-tariff countermeasures against the U.S. that took effect since April 2.

CICC analysis notes that previous market expectations were for the tariffs to be reduced to 80% (based on Trump’s statement last week) or 54% (20% related to fentanyl + 10% reciprocal tariffs), but the actual reduction has dropped directly to 30% (20% fentanyl-related + 10% reciprocal tariffs, with 24% exempted for 90 days). As a result, market sentiment has been significantly boosted.

2. The US April Unadjusted CPI Annual Rate Is 2.3%, a New Low Since February 2021 link

The seasonally — adjusted core CPI monthly rate in the United States was 0.2% in April, lower than the expected 0.30% and higher than the previous month’s 0.10%. The unadjusted CPI annual rate was 2.3% in April, reaching a new low since February 2021 and lower than the market — expected 2.4%. The unadjusted core CPI annual rate was 2.8% in April, in line with market expectations and remaining at the lowest level since March 2021.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at the Thomas Laubach Research Conference that the Federal Reserve is reviewing its interest — rate — setting framework due to the significant changes in inflation and interest rates since 2020. The review results are expected to be released in August or September. Powell emphasized that the average inflation target strategy adopted in 2020 failed to cope with the inflation surge after the epidemic. The Federal Reserve now plans to adjust the framework to deal with the possible more frequent supply shocks in the future, while maintaining the 2% inflation target.

3. SEC Plans to Introduce New Cryptocurrency Regulatory Guidelines, May Relax Self — Custody and Exemption Mechanisms link

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced at the 4th Cryptocurrency Working Group Roundtable that the SEC will shift to a more cryptocurrency — friendly regulatory policy and plans to formulate new guidelines regarding issuance and custody. He pointed out that future policies will be regulated through rule — making and exemption mechanisms, and that consideration will be given to allowing funds and advisors to engage in self — custody under specific conditions. In addition, Atkins said that the SEC will explore whether to provide conditional exemptions for registered or unregistered institutions planning to launch new products to accommodate innovative products outside the existing regulatory framework.

4. The Three Main Presidential Candidates in South Korea All Support Bitcoin Spot ETFs and Institutional Investments link

Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, tweeted that all three major presidential candidates in South Korea support bitcoin spot ETFs and institutional investment. Currently, South Korea still bans bitcoin ETFs and institutional investment, and 100% of the market trading volume comes from retail investors.

5. Ukraine Plans to Launch a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve According to the New Cryptocurrency Law link

Ukraine is considering partnering with Binance to create a national strategic Bitcoin reserve. Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament and the first vice — chairman of the Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy of the Ukrainian parliament, has confirmed that the drafting of the relevant bill is underway and the text of the bill is still being refined. He said that he plans to submit the bill in the near future. Kirill Khomyakov, the head of Binance in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa, has said that Binance supports Ukraine’s vision of establishing a strategic crypto — reserve.

6. The Ethereum Foundation Announces the Launch of the “Trillion — Dollar Security Plan” link

The Ethereum Foundation has announced the launch of the “Trillion — Dollar Security Program” with the aim of comprehensively enhancing the security of the Ethereum ecosystem at multiple levels, including user experience, wallets, smart contracts, infrastructure, and consensus protocols. This project will be advanced through three directions: full — stack security risk assessment, key — area improvement, and more transparent information dissemination. The goal is to enable users to securely manage assets on the chain and support institutions and governments to host assets worth trillions of dollars on Ethereum. This project is led by Foundation members Fredrik Svantes and Josh Stark.

7. Coinbase Will Join the S&P 500 Index on May 19, 2025 link

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) will replace Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) and join the S&P 500 index before the market opens on May 19, 2025. This change is due to the planned acquisition of Discover Financial Services by Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF), and the transaction is expected to be completed in the near future.

8. Strategy Increases Its Bitcoin Holdings by 13,390 Coins from May 5 to May 11 link

Strategy purchased 13,390 bitcoins between May 5 and May 11 at an average price of $99,856 per coin, totaling $1.34 billion. As of May 11, 2025, Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings reached 568,840 coins, with an acquisition cost of approximately $39.41 billion and an average purchase price of $69,287.

9. Tiger Brokers (Hong Kong) Launches Cryptocurrency Deposit and Withdrawal Services, Supporting BTC, ETH, Etc link

Tiger Brokers (Hong Kong) has launched a cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal service, supporting the deposit, trading, and withdrawal of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The platform is also a virtual asset trading service App licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. Previously, Futu (Hong Kong) opened the crypto — asset top — up service to users in Hong Kong.

10. The Trump Family Project WLFI Portfolio Has Cumulatively Invested $347 Million with a Floating Loss of $53.07 Million link

The WLFI portfolio of the Trump family project currently holds 12 tokens including ETH, WBTC, TRX, LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, ONDO, SEI, AVAX, MNT, and EOS. The portfolio has accumulated an investment of $347 million, with a current total value of $291 million, resulting in an unrealized loss of $53.07 million and a decline of 15%.

Fundraising

The U.S. AI video platform Hedra has closed a $32 million Series A financing. link
a16z Crypto led a $7 million seed round for blockchain ticketing platform KYD Labs. link
Perpl secured $9.25 million in funding led by Dragonfly. link
Layer0 infrastructure platform Openverse Network completed an $11 million strategic financing. link
Sonic Labs announced the completion of a $10 million strategic financing for its S tokens. link
Decentralized protocol Turtle Club closed a $6.2 million seed round. link
Blockchain cloud computing company Nirvana Labs raised $6 million in a seed extension round. link
Ticket resale platform XP announced the completion of a $6.2 million seed round. link
Coinbase revealed an investment in Canadian stablecoin issuer Stablecorp. link
Haun Ventures announced a strategic investment in Squads. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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