The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

May 5 — Per alternative data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at 50 today, up from 40 yesterday. Market sentiment has shifted from "Fear" to "Neutral." Note: The index ranges from 0 to 100, with components weighted as follows: - Volatility (25%) - Market Trading Volume (25%) - Social Media Hype (15%) - Market Surveys (15%) - Bitcoin’s share of total market cap (10%) - Google Trends Analysis (10%)

May 5th — Per monitoring from HyperInsight (https://t.me/HyperInsight), a crypto whale with a wallet address starting with “0x320” opened a 21x leveraged Bitcoin (BTC) short position worth $10 million USD one hour ago. The entry price was $80,251.8, and the liquidation price is set at $108,669. Additionally, the whale holds other short positions: $11 million USD in Zcash (ZEC), $8.4 million USD in xyz:BRENTOIL, and $6.6 million USD in xyz:AMZN. The whale favors high-leverage short positions, with total short exposure exceeding $36 million USD. Over the past month, this whale has accumulated losses of more than $5 million USD.

**Bitcoin Reclaims $80k on May 5 After Short-Term Dip Tied to Global Developments; CoinGlass Data Shows Mainstream CEX/DEX Funding Rates Turn Bearish Overall** (May 5) — Bitcoin has once again broken the $80,000 mark following a short-term decline driven by global developments, according to CoinGlass data. Mainstream centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchange funding rates currently signal an overall bearish market, with specific rates detailed in the attached chart. **BlockBeats Note:** Funding rates are fees set by crypto exchanges to align perpetual contract prices with the underlying asset’s value. They facilitate fund exchanges between long and short traders—exchanges do not collect these fees—adjusting traders’ holding costs or profits to keep contract prices close to the underlying asset. **Rate Baseline & Signals:** - A 0.01% rate is the baseline. - Rates above 0.01% indicate a broadly bullish market. - Rates below 0.005% signal a generally bearish mark

May 5th — According to the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) on May 4th, Ibrahim Razaee, spokesperson for Iran’s Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, addressed former U.S. President Trump’s plan to guide stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz. He stated that if parties seek to reopen the strait, two options exist: either accept defeat, strike a deal and recognize Iran’s control over the waterway, or return to the battlefield and face further consequences.

May 5 (CNBC) — Multiple crypto firms, including Coinbase, are pressing U.S. Congress to advance a key market structure bill—the CLARITY Act—as early as next week. Senators had previously unveiled a compromise provision aimed at resolving tensions between the banking and crypto sectors over when stablecoins can offer yield rewards. Introduced by Sens. Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, the proposal would bar crypto companies from offering yield-like rewards for holding stablecoins. Banks have warned such incentives could drain deposits, weakening their lending capacity. However, the measure allows rewards when stablecoins are spent or used by users. This rule framework-style crypto bill is the industry’s top legislative priority, with the Trump administration also actively pushing for its passage. The heated stablecoin debate is viewed as a major hurdle to the bill advancing in the Senate Banking Committee, though other disagreements remain. The broader crypto industry has w

On May 5, Onchain Lens monitoring data shows a newly created wallet received 4.14 million LIT tokens from the Lighter distribution wallet—with the transfer valued at approximately $3.89 million.