Ethereum (ETH) — Onchain News & Whale Tracking

Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of $733.4 million yesterday, while Ethereum ETF saw a net outflow of $67.1 million

May 28 update: Per Farside Investors’ monitoring, Bitcoin ETFs saw a net outflow of $733.4 million yesterday, with IBIT posting a net outflow of $527.8 million. For Ethereum ETFs, net outflows hit $67.1 million, with ETHA accounting for $65.1 million of that total.

A certain whale heavily invested in Ethereum ASTEROID, with a 20-day unrealized loss of $1.16 million

May 27: Per LookOnChain monitoring, whale address 0xaa92 purchased 4.21 billion tokens of Ethereum meme coin ASTEROID 20 days ago for $1.81 million. Today, those tokens are worth only $649,000, meaning the whale has suffered a $1.16 million loss on the investment.

Ethereum's MVRV Ratio Set to Hit Historical Bottom, $1868 Key Support

On May 27, analyst @alicharts notes that Ethereum’s MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value ratio) is currently approaching the 0.8 level. Historical data indicates this range represents a high-probability macro accumulation window. The chart from the analyst places Ethereum’s MVRV 0.8 line at $1868.

Flash Shield: StakeDAO Contract Exploited with Infinite Minting Bug, Attacker Cross-chain Assets to Ethereum

On May 27, blockchain security firm PeckShield detected an anomaly in a StakeDAO-related smart contract on Arbitrum, leading to the minting of 5.4 trillion vsdCRV. The security team has classified this incident as a suspected infinite mint exploit. The attacker swapped some of the vsdCRV for approximately 43.781 ETH (about $91,000) and transferred those funds to Ethereum via a cross-chain bridge.

a16z: Ethereum Still Leads in the Tokenized Assets Space, But a Multi-Chain Ecosystem Has Emerged

May 27: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced in a social media post that Ethereum remains the leader in the tokenized assets sector, backed by its early-mover edge in decentralized finance (DeFi) and strong institutional adoption. Here’s the current value of tokenized assets across major blockchains, per the firm’s data: - Ethereum: $15.7 billion - BNB Chain: $4 billion - Solana: $2.2 billion - Stellar: $1.7 billion - Liquid Network: $1.5 billion - XRP Ledger, ZKsync Era, Arbitrum: roughly $1 billion each a16z added that tokenized assets aren’t concentrated on one blockchain; instead, they’re spreading across multiple ecosystems based on factors like cost, liquidity, compliance rules, and market access connections, resulting in a multi-chain coexistence landscape.

A certain trader bought 7,000 Ethereum and deposited it into Aave

On May 27, per monitoring from LookOnChain, a trader bought 7,000 Ethereum in one hour for approximately $14.52 million, then deposited the funds into Aave. Prior to this move, the same trader had netted a total of $2.04 million in profits from two successful Ethereum scalping trades.

Ethereum Staking Reaches All-Time High, Accounting for 32.19% of Total Supply

According to data from Validatorqueue, on May 27, the total amount of staked Ethereum has reached a new all-time high of 39.2 million ETH, accounting for 32.19% of the total ETH supply. Additionally, there are 3.3 million ETH currently in the queue waiting to enter the staking pool.

Former Ethereum Developer: Crypto Industry’s Focus on Vanity Metrics is Misleading VCs into Continued Funding

Former Ethereum developer Max Resnick took to social media on May 27 to slam a large number of on-chain "metrics" in the crypto industry as essentially a scam, designed to push venture capital firms to keep pouring more money into the space. He specifically called out restaking-related data, noting that "the same ETH is counted at least ten times." Resnick also raised questions about how metrics are defined on most on-chain data platforms, stating, "Every time you carefully examine how these websites calculate their metrics, you’ll find they’re either incorrect or meaningless—they can’t truly measure what they claim to represent." Resnick further pointed to the continuing deterioration of data for the cryptocurrency lending sector, warning that if the industry fails to face reality and address problems honestly, "the situation will only get worse." He emphasized, "The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that it’s a problem." This isn’t Resnick’s only notable career shif

Former Ethereum Core Developer: ETH Has Seriously Underperformed the Market for Years, But Saw Significantly Higher Gains After Reducing Holdings in the Past Two Years

May 27th, former Ethereum core developer Eric Conner commented on the incident titled "Bankless Founder's Confession: Why I Sold ETH?" He said he doesn't blame the Bankless founder at all, pointing out that Ethereum (ETH) has significantly underperformed the broader cryptocurrency market for years. Conner also revealed that he has cut his ETH holdings drastically over the past 1 to 2 years, and all the funds he reallocated into other assets have delivered far stronger returns than ETH. Conner added that ETH's prolonged weakness likely isn't rooted in fundamental flaws, but rather its early price rally was too sharp, generating massive wealth in an extremely short period. As a result, the market needs a long time to absorb selling pressure from early holders. He further stated that adopting a "maximalist" mindset toward a single cryptocurrency in portfolio management is not rational. "The market doesn't lie—there's no need to trade against the trend, and if a coin regains momentum, yo

OpenSea has launched the Ethereum Open Standard ERC-8257, positioned as the "App Store for AI Agents."

On May 27, OpenSea rolled out Ethereum’s new open standard ERC-8257 (Agent Tool Registry), dubbing it an “AI Agent Tool App Store.” The framework lets developers register tools on-chain, outline access rules, and set pricing—enabling AI agents to autonomously discover tools, purchase access rights, and invoke them entirely without human intervention. Per OpenSea, this standard, alongside protocols like ERC-8004 (Agent Identity), MCP (Tool Discovery), and x402 (Payment Protocol), forms a layered on-chain operational infrastructure for AI agents. ERC-8257 remains in draft phase, and the platform is inviting developers to help refine its specifications.

Pump Fun App Upgrade: Introducing Cross-Chain Frictionless Trading, Supporting Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, and More

Pump.fun announced a major platform upgrade on May 26, officially launching its frictionless cross-chain trading feature. Users can now trade assets across multiple EVM-compatible chains—including Ethereum, Avalanche, and BNB Chain—directly within the app. The update is built to deliver a unified "one wallet, one asset, multi-chain trading" experience, aiming to cut down on the complexity of cross-chain operations. Key to the new functionality: users transact with a single wallet, no cross-chain bridging required, and they don’t need to hold native gas tokens for individual chains. Pump.fun leverages Solana as its settlement and gas subsidy medium for this system, which also auto-generates multi-chain wallets to let users seamlessly access transactions for various EVM ecosystem assets. Per the official announcement, this update will make it far easier for users to capitalize on cross-chain market opportunities.

Bitmine increased its Ethereum holdings by nearly 112,000 ETH last week, bringing the total holdings to 5.3904 million ETH.

On May 26, Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced its total holdings of cryptocurrencies, cash, and so-called "moonshots"—high-risk, high-reward assets—have reached $12.3 billion. As of May 25, 2026, the company’s crypto holdings include 5,390,404 ETH, 203 BTC, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, a $95 million stake in Eightco Holdings (Nasdaq: ORBS), plus an additional $4.44 billion in cash. Bitmine Immersion Technologies noted that its ETH holdings account for approximately 4.47% of the total 1.207 billion ETH in circulation.

An Ethereum ICO participant deposited 2500 ETH into Kraken.

On May 26, monitoring data from Onchain Lens shows that an early Ethereum ICO participant has just deposited 2,500 ETH into Kraken, with the funds valued at roughly $5.32 million. This whale address currently holds 1,156 ETH remaining, worth approximately $2.45 million.

Bitcoin falls below $77,000, Ethereum drops below $2,100

On May 26, data from HTX shows Bitcoin dipped below $77,000, posting a 0.27% loss in the 24-hour period. Ethereum also fell below $2,100, with a 0.35% drop over the same timeframe.

An Ethereum Ancient Whale Awakens After Over 10 Years of Dormancy, $620 Initial Investment Now Worth $4.2 Million

Crypto Breaking Update, May 25: Arkham Monitoring reports an ancient Ethereum whale address has made its first move after over 10 years of inactivity. The address, tagged "0x158", bought 2,000 ETH during Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) for a total of around $620, working out to just $0.31 per ETH. No transfers were sent from this wallet in more than a decade — until 10 minutes ago, when it finally moved its assets for the very first time. At current market value, the 2,000 ETH are now worth roughly $4.2 million, representing an astonishing 6,800x return on the original investment.

A Dormant Ethereum Early Whale Awakens After 10.8 Years, Realizing Over 6800x Gains

On May 25, crypto tracking service Whale Alert flagged a long-dormant pre-mined address holding 2,000 ETH (worth $4,234,171) that has woken up after 10.8 years of inactivity. Back in 2015, those same ETH were valued at just $620, translating to a profit of more than 6,800 times their original worth.

Solana Ecosystem Meme Coin ASTEROID Surges 48% Intraday, Ethereum Ecosystem Version Experiences Slight Pullback

Ethereum Whales Engage in Swing Trading, Further Increase Holdings by 967 ETH

May 25: On-chain analyst AI Auntie (@ai_9684xtpa) reported that an Ethereum address which had already accumulated 3,845 ETH at an average entry price of $2,074 added another 967.01 ETH to its position yesterday. This whale has now built up a total of 4,812.03 ETH in a recent trading swing spanning yesterday and today, with a total value of $10 million. The average entry price for this entire ETH batch is $2,078.91, and the address currently holds an unrealized gain of $114,000.

Vitalik: Ethereum Foundation to Downsize, Reduce ETH Sales

On May 25, Vitalik Buterin took to X to share his personal recommendations for the Ethereum Foundation (EF): Moving forward, the EF will transition to a smaller, longer-term, more clearly defined organization—no longer acting as the central hub of the Ethereum ecosystem, but rather a node with specific, targeted responsibilities. Buterin also stressed that Ethereum shouldn’t just focus on chasing maximum transactions per second (TPS) and ultra-low latency. Instead, he said the network should build distinct competitive edges in areas like formal verification, stronger consensus security, and reduced reliance on intermediaries (CROPS)—and that these goals don’t conflict with scalability, layer-2 (L2) solutions, or shorter slot times. He added a key note about the EF’s resource strategy: The foundation is prioritizing long-term sustainability over stretching its resources too thin, which means it will sell less ETH. He also called ETH Ethereum’s most financially valuable product.

BitMine Ethereum Holdings Unrealized Loss Reaches $7.35 Billion

May 24 — Ethereum treasury firm BitMine (BMNR) currently holds 5.28 million Ether (ETH), making up roughly 4.37% of the total ETH supply. With ETH having plunged more than 57% from its October 2025 peak, BitMine’s unrealized losses have swelled to around $7.35 billion. BitMine rolled out its Ether treasury strategy in July 2025, and has been steadily accumulating ETH amid the market downturn. The company’s average cost basis for its holdings sits at roughly $3,513 per ETH. Chairman Tom Lee has previously stated that ETH has historically seen sharp V-shaped rebounds after significant pullbacks, framing the current decline as a long-term buying opportunity. However, analysts caution that ETH is forming a bearish “rising wedge” technical pattern. If the coin breaks below its key support level, it could tumble to roughly $1,600 — a roughly 25% drop from current levels. Such a move would expand BitMine’s unrealized losses to over $10 billion, per estimates. Additional headwinds facing ET

Bitcoin ETF Faces 'Redemption Pressure': $1.26 Billion Withdrawn in a Single Week, Ethereum ETF Sees Outflows for 10 Consecutive Days

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted a weekly net outflow of roughly $1.26 billion in the week ending May 23, marking their largest weekly pullback since late January and six consecutive trading days of net redemptions. Data shows $649 million flowed out just on Monday, with outflows moderating in subsequent days but remaining consistent overall. Market participants pointed to three key drivers: rising U.S. Treasury yields, a stronger U.S. dollar, and geopolitical tensions. U.S. Spot Ethereum ETFs also faced pressure this week, logging 10 straight days of net outflows—their longest stretch since March 2025—for a total weekly outflow of approximately $216 million. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) manages about $61.1 billion in assets, though this figure trails the fund’s cumulative inflows of roughly $3.7 billion, signaling recent market price volatility has impacted its holding value. As of the close of ETF trading for the period, Bitcoin traded around $77,500 and Ethereum at approx

An Ethereum OG address bought 3,942 ETH on the dip today, with an average price of $2,049.

On May 23, LookOnChain monitoring reveals an OG crypto address that previously earned $34.2 million from Ethereum investments is currently buying the dip. The address purchased 3,942 ETH today at an average price of $2,049 per token, totaling $8.08 million, and may continue accumulating ETH. Ten years ago, this address acquired 12,001 ETH from ShapeShift at an average of $7.58 each. Over a year ago, it sold all those ETH at an average price of $2,856, netting a $34.2 million profit with a staggering 376x return on investment (ROI).

「Whale Buddy」 Liquidates Most of Ethereum Long Position, Only $23 Away from Liquidation

On May 23, monitoring from HyperInsight (available at https://t.me/HyperInsight) reveals that Ethereum whale Huang Libo has closed most of his Ethereum long positions, leading to another partial liquidation. The whale still holds 1,700 ETH in long positions, with only $23 standing between its holdings and the next liquidation threshold, bringing total losses to nearly $33 million.

Cryptocurrency Market Experiences Sharp Decline, Bitcoin Falls to $74,500, Ethereum Tests $2,007

On May 23rd, data from the HTX exchange shows the crypto market has seen a sharp short-term pullback. Bitcoin dropped below $75,000 to a low of $74,500, posting a 3.7% decrease over the past 24 hours. Ethereum slumped to a low of $2,007 and is currently trading at $2,026, marking a 4.8% decline in the same 24-hour period. Coinglass figures indicate that total liquidated positions across the entire crypto network surged to $377 million in the last hour.

Yesterday, the United States saw a net outflow of $100.9 million from the Bitcoin spot ETF and a net outflow of $32.6 million from the Ethereum ETF.

Per Farside monitoring data, on May 21st (the day before this May 22nd update), the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF posted a net outflow of $101.9 million, while the U.S. Ethereum spot ETF recorded a net outflow of $32.6 million.

「Ethereum Savior」: Former Foundation Developer Proposes Raising $1 Billion to Establish ETH Advocacy Organization

May 22: Former Ethereum Foundation core developer Dankrad Feist is calling for raising at least $10 billion to launch a new Ethereum advocacy organization aimed at "saving" ETH. The existing Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit, holds less than 0.1% of ETH and generates no staking or fee income—creating a disconnect from Ethereum’s economic interests that Feist argues is hindering effective efforts to boost ETH’s price. Under his proposal, the new organization would need robust financial support, "battle-ready" leadership, and a board of directors with direct stakes in ETH to align their priorities with growing the cryptocurrency’s value. Part of the funds could come from staking revenue to ensure tighter alignment and accountability with the Ethereum ecosystem. This push comes amid ongoing talent exodus at the Ethereum Foundation: Feist himself left last year to join Layer 1 project Tempo, and two additional researchers resigned just this week—amplifying community frustration with the

Tom Lee: Ethereum to Be Ensured as Future Financial and AI Settlement Layer, Continues to Bullish on ETH

May 22 – Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine—Ethereum’s largest treasury—stated Ethereum has a strong group of leaders and developers that will lock in its position as the future settlement layer for finance and AI. He noted much of the current bearish sentiment is simply desperation and blame-shifting stemming from the depths of the crypto winter’s bottom. Lee added blockchain is the only viable framework for agentic AI to conduct commercial interactions, and it will drastically boost the profitability of the global financial system. He remains firmly bullish on ETH.

Hoffman Liquidates All Holdings, Tom Lee Becomes "Staunch E-Bodyguard," Ethereum Faces "Midlife Crisis"

May 21: This could be a real dilemma for Ethereum (ETH) diehard holders. David Hoffman—co-founder of Bankless and a long-time Ethereum ecosystem advocate who’s lived through two full bull-bear cycles—just announced he’s liquidated his entire ETH holdings. Meanwhile, unlike counter-trend gains from coins like HYPE and ZEC, ETH’s still stuck treading water: it’s not rallying with the broader bull market, and instead crashing sharply during this bear run. To add fuel to the fire, multiple long-time ETH OGs have liquidated all their holdings this cycle. The Ethereum community’s also been split over governance models and development priorities, while the Ethereum Foundation keeps selling off assets—none of the funds it’s allocated have yet spawned any standout projects. This 11-year-old ETH is clearly facing a "midlife crisis." Amid this wave of so-called "betrayal and alienation," there’s a bright spot: Tom Lee and his "buddy" are turning out to be the market’s last standing, most loyal

Tom Lee: Ethereum Selling Pressure Mainly From Oil Price Surge, Resolution of War Will Alleviate Macro Pressure

On May 21, Tom Lee noted in a post that the current selling pressure on Ethereum (ETH) stems mainly from rising oil prices. Reacting to the just-released April Federal Reserve meeting minutes, he said that if inflation remains above the 2% threshold, the Fed may need to consider further policy tightening. Lee added that ETH is displaying its strongest historical negative correlation with oil prices. High oil prices stoke inflation expectations, boost the probability of Fed interest rate hikes, tighten monetary liquidity, and weigh on crypto assets. Since the outbreak of the Iran war, oil price volatility has been highly synchronized with the Federal Reserve’s 2026 rate hike and cut expectations. Resolutions to the conflict will directly impact oil prices and could potentially ease the macro pressure facing ETH.

Ethereum Ecosystem Token uPEG Market Cap Surpasses $10 Million, 24-hour Growth Rate Reaches 36%

News Flash: May 21st — Per GMGN monitoring (https://t.me/gmgnaibot?start=i_m4TE56o8), Ethereum ecosystem token uPEG (Unipeg) saw its market cap surge past $10 million today, landing at roughly $10.5 million. The token has gained 36% in the past 24 hours, with total trading volume hitting $2.3 million. Unipeg is an experimental on-chain project built on Uniswap v4 Hooks. After every swap in its liquidity pool, the integrated Hook instantly generates a one-of-a-kind unicorn image.

Yesterday, the US Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net outflow of $70.5 million, while the Ethereum spot ETF saw a net outflow of $28.1 million.

May 21: Per Farside’s data, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged net outflows of $70.5 million yesterday. Breakdown: BlackRock’s IBIT: -$61.5 million; Fidelity’s FBTC: -$10.1 million; Morgan Stanley’s MSBT: +$1.1 million. Separately, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows totaling $28.1 million yesterday. Breakdown: BlackRock’s ETHA: -$30.9 million; BlackRock’s ETHB: +$4.4 million; Fidelity’s FETH: -$1.6 million.

An address spent $463,000 to buy 489,000 Sato Ethereum Meme (MEME) coins.

On May 20, on-chain analyst Ai Auntie (@ai_9684xtpa) reported that a specific address spent $463,000 over the past two hours to buy 489,000 Ethereum-based meme tokens called sato, with an average purchase price of $0.9465 per token. Currently, this address holds 2.69% of the total token supply, making it the largest whale holder of sato. BlockBeats reminds users that meme tokens often lack practical real-world use cases and are prone to sharp price volatility, so investors should exercise extreme caution when dealing with such assets.

Vitalik: Ethereum is advancing native privacy, short-term measures include AA and FOCIL integration

On May 20th, Vitalik Buterin took to social media to outline several native short-term privacy initiatives Ethereum is currently advancing. These include: the integration of Account Abstraction (AA) and FOCIL, which will deliver first-class support for privacy protocol transactions and robust bundling guarantees; the Keyed Nonces scheme; and access layer-related work covering the Kohaku project and features such as private reads.

Binance will conduct wallet maintenance on the Ethereum (ETH) network tomorrow.

Per an official statement issued May 20, Binance will conduct wallet maintenance for the Ethereum (ETH) network at 14:00 UTC+8 on May 21, 2026. To support this maintenance, Binance will pause all Ethereum (ETH) deposits and withdrawals starting at 13:55 UTC+8 on May 21, 2026. The maintenance is expected to take 1 hour, and deposit and withdrawal services will automatically resume once the work is completed.

Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of $330 million yesterday, while Ethereum ETF experienced a net outflow of $62.3 million

May 20th — Farside Investors reports the Bitcoin ETF saw $330 million in net outflows yesterday, with IBIT logging $325.6 million of that total. The Ethereum ETF posted net outflows of $62.3 million overall, and ETHA recorded $59.4 million in net outflows.

Yesterday, the US Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net outflow of $648 million, while the US Ethereum spot ETF saw a net outflow of $86.4 million.

May 19 Update (per Farside Monitoring): U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $648 million yesterday, broken down by fund as follows: - BlackRock IBIT: -$4.48 billion - Fidelity FBTC: -$63.4 million - Bitwise BITB: -$9.2 million - ProShares BTCO: -$3.8 million - Franklin Templeton EZBC: -$6.6 million - ARK ARKB: -$1.09 billion - CoinShares BRRR: +$8.1 million - VanEck HODL: -$7.6 million Separately, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs posted total net outflows of $86.4 million yesterday, with breakdowns across funds: - BlackRock ETHA: -$55.4 million - BlackRock ETHB: -$2.2 million - Fidelity FETH: -$14.7 million - Grayscale ETHE: -$4 million - Grayscale Ethereum Trust: -$10.1 million

Vitalik: Ethereum to Become Key Part of 'Security Core,' AI-Assisted Formal Verification Can Enhance Code Security

May 19: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin dropped a deep dive on the current state and future of formal verification tech. He argues that pairing formal verification with AI will emerge as the “ultimate form of software development” — and a critical way to protect network security from powerful AI-driven threats. Vitalik explains that formal verification’s core boils down to turning code correctness into a mathematical theorem that computers can check automatically. This ensures software security via mathematical proofs, not just traditional testing or manual audits. He says this approach works especially well for cases where the “goal is far simpler than how you build it” — like quantum-resistant signatures, STARK proof systems, Byzantine fault-tolerant consensus algorithms, and ZK-EVM. These are exactly the core tech components for Ethereum’s next phase of upgrades. That said, Vitalik admits formal verification isn’t a cure-all. Common pitfalls include checking only parts of

Ethereum Foundation Exodus Intensifies: Researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma Announce Departures, Several Key Members Exit in Quick Succession

On May 19, Ethereum Foundation researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced their resignations Monday—adding to the recent wave of high-profile departures from the organization. Beek, a 7-year Foundation veteran, worked on Beacon Chain development and helped guide Ethereum’s shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism back in 2020. Ma, who spent roughly four years at the Foundation, focused on mechanism design, cryptoeconomics, and protocol scalability; he co-authored the FOCIL proposal (EIP-7805) to strengthen anti-censorship capabilities and pushed the Fast Confirmation Rule, cutting bridging confirmation time between Layer 2 networks and Ethereum’s mainnet to 13 seconds. In recent months, the Ethereum Foundation has seen a steady stream of exits: former Co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stańczak, 7-year team member Josh Stark, protocol staffers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko have all left, plus Alex Stokes, former Co-Head of Protocol, took a temporary leave of absence this mon

Strategy Bitcoin's total unrealized gain has narrowed to $1.35 billion, while BitMNR's Ethereum holding has seen its unrealized loss increase to $7.279 billion.

May 18. Per EmberCN’s monitoring, during last week’s market pullback—when Bitcoin (BTC) dipped 4.3% and Ethereum (ETH) fell 7.7%—the leading corporate treasuries for each cryptocurrency made significant purchases in their respective assets. Here are the details of last week’s buys: - Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (MSTR) acquired 24,869 BTC (worth approximately $2.014 billion) at an average price of around $80,985 last week. It now holds a total of 843,738 BTC, valued at $65.221 billion, with an average cost basis of $75,700, posting a $1.35 billion floating profit (equal to a 2.1% gain). - Ethereum treasury firm BitMNR (BMNR) purchased 71,672 ETH (worth roughly $161 million) at an average price of about $2,251 last week. Its current total holdings stand at 5,278,462 ETH, valued at $11.312 billion, with an average cost basis of $3,522, resulting in a $7.279 billion floating loss (a 39.1% decline).

Verus Network has temporarily paused operations, with officials confirming an attack on the Verus-Ethereum cross-chain bridge.

On May 18, the Verus Foundation announced that its Verus-Ethereum cross-chain bridge was exploited in an attack earlier that day. The attacker stole assets including ETH, USDC, and tBTC from the Ethereum-side smart contract; no other assets on the bridge remain impacted. In response to the breach, the Verus network has been fully paused, and most mining nodes went offline automatically as part of the protocol’s built-in safety features. The development team is currently investigating the attack’s root cause, assessing the full scope of losses, and developing a recovery plan. Verus is appealing directly to the attacker to return all stolen funds voluntarily. If the full amount is returned, the team will provide a bug bounty and will not pursue any further legal action. If not, the foundation will cooperate with law enforcement agencies to take formal legal measures. The team is also cautioning users against scams impersonating Verus officials who may offer fake "compensation plans."

Vitalik to Discuss Ethereum High-Performance Apps and ZK Rollup Scaling Roadmap with Lighter Founder Tonight at 11:00 PM

May 18: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin will join a fireside chat today at 11:00 PM UTC+8, sitting down with Joseph Lubin—co-founder of both Ethereum and Consensys—and Vlad Novakovski, founder of Lighter. The discussion will focus on high-performance use cases within the Ethereum ecosystem, covering key topics like progress in Ethereum ZK Rollup applications, the scalability roadmap, and the future direction of Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

An anonymous whale has invested $10.6 million to increase their Ethereum holdings by 5001 coins, bringing their total holdings to 137,400 coins.

On May 18, Chain.info reports that a whale holding 132,000 ETH borrowed 10.6 million USDT from both Spark and Aave three hours prior. The whale subsequently used those borrowed funds to purchase 5,001 ETH at an average price of $2,120. Currently, this whale holds a total of 137,400 ETH, valued at roughly $290 million, including leveraged positions through Aave and Spark. The liquidation price for these positions is approximately $1,324.

Tom Lee: Oil Price Surge is Ethereum's Biggest Headwind, Structural Tailwinds to Drive ETH Outperformance in 2026

May 18th: Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine—Ethereum’s largest treasury—weighed in on why Ethereum (ETH) has faced recent selling pressure, naming rising oil prices as the primary headwind. “ETH is showing its strongest historical negative correlation with oil right now,” Lee said, calling that the biggest drag on the crypto. Over the past six weeks, as oil prices have climbed, ETH’s price has fallen. A related chart plots oil prices inversely: the higher crude goes, the more downward pressure ETH faces. That means once oil starts reversing and falling, ETH’s price should rally in turn. Lee emphasized this is just short-term tactical market noise, not a lasting shift. He added ETH’s real long-term growth drivers are asset tokenization and agentic AI—two structural tailwinds that are already firmly in place. As a result, he projects ETH will deliver even stronger performance by 2026.

Verus Ethereum Cross-Chain Bridge Hacked, Loses Approximately $11.58 Million

On May 18, cybersecurity firm Blockaid posted on X that its vulnerability detection system has discovered an attack on the Verus Ethereum cross-chain bridge, leading to approximately $11.58 million in losses.

Ethereum Foundation Unlocks 21,271 ETH from Stake, Worth $49.66 Million

On May 11, data from Onchainlens indicates the Ethereum Foundation has just unstaked 21,271 ETH from Lido, with the tokens valued at $49.66 million.

Vitalik Officially Proposes Ethereum's Strategic Transformation: Making ZK Rollups the Next-Generation Global Digital Economy Standard

**May 11: Vitalik Calls ZK Payments Next Crypto Adoption Standard** Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a research paper on May 11, noting Zero-Knowledge (ZK) payments should be the next necessary standard for widespread crypto payment adoption. He emphasized crypto payments must shift from "pseudonymity" to "default privacy," particularly as we enter the "Age of Smart Contracts." Vitalik argues blockchain’s "glass house" nature is the primary psychological and operational barrier to crypto replacing traditional fiat payment apps. He proposed replacing standard transfers with ZK-proof-based transactions—letting users prove payment validity without disclosing full balances or transaction history. To solve the privacy paradox (autonomous AI smart contracts need to pay fees like large-model API credits without traceable marks), Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions can process private payments at the same speed and cost as transparent transactions using recursive SNARKs and ZK A

A certain Ethereum OG, after 3 years of silence, has transferred 52,000 ETH to a new address

On May 9, on-chain analytics firm LookIntoBitcoin reported that an Ethereum OG address—dormant for 3 years—moved all 52,170 ETH (worth approximately $120.61 million) to a new wallet 4 hours prior. The address had previously withdrawn 42,572 ETH from exchange Kraken 6 years ago, when ETH traded at just $246. That withdrawal totaled roughly $10.48 million at the time.

Tether Burns 2 Billion USDT on Ethereum Network

On May 9, per Onchain Lens data, the USDT issuer Tether burned 2 billion USDT on the Ethereum network. Since April 18, Tether has minted 5 billion USDT—2 billion of which was burned 5 hours ago.

Yesterday, Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of $268.5 million, while Ethereum ETF saw a net outflow of $103.6 million.

May 8 — Data from Farside Investors shows U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded a net outflow of $268.5 million yesterday, with IBIT posting a $98 million net outflow and FBTC $129 million. Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow of $103.6 million total, including $26.3 million from ETHA and $62.3 million from FETH.

「Crypto Bros」 Go from Profits to Losses as Ethereum Long Position Sees Over $1 Million in Unrealized Losses