「$10M Profit Whale」 Suspected of Accumulating 6000 ETH in a Transaction, with an Average Price of $1582

May 18 (Bloomberg) — Iran has rolled out a Bitcoin-linked insurance program for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to mitigate the high navigation risks in the strategic waterway, per new reports. Iran recently launched a marine insurance platform called "Hormuz Safe", offering digital coverage for vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz with payment options including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Against a backdrop of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and rising security threats in the Strait of Hormuz, war-risk insurance premiums for ships have spiked. Bloomberg previously reported that insurance costs for some vessels transiting the strait have climbed to roughly 5% of a ship’s total value.

May 18: Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee disclosed in the company’s latest shareholder letter that his firm added 71,672 ETH to its holdings last week, framing Ethereum’s recent drop below $2,200 as an “attractive buying opportunity.” Lee also pointed to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s recent hearing on the nation’s CLARITY Act as a key step toward building a critical regulatory framework for the crypto industry. He estimates the probability of the bill being formally passed is higher than the 61% likelihood currently priced into prediction platform Polymarket. As of May 17, 2026, Bitmine holds a total of 5.28 million ETH—representing roughly 4.37% of Ethereum’s overall supply, putting the company about 87% of the way toward its goal of holding 5% of the network’s total ETH supply. Of these holdings, 4.7129 million ETH is staked. Valued at $2,191 per ETH, that staked portion is worth approximately $10.3 billion.

On May 18, London-based AI audit automation startup Calibre announced it has closed a $3.3 million pre-seed funding round, led by Vicus Ventures and CIV. Calibre, founded by former Palantir executives, aims to leverage AI Agents to boost efficiency in the authentication and audit sectors. The company notes that today’s auditors waste a significant amount of time on document reviews and process organization—instead of applying their core professional judgment. The startup plans to use AI Agents to automate key tasks like document review, information extraction, and compliance verification, to cut labor costs across the authentication industry while lifting overall operational efficiency. Investors believe the authentication and audit space has long suffered from clunky processes and overreliance on manual work, with AI Agents positioned to become critical infrastructure here.

On May 18th, AI Grandma’s monitoring indicates Justin Sun’s crypto address withdrew 41.99 million SPK tokens as staking rewards from Spark following a two-week gap. The withdrawn SPK, valued at $1.23 million, were immediately deposited in full into HTX, presumably for sale. Since September 2025, Sun has transferred a total of $19.08 million worth of SPK — 610 million tokens — to exchanges.

NEW YORK, May 18 (CryptoBiz Brief) — U.S. publicly traded firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) announced this week it added 71,672 ether (ETH) to its holdings, boosting its total ETH stash to 4,712,917 tokens. Valued at roughly $12.6 billion, those holdings make up 4.37% of Ethereum’s 120.7 million total circulating supply, meaning Bitmine has hit 87% of its goal to hold 5% of Ethereum’s total supply. Of the company’s ETH holdings, 4.7129 million tokens are staked, worth approximately $10.3 billion at an ETH price of $2,191, per the announcement. Beyond crypto, Bitmine holds around $685 million in cash and other digital assets, plus $83 million worth of shares in Nasdaq-listed Eightco (NASDAQ: ORBS). This stake makes it one of the few publicly traded firms giving investors indirect exposure to OpenAI-related positions. Bitmine highlighted two key trends driving its Ethereum focus: "Wall Street asset tokenization" and growing demand from AI systems for open, neutral publi

May 18 — The Trump administration is rolling out a new model for supporting U.S. corporations: moving beyond relying solely on traditional bailouts, subsidies, or tax breaks, and instead taking direct equity stakes in key American companies, with a sharp focus on national security-linked sectors like semiconductors, critical minerals, and nuclear energy. Over the past two years, the administration has repeatedly used equity investments in U.S. firms. Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s team argue this approach not only helps struggling American companies but could also deliver long-term returns on par with venture capital gains for the U.S. Treasury. Intel stands out as the most prominent case. Back in August 2025, the Trump administration struck a special deal with the chipmaker, acquiring roughly 9.9% of Intel’s shares for around $10 billion. At the time, Intel was grappling with slipping market share and heavy debt loads. In an interview with Fortune editor-in-chief Aly