Spot Gold Breaks Below $4500 per Ounce for the First Time Since the End of March

May 18 – Iran has launched Hormuz Safe, a state-run digital marine insurance platform that issues maritime policies for vessels transiting the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and settles premium payments via Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to reports, the platform is backed by Iran’s Ministry of Economy, with the explicit goal of bypassing SWIFT and Western financial intermediaries to cut reliance on traditional global financial systems. Supporters within the Iranian government project that if Hormuz Safe gains a meaningful share of the Persian Gulf maritime insurance market, its revenue could top $10 billion. That said, the platform faces major hurdles: it lacks formal international recognition, carries risks of U.S. secondary sanctions, and its initial client base is expected to be limited to vessels already operating in the sanctioned shipping gray area.

May 18, U.S. President Trump posted an AI-generated photo depicting him alongside an alien on the Truth Social platform this morning.

On May 18, on-chain analyst Ai (@ai_9684xtpa) reported that address 0xB4d…B186a has once again sold $15.46 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). Over the past three days, this wallet has offloaded a total of $35.73 million in WBTC. This address frequently transacts with blockchain builder Titan Builder, and currently holds $125 million in total assets—95% of which are in Ethereum (ETH) and WBTC—indicating a potential for further selling activity.

May 18 – KelpDAO announced that, to uphold the highest security standards for rsETH, it will integrate with supporting blockchain networks. Effective June 15, the protocol will discontinue official cross-chain support for rsETH on the following chains: Optimism, Manta, Mode, Blast, Scroll, X Layer, zkSync, Zircuit, Swellchain, Hemi, Berachain, Sonic, HyperEVM, Unichain, TAC, Avalanche, Plasma Stable, MegaETH, Monad, and Movement. Users holding rsETH on these chains are required to bridge their assets back to Ethereum Mainnet before June 15. After the deadline, asset recovery remains possible but will incur a $100 USDC fee per address. The detailed recovery process will be announced around June 15.

May 18, as per GMGN market data. Despite this morning’s broader cryptocurrency market pullback, several AI-focused low-cap projects in the Base ecosystem are rallying against the trend: - GITLAWB hit a new all-time high (ATH) of $40.2 million; it’s currently trading at $34.77 million, marking a 29.68% 24-hour gain. - aeon also set a new ATH, peaking at $8.95 million, and is now at $8.3 million—up 70.45% over the past day. - MiroShark reached its own ATH, currently valued at $3.39 million, with an 86.06% 24-hour increase. BlockBeats cautions users that these low-cap projects come with substantial uncertainty and extreme price volatility, so investors should proceed with caution when trading them.

On May 18, according to market sources, negotiations between Samsung Electronics and its labor union officially began. Driven by the news, Samsung’s stock price saw a V-shaped reversal: it plummeted more than 3% at one point amid panic selling in the morning session, but later recovered to trade positive, with intraday gains expanding to 2.7%.