The US Dollar Index (DXY) Returns Above 99, Reaching a Near 6-Week High

May 18 – A report from Fars News Agency, which is closely tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), states the country has rolled out a digital insurance platform for vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf shipping lanes, with policies paid and settled in Bitcoin. Dubbed Hormuz Safe, the platform is built to provide maritime insurance for ships transiting the strategic waterway and surrounding channels. It’s designed to give Iranian shipping firms and cargo owners a fast, verifiable digital insurance service—all processed in Bitcoin, with final settlements moving at blockchain speed. A document obtained by Fars shows Iran’s Ministry of Economy has been advancing this initiative since April of this year. The report projects this framework could pull in more than $10 billion in revenue for Iran via low-risk insurance products covering ship inspections, detentions, and seizures. Still, crypto publication The Block says it cannot yet independently

May 18 — Bloomberg reports that Standard Chartered Bank plans to acquire the crypto asset custody business of its subsidiary Zodia Custody to further expand the scope of its own digital asset operations. The London-based lender’s non-binding acquisition proposal has been accepted by Zodia Custody’s other shareholders and noteholders. Bloomberg first covered this proposed deal back in April.

May 18: During the last two cryptocurrency bear markets, May has brought sharp Bitcoin price drops in U.S. midterm election years. In May 2018, Bitcoin slid from nearly $10,000 to around $7,000. Then in May 2022, it plummeted from roughly $40,000 to $28,500 before tumbling even further to $20,000. Now, as 2026 falls in both a crypto bear cycle and a U.S. midterm election year, fears of that historical trend repeating are on the rise. Crypto analyst Merlijn Enkelaar shared last Sunday: “This is the most brutal pattern Bitcoin has ever had. No one wants to hear it, but this pattern is far too consistent. During midterm election years, Bitcoin always crashes.” He believes even current positive factors—progress on the ‘CLARITY Act,’ the Trump administration’s signals of favorable crypto policies, and a potential U.S.-China trade deal—aren’t enough to break this historical cyclical pattern. If market sentiment worsens further, Enkelaar says Bitcoin could even drop to around $33,000. M

May 18 (Bloomberg) — Prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi continue to permit Indian users to register and trade on their services, even after a warning from India’s government, per Bloomberg. Indian authorities deem these platforms to be operating illegally in the country. Last month, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) published a letter on its official website, noting that despite existing bans on such platforms in India, users are accessing what it terms “illegal and blocked prediction markets and online entertainment platforms.” The notice specifically identified Polymarket and similar sites, stating that these platforms should be blocked by local internet service providers (ISPs).

May 18. Per CCTV News, Pakistani sources report that Pakistan has handed over Iran’s revised proposal to end the war to the United States, and the U.S. has received the document.

May 18 update: According to GMGN monitoring, the Base ecosystem token aeon has been on a continuous uptrend. It rose 72% in the past 24 hours, extending its gains to hit a market capitalization of $9.5 million, with trading volume reaching roughly $3.1 million. Aeon, an AI agent infrastructure project, has recently drawn attention from multiple institutions and founders, driving its sustained market value growth. Meanwhile, MiroShark—an upper-layer application token from the same founder—also climbed around 60% on the same day, hitting a $3 million market cap. BlockBeats reminds users that on-chain transaction volatility is significant, and investors should be aware of the associated risks.