Jerome Powell to Be Sworn In as Federal Reserve Chair Tonight at 11 PM

May 22nd, billionaire Mark Cuban revealed on the Front Office Sports podcast that he has sold the vast majority of his Bitcoin holdings. The NBA owner turned sour on the cryptocurrency after it failed to act as an effective hedge amid recent geopolitical unrest and U.S. dollar weakness—breaking his long-held core investment thesis for Bitcoin. Cuban originally viewed Bitcoin as “digital gold” superior to physical gold, arguing its fixed supply would protect against fiat currency devaluation. But recent events upended that belief: during the Iran conflict, gold prices surged while Bitcoin fell, and the crypto asset did not rally when the U.S. dollar weakened. For years, Cuban was a vocal, major Bitcoin supporter, holding a significant position that made up roughly 60% of his entire crypto portfolio. Back in 2018, he even made headlines when the Dallas Mavericks started accepting Bitcoin as payment for tickets, and he’s also expressed bullishness on Ethereum in the past. But his consis

Coinbase announced on May 22 that it will launch the first CFTC-regulated perpetual stock index futures product on June 8. The initial lineup of four themed contracts includes: AI10 (top 10 firms in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, data centers and related sectors), China10 (top 10 U.S.-listed Chinese ADRs), Defense10 (top 10 defense and aerospace companies), and Tech100 (top 100 innovative Nasdaq-listed enterprises). All contracts are cash-settled with a funding rate mechanism designed to maintain close alignment with their underlying indices. These products offer traders 24/7 trading access, centralized liquidity and the 60/40 tax advantage standard for U.S. futures contracts. They enable investors to efficiently engage in thematic plays around AI, defense and China concepts while operating within a compliant regulatory framework. The platform plans to gradually expand access to these products to retail investors over time.

May 22: Earlier today, Iranian media outlets reported that a final draft of the U.S.-Iran agreement has been completed and is expected to be announced in the next few hours. However, Al Arabiya later disputed the reports, calling them fabricated. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then clarified that while there has been progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations, a deal is not certain, and he doesn’t want to appear overly optimistic. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi firmly stated that Iran will not back down in the talks. ### United States U.S. Media: American intelligence indicates that Iran is rapidly rebuilding its military capabilities, which would pose a significant threat if bombing were to resume. U.S. Officials: Iran’s stance on the nuclear issue remains tough. Secretary of State Pompeo: “We have made some progress on the Iran issue and have seen some positive signs.” Former President Donald Trump has reiterated his threat, demanding Iran hand over its enriched uranium, and suggestin

On May 22nd, Coinbase announced it will suspend perpetual contract trading for TRIA, NEO, and IMX at approximately 21:00 UTC+8 on June 4th. Any remaining open positions will be automatically settled when the suspension takes effect, with the final settlement price calculated as the average index price over the 60 minutes leading up to the suspension time. The final funding rate will also be set to zero.

On May 22, OnchainLens monitoring shows two addresses linked to the same entity closed out their HYPE short positions at an average price of approximately $60.2. The entity took a loss exceeding $6.99 million, then withdrew its remaining USDC and deposited the funds into Coinbase.

May 22nd, per Bitget market data, a midday slump in US equities tied to heightened Middle East geopolitical tensions was later offset after Iranian media confirmed the final agreement draft, driving a modest uptick in the three major US stock indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high, while crude oil prices declined. Per HTX market information, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 0.3% over the past 24 hours to reach $2.675 trillion. Bitcoin briefly recovered to $78,000 and is currently trading at $77,700, while Ethereum stands at $2,135. Among top coins, ZEC saw a minor pullback to $664, and HYPE remains resilient at $58.7. US crypto-linked stocks mostly advanced, with the following moves: MicroStrategy (MSTR) down 0.58%; Coinbase (COIN) up 1.19%; Circle (CRCL) up 2.92%; BitMine Immersion (BMNR) up 1.24%; SharpLink Gaming (SBET) up 2.27%. Meanwhile, the US semiconductor and storage sector posted strong gains, including: AMD up 0.45%; Qualco