1. The Brazilian Central Bank plans to regulate the crypto industry in stages and put forward a regulatory proposal by the end of this year

According to Reuters, the Central Bank of Brazil is gradually advancing the regulation of crypto assets and virtual asset service providers, and is expected to put forward specific regulatory proposals by the end of this year. Although the process has been delayed, the central bank has adopted a phased implementation approach to ensure the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of the regulations. Through the new public consultation, the Central Bank of Brazil aims to collect more opinions to develop a more reasonable and feasible regulatory framework.

2. Cryptocurrency lender Genesis reaches $2 billion settlement with regulators

According to CNBC, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $2 billion settlement with cryptocurrency lender Genesis to compensate for the losses of defrauded investors. Genesis was once one of the core businesses of Digital Currency Group (DCG). Due to the industry chain reaction caused by the collapse of FTX, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2023. James filed a lawsuit against DCG, its subsidiary Genesis and Gemini Trust in October, accusing them of misleading investors on the Gemini Earn project, resulting in more than $1 billion in losses. The settlement prohibits Genesis from operating in New York and establishes a victim fund, whose beneficiaries include more than 29,000 New York residents who invested in Genesis through the Gemini Earn product.

3. Gala Games co-founder: working with the FBI and other agencies to track down the attackers

The co-founder of Web3 gaming platform Gala Games tweeted that the platform was hacked, resulting in the unauthorized sale of 600 million GALA tokens ($21 million) and the destruction of $4.4 billion in tokens. We discovered the vulnerability and removed the unauthorized access to the GALA contract within 45 minutes.
 
It is important to note that our GALA Ethereum contract is secure and protected by a multi-signature wallet. We screwed up our internal controls, and the team is taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. We believe we have found the attacker, and we are currently working with the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, and several international agencies.
 
Previously, Gala Games was hacked and suffered losses of more than $200 million.

4. Incognito Market, a dark web drug trading market with a scale of over $100 million, was arrested by the FBI

According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced that it had arrested RUI-SIANG LIN, the operator of the dark web drug trading market Incognito Market, on May 18 and will be tried by a U.S. magistrate judge in the Manhattan federal court. RUI-SIANG LIN was accused of selling illegal narcotics including fentanyl in the form of cryptocurrency, worth more than $100 million.

5. Chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of International Finance: Using Hong Kong's digital financial infrastructure to explore the RMB-pegged "Greater Bay Area Stablecoin"

According to Xinhua Finance, Xiao Geng, Chairman of the Hong Kong International Finance Association, Professor of the Institute of Advanced Finance of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), and Director of the Institute of Policy and Practice, said that Hong Kong has always been a testing ground for various cutting-edge financial innovations, with a fine tradition of innovation and a good institutional and market foundation for implementing experiments. The creation of a Greater Bay Area stablecoin based on stablecoins, limited memory blockchains, and digital smart contracts and pegged to the RMB can consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.
 
Xiao Geng emphasized that the Hong Kong digital financial infrastructure platform linked to the RMB in the future has great application prospects and significance. First, it will open up a new offshore RMB product and service platform and balance the international financial system dominated by the US dollar in an incremental form; second, it will greatly enrich the product spectrum of the offshore RMB market, create a new incremental market, efficiently promote the internationalization of the RMB, and consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international financial center in the digital economy and finance era; third, it will build a firewall and spare tire to prevent the systemic risks caused by the Hong Kong dollar being linked to the US dollar in the scenario of the collapse of the US dollar.

6. FSDC recommends 4 growth paths to promote Hong Kong to become a digital asset center

According to the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Financial Services Council, Au King-lun, attended the Annual Meeting of the Hong Kong Independent Non-Executive Directors Association 2024 and pointed out that Hong Kong can develop along four growth paths, namely: an asset and wealth management center, an international sustainable finance center, promoting Hong Kong to become a digital asset center, and an international innovation and technology center.
 
Au King-lun said that the Hong Kong government is committed to supporting the development of the Web3.0 ecosystem and has allocated HK$50 million in the 2023-2024 budget to accelerate the development of the ecosystem; the Securities and Futures Commission has approved virtual asset futures and spot ETFs to allow retail investors to invest in regulated virtual asset products, among which the virtual asset spot ETF is the first listed product in Asia.
 
 
7. BOC-Prudential Trust announces custody of the first batch of Hong Kong-listed virtual asset spot ETFs

According to Hong Kong Economic Times, BOC-Prudential Trustee announced that it has created a new end-to-end digital asset custody service model for Hong Kong's virtual asset spot ETFs, and exclusively custody the first batch of Hong Kong-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs.
 
As the only custodian and fund administrator for spot virtual asset spot ETFs, BOC-Prudential Trustee said that the successful issuance of spot virtual asset ETFs marks an important milestone for Hong Kong in leading the development of digital asset investment in Asia and even the world, and will meet the market's rapidly growing investment demand for new asset classes.

8. Crypto investment fund executive sentenced to 3 years in prison for pyramid scheme that made $55 million

According to Bitcoinist, Lilian Nurieva, former cyber director of Russian cryptocurrency investment fund Finiko, has been sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding private investors and participating in an organized crime group. The Federal Investor and Shareholder Rights Protection Foundation believes that this $55 million pyramid scheme is the second largest financial scam in Russia's post-Soviet history.

9. Hong Kong cryptocurrency custody company Hex Trust has issued stablecoin USDX on Layer1 blockchain Flare

According to CoinDesk, Hong Kong cryptocurrency custody company Hex Trust has issued stablecoin USDX on Layer1 blockchain Flare. USDX becomes the first native stablecoin on Flare. It will be available in lending protocols and trading platforms, and also has a pledge mechanism for a dedicated T-Pool created by the decentralized credit market Clearpool. The ratio of this stablecoin to the US dollar or equivalent assets is 1:1. USDX pledgers will receive RWA yields and cUSDX in return.

10.Alchemy Pay will launch Web3 digital banking solutions for enterprises

Alchemy Pay, a cryptocurrency payment solutions provider, will launch a new Web3 digital bank to provide global Web3 companies with a compliant, convenient and reliable way to open and operate multi-currency accounts, simplify cash flow within a single account, and facilitate seamless conversion between fiat and cryptocurrency.

11. Fidelity submits updated version of its spot Ethereum ETF S-1 application

Fidelity has submitted an updated version of its S-1 application for a spot Ethereum ETF, stating that the trust’s Ethereum “will not be staked.”

12. Reuters: Enigma Securities research director said there are reports that the SEC has asked exchanges that list Ethereum spot ETFs to update filing documents

According to Reuters, Enigma Securities research director Enigma Securities said there are reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked exchanges that list Ethereum spot ETFs to update filing documents, and Bloomberg ETF's independent research also shows that analysts have increased the possibility of informal approval. In addition, Reuters said that a SEC spokesperson said it would not comment on personal opinions.