Kraken’s Chief Growth & Marketing Officer highlighted the official launch in Ukraine as a major milestone for both the company and the local Web3 ecosystem, despite hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian users already being active on the platform organically for years.

Ukraine ranks among the top global crypto adoption markets (#8 worldwide, #1 in Eastern Europe), with strong real-world usage driven by financial instability and cross-border payment needs. Kraken now aims to formalize its presence with localized infrastructure, fiat on/off-ramps, and a full product suite tailored to regional demand.

Kraken’s Ukraine launch includes lower trading fees, welcome bonuses, and a localized Ukrainian onboarding with faster verification and easier fiat funding. Users also get access to xStocks, Krak, and Ink, expanding beyond trading into tokenized equities, payments, and DeFi.

The company also pointed to its long-term commitment to Ukraine, referencing its $10M aid pledge in 2022 as the foundation of its continued regional expansion. The 2026 launch marks the next phase of that strategy, focusing on accessibility, trust, and regulatory alignment.

Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps revealed a new investigation tied to Polymarket, uncovering 9 connected accounts that allegedly generated over $2.4M in profit with a 98% win rate by betting on US military-related events involving Iran.

According to Bubblemaps, the accounts placed more than 80 highly accurate bets, often days before major geopolitical developments, including US military strikes, the reported elimination of Ayatollah Khamenei, and the US–Iran ceasefire agreement.

The investigation began with a bubble map tied to the Feb. 28 US strike market, where analysts identified a previously unnoticed cluster of wallets. Bubblemaps later linked 4 accounts to 5 additional wallets using timing and size analysis, with funds reportedly routed through centralized exchanges into shared wallet networks.

Bubblemaps stated that the case highlights the unprecedented transparency of onchain prediction markets, arguing that platforms like Polymarket allow independent investigations into suspicious activity because every trade, timestamp, and wallet connection remains publicly visible.

Dropee confirmed its TGE for May 27, while launching the subscription period of its Public Sale on ChainGPT Pad.

The commitment window runs from May 18, 12:00 UTC to May 25, 12:00 UTC, with USDC as the accepted currency. Allocations are calculated after the window closes, and a 1-hour refund window is available for participants.

The raise targets $250,000 at $0.02 per DROPEE ($20M FDV). Dropee positions DROPEE as the core token powering its Telegram mini-app creation and distribution ecosystem.

Dropee claims 13M+ users, 4M MAU, and $2.5M+ revenue generated, backed by Tioga Capital. The team highlights upcoming releases, including the litepaper and “Dropee Create,” a tool aimed at enabling no-code (or “vibe-code”) Telegram mini-app deployment.

Weekly snapshot (May 11–15):

- BTC ETFs: -$995M

- ETH ETFs: -$255M

After six consecutive weeks of inflows totaling around $3.4B, the streak finally snapped. This week brought a clear shift, with both BTC and ETH ETFs moving into net outflow territory.

Alt ETF flows:

- SOL ETFs: +$58.2M

- XRP ETFs: +$60.5M

While majors saw capital step back, SOL and XRP ETFs continued to attract steady inflows.

Treasury activity:

- Capital B added 192 BTC, about $15.0M, bringing total holdings to roughly 3,135 BTC, around $241M

- Strategy buys 24,869 BTC ($2.01B), total now 843,738 BTC (~$63,9B)

- Bitmine: TBA

On the corporate side, activity remains muted so far. No major additions, just selective accumulation.

Users can access Anthropic’s pre-IPO exposure on Buidlpad through a cash-settled stablecoin product tied to the company's future public listing, with no direct equity transfer.

🔎 Offering details:

- Valuation: $950B FDV

- Target raise: $3M

- Min / Max allocation: $5K – $1M

-Accepted assets: USDT / USDC on Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, and Sui

- Offering close: May 20, 15:59 UTC or earlier if fully allocated

Participants do not receive shares, voting rights, or ownership in Anthropic. The product is a contingent payout instrument issued by Buidlpad, with settlement in stablecoins at least 180 days after a qualifying liquidity event, such as an IPO.

💸 Fees & Settlement:

- Subscription fee: 20%

- Management fee: 0%

- Performance fee: 20% on net gains

- Refund: full refund if the target raise is not met or the deal is not completed

👉 x.com/buidlpad/status/2056294699472998740?s=46

A full list of Major Upcoming Events, to be updated

👉 https://cryptodiffer.com/events

Dropee is set to run its public sale on ChainGPT Pad, using a Public Sale (Subscription) format that’s positioned as open participation with KYC. The raise is $250,000 at $0.02 DROPEE price, implying a $20M FDV, with USDC as the accepted currency.

The commitment window runs from May 18, 2026 (12:00 UTC) to May 25, 2026 (12:00 UTC), and allocations are calculated after the sale ends. There’s also a 1-hour refund window for participants.

About. Dropee is positioning itself as an AI-native app studio focused on creating and scaling viral chat-based applications. The project says its ecosystem has already surpassed 13M users and generated over $2.5M in revenue, while its upcoming “Dropee Create” platform aims to let users build AI-powered mini-apps without coding.

Major capital continues to concentrate around core infrastructure, with large funding rounds, ETF expansion, and system-level upgrades, alongside stablecoin integration and moves into regulated markets.

🔎 Recent Updates & Developments

– Circle raised $222M for Arc at $3B valuation, backed by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and 100+ institutions  

– Digital Asset seeks $300M at $2B valuation led by a16z to scale Canton Network for institutions  

– 21Shares launched Hyperliquid ETF on Nasdaq, providing direct HYPE exposure with physical backing and staking  

– Wells Fargo increased Ethereum ETF holdings by 63% to 1.1M shares, expanding crypto exposure  

– Elliptic raised $120M Series D backed by Nasdaq Ventures, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan to scale compliance  

– LayerZero removed 1/1 DVN setups after exploit concerns, triggering ~$2B TVL migration to Chainlink  

– Coinbase became Hyperliquid’s USDC deployer, replacing USDH as native stablecoin infrastructure  

– OKX is in talks to acquire ~20% stake in Coinone, targeting regulated South Korean market access

Gemini secured a $100M strategic investment from Winklevoss Capital Fund as it continues reshaping its business beyond exchange-driven revenue. The fund bought Class A common stock at $14 per share and completed the deal in Bitcoin.

The backing came alongside the company’s first-quarter results, which showed revenue of $50.3 million, above the $47.9 million expected by analysts. Net loss also came in lighter than forecast at $0.93 per share versus the anticipated $1.03.

While exchange revenue declined 27% year-over-year to $17.2 million, credit card revenue surged nearly 300% to $14.7 million, and services revenue plus interest income rose 122% to $24.5 million.

According to CEO Tyler Winklevoss, the investment supports Gemini’s transition from a crypto-focused business into a broader markets company, aiming for more stable long-term revenue and reduced dependence on crypto market cycles.

👉 x.com/CNBC/status/2055052610512503169?s=20

OKX is reportedly in talks to acquire a ~20% stake in South Korean crypto exchange Coinone, while Korea Investment & Securities is expected to take a similar-sized position through new share issuance rather than secondary sales.

Coinone is South Korea’s third-largest crypto exchange and one of only five platforms licensed for fiat-to-crypto trading, making regulated market access the main strategic value of the deal. 

This structure would inject fresh capital into Coinone without changing operational control. If completed, OKX would become only the second global exchange to hold a major stake in a Korean trading platform after Binance’s investment in Gopax.

The move also comes as South Korea prepares new ownership limits for exchanges under the upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, which could force major shareholders to dilute over time.

👉 x.com/TheBlockCo/status/2055196052471369922?s=20