What's New This Week:

BTC ETFs: -$1.25B

ETH ETFs: -$216M

Bitcoin ETFs accounted for the bulk of crypto ETF withdrawals this week, while Ethereum products also finished in negative territory. Combined outflows exceeded $1.4B across the recent period, marking one of the weakest stretches for major crypto ETFs in recent months. 

Despite pressure on BTC and ETH products, investors continued allocating capital to Solana, Hyperliquid, and XRP ETFs, which remained among the few funds posting positive net flows.

WorkOS introduced  auth md, an open protocol that standardizes how AI agents register for online services. The specification launches with support from Cloudflare and Firecrawl as early adopters. 

Instead of relying on browser automation, CAPTCHAs, or human-driven signup flows, applications can expose registration requirements, permissions, and authentication endpoints through a simple auth md file.

Two registration flows are supported: agent verified, where the agent’s identity provider vouches for the user with no human interaction, and user claimed, where the agent triggers an OTP the user confirms manually.

The protocol is open and not tied to WorkOS infrastructure. It builds on existing OAuth standards and can be implemented by any app or agent provider. WorkOS AuthKit integration is available via early access.

👉 x.com/grinich/status/2057902247892443354?s=20

StablR, a MiCA-compliant stablecoin issuer backed by Tether and Kraken, suffered a $13.5M exploit after an attacker gained control of its minting infrastructure and issued unbacked EURR and USDR tokens.

The newly minted tokens were dumped on decentralized exchanges, pushing EURR as low as $0.85 and USDR to around $0.40 at the lows. In total, the attacker minted 4.5M EURR and 8.35M USDR before selling a significant portion of the supply.

According to Blockaid, the incident stemmed from a key-management failure. The minting system reportedly relied on a 1-of-3 multisig, allowing full administrative control after a single key was compromised.

👉 x.com/blockaid_/status/2058372418557595890?s=20

GEL₮ is expected to support cross-border commerce, fintech development, digital payments, and broader access to financial infra. GEL₮ framework designed for GENIUS Act compatibility, Georgia targeting US regulatory interoperability from day one.

Georgia's decision to partner with Tether reflects several years of legislative and regulatory work by Government and the National Bank of Georgia to establish the most advanced digital asset framework in the region.

A full list of Major Upcoming Events, to be updated

👉 https://cryptodiffer.com/events

GRVT launched an exclusive campaign with Binance Wallet running from May 22 – June 8. Deposit via Binance Wallet and unlock a +40% points boost on GRVT Points, which convert to GRVT tokens at TGE.

$100,000 USDT reward pool is available based on trading volume, from $5 for $100K volume up to $2,500 for $50M. First 5K users get a $1 withdrawal fee sponsored by GRVT.

Institutional activity picked up across several fronts this week: corporate Bitcoin accumulation, blockchain infrastructure acquisitions, and funding rounds targeting AI banking rails & onchain liquidity.

 🔎 Recent Updates & Developments

– SpaceX disclosed a $1.45B Bitcoin treasury in IPO filings, joining the largest corporate BTC holders

– Tether acquired SoftBank’s stake in Twenty One Capital, increasing control over 43,514 BTC

– Deloitte acquired Blocknative, adding gas prediction and mempool monitoring to its blockchain stack

– Blockchain.com confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO, joining the wave of crypto companies going public

– Variational raised $50M from Dragonfly, Bain Capital to bring TradFi liquidity onchain

– Polymarket partnered with Nasdaq Private Market to launch prediction markets for SpaceX, OpenAI and other private firms

– Catena Labs raised $30M from a16z Crypto to build banking infrastructure for AI agents

Plume secures a Bermuda Class M license for its subsidiary Kimber Digital Assets Bermuda, becoming what it calls the first regulated onchain vault manager.

The license under the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s Digital Asset Business Act 2018 brings full prudential oversight, including liquidity risk, capital requirements, and wind-down planning.

Plume’s vault system mirrors an ETF structure — users deposit assets, receive tokenized shares, and earn yield, but everything is executed via immutable smart contracts with onchain verification and no traditional custodial control.

The firm says this unlocks permissionless distribution of vault tokens globally, while staying compliant with AML standards and regulated infrastructure. Plume joins Circle, Coinbase, and Kraken in using Bermuda as a regulatory base for digital asset operations.

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.