New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he will create a digital advisory council to attract jobs and investment to the Big Apple and position it as the “crypto capital of the globe.”“This is not about chasing memes or trends,” Adams told the inaugural New York City Crypto Summit on May 20. “We want to use the technology of tomorrow to better serve New Yorkers today.”“We have experts right here, and they are going to help us navigate solutions that serve our city,” he added. “The age of tokenization, which includes crypto and blockchain and other fintech innovations, that age is here, and we’re going to continue to move forward with it.”Adams didn’t share further details on the advisory group, but said a council chair and key policy recommendations would follow in the next few weeks.We're taking the next step in becoming the Crypto Capitol of the WORLD, hosting our city's first-ever Crypto and Digital Assets Summit! Join us LIVE as we get started: https://t.co/iwO6ThkaSB— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) May 20, 2025On May 12, Adams announced financial services company Figure and private equity firms Traction and Scale would be assisting the city in its crypto efforts.New York City will also be exploring whether certain services and taxes can be paid via crypto, according to Adams, along with using blockchain tech to manage sensitive information such as birth certificates and death records.“Bringing blockchain security capabilities to the city means that birth certificates and death records can remain private but accessible to New Yorkers and their next of kin,” Adams said.“We want to bring jobs of the future to our city today. That means supporting the development of a more diverse, equitable, inclusive tech ecosystem. We must embrace this emerging technology and build on the success of our economy,” he added.Crypto legislation proposed in New York New York State lawmakers have already introduced several bills to regulate crypto. In April, Assemblyman Clyde Vanel introduced a bill to amend the state’s financial law to allow New York State agencies to accept crypto as payment. However, the legislation is yet to reach the state’s full House or Senate.New York state Senator James Sanders Jr proposed the Blockchain Study Act in February, which would create a crypto task force to investigate the current state of crypto in the State. It has yet to advance past the House. Related: Wintermute opens New York office, citing improved US crypto rulesAdams made digital assets a large part of his policy platform after assuming office in January 2022, when he announced plans to accept his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC). He was indicted on corruption charges over alleged illegal donations from the Turkish government, but Justice Department officials stepped in and directed local authorities to intervene. The case was dismissed with prejudice on April 2, meaning it can’t be reopened.An increasing number of US states are also working on crypto-related legislation, with at least 18 considering bills to establish a strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Two states, New Hampshire and Arizona, have successfully passed the legislation, according to Bitcoin Reserve Monitor.Magazine: Crypto City: Guide to New York

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged crypto platform Unicoin and three of its executives, alleging they made false and misleading statements about its crypto assets that raised $100 million from investors.The SEC said on May 20 that it charged Unicoin CEO Alex Konanykhin, board member Silvina Moschini, and former investment chief Alex Dominguez with misleading investors about certificates that conveyed rights to receive Unicoin tokens and stock.Mark Cave, associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, claimed the trio “exploited thousands of investors with fictitious promises that its tokens, when issued, would be backed by real-world assets including an international portfolio of valuable real estate holdings.” Related: SEC crypto task force to release first report 'in the next few months'“The real estate assets were worth a mere fraction of what the company claimed, and the majority of the company’s sales of rights certificates were illusory,” Cave added.The SEC’s complaint, filed in a Manhattan federal court, charged Unicoin and the three executives with various securities laws violations and asks for permanent injunctive relief, along with paying back the allegedly ill-gotten gains.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive is looking to build its Bitcoin holdings by purchasing distressed Bitcoin claims at a discount, starting with claims tied to 75,000 Bitcoin at the bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox.Strive said in a May 20 regulatory filing that it partnered with 117 Castell Advisory Group LLC to target claims to Bitcoin (BTC) that have received definitive legal rulings but are still awaiting distribution.The company said buying the claims would allow it to purchase Bitcoin at a discount and grow its Bitcoin per share ratio ahead of its planned reverse merger with Asset Entities — which is expected to be completed sometime mid this year.Strive hasn’t disclosed any Bitcoin holdings but claims it will face fewer restrictions on purchasing Bitcoin than companies going public through Special Purpose Acquisition Company mergers.Advantages of going public via a reverse merger compared with a SPAC merger. Source: StriveStrive said it would need shareholder approval to pursue Mt. Gox claims. The company said it intends to lodge a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to outline the full terms of the proposed transaction. A proxy statement would then be sent to shareholders to seek their approval.Strive would need to obtain shareholder approval relatively soon, as Mt. Gox is expected to fully repay its creditors by Oct. 31.The Japan-based Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange before it collapsed in 2014 from a security breach that resulted in the theft of approximately 750,000 Bitcoin.Strive’s pivot to become a Bitcoin treasury company reflects a broader industry trend as more firms look to hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets as a long-term strategic asset.Related: Bitcoin ETFs bought 6x more than BTC miners produced last weekTwenty One Capital is another newly launched Bitcoin treasury firm that has received backing from the likes of Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald. The Jack Mallers-led firm plans to launch with 42,000 Bitcoin once it completes a blank-check merger with Cantor Equity Partners.Asset Entities shares rise again on Mt. Gox plansAsset Entities (ASST), a social media marketing company that Strive announced it would merge with on May 7 to create a Bitcoin investment company, has seen its shares close May 20 trading up 18.2% to $7.74, Google Finance data shows.The latest share price bump brings its market cap to $122.1 million, and ASST is now up 1,170% since Strive announced its merger plan.Strive is expected to own 94.2% of the combined entity once the reverse merger is complete, while Asset Entities will hold the remaining 5.8%.The merged companies will be named Strive and Asset Entities, and will still trade under the ASST ticker.Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee

Today in crypto, Argentine President Javier Milei shuts down a task force investigating the fallout from LIBRA. Germany’s summer 2024 Bitcoin sale is looking like a $2.3 billion blunder, and the US Senate moves forward with a key stablecoin bill.Argentina's Milei shuts down task force investigating LIBRA scandalArgentine President Javier Milei has dissolved a task force established to investigate the fallout from LIBRA, the scandalous cryptocurrency project the head of state promoted on his social media channel before it crashed to zero. The Investigative Task Force (ITU) was dissolved via a May 19 decree signed by Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, government documents revealed. “The Research Task Unit is dissolved” after completing its mandate, the translated version of the decree read.The task force is being dissolved despite pressure from opposition groups, which are seeking to activate an investigative commission as soon as May 20, local media outlet Clarin reported. Government officials established the UTI on Feb. 19, days after Milei promoted LIBRA on his official X account.A screenshot of Milei’s tweet endorsing LIBRA. Source: TRM LabsHis endorsement briefly sent LIBRA soaring from practically worthless to $5 a token and a nearly $5 billion market capitalization, before quickly crashing to zero in what appeared to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme. The fallout from LIBRA sparked allegations of insider trading and manipulation, with Milei caught in the crosshairs.German government missed out on $2.3 billion profit after selling Bitcoin at $57,000The German government missed out on more than $2 billion worth of Bitcoin profit after selling its holdings in 2024, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.A “German Government (BKA)” labeled cryptocurrency wallet sold 49,858 Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $2.89 billion at an average price of $57,900 across multiple transactions during June and July in 2024.The decision to sell the Bitcoin early cost the German government over $2.35 billion, according to crypto intelligence platform Arkham.Source: Arkham “If they had held it, their BTC would now be worth $5.24B,” Arkham said in a May 19 X post, noting that Bitcoin has risen more than 80% since the sale.At the time of publication, Bitcoin was trading at more than $104,700, according to CoinMarketCap data.The German government-labeled wallet first raised speculation of a potential sell-off on June 19, 2024, when it executed a 6,500 BTC transfer worth over $425 million.The wallet originally held around 50,000 BTC, believed to have been seized from the operators of Movie2k, a now-defunct pirated film site.US Senate moves forward with GENIUS stablecoin billThe US Senate voted 66-32 on May 19 local time to advance a key stablecoin-regulating bill after Democratic senators blocked an earlier attempt to move the bill forward over concerns about President Donald Trump’s crypto interests.Several Democrats changed their votes to pass a motion to invoke cloture on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, which will now set the bill up for debate on the Senate floor.Previously, on May 8, some Democratic senators withdrew support for the bill and blocked a motion to move it forward, citing concerns over potential conflicts of interest involving Trump’s various crypto ventures and the bill’s Anti-Money Laundering provisions.The US Senate voted 66-32 to advance debate on the GENIUS stablecoin bill. Source: US SenateDemocratic Senator Mark Warner said before the vote that the US couldn’t “afford to keep standing on the sidelines,” while crypto-skeptic Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren argued before the vote that it failed to address Trump’s “blatant crypto corruption.”Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s key backers, has said she thinks it’s a “fair target” to have the bill passed by May 26.

After weeks of speculation among crypto enthusiasts and news outlets, Tron founder Justin Sun has claimed he owns the wallet that purchased the largest amount of Donald Trump’s memecoin, allowing him to qualify for a dinner and reception with the US president.In a May 19 X post, Sun said he had received an invitation to attend Trump’s dinner at his golf club outside Washington, DC, as part of a reward for the top 220 memecoin holders. The Tron founder claimed he controlled the top wallet on the TRUMP token leaderboard under the username “Sun,” which held roughly $19 million worth of the memecoin at a price of $13.20.According to Sun, he plans to network at the May 22 memecoin dinner, “talk crypto,” and “discuss the future” of the industry. It’s unclear why the Tron founder chose to announce his planned presence at the event now, when the leaderboard was finalized on May 12. Cointelegraph reached out to a spokesperson for Sun for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.Source: Justin SunThough not a surprise to many who speculated that Sun was the individual behind the memecoin purchases, his attendance at the dinner only deepens his ties to the Trump administration and the president’s family. In addition to the dinner for the 220 tokenholders, Trump said he would hold a reception and “VIP tour” for the top 25 wallets on the leaderboard.Related: What to expect at Trump’s memecoin dinnerSun spent $75 million on tokens through World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform backed by Trump’s three sons, including a $30 million investment a few weeks after the 2024 election. The Tron founder is also an adviser to the company.Before Trump won the November election, Sun had been facing a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed in 2023 over the alleged “orchestration of the unregistered offer and sale, manipulative trading, and unlawful touting of crypto asset securities.” In February, roughly a month after Trump took office and appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the SEC, the regulator and Sun jointly filed a motion for a federal judge to stay the case, which was granted.Memecoin’s potential conflicts of interest are affecting CongressSun’s and others’ involvement in Trump’s crypto ventures has prompted calls for investigations and oversight among many Democratic lawmakers, who argued that some individuals could use digital assets to essentially purchase influence with the president. The concerns initially slowed progress on a bill to regulate stablecoins in the Senate, the GENIUS Act, complicated by World Liberty Financial’s own stablecoin, USD1. The chamber voted to move forward on the bill on May 19, a few hours before Sun’s announcement.“How convenient: the day after the Senate advances the GENIUS Act, Justin Sun — a major investor in the Trump family crypto venture — announces he’s getting a private dinner as the president’s top crypto buyer,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, according to Bloomberg. “It’s critical that everyone understands the GENIUS Act doesn’t stop this type of corruption — it greenlights it.”At a May 20 oversight hearing, Maryland Representative Glenn Ivey questioned SEC Chair Paul Atkins on Sun’s case being stayed, as well as his investments in World Liberty Financial and Trump’s memecoin. Though the case was stayed before Atkins was sworn in as chair, Ivey expressed concern about the timeline between Sun’s investments and the SEC not pursuing its own enforcement action.The memecoin dinner applicants are likely still subject to background checks before meeting Trump in person. As of May 20, those planning to attend included Kronos Research chief investment officer Vincent Liu, Hyperithm co-CEO Oh Sangrok, Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, a consultant named Vincent Deriu, crypto user Morten Christensen, a World Liberty Financial adviser going by the pseudonym “Ogle,” and a representative from the startup MemeCore.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions