Scenius Sync (Issue # xyx)
Coinbase Joining S&P and Acquiring Options Platform Deribit, GENIUS Act Blocked By Dems, EToro Goes Public And Beats Marketed Range, & Infinite Node Acquires CryptoPunks IP From Yuga For Rumored $20M
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Essential News 🗞
Coinbase joining S&P 500 days after bitcoin soared past $100,000
Coinbase is joining the S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial Services in the benchmark index, according to a release on Monday. Shares of the crypto exchange jumped 8% in extended trading. The change will take effect before trading on May 19. Since going public through a direct listing in 2021, Coinbase has become a bigger part of the U.S. financial system, with bitcoin soaring in value and large institutions gaining regulatory approval to create spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Bitcoin spiked last week, topping $100,000 and nearing its record price reached in January. However, Coinbase has been a particularly volatile stock and is trading well below its peak from late 2021. The shares closed on Monday at $207.22, giving the company a market cap of $53 billion. At its high, the stock traded at over $357.
US Stablecoin bill blocked as Democrats withdraw support
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins of 2025 Act, known as the GENIUS Act, failed to pass cloture in the United States Senate on May 8, dealing a blow to cryptocurrency regulation in the country.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Bill Hagerty and co-sponsored by Senators Tim Scott, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cynthia Lummis and Angela Alsobrooks, received last-minute pushback from Democrats, who took aim at the bill and raised concerns about US President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures.
To address the concerns of Senate Democrats, the bill had already been amended to include stricter requirements for stablecoin issuers for further provisions for Anti-Money Laundering. The GENIUS Act was seen as a bipartisan effort to increase regulatory clarity for digital assets in the United States. The focus of the bill, stablecoins used for payments, was looked at as extending dollar dominance internationally and straying away from more controversial crypto topics. After the procedure failed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune criticized Democrats, saying, “Democrats have been accommodated every step of the way […] frankly, I just don’t get it.”
The Infinite Node Foundation Acquires CryptoPunks IP from Yuga Labs
-The Infinite Node Foundation (NODE), a nonprofit endowment dedicated to conserving digital art, is proud to announce its acquisition of the full intellectual property rights for CryptoPunks from Yuga Labs. This purchase secures long-term stewardship for CryptoPunks and launches an ambitious museum-partnership program to embed them in leading art institutions worldwide. Despite generating over $377 million in secondary sales in 2024 alone, CryptoPunks remain largely excluded from mainstream art discourse. NODE seeks to bridge this gap by challenging conventional frameworks and expanding how digital art is experienced.
The transaction price is rumored to have been around $20M. More coverage, here.
Republican Sens. Lummis and Moreno press US Treasury for guidance on crypto tax rules
Pro-crypto Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno say a tax provision could have unintended consequences for companies holding digital assets and have asked the Treasury Department to step in. In a letter sent on Tuesday by the two lawmakers to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Lummis and Moreno argued that the corporate alternative minimum tax alongside new accounting standards would create unfair taxes on unrealized gains. This, they said, could ultimately discourage U.S. investment. "Failure to provide this clarity on unrealized gains in digital assets might require corporations to sell assets just to pay the tax, and it would disincentivize entities from maintaining large holdings of digital assets," the lawmakers said in the letter.
Government of Dubai to Allow Cryptocurrency Payments for Fees
Dubai Finance (DOF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Crypto.com, a globally recognised cryptocurrency trading platform, to facilitate government service fee payments using cryptocurrencies—marking a pioneering milestone in digital finance on a global scale.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
EToro Goes Public At $52 A Share, Far Exceeding Marketed Range
Shares of stock and crypto trading platform eToro (ETOR) have debuted at $52 a share after the company hit the Nasdaq exchange on Tuesday evening.
The company raised about $310 million from investors as it sold 6 million shares at a price of $52 a piece. The listing values the company at $4.2 billion. The price is significantly higher than the marketed range, as the company received a much higher demand than previously anticipated.
EToro becomes the first company to go public after a rough couple of months in markets across the U.S., as President Donald Trump is in discussions to make several tariff deals with leaders around the world.
Coinbase to acquire options trading platform Deribit for $2.9B
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US by trading volume, has agreed to acquire Deribit, one of the world’s biggest crypto derivatives trading platforms. Coinbase Global will acquire Deribit for about $2.9 billion, the exchange announced on May 8. The acquisition will allow Coinbase to expand into the profitable crypto derivatives market and continue scaling the platform’s global growth, Greg Tusar, Coinbase’s vice president of institutional product, said in the announcement. “With Deribit’s strong presence and professional client base, Coinbase is making its most substantial move yet to accelerate our international growth strategy,” he said.
Superstate unveils ‘Opening Bell’ to bring SEC-registered equities onchain, starting with Solana
Superstate, known for its suite of tokenized private funds including USTB and USCC, is now extending its infrastructure to public equities. The fintech firm on Wednesday announced the launch of Opening Bell, a platform that enables SEC-registered public equities to be issued and traded directly on blockchain networks, starting with Solana. Opening Bell supports natively issued, regulatory-compliant shares that interact directly with crypto wallets, DeFi protocols, and onchain marketplaces, according to a release shared with The Block. The platform eliminates reliance on centralized exchanges and legacy listing mechanisms, offering continuous trading and real-time settlement via blockchain-native infrastructure.
Anchorage Digital buys Mountain Protocol, USDM stablecoin winds down
Crypto bank Anchorage Digital has expanded its stablecoin offerings with the acquisition of Mountain Protocol, a stablecoin issuer that says it will begin winding down its main stablecoin, Mountain USD (USDM). The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, will integrate the Mountain Protocol team, tech stack and licensing framework into Anchorage’s existing offerings, Anchorage said in a May 12 statement.
While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, it reflects an accelerating number of acquisitions between crypto and TradFi firms in recent months. Explaining the acquisition, Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley said stablecoins are becoming the backbone of the crypto economy, while anticipating that “every business” will eventually use stablecoins as part of their operations.
Announcement from Anchorage here.
Robinhood to acquire Canada’s WonderFi for $179M in global crypto push
Brokerage fintech Robinhood is set to acquire WonderFi, a Canadian crypto firm, for about 250 million Canadian dollars ($179 million) in an all-cash deal to expand its global presence. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025, Robinhood said in a May 13 news release. WonderFi operates two of Canada’s longest-standing regulated crypto trading platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, managing over 2.1 billion Canadian dollars in assets under custody. These platforms offer crypto trading, staking and custody services. “WonderFi has built a formidable family of brands serving beginner and advanced crypto users alike, making them an ideal partner to accelerate Robinhood’s mission in Canada,” said Johann Kerbrat, senior vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto.