The Blockchain Bulletin May 20: El Salvador Gains $357M from Bitcoin Surge
Hey folks! Welcome to the latest edition of the Blockchain Bulletin, where we uncover and unravel the latest insights of the past 24 hours.
El Salvador has reported a financial gain from its national Bitcoin investment strategy. According to President Nayib Bukele, the country now holds 6,181 BTC, valued at approximately $644 million. This marks a total profit of $357 million, or a 124% return on investment, since Bitcoin was adopted as legal tender in September 2021. A key component of this strategy has been the government’s consistent daily purchase of one Bitcoin per day since late 2022. The 913 BTC acquired through this dollar-cost averaging approach has yielded a 100% return. Despite recent market volatility, the administration remains committed to this strategy.
Japanese publicly traded firm Metaplanet has expanded its Bitcoin treasury to 7,800 BTC following a recent purchase of 1,004 BTC valued at $104 million. The total market value of its holdings now stands at $812 million, reflecting a continued institutional trend toward Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.
Vitalik Buterin has proposed a refined roadmap to improve Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) scalability while maintaining node accessibility for users. Writing on Ethresear.ch, Buterin introduced the concept of “partially stateless nodes,” designed to reduce data storage requirements without compromising chain validation integrity. The proposal integrates ZK-EVM (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) mechanisms to maintain security and performance.
Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the crypto app Blum and former Binance executive for the CIS region, has been detained by Russian authorities on charges of “fraud on an especially large scale.” The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow issued the order, though details remain unclear regarding whether the charges pertain to Blum or Smerkis’ involvement in previous ventures, including The Token Fund and Tokenbox.
Ripple has officially set foot in the Arab Emirates market, by partnering with Zand Bank and Mamo for blockchain payment integrations in the region. This follows its recent achievement after obtaining a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority in March 2025, the company has partnered with. Under these partnerships, 24/7 cross-border transactions would be enabled using Ripple’s blockchain payment infrastructure, guaranteeing real-time settlement and less cost for financial institutions in the UAE.
Related: Dubai Finance Partners with Crypto.com for Crypto Payments
On the other hand, the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into a recent cyberattack on Coinbase’s infrastructure. On May 11, threat actors claimed to have accessed customer data, including email addresses and identities, though login credentials remained secure. Coinbase estimates the financial impact could range between $180 million and $400 million.
Moving forward, a legal expert, John Deaton, has cautioned that U.S. legislative momentum on cryptocurrency regulation may stall unless the GENIUS Act passes prior to the November elections. Deaton also pointed toward the Act’s bipartisan appeal, stressing that it could help other bills that deal with market structures, crypto tax policy, BitBonds, and bankruptcy protections. $238 billion worth of stablecoins are a part of the $3.3 trillion worth of cryptocurrency market now, advocating for swift clarity on regulations.
Lastly, Bitcoin surrendered the $102,885 mark on May 19 due to some macroeconomic developments in the United States. Market-wide caution was coming from various fronts, one being that the yield in the 30-year Treasury surged to 5.02%, the highest since November of 2023, and the credit rating of the U.S. sovereign was downgraded to Aa1 from Aaa by Moody’s. The 10-year yield also went up to 4.5%, pressuring risk-sensitive assets. In the wake of the price drop, the huge volumes of Bitcoin witnessed an 88.45% jump in the last 24 hours to $64.33 billion, therefore still suggesting investor engagement amidst the price swings. The market capitalization of Bitcoin today is $2.04 trillion.
