The Blockchain Bulletin May 29: El Salvador Advances Bitcoin Amid IMF Deal
Hey folks! Welcome to the latest edition of the Blockchain Bulletin, where we report and uncover the latest insights that took place in the past 24 hours.
El Salvador and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue their delicate dance over the nation’s Bitcoin strategy. On May 27, IMF staff reached a staff-level agreement with Salvadoran authorities during the first review of the 40-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan program, worth $1.4 billion. The IMF confirmed that most program targets had been met, highlighting improvements in macroeconomic stability, inflation control, and fiscal reforms. Despite global economic headwinds, El Salvador’s economy maintains momentum, buoyed by remittance inflows and renewed investor confidence.
Bitcoin’s price trajectory mirrored this dynamic environment. After reaching a record peak of $112,000 on May 22, the rally faltered due to macroeconomic pressures. Santiment data showed BTC price rebounding to $109,000 on May 26, recovering from an April low near $73,700. However, an unexpected policy announcement by former U.S. President Donald Trump introduced tariffs of 50% on European imports and 25% on Apple products, triggered a sharp correction. This external factor coincided with a decline in Bitcoin’s address activity, pushing the price down to approximately $105,000 by May 24.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas emerged as a key platform for governmental and industry stakeholders. U.S. Vice President JD Vance addressed the conference on May 28, emphasizing Bitcoin’s growing role in national strategic considerations. While Vance’s speech lacked specific policy announcements, his presence signaled a potential shift toward integrating Bitcoin more closely into governmental frameworks. The event gathered thousands, including industry leaders and policymakers.
In another development, the Sui blockchain community struggled with a major security leak. A governance proposal is being created to recoup $162 million taken from the Cetus Protocol. Two wallets controlled by the attacker currently hold the stolen crypto. The solution is to upgrade the protocol to allow assets to be transferred back to Cetus using a multi-signature wallet. Validators have voting results that show solid support, and this means they are trying hard to make the network safe and secure again. Sui Network’s incoming release will help authenticate two special transactions for one-time recovery.
From Las Vegas, the news making waves was that Bilal Bin Saqib, head of the Pakistan crypto council, announced the formation of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Giving credit to the U.S. for the move at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference, Saqib said it was the adoption of pro-crypto regulations by Pakistan.
Related: Bitcoin Consolidates Around $110K Amid Large Volume Surges
Lastly, Ripple’s legal team intensified calls for regulatory clarity. Addressing the SEC Crypto Task Force, Ripple emphasized that most fungible crypto assets should not be classified as securities beyond their initial investment contract sale. The company cited a court ruling distinguishing Ripple’s institutional XRP sales as investment contracts while affirming that XRP itself is not a security. Ripple warned that ambiguous SEC terms like “fully functional” and “sufficiently decentralized” sow confusion across the market. To address this, Ripple proposed a legal framework aimed at reducing uncertainty and safeguarding good-faith market participants.
The evolution of rules, markets, and governance in crypto today can be seen in these examples from El Salvador, Pakistan, the US, and from the blockchain community generally.
