Morning Minute is a daily newsletter authored by Tyler Warner. The views and analysis presented are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Decrypt. Additionally, be sure to check out our new daily news show which summarizes the major stories in just five minutes, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Good morning!
Here are today’s key updates:
- Major cryptocurrencies are experiencing a downturn, dropping 6% over the week; BTC is currently priced at $72,500.
- HYPE surged 17% to a new all-time high following the CFTC's approval of perpetual contracts in the U.S., including Kalshi’s product.
- KNTQ saw a 55% increase this week following HYPE's performance.
- Binance has announced plans to enable non-U.S. users to trade U.S. stocks.
- Jamie Dimon criticized Brian Armstrong, calling him “full of shit” amid ongoing debates over the Clarity Act.
📈 The CFTC Has Launched the U.S. Perpetual Market
A significant regulatory development for crypto occurred on Friday with the CFTC's approval of KalshiEX’s BTCPERP, marking the first Bitcoin perpetual contract on a U.S.-regulated exchange. This cash-settled contract will trade around the clock and is linked to spot prices through a funding mechanism.
In tandem with this, the CFTC also allowed a Coinbase affiliate to facilitate connections for U.S. customers to access global options and perpetual contracts via Deribit, its offshore trading partner. This no-action relief enables Coinbase Financial Markets to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins as margin collateral for qualifying clients.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig remarked: “This morning, the CFTC took historic action to permit the listing of a true Bitcoin perpetual contract by a CFTC-registered exchange, charting a path for one of the most liquid segments of the crypto asset markets.”
The CFTC is establishing different regulatory frameworks for crypto perpetuals; one for domestic listings on CFTC-registered exchanges and another for offshore products that will be managed under existing Commission regulations.
The market reacted swiftly, with Coinbase shares rising by 4% and Robinhood's stock increasing by 11% following the announcement. Additionally, Hyperliquid experienced a remarkable jump of over 30% from its previous lows, reaching a new all-time high of $73.50. HYPE has now outperformed Bitcoin by 270% year-to-date, solidifying its status as a leading asset in the crypto market.
There is ongoing debate regarding whether the CFTC's developments are beneficial for Hyperliquid, as they may invite competition. Nonetheless, the market response indicates that the legalization of perpetual contracts in the U.S. is advantageous for Hyperliquid.
🙈 Jamie Dimon Critiques Brian Armstrong
JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon has publicly challenged Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong regarding the Clarity Act, pledging to oppose the legislation until the end and labeling Armstrong’s statements as “full of shit.”
The controversy centers around the exclusion for stablecoin yields. Armstrong has been vocal about the necessity of maintaining the “bona fide activities” exception, which permits platforms to provide rewards based on stablecoin holdings. Dimon argues that any yield-like rewards pose a competitive threat to the banking system's deposit base. The dispute revolves around whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to provide yield-bearing incentives akin to bank deposits.
Congress returns from Memorial Day recess today, with a floor vote on the Clarity Act anticipated within the next 30 days, as per leadership. The bill passed the committee stage with bipartisan backing, 15-9, on May 14 and now requires 60 votes—approximately six Democratic supporters—to proceed in the Senate.
Prediction markets currently give the Clarity Act a 56% probability of passing this year, although these odds may improve with progress following the recess.
🟠 U.S. Seizes $1 Billion in Iranian Cryptocurrency
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. has “outright grabbed” approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iran, comprising assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether's USDT.
These seizures are linked to Iran’s Hormuz Safe platform and are part of OFAC enforcement measures targeting Iranian entities using cryptocurrency to bypass Western sanctions.
This represents the most substantial single seizure of cryptocurrency from a hostile state since the DOJ confiscated 94,000 BTC from the Bitfinex hack in 2022. However, it raises questions about the destination of these funds. The U.S. government currently possesses around 200,000 BTC in its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, accumulated from criminal and civil forfeitures.
White House Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt indicated in late April that a “major announcement” regarding the SBR is forthcoming “in the next few weeks.” Representative Begich’s American Reserves Modernization Act aims to direct the government to acquire 1 million BTC over five years using budget-neutral methods, explicitly including seized assets in its proposed strategy.
Iranian state media described the seizures as “an act of financial warfare,” asserting that Iran's cyber units are “working to identify and neutralize” the enforcement mechanisms employed.
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
- Major cryptocurrencies are down today and this week, with HYPE being the sole exception; BTC is down 6% this week at $72.6K; ETH is down 6% at $1,980; SOL is down 5% at $81; HYPE is up 17% at $73.35.
- H (+90%), WLD (+15%), and SIREN (+10%) led the top gainers; KNTQ surged 28% today and 56% this week.
- Oil has risen by 4% to $90; Gold is down 1% at $4,535.
- Stock futures are showing gains, with the Nasdaq increasing by 0.2% and the DOW up 0.5% at 51,340.
- Binance has revealed plans to allow non-U.S. users to trade stocks, offering over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs.
- Citi predicted that tokenized real-world assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, increasing more than 250 times from current levels.
- Republican fintech entrepreneur Michael Carbonara sold 10 BTC for $800,000 in USDC to finance his congressional campaign for Florida’s newly restructured 22nd District.
- Grayscale released a report titled “Hyperliquid Breaks the Mold,” indicating that Hyperliquid earned $800 million in revenue in 2025 and is quickly transitioning from a crypto perpetual exchange to a broader financial infrastructure.
- Gnosis Pay suffered a hack linked to its “delay module,” with the founder pledging to cover any losses incurred by users.
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
- Bitcoin ETFs experienced $125 million in net outflows on Friday, totaling a loss of $1.4 billion for the week; ETH ETFs saw $18 million in outflows, amounting to a -$257 million weekly change.
- The HYPE ETFs reported $29.6 million in net inflows on Friday following the CFTC announcement, reaching a new record.
Meme Coin Tracker
- Meme coin leaders declined this week; DOGE -2.5%, SHIB -3%, PEPE -7%, PENGU -16%, TRUMP -6%, BONK -10%, SPX -9%, FARTCOIN -17%
- Gacha (+200%), Grail (+300%), and Cards (+24%) were notable gainers on Solana.
- Base movers included CTR (+18%), Degen (+15%), and Gitlawb (+17%).
📈 Myriad Market of the Day
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
- Sui experienced its second outage within two days on May 29, followed by a third outage during an epoch transition that same night; three outages in less than 48 hours.
- BullX paused its trading tool as the team reallocates resources for future projects.
- Phantom generated over $20 million in fees through its Hyperliquid builder program.
🚚 What's New in NFTs?
- NFT leaders experienced declines this week; Punks -4% at 31.8 ETH, BAYC -5% at 8.29 ETH, Pudgy -10% at 4.23 ETH; Hypurr gained +4% at 309 HYPE.
- BAKC (+24%) and MAYC (+14%) were among the top gainers.
- Autoglyphs recorded three sales this week in the range of 69 ETH to 80 ETH, raising the floor price back to 87 ETH.