The US Federal Reserve proposed limited payment accounts that would give legally eligible fintech and crypto-linked banks narrower access to its payment rails. The Federal Reserve Board released the plan on Wednesday in a request for comment and notice of proposed rulemaking, and it asked regional Reserve Banks to pause Tier 3 account-access decisions during the process. A Board memo said the pause is expected to end on or before Dec. 31, 2026. The accounts would be limited to clearing and settlement and would not pay interest or provide access to the discount window or intraday credit.

LayerZero said KelpDAO changed the rsETH bridge from a 2-of-2 DVN stack to a 1-of-1 setup before the April 18 exploit that released 116,500 rsETH worth about $292 million. LayerZero said the breach began on March 6 after malware on a developer's Mac gave the attacker access to internal RPC infrastructure for six weeks. On April 18, LayerZero said tampered op-geth servers and DDoS attacks on external RPC providers helped produce a forged attestation that unlocked the funds. Mandiant and CrowdStrike attributed the operation with high confidence to UNC4899, a DPRK-linked group.

U.S. Central Command said the U.S. military is continuing a maritime blockade against Iran that has forced 90 ships to reroute as of May 20. Central Command said four vessels have been disabled to enforce compliance with the blockade. The U.S. military said operations remained active in regional waters.

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said vessels crossing its stated management scope in the Strait of Hormuz must coordinate with Iran and obtain permission. The authority issued the statement on social media late on the 20th. The authority said the scope runs from the line linking Iran's Mobarak Mountain and southern Fujairah in the UAE in the east to the line linking western Qeshm Island and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE in the west.

SpaceX disclosed a $1.45 billion Bitcoin position in its IPO filing on Wednesday. The SEC filing said SpaceX held 18,712 BTC as of Dec. 31, bought for $661 million, and the balance was unchanged from the end of 2024. SpaceX recorded a $112 million unrealized loss last year after a $955 million paper gain in 2024.

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, received preliminary approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for brokerage, investment, and management licenses. The approval covers multiple virtual asset business lines in Dubai. Payward said it plans to expand its cryptocurrency business in the UAE following the approval.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission granted NewBX Limited’s Bixin a virtual asset trading platform license, lifting the city’s licensed platform count to 13. The approval covers Type 1 dealing in securities and Type 7 automated trading services. NewBX also received a license under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance to operate a virtual asset trading platform. Hong Kong currently has six applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses.

US initial jobless claims for the week ending May 16 came in at 209,000, slightly below the 210,000 forecast. The prior week's reading was revised to 212,000 from 211,000. The four-week moving average fell to 202,500 from the previous week's revised 204,000. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending May 9 stood at 1.782 million, versus a 1.785 million forecast.

Binance launched SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual contracts as traders wager on a valuation above $2 trillion. The first contract, SPCXUSDT, is margined and settled in tether and tracks SpaceX's expected market valuation before any public debut. Once SpaceX shares begin trading on a secondary exchange, the contract will shift to the stock's live market performance. Reuters reported that SpaceX is targeting a valuation of around $1.75 trillion for its planned listing.

Mastercard acquired UK-based stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for $1.8 billion. BVNK supports stablecoin payments in more than 130 countries and holds payment licenses in multiple nations. Mastercard plans to integrate stablecoins into the core infrastructure of its international remittance network, Mastercard Move. Mastercard also halted its previously considered plan for a strategic investment in Zerohash.