Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Ripple launched cross-border payments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Michael Saylor’s Strategy bagged another 7,390 Bitcoin last week as prices rallied above $100,000 and also got hit with a class-action lawsuit, and Bitcoin notched its highest-ever weekly close.
Ripple could boost crypto adoption in UAE with cross-border payments
Ripple has rolled out blockchain-based cross-border payments in the UAE through partnerships with Zand Bank and Mamo, a fintech company that offers digital payment services.
According to a May 19 announcement, Zand Bank and Mamo will utilize “Ripple Payments” to facilitate the transfers.
The launch came roughly two months after Ripple secured a crypto payments license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
The UAE ranks highly for certain types of crypto adoption, including decentralized finance and stablecoin usage, according to a 2024 report by Chainalysis. As reported by Cointelegraph, the country has plans to establish a digital dirham, its version of a central bank digital currency.
Strategy adds 7,390 BTC for $765 million, gets hit with class-action lawsuit
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, the top corporate Bitcoin holder, acquired nearly $765 million of Bitcoin last week. The purchase came as the company faced a class-action lawsuit.
According to a May 19 announcement, Strategy acquired 7,390 BTC for about $764.9 million at an average price just under $103,500. Strategy reported a Bitcoin yield of 16.3% year-to-date. Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor made his usual hint at the purchase in a May 18 X post.
According to a May 19 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company was also the recipient of a class-action lawsuit. The suit accuses Strategy officials of having failed to represent the nature of Bitcoin investments accurately.
As of May 18, Strategy holds 576,230 BTC acquired for around $40.2 billion at an average price of $69,726 per coin. At current prices, the company’s total holdings are valued at more than $59.2 billion, representing an unrealized gain of $19.2 billion, or 47%.
According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin traded at around $102,615 at the time of writing, up 20.3% over the last month.
Bitcoin notches record weekly close as it reaches back toward peak price
Bitcoin (BTC) notched its highest-ever weekly close at just below $106,500 on midnight UTC on Sunday, May 18, as the cryptocurrency is again nearing its all-time high.
Its last highest weekly close was in December when it reached $104,400. It later went on to reach an all-time high of $109,358 on Jan. 20, according to TradingView.
Bitcoin also posted its highest-ever close in a 24-hour period on May 18. However, this is not the largest daily gain Bitcoin has made.
“Bitcoin just had its highest daily candle close... ever,” investor Scott Melker posted to X on May 19.
It put Bitcoin less than 3% away from its peak price and analyst Rekt Capital was hopeful that “Bitcoin will develop a brand new higher high.”
