In May 2026, the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market climbed to nearly $34 billion, excluding stablecoins, as institutions increasingly used blockchains for yield, collateral, and settlement. Tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds accounted for roughly half of the sector, while BlackRock's BUIDL fund rose above $1.7 billion and Franklin Templeton's FOBXX also contributed to growth.

The European Central Bank told EU finance ministers on Friday that proposals to expand euro stablecoin issuance could weaken bank lending and make monetary policy harder to run. The discussion followed a Bruegel paper presented at a two-day Ecofin meeting in Nicosia that suggested easing liquidity rules for issuers and potentially giving them access to ECB funding.

On May 23, 2026, Rio de Janeiro Civil Police said a raid targeting a Comando Vermelho operational nucleus uncovered a small crypto-mining room with about 30 computers on shelving inside what appeared to be an abandoned lot. Investigators said the site drew electricity from an illegal line connected directly to a utility pole, using high-capacity cooling and remote-monitoring equipment. Authorities are examining whether the structure was linked to moving or laundering funds.

Italy’s crypto capital-gains tax rate rises to 33% for 2026 transactions, while 2025 gains filed in 2026 remain taxed at 26% and the former €2,000 allowance is no longer available. The first payment installment is due by June 30, 2026 (or July 31 with a 0.40% surcharge), and from January 1, 2026 DAC8 requires EU-licensed platforms to automatically transmit user data to Italy’s tax authority.

Kelp DAO reported a $292 million loss on April 18, 2026, after attackers siphoned 116,500 rsETH through a vulnerability tied to its LayerZero-based cross-chain bridge. The exploiter then used 89,567 rsETH as Aave collateral to borrow $190.86 million in wrapped Ether before markets repriced the asset. Aave later saw $8.45B in deposit outflows over the next 48 hours, alongside more than $13B leaving DeFi.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back work on a planned exemption meant to clarify how it views tokenized assets, after concerns surfaced around third-party token issuance. SEC staff has been meeting with stock-exchange officials and market participants over the past few days and is weighing feedback, while the agency chair has said the proposal is intended to serve as a sandbox for onchain equities.

After the May 17 exploit of the Verus-Ethereum bridge, the attacker returned $8.5 million to the Verus team while keeping $2.8 million as a white-hat bounty. The project had offered a 1,350 ETH reward if 4,052 ETH was sent back within 24 hours, alongside a pledge to halt investigations if the terms were met.

On 22 May 2026, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and OKX said they launched perpetual oil futures tied to ICE Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmarks. The products have no expiry date and are set to be offered to OKX's 120 million retail users in jurisdictions where the exchange holds the required licenses. The rollout follows ICE's March 2026 strategic equity investment in OKX at a $25 billion valuation.