SEC Reverses Course on Tokenized Stocks
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly shifting its stance, potentially allowing third-party platforms to tokenize stocks without requiring issuer consent, according to a Bloomberg Law report published on Monday.
This represents a significant departure from the agency’s January 28 guidance, which distinguished between issuer-approved tokenization and third-party products, cautioning that the latter often provided synthetic exposure rather than genuine equity ownership.
If formalized, this shift would introduce a new model for tokenized equities. Under the January framework, only companies that integrated blockchain into their official shareholder records, such as DTCC’s planned July launch, could offer legitimate tokenized stock exposure. Third-party platforms like Kraken’s xStocks, Robinhood’s Arbitrum-based tokenized equities, and OKX’s private company perps were operating in a legal gray area. The new approach, as reported by Bloomberg Law, would allow these platforms to operate without waiting for issuer participation.
This development could significantly impact the tokenized securities market, which has grown 200% year-over-year to $30 billion. DTCC, BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Franklin Templeton have all filed or launched tokenized products in the past month.
Hyperliquid is likely to benefit the most, at least in the short term, and the market responded by sending it to $48 and a new local high.
Strategy Buys $2 Billion in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Goes Lower
Strategy purchased 24,869 BTC between May 11 and May 17 for approximately $2.01 billion at an average price of $80,985 per coin. The purchase was primarily funded by $1.949 billion in STRC preferred stock issuances and $83.7 million in MSTR common shares.
Despite the significant investment, the price of Bitcoin did not increase. In fact, Bitcoin traded approximately 5% lower on Monday compared to last week’s average. Spot Bitcoin ETFs also experienced outflows, with approximately $1 billion in net outflows last week, marking the worst weekly ETF bleed of 2026. IBIT, FBTC, and GBTC all posted outflows as US 30-year Treasury yields crossed 5% and CME FedWatch began pricing 44% odds of a rate hike at a 2026 FOMC meeting.
With STRC now trading below par and Saylor likely having limited funds for the next few weeks, Bitcoin will need to find support elsewhere.
Iran Launches Bitcoin Maritime Insurance
Iran has launched a state-backed maritime insurance platform called “Hormuz Safe,” enabling sanctioned shippers to pay premiums in Bitcoin for instant coverage on Hormuz transit.
The platform bypasses SWIFT and traditional banking, activating coverage upon Bitcoin confirmation and processing claims on-chain. Iranian officials project over $10 billion in annual revenue if the service captures a significant market share of the 20% of global seaborne crude that transits the strait.
Iran is building infrastructure that institutionalizes Bitcoin as its primary financial workaround, providing a revenue model independent of Hormuz’s reopening. Each Hormuz Safe policy purchased results in a Bitcoin transaction flowing to the Iranian state, potentially exposing the buyer to OFAC liability regardless of whether the premium reaches its intended destination. The risks may outweigh the rewards, at least for now.
Nine Polymarket Accounts Won $2.4 Million on Iran, With a 98% Win Rate
A cluster of nine interlinked Polymarket accounts netted $2.4 million by betting almost exclusively on US military actions in Iran, according to a Bubblemaps investigation first shared with 60 Minutes.
The anonymous accounts were created days before the initial US bombardment of Iran in late February. Across more than 80 bets, they won 98% of the time, including accurately predicting the timing of the first US strikes, the ousting of Supreme Leader Khamenei, and the announcement of a ceasefire.
Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman commented, “This might be the most insane pattern we have found on Polymarket so far. Luck alone cannot explain those numbers.”
The accounts lost money on only a few occasions, always small amounts, in the hundreds of dollars, which Bubblemaps suggests were intentional losses to mislead investigators. Winnings were ultimately routed to Bybit, Binance, and HTX, though the accounts cannot be publicly traced to specific individuals.
Inside trading on prediction markets was initially touted as a feature, not a bug. That theory is being tested.
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