The United States ETF Sees Record Annual Inflows, with a Daily Net Inflow of $8.5 Billion

May 23, per Iran's state television, Iran’s foreign minister held a second meeting with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, following prior discussions on an Iranian proposal. A spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that significant divides remain between the U.S. and Iran. Iran’s lead negotiator Karimkhan told Pakistan’s top military commander that “we will not compromise on the rights of our country and nation. Our armed forces have been restructured during the ceasefire.” According to monitoring by PolyBeats (via link: https://t.me/PolyBeats_Bot), on prediction market Polymarket, the probability of the U.S. and Iran reaching a permanent peace agreement is 17% by May 31 and 48% by June 30.

On May 23, LookOnChain monitoring reveals an OG crypto address that previously earned $34.2 million from Ethereum investments is currently buying the dip. The address purchased 3,942 ETH today at an average price of $2,049 per token, totaling $8.08 million, and may continue accumulating ETH. Ten years ago, this address acquired 12,001 ETH from ShapeShift at an average of $7.58 each. Over a year ago, it sold all those ETH at an average price of $2,856, netting a $34.2 million profit with a staggering 376x return on investment (ROI).

May 23 — Ahead of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announcing plans to impose administrative penalties on cross-border internet brokers Futu and Tiger Brokers on May 22, unusual trading volumes in American stock put options tied to the two firms were spotted on May 7, 19, and 21, per data from public options platforms and market intelligence sources. Peak trading volumes occurred before the official announcement, as financial news outlet StreetInsider flagged abnormal put options activity in FUTU and TIGR at 9:57 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 21. Analytics firm ThetaOwl further reported that Futu’s options expiring on May 22 had a notably high put-to-call volume ratio that same day. Market observers say these trading anomalies suggest funds likely positioned themselves for bearish (short) bets ahead of the news going public, sparking concerns over potential insider trading or premeditated, ahead-of-disclosure trades.

May 23 — The People’s Procuratorate of Cangshan District in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, has filed a public prosecution in a Bitcoin theft and illegal profit case. The incident began in late 2020, when Wang entrusted Lin to cash out his Bitcoin holdings, agreeing to pay Lin a commission upon successful completion. But Lin, driven by greed and the mindset that virtual assets are hard to trace, devised a scheme to steal from Wang. With access to Wang’s Bitcoin wallet hard drive and laptop, Lin stole the wallet’s private key and related data, transferring four Bitcoins to his own account and netting roughly 900,000 yuan in illegal gains. Wang only discovered his missing Bitcoin in 2024 while reviewing his assets and immediately filed a police report. Prosecutors with Cangshan District explained that though Bitcoin does not hold the legal status of fiat currency, and financial institutions and non-bank payment providers are prohibited from offering services for cryptocurrency-related a

On May 23, monitoring by EmberCN reveals that as Ethereum (ETH) fell to around $2,000, a major "Hyperliquid Whale" holding a long position of 120,000 ETH (worth $271 million) is currently facing an unrealized loss of up to $27.92 million. The whale’s average entry price for this position stands at $2,261. Among the cluster of addresses tied to this whale, liquidation prices for two of them are approximately $1,750, while the remaining two addresses have liquidation levels around $1,350.

On May 23, crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that a last-minute impasse over border security has pushed the U.S. Senate’s vote on the CLARITY Act—officially the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Bill—back to early June. The legislation was slated to move to the Senate floor this week, but partisan disputes over border control scrapped those plans. With a packed legislative calendar including funding bills, housing policy, farm measures, and expiring FISA reauthorizations taking precedence, there’s rising uncertainty about whether the CLARITY Act will even reach the Senate floor by July, let alone clear a vote before Congress’s August recess. Senate staffers are currently working during the recess to merge draft texts from the Agriculture and Banking Committees and finalize technical drafting for the bill. For a full breakdown of the CLARITY Act’s upcoming legislative path, see ["Boss Fight for the CLARITY Act: 7 Democratic Senators Needed to Defect Before Senate Floor Vote"](htt