Daily News: SEC's New Chair Atkins Announces New Direction for Crypto Regulation, Bybit Launches USDT-Based Global Stock Trading Service

On May 19, 2025, SEC Chair Paul Atkins unveiled a pro-crypto regulatory shift, while delaying Solana ETF approvals, signaling cautious optimism for digital assets. Bybit launched a USDT-based stock trading service, bridging crypto and traditional finance. Sonic SVM introduced a $SONIC buyback mechanism, Vitalik Buterin proposed Ethereum scaling upgrades, Sony Singapore embraced USDC payments, and JPMorgan greenlit Bitcoin purchases, reflecting crypto’s growing mainstream traction.

SEC's New Chair Atkins Announces New Direction for Crypto Regulation, Aiming to Promote Innovation Rather Than Suppress It

According to Cointelegraph, the newly appointed Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, stated in a speech on May 19 that this marks a "new era" for the cryptocurrency industry. Atkins pointed out that "the crypto market has been stagnating in the SEC's regulatory gray area for years" and emphasized that under his leadership, the SEC will return to its core mission of "promoting innovation rather than suppressing it." He has instructed the SEC's policy divisions to begin drafting proposals for crypto-related regulations while continuing to "remove barriers" through staff-level guidance.

SEC Delays Approval of Multiple Solana ETF Applications, Citing Need for More Time to Evaluate Legal and Policy Issues

Decrypt reports that on Monday, the SEC announced a delay in its decision on several spot Solana ETF applications submitted by 21Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, and Canary Capital. In regulatory filings, the SEC stated that it requires more time to assess the legal and policy issues related to these applications.

Nasdaq-listed DigiAsia Plans to Raise $100 Million, Allocating 50% of Profits to Bitcoin Purchases

According to crypto influencer Pete Rizzo, U.S.-listed fintech company DigiAsia plans to raise $100 million in funding and has committed to allocating 50% of its profits to purchasing Bitcoin.

Bybit Introduces USDT-Based Global Stock Trading Service, Bridging Crypto and Traditional Finance

As reported by chainwire, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced an innovative service allowing users to trade global stocks directly using USDT. This service, part of Bybit's Gold and Forex (MT5) product suite, supports trading for 78 popular global stocks, including Apple, Tesla, Meta, Nvidia, and Amazon.

Users can now trade a diversified range of assets, including cryptocurrencies, stocks, gold, oil, indices, and forex, using USDT through a single account and wallet, without requiring fiat deposits.

Binance Alpha Users with 194 Points Can Claim 294 XTER Tokens

According to an official announcement, Xterio (XTER) has launched on Binance Alpha. Eligible Binance users with at least 194 Binance Alpha points can claim an airdrop of 294 XTER tokens starting at 16:00 (Beijing time) on May 19 via the Alpha activity page. Claiming the airdrop will consume 15 Binance Alpha points, and users must confirm the claim within 24 hours (by 16:00 Beijing time on May 20), or they will forfeit the eligibility.

Binance Alpha Reduces Fees for Selected Tokens to 0.01%

Official sources reveal that Binance Alpha launched a special trading fee promotion for its limit order feature. The trading fee for selected tokens has been reduced from 0.15% to just 0.01%. Tokens included in this promotion are B2, AGT, PRAI, FAIR3, KILO, PUFFER, AIOT, SKYAI, MYX, and ZKJ.

Sonic SVM Launches New $SONIC Buyback and Lock-Up Mechanism to Enhance Token Value Capture

Sonic SVM, the first SVM expansion chain in the Solana ecosystem, announced an upgrade to its $SONIC token model. The new mechanism replaces the previous burn model with a buyback and lock-up system. In the future, 50% of on-chain transaction fees will be used to buy back $SONIC from the market, which will then be locked up and released linearly over 24 months.

Additionally, Sonic SVM will convert a portion of the transaction fees into SOL for staking on the Solana mainnet. Staking rewards will be paired with $SONIC to inject liquidity into the mainnet and provide additional incentives for liquidity providers (LPs).

Vitalik Proposes "Partial Stateless Nodes" to Optimize Ethereum Scaling Roadmap

On May 19, Vitalik Buterin proposed adjustments to Ethereum's scaling roadmap, introducing the concept of "partial stateless nodes" to balance network scalability with node decentralization. This proposal allows users to run nodes that store only partial state data while maintaining trustless, censorship-resistant, and privacy-friendly local access capabilities.

The proposal also prioritizes the full deployment of EIP-4444, which shortens node data storage periods to approximately 36 days, significantly reducing disk space requirements. It further suggests building distributed historical storage solutions and adjusting gas pricing mechanisms to increase storage costs while reducing execution costs.

These adjustments aim to ensure the feasibility of running personal nodes while increasing the L1 gas limit by 10–100 times, maintaining Ethereum's decentralized nature.

Circle: Sony Singapore Online Store Now Accepts USDC Payments

Circle announced on social media that Sony Singapore's online store now accepts USDC payments via Crypto.com.

JPMorgan CEO: Customers Can Buy Bitcoin, But Custody Services Will Not Be Provided

According to Jin10.com, JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon stated that while customers will be allowed to purchase Bitcoin, the bank will not provide custody services for it.

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