A third individual, suspected of being connected to the recent kidnapping, torture and attempted extortion of an Italian tourist in New York City, surrendered to law enforcement on May 27.

33-year-old William Duplessie was taken into custody by the New York Police Department (NYPD) and will be charged with “kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

The incident comes amid a string of kidnappings and ransom attempts targeting crypto investors and their loved ones, prompting additional security measures from investors and industry executives.

According to reporting from The New York Times, Duplessie and crypto investor John Woeltz, who was previously arrested by police in connection with the case, both had connections to an NYC-based crypto hedge fund.

Source: Jameson Lopp

Duplessie negotiated his surrender with the NYPD over the course of several days leading up to his arrest.

Related: France arrests over 12 suspects linked to crypto kidnappings: Report

Italian tourist kidnapped and drugged in an attempt to steal crypto

Michael Valentino Teofrasto, a 28-year-old Italian tourist in New York City, was kidnapped in Manhattan and held captive for weeks before managing to escape and alert law enforcement authorities.

Teofrasto said the suspects bound him, stole his passport and mobile device, and subjected him to physical beatings, which included being shocked with a Taser.

The victim also said the suspects repeatedly hit him with a firearm and would submerge his feet in the water while tasing him in an attempt to get him to reveal his crypto private keys.

The tourist was reportedly held in a luxury townhome in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan and escaped the luxury townhome where he was being held.

Once free, Teofrasto flagged down a police officer and relayed the kidnapping incident to the official.

Following his incident report, NYC police arrested crypto investor John Woeltz and charged the investor with kidnapping for ransom and three other felony counts.

Woeltz is expected to appear in court for an additional hearing on May 28 and is currently being held in custody without bail while awaiting trial.

Magazine: Crypto ‘more taboo than OnlyFans,’ says Violetta Zironi, who sold song for 1 BTC

Key takeaways:

SharpLink Gaming establishes the first ETH treasury, backed by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin. SharpLink will invest $425 million to acquire 120,000 ETH.

Ethereum futures open interest hits an all-time high of $36.1 billion, with ETH price climbing 4.5% on the daily chart.

Nasdaq-listed SharpLink Gaming (SBET) announced a $425 million private investment in public equity (PIPE), acquiring approximately 69.1 million shares at $6.15 each to establish the first Nasdaq-listed Ethereum (ETH) treasury company.

Spearheaded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, this move mirrors Strategy’s (MSTR) successful Bitcoin treasury strategy, which has yielded over $8.2 billion in gains in 2025, by leveraging stock and bond sales to acquire BTC.

Former Ethereum core developer and contributor Eric Conner highlighted the bullish implications of SharpLink’s move, noting its potential to create a “public ETH proxy for funds that can’t hold tokens directly.” 

Conner emphasized that the acquisition of 120,000 ETH — likely to be staked — could lead to “supply compression” by removing tokens from circulation. The Ether proponent also pointed to the “new narrative fuel” this provides, positioning ETH as a “digital reserve collateral” and potentially driving its adoption on mainstream balance sheets through an equity wrapper like $SBET.

However, crypto analyst VICTOR cautioned against over-enthusiasm, outlining the risk of leveraging gains from an altcoin still down 19% in 2025. 

In Q1 2025, Cointelegraph reported a sharp decline in Ethereum network fees, dropping to $605,000 from $2.5 million in just two weeks in March, alongside a noticeable decrease in decentralized app (DApp) activity. Although average daily fees on the Ethereum chain have stayed above $1 million since May 9, 2025, fees remain significantly lower compared to Q1 2024, as highlighted in the chart.

Ethereum total value locked (TVL) and chain fees. Source: DefiLlama

Related: Ethereum flashes ‘altseason’ signal as ETH price eyes $4.1K

Ethereum open interest prints new highs as ETH targets $3K

The SharpLink announcement triggered a surge in Ethereum futures market activity. Ether futures open interest (OI) hit a new all-time high of $36.1 billion, increasing $3.5 billion in 24 hours. Ether OI has increased by 72% over the past month, reflecting heightened trader activity.

Ethereum open interest chart. Source: CoinGlass

Ether prices are also up 4.50% for the day, and Maartuun, a community analyst at CryptoQuant, indicated the likelihood of a leveraged-fueled pump for the altcoin. 

Over the past 30 days, Ether prices have gained 48%, with the markets exhibiting 10 leverage-driven pump signals. The majority of these rallies — eight out of 10 — resulted in negative returns, while one rally triggered a short squeeze, driving prices higher, and another displayed neutral price action.

From a technical perspective, Ether’s price action on the daily chart posted a descending triangle, a bullish breakout pattern, which creates equal highs and higher lows, converging toward an imminent rally. 

The pattern is bordered by two trendlines, the upper resistance, currently around $2,700 and the ascending support line. A bullish breakout above $2,677 targets the pattern’s measured move, calculated by adding the triangle’s height to the breakout point. This projects a target range of $3,100–$3,200, aligning with prior resistance levels around $3,100 and $3,400.

Ethereum 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The relative strength index (RSI) at 68.50 supports this bullish outlook. An RSI near 70 indicates strong momentum, with the indicator resetting after oscillating in the overbought region (above 70), suggesting the altcoin could be gearing up for a fresh rally. 

Anonymous crypto trader mo_xbt pointed out a “sandwich setup” for Ethereum. The analyst also believed that a $3,000 retest was imminent and said, 

“Gotta love the sandwich set up on the daily — Above 1d 200ema, below 1d 200ma & 300ma. I have seen this set up many times the last month, it always lead up.”Ethereum 1-day analysis by Mo. Source: X.com/Mo_XBT

Related: Bitcoin profit taking lingers, but rally to $115K will liquidate $7B shorts

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

US President Donald Trump supports the BITCOIN Act and has a team of experts in the White House working to roll out landmark digital asset legislation in the coming weeks, according to Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis. 

Speaking at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lummis said she is bringing the BITCOIN ACT to the “attention of the American people and the world,” adding that, “President Trump supports the bill.”

In March, Lummis reintroduced the BITCOIN Act — landmark legislation that directs the US government to acquire 1 million Bitcoin (BTC) over five years. The acquisitions would be financed using existing funds within the Federal Reserve System and the Treasury Department. 

As Cointelegraph reported, the Trump administration has reiterated the need to use “budget-neutral ways” to acquire Bitcoin without burdening taxpayers.

Source: CryptoGoos

At the Bitcoin Conference, Lummis said the Trump administration has a team working on “digital asset issues,” including legislation on stablecoins, market structure and the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.

“They will probably roll out in that order,” she said.

“The Senate Banking Committee has passed the stablecoin bill out of committee,” said Lummis, adding:

“We’re getting close to being ready to have it on the floor. We’ve worked for untold hours with the minority party to satisfy them, and we should be voting on it the week before we get back from this break.”

Related: Senator Lummis’ new BITCOIN Act allows US reserve to exceed 1M Bitcoin

GENIUS Act on stablecoins is “going to pass,” says White House crypto czar

The White House seems to be in alignment with Senator Lummis.

Last week, Trump’s top crypto adviser, David Sacks, said the GENIUS stablecoin bill is “going to pass” the Senate with bipartisan support after clearing a key procedural vote on May 19.

On May 19, the Senate voted 66 to 32 to advance debate on the GENIUS Bill. Source: US Senate

GENIUS refers to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, possibly the most comprehensive federal push to establish a legal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Stablecoins have become one of the most prominent use cases for blockchain technology, with some industry advocates arguing that they could help extend the US dollar’s dominance as the global reserve currency.

Collateralized, dollar-backed stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) account for more than 85% of the $250 billion market, according to CoinMarketCap.

Related: Former CFTC chair criticizes STABLE Act amid calls for urgent regulatory clarity