Crypto News You May Have Missed This Week | May 17, 2025

From Metamask’s co-founder’s “maybe” comment about the “MASK” token to $PI token price plunge, here is a roundup of the top crypto stories you may have missed.

MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay said the team is still weighing the possibility of launching a native token, calling it a “maybe” during an interview on The Block’s “Crypto Beat” podcast. 

While there are no concrete plans, Finlay emphasized that any future token launch would be clearly advertised within the wallet itself. He acknowledged that the regulatory environment under a more permissive administration of U.S. President Donal Trump might make token launches safer, potentially opening the door for broader experimentation in the crypto space.

The idea of a MetaMask token, possibly called $MASK, has been floated since 2021, with Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin teasing its launch and discussing it as part of a broader decentralization strategy. Although plans for a DAO and token have been discussed as mechanisms to increase community ownership, Finlay stressed caution, noting that regulatory risks remain.

Pump.fun Starts Revenue Sharing for Coin Creators

Cryptocurrency launchpad Pump.fun introduced a revenue-sharing model to incentivize long-term engagement and discourage pump-and-dump behavior among coin creators. 

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Now, developers will earn 0.05% of the trading volume in $SOL from decentralized exchange PumpSwap trades on their tokens. The new model applies to both new coins and those already trading on PumpSwap, providing creators with ongoing, claimable revenue through the platform’s dashboard.

According to Pump.fun, the new initiative aims to encourage more sustainable and creative project development — such as utility tokens and community-driven media — by offering recurring income instead of short-term gains. 

However, the automatic 0.05% developer fee model is facing backlash for allegedly incentivizing rug pulls and undermining community-led project revivals. Critics argue it prioritizes passive income over sustainability, potentially encouraging bad practices and weakening traditional decentralized exchange norms.

Binance Wallet Dominates Swap Market

Binance Wallet was noted to quickly rise to dominate the crypto swap market in 2025, jumping from just 3.4% market share in early January to over 93% by mid-May, according to Dune Analytics. 

The rapid ascent is attributed to the launch of Binance Alpha, a centralized token launchpad that rewards users with “Alpha points” for platform engagement—points that may qualify them for early access to new tokens and potential listings. 

Moreover, the surge pushed aside rivals like OKX, MetaMask, and imToken, while sparking concerns about centralization and the fading influence of community-driven airdrops in web3.

Hackers Paid Overseas Coinbase Employees for Account Data

Crypto giant Coinbase revealed it could lose up to $400 million after cybercriminals bribed overseas support agents to access sensitive customer data. The attackers exploited less than 1% of user accounts to impersonate the firm, trick victims into handing over crypto, and then demanded a $20 million ransom—which Coinbase refused to pay.

While no passwords, private keys, or funds were directly compromised, stolen data included names, addresses, government ID images, and account balances. Coinbase independently uncovered the breach, fired the involved employees, and reinforced its fraud protections. 

According to the company, it is now working with law enforcement and has launched a $20 million reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Pi Token Plunges 40% After $100M Fund Announcement

Shortly after Pi Network announced a $100 million investment fund to support ecosystem growth and innovation, its native token, $PI, suffered a sharp drop, falling from over $1.50 to $0.85 in just 24 hours.

While the announcement briefly pushed $PI into the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, the post-announcement plunge led to heavy criticism and speculation that the surge was fueled more by hype than substance, with some users accusing the team of manipulating sentiment through overhyped teasers.

Critics on social media suggested the announcement’s impact was diminished by poor timing and unmet expectations, while others argued that combining it with additional news might have softened the backlash. 

In response, Pi Network-affiliated sources emphasized that the initiative was focused on long-term ecosystem development rather than short-term price movements. 

This article is published on BitPinas: Crypto News You May Have Missed This Week | May 17, 2025

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