AI Financial's potential collapse highlights the volatility and risks associated with heavy reliance on cryptocurrency assets.

The post WLFI-linked AI Financial warns it may not survive next 12 months after losses balloon to $271 million appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Rising UK unemployment amid geopolitical tensions signals potential economic instability, challenging growth forecasts and policy responses.

The post UK unemployment unexpectedly rises to 5% amid Iran war pressures appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The scrutiny of Polymarket's dispute process highlights potential conflicts of interest, raising concerns about fairness and transparency in prediction markets.

The post Polymarket faces scrutiny as nearly 20% of dispute judges have financial ties to the bets they decide appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Rising yields prompt a strategic shift in investor behavior, impacting tech valuations and delaying anticipated rate cuts, affecting broader markets.

The post NASDAQ leads losses as investors book profits amid rising yields appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Redis' Iris could accelerate enterprise AI adoption by bridging data retrieval gaps, enhancing efficiency, and reducing infrastructure costs.

The post Redis launches Iris, a context and memory platform for AI agents appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

White House Says Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Announcement Is Imminent: ‘A Breakthrough’

The White House is on the verge of a formal announcement on the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — and the official leading the charge says the hard part is done.

Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told an interviewer this week that the administration has cleared a major legal hurdle in standing up the reserve. 

“We’ll have an announcement,” Witt said. “I wish I could say more… It’s a breakthrough as far as getting everything in place, legally sound, properly safeguarding the assets.” 

The signal follows a similar declaration Witt made at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, where he told the crowd an update was coming within weeks.

President Trump signed the executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on March 6, 2025. Since then, Witt says his deputy Harry John has driven the interagency process: identifying what legal authorities exist, commissioning the necessary legal memos, and building a custody and reporting infrastructure across federal agencies that were designed for gold, not private keys. 

The reserve holds an estimated 328,372 BTC — roughly 1.6% of total global supply — accumulated through law enforcement seizures, including the Silk Road takedown, the 2022 Bitfinex hack recovery, and years of criminal forfeitures. 

The executive order bars the Treasury from selling a single coin.

A government bitcoin hack lit a fire for the U.S. government

Witt pointed to a breach at the U.S. Marshals Service as proof that the reserve’s security mandate is urgent. A government contractor named John Daghita allegedly stole more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from USMS custody accounts in late 2025, and the FBI arrested him in March 2026. A separate $24 million theft was traced to October 2024. 

“It’s a case in point for why it was so necessary that the president established the SBR,” Witt said.

An executive order dies the moment a new president takes office. That vulnerability is the core argument for two bills now moving through Congress. Rep. Nick Begich recently rebranded the BITCOIN Act as the American Reserves Modernization Act (ARMA), which would authorize the U.S. Treasury to purchase up to 200,000 BTC per year for five years — with holdings locked for a minimum of 20 years. Senator Cynthia Lummis has put Congress on a deadline, pushing for a vote before the summer recess as midterm campaigning begins to consume floor time. 

If the BITCOIN Act passes, the Treasury’s first open-market Bitcoin purchase is projected for Q4 2026 — making the U.S. the first sovereign nation to actively accumulate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. 

This post White House Says Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Announcement Is Imminent: ‘A Breakthrough’ first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Standard Chartered to Absorb Zodia Custody’s Core Business in Digital Asset Consolidation

Standard Chartered announced Monday that its non-binding offer to acquire Zodia Custody — the digital asset custodian it co-founded in 2020 through its innovation arm SC Ventures — has been accepted by Zodia’s shareholders and noteholders.

The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, will fold Zodia’s regulated custody operations into Standard Chartered’s existing Financing and Securities Services business. The transaction is less a traditional acquisition than a strategic reorganization: a parent bank reclaiming the client-facing business it incubated at arm’s length, now that the market has matured enough to justify direct ownership.

Zodia was established alongside Northern Trust in late 2020, when regulatory uncertainty and reputational risk made it sensible for Standard Chartered to experiment with crypto custody through a separate entity. Over time, the custodian attracted minority investors including SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD, building out operations across seven offices in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The structure served its purpose — but it also created duplication. 

Standard Chartered consolidates custody, spins infrastructure

Standard Chartered had developed its own digital asset custody capabilities within its Corporate and Investment Bank, running two custody offerings that served overlapping institutional clients.

The acquisition resolves that redundancy. By merging Zodia’s custody book into its Financing and Securities Services division, Standard Chartered gains a consolidated client base, eliminates operational overlap, and positions itself as one of the few global banks with a fully integrated, regulated crypto custody offering. 

Peers have moved in the same direction: BNY Mellon launched its Digital Asset Custody platform in 2022, and Morgan Stanley applied for a national trust bank charter in early 2026 to bring crypto custody inside a regulated banking framework.

What survives of Zodia is perhaps the more consequential piece of this transaction. The company’s institutional infrastructure platform — the technology that allows other financial institutions to build and operate digital asset services — will be separated into a new entity called Zodia Solutions, sitting under SC Ventures. 

Julian Sawyer, Zodia’s current CEO, will lead the new business. Zodia Solutions will operate as a bank-grade infrastructure provider, essentially becoming a SaaS platform for institutions that want to enter digital assets without building the underlying plumbing themselves. Standard Chartered will be a client, as will other banks. Existing minority investors remain in discussions about future stakes in the new entity.

The split reflects a real tension in the market. Institutional clients increasingly want custody held within a regulated bank, not a fintech-adjacent subsidiary. But those same institutions also need specialist technology infrastructure to power their own digital asset offerings — and that infrastructure is more valuable as a shared service than locked inside one bank’s balance sheet.

The digital asset custody market currently exceeds $1 trillion in assets under custody and is projected to reach $7 trillion by 2035, growing at a compound annual rate of roughly 24%. Standard Chartered is positioning itself to compete for both the direct custody mandates and the infrastructure contracts that will define that expansion — a two-track strategy that this transaction makes explicit for the first time.

Completion remains subject to regulatory sign-off, with no disruption expected for existing Zodia custody clients in the interim.

This post Standard Chartered to Absorb Zodia Custody’s Core Business in Digital Asset Consolidation first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Capital B Acquires 192 Bitcoin for €13 Million, Pushes Total Holdings to 3,135 BTC

Capital B, the Paris-listed Bitcoin Treasury Company formerly known as The Blockchain Group, has completed the purchase of 192 bitcoin for €13.0 million, bringing its total holdings to 3,135 BTC — one of the largest bitcoin reserves held by a European public company.

The acquisition, announced May 18, 2026, was funded through three capital raises that together generated €17.15 million. The raises included a €0.85 million placement under an “at-the-market” (ATM) agreement with TOBAM, a €1.1 million warrant issuance subscribed by cypherpunk and Blockstream CEO Adam Back, and a €15.2 million private placement of shares with attached subscription warrants (ABSA) at €0.66 per unit, placed with a group of global institutional investors.

The 192 BTC were purchased at an average cost of €67,866 per bitcoin, according to a note shared with Bitcoin Magazine. The company’s total bitcoin stack now carries an aggregate acquisition value of €283.6 million, reflecting an average cost basis of €90,451 per coin. The acquisition was executed through Swissquote Bank Europe SA, a Luxembourg-registered virtual asset service provider, with custody handled via the Swiss firm Taurus.

Capital B’s bitcoin yield 

Capital B tracks a proprietary performance metric called “BTC Yield” — a measure of bitcoin accumulation per fully diluted share — to assess the efficiency of its treasury strategy. Year-to-date, the company has recorded a BTC Yield of 1.82%, a BTC Gain of 51.3 BTC, and a BTC Euro Gain of €3.5 million. Since the start of the second quarter, those figures stand at 1.09%, 31.4 BTC, and €2.1 million.

The private placement carried a warrant structure with three tranches, each with a five-year maturity. Warrant 2026-03 carries an exercise price of €0.86, Warrant 2026-04 at €1.12, and Warrant 2026-05 at €1.46 — each set at 130% of the prior tranche’s exercise price. If all warrants were exercised, the transaction would generate an additional €99.1 million in capital for the company. Maxim Group LLC served as lead placement agent, with Marex S.A. as co-manager.

The capital table following the transaction shows Adam Back holding 13.37% of ordinary shares and 10.00% on a diluted basis, while Blockstream Capital Partners holds 14.36% on an ordinary basis but 35.90% on a diluted basis — reflecting its large warrant position. TOBAM holds 4.52% of ordinary shares. On a total basis, the company has 300,265,812 shares outstanding, with a potential diluted count of 420,859,061.

Capital B trades on Euronext Growth Paris under the ticker ALCPB, with U.S. OTC trading under CPTLF. The company’s bitcoin treasury strategy centers on a single stated objective: growing the number of bitcoin held per fully diluted share over time.

Earlier today, Strategy said they purchased 24,869 BTC for about $2.01 billion last week, bringing its total holdings to 843,738 BTC at an average cost of roughly $75,700 per coin and reinforcing its position as the largest corporate bitcoin holder. 

The buy marks a sharp acceleration in accumulation, funded in part through preferred equity and ATM offerings, as the company continues to prioritize bitcoin per-share growth while signaling it remains a net accumulator despite limited flexibility to sell if needed.

This post Capital B Acquires 192 Bitcoin for €13 Million, Pushes Total Holdings to 3,135 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Depot (BTM) Stock Falls 80% As Company Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Bitcoin Depot (NASDAQ: BTM), once the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in North America, filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Atlanta-based fintech company said it intends to wind down all operations and pursue a sale of its assets — marking one of the most visible collapses in the retail cryptocurrency sector to date.

The company’s stock cratered on the news, falling from $3 to around $0.75 on the news.

As part of the filing, Bitcoin Depot took its entire network of Bitcoin ATM kiosks offline. The company operated over 9,000 kiosk locations worldwide as of August 2025, with machines in 47 states and a cash-to-bitcoin checkout product available at retail locations in 31 states.

CEO Alex Holmes cited a hostile shift in the regulatory environment as the force behind the company’s collapse. “The regulatory environment for BTM operators has shifted significantly: states have imposed increasingly stringent compliance obligations, including new transaction limits, and in some jurisdictions, outright restrictions or bans on BTM operations,” Holmes said. “Under these circumstances, the Company’s current business model is unsustainable.”

Indiana became the first state to ban Bitcoin ATM kiosks in March 2026, with Tennessee and Minnesota following. Connecticut suspended Bitcoin Depot’s operating license the same month. 

The regulatory wave reflected a broader crackdown on crypto ATMs tied to escalating fraud concerns — the FBI logged 13,460 crypto-kiosk fraud complaints in 2025 alone, with reported losses of $389 million, a 58% jump from the prior year.

Financial deterioration preceded the filing

The bankruptcy did not arrive without warning. On May 12, Bitcoin Depot filed a notification of late filing with the SEC, disclosing it could not submit its Q1 2026 Form 10-Q on time due to a material weakness in its cash-in-transit reconciliation process. That disclosure also carried a “going concern” warning — a formal signal that management had doubts about the company’s ability to survive the next 12 months.

Preliminary Q1 2026 results told a stark story. Revenue fell $80.7 million year-over-year — a 49.2% decline — to approximately $83.5 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2026. Gross profit collapsed 85.5%, dropping from $31.2 million to $4.5 million, and the company swung to a net loss of $9.5 million from net income of $12.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Total operating expenses rose 32.3%, driven by litigation costs, and the company had accrued over $20 million in legal judgments during Q4 2025. Cash reserves fell from $65.6 million at the end of 2025 to $44.0 million by March 31.

Bitcoin Depot’s legal battles

Beyond state-level restrictions, Bitcoin Depot faced active litigation from law enforcement authorities in multiple states. 

In February 2026, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed suit against the company, alleging it facilitated cryptocurrency scams targeting consumers. Iowa’s attorney general brought similar claims, asserting that Bitcoin Depot’s pricing was deceptive, that the company allowed known fraud transactions to proceed, and that its refund policies exploited victims.

“I also want to thank our employees across the globe for their continued hard work and dedication,” Holmes said. Bitcoin Depot’s collapse stands as a cautionary benchmark for the crypto ATM industry — a sector that saw rapid expansion during the bitcoin adoption wave of the early 2020s, only to face a wall of regulatory and legal opposition it could not overcome.

This post Bitcoin Depot (BTM) Stock Falls 80% As Company Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Iran Launches Bitcoin-Backed Insurance Service for Strait of Hormuz Shipping, Eyes $10B In Revenue

Iran is reportedly launching a bitcoin-settled maritime insurance platform called Hormuz Safe, targeting cargo owners and shipping companies that transit the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf — and projecting more than $10 billion in revenue for the Islamic Republic.

The platform, backed by Iran’s Ministry of Economy and Financial Affairs, was first reported by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, which cited internal government documents, according to Bloomberg reporting. 

The Hormuz Safe website describes the service as offering “fast, verifiable digital insurance — paid via bitcoin and settled at the speed of blockchain.” Coverage under the proposed scheme includes risks from vessel inspection, detention, and confiscation, with war-damage claims excluded. The Ministry had been developing the framework since April, according to documents obtained by Fars. 

As of the time of reporting, it was not possible to confirm whether the platform was operational or had processed any real policies.

The launch marks a formalization of financial mechanisms Iran has been constructing around the strait for months. In March 2026, Iran’s parliament passed the Strait of Hormuz Management Plan, a law that codified a transit toll system the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been operating since mid-March. 

Under that framework, the IRGC extracts fees from vessels seeking passage, with operators required to submit vessel ownership details, cargo type, destination, and crew information to an IRGC-linked intermediary before receiving a permit code. Fees have started at around $1 per barrel of oil, with a vessel carrying a full load facing charges of up to $2 million.

Bitcoin as legal payment in Iran

Bitcoin became a formal payment option in April, when Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told the Financial Times that shipping companies could settle Hormuz transit fees in bitcoin or other non-dollar currencies including yuan. Iran’s preference for bitcoin stems from the asset’s resistance to seizure or freezing — a critical feature for a government operating under comprehensive U.S. Treasury sanctions.

“No one can freeze it,” Sam Lyman, research director at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, said of Tehran’s calculus.

This move builds on years of state-level bitcoin adoption. Iran legalized industrial bitcoin mining in 2019 and ran as much as 4.2% of global hashrate before U.S. and Israeli military strikes damaged much of that infrastructure. 

Iran’s crypto ecosystem reached an estimated $7.8 billion in 2025, with IRGC-linked transactions accounting for roughly 50% of the country’s total crypto volume by the fourth quarter of that year. The government has used mined bitcoin to fund imports and hedge against oil revenue shortfalls, with state mining costs estimated near $1,300 per coin.

Hormuz Safe represents Iran’s most visible attempt yet to convert its control over a waterway that handles around 20% of global oil supply into a revenue-generating financial product — denominated in a currency no foreign government can touch.

This post Iran Launches Bitcoin-Backed Insurance Service for Strait of Hormuz Shipping, Eyes $10B In Revenue first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin price breaking below $78,000 turned one of crypto’s strongest regulatory weeks into a severe test of market structure, exposing how quickly macroeconomic pressure and crowded positioning can overpower a favorable policy catalyst.

The price decline came shortly after the CLARITY Act advanced toward a Senate floor vote, a milestone that would typically strengthen the case for higher digital asset prices by reducing regulatory uncertainty.

Instead, CryptoQuant data reveals that the top cryptocurrency fell roughly $4,100 over the weekend. This sudden drop wiped out about $80 billion in market value and triggered nearly $980 million in liquidations across crypto derivatives markets.

According to market experts, the selloff highlighted that Bitcoin entered this catalyst with too much leverage.

Compounding the issue were weakening ETF demand and a macroeconomic backdrop that had grown increasingly unforgiving toward risk assets. By the time the positive policy news arrived, the market was already primed for a reset.

Thus, Bitcoin below $78,000 leaves the market in a highly complex position, with momentum stalled and short-term traders forced to cut their exposure.

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Bitcoin has one level left before macro pressure opens the path to $75k as Treasury yields extend two-day correction

Bitcoin has moved from a failed push above $82,000 to a test of the $78,000 support zone, as rising US Treasury yields and inflation fears continue to pressure risk assets.

May 17, 2026 · Gino Matos

Why Bitcoin price could not trade on the CLARITY Act alone

While the CLARITY Act significantly improved Bitcoin’s long-term regulatory outlook, its near-term pricing remains tethered to yields, the strength of the dollar, and global liquidity conditions.

As CryptoSlate previously reported, US Treasury yields pushed higher as investors reassessed the trajectory of Federal Reserve policy. Last week, the 10-year yield climbed toward 4.62%, while the 30-year approached 5.14%, effectively raising the discount rate across all risk assets.

Naturally, higher yields pressure Bitcoin by tightening financial conditions and making speculative assets less attractive compared to cash and bonds.

Adding another layer of pressure is the US dollar. Crypto trading firm QCP noted that the USD/JPY pair traded near 158-159, which is dangerously close to the 160 level that has historically drawn intervention from Japanese authorities.

A sharper move through this zone could trigger a partial unwind of crowded yen-funded carry trades, a mechanism that rapidly drains liquidity from global markets.

At the same time, asset management firm Bitwise noted that stress in Japanese government bonds (JGBs) fed into the broader rates narrative.

The 30-year JGB yield reached a record high, and the 10-year yield climbed to levels unseen since the late 1990s. As global investors rebalance across sovereign bond markets, rising Japanese yields often spill over into US Treasurys.

Related Reading

Bitcoin faces Treasury yield pressure as Japan sells nearly $30 billion of US debt

Japan’s shift from Treasury buyer to seller could lift global yields, tighten liquidity, and sharpen Bitcoin’s role in the sovereign debt debate.

May 18, 2026 · Gino Matos

Meanwhile, US trade policy did little to ease these headwinds.

Markets had hoped for more concrete progress after the Trump-Xi summit, but the absence of clear rare-earth concessions for the US and limited detail on tariff reductions for China left investors cautious. Rising oil prices and a hotter inflation print then reinforced the view that the Fed may have less room to ease.

Consequently, rate expectations have adjusted rapidly. Markets are now pricing in a 50% to 60% probability that the Fed’s benchmark rate could be 25 basis points higher by January 2027, representing a sharp reversal from earlier base-case cut projections.

This shifting landscape makes it incredibly difficult for Bitcoin to sustain a purely regulatory-driven rally without fresh liquidity support.

Bitcoin options expiry left crowded longs exposed as ETF demand weakened

As the market grappled with these macroeconomic headwinds, Bitcoin also exhibited structural fragilities in its own trading setup, which quickly spilled over into the spot market.

According to QCP, Bitcoin had spent much of the past month comfortably hovering near $80,000. However, this stability relied heavily on options positioning that was preparing to expire.

Specifically, BTC’s spot price action was restrained by dealer positioning, largely through at-the-money gamma tied to IBIT options.

This setup naturally absorbed volatility, locking Bitcoin into a narrow range even as other assets swung aggressively. When dealers are positioned this way, their buying and selling flows mechanically dampen price movements, creating an illusion of stability.

That mechanical support evaporated after Friday’s expiry, when more than $4 billion in IBIT options rolled off. Without the stabilizing gamma effect, Bitcoin lost its firm footing near $80,000, leaving highly leveraged traders exposed in an increasingly thin market.

QCP noted that this setup made Bitcoin highly vulnerable to a liquidation cascade once the spot price broke through key support.

This is because the market had crowded into bullish positions before the regulatory catalyst could spark sustained spot demand. Once volatility spiked, long traders, who had treated the $78,000 to $80,000 range as an ironclad floor, were abruptly forced to unwind.

This liquidation wave immediately collided with a weakening spot-demand environment. Over the weekend, CryptoSlate reported that Bitcoin ETF outflows exceeded $1 billion the prior week. This was the largest weekly outflow since January.

These withdrawals arrived at a critical juncture in the market, as ETF demand had previously been one of the most reliable pillars of support during Bitcoin’s recovery.

Meanwhile, Bitwise also observed that this reversal followed a period of highly elevated crypto sentiment, setting the stage for aggressive profit-taking once macro conditions deteriorated.

Ultimately, these ETF outflows changed the very character of the selloff. While the initial leg down was driven by leverage, options expiries, and the loss of mechanical support, the ETF withdrawals indicated that longer-duration buyers were also reducing their exposure.

This makes the decline much harder to dismiss as a simple derivatives-driven reset, as BTC lacked the spot demand necessary to absorb the massive leverage flush near $78,000.

Beneath the selloff, Bitcoin’s supply picture still points to accumulation

Despite the bleak short-term price action, Bitcoin's underlying network fundamentals paint a surprisingly different picture: one of quiet accumulation and a deepening supply contraction.

Binance Research highlighted several on-chain signals pointing toward tightening supply and fading sell pressure.

According to the firm, nearly 60% of Bitcoin’s supply has not moved in over a year, up from 27% in 2012. This dormancy peaked at 69.5% in January 2024 and remains at historically elevated levels, indicating that long-term holders still control a massive share of the supply.

This metric suggests fewer coins are rushing to market during stressful periods.

BTC's dwindling exchange balances reinforce this view. Since peaking at 17.6% during the COVID-era market shock, the share of Bitcoin held on exchanges has plummeted to roughly 15.0%. About 500,000 BTC have left exchanges over this period, driving immediately available sell-side supply to a six-year low.

Furthermore, the SLRV ratio remains in a historical bottom zone, a state where long-term holders dominate and short-term speculation is subdued. Historically, this zone aligns more closely with market accumulation phases than with distribution.

Adding to this positive structural outlook, the short-term holder MVRV measure, which stayed below 1.0 since November 2024, has finally reclaimed the 1.0 mark. This signals that short-term holders are beginning to rebuild unrealized gains, effectively exhausting immediate sell pressure.

Bitwise data corroborates this dynamic, showing that long-term holder supply has swelled to roughly 14.8 million BTC, representing 74.3% of the circulating supply. Statistically, these coins are controlled by investors who are highly unlikely to panic-sell.

While these indicators do not erase the risk of near-term downside, they strongly suggest that the weekend decline flushed out excess leverage without fundamentally altering the market's deeper ownership structure.

Options traders are bracing for another leg lower while keeping the rebound trade alive

Given this complex backdrop, BTC price action and derivatives positioning indicate that crypto traders are preparing for prolonged volatility rather than a decisive directional breakout.

Deribit data shows a distinct bifurcation in market sentiment. On the defensive side, the $60,000 and $75,000 put strikes have emerged as massive positions, holding over $2.4 billion.

This reflects a strong demand to hedge against a deeper drawdown should macroeconomic pressures intensify following the break below $78,000.

At the same time, the options market still leaves room for a Bitcoin rebound if spot price reclaims the broken $78,000 to $80,000 range.

Conversely, upside potential remains robust. The $80,000 and $90,000 call strikes carry more than $2.8 billion in open interest, proving that traders haven't abandoned the rebound thesis. They are deliberately leaving room for a sharp recovery through the recently broken range.

This split positioning is a recipe for choppy price action. Large put interest can reinforce caution and accelerate selling during dips, while heavy call exposure can aggressively draw traders back in if the spot price stabilizes.

Without a definitive catalyst, call overwriters may also step back into the market to sell upside volatility, mechanically pinning Bitcoin near its current levels.

This dynamic makes the $78,000 to $80,000 zone the absolute center of gravity. A clean, decisive move back above this range would challenge the bearish positions established during the selloff, likely forcing traders to rebuild upside exposure.

On the other hand, failing to reclaim it keeps downside hedges attractive, leaving Bitcoin vulnerable to testing lower support levels.

The post Bitcoin’s price drop below $78K cleared the path for a rebound as options traders hedge downside risk appeared first on CryptoSlate.

President Donald Trump-themed TRUMP coin is dangling luxury suite tickets to the 2026 World Cup final in a bid to arrest its severe market collapse.

The initiative, organized through the “TRUMP Coin Club,” represents the latest attempt to inject liquidity and consumer interest into a digital asset that has lost roughly 97% of its value since January 2025.

However, the promotional push comes alongside quiet adjustments to the project’s legal disclosures, which explicitly warn investors that affiliated insider entities may dump their own token holdings while the marketing campaign is underway.

TRUMP's luxury incentive amid a market collapse

According to updated promotional materials on the token's official website, the project has launched a leaderboard contest running from May 12 through July 1.

The top 19 holders of the $TRUMP token at the end of this period are promised a three-day VIP experience in July, culminating in access to a private luxury suite for the World Cup final game on July 19.

Winners of the contest would also receive secondary incentives, such as 20% discounts on Trump-branded commercial merchandise, including watches, fragrances, and sneakers, as well as commemorative merchandise gift bags.

The fine print on the website explicitly states that neither FIFA nor the World Cup tournament organizers are affiliated with or endorse the cryptocurrency promotion.

Meanwhile, the aggressive marketing push comes as the digital asset faces a severe, protracted downturn.

Data from CryptoSlate indicates that the TRUMP token has shed more than 54% of its value since the start of the year, currently trading at approximately $2.21.

The current valuation represents a stark retreat from its historical peak near $74 per coin, achieved just prior to Presidential Inauguration Day in January 2025.

This poor price performance has persisted despite several highly publicized events, including an exclusive gala held at the Mar-a-Lago resort last month for top-tier investors.

Updated terms allow insider sales as tokens move to exchanges

Meanwhile, the World Cup campaign is unfolding under a disclaimer that gives the project’s affiliated entities room to sell tokens during the same promotional push designed to keep holders engaged.

The terms say Fight Fight Fight LLC, CIC Digital LLC, and their affiliates may sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of TRUMP tokens through preannounced disposition plans or other arrangements.

They also state that those entities may dispose of tokens in conjunction with marketing, promotional, community-building, or other activities tied to the project, including the Coin Club and related events.

That language is more than a standard risk warning in the context of recent wallet activity.

Earlier this month, blockchain analyst Ember CN reported that the project operators transferred about 7 million TRUMP tokens, valued at nearly $20 million, into centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.

The transfers followed earlier movements from wallets associated with the project team, adding to concerns that promotional campaigns could coincide with increased token liquidity from insider-linked holdings.

Transfers to exchange-linked wallets do not automatically confirm open-market sales. Still, they show why the project’s legal language is drawing attention.

A campaign that rewards holders for maintaining large balances can encourage accumulation, while the terms make clear that affiliated entities may be reducing exposure during the same period.

Meanwhile, the terms also warned users not to acquire or accumulate TRUMP based on any expectation that promotional activity will increase or maintain the token’s price.

It further stated that TRUMP is not intended to be an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security.

Additionally, it clarified that the product is not distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization, or their respective affiliates or principals, and that Trump’s name, image, and likeness are used under a limited license.

Those disclaimers are likely to remain central to the market debate.

The promotion leans heavily on Trump branding and high-profile access, while the legal terms separate the token from formal investment claims and preserve affiliated entities' ability to dispose of holdings during periods of heightened market attention.

Ethics concerns rise around Trump's crypto endeavors

The operational framework of the TRUMP memecoin highlights the highly profitable, parallel economy that has emerged around politically branded digital assets.

While retail buyers who purchased tokens during the early 2025 market peaks have seen their capital largely eroded, the broader financial network surrounding the Trump family has maintained steady profitability.

An investigation by Reuters revealed that entities tied to the Trump family have raised more than $1 billion from cryptocurrency ventures and digital asset sales.

This figure includes at least $336 million generated solely from meme-coin licensing and sales during the first half of 2025, with billions more remaining in unrealized, non-liquid token allocations.

As a result, government ethics experts and Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly raised objections to the intersection of political influence and speculative digital assets.

In fact, Senator Elizabeth Warren led an effort to amend the recently advanced CLARITY Act bill to include provisions that would “rein in the corruption.”

As the July 1 leaderboard deadline approaches, blockchain transaction data show that sell-side pressure continues to dominate trading volumes.

For retail traders vying for a seat at the World Cup final, the challenge remains twofold: navigating a cratering token price while competing against the potential sell orders from the project’s own creators.

The post TRUMP coin World Cup VIP offer lets insiders sell while holders compete for tickets appeared first on CryptoSlate.

DefiLlama’s RWA category data puts the RWA tokenization market near $30 billion on-chain, with only $2.47 billion appearing as DeFi active TVL, the value actually deposited or pooled inside third-party DeFi protocols the platform tracks.

The rest of the tokenized real-world assets market sits outside the lending markets and collateral vaults that make crypto assets composable. Bond and money market funds are the largest single RWA category at over $16.6 billion on-chain, yet they carry only $920 million in DeFi active total value locked (TVL).

Gold and commodities sit at $5.7 billion on-chain against $183.6 million in DeFi, while stocks and equities contribute $2.7 billion on-chain against $78.27 million in DeFi.

Private credit stands apart with $3.226 billion on-chain and $1.257 billion in DeFi active TVL, a 39% ratio, driven by protocols like Maple Finance and Centrifuge that built their products as lending instruments from inception.

Issuers built categories such as Treasury funds, gold, and equities for institutional holding and regulated fund architecture.

Permissioned architecture limits DeFi composability

DefiLlama classifies BlackRock's money market fund, BUIDL, as permissioned and records only $18.9 million in DeFi active TVL for the fund.

IOSCO's November 2025 final report on financial asset tokenization noted that BUIDL created a permissioned system on public blockchains for issuance, custody, secondary trading between allowlisted qualified investors, dividend distribution, and redemption.

Prospective holders must clear a Securitize-managed allowlist, and on-chain transactions carry no legal effect until a transfer agent reconciles them with the off-chain record.

That makes BUIDL a compliance infrastructure that runs on blockchain rails for institutional holding and transfer-agent reconciliation. The fact that the fund's contracts interact only with allowlisted addresses prevents direct deposit into open protocols like Aave or Uniswap without a compliant wrapper in between.

BlackRock's February 2026 Uniswap integration moved a portion of BUIDL onto the platform. Still, Securitize controls the list of eligible institutions and market makers, and access stays restricted to qualified purchasers with at least $5 million in assets.

IOSCO found that secondary trading of tokenized money market funds (MMFs) generally operates this way and concluded that the sector has yet to deliver the promised secondary-market liquidity benefits.

RedStone's March 2026 tokenization report identified that the hardest part of tokenization is handling compliance, identity, transfer restrictions, sanctions, and corporate actions across jurisdictions and chains. That makes Morpho and Aave Horizon the clearest RWA DeFi examples in the current data set.

Every additional compliance constraint a platform builds in makes the asset harder to integrate into DeFi, and issuers of tokenized Treasuries, Treasury funds, and MMFs built those constraints in by design to satisfy their regulated investor base.

The gold and commodities category adds a third dimension to the stack, as CoinGecko data showed that tokenized gold spot volume hit $90.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the full year 2025. Yet centralized exchanges account for the vast majority of spot trading for tokenized assets.

The $183.6 million DeFi active TVL figure for the category reflects activity concentrated on centralized venues, which falls entirely outside DefiLlama's DeFi protocol tracking.

Where the bull case lives

Ondo's USDY crossed $1 billion in TVL in early 2026 and operates across nine blockchains. Ondo Global Markets, which launched in September 2025 to offer tokenized US stocks and ETFs to non-US investors, built its tokens for free transferability and DeFi collateral acceptance, reaching $650 million in TVL and over $12 billion in cumulative trading volume.

RedStone's report counts over $620 million in RWA deposits on Morpho and $423.5 million in total market size on Aave Horizon, two lending protocols that have made RWA collateral a functional product.

These products demonstrate that composability is achievable at the issuance level when designers build for permissionless circulation from the start.

DWF Labs' April 2026 roundtable with participants from Centrifuge, Falcon Finance, and xStocks concluded that the RWA market is bifurcating into two lanes: one for ownership-first, permissioned rails, and another for composability-first designs that combine compliant issuance with secondary-market utility.

Centrifuge's Graham Nelson said that strict allowlisting prevents an asset from entering open pools when every pool participant must be individually onboarded.

Centrifuge's DeRWA approach addresses this by wrapping compliant primary issuance with freer secondary transferability. Falcon Finance's Artem Tolkachev called composability and exit mechanics the bridges between real-world assets and crypto liquidity.

The bull case is that enough of the market moves in this direction to pull the DeFi-active ratio meaningfully above 9% as the total on-chain RWA market approaches $50 billion.

The bear case, in the data

Standard Chartered projects $2 trillion in tokenized assets by 2028 but warns that the boom could consolidate inside bank infrastructure, with open markets capturing little of the growth.

IOSCO's November 2025 report found that tokenized assets still largely rely on conventional financial infrastructure for distribution and secondary trading because of accessibility and liquidity constraints on DLT platforms.

The ECB noted in its April 2026 tokenization research that the lack of common standards can entrench tokenized markets as isolated pools, each with its own compliance framework, settlement layer, and access model, thereby concentrating liquidity within closed networks.

Bond and MMF funds at 5.5%, gold and commodities at 3.2%, and stocks and equities at 2.9% put numbers to that structural separation.

Most tokenized Treasury and MMF products carry minimum investment thresholds, KYC requirements, transfer-agent reconciliation cycles, and NAV-aligned redemption windows that are structurally incompatible with real-time AMM pricing or permissionless collateral vaults.

Regulators required these features, and issuers accepted them.

Two markets, one scoreboard

The $30 billion figure and the $2.47 billion DeFi active TVL figure measure two distinct markets the industry groups under the same RWA label.

One is regulated on-chain finance, consisting of MMFs, Treasury funds, custody rails, and issuer-managed records reconciled by transfer agents. The other is DeFi composability, comprised of assets deposited in lending protocols, used as permissionless collateral, and integrated into automated yield strategies.

Morpho's $620 million in RWA deposits and USDY's nine-chain footprint show the second market has real traction.

For the DeFi-active ratio to surpass 9%, issuers would have to choose a structure that allows permissionless circulation by design instead of the BUIDL architecture, where the compliance structure is the product.

With most of the current $28.56 billion in on-chain market cap in the permissioned camp, tokenized assets still look more like regulated on-chain finance than open DeFi collateral.

The post Why the $30 billion RWA tokenization boom is barely reaching DeFi appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Crypto traders are already assigning Elon Musk’s SpaceX stock a public-market valuation before the rocket and satellite company has filed for an IPO.

On May 17, Hyperliquid-powered Trade.xyz launched a SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures contract, creating a live, cash-settled market for traders to bet on where the private company could trade when it eventually lists.

According to the firm, the contract will trade under the ticker SPCX-USDC, opened with a $150 reference price based on SpaceX’s reported 11.87 billion fully diluted shares.

That starting point implied a SpaceX valuation of about $1.78 trillion, placing the contract inside the $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion range that SpaceX has reportedly targeted for a public offering.

However, SPCX's trading quickly moved above that level as its value rose to as high as $216, pushing the implied valuation beyond $2.5 trillion before settling near $203.

At the same time, the first 12 hours of trading generated more than $40 million in volume, showing how quickly crypto-native traders moved into a market that has no equivalent on traditional public exchanges.

The early move gives SpaceX a shadow market before Wall Street has an official listing price, underwriting range, or public filing to analyze.

It also extends one of crypto’s fastest-growing market-structure experiments into the private-company arena, where access has historically been limited to venture funds, employees, secondary-market investors, and large institutions.

Related Reading

SpaceX IPO would eclipse Tesla in market value while holding less Bitcoin — challenging the idea of a Bitcoin proxy

A $2T listing would shift how Bitcoin appears in equities, even as it remains a minor part of SpaceX’s value

Apr 3, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

SPCX gives traders a market before SpaceX IPO

The SpaceX contract is the second pre-IPO perpetual market launched by Trade.xyz after Cerebras Systems, which began trading on May 1 under the CBRS ticker.

The Cerebras product gave traders an early test case for synthetic price discovery around private companies. Market observers noted that its trading price closely tracked the eventual listing price, offering Trade.xyz an early validation point as it expands into larger, more closely watched companies.

SpaceX gives that model a much bigger stage. The company sits at the center of several public-market themes, including reusable rockets, satellite internet, defense contracts, private space infrastructure, and Elon Musk’s broader corporate network.

Data from Arkham Intelligence shows that the firm is also holding about 8,285 Bitcoin in Coinbase Prime custody, valued at about $637 million.

For these reasons, its potential listing has long been viewed as one of the most consequential IPO candidates in the world, even though the company has yet to file an S-1 registration statement.

SPCX effectively creates a market-implied view of that future valuation. Traders can go long or short the contract using USDC as the quoted asset, with the price reflecting positioning, funding dynamics, and the market’s expectation of how SpaceX could be valued in a public-market debut.

The structure also gives crypto traders exposure to a company that has remained unavailable through normal public-market channels.

SpaceX shares trade through private secondary markets and tender offers, but those venues are fragmented, restricted, and often inaccessible to retail investors. A Hyperliquid-listed perp changes the access point, even though it gives no ownership claim on the underlying company.

SPCX presents opportunities and risks to the market

While early trading in SPCX shows clear demand for SpaceX exposure, the contract’s credibility will depend on whether its price series remains coherent as liquidity builds and the company moves closer to a public listing.

Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, told CryptoSlate that Hyperliquid’s launch of pre-IPO perpetuals tied to companies such as SpaceX opens private-company narratives to a broader trading audience through liquid, always-on crypto markets.

Kan said the appeal is straightforward because users can gain synthetic exposure to high-profile companies that have historically been difficult to access.

However, he warned that these products differ sharply from traditional pre-IPO investing or tokenized equities because traders are speculating on valuation and market sentiment rather than acquiring ownership, shareholder rights, or claims on underlying shares.

According to him:

“The opportunity is that crypto infrastructure can dramatically expand access and price discovery around private-market demand… The challenge is that pricing these assets is inherently difficult because there is no continuous public-market benchmark behind them.”

He also added that early liquidity could be driven more by short-term speculation than deep institutional participation, making oracle design and reference pricing critical.

Kan said the closer these products appear to equity exposure in practice, the more important transparency becomes around what users are actually buying, particularly from a regulatory and investor-protection standpoint.

Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen, also told CryptoSlate that SPCX is structurally significant because it extends crypto-native liquidity into late-stage private-company exposure, an asset class historically limited to venture investors, employee tender markets, and secondary-share buyers.

At the same time, Sondergaard said the launch will test whether perpetual futures can serve as a credible price-discovery venue for a company with no public float and limited financial disclosure.

According to him:

“[SPCX] tests whether onchain perp mechanics, continuous funding rates, permissionless access, 24/7 trading, and synthetic settlement can function as a credible price-discovery venue for a company with no public float and limited public financial disclosure.”

That test, Sondergaard explained, carries obvious risks because a perpetual contract without a liquid underlying spot market can end up pricing a narrative as much as an asset.

Its funding rates may reflect positioning and sentiment, while the lack of delivery or redemption mechanisms means the contract can drift away from any reasonable estimate of intrinsic value.

That risk is especially relevant for SpaceX. The company’s cap table is complex, secondary-market data is limited, and Starlink’s financial profile remains difficult to assess from the outside.

Those gaps leave traders relying on reported tender valuations, investor expectations and market appetite for Musk-linked assets.

Still, SPCX could become a useful signal if liquidity deepens and the contract maintains a stable relationship with known private-market pricing.

It could also become a speculative venue where sentiment around SpaceX, Starlink, Musk, and broader risk appetite moves faster than fundamentals.

Hyperliquid’s expansion brings Washington into the frame

Meanwhile, the new SpaceX contract also lands at a sensitive moment for Hyperliquid, the leading decentralized exchange.

Over the past months, the decentralized derivatives platform has grown into one of the most active crypto trading venues, helped by demand for around-the-clock markets tied to crypto assets, commodities, equities, and other synthetic instruments.

This has become particularly evident during the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war, where traders used Hyperliquid to hedge exposure to oil, gold, silver, and US equities while traditional markets were closed.

That growth has brought more attention from policymakers and traditional market operators like CME Group and ICE's New York Stock Exchange.

Their concerns center on market surveillance, jurisdiction, manipulation risk, sanctions compliance, and whether public-blockchain derivatives should operate under a regulatory framework designed for centralized exchanges.

In response to this scrutiny, Hyperliquid has increased its policy presence in Washington.

Last week, the platform's founder, Jeff Yan, said that he met with US lawmakers to discuss on-chain derivatives and a regulatory path for bringing blockchain-based trading markets into the US.

Yan said some conversations were technical, while others focused on decentralized finance and the demand for onchain markets. He added that he saw bipartisan interest in crypto regulation and expected the discussions to continue.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center has also pushed back against criticism from incumbent exchanges, arguing that the platform’s public ledger creates a full real-time record of transactions. The group has said that transparency can help surveillance, detection, and investigation by regulators and law enforcement.

That argument is now being tested against more complex products, like a SpaceX pre-IPO perp, which raises different questions than a Bitcoin or Ethereum contract.

The post SpaceX IPO betting on Hyperliquid values Elon Musk’s company above $2 trillion even before SEC filing appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin faces renewed Treasury yield pressure after Japanese investors sold $29.6 billion of US government, agency, and local authority debt in the first quarter, the largest quarterly net sale since the second quarter of 2022.

As Bloomberg reported, the catalyst was an abrupt turnaround in Federal Reserve rate expectations when oil prices jumped, making existing Treasury positions less attractive.

Treasury TIC data put Japan's holdings at $1.24 trillion in February 2026, making it the largest foreign holder ahead of the UK at $897.3 billion and mainland China at $693.3 billion.

A $29.6 billion quarterly sale represents roughly 2.4% of those holdings, and in a market where marginal demand moves prices, the direction of quarterly outflows is what bond desks track.

Why Japanese capital is heading home and what that means

Japan's 10-year government bond yield climbed above 2.6%, its highest level since 1997, while the 30-year hit 4%, as markets priced in a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hike.

The BOJ also reduced its monthly JGB purchases from ¥5.7 trillion in August 2024 to ¥2.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, removing the ceiling that had held domestic yields near zero for years.

When the Bank of Japan pushed Japanese yields to near zero, Japanese institutions had little choice but to look abroad for income, and US Treasuries absorbed much of that capital.

Reuters separately reported that Japanese investors continued selling foreign bonds in April, though the pace eased to a three-month low.

Mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs, bank balance sheets, collateral markets, and emerging-market debt all key off Treasury yields. When external demand for that debt weakens, the market may need to offer higher yields to clear supply, and that tightening flows through every corner of global finance.

The OECD's 2026 Global Debt Report projected gross borrowing across OECD countries at around $18 trillion in 2026, with net borrowing near $4 trillion, the second-highest on record.

Long-term G7 borrowing costs have surged to their highest level in more than two decades, while the 30-year US Treasury yield hit 5% in late April and the 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to 4.54% in mid-May, its highest level in 12 months.

Citigroup warned that elevated JGB volatility alone could force risk parity funds to sell as much as $130 billion in US bonds.

The Bank of Japan kept its short-term policy rate at 0.75% in April, but three of nine board members voted for a hike, and the BOJ raised its FY2026 core inflation outlook to 2.8%.

If the BOJ hikes further, domestic JGBs become even more attractive, and the repatriation logic strengthens.

That makes the link between US Treasury yields and Bitcoin the central market question: whether higher risk-free returns cap BTC upside before sovereign-debt stress strengthens its long-term case.

Why higher Treasury yields pressure Bitcoin

Treasury yields are Bitcoin's most direct macro headwind, and when US yields rise, the risk-free rate rises with them, making cash and bonds more attractive relative to speculative assets.

A 30-year Treasury yielding 5% competes directly with every dollar allocated to Bitcoin. As of May 17, BTC traded near the $78,000 zone and had failed to close above its 200-day moving average of $82,228 on five consecutive attempts.

CME FedWatch assigned a probability of more than 44% to a Fed rate hike by December 2026, a sharp reversal from the multiple cuts markets expected at the start of 2026. April CPI came in at 3.8%, weakening the case for near-term cuts and keeping higher-for-longer policy risk alive.

If Japanese selling adds sustained upward momentum to Treasury yields, Bitcoin takes the hit through higher yields that pull capital toward bonds, a stronger dollar that compresses risk assets globally, and liquidity conditions that drove Bitcoin's 2024-2025 rally going into reverse.

Bitcoin behaves like a high-beta liquidity asset in that environment and takes the brunt of the risk-off rotation.

The bull case for Bitcoin

If Japanese selling, climbing JGB yields, and broader G7 bond market weakness add up to a visible deterioration in foreign demand for US sovereign debt, Bitcoin's macro narrative gets stronger.

If the largest foreign holder of Treasuries is pulling back as domestic yields improve, long-end yields globally sit at 20-year highs, and OECD governments need to borrow a combined $18 trillion in 2026, the durability of the Treasury market as the world's risk-free anchor becomes a live debate.

Bitcoin bulls have always argued that excess sovereign debt creates the conditions for an asset outside the banking system to gain ground. The current bond-market environment supplies more evidence for that argument than any in years.

The same Japanese repatriation that tightens short-term liquidity also removes one of the pillars that suppressed global borrowing costs for decades. As that pillar weakens, the macro backdrop for Bitcoin's “outside money” thesis builds further.

Treasury yield stress compressing Bitcoin's short-term price action and sovereign-debt weakness building Bitcoin's longer-term macro case have coexisted across every major rate cycle where Bitcoin matured as a macro asset.

Japan still holds more Treasuries than any other foreign investor, but it has become a marginal seller in a market where $18 trillion in new sovereign supply will need buyers in 2026.

For Bitcoin, that makes Treasury yields the near-term pressure point and sovereign-debt fragility the longer-term argument.

The post Bitcoin faces Treasury yield pressure as Japan sells nearly $30 billion of US debt appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The global financial ecosystem has been hit by sudden and intense volatility, triggering a sharp crypto crash and a massive sell-off in traditional equities. High-stakes geopolitical friction has once again proven to be the primary catalyst for market panic, forcing investors to rapidly liquidate risk assets.

Why Are Cryptos Crashing Today?

The sudden market downturn was directly triggered by news that the United States administration has officially rejected Iran's latest 14-point peace proposal. This rejection comes right before a highly anticipated, high-level White House Situation Room meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

As a result, a massive wave of capitulation hit both digital assets and legacy markets simultaneously:

• All cryptos crash: The broader digital asset market experienced a sharp flash crash, erasing billions in market capitalization within minutes.
• $403,000,000,000 wiped out: Wall Street felt an immediate impact, with over $403 billion bleeding out of US stocks in a single hour following the geopolitical escalation.

USA Iran war: When will it end?

The fragile truce brokered over the past weeks is facing its toughest test. Tensions flared over the weekend when President Trump warned via social media that "the clock is ticking" for Tehran to agree to terms, hinting at potential strikes on infrastructure if negotiations completely stall.

While Iran conveyed an amended set of terms via Pakistani mediators to avoid further conflict, the US administration's swift rejection and subsequent hardening stance have signaled to investors that a diplomatic resolution is slipping out of reach. The upcoming Situation Room meeting on Tuesday is now viewed by macro analysts as a critical turning point that could either spark a renewed military confrontation or push inflation expectations higher via energy shocks in the Strait of Hormuz.

Crypto Crash & Equity Crash

When geopolitical threats spike, the correlation between cryptocurrencies and high-beta US equities typically tightens. The sudden deletion of $403 billion from US stock indices created a liquidity vacuum that spilled directly into crypto order books.

[US Rejects Peace Proposal] ➔ [Situation Room Meeting Fears] ➔ [Institutional Derisking] ➔ [$403B Stock Sell-off & Crypto Flash Crash]

Bitcoin, which recently eyed local highs on early peace deal rumors, fell sharply alongside major altcoins. Traders looking to track real-time spot price movements during this high-volatility window can monitor the live Bitcoin price tracker.

Recognized for its ultra-fast throughput and high-efficiency architecture, Solana (SOL) has weathered a volatile macroeconomic climate to secure its place as a cornerstone institutional asset.

As market participants realign their portfolios for the remainder of the year, a central question emerges: is Solana a good buy in 2026, or do competing layer-1 networks and legacy blue-chip cryptos offer a more compelling risk-to-reward ratio?

Is SOL a Strategic Buy above $80?

For investors seeking a direct answer: Yes, Solana presents a highly favorable structural setup at its current valuation of $84. Moving within a well-defined consolidation channel between $75 and $98 throughout the first half of the year, the asset is building significant technical momentum.

With a short-term target firmly set at $100, entering a position at the current $84 mark offers an immediate prospective upside of 19.05%. When weighed against the macro development of the Solana ecosystem—including massive institutional adoption and upcoming network overhauls—the current range serves as a historical accumulation zone before a potential macro trend reversal.

Why is Solana a Good Project

To evaluate if Solana is a sustainable long-term asset, one must look at what it fundamentally brings to the blockchain ecosystem. Solana is a high-performance, open-source Layer-1 blockchain utilizing a unique hybrid consensus mechanism.

Unlike older Proof-of-Work systems or standard Proof-of-Stake protocols, Solana optimizes transaction ordering to achieve unparalleled performance parameters.

• Throughput & Speed: Capable of processing tens of thousands of transactions per second (TPS).
• Cost Efficiency: Transaction fees remain fractions of a cent, making it the premier network for high-frequency trading, consumer decentralized applications (dApps), and global micropayments.
• Institutional Inflows: Spot Solana ETFs in the United States have officially surpassed $1 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM), signaling that major financial entities are actively treating SOL as a digital commodity.

Comparative ROI Analysis: Solana vs. BTC, ETH, and XRP

To truly contextualize whether Solana is the best allocation of capital right now, we must analyze its percentage returns against other major market caps based on their respective medium-term targets.

The table below illustrates the projected growth profiles across the industry's leading assets:

Solana ($84 -> $100)

A move from $84 to the key psychological resistance of $100 yields a neat 19.05% return. While this short-term percentage is technically lower than the macro projections of its peers, the target represents a foundational structural breakout. Securing a daily close above $100 opens the technical floodgates toward Fibonacci extensions at $117 and $262, meaning the $100 target is merely the starting line for exponential expansion. Take a look at the live asset pricing through the CryptoTicker Token Ticker to see how these macro pairs shift daily.

Bitcoin ($76k -> $100k)

With Bitcoin trading firmly at $76,000, a march to the elusive six-figure mark of $100,000 offers a 31.58% return. Bitcoin remains the safest asset in the Web3 ecosystem, but it demands significantly heavier capital inflows to move its multi-trillion-dollar market cap compared to Solana's leaner architecture.

Ethereum ($2.1k -> $3.0k)

Ethereum is currently priced at $2,100 with a medium-term target of $3,000, presenting a 42.86% potential upside. While ETH captures massive institutional liquidity, its scaling reliance on Layer-2 solutions fragments liquidity—an issue Solana bypasses entirely via its monolithic, single-state machine design.

Ripple ($1.38 -> $2.00)

XRP sits at $1.38 with eyes on a move to $2.00, yielding a 44.93% return. Though highly lucrative on paper, XRP is highly dependent on localized regulatory resolutions and cross-border bank integrations, carrying a different risk profile compared to Solana's vibrant on-chain ecosystem. If you are comparing platforms to build your positions, look through our updated Crypto Exchange Comparison guide.

Solana Price Analysis The Alpenglow Upgrade & ETF Inflows

Solana's performance in the latter half of 2026 is structurally underpinned by two massive fundamental catalysts that distinguish it from the rest of the altcoin market.

1. The Alpenglow Consensus Upgrade

Spearheaded by co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, the Alpenglow upgrade stands as the most critical architectural overhaul in Solana’s history. Slated for full mainnet deployment, Alpenglow transitions the network's core structure to introduce components known as Votor and Rotor.

The primary goal? Slashing block finality from roughly 12.8 seconds down to a blistering 150 milliseconds. This sub-second finality fundamentally changes the landscape for high-frequency trading desks and institutional settlement engines. Furthermore, Alpenglow implements structural penalties for validators attempting to delay blocks for Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) extraction, guaranteeing a fairer and more predictable execution layer for everyday retail users.

2. Deep Institutional Liquidity

According to reports tracking capital flows, spot Solana ETFs have captured robust market share, boasting structural resilience even through the liquidations of early Q1. Major remittance firms, including Western Union via its USDPT stablecoin integration, have turned to Solana for real-world settlement layers. This structural transition from a purely speculative retail platform to a corporate utility ledger creates a sustainable floor for the token's valuation.

Is Solana Coin Risky?

No analytical framework is complete without inspecting the downward pressures. While the bull case for SOL is heavily supported, technical analysts warn of a split outlook if macroeconomic factors deteriorate.

If Solana fails to break through the persistent $98 to $100 wall, it risks a short-term breakdown back to its lower support channels. A definitive breach below the $81.30 support pivot could see SOL retest its primary accumulation floor between $50 and $70. Investors managing large-scale spot positions must balance this short-term downside risk against the overarching long-term fundamental upgrades. To secure your assets safely through these multi-month cycles, explore our comprehensive review on the safest storage devices in the Hardware Wallets Comparison.

Is Solana a Good Buy in 2026?

Is Solana a good buy in 2026? When looking past immediate price action, the combination of an $84 entry point, an impending structural breakout above $100, and the game-changing Alpenglow consensus upgrade positions SOL as one of the most asymmetric risk-to-reward opportunities in the current market.

While legacy assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum offer alternative growth paths, Solana delivers an optimal blend of institutional backing, real-world cross-border utility, and disruptive technical scaling that makes it a premier addition to any forward-thinking digital asset portfolio.

Key Takeaways

• Bitget is a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018, serving over 20 million users across 100 countries, and is recognized as one of the top exchanges for derivatives trading volume.
• Bitget is known for futures trading, bitget copy trading, low fees, a US$300 million protection fund, and monthly proof of reserves reports showing a 163% reserve ratio.
• Bitget offers spot trading, futures, margin trading, copy trading, trading bots, staking, savings, fiat deposits, P2P, and more than 800 cryptocurrencies.
• Bitget is strictly unavailable to residents of the United States, Canada, and Singapore due to regulatory restrictions, and some products are limited in certain regions.

Is Bitget Good For Crypto Trading In 2026?

Bitget is a strong trading platform for users who want more than a simple “buy Bitcoin” app. It is best for active traders, experienced traders, futures users, and anyone interested in social trading or the copy trading feature.

Pros

• Competitive trading fees: 0.1% spot, 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker futures base rates.
• Strong derivatives tools, including leverage up to 125x on major pairs.
• Monthly proof of reserves and a large protection fund.
• User friendly interface on both the web platform and bitget app.
• Large copy trading ecosystem with elite traders and public trade details.

Cons

• Not available in the US, Canada, Singapore, and some sanctioned regions.
• Futures and margin products are risky for first timers.
• Customer support is 24/7 and multilingual, though reports indicate some slower response times.

What Is Bitget? Background And Global Presence

Bitget exchange is a prominent centralized cryptocurrency exchange known as a “Universal Exchange” or UEX. It launched in 2018, is registered in Seychelles, and has built its track record around crypto trading, derivatives, and copy trading.

Key milestones include early derivatives growth, the launch of bitget copy trading around 2020–2021, the Protection Fund in August 2022, and ongoing Proof of Reserve updates from late 2022 onward. Bitget also became visible through sports and esports partnerships, including Lionel Messi, Juventus, and PGL.

Bitget operates across Europe, Latin America, parts of Asia, and Africa, but access is not universal. It has regional entities and registrations in markets such as Lithuania, Poland, and Italy, while adapting to MiCA, FCA, and other 2025–2026 rules. Still, users should check Bitget’s official terms before registering, because futures trading, margin trading, and promotions may be restricted by country.

In 2026, Bitget stands as a trading-first platform rather than a purely retail payments app.

Key Features Of Bitget Exchange

Bitget offers a wide range of trading options for different trading strategies and preferences. The platform supports trading in over 800 cryptocurrencies, providing ample opportunities for traders to diversify portfolios with digital assets.

Spot Trading

Spot trading means buying or selling coins on the spot market with immediate settlement. Bitget offers major pairs like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, SOL/USDT, and many altcoins, with TradingView charts, order books, recent trades, and an order panel in one view.

For spot trading, Bitget charges a standard trading fee of 0.1% for both makers and takers. A $1,000 BTC/USDT market buy costs about $1 before discounts. Using Bitget’s native token BGB can yield trading fee discounts of up to 80%, depending on VIP level and promotion rules.

Fiat-to-crypto buying may use instant purchase, P2P, card payments, bank transfers, or third-party partners rather than one fully integrated method everywhere.

Futures Trading

Futures trading is one of Bitget’s main features. Users can trade USDT‑margined, coin‑margined, USDC‑margined, perpetual, and selected dated contracts. Bitget’s futures trading allows for leverage options up to 125x, enabling traders to amplify their positions and potential returns, but also increasing risk.

Futures trading fees are 0.02% for makers and 0.06% for takers. Funding fees on perpetuals are paid between longs and shorts, usually every 8 hours. This matters: even if taker fees look small, funding can reduce profit on longer positions.

Beginners should use isolated margin, low leverage, and stop-loss orders. High leverage can liquidate an account quickly.

Copy Trading And Social Trading

Copy trading allows users to follow and replicate the trades of successful traders, providing a way for less experienced individuals to engage in trading without needing extensive knowledge.

Bitget’s copy trading feature is designed to be user-friendly, allowing followers to set parameters for their investments and manage their risk exposure effectively. Users can review ROI, PnL, max drawdown, win rate, number of followers, and trading style before copying.

The platform has become a leader in copy trading, boasting over 110,000 elite traders and more than 520,000 followers, indicating its popularity and effectiveness in the market. Newer 2026 estimates are even higher, but the core point is clear: bitget copy trading is one of the exchange’s strongest products.

There are several routes: spot copy trading, futures copy trading, and bot copy trading. Trading bots can help automate grid or trend strategies, but they do not remove market risk.

Bitget Wallet

Bitget Wallet, formerly BitKeep, is a separate affiliated non-custodial wallet for DeFi, NFTs, bridges, and swaps. The exchange account is custodial; Bitget Wallet gives users control of private keys.

Use the exchange for active trading on bitget. Use the wallet if you want self-custody, DeFi access, or to move funds away from a centralized platform.

BGB Token And VIP Program

BGB is Bitget’s utility token. It can help users pay fees, access Launchpad or Launchpool campaigns, qualify for VIP tiers, and reduce trading fees. Bitget began with a 2 billion token supply, later adjusted through large burns and updated tokenomics.

BGB is useful for active users, but it is not a guaranteed investment. Its price can move sharply, and holding it adds market risk.

Passive Income: Staking, Savings, Launchpad, And More

Bitget offers flexible savings, fixed savings, staking, Launchpad, Launchpool, and promotional Earn products. APYs vary by asset, region, and campaign.

Treat these as financial products, not risk-free money. Lockups, issuer risk, smart contract risk, token volatility, and regional restrictions can all affect outcomes.

Is Bitget Safe? Security, Proof Of Reserves, And Protection Fund

“Is bitget safe?” is one of the main questions in any bitget review. The answer depends on several layers: solvency, custody, account security, regulation, and user behavior.

Exchange-Level Security And Cold Storage

The platform utilizes cold storage for user funds, which involves storing digital assets offline in multi-signature wallets to enhance security. More than 95% of customer deposits are kept in multi-signature offline cold storage vaults.

Bitget also uses encryption, internal access controls, monitoring, and separation of duties. Bitget has implemented a Bug Bounty Program that incentivizes researchers to find vulnerabilities in its network, enhancing overall security measures.

No exchange can promise zero risk. Do not keep more money on any exchange than you need for planned trading.

Proof Of Reserves

Bitget reports a reserve ratio of 163%, verified monthly through Proof of Reserve reports, which serves as a transparency signal regarding its financial integrity. The platform maintains a reserve ratio of 163%, verified monthly through Proof of Reserve reports, demonstrating a commitment to transparency and financial integrity.

The system uses on-chain snapshots and Merkle tree data so users can verify their own account is included. You can review Bitget’s official Proof of Reserves reports and use the self-check tool from the account area.

A reserve ratio above 100% is positive, but proof of reserves is not the same as a full financial audit.

Bitget Protection Fund

Bitget maintains a Protection Fund valued at $300 million, which is designed to safeguard user investments in the event of security breaches or platform failures. Bitget has a US$300 million Protection Fund to safeguard user investments, which is one of the largest self-insured funds in the cryptocurrency industry.

Bitget maintains and publishes fund information, and the company has reported values above that baseline in several updates. The fund is not government deposit insurance and does not cover normal trading losses.

Account-Level Security Tools

Bitget employs a withdrawal whitelisting method, requiring users to add specific wallets to a whitelist, which significantly reduces the risk of fraud. In plain English, only pre approved addresses can receive withdrawals once the setting is active.

Users should enable two factor authentication, anti-phishing codes, device management, and withdrawal whitelist before they deposit funds. Complete Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks are mandatory on Bitget, so keep documents current to avoid delays.

Bitget Fees: Trading, Funding, And Hidden Costs

Bitget fees are generally competitive compared with most exchanges, but users should understand the full cost: trading fees, funding, spreads, and withdrawal fees.

Bitget does not charge any account fees, inactivity fees, or deposit fees, making it a cost-effective platform for traders. Crypto deposits are usually free from Bitget’s side, though blockchain network costs still apply.

Spot Trading Fees

Base spot trading fees are 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker fees. A $1,000 spot purchase costs about $1. Paying with BGB can reduce the fee, and VIP levels can lower it further.

Occasional zero fees campaigns may apply to selected pairs, but do not assume they are permanent.

Futures Trading Fees And Funding

Base futures fees are 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker. A $1,000 futures market entry and exit at taker rates could cost about $1.20 before funding.

Funding fees change with market conditions. Scalpers and leveraged traders should monitor both fees and funding before entering trades.

Deposits, Withdrawals, And Fiat Costs

Withdrawal fees on Bitget vary by asset and blockchain; for example, the fee for withdrawing Bitcoin (BTC) is 0.00008, while for USDT (TRC-20) it is 1.

Fiat deposits may include card purchases, bank account transfers, SEPA, local rails, P2P, or processors like Banxa. Bank transfers can be cheaper but slower. Always compare total cost, including spreads.

Where Bitget Operates, Regulation, And Who Can Use It

Bitget is global, but not universal. It serves many users in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, but some products are blocked in certain regions.

Bitget is strictly unavailable to residents of the United States, Canada, and Singapore due to regulatory restrictions. It is also unavailable in some sanctioned jurisdictions. UK and some EU users may see limits on derivatives, copy trading, or financial promotions.

If a dispute arises, local rules determine whether complaints, arbitration, or legal action are available. Never use a VPN to bypass eligibility rules.

Getting Started With Bitget Using Our Referral Link Web Step‑By‑Step

This walkthrough shows how to start on the web platform using this link.

Step 1: Create Your Account With Our Bitget Referral Link

Open your browser and visit Bitget. 

Sign up with email or phone, create a strong password, enter the verification code, and complete captcha checks. Using the link may qualify users for rewards or discounts depending on the active campaign.

Before depositing, go to Account & Security and enable two factor authentication.

Step 2: Complete KYC Identity Verification

To complete identity verification, go to Profile → Identity Verification. Choose personal verification and submit your legal name, date of birth, country, address, government ID, and selfie or liveness check.

Enhanced identity verification may request proof of address or source of funds. Processing can take minutes or longer during busy periods.

Step 3: Fund Your Bitget Account Crypto And Fiat Deposits

To deposit funds with crypto, go to Assets → Deposit, choose USDT, BTC, or ETH, pick the exact network, copy the address, and send from another wallet or exchange. Network choice matters; ERC‑20 and TRC‑20 are not interchangeable.

For fiat deposits, use Buy Crypto or Deposit Fiat, choose currency and method, then follow card, bank, or partner instructions. P2P trading lets users buy from verified merchants using local payment methods.

Step 4: Place Your First Trade Spot Or Futures

For a first spot trade, go to Trade → Spot, choose BTC/USDT, select Market, enter how much USDT to spend, and click Buy BTC. Check Orders to confirm execution.

For futures, transfer funds from Spot to Futures, choose a USDT‑M pair, set low leverage such as 2–3x, enter size, and review liquidation price before placing the order. Add stop-loss and take-profit levels immediately.

Bitget Customer Support And User Experience

Bitget provides 24/7 multilingual customer support, though reports indicate some slower response times. Support is available through live chat, tickets, and a large Help Center.

The platform offers dense charts, order books, margin controls, and powerful tools. That is great for active traders, but first timers may need time to learn. Bitget Academy can help users understand order types, risk, and cryptocurrency trading basics.

Customer satisfaction is mixed: many users praise low fees and fast execution, while others mention locked account reviews or slow responses. Keep transaction IDs, screenshots, and chat records.

Overall Verdict: Should You Trade On Bitget In 2026?

Bitget makes sense if you want a full crypto exchange with spot, futures, social trading, bots, Earn products, and competitive trading fees. The platform offers more depth than beginner-only apps, and Bitget provides tokenized stock futures to trade synthetic versions of major U.S. equities.

Bitget offers strong tools, but it is not perfect. The main risks are regulation, leverage, copy trader losses, customer support delays, and custodial exchange risk.

If you want to trade crypto actively, start small, protect your account, and use this link to get started.

FAQ

Can I Use Bitget In My Country?

Bitget is available in many countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, but not in the United States, Canada, Singapore, and certain sanctioned jurisdictions. Even where access exists, futures trading, copy trading, or fiat deposits may be limited.

How Are Taxes Handled When Trading On Bitget?

Bitget does not pay taxes for users. Export trade history, funding records, staking rewards, and transaction data, then share them with tax software or a local accountant.

What Happens If A Trader I Copy Starts Losing Money?

Your account can lose money if the trader you copy loses money. Set maximum allocation, stop-loss limits, and review drawdown rather than chasing the highest short-term ROI.

Can I Move Coins Between Bitget And My Own Wallet Safely?

Yes. You can withdraw to Bitget Wallet or another self-custody wallet, subject to withdrawal fees and checks. Always test with a small transaction and confirm the network and address.

How Does Profit Sharing Work For Bitget Copy Trading?

Followers usually keep most profits but pay a performance share to the lead trader. The exact percentage is shown in copy settings, and normal trading fees, taker fees, and funding still apply.

Bitcoin is trading near the $78,000 level after a volatile week in the crypto market. The latest market data shows BTC holding a market cap of around $1.56 trillion, while daily momentum remains weak and technical ratings still lean cautious. However, a new macro signal is now getting attention: Fed liquidity may be turning supportive again.

For Bitcoin traders, this matters because liquidity has often played a major role in previous crypto cycles. When financial conditions tighten, risk assets usually struggle. When liquidity improves, Bitcoin and other crypto assets often become more attractive again, especially if investors start looking for higher-upside opportunities.

Now, with the Federal Reserve balance sheet showing signs of expansion after the end of quantitative tightening, the question is simple: could this be the liquidity shift Bitcoin needs for its next major move?

Bitcoin Price Holds Near $78K as Market Momentum Stays Mixed

Bitcoin is currently trading around $78,000, slightly lower over the past 24 hours. The move comes after BTC failed to hold stronger upside momentum above the $80,000 zone, keeping traders focused on whether the market is entering another correction phase or simply consolidating before the next attempt higher.

Despite the short-term weakness, Bitcoin remains the largest crypto asset by market cap, with a valuation of around $1.56 trillion. Trading volume also remains significant, showing that market activity has not disappeared even as price action becomes more uncertain.

The main issue now is direction. Bitcoin has not broken down aggressively, but it also has not confirmed a strong bullish continuation. This is why macro liquidity is becoming increasingly important. If liquidity conditions improve while BTC holds key support, the setup could shift from defensive to constructive.

Fed Liquidity Turns Bullish: Why This Matters for Bitcoin

The latest discussion across crypto markets is focused on the US central bank balance sheet. Some analysts are pointing to a bullish crossover in Fed liquidity indicators, comparing the current setup to 2019, before a major market expansion.

According to recent market commentary, the Fed has added around $193 billion in liquidity since quantitative tightening ended in December 2025, with another liquidity injection expected soon. While traders should be careful with viral chart signals, the broader idea is important: if liquidity is returning to the system, Bitcoin could benefit.

Historically, Bitcoin performs better when global liquidity improves. This does not mean BTC rises in a straight line, and it does not remove downside risk. However, it can create a stronger environment for risk assets, especially if investors believe the worst of the tightening cycle is over.

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet remains a key macro indicator because it reflects how much liquidity is available in the financial system. When the balance sheet expands or reserve conditions improve, markets often become more comfortable taking risk. For Bitcoin, that can support demand from traders, institutions, and long-term holders looking for exposure before a larger market recovery.

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Can BTC Reclaim $80K?

The first major level to watch is still $80,000. Bitcoin needs to reclaim this zone with strong volume to confirm that buyers are regaining control. A clean move above $80,000 could open the door for another attempt toward the $82,000 to $85,000 range.

If BTC fails to recover $80,000, the market could remain under pressure. In that case, traders may watch the $76,000 to $75,000 range as the next important support zone. A breakdown below that area would weaken the current setup and could trigger another wave of selling.

For now, the most realistic Bitcoin price prediction is neutral to cautiously bullish. BTC is not showing a confirmed breakout yet, but the liquidity backdrop is becoming more supportive. If Fed liquidity continues to improve and Bitcoin holds above its key support levels, the probability of a move back above $80,000 increases.

Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Signal Adds to Bullish Sentiment

Another factor supporting Bitcoin sentiment is Michael Saylor’s latest hint at more BTC buying. Saylor recently posted “Big Dot Energy,” which many traders interpreted as a sign that Strategy may be preparing for another Bitcoin purchase.

This matters because Strategy remains one of the most visible institutional Bitcoin buyers. Whenever Saylor hints at accumulation, it tends to attract attention from crypto traders and long-term BTC investors. Even if one company cannot control the entire Bitcoin market, the signal still reinforces the idea that institutional conviction remains strong.

In the current environment, this is important. Bitcoin is struggling below $80,000, but large buyers may still see the current range as an accumulation opportunity. If Strategy confirms another purchase, it could support short-term sentiment and add pressure on sellers.

Why This Bitcoin Setup Is Different from a Regular Bounce

This is not just a typical short-term bounce story. The important difference is the combination of price, liquidity, and institutional behavior.

Bitcoin is holding near a key psychological level. Fed liquidity signals appear to be improving. At the same time, Saylor’s latest post suggests that institutional Bitcoin accumulation may continue. Together, these factors create a stronger narrative than price action alone.

However, traders should not ignore risk. Bitcoin still needs confirmation on the chart. A bullish liquidity signal is not the same as a confirmed breakout. If macro conditions worsen again, or if BTC loses support, the market could quickly return to a defensive mood.

What Bitcoin Traders Should Watch Next

The first thing to watch is whether Bitcoin can reclaim $80,000. This remains the cleanest short-term signal for a possible recovery. A strong daily close above that level would make the bullish case stronger.

The second factor is Fed liquidity. If the balance sheet continues to expand and reserve conditions remain supportive, the macro environment could become more favorable for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.

The third factor is institutional buying. Any confirmed Bitcoin purchase from Strategy could support sentiment, especially if it happens while BTC is holding key support.

Finally, traders should watch whether altcoins start reacting. If liquidity improves and Bitcoin stabilizes, capital may eventually rotate into Ethereum, Solana, and selected altcoins. But if BTC remains weak, the broader market may stay cautious.

Is Bitcoin Preparing for Its Next Move?

Bitcoin is still in a critical zone. The price has not confirmed a major breakout, but the market is also not showing full capitulation. With BTC holding near $78,000 and Fed liquidity signals turning more supportive, the setup is becoming more interesting for bulls.

The next move depends on confirmation. If Bitcoin reclaims $80,000 and liquidity continues to improve, BTC could attempt a stronger recovery toward the mid-$80,000 range. If it fails, the market may revisit lower support levels before any meaningful rebound.

For now, the Bitcoin price prediction remains cautiously bullish. Liquidity is improving, institutional interest remains visible, and BTC is still holding above major support. But until Bitcoin breaks back above $80,000 with strength, the market remains in a waiting phase.

Token Mentioned: $BTC, Bitcoin

The New Retail Warfare: When Plastic Sparks Violence

The line between enthusiastic consumerism and dangerous mob mentality has completely dissolved in Western retail. Recent product launches across Europe and North America have witnessed unprecedented chaos, sending shockwaves through cultural and financial analysts alike. What began as an aggressive marketing push by corporate watch giants has officially devolved into physical altercations, broken glass, and police-enforced evacuations at high-end shopping centers.

Shoppers in major European cities recently surged past security barriers, forcing retail staff to lock doors in fear for their safety. In some locations, local authorities had to intervene to disperse hostile crowds. The catalyst for this physical violence? A non-limited, $400 mass-produced timekeeping accessory made of “bioceramic”—a proprietary marketing term for engineered plastic.

Hype, Scarcity, and the Death of Reason

For those trying to understand why a low-cost, unserviceable quartz or basic mechanical watch can trigger a minor riot, the answer lies in manufactured psychological scarcity. The Swatch Group—which owns both accessible fashion brands and ultra-luxury powerhouses like Omega and Blancpain—has successfully engineered an artificial bottleneck.

By weaponizing high-profile brand collaborations (such as the historic MoonSwatch and subsequent dive watch collections) and refusing to sell them reliably online, the company forced thousands into physical queues. This deliberate distribution constraint, paired with aggressive secondary market flipping, transformed a simple retail release into a flashpoint of consumer desperation.

From Counter to Chaos: What Happened in the Swatch Incident

To fully grasp the gravity of the situation, it is necessary to examine how these retail events escalate from overnight camping to civil unrest.

The Psychology of Mass Desperation

When luxury aesthetics are democratized at a sub-$500 price point, it creates a toxic cocktail of consumer envy and opportunistic greed. The crowds gathered outside these boutiques generally consist of two distinct factions:

• The Hype-Driven Consumer: Individuals seeking the immediate social validation of wearing an iconic design silhouette (like the Omega Speedmaster or Blancpain Fifty Fathoms) without paying five-figure luxury prices.
• The Scalper/Flipper: Secondary market arbitrageurs looking to exploit early scarcity by reselling the items online for double or triple the retail MSRP.

The Breakdown of Retail Safety

Because the Swatch Group fundamentally underestimated—or intentionally leveraged—the initial viral velocity of these launches, physical boutiques were left entirely unequipped. In cities like Leidschendam and Singapore, crowd density reached critical thresholds. When technical issues or limited stock announcements disrupted the lines, the psychological barrier of civil behavior shattered. People pushed, fought, and trampled structures just to secure a plastic watch that cannot even be mechanically repaired at a standard horological workshop.

A Mirror to the Past: The Digital Hype of 2021

This chaotic physical phenomenon is far from unique; rather, it is a localized, offline translation of the digital hysteria that gripped the financial landscape exactly five years ago.

During the historic bull run of 2021, the world witnessed an identical psychological breakdown occur entirely on the internet. Instead of physical storefronts, the battlegrounds were decentralized exchanges, NFT minting portals, and meme-coin launchpads. Millions of retail participants, driven by intense Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), rushed digital liquidity pools, crashing networks and bidding up digital assets to irrational heights.

The underlying human software remains unchanged. Whether standing in the freezing rain outside a European mall or staying awake for 48 hours to click "Mint" on a digital art profile picture, the modern consumer is hyper-vulnerable to gamified scarcity.

The Dark Reality of Modern Overconsumption

The escalation of violence over a commodity that serves no vital survival function is a stark indicator of where hyper-consumerism has brought global society. We live in an era where identity is heavily tied to the acquisition of temporary cultural signifiers.

Major corporations have perfected the art of behavioral modification. By combining the scarcity tactics pioneered by streetwear brands with the legacy heritage of Swiss horology, they have turned basic shopping into a high-stakes competitive sport. The fact that human beings are willing to risk injury, legal consequences, and public humiliation for a mass-produced product highlights a profound existential void in the modern economic landscape—one that falsely equates the accumulation of material goods with true personal value.

Should you Buy a Swatch Watch?

While retail speculators bruise themselves in physical lines for a transient cultural trend, savvy market participants are looking at the underlying financials. The hype surrounding these bioceramic collaborations has directly fueled corporate balance sheets, a reality clearly reflected in the public markets. Over the past year, The Swatch Group Ord Shs (UHR:SWX) has experienced a massive valuation surge, climbing by more than 36% to sit comfortably above CHF 201.00.

Investing in the parent company's equity presents a fundamentally stronger risk-to-reward ratio than purchasing the physical watch itself. Consumer trends are notoriously fickle; the secondary market premium on mass-produced fashion watches inevitably cools off as production caps scale up and novelty fades. Conversely, by holding the stock, you own a piece of the entire diversified empire—including luxury cash cows like Omega and Blancpain—capturing institutional value long after the storefront crowds have dispersed.

How to Buy Swatch Stock with Crypto

The modern digital asset ecosystem makes transitioning from crypto profits to legacy equity simpler than ever before. You no longer need to deal with traditional brokerage bureaucracies or restrictive funding hours to gain exposure to the Swiss stock market.

You can easily buy fractional shares of the Swatch Group without relying on complex, leveraged CFD structures. Utilizing platforms like Bitpanda allows you to maintain direct asset ownership, bridging the gap between decentralized wealth and traditional corporate equity effortlessly.

-> Check out our review on Bitpanda and get started here today.

The Crypto Evolution: From Speculative Mania to True Financial Sovereignty

While critics are quick to point out the clear similarities between the Swatch madness and the worst impulses of crypto’s historical bull markets, a critical ideological distinction must be made.

The internet-based financial mania of the past half-decade eventually paved the way for a deeper, institutional maturation. Unlike the dead-end consumerism of luxury fashion collaborations, the underlying infrastructure of the digital asset ecosystem was built as a direct antidote to societal dependency on legacy systems.

Crypto, at its core philosophical level, is not about buying digital collectibles to flex on social media; it is about establishing baseline financial freedom. Consider the systemic structural contrast:

• Independence from Physical Bureaucracy: For decades, everyday citizens have been forced to conform to the rigid schedules of traditional financial institutions. They stood in physical lines at legacy banks, filled out archaic paperwork, and waited days for local clearing houses to approve their own capital.
• Radical Autonomy: True decentralized protocols allow an individual to execute borderless, censorship-resistant transactions instantly, completely bypassing the gatekeepers who control physical real estate and domestic distribution networks.

The individuals fighting in line for a consumer watch are willingly subjugating themselves to a centralized corporate hierarchy for a product that holds them captive to a trend loop. Conversely, the true participants of the decentralized movement use digital networks to decouple themselves from centralized reliance entirely.

Attorneys representing a former Homeland Security official admitted using Anthropic’s Claude Console to help draft a court filing that included fabricated quotes.

The best AI models can't yet beat the engineers they’re supposed to replace at fixing real-world problems, a new benchmark suggests.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum face a quantum computing threat, but Citi says the gap between them comes down to governance, not just technology.

The lawsuit alleges that the Bitcoin-centric financial services firm took advantage of insider information to escape major losses.

Oppo's X-OmniClaw runs directly on your Android device, using the camera, screen, and microphone to execute real tasks inside real apps.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly preparing to roll out an "innovation exemption" as soon as this week, greenlighting the trading of tokenized versions of public company stocks on decentralized platforms.

Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has addressed concerns over the XRP Ledger's (XRPL) frequent "technical hard forks."

The surge of volatility on the market was expected, but the rising intensity of the selling pressure is the last thing this market needed.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is pointing to the cryptocurrency industry's dramatic pivot on government regulation to defend his controversial new proposal for a federal tax on artificial intelligence.

Ripple-linked cryptocurrency XRP is bracing for an imminent and violent breakout as it hits its tightest Bollinger Band squeeze in over a year on the 3-day chart.

Key Takeaways

• An SEC “innovation exemption” could authorize blockchain-based platforms to trade tokenized versions of traditional stocks within days.
• The proposal would permit third-party entities to digitize publicly traded shares without requiring approval from the underlying companies.
• Financial giants like DTCC, Nasdaq, and ICE (NYSE’s parent) are already developing tokenized securities systems.
• Securitize’s Brett Redfearn cautioned that the approach risks market fragmentation and confusion over share valuations.
• Some SEC commissioners have expressed opposition to the exemption, while the CLARITY Act moves forward in the Senate.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is on the verge of implementing a transformative regulatory change that would permit stock trading via blockchain technology. Reports indicate the agency is finalizing an “innovation exemption” designed for tokenized securities, with a potential announcement expected within days.

The proposed framework would enable third-party platforms to generate digital representations of shares from publicly listed corporations—remarkably, without securing consent from those companies. These tokenized securities would be required to maintain identical rights to conventional shares, encompassing voting privileges and dividend distributions, or face removal from trading platforms.

According to individuals with knowledge of internal discussions, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce championed the exemption initiative. The specific terms remain subject to modification before any official release.

Financial Industry Prepares Infrastructure

Numerous heavyweight financial players have already begun constructing systems for a tokenized securities marketplace.

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, commonly referred to as DTCC, intends to initiate limited-scale production trading of tokenized instruments in July, followed by comprehensive deployment in October. Their architecture would support tokenized equities and exchange-traded funds using assets currently housed within DTCC’s established infrastructure.

Nasdaq has been engineering a structure that would allow corporations to create blockchain-native shares while maintaining conventional ownership protections. The securities regulator greenlit Nasdaq’s tokenized securities blueprint in March.

Intercontinental Exchange, which operates the New York Stock Exchange, has similarly revealed intentions to enter the tokenized stock space through a collaboration with cryptocurrency platform OKX. ICE disclosed in January its plan to construct a system enabling round-the-clock trading and settlement via blockchain technology.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bullish, under the leadership of former NYSE chief Tom Farley, strengthened its tokenization position by purchasing transfer agent service Equiniti for $4.2 billion this month.

Internal and External Opposition Emerges

The proposed exemption faces resistance from multiple quarters.

Multiple commissioners within the SEC harbor reservations about the initiative, according to informed sources. The agency declined to provide commentary when contacted.

Brett Redfearn, who serves as president of tokenization platform Securitize, articulated concerns regarding the authorization of third-party stock tokenization without participation from the issuing entities. He cautioned that this methodology could generate market fragmentation and create ambiguity for investors regarding the true value of their holdings.

Certain privately held enterprises have also voiced objections. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have resisted unauthorized creation of tokenized securities that track their valuations in secondary pre-IPO markets.

Potential Implications of the Regulatory Shift

Proponents of blockchain-based trading argue the technology could democratize access to American capital markets for individuals currently excluded from traditional brokerage systems. Prominent companies such as Nvidia, Google, and Tesla have been cited as examples of corporations whose shares could attract expanded international participation through tokenization.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has noted that existing securities regulations were not designed to accommodate blockchain architectures that consolidate exchange functions, clearing operations, and settlement processes into unified protocols. He has advocated for comprehensive rulemaking procedures instead of regulatory approaches driven by enforcement actions.

This tokenization initiative arrives as the Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act last week, positioning it for consideration during a full Senate vote scheduled for next month. Investor Kevin O’Leary and other market participants have emphasized that institutional finance will remain hesitant to embrace tokenization absent definitive legal guidelines.

The post SEC’s Blockchain Trading Rule Could Transform Stock Markets This Week appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Bitmine acquired 71,672 ETH in recent purchase, expanding total reserves to 5.278 million ETH (valued at approximately $11.05 billion)
• Chairman Tom Lee views current ETH prices under $2,200 as compelling entry point
• Ethereum has declined 8.7% in the weekly timeframe, currently hovering between $2,100–$2,128
• Long-dormant Ethereum whale resumes accumulation after selling entire position twelve months ago, according to Lookonchain data
• Critical support zone at $2,108 remains in focus, with additional floors at $1,909 and $1,741 if breakdown occurs

Bitmine Immersion Technologies executed a substantial acquisition of 71,672 Ether tokens over the preceding week, elevating the company’s aggregate position to 5.278 million ETH. Based on prevailing market valuations, this cryptocurrency reserve represents approximately $11.05 billion in total value.

On Monday, Chairman Tom Lee publicly disclosed the acquisition, characterizing Ethereum’s recent descent beneath the $2,200 threshold as “an attractive opportunity.” This positions Bitmine as the world’s preeminent corporate holder of ETH and establishes it as the second-largest institutional cryptocurrency treasury globally, trailing only Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

The firm has established an ambitious objective: controlling 5% of Ethereum’s circulating token supply, which currently stands at 120.7 million coins. To achieve this benchmark, Bitmine requires an additional 756,538 ETH, bringing the target above 6 million tokens. Lee projected the company would reach this accumulation goal “sometime in 2026.”

Additionally, Bitmine has deployed 4.71 million ETH through its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN), producing annualized staking returns of $289 million.

Market analyst Daan Crypto Trades shared observations on X, highlighting that ETH experienced a breakdown following its failure to penetrate the $2,400 resistance zone. He suggested a bullish retest of that threshold remains feasible in the early week period, though a bearish retest scenario could push ETH beneath the $2,000 mark. He emphasized that Bitcoin’s trajectory will likely dictate Ethereum’s directional movement.

Historic Whale Re-enters Market

Bitmine’s buying activity wasn’t isolated. On Saturday, blockchain intelligence firm Lookonchain identified an original Ethereum whale—who maintained holdings for more than ten years before liquidating their complete position twelve months prior—has reinitiated accumulation. This wallet acquired 1,951 ETH at an average price of $2,182. Lookonchain indicated the address “may keep buying.”

Over the last seven days, ETH has fluctuated within a $2,081 to $2,341 trading range. As of Tuesday, the asset was exchanging hands near $2,128, representing an 8.7% weekly decline.

Technical Analysis and Support Zones

From a technical perspective, Ethereum is currently challenging the $2,108 support threshold. The 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day exponential moving averages are positioned above current pricing in the $2,256–$2,338 band, forming a resistance cluster.

The Relative Strength Index has dropped into the low 30s while the Stochastic Oscillator indicates deeply oversold conditions. Should the $2,108 level fail to hold, subsequent support zones emerge at $1,909, $1,741, $1,524, and $1,405.

Ethereum reached its all-time peak of $4,946 in August 2025 but has subsequently contracted approximately 57%. Last week, Ethereum-focused investment vehicles registered net capital outflows totaling $249 million, while the past 24-hour period witnessed $322.4 million in liquidations—with long positions accounting for $296.9 million of that figure.

Lee also addressed the CLARITY Act, which advanced through the Senate Banking Committee last week. While acknowledging remaining obstacles, he expressed conviction that passage probability exceeds the 61% currently reflected on Polymarket prediction markets.

The post Ethereum (ETH) Whale Accumulation Surges as Bitmine Adds $150M in Fresh Holdings appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• The Ethereum Foundation faces continued talent drain as Carl Beek and Julian Ma announce resignations, continuing a pattern of departures spanning several months.
• Previous exits feature prominent names like Tomasz Stańczak, Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Alex Stokes, and Trent Van Epps.
• A controversial internal mandate was released in 2025, establishing CROPs values and attempting to clarify the Foundation’s ecosystem role.
• Reports emerged that employees were required to sign a loyalty commitment tied to the new mandate, sparking backlash.
• The ongoing exodus has prompted widespread discussion about leadership, organizational direction, and governance challenges.

The nonprofit organization behind Ethereum is experiencing another round of significant personnel losses. Carl Beek and Julian Ma both revealed their planned exits on Monday, continuing a troubling trend of departures that has captured the crypto industry’s attention.

Beek’s resignation marks the end of a seven-year tenure. His primary focus centered on developing the Beacon Chain, a crucial component that enabled Ethereum’s historic transition to proof-of-stake in 2022. His final day is scheduled for May 29.

Ma’s departure concludes approximately four years with the organization. His portfolio encompassed mechanism design, cryptoeconomics research, and protocol optimization efforts. Among his achievements, he contributed to EIP-7805, designed to enhance censorship resistance capabilities, and spearheaded initiatives that reduced Layer 2 to mainnet bridging times to just 13 seconds.

These resignations extend an already substantial list of personnel changes. In February, Tomasz Stańczak resigned from his position as co-executive director after serving less than twelve months. Josh Stark’s departure followed in March, ending a seven-year association.

Additional high-profile exits encompass Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, both recognized figures in Ethereum’s core development ecosystem. Trent Van Epps, instrumental in establishing Protocol Guild—a funding mechanism supporting core developers—also departed in recent months. Alex Stokes, previously serving as co-lead of the Protocol cluster, began a sabbatical earlier this month.

Last June witnessed Péter Szilágyi’s exit after nearly ten years with the organization. His legacy includes creating Geth, which remains the dominant Ethereum execution client.

Internal Transformation at the Ethereum Foundation

Facing mounting community pressure, the Foundation initiated a comprehensive reorganization throughout 2025. Community members had voiced frustration regarding slow decision-making processes, insufficient transparency, and inadequate ecosystem support amid intensifying blockchain competition.

The restructuring brought technically-oriented co-executive directors into leadership positions. Additionally, Vitalik Buterin increased his public engagement, providing more detailed communication about Ethereum’s development trajectory.

The organization released a fresh mandate earlier this year, defining its CROPs principles—Censorship resistance, Open source, Privacy, and Security. The document explicitly positioned the Foundation as one stakeholder among many, rejecting any ownership claims over Ethereum itself.

Controversy erupted, however, when reports surfaced that employees faced pressure to sign loyalty commitments aligned with the mandate. Additional criticism stemmed from references to the Milady online community included within the document.

The Foundation declined to provide comment when contacted.

What Happens Next

The organization has publicly committed to diminishing its centralized influence as the Ethereum ecosystem matures and diversifies. How these ongoing departures will impact that strategic shift remains an open question.

The post Ethereum Foundation in Turmoil: Why Key Developers Are Leaving in Droves appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• BTC trades around $76,800 following a four-day consecutive decline
• Iran introduced “Hormuz Safe,” requiring vessels to pay $2 million in Bitcoin for Strait of Hormuz passage
• Liquidations exceeded $600 million in leveraged long positions during one session
• Weekly crypto fund outflows reached $1.07 billion, breaking a six-week positive streak according to CoinShares
• Crypto analyst Daan Crypto Trades highlights that BTC needs to reclaim low $80K range to invalidate bearish structure

Bitcoin (BTC) continues trading just beneath the $77,000 threshold this Tuesday, May 19, extending its losing streak to four sessions. At press time, the leading cryptocurrency was priced at $76,818, representing a modest 0.1% daily decline.

The digital asset had surged past $82,000 during the previous week, buoyed by robust exchange-traded fund accumulation. However, that bullish trajectory has completely unwound.

Crude oil markets are commanding prices exceeding $100 per barrel following a dramatic surge driven by Middle Eastern supply disruption fears. Elevated energy expenses have intensified concerns about persistent inflation, potentially maintaining higher borrowing costs and dampening investor enthusiasm for speculative assets including cryptocurrencies.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield is currently positioned near 4.44%, mirroring these inflationary anxieties.

Iran Introduces Bitcoin-Based Maritime Transit System

Reports emerged Monday that Iran has unveiled a novel payment mechanism dubbed “Hormuz Safe.” The initiative mandates that vessels navigating through the Strait of Hormuz remit $2 million worth of Bitcoin for each crossing.

A newly established Strait Authority would oversee transit operations. The waterway facilitates approximately 20% of worldwide oil shipments on a daily basis.

Market observers interpret Iran’s initiative as a strategic maneuver to circumvent Western financial infrastructure and economic sanctions. The development coincides with stalled nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Crypto market analyst Daan Crypto Trades observed that BTC experienced “rejection further from the horizontal and Daily 200MA/EMA retest,” emphasizing that the lower $80K zone represents the critical threshold BTC must surpass to establish upward momentum. He cautioned that failure to breach this resistance would merely confirm “another lower high in this downtrend that started last year.”

Meanwhile, market intelligence platform Santiment identified that pessimistic BTC sentiment on social platforms exceeded optimistic commentary for the first occasion since April 21. The analytics firm suggested this pattern of retail negativity has traditionally signaled price recoveries.

Capital Flight from Institutional Products Intensifies

CoinShares documented $1.07 billion in withdrawals from digital asset investment vehicles last week, terminating a six-week accumulation period. Bitcoin-focused products experienced $982 million in redemptions. Ethereum vehicles shed $249 million.

XRP and Solana emerged as exceptions, recording net positive capital flows.

More than $600 million in leveraged long contracts faced liquidation during the preceding trading day, amplifying downward pressure throughout Bitcoin, Ethereum, and alternative cryptocurrency markets.

Critical Price Thresholds Under Observation

Aggregate cryptocurrency market valuation declined approximately 1.87% to roughly $2.55 trillion. BTC recorded $40.74 billion in 24-hour trading activity.

Technical assessments reveal the Relative Strength Index positioned near 32, entering oversold conditions. Should BTC breach $76,000, subsequent support is anticipated around $74,500.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Faces Critical Test at $76K as Institutional Money Exits appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Citi warns quantum computing could break Bitcoin encryption, with Q-Day set between 2030 and 2032.
• An estimated 6.7 to 7 million BTC in exposed wallets make Bitcoin a prime quantum attack target.
• Ethereum’s flexible governance positions it to adapt more readily against the quantum computing threat.
• Fireblocks CEO calls Bitcoin’s quantum risk a coordination issue and notes post-quantum tools exist.

Quantum computing poses a growing threat to the crypto sector, according to a new Citi research note. The report warns that Bitcoin faces far greater exposure than Ethereum.

That divide, analysts argue, comes down to governance rather than technology alone. Recent breakthroughs have pushed the estimated timeline for practical quantum attacks to as early as 2030.

With millions of Bitcoin already at risk, the industry is watching this closely. Analysts say the window for preparation is narrowing fast.

Bitcoin’s Structural Vulnerability to Quantum Attacks

Bitcoin transactions expose the sender’s public key to the network until they are confirmed. This creates a window where a quantum attacker could theoretically derive a private key.

From there, the attacker could redirect funds before the transaction is finalized. The exposure is brief but real, and it grows more dangerous as quantum computing hardware improves.

Google’s research suggests a 500,000-qubit machine could break Bitcoin’s encryption in minutes. No such machine currently exists, but the pace of progress is accelerating.

Google places its Q-Day estimate at 2032, while some researchers suggest 2030. Either way, the crypto industry has limited time to act.

The dormant wallet problem makes Bitcoin’s exposure more pressing. An estimated 6.7 to 7 million BTC sit in wallets with public keys already exposed. These wallets represent a concentrated and attractive target for any future quantum-capable actor.

Among those wallets, roughly 1 million Bitcoin believed to be mined by Satoshi Nakamoto remain untouched. These coins use early address formats that are particularly vulnerable to quantum attacks. At current prices, they carry an estimated value of around $82 billion.

Governance Gap Separates Bitcoin and Ethereum

Ethereum and other proof-of-stake networks are better positioned to adapt, Citi analysts said. Their more flexible governance allows for faster protocol changes when needed.

Ethereum also has a demonstrated history of regular protocol upgrades. That agility gives it a structural advantage against the quantum computing threat.

Bitcoin’s conservative, consensus-driven model is widely seen as central to its credibility. That same model, however, makes rapid protocol changes slow and contested.

Moving to quantum-resistant cryptography would likely require a hard fork, a notoriously difficult process. Broad network consensus would need to be achieved before any changes take effect.

Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov addressed this at the Financial Times Digital Asset Summit, arguing that the threat “is not actually a threat as people make it out to be.”

He described Bitcoin’s quantum challenge as “mostly a coordination issue” for the community rather than a technical one.

Shaulov further noted that “the entire internet industry needs to basically leapfrog and start using post-quantum encryption,” adding that “generally speaking, we have the available algorithm.” His remarks suggest that preparation, not the threat itself, remains the real challenge.

Citi’s analysts pointed to BIP-360 and BIP-361 as proposed Bitcoin upgrades worth monitoring. Ethereum, meanwhile, is not entirely immune to quantum threats either.

A quantum-enabled attacker could theoretically acquire enough private keys to control 33% of staked assets. This could allow disruption of block finality or broader network operations.

The post Citi Warns Bitcoin Is More Vulnerable to Quantum Computing Attacks Than Ethereum appeared first on Blockonomi.

Although every major breakout attempt from the cross-border token has been halted in the past several months, analysts continue to be highly positive that such a big move is in the making.

Ali Martinez is the latest to outline such an opinion, basing his view on the tightening Bollinger Bands.

Will This One Last?

In his latest post on X on Ripple’s token, the analyst with over 165,000 followers said he is tracking what he called “the tightest Bollinger Band squeeze on the XRP 3-day chart in over a year.” This became possible as the asset has been sitting in a tight range between $1.30 and $1.50 for months, with just a few brief deviations.

“When volatility compresses this tightly, it’s a signal that a violent price expansion is approaching,” Martinez added.

He believes that the current trading range is a “no-trade zone,” and traders should let the market make its move to solidify the breakout confirmation. Recall that XRP has attempted a few of those bullish breakouts in the past several weeks, as it even reached $1.55 last week, but it was halted every time.

“I’m waiting for a clean 3-day candlestick close outside of this range ($1.50-$1.29) to confirm the next major trend direction,” said Martinez.

If the asset finally manages to close above $1.50, then it would signal an “expansion toward my primary target at $1.80.” In contrast, a decisive drop below $1.29 “invalidates the immediate bullish structure and opens the door for a deeper correction back toward the $1.00 psychological support,” Martinez concluded.

Previously, Martinez explained that the SuperTrend indicator had also flashed a buy signal for the first time since January.

Upward Pressure Increases

Fellow analyst CW noted that “upward pressure on XRP is increasing again,” after the downward pressure appeared weak during the most recent rejection. They have noted multiple times in the past few weeks that XRP is on the verge of a bullish breakout as there’s little to no selling pressure left.

Upward pressure on $XRP is increasing again.

Downward pressure was weak during the decline. And upward momentum is gradually increasing again. pic.twitter.com/aqTEpV2S8z

— CW (@CW8900) May 18, 2026

MikybullCrypto and CRYPTOWZRD have joined the growing number of analysts who expect a serious breakout attempt soon, with the former anticipating a “boom” and the latter seeing risks of a leg down.

Meanwhile, a recent report indicated that Ripple whales have increased their holdings, currently controlling almost 70% of the asset’s total supply.

The post Major XRP Breakout Brewing as Bollinger Bands Reach Extreme Compression appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin-focused DeFi protocol Echo Protocol was exploited on Monday in the latest security breach to hit the DeFi sector this month. The attack was first flagged by pseudonymous crypto influencer DCF GOD on X at around 5:55 p.m. ET.

The exact cause of the incident has not yet been identified.

Echo Protocol Exploit

Findings by Onchain Labs reveal that the attacker allegedly minted 1,000 eBTC worth about $76.7 million and then used what was described as a previously tested exploit route involving Curvance. The exploiter reportedly deposited 45 eBTC, roughly worth $3.45 million, into Curvance as collateral before borrowing around 11.29 WBTC worth about $867,700.

The borrowed WBTC was then bridged to Ethereum, swapped into ETH, and 385 ETH, which is valued at around $818,000, was later sent to Tornado Cash.

Keone Hon, co-founder of Monad, later clarified that the Monad network itself was not impacted and continues to operate normally. Additionally, Curvance also stated that its smart contracts showed no signs of compromise and explained,

“Due to Curvance’s fully isolated market architecture, no other markets are impacted. Out of an abundance of caution, the affected market has been paused while our team actively investigates the situation alongside ecosystem partners.”

The hacker still holds approximately 955 eBTC worth more than $73 million, according to data shared by blockchain tracker Lookonchain. Meanwhile, Echo Protocol confirmed that they are currently investigating the security incident and have suspended all cross-chain transactions.

ECHO Token Drops 12%

Following news of the exploit, ECHO came under heavy selling pressure and fell more than 12%. At the time of writing, the token was trading near $0.0049.

The Echo exploit followed two other major crypto hacks within four days, including attacks on THORChain with stolen funds of more than $10 million and the Verus-Ethereum Bridge, which saw $11.5 million being stolen. Overall, the Echo exploit has pushed the total number of security breaches recorded in May to 14.

The post ECHO Token Crashes Double Digits After Massive Echo Protocol Exploit appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The SEC is set to release a so-called “innovation exemption” for tokenized stocks, which will pave the way for trading digital versions of securities, reported Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The agency’s framework for tokenized stock trading under the Trump administration’s direction is expected to be finalized this week, the anonymous sources told the outlet. These tokenized assets would also be tradeable on decentralized crypto platforms in a move that could “reshape the landscape of the American stock market,” it reported.

Huge Shift in US Crypto Infrastructure

Under Chair Paul Atkins, the SEC has signaled support for tokenization since mid-2025, including exemptions to accelerate on-chain securities trading, aligning with broader US policy to lead in digital assets.

The SEC is leaning toward allowing trading of tokens that do not have the backing or ​consent of ​the ⁠public companies whose shares they track, reported Reuters. These tokens may ​not ⁠provide traditional shareholder rights, such as voting power or dividends, the report added.

The move could be one of the biggest shifts into crypto infrastructure yet, paving the way for 24/7 trading of digital securities, potential DeFi integration for equities, and growth in platforms handling tokenized assets.

DeFi analyst Ignas said it was bullish for multiple assets, including ONDO, CFG, PENDLE, and HYPE, as well as lending markets that accept tokenized collateral, such as AAVE, MORPHO, and FLUID. Tokenization is shifting from plans to policy in a structural shift that will enable round-the-clock trading and decentralized rails.

“We’ve entered a global race to tokenize money and capital markets,” commented Token Terminal.

“The economic advantages of asset tokenization are too good to ignore, which is why we believe that all other major nations and economic zones will try to follow the US playbook when it comes to stablecoins and asset tokenization.”

Tokenized Stocks Remain Small

Tokenized stocks comprise a small piece of the larger tokenized real-world asset pie with just $1.45 billion, or 4.3% share of distributed TVL, according to RWA.xyz.

Tokenized US Treasuries make up the lion’s share with 46% of $15.5 billion, and Ethereum is the blockchain of choice with a market share exceeding 60% (including layer-2s) of all tokenized RWA.

The post SEC Prepares to Allow Trading Tokenized Stocks on Crypto Platforms appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Goldman Sachs seems to have quietly unwound its entire XRP and Solana ETF positions in the first quarter of 2026.

This is according to its latest 13F filing, with the move coming after the firm had built up roughly $154 million in XRP ETF exposure just months earlier.

What the Filing Shows

Per Goldman’s Q1 2026 Form 13F, there are zero XRP ETF positions and zero Solana ETF positions, suggesting a clean exit from both. However, the filing shows multiple iShares Ethereum Trust entries, at approximately $114 million, $60 million, and $3.4 million, plus a separate iShares Staked Ethereum Trust position worth around $66.9 million.

The firm also retains a dominant position in Bitcoin (BTC), with hundreds of millions held primarily through the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF across multiple account entries. It also added to its position in Circle, Galaxy Digital, and Coinbase while trimming holdings in Strategy, IREN, Bit Digital, and Riot.

One note worth flagging: several XRP-centric accounts have been circulating claims on X that Goldman still held the asset, citing what appeared to be an SEC filing screenshot.

But a check of Goldman’s actual submitted 13F found no such XRP positions, with the screenshot shared in those posts appearing to reflect Q4 2025 data, not the current quarter, which would explain the discrepancy.

Goldman’s XRP and Solana exposure was relatively new, considering that both ETFs launched in Q4 2025, and the Wall Street giant moved in quickly.

By the end of that quarter, as CryptoPotato reported, the firm had accumulated around $154 million across four XRP products, namely Bitwise, Franklin, Grayscale, and 21Shares, making it the largest disclosed institutional investor in spot XRP ETFs at the time. The Solana position came alongside it.

XRP ETF Demand Still Strong Despite Goldman Exit

The Q1 exit happened against a difficult background for the exchange-traded funds tracking the Ripple token. They had a pretty successful couple of months soon after their launch, but falling crypto prices in early 2026, caused by growing global uncertainty, put them on the back burner, which led to a first month in the red for them in March.

Nonetheless, things changed in April, with the products hitting a green patch and seeing more than $81 million in inflows. This month, with two weeks still to go, capital that has come into spot XRP ETFs stands at nearly $95 million, with cumulative net inflows hitting a new all-time high of $1.39 billion.

On their part, Solana ETFs have never seen a red month since their debut, even though inflows have reduced considerably from the $419 million recorded in November 2025. Like their XRP counterparts, the funds also recorded a new ATH in cumulative net inflows in May, after getting to $1.12 billion.

The post Goldman Sachs Exits XRP and SOL ETF Positions in Q1 2026 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

According to Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee, rising oil prices are the biggest reason Ethereum (ETH) has been struggling, and he says the inverse correlation between the two assets has hit the highest level ever recorded.

His observation has come at a time when ETH is trading near $2,100, down roughly 3% in 24 hours and 12% over the past month.

The Oil Connection

Lee laid out his thinking in a post on X on May 18, saying that as oil prices climbed over the past six weeks, ETH fell in step. “Rising oil prices is the biggest headwind,” he wrote, noting that the ETH-oil inverse correlation was at its “highest ever.” According to him, the implication is straightforward. Should oil reverse lower, ETH is likely to recover.

However, Lee was careful to frame this as short-term noise rather than a structural problem. The longer-term case, in his view, still rests on two things: tokenization of real-world assets and agentic AI.

“These structural drivers are in place,” he wrote. “Thus, we expect ETH prices to be stronger as we move through 2026.”

The timing of his comments matters. ETH has been grinding lower for weeks, and the drop accelerated on May 18 after fresh geopolitical pressure came from US President Donald Trump, who warned Iran that its “clock is ticking” in a Truth Social post.

BTC slid to around $76,700 in response, its lowest level since early May, while over $660 million in leveraged positions were liquidated across the market, with ETH accounting for $256 million of that wipeout, according to data from CoinGlass.

The sell-off on Binance and OKX was particularly aggressive, with figures shared by analyst Amr Taha showing that taker sell volume on Binance crossed $1.1 billion as ETH pushed toward $2,100.

A Market Cleared of Longs

What the liquidation data shows is a market that has been largely flushed of bullish leverage. According to market observer CW, only about $600 million in high-leverage ETH long positions remain, while short positions have reached $6.3 billion, more than ten times the size of the long side.

They also noted that a new CME gap has formed around $2,200 and that three unfilled CME gaps now sit between the current price and $3,200, removing a layer of downside technical risk.

Another trader, Crypto Ed, said both Bitcoin and Ethereum had entered what he described as “green box” support zones, though he still expected another leg lower before any sustained recovery. ETH hit a 10-month low against BTC over the weekend, with the ETH/BTC pair falling under 0.028, a level not seen since the middle of last year.

The post Tom Lee Links Ethereum Weakness to Rising Oil Prices appeared first on CryptoPotato.