Crypto Journey1

COINBASE SAYS IT'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT WALL STREET - COMMUNITY IS ITS MOAT
$XRP

Coinbase's European Policy Lead Katie Harries stated today (May 25) that the company does not fear growing competition from traditional Wall Street financial institutions because the crypto industry relies on grassroots community support - something Wall Street cannot replicate .

The numbers behind the claim: Coinbase's crypto advocacy organization "Stand With Crypto" has grown to 3.7 million members, who have collectively sent more than 2.5 million messages to lawmakers . While a recent CoinDesk survey found that only 1% of US voters rank crypto as their top concern, Coinbase executives believe "crypto voters" have become a permanent political force that governments must address through sensible, coordinated regulatory frameworks .

CME GROUP TO LAUNCH 24/7 CRYPTO FUTURES TRADING ON MAY 29
$BNB

In a landmark development for institutional crypto access, CME Group will launch 24/7 cryptocurrency futures and options trading beginning May 29 . The move represents a significant step toward integrating traditional financial infrastructure with the crypto market, enabling institutional investors to trade crypto derivatives around the clock - matching crypto's native 24/7 trading environment .

Other upcoming events:

May 25 (Today):

· Binance Alpha will list Solstice (SLX)
· Curve Finance will undergo database upgrade maintenance (frontend UI temporarily affected, smart contracts operate normally)
· On-chain identity project Phi will cease operations (PHI token will remain but liquidity expected to decline)

May 26:

· South Korea's DAXA member exchanges will delist RESOLV spot trading pairs

May 27:

· Binance will delist five tokens including ATA and FARM

May 28:

· Cosmos ecosystem non-custodial wallet Leap Wallet will fully shut down all products and services

May 31:

· Crypto media outlet DL News will suspend operations, highlighting ongoing challenges facing industry media

Also next week: Polymarket will launch a "Taker Fee Rebate Program" offering up to 50% fee rebates, linked to users' weighted trading volume over the past 30 days . Several Fed officials including New York Fed President Williams and Governor Bowman will deliver speeches that could influence monetary policy expectations .

MARKET FACES TRIPLE HEADWINDS - NO FED CUTS, ETF OUTFLOWS, POWELL UNCERTAINTY
$BTC

Bitcoin's current struggle to sustain a meaningful rebound despite positive geopolitical news stems from three core macro pressures, according to market analysis .

Pressure #1 - Fed hawkish stance: The April 29 FOMC meeting voted 8-4 to maintain rates at 3.5%-3.75%, with four dissenting votes representing the most disagreement since 1992. Markets now broadly expect no rate cuts for the entirety of 2026. March PCE inflation was 3.5% year-over-year (core 3.0%), with rising energy prices continuing to block any easing path .

Pressure #2 - Bitcoin ETF outflows: During the week of May 11-15, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw total net outflows of $1.039 billion, breaking a six-week streak of positive inflows. BlackRock's IBIT recorded a single-day outflow of $448.4 million. Total BTC ETF assets under management fell below $101 billion for the first time since late April .

Pressure #3 - Powell transition uncertainty: Former Chair Jerome Powell stated he will "step down but not leave" after his term expired on May 15, remaining as a regular governor to defend Fed independence. However, the successor chair nomination remains unresolved, and this uncertainty continues to suppress risk appetite .

Current liquidation data: Over the past 24 hours, 64,516 traders were liquidated for $214 million, with long positions accounting for 64% of losses ($137.5 million). The largest single liquidation order was $11.81 million on Binance's BTC/USDT contract . The Fear & Greed Index sits at 30 (Fear), up only slightly from 25 (Extreme Fear) - still deep in panic territory .

COINBASE CEO LAYS OUT VISION - FINANCIAL SYSTEM NEEDS RWA, 24/7 TRADING, AI
$ETH

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong laid out his comprehensive vision for the future of finance today (May 25), identifying several key areas where the financial system still needs major upgrades .

His list includes:

· Real-world asset tokenization: Moving real estate, stocks, bonds, and funds onto blockchains to enable instant settlement, fractional ownership, and broader distribution
· 24/7 global trading: Aggregating global liquidity so all assets and all investors can participate, improving leverage options and capital efficiency
· Next-generation payments: Using stablecoins for near-instant, low-cost cross-border transfers with smart agent payment capabilities
· AI-powered finance: Using artificial intelligence for risk management, credit, compliance, and wealth advisory to optimize decisions, reduce fraud, and expand access
· Innovation-friendly regulation: Moving away from blanket controls toward risk-tiered rules that encourage innovation
· Inclusive financial services: Using open protocols and self-custody wallets to give every smartphone user access to financial services
· Sound store of value assets: Assets that serve as safe havens when fiat currencies face credit crises or high inflation

Armstrong emphasized that only by fully implementing all these transformations can the financial system truly be considered complete

NEAR PROTOCOL JUMPS 60% ON DYNAMIC SHARDING UPGRADE ANNOUNCEMENT
$NEAR

NEAR Protocol has surged nearly 60% over the past week after announcing its upcoming dynamic sharding upgrade scheduled for June . The upgrade will enable automatic network scaling without manual intervention, strengthening the Layer 1 blockchain's high-performance narrative .

AI narrative revival: The AI sector more broadly is regaining momentum, with NEAR leading the way. VVV, another AI-related token on the Base ecosystem, has seen trading volume increase more than 48% day-over-day, with 24-hour gains exceeding 10% and weekly gains around 40% . Grass, another AI-focused token, is also rallying alongside the broader AI narrative recovery .

HYPERLIQUID (HYPE) HITS NEW ALL-TIME HIGH - SURGES 36% IN ONE WEEK
$HYPE

Hyperliquid (HYPE) has broken above $63, reaching a new all-time high and posting an astonishing 36% gain over the past week . The token's momentum is being driven by a unique structural mechanism: the Hyperliquid platform allocates approximately 99% of trading fees (cumulatively exceeding $1.16 billion) into an "assistance fund" used for market buybacks of HYPE .

Why this matters: Market participants view this buyback mechanism as a more powerful and sustainable long-term driver than ETF inflows. Quarterly buy pressure from the fund reaches hundreds of millions of dollars, creating consistent demand for the token regardless of market conditions . Whale accumulation continues, with one large holder recently increasing their position to 144,183 HYPE valued at approximately $9.03 million .

The bigger picture: Hyperliquid is evolving into what many call an "on-chain financial super terminal" - a platform that could challenge centralized exchanges by offering similar functionality while maintaining decentralized architecture .

RAILGUN (RAIL) EXPLODES 200% IN ONE WEEK AS PRIVACY TRADE HEATS UP
$ZEC

Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Railgun (RAIL) has become one of the strongest-performing assets of the week, surging more than 200% after a sharp rally pushed the token toward $4.40 before cooling back near $4.06 . The explosion in RAIL is being driven by rising demand for privacy trading across the crypto ecosystem .

ZEC also running: Zcash (ZEC), the more established privacy coin, has also seen significant gains as the privacy narrative gains momentum. Both tokens are benefiting from increased attention on confidential transactions and regulatory concerns surrounding surveillance on public blockchains .

Why privacy coins are pumping: The surge coincides with growing institutional and retail interest in transaction privacy, particularly as on-chain surveillance tools become more sophisticated. Market participants see privacy features as a critical differentiator and potential hedge against increasing government monitoring of blockchain activity .

BITCOIN "APPARENT DEMAND" HITS LOWEST NEGATIVE VALUE SINCE DECEMBER 2025
$BTC

On-chain analyst Darkfost reported today (May 25) that Bitcoin's apparent demand has hit its lowest negative value of the year, with current calculations approaching -147,000 BTC . Apparent demand is calculated by comparing new BTC issuance with the amount of supply that has been dormant for more than one year, measuring whether long-term accumulation can absorb new token supply entering the network .

What this means: The data indicates that market demand is gradually shrinking. Analysts warn that if spot demand cannot meaningfully recover, Bitcoin will struggle to sustain any lasting upward trend - contract trading alone can only temporarily boost prices and amplify volatility . A stable bull market requires genuine spot buying support; derivatives cannot build a solid market bottom on their own .

The silver lining: Despite the bearish short-term outlook, historical patterns suggest that environments like this - where demand collapses and sentiment reaches extreme pessimism - often represent valuable entry windows for long-term investors .

VITALIK REVEALS ETHEREUM FOUNDATION WILL BECOME SMALLER - HOLDS 90% OF NET WORTH IN ETH
$ETH

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a detailed post on X today (May 25) sharing his vision for the future direction of the Ethereum Foundation . He emphasized that these are his personal views, noting that the board is not just him and that Aya Miyaguchi is leading most of the transformation execution while his own involvement remains focused on technical issues .

The bombshell revelation: Vitalik disclosed that approximately 90% of his net worth is held in ETH, with most of the remainder consisting of about $40 million in on-chain fiat funds already allocated to open-source biotech, software, and hardware projects . The Ethereum Foundation currently holds only about 0.16% of all ETH - even less than many large individual ETH holders, and far below the 10%-50% typically held by other blockchain projects' central foundations .

The new direction: Vitalik stated that the Ethereum Foundation should not be the "center of Ethereum" but rather "a node with clear responsibilities existing alongside other nodes" . The foundation will focus on what is critical for Ethereum to remain censorship-resistant, control-resistant, open, private, and secure - but only the things that won't get done unless the foundation does them . This will require hard choices, and some well-respected projects and people may no longer be part of the foundation ecosystem . He concluded that the future Ethereum Foundation will be "smaller" but more principled, more long-termist, and better positioned to ensure ETH ultimately delivers meaningful value to the world .

BITCOIN V-SHAPES BACK TO $77,000 AS US-IRAN PEACE DEAL SIGNALS BREAK
$BTC

Bitcoin has staged a remarkable V-shaped recovery, climbing back above $77,000 after President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Iran have reached a "substantial agreement" on multiple issues, including the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz . The cryptocurrency had plunged nearly 4% between May 22 and early May 23, briefly threatening to break below $74,000 during intraday trading . However, within minutes of Trump's Truth Social announcement on the afternoon of May 23, Bitcoin recovered all its losses and surged above $76,700 .

Trump followed up on May 24, posting that "negotiations with Iran are proceeding in a very orderly and constructive manner," adding that "time is currently on our side, so I have instructed our negotiators not to rush into an agreement" . The next round of negotiations is reportedly scheduled for June 5 .

Current prices: BTC is trading at $77,059 (+0.41%), ETH at $2,099.69 (-0.85%). The Fear & Greed Index has ticked up to 40 (from 39), moving from "Extreme Fear" back toward "Fear" territory .

PHB CRASHES 41% ON BINANCE DELISTING NEWS - VOLATILITY INTENSIFIES
$PHB

PHB (Phoenix) experienced extreme price volatility in the past 24 hours, with the current price at $0.065, a 24-hour high of $0.082 and a low of $0.058, resulting in an amplitude of 41.4% . Multi-platform data shows trading volume significantly increased during the same period, with single-day volumes exceeding $20-30 million at times, characterized by high-frequency capital inflows and outflows reflecting a market environment of both panic and speculation .

The volatility was directly driven by the continued impact of Binance's announcement regarding the delisting of PHB spot trading pairs. On May 13, 2026, Binance confirmed that all PHB spot trading pairs would be delisted on May 27, which previously triggered a 38.6% crash . The further spread of this news has become the main catalyst for the intense price volatility seen over recent days.

There have been no new positive fundamental catalysts within the past 24 hours. The price rebound was mainly due to technical corrections following an oversold period and the inflow of short-term speculative capital, rather than any improvement in fundamentals . As the delisting date approaches (May 27), volatility is expected to remain elevated, and analysts recommend closely monitoring changes in exchange liquidity and large on-chain transfers while avoiding blindly chasing price spikes .#

SANDBEATS BITCOIN AS 2026'S TOP PERFORMER - UP 509% YTD
$BTC

Outside crypto, SanDisk has emerged as the most profitable investable asset of 2026 so far, with the stock rising 509 percent between January 1 and May 20, driven by demand for memory chips used in AI data centers . The rally showed how AI infrastructure continues to pull capital into traditional equities, with Seagate, Intel, oil, and copper also ranking among the year's stronger performers.

Bitcoin looked weaker by comparison, with the asset down nearly 23 percent year-to-date as of May 20, showing that crypto has not led the 2026 risk rally so far . The stark divergence between AI hardware stocks and digital assets highlights how market leadership has shifted dramatically this year, with capital flowing toward tangible infrastructure plays rather than speculative crypto positions.

The SanDisk performance also underscores the growing competition for investment dollars between crypto and other risk assets. As long as AI-related equities continue to post triple-digit gains, crypto may struggle to attract the same level of speculative capital that fueled previous bull markets .

SOUTH KOREA SHOWS -1.15% REVERSE KIMCHI PREMIUM
$XRP

The South Korean cryptocurrency market is showing a sustained "reverse kimchi premium" across major tokens, indicating that digital assets continue to trade at a discount on Korean exchanges compared to global prices .

As of 12:00 AM KST on May 24, Bitcoin was trading at 113.22 million KRW on South Korea's Upbit exchange, while on global exchange Binance, BTC was priced at 114.54 million KRW when converted. This represents a negative price gap of 1.32 million KRW and a reverse kimchi premium of -1.15% . Ethereum recorded a -1.17% reverse kimchi premium, while Solana, XRP, and Sui all traded at discounts between -1.16% and -1.24% .

This phenomenon suggests continued weakening of retail demand in the Korean market, which has historically been a source of strong buying pressure for cryptocurrencies. The reversal of the typical premium indicates that Korean investors are currently net sellers or are demanding a discount to hold crypto assets, adding to the bearish sentiment across the broader market .

BANK OF AMERICA DISCLOSES $53 MILLION IN CRYPTO ETF HOLDINGS
$BNB

Bank of America has revealed in its 2026 Q1 13F filing submitted to the SEC that it currently holds nearly $53.1 million worth of cryptocurrency ETFs and crypto-related stock positions. The filing shows the bank holds approximately 972,600 shares of the BNY Mellon Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), valued at around $37 million, representing its largest single crypto ETF holding.

Beyond Bitcoin exposure, the bank also holds approximately $7.98 million of Bitwise BITB, $3.32 million of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini ETF, and $1.71 million of Fidelity FBTC. In terms of Ethereum exposure, Bank of America holds around $1.06 million of the BNY Mellon ETHA ETF.

Market analysts believe this disclosure confirms that traditional financial institutions continue to expand their indirect exposure to the digital asset market through ETFs and stocks, further strengthening the trend toward institutionalization despite the current market downturn. The filing comes as spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen renewed outflows, highlighting the complex dynamics between institutional disclosure and actual trading activity.

GRAYSCALE NAMES ETH, SOL, BNB CHAIN AS TOP CLARITY ACT WINNERS
$BNB

Regulatory clarity also shaped the week's crypto narrative, with asset manager Grayscale identifying Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, and Canton Network as potential biggest winners if the CLARITY Act passes . The firm stated that institutional capital will likely move first toward chains with strong activity in tokenized assets, stablecoins, DeFi, and regulated finance.

Ethereum and Solana remain obvious candidates because of their liquidity and developer depth, but Canton stands out for a different reason. It is built specifically for regulated financial institutions and already has links to major firms including DTCC, J.P. Morgan, HSBC, and Visa . The CLARITY Act, which passed the Senate Banking Committee earlier this month, would give the CFTC central regulatory role over digital commodities while preserving SEC authority over tokens that function as securities.

The legislation is widely viewed as a critical catalyst for institutional adoption, with analysts suggesting that a Senate floor vote could trigger immediate moves of $82,000 to $85,000 for Bitcoin . However, the bill's timing remains uncertain as Congress heads toward its May recess.

ETHEREUM HITS $2,069 - $1.05 BILLION SHORT LIQUIDATION CASCADE IN PLAY
$ETH

Ethereum is currently trading at approximately $2,069, down 1.21% over the prior 24 hours, but the token sits just 5.3% below a critical liquidation trigger that could spark a rapid upside squeeze . According to CoinGlass liquidation heatmap data, if Ethereum breaks through $2,179, cumulative short order liquidation intensity across mainstream centralized exchanges would reach $1.056 billion - a threshold that could trigger a cascade of forced buybacks .

When short positions are liquidated, exchanges execute forced buybacks of the underlying asset to close those positions, adding fuel to the rally that triggered the liquidations in the first place. This feedback loop, known as a short squeeze, can produce abrupt, cascading moves when a dense liquidation cluster exists at a single price level .

Notably, the same $1.056 billion figure was previously associated with a $2,426 breakout level on April 23. The downward drift of the trigger price from $2,426 to $2,179 over one month reflects how bearish positioning has clustered progressively closer to the current spot price as ETH has declined . The Crypto Fear and Greed Index sitting at 28 (Fear) suggests traders have been positioning defensively, setting the stage for a potential squeeze.