Several altcoins posted standout performances over the past week. Toncoin (TON) emerged as the strongest mover among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

The breakouts have revived altcoin season chatter across crypto X, though some suggest that rotation signals remain unconfirmed.

TON Leads as Altcoin Bids Return

According to CoinGecko data, TON has rallied more than 100% over the past seven days. The move followed an announcement from Telegram CEO Pavel Durov that the platform will replace the TON Foundation as the “driving force behind TON” and step in as its largest validator. 

BeInCrypto separately reported that privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) pushed to a fresh year-to-date high, fully erasing its early-2026 drawdown.

Other notable gainers on the weekly leaderboard include Internet Computer (ICP), Bittensor (TAO), and Ondo (ONDO). The breadth of the rallies has fueled fresh debate over a long-awaited altseason.

A crypto analyst known as Cryptollica has highlighted that the TOTAL3/BTC ratio is approaching the apex of a multi-year descending triangle. The analyst noted that previous major altcoin expansions, in 2017 and 2020, both began from similar long compression phases against Bitcoin.

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Trader Xaif Crypto observed that centralized exchange volume ratios mirror patterns seen before the 2021 altseason. 

“CEX volume ratio just flashed the same pattern as pre-2021 altseason yellow bars rising, buy walls printing green. Last time this set up… everything pumped,” the analyst wrote.

Structural Data Tells a Different Story

The Altcoin Season Index from BlockchainCenter reads 35, well below the 75 altseason threshold. The index measures whether 75% of the top 50 coins outperformed Bitcoin over the past 90 days.

Data also shows that the 14-day correlation between altcoins and Bitcoin recently hit its lowest level since July 2025. Low correlation typically signals selective outperformance rather than a synchronized rally.

Trader Lucky flagged Bitcoin dominance trending toward 66% and continued Ethereum (ETH) weakness as further evidence that rotation has not begun.

“59.6% weekly close on BTC.D. That’s your signal. Everything else is noise,” he said.

He added that when rotation eventually arrives, it won’t mirror 2021’s broad-based mania. Capital will move selectively, flowing first into ETH, SOL, and large caps, while small caps lag or get left behind entirely.

Previously, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan also said broad traditional altseasons have ended. Future gains will concentrate in tokens with real-world use and traction.

This week’s bid in select large-cap altcoins likely fits that selective thesis more cleanly than a 2021 rerun. Whether Bitcoin dominance rejects 61% will determine if the whispers become a trend.

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The post Altcoins Are Pumping, but the Data Says Altseason is Not Coming appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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GameStop‘s mysterious financing letter underpinning its audacious $56 billion bid for eBay is emerging as a central issue in the proposed takeover, as questions mount over whether the deal is actually financeable.

The video game retailer said it has lined up a $20 billion financing commitment from TD Securities, part of TD Bank. But a key condition attached to this letter could ultimately make or break the deal: the combined company would need to maintain an investment-grade credit profile, CNBC’s David Faber reported, citing people who have seen the document.

Moody’s Ratings said Wednesday the proposed acquisition would be “credit negative” for eBay because of the substantial increase in leverage implied by the deal structure.

The ratings agency estimated leverage for the combined company could approach nine times debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization before accounting for any cost-saving synergies.

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That level of indebtedness would likely push the combined company below investment grade, potentially undermining a key condition attached to the TD financing package.

The proposed takeover has raised immediate questions about how GameStop could fund a deal of that size. The video game retailer’s market value of roughly $11 billion is only a fraction of the transaction’s implied value.

CEO Ryan Cohen offered limited clarity on the structure other than saying his company has the ability to issue additional stock in order to get the deal done.

EBay confirmed that it received the offer in a statement Monday, and said its board would review it.

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Semafor reported on the mysterious letter Wednesday.

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The deal is payable in cash and stock and values Payward at $20 billion.

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Kalshi’s co-founder said the new capital will be used to accelerate that institutional adoption.

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Wall Street firms have flooded LinkedIn with dozens of digital assets job postings, giving crypto professionals a TradFi escape hatch as native firms slash staff and the industry works through an extended downturn.

JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Fidelity, and Jefferies have each opened senior crypto roles, with base salaries reaching $300,000 at the top end, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday.

Wall Street’s Hybrid Talent Push

The catch for applicants is that pure crypto credentials no longer suffice. Banks and asset managers now want candidates who pair blockchain fluency with TradFi experience. The hybrid background covers compliance, risk, and regulated markets.

“It’s really about domain overlap,” Bloomberg reported, citing Paul Przybylski, JPMorgan Asset Management’s global head of product for digital and tokenized assets.

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Citigroup’s Head of Digital Assets Platform Engineering tops the table with a base of up to $300,000. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, and Jefferies round out the board.

Their listings cover senior engineering, financial crimes transformation, site reliability, and crypto equity research roles.

A Bright Spot Against Crypto Layoffs

Bloomberg framed the hiring spree as a rare bright spot for an industry working through a protracted downturn. Coinbase Global has cut large portions of its workforce, and similar reductions have rolled across other crypto-native employers.

For workers leaving those firms, a stint at a regulated bank or asset manager has become a defensive résumé move. Total compensation packages at these firms include cash bonuses and equity grants. Combined, those layers often push roles well past their listed base ranges.

By contrast, crypto-native pay, often weighted with token allocations, has grown harder to value as token markets stay weak.

Wall Street’s cash-heavy structure now reads as a more predictable bet for senior engineers and product leaders.

“HELP WANTED: digital asset specialists at big boy financial cos. Must know crypto, blockchain, understand degens, but also have TradFi chops, fluent in Boomer-ese,” ETF analyst Eric Balchunas quipped.

The hiring board signals that institutional crypto integration is widening even as native firms retrench. Whether banks sustain the pace of postings over the coming weeks will determine the read.

A permanent digital assets bench-build looks different from a tactical talent grab.

The post TradFi Giants Offer Crypto Talent Stability and Prestige as Crypto Firms Cut Staff appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Silver (XAG/USD) trades near $79 after a 3% intraday jump cleared a multi-month resistance shelf, with the dollar simultaneously sliding inside its own falling channel.

The setup combines a structural pattern, an inverse macro driver weakening in lockstep, and a futures positioning read that hints at a quiet but persistent bullish lean. Whether silver can chase its $121.65 all-time high depends on which signal wins out.

Silver Builds Continuation Setup After 167% Surge

Silver surged 167% from its October 2025 low at $45 to an all-time high of $121 in late January. Since that peak, the metal has traded inside a falling channel, a structural pattern bounded by two parallel descending trendlines.

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Falling channels are not always bearish. When they form after an extended rally, they often resolve as continuation patterns. The structure marks a pause before the prior trend resumes.

Today’s session pushed silver about 3% higher to roughly $79. The move broke above a multi-month resistance shelf that had capped every prior rally attempt. The resistance shelf is revealed later in this piece. For now, the next hurdle would be the upper trendline of the channel. If that breaks, bullish continuation for Silver (XAG) can resume.

The breakout signal is technically clean, but a single-day move means little without macro support. The dollar’s path is the bigger driver.

Dollar Weakness Builds the Case for Higher Silver

The US Dollar Index (DXY) has been falling since early April. The index tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies.

Silver and the dollar move inversely. A weaker dollar makes silver cheaper for foreign buyers and lifts emerging market demand. It also reduces the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset.

The dollar’s slide has been reinforced by macro developments. On May 6, Brent and WTI crude oil prices dropped 7% to 8%. The selloff was driven by optimism around a US-Iran deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

A finalized agreement would reduce safe-haven dollar demand and accelerate DXY weakness. Also, if DXY weakens another 1.55%, the channel breakdown could help silver further.

Whether the dollar’s drop is being priced in, however, depends on positioning at the futures level.

COT Report Shows Cautious Deleveraging With Bullish Lean

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is dated April 28. It shows traders cutting silver exposure across the board.

Total open interest, the number of outstanding futures contracts, dropped by 14,187 to 101,275. Both longs and shorts were reduced, but shorts came off faster. Non-commercial speculators trimmed long positions by 1,919 contracts and short positions by 2,359 contracts. Shorts unwound roughly 23% faster than longs.

Net speculative positioning remains structurally long at a 4.4-to-1 long-to-short ratio (31,314 vs 7,154). Commercial hedgers stay heavily short at 69.2% of open interest. This is normal because they hedge physical inventory.

Traders are reducing risk, but the marginal flow is bullish. Shorts are exiting faster than longs. With the macro chain and positioning aligned, silver’s price ladder reveals the actual path to the all-time high.

Silver Price Levels: The Path Back to a $121 All-Time High

Silver just broke above $78, the 0.236 Fibonacci level. This level had been the multi-month resistance shelf.

A sustained reclaim opens $90 (0.382 Fibonacci), where the upper channel trendline breaks meaningfully. Above $90, the next test is $99 (0.5 Fibonacci). That marks a 24% climb from current price.

That $99 level is critical. Silver attempted multiple rallies after the late-January peak but failed to cross $99 on each attempt. Reclaiming it would mark the first decisive break of post-ATH structure.

Above $99, the path opens to $108 (0.618 Fib), $120 (0.786 Fib), and the all-time high at $121. That move represents a 53% climb from current price. However, this level surfacing in May depends on how the COT positioning and DXY move evolve through the month.

The downside ladder is narrower. Failure to hold $78 keeps silver in the channel. A slide toward $64 and $60, the channel’s lower band, becomes the next risk. A break below $60 would weaken the entire continuation thesis. For now, $99 separates a silver price run to $121 ATH from a slide to the $64.

The post Can Silver Reclaim Its $121 All-Time High Before May Ends? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Strategy’s Q1 earnings call signaled a departure from Saylor’s “never sell” mantra, with Bitcoin slipping below $81,000 in the aftermath.

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Kraken parent Payward agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for up to $600 million, expanding its push into stablecoin payments and business-to-business (B2B) financial infrastructure.

Payward has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Reap for up to $600 million, the company announced Thursday. The deal is set to be paid in a mix of cash and Payward stock, in a transaction that values Payward’s equity at $20 billion. It would expand Payward Services, the company’s B2B infrastructure platform launched in March 2026.

The deal comes as crypto companies increasingly expand beyond trading services into payments infrastructure and stablecoin-related products as stablecoins gain traction among fintech firms and businesses.

In a statement on Thursday, Reap co-founders said the platform would continue operating as a standalone platform, adding that the transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals, expected to close in the second half of 2026.

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Reap expands Payward Services into global cards and payments

Payward Services allows companies to integrate trading, payments, funding and digital asset services through one system.

The acquisition of Reap extends that platform into the global cards and payments space, allowing partners to embed card issuance, cross-border payments, and stablecoin treasury services alongside Payward’s existing capabilities.

Source: Kraken

“Reap is the payments layer for what comes next. Card networks, banking rails, and blockchains on a single API, settling in stablecoins,” Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the announcement.

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Related: Kraken parent Payward closes Bitnomial deal to expand US crypto derivatives

The acquisition of Reap follows Payward’s acquisitions of Bitnomial exchange, futures broker NinjaTrader and xStocks issuer Backed, as the company continues expanding its platform through targeted acquisitions.

Reap deal deepens Asia push

Reap was founded in 2018 by Daren Guo, who previously worked for the Asia Pacific business at the payments firm Stripe, and former investment banker Kevin Kang, according to its website.

The company specializes in provisioning payment solutions to connect traditional financial systems with digital assets, aiming to enable cross-border money flows.

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Sethi reportedly said that the deal marks Payward’s first infrastructure acquisition in Asia and one of its largest transactions to date.

“If you take Europe out, the fastest growing market is Asia, not just revenue but also asset-on-platform,” Sethi said, adding: “They have already done it in Asia. They can expand into the US overnight with us.”

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs: Mid-2026

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The world’s largest corporate Bitcoin (BTC) holder, Strategy, yesterday released its Q1 2026 financial results, which show a net loss of $12.54 billion.

According to the report, this was mostly due to a $14.46 billion unrealized loss stemming from poor BTC prices during the first few months of 2026.

Losses Mount, But Accumulation Continues

Operating loss was $14.47 billion, compared with $ 5.92 billion in the prior year. Loss for the quarter attributable to common stockholders was $12.77 billion, or $38.25 per diluted share, whereas a year earlier, it was $4.23 billion.

However, if you strip out the Bitcoin accounting, the underlying software business held relatively steady, with total revenues growing 11.9% year-over-year to $124.3 million, while gross profit came in at $83.4 million.

Furthermore, the company’s actual BTC position kept growing through the quarter. Strategy bought 89,599 BTC in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 818,334 BTC, which is a 22% increase year to date.

The company has raised nearly $12 billion in capital markets activity so far in 2026, including $7.37 billion in Q1 alone through its at-the-market offering program spanning MSTR shares and its preferred stock instruments.

The preferred equity side of the business was a particular focus on the call. STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate preferred stock, has now scaled to $8.5 billion in notional value in just nine months, which the company described as the largest preferred stock by market cap in the world.

According to CFO Andrew Kang, the cumulative dividends declared and paid across all instruments have now crossed $693 million across 23 consecutive distributions.

The Bitcoin Sale Question

One of the biggest takeaways from the earnings call was Executive Chairman Michael Saylor’s suggestion that Strategy could sell some of its BTC stash to cover dividend obligations.

“We will probably sell some Bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it,” he said.

The statement was notable because Saylor has spent years evangelizing BTC as an asset you never sell, and analyst Jeff Park, who participated in the call, flagged the comment as more material than the company’s previous discussions on the subject.

Park also pointed out that Strategy’s exposure to US interest rates is becoming more relevant given STRC’s nature as a floating instrument, especially when you consider the approaching tenure of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair and the prospect of rate cuts on the table.

A couple of weeks ago, Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff held a live X Space, where he called STRC “an obvious Ponzi scheme” and argued that the company had no meaningful income outside its software division and therefore funds dividend payouts by continuously issuing new STRC shares.

Strategy has pushed back on that characterization, pointing to its BTC holdings as a balance sheet backstop.

MSTR shares closed at around $187, down roughly 3.5% in after-hours trading following the earnings release. STRC, meanwhile, is trading just below $100 with an effective annualized yield of 11.5%, with Bitcoin itself holding at around $81,000 at the time of writing.

The post Strategy Posts $12.5B Q1 Loss as BTC Prices Weigh on Results appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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