Ether’s (ETH) price has retraced by over 5.6% to $2,275 after being rejected by resistance at $2,400. Now, multiple data points suggest ETH/USD may drop below $2,000.

Key takeaways:

• Low network activity signals declining usage and reduced onchain demand for ETH.
• Coinbase Premium remains negative as spot Ethereum ETF outflows returned, reflecting strong US-driven sell pressure.
• Ether’s falling wedge pattern targets $1,830.

Ether’s total value locked hits 12-month lows

Ethereum’s network fundamentals are weakening, with weekly average transactions dropping by 10% to 4.79 million, per data from Nansen. Active addresses dropped by 8% to 2.5 million over the same period. 

Related: Three reasons why Ether price rallies fizzle near $2.4K

Network fees also dropped by approximately 27%, leading to a 47% reduction in onchain revenue over the last seven days. 

Blockchain comparison: Daily transactions, active addresses and network fees. Source: Nansen

Additional data from DefiLlama shows that the weekly DEX volumes dropped to $1.64 billion on May 8, a 46% drop over the last three weeks.

Low transaction count, a drop in active addresses and declining DEX volumes reflect reduced ecosystem usage. As a result, the total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum’s DeFi protocols has dropped to $124.7 billion, levels last seen in May 2025.

Total value locked on Ethereum. Source: DefiLlama

This subdued network activity signals weak user conviction, affecting Ether’s ability to sustain upside price momentum. 

Ether’s exit queue jumps 72,000%

Ethereum’s unstaking queue jumped by approximately 72,000% within two weeks to 530,985 ETH on May 2. 

As of Friday, over 202,000 ETH were queued for redemption, with a wait time of around three days.

Number of Ether queued for exit. Source: Validator Queue

The surge comes after a series of significant DeFi hacks, reflecting investor caution. April 2026 saw DeFi platforms suffer a record $625 million in monthly losses following 30 separate attacks, including a $292 million loss from the KelpDAO bridge hack, leading to over $15 billion in deposits withdrawn from the Aave platform. 

These incidents have prompted investors to unstake ETH to regain liquidity, signaling flight from perceived risk.

“The exit queue went from ~700 ETH to ~500K ETH in 2 weeks,” analyst Pete said in a recent post on X, adding:

“DeFi yield on Ethereum is getting crushed by hacks, exploits and increasingly nasty attack surfaces.”

Despite the sharp surge in outflow pressure, 3.6 million ETH remains queued for staking entry (7x exit volume), pushing total staked ETH to 38.6 million (31.72% of supply) despite 45-day wait times.

Ether’s Coinbase Premium remains negative

The Ethereum Coinbase Premium Index, which tracks the price difference between ETH on Coinbase and Binance, has stayed negative since April 27.

A negative premium confirms that the selling pressure is originating heavily from US entities. As long as US investors are selling at a discount compared to the global market, downside momentum will likely accelerate.

Ethereum Coinbase Premium Index. Source: CryptoQuant

Additionally, US-based spot Ethereum ETFs snapped a four-day inflow streak with $103 million in net outflows on Thursday, the largest withdrawal since mid-March.

Spot Ethereum ETFs flows chart. Source: SoSoValue

Coupled with more than $81.6 million in outflows from global Ethereum investment products last week, this points to institutional selling, adding to Ether’s headwinds.

Meanwhile, ETH taker buy volume dropped to as low as -$25 million on Binance in recent days, indicating a “sharp increase in aggressive market sell orders,” CryptoQuant analyst BorisD said in a Quicktake note on Friday, adding:

“This structure raises the risk of short-term volatility and a support retest for ETH price action.”

ETH taker buy volume on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant

Ether’s rising wedge breakdown is underway

The daily chart shows the ETH/USD pair validating a rising wedge pattern after the price lost support at the pattern’s lower trend line at $2,300. 

Bulls are now fighting to keep the price above $2,150-$2,200, where the 100-day and 50-week simple moving averages (SMAs) are, respectively.

Another key line of defense is the $2,000 psychological level, which, if breached, would clear the path for Ether’s drop toward the measured target of the wedge at $1,830, about 20% below the current price.

ETH/USD daily price chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

As Cointelegraph reported, the ETH price may descend to $1,750-$1,850 if support at $2,300 is not reclaimed in the short term.

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

• Zcash plans to launch quantum recoverable wallets within about a month.
• The system is designed to protect user funds during future cryptographic shifts.
• Full quantum-resistant security is targeted for rollout by 2027.

Zcash is preparing a major upgrade aimed at protecting users from one of the long-term risks facing modern cryptography: quantum computing.

The network is set to introduce “quantum recoverable wallets” within the next month, according to development updates shared by its core contributors at Consensus Miami on Thursday.

The broader goal is to move the protocol toward full quantum resistance by 2027.

The move comes as blockchain projects increasingly assess how future advances in quantum computing could impact existing encryption systems.

Most cryptocurrencies today rely on elliptic-curve cryptography to secure private keys.

While this system remains safe under current computing capabilities, theoretical breakthroughs in quantum computing could eventually weaken or break it.

Zcash is attempting to address that concern in stages rather than waiting for a single full replacement of its cryptographic base.

A transition layer instead of a full overhaul

The upcoming “quantum recoverable wallets” are not designed to make Zcash instantly quantum-proof. Instead, they act as a protective transition mechanism.

The idea is to give users a recovery path in a scenario where current cryptographic methods are no longer reliable in the distant future.

In simple terms, these wallets are meant to ensure that users do not permanently lose access to their funds if the underlying cryptography becomes vulnerable.

Instead of locking users into today’s encryption model, the system is being built with migration pathways that can shift funds into stronger post-quantum security systems when needed.

The rollout timeline for this first stage is relatively short, with implementation expected within approximately one month.

This places it among the earliest real deployments of quantum-aware wallet infrastructure in a major privacy-focused blockchain.

Zcash developers have framed this as a preparatory step rather than a final solution.

The architecture is being designed so that future upgrades can be layered on without forcing users to abandon their wallets or migrate manually under pressure.

Zcash is targeting to be quantum-resistant by 2027

Beyond the initial wallet release, the longer-term objective is to achieve what the team refers to as “quantum-proof” infrastructure by 2027.

This would involve integrating post-quantum cryptographic systems that are resistant to attacks from advanced quantum machines.

The timeline shows a phased approach: deploying quantum-recoverable wallets as a safety and migration layer in a month, followed by continued development of post-quantum cryptographic systems and wallet upgrades, and then a full transition to quantum-resistant security standards within the protocol set for 2027.

This approach is significant because it avoids a sudden shift in cryptographic systems, which could be disruptive for users and developers.

Instead, Zcash is building backward compatibility into its future security model.

The urgency behind this roadmap is driven by increasing attention in the cryptography and blockchain sectors to quantum risk scenarios.

While there is no operational quantum computer capable of breaking current blockchain encryption today, the pace of research has led many projects to begin preparing early rather than reacting later.

Consensus 2026 concluded its final day with a strong focus on artificial intelligence, tokenization, stablecoin infrastructure, and institutional blockchain adoption, as major crypto, fintech, and infrastructure companies unveiled new products and initiatives shaping the next phase of the digital asset industry.

The final day of the conference featured high-profile appearances, including a surprise live appearance by Changpeng Zhao, alongside keynote discussions involving Donald Trump Jr., Charles Hoskinson, and several executives focused on AI, payments, and tokenized infrastructure.

Crypto.com Expands Into Travel and Rewards Infrastructure

Crypto.com announced the launch of Crypto.com Travel, a new in-app booking platform powered by Bookit that allows eligible users to earn cashback rewards in CRO tokens on travel-related purchases.

The platform provides access to:

• hotels
• flights
• cruises
• car rentals
• entertainment experiences

The initiative represents a continued push toward integrating crypto rewards and digital assets into mainstream consumer services and real-world spending.

Midnight Foundation Introduces “Collateral Warehouse” Concept

Midnight Foundation also revealed plans for a new “Midnight Collateral Warehouse,” an open-source infrastructure model designed to help institutions manage and mobilize collateral across both traditional finance and blockchain networks.

According to the project, the system aims to improve institutional collateral management while maintaining financial privacy and interoperability between multiple financial environments.

The initiative reflects growing institutional interest in tokenized financial infrastructure and programmable settlement systems.

AI and Blockchain Convergence Accelerates

Several announcements throughout the day highlighted the rapidly growing intersection between blockchain infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

BioMatrix introduced what it describes as a “Human Participation Network” designed to connect real users with AI-generated content, tasks, and economic opportunities.

Meanwhile, Inveniam Capital Partners announced the launch of NVNM Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain designed specifically to provide verifiable records and attestation systems for AI agents.

The platform aims to help enterprises and regulators verify:

• source data
• AI decision-making processes
• accountability structures
• compliance records

as AI systems become increasingly integrated into finance and enterprise operations.

Healthcare Infrastructure Tokenization Gains Attention

Healthcare tokenization also emerged as a major topic during the final day of Consensus.

Medimint announced a blockchain platform designed to tokenize healthcare infrastructure assets, including:

• medical equipment
• hospital infrastructure
• diagnostic facilities

The company says the platform could enable fractional ownership and broader access to healthcare infrastructure investment opportunities.

The concept reflects the growing expansion of real-world asset tokenization beyond traditional sectors such as real estate and private credit.

Consensus 2026 Reflects Industry Shift Toward Real-World Infrastructure

Across all three days of Consensus Miami, one of the clearest themes was the industry’s continued shift away from speculative narratives toward infrastructure, payments, enterprise adoption, AI integration, and tokenized real-world systems.

Topics dominating discussions throughout the event included:

• stablecoins
• AI infrastructure
• tokenized assets
• payments
• enterprise blockchain adoption
• institutional settlement systems
• real-world utility

As the conference concluded, many of the announcements reflected a broader effort across the crypto industry to position blockchain technology as foundational infrastructure for finance, commerce, energy, healthcare, and AI-driven systems rather than purely speculative markets.

Key Highlights

• Datadog achieved a historic milestone with over $1 billion in quarterly revenue for Q1 2026, representing revenue expansion exceeding 32% and surpassing analyst projections by more than 500 basis points.
• Shares of DDOG rocketed approximately 30% during premarket hours following the May 7, 2026 earnings announcement.
• Management elevated both second-quarter and full-year projections, highlighting robust operational momentum and accelerating agentic AI adoption.
• The firm secured FedRAMP High authorization, unlocking access to expanded government contracting opportunities.
• Wall Street analysts maintain measured bullishness, with updated price targets positioning DDOG beyond $200, suggesting possible record highs ahead.

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The exceptional Q1 2026 performance from Datadog has effectively challenged the recent bearish narrative that drove shares to extended lows. DDOG had suffered significant pressure as market participants worried artificial intelligence would erode traditional SaaS business models. Thursday morning’s results painted a dramatically different picture.

Datadog, Inc., DDOG

The monitoring and analytics specialist posted revenue expansion exceeding 32%, demolishing Wall Street expectations by over 500 basis points while crossing the billion-dollar quarterly threshold for the first time in company history. Premarket trading showed shares surging approximately 30% following the announcement.

Profitability metrics proved equally impressive. Adjusted operating income climbed 34%, while GAAP net income more than doubled year-over-year. Adjusted earnings crushed consensus forecasts by over 1,750 basis points.

Executives didn’t merely celebrate a strong quarter—they upgraded forward guidance across both the upcoming quarter and full fiscal year, attributing the optimism to sustained business strength and emerging agentic AI deployment trends.

Revenue Growth Catalysts

Expansion across the customer base proved instrumental, with the company’s largest accounts growing by 21%. Enhanced service adoption rates and fresh product introductions—particularly around artificial intelligence and data center monitoring capabilities—provided additional momentum.

Datadog’s core platform enables organizations to observe and evaluate their technology infrastructure with real-time precision. As artificial intelligence workloads expand, this functionality becomes increasingly critical rather than obsolete.

The FedRAMP High certification represents one of the most rigorous security standards for cloud service providers working with federal agencies. This designation positions Datadog to pursue substantially more government business while simultaneously validating its security posture for enterprise clients.

The balance sheet reflects financial strength with $4.8 billion in cash and liquid assets, while shareholder equity stands at nearly twice total liabilities. Leadership indicated this financial positioning could enable capital return programs within several years.

Insider transaction activity has drawn attention, with approximately $109.1 million in stock sales recorded over the previous three months against zero reported purchases. This dynamic remains a consideration for investors weighing the otherwise positive fundamental outlook.

Wall Street’s Response

Financial analysts greeted the quarterly results with tempered enthusiasm. Multiple firms highlighted the exceptional revenue performance and upgraded forecasts as significant positive indicators.

Current consensus price targets place DDOG near the upper boundary of its established trading corridor, though recent revisions are pressing above the $200 threshold—territory that would mark new all-time peaks.

Institutional investors control approximately 80% of outstanding shares and have been net distributors over the trailing twelve months. Following a 30% single-session advance, some portfolio rebalancing appears likely.

The valuation reflects a P/E multiple of 608x, illustrating the substantial future expansion investors are currently pricing into shares. DDOG carries a GF Score of 84 out of 100, featuring a maximum 10/10 growth ranking offset by a 4/10 profitability assessment.

Market observers have suggested that a decisive move to record highs could transform technical resistance into support, potentially establishing a baseline projection around $220 over the coming 12 to 18 months.

Fundamental Background

The structural deficit in the silver market has now persisted for a sixth consecutive year. According to forecasts by the Silver Institute, the gap between supply and demand in 2026 is expected to reach 67 million ounces, forcing the market to rely on accumulated reserves. However, the demand picture remains uneven.

Industrial consumption continues to decline, primarily due to the photovoltaic sector, where solar panel manufacturers are actively reducing the amount of silver used per cell in response to elevated prices. Against this backdrop, investment demand remains resilient: global ETP holdings have reached approximately 1.31 billion ounces, while silver lease rates in London have climbed to record highs amid a growing physical shortage.

Technical Picture

On the daily chart of XAG/USD, a two-phase structure is visible. From 21 November 2025, the instrument formed a strong upward impulse along an ascending trend line, reaching a peak on 29 January 2026. This was followed by a sharp collapse and a break below the trend line, with the low recorded on 6 February near the 64 level. A rebound then followed, and on 2 March a local recovery high was established — this area now corresponds to resistance around 96. A retest of the lows took place on 23 March 2026.

The horizontal volume profile spans the 68.300–89.000 range, with the point of control (POC) concentrated between 79.100 and 81.000. The price is currently trading below the lower boundary of this zone and remains under selling pressure. The nearest support lies at 68.300, followed by stronger support at 61.000, corresponding to the February crash low.

The RSI + MAs indicator shows readings of 55, 47 and 47. RSI remains above both moving averages; however, all indicators are within neutral territory, with no strong directional momentum currently visible.

Key Takeaways

The silver market continues to be influenced by two opposing fundamental forces: a structural supply deficit supported by investment demand, and weakening industrial consumption from the photovoltaic sector. The resolution of this imbalance is likely to determine the future direction and character of the market.

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This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Cloudflare shares fell sharply in after-hours trading on Thursday after the cloud infrastructure company announced major layoffs tied to its push into artificial intelligence.

According to recent reports, the stock dropped about 18% even after Cloudflare reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations.

The company posted revenue of $640 million for the quarter, up 34% from a year earlier and above analyst estimates of $622 million. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.25 per share, also ahead of expectations. However, investors focused instead on Cloudflare’s decision to cut more than 1,100 jobs globally, or roughly 20% of its workforce, as part of what it called an “agentic AI-first operating model.”

Chief executive Matthew Prince said Cloudflare’s internal AI usage has jumped more than 600% over the past three months. According to the company, thousands of AI agent workflows are now being integrated into daily operations. Management described the restructuring as a long-term operational shift rather than a traditional cost-cutting exercise.

The market reaction suggested investors remain cautious about aggressive AI-driven restructuring, especially as Cloudflare also issued softer-than-expected revenue guidance for the current quarter. The company forecast second-quarter revenue between $664 million and $665 million, slightly below analyst projections.

The layoffs add to a growing trend across the technology industry as companies reorganize around AI tools and automation. Amazon has continued trimming roles across cloud computing, devices, and media divisions while increasing spending on generative AI infrastructure. Microsoft has also cut jobs in several business units over the past year as it redirected billions of dollars toward AI data centers and products tied to OpenAI technology.

Meta and Coinbase have also announced workforce reductions in recent months while emphasizing efficiency and AI-focused restructuring. Industry tracking data shows more than 93,000 technology jobs have been cut globally so far in 2026, with automation and AI adoption increasingly influencing hiring decisions.

Despite the sell-off, Cloudflare maintained its full-year outlook. The company reaffirmed projected 2026 revenue between $2.805 billion and $2.813 billion and forecast earnings per share of $1.19 to $1.20. Management said expanding AI integration across operations should improve efficiency and help the company deliver new products faster.

Stablecoin-based cards could soon account for double-digit percentages of all cards in some Latin American markets, John Timoney, head of strategic partnerships at Rain, a payments infrastructure platform, said.

Retail stablecoin card spend grew about 105% to 106% over the past year, Timoney said during a panel at Consensus Miami 2026. Cards are physical or virtual, allowing users to spend stablecoins such as tether USDT$0.9997 and USD Coin (USDC) directly from a digital wallet for daily purchases.

Rain provides stablecoin infrastructure for card issuers and recently became a Mastercard Principal Member, allowing it to offer credit and prepaid cards on the Mastercard network. Rain and Mastercard are also exploring on-chain settlement for some card program flows using regulated stablecoins.

The company is not trying to replace card networks, Timoney said. It is trying to make stablecoin balances usable through existing networks that already reach merchants globally.

“The card networks over decades have rolled up hundreds of millions of merchants,” Timoney said. “Rain explicitly did not want to reinvent the wheel.”

Spend patterns are also becoming harder to distinguish from ordinary card activity, he said. Stablecoin card users are spending across typical merchant categories, including large global merchants and everyday purchases.

“There’s nothing too remarkable about that,” Timoney said. “And I think that is what is remarkable.”

Despite their growth, stablecoin cards account for less than 1% of global card spend, senior vice president of business development at Consensys Ray Hernandez said during the same panel.

Crypto card adoption

Latin America has become one of the clearest markets for adoption, Timoney added. Stablecoin cards are being used across custodial and non-custodial wallets, crypto exchanges and products that abstract the stablecoin experience from users.

The merchant still receives fiat in many of those transactions. That separates card-based stablecoin spending from direct crypto push payments, where merchants may have to manage crypto settlement, volatility and transaction risk more directly.

The bigger change may be behind the scenes. Rain says stablecoin settlement lets card programs settle on weekends and holidays, reducing trapped capital by more than 40% in some cases.

Traditional card programs often need to pre-fund network obligations or borrow from networks when banking rails are closed. Stablecoins can move outside bank cut-off times.

That can make rewards and card economics more flexible, Timoney said. Capital that would otherwise sit idle can be used elsewhere in the business.

Mastercard has been moving deeper into stablecoin payments. Earlier this year Binance, PayPal and Ripple joined Mastercard’s broader blockchain payments push. That push saw the payments giant agree to buy stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.

Christian Rau, Mastercard’s senior vice president of digital assets and blockchain, said mainstream adoption will depend on making the technology invisible to consumers.

“Other than the people in this room, nobody says ‘oh, I just did an onchain payment’,” Rau said. “The normal benchmark these days is you have a card sitting on your iPhone or on an Android. You tap it, the money is gone.”

The consumer-facing pitch is not an onchain payment, he added. It is the ability to spend any asset in real time, with the network protections users already expect.

Hernandez said the next stage depends on easier on-ramps, abstracted network fees and more local payment infrastructure. Today’s crypto card users are still mostly crypto-native consumers who already hold assets on-chain.

MetaMask is expanding its card strategy around self-custody, Hernandez said. The MetaMask Card, developed with Mastercard and Baanx, lets users spend from a self-custodial wallet while assets are converted into fiat at the time of purchase.

“If all we’re doing is replicating the Apple Pay experience, I think it’s going to be okay, but I don’t think we’re going to overtake,” Hernandez said.

Paying in crypto

That view drew a challenge from GoMining CEO Mark Zalan, who argued that stablecoins and card infrastructure add unnecessary intermediaries to crypto payments.

Zalan said users want to hold bitcoin in self-custody and spend it without converting into stablecoins or relying on off-ramps. He described conversion layers and payment intermediaries as “little helpers” taking small fees from each transaction.

“Protection is another word for rent-seeking,” Zalan said, referring to the consumer protections embedded in card transactions.

Timoney pushed back, saying payments are not only money movement. Card networks also handle chargebacks, merchant risk and other protections consumers and merchants expect.

Rau made a similar point. Most consumers were “socialized with deposit insurance” and chargeback protection, he said.

“Payment is more than moving money from A to B,” Rau said. “From a consumer perspective, the experience of payment is interoperability, safety and security.”