Strategy added no Bitcoin between May 18 and May 24, according to Lookonchain’s weekly report. 

The pause came during a week when stablecoin liquidity fell by $687 million and spot and perpetual trading volume on decentralized exchanges also declined.

May 18–May 24, 2026 #LookonchainWeeklyReport

🟢 Overview
Stablecoin liquidity fell $687M, and DEX spot and perp volumes both declined. Public companies still added 612 BTC ($47.5M), while Strategy and Bitmine paused buying.

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🟢 Stablecoin Market
The total stablecoin market cap… pic.twitter.com/eJyxjTgLdo

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 25, 2026

The update followed a separate report that Strategy bought bonds instead of Bitcoin during the same period. Michael Saylor said on X that the company bought bonds, not Bitcoin, while crypto.news reported that Strategy moved to repurchase nearly $1.5 billion in convertible notes.

Strategy still remains the largest public Bitcoin treasury company. crypto.news reported that the firm held 843,738 BTC, worth more than $65 billion, after years of steady accumulation.

The latest pause does not erase its long-term buying record. However, it shows that the company used last week to focus on debt and capital management instead of adding more Bitcoin.

BitMine adds no Ethereum

BitMine also made no new Ethereum purchase during the same week, according to the Lookonchain report. The pause followed a period of rapid ETH accumulation by the Tom Lee-linked company.

Earlier reports showed that BitMine had already slowed its Ethereum buying pace. crypto.news reported on May 12 that the firm bought 26,659 ETH in the prior week, down from more than 100,000 ETH in each of the three earlier weekly periods.

BitMine’s slowdown came after the firm built one of the largest Ethereum treasuries among public companies. The company had amassed more than 5.2 million ETH, equal to about 4.31% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.

The company also staked more than 4.7 million ETH, making staking rewards part of its treasury model. The latest weekly pause therefore appears tied to a slower buying phase rather than a new sale.

Four public firms still buy Bitcoin

While Strategy and BitMine paused, four public companies added 612 BTC worth about $47.5 million. The buyers were Strive, The Smarter Web Company PLC, DDC Enterprise Limited, and Hyperscale Data.

The four firms together held 21,525 BTC, valued at about $1.67 billion, after the purchases. The data shows that corporate Bitcoin buying did not stop, even as the two most-watched treasury names stayed quiet.

Strive has also drawn attention in recent Bitcoin treasury coverage. A separate crypto.news report said Strive’s SATA raised enough capital to buy 537 BTC in one week, showing how smaller treasury vehicles are using capital markets to build Bitcoin exposure.

That shift matters for market watchers because treasury demand is no longer limited to Strategy. Smaller public firms are still adding Bitcoin, even when the largest buyer pauses.

Stablecoin liquidity weakens

Lookonchain’s weekly report also showed that stablecoin market cap fell by $687 million. The same report said DEX spot and perpetual trading volumes declined during the May 18 to May 24 period.

The weaker liquidity backdrop came as Bitcoin and Ethereum traded lower on crypto.news price pages. Bitcoin was near $76,559, while Ethereum was near $2,089 at the time of writing.

BlackRock has recorded more than $1 billion in Bitcoin sales over the past week as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted their largest weekly outflow of 2026.

According to data shared by Arkham Intelligence on Monday, BlackRock sold Bitcoin every trading day last week, bringing its total weekly disposal to nearly $1.01 billion. The withdrawals came during a sharp downturn across crypto markets, with Bitcoin and major altcoins remaining under pressure for most of the week.

Arkham Intelligence data showed the outflow was BlackRock’s biggest weekly Bitcoin reduction since November 2025. At the same time, the entire U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market recorded combined weekly outflows of roughly $1.26 billion, suggesting BlackRock accounted for most of the capital leaving the sector.

The sell-off unfolded as market volatility intensified following renewed weakness in crypto prices and fading appetite for risk assets. Bitcoin briefly slipped below key support levels during the week before staging a modest rebound heading into Monday trading.

Why are institutions pulling money from Bitcoin ETFs?

Several analysts and market trackers linked the ETF withdrawals to defensive positioning by institutional investors as uncertainty continued to weigh on digital assets.

According to the original market data referenced by Arkham Intelligence, institutions appear to be reducing exposure amid concerns that bearish momentum in Bitcoin could deepen if macroeconomic conditions worsen. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near $77,230 at press time, relatively neutral over the previous 24 hours, though still well below levels seen earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the decline in ETF demand comes after months of strong inflows that helped push Bitcoin toward new highs earlier this year. As reported earlier by crypto.news, spot Bitcoin ETFs had previously attracted steady institutional allocations during periods of easing inflation expectations and improving market sentiment.

Recent outflows now indicate that some large investors are choosing to rotate capital away from crypto-linked products while waiting for clearer market direction. Data from CoinGlass and SoSoValue over the past several weeks has also shown weakening momentum across derivatives markets, including softer open interest and fluctuating funding rates during major price swings.

How does BlackRock’s crypto strategy continue beyond Bitcoin ETFs?

Even as BlackRock trims Bitcoin exposure through its ETF operations, the asset manager continues expanding into blockchain-based financial products elsewhere.

BlackRock recently filed a second tokenized fund application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission using infrastructure developed by Securitize. The filing follows the rapid growth of BUIDL, BlackRock’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund launched with Securitize in March 2024.

BUIDL has grown to around $2.3 billion in assets and currently stands as the largest tokenized Treasury fund globally. Securitize, which operates as both an SEC-registered transfer agent and broker-dealer, provides the compliance and tokenization framework supporting the fund.

The new filing signals that BlackRock is continuing to develop blockchain-based investment products even while institutional demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs weakens. At the same time, firms including Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, and State Street are also exploring tokenized asset products as competition in the real-world asset sector accelerates.

The filing also comes as the CLARITY Act moves toward a full Senate vote after clearing the Senate Banking Committee in a bipartisan vote earlier this month.

Ondo Finance said its founder, Nathan Allman, has died unexpectedly, creating a sudden leadership change at one of the best-known names in tokenized real-world assets. 

The company announced the news on May 25 and said its thoughts were with Allman’s family and loved ones.

In its public statement, Ondo said “Nate’s brilliance, humility, and drive shaped every part of what Ondo is today.” The company did not disclose further details about the cause of death. Allman founded Ondo in 2021 after working on Goldman Sachs’ digital assets team.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Nathan Allman, Ondo’s founder. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones.

Nate’s brilliance, humility, and drive shaped every part of what Ondo is today. His belief in the power of technology to create a…

— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) May 25, 2026

Ian De Bode takes over as Ondo CEO

Ondo Finance named longtime President Ian De Bode as CEO. The company said De Bode had been leading strategy, product, and daily operations for more than two years and had the confidence of the leadership team.

De Bode also said the company’s direction would not change. In a statement, he said “The mission of Ondo, Nate’s mission, has not changed.” He added that Allman would have wanted the team to keep executing with care and discipline.

It’s been an incredibly sad day for Ondo Finance. Nate was not only an incredible founder and visionary, but also a very close personal friend. He will be missed dearly.

The mission of Ondo, Nate’s mission, has not changed. If Nate were here, he would want to continue… https://t.co/0Qpl24qX7w

— Ian De Bode (@iandebode) May 25, 2026

The appointment gives Ondo an internal successor at a time when users, partners, and investors are likely to look for clear communication. De Bode had already been involved in the work that shaped Ondo’s product roadmap and market expansion.

Ondo’s RWA business remains in focus

The leadership change comes as Ondo remains a major player in the tokenized real-world asset market. Its products include OUSG, USDY, and Ondo Global Markets, which links crypto wallets and apps to tokenized U.S. stocks, bonds, and ETFs.

Related market coverage shows Ondo has been expanding quickly. A May 19 report said Ondo Finance’s total value locked had moved above $4 billion, up from about $1.95 billion at the start of the year, while Ondo Global Markets had passed $1 billion in TVL.

Ondo also built a wider distribution base through wallet and exchange integrations. Earlier reports said MetaMask added access to more than 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through Ondo, expanding access for eligible users in supported regions.

Wider tokenization growth

Separate reports also show why Ondo’s next steps remain central to the RWA market. crypto.news recently reported that tokenized real-world assets had reached about $31 billion to $34 billion by May 2026, with U.S. Treasuries and Ethereum-based products leading the sector.

Ondo has also expanded into tokenized stocks and ETFs through several partnerships and integrations. Recent coverage said the platform brought 35 tokenized assets to Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM, while earlier reports noted Franklin Templeton’s tokenized ETF partnership with Ondo.

Ondo said it would continue building what Allman started. For the company, the near-term focus now shifts to leadership continuity, product execution, and maintaining trust across its RWA ecosystem.

Bitcoin BTC$76,612.97 hovered near $76,500 mid-day Hong Kong time, according to CoinDesk market data, holding a narrow range as trading remains muted after a long weekend in the U.S.

Prediction market traders on Polymarket see BTC as likely to hold above $74,000 this week, with a 60% chance it finishes the trading week above $76,000. In a note to CoinDesk, Singapore-based market maker Enflux wrote that the “bid is there” but no one is adding size.

A Glassnode weekly report adds the same split: buying and selling pressure is becoming more balanced, but weaker trading activity points to a cautious market waiting for the next macro catalyst.

Traders are not positioning for a sharp breakdown, but they are equally unconvinced that a breakout is imminent.

Enflux argues the current range says as much about what bitcoin has not done as what it has. Despite recent macro shocks, including Moody’s downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt and retailer Walmart warning that geopolitical fuel costs and weaker consumer spending are hitting margins, BTC has barely moved.

For some traders, that kind of muted response could signal resilience. Enflux sees something closer to exhaustion.

The missing ingredient is fresh institutional demand.

After pulling in $2.44 billion in April, U.S. spot bitcoin ETF inflows have cooled, and exchange reserves remain near decade-low levels at roughly 2.3 million BTC, suggesting the structural supply backdrop remains supportive. But tight supply alone does not push prices higher if buyers are not stepping in.

Next week’s Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation report, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, could reshape expectations for U.S. interest rates. A hotter-than-expected reading could reinforce the higher-for-longer rates narrative, lifting the dollar and Treasury yields while pressuring bitcoin.

A softer print could do the opposite, reviving hopes for easier monetary policy and bringing institutional buyers back into crypto exposure.

Ethereum liquid staking protocol Kelp DAO says its restaked Ether token has been restored with a five-week recovery effort after the protocol suffered a $293 million exploit by North Korea’s Lazarus Group on April 18.

Kelp DAO posted to X on Monday that the final tranche of 20,373.7 Kelp DAO restaked ETH (rsETH) tokens was sent to the LayerZero smart contract responsible for locking, minting, burning and releasing rsETH during cross-chain transfers. 

“This closes the operational part of the rsETH recovery plan,” Kelp said. Several crypto protocols contributed funds to help restore rsETH’s backing under the DeFi United initiative.

Source: Stani Kulechov

The Kelp DAO hack in April caused a ripple effect throughout the crypto lending market that disrupted billions of dollars in liquidity and resurfaced concerns about the interconnectedness of decentralized finance protocols.

Aave was one of the hardest hit as the Kelp DAO attacker put a large portion of the stolen 116,500 rsETH up as collateral on its lending platform to borrow wrapped Ether, leaving $190 million in bad debt and triggering a wave of withdrawals.

The Kelp DAO hack was one of 25 crypto hacks in April, which saw a combined $630 million worth of losses, the worst month since February 2025, when crypto exchange Bybit was hacked for a record $1.5 billion.

The first tranche of 25,000 rsETH was transferred on May 13, allowing rsETH bridging between the Ethereum mainnet and the blockchain’s layer 2 networks to reopen. 

Kelp reopened withdrawals for rsETH the following day and said on Tuesday that rsETH mints, redemptions and rewards operations “have been running normally.”. 

Aave’s TVL bleed stops, but has not recovered

The Kelp DAO exploit contributed to Aave’s total value locked falling from $26.4 billion to below $14 billion, losing its long-held position as the largest DeFi protocol by TVL.

Related: Crypto hackers stole $17B over past 10 years: DefiLlama 

DefiLlama data shows that net outflows from Aave’s lending markets have eased over the past month.

However, Aave’s TVL has shown no signs of recovery, hovering between the $13.9 billion and $15.1 billion mark since about a week after the incident took place.

Source: Aave’s change in TVL in 2026. Source: DefiLlama

Magazine: The legal battle over who can claim DeFi’s stolen millions 

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Blockaid said it detected an active exploit targeting the SquidRouterModule on Ethereum and Base, with 86 Gnosis Safes drained for about $3 million in roughly two hours.

The blockchain security firm said the stolen tokens were swapped into DAI through attacker-controlled Uniswap V3 pools. The alert listed an exploiter address, a consolidation wallet, and one example drain transaction.

According to Blockaid’s X thread, the exploit targeted Gnosis Safes linked to the SquidRouterModule. The firm said the attack moved quickly, draining dozens of Safes before the stolen assets were converted.

🚨 Blockaid detected an ongoing exploit targeting the SquidRouterModule on Ethereum and Base.

86 Gnosis Safes drained for ~$3M in ~2 hours.
All stolen tokens swapped to DAI via attacker-controlled Uniswap V3 pools.
More details in 🧵

— Blockaid (@blockaid_) May 25, 2026

The alert identified the exploiter address as 0x9bdc730183821b6bb2b51be30b77c964fa645b91. Etherscan data shows that address was funded by Tornado Cash and recorded 52 transactions, with activity listed on May 25.

Blockaid also pointed to a consolidation wallet holding the proceeds. Etherscan data for that wallet showed about 3.07 million DAI, worth roughly $3.07 million, alongside a small ETH balance.

Stolen tokens move through Uniswap V3

The example transaction shared by Blockaid succeeded at 06:25:23 UTC on May 25. Etherscan shows the transaction came from the exploiter address and interacted with another address tied to the reported flow.

The same transaction page shows swaps involving USDC, ENA, and USDT through Uniswap V3 pools. These details match Blockaid’s claim that stolen assets were routed through decentralized exchange pools before being consolidated.

In response, Squid later said the incident was unrelated to its core protocol and contracts. The team said all Squid users and integrators were unaffected and no action was needed. According to Squid, the exploited contract was a third-party Gnosis Safe module verified on Basescan as “SquidRouterModule,” but it was not built, deployed, or operated by Squid.

Squid said the exploit came from a faulty third-party smart-wallet module that victims had added as a trusted Safe Module. The team added that its official router contract was architecturally different and was not touched.

This incident is unrelated to Squid’s core protocol and contracts. All Squid users and integrators are unaffected and no action is needed.

A third-party Gnosis Safe module was exploited today across Base and Ethereum, resulting in approximately $3.2M in losses. The vulnerable… https://t.co/I3gGmdBvE9

— squid (@squidrouter) May 25, 2026

May exploit wave keeps security teams active

The SquidRouterModule incident comes during an active month for onchain security teams. Crypto.news reported one day earlier that StablR’s EURR and USDR stablecoins lost their pegs after a suspected private key compromise let an attacker take control of minting permissions and extract about $2.8 million.

That report said Blockaid traced the StablR incident to a compromised multisig owner. The attacker reportedly minted 12.85 million tokens and converted thin DEX liquidity into 1,115 ETH in proceeds.

Crypto.news also reported earlier in May that Blockaid flagged an active smart contract exploit involving ShapeShift’s FOX Colony on Arbitrum. That incident drained $132,700 at first, before a related exploit pushed total losses to about $182,700.

DeFi infrastructure risks remain in focus

Recent exploit coverage shows attackers keep targeting weak points around smart contracts, proxies, bridges, wallets, and key management. Crypto.news reported in April that DefiLlama had logged 518 crypto hacks over 10 years, with total losses above $17 billion.

The same report said recent incidents show attackers increasingly target private keys, signing systems, bridges, and wallets, not only smart contract code. That pattern makes module permissions and Safe integrations an important area for teams to review.

Crypto.news also reported that TrustedVolumes lost roughly $6.7 million in an exploit tied to a custom RFQ swap proxy. Blockaid and other firms said about $5.87 million was drained from the protocol’s Ethereum resolver.

The latest SquidRouterModule alert adds another case where connected DeFi infrastructure became the attack surface.

NEAR Protocol surged about 50% this week to roughly $2.34, outpacing most large cap tokens as traders rotated into Arthur Hayes’s “holy trinity” of NEAR, HYPE and ZEC.

NEAR Protocol has become one of the clearest large cap momentum trades after its price climbed roughly 50 percent in a week to hit a six month high around $2.34, even as the broader market barely moved.

CoinMarketCap lists the live NEAR Protocol price at about $2.40, with 24 hour trading volume above $689 million and a market capitalization in the low single digit billions, placing it around the top 30 crypto assets by size.

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Why is NEAR outperforming other large cap altcoins

According to Changelly, NEAR is currently priced near $2.38 with an estimated market cap of roughly $3.08 billion and circulating supply of about 1.3 billion tokens, after logging around 14.4 percent volatility over the past month.

Fresh data from CoinMarketCap’s AI driven price analysis tool noted that NEAR recently jumped 13.26 percent in 24 hours to about $2.47, massively outperforming a wider market that edged up just over 1 percent during the same window.

MEXC framed the move more starkly, writing in a recent market note that “thanks to a 25.78% price increase, NEAR Protocol was the biggest gainer of the day among the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap” as it traded around $2.20.

> Near unlocked ZEC onchain with billions.

> Near powered VVV with the most advanced private & *verifiable* AI inference tech in production.

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> Near shipped Confidential Intents. Live for 35+ blockchains. First time ever this is achieved. 42% rate of confidentiality rate in 1… https://t.co/kB1WDKfd2H

— Res (@resdegen) May 24, 2026

Another MEXC report added that NEAR’s price “surged 50% in seven days, hitting six month highs at $2.34” and gaining about 34 percent in one day alone, highlighting the speed with which traders have piled into the token.

That acceleration came as the total crypto market cap slipped about 0.42 percent to $2.58 trillion and roughly 78 percent of listed coins lost value on the day, suggesting NEAR’s rally is a focused rotation rather than a rising tide.

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In earlier coverage on crypto market leadership, NEAR had already begun to appear alongside other high conviction trades that pulled in liquidity while the rest of the market chopped sideways.

How does NEAR fit into Arthur Hayes’s “holy trinity” narrative

The renewed interest in NEAR is tightly bound to a narrative from BitMEX co founder Arthur Hayes, who recently called NEAR, Hyperliquid and Zcash “the holy trinity of altcoins” in a comment widely circulated on social media.

In an article summarizing his thesis, Stocktwits reported that “Arthur Hayes’ ‘Holy Trinity’ Outperforms Bitcoin – HYPE’s Price Hits All-Time High, While ZEC, NEAR Surge To 6-Month Peaks This Week,” underscoring that all three tokens hit notable milestones at roughly the same time.

Hyperliquid, which is tracked on CoinMarketCap as HYPE, has posted its own aggressive move to an all time high this month, while privacy focused Zcash has rallied to multi month highs on the back of what one crypto.news report described as a “privacy rotation” and fresh ecosystem funding.

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The narrative has spilled over into trading commentary on X as well, with market watchers pointing out that NEAR, HYPE and ZEC have all logged sharper percentage gains than Bitcoin in recent sessions, even as the benchmark asset remains near the center of attention.

One MEXC dispatch explicitly linked the three assets, noting that NEAR’s 50 percent weekly surge coincided with strong performance in HYPE and ZEC and concluding that NEAR “was the biggest gainer of the day among the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap.”

For NEAR specifically, the backdrop is an evolving story around the protocol’s effort to brand itself as “the blockchain for AI,” with CoinMarketCap describing it as “a high performance, AI native platform built to power the next generation of decentralized applications and intelligent agents” in its project overview.

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The token’s recent outperformance follows a long stretch of underperformance from its 2021 peak, but current data from CoinCodex suggests models still see NEAR trading near $2.30 at year end 2026, only slightly below current levels, which implies the market is now trying to decide whether this latest burst is a new secular leg higher or just another sharp countertrend move.

In earlier analysis on altcoin cycles, NEAR had already been flagged as one of the top gaining assets during a broader market rebound, reinforcing the idea that this week’s rally is part of a sustained period of relative strength rather than an isolated spike.

Kenya’s Finance Bill 2026 has proposed new reporting obligations for crypto platforms and fresh taxes on digital payments as authorities move to expand tax collection powers across the financial sector.

According to an analysis published by KPMG Kenya, the bill introduces measures requiring Virtual Asset Service Providers to file annual returns with the Kenya Revenue Authority containing details on reportable users and controlling persons.

The proposal would also allow Kenya to exchange virtual asset transaction information with foreign tax authorities under international reporting frameworks.

At the same time, the bill expands oversight of digital financial activity through new taxes targeting card transactions and some fintech services. Analysts reviewing the proposal said the changes could raise operating costs for payment firms, crypto platforms, and businesses that rely heavily on digital transactions.

Meanwhile, the Finance Bill also gives the Kenya Revenue Authority broader enforcement authority during tax disputes. Under the proposed framework, banks, SACCOs, and mobile money providers could receive agency notices even after taxpayers have formally objected to assessments, allowing funds to be frozen or redirected while disputes remain unresolved.

What crypto-related changes are included in the bill?

KPMG Kenya’s analysis stated that the Finance Bill expands the definition of reportable financial activity to include virtual asset transactions handled by VASPs. Crypto firms would therefore be required to maintain additional compliance systems and provide annual disclosures tied to customer activity.

Alongside the reporting obligations, the proposal introduces new taxes on digital payment infrastructure. Local card transactions would face a 5% withholding tax under the bill, while some non-resident card transactions could attract a 20% withholding tax. Certain financial technology services would also become subject to a 16% VAT charge.

According to tax advisory firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, the measures form part of Kenya’s attempt to strengthen tax enforcement and improve information sharing with foreign jurisdictions. The firm noted that virtual asset reporting standards are increasingly being adopted globally as regulators seek tighter monitoring of digital asset flows.

Elsewhere in Africa, regulators are also moving toward stricter crypto oversight. In South Africa, the National Treasury’s Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations for 2026 proposed classifying crypto assets as “capital” under foreign exchange laws for the first time.

A joint statement from South Africa’s National Treasury and Reserve Bank said the draft rules are intended to close gaps involving cross-border crypto transactions and illicit financial flows. According to the proposal, certain crypto transfers may require declarations or approvals depending on thresholds set by authorities.

Why are businesses concerned about the proposals?

Financial analysts cited in local coverage said the Finance Bill could increase compliance costs for fintech companies, payment processors, and crypto-related businesses operating in Kenya. Companies that rely on mobile payments, debit cards, and international transaction infrastructure may need to adjust pricing or reporting systems if the measures are approved.

The bill also shortens tax filing timelines and introduces additional disclosure requirements for businesses. Ordinary tax returns would be due before April 30 instead of June 30, while VAT invoicing obligations would extend beyond registered VAT businesses to entities making taxable supplies.

Further changes would alter dividend withholding rules within the East African Community and revise interest deduction treatment for lenders and leasing firms. According to KPMG Kenya, the proposals are part of a wider restructuring of the country’s tax administration framework as authorities look for additional revenue sources during a period of economic pressure.

Bitcoin’s implied volatility has sunk to 36%, its lowest in eight months, signaling that professional traders expect the next move to be less dramatic and that price action may trend within a tighter range. As volatility cools, market participants are weighing what a muted near-term backdrop means for risk appetite, funding dynamics, and the potential for a surprise breakout as macro conditions oscillate between risk-on and risk-off sentiment.

Analysts caution that a buildup of bearish conviction could paradoxically sow the seeds for a sharp upside squeeze. If traders who are positioned for a deeper decline start to unwind, a rapid move above $82,000 could unleash a liquidity-driven rally. Meanwhile, the evolution of Bitcoin’s market structure—driven by institutional demand and a broadened toolbox of derivatives—continues to shape how traders price and manage risk in a market that remains far from fully mature.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin’s implied volatility has fallen to 36%, the lowest in eight months, suggesting a quieter price environment ahead.
• Despite a subdued volatility regime, persistent bearish positioning could trigger a forced-covering rally if market dynamics flip above roughly $82,000.
• Liquidity supports, including collateralized lending used by large holders, may dampen forced sales and reduce downside pressure.
• The options market shows a tilt in risk pricing with put options trading at a premium to calls, signaling hedging demand and potential downside protection among investors.
• Short-term momentum remains sensitive to liquidity events and macro triggers, with a potential retest near $72,000 already partly priced in by traders.

Volatility at a crossroads: what the current read says

Trader appetite for risk has cooled as Bitcoin’s volatility backdrop eases from the spikes seen earlier in the year. Data tracking Bitcoin’s implied volatility reveal a market where the probability of outsized daily moves has receded. As price breach likelihood narrows, traders price in consolidation rather than a rapid acceleration, a pattern that aligns with broader market patience while macro headlines remain in flux.

Historical context matters: after a sharp January-to-February slide, volatility spiked briefly before easing again as Bitcoin traded within a defined corridor, roughly $63,000 to $71,000 in March. This period of relative calm coincided with a growing sense that the price floor around $60,000 could be a durable anchor, bolstered by increased participation from institutions and a broader suite of derivative instruments. Data visualizations comparing Bitcoin’s price with Deribit’s volatility index illustrate how sentiment has shifted from fear-driven swings to a more muted regime, even as outsized moves remain possible on triggered liquidations or macro surprises. TradingView data have helped traders gauge the relative decoupling between spot moves and volatility expectations.

That said, volatility itself is not a directional signal. It is a gauge of how aggressively traders expect prices to swing. The current trough argues for cautious risk management, but it does not guarantee a downside bias or a rapid upside breakout. The ongoing question is how much the next leg will be driven by external catalysts—economics, policy, or liquidity-driven leverage unwinds—and how much market structure will shape the pace of any move.

Liquidity cushions and market structure

One of the more interesting shifts observed in recent months is how large holders are managing risk in the face of potential volatility. Tyler Evans, chief investment officer at UTXO Management, indicated that digital credit facilities and collateralized loans have provided a buffer against forced selling. Rather than having to dump Bitcoin in a downturn, some institutions and miners have turned to secured financing to meet liquidity needs or to maintain reserve strategies. This trend reduces acute selling pressure during volatility spikes and can contribute to a more gradual price response to negative headlines or macro shocks. Hut 8’s recent credit facility from FalconX serves as a concrete example of such risk-management tools gaining traction among industry players.

From a broader market perspective, the presence of collateralized lending and other liquidity backstops helps to reframe risk from a binary, stop-the-bleed event into a more nuanced funding picture. If large participants can access capital tied to their Bitcoin holdings, the incentive to exit en masse during stress periods can diminish. This dynamic contributes to the sense that the market has matured somewhat, even as a significant portion of capital remains exposed to sharp drawdowns if conditions deteriorate again.

Options positioning and what it signals

Beyond realized price movements, options markets paint a picture of how investors are hedging and positioning for different outcomes. A widely cited measure is the delta skew of 30-day Bitcoin options, which tracks the relative pricing of puts versus calls. The latest readings show put options trading at a noticeable premium relative to calls, with about a 14% premium. In normal conditions, the put-call delta skew tends to oscillate within a narrow range, roughly between -6% and +6%. The persistence of a premium on puts over the past several months suggests that market participants are prioritizing downside protection and hedging during a period of uncertain or uneven risk appetite. This setup is important because it implies that the market is ready to absorb or withstand negative catalysts while still retaining a readiness to capitalize on favorable moves if liquidity conditions align for a bullish breakout. Glassnode data underpin these observations.

Industry chatter points to a potential constructive scenario for bulls: a sustained price move above $82,000 could trigger a cascade of leverage unwinds and liquidity-driven squeezes as shorts cover and speculative bets react to the breakout. Conversely, a retest of the $72,000 neighborhood might already be priced in by traders given the current risk tolerances and hedging posture. These dynamics illustrate a market where volatility can remain subdued most days, yet the probability of sharp moves persists due to the unbalanced mix of hedges, liquidations, and large holders managing balance sheets.

What to watch next for Bitcoin traders

As the market digests this evolving landscape, several anchors will likely shape the near-term path. One is the ongoing interaction between macro conditions and crypto-specific liquidity. If broader risk assets assume a more constructive posture, Bitcoin could see its volatility metrics compress further as hedges and collateralized facilities continue to stabilize the pace of selling. If sentiment deteriorates or a liquidity event occurs, the market could flip quickly, and the confluence of a higher realized volatility regime with liquidations could push prices toward the upper end of the current range or beyond.

Market observers will also be watching how derivatives markets respond to any new price regime. The current tilt toward hedging in puts indicates defensive positioning, but it does not preclude a bullish impulse if market breadth improves and on-chain signals align with price action. The connection between option pricing, spot performance, and funding dynamics suggests that traditional risk indicators may have limited predictive power in isolation; a holistic view that weighs liquidity, hedging, and macro cues will be essential for interpreting the next leg in Bitcoin’s journey.

Additionally, investors may want to monitor how institutional products evolve—ranging from exchange-traded awareness to structured credit facilities and bespoke financing arrangements—as these can dampen or amplify volatility depending on how widely they are adopted. The broader takeaway is that Bitcoin remains in a transition phase where risk management tools, market structure, and macro factors converge to shape both volatility and direction.

For readers tracking the potential path of Bitcoin prices, a focal point remains the possibility of a bullish breakout above $82,000, which many market participants associate with a liquidity-driven squeeze. On the other hand, if momentum wobbles and risk-off sentiment returns, a retest near $72,000 could re-emerge as traders reassess hedges and funding costs. The next move will likely hinge less on a single catalyst and more on how the ecosystem of lenders, funds, and derivative traders collaborates to manage risk in a shifting macro landscape.

What remains uncertain is how quickly new market participants and institutions will expand their use of Bitcoin-backed credit facilities and other liquidity tools. If adoption accelerates, the market could tolerate greater drawdown without triggering a cascade of forced sales. If not, the next leg may come with amplified volatility as leveraged positions unwind in a less-cooperative liquidity environment.

Readers should keep an eye on liquidity metrics, option skew shifts, and the evolving mix of institutional activity as essential indicators of how Bitcoin will navigate the coming months. The balance between hedges, collateralized funding, and price momentum will likely define both the depth and duration of the next move in this still-maturing asset class. And as ever, the market’s response to external shocks—policy changes, macro surprises, or risk-off episodes—will determine whether volatility remains a tail risk or a present driver of price action.

In the meantime, commentators continue to point to occasional signals that a sharper move could occur if bears become overconfident or if a liquidity trigger pushes leveraged traders to adjust positions aggressively. As one observation linked to recent market data noted, a bullish breakout above the $82,000 zone would likely intensify squeezes in leveraged bets, while a retest of the lower end around $72,000 remains a plausible scenario to watch. For now, Bitcoin’s volatility regime suggests a period of patient trading, with a careful eye on funding markets and hedging activity shaping the next chapter of this ongoing market narrative.

Crypto market leadership remained concentrated rather than broad based.

Crypto markets on May 25 showed a clear divergence between sectors, with infrastructure projects, privacy focused assets and exchange related tokens attracting capital while several previously popular altcoins lagged behind.

How did HYPE, TIA and XMR dominate May 25 market attention

The clearest theme on May 25 across platforms such as CoinMarketCap and TradingView was a split between projects tied to trading infrastructure, modular chains and privacy on one side, and a set of lagging altcoins on the other.

Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE remained the focal point after climbing to a fresh record above $63 over the weekend, according to a report from Yellow.

Yellow wrote that “Hyperliquid (HYPE) climbed to a fresh all time high above $63 on Saturday, extending a multi week rally that has made it the standout performer across major digital assets,” and noted that the token had already hit $62.24 on May 21 before breaking higher.

Alongside HYPE, modular infrastructure projects such as Celestia gained renewed attention.

Celestia’s TIA token is currently priced around $0.43 with roughly $26 million in 24 hour volume and a circulating supply of about 921.6 million tokens, according to data compiled by CryptoRank, which describes Celestia as “a modular data availability network enabling easy blockchain launches.”

The token rallied by more than 20% and managed to close above a key resistance zone in recent sessions, suggesting that traders are once again leaning into the modular blockchain thesis that separates data availability from execution.

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Privacy assets also featured in the day’s sector map, with Monero drawing renewed interest as investors revisited privacy related narratives that had already powered earlier gains in coins like Zcash.

In previous privacy rotation coverage, crypto dot news highlighted how investors used privacy names as a tactical trade when broader market direction looked uncertain, a pattern that appears to be resurfacing in XMR flows.

Momentum driven trading continued in Sei, which remains on the radar of public trackers after a strong rally earlier in the month kept volatility high and drew speculative interest around whether recent gains could hold.

Why are SUI and Aethir falling behind despite sector inflows

The same public dashboards that showed inflows into HYPE, TIA and XMR also highlighted obvious laggards.

Sui appeared among notable daily losers on TradingView, which listed SUI with a price near $1.02, a one day decline of 4.24 percent and a market cap of about $4.09 billion, placing it in the mid twenties by size.

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Aethir’s ATH token likewise featured on the same losers page, trading around $0.0061 with a daily drop of 4.30 percent and a market capitalization just above $123 million.

TradingView’s overview of top crypto losers described the list as “top market cap coins with the biggest price drops,” meaning that SUI and Aethir’s weakness is not just a function of their smaller scale but of clear underperformance within their respective categories.

That divergence fits with earlier token performance trends analysis on crypto dot news, which has noted that investors are concentrating capital in specific narratives rather than lifting the entire altcoin complex.

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Separate coverage on institutional crypto adoption has also emphasized that larger players increasingly favor projects with visible usage metrics and clear demand for block space, a filter that tends to punish assets where fundamentals are still opaque.

For now, the May 25 snapshot from public market trackers suggests that traders are willing to pay up for access to decentralized derivatives, modular infrastructure and privacy applications while taking risk off the table in certain layer one and infrastructure names that lack a clear near term catalyst.