Hyperliquid DEX’s native token, HYPE, is showing potential for a 55% rally after a wallet reportedly tied to Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist, a16z, accumulated $90.87 million worth of tokens in just over a month.

Key takeaways:

• HYPE’s three-day chart shows a potential cup-and-handle breakout, with the neckline sitting near $45–$47.
• ETF launch, Coinbase-Circle USDC roles, and potential US regulatory clarity may expand Hyperliquid’s institutional demand base.

HYPE cup-and-handle setup eyes record highs

HYPE appears to be forming a cup-and-handle pattern, a classic bullish continuation setup.

A cup-and-handle forms when price makes a rounded recovery, pauses near resistance, and then breaks higher. Traders calculate the upside target by measuring the cup’s depth and adding that distance to the breakout level.

In HYPE’s case, the “cup” developed after its price fell from around $46 to nearly $21, then gradually recovered in a rounded structure back toward the $45–$47 resistance zone. That area now acts as the pattern’s neckline.

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HYPE/USDT three-day price chart. Source: TradingView

As of Monday, HYPE was forming the structure’s “handle” part, confirmed by its slightly downward consolidation. The token may climb toward the $71–$72 range in 2026 if the breakout above the $45–$47 neckline area plays out as intended.

That would mean about 55% rise from current prices, a new record high for the token.

a16z-linked wallet accumulates $90.87M HYPE

HYPE’s bullish technical setup has gained support from a fresh on-chain accumulation signal.

On Monday, wallet 0xb5E4, which Lookonchain describes as linked to Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, bought another 372,000 HYPE worth about $16.91 million in three hours.

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Transaction records of the wallet ‘0xb5E4.’ Source: Arkham Intelligence

HYPE stood out in an otherwise weaker crypto market, gaining roughly 7% over 24 hours as Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 1.22% and Ether (ETH) lost 2.22%. On a year-to-date timeframe, HYPE was up 80% compared to BTC’s and ETH’s losses of nearly 12.5% and 28.3%.

HYPE/USDT year-to-date price performance vs. BTC/USD and ETH/USD. Source: TradingView

The latest “massive HYPE buy” lifted the a16z-linked wallet’s total accumulation since April 14 to 2.11 million HYPE, valued at roughly $90.87 million.

Source: X

Large venture-linked accumulation may strengthen market confidence, especially when it occurs while the price is already testing a major resistance zone.

The reported a16z-linked purchases add to a strong catalyst run for Hyperliquid.

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Last week’s US spot HYPE ETF launches opened a regulated access point for traditional investors, while Coinbase and Circle’s USDC deployment roles strengthened Hyperliquid’s stablecoin infrastructure capabilities.

Trader Pentoshi said Hyperliquid’s revenue could “grow 5x–10x” if a compliant US framework, such as the CLARITY Act, allows hedge funds, prop desks, and asset managers to trade on the platform.

Source: X

Higher institutional activity may boost HYPE demand through stronger volume, revenues, and confidence in Hyperliquid’s growth.

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[PRESS RELEASE – Willemstand, Curaçao, May 18th, 2026]

International iGaming and crypto-entertainment brand 1win has officially announced the launch of its new global crypto tournament system, featuring competition formats with prize pools ranging from 10,000 USDT to 200,000 USDT. With the new approach to crypto gaming, 1win invited players worldwide to compete for crypto rewards in a single virtual environment.

The initiative marks a transition from region-specific tournaments with unique terms and conditions to an international model in which players from multiple locations share gaming experiences and compete for crypto rewards.

The Crypto Tournament system by 1win includes three formats with different durations and prize structures:

• Crypto Week is a weekly competition format with prize pools of up to 10,000 USDT. Crypto Weeks start every Friday.
• Crypto Month introduces monthly tournaments with prize pools of up to 50,000 USDT and includes gaming categories such as slots, plinko, and crash mechanics.
• Crypto Season is the largest format within 1win. It offers prize pools of up to 200,000 USDT across long-term games.

The leaderboard system is based on total betting activity during each tournament period. Participation is exclusively open to users who deposit in cryptocurrency. At this time, the tournaments are available globally, except for users in the United States, the European Union, the UAE, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.

1win continues to strengthen its presence in the crypto entertainment segment by developing products for international audiences. Earlier in 2026, the company also announced plans to launch 1win Token, the native digital asset of the 1win ecosystem.

The launch of global crypto tournaments marks another step in the company’s strategy to combine crypto, entertainment, and international-scale gaming experiences.

About 1win

Founded in 2016, 1win is a crypto-focused platform in the global gaming industry. Operating across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, 1win offers a wide range of entertainment products adapted to regional audiences. The brand has active collaborations with international public figures, including actor Johnny Sins, martial artist Jon Jones, and Olympic champion and UFC fighter Gable Steveson. In 2026, 1win welcomed American rapper Tyga as a new member of the 1win VIP community.

The post 1win Crypto Tournaments Go Global With Up to 200K USDT in Rewards appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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TLDR

• Crypto funds recorded $1.07 billion in net outflows, ending a six-week streak of inflows.
• Bitcoin products led withdrawals with $982 million in outflows during the week.
• Ether funds posted $249 million in outflows, the largest since late January.
• XRP and Solana investment products attracted fresh inflows despite broader market weakness.
• US-based funds accounted for $1.14 billion of total outflows from crypto products.

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Crypto investment products reversed course last week as investors reduced exposure to risk assets. CoinShares reported $1.07 billion in net outflows from digital asset exchange-traded products. The withdrawals ended a six-week inflow streak and marked the third-largest weekly exit this year.

Bitcoin and Ether lead Crypto funds retreat

Bitcoin investment products drove most of the weekly redemptions across global markets. Investors withdrew $982 million from Bitcoin funds, according to CoinShares. The pullback concentrated largely in United States-listed products.

Ether products also faced heavy selling during the same period. Funds tied to Ether recorded $249 million in outflows. That figure represented the largest weekly exit since the week ending January 30.

Most withdrawals originated in the United States, which posted $1.14 billion in net outflows. Meanwhile, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands recorded modest inflows. The shift followed a broader decline in the S&P 500 from recent record levels.

Energy market disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher last week. Rising energy costs contributed to a renewed increase in US inflation. Official data showed inflation reached its highest level in more than three years.

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XRP and Solana attract inflows as regulation advances

While major tokens fell, select altcoins attracted fresh capital during the week. XRP investment products brought in $67.5 million in net inflows. Solana funds followed with $55.1 million in new allocations.

CoinShares head of research James Butterfill linked the flows to US policy developments. He said select altcoins benefited from improving regulatory sentiment. Butterfill cited progress on the CLARITY Act as a supportive factor.

The Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act with bipartisan backing last week. Lawmakers designed the bill to establish clearer oversight for digital assets. Industry groups argue that the framework would reduce regulatory uncertainty in the United States.

Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim addressed the bill’s movement. He said, “The momentum and progress are both strong” as lawmakers review the legislation. However, several Senate Democrats requested stronger ethics provisions tied to officials’ crypto holdings.

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Republican Senator Thom Tillis also commented on the draft legislation. He said, “more work remains in the weeks ahead to make this legislation even better.” Lawmakers continue discussions as the bill moves through Congress.

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[PRESS RELEASE – London, United Kingdom, May 18th, 2026]

Quantography Labs announced the early-access release of Lock.com, a hardware-free crypto wallet built around an isolated, air-gapped security approach.

Lock.com is now available to early access users. The platform separates private key storage from network-connected systems, removing the need for dedicated hardware wallet devices.

Hardware wallets have long been the standard for protecting digital assets. But they come with a trade-off: users must trust the device, the manufacturer, and the supply chain behind it.

Lock.com removes that dependency by separating the signing environment from the broadcasting environment. Private keys remain on a fully offline signer, while transactions are created and broadcast on a connected device. Private keys never touch the internet. The system is designed to work with devices users already own, removing the need for purpose-built hardware.

Lock.com was built out of frustration with how crypto security works today. Too many people are still losing funds in ways that shouldn’t be happening, not because self-custody failed, but because the software environment around the hardware was never built to the same standard. Lock wanted to close that gap structurally

Lock.com is designed to function as an isolated crypto wallet without relying on third-party hardware manufacturers or proprietary device supply chains. The architecture integrates post-quantum cryptographic standards, specifically ML-DSA signatures and ML-KEM key encapsulation alongside the isolated signing model.

The early access phase is focused on gathering user feedback ahead of general availability. Early access enrolment is available at https://www.lock.com/

About Quantography Labs

Quantography Labs is an investment and technology firm focused on secure finance, digital assets, and applied research. The company develops privacy-focused, quantum-ready systems designed to advance the future of digital asset security and infrastructure. Lock.com is its first publicly released product.

Users can learn more about Lock.com’s isolated crypto wallet architecture: https://www.lock.com/

The post Lock.com Enters Early Access With Isolated Signing and Post-Quantum Architecture appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Ripple’s cross-border token headed south over the past few days, plunging to its lowest level since the start of the month.

However, numerous factors and indicators suggest that a rebound could be on the way, while many analysts remain optimistic that a bull run is knocking on the door.

No Need to Panic?

The past 24 hours have not been favorable for the cryptocurrency market, with many leading digital assets posting substantial losses amid renewed tensions between the US and Iran. Recall that American President Donald Trump threatened the Asian country that the clock is ticking, warning them to act fast, “or there won’t be anything left of them.”

The US leader went even further, depicting himself in a spacecraft outside Earth and pressing a red button as countless bombs detonate in the background.

Ripple’s XRP is not among the few exceptions in green today (May 18) as its price fell to around $1.38 (according to CoinGecko). This represents a 5% weekly decline, returning to a level last observed nearly three weeks ago.

The pullback hasn’t managed to spread fear across crypto X, where numerous analysts remain bullish that XRP is gearing up for a major pump. The one using the moniker CoinForge, for instance, claimed that the asset looks “insane” right now and stands at a critical level that sent it up 700% last time.

“The MACD has just done a deep golden cross, and it is primed for an expansion. The target is just south of $5, and that would be a 240% jump,” they added.

JAVON MARKS and Celal Kucuker also made highly optimistic forecasts. The former argued that XRP is still “holding broken out” against BTC and has the potential to outperform by nearly 800%.

“This fulfilling, which a breakout similar to this one has done before, can result in XRP being priced above $10,” their analysis reads.

For their part, Celal Kucuker thinks the asset is ready for a massive breakout, claiming the valuation could exceed the ridiculous (at least as of now) $15.

Further Insight

The substantial inflows into spot XRP ETFs lately reinforce the optimistic outlook. SoSoValue’s data shows that the last day when outflows dominated was April 30, while the past week was the strongest since December.

Since their launch, these financial products have generated a cumulative net inflow of almost $1.4 billion, signaling strong interest from institutional investors and potentially setting the stage for upward price momentum.

Next on the list is the declining amount of XRP tokens stored on Binance. According to CryptoQuant, the figure dropped to a monthly low of around 2.75 million coins, suggesting that investors have shifted toward self-custody methods, thereby reducing immediate selling pressure.

The post Ripple (XRP) Slumps 5% Weekly Yet Analysts Predict Major Rally Ahead: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced that its Ethereum holdings have risen to 5.28 million ETH. This gives the company ownership of about 4.37% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply of 120.7 million ETH.

The company said its combined crypto, cash, and “moonshot” holdings now total $12.6 billion as of May 17.

Bitmine Closes In on ‘Alchemy of 5%’

Over the past week alone, Bitmine added 71,672 ETH, while its total staked Ethereum holdings reached 4,712,917 ETH, which is worth approximately $10.3 billion based on an ETH price of $2,191. The company said nearly 89% of its ETH treasury is now staked, generating annualized staking revenues of around $289 million, with a reported 7-day staking yield of 2.80%.

In its latest press release, Bitmine revealed that it is now 87% of the way toward its long-term target of acquiring 5% of Ethereum’s total supply, a goal Chairman Tom Lee believes could be reached sometime in 2026. In addition to its ETH treasury, the company also holds 202 Bitcoin, $685 million in cash, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, and an $83 million position in Eightco Holdings, which it described as one of the few publicly traded companies offering indirect exposure to OpenAI.

Bitmine recently launched MAVAN, short for Made in America VAlidator Network, its institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform designed to support its treasury operations and eventually expand to custodians, institutional investors, and ecosystem partners. A portion of the company’s ETH is already staked through the platform.

ETH Weakness

Ethereum (ETH) briefly dropped to a low of $2,097 on Monday, its weakest level since April 7, as selling pressure continued across the crypto market. At press time, ETH was trading around $2,132, down nearly 3% over the past day. Reacting to the decline, Lee believes rising oil prices have been one of the main reasons behind the second-largest crypto asset’s recent weakness. On X, Lee explained that ETH’s inverse correlation with oil is now at its highest level ever, and added that Ethereum prices have moved lower during the past six weeks as oil climbed higher.

As such, a reversal in oil prices could help ETH recover in the short term. Still, he said the recent slump does not change ETH’s broader outlook, which he believes remains supported by tokenization growth and increasing demand from agentic AI systems. He also views the recent pullback as an “attractive opportunity.”

The post Bitmine’s Ethereum Hoard Surges Past 5.28 Million ETH as Company Nears 5% Supply Target appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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XRP price has dropped by 2% to below its $1.40 support, yet institutional money flow beneath is anything but quiet. Citadel’s name is now attached to XRP exposure across multiple products, and a confirmed $500 million Ripple funding round adds hard infrastructure to what could otherwise read as speculative positioning.

Reports circulating across research desks indicate Citadel Advisors has built $1.7 million in XRP ETF and trust exposure spanning Bitwise, Canary, Franklin, and Grayscale XRP Trust calls. However, primary 13F filings have not yet confirmed the exact positions.

What is confirmed, though, is that Citadel Securities and Fortress Investment Group co-led a $500 million strategic round in Ripple on November 5, 2025, valuing the company at $40 billion. That capital targets custody, stablecoins, and prime brokerage infrastructure. If the ETF filing is confirmed, Citadel has two very different bets that point in the same direction.

Meanwhile, XRP investment products pulled in approximately $81.59 million in net inflows during April, with spot ETFs logging consecutive heavy-flow days of $25.80 million and $18.52 million in mid-May. The SEC’s active review of NYSE Arca’s crypto ETF proposals, which bundle XRP alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, also adds a regulatory catalyst.

Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with

Can XRP Price Break Toward $1.55 This Week?

XRP is consolidating in the $1.37–$1.41 range, a zone that has absorbed multiple test runs without a decisive breakdown. Support sits near the $1.35 area, and that floor appears increasingly well-defended as net inflows remain positive week-over-week.

Derivatives and technical analysis desks have flagged a potential 12% upside breakout setup, with short-term targets clustering around the low-double-digit percentage move from current levels, implying a path toward $1.55. Institutional desks cited in ETF-flow coverage argue that sustained net inflows above tens of millions per week would materially strengthen the breakout case.

Xrp (XRP)

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Three scenarios worth tracking:

• Bull case: ETF inflows remain elevated, SEC review delivers positive signals, XRP clears local resistance and tests $1.55+ within days.
• Base case: Consolidation continues in the $1.37–$1.45 band for another one to two weeks as the market digests institutional positioning data.
• Bear/invalidation: A confirmed break below mid-$1 support on elevated volume resets the structure and delays any breakout thesis considerably.

Momentum is leaning constructively, but XRP has delivered false breakouts before. The Citadel disclosure, confirmed or not, is less important than the ETF inflow cadence.

Discover: The best pre-launch token sales

LiquidChain Eyes Early Positioning as XRP Consolidates at Key Levels

XRP price consolidation is a familiar story: strong institutional narrative, legitimate inflow data, but near-term upside capped by a market cap already north of $85 billion. That math limits the multiple. For traders who’ve already made the XRP trade and are scanning for asymmetric early-stage exposure, the infrastructure layer feeding the next cycle of cross-chain activity is drawing attention.

LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is a Layer 3 execution environment that fuses Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single unified layer. It’s a direct infrastructure play on the fragmentation problem that plagues multi-chain DeFi.

The project’s Unified Liquidity Layer enables single-step execution and verifiable settlement across all three ecosystems; developers deploy once and access all. The presale is currently priced at $0.0146, with $770K raised to date and a huge 1400% APY staking bonus for early buyers.

Research LiquidChain and assess whether the infrastructure thesis fits your risk profile.

The post XRP Price Could Rally Soon: Institutional Funds Keep Flowing In as Citadel Joins the Race appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Minnesota-based banking institutions and credit unions are set to offer some crypto custody services beginning in August.

On Friday, Governor Tim Walz signed House File (HF) 3709 into law, permitting “certain virtual-currency custody services to be offered and performed” by financial institutions in the US state.

One of the original sponsors in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Bernie Perryman, said in March that the bill was intended to ensure that “Minnesota-based financial institutions are allowed to evolve alongside their customers and members rather than forcing Minnesotans to rely on unregulated, out-of-state or offshore providers for services.”

The new law authorizes banks and credit unions to provide virtual-currency custody services in a nonfiduciary capacity from Aug. 1. The law amended Minnesota’s statutes to allow the financial institutions to engage “third-party service providers or subcustodians to facilitate virtual-currency custody services,” provided the funds were “legally and operationally segregated” from the bank’s or credit union’s assets and not treated as its property.

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Source: Minnesota legislature

The crypto custody law could potentially affect operations at all the financial institutions in the state.

The state’s government information portal shows that, as of May 2025, there were 240 commercial insured banks operating in Minnesota, with about $128 billion in assets, and 82 member-owned credit unions under the Minnesota Credit Union Network. The country’s seventh-largest bank by total assets, U.S. Bancorp, is based in Minneapolis.

Related: Bitcoin Depot stock crashes 71% premarket after Chapter 11 filing

In addition to the crypto custody law, Minnesota lawmakers advanced a bill to ban digital asset kiosks and ATMs across the state in response to incidents of residents being scammed.

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Crypto companies look to federal regulators for banking, custody services

Earlier in this month, Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, said it had filed with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust company charter. According to the company, it planned to establish Payward National Trust Company with “fiduciary custody and other services primarily for digital assets” if approved.

Payward’s move was one of many by crypto-related companies attempting to secure federal approval under the Trump administration. The OCC approved or conditionally approved similar charter applications for Ripple Labs, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos in December, and is considering a charter for World Liberty Financial, the company co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his sons.

Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs bleed $1B, Aave’s $71M ETH unfreeze bid delayed: Hodler’s Digest, May 10 – 16

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