Crypto wrapped up May on the back foot, with Bitcoin sealing a red monthly candle even as it fought back from its lows. The week was defined by a tug-of-war: persistent ETF outflows and Extreme Fear readings on one side, surprisingly bullish social sentiment and a weekend bounce on the other. Now all eyes turn to a packed US jobs week that could decide which way the market breaks.
Here is everything that moved the market and what we are watching next.
Market overview
Crypto closed out May licking its wounds. Bitcoin spent the week wedged under its 2025 yearly lows before clawing back over the weekend, circling $73,600 as the monthly candle prepared to seal a roughly 3% loss for May. It was not the finish bulls wanted, but the recovery off the lows gave them something to hold onto.
The broader tape stayed heavy. The market shed over $300 billion in value during the final week of May, and total capitalization slipped back toward the $2.5 trillion zone. Bitcoin dominance held firm near 58.5%, a classic sign that capital was hiding in the majors rather than chasing risk.
Sentiment divergence
Sentiment told a strange, split story. The crypto fear and greed index sat deep in fear territory, printing an “Extreme Fear” reading of 23 over the weekend. Yet Santiment flagged that social media bullishness toward Bitcoin hit its most lopsided positive ratio of 2026, at 2.23 bullish comments for every bearish one.
That gap matters. The previous two times social sentiment ran this hot in 2026, short-term pullbacks followed. Extreme positive readings have historically preceded dips more often than rallies, so we are watching this divergence closely.
ETF outflows keep bleeding
Spot ETF flows remained the dominant drag. Bitcoin ETFs logged their tenth straight day of outflows, with net redemptions topping $2.97 billion since May 15. Ether ETFs extended their own streak past ten days, bleeding around $216 million over seven sessions. When the institutional bid steps back, price tends to follow.
Where capital rotated
The standout movers were the privacy names and select large caps. Stellar (XLM) ripped higher on the week, Monero (XMR) jumped on a reported $23 million mystery buy, and Zcash (ZEC) held its rally. Risk appetite, where it existed at all, rotated into pockets rather than flooding the whole market.
Geopolitical tensions
The geopolitical picture eased on the surface but stayed loaded underneath. US stocks notched fresh all-time highs on progress toward a US-Iran ceasefire, yet Bitcoin failed to catch that tailwind. President Trump signaled he was “in no hurry” to finalize an Iran deal, keeping a layer of uncertainty in place even as the headline risk cooled.
The bigger crypto-specific story came from Washington’s financial pressure campaign. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that America has now seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency to date under Operation Economic Fury.
The campaign, launched in March 2025, targets Iran’s sanctions-evasion networks, which had leaned heavily on stablecoins to move funds. Bessent estimated Iran was previously shifting $400 million to $500 million a month through crypto rails before the crackdown intensified.
The takeaway for traders is twofold. First, blockchain traceability is now a live instrument of statecraft, not a theoretical concern. Second, sanctions-driven seizures of this scale reinforce why regulated, compliant venues matter. On our platform, robust KYC and monitoring are not friction. They are the foundation that lets users trade with confidence while bad actors get squeezed out.
Key news spotlight
Vietnam moves to accept crypto as loan collateral
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance proposed letting small and medium-sized enterprises pledge digital assets, virtual assets, and intellectual property as collateral for bank loans. SMEs make up over 98% of Vietnamese businesses but receive only around 20% of total bank credit, and the reform aims to close that gap. Vietnam already ranks fourth in global crypto adoption, and a regulated market could launch as early as Q3 2026. This is one more sign that digital assets are being woven into mainstream finance, not pushed to the margins.
Gravity Bridge halts after a $5.4 million exploit
The Cosmos-based bridge connecting Ethereum and Cosmos was drained of roughly $5.4 million in a suspected signing-key compromise, prompting validators to halt operations. PeckShield broke down the haul as about $4.3 million in USDC plus WETH, USDT, and PAX Gold. It marked another entry in a brutal year for bridges, with cumulative 2026 bridge losses now north of $328 million across eight major incidents. Bridge security remains the soft underbelly of DeFi, and it is a key reason institutions stay cautious.
A white-hat unlocked $2 million stuck since 2016
On the brighter side, security researcher 0xflorent helped free roughly 1,003 ETH, worth about $2 million, that had been trapped in the HongCoin ICO contract for nearly nine years. Working with the original team, the researcher exploited an integer-overflow flaw in the contract’s refund function, making 48 original investors eligible to reclaim their funds. Two have already withdrawn a combined 96.5 ETH. It is a reminder that the same skills used to drain protocols can also be used to return value to the people it belongs to.
Claude Opus 4.8 raised the bar in AI
Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.8, delivering sharper coding, stronger agentic workflows, and notably higher reliability at the same price point. New effort controls and parallel subagent workflows stood out for builders. For us, smarter models translate directly into better tooling. Our AI-driven market intelligence and content systems get more capable as the underlying models improve.
Top gainers
| Token | 7d % | Reason | Detail |
| Humanity (H) | 1.9762 | AI/identity rotation | Worldcoin’s collapse; capital into rival proof-of-humanity |
| Stellar (XLM) | 0.6694 | DTCC deal | $114T clearing giant to tokenize assets on Stellar |
| 币安人生 | 0.4943 | Meme/social hype | BNB-chain meme, no utility; BSC Foundation buys |
| ASI Alliance (FET) | 0.3122 | AI rotation | AI token rally + new Agent Launchpad |
| Injective (INJ) | 0.2581 | Binance US staking | Staking locks supply; native USDC tailwind |
Top losers
| Token | 7d % | Reason | Detail |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | −17.76% | Altcoin rotation | No news; led index lower as money left legacy alts |
| Zcash (ZEC) | −16.63% | Profit-taking | Deleveraging/liquidations after parabolic run |
| Morpho (MORPHO) | −16.59% | DeFi risk-off | Rival exploit fear + token unlocks |
| Ondo (ONDO) | −16.02% | Unlock overhang | Supply unlocks despite $1B tokenized-stocks TVL |
| Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) | −15.89% | Profit-taking | Meme cool-down + unlock pressure |
Technical analysis and price outlook
Bitcoin
BTC bounced about 2.5% over the weekend, recovering from near $72,500 to retest $74,000. The critical line is the cost basis of holders who have held three to six months, sitting around $71,400, which one analyst called Bitcoin’s “strongest near-term support.” This cohort is still in profit, giving it a strong incentive to defend the level.
To the upside, $78,200 is the first target, the realized price of the three-to-six-month cohort that bulls lost during the October 2025 rout. Reclaiming it has historically preceded average gains of about 22% over 90 days and roughly 37% over 180 days. That math points toward $90,000 as a mid-term target near the upper boundary of the current bear flag, with $100,000-plus on the table into year-end if momentum holds. The double bottom forming on the weekly chart since late February supports the constructive case, provided BTC can close above $73,000.
The risk is real, though. A daily close below the flag’s rising trendline would open the door toward the $50,000 to $60,000 range. Several analysts expect Bitcoin to chop between $60,000 and $80,000 for a while as it works through this macro range.
Ethereum
ETH hovered near the $2,000 psychological level around $2,013, with one AI model forecasting a modest recovery toward $2,140. Support sits between $1,900 and $1,950. To confirm renewed upside, buyers need to reclaim the $2,300 to $2,500 zone.
The bearish scenario is sharper: a weekly close below $1,850 could accelerate downside toward $1,560, then potentially $1,070 at the bottom of ETH’s multi-year channel. With ETF outflows persisting, ETH needs spot demand to return.
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
HYPE was a bright spot, tagging a $67 all-time high on Friday after US regulators acknowledged that perpetual futures are legitimate for price discovery and risk management. Futures open interest surged 30% on the week to $2.9 billion, fueling short-squeeze speculation. The catch is that funding rates dropped to zero, signaling rising bearish bets, while monthly token unlocks of around 309,000 tokens cap the near-term ceiling. HYPE faces resistance at $70.
The CFTC’s acknowledgment that perpetuals are core market infrastructure is a structural win for the entire derivatives space. Perpetual futures are central to how we serve traders, and clearer US rules legitimize the product category worldwide.
The week ahead
This is a heavy macro week, and labor data is the headline catalyst for risk assets. The schedule:
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Monday, June 2: ISM Manufacturing PMI, final S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, and Construction Spending. PMI has offered Bitcoin relief in recent months, so a strong print could reprice risk higher.
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Tuesday, June 3: JOLTS Job Openings and Factory Orders.
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Wednesday, June 4: ADP employment report, ISM Services PMI, and the Fed’s Beige Book.
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Thursday, June 5: Challenger Job Cuts, Initial Jobless Claims, and Balance of Trade.
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Friday, June 6: Nonfarm Payrolls and the Unemployment Rate, the marquee release of the week.
The European Central Bank also delivers a rate decision this week, adding a second macro pressure point.
For crypto specifically, the monthly and weekly closes are pivotal. A weekly close above $73,000 would push Bitcoin closer to confirming its double-bottom breakout. Watch whether the Bitcoin ETF outflow streak finally snaps. A reversal in flows would be one of the strongest signals that the correction is maturing. Given the lopsided bullish social sentiment against an Extreme Fear backdrop, expect volatility around each data release.
Crypto calendar highlights
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June 2: ISM Manufacturing PMI and S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, the first major data test of the week.
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June 4: ISM Services PMI and the Fed Beige Book offer a read on the broader economy.
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June 6: US Nonfarm Payrolls, the key volatility event for crypto and risk assets.
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This week: ECB interest rate decision.
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Ongoing: HongCoin’s 48 original investors begin reclaiming their share of the recovered 1,003 ETH.
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Ongoing: Vietnam’s draft SME collateral law remains open for public consultation, with a regulated crypto market targeted for Q3 2026.
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Monthly: Hyperliquid’s scheduled HYPE token unlock of roughly 309,000 tokens adds to circulating supply.
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Watch: Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF flow data daily, for any break in the multi-week outflow streaks.
Market summary
| Asset | Price | Weekly bias | Key support | Key resistance / target | What to watch |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | ~$73,600 | Cautiously bullish | $71,400 / $73,000 | $78,200, then $90,000 | Weekly close above $73K to confirm double bottom |
| Ethereum (ETH) | ~$2,013 | Neutral to bearish | $1,900 – $1,950 | $2,300 – $2,500 | Weekly close below $1,850 risks $1,560 |
| Hyperliquid (HYPE) | ~$61 | Bullish but capped | $60 | $70 (post-$67 ATH) | Zero funding and token unlocks limiting upside |
| Stellar (XLM) | Outperformer | Bullish | — | — | Leading the week’s gainers |
| Monero (XMR) | Outperformer | Bullish | — | — | $23M mystery buy fueling the move |
| Market Cap | ~$2.5T | Defensive | — | — | BTC dominance near 58.5% |
| Sentiment | Fear and greed: 23 | Extreme Fear | — | — | Divergence vs lopsided bullish social sentiment |
| ETF Flows | Net outflows | Bearish | — | — | 10-day BTC streak, watch for a reversal |
Bottom line
May ended in the red, but Bitcoin defended its holder cost-basis support and kept the door open to $78,000 if it holds $73,000 on the weekly close. The labor data this week will set the tone. We are positioned to help you trade whatever comes, whether that means going long with perpetuals, mirroring proven strategies through copy trading, gaining equity exposure via tokenized stocks, or earning yield through staking while the market finds its footing. Stay sharp, manage your risk, and trade the range until it breaks.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before trading.