Stablecoin

On May 18, 2026, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England published a joint vision to expand tokenisation and distributed ledger technology across wholesale financial markets, aiming to help the shift from pilot projects to live production use. The plan pairs regulatory work with infrastructure changes, including a consultation on near-24/7 settlement operations and updated prudential guidance covering tokenised exposures and stablecoins.

Bernstein said the Senate's 15-9 Clarity Act markup vote on May 14 and its stablecoin yield compromise could reinforce Circle's USDC model by limiting passive interest while allowing activity-based rewards. Analysts also pointed to an all-time-high dollar stablecoin supply above $300 billion and said adjusted stablecoin volumes are running at $15 trillion per month, with annualized volumes at $100 trillion.

On May 18, security researchers flagged an active exploit on the Verus-Ethereum Bridge that drained about $11.5 million in assets. The attacker took 1,625 ETH, 103.6 tBTC, and 147,000 USDC, then consolidated the proceeds into a wallet holding roughly 5,402 ETH, while VRSC fell 4.1% over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin spent the week locked in a fight around $80,000 as ethereum and most altcoins stayed rangebound. The editorial highlights tradfi-crypto convergence, including Binance listing perpetuals tied to firms like Walmart and Visa, and CME preparing index futures that span BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, and XLM. It also notes U.S. regulatory momentum after the CLARITY markup on Thursday advanced out of Senate Banking by a 15-9 vote, alongside Circle’s ARC raise of $222 million at a $3 billion valuation.

Markets are increasingly pricing in passage of the U.S. CLARITY Act in 2026, with Polymarket putting the probability above 75% even as some TradFi executives warn about risks from yield-bearing stablecoins. U.S. dollar stablecoins have reached a record $320 billion market cap—about 12% of the $3 trillion crypto market—while projections and growing global competition are pushing more institutions toward stablecoin issuance and infrastructure.

Binance logged a sharp swing in stablecoin movement in mid-May, including a net inflow above $1.5 billion on May 14 after a $1.3 billion net outflow on May 12. The flows were led by USDT, with ERC20 USDT cited as the most common variant. Bitcoin later traded at $78,200, down 4.57% on the week, as volume fell to $26.82 billion, with some forecasts pointing to $85,155 in five days and $80,062 in a month.

Coinbase expanded its role on Hyperliquid after being granted USDH treasury deployer rights, and HYPE rose 17% in 24 hours to a yearly high of $46.93. Strategy reported record trading volume of $1.53 billion in its STRC preferred stock, highlighting the market’s focus on its bitcoin-funding setup. In Washington on May 14, Kevin Warsh was confirmed as Fed chair and the Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 to advance the CLARITY Act.

Binance logged more than $1.5 billion in stablecoin net inflows on 14 May after nearly $1.3 billion in outflows on 12 May, as traders adjusted liquidity around Bitcoin's choppy $78,000–$82,000 range. The article notes that elevated exchange reserves and frequent reversals may signal tactical positioning for volatility, but a sustained move would still require steady spot demand rather than brief buying bursts.

A new Manhattan federal court filing seeks to force Tether to move 344,149,759 USDT (about $344 million) that was frozen on two Tron addresses designated by OFAC as tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Plaintiffs ask the Southern District of New York to order Tether to zero the blocked wallets and reissue the same USDT amount to a wallet controlled by their counsel, arguing the issuer’s freeze powers amount to effective control of the asset.

Bitcoin has fallen below $80K after more than $100 billion was wiped from major crypto assets in under 72 hours, with traders increasingly watching for a possible $60K retest. The Federal Reserve is set to inject $26.3 billion into the financial system, beginning with a $6.5 billion operation on May 18, but a stronger DXY and rising Treasury yields could limit any boost to risk assets.