Bitcoin fell 5.8% last week from the $82k area, and on May 17 it broke below $77k, triggering $630 million in liquidations with roughly 90% coming from long positions. While Coinbase Premium stayed negative and BTC ETFs turned to net outflows, on-chain data showed long-term holders at their highest levels since 2025, with LTH supply reaching 15.26 million BTC. The mixed signals frame the move as a potential deleveraging reset rather than a broader breakdown, even as some traders watch the $60k zone.

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.

Harvard Endowment has fully sold its $86.8 million stake in BlackRock’s spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF, after first disclosing the position in Q4 2025. ETH has slid nearly 8% this week and is watching $2,000 and $1,700 as key downside levels, while the article notes large holders increasingly taking short positions.

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.

BTC/XAU has risen 19% in Q2 and is nearing a mid-January resistance level as macro uncertainty builds. The setup echoes Q1, when Bitcoin fell more than 30% from $93K to about $62K by mid-February and BTC/XAU later saw a 28% correction. With April inflation around 3.8%, Treasury yields above 4.5%, and Japan’s Q1 Treasury sales highlighted as a liquidity factor, some warn a similar pullback risk remains.

Solana is seeing stronger stablecoin inflows, with total stablecoin supply up over 6% this week, even as USDT and USDC remain negative. USDe has risen over 1,300% on Solana in the past month and its trading volume doubled to around $300 million overnight, while TVL fell below $6 billion and SOL posted a 9.3% weekly drop. The mix of higher leverage, weaker DeFi lock-up, and reported Q1 unrealized losses at two SOL treasury firms is being framed as a fragile setup heading into Q2.

On 15 May, about $60 billion left the crypto market as U.S. equities collectively shed nearly $1 trillion, setting up what looked like a cross-asset risk reset. Around $415 million in crypto positions were then liquidated—close to 90% from longs—after Bitcoin had spent more than four weeks consolidating near $80k. The move also coincided with the U.S. 10-year yield breaking above 4.55% for the first time since May 2025, adding to broader risk-off concerns.

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $80,000 after nearly $60 billion left risk markets on May 15, as investors reassessed macro conditions. With April inflation at 3.8% and rate-hike odds for January above 50%, BTC fell more than 2.6% in under 48 hours while spot demand indicators weakened.

Strategy-linked STRC trading volume reached a record $1.53 billion on May 14, alongside a fourth straight session above the $100 level. Market discussion also centered on estimates that MSTR may have accumulated nearly 20,000 BTC, even as U.S. equities held near record highs. Bitcoin gained 2.26% on May 14 after $630 million left Bitcoin ETFs on May 13.