Technical Analysis

XRP is showing its tightest Bollinger Band squeeze on the 3-day chart in more than a year, a setup that can precede sharp volatility. An analyst says a confirmed 3-day close above $1.50 could put $1.80 in play, while a close below $1.29 may increase the risk of a pullback toward $1.00.

Bitcoin slid Sunday night after US President Donald Trump posted a warning to Iran on Truth Social, and by early Monday it was trading around $76,780, down about 1.55% over 24 hours. The move pushed BTC below key hourly EMAs (20-hour $77,580; 50-hour $78,120; 100-hour $78,767; 200-hour $79,350) while MACD readings stayed negative (line -359; signal -243; histogram -116).

Bitcoin started the third week of May near $76.8k after giving back the prior week's $80k breakout and breaking a short-term rising trendline. The pullback has brought price back into the middle of a larger daily ascending channel, with $75k flagged as the key support area. Analysts outline $80k as the level to reclaim on a bounce, while a breakdown below $75k could shift focus toward $72k and the 100-day moving average.

Bitcoin has pulled back toward $76,275, but its weekly setup still keeps a move toward $91,091 technically possible if support holds. The chart remains above the Bollinger Bands middle line (20 SMA) at $74,986, while on-chain data highlights 7.8 million BTC sitting at a loss near $76.7K as a potential resistance zone.

Bitcoin fell under $77,000 on Monday as market risk-off sentiment intensified, with on-chain indicators showing mounting capitulation pressure. Data shows 6–12 month holders have a realized cost basis near $110,851, and exchange inflows have risen since May 14 alongside short-term holders selling at a loss. The setup suggests a fast V-shaped rebound is less likely until the excess selling supply is absorbed and sentiment steadies.

On May 16, Iran's Ministry of Economy launched Hormuz Safe, a state-backed maritime insurance platform that settles premiums in Bitcoin for ships transiting the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The system is designed to bypass SWIFT and Western banking channels and is framed as a potential $10 billion annual revenue mechanism. Bitcoin was trading at $76,921, up 0.2% over 30 days, after falling from about $82K earlier in May.

Hedera launched Agent Lab on March 26, 2026, a browser-based no-code tool for deploying on-chain AI agents whose transactions consume HBAR. On May 18, 2026 (10:37 UTC), HBAR traded at $0.08828 with a $3.8 billion market cap, still 83.3% below its $0.524 all-time high, even as enterprise integrations and ETF flows were highlighted as potential demand drivers.

XRP fell to around $1.38 on May 18 and was down about 5% over the past week, with broader crypto weakness tied in part to heightened US-Iran tensions. Several market commentators argued the token is near a key technical area, with one projecting a move to just under $5 (a 240% increase), while others floated scenarios above $10 and even $15.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $76,500, marking a two-week low, as risk assets weakened and leveraged longs were forced out. A post said more than $500 million in crypto long positions were liquidated in the last 60 minutes after BTC dropped below $77,000. Traders are watching the $73,800–$75,000 zone and an options market with about $14 billion in open interest heading into expiry.

PeckShield reported that cross-chain bridges suffered eight major exploit incidents in May 2026, with attackers draining a combined $328.6 million. The tally follows April 2026's spike in bridge-related losses, including the approximately $300 million KelpDAO incident on April 18 and Drift Protocol's $200 million-plus exploit days later. Data cited in the report also puts total 2026 hack losses beyond $750 million through mid-April, with May's events adding further losses such as the Verus-Ethereum bridge drain of about $11.5 million.