Odaily Planet Daily, citing on-chain analyst Aunt Ai, said HYPE is in a high-stakes long-short standoff, with the two largest whale positions effectively taking the other side of each trade. Together, the opposing bets exceed $60 million, pushing the market into a critical negotiation phase. Yujin Loracle is holding a 5x leveraged short of 1.44 million HYPE, valued at about $68.43 million, with an entry price near $42.55. The position is showing an unrealized loss of roughly $7.004 million. On the other side, wallet 0x082…dca88 holds a 5x leveraged long of 1.38 million HYPE, worth about $65.37 million, entered around $38.67. The position is currently up an unrealized profit of approximately $11.98 million.

Total value locked (TVL) across ETH lending protocols has dropped to $23B, down from $32B earlier this year, as the @KelpDAO exploit and a softer market environment continue to pressure the sector.

Huo Xing Cai Jing reported that Hyperliquid's new arrangement with Coinbase and Circle, dated May 19, shifts a larger share of stablecoin economics away from issuers and toward the exchange and protocol. Market observers say the structure could create steadier buy-side support for Hyperliquid's HYPE token while trimming profitability for Circle and Coinbase. Under an agreement announced last Thursday, Circle's USDC becomes Hyperliquid's official "aligned quote asset". Coinbase will act as the primary treasury deployer for most USDC on the network, while Circle remains responsible for minting and redemptions, as well as cross-chain infrastructure. Revenue-sharing terms were not disclosed. Analysts nonetheless estimate Hyperliquid will retain the bulk of the reserve yield generated by USDC deposits on the platform—as much as 90%—income that previously accrued mainly to USDC issuers Circle and Coinbase. Ryan Watkins, co-founder of Syncracy Capital, called the partnership Hyperliquid's most significant announcement of the year, arguing it reshapes the protocol's model by capturing both trading fees and stablecoin yield. In his view, tying revenues more closely to deposit volumes could make token buybacks more durable during market downturns, since deposits tend to be less volatile than trading activity. USDC deposits on Hyperliquid currently exceed $5 billion. Watkins estimates the deal could generate about $135 million to $160 million a year in USDC revenue-sharing for the protocol and token buybacks, with potential to add $300 million to $500 million in annualized revenue from yield sharing alone if stablecoin balances expand further. HYPE has reacted positively, rising nearly 10% over the past week even as the broader crypto market weakened. Compass Point analysts Ed Engel and Mike Donovan estimate the agreement could cut Circle's and Coinbase's combined annual EBITDA by roughly $60 million to $80 million, as both now give up a materially larger share of reserve yield than under prior arrangements. At current interest rates, they estimate Hyperliquid's roughly $5.1 billion USDC supply could previously have produced about $180 million in annual gross profit for Coinbase and Circle combined. The analysts added that other platforms, including Polymarket and Jupiter, may push for similar economics.

May 19 — BlockBeats reports that a new USDC arrangement involving Hyperliquid, Coinbase and Circle is poised to reroute stablecoin economics, shifting a larger share of reserve yield away from issuers and toward crypto venues. Analysts say the structure could create sustained buy-side support for Hyperliquid's HYPE token while pressuring profit pools at Circle and Coinbase. Announced last Thursday, the agreement names Circle's USDC as an official "aligned quote asset" on Hyperliquid. Coinbase will act as the primary custodian for most USDC on the network, while Circle remains responsible for minting, redemption and cross-chain infrastructure. Revenue-sharing terms were not formally disclosed. Analysts said the framework implies Hyperliquid could collect the bulk of the reserve yield generated by USDC held on its platform—up to 90%—income that historically flowed mainly to Circle and Coinbase. Ryan Watkins, co-founder of Syncracy Capital, called the Coinbase partnership Hyperliquid's most significant announcement of the year. He argued the deal reshapes Hyperliquid's model by allowing the protocol to capture both trading fees and stablecoin yield, with revenue scaling more directly with deposit balances rather than only with trading volumes. Watkins added that deposits tend to be steadier than trading activity in downturns, which could make token buybacks more durable across market cycles. Hyperliquid currently has more than $5 billion in USDC deposits. Watkins estimates the agreement could translate into roughly $135 million to $160 million in USDC revenue-sharing income for the protocol and token buybacks. If stablecoin balances keep growing, he projects revenue sharing alone could eventually contribute an additional $300 million to $500 million in annualized revenue. The outlook has helped propel HYPE into the ranks of recent top performers, up nearly 10% over the past week, bucking broader weakness across crypto markets. Compass Point analysts Ed Engel and Mike Donovan estimate the arrangement could cut Circle and Coinbase's combined annual EBITDA by about $60 million to $80 million. They calculate that Hyperliquid's current USDC supply of around $5.1 billion could otherwise generate roughly $180 million in annual gross profit for Coinbase and Circle combined. The analysts also warned that other protocols, including Polymarket and Jupiter, may seek similar terms.

ME News reported that, as of May 19 (UTC+8), SoSoValue data shows XRP spot ETFs recorded a combined net inflow of $750,400 on May 18 (Eastern Time). The only fund to take in new money was the Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ), which logged a single-day net inflow of $750,400, lifting its cumulative historical net inflow to $379 million. As of press time, XRP spot ETFs had total net assets of $1.142 billion, an XRP net asset ratio of 1.33%, and historical cumulative net inflows of $1.386 billion. (Source: SoSoValue)

Ethereum is the primary network for euro-denominated stablecoins. Token Terminal data indicates the chain hosts nearly two-thirds (65.2%) of all EUR-backed stablecoin supply. Euro-focused stablecoins remain small relative to USD-pegged products, but Ethereum also retains a leading position across the broader stablecoin market. In total, Ethereum currently holds about $164.6 billion in stablecoins, well ahead of Tron (@trondao) at $90.3 billion.

Pendle's official data show the protocol holds 2.45 million STRC non-custodially through the STRC yield-token market, positioning Pendle as a key venue for on-chain digital credit yield pricing and liquidity. TVL in Pendle's USDG liquidity pools—backed by U.S. Treasuries—has risen to $230 million, and Aave's $120 million allocation for Pendle PTUSDG has been fully taken up. Real-world assets now represent 97% of Pendle's total TVL.

Trader 0x152e, a "smart whale" with $24.79M in cumulative profit, has added fresh long exposure to ETH, BTC, and DOGE. Over the past three hours, the wallet opened long positions in 4,601 ETH ($9.82M), 118.2 BTC ($9.11M), and 19.47M DOGE ($2.04M). Limit orders were also placed to continue scaling into BTC and ETH longs. On the spot side, the whale holds 10,797 ZEC ($6.14M), up $3.5M, and 114,547 HYPE ($5.48M), up $2.2M.

Market recap Trump's China trip yields multiple landmark agreements The White House (@WhiteHouse) said U.S. President Donald Trump is in China this week for a state visit, his first since 2017. Trump and President Xi Jinping reached a series of understandings spanning trade, investment, and geopolitics. On the economic front, the two sides set up the China-U.S. Trade Committee and the China-U.S. Investment Committee as core frameworks for bilateral economic ties. China approved an initial purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft, committed to buying at least $17 billion of U.S. agricultural products annually from 2026 to 2028, resumed imports of U.S. beef and poultry, and pledged to address supply-chain issues involving critical minerals such as rare earths. On geopolitical issues, both sides agreed Iran should not possess nuclear weapons and reaffirmed their shared goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Xi was invited to visit Washington this autumn, and the two countries will support each other in hosting the G20 and APEC summits. South Korean court partially backs Samsung in labor dispute Yonhap reported a South Korean court partially granted Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against a planned union strike. Samsung shares turned positive and the KOSPI index reversed, recouping losses after falling as much as 4.68% earlier. Meta to cut 10% of workforce; 7,000 reassigned to AI Reuters reported Meta Chief Human Resources Officer Janelle Gale told employees in an internal memo that the company will lay off 10% of its workforce on Wednesday and reassign 7,000 employees to AI-related units including Applied AI Engineering (AAI) and Agent Transformation Accelerator (ATA). Meta will also reduce management layers to create a flatter structure. Layoffs and reassignments together affect about 20% of staff, and the company has already closed 6,000 open roles. Meta had about 78,000 employees as of end-March. The overhaul is aimed at moving to AI-native workflows and building AI agents capable of autonomously completing tasks currently performed by humans. Tether backs LemFi to accelerate stablecoin remittances Tether said it has invested in cross-border financial platform LemFi to expand stablecoin-driven remittances and financial access in emerging markets. LemFi plans to integrate USDT as a settlement layer across core remittance corridors, replacing multi-day SWIFT processes with near-instant, low-cost transfers in selected African and Asian markets. Tether said the funding will also support LemFi's stablecoin infrastructure and broader product expansion. Ethereum Foundation sees further departures of core researchers The Block reported Ethereum Foundation researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced Monday they are leaving. Beek spent seven years at the foundation and led work on the Ethereum Beacon Chain, contributing to Ethereum's move to PoS. Ma, at the foundation for about four years, worked on mechanism design, cryptoeconomics, and scaling, and co-authored EIP-7805 focused on improving censorship resistance. Earlier departures include co-CEO Tomasz K. Stańczak, who resigned in February, along with senior figures Josh Stark, Barnabé Monnot, and Tim Beiko. Goldman Sachs sells out of XRP and Solana ETFs; trims BTC and ETH ETF exposure Goldman Sachs' Q1 2026 Form 13F filing with the SEC shows the bank sharply reduced crypto ETF holdings. It fully exited all XRP-related ETFs and all Solana ETFs offered by Grayscale, Bitwise, and Fidelity. Remaining Bitcoin ETF exposure includes about $690 million in BlackRock's IBIT and $25 million in Fidelity's FBTC, both down roughly 10% quarter-over-quarter. Ethereum ETF exposure fell further: holdings in iShares Ethereum ETF (ETHA) were cut by about 70% to around $114 million. Over the same period, Goldman increased positions in Circle, Galaxy Digital, Coinbase, Robinhood, and PayPal, and reduced stakes in Strategy, Riot Platforms, and others. Zerohash secures MiCA and EMI approvals in Europe The Block reported Zerohash Europe received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), making it the first company to hold both a European MiCAR license and EMI authorization. Zerohash obtained its MiCAR license in October 2025. The dual status allows it to provide crypto-asset services and electronic money transactions across the European Economic Area and to serve institutional clients such as banks, brokers, fintechs, and payment platforms. Zerohash has partnered with Interactive Brokers Europe and has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter. The company is also reportedly seeking to raise $250 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. Galaxy Digital wins New York BitLicense The Block reported GalaxyOne Prime NY, a Galaxy Digital subsidiary, received a BitLicense and money transmission license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), authorizing digital asset trading and custody services for New York residents, institutions, and businesses. Galaxy said its global licenses now exceed 50. Standard Chartered to buy Zodia Custody's crypto custody business Bloomberg reported Standard Chartered plans to acquire the cryptocurrency custody business of Zodia Custody Ltd., its majority-owned subsidiary, to expand digital assets offerings. Standard Chartered said its nonbinding offer has been accepted by Zodia's other shareholders and noteholders. Bloomberg first reported on the proposed deal in April. HIVE buys Toronto land for $58 million to build AI compute hub; shares jump HIVE Digital Technologies, a Bitcoin miner, bought land in the Toronto area for $58 million and plans to build an industrial-grade AI computing center via its subsidiary BUZZ High Performance Computing. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to support about 320 MW and more than 100,000 GPUs, potentially among Canada's largest computing "superfacilities." On the news, HIVE shares rose as much as about 45%. Over the prior two weeks, HIVE raised $115 million to expand its global data center footprint and GPU capacity. Google and Blackstone to launch AI cloud venture aimed at CoreWeave The Wall Street Journal reported Google (Alphabet) and Blackstone plan to form a new AI cloud company built around Google's in-house chips, positioning it against rivals including CoreWeave. Blackstone will invest $5 billion in equity and take a majority stake. The deal was announced Monday local time; the venture's name has not been disclosed. Recommended reading 1) Will AI reward long-tenured employees? Entry-level jobs face rising risk A look at how AI is reshaping corporate org charts. Surveys show 43% of CEOs plan to reduce entry-level roles over the next one to two years as routine work shifts to automation, pushing hiring toward mid- and senior-level talent. Only 27% of CEOs say AI investments have met or exceeded expectations, suggesting scaled deployment remains challenging. 2) $SPCX launches on Hyperliquid: on-chain pricing puts SpaceX at $2.4 trillion Trade.xyz introduced a SpaceX Pre-IPO perpetual contract, $SPCX, starting at $150, aligned with a targeted $1.75 trillion valuation and a planned $75 billion raise. After launch, $SPCX jumped 44% to $216, implying roughly a $2.56 trillion valuation, above SpaceX's target. On-chain pricing of high-profile U.S. IPO candidates is emerging as a new crypto trading theme. 3) "$48,000 in October"? A guest at Saylor's private event bets BTC will halve again An exploration of Bitcoin market dynamics and long-term narratives through Michael Terpin's views, including bottom-calling, the supercycle thesis, potential risks from quantum computing and AI, institutional behavior, correlations with gold and the Nasdaq, and the impact of global liquidity and U.S. elections on Bitcoin cycles. 4) Interview with Anthropic product lead: Claude "dreams" in the background A deep-dive conversation with Alex Albert, Research Product Manager at Anthropic, covering Claude's development, product practices, adaptive reasoning and memory, personality training, and research into consciousness, plus key bottlenecks in AI product development. 5) BTC liquidity plunges 90% as two major market makers withdraw from Hyperliquid A report on crypto liquidity tightening tied to regulatory pressure and market-maker withdrawals. Wintermute and Auros Global reportedly pulled nearly $100 million from Hyperliquid, hitting liquidity for major assets such as BTC and ETH. The move followed calls by CME and ICE for increased regulatory oversight of Hyperliquid. Attention has also focused on the platform's anonymous trading model, oil perpetuals, and Pre-IPO contracts.