South Africa's National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank said proposed capital-flow changes covering crypto assets are not meant to criminalize ownership and will not be applied retrospectively. The agencies extended the public comment deadline from May 18 to June 30, 2026, after pushback from industry and other stakeholders. Treasury said it will next release a draft manual describing which cross-border crypto transactions fall under capital-flow controls.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said on May 19 that the central bank plans to publish draft rules for systemic stablecoins next month and aims to finalize a broader framework by year-end. She also outlined plans spanning tokenized markets, the Bank-FCA digital securities sandbox, and upgrades to the UK’s RTGS settlement infrastructure, including a push toward near-24/7 operations by the early 2030s.

Bitcoin traded in a choppy range around $77,000, briefly jumping from just under $76,700 to $77,200 after midnight and later printing an intraday high of $77,604 before hovering near $77,500. The move left BTC up about 0.5% with a market cap near $1.55 trillion, while the broader crypto market cap rose by more than $20 billion to $2.66 trillion. Leveraged liquidations were limited to no more than $38 million in BTC and $184.5 million across crypto, with shorts making up 61% of BTC liquidations.

Bitcoin moved between $76,200 and $77,245 on Tuesday before settling around $76,750, up 0.7% on the day but down nearly 5% over seven days. Coinglass data showed $37.6 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, including $17.3 million in long bets, as broader market sentiment softened amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions.

On May 19, bitcoin bounced from $76,000 and moved back above $77,000, hovering near $77,200 by 3:50 a.m. EST. Bitfinex analysts said the earlier break below $78,000 highlights underlying market weakness, with liquidity conditions described as the worst since February. They added that onchain flows are about $2.8 billion, far below the roughly $10 billion they view as typical for a durable breakout.

Bitcoin fell to $76,000 on May 18, unwinding a short-lived rebound and pushing its market capitalization down to $1.53 trillion. The roughly 2% drop was accompanied by $722 million in long liquidations across the crypto market, compared with nearly $94 million in shorts.

On May 14, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted 15–9 to advance the stablecoin-focused CLARITY Act, a move some view as a pivot from enforcement-led policy toward legislative clarity. Ironwallet CEO Ermo Eero said the bill may support domestic capital growth, but argued a truly global crypto framework would still require international treaties and stronger industry self-policing to earn institutional trust.

Bitcoin fell below $78,000 on Saturday morning, touching an intraday low of $77,614 before stabilizing near $78,000. The move pushed 24-hour losses to 3.2%, pulled market cap to $1.56 trillion, and coincided with nearly $700 million in liquidations, including $666 million in longs.

CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) have reportedly urged U.S. authorities to place Hyperliquid under federal oversight, a move the crypto community and the Hyperliquid Policy Center opposed. After the report, Hyperliquid's HYPE token fell from around $46 to $41.49 by May 16 at 3:05 a.m. EDT, a nearly 9% decline. Arthur Hayes also posted a profane rebuttal aimed at CME and ICE while voicing support for HYPE.