Weekly: Fed, CLARITY Act and Pressure on Hyperliquid

Bitcoin started the week strongly, around $82,000, but by the weekend it slipped below $78,000. Ethereum followed a similar scenario, altcoins finally showed the first signs of life, and against this backdrop the market threw in a whole bunch of hot stories. There was the new Fed chair, the progress of the CLARITY Act, attacks on Hyperliquid, and strong signals around Ethereum staking. And, of course, AI was also part of the week: it was marked by news from Claude and the launch of Diia.AI.

Bitcoin slipped from 82,000

On May 11, the leading cryptocurrency started at $82,000, and by Saturday it had broken below $78,000. This kind of pullback is not a catastrophe in itself, but it is a great indicator of how nervous the market is right now because of macroeconomics and any shifts in trader sentiment.

CryptoQuant analysts noticed that the aSOPR indicator has stayed above one for nine consecutive days. This suggests that we are seeing systematic profit-taking rather than a panic exit from the market. At the same time, the Bull-Bear Cycle index gave an early warning signal for the first time since March 2023. Fresh US inflation data added fuel to the fire: in April, CPI jumped to 3.8% year over year. After that, traders quickly reduced risk in derivatives, which caused open interest on major exchanges to shrink by about $1.25 billion. Simply put: the market structure is still holding, but everyone’s nerves are already giving way. Simply put: the market structure is still holding, but everyone’s nerves are already giving way.

Meanwhile, CoinGecko decided to look at how the day of buying Bitcoin affects its returns. It turned out that historically, the coin often delivered its best short-term results precisely during federal holidays in the US. In the long run, of course, this does not change much, but it clearly proves one thing: the crypto market loves thin liquidity and unusual timing for trades.

Ethereum stays restrained while altcoins only try to revive

Ethereum completely repeated Bitcoin’s trajectory. At the beginning of the week, the coin was around $2400, but then it moved lower and traded near $2200. However, inside the network itself, the fundamental indicators look much stronger than the boring price chart. The amount of ETH in staking has exceeded 85 million coins — and that, by the way, is more than 70% of the total market supply. Long-term investors are not planning to run, while short-term holders are now balancing near breakeven, so a wave of fast sell-offs is unlikely.

Another important update: the launch of the open Clear Signing standard. The idea is simple: to protect users from blindly signing transactions in wallets. Now, instead of unclear technical codes, a person will clearly see exactly what action they are confirming.

As for other altcoins: Santiment recorded the highest concentration of large XRP addresses since 2018. Large wallets also continue actively accumulating Cardano, despite the project’s market capitalization falling sharply. CryptoQuant sums it up this way: the altcoin sector is showing the first signs of recovery after correcting by more than 50%. However, analysts immediately warn about high market fragmentation and weak liquidity.

US regulation is moving forward

The CLARITY Act bill passed the US Banking Committee thanks to bipartisan support, but it is still far from the finish line. Opponents, including Elizabeth Warren, known for her stance, are already strongly criticizing the document, claiming that it favors the interests of the crypto industry too much.

At the same time, the CFTC delivered a pleasant surprise for prediction markets. The regulator effectively gave them a temporary green light, promising not to punish them for failing to meet some reporting and recordkeeping requirements for event contracts.

Meanwhile, traditional giants ICE and CME launched a real crusade against Hyperliquid and are openly demanding that US authorities tighten the screws on the platform. Traditional exchanges are alarmed by anonymous trading without oversight, the risks of manipulation, and the fact that signals from the crypto platform increasingly shake traditional markets even before they open. Hyperliquid is pushing back: it says its on-chain model is much safer than any centralized exchange, but it is ready for dialogue with Washington.

In Poland, meanwhile, a law regulating the crypto market under European MiCA rules was set in motion. However, it was adopted against a very unpleasant backdrop, just as an investigation into Zondacrypto continues, where, according to prosecutors, users lost more than 350 million zlotys. Another reminder that the rules of the game often appear not in the silence of offices, but as a reaction to loud scandals.

The new Fed chair changes the background

The main financial news of the week: Kevin Warsh was officially confirmed as Fed chair for the next four years. Jerome Powell left his seat on May 15, 2026, although he remained on the Board of Governors. For crypto, this is hugely important: a change at the top of the Fed always means rewriting plans for interest rates, market liquidity, and investors’ willingness to take risks.

AI this week sounded less like a trend and more like a tool

An incredible story went viral in the artificial intelligence sector: a user managed to regain access to an old Bitcoin wallet with 5 BTC that had been sitting unused for more than 11 years, and Claude helped him do it. There was no cyber hack involved; AI simply suggested how to find the lost backup file on an old laptop, while the owner already had the password. The story took off as a strong example of when a neural network brings real value in solving a practical life task.

Meanwhile, the creators of Claude at Anthropic released research on new methods for training models, where the focus is not on mechanical correct answers, but on ethical reasoning. The company honestly admits that full control over AI behavior still does not exist, but it is trying to minimize the risks of manipulation or user disorientation.

Ukraine also had AI news: the Ministry of Digital Transformation launched Diia.AI. It is a smart chat assistant directly inside the app that will help Ukrainians instantly find the services they need and suggest what steps to take next.

How memecoins showed again that the market can quickly lose its footing

A classic example of crypto madness: the X account of the well-known trader Roaring Kitty posted the address of a new token. The coin immediately shot into the sky, but as soon as the post was deleted, the asset lost more than 90% of its value. According to Lookonchain, the token developer managed to quickly skim the cream and earned around 6260 SOL. The project’s capitalization inflated to $12.2 million in less than half an hour and then collapsed just as quickly to almost zero.

This is clear proof that the market can switch into wild speculation mode at any moment, where a single hint or tweet launches hype out of nowhere. Usually, stories like this are the first warning sign that the crowd is losing financial discipline again. Usually, stories like this are the first warning sign that the crowd is losing financial discipline again.

Kursoff’s view

Bitcoin still maintains a fairly adequate and constructive structure, Ethereum is slowly collecting strong fundamental arguments, and altcoins are making their first cautious attempts to revive. However, US inflation acts like a cold shower for risk appetite, regulators are twisting the rules in different directions, traditional financial giants are beginning to openly attack new crypto platforms, and memecoins are once again pulling in a lot of speculative liquidity. Interesting weeks are ahead, so we are keeping our finger on the pulse.