There’s never a dull moment onchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin

$59,665.00

󰍾

6.87%

Ethereum

$1,554.63

󰍾

12.85%

Tether

$0.9993

󰢸

0.05%

BNB

$561.67

󰍾

7.62%

USDC

$1.00

󰍲

0.00%

XRP

$1.08

󰍾

8.44%

See the latest prices

MARKET BYTES

Bitcoin drops below $62,000 for the first time since early February

Just a month ago, crypto markets were bubbling upward on hopes that the Iran conflict was cooling and the CLARITY Act, a landmark crypto legislation package, was moving towards passage. 

But since the beginning of May, bitcoin has fallen from above $82,000 to below $62,000 — the lowest price since the first week in February. Ether and most other major tokens have taken similar journeys, with the Coinbase 50 Index down almost 20% over the last month. Prices rebounded slightly on Thursday. 

What just happened? While the CLARITY Act took another procedural step forward in the Senate this week, with many competing priorities and a tight timeline before summer break, its near-term odds are very hard to predict. (That said, 68% of Coinbase prediction market traders say that the bill will ultimately get the 60-plus Senate votes it needs.) 

The bitcoin accumulation giant Strategy also sold a small portion of its holdings this week, shaking markets. “Strategy selling 32 BTC for $2.5 million is financially trivial, a rounding error against its $62 billion position,” Rajiv Sawhney, head of international portfolio management at Wave Digital Assets, told Bloomberg. “What it signals to the market, given Bitcoin’s underperformance in recent weeks, matters more.”

The rise of perpetual futures crypto trades, which typically use leverage to amplify potential gains, can also amplify losses when markets dip more than traders expect. As prices sagged following the Strategy news this week, $1.84 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours.

Here’s a deep dive on why Strategy sold and more news you need to know…

Analysts say some Wall Street money is pivoting from crypto to AI

The crypto market has often been closely correlated with the stock market, particularly tech stocks. In recent weeks, however, the two asset classes have diverged sharply — with stock markets sailing towards new all-time highs and crypto stuck in a relatively narrow range for several months now. 

One major driver of this shift, some analysts say, is the vast sums of capital being deployed into AI and related infrastructure. Bitcoin ETFs, one of the main ways institutional investors gain exposure to crypto markets, just saw a record twelve straight days of outflows totalling $4 billion.  

“The rotation has been especially stark as artificial-intelligence stocks continue to attract capital,” notes Bloomberg. “The Nasdaq 100 is up 42% over the past 12 months, while Bitcoin is down 37% and sits 48% below last year’s peak.”

Japan’s ruling party pushes for crypto ETFs and yen stablecoins

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is pushing for the nation to become a crypto leader in Asia, with a new proposal urging the government to create regulations around yen-denominated stablecoins and crypto ETFs. 

“Japan can promote ​yen stablecoins and steps it is taking on blockchain innovation when it hosts ​the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting in May next year,” Reuters reports.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency and the country’s three biggest banks are already working on a pilot project to begin issuing a joint yen-denominated stablecoin. “The $315 billion [stablecoin] market is dominated by tokens pegged to the dollar, prompting concerns by policymakers in countries outside the U.S. that dollar dominance could circumvent their own banking and payments systems,” notes CoinDesk. 

STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT

Why Strategy just sold off a small part of its $61 billion bitcoin stash

The crypto treasury firm Strategy has been one of bitcoin’s most reliable buyers for years, having added more than 170,000 BTC (worth a staggering $12.2 billion) to its holdings in 2026 alone. 

But after months of heavy accumulation with capital raised via selling debt and stock shares, Strategy made its first sale of bitcoin in more than three years last week, leading investors to raise questions about whether it represented a change in the company’s approach. 

Here’s what you need to know.

How much bitcoin did Strategy sell?

Strategy sold just 32 BTC ($2.5 million) out of their total stash of 843,706 BTC ($61 billion), an amount that Wall Street analysts called “immaterial.” TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza said suggestions that Strategy would start meaningfully selling their bitcoin were overblown, and that this sale “does not alter the core accumulation thesis.” 

Why did Strategy sell part of its holdings?

The bitcoin sale was used to help fund the dividend of Strategy’s “preferred stock” $STRC, which launched last year and pays investors 11.5% annually. $STRC is essentially a way for Strategy to raise cash from investors to help fund future purchases of bitcoin. Each share of $STRC issued is technically backed by bitcoin held in Strategy’s treasury, and Strategy can adjust the monthly dividend rate or issue new shares when demand is high. 

In exchange for buying the stock, investors can earn a predictable annual return that’s backed by the company’s bitcoin holdings. So far this year, $STRC has already raised more than $5.6 billion in cash through sales of preferred stock shares, and Michael Saylor, Strategy’s executive chairman has previously stated his ambitions to make $STRC the default bitcoin-backed income product. 

Why does Strategy want so much BTC? And what are the risks to their approach?

Strategy originally began purchasing BTC in 2020 as a way to hedge against currency debasement, with the firm's leader Michael Saylor viewing bitcoin as an asset that will outperform traditional markets consistently over time. The company plans to purchase as much of the 1 million bitcoin that still hasn’t been mined as possible, and Strategy already owns more than 4% of bitcoin’s total supply.

The average price Strategy has paid per bitcoin is around $75,000 – meaning the firm is currently underwater on their $61 billion BTC portfolio.

The biggest risk it faces is having to liquidate its holdings in order to pay off debt, because taking on debt is one of the ways the company has funded bitcoin purchases. Currently, Strategy has around $7 billion in outstanding debt. 

But bitcoin would have to fall significantly — to below $10,000 according to its CEO —  before Strategy is in serious trouble of having to liquidate its holdings. 

"In the extreme downside, if we were to have a 90% decline in bitcoin price, and the price was $8,000, that is the point at which our bitcoin reserve equals our net debt, and we will not be able to then pay off our convertibles using our Bitcoin reserve,” said Strategy CEO Phong Le. 

What are other crypto treasury firms doing?

Despite last week’s sale, Strategy was still one of the largest buyers of BTC in May, purchasing more than 25,000 BTC ($2 billion) last month. Strive, another bitcoin-focused firm, made $150 million worth of BTC purchases last month. 

Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which has focused on accumulating Ethereum, bought 338,000 in ETH (worth $665 million) in May alone, bringing it closer to its goal of owning 5% of ETH’s overall supply. And Bit Digital, another ETH treasury firm, bought $20 million of the token last month, in its first purchases since October.

A few firms, though, have been forced to sell their holdings to remain solvent, including Empery Digital, Nakamoto Holdings, and Genius Group, while others (including Forum Markets and VivoPower) have abandoned the crypto treasury model entirely.

PREDICTION MARKETS

What prediction markets think will happen in the pro basketball finals

Pro Basketball Finals Game 2:  New York vs. San Antonio

67%, San Antonio

What markets say: With San Antonio playing at home, traders favor them to win Game 2, despite a Game 1 loss to New York on Wednesday. After San Antonio lost Game 1, their probability to win Game 2 actually rose by about 7 percentage points.

What analysts say: “ San Antonio … was 21-6 during the regular season when coming off a loss and 19-8 against the spread, by far the best numbers of any team in basketball.” – The NY Post

Pro Basketball Finals MVP

47%, Jalen Brunson

What markets say: After his clutch fourth quarter in Game 1, where he scored 13 points for New York, he catapulted Victor Wembanyama in traders’ eyes as most likely to win Finals MVP. After starting with a 70% probability, Wembanyama’s odds to win series MVP are down to 44%.

What analysts say: “[Brunson’s] court vision and awareness, clever decisions, shooting from all angles and leadership have positioned [New York] for a championship. Best of all, his ability to perform in the clutch, where he rarely makes a mistake and doesn’t shy away from the moment, is his best asset — a winning one, actually.” – The Athletic 

Pro Basketball Champion: New York vs. San Antonio 

New York, 54%

What markets say: New York, seeking their first title since 1973, started as heavy underdogs to San Antonio, with just a 37% probability to win. But their convincing Game 1 victory on the road appears to have changed the calculus for traders, with New York now the slight favorites. Around 70% of teams who win Game 1 in the Finals, go on to win the title. 

What analysts say:  “New York is going to have an advantage in the clutch in these playoffs because of Brunson’s ability to create off the dribble and score over most defenders. [San Antonio] don’t have that in their toolbox.” – The Athletic

TOKEN TRIVIA

What is dollar-cost averaging?

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