Why Crypto Is Stuck

The Coinbase Institutional Head of Research said on the Milk Road Show that crypto remains stuck in a “headline driven market,” with traders reacting to fast-moving developments around Iran and broader geopolitical risk.

“You could get a headline at breakfast that really won’t carry over at dinner time,” he said.

David said Bitcoin’s correlation with U.S. equities peaked near 65% in February but has eased in recent weeks. That suggests crypto may be starting to trade on its own drivers instead of simply following stocks.

Those drivers include:

Liquidity conditions

Institutional flows

Long-term holder behavior

Digital asset credit products

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Bitmine Now Holds 4.31% Of Ethereum Supply

The purchase brings Bitmine’s total holdings to over 5.2 million ETH, representing 4.31% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. That marks over 1 million ETH acquired since January alone.

Lee said the firm is moderating buys as it approaches its long-term goal of owning 5% of the token’s supply. 

“We have decided to slow down our pace of weekly accumulation from over 100,000 [ETH] per week,” Lee said in Monday’s statement. “Our previous pace of buys would have us reach 5% by mid-July,” he added.

The slowdown follows comments Lee made last week at Consensus 2026 in Miami, where he said Bitmine was considering easing purchases as it neared…

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Back To Work After Brief Pause

The purchase marks Strategy’s return to weekly buys after pausing the week prior ahead of Q1 earnings. 

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor shared an update on Strategy’s bitcoin acquisition tracker and stated “Back to work.”

That brings Strategy’s total Bitcoin position to more than 3.9% of the 21 million supply cap.

The company now holds roughly $4.6 billion in paper gains at current prices after buying Bitcoin at an average cost of $75,540 per coin and spending around $61.9 billion, including fees and expenses.

STRC Preferred Stock Driving Recent Buys

The company funded the latest acquisitions through at-the-market sales of MSTR common stock and STRC…

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Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL) has raised $222 million for its new institutional blockchain Arc at a $3 billion valuation as shares jumped 2.5% in premarket trading.

The First Public Company Token Presale

a16z crypto led the round with a $75 million commitment, according to CNBC. 

Meanwhile, Circle becomes the first publicly listed company to conduct a token presale.

Arc is a public blockchain built for institutional finance, using USDC as its native gas token with sub-second finality and EVM compatibility.

Q1 Revenue Up 20%, Net Income Down 15%

Circle reported Q1 2026 results alongside the Arc announcement. Total revenue and reserve income reached $694 million, up 20% year-over-year,…

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has failed to break above a multi-month triangle pattern that formed since February and is now testing support at the breakout level.

Shorts Getting Squeezed As Retest Holds

Volume surged 170.81% to $5.38 billion during the breakout, far above typical retest levels and pointing to institutional buying.

Open Interest climbed 7.41% to $2.90 billion, while Options Volume jumped 322.80% as traders positioned for the next move higher.

Liquidation data shows $6.03 million in shorts wiped out versus $5.21 million in longs over the past 24 hours, with bearish bets getting caught as the retest holds.

Funding Rates Hit Three-Month Bearish Extreme

XRP funding rates on Binance are…

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Bitcoin trades near $81,000 early Monday as crypto markets stabilizes ahead of a key week for regulation, with traders closely watching the upcoming CLARITY Act discussion scheduled for May 14.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $145.7 million in net outflows on Friday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $3.6 million in net inflows.    

Meme coin market capitalization is trading relatively flat with 0.8% gains to $39.5 billion over the past 24 hours.

Trader Commentary: 

Lennart Snyder said Bitcoin is showing early weakness after rejecting the previous daily high and $78,000 remains the critical breakdown level that could trigger additional downside pressure.

Snyder added that bullish continuation would require…

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