Bitcoin remained capped below key resistance while derivatives traders priced in lower near-term volatility and price action stayed range-bound between roughly $76,000 and $82,000. Network metrics also improved, with Network Growth rebounding from below the 20 level in early 2026 and Active Addresses recovering toward 520,000–630,000. Even so, repeated rejections near $80,000 and macro uncertainty could still leave markets exposed to a renewed volatility upswing.

Bhutan's Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal said in 2026 that he does not "recall" the country selling bitcoin this year, even as onchain-based reports have suggested reductions in holdings. Arkham-labeled wallets show Bhutan's BTC balance falling from 13,000 BTC in Oct. 2024 to 3,121.22 BTC, valued at $243.72 million. Arkham told Coindesk the wallet labels are generated using public data, AI, and other methods, but have not been independently verified with Bhutanese officials.

Strategy said on Friday it plans to repurchase $1.5 billion of its 0% senior convertible notes maturing in 2029, which it said would retire about half of that tranche's outstanding debt. The company also disclosed an estimated $1.38 billion buyback agreement reached through privately negotiated transactions with some noteholders on Thursday, with settlement expected Tuesday and the final amount subject to market conditions.

Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal said the CLARITY Act has momentum after advancing out of the Senate Banking Committee, but added that significant work remains before it can become law. The bill cleared committee markup 15–9 and now heads toward a Senate floor vote, where it is expected to be combined with Agriculture Committee language tied to the CFTC. Analysts and lawmakers flagged ethics provisions and stablecoin-yield restrictions as potential hurdles, while Bitcoin traded below $78K after falling 5%.

Hyperliquid's HYPE token surged after breaking the $30-$32 moving-average cluster, later struggling to hold above short-term averages after failing to keep gains past highs near $43. The protocol is also drawing attention from institutional channels after Ripple integrated Hyperliquid into Ripple Prime in February, and after Grayscale filed an amended S-1 for a proposed Grayscale HYPE ETF on May 11, 2026.

Multicoin Capital moved its remaining 286,057 AAVE tokens to Coinbase Prime on May 16, with the position valued at about $26.68 million at the time. The fund built a 338,005 AAVE stake between Oct. 13 and Nov. 25, 2025 at an average entry of $218, and with AAVE near $90 the trade implies an unrealized loss of more than $40 million.

Binance Research said data current as of May 13, 2026 shows more than US$75B in illicit crypto remains trapped on-chain, even though such activity stays below 1% of total transaction volume. The report argues tighter KYT/KYC checks, stablecoin freezes and seizures have narrowed exit routes, while mixer capacity is capped at about $10M per day, implying a multi-decade backlog if mixers were the only outlet.

Dogecoin (DOGE) is showing early reversal signals after a prolonged downtrend that began in September last year, alongside rising capital inflows. A newly created wallet opened a 20 million DOGE 10x-leverage position worth more than $2.25 million, while spot DOGE ETFs recorded over $1.30 million of net inflows in May. Technically, DOGE has moved above the 20-, 50-, and 100-day EMAs and is approaching the 200-day EMA near $0.125.