Bitcoin spot trading activity across exchanges has sunk to its weakest level in almost two years, with major venues showing steep pullbacks from the October 2025 high. Binance spot volume fell more than 81% from $198.6 billion to about $36.4 billion, while Gate.io dropped 79.6% and Bybit declined 66%. Bitcoin was trading around $76,660 at publication as analysts weighed what low volume could imply for the next move.

DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert said the crypto industry's "privacy" era has begun, a message that drew broad attention on X in under 24 hours. Finbold reviewed three privacy-focused assets on May 24, 2026, citing institutional demand, chart breakouts, and programmable privacy. The list includes Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), and Oasis Network (ROSE), alongside reported market caps and key price levels.

Bitcoin’s open interest on Binance expanded by about 40% over the past 82 days, rising from $6.4 billion in early March to roughly $8.9 billion by May 22. The move pushed OI above its 180-day moving average, while funding rates turned positive, as BTC traded near $77,145 at press time. Finbold AI Agent projected BTC could fall 2.34% to $75,343 on May 29, even as a rebound above $80,000 was framed as possible if leverage-driven long demand persists.

Tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reached a new high in participation on May 20, with unique holders rising 11,803% year over year. Holder count stood near 44,400 at press time versus 373 a year earlier, while the sector's market cap was about $437.6 million and activity centered mainly on Solana, BNB Chain, and Ethereum.

Institutional demand for XRP weakened in May after a burst of accumulation in April 2026. On May 20, Binance's XRP institutional accumulation model slipped below zero and was around -0.0059, while large holders also pulled nearly 403 million XRP (worth over $548 million) off the exchange between May 1 and 15. XRP traded near $1.36 at the time of reporting, down more than 3% over 30 days, with market cap about $84.3 billion.

Ali Martinez said on May 20 that Bitcoin could move toward $94,849 if it stays above the $72,962 support area. He based the levels on Glassnode's MVRV Ratio, with $94,849 matching the long-run average and $72,962 sitting about 0.5 standard deviations below the mean. Martinez also warned that losing $72,962 could open the way toward the realized price near $54,270.

On May 18, Iran introduced a Bitcoin (BTC)-backed digital shipping insurance product called "Hormuz Safe" aimed at Iranian shippers and cargo owners. The service is positioned as a fast, verifiable way to cover transit-linked risks, while lawmakers also pointed to a new mechanism to manage passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Goldman Sachs fully unwound its Solana (SOL) spot ETF exposure in the first quarter of 2026, reversing a position valued at about $108 million. The move was disclosed in a Form 13F filed with the SEC on May 15, 2026, and coincided with SOL sliding over 13% in the past seven days to around $84.31, with market cap near $48.8 billion.

On May 18, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) stepped up Bitcoin selling after its six-week streak of cash inflows ended. The fund moved 2,221 BTC to Coinbase Prime, worth about $170.59 million at press time, while BTC was down 4.61% over seven days to around $77,410 and its market cap fell by $22.3 billion over 24 hours to about $1.5 trillion.