The global crypto market cap stood at $2.56 trillion at publication, with altcoins at $1.097 trillion, even as Bitcoin moved back above $75,000. Despite several majors posting sharp gains, CoinMarketCap's altcoin season index was 38, implying the market is still in a Bitcoin-led phase rather than a broad altcoin season. On-chain indicators cited in the report also suggest most altcoins remain highly tethered to Bitcoin and many are still trading near their all-time lows.

Between May 18 and May 22, investors withdrew a combined $1.197 billion from BlackRock's spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs as crypto markets stayed volatile. iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for about $1.008 billion of the outflows, while the firm's Ethereum ETF (ETHA) recorded $189.3 million. The largest single-day redemption was $448.4 million from IBIT on May 18.

Bitcoin traded lower through the week after breaking $80,000 and ended Friday just under $77,000, as spot demand and ETF inflows softened and overhead resistance remained heavy. Ethereum largely moved sideways while staking rose to 31% even with ETH down 26% year-to-date, alongside leadership and organizational shakeups around the Ethereum Foundation and Bankless. Hyperliquid's HYPE outperformed, climbing about 50% as the protocol posted roughly $11M in fees and attracted early ETF attention.

On May 21, Asia-Pacific equities climbed after Nvidia’s record quarterly results lifted regional tech shares, with Japan and South Korea leading while China and India lagged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed at 61,684.14 (+3.14%) and South Korea’s Kospi finished at 7,815.59 (+8.42%), as SoftBank rose nearly 20% and Samsung gained 8.5% following a labor dispute resolution.

Galaxy Digital has obtained a New York BitLicense and a Money Transmission License, enabling it to broaden regulated digital-asset trading and custody services in New York. The authorization applies to its institutional subsidiary GalaxyOne Prime NY and is intended to deepen access to New York-based institutional clients. Galaxy said it oversees nearly $9 billion in client assets across its digital-asset operations.

Bank of America disclosed in its Q1 13F filing that it has about $53 million in cryptocurrency ETF exposure, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as the largest position. The filing shows its IBIT stake rose to about $37 million, roughly 70% of the bank's crypto-related holdings, while it also kept allocations to other spot Bitcoin products.

Intesa Sanpaolo reported $235 million in crypto assets as of March 31, 2026, rising from $100 million at end-2025, while several European peers rolled out trading, custody, and stablecoin initiatives. BBVA enabled 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in its Spanish app, BPCE opened crypto access via Hexarq with a stated reach of 12 million clients, and a 12-bank group formed Qivalis to pursue a euro-denominated stablecoin.

EURR, the euro-pegged stablecoin from StablR, dropped about 20%, after which USDR no longer traded in its usual relationship with EURR. The move followed claims of a suspected smart-contract exploit, with on-chain investigator ZachXBT flagging an incident estimated at $3 million. The divergence highlights stress in liquidity and redemption confidence that typically keep stablecoins near their pegs.