Invest ideasNews
22 May 2026, 05:38
Bitcoin trades near $77,700 as analysts eye $75,000 support after liquidation wave
Open interest held steady and funding stayed subdued during the recent liquidation wave, suggesting traders were de-risking rather than capitulating, according to HashKey Research's Tim Sun.
22 May 2026, 05:35
Why is Near protocol price going up?
NEAR Protocol’s native token has surged more than 22% over the past 24 hours, extending a multi-week rally. According to CoinGecko data, NEAR climbed from roughly $1.25 earlier this month to around $2.15 on May 22, lifting its gains to more than 70% from the monthly low. The token has rallied over 45% during the past two weeks alone, making it one of the best-performing assets among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. Behind the sudden acceleration, derivatives data points to a large-scale short squeeze that caught bearish traders offside just as NEAR broke above a key resistance trendline near $1.72. According to liquidation charts on Coinglass, nearly $5.8 million out of $6.1 million in wiped-out positions over the past 24 hours came from shorts. Within four hours alone, more than $2.4 million in short positions were liquidated after the token pushed through resistance connecting the March and mid-May highs. Forced buybacks from liquidated short sellers added immediate demand pressure to the market, while available sell-side liquidity thinned rapidly during the move higher. The fresh momentum across artificial intelligence-linked crypto assets followed NVIDIA’s first-quarter FY2027 earnings report released on May 20. The chipmaker reported $81.6 billion in quarterly revenue alongside $58.3 billion in profits, representing an 85% year-over-year increase in revenue. During the earnings call, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said, “Agentic AI has arrived” as competition among AI model developers intensified around compute efficiency and token generation. Following the report, trading activity rotated aggressively toward AI-related crypto projects, with NEAR emerging as one of the strongest beneficiaries due to its positioning around decentralised AI infrastructure. Market activity around the token strengthened further after Near Protocol expanded its enterprise-focused AI tooling. The protocol recently introduced automatic personally identifiable information anonymisation for AI prompts, allowing developers to remove passwords, API keys, and sensitive user information before requests are routed to external large language models such as ChatGPT or Claude. According to the project, the system processes confidential inference tasks through Trusted Execution Environments powered by NVIDIA H200 and B200 GPUs. The upgrade addresses concerns around AI privacy and data security, areas that have become increasingly important as businesses integrate generative AI products into customer-facing systems. AI narrative is supporting demand Beyond the recent AI-driven market rotation, Near Protocol has spent the past year positioning itself around what the project describes as the “Agentic Web,” a framework where autonomous AI agents manage payments, coordination, identities, and cross-chain interactions without constant human oversight. Interest around that thesis has intensified as decentralised applications move toward infrastructure-heavy AI workflows. Because NEAR’s founders come from artificial intelligence research backgrounds, traders have increasingly grouped the token alongside AI-linked digital assets during periods of strong sector performance. Meanwhile, ecosystem adoption around NEAR Intents has continued gaining traction through integrations tied to the protocol’s chain abstraction infrastructure. One notable example came from decentralised trading platform CoW Swap, which recently expanded to Solana using NEAR Intents as a backend settlement layer for cross-chain execution. The integration allows users to complete multi-step transactions across different blockchains without manually bridging assets or managing separate gas tokens. Increased usage around these services has reportedly pushed protocol transactions to new highs while lifting the number of unique holders across the network. Additional tokenomics changes have also contributed to bullish sentiment around the asset. A governance proposal approved in late 2025 reduced NEAR’s maximum annual inflation rate from 5% to 2.5%, lowering the amount of new tokens entering circulation each year. Since February 2026, fees generated through the NEAR Intents cross-chain settlement system have also been converted programmatically into NEAR tokens, creating a direct source of open-market buying tied to ecosystem activity. Network usage metrics have moved higher alongside the price rally. According to ecosystem data shared by the project, total value locked across Near Protocol has increased more than 120% year over year, while developer activity climbed over 40% during the same period. NEAR price analysis The 4-hour NEAR/USD chart shows an extremely aggressive breakout phase, with momentum indicators now stretched deep into overheated territory after the latest vertical move higher. NEAR/USD 4-hour price chart. Source: TradingView. Price action has broken cleanly above the previous multi-month resistance zone near $1.72, which was acting as a ceiling since the March highs. Once that level gave way, the rally accelerated sharply into the $2.10 to $2.20 area with almost no visible consolidation in between. Volume also expanded heavily during the breakout candle, which lines up with the liquidation-driven squeeze described in your context. The RSI on the 4-hour timeframe has now climbed to around 88, placing NEAR firmly in overbought territory. Historically, RSI readings above 80 on this timeframe often signal that momentum is becoming crowded in the short term, especially after near-vertical rallies. At the same time, the RSI moving average continues trending upward, which still confirms strong bullish momentum rather than immediate exhaustion. Meanwhile, the Chaikin Money Flow indicator remains positive near 0.23, showing that capital inflows are still entering the asset instead of fading after the breakout. Sustained positive CMF readings during a sharp rally usually indicate that buyers are still supporting price advances rather than the move being driven only by thin liquidity spikes. Another important detail comes from the structure of the candles themselves. Recent breakout candles have closed near their highs with very limited upper wicks, which usually points to sustained buying pressure rather than aggressive profit-taking. The sharp increase in volume near the latest breakout also strengthens the argument that the move is being supported by real participation instead of isolated low-volume volatility. Still, the vertical nature of the rally leaves NEAR vulnerable to short-term cooling if momentum slows. Because the price moved rapidly from roughly $1.70 to above $2.10 without building strong support zones in between, any pullback could become volatile as traders look for fresh support formation. For now, though, the structure remains strongly bullish. The post Why is Near protocol price going up? appeared first on Invezz
22 May 2026, 05:35
BTC/USDT Spot CVD Chart Shows Order Flow Dynamics on May 22
BitcoinWorld BTC/USDT Spot CVD Chart Shows Order Flow Dynamics on May 22 On May 22, 2025, at 5:00 a.m. UTC, the BTC/USDT spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) chart provided a detailed view of order book activity for the leading cryptocurrency pair. The chart combines a volume heatmap with CVD indicators to help traders identify potential support and resistance zones based on real-time trade flow. Understanding the Volume Heatmap The upper section of the chart displays a Volume Heatmap, which tracks the concentration of trades at specific price levels. Brighter areas on the heatmap indicate where the price has lingered or moved significantly, suggesting levels where buying or selling pressure may have accumulated. These zones often act as technical support or resistance in subsequent trading sessions. Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) Breakdown The lower section features the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) indicator, which categorizes buy and sell orders by trade size. Each colored line represents a different order size bracket. For instance, the yellow line tracks orders between $100 and $1,000, while the brown line tracks large institutional-sized orders between $1 million and $10 million. When buy orders increase, the corresponding line rises, offering insight into the aggressiveness of buyers versus sellers across different capital tiers. What This Means for Traders This level of granularity allows traders to see not just overall volume but the composition of market participation. A rising CVD in the larger order brackets, for example, may signal institutional accumulation, while a flattening or declining CVD in smaller brackets could indicate retail hesitation. Such data can be particularly useful during low-liquidity periods or ahead of major market events. Conclusion The May 22 BTC/USDT spot CVD chart offers a snapshot of order flow dynamics that goes beyond simple price action. By combining volume heatmaps with size-segmented CVD data, traders gain a clearer picture of where liquidity is building and which market participants are driving movement. As always, these indicators are best used in conjunction with broader market analysis. FAQs Q1: What is Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) in crypto trading? CVD measures the net difference between buying and selling volume over a given period, helping traders gauge order flow pressure. It is often displayed as a line that rises with buying activity and falls with selling activity. Q2: How does the Volume Heatmap help identify support and resistance? The heatmap highlights price levels where high trading volume has occurred. These areas often act as support (when price falls to them) or resistance (when price rises to them) because of concentrated orders and trader memory. Q3: Why are trade size categories important in CVD analysis? Different trade sizes can indicate different types of market participants. Small orders may reflect retail activity, while large orders often signal institutional moves. Separating them helps traders understand who is driving the market. This post BTC/USDT Spot CVD Chart Shows Order Flow Dynamics on May 22 first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
22 May 2026, 05:30
Kucoin Pushes Earn-and-Loan Product as ETF Capital Pulls Crypto Into New Split
Kucoin has unveiled a product allowing users to unlock liquidity by borrowing against high- liquidity crypto assets while their pledged collateral simultaneously continues to earn passive yield. The Shift to Capital Hubs Reflecting a broader industry shift from simple order-matching to advanced capital management, Kucoin has introduced an integrated “earn-and-loan” solution. The product eliminates a
22 May 2026, 05:29
Ethereum Community Pushes for New Group to “Save” ETH
His comments came due to the growing frustration surrounding the Ethereum Foundation after the departures of several high-profile contributors, including Feist himself, Danny Ryan, Carl Beek, and Julian Ma. Feist also criticized the foundation’s limited ETH holdings and lack of direct exposure to staking and fee revenues, arguing that this weakens its connection to Ethereum’s long-term success. Ethereum Foundation Under Fire Frustration within the Ethereum community intensified this week after former Ethereum Foundation developer Dankrad Feist proposed the creation of a new organization to help “save” Ethereum and restore confidence in the network’s long-term direction. Feist argued that the Ethereum ecosystem now needs an institution that is directly aligned with Ethereum’s economic success and more accountable to the community. In a post that was shared on X, Feist suggested forming a new ETH-focused organization backed by at least $1 billion in funding and led by what he described as competent leadership. According to him, the current structure of the Ethereum Foundation no longer provides the level of alignment or accountability needed to support Ethereum’s growth and value appreciation. He proposed that the new entity should actively work toward increasing Ethereum’s value while funding itself partially through staking rewards and blockchain fee revenue. The Ethereum Foundation currently serves as the non-profit organization overseeing development and stewardship of the Ethereum ecosystem. However, dissatisfaction with the foundation has been building for years as several respected contributors and researchers left the organization. Feist himself departed the Ethereum Foundation last year to join Tempo, an alternative Layer 1 blockchain project. Former Ethereum researcher Danny Ryan, who many community members once saw as a potential future leader of the foundation, also left and later co-founded Etherealize. The latest concerns escalated after Ethereum Foundation researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma reportedly resigned this week. Feist also criticized the Ethereum Foundation’s financial positioning, and pointed out that the organization now controls less than 0.1% of the total ETH supply and does not meaningfully benefit from Ethereum staking rewards or transaction fee revenues. He suggested this weakens the foundation’s ability to stay economically connected to the success of the network it helps maintain. Despite his criticism, Feist is still one of Ethereum’s most influential contributors. During his time in the ecosystem, he helped create the Danksharding design that improved Layer 2 scalability efforts. He was also involved in ambitious proposals like EIP-9698, which aimed to dramatically increase Ethereum’s gas limits and improve network capacity.
22 May 2026, 05:15
Crypto Traders Brace for $1.5B Bitcoin Options Expiry Today
Around 20,500 Bitcoin options contracts will expire on Friday, May 22, with a notional value of roughly $1.5 billion. This event is smaller than usual, so it is unlikely to have any impact on spot markets. Crypto markets have been in decline all week, with around $50 billion leaving the space as Bitcoin continues to weaken. Positive news appears to have zero impact as investors remain under macroeconomic rain clouds. Bitcoin Options Expiry This week’s batch of Bitcoin options contracts has a put/call ratio of 0.69, meaning that there are more sellers of longs than shorts. Max pain is around $79,000, according to Coinglass, which is a little higher than current spot prices, so some could be out of the money on expiry. Open interest (OI), or the value or number of Bitcoin options contracts yet to expire, remains highest at the $80,000 strike price on Deribit, with $1.65 billion, but short sellers still have $1.2 billion in OI at $60,000. Total BTC options OI across all exchanges has been steadily climbing this month and is at $37.6 billion, according to Coinglass. Options Expiry Alert. At 08:00 UTC tomorrow, over $1.8B in crypto options are set to expire on Deribit. bitcoin:native : $1.53B notional | Put/Call: 0.69 | Max Pain: $79,000 ethereum:native : $264M notional | Put/Call: 1.03 | Max Pain: $2,200 BTC traders continue targeting… pic.twitter.com/fv5dDrPx6M — Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) May 21, 2026 Traders have been using the recent rebound to establish defensive positions for the final ten days of the month, said crypto derivatives provider Greeks Live this week. “Overall, the market is positioning itself to defend against price pullbacks but does not anticipate a market collapse.” It added that May and June have long been viewed as unfavorable trading months, and in May, major investors have been “steadily increasing their defensive positions: buying effective protection, selling margin calls at the tail end, and controlling costs.” In addition to today’s batch of Bitcoin options, around 123,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring, with a notional value of $263 million, max pain at $2,200, and a put/call ratio of 1. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is around $6.9 billion. “ETH positioning has shifted from strongly call-biased last week to nearly balanced, suggesting conviction has cooled as traders await fresh catalysts,” said Deribit. Spot Market Outlook Crypto markets have retreated again today, with total capitalization dropping to $2.67 trillion. Bitcoin failed to break above $78,000 and fell back to an intraday low of $76,750 before a minor recovery on Friday morning. It appears to have resumed its downtrend, which is dragging the rest of the market down with it. Ether and the rest of the altcoins have been mostly flat over the past 24 hours, with very little activity after a largely bearish week. The post Crypto Traders Brace for $1.5B Bitcoin Options Expiry Today appeared first on CryptoPotato .
