hodler

18 May 2026, 16:04

XRP’s Road to $17 Mapped Out: Market Analyst Flags Strong Historic Run and Possible Ethereum Flip Scenario

A popular pundit has issued an ambitious forecast for Ripple-promoted XRP, predicting a potential double-digit price breakout that he believes could eventually put the payments-focused token in contention with Ether in the crypto market rankings. Here is why. The Bullish Case Behind XRP’s Potential Run to $17 In a recent post on X, market strategist

18 May 2026, 16:02

Bitcoin sell-off continues, KITE bucks bearish market with 10% gains

Bitcoin (BTC) price continued its weekend downward trend today, falling below key support levels as traders took a defensive stance ahead of key economic data released this week. The crypto market followed Bitcoin’s lead and fell roughly 2% in the past 24-hours to hit a two-week low below $2.65 trillion. Meanwhile, a wave of liquidations during late US hours on Sunday added further fuel to the sell-off. Market sentiment has deteriorated over the past 48 hours, with the crypto fear and greed index dropping 5 points since May 16. Most major altcoins remained muted throughout the day, with gains limited to only a handful of outliers. Why is Bitcoin price going down? Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have been affected by a number of macroeconomic factors today. First, traders were quick to react to rising interest rates as global bond yields jumped. In the US, Treasury yields ticked higher as sticky inflation data kept monetary policy restrictive. A similar scenario has also unfolded in Japan, where government bond yields hit multi-year highs. At the same time, global bond yields have exerted downward pressure on non-yielding assets. All of this hawkish sentiment has significantly lowered the odds of an upcoming rate cut in the near term. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged stand at 99.2%. Against this backdrop, institutional demand across major ETFs for leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum has slowed. Bitcoin ETFs specifically have seen net outflows of over $1 billion over the past week. Bitcoin has lost a key psychological level Traders are also reacting to Bitcoin losing the $80,000 level, which was seen as key to maintaining the upside momentum that was seen ahead of Thursday’s CLARITY Act markup vote. As Bitcoin price fell below $80,000, overleveraged long positions were forcefully closed, which led to a cascade of liquidations. According to CoinGlass data, over $670 million was wiped out and liquidated in the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin and Ethereum accounting for the majority of the losses. Crypto liquidations - 24 hour. Source: Coinglass. Bitcoin long positions accounted for roughly $200 million, while Ethereum long positions made up over $264 million of the total. Traders remain cautious ahead of a busy week for economic data The US economic calendar is packed this week from May 18 to May 22. Reports on existing and pending home sales, weekly ADP employment changes, jobless claims, manufacturing activity, and consumer sentiment are all due. Meanwhile, the FOMC minutes due on Wednesday will be closely watched for clues on future rate decisions. Another key market driver is Nvidia’s upcoming first-quarter fiscal earnings results, which have often served as a major catalyst for risk assets like Bitcoin. Will Bitcoin price recover? Despite the recent pullback, some factors are lining up in favor of Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. Firstly, a number of major institutional players like Strategy (previously known as Microstrategy) and Capital B have continued buying Bitcoin. Strategy, for instance, recently disclosed that it has acquired an additional 24,869 Bitcoin (BTC) for $2.01 billion between May 11 and 17. Meanwhile, Capital B also bought the dip, acquiring 192 BTC for 13 million euros at an average price of $78,948 per Bitcoin. Such large-scale institutional accumulation could help cushion the asset against any further downside in the short-term as macro conditions stabilise. Altcoin market remains muted The altcoin market remained relatively quiet today, with only six tokens managing to close with gains of over 1% at the time of publication. Leading altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP) all held losses between 1-5% in the past 24 hours. Top altcoin gainers in the past 24-hours. Source: CoinGecko. KITE leads altcoin with 10% rally Kite (KITE) was the only altcoin to secure double-digit gains on the day, primarily due to project-specific developments. Kite (KITE) is capitalising heavily on the growing market focus on the AI Agent narrative. Over the last few weeks, investors have actively rotated capital into infrastructure tokens that facilitate autonomous AI commerce, pushing assets like KITE, Humanity (H), and Injective (INJ) to the top of the gainers' list. The primary catalyst behind the sustained bullish structure is the transition from testnet to the live Kite Chain mainnet alongside the rollout of the Kite Agent Passport. Because KITE functions as the native utility layer for autonomous AI agent identity, cryptographic spending limits, and stablecoin micropayments, the launch marked a shift from speculative prototyping to real-world infrastructure usage. According to the 4-hour KITE/USD chart, the token remains in a strong short-term uptrend after breaking above all major EMAs. KITE/USD 4-h price chart. Source: TradingView. KITE was trading around $0.233 at the time of writing while holding above the 20 EMA at $0.217 and the 50 EMA near $0.204, showing that buyers still control momentum. The RSI has climbed above 73, entering overbought territory for the first time since March. Previous moves into this zone often led to short consolidation phases before continuation higher. If bullish momentum holds, KITE could retest the recent $0.25 high, with a breakout potentially opening the path toward the broader $0.28 to $0.30 resistance area. On the downside, the $0.217 and $0.20 levels remain the key support zones that traders will likely watch closely. The post Bitcoin sell-off continues, KITE bucks bearish market with 10% gains appeared first on Invezz

18 May 2026, 16:02

Analyst Says XRP Looks Ready for a Massive Breakout. Here’s the Signal

XRP may be approaching one of its biggest technical moments in years as crypto analyst XRP Celal Kucuker (@CelalKucuker) projected a move above $15 this cycle. He stated, “XRP looks ready for a massive breakout,” before adding that he still believes the asset will climb beyond $15. His chart outlines a long-term structure that stretches back to 2017 on the weekly timeframe. It shows XRP compressing inside converging trendlines for years before breaking into a higher range during late 2024. The setup now points toward another major expansion phase that could carry the asset into double-digit territory . XRP looks ready for a massive breakout. I still believe it’s going above $15 this cycle. And when that happens, $XRP will seriously challenge Ethereum ’s position. Bookmark this post. Time always reveals the truth. pic.twitter.com/pCaHMaUT0t — Celal Kucuker (@CelalKucuker) May 17, 2026 Long-Term Trendline Break Remains in Focus The chart highlights a descending black resistance trendline that capped XRP for several years after its 2018 peak. XRP finally pushed above that level during its explosive rally toward the $3 region in late 2024. After the breakout, XRP remained at high levels before a steady decline pushed it into a consolidation phase. The asset has pulled back toward the old resistance line, which now appears to act as support. Kucuker’s chart marks this area around $1.30. That retest plays a major role in the bullish structure. Traders often watch for successful retests after major breakouts because they can confirm a shift in market structure. XRP currently trades near that zone after months of cooling price action. Projection Targets Point Toward $17 Kucuker mapped a projected move that begins from the current consolidation area and rises sharply toward the upper resistance channel. His chart places a target near $17.53. That projected path follows a pattern XRP has shown several times in previous cycles . We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 The chart displays repeated consolidation phases followed by aggressive vertical rallies. Earlier structures in 2017 and 2021 produced similar breakout formations before strong price expansions. It also shows a long-term ascending channel . The upper boundary of this channel aligns with the projected target area. That adds another technical level that traders may monitor if momentum accelerates during the next upward move. Kucuker also connected XRP’s potential rally to the competition among major crypto assets. He wrote that when XRP moves above $15, it “will seriously challenge Ethereum’s position.” XRP is Gearing Up for a Breakout The current setup shows XRP trading in a narrowing range after months of retracement from its recent highs. Volatility has slowed compared to the late 2024 breakout period, though the asset continues to hold above key long-term support levels. If XRP can maintain support, retesting the trendline could provide enough momentum for a sharp rebound. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Analyst Says XRP Looks Ready for a Massive Breakout. Here’s the Signal appeared first on Times Tabloid .

18 May 2026, 16:00

Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs Bleed as Crypto Funds Shed $1.07 Billion, Ending 6-Week Win Streak

Bitcoin ETFs bore the brunt of a geopolitically driven sell-off, CoinShares said, though altcoin funds largely held their ground.

18 May 2026, 15:56

Strategy buys another $2bn in Bitcoin despite mNAV pressure

Strategy added nearly 25,000 more Bitcoin after raising billions through preferred stock sales under its ATM programs.

18 May 2026, 15:55

Ex-OpenAI Researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner Doubles Down on AI Infrastructure and Bitcoin Mining Stocks

BitcoinWorld Ex-OpenAI Researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner Doubles Down on AI Infrastructure and Bitcoin Mining Stocks Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former researcher at OpenAI, has significantly expanded his public investment portfolio, placing a massive bet on the convergence of artificial intelligence infrastructure and Bitcoin mining. According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), his disclosed stock holdings surged from $5.5 billion at the end of last year to $13.67 billion by the end of March this year. From AI Research to Infrastructure Investment Aschenbrenner, who previously worked on alignment and safety research at the ChatGPT developer, has pivoted sharply into the capital-intensive side of the AI boom. His filings reveal concentrated positions in companies that operate at the intersection of high-performance computing (HPC) and energy-intensive data centers. These include IREN, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, Bitfarms, Bitdeer, and Hive Digital. The common thread among these firms is their dual capacity to provide power and data center infrastructure for both Bitcoin mining and AI workloads. As demand for AI compute capacity explodes, these companies are increasingly being viewed as critical suppliers of the physical backbone needed to train and run large language models. A Bet on Infrastructure, A Hedge Against Chipmakers While Aschenbrenner has accumulated long positions in mining and data center firms, he has simultaneously established significant put option positions against some of the biggest names in the semiconductor industry. According to the filings, he holds put options totaling $7.46 billion against Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH). This dual strategy suggests a conviction that the value in the AI boom will flow to infrastructure providers and energy operators, rather than solely to chip designers. It reflects a sophisticated view that as AI scales, the bottleneck may shift from silicon to power and data center capacity. Why This Matters for Investors Aschenbrenner’s moves are noteworthy not just because of the size of the positions, but because of his insider perspective on the AI industry. Having worked directly on frontier AI models, his investment thesis carries weight. The market has already begun to price in the transition of Bitcoin miners into AI infrastructure providers, with several of these stocks seeing significant volatility and upward movement this year. For readers, this story underscores a broader trend: the AI industry’s physical infrastructure demands are creating new investment opportunities beyond the obvious chipmakers. It also highlights the increasing financial sophistication of former tech insiders who are translating their domain expertise into concentrated market bets. Conclusion Leopold Aschenbrenner’s SEC filings reveal a clear and large-scale investment thesis: the future of AI will be built on infrastructure that Bitcoin miners already operate. By going long on these hybrid companies and hedging against semiconductor giants, he is betting that the next phase of AI growth will be defined by power and data center capacity, not just chip performance. The filings offer a rare, data-backed glimpse into how a former OpenAI researcher is positioning for the AI infrastructure buildout. FAQs Q1: Who is Leopold Aschenbrenner? A: He is a former researcher at OpenAI who worked on AI alignment and safety. He has since transitioned into investment, focusing on AI infrastructure and related technologies. Q2: Why is he investing in Bitcoin mining companies? A: Many Bitcoin mining firms own significant power infrastructure, data centers, and high-performance computing capabilities that can be repurposed for AI workloads, making them strategic suppliers in the AI boom. Q3: What does his put option position against Nvidia mean? A: It indicates he is hedging against or betting on a decline in Nvidia’s stock price, possibly because he believes the market has overvalued chipmakers relative to the infrastructure providers that will be needed to deploy AI at scale. This post Ex-OpenAI Researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner Doubles Down on AI Infrastructure and Bitcoin Mining Stocks first appeared on BitcoinWorld .