hodler

18 May 2026, 12:39

Strategy acquires bitcoins worth ~$2B in past week

More on Strategy Strategy: Risky Circular Reference, Just Buy Bitcoin Strategy: Rare Asymmetric Bet In A Stretched Market (Rating Upgrade) Strategy Inc (MSTR) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript MicroStrategy is "more than cash, equity, debt," says Phong Le, yet MSTR falls Strategy to repurchase ~$1.50B of outstanding convertible senior notes due 2029

18 May 2026, 12:37

Bitcoin Price Falls Below $77,000 as US-Iran War Trigger $500M Liquidations

Bitcoin price has fallen below $77,000 on Monday as rising geopolitical tension between the United States and Iran weighed on risk assets and triggered a rapid wave of crypto market liquidations. At press time, the BTC price had dropped as much as 2.2% to $76,551 in early trading, its lowest level since May 1, before recovering slightly to trade near $76,800. The selloff came as US President Donald Trump warned Iran that the “clock is ticking,” saying there “won’t be anything left of them” if Tehran does not move quickly toward a peace agreement. The warning followed stalled diplomatic talks aimed at ending the conflict that began after US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28. US-Iran Tensions Pressure Bitcoin and Risk Assets Negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked over nuclear activity, sanctions relief, frozen assets, and compensation demands. The US administration has reportedly proposed a framework requiring Iran to transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpiles to the US and limit nuclear operations to one active facility. Iran has sought a full removal of economic sanctions, access to frozen foreign assets, financial reparations, and an end to hostilities involving Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iranian media described the US proposal as lacking tangible concessions. Reports of possible renewed military action added to market caution. The Pentagon is said to be preparing plans for “Operation Epic Fury 2.0,” while Trump is expected to meet senior national security officials to review military options involving Iranian energy infrastructure. However, as of press time, a source close to Iran’s negotiation team said the US had agreed in a new draft to temporarily waive Iran’s oil sanctions during negotiations. The report said the waiver would be handled through a temporary OFAC exemption until a final agreement is reached. Iran has continued to demand the full removal of all sanctions as part of any deal commitments, the report added. Tehran is also seeking the release of frozen foreign assets, financial compensation linked to war damage, and an end to hostilities, including Israeli strikes connected to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Crypto Liquidations Cross $500 Million Crypto market liquidations rose sharply as the Bitcoin price decline accelerated. Coinglass data cited in the report showed that almost $500 million in bullish crypto positions were liquidated within 15 minutes during early Asian trading. Over the 24 hours leading into early European trading, roughly $590 million in long positions were unwound. The selloff followed several days of pressure on Bitcoin and wider crypto markets. US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded more than $1 billion in weekly net outflows, ending a six-week inflow streak. Spot Ethereum ETFs also posted outflows of about $255 million, while spot Solana and XRP ETFs recorded inflows of $58.12 million and $60.50 million, respectively. Source: X On-chain data also pointed to lower retail activity. Bitcoin inflows to Binance from wallets holding less than 1 BTC reportedly fell to their lowest monthly average on record, near 314 BTC. That compares with around 1,000 BTC in January 2024 and higher levels seen in earlier market cycles. Bitcoin Price Holds Near Key $76,000 Support According to crypto analyst Michael Van De Poppe, Bitcoin's current price trend is best described as a corrective consolidation after a strong rally, not yet a confirmed bearish reversal. The BTC price recently moved from around $65,000 to $82,000, a rally of more than 25%. After that type of move, a pullback toward support is normal. The current weakness below $77,000 shows short-term selling pressure, but the broader structure has not fully broken down unless Bitcoin loses the $76,000 support zone with conviction. Source: X However, if the Bitcoin price holds above $76,000, the market can still be viewed as consolidating inside a healthy range. In that case, BTC could attempt to recover toward the $79,100 CME gap, followed by the $80,000–$82,000 resistance zone. A clean reclaim of $82,000 would shift momentum back in favor of buyers and open the path toward the next major resistance area between $88,000 and $93,000. Nonetheless, if the BTC price closes decisively below $76,000, the structure becomes weaker. That would suggest the recent rally has failed to hold its main support, increasing the risk of a deeper move toward $71,000.

18 May 2026, 12:37

Goldman Sachs Liquidates $154 Million XRP Position via ETF, Pivots to Hyperliquid Treasury

Fresh SEC 13F filing reveals Goldman Sachs completely exited its $154 million spot XRP ETF position, shifting capital to Hyperliquid (PURR) equities.

18 May 2026, 12:34

Pyth Network headlines token unlocks worth $756.12M between May 18-25

Token unlocks worth $756.12 million are scheduled to hit the market between May 18 and May 25, 2026, with Pyth Network sitting at the top of the list at $92.10 million. The figure puts the network at 36.9% of the total weekly unlock value, the largest single contribution throughout the week, according to data compiled from Tokenomist and CoinGecko. Cliff releases account for $170.66 million of the weekly total, with the remainder coming through linear schedules across a wider set of projects. Pyth Network leads weekly token unlocks at $92.10 million The biggest scheduled event of the week is the $92.10 million Pyth Network (PYTH) cliff release. This unlock represents 36.96% of the total tokens allocated for release during the seven-day period. LayerZero (ZRO) is next with $32.91 million, with the release accounting for 10.19% of the weekly unlock total and 5.07% of the project’s circulating supply. This week, Humanity (H) is set to release $25.99 million in tokens, which is 5.77% of the project’s circulating supply. Multibank (MBG) follows with $8.58 million in scheduled token unlocks , or 10.95% of its circulating supply. Kaito (KAITO) rounds out the top five with $8.12 million in tokens to be released, or 7.29% of its circulating supply. $756.12 Million in Token Unlocks This Week Total cliff unlock, unlocked immediately after a set period, is $170.66M this week: • $PYTH $92.10M • $ZRO $32.91M • $H $25.99M • $MBG $8.58M • $KAITO $8.12M Linear unlocks, slow release over time: $XPL , $SOSO , $SOON ,… pic.twitter.com/mCEAelTzAv — Cryptopolitan (@CPOfficialtx) May 18, 2026 Cliff releases account for $170.66 million of weekly total The cliff portion of the week’s token unlocks is $170.66 million across five projects. This means roughly 22.6% of the total weekly unlock value is released into circulation at the same time. The five cliff releases are Pyth Network ($92.10 million), LayerZero ($32.91 million), Humanity ($25.99 million), MBG ($8.58 million), and Kaito ($8.12 million). All five are scheduled to take place between May 18 and May 25, with the Pyth Network event being the biggest by a large margin. The 36.9% share for Pyth Network sits on the higher end of the range for weekly cliff events. MBG by Multibank’s 10.95% figure is also worth watching since it puts more than a tenth of the project’s circulating supply into the market in one event. The remaining cliff releases sit between 5% and 11% of their respective circulating supplies. Linear token unlocks cover five smaller projects The linear part of the weekly schedule is Plasma (XPL), SoSoValue (SOSO), Soon (SOON), Undead Games (UDS) & Limitless (LMTS). The five projects make up the rest of the $756.12 million total after the cliff releases. Leading the linear sector is Plasma with $7.32 million in scheduled releases, accounting for 3.55% of its circulating supply. Next is SoSoValue, at $4.90 million, or 4.27% of supply. Soon unlocks tokens worth $3.45 million, which is 6.44% of the supply. Undead Games has $3.31 million available, the lowest percentage of supply on the list at 1.72%. Limitless completes the linear set at $1.74M, at 9.63% of its total supply. Smaller projects on CoinMarketCap round out the week Outside the top ten cliff and linear events, CoinMarketCap lists several smaller projects with scheduled releases over the coming week. These projects sit at lower market capitalizations and lower absolute dollar values for the upcoming unlocks. REVOX (REX) has 34.38 million REX tokens scheduled for release worth $733.35, equal to 1.15% of its total locked supply. Drift (DRIFT) has 13.16 million DRIFT scheduled at $370,831.57 in value, or 1.32% of its total locked supply. UCBI Holding (UCBI) has 1.29 million tokens scheduled for release at 4.24 million in value, equal to 10.72% of its total locked supply, the largest percentage on the smaller-project list. RICE AI (RICE) has 33.92 million tokens scheduled at $201,832.38, or 3.39% of total locked. Mavryk Network ( MVRK) closes out the list with 30.76 million tokens at $561,445.71 in value, or 3.04% of total locked. Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free .

18 May 2026, 12:30

XRP Price At $10,000 Isn’t Possible Now: Pundit Says Only This Move Will Make It Happen

Crypto pundit BarriC has said that an XRP price rally to $10,000 isn’t possible at the moment. He also revealed what needs to happen for the altcoin to potentially reach this level and even rally to $50,000. Pundit Says XRP Price Cannot Rally To $10,000 Now In an X post, BarriC stated that the XRP price cannot reach $10,000 to $50,000 if the altcoin remains purely a retail asset, which investors can buy and trade on exchanges. Instead, he explained that the only way this can happen is if XRP becomes part of the global financial infrastructure. Related Reading: Analyst Says XRP Path To $100 Is Not Straightforward, These Things Will Happen First The pundit further remarked that this could happen if XRP becomes integral to how every bank and financial institution worldwide conducts finance. Once this happens, the pundit predicts that the XRP price will no longer be low and will no longer experience a bear market as it is currently experiencing. BarriC assured that the XRP price will stabilize at a higher level, between $10,000 and $50,000, once trillions of dollars flow directly into and through XRP on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. He declared that this will be the price people must pay for XRP, and that those who diligently accumulated and held will be rewarded for their patience and perseverance. Interestingly, the pundit stated that the XRP price could reach $10,000 this year. This came as he declared that XRP will move from $2 to $10, $10 to $100, $100 to $1,000, $1,000 to $10,000, and that all these price shifts for the altcoin could happen this year. BarriC also mentioned that the shift could happen faster than many expect, with many market participants potentially missing out on life-changing wealth. XRP Still At Risk Of A Major Decline For Now Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto has indicated that the XRP price is still at risk of a major decline at the moment. He noted that the Fib 0.618 at $1.51 is acting as the first major resistance and that so far, the altcoin has failed to provide confirmed closes above this level. Meanwhile, the analyst also mentioned that the next key resistance becomes the Fib 0.702 at $1.83. Related Reading: If You’re Holding XRP, This Pundit Says You Should See This He explained that these two levels are extremely important because they determine whether the XRP price is transitioning into a bullish Wave 5 expansion or remains trapped within a larger corrective structure. Egrag Crypto said that if XRP cannot reclaim these levels, then the technical Elliot Wave measured move still favors a decline to the Fib 0.382 at $0.89 or even the Fib 0.236 at $0.64. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.39, down nearly 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

18 May 2026, 12:30

Former Ripple CTO Schwartz Sends XRP To John Deaton Senate Campaign

Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz has sent an undisclosed amount of XRP to John Deaton’s US Senate campaign, giving Deaton’s latest fundraising push a direct signal of support from one of the XRP community’s most recognizable figures. Schwartz Donates XRP To Deaton Senate Bid The exchange played out publicly on X after Deaton appealed for donations on May 15, arguing that his campaign was built around small-dollar contributors rather than PACs, lobbyists or “special interests.” Schwartz, posting under his long-running “JoelKatz” account, replied two days later with a brief message: “Sent some XRP.” Deaton answered: “Thank you David!” Deaton is again running for Senate in Massachusetts after winning the Republican primary in 2024 and losing to Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the general election. His new campaign targets the seat held by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, who is seeking another term. In the video attached to his fundraising post, Deaton framed the campaign as a challenge to entrenched political power in Washington. “I put in as much money as I could for my own campaign, but I don’t take big money. I don’t take PAC money. I don’t take money from lobbyists,” he said. “I just take money really from regular people and most of my donations are small donations. We’re talking 50 bucks, 25 bucks, 100 bucks.” I hate asking for money, but I need your help. Unlike career politicians, I don’t take PAC money. I don’t take lobbyist money. I don’t answer to special interests. This campaign is powered by hardworking people giving 25 bucks, 50 bucks, 100 bucks at a time because they believe… pic.twitter.com/sNBDWgsQaS — John Deaton (@DeatonforSenate) May 15, 2026 The appeal leaned heavily on Deaton’s positioning as an outsider candidate rather than a conventional party figure. He said voters needed “somebody to Washington that actually cares about people,” adding that he would “put people before politics” and would not be “loyal to a person or a party or an agenda.” Deaton also cited policy priorities including energy, housing and healthcare, saying he had “an energy plan that will reduce electricity prices,” “a housing plan that’ll build 5 million homes nationwide in five years,” and a healthcare reform plan aimed at large vertically integrated insurers. For the crypto market, the donation is notable less for its size, which was not disclosed, than for the messenger. Schwartz is one of the best-known technical figures associated with Ripple and XRP. Deaton, meanwhile, built a national profile in digital-asset circles through his advocacy around XRP holders and his criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach to crypto enforcement. The overlap between Deaton’s political campaigns and the crypto sector was already visible in 2024. Federal Election Commission records show Deaton’s 2024 campaign committee reported $2.24 million in total receipts, including $1 million in loans made by the candidate and $1.15 million in individual contributions. The donation also comes as Deaton is trying to distinguish between his campaign’s direct fundraising model and the broader role of crypto money in US elections. His message to supporters was explicit: “The only way I win is if people like you listening to this donate whatever you can afford.” Whether that support meaningfully changes Deaton’s electoral position is a separate question. Massachusetts remains difficult terrain for Republicans, and Deaton’s 2024 run ended in defeat against Warren. At press time, XRP traded at $1.38.