Our Daily Crypto Briefing, your morning dose of whats relevant.
Friday gave U.S. crypto two structural wins — CFTC approved Kalshi's BTCPERP as the first onshore perp and the SEC made Paxos the first blockchain CSD — even as BTC slid below $73K, ETF outflows hit a record nine-day streak, and CME 24/7 futures went live.
Bitcoin broke below $73,000 to a six-week low after U.S. strikes on Iran flushed $897M of crypto longs, IBIT printed its second-largest outflow ever at $528M, and ether lost $2,000 even as ETH futures open interest hit a record 16M ETH.
Sunday was quiet on price action but not on structure: the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia took effect, Bitcoin held near $76,800 heading into the Memorial Day weekend, and the U.S. Clarity Act inched closer to a Senate floor vote.
Bitcoin lost the $76,000 monthly close gate as IBIT bled $192M and a single $1.29B dark-pool block sale hit the tape — $333M in spot ETF outflows, $283M in long liquidations, and BTC slipped to the 13th-largest global asset behind AI stocks and gold.
BTC slipped to $76,200 as the Nasdaq surged on Iran-peace hopes while AI stocks pulled capital. On-chain demand hit a December low, US spot BTC ETFs bled $1.26B last week, and Strategy used cash to retire $1.5B in 2029 converts. UK sanctioned Huobi.
Iranian negotiators landed in Doha as Polymarket peace odds jumped to 37% and Bitcoin reclaimed $77,500. Spot BTC ETFs lost $1.26B in a sixth straight outflow week while HYPE products kept attracting inflows. Vitalik reframed the Ethereum Foundation around 'CROPS'.
Bitcoin dipped below $75,000 on Saturday before rebounding on US-Iran peace signals as the SEC shelved its tokenized stock exemption — even as BlackRock's RWA push and SpaceX's $1.45B Bitcoin disclosure kept institutional momentum in focus.
Friday's crypto session — Bitcoin's 16th Pizza Day — brought tight $77K consolidation, ~$200M in balanced liquidations, a 12x surge in euro stablecoin volume under MiCA, and a foiled kidnapping targeting The Sandbox co-founder's wife in France.
Bitcoin lost the $77K shelf to a two-week low of $76,270 as Trump's 'clock is ticking' Iran warning triggered $657M in liquidations — 89% longs. Brent topped $112, ETH slid to $2.1K, BTC ETFs bled $648M, and Trump's payment-rails executive order landed by evening.
Crypto posted its first green day in nearly a week on Wednesday after the Senate voted to curb Trump's Iran war powers, easing oil and yields. But falling futures open interest and year-low volatility suggest traders used the bounce to cut exposure, not chase it.
Bitcoin opened at $77,414 and bled to $76,270 as Iran tensions, $1B in weekly ETF outflows and a 5.1% 30-year yield converged. ETH hit $2,104, $814M in liquidations cleared the leveraged book (88% longs), and the Altcoin Season Index dropped to 30, deep Bitcoin Season.
Bitcoin slid to $77,000 intraday Sunday before bouncing near $78,200, ETH leaked to $2,190, and last week's $1B ETF outflow streak set the tone for Monday — with Warsh's first Fed comments and the CLARITY Act floor calendar both still open questions.