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Hello, everyone! I'm back, your vibrant senior analyst in the blockchain market. Today, May 18, 2026, it's time to gather the hot news from the past 24 hours and coolly analyze market trends.
The market now feels like the calm before a giant wave, or perhaps a fierce battle is already underway within the waves. But don't worry! We can always make wise investment decisions based on figures and facts. So, shall we take a pulse of the market together?
Recently, over $1 billion has flowed out of Bitcoin spot ETFs, creating tension in the market. The withdrawal of funds from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs by large institutions like BlackRock is indeed having a negative impact on short-term investor sentiment.
Technical analysis also shows that approximately 15% of the total Bitcoin supply is concentrated in the $83,000-$85,000 range, acting as a strong resistance level. There are analyses suggesting that if this range is not broken, short-term downward pressure could increase.
However, a positive signal is also detected here. It's the movement of Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, who strongly hinted at the possibility of additional Bitcoin purchases via SNS. MicroStrategy is estimated to have accumulated an additional 15,466 BTC last week, which is a good sign of institutions' continued belief in Bitcoin.
Even more encouraging news is that the holdings of Bitcoin Long-Term Holders have reached approximately 15.26 million BTC, the highest since last August. The fact that long-term holding wallets have accumulated an additional 316,000 BTC in the past 30 days can be interpreted to mean that despite short-term market volatility, smart money remains confident in Bitcoin's long-term value.
This is also similar to the typical pattern repeatedly observed during major Bitcoin bottoms since 2019. A decrease in sellable exchange volume and an increase in long-term holdings can be seen as a signal of easing mid-to-long-term supply pressure.
Macroeconomically, 'Wall Street's new bond king' Gundlach raised inflation concerns, stating that a Fed rate cut is virtually impossible. In such a situation, as the global debt crisis and currency devaluation accelerate, the likelihood of Bitcoin emerging as the ultimate asset further increases.
Ethereum, like Bitcoin, is also facing difficulties, recording its worst week in spot ETFs since January, with over $1.2 billion in funds flowing out.
However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's direct participation in the Ethereum privacy pool, actively addressing privacy issues, is an important step for the long-term development of the Ethereum ecosystem.
The altcoin market shows mixed performances across different coins. Dogecoin is showing a positive trend, targeting a 27% rally after recording ETF inflows for three consecutive weeks.
Solana has put 'Alpenglow', the largest consensus structure overhaul in its network's history, to the test, presenting an innovative goal of 150-millisecond transaction finality. Furthermore, analyses suggesting that corporate buying from Nasdaq-listed companies could be the trigger for Solana's next surge further brightens Solana's future.
On the other hand, Shiba Inu has seen a 10% sharp decline and a confirmed death cross warning, raising concerns about investor exodus, thus requiring caution.
There are also criticisms that relying solely on XRP's 'burn effect' for long-term holding should be reconsidered. This is because analyses show that the scale of transaction fee burning is so negligible that it would take 151 years to reduce XRP by just 1%.
However, XRP's true value does not lie merely in burning. Ripple's CEO emphasizes XRP's unique weapon, enabling 3-second settlements beyond Bitcoin's limitations, and is highlighting its long-term upward potential, backed by the expansion of the Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization market.
Notably, with a trend of XRP supply disappearing from exchanges, there is also a possibility that investor buying interest could reignite.
Furthermore, the fact that Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank, chose to purchase XRP instead of Solana is strong evidence that institutional investors highly value XRP's utility and future potential. The acceleration of the U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, towards its final legislative stages is also very positive news for XRP.
The growth of the cryptocurrency market simultaneously means an increase in security threats. The U.S. Department of Justice prosecuting the operator of the dark web 'Dream Market' and a Bitcoin Core developer citing phishing attacks exploiting official Google emails, warning not to inherently trust all external messages, are important messages for all of us.
The recent case where over $10 million was stolen from Thorchain due to hacking once again highlights the importance of DeFi security. However, analysis showing that the hacking loss rate in the DeFi lending market is only about $3 per $10,000 deposited indicates that risk management in the DeFi market is gradually becoming quantified.
In major global countries, the integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream finance is accelerating, with large Japanese securities firms like SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities pushing for the launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum-based investment trust products. Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is also reviewing the allowance of cryptocurrencies in investment trusts and ETFs, with the possibility of spot crypto ETFs being approved around 2028 being discussed.
In the U.S. as well, news of progress on the CLARITY Act, a cryptocurrency market structure bill, has led Bitcoin investor sentiment to reach its highest level in 2026. The expectation that 'if the U.S. opens the way for crypto regulation, the rest of the world will follow,' as mentioned by a16z, will be a very important driving force for future market growth.
So, today we've looked at the present and future of the cryptocurrency market through various news stories. From Bitcoin's short-term volatility and Ethereum taking a breather to XRP's potential, the market is always dynamic. However, what's important is to analyze coolly based on facts and data amidst these changes and approach it from a long-term perspective.
Of course, there are short-term uncertainties now, such as ETF fund outflows from institutional investors. However, the steady accumulation by long-term holders, the technological advancements of major altcoins, and the accelerating global integration into mainstream finance are clearly positive signs. We are witnessing the revolution in future finance that blockchain technology will create, even at this very moment. I'll be back with more exciting news next time!
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