📊 #BTC Market maker Wintermute that inflation pressure is re-emerging in the core narrative, with market positioning shifting from “when cuts” to “whether hikes” within five trading days. Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000 due to momentum from Clarity Act developments but has since retreated to around $78,000, reflecting a 5.7% decline for the week. Ethereum dropped 10.2%, with the ETH/BTC ratio falling to approximately 0.0275. Wintermute indicated that last week’s BTC breakout was primarily driven by leverage and short-covering rather than spot-led confirmation, highlighting $76,000–$78,000 as crucial near-term support. They cautioned that rising yields and re-accelerating inflation could challenge the sustainability of immediate institutional bids.
📊 #BTC Market maker Wintermute that inflation pressure is re-emerging in the core narrative, with market positioning shifting from “when cuts” to “whether hikes” within five trading days. Bitcoin briefly surpassed $82,000 due to momentum from Clarity Act developments but has since retreated to around $78,000, reflecting a 5.7% decline for the week. Ethereum dropped 10.2%, with the ETH/BTC ratio falling to approximately 0.0275. Wintermute indicated that last week’s BTC breakout was primarily driven by leverage and short-covering rather than spot-led confirmation, highlighting $76,000–$78,000 as crucial near-term support. They cautioned that rising yields and re-accelerating inflation could challenge the sustainability of immediate institutional bids.
🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump: We are negotiating with Iran. Iran is begging to make a deal.
🐳 #BTC #ETF The consensus take after last week's -$630M ETF day is that institutions are leaving Bitcoin.
However, our Whale vs Retail Delta indicates the opposite is occurring. While ETFs printed red on May 13, on-chain wallets holding 1k+ BTC added inventory within the same 72-hour window. A dormant wallet from 2013 moved 500 BTC on Sunday, and CryptoQuant flagged the routing as OTC preparation rather than an exchange dump. BTC futures are currently at 47.5L / 52.5S, marking the rarest short-skew print of the cycle.
ETF flow serves as a delayed retail signal, while the W-R Delta reflects real-time institutional activity. Currently, they are conveying opposing messages, but the on-chain data has consistently been accurate on a 30-day basis since tracking began.
Institutions are not leaving; they are rotating from the ETF wrapper into spot OTC. The outflow is a buy signal.
However, our Whale vs Retail Delta indicates the opposite is occurring. While ETFs printed red on May 13, on-chain wallets holding 1k+ BTC added inventory within the same 72-hour window. A dormant wallet from 2013 moved 500 BTC on Sunday, and CryptoQuant flagged the routing as OTC preparation rather than an exchange dump. BTC futures are currently at 47.5L / 52.5S, marking the rarest short-skew print of the cycle.
ETF flow serves as a delayed retail signal, while the W-R Delta reflects real-time institutional activity. Currently, they are conveying opposing messages, but the on-chain data has consistently been accurate on a 30-day basis since tracking began.
Institutions are not leaving; they are rotating from the ETF wrapper into spot OTC. The outflow is a buy signal.
📊 Solana Perp DEX Volume Hits Record $20B Week, GMTrade Leads Surge
Solana-based perpetual DEXs reached an all-time high in weekly trading volume, exceeding $20 billion over the past seven days. Daily volume peaked at $5.781 billion on May 18, primarily driven by GMTrade, which accounted for approximately $4.9 billion in volume within the last 24 hours. A notable public wager-style trade on the Solana perp protocol Phoenix has also garnered attention, involving Solana Foundation Chief Product Officer Vibhu and Hyperliquid trader Drews888.
Solana-based perpetual DEXs reached an all-time high in weekly trading volume, exceeding $20 billion over the past seven days. Daily volume peaked at $5.781 billion on May 18, primarily driven by GMTrade, which accounted for approximately $4.9 billion in volume within the last 24 hours. A notable public wager-style trade on the Solana perp protocol Phoenix has also garnered attention, involving Solana Foundation Chief Product Officer Vibhu and Hyperliquid trader Drews888.
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🔮 Polymarket Partners With Nasdaq Private Market Allowing Users To Trade Private Companies.
👮 Wintermute Launches Armitage to Offer Vaults for “Hard-to-Custody” Collateral
Wintermute, a prominent market maker in the crypto space, has introduced Armitage, a DeFi vault curation platform focused on institutional onchain yield. This platform allows curators to create non-custodial vaults tailored to specific risk parameters, directing funds into DeFi lending opportunities while ensuring that depositors maintain control of their assets without the need for KYC.
Wintermute, a prominent market maker in the crypto space, has introduced Armitage, a DeFi vault curation platform focused on institutional onchain yield. This platform allows curators to create non-custodial vaults tailored to specific risk parameters, directing funds into DeFi lending opportunities while ensuring that depositors maintain control of their assets without the need for KYC.
🧑💻 US and China agree to launch "government-to-government dialogue on AI."
🇺🇸📊 As IBIT options continue to grow, they provide insights into institutional risk pricing, hedging activity, and positioning.
Glassnode has expanded coverage to IBIT options, offering institutional-grade options market intelligence for the largest US spot Bitcoin ETF.
40+ new metrics are available, including:
- OI & Volume
- ATM Implied Volatility
- Proprietary Skew Metrics
- IV Heatmaps
Use IBIT options data to:
→ Measure institutional sentiment
→ Compare TradFi and crypto-native positioning
→ Monitor hedging activity around macro events and drawdowns
→ Track volatility risk across tenors
Explore the new metrics at glassno.de/499a0R5. #etf
Glassnode has expanded coverage to IBIT options, offering institutional-grade options market intelligence for the largest US spot Bitcoin ETF.
40+ new metrics are available, including:
- OI & Volume
- ATM Implied Volatility
- Proprietary Skew Metrics
- IV Heatmaps
Use IBIT options data to:
→ Measure institutional sentiment
→ Compare TradFi and crypto-native positioning
→ Monitor hedging activity around macro events and drawdowns
→ Track volatility risk across tenors
Explore the new metrics at glassno.de/499a0R5. #etf
📉 Wintermute: ETH Is “Not the Right Asset” for the Current Macro Environment
ETH fell 10.2% this week, continuing to underperform across spot and derivatives markets, with the ETH/BTC ratio pressing 0.0275, according to Wintermute. The firm stated that Ethereum is “not the right asset for this macro” amid rising yields and renewed inflation concerns.
Additionally, Wintermute argued that being outright long #BTC at current levels means betting institutional investors will step back in despite rising Treasury yields and reaccelerating inflation, which may be difficult until markets fully digest the shifting macro backdrop. #macro
ETH fell 10.2% this week, continuing to underperform across spot and derivatives markets, with the ETH/BTC ratio pressing 0.0275, according to Wintermute. The firm stated that Ethereum is “not the right asset for this macro” amid rising yields and renewed inflation concerns.
Additionally, Wintermute argued that being outright long #BTC at current levels means betting institutional investors will step back in despite rising Treasury yields and reaccelerating inflation, which may be difficult until markets fully digest the shifting macro backdrop. #macro
🇺🇸🕵️ SEC Ends Zcash Foundation Probe With No Action
The Zcash Foundation announced in its Q1 2026 report that the U.S. SEC has closed its investigation without recommending enforcement action. Despite governance disputes at Electric Coin Company leading to the departure of most of its development team, the Zcash network continued to function normally, with no impact on user funds or privacy. As of March 31, the foundation reported approximately $36.7 million in liquid assets, including 85,412 ZEC, 41.8 BTC, ~506,600 USDC, and a small amount of ETH, with average monthly operating expenses around $272,500. #regulation
The Zcash Foundation announced in its Q1 2026 report that the U.S. SEC has closed its investigation without recommending enforcement action. Despite governance disputes at Electric Coin Company leading to the departure of most of its development team, the Zcash network continued to function normally, with no impact on user funds or privacy. As of March 31, the foundation reported approximately $36.7 million in liquid assets, including 85,412 ZEC, 41.8 BTC, ~506,600 USDC, and a small amount of ETH, with average monthly operating expenses around $272,500. #regulation
📈 President Trump says the rise in gas prices is "peanuts" and "very temporary."
🗣 JPMorgan: ETH Has Lagged BTC on Price and Institutional Flows Since Oct. 2025
JPMorgan stated that ETH and the broader altcoin market may find it challenging to catch up with BTC without a significant rebound in network activity, DeFi adoption, and real-world use cases. Analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou observed that since October 2025 deleveraging, ETH has underperformed BTC in both price and institutional flows, with spot BTC ETFs recovering about two-thirds of prior outflows compared to roughly one-third for spot ETH ETFs.
JPMorgan stated that ETH and the broader altcoin market may find it challenging to catch up with BTC without a significant rebound in network activity, DeFi adoption, and real-world use cases. Analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou observed that since October 2025 deleveraging, ETH has underperformed BTC in both price and institutional flows, with spot BTC ETFs recovering about two-thirds of prior outflows compared to roughly one-third for spot ETH ETFs.
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🗣 $200 billion VanEck’s Matthew Sigel said, "The digital credit market could scale to $2.5 trillion in the next decade as Bitcoin heads toward $1 million."
"I think that’s definitely within reach."
"I think that’s definitely within reach."
🤔 Zerohash Seeks New Funding at Over $1.5 Billion Valuation After Mastercard Drops Investment Plans
Crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash is pursuing a new funding round at a valuation exceeding $1.5 billion. This comes after Mastercard abandoned plans to invest in the company following its $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK. Zerohash was previously valued at $1 billion after completing a $104 million Series D-2 round in September 2025, led by Interactive Brokers. #stablecoin
Crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash is pursuing a new funding round at a valuation exceeding $1.5 billion. This comes after Mastercard abandoned plans to invest in the company following its $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK. Zerohash was previously valued at $1 billion after completing a $104 million Series D-2 round in September 2025, led by Interactive Brokers. #stablecoin
🇺🇸🗣 US Senator Lummis says China and Europe are competing with the US to lead in crypto.