The Next Market Era?

GM Anon,

What a week—ETH soared, BTC flirted with $105K, and TradFi couldn’t stay away. Trump’s back on the crypto train, BlackRock’s deepening its DeFi ties, and Solana is on tokenized equities. Meanwhile, macro winds are shifting: PPI cooled, yields climbed, and Jamie Dimon’s still bracing for a recession.

Let’s break it all down.

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TLDR

• ETH surged 50% this week, fueled by ETF momentum and growing staking demand.

• BTC touched $105K, with JPMorgan stating it has more upside than gold.

• Lower-than-expected PPI and a strong S&P 500 rally lifted overall risk sentiment.

• BlackRock integrated BUIDL with Euler and filed for in-kind ETH trust redemptions.

• Solana and SUI ecosystems gained traction, with SUI TVL crossing $2B.

• SEC delayed SOL/LTC ETF reviews, while ADA ETF odds rose to 55%.

• Mastercard and MetaMask developments signaled stablecoin and retail product momentum.

• Memecoins rallied hard, led by WIF (+40%) and DOGE (+9%).

• ETH staking tokens posted strong gains, with stETH, RETH, and RSETH up 10%+.

• Smart money rotated, trimming old winners and accumulating fresh plays on Solana and Ethereum.

Market Updates

This past week has seen a notable convergence of macroeconomic shifts, crypto sector catalysts, and traditional finance developments, reinforcing the market’s transition into a more globally integrated, institutional-driven cycle.

From a macro lens, inflation data came in cooler than expected with the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) showing a softer read—fueling near-term relief for markets already riding a four-day S&P 500 rally.

Futures held steady, with 72% of S&P 500 stocks now trading above their 50-day moving average, indicating broader technical strength. Yet caution lingers, as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon continues to warn of a potential U.S. recession, while global bond yields remain elevated—suggesting that the macro tightening narrative isn’t over. 

Amid this, the UAE revealed plans to invest $1.4 trillion into the U.S. over the next decade, underlining a long-term shift in capital flows and geopolitical alignment.

Crypto continues to absorb these crosscurrent developments. Bitcoin hovered near $105,000 before pulling back, and while institutional flows were mixed—Wisconsin’s Investment Board exited BTC ETF positions—JP Morgan reaffirmed its long-term bullish thesis, suggesting Bitcoin now holds more upside than gold. 

Meanwhile, Ethereum surged 50% this week, clearly outperforming, bolstered by ongoing ETF optimism and staking narrative strength. This was further supported by BlackRock filing for in-kind redemptions on its ETH Trust, a move that could streamline capital flows into spot ETH products if approved.

Institutional momentum is building elsewhere as well. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund integrated with Euler, showcasing early-stage real-world asset strategies. In tandem, VanEck introduced short-term U.S. Treasury offerings, reflecting a growing push toward tokenized TradFi instruments. 

Solana, too, has entered this lane, publishing a new report on tokenized equities while its ecosystem saw DeFi Development Corp scoop up $24M worth of SOL and SUI's total value locked surpass $2 billion, confirming robust activity across alt L1s.

Regulatory shifts continue to stir the waters. The SEC delayed reviews of Grayscale’s SOL and LTC ETFs, while ADA ETF approval odds now sit around 55% for this year—a noticeable increase amid rising institutional interest.

At the same time, the Ethereum Foundation launched a new “1TS” audit initiative, highlighting the growing focus on protocol security and governance infrastructure.

On the product side, Mastercard confirmed it will roll out new stablecoin-backed cards, while MetaMask’s rumored token launch continues to circulate as a potential late-cycle retail driver. USDC also went live on Sonic Labs, expanding its reach, and Ukraine has partnered with Binance to explore a national BTC reserve, aligning digital assets with state-level treasury ambitions.

Still, not all headlines were bullish. Sonic Labs announced the liquidation of the Multichain Foundation, and hackers have demanded $20M after reportedly breaching Coinbase’s data systems. Meanwhile, the SEC is investigating Coinbase for allegedly inflating user metrics, adding to its regulatory overhang.

One final key development: FTX is set to begin its $5 billion repayment distribution on May 30, potentially unlocking significant sidelined capital for the broader market.

In parallel with all this, Donald Trump made headlines reaffirming his pro-crypto stance, declaring the U.S. “ahead of China” and calling himself a “big crypto fan.” It’s the latest in a growing list of political endorsements that could define the upcoming electoral cycle’s impact on digital assets.

Market Data Points

Stablecoin market cap on Hyperliquid surged by 20.56% over the past 7 days, leading all major chains in weekly growth. While Ethereum and Solana saw slight dips, Hyperliquid’s sharp rise reflects accelerating capital inflows and growing confidence in its emerging ecosystem.

Sui is shipping at full throttle—racking up over 21.7K code commits in the past year. Development activity has surged sharply since late 2024, with sustained momentum into 2025. The uptick reflects a builder-heavy ecosystem doubling down on infra, tooling, and app layer expansion.

Weekly DEX volume just exploded past $85B, marking the highest spike in nearly a year—driven largely by a surge in Uniswap activity.

As liquidity rotates back on-chain, Uniswap continues to dominate the landscape, reaffirming its position as the go-to venue for high-volume altcoin and memecoin trading.

Over the past 7 days, Uniswap led DEX activity with $25.36M in fees, while Solana-native platforms like Meteora ($21M), Raydium ($13.74M), and Jupiter ($7.38M) showed strong traction. Notably, Strike Finance—a Cardano-based protocol—generated $18.67M in fees, an impressive showing for an ecosystem often overlooked in fee leaderboards.

Majors & Memes

The past week in crypto has revealed a market leaning decisively into selective risk-taking, where conviction narratives are driving price action across memecoins, DeFi, and Ethereum staking plays.

BTC and ETH continue to anchor the top of the market. BTC held firm above $103K, posting a mild +0.5%, while ETH surged +10.2%, likely fueled by ETF optimism and growing institutional appetite for staking yield. This trend is echoed across Ethereum staking derivatives: Lido Staked Ether (stETH), Rocket Pool ETH (RETH) and Kelp DAO (RSETH) all seeing increased columns. 

While ETH led majors higher, SOL showed signs of cooling, slipping -1.7% despite strong on-chain volume and activity. Still, the Solana meme ecosystem remains red hot—WIF exploded +40.4%, cementing itself as Solana’s breakout memecoin. On the legacy side, DOGE rose +8.8%, benefiting from broader retail flows chasing meme exposure.

Other top 10 tokens reflected a more measured climb. BNB (+1.4%), TRON (+4.7%), and XRP (+2.1%) posted modest gains, while ADA dipped -1.7%, even as its DeFi presence grows through emerging platforms like Strike Finance.

On the DeFi side, RAY spiked +15.4%, leveraging Solana’s liquidity boom, while AAVE climbed +10.2%, quietly regaining user demand. HYPE also notched a +9.7% gain amid increased chatter around its unique perp DEX model.

Beyond Layer 1s and staking assets, Bitget Token (BGB) and Tokenize Xchange (TKX) showed strong weekly performance, indicating continued investor interest in exchange tokens and infrastructure plays. Kaspa (KAS) also joined the leaderboards, appealing to those still bullish on PoW outliers.

Altogether, the top gainers this week highlight a market rotating not just into risk, but into clear narratives: memes for speculative upside, ETH derivatives for structured yield, and core DeFi protocols for real traction.

Mindshare

Over the past 7 days, memecoin market mindshare has been in heavy flux, with a clear shift in attention toward newer narratives and away from some previous frontrunners.

XBT dominated the latter half of the week, surging to the top of the attention stack after May 13. Similarly, buidl maintained strong visibility throughout the week, holding a steady share of attention—an encouraging signal of sticky interest from the community.

Earlier leaders like Fartcoin, STARTUP, and GOONC saw more erratic trends. While Fartcoin maintained intermittent dominance, especially in the first half of the week, its presence faded after May 12. GOONC and STARTUP followed similar trajectories, peaking mid-week before declining into May 15–16, hinting at rotation into fresher plays.

Newer or smaller tokens like BUMP, TWEETDM, USLESS, and Petunia all saw brief but sharp spikes in attention. However, none were able to sustain momentum over multiple days.

Overall, the memecoin mindshare landscape reflects a restless market environment, with attention rapidly rotating across tokens in search of the next breakout. Sustained traction appears limited to a few consistent names like XBT and buidl, while most others are caught in short hype cycles. 

Smart Money Accumulation

Smart money flows across the Solana ecosystem this week reveal a decisive shift in positioning, as whales rotate out of overheated plays and into newer narratives. LAUNCHCOIN remains the top holding by value at $2.78 million, but saw a steep -66.94% drop in smart wallet exposure, suggesting large holders are de-risking after a strong run. GORK followed suit with an -86% reduction, signaling coordinated exits from overstretched positions.

In contrast, fresh capital flowed into names gaining momentum. BUIDL rose +30.06%, pushing its smart money balance to $443.9K, while DUPE climbed +8.72% to $583.3K—both reflecting growing conviction among whales. Several newer entries made the list for the first time this week, including XBT, Petunia, GOONC, and STARTUP, highlighting that smart wallets are actively scouting early-stage opportunities.

Fartcoin remains a top allocation at $2.67M despite a slight -3.67% pullback, showing continued underlying support. Overall, capital rotation is intensifying, with smart money leaning into high-beta bets while trimming older winners. The Solana ecosystem remains a key hunting ground for agile positioning and early alpha.

Smart money flows on Ethereum this week paint a mixed picture, with a clear tilt toward accumulation in select mid-cap tokens while larger names face some outflows. KTA leads all tracked assets by smart wallet value at $794.3K, but saw a sharp -29.19% drop in holdings, suggesting whales are rotating out after significant exposure. Similarly, DOGE fell -40.79% in wallet count, though it still holds a notable $190.2K in value.

On the accumulation side, MOODENG gained +28.57% in smart wallet exposure, signaling fresh conviction behind this established mover. CULT and ALF both posted modest gains (+2.3% and +1.01%, respectively), maintaining sizable balances of $653.8K and $127.7K. QU3 and MorphIS made their first appearance this week, pointing to early smart money interest in under-the-radar plays.

Meanwhile, SHRUB, MOONKIN, and PEPE saw slight reductions in allocation, while still holding enough capital to suggest these positions haven’t been fully abandoned. Overall, Ethereum's smart money flows continue to show a more cautious, selective approach.

That wraps up this post—we hope you found the insights valuable. See you next week, anon! 🚀