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Donald Trump defended a diplomatic process on Iran during a tense call with Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly criticized the proposed agreement. Donald Trump said he would keep pushing for a deal to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Donald Trump also warned that Iran may face a new round of strikes if negotiations do not show greater flexibility.

Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed officials expect elevated energy prices to keep pushing overall inflation higher in the near term and delay a return to the 2% target. Participants said tariff effects on core goods inflation may fade this year, but some warned tariff rates could rise further and increase upside inflation risk. Officials also said prolonged conflict in the Middle East, higher commodity costs, and supply chain disruption could keep inflation elevated longer than previously expected.

Morgan Stanley Global Head of Technology M&A Wally Cheng said AI mergers and acquisitions are expanding across private and public companies as firms try to close technology gaps. Cheng said semiconductors have drawn attention, but networking, storage, electricity, and real estate around AI infrastructure also hold significant value.

Julio Moreno said Bitcoin is showing a pattern similar to March 2022, with CryptoQuant's Bull Score Index falling to 20 in what the firm calls extremely bearish territory. Moreno said Bitcoin failed near the 200-day moving average around $82,400, ETF flows turned net negative, and spot demand kept weakening.

CME FedWatch showed a 54.1% chance of a rate hike at the December 2026 FOMC meeting on May 20, while Bitcoin traded around $77,300. Farside Investors data showed U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs lost $648.6 million on May 18 and $331.1 million on May 19, alongside higher Treasury yields and a stronger dollar.

Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States and Iran are drafting a letter of intent that both sides could sign, Axios reported, citing anonymous sources. Axios said the reported text would launch 30 more days of negotiations covering an end to hostilities, Iran's nuclear program, and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

CryptoQuant Head of Research Julio Moreno said Bitcoin failed to break its 200-day moving average at $82,400 and then fell to $76,000, resembling the early bear-market phase in March 2022. Moreno said spot ETFs turned to net outflows and the Coinbase Premium turned negative, which he described as a negative price signal.

U.S. Treasury sanctioned two Sinaloa Cartel-linked networks and six Ethereum addresses tied to crypto-facilitated fentanyl trafficking. Treasury said Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles allegedly converted cash into cryptocurrency for transfer to the cartel. Treasury said Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix allegedly moved drug-trade proceeds via blockchain. One address ending in e27cb sent $894 in USDT on April 27 after more than a year without transactions.

Hyperliquid's HYPE token rose above $50 on Wednesday for the first time since September. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said the market is undervaluing Hyperliquid and estimated the platform is generating $800 million to $1 billion in annualized revenue. The rally also followed Trade.xyz launching a synthetic SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual on Hyperliquid and recent HYPE fund launches from 21Shares and Bitwise.