Market pulse (19 May 2025)
Broad pull-back: Total market cap slid ≈ 3.3 % over the weekend to $3.36 T as traders took profits after the post-halving rally.
Still plenty of fresh money: U.S. crypto investment products booked a fifth straight week of inflows, lifting 2025 YTD inflows above $7.5 B.
Regulation & policy
SEC rule-making on deck: Newly installed Chair Paul Atkins says the agency will draft explicit token-classification rules and ease broker-dealer access to spot BTC/ETH trading.
EU finance ministers meet tomorrow (20 May) to vote on MiCA-2 “staking passports,” which could open cross-border staking pools for retail investors (watch for headlines).
Security
Coinbase breach fallout: The exchange estimates the cost of its 6 May social-engineering attack could top $400 M and is offering a $20 M bounty for intel on the hackers.
Trading flow & sentiment
Futures data show a shift from ADA & $ETH toward XRP longs ahead of Ripple’s ‘Wave’ network upgrade slated for late-Q3.
Despite the dip, $BTC is holding above $100 K and just logged its highest weekly close ever, buoyed by continued corporate treasury buys.
What to watch next
1. Details of the SEC’s draft token framework (public comment window expected within 30 days).
2. Tomorrow’s MiCA-2 vote in Brussels; a “yes” could spark a short-term alt-season pop.
3. BTC miner revenue report (due 21 May) — a gauge of post-halving stress on smaller operators.