Market Overview May 19 – May 25: Bitcoin Breaks ATH, Legal Battles Heat Up – Coincu

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $112,000, briefly overtaking Amazon in market cap. Institutions like Metaplanet and Strategy added thousands of BTC to their balance sheets. Ripple expanded into the UAE, while Kraken launched tokenized stock trading on Solana.

Markets turned cautious as key catalysts approached—Fed speeches, PCE inflation data, and a $13.8B Bitcoin options expiry. Binance Alpha kept the momentum going with six new airdrops under its Alpha program.

Globally, U.S.–China talks resumed, easing some geopolitical tensions. Still, security fears lingered: Coinbase reported a data breach affecting 69,000 users, and Cetus DEX suffered a $220M exploit. Legal pressures also mounted as the SEC targeted Unicoin and Binance fought FTX’s $1.76B claim.

Last week’s Highlights (May 19 – May 25)

The cryptocurrency market has seen major milestones this week, with Bitcoin reaching a new ATH and surpassing Amazon to become the fifth-largest asset globally by market capitalization.

While major players like Metaplanet ( 1,004 BTC) and Strategy (7,390 BTC) made substantial BTC purchases, Strategy faces a class action lawsuit over alleged misleading information.

The regulatory landscape continues to evolve, with the SEC taking action against Unicoin and its executives. Meanwhile, Binance is working to dismiss FTX’s $1.76 billion lawsuit claim, describing it as ‘legally deficient’.

Ripple has made progress in international expansion, officially launching Ripple Payments in the UAE with XRP and RLUSD stablecoin integration.

Security concerns have emerged as a major focus in the crypto space, with two significant incidents making headlines. Coinbase revealed a data breach affecting 69,461 customers from December 2024, while Cetus DEX on Sui blockchain suffered a serious attack resulting in estimated losses of $220-230 million.

Innovation continues to drive the market forward, Kraken’s introduction of xStocks on Solana blockchain represents a significant step forward, enabling users to trade over 50 stocks and Spot ETFs in tokenized form.

Macroeconomic News

The US and China have agreed to maintain communication following talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

Both sides exchanged views on important issues, though specifics were not disclosed. Statements from both parties emphasized the importance of bilateral relations and the need to maintain regular dialogue.

Key economic events this week:

The market will focus on speeches from various Fed regional presidents, May Fed meeting minutes, PCE data – Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, and Bitcoin Options expiry worth $13.8 billion.

Economic Indicators and Market Sentiment

Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new all-time high of $112,000 mid-week before declining after Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on European imports. BTC surpassed Amazon to become the world’s 6th largest asset by market capitalization—marking its highest ranking ever.

During this period of market volatility, Binance energized the market through multiple airdrops. Between May 19-25, Binance Alpha released six airdrops from projects: Xterio (XTER), Tokyo Games (TGT), Merlin Chain (MERL), Huma Finance (HUMA), Soon (SOON), and SOPH (Sophon).