Trading activity across digital assets weakened further in May, as venture capital dealmaking in the sector fell to its lowest level in five years, even while total funding amounts stayed largely unchanged. The pullback in infrastructure and financial‑services projects underscores an accelerating reallocation of capital toward artificial intelligence startups, which now capture an estimated 87% of all venture capital funding in 2026.
Major tokens slide as ai‑linked assets diverge
Core cryptocurrencies came under pressure, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and BNB dropping between 4% and 8% over the past 24 hours. Solana led the declines with an 8.13% fall, touching its weakest level since 2023.
Against that backdrop, the ai‑linked token WLD extended its sharp outperformance. WLD jumped 30.04% on the day and is up about 40% over the past two weeks, ranking first among large‑cap gainers. Market data showed WLD trading at 0.52 USDT, up 33.44% over 24 hours, supported by strong on‑chain metrics, including heightened large‑holder accumulation and daily trading volumes consistently above 800 million USD.
The move highlights a market that is rewarding specific narratives rather than the broader asset class, as traders rotate into ai‑themed tokens while trimming exposure to established names.
HYPE overtakes solana by price, not by size
HYPE, the governance token of derivatives platform Hyperliquid, briefly eclipsed Solana by unit price, hitting an all‑time high of 75.63 USD before easing to 75.08 USD, above Solana’s 71.82 USD.
On a monthly basis, HYPE has advanced roughly 24%, while Solana has lost nearly 14%. The price crossover masks a large gap in scale: Solana’s market capitalization remains near 42 billion USD, compared with about 16 billion USD for HYPE.
Prediction markets hit record as other segments cool
While spot and venture activity in digital assets slows, prediction markets are emerging as a standout growth area. Data from blockchain analytics firm Artemis shows that prediction platform Polymarket notched an all‑time daily trading record of 176 million USD, helping drive a May total of 28.4 billion USD in prediction‑market volume.
Platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi are setting new daily highs as traders seek alternative ways to express macro and event‑driven views amid heightened volatility in traditional spot markets. Kalshi added to the momentum by launching a bitcoin perpetual contract recognized under U.S. commodity laws, the first such regulated product of its kind in the domestic market.
Corporate capital strategies split between de‑risking and accumulation
The broader decline in token prices follows a sharp market‑wide liquidation earlier in June, when more than 1.7 billion USD in leveraged positions were wiped out, briefly pushing Bitcoin below 66,000 USD. The flush has reinforced a risk‑off tone across much of the market.
Even so, some corporate treasuries and digital‑asset enterprises are moving in the opposite direction.
Strive said it is expanding the issuance of its SATA token as part of a plan to acquire roughly 175,000 BTC, a tenfold increase from its current holdings. The firm recently bought an additional 2,500 BTC, bringing its total to 19,000 BTC, financed largely through preferred‑stock issuance that has been raising an average of 8.1 million USD per day.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies is also pressing ahead with capital‑raising plans. The company outlined a 300 million USD offering of 3 million shares of perpetual preferred stock carrying a 9.5% annual dividend, payable weekly. Redemption can begin after 18 months at 110% of par, declining to 100% after three years, with any unpaid dividends due upon redemption. Bitmine plans to deploy part of the proceeds to accumulate more Ethereum, bucking the widespread de‑risking trend.
Early‑stage funding reshuffles toward ai and longevity
Within private markets, digital‑asset venture activity slowed sharply. Monthly deal count in May fell to about 50 transactions, the weakest pace in five years, even as aggregate funding volumes stayed relatively stable. Infrastructure and financial‑services startups bore the brunt of the slowdown, mirroring the rise of ai‑focused enterprises.
In a high‑profile example of that shift, NewLimit, a longevity venture cofounded by Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, closed a 435 million USD Series C round, valuing the company at 3.1 billion USD. Founders Fund led the financing, joined by Abstract Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Valor Equity Partners, among others. The raise underscores how capital is clustering around frontier sectors such as ai and biotech, away from more traditional crypto infrastructure plays.
Stablecoin‑adjacent firms are also drawing selective backing. WasabiCard, a stablecoin payment platform, secured nearly 10 million USD in pre‑A funding from Vision Plus Capital and 01VC to build global infrastructure for programmable payment flows.
U.S. moves toward strategic bitcoin reserve and regulatory clarity
Policy developments in the United States are beginning to reshape expectations for the regulatory and macro backdrop.
Treasury Secretary Bessent told the Senate Finance Committee that the department is advancing plans for a strategic bitcoin reserve and urged lawmakers to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, sometimes referred to as the “Clarity Act,” this summer. The bill has been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar, signaling that formal debate could begin in the near term.
Bessent said Treasury is proceeding with “all deliberate speed” to formalize the reserve framework. The United States currently holds 328,372 BTC, valued at around 215 billion USD, largely from government seizures. A codified reserve strategy could influence market expectations around official sector participation and supply overhangs.
Russia rejects dollar stablecoins, pushes for ruble‑linked options
Internationally, digital‑asset policy is fragmenting further as major economies adopt diverging approaches to stablecoins and sovereign control.
Russia’s Deputy Minister Chebeskov reaffirmed Moscow’s opposition to U.S. dollar‑denominated stablecoins, citing the risk that foreign issuers could freeze assets in response to sanctions or political pressure. Chebeskov called for the development of ruble‑linked alternatives under the supervision of the Russian central bank, a stance that points toward more tightly controlled, sovereign digital money rather than reliance on global stablecoin networks.
The position signals a widening split in global stablecoin policy and may accelerate regional experiments with central bank digital currencies and locally anchored tokens.
Geopolitics adds to macro uncertainty
Geopolitical risk remains an additional overhang for global markets. U.S. officials said talks with Iran remain stalled over mechanisms for compensating Tehran in the event of sanctions relief. Negotiators warned that releasing frozen funds too early could reduce Washington’s leverage in later stages of nuclear discussions, injecting further uncertainty into an already fragile diplomatic track.
Selective themes dominate in a thinning market
Across digital assets, the pattern is one of thinning liquidity and more selective risk‑taking. Broad‑based venture financing for crypto infrastructure has weakened, leveraged positioning has been cut back after June’s liquidation wave, and many large‑cap tokens have retreated.
At the same time, niche themes and products are attracting concentrated flows: ai‑linked tokens such as WLD are outperforming on strong narrative and on‑chain support; prediction platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi are setting volume records; and a subset of corporate treasuries is using preferred‑stock structures to accumulate Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This bifurcated backdrop suggests that capital in 2026 is less willing to underwrite the digital‑asset sector as a whole and is instead targeting specific stories, structures, and jurisdictions that appear best positioned within an increasingly competitive and policy‑driven landscape.
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