Bitcoin Loses Key Support Levels, HYPE Sets New ATH, Markets Brace for New Fed Chair: Weekly Recap

Aside from HYPE, the other two big weekly gainers are NEAR and VVV.

Perhaps the most anticipated financial and economic event is just hours away, as the US Federal Reserve will have a new Chairman after more than eight years under Jerome Powell.

But, before we explore the seventeenth chair of the financial institution, let’s rewind the clock for a week and review what happened in the last seven days through the eyes of bitcoin (and a few alts). The primary cryptocurrency jumped past $82,000 at the end of the previous business week after the CLARITY Act made progress in the US Senate, but it was quickly rejected and had lost the $80,000 support by Friday evening.

It dipped further on Saturday to under $78,000 before it calmed at around that level on Sunday. Another couple of leg downs followed at the beginning of the business week, driving the asset south to its lowest price level since early May at $76,000.

This meant that the cryptocurrency had lost over $6,000 in 4-5 days. After this substantial retracement, bitcoin rebounded slightly and tapped $78,000 on Thursday. However, the predominantly bearish market structure and sentiment were too strong, and BTC was halted there, currently struggling to remain above $77,000.

A major market shift is expected to unfold soon, as the financial industry has braced for a change in Fed leadership. As reported earlier, the Kevin Warsh era begins today, but analysts from XWIN Research Japan outlined certain risks and on-chain signals that could be more important to BTC’s short-term price moves than the new Fed chair stepping in.

Consequently, BTC ends the week in the red, similar to most larger-cap alts. However, HYPE has stolen the show as it painted a new all-time high above $62 following a mind-blowing 43% weekly surge. ZEC, NEAR, ONDO, and VVV complete the double-digit price gainers club.

Market Data

Cryptocurrency Market Overview Weekly May 22. Source: QuantifyCrypto

Market Cap: $2.666T | 24H Vol: $76B | BTC Dominance: 58%

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Bitcoin Pizza Day 2026: Commemorating Crypto’s First Real-World Transaction. It wouldn’t be May 22 without celebrating what became known as the International Bitcoin Pizza Day. On this date 16 years ago, Floridian programmer and early BTC adopter Laszlo Hanyecz ordered two pizzas from Papa John’s and paid with 10,000 BTC. This was one of the first (if not the very first) documented Bitcoin transactions, and the rest is history, as they say.

Bitcoin’s Biggest Holders Are Accumulating Again: What Are Whales Preparing For? Bitcoin wallets holding at least 100 units continue to accumulate, as new data from Santiment Intelligence explained that this cohort of investors has grown to 20,229. This is an 11.2% increase since the 18,191 wallets recorded this time last year.

XRP Futures on CME One Year Later: $63B in Trading Volume and Counting. This week marked the first anniversary of XRP futures going live on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The veteran platform celebrated the event by highlighting impressive figures, including trading volume and the number of contracts bought and sold.

Trump-Linked Truth Social Suddenly Pulls Crypto ETF, Analyst Doubts Reasoning Behind Exit. The media conglomerate linked to the First Family pulled out of the crypto ETF race, arguing that it had filed under the Securities Act of 1933 instead of the Investment Company Act of 1940. However, analysts were not convinced that was the real reason the entity exited the ETF space.

Saylor’s Strategy Reloads With a New Multi-Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Purchase. Following a couple of more modest BTC purchases, the Saylor-founded bitcoin accumulator announced its most significant buy in a long time. It splashed over $2 billion to acquire 24,869 BTC and increased its stash to a whopping 843,738 units.

Iran Reportedly Launches Bitcoin-Based Shipping Insurance for Hormuz Passage. Reports emerged earlier this week indicating that Iran had launched a Bitcoin-based shipping insurance for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This was a different initiative than the one outlined last month, which asked passing ships to pay up to $2 million in BTC.