Jerome Powell will continue leading the Federal Reserve as chair pro tempore after his chair term ended Friday and Kevin Warsh has not yet taken the oath of office. Warsh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 13 by a 54-45 vote, and the Fed said on May 15 the leadership change is not finalized until the swearing-in occurs.

Bitcoin falling below $80,000 has eroded some of the optimism that followed the Senate Banking Committee's CLARITY Act markup on Thursday. May 12 CPI data showed headline inflation at 3.8% YoY and core CPI at 2.8%, which analysts argue could weigh on risk sentiment across BTC, Ethereum, and Solana. The Fed's benchmark rate remains 3.5% to 3.75% after three straight meetings, with markets pricing about a 30% chance of a hike by year-end.

Bitcoin spot ETFs returned to net inflows on Thursday, adding $131.31 million as BlackRock's IBIT brought in $144.10 million and total trading volume reached $2.76 billion. Ether ETFs stayed negative for a fourth session with $5.65 million in outflows, while XRP and Solana ETF products posted $18.25 million and $6.51 million in inflows, respectively.

Huang Licheng (known as "Machi Big Brother") reportedly closed most of his leveraged long positions in Ethereum and Bitcoin, booking losses close to $32 million. According to on-chain tracking data compiled by KuCoin, the drawdown was above $30 million as the positions were unwound, while he was said to still hold about 6,800 ETH after exiting BTC and other longs.

Zcash (ZEC) pulled back below $550 on Friday morning after topping $570 on May 14, dipping to around $530 with intraday lows near $532. Derivatives activity stayed heavy, with spot volume near $256 million and futures volume above $2.7 billion. The setup remains constructive if $500 holds, while a break lower could put $450 and then $370 in focus.

U.S. Treasury yields rose Friday morning after a volatile week of inflation readings as markets assessed policy under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. The 30-year yield increased 8.6 basis points to just under 5.1%, while the 10-year moved to 4.55% and the 2-year reached 4.06%. Inflation and energy-price pressures, along with fiscal and global bond-market moves, were also in focus.

Binance removed Automata (ATA), Harvest Finance (FARM), Enzyme (MLN), Phoenix (PHB), and Syscoin (SYS) earlier this week, followed by double-digit declines in several of the tokens. XRP briefly touched $1.55 on May 14 before easing to $1.47, up 6% on the week, while ADA rose 2% to $0.26 as analysts highlighted $0.25 support and floated higher price targets.

On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee approved the Digital Asset Clarity Act by a 15-9 vote, and crypto markets reacted quickly. Bitcoin touched $81,965 before pulling back, while Coinbase rose 9.10%, MicroStrategy gained 8.16%, and Robinhood added 6.16%. The move also coincided with more than $250 million in short liquidations within four hours.