AI, PRIVACY AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLAYS ARE LEADING THE MARKET AGAIN
US markets reopen today after the long Memorial Day weekend, with crypto already becoming the primary focus over the past several sessions as geopolitical headlines, oil volatility and altcoin rotation continue driving sentiment.
At the same time, the broader crypto market still looks surprisingly cautious despite improving momentum across multiple sectors. The Fear & Greed Index currently remains near 39 while the Altcoin Season Index still sits around 36, reinforcing how sentiment remains relatively defensive even as capital quietly rotates.
Bitcoin continues consolidating around the 76–77K region, while total crypto market capitalization stabilizes near $2.56 trillion. For now, the market appears to be in a rotation phase, with sentiment yet to fully turn bullish again.
THE MARKET IS FAVORING USAGE AND FEES AGAIN
Altcoins tied to AI, privacy and infrastructure continue showing some of the strongest momentum across the market. The AI sector continues outperforming as traders rotate back toward decentralized compute, intent systems and scalable infrastructure narratives.
Near Intents has now generated more than:
• $21 billion in trading volume
• $39.8 million in fees
Over the past month alone:
• NEAR fees climbed roughly 50%
• While the token itself surged nearly 80%
The move increasingly reinforces how markets are beginning to reward protocols showing actual product-market fit and sustainable usage growth rather than pure speculative hype alone.
Privacy narratives are also rapidly gaining momentum again.
SUI is now testing private stablecoin transaction functionality designed to reveal only essential transaction details between counterparties, reinforcing the broader trend toward privacy-focused payment infrastructure across crypto ecosystems. From a price action perspective, the token recently reclaimed its 100-day moving average while attempting to stabilize above the $1 psychological region. If momentum continues strengthening, the next major level to watch sits near the 200-day moving average around the $1.32 region.
SPECULATIVE POSITIONING CONTINUES BUILDING
Whale positioning across crypto derivatives also continues leaning increasingly risk-on underneath the surface. Recent onchain data shows large traders aggressively building long exposure in both LINK and DOGE while continuing to place additional limit orders below current market prices.
DOGE continues showing signs of gradual structural recovery after months of heavy downside pressure. Price recently reclaimed its 100-day moving average near the $0.098 region while continuing to hold above key local support around $0.088.
If broader speculative appetite across crypto continues improving, DOGE could attempt another breakout toward the 200-day moving average, which currently sits slightly above the $0.116-$0.12 range.
XRP continues consolidating near the lower end of its multi-month range while broader market sentiment around the asset remains heavily negative.
Recent social sentiment data shows the ratio of bullish-to-bearish XRP commentary has now fallen toward historically pessimistic levels, a zone that has often acted as a contrarian signal during previous market cycles as weak hands exit positioning.
Currently trading below both its 100-day and 200-day moving averages after failing multiple breakout attempts earlier this year. However, price also continues holding major support near the $1.30 region while volatility compresses inside a tightening consolidation structure.
If broader altcoin momentum continues improving and sentiment begins reversing from current fear levels, watch $1.54 region as the next major breakout level, with the 200-day moving average near $1.67 becoming the larger upside target afterward.
THE PERP DEX NARRATIVE CONTINUES EXPANDING
Hyperliquid continues emerging as one of the most important structural stories across the crypto market. The platform recently launched canonical prediction markets tied to offchain events, allowing validator-operated newsfeed systems to participate directly in market deployment and settlement decisions.
At the same time, Hyperliquid’s market share continues expanding aggressively beyond just decentralized exchanges.
Recent data now shows:
• Hyperliquid accounts for roughly 6.1% of all global perpetual futures volume across both centralized and decentralized exchanges
• Perp volume is now running at roughly 14% of Binance’s volume
• 31% of OKX’s
• And more than 52% of Bybit’s
Every one of these metrics continues trending higher. The broader move increasingly resembles a structural shift toward crypto-native financial infrastructure rather than a temporary speculative cycle.
BITCOIN MARKET STRUCTURE REMAINS MIXED
Bitcoin network activity has now cooled significantly over the last two weeks, with active addresses falling nearly 40% from roughly 821,000 down toward 494,000.
Historically, this type of consolidation alongside declining network activity often suggests short-term speculative noise is leaving the ecosystem while stronger long-term holders absorb supply underneath the surface. The last two weeks marked some of the largest ETF outflow periods since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, yet BTC price continues holding relatively stable despite the selling pressure.
Strategy also chose to buy bonds instead of Bitcoin this week despite still holding more than 843,000 BTC on its balance sheet, suggesting some institutional participants may be becoming more selective even while broader crypto sentiment improves again.
Bitcoin continues consolidating below the major $80K resistance region after failing to reclaim its 200-day moving average near $80K. Despite recent volatility, BTC continues holding a broader higher-low structure since bottoming near $64K, suggesting the current move still resembles consolidation rather than a full trend breakdown.
The $72K-$73K region remains key support, while a clean breakout above the $80K-$81K region would likely reopen momentum toward higher liquidity zones again.
MACRO MARKETS REMAIN TRAPPED BETWEEN DEAL OPTIMISM AND ESCALATION RISK
The US reportedly conducted strikes inside Iran while CENTCOM framed the operations as “self-defense” after Iranian vessels allegedly attempted to lay naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, officials continue insisting a deal may still be possible within days, with negotiations now reportedly centered around sanctions and nuclear restrictions.
This has created an extremely unstable market environment. Oil initially collapsed below $89 on optimism surrounding a possible agreement before quickly reversing higher again after reports of additional airstrikes inside Iran emerged.
The current setup increasingly resembles a market aggressively pricing optimism before actual stability exists underneath the surface.
WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Key events include:
• PCE inflation data Thursday
• Q1 GDP numbers Thursday
• Dell earnings Thursday
For now, crypto markets continue behaving as if speculative appetite is returning faster than macro certainty itself.
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