Cryptocurrencies lost roughly $80 billion in market capitalization over the past 24 hours after fresh U.S. military strikes on Iran rattled investors, reigniting fears of a broader regional conflict resuming. Bitcoin fell below $73,000, dropping more than 3.5% to around $72,640, its weakest level since early April, while Ethereum slid more than 4% to below the key $2,000 level at around $1,980 as traders pulled back from risk assets. The sell-off also triggered nearly $1 billion in liquidations across leveraged crypto positions, deepening losses across major digital assets, according to Coinglass data. Spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. logged a tenth consecutive day of outflows on Friday, with $2.97 billion drained between May 15 and May 29, breaking the previous record of eight consecutive outflow sessions set in early 2025, as reported by SoSoValue data. Total net assets across U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs fell from $104.29 billion on May 15 to $94.17 billion by Friday, with the streak headlined by a $733 million single-day exit on May 27, the largest since January. Ether ETFs are running an even longer 14-session outflow streak, with roughly $2.6 billion drained from net assets over the same window.
Despite the crypto selloff, global equities hit fresh records on Monday as the MSCI All Country World Index gained 0.2% and Asian equities advanced 1.1% to an all-time high, with bellwether tech indexes in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan all setting records, according to Bloomberg reports. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6% after Nvidia said it would enter the Windows laptop market in direct competition with Intel and AMD, while SoftBank Group jumped as much as 11% on its OpenAI and Arm holdings, putting the Japanese conglomerate on track to become the country's most valuable listed company. However, Brent crude climbed above $93 a barrel as efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz showed little progress and Middle East tensions stayed elevated, sending Treasuries lower across the curve. Crypto failed to track the equity rally, with Bitcoin falling 4.6% over the past seven days to $73,397, ether (ETH) losing the same 4.6% to $1,996, solana (SOL) declining 3.7% to $81.89 and TRON's TRX dropping 3.7% according to CoinDesk data.
Despite the ETF outflows, on-chain data reveals that whales and long-term holders are showing signs of accumulation. According to Santiment, the supply held by ETH whales excluding exchanges climbed from 124.15 million ETH on May 1 to 125.17 million currently, representing over $2 billion in steady accumulation. The Glassnode Hodler Net Position Change metric, which tracks mid-to-long-term holder accumulation, has stayed green continuously since February 24 and has grown in size since mid-May. This contrasts sharply with February 2026, when hodler conviction broke and ETH fell 19.6% that month, suggesting long-term holders may be treating this drawdown as a buying opportunity rather than a panic exit. The current drawdown from recent highs is well within the historical envelope, with Bitcoin having corrected 20%+ in every prior bull market without invalidating the long-term trend. BIT noted that the combined net buying amount for ETFs and strategies has declined to just $870 million, primarily due to significant outflows from ETFs, which have shifted from net buying to net selling.
Bitcoin remains below the Bollinger Band midline near $2,169, showing short-term weakness because price has not reclaimed the central range. As reported by crypto.news, ETH is trading close to the lower Bollinger Band near $1,957, which now acts as a key support zone. A break below this level would show stronger downside pressure and could expose lower price levels. The RSI stands near 29.69, below its moving average near 36.02, confirming weak momentum and seller control, though the low RSI also means ETH is close to oversold territory where short-term relief bounces can form if buyers return. The current price action shows falling prices on rising volume, which is the textbook signature of distribution rather than capitulation. A developing hidden bullish divergence between price and the Relative Strength Index gives the rebound case its only technical support, with the pattern and divergence agreeing on short-term direction but disagreeing on magnitude. Glassnode tweeted that at a price of $76,000, approximately 7.75 million BTC are underwater, representing a structural characteristic of bear markets.
The lone bright spot in digital assets was Hyperliquid's HYPE token and its new U.S. spot ETF, which have attracted steady inflows and outperformed the wider crypto market. The token gained 18.7% over the past seven days to $73.17 and the U.S. spot HYPE ETF, which launched May 12, has logged inflows in every single trading session since, lifting cumulative net assets above $122 million by Friday. This contrasts sharply with the broader crypto market decline, where Bitcoin fell 4.6% over the past seven days and Ethereum lost the same 4.6% to $1,996. The sustained inflows into HYPE ETF represent a rare positive development in an otherwise challenging environment for digital assets, with the token's performance suggesting selective investor interest in specific projects despite the broader market headwinds.
