Friday Forecasts
Your weekly intelligence wrap from the decentralized frontier
Market Pulse
Cardano Crypto Price Faces Dip as Whales Accumulate and ETF Hopes Rise
Cardano (ADA), the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is navigating a period of price volatility, trading at $0.7597 on May 18, 2025, down 1.38% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Despite this decline, significant whale accumulation and growing speculation about a potential U.S. SEC-approved Cardano ETF are fueling optimism for a breakout. This article explores the latest developments driving Cardano crypto price, including whale activity, technical analysis, and the broader market context, while providing a factual and transparent overview.
Ethereum Price Gained 90% The Last Time This Indicator Turned Bullish
Ether ETH $2,565 price is consolidating between $2,400 and $2,750 on its daily chart, forming a bull flag pattern with sights on the $3,000 to $3,100 resistance zone. A bull flag is a continuation pattern that follows a sharp rally (black flagpole) to $2,730 from $1,900, with the current range forming the flag.
A bullish breakout above $2,600 could target $3,600, which is calculated by adding the flagpole height to the breakout point, but the immediate key area of interest remains between the resistance range at $3,100-$3,000.
Bitcoin Overtakes Amazon as the Fifth Largest Asset, Hitting $2.16T Market Cap
Bitcoin BTC $106,546.31 became the world’s fifth-largest asset after hitting a new all-time high on Wednesday, which pushed its market cap to $2.16 trillion.
Though the crypto’s price consolidated lower after hitting a high of $109,400, its market cap passed Amazon (AMZN), which stands at $2.15 trillion.
Narratives to Watch
Blackstone Finally Bets On Bitcoin — But Just Barely
Blackstone looks to have finally rolled the dice on Bitcoin. But it doesn’t look like the investment giant is anywhere close to taking the world’s largest With more than $1 trillion in assets under management, Blackstone considers itself to be the “world’s largest alternative asset manager” and yet it only bought a bit more than $1 million worth of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, a fund worth over $60 billion, according to filing published Tuesday.
While BlackRock’s Bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund, ticker symbol IBIT, is by far the market’s most popular ETF that tracks the price of Bitcoin, it doesn’t appear Blackstone is ready to commit significant capital to investing in digital assets. Blackstone’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission from Tuesday reflects some of investments the firm was managing up until the end of the fiscal quarter ending March 30.
$360,000,000,000 Asset Manager Says US Government Bonds No Longer Working As Hedge Against Risky Assets: Report
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) reportedly says that US Treasuries are no longer an effective hedge against risk assets, creating a new demand for diversification.
KKR, which had over $360 billion in assets under management as of the end of last year, says government bonds have ceased to act as “shock absorbers” for investors, Bloomberg
“During risk off days, government bonds are no longer fulfilling their role as the ‘shock absorbers’ in a traditional portfolio…
️Protocol Watch
XRP Wiggles Into UAE Banks, Ripple’s Dubai License Takes a Bow
After scoring the regulatory license in Dubai, Ripple’s network has now charmed two United Arab Emirates based banks for full integration. As per Ripple’s official statement, the leading blockchain infrastructure provider for business is expanding their range with Zand Bank & Mamo, two major banks located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
XRP Assists UAE In Hosting 1 Million Businesses
Previously, Ripple Payments network bagged the regulatory license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), enabling end-to-end payment settlement in a matter of minutes. With the move, Zand Bank & Mamo aims to reduce friction to a dramatically low level while making the transactions as cost-effective as possible.
Ripple Reportedly Offers Xrp And Cash In Pursuit Of Circle Acquisition
Ripple is pursuing opportunities to expand its presence in the stablecoin market, with reports indicating a substantial offer of $4 billion to $5 billion to acquire Circle Internet Financial, the entity behind USDC.
Although the initial bid was turned down for being “too low”, insiders reveal that Ripple is persevering, fueled by a substantial XRP reserve surpassing $100 billion. This reserve includes $11.7 billion in liquid XRP and a staggering $95.7 billion secured in escrow. Any potential future proposal from Ripple is likely to involve a combination of cash and XRP tokens.
Microsoft Adds Real-Time Blockchain Data To Fabric Through Space And Time Integration
Microsoft is integrating new blockchain data feeds into its Fabric analytics platform through a partnership with crypto startup Space and Time Labs (SXT), which a Microsoft venture unit has previously backed.
According to an announcement on Tuesday, Space and Time will provide Fabric users with “real-time, verifiable” data feeds for Bitcoin, Sui, and Ethereum in the Microsoft Azure OneLake platform, a kind of “OneDrive for data” that provides a single cloud storage account.
Regulatory Radar
Ukraine Reportedly Develops A Law For The First National Bitcoin Reserve In Europe
Ukraine is preparing to launch the first national Bitcoin reserve in Europe, collaborating with Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
This move places Kyiv at the forefront of state adoption of cryptocurrencies amid war and financial pressure.
Brazil Fintech Gets Approval To Become A Bitcoin Treasury Company
Méliuz’s executive chairman says his fintech firm has become Brazil’s first publicly-traded Bitcoin treasury company following shareholder approval, with the firm also announcing it bought $28.4 million worth of Bitcoin to add to its existing stack.
“Historic day! Our shareholders have approved, by a wide majority, the transformation of Méliuz into the first Bitcoin Treasury Company listed in Brazil,” Israel Salmen posted to X on May 15.
Moonrig Perspective
Markets are maturing — and so are narratives.
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