MARKETS week ahead: May 24 – 30Crypto Total Market Cap, $CRYPTOCAP:TOTALXBTFXLast week in the news Rising oil prices once again weighed on investors sentiment on financial markets. The “higher for longer” interest rates expectations pushed again 10Y yields toward higher grounds, shortly testing the 4,68% level. Strongly rising yields increased demand for the US Dollar, pressuring prices of gold, which closed the week at $4.508. Equity markets are still holding grounds, however, the S&P 500 pulled back on Friday, closing the week at 7.473. Risky assets also continue to be under pressure amid unsecure macro outlook, with BTC modestly pulling back toward the $75K. The past week saw a relatively quiet U.S. macroeconomic calendar, with limited new data releases. However, the FOMC meeting minutes highlighted growing concern among policymakers that inflation could remain above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for longer than previously anticipated, driven in part by higher energy prices and ongoing geopolitical risks. While interest rates were left unchanged, more officials indicated they may support additional hikes if inflation proves persistent, even as some still see room for rate cuts later in the year should economic conditions weaken. Kevin Warsh has been officially sworn in as the new Chair of the Federal Reserve, marking a leadership transition at a critical moment for U.S. monetary policy. His appointment comes as inflation remains elevated and energy-driven price pressures continue to complicate the outlook for interest rates. Markets are closely watching his policy stance, as Warsh is widely expected to take a more inflation-focused approach while emphasizing central bank independence. His early decisions will be key in shaping expectations for future Fed rate moves and broader financial market direction. Qualcomm’s stock gained attention this week as investors increasingly priced in the company’s transition toward AI-driven devices and edge computing opportunities, rather than relying solely on its traditional smartphone chip business. Market sentiment has been supported by growing optimism around demand for AI-enabled consumer electronics, as well as Qualcomm’s expanding role in next-generation connected devices and automotive applications. The move reflects a broader re-rating of semiconductor stocks, with investors focusing on future AI device adoption and long-term earnings potential rather than near-term handset cycles. At the same time, strong trading activity across chipmakers highlights continued appetite for exposure to the AI infrastructure and device ecosystem. Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest increased its exposure to AI chip startup Cerebras Systems while reducing its stake in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), signaling a continued rotation within the semiconductor sector. The trades reflect ongoing portfolio rebalancing toward newer AI infrastructure names following recent strength in large-cap chipmakers. CRYPTO MARKET A weaker week is behind the crypto market, with selling pressure remaining present across most major assets and the broader market continuing its corrective phase. Market sentiment remained cautious, as the majority of cryptocurrencies ended the week in negative territory, although a few selective names managed to deliver notable gains. Total crypto market capitalization decreased by 3,3% w/w, with a loss of $86B in total market cap. Daily trading volumes remained relatively stable, around $120B on a daily basis. Total market capitalization since the beginning of this year currently stands in a negative territory of -15%, with a total outflow of -$443B. BTC and ETH once again set the tone for the market. Bitcoin declined by 3.9% on a weekly basis, while Ethereum posted a steeper 6.1% w/w loss, extending the weakness among the largest cryptocurrencies. XRP also moved lower by 6.1%, while Litecoin declined 6.2%. Other major assets such as Cardano and Solana fell 5.8% and 3.2%, respectively, reflecting broad-based market softness. On the positive side, several assets managed to outperform despite the generally negative market environment. Hyperliquid stood out with an impressive 32.8% weekly surge, marking the strongest performance among the majors. ONDO also posted a strong gain of 16.5%, while Zcash advanced by 16.0%. Additional upside was recorded by DASH (+6.0%) and Algorand (+3.5%), providing selective pockets of strength across the market. Among the largest negative weekly movers, DOGE recorded the sharpest decline, falling 17.7% w/w, making it the weakest performer among major tracked assets. OMG Network declined 10.6%, while additional weakness was visible in XRP (-6.1%) and LINK (-4.9%), highlighting continued pressure across large-cap and mid-cap assets. Outside of the majors, several assets delivered strong weekly performance despite the broader market weakness. NEAR Protocol led with a 56.6% weekly gain, followed by Venice Token which advanced by 34.0% and Worldcoin posted a 22.0% rise w/w, highlighting continued investor interest in selected higher-momentum assets. Circulating supply changes remained relatively limited this week. Filecoin recorded the largest increase in circulating supply at 0.2% w/w, alongside DASH with the same 0.2% increase. Stellar and Zcash both posted 0.1% increases. Hyperliquid also continued to show a modest 0.1% decrease in circulating supply. A notable supply contraction was visible in DOGE, where circulating supply dropped by 9.2%, making it the most significant supply change during the week. CRYPTO FUTURES MARKET Bitcoin futures extended their downside move this week, recording another broad-based decline across the curve. The May 2026 maturity fell by 4.34% w/w, settling at $75,775. Similar losses were observed across subsequent maturities, with weekly declines ranging between 4.13% and 4.35%, indicating a highly synchronized downward move. The June 2026 maturity registered the largest decline at 4.35%, while the December 2027 contract closed at $82,460, down 4.34% on the week. The consistency of losses across maturities points to a parallel downward shift in the Bitcoin futures curve, suggesting continued broad-based risk reduction. Ether futures also remained under pressure and once again underperformed Bitcoin, posting more pronounced losses across the term structure. The May 2026 contract settled at $2,062, declining 7.33% w/w. Weekly losses across the curve ranged narrowly between 7.25% and 7.33%, highlighting a highly uniform correction. Longer-dated maturities also weakened materially, with the December 2027 maturity closing at $2,262, down 7.26% on the week. Overall, the week reflected a continuation of risk-off sentiment across crypto futures markets, with both Bitcoin and Ether futures experiencing another synchronized correction. Ether maintained its pattern of higher downside sensitivity relative to Bitcoin, while both futures curves continued to preserve their contango structure. Although near-term sentiment weakened further, deferred maturities still trade at progressively higher price levels, indicating that longer-term expectations remain comparatively more constructive than current market conditions.