Jerome Powell’s second four-year term as U.S. Federal Reserve chair ended on May 15, and the Fed said he will remain in a temporary capacity until Kevin Warsh is sworn in while also staying on the Board of Governors through January 2028. Analysts said sticky inflation and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty could weigh on liquidity and limit Bitcoin and broader crypto upside into the next policy decision expected in mid-June.

CryptoQuant's Bull-Bear Market Cycle Indicator turned green on May 12, 2026, its first positive reading since March 2023, with Bitcoin trading near $81,000. Analysts say $82,000 remains the key resistance zone, while on-chain and ETF-flow data are being watched for confirmation that the correction phase has eased.

Bit Digital reported a net loss of $146.7 million for Q1 2026 while increasing its ether position to 155,444 ETH, valued at about $327 million at quarter-end. The company said ETH staking generated $2.3 million in revenue during the quarter, while bitcoin mining revenue fell 33% to $3.7 million as it continued shifting toward Ethereum treasury management and AI infrastructure.

USDC circulation declined by about $1.7 billion over the past seven days, reducing the amount of the Circle-managed stablecoin available across supported blockchains. The move implies that redemptions exceeded fresh issuance during the week, a dynamic that can affect how much readily deployable liquidity is available for trading and DeFi activity.

On May 16, 2026, Ethereum (ETH) traded around $2,193, down 3% on the day as price sat at the lower edge of a descending 4-hour channel. The daily MA50 at $2,254 has shifted from support to resistance, while Ali Charts highlighted potential rebound levels at $2,280 and $2,390 if buying pressure appears near the channel bottom.

Bitcoin fell nearly 3% in the past 24 hours to around $78,300, while Ethereum slid about 3% to below $2,200 as the broader crypto market cap dipped to roughly $2.61 trillion. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged about $290 million in net outflows on May 15, with major withdrawals concentrated in BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC. XRP-related ETF products recorded net inflows of more than $7 million, helping XRP hold up better than many large-cap tokens.

Ethereum has remained capped near the $2,400 resistance since March, with price trading below key long-term averages such as the 200DMA and 200WMA. Despite Ethereum Total Value Staked rising since the start of 2026, several signals—including a weekly TD Sequential sell setup and a prior rejection near the $2,036 realized price—suggest downside risk may persist.

On 16 May 2026 at 10:52, several on-chain indicators were cited as suggesting Bitcoin's current pullback is historically mild, with relative unrealized loss near 0.2 and adjusted MVRV still in a bull zone. Separate data also shows short-term holder whale unrealized P&L recovering toward breakeven after reaching roughly -$8 billion, a setup that could influence whether selling pressure eases or returns.