Technical Analysis

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair on May 22, completing the leadership handoff after Jerome Powell's chair term ended May 15. The FOMC also unanimously chose Warsh to lead its rate-setting committee, following Senate confirmations on May 12 and May 13 that set his chair term through May 21, 2030, and his Board term through Jan. 31, 2040.

Bitcoin is trading below $80,000 and hovering around the $77,000 area after failing to hold above a recent $82,000 high. XWIN Research Japan argues that Kevin Warsh's takeover as Federal Reserve Chair could shift the policy backdrop and points to the Coinbase Premium, exchange netflows, and leverage conditions as early indicators of how institutional demand and risk appetite may react.

A TradingView-based technical view says Bitcoin remains capped by an upper trendline that has repeatedly rejected rebound attempts, keeping bullish momentum muted. The same resistance aligns with Fibonacci retracement levels, and analysts say continued failure to break higher could reopen the risk of a move below $60,000.

On May 22, XRP traded at $1.3539 and slipped below the rising daily trendline that had held since the late-March lows. Open interest climbed to 433.77M (+0.12%) while the NVT Ratio rose to 218.12 (+26.81%), a mix some analysts associate with higher long-squeeze risk if price fails to reclaim nearby moving-average resistance around $1.396–$1.398.

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) rose 34% in the last 24 hours to $2.32, extending its 50% gain over seven days as AI-themed tokens rallied. Trading activity climbed, with 24-hour volume up 190% to $1.15 billion and short liquidations totaling $9.85 million after price pushed above $2.30. Traders are watching resistance at $2.60-$3.0, while a bullish wedge breakout points to $5.75 if that zone is cleared.

Bitcoin was last seen around $77.3k at the end of the week, continuing a consolidation that has lasted nearly two weeks inside the $75k–$80k range. Price structure remains supported by an ascending channel and a $75k demand zone, while reclaiming $80k is highlighted as a key step for a stronger bullish case. Funding rates have flipped back to a modest +0.004, suggesting support is holding without heavy short-squeeze pressure.

Crypto analyst Phila says Bitcoin has broken a support level that held for 14 years, after BTC fell below the $80,000 psychological mark. He argues the move reflects capitulation and suggests a potential drop toward $55,000, with $50,000 also "on the table." Bitcoin was last quoted around $77,500 over the past 24 hours.

Kevin Warsh is expected to be sworn in as the 17th Federal Reserve Chair at the White House on Friday, May 22, a shift XWIN Research Japan says could show up first in Bitcoin's on-chain indicators. The firm highlights the Coinbase Premium and exchange netflows as early gauges of U.S. institutional demand and potential risk-off positioning, with BTC last trading just above $77,000 after dipping near $76,000 and stalling around $78,000.

Crypto sentiment has weakened as the Fear and Greed Index slid to 27, following prior readings of 45 a month ago, 30 last week, and 28 yesterday. Bitcoin is trading at $77,176, down 4.3% over the past seven days, while price action continues to pressure the $76,000–$77,000 support zone that has been tested repeatedly in recent weeks.

Sui introduced protocol-level gasless transfers for supported stablecoins on May 20, 2026, enabling $0.00-fee sends without users needing to hold SUI for gas. The update was followed by a 7.11% 24-hour price jump and a 48.46% volume increase to $734.6 million, while SUI later retraced part of the move. As of May 22, 2026 (09:37 UTC), SUI traded at $1.1032 and was down -1.81% on the week.