Welcome to The Market Runup! Every week, we’re diving into what happened in the crypto market onchain and off-chain, as well macro developments — so you can get smarter on your Sundays and prepare for the week ahead.

New here? Subscribe to get updates straight to your inbox.

Crypto markets turned volatile this week after reports of U.S. airstrikes in Iran triggered broader risk-off positioning across global markets. Bitcoin briefly fell below the $73,000 level as traders reacted to rising geopolitical uncertainty, stronger oil prices, and concerns surrounding potential escalation of the Iran War.

The move triggered nearly $1 billion in crypto liquidations within a 24-hour period on May 19, reinforcing how sensitive digital assets remain to macro-driven liquidity shocks and sudden shifts in investor sentiment.

By Friday, markets had largely absorbed the geopolitical shock, with investor attention shifting away from short-term volatility and back toward the longer-term drivers of adoption. Developments surrounding stablecoins, digital asset regulation, institutional participation, and blockchain infrastructure once again became the primary focus as the industry continued progressing toward broader financial integration.

Three of Samsung’s units are buying a 2% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, for $408 million from Internet giant Kakao. 

The deal comes as Kakao pivots away from crypto to focus on AI initiatives, recently selling a 6.55% stake in Korean bank Hana, and another stake sale to Hanwha Securities.

Meanwhile, SoFi launched its own stablecoin, SoFiUSD, on Ethereum and Solana.

The moves come as major financial institutions start considering owning pieces of crypto’s underlying infrastructure layer — including payments, settlement systems, stablecoins and blockchain-based financial rails.

Global regulators are putting in place measures to improve compliance, with the CFTC recently approving Bitcoin perpetual futures on Kalshi, and granting Coinbase U.S. customers affiliate access to global perpetual futures contracts. 

These actions, alongside UK raids on illegal peer-to-peer trading, indicate a shift toward integrating crypto infrastructure into existing financial systems.

While these structural milestones provide long-term regulatory clarity, they also introduce fresh compliance demands that may have worsened investors’ risk-off sentiments this week.

South Korean authorities announced the country’s first arrest tied to a decentralized exchange, with the group behind the memecoin Catpie, or CATFI, accused of executing a rug-pull that resulted in losses of 900 million won (nearly $600,000).

While the incident itself was relatively isolated, it highlights a broader issue hampering institutional participation in crypto markets: trust and infrastructure quality still matter enormously.

As institutions move deeper into blockchain-based finance, areas that provide compliance, security, confidentiality and enterprise-grade infrastructure are increasingly separating themselves from the more speculative and lightly governed parts of the market.

One of the clearest trends this week was how quickly crypto markets reacted to the Iran War and its impact on rising energy prices.

Historically, Bitcoin was often viewed as relatively disconnected from global political events. Today, crypto increasingly trades in line with macro-sensitive assets during periods of instability, particularly when markets begin reassessing liquidity conditions, inflation expectations, and central bank policy.

Stablecoins, tokenized financial products, enterprise blockchain infrastructure, and payment rails continue attracting institutional interest. As regulations grow clearer and the market favors legitimate financial use cases, infrastructure is coming under focus for institutions and strategic investors.

The market may still trade volatility in the short term, but beneath the surface, the financial architecture underpinning digital assets is expanding steadily.

Episode 15: Privacy, Institutions & The Next Phase of Blockchain Adoption

This week on The Market Runup, I sat down with Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation, to discuss why privacy-enhancing infrastructure may become one of the defining themes of institutional blockchain adoption over the next few years.

Syed explained why financial institutions view privacy differently from crypto-native markets, and why confidentiality may ultimately become a requirement — not just a feature — for large-scale enterprise and government adoption of blockchain technology.

He also shared his perspective on why tokenized deposits, confidential smart contracts, and selective privacy infrastructure may become critical if banks, enterprises, and governments are expected to move significant financial activity onchain.

The percentages and metrics are based on a 7-day timeframe, unless noted otherwise.

Bitcoin saw much volatility following Iran-related headlines, but large-scale panic across major assets remained relatively limited compared to prior cycles. Meanwhile, speculative sectors and weaker altcoins failed to attract investors even though broader markets stabilized later in the week.

That divergence reinforces a growing separation happening inside crypto itself.

Some parts of the industry are increasingly being evaluated as financial infrastructure tied to payments, settlement systems, stablecoins, privacy-enhancing technology, and tokenized finance. Other areas remain more dependent on speculative liquidity, short-term narratives, and retail momentum.

This cycle increasingly looks less like one unified crypto market and more like multiple sectors responding differently to the same macro conditions.

That distinction may become increasingly important as institutions continue favoring infrastructure.

[CHART]

Spot vs Derivatives Flows (what to watch):

Following the earlier liquidation event, derivatives positioning has normalized considerably. Funding rates remain relatively neutral across major exchanges, while open interest has stabilized, suggesting traders have become more cautious about adding leverage despite improving market sentiment later in the week.

Cross-asset correlations (what it tells you):

Crypto markets continued trading in line with macro-sensitive assets throughout the week, reinforcing how integrated digital assets have become with broader global liquidity conditions and investor risk positioning.

Risk appetite remains selective, but is concentrating in specific parts of the market. 

Despite Bitcoin’s volatility, investors didn’t meaningfully rotate into speculative altcoins once markets stabilized. Instead, investors continued favoring larger, more liquid assets and infrastructure-related themes.

That behavior suggests investors are still prioritizing liquidity and survivability over speculative price action.

We liked what they wrote, so we thought you would, too.

To get this newsletter delivered to your inbox, subscribe here.

This product was built by StrataMedia, home to Token Relations, Talking Tokens, The Market Runup and more.

This information is for entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research.