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<v Speaker 1>Hey, it's Alex with the Token Metrics daily Pulse from

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<v Speaker 1>May eighteenth, twenty twenty six. Micro Strategy just dropped two

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars on bitcoin and the price fell. Anyway, that's

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<v Speaker 1>the kind of day we're looking at. Let's get into it,

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<v Speaker 1>but first a quick word from our sponsor. Okay, So

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<v Speaker 1>here's what's happening. The big news is that micro Strategy

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<v Speaker 1>bought nearly twenty five thousand bitcoin last week. That's a

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<v Speaker 1>two billion dollar bet. Usually when the biggest corporate buyer

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<v Speaker 1>on Earth steps in like that, you'd expect the price

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<v Speaker 1>to jump. Instead, Bitcoin slid towards seventy seven thousand, then

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<v Speaker 1>the floor gave way. We saw over six hundred million

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<v Speaker 1>dollars in liquidations in a single session. The takeaway is

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<v Speaker 1>that this wasn't about crypto itself. It's about the bond market.

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<v Speaker 1>With treasury yields sitting above five percent and new geopolitical

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<v Speaker 1>tension with Iran, investors are getting spooked. When it a

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<v Speaker 1>two billion dollars buy can't hold the line, it means

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<v Speaker 1>the macro pressure is currently stronger than even the biggest

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<v Speaker 1>conviction trades. Looking at the board, bitcoin is hovering around

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<v Speaker 1>seventy seven thousand, and Ethereum is near twenty one hundred.

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<v Speaker 1>Solana is sitting around eighty six dollars. It's a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a catch your breath moment after the chaos. One

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<v Speaker 1>thing to notice Bitcoin dominance is up to fifty eight percent.

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<v Speaker 1>This means when things get shaky, people are moving their

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<v Speaker 1>money into the biggest, safest asset they can find. The

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<v Speaker 1>Fear and Greed index is at twenty eight. That's definitely fearful,

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<v Speaker 1>But we haven't hit that extreme fear level where the

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<v Speaker 1>brave buyers usually step in. We're in that awkward middle

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<v Speaker 1>ground where everyone is just waiting to see what happens next.

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<v Speaker 1>Under the surface, things are a bit split. Analytics tokens

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<v Speaker 1>are up big nearly two hundred percent this week. That

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<v Speaker 1>tells us traders are desperate for better data to find

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<v Speaker 1>an edge. On the flip side, the Layer two ecosystem

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<v Speaker 1>is bleeding. Most of the major scaling networks are down

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<v Speaker 1>double digits. This isn't just people switching from one network

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<v Speaker 1>to another. It looks like capital is leaving that sector entirely.

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<v Speaker 1>The only real standout is hyper liquid, which is actually up.

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<v Speaker 1>In a nervous market, people tend to cluster around the

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<v Speaker 1>platforms that have the most actual trading activity and a

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<v Speaker 1>clear way of making money. There's a macro signal worth

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<v Speaker 1>watching in the stock market too. The S and P

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred was basically flat this week, moving less than

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<v Speaker 1>one percent. Usually, bitcoin and stocks move together when things

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<v Speaker 1>get stressful. The fact that stock's held steady while crypto

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<v Speaker 1>got hit suggests the pressure here might be more about

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<v Speaker 1>specific crypto leverage being flushed out rather than a total

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<v Speaker 1>market collapse. Alpha subscribers got the full macro framework for

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<v Speaker 1>this move in the monthly playbook Token metric dot Com

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen days free. Now for the stories you need to know. First,

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<v Speaker 1>Goldman Sachs just showed they're holding XRP and Solana through

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<v Speaker 1>new investment filings. This is a big deal because it's

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<v Speaker 1>not just a press release, it's a formal record. When

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<v Speaker 1>a giant like Goldman does this, it gives every other

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<v Speaker 1>big bank the green light to start asking why they

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<v Speaker 1>aren't doing the same. It's how institutional adoption actually moves

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<v Speaker 1>from a maybe to a must have. Next, the world

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<v Speaker 1>of digital finance is getting a massive infrastructure boost. Standard

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<v Speaker 1>Chartered is predicting four trillion dollars will move into digital

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<v Speaker 1>assets by twenty twenty eight. They're even buying up their

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<v Speaker 1>own storage companies to handle it. The takeaway is that

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<v Speaker 1>the big banks aren't debating if this technology works anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>They're just trying to make sure they own the pipes. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>some quick hits. Bitcoin Depot, a major cryptoatm operator, has

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<v Speaker 1>filed for bankruptcy due to high costs and lower retail interest.

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<v Speaker 1>Kraken is cutting about one hundred and fifty staff as

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<v Speaker 1>they move toward more automation, and thor Chain reportedly lost

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<v Speaker 1>ten million dollars in a protocol exploit, which is a

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<v Speaker 1>tough reminder that moving money between different blockchains still carries

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<v Speaker 1>real risks. All right, before we get into the risks,

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<v Speaker 1>quick word from our sponsor. Okay, we're back. Let's talk

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<v Speaker 1>about what to watch for. We're tracking three main risks

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<v Speaker 1>right now. First, the leverage flush was healthy, but we

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<v Speaker 1>haven't seen the kind of total surrender that usually marks

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom. People are still a bit too hesitant. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>those high bond yields are the real ceiling. If you

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<v Speaker 1>can get five percent from a government bond, bitcoin has

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<v Speaker 1>to work a lot harder to attract big money. Third,

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<v Speaker 1>the situation with Iran is a total wild card. Any

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<v Speaker 1>escalation there usually sends people running to the US dollar,

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<v Speaker 1>not crypto. The net assessment is that macroheadwinds are winning

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<v Speaker 1>the tug of war right now. That only changes if

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<v Speaker 1>bond yields drop or if Bitcoin can fight its way

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<v Speaker 1>back above eighty thousand and stay there. Looking at the

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<v Speaker 1>week ahead, keep your eyes on the Fed. Any talk

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<v Speaker 1>about interest rates or bonds will move this market instantly.

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<v Speaker 1>Also watch for the UK's new rules on digital markets.

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<v Speaker 1>It could set the tone for the rest of Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>And on Wednesday, Parallel Protocol has a big vote on

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<v Speaker 1>their token setup that could change their supply dynamics almost overnight.

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<v Speaker 1>For those of you who are serious about your portfolio,

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<v Speaker 1>Token Metrics Roundtable gives you private AI portfolio reviews, live

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<v Speaker 1>monthly discussions, and everything in our alpha plan. Head to

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<v Speaker 1>tokenmetrics dot com to see if it's a fit. This

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<v Speaker 1>is educational content, not investment advice. Always do your own research.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Alex, See you next time.