The U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act this week, moving a major crypto market-structure bill through an important checkpoint. The proposal aims to define when digital assets are treated as securities, commodities, or other instruments, while also bringing digital commodity platforms under clearer compliance expectations. For Metal Pay users, the key takeaway is that Washington is still moving toward a more defined framework for crypto, stablecoins, DeFi, and tokenized assets. Markets reacted cautiously but positively after the vote, while sentiment remained fragile: the Crypto Fear & Greed Index sat at 43 on May 15, still in “Fear,” but improved from 34 the previous day and 23 last month.
Stablecoin Demand Lifts Circle Results
Circle reported stronger quarterly revenue and reserve income this week as demand for USDC increased during a volatile period for global markets. Reuters reported that USDC circulation rose 28% year over year to $77 billion, with investors using stablecoins as a more stable parking place during uncertainty. The update matters for the broader crypto payments market because it shows stablecoins continuing to gain practical usage beyond trading speculation. It also keeps the bank-versus-stablecoin debate in focus, especially as lawmakers discuss whether stablecoin rewards could pull deposits away from traditional financial institutions.
Metallicus and CrossState Launch 50-Credit-Union Pilot
CrossState Credit Union Association and Metallicus announced Innovation Program 2.0 this week with an initial cohort of 50 credit unions across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The program is designed to help credit unions evaluate stablecoins, digital identity, blockchain infrastructure, faster payments, compliance automation, and treasury workflows through education, sandbox testing, and strategic collaboration.
Participating credit unions will be able to test personalized, credit union-branded stablecoins in a simulated environment without using real funds, reserves, or member accounts. For the Metal Pay audience, the announcement highlights how blockchain and stablecoin infrastructure is moving closer to practical financial institution use cases, especially around member-facing payments and deposit retention.
Bank Interest in Digital Assets Keeps Building
Traditional finance continued moving deeper into crypto infrastructure this week, with Hana Bank agreeing to buy a $672.5 million stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s Upbit exchange. The Wall Street Journal described it as the largest single digital-asset investment by a South Korean bank, and the deal places Hana among Dunamu’s major shareholders. For Metal Pay’s audience, the signal is clear: banks are no longer just watching crypto from the sidelines. They are increasingly looking at exchanges, blockchain services, remittance rails, and digital asset infrastructure as part of their long-term financial technology strategy.
Bitcoin ETF Flows
Bitcoin ETFs started the week with $27.2 million in net inflows on Monday, led by Morgan Stanley’s MSBT at $26.3 million, with support from Invesco’s BTCO and VanEck’s HODL. Tuesday reversed sharply with $233.2 million in net outflows, driven by Fidelity’s FBTC, ARK’s ARKB, BlackRock’s IBIT, Bitwise’s BITB, and Grayscale’s GBTC. The weakest midweek session came Wednesday, when funds posted $630.4 million in net outflows, led by IBIT at $284.7 million, ARKB at $177.1 million, and FBTC at $133.2 million, before Thursday recovered with $131.3 million in net inflows as IBIT added $144.1 million. Overall, Bitcoin ETF demand was volatile, with one strong rebound day not enough to offset the heavy Tuesday and Wednesday redemptions.
Ethereum ETF Flows
Ethereum ETFs opened the week with $17.0 million in net outflows on Monday, led by redemptions from Grayscale’s ETHE and ETH, while BlackRock’s ETHA posted a small $2.1 million inflow. Tuesday saw a deeper reversal with $130.6 million in net outflows, driven mainly by ETHA at $102.0 million and Fidelity’s FETH at $37.0 million, partly offset by $11.7 million into BlackRock’s staked ETHB. The weakest midweek day was Tuesday, while Wednesday remained negative at $36.3 million and Thursday narrowed to just $5.6 million in net outflows as FETH, VanEck’s ETHV, and Franklin Templeton’s EZET added modest inflows. Overall, Ethereum ETF flows stayed under pressure all week, though the pace of outflows improved into Thursday.
Top Movers (Coins Available on Metal Pay)
Metal Blockchain was the top performer on the Metal Pay 7-day chart, rising 11.6% and outpacing the rest of the tracked list. XPR Network and LOAN Protocol also held up well, gaining 5.1% and 4.4% respectively, while Dogecoin and XRP added 4.4% and 3.4%. Broader payment-linked names such as DOGE and XRP appeared to benefit from the market’s late-week rebound after the Senate committee advanced the CLARITY Act.
