Bitcoin fell sharply this week as ETF outflows, weaker sentiment and a rare sale by Michael Saylor’s Strategy pressured the market. Strategy disclosed that it sold 32 bitcoin for about $2.5M between May 26 and May 31, its first disclosed bitcoin sale since 2022, with proceeds expected to help fund preferred stock dividends. The sale was small compared with Strategy’s total holdings, but it carried symbolic weight because the company has been one of the most visible corporate bitcoin accumulators. The Fear & Greed Index snapshot showed a reading of 12, placing crypto sentiment deep in “Extreme Fear,” down from 23 last week and 46 last month. For Metal Pay users, the takeaway is that this week’s selloff was driven by both market flows and confidence: ETF redemptions weakened demand, while Strategy’s sale challenged one of Bitcoin’s strongest institutional narratives.
Major Banks Plan Tokenized Deposit Network
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and other large U.S. banks are reportedly preparing a shared tokenized deposit network designed to move bank money around the clock. The project would be operated through The Clearing House and is being framed as a bank-led answer to stablecoins and public blockchain payment rails. Unlike stablecoins, tokenized deposits would represent traditional commercial bank deposits while using blockchain-style infrastructure for settlement and treasury use cases. The development is highly relevant for the Metal Pay audience because it shows large banks moving from crypto observation to infrastructure competition, especially around payments, deposits, settlement speed and programmable money.
UK Lawmakers Push Back on Stablecoin Limits
UK lawmakers urged the Bank of England to soften parts of its proposed stablecoin framework, warning that strict holding caps and narrow backing rules could limit the development of a domestic sterling stablecoin market. The House of Lords committee favored a more flexible, principles-based approach as tokenized money markets evolve. The debate highlights a growing policy split between stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currency models. For crypto users and financial institutions, the important signal is that stablecoin policy is becoming a mainstream banking issue, not just a crypto-sector debate.
Bitcoin ETF Flows
Bitcoin ETFs opened the week with $483.8M in net outflows on Monday, led by a $440.3M withdrawal from BlackRock’s IBIT, while Fidelity’s FBTC lost $37.3M and Ark’s ARKB lost $12.3M. Tuesday deepened the reversal with another $519.1M leaving the category, again led by IBIT at $388.6M, alongside $83.5M from GBTC and $45.1M from FBTC. Wednesday was the weakest midweek session with $396.6M in outflows, driven by $342.3M from IBIT and $54.3M from FBTC, before Thursday stabilized with a small $3.2M net inflow as IBIT added $47.7M and MSBT added $9.9M. Overall, Bitcoin ETFs finished the reported week down $1.396B, with heavy early-week selling only partially offset by Thursday’s small positive print.
Ethereum ETF Flows
Ethereum ETFs began the week with $44.5M in net outflows on Monday, led by $35.0M from BlackRock’s ETHA and $9.5M from Fidelity’s FETH. Tuesday accelerated the pressure with $90.2M leaving the category, including $44.3M from ETHA, $25.4M from ETH, $15.6M from FETH and $3.9M from ETHE. Wednesday remained weak with $53.0M in net outflows, driven mainly by $51.6M from ETHA, before Thursday delivered the strongest midweek print with a $19.3M net inflow entirely from ETHA. Overall, Ethereum ETFs ended the reported week down $168.4M, with Thursday’s rebound not enough to offset three straight negative sessions.
Top Gainers (Coins Available on Metal Pay)
There were no positive 7-day gainers in this week’s Metal Pay token set, so the chart is best read as a relative resilience table during a broad market downturn. Metal Blockchain held up best, falling 14.3% over seven days while still showing a 1.4% 24-hour bounce at the snapshot. Hedera, Metal DAO and XRP also held up better than the deeper drawdowns in Solana, Ethereum, Loan Protocol and Cardano. The move fits the wider market tone: Bitcoin ETF outflows, weaker sentiment, and “Extreme Fear” conditions weighed on most large-cap and payment-linked crypto assets.
