1. Market Overview
This week, global commodity and risk asset markets were heavily influenced by geopolitical developments. Crude oil prices fluctuated higher, while risk assets collectively came under pressure and declined. The focal event was the latest developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations on a ceasefire. Although consensus between the two sides on the framework has increased, they remain sharply divided on core issues such as the disposition of highly enriched uranium and passage rights through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a stalemate over red lines. Weekly Hot Coin Guide will continue to track the top 300 tokens by market capitalization on the Bitunix exchange, while simultaneously monitoring trending U.S. stock contracts, providing investors with strategy references and short-term market insights.
2. Weekly Crypto Performance Review
Geopolitical instability directly triggered risk-off sentiment in the markets, causing capital to flow rapidly out of high-risk crypto assets like Bitcoin and into traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and the U.S. dollar. At the same time, tensions over passage rights through the Strait of Hormuz could further push up global energy prices and inflation expectations, exacerbating concerns that major central banks, including the Federal Reserve, may maintain high interest rate policies. This, in turn, places sustained liquidity pressure on the crypto markets at a macro level.
This week, the median return of the top 300 tokens by market capitalization was -5.97%, with 15% of crypto assets recording gains, while most assets declined sharply and market liquidity contracted. Among individual assets, HYPE led with a 27% gain, followed by NEAR with a 25% increase. In contrast, the largest weekly declines were seen in B, which fell over 38%, while ARB, ZK, PYTH, and SKYAI dropped more than 15%.
Note: Price and performance data were collected at 1:00 AM UK time (UTC+0).
3. Hot Token Analysis — HYPE
HYPE is the governance token of the decentralized contract exchange Hyperliquid. Hyperliquid is not only an exchange but also a high-performance public blockchain, with HYPE serving as its Gas token. Founded in 2022, the Hyperliquid team independently developed the proprietary HyperBFT algorithm, enabling the blockchain to achieve TPS exceeding 200,000, effectively solving the congestion and high slippage issues of traditional DeFi exchanges and providing a solid foundation for high-frequency trading. Its virtual machine, HyperEVM, ensures full compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts, allowing Hyperliquid to maintain extreme transaction speeds while benefiting from Ethereum’s liquidity and interoperability. For more details on Hyperliquid, see the Bitunix Academy article: “Hyperliquid: Trading Perpetual Contracts on a High-Speed Decentralized L1.”
3.1 Technical Analysis
Since completing its TGE in 2024, HYPE has become one of the most talked-about tokens of the year. In December 2024, its price surged from $3 to $32, far exceeding many professional crypto investors’ expectations. Amid relatively tight liquidity in 2026, HYPE is arguably one of the best-performing tokens. So far in 2026, HYPE has risen from $25.98 to $57.44, an increase of 122%. During the same period, mainstream tokens like BTC, ETH, and SOL generally trended downward. Holding HYPE at the beginning of 2026 could be considered holding the market’s α.
Data Source: Bitunix
This week, despite heightened macro-level risk stemming from U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions, HYPE’s price remained resilient, climbing from $40 to $57. The MACD indicator formed a “golden cross” on May 17, pushing the price from $40 to $46. After two days of sideways consolidation, MACD formed another “golden cross” on May 20, with the price surging from $48 to $60.
3.2 Fundamental Analysis
According to Artemis data, Hyperliquid remains the absolute leader in the Perp DEX sector, ranking first in active users, trading volume, and total locked value. Regarding growth, weekly trading volume in May remained around $30 billion, slightly lower than the previous peak liquidity periods for crypto assets. Meanwhile, daily active users remained around 30,000, up more than 10% compared with April.
Data Source: Artemis
3.3 Product Updates
Although trading volume did not increase significantly, a series of product updates in May have expanded growth potential. On May 2, Hyperliquid launched HIP-4 Outcome Markets on the mainnet, releasing BTC intraday binary outcome contracts, officially entering the prediction market domain. On May 11, Ondo now supports cross-chain transfer of tokenized stocks and ETFs from Ethereum and BNB Chain via the Ondo Bridge to Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM, which can be combined with Hyperliquid perpetual markets for basis trading, funding rate arbitrage, and hedging strategies. On May 14, Coinbase announced it had become the official USDC treasury deployer on Hyperliquid, using it as a quote-aligned asset. Notably, USDC’s return is not merely a stablecoin integration but a new mechanism jointly developed by Coinbase, Circle, and Hyperliquid around native USDC, cross-chain liquidity, and reserve revenue distribution, providing a more stable and efficient asset operation foundation.
With a strong focus on RWA and prediction markets—the two most liquid sub-sectors in crypto—Hyperliquid demonstrates powerful ecosystem expansion capabilities. This attracts more high-quality capital, increases market depth and activity, and highlights competitive advantages in strategy products, cross-chain asset integration, and innovative financial instruments.
Data Source: X
3.4 Trading Structure Analysis
HYPE’s strong performance in this cycle is not solely driven by on-chain or centralized exchange funds; traditional finance involvement has been a key factor. On May 12, 21Shares launched the Hyperliquid ETF (ticker: THYP); on May 15, Bitwise launched the Hyperliquid ETF (ticker: BHYP). These ETF products enabled more traditional financial capital to buy and hold HYPE. According to SoSoValue data, THYP recorded a net inflow of $42.6 million on May 21, showing significant growth.
Furthermore, traditional financial institutions show high confidence in HYPE’s future. Analyst Arthur Hayes stated in March that he expects HYPE to reach $150 by August. He views Hyperliquid as one of the few “cash-flow machines” in the crypto sector. Unlike typical altcoins, Hyperliquid resembles an exchange continuously buying back its own stock, with a robust ecosystem and long-term value.
Data Source: SosoValue
Summary
Recently, HYPE has performed strongly, rising from $40 at the beginning of May to $60, an increase exceeding 50%, standing out amid declines in mainstream crypto assets. In May, Hyperliquid launched BTC binary outcome contracts, supported cross-chain ETFs, and welcomed back USDC, continuously expanding trading strategies and ecosystem applications. The involvement of traditional financial capital, such as 21Shares and Bitwise listing Hyperliquid ETFs, has also provided HYPE with stable growth momentum.
4. Weekly Top Gainer and Loser List: Stock Contracts
This week, influenced by U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions, crude oil prices fluctuated higher, while risk-off sentiment strengthened and the U.S. The stock market came under pressure. Although partial consensus was reached in ceasefire negotiations, divergences remained on key issues, and market concerns about uncertainty continued to suppress risk asset performance.
Bitunix launched several new U.S. stock contract trading pairs this week, including LITE, GME, COST, and ARM, offering up to 50x leverage. These trading tools support both long and short strategies, helping users improve capital efficiency in low-volatility environments and capture structural trading opportunities, thereby amplifying potential investment returns.
5. Popular Stock Contract Analysis — SanDisk (SNDK)
According to the latest research report released by Morgan Stanley on May 20, NVIDIA’s next-generation AI server platform, the Rubin architecture (VR200 NVL72), has seen an unprecedented structural diversification in its rack bill of materials (BOM). The market is shifting from a GPU-dominated structure to a “multi-polar growth” pattern covering storage, cooling, and other sectors. This directly catalyzed a surge in SanDisk’s (SNDK) stock price.
The report estimates that memory now accounts for 26% of the total rack value, including a significant portion of NAND flash value. As a result, on May 21, SNDK rose 10.75% in a single day. SanDisk has appeared four times in the Bitunix Weekly Hot Coin Guide, indicating it is poised to be one of the most resilient storage-related assets in the U.S. stock market.
Data Source: Bitunix
Conclusion
Overall, this week the market was influenced by U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions, triggering risk-off sentiment, higher crude oil prices, and pressure on risk assets. In crypto, HYPE continued its strong performance, driven by product updates and traditional financial capital inflows, demonstrating ecosystem robustness and growth potential. In U.S. equities, Bitunix launched multiple new contract trading pairs, providing high-leverage tools to enhance trading flexibility. Storage-related stocks like SanDisk benefited from positive news, showing strong resilience. Short-term market volatility remains, but high-quality assets and strategic products offer investors diverse opportunities.
Disclaimer
This article is not intended to provide:
(i) investment advice or investment recommendations;
(ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or
(iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice.
Digital assets (including stablecoins and NFTs) involve high risk and may be highly volatile. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you based on your financial situation. For your specific circumstances, consult your legal, tax, or investment professionals. You are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable local laws and regulations.
About Bitunix
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