#Gate广场五月交易分享 Bitcoin breaks through the $80k threshold! Tonight's CLARITY bill vote marks a historic moment for the market

Core Highlights
1 Bitcoin falls below $80k, 96k traders forced to liquidate $277 million in 24 hours
U.S. April CPI rises 3.8% year-over-year, exceeding market expectations of 3.7% and the previous 3.3%. The higher-than-expected inflation data nearly eliminates the market's expectation of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year. Bitcoin briefly dropped below the $80k mark during trading, with a low of $79,802, a 2.48% intraday decline. Ethereum also fell over 3% to around $2,260, XRP dropped 3.76%, Solana declined 4.37%. According to CoinGlass data, over 96k investors were forcibly liquidated in the past 24 hours, with total liquidation reaching $277 million (about 2 billion RMB). Goldman Sachs and other institutions have removed the 2026 rate cut expectations from pricing, and the CME FedWatch tool shows the probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in December has risen above 30%.
Market impact assessment: Negative
Impacted tokens: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, mainstream cryptocurrencies
2 Kevin Warsh officially appointed as Federal Reserve Chair, a familiar face in crypto regulation
The U.S. Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve Chair with 54 votes in favor and 45 against, succeeding the departing Powell. Warsh previously disclosed holdings in crypto assets including Polymarket and Solana. During his nomination hearing, he stated that "Bitcoin does not make him nervous," calling it a "transformative technology." After taking office, Warsh will lead policy development at the Fed regarding stablecoins, crypto custody, and digital payment infrastructure. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis posted on social media that U.S. crypto holders "finally have a central bank leader ready to push this forward."
Market impact assessment: Positive
Impacted tokens: BTC, ETH, SOL, overall crypto industry
3 CLARITY Act faces Senate vote today, only one step away from BTC/ETH regulatory exemption
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote today (May 14) on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill spans 309 pages, with key provisions including: classifying BTC and ETH as "digital commodities" under exclusive CFTC jurisdiction, permanently exempting them from SEC securities regulations; stablecoin issuers are prohibited from paying interest on passive holdings, but active participation such as staking and liquidity provision is unrestricted; DeFi protocols that can prove true decentralization may be exempt from certain compliance requirements. The bill has already passed the House with a vote of 294:134, and current market predictions estimate a 65%-75% chance of passing in 2026.
Market impact assessment: Positive
Impacted tokens: BTC, ETH, stablecoin-related concepts
4 BlackRock transfers $172 million in crypto assets to Coinb, ETF redemption pressures persist
The world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, transferred 861 BTC (about $69.6 million) and 44,691 ETH (about $101 million) to a CoinbPrime-related address on May 13, totaling approximately $172 million. Coinb Prime is the custodian for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF and spot Ethereum ETF. Analysts suggest such transfers may be normal ETF redemption operations and do not necessarily indicate direct selling. However, amid multiple consecutive days of net outflows from BlackRock's IBIT, institutional moves have attracted market attention. Fidelity's FBTC also saw a net outflow of $86.1 million, and Bitwise's BITB outflowed $17.5 million.
Market impact assessment: Neutral
Impacted tokens: BTC, ETH, spot ETF-related concepts
5 ConsenSys delays IPO to fall, Ethereum ecosystem IPO window narrows
Ethereum core application developer ConsenSys (maker of MetaMask wallet) has postponed its potential IPO to this fall, mainly due to high market volatility and waning investor interest in crypto IPOs. Previously, ConsenSys hired JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to lead the listing process, with estimated valuation reaching up to $4 billion. The delay reflects current valuation pressures faced by crypto companies going public: Ledger, a crypto wallet provider, also announced a pause on its U.S. IPO plans, with market rumors valuing it around $4 billion.
Market impact assessment: Negative
Impacted tokens: ETH, tokens related to the ConsenSys ecosystem
6 Solana's "Alpenglow" upgrade enters testnet, the largest consensus reform in history begins
Solana blockchain officially launched the "Alpenglow" upgrade testnet, marking the largest-scale consensus mechanism reform in the network's history. The upgrade aims to multiply block validation efficiency and enhance network security. LayerZero team apologized to users for recent service interruptions, Ronin announced completion of migration to Ethereum L2 and resumed operations. Additionally, Ethereum Foundation announced the official launch of "Clear Signing" to reduce the risk of users signing malicious transactions.
Market impact assessment: Positive
Impacted tokens: SOL, LayerZero (ZRO), Ronin (RON), Ethereum ecosystem
7 Bitcoin long-term holders surpass 4 million, up 300% from end of 2025
According to Santiment data, conviction holders of Bitcoin currently hold about 4 million BTC, nearly 300% more than at the end of 2024. These holders are generally unaffected by short-term price fluctuations and are seen as long-term value anchors. Glassnode data also shows that the unrealized loss for long-term BTC holders peaked at 15% in early April, but this is only a small fraction of the over 75% seen during deep bear markets, indicating current holders are under manageable pressure.
Market impact assessment: Positive
Impacted tokens: BTC