Shifts in U.S. Federal Reserve leadership, key inflation reports, and corporate earnings are set to shape the week ahead, as investors assess bitcoin’s recent resilience amid a busy macroeconomic calendar.
“We’re seeing a market phase where capital is becoming more discerning rather than just chasing speculation,” Jake Seltzer, CEO of Quantix Finance, shared with CoinDesk via email. “Bitcoin holding strong at these price levels matters because it’s boosting confidence throughout the wider digital asset space, especially among institutional investors who had been waiting on the sidelines.”
This week brings a combination of inflation figures and earnings reports from numerous crypto-related firms.
“In the near term, macro trends, ETF inflows, and global liquidity will continue to steer markets, so expect some volatility,” Seltzer noted. “But from a structural standpoint, the industry is in much better shape than in past cycles.”
Seltzer added that investment is increasingly flowing toward “real infrastructure, sustainable yield models, and platforms with genuine risk management rather than just short-lived hype.”
That trend also highlights the importance of infrastructure developments. Azul, an upgrade for the Base blockchain, is slated to launch on mainnet, Ronin is preparing to return to Ethereum, and several DAOs are casting votes on treasury management, recovery plans, and MEV-related proposals as the ecosystem bounces back from the year’s largest exploit so far.
Key Events to Watch
(All times ET)
- Crypto
- May 11: U.S. Senate anticipated to hold a procedural vote on Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve nomination package.
- May 13: Base Azul upgrade expected to go live on mainnet.
- May 14: U.S. Senate Banking Committee markup scheduled for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025.
- May 15: Jerome Powell’s term as Federal Reserve Chair officially concludes; his board term runs through Jan. 31, 2028.
- Macro
- May 12, 01:00 a.m.: Germany Final Inflation Rate for April YoY est. 2.9% (Prev. 2.8%); MoM est. 0.5% (Prev. 1.2%)
- May 12, 05:30 a.m.: India Inflation Rate YoY for April est. 3.8% (Prev. 3.4%); MoM (Prev. 0.26%)
- May 12, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Core CPI MoM for April est. 0.4% (Prev. 0.2%); YoY (Prev. 2.6%)
- May 12, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. CPI MoM for April est. 0.6% (Prev. 0.9%); YoY (Prev. 3.3%)
- May 13, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. PPI MoM for April est. 0.4% (Prev. 0.5%); YoY (Prev. 4.0%)
- May 13, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Core PPI MoM for April (Prev. 0.1%); YoY (Prev. 3.8%)
- May 14, 01:00 a.m.: U.K. GDP Growth Rate Q1 Preliminary QoQ (Prev. 0.1%); YoY (Prev. 1.0%)
- May 14, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Retail Sales MoM for April (Prev. 1.7%)
- May 14, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for week ending May 9 (Prev. 200K)
- (Prev. 11)
- May 15, 08:15 a.m.: U.S. Industrial Production MoM for April (Prev. -0.5%)
- May 17, 09:00 p.m.: China Industrial Production YoY for April (Prev. 5.7%); Retail Sales YoY (Prev. 1.7%); Fixed Asset Investment YTD YoY (Prev. 1.7%); Unemployment Rate (Prev. 5.4%)
- Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data where available)
- May 11: MARA Holdings (MARA), post-market, –$0.45
- May 11: CleanSpark (CLSK), post-market, -$0.23
- May 11: Circle Internet Group (CRCL), pre-market, $0.17
- May 11: Exodus Movement (EXOD), post-market, $0.01
- May 11: Bakkt (BKKT), post-market, -$0.10
- May 11: Sharplink (SBT), pre-market, $0.01
- May 12: EToro Group (ETOR), pre-market, $0.69
- May 12: Coincheck Group (CNCK), post-market, -$0.01
- May 12: TON Strategy Company (TONX), pre-market, -$1.42
- May 13: Bitgo Holdings (BTGO), post-market, -$0.01
- May 14: Bullish (BLSH), pre-market, $0.16
- May 14: Rumble (RUM), post-market, -$0.09
- May 14: Gemini Space Station (GEMI), post-market, -$1.13
- May 14: Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR), pre-market, -$0.33
- May 14: Applied Materials (AMAT), post-market, $2.66
Token Events
- Governance Votes & Calls
- 1inch DAO is voting to earmark $155,000 USDC for its 2026 public policy and regulatory advocacy efforts, covering trade group memberships and direct outreach to U.S. lawmakers. Voting closes May 11.
- Compound DAO is voting to contribute roughly 1,860 ETH to the DeFi United rsETH recovery initiative. The funds will come solely from the attacker’s recovered position on Compound, not from the broader treasury, ensuring the DAO doesn’t profit from the exploit. Voting closes May 11.
- Balancer DAO is voting to distribute a one-time 500,000 USDC airdrop to veBAL holders as compensation for discontinued incentives, replacing a previously planned six-month payout schedule. Voting closes May 12.
- GnosisDAO is voting to allow holders to burn GNO in exchange for a pro-rata share of the treasury’s liquid assets and a synthetic claim token representing illiquid investments. Voting closes May 12.
- QuickSwap DAO is voting to integrate the MEV-X Homelander plugin to capture backrunning MEV from its liquidity pools and share the profits with the protocol and its liquidity providers. Voting closes May 12.
- ShapeShift DAO is voting to formalize its Treasury Signer role as a paid position at $1,000 per month in FOX and update the selection committee’s rules for privately appointing signers. Voting closes May 13.
- Decentraland DAO is voting to remove the peer.kyllian.me catalyst node following its owner’s removal from the Security Advisory Board. Voting closes May 14.
- Unlocks
- May 12: Avalanche (AVAX) to unlock 0.31% of its circulating supply, valued at $16.55 million.
- May 15: Connex (CONX) to unlock 1.49% of its circulating supply, valued at $17.99 million.
- May 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.71% of its circulating supply, valued at $13.23 million.
- Token Launches
- May 11–17: First full week under Pump.fun’s updated tokenomics model.
- May 12: Ronin officially transitions back to Ethereum.
