Not Bitcoin or Ethereum: These were the most popular crypto tokens in May
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- Hyperliquid (HYPE) surged 81% in May to top Binance Research's performance rankings, followed by Zcash and BNB as trader attention shifted away from large-cap tokens.
- Bitcoin fell roughly 4.8% on speculation that Strategy could offload part of its holdings; Polymarket bettors assigned an 80% probability to a sale occurring this year.
- Ethereum was the weakest major token, dropping 12.4% after several high-profile Ethereum Foundation exits and Bankless co-founder David Hoffman disclosed ETH sales, arguing network growth no longer accrues to holders.
- XRP declined 5.9% even as JPMorgan, Ripple, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance launched a cross-border settlement pilot integrating the XRP Ledger with traditional banking rails — investors fixated on macro sentiment rather than the milestone.
- Binance Research flagged that BTC tested but failed to hold the 200-day moving average and short-term holder realized price, with ETF outflows adding to short-term pressure as inflation pushed the Fed hawkish.
- Three catalysts are now on investors' radar, per Binance Research: interest-rate signals from incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, progress on the CLARITY Act, and whether AI-driven flows continue to rotate into digital assets.
Why it matters: Retail and institutional capital rotated from the $2T+ majors into mid-cap tokens in a single month, with Hyperliquid's 81% gain and Ethereum's 12.4% drop marking one of the sharpest large-vs-small divergences of 2025. The XRP result is a concrete reminder that even a JPMorgan-Mastercard banking integration couldn't outweigh macro selling pressure — a precedent that may temper how markets price future institutional milestones.
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