ROLLUP: Is the Bull Back? | The Clarity Act | Wall Street on Ethereum | Anthropic Nukes Perps

May 15, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The third week of May delivered a mixed picture: U.S. stocks hit another all-time high, but April inflation rose to 3.8%, the highest since May 2023, and wage growth of 3.6% now trails inflation for the first time in three years. Meanwhile, crypto markets remained subdued—Bitcoin at $81,600 and Ether at $2,300—while the Clarity Act passed a key Senate committee vote, three major financial institutions launched tokenized money markets on Ethereum, and Anthropic nuked unauthorized secondary share trading, wiping out hundreds of millions in perceived value on crypto perp platforms.

Inflation, Rates, and the Trump-Shi Summit

April CPI came in at 3.8%, the highest reading since May 2023. Producer price index (PPI) hit 6% year-over-year, which tends to be a leading indicator for CPI. Bond yields surged: the 10-year Treasury reached 4.5% (highest since July) and the 30-year crossed 5%, a level the hosts called "Trump Taco territory"—historically when Trump has felt pressure to intervene. Polymarket now shows a 28% probability of a Fed rate hike in 2026, up from 20% at the start of the week. This creates a difficult environment for newly confirmed Fed chair Kevin Warsh, who was confirmed on a 54-45 party-line vote and has signaled dovish leanings based on deflationary pressure from AI.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:04) **Macro Check: Stocks, Inflation & Trump's Priorities** - The hosts review the week's macro landscape, including new stock all-time highs, rising inflation, and the Trump-Shi summit.
2 (14:12) **The Market Disconnect: Inflation vs. Stock Rally** - The hosts highlight the divergence between rising inflation, which is eating into wage gains, and the relentless stock market rally driven by AI.
3 (16:37) **Crypto Market Update & The "Slow Grind"** - The hosts check in on crypto prices, noting Bitcoin and Ethereum are lagging equities, but technical indicators suggest a potential cycle bottom.
4 (23:19) **New Crypto ETFs: Hype and Zcash** - The hosts cover the launch of new spot ETFs for niche crypto assets, signaling continued institutional product expansion.
5 (25:18) **Circle's Earnings & The Arc Blockchain** - The hosts break down Circle's Q1 earnings, highlighting massive USDC volume growth and a controversial new Layer-1 blockchain.
6 (33:17) **Coinbase & Hyperliquid: Frenemies or Partners?** - The hosts explain the complex new partnership where Coinbase becomes the native USDC issuer for the Hyperliquid perps platform.
7 (38:59) **Hyperliquid's Price Discovery: CBRS IPO & Anthropic's Nuke** - The hosts contrast two stories about pre-IPO trading on crypto perp markets: a success for CBRS and a disaster for Anthropic.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Markets are ignoring every warning sign as stocks hit new highs, but crypto may finally have its catalyst. Ryan and David break down the CLARITY Act’s key vote, Wall Street’s Ethereum push, Bitcoin’s $80K test, and why private AI stocks are creating chaos onchain.

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