Crypto markets open May with a rally despite an unresolved Hormuz blockade.
Bitcoin pushed back above $78,000 on Friday, clawing back some of late April’s losses in the first trading session of May as crypto markets steadied after a three-day streak of institutional outflows.
BTC is changing hands near $78,225, up 2.8% over 24 hours, per CoinGecko. Ether is trading at around $2,303, up 2.2% on the day. Total crypto market capitalization climbed 2.1% to $2.68 trillion.
Among other large-caps, XRP added 2% to $1.39, BNB rose 0.6% to $619, and Solana gained 1.5% to $84. Hyperliquid’s HYPE rallied 4.4% to $41.
The bounce extends a two-day rally that kicked off shortly after the Fed left benchmark interest rates unchanged, citing elevated inflation that partially reflects “the recent increase in global energy prices”, with WTI crude futures still above $100 a barrel and the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed by the mutual US-Iran blockade.
Leverage is rebuilding alongside the spot bid. Bitcoin futures open interest has increased by nearly 9% over the past 24 hours to $58.5 billion, per CoinGlass. Around $132 million in BTC futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours as today’s bounce caught traders short.
ETF Flows
Spot Bitcoin ETFs snapped a three-session outflow streak on April 30 with $14.76 million in net inflows, per SoSoValue data, lifting cumulative net inflows to $58.09 billion and total net assets back above $100 billion. The modest print followed three straight days of redemptions totaling $490 million.
April still closed as the strongest month for spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2026 by a wide margin. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led with roughly $2 billion in net inflows, while Grayscale’s GBTC posted around $280 million in net outflows. Morgan Stanley’s recently launched MSBT contributed $194 million.
Spot Ether ETFs ended the month worse. The category bled another $23.64 million on April 30, a fourth straight outflow session that brought the streak’s combined redemptions to $183.75 million.
