Appold Market Watch - Week ending 15 May 2026

Market Update and Industry News - Week Ending 15 May 2026

Market Update and Industry News - Week Ending 15 May 2026

🔷 The Clarity Act, a comprehensive U.S. digital asset market structure bill, has cleared the U.S. Senate Banking Committee following a 15-9 bipartisan vote. The Banking Committee’s version will now be merged with a parallel bill from the Senate Agriculture Committee and is a step closer to reaching a full Senate vote following a four-month delay. 

Appold view: While the Clarity Act has cleared a major milestone, its future is by no means guaranteed. Negotiators must now resolve outstanding issues, including a conflict-of-interest provision regarding government officials’ ties to digital assets, which was excluded from the committee markup

🔷 Global digital asset exchange Kraken announced that it is replacing LayerZero Labs with Chainlink Labs’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol as the exclusive cross-chain infrastructure for Kraken's wrapped digital assets, including Kraken Wrapped Bitcoin (kBTC). Kraken’s decision will see over $3 billion in total value locked migrated to Chainlink, and follows last month’s $292 million LayerZero bridge exploit of Kelp DAO.

Appold view: Trust is one of the most important assets in the digital asset ecosystem. While LayerZero has argued that Kelp DAO was responsible for last month’s exploit, institutional clients may focus less on fault allocation than on whether a protocol can demonstrate robust end-to-end risk management. Chainlink appears well placed to capitalise on this moment by strengthening its case to existing and prospective clients seeking more trusted infrastructure. 

🔷 The largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, Strategy (MSTR), has agreed to repurchase around $1.5 billion of its outstanding 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 following privately negotiated transactions with noteholders. Strategy will fund the repurchase from its cash reserves, proceeds from share sales, and, potentially, bitcoin sales.

Appold view: By buying back the debt at a discount to par value, Strategy aims to retire a significant portion of its liabilities while adjusting leverage dynamics without incurring interest costs, as the notes carry a 0% coupon.

🔷 The Bank of England is set to ease restrictions on stablecoin holdings following consultation feedback that a proposal to temporarily limit individuals to owning up to £20,000 per stablecoin may stifle innovation. Following the consultation, the BoE is now finalising its comprehensive rules for stablecoin issuers, expected to be published later in 2026.

Appold view: While the BoE had argued the £20,000 cap was a temporary measure, this clearly was not enough to quell concerns. It is nonetheless positive that the Bank has taken industry feedback into account.

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