During the week of May 12–18, 2025, the cryptocurrency market remained bullish, with Bitcoin holding above $100,000 for the ninth straight day. Institutional inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, including an $841.7 million contribution from BlackRock, supported this stability. The Nasdaq index rose 7.15% for the week. Ethereum surged from around $1,800 to $2,500 after the 'Pectra' network upgrade, peaking near $2,536 before consolidating. Altcoins outperformed Bitcoin, with XRP rising about 8% to $2.45. XRP held steady at $2.37 as traders anticipated the May 19 launch of CME XRP futures, and daily trading volume in Korea reached $1.2 billion. A 50 million XRP token movement was also observed on May 16. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) began offering XRP futures on May 19, providing standard (50,000 XRP) and micro (2,500 XRP) contracts for institutional and retail investors. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, described this as an important step for XRP's market growth. The launch comes as the SEC and Ripple move toward settlement, with Judge Torres ruling on May 16 that a prior settlement proposal was procedurally improper but both parties remain in agreement to resolve the case. Options trading activity increased, particularly on PowerTrade, where 1,323,750 XRP contracts were traded in one day with a total notional value of $3.1 million. PowerTrade now lists over 100,000 contracts across 80+ altcoins and has introduced ultra-short-term options with expiries as short as 10 minutes. Market sentiment was positive, reflected in the Crypto Fear & Greed Index at 71. Both institutional and retail investors were active, with institutions hedging positions and retail traders focusing on meme coins and NFTs. In regulatory news, the U.S. Senate is set to vote on the GENIUS Act, a bipartisan stablecoin bill authored by Senator Bill Hagerty, during the week of May 19. The bill has support from both parties, including Senator Mark Warner, and is expected to be debated on the Senate floor.