The cryptocurrency market led a global rally in risk assets during May, with a basket of Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and BNB rising by 8.2% since the start of the month, outpacing the S&P 500 (+4.3%). Binance accounted for 78% of net inflows among centralized exchanges (CEX), according to a report from CoinDesk's research division.
Stablecoins dominated in terms of inflow volume. In contrast, major cryptocurrencies experienced net outflows, with Bitcoin losing $400 million since early May.
CoinDesk analysts interpret this as a sign of accumulation. BTC holders are transferring assets to cold wallets or institutional custodial solutions rather than moving them to competing platforms.
Source: CoinDesk.WETH was an exception, with deposits totaling $887 million. The likely reason is the exit from positions in the restaking segment following the KelpDAO incident in April. Users closed positions in rsETH and returned their exposure to WETH.
Positive Inflows Across All Channels
Since early May, inflows have been positive across all key channels: exchanges attracted $3.3 billion, stablecoins brought in $2.5 billion, and Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.5 billion. Exchange inflows became the largest of the three categories.
Source: CoinDesk.Inflows into ETFs slowed this week, totaling $181 million compared to $1.5 billion earlier in May. The spread between exchange and ETF inflows has turned positive and remains so, indicating traders' dominance over institutional capital. A similar situation was observed after Bitcoin's October peak of $124,000 in 2025: ETF inflows reversed, but exchange demand kept the price above $110,000 for several weeks.
According to CoinDesk, this mode is not bearish in itself, but is structurally narrower than a rally with broad participation, and pullbacks in such conditions are typically sharper.
Stablecoins Confirm Price Movement
Analysts emphasize that "stablecoins" do not predict growth but confirm it. The February 2026 crash coincided with the largest stablecoin outflow in history—$4 billion lost in seven days.
The current recovery mirrors this pattern in reverse: at the end of April, outflows corresponded with BTC stagnating in the $75,000–78,000 range, on May 3, stablecoins turned positive simultaneously with Bitcoin's return to $79,000, and on May 8, a significant seven-day inflow of $3.6 billion was recorded. Notably, in April, the share of derivatives on crypto exchanges reached its highest level since 2023. Binance maintained its leading positions in volume, market share, and open interest.