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IOTA is stabilizing after a long decline, forming a potential base near support. Momentum indicators are improving, while volume and participation are rising. The IOTA price remains in consolidation, with any upside move still requiring confirmation from stronger bullish structure.

At the time of writing, IOTA is trading at $0.05510 with a 24-hour trading volume of $14.07 million and a market capitalization of $246.29 million. Despite posting a 1.12% decline over the last 24 hours, IOTA is forming a base near key support, which could push the price to new highs in the coming days.

Source: CoinMarketCap

IOTA Price Rebound Signals Potential Recovery

According to the crypto analyst Jonathan Carter, IOTA is showing early recovery signals after rebounding from key support within a descending 3-day channel. 

The IOTA price action has stabilized at the lower boundary, suggesting weakening bearish pressure. Buyers are stepping in, and rising volume hints at renewed interest as the market attempts to form a short-term base structure.

Source: Jonathan Carter’s X Post

With regards to momentum, the IOTA price could make a push towards a series of resistances that are at $0.062, $0.076, $0.100, $0.120, $0.150, $0.175, $0.205, and $0.255. 

These represent levels that could act as resistance zones where the IOTA price may either consolidate or reverse. However, the overall direction remains bearish; therefore, for any bullish move to materialize, there must be an increase in volume and price structure.

Also Read: IOTA Price Stabilizes at $0.057: Is a Major Rally to $0.25 Coming Next?

IOTA Technical Indicators Point to a Base Formation

According to TradingView, the IOTA price action has plunged to a brutal markdown level, but it is now forming a bottoming pattern. 

The IOTA price action dropped steadily from the $0.24000 level in late 2025 down to the macro-level support at the $0.05000 level in early 2026. After that, selling interest declined, and the price action was trading horizontally.

Source: TradingView

Alongside the stabilization in the IOTA price, the indications show that the downward pressure is reducing. The RSI is now slowly moving from the oversold level to 40.95 while the MACD continues its upward trend following a bullish crossover. 

While the buy volume remains small, the indication suggests that there is stabilization on the sharp decline that was witnessed before with no trigger direction.

IOTA Derivative Data Point to Bullish Momentum

However, IOTA’s open interest increased slightly to 2.27%, reaching a total of $16.86 million, indicating that there is a slight increase in the number of open derivatives. It means traders are becoming slightly more dedicated despite consistent market involvement.

Source: Coinglass

The trading volume increased by 15.96% to reach $20.20 million. This suggests that there will be greater trading activity and liquidity in the asset, meaning that there is an increase in the number of people interested in the asset.

This article contains market analysis and price predictions. These are not guarantees. Crypto markets are volatile. Always DYOR. Not financial advice.

Also Read: IOTA Price Analysis: Bullish FVG Retest Signals Breakout Toward $0.0671

Japan bonds market came under heavy pressure on May 18 as long-term yields surged to record levels. The 30-year JGB yield reached about 4.2%, while the 10-year yield climbed to 2.8%, its highest level since 1996.

The sell-off reflected growing worries about inflation, public debt, and fiscal stability in Japan. Higher oil prices, the potential for new borrowing, and the waning demand for long-dated government debt also had an impact on investors.

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Japan Bonds Weaken as Borrowing Fears Grow

The pressure rose when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced that her government is planning to approve a supplementary budget. According to a local media report, the plan could support households and businesses through fresh fiscal measures.

That proposal raised expectations that Japan may issue more deficit-covering bonds. This put further pressure on an already under performing market and a lack of confidence in the future supply of debt.

At a foreign securities firm in Japan, one official commented that no investors were interested in purchasing bonds. The official also stated that the long-term interest rates would likely be on the rise.

Japan bonds are closely monitored as the debt load in the country is still high. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently assessed that Japan’s gross public debt level had exceeded 200% of GDP.

The IMF projects that the debt ratio will gradually diminish over the medium term. Instead, investors are turning to the possibility of new spending that might lead to greater deficits or slower fiscal healing.

Oil Price Surge Adds Pressure on Global Bonds

The Japanese bond sell-off is also following the pressure in other major bond markets. Investors responded to inflation concerns and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve policy by driving U.S. Treasury yields higher.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield increased as much as 3.6 basis points to 4.631%. The market data show that this was the top level since February 2025.

The two-year U.S. yield touched a 14-month high of 4.105%. The 30-year Treasury also hit a record high of 5.159% for the year.

Oil prices continued to put pressure on markets. Brent crude climbed to $111 per barrel after talks to end the Iran war broke down after a drone attack on a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

Japan Bonds Pressure Spreads to Yen Market

Markets now see a more than 50% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by December. Before the war, investors had expected rate cuts this year.

The pressure on Japan bonds also spilled over to the currency market. The dollar briefly rose above 159 yen in Tokyo trading, marking its highest level since April 30.

Eugene Leow, senior rates strategist at DBS, said that the bond market sentiment had been dampened by further fiscal measures from the Japanese government. He said the move is falling within a broader repricing trend on yield curves throughout the region.

This further weakened eurozone bonds in the broader selloff. Germany’s 10-year bond yield touched a 15-year high of 3.193% for the second week in a row.

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Kraken parent Payward reported $507 million in adjusted revenue for the first quarter of 2026, despite weaker crypto-trading conditions. The company said product growth, acquisitions, and service expansion helped support performance during a difficult market period.

According to the official release, Payward is expanding beyond spot crypto trading. The company is building across derivatives, tokenized assets, payments infrastructure, and other financial services as it works to reduce dependence on market cycles.

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Kraken Parent Payward Trading Volume Reaches $357B

Kraken parent Payward said total trading volume reached $357 billion in the quarter. The outcome coincided with BTC dropping about 22%, and the overall cryptocurrency market experiencing a decline of approximately 23%.

Industry spot trading volume also fell by some 38% over the same period. Nonetheless, Kraken’s market share on the spot market has increased from approximately 3.5% in mid-2025 to 5.2% in March 2026.

Payward revealed that it held around 59% of its highest trading volume, as compared to previous cycles. During the weaker market period, the company added that this level is better than many of its competitors.

Futures trading was one of the stronger areas for the business. Futures DARTs rose 51% driven by platform development, NinjaTrader, and Breakout and the overall expansion of futures products.

Kraken parent Payward also reported about $18 million in adjusted EBITDA. The reduced profit level was deliberate, as the company continued to invest in products, technology, and regulatory systems,” the company said.

“We’re not optimizing for today’s EBITDA. We’re building what we believe wins tomorrow.” Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the company update.

Payward Platform Assets Reach $40B 

The firm reported that now it has approximately $40 billion in assets on the platform. This was up 11% from the previous year, and funded accounts grew 47% to 6.1 million.

Kraken parent Payward also expanded through acquisitions during the quarter. In January 2026 it acquired Backed Finance to enable tokenized stocks, and then in February it bought Magna to enable token distribution and lifecycle management.

The company also announced the launch of stock trading on Kraken Desktop. It had added futures markets in oil and gold as well as stock indexes and also yield products and expanded margin trading.

Payward was also continuing to grow its tokenized equities product, xStocks. The product is designed to grow to more than 500 assets over time, the company said.

Kraken parent Payward noted that its broader vision is for the integration of trading, settlement, and payments all within a single financial system. It also finished its quarterly Proof of Reserves as of March 31, 2026.

The reserve review allows users to check that customer funds are fully backed. Payward stated the verification was based on on-chain data and checked by an independent accounting firm.

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Standard Chartered Plc plans to acquire Zodia Custody’s crypto custody business after shareholder and noteholder approval of its non-binding offer. The deal will strengthen its institutional digital asset strategy. Zodia’s infrastructure unit will continue separately as Zodia Solutions under a SaaS model led by Julian Sawyer, with Standard Chartered’s venture arm as the majority owner.

Standard Chartered Moves to Consolidate Zodia Custody

Standard Chartered Plc has moved forward with its plan to acquire the crypto custody business of its majority-owned subsidiary Zodia Custody Ltd.

The non-binding offer has been accepted by Zodia Custody shareholders and noteholders, according to a statement issued on Monday. The proposed deal was earlier reported by Bloomberg in April.

Zodia Custody was launched in 2021 with backing from Standard Chartered and other institutional partners. The acquisition would bring full control of the custody operations under the bank’s structure.

This step strengthens Standard Chartered’s digital asset strategy and deepens its involvement in regulated crypto services. It also reflects a broader shift among global banks toward building in-house custody capabilities for institutional clients.

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Expansion Plan for Institutional Digital Asset Services

The combined custody platform is expected to support expansion into key regulated markets, including the United Kingdom and Australia.

Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of financing and securities services, clarified that the merger would enhance the provision of institutional quality custody services.

Standard Chartered Bank intends to serve large investors such as asset managers, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds who require the safekeeping of their digital assets.

With the evolution of regulatory policies and increasing participation by financial institutions in the industry, there has been an increase in demand for institutional custody services.

The focus of the strategy adopted by the bank is to scale up the services offered on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum in a regulated environment.

Zodia Solutions Structure and Competitive Landscape

After completion of the transaction, the infrastructure business unit of Zodia will move forward independently as an entity named Zodia Solutions.

The newly formed unit will be a software-as-a-service company that will focus on digital asset infrastructure under the leadership of Julian Sawyer, the CEO of Zodia Custody.

Venture capital arm of Standard Chartered will be the dominant shareholder in Zodia Solutions. Negotiations are currently underway to include existing investors like Northern Trust Corp., Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, National Australia Bank Ltd., and SBI Holdings Inc.

The separation will maintain clear demarcations between custody and infrastructure services. The market for institutional crypto custody is extremely competitive, with companies like BNY Mellon, State Street, Coinbase Custody, BitGo, and Fireblocks expanding their market presence.

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Goldman Sachs expects central banks to increase gold purchases through 2026, strengthening long-term demand and supporting a potential price recovery by year-end. Rising geopolitical tensions and diversification strategies continue to keep gold attractive for official reserves despite inflation concerns and pressure from higher interest rates.

Central Banks Strengthen Gold Demand Outlook

Goldman Sachs expects central banks to increase gold purchases in the coming months, creating stronger support for bullion prices by the end of the year.

The bank said official-sector demand remains firm despite recent market pressure caused by rising inflation and geopolitical tensions. Analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven stated that central-bank purchases could average 60 tons per month throughout 2026.

Their updated estimates also showed that the 12-month moving average for buying activity reached 50 tons in March. Earlier calculations had placed the figure much lower at 29 tons.

The bank revised its framework for measuring gold accumulation after changes in global trade flows reduced the accuracy of previous tracking methods.

Goldman noted that older assumptions based on UK trade data no longer fully reflected current buying patterns among global central banks.

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Gold Remains Key Reserve Asset Globally

The report highlighted growing interest in diversification strategies. Central banks continue to treat gold as a key reserve asset during periods of economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Recent developments in global politics have further strengthened that trend.

Gold prices have struggled since the start of the conflict in the Middle East. Rising energy costs pushed inflation pressures higher across global markets and reduced expectations for interest-rate cuts from central banks.

A change in the way markets valued cash created a fall in the prices of bonds worldwide and sparked another round of pressure on non-interest-bearing investments such as gold.

Investors remained cautious amid efforts that centered more on combating inflation than stimulating the economy.

Goldman Sachs Maintains Bullish Long-Term Gold Outlook

Despite near-term weakness, Goldman Sachs held firm in its optimistic outlook in the long run. It maintained its expectation that gold prices would reach the $5,400 range before the end of the year.

Other prominent firms like UBS Group AG and ANZ Group Holdings Limited have also expressed a positive outlook towards gold. Gold spot prices were hovering at over $4,545 per ounce, having flirted with all-time highs close to $5,600 in January.

The latest report by Goldman Sachs follows the impressive quarterly report released by the World Gold Council. According to the World Gold Council, central banks purchased 244 tons of gold in the first quarter, compared to the 208 tons acquired in the previous quarter.

Nevertheless, China retained its position as one of the top purchasers in the market. The People’s Bank of China purchased another 260,000 troy ounces of gold in April, marking a continuous streak of acquisitions lasting 18 months, mirroring the streak initiated in late 2022.

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