Crypto Market Faces Pivotal Week with FOMC Decision, Ethereum Upgrade, and Coinbase Earnings
2min read The first full crypto trading week of May is set to be a pivotal period for the digital asset market, with several significant events scheduled to unfold over four days. These events are expected to influence liquidity, sentiment, and valuations across the crypto spectrum.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is anticipated to maintain the target range at 5.25 – 5.50 percent for the third consecutive meeting. However, the post-decision press conference by Chair Jerome Powell will be closely scrutinized for any indications that softer economic data could accelerate a rate cut as early as June or July. Powell has emphasized the importance of keeping long-term inflation expectations stable, even as economic pressures mount. Governor Chris Waller has also indicated that significant changes in real data are unlikely until after July. Any rhetorical softening from the Committee could have a substantial impact on bitcoin's real-rate-sensitive markets.
Ask Aime: What's in store for the crypto markets after the pivotal FOMC meeting?
On May 7, Ethereum will activate the Pectra upgrade, an eleven-EIP hard fork that builds on the groundwork laid by last year’s Dencun. This upgrade introduces several enhancements, including EIP-7702, which allows externally owned accounts to delegate to smart-contract code, enabling features like transaction batching and gas sponsorship. EIP-7251 increases the maximum effective validator balance, facilitating native reward compounding and validator consolidation. EIP-7691 doubles blob throughput, while EIP-7623 caps worst-case block size to manage bandwidth pressure. Additionally, EIP-6110 reduces deposit-queue latency from nine hours to thirteen minutes, enhancing the overall efficiency and scalability of the Ethereum network.
From May 6 to 8, Vienna will host the sonic Summit 2025, an annual event organized by Sonic Labs. This summit brings together builders, capital allocators, and researchers to discuss interoperability roadmaps and zero-knowledge tooling. The event will feature technical deep-dives, networking sessions, and hands-on workshops, providing a platform for concrete milestones and practical advancements in the crypto space.
On May 5, Hyperliquid implemented a fee overhaul, separating spot and perpetual-futures fee schedules and doubling spot turnover toward traders’ rolling fourteen-day volume tiers. Stakers now earn up to a 40% fee rebate if they hold 50 million HYPE, with the threshold recalculated daily. This move aims to accrue all fees to the community, contrasting with more centrally controlled competitors. The coming sessions will test whether this design attracts liquidity without hindering market activity.
Coinbase Global will report its first-quarter results on May 8, immediately after the US equity close. Analysts expect adjusted earnings per share to range between $2.09 and $2.15, indicating a significant rebound in profitability. The earnings call will focus on legal provisioning, international expansion, and the revenue mix between trading fees and subscription products. Management guidance on operating margins under the evolving US regulatory regime will set the tone for after-hours price action and crypto-equity beta for the rest of the quarter.
