Everyone’s Just Waiting On What The New Guy (Fed Chair Warsh) Does

May 20, 2026 | Read online

Everyone’s Just Waiting On What The New Guy (Fed Chair Warsh) Does

Bulls & Bears Equally Anxious

🧠 Alpha City’s Metaverse Got A Brain 🧠

Alpha City didn’t ditch the metaverse when AI stole the timeline. It jammed the two together.

Third Life is its AI agent simulation world on Base, powered by $AMETA. Users can connect a wallet, command up to 10 agents, buy and sell land, build income-producing structures, and earn through agent activity and the on-chain property market.

The world just added 500 new land plots, including the new Wilderness region. Alpha City says 299 were secured in 3 days, with plots already being turned into factories, shops, halls, mining operations, houses, and apartments.

Some produce $AMETA or in-game resources every 20 minutes. Cute. The land has a job now.

Then there’s Moonbase, the upcoming cross-chain trading platform and launchpad, with AI agents that can trade on users’ behalf. Alpha City says live fund testing and final feature validation are underway.

The bigger idea is simple: agents create activity, activity drives usage, and usage feeds staking rewards and buybacks.

So, no, this isn’t just “metaverse vibes” with better lighting. Alpha City is trying to build a living AI-powered economy.

Welcome to Third Life.

💥 The Move Starts Quiet - The Profit Doesn’t 💥

Before a chart goes vertical, it looks like something nobody would bother opening.

That’s where AlphaExchange’s strategist operates - in the quiet zone right before everything rips +400%, +900%, +5,000% and CT pretends they “saw it coming.”

This session breaks down the truth behind early entries:

Reading early liquidity footprints before volume explodes
Getting positioned while the chart looks dead
Taking profit before late buyers distort the book

No fantasy hindsight. No cherry-picked winners. Just the real process, shown live.

Watch someone else catch the run… or finally learn how to catch it yourself.

⚡ Join the live training → ⚡

🧭 Microcap Radar

Welcome to Microcap Radar, where we sift through the small-cap chaos so you don’t have to. These aren’t the household-name tokens everyone’s already late to - they’re the weird, thin-volume tickers moving 30 % while the majors take a nap. The goal is to flag early setups, shifting momentum, and the kind of chart behavior that often precedes attention.

Use it as reconnaissance, not gospel.

DeBridge (DBDR) - Daily

Trend Check: DBDR has been basing since the April puke, with price grinding sideways above the HMA 15. It’s not screaming strength, but it stopped bleeding all over the carpet, which apparently counts as progress now.
HMA 15: The black HMA 15 is flattening under price. Bulls need to keep DBDR above 0.0138 - 0.0140 or the base starts losing its spine.
Momentum (KST): KST is just above zero but fading. Momentum is positive, barely. More “still breathing” than “ready to sprint.”
SMI: Positive but choppy. Buyers are around, but nobody is exactly flipping tables yet.
Setup Idea: Long interest on a daily close above 0.0148 - 0.0150, then hold it. That clears the recent shelf and gives this little range some actual intent.
Stops: Daily close below 0.0136.
Profit Zones: 0.0160, then 0.0175.

BSquared Network (B2U) - Daily

Trend Check: B2U has recovered hard from the late-April flush and is now chopping under the recent bounce highs. Price is above the HMA 15, so the structure is constructive. Annoyingly clean, which means it will probably try to make everyone impatient first.
HMA 15: The black HMA 15 is curling up beneath price. Bulls want to keep 0.620 - 0.630 defended.
Momentum (KST): KST is above zero, but rolling slightly. Still positive, just cooling after the sharp rebound.
SMI: Improving again after a dip. Buyers are trying to reassert control.
Setup Idea: Long interest on a daily close above 0.665 - 0.675, then hold it. That would clear the local shelf and turn the bounce into something more than “nice recovery, shame if liquidity vanished.”
Stops: Daily close below 0.610.
Profit Zones: 0.700, then 0.740.

Phala Network (PHA) - Daily

Trend Check: PHA got rejected hard from the late-April pop, then bounced from the 0.030 area. Price is trying to get back above the HMA 15, but this still looks like repair work. Not broken. Not beautiful. Crypto’s favorite middle child.
HMA 15: The black HMA 15 is still curling lower, with price just above/near it. Bulls need to hold 0.0320 and push through 0.0345 quickly.
Momentum (KST): KST is below zero and still weak. Momentum has not confirmed the bounce yet.
SMI: Rebounding from ugly levels. That’s the first useful sign, but not enough by itself.
Setup Idea: Long interest on a daily close above 0.0345 - 0.0350, then hold it. That gets PHA back over the HMA 15 and clears the first reclaim zone.
Stops: Daily close below 0.0305.
Profit Zones: 0.0375, then 0.0400.

Loopring (LRC) - Daily

Trend Check: LRC is still under pressure after losing the May bounce structure. Price is below the HMA 15, and the latest action is trying to stabilize near the lower range. Very brave. Very suspicious.
HMA 15: The black HMA 15 is rolling down above price. Bulls need a reclaim before this stops looking like a weak bounce attempt.
Momentum (KST): KST has rolled below zero and is falling. Momentum is bearish.
SMI: Bouncing from washed-out levels, but still early. It’s trying to turn, not confirming yet.
Setup Idea: Long interest only on a daily close above 0.0175 - 0.0180, then hold it. Below that, it’s just range-bottom hopium with nicer candles.
Stops: Daily close below 0.0158.
Profit Zones: 0.0190, then 0.0210.

FLock.io (FLOCK) - Daily

Trend Check: FLOCK has one of the cleaner higher-low structures in this group. Price reclaimed the HMA 15 after that May pullback and is pressing back toward resistance. Naturally, this is where humans start inventing certainty. Don’t.
HMA 15: The black HMA 15 has curled back up under price. Bulls need to defend 0.0660 to keep the structure intact.
Momentum (KST): KST is near zero after cooling off from the prior spike. Momentum is trying to reset rather than fully break.
SMI: Positive and improving. Buyers are showing up again.
Setup Idea: Long interest on a daily close above 0.0710 - 0.0720, then hold it. That clears the recent pivot and puts the May highs back in play.
Stops: Daily close below 0.0640.
Profit Zones: 0.0780, then 0.0850.

📌 Microcap Wrap

FLOCK is the cleanest tradeable setup here if it can reclaim 0.071 - 0.072 without instantly doing the classic microcap trapdoor routine. B2U has the strongest recovery structure, but it needs follow-through above 0.675 or it’s just a very expensive shrug. DBDR is a base-building watch, PHA is a repair job, and LRC still needs to reclaim the HMA 15 before anyone starts pretending the chart found religion. This is a watchlist - not a legal document granting permission to chase green candles like they owe you money.

⏩ Quick News Hits 🎯

🧨 Echo Protocol said a compromised admin key let attackers mint 1,000 unauthorized eBTC on its Monad deployment. Roughly $77M was created, though reported losses were far smaller after the attacker moved funds around and laundered some through Tornado Cash. DeFi security remains undefeated at finding new ways to trip over the same rake.

📉 BTC stayed pinned below $77,000 as U.S. bond yields pushed near 20-year highs and risk assets got cranky. Analysts called it a key support zone, which is trader-speak for “please don’t sneeze near this chart.” Macro keeps dragging crypto into the mud like a needy coworker.

⚙️ Bitcoin’s run toward $80K triggered the fastest BTC perpetual futures open interest growth of 2026. Binance grabbed the biggest share of the new derivatives action, because apparently leverage saw a door and sprinted through it. Price cooled off, but leverage showed up dressed for a casino wedding.

⛏️ Bernstein says Bitcoin miners now control 27 GW of planned power and around $90B in AI-related deals. That gives miners a real seat in the data center arms race as electricity becomes the thing everyone wants and nobody has enough of. Mining Bitcoin was cute. Selling power to AI goblins might be the adult business model.

🚫 Estonia’s FIU partially suspended the license of BB Trade Estonia, the operator behind Zondacrypto. The exchange can’t onboard new users or accept deposits while it fixes compliance issues, though existing users can still withdraw. Regulators love a 30-day timer. Very motivational. Very “clean your room or lose the PlayStation.”

🎰 Pump.fun generated $124.7M in Q1 and accounted for more than one-third of Solana’s revenue, even with memecoin activity cooling. That says plenty about where users actually show up when fees are cheap and attention spans are cooked. Solana wanted consumer crypto. It got a slot machine with throughput.

📅 On The Radar 📆

Date	What’s Coming	Why It Matters
May 20	FOMC minutes (Apr 28–29 meeting)	Minutes reveal the “real” Fed tone.
May 29	Deribit monthly BTC/ETH options expiry (08:00 UTC)	Month-end gamma can pin price or spark chaos.

🤔 Updates You Didn’t Know You Needed To Know 🧠

🪙 IOTA (IOTA)

Use case: Digital public infrastructure for trade, identity, data exchange, and payments.
What it does: IOTA anchors trusted data and interoperability for real-world trade systems. Less meme casino, more paperwork that actually matters.
Recent update: Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria became the first countries to implement ADAPT, the Africa Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade initiative. The program is led by AfCFTA with the Tony Blair Institute, WEF, and IOTA Foundation, covering digital identity, cross-border data exchange, and payment interoperability. That is a serious public-infrastructure lane.
Quick stats: Price $0.0557 | Market cap $247.4M | 24h volume $6.43M.
Comparable projects: VeChain, XDC, Hedera, Stellar, OriginTrail
Upside driver: ADAPT gives IOTA a real government-backed trade infrastructure story.
Risk factor: Public-sector adoption moves slowly enough to make glaciers look caffeinated.

🪙 OmenX (N/A)

Use case: Leveraged prediction market trading on Base.
What it does: OmenX lets users trade prediction market assets with leverage, starting up to 5x and targeting 10x later. Because apparently prediction markets were not spicy enough already.
Recent update: OmenX launched mainnet on May 19 as what it calls the first live leveraged prediction market platform. It also introduced Hedge-to-Earn for users with existing Polymarket positions, giving traders a way to hedge exposure instead of just emotionally refreshing odds pages.
Quick stats: Mainnet live | Built on Base | Up to 5x leverage at launch | 10x target later.
Comparable projects: Polymarket, Limitless, Predict.fun, Azuro, Drift
Upside driver: If prediction markets keep growing, leverage gives OmenX a sharp but risky niche.
Risk factor: Leveraged prediction markets sound useful right up until liquidation mechanics meet thin liquidity.

🪙 BNB Chain (BNB)

Use case: High-throughput smart contract network for DeFi, payments, and AI-agent infrastructure.
What it does: BNB Chain supports EVM apps and is now pushing standardized AI-agent tooling with identity, commerce, payments, and memory.
Recent update: BNBAgent SDK went live on BNB Chain mainnet, giving developers a modular framework for building AI agents with ERC-8004 identity, ERC-8183 commerce, autonomous payments, and memory layers. Actual agent infrastructure beats “we added AI to the roadmap” every time.
Quick stats: Price $638.70 | Market cap $86.09B | 24h volume $1.11B.
Comparable projects: Ethereum, Base, Near, Fetch.ai, Virtuals
Upside driver: BNB Chain now has a clearer production lane for onchain agent commerce.
Risk factor: AI-agent tooling still needs real activity, not just developers nodding politely.

🪙 Across Protocol (ACX)

Use case: Cross-chain bridge and intent-based interoperability infrastructure.
What it does: Across moves assets between chains with fast settlement and user-friendly bridging, especially into Base and Ethereum L2s.
Recent update: Across published a Base-focused update arguing that Base’s 2026 roadmap, x402 tooling, smart accounts, and developer programs make it one of the cleanest L2 growth trades for builders and users. Conveniently, Across positions itself as the simple way to bridge in and use that ecosystem. Subtle as a brick, but fair.
Quick stats: Price $0.0414 | Market cap $29.21M | 24h volume $1.42M.
Comparable projects: Hop, Stargate, deBridge, Synapse, Orbiter
Upside driver: If Base keeps eating L2 mindshare, bridge demand through Across should benefit.
Risk factor: Bridging is useful, but the sector gets judged hardest when something breaks.

🪙 Verus (VRSC)

Use case: Privacy-focused blockchain with cross-chain bridge infrastructure.
What it does: Verus supports privacy, self-sovereign identity, and cross-chain asset movement through its protocol stack.
Recent update: Verus got hit by fresh attention after an ETH bridge exploit caused roughly $11.58M in losses. Reports tied the issue to validation mechanics around the Verus-Ethereum bridge, with May 19 security briefs comparing the failure pattern to earlier bridge disasters. Not exactly the kind of visibility a protocol wants.
Quick stats: Price $0.4038 | Market cap $29.05M | 24h volume $6.47K.
Comparable projects: Zcash, Horizen, Komodo, Secret Network, Pirate Chain
Upside driver: If the team contains the damage and tightens bridge security, the protocol can recover credibility.
Risk factor: Bridge exploits stick to projects like gum on a boot.

Stay Sharp,
The RagingBull Research Team
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Stocks Closed Lower Yesterday, All Eyes On Earnings From NVIDIA And Analog Devices Today

Profit from the Pros

By Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President

Stocks Closed Lower Yesterday, All Eyes On Earnings From NVIDIA And Analog Devices Today

Stocks closed lower again yesterday. Third down day in a row after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new all-time highs last Thursday. The S&P is down -1.97% since then, while the Nasdaq is down -2.87%. But YTD, the S&P is up 7.42%, and the Nasdaq is up 11.3%. The small-cap Russell 2000 is not far behind with a YTD gain of 10.7%.

Additional profit taking after heady gains over the last several weeks, in large part due to soaring earnings this earnings season, continued to weigh on stocks.

But I'm not expecting that to last. Even though this earnings season is winding down, quarterly earnings for the S&P are on pace to be up 24.0% (Q1'26). But next quarter (Q2'26) is projected to show 21.3% EPS growth. Q3'26 is expected to be up 18.2%. And Q4'26 is projected to be up 20.1%. Pretty spectacular. And why calls for a 20%+ gain in the markets this year looks modest given the above.

Big tech and AI earnings have been the star of the show. And are expected to continue to be.

Yesterday we got earnings from retailer Home Depot before the open. They posted a positive EPS surprise of 0.88%, and a positive sales surprise of 0.67%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of -3.65% vs. this time last year, but a sales growth of 4.79%. They were up 0.88% yesterday.

After the close we heard from restaurant chain operator Cava. They posted a positive EPS surprise of 17.65%, and a positive sales surprise of 4.48%. That equated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of -9.09% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of 32.1%. They raised their full-year outlook, increasing same-restaurant sales to a midpoint of 5.5% growth vs. 4.0%; raised adjusted EBITDA to a midpoint of $186M from $180M; and raised projected new restaurant openings to a midpoint of 76 vs. the old forecast of 75. They were off -2.22% in the regular session before earnings. But were up by more than 7% in after-hours trade following earnings.

But AI-related earnings will be back in the spotlight today. We'll hear from AI juggernaut this afternoon when NVIDIA reports after the close. But before that, we'll hear from another AI-linked company, Analog Devices, when they report before the open.

In other news, yesterday's Pending Homes Sales Index was up 1.4% vs. last month's 1.7% and views for 0.9%. The index itself came in at 74.8 from last month's upwardly revised 73.8.

Today we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications, the Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations, and the FOMC Minutes from May's earlier Fed meeting.

The FOMC Minutes will be the last insight into the Jerome Powell-led Fed, as that was his last meeting as the Fed Chairman. With his term ending on May 15^th, Kevin Warsh will be at the helm when the next FOMC meeting takes place on June 16-17.

Traders are cautiously watching developments in the Middle East. As you know, President Trump on Monday paused a "planned military attack" that was scheduled for Tuesday, at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, citing "serious negotiations" were taking place. The President has said "the clock is ticking" regarding Iran agreeing to a peace deal, or else "there won't be anything left of them."

Middle East headlines can move the market.

But short of that, the main event today will be NVIDIA's earnings and Analog Devices.

See you tomorrow,

Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research

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