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Global economic uncertainties are creating ripple effects across cryptocurrency markets, with Cardano (ADA) demonstrating notable volatility amid …

Global economic uncertainties are creating ripple effects across cryptocurrency markets, with Cardano (ADA) demonstrating notable volatility amid shifting investor sentiment.
After rallying 22% weekly, ADA has established a trading range between $0.795 and $0.841, reflecting both profit-taking and strategic accumulation by larger investors.

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Recent developments have strengthened Cardano’s market position, particularly its addition to Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund and integration with Brave browser’s wallet system. These partnerships have significantly expanded ADA’s potential user base, with the Brave integration alone connecting Cardano to over 86 million users worldwide.
Market data shows institutional involvement has intensified, with on-chain analytics revealing holders controlling between 100 million and 1 billion ADA accumulating over 40 million tokens in just two days. This whale activity coincides with ADA’s breakout from a descending channel pattern, suggesting potential for further upward movement despite short-term volatility.Technical Analysis Highlights

ADA exhibited significant volatility over the 24-hour period, establishing a range of 0.047 (5.9%) between the low of 0.795 and high of 0.841.
The price action formed a clear bullish trend during the first half of the period, with high-volume buying at the 0.805 support level propelling ADA to its peak.
A subsequent correction phase emerged as profit-taking intensified, with notable selling pressure around the 0.828 resistance level, particularly during the 08:00 hour when volume spiked to 90M units.
The formation of lower highs since the peak suggests momentum may be waning, though the price continues to find support above the 0.810 level, indicating potential consolidation before the next directional move.
In the last hour, ADA experienced significant volatility with a sharp rally followed by an abrupt correction.
Price action showed strong momentum from 13:06 to 13:33, climbing from 0.816 to a peak of 0.827, representing a 1.3% gain.
However, selling pressure intensified dramatically around 13:44, triggering a steep 1.5% decline to 0.809 within minutes.
The formation of a double bottom at the 0.809-0.810 support zone prompted a moderate recovery, with price stabilizing in the 0.813-0.816 range by session’s end.
Volume analysis reveals particularly heavy trading during the correction phase, with over 2.7M units exchanged during the 13:44 candle, suggesting institutional profit-taking after the earlier uptrend.

Disclaimer: This article was generated with AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. This article may include information from external sources, which are listed below when applicable.

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Bee Maps, a project on Hivemapper, one of the largest decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) focused on mapping data on Solana, shared Wednesday that it has teamed up with ride-hailing giant Lyft to provide them more accurate mapping data.

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The move underscores the growing role of crowdsourced geospatial intelligence in the transportation industry, and signals that ride-sharing companies are turning towards this type of infrastructure for better maps.
Hivemapper allows drivers to contribute to mapping data using AI-enabled dash cams that automatically detect and update real-time changes on roads—like construction zones or altered road signs—helping keep digital maps current and accurate.
“For mobility to actually work and for autonomy to become reality, maps can’t be an afterthought—they need to be crowdsourced, live, accurate, and open,” said Ariel Seidman, CEO and co-founder of Bee Maps, in a press release with CoinDesk. “We’re proud to arm a true innovator like Lyft with the constantly updated street-level spatial intelligence that enables their vision.”

Bee Maps is an application built on top of the Hivemapper network, which is part of the growing DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) movement, which leverages blockchain incentives to crowdsource the development of real-world infrastructure. In Bee Maps’ case, contributors earn crypto rewards for collecting street-level imagery using Hivemapper cameras. This data is processed with AI to extract important features—like road signs, lane markings, and construction zones—which are continuously updated on the platform.
The move between Lyft and Bee Maps comes as NATIX, another DePIN mapping project on Solana, shared it has teamed up with taxi service Grab, to offer better mapping technologies.
Read more: Solana’s Natix and Grab Team Up to Expand DePIN Mapping Into U.S., Europe
CORRECTION (May 14, 2025, 16:02 UTC): Clarified about the relationship between Bee Maps and Hivemapper throughout the story, and changed the hed to reflect that Lyft tapped Hivemapper, not Bee Maps.

Like springtime in New York City, the crypto market got hot, all at once, in early May. After weeks of navigating choppy seas, influenced in part by anxieties surrounding the administration’s trade brinksmanship, a palpable shift in sentiment propelled the crypto sphere into a notable rally.
Bitcoin shape-shifted from a tariff tantrum mooring into a determined hunter of all-time highs. This bullish resurgence was not isolated. Ether, having endured a significant drawdown of over 50% since the start of the year, staged an impressive bounce, gaining 36% in the five days following the much-anticipated Pectra upgrade.

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The broader blockchain market mirrored this enthusiasm. The CoinDesk 20 Index, the benchmark for the performance of top digital assets, added nearly 18% in the past week, bringing its 30-day return to over 33%. Further down the capitalization spectrum, the CoinDesk 80 Index, which tracks assets beyond the top 20, also rebounded strongly from its lows, delivering 37% over the past month. Demonstrating truly epic participation breadth, the 50-constituent CoinDesk Memecoin Index added a 55% on the week and a whopping 86% in the last month.

Given the fundamentally limited (zero) direct impact of tariff and trade news on the intrinsic value of most (all) crypto assets, this lunge higher feels like what they call a “sentiment shift.” With CoinDesk’s Consensus conference unfolding this week in Toronto, the timing couldn’t be more opportune. The vibes are good.
Performance of CoinDesk 20, CoinDesk 80, CoinDesk Memecoin Index, bitcoin, and ether since Liberation Day, April 2, 2025

Source: CoinDesk Indices
The specter of recession
This recent market exuberance, both within digital assets and across traditional risk-on asset classes, has not quelled the underlying concerns of those who believe the United States is gradually inching towards a recession. Official recessions, as declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), are indeed relatively infrequent. Yet, today’s unusual confluence of macroeconomic factors provides fertile ground for wariness.
To wit, the initial estimate for first-quarter 2025 GDP showed a contraction of 0.3% at an annualized rate, a notable reversal from the 2.4% growth in the previous quarter. True, this figure was skewed downwards by a surge in imports as businesses rushed to beat anticipated tariff increases, yet a contraction in GDP is nonetheless a concerning data point. Adding to this unease is plunging consumer confidence. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell sharply in April to 86.0, its lowest level in nearly five years, with the Expectations Index hitting its lowest point since October 2011 — a level often associated with recessionary signals. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index echoed this weakness, falling to 52.2 in its preliminary May reading, driven by concerns over trade policy and the potential resurgence of inflation. Furthermore, their survey highlighted a surge in year-ahead inflation expectations to 6.5%, the highest since 1981.

The growing U.S. debt burden and the persistent inability of the administration to tame the 10-year Treasury yield, despite apparent efforts, also contribute to the sense of economic fragility. Finally, the potential for collateral damage from ongoing or escalating trade wars, including businesses potentially reducing their workforce in response to disrupted supply chains and increased costs, adds another layer of concern.
NBER Chart of US Unemployment Levels and Recession Periods Since 1978

Source: NBER.org (Hey, NBER, should that read “since 1978?”)
To be clear, the prevailing sentiment among our network still leans against an imminent recession, and we don’t make predictions. However, to dismiss the possibility of a recession in the current environment seems imprudent.
Bitcoin vs. other digital assets in a downturn
Crypto has only experienced one NBER-declared recession, during the worst of COVID. While the market crisis caused a liquidity panic and significant drawdowns, the subsequent $5 trillion ocean of emergency fiscal stimulus (and millions of homebound people discovering crypto) pointed things north and delivered the 2021 bubble. We may not expect the same path in a future recession. So, what might we expect?

On the one hand, there’s a compelling argument to be made that bitcoin has now achieved a level of adoption and established a user base sufficient to begin fulfilling its long-touted destiny as a safe haven asset during times of economic turmoil. With the U.S. dollar potentially facing pressure amidst high inflation and a swelling debt burden, bitcoin’s inherent scarcity and decentralized (and apolitical) nature are increasingly attractive.
On the other hand, traditional recessionary environments are typically characterized by scarce liquidity, heightened risk aversion, a dominant focus on capital preservation and a diminished appetite for exploring nascent and volatile asset classes. A contraction in overall economic activity would also lead to reduced funding for entrepreneurial and even established ventures within the blockchain space. Finally, retail users, feeling the financial pinch of a recession, would likely have less “experimental money” to allocate to decentralized finance (DeFi) and other novel crypto applications.
Therefore, even if bitcoin manages to attract safe-haven flows, other blockchain assets, particularly those promising future growth and innovation, could face significant headwinds and continued price pressure. In our view, one of the least constructive outcomes for the broader digital asset ecosystem would be a further increase in bitcoin’s dominance at the expense of innovation and growth in other areas.
The resilience of trading
What might provide a degree of resilience for the digital asset class and the industry as a whole is its energy for trading. Crypto functions more as a trading asset class than a predominantly investment-driven one. In both favorable and unfavorable economic conditions, trading volumes within the crypto markets have generally remained robust and resilient. It’s conceivable that the active trading community could sustain the asset class until broader economic conditions improve.

Navigating uncertainty
While a recession in the United States is a scenario few desire and one that remains outside the highest probability outcomes in most forecasts, and despite the recent sentiment shift, its possibility cannot be entirely dismissed. And, as a matter of economic cycles, periods of contraction are not entirely avoidable. For the sake of our burgeoning industry and the progress made in integrating digital assets into the fabric of global financial services — across trading, investing, lending, saving, and yield generation — we sincerely hope that even a modest stream of support will continue to drive technological development, investor education, accessibility, and broader adoption. Perhaps this will be fueled by one of crypto’s original notions: that the traditional economic system has faltered.

Bee Maps, a project on Hivemapper, one of the largest decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) focused on mapping data on Solana, …

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