As the cryptocurrency market has given back most of its May gains in five days since the start of June, market analysts are offering a range of interpretations.

U.Today, a blockchain media outlet, reported on June 5 local time that total cryptocurrency market capitalisation fell about 15 percent in the period. XRP dropped 17 percent and bitcoin fell 18 percent.

One figure who offered a market diagnosis was an analyst named Donald. He drew attention for relatively accurately pointing to the possibility that XRP could surge 700 percent, from $0.5 to $3.5, at the end of 2024. With those gains now effectively erased, Donald assessed that market sentiment has fallen to rock-bottom levels and that the market has lost the simplicity it once had.

Donald said the market’s focus has shifted away from healthy circulation of funds to corporate-driven noise. He said investors now have to consider not only buy-and-sell decisions but also bloated derivatives, hundreds of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the risk of artificial intelligence (AI) abuse that could arise from smart contracts.

He said the crypto market has grown on belief in assets rather than their intrinsic value. But he said it has now become excessively risky for retail investors to hold positions as attention shifts to external disruptive factors. He judged that the market is now structured so that managing unexpected variables has become more important than the logic for a rally.

As an example of this view, he cited the plunge in Zcash (ZEC). After a major vulnerability was found in the Orchard pool using Anthropic’s AI model Claude, ZEC fell about 48 percent in a day. Donald said he does not see such a downtrend as a buying opportunity. He cited the lack of a clear path for the project to recover in a situation where trust in the code has been heavily damaged.

Recent U.S. fund flows were cited as the only stabilising factor. Spot ETFs snapped a streak of net outflows over several days and returned to net inflows. Ethereum spot ETFs took in $19.30 million after 17 days of outflows, and bitcoin spot ETFs posted net inflows of $3.04 million after 13 days of declines. XRP spot ETFs also closed with net inflows of $3.83 million.

Even so, it is difficult to say such inflows immediately led to a strong recovery in risk appetite. Wall Street moved to buy the dip, but Donald defined the current phase as a "corporate war" and drew a line by saying he had no intention of putting money to work.

Donald, who had previously predicted XRP’s historic peak, also set out conditions for resuming aggressive buying. He said he would fully resume buying assets if bitcoin closes above the psychological resistance level of $71,000 this week.

As a result, the market’s next points to watch narrow to two tracks. One is whether ETF inflows can become the basis for a short-term rebound. The other is whether bitcoin can reclaim the $71,000 level even amid structural burdens such as security vulnerabilities, expanding derivatives and a proliferation of ETFs. Donald’s comments show that the 2026 crypto market is no longer functioning like a simple risk-asset market as it once did, rather than offering a straightforward price outlook.

Sentiment couldn't be worse, everyone is dying Usually these are the times in which I'd get ready to buy a lot But nowadays I'd have to worry about 5 Saylor ponzis 100 ETFs and get AI exploits while doing it Seems like such a hassle, give back the simple times