After a challenging first quarter of 2025, the global crypto market has managed a considerable turnaround, which has resulted in steady bullish momentum. Both meme coins and larger projects saw double-digit growth throughout the month of April and May has continued on the same path, albeit with more modest returns. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which is the most commonly used metric to gauge crypto market sentiment, stood at 55/100 as of this writing, which indicates a neutral and balanced sentiment across the market. Much of this can be attributed to the slowdown of global tariff wars triggered by the Donald Trump administration, while recession fears have also somewhat eased in the United States. While the markets may not be out of the woods yet, the broad consensus shows that investors are more positive now that they were in the beginning months of the year. The overall improvement in market sentiment also affects one of the largest markets for crypto usage - gambling. Punters who wager on popular sports like football, basketball, and tennis at platforms like cryptobetting.net can choose the bookmakers with the best possible terms and available betting markets. Top 5 Crypto Gainers of May The list of gainers in May sees some familiar names, especially among memecoins, which have morphed into market indicators in and of themselves. The likes of WIF and PEPE were among the top-gaining cryptocurrencies over the past month of trading, while others, such as Bonk and Fartcoin, have lost some ground after a much more successful April. Hyperliquid (HYPE) +77.8% Hyperliquid was an undoubted success story of an otherwise sideways reading crypto market throughout May. The coin increased by over 75%, which also includes a pullback after reaching nearly $40, down to $33. It is also worth noting that HYPE’s performance history is relatively short, as the coin was listed in December, 2025, which can make things complicated for inventors, as the data available for analysis is limited. The rise in Hyperliquid can also be treated as an outlier, as the rest of the market lagged firmly behind in terms of monthly returns. For this reason, investors may look out for a potential correction in the price of HYPE in the coming weeks, as other holders lock in some of their profits. The long-term potential of Hyperliquid can be more challenging to assess, large parts due to the lack of market data we have already mentioned. Pepe (PEPE) +55.8% Memecoin Pepe enjoyed a very successful month over the past 31 days of trading, as the coin gained over 55% and comes in second on our list of notable crypto gainers for the month. As with most other memecoins, Pepe’s performance is largely tied to the overall market sentiment, as well as the prevalence of other memecoins at any given time. The month of May has been a mixed bag for memecoins, with some like Pepe and Dogwifhat posting impressive gains, as others endured double-digit declines. Due to the fact that PEPE is a memecoin, the future prospects of the coin and its returns are largely tied to the overall sentiment among crypto investors. For example, if the Crypto Fear and Greed Index rises to 70, the likelihood of PEPE continuing to climb in value also increases. Therefore, technical analysis and trend patterns are the only viable tools for investors to gauge where PEPE could go next, albeit a minor pullback is exceedingly likely, due to the coin’s sharp rise in recent weeks. Aave (AAVE) +52% Aave is a decentralized, non-custodial liquidity protocol built on Ethereum. The project focuses on allowing users to lend, borrow, and earn interest on their crypto holdings. The sharp rise seen in May, with the coin jumping by over 50%, can be attributed to easing trade tensions and the propensity for investors to seek assets that have not yet enjoyed explosive growth in recent months. Aave’s GHO stablecoin has become an important part of the project, as it offers a 7% APY, higher than the likes of USDT, USDC, and other stablecoins available on the market. A total of over $140 million has been deposited into GHO savings accounts as of this writing. This puts the project in a promising position, as the combination of the AAVE coin and GHO gives users options on what to invest in and choose between capital gains and fixed-income, all by connecting their existing crypto wallet to the Aave app. Furthermore, users can borrow up to 100,000 GHO, which starts at an APY of 3.77% for 100 Aave as staked collateral. Overall, the utility of the project is quite solid, which should give investors more hope for future gains by holding AAVE in their wallets. Dogwifhat (WIF) +40% Popular memecoin Dogwifhat, or WIF, has been going in and out of the market limelight all throughout 2025 and has served as a barometer for market sentiment as well. The month of May saw WIF climb by 40%, which puts the annual returns of the project at a loss of 75%, which highlights the overall bearish market sentiment that has prevailed over the period. The drop in price since the 2024 United States Presidential Election has been steep and somewhat predictable, as the coin fell to a tenth of its 2024 all-time high price. However, WIF has since climbed from $0.35 to $0.85, which is a considerable rise for such a short period of time. That being said, investors will be hoping for a “miracle” if WIF is to ever return to its all-time highs again, as the difference is just too wide and the markets are not confidently bullish as of this writing. Ethereum (ETH) +38.8% Last but not least, Ethereum has finally broken out of its slumber, which caused some in the online communities to jokingly refer to ETH as a “stablecoin”, due to its sluggish performance all throughout the first quarter of 2025. Conversely, the month of May has seen ETH climb by nearly 40%, which is a notable improvement from April, when the coin was trading below the $1,500 mark. The increasing popularity of Ethereum spot ETFs has also played into the increasing price of the coin, but the broader bullish momentum is tied to increasing market sentiment, which is especially stark when compared to April. The likelihood of a bullish push on Ethereum continuing all throughout summer is unlikely, especially considering the realistic recession fears among the United States consumer base, who have been the driving force behind the success of BTC and ETH ETFs s ofar. Top 5 Crypto Losers of May The month of May did not see many dramatic losses on the crypto market, as the sentiment had slightly improved from April. However, certain memcoins, such as Bonk and Fartcoin, have dropped off by 10% or more over the past month of trading, which is to be expected due to their bullish performance in the prior trading periods. Bonk (BONK) -13.2% A relatively new memecoin, the price of Bonk dropped by over 13% throughout May, which is more of a pullback to lock in profits than driven by greater market forces. Bonk reached its ATH in late 2024 and has since been in free-fall, thanks to investors locking in their massive profits from the 2024 elections, which served as a major catalyst for the crypto market at the time. The annual returns of the coin also leave a lot to be desired, as BONK has declined by 55% over the past 12 months of trading. Therefore, investors that are bullish on BONK will be hopeful of a broader market turnaround to affect the project, which is less likely to occur at current market conditions, as the prevailing fear surrounding the global financial system does not warrant a prolonged bullish sentiment among investors. Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) -11.8% Another memecoin that has declined in May is Fartcoin. The hilariously-named memecoin entered the market prior to the 2024 elections, going through major peaks and troughs since the ICO. It is also worth noting that the month of May had been shaping up to be a positive one for the coin, but a sudden drop after May 24 put FARTCOIN firmly in the red - losing nearly 12% of its market value in the process. This decline seems to still be in the early stages, which means traders should expect further declines before the conditions are ripe to enter the market and buy. Much like other entries on our list, Fartcoin has also fallen sharply since May 24, which is when the sell-off started as traders cashed in on their positions. Core (CORE) -10.3% Core was one of the few altcoins that faced significant declines in May, as the coin fell by over 10% during the last week of trading, down from $0.85 to as low as $0.70 in just a week. It is also worth considering that Core has been one of the lowest-performing cryptocurrencies of the past 12 months - losing nearly 70% of its market value over the period. Therefore, those who wish to hold CORE for the long-term may want to reconsider, as returning to previous highs may take a prolonged period of time and several bullish catalysts to work in conjunction, which seems unlikely if current market conditions are anything to go by. However, increased market volatility may well become a catalyst for Core in and of itself and reclaim some lost position in a short amount of time. JasmyCoin (JASMY) -6.5% The month of May was nothing to write home about for JasmyCoin holders, as the project only dipped around 7% over the period, which is not something long-term holders may panic about. On the other hand, if seesaw trading continues to be a long-term trend on the crypto market, investors may want to recalibrate their portfolios and offload some of their JASMY holdings while the price is still relatively reasonable. It is also worth noting that JASMY’s performance history since its ICO may seem bizarre for most investors, as the coin seemingly fell off a cliff as soon as it entered the market. All of these factors do not paint a particularly bullish picture for JasmyCoin, at least not in the near-term future. Ethena (ENA) - 5% Another coin with lackluster performance has been Ethena, which dropped by 5% in May, continuing a long-winded slump since the start of 2025. While the chart may not leave much room for optimism, it also means that the prospects for a short-term pump can be attractive for speculators and if investors wish to recoup some of their losses or enter the market now, this could be a rare lifeline. Projects like Ethena were heavily speculated during the initial bull run after the election of Donald Trump in 2024, but have fallen significantly below the December-January highs, leaving long-term passive investors in a precarious position.