ZyCrypto

Ethereum (ETH) has maintained upward mobility over the past week despite market players maintaining caution over the asset’s underwhelming performance over the previous months.

Having successfully sustained momentum over the $2,000 price level, the second-largest crypto by market cap has become more attractive to traders and investors alike.

Sharing his bullish outlook for ETH, pseudonymous analyst Ali_Chart, most known for summarizing emerging price trends, took to X, formerly Twitter, to disclose his most recent observation.

“If Ethereum ETH breaks above the $2,588 resistance, it could trigger a bullish move toward $3,000.” The analyst wrote, as a caption atop a candlestick technical chart pattern displaying a steady increase in buying pressure over the past day.

https://twitter.com/ali_charts/status/1925150143919120635?s=46&t=qzsvHvtDB3yjTaoaylh-2g Ether bulls are still gunning for $3,000

On a fundamental level, Ethereum has hit a notable milestone due to continued accumulation over a long period. According to data from Santiment, Ethereum’s ratio of coins on exchanges has dropped to an all-time low, suggesting a growing demand for Ether.

Per Santiment’s report; 

“Ethereum has under 4.9% of its supply on exchanges for the first time in its 10+ year history, since November 2018.” 

Remarkably, over the last 5 years, ETH accumulation has increased rapidly, resulting in a 15.3 million reduction in the total number of Ether on exchanges.

At press time, ETH is trading at $2,655 per coin. Although ETH sustained mild losses over the last 7 days, 30-day gains remain above 59%. $2,750 and $2,850 are still key crucial resistance levels to watch out for, and a break above these prices could position ETH for a rally to the $3,000 price mark.

Chainlink (LINK) continues to be a formidable force in developing Web3 applications by bridging the gap between the outside world and blockchain smart contracts.

This explains why Chainlink recently reclaimed the $16 price zone, thanks to heightened demand, with on-chain metrics provider OCT Trades stipulating, “Altcoins will follow Bitcoin soon. First ones will be the large caps like LINK. A trend reversal is clearly visible on the chart with a short term resistance at $19 and golden pocket at $23. Support at $15 makes the downside potential low as well.”

Source: OCT Trades

Based on this analysis, Chainlink will soar to the Golden Pocket target of $23 if resistance at $19 is breached, with major support at $15 remaining steadfast.

Golden Pocket is a notable Fibonacci retracement zone between the 61.8% and 65% levels where strategic decision-making happens across trading circles.

On the other hand, market analyst Stanley Crypto recently stipulated that Chainlink’s journey to $22.85 would happen if the fifteenth-largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalization remained above the key support zone of $16.20.

Per CoinGecko data, Chainlink was up by 25.1% in the past month to hit $16.72 at the time of writing.

Chainlink Rolls Out ‘Build on Solana’ Program

To enhance Web3 projects being developed on the Solana network through ecosystem incentives and structured technical support, Chainlink recently established the ‘Build on Solana’ program. 

This initiative is based on Chainlink’s expertise in secure, reliable, decentralized oracle services.

By combining Solana’s speed with Chainlink’s oracle power, this program intends to enhance the scalability and efficiency of applications, such as gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly known as Strategy, is stepping up plans to tap the capital markets to continue stacking Bitcoin as part of its corporate strategy. The Bitcoin development company will issue up to $2.1 billion of preferred stock and use the proceeds to buy more of the flagship crypto.

Strategy’s $2.1B Stock Raise To Buy Bitcoin

Strategy, one of the world’s largest publicly listed corporate Bitcoin holders, has announced the pricing of its latest round of Preferred Strife Perpetual stock, which the firm does before announcing more Bitcoin buys.

The company has entered into a sales agreement to issue and sell up to $2.1 billion worth of shares of STRF via an at-the-market (ATM) program. Each share has a liquidation preference of $100 and has the same terms as the 8.5 million already outstanding. 

STRF, which offers a 10% annual cash dividend, is only available to institutional investors. The STRF shares will be sold gradually and strategically over a period of time through a sales agreement with TD Securities, Barclays Capital, and The Benchmark Company, which will act as sales agents.

Of course, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm said it plans to use the proceeds for “general corporate purposes,” including purchasing more Bitcoin — padding its stash of 576,230 BTC currently valued at over $63 billion. For context, the Saylor-founded company now owns more than 2.7% of Bitcoin’s total 21 million supply.

The timing of the latest offering coincides with a fresh all-time high price for Bitcoin. Earlier today, the price briefly touched $111,544 before settling near $111,100 as of publication time, according to CoinGecko data. Strategy is now sitting on over $23.8 billion in paper profits thanks to the ongoing Bitcoin rally.

Interestingly, Bitcoin set a new record just ahead of Bitcoin Pizza Day. On May 22, 2010, Florida programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two large Papa John’s pizzas with 10,000 BTC — the first real-world purchase with Bitcoin.

That sum would be worth over $1 billion today.

According to cryptocurrency traders and investors, altcoin season, a period when alternative cryptocurrencies outperform the leading asset Bitcoin, is expected to kick off anytime soon. As if to validate their sentiments, new market data hints at an Ethereum bottoming, with several major altcoins showing similar promising signals.

According to data from the on-chain analytical platform Cryptoquant, the relative price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, compared to Bitcoin, might have seen its bottom. This development is considered bullish for the altcoin market, as it could “signal the beginning of an Alt season,” CryptoQuant wrote.

Key Altcoins Showing Recovery Signs

The ETH/BTC price ratio has skyrocketed by 38% over the last week. This upward movement comes after the ratio hit the lowest level recorded since January 2020. As displayed historically, the ratio level has indicated a relative bottom for ETH and exceeded the larger altcoin outperformance.

Similar patterns are emerging across other major altcoins. XRP, which has been consolidating near multi-year lows against Bitcoin, is showing signs of accumulation as institutional interest in Ripple’s payment solutions continues to grow. The recent regulatory clarity around XRP has positioned it as a potential breakout candidate during this emerging altcoin cycle.

Solana has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with its ecosystem activity remaining robust despite broader market pressures. The blockchain’s high-performance capabilities and growing DeFi ecosystem have attracted significant developer activity, creating a foundation for potential outperformance as altcoin season gains momentum.

Meanwhile, Cardano has been quietly building momentum through its steady development progress and upcoming network upgrades. The smart contract platform’s methodical approach to development has created a loyal community base, and technical indicators suggest ADA may be primed for a significant move alongside Ethereum’s recovery.

Even meme coins are participating in the early signs of altcoin season revival. Despite its speculative nature, Shiba Inu has maintained strong community engagement and has been developing utility through its ecosystem expansion, including the ShibaSwap DEX and upcoming layer-2 solution.

Technical Analysis Confirms Bottom Formation

Putting the current market trend into perspective, excerpts of CryptoQuant’s analysis reads:

“ETH recently entered an extreme undervaluation zone relative to Bitcoin, based on the ETH/BTC MVRV metric, for the first time since 2019. Historically, similar conditions in 2017, 2018, and 2019 were followed by periods where ETH outperformed Bitcoin significantly, signaling strong mean-reversion potential.”

This pattern extends beyond Ethereum. XRP’s technical indicators show oversold conditions similar to those seen before its previous major rallies, while Solana’s on-chain metrics demonstrate continued network growth despite price suppression. Cardano’s development activity remains high, suggesting fundamental strength that could translate to price appreciation once market sentiment shifts.

Remarkably, the increase in demand for ETH relative to Bitcoin as well as the decline in selling pressure, is another market trend affirming ETH’s recent underperformance and possible bottom against Bitcoin. Similar accumulation patterns are visible across the altcoin spectrum, with smart money quietly positioning for the expected altcoin resurgence.

Volume Surge Indicates Renewed Interest

Another key event validating the presence of altcoin season is the price in the relative ratio of ETH’s spot trading volume, which hit 0.89, a level last seen in August 2024. As the analysis highlighted, this development points to an increase in traders, holders, and investors’ exposure to ETH in comparison to Bitcoin.

The volume surge isn’t limited to Ethereum. XRP has seen increased whale activity, with large transactions suggesting institutional accumulation. Solana’s trading volume has maintained healthy levels despite market volatility, while Cardano has experienced renewed retail interest following recent development milestones. Even Shiba Inu has maintained surprisingly consistent trading volume, indicating sustained community engagement.

It bears mentioning that this pattern was experienced from 2019 to 2021, a time when ETH outpaced Bitcoin by increasing its value by four times its price. During that same period, other major altcoins experienced even more dramatic gains, with some assets delivering 10x to 100x returns as the altcoin season peaked.

Market Outlook

At press time, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is valued at $2,672 per coin, while XRP trades around key support levels. Solana maintains its position as a top-10 cryptocurrency, Cardano shows signs of breaking from its consolidation pattern, and Shiba Inu continues to benefit from meme coin momentum.

As these technical and fundamental indicators align, the cryptocurrency market appears to be setting the stage for what could be the next significant altcoin season, with Ethereum leading the charge and major altcoins like XRP, Solana, Cardano, and even speculative assets like Shiba Inu positioned to potentially benefit from the shifting market dynamics.

Bitcoin price reclaimed a bullish edge this week, topping $111,000 for the first time in its history and rallying more than 33% over the past month.

The surge reflects institutional demand, ETF inflows, and growing confidence in U.S. regulatory clarity. Inflows into U.S. Bitcoin ETFs alone surpassed $3.6 billion in May, their largest monthly total since January, while Bitcoin briefly touched $111,816 during Asian trading on May 22, 2025.

At the same time, the U.S. Senate moved forward on the bipartisan GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation bill analysts say could expand the market from $248 billion today to $2.5 trillion by 2030. Traders are now pricing in targets between $125,000 and $300,000 by late June.

Bitcoin Price Hits New ATH

Bitcoin price jumped as much as 2.2% to $111,492 in early Asian trading on May 22, 2025, before settling slightly lower.The rally sent Bitcoin’s one-month gain to over 33%, reversing a 25% correction from its January high above $100,000.

BTC/USDT Chart| Source: TradingView

Ethereum rose 4.5% to $2,619, and Solana climbed 1.9% to $176, underscoring a broad crypto upswing.

According to FundFlows data, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs drew more than $3.6 billion in new capital this month, their largest inflow since January 2025.

Strategy, the largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder, boosted its position by over $50 billion this quarter, reinforcing a trend of corporate accumulation.

Twenty-One Capital, backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and SoftBank, also announced significant Bitcoin purchases, mirroring Strategy’s model. 

On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed a procedural vote on the GENIUS Act, a bipartisan bill to regulate dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Market participants view the legislation as a critical step toward clearer rules and reduced legal uncertainty for crypto firms.

Under the new framework, Standard Chartered projects stablecoin market growth to $2.5 trillion by 2030, up from $248 billion today. 

Options Market Sentiment

Deribit data show peak open interest around the $110,000, $120,000, and $300,000 strike prices for contracts expiring June 27, indicating traders expect further gains.

Options traders now forecast a rally to $120,000 by month-end, with bullish positions swamping bearish bets. 

Analysts at Deutsche Bank note that easing U.S.-China trade tensions and a softer dollar have reinforced Bitcoin’s appeal as a hedge. 

Tony Sycamore of IG Markets described the January–April pullback—from above $100,000 to below $75,000—as a healthy correction within a longer uptrend.

Bloomberg reported that growing bipartisan support in Congress for crypto regulation underpins renewed institutional interest.

Bitcoin’s ascent above $111,000 underscores that market sentiment now hinges as much on policy and institutional flows as on macroeconomic trends.

The convergence of ETF inflows, corporate purchases, and stablecoin legislation has reignited investor confidence. As the GENIUS Act progresses and options markets price in even higher targets, traders and investors alike will watch to see if Bitcoin can sustain its momentum and reassert its role as a leading digital asset.

BTC is currently trading at $110,480 after a slight correction from new ATH, according to CoinGecko data. The crypto king is up 3,8% over the past 24 hours.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap reclaimed the $100,000 price mark over a week ago and has managed to sustain momentum above that level. 

Interestingly, Bitcoin’s near-term price outlook remains bullish, as market experts have spotted key market patterns that further strengthen the leading asset’s already optimistic outlook.

More recently, the pseudonymous analyst TradingShot shared a post to TradingView, a crypto data provider, in which he highlighted how “Bitcoin has unfolded a very interesting pattern since its April 07 bottom.”

As the analyst asserted, since the asset’s bottom at $74,500, the big bull has continuously targeted all 10k intervals above it, from $74,000 to $84,000 and $94,000. Notably, the asset is now hovering around the $104,000 mark.

Upon hitting the aforementioned price levels, Bitcoin witnessed a price consolidation, forming what the analyst calls a “structured Channel Up.”

While the “Channel Up” may not be sustained long-term, its consistency thus far suggests that the asset could go on to target price levels above the $100,000 mark, with key prices sitting at $114,000, $124,000, and $134,000. 

“If this pattern continues to hold for as much time as it has since the bottom, then we may see $134k by late June/ early July.” The analyst wrote as a conclusive observation. 

Although Bitcoin is slightly down from its all-time high of $109,114, Bitcoin bulls have soared by 22.68% in the last 30 days. 

During the time of this report, Bitcoin is trading at a press time price of $103,596, with only 0.15% in weekly losses and 0.01% worth of gains sustained over the last hour. 

It is worth noting that the global cryptocurrency market is trading upwards, with a total market cap valuation of $3.49 trillion and gains over the last 24 hours sitting at 3.97%.

Prominent attorney and cryptocurrency personality Bill Morgan has outlined the next possible steps for crypto giant Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after District Court Judge Analisa Torres rejected the proposal between both parties. 

On May 16, 2025, Judge Torres denied the joint request from Ripple and the SEC because it was a procedure she considered improper. Torres added that the request was also not within her jurisdiction because the case is still under appeal. However, if it was, the Judge asserted that the motion would still be denied, as it did not address Rule 60, which oversees the justification of relief requests from final judgments. 

While the court’s denial focused solely on the procedure and did not hint at any disapproval of the settlement, the procedural situation has now prolonged the case.

However, attorney Bill Morgan maintains that the settlement agreement has not been rendered useless; it remains whole. 

Possible case scenarios for Ripple and the U.S. SEC

The attorney added that should an indicative ruling be obtained from the Judge, both parties could file a motion to the Court of Appeals for a limited remand to seek relief agreed between Ripple and the SEC from Judge Analisa Torres. 

If the limited remand is granted, both parties could file a motion with the Judge seeking the relief they initially agreed upon.

Bill Morgan further explained that with the dissolution of the injunction and the payment of the $125 million civil fine, now reduced to $50 million, both parties could file a motion with the Second Circuit Court to dismiss the Appeal and cross-appeal. 

At this stage, Bill Morgan explained that another joint motion by both parties, which is considered “procedurally correct”, could be filed. 

Notably, the attorney conclusively acknowledged the recent remarks made by Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, who is convinced that both Ripple and the U.S. regulator will work together in court while addressing the issues raised by the Judge. 

Nothing in today’s order changes Ripple’s wins (i.e. XRP is not a security, etc). This is about procedural concerns with the dismissal of Ripple’s cross-appeal. Ripple and the SEC are fully in agreement to resolve this case and will revisit this issue with the Court, together. https://t.co/vBQdBD3FNe

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) May 15, 2025

The market outlook for ADA is becoming increasingly bullish, courtesy of the asset’s continued upward movement in May. According to a market expert, the second half of the month looks even more promising for the altcoin. 

In a recent post shared with X, prominent pseudonymous analyst Ali_Charts shared a potential scenario for the 9th-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The analyst forecasted $1 as a potentially attainable near-term price point for ADA bulls.

As depicted in his ADA technical chart, which dates back to December 2024, a long-term bullish formation signals a possible price hike to the $1 mark. However, the analyst asserted that this scenario is only attainable if bulls successfully break above the $0.81 resistance level. 

Once the hurdle is crossed, ADA bulls could target $1 as the next price mark for the altcoin. The analyst wrote, “If Cardano ADA breaks above the $0.81 resistance, it could set its sights on $1.”

If #Cardano $ADA breaks above the $0.81 resistance, it could set its sights on $1. pic.twitter.com/cigCc7NFwG

— Ali (@ali_charts) May 15, 2025

While failure to break resistance has sent the bulls below the $0.80 price mark, the possibility of a retest is still very likely, as the bulls have managed to contain extreme selling pressure.

At the time of this report, ADA is trading for $0.79, with sustained weekly gains sitting at 6%. Bulls have notably sustained a slow but steady recovery over the past month, with 30-day gains soaring above 27%.

Alongside the positive technical outlook for ADA, another fundamentally bullish uptrend has been spotted in the broader Cardano market. According to data from Taptools, the odds of ADA receiving a spot ETF have soared by 45% since the start of the year, signaling a rise in institutional interest in altcoin ETFs.

An ADA ETF approval could catalyze a price rally for the already promising asset, as with leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Justin Sun–co-founder of TRON, billionaire, and collector of fine arts was revealed as the biggest holder of President Trump’s memecoin, earning him the top spot at Trump’s crypto dinner. Justin Sun owns 1.4 million TRUMP tokens, amounting to around $19 million. There was much speculation as to the identity of the top holder of the memecoin TRUMP. The crypto dinner was arranged for top holders to converse with the president. The dinner is considered controversial because it appears that Trump is using his position in office to enrich himself financially.

Sun described himself as a top fan of Donald Trump. The meme coin dinner will be held at Trump’s DC golf course, and the top 220 meme coin holders will be invited. Sun is looking forward to the event and said it will be a good opportunity to connect with everyone and discuss the future of cryptocurrencies. The TRUMP meme coin website ranked the top holder as “Sun.” However, until now, there has been no confirmation that the name referred to the billionaire Justin Sun.

Sun has also invested $75 million into World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked blockchain, described by Trump’s sons as a decentralized bank that will improve access to financial services. Sun, therefore, has invested over $90 million into the Trump empire, taking into account the recent memecoin dinner that costs around $19 million. World Liberty Financial is heavily associated with the Trump family, with 75% of the proceeds going to Trump-owned businesses. Sun, who co-founded the TRON blockchain ecosystem, was born in China and was hand-picked by Jack Ma to attend his elite university for entrepreneurs.

The memecoin dinner has been blasted by critics, particularly Democrats, who see the TRUMP dinner as a blatant form of corruption. The Trump administration has been very supportive of the crypto industry. The SEC has dropped many high-profile cases, such as those against Ripple Labs and Coinbase. Many cases are being dropped, with the recent repositioning of the American justice system. Sun may use the opportunity to talk about regulatory changes. There are many opportunities for crypto businesses to take advantage of the changing attitude towards cryptocurrencies. American regulators charged Sun in 2023 with market manipulation and offering unregulated securities. Local news outlets also allege that the FBI was investigating Sun. These efforts by American law enforcement would have prevented Sun from attending the memecoin dinner.

The TRUMP meme coin ranked the top holders to ascertain who would get access to the meme coin dinner. The top coin belonged to the exchange HTX. However, it was further speculated that the wallet belonged to Justin Sun because it was labeled “Sun.” Justin Sun acts as an advisor for the HTX exchange. It is now confirmed that Sun is the owner of the TRUMP address. The meme coin was released in January. Sun, who initially purchased 800,000 TRUMP tokens, now owns around 1.4 million TRUMP tokens.

Cardano (ADA) is in a tight corner after dropping below the psychological price of $0.75, as lower highs and lower lows increase bearish pressure.

In technical analysis, lower highs and lower lows depict a downtrend since buyers are not strong enough to push the price as high as before.

Therefore, sellers are usually in control in such a situation because they keep pushing the price down further.

This explains why, according to CoinGecko data, Cardano has lost 7.1% of its value in the past week and is currently trading at $0.735. 

Despite this drop, whales are not relenting in their quest to accumulate more Cardano. They recently purchased more than 80 million ADA, worth a whopping $57 million.

Thanks to this development, all hope is not lost for Cardano because whales expect a price increase in the near future.

Market analyst Jimmy X recently opined that Cardano was eyeing a bullish reversal that could see the ninth-largest cryptocurrency surge to the $1 price zone based on market capitalization.

Source: Jimmy X

Crypto analyst Arab Crypta recently shared similar sentiments, stating that ADA had set its eyes on the psychological price of $3 since buyers were continuously defending the neckline.

Famed for its peer-reviewed and scientific approach, Cardano is a third-generation blockchain that intends to solve sustainability, interoperability, and scalability issues in earlier networks, such as Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).

Solana holders are stacking up their portfolio despite a poor institutional performance last week. The number of addresses with up to 0.1 or more SOL hit a new all-time high. This falls within the range of small retail wallets showing strong optimism over two quarters. Most retail interests can be linked to growing DeFi activities, suggesting a sustained price surge.

DeFi Sparks Fresh Demand

On-chain data shows that 11.6 million wallets have at least $0.1 SOL, signaling systemic adoption growth. The soaring retail holders are a major shift from other networks that have seen whales swallow small holder positions. For Solana, retail adopters are spiking for various reasons, including an imminent price rally and an influx of DeFi services on the network.

In December 2024, the figure reached 9 million, with analysts projecting a bullish year marked with favourable macro factors. Despite a weak start due to extended trade wars, Solana’s network activity grew, drawing institutional attention. At the time of writing, total value locked (TVL) on the ecosystem surged past $10.9 billion.

The network’s TVL has surpassed Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum and is positioned to attract more users in the coming months. Solana’s decentralized application (DApp) revenue also hit the highest point in three months due to a spike in staking interest. Furthermore, the frenzy around Solana meme coins placed adoption in top gear.

Last year, top Solana meme coins tapped new highs amid a spike in crypto adoption. Official Trump ranks highest with a $2.6 billion market capitalization, while daily trading volumes are near $1 billion. The token exchanges hands at $14.22, a 6% upswing today. Meanwhile, BONK, Fartcoin, and dogwifhat are next with rising community support.

Institutional Funds: A Necessity For Solana

Solana’s uphill price climb cannot solely be sustained with retail demand reaching an all-time high. The network saw a similar spike in institutional activity in the same period. Data from CoinShares shows consecutive weekly inflows to Solana funds. In addition to on-chain factors, these inflows heightened bull pressure in Q4 2024, setting the benchmark this year. 

The clamor for spot Solana ETFs in the United States fueled optimism for a mega price rally ahead. SOL is expected to notch huge inflows after approval as an institutional favorite asset.

Having reclaimed the psychological price of $100,000 after failing to do so for a couple of months, bullish sentiments continue to rock the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem about the possibility of hitting $116,000 in the near future.

According to market analyst Trading Heights, “BTC is brewing within this converging triangle with decreasing volume, which is a common indicator of potential for a breakout.”

Source: Trading Heights

Based on this analysis, Bitcoin finds itself inside a converging triangle, which might trigger the bullish momentum needed for the apex cryptocurrency to skyrocket to $116,000.

If approved, Bitcoin will shatter its current all-time high of $108,786 and set a new historic high.

According to CoinGecko data, BTC was up by 24.4% in the past month to hit $108,593 at the time of writing.

Will Interest Rate Cuts Boost Bitcoin’s Chances of a New All-Time High?

President Donald Trump continues to make calls about interest rate cuts.

Taking on X, formerly Twitter, President Trump pointed out that the Fed ought to cut interest rates sooner rather than later.

Source: Twitter

This would be a welcome move in the crypto market because lower interest rates make borrowing cheaper. The money supply would increase in the process since investors and consumers could take more loans and spend more freely.

As a result, more liquidity usually finds its way into riskier assets, such as stocks and Bitcoin.

Therefore, interest rate cuts will enhance Bitcoin’s chances of hitting new historic highs, thanks to heightened demand.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin enjoys a remarkable hodl culture, given that whales recently offloaded more than 17,000 BTC in just a week.

Furthermore, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has acquired an additional 1,004 BTC for $104.3 million, bringing its total holdings to 7,800 BTC.

Ripple’s expansion strategy this year has led to an attempt to acquire stablecoin issuer Circle. 

As ZyCrypto reported recently, the New York-based issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, held informal talks with stablecoin rival Ripple and its long-time partner, Coinbase, about a potential sale, with the company seeking at least $5 billion.

While Ripple seems more aggressive and owns a huge hoard of XRP tokens, Coinbase may still have the edge, given its deep history with Circle. 

“If Coinbase wanted to buy them, Circle would sell in a heartbeat,” a source reportedly revealed.

For Ripple, owning Circle would give it an instant seat at the table in the global stablecoin economy as the blockchain payments firm begins to clear some of its legal entanglements with US regulators.

However, skeptics are already throwing up antitrust red flags and cautioning of a potential disaster if the deal with Ripple succeeds.

A Potential Disaster Brewing?

However, a popular lawyer has suggested that Ripple’s potential takeover of Circle could have a considerable negative impact on the wider crypto market.

“This could end up being crypto apocalypse. Making Ripple the largest asset issuer on every blockchain would obviously be disastrous and anticompetitive,” MetaLeX Labs founder Gabriel Shapiro wrote on X.

Shapiro pointed out that Ripple previously used its influence to harm its competitors by spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). In 2022, for instance, Ripple’s Chris Larsen teamed up with Greenpeace to force a BTC code change to reduce the energy use of the industry’s largest cryptocurrency by market value.

Moreover, Shapiro believes that even if the acquisition by Ripple is successful, it will likely fail to pass antitrust muster. Regulators review deals for antitrust concerns, indicating that they will determine whether the deal could give Ripple too much control over the stablecoin business. 

“If a definitive agreement is signed, we will be at the DoJ’s and FTC’s doorstep, citing Ripple’s history of campaigns against Bitcoin and Ethereum,” Shapiro continued. 

The pundit further argued that Circle should consider the Revlon doctrine, which posits that a company should choose the best deal for its shareholders — including weighing antitrust risk.

Bitcoin price rallied to a new all-time high above $109,000 on May 21, propelled by a sudden thaw in global trade tensions and expectations of looser monetary policy.

The cryptocurrency traded around $109,369 on late trading, extending a rally that lifted prices about 6% in the past week.

This move follows a breakthrough above $100,000 earlier in May, as investors responded to signs that President Trump’s global tariff offensive might be easing.

Trade Truce Sparks Global Rally

The immediate catalyst was a surprise 90-day “tariff truce” between the United States and China. On May 12, officials in Geneva announced a pause on new levies and sharp rollbacks of existing duties, slashing reciprocal tariffs by roughly 115 percentage points to about 10%. 

Global markets leaped on the news: stock futures and Asian equities jumped, and commodity prices rallied on hopes of a broad trade-war détente.

Bitcoin investors also took notice. Analysts note that the tariff pause removed the risk of ‘sudden re‑escalation’, which had been weighing on risk appetite.

In other words, as the trade conflict eased, risk assets like Bitcoin rallied without the overhang of fresh tariffs.

Liquidity Surge and Institutional Flows

Broader macroeconomic conditions have added fuel to the crypto rally. Central banks worldwide are signaling easier policy. 

In the U.S., futures markets are now priced at multiple rate cuts this year, and a weaker dollar has coincided with renewed growth in global money supply.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has maintained an accommodative stance, and the Bank of Japan continues massive asset purchases, reinforcing the loose global liquidity backdrop.

China’s central bank has also begun pumping cash into markets. Such ample liquidity typically lifts risk assets, and Bitcoin has benefited accordingly.

At the same time, institutional investors have been pouring into crypto. Hedge funds and asset managers have funneled record sums into spot-Bitcoin ETFs and futures, betting on higher prices.

Leading figures in the crypto industry have expressed firm bullish conviction. Former PayPal and Meta executive David Marcus tweeted, “the bull case for Bitcoin has never been stronger,” citing easier custody solutions at banks and competition from sovereign and corporate buyers.

Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of Binance, echoed this optimism. Analysts even project Bitcoin could reach around $150,000 if regulatory conditions remain favorable.

Bitcoin Market Outlook

Looking ahead, analysts are divided on just how far Bitcoin can climb. Some have raised year-end targets above $130,000. Jamie Coutts of Real Vision warns that the relentless expansion of fiat money means Bitcoin “may push…above $132,000” by late 2025.

Source: X

Even major banks have revised their models: Standard Chartered’s crypto research team recently suggested that a $120,000 second-quarter price target might be “too low”.

On the other hand, many caution that the rally could pause or correct if global liquidity peaks or regulators tighten. Bitcoin’s price historically follows four-year “halving” cycles tied to new coin issuance, and some forecasters see the current monetary easing lasting through 2025.

Those forces could cool Bitcoin’s momentum if central banks eventually reverse course or inflation spikes. For now, however, the rare alignment of easing trade tensions and abundant liquidity, coupled with growing institutional adoption, has set the stage for one of crypto’s strongest rallies.

Crypto analyst Fred Krueger recently outlined a dramatic scenario in which Bitcoin’s price explodes from roughly $150,000 to $600,000 between July 21 and Oct. 19, 2025.

He released this forecast on social media as a five-stage plan (dubbed “The Last Rally”). In Krueger’s view, each phase involves major financial shocks—from a failed U.S. Treasury auction to a new Bretton Woods–style summit—that together would drive a parabolic Bitcoin rally.

Krueger’s outline breaks down into sequential “phases,” each building toward the rally. In summary:

Phase I: A $200 billion U.S. Treasury auction fails, prompting the Fed to signal “extraordinary measures.” In this environment, Bitcoin briefly jumps (from $158k to $165k) and gold hits $4,200. Simultaneously, BRICS countries establish an independent payment network using gold and Bitcoin.

Phase II: A major U.S. pension fund defaults on obligations. The Fed imposes yield curve control, capping 10-year yields at 6.5%, and the dollar weakens sharply. Under these conditions, Krueger projects Bitcoin at $215,000, oil around $122, and gold about $5,800. (He also notes Germany pledges to back the euro with new gold reserves.)

Phase III: U.S. home prices plunge 35% and 10-year Treasury yields spike above 8.5%. Bitcoin surges to about $390,000 in this turmoil while gold reaches $8,900.

Each of these phases is meant to stoke a flight to alternative assets. For example, in Phase I, Bitcoin and gold initially rise on the chaos, and by Phase III, soaring yields and housing losses further erode confidence in fiat. All dollar figures above are Krueger’s estimates for that stage.

Corporate Moves and Currency Restructuring

Krueger’s final phases bring in corporate buyers and a full currency reset:

Phase IV: Major tech giants (Apple, Tesla, Google) “convert their balance sheets to Bitcoin.” Apple alone accumulates 200,000 BTC. Latin American governments also turn to crypto. 

Meanwhile, the IMF announces a new global reserve basket (50% Bitcoin, 30% gold, 10% yuan, 10% other) and the Bank of England issues Bitcoin-backed bonds. By this point, Bitcoin exceeds $525,000.

Phase V: A “New Bretton Woods” summit in Geneva restructures the U.S. dollar. The dollar gains 25% Bitcoin and 25% gold collateral, and the Fed launches a digital dollar (CBDC), expanding its balance sheet to $44 trillion. 

In this finale, Bitcoin reaches $600,000, gold $10,400, and oil $180 per barrel. The U.S. dollar index (DXY) drops to the high 60s.

In other words, Krueger foresees an unprecedented reshuffling: global reserve currencies realign around BTC and gold. His scenario explicitly puts the dollar index around 68 and projects the S&P 500 roughly halving (a 50% drop from current levels).

Krueger’s scenario is highly controversial. It depends on a chain of severe crises that have not occurred. The “$600K prediction” is still viewed as speculative and even “controversial”. Nonetheless, it has sparked discussion online about what market or policy events could set off the proposed rally.

Bitcoin’s Price Trajectory

For context, Bitcoin price has indeed been rallying in mid-2025. After briefly dipping to just above $100,000 in mid-May, BTC quickly rebounded above $103,000.

BTC/USDT Price Chart| Source: TradingView

By May 21, it traded around $107–108K, a 14% gain since the start of May. In this rally, the total crypto market capitalization climbed past $3.36 trillion.

Despite these gains, Bitcoin remains below its January 2025 all-time high ($109,000). Traders note that the uptrend has formed a bullish flag pattern, with key resistance in the $112k—$120k range.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is $108,352, having climbed 3% over the last 24 hours. It has a trading volume of $67 billion. 

The market is also digesting macro factors (Fed policy, tariffs, etc.) that could fuel or cap the rally. In short, Bitcoin’s current momentum is strong, but many analysts view further moves as contingent on traditional-market dynamics.

PHASE V: THE RESET (Week 12–13) Monday, October 6U.S. declares emergency “New Bretton Woods” summit in Geneva.Dollar is restructured:25% backed by BTC25% by goldCBDC launchedFed balance sheet is $44 trillion.BTC touches $600,000Gold at $10,400Oil at…

— Fred Krueger (@dotkrueger) May 20, 2025

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed deciding whether to allow the trading of altcoin spot ETFs, which give investors exposure to Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ripple-affiliated XRP.

Wall Street’s biggest regulator said in Tuesday filings that it had extended its review period for the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, the Grayscale XRP Trust, and the Grayscale Dogecoin Trust.

The SEC suspended the original May 21-22 decision deadlines to further examine whether the proposals satisfy Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5) requirements for preventing fraud and protecting investors.

Cboe and NYSE, where the 21Shares and Grayscale funds would be listed, respectively, submitted their requests for rule changes earlier this year. The 21Shares Core XRP Trust plans to track the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, with Coinbase Custody providing storage for the assets. Grayscale’s Dogecoin Trust would track CoinDesk’s Dogecoin Price Index, while its XRP Trust would follow CoinDesk’s XRP Price Index.

Dogecoin is the world’s oldest and largest memecoin, with a market capitalization of around $33.7 billion as of May 21, according to data from CoinGecko. XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger blockchain network. It has a market capitalization of approximately $138 billion, CoinGecko data shows.

“Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change,” the SEC wrote.

Delays Are Expected

The SEC has postponed decisions on a bevy of crypto ETF proposals in recent months as it mulls dozens of proposals, despite the Commission under the Trump administration adopting a friendlier approach to digital assets. Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the SEC has dismissed several enforcement cases against crypto firms, and the commission’s crypto task force has met with reps of several companies in recent months as part of efforts to explore potential changes to digital asset regulation. 

According to Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart, SEC delays on spot crypto ETFs are to be expected.

“If we’re gonna see early approvals from the SEC on any of these assets — I wouldn’t expect to see them until late June or early July at the absolute earliest. More likely to be in early Q4,” Seyffart wrote in a May 20 post on X.

Seyffart pointed out that the SEC usually takes advantage of the full time allotted to respond, no matter who is in charge at the SEC.

“Almost all of these filings have final due dates in October. Early decisions would the action that’s out of the norm. No matter how ‘Crypto-friendly’ this SEC is. There’s no conspiracy here. lol,” Seyffart opined.

JPMorgan Chase, the world’s largest bank in terms of market cap, announced that it will now let customers buy Bitcoin. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, said he did not like Bitcoin but understood that customers deserve the right to choose which assets they invest in. The remarks by Dimon come at a JPMorgan investor day event, which aims to promote the bank and champion its progress. JPMorgan has a market cap of $740 billion, making it the largest bank in the world. JPMorgan manages over $4 trillion in assets, adding to its reputation and pride when dealing with investment preferences. Dimon has a history of disparaging Bitcoin, calling it a fraud, and during a Senate hearing with Elizabeth Warren, saying that he would close it down if he were in charge. Such statements, however, could not stop the tide of history, with many investors demanding that JPMorgan let them buy Bitcoin.

Despite its CEO disparaging Bitcoin, JPMorgan will release a managed fund for Bitcoin investors. JPMorgan will actively manage the fund, but will not maintain custody of a Bitcoin wallet. The mega bank seems to be the least likely institution to embrace Bitcoin, given the comments made by its CEO. The new Bitcoin fund will be released this summer. The custody of cryptocurrencies will be outsourced to NYDIG, a crypto company. JPMorgan will actively manage the Bitcoin fund, a new development because many fund managers like Pantera Capital allow clients to invest in Bitcoin without handling it themselves.

Dimon has been very vocal about his criticism of Bitcoin, even going so far as to say that he would fire any JPMorgan employee who traded the digital asset. He said that the act of trading Bitcoin was “stupid” and noted that Bitcoin has no “intrinsic value”, which most likely refers to the fact that Bitcoin doesn’t have cash flows. However, Bitcoin is an unprecedented financial innovation. Dimon also said that criminals use Bitcoin. However, fiat currency is still the preferred medium for crime. JPMorgan, meanwhile, is investing in blockchain technology, executing its first transaction on a public blockchain last week.

Dimon, meanwhile, is more concerned about the economy. He says that the risk of stagflation is most likely two times the amount factored in by the market. Dimon believes that stagflation will cause many problems for banks and companies. Dimon has both positive and negative things to say about Trump’s administration. He praises regulatory efforts and states that there is a clear motive to fix problems in that area. But he also points out that JPMorgan has lost a lot of business due to Trump’s tariff war.

Dimon seems to flip-flop on his attitude towards Bitcoin. The JPMorgan CEO said he thinks blockchain is overrated and less important than people think. This recent statement during his speech this week contrasts with his previous comments about blockchain, where he has treated blockchain innovation separately from Bitcoin and even supported practical blockchain projects. Regardless of Dimon’s remarks, JPMorgan ran its first transaction on a public blockchain last week and has its own blockchain-based JPM coin.

An American tourist has lost $123,000 worth of Bitcoin and Ripple’s XRP after being robbed and drugged by a fake Uber driver following a brief stay in the city.

According to a new report from local news publication MyLondon, Jacob Irwin-Cline from Portland, Oregon, was on a two-day layover when he requested an Uber after leaving The Roxy, a nightclub in Soho, around 1:30 AM on May 9. The 30-year-old former software developer and crypto investor said he was intercepted by a driver who appeared to match the profile displayed in the app and who called out the alias he had saved as his name in the Uber account.

Having reportedly later asked the nightclub for CCTV footage of the incident, Irwin-Cline said it was a “dark sedan” that pulled up, and not the Toyota Prius that was listed on his Uber app.

“The guy seemed super chill, super nice,” Irwin-Cline narrated.

The techie said he accepted a cigarette from the driver and started feeling disoriented shortly afterwards. He believes the cigarette may have been laced with scopolamine, also known as “Devil’s Breath,” a powerful sedative known for causing blackouts while keeping victims conscious.

While in a semi-conscious state, Irwin-Cline inadvertently handed over his phone’s passcode and access to his crypto accounts before he was abandoned in a London suburb as the fake taxi driver fled with his phone.

“Less Than 1% Chance” Of Recovering Lost Funds

After returning to his hostel with the help of a stranger, he discovered his laptop had been wiped remotely, and he was locked out of his digital accounts. He later regained access but realized that roughly $123,000 in crypto had been withdrawn from his wallet, including around $73,000 in XRP tokens and $50,000 in Bitcoin.

He reportedly shared screenshots with MyLondon revealing his XRP holdings dropped from $73,000 to under $1,000 and his BTC from $50,000 to less than $10 on that fateful night.

Irwin-Cline said he doesn’t think he was targeted beforehand and that instead the assailant got “lucky” that he had some wealth “stored away.” The FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit is investigating the case, though the crypto investor believes there is “less than one per cent chance” of getting his funds back.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged crypto platform Unicoin and three top executives on Tuesday with fraud. The SEC claimed that they made false and misleading statements about their tokens and raised over $100 million from investors.

Unicoin Accused of Violating Securities Laws in Raising Over $100 Million

In a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York on May 20, the SEC accused Unicoin CEO Alex Konanykhin, former board chair Maria Moschini, senior vice president and general counsel Richard Devlin and former chief investment officer Alejandro Dominguez of misleading over 5,000 investors about so-called “rights certificates” that conveyed rights to receive Unicoin tokens and stock.

“We allege that Unicoin and its executives exploited thousands of investors with fictitious promises that its tokens, when issued, would be backed by real-world assets including an international portfolio of valuable real estate holdings,” Mark Cave, associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement. “But as we allege, the real estate assets were worth a mere fraction of what the company claimed.”

The SEC argued that Unicoin never actually owned the real estate properties it told investors it had purchased, and that those properties’ values were greatly exaggerated.

Unicoin allegedly placed ads in airports, taxis, office building elevator screens, and on television programs to lure investors, touting the offerings as the “next generation” secure investments.

The complaint further alleges that Unicoin falsely claimed its tokens were registered with the SEC and that it had made $3 billion in sales by June 2024, when it sold just over $110 million in its rights certificates.

According to court documents, the SEC is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement, and civil penalties against all named defendants, as well as officer-and-director prohibitions for the three senior executives.

Devlin agreed to pay a $37,500 civil penalty, without admitting or denying the charges.

The lawsuit comes as the SEC, under the new Trump-Vance administration, has dismissed several high-profile crypto enforcement cases, including recent cases against Coinbase, Ripple, Robinhood, and Consensys. These SEC actions are part of a radical change from the hostile regulatory stance adopted by the previous Biden regime.

Blackstone, which considers itself to be the “world’s largest alternative asset manager,” has dipped its toes into crypto, purchasing shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to a May 20 filing, Blackstone bought just around $1.08 million worth of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), despite boasting approximately $1.2 trillion in assets under management.

Blackstone reported holding 23,094 shares of IBIT at the end of the fiscal quarter ending March 31. The IBIT shares were added to Blackstone’s Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund (BTMIX), which holds $2.63 billion worth of assets, as per Google Finance data. This is the first time the asset manager has disclosed investing in anything crypto-related.

Despite IBIT’s outstanding performance, it appears that Blackstone is not yet ready to commit substantial capital to investing in the apex crypto.

It’s worth mentioning that Blackstone has largely steered clear of crypto. Back in September 2019, Blackstone co-founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman said he liked the blockchain technology but thought its use for money was “pretty odd.”

“[I was] raised in a world where someone needs to control currencies,” he noted at the time.

Schwarzman further admitted he wasn’t much of a fan of Bitcoin, citing difficulties understanding the technology.

BlackRock On Track To Overtake Satoshi’s Bitcoin Stash

BlackRock’s IBIT has drawn in a net inflow of over $46 billion since it went live on Wall Street in January 2024, signaling institutions’ persistent confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects.

Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted in a recent post on X that BlackRock is now the second-biggest Bitcoin holder globally, trailing only the mysterious BTC inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. Balchunas believes the asset manager is poised to surpass Satoshi’s holdings by next summer.

The pundit reckons that if the Bitcoin price climbs to $150,000 in the coming months, it could spark a “feeding frenzy” among financial advisors, which would help BlackRock attain this milestone even more quickly.