Here are the major news updates in the cryptocurrency field as of early May 2025, compiled from various sources:
1. Policy and Regulatory Dynamics
1. Draft discussion of the US (Digital Asset Market Structure Bill) released
The US House Financial Services Committee released a draft discussion of the (2025 Digital Asset Market Structure Bill), aimed at establishing a unified regulatory framework, clarifying definitions of digital goods, stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), etc., and granting the CFTC and SEC divided regulatory authority. The bill emphasizes consumer protection and promotes innovation and is currently in the public consultation phase.
2. Chinese Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates and Reserve Requirement
The People's Bank of China announced a 0.5 percentage point reduction in the reserve requirement ratio, releasing approximately 1 trillion yuan in long-term liquidity, and lowered the policy interest rate by 0.1 percentage points. This move may indirectly impact the flow of funds in the crypto market by increasing market liquidity.
3. SEC delays approval of Litecoin ETF
The US SEC has delayed making a decision on the Litecoin spot ETF application submitted by Canary Capital, initiating a public opinion solicitation process, focusing on issues of fraud and market manipulation.
4. New Hampshire Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bill
This state becomes the first in the US to allow state funds to allocate up to 5% of their funds to Bitcoin, with the bill requiring compliant custodial management of assets and expected to take effect in 60 days.
2. Institutional and Market Trends
1. Nvidia May Consider Allocating Bitcoin Assets
Market rumors suggest that Nvidia is exploring the addition of Bitcoin to its balance sheet. If true, this would significantly enhance institutional recognition of Bitcoin, but it has not been officially confirmed yet.
2. Surge in Bitcoin ETF Demand
Last week, the US spot Bitcoin ETF saw a net inflow of $1.8 billion, with purchase volumes reaching nearly 6 times the miner output (18,644 vs. 3,150), and BlackRock's IBIT fund continues to lead fund inflows.
3. MicroStrategy Continues to Accumulate Bitcoin
Michael Saylor announced that the company holds 555,450 bitcoins, with a return of 14% year-to-date in 2025. Wall Street institution Bernstein predicts that by 2029, companies will purchase an additional $330 billion in Bitcoin, with MicroStrategy possibly contributing $124 billion.
4. Bitwise applies for NEAR spot ETF
Crypto asset management company Bitwise submitted a NEAR spot ETF application to the SEC, planned to be hosted by Coinbase, further expanding the crypto ETF product line.
3. Technological Upgrades and On-Chain Dynamics
1. Ethereum's Pectra upgrade mainnet activation
This upgrade includes increasing the validator's staking cap (32 ETH→2048 ETH), enhancing data storage capacity (number of blobs increased to 9), and optimizing the smart contract structure (introducing EVM object format). It is expected to improve Layer 2 network performance and user experience.
2. ZKsync achieves full EVM equivalence
Developers can now directly deploy Ethereum contracts to the ZKsync chain without the need for custom tools, significantly lowering development barriers, although some EVM instructions are still restricted.
3. Intensified Net Outflow of Bitcoin from Exchanges
In the past week, there was a net outflow of 15,700 BTC from exchanges, reducing the total balance to 2.2 million BTC, with Coinbase and Binance being the main outflow platforms, indicating that investors prefer to hold long-term.
4. Market Performance and Risk Events
1. Bitcoin Price Volatility and Support Levels
Affected by expectations from the Federal Reserve meeting, Bitcoin fell below $95,000, with analysts pointing out key support levels of $92,500 and $89,000. Currently, about 88% of Bitcoin holders are in profit, and the market has entered a healthy consolidation phase.
2. April Hacker Attacks Resulted in Losses of $357 Million
Security company PeckShield reported 18 significant security incidents in April, including an unauthorized transfer of Bitcoin that resulted in a loss of $330 million, with some projects recovering $14.4 million.
3. Meme Coins Rise Against the Trend
Some meme coins like Fartcoin (FART) saw weekly gains of 500%, and Trump-related tokens (TRUMP) attracted attention due to institutional buying plans, but high volatility risks remain.
5. Macroeconomic and Federal Reserve Policy
1. Federal Reserve maintains high interest rate policy
The May meeting is expected to maintain interest rates, with Powell emphasizing that inflation remains the primary concern, and rate cuts require clearer data support. The high-interest-rate environment may continue to suppress risk assets, but Bitcoin ETF fund inflows indicate resilience in institutional demand.
2. China-US Trade Negotiations Restart
Chinese and American officials plan to meet in Switzerland to ease tariff conflicts, which may affect global market risk appetite and the correlation of crypto assets.
Summary
Recently, the cryptocurrency market has shown characteristics of institutional deepening (ETF, corporate accumulation), accelerated technological iteration (Ethereum upgrade, ZK technology), and intensified policy games (China-US regulatory dynamics). Although short-term price fluctuations are affected by macroeconomic disturbances, structural bullish signals (such as stable miner reserves and an increase in long-term holders) still support market confidence. Investors should pay attention to the SEC's crypto roundtable on May 12 and the Fed's policy direction.