tridEX

17th May 2025

Dogecoin Hovers at $0.22 Following Weeks of Gains, Analysts Share Mixed Outlooks

Dogecoin (DOGE) has shown a steady performance in recent weeks, which is in line with the broader rally across the cryptocurrency market. Over the past two weeks, DOGE has risen by more than 25%, pushing its price as high as $0.24.

Despite this growth, the asset experienced a slight pullback in the past 24 hours, retreating by 0.3% to $0.22 at the time of writing. The latest movements mark a period of renewed interest in the asset, particularly from retail traders.

Dogecoin Retail Activity and Sentiment Indicators

One of CryptoQuant’s contributors, Burak Kesmeci, recently shared new insights into DOGE’s futures market activity. In a post titled “Too Many Retail Traders? DOGE Futures Show Repeated Peak Patterns”, Kesmeci pointed to the potential influence of speculative trading behavior.

His analysis highlights that previous peaks in Dogecoin’s price have often coincided with a sharp increase in retail participation in futures markets, raising questions about the sustainability of such rallies.

Kesmeci’s analysis centers around a visual metric that tracks trading activity from retail investors within DOGE futures markets. In this chart, red bubbles mark moments when retail trading spikes significantly.

Dogecoin (DOGE) futures retail activity.

These periods, according to the analyst, have historically aligned with local price tops, suggesting that elevated speculative behavior often precedes short-term corrections. On the other hand, green and pink bubbles, representing periods of reduced retail activity, have typically aligned with more stable or neutral price phases.

The underlying interpretation is that when DOGE futures markets become saturated with retail participants, the likelihood of momentum exhaustion increases. For traders, these retail spikes may serve as potential warning signals of short-term reversals.

As Kesmeci notes, this data can be used in conjunction with other technical and on-chain metrics to build a more comprehensive view of market sentiment, especially in volatile assets like Dogecoin. The analysis supports a more cautious approach where retail enthusiasm dominates trading volumes.

Technical Forecast Suggests Possible Rally Continuation

While futures data indicates caution around potential retail-driven tops, other technical perspectives suggest the possibility of further upside. Crypto analyst Javon Marks recently shared an outlook indicating that DOGE may be positioned for a continuation toward a new all-time high.

According to Marks, the asset has confirmed a major bullish signal on its chart, suggesting that another leg of upward momentum may already be in play. He projects that the next major target lies nearly 200% above current price levels.

$DOGE RECOVERING HEAVILY AND HAS CONFIRMED A MAJOR CONTINUATION SIGNAL !

Next leg towards All Time Highs can be in-effect and with those levels nearly +200% away, it could be HUGE! https://t.co/5H1HkZG5Hn pic.twitter.com/whi0lxqDM2

— JAVONMARKS (@JavonTM1) May 13, 2025

Dogecoin (DOGE) price chart on TradingView

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

17th May 2025

Paraguay deports three undocumented immigrants after crypto mining theft attempt

Paraguayan law enforcement has deported three individuals and arrested another for attempting to steal crypto miners at a facility near the country’s Itaipu hydroelectric dam.

According to a May 15 statement from Paraguayan prosecutor Irene Rolón, the men were caught by police soon after breaking into a locked section of Teratech SA’s facility in Coronel Bogado, leading to their arrest.

Prosecutors believe the men may have had ties to Teratech as independent contractors, but are still waiting on official confirmation from the company’s CEO.

The three deported were Chinese nationals Jinping Duan, Tian Jianyun and Zheng Guanglong, who did not have official entry records into the country. Paraguayan authorities and Interpol believe the men illegally entered through Brazil or Bolivia.

Paraguay deports three undocumented immigrants after crypto mining theft attempt — *The three deported Chinese nationals pictured before leaving the country. Source:* *PDS Radio Y TV Digital*

The other person arrested, Nahun María Velázquez Garcete, is a legal resident in Paraguay but is believed to be part of a criminal organization.

He has been charged with aggravated theft and is currently in pretrial detention.

The arrested individual was hospitalized in critical condition soon after the arrest, but the injuries sustained weren’t disclosed.

Paraguayan officials believe other individuals were involved in the attempted theft and are working to identify those people. As such, the case is still under investigation.

Deportees may have been working illegally for months

Rolón believes the undocumented immigrants had been in Paraguay for several months and had come to work as programmers. However, it isn’t clear whether that work was performed for the company.

Paraguayan officials are waiting on a report from Teratech’s CEO to determine the exact nature of his relationship with the three men.

Paraguay is considered well-suited for crypto mining operations due to its abundant renewable energy resources, much of which is underutilized.

The Itaipu dam has become a popular site for miners to set up, as it supplies all of Paraguay’s local electricity needs and leaves a large amount of excess electricity to tap into.

Magazine: Korea to lift corporate crypto ban, beware crypto mining HDs: Asia Express

17th May 2025

Bitcoin Up $18,000, But HODLer Profits Same As On April 1—Here’s Why

On-chain data shows the profit margin of the Bitcoin long-term holders is currently the same as when BTC was still $85,000. Here’s what’s behind this.

Bitcoin Long-Term Holder NUPL Has Returned To 0.69

In a new post on X, the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has talked about the trend in the Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) for the Bitcoin long-term holders. The NUPL is an indicator that keeps track of the difference between the unrealized profit and unrealized loss held by the BTC investors as a whole.

When the value of this metric is positive, it means the holders are carrying more profit than loss. On the other hand, it being under zero suggests the average address is underwater.

In the context of the current topic, the NUPL of the entire network isn’t of relevance, but rather that of just one segment of it: the long-term holders (LTHs). The LTHs refer to the BTC investors who have been holding onto their coins since more than 155 days ago.

Now, here is the chart shared by the analytics firm that shows the trend in the Bitcoin NUPL for the LTHs over the past year:

Bitcoin LTH NUPL

As is visible in the above graph, the Bitcoin LTH NUPL has remained above the zero level for the past year, implying that the HODLers of the market have stayed in the green.

But naturally, as the BTC price has shown some volatile moves in this period, the indicator’s value has also witnessed some fluctuations. From the chart, it’s apparent that the bull run at the end of 2024 took the indicator into an extreme territory, but the market downturn this year resulted in a cooldown for it.

With the recent price recovery run, the metric again noted a reversal, but even at its peak, it still couldn’t come close to touching the high from the earlier bull run.

An interesting trend has followed since this latest peak in the Bitcoin LTH NUPL; the indicator has observed a sharp retrace, despite the fact that the coin’s value has only been moving flat in this window.

The metric is now sitting at 0.69, which is the same level as back at the start of April, when the cryptocurrency was still just trading around $85,000. What’s making it so that HODLer profitability is the same today despite the price being notably higher? And what’s the reason for the latest decline in the metric even though the price has been going sideways?

The answer to these questions lies in what the LTH group represents. As mentioned earlier, this cohort includes investors who purchased their Bitcoin within the past 155 days. This five-month cutoff now includes the buyers from December 2024.

In other words, the promotion of these top buyers into the group has diluted the unrealized gain among its members.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $103,500, up over 1% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin Price Chart

17th May 2025

Dogecoin Price Tops Tend To Follow Surges In Retail Futures Activity, Analysis Shows

Dogecoin (DOGE) is up 48.7% over the past month, as the broader crypto market rallies amid easing concerns over a potential global tariff war. Although the leading memecoin has posted impressive gains recently, analysts believe there may still be room for DOGE to climb before reaching a cycle top.

Analyst Identifies Signal That May Predict Dogecoin Top

According to a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake post by contributor burakkemeci, DOGE price tops often align with a surge in retail futures trading activity. The analyst shared the following chart illustrating the relationship between DOGE price peaks and periods of heightened high-frequency futures trading by retail investors.

cq1

The above chart features red bubbles that mark periods of excessive retail trading activity in the DOGE futures market. These bubbles consistently appear near major price peaks, suggesting the market may be overheating during those phases.

In contrast, green and pink bubbles on the chart represent periods with lower retail participation. These phases typically coincide with more stable or “healthier” market conditions, which could offer better entry points for new investors.

The analyst emphasized that monitoring these red bubbles may help both traders and investors anticipate potential short-term tops in DOGE. Spikes in retail participation often reflect heightened market greed – frequently a precursor to sharp price corrections.

At present, Dogecoin futures activity appears to be in a neutral zone, indicating that the asset may still have room to grow before nearing an overheated state. This view is echoed by crypto analyst Anup Dhungana.

In a recent post on X, Dhungana shared the following weekly DOGE chart showing a breakout from a long-term falling wedge pattern – a bullish technical setup that often precedes price rallies. Based on this breakout, the analyst forecasts that DOGE could reach $1 in the current market cycle.

doge

All Eyes On $1 DOGE

The $1 price target has long been a symbolic milestone for Dogecoin enthusiasts. During the 2021 bull run, DOGE reached an all-time high (ATH) of $0.73 but ultimately fell short of the coveted $1 mark.

This time, however, several analysts believe that Dogecoin could finally hit the $1 milestone. Noted crypto analyst Kevin recently pointed to $1.10–$1.25 as a plausible target, based on Fibonacci retracement levels.

However, seasoned market watcher Ali Martinez cautioned that DOGE must first overcome a significant resistance level at $0.36 to sustain its bullish momentum. At press time, DOGE trades at $0.22, up 1% in the past 24 hours.

DOGE

17th May 2025

Bitcoin bull flag and standard profit taking hint at eventual rally to new BTC price highs

Key takeaways:

Traders expect a Bitcoin price pullback to $90,000, but a bull flag could break out to new highs if profit taking near the range highs reduces.
On-chain data suggests the current profit taking is too weak to extinguish Bitcoin’s current price momentum.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has spent the bulk of the week pinned below $104,000 to $105,000, which many analysts have labelled as a resistance zone, but an alternative view suggests that BTC is simply consolidating within a bull flag.

A bull flag is a continuation pattern that is characterized by a period of sideways price action following a sharp uptrend, and when the structure confirms or breaks from the trendline resistance, the uptrend continues.

Bitcoin bull flag and standard profit taking hint at eventual rally to new BTC price highs — *BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TRDR.io*

While the range-bound trading portion of the flag is said to represent indecision from buyers and sellers, in this scenario, the absence of buy volume is the primary culprit. As shown in the TRDR.io chart below, Bitcoin’s explosive move to $105,900 from $74,400 was accompanied by large liquidations in the margin markets and robust spot volumes, which aligned with several days of billion-dollar spot BTC ETF inflows.

During this three-week period, several US-based and international companies also announced plans to purchase Bitcoin and establish BTC treasuries. The spot and futures cumulative volume delta, along with the open interest metric on the chart show traders selling near the range highs and the absence of new long leverage and significantly sized spot positions being opened in this area, whereas drops to range low (bull flag support) sees bids filled on the spot side, but there is still limited use of margin for fresh longs.

Bitcoin’s recent cool-down phase is a normal outcome after the near 40% recovery that started on April 8, and the loss of upward momentum resulting from profit-taking in futures markets near the current range high is also to be expected.

Bitcoin short-term holder supply profit and loss data from Glassnode supports this view, as shown in the chart below. The onchain data company highlighted profit taking for short-term traders but explained that it does not exceed the statistical norm, leaving room for further price upside.

“Recently, the magnitude of STH Realized Profit has surged to almost +3 standard deviations above its 90-day average, reflecting a notable uptick in profit realization. In past cycles, particularly during rallies towards the ATH, this metric has historically climbed to over +5 standard deviations of more. This signals that much stronger profit-taking pressure is often required to overwhelm the inflow demand.”

Bitcoin should test underlying support before moving higher

With the bulk of Bitcoin’s apparent sell-side liquidity absorbed during the move to $105,000, some analysts warn that a brief flush down to test $100,000 to $90,000 as support could be the next move for BTC price.

Bitcoin market liquidity resource Material Indicators said, barring “a serious catalyst,“ […] BTC has a legit support test at $100K, and FireCharts show that the order book is priming for that with asks stacking and bids moving lower.”

*Bitcoin price liquidity heatmap. Source: Material Indicators*

Sharing his view with X followers, analyst Daan Crypto Trades said that the bulk of bullish and bearish narratives with the potential to impact Bitcoin’s price action have “cleared up” and he noted that BTC price has stalled near its all-time high while stocks have continued to rally after President Trump’s US-China trade deal was confirmed.

The analyst said that “$90K remains my long-term line in the sand for spot exposure,” adding that he is “cautiously bullish” with price above $90,000 but that is dependent upon how US equity markets perform in the short term.

“I would not be surprised to see a short-term flush if stocks were to roll over and make a higher low somewhere. Considering most stocks moved 30% to 50% in a single month, this wouldn’t be that crazy either.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

17th May 2025

French crypto entrepreneurs to receive extra security amid recent kidnappings: Report

Crypto entrepreneurs and their families in France will receive enhanced security measures amid a recent rise in crypto-related kidnappings in the country, Politico reported.

According to the May 16 report, the measures include priority access to police emergency lines, home security assessments, and safety briefings from French law enforcement to ensure best practices are being followed.

France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau introduced the security measures as part of a broader effort to counter the recent wave of attacks.

“These repeated kidnappings of professionals in the crypto sector will be fought with specific tools, both immediate and short-term, to prevent, dissuade and hinder in order to protect the industry.”

Law enforcement officers will also undergo “anti-crypto asset laundering training,” Retailleau noted.

Retailleau met with several local leaders from the crypto industry to discuss the measures following three crypto-related kidnapping incidents in recent months.

Two kidnappings and a failed attempt in France this year

The latest incident occurred on May 13, when assailants attempted to abduct the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, CEO of the French crypto platform Paymium. Fortunately, they managed to fend off the attack, which occurred in broad daylight.

The assailants tried to force the pair into a waiting van, but Noizat’s daughter managed to take one of the guns off an assailant and throw it away, local police said.

En plein Paris, un homme a été violenté par des individus cagoulés, habillés tout en noir. Ils tentaient de l’enlever. Un homme a surgi, extincteur à la main, pour les faire fuir. →https://t.co/P0qV6PR40v pic.twitter.com/9f4r2Gi7ho

— Le Figaro (@Le_Figaro) May 13, 2025

On May 3, Paris police freed the father of a crypto entrepreneur who was held for several days in connection with a 7 million euros ($7.8 million) kidnapping plot.

In January, the co-founder of crypto hardware wallet provider Ledger, David Balland, was abducted from his home in central France during the early hours of Jan. 21. He was held captive until a police operation on the night of Jan. 22 secured his release.

Retailleau said earlier this week that he believes the incidents were likely connected.

There have been over 150 crypto-related robbery or kidnapping incidents since 2014, with 23 of those incidents occurring in 2025 alone, according to a GitHub database maintained by Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp.

Lopp noted many of these criminals typically identify future victims through social media posts, public conversations, meetups, and conferences.

He strongly advises against peer-to-peer trades — particularly with people you don’t trust — flaunting wealth on social media and wearing crypto-branded clothing.

Magazine: Binance Wallet ‘killing’ MetaMask and airdrops, Chinese RWA tokens

17th May 2025

Bitcoin Strengthens Vs. Gold, Analyst Sees ‘Higher Than Expected’ Returns

Bitcoin’s price may surge above $200,000 next year, according to recent analysis by X account Apsk32. He warns that the familiar four‑year cycle for BTC often lines up with fresh highs. Short swings have hit traders hard before. This time, bulls say Bitcoin could even top $250,000 in 2025.

Bitcoin Gold Link

According to Apsk32, Bitcoin often trails gold by a few months. Gold hit a record $3,500 per ounce earlier this year. If Bitcoin follows that path, it could surge. He measures Bitcoin’s market value in ounces of gold instead of dollars. That way, money printing and inflation don’t skew the view.

Power Curve Model

Apsk32 uses what he calls a “power curve” tool. It fits Bitcoin’s market cap in gold ounces to a smooth curve. The tool stretches back to the 2017 high near $20,000. When plotted, it suggests a 2025 bull‑market peak above $200,000. He told X followers that “if Bitcoin’s position relative to gold keeps improving, returns could top expectations.”

Bitcoin’s position relative to gold has improved considerably since April. This is the indicator that gives me hope for higher than expected returns later this year.

BTC-USD is close to extreme greed, which sounds scary, but it’s also where we would expect to be if Bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/CY1Qxy4Hdi

— apsk32 (@apsk32) May 16, 2025

Realistic Price Targets

While some models push for $444,000 this year—what Apsk32 credits to “five years ahead of support”—he thinks a more realistic goal is $220,000. He added there’s a “decent chance” BTC hits $250,000, but he doesn’t see that as the most likely outcome. The $220,000 level would still mark a 10× jump from Bitcoin’s low near $22,000 in late 2022.

Gold Market Scenarios

Other market experts ran a different test. They looked at how much Bitcoin could be worth if it claimed part of gold’s total value. If gold reaches, say, $5,000 per ounce by 2030 and Bitcoin grabs half of gold’s market cap, BTC could hit a price of more than $920k. But then, these figures are scenario‑based, not firm predictions.

Supply And Demand Factors

Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins. Every block halving makes new BTC rarer. These events come roughly every four years. The next one is expected in 2024. After that, miner rewards fall from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. Scarcity has driven prices up in past cycles. But demand could shift if big investors pull back.

Risks And Opportunities

Volatility in both gold and Bitcoin could upend these models. Gold can face sudden drops when traders take profits. Bitcoin has swung 20% or more in a single day before. Regulatory moves, geo‑political events, and tech upgrades all play a part. Still, setting clear price scenarios helps investors plan.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

17th May 2025

XRP Price Explosion To $5.9: Current Consolidation Won’t Stop XRP From Growing

The XRP price is once again in the spotlight as a new technical analysis indicates that the cryptocurrency may be on the verge of a significant price explosion to $5.9 and beyond. According to the analyst behind this forecast, XRP’s recent price behavior is not a sign of weakness but rather a period of strategic consolidation that is building momentum for the next major surge.

Consolidation Phase To Fuel XRP Price Explosion

Master Ananda, a crypto analyst on TradingView, released a detailed analysis of XRP on May 15. The analysis highlights the cryptocurrency’s current price action and predicts its next bullish move. Starting with its historical price behavior, the analysis highlights a strong rally that took place in 2024, particularly around November and December, when XRP printed long green candles that indicated strong momentum.

After reaching a high, XRP entered a consolidation phase, during which price action formed a pattern resembling a symmetrical triangle or wedge. This is marked with red dashed lines on the chart, showing indecision in the market as the price was suppressed.

Master Ananda revealed that after this triangle formation, XRP broke out around April 7, 2025 — a date now marked as a potential inflection point in the cryptocurrency’s market cycle. Since then, weekly candles have consistently closed in the green, indicating renewed bullish momentum.

Adding to Master Ananda’s bullish case for the XRP price is a Fibonacci retracement and extension levels drawn from the previous major swing high to the recent low. These levels help identify potential resistance and target zones for the next leg up.

XRP

Notably, the retracement levels have been marked around $2.05 (0.236 Fib), $2.39 (0.382 Fib), and $2.71 (0.618 Fib), culminating at the previous high of $3.40. Fibonacci extension project potential targets are at $4.50 (1.618 Fib), and the highest level is at $6.29 (2.618 Fib).

Currently, the trajectory of the curved green arrow in the chart shows a more probable price target of around $5.9. However, XRP will still have to surge past the aforementioned retracement levels and the resistance at $4.5 to reach this level. The overall takeaway of this analysis is that XRP is printing strong bullish signals, and its current consolidation is seen as a precursor to further growth.

The asset Approaches Make Or Break Zone

XRP is entering a decisive phase, as crypto analyst Egrag Crypto predicts an imminent breakout from a tight consolidation range, within which the cryptocurrency has been trading for months. The analyst’s chart shows a purple zone, which he described as a “pandora box.” This zone represents a critical price range acting as both resistance and support, effectively trapping price action.

Egrag Crypto emphasizes that a breakout above or below this boxed range could ignite high volatility and significant momentum for XRP. He frames it as a pivotal moment where big moves, possibly explosive ones, are expected to happen.

XRP

16th May 2025

U.S. Stablecoin Bill Could Clear Senate Next Week, Proponents Say

Despite recent setbacks, U.S. legislation to regulate stablecoin issuers may be heading toward debate and passage next week, according to the backers of the bill known as the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins” (GENIUS) Act.

“Next week, the Senate will make history when we debate and pass the GENIUS Act that establishes the first ever pro-growth regulatory framework for payment stablecoins,” said Senator Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican who sponsored the bill to set U.S. standards for stablecoins, which are typically dollar-based tokens such as Circle's USDC and Tether's USDT that are vital to crypto trading activity.

The latest draft of the bill began circulating this week, and a copy seen by CoinDesk showed language had been adjusted in modest ways to help satisfy Democrats concerned with consumer protection and national security elements. In one addition, the bill insisted the big public companies such as Meta wouldn't be approved as issuers of the tokens, though consumer advocates cautioned that private companies such as Elon Musk's social media site X would be eligible.

Hagerty paired his statement with one from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York Democrat who has also pushed this legislation. Her sentiment carried what may have been a shade less confidence about the outcome, and the two lawmakers have ample reason to put a strong public face on a negotiation that's faced headwinds.

“Stablecoins are already playing an important role in the global economy, and it is essential that the U.S. enact legislation that protects consumers, while also enabling responsible innovations,” Gillibrand said in the statement, contending that “robust consumer protections” are included in the latest version. “The crafting of this bill has been a true bipartisan effort, and I’m optimistic we can pass it in the coming days.”

The Senate has experienced considerable volatility on the bill in the past two weeks, with its recent failure to clear a so-called cloture vote that would have moved it forward into a formal debate. It's headed toward a second vote on Monday in which it needs 60 votes to advance, which would need to include several Democrats. The Senate would then have some time to continue debating the language and possibly make changes before moving on to actually passing the bill.

Democrats had been critical of its potential for abuse and for stablecoin involvement from corporate giants, but the biggest stink has been raised around President Donald Trump's own interest in crypto businesses, including World Liberty Financial's stablecoin play.

A previous version of the bill had easily advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan vote before some of the same Democrats that approved it later raised objections. But the Senate has more crypto-friendly Democrats in this session than the last, when the Senate Banking Committee denied any progress for crypto bills.

The House of Representatives is also working on its own version, which would have to be melded with the Senate's before Trump could sign the new standards into law. Representative French Hill, the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, acknowledged at Consensus 2025 in Toronto that Trump's crypto involvement has added friction to the lawmakers' negotiations.

16th May 2025

Tokenization makes investing more accessible — Robinhood exec

Tokenization could open new opportunities for retail investors to access traditionally restricted asset classes, according to Johann Kerbrat, senior vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, who called it “very important for financial inclusion.”

Speaking at the Consensus 2025 event in Toronto, Kerbrat said that some real-world assets, such as real estate and private equity, are available only to up to 10% of the US population. “You need to be an accredited investor to invest in private equity right now,” he said.

“How many people can afford a house or an apartment in New York?” he elaborated. “But you can get a piece of it with fractionalization, through tokenization. And so we think it makes it a lot easier to be exchanged, a lot more accessible for everybody.”

Tokenization makes investing more accessible — Robinhood exec — *Robinhood’s Johann Kerbrat at Consensus 2025. Source: Cointelegraph*

Robinhood has been one of a handful of investment firms or brokerages that have explored RWA tokenization in recent months. Others include BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo, and VanEck.

RWA tokenization is often touted as a means to enhance financial accessibility, with most tokenized funds currently concentrated on the private credit and US treasury markets. According to RWA.xyz on May 16, the total market capitalization of onchain RWA is $22.5 billion across just 101,457 asset holders. On average, each holder owns $221,867 in onchain assets.

Stablecoin evolution will create more ‘specialized’ tokens

Kerbrat also touched on stablecoins, which have emerged as a key crypto use case this cycle. “You will see 100 stablecoins,” he predicted.

Kerbrat expects a rise in stablecoins that are “more specialized in a specific market.” According to DefiLlama, dollar-pegged stablecoins dominate the stablecoin sector. The two largest, Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC), account for $211.8 billion or 87.1% of the $243.3 billion stablecoin market cap.

“If you’re trying to move funds from the US to Singapore, maybe you will use a specific stablecoin,” he said. “The shift is going to go from just stablecoin to platforms that are managing all these stablecoins.”

Fireblocks policy chief Dea Markova recently told Cointelegraph that there is a growing demand for non-dollar-pegged stablecoins. In April, the Italian finance minister warned that dollar-pegged stablecoins represent a greater risk than US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

16th May 2025

Crypto Bulls Just Got Their Macro Wake-Up Call: Here’s Why

An unprecedented surge in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s May Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey has jolted global risk markets and given crypto asset traders their clearest macro catalyst of the year. The Future New Orders diffusion index leapt by forty-plus points, a move that Julien Bittel, head of macro research at Global Macro Investor (GMI), called “literally” historic.

Crypto Bulls Can Rejoice

Bittel’s commentary on X framed the print with statistical precision: “Philly Fed data for May dropped yesterday – and the Future New Orders index just made history. Literally. … Expectations for new orders posted the largest monthly spike ever recorded – going all the way back to the index’s inception in May 1968. A staggering +4.3 standard deviation move. He underlined the shock with a comparison few macro watchers will forget: For perspective: that’s an even bigger move up than the downside collapse during the depths of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (-4.1σ). Let that sink in…”

Philly Fed Future New Orders

Bittel then set the surge in a broader narrative that has animated his research since late last year. “Q1 growth was weak. The reason is straightforward – financial conditions tightened sharply in Q4. The dollar ripped, bond yields surged… a classic tightening phase,” he wrote.

The proximate trigger, in his telling, was “businesses panic‑loading inventories ahead of Trump tariffs, and markets front‑running the inflation narrative.” Those dynamics, he argued, are a replay of Donald Trump’s first term: “We’ve highlighted repeatedly: this had all the hallmarks of Q4 2016 during Trump’s first term. Just like early 2017, that tightening spilled over into slower growth momentum in Q1.”

Where 2017 began with doubt and ended in a synchronous global boom, Bittel believes 2025 is rhyming. “Those Q1 headwinds have flipped into Q2 tailwinds,” he insisted. “Everything flows downstream from changes in financial conditions… Purchasing managers’ expectations are shifting – and shifts in thinking eventually translate into action. Sentiment shifts first. Action follows. It always does. Bullish.”

The crypto market responded muted. Bitcoin reclaimed the $104,000 level in early‑European trade, but lost it later on. Ether steadied near $2,600, and high‑beta layer‑one tokens such as Solana and Avalanche moved in tandem.

Giancarlo Cudrig, head of markets at Immutable, said the scale of the shock is less important than how under‑positioned investors are for an upside growth surprise. “An upside economic shock like this – +4.3σ on new orders – is rare. But the bigger story is market positioning. Asset prices are not prepared. The melt‑up is the asymmetric risk. Now it’s being repriced.”

Independent analyst Market Heretic struck a similar note on X: “When this dropped, markets didn’t even blink. Because the shift’s already in motion. This wasn’t news, it was confirmation. That’s the real tell, when markets shrug off a four‑sigma upside shock. It means the turn is already upon us – and it’s just getting started.”

For crypto investors, the implications are immediate. A softer dollar and retreating real‑yield expectations reduce the opportunity cost of holding non‑yielding assets, while the early phase of a reflationary turn historically favours high‑beta exposures. Bittel’s own playbook is unambiguous: “Sentiment shifts first. Action follows.” As long as that chain reaction continues, the crypto bulls appear to have both math and momentum on their side.

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $3.28 trillion.

Total crypto market cap

16th May 2025

Filecoin, Lockheed Martin send data in space using decentralized data protocol

The Filecoin Foundation and Lockheed Martin Space have successfully transmitted data in space using a version of the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) on a satellite orbiting Earth, Marta Belcher, president of the Filecoin Foundation, told Cointelegraph.

Filecoin and Lockheed Martin adapted the system for use in space and successfully tested it, Belcher said during the Consensus 2025 conference in Toronto.

The IPFS enhances privacy and security compared to traditional web protocols, such as HTTP, by identifying data based on its content rather than its location. This has additional benefits for data transmission in space, Belcher said.

“The architecture is well-suited to space because it reduces delays, compensates for data corruption caused by radiation, and enables cryptographic verification to ensure data has not been tampered with,” she said.

The foundation is a nonprofit governing the decentralized cloud storage protocol Filecoin (FIL), which uses the IPFS web protocol to store data. Lockheed Martin is one of the world’s largest aerospace companies.

Space, IPFS, Filecoin — *Source:* *Filecoin Foundation*

Decentralized storage benefits

“There’s a multi-second delay from the Moon and a multi-minute delay from Mars,” Belcher said.

“With IPFS, you look for a content ID and retrieve the data from wherever is closest — your own device, a nearby satellite, or a lunar station.”

Additionally, the IPFS uses a distributed architecture to store multiple copies of data across a global network, reducing reliance on centralized data centers.

These multiple copies of data improve reliability in environments where hardware is prone to degradation, helping to ensure the integrity of sensitive materials such as satellite images, according to Belcher.

Interest in decentralized archival storage is growing among media companies, and the Foundation is also exploring potential military applications of this technology, Belcher said.

“It could be really powerful for media in general to have that deep archive and also the ability to have your records everywhere all over the world when needed,” she said.

The FIL token is a utility token that can be used within the Filecoin ecosystem. It has a total market capitalization of approximately $1.8 billion as of May 16, according to Cointelegraph data.

Magazine: X Hall of Flame: Bitcoin will ‘start ripping’ as Trump’s polls improve — Felix Hartmann

16th May 2025

Sequoia Capital exec also a victim in Coinbase data breach — Report

At least one partner at Sequoia Capital was reportedly impacted by the recent data breach among Coinbase users, suggesting that data from others at the venture capital firm may also have been compromised.

According to a May 16 Bloomberg report, Sequoia Capital Managing Partner Roelof Botha’s personal information available through his Coinbase account was stolen after a group of cybercriminals bribed the exchange’s support agents for access to user data. Though Botha had not publicly disclosed his net worth, estimates suggested he had hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.

Coinbase disclosed the data breach in a May 15 blog post, saying that some of its users had been targeted with social engineering attacks after the criminals had access to their personal account information. The company said the group attempted to extort $20 million in exchange for not disclosing the breach, which Coinbase rebuffed.

Though the extent of the breach was still unknown, another Bloomberg report suggested that the same type of attacks targeted users at Kraken and Binance. Cointelegraph reached out to representatives from both exchanges but had not received responses at the time of publication.

Coinbase’s chief security officer, Philip Martin, reportedly said the contracted customer service agents at the center of the controversy were based in India and had been fired following the breach. The exchange also filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), estimating that they planned to pay between $180 million and $400 million in remediation and reimbursement to affected users.

The exchange’s stock (COIN) fell more than 7% following the reports of the data breach and phishing attacks, to $244. At the time of publication, the price of COIN shares was $264.24.

Coinbase CEO in DC to advocate for crypto bills

Amid the reports related to the data breach, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was in Washington, DC, to support crypto-related legislation being considered in Congress. Lawmakers in the Senate are expected to vote on a stablecoin bill in a matter of days, and those in the House of Representatives are considering a draft digital asset market structure bill.

Magazine: Bitcoin eyes ‘crazy numbers,’ JD Vance set for Bitcoin talk: Hodler’s Digest, May 4 – 10

16th May 2025

Bitcoin Panic Buying? Eric Trump Says The World Is Stockpiling BTC

Eric Trump, speaking at the Consensus 2025 conference in Toronto on May 15, painted a picture of a world scrambling for Bitcoin. He said he hears the same thing everywhere he goes—on planes, in boardrooms, even from big state funds.

His comments came as he joined Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot on a panel about where Bitcoin is headed next.

Global Bitcoin Hunt

According to Eric Trump, “Everybody in the world is trying to hoard Bitcoin right now.” He added that sovereign wealth funds and the wealthiest families are all in on the rush. He even mentioned hearing the buzz from some of the world’s largest companies.

His point: Bitcoin isn’t just a niche play anymore. It has moved into heavy‑duty territory where major players compete for every last coin.

Major Mining Merger

Based on reports, American Bitcoin—a unit co‑founded by Eric Trump and his brother and owned by Hut 8—struck a deal on May 12 to merge with Gryphon Digital Mining.

The structure is an all‑stock exchange, meaning shareholders of both firms will wake up next year with shares in the same new company.

The partners say that this combined group will list on Nasdaq in Q3 2025, opening the doors for regulated markets to tap into mining profits without holding Bitcoin directly.

Shares Jump After Deal

Investors reacted fast. Gryphon’s stock jumped over 200% after news of the merger hit, and Hut 8 also saw gains. That kind of move tells you how hungry Wall Street is for anything tied to the next Bitcoin halving cycle.

Mining companies tend to gear up for halving‑driven scarcity. By merging, these two hope to share resources, boost hash power, and raise their profiles before the reward cut in 2024 pushes prices up.

Political Pushback Grows

Not everyone is on board. A group of House Democrats walked out of a digital assets hearing earlier this month, upset that questions about ethics slipped by. On May 13, Senate Democrats sent a letter urging US President Donald Trump to unload all cryptocurrency stakes, including stablecoins tied to hard assets.

They’re worried about conflicts of interest if the White House can tweak rules that affect family ventures. One watchdog group, State Democracy Defenders Action, says crypto holdings make up about 40% of the Trump family’s worth, which is close to $3 billion.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

16th May 2025

Solv brings RWA-backed Bitcoin yield to Avalanche blockchain

Solv Protocol has launched a yield-bearing Bitcoin token on the Avalanche blockchain, giving institutional investors more exposure to yield opportunities backed by real-world assets, or RWAs.

On May 16, the protocol unveiled SolvBTC.AVAX, a token that connects Bitcoin (BTC) to real-world assets like US Treasurys and private credit offered by BlackRock and Hamilton Lane.

The new token was developed through a seven-way partnership involving Solv, Avalanche, Balancer, Elixir, Euler, Re7 Labs, and LFJ, the company said.

Solv Protocol founder Ryan Chow said the token is a way to link Bitcoin to “real-world economic cycles” in uncorrelated assets such as US government bonds and private credit, as opposed to BTC’s typical boom-and-bust four-year cycle.

The token uses a multi-protocol strategy to generate yield involving Elixir’s deUSD stablecoin, Treasurys provided by BlackRock and Hamilton Lane via Elixir, and incorporated on the lending platform Euler to increase RWA exposure.

“The yield is received in BTC format,” a Solv Protocol spokesperson told Cointelegraph

Solv brings RWA-backed Bitcoin yield to Avalanche blockchain — *Elixir deUSD is a synthetic dollar with nearly $220 million in market capitalization. Source:* *RWA.xyz*

Solv is a Bitcoin-centric staking platform that offers yield strategies across various blockchains and decentralized finance applications. The protocol commands more than $2.3 billion in total value locked, according to industry data.

The race to offer Bitcoin yield intensifies

Demand for Bitcoin yield solutions has grown amid the recent wave of institutional adoption of digital assets.

Earlier this month, crypto exchange Coinbase launched the Bitcoin Yield Fund, which aims to offer annual returns of between 4% and 8% on BTC holdings.

The yield will be earned through a cash-and-carry strategy, which involves purchasing BTC in the spot market and selling a corresponding futures contract, Coinbase said.

CoinShares analyst Satish Patel predicted the growing interest in Bitcoin yield in December, noting that more investors now see BTC “not only as a store of value but also as a means to generate yields.”

While there are many ways to generate Bitcoin yield, such as leveraging derivatives or yield farming, Michael Saylor’s Strategy introduced its own “BTC Yield” metric to measure the performance of its investment strategy.

Strategy’s BTC Yield, which measures how much additional Bitcoin it’s acquiring relative to its outstanding shares, is currently 15.5% year-to-date, according to the company.

Magazine: Metric signals $250K Bitcoin is ‘best case,’ SOL, HYPE tipped for gains: Trade Secrets

16th May 2025

Altcoins are on the verge of ‘most powerful rally’ since 2017 — Analyst

Key takeaways:

The total altcoin market cap (excluding ETH) gained $126 billion in Q2, fueling speculation of an altseason.

The altcoin market cap, excluding Ether (ETH), has added $126 billion in Q2, sparking enthusiasm from analysts who have been waiting for an altseason. Crypto analyst Javon Marks noted a breakout that could rival the explosive 2017 bull run.

In a recent post on X, Marks highlighted a chart comparing the TOTAL3 index (total market cap of altcoins excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum) against the US money supply, suggesting that altcoins may be on the verge of a significant rally.

A rise in TOTAL3 against the US money supply suggests that altcoins are gaining value relative to the total liquidity in the US economy, reflecting increased investor interest and capital inflow into altcoins.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Altcoin Watch — *TOTAL3/US Money supply. Source: X.com*

Marks emphasized that altcoins have recently bounced off a critical retest level following a breakout, and said,

“Altcoins have bounced off of the breakout retest against the US money supply and can deliver one of their most powerful runs since 2017!”

Likewise, anonymous crypto trader Moustache shared an analysis on X, highlighting a weekly inverse head-and-shoulders pattern in the TOTAL3 chart. Comparing 2021 and 2025, the chart mirrors the 2021 altcoin season when top altcoins surged 174% against Bitcoin’s 20% during the final leg. The pattern, a bullish reversal indicator, suggests a rally, with the analyst forecasting “much higher levels” for altcoins.

“Altseason” sparks mixed sentiment among analysts

While some analysts are on the altcoin rally bandwagon, others are approaching with caution. Technical analyst Crypto Scient explained that the recent rise in altcoin market cap is yet to reflect a higher time frame (HTF) bullish trend shift. The analyst noted that the TOTAL2 trend remained bearish after hitting resistance at the $1.25 trillion level, and said,

“Since both BTC and TOTAL are near the resistance zone and TOTAL2 still has some room, I am inclined to believe that we are distributing.”

Similarly, Crypto commentator DonaXBT argued that a significant breakdown in Bitcoin’s dominance trendline is essential for altcoins to experience a substantial move. The accompanying chart reveals that Bitcoin dominance is above 60%, with the weekly uptrend still intact.

According to the analyst, a decline below the 60% level, followed by a retest of the support zone between 56% and 58%, could serve as the initial catalyst for a full-fledged altcoin season to emerge.

Altcoin spot trading volume is still under $10 billion

Data from CryptoQuant indicates that altcoin spot trading volumes remain subdued, averaging $3-$5 billion/per day compared to $8-$12 billion/per day in Q4 2024, indicating that altcoins are in the early stages of a rally. Despite these lower volumes, market observers see this as a precursor to significant growth, suggesting that altcoins have yet to reach their peak momentum.

The Altcoin Season Index, currently at 24, further supports this outlook by confirming that the market is in Bitcoin season, as noted by Blockchaincenter.net. Historically, an index below 25 indicates Bitcoin dominance, but this can be a positive setup for altcoins. When the index climbs above 30-40, altcoins often experience significant pumps, driven by capital rotation from Bitcoin.

With trading volumes showing early signs of recovery and the Altcoin Season Index pointing to a shift, investors’ optimism for an altcoin rally is growing.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

16th May 2025

Alchemy Acquires Solana Developer DexterLab for Undisclosed Sum

Blockchain development platform Alchemy said it has acquired Solana developer DexterLab for an undisclosed fee.

The acquisition will accelerate the development of Solana-based Web3 applications to meet growing enterprise demand, Alchemy said in an emailed announcement on Friday.

DexterLab's technology has previously powered the Solana development of Google and the Solana Foundation, establishing itself as “a go-to infrastructure provider,” according to Alchemy's announcement.

One of Alchemy's aims in acquiring DexterLab is to consolidate Solana development alongside that of Ethereum to reduce complexity for projects building across multiple networks.

Alchemy may be be attempting to capture the growing prominence of Solana as a preferred venue for blockchain applications.

While Ethereum remains comfortably the larger blockchain in terms of total-value locked, there are some metrics where Solana can claim the ascendancy. For example, active addresses on Solana have been over 210 million in the last three months while Ethereum and Ethereum Layer-2 addresses are just below 80 million. Transactions on Solana have also outnumbered Ethereum: 4.75 billion to 1 billion.

16th May 2025

$10,000 XRP Theory: Factors Analyst Shares Scenarios That Could Drive Growth

XRP’s current price has been highlighted by a range of around $2.5 in the past three days. However, this low price hasn’t stopped the idea of an extravagant XRP price from being in the hearts of XRP bull traders and enthusiasts. Against this backdrop of growing confidence, a bold theory suggesting that XRP could surge to $10,000 has come up from a crypto analyst. This extravagant price point is much higher than most predictions based on technical analysis. Notably, this analyst leaned on XRP fundamentals with XRP to show a scenario where its price reaches this point.

Analyst Predicts XRP Could Hit $10,000 Between 2027 And 2030

The theory, introduced by a crypto analyst named Remi Relief on the social media platform X, centers on a long-term vision of XRP reaching $10,000 due to widespread adoption in financial institutions and complete activation of its utility features.

In a post dated May 12, the analyst predicted that this massive XRP price point of $10,000 could materialize between 2027 and 2030. He clarified that the prediction wasn’t dependent on sudden events or institutional price setting but on the natural outcome of XRP functioning at its full potential in global financial systems. However, he also stated that such a price point could manifest as early as 2026.

Building on the original post, the analyst has recently expanded on a more detailed vision of a $10,000 XRP. He claimed the existence of two separate XRP ledgers: one for the retail market and another accessible only to around 1,700 institutions and private entities operating under NDAs. According to him, these private participants could already be running tests with drastically different price levels, possibly including the $10,000 mark. He linked this development to recent progress in CBDC trials, especially in France.

XRP

The analyst also referred to a report discussing the efficiency and performance of various digital currency and payment platforms in terms of Transactions Per Second (TPS) back in 2022. The report focused on CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) test networks. According to the report, the Ripple Private Ledger had a TPS of 1,500 in 2022 during tests for the digital Euro. Although Ripple is not yet at the operational scale of AliPay or the Hamilton Project, future projections of the blockchain’s TPS are still unknown.

The Possibility Of A $10,000 Basement Price For The Altcoin

The crypto analyst’s theory is based on a future where XRP underpins major financial operations at fixed high values across private networks. The most provocative element of the theory involves Ripple potentially setting a basement price for XRP at $10,000, which would never be breached.

In this scenario, if the price ever threatened to fall below that mark, decentralized technologies like Chainlink oracles and IOTA-based AI mechanisms would intervene to stabilize it through automatic trading.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $2.40, down by 2.2% in the past 24 hours.

XRP

16th May 2025

Galaxy Digital lists on Nasdaq, seeks to tokenize shares — Reports

Galaxy Digital shares began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange May 16, completing a years-long process that CEO Mike Novogratz called unfair and infuriating, CNBC reported.

The crypto and infrastructure company, which is also listed in Canada, opened trading at $23.50 in its Nasdaq debut.

Trading began on the same day Galaxy disclosed that it is working with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to tokenize its shares. According to Bloomberg, the tokens representing Galaxy Digital’s shares could be used in decentralized finance applications, like borrowing or lending.

Galaxy is among several crypto companies looking to access the US markets under a friendlier regulatory regime in the country. Companies that are also exploring or working on a US listing include Metaplanet, Circle, Kraken, and Gemini. Trading platform eToro completed a listing on May 14.

The company has $7 billion in assets on its platform, according to its website. It suffered a loss of $295 million in the first quarter of 2025.

Galaxy Digital lists on Nasdaq, seeks to tokenize shares — Reports — *Galaxy Digital’s last two quarters. Source:* *Galaxy Digital*

Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is gaining traction in crypto, though it still represents a small share of the market. Data from RWA.xyz shows the sector’s market cap at $22.5 billion — a fraction of both global real-world asset values and major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). However, it’s growing fast, with a 111.8% increase over the past year.

One rising trend is tokenizing securities, essentially turning assets like stocks and treasury bonds into tradable tokens on the blockchain. Robinhood is considering building a blockchain that would allow retail investors in Europe to trade tokenized US securities like stocks. Galaxy Digital has plans to tokenize everything from stocks and fixed income to ETFs.

At the SEC’s crypto roundtable on May 12, Chair Paul Atkins compared the tokenization of assets to the music industry moving from analog to digital, which, according to Atkins, greatly benefited the American economy.

The closer relationships that US President Donald Trump has developed with the industry have sparked new enthusiasm for crypto activity in the country. In addition to the flurry of companies preparing for a US public listing, some other crypto companies have announced their reentry into the local market.

Magazine: X Hall of Flame: Bitcoin will ‘start ripping’ as Trump’s polls improve — Felix Hartmann

16th May 2025

Eric Trump: ‘The Banks Made The Biggest Mistake of Their Lives’

“There’s a famous saying that sometimes the enemy of your enemy is actually your best friend,” Eric Trump told the crowd at Consensus in Toronto, Canada. “That was the Trumps with the crypto community. And I think the banks made the biggest mistake of their lives.”

The son of U.S. President Donald Trump and co-founder of bitcoin BTC mining company American Bitcoin is also an adviser to World Liberty Financial (WLF), which recently launched a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, USD1, that has already reached $2 billion in market capitalization.

Co-founders of WLF joined Trump on stage on Friday as they announced that USD1 was now operable across multiple blockchains through Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).

Trump painted a vivid picture of personal grievance turned into ideological conviction, claiming he was “canceled” by major financial institutions for his political views which then got him interested in crypto as a shield against financial gatekeeping.

“So many of the banks have been weaponized and I was case in point,” said the son of the U.S. president. “I was probably the most canceled person for doing absolutely nothing wrong, only because we had a political view, and a political view that might not have been popular with some of the big financial institutions and guys, they came after me like I was a dog.”

USD1, he said, is a patriotic financial tool for people in unstable or corrupt regimes.

“It gives so much freedom of financial choice, especially to markets and countries where people have never had any kind of financial freedom, had never had any kind of financial independence, might be in a country where it's war torn, where it's subject to corruption, it's subject to ridiculous inflation,” he said. “Every single day they go to work and their money is being burned under their mattress, and all of a sudden, we give the world the ability to be on the US dollar backed one to one by US Treasuries.”

Earlier today, lawyers representing WLF pushed back against scrutiny from U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, the leading Democrat on a panel responsible for investigating corruption and mismanagement, who had asked about the ownership and investment structure for Trump-affiliated entities, including WLFI, in a letter last week.