In a buoyant week for cryptocurrency, the market cap eclipsed $3 trillion, with BTC reaching a two-month high. Predictions suggest Bitcoin could hit $1 million by 2029, driven by institutional adoption and ETF inflows. MGX revealed a $2 billion investment in Binance using a Trump-associated stablecoin. Meanwhile, Ethereum developers are proposing new token standards for better interoperability, as DeFi hacking incidents also spike dramatically in April. A petition has emerged against the prosecution of crypto developers.
In the last week, the cryptocurrency market saw a significant uptick, with the total market capitalisation surpassing $3 trillion for the first time since early March. Bitcoin (BTC) surged to a two-month peak of $97,300, the highest since February. Analysts suggest this rally is propelled by what they call “structural” inflows, particularly from institutional investment and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the leading cryptocurrency. Investors are showing renewed optimism, especially following recent discussions between the Trump administration and Beijing regarding tariff reductions, according to reports from Chinese state-affiliated media.
André Dragosch, who heads European research at Bitwise, believes that Bitcoin could hit the monumental milestone of $1 million by 2029, largely due to increasing institutional adoption. He asserted in an interview with Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s price could align with gold’s market capitalisation, which currently sits at around $21.7 trillion. For reference, Bitcoin today stands at roughly $1.9 trillion, ranking as the seventh largest asset worldwide. Moreover, Dragosch speculated that by 2025, Bitcoin might achieve a price of $200,000 or even $500,000 if governmental recognition continues to bolster its legitimacy.
In a separate development, the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX announced it will employ a stablecoin associated with the Trump family to fund a substantial $2 billion investment in Binance. This stablecoin, known as the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1), is pegged to the US dollar and was launched by the Trump-linked platform earlier this year. In a recent panel at Token2049 in Dubai, Eric Trump, the president’s son, confirmed the arrangement, marking a significant institutional investment for the cryptocurrency exchange.
Meanwhile, on the Ethereum front, developers are actively working on two new token standards, ERC-7930 and ERC-7828, to enhance blockchain interoperability. According to the DeFi development organisation Wonderland, there’s currently no uniform way for various wallets and applications to display or interpret essential information. As a result, users often encounter a confusing experience when navigating cross-chain environments. Wonderland members aim to gather feedback on these new standards to finalise them in the coming fortnight.
April proved to be quite tumultuous for the DeFi sector, recording approximately $92 million in losses due to hacking incidents. A report by Immunefi indicated that this represents a staggering 124% increase in hacking activity compared to March, where $41 million was stolen. The biggest single incident accounted for over $70 million in losses from the UPCX platform, while KiloEx experienced $7.5 million in damages, although the latter managed to recover its funds shortly after.
In the realm of legal matters, the DeFi Education Fund has directed a letter to the Trump administration, urging the cessation of what they label as the irrational prosecution of open-source software developers, notably targeting Roman Storm, the creator behind Tornado Cash. They argue that such prosecutions undermine innovation within the industry. They’re calling for an acknowledgment that these charges run contrary to previous guidance from the Treasury, which maintains that developers of certain decentralized protocols should not be classified as money transmitters, further asserting that this climate could stifle both development and innovation.
Finally, looking at the overall DeFi landscape, data indicates that many of the top 100 cryptocurrencies wrapped up the week on a positive note. The Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) soared by over 103%, marking it as this week’s biggest winner, followed by Solayer (LAYER) which climbed by more than 29%. As the sector continues to evolve, we’ll be back next week for more insights and updates on the fast-paced world of DeFi.
