This week in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin saw a substantial rise, hitting over $97,000 while the overall market cap exceeded $3 trillion. Major events included a significant hacking incident resulting in a $330 million loss, Coinbase launching a Bitcoin Yield Fund, and Circle receiving regulatory approval in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, the U.S. economy faced contraction, sparking recession fears, though North Carolina proposed legislation to invest in digital assets. BlackRock made major BTC purchases highlighting institutional interest.
As May kicked off, the cryptocurrency landscape was buzzing and, well, it was quite the week. Across these seven days, digital assets generally trended positive, with Bitcoin climbing and for the first time since February, the total cryptocurrency market cap hit over $3 trillion—good news all round for the sector!
On Monday, Bitcoin was priced at $93,636. The week began with alarming reports of a substantial hacking violation, involving a so-called “Bitcoin O.G.”—someone who’s had Bitcoin for a long time—losing a staggering $330 million. This incident stands as one of the largest non-institutional heists in crypto history. Meanwhile, Coinbase was in the headlines too, as it introduced a Bitcoin Yield Fund (CBYF) aiming to cater to institutional investors seeking passive returns. Yields are expected to range between 4%-8% annually, depending on investment tier and market conditions, with returns generated through basis trading—an arbitrage strategy leveraging price differences between Bitcoin’s spot and futures markets.
Tuesday rolled in with Bitcoin peaking at $94,470. A noteworthy collaboration was announced between MetaMask and heavyweights like Mastercard and Baanx, unveiling a new crypto payment card which allows users to spend their digital assets directly from their wallets, skipping fiat conversion. Circle achieved a significant regulatory win by getting in-principle approval from Abu Dhabi’s FSRA, enhancing stablecoin oversight in the Middle East and Africa. In the same breath, we reported on the Pi Network’s troubles following its mainnet launch, which saw a boom followed by a crash—an explosion of token unlocks and liquidity woes.
By Wednesday, Bitcoin’s value hit $94,962, but the news was overshadowed by the U.S. economy officially entering contraction territory as Q1 GDP dropped by 0.3%. This marked the worst quarterly performance since 2022 and sent concerns of a recession skyrocketing. Markets were shaken, as Polymarket indicated an increased likelihood of recession this year, while the Federal Reserve was under pressure to reduce rates—although Powell’s focus on inflation remained strong. In a contrasting bit of news, North Carolina’s House passed a bill allowing the state treasury to invest up to 5% in digital assets, which could also influence pension plans.
Wednesday gave way to Thursday, where Bitcoin surged to $96,392 amid recession fears, catching analysts’ attention. There’s a possibility that Bitcoin could be stepping up as an inflation hedge as institutional interest grows, and some governments are eyeing Bitcoin for their reserves. The bigger picture? Cryptocurrency market cap breached that elusive $3 trillion mark again.
That Thursday also highlighted troubling losses, as Immunefi reported that crypto projects lost a whopping $92 million in April—more than double March’s losses—mainly targeting DeFi projects. Top losses were attributed to UPCX, KiloEx, and Loopscale, with Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base feeling the most pain, collectively accounting for 60% of the losses.
Friday came to a close with Bitcoin reaching $97,881. Positive labour reports brought a sigh of relief, showing new jobs added and stable unemployment figures. President Trump took another shot at calling for a rate cut from the Fed as their upcoming FOMC meeting is on May 6-7. BlackRock made headlines too, stacking 3,636 BTC on that day—making their weekly total surpass 19,000 BTC after a buying spree earlier in the week. That said, Fidelity and Grayscale had mixed results, while Ark/21 Shares took a hit, shedding 4,823 BTC in the same timeframe.
As for those keeping an eye out for trading opportunities, there’s a promotion with WEEX offering 100 USDT to the first 100 users. If you trade 5M USDT, you could unlock up to 30,000 USDT in futures bonuses. So, consider signing up and starting your trading journey to grab those rewards!
It’s certainly been a week full of ups and downs, and it looks like the cryptocurrency arena just keeps on evolving like it always does.
