Bitcoin hits new ATH, Aave leads DeFi, and US talks stablecoins

Hola folks!

Welcome back to your weekly dose of crypto insights, major trends, market moves, and must-know updates from the crypto world.

In the week that passed by, Bitcoin made history, smashing through $110K to hit a new all-time high, and briefly topping $111K. From ETF inflows to easing global tensions, the stars aligned for BTC’s latest rally. But it wasn’t just Bitcoin stealing the spotlight: ETH climbed 8.3%, DeFi TVL surged past $24B, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE token rocketed 50% amid CFTC buzz. 

Meanwhile, Kraken eyes tokenized equities, Circle rolls out its global payments network, and FIFA is diving into Avalanche. Buckle up, as we unravel the latest stories and developments shaping the crypto space. 

Bitcoin had a landmark week, first breaking past the $110K level to set a new all-time high, and later pushing further to cross $111K. Several factors fueled this bullish momentum in recent weeks: easing trade tensions, accelerating inflows into BTC ETFs, which came in at $2.75B last week, increasing institutional participation, and growing optimism around US regulatory clarity. BTC briefly dipped to $107K, but rebounded following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day negotiation window with the EU. It is currently trading around the $109,800 mark, underscoring Bitcoin’s sensitivity to geopolitical developments. For over two weeks now, BTC has held firmly above the $100K mark. In other news, Asia-based consumer goods firm DDC Enterprise acquired 21 BTC through a share exchange deal, kicking off a long-term plan to accumulate 5,000 BTC as part of its corporate treasury strategy. 

In DeFi, Aave strengthened its position by surpassing $24 billion in TVL, now commanding 20% of the total ecosystem, with its token rallying 25%. Kraken announced plans to offer tokenized US equities for non-US citizens, aiming to broaden global access to American financial markets. Meanwhile, Centrifuge is bringing tokenized Treasuries to the Solana ecosystem, making them tradeable and usable across major DeFi protocols on the network.

On the stablecoin front, the US Senate has voted to advance a key stablecoin-regulating bill, the GENIUS Act, which aims to regulate the nearly $250 billion stablecoin market. Circle officially launched its Circle Payments Network on mainnet. The real-time payments protocol will allow banks and providers to settle cross-border transactions instantly using USDC across public blockchains, promising faster and more transparent cross-border settlements. 

FIFA, in a Web3 push, is building its own blockchain on Avalanche to host its NFT collection and power fan experiences, migrating assets from Algorand and Polygon. Solana Mobile is gearing up to launch its smartphone, Seeker, on August 4, 2025, with Web3 integration and the SKR token embedded at the core of its ecosystem. Lastly, SUI experienced a setback after its DEX, Cetus Protocol, suffered a $223 million exploit, causing a slight dip in SUI’s price.

Altcoins had a good week, with ETH, AVAX, SOL, and BNB making significant strides. Additionally, Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE soared over 50% last week, thanks to remarks from Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Summer Mersinger, which suggested that crypto perpetual futures may soon become regulated in the US. 

Weekly price movement: 

• ETH $2,579 ⏫ 6.69% (7d)

• AVAX $23.94 ⏫ 10.37% (7d)

• SOL $178  ⏫ 9.95% (7d)

• BNB $675 ⏫ 5.53% (7d)

• HYPE $38.61 ⏫ 47.31% (7d)

(All data here as of 1:55 p.m., 26 May 2025)

Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at some important news from around the crypto world.

• US SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said many non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including those with mechanisms to pay creator royalties, likely fall outside the purview of federal securities laws. In a recent speech, Peirce said NFTs that allow artists to earn resale revenue do not automatically qualify as securities, according to Cointelegraph.

• Mihailo Bjelic, one of the four co-founders of Polygon, is exiting the network. With Bjelic’s exit, co-founder Sandeep Nailwal becomes the last remaining member of the original founding team. Nailwal acknowledged Bjelic’s contributions to the network and wished him luck for the future. The layer-2 network, which was originally known as Matic, was formed by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, Mihailo Bjelic, and Anurag Arjun, according to CoinDesk.

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

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