Red week for prices, green lights from institutions and regulators

Hola folks!

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

After a record-breaking run, Bitcoin cooled off with a 4.40% dip amid fresh macroeconomic jitters and U.S. tariff drama. Yet, big players aren’t backing down—Trump Media eyes a $2.5 billion BTC buy, and GameStop’s surprise $500 million treasury move made headlines. 

While altcoins followed Bitcoin’s lead, institutional interest and real-world adoption are on the rise. From XRP-backed property tokenization in Dubai to Circle’s $6B IPO plans and Avalanche’s gaming-fueled surge, the crypto ecosystem continues to evolve fast. Here's your quick dive into the week that was and the future that's unfolding.

After a week of breaching all-time highs, Bitcoin retraced by 4.40%, weighed down by renewed macroeconomic uncertainty. A U.S. appeals court reinstated trade tariffs, adding to investor caution, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that trade negotiations with China are currently stalled. BTC traded between $103,400 and $110,300 last week and is now hovering around the $105,200 mark. Despite the pullback, institutional interest remains strong. Trump Media & Technology Group announced plans to raise $2.5 billion to accumulate Bitcoin, while GameStop revealed a $500 million purchase of Bitcoin for its treasury. Meanwhile, XRP is seeing corporate accumulation, with VivoPower and Webus International planning to acquire $121 million and $300 million worth of XRP, respectively.

In DeFi, the Ethereum Foundation borrowed $2 million in GHO, a decentralized stablecoin issued by Aave, indicating a shift from selling ETH to tapping DeFi-native liquidity for operational funding. PancakeSwap led DEX volumes, processing $138 billion over the past month. As part of its efforts to promote RWA adoption, the Dubai Land Department unveiled the Middle East’s first government-backed project to tokenize property titles using the XRP Ledger, offering new avenues for fractional and real estate investment through tokenization. Avalanche also saw record activity, driven by the launch of Nexon’s MapleStory game and marketplace, pushing daily transactions beyond 11 million since May 15, peaking at 12.9 million last week.

Circle, the issuer of USDC, launched an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a $624 million raise at a $6 billion valuation, further signaling the crypto industry's march toward mainstream finance. Regulatory momentum also shifted in the U.S. with the unveiling of the Draft of the CLARITY Act, which regulates the broad crypto market and grants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) broader oversight of crypto assets, while reducing the SEC’s regulatory scope. 

The SEC additionally confirmed that staking is not considered a securities transaction, opening pathways for institutional staking services. It also formally dropped its lawsuit against Binance and founder CZ. Globally, crypto adoption continues to spread, with Pakistan’s newly formed crypto council announcing plans to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

In the altcoins sector, ETH followed BTC’s downward trend, with notable drops in SOL, ADA, and XRP.

Weekly price movement: 

• BTC $105,538 ⏬ 4.02% (7d)

• ETH $2,508 ⏬ 2.80% (7d)

• SOL $155 ⏬ 12.54% (7d)

• XRP $2.17 ⏬ 7.54% (7d)

• ADA $0.67 ⏬ 12.56% (7d)

(All data here as of 1:50 p.m., 2 June 2025)

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

• MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor hinted at another Bitcoin purchase, marking the company’s eighth consecutive week of buying. On May 26, it acquired 4,020 BTC, worth $427 million, raising its total to 580,250 BTC — more than the combined holdings of the US and Chinese governments. Now, as the largest known BTC holder, MicroStrategy is seen as a proxy for Bitcoin exposure, with analysts suggesting that its aggressive buying could trigger a supply shock and drive prices up, according to Cointelegraph.

• Social media platform X is launching XChat, a new messaging feature that includes audio and video calls, file sharing, disappearing messages, and encryption. Built using Rust, Musk claims it has "Bitcoin-style encryption," although critics point out that Bitcoin doesn’t use traditional encryption but rather elliptic curve cryptography. XChat is rolling out to paid users and includes passcode protection, according to Cointelegraph.

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

See you later, folks! 👋

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