Market Highlights
- Trump Media raised US$2.4 billion for its BTC reserve.
- SharpLink Gaming raised US$425 million to establish an Ethereum treasury.
- The CLARITY Act was introduced, aiming to move crypto oversight from U.S. SEC to CFTC.
- The U.S. SEC said protocol staking will not be subject to federal securities laws.
Markets Overview
Markets wavered on renewed tariff uncertainty. The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled President Trump’s tariffs illegal. A day later, the U.S. appeals court reinstated the tariffs. The plaintiffs in the trade court case have until June 5 to respond.
Difficulties reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and China sent risk assets lower on Friday. President Trump says China hasn’t held up its end of the agreement.
Risk assets sold off on the release of the Federal Open Market Committee’s May meeting minutes on May 28. The minutes warn of “difficult tradeoffs” if President Trump's tariffs have an inflationary impact while employment and economic growth slow.
The U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures price index for the 12 months to 30 April came in at 2.1% — the lowest level since September.
Weekly performance: S&P 500 and Dow Jones +1%, Nasdaq +1.4%.
Looking ahead:
- Interest rate decisions: Bank of Canada on June 4; European Central Bank on June 5.
- U.S. non-farm employment change on June 6.
Crypto Market Sector Performance
Most sectors declined this week, except for staking services, which saw minor gains.
- Biggest declines:
- Data availability: Dymension (-13.7%) declined, with price failing to recover since April lows, despite The Beyond Release, a new settlement layer going live in late April.
- Bridge: Wormhole (-19.4%) saw losses despite expanding support for Dogecoin’s launch on the Solana network.
Bitcoin (BTC)
- Opened the week at US$109,048 and declined (-2.9% on the week).
- Persistent trade tensions and U.S. inflation concerns presumably caused the sell-off.
- US$8 million outflows from bitcoin asset investment products this week.
Trump Media raised US$2.4 billion in three days through stock and convertible note sales to fund its bitcoin treasury and for “other general corporate purposes and working capital”. Around 50 institutional investors participated. Once established, the treasury could make Trump Media one of the largest publicly-listed U.S. bitcoin holders.
The Bitcoin 2025 conference, held in Las Vegas from May 27 to 29, featured several high-profile speakers. Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, spoke, calling his pardon a “miracle.” New York Mayor Eric Adams advocated for repealing BitLicenses and launching a bitcoin bond in New York. Vice President JD Vance delivered the keynote address, promoting the GENIUS Act as a means to boost the U.S. economy and the U.S. dollar. Pakistan also revealed plans to launch a strategic bitcoin reserve.
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick announced a new bitcoin fund backed by gold. It’s aimed at investors seeking bitcoin exposure with reduced volatility.
Meanwhile, a hyperliquid trader lost over US$100 million from a US$1 billion long bitcoin position that was eventually leveraged up to 40x and liquidated due to increasingly risky trades.
In bitcoin buying news:
- El Salvador bought 8 BTC despite the IMF warning the country to stop. The country holds almost 6,200 BTC.
- GameStop announced that it added 4,710 BTC worth US$513 million to its treasury.
- Strategy added 4,020 BTC, bringing its holdings to over 580,955 BTC.
- Metaplanet issued US$21 million in bonds to buy more BTC, raising its holdings to 7,800 BTC.
- Strive Asset Management raised US$750 million to fund BTC purchases.
- Méliuz, a Brazilian fintech company, announced its US$78.6 million share offering to fund bitcoin purchases. The company currently holds 320 BTC.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Ethereum (ETH)
- Opened the week at US$2,552. (+2.3% on the week)
- Reached a weekly high of US$2,789 on May 29 before selling off.
- Ethereum led weekly digital asset investment funds inflows, with US$321 million flowing into ETH ETFs.
Ethereum’s options market is displaying signs of cautious optimism. Open interest for ETH reached December highs, with ETH gaining to start the week. While open interest has risen to $35 billion, in our view pricing suggests investors aren’t expecting ETH to surpass even conservative bull targets by year’s end.
SharpLink Gaming raised US$425 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) to establish an Ethereum treasury. The company’s stock gained 420% on the news.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Altcoins
This is a tribute
- Tellor Tributes (TRB) gained 28.7%. The decentralised oracle platform gained over 110% before retracing, presumably due to investor interest sparked by the CEO’s presentation at the ETHPrague conference and breaking above US$40 for the first time since February.
This week’s biggest losers:
- Aergo (AERGO) declined by 25.2%. The open-source hybrid blockchain for dApps declined despite announcing its new partnership with Arbitrum.
- Raydium (RAY) lost 25.9%. The open-source software for the Raydium protocol saw minor gains and then declined. Its token buyback program has been in place since mid-March.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Crypto ETF News
Digital asset investment products saw US$286 million inflows this week. This brings total inflows for the last seven weeks to US$10.9 billion.
In altcoins, XRP saw its second week of outflows, with US$28.2 million leaving funds.
Canary Capital filed to launch a Cronos (CRO) ETF.
The U.S. SEC raised legal questions over whether REX-Osprey’s staking-linked Ethereum and Solana ETFs qualify as investment companies, and as a result, whether they are eligible for exchange listings.
Other crypto news
- The Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act was introduced to the U.S. House on May 29. The CLARITY Act aims to shift regulatory oversight of most cryptocurrencies from the U.S. SEC to the CFTC as “digital commodities”. The legislation also requires brokers to segregate customer funds and disclose any conflicts of interest. The Act will be considered by the House Financial Services Committee on June 10.
- The U.S. SEC issued guidance on crypto protocol staking, confirming that these activities are generally not subject to federal securities laws, provided they meet certain conditions. The guidance pertains to protocol staking on proof-of-stake networks and third-party operators, such as validators and custodians. Liquid staking and restaking were not covered in the guidance.
- The U.S. Department of Labour rescinded a 2022 directive that advised retirement plan fiduciaries to exercise "extreme care" when considering cryptocurrency investments in 401(k) plans. Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer criticised the previous guidance as governmental overreach, emphasising that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not federal regulators.
- Cetus, the decentralised exchange subject to a US$223 million hack, is going ahead with its recovery plan. Over 90% of the community voted in favour of a protocol-level upgrade, which will enable the forced removal of US$162 million from the hacker’s wallets. A bridge loan from the Sui Foundation will cover the remaining funds stolen.
- USDC issuer Circle filed for an IPO on the NYSE, targeting a $6.7 billion valuation. The offering includes 24 million shares priced between $24 and $26, aiming to raise up to $624 million. If it proceeds, the IPO is set to be one of the largest crypto-related listings since Coinbase's debut in 2021.
- The Central African Republic (CAR) announced plans to tokenise over 1,700 hectares of land using its national meme coin, CAR, on the Solana blockchain. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra stated that, starting in June, land concessions will be accessible online via CAR. The token gained 21% on the news.
Disclaimer: This assessment does not consider your personal circumstances, and should not be construed as financial, legal or investment advice. These thoughts are ours only and should only be taken as educational by the reader. Under no circumstances do we make recommendation or assurance towards the views expressed in the blog-post. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The Company disclaims all duties and liabilities, including liability for negligence, for any loss or damage which is suffered or incurred by any person acting on any information provided.
from Caleb & Brown Cryptocurrency Brokerage.
