Why bitcoin hit a new all-time high

There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin is hovering near its new all-time high. Also, crypto ETFs are surging and more corporate treasuries are piling into BTC.

Stablecoins are having a big year. The issuer of USDC just filed to become a public company, and major legislation advanced in the Senate.

Michigan introduced four new crypto-related bills. And more key stats from around the cryptoverse.

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BTC dips slightly after hitting all-time high last week

Last Wednesday, bitcoin surged to a new all-time record high above $111,000 — powered by tailwinds including near-record-breaking capital flowing into crypto ETFs, positive movement on stablecoin legislation in Congress, and an ever-rising number of corporate treasuries buying into BTC. (More on all of those stories below.)

This week, BTC dipped slightly below $106,000 on Thursday after the Federal Reserve suggested on Wednesday that interest rates are unlikely to fall anytime soon.

Ether, on the other hand, has been on a relative winning streak recently as institutional money from Wall Street and beyond continues to flow into the second-largest cryptocurrency, pushing its prices past $2,600 (up more than 40% for the month).

What could happen next? Despite the minor pullback this week, a variety of analysts, including Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick, remain strongly bullish, suggesting that BTC could rise as high as $200,000 by the end of 2025.

Let’s dig into more of the week’s news…

Trump Media, GameStop among firms following Strategy’s BTC treasury strategy

Over the last five years, the publicly traded software firm Strategy — which is led by prominent BTC booster Michael Saylor — has transformed itself into a Wall Street behemoth by selling stock and debt in order to turn its corporate treasury into a vast stockpile of bitcoin worth around $62 billion.

So far, it’s a bet that’s paid off massively. “Strategy shares are up about 26% this year, beating Bitcoin’s 16% gain, and currently rank as one of the best-performers in the Nasdaq 100,” notes Bloomberg.

The success has inspired a rapidly growing number of firms to pursue a similar strategy. This week alone, Trump Media announced plans to raise $2.5 billion to purchase BTC for its corporate treasury; GameStop purchased more than $500 million in BTC; and Strive Capital Management (which was co-founded by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy) said it’s planning to purchase as much as $1.5 billion in BTC.

New narrative... “It’s a phenomenal story — for Bitcoiners, it’s a huge bull thesis,” Strahinja Savic, head of data and analytics at FRNT Financial, told Bloomberg. “If I had to list off the top three reasons why I’m bullish [on] Bitcoin, the corporate adoption is up there.”

Crypto ETFs continued to surge

As of Wednesday, with only a few days remaining in May, Bitcoin ETFs had tallied up inflows for the month totalling $5.7 billion, the highest monthly figure since November.

Ether ETFs have also been on a tear, outperforming many other asset classes in recent weeks. In just a single day last week, BTC and ETH ETFs broke the $1 billion mark in combined inflows. “The combination of a 'risk-on' environment and corporate buying are dominating flows currently,” Galaxy Head of Franchise Trading Michael Harvey told The Block.

Next ETF?… The SEC has begun to officially review WisdomTree’s spot XRP ETF application, potentially bringing the product a step closer to reality. The regulator has 240 days to make a decision.

STABLECOIN SPOTLIGHT

Why stablecoins are poised to become a trillion-dollar industry

Bitcoin’s new all-time high might be the most eye-catching recent crypto headline, but another part of the crypto ecosystem has been quietly transforming the global financial system for the last several years.

According to a new report from Citi, stablecoins — or digital tokens pegged to the price of another asset (typically a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar) — are poised to become a $3.5 trillion industry by 2035. This report comes as a growing number of major financial institutions and fintechs are using them to revolutionize cross-border payments, remittances, and much more. a16z crypto recently summed up the flurry of activity as the “the month fintechs embraced stablecoins.”

Here’s what you need to know.

The nation’s biggest banks are considering a joint stablecoin

A group of America’s biggest banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo — is reportedly in discussions around the possibility of creating a joint stablecoin venture.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the discussions come at a time when new technologies may be poised to eat into traditional banking’s bottom line: “Banks have been bracing for the possibility that stablecoins could become widely adopted under President Trump and siphon away the deposits and transactions they handle, particularly if big tech companies or retailers get in on the action.”

Silicon Valley firms are also incorporating stablecoins into their payments technology in ways that could challenge traditional banks. Payment processing giant Stripe recently announced a feature called “Stablecoin Financial Accounts” that allows businesses worldwide to hold their balances in stablecoins. Meta is reportedly also considering adopting stablecoins as a way to facilitate cross-border transactions (like sending payments to Instagram creators around the world).

A major stablecoin bill just advanced in the U.S. Senate

In a bipartisan vote last week, the U.S. Senate voted 66-32 to advance the GENIUS Act, a bill that would create comprehensive regulations for the stablecoin market in the U.S.

The long anticipated bill’s purpose is to create clear rules for stablecoin issuers, allowing banks, nonbanks, and credit unions to become stablecoin issuers. The bill also mandates that stablecoins be backed 1:1 by liquid reserves.

In a divided Congress, stablecoin legislation has emerged as one of very few issues with bipartisan support. “Innovation in this space is happening, with or without us,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.). “We have a responsibility to ensure it happens safely, transparently, and in a way that advances U.S. economic and national security interests. The GENIUS Act will help get us started.”

The GENIUS Act now awaits a full vote in the Senate. The STABLE Act, the House of Representatives’ version of the bill, is also awaiting a full chamber vote.

Stablecoin issuer Circle is planning an IPO

In a major sign of the maturation of the crypto industry in the U.S., Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has started its initial public offering process. (Disclosure: Coinbase has an equity stake in Circle.)

In 2024, Circle reported $1.68 billion in revenue, and USDC is the second largest stablecoin, with its market capitalization growing by 40%, to more than $60 billion, in 2025.

Circle, which has been considering an IPO since at least 2021, is seeking a valuation of around $6 billion, with BlackRock reportedly planning to buy 10% of the shares offered in the IPO. And amid a banner year for crypto mergers and acquisitions, it appears the crypto IPO market is warming as well. “The outlook for crypto IPOs is better than at any point in the past 3 years or so,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.

The bottom line…

While the country’s largest banks and tech firms make plans for stablecoin adoption, the success of their ventures likely depends on Congress establishing clear rules and guidelines for the industry. A recent Deutsche Bank report stated that the expected passage of stablecoin rules in the U.S. this year would “bring clarity, enabling mainstream use cases and deeper financial integration.”

Learn more about stablecoins

NUMBERS TO KNOW

$18 million

Funding raised by AI fintech startup Catena Labs, whose backers include a16z, Coinbase Ventures, and seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady. Created by Circle co-founder Sean Neville, Catena aims to use autonomous AI agents that are able to transact on behalf of its users with regulated stablecoins.

370,000

Number of property deeds (worth about $240 billion) that New Jersey’s Bergen County plans to tokenize and migrate to an Avalanche-powered blockchain. The goal, per CoinDesk, is to “simplify and secure property record management for nearly a million residents across 70 municipalities.”

Number of crypto-related bills that Michigan House lawmakers introduced last week. Among the proposed measures are initiatives to permit public retirement funds to invest in BTC via exchange-trade products; ban state CBDC support; and incentivize crypto mining at abandoned oil wells.