Weekly Price Discovery Report: Bitcoin (BTC) Surged 7.47% This Week, Leading the Market's Rise

On May 24, CoinMarketCap shared this week's price discovery report on the X platform. This report highlighted global crypto market shifts, new launches, and projects.

On May 24, CoinMarketCap shared this week’s price discovery report on the X platform. This report highlighted global crypto market shifts, new launches, and projects.

This week, the market surged, adding $219 billion in value. The total market cap rose by 6.39%, reaching $3.645 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) led the rally with a 7.47% gain, while Ether (ETH) showed resilience with a 4.24% growth. A significant event was the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act. This vote paves the way for regulating stablecoins. Strategy also made a large BTC acquisition and launched a Series A offering.

Another notable development was the launch of Circle Payments Network for real-time USDC settlements. In terms of protocol updates, Succinct Labs unveiled Hypercube, a zkVM engine for efficient Ethereum block proofs. Anza introduced Alpenglow protocol to optimize Solana’s transaction speed, and Celestia deployed the Lotus upgrade.

Cetus Protocol reported a loss of $223 million due to a vulnerability exploit.

Senate Passes GENIUS Act, Establishes Stablecoin Framework

The U.S. Senate approved the GENIUS Act on May 20. This bill sets the stage for the first full regulatory structure for stablecoins. The legislation defines capital and reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers and imposes KYC and AML obligations on issuers, intermediaries, and persons who introduce new issuers to operate in the U.S.

This new regulatory framework is expected to have a positive impact on the strength of the U.S. dollar. As a result, analysts anticipate an increase in demand for U.S. Treasury assets.

The regulation aims to minimize risks in the stablecoin sector. Its goal is to create a safer environment for investors engaging with digital assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) Surges as Strategy Buys 7,390 Coins

Bitcoin price showed a strong rally this week, with BTC surging by 7.47%. The crypto market saw a broad recovery. Among the top 10 coins, Bitcoin led the gains.

The crypto market is quickly decoupling from the traditional markets, which saw the S&P 500 slide by 1.35% and Nasdaq decline by 1.23%. A large institutional investor, Strategy, disclosed an acquisition of 7,390 BTC, valued at approximately $765 million.

The investment firm also announced a Series A fundraising round, securing a significant $2.1 billion. This investment further highlights the increasing interest of institutions in digital assets.

Circle Payments Network Launches for Real-time Settlements

Circle officially launched the Circle Payments Network (CPN) on May 21. This network unlocks real-time payments and settlements in six major currencies: USDC, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and Canadian Dollar.

CPN is a blockchain-based payment coordination system that enables institutions like banks, merchants, and payment providers to exchange payment instructions and settle them instantly using USDC.

CPN will support various financial use cases. These include B2B supplier payments, cross-border remittances, payroll, and bulk disbursements.

It offers transparency, programmability, and continuous availability. Market observers view this launch as a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital finance.

Major Protocol Updates Announced

Succinct Labs, a leading blockchain technology firm, has made significant progress in developing its zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup virtual machine (VM) engine, Hypercube.

Anza is introducing the Alpenglow protocol to drastically improve Solana’s transaction speed. The system will cut latency by 100x, enhancing throughput and enabling real-time performance for Solana’s smart contracts.

Celestia is deploying the Lotus upgrade for its lightchain, introducing a reduction in inflation and support for native interoperability of the TIA token.

Each of these updates will serve to strengthen the scalability, security, and usability of these blockchains. These innovations highlight the ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of Web3 technology.