The start of May marked yet another eventful week for cryptocurrencies

The start of May saw eventful days unfold for cryptocurrencies. In a net-positive 7-day timeframe, digital assets showcased varying fortunes. Bitcoin continued its climb, ultimately testing the $98k price range, while the total cryptocurrency market capitalization surpassed the $3 trillion mark for the first time since February.

Monday

The week kicked off with reports of a major hacking incident, where an alleged “Bitcoin O.G.”—meaning someone who was holding BTC for years—fell victim to a hack, losing $330 million in Bitcoin, marking one of the largest non-institutional crypto heists in history.

Later that same day, Coinbase unveiled an exciting new Bitcoin Yield Fund (CBYF), designed to provide institutional investors with passive returns on their Bitcoin holdings. The subscription-based fund offers 4% to 8% annual yields, depending on tier and market conditions, and generates returns through basis trading, an arbitrage strategy that takes advantage of price differences between Bitcoin’s spot market and futures contracts.

At the same time, Tether authorized the issuance of 1 billion USDT, sparking speculation about its potential impact on the market. However, according to Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino, the newly minted stablecoins are “authorized but unissued,” meaning they are not yet in circulation and remain in Tether’s inventory as liquidity for future issuance.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, MetaMask teamed up with Mastercard, CompoSecure, and Baanx to roll out a direct crypto payment card that doesn't require manual fiat conversion. Unlike traditional crypto cards, this one lets users spend digital assets directly from their wallets, maintaining self-custody until the moment of the transaction.

One of the biggest regulatory wins of the week came from Circle, which secured in-principle approval from Abu Dhabi’s FSRA. This milestone pushes the company closer to full regulatory approval as a money services provider, reinforcing stablecoin oversight across the Middle East and Africa.

Also on Tuesday, we covered the full Pi Network meltdown, detailing how its open mainnet launch led to an initial surge before collapsing under massive token unlocks, trading suspensions, and liquidity issues.

Wednesday

The biggest news of the day was the U.S. economy officially entering contraction, as the Q1 GDP print came in at -0.3%, far below forecasts. This marks the worst first-quarter performance since 2022, adding fuel to recession concerns and shaking financial markets. Polymarket voters now expect a full-on recession this year, while the Federal Reserve faces mounting pressure to cut rates—though Powell is expected to hold firm on inflation control.

On a more optimistic note, North Carolina’s House passed HB92, a bill that introduces treasury allocations of up to 5% into digital assets while exploring potential integration into state pension plans.

Thursday

Despite the bearish news regarding the U.S. potentially entering a recession, Bitcoin continued to grow—surpassing $95k for the first time in weeks. This led analysts to contemplate if the asset’s potential as a hedge against inflation was finally in full effect, as institutional adoption surged and governments explored integrating Bitcoin into their financial reserves.

This surprising upwards momentum led the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization to surpass $3 trillion for the first time in months.

Also on Thursday, Immunefi reported that crypto projects lost $92M in April, marking a 2.2x increase from March. Every incident targeted DeFi, with CeFi remaining untouched, and the biggest losses came from UPCX ($70M), KiloEx ($7.5M), and Loopscale ($5.8M). Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base were hit hardest, making up 60% of total losses.

Friday

Key economic indicators alleviated some of the negative pressure on the U.S. economy, as labor reports showed a growth in new jobs created and a stable unemployment rate. President Trump once again used the opportunity to rally for a new interest rate cut by the Fed at the upcoming FOMC meeting on May 6–7.

Meanwhile, BlackRock flexed its dominance, stacking 3,636 BTC on Friday—bringing its weekly total past 19,000 BTC after Monday’s record-setting 10,249 BTC purchase. While Fidelity and Grayscale saw mixed flows, Ark/21 Shares took the biggest hit, shedding 4,823 BTC in the same period.

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