Token Chronicle - Week 2 May 2025

Top cryptos

Meme of the week

Market Sentiment:

Market update: A fairly stable week for BTC, which is back at $102K, but the altcoins (including ETH) performed better over the week: +32% for ETH, +12% for XRP and Solana.

The macroeconomic climate is positive: a temporary agreement between the US and China, satisfactory US inflation figures, hopes for easing international tensions with the diplomatic tours of heads of state, and announcements of major tech/AI investments from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Corporate investments in BTC are multiplying, but the new US crypto regulations are taking time (nothing unexpected).

Main points this week:

International News

1. U.S. Vice President JD Vance to Speak at the World's Largest Bitcoin Conference
   JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States, will take the stage in Las Vegas in a few weeks for Bitcoin 2025, the world’s largest Bitcoin conference, held from May 27 to 29 by BTC Inc. At the 2024 edition in Nashville, Donald Trump made headlines by fully embracing the crypto topic to gain voter support in his presidential campaign.

2. Dubai: Government Will Soon Accept Cryptocurrency Payments via Crypto.com
   Paying for public services with crypto? This will soon be possible in Dubai thanks to a partnership with crypto exchange Crypto.com. The government will accept crypto payments for administrative fees like fines and taxes. The announcement, made during the Dubai FinTech Summit, reinforces the emirate’s ambition to become a fully digital, cashless society. This move is part of the “Dubai Cashless Strategy,” aiming to have over 90% of all financial transactions—public and private—done without cash by 2026.

3. El Salvador Buys Bitcoin for 13th Consecutive Day Despite IMF Deal
   Three months after signing an agreement with the IMF that required reducing Bitcoin-related initiatives, El Salvador continues its daily BTC purchases. The country has been buying one Bitcoin per day for nearly two weeks, showing a strong commitment to its Bitcoin strategy despite international criticism.

4. Thailand to Launch Government Investment Token Within Two Months
   Thailand is set to launch the "G-Token," a new digital investment token aiming to raise 5 billion baht via licensed platforms. As part of its evolving stance on digital assets, the country is trying to attract public savings and embrace a tokenized economy. Overseen by the Thai SEC, the G-Token will be issued on a tech infrastructure but is not considered public debt or a cryptocurrency. It’s intended as an alternative savings and investment tool.

Compliance / Regulation / Justice

1. Celsius Case: Former CEO Alex Mashinsky Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison
   After pleading guilty to financial crimes last December, Alex Mashinsky, founder of Celsius, was sentenced this week to 12 years in prison.

2. EU Plans to Monitor All Crypto Transactions: End of On-Chain Anonymity?
   With the AMLR taking effect in 2027, the European Union plans to eliminate on-chain anonymity, ban privacy coins, and mandate full traceability of crypto transfers—officially to combat money laundering. Targets include Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), anonymous wallets, and any transactions over €1,000. According to Eurogroup president Paschal Donohoe, the goal is to extend financial transparency beyond traditional channels and fully integrate crypto assets into anti-money laundering rules. Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) will be required to identify both senders and recipients, even for self-hosted wallets interacting with regulated services.

3. German authorities seized around $38 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from eXch a day before its scheduled closure, alleging it operated as a criminal trading platform. Prosecutors said eXch enabled anonymous crypto swaps without implementing anti-money laundering protocols or know-your-customer measures, and was promoted on criminal underground forums. Authorities estimate eXch facilitated $1.9 billion in transactions since its inception in 2014, including a portion of the $1.4 billion Bybit hack linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group. eXch previously claimed its privacy-first mission was misunderstood and criticized traditional KYC/AML practices as ineffective.

4. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding that the Senate's stablecoin bill bans big corporations from issuing stablecoins, singling out Meta and Mark Zuckerberg in her request. Warren and several other Senate Democrats also questioned top administration officials on their interactions with Binance, especially as the exchange has amplified ties with President Donald Trump's World Liberty Financial.

5. Lido, Ethereum’s largest liquid staking protocol, avoided a major security incident after one of its nine oracle keys was compromised in what appears to be a low-impact but serious breach involving validator operator Chorus One. Lido secures over 25% of all ether (ETH) staked on Ethereum, making it one of the most systemically important protocols in the Ethereum ecosystem. The compromised key was tied to a hot wallet used for oracle reporting, leading to the theft of just 1.46 ETH ($4,200) in gas fees. No user funds were affected, and no broader compromise was detected, per X posts from both Lido and Chorus One.

Traditional Finance

1. BlackRock Meets SEC Crypto Task Force to Discuss 5 Key Points
   On Friday, a BlackRock delegation met with the SEC’s crypto task force to discuss regulatory topics. Main discussions included market developments around BlackRock’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs (IBIT and ETHA), and its tokenized fund BUIDL. ETF approval processes were a central topic, with a focus on streamlining regulatory pathways. Another major topic: staking and the desire to include it in Ethereum ETFs.

2. $1.53 Billion: Goldman Sachs Increases Exposure to BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs
   Following the institutional trend, Goldman Sachs has significantly increased its positions in Bitcoin ETFs, particularly those from BlackRock and Fidelity.

3. Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom, encouraged traders to "buy everything" following a de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. Over the weekend, both nations agreed to sharply reduce tariffs — effective May 14 for 90 days — with the U.S. and China cutting import duties to 30% and 10%, respectively. This follows President Trump’s recent UK trade deal and has improved global macro conditions. While crypto markets initially rose, they later dipped along with gold, even as U.S. stock indexes advanced. Experts suggest that easing tariffs reduce inflationary pressure and boost liquidity — typically bullish for crypto. Analysts forecast bitcoin reaching $150K–$200K and ETH returning to $4K by year-end.

4. Coinbase will officially join the S&P 500 on May 19, becoming the index’s first dedicated crypto firm, replacing Discover Financial Services post-acquisition. Analysts at Bernstein project $9 billion in passive inflows and another $7 billion from active funds due to Coinbase’s 0.1% index weight. The move marks a sharp turnaround from recent SEC litigation — now dropped under the Trump administration — and underscores crypto’s growing mainstream presence. Coinbase executives hailed the listing as a pivotal moment, with CEO Brian Armstrong suggesting crypto is entering retirement portfolios. Bernstein maintains an “outperform” rating with a $310 target, citing favorable U.S. crypto trends.

5. VanEck has launched its first tokenized fund, the VanEck Treasury Fund (VBILL), offering on-chain access to short-term U.S. Treasury debt across multiple blockchain networks. VBILL requires a minimum investment of $100,000 on most blockchains and $1 million on Ethereum, with assets held by State Street and priced daily using Redstone's oracle service. Tokenization of assets like U.S. Treasuries is growing rapidly, enticing global asset managers with operational efficiency and faster, cheaper settlements.

6. Crypto and equities trading platform eToro priced its Nasdaq IPO at $52 per share, topping its $46 to $50 target and signaling stronger-than-expected investor demand. The offering includes just over 11.9 million Class A common shares from eToro and existing shareholders, and is anticipated to raise about $620 million in total — valuing the firm at $4.2 billion. Shares began trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday under the ticker "ETOR," with the offering expected to close on Thursday.

Tech News

1. Meta Reenters the Stablecoin Race, Three Years After Diem’s Failure
   Three years after the Diem project collapsed, Meta is planning a comeback in the crypto space. The tech giant is in talks with industry players to integrate stablecoins into its platforms for payment purposes. The goal: facilitate cross-border payments, which are typically expensive and complex with fiat. These early-stage discussions signal renewed strategic interest in stablecoins, especially for micro-transactions under $100. The potential for future regulatory easing makes them even more attractive to companies.

2. Pump.fun Launches Revenue Model for Memecoin Creators: A Positive Shift?
   Token launch platform Pump.fun has introduced a unique revenue-sharing system for memecoin creators, aiming to encourage long-term projects on Solana and reduce “create-and-dump” behavior. Now, creators will receive 0.05% of trading volume in SOL from their token’s activity on PumpSwap, the platform’s native DEX. Half of PumpSwap’s fees will go to developers—5 basis points per transaction. For example, a creator could earn $5,000 in SOL for every $10 million traded. Earnings will be instantly available and claimable via the Pump.fun dashboard.

3. This week, Aave Labs submitted a proposal in the Uniswap governance forum detailing a major collaboration between two DeFi giants: integrating Uniswap V4 LP tokens into Aave's protocol. The plan would initially allow users to mint GHO, Aave’s stablecoin, using LP tokens as collateral, with future support for borrowing other assets against them. Aave proposed a revenue-sharing model, starting at a 50/50 split on GHO interest and shifting to 80/20 favoring Aave after milestones. Aave is also requesting a $3.3 million grant from the Uniswap Foundation to finalize development, testing, and audits. However, community responses flagged issues like tax concerns, funding eligibility, and potential distortion of market neutrality. The proposal is now subject to Uniswap's governance process for funding approval.

4. The Ethereum Foundation has launched a "Trillion Dollar Security" initiative to future-proof the network for global-scale financial demand. The foundation said that despite securing around $63 billion in current assets, the network needs upgrades to support broader adoption and ultimately exceed legacy finance's security guarantees. The plan includes a three-part strategy focused on analyzing vulnerabilities, patching high-risk attack vectors, and improving ecosystem-wide security collaboration. EF Protocol Security Lead Fredrik Svantes and Josh Stark from the EF management team will co-chair the effort, joined by ecosystem stewards, including Samczsun, Mehdi Zerouali, and Zach Obront.

5. After the successful deployment last week of Pectra, Ethereum's biggest upgrade in more than a year, the network's core developers are already shifting focus to the next major chain upgrade: Fusaka. Pectra, the biggest code change to Ethereum since the Merge in 2022, introduced key changes aimed at making staking easier for institutions, improving wallet accessibility, and boosting transaction efficiency. Developers have already begun planning for Fusaka, the network’s next upgrade, and have thus far agreed to include an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) called "PeerDAS" that could help the network support larger "blobs" of transaction data.

Adoption

1. Popular U.S. Fast Food Chain Now Accepts Bitcoin Payments
   Steak ‘n Shake, a well-known American fast food chain, has announced it will accept Bitcoin payments starting May 16. Millions of Americans will soon be able to pay for meals in BTC. Steak ‘n Shake is using the initiative as a marketing tool, helping boost both its brand visibility and Bitcoin awareness. While not the first restaurant chain to try this—Subway, Chipotle, and KFC have done so in the past—most abandoned the effort during bear markets and waning interest in crypto.

2. Metaplanet Surpasses El Salvador With 6,796 Bitcoins Held
   Japanese firm Metaplanet has made a big move in the Bitcoin reserve race. After purchasing over 1,200 BTC, the company now holds more than El Salvador, making it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in Asia.

3. France: The Blockchain Group Sells €12M in Bonds to Buy More Bitcoin
   Continuing its Bitcoin accumulation strategy, The Blockchain Group has sold €12.1 million in bonds to early Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back. He subscribed to €12.1 million in convertible bonds (OCA). A cryptographer and founder of Blockstream, Back is a leading figure in Bitcoin infrastructure development.

4. Why Did Tether Buy $458.7M Worth of Bitcoin?
   Tether is doubling down on Bitcoin. By injecting nearly half a billion dollars into Twenty One Capital's reserves, it aims to strengthen its position ahead of a planned SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners. The goal: turn this fund into the most powerful Bitcoin investment vehicle on the market. The project is backed by Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank. Together, they plan to seed the entity with around 42,000 BTC: 23,950 from Tether, 10,500 from SoftBank (a $900M investment), and 7,000 from Bitfinex (converted into $10 shares). Twenty One Capital's ambition is clear—become the top destination for Bitcoin exposure, ahead of Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which currently holds 568,840 BTC.

5. Pharmaceutical distribution company Wellgistics plans to use XRP as a real-time payment rail and treasury management asset, aiming to cut costs and settlement times across the healthcare supply chain. The Florida-based firm has secured a $50 million equity credit line to fund its XRP plan and explore programmable liquidity models. The company said XRP's sub-penny fees and 3 to 5 second transaction speeds can outperform standard wire transfers that typically take up to three days to complete and cost between $10 and $30.

6. The second-largest cryptocurrency just outgrew one of the world's most iconic brands. Ethereum's market cap now exceeds $309 billion, surpassing both Coca-Cola ($303.53B) and Alibaba ($303.72B). This places a decentralized blockchain at #39 in global asset rankings, ahead of companies with century-long histories and massive physical infrastructure.

Funding & Partnerships:

1. American Bitcoin, a subsidiary of bitcoin miner Hut 8 and the Trump family-backed American Data Centers, will go public via a merger with Gryphon Digital. American Bitcoin shareholders will own about 98% of the merged entity, and Gryphon Digital 2%, while Hut 8 remains the exclusive bitcoin mining infrastructure partner. The stock-for-stock transaction is expected to close as early as the third quarter of 2025, with the new company trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ABTC and continuing to operate under the American Bitcoin brand.

2. Healthcare data company KindlyMD has agreed to merge with Nakamoto Holdings to form a publicly traded bitcoin treasury vehicle. The combined entity has secured $710 million in financing and will be led by David Bailey. KDLY shares are higher by 650% in premarket trade.

3. Crypto bank Anchorage Digital said it has agreed to acquire yield-bearing stablecoin issuer Mountain Protocol. The deal aims to integrate Mountain's technology and team into Anchorage's operations, pending regulatory approval. Stablecoin adoption is rapidly increasing driven by institutional interest and regulatory developments, with Citi projecting the market to grow to trillions of dollars by the end of this decade.

4. Nasdaq-listed GD Culture Group plans to sell up to $300 million in shares to fund BTC and TRUMP memecoin purchases as part of a new crypto treasury strategy. The AI and e-commerce company aims to enhance its balance sheet by integrating crypto assets into its core operations, aligning with the booming corporate adoption trend. GD Culture is pushing ahead with the crypto pivot despite reporting a $14.1 million net loss in 2024 and recently facing Nasdaq compliance issues after failing to meet the minimum stockholders' equity threshold of $2.5 million.

5. Robinhood is set to acquire Canadian crypto platform WonderFi for around $179 million in cash, marking a major push into the country's digital asset market. The deal represents a 71% premium over WonderFi's 30-day volume-weighted average trading price and includes brands like Bitbuy, Coinsquare, and SmartPay. WonderFi's leadership and staff will remain in place under Robinhood Crypto, with plans to expand its crypto offerings and integrate with Robinhood's existing Canadian team of over 140 employees. Following shareholder and regulator approval, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Disclaimer: The information disclosed here does not constitute an investment advice ; it is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. You should do your own research while investing in crypto and only invest money you are ready to lose.