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By Shikha Singh
Bitcoin Flat This Week as ETF Flows Rebound and SEC Gives OK to Mining.
Bitcoin experienced a volatile week, initially rising after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reassured the market about inflation and President Trump’s tariffs.
However, it ended the week flat at $84,150, showing no significant movement over the past seven days.
Investor sentiment shifted as money flowed back into Bitcoin ETFs, with over $700 million entering these funds. This behavior contrasts with Ethereum ETFs, which have seen a 13-day losing streak.
Bitcoin’s volatility surged to a six-month high due to concerns over the U.S. economy, geopolitical tensions, and other uncertainties, with its 30-day volatility reaching 3.6%.
This heightened volatility is expected to persist in the short term. The SEC clarified that Bitcoin mining activities, particularly proof-of-work mining, do not violate securities laws, signaling a more crypto-friendly stance under President Trump’s administration.
Ethereum ETF Outflows Extend to 12 Days as Bitcoin Funds Recover.
Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have faced significant outflows, losing $370 million over the past 12 trading days, marking their longest losing streak yet.
The decline in ETF assets mirrors Ethereum’s price drop from $2,200 on March 5 to around $1,950. Investor concerns about Ethereum’s speed and efficiency compared to other blockchains, as well as broader market volatility, have contributed to this downturn. The outflows have mainly impacted the iShares and Grayscale Ethereum Trusts.
In contrast, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $660 million in inflows this week, recovering some losses from earlier downturns. BlackRock’s Robert Mitchnick attributed the underperformance of Ethereum ETFs partly to their lack of staking options, with major firms like Bitwise, Grayscale, and Fidelity seeking rule changes to permit staking.
Real-World Asset Protocols Top $10 bn Amid Tokenization Boom.
Real-world assets (RWAs) have seen significant growth in decentralized finance (DeFi), with a total of $10.216 billion in total value locked (TVL) across 79 DeFi platforms. The top three RWA protocols—Maker RWA, BlackRock BUIDL, and Ethena USDtb—account for 36% of this TVL, with $1.298 billion, $1.232 billion, and $1.182 billion, respectively.
Tokenizing RWAs, such as treasury bonds, real estate, and commodities, is becoming increasingly popular as investors seek to hedge against crypto market volatility. Analysts predict the RWA market will surpass $50 billion by the end of 2025. Maker’s RWA is backed by real estate and treasury bonds, while USDtb is tied to BlackRock money-market fund shares, and BUIDL is a tokenized money-market fund on Ethereum.
Immutable X and zkEVM NFT Sales Surge 55% in Q4 2024.
In Q4 2024, the total NFT sales volume across Immutable X and Immutable zkEVM increased by 55.3%, rising from $51.2 million to $79.5 million.
This growth was driven by strong demand for Guild of Guardians NFTs, which accounted for over 99% of the trading volume.
However, market participation declined significantly, with daily sellers and buyers declining by 43.0% and 38.1%, respectively, suggesting higher transaction values amid fewer participants.
Immutable zkEVM saw a 73.3% rise in average daily NFT sales volume, but user engagement declined, reflecting broader trends in the GameFi market following a Q3 surge.
PancakeSwap Overtakes Uniswap as Leading DEX with $14 bn Weekly Volume.
PancakeSwap has overtaken Uniswap to become the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) globally, achieving over $14 billion in weekly trading volume, a 58.04% increase in activity. This surge has pushed PancakeSwap to capture 29.18% of the total DEX trading volume. Its success is attributed to factors like lower transaction fees on BNB Chain, faster confirmation times, and a user-friendly interface, particularly benefiting from interest in BNB Chain-based meme coins.
Meanwhile, Uniswap saw a 50.56% drop in activity, with its weekly volume falling to $8.611 billion, despite maintaining a higher total value locked (TVL) of $3.93 billion. Other DEXs like Raydium, Meteora, and Fluid also experienced significant declines in trading volume.
Strategy Upsizes STRF Perpetual Preferred Stock Offering to $722 mn to Buy More Bitcoin.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has upsized its STRF offering from $500 million to $722.5 million.
The company will offer 8.5 million shares of its 10% Series A Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock at $85 per share, with proceeds expected to total around $711.2 million after expenses.
These funds will be used for corporate purposes, including acquiring more Bitcoin.
The preferred stock will accumulate dividends at a fixed 10% annual rate, with the possibility of compounding up to 18% per annum if dividends are unpaid.
Coinbase Acquiring Deribit Talks Reaches ‘Advanced’ Stage.
Coinbase is in advanced talks to acquire Deribit, the world’s largest trading platform for Bitcoin and Ether options.
Discussions have reached regulators in Dubai, as Deribit holds a license there, which would transfer to any acquirer. Coinbase declined to comment on the rumors, stating it is always exploring opportunities to grow its business.
Deribit had previously hired a financial advisor to explore acquisition options, with Kraken also rumored to be interested, though it did not engage in talks. Deribit’s potential valuation is estimated to be between $4 billion and $5 billion.
Haun Ventures Seeks $1 bn to Fund Crypto Startups.
Haun Ventures, founded by former Andreessen Horowitz partner Katie Haun, is raising $1 billion to launch two new crypto-focused funds.
The funds will be split equally between early-stage and late-stage investments. This funding round, expected to close in June, would be the largest venture financing deal since President Trump’s second term began.
Launched amid a wave of crypto mega-raises, Haun Ventures follows a $1.5 billion capital raise in 2022. Haun, a former Coinbase board member and DOJ prosecutor, has made notable investments, including in NFT firm Zora and stablecoin protocol Bridge.
South Korea Cracks Down on Unregistered Overseas Crypto Exchanges.
South Korean financial authorities are intensifying efforts to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges targeting Korean users without proper registration.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is preparing sanctions, including potential access blocks, against unregistered overseas exchanges like Bitmex, Kucoin, and others that have been providing localized services to Korean users.
This action is in line with the Specific Financial Information Act, which requires virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to register with the FIU. The crackdown follows similar actions in 2022, aimed at protecting investors and preventing illicit activities in the digital asset space.
BlackRock’s BUIDL Achieves $1.5 bn in Assets as Institutional Interest in Tokenization Grows.
BlackRock’s tokenized US Treasury fund, BUIDL, has seen rapid growth, reaching nearly $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM), marking a 129% increase in the past month.
Launched on the Securitize platform in March 2024, BUIDL has gained significant traction, with over 86% of its supply minted on Ethereum.
The fund’s success reflects a growing institutional interest in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Meanwhile, Fidelity is also entering the RWA tokenization space by filing with the SEC to launch a blockchain-based share class of its Treasury fund for the money market, “OnChain,” which will use Ethereum and potentially other blockchains. These developments underscore the increasing adoption of blockchain technology in traditional finance, signaling a shift in investment strategies.
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