June 10th, 2025
Market Overview:
Digital assets performed strongly this week, as Bitcoin returned to levels near its record highs following praise for the industry from the new SEC chair.
- Bitcoin faced declines during broader market concern over the Trump/Musk quarrel, but recovered strongly on Monday to come near record highs once more
- Bitcoin dropped to lows of $100,700 as global markets were uncertain how to handle the public fallout between the president and former DOGE advisor, but it rallied into the weekend before hitting a high of $110,320 on Monday
- Ether experienced similar movements, albeit with a slower recovery and sharper rally; growing from a Tuesday drop of $2,399 to a $2,710 on Monday
- Overall industry market capitalisation grew by $100bn to $3.41tn
- According to industry monitoring site DeFi Llama, total value locked in DeFi grew to $115.5bn
Digital assets showcased strength amidst chaotic conditions in wider markets. Stablecoin issuer Circle had a successful IPO, Ether ETFs continued their winning run, JP Morgan (indirectly) approved digital assets as collateral for loans, SEC chair Paul Atkins praised the industry, South Korean crypto enthusiasts celebrated supportive government policies, and much more.
What happened: ETF News
How is this significant?
- Digital asset investment products logged an eighth consecutive week of inflows, as Ether products extended their recent impressive performances
- Net inflows were however at their lowest levels during this eight week run, as investors responded cautiously to uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy
- According to Coinshares data published on Monday, Ether products added $295m in the trading week ending Friday the 6th, helping to compensate for $57m outflows from Bitcoin funds
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced mixed performance, as nine-figure outflows sandwiched positive showings in the middle of the week
- The best performance came on Tuesday, as ETFs accrued $375m in fresh capital
- This was led by ARK Invest’s ARKB *$140m) and followed by Fidelity’s FBTC ($137m), as BlackRock’s IBIT (uncharacteristically) sat in third place ($58m)
- IBIT did lead inflows the next day with $284m, but overall daily inflows were more muted at $87m due to significant FBTC outflows
- Outflows followed the next two days, as the public spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk spooked wider markets
- IBIT managed to beat—or rather, destroy—a long-standing stock market record, as it became the quickest ETF to ever achieve $70bn AUM
- Bloomberg chief ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated “IBIT just blew through $70bn and is now the fastest ETF to ever hit that mark in only 341 [trading] days, which is 5 times faster than the old record held by GLD of 1,691 days”
- Outlining the remarkable scale of IBIT’s achievement, Balchunas said “When BlackRock filed for IBIT, the price was $30k and the stench of FTX was still in air. It's now $110k (a return that is 7 times that of the mighty S&P 500) and is now seen as legitimate for other big investors”
- Donald Trump’s Truth Social filed for a Bitcoin ETF to list on the NYSE Arca exchange
- New data from Coinbase revealed that institutional investors now comprise 25% of all Bitcoin ETF holders, including increased exposure from investment advisors
- Spot Ether ETFs meanwhile extended their recent record of inflows, logging over two weeks without any outflows
- Tuesday featured rare nine-figure inflows, as the category logged $109m, led by BlackRock’s ETHA fund
- According to early Monday trading data, Bitcoin and Ether ETFs both featured strong inflows ($386m and $53m respectively) as the markets opened the week buoyantly
- Elsewhere in ETFs, several issuers petitioned the SEC to move towards a “first-to-file” ETF approval process, arguing that that current operating procedure (of numerous simultaneous approvals) creates a less fair marketplace
- VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital shared an open letter stating “the reduced incentive for pioneering product development has broader implications… It diminishes investor choice, compromises market efficiency, and fundamentally undermines the Commission's mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation”
- Several issuers also filed single-share ETFs to provide exposure to stablecoin issuer Circle’s stock performance, following an explosive debut
What happened: Stablecoin issuer Circle executes successful IPO
How is this significant?
- Following last week’s reports on stablecoin issuer Circle's “upsized” valuation ahead of its IPO, the firm made an explosive debut on the stock exchange this week
- Indeed, Circle’s IPO was one of the most underpriced in history, with $1.76bn left on the table, as shares went to institutional investors for $31 each ahead of the official launch; $52 less than investors were willing to pay on the open market
- When trading officially began, the stock shot up from an opening bell of $31 to $107 at the time of writing. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire is now a billionaire
- The first day of trading ended with nearly 170% growth for the shares, before extending post-launch gains to well over 200% the next day
- At the time of writing, Circle’s (CRCL) intraday market capitalisation sits at nearly $28bn
- As the industry’s second-largest stablecoin (at $61bn market cap), Circle’s USDC has generally avoided the questions and concerns occasionally faced by number one player USDT (and its issuer Tether) over perceived lacks of transparency (e.g. Tether's tendency to publish attestations of backing assets, but not full audits)
- Allaire commented that the successful launch is further proof of a maturing market; "this transformation into being a public company will absolutely be additive to our ability to work with mainstream institutions around the world".
- Response to Circle's breakout performance was mixed; Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong congratulated them, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood praised it as "an amazing debut", scooping up $373m of shares, but TradFi publication Barron's called it a case of "crypto mania" and citing cause for caution
- Most pointedly, Arca chief investment officer Jeff Dorman criticised "fat TradFi allocations" (rather than giving crypto-native firms more exposure) as the "exact opposite of crypto ethos”
- Bloomberg meanwhile believes that the market's response to Circle will buoy any firms currently considering their own IPOs: as Renaissance Capital senior strategist Matt Kennedy was quoted; "They are talking to their bankers today, I am sure"
- This theory appears prescient, as Gemini exchange filed a confidential draft registration for its own IPO
- Details (as expected from a confidential registration) remain scarce regarding the exact amount of stock on offer
- Elsewhere in stablecoins, the GENIUS stablecoin act advanced to the senate floor, with a resolution on its passage expected as soon as this week, possibly unleashing several trillion dollars of demand for US Treasuries
- Deutsche Bank became the latest major bank to consider issuing its own proprietary stablecoin, alongside tokenised deposits
- Digital asset chief Sabih Behzad told Bloomberg “We can certainly see the momentum of stablecoins along with a regulatory supportive environment... Banks have a wide variety of options available to engage in the stablecoin industry—everything from acting as a reserve manager, through to issuing their own stablecoin, either alone or in a consortium”
- Whether Deutsche develops solo or within a consortium remains to be seen; ING’s CEO Steven van Rijswijk commented earlier in the week that “I do see a role for let’s say a European stablecoin, or European banks working on a stablecoin, especially for settlement purposes in a digital world”
What happened: New SEC chair Paul Atkins praises digital asset industry
How is this significant?
- Speaking at the commission’s latest “Crypto Roundtable” event, new SEC chair Paul Atkins spoke positively about the industry, what it presents, and planned policy initiatives
- Atkins classified the right to self-custody crypto “a foundational American value”
- The name of the session (DeFi and the American Spirit) itself made clear his positive position compared to predecessor Gary Gensler
- The SEC asserted that “The prior administration discouraged Americans from participating in blockchains by asserting through lawsuits, speeches, regulation, and threatened regulatory action that participants and staking-as-a-service providers may be engaged in securities transactions”
- Atkins added “I am in favour of affording greater flexibility to market participants to self-custody crypto assets, especially where intermediation imposes unnecessary transaction costs or restricts the ability to engage in staking and other on-chain activities”
- The SEC chair said “I do not believe that we should allow century-old regulatory frameworks to stifle innovation… We should not automatically fear the future”
- He also recognised “Most current securities rules and regulations are premised upon the regulation of issuers and intermediaries. The drafters of these rules and regulations likely did not contemplate that self-executing software code might displace such issuers and intermediaries”
- Atkins disclosed “I have directed the staff to consider a conditional exemptive relief framework or ‘innovation exemption’ that would expeditiously allow registrants and non-registrants to bring on-chain products and services to market”
What happened: JP Morgan allows crypto ETFs to be used as collateral
How is this significant?
- JP Morgan (despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s consistent crypto criticism) extended its recent embrace of digital assets this week, confirming wealth management clients can use crypto holdings (in the form of spot ETFs) as collateral for loans
- A source told Bloomberg that BlackRock’s market-leading IBIT is the first fund approved for use in this manner
- The same sources said the bank will consider “wealth-management clients’ crypto holdings… when assessing their overall net worth and liquid assets”
- The reason for accepting ETFs as collateral rather than digital assets directly likely lies with Basel banking regulations
- This follows on from another significant development last month, when the bank approved clients buying Bitcoin (albeit without offering custody services)
- Ultimately, CEO Dimon seems to be having his cake and eating it too, expressing his dislike for the asset class whilst acknowledging broader market support for the asset class; “I don’t think we should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke… I defend your right to buy Bitcoin, go at it”
What happened: Uber CEO reveals interest in crypto integration
How is this significant?
- Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently spoke at the Bloomberg Tech Conference in San Francisco, and revealed that stablecoins and crypto are an area on the company’s agenda
- He noted the practicality of stablecoins as a key attraction over speculative tokens, saying they’re “quite promising especially for global companies”, citing improved efficiencies and savings in cross-border transfers as a particular area of interest
- Khosrowshahi added “that’s super interesting to us and we’re definitely going to take a look”
- The CEO previously indicated the app is open to accepting crypto payments in future, but it will require more efficiencies and lower costs for token payments across blockchains
- According to Khosrowshahi, Uber is currently in the “study phase” of any possible stablecoin integration
What happened: Bitcoin mining difficulty hits new record high
How is this significant?
- Bitcoin’s mining difficulty recently reached a new record high, with the highest-ever network hash power reflecting the asset’s recent run to all-time high values
- The mining difficulty can be viewed as a proxy for Bitcoin demand; the more people are trying to mine Bitcoin, the higher the competition (in overall hash power), and thus the higher the mining difficulty to maintain a consistent block mining time
- Leading publicly-listed miner Marathon Holdings (MARA) also had a record month in terms of production, increasing the number of blocks won by 38% month-on-month
- Notably, it held all 950 Bitcoin it mined within its treasury, rather than selling off any to recoup costs
- Despite these increases in mining difficulty, fees on the blockchain have remained consistent as transaction activity hit its lowest levels since October 2023; which analysts believe indicates less of a desire to sell
What happened: Token issuance for launchpad causes concerns over Solana liquidity
How is this significant?
- Pump dot fun, a leading token creation platform on the Solana blockchain, announced plans this week to raise $1bn with plans to issue its own proprietary token at a $4bn valuation; but some in the industry expressed concern over this
- The platform was crucial in Solana’s outstanding growth last year, simplifying the token issuance process for those without coding background, causing a proliferation of memecoins across Solana
- However, there are concerns that—much like Donald Trump’s official memecoin last year—the platform’s power of publicity could prove extractive to liquidity from all other tokens across the ecosystem
- Over 11 million tokens have been created via the website; but as such numbers suggest, the vast majority are purely speculative memecoins, with no staying power or utility at best, and actively scamming at worst
- Industry publication TheBlock reported that the token sale could occur within the next two weeks
- Syncracy Capital founder Ryan Watkins told Bloomberg “The raise will take place over the course of a month. And I think during that month, any asset in the Solana ecosystem is vulnerable to being sold to fund that purchase”
- Sources reported that the potential PUMP token could distribute protocol revenues to the token holders from both the launchpad (pumo dot fun) and its Solana-based dex (PumpSwap); revenues which have ranged between $1m and $7m daily year-to-date
What happened: Pro-crypto candidate wins South Korean election
How is this significant?
- Ahead of South Korea’s recent elections, it was widely-expected that both candidates would provide a boon to the local digital asset industry; and less than a week after election, this seems to be the case
- During the election, victorious candidate Lee Jae-myung made several pledges concerning crypto, including crypto ETFs and pension fund allocations; and his new government has already unveiled a plan to spread stablecoins in the state
- Under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, companies with a minimum 500m Won in equity capital will be able to issue stablecoins with fully-backed reserves
- Ahead of the legislation reveal, the local Korea Times newspaper reported that the government’s new digital asset committee feared the Bank of Korea’s licencing and oversight control was “behind global norms”
- The committee chair commented “The potential of won-based stablecoins is not limited to domestic payment but expands to bolstering partnerships with existing fintech platform operators, a synergy best realized when led by the private sector”
- This sentiment also led to a surge in value for local payment firms like KakaoPay, assumed to be involved in any future stablecoin rollouts
- According to Bank of Korea data (per Bloomberg), stablecoins are growing, but remain dominated by the dollar; “Transactions involving USDT, USDC and USDS on five major domestic exchanges reached 57 trillion won in the first quarter”
- South Korea is one of the most active digital asset trading nations in the world, but because of restrictions requiring the use of local exchanges, the 15 million local traders sometimes find themselves paying a premium over global prices
What happened: Crypto Treasury news
How is this significant?
- Bitcoin treasury specialists Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) predictably added yet further to its Bitcoin holdings, brining total holdings to 582,000 Bitcoin (and counting)
- It acquired 1,045 Bitcoin in its latest round at an average $105,426 ($110.2m) at per Bitcoin
- At the time of writing, this means that the entirety of the firm’s Bitcoin treasury is now in profit
- Metaplanet, Asia’s largest Bitcoin treasury advocate, launched a $5.4bn raise to buy additional Bitcoin; “the largest Stock Acquisition Rights Issuance in Japan Capital Markets History”
- According to the terms of the deal, the “555 million” plan will involve issuance of 555 million shares, “with equity sold incrementally to minimize market impact over the next two years”
- This financing would allow Metaplanet to up its total acquisition goal from 100,000 Bitcoin to 210,000 Bitcoin, putting it in the “1% club” of entities owning said amount of Bitcoin’s maximum total supply
- The Blockchain Group aims to become Europe’s first Bitcoin treasury company, and announced a $342m at-the-market-style share issuance plan to fund these ambitions
- Energy management firm KULR is undertaking a similar plan in the US with a $300m offering facilitated by Cantor Fitzgerald
- Alongside Bitcoin acquisition, the funding is also earmarked for general purposes and working capital
- Finally, healthcare firm Semler Scientific spent another $20m buying Bitcoin, brining the total value of its holdings to over $470m
This weekly financial roundup is for informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice. Information is based on public sources as of publication and may change. Consult a professional before acting.