TL;DR

Bitcoin tops $100K, Ethereum surges on Pectra upgrade, OCC clears US banks for crypto custody.

Highlights

• Bitcoin broke above $100,000, driven by strong ETF inflows (notably BlackRock and Fidelity) and macro tailwinds from the US-UK trade deal and steady Fed rates15.
• Ethereum surged 20%+ following the Pectra upgrade (EIP-7702, multi-token fees, validator changes), with ETH ETFs also rallying116.
• Over $830 million in crypto shorts were liquidated in 24 hours as BTC and ETH spiked; Binance and OKX led liquidations10.
• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) posted an 18-day inflow streak, surpassing gold ETFs for 2025 inflows; total crypto inflows hit $52B in four weeks5.
• The OCC issued new guidance allowing US banks to buy, sell, custody, and outsource crypto-asset services2.
• Coinbase acquired Deribit for $2.9B to expand its derivatives business; Q1 revenue was $2.03B on $393B trading volume, with institutional activity dominant319.
• SEC and Ripple settled the XRP lawsuit for $50M, pending court approval, ending a major regulatory dispute4.
• The US Senate blocked the GENIUS Act, delaying federal stablecoin regulation; negotiations are ongoing6.
• Stripe launched stablecoin accounts (USDC , USDB) in 101 countries and processed $1.4T in 2024, expanding crypto payment rails7.
• Meta Platforms is in talks to deploy stablecoins for payouts, signaling renewed corporate interest in digital assets8.
• Securitize, backed by BlackRock and Jump Crypto, saw tokenized treasury products surge 800% to $7B; tokenized RWA TVL hit $22.4B9.
• Arizona enacted a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve; Texas advanced a bill for $500M annual BTC purchases1314.
• Superstate launched Opening Bell for SEC-registered shares on Solana; DeFi Development Corp and SOL Strategies are exploring tokenized equity issuance15.
• Space and Time mainnet went live with Chainlink, launching SXT token rewards and listings on major exchanges18.
• LockBit ransomware gang was hacked, exposing nearly 60,000 BTC addresses; German authorities seized €34M from crypto platform eXch in a laundering probe11.
• Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years for fraud following the platform’s bankruptcy12.

Commentary

Bitcoin ’s move above $100,000 is underpinned by persistent institutional demand, with BlackRock’s IBIT ETF inflows now outpacing gold funds and total crypto inflows reaching $52 billion in the past month15. The rally was further supported by favorable macro developments, including a US-UK trade agreement and the Federal Reserve holding rates steady, which improved risk sentiment1. Ethereum ’s 20%+ jump, triggered by the Pectra upgrade (notably EIP-7702 and validator changes), has not only driven ETH spot and ETF gains but also lifted the broader altcoin market, with Solana, Dogecoin, and XRP seeing notable moves116.

Short liquidations exceeded $830 million, reflecting the sharpness of the price action and the scale of positioning caught offside, particularly on Binance and OKX10. Institutional engagement continues to deepen: the OCC’s new guidance brings US banks directly into crypto custody and trading2, while Coinbase ’s $2.9B acquisition of Deribit consolidates its derivatives leadership, with Q1 results highlighting the dominance of institutional trading volumes319. The SEC-Ripple settlement removes a longstanding regulatory overhang for XRP , potentially opening the door for further institutional engagement in select altcoins4.

On the infrastructure side, Stripe’s global stablecoin account rollout and Meta ’s renewed stablecoin ambitions point to the normalization of digital assets in mainstream payments and tech78. Tokenization of real-world assets is accelerating, with Securitize’s tokenized treasuries now at $7B and total RWA TVL at $22.4B9. Superstate’s Opening Bell and DeFi Development Corp’s Solana moves signal growing interest in on-chain equities and Solana-based DeFi15.

Regulatory and security headlines remain critical: the US Senate’s failure to advance the GENIUS Act delays stablecoin clarity6, while state-level initiatives in Arizona and Texas highlight divergent US approaches to crypto adoption1314. Security risks persist, as seen in the LockBit breach and eXch seizure11, while Celsius’s founder sentencing underscores ongoing legal fallout from the last cycle12.

Traders should monitor ETF flows, bank adoption, and regulatory signals for direction. Altcoins tied to Ethereum and Solana upgrades, as well as tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure, may see continued activity. Volatility is likely to remain high as the market digests these structural shifts.