May 14, 2025
Bitcoin Tops $105K in Crypto's Big Bang
Dear Subscriber,
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| By Mark Gough |
The crypto world lit up this week with a series of seismic developments.
From Bitcoin (BTC, “A-”) and Ethereum’s (ETH, “B+”) impressive rallies …
To companies expanding their crypto offerings in ways that could reshape the digital asset landscape …
There are several bullish catalysts shaking up the markets.
Today, I want to dive into five areas that are most likely to make the biggest impact.
Starting with …
Bitcoin Climbs to $105,800, Eyes Breakout Above Key Resistance.
Bitcoin has rallied to $105,800.
That means it’s up 41% since April!
But my attention isn’t on where we’ve come from. It’s on where we could go.
Because BTC is now testing a critical resistance zone just below its highest daily close of $106,200.
While the all-time high of $109,000 from January remains untouched, this level marks a pivotal moment for BTC’s upward momentum.
Given the technical pressure, a pullback here is plausible. But a strong daily close above $106,000 could unlock the next phase of the rally and put January’s peak within striking distance.
We are watching closely for signs of consolidation or a breakout in the coming sessions.
And in a welcome change from what we’ve seen lately …
Ethereum Soars 50% as Pectra Upgrade Rolls Out
Ethereum’sPectra upgrade went live on May 7, 2025.
And in the six days since, ETH has surged 50% thanks to this feature-packed upgrade. In fact, it was such a powerful catalyst, it caught short sellers off guard. A wave of liquidations was triggered as a result.
The improved user-experience features — like batch transactions and smart wallets —renewed investor confidence big time.
And that positions ETH for a potentially sustained breakout.
Companies Expand Their Stablecoin Offerings
As my colleague Marija Matić explained a few weeks back, the stablecoin market is on fire.
And TradFi institutions are taking notice.
That’s why Stripe — which gives TradFi businesses access to the crypto economy — has rolled out Stablecoin Financial Accounts in over 100 countries.
These accounts let businesses hold and send dollar-backed stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and USD Balance (USDB) and integrate with fiat rails to enable fast, low-cost cross-border payments at scale.
This follows Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, which specialized in stablecoin infrastructure, three months ago.
But Stripe isn’t the only one taking steps to secure its place in the stablecoin ecosystem.
Meta is again exploring stablecoins. Both as a proprietary digital currency and an on-ramp for existing tokens to power creator payouts.
This is proof that even after the demise of Diem — Meta’s failed permissioned blockchain-based stablecoin payment system — the company still sees the long-term value in stablecoins.
According to Fortune, the company is in early talks with multiple crypto-infrastructure partners to deploy stablecoins, including USDC and Tether (USDT). The goal is to provide seamless, low-cost payouts to content creators across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Neither a specific blockchain nor a bespoke token has been officially confirmed. Indeed, the initiative remains in preliminary stages as Meta evaluates compliance requirements and partner integrations.
At the same time, all signs point to Sui (SUI, “B-”) as a leading candidate as a network to build on if Meta opts to add stablecoins.
Sui was built by Mysten Labs, founded by ex-Meta engineers who led the original Libra/Diem project. And it’s designed for speed, scalability and developer-friendly tooling using the Move programming language.
With shared architectural roots and deep insight into Meta’s initial vision, Sui could offer Meta a turnkey foundation for a proprietary stablecoin.
Even smaller companies, like the fintech firm Ramp, is getting in on the stablecoin action.
Ramp just announced a partnership with Stripe to issue Visa-compatible, stablecoin-backed corporate cards.
Initially rolling out in Latin America, these cards let businesses fund wallets with local fiat converted into stablecoins or with deposited stablecoins.
This could directly streamline cross-border spending while shielding companies from volatile Forex swings.
Coinbase’s 3 Big Moves Bring More Opportunity to U.S. Users
Not one to be left in the dark, the largest U.S. centralized exchange has also made significant moves lately.
The biggest is Coinbase’s agreement to acquire Deribit, the world’s leading BTC and ETH options exchange.
For a $2.9 billion cash-and-stock deal, Coinbase will own roughly 80% of that market share.
The transaction ($700 million cash + 11 million COIN shares) marks Coinbase’s most significant acquisition to date, and it is expected to bolster the CEX’s derivatives arm and institutional offerings.
Coinbase’s second move was the launch of its derivatives platform.
On May 9, Coinbase Derivatives, LLC launched 24/7 futures trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum. This is the first opportunity for U.S. users to access round-the-clock crypto futures on a U.S. CFTC-regulated platform.
This move gives institutional and advanced retail traders continuous hedging and leverage tools … without traditional market-hour constraints.
Finally, Coinbase is stepping up its yield game.
Coinbase Asset Management introduced the Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund, a long Bitcoin strategy that targets net returns of 4%-8% per year, paid in BTC.
By leveraging basis-trade arbitrage (spot versus futures spreads) and avoiding riskier lending or options strategies, the fund aims to deliver institutional-grade, dollar-hedged yield on Bitcoin holdings.
This fund would make BTC one of the higher-yielding assets available on Coinbase.
The Next Wave of Tokenization Is Here
I’ve covered real-world assets and the push toward tokenization before.
But that was just the beginning.
Here’s a quick round up of the latest developments in this hot sector:
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Robinhood Eyes Tokenized Assets in Europe: Robinhood is developing a blockchain-powered platform to let European users trade tokenized U.S. financial assets.
The firm is considering chains such as Arbitrum (ARB, “B-”), Solana (SOL, “B”) and even potentially Ethereum for its “tokenized securities” rails. However, no technology partner has been finalized.
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Sol Strategies Public in Canada, Eyes Nasdaq Uplisting: SOL Strategies Inc. — formerly Cypherpunk Holdings — is now trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: HODL) and OTCQB (CYFRF).
The firm’s next step is to explore tokenized-equity issuance on Solana and pursue a potential Nasdaq uplisting to broaden its investor base and liquidity profile.
(The Nasdaq recently changed its rule regarding new listings and up listings. You can check out what that’ll mean for companies like SOL Strategies here.)
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Superstate Becomes SEC-Registered Blockchain Transfer Agent: Blockchain asset manager Superstate has registered “Superstate Services LLC” as an SEC-registered transfer agent.
This digital transfer agent will maintain on-chain shareholder records and use smart-contract allowlists to enforce investor eligibility. The goal is to bridge tokenized securities with traditional compliance frameworks.
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Public Equities Move Toward Blockchain: Many companies, from asset managers to fintech, are exploring on-chain equity models via tokenized shares. They hope this approach will enable real-time settlement, 24/7 trading and enhanced transparency.
As regulatory clarity improves, tokenized equities could redefine global capital markets.
Final Thoughts
This week’s developments highlight one key trend: The crypto market is on the cusp of a mainstream transformation.
From Bitcoin’s climb above $105,000 to blockchain upgrades, institutional consolidations and tokenization initiatives, the momentum is unmistakable.
My analysis suggests that even if BTC pulls back from these levels, holding support between the $96,000 — $91,000 range means we can expect continued strength across the broader crypto and tokenized-asset landscape.
As TradFi and DeFi converge, the next wave of innovation and disruption is underway.
Which means more opportunities for you to hop in and make your crypto work harder for you. No matter if you’re a crypto veteran … or a new user coming from a TradFi angle.
Be sure to keep up with your Weiss Crypto Daily updates to hear about the latest opportunities.
Best,
Mark Gough
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