Crypto news and market trends | Bitpanda Weekly Wrap #15

Key price movements

BTC: +1.22 %, 92.476,40 €

ETH: +3.37 %, 2.160,06 €

S&P 500: +0.84 %

Euro Stoxx 50: +0.15 %

Prices as of 10.05, 04 July 2025

This week was all about record highs for both assets and thermometers as markets shrugged off economic soft spots and Europe struggled with a heatwave that caused a political row to break out in France over air conditioning. Sadly, it’s beyond the scope of this newsletter, but worth a read…

Well within our purview is the fact that the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones all set new record highs this week. With geopolitical tensions easing slightly, markets were eager to embrace optimism, especially around trade. The biggest headline here is the US’ new trade agreement with Vietnam, which includes a 20% tariff on imports but was framed as a win for US manufacturing and corporate competitiveness.

Due to the fact that factories in Vietnam made half of all Nike brand footwear in its fiscal year of 2024, Nike was a standout overachiever this week, although Tesla gets an honourable mention after beating expectations.

The EU and US might also be starting to seriously think about what global crypto regulation looks like. It’s still very early days, but financial regulators from both sides met at the EU-U.S. Joint Financial Regulatory Forum to discuss ‘regulatory harmonisation’. The focus, for now, is on stablecoins and cross-border payments, but it’s a good first step in a very positive direction.

Explore the latest crypto prices, stock prices, and market trends.

Show me the money (supply)

*TL;DR: More money in the economy could bode well for assets of all shapes and sizes.*

All-time highs are a bit of a theme this week, and one you might have missed might actually be the most important: Money Supply.

Money Supply is an umbrella term for liquid capital, like physical currency, checking accounts, savings accounts, and other near-money assets such as money market mutual funds. Basically, the money people have that they could use to invest.

Why is it useful to watch? More money circulating in the economy means more money that could be used to invest. Obviously, retail investors are only one part of the equation, but even institutional money has to come from somewhere…

The Money Supply around the world is increasing globally at the moment. This week, the US saw a new record high of $21.94 trillion in May, surpassing the previous March 2022 record. In Europe, we aren’t quite seeing the record highs of 2021/2 yet, but there is steady growth.

Historically, this has been a leading indicator, so prices have increased weeks or even months after the supply itself started rising - this is especially true for ‘riskier’ assets. Unsurprisingly, portfolio diversification is easier for investors to explore when they have additional capital to deploy. There are plenty of other factors in play, but a good reason to end the week with some optimism.

The changing AI narrative

*TL;DR: Corporate leaders are changing the way they speak about AI, and warning that cuts are coming.*

There’s been a lot of back and forth on the impact AI will have on the jobs market, with most companies carefully talking about efficiency and augmentation rather than cuts. That might be changing.

In recent weeks, we’ve had a string of comments from senior tech execs openly warning that AI is going to lead to significant white-collar job losses. In fact, those losses may already be here. Microsoft is the latest to announce a(nother) round of cuts, this time totalling 9,000 jobs across various teams. This is larger than the 6,500 job cuts they announced in May and June, but slightly lower than the 10,000 they announced in 2023.

This takes tech sector job cuts to 72,808 in 2025, with TikTok, Bumble, Google, Intel, and Microsoft all contributing to these numbers in the last month. It is also important to note that these numbers are actually down on the same period last year.

Time will tell, but the change in narrative is interesting.

Crypto comings and goings

*TL;DR: Bitcoin nears record high, altcoins rally, and global powers take steps toward crypto regulation.*

Bitcoin came within striking distance of a new all-time high this week, amid $11 billion in ETF inflows and and a noticeable spike in institutional demand. Some analysts now see a path towards $200,000, drawing comparisons to gold’s rally after ETF adoption. The momentum also lifted major altcoins, with Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) each jumping more than 7%.

At the same time, crypto is taking bigger steps into the mainstream financial system. Ripple has applied for a US national bank charter – a move that would allow it to bring its stablecoin, RLUSD, directly into the traditional banking sector. The timing is notable, coming right after the GENIUS Act passed, finally providing some much-needed clarity around stablecoin regulation.

Meanwhile, Chinese tech firms are pushing to create yuan-based offshore stablecoins. The goal? Reduce the influence of the US dollar in global digital payments.

Together, these developments point to a clear trend: crypto is becoming more regulated, more integrated and more strategic on a global scale. With the US and China both accelerating their efforts, the race for digital currency dominance is well underway.

Disclaimer

This article is distributed for informational purposes, and it is not to be construed as an offer or recommendation. It does not constitute and cannot replace investment advice.
Bitpanda does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy and completeness of any information contained herein.
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