Crypto news and market trends | Bitpanda Weekly Wrap #9

Key price movements

BTC: + 5.59 %, 97.761,58 €
ETH: + 0.90%, 2.349,42 €
S&P 500: - 2.17%
Euro Stoxx 50: + 0.32%

Prices as of 09.50pm, 23 May 2025

Happy BTC Pizza Day for yesterday - and what a way to celebrate. As we’re sure most of our crypto-savvy readers know already, Bitcoin hit another string of all-time highs (ATHs) this week, with the highest high reaching $111,878. The surge seems to have also revitalised interest in altcoins, with most of the big favourites surging on Thursday…so much for quiet summer trading months.

This latest rally appears to confirm what many already suspected: this rally is no longer just a crypto story, it’s an institutional one. ETFs pulled in $3.6 billion in May alone, while more companies are treating BTC as a strategic treasury asset (no, not just MicroStrategy).

This is good news for Bitcoin, and the future looks even better with open interest building around $110K, $120K, and even $300K strike prices. Even JPMorgan is now offering clients bitcoin exposure…yes, the same JPMorgan whose CEO said Bitcoin was a “fraud” that global governments would “crush.” We all make mistakes, I guess.

However, in the world of equities, the news this week wasn’t as shiny. We have a longer story on this just below, but US stocks took a hit Wednesday, with the Dow dropping over 800 points as Treasury yields spiked to levels not seen since 2023.

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

The US debt problem

TL;DR: US bond yields are spiking as investors grow uneasy over Washington’s growing deficit, and plans for a new tax cut aren’t helping.

When it comes to the US deficit, the maths just ain't mathing. On Wednesday this week, yields on 30-year Treasuries briefly touched 5.1%, nearing a two-decade high, before settling at 5.09%.

Why are we telling you about bond yields? Well, for those who don’t already know, bond yields and sales are a sign of market confidence in the economy that issues them. Higher interest rates mean the issuing government is willing to pay more to get investors to lend them the money they need. High rates also mean that more of the government’s budget is spent on paying interest instead of new projects that win votes.

This matters for other assets too. The higher ‘safe’ bond yields get, the less attractive other, potentially risky, assets look. It obviously hasn’t stopped BTC this week, but in the long run, it could present a drag factor.

To add to the problem, Republicans have now passed a new bill through Congress, which will introduce further tax cuts that could add trillions to the already ballooning US deficit. The response has not been subtle, and investors are now openly questioning whether Congress or the White House have any real appetite for deficit reduction.

Markets are jumpy. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9%, the S\&P 500 shed 1.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.4%. Unsurprisingly, a weaker US economy is not a popular idea.

One to keep an eye on.

A new EU/UK deal - Sausages, e-Gates, and Pet Passports

TL;DR: The EU/UK deal is a soft reboot: fewer lorry queues, more market access, and new opportunities for defence and food exporters. It’s not frictionless trade, but for once, both sides seem willing to make it work.

This week, the UK and EU unveiled a fresh post-Brexit deal, and while it's not quite a sequel to the Single Market, it does bring some notable positives for travellers, traders, and terriers (then again, when are sequels ever as good as the original?).

For traders and exporters, the headlines are promising: fewer checks on food exports (including fish and sausages), faster airport queues, and pet passports are back on the table. But behind the travel perks lies a bigger story: a strategic effort to repair economic ties with Britain’s biggest trading partner, just as global headwinds from the U.S. and China continue to pile up.

Economically, the deal signals a mutual shift toward pragmatism. For the UK, it offers a desperately needed boost to exporters, especially in food and defence, and could support broader economic growth at a time when borrowing is high and productivity is weak. For the EU, it secures access to British goods, services, and military cooperation.

While the agreement doesn’t undo Brexit, it does soften some of its sharpest edges and suggests a more stable trading relationship moving forward. Overall, it should offer businesses on both sides some optimism…and a lot less paperwork.

Crypto comings and goings

TL;DR: President Trump's $TRUMP dinner stirred controversy, while the GENIUS Act gains momentum. Altcoin season seems to be back—could this be the start of something bigger, or just another flash in the pan?

This week, President Trump hosted his long-awaited Mar-a-Lago dinner for holders of $TRUMP. The average cost of a seat? $1.7m. The most expensive? $37.7 million. We hope that the menu did not disappoint.

As the dinner crept closer, concerns over the event being a pay-to-play scheme reared up again. In the run-up to the event, investors rushing into the memecoin sent the price higher and generated heavy trading fees for the Trump family and its partners. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement: “The President is working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself.

At the same time, Trump’s crypto czar, David Sacks, continued his media tour, touting the GENIUS Act as a bill that could “unlock trillions” in Treasury demand by bringing stablecoins under federal regulation. It’s a bold move that Sacks claims could unlock demand for US Treasuries, which, as we all now know, the US needs.

To wrap things up, Altcoin season might be back! For a while, it looked like Bitcoin was making a breakaway from other assets, but Thursday saw several major alts post gains. Some of the top winners include Fartcoin, THORchain, and FLOKI.

Hopefully a sign of things to come.

Disclaimer

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