Crypto news, market trends, and price movements | Bitpanda Weekly Wrap

Key price movements

• BTC: +3.92%, €85,001.3 
• ETH: +6.06%, €1,640.1
• S&P 500: +3.76%
• Euro Stoxx 50: +1.75%

Prices as of 2pm, 1 May 2025

TL;DR: It was a steady week for crypto. Prices held up, new products got the green light, and there’s growing activity behind the scenes. 

Capping off a wild month of trading, Bitcoin ended the month holding steady. Since last week’s recap, the BTC price stabilised around €83,000, rebounding from earlier lows of around €74,000 and more than 15k up from its monthly low. Despite mid-month volatility, BTC is set to notch a 15% gain for April, which will be its strongest monthly performance since last November. 

Global equities, meanwhile, haven’t seen the same light. The S&P 500 closed out a bruising month that featured just about every flavour of volatility. April opened with Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs and closed with a partial walk-back, but not before the index flirted with official bear market territory, briefly dropping 20% from its February peak. 

Although stocks have reclaimed some of the losses, the S&P 500 ended the month down 9% from its record high. Trump isn’t worried though, despite the US economy posting its first quarterly contraction in three years. He blamed the slump on his predecessor. “You probably saw some numbers today - and that’s Biden,” he told reporters, offering no further detail. ‘How?’ you might be asking…we’ll keep you posted.

Overall, Trump’s first 100 days were celebrated with the markets' weakest start to a presidential term since Ford took over from a disgraced Nixon. In the grand list of former Presidents we imagine Trump would like to be compared to, Ford wasn’t high on the list. 

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei saw modest gains, supported by strong earnings in the tech sector. But China’s Shanghai Composite declined as weak export figures – partly a result of ongoing U.S. tariffs – weighed on sentiment. And while there’s been some movement in trade talks, there’s still no sign of a breakthrough between the U.S. and China.

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

Quarterly Gains, Courtesy of AI

TL;DR: AI and Big Tech are having a moment, but other sectors are preparing for tougher quarters ahead.

Earnings season continued this week with some good news from the market’s favourite cohort. From the gilded ranks of the Mag7, both Meta and Microsoft delivered significant revenue increases, which saw their stock prices surge.

Meta results were good. Revenue rose, daily active users are up, and Instagram shorts are helping to reel in ad revenue, all of which saw Meta’s stock jump in after-hours trading. The Zuck was focused on the company’s investment in AI infrastructure, especially Meta’s custom chips and the launch of Meta AI. 

Microsoft knocked it out of the park with best-ever quarterly revenue and profit totals in the company’s history. As with Meta, Microsoft is benefiting from its influence in the AI space via its Azure enterprise cloud computing unit and its stake in ChatGPT parent OpenAI. 

The takeaway? AI is paying dividends. 

No AI? The story is less shiny as market pressures continue to show up in earnings reports across multiple sectors. General Motors pulled its forward guidance, citing uncertainty from new tariffs, and reported lower quarterly profits. On Monday, reports that the White House may ease some auto tariffs gave markets a brief lift, but it wasn’t enough to shift the overall tone.

JetBlue withdrew its forecast too, warning that soft demand is likely to continue this quarter. Meanwhile, UPS rose 2% in premarket trading after beating first-quarter expectations, though it refrained from updating its full-year guidance due to tariff-related uncertainty. On the consumer front, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble cut their forecasts, blaming higher costs and softening demand. 

Germany aims for buy now, grow later

TL;DR: Germany’s spending shift is significant, but timing and follow-through will be critical to its success.

Germany isn’t waiting for markets to decide its future and has announced a major spending plan. The Government approved a €500 billion infrastructure and climate fund, alongside increased defence spending, marking a significant departure from its long-standing fiscal restraint. While the IMF called it a positive step, it also warned that the benefits won’t fully offset the immediate drag from tariffs or prevent the eurozone from facing a third year of sluggish growth.

The bottom line is that this is a significant investment for a new government and the largest in its ‘neglected’ armed forces since the end of the Cold War. For a country known for its conservative approach to the economy, changing fiscal rules is no small thing, and it’s a sign of the times that Germany is so willing to act. The bet is that investment now will drive growth later while also strengthening Germany’s military and hopefully its economy. 

Crypto comings and goings

TL;DR: XRP got its ETF moment, crypto dealmaking is flying, and AI trading bots are back—but this time, with receipts. Regulation is tightening in the UK, while the U.S. tone is loosening.

XRP caught a tailwind this week, rising 1.79% after the SEC approved three new ETFs tied to the token from ProShares. The move follows the end of Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC in March. Ethereum (ETH) followed with steady performance, trading around €1,500 and holding within a narrow range throughout the week.

Behind the scenes, the industry’s pace is picking up. Crypto-related mergers and acquisitions have already hit $8.2 billion this year – nearly triple 2024’s total. Analysts link this to changing expectations in the U.S., where a more relaxed regulatory outlook is encouraging growth across the sector.

Meanwhile, Oasis Protocol unveiled verifiable AI agents for crypto trading. Their approach aims to solve problems of most AI trading bots by combining privacy features with transparency for users, as they usually offer little visibility into how strategies are built or executed. As projects like this emerge, the challenge for users is knowing what’s genuinely innovative and what’s just hype. Our Academy article on crypto and AI offers a few pointers on how to tell the difference.

Regulators aren’t standing still either: In the UK, a new regulatory push outlines stricter oversight of crypto assets, with a focus on consumer protection and industry accountability. British Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants crypto firms to follow clear standards, similar to those in traditional finance, to build trust and support long-term fintech growth across the country.

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