Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Hyperliquid, rising 11.41%.
- JPMorgan Chase will allow trading and wealth management clients to use cryptocurrency-linked assets as collateral for loans, starting with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. The bank will also consider clients’ crypto holdings when assessing their overall net worth and liquid assets—similar to how it treats stocks, cars, or art, according to Bloomberg.
- Circle Internet Group and its shareholders raised nearly $1.1 billion in an upsized initial public offering, priced at $31 per share, reports Bloomberg. The company’s market value is $6.9 billion based on outstanding shares, with a fully diluted valuation of about $8.1 billion. Circle’s USDC stablecoin holds approximately 29% of the stablecoin market, with $61 billion worth of tokens in circulation as of May 29.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was Dexe, down 30.43%.
- Joe Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, was persuaded by Michael Saylor to launch a firm focused on investing in Ethereum’s native currency. Lubin’s company led a $425 million private placement to purchase Ether for SharpLink Gaming. Following the May 27 announcement, SharpLink’s shares surged nearly 1,000% through Friday. However, after having declined more than 50% annually over the past three years, the stock dropped by about 40% on Monday, according to Bloomberg.
- Czech Premier Petr Fiala proposed a lawmaker from his party to become the new justice minister after her predecessor resigned over a scandal involving a $45 million Bitcoin donation to the state. Eva Decroix will be appointed to the post by President Petr Pavel on June 10, replacing Pavel Blažek, who stepped down last week, writes Bloomberg.
Opportunities
- Legendary short-seller Jim Chanos recommends buying Bitcoin and shorting Michael Saylor’s Strategy, Bloomberg reports, citing a premium of over 200% last year between the Strategy’s shares and the value of its Bitcoin holdings. Chanos calls the trade a no-brainer.
- Robinhood Markets is a “prime candidate for the S&P 500 with the next rebalancing,” a milestone that could fuel buying by passive funds. The stock was a focus among investors at a BofA meeting, according to Bloomberg.
- BitFuFu Inc. shares rose as much as 9.6% in premarket trading after the Bitcoin miner announced a 91% month-over-month increase in tokens mined in May, Bloomberg reports. BitFuFu mined 400 Bitcoin tokens in May, with a hash rate of 34.1 EH/s.
Threats
- The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize over $7.74 million in cryptocurrency and NFTs allegedly linked to North Korean money laundering operations. The DOJ alleges that North Korean IT workers, using false identities, earned crypto while working remotely for blockchain firms.
- Crypto users and decentralized finance protocols lost $302 million to hacks and scams in May, a 16.9% decrease from the previous month. The latest report, cited by Bloomberg, identifies code vulnerabilities as the primary cause, accounting for over $229 million in losses across multiple incidents.
- A leading House Democrat launched an investigation Wednesday night into a private dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for major investors in his meme coin, aiming to address ethical and legal concerns over the president’s willingness to profit from his position, according to Bloomberg.
