📈 Bitcoin on the way to $250,000?

According to famous crypto investor and podcaster Scott Melker, Bitcoin's price could make a big leap to $250,000 by the end of 2025. He sees the growing institutional interest and the decreasing volatility as the main triggers for such an increase.

Cryptocurrencies used to be three times as volatile as the S&P 500, while it is now less than twice. The market has matured and its stability has improved, notably through the investments via ETFs. Indeed, the more institutional money flows into the market, the lower the volatility gets.

The inclusion of Coinbase's stock in the S&P 500 and its positioning in the top 50 also represents a milestone for the industry.

Moreover, the lawsuits dropped by the SEC and the new US government stance regarding crypto are very bullish for the industry, Melker said.

These developments are fueling a positive sentiment on the market, which has just been booster by Bitcoin going back above the "magic" $100,000 mark.

Crypto analyst Apsk32 also argues for a possible chance of a Bitcoin price of $250,000 while Peter Chung, head of the trading company Presto, called for a forecast of $210,000 by the end of 2025. Analysts at the British bank Standard Chartered believe that the price could at least double, provided that current demand remains at least the same.

Whether and how the Bitcoin price will develop remains to be seen, and of course no one can predict it with certainty. But the signs are certainly very positive.

Read more >

🇺🇸 Coinbase is now in the S&P500

The American crypto exchange Coinbase has been included in the S&P 500 on May 19, making it the first crypto company in the well-known index.

The Standard and Poors 500 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of the 500 largest listed US companies, and thus represents the benchmark for the entire US stock market.

Coinbase, listed under the ticker "COIN", replaces Discover Financial Services (DFS), which was acquired by Capital One Financial Corp (COF).

Following the listing, the demand for Coinbase's shares should probably increase as index funds and ETFs based on the S&P 500 must now purchase the company's shares in order to correctly track the index.

The market capitalization of the index is around $49.8 trillion, and its values are weighted according to market capitalization. Companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia are weighted more heavily. Coinbase expects a weighting of 0.01 to 0.2 % of the overall index in the lower part.

According to Alesia Haas, Chief Financial Officer of Coinbase, the inclusion is an important milestone, not only for Coinbase, but for the entire crypto industry.

There were also congratulations from Michael Saylor. His company Strategy (MSTR) was also considered a candidate for the S&P, but will probably not be included for the time being. Companies in the index must have reported green figures in the last calendar year before inclusion. Strategy reported a net loss of $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025. However, Strategy already meets all other requirements, such as being listed on a US stock exchange, generating half of its revenue in the US and having a market capitalization of over $18 billion.

Read more >

🏦 90% of financial institutions are acting on stablecoins

A report by the B2B crypto platform Fireblocks shows that 90% of institutional players already use stablecoins in their business or are investigating their use.

As part of the study, 295 executives from traditional banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and payment providers were surveyed.

Among them, 49% stated that they were already using stablecoins in payment transactions, 23% were conducting pilot tests and 18% were in the planning phase. Only 10% stated that they were still undecided.

Traditional banks in particular use stablecoins for cross-border payments, which are otherwise hampered by high costs and delays as well as other inefficiencies. Especially in emerging markets, stablecoins have established themselves as a strategic solution in the B2B sector.

According to the report, 58% of traditional banks use stablecoins for cross-border payments, 28% use stablecoins to accept payments, 12% use stablecoins to optimize their own liquidity and 9% use them for settlements with merchants.

As for the reasons why stablecoins were chosen, fast settlement was the most frequently cited reason at 48%, followed by greater transparency at 36%, better liquidity management and integrated payment flows at 33%, greater security at 31% and lower transaction costs at 30%.

According to Ran Goldi, Vice President of Payments and Network at Fireblocks, the adoption of stablecoins has evolved far beyond the cost-saving factor and is seen much more as a strategic growth driver.

Read more >

🇺🇦 Ukraine plans a Bitcoin reserve

Bitcoin has broken back through the $100,000 mark, the regulatory environment is improving, adoption continues to rise, institutional interest continues to grow and various countries are working on including Bitcoin in their state reserves. Ukraine is now joining the ranks of these countries.

According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, Deputy Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee, a corresponding draft law is currently being finalized. The plan is to increase the resilience of the Ukrainian financial architecture.

According to VanEck expert Matthew Sigel, Ukraine was a leader in crypto adoption last year. In the war-torn country, Bitcoin was able to play a strategic role and act as an independent, censorship-resistant financial system beyond geopolitical power blocks. Ukraine is currently said to hold around 46,000 bitcoins, or 0.221% of the total supply.

Read more >

🇬🇧 The UK implements new crypto laws

From January 1, 2026, companies in the UK will be obliged to collect and report data on every trade and transfer of cryptocurrencies. The new regulation is part of the integration of the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) and is intended to improve transparency and crypto tax reporting.

The users' full name, home address and tax identification number will be recorded and reported for each transfer, including the cryptocurrency used and the respective amount. Details of companies, trusts and donation organizations will also be reported.

Severe penalties are planned for non-compliance. Even though the new regulations are not due to come into force until January next year, the UK government is encouraging companies to start collecting data already.

Read more >