Key points:
Bitcoin continues to attack a key resistance zone below all-time highs.
“Parabolic” BTC price talk begins to resurface as bulls hold six figures after the Wall Street open.
Signs of profit-taking are increasing amid the highest prices since January.
Bitcoin (BTC) is attracting “parabolic” price targets as bulls continue to hold six figures on May 9.
Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark again on May 8 as institutional investors continue stacking sats.
Farside Investors’ data shows that spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded cumulative net inflows of $142.3 million on May 7, in a sign of “sustained institutional interest,” according to the founder of Obchakevich Research, Alex Obchakevich.
“These inflows indicate the activity of institutional investors, including hedge funds and asset managers, who continue to accumulate BTC through regulated instruments,“ he said.
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) led with $54 million in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at $39 million and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at $37 million. Data from Arkham Intelligence shows BlackRock acquired more than 86 Bitcoin worth $8.4 million in a single transaction on May 7.
24-hour Bitcoin price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapRelated: Bitcoin price reclaims $100K for first time since January
Ripple’s $25 million donation to a crypto education fund has reignited conversations about how blockchain projects are building influence through academia—but in the latest episode of Byte-Sized Insight, Animoca Brands’ co-founder Yat Siu says that money alone isn’t enough.
Instead, real-world use cases like student loans backed by DeFi may be crypto’s most convincing value proposition to date.
On April 30th, Pencil Finance, a project supported by Animoca Brands and its education arm Open Campus, announced a $10 million student loan financing initiative aimed at providing cheaper, blockchain-backed loans. Siu believes this type of infrastructure investment goes further than symbolic funding.
“What our industry needs a lot more is these kinds of positive-sum use cases that everyone else understands,” Siu said in the interview. “If students can receive better, cheaper and more effective opportunities and interest rates through crypto student loans, what happens? They’re going to be more pro-crypto.”
Related: The Giving Block starts disaster fund for California wildfire victims
The Ethereum Foundation, the nonprofit that supports development across the Ethereum blockchain, distributed $32.6 million in grants in the first quarter of 2025.
In an allocation update, the organization reported spending on various initiatives through its Ecosystem Support Program (ESP).
Categories included community and educational grants, zero-knowledge and cryptography. Other allocations included execution layers, developer experience and tools, layer-2 networks and overall ecosystem growth and support.
Of the 101 grants awarded, 32 went to community and education-focused initiatives. Recipients included educational content creators, conference organizers, bootcamps and hackathons such as ETHPrague and ETHiopia.
Sixteen projects focused on improving the developer experience and tooling. Beneficiaries included projects focusing on creating software-development kits (SDKs), building analytics platforms and validator tooling.
Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has received regulatory approval to expand crypto derivatives trading across Europe.
Gemini secured a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), allowing the exchange to offer crypto derivatives in the European Union, it announced on May 9.
“Once we commence business activities, we will be able to offer regulated derivatives throughout the EU and EEA [European Economic Area] under MiFID II,” said Gemini’s head of Europe, Mark Jennings.
According to the exec, the MiFID II license is a big milestone in Gemini’s European expansion, putting it one step closer to offering derivatives to both retail and institutional users.
Gemini’s upcoming derivatives offering in the EU and EEA will include perpetual futures and other derivatives, which will be available to advanced users of Gemini, Jennings noted.
TapSwap is a tap-to-earn Web3 application that lives inside Telegram — no separate download required.
Are your crypto friends obsessed with tapping their phones all the time? Welcome to the world of TapSwap. TapSwap is a tap-to-earn game released in mid-2024 in the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem. The game quickly catches your attention: one minute you’re just curious… the next, you’re tapping away at 2 am trying to squeeze out one more energy boost.
At its core, TapSwap is simple:
You tap your screen.You earn TAPS tokens.Repeat.It’s built as a Mini App inside Telegram, which means no downloading or setting up complicated wallets just to play. Just hit “Start” and you’re in. Launched in early 2024, it quickly amassed over 72 million users, with 3 million daily active participants as of February 2025, as per the official website.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott blamed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act’s failure on partisan politics during a Senate speech on May 8.
Scott said the vote, which failed to reach cloture in the Senate, was expected to mark a step toward greater affordability and innovation. Instead, he said, political divisions took precedence.
“Instead, we witnessed a disappointing display of political gamesmanship that puts partisan politics above policy, and obstruction above innovation, “Scott said.
The bill had previously undergone multiple amendments to address concerns raised by Democrats, including stricter requirements for stablecoin issuers and further provisions for Anti-Money Laundering.
Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.
Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.
In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.
Source: Ko Ju-ChunKo’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.
Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.
Key points:
Bitcoin (BTC) is at its highest levels since January, and traders are eyeing key levels to watch for what’s next.
After hitting $104,000, BTC/USD is retracing to establish support, but the fate of $100,000 is among the concerns for market participants.
Current price action represents an important battleground, as measured from the $75,000 lows this year.
Just $6,000 from new all-time highs, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, BTC price action has stunned the market by jumping 10% in days.
Key takeaways:
Bitcoin was up 4.3% on May 9, after breaking $100,000 for the first time since February.
BTC price gains trigger $800 million in short liquidations, the largest since 2021.
A bull flag on the weekly chart suggests a $182,200 target, with analysts predicting Bitcoin’s price can go as high as $1 million in 2025.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is up 4.3% on May 9 as a fresh liquidity cascade sent BTC price soaring above $100,000 for the first time in over 90 days.
German law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The seizure, announced on May 9 by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s main prosecutor’s office, involved multiple crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dash (DASH). The move marks the third-largest crypto confiscation in the BKA’s history.
The authorities also seized eXch’s German server infrastructure with over eight terabytes of data and shut down the platform, the announcement added.
In the statement, the BKA described eXch as a “swapping” service that allowed users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
The platform had operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated about $1.9 billion in crypto transfers, some of which were believed to be of “criminal origin,” including assets laundered during the Bybit hack.
When Pi Network first hit the scene in 2019, it had a simple but compelling pitch: What if you could mine cryptocurrency straight from your phone — no expensive gear, no massive electricity bills, just a tap a day on an app?
It caught fire. Millions of people jumped on board, lured by the idea of “free” mobile mining and a chance to get in early on the next big thing. The app made it easy: You signed up, invited a few friends, tapped a button every 24 hours, and watched your Pi (PI) balance slowly grow. With the social referral model fueling growth, it wasn’t long before over 70 million users had signed up worldwide.
Did you know? Pi Network utilizes the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), which aims for energy efficiency and decentralization, differing from Bitcoin’s energy-intensive proof-of-work.
Solana does not yet have “convincing signs” that it could overtake Ethereum as the blockchain of choice for institutions, as its revenue is seen as unstable due to its memecoin concentration, according to crypto bank group Sygnum.
In a May 8 blog post, Sygnum said that the current sentiment around Ethereum “remains poor,” with the market focused on Solana’s “transaction volumes and its recent dominance in fee generation.”
However, Sygnum said “the medium-term outlook will primarily be shaped by traditional financial institutions’ platform choices to bring their product offerings,” not by sentiment.
“We do not yet see convincing signs that Solana would be the preferred choice as Ethereum’s security, stability and longevity are highly prized,” it added.
Sygnum argued that institutions could choose Ethereum over Solana as the market has viewed the latter’s revenue generation as “less stable” due to being “highly concentrated in the memecoin sector.”
American fast food outlet Steak ‘n Shake has announced it will begin accepting Bitcoin as payment at all locations starting on May 16.
The firm said on X on May 9 that it was making the cryptocurrency available to more than 100 million customers, adding that “the movement is just beginning,” before signing off as “Steaktoshi.”
The fast food chain initially hinted at accepting Bitcoin (BTC) in March when it posted “Should Steak ‘n Shake accept Bitcoin?” on social media.
The tweet drew the attention of the crypto community and Bitcoin proponents such as Jack Dorsey, who rapidly replied with a “yes.”
The firm has built momentum since then with Bitcoin-themed marketing, Tesla promotions, and visual hints on its social media feeds.
Fresh off its most recent Bitcoin purchase, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet is raising more funds through another bond issue to expand its growing crypto treasury.
Through a $21.25 million issue of “0% Ordinary Bonds,” the firm said in a May 9 statement that the “funds raised will be allocated to the purchase of Bitcoin.”
Zero-coupon bonds don’t offer any interest to the holder. Most of the time, they are issued at a steep discount from their normal value, and when they mature, the holder receives the full value.
Following a board of directors meeting, the firm said it will issue a 14th Stock Acquisition Rights to EVO Fund, an investment management firm in the Cayman Islands, with a redemption date of Nov. 7.
Source: MetaplanetAt current prices, Metaplanet could buy 206 Bitcoin (BTC) if it raises the full $21.25 million, according to CoinGecko. The firm first flagged plans to buy Bitcoin last April.
Ether surged 20% in the past 24 hours following the launch of the Pectra upgrade, with some crypto traders suggesting the growing number of ETH long positions could mark a “turning point” for the asset that has faced uncertain sentiment throughout most of 2025.
At the time of publication, Ether (ETH) is trading at $2,230, up 19.6% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. Pseudonymous crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades said it was a “pretty insane candle.” Over the same 24 hours, Ether Open Interest (OI) spiked 21%.
The surge followed the long-awaited Pectra Upgrade, which went live on May 7, introducing new wallet features, increased staking limits and scalability improvements to Ethereum.
Popular crypto trader Alex Kruger said on May 8 that Ether’s price spike was primarily due to “new longs.”
If Ether were to fall back to $2,000, approximately $2.06 billion in long positions would be at risk of liquidation, according to CoinGlass data. The price surge caught many traders offside, with approximately $328 million in Ether short positions liquidated over the same period.
AI decentralized apps (DApps) have seen a spike in user activity and could soon challenge gaming and DeFi for the top spot in the DApp ecosystem, according to blockchain analytics platform DappRadar.
Gaming and DeFi are both sitting on 21% dominance in April, judged by percentage of unique active wallets, while AI has climbed to 16%, up from the 11% recorded in the February report, data in DappRadar’s April industry report shows.
“As user interest in artificial intelligence tools grows across industries, AI-powered DApps are steadily carving out their place in the decentralized ecosystem,” DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas said.
“If this trend continues, AI could soon challenge the traditional dominance of DeFi and Gaming, signaling a new era in the DApp landscape.”
AI DApps have seen a jump in market dominance this month, while market leaders have declined slightly. Source: DappRadarAt the same time, AI DApp activity surged over 26% to reach 3.8 million daily unique active wallets (dUAW), up from the 2.6 million dUAW recorded in February.
Apple is reportedly working on its own microchips across multiple product categories, including smart glasses and artificial intelligence — a hint at what’s next for the massive Silicon Valley-based tech giant.
A May 8 report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, said the company is working on new processors to power its future devices, including its first smart glasses to rival Meta’s Ray-Bans, more powerful Macs, and artificial intelligence servers.
The smart glasses — a first for Apple — would rely on a specialized chip codenamed N401. The processor is based on Apple Watch chips but is further optimized for power efficiency and designed to control multiple cameras planned for the glasses, the sources said.
Apple’s smart glasses will initially be non-augmented reality versions that will include cameras, microphones and integrated AI, much like rival offerings from Meta. They would presumably have similar functions like snapping photos, recording video and offering translation options, the report added.
The product may also integrate a visual intelligence feature for scanning the environment and describing objects, looking up information about products and providing directions.
The 22-year-old developer of Zerebro, who apparently committed suicide during a livestream on May 4, is actually alive, according to a San Francisco news outlet that claims they spoke to Yu outside his family home.
The San Francisco Standard reporter George Kelly claimed on May 8 that he briefly spoke with Yu outside of his family’s two-story home, where the crypto influencer refused to discuss the suicide allegations and whether he had financially benefited from it.
Instead, Yu reportedly said: “You can see the PTSD in my eyes, right?” before asking the reporter to leave.
He was reportedly wearing a T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops and wire-rimmed glasses, possibly similar to the ones he had on while appearing to shoot himself to death during the livestream.
Jeffy Yu speaking about the future of crypto AI agents in a January 2025 podcast on Bankless. Source: Bankless
The SFS didn’t share an image of Yu outside his family’s house.
A man from the US state of Virginia will spend over three decades behind bars after being convicted of sending crypto to the terrorist organization commonly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Federal Judge David Novak sentenced Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa to 30 years and four months in prison on May 7 for sending over $185,000 to the Islamic State, the Department of Justice said on May 8.
Prosecutors said that from around October 2019 until October 2022, the 35-year-old Chhipa collected and sent money to female Islamic State members in Syria, which helped them escape prison camps and funded fighting.
The Justice Department said Chhipa would raise funds for the United Nations-designated terror organization through social media — receiving money online, or traveling hundreds of miles to accept donations in person.
He’d convert the money into crypto and send it to Turkey for it to be smuggled to Islamic State members across the border in Syria, prosecutors said.
