This Week in the Crypto Market: May 12-17, 2025

In contrast to the sharp rises of the previous week, this week has been a week of profit taking in the cryptocurrency market and risk aversion among altcoin investors. Bitcoin, in particular, lost strength after surging above $105,800 on May 12, the first trading day of the week. While the Bitcoin price has not been able to rise above $105,000 since May 12, it fell 2.5 percent during the week. Bitcoin’s retreat has negatively affected the already bloated altcoin market. Analysts stated that the downward pressure has become more pronounced due to the increase in profit sales this week, and more severe declines may be experienced next week. On the other hand, it is worth remembering that the US has reached an agreement with China and the trade war has ended. US President Donald Trump stated that the tension in the markets is over with the sentence “Markets can rise”. Despite the agreement between the US and China, it was noteworthy that the markets lost blood.

Here is what happened this week…

Tensions Between the US and China End

When the dates showed May 11, positive statements started to come from US President Donald Trump. Trump stated that the US was ready to make a deal with China. The fact that the trade war, which had been stressing global markets for a long time, would finally end created great expectations among investors. When the calendars pointed to Monday, May 12, an agreement was reached between the US and China. According to this agreement, the US reduced its tariffs on China from 145 percent to 30 percent for 90 days. China, in turn, reduced its tariffs on the US from 125 percent to 10 percent. With the impact of the positive news, the Bitcoin price rose to 105,800 dollars after a long time. This rise meant a price increase that would not be seen again during the week.

US Data, Options and Credit Rating: Market Loses Strength

This week, the cryptocurrency market faced challenging processes. On Tuesday, May 13, the US Consumer Price Index was announced as 0.2 percent monthly and 2.3 percent annually. Although this data was lower than expectations and the previous month’s values, it did not have a positive impact on the cryptocurrency market. Nowadays, when things are going well in the US, it is considered a risky situation for the Fed not to rush to cut interest rates. Therefore, regardless of the data, there is no bullish momentum in the markets. On the other hand, the US Producer Price Index was announced as minus 0.5 percent on Thursday, May 15. This was evaluated as negative. It was stated that stagnation in production has started and inflation has not yet fallen to expected levels. US President Jerome Powell also made statements on May 15. Powell reiterated that they will not rush to cut interest rates. Following the US data, the cryptocurrency market faced the expiration of a large amount of options. On the last trading day of the week, nearly 3 billion dollars of Bitcoin options expired. While the options created selling pressure in the market, the US credit rating was downgraded from Aaa to Aa1. Experts stated that all the data this week increased the risks.

Profit Selling Begins in Crypto Market

The lack of positive (but not negative) data from the US, the expiration of Bitcoin options and the start of profit sales in the cryptocurrency market, which has been on the rise for weeks, brought along declines. Bitcoin ended the week with a decline of nearly 3 percent, while Ethereum faced a decline of more than 5 percent. The pullbacks in Bitcoin and Ethereum hit altcoins, which have recently signed a potential rally. Many altcoins lost close to 20 percent. Analysts said that these declines should be considered normal in the bull market and that the pullbacks are healthy before the next rise.

Ethereum Network Gains Momentum, Uniswap Breaks Record

With the Ethereum blockchain back in trend, Uniswap, Ethereum’s largest decentralized exchange by market capitalization, broke a record. Uniswap became the first decentralized exchange to reach $3 trillion in all-time volume. Still, Uniswap did not come close to 2021 in terms of total locked asset value. According to Dune, Uniswap’s daily trading volume stands at $3.3 billion. The second decentralized exchange with the highest daily trading volume was Pancakeswap on BNB Chain.

Former UFC Champion McGregor Talks About Bitcoin

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor, one of the most popular names of a period, made remarkable statements about Bitcoin. McGregor stated that Bitcoin is a stable currency for people and that the accountability of governments is not at sufficient levels. The famous fighter stated that most of the cryptocurrencies are transparent and the rest are unreliable. McGregor asked his followers on the X platform which cryptocurrency would provide accountability to governments.

Bitcoin Is Rising, But Not With Individual Investors!

According to Google search data, there is a lack of individual investors in Bitcoin. Google search data and app rankings indicate that individual Bitcoin investor demand is at a six-month low. According to the data, retail investors usually come to the forefront when Bitcoin reaches an all-time high. The research was based on Coinbase’s frequency of use, Google searches for Bitcoin and market data. Experts attributed the rise in Bitcoin’s price to institutional demand, even though individual investors have shown little interest. Institutions continue to flock to Bitcoin, especially through ETFs. This is seen as a dangerous situation by many analysts. Because, while individuals are more long-term investors, institutions favor profit sales.

Wisconsin Pension Fund Sells Bitcoin

We said that institutions are turning to Bitcoin, but there was a remarkable development this week. According to an SEC filing, the state of Wisconsin’s Pension Fund has sold its entire $300 million fund in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. According to a new 13F filing with the US SEC on Thursday, the State of Wisconsin Board of Investment reported that BlackRock has liquidated its entire stake in the iShares Bitcoin Trust. In the first quarter of 2025, Wisconsin was affected by the US-China trade war and Bitcoin’s fall to $75,000.

Coinbase Leaks Customer Data: Reactions Grow

Coinbase, a publicly traded company in the U.S. and a major contributor to the institutional shift to Bitcoin, announced that customer data had been leaked. The data breach, which covered less than 1 percent of Coinbase customers, drew reaction from crypto investors. The US-based exchange has been heavily criticized on the grounds that an insider leaked user records, deciphering credentials and exposing users to phishing scams. Coinbase allegedly knew about the data breach since January but delayed disclosure.