This Week in the Crypto Market: May 19-24, 2025

We left behind a very active week in the cryptocurrency market. This week; It was a week in which the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin broke a record, US President Donald Trump organized an event for crypto, the US announced a 50 percent tariff on the European Union, and altcoins faced profit selling pressure. Ethereum reached $2,700 but retreated back to the $2,400 band due to Bitcoin. Crypto investors started to criticize Ethereum, which failed to meet expectations despite Bitcoin breaking records at least twice a year.

What happened this week? Here are the highlights of the week…

Bitcoin Reaches All-Time High

Bitcoin reached an all-time high (ATH) of $109,600 on January 20, 2025. The leading cryptocurrency reached a new record four months later. On May 22, 2025, the price of Bitcoin reached $111,980, the highest level in its history. This surge came after a surge in institutional demand in the US and the announcement that many companies were making billions of dollars in profits from Bitcoin. While increasing investor demand has pushed Bitcoin from record to record, the expected rally in altcoins has not started. Experts predict that Bitcoin will hold the reins for a while longer, and then altcoins will start rallying. Bitcoin, which broke a record on May 22, fell after US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 50 percent tariff on the European Union. Profit sales are increasing in Bitcoin, which lost 4.3 percent in two days. It is estimated that the decline may continue for a while.

Cetus Hacked, Sui Ecosystem Crashes

Cetus Protocol (CETUS), the decentralized exchange serving the Sui and Aptos blockchains, faced a hacking scandal that marked the week. Cetus suffered a hack attack that caused a loss of 150 million dollars. Although the hacker moved the assets he stole from Cetus on the blockchain, he failed to hide them. The hacking of Cetus hit the Sui ecosystem, which has been progressing quite positively for the last few months. After the hack, the Sui price lost nearly 10 percent, while the memecoins in Sui lost between 60 and 80 percent. The CETUS price also fell from a level of 0.25 dollars to 0.16 dollars. The Cetus team made statements after the hack scandal. While the team reported that the necessary investigation was launched, the hacker was offered $8 million as a white hat reward.

Binance Lists Stablecoin Backed by Trump Family

USD1, the stablecoin of World Liberty Financial, which is close to US President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump and backed by the Trump family, was listed this week on Binance, the world’s crypto exchange with the highest trading volume. The stablecoin reached a market capitalization of over $2 billion after heavy demand. Transparently backed by World Liberty Financial, USD1 is expected to rival USDT in the near future. While positive steps are being taken towards stablecoins in the US, it is noteworthy that USD1 stands out. Who knows, maybe in the coming days, we may see the US turning to USD1.

Ripple Wants to Buy Circle

Ripple, the development team of XRP, has rolled up its sleeves for stablecoin issuer Circle. According to reports, Ripple has started informal talks to acquire Circle. A price between 6 and 11 billion dollars is being discussed in these talks. Circle, the company behind USDC, the second largest stablecoin after USDT, had applied for an IPO in the US. Ripple’s acquisition attempt was considered one of the hottest developments of the week. If Ripple acquires Circle, it is planned to expand the XRP ecosystem and increase usability. Analysts predict that if this deal is successfully completed, XRP will be one step closer to its potential rally.

Trump Tower Accepts Crypto

Trump Tower, a lifestyle center owned by US President Donald Trump’s company, will accept crypto payments for property sales in Dubai via Deus X Pay. The Trump Tower project in Dubai will offer payment in Bitcoin for the sale of luxury real estate. The development was announced by Eric Trump, Vice Chairman of the Trump Organization and son of Donald Trump. The growing interest in cryptocurrencies in the Middle East has caught the attention of the Trump family. The Trump family aims to engage in various initiatives in the Middle East, apart from selling with Bitcoin.

Top US Banks Plan to Issue Stablecoins

Several US banks, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, are working on a stablecoin to rival USDT and USDC. The US banks’ joint project is based on federal legislation such as the GENIUS Act, which will set regulatory standards for stablecoin issuance and oversight. Seeking to gain a greater foothold in digital payments, US banks will move against the growing popularity of Circle and Tether. The stablecoin, which will be launched in partnership with the banks, is expected to be used in traditional finance.

Open Interest in Bitcoin Hits Record Highs

Greed is on the rise in record-breaking Bitcoin. Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) has reached record highs as investors anticipate further upside. According to on-chain data platform CoinGlass, futures open interest has hit $80 billion. The rise in OI suggests that large leveraged positions are increasing in the market and traders are more willing to trade with borrowed money. Many analysts believe that the day-to-day swelling of futures could trigger a potential profit sell-off. On the other hand, there are also many who believe that institutional demand could offset the selling pressure in futures.