June Newsletter: BTC Remains Near ATH, ETH ETF Gaining Strength, Cirlce IPO, ALTs Biding Times.

Summary This edition dives into the most important stories and narratives from May 2025. We cover the macro backdrop driving markets higher, Circle’s game-changing IPO, Ethereum’s internal shake-up, the stablecoin boom, and emerging trends like Hyperliquid. With liquidity returning and regulatory headwinds softening, crypto is back at the center of global finance—and the world is finally catching up. Introduction

May 2025 was a month of contradictions. Inflation cooled, markets ripped, and regulators softened their stance—yet under the surface, cracks formed, reshuffles began, and crypto found itself once again at the heart of the cultural zeitgeist.

Let’s break it down.

The Macro Setup: Liquidity Is Knocking

The ideal macro backdrop for risk assets? Falling inflation, weakening-but-not-crashing economic data, and fewer geopolitical headaches. That’s exactly what started to take shape in May.

• Inflation softened — both CPI and PPI trended down.

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  Jobs data disappointed, but not disastrously.

  
  

• Markets took off anyway, with the S&P 500 having its best May this century and Bitcoin climbing 40% off the lows.

  

  While Jerome Powell held firm on rate cuts, pressure is mounting. Trump is back in the driver’s seat, literally meeting with Powell and pushing for easing. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is quietly greasing the wheels via a potential repeal of the Supplementary Leverage Ratio, letting banks gobble up bonds like it’s 2020.

  
  

  If you're looking for a single unlock to explain May’s face-melting rally, it’s this: liquidity. Whether via rate cuts, regulatory rollback, or structural tweaks, capital is getting looser. Not just from the Fed, but from the Treasury, and maybe soon, from markets that finally believe soft data is catching up to hard numbers. And based on the Atlanta Fed's latest GDP projections, it appears they agree as well.

  
  

  

  
  

  Bitcoin Treasuries: The Money Printer Has a Ticker

  Corporate Bitcoin treasuries are no longer a novelty—they’re a strategy. Trump Media made headlines with a rumored $12B BTC buy. Strategy upped its preferred share issuance to fuel more BTC purchases. Metaplanet’s buying. Robinhood’s outpaced Coinbase in market cap. Even JPMorgan’s on board, now lending against crypto ETFs.

  
  

  

  The game isn’t just “buy Bitcoin.” It’s using financial engineering—convertible notes, equity dilution, and cash-plus-call-option instruments—to scale exposure and raise BTC-per-share metrics. Like a private equity fund but with memes and miners instead of real estate and restaurants.

  
  

  But here’s the catch: the entire model hinges on liquidity, volatility, and premium maintenance. The moment conversion triggers fail or cash dries up, the music stops. For now, though, the beat goes on, with dozens of new companies looking to get in on the action.

  

  
  

The Circle IPO: Stablecoins Go Public

May’s biggest TradFi-to-crypto crossover came with the debut of Circle ($CRCL), the company behind USDC. It didn’t just go public—it exploded, rocketing to $100+ from its $31 IPO price in its first two days of trading.

A few things to know:

• Circle had a solid 2024: $1.7B in revenue, $155M in net income.

• Most of that income came from interest on USDC reserves.

• Its biggest cost? Paying Coinbase and others to distribute USDC (~$1B).

• The big kicker: 90% of its reserves are now managed by BlackRock.

Circle is now a $20B+ stock trading at over 100x+ earnings. That’s eye-popping unless you believe USDC is on its way to becoming the backbone of global payments. With the GENIUS Act nearing a Senate vote and TradFi giants like JPMorgan reportedly building their own stablecoin, the stablecoin wars are just heating up.

If Circle is your only pure-play stablecoin exposure on the public market, it might be overpriced—and still undervalued.

Ethereum’s Identity Crisis (and Resurgence)

ETH ripped 42% last month, outperforming BTC in basis trades and CME momentum. But it wasn’t just the price. Ethereum’s internals got a makeover:

• The Pectra upgrade went live on May 7, bringing validator consolidation, auto-compounding, and blob enhancements.

• The Ethereum Foundation laid off staff and pivoted to a leaner, faster R&D structure focused on UX, L2 data, and L1 scaling.

• ETF flows went ballistic: over $800M in ETH spot ETF inflows across just 13 days.

Oh, and the Fusaka upgrade is still on deck, slated for late 2025/early 2026.

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s staking economics are shifting. With Pectra’s auto-compounding and EIP-7251’s validator incentives, expect fewer but larger validators, more efficient returns, and a UX layer that feels increasingly retail-friendly.

The only question is whether Ethereum can hold its cultural and technical leadership as competitors nibble at its modular moat.

Stablecoins Eat the World

• Stablecoin market cap YTD: +22% to $250B

• On-chain transaction volume YTD: $20.2T (up from $13.8T last year)

• Adjusted real user volume (ex-bots): $738B (up from $446B)

Circle’s IPO might’ve stolen the headlines, but the real story is just how embedded stablecoins have become in crypto and beyond. Curve’s role as the backbone for stablecoin swaps now looks even more essential, even if the market hasn’t fully priced it in yet.

With the GENIUS Act on the floor and TradFi eyeing their own stablecoin rails, the days of ignoring stablecoins as boring infrastructure are over. They are the rails now.

Hyperliquid: The New Frontier

Memecoin volumes? Dying. DEX volumes? Rising—if you're on Hyperliquid.

Hyperliquid has quietly built the most CEX-like DEX experience: instant execution, clean UI, no KYC, and full support for spot and perps. $HYPE, its native token, has quietly tripled while many were chasing memecoins.

Institutional and fund flows are catching up, mirroring what happened in TradFi: algos are underweight, performance is chasing, and volume is migrating.

What to Watch in June

• Fed posturing ahead of the July rate cut window

• GENIUS Act Senate vote and potential House debate

• Pump.fun token rumors and potential memecoin resurgence

• Ethereum validator consolidation and Fusaka dev updates

• IPO momentum with Gemini, Kraken, and others eyeing the window

• ISM print (next month’s macro make-or-break)

Final Thought:

May was the month when crypto stopped waiting for the world, and the world started catching up. Stablecoins hit Wall Street, corporate treasuries turned into BTC ETFs with cash flows, and Ethereum pivoted to performance.