Bitcoin (BTC) is set to reach a record $95,000, according to popular commentator BitQuant. In a recent post, BitQuant expressed optimism about BTC/USD, predicting a significant upward move. However, the timing of this surge remains uncertain. BitQuant's prediction was in response to fellow commentator Mikybull Crypto's analysis of a "cup and handle" formation, indicating a potential breakout. Despite Bitcoin's recent narrow range and potential drop towards $50,000, many traders remain positive about its future trajectory. BitQuant also warned of testing times ahead for Bitcoin holders, advising those unable to wait for Bitcoin's expected performance to exit the market.

Crypto lending protocol Sonne Finance has halted operations following a $20 million hack. The attack, detected by Web3 security firm Cyvers, targeted Sonne's USD Coin and Wrapped Ether contracts. By the time Sonne became aware of the breach, the hacker had already made off with $20 million in various cryptocurrencies. Sonne is now working with Cyvers to investigate and is considering offering a bug bounty to the hacker. However, the hacker has already moved a significant portion of the stolen funds, suggesting they may not be open to negotiation. The incident has raised questions about Sonne's security practices, with some accusing the protocol of knowingly using a flawed system.

Bitcoin's ability to surpass its all-time high of $73,700 hinges on the US Federal Reserve's actions, according to Timothy Peterson, founder of Cane Island Alternative Advisors. He believes that the US high yield rate, currently at 7.54%, needs to drop below 6 or 7% for Bitcoin to reach a sustainable all-time high. If yield rates fall within this range, Peterson predicts Bitcoin could hit the much-anticipated $100,000 mark by Q4 2024 or Q2 2025 at the latest. Lower interest rates often lead to more investors turning to riskier assets like Bitcoin for better returns. However, Peterson warns that markets are typically "flat and volatile" between September and October.

A crypto boom has seen over 1 million new tokens created since April, with Ethereum and Solana leading the pack. Ethereum saw over 370,000 new tokens, with 88% of these launched on Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain Base, while Solana witnessed the creation of over 640,000 new tokens, mostly memecoins. This surge in activity has been driven by a frenzy for memecoins, with the total value locked on Base increasing by 630% since the start of the year. Despite concerns about scams and the impact on the values of crypto, memecoins were the most profitable crypto narrative in Q1.

GameStop memecoins have seen a surge in price, mirroring the rise of GameStop's (GME) share price. The Solana-based memecoin GME, unaffiliated with the official company, soared by 2,727% in two days, while GameStop's stock price saw a 204.50% increase. This came after well-known GameStop stock trader Keith Gill returned to social media after a three-year hiatus. Other tokens, including PEPE and Floki, also saw significant gains. This trend suggests traders are focusing on short-term narratives rather than overall market confidence. The overall market sentiment has decreased over the past 30 days, according to the Fear and Greed Index.

Ethereum layer 3 blockchain, Degen Chain, has been inactive for over 53 hours, failing to validate transactions or produce new blocks. The last block was produced on May 12, making the network and its applications unusable. The issue has been traced back to a "custom config change" that caused Degen Chain and gaming network Apex to stop block production. Degen Chain is working with its development partner, Conduit, to resolve the issue. The network is expected to resume functionality after a "resync" scheduled for May 15. The network's native DEGEN token has fallen 24% since the block stall.

UK authorities have shut down Amey Finance Academy, a crypto advisory firm, accusing its founder of luring people into loss-making investment schemes, including a suspected $1.7 billion crypto Ponzi. The Insolvency Service claims that the firm's director misled customers about the risks involved in crypto investments. Some clients lost their entire investments following the firm's advice. The firm promoted HyperFund, later known as HyperVerse, an alleged Ponzi scheme. The Insolvency Service was unable to establish the true relationship between Amey Finance Academy and HyperVerse due to a lack of accounting records.

US debt-to-GDP ratio, although lower than the G7 average, is a growing concern due to its unique economic situation. Unlike Japan, where 90% of debt is domestically owned, a quarter of US debt is held by international buyers, necessitating competitive yields. Fitch Ratings and Moody's have already downgraded US government debt ratings and outlook, respectively. The US's high inflation rate and the Federal Reserve's struggle to control it, coupled with the threat of stagflation, exacerbate the debt issue. This situation, however, could benefit Bitcoin as a safe haven amid dollar weakness and rising US debt concerns.

ArenaX Labs co-founder Wei Xie warns that AI could disrupt the gaming economy by making game development too easy, potentially flooding the market with games and creating an oversupply of developers. Meanwhile, The Sandbox metaverse has teamed up with The Voice to offer a Web3 gaming adventure where players can act as judges, complete with NFT rewards. In other news, Sky Mavis and Cadenverse have released a mobile dual-rhythm music game called Duet Monsters, where players can earn crypto rewards. Finally, blockchain platform Enjin has launched the Spark Program to incentivize gaming developers.

Crypto investment products have seen a $130 million inflow in the week ending May 6, breaking a five-week outflow streak, according to CoinShares. Bitcoin investment funds led the way with $144 million in inflows. However, weekly trading volumes decreased from $17 billion in April to $8 billion in the week ending May 10. Despite uncertainties surrounding U.S. inflation data, institutions invested nearly $116.8 million into spot Bitcoin ETFs between May 6 and May 10. The report also revealed increased inflows from the U.S., Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, and Brazil, while Canada saw the largest outflows.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may label Ether (ETH) a security, according to a March filing. The filing was part of BlackRock's application to list and trade a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Nasdaq. The SEC's decision could impact other spot Ether ETFs from ARK 21Shares, Hashdex, Invesco Galaxy, BlackRock, and Fidelity. Grayscale withdrew its spot Ether ETF application earlier this month. The SEC's decision hinges on whether it considers ETH a security or commodity. Despite SEC Chair Gary Gensler previously stating ETH was not a security, reports suggest a probe into Ether is underway.

The Alex protocol bridge on the BNB network has reportedly suffered suspicious withdrawals of $4.3 million following a sudden contract upgrade, according to blockchain security platform CertiK. The Alex deployer account carried out five identical upgrades to the "Bridge Endpoint" contract on BNB Smart Chain, after which Binance-Pegged Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC), and Sugar Kingdom Odyssey (SKO) were removed from the BNB Smart Chain side of the bridge. CertiK has labeled this as a potential private key compromise. The Alex team has yet to comment on the incident.

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 3.3% on May 14, testing the $61,000 support level before bouncing back. This marked the second failed attempt in a week to break past $63,500. Despite this, Bitcoin bulls remain optimistic, as shown by BTC derivatives metrics. Some analysts believe Bitcoin still has a good chance to revisit prices above $70,000.

US inflation data for April, showing a 0.5% month-over-month increase, put short-term pressure on Bitcoin. The market saw this as confirmation that the US Federal Reserve will maintain higher interest rates for longer, negatively impacting cryptocurrencies and growth stocks.

Despite the macroeconomic conditions and Bitcoin’s repeated failure to sustain prices above $63,500, the annualized BTC futures premium remained largely unaffected. The current 8% premium is right in the middle of the neutral market.

Bitcoin bears have shown strength, with the last daily close above $65,000 happening three weeks ago. However, bulls seem unfazed by the lack of momentum. If US inflation persists, market participants may be forced to seek alternatives, keeping Bitcoin’s path to $70,000 for 2024 in play.

Galaxy Digital's Q1 2024 net income soared to $422 million, a 40% rise from the previous quarter, driven by record earnings in mining and management fees. Mining operations generated a record $31.5 million, a 69% increase, with 373 Bitcoin mined. Management and performance fees hit a record $17.8 million, a 113% rise. Galaxy Digital and Invesco launched a Bitcoin ETF in the US in January, and two ETCs in Europe in April. Trading operations reported $66 million in revenue, a 78% increase. Galaxy's assets under management rose to $7.8 billion, a 219% YoY increase.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has revealed investments in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offered by Grayscale and BlackRock. The May 14 SEC filing shows SWIB holds over 2.4 million shares in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and over a million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, valued at approximately $100 million and $64 million respectively. This suggests that the Wisconsin Retirement System could have crypto exposure via these two asset management firms. SWIB, managing over $156 billion in assets, also invested in Coinbase, MicroStrategy, and Cleanspark stocks.

UK crypto holders, brace yourselves! A new law allows authorities to seize your crypto assets even without an arrest. This change, effective since April 26, is part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 amendments. The law empowers UK police and the National Crime Agency to confiscate crypto from suspects of criminal activity. They can also seize physical items related to crypto investigations and "destroy" a crypto asset if it's not conducive to the public good. However, the method of "destruction" remains unclear. Critics argue this could lead to unjustified seizures, undermining the traditional right to due process.

Fintech firm Kima and Mastercard's FinSec Innovation Lab have teamed up to bridge the gap between decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional financial services. The project, supported by the Israel Innovation Authority, aims to create a 'DeFi credit card'. Kima, a peer-to-peer money transfer protocol, plans to expand its existing protocol and launch a mainnet and token in Q2 2024. The project will focus on helping users overcome technical and regulatory barriers to DeFi adoption. Kima has announced six integrations and 18 new partnerships in 2024, including ventures in Vietnam and Thailand.

GameStop shares have outperformed Bitcoin's yearly returns in a single day, with a 154% increase compared to Bitcoin's 129%. This surge occurred after Keith Gill, the man behind the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, returned to social media. This has sparked hopes of a potential altcoin rally, similar to the one that followed the GameStop squeeze in 2021. However, the current investing environment is different, with fewer outstanding shorts on GameStop, which could limit the potential upside. Some meme coins have already seen gains, with Pepe hitting a new all-time high.

OpenAI has launched GPT-4o, its latest and most advanced artificial intelligence model. The "o" stands for "omni," highlighting the model's ability to handle text, image, and audio data, making it more versatile than its predecessors. GPT-4o can comprehend and produce human-like writing, analyze and interpret images, and understand spoken language. This multimodal functionality allows it to perform tasks previously beyond the reach of AI models. The model is available for free and can be accessed via the OpenAI API, OpenAI Playground, and ChatGPT. Its applications span various industries, including translation, content creation, education, and healthcare.

European asset manager CoinShares has reported a record Q1 2024 performance, with a 216% revenue increase to £19.5M ($24.5M) compared to Q1 2023. The firm's EBITDA soared to £34.2M ($43M), a fourfold increase from the previous year. CoinShares CFO Richard Nash revealed that 45% of the company's total gains come from its asset management business, 40% from capital markets, and the remaining 15% from its principal investment portfolio. CoinShares also completed the acquisition of Valkyrie funds in March, adding £1.6M ($2M) of goodwill to its balance sheet. The firm's total assets under management as of March 31, 2024, were £4.77B ($6B).