- The Crypto Minute
- Posts
- The Crypto Minute
The Crypto Minute
Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Crypto Rollercoaster.
CoinBrain
May 25, 2025 • Reading Time: 11 minutes
Welcome to a new issue of Crypto Minute by CoinBrain!
Green days are upon us! 🟩 Markets are surging, yet it seems nobody is talking about it 🤔
But hey, we are not complaining 😉 Let’s look at what happened this week and what you can expect in the next one.
⤵️ Today’s Agenda:
On 21st May, Bitcoin hit a new ATH of over $111,000 Institutions accumulate $BTC and $ETH.
The Cetus protocol hack results in $230M worth of stolen SUI tokens.
Coinbase $COIN stock joins the S&P 500.
Bancor sues Uniswap Foundation on alleged copyright infringement.
And more…
📊 Market Snapshot
| $107,100BTC+3.2% | $2,500ETH-0.4% | $3.36TCrypto Market Cap+1% | 67 (Greed)Fear & Greed Index+1 from last week |
📅 Crypto Events You don’t want to Miss
📌 May 27–29: Bitcoin 2025 Conference
The Venetian will play host to the Bitcoin 2025 Conference, where industry giants, maximalists, and skeptics alike will gather.
It’s a hotspot for networking, alpha leaks, and a pulse check on where BTC’s narrative is heading next.
Whether you’re attending or just catching the livestream highlights, expect soundbites that move markets (or at least X feeds).
📌 Thursday, May 29: US Preliminary GDP (Q1)
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will drop the second estimate of Q1 GDP, which could trigger market jitters if it veers from expectations.
GDP measures total economic output, so look for a value that is above estimates to support crypto 🚀
However, if GDP goes too far in one direction, expect the Fed to countermeasure.
📌 Friday, May 30: Core PCE Price Index (April)
Often dubbed the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, the Core PCE strips out food and energy for a “cleaner” view on price trends.
It’s crucial because it directly influences rate hike odds.
⬆️ Higher-than-expected numbers = more hawkish Fed = crypto might wobble.
⬇️ Lower numbers? Relief rally potential. Eyes on the print!
🐋Smart Money Tracker
Monday, May 19th: Metaplanet bought another 1,004 $BTC ($104.8M) at $104,427.
Metaplanet currently holds 7,800 $BTC ($802M), with an average buying price of $93,225.
Tuesday, May 20th: Jeffrey Wilcke, the Co-founder of Ethereum, deposited 105,737 $ETH ($262M) into Kraken on this day, which is almost all of his $ETH.
The last time he deposited $ETH into Kraken was on Nov 28, 2024, when the price of $ETH was $3,625.
Wednesday, May 21st: Top trader James Wynn is closing his $BTC long positions.
He has closed 2,561 $BTC ($273.5M) on this day, realizing a profit of $4.5M.
He still holds a long position of 5,203 $BTC($554.6M), with an unrealized profit of $8M.
Thursday, May 22nd: Abraxas Capital is using two wallets - 0xB83D and 0x5b5d - to short $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL on Hyperliquid with 10x leverage, likely as a hedge against their spot holdings.
They currently hold short positions of 2,572 $BTC ($288M), 57,317 $ETH ($151M), and 504,957 $SOL ($89.4M), with unrealized losses of over $25M.
Friday, May 23rd: As $HYPE surged, 0x20B1, a whale who shorted $HYPE with 5x leverage, had to capitulate.
They closed all $HYPE shorts on this day and lost $23.5M.
Since Apr 29, they have deposited 30.5M $USDC to Hyperliquid to short $HYPE.
After closing out, only $6.98M left - a massive hit!
Saturday, May 24th: As the market dropped, top trader James Wynn closed his long positions on $ETH and $SUI, losing ~$5.3M.
He then doubled down on $BTC longs, pushing his position to 11,070 $BTC($1.19B) — now down over $20M including funding fees.
His liquidation price is $104,820.
Sunday, May 25th: James Wynn has closed all long positions ($1.12B worth of $BTC), losing about $13M, and opened a short position of 1038 $BTC with a liquidation price of $149,100.
What a flip 🙀
Source: Lookonchain
📰 News Recap (May 19 to 25)
⚖️ Bancor takes Uniswap to court on patent infringement
Bancor has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Uniswap Labs, claiming the OG DEX stole its constant product AMM design.
The patented tech, dating back to 2017, is the basis for permissionless swaps, and Bancor says Uniswap has been using it (and profiting handsomely) without permission.
Uniswap called the suit “meritless,” but the broader DeFi community is watching closely.
If Bancor wins, it could set a wild precedent for open-source innovation and IP in Web3.
🏦 Coinbase joins the S&P 500 while getting grilled by the crypto community
Despite a massive data breach affecting over 69,000 users, Coinbase stock ($COIN) hit the top of the S&P 500 this week.
The DOJ is investigating, and prominent names like Michael Arrington and Ari Paul slammed the exchange’s security practices and transparency.
Meanwhile, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong pointed the finger at regulators for forcing data collection through KYC laws.
Drama aside, investors cheered Coinbase’s S&P inclusion and Bitcoin’s latest all-time highs, helping $COIN defy the backlash.
🍽️ Trump’s “dinner for whales“ served a plate of disappointment
The much-hyped gala dinner for top TRUMP token holders was supposed to offer intimate access to the man himself.
Instead, attendees got a short speech, a gold watch ceremony (sans sound), and almost zero Trump.
Crypto Twitter had a field day: “The President rugged the ruggers?” quipped one user.
Meanwhile, lawmakers blasted the dinner as a pay-for-access scheme, and Rep. Maxine Waters dropped a bill nicknamed the “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act.”
Welcome to the new frontier of political fundraising 🫠
🌍️ Story of the Week
🚨The Great Cetus Catastrophe
Well, well, well... Sui's biggest DEX just became crypto's latest cautionary tale! 💸
The Cetus Protocol got absolutely rekt to the tune of $223 million in stolen SUI tokens.
A mysterious hacker pulled off a sophisticated multi-step exploit involving spoofed tokens, manipulated price curves, and repeatedly draining liquidity pools.
Hacker’s wallet. Source: Lookonchain
All this while the protocol's accounting had a complete meltdown 🎭
The hacker is laundering like a pro - $60 million has already been converted to USDC, bridged to Ethereum, and swapped for ETH.
Funds getting laundered. Source: Lookonchain
One analyst spotted a casual 20,000 ETH ($53 million) transfer to a fresh wallet – that's "buy a small island" money! 🏝️
The domino effect was brutal. Memecoins across Sui went into freefall – SQUIRT down 92%, HIPPO down 80% – while somehow SUI itself just... stayed flat? The audacity! 😤
Sui-based tokens dropped. Source: X
Cetus managed to pause the remaining $162 million of compromised funds and they're working with validators to blacklist the hacker's addresses.
The team promises a full incident report soon.🍿
This hack just joined 2025's hall of crypto disasters alongside February's $1.5 billion ByBit hack.
It's a stark reminder that in DeFi, your funds are only as safe as the smartest auditor and the dumbest possible exploit 🏠🔓
🔒 Major Token Unlocks of the Week
Magpie $MGP - 1.1% of the total supply will enter circulation on May 26, 2025.
Zeta Chain $ZETA - 2.6% of the total supply will enter circulation on May 27, 2025.
Celo Network $CELO - 1.6% of the total supply will enter circulation on May 28, 2025.
Beware $INFRA - 3.3% of the total supply will enter circulation on May 28, 2025.
Corite $CO - 4.1% of the total supply will enter circulation on May 28, 2025.
Explore more unlocks with full vesting details.
🗞️ From our Blog
💡 1 Minute Learning: Anarcho-Capitalism & Crypto
Ever wondered why crypto bros obsess over "decentralization"? Meet anarcho-capitalism – crypto's unofficial religion! 🙏
Think capitalism's rebellious teenager who moved out of government's house. The belief that free markets can handle everything – roads, courts, security – without any government intervention.
Core idea: Private property + voluntary exchanges + zero government = paradise ✨
How does it connect to crypto? ₿
Bitcoin = anarcho-cap dream made digital:
No central authority (bye Fed!) 🏦❌
Voluntary participation (your choice)
Market-driven everything (prices, fees, survival)
Private property rights (your keys, your coins!)
While anarcho-caps celebrate crypto as "freedom money," we still got:
Whales manipulating markets
Exchanges acting like banks
Governments regulating anyway
Bottom line: This philosophy explains crypto's obsession with "trustless" systems. It's not just tech – it's ideology with a blockchain! 🔗
And that’s a wrap! 🎉 Enjoyed this newsletter? Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.
Got any ideas or feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at [email protected].
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or make financial decisions. Always do your own research and stay safe out there.