The cryptocurrency market continued to surge this previous week as the general digital asset market capitalization exceeded $3.27 trillion, an 8.6% improve over the earlier week.
Bitcoin (BTC) reached a excessive of $103,600 on May 8 after reclaiming $100,000 for the primary time since January. Its market dominance additionally surged above 60%, reflecting extra bullish BTC sentiment. This marked the third time BTC has damaged by way of six figures because it reached the milestone on Dec. 5, 2024, and once more on Jan. 20, forward of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The BTC rise coincided with Trump asserting a commerce cope with the United Kingdom, which can embrace eradicating a 10% blanket tariff on all imports.
In the broader crypto house, Ethereum’s Pectra improve applied much-needed enhancements for the crypto ecosystem. The improve was adopted by a 26% value surge for Ether (ETH), rising from $1,800 on May 7 to over $2,300 on May 9.
Bitcoin DeFi sees surge in mining participation regardless of drop in TVL
Messari’s “State of Rootstock” report for 2025 confirmed that merged mining participation surged to an all-time excessive of 81% in Q1 2025, up from 56.4% within the earlier quarter. The surge was attributed to onboarding main mining swimming pools SpiderPool and Foundry.
The inflow of mining help boosted Rootstock’s hash energy above 740 exahashes per second. This surpassed Bitcoin’s complete community hashrate recorded in October 2024, marking a extra mature part for the platform’s merged mining development.
The surge in merged mining participation got here as Rootstock’s ecosystem confronted headwinds. In Q1 2025, Rootstock’s complete worth locked (TVL) declined. Its Bitcoin TVL dropped 7.2%, whereas the dollar-denominated TVL fell by over 20% quarter-on-quarter.
This mirrored a broader downward pattern throughout the DeFi sector, with Ethereum-based DeFi TVL exhibiting a 27% decline in the identical interval.
Hacken CEO sees “no shift” in crypto safety as April hacks hit $357 million
Crypto hacks in April noticed practically $360 million in property stolen throughout 18 incidents. This represented an nearly 1,000% improve over the quantity misplaced in March.
The largest loss got here from an unauthorized Bitcoin switch. On April 28, blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported a suspicious transaction of Bitcoin value $330 million. He later confirmed that it was a social engineering assault that focused an aged American.
In a Cointelegraph interview on the Token2049 occasion, Hacken CEO Dyma Budorin instructed Cointelegraph that the trade continues to depend on restricted safety measures even after the $1.4 billion Bybit hack incident. Budorin stated that the house implements restricted measures as an alternative of deploying complete methods.
“Most of the initiatives suppose, ‘Okay, we did pentests. That’s sufficient. Maybe bug bounty. That’s sufficient.’ It’s not sufficient,” Budorin instructed Cointelegraph.
AI decentralized apps are coming for the Web3 throne: DappRadar
While gaming and DeFi held on to the highest spot within the decentralized functions (DApps) ecosystem, synthetic intelligence is slowly catching up.
Blockchain analytics platform DappRadar confirmed that Gaming and DeFi noticed 21% DApp dominance in April. However, AI DApps climbed to 16%, up from the 11% recorded within the platform’s February knowledge.
“As consumer curiosity in synthetic intelligence instruments grows throughout industries, AI-powered DApps are steadily carving out their place within the decentralized ecosystem,” DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas stated.
Gherghelas added that if the pattern continues, AI may problem the dominance of DeFi and gaming, signaling a “new period” within the DApp panorama.
Bitcoin-backed loans “apparent” subsequent step — Xapo Bank CEO
Bitcoin holders have gotten extra assured in utilizing their BTC to borrow funds. In a Token2049 interview, Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca instructed Cointelegraph that buyers’ moods have shifted from short-term hypothesis to a extra long-term outlook on Bitcoin.
Rocca stated that the boldness comes from broader institutional adoption and Bitcoin’s value ranges which are “nowhere close to” liquidation.
Rocca stated Bitcoin-backed loans permit holders to remain uncovered to the asset when going through surprising bills. The government stated the good factor to do is not promote the asset when the worth will increase.
However, when life will get in the best way, Rocca stated buyers can keep away from liquidating their Bitcoin by borrowing in opposition to the asset and paying curiosity. This method, they will maintain on to the property regardless of needing liquidity for his or her bills.
DeFi Market Overview
According to knowledge from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, many of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week within the inexperienced.
The memecoin Pepe (PEPE) rose by over 53% because the week’s largest gainer, adopted by the Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) token, which was up by 47% in the course of the previous week. Ether (ETH) was the third-biggest gainer, exhibiting a rise of 35%.
Thanks for studying our abstract of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us subsequent Friday for extra tales, insights and training concerning this dynamically advancing house.
