Bitcoin Retakes $100K, Stablecoin Bill Faces Resistance, and Ethereum Rolls Out Major Update

Takeaways

• Bitcoin recaptures $100,000: The price of bitcoin surged past $100,000 on Thursday amid renewed optimism about easing trade tension between the United States and United Kingdom, continued spot crypto ETF inflows, and an improving global macro outlook.
• Stablecoin bill at risk: Democrats in Congress voted Thursday to block the GENIUS Act, a long-anticipated bipartisan bill that would set up a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
• Citi announced plans to act as custodian and issuer for tokenized late-stage, pre-IPO equities on SDX’s blockchain CSD platform: The ambitious pilot, open to non-US investors in Switzerland, Singapore, and Asia, seeks to modernize a $75 billion private-shares market.
• Ethereum’s Pectra update went live this week, bundling 11 EIPs to boost the network’s efficiency and usability: Key features include smart contract-enabled wallets and expanded staking limits from 32 to 2,048 ETH per validator.
• New Hampshire becomes first state to create a crypto reserve: HB 302 permits the state treasurer to allocate up to 5% of public funds into precious metals and digital assets with a market cap above $500 billion. Only bitcoin qualifies under the new law, with holdings secured via custody solutions or exchange-traded products.
• Strategy purchased an additional 1,895 BTC for roughly $180 million: The firm’s bitcoin treasury now totals a staggering 555,450 BTC, acquired for $38.08 billion at an average price of $68,550.

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Bitcoin Pushes Past $100K On Heels of Easing Trade Tensions

After a choppy start to the week,

The price action marked the first time since January the price of bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark. The all-time high above $109,000 was hit shortly after President Donald Trump won the election late last year. But a drawdown ensued in Q1 amid the uncertain macro-outlook that also hit the tech sector and broader markets, with investors concerned about trade tensions between the US and China along with the possibility of stagflation.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the “economy is doing fine” but added that “uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further.” It marked the third consecutive meeting in which Powell left rates at between 4.25% and 4.50%. During his news conference following the decision, Powell said he wasn’t willing to preemptively cut rates to ease the impact of tariffs, noting the group needed to see more data before acting.

Bitcoin has recently shed its label as a “risk-on” asset, with corporations and investors increasingly adding it to their respective balance sheets as a form of “digital gold” they expect will perform well over time.

Stablecoin Bill Hits Snag In Congress

The Senate ultimately voted 48-49 against against discussing the bill, well short of the 60 votes needed to get it to a floor vote.

The news comes after a group of Democrats reportedly withdrew support of the bill over the weekend, in part citing a conflict of interest because of World Liberty Financial's connection to President Donald Trump’s family. The two sides had reportedly been negotiating to amend some of the language of the bill but ultimately did not come to an agreement before the vote.

Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) criticized Democrats for blocking the legislation. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on digital assets, had requested to delay the vote until Monday to work out existing disagreements. His request was denied.

“I just have to say frankly I just don’t get it," Thune said. "I don’t know what more they want. Which of course makes you wonder if this is about the bill at all. Or if it’s simply Democrats obstructing because they want to deny Republicans or President Trump a bipartisan win. Now given the fact that Democrats keep moving the goal posts, it’s hard not to suspect that is the case.”

Citi and SDX to Tokenize $75 Billion Pre-IPO Shares Market

Citi will reportedly serve as both custodian and issuer agent for late-stage, pre-IPO equities, leveraging SDX’s R3 Corda infrastructure.

The initiative targets a private-equity segment which is valued at around $75 billion, where transactions currently rely on PDFs and manual workflows that can take five to eight weeks to settle. By transitioning on-chain, the platform aims to deliver near-instant settlement, and seamless integration into portfolios. The pilot is set to launch in Q3, with initial rollouts in Switzerland, Singapore, and Asia. Citi’s global head of digital assets, Nadine Teychenne, called the move a key step in broadening client access to tokenized private assets.

Blockchain tokenization has been growing at a steady pace globally, with an increasing number of major financial institutions adopting the technology. A recent Mckinsey report estimated that the tokenized asset sector could be worth $2 trillion by the year 2030.

Ethereum Completes Pectra Upgrade

The Pectra update introduces several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) designed to refine user interactions and enhance network performance.

One of the key improvements takes form as EIP-7702, which embeds smart contract functionality directly into wallets, paving the way for “account abstraction.” Users of the network are now able to pay transaction fees in tokens other than ETH and enjoy more flexible wallet operations. With regards to staking, EIP-7251 raises the cap on ETH per validator from 32 to 2,048, enabling delegators who run multiple nodes to consolidate under a single address.

Pectra was originally expected to take place last year, but its complexity necessitated additional testnet trials after two rounds exposed bugs. The price of ether has rallied more than 10% in the past week.

New Hampshire Enacts First State Crypto Reserve Law

Once the 60-day enactment period lapses, New Hampshire will have officially become the first US state with a legislated crypto reserve.

Under the digital-asset section, currently only bitcoin meets the $500 billion threshold, and investments must be held either through a secure custody solution or via approved exchange-traded products. It’s a hugely positive result for the crypto space, with government-backed bitcoin stockpiles offering hedge mechanisms against inflation and economic uncertainty.

Similar bills in states including Florida and Montana have hit roadblocks. But New Hampshire’s framework proves it is possible for state officials to reach consensus on the issue and may help other US states follow suit in establishing similar reserves.

Strategy Adds 1,895 BTC, Pushing Further With Acquisition Strategy

The purchase price averaged $95,167 per coin and was financed through the sale of $128.5 million of common shares alongside $51.8 million of preferred stock. With this latest addition, Strategy’s total bitcoin stack has grown to an impressive 555,450 BTC, accumulated at a blended cost basis of $68,550 per coin.

At bitcoin’s current trading level of around $97,000, these holdings are now worth nearly $54 billion, reflecting substantial unrealized gains. Despite the most recent continuation of the company’s aggressive accumulation strategy led by Michael Saylor, Strategy’s share price actually slipped by roughly 2.7% in premarket trading following the announcement. The firm continues to use primarily equity offerings as its means of funding its expanding reserve of bitcoin.

-Team Gemini