May 7, 2025

Trading Desk Insights


Risk assets, including BTC, caught a strong bid overnight following a fresh wave of liquidity from China. Beijing announced a new round of stimulus—featuring rate cuts and a sizable liquidity injection—as policymakers scramble to cushion the blow from ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. The move triggered broad market strength across crypto and equities alike.

BTC briefly dipped to test support at its 20-day moving average around $93K before bouncing to retest recent highs. Open interest continues to climb, and funding rates have flipped decisively positive after spending most of last week in the red—pointing to improving risk appetite.

ETH made headlines with the activation of its long-anticipated “Pectra” upgrade, the biggest update since the 2022 Merge. The upgrade brings streamlined staking, better wallet UX, and efficiency improvements—though it arrives at a time when ETH is still fighting to reclaim dominance versus its L1 competitors.

All eyes now turn to today’s FOMC meeting. Markets have dialed back expectations, now pricing in 25bps of cuts by July and 80bps by year-end. While rates are widely expected to remain unchanged, a hawkish tilt in the Fed’s language—especially around inflation expectations—could shake current rate cut bets. The press conference will be closely watched for clues on any shift in tone.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer are meeting Chinese officials in Switzerland this week. It’s being viewed as a potential turning point in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war—a geopolitical factor worth keeping on the radar.

The News Room

Ethereum Pectra upgrade is live, bringing major changes to wallet functionality

Ethereum's Pectra upgrade went live on May 7, 2025, at epoch 364032, marking a significant milestone for the network. This upgrade merges the Prague (execution layer) and Electra (consensus layer) updates, introducing key features like EIP-7702, which allows regular wallets to function like smart contracts. This enhancement enables users to pay fees in non-ETH tokens, batch transactions, and utilize session keys, improving the overall user experience. Additionally, the validator stake limit has been increased from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, simplifying node operations for institutions and large stakers. Despite these advancements, the upgrade has raised concerns regarding security and standardization, prompting ongoing testing of the new Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) in the days following the launch.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin Trust surpasses gold-backed ETF inflows despite the precious metal’s historic rally

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has attracted over $6.9 billion in inflows since January, surpassing the $6.5 billion garnered by the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) during the same period, despite gold experiencing a 23% rall This trend underscores a growing investor preference for Bitcoin ETFs over traditional gold-backed funds, signaling a shift in asset allocation strategies within the financial markets.

New Hampshire approves first state-level Strategic Bitcoin Reserve law

New Hampshire has made history by becoming the first U.S. state to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 302 into law on May 6, 2025, authorizing the state treasurer to allocate up to 5% of public funds into Bitcoin and other digital assets with market capitalizations exceeding $500 billion—currently, only Bitcoin qualifies. The assets will be securely held through U.S.-regulated custody solutions or exchange-traded products. This legislative move positions New Hampshire at the forefront of state-level digital asset adoption, potentially setting a precedent for other states to follow.

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This research is for informational use only. This is not investment advice. Other than disclosures relating to Secure Digital Markets this research is based on current public information that we consider reliable, but we do not represent it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied on as such. The information, opinions, estimates, and forecasts contained herein are as of the date hereof and are subject to change without prior notification. We seek to update our research as appropriate.

Any forecasts contained herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be relied upon as advice or interpreted as a recommendation. The price of crypto assets may rise or fall because of changes in the broad market or changes in a company's financial condition, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Past performance is not a guide to future performance, future returns are not guaranteed, and a loss of original capital may occur. Fluctuations in exchange rates could have adverse effects on the value or price of, or income derived from, certain investments. We and our affiliates, officers, directors, and employees, excluding equity and credit analysts, will from time to time have long or short positions in, act as principal in, and buy or sell, the securities or derivatives, if any, referred to in this research.

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