From Tim Draper's statement that gold has died, while Bitcoin continues to move to Stripe building a new USD stablecoin product for companies based outside the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, here are some highlights from the crypto market.
Legendary venture investor Tim Draper has declared that gold has died: "It just sits there. While Bitcoin moves," he noted.
He further stated that Bitcoin is "Borderless", "unlicensed" and "programmable".
According to Draper, Bitcoin can be used to make ordinary purchase transactions, which cannot be done with gold.
"You can't buy coffee with gold. But with Bitcoin, you can do that without a bank," the billionaire said.
However, some social media users quickly pointed out that gold has significantly outperformed Bitcoin in 2025. The precious metal has increased by more than 20% to date, while its digital counterpart remains stagnant.
Gold has benefited from economic turmoil caused by tariffs, first spiking above $3,500 an ounce this week.
Meanwhile, there is still debate about whether Bitcoin is truly qualified to be a safe-haven asset.
Canadian billionaire Frank Giustra recently opined that Bitcoin should not be compared to gold because it serves different functions. Repeating criticisms from people like financial commentator Peter Schiff, viewing this top cryptocurrency as a "purely speculative" investment.
Draper, a long-time Bitcoin investor, predicted that the cryptocurrency's price could surge to $3 million if it becomes the dominant currency.
The venture investor previously predicted Bitcoin would hit $250,000 by the end of 2022. He then modified his extremely optimistic price prediction in 2023, forecasting that the top asset would finally reach the mentioned price level by mid-2025 (which again seems extremely unlikely).
Bitcoin mining costs surge 47%
The average cost of mining 1 Bitcoin (BTC) increased significantly in Q4 2024, reaching $82,162 for publicly listed Miners, a 47% quarterly increase.
A report from CoinShares indicates that accelerated hardware deployment, increasing tax costs, and non-cash fees related to depreciation are the driving forces behind this cost increase.
Excluding Hut 8, which recorded a significant tax-related expense associated with unrealized profits, the average cost is $75,767. When including non-cash expenses, the average total production cost rose to $137,018 per Bitcoin.
CoinShares suggests that higher input costs are due to faster hardware turnover and increased competition, combined with market price volatility and compressed industry valuation multiples.
A large Ethereum trader's winning streak suddenly stopped, leading to a $304,000 drop from short positions held at the end of April. This reversal occurred after two profitable weeks, during which the trader had accumulated profits exceeding $1 million.
The trader's most recent strategic move involved an ambitious Short position through Aave's lending protocol. This move included 4,000 ETH, valued at $7.25 million, with an entry point of $1,808.62 per token.
This latest development serves as a clear reminder of crypto trading's volatile nature, where even experienced investors can face losses.
The trader's recent losses, occurring between April 22 and 25, are in complete contrast to previous successful positions.
According to official data, in the 7 days ending April 24, Circle issued approximately 3.7 billion USDC and repurchased around 2.5 billion USDC, resulting in a total circulating supply increase of about 1.2 billion.
The total USDC supply now reaches 62 billion, secured by reserves worth approximately $62.3 billion.
Of this, about $7.9 billion is held in cash, while the Circle Reserve Fund holds approximately $54.4 billion.
Stripe, the global payment platform, is building a new USD stablecoin product for companies based outside the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe in a move that could further expand the USD's footprint worldwide.
Stripe's CEO, Patrick Collison, confirmed the product on X, posting an invitation for companies interested in testing the solution.
This move attracted attention after Stripe recently received regulatory approval to acquire the stablecoin payment network, Bridge.
Bridge competes with banks and companies using the SWIFT system, the global financial messaging network that facilitates international money transfers. Two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, co-founded the company in 2022.
Coinbase, the largest digital asset exchange in the United States, revealed that residents in five states have missed over $90 million in potential staking rewards since June 2023.
On April 25, Coinbase publicly urged California, New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin, and South Carolina to lift restrictions on its staking service.
According to the exchange, lifting these restrictions would bring these states in line with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Earlier this year, the SEC canceled enforcement action against Coinbase's staking activities, allowing the exchange to continue its services without federal opposition.
Following the SEC's move, Illinois, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, and Alabama also withdrew their actions, leaving only a few states maintaining restrictions.
Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, made a surprising statement about TRX and Bitcoin.
Sun highlighted the correlation between TRX and Bitcoin and proudly shared in his X post.
The post cited on-chain data from IntoTheBlock about the increasing correlation between Tron's TRX and Bitcoin.
TRX's correlation with Bitcoin is much higher than Ethereum, Tether's USDT, Dogecoin, Avalanche, and Chainlink.
The correlation between TRX and BTC over the past 30 days is at its highest at 0.37. AVAX stands second with 0.16. Other cryptocurrencies show negative correlation.
Nike is facing a lawsuit from a group of Non-Fungible Token buyers who claim they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars when the sports giant closed its digital collectibles division RTFKT. The lawsuit was filed last Friday in Brooklyn, New York.
The primary plaintiff, Australian investor Jagdeep Cheema, states that Nike's sudden closure of RTFKT in December 2024 abruptly erased the value of Non-Fungible Tokens. The digital assets were created and sold under Nike and RTFKT brands.
Buyers complained that Nike withdrew from the project without prior notice. Since then, the Non-Fungible Token market has cooled down. Some Non-Fungible Tokens stopped displaying accurate images, increasing concerns that the assets would no longer be supported.
The plaintiffs stated in their legal filing that they would not have purchased any Non-Fungible Tokens if they knew they were unregistered securities. They also said they would not have invested if they knew Nike could cancel the project so quickly.
The group is requesting damages of at least 5 million USD. The lawsuit alleges Nike violated consumer protection laws in several US states, including New York, California, Florida, and Oregon.
Nike has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
According to the announcement from Coinbase Assets, Mantle (MNT) has been added to the exchange's asset roadmap.
The official listing will be updated later, depending on market-making support capabilities and technical readiness. This suggests a high probability of MNT being listed on Coinbase in the future.
6 entities control 88% of Tokenized US Treasury Bonds
According to recent data, a small group of six entities currently hold 88% of Tokenized US Treasury Bonds.
Leading is BlackRock's BUIDL fund, holding 2.5 billion USD. Followed by Franklin Templeton's BENJI with 707 million USD, Superstate's USTB with 661 million USD, Ondo's USDY with 586 million USD, Circle's USYC with 487 million USD, and Ondo's OUSG Fund, holding 424 million USD.
Together, these entities dominate the rapidly developing market for blockchain-based Treasury Bond products.
You can view coin prices here.
Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only, not investment advice. Investors should research thoroughly before making decisions. We are not responsible for your investment decisions.
Join Telegram: https://t.me/tapchibitcoinvn
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/tapchibtc_io
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tapchibitcoin
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tapchibitcoinvn
Viet Cuong
