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Why Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust still dominates ETF revenue in 2025

In the annals of financial history, few institutions have faced the tempests of competition with the steadfast resolve of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Born in 2013 as a private placement, GBTC pioneered regulated Bitcoin investment, granting investors access to Bitcoin’s (BTC) meteoric rise without the perils of digital wallets or unregulated exchanges.

On Jan. 11, 2024, it transitioned into a spot Bitcoin ETF following a landmark victory against the SEC. This marked a pivotal moment with the SEC’s view that ETFs can offer lower expense ratios and enhanced tax efficiency compared to traditional funds.

Even still, GBTC’s financial resilience shines, generating $268.5 million in annual revenue, surpassing the $211.8 million of all other US spot Bitcoin ETFs combined, despite losing over half its holdings with $18 billion in outflows since early 2024. This is no fleeting triumph of inertia.

The numbers tell a tale of paradox. BlackRock’s iShares

Bitcoin is a matter of national security — deputy CIA director

The US Central Intelligence Agency is increasingly incorporating Bitcoin (BTC) as a tool in its operations, and working with the cryptocurrency is a matter of national security, Michael Ellis, the agency’s deputy director, told podcast host Anthony Pompliano.

In an appearance on the market analyst and investor’s show, Ellis told Pompliano that the intelligence agency works with law enforcement to track BTC, and it is a point of data collection in counter-intelligence operations. Ellis added:

“Bitcoin is here to stay — cryptocurrency is here to stay. As you know, more and more institutions are adopting it, and I think that is a great trend. One that this administration has obviously been leaning forward into.”

“It’s another area of competition where we need to ensure the United States is well-positioned against China and other adversaries,” Ellis said.

Podcast host and

Bitcoin hits new 10-week high as Trump demands rate cut on US jobs beat

Key points:

The US labor market is “still holding up” as nonfarm payrolls data comes in higher than expected.

Bitcoin and stocks head higher as US President Donald Trump repeats calls for the Fed to lower interest rates.

BTC price action may spark a “liquidity grab” above $97,000, a trader warns.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit new multimonth highs after the May 2 Wall Street open as US nonfarm payrolls data beat expectations.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin meanders after nonfarm payrolls beat

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD building on $97,000 as markets digested the latest in a bumper week of macro data.

Nonfarm payrolls indicated 177,000 jobs added in April, considerably more than the roughly 140,000 forecast.

“The labor market is still holding up,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in part of a reaction

Free speech is at risk without decentralized, open-source technology

Opinion by: Chris Jenkins, adviser to Pocket Network

Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of the World Wide Web is dead. Instead of an open and accessible global information system, the web is controlled by centralized global data conglomerates, which don’t just restrict free speech but also monetize your data as a price of entry. Web2 firms have built walled gardens with massive information asymmetry between companies and users.

Blockchain-based decentralized tech challenges the status quo, offering an alternative to Web2’s closed-source infrastructure.

It enables developers and engineers to build a censorship-resistant and accessible open-data web to champion the cause of free speech. Open-source technology creates a paradigmatic shift in a fair and inclusive internet where centralized web companies won’t dictate the terms.

A vision deferred

In 1989, Berners-Lee’s invention created a virtual space for collaboration, sharing and learning from one another. The web’s first iteration was based on openness, where anyone could contribute, access information, work together,

Ether more ‘like a memecoin,’ says trading firm as ETH drops 45% YTD

As Ether’s price has struggled in the first quarter of 2025, a US-based investment adviser firm, Two Prime, has dropped support for ETH and adopted a Bitcoin-only strategy.

After lending $1.5 billion in loans both in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) over the past 15 months, Two Prime decided to ditch ETH to focus solely on BTC asset management and lending, the firm announced on May 1.

“ETH’s statistical trading behavior, value proposition, and community culture have failed beyond a point that is worth engaging,” Two Primes stated.

The firm’s shift to a Bitcoin-only approach comes as ETH has lost 45% of its value year-to-date, with some optimists speculating that ETH is potentially close to the bottom and reversing its negative trend soon.

“Ether no longer trades predictably”

“As an algorithmic trading firm, we value data more than narratives,”

Bitcoin unsure as recession looms, US-China tariff talks kick off

Bitcoin’s recovery to its all-time high may be threatened by rising recession fears, which could ease if the United States and China begin tariff negotiations this month, research analysts told Cointelegraph.

Appetite for global risk assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) may take another hit, with analysts from Apollo Global Management predicting a recession by the summer.

“Apollo predicting Summer Recession: Sharpest decline in earnings outlook since 2020,” cross-asset analyst Samantha LaDuc wrote in an April 26 X post.

The progress on the tariff negotiations may be the most significant factor impacting a potential recession and Bitcoin’s price trajectory, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen.

Source: Samantha LaDuc

“May is seen as pivotal as Chinese shipments reach the US’s shores, and exemptions on some tariff categories such as auto parts and sub-USD-800 shipments from

UK regulator moves to restrict borrowing for crypto investments

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), plans to stop retail investors from borrowing money to fund their crypto investments.

According to a May 2 Financial Times report, the ban on borrowing to fund crypto purchases is one of the upcoming crypto rules by the FCA. David Geale, FCA executive director of payments and digital finance, told the FT that “crypto is an area of potential growth for the UK, but it has to be done right.” He added:

“To do that we have to provide an appropriate level of protection.”

Geale denied claims that the FCA is hostile to the crypto industry. Instead, he explained that he views the industry as offering high-risk investments with less consumer protection. “We are open for business,“ he said.

The interview follows the FCA seeking feedback on regulating the crypto market. In

Are Donald Trump’s tariffs a legal house of cards?

On Wednesday, speaking from the White House, US President Donald Trump suggested that families scale back on gifts this year.

Asked about his tariff program, the president remarked, “Somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are gonna be open. Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more.’”

But the toy stores where those dolls are sold might have something to say about it.

Earlier in the week, Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul, Minnesota joined a growing number of American small businesses suing the president over his emergency tariff plan.

Throughout April, a groundswell of lawsuits led by 13 states further challenged Trump’s ambitious tariff program. Their success or failure rests on hundreds of years of judicial policy and American constitutional law.

The legal basis for the Trump tariffs

When Trump first announced his ambitious tariff program to the world,

KuCoin to reenter South Korea after securing key markets: CEO

Crypto exchange KuCoin said that it may reenter South Korea after its platform was blocked in the country.

On March 21, South Korean regulators ordered Google Play to block access to exchanges that were not compliant with the requirements needed to operate in the country. On April 11, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) ordered the Apple Store to block unregistered crypto exchanges.

KuCoin was among those affected by the country’s crackdown on unregistered platforms that were previously available. While the platform is now unavailable to South Koreans, it has not fully abandoned the jurisdiction.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, KuCoin’s newly appointed CEO, BC Wong, said that the crypto exchange has plans to reenter the country.

Wong (left), KuCoin EU CEO Oliver Stauber (middle) and Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra (right) at the Token2049 event in Dubai. Source: Market AcrossRegulators drive global players

European Union to ban anonymous crypto and privacy tokens by 2027

The European Union is set to impose sweeping Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules that will ban privacy-preserving tokens and anonymous cryptocurrency accounts from 2027.

Under the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), credit institutions, financial institutions and crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will be prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or handling privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies.

“Article 79 of the AMLR establishes strict prohibitions on anonymous accounts […]. Credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto-asset service providers are prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts,” according to the AML Handbook, published by European Crypto Initiative (EUCI).

The AML Handbook. Source: EUCI

The regulation is part of a broader AML framework that includes bank and payment accounts, passbooks and safe-deposit boxes, “crypto-asset accounts allowing anonymisation of transactions,” and “accounts using anonymity-enhancing coins.”

“The regulations (the AMLR, AMLD and AMLAR) are final, and