Bitcoin took a hit this week, sliding from the $77,000–$78,000 range to around $73,000 as US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw more than $1 billion in redemptions in a single day. Whale outflows hit their highest level since February, and geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran dampened hopes for near-term rate cuts. The total crypto market cap now sits at $2.54 trillion with Bitcoin dominance at 57.7%.
Geopolitical jitters weigh on risk assets
Renewed US-Iran tensions are the big factor. They've reduced the likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting rates anytime soon — and that's bad for speculative assets like crypto. Central banks, meanwhile, are piling into gold at an unprecedented rate, a classic risk-off signal. Ethereum wasn't spared either: it hovered near $2,000, down 5.9% for the week.
Hyperliquid's wild week: flash crash and a new product line
The SpaceX pre-IPO market on Hyperliquid flash-crashed 45% before recovering, triggering mass liquidations. The exchange said affected traders will be compensated — a rare move that's drawing attention. But Hyperliquid didn't stop there. It added macro prediction markets, including monthly CPI prints, and its native token HYPE rose above $64. A busy few days for the platform.
Sui outage, insider trading charge, and a merger dispute
Sui Network went down for nearly six hours on Thursday, its latest downtime incident. It's not the first time this quarter. Separately, a Google engineer was charged with using confidential search data to profit $1.2 million on Polymarket. And the legal fight between Galaxy Digital and BitGo over a failed $1.2 billion merger continues in court.
Coinbase CEO: 'Financial system still needs major upgrades'
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said this week that the financial system still requires major technological and policy upgrades. His comment comes as the industry faces regulatory uncertainty and market turbulence. No specific policy proposal was mentioned, but the timing — with Bitcoin sliding and ETFs bleeding — makes the point feel sharper.
The Sui incident raises fresh questions about reliability for layer-1 networks. The Galaxy-BitGo case isn't resolved yet. And if rate-cut hopes stay dim, crypto could face more pressure. Next week's CPI print will matter — especially now that Hyperliquid is letting people bet on it.
