The cryptocurrency market has continued its upward trajectory this past week, with the overall digital asset market capitalization surpassing $3.27 trillion, marking an impressive 8.6% increase over the previous week.
Bitcoin (BTC) reached a high of $103,600 on May 8, successfully reclaiming the $100,000 mark for the first time since January. This significant milestone reflected a surge in Bitcoin’s market dominance, which rose above 60%, indicating a revitalized bullish sentiment towards BTC. This event marked the third occasion that Bitcoin has exceeded six figures, having previously done so on December 5, 2024, and again on January 20, prior to the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
This remarkable rise in Bitcoin’s value coincided with Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with the United Kingdom, potentially involving the removal of a 10% blanket tariff on all imports, which may have contributed to the positive market sentiment.
In the broader cryptocurrency landscape, Ethereum’s recent upgrade, known as Pectra, has delivered essential improvements to the ecosystem. This upgrade catalyzed a 26% surge in Ether’s (ETH) price, escalating from $1,800 on May 7 to over $2,300 by May 9.
Bitcoin DeFi Sees Surge in Mining Participation Despite Drop in TVL
According to Messari’s “State of Rootstock” report for 2025, merged mining participation soared to an unprecedented 81% in Q1 2025, up from 56.4% in the previous quarter. This increase was largely attributed to new onboarding of significant mining pools such as SpiderPool and Foundry.
The spike in mining support pushed Rootstock’s hash power beyond 740 exahashes per second, surpassing Bitcoin’s total network hashrate recorded in October 2024, indicating a more matured phase in Rootstock’s merged mining development.
However, despite the influx of mining participation, Rootstock’s total value locked (TVL) faced challenges in Q1 2025, declining by 7.2% in Bitcoin TVL and over 20% in dollar-denominated TVL quarter-on-quarter. This downturn mirrored a broader downward trend in the DeFi sector, with Ethereum-based DeFi TVL reflecting a 27% decrease during the same period.
Security Concerns in the Crypto Space
April witnessed crypto hacks amounting to nearly $360 million across 18 incidents, an almost 1,000% increase from March. The largest loss came from an unauthorized Bitcoin transfer reported by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, highlighting ongoing security vulnerabilities within the industry.
In a recent interview at the Token2049 event, Hacken CEO Dyma Budorin expressed concerns over the persistent weaknesses in crypto security measures, suggesting that the industry often relies on limited strategies rather than comprehensive ones.
The Rise of AI Decentralized Applications
While gaming and DeFi maintain their dominance in the decentralized applications (DApps) ecosystem, artificial intelligence is steadily gaining ground. Data from DappRadar reveals that AI DApps climbed to 16% market dominance in April, up from 11% in February, indicating a growing interest in AI tools.
Bitcoin-Backed Loans: A New Trend
In a recent Token2049 interview, Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca noted a significant shift in investor sentiment, with Bitcoin holders increasingly confident in leveraging their assets for loans rather than selling them. This evolving trend is attributed to broader institutional adoption and Bitcoin’s stable price levels.
DeFi Market Overview
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green. Notable gainers included memecoin Pepe (PEPE), which soared over 53%, along with Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) and Ether (ETH) posting significant increases!
Thank you for engaging with this week’s enticing developments in the DeFi space. Be sure to join us next Friday for more insights and updates on this dynamically evolving market.
