Weekly Roundup: This past week was crowded with events that connected global politics, financial policy, and crypto markets. From high-level political meetings to record-breaking DeFi activity, and from ETF filings to billion-dollar acquisitions, each headline added to the picture of a fast-changing environment.
Political Developments and Global Meetings
The world’s attention was on Alaska, where the long-anticipated Trump–Putin summit took place. Early comments from Donald Trump described the meeting as “very productive,” with most issues settled except for one key unresolved point. Trump also confirmed plans to meet EU leaders and Ukraine’s president Zelensky to discuss outcomes.
Putin suggested Moscow as the next location for talks. Trump admitted that such a choice might be controversial, but still possible. Commentators stressed the global anticipation around the summit, especially regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine. Trump himself hinted that if things go well, a follow-up meeting would include both Putin and Zelensky.
Regulation and Policy Shifts
The SEC remained in the spotlight. Former SEC chair Paul Atkins reminded the public that the main reason for all the legal work in the sector is to give people some certainty. At the same time, U.S. regulators saw action on crypto policy. The Federal Reserve announced the end of its “Novel Activities” program, which had imposed extra supervision on banks experimenting with crypto and fintech. By withdrawing this framework, the Fed is signaling a looser stance on how banks engage with digital assets.
Meanwhile, in Washington, more than 80 crypto executives called on Trump’s administration to block banks from charging fees for access to customer financial data. They warned that such fees could hurt consumer choice and limit open financial access.
ETF Filings and Institutional Products
The ETF race expanded in unexpected directions. Grayscale filed an S-1 application for a Dogecoin ETF, marking a new attempt to turn meme coins into regulated products. Around the same time, Canary Capital registered a Trump Coin ETF entity in Delaware, preparing for a potential SEC filing that would give institutional exposure to the Solana-based TRUMP token. Canary also registered a PENGU ETF, broadening its meme-coin ETF push.
Other filings continued as well: Invesco Galaxy submitted an application for a spot Solana ETF, and Grayscale also registered trusts for Cardano and Hedera in Delaware, signaling plans for more ETF products in the near future.
DeFi and On-Chain Records
Decentralized finance delivered one of its biggest milestones yet. Aave reached $3 trillion in total deposits, with its TVL crossing $40 billion and active loans above $29 billion. This places Aave at nearly two-thirds of the DeFi lending market, which itself has grown into a $75 billion sector.
Elsewhere, activity exploded on new networks. Aerodrome, a DEX on Base, hit $1.17 billion in daily volume, taking more than 55% of activity over its nearest competitor. The Base ecosystem as a whole recorded more than $2 billion in volume in a single day.
Sui also approached an all-time-high in total value locked, and even surpassed Solana in daily active users for the first time this week. This raised debates on whether its token price will eventually catch up to the network’s activity.
Ethereum’s Strong Season
Ethereum had a week of strong momentum. ETFs based on ETH pulled in $3.4 billion in just five days, compared to under $1 billion for Bitcoin funds. Google search interest for “Ethereum” spiked to its highest level since 2021.
Institutional accumulation also stood out. BitMine filed to raise $20 billion for more ETH purchases, while Fundamental Global bought nearly 47,000 ETH, raising its total to over 598,000. Another mysterious entity accumulated 312,000 ETH worth $1.34 billion in just over a week.
Even Wall Street banks joined the optimism. Standard Chartered raised its ETH year-end target to $7,500. Meanwhile, crypto personalities declared that “it is Ethereum season” compared to Bitcoin’s slower inflows.
Bitcoin: Big Moves and Big Questions
Bitcoin itself had a turbulent week. The price dipped to $118,000 after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the government would not purchase BTC for reserves. This caused over $1 billion in liquidations within 24 hours. Later, Bessent clarified that the U.S. might still look for “budget-neutral” ways to acquire Bitcoin, which many interpreted as possible seizure or indirect accumulation.
Despite short-term shocks, Bitcoin achieved historic milestones. It briefly overtook Google in market cap, becoming the world’s fifth-largest asset. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund also revealed a sharp increase in indirect Bitcoin exposure through equity holdings, now worth $844 million.
Private companies kept stacking too. Michael Saylor’s Strategy raised its treasury to $77.2 billion in BTC, while Metaplanet added another 518 BTC. Mexico’s third-richest man declared that 80% of his wealth is in Bitcoin, with thoughts of raising it to 100%.
Meanwhile, Google itself entered mining by acquiring 8% of TeraWulf for $3.7 billion, showing corporate interest in Bitcoin infrastructure.
Corporate Moves and Platform News
On the protocol side, Solana rolled out its Rotor upgrade, designed to boost speed and reliability while allowing larger blocks, seen as a direct challenge to Ethereum’s performance under heavy demand.
Stablecoin flows also stood out. Some exchanges recorded a $1.82 billion inflow of stablecoins, often a signal of fresh liquidity preparing to enter spot markets. Meanwhile, Circle minted 750 million USDC on Solana in a single day.
Other projects advanced as well. Chainlink partnered with ICE, parent company of the NYSE, to bring forex and metals data on-chain. Stripe announced a new high-performance blockchain called Tempo, developed with Paradigm, focused on payments.
Memecoins and Market Trends
The memecoin space kept growing in unusual ways. Beyond the ETF filings, Pump.fun bought back $8.4 million of PUMP tokens in a week, equal to 97% of its revenue. This brought total buybacks to more than $33 million since launch.
Entertainment and Culture
Crypto slipped into pop culture too. MrBeast’s record-setting fundraising stream saw a $1 million donation from “Finnbags,” a crypto community member who eventually appeared on screen. Although he avoided direct crypto mentions, his appearance sparked controversy when MrBeast later banned “Finn” from the chat entirely.
Broader Economic Context
Outside crypto, the U.S. national debt crossed $37 trillion, prompting political debate. Representative Thomas Massie blamed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” for pushing debt to this record level.
Closing Thoughts
The week showed how closely linked global politics, economic policy, and crypto markets have become. Political negotiations shaped expectations, regulators shifted their tone, and institutions continued their rush into Ethereum and Bitcoin. At the same time, DeFi and new blockchains kept pushing records, while meme coins found their way into ETF filings.
What is clear is that crypto is no longer just a parallel system. It is now woven directly into global finance, politics, and culture.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research (DYOR) before making any investment decisions.
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