Good morning Digital Asset investor,

The market is a wild unforgiving beast, but generous to those who wait. Is this rally going to hold? Let’s dive in,

Strong week for equities —S&P 500 and Nasdaq (QQQ) gained 2-3%— Bitcoin held steady at ~$94K as support, with its market dominance unchanged at 64%. Bears in disbelief.

Bitcoin is becoming the fabled awakening giant currently undergoing its first significant macro stress test, demonstrating resilience amid heightened volatility, risk-averse equity markets, and shifting monetary policies.

Acting as hedge against sovereign uncertainty, au pair with gold, Bitcoin is not only showing signs of decoupling from traditional markets but also maturing as an asset class. This evolution commands investors to reconsider its role beyond merely a high-beta digital asset.

Liquidity remains intact and is gradually improving, with expectations of further strengthening through Q2. Last week, global liquidity saw a slight uptick, reflecting the lingering effects of Q1’s monetary stimulus.

Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, announced Twenty One, a Bitcoin-native company launched on April 24, 2025, aiming to maximize Bitcoin ownership per share (BPS) by leveraging capital markets, with an initial holding of 31,500 BTC and a valuation of $3.6 billion based on a Bitcoin price of nearly $85,000.

Twenty One is a merger involving Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, and SoftBank, positioning it as the world’s third-largest Bitcoin treasury with over 42,000 Bitcoin. The venture seeks to pioneer Bitcoin-native financial tools, drawing inspiration from Michael Saylor’s successful Bitcoin treasury strategy at Strategy, holding 538.200 Bitcoin and valued at ~$94 Billions at the closing of this report.

Michael Saylor highlights a $5.1 billion gain in 2025 from Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury strategy, which involves holding Bitcoin as a corporate asset to hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings have grown to 538,200 BTC by April 26, 2025, positioning it as a major corporate holder with nearly half the estimated 1.1 million BTC attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto.

$MSTR ( ▼ 0.19% )’s Bitcoin strategy positions it to challenge traditional finance, exposing a stark market valuation discrepancy. For example, Tesla reported a Q1 net income of $409 million, while $MSTR’s Bitcoin gains this year hit $5.1 billion - 12.4 times Tesla’s earnings. Yet, Tesla’s market cap is $890 billion, nine times $MSTR’s $99 billion.

Despite $MSTR’s profits being 1,240% higher than Tesla’s, its market cap is just 11% of Tesla’s. If $MSTR’s Bitcoin gains were valued like Tesla’s Q1 earnings, its share price would soar to $41,000 from $368. This gap ignores $MSTR’s continued Bitcoin acquisitions and potential future price increases.

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest has increased its bull-case bitcoin price forecast to $2.4 million by 2030, up from $1.5 million, using a new specialized methodology. The bull-case projection assumes a 72% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2024 to 2030, based on expected market size and penetration rates. Additionally, a more aggressive experimental methodology projects a base-case price of $1.2 million (53% CAGR) and a bear-case price of $500,000 (32% CAGR).

ARK highlights that Bitcoin's role as digital gold drives the bear and base case scenarios in the report, while institutional investment is the primary factor for the bull case. Additionally, bitcoin's appeal in emerging markets is significant, as its low entry barriers allow individuals with internet access to invest in an asset that could appreciate over time, serving as an alternative to defensive assets like the U.S. dollar to protect against local currency devaluation and maintain purchasing power.

The Federal Reserve rescinded all 2022 and 2023 anti-crypto guidance removing barriers that previously required U.S. banks to seek approval before engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities, aligning with earlier reversals by the OCC and FDIC.

This shift follows years of regulatory tension, notably Operation Chokepoint 2.0, an informal term for perceived efforts to restrict crypto businesses’ banking access, which critics argue led to the 2023 closures of crypto-friendly banks like Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank.

In short, banks now can “do things” in crypto, no more unnecessary hurdles, just standard supervision. Another step towards treating crypto like any other part of the financial system and supporting innovation.

Despite the rollback, the Fed did not rescind its January 27, 2023, policy statement, which still presumes that state member banks holding crypto or issuing tokens on public networks poses risks, leaving still some ongoing uncertainty for banks.

Russia’s Central Bank and Finance Ministry is launching a cryptocurrency exchange in 2025, targeting "super-qualified investors" with assets over $1.2 million or annual income above $602,000, marking a shift in Russia’s cautious crypto policy under an experimental legal regime.

The exchange aims to legalize crypto operations for high-net-worth individuals, but the Russian Central Bank’s hostility toward broader crypto circulation—evidenced by proposed bans on transactions outside the experimental framework—suggests a tightly controlled adoption strategy.

This move follows Russia’s history of using cryptocurrencies to bypass Western sanctions, as Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted that companies have settled international trade with Bitcoin, reflecting a pragmatic approach despite a domestic payment ban.

Follow this space to receive the latest Digital Assets intelligence updates as this trends accelerate. See you next week. —DWI

Disclaimer: This content is for information and education purposes only and it is not intended to serve as investment, financial, tax or legal advice. Do your own research before investing.