Bitcoin took a wild ride this week, plunging below $110,000 and shedding $100 billion in a single day, only to rebound as corporate giants and governments poured billions into cryptocurrencies. Ethereum, the second-largest digital currency, soared past $4,300, its highest since 2021, fueled by Wall Street’s growing appetite. Despite scams and sharp volatility, the crypto market is gaining traction as a global financial force, with the U.S. spearheading a regulatory push to make it mainstream.
Major companies signaled unshakable faith in crypto, snapping up Bitcoin and Ethereum even as prices swung.
MicroStrategy, a Virginia-based tech firm, bought $342 million worth of Bitcoin on August 25, boosting its stash to 632,457 coins valued at $46.5 billion per market analysts’ reports. CEO Michael Saylor, who described Bitcoin as being “on sale,” spent $49.47 million earlier in the week, leaving the company with an estimated $28.4 billion in unrealized profits.
Japan’s Metaplanet followed suit, purchasing $12 million in Bitcoin on August 25, pushing its holdings to 18,991 coins worth $2.2 billion. Its recent inclusion in the FTSE Japan Index could further attract institutional investors.
Wall Street also joined the frenzy. Harvard University invested $116.67 million into BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, while BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF scooped up $314.9 million worth of Ethereum. Other heavyweight players included BitMine’s addition of 190,500 Ethereum coins worth $8.8 billion, and the UAE government’s acquisition of 6,300 Bitcoins ($740 million) through Citadel Mining.
Meanwhile, Solana, another rising crypto, continued to gain traction. Sharps Technology secured $400 million for its treasury, with a $50 million deal from the Solana Foundation. Pantera Capital announced plans to raise $1.25 billion to create a “Solana Co.,” while Galaxy Digital and others target $1 billion in Solana purchases. Japan’s SBI Group invested $50 million to promote USDC, a digital dollar, and Mega Matrix named Ethena’s ENA as its stablecoin reserve.
Under President Trump, the U.S. is embracing crypto with unprecedented openness. Executive orders have unlocked $12.5 trillion in retirement accounts for digital assets exposure and ended discriminatory banking practices against crypto firms.
The SEC is crafting rules to tokenize stocks and bonds, while Wyoming launched America’s first state-backed digital currency. Treasury Secretary Jamie Bessent argued stablecoins could expand the dollar’s global reach, and the Federal Reserve has relaxed extra scrutiny on crypto-friendly banks.
Globally, momentum is building. China plans to roll out its first digital Yuan stablecoin, Japan promotes USDC adoption, and Dubai has begun accepting Bitcoin for real estate payments.
However, political turbulence stirred markets. Trump called for the Federal Reserve’s Chair Jerome Powell’s resignation over delayed rate cuts, while betting platform Polymarket gave a 75% probability of a September cut. Trump also targeted the Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who faces mortgage fraud allegations, prompting her removal. These moves, alongside $1.17 billion in Bitcoin ETF outflows—the second-largest on record—kept markets jittery.
Crypto’s trademark volatility was on full display: the crypto market gained $250 billion in a day but lost $100 billion the next, with $803 million in forced sales hitting traders.
Bitcoin, now trading at $116,000 after peaking at $123,500, outranks Google as the world’s fifth-largest asset. Ethereum, which briefly flipped Mastercard to become the 22nd largest, saw record $71 billion in futures bets. Stablecoins like Tether dominate smaller transactions, and Coinbase projects the stablecoin market could reach $1.2 trillion by 2028.
But risks abound. A phishing scam cost Uniswap users $1.23 million. Kanye West’s $YZY token crashed 75% within hours, costing influencer Andrew Tate $700,000 in betting losses.
In Angola, Interpol arrested more than 1,000 individuals for illegal crypto mining, seizing $100 million in assets. Yet El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserve boasts $470 million in profits, showing an example of crypto’s potential upside.
Analysts remain broadly bullish. Eric Trump predicts Bitcoin at $175,000 by year-end 2025, while Coinbase sees an 88% chance of Ethereum hitting $5,000.
BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, has praised Bitcoin’s blockchain technology, but skeptics like Peter Schiff continue to warn of a pullback to $75,000.
Meanwhile, innovation is rising. New products, like Solana’s gaming console and Gemini’s XRP Mastercard, signal mainstream adoption.
Still, the twin shadows of volatility and scams loom large; investors are cautioned to tread carefully. One thing is clear: as corporations, governments, and regulators commit billions, crypto’s rollercoaster ride is far from over.
By: Sandra A. Aghaizu
Bitcoin stumbled through the week,
a giant losing its balance,
tumbling below $110,000…
a hundred billion vanishing
in the blink of the market’s eye.
—
Yet collapse was not the end.
From the dust of panic,
new rivers of money poured…
corporations, governments,
giants of the old world
feeding the hunger of the new.
—
Ethereum blazed like a flame,
cresting $4,300,
its brightest fire since 2021…
Wall Street leaning in,
its appetite unmasked,
hungry for code turned into wealth.
—
Still, the shadows linger…
scams whisper in the alleys,
volatility growls at the gates…
Yet the tide moves forward,
a force too vast to turn away.
—
Crypto is no longer a wanderer.
It now stands at the threshold,
a pillar in the making,
while the U.S. sharpens its laws,
forging boundaries
around the storm.
