Hodler’s Digest, May 25 – 31 – Cointelegraph Magazine

Top Stories Of The Week

GameStop officially confirms first Bitcoin purchase of 4,710 BTC

GameStop, the US video game and consumer electronics retailer, has confirmed its first Bitcoin investment, acquiring 4,710 Bitcoin, according to a statement posted May 28 on the company’s X account.

The company did not specify how much it paid for the Bitcoin or when the purchases were made in the announcement, while its Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission also offers little detail. The amount purchased was worth around $513 million at the time of writing.

The announced acquisition is GameStop’s first publicly acknowledged Bitcoin purchase since the company disclosed plans to move into Bitcoin investment in March.

Hyperliquid whale losses near $100M after Bitcoin dips below $105K

A Hyperliquid trader known as James Wynn has seen his Bitcoin long bets on the platform liquidated for almost $100 million after Bitcoin dipped below $105,000. 

Wynn had made two significant long leveraged positions on Bitcoin, betting that the cryptocurrency’s price would rise, but onchain data shows those positions were liquidated to the tune of $99.3 million on May 30 as BTC fell to a 10-day low.

The first position of 527.29 BTC, worth $55.3 million, was liquidated as Bitcoin hit $104,950, and the second position of 421.8 BTC, worth $43.9 million, was closed after Bitcoin sank to $104,150, according to the Hyperliquid analytics platform HypurrScan.

On May 29, another of Wynn’s positions of 94 BTC worth $10 million was liquidated at $106,330. 

NYC cops linked to crypto torture case put on modified duties: Report

The New York Police Department has reportedly placed two officers on modified duties after the pair was accused of being linked to a local townhouse where a crypto trader was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before escaping.

NYPD detective Roberto Cordero, who serves on New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail, is said to have picked up the alleged victim, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, from the airport and driven him to the townhouse, The New York Times reported on May 29, citing two city officials with knowledge of the matter.

The Times reported that Cordero and NYPD detective Raymond J. Low, who investigates narcotics cases in Manhattan, also provided security at the Soho townhouse where Carturan claimed he escaped from.

Elon Musk leaves DOGE as job was ‘uphill battle’

Elon Musk confirmed that he’s quitting as the White House’s government cost-cutting czar after admitting it was an “uphill battle” trying to slash federal jobs and programs.

Musk’s status as a Special Government Employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) meant that by law, he could only serve for a maximum of 130 days, which was set to finish on May 30.

Musk confirmed his exit in a May 29 X post, thanking President Donald Trump “for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.” Reuters reported that a White House official said his “off-boarding will begin tonight.”

Musk told The Washington Post for a May 27 report that the “federal bureaucracy situation is much worse” than he expected, and it was “an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.”

JD Vance urges Bitcoin community to embrace politics

United States Vice President JD Vance took the stage to deliver a keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, encouraging Bitcoiners to deepen their involvement in politics.

Vance highlighted the strategic and geopolitical importance of Bitcoin, emphasizing that the US should maintain leadership in the crypto industry to remain competitive in the age of digital finance. Vance told the audience:

“What happens in the world of politics, what happens in the world of bureaucracy, will affect even the most transformational and valuable technologies if we do not make the right decisions. The first thing that I would ask you, is to take the momentum of your political involvement in 2024 and carry it forward to 2026 and beyond.”

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $104,105, Ether (ETH) at $2,525 and XRP at $2.13. The total market cap is at $3.25 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Cronos (CRO) at 9.61%, Hyperliquid (HYPE) at 4.68% and Aave (AAVE) at 0.39%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Ethena (ENA) at 17.26%, dogwifhat (WIF) at 15.45% and SPX6900 (SPX) at 14.42%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

“The current, conventional way to publish proof of reserves is an insecure proof of reserves.”

Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman at Strategy

“Nordics are walking back the cashless society initiative because their centralized implementation of the concept is too fragile.”

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum

“The trend line is up and to the right, exponential, and so there’s extremely bad trading odds attached to selling because you’re really hoping that it falls.”

Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream

“This week’s spot buying will strongly influence the next 1-2 months of price action. We are in a pivot zone.”

Willy Woo, crypto analyst

“Most crypto assets as we see them today are probably not themselves securities. That doesn’t mean that you can’t sell a token that is not itself a security in a transaction that is a securities transaction. That is where we really need to provide some guidance.”

Hester Peirce, commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission

“We have financial instruments for all other bonds. You can have tax-exempt bonds and other bonds. It is time for the first time in the history of this city to have a financial instrument that is made for those who are holders of Bitcoin.”

Eric Adams, mayor of New York City

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin can reach $200K in 2025 after ‘obvious’ price breakout signal

Bitcoin is prepared for its “next major leg up” as a long-term indicator triggers for the first time since mid-2024.

Analysis uploaded to X by trading account Stockmoney Lizards on May 28 described an “obvious” BTC price breakout signal.

Bitcoin is ready to repeat its run to a cycle top, like in 2016 and 2020, Stockmoney Lizards reported.

The Optimized Trend Tracker (OTT) tool, which offers price trend insights using moving averages and average true range data, is primed for Bitcoin’s next blow-off top.

“The pattern is so obvious it hurts,” the X post claimed, calling OTT the “cleanest trend indicator you can use for macro moves.”

Top FUD of The Week

Thailand to block Bybit, OKX and other crypto exchanges on June 28

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will block five cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bybit and OKX, from operating in the country.

According to a May 29 announcement, Bybit, 1000X, CoinEx, OKX and XT.COM will be blocked in the country on June 28. The SEC said the measure aims “to protect investors and crack down on illegal platforms used for money laundering.”

“The SEC advises all investors using these platforms to take necessary action regarding their assets before the shutdown date,” the agency said.

US sanctions Philippines tech firm accused of aiding crypto scams

The US Treasury has sanctioned a Philippines-based technology firm and its alleged administrator, accusing it of providing services to thousands of crypto scam websites.

Funnull Technology is linked to most crypto scam websites reported to the FBI, with victims’ losses surpassing $200 million, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on May 29. 

Funnull purchases IP addresses in bulk from cloud service providers and sells them to scammers, allowing them to host and operate clones of legitimate investment platforms, to deceive victims and steal their crypto, according to OFAC.

Average Ethereum ETF investor ‘substantially underwater’ — Glassnode

Most investors in spot Ether exchange-traded funds from asset managers BlackRock and Fidelity Investments are facing significant losses, according to crypto analytics firm Glassnode.

“The average investor in the BlackRock and Fidelity Ethereum ETFs are now substantially underwater on their position, holding an unrealized loss of approximately -21% on average,” Glassnode said in its May 29 report.

Ether is currently trading at $2,601, according to CoinMarketCap data. However, BlackRock’s spot Ether ETF has a cost basis of $3,300, while Fidelity’s is higher at $3,500. 

Top Magazine Stories of the Week

Coinbase hack shows the law probably won’t protect you: Here’s why

Who is liable for a data breach of a crypto exchange? The Coinbase example highights that greater protections are available outside the US.

China’s state-backed think tank considers Bitcoin reserve, Sony Bank goes Web3: Asia Express

Chinese state-backed think tank considers Bitcoin against US dollar as reserve asset. Sony Bank establishes crypto offshoot, and more.

Move to Portugal to become a crypto digital nomad — Everybody else is

Despite recent high profile criticism over “stifling bureaucracy” Portugal is one of the most crypto-friendly countries for digital nomads to move to.

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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.