Stablecoins Surge and ETF Flows Signal Quiet Confidence
Weekly Market Update #68
In partnership with Elementus
Happy start to the week! Welcome back to the Reflexivity Weekly Market Update — your concise rundown of the biggest moves in crypto. If someone forwarded you this, you can Sign up here for free to get it straight to your inbox!
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Before jumping into last week’s action, check out some of the content published last week from Reflexivity Research:
Major Market Developments:
😐 Fear & Greed Index: 49 (Neutral) – sentiment cools from Greed last week
🚀 Hyperliquid staking–trading account linking live (Spotlight)
💳 Stripe is building a new stablecoin payment product
🏦 DeFi Development Co. files $1B shelf offering
🔗 TON retires legacy Toncoin bridge
🚨 Loopscale exploited for $6M
🌐 Mastercard unveils global stablecoin rails
🏛 Ethereum Foundation management updates
🦄 1inch launches on Solana
💰 Libre tokenizing $500M Telegram bonds on TON
🎮 Ubisoft launches DVN with LayerZero
🤝 Ethena shares S3 distribution + TON partnership
🛠 Hyperliquid adds support for builder-deployed perps
💼 Morgan Stanley to offer crypto trading via E*TRADE
💸 Strategy to raise $84B for more Bitcoin
Fear & Greed Index:
Crypto market sentiment has stabilized in neutral territory. The Fear & Greed Index is 49, down sharply from 65 (Greed) last week. This cooling off indicates the market is consolidating after the recent bullish impulse. Traders appear cautious but not fearful, content to digest gains rather than chase euphoria. In practice, a neutral sentiment suggests a wait-and-see mood: the frenzy has faded, but confidence remains intact. Overall, the tone is one of healthy consolidation as participants look for the next catalyst to break the stalemate.
ETF Flows:
Between 28 April and 2 May 2025, spot-crypto ETF flows were dominated by bitcoin: the cohort pulled in a net 1.81 billion USD, almost entirely thanks to BlackRock’s IBIT, whose 2.48 billion creations more than offset redemptions from Fidelity’s FBTC (201 million), ARK 21Shares’ ARKB (458 million), Bitwise’s BITB (30 million), and Grayscale’s GBTC (59 million).
By contrast, spot-ether ETFs added a modest 106.8 million USD, led by 21Shares’ ETHA at 87.6 million and Fidelity’s FETH at 37.8 million, which together outweighed a 26.2 million outflow from the legacy ETHE trust and a 4.4 million exit from Bitwise’s ETHW. Both asset classes recorded net inflows on four of the five sessions, with 30 April the only down day, underscoring steady demand for the newer, lower-fee products in spite of rotation out of the older Grayscale vehicles.
Spotlight 🔦
Hyperliquid has rolled out a major upgrade linking its staking and trading systems – a move poised to streamline the pro trader experience on this decentralized exchange. As of May 5 (03:00 UTC), users can link a staking account to a separate trading account on Hyperliquid’s mainnet, allowing one wallet to stake HYPE tokens and apply its fee discounts to trades made from another wallet. This long-awaited feature (tested on testnet in advance) means, for example, a fund can stake HYPE from a secure custodial address while multiple active trading accounts enjoy the corresponding fee tier benefits.
There are important caveats: linking is permanent – once a staking address is bonded to a trading address, it cannot be unlinked or changed. Hyperliquid also introduced its revamped tiered fee schedule concurrently, with discounts from 5% up to 40% depending on HYPE staked. Fees are settled on-chain daily, maintaining transparency as traders utilize their discounts across accounts.
Why it matters: This new architecture greatly enhances flexibility and precision in fee management. High-volume traders operating sub-accounts can now optimize fees across all their venues without shuffling tokens around, planning out exactly which account gets what discount. It lowers operational friction (no need to concentrate all activity in one wallet) and likely encourages more users to stake HYPE, since they can do so without sacrificing the convenience of separate trading accounts. Overall, Hyperliquid’s staking-trading link is a pro trader UX win – delivering institutional-style account management in a DeFi context – and a step forward in the platform’s quest to blend performance with decentralization.
Rapid Reflexivity: Quick Market Takes ⚡
Stripe Tests Stablecoin Payments: Stripe is piloting stablecoin payments for businesses outside the US, UK, and EU. CEO Patrick Collison says years of work, including the Bridge acquisition, have led to a global API for sending and receiving digital dollars. The move pushes stablecoins into mainstream commerce.
DeFi Dev’s $1B Solana Bet: DeFi Development Corp, dubbed the “MicroStrategy of Solana,” filed a $1 billion shelf registration to buy more SOL and run validator nodes. The newly branded DFDV is following Saylor’s Bitcoin playbook, but for Solana.
TON Shuts Legacy Bridge: TON Foundation is retiring its old bridge to Ethereum and BSC on May 10. After that, users can’t bridge out, though previously wrapped TON remains claimable. The shift reflects TON’s move toward native USDT and modern cross-chain tools.
Strategy Adds 6,500 BTC: Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) bought 6,500 BTC worth $555 million via a stock sale. Its total holdings now exceed 553,000 BTC. The company remains deeply committed to its Bitcoin strategy.
$6M Solana DeFi Hack: Solana-based lender Loopscale lost about $5.8 million in USDC and SOL due to a pricing logic flaw. The exploit came just two weeks after launch. Withdrawals are paused while the team investigates.
Mastercard Expands Stablecoin Rails: Mastercard is integrating stablecoins into its global network. Users can spend stablecoins at over 150 million merchants, and merchants can choose to receive funds in stablecoins through partners like OKX and Nuvei.
Ethereum Foundation Restructures: The Ethereum Foundation appointed two co-executive directors and created a board to guide strategy. The move aims to improve accountability while maintaining a decentralised, hands-off approach.
1inch Expands to Solana: DEX aggregator 1inch has launched on Solana. Users now benefit from optimised trade routing and MEV protection. This is 1inch’s first step beyond EVM-based chains.
Telegram Bonds On-Chain: Libre and the TON Foundation are tokenising $500 million of Telegram’s bonds. The new Telegram Bond Fund (TBF) token will allow institutional investors to trade Telegram’s debt on-chain.
Ubisoft Launches Cross-Chain DVN: Ubisoft introduced a Decentralised Verification Network in partnership with LayerZero. The system lets players move in-game NFTs and currencies across over 130 blockchains.
MoveDrop Delayed Again: Movement Labs has indefinitely postponed its MoveDrop airdrop, citing governance and market-making issues. The delay has fuelled community frustration and pushed down the MOVE token price.
Ethena’s Airdrop and TON Deal: Ethena Labs distributed around 3.5% of ENA in its Season 3 rewards and announced a partnership with TON. Ethena’s synthetic stablecoins will be integrated into Telegram’s wallet, enabling DeFi access for up to one billion users.
Hyperliquid Enables Open Perps: Hyperliquid now supports third-party perpetual markets through HIP-3. This MVP release opens the door to niche, user-deployed trading pairs and pushes decentralised exchange growth.
Morgan Stanley Eyes Retail Crypto: Morgan Stanley plans to bring crypto trading to E*TRADE. If launched, it would make the bank one of the first in the US to offer direct crypto access to retail brokerage clients.
Saylor’s $84B BTC Plan: Strategy plans to raise $84 billion for more Bitcoin purchases. It would be the largest corporate crypto bet in history and cements Saylor’s extreme conviction.
Last week was another strong week for markets with the top three gainers all coming in with more than a 10% gain.
$TRUMP was the largest loser, likely attributed to the sell-off after the $TRUMP holder announcement dinner.
Disclaimer: This research report is exactly that — a research report. It is not intended to serve as financial advice, nor should you blindly assume that any of the information is accurate without confirming through your own research. Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets are incredibly risky, and nothing in this report should be considered an endorsement to buy or sell any asset. Never invest more than you are willing to lose, and understand the risk that you are taking. Do your own research. All information in this report is for educational purposes only and should not be the basis for any investment decisions that you make.