CEO and founder Jack Mallers revealed the numbers on Friday when he posted a copy of a private letter previously sent to the company’s investors. Strike&#8217;s Growth Exploded 600% Last Year Perhaps the reason Jack Mallers was picked to lead Twenty One Capital, the new bitcoin treasury firm backed by stablecoin giant Tether and Japanese […]

Bitcoin Payments Firm Strike Grew 600% in 2024

Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi has hinted at establishing a city-level 
Bitcoin reserve in a cryptic post following his meeting with two of El 
Salvador&#8217;s Bitcoin policy leaders.
&#8220;Bitcoin Reserve,&#8221; Mizrachi wrote to X on May 16 after meeting El Salvador- 
based Bitcoiners Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert.
While Mizrachi didn&#8217;t share details about his discussions with Keiser and 
Herbert, the timing of the post came 11 days before the Bitcoin 2025 
conference in Las Vegas, where Mizrachi is scheduled to speak.
_Source:__Mayer Mizrachi_
The creation of a Bitcoin reserve in Panama City would follow a recently 
approved measure permitting the use of crypto for public payments, including 
taxes, fines and municipal fees.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) will be accepted 
once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi said at the 
time.
To push for a Bitcoin reserve at the federal level, Mizrachi would need to 
collaborate with Panama&#8217;s National Assembly to craft legislation.
There&#8217;s no evidence to suggest that he has taken such measures.
Mizrachi&#8217;s post follows the recent enactments of two Bitcoin reserve bills in 
the US states of Arizona and New Hampshire.
Ukraine is also reportedly inching closer toward adopting Bitcoin as a 
national reserve asset, local media reported earlier in the month.
## Mizrachi, Keiser and Herbert discussed Bitcoin mining, education
A post from Keiser suggests the trio spoke about how Panama and El Salvador 
can leverage renewable energy to bolster their Bitcoin mining operations.
&gt; &#8220;Bitcoin is transforming Central America. El Salvador&#8217;s geothermal &amp; 
&gt; Panama&#8217;s hydro-electric will power the Bitcoin revolution.&#8221;
Herbert also noted that Panama City will integrate El Salvador&#8217;s &#8220;What is 
Money?&#8221; financial literacy textbook into its online library system.
_**Related:**__**Basel Medical shares down 15% on $1B Bitcoin buying plans**_
Keiser and Herbert have played a crucial role in crafting El Salvador&#8217;s 
Bitcoin policy, which includes a Bitcoin reserve consisting of 6,179 Bitcoin 
(BTC), worth nearly $640 million.
Keiser serves as President Nayib Bukele&#8217;s Bitcoin advisor, while Herbert runs 
the country&#8217;s Bitcoin Office.
_**Magazine:**__**Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to 
institutions: Sky Wee**_

Panama City mayor teases Bitcoin reserve after meeting El Salvador's Bitcoin leaders

Bitcoin experienced a notable surge earlier this week, climbing above the 
$104,000 mark and registering a weekly gain of nearly 10%. However, after 
reaching this level, the asset appears to have encountered resistance, with 
upward momentum slowing and price action remaining relatively flat in recent 
days. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $103,663, reflecting a modest 
1.7% increase over the past 24 hours. Amid this price performance, one of 
CryptoQuant’s top analysts, Darkfost, offered insight into the current market 
stagnation. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rally Stalls as SOPR Spikes: Analyst 
Explains What It Means Derivatives Market Activity Signals Short-Term 
Uncertainty According to his post on X, the root of the slowdown appears to 
stem from the derivatives market. Specifically, he pointed to the cumulative 
net taker volume, a metric that tracks the net volume of market orders, 
remaining in negative territory since BTC crossed above the psychological 
$100,000 threshold. This suggests that there are more aggressive sell orders 
(shorts) than buy orders (longs), creating persistent downward pressure on 
price. Net taker volume is a useful gauge of real-time trader sentiment, and 
when it trends negative, it typically signals that market participants expect 
prices to drop, prompting more short-selling. 📊 The main reason why BTC is 
currently stuck at these levels comes from the derivatives market. 💥The 
cumulative net taker volume has mostly remained in negative territory ever 
since BTC climbed back above the psychological $100 000 level. &#8211; What does 
this mean ? ⁰In simple… pic.twitter.com/2ABZ3qzQ0s — Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) 
May 16, 2025 Darkfost emphasized that this trend reflects increasing 
uncertainty among traders about Bitcoin&#8217;s short-term ability to reach new all- 
time highs. While long-term sentiment remains positive, the imbalance in 
derivatives activity highlights a cautious approach among participants. &#8220;It 
clearly reflects a growing sense of doubt among traders regarding Bitcoin’s 
ability to reach a new all-time high in the very short term,&#8221; he stated. &#8220;In 
such a context, the market loves to prove them wrong.&#8221; This sentiment-driven 
hesitation has slowed the pace of Bitcoin’s rally, even as it remains within 
striking distance of its January high. Bitcoin Technical Setup Hints at 
Bullish Continuation Meanwhile, technical analyst Javon Marks pointed to chart 
patterns suggesting a potential continuation of Bitcoin’s bullish trend. He 
highlighted the formation of a bull flag, a technical pattern often 
interpreted as a pause before the continuation of an upward movement. &#8220;Bitcoin 
looks to be bull flagging right under all-time highs. A breakout can send it 
above,&#8221; Marks wrote. Related Reading: Galaxy CEO Novogratz Sees Imminent 
Bitcoin Breakout To $130,000 If confirmed, this could signal renewed upward 
pressure and open the door for another leg higher. Additionally, Marks noted 
that altcoins are exhibiting similar behavior to previous market cycles, 
particularly the surges seen in 2017 and 2021. He suggested that the current 
phase may precede a broader altcoin rally, which historically tends to follow 
Bitcoin’s moves. Altcoins look to be moving similarly and right on track as it 
did in the 2017 and 2021 surges. The next phase looks to be where #Altcoins 
deliver the green light, or in other words push in their most bullish phases. 
This can SEND ALTS MUCH HIGHER, FAST 🟢! pic.twitter.com/2wrr0WOTzB — 
JAVON⚡️MARKS (@JavonTM1) May 16, 2025 Featured image created with DALL-E, 
Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Rally Hits Wall as Price Stalls Below $104K, Analyst Cites Derivatives Pressure

Binance&#8217;s founder has urgent advice for crypto users: strengthen logins, avoid 
risky clicks, and adopt advanced security tools to stay ahead of relentless 
phishing threats. CZ Shares Crucial Tips to Stop Phishing Scams Targeting 
Crypto Users Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) shared on 
social media platform X on Thursday a detailed set […]

CZ Shares Urgent Advice as Phishing Threats Target Crypto Users

Dogecoin (DOGE) has shown a steady performance in recent weeks, which is in 
line with the broader rally across the cryptocurrency market. Over the past 
two weeks, DOGE has risen by more than 25%, pushing its price as high as 
$0.24. Despite this growth, the asset experienced a slight pullback in the 
past 24 hours, retreating by 0.3% to $0.22 at the time of writing. The latest 
movements mark a period of renewed interest in the asset, particularly from 
retail traders. Related Reading: Dogecoin Pullback May Be Short-Lived—Here’s 
The Next Price Target Dogecoin Retail Activity and Sentiment Indicators One of 
CryptoQuant’s contributors, Burak Kesmeci, recently shared new insights into 
DOGE’s futures market activity. In a post titled “Too Many Retail Traders? 
DOGE Futures Show Repeated Peak Patterns”, Kesmeci pointed to the potential 
influence of speculative trading behavior. His analysis highlights that 
previous peaks in Dogecoin’s price have often coincided with a sharp increase 
in retail participation in futures markets, raising questions about the 
sustainability of such rallies. Kesmeci’s analysis centers around a visual 
metric that tracks trading activity from retail investors within DOGE futures 
markets. In this chart, red bubbles mark moments when retail trading spikes 
significantly. These periods, according to the analyst, have historically 
aligned with local price tops, suggesting that elevated speculative behavior 
often precedes short-term corrections. On the other hand, green and pink 
bubbles, representing periods of reduced retail activity, have typically 
aligned with more stable or neutral price phases. The underlying 
interpretation is that when DOGE futures markets become saturated with retail 
participants, the likelihood of momentum exhaustion increases. For traders, 
these retail spikes may serve as potential warning signals of short-term 
reversals. As Kesmeci notes, this data can be used in conjunction with other 
technical and on-chain metrics to build a more comprehensive view of market 
sentiment, especially in volatile assets like Dogecoin. The analysis supports 
a more cautious approach where retail enthusiasm dominates trading volumes. 
Technical Forecast Suggests Possible Rally Continuation While futures data 
indicates caution around potential retail-driven tops, other technical 
perspectives suggest the possibility of further upside. Crypto analyst Javon 
Marks recently shared an outlook indicating that DOGE may be positioned for a 
continuation toward a new all-time high. Related Reading: Where’s Next Major 
Dogecoin Resistance? On-Chain Data Points To This According to Marks, the 
asset has confirmed a major bullish signal on its chart, suggesting that 
another leg of upward momentum may already be in play. He projects that the 
next major target lies nearly 200% above current price levels. $DOGE 
RECOVERING HEAVILY AND HAS CONFIRMED A MAJOR CONTINUATION SIGNAL 💹! Next leg 
towards All Time Highs can be in-effect and with those levels nearly +200% 
away, it could be HUGE! https://t.co/5H1HkZG5Hn pic.twitter.com/whi0lxqDM2 — 
JAVON⚡️MARKS (@JavonTM1) May 13, 2025 Featured image created with DALL-E, 
Chart from TradingView

Dogecoin Hovers at $0.22 Following Weeks of Gains, Analysts Share Mixed Outlooks

Musk&#8217;s influence on meme coin markets highlights the volatility and 
speculative nature of cryptocurrency investments driven by social media.
The post Elon Musk revives &#8216;Kekius Maximus&#8217; persona, triggers new meme coin 
gold rush appeared first on Crypto Briefing.