WSJ reports that China is eyeing potential assistance in cracking down on the fentanyl trade in North America as a possible pretext for starting China-U.S. trade negotiations. Fentanyl overdoses take the lives of dozens of thousands of people in the…

China may help the US fight the deadly fentanyl epidemic to get a seat at the trade negotiation table

The city of Belo Horizonte has turned into a bitcoin capital after lawmakers 
passed a new bill that seeks to transform it into an innovation hub for crypto 
and bitcoin companies. The bill, which was passed on Wednesday amid a heated 
argument between lawmakers, establishes incentives for businesses to accept 
bitcoin as payment, offering to […]

Belo Horizonte to Become ‘Bitcoin Capital’ With New Bill

Bitcoin’s recent surge has kept its price firmly above the $100,000 price 
level, reflecting ongoing investor confidence. At the time of writing, BTC is 
trading at $103,527, posting a 4.3% gain in the past 24 hours and climbing 33% 
over the last month. While still approximately 5% below its all-time high 
recorded in January, the market has displayed consistent upward momentum, with 
technical and on-chain signals indicating continued accumulation. Related 
Reading: Bitcoin Derivatives In The Driver’s Seat For $100,000 Rally, Data 
Shows On-Chain Metrics Reflect Growing Confidence This latest rally comes amid 
broader economic uncertainty and renewed geopolitical activity. According to 
data shared by CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, current market patterns mirror a 
period last seen almost 5 years ago, marked by high volatility and conflicting 
economic narratives. While central banks such as the Federal Reserve have 
maintained a cautious stance, investor sentiment appears to be shifting toward 
risk-on, as headlines around trade agreements and fiscal maneuvering spark a 
surge in buying interest. Darkfost points to the Bitcoin Growth Rate 
indicator, which has returned to bullish territory alongside BTC reclaiming 
the $100,000 level. The analyst notes that current market dynamics resemble 
the June 2020 cycle, particularly in how external political developments 
influence asset flows. For example, recent trade talks initiated by the Trump 
administration and aggressive posturing on global policy are fueling rapid 
investor reactions across equities and crypto alike. This sentiment-driven 
environment, according to Darkfost, makes it challenging to rely solely on 
traditional metrics for forecasting price trends. Complicating the picture is 
the impact of news-driven narratives. Darkfost wrote: This can notably be 
explained by all the headline-driven effects, like the one we saw today (“You 
should buy stocks now”), but also by the fact that Trump is starting to pursue 
trade deals with various countries, such as the agreements made today with the 
U.K. These signals may be pushing investors into crypto assets as part of 
broader diversification strategies. Despite the Federal Reserve’s warning for 
continued caution, the market seems to be faced with a fear of missing out, 
creating further upside volatility. Bitcoin Whales Continue to Accumulate as 
Retail Lags In a related analysis, another CryptoQuant analyst caueconomy 
revealed that large-scale Bitcoin holders have remained active throughout the 
recent price recovery. Over the last month, wallets classified as “whales” 
have added roughly 41,300 BTC to their balances. This steady accumulation, 
especially from institutional investors and corporations, indicates that 
strategic positioning continues regardless of mixed macroeconomic signals. 
According to caueconomy, this accumulation is not being driven by retail 
speculation but by institutional entities using corporate resources such as 
retained earnings and debt issuance. This form of capital inflow, often 
described as “passive” accumulation, can generate sustained demand pressure 
independent of market cycles. As a result, Bitcoin’s recent gains may be 
supported by a structurally different class of buyers than in previous bull 
markets. Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

Bull Market Reignited? Analyst Says Bitcoin Rally Mirrors June 2020 Setup

BlackRock&#8217;s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) capped off the trading week with another 
day of inflows, pulling in $356.2 million on May 9. The fund has now extended 
its inflow streak to 19 consecutive days &#8212; its longest run of inflows so far 
this year.
IBIT&#8217;s inflow streak has been ongoing since April 14, and has coincided with a 
volatile Bitcoin (BTC) market, with the asset trading between $83,152 and 
$103,000 over the period. However, market sentiment has been increasing after 
the asset reclaimed and held above the $90,000 price on April 23 before 
reclaiming the $100,000 price on May 8 for the first time since Feb. 1.
## Bitcoin ETFs ticking along as Bitcoin price spikes
Over the past trading week alone, IBIT posted $1.03 billion in inflows, 
according to Farside data.
Prior to the current 19-day streak, IBIT&#8217;s longest inflow streak in 2025 was a 
nine-day stretch surrounding US President Donald Trump&#8217;s inauguration on Jan. 
20, spanning from Jan. 15 to Jan. 28.
_Approximately $41.13 billion has flown into the spot Bitcoin ETFs since their 
launch in January 2024. Source:__Farside_
IBIT&#8217;s longest inflow streak since the spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 
2024 lasted 104 days, stretching from the launch date through April 23, 2024.
The streak coincided with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high of $73,679 in 
March before pulling back into the mid-$60,000 range.
## BlackRock&#8217;s Bitcoin ETF recently won an award
On April 23, BlackRock&#8217;s spot Bitcoin ETF was named the &#8220;Best New ETF&#8221; at the 
annual etf.com ETF awards. In an X post shortly after, Bloomberg ETF analyst 
Eric Balchunas said it &#8220;feels right to me.&#8221;
_**Related:**__**Institutional investors continue to scoop up Bitcoin above 
$100K**_
Bitwise&#8217;s head of European research, Andre Dragosch, recently said Bitcoin&#8217;s 
expanding institutional adoption may provide the &#8220;structural&#8221; inflows 
necessary to surpass gold&#8217;s market capitalization and push its price beyond $1 
million by 2029.
&#8220;Our in-house prediction is $1 million by 2029. So that Bitcoin will match 
gold&#8217;s market cap and total addressable market by 2029,&#8221; he told Cointelegraph 
during the Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on April 30.
_**Magazine:**__**Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle &#8217;10x bigger&#8217; but will 
still decisively break above $100K**_

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF posts $356M inflows, longest inflow streak in 2025

Steak &#8216;n Shake is unleashing bitcoin payments across all locations, unlocking 
crypto access for over 100 million customers and revolutionizing fast-food 
transactions forever. Steak &#8216;n Shake’s Massive Bitcoin Integration Starts Next 
Week Steak &#8216;n Shake announced on May 8 on social media platform X that it will 
begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment […]

Steak ’n Shake Goes Full Crypto — 100M Can Pay With Bitcoin Next Week

According to a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake post by contributor burakkemeci, 
Bitcoin (BTC) is beginning to show signs of a trend reversal after weeks of 
downward movement. Notably, BTC surged past $100,000 yesterday for the first 
time since February 3. Bitcoin On The Verge Of Trend Reversal? At the time of 
writing, Bitcoin is trading slightly above $100,000, approximately 5.2% below 
its all-time high (ATH) of $108,786, set earlier this year on January 20. The 
leading cryptocurrency has staged an impressive rebound of over 20% from its 
recent low of $74,508 recorded on April 6. Related Reading: Bitcoin ‘Apparent 
Demand’ Makes Sharp Rebound – Will BTC Breakout Soon? In their analysis, 
crypto analyst burakkemeci referred to the CryptoQuant Bull-Bear Market Cycle 
indicator, saying that it is flashing the early signs of a potential bullish 
trend reversal. The analyst noted: With Bitcoin surging back above $100K, the 
indicator has started flashing bullish signals again &#8211; for the first time in 
weeks. Although the signal is still weak (coefficient: 0.029), the mere 
appearance of a positive shift is encouraging. To explain, the CryptoQuant 
Bull-Bear Market Cycle indicator is an on-chain tool that tracks long-term and 
short-term market sentiment by comparing price momentum and investor behavior 
trends. It uses two key components &#8211; the 30-day and 365-day moving averages 
(MA) &#8211; to identify shifts between bull and bear cycles. Importantly, the 
analyst pointed out that the Bull-Bear 30-day MA has started to turn upward. 
If this metric crosses above the 365-day MA, historical trends suggest Bitcoin 
could enter a phase of parabolic price growth. Recent macroeconomic 
developments may further support the bullish narrative for Bitcoin. Julien 
Bittel, Head of Macro Research at Global Macro Investor, recently highlighted 
the relationship between the global M2 money supply and the price of BTC. 
Bittel shared a chart that overlays BTC’s price with the M2 money supply, 
adjusted with a 12-week lag. The data reveals a steep increase in global 
liquidity since early 2025, implying that BTC could follow this trend and 
continue rising in the months ahead. Warning Signs Still Linger For BTC 
Despite recent strength, not all signals are bullish. Analysts caution that 
the current rally has been accompanied by aggressive profit-taking, increasing 
the chances of a local top forming. Related Reading: Bitcoin Still Far From A 
True Supply Shock, Analyst Explains Further, recent analysis shows that BTC’s 
Demand Momentum is yet to come out of negative territory. The analyst noted 
that such market behavior is mostly prevalent during late-cycle distribution 
phases or macro-level consolidation periods. That said, Bitcoin’s Stochastic 
Relative Strength Index (RSI) is beginning to reflect renewed bullish 
momentum. At press time, BTC trades at $103,444, up 4% in the past 24 hours. 
Featured image created with Unsplash, charts from CryptoQuant, X, and 
TradingView.com