The crypto market continued its downward trend on Saturday, May 17, with most altcoins erasing some of their recent gains. Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped from this week’s high of $105,000 to $103,000. Some of the top laggards were Pi Network…

Why is the crypto market crashing, and will the bull run resume?

Bitcoin is facing growing risks of a pullback as bullish momentum begins to 
fade near key resistance. After weeks of impressive gains, BTC is now 
consolidating in a tight range just below its all-time high, with buyers 
struggling to push the price into price discovery. This ongoing indecision has 
raised concerns among traders and analysts, who are closely watching for signs 
of either a breakout or a deeper retracement. Related Reading: Ethereum Multi- 
Year Consolidation Could Spark A Parabolic Move – Details Crypto analyst Daan 
offered a broader perspective on the situation, noting that Bitcoin initially 
surged in response to the recent tariff-related tensions, significantly 
outperforming equities in the process. However, as trade uncertainty began to 
ease and traditional markets regained momentum, Bitcoin lost steam and failed 
to follow through. While stocks continued their uptrend, BTC stalled—an 
unusual divergence that suggests caution may be creeping back into the crypto 
space. With the price now hovering around the $103K mark and key resistance 
near $105K remaining untouched, bulls must act decisively to reclaim control. 
A failure to do so could trigger a larger correction, especially if macro 
conditions shift or equity markets show renewed weakness. For now, all eyes 
are on the range — and which side breaks first. Bitcoin Bulls Eye Breakout But 
Caution Grows Near Resistance Bitcoin is just 5% away from its all-time high 
of around $109,000, trading near $103K as bulls attempt to reclaim momentum. 
After weeks of strong upward movement and consolidation above key levels, many 
analysts believe BTC is preparing for a decisive breakout. If price can clear 
the $105K resistance, it could trigger a new leg into price discovery and 
signal the start of a powerful bull phase. However, selling pressure at 
current levels remains strong. Bitcoin has struggled to break higher, and some 
traders see this consolidation as a sign of potential exhaustion. Daan offered 
insights on the recent behavior, noting that BTC surged sharply following the 
tariff-related macro drama, outperforming equities in the process. Yet, as 
some trade uncertainty faded, stocks kept climbing while BTC stalled near 
resistance. Daan considers $90K his “line in the sand” for long-term spot 
exposure. If Bitcoin were to drop below that mark, it would suggest a 
structural breakdown that hasn’t occurred during this cycle. For now, he 
remains cautiously bullish while BTC stays above that level, but admits the 
risk-reward was more attractive when BTC was 20–30% cheaper. He also warns 
that if equities correct after their aggressive rallies—many stocks have 
surged 30–50% in a single month—it could drag Bitcoin lower in a short-term 
flush. With BTC showing relative weakness near resistance, the next move will 
be critical for confirming either continued upside or the start of a broader 
pullback. Related Reading: Dogecoin Whales Accumulate 1 Billion DOGE In A 
Month: Fueling Price Surge Speculation Tight 4H Range Signals Imminent Price 
Breakout The 4-hour chart shows Bitcoin consolidating tightly between $105,700 
resistance and $100,700 support, creating a narrow range that suggests a 
strong move is imminent. Price has been ranging sideways for several days, 
with multiple failed breakout attempts above $103,600. This level continues to 
act as a key barrier for bulls. Notably, Bitcoin remains above both the 200 
EMA ($96,121) and the 200 SMA ($94,622), reinforcing the medium-term bullish 
structure. Momentum is neutral in the short term, as shown by the indecisive 
price action and declining volume. However, the trend remains intact as long 
as BTC holds above $100,000 — the psychological and technical line in the 
sand. If price breaks above $103,600 with volume, it could trigger a move 
toward the $105,000–$109,000 range and initiate a push into price discovery. 
On the other hand, failure to hold this support zone could open the door for a 
quick flush to retest the $98,000–$96,000 area, where the moving averages 
align. Related Reading: Solana Sees Renewed Demand As Capital Flows Turn 
Positive – Details Traders should watch for a clear breakout or breakdown, 
especially as moving averages and prior highs converge. This tight setup 
rarely lasts long, and a decisive move could define Bitcoin’s trend for the 
rest of the month. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin Consolidates Below ATH – Buying Pressure Weakens As Equities Outperform

A recently launched leveraged XRP ETF (exchange-traded fund) continued adding 
assets last week even as the XRP price retreated. The Teucrium 2x Long Daily 
XRP ETF, whose ticker symbol is XXRP, has accumulated over $106 million in 
assets since its…

New XRP ETF hits an inflow record as XRP price wavers

South Africa&#8217;s Garden Route, famed for its lush forests, expansive beaches and 
charming towns, has become a testbed for Bitcoin adoption.
From Mossel Bay to Witsand and Plettenberg Bay to Knysna, Bitcoin has become 
popular among shop owners and travelers alike for a multitude of reasons.
&#8220;We&#8217;re seeing the early signs of a parallel, permissionless economy emerging 
across an entire region,&#8221; James Caw, founder of SimplB &#8212; a local crypto asset 
provider &#8212; told Cointelegraph, &#8220;where small businesses benefit from faster, 
lower-cost digital payments and where people have more options to earn, send 
and receive sound money securely.&#8221;
For tourists, the benefits are immediate: no currency exchange hassles, no 
international card fees, and the ability to pay instantly and securely. For 
locals, Bitcoin (BTC) offers a hedge against inflation, protection from 
currency volatility and new economic opportunities.
Here&#8217;s a taste of what a Bitcoin-friendly trip along the Garden Route is like.
## The Garden Route is where Bitcoin meets paradise
The Garden Route is one of South Africa&#8217;s premier tourist corridors. It 
stretches roughly 300 kilometers from Mossel Bay in the west to the Storms 
River Mouth in the east, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists yearly.
Crypto adoption is escalating thanks to South Africa&#8217;s regulatory environment, 
which now recognizes Bitcoin as a financial product. Across the Garden Route, 
you can spend pre-acquired Bitcoin freely, with little concern for local tax 
or exchange controls.
It&#8217;s a grassroots movement. Towns like Witsand and Plettenberg Bay are at the 
forefront, and national retailers like Pick n Pay provide a safety net for 
crypto spending along the way. Every Pick n Pay store, including supermarkets, 
clothing outlets and Express convenience stores, accepts Bitcoin via the 
CryptoQR app. This guarantees you can always buy daily goods with Bitcoin 
wherever you travel.
_**Related:**__**Stablecoin fever: 5 major stablecoins are growing crypto 
adoption**_
## Witsand is the Bitcoin village
Located at the mouth of the Breede River, Witsand is a sleepy coastal town 
with a big reputation in the Bitcoin world. Here, Bitcoin isn&#8217;t just accepted 
&#8212; it&#8217;s preferred.
It&#8217;s thanks to the efforts of local champions like Edwin Jones, a software 
engineer and passionate supporter of Bitcoin adoption in the Garden Route. 
Witsand has become a functioning Bitcoin circular economy. Accommodation 
options like Fantasea and Happy Days holiday homes, meals at Ellie&#8217;s on Main, 
groceries at local shops, gym memberships, boat services, petrol, surf lessons 
and mini-golf can be paid for using Bitcoin.
As Jones notes:
&gt; Bitcoin Witsand existed long before we gave it a name. It was just having 
&gt; conversations with friends, and as the local businesses started 
&gt; understanding Bitcoin, they actually demanded we start getting the 
&gt; technology in place.
The town&#8217;s small and close-knit community has enabled rapid adoption; more 
than 45 establishments accept Bitcoin as of early 2025. The town&#8217;s enthusiasm 
is infectious, as locals and visitors enjoy the ease and security of digital 
payments.
_Witsand proudly announces its acceptance of Bitcoin. Source: Edwin Jones_
Witsand&#8217;s success as a Bitcoin hub is rooted in its community-driven approach. 
Jones outlines its growth by outlining that:
&gt; Although there have been many individual businesses over the years since 
&gt; 2009 that started and stopped accepting Bitcoin for the Garden Route, the 
&gt; adoption really started kicking off in 2021.
&#8220;With the Lightning Network starting to reach maturity around that time, the 
first Spaza Shop in Mossel Bay, Bitcoin Ekasi, started accepting Bitcoin in 
August 2021, and the first restaurant in Witsand in December of the same 
year.&#8221;
Education has been central to the process. Local advocates have focused on 
teaching business owners the fundamentals of Bitcoin, warning against scams 
and emphasizing the difference between Bitcoin and speculative altcoins.
&#8220;With all the circular economies advocating against gambling and trading, 
cautioning against interest and investments, being explicitly Bitcoin, and 
focusing on the fundamentals rather than the price, scammers have been kept at 
bay,&#8221; Jones said. &#8220;We have also found that businesses don&#8217;t have to adapt as 
much as evolve.&#8221;
&gt; Bitcoin doesn&#8217;t change a business &#8212; it just supercharges it. Doing the same 
&gt; old things, much better.
## Mossel Bay&#8217;s surf and social upliftment
Mossel Bay, the historical gateway to the Garden Route, is not just about 
beaches and maritime history. Mossel Bay is home to Bitcoin Ekasi, a 
pioneering project that brought Bitcoin to the township of JCC Camp.
Bitcoin Ekasi empowers unbanked residents by enabling them to earn and spend 
Bitcoin locally. Coaches at The Surfer Kids nonprofit are paid in Bitcoin, and 
local spaza shops accept Bitcoin for daily necessities.
For the Bitcoiner tourist, Mossel Bay offers a unique opportunity for 
&#8220;conscious crypto-tourism.&#8221; You can take surf lessons from instructors paid in 
Bitcoin, visit the Bitcoin Ekasi education center, or support the project with 
direct donations.
The town also boasts a Pick n Pay that accepts Bitcoin. As SimplB&#8217;s Caw 
observes:
&gt; The Bitcoin Ekasi project first started when they began accepting Bitcoin 
&gt; because of the demand from foreign tourists visiting Mossel Bay. It is just 
&gt; so simple to function on a Bitcoin standard once you begin using it.
## Plettenberg Bay is the fastest-growing Bitcoin economy
Further east, Plettenberg Bay has witnessed an explosion in Bitcoin adoption. 
In just a few months, the number of Bitcoin-accepting merchants jumped from 
five to more than 75, making it one of Africa&#8217;s most dynamic crypto economies.
Confirmed acceptors include Ferris Cars (which facilitates rental 
accommodation payments in crypto), Glow Lighting Design and all local Pick n 
Pay branches. Adventure tourism companies, boutique retailers and professional 
services are increasingly receptive to Bitcoin, especially if you ask. The 
rapid growth suggests an enthusiastic local scene, with businesses eager to 
tap into the spending power of Bitcoin tourists.
_**Related:**__**8 major crypto firms announce US expansion this year**_
Plettenberg Bay offers a vibrant mix of beach life, nature and crypto-friendly 
commerce. The town&#8217;s energy is palpable, and visitors are encouraged to engage 
with merchants, share information about Lightning payments, and help grow the 
ecosystem.
&#8220;Right now Plettenberg Bay is by far the most interesting circular economy in 
Africa and possibly the world,&#8221; said Jones. &#8220;It currently boasts having the 
most businesses accepting Bitcoin of any town in Africa and has achieved this 
in less than three months.&#8221;
_Bitcoin preferred signs can be found along the Garden Route. Source: Edwin 
Jones_
## Sedgefield is a quiet pioneer
Sedgefield, a tranquil town between Knysna and Wilderness, played a key role 
in the national rollout of Bitcoin payments at Pick n Pay. It was one of the 
trial sites for the innovative QR code converter from MoneyBadger, which 
enables Bitcoin spending at every Pick n Pay in South Africa.
Sedgefield itself doesn&#8217;t have the same density of Bitcoin-accepting 
independent merchants as Witsand or Plettenberg Bay, but the presence of Pick 
n Pay ensures that crypto tourists can always pay for groceries and essentials 
with sats.
## Practical information for your trip
If you do make it out to the Garden Route, recommended wallets include Blink, 
Wallet of Satoshi and Phoenix &#8212; all Lightning-enabled and widely used in the 
region.
In larger towns like Knysna, George, Wilderness and Oudtshoorn, the Bitcoin 
scene is still emerging. There aren&#8217;t yet established circular economies, but 
the nationwide acceptance of Bitcoin at Pick n Pay provides a reliable 
foundation for spending.
_The Spasie on Breede Restaurant and Bar is just one of many establishments 
accepting Bitcoin. Source: Edwin Jones_
BTC Map occasionally lists independent merchants, like Beans About Coffee in 
Oudtshoorn. Still, the best strategy is to ask around, look for Bitcoin 
signage, and use mapping tools to discover new acceptors.
For accommodation, activities and dining, direct inquiry remains key. Many 
guesthouses and tour operators are open to Bitcoin payments, especially as 
awareness grows. Online platforms like Bitrefill enable you to buy gift 
vouchers for major retailers using Bitcoin, providing a workaround for places 
that don&#8217;t yet accept crypto directly.
Happy travels.
_**Magazine:**__**Pranksy: Inside the anonymous life of an NFT legend &#8212; NFT 
Collector**_

A Bitcoiner’s guide to South Africa’s Garden Route

_**Opinion by: Merlin Egalite, co-founder at Morpho Labs**_
Fintechs in the front, decentralized finance (DeFi) in the back: the DeFi 
Mullet.
Today&#8217;s fintech companies offer excellent user experiences but are constrained 
by traditional financial infrastructure &#8212; siloed, slow, expensive and 
inflexible. Meanwhile, DeFi provides lightning-fast, cost-effective, 
interoperable infrastructure but lacks mainstream accessibility.
The solution? Combine fintech&#8217;s distribution and user experience with DeFi&#8217;s 
efficient back end.
## The mullet is inevitable
Fintech companies heavily rely on traditional financial (TradFi) 
infrastructure that is siloed, slow to deploy and run, and costly to maintain. 
This inefficiency limits their control over costs and product offerings and 
has potential infrastructure risks. Fintechs have a strong incentive to 
transition to building on autonomous, credibly neutral public infrastructure.
The power of DeFi is evident in stablecoins. While traditional international 
wire transfers cost $30-$50 and take one to five business days, stablecoin 
transfers cost mere cents and settle in seconds. This revolutionary 
improvement in financial infrastructure extends beyond payments. DeFi provides 
24/7/365 infrastructure for trading, lending and borrowing with instant 
settlement, open access and deep liquidity, enabling better price execution 
and yields.
Plugging their compliance-ready front end into DeFi infrastructure, fintech 
companies can focus on creating exceptional user experiences. This opens up 
tremendous opportunities for innovation while driving more liquidity onchain, 
creating a positive feedback loop of embracing the DeFi Mullet.
## Now is the time for mainstream adoption
Today&#8217;s DeFi ecosystem has proven its reliability for fintech integration. 
There are dozens of protocols that demonstrate this maturity, securely 
managing billions in loans through immutable, governance-minimized designs. 
DeFi infrastructure gives fintechs complete control over their infrastructure. 
This is particularly crucial after the recent Synapse bankruptcy that trapped 
Yotta user funds meant to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation.
_**Recent:**__**Bitcoin DeFi will have 300M users, beating Ethereum and 
Solana: Exec**_
Institutions are also coming onchain. BlackRock has tokenized a fund via 
Securitize; Stripe has acquired Bridge for $1 billion to scale its stablecoin 
solutions; the US is creating a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve; and clarity 
on regulation is opening the floodgates. The shift is step-by-step but 
tangible.
DeFi has arrived.
## The next phase
For years to come, expect more products like crypto-backed loans to be 
released by fintech&#8217;s most advanced players, offering onchain saving accounts, 
onchain loans, instant international payments and more.
This transformation will be invisible to users and powered by smart wallets 
and account abstraction that maintain the familiar Web2-like user experience 
at which fintech companies excel. Early adopters will gain significant 
advantages over competitors.
Yet, unlike building on traditional finance, DeFi&#8217;s open infrastructure means 
even latecomers can benefit from existing network effects without starting 
from zero.
Some skeptics argue that the involvement of fintechs and traditional 
institutions will erode decentralization, as protocols must comply with 
regulatory requirements. While this concern is understandable, the opposite is 
more likely.
Expecting protocols to achieve compliance across every jurisdiction worldwide 
is unrealistic, especially given the vast regulatory fragmentation. Instead, 
regulating the apps that interface with users makes far more sense rather than 
the underlying protocols. For this regulatory model to work, however, 
protocols must remain credibly neutral.
A credibly neutral mechanism adheres to four principles:
 * It embeds no preference for specific individuals or outcomes.
 * It is open-source with publicly verifiable execution.
 * It is simple and understandable.
 * It changes infrequently.
Examples like HTTP and SMTP demonstrate the power of credibly neutral 
protocols &#8212; they are free, open and unregulated, with only the clients 
subject to oversight. The same logic should apply to governance-minimized, 
immutable DeFi protocols.
These constraints will push DeFi builders toward creating genuinely 
decentralized and trustless systems.
Fintechs integrating DeFi protocols can build on top of the most neutral 
infrastructure and access their growing network effects.
## Let the mullet grow
The DeFi mullet is more than just a meme &#8212; it&#8217;s a structural shift.
To scale, DeFi must meet users where they are: through regulated, user- 
friendly fintech channels. For fintechs to stay relevant, they must offer 
their customers the best user experience and opportunities, such as the best 
rates. Those who miss this opportunity risk falling into irrelevance, much 
like traditional retail banks losing market share to today&#8217;s fintechs.
This convergence isn&#8217;t just possible &#8212; it&#8217;s inevitable.
_**Opinion by: Merlin Egalite, co-founder at Morpho Labs.**_
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and 
should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and 
opinions expressed here are the author&#8217;s alone and do not necessarily reflect 
or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

The DeFi mullet — Fintech needs DeFi in the back

Bitcoin price remained in an extended consolidation after the U.S. lost its 
last triple-A credit rating on Friday. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $103,000, 
2.8% below its highest level this month. This slight pullback has brought its 
market cap to…