Bitcoin’s price held $105k in support on Tuesday, with reduced geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It happened because Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran reawakened investors’ morale.
Even institutional interest in Bitcoin remains strong, with BTC ETFs recording $350.43 million in net inflows on Monday. In addition, exchange reserves this week fell from $2.491 million to $2.485 million, pointing to declining selling pressure in the short term, per cryptoquant.
Moreover, bullish interest seems to be high as the “taker buy to sell ratio” on the Bybit exchange has displayed significant spikes, and several expert bullish posts are flooded on social platforms where targets are aimed as high as $130K to $135K in Q3 2025. Keep reading to know more.
Bybit Exchange Reveals Investors Eyeing Opportunities in Bitcoin Dip
A recent analysis from Cryptoquant reveals that when market interest wanes in BTC, all data appears stagnant, making things easier to evaluate. In this scenario, a sudden footprint of smart money is easily tracked.
The activity starts revealing sudden spikes in the data of Bitcoin’s taker buy-to-sell ratio chart on the Bybit exchange, which were nearly stagnant before.
This highlights a significant pattern when overall market attention is drawn to a negative factor, and involvement becomes low due to rising fear. The whale accumulation has been seen to accelerate.
In many cases, smart money-loading bags have preceded with the upward trends.
The same pattern is repeating now, and spikes in the data amid the recent war uncertainty are evident. It highlights that the odds of a price rise are much higher.
Analyst Suggest Short Squeeze Incoming In Bitcoin Price
Recently, Daan Crypto highlighted that from May to June, the Bitcoin price was in a severe range between the month’s swing low support at $100K and near ATH around $109K.
The recent breach of swing low support during the heightened conflict, followed by a recovery from range lows, has built a big liquidity grab, which has hit many traders’ “stop-loss” orders. Now, experts believe the de-escalation could pump more gains ahead in the short term.
Aligning with the bullish sentiment, another expert has revealed that the Binance BTC/USDT liquidation heatmap on coin glass suggests that the current price is exchanging hands in the middle of two major liquidity leverage clusters.
Still, the topside liquidity cluster is piling up strongly per the 24-hour chart. He suggests that a short-term short-squeeze is coming, and the bull run is not over yet.
Moreover, in the long term, another expert, Ted Pillows, highlights that the recent war-led dip has changed nothing for BTC’s long-term trajectory. Instead, this dip has ensured that room for more upside is clear; he believes that $130K to $135K BTC price in Q3 is possible.
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GRVT co-founder Hong Yea left behind a rising executive career at Goldman Sachs to launch a hybrid crypto exchange as the market collapsed.
Four months after the mainnet, it has processed over $5 billion in volume. Yea tells BeInCrypto how his Wall Street roots helped engineer a decentralized trading powerhouse.
A Leap of Conviction in a Market on Fire
When Hong Yea left a decade-long career at Goldman Sachs, where he had risen to executive director, crypto markets were in freefall. It was late 2022, and FTX had just collapsed.
Confidence in centralized platforms had evaporated. But for Yea, the implosion was not a deterrent—it was validation.
“FTX crystallized our thesis. Centralized counterparties are single points of systemic failure. We saw that coming—and built GRVT to be the opposite,” Yea told BeInCrypto in an interview.
That conviction would be tested. While former colleagues moved toward managing director promotions and fatter bonuses, Yea built a next-gen exchange from scratch. One that would fuse institutional-grade speed and compliance with the decentralization ethos of Web3.
Today, just four months after its public mainnet launch, GRVT has processed over $5 billion in trading volume.
It is the first licensed decentralized exchange (DEX) under Bermuda’s Class M framework and one of the few platforms bridging Wall Street’s rigor with blockchain’s permissionless infrastructure.
Why a Goldman Exec Bet on Blockchain
For Yea, the pivot was not sudden. A trader by training, he spent years inside Goldman watching promising financial products die behind walled gardens.
“I saw brilliant tools and strategies that never reached beyond institutional silos. At the same time, DeFi lacked the risk controls, performance, and compliance needed to scale. I realized: if we could combine both worlds, we could unlock finance for everyone,” he explains.
The spark came at a 2022 crypto conference in Barcelona. Yea saw clearly that blockchain was not just speculative—it was a superior substrate for finance.
“It’s like a smarter internet. Not just for data, but for logic. Immutable, programmable, global. That’s what finance needs,” he articulates.
The Hybrid Advantage: CEX Speed Meets DEX Trustlessness
In the interview, Hong Yea presented GRVT as a purpose-built hybrid, not a traditional DEX or a centralized exchange with a Web3 gloss.
The platform, he said, separates matching and risk logic off-chain from settlement and custody on-chain. With this, users get the speed of centralized venues without ceding control of their assets.
“Every trade is executed with sub-millisecond latency, but settled on-chain via smart contracts that never touch user funds. It’s trustless execution at institutional speeds,” Hong Yea remarked.
Users sign trades cryptographically using SecureKey technology, which combines multi-party computation (MPC) with biometrics for maximum safety. At the same time, onboarding feels like Web2—email, password, 2FA.
Behind the scenes, GRVT’s zero-knowledge chain ensures privacy while keeping settlements transparent. Crucially, the platform allows users to instantly rehypothecate margin across markets—an edge even legacy prime brokerages rarely offer.
GRVT’s “CeDeFi” architecture combines off-chain order matching and risk management with on-chain self-custodial settlement using a private zk-powered Validium chain. It eliminates intermediaries, avoids on-chain custody fees, and enables users to maintain sole control of their assets.
“Trades execute in sub-millisecond latency but clear trustlessly in users’ own wallets,” Yea said.
This design directly targets the weaknesses of both CEXs and DEXs:
CEXs offer convenience and speed but force users to relinquish custody, introducing counterparty risk.
DEXs provide transparency and control but suffer from latency and fragmented liquidity.
GRVT bridges that divide. Users sign trades with biometrics via a SecureKey while all assets remain in their wallets.
“We blend Web2 login flows with cryptographic controls and one-click trade signing,” Yea explained. “It’s the speed of Binance with the self-custody of Uniswap—minus the trade-offs.”
$5 Billion in 120 Days With Regulation As The Blueprint
According to Hong Yea, GRVT’s explosive growth was engineered through raw performance, ecosystem incentives, and early partnerships. Its matching engine operates with latency under 10 milliseconds, outpacing Ethereum-based DEXs, Solana (SOL), and even newer Layer 2 solutions.
However, it is not just about speed. GRVT rewards market makers, community contributors, and liquidity providers, and creates a balanced, multi-stakeholder system.
Reportedly, more than 40 institutions, including CoinRoutes and top prime brokers, now trade on GRVT, injecting deep liquidity from day one.
Moreover, in a post-FTX playing field, the timing is opportune. Retail users demand transparency; institutions demand compliance. GRVT meets both demands without compromise.
“We’re not a niche. We’re a bridge. Retail wants safety, institutions want access. We offer a platform where both can trade on equal footing,” Yea added.
While most DEXs attempt to dodge regulation, GRVT leaned in. It became the world’s first licensed DEX under Bermuda’s Digital Asset framework.
“We treat compliance as code. Our chain enforces KYC and trade surveillance at the protocol level. That’s not just policy—it’s unbreakable,” Yea emphasized.
Reportedly, GRVT is now in active discussions with regulators across Asia, Europe, and North America, working toward multi-jurisdictional licensing for a globally compliant rollout. Yea believes this regulatory adoption is not a constraint but a critical enabler.
“Rules aren’t the enemy—they’re the gateway to institutional trust,” he stated.
Meanwhile, GRVT’s vision does not end with crypto trading. Yea sees a future where tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), including equities, funds, and institutional strategies, trade peer-to-peer (P2P) on a decentralized, composable platform.
“Wall Street is warming up. However, this time, they will come not to dominate, but to integrate,” Yea concluded.
Building long-term trust on a blockchain may seem like a leap for a trader who once priced risk in microseconds. However, for Hong Yea, it was a calculated trade—and so far, it is paying off.
Since US President Donald Trump assumed office, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped, settled, or paused lawsuits against prominent crypto entities left and right. In stark contrast to the previous administration’s leadership under Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC seems to be parting from its previous crackdown on digital assets.
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Nick Puckrin, Founder of The Coin Bureau, and Hank Huang, Chief Executive Officer at Kronos Research, highlighted the substantial election influence the crypto industry had over Trump’s candidacy as a contributing factor to the SEC’s looser stance on crypto.
The SEC’s Approach Under Trump
The SEC has experienced a clear shift in its approach to crypto lawsuits under Trump’s presidency. Its move away from the aggressive enforcement tactics of its previous leadership has largely characterized this shift.
“When President Donald Trump won the US election, the crypto industry rejoiced. Finally, the ‘regulation by enforcement’ era, which the SEC under the leadership of Gary Gensler was so famous for, was about to come to an end. And the new administration didn’t disappoint. Within just a couple of weeks of Trump’s inauguration, the revamped SEC started dropping lawsuits against crypto firms left, right and center,” Puckrin said.
Two weeks ago, the SEC officially dropped its appeal and XRP lawsuit against Ripple Labs, ending a five-year legal battle. The Commission had originally accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering worth $1.3 billion through XRP sales.
“After more than four years in limbo, the SEC has officially decided that XRP is not a security (though what it is instead remains to be seen). This case has been weighing heavily on XRP – the fourth largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of roughly $130 billion– so its resolution is a major win,” Puckrin added.
The wider crypto community celebrated the outcome, with many arguing that it will set a precedent for how digital assets are classified in the US. This prediction is warranted, given that the SEC has been on a lawsuit-dropping spree.
The SEC has also dropped several ongoing investigations against OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, Kraken, and Gemini. It has also asked a federal court to issue a 60-day pause over its litigation against Binance. Meanwhile, the Commission settled its investigation into ConsenSys over its Ethereum software products.
These lawsuits surfaced in parallel to a series of crypto-friendly measures meant to foster greater innovation and curb potential regulatory suffocation that had existed during the Biden era.
Will New Leadership Define Clear Crypto Regulations?
A day after Trump assumed office, SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda announced the creation of a dedicated crypto task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The task force was reportedly designed to resolve long-standing ambiguities in the regulatory treatment of digital assets.
In all SEC crypto lawsuits, Commissioner Uyeda has implemented a strategy prioritizing industry engagement to develop regulatory frameworks that balance innovation and investor protection.
Meanwhile, Trump strategically nominated Paul Atkins, a crypto-curious, regulation-light candidate, to replace Gensler as head of the SEC. Just this week, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Atkins’ nomination to the full Senate.
Now, only a stone’s throw away from becoming SEC Chair, Atkins is expected to loosen regulatory oversight on crypto.
“With the establishment of a new Task Force and key appointees like Paul Atkins fostering innovation, Trump’s strategic move to create a Bitcoin reserve within the government further underscores his commitment to supporting the industry. The future of crypto regulations will be focused on less oversight and the beginning of a delicate but promising thaw in the regulatory landscape,” Huang added.
Though some say Trump’s handling of crypto affairs has resulted in a never-before-seen triumph, others are weary that his increasing involvement in the industry has turned out to be a recipe for disaster.
The Impact of Crypto Donations on Regulations
Several industry leaders went to great lengths to ensure that Trump became America’s 47th president. Millions of dollars in donations from crypto firms throughout Trump’s campaign illustrated these efforts.
According to a Public Citizen report, over $119 million from crypto corporations went into influencing the 2024 federal elections, largely through Fairshake, a non-partisan super PAC backing pro-crypto candidates and opposing skeptics.
Crypto corporations donated over $119 million to the 2024 federal elections. Source: Public Citizen
Coinbase and Ripple, among others who stand to profit, directly provided over half of Fairshake’s funding. The remaining funds mostly came from billionaire crypto executives and venture capitalists. Notable contributions included $44 million from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from the Winklevoss twins, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
So far, big crypto’s spending strategy is paying off with a more favorable environment.
Without a clear framework to guide the crypto industry following these dropped lawsuits, this lax approach risks being short-lived. Ultimately, this could tarnish long-term crypto adoption.
“Somehow, all these victories feel somewhat hollow after the reputation of the crypto industry has been tarnished by the billions of dollars in combined losses from meme coin scams. Meanwhile, Hayden Davis, the mastermind behind LIBRA, continues to launch fraudulent meme tokens, despite being on the Interpol wanted list,” he said.
A 2024 report by Web3 intelligence platform Merkle Science revealed that meme coin rug pulls cost investors over $500 million. The February LIBRA incident showed how this trend was carried over to 2025. Nansen data revealed that 86% of investors lost $251 million, while insiders pocketed $180 million in profits.
Though crypto scammers may be charged with related crimes like wire fraud or money laundering, rug pulling is legal. Better said, it’s unaccounted for. No regulation holds crypto insiders responsible for meme coin scams.
“As crypto becomes an ever more mainstream asset class, consumers need to be protected against those who choose to use it for nefarious purposes. One way to do this is through education, and that’s our job as an industry. But deterring scams and extractive behavior is the job of the regulators. And it’s time they stepped up to the task,” Puckrin told BeInCrypto.
If the SEC doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity to curb the consequences that meme coin scams can produce, it will result in an enormous setback for the industry.
Comprehensive Regulation Beyond Dropped Lawsuits
Puckrin illustrated the need for heightened regulatory clarity in crypto by drawing attention to the way the SEC penalizes insider trading in the context of traditional investing.
“In traditional investing, insider trading is a serious crime. In the US, it’s punishable by fines of up to $5 million for individuals and prison sentences up to 20 years. Similarly, federal penalties for engaging with illegal gambling activities include up to five years in prison. Perpetrators of memecoin scams must be punished with the same level of severity, because the result is the same: manipulating markets and cheating unsuspecting investors out of their savings,” he said.
Puckrin clarified, however, that the issue isn’t solely about penalizing fraudsters. Just as the SEC’s past overregulation hindered the industry, the current lack of meme coin rules creates an environment where new scams and exploitative schemes can easily flourish.
“Yes, the removal of lawsuits is great news for blockchain innovation, but something needs to replace it. Indeed, serious cryptocurrency firms have never advocated for an unregulated Wild West. What they want is clarity and rules that are fit for the nascent blockchain industry – not just a copy-and-paste of existing financial regulations that simply don’t work for crypto,” he said.
Although the Trump administration has only been in place for four months, the clock is ticking, and meaningful change takes time.
Unanswered Questions Loom
Puckrin expressed concern over the current administration’s prioritization of lawsuit dismissals instead of working faster to implement transcendental crypto regulation.
“My concern is that regulators will keep kicking the can down the road with crypto regulation, having gained the approval of the industry for dropping the many lawsuits that were stifling its growth. And this is incredibly dangerous,” he told BeInCrypto.
Meanwhile, critical questions that only the SEC can define remain unanswered.
“What are memecoins and who will ensure another LIBRA fiasco doesn’t happen? Are utility altcoins now commodities and if so, will the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate them? And, importantly, what do we do about compensating investors who have lost billions to crypto fraud?” Puckrin concluded.
The SEC’s current direction promises a regulated renaissance or a breeding ground for future crises.
With billions lost and critical questions unanswered, the future of crypto hinges on whether the regulatory body will translate its recent shift into a lasting framework that fosters innovation without sacrificing investor protection.
