Two initiatives to pass a state-level Strategic Bitcoin Reserve have failed in Florida, marking another setback for the nationwide movement. Nonetheless, several other active proposals remain.
Between this failure and Arizona’s recent veto, momentum might be slowing. Utah passed a Bitcoin-centric bill after totally excising Reserve-related language, but there’s been no unambiguous victory anywhere in the US.
“Both Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve Bills have failed. The legislature adjourned its 2025 session on May 2, without passage of the bills. HB 487 and SB 550 have been ‘indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration,’” claimed a crypto policy watchdog.
Technically, Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve bills accumulated bipartisan support in their first appearance. This is a critically useful tool for passing crypto-friendly regulation, but Florida’s support was fragile.
Their sponsor, Webster Barnaby, faced overwhelming skepticism at the time. Although he convinced them on the day, his words didn’t carry far.
The other might stand a better chance of receiving approval, but there’s no definite way to know. The main difference between the two involves funding.
State Reserve Race Update:
Both Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve Bills have failed.
The legislature adjourned its 2025 session on May 2, without passage of the bills.
HB 487 and SB 550 have been “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration.” pic.twitter.com/9TslaU80JW
As Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve bills quietly died in committee, it’s difficult to analyze a definite reason for their failure. Many state-level bills have been plagued by concern from fiscal conservatives unwilling to invest tax dollars in cryptocurrency.
This belief certainly has bipartisan buy-in; it’s been a feature of questions in Florida, the veto in Arizona, and other failures nationwide.
There are still a few active proposals, but their future is looking increasingly uncertain. The most hopeful prospect, in Utah, did technically become law, but only after shedding all mention of a Bitcoin Reserve.
Utah passed Bitcoin-friendly regulation, but refused this more ambitious task. If these failures continue, it may blunt momentum nationwide.
A lot happened this week in crypto, marking developments expected to continue shaping the industry. Important headlines came from administrative decisions, ecosystem developments, and analysts probing the market outlook.
In case you missed it, the following is a roundup of some of the most important developments in the crypto market this week.
XRP Lawsuit’s Jay Clayton Became New SDNY Attorney
“Trump’s former SEC Chair Jay Clayton has taken his position as interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York. He will serve for up to four months until confirmed by the Senate or appointed by Manhattan federal judges,” former Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported.
The move came as Democratic leaders in the Senate reportedly hinted at blocking Clayton’s nomination. Trump’s move to install him as interim could see Clayton avoid the Senate confirmation process.
Clayton is the legal expert who initially filed the longstanding legal action between the SEC and Ripple. As it happened, Clayton filed the lawsuit on December 22, 2020, and resigned the next day in what will be remembered as a “parting shot” for the agency.
Pi Network Pioneer Frustration Over Ambiguous Roadmap
Another crypto incident this week concerned Pi Network pioneers. As BeInCrypto reported, the controversial project released its Mainnet Migration Roadmap. However, it failed to impress pioneers as it lacked key details.
Specifically, several gaps sparked concerns, including failing to disclose how many Pioneers remain in the queue. Similarly, it was unable to show the network’s daily migration capacity. The absence of these figures makes it impossible for users to predict when their migration will occur.
Further, opaque criteria for node rewards and the UI’s “Transferable Balance” underestimating actual migrated amounts raised flags. Pi Network also offers no audit or error‑resolution process for users who spot mismatches in their historical mining data, exacerbating the fears.
“I thought we were mining all of these PI coins this whole time? I thought the security circles were the Consensus Mechanism. It kinda seems to me like there isn’t a blockchain, and never was one. What kind of “Blockchain protocol” would “Require” all tokens to be minted at genesis?” one community member wrote.
Pi Network (PI) price performance. Source: CoinGecko
Data on Coingecko shows PI coin was trading for $0.6539 as of this writing, up by a modest 1.1% in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin Cycle Unfolds Noticeably Different From Previous Ones
More interestingly, BeInCrypto reported a concerning shift: this cycle is unfolding remarkably differently than the past ones post-halving.
In previous cycles, BTC price tended to rally aggressively months after the Bitcoin halving. The post-halving period saw strong upward momentum and parabolic price action.
This trend was largely driven by retail enthusiasm and speculative demand, which proved most pronounced from 2012 to 2016 and 2016 to 2020.
Things are happening differently in the current cycle. Instead of accelerating after the halving, the price surge began in October and December 2024, driven by Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded funds) hype. This was followed by consolidation in January 2025 and a correction in late February.
PancakeSwap Announces CAKE Tokenomics Date
This week in crypto, PancakeSwap announced the official date for its CAKE tokenomics, April 23. As BeInCrypto reported, key changes included the removal of veCAKE, staking, and revenue sharing, with 5.3 million CAKE to be burned annually to curb supply.
However, there was also controversy as Cakepie DAO pushed back against veCAKE removal. Several developers and community members believe CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 will benefit the project in the long term.
“At its core, CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 defends true value and protects CAKE holders by strengthening long-term fundamentals—such as aggressively cutting emissions to accelerate deflation and sustainably grow value,” Chef Philip said.
Meanwhile, others voiced strong concerns on X (Twitter), criticizing the decision to eliminate veCAKE. Among them was Cakepie DAO, one of the largest veCAKE holders, who called it non-transparent and potentially damaging to projects built around that model.
Against this backdrop, PancakeSwap resorted to a $1.5 million CAKE compensation plan.
“PancakeSwap is willing to provide 1.5M USD in CAKE to CakePie DAO primarily used to compensate CKP Holders if CakePie DAO enables mCAKE holders to redeem 1:1 back to CAKE and opens the redemption page in a timely manner if the proposal passes. Detailed plans will be announced once the mirror proposal on CakePie is completed,” the Head Chef of PancakeSwap wrote.
Data on CoinGecko shows Pancake’s CAKE was trading for $2.12 as of this writing, up by nearly 10% in the last 24 hours.
Zora Airdrop and Token Launch Announcement
Adding to the list of the many events that happened this week in crypto, Zora Network announced that it would airdrop 1 billion ZORA tokens (10% of the total supply) on April 23. The tokens would reward early platform users across two snapshot periods.
As it happened, the crypto airdrop happened in style, sparking confusion as it lacked an official checker or claim site. Users were required to go to the contract address and check their allocations.
Speaking to BeInCrypto, Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base blockchain, said that one must not understand anything about crypto or the underlying infrastructure before posting on Zora. He also defended the value of content coins, emphasizing their potential for creators despite volatility.
Made in USA coins have delivered a mixed performance in the first week of May, with PENGU, SUI, and RENDER showing very different trajectories. PENGU surged by 107% over the past week, signaling a strong recovery after months of correction.
SUI also impressed, jumping 70% and positioning itself among the largest Made in USA coins. Meanwhile, RENDER struggled to gain traction, underperforming both the broader market and the leading AI coins.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
PENGU was once the leading meme coin on Solana, reaching a peak market cap of $2.9 billion on January 6.
However, after its explosive rise, the token entered a prolonged correction phase, with its market cap falling below the $1 billion mark by January 29.
Since then, PENGU has struggled to regain its previous momentum, reflecting broader cooling interest in meme coins during that period.
Despite the correction, recent price action suggests that sentiment around PENGU may be shifting again.
Over the past seven days, PENGU has surged by 107%, including a gain of more than 16% in just the last 24 hours. PENGU could soon test the $0.011 resistance level if this strong momentum continues.
A break above this point could open the path toward $0.0126, and if bullish pressure remains strong, further targets at $0.0171 and even $0.0223 could come into play — breaking above the $0.020 mark for the first time since January 27.
SUI
SUI has been one of the standout performers among altcoins over the past week, surging 70% and positioning itself just behind Cardano, Solana, and XRP in market cap among the major Made in USA coins.
With such a powerful move quickly, SUI is approaching critical technical levels that could determine whether the rally continues or faces a pullback.
Recently, SUI tested the resistance at $3.73 but failed to break through it. If it manages to test this level again and successfully break above it, the next target would be $4.25, which would also mark SUI’s first time trading above $4 since January 31.
However, if bullish momentum fades, SUI could retrace to test the $3.25 support zone.
Losing this support could lead to a deeper correction toward $2.92 or even $2.51, making the coming price action especially important for assessing whether SUI’s rally can extend further.
RENDER
RENDER has been lagging behind the broader market, posting only a 2% gain over the last seven days, far less than most other major Made in USA coins.
It has also underperformed relative to the top AI-focused tokens, such as TAO, FET, and VIRTUAL, which have shown much stronger momentum.
This lackluster performance suggests that while artificial intelligence narratives continue to gain traction, RENDER has struggled to capture the same level of enthusiasm, raising concerns about its near-term outlook compared to its peers.
Technically, RENDER’s EMA lines are signaling potential weakness, with the possibility of a death cross forming soon.
If the downtrend materializes, RENDER could first test support at $4.25; losing that level could open the door for deeper drops to $3.82, $3.55, and even $3.14.
However, if RENDER manages to regain positive momentum, a rebound toward $4.63 could still be in play.