Daily Market Report – May 12, 2025
Crypto market sentiment remains solid despite the cryptocurrency market opening the week on a mixed note, with Bitcoin (BTC) slightly down 0.01% at $103,984.14 and Ethereum (ETH) falling 1.61% to $2,507.86. BTC traded within a tight range, from $103,345.06 to $105,086.42, while ETH dropped from a high of $2,565.75 to a low of $2,440.33. Despite the price dip, crypto market sentiment remained elevated with the Fear & Greed Index climbing to 73, signaling strong bullish sentiment. Futures liquidations totaled $117.71 million, reflecting a sharp wave of positioning adjustments, with long/short ratios remaining slightly skewed toward shorts for both BTC and ETH.
Altcoins saw significant volatility and upside. HJH led the market with a 78.53% gain, followed by PNUT at 29.28% and PARTI rising 22.23%, continuing a multi-day run in high-beta tokens. On-chain momentum remained hot, particularly on Ethereum, where newly launched tokens like RATO (“the golden dog”) surged to a $25 million market cap. Ironically, the token USELESS proved anything but, reaching $14.6 million, while MOODENG continued to outperform after several explosive price cycles.
On the macro and regulatory front, the United States announced a new trade agreement with China in Geneva, an event that may influence global risk appetite, including crypto. Coinbase’s CEO reiterated plans for the exchange to become a full-scale financial superapp within 5 to 10 years, with a major focus on stablecoins. Supporting that trend, the Solana-based sns.sol opened queries for its upcoming SNS token airdrop. Meanwhile, India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire agreement, helping ease geopolitical risk sentiment. Regulatory developments also made headlines as the U.S. government introduced the GENIUS stablecoin bill, which mandates that all stablecoin issuers, including Tether, comply with U.S. jurisdiction regardless of incorporation location.
Key Takeaway
Analyzing the latest market scans, crypto market sentiment and the crypto industry continues to see strong momentum in infrastructure, tooling, and gaming sectors, each rising over 270% in mindshare. Tokens like RAY, LDO, and PI have seen the greatest relative mention growth, driven by real-world integrations and DePIN narratives. Market cap leader BTC now holds above $104K after a multi-day short squeeze that liquidated nearly $400M (last week) and reestablished institutional confidence. Ethereum’s recovery to $2,500+ was largely fueled by the Pectra upgrade momentum and restored long-term investor optimism.
However, sector disparities remain evident: while tools, gaming, and infrastructure are rising fast, stablecoins and centralized finance (CeFi) have seen notable declines, dropping 13.5% and 32.7% in sector activity respectively. As volatility resurfaces and memecoins rotate out, capital appears to be shifting toward utility and governance-aligned assets—indicating that smart money may be positioning ahead of deeper ecosystem upgrades and macro tailwinds.
Michael Crag
