Bitcoin tops $86,000 as Bitget loses $351m in hack
Bitcoin broke its May high to reach about $86,000, while Bitget said its protection fund covers a $351m hack and Europe pushed ahead with a digital euro for banks.
Key points
- Bitcoin reached roughly $86,000, breaking its May high and recovering from summer lows near $58,000, per Bitcoin.com News.
- Alex Thorn noted bitcoin's first close above its 50-week moving average in 45 weeks.
- Bitget was hacked for about $351 million; CEO Gracy Chen said the protection fund covers the loss and withdrawals were briefly suspended.
- The ECB said it will proceed with a digital euro for banks, with nothing for consumers yet.
- The SEC wants Bitconnect promoter Trevon James to repay $3.2 million in ill-gotten gains.
Bitcoin broke above its May high this week, reaching roughly $86,000 and extending a recovery from summer lows near $58,000, Bitcoin.com News reports in its Week in Review. The outlet notes that Alex Thorn highlighted bitcoin's first close above its 50-week moving average in 45 weeks. Benjamin Cowen, who had expected an October cycle low and no break of the May high this year, acknowledged his call was wrong rather than shifting his position.
The macro backdrop was little changed from the previous week. Rising long-term Treasury yields fuelled fresh debate over the cause and whether higher rates help or hurt risk assets. One view cited by the outlet held that the move is bullish because the market expects strong growth and investors are demanding higher returns from bonds, while others argued there is little benign about the increase. The National Financial Conditions Index shows conditions as loose as at any point since the Fed began hiking in 2022.
Europe looked weaker by comparison. France's credit rating was downgraded, and Arthur Hayes pointed to the widening French-German sovereign bond spread, expecting eventual money printing in response. He also flagged a MOVE Index reading of 130 as a US watchpoint that could prompt some form of US money printing. In crypto policy, the CLARITY Act's failed advance drew critical mainstream coverage, but SEC and CFTC activity quickly filled the gap, and commissioner Hester Peirce called for rethinking financial surveillance and data collection.
Bitcoin breaks May high
Tokenisation kept expanding. Token Terminal's seven-day DEX volume comparison showed week-on-week increases of $193.3 million for Backpack-issued stock tokens, $106.1 million for Coinbase's and $38.6 million for st0x's. By Friday, Solana had overtaken Robinhood in tokenised-asset spot DEX volume, and a separate comparison put Solana's trading volume above the NYSE's, though the outlet cautions that the two sides count different things. Chainlink announced a partnership with Infosys, and both Apple and Google advertised senior blockchain and stablecoin roles.
Prediction markets drew scrutiny. Kalshi faced an initial accusation of fabricated crypto activity, followed by analysis of repeated trade sizes and further questions about its statistics; IcoBeast disputed the claims in a rebuttal and later apologised for his tone. The Wall Street Journal reported that fraudsters used stolen debit cards to fund bets on Polymarket and sought withdrawals to accounts they controlled, with people familiar saying Shayne Coplan told staff to prioritise growth and deal with fines later. Polymarket says it has controls for suspicious activity and works with authorities.
On Solana, launchpads fought openly. Pump.fun supporters attacked Stonkfun.xyz's reward token mode as an extractive tax that rewards insiders, while several accounts said PUMP was again paying key opinion leaders to spread fear about a competitor. The outlet advises caution around such promoters, noting that stats show KOLs losing money on their trades while earning from callout rewards. Zcash's rally also attracted ordinal grifters selling NFT collections on the blockchain.
Macro and policy split
Security dominated the week's close. Bitget was hacked for roughly $351 million, and CEO Gracy Chen said the exchange's protection fund covers the loss, though withdrawals were temporarily suspended. Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan criticised what he called Bitget's shady market-making practices and warned it might be the next FTX, while others resurfaced Chen's earlier warning that Hyperliquid might be the next FTX after the JELLYJELLY incident. The SEC also wants Bitconnect promoter Trevon James to repay $3.2 million in ill-gotten gains, and a reported iPhone Safari remote-code-execution flaw served as a reminder to use a hardware wallet.