BTC Volatility Returns on Tariff Tensions

yyc trader & Olivia Capozzalo
June 02, 2025

Happy Monday, Defiers!

Today’s big story:

• Crypto volatility returns as tariffs rattle investors ahead of U.S. economic reports

Plus:

• Hong Kong logistics firm announces $1.5 BTC treasury
• Russia’s largest bank unveils Bitcoin-based structured bonds and futures
• Stablecoin market cap hits new ATH near $250B
• DNA fund CEO Chris Miglino details shift from ETH & Tether to a $50M bet on decentralized AI [MEDIA PARTNERSHIP]
• Andrew McFarlane of Validation Cloud shares how they’re building the backbone of web3 [MEDIA PARTNERSHIP]

Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.

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We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today

Markets Take a Breather After Seven Weeks of Gains

Happy Monday Defiers,

As global trade tensions resurface, Bitcoin has posted its first weekly loss since bottoming at $75K in April.

Last week, BTC slid to $103K, a roughly 8% drop from its all-time high of nearly $112K struck the previous week. The move was primarily driven by fears of a drawn-out trade war, after U.S. President Trump threatened the EU with new tariffs and accused China of violating the current trade deal between the world’s two largest economies.

BTC Price

Volatility is likely to persist this week as attention shifts to the health of the U.S. economy. On Monday, a report showed manufacturing activity declined for a third straight month.

Traders will be looking to Thursday’s unemployment figures and Friday’s non-farm payrolls data for insights into the Federal Reserve’s next moves.

While the U.S. central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its June meeting, Fed Governor Waller said yesterday that rate cuts could be possible later this year if trade negotiations are successful and tariff-induced inflation turns out to be short-lived.

Data from blockchain analytics firm Santiment shows that traders are cautiously bullish on Bitcoin but that sentiment surrounding Ethereum has turned euphoric after ETH’s stellar performance in May. The firm also noted that BTC held on exchanges continues to drop, calling it “one of the stronger long-term bullish signals in crypto.”

BTC Supply on Exchanges

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From the trenches,

yyctrader, The Defiant’s Degen-in-Chief

📈 Markets in the last 24 hrs:

	TICKER	VALUE	24H
	Bitcoin	$104,211	-0.90 %
	Ethereum	$2,538.35	0.05 %
	XRP	$2.16	-0.34 %
	BNB	$656.92	0.10 %
	Solana	$152.48	-1.75 %

1. In an SEC filing published today, Hong Kong-based logistics firm Reitar Logtech (NASDAQ: RITR) revealed plans to buy 15,000 BTC, valued at up to $1.5 billion, for its corporate treasury. RITR is up almost 30% today on the news.
2. Sberbank — Russia’s largest bank, which is majority state-owned — announced the launch of Bitcoin-based structured bonds, already available to select traders OTC; the bank plans to roll out the new product, as well as Bitcoin futures, on the Moscow Exchange.
3. The total market cap of all stablecoins has reached almost $250 billion, with USDT leading the pack at $153.2 billion, followed by Circle’s USDC with $60.9 billion — placing both USD stablecoins within the top-10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

🎬WATCH

In the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, we explore the world of crypto payroll and stablecoins with Megan Knab, cofounder and CEO of Franklin.

From tackling crypto volatility to how stablecoins can reshape global economies, this episode dives into the challenges and opportunities for crypto-native payment infrastructure.

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