Mojo rising
What's being bought and sold*
TOP TRENDING ASSETS
*Trading activity in the past 24 hours on the Uphold platform, as of 8 a.m. 20th May 2025.
The combined total of buy and sell percentages can exceed 100% due to customers who engage in both buying and selling the same asset within the 24-hour time frame.
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What’s up
Bitcoin Hits Lofty Level
Bitcoin late last night made a run at $106,700, very close to the ATH, only to falter, rear back up, and then once again dip below $106K. That was early this morning.
Still, green is the color of crypto's most colossal asset. As of 7:15 a.m. (EST), BTC was holding tightly to $105K, up 2% in 24 hours, per CoinGecko.
Some big altcoins caught our attention for timely gains. Ethereum spiked by as much as 8% during Monday night's momentum fest. Solana gained as much as 6%, surging, says CoinDesk, amidst signs of institutional buying and bustling DeFi action. SOL got to $172. At the moment, though, SOL sits at about $165.
Generally speaking, CoinDesk noted, BTC staying above $100K has cemented a "new psychological floor."
Meanwhile, a major piece of crypto legislation is winnowing its way toward passage on Capitol Hill, possibly helping to stoke investor enthusiasm.
What's down
Havens In Flux After U.S. Credit Downgrade
Expectations for volatility in the stock market, as measured by the VIX, recently whipsawed violently. In the span of 21 trading days between mid-April and late last week, the so-called "fear index" saw its steepest drop since 1990. In that time, the VIX, based on forward-looking options market sentiment, fell from above 40 (indicating elevated fright levels) to below 20 (run-of-the-mill uncertainty) as Trump-imposed trade tensions undulated from scorched earth to conciliatory.
And while a historic collapse of VIX readings has been associated with past upward mood swings, the bond market right now is behaving more pessimistically.
On Friday, Moody's, one of three major rating agencies, cut the U.S. credit rating from top-notch (Aaa) to "Aa1," pointing to the federal government’s budget deficit (which is ballooning and set to possibly balloon even more) and to the interest payments on debt (soaring). The two other major rating agencies, S&P and Fitch, had already moved to deprive the U.S. of their highest possible rating. In response to the Moody’s downgrade, the 30-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 4.995% while the yield on the 10-year note climbed to 4.521%.
"Bond markets are challenging the illusion of U.S. fiscal stability and safe haven status," CoinDesk's Omkar Godbole pointed out. "BTC and gold stand to gain."
What's next
Crypto's Regulatory Cornerstone In Sight
The GENIUS Act, landmark legislation establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins, advanced in the U.S. Senate on Monday, setting up one last bipartisan push for final passage.
Monday's vote was only to limit debate on the bill, or what's known as a "procedural" vote, essentially a sausage-making tactic for slowing/speeding negotiations.
This measure moved forward in a 66-32 vote. Earlier this month, a similar measure was blocked by some Democrats who expressed concerns about President Trump's crypto ventures. But this time around, enough Democrats voted to procedurally unclog the advancement of the bill.
Ahead of yesterday's vote, the measure gained the backing of a key Democrat, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.
"The stablecoin market has reached nearly $250 billion and the U.S. can't afford to keep standing on the sidelines," Sen. Warner said in a statement. "We need clear rules of the road to protect consumers, defend national security, and support responsible innovation." (CBS News)
