Bitcoin approached the $60,000 level this week as crypto market participants debated whether current conditions represent a buying opportunity, with Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick declaring crypto winter over and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stating the bottom is in. The market assessment came as the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran and Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh signaled the end of forward guidance in his first FOMC meeting. While Bitcoin and most altcoins continued downward trends, Hyperliquid's HYPE printed a fresh all-time high with an 11.6% jump, and decentralized AI tokens rallied on news that Anthropic was brought to heel by U.S. government pressure.
Bitcoin Approaches $60,000 as Analysts Call Market Bottom
Bitcoin edged closer to the $60,000 level in another red week, while almost all altcoins disintegrated further. The major stock indices opened lower to start the week but have almost recovered their losses as of Friday morning. Gold and silver both printed red weekly candles, and oil is currently trading at $76.
Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick declared crypto winter over, holding his year-end targets of $100k BTC and $4k ETH and suggesting the dip toward $59k likely marked the low. Coinbase's Brian Armstrong said the bottom is in, reminding everyone it's "never as good or bad as it seems."
Technical analysts concurred with the bottom-calling sentiment. DonAlt stated he likes this area as an entry after BTC retested $60k and bounced, low-timeframe noise notwithstanding. Glassnode described a market in repair, pointing to improving liquidity, stronger passive bids, and patient ETF holders as evidence of a floor forming. CryptoParadyme reckoned we're so close to the bottom that one more gut-punch candle should finish the job.
Sykodelic noted this was the fastest Bitcoin has ever entered higher-timeframe oversold, presenting a rebuttal to everyone penciling in a ritual October bottom just because the four-year cycle says so. Ansem agreed sentiment is "guttered," with smart allocators rotating into stocks and near-silence around crypto's fundamental value. Jason Yanowitz stated that crypto is about to get very exciting with several mainstream moments three to six months out.
Hyperliquid HYPE Prints All-Time High Amid Altcoin Decline
While Bitcoin and nearly all crypto assets trend downward, Hyperliquid's HYPE printed a fresh all-time high, jumping 11.6%. The performance stood in stark contrast to the broader altcoin market decline.
Decentralized AI Tokens Rally on Anthropic Government Pressure
Anthropic, an American company that has chafed at the U.S. government's control before, was brought to heel. TAO rallied roughly 25% and Venice's VVV jumped 15% on the news.
Well-known TAO bull Algod called VVV a distribution platform fully reliant on Erik Voorhees' marketing. In a follow-up statement, he argued its privacy claims were thin (it leans on Near) and its models are effectively trained by someone else. He stated he is mulling a short.
Standard Chartered Initiates Uniswap Coverage with $100 2030 Target
Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Uniswap with a $100 target by 2030 on the thesis that tokenized assets in DeFi grow 37x this decade and UNI becomes core trading infrastructure.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju outlined a framework for which altcoins actually survive: global internet companies with tokenized market layers, DeFi services with real revenue, and projects aligned with broader financial trends. Solana leadership moved to let SOL stakers vote on reducing inflation via SIMD-550.
Electric Capital's Avichal declared that confidential DeFi is real and "works." Squads' Stepan Simkin argued stablecoin payments don't have to be irreversible, stating that smart contracts can encode escrow, chargebacks, dispute resolution, and recovery, whatever the business actually needs.
Strategy STRC Trades as Low as $82.50 Amid Saylor Concerns
Matt Cole called it the most difficult day in the history of Digital Credit as STRC traded as low as $82.50 before recovering sharply. With STRC down 15% in two weeks, a video from a year ago resurfaced of Michael Saylor admitting he designed STRC with ChatGPT.
One crypto Twitter commentator laid out a full STRC-implodes, MSTR-follows, Saylor-exits, this-marks-the-bottom sequence, while another floated the theory that CZ is hunting Saylor's liquidation levels, still bidding for coins in the $50k range. Jeff Dorman stated that Strategy is still in a pickle and the best thing to do is raise around $4 billion in order to mollify the markets by pushing out the dividend question a couple of years.
Early Friday morning, Michael Saylor posted a statement that many felt was similar in vibe to the infamous "Steady Lads" Do Kwon comment.
JPMorgan Notes Bitcoin Miners Trading Below Production Cost
JPMorgan noted Bitcoin has traded below its approximately $78,000 production cost for five straight months, leaving roughly 20% of miners underwater.
Cardano Community Rejects Summit Proposal as Hoskinson Takes Break
Several weeks ago, the Cardano community rejected a proposal to spend $2 million for the flagship Cardano Summit 2026. Following that, Charles Hoskinson, de facto head of Cardano, warned there's going to be a wave of failures in the ecosystem. He then posted, "I'm taking a break. TTYL."
This week, Hoskinson announced he's migrating the community from X to Discord to escape the "drama, lies, endless rage, and embittered people." One builder laid bare five years all-in on Cardano. Another offered a statement calling the tech "dogshit and going nowhere," and stated that the most valuable thing the ecosystem ever had was its people, whom he urged to find one another and move on.
Binance Reportedly Losing EU Client Permission Under MiCA
Binance is reportedly set to lose permission to serve EU clients as its MiCA license application in Greece looks likely to be rejected. USDT is being pushed off regulated EU trading venues under MiCA because Tether has not secured the required authorization.
FAQ
What did Standard Chartered say about the crypto market this week?
Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick declared crypto winter over, holding his year-end targets of $100k BTC and $4k ETH and suggesting the dip toward $59k likely marked the low. The firm also initiated coverage on Uniswap with a $100 target by 2030.
Why did decentralized AI tokens rally this week?
TAO rallied roughly 25% and Venice's VVV jumped 15% on news that Anthropic, an American company that has chafed at U.S. government control before, was brought to heel by government pressure.
What happened with Michael Saylor's Strategy STRC token?
STRC traded as low as $82.50 before recovering sharply, with the token down 15% in two weeks. A video from a year ago resurfaced showing Michael Saylor admitting he designed STRC with ChatGPT, and early Friday morning Saylor posted a statement that many compared to Do Kwon's infamous "Steady Lads" comment.
