This week in crypto was full of fun developments. We experienced remarkable regulatory perspectives, new financial horizons, and cautionary tales of digital piracy. Bitwise's Matt Hougan suggests crypto investors may be underestimating the SEC's evolving stance, while Fundstrat's Tom Lee reaffirmed his bullish outlook on Bitcoin, projecting a potential $250,000 price target. Ethereum’s ecosystem moves quickly. Treasury firms are jumping into DeFi investments, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin endorses this development but advises to be careful. We saw the dark side of crypto, reminding everyone just how dangerous this volatile market can be. In a jaw-dropping case, one investor fell victim to a multi-million dollar smart phishing simulation.

Regulatory Winds: A Shift in SEC Sentiment?

Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, has faith. For one, he believes the market is significantly underappreciating the power of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) current perception of crypto to wreak havoc. At the end of the show, Hougan discussed one specific speech from an SEC official that he found surprisingly bullish.

"The most bullish document I've read on crypto wasn't written by some yahoo on Twitter. It was written by the chairman of the SEC." - Matt Hougan

He explained what could happen if this new mood turns into something more permanent.

"I can't imagine reading the speech and not wanting to allocate a significant portion of your capital to crypto, or, if you work in finance, a significant portion of your career." - Matt Hougan

The speech, Hougan said, left him astonished. It gave him pause to wonder if the market hadn’t already priced in Atkins’ vision. He further believes that crypto prices would still have upside potential.

Ethereum's Evolving Landscape: Treasuries and Buterin's Warning

Ethereum’s ecosystem is undergoing an exciting new dynamic with the emergence of treasury companies. These entities use DeFi yields to entice investors from traditional finance (TradFi). Second, they open up additional pathways for capital to flow into the Ethereum network. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supports Ether treasury firms. He warns that left unchecked, this move could become an “overleveraged game."

"There's definitely valuable services that are being provided there." - Vitalik Buterin

Buterin's support comes with a caution, emphasizing the need for responsible management to avoid potential risks associated with excessive leverage. Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin thinks there are more public companies who own Ether and are buying the asset. This reducing effect makes the token much more attractive to a variety of investors.

"The race has already begun." - Editorial Staff (referring to Ethereum treasury companies competing for yield in DeFi)

Security Alert: $3 Million USDT Lost in Phishing Attack

The week acted as a sobering reminder that security threats are a permanent feature of the crypto landscape. In this case, one investor was successfully targeted by a sophisticated phishing scam, leading to $3 million in USDT lost funds. One misstep click was enough for an investor to lose $3 million USDT due to some minor incompatibility.

"Someone fell victim to a phishing attack, signed a malicious transfer, and lost 3.05M $USDT. Stay alert, stay safe. One wrong click can drain your wallet. Never sign a transaction you don't fully understand." - Lookonchain

This incident serves as a reminder of the need for extreme vigilance and caution in all interactions with blockchain transactions. Crypto investors were recently defrauded out of $3 million in a phishing scam after signing a malicious blockchain transaction.

Market Movers: Gainers, Losers, and Bitcoin's Bullish Outlook

The cryptocurrency market continued its typical volatility this week as some altcoins shot up while others sank. This week, Mantle (MNT) is in first place with an outstanding increase of 52.61%. Rounding out the top four is Pendle (PENDLE) at 38.61% and Aerodrome Finance (AERO) at 37.33%. In the top 10 this week, Toncoin (TON) suffered the worst drop, down -7.74%. Monero (XMR) and XDC Network (XDC) rounded out the biggest losers in close succession, losing 6.43% and 0.39%, respectively.

Here’s why Bitcoin price may go to $250,000 says Fundstrat’s Tom Lee. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee’s deadline for Bitcoin to hit $250,000 was an unconscious 12 months from last November.

"I think Bitcoin should really build upon this 120 before the end of the year; 200,000, maybe, 250." - Tom Lee

Total market cap across all cryptocurrencies is at $3.93 trillion, per CoinMarketCap. At the end of the week Bitcoin is at $116,618, Ether $4,156 and XRP $3.31.

Other Notable Developments

Beyond the big headlines, a number of other interesting developments surprised and delighted advocates and opponents alike. President Donald Trump’s administration had previously announced a deal with OpenAI. They’ll provide the enterprise-level version of the ChatGPT platform—known as a “large language model”—to every federal agency.

"Within alternative asset classes, digital assets and hedge funds have been seeing an acceleration of inflows this year, in sharp contrast to the weak fundraising seen in private equity and private credit." - Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou