Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$104,369 as markets wrapped, down 0.7 percent in 24 hours. The day’s range for the cryptocurrency brought a low of US$103,984 and a high of US$104,589.

Bitcoin performance, June 2, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

After hitting nearly US$103,100 on May 31, Bitcoin held above US$104,500 to close its weekly candle.

The cryptocurrency traded around US$104,000 on Monday as uncertainty continued to plague centralized and decentralized markets in the final month of the second quarter.

Crypto analyst Daan Crypto Trades identified the mid-range level around US$99,600 and a resistance area near US$108,000 as key zones to watch for potential reversal signals during the first week of June. He emphasized that early June moves may be ‘fakeouts,’ with the real trend emerging afterward.

Ethereum (ETH) finished the trading day at US$2,533.47, a 0.4 percent increase over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday low of US$2,494.99 and saw a daily high of US$2,555.62.

Altcoin price update

• Solana (SOL) closed at US$152.44, down 2.1 percent over 24 hours. SOL experienced a low of US$152.34 in the final minutes of trading and reached a high of US$154.27.

• XRP is trading at US$2.16, reflecting a 0.1 percent decrease over 24 hours. The cryptocurrency reached a daily low of US$2.14 and a high of US$2.17.

• Sui (SUI) peaked at US$3.28, showing a decreaseof 0.2 percent over the past 24 hours. Its lowest valuation on Monday was US$3.25, and its highest was US$3.32.

• Cardano (ADA) is trading at US$0.6724, down 0.8 percent over the past 24 hours. Its lowest price of the day was US$0.6708, and it reached a high of US$0.6776.

Today’s crypto news to know

Circle aims for US$7.2 billion valuation in expanded US IPO

Stablecoin issuer Circle is aiming for a US$7.2 billion valuation in its upsized initial public offering (IPO), signaling strong investor interest amid a friendlier US regulatory environment under President Donald Trump.

The company and its backers now hope to raise up to US$896 million by offering 32 million shares.

Circle’s USDC, the world’s second largest stablecoin, is expected to benefit from pending legislation that could drive more institutional adoption. The firm reported a 55 percent jump in reserve income for Q1, reaching nearly US$558 million, though this was offset by a 68 percent surge in distribution and transaction costs.

Circle’s primary distribution partner is Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), with others contributing to global reach. The IPO is being led by JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Circle will trade under the ticker symbol ‘CRCL’ on the NYSE later this week.

BitoPro possibly hacked for US$11 million, exchange silent

Taiwan’s BitoPro exchange may have suffered a major breach on May 8, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, with over US$11.5 million in crypto drained from its hot wallets.

The attackers allegedly compromised wallets across Ethereum, Solana, Tron and Polygon, then funneled the assets through mixers like Tornado Cash and Wasabi Wallet to cover their tracks.

BitoPro has yet to publicly acknowledge the breach, instead citing routine “system maintenance” as the reason for service disruptions last month. The exchange remains quiet on its official channels despite mounting evidence of a hack.

BitoPro, operated by BitoGroup, has served Taiwan’s crypto market since 2018, and continues to process over US$20 million in daily volume.

Lubin credits Saylor for inspiring Ethereum treasury push

Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin says a conversation with Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor prompted him to explore the creation of a treasury firm focused on Ether, according to Bloomberg.

Inspired by Saylor’s success turning Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) into a leveraged Bitcoin proxy, Lubin launched a new initiative through SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ:SBET), raising US$425 million to buy Ether.

Lubin, who is now chair of SharpLink, expects to raise even more capital through share offerings and bonds — mirroring Saylor’s approach, but with a focus on Ethereum.

Following the announcement, SharpLink’s share price soared over 1,000 percent in just a few days. Lubin believes this will spark a wave of similar Ether-focused strategies and drive institutional demand.

While Bitcoin has enjoyed a clearer investment narrative as “digital gold,” Lubin argues Ether’s broader utility is underappreciated and ripe for a narrative shift.

Saylor’s Strategy boosts Bitcoin holdings by 705 BTC

Strategy acquired another 705 BTC for US$75.1 million between May 26 and May 30.

The latest purchases were made at an average price of US$106,495 per coin, and followed the sale of 3,750 Class A shares between May 22 and 29 by Strategy director Jarrod Patten, worth nearly US$1.4 million.

According to Strategy’s data, the latest purchase brought its year-to-date BTC yield to 16.9 percent. The company’s quarter-to-date BTC yield is now 5.4 percent. Strategy is looking to reach a BTC yield target of 25 percent year-to-date by the end of 2025. The company previously targeted a 15 percent yield, but increased it on May 1.

Strategy now holds 581,000 BTC, or 2.9 percent of all Bitcoin that have been mined to date.

Metaplanet buys more Bitcoin, holdings top US$930 million

Japan’s Metaplanet (TSE:3350,OTCQX:MTPLF) has acquired another 1,088 BTC, pushing its total Bitcoin stash past 8,888 coins — now worth over US$930 million. The latest purchase cost the firm US$117.5 million, bringing its average BTC acquisition price to just over US$108,000 per coin. Since adopting its Bitcoin treasury policy in April 2024, Metaplanet has rapidly climbed the ranks of corporate BTC holders and is now the largest in Asia.

The company recently raised US$50 million through zero-interest bonds to finance its latest round of acquisitions without issuing new stock. Year-to-date, Metaplanet reports a 66 percent return on its BTC holdings, and it has added over 7,000 coins in 2025 alone. The firm is targeting a total of 10,000 BTC by year end.

Tether enhances gold-backed token

Tether’s gold-backed token, Tether Gold (XAU₮), has been enhanced with an omnichain version, XAU₮0.

It is now available on the Open Network (TON) blockchain. This move enables the trading of digital gold and deepens the collaboration between Tether and TON. XAU₮, Tether’s original gold token, is available as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and a TRC-20 token on TRON. The new version leverages LayerZero’s OFT standard to facilitate native movement across multiple blockchains without wrapping or redeploying new tokens on each chain.

According to Tether’s Q1 attestation report, it has over 7.7 metric tons of physical gold backing the XAUT stablecoin.

MAS orders crypto firms to halt overseas services

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has ordered local crypto service providers to stop offering digital token services to overseas markets by June 30.

The directive came in response to industry feedback on a proposed regulatory framework for Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs) under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSM Act), passed in April 2022.

The act requires DTSPs with overseas operations to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards, even if they do not offer services within Singapore.

“DTSPs which are subject to a licensing requirement under section 137 of the FSM Act must suspend or cease carrying on a business of providing DT services outside Singapore by 30 June 2025,” MAS wrote.

MAS states that any Singapore-incorporated company, individual or partnership that provides DT services outside Singapore must either cease operations or obtain a license when the DTSP provisions come into force.

Companies found violating the laws will be subject to hefty fines of up to 250,000 Singaporean dollars (US$200,000) and imprisonment of up to three years. Firms licensed or exempted under the Securities and Futures Act, Financial Advisors Act or Payment Services Act may continue to operate without conflicting with the new rules.

The path to production at Dome Mountain

Although Dome Mountain was in production between 1980 and 1993 under different management, securing permits to restart activity at the 30 year old brownfield proved as complex as starting up a greenfield project.

“It wasn’t easy at all,” said Vig. “They say that it takes over 15 years to get a mine permit in BC, and people are congratulating us that we got it in just under five. And personally, I thought it was four years too late.”

He went on to note, “Imagine being in any business that you have to wait. You know, you open up your restaurant, but then you have to wait for five years to open it. I mean, it’s incredibly difficult to get a mining permit”

Indeed, BC has one of Canada’s longest permitting processes. A 2019 report from Resource World notes that it takes six months on average to get an exploration permit in Canada. However, in BC, it can take 15 to18 months.

National and provincial critical minerals strategies have been established over the last six years, and parties on both sides of the aisle have promised policy reforms. But Vig underscored the challenges that remain.

“I think we want to believe that,” he said of the notion that the permitting process will be expedited through the critical minerals push. “I think the politicians are certainly saying that, but I’m not so confident that the execution can be there,” he continued. “Because, you know, you’ve got many factors. You’ve got the infrastructure of the government itself, the bureaucracy. There are only so many people that are able to process these applications.”

Indigenous consultation and permitting with purpose

A key requirement in the permitting process is Indigenous community consultation, engagement and approval, an area provincial governments have struggled to seamlessly integrate into the process.

For Blue Lagoon, communication and consultation with the Lake Babine Nation started early and remains a key tenet.

The Lake Babine Nation is one of BC’s largest Indigenous communities, with over 2,500 registered members. Its traditional territory surrounds Babine Lake, the province’s longest natural lake.

“We have a great relationship with the Lake Babine Nation,” said Vig. “You know, honestly, it was a very simple process. It’s a philosophy, that is very rudimentary, certainly in my culture.” Vig, who is of Indian heritage, moved to Canada in 1972 with his family, credits those formative years for fostering his deep sense of respect.

“My whole upbringing is all about respect. So for us, it was very simple — respect the people, respect the land,” he said, adding that a lot of it was common sense. “Protect the water, protect the land and make sure you don’t damage it as you go along (are) good practices (for) any business,” Vig emphasized.

Water conservation and protection is especially important to Blue Lagoon, an issue Vig described as “a way of life” due to its significance for fishing and cultural practices.

‘You don’t wait to be asked — you take the initiative to understand what matters most,” he said.

As he explained, provincial regulatory requirements called for water testing at five sites along a specific stream, and Blue Lagoon chose to conduct testing at nine locations instead.

“It’s really unheard of in our industry, to the best of my knowledge. We didn’t just do what was required of us. We like to go above and beyond to make sure. And when you do things like that, I think the sincerity comes across,” he said.

Financing in a tough market

Another challenge junior miners are facing is accessing funding. Investors who once used added liquidity to the space have moved to other sectors like tech, leaving mining coffers on the decline.

Blue Lagoon has been fortunate in terms of capital raising; the company completed the final tranche of its most recent private placement in late April, raising C$2.23 million through the issuance of 8.9 million units at C$0.25 each.

The full offering brought in C$4.87 million over four tranches, fully funding Dome Mountain to production.

Blue Lagoon’s ability to fast track its permitting and funding process were praised by mining committee chair Yannis Tsitos, who has more than two decades of experience in the mining sector working for companies like global commodities giant BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP). Drawing on his history with large-scale operations, Tsitos described the Blue Lagoon’s approach as unusually nimble and disciplined.

“We haven’t cut a single corner,” he said, noting that while major players can afford to raise hundreds of millions upfront, most juniors must build organically. “What’s impressive is how this team — led by Rana — used creativity and persistence to move forward without delay,” he added. “It’s not about size; it’s about profitability and execution.”

He emphasized that Dome Mountain’s 15,000 ounce per year potential is just the beginning.

“Every major company started with one mine,” said Tsitos. “This could be the first step in something much bigger, and it’s happening right here in BC, which is hungry for investment.”