Bitcoin Ecosystem Highlights #2

May 2025 was a landmark month for the Bitcoin ecosystem — not just in price, but in purpose. From institutional giants to protocol-level breakthroughs, BTCFi is shedding its experimental label and stepping into its role as the foundation for a new, Bitcoin-native financial system.

Market Milestones & Institutional Momentum

• Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $111,390 on Bitcoin Pizza Day (May 22), underscoring renewed investor confidence and BTCFi's rising relevance.
• BlackRock’s IBIT surpassed Grayscale’s GBTC to become the largest spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S., marking a major milestone in institutional adoption.
• GameStop​ added 4,710 BTC to its treasury​ — a $513 million allocation that aligns the gaming giant with a growing wave of corporate crypto holders.
• Trump Media & Technology Group revealed plans to raise $2.5 billion to build a Bitcoin treasury​, setting the stage for one of the largest private BTC holdings to date.
• U.S. Vice President JD Vance reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to crypto-friendly policy​, signaling progress toward regulatory clarity at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.

Core Infrastructure & Standards

• Babylon Genesis solidified its dominance in BTCFi, now capturing over 90% of the ecosystem’s Total Value Locked (TVL), amount to $5.5 billion.
• Stacks released “The New Stacks Roadmap”​, laying the groundwork for a more accessible Bitcoin-native DeFi ecosystem, with the sBTC Litepaper on the horizon.

• GOAT Network proposed a set of “Core Standards” for Bitcoin Layer 2s — emphasizing censorship resistance, trust minimization, and alignment with Bitcoin’s foundational values.

Ecosystem Growth & Culture

• BOB launched the "Proof of Bob" campaign​, allowing users to mint .bob domain names and claim exclusive BOB Badges — a step forward in decentralized identity built on Bitcoin.

• The PoW Alliance officially launched​ with a mission to champion proof-of-work systems.

The Road Ahead

Bitcoin is evolving beyond digital gold — it's becoming programmable capital. With the rise of BTCFi, a new financial layer is taking shape: native to Bitcoin, inherently trustless, and engineered for scale. What was once a speculative concept is now a structural shift. The question is no longer if this ecosystem will grow — but how far it will redefine finance.