Morning Minute is a daily newsletter authored by Tyler Warner. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Decrypt. Additionally, check out our new daily news show for top stories summarized in 5 minutes, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Good morning!
Here are today’s key highlights:
- Major cryptocurrencies experience a slight recovery, with BTC at $73.3k, up 1-2%.
- HYPE sees a 10% increase after ICE CEO labels it “Bigger than Nasdaq.”
- According to JPMorgan, the debasement trade is losing steam, pushing BTC and gold lower.
- Standard Chartered likens ETH to Amazon in 2021, setting a target of $40k.
- Anthropic raises $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation, unveiling Claude Opus 4.8 on the same day.
💡 ICE CEO Declares Hyperliquid “Bigger Than Nasdaq”
During Bernstein’s 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Jeff Sprecher, the founder of Intercontinental Exchange and a key figure behind the modern NYSE, highlighted that Hyperliquid has surpassed Nasdaq in trading volume, built by just 11 individuals, and cannot be overlooked. He stated, “You look at it, you’re like, wow, that’s pretty something.” He praised the team, saying, “The people that have built that exchange are extremely smart... I salute these guys for doing it.” When asked about the potential for traditional finance to ignore Hyperliquid, he responded, “I don’t think you can ignore it.”
Hyperliquid has attracted early-adopter traders who typically participate in ICE and Nasdaq’s traditional markets to a blockchain-based platform. Sprecher pointed out that Hyperliquid has been trading crude oil perpetuals during weekends when ICE is closed, noting that significant price fluctuations related to the Iran conflict have occurred during these times.
Regarding institutional clients, he remarked, “While most of our institutional clients are not trading on blockchain... they’re all watching it, and they’re watching the price discovery. Whether they admit it or not, it is being part of the zeitgeist.” He also mentioned the potential significance of the SpaceX listing, saying, “I think regulators and market participants are going to say either it was irrelevant or it was highly relevant.” Looking ahead, he added, “We’re just going to have to get used to the interplay of retail and professional trading 24/7, 365.”
This endorsement from a prominent figure in traditional finance has positively impacted markets, with HYPE rising 10% overnight to $62.50.
📉 JPMorgan Reports On Unwinding Debasement Trade
On Thursday, analysts at JPMorgan released a research note suggesting that the “debasement trade” is losing its grip. This trade concept involved purchasing Bitcoin and gold as safeguards against inflation, geopolitical tensions, and currency depreciation.
Recent data reveals simultaneous outflows from both Bitcoin and gold ETFs over the past fortnight, alongside declining institutional positions in CME futures for both commodities. The report indicates that the recent downturn may reflect increasing optimism regarding a potential easing of tensions between the U.S. and Iran, leading investors to adjust their positions ahead of anticipated diplomatic developments.
This suggests a diminishing need for hedges against geopolitical instability. However, from Bitcoin holders' perspective, the cryptocurrency has not performed particularly well as a debasement hedge during the Iran conflict, with stocks and gold showing stronger performance overall.
The true test of the debasement thesis will unfold in the coming years as inflation continues to impact both the U.S. and global economies—this is the central driver of the thesis, more so than geopolitical factors. Inflation is not likely to subside, leaving uncertainty about Bitcoin’s future performance.
🤯 Standard Chartered Compares ETH to Amazon, Sets $40,000 Target
Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick released a note asserting that Ethereum’s current valuation does not accurately reflect its network’s improving metrics, drawing a parallel between ETH’s current state and Amazon’s situation following the dot-com crash.
Bezos famously noted during that period: “The stock is not the company. And the company is not the stock.” Since the post-dotcom lows, Amazon’s stock has surged approximately 1,000-fold. Kendrick argues that a similar disconnect exists for Ethereum today.
Standard Chartered has reaffirmed its end-of-year target of $4,000 for Ethereum and a longer-term target of $40,000 by the decade's end. The bullish case they outlined hinges on the dominance of DeFi and stablecoins: currently, 54% of all stablecoins are on Ethereum, accounting for about one-third of all Ethereum transactions this year, as well as 60% of the network’s gross Total Value Locked (TVL). The bank predicts a sevenfold increase in the stablecoin market cap to $2 trillion by 2028 and a fiftyfold increase in Real-World Assets (RWAs) to $2 trillion by the same year. Ethereum is expected to benefit significantly from this trend, which should drive transaction volumes and TVL to new heights, thereby supporting higher ETH prices.
In contrast, Polymarket bettors assign only a 15% chance of ETH reaching $4,000 by 2026, suggesting a sixfold profit potential if Standard Chartered's projections hold true.
💰 Anthropic Raises $65 Billion at $965 Billion Valuation
Anthropic has successfully raised $65 billion in a Series H funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $965 billion, making it the most valuable AI company in Silicon Valley for the first time. The funding round saw participation from Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital, with each firm investing over $2 billion.
This latest funding round has more than doubled Anthropic’s valuation since February, climbing from $380 billion to $965 billion.
The company’s revenue has skyrocketed, driven by its popular AI coding assistant, Claude Code, with annualized revenue exceeding $47 billion, up from a $30 billion run rate earlier this year and $10 billion in annual revenue last year. Anthropic also emphasized its strategic partnerships with Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, and expanded its computing capabilities through collaborations with Amazon, Google, Broadcom, and SpaceX. On the same day, Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.8.
This fundraising round could be Anthropic’s last before going public, intensifying the competition between AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI for the first IPO. Prepare your liquidity!
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
- Major cryptocurrencies are slightly up, led by HYPE; BTC +0.1% at $73.3k; ETH +1% at $2,000; SOL +1% at $82; HYPE +9% at $62.16
- XLM (+14%), INJ (+14%) and DEXE (+12%) are among the top performers
- Oil -4% at $87; Gold +1% at $4,570
- Stock futures are slightly positive with the Nasdaq up 0.1%
- The CEO of ICE (NYSE parent) described Hyperliquid as “bigger than Nasdaq” and discussed how institutional clients are monitoring price movements on Hyperliquid during weekends
- FalconX has filed an S-1 with the SEC for a US IPO, signaling one of the few crypto firms still advancing while others like Grayscale, Kraken, Ledger, and ConsenSys have postponed listings; FalconX is a prime brokerage for institutional crypto traders, with over $1.5T in lifetime volume; the firm achieved a $4B valuation in 2022 and has been profitable since 2024
- Meanwhile, Grayscale has halted its IPO preparations and is unlikely to resume before Q4 at the earliest
- Tether’s Argentine peso-pegged stablecoin USAT experienced a surge in circulating supply of over 500% in a short span, indicating growing adoption of dollar alternatives in Argentina's high-inflation environment
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
- Bitcoin ETFs saw $223M in net outflows on Thursday, while ETH ETFs experienced $121M in outflows
- The HYPE ETFs recorded $1.7M in net inflows on Thursday
- Bit Digital added roughly $20 million in ETH to its treasury Thursday, continuing its transition from Bitcoin mining to Ethereum treasury and AI compute
Meme Coin Tracker
- Meme leaders saw positive movement; DOGE +1%, SHIB +2%, PEPE +1%, PENGU -2%, TRUMP +2%, BONK +1%, SPX -2%, FARTCOIN +1%
- Squire (+50%), Mumu (+38%) and Cards (+14%) led notable gains on Solana
- Base movers included Deus (+28%), Degen (+24%) and Nock (+17%)
📈 Myriad Market of the Day
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
- Hyperliquid’s SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual contract plummeted 45% in just 30 minutes Thursday, dropping from $2,277 to a low of $1,254 before partially recovering, resulting in $1.51 million in liquidations for hundreds of retail traders
- Myriad launched its World Cup market featuring a $100k prize pool for top traders, market makers, and more
- AI agents are evolving from reactive to anticipatory, learning user behaviors to present information proactively, such as pre-booking flights and preparing competitive analyses ahead of meetings
- Apple is reportedly planning a significant ChatGPT integration into Siri for iOS 27, based on leaked internal documents ahead of WWDC 2026
- The Sui Network experienced another mainnet outage Thursday, marking its third disruption in 18 months
🚚 NFT Market Update
- NFT leaders were down again; Punks stable at 32 ETH, BAYC -4% at 8.23 ETH, Pudgy -1% at 4.27 ETH; Hypurr’s +5% at 324 HYPE
- Nonplayable Characters (+234%) and Shellmates (+55%) led notable gains
- Yuga Labs is integrating ApeCoin's operations directly into Yuga, dissolving the separate ApeCo (formerly Ape Foundation) structure; ApeCo lead Cam is stepping down, with ApeChain tech and BD teams reporting directly to Yuga, and several ApeCo personnel departing, with the transition set to finish by June 5
- Bored Apes have teamed up with Scandinavian Tobacco Group to create a limited-edition collector's cigar box inspired by the Club's journey.