Key Takeaways
Crypto markets opened the week with renewed momentum as easing U.S.–China trade tensions and surging inflows into decentralized finance platforms reignited investor appetite for risk.
Bitcoin (BTC) crossed $105,000 for the first time in months, while Ethereum (ETH) rallied past $2,600.
Leading the DeFi charge, perpetuals-focused decentralized exchange (DEX) Hyperliquid hit all-time highs in inflows and open interest, signaling growing institutional and retail demand for on-chain leverage exposure.
Hyperliquid, a Layer 1 blockchain and on-chain order book DEX for perpetual futures, recorded $548 million in net inflows during the week of May 5–11. The biggest single-day inflow, $200 million, came on May 8.
The surge was fueled by an influx of USDC deposits into Hyperliquid’s PerpDEX , which hit an all-time high of $2.8 billion.
Nearly $400 million of that came in over just the past three days. Open interest also reached a new record, topping $5.6 billion.
Meanwhile, Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM ecosystem crossed $1.2 billion in total value locked (TVL), cementing the platform’s growing appeal among leverage and futures traders seeking alternatives to centralized exchanges like Binance.
Bitcoin’s rally came after the U.S. and China agreed to scale back tariffs, marking a major shift in global trade tensions that had weighed on risk assets.
The White House announced it would reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, with Beijing cutting its tariffs to 10% from 120%.
The market reacted swiftly. Bitcoin jumped to a multi-month high above $105,000, just $4,000 shy of a new all-time high. Ethereum followed, climbing from sub-$1,800 levels last week to over $2,600.
Gold, by contrast, fell more than 3% following the trade deal news, suggesting a capital rotation out of traditional safe-haven assets and into crypto and equities.
The broader crypto market also gained, with major altcoins showing strong bullish momentum as investors positioned for further upside.