Wu Says Daily Selected Crypto News - US Economic Data Unexpectedly Weakens: April ADP Employment Below Expectations, Q1 GDP Records Negative Growth, Recession Risk Rises to 74%

1. U.S. Economic Data Unexpectedly Weakens: April ADP Employment Below Expectations, Q1 GDP Records Negative Growth, Recession Risk Rises to 74%

In April, U.S. ADP employment increased by 62 thousand, marking the smallest gain since July 2024 and significantly below expectations of 115 thousand and the previous value of 155 thousand. The U.S. Q1 real GDP annualized quarterly rate preliminary estimate was -0.3%, the lowest since Q2 2022, against expectations of 0.3% and a prior value of 2.40%. The U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in Q1, sharply increasing recession risks. The U.S. financial trading and prediction market platform Kalshi currently estimates a 74% probability of a U.S. economic recession this year.

2. Vitalik Buterin Releases His Personal Focus Areas for 2025

Vitalik Buterin released his personal focus for 2025, covering two main directions: 1) Ethereum foundational development: focusing on the L1 long-term roadmap (such as single-slot finality, statelessness, long-term VM evolution) as well as full-stack security, decentralization, and privacy-friendly technical implementation. 2) Decentralized acceleration (d/acc) from a macro perspective: including communication tools, social and governance mechanism design, cryptography, operating systems, hardware infrastructure, and bio-defense. He also mentioned that short-term scaling (such as Gas Limit increases), peer-to-peer networking, and block building are being advanced by others.

3. Arthur Hayes: Predicts Bitcoin Price to Reach $1 Million by 2028

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes spoke at Dubai Token2049, predicting Bitcoin’s price will reach $1 million by 2028. He believes the U.S. needs to increase dollar liquidity through measures similar to quantitative easing to drive up cryptocurrency prices. Hayes compared the current market with Q3 2022, when the Federal Reserve raised rates and FTX collapsed, and the U.S. injected $2.50 trillion in liquidity through a repurchase program. He pointed out current market volatility caused by Trump’s push for high tariffs, which have been postponed for 90 days, but Fed Chair Powell may be reluctant to intervene directly. Hayes expects relative value hedge funds to increase liquidity by repurchasing government bonds, indirectly supporting the market.

4. El Salvador’s Economy Minister: Government Continues Buying Bitcoin

El Salvador’s Economy Minister Maria Luisa Hayem confirmed in an interview at the Rio de Janeiro Web Summit that despite a $1.40 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requiring reduced Bitcoin purchases, the government continues to buy Bitcoin. President Bukele has committed to ongoing asset accumulation, with the Bitcoin project remaining a government priority. The El Salvador Bitcoin Office posted that over the past 7 days, the country increased its national Bitcoin strategic reserves by 8 Bitcoins, bringing the total to 6,154.18 Bitcoins.

5. Trump Organization to Invest $1 Billion in Dubai Trump Tower, Accepts Cryptocurrency Payments

Eric Trump, the Trump Organization’s second son, revealed that the Trump Organization, in partnership with London-listed company Dar Global, launched a $1 billion development project in Dubai. It will include a Trump-branded hotel, residential units, and a clubhouse, expected to be completed within five years. He expressed willingness to accept cryptocurrency payments for property purchases. According to company executives, the project will feature two penthouse apartments priced at 75 million dirhams (approximately $20.40 million) each, and regular apartments priced between 4 million and 5 million dirhams.

6. UK Releases Crypto Asset Regulatory Draft, Proposes Bringing Crypto Exchanges into Regulatory Framework

The UK has released a draft regulatory framework for crypto assets, proposing to include crypto exchanges, dealers, and agents under financial services regulation. The new rules require crypto businesses to adhere to standards of transparency, consumer protection, and operational resilience. Meanwhile, the UK plans to explore cooperation supporting digital asset use and development with the U.S. through the upcoming UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group meeting.