Bitcoin BTC has entered a strong accumulation phase across all wallet cohorts for the first time since January, signaling renewed bullish sentiment as the largest cryptocurrency trades above $110,000, an 18% gain over the past month.

Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score has reached its maximum value of 1.0, indicating broad-based, aggressive accumulation by investors irrespective of the amount of BTC they already hold. The metric evaluates the relative strength of buying by different wallet sizes, factoring in both their existing holdings and the amount acquired over the past 15 days. It excludes exchanges and miners to avoid distortion.

The latest accumulation wave began in early May, led by whales holding over 10,000 BTC. As the price began to climb, cohorts with smaller holdings followed, intensifying their accumulation behavior.

This marks a significant shift from the January-to-April period, when most cohorts were in reducing their holdings as bitcoin tumbled from its then-record high of $109,000 to lows around $75,000.

The renewed demand is supported by options market activity, with CoinDesk Research highlighting large bullish positions. The $300,000 strike for June expiry has become the most popular call option, with $620 million in notional value, and an additional $420 million is concentrated around the $200,000 strike.

While bitcoin historically tends to fall after hitting an all-time high due to profit-taking, traditional assets like the S&P 500 and gold often extend their rallies in similar scenarios. If bitcoin were to follow this more mature asset behavior, it may signal the beginning of a sustained bull cycle, a trend many in the market are now watching closely.

The last time Justin Sun set foot in the U.S. he was Grenada’s WTO ambassador and was navigating the rocky waters of former President Biden’s crypto crackdown.

Times have changed. Now, he’s dining at an event hosted by President Donald Trump for the largest holders of his TRUMP memecoin and celebrating a regulatory breakthrough, as issuers eye a potential Tron ETF, signaling a striking reversal in crypto’s American fortunes.

Speaking exclusively with CoinDesk after the Presidential dinner, which was met by protestors, the Tron founder dismissed allegations that the token is a vehicle for bribery. He called skeptics short-sighted, arguing Trump’s embrace of crypto could spark a new era of digital asset innovation in America.

«All the haters need to really pay attention,» Sun told CoinDesk, describing Trump’s support for crypto as one of the President’s best decisions.»There are positive things happening in the industry.»

Sun’s relationship with Trump’s affiliated crypto ventures stretches back to just after last year’s election, when he bought up to $75 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens across multiple tranches.

Shortly after Trump took office, his Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) paused a civil fraud case against Sun, alongside crypto exchange Binance; the SEC also withdrew from or dropped a dozen other cases, though it just filed a fresh civil fraud lawsuit against Unicoin earlier this week. And earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice, which pursues criminal cases, had been investigating the Tron founder since 2021.

Read more: Where All the SEC Cases Are

He described the dinner as a clear sign the U.S. is regaining its status as the crypto’s global hub, marking a sharp reversal from the Biden administration’s war on the industry, which had previously prompted crypto firms to consider offshore moves.

«At the Trump dinner, some supporters told me they were thinking of leaving the U.S. because of the Biden administration, moving to places like Hong Kong or Singapore,» Sun said. «Even Consensus started holding events outside of the United States.»

«But now they’ve changed their minds. It brings everybody back into the U.S.,» he continued.

Criticism of Trump’s decision to launch a memecoin has come fast and furious from mainstream media, including attempts to link holders of the token to white nationalism.

Sun dismissed this criticism by emphasizing that critics have every right to express their views under the First Amendment.

‘Memecoins have merit’

While protesters met the memecoin faithful who attended the TRUMP dinner, skepticism about meme coins isn’t limited to outsiders.

At a fireside chat during Consensus 2025, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy described meme coins as essentially «gambling,» questioning their longevity.

«I get why people like it,» Portnoy said. «It’s a form of gambling, it’s a Ponzi scheme. I don’t mean that in a negative way.»

Sun disagrees. Rather than viewing meme coins as gambling or Ponzi schemes, he positions them as legitimate segments of digital asset markets.

Sun pointed to tokens like DOGE and SHIB as examples of success stories that have helped onboard users into crypto. He emphasized that Tron’s goal is to support «every single piece in crypto to grow and become mainstream.»

«I totally think memecoins have merit,» Sun told CoinDesk. «It’s just like doing business. Some succeed, some go to zero. That’s entrepreneurship.»

UPDATE (May 23, 06:15 UTC): Adds details on Sun’s previous investigations and additional background.

Attention is turning to major tokens as bitcoin (BTC) set fresh highs earlier this week, with some pointing out that institutional demand and a clear regulatory environment pave the way for strong moves among the top coins.

Bitcoin was hovering just under $111,000 during the Asian morning hours on Friday, seeing a slight pullback on profit-taking as is expected after upward moves. Cardano’s ADA, dogecoin (DOGE) and Solana’s SOL added as much as 4%, while ether (ETH), XRP, and BNB Chain’s BNB rose less than 1.5%.

The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens by market cap, rose 1.2% in the past 24 hours.

Bitget Research’s Chief Analyst Ryan Lee told CoinDesk in a Telegram message that a potential dip in bitcoin dominance could kick off a broader alt season, with high-profile names like XRP and Solana in prime position to benefit.

Lee pointed to XRP’s improving regulatory clarity and recent technical breakout patterns as reasons traders are eyeing a move toward $3–$8 in the medium term.

XRP recently formed a golden cross against BTC on the weekly chart — a historically bullish signal suggesting a long-term trend reversal may be underway. The ratio has been locked in a sideways channel since late 2020, but that may now be breaking after last month’s SEC decision not to pursue further appeals against Ripple.

SOL could climb toward $220–$300 on ETF speculation, while ADA shows potential for a breakout between $1 and $3, Lee added.

Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that the latest BTC move confirmed a robust trend supported by improved structural fundamentals and relatively low volatility.

«This rally feels more structurally sound than the last with less frothy momentum-chasing and stronger fundamental underpinnings,” the firm said, adding that the brief dip following BTC’s initial record high break triggered put-side profit-taking, but buyers were “quick to reload on the upside.”

Still, broader macro risks remain in play. Renewed tariff concerns, rising U.S. yields, and a stronger dollar could all inject volatility into the system, especially for altcoins, QCP said. Traders are urged to stay selective, focusing on assets with strong fundamentals and clear regulatory narratives.

Meanwhile, FxPro’s Alex Kuptsikevich shared in an email that bitcoin’s sentiment index is hovering just below “extreme greed” as of Friday, a sign that the rally may still have room to run in the coming days.