Bitdeer Technologies Group reported a 41% year-over-year drop in revenue to $70.1 million for the first quarter of 2025, the Bitcoin miner said on May 15. 

The Singaporean company clocked an operating loss of $3.2 million for the quarter, down from a $34.1 million profit during the same period last year, its earnings release said. 

However, Bitdeer reported a Q1 net income of more than $400 million, largely driven by gains on convertible notes and warrants issued to stablecoin issuer Tether in 2024.

Bitdeer’s revenue declines come as miners increasingly expand beyond Bitcoin (BTC) mining and pivot toward supplying high-performance computing (HPC) for artificial intelligence applications. 

“As we scale self-mining and execute on our ASIC [mining hardware] roadmap, we are also advancing plans for U.S.-based HPC and AI infrastructure,” Matt Kong, Bitdeer’s chief business officer, said in a statement.

But Bitcoin miners are still struggling to adapt after the Bitcoin network’s April 2024 halving event, which effectively cut mining revenue in half. 

Bitdeer has been trying to offset waning mining revenue by selling its own energy-efficient Bitcoin mining hardware. However, sales are still scaling and have not yet made up for lost mining income. 

Operational summary for Bitdeer in Q1 2025. Source: Bitdeer

Related: Bitfarms clocks $36M net loss amid shift from Bitcoin mining to AI

Self-mining ramp-up

The company is also ramping up self-mining activities, which involve using mining hardware to accumulate Bitcoin itself.

Bitdeer expects its self-mining hashrate to reach 40 exahashes per second (EH/s) by the end of 2025, according to its earnings release. Hashrate is a measure of the computing power securing the Bitcoin network.

“With our SEALMINER mining rigs quickly coming off the production line and ample global power capacity available, we expect to achieve rapid growth in our self-mining hashrate,” Kong said.

As of March, Tether owned a 21% stake in Bitdeer, according to US regulatory filings.

Bitdeer has been reportedly investing in its US expansion as a hedge against the prospect of worsening trade wars.

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Asset tokenization is set to accelerate the movement of capital across traditional markets, according to Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov. Speaking with Cointelegraph at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Nazarov said the shift will boost capital velocity in asset classes such as treasuries, equities, private credit, commercial debt, and real estate.

“I think that there are two sides to this equation. One is the asset, and the other one is the payment. So, you need more high-quality assets onchain, but you also need more frictionless payments that existing institutions can use easily,” Nazarov said on May 14.

The remarks came on the same day Chainlink announced a partnership with Kinexys, a blockchain network for institutional-grade tokenized assets by JP Morgan, and digital asset firm Ondo Finance. Together, the companies will develop payment rails for institutions trading tokenized real-world assets onchain.

The partnership tested the exchange of Ondo’s US Government Treasuries Fund (OUSG), a tokenized short-term US debt fund, with Kinexys, using Chainlink’s Runtime Environment — a framework for connecting legacy financial systems to blockchains in a unified environment.

“What Chainlink is trying to do is kick off a virtuous cycle that triggers kind of a runaway success for the industry as a whole. We want more assets onchain, Nazarov added. “We want more payment systems onchain,” he continued.

From left to right: Colin Cunningham, Sergey Nazarov, Nelli Zaltzman and Nathan Allman at Consensus 2025. Source: Vince Quill/Cointelegraph

The partnership reflects the broader institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies and Web3 technologies, following a positive regulatory shift in the United States post-2024 elections and the resignation of Gary Gensler, former chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Related: ‘Everything is lining up’ — Tokenization is having its breakout moment

Chainlink’s runtime environment

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts on blockchains with real-world data, APIs, and offchain systems. Nazarov said the company has been coordinating transactions between financial institutions, asset issuers, and regulators.

Chainlink markets its “Runtime Environment” as an upgrade to legacy financial systems’ protocols, including the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) standard — an operating language developed in 1959 for automated teller machines (ATMs) — and the Java Runtime architecture for online banking applications.

Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov speaking at Consensus 2025. Source: Vince Quill/Cointelegraph

Nazarov previously stressed that the United States needs to establish a competitive moat around tokenized assets to keep US capital markets competitive and attractive in the age of global, permissionless finance.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Key takeaway:

Bitcoin’s struggles to overtake the $105,000 level as US macroeconomic headwinds remain a challenge.

Steady inflows from institutional investors and the strength of the $100,000 support point to growing confidence in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to break above $105,000 since May 10, leading traders to question whether the bullish momentum has faded. Although BTC managed to reclaim the $104,000 level, demand for leveraged long positions has dropped sharply, as indicated by the decline in the Bitcoin futures premium.

Bitcoin 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch

On May 14, the annualized Bitcoin futures premium peaked at 7%, but then fell to 5%, which is near the neutral-to-bearish threshold and matches the level seen four weeks ago when BTC traded around $84,500. 

This decline in demand for leveraged bullish positions appears to be linked to broader macroeconomic uncertainty, since Bitcoin’s price has been closely following movements in the stock market.

S&P 500 futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right), 30min. Source: TradingView

The S&P 500 futures reversed early weakness on May 15, coinciding with Bitcoin’s rebound from $101,800 to $104,000. Investors seem more confident that the US Treasury will be compelled to inject liquidity after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that “supply shocks” could keep interest rates higher for longer than expected.

Signs of economic weakness have also emerged. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that April’s Producer Price Index fell 0.5% from the previous month, while economists surveyed by FactSet had anticipated a 0.2% rise. According to Reuters, investors’ limited risk appetite is also influenced by ongoing global trade tensions, as the US–China tariff agreement remains only a temporary solution.

US 10-year Treasury yields. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Demand for fixed income has increased, with the yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropping to 4.45% after reaching 4.55% on May 14, reversing the previous week’s trend. Historically, Bitcoin tends to perform better when government bond yields are rising, as this signals reduced confidence in the Treasury’s ability to manage its debt.

Bitcoin’s rally to $105,000 hinges on macroeconomic trends

To assess whether traders are simply avoiding leverage or actively betting on a price decline, it is helpful to analyze Bitcoin options demand. Typically, periods of bearish sentiment push the BTC delta skew indicator above the neutral 6% threshold.

Bitcoin 60-day options delta 25% skew (put-call) at Deribit. Source: laevitas.ch

Contrary to expectations, Bitcoin put (sell) options have been trading at a discount compared to call (buy) options, signaling strong confidence in the $100,000 support level. However, the optimism seen on May 14 has faded, with the indicator now at a neutral -4%.

Related: What the 10-year Treasury yield means for crypto yields and stablecoins

Since Bitcoin’s price has closely mirrored the US stock market, the chances of breaking above $105,000 depend heavily on macroeconomic developments, such as trends in the US Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and recession risks. Notably, Bitcoin’s high correlation with the S&P 500 rarely persists for more than two months.

Net inflows of $320 million into US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on May 14 point to ongoing institutional demand. This suggests that investors are gradually shifting their perception of Bitcoin from a risk-on asset to a non-correlated instrument, which may reduce the likelihood of sharp price corrections, even in the absence of strong leveraged bullish positions.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.