Today in crypto, sentiment toward Bitcoin is split as the crypto market has traded sideways, Elon Musk’s X is eyeing a 2025 launch for its financial services arm, and South Korea’s financial regulator will probe crypto exchange fees.
Bitcoin sentiment split as crypto market trades sideways
Sentiment toward Bitcoin (BTC) is at a near-even split between those who are bullish and bearish, and attitudes toward the cryptocurrency are at a low last seen in April when Donald Trump’s global tariffs tanked global markets, according to Santiment.
Santiment marketing director Brian Quinlivan said on Thursday a social media analysis found that “there are just 1.03 bullish comments for every 1 bearish comment, which hasn’t happened since peak FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] during initial tariff reactions on April 6.”
He said, however, that it’s “typically a bullish sign” as markets “historically move in the opposite direction of retail’s expectations.”
Meanwhile, a poll on X by crypto analyst Matthew Hyland on Thursday found a near-even split between those who think Bitcoin will surge to an all-time high above $114,000 or again drop to $94,000.
Bitcoin has traded flat at around $104,500 over the past week, and was up just 0.2% over the last seven days as of early Friday.
Musk’s X plans payments, investment features rollout for 2025 — Report
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, will soon integrate various financial services, enabling users to make payments and investments directly within the app.
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said the platform’s estimated 600 million users will eventually “be able to transact [their] whole life on the platform,” from sending money to managing investments.
The company is also considering launching an X-branded credit or debit card, potentially later this year.
X’s foray into financial services is hardly surprising, given that Musk has already confirmed beta testing for the X Money payment and banking app.
In response to a May 25 social media post, Musk said “extreme care must be taken” in the pilot phase since “people’s savings are involved.”
The official X Money account teases a 2025 launch. Yacarrino told the Financial Times that the X Money payment app would first launch in the US, calling it a “whole commerce ecosystem and a financial ecosystem.”
South Korea to investigate fees of local crypto exchanges
South Korea’s financial regulator plans to investigate transaction fees charged by domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, aiming to reduce trading costs for users, according to local media.
South Korea’s FSC will launch a probe into transaction fees imposed by local trading platforms and review potential intervening measures, the Herald Economy reported on Thursday.
The move is part of South Korea’s newly elected president Lee Jae-myung’s broader pro-crypto agenda. Lee reportedly promised to reduce crypto trading transaction costs to support young traders as part of his presidential campaign.
As part of the probe, the FSC plans to conduct a survey of crypto exchanges on their current fee systems, charging methods and collected amounts.
According to Herald Economy, the FSC announced its plan to investigate crypto exchange fees during a policy briefing before the State Affairs Planning Committee, which serves as a presidential transition team for the Lee Jae-myung administration.
“We need to examine whether the current fees of domestic exchanges are an excessive burden on consumers and whether they are at an appropriate level compared to overseas cases,” an FSC official reportedly said.
The FSC also mentioned that it has not yet set a target commission rate and plans to establish policy standards based on a comparative analysis of domestic and foreign exchanges and user preferences.
