The incident highlights the fragility of military alliances and could escalate regional tensions, impacting geopolitical stability and markets.

The post US aircraft nearly exposed Israel’s surprise strike on Iran in 2026 war appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The demolitions exacerbate regional instability, hinder peace efforts, and diminish prospects for a timely Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

The post Israeli demolitions in southern Lebanon complicate withdrawal prospects appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

NATO's bolstered presence and Poland's defenses may deter Russian provocations, impacting regional security dynamics and market perceptions.

The post Russia lacks capacity to attack Poland, says Foreign Minister Sikorski appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Iran's leadership instability and power vacuum may lead to prolonged political turbulence and impact regional geopolitical dynamics.

The post Iran urged to act against Khamenei assassination perpetrators appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The escalation in the Black Sea highlights the intensifying logistical warfare, potentially impacting regional stability and market dynamics.

The post Russia strikes Ukrainian military cargo at Chornomorsk port in Black Sea escalation appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

U.S. Representatives Urge Senate to Vote on CLARITY Act in July, Address Ethics Concerns

Rep. French Hill wants a deadline. 

One year after the House passed the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the House Financial Services Committee used a Fox Business interview with anchor Maria Bartiromo to press Senate leaders for a floor vote before the August recess.

“I’ve encouraged Senate leadership to put it on the floor,” Hill said. “I think if you schedule a floor date here in the month of July, that will cause these final meetings, these final discussions to take place. You’ve got to have a deadline in Congress to get people to move and find consensus.” 

Hill thanked Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Cynthia Lummis, John Boozman and Tim Scott for working toward a deal, and pointed to the 78 Democrats who backed the House measure a year ago.

Hill’s central argument is that the CLARITY Act would resolve the ethics concerns now used to block it, rather than deepen them. 

Critics point to President Trump’s crypto ventures, including $TRUMP meme coin licensing and World Liberty Financial token sales, which a July 1 financial disclosure tied to about $1.4 billion in 2025 income. 

Hill contends a market framework offers the transparency those critics want. 

“If we passed the CLARITY Act last summer, many of the things that people are expressing concern about — meme coin issuance, co-investment, use of exchange, investing in exchanges — all that would be under a market framework of regulation with clarity, no pun intended, and that would provide a lot of transparency to people that are concerned about the Trump family’s investments,” he said.

Clarity Act pairs with the GENIUS Act

Hill framed the bill as the missing half of a system that pairs it with the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law enacted last year. 

“Stablecoin is like a cell phone not connected to a cell phone network,” he said, “and the market framework is in fact that network that we need.” To keep the pressure on, Hill plans a field hearing in New York next week, led by digital assets subcommittee chair Rep. Bryan Steil, to make the case for a market structure.

His push drew support from two other voices in the same Bartiromo appearance. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig warned of “mission creep beyond what’s really critical here” and cautioned that a stalled bill leaves the rules to regulators. 

Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack, a former SEC official, described the measure as “on the one-yard line,” with senators from both parties “working around the clock to get this across the finish line.”

The Senate returns July 13 with about three weeks before recess. Prediction market Polymarket prices Clarity Act 2026 passage near 39%, a fall from the prior month’s 74%.

This post U.S. Representatives Urge Senate to Vote on CLARITY Act in July, Address Ethics Concerns first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Circle (CRCL) Wins Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank

Circle Internet Group secured final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today, to establish a national trust bank, a milestone that sent the stablecoin issuer’s shares higher and deepened its ties to the federal banking system.

The regulator cleared Circle to charter First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate under the name Circle National Trust. 

The company, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL, said the charter places the new entity under direct federal oversight by the OCC, the primary supervisor for national banks and national trust banks.

Circle National Trust will provide fiduciary custody services for digital assets held by Circle and its affiliates. Under the business plan the OCC approved, the bank could extend custody services to a limited set of institutional customers, with a focus on banks and regulated derivatives organizations. 

The charter opens a path for the bank to manage the reserve backing USDC, the largest regulated stablecoin, which would bring that multibillion-dollar pool under federal supervision.

National trust banks differ from traditional lenders. They safeguard client assets and provide fiduciary services, and they do not take deposits or issue loans. The structure aligns its digital-asset infrastructure with a long-standing model for holding client assets under strict fiduciary standards.

“OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive of Circle. He said federal oversight of the trust bank “sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale” and unlocks a phase of adoption in which large financial institutions can build on public blockchains with confidence.

Investors welcomed the decision. CRCL shares climbed as much as 14% on the day of the announcement, a rebound from a three-month low. Other crypto-linked names, including Coinbase and Strategy, posted gains near 5% this morning as bitcoin bounced.

CRCL shares have since settled to 5% gains.

Circle’s federal framework

The approval caps a process that began when Circle filed its application on June 30, 2025. The OCC granted conditional approval in December 2025, alongside peers such as Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. 

The final decision arrives as the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin law enacted in July 2025, moves toward full implementation in early 2027. 

That statute requires OCC supervision of large stablecoin issuers, and the trust charter positions Circle to meet the mandate while bringing USDC reserves into a federal framework.

Circle has built a record of regulatory engagement across markets. It received a BitLicense from New York in 2015, became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in 2024, and holds licenses in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bermuda, and Abu Dhabi.

The charter strengthens USDC’s role as regulated digital-dollar infrastructure for payments, settlement, and capital markets, Circle said.

This post Circle (CRCL) Wins Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Metaplanet Announces Joint Study to Bring Bitcoin-Backed Digital Credit to Japan

Metaplanet wants to turn its bitcoin pile into a credit market. On Friday, Japan’s largest corporate bitcoin holder said it has opened a joint study with three partners to build tokenized credit products backed by bitcoin, a step that pushes the company past simple treasury accumulation and toward the role of a financial platform.

The study group brings together Metaplanet, the yen stablecoin issuer JPYC, the regulated security token platform Progmat, and Siiibo Securities, the licensed brokerage Metaplanet bought last month for 2.1 billion yen, or about $13 million. Siiibo becomes Metaplanet Securities on July 13.

The four firms will examine whether bitcoin can serve as collateral for credit instruments that pay interest each day. Metaplanet frames this as a product that exists in the United States but not in Japan. 

Digitization, the company said, would allow trading and settlement of these instruments around the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with rights management at the holder level, pro-rata interest math handled in software, and redemptions recorded on a public ledger.

Bitcoin-backed credit is a young product class. Public companies that hold bitcoin use the asset as core collateral for debt offerings, and those offerings pay dividends or interest. The design takes a static coin balance and turns it into an instrument that throws off cash.

Metaplanet was blunt about how early this is. “The four companies will examine issues in product design, the need for proof-of-concept initiatives, and the possibility of future issuance,” the company said. “At this time, nothing has been determined regarding issuance timing, terms, yield, product details, distribution methods, or the form of collaboration.” 

Why Japan?

The pitch rests on a gap in Japan’s debt market. That market favors large corporations that can float public bonds. Mid-sized and growth companies face steep costs and heavy operational load around issuance, sales, investor management, interest payments, and redemptions. Many of them stay shut out.

Digital credit, in Metaplanet’s telling, could open the door to those smaller firms. Onchain infrastructure would bridge traditional capital markets and blockchain rails, cut the manual work, and give issuers a path to raise money that a public bond sale did not offer them. If it works, a growth company in Tokyo could raise debt on a system that settles at any hour and tracks every holder in code.

Each partner brings one piece. Metaplanet and its securities arm will design the products that fuse bitcoin with credit, sell them to investors, field customer questions, and manage the instruments after issuance. 

JPYC will test whether its yen-pegged stablecoin can move payments and redemptions through the system. Progmat will supply the regulated tokenization layer, which tracks ownership, processes transfers, and wires the whole thing to the stablecoin payment system.

The division of labor maps onto a full stack: an issuer and distributor with a license, a settlement asset, and a token platform.

Metaplanet’s bigger plan

The study fits a strategy the company calls Project Nova, its plan to build a bitcoin-centric financial platform in Japan. The Siiibo purchase gave Metaplanet a Type I Financial Instruments Business Operator registration, the license Japan requires to structure and sell financial products to retail investors. 

Siiibo, founded in 2019, runs an online platform for private-placement corporate bonds and has backed more than 40 issuers across 100-plus offerings. Metaplanet gains that track record, plus a shareholder base of about 250,000 investors to sell into.

Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet’s president and CEO, has cast the shift in stark terms. “We view Bitcoin not as a treasury reserve asset, but as the foundation of the next generation of financial ecosystems,” he said when the Siiibo deal was announced.

Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC, worth about $2.47 billion. Strategy and Twenty One Capital are the two public holders ranked above it.

For the moment, the digital credit plan is a set of questions and four companies willing to study them. Whether it becomes a product depends on the proof-of-concept work that remains. But the direction is clear: Metaplanet wants its bitcoin to do more than sit on a balance sheet. It wants the coin to underwrite a market.

This post Metaplanet Announces Joint Study to Bring Bitcoin-Backed Digital Credit to Japan first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin is “A Screaming Buy”: Standard Chartered Backs $100,000 Target, Shrugs Off Strategy (MSTR) Sell-Off

Standard Chartered maintained its end-2026 Bitcoin price forecast of $100,000 in a note to investors on Friday, arguing that the recent weakness reflects a failure by Strategy to explain a strategic shift rather than any deterioration in the company’s balance sheet.

Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, wrote that Strategy — the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 843,775 coins, more than 4% of the 21 million that will ever exist — “appears to be pivoting from its ‘never sell Bitcoin’ mantra to a more complex approach.” 

Clear communication of that pivot, he wrote, will determine how fast the pressure on BTC lifts.

Between 2020 and mid-2025, Strategy’s mNAV — enterprise value divided by the value of its Bitcoin — traded above 1.0. That premium lets the company issue shares, buy Bitcoin, and grow its value by more than the value of the new stock. Convincing the market it would never sell was the load-bearing part of the model.

With mNAV near 1.0, that arithmetic no longer works. Kendrick said Strategy is pivoting toward holding Bitcoin as backing for STRC, its perpetual preferred stock, which functions as a credit product.

The STRC feedback loop

STRC pays a 12% annual dividend, settled twice a month in cash, with the rate reset each month to keep the security near its $100 par value. It has about $10 billion notional outstanding, the largest of the instruments Strategy has deployed.

A negative feedback loop took hold once STRC broke from par, hitting an intraday low of $71.25 on June 26. The divergence began after the June 1 disclosure that Strategy had sold 32 BTC the prior week. STRC still trades near $90, according to Standard Chartered. The USD reserve for STRC dividends stands at $2.55 billion, or 17.4 months of coverage.

Bitcoin is a ‘screaming buy’

The problem with “never sell,” Kendrick argued, is that it constrains how Bitcoin gets perceived. Strategy has announced a monetization program that lets it sell BTC from time to time, including up to $1.25 billion in proceeds for the reserve.

Given its Bitcoin backing, STRC is over-collateralized and should trade back toward $100, the note said. Kendrick compared the mechanism to a central bank promising to do “whatever it takes” and, through credibility, never having to act. 

Effective signaling, he wrote, should remove the need for Strategy to sell any Bitcoin. Kendrick treats the episode as noise rather than a signal about BTC’s medium-term direction. At $64,000, he calls the coin “a screaming buy.”

Strategy sold 3,588 BTC for about $216 million last week, its largest disposal to date, using the proceeds to fund preferred stock distributions and refill the reserve. JPMorgan analysts said the formal sale policy introduces “avoidable two-way risk” by making Strategy both buyer and seller. 

Strategy’s stock trades near $98 on Thursday. BTC traded above $64,400 on Friday.

This post Bitcoin is “A Screaming Buy”: Standard Chartered Backs $100,000 Target, Shrugs Off Strategy (MSTR) Sell-Off first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

JPMorgan Says the Real Threat to Bitcoin Isn’t Strategy (MSTR) — It’s Private Blockchains

Strategy’s recent bitcoin sales and its formal monetization program have rattled investors, but JPMorgan analysts see a bigger danger to bitcoin: blockchain adoption that routes around public networks and the tokens that ride on them.

In a report led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and reported by The Block, the bank argued that Strategy is not the main structural threat to the asset. 

The company sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million in early July to cover preferred dividends, its largest disposal on record, and such sales can add bursts of selling pressure. The deeper concern, the analysts said, is where tokenization, payments and settlement end up.

Should that activity settle on permissioned rails rather than public chains, the crypto ecosystem could face a structural de-rating — thinner liquidity, weaker capital flows and slower on-chain volume — a drag that would reach bitcoin in time.

Institutions have leaned toward permissioned blockchains, which offer privacy, know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering controls, governance, throughput, legal accountability and regulatory certainty. 

That preference, per JPMorgan, creates a competitive problem for public networks like Ethereum.

The analysts cited the Bank for International Settlements, which has warned against public permissionless chains for systemic financial infrastructure and has pushed instead for “unified ledgers” that hold tokenized central bank money, bank deposits and assets inside regulated walls.

Tokenization as a real-world use case

Banks are building to that spec. Tokenized deposits — digital claims on bank balances, backed by banking regulation and deposit insurance — stand out as the clearest case. Should such deposits spread in the non-transferable forms regulators favor, they could crowd out stablecoins in institutional payments. 

SWIFT’s blockchain project and central bank digital currency efforts such as the digital euro and digital yuan would reinforce that regulated lane.

Real-world asset tokenization tells a similar story. The market sits near $50 billion, much of it on Ethereum for now, though the analysts read that as early experimentation rather than a settled structure. 

As adoption matures, issuance, custody and settlement could migrate to private infrastructure, leaving public chains for distribution and interoperability. DTCC and Securitize show the pattern in motion, and the analysts questioned whether public settlement is even the most efficient model for regulated firms, given the capital savings of deferred, netted settlement.

What could prove JPMorgan wrong

The Clarity Act, even should it pass this year, might not lift the threat; it could embolden bank-issued deposit tokens at the expense of public stablecoins. 

The analysts flagged three ways their thesis breaks: a hybrid model where both chain types matter, stronger stablecoin adoption under friendly rules, or bitcoin holding its role as “digital gold” and a debasement hedge whatever happens across the rest of crypto.

This post JPMorgan Says the Real Threat to Bitcoin Isn’t Strategy (MSTR) — It’s Private Blockchains first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Interpol said a crypto wallet linked to a 20-year-old fraud suspect processed more than $122.5 million over 10 months.

Police in Thailand arrested two people in a money-laundering investigation involving romance-scam proceeds moved through crypto and cross-chain token swaps. The swaps were used to obscure the financial trail, Interpol said in a July 9 account of Operation First Light 2026.

The $122.5 million reflects money that passed through the wallet over 10 months, rather than a balance sitting there at once. Interpol did not identify the wallet, name the assets or chains used, say how much of the total came from theft, or disclose how much Thai authorities recovered.

The case was one part of a coordinated operation spanning 97 countries and territories. Interpol reported 5,811 arrests, $293 million in intercepted illicit assets, and more than 142,000 identified victims.

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Cross-chain swaps raise the tracing burden

A token swap can push funds from one asset or blockchain into another. Once a laundering trail spans multiple chains, investigators must piece together records from different ledgers and services before the money reaches an off-ramp tied to a real-world identity.

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Using cross-chain swaps means each transition adds another technical and legal handoff to an investigation, especially when funds pass through peer-to-peer wallets or services with different recordkeeping and compliance controls.

The Financial Action Task Force said in a March 2026 report that cross-chain activity can fall outside some counter-illicit-finance controls. It called for law-enforcement and supervisory bodies to build expertise in cross-chain mechanics, smart contracts and blockchain analytics, alongside stronger monitoring of peer-to-peer risks.

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Thailand shows how quickly that policy concern becomes an enforcement problem. Any company along a cross-chain route, from wallets and exchanges to swap services and analytics firms, may be expected to keep records authorities can use and flag suspicious flows before the trail goes cold.

Operation First Light combined intelligence exchange with raids, account and wallet freezes, Interpol notices, and requests through I-GRIP, a mechanism designed to block illicit flows in fiat and virtual assets.

The operation ran from Jan. 15 through April 30 after an initial intelligence-gathering period. Its results show that enforcement agencies can disrupt large fraud networks, but the Thailand case also highlights the next pressure point: tracing value quickly enough as it changes hands across chains before investigators can act.

The post One crypto wallet tied to a 20-year-old fraudster processed over $122M before Interpol closed in appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The US Justice Department says a prisoner serving a nine-year sentence for money laundering conspired to move about $290,000 in cryptocurrency in January 2024 after a court ordered the assets forfeited to the United States.

The case highlights a potential gap between a court’s forfeiture order and the government obtaining control of assets that can still be transferred.

Until an agency obtains practical control of the wallet, someone with valid access may still be able to send the assets elsewhere.

In a July 9 announcement, the Justice Department said Rossen Iossifov allegedly routed the cryptocurrency through multiple exchanges and illicit mixing services, preventing the United States from obtaining possession.

Iossifov owned Bulgaria-based crypto exchange RG Coins and was convicted of RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors said Romanian scammers posted fake listings for vehicles and other expensive goods on sites such as Craigslist and eBay, took payments from at least 900 Americans, then converted the proceeds into crypto.

The release calls the funds seized and forfeited but leaves a crucial gap: Had agents taken the private keys or moved the crypto into a government wallet before the alleged transfer?

According to the DOJ, they had not. The crypto moved before the government secured it.

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A seizure order still needs a key-custody plan

The Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual outlines what must happen after agencies obtain authority to seize cryptocurrency.

The seizing agency should immediately transfer the assets to an agency-controlled, unhosted wallet, as others may hold copies of the private key.

It should then keep the cryptocurrency in cold storage until transfer to a wallet controlled by the US Marshals Service or its contractor.

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A warrant or forfeiture order can freeze the account, but control changes hands only once every usable key and credential is out of reach. Exclusive control begins only when another usable key or account credential can no longer authorize a transaction.

Iossifov was in prison when the alleged conduct occurred.

The filings do not say where Iossifov’s crypto was held, who had the keys, which services moved it, or how he pulled it off from prison. The specific failure point and any prior arrival in an agency-controlled wallet remain unresolved.

A November 2024 court order states that Iossifov received a 121-month sentence in January 2021, which was reduced to 111 months in May 2024.

DOJ says Iossifov had also been ordered to pay $2.64 million in restitution to victims of the earlier fraud scheme.

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The new indictment charges him with removal of property to prevent seizure and conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying a combined maximum of 25 years if he is convicted.

The case exposes the operational gap that can remain between a court’s forfeiture decision and technical control of the assets. For future seizures, DOJ policy calls for agencies to pair court authority with a rapid transfer into a wallet they control.

What remains unanswered in this case is where that chain of control stopped short.

The post Convicted scammer’s “seized” crypto moves to unknown wallets while in prison as DOJ failed to secure funds appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Demand for XRP is weakening across several key market indicators, testing whether the XRP Ledger’s (XRPL) growing institutional pipeline can translate into sustained investor and network activity.

US spot XRP exchange-traded funds recorded about $7.2 million in net outflows in the week ended July 10, according to SoSoValue. The withdrawals ended a nine-week inflow streak that brought nearly $200 million into the products.

The weekly outflow ranked among the five largest for XRP funds this year, though it represented only a modest reversal in the broader trend. The products have attracted cumulative net inflows of $1.48 billion, while their combined assets approached $1 billion at the end of the week.

Still, the shift coincided with a decline in futures exposure and some of the weakest XRPL user activity recorded in 2026, suggesting that demand is cooling across both regulated investment products and the wider market.

XRP open interest falls as bullish traders pay more

That cooling in fund demand is also showing up in the leveraged market, where traders are cutting exposure.

Global open interest in XRP futures fell from nearly $3 billion in June to about $2.3 billion by mid-July, according to CoinGlass.

The decline was most evident on Binance, where open interest fell from over $500 million in mid-June to $399 million by July 10, according to CryptoQuant data. Long liquidations rose 94% from the previous week and stood 172% above their three-month average, while short liquidations fell by more than half.

Meanwhile, XRP funding rates moved in the opposite direction. Binance’s XRP funding rate increased 266% over the week despite a shrinking pool of open positions and elevated long liquidations.

The divergence suggests that the remaining bullish traders are paying higher premiums to maintain exposure in a contracting derivatives market.

That structure could leave XRP vulnerable to another funding reset if prices weaken and additional long positions are forced to close.

XRPL activity concentrates as wallet growth stalls

The retreat from leveraged trading is also evident in XRPL, where fewer wallets are participating even as established services generate more activity.

Blockchain analysis platform Santiment reported that XRPL experienced its second-quietest day of the year this week, logging only 25,350 active wallets.

The pipeline of new participants has similarly dried up, with new wallet creation plummeting to 2,130. This is the lowest level recorded since November 2024.

The slowdown followed a brief increase in dip-buying activity in late June. Since then, both active wallet numbers and new wallet creation have fallen back, with no clearer price or network catalyst.

However, other indicators suggest that network activity has become more concentrated among existing users and applications rather than disappearing altogether.

Vet, an XRP Ledger validator, said transactions containing source tags rose 28.6%, while the number of source tags increased 13%. The tags are commonly used by exchanges, payment providers, and other services to identify transactions linked to customers who use shared accounts.

The increase points to greater activity from service-based applications, but it does not necessarily signal broader adoption. A smaller group of established platforms can generate more transactions even as the number of active and newly created wallets declines.

CryptoQuant data showed the same divide. Transaction counts increased about 3% to 4% over the previous week and month, but remained roughly 21% below their three-month average. Active addresses were also 11% below their three-month baseline.

The network-value-to-transactions ratio eased over the period, suggesting utilization may be stabilizing after an earlier decline.

However, the improvement remains limited, as transaction volumes and user participation continue to trail their longer-term averages.

Can XRPL’s institutional growth revive demand for XRP?

XRP’s weakening market position has increased the importance of the institutional activity developing on XRPL.

Data from CryptoSlate shows that the token has fallen about 5% over the past week to roughly $1.11, as ETF outflows, declining futures exposure and weaker wallet growth point to reduced demand across several parts of the market.

At the same time, institutions are making greater use of XRPL for tokenized assets and settlement. Evernorth, an XRP-focused digital-asset treasury company, said about $4 billion of tokenized real-world assets associated with the network now span more than 500 products.

That growth gives developers an incentive to make the ledger more suitable for banks, asset managers and other financial companies. Their latest effort focuses on privacy, one of the main features institutions often require before moving sensitive financial activity onto public blockchains.

The proposed XLS-96 standard would introduce confidential transfers for Multi-Purpose Tokens. It would use encryption and zero-knowledge proofs to hide individual balances and transfer amounts while still allowing validators to verify that transactions comply with the ledger’s supply rules.

The proposal would also allow selective disclosure, enabling issuers to provide transaction information to regulators and auditors without making it publicly available. Controls such as freezing and clawback functions would remain available for confidential assets.

Those features could make XRPL more attractive to institutions that do not want competitors or outside observers monitoring their collateral movements, settlement amounts or trading positions in real time.

Institutional interest in the network is already producing practical use cases. In May, Ondo Finance, Ripple, Mastercard and JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform completed a cross-border redemption involving Ondo’s tokenized US Treasury product.

The tokenized asset portion was processed on XRPL in less than five seconds, while the corresponding dollar payment moved through Kinexys and JPMorgan’s banking network. The transaction showed how assets recorded on the ledger could interact with traditional financial infrastructure.

Adding confidential transfers could help expand that activity by removing a key obstacle to institutional adoption. More tokenized assets, settlement transactions, and financial products on XRPL could, in turn, strengthen demand for XRP if the token is used for liquidity, transaction fees, collateral, or settlement.

The post XRP loses $700 million in futures bets while XRPL builds a $4 billion institutional pipeline appeared first on CryptoSlate.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their first weekly net inflow in more than two months, attracting $197 million across 13 products.

The inflow ended an eight-week run of net redemptions that pulled more than $8 billion from the Bitcoin ETF sector.

Following the renewed inflows, Bitcoin prices appreciated 3% this week, pushing past the $64,000 threshold as market observers eyed the $65,000 level.

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs register weekly inflows

Data from SoSoValue shows that the week ending July 10 commenced with $265 million in inflows on Monday, followed by an additional $21.4 million on Tuesday.

However, demand temporarily reversed midweek, with net outflows of $84.8 million on Wednesday and $95 million on Thursday. The funds subsequently rebounded on Friday, taking in $90.4 million to close the five-day trading period in positive territory.

Notably, spot Ethereum ETFs mirrored the trajectory of their Bitcoin counterparts, similarly breaking an eight-week streak of net redemptions.

The Ethereum products ended the week with $84.42 million in net inflows, aligning with the broader recovery across cryptocurrency investment vehicles.

The improvement across both Bitcoin and ETH products suggests investors have become less aggressive in reducing their crypto exposure.

Digital asset market intelligence firm Swissblock said:

“The most overwhelming ETF distribution wave of this bear market has ended. As Bitcoin Risk continues easing from Capitulation Risk, Spot ETF flows have turned slightly positive again.”

Demand remains weak

Despite these positive inflows, market analysts caution that this short-term reversal may not signal a sustained institutional return.

Still, one positive week provides limited evidence that the broader demand trend has reversed after eight consecutive weeks of redemptions.

Ecoinometrics, a digital asset analysis firm, noted that Bitcoin maintaining a price near $64,000 is unexpected given the broader capital flight from the ETF sector.

According to the firm, BTC's current price stabilization appears to be outpacing the recovery in demand because a handful of positive-flow days have yet to offset the redemptions recorded over the previous eight weeks.

It added:

“For us, the important signal isn't whether ETF flows turn positive for a day or two. It’s whether they remain positive long enough to reverse the broader trend in cumulative holdings.”

Swissblock also agreed with this view, stating that the current accumulation remains weak and lacks robust institutional conviction.

In view of this, the latest inflow only points to a slowdown in selling rather than a confirmed change in trend.

While Bitcoin ETFs might have broken their eight-week losing streak, the funds still need several more weeks of consistent inflows to show that investors are rebuilding exposure rather than briefly pausing their retreat.

The post Bitcoin’s $64,000 rebound is outrunning ETF demand despite a $197 million inflow appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Cantor Equity Partners I and BSTR said they will not close Adam Back's 30,021-BTC treasury deal under the July 2025 agreement.

One of the market’s most visible Bitcoin treasury launches is now stuck rebuilding its financing before BSTR can reach public investors.

In a July 8 Form 8-K, Cantor Equity Partners I said it and BSTR are discussing a revised structure and amended terms for the proposed business combination. The filing said the companies will not complete the deal under the terms in the original agreement, and that the pending private placements tied to the transaction will not be required to be consummated.

The accompanying company update said the revised structure and terms are intended to better reflect current market conditions. The same update said the shareholder meeting scheduled for July 10 has been postponed indefinitely, while any public shares submitted for redemption will be returned and will not be redeemed.

The financing reset is where the Bitcoin treasury trade meets reality. Before BSTR can worry about how its shares perform, it has to prove investors will still fund the launch on workable terms.

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Jun 29, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

The old deal was built around scale

BSTR's original pitch rested on size and access to financing. A July 2025 SEC-filed company release said BSTR was expected to launch with 30,021 Bitcoin on its balance sheet, up to $1.5 billion of fiat PIPE financing, 5,021 Bitcoin in an in-kind PIPE, 25,000 Bitcoin from founding shareholders, and up to about $200 million from Cantor Equity Partners I, subject to redemptions.

The same release tied the vehicle to Adam Back as BSTR's chief executive and co-founder of Blockstream. It also framed BSTR around a Bitcoin-per-share mandate, not just a passive holding-company model.

The detailed business-combination filing shows that the 30,021 BTC figure is made up from separate components: a 25,000 BTC seller contribution, a 4,156.11 BTC CEPO Bitcoin equity PIPE, and an 865 BTC Newco equity PIPE. The same filing described cash equity, convertible notes, preferred stock, and Bitcoin-denominated commitments that depended on the transaction reaching closing.

Those commitments did the heavy lifting, turning a large Bitcoin stack into a vehicle built for public-market funding. The original structure combined common equity, convertible notes, preferred stock, Bitcoin-funded subscriptions, and a SPAC shareholder base with redemption rights across several investor groups.

Once the July 8 update said the existing private placements do not have to close, the question changed from whether BSTR had announced enough capital to whether fresh terms can pull that capital back in.

That also changes the role of the postponed shareholder meeting. Postponing the vote would be procedural in itself. Returning the shares submitted for redemption while the parties renegotiate is more consequential because the public float, CEPO cash contribution, and shareholder base remain unresolved. Those variables are exactly what a Bitcoin treasury company needs to settle before it can credibly promise expansion.

That structure made BSTR more than another company saying it wanted Bitcoin. It was a test of whether Bitcoin treasury promoters could combine stock-market access, PIPE capital, in-kind Bitcoin commitments, and public shareholders into a single funding machine.

Now the old machine has to be rebuilt or replaced.

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The reset puts investors back in control

BSTR and Cantor are still negotiating, with the original terms now off the table.

If the parties reach a revised agreement, additional SEC filings are expected to amend or supplement the registration statement and proxy materials. The next filings will show how much of the original deal is still standing, including the Bitcoin stack, the PIPE commitments, and the price investors now demand to fund it.

They will also show how much demand remains for a digital asset treasury company, even as Bitcoin is not making the launch easy.

CryptoSlate's Bitcoin market page showed BTC trading near $63,688 on July 12, with a market capitalization of roughly $1.27 trillion and about 58% dominance in the broader crypto market. That backdrop is not catastrophic for Bitcoin, but it is very different from a market that treats treasury vehicles as automatic upside.

CryptoSlate readers have already seen the pressure points in other treasury structures. Recent coverage has focused on dilution and Bitcoin-per-share economics, preferred-stock stress at Strategy, and the broader point that treasury companies are really funding stacks with Bitcoin wrappers.

BSTR raises the same question in the process. Instead of asking whether the stock will trade at a premium after trading begins, the reset asks whether the premium assumptions still finance the company before investors ever receive a listed share.

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For a company that measures success in Bitcoin per share, that distinction is central. Capital that arrives at a lower valuation, with higher yield demands, heavier dilution, or fewer Bitcoin commitments can change the economics, even if the deal still closes. The amended filing will therefore be read less like a relaunch notice and more like a market-clearing document.

That makes the forthcoming terms more important than the vehicle's branding. Investors do not have to reject Bitcoin to demand a different price for balance-sheet exposure, redemption risk and future capital calls.

The next filing is the test

The companies' own risk language points to the variables that now matter. The July 8 filing and release cite risks related to public-shareholder redemptions, public float, liquidity, exchange listing, Bitcoin price volatility, competition, regulatory uncertainty, and the difficulty of scaling Bitcoin accumulation and treasury operations.

Those are the terms of the next negotiation.

If a revised BSTR deal preserves the 30,021-BTC launch scale, keeps meaningful investor commitments, and avoids shifting too much cost onto new shareholders, the digital asset treasury company trade will have a stronger answer. It would show that the market can reprice a large Bitcoin treasury deal without killing the model.

If the revised terms reduce the Bitcoin stack, raise the cost of capital, weaken investor protections, or lean harder on dilution, the message changes. The reset would suggest that the next wave of Bitcoin treasury companies cannot rely on stale premiums from the last cycle.

BSTR has become a live price check for the whole Bitcoin treasury trade. The revised terms will show whether investors still want to bankroll expansion or whether shareholders are left paying for the reset.

The post Adam Back’s 30,021 BTC Bitcoin treasury deal just lost the funding structure holding it together appeared first on CryptoSlate.

What Do XTB Stock Savings Plans Offer?

XTB's savings plan offering covers individual stocks as well as ETFs — not just exchange-traded funds — meeting the growing demand for hands-off, recurring stock investing. Investors can set up an automated savings plan on a single share, an ETF, or a mix of both.

The headline number: XTB offers 3,469 stocks eligible for savings plans, on top of its lineup of ETFs, ETNs, and ETCs. That makes automated, recurring investing available across a large slice of the global equity market — not just fund-based products.

How Much Does an XTB Savings Plan Cost?

The fee structure is one of the most competitive parts of the offering, and it applies uniformly across every eligible stock, ETF, ETN, and ETC:

• 0% commission on monthly trading volume up to 100,000 EUR
• 0.2% commission (minimum 10 EUR) on volume above that threshold

For the vast majority of retail investors — who rarely approach a six-figure monthly savings rate — this effectively means commission-free automated investing. The cost only becomes a factor at volumes far beyond typical private savings plans.

What Are XTB's Savings Plan Templates?

Alongside individual stocks, XTB offers pre-built savings plan templates. Rather than researching and assembling a portfolio from scratch, investors can pick a ready-made plan aligned with a theme or goal — particularly useful for beginners who want a starting point rather than a blank page.

Examples of the predefined plans include:

• Growth — built around funds like a NASDAQ 100 ETF and an MSCI World ETF
• Dividends — including a FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield ETF and an S&P Euro Dividend Aristocrats ETF
• Semiconductors — featuring stocks such as Nvidia, TSMC, Broadcom, and AMD
• Renewable Energy — with names like Ørsted, First Solar, and AXIA Energia

Several additional templates are available, and the platform offers a streamlined, intuitive setup process.

Why Do Savings Plans Matter for Long-Term Investors?

Automated savings plans are the mechanism behind dollar-cost averaging — investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of price. Instead of trying to time the market, you buy consistently, smoothing out your average entry price over time and removing the emotional guesswork that trips up most investors.

Adding individual stocks to that model matters. With savings plans no longer confined to diversified funds, the same automated, low-cost approach can be applied to specific companies — whether that's a single conviction holding or a self-built basket of names — while still keeping the discipline of recurring, scheduled buying.

How to Start a Stock Savings Plan on XTB

Getting started is straightforward, and the interface is designed to make setup quick even for first-time investors:

1. Open or log in to your XTB account and complete verification.
2. Fund your account via SEPA transfer, card, or e-wallet.
3. Browse the eligible stocks and ETFs, or pick one of the ready-made templates.
4. Set your recurring amount and interval (for example, monthly).
5. Confirm the plan — from there, purchases run automatically.

Because XTB offers real stocks and ETFs in its savings plans (not derivatives), you own the underlying assets directly, with commission-free investing up to the volume threshold noted above.

👉 Start your XTB savings plan here →

One of the most important companies in crypto came within reach of disappearing entirely — and taking its plan for $XRP with it. In a candid talk this week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed just how close the firm came to shutting down and handing its XRP treasury to shareholders rather than fighting the SEC. Here is the xrp news today and why it still matters for the xrp price.

What Did Ripple's CEO Actually Reveal?

Speaking at the University of Kansas School of Business, Garlinghouse said he and co-founder Chris Larsen seriously considered winding Ripple down and distributing its XRP holdings to shareholders after the SEC sued the company in 2020. The mechanics were surprisingly simple: Ripple holds a large treasury of XRP, so the founders could have distributed those tokens to shareholders on a pro rata basis and wound the business down — a maneuver not unlike an airdrop to equity holders. Doing so would have ended the case outright, since Ripple could then tell the regulator it no longer held the asset the SEC claimed was a security.

Why Did Ripple Decide to Fight Instead?

According to Garlinghouse, the deciding factor was not confidence in winning — it was people. A shutdown would have put hundreds of employees out of work, while litigating kept the company operational. He was candid about how difficult the call was, saying he was glad in retrospect, but that it was not obvious at the time. Former CTO David Schwartz reinforced how dire things looked: the company received advice from lawyers that it was done, unsavable, and that leadership should cut a deal to save themselves.

How Much Did the SEC Fight Cost Ripple?

The price of standing its ground was steep. Garlinghouse put Ripple's four-year legal bill at roughly $150 million and confirmed the SEC named him and Chris Larsen personally. He argued the personal charges were a pressure tactic — Schwartz suggested the SEC named Garlinghouse and Larsen personally as a deliberate maneuver to weaken their resolve and force a quick capitulation. Garlinghouse also said he met SEC officials four times between 2017 and 2019 without a lawyer and was never warned that XRP might be treated as a security, feeding a long-standing industry complaint about regulation-by-enforcement.

How Did the XRP Lawsuit End?

Ripple ultimately won on the central question. Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP in itself is not a security, and the case was settled last year after a change in SEC leadership that took a more accommodating stance toward crypto. That outcome preserved XRP's primary corporate backer and kept development of its cross-border settlement rails alive — a very different ending from the one Ripple's own lawyers had predicted.

What Does This Mean for the XRP Price Today?

The revelation is a look back, not a new catalyst, so the immediate xrp price impact is muted — $XRP trades near $1.09, down around 1.4% on the day amid a broader market pullback. But there is a quieter bullish read underneath. On-chain data points to accumulation beneath the surface, with roughly 64.9 million XRP flowing into Binance against 49.2 million flowing out on July 7 — a net spot-buying imbalance of about 15.7 million XRP. 

One important caveat: Schwartz later pushed back on the more dramatic headlines, saying his earlier comments were taken out of context and that he never claimed Garlinghouse seriously considered shutting the company down. Either way, the story is a reminder of just how existential the regulatory fight was — and how much of XRP's survival came down to a single decision.

The crypto market is doing something unexpected this weekend: almost nothing. Despite a third round of US strikes on Iran and Tehran declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed, $BTC has barely flinched. Here is a breakdown of the crypto news today and why the bitcoin price is shrugging off a major geopolitical shock.

What Is the Bitcoin Price Today?

The btc price today sits at roughly $63,900, down around 0.3% over 24 hours but still up about 2% across the week. $ETH trades near $1,803, $XRP around $1.09, $SOL near $76.60, and $DOGE at about $0.073. Total market cap sits near $2.28T. With oil, stock and bond markets closed for the weekend, bitcoin is one of the few assets pricing the latest escalation in real time, with a fuller reaction in crude expected when trading resumes Monday.

What Just Happened Between the US and Iran?

The escalation began on July 7, when US Central Command said US forces struck more than 80 targets in Iran in retaliation for attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz, and the US reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales. By July 8, President Trump said the memorandum of understanding and the ceasefire with Iran "is over, as far as I'm concerned." Over the weekend, the conflict deepened further: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps closed the Strait of Hormuz after firing a warning shot at a vessel using an unauthorized route — a serious move, given the strait is one of the most important chokepoints for global oil.

How Did the Crypto Market React to the US-Iran Strikes?

Crypto's first reaction was textbook risk-off. When Trump declared the ceasefire dead, the price of bitcoin fell 2.5% and altcoins took heavier losses, with roughly $450 million in leveraged positions liquidated. Altcoins bore the brunt, with $350 million of the $450 million in total liquidations coming from altcoin pairs. But by July 9 the mood flipped: Bitcoin rose 1.2% to $63,000, ether added 0.75% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained with markets unperturbed by U.S. airstrikes on 90 Iranian military targets.

Why Is Bitcoin Ignoring the Geopolitical Risk?

The key shift is how traders now frame the conflict. According to market analysis, investors have stopped pricing Middle East risk as a crypto-specific event and started pricing it as a rates event — the real worry is whether higher oil prices reignite inflation and keep interest rates elevated. As a result, bitcoin now tracking front-end Treasury yields more closely than traditional hedges like crude or gold. Notably, gold has slid even as tensions climb, hinting at a possible rotation into Bitcoin as a rates-sensitive asset.

What Should Crypto Traders Watch Next?

Traders are fixated on the $60,000 level. Holding it through further escalation would reinforce the "Bitcoin as a rates asset" thesis, while a sharp break lower would suggest the calm was temporary. Sentiment has thawed — the Fear and Greed Index recently climbed out of the extreme-fear zone it had held for 40 straight days — but this looks more like relief than conviction. The bigger risk is Monday's oil open, when crude finally reprices the weekend's Hormuz closure and could send fresh ripples through the crypto market today.

The crypto price today paints a cautiously green picture: the total market cap sits around $2.28 trillion, up roughly 1.2% in 24 hours, with Bitcoin holding the $64,000 line and most of the top 10 posting modest gains. But the numbers are only half the story — the big exchanges are racing to let AI software place trades on your behalf, a shift that could change how everyday people trade crypto. Here's your snapshot for today.

What are the crypto prices today?

Here's where the major coins stand as of today, based on live market data:

• Bitcoin ($BTC): ~$64,100, up about 1.4% on the day
• Ethereum ($ETH): ~$1,795, up around 2.5% — the day's stronger large-cap
• XRP ($XRP): ~$1.11, up roughly 1%
• BNB ($BNB): ~$575, up about 1.2%
• Solana ($SOL): ~$78, roughly flat
• Dogecoin ($DOGE): ~$0.07, up nearly 2%
• TRON ($TRX): ~$0.33, slightly lower

Stablecoins USDT and USDC held their $1 peg as usual. Bitcoin dominance remains firm at around 56.4%, while Ethereum sits near 9.5% — a sign the market's recovery is still being led from the top.

Why is the crypto market up today?

Sentiment has quietly improved after a brutal June, Bitcoin's worst month in four years. A few threads are driving today's tone:

• ETF inflows returned. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recently snapped a long losing streak, ending an eight-week run of outflows with roughly $200 million in net weekly inflows — a signal that institutional appetite is thawing.
• The Fear & Greed Index is easing. The gauge climbed to 26 (Fear) from 23 (Extreme Fear), pointing to calmer nerves even if conviction is still cautious.
• Volume stays thin. The catch: trading volumes remain subdued for the summer, leaving the market sensitive to macro and headline risk.

AI is coming to crypto trading — what does that actually mean?

The freshest story today is the race to let software trade for you. An "AI trading agent" is a program you give permission to act on your behalf: instead of tapping buy and sell yourself, you connect an AI assistant that can read the market, decide, and place the trades for you — a bit like autopilot for your account.

Robinhood said this feature will "soon" reach its crypto traders. Eligible US users would be able to link a third-party AI agent — from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic or Grok — to execute trades and manage their portfolio. No firm US launch date has been given yet.

It's not alone. Kraken is reportedly rebuilding its mobile app around a similar AI assistant, making automated trading the app's headline feature rather than an add-on. The takeaway: letting AI place trades is quickly becoming the new battleground for retail crypto apps. It's powerful — but also brand new, so it's worth understanding exactly what you're handing over before switching on any autopilot.

Tokenized stocks keep spreading on-chain

The real-world-asset trend is picking up pace too. Backpack joined the growing race for 24/7 tokenized equity markets, while tokenized SK Hynix shares became accessible through Telegram Wallet, Backpack and Ondo Finance — letting traders access stock exposure around the clock via crypto rails. It's another sign of the line between traditional finance and on-chain finance continuing to blur.

Other crypto news you should know today

A few more threads moving in the background today:

• South Korea tests stablecoins. Gyeonggi Province will begin a stablecoin pilot in August using zero-knowledge proofs and reserve verification for public-fund transparency.
• Binance Pay expands offline. A Kazakh commercial bank moved to connect roughly 5,000 POS terminals to Binance Pay, letting merchants accept crypto payments at physical checkout.
• ESMA scam warning. Europe's securities regulator flagged phishing emails exploiting MiCA rules, reminding firms that official messages only come from its verified domain.

Bitcoin is trading around $64,100 today, holding onto a roughly 2.6% weekly gain and pressing toward the top of a well-defined range. The bitcoin price today sits in a tug-of-war between a firm floor at $58,000 and a stubborn ceiling near $65,581 — and with June's US inflation report due July 14, the next few sessions could set the tone for weeks. Here's the full BTC price analysis.

What is the Bitcoin price today?

As of writing, BTC/USD trades near $64,100, up about 1.5% on the day and roughly 2.6% over the past seven days. The move comes after Bitcoin's worst month in four years in June, making this rebound a meaningful recovery of composure rather than a fresh breakout. Notably, 24-hour volume has been running around 20% below its recent average — a sign the grind higher is happening on thin conviction, not a flood of buyers.

What are the key Bitcoin support and resistance levels?

The 2-hour chart lays out a clean range that's easy to trade around:

• Resistance – $65,581: This is the line that matters. $BTC tapped it in mid-June and got rejected, and it's capped every attempt since. A clean 2-hour close above it is the trigger bulls are waiting for.
• Support – $58,000: The lower boundary has been tested twice (late June and early July) and held both times, forming a higher-low structure. As long as this floor holds, the broader recovery stays intact.
• Current price – ~$64,100: BTC is trading in the upper third of the range, closer to resistance than support — a constructive sign, but not yet a breakout.

What is the Bitcoin RSI telling us?

Momentum is quietly bullish. The RSI (14) reads around 60, sitting above its signal line and comfortably in the upper half of the range without being overbought. That leaves room for further upside before buyers get exhausted — but it's not the kind of stretched reading that screams "top." In short: momentum supports another push at resistance, it just hasn't confirmed the break yet.

Why does the July 14 CPI report matter for BTC?

This is the swing factor. June's US Consumer Price Index lands on July 14, and it's the next major macro catalyst for risk assets. Here's why it's pivotal:

• A cooler-than-expected print would revive hopes of Fed easing, likely pressuring Treasury yields and the dollar lower — a tailwind that could give BTC the fuel to clear $65,581.
• A hotter print would do the opposite, reinforcing higher-for-longer rate fears and potentially knocking Bitcoin back toward the middle of its range.

Complicating the picture, renewed Middle East tensions have nudged oil prices higher, which feeds back into inflation expectations — exactly the channel the market is watching. ETF inflows turned positive recently, but only for a single session, so it's still unclear whether institutional buyers will step up after the data.

Bitcoin price prediction: what happens next?

The setup is a classic coiled range heading into a known catalyst. Two scenarios stand out:

• Bullish case: A 2-hour close above $65,581, ideally confirmed by a soft CPI print, opens the path back toward the June high near $67,250. Clearing that zone would flip the medium-term structure decisively bullish and put the $70,000 round number firmly in play — the next major psychological target and a level analysts widely flag as the gateway to a broader recovery.
• Bearish case: Rejection at resistance or a hot CPI print sends BTC back toward the $61,000–$60,000 mid-range, with $58,000 as the line that absolutely must hold. A break below it would expose deeper support and put the recovery in question.

The most likely near-term path is continued consolidation between $58,000 and $65,581 until CPI forces a decision. Traders will want to watch whether volume expands on any breakout attempt — a move through resistance on weak volume is far less trustworthy than one backed by real participation.

Can Bitcoin reach 70K soon?

Bitcoin is holding a constructive structure — higher lows, supportive RSI, and price pressing resistance — but it hasn't yet earned a breakout. The $65,581 ceiling and the $58,000 floor define the battlefield, and the July 14 CPI report is the catalyst most likely to break the deadlock. Clear resistance on real volume and the road to $70,000 opens up; fail, and this stays a range to respect rather than a trend to chase.

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Shiba Inu layer 2 blockchain, Shibarium sees noticeable decline in activity, prompting attention in the market.

Key Takeaways

• XRP offers a compelling utility for rapid, cost-effective international money transfers, completing transactions within seconds
• The Ripple SEC legal dispute concluded in 2025, eliminating significant regulatory uncertainty surrounding XRP
• Approximately 32.6 billion XRP remains locked in Ripple’s escrow system, representing potential future supply pressure
• Ripple’s financial infrastructure can operate with stablecoins rather than XRP, reducing guaranteed token demand
• XRP token holders don’t receive dividends or earnings distributions — appreciation relies solely on market demand

For more than ten years, XRP has remained among the cryptocurrency sector’s most debated digital assets. Advocates envision it becoming the infrastructure for worldwide payment systems. Skeptics raise concerns about supply management and the asset’s relationship with Ripple Labs.

Let’s examine the evidence.

The XRP Ledger powers XRP—an open blockchain designed specifically for efficient, affordable value transfer. Settlement happens in mere seconds with minimal transaction costs. Different from Bitcoin’s approach, no computational mining exists—all 100 billion tokens were generated initially, with fractional amounts destroyed during each transaction.

Ripple Labs, the enterprise driving XRP‘s commercial adoption, has developed an extensive suite of payment infrastructure, digital asset custody, stablecoin offerings, and tokenization platforms targeting banks and financial enterprises. This positions XRP with stronger institutional connections than most cryptocurrency projects.

Regulatory Uncertainty Resolved

A significant concern weighing on XRP lifted in 2025. The prolonged Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Ripple reached its conclusion. The previous judicial determination that XRP sold on public exchanges didn’t constitute securities remained unchanged. Ripple settled by paying a $125 million fine related to specific institutional transactions that violated securities regulations.

This outcome provided cryptocurrency exchanges and institutional market participants with greater clarity to list XRP-based offerings. The development marked meaningful progress for the digital asset.

Understanding Supply Dynamics

XRP features a fixed cap of 100 billion tokens. Currently, more than 62 billion tokens circulate publicly. Ripple maintains approximately 32.6 billion XRP within escrow arrangements as of June 2026.

The escrow mechanism permits releasing up to one billion XRP monthly. Typically, Ripple returns most unreleased tokens into fresh escrow contracts, preventing immediate market flooding. However, the possibility of expanding circulating supply remains constant.

This represents a critical consideration for investors evaluating long-term XRP positions.

Ripple’s commercial success doesn’t necessarily translate to XRP demand. The company’s payment infrastructure can process settlements using stablecoins, including Ripple’s proprietary RLUSD token, instead of XRP. Consequently, Ripple’s business expansion doesn’t inherently increase XRP utilization.

XRP token holders don’t participate in Ripple’s revenue or receive dividend payments. Token valuation depends entirely on speculative demand and anticipated adoption rates.

As of June 2026, Ripple continues controlling substantial XRP holdings through escrow, following a monthly distribution schedule that market participants actively track.

The post XRP (XRP) Long-Term Investment Analysis: Should You Buy in 2026? appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Points

• Shares of American Bitcoin, Eric Trump’s co-founded venture, have collapsed over 95% from their all-time high
• Eric Trump’s approximately 6% ownership stake has lost more than $600 million in market capitalization over a 10-month period
• To maintain its Nasdaq listing status, the firm implemented a 1-for-15 reverse stock split earlier this week
• Shares reached an all-time low midweek
• First quarter results revealed a $118.2 million operational deficit, primarily attributed to a $117.2 million impairment charge on bitcoin holdings

The bitcoin mining operation American Bitcoin, which Eric Trump helped establish, has experienced a devastating share price collapse exceeding 95% from its highest point. This dramatic downturn has eliminated over $600 million in market capitalization connected to his approximate 6% ownership position during the last 10 months.

Shares touched a new all-time low midweek, extending a precipitous selloff that has severely damaged early investor confidence in the enterprise.

American Bitcoin Corp, ABTC

In an effort to preserve its Nasdaq exchange listing, the organization executed a 1-for-15 reverse stock split earlier this week. Such corporate actions generally indicate a firm is struggling to meet minimum listing standards, and they seldom restore investor confidence.

The reverse consolidation failed to halt the decline. Even with the split mathematically elevating the nominal per-share value, shares still settled at a historic low on Wednesday.

First Quarter Results Show Significant Deficits

American Bitcoin’s quarterly financial performance painted a grim picture. The operation disclosed a $118.2 million operational deficit for the first quarter, with a $117.2 million impairment charge on its bitcoin reserves accounting for nearly the entire loss.

Impairment charges occur when an asset’s market value falls beneath its acquisition cost. For an enterprise centered on bitcoin accumulation, such writedowns represent significant financial setbacks.

Despite these financial challenges, American Bitcoin continues pursuing its acquisition approach. The company purchased an additional 500 BTC on Monday.

This acquisition increases the firm’s total bitcoin inventory beyond 8,000 BTC. Based on prevailing bitcoin valuations, this constitutes a substantial holding, though one that has already generated considerable accounting losses.

Massive Decline From Peak Valuation

The statistics are sobering. A 95% decline from peak levels means any investor who purchased at the top would require a 2,000% appreciation merely to return to their original investment.

For Eric Trump, with his roughly 6% stake, the paper losses measured against that peak market capitalization now surpass $600 million over this 10-month span.

The firm’s approach of mining and accumulating bitcoin follows established industry patterns. However, the magnitude of the equity decline distinguishes it from comparable companies.

The 1-for-15 reverse split ratio represents an aggressive consolidation. It contracted the outstanding share count by a factor of 15, mathematically boosting the price per unit while leaving fundamental business performance unchanged.

American Bitcoin’s record low achieved Wednesday occurred post-split, demonstrating that market participants remain focused on operational results rather than cosmetic price adjustments.

The $118.2 million Q1 operational loss represents the company’s most current disclosed financial performance.

The post American Bitcoin (ABTC) Stock Plunges 95% as Eric Trump’s Mining Venture Faces Crisis appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• BTC declined 1.8% to reach $62,853 following escalating Middle East tensions
• Cryptocurrency markets continued their weekend slide, hovering near 12-month lows
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs reversed eight consecutive weeks of outflows with $197.4M in new capital
• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust dominated with $291.9M in weekly contributions
• Market observers maintain a cautious outlook, with potential for additional declines through October

Bitcoin experienced significant downward pressure on Monday as escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran drove capital away from risk-oriented investments including digital assets.

The leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization shed 1.8% to reach $62,853.4 during early Monday trading hours. This valuation represents approximately 50% below Bitcoin’s peak achieved in October.

Washington and Tehran engaged in military confrontations throughout the weekend, with both nations providing contradictory reports regarding the status of the Strait of Hormuz. American officials maintained the critical shipping lane remained operational, while Iranian authorities claimed it was predominantly blocked.

Crude oil values surged following these developments, intensifying concerns about energy-related inflation and potential implications for monetary policy. Elevated borrowing costs typically diminish appetite for non-yield-generating assets such as Bitcoin.

Market analyst Ted Pillows highlighted declining spot market demand as a critical obstacle for Bitcoin’s recovery. He suggested that without renewed participation from spot market buyers, Bitcoin will find it challenging to surpass the $65,000 threshold — a resistance level that has repeatedly rejected price advances.

According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds had experienced eight consecutive weeks of net capital withdrawals prior to the previous week. Institutional interest in cryptocurrency assets had been steadily waning.

Bitcoin ETFs Break Extended Outflow Pattern

American-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds accumulated $197.4 million in net contributions during the week concluding Friday, halting the prolonged withdrawal trend. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF accounted for the majority of this activity, attracting $291.9 million.

Withdrawals from Grayscale’s product, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, and the ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF partially counterbalanced these contributions.

Monochrome Asset Management CEO Jeff Yew suggested the inflows might indicate early strategic positioning in anticipation of the CLARITY Act, comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation expected in August. He characterized this movement as potentially signaling long-term investors preparing for enhanced regulatory transparency.

Mixed Perspectives on Market Recovery

10x Research CEO Markus Thielen noted that ongoing ETF and stablecoin withdrawals, combined with historical seasonal trends during August and September, continue to present obstacles. He identified a recurring pattern where Bitcoin typically demonstrates stronger performance during the first half of each month before momentum dissipates.

The $197.4 million weekly accumulation appears modest when compared against the $8.26 billion withdrawn from Bitcoin ETFs since May 11.

Real Vision analyst Jamie Coutts indicated last week that Bitcoin may be progressing through the advanced phases of a bear cycle, with preliminary indicators suggesting diminishing selling momentum.

Russell Thompson, Chief Investment Officer at Hilbert Capital, stated that Bitcoin remains within a declining cycle and could establish a bottom near October.

Ether-focused ETFs similarly concluded their eight-week outflow sequence, registering $84.42 million in net contributions last week, predominantly driven by BlackRock and Fidelity offerings.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Slides to $62,800 as Middle East Conflict Triggers Crypto Selloff appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Prime Minister Takaichi endorsed Japan’s Web3 ecosystem during the WebX 2026 conference in Tokyo, attracting approximately 15,000 participants
• The nation’s Comprehensive Startup Support Package targets annual startup investments reaching 10 trillion yen by fiscal year 2027
• Legislative efforts advance crypto taxation reform, proposing a flat 20% rate on digital asset profits alongside possible cryptocurrency ETFs
• Ripple partnered with Web3 Salon to offer grants reaching $200,000 for Japanese developers creating solutions on the XRP Ledger
• Government ambitions extend to cultivating 100 unicorn companies and establishing 100,000 startups nationwide

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivered remarks to the WebX 2026 conference attendees in Tokyo through video presentation on July 13, reaffirming governmental commitment to nurturing startups and Web3 enterprises.

The event represents one of Asia’s most significant Web3 assemblies. Conference planners anticipate approximately 15,000 attendees. Takaichi characterized the gathering as a crucial networking venue for entrepreneurs, capital providers and organizations seeking practical blockchain applications.

Takaichi positioned Web3 technology within Japan’s comprehensive innovation strategy rather than treating it as an isolated cryptocurrency project. She commended WebX for facilitating connections between emerging companies and financial backers while providing forums for discussing next-generation services.

Her presentation stopped short of unveiling any dedicated Web3 funding mechanism or immediate regulatory adjustments affecting digital currency businesses.

Administration Pursues Enhanced Capital Access and Regulatory Streamlining

Takaichi referenced Japan’s Comprehensive Startup Support Package, formulated in May 2025. This initiative expands upon the Five-Year Startup Development Plan originally established in 2022.

The framework advocates for expanded capital deployment through government-supported investment vehicles and banking institutions. Additional provisions include regulatory modifications designed to enable emerging ventures to scale operations, expand workforces and penetrate broader markets.

Japan’s five-year strategic blueprint aims for approximately 10 trillion yen in annual startup investment by fiscal 2027. Leadership additionally envisions positioning Japan as a premier entrepreneurial center throughout Asia. Official documentation establishes extended objectives including 100 unicorn-status companies and 100,000 total startups.

Takaichi refrained from establishing concrete timelines for individual initiatives. Outcomes will hinge on investment momentum and implementation execution for each policy component.

Digital Asset Tax Legislation and Private Sector Funding Progress

Japan continues restructuring its digital asset regulatory framework. Legislative bodies are progressing legislation that would implement a uniform 20% taxation rate on cryptocurrency profits. This proposed modification would align digital asset tax treatment more closely with equities and fixed-income securities.

The legislation may additionally establish frameworks for domestic cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. Tax-related provisions remain pending and could become effective beginning in 2028.

Private sector capital is simultaneously flowing into the ecosystem. Ripple collaborated with Web3 Salon to introduce grants up to $200,000 for Japanese development teams building on the XRP Ledger. The initiative focuses on payment solutions, asset tokenization and decentralized finance applications. Web3 Salon operates with backing from the Japan External Trade Organization.

These grant programs function independently from governmental initiatives but demonstrate how public institutions and commercial entities are concurrently engaging entrepreneurial communities.

Takaichi’s participation continues a pattern established by previous Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida in 2024 and Shigeru Ishiba in 2025. The consistent involvement of high-ranking government figures provides the sector with governmental access channels, though rhetorical support doesn’t automatically translate to legislative action or appropriated funds.

Japan’s forthcoming actions will encompass implementing the startup support framework, completing crypto regulatory legislation and verifying whether promised capital successfully reaches early-stage ventures.

The post Japanese PM Takaichi Champions Web3 Innovation With 10 Trillion Yen Investment Vision appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Major investors acquired 11,306 ETH valued at $20.59 million, with one wallet’s holdings reaching $84.3 million
• Ethereum has maintained support above $1,800 for three straight days, currently trading at $1,807
• Exchange withdrawals have exceeded deposits for eight consecutive days — marking the longest run in 2025
• The newly launched Robinhood Layer-2 network utilizes ETH for transaction fees, attracting $141 million in bridged assets
• Ethereum commands a 47% share of the Real World Assets sector, with total value locked reaching $260 billion — surpassing ETH’s market capitalization

Ethereum maintains its position near the $1,800 threshold as significant whale accumulation coincides with increased utility demand from a prominent new Layer-2 ecosystem.

Currently, ETH is changing hands at $1,807, representing a modest 0.26% gain over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has successfully defended the $1,800 support level for three consecutive trading sessions.

According to data from Onchain Lens, two substantial wallets, potentially controlled by a single entity, accumulated 6,358 ETH worth approximately $11.59 million. Additionally, another large holder extracted 4,948 ETH valued at $9.01 million from a centralized exchange, elevating that particular wallet’s total position to 49,407 ETH — currently worth $84.3 million.

Together, these major players secured 11,306 ETH worth $20.59 million during a concentrated buying period.

Prominent crypto analyst Ali Charts shared his perspective on the current market dynamics via X, stating: “I’m going LONG on Ethereum $ETH if it breaks $1,850.” This observation from Ali Charts highlights $1,850 as the critical near-term resistance level that market participants are monitoring for potential breakout confirmation.

Exchange Withdrawals Reach 2025’s Longest Consecutive Streak

Analysis from CryptoQuant reveals that Ethereum’s Exchange Netflow indicator has remained in negative territory for eight straight days, establishing the longest sustained withdrawal pattern recorded this year.

When withdrawal volumes surpass deposits on exchanges, it generally indicates that investors are transferring their assets to self-custody solutions rather than preparing to sell. This behavior effectively constrains the immediately available supply for market transactions.

The Exchange Supply Ratio has declined to 0.13, marking a three-week low. Historical patterns suggest this type of configuration has frequently preceded upward price movements for Ethereum.

The Relative Strength Index has remained positioned above the 50 threshold for eight consecutive days, aligning with the withdrawal trends to indicate sustained buying pressure in the current market environment.

Robinhood’s New Layer-2 Network Generates Additional ETH Utility

The introduction of Robinhood Chain, a recently deployed Layer-2 scaling solution, has created an additional use case for Ethereum. The network designates ETH as its primary token for transaction fees.

Approximately $141 million worth of ETH has been transferred to the network through bridging mechanisms. The chain has already attracted more than 500,000 active wallet addresses.

During the last 24-hour period, Robinhood Chain exceeded both the Ethereum mainnet and competing L2 solution Base in decentralized exchange trading volume, recording $877.56 million. The Robinhood platform maintains operations across 120 countries and provides access to tokenized equity products.

Leon Waidmann, Research Director at Lisk, emphasized that Ethereum’s Total Value Locked figure of $260 billion currently surpasses ETH’s market capitalization of $210 billion. Waidmann characterized this disparity as evidence that “ETH is underpriced.”

Ethereum also maintains a dominant 47% market share within the Real World Assets category, based on data compiled by Rwa.xyz.

Market analysts indicate that for ETH to preserve its current technical formation, the price must maintain closes above the short-term moving average positioned at $1,778.

The post Ethereum (ETH) Surges Toward $2,000 as Major Whales Accumulate and Robinhood Chain Gains Momentum appeared first on Blockonomi.

The cryptocurrency market has dipped once again over the past several hours, but Pi Network’s native token has taken this minor correction a lot worse, with a fresh dump to a new all-time low.

Moreover, nearly 130 million coins are scheduled to be unlocked in the following months, which could further worsen PI’s state.

Low After Low

It’s almost impossible to imagine now, but PI traded at $0.30 in March after its major listing on Kraken. The subsequent rejection, though, pushed it south to $0.20, where it managed to stand there for a while. Although that key support was breached briefly, the token challenged it in late April, only to be halted again.

The following few months have brought nothing but pain for the PI token holders. As the chart below will clearly demonstrate, the asset has been on a violent free-fall that has taken it to several consecutive all-time lows. The latest arrived earlier today when PI decisively lost the $0.10 support and even the $0.09 floor.

Another double-digit price dump pushed it south to $0.086, which became its new all-time low. PI is down by over 22% weekly, and a whopping 97.1% since its all-time high in February 2025.

What’s even more worrisome for investors is the fact that over 127 million coins are set to be unlocked in the next 30 days, according to data from PiScan. Such large token releases could increase the immediate selling pressure from investors who had been waiting for their coins for a long time. This is particularly true in bear markets when the distress is higher than usual.

Can New Updates and Products Help?

Although the recent price picture looks more than grim, the team behind the project has not stood still. They continue to outline new products, significant protocol updates, and celebrate the major milestones.

The latest was the Pi2Day (June 28), when the Core Team unveiled three major infrastructure products aimed at expanding the ecosystem beyond its existing user base. Namely, those were SoloHost, a framework for locally hosting AI apps and distributed computing; Pi Sign-in, which enables third-party websites and apps to authenticate users through Pi accounts; and PiVerify, a KYC and identity verification service for external businesses.

Despite the significance of some of those products, the timing remains a challenge. Such infrastructure improvements require months or even years to translate into measurable network activity and token demand. For now, the actual benefits are missing, and the protocol’s native token continues to dig new lows.

The post Pi Network’s PI Hits New ATL After 11% Crash as 130M Token Unlock Looms appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Dover, Delaware, USA, July 13th, 2026]

Legend Awakes has released its official cinematic reveal video, concluding the mystery-driven teaser campaign that has unfolded across X in recent weeks.

The campaign used cinematic visuals, cryptic messages, and hidden clues to introduce the world behind Legend Awakes, generating more than 300 million views across campaign content and prompting thousands of comments, reposts, and community discussions.

The reveal video brings the campaign’s clues, symbols, and hidden messages together for the first time, while introducing Alberich Token – a project inspired by Alberich, the legendary figure from Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung, and presented as the world’s first “Musical Meme Coin.”

Without giving away the experience, the cinematic reveal introduces a narrative-driven Web3 project that blends mythology, legendary music, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and community into a single evolving story.

Rather than presenting a conventional token launch, Legend Awakes introduces a story-first approach that invites audiences to discover the project through its unfolding narrative before exploring the technology behind it.

The cinematic reveal marks the beginning of the next chapter. Visitors can continue the journey at LegendAwakes.com, where each step reveals another piece of the story and the expanding world surrounding Alberich Token

Watch the Official Cinematic Reveal

The full cinematic reveal is now live on the official Legend Awakes account on X.

https://x.com/LegendAwakes

Continue the journey:

https://www.LegendAwakes.com

The mystery has led to this moment. Now the legend awakens.

About Legend Awakes

Legend Awakes is the story-driven project behind Alberich Token (ALBRH), the world’s first Musical Meme Coin. Inspired by Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung – the original Ring saga based on the legendary Nibelungenlied. The project reimagines one of history’s most enduring and influential epic legends for the Web3 era through music, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and immersive storytelling. Developed under the Nibelungen Foundation, Alberich Token unites mythology, culture, and innovation, creating a distinctive digital asset ecosystem for a global audience.

X | Website | TG

The post Legend Awakes Reveals the Story Behind Its Mystery-Driven Campaign appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Somewhat expected following the new wave of attacks in the Middle East, the cryptocurrency market has headed south again, and Ripple’s cross-border token is no exception.

While the short-term picture remains bleak, according to on-chain data, there are some charts providing more hope on the macro scale.

XRP Slips Again

The price of the cross-border token plummeted at the start of the month to $1.01 for the first time in nearly two years amid the market-wide crash. It rebounded swiftly in the following days and even challenged the $1.20 resistance, where it was rejected and pushed south to under $1.10 within days.

The past week or so has been a lot less eventful, as the asset spent it trading sideways between $1.09 and $1.12. The support level gave in on Monday morning, though, as the market priced in the new attacks between the US and Iran. Ripple’s coin slipped to just under $1.07 for the first time since the aforementioned low earlier this month.

Aside from market weakness, another possible reason for the asset’s retreat is ETF activity. After nine consecutive weeks of net inflows, that streak was finally broken last week, with over $7 million leaving the funds.

There’s more, though: on-chain data from Santiment and Ali Martinez suggests that whale activity on the XRP Ledger has “cooled significantly.” The number of large transactions worth over $1 million is down from 70 to just 2 in about a week.

Previously, Santiment also noted the XRP Ledger activity had “gone unusually quiet,” with newly created wallets dumping to their lowest levels in almost two years.

Still Major Price Targets

CRYPTOWZRD commented on XRP’s latest price moves, indicating that it had closed “indecisively.” The analyst expects to see “further upside” if Ripple’s token gains some traction against BTC, which hasn’t been the case for a long time.

Meanwhile, EGRAG CRYPTO remains highly bullish on the token’s long-term perspective. In a recent post on X, he noted that history might be rhyming for XRP, as there are several signs suggesting that the macro bottom is in.

“The macro bottom may already be behind us. Now we need a bounce toward the 50-MA (about $1.60), a healthy rejection, a retest of the 618 (0.5 Fibonacci zone), and that retest will become the make-or-break accumulation zone before the next impulsive move higher. In my view, this would complete a double-bottom lower low and set the foundation for the next macro rally for XRP.”

EGRAG outlined some major targets for that long-term rally, including up to $31 in some extreme cases. Other, more modest numbers include $15, $9, and $5-$6.50.

The post XRP Price Drops to 10-Day Low as Whale Demand and ETF Flows Fade appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Crypto markets have largely held on to gains over the weekend, but were looking a little shaky on Monday morning as traders digested the latest developments between the US and Iran.

The US has launched several waves of strikes on Iran over an Iranian attack on another container ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has declared the Strait closed, while President Trump said otherwise.

Meanwhile, some heavy inflation reports could further rattle sentiment and add to the volatility as the bear market drags on.

“Q2 2026 earnings season has arrived, and Strait of Hormuz tensions are mounting again,” said the Kobeissi Letter.

Economic Events July 13 to 17

US Central Command reported on Monday morning that forces began launching more strikes against Iran “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

Crude oil prices were up around 4%, with WTI and Brent hitting $74.50 and $79, respectively, while US stock futures opened slightly lower.

June’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data is due on Tuesday, which could add to the market volatility. This is followed by the Producer Price Index (PPI) data out on Wednesday, measuring wholesale inflation.

Year-on-year measures for both headline CPI and PPI are expected to rise by 3.8% and 6.2%, respectively, reported Yahoo Finance. Rising inflation will put more pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike rates, which is bad news for risk-on assets such as crypto. The escalation of military action in the Middle East is also not good for dampening inflation concerns.

June Retail Sales data and July Philly Fed Manufacturing Index reports are due on Thursday, followed by July’s Michigan Inflation Expectations and Consumer Sentiment reports on Friday.

Key Events This Week:

1. Markets React to Strait of Hormuz Closure – Today, 6 PM ET

2. June CPI Inflation data – Tuesday

3. June PPI Inflation data – Wednesday

4. June Retail Sales data – Thursday

5. July Philly Fed Manufacturing Index – Thursday

6. July MI Inflation…

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 12, 2026

Several Wall Street banks and finance giants are reporting Q2 earnings this week, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank on Tuesday, followed by Morgan Stanley and BlackRock on Wednesday.

Crypto Market Outlook

Total market capitalization has remained steady over the weekend, hovering around $2.26 trillion with a very minor dip on Monday morning after the latest airstrikes.

Bitcoin had held ground just above $64,000 for the past 12 hours or so but dipped to $63,400 during early trading, where it remains at the time of writing.

Ether prices fared a little better, holding above $1,800 for most of the past day following a 15% gain over the past fortnight. Escalation of conflict and higher inflation this week could send both much lower.

The post 4 Things That Could Impact Crypto Markets This Week appeared first on CryptoPotato.

As analysts have predicted for July based on historical data, BTC is off to a strong start. The leading digital currency has rebounded from its most recent low of $57,700 to $64,000, a major support and pivot level.

According to the latest CryptoQuant weekly report, bitcoin’s rebound can be attributed to July’s positive seasonality and recovering demand. These factors are likely to contribute to a significant pump before the month runs out.

July Starts Strong, Bitcoin Sees Recovery

To substantiate the claims, CryptoQuant analysts cited past data that showed that the seasonal tailwind is strongest in July during bear markets. July has become bitcoin’s reliable positive month over the last decade. During previous bear cycles in 2018 and 2022, BTC closed the month with 20% and 17% surges, respectively.

So far this month, BTC has risen 11% from its lows of $57,700, trading above $64,000. The positive momentum witnessed in July usually happens regardless of how weak the broader market trend is. Since BTC entered July fresh off a bear market low, there is a higher chance of further upside, thanks to positive seasonality.

Moreover, total bitcoin demand is recovering and has climbed back towards neutral after its sharpest contraction since 2022. Analysts noted a recovery in 30-day total demand metrics after the indicator fell to -650,000 BTC in early June as the asset declined toward $58,000.

“It has since recovered to near neutral, with speculative futures demand turning slightly positive while spot apparent demand contracts at its slowest pace since mid-May. A move back into positive territory would confirm that the demand engine is re-igniting,” analysts explained.

Stronger Demand Still Needed

Furthermore, investor demand in the United States is improving, as seen in the Coinbase Premium Index, which has recovered from deeply negative readings to -0.062. The rebound was aided by BTC rebounding from the $57,000 level. It signals that selling pressure on U.S. trading platforms is easing and institutional appetite is stabilizing.

Unfortunately, market conditions are still extremely bearish despite these recent developments, as seen in the CryptoQuant Bull Score Index hovering at 20, which is the bearish zone. Even though BTC has reached short-term undervalued territory and more price recovery is possible, stronger demand is needed.

In fact, the Bull Score Index needs a reading above 60 for a sustainable rally. Until this happens, every rebound will be treated as a bear-market recovery, not a trend reversal.

The post Bitcoin’s Recovery Gains Momentum, Putting July Off to a Strong Start appeared first on CryptoPotato.