Bitcoin’s Greatest Hits: The Hilarity of Half-Done Records!

What to know:

By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Ah, dear reader, gather ’round! It seems that Bitcoin has broken forth from its digital crypt, soaring past the gaudy milestone of $118,000, yet still struggling to regain its dignity against the likes of gold and the British pound. It’s as if the young sprout is trying to impress the old oak tree by racing, but isn’t quite sure if it’s worth the effort. 🏃‍♂️💰

Since the audacious date of July 9, my dear Bitcoin has galloped from a humble $108,000, taking every little dip in its stride. It flaunts a marvelous 60% rise since its more dismal April days, when people were wringing their hands over tariffs, as if they were about to bake a cake without flour. 🌪️🧁

Just when you think it can’t get more thrilling, Bitcoin has surprisingly leaped past gold on the year-to-date performance scoreboard; it now boasts a respectable 27% compared to gold’s rather genteel 26%. Oh, the suspense!

However, one must not forget that with every robust gain comes the inevitable liquidations—like a raucous party crashing when the clock strikes twelve. The previous high of $112,000 was like a well-tended fortress, but alas, the shorts—those pesky naysayers—have been routed, giving Bitcoin the push it needs to keep prancing about. 😄

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin network hash rate, measuring the computational bustle involved in mining this glittering currency, has bounced back above 915 exahashes per second. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? Almost like a math wizard performing a mid-air somersault! 🤹‍♂️

But—there’s always a “but”—keep one eye peeled for the impending U.S. inflation data due on July 15. Last month saw headline inflation at a cozy 2.4%, but unless those numbers start doing the cha-cha downwards, hopes for rate cuts may just waltz right out the door. Stay vigilant, my friends! 🧐🎩

Conferences

The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a charming little soiree set for Washington on Sept. 10, gathering the crème de la crème of general counsels, compliance officers, and the like, all eager to rub elbows with public officials in charge of crypto legislation. Don’t dawdle—space is as scarce as a butler at a flat-footed family gathering. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your entrance until July 17! 🎟️

Day 2 of 4: Mallorca Blockchain Days (Palma, Spain)
July 16: Invest Web3 Forum (Dubai)
July 20: Crypto Coin Day 7/20 (Atlanta)
July 24: Decasonic’s Web3 Investor Day 2025 (Chicago)
July 25: Blockchain Summit Global (Montevideo, Uruguay)
July 28-29: TWS Conference 2025 (Singapore)

Token Talk

By Shaurya Malwa

Ether’s (ETH) breakout past $3,000 has stirred up a delightful ruckus amongst Ethereum-native memecoins—almost like a family reunion where no one quite knows how they’re related, yet everyone feels a kinship. 🥳
Memecoins are back, acting as wild bets on broader ether strength, with enthusiastically risky rotations into low-cap tokens like MOG. Seriously, it seems folks are betting on characters out of a comic book now! 🦸‍♂️
MOG has leaped nearly 40%, breaststroking towards a market cap of $645 million—talk about a rise worth mentioning at a garden party! 🌼
And PEPE? It adds over 30% in just a week, commanding a striking $6 billion market cap. Who knew a frog could be so wealthy? 🐸💵
Both MOG and PEPE are quite the couple, having made their grand debut in 2023, now mingling with the likes of DOGE and SHIB—like the life of the party they never asked to attend!
In the world outside memes, protocol tokens have also decided to join the fray, with Lido (LDO) rising 15% and Arbitrum climbing 18%. Splendid!
The trend echoes past cycles, where rallies in core assets like ETH would bubble down to ecosystem tokens, finally creating a delightful frothy mess in the meme coins. 🍾
For those adventurous souls willing to venture further for higher returns, MOG’s recent debut suggests traders are willingly tiptoeing down the risk curve. Just be sure to watch your step! 😬

Derivatives Positioning

BTC and ETH perpetual futures open interest is slightly down despite the cheery price rises. A warning, perhaps, not to toss one’s hat into the ring just yet? 🎩
XRP‘s open interest, on the other hand, continues its ascension like a cat on a warm window ledge, adding support to the price rally. 🐱
The market shows no signs of overheating, funding rates for major coins merely sitting at a modest 10%, far removed from the alarming 50% that usually spells calamity. Phew! 😌
On Deribit, the $120K call reigns supreme, boasting an impressive open interest of over $2 billion; mark that burger down, folks. That’s one juicy key level to monitor. 🍔
Risk reversals indicate a more bullish attitude among traders—like children at a candy store, everyone’s keen on chasing what’s sweet and on trend! 🍬

Market Movements

BTC is zipping up 6.8% since 4 p.m. ET Thursday, now at $118,308 (24hrs: 6.42%)
ETH joins the fray, up 8% at $3,006.71 (24hrs: 7.92%)
CoinDesk 20 is reveling in a 5.3% rise at 3,513.29 (24hrs: 7.33%)
Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate, however, has taken a 5 bps tumble, landing at a nonchalant 3.00%.
BTC funding rate rests at 0.0300% (10.9500% annualized) on Binance—keeping its cool!

DXY up 0.09% at 97.74
Gold futures growing higher by 0.82% at $3,352.90
Silver futures eagerly climbing 2.98% at $38.42
The Nikkei 225 closes down a smidge at 39,569.68
The Hang Seng, however, is riding a wave up by 0.46% at 24,139.57
FTSE dips down 0.55% at 8,926.12, rather unwholesomely.
Euro Stoxx 50 fading a bit, down 1.22% at 5,372.21.
The DJIA, however, sneaks into a 0.43% uptick at 44,650.64.
S&P 500 edges its way up 0.27% at 6,280.46—typical, eh?
Nasdaq Composite graces us with a shy 0.09% rise at 20,630.66.
S&P/TSX Composite gains a modest 0.41% at 27,082.30.
S&P 40 Latin America, not wishing to be left out, descends down 1.14% at 2,639.33.
The U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate perks up a tad at 4.383%, quite the speak for a day!
E-mini S&P 500 futures ease down 0.62% at 6,284.75.
E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures cool off, down 0.56% at 22,885.50.
E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index follows suit, down 0.68% at 44,601.00. Oh, dear!

Bitcoin Stats

BTC Dominance: 64.77% (a smidge more than yesterday)
Ether to bitcoin ratio: 0.02544 (unchanged, much like my aunt’s fruitcake)
Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 916 EH/s
Hashprice (spot): $64.17—still serves a decent meal, doesn’t it?
Total Fees: 4.97 BTC / $558,499
CME Futures Open Interest: 152,685 BTC
BTC priced in gold: 35.6 oz, a rather opulent measure!
BTC vs gold market cap: 10.08%—now that’s some juicy competition.

Technical Analysis

BTC’s dominance is poised to penetrate the uptrend line, much like a bird taking flight.

closed on Thursday at $421.74 (+1.52%), up 3.38% pre-market at $436.06—no small potatoes!

Coinbase Global (COIN): clothed at a posh $388.96 (+4.04%), up 1.58% pre-market at $395.12, looking rather dapper.
Circle (CRCL): closed at $202.9 (+1.11%), but down 0.5% pre-market at $201.91—ah, the fickle nature of business!
Galaxy Digital (GLXY): basking in the sun, closed at $20.41 (+1.19%), up 2.55% pre-market at $20.93.
MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $19 (+2.93%), swelling up to $19.66 pre-market—not too shabby!
Riot Platforms (RIOT): enjoyed a closure at $12.59 (+2.86%), nudged up to $13.08 pre-market, graciously.
Core Scientific (CORZ): took a trip downwards, closing at $13.18 (-1.86%) yet still finding itself down 1% pre-market at $13.05.
CleanSpark (CLSK): raised glasses to a closure of $12.9 (+3.45%), now tipping its hat to $13.33 pre-market. Bravo! 🥂
CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at an agreeable $25.49 (+0.99%).
Semler Scientific (SMLR): ended at a cozy $45.97 (+8.62%), up 2.9% pre-market at $47.3. Quite marvelous!
Exodus Movement (EXOD): finished at $31.79 (-1.88%), but found itself engaging in a pre-market lift to $32.47, the eternal optimist!

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

Daily net flows: $1,175.6 million—what a delightful day!
Cumulative net flows: $51.31 billion—lively, what?
Total BTC holdings ~1.26 million—stockpiling, I see! 💰

Spot ETH ETFs

Daily net flows: $383.1 million—a flurry of activity!
Cumulative net flows: $5.12 billion—yes, let’s keep this going!
Total ETH holdings ~4.29 million—good heavens!

Overnight Flows

Chart of the Day

The total amount of DeFi loans outstanding has frolicked to nearly $28 billion—topping the previous high of $26.4 billion in December! Looks like the lending business is back with a vengeance. 📈
One could say it’s a sign of the times, reflecting an appetite for a dash more risk among investors. How thrilling! 🎢