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3 Altcoins That Could Reach New All-Time High This Weekend

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The quiet reversal is the one that often gets ignored until it isn’t. After a grinding multi-month stretch of outflows that bled through May and June, Bitcoin ETFs have flipped back to positive territory, registering $264.4 million in net inflows over the past two weeks as BTC reclaimed the $64,000 level. The Santiment update shows the demand shift is not just a headline number—it’s spread across multiple issuers, making the turnaround harder to dismiss as a one-off event.

The post-outflow tape had been defined by apathy. Daily redemptions chipped away at assets, and the narrative that ETF demand had peaked in March was cementing into conventional wisdom. That assumption now looks premature. The two-week figure includes some of the largest single-day flows since early summer, and the fund-level breakdown points to buyers easing back in rather than front-running.

A Two-Week Turnaround Led by Major Issuers Fidelity’s FBTC did the heaviest lifting early on, drawing roughly $166 million as July’s reversal began. ARKB added about $91.8 million, and BlackRock’s IBIT later stepped in with a $138.9 million day that anchored a $181.1 million total Bitcoin ETF inflow session. The distribution matters: when massive flows concentrate in a single fund, the market often treats it as tactical positioning. A spread across Fidelity, ARK, and BlackRock suggests broader re-engagement, not a single mandate.

The multi-fund pattern also weakens the argument that these inflows are merely mechanical—say, rebalancing or basis trades. While basis trade flows can still be part of the mix, genuine spot demand appears to be returning alongside a more forgiving macro backdrop. The timing is consistent with traders who had been waiting on the sidelines for inflation signals to clear.

Macro Tailwinds and Policy Hopes The macro picture provided the spark. Encouraging CPI data softened rate expectations and renewed traders’ risk appetite, while the Fed’s tone cemented a faint but real pivot narrative. On the policy side, a sense of incremental optimism around Washington’s approach to crypto added another reason for sidelined capital to move. Banks are trying to kill the biggest crypto bill in US history four days before the Senate vote, and that fight itself has forced a conversation about what a clearer regulatory framework could look like—whether or not the bill passes immediately.

What remains uncertain is whether this flow trend can persist beyond a short macro window. A single CPI print and a softer Fed do not guarantee sustained buying, and Bitcoin’s price still needs to clear proven resistance zones for conviction to solidify. The ETF market has shown it can generate large daily inflows that vanish just as quickly when risk sentiment sours. The next critical test is weekly fund flow data throughout the rest of July: if the positive streak extends, the narrative could shift from “dead cat bounce” to a genuine demand recovery.

For now, the data point is tangible: Bitcoin ETF flows are positive, the selling pressure that defined the spring has paused, and the buyers are not concentrated in one vehicle. That alone is enough to force a reassessment of the institutional demand story.

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Mysterious crypto writer with expertise in blockchain, offering deep insights that captivate and intrigue readers. With a unique ability to uncover hidden insights and trends, Samuel delivers in-depth analysis and thought-provoking content that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. His writing style is engaging and informative, blending technical knowledge with a sense of intrigue, making complex crypto topics accessible to both newcomers and seasoned industry professionals. Samuel’s work continues to capture the attention of the crypto community, solidifying his reputation as a trusted voice in the space.

CROWDFUNDINSIDER: Bitcoin (BTC) Sentiment Shifts Amid Macroeconomic Tailwinds, Gains Still Remain Limited

The US military is back to playing traffic cop in one of the world’s most important shipping lanes. US Central Command reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports on July 14, 2026, at 4 p.m. ET, and within 17 hours had already redirected two commercial vessels and boarded a third, the M/T Wen Yao, in the Gulf of Oman.

For crypto markets, which have grown increasingly sensitive to geopolitical tremors near the Strait of Hormuz, the timing couldn’t be more charged. Bitcoin dipped below $71,000 shortly after the blockade announcement.

What happened and why it matters This isn’t the first round. The initial blockade ran from April 13 to June 18, 2026. During that roughly two-month window, the US military redirected over 140 vessels and disabled nine ships that refused to comply.

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The boarding of the M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman signals that CENTCOM isn’t just waving ships away from a distance. Compliance verification means boots on decks, inspections of cargo manifests, and the kind of direct military engagement that tends to escalate tensions rather than calm them.

The crypto dimension More than $131 million in Iran-linked crypto assets have been frozen as part of US enforcement actions tied to the broader conflict.

During a cease-fire period in April 2026, Iran reportedly explored using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to collect transit fees from oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. If you can’t use SWIFT, you look for alternatives. Bitcoin, for all its volatility, doesn’t require permission from the US Treasury.

Bitcoin’s dip below $71,000 following the blockade announcement illustrates a pattern that’s become hard to ignore. Every time military action near the Strait of Hormuz escalates, crypto markets flinch.

Historical context and escalation risk The first blockade phase earlier this year set the template. Over 140 redirected vessels and nine disabled ships represented a sustained, large-scale naval operation. Reimposing the blockade suggests that whatever diplomatic progress was made during the gap between June 18 and July 14 wasn’t enough to prevent a return to confrontation.

What this means for investors The $131 million in frozen crypto assets demonstrates that the US government’s ability to enforce sanctions on-chain is operational and scaling. For institutional investors weighing crypto allocations, this kind of enforcement activity cuts both ways. It makes the space more legitimate by proving that bad actors can be caught, but it also introduces regulatory risk for anyone whose compliance infrastructure isn’t airtight.

Traders should be watching two things closely. First, the pace of vessel interdictions. If CENTCOM ramps up beyond the four redirections and one boarding already completed, oil supply disruption fears will intensify. Second, any further movement on Iran’s crypto-for-transit-fees idea, which would almost certainly provoke an even more aggressive US enforcement response.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Michael Saylor built his reputation on a simple thesis: buy Bitcoin, keep buying Bitcoin, never sell. CryptoQuant thinks it’s time to complicate that playbook.

On June 23, the on-chain analytics firm published a report urging Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, to pump the brakes on its aggressive accumulation strategy. The core argument is less about Bitcoin and more about basic financial hygiene: the company’s liquidity position has deteriorated to a point where buying more Bitcoin before shoring up cash reserves is a meaningful risk.

The numbers that are making analysts nervous Strategy’s USD cash reserves dropped 38% in 2026, falling to roughly $1.1 billion by mid-June. At the same time, annual dividend obligations on its STRC preferred shares have quadrupled to approximately $1.2 billion per year.

The dividend coverage ratio tells the story most clearly. Strategy went from having over seven years of dividend runway to just 14 months, essentially in the span of one market cycle. CryptoQuant’s head of research, Julio Moreno, specifically recommended that the company rebuild reserves to around $2.8 billion, which would represent 24 months of coverage, before resuming any Bitcoin purchases.

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STRC preferred shares were trading around $82.50 in mid-June, roughly 17.5% below par value.

CryptoQuant estimates that Strategy is sitting on approximately $10.6 billion in aggregate unrealized Bitcoin losses, with every purchase made between 2024 and 2026 currently underwater relative to prevailing market prices.

847,000 Bitcoin and a structural dilemma Strategy currently holds roughly 847,000 Bitcoin, a position that makes it the dominant force in corporate treasury Bitcoin ownership. CryptoQuant pegs Strategy’s share at approximately 76% of all Bitcoin held by corporate treasury entities globally.

CryptoQuant explicitly advised against selling to improve cash reserves, noting that divesting at current loss levels would simply crystallize the damage rather than fix the underlying problem. The firm’s preferred solution is to focus on raising capital through dividends or new share issuance rather than liquidating Bitcoin holdings.

The recommendation to develop a model for potential sales during future market rallies is the sharpest departure from Saylor’s public doctrine. Saylor has been categorical about never selling Bitcoin. CryptoQuant is suggesting the company needs at least a contingency plan, a set of conditions under which selling would be the rational move, even if that plan is never triggered.

What this means for the broader market CryptoQuant’s warning is partly about Strategy specifically and partly about the model it represents. A number of companies have followed Saylor’s playbook, adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets as a treasury reserve asset. If the originator of that strategy runs into a liquidity wall, it raises questions about whether smaller imitators have stress-tested their own positions.

The risk of intermediate Bitcoin cycle peaks is a specific concern Moreno flagged. If Bitcoin rallies hard and then corrects before Strategy has rebuilt its cash position, the company could find itself caught between the need to service preferred dividends and a Bitcoin treasury worth less than the peak valuations it was carried on.

Strategy’s ability to issue new equity or preferred shares at favorable terms depends heavily on market confidence. If that confidence erodes, the capital raise option that CryptoQuant sees as the cleanest solution becomes more expensive precisely when the company needs it most.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Prominent angel investor and early Uber backer Jason Calacanis has argued that Bitcoin's biggest challenge is no longer the asset itself, but the growing influence of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and its outspoken co-founder Michael Saylor.

"The challenge for $BTC is that one person is causing chaos ($MSTR), while retail is more interested in bets on world-changing products (SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic)," Calacanis wrote on X.

A major problem Calacanis has become one of the most vocal critics of Strategy's Bitcoin-centric corporate model. His argument is not that Bitcoin itself is fundamentally flawed, but that Strategy has become so dominant that it distorts the market narrative.

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The company has transformed itself into what it calls a "Bitcoin treasury company," financing ever-larger BTC purchases through repeated equity offerings, convertible debt, and preferred stock issuance. As a result, Strategy's stock is widely viewed as a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin. The STRC crisis has taken a huge toll on the price of BTC (even though macroeconomic headwinds are also to blame for the recent correction). 

Calacanis has long been skepticalCalacanis has expressed doubts about Bitcoin for years, despite investing early in numerous technology companies (and investing in BTC itself).

In 2022, following the collapse of FTX, he argued that much of the crypto industry had become dominated by speculation and poor governance, calling for stronger regulation while distinguishing between blockchain technology and speculative tokens.

More recently, he has repeatedly criticized Strategy's financing model. Calacanis warned that Saylor would "break the Bitcoin game" by concentrating too much BTC under one corporate entity. He argued that Saylor was "hijacking Bitcoin" and that his "relentless pumping of bitcoin" together with "high-risk accumulation techniques" were "damaging the bitcoin ecosystem and brand."

He repeatedly argued that investors should buy Bitcoin directly instead of MSTR, saying that Strategy's increasingly complex capital structure unnecessarily inserted corporate risk between investors and the underlying asset. He described himself as "95% certain" that avoiding MSTR would prove to be the right decision.

Global crypto investment products are on track to record a second consecutive week of inflows after ending an eight-week streak of net outflows totaling roughly $8 billion, CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill wrote in a Friday report.

Inflation data shifts sentiment across digital asset productsThe firm noted that softer-than-expected US inflation data revived investor sentiment and strengthened expectations of the Federal Reserve (Fed) cutting rates.

Global crypto funds recorded $287 million in inflows last week, with this week set to finish positive after initially starting with outflows. Total inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) between Tuesday and Thursday averaged $368 million, according to SoSoValue data.

The shift followed the release of US inflation data on Tuesday and Wednesday. The June Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) both came in below expectations, prompting markets to reduce projections of further monetary tightening.

Bitcoin floor may be forming, but upside remains limitedDespite the improving sentiment, CoinShares cautioned that Bitcoin's upside may remain constrained without a more meaningful shift in monetary policy.

“We expect range trading, with a break above $80,000 unlikely, absent a meaningful shift in monetary policy expectations,” the report stated.

Butterfill noted that Bitcoin may be close to finding its market floor after its recent recovery, but expectations of an imminent Fed rate cut remain premature. He noted that market participation typically increases when Bitcoin approaches new highs, but remains relatively subdued around current price levels.

“The dominant picture is that the current setup is prompting interest in adding positions, but caution prevails while sentiment remains broadly negative,” Butterfill added.

Options market points to improving sentimentIn the options market, Glassnode data also suggests sentiment is becoming more constructive. The firm noted that Bitcoin's implied volatility has eased as prices recovered.

The slowdown indicates that much of the fear premium built during June's selloff has begun to unwind, although uncertainty has not disappeared entirely.

At the same time, the Bitcoin options put-to-call ratio has fallen to its lowest level in six months, signaling traders are reducing downside protection while increasing exposure to potential price gains.

“As price stabilizes around $64K, traders appear to be reducing downside hedges and rebuilding upside exposure, a constructive shift in sentiment,” Glassnode wrote in an X post.

Bitcoin is changing hands at $63,900, down 0.1% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing.

Rune: Base has lost community trust, Cobie responds that he will push Coinbase to be closer to on-chain users.

Amid recent community controversy surrounding Base, crypto KOL Rune published a post on X questioning that Cobie’s goal in taking over Base App is to drive on-chain transactions, but Base’s current management has continuously eroded user trust, leading users to believe “it is a mistake to trust anything related to Base for more than 24 hours” — a culture that makes attracting new users nearly impossible. In response, Cobie clarified that he took over work for Base App and Coinbase’s trading products several days ago, but is not in charge of the Base chain. He admitted Coinbase has long been distant from users, especially native crypto users; Base and Coinbase also squandered massive user trust through avoidable missteps, and he aims to listen more to on-chain user feedback and build products users actually want to use moving forward. Rune later replied that Coinbase’s core issue is not just distance from users, but long-term neglect and even harm to its own user base. He stated that over 10,000 Base users have suffered roughly 99% asset losses due to trusting Base/Coinbase management, and Base’s leadership’s handling of these incidents has further stoked community frustration. Rune noted that Base possesses the infrastructure to become the crypto sector’s top Layer 2, but what it truly lacks is leadership willing to be accountable to users. He expressed hope that Cobie can turn things around, but stressed that Base’s current problem is not merely damaged trust — community trust has nearly fully evaporated.

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Viewpoint: The biggest "hidden culprit" behind the stock market slump remains unresolved, and the US stock market may face a correction similar to the summer of 2024.

BTIG Chief Market Technician Jonathan Krinsky says the biggest risk in today’s market is not a single negative event, but investors starting to question the market logic they once firmly believed in. Krinsky points out that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has fallen roughly 20% from its June high, entering bear market territory; South Korea’s KOSPI has dropped over 25% cumulatively, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 has also entered a technical correction, reflecting pressure on global tech stocks. He warns that U.S. stocks could repeat the sharp correction seen in summer 2024, with the S&P 500 at risk of falling below its 200-day moving average (6983 points). If that scenario unfolds, the semiconductor sector will likely continue to weaken, and large tech stocks like the "Magnificent Seven" may end their prior leading rally, dragging down overall market performance. What’s more worrying about this selloff is that it truly lacks a clear catalyst. While a host of issues can be cited—including concerns over the chip sector’s excessive first-half rally, large tech firms taking on heavy debt for massive capital expenditure plans, and persistent uncertainty in the economic backdrop under the Federal Reserve’s new policies—this helps explain the rotation underway in the broader market. However, the stock market can only tolerate so much weakness in its largest, most popular stocks (such as chip stocks), and will ultimately struggle to hold up.

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Ansem launches SOL airdrop marketing campaign, giving away 1 SOL every 5 minutes.

Crypto KOL Ansem posted on X that he will airdrop 1 SOL to users every 5 minutes before going to bed, with participants only needing to leave their Solana wallet address in the comments to join the event. As of press time, Ansem’s eponymous meme coin ANSEM has a market cap of $176 million, down 5.5% over the past 24 hours.

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Yesterday, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $132.3 million, marking four consecutive trading days of inflows.

According to Farside’s monitoring, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $132.3 million yesterday, marking their fourth consecutive trading day of net inflows. Specifically, IBIT recorded a net inflow of $136.5 million, while FBTC posted a net outflow of $4.2 million.

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Polymarket’s probability of the CLARITY Act passing this year has fallen to 32%, hitting an all-time low.

As the U.S. Senate remains deadlocked over the CLARITY Act, prediction market Polymarket has slashed the probability of the bill being passed by the end of 2026 to 32%, the lowest level since the platform launched in January this year. Data shows this probability has dropped by roughly 30 percentage points from the market’s launch, and plummeted sharply from the 82% peak hit in February this year. Market participants believe that with the Senate’s legislative schedule tightening and bipartisan support still unachieved, the likelihood of the bill passing this year continues to decline. Reports indicate that the biggest sticking point right now is that the two parties have yet to reach an agreement on ethics provisions related to conflicts of interest for government officials involving digital assets. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego previously stated clearly that he would not support the bill in Senate votes if it does not include the bipartisan-backed ethics provisions. The CLARITY Act aims to establish a regulatory framework for the U.S. digital asset market and clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Multiple industry stakeholders testified at a House of Representatives hearing that the bill would help end "regulation by enforcement" and provide long-term, stable regulatory rules for the digital asset sector. As the U.S. Congress heads into its August recess, market expectations for the bill to be enacted into law this year are continuing to cool.

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An address linked to the Ondo team transferred 26.05 million ONDO tokens to Coinbase, worth approximately $9.79 million.

According to monitoring by crypto analytics account Ai Yi, an address linked to the Ondo team transferred 26.05 million ONDO tokens to Coinbase, worth approximately $9.79 million. The address received 150 million ONDO from the Ondo team’s multi-sig address on June 23, held the tokens for nearly a month, and transferred a portion to Coinbase 11 hours ago. The operation follows a similar pattern to prior moves: team address transfer → address holding → transfer to exchange platform, though the specific purpose of this action remains unclear.

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Table of contents

The longest outflow streak in digital asset fund history has finally snapped. For eight straight weeks, institutional crypto products bled a cumulative $8 billion, according to CoinShares. That run of redemptions ended last week, with $287 million flowing back into the sector — a modest reversal that quickly accelerated after a softer-than-expected US inflation print.

Tuesday and Wednesday alone brought a further $415 million in inflows, much of it into Bitcoin vehicles, as detailed in the original report. The data suggests that rate-sensitive positioning remains the dominant driver: when CPI and PPI figures hinted at easing price pressures, traders rushed to re-enter, likely on the view that the Federal Reserve could lean less hawkish.

Inflows Don’t Signal a Trend Change The return to inflows is notable, but CoinShares warns against reading it as a structural shift. Even with the latest $702 million combined tally, the firm sees Bitcoin staying stuck in a range below $80,000. That price level has become a psychological ceiling, one that requires more than a single data point to crack.

Bitcoin funds had been losing ground since mid-May, a period that coincided with disappointing US economic data and hawkish Fed rhetoric. The break in the streak does not alter the underlying macro picture. CoinShares explicitly states that a move above $80,000 looks unlikely without a clearer shift in monetary policy expectations — meaning markets need to price in rate cuts, not just softer inflation.

This hesitation mirrors broader institutional caution. While tokenization of real-world assets has surged past $20 billion on-chain and major players like Bullish are buying infrastructure firms, as covered in recent BlockchainReporter coverage, the flows into pure crypto funds remain choppy and macro-dependent.

Liquidity and the Rate-Cut Narrative What matters now is how the market interprets the Fed’s next moves. The SUI token’s 18% surge last week, driven by institutional staking demand, shows that pockets of deep liquidity can still ignite sharp rallies. But Bitcoin, as the macro bellwether, requires a broader liquidity impulse to break its multi-month range.

Softer inflation data can trigger relief rallies, yet traders have seen such snapbacks fade before. The crucial question is whether the Fed will signal a dovish pivot when it meets next. Without that, the inflows may simply represent short-covering or tactical positioning rather than a durable shift. CoinShares’ own caution reflects the reality that crypto remains tightly coupled to global liquidity cycles.

Regulatory developments add another layer of uncertainty. A landmark US crypto bill is facing last-minute opposition from banks just days before a Senate vote, as detailed in another BlockchainReporter story. If the bill stalls or gets watered down, it could dampen institutional enthusiasm for crypto products, reinforcing the rangebound thesis.

The $80,000 Hurdle For now, Bitcoin has a clear ceiling. Eight weeks of outflows have drained momentum, and the sudden influx of $702 million, while welcome, does not repair the damage to technical structure or investor sentiment overnight. CoinShares’ outlook fits a market that is waiting for a catalyst — either a confirmed rate cut path or a game-changing regulatory decision.

Until either materializes, Bitcoin is likely to churn between roughly $65,000 and $80,000, with institutional flows reacting sharply to each macro data release but failing to commit. The end of the record outflow streak is a necessary first step toward recovery, but it’s not the same thing as a sustained uptrend.

AUTHOR

Former SAP Finance consultant turned blockchain enthusiast, bringing expertise to the decentralized world. With a strong focus on decentralized systems, cryptocurrencies, and emerging innovations, Aisshwarya constantly stays updated on the latest trends and developments in the blockchain space. Through insightful analyses and thoughtful commentary, Aisshwarya aims to educate and inspire others to explore the potential of blockchain, offering valuable perspectives on its impact on the future of finance, security, and beyond.

Bitcoin traded around $64,000 on Friday as spot ETF inflows remained positive, while crypto market sentiment stayed in the Fear zone.

Notable Statistics:

Coinglass data shows 112,566 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $438.29 million.        SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $79.2 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of $28.04 million. In the past 24 hours, top gainers include DeXe, Pi and Quant. Notable Developments:

Trader Notes:

Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez explained that dormant Bitcoin moved on-chain in large amounts over the past 24 hours, signaling a potential increase in volatility. Historically, spikes in old coins changing hands have often preceded major price moves in the Bitcoin market.

Trader Jelle notes that every previous Bitcoin bear market bottom formed below the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement of the prior bull cycle. While Bitcoin has now tested that key level for the first time, they argue history suggests the final bear market low may still lie ahead despite growing optimism that the bottom is already in.

Trader KillaXBT says Bitcoin must reclaim the $63,600–$63,800 resistance zone to maintain bullish momentum. Failure to break above this key area, aligned with the weekly open, could trigger a corrective move toward $61,000.

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Prominent angel investor Jason Calacanis, known for his early backing of Uber and investments in leading tech startups, has expressed renewed concerns over Bitcoin’s current trajectory, citing the outsized influence of software company MicroStrategy and its co-founder Michael Saylor.

MicroStrategy’s growing impact on BitcoinCalacanis contended that the primary challenge facing Bitcoin is no longer the cryptocurrency itself, but rather the effect of MicroStrategy’s aggressive acquisition strategy and the public profile of Saylor. He stated that while Bitcoin’s fundamentals remain unchanged, the company’s moves have begun to shape market perceptions and behaviors in ways that concern him.

In a post on X, Calacanis remarked, “The challenge for $BTC is that one person is causing chaos ($MSTR), while retail is more interested in bets on world-changing products (SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic).” He implied that MicroStrategy’s actions could be diverting retail interest away from direct Bitcoin investment toward speculative trading around the company’s stock.

In his comments, Calacanis argued that MicroStrategy has reached a level of dominance in the cryptocurrency narrative that can distort how both retail and institutional investors engage with Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy has repositioned itself as a “Bitcoin treasury company,” raising capital through equity offerings, convertible debt, and preferred stock to finance substantial Bitcoin purchases. This strategy has made it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally, a position that sees its stock frequently serve as a leveraged proxy for the cryptocurrency.

As MicroStrategy’s influence has grown, institutional conversations about Bitcoin regularly reference the company’s holdings and buying strategies. Traders often view MSTR shares as an alternative means of accessing Bitcoin price movements, raising concerns about the company’s sway over inflows that might otherwise support spot BTC or newly established Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Mini dictionary: MicroStrategy (MSTR), a business intelligence firm led by Michael Saylor, is best known for amassing one of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries, turning its stock into a popular, high-volatility crypto investment vehicle.

CompanyBTC HoldingsInvestment StrategyMicroStrategy (MSTR)Largest corporate holderIssuing equity and debt to fund BTC purchasesCohort (average S&P 500 firm)Minimal or noneDiversified, not crypto-focusedCalacanis remains skeptical despite tech backgroundDespite a track record of investing in technology firms at early stages, Calacanis has maintained a cautious stance on Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency sector. His skepticism intensified after the collapse of FTX in 2022, when he pointed to widespread speculation and weak governance as persistent industry issues.

During that period, Calacanis called for stronger regulatory oversight and emphasized the need to distinguish between sound blockchain applications and the proliferation of risky tokens.

Recently, he has been vocal about MicroStrategy’s financial model, warning that the company’s heavy reliance on financial instruments to accumulate Bitcoin could pose risks to investors. He has encouraged market participants to buy Bitcoin directly rather than invest through MSTR shares.

At times, Calacanis described MicroStrategy’s approach as a “stunning pyramid scheme,” underscoring his concern about the sustainability and transparency of its financing structure.

He suggested that the actions of one high-profile executive and a single company should not define the future of Bitcoin, particularly as retail investors increasingly seek exposure to other innovative ventures like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

As discussions continue within the cryptocurrency industry, Calacanis’s remarks highlight an ongoing debate over corporate involvement and its influence on Bitcoin’s reputation and price stability.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

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Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

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Meta is in advanced negotiations to offer private cloud instances of Anthropic’s Claude AI models in a deal estimated at around $10 billion over two years. The arrangement, first reported by SemiAnalysis on July 2, would effectively turn Meta into something resembling a cloud provider, hosting and serving a competitor’s AI models through its own infrastructure.

The structure reportedly mirrors what hyperscalers like Amazon Bedrock already offer: managed access to AI models through a cloud platform.

Meta’s neocloud ambitions and the numbers behind them The context for this deal is Meta’s staggering investment in AI infrastructure. The company has planned capital expenditures in the range of $125 billion to $145 billion for 2026 alone.

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With that kind of spending, you end up with a lot of compute capacity. Meta’s play here is to monetize the excess, entering what industry observers are calling the “neocloud” space. Rather than letting expensive GPUs sit idle between training runs, Meta would rent them out as managed AI hosting environments.

Bitcoin miners are already pivoting to this exact playbook TeraWulf, a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company, signed a 20-year lease with Anthropic on July 6 worth approximately $19 billion. That deal covers an AI data center, meaning a company that built its business on proof-of-work mining is now betting its long-term future on hosting AI workloads.

CoreWeave, which started as a crypto mining operation before pivoting entirely to GPU cloud computing, has secured major partnerships with both Meta and Anthropic totaling $21 billion in 2026.

What this means for investors For crypto-adjacent companies, the implications are concrete. TeraWulf’s $19 billion Anthropic lease dwarfs its Bitcoin mining revenue and represents a fundamental revaluation thesis for the company. If Bitcoin miners can credibly position themselves as AI infrastructure providers, their valuations start reflecting cloud computing multiples rather than commodity mining multiples.

The risk is concentration. These multi-billion-dollar deals create deep dependencies on a handful of AI companies. If Anthropic’s growth stalls, or if the broader AI spending cycle cools, companies that retooled their infrastructure around AI hosting could find themselves with expensive, underutilized facilities.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Attention is now shifting from finding a bottom to determining whether a genuine trend reversal is beginning.

Bitcoin’s slide to around $57,700 at the end of June may have completed the worst phase of its 2026 bear market, according to a new market update published by BIT on July 17.

After correctly anticipating much of BTC’s decline in the last few months, the crypto investment firm now says traders should assess whether that low marked the end of the correction or was merely a pause before another leg down.

Market Has Largely Followed Earlier Roadmap BIT’s latest report builds on research it published on June 12, when it argued that Bitcoin had entered the final stage of its bear market. At the time, the firm outlined an Elliott Wave A-B-C correction pattern running from October 2025 that showed an initial selloff into the $60,000 to $69,000 range and a rebound toward $80,000 to $90,000, followed by a final Wave C drop during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is due to end on July 19.

That forecast has mostly played out, with BTC first plunging from around $97,000 to $62,900 in February this year before it recovered to about $82,000 in May, an event that was described in the report as a “counter-trend rally within a bear market.” It then went lower and eventually hit $57,700 at the end of June after geopolitical tensions and changing expectations for US monetary policy weighed heavily on risk assets.

In the July 17 update, BIT acknowledged that it underestimated the impact of the conflict between the United States and Iran, which pushed inflation higher than expected, and the hawkish stance adopted by the new Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh. Even so, the firm said that the broader price structure closely matched its original outlook.

The earlier report had also pointed to several technical signals supporting the possibility of a market bottom, including historically depressed sentiment and oversold stochastic readings. Furthermore, at the time, BTC had been trading well below its weekly moving average. The new update has now shifted attention to the 21-week moving average, which it described as an important gauge for determining whether the market has transitioned back into a longer-term uptrend.

Not Everyone Thinks the Same However, not everyone reading the charts sees a bottom forming. Take, for instance, CryptoQuant contributor IT Tech, who wrote in a note aptly titled “You really think the bottom is already in?” that spot Bitcoin ETF flows, which were one of the biggest drivers behind the OG crypto’s rally in the last two years, have dropped notably in 2026.

You may also like: Will Crypto Markets Move When $1.2B Bitcoin Options Expire Today? The $65.5K Rejection: What Top Analysts Are Saying About Bitcoin’s Next Move Don’t Obsess Over Bitcoin’s Bottom as $38K Low Comes Into Focus: Analyst In 2024, cumulative net inflows were more than 500,000 BTC, with 2025 recording similarly strong inflows of about 250,000 BTC. However, 2026 has seen the funds bleed out roughly 120,000 BTC, leading the analyst to ask:

“If ETF demand drove the rally up, how can you be bullish while that demand reversed completely?”

According to them, what the market is seeing is a headwind and not a tailwind.

Earlier this week, Bitcoin found itself above the $65,000 level after US CPI numbers came back much lower than the market had anticipated, but those gains were quickly taken away by sellers, and at the time of writing, the asset was trading near $63,000, down almost 3% in 24 hours and about 2% across one week. Furthermore, it’s over 50% below its all-time high.

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Tesla reports its second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 22 after market close, with Intel following less than 24 hours later on July 23.

Tesla remains one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin on its balance sheet, and any commentary from Elon Musk about digital assets, AI infrastructure, or capital allocation tends to move crypto markets faster than most on-chain catalysts. Intel sits at the center of the semiconductor supply chain that underpins everything from mining hardware to AI compute.

Tesla’s numbers look strong heading in Tesla already tipped its hand on July 2, pre-releasing production and delivery figures for Q2 2026. The company produced over 450,000 vehicles and delivered more than 480,000. Tesla deployed 13.5 GWh of energy storage systems during the quarter.

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Tesla’s Q1 2026 results posted earnings per share of $0.41, beating analyst estimates of $0.30. Revenue came in at $22.39 billion.

The earnings call is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET on July 22.

Intel’s recovery story matters for crypto infrastructure Intel reports its Q2 2026 results on July 23 at 2 p.m. PDT. Revenue in Q1 2026 hit $13.6 billion, representing a 7.4% increase year-over-year.

Intel has also been investing heavily in its foundry business, attempting to compete with TSMC for manufacturing contracts, with implications for everyone from Nvidia to the smaller firms designing ASICs for blockchain applications.

The broader earnings picture Tesla and Intel aren’t reporting in isolation. Other major corporations including 3M and General Motors are also disclosing results this week.

What crypto investors should watch Beyond the Musk factor, Tesla’s energy storage growth maps directly onto mining infrastructure trends. The 13.5 GWh deployed in Q2 represents capacity that could theoretically support significant mining operations.

On the Intel side, semiconductor lead times and pricing forecasts will affect hardware procurement costs for mining operations and crypto infrastructure builders throughout 2026 and into 2027.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

18h48 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Ghiles A.

Summarize this article with:

Exchange-traded funds backed by spot Bitcoin show a new sign of stability after several months marked by capital outflows. In the United States, investors recorded a third consecutive session of net inflows, confirming renewed interest in this category of products. This development comes as the market tries to regain better balance after a difficult start to the year. Meanwhile, data show a gradual improvement in flows, despite a context where price performance remains under pressure.

In brief US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded 368 million dollars of net inflows in three consecutive sessions. The cumulative inflows of these funds now reach 51.2 billion dollars, with 77.7 billion dollars in assets under management. Bitcoin briefly crossed 65,000 dollars while July flows returned to positive territory. Despite this improvement, spot ETFs still show a net flow deficit of 5.4 billion dollars since the beginning of 2026. Bitcoin: Spot ETFs Post Three Consecutive Sessions of Inflows US spot ETFs linked to Bitcoin recorded 79.2 million dollars of net inflows on Thursday. This performance extends a positive streak after 181 million dollars recorded on Tuesday, then 108 million dollars on Wednesday. In total, these three sessions represent about 368 million dollars of new capital, according to SoSoValue data.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs record several consecutive sessions of net capital inflows, bringing cumulative flows to over 51.2 billion dollars by mid-July 2026. Source: SoSovalue. Moreover, cumulative net inflows since the launch of these products now reach 51.2 billion dollars. Assets under management also increase to reach 77.7 billion dollars. At the same time, the price of bitcoin briefly exceeded the 65,000 dollars threshold on Wednesday, a first since the end of June. This price movement coincided with flows toward ETFs returning to a more favorable trajectory.

Flows Turn Positive After Several Challenging Months Recent investments have allowed monthly flows of spot Bitcoin ETFs to return to positive territory during July. This improvement follows net outflows of 4.51 billion dollars in June and 2.4 billion dollars in May. If this momentum continues until the end of the month, July will become the first positive month since April, during which ETFs recorded 1.97 billion dollars of net inflows.

However, the annual balance remains negative. On Friday, net flows of US ETFs still showed a deficit of about 5.4 billion dollars since the beginning of 2026. At the same time, Bitcoin was trading around $63,400 at the time of writing, a decrease of about 28% since the start of the year. These figures show that the recovery of flows is not yet accompanied by a sustainable return in market performance.

The next sessions will allow verification of whether this investment resurgence is confirmed. Continued inflows could reinforce the momentum observed in ETFs, while bitcoin’s evolution will remain a key indicator to measure the strength of this trend. Market participants will also monitor the funds’ ability to maintain positive flows in the coming weeks.

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Ghiles A.

Journaliste et rédacteur web passionné par l’univers des cryptomonnaies et des technologies Web3. J’y traite les dernières tendances et actualités afin de proposer un contenu de haute qualité à un large public du secteur.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) options put/call ratio fell to a six-month low near 0.59, with traders cutting downside hedges and rebuilding call exposure at the $64,000-$65,000 range as Glassnode flagged a constructive shift in sentiment.

What Is The Options Market Actually Saying?The put/call ratio dropping to 0.59 marks a decisive shift in how traders are positioned. 

A ratio below 1.0 means more calls than puts are outstanding, and at a six-month low, the positioning reflects growing confidence that Bitcoin holds and pushes higher from current levels.

Implied volatility also declined, with Bitcoin’s DVOL falling from 48 to 40 as price recovered from June lows. 

Glassnode noted this reflects the options market unwinding part of June’s fear premium, though volatility remaining above May lows means uncertainty has eased rather than disappeared.

The $68,000 To $70,000 Zone Is The One To WatchBitcoin is consolidating near $63,000, sitting below a dense negative-gamma cluster between $68,000 and $70,000. 

Glassnode flagged that a move into that zone could trigger pro-cyclical dealer hedging and amplify volatility in either direction.

That level aligns with what analyst Michaël van de Poppe has been watching all week. 

He said Bitcoin’s structure still favors upside and a clean break above $65,000 sets up a strong run, a call he maintained even after two failed attempts to hold that level following Tuesday’s CPI-driven spike to $65,235.

Can Bitcoin Reclaim $65,000 After This Week’s Rejection?The longer-term trend still leans bearish. The 20-day SMA at $62,595 sits below the 50-day at $63,686, and the 50-day sits well below the 200-day at $73,274, keeping the death cross from November 2025 as the dominant backdrop.

RSI sits at 47.24, neutral and not yet showing the kind of momentum that confirms a trend change. Buyers need to reclaim the 20-day EMA at $63,251 to shift the path of least resistance away from sideways-to-lower.

Key levels for Bitcoin:

$63,251 — 20-day EMA, immediate level bulls need to reclaim $65,000 — breakout trigger van de Poppe is watching $68,000 to $70,000 — negative-gamma cluster where volatility could amplify $73,274 — 200-day SMA, longer-term overhead supply Photo via Shutterstock

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Digital asset investment products have begun to attract renewed investor interest after a record-breaking outflow streak that lasted eight weeks and totaled $8 billion. According to an assessment published by CoinShares, a net inflow of $287 million was recorded across all issuers last week.

The company stated that it expects the current week to also end positively. Although the week started with fund outflows, the lower-than-expected consumer and producer inflation data released in the US changed investor sentiment in the middle of the week.

The US Consumer Price Index, released on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, fell 0.4% on a monthly basis, exceeding expectations of a 0.2% decrease. CoinShares reported a limited rise in Bitcoin following the data release, a repricing of interest rate expectations, and approximately $250 million in inflows into digital asset funds.

On Tuesday, net daily inflows across all digital assets and issuers were recorded at $218 million. This was followed by an additional $197 million in inflows on Wednesday, after the Producer Price Index, released on Wednesday, fell by 0.3%, contrary to expectations of flat performance. Thus, total inflows for Tuesday and Wednesday reached $415 million.

CoinShares noted that the majority of these inflows were directed towards Bitcoin-focused products. It stated that prior to the inflation data, markets were pricing in more than a full interest rate hike for September, but this expectation was roughly halved following the weak data.

According to the company, individual sales coming in line with expectations also points to a limited weakening in economic activity. CoinShares assessed that a weaker economic outlook could provide support for Bitcoin if it leads to a new shift in interest rate expectations.

However, the company remains cautious about Bitcoin’s short-term upside potential. CoinShares stated that Bitcoin has likely reached or is very close to its bottom, and that it does not see significant upside potential under current conditions.

According to CoinShares, a single weak employment data point and a single low inflation data point may not be enough to prompt the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. It was also noted that the renewed rise in oil prices following developments in Iran could negatively impact the inflation data to be released next month.

The company expects Bitcoin to trade in a horizontal range unless there is a significant change in monetary policy expectations. CoinShares stated that it is unlikely for the BTC price to rise above the $80,000 level under current conditions.

CoinShares noted that investor behavior also supported the cautious outlook in the market, pointing out that investor interest peaked when Bitcoin traded around $120,000 and decreased significantly when the price fell to the $60,000 level.

According to the company, while current price levels are prompting some investors to increase their positions, a cautious approach is maintained due to the overall negative market sentiment.

*This is not investment advice.

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BIP-110 – My Notes to Miners Let me start off by saying I’m not pro BIP110, and I’m not anti-BIP110. If it actually succeeds as something that gains true consensus within the network and ends up being enforced by a majority of the network… cool. If so, then we’ll go with it because the network has spoken and accepted it, and all nodes, including non-BIP110 nodes, will be pulled along for the ride. Unfortunately for proponents of the proposal, that simply isn’t currently the case by any measurable metric, nor does it appear to have a trajectory suggesting that will change, either. 

There’s been a lot of misleading information about this whole thing, especially in the context of mining. A few quick key bullet points to briefly counter some hyperbole from proponents: BIP110 is NOT inevitable. It CAN fail. BIP110 can and will cause a chain split/fork in a minority hashrate situation. BIP110 is NOT without risk to miners choosing to adopt it. Miners not supporting BIP110 are not suddenly mining “invalid” blocks just because a proposal that isn’t yet adopted simply exists. You’re not a bad person or evil simply because you don’t like or support BIP110. (The fact that I feel the need to point out that last part is actually kind of sad…)

I was going to write a long post to help keep miners informed about things they need to remain aware of as this all plays out… before realizing I already did so months ago, as a document I authored that I had hoped could be put out as a miner education piece at OCEAN. Sadly, it never got published. So I went ahead and updated it, and well, here it is.

Again, keep in mind this was written months ago, intended to be as agnostic as possible in an effort to make it acceptable as a corporate post. That effort failed, so I’m posting it as a personal document today instead. As a miner making important decisions about your operations, you need to be aware of all of this without the sugarcoating and, frankly, outright misleading information coming from some of the BIP110 proponents.  You must be vigilant and decide what’s right for you. 

While there is certainly some misleading information from the opposition as well, nothing I’ve seen is nearly as egregious as the extremely premature claims of victory and accompanying hyperbole pushed by the BIP110 side. Summarizing my doc a bit, my personal suggestion to miners is this: Signal if you support BIP110. Do not signal if you don’t support BIP110 or don’t care. Either way, monitor the network on/around/before block 961632. 

If you continue to see non-signaling blocks from major pools, you can be reasonably certain they’re not going to suddenly decide later to throw away millions of dollars’ worth of revenue to backtrack and signal for BIP110. If they do, by some chance, start to signal for BIP110, you should monitor that and consider switching as required to stay on the heaviest chain. The key point is that, realistically, only one side can win. It’s either BIP110 succeeds, and miners not on the BIP110 side fail, or BIP110 fails, and miners on the non-BIP110 side succeed. 

Moving on, let’s dive into a small fraction of my rationale. 

QUICK FACT: Between 7 and 15% of Bitcoin Nodes are signaling support for BIP110. Depending on which centralized crawler you look at… no way to know for sure [how many BIP110 nodes are signaling support]. My personal private crawler puts this number much lower, but that’s a discussion for another day. Suffice it to say, I think it’s logical and correct to say that even 15% is not a majority. 

“But Jason! UASF got Segwit activated with fewer nodes!”  Yep, because many miners, merchants, users, etc., all actually wanted Segwit. There was tremendous economic and community weight behind it. Without rehashing that whole thing, as plenty of resources on the topic from before BIP110 are worth a read, suffice it to say that BIP110 and Segwit activations are not quite comparable, as many have already pointed out. Segwit, for example, went into its UASF territory with around 1/3rd of the network’s hashrate already signaling support. With that kind of backing, the UASF to help push the MASF over the tipping point made a lot of sense. It doesn’t make sense here for BIP110.

QUICK FACT: 0.6% of blocks over the past 60 days have signaled support for BIP110. [0.6% is a] pretty stark contrast to even Segwit’s low baseline support. Yes, I know it’s increased slightly in the past couple of weeks, but no new entrants. Just more clearly rented hashrate from one of the same small proponents.

Something to keep in mind is that mining BIP110 signaling blocks via DATUM on OCEAN carries virtually no risk to the miner up until the fork point at block 961632. The cost is negligible, as you’re effectively guaranteed to recoup rental costs, etc.

It’s awesome that the ability to do so exists, and I wouldn’t have it any other way… but just something to keep in mind when weighing signaling from such blocks in the grand scheme of things from a risk-reward, money-on-the-table perspective.

“But Jason! Miners have no incentive to signal until the last minute!” I also see no evidence to suggest that this could be the case. Subjectively, I disagree with the premise, as it’s not in a mining pool’s best interest to destabilize the network in such a way.  Part of the reason for early signaling and lock-in periods is to help coordinate upgrades in a smooth fashion. Waiting until the last minute negates that benefit entirely. I see no compelling rationale or upside to doing so.

Continuing on this, as part of my personal node monitoring setup, I specifically monitor nodes known to belong to various entities, such as other mining pools, exchanges, large lightning nodes, merchants, etc. A supermajority of which are monitored with explicit permission and confirmation/coordination.

QUICK FACT: All major mining pools I monitor are currently running some variant of Bitcoin Core v30 or v31 (except OCEAN).  Expanding on that, most [mining pools] have updated their nodes since the proliferation of BIP110’s release, even since the release of Knots 29.3. Additionally, it is known that many mining pools run modified versions of their node software to facilitate various requirements of their specific infrastructure. Such changes would need to be ported to a BIP110-compatible client, tested, evaluated, and deployed ahead of time. I currently see no evidence that this is the case currently.

As far as I can tell, the pools are aware but ignoring. 

“But Jason! Miners don’t determine consensus! Nodes do! Otherwise, they’ll just cancel halvings!” This is one of the funniest and most ridiculous arguments I’ve heard from the pro-BIP110 crowd.  Comparing a consensus change that can be unilaterally enforced upon the network by miners and accepted by 100% of existing nodes (a soft fork), with a hard fork which no existing node will accept… is disingenuous at best. T

ightening rules (like BIP110): Soft fork, can be enforced by miners if they choose to do so. Loosening rules (like canceling a halving): Hard fork, can not be enforced by miners without effectively 100% buy-in from the entire network… which isn’t likely to happen. Comparing the two is, bluntly, just stupid.

“But Jason! If you don’t upgrade to the latest consensus rules, you’re insecure! You’ll lose funds! You’ll mine invalid blocks! You’ll [insert additional hyperbole here]!” This would be true of a consensus change that has, well, consensus. While BIP110 has made a valiant effort to gain that consensus, it has yet to have any measurable majority at what is now arguably the 11th hour. Not in nodes, not in hashrate, not in the social layers (consensus.health has a cool visual there where you’ll find me in the middle).

If somehow BIP110 gains 51%+ of the network hashrate on/before block 961632… then, alright. It’s enforced, since as a soft fork a majority of miners can unilaterally enforce it in the absence of a fully adopted URSF (effectively a misnomer, as this would kind of be a hard fork).

“But Jason! It can’t gain consensus by already having consensus! You have to give it a chance!” Firstly… no I don’t, even though I have.  Second, it’s a rushed proposal that never had the time to even try and gain real consensus. It’s been 7 months since the release of the first BIP110 client. There’s ~3 weeks to go before “mandatory” signaling starts as of now (less by the time you read this). 90% of the time available has passed with no change in overall sentiment from any relevant players. If it hasn’t gained sufficient adoption in the past 7 months, it’s not likely to do so in the next 3 weeks.

“But Jason! CSAM! CSAM! Pedophiles! CSAM!” I’ll be the first to say, even I personally overstated the risk here early on when Core proposed its OP_RETURN change. I personally expected something particularly egregious to hit the chain almost immediately, and to the best of my knowledge, that’s not yet happened. Could it still happen? Yeah, I suppose.

But considering from a technical perspective, byte-for-byte the same contiguous arbitrary data can provably end up stored in the current chain or the BIP-110 chain without much issue… this particular argument for BIP-110 falls pretty flat to me at this point.

Do I want CSAM in the chain? Of course not. Am I a pedophile if I don’t support BIP110? Also not.

Concluding Thoughts I could continue to go on and on and on, but I’ll stop here. I’ve wasted enough time on this. I’m sure I’ve done plenty to annoy both sides of the BIP110 debate at this point, as I don’t adopt either stance. I’m sure I’ll catch flak from all angles simply for daring to speak my mind on it.

Overall, I mostly think it was silly to approach addressing a real problem (the OP_RETURN default change in Bitcoin Core) with the maximum anti-spam manifesto based soft fork proposal… which provably cannot stop spam, arbitrary data, etc. 🤦‍♂️ (Yes, I know, proponents will claim it’s not about spam… and will also make semantic arguments that it does stop data as well… neither of which appears to be correct.)

I’ll close with the concession that I could be wrong. I’m not Nostradamus, and I can’t accurately predict the outcome with 100% certainty.  I can only go by what the data tells me, and so I give BIP110’s success less than a 5% chance of actually succeeding… and I consider that generous. You can take my opinions on this however you wish, but I highly recommend you don’t discount the actual data points, remain vigilant, and do what’s best for you and your mining revenue. Don’t be gaslit by either side of the debate, and make your own decisions.

Here’s a link to the same document linked above for ease of access.

While federal lawmakers continue to argue over the finer points of digital asset legislation, US states have quietly started putting real money into Bitcoin. Texas executed its first purchase of roughly $5 million in Bitcoin through the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF in late November 2025, making it the first state to actually fund and buy Bitcoin for a strategic reserve.

The purchase came from a $10 million allocation approved under SB 21, which Governor Greg Abbott signed into law in June 2025. Texas acquired its Bitcoin at prices ranging between roughly $87,000 and $91,000 per coin. New Hampshire and Arizona both enacted their own strategic reserve laws months earlier, and over 30 additional states have introduced similar bills as of mid-2026.

The state-level Bitcoin land grab New Hampshire got its law on the books first. HB 302, signed in May 2025, authorized investments in Bitcoin and qualifying digital assets up to certain portfolio limits. Arizona followed almost immediately with HB 2749, also signed in May 2025, which took a slightly different approach by leveraging unclaimed property and seized assets to build its digital holdings.

Texas’s approach of routing the purchase through BlackRock’s IBIT ETF is notable. Rather than setting up custodial infrastructure from scratch, Texas went with the most liquid and institutionally familiar wrapper available.

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More than 30 states have introduced Bitcoin reserve-style bills, reflecting bipartisan interest in treating Bitcoin as a reserve asset alongside traditional holdings like gold and bonds.

California’s Digital Financial Assets Law became operative on July 1, 2026, imposing licensing requirements on crypto businesses operating in the state. New York continues refining its BitLicense standards.

Washington’s half-finished homework In March 2025, the Trump administration established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through executive order, funded with forfeited Bitcoin already held by government agencies.

In July 2025, the GENIUS Act was signed into law, creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The legislation included reserve requirements, audit mandates, and supervisory guidelines.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly called the CLARITY Act, has advanced through various stages but still hasn’t become law as of mid-2026.

What this means for investors When state treasuries start buying Bitcoin, it changes the asset’s narrative in ways that matter for every market participant. These aren’t hedge funds chasing alpha or retail traders following social media hype. These are government entities making deliberate allocations through regulated vehicles, framed as fiduciary decisions about public funds.

Texas’s $10 million is a rounding error in a state budget that runs into the hundreds of billions. These are test cases, designed to establish legal precedent and operational frameworks that can scale.

Investors watching this space should pay attention to three things: which states move from legislation to actual purchases, whether the CLARITY Act reaches the president’s desk before year-end, and how state-level reserves perform relative to traditional holdings in their first full reporting cycles.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has suggested that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could follow market cycles similar to those seen in gold ETFs over the last two decades. Balchunas, who closely tracks ETF market dynamics, pointed to the history of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) as a possible roadmap for how BTC ETFs might evolve as institutional investment vehicles.

Gold ETF performance offers roadmap for Bitcoin fundsBalchunas observed that both gold ETFs and BTC ETFs are structured as investment products around assets that do not produce cash flow. Unlike equities or fixed-income instruments, their value relies heavily on investor sentiment and demand rather than dividends, interest payments, or government backing.

He commented that Bitcoin ETFs may be replicating a familiar pattern: periods of major price appreciation are followed by sharp declines and gradual recoveries. Balchunas further noted that prolonged downturns in gold ETFs have historically paved the way for new all-time highs in assets under management, supporting the idea that patient investors may see higher peaks over time.

Bitcoin ETFs may be following the same script: spectacular gains, painful drawdowns and recoveries that may test investors’ patience. Despite extended bear markets for gold ETFs, each major cycle has ultimately resulted in a higher peak.

Mini dictionary: SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), launched in 2004, is the world’s largest physically backed gold ETF, providing investors direct exposure to gold prices through a regulated, liquid vehicle.

GLD sets precedent for market fluctuationsBalchunas referred to Bloomberg Intelligence data showing that GLD has weathered notable cycles in assets under management throughout its history. Assets once reached $76 billion, declined to about $22 billion, recovered to $84 billion, then fell again to $48 billion, and recently surged to around $190 billion.

He also pointed to milestones in ETF rankings, highlighting that GLD briefly became the world’s largest ETF in 2011 before experiencing several years of reduced momentum. In a similar vein, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recently surpassed $100 billion in assets, then saw growth slow as market conditions consolidated.

ETFPrevious Asset PeakLowest PointRecent Asset LevelGLD$76B$22B$190BIBIT$100BN/AN/AInstitutional demand drives ETF cyclesBalchunas explained that, unlike traditional stocks or bonds, the value of Bitcoin ETFs depends on both the underlying asset and investor inflows. Because the supply growth for both gold and Bitcoin is relatively limited, significant inflows can rapidly boost prices when market appetite rises.

He cautioned, however, that institutional demand is characteristically unpredictable. Demand often comes in waves rather than maintaining a steady pace, which can trigger fluctuations in both price and fund asset levels.

Demand can be fickle and come in waves versus steady, so investors should expect volatility even as long-term adoption rises.

Early phase for Bitcoin ETF adoptionAlthough Bitcoin ETFs have drawn growing interest, they remain at an early stage of institutional adoption compared to gold ETFs. Major investors, including pension funds and wealth managers, continue assessing the role of Bitcoin ETFs within diversified portfolios and regulated investment strategies.

While Balchunas cautioned that historical parallels do not ensure future outcomes, he emphasized that tracking the cyclical nature of ETF flows can help investors form more realistic expectations. As global ETF adoption expands, inflows, regulatory decisions, and institutional involvement are set to play key roles in shaping Bitcoin ETF growth.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

The Bitcoin bottom may be in — but don’t get your hopes up: It might struggle to go up anytime soon, according to one investment firm. 

A Friday report from European asset management firm CoinShares said that investors last week threw fresh cash at Bitcoin — and other crypto — exchange-traded products, indicating a change in sentiment. 

But other factors may hold digital asset markets from going higher, James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, wrote. 

“We have said for some time that Bitcoin has probably reached, or is close to, its floor,” the report read. “But we see no significant upside potential from here.”

The report added that current macroeconomic headwinds, such as the US bombing Iran and rising oil prices, could see inflation go up again. 

Bitcoin’s price was up earlier this week, hitting a seven-day high of $65,501 on news that inflation in the US was softer than expected. It has since erased those gains and was recently trading for $64,010. 

The price of Bitcoin has typically done well on news that inflation is coming down because investors expect interest rates to come down. But Butterfill said that “a rate cut does not look probable at this stage.”

Bitcoin’s worst run on record CoinShares’ data showed that investors pulled a total of $8 billion out of funds giving crypto exposure — “the worst run on record.” 

Last week, though, things reversed when $287 million hit crypto funds, CoinShares said, with the data so far showing that this week looks likely to be another positive streak.

The price of Bitcoin has typically done well when US investors — previously excluded from crypto investing — have bought shares in exchange-traded funds approved in 2024. 

The products — handled by the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale — allow more traditional investors or Wall Street institutions to buy positions in Bitcoin via shares that trade on stock exchanges. 

Since BTC’s October all-time high of $126,080, crypto markets have faced a battering as those investors have fast cashed out of the funds. Bitcoin has struggled to make gains, especially after the US and Israel started bombing Iran, leading to a surge in the price of oil. 

The leading cryptocurrency is now nearly 50% below its record. 

“The dominant picture is that the current setup is prompting interest in adding positions, but caution prevails while sentiment remains broadly negative,” CoinShares added. 

Mathew Di Salvo

Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.

Venice AI updates its token economics: introduces a buyback mechanism and raises the supply cap for DIEM.

Venice AI has issued an announcement updating its token economics, with two primary changes: First, a new programmed burn mechanism: For every $100 worth of API credits purchased, $5 will be allocated to buy VVV on the open market and permanently burn the tokens. Second, DIEM’s supply target has been raised for the first time, from 38,000 to 40,000 (an increase of 2,000 units). The adjustment will be rolled out in phases, with the full target expected to be achieved by September 14.

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According to the Financial Times, Trump Media & Technology Group is pitching a $100,000 monthly service to clients that delivers fast access to former President Donald Trump’s posts. Earlier reports noted that Trump Media would sell premium, faster access to posts on its Truth Social platform; the new service allows traders and investors to pay for real-time pushes of Truth Social content. This data feed service will launch next month for institutional clients, including high-frequency algorithmic trading firms.

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Eight weeks. That’s how long investors spent yanking money out of Bitcoin funds in what became the longest outflow streak on record. According to CoinShares, that brutal $8 billion exodus has officially ended, with Bitcoin products pulling in roughly $287 million in fresh capital last week.

The numbers behind the reversal CoinShares, which publishes weekly tracking data on digital asset fund flows across the ETP and ETF landscape, reported that broader weekly inflows hit approximately $1.03 billion. Of that total, around $790 million flowed specifically into Bitcoin products.

That’s a sharp contrast to the prior eight weeks, where outflows accumulated to roughly $8 billion. The streak began in early May and persisted through early July, making it the most prolonged period of net selling pressure in the history of digital asset investment products.

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Bitcoin wasn’t the only beneficiary of the mood shift. Ethereum products attracted approximately $84 million in inflows during the same period, suggesting the recovery extends beyond just the largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Year-to-date flows for digital asset products sit at approximately $188 billion according to CoinShares’ data.

What drove the selling, and why it stopped The extended outflow period coincided with broader market pressure throughout much of 2026. Forced selling, portfolio rebalancing, and what CoinShares describes as capitulation dynamics all contributed to the sustained exodus from digital asset funds.

The week ending around July 10 marked the inflection point. Bitcoin fund inflows during this period ranged from $197 million to $312 million depending on the specific product category, with the headline figure landing at $287 million.

CoinShares has emphasized that the data suggests a possible turning point in investor sentiment. The firm tracks fund flows with updates published each Monday and Friday, giving market participants near-real-time visibility into how capital is moving through the ecosystem.

What this means for investors When capital flows back into multiple asset categories simultaneously rather than concentrating in a single token, it typically indicates a broader improvement in risk appetite rather than a one-off event driven by a single catalyst.

Traders should pay close attention to the next two to three weeks of CoinShares data. If inflows persist and potentially accelerate, the case for a genuine sentiment shift becomes much stronger.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.