Summary
gm, Ethereum surged to its highest level since late 2021, reaching $4,300 amid clearer U.S. regulatory guidance on liquid staking and stablecoins. Several major corporations are aggressively accumulating Ethereum, with BitMine's holdings approaching $5 billion after purchasing an additional 317,000 ETH, while Bitcoin approaches its all-time high with strong ETF inflows following a pro-crypto executive order from the White House. In notable industry developments, S&P Global assigned the first-ever credit rating to a DeFi protocol (Sky Protocol), Blue Origin announced acceptance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana for space tourism flights, and Chainlink partnered with Intercontinental Exchange to bring forex and precious metals data onchain, further bridging traditional finance with blockchain technology.

News Headlines
💰 Crypto ETP inflows hit $572M as Bitcoin and Ether rebound

  • Crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) inflows reached $572 million last week, with Ethereum ETPs attracting nearly $270 billion in inflows, contributing to a year-to-date record of $30.7 billion.
  • Bitcoin ETPs saw inflows of $265 million after two weeks of outflows, while total assets under management in crypto ETPs rose to $226 billion, demonstrating renewed investor confidence.

💼 Mysterious institution buys nearly $1B worth of Ether in a week

  • An unidentified institutional entity has purchased 221,166 ETH (approximately $946 million) over the past week, utilizing six different wallets to acquire Ether from firms like Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and BitGo.
  • The significant buying activity coincides with a 21% increase in Ether's price and the number of addresses holding over 10,000 ETH reaching its highest level in a year, indicating growing institutional interest.

🔄 LayerZero, Stargate tokens jump on $110M acquisition plan

  • The LayerZero Foundation has proposed acquiring the Stargate protocol for $110 million, offering 1 STG for 0.08634 ZRO in a token swap arrangement that would bring Stargate back under LayerZero's umbrella.
  • Following the announcement, LayerZero's token rose 23% to $2.44, while Stargate's token increased by 16.5% to over 19 cents, demonstrating positive market reception despite some community criticism.

🤝 Tether and Rumble bet on AI with $1.17B Northern Data acquisition

  • Tether and Rumble have proposed to acquire all shares of AI infrastructure operator Northern Data for $1.17 billion, positioning Tether as Rumble's primary shareholder and enhancing Northern Data's AI and high-performance computing operations.
  • Each Northern Data shareholder would receive newly issued Rumble shares, resulting in approximately 33.3% ownership transfer, while Tether becomes the largest holder of Rumble's Class A common stock.

🏛️ ASX-Listed DigitalX Denies Policy Breach in Director Trades Probe

  • DigitalX has defended director Ieva Guoga's purchase of 3 million shares ahead of an $11.6 million Solana token acquisition announcement, asserting compliance with its securities trading policy despite ASX concerns.
  • The company also revealed plans to expand its Bitcoin holdings from 500 to 2,100 BTC by 2027 under its "21 Hundred" strategy, after raising A$20.7 million from investors including Animoca Brands.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. Story Protocol (Private Token Sale, $82M) - World’s IP blockchain
2. Sui (Undisclosed, $20M) -  Layer 1 blockchain
3. HackQuest (Series A, $5.2M) - Web3 education platform
4. Silo Finance (Undisclosed, $122.5K) - Decentralized, non-custodial lending protocol

Regulatory
🏛️ Warren Mounts Opposition to CLARITY Act

  • Senator Elizabeth Warren plans to organize Democratic resistance against the Digital Asset Market Structure CLARITY Act when Congress returns in September.
  • Warren argues the legislation, which has bipartisan House support, is influenced by crypto industry lobbyists and could exacerbate corruption risks.

📝 Do Kwon Expected to Plead Guilty in Terra Collapse Case

  • Do Kwon, creator of the failed Terra cryptocurrency project, is scheduled to change his plea from not guilty at a court hearing this week.
  • Kwon faces multiple U.S. fraud charges related to the $40 billion Terra collapse that devastated investors in 2022.

⚖️ Uniswap Proposes Legal Framework via Wyoming DUNA

  • Uniswap Foundation has proposed establishing its governance as a Wyoming Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (DUNA).
  • The legal structure would allow the DAO to access trading fees, enter contracts, and own assets while maintaining decentralized governance principles.

👮 Ethereum Developer Detained in Turkey Over Privacy Protocol

  • Federico Carrone, an Ethereum core developer, was detained for 24 hours by Turkish authorities over allegations related to an Ethereum privacy protocol.
  • The incident highlights growing legal risks for developers working on privacy-enhancing technologies in the blockchain space.

🛡️ Kakao Develops Korean Won Stablecoin Amid Regulatory Uncertainty

  • Tech giant Kakao is building a Korean won stablecoin on the Kaia blockchain for its 49 million monthly users.
  • The project faces uncertainty as South Korean lawmakers debate competing bills addressing stablecoin regulations, reserve requirements, and cross-border applications.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Investors have paid higher prices over time to buy Bitcoin and the currency is in a rising trend channel in the short term. Rising trends indicate that the currency experiences positive development and that buy interest among investors is increasing. The price has reacted back after the break of the rectangle formation. There is support around 118077, which now indicates good buying opportunities. An established break through this support will neutralize the positive signal. The currency has support at points 113600 and resistance at points 121000. Negative volume balance shows that volume is higher on days with falling prices than days with rising prices. This indicates decreasing optimism among investors. The currency is overall assessed as technically positive for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum is in a rising trend channel in the short term. This signals increasing optimism among investors and indicates continued rise. There is no resistance in the price chart and further rise is indicated. In case of a negative reaction, the currency has support at approximately 3880 points. The currency is assessed as technically positive for the short term.