Summary
gm, The crypto market hit a significant milestone as its total capitalization reached a record $3.8 trillion, approaching the GDP of the United Kingdom and representing a 16% increase over the past five days. Bitcoin continues to drive market momentum, setting a new all-time high near $123,000 before experiencing profit-taking that brought it back to around $117,000, while institutional interest remains strong with Strategy adding 4,225 BTC to its holdings, now valued at over $72 billion. Meanwhile, Ethereum has seen surging institutional demand with ETFs experiencing remarkable 19.5% growth in assets under management over the past 12 weeks, significantly outpacing Bitcoin ETFs' 9.8% growth. In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives is preparing for crucial votes on the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act, which could establish regulatory frameworks for crypto activities and stablecoins, potentially providing much-needed clarity for the industry.

News Headlines
🔄 Crypto ETF Investors Want 'Ethereum Over Bitcoin' Amid Surging Demand

  • Ethereum-linked funds have seen remarkable 19.5% growth in assets under management (AUM) over the past 12 weeks, totaling $19.6 billion, compared to Bitcoin-linked funds' 9.8% growth to $176 billion. This trend suggests a shift in investor preference towards Ethereum.
  • Ethereum's price has surged past $3,000 for the first time in five months, attracting significant investor interest with inflows of $990 million into Ethereum-linked funds last week alone, highlighting a potential long-term shift in the crypto investment landscape.

🏩 OKX Joins Global Dollar Network to Support Paxos' USDG Stablecoin

  • Crypto exchange OKX has joined the Global Dollar Network, integrating Paxos' USDG stablecoin into its platform and making it accessible to 60 million global users for trading and transfers. This collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of a regulated US dollar-backed stablecoin.
  • Launched in November 2024, USDG has a circulating supply of around $356 million, operates under Singapore's regulations, and is backed by US dollar deposits and short-term government securities, reflecting a growing trend toward stablecoins for cross-border transactions and hedging against currency volatility.

🧐 Vanguard Becomes the Accidental Strategy Whale

  • Vanguard, traditionally critical of Bitcoin, has inadvertently become MicroStrategy's largest institutional shareholder, holding over 20 million shares worth approximately $9.26 billion (8% of MSTR). This massive exposure comes from passive index funds that include MSTR, such as the Total Stock Market Index Fund.
  • Despite this significant indirect Bitcoin exposure, Vanguard still prevents its clients from accessing Bitcoin ETFs, maintaining its anti-Bitcoin stance. This creates an ironic situation where the company is heavily invested in what it publicly disparages.

đŸ”„ Unlucky Trader Accidentally Burns $58K in Pump.fun Solana Token—But He's Not Angry

  • A blockchain researcher mistakenly burned approximately $58,000 worth of Pump.fun's PUMP token after purchasing $40,000 in tokens during their sold-out ICO. While clearing his wallet, he accidentally sent the tokens to an unrecoverable address, thinking they were spam.
  • Despite the significant financial loss, the trader maintained a remarkably positive outlook, emphasizing the importance of focusing on what can be controlled. The incident highlights the irreversible nature of blockchain transactions and the risks involved in the rapidly evolving crypto market.

đŸ’č AAVE Surges as Deposits Hit $50B; Poised to Benefit From U.S. Crypto Regulation

  • The DeFi lending platform Aave has experienced an 8% surge to $330, coinciding with its achieve of a $50 billion deposit milestone that solidifies its dominance in the DeFi market. Analysts from 21Shares suggest Aave is strategically positioned to benefit from upcoming U.S. crypto regulations.
  • Aave controls 5% of the stablecoin supply, offers its own GHO stablecoin, and is launching Horizon, a project aimed at attracting institutional participants by enabling stablecoin borrowing against tokenized real-world assets, further enhancing its market potential.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. Dakota (Series A, $12.5M) - Modern banking platform, powered by stablecoins and backed by U.S. Treasuries
2. Function (Seed, $10M) - Institutional gateway for productive and functional Bitcoin
3. Vision (Public Token Sale, $3M) -Bitpanda’s unified Web3 ecosystem

Regulatory
🔄 Congress Reopens Debate After Failed First Vote on Crypto Bills

  • A procedural vote to advance debate on three crypto bills failed (196-223), with some Republicans opposing the legislation due to insufficient CBDC protections.
  • Speaker Mike Johnson plans a quick re-vote, as Republican dissenters demand the stablecoin bill be combined with a CBDC ban before moving forward.

🚔 LA Sheriff Deputies Plead Guilty in Crypto Extortion Case

  • Two Los Angeles sheriff's deputies admitted to helping crypto entrepreneur Adam Iza (known as "The Godfather") extort victims and misuse police powers for private crypto schemes.
  • The deputies threatened victims at gunpoint, obtained fraudulent search warrants, and received significant payments, highlighting a disturbing intersection of law enforcement corruption and crypto crime.

💳 California Forms Crypto Task Force with Industry Leaders

  • California Governor Gavin Newsom has created the "California Breakthrough Project," a government efficiency task force that includes executives from Ripple, Coinbase, and MoonPay.
  • With nearly 25% of North America's blockchain firms based in California, the initiative aims to improve government efficiency and transparency through blockchain innovation.

🌐 Ripple Confirms Plans for MiCA License in European Expansion

  • Ripple has announced its intention to apply for a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license to expand its crypto and stablecoin operations within the European Economic Area.
  • This move follows Ripple's establishment of Ripple Payments Europe S.A. in Luxembourg earlier this year, positioning the company to benefit from the EU's harmonized regulatory framework.

đŸ§© DOJ and CFTC Drop Investigations Into Polymarket

  • The U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have concluded their investigations into Polymarket, the largest crypto prediction market platform.
  • The investigations, which began last year regarding allegations of allowing American users to access services without proper regulatory approval, ended without charges, paving the way for Polymarket's reported $200 million funding round.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin has broken up from an approximate horizontal trend channel in the short term. This signals a continued strong development, and the currency now meets support on possible reactions down towards the ceiling of the trend channel. The price has risen strongly since the positive signal from the rectangle formation at the break through resistance at 107710. The objective at 115727 is now met, but the formation still gives a signal in the same direction. 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 110000 points. RSI above 70 shows that the currency has strong positive momentum in the short term. Investors have steadily paid more to buy the currency, which indicates increasing optimism and that the price will continue to rise. However, particularly for big stocks, high RSI may be a sign that the stock is overbought and that there is a chance of a reaction downwards. The currency is overall assessed as technically positive for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum has broken up from an approximate horizontal trend channel in the short term. This signals a continued strong development, and the currency now meets support on possible reactions down towards the ceiling of the trend channel. 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 2770 points. Positive volume balance shows that volume is higher on days with rising prices than days with falling prices. This indicates increasing optimism among investors. RSI above 70 shows that the currency has strong positive momentum in the short term. Investors have steadily paid more to buy the currency, which indicates increasing optimism and that the price will continue to rise. However, particularly for big stocks, high RSI may be a sign that the stock is overbought and that there is a chance of a reaction downwards. The currency is overall assessed as technically positive for the short term.