Summary
gm, PayPal launches support for over 100 cryptocurrencies for merchant payments with a competitive 0.99% transaction fee. Corporate treasury adoption continues to expand rapidly, with multiple companies announcing major cryptocurrency acquisitions – Japanese firm Metaplanet purchased 780 BTC, SharpLink Gaming acquired 77,210 ETH (exceeding the total ETH issued last month), and several publicly-traded companies announced plans to establish BNB treasuries, driving BNB to an all-time high of $860. Meanwhile, Bitcoin approached the $120,000 level amid positive market sentiment following the US-EU trade deal announcement, while Ethereum showed strong momentum with options traders now indicating a 30% probability of ETH reaching $6,000 by year-end, up from just 7% earlier in July.

News Headlines
💰 Tether Gold Surges as Central Banks and ETFs Rush to Accumulate

  • Tether Gold (XAUt) now has reserves backing over 259,000 tokens, with a market cap exceeding $800 million, as gold prices reach record highs near $3,400 per troy ounce amid a volatile macroeconomic environment.
  • Global central banks have acquired over 1,000 metric tons of gold for the third consecutive year, while gold ETFs saw $38 billion in inflows during the first half of 2025, driven by geopolitical risks and persistent inflation concerns.

🔮 Bitcoin OG Jeff Garzik Bullish on Ethereum's Long-Term Future

  • Early Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik has expressed strong optimism about Ethereum's future, highlighting the crucial role of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) in attracting developers and projects to the network.
  • Ethereum's recent price surge past $3,800, reflecting a 60% monthly increase, reinforces Garzik's view that Ethereum will remain a core player in the crypto ecosystem alongside Bitcoin, despite competition from newer blockchains.

💸 CZ's BNB Holdings Reach $75B as Token Hits All-Time High

  • Changpeng "CZ" Zhao's BNB holdings have soared to approximately $75.8 billion as the token reached an all-time high of $850.70, positioning him as the 23rd richest person globally.
  • The price surge is attributed to factors including token burns, improved chain metrics, and whale activity, with analysts noting the continued importance of consistent treasury demand and token burns for maintaining momentum.

🚀 Michael Saylor Brings Bitcoin-Backed Money Market Vehicle to Wall Street

  • Michael Saylor is collaborating with NYDIG to introduce a Bitcoin-backed money market-style financial vehicle on Wall Street, aiming to offer institutional investors a new way to leverage Bitcoin's value.
  • This initiative seeks to create a platform that seamlessly integrates Bitcoin with traditional finance mechanisms, positioning it as a viable asset class for financial institutions looking to diversify their portfolios.

🔥 Solana Co-Founder Calls Memecoins and NFTs "Digital Slop"

  • Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana's co-founder, has sparked controversy by calling memecoins and NFTs "digital slop" during a debate with Jesse Pollak, despite these assets generating significant revenue for Solana.
  • The comments have triggered backlash from the crypto community, especially given that memecoins accounted for 62% of Solana's decentralized app revenue in June, highlighting the ongoing debate about the true value of such digital assets.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. MARA (Undisclosed, $950M) - Global leader in Bitcoin mining
2. Zodia Custody (Undisclosed, $18.25M) - Digital asset custody for institutional investors
3. Pear Protocol (Strategic, $4.1M) - Decentralized pair trading platform
4. ARO Network (Pre-seed, $2.1M) - Decentralized edge-cloud platform

Regulatory
⚠️ ASIC Warns Against Bitget's Unlicensed Crypto Futures

  • Australia's securities regulator has warned that Bitget is offering unlicensed crypto futures products with leverage up to 125x, far exceeding the legal limit of 2:1 for derivatives.
  • Bitget lacks an Australian Financial Services license, making its promotion of these high-risk products to Australian investors illegal and potentially dangerous.

🏠 Senate Democrats Question Crypto in Mortgage Approvals

  • Five Senate Democrats are investigating the Federal Housing Finance Agency's plans to include cryptocurrency holdings in mortgage approval processes without converting them to dollars first.
  • Led by Senator Merkley, they've expressed concerns that this could create unnecessary risks for consumers and stability issues in the housing market given crypto's volatility.

⚖️ South Korean Parties Clash Over Stablecoin Regulation

  • South Korea's ruling and opposition parties have proposed competing stablecoin legislation, with the Democratic Party seeking to ban interest payments on won-pegged stablecoins.
  • The ruling People Power Party's bill, in contrast, would allow interest payments while still requiring full reserve backing for stablecoins.

🌐 Interactive Brokers Exploring Stablecoin Launch

  • Interactive Brokers, with $664 billion in assets under management, is planning to launch its own stablecoin to allow traders to fund brokerage accounts using fiat-pegged cryptocurrency.
  • This move follows other major financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup that are evaluating the stablecoin market, particularly after the GENIUS Act enhanced regulatory clarity.

💰 OKX Launches Regulated Crypto Derivatives in UAE

  • OKX has become the first global exchange to offer regulated crypto derivatives to retail traders in the UAE, including futures, perpetual contracts, and options with 5x leverage.
  • The initiative operates under Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) pilot framework, which enables testing innovative financial products while ensuring regulatory oversight.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin 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 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. The currency is approaching resistance at 120800 points, which may give a negative reaction. However, a break upwards through 120800 points will be a positive signal. Volume has previously been low at price tops and high at price bottoms. This weakens the rising trend and could be an early signal of a coming trend break. The currency is overall assessed as technically neutral for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum has broken through the floor of a rising trend channel in the short term. This indicates a slower rising rate at first, or the start of a more horizontal development. 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 2780 points. RSI is above 70 after a good price increase the past weeks. The currency has strong positive momentum and further increase is indicated. 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.