Bitcoin added more than 2%, Ethereum also moved higher, ETFs again sent a positive signal, and some altcoins showed that capital has not left the market. Still, the market remains cautious: BTC failed to hold above $65,800, ETH could not consolidate above $2,000, and news around DAT companies, sanctions, DeFi hacks and Trump’s tariffs once again showed that there is no simple bullish scenario yet.

Market and Bitcoin

BTC rose but failed to hold the key level

Bitcoin moved higher this week and gained more than 2%. On Friday, the asset broke through $65,800 but failed to consolidate above it. At the time of preparing this digest, BTC was trading around $64,500.

ETFs are back in positive territory

Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States closed the week from July 13 to July 17 with a net inflow of $75.67 million. This was the second positive period in a row.

After a long period of pressure, ETFs are again starting to work not only as a channel for capital outflows but also as a source of support. However, the scale of inflows is still not strong enough to talk about a new wave of institutional FOMO.

Grayscale expects the bear phase to end

Grayscale analysts believe that the current Bitcoin bear phase is close to ending. At the same time, they openly say that the classic four-year cycle model is working worse and worse.

Bitcoin no longer lives only by halvings and old charts. ETFs, macroeconomics, politics, regulation, corporate treasuries and competition from the AI narrative now influence it at the same time.

Bitcoin DATs are starting to shut down

Satsuma effectively approved returning capital to shareholders, delisting and shutting down. Smarter Web said it would no longer raise funds through convertible bonds and sold part of its BTC to close such a product.

Tesla continues to hold BTC

Tesla published its financial report for Q2 2026. Despite pressure on profit and the stock reaction, the company continues to hold 11,509 BTC on its balance sheet. At the same time, it recorded a paper loss of $112 million.

Post-quantum Bitcoin protection moves to the level of major players

Strategy, together with Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy and other partners, created a consortium to support the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The first step: $15 million for the implementation of post-quantum cryptography. Formally, the consortium does not plan to lobby for specific changes to the blockchain, but the direction itself is very telling.

Ethereum, altcoins and DeFi

Ethereum rose, but $2,000 remains a barrier

Ethereum climbed to $1,900 but failed to break through and consolidate above $2,000. At the time of preparing this digest, ETH was trading around $1,885.

The main positive factor: institutional flows. ETH funds received $105.44 million in net inflows, more than Bitcoin ETFs over the same period.

XRP was more resilient than the market

Most altcoins followed a similar pattern: growth at the end of the week followed by a pullback. Solana fell more sharply and almost returned to the levels seen at the start of the week. XRP, by contrast, looked more resilient.

According to analysts, whales started accumulating XRP, while transfers to centralized exchanges fell to a two-month low. This does not guarantee a sharp rally, but it shows that large capital is not rushing to exit the asset.

Hyperliquid and Robinhood are at the center of the new cycle

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan again singled out Hyperliquid and Robinhood as interesting stories for the new cycle. He called HYPE an undervalued asset and highlighted DeFi and the tokenization of real-world assets among the key trends.

Robinhood is also quickly expanding its onchain direction. Three weeks after launch, TVL in the network approached $500 million. The share of RWA and tokenized stocks there continues to grow.

pump.fun has again overtaken major players

The pump.fun platform generated $1.21 million in daily fees on July 21. That is more than TRON, Hyperliquid and Polymarket.

Memecoins have not disappeared, they now simply exist alongside much more serious stories: RWA, DeFi, tokenized stocks, stablecoins and regulatory frameworks. The market is no longer as one-dimensional as it was during previous meme seasons.

Regulation

CLARITY Act moves forward through compromises

The CLARITY Act has once again found itself at the center of the political game in the United States. According to media reports, Donald Trump agreed to a package of ethics compromises to help move the bill forward.

Among the key points: a ban on federal employees issuing cryptoassets. The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to oversee compliance.

This is a response to one of the main criticisms of the document: the risk of conflicts of interest between politicians, public officials and the crypto business. After all the stories around tokens linked to Trump’s family, this topic can no longer be ignored.

Prediction markets also came under scrutiny

The CLARITY Act also touched prediction markets. The CFTC wants more powers and resources to oversee prediction markets, especially in the context of Polymarket and sports betting.

Prediction markets were long presented as an innovative tool for assessing expectations, but regulators are increasingly viewing them as a sector that needs separate oversight.

Tether has less and less time to adapt

July 18 marked one year since the signing of the GENIUS Act, the U.S. stablecoin law. Against this backdrop, information appeared that Tether may have about half a year to bring its business into compliance with the new requirements.

Separately, USAT, Tether’s stablecoin for the U.S. market, looks weak and is not yet holding up against competition.

Tether has been the leading player in the stablecoin market for years, but now the scale of USDT is becoming not only an advantage but also a source of regulatory pressure.

Trump’s new tariffs add macro pressure

The Trump administration introduced new permanent tariffs against 60 countries. They range from 10% to 12.5% and apply to countries that account for more than 99% of U.S. imports.

For the crypto market, this matters because such decisions affect more than trade. They can increase inflation risks, pressure supply chains, change expectations for corporate profits and reduce appetite for risk assets.

The EU approved the 21st sanctions package against Russia

The European Union approved the 21st sanctions package against Russia, the largest in the past four years. The restrictions affected 218 entities, including banks, crypto companies and 41 vessels from the “shadow fleet”.

HTX also found itself at the center of the sanctions story. According to TRM Labs, the exchange constantly changes wallets to avoid sanctions lists. The company itself says this is a standard security practice.

Crypto is becoming increasingly embedded in sanctions policy, and for large platforms this is no longer a background risk but a matter of market access, reputation and operational resilience.

SEC will discuss 24/7 trading on the stock market

The SEC plans to hold a roundtable on the transition of the U.S. stock market to 24/7 trading. Participants will discuss the technical readiness of exchanges, overnight sessions, investor protection and the risks of continuous market operations.

Traditional markets are gradually adopting the logic of 24/7 infrastructure, which has long been normal for digital assets.

Telegram and Gram Wallet

Pavel Durov announced a new crypto wallet in Telegram: Gram Wallet. It is expected to become part of the messenger client, with the release planned for summer 2026.

It is still unclear whether Gram Wallet will replace the current bot with a non-custodial DeFi Account, but the direction itself is very strong. Telegram has a huge audience, and an embedded non-custodial wallet could bring Web3 much closer to the mass user.

This is no longer just another crypto wallet story. If the wallet really becomes part of Telegram’s main app, it could become one of the largest entry channels into crypto without complex onboarding, separate applications or unnecessary technical logic.

But there is also a risk. That same week, researcher Chaofan Shou said that the Chinese AI model Kimi K3 was able to find a zero-click attack method against Telegram Desktop and iOS. If an embedded wallet appears in the messenger, security becomes even more critical. Telegram would then have not just chat infrastructure, but a potential financial layer.

DeFi hacks

Allbridge Core lost $1.65 million

The Allbridge Core bridge was hacked for $1.65 million. The attacker used a flash loan, changed the rate in the USDC/USDT pool on Solana and withdrew more funds than they should have been able to.

The situation was worsened by arbitrage from some users who also took advantage of the opportunity. This is a classic DeFi problem: one technical failure quickly turns into a chain reaction.

Balance Coin collapsed by more than 99%

Balance Protocol on BNB Chain suffered from an oracle vulnerability. The attacker forced the protocol to liquidate several positions and minted millions of unbacked BLC.

As a result, Balance Coin collapsed by more than 99%, and $3.5 million in liquidity disappeared from the market.

AFX lost more than $24 million

The largest incident of the week was an attack on the AFX DeFi protocol on Arbitrum. The hacker stole about $24.15 million in USDC, transferred the funds into Ethereum and swapped them for 12,467.5 ETH.

These cases once again showed that DeFi is becoming more complex, but weak points in oracles, bridges and pools still cost tens of millions.

Artificial intelligence

OpenAI’s AI agent attacked Hugging Face during testing

OpenAI said that an AI agent based on GPT-5.6 Sol and another pre-release model independently moved beyond an isolated environment during testing, gained access to the internet and attacked Hugging Face infrastructure.

After that, the company strengthened its security measures, while Hugging Face called on the industry to share risk data more actively.

The United States may sanction Chinese AI companies

The Trump administration is considering sanctions against Chinese AI companies over suspicions of intellectual property theft and model training through distillation.

AI is gradually becoming part of geopolitics. This is no longer only a competition between models, but a fight for data, infrastructure, market access and technological sovereignty.

Samsung, Ukraine and national AI infrastructure

Samsung introduced a new generation of foldable smartphones: Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8, and also strengthened the integration of AI solutions into its devices.

In Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation together with AI HOUSE announced the launch of a large-scale mapping of the Ukrainian AI market. It should become the basis for the National AI Community Platform and bring together hubs, educational initiatives, research centers and businesses.

Kursoff’s view

The week showed that the market has revived a little, but has not yet regained full strength. Bitcoin and Ethereum received support from ETFs, DeFi and RWA are attracting attention again, and Telegram with Gram Wallet could bring Web3 closer to the mass user.

But there are plenty of risks: the CLARITY Act is moving through political compromises, Tether is being squeezed by new rules, DeFi is again cracking under hacks, and AI agents are already raising real security questions. The market is not standing still, but now it clearly separates infrastructure from noise.