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Bitcoin Drops Gains As Bulls Cut Risk Ahead of Fed Minutes Release

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Bitcoin Drops Gains As Bulls Cut Risk Ahead of Fed Minutes Release

Bitcoin (BTC) trades slightly above $62,000 and is down nearly 2% over the past 24 hours amid a risk-off mood across global markets. The pressure is not coming from crypto exclusively and is more so attributed to a sharp selloff in semiconductor and AI stocks. 

Renewed profit-taking from Samsung sent Asian markets reeling overnight, and military escalation between the US and Iran sent oil up around 5%. As a result, US stocks opened lower, and on Wednesday the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its June meeting, a report traders typically watch closely for clues on the timing of any rate cut. 

Currently, markets price roughly a 73% chance the Fed holds rates steady at its next meeting on July 29, but the major takeaway for investors will be how the tone of the minutes frames the Fed’s view on inflation and interest rates.  

Bitcoin buyers quickly became sellers 

Bitcoin’s cumulative volume delta (CVD) showed traders buying on Monday, with futures CVD adding about $585 million and spot CVD adding nearly $119 million, for a combined $705 million in net buying as BTC rallied above $64,000. 

By Wednesday, the mood had shifted to reflect traders’ apprehension and the need to cut risk ahead of oil’s advance, the semiconductor selloff and the pending release of the Fed minutes. Futures market selling accelerated to nearly $500 million and spot followed with a $86 million sell volume. 

BTC/USD spot and futures CVD. Source: Hyblock

Bitcoin’s funding rate and open interest dropped, reflecting traders’ choice to cut positioning, but the week-long trend of positive funding rates remains intact. 

BTC/USD funding rate, open interest. Source: Hyblock

Liquidations have also stayed relatively small in dollar terms, but they are one-sided. Wednesday’s forced selling was almost entirely on the long side, with roughly $47 million in long liquidations versus about $4 million in short liquidations. 

Hyblock’s liquidation data shows a large cluster of long positions near $61,000 and if Bitcoin trades down into that zone, those forced sales can briefly accelerate the move lower. 

A trend reversal is not confirmed 

Although Bitcoin bulls put in a good effort, absorbing dips to $60,000 and below, and fresh flows from spot markets and BTC ETF buying show investor appetite in the current range, the bulk of the price move remains driven by futures activity. 

Wednesday’s price action demonstrates how fast conviction and price can unravel when the primary fuel behind the move is futures-driven, and sentiment across the crypto market remains in the “fear” category according to the Crypto Fear & Greed index.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative.me

Beyond the geopolitical and Fed-related impact on intra-day price action, Strategy’s recent sale of 3,588 BTC and the fact that Bitcoin’s current price is below its $74,582 average price have cast an ominous cloud over the wider market as investors grapple with the reality that the largest BTC treasury could become a frequent seller. 

Bitcoin Falls To Key Support As New Headwinds Emerge

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Bitcoin Falls To Key Support As New Headwinds Emerge

Key takeaways:

  • War, rising oil prices and Strategy’s Bitcoin sales put extra pressure on BTC’s $60,000 support.
  • Strategy’s Bitcoin sales and fears that a global regulatory crackdown on crypto is being reignited are adding to fragile crypto market conditions.

Bitcoin traded down 3.5% on Wednesday as new developments in the US-Iran war pushed oil prices higher and Japan’s bond markets faced renewed stress. That combination triggered broader de-risking across markets. At the same time, concerns over potential Bitcoin sales from Strategy intensified, with traders now bracing for a possible correction below $60,000.

Nasdaq-100 futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView

Bitcoin’s failed attempt to reclaim $64,500 on Monday coincided with a downtrend in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index. However, the stock market recovered some of its losses on Wednesday while Bitcoin was unable to bounce back from the $62,000 level. This underperformance suggests something else might be pressuring the cryptocurrency.

The surge in Brent crude oil to $74 from $68 the prior week raised inflationary risks due to disruptions in energy supplies following the official breakdown of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding. US President Donald Trump declared the deal “over” after US strikes targeted Iranian sites in response to vessel attacks.

Higher energy costs feed directly into broader price pressures, reducing the likelihood of near-term Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cuts and limiting odds of economic stimulus packages. 

Implied odds for FED Funds target rate on Sept. 16. Source: CME FedWatch Tool

Traders are currently pricing 69% odds of interest rate hikes by September, up from 42% one month prior. This environment weighs heavily on risk assets, with Bitcoin still not widely perceived as an effective hedge.

Global economic uncertainty amid Strategy’s sell pressure

Adding to the cautious mood, President Trump demanded an end to US trade with Spain at the NATO summit, labeling the key ally a “wasted cause” for failing to commit to new defense spending targets. Such trade frictions risk slowing global economic activity and amplifying fears of global economic contraction.

Japan 10-year government bonds yield. Source: TradingView

In Japan, government bond yields jumped to a 30-year high, reflecting fears over a lack of central bank independence as the government attempts to adjust the Japan Central Bank’s policy mandate to “achieve a stronger economy.” Japan is the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries, which heightens the risk of global contagion.

The latest round of Bitcoin sales, totaling $216 million, announced by Strategy (MSTR US) on Monday, negatively surprised many after it was revealed that they occurred outside the core $1.25 billion Monetization Program. The company’s 8-K filings stated the program accounts only for proceeds used to fund its cash reserves.

Investors now fear persistent selling pressure from Strategy as the company manages its capital structure and debt obligations, with total annual dividends of $1.76 billion alone. Moreover, Strategy holds over $3.8 billion in convertible debt with the earliest call date before April 2027.

Related: Lyn Alden says Bitcoin needs no savior as Strategy sells $216M of BTC

Strategy convertible debt maturity and market value, USD. Source: Strategy

On the regulatory front, documents show India’s central bank strongly backing policies that lean toward prohibiting crypto activities, including barring banks from any exposure to virtual assets to safeguard financial stability. The India tax department additionally highlighted risks of evasion.

The signals of tightening global oversight add another layer of negative pressure on Bitcoin’s price and market sentiment. Bitcoin bears remain in control, with risk appetite diminishing due to socio-political instability, prospects of a more restrictive US Fed monetary stance, and Strategy’s ongoing cash needs.

Sentiment is likely to remain fragile, making a retest of the $60,000 support level increasingly probable in the near term.

Grayscale’s CFO exits after 7 years with crypto asset manager

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Grayscale’s CFO exits after 7 years with crypto asset manager

Grayscale’s chief financial officer Edward McGee has stepped down after seven years at the crypto asset manager, becoming the latest senior executive to leave the company, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

McGee resigned effective July 2 for personal reasons and not because of “any disagreement with the company or its operations, policies or practices,” the filing said.

The company has named Kathryn Masci and Daniel Plourde as interim co-chief financial officers. Masci will also serve as principal financial and accounting officer and join the board of managers.

Masci joined Grayscale in 2020 and most recently served as senior vice president of finance.

Before that, she held finance and accounting roles at Garrison Capital, Pzena Investment Management and Ernst & Young. Plourde joined Grayscale in 2022 after senior positions at Gabelli Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors. He has also served as assistant treasurer of the Grayscale Funds Trust.

The leadership change follows another recent executive departure. Just weeks ago, managing director and head of distribution and partnerships John Hoffman left Grayscale to join tokenized asset platform Ondo Finance.

With SEC fight over, Coinbase’s top legal exec Grewal moves on, and others reassigned

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With SEC fight over, Coinbase’s top legal exec Grewal moves on, and others reassigned

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal is leaving the company after its high-profile, years-long legal fight with U.S. regulators, and the U.S. exchange also announced further changes to its senior leadership.

Grewal is departing to work at a startup, according to a Thursday announcement from Coinbase. Molly Abraham will now lead the company’s legal team as general counsel, and Ryan Van Grack will become vice chairman, in what’s anticipated to be a broader and more public-facing role.

“Leading Coinbase’s legal team through the biggest fight of our industry has been the single greatest achievement of my six-year tenure,” Grewal said in a statement. “Our legal wins helped ensure crypto not only had a future in this country, but could flourish.”

His statement continued on to say he would continue as an adviser to Coinbase, and would work on Coinbase’s trust charter work through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Abraham has been at Coinbase since March 2021, running multiple legal teams as the company’s vice president of legal. Prior to that, she was general counsel at an electric flying car startup, according to her LinkedIn.

White House Says it Received no Democratic Response Related to SEC, CFTC Vacancies

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White House Says it Received no Democratic Response Related to SEC, CFTC Vacancies

White House officials claimed that they had “not received names” in response to requests to Senate Democrats for potential commissioners to two US financial regulatory agencies.

In a Thursday letter to US Senate majority leader John Thune and minority leader Chuck Schumer, White House officials said that they had already solicited names from Senate Democrats for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The leadership panels of both financial agencies are understaffed, with only Republican members nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

The letter came in response to a June 10 request from 12 Senate Democrats over staffing concerns at US federal agencies, including the SEC and CFTC. Although US President Donald Trump has put forward some Democratic names for positions at agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and International Trade Commission, many lawmakers have expressed concerns about the financial regulators being understaffed with crypto market structure legislation pending.

As of Thursday, the SEC had two vacant Democratic seats with three Republican commissioners, one of whom, Hester Peirce, was expected to leave by November. The CFTC chair and sole commissioner was Republican Michael Selig, who, in his seven months on the job, has been outspoken about defending what he called the agency’s “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction market companies.

Related: Wyden urges Senate leaders to keep dev protections in crypto bill

“In a sharp break from precedent across Republican and Democratic administrations, you have refused in almost every instance to engage with Senate Democratic leadership in the normal process of identifying Democratic nominees to fill vacancies on independent agencies,” said the Democratic senators in June. “Instead, the White House appears set on leaving the vast majority of these critical positions open indefinitely.”

Trump had not announced any nominations sent to the Senate since June 24. Cointelegraph reached out to a White House spokesperson for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

CFTC chair says agency could write “all the rules” on digital assets without legislation

With the Senate on state work periods until Monday, there have been reports that some lawmakers are continuing to discuss the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, with Republicans preparing to vote on the bill in July. 

Source: Cynthia Lummis

The digital asset market structure legislation has already faced significant delays since passing the House of Representatives in July 2025, with government shutdowns and debates over ethics provisions in the bill amid Trump’s ties to the crypto industry. While two Senate committees advanced their versions of the bill this year, the legislation still needs some Democratic support to meet the 60-vote threshold in the chamber.

“I do think there’s a little bit of this creep into ethics and other types of extraneous issues and [Democrats are] just derailing this real opportunity to have a bipartisan bill in place,” said Selig in a Wednesday interview with Fox Business, referring to the CLARITY Act. “Otherwise, you end up with regulators like me writing all the rules, and I’m sure all the Democrats would prefer to get something in place that’s bipartisan.”

Magazine: Crypto’s CLARITY Act faces partisan fight over ethics on Senate floor

Hyperliquid, Phantom Ask CFTC to Exempt DeFi From Broker Rules

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Hyperliquid, Phantom Ask CFTC to Exempt DeFi From Broker Rules

The joint filing asks regulators to turn Phantom’s March no-action relief into a formal rule covering all non-custodial wallet providers.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center and wallet provider Phantom filed a joint comment with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday, arguing the agency’s registration rules for exchanges and brokers should not apply to onchain protocol software or non-custodial wallets, according to HPC’s own post on X.

The filing responds to a request for information the CFTC and SEC issued jointly in mid-June, seeking industry input on rules that hinder financial-technology innovation.

Three Requests

HPC and Phantom laid out three asks. First, confirmation that publishing onchain protocol software alone does not trigger registration as an exchange or clearinghouse. Second, a clear path for firms already registered with the CFTC to run regulated functions, like matching and clearing, on onchain infrastructure. Third, and most concrete, turning the no-action relief the CFTC granted Phantom in March into a formal rule that would extend to other non-custodial wallet providers.

“The Commission’s preexisting rules were built for legacy markets,” HPC and Phantom wrote, arguing that onchain markets let users hold their own funds and trade directly, without the chain of intermediaries that broker-dealer rules assume.

The filing lands under CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, who took office in December and has since approved the first U.S.-regulated bitcoin perpetual futures contract in May and opened the door to more onshore perps trading. CME Group has separately sued the CFTC over that approval, arguing perpetual futures should be classified as swaps.

Newest version of crypto Clarity Act may drop as soon as next week, sources say

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Newest version of crypto Clarity Act may drop as soon as next week, sources say

But elsewhere, another sign of hope appeared in a Wednesday letter from Senator Ron Wyden to Senate leadership that the Oregon Democrat supported the way the earlier legislation handled the legal protections for developers — specifically the section of Clarity known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would ensure crypto developers wouldn’t be treated under federal regulations as money transmitters if they’re not handling customer assets. The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has made preserving the BRCA a top aim in the Clarity negotiations.

Though some of the crypto industry’s DC insiders had begun to express private uncertainty about the Clarity Act’s survival, the effort hasn’t yet reached its fatal deadline for getting done before the summer congressional break and the shift of attention to the fall midterm elections.

The Senate calendar includes three remaining weeks in July and the first week of August. However, the process to advance the legislation could take a few days of that time, meaning there’s scant runway left for a 2026 takeoff. And there’s some concern a defense spending bill may also complicate the chamber’s bandwidth.

Also, the U.S. House of Representatives would need to approve the Senate’s version of Clarity before it could become law, so the process would await the action of a House that’s been nearly paralyzed by Republican infighting. And it would then head to the desk of President Donald Trump for a signature to make it law, though the president has refused to sign another popular piece of legislation — the Senate’s bipartisan housing bill — as he insists that Congress needs to prioritize his demands for new voting rules.

Bitcoin Needs a Daily Close Above $64,700 to Seal Its Latest Rebound, Says Trader

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Bitcoin Needs a Daily Close Above $64,700 to Seal Its Latest Rebound, Says Trader

Bitcoin (BTC) saw intraday highs after Thursday’s Wall Street open as US stocks rebounded on fresh Iran peace hopes.

Key points:

  • Bitcoin joins a risk-asset rebound as US President Donald Trump said that Iran “wants to make a deal” after the ceasefire breakdown.
  • Crypto short liquidations near $100 million over 24 hours.
  • Traders see important BTC price levels coming as soon as the daily close.

Crypto, stocks rise as Trump teases new Iran “deal”

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD rising back above $63,000, up by nearly 1.5% on the day.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stocks were in the green across the board, helping to erase Wednesday’s downside as US President Donald Trump said that the Iran peace deal was “over.”

“They called a little while ago; they want to make a deal so badly,” Trump subsequently said in comments quoted by trading resource The Kobeissi Letter and others.

Crypto markets joined the sense of relief, helping push 24-hour short liquidations to nearly $100 million, per data from CoinGlass.

BTC/USD vs. crypto liquidations (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Commenting on the latest BTC price setup, trader Killa described their view as “not bearish at all.”

“In my view, we still have a few more months of choppy PA,” an X post stated, eyeing $68,000 for a potential short entry.

Source: Killa/X

Fellow trader Jelle saw ongoing strength from bulls, with a support reclaim still possible.

“Looks like bulls aren’t giving up on the reclaim just yet,” he told X followers. 

“Get back above, and we likely push for 65-70k again. Reject, and sub-60k is back on the menu for $BTC.”

BTC/USD 12-hour chart. Source: Jelle/X

Bitcoin price needs a $64,700 daily close

Continuing, trader Daan Crypto Trades emphasized $64,700 for the daily close.

Related: Bitcoin ETFs end ‘most overwhelming’ $2.7B sell-off amid new $85M net outflow

“$BTC is ranging $61.3K-$64.7K range and spent this morning climbing back up after yesterday’s risk-off flush,” his latest X analysis read. 

“A daily close above $64.7K flips the story and would make for a larger relief rally across the board. A close under $61.3K opens the road to the lows again and kills the momentum.”

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

As Cointelegraph reported, opinions on the bear-market bottom being in continue to diverge.

This week, analysis described a “textbook” bottom formation now underway, while BTC price-cycle comparisons continued to demand a deeper macro floor.

Ethereum’s newest nonprofit wants to become Wall Street’s guide to crypto

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Ethereum’s newest nonprofit wants to become Wall Street’s guide to crypto

For Ethereum Institutional’s founders, becoming an independent nonprofit rather than remaining within the foundation was a deliberate choice.

“The EF has always been quite vocal about its principle of subtraction,” Dawson said, referring to the organization diving up responsibilities for the network to other organizations . “This is an example of that increasing decentralization, and the number of nodes participating in representing Ethereum.”

Operating outside the foundation also gives the organization greater freedom, Walsh said.

“We feel like we have a lot more autonomy and freedom to work as an independent entity,” he said. “We can get a bit more opinionated, and a bit more aggressive, in terms of being able to support these teams.”

For years, the Ethereum Foundation has walked a careful line in how much influence it exerts over the ecosystem. Its mandate has largely been to coordinate protocol development and steward Ethereum’s technical roadmap, rather than act as a central authority driving business development or adoption. But as the network grew, some in the community pushed for the foundation to take on a more active role in areas like institutional outreach and ecosystem coordination, responsibilities it has increasingly chosen to decentralize instead.

Ethereum Institutional joins a growing network of organizations taking on specialized roles within Ethereum. Last month, EthLabs launched to support ecosystem development, while firms such as Etherealize, launched in 2025, have focused on bringing institutions onchain through commercial products and services.

Billions flowing out of bitcoin ETFs and private credit funds suggest rising market risks

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Billions flowing out of bitcoin ETFs and private credit funds suggest rising market risks

Average requests rose to 10.3% of shares from 9.7% in Q1, but ranged widely (1.3%–38.1% at Blue Owl’s OTIC), Fitch said. Many requests were follow-ups from investors who were only partly satisfied last quarter. New inflows fell by about 56% on average, so most funds saw net outflows of roughly 3% of the prior quarter’s net asset value.

What’s concerning, for private credit, is that Fitch expects continued redemptions in the months ahead.

“With BDCs capping redemptions at 5% quarterly, unfulfilled requests will lead to persistent elevated redemptions for many firms in the coming quarters,” ratings agency Fitch warned,” the ratings agency said.

Same story, different structures

Bitcoin ETFs are liquid, exchange-traded vehicles, where outflows directly impact the spot price of BTC. Private credit BDCs are the opposite: illiquid, long-duration lending vehicles with built-in quarterly gates.

Still, the fact that investors rushed for exit in both at the same time does point to broader caution around liquidity and risk appetite.

Amid all this, energy markets continue to send risk-off signals, with the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level since 1983. So, if the energy market remains disrupted, the government now has significantly less buffer to flood the market with oil and keep prices lower.

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