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Bitcoin Shakes Off Powell Jitters: Crypto Daybook Americas
By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) The crypto market quickly recovered from the late Wednesday swoon triggered by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish comments. Bitcoin (BTC) bounced to $118,500 from $116,000, with ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and other major altcoins following suit. The CoinDesk 80 Index traded over 2.5% higher on the day, outperforming the CoinDesk 20 Index , which suggests a stronger recovery in smaller tokens such as toncoin (TON) and memecoins including shiba inu (SHIB). Still, the market overall stayed within recent price ranges, searching for catalysts to break through resistance. Referring to bitcoin, Alex Kuptsikevich, the chief market analyst at FxPro, said: "The market still needs drivers to storm $120K. The U.S. White House report on the development of digital assets did not contain any details that could inspire new buyers, making the crypto market follow the trends of macroeconomics and traditional finance." The report, for example did not mention a strategic bitcoin reserve which, according to C.J. Burnett, chief revenue officer at Compass Mining, creates unnecessary uncertainty at a time when clarity is needed. "Silence on this front risks ceding influence to more aggressive actors abroad," he said. In other news, analysts at Glassnode noted that bitcoin is displaying euphoria similar to that observed at previous all-time highs, citing standard deviation studies based on a metric called unrealized profit as a percentage of market cap. A similar study showed potential for an ether rally to $4,900. The number of ether locked in the DeFi protocol Ethena has risen 27% to 2.23 million ETH, taking the dollar value of the assets locked to a record $8.6 billion, according data source DeFiLlama. Invesco and Galaxy Digital filed a proposal with the SEC for the creation of a spot solana exchange-traded fund. Early this week, the regulator approved in-kind redemptions for all BTC and ETH ETFs, unlocking major market efficiencies. Solana-based decentralized exchange Jupiter unveiled Verify4 , an upgrade that streamlines the token verification process with faster approvals and clearer guidelines, now including organic scores, social validation, and liquidity, along with an optional express 24-hour review for a 1,000 JUP burn. In traditional markets, the dollar continued to strengthen with the Dollar Index nearing 100 for the first time since May 29. Copper registered its biggest single-day drop on record after President Donald Trump announced that a 50% tariff would not apply to refined metal but only to semi-finished metal product imports. Stay alert! What to Watch Crypto July 31, 12 p.m.: A live webinar featuring Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and Bitzenship founder Aleesandro Palombo discussing bitcoin’s potential to become a global reserve currency amid dedollarization trends. Registration link . Aug. 1: The Helium Network (HNT), now running on Solana, undergoes its halving event , cutting annual new token issuance to 7.5 million HNT. Aug. 1: Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance takes effect , introducing a licensing regime to regulate stablecoin activities in the city. Aug. 1: New Bretton Woods Labs will launch BTCD , which it says is the first fully bitcoin-backed stablecoin, on the Elastos (ELA) mainnet, a decentralized blockchain secured by merged mining with bitcoin and overseen by the Elastos Foundation. Aug. 15: Record date for the next FTX distribution to holders of allowed Class 5 Customer Entitlement, Class 6 General Unsecured and Convenience Claims who meet pre-distribution requirements. Aug. 18: Coinbase Derivatives will launch nano SOL and nano XRP U.S. perpetual-style futures. Macro July 31, 8 a.m.: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) releases June unemployment rate data. Unemployment Rate Est. 6% vs. Prev. 6.2% July 31, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) releases June consumer income and expenditure data. Core PCE Price Index MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.2% Core PCE Price Index YoY Est. 2.7% vs. Prev. 2.7% PCE Price Index MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.1% PCE Price Index YoY Est. 2.5% vs. Prev. 2.3% Personal Income MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. -0.4% Personal Spending MoM Est. 0.4% vs. Prev.-0.1% July 31, 11 a.m.: Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) releases June unemployment rate data. Unemployment Rate Est. 9.1% vs. Prev. 9% July 31, 2 p.m.: Colombia's central bank, Banco de la República (BanRep), releases its monetary policy decision.. Policy Rate Est. 9% vs. Prev. 9.25% Aug. 1, 12:01 a.m.: New U.S. tariffs take effect on imports from trade partners that failed to reach agreements by this date. For most countries, the baseline tariff will be in the 15%-20% range. Aug. 1, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases July employment data. Non Farm Payrolls Est. 110K vs. Prev. 147K Unemployment Rate Est. 4.2% vs. Prev. 4.1% Government Payrolls Prev. 73K Manufacturing Payrolls Est. -3K vs. Prev. -7K Aug. 1, 9 a.m.: S&P Global releases July manufacturing and services data for Brazil. Manufacturing PMI Prev. 48.3 Aug. 1, 9:30 a.m.: S&P Global releases July manufacturing and services data for Canada. Manufacturing PMI Prev. 45.6 Aug. 1, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (final) July manufacturing and services data for the U.S. Manufacturing PMI Est. 49.5 vs. Prev. 52.9 Aug. 1, 10 a.m.: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) releases July U.S. services sector data. Manufacturing PMI Est. Est. 49.5 vs. Prev. 49 Aug. 1, 10 a.m.: The University of Michigan releases (final) July U.S. consumer sentiment data. Michigan Consumer Sentiment Est. 62 vs. Prev. 60.7 Aug. 1, 11 a.m.: S&P Global releases July manufacturing and services data for Mexico. Manufacturing PMI Prev. 46.3 Aug. 1 p.m.: Peru’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics releases July consumer price inflation data. Inflation Rate MoM Prev. 0.13% Inflation Rate YoY Prev. 1.69% Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) July 31: Coinbase Global ( COIN ), post-market, $1.39 July 31: Reddit ( RDDT ), post-market, $0.19 July 31: Strategy ( MSTR ), post-market, -$0.10 July 31: Sequans Communications ( SQNS ), pre-market Aug. 5: Galaxy Digital ( GLXY ), pre-market, $0.19 Aug. 4: Semler Scientific (SMLR), post-market, -$0.22 Aug. 7: Block ( XYZ ), post-market, $0.67 Aug. 7: Coincheck ( CNCK ), post-market Aug. 7: Hut 8 ( HUT ), pre-market, -$0.08 Aug. 8: TeraWulf ( WULF ), pre-market, -$0.06 Aug. 27: NVIDIA ( NVDA ), post-market, $1.00 Token Events Governance votes & calls NEAR Protocol is voting on potentially reducing NEAR ’ s inflation from 5% to 2.5%. Two-thirds of validators must approval the proposal for it to pass, and if so it could be implemented by late Q3. Voting ends Aug. 1. Venus DAO is voting on a 12-month renewal with Chaos Labs for the BNB Chain deployment at a cost of $400,000, focused on expanding the Risk Oracle system for real-time, automated risk parameter updates. Voting ends Aug. 1. Compound DAO is voting to select its next Security Service Provider (SSP). Delegates are choosing between ChainSecurity & Certora, and Cyfrin. Voting ends Aug. 5. Unlocks Aug. 1: Sui (SUI) to unlock 1.27% of its circulating supply worth $172.46 million. Aug. 2: Ethena (ENA) to unlock 0.64% of its circulating supply worth $27.48 million. Aug. 9: Immutable (IMX) to unlock 1.3% of its circulating supply worth $13.9 million. Aug. 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 1.73% of its circulating supply worth $52.14 million. Aug. 15: Avalanche (AVAX) to unlock 0.39% of its circulating supply worth $39.97 million. Aug. 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.53% of its circulating supply worth $16.13 million. Aug. 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 0.96% of its circulating supply worth $17.86 million. Token Launches July 31: PlaysOut (PLAY) to be listed on Binance Alpha, MEXC, and others. July 31: Naoris Protocol (NAORIS) to be listed on Binance, Gate.io BingX, MEXC, and others. July 31: Brett (BRETT) to be listed on Binance.US. Conferences The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through Aug. 31. Aug. 6-7: Blockchain.Rio 2025 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Aug. 6-10: Rare EVO (Las Vegas) Aug. 7-8: bitcoin++ (Riga, Latvia) Aug. 9-10: Baltic Honeybadger 2025 (Riga, Latvia) Aug. 9-10: Conviction 2025 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) Aug. 11: Paraguay Blockchain Summit 2025 (Asuncion) Aug. 11-13: AIBB 2025 (Istanbul) Aug. 11-17: Ethereum NYC (New York) Aug. 13-14: CryptoWinter ‘25 (Queenstown, New Zealand) Aug. 21-22: Coinfest Asia 2025 (Bali, Indonesia) Token Talk By Oliver Knight Token generator platform Pump.fun released its native PUMP token earlier this month, debuting with a value of $1.6 billion market cap. The token slumped 60% over the following two weeks as the introduction was greeted with a wave of sales requests. Now, however, the highly anticipated project is showing signs of life. The price has risen 27% in the past 24 hours as buying interest increases. Popular trader Matter posted a PUMP long position on Telegram, adding that "$PUMP strength is obvious relative to the market." Part of Thursday's move to the upside can be attributed to Pump's decision to conduct a buyback program , which involves using 100% of daily fees to purchase PUMP tokens on the open market. The token is also publicly backed by a number of traders including Machi Big Brother , who maintained a $13.3 million position despite nursing $4.47 million in unrealized losses. Derivatives Positioning ENA, LINK and XRP have seen the most growth in futures open interest among major coins in the past 24 hours. BTC and ETH global open interest in coin terms remains elevated near record highs However, the negative 24-hour open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta for both coins and other major tokens points to net selling pressure in the market, raising a question about the sustainability of the recovery from the late Wednesday decline. On Deribit, ETH call bias weakened across the board while BTC risk reversals continued to show a bias for puts at the front end. Block flows on OTC network Paradigm featured August expiry BTC calendar spreads and demand for August expiry ether puts. Market Movements BTC is up 1.24% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday at $118,592.59 (24hrs: +0.42%) ETH is up 2.49% at $3,863.55 (24hrs: +2.27%) CoinDesk 20 is up 2.46% at 4,023.37 (24hrs: +1.54%) Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 1 bp at 2.94% BTC funding rate is at 0.0136% (14.892% annualized) on KuCoin DXY is unchanged at 99.82 Gold futures are up 0.18% at $3,358.70 Silver futures are down 2.45% at $36.81 Nikkei 225 closed up 1.02% at 41,069.82 Hang Seng closed down 1.60% at 24,773.33 FTSE is up 0.37% at 9,170.69 Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.10% at 5,387.83 DJIA closed on Wednesday down 0.38% at 44,461.28 S&P 500 closed down 0.12% at 6,362.90 Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.15% at 21,129.67 S&P/TSX Composite closed down 0.62% at 27,369.96 S&P 40 Latin America closed down 0.68% at 2,582.10 U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 4 bps at 4.368% E-mini S&P 500 futures are up 0.96% at 6,457.50 E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are up 1.30% at 23,785.75 E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are up 0.34% at 44,786.00 Bitcoin Stats BTC Dominance: 61.33% (-0.43%) Ether to bitcoin ratio: 0.03260 (0.84%) Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 898 EH/s Hashprice (spot): $59.02 Total Fees: 4.19 BTC / $493,795 CME Futures Open Interest: 139,740 BTC BTC priced in gold: 35.8 oz BTC vs gold market cap: 10.12% Technical Analysis The dollar index (DXY) has triggered a dual bullish signal, marked by an inverse head-and-shoulder breakout followed by a crossover above the Ichimoku cloud. The pattern points to further gains ahead, which could potentially cap upside in BTC. Crypto Equities Strategy (MSTR): closed on Thursday at $395.04 (+0.1%), +1.97% at $402.84 in pre-market Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $377.48 (+1.63%), +2.87% at $388.30 Circle (CRCL): closed at $190.5 (+4.88%), -0.19% at $190.13 Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $28.9 (+8%), +4.33% at $30.15 MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $16.55 (-0.36%), +1.27% at $16.76 Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $13.52 (-0.59%), +1.48% at $13.72 Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $13.05 (-1.02%), +3.1% at $13.46 CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $11.42 (-2.64%), +1.14% at $11.55 CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $24.71 (-0.8%) Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $35.91 (-1.89%), 1.73% at $36.53 Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $29.08 (-8.06%) SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $19.56 (+2.52%), +5.88% at $20.71 ETF Flows Spot BTC ETFs Daily net flows: $47.1 million Cumulative net flows: $55.08 billion Total BTC holdings ~1.3 million Spot ETH ETFs Daily net flows: $5.8 million Cumulative net flows: $9.64 billion Total ETH holdings ~5.73 million Source: Farside Investors Overnight Flows Chart of the Day The total supply of stablecoins on Coinbase's layer-2 blockchain Base has flatlined above $4 billion. In other words, new capital is no longer flowing onto the chain. While You Were Sleeping Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance (Reuters): President Trump said a trade deal with Canada looks unlikely after it backed Palestinian statehood, with 35% tariffs set to hit non-USMCA goods if no agreement is reached. Trump Escalates Fight With Brazil, Taking Aim at Its Economy and Politics (The New York Times): Angered by conservative censorship and what he calls political persecution of former President Bolsonaro, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil starting Aug. 6, though key exports like aircraft and orange juice are exempt. Strategy's Market Hints at Strongest Downside Risk Since April (CoinDesk): Put option demand on MSTR hit its highest level in three months, with Strategy shares down over 14% in two weeks and closing below their 50-day moving average. Crypto Exchange Kraken's Earnings Fell 6.8% Year-Over-Year to $79.7M in Q2 (CoinDesk): Kraken blamed weaker earnings on seasonal trading patterns and a crypto sell-off triggered by U.S. tariffs, which helped push BTC to a 2025 low near $76,000 in April. The Ether Machine Begins ETH Treasury Deployment With $57M Purchase (CoinDesk): The firm bought nearly 15,000 ETH, launching a long-term treasury strategy tied to its SPAC listing, with over $400 million still earmarked for future acquisitions. Donald Trump Slams India and Russia as ‘Dead Economies’ After Tariff Stand-Off (Financial Times): India’s top trading partner is the U.S., but it remains heavily reliant on Russian arms and oil. A 25% U.S. tariff on Indian goods is scheduled to begin Aug. 1. In the Ether

2025-07-31 14:15
Germany’s AllUnity Launches BaFin-Regulated Euro Stablecoin EURAU
AllUnity, a joint venture between DWS, Galaxy and Flow Traders, has launched EURAU, a euro-denominated stablecoin approved under Germany’s new crypto regulations. EURAU is claimed to be the first euro-backed stablecoin to be issued under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and licensed as electronic money by Germany’s BaFin. The token, issued on Ethereum as an ERC-20 asset, is designed for financial institutions, fintechs, and corporate clients needing regulated, instant cross-border euro payments. AllUnity has partnered with a consortium of European banks to act as reserve custodians. This structure aims to satisfy regulators and institutions seeking transparency, supported by routine proof-of-reserve disclosures. The token debuts with trading pairs BTC/EURAU and USDC/EURAU on Bullish Europe, a BaFin-regulated digital asset exchange. Flow Traders will provide liquidity as the market maker. (Bullish is also the owner of Coindesk.) Backed by names like BitGo, Metzler Bank and Fireblocks, EURAU signals a broader push to embed regulated stablecoins into Europe’s financial infrastructure. AllUnity’s CEO, Alexander Höptner, called the launch a step toward “financial sovereignty” in a digital Europe.

2025-07-31 14:00
NEAR Protocol Surges on Institutional Buying, Recovers 8% from Key Support Zone
NEAR Protocol demonstrated formidable resilience during the July 30-31 trading session, recovering sharply from mid-session lows of $2.52 to close at $2.73. The bounce—amounting to an 8.27% rebound—coincided with high-volume activity, particularly among corporate trading desks and institutional asset managers. Analysts interpret this as a sign of strategic accumulation, likely driven by growing confidence in NEAR's enterprise blockchain ambitions. Institutional activity was most evident on July 30 between 18:00 and 19:00, when NEAR experienced a steep drop from $2.68 to $2.52 on a volume spike exceeding 9.60 million shares. This selloff defined a critical accumulation zone. From that base, NEAR steadily recovered through the overnight session, with corporate traders defending the $2.52 support level and methodically accumulating positions. The final trading hour on July 31—from 09:05 to 10:04—offered further evidence of institutional participation. While headline gains for that hour were modest at just 0.15%, sustained volume surges above 28,000 shares per transaction pushed NEAR through resistance at $2.725. Strategic buys at 09:17, 09:25, 09:52, and 10:01 highlighted coordinated positioning by sophisticated investors preparing for longer-term enterprise adoption. Industry experts note that NEAR’s performance is emblematic of a broader trend in which institutional investors selectively allocate capital to Layer 1 blockchain protocols with perceived enterprise integration potential. Technical Analysis Summary: Trading Range: $2.52 (support) to $2.74 (resistance), representing 7.83% volatility. Volume Spike: 9.60 million shares traded during July 30 18:00–19:00 selloff. Institutional Accumulation Zone: $2.52–$2.55 identified as key support. Final Hour Trading (July 31 09:05–10:04): Modest gain of 0.15% from $2.72 to $2.73. Volume >28,000 shares at each strategic entry (09:17, 09:25, 09:52, 10:01). Resistance at $2.725 decisively breached. Net Session Gain: +2.87% across 23 hours. Cumulative Institutional Rebound: +8.27% from $2.52 to $2.73. Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy .

2025-07-31 13:48
Whale Activity Surges as Bitcoin Builds Momentum Toward New Highs
Bitcoin BTC is witnessing a notable resurgence in accumulation activity across all investor cohorts, with whale wallets leading the charge. According to recent data from Glassnode , the number of unique whale entities, defined as those holding at least 1,000 BTC, has risen from 1,392 to 1,417 over the past week. This marks one of the highest whale counts recorded in 2025, signaling a resurgence in institutional or large-scale investor confidence. Glassnode identifies entities as clusters of addresses controlled by the same user or organization. In addition, the Accumulation Trend Score, a key on-chain metric, reveals that not only are whales accumulating aggressively, but so are the smallest holders, known as shrimps, who own less than 1 BTC. This buying pressure highlights a rare moment of alignment between retail and institutional investors. The metric breaks down accumulation strength by wallet size and recent acquisition behavior over a 15-day period. A score closer to 1 suggests strong accumulation, while a value near 0 indicates distribution. Entities such as exchanges and miners are excluded to focus on genuine investor sentiment. Importantly, this level of sustained accumulation across all cohorts has not been seen since November 2024, during President Trump's re-election. That period marked a sharp uptick in bullish sentiment and price momentum that saw bitcoin claim $100,000. Given the broad-based accumulation and the psychological boost of renewed whale interest, market observers could be increasingly confident that bitcoin is poised to challenge and potentially surpass its all-time high in the near future.

2025-07-31 13:39
The Ether Machine Kicks Off $463M ETH Treasury Strategy With $57M Purchase
The Ether Machine, a crypto infrastructure firm preparing to go public via a merger with SPAC sponsor Dynamix, said it executed its first major ether (ETH) purchase , acquiring nearly 15,000 ETH for $56.9 million. The transaction, at an average price of $3,809.97, marks the start of the company’s treasury deployment strategy, which includes plans to accumulate over 334,000 ETH. The Ether Machine has some $407 million remaining for ETH purchases, bringing its total committed and acquired exposure to the second-largest cryptocurrency to roughly $463 million. The timing of the announcement coincides with the 10th anniversary of Ethereum’s launch — a symbolic alignment with the project’s core mission to build institutional-grade, yield-generating ETH infrastructure. The purchase was executed through The Ether Reserve LLC, a vehicle funded in part by a $97 million private placement. The company indicated that further ether acquisitions from that pool would be disclosed in subsequent updates. As part of the launch, Andrew Keys, co-founder and chairman of The Ether Machine, also confirmed a $100,000 personal donation to the Protocol Guild — a community-led funding mechanism for long-term Ethereum core developers and maintainers. The Ether Machine aims to establish one of the largest on-chain ETH treasuries of any publicly traded entity. Its model emphasizes active yield generation through staking, restaking and professionally managed DeFi participation. It also expects to offer Ethereum infrastructure services to DAOs, enterprises, and institutions seeking exposure to the network’s base-layer economics. The company is in the process of finalizing its business combination with Dynamix Corporation (DYNX), a special purpose acquisition company listed on Nasdaq. Following the merger, the combined entity is expected to list under the name The Ether Machine Inc., with its ticker yet to be announced. Read more: SharpLink Acquired 77K More ETH, Boosting Holdings Over $1.6B

2025-07-31 10:45
MicroStrategy's Market Hints at Strongest Downside Risk Since April
As shares in Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy (MSTR) continue to lose ground, demand for downside protection in the bitcoin-holding company has reached its strongest in months. On Wednesday, the one-year put-call skew —the difference in implied volatility between call and put options expiring in 12 months —rose to 3.6%, the highest since April 17, according to data source Market Chameleon . In other words, the demand for put options, which offer protection against price losses, relative to calls, is now strongest in over three months. AI's take A rising put-call IV spread means that the implied volatility of put options (which profit if the stock price falls) is increasing much faster, or is significantly higher, than the implied volatility of call options (which profit if the stock price rises). This suggests that options traders are willing to pay a much higher premium for downside protection or are betting more aggressively on a decline in MSTR's stock price. It reflects a growing apprehension or outright bearish sentiment among options traders regarding MSTR's future performance over the next year. They are pricing in a higher probability of a significant drop in the stock. A put option gives the purchaser the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset, MSTR, at a predetermined price on or before a later date. A put buyer is implicitly bearish on the market, while a call buyer is bullish. MSTR is the largest publicly listed bitcoin holder in the world, boasting a coin stash of 628,791 BTC ($74.7 billion). The company has been aggressively buying BTC as a balance sheet asset for five years in a trend-setting move for corporates around the world. However, its stock price has been struggling lately. MSTR has dropped by over 14% to $292 in two weeks, closing just below the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) on Wednesday.

2025-07-31 10:25
Bolivia Looks to El Salvador for Help Building Its Crypto Regulatory Framework
On Wednesday, Bolivia’s central bank announced that it had signed a formal agreement with El Salvador’s digital asset regulator, marking a significant step toward developing a legal and technical framework for cryptocurrency adoption in the Andean nation. The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) and El Salvador’s Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD) will collaborate on a broad range of crypto policy initiatives under the terms of a newly signed memorandum of understanding. The agreement includes joint work on blockchain intelligence tools, regulatory frameworks, and risk analysis models. It is open-ended and takes effect immediately. The policy shift comes as crypto use accelerates in Bolivia. According to figures released by the BCB, digital asset transaction volume grew from $46.5 million in June 2024 to $294 million in June 2025, a more than sixfold increase following the passage of Decree No. 082/2024, which authorized broader use of cryptoassets across the country. The new agreement draws on El Salvador’s experience as the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender and build a formal digital asset regulatory system. The CNAD, established after El Salvador’s 2021 Bitcoin Law , oversees the authorization of token offerings, the registration of digital asset service providers, and the supervision of crypto-related platforms. BCB Acting President Edwin Rojas Ulo and CNAD President Juan Carlos Reyes García signed the agreement in La Paz. The two institutions will share best practices aimed at supporting Bolivia’s goal of building a transparent, inclusive, and well-regulated digital asset ecosystem, particularly for populations underserved by traditional finance. While Bolivia has historically taken a cautious stance on crypto, the agreement signals a move toward gradual regulatory engagement rather than restriction. Officials emphasized that cooperation with El Salvador will help Bolivia modernize its financial infrastructure while safeguarding stability and promoting innovation. The deal aligns Bolivia with a growing number of countries exploring tailored crypto regulations in response to rapid adoption, especially in Latin America. It also reinforces El Salvador’s role as a regional reference point for crypto integration at the institutional level.

2025-07-31 09:32
Bitcoin, XRP, Ether Recoup Overnight Losses as Analysts Point to Growing Threat to Fed Independence
Major cryptocurrencies have reversed overnight losses, with analysts asserting that Wednesday's Fed decision underscored President Trump's growing influence over the central bank, strengthening the long-term bullish case for crypto. The Fed kept the benchmark interest rate steady at 4.25% as expected, and Chairman Jerome Powell dampened prospects of renewed rate cuts from September, stressing that the central bank is focused on controlling inflation—not on government borrowing or home mortgage costs that Trump wants lowered. Powell's comments rocked the crypto market, with bitcoin (BTC) falling to $116,000. XRP, ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) also fell, shaking out leveraged bets from futures markets. These losses, however, have been reversed. As of the time of writing, BTC was trading at $118,400, with XRP and ETH changing hands at $ 0.00314 and $3,870, according to CoinDesk data. The CoinDesk 80 Index , a broader market gauge, hovered near 915 points, up 0.8% over the 24 hours. Jimmy Yang, co-founder of Orbit Markets, said that the overnight Fed decision revealed a threat to the Fed's independence. While the central bank held rates steady, two policymakers – Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller, both appointed to the board by President Donald Trump - dissented, favoring a rate cut. Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell for keeping interest rates elevated and costing the United States billions of dollars. Note that both Wallet and Bowman have publicly advocated for rate cuts in recent weeks. "There are increasing concerns about the Fed’s independence as two of Trump’s appointees voted for a rate cut last night; this should strengthen the case for crypto in the long term," Yang told CoinDesk. He added that with no immediate rate cut in sight, the market could continue to trade largely directionless, awaiting fresh catalysts – the July CPI release. "CPI is likely to rise when the tariffs kick in over the next few months. Cryptocurrencies might sell off initially alongside broader risk assets. However, if inflation fears persist, crypto might rebound as a hedge narrative re-emerges, especially for bitcoin," Yang noted. Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, said that while the Fed's decision was in line with expectations, concerns about the Fed's independence linger. "The biggest looming question this year for the bond market is around Fed independence. Wednesday's decision helped the Fed defend its independence. Still, if Powell is fired or begins to cut rates too early, I expect hard assets (BTC, especially) to rally significantly. At the same time, inflation and bonds would likely lose considerable value," Magadini noted. "Today the U.S. credit markets rely on Fed independence." Magadini explained bond markets continue to price in long-term inflation, which weakens the case for rapid fire rate cuts to ultra-low levels, as desired by Trump. "We've seen long-bond yields rise a lot since Trump's election. 10s30s moved from 15bps to 55bps and 2s10s from 5bps to 45bps. This means the bond market continues to price in long-term inflation, especially given that "real yields" are historically positive... should inflation remain where it is today," Magadini said.

2025-07-31 09:01
Asia Morning Briefing: MSFT, Meta Soar on Strong AI Earnings, But Crypto AI Tokens Fail to Follow
Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets: Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas. Artificial Intelligence (AI) majors are slightly down despite blockbuster earnings by tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta, which cited their respective AI efforts as a catalyst for beating earnings. Microsoft’s cloud revenue jumped 27% to $46.7 billion, with Azure crossing $75 billion annually as demand for AI workloads pushed datacenter capacity past two gigawatts. Meta, meanwhile, reported a 22% year-over-year revenue increase to $47.5 billion, with a 43% operating margin, as AI-powered ad models lifted conversions by up to 5% and engagement on Facebook and Instagram surged. CoinGecko's AI token category, which includes majors like TAO, NEAR, ICP, and RENDER is down 1.4%. In contrast, the CoinDesk 20 , a measure of the performance of the world's largest digital assets, is flat and trading below 4,000. Typically, AI tokens move in sync with earnings from big tech. Nvidia's record-breaking rally in 2024 helped the category push beyond a $10 billion market cap , but bitcoin's rising dominance in the first half of 2025 pulled some air out of the category — and other types of altcoins — pushing it down to below $5 billion. Traders across the crypto world today also took a breather, given the Fed's recent messaging , which perhaps explains AI tokens' muted reception to MSFT and Meta's success. "While policy remained unchanged, Powell’s remark that tariff-driven inflation may only be beginning added a layer of uncertainty that pressured risk assets across the board," market maker Enflux wrote in a note to CoinDesk. "With risk appetite fading and macro messaging turning less predictable, markets may remain in a holding pattern until participants gain clarity on inflation direction and policy response for the next few days or weeks," Enflux continued. Nvidia is set to report its earnings towards the end of August. Time will tell if the GPU giant's expected solid results will serve as a catalyst for AI token growth. Market Movements: BTC: Crypto markets turned volatile on Wednesday as hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell triggered over $200 million in liquidations, with bitcoin briefly falling below $116,000. ETH: Ether (ETH) is holding above $3,800, up 1.47%, as corporate treasuries, like SharpLink Gaming continue to bid on the asset for their balance sheet. Gold: Gold fell 1.17% to $3,288.02 on Wednesday as strong U.S. economic data reduced safe-haven demand and reinforced expectations that the Fed will keep rates steady. Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday as investors weighed new U.S. tariffs on South Korean imports and awaited the Bank of Japan’s expected decision to hold rates steady. S&P 500: The S&P 500 slipped 0.12% to 6,362.90 after Fed Chair Powell signaled no imminent rate cuts amid tariff-driven inflation concerns. Elsewhere in Crypto: Trump's Top Crypto Guys: U.S. DeFi Will Thrive, Assures Bitcoin Reserve Is Coming (CoinDesk) Polygon suffers hour-long outage weeks after complex hard fork (The Block) 10 years on, Ethereum has rebuilt itself time and again without compromising on its values, community members say (The Block)

2025-07-31 04:34

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