Bitcoin & Major Cryptocurrencies: Price Dip and a Record Whale Sale
Bitcoin saw a modest pullback over the past two days, dipping below the $118,000 mark economictimes.indiatimes.com. As of July 28, BTC hovered around $117,948 (down ~0.4% on the day) economictimes.indiatimes.com, while Ethereum likewise softened to just under $3,800 (a ~0.3% daily decline) economictimes.indiatimes.com. Despite the minor price retreat, the period was marked by one of the largest Bitcoin transactions in history. More than 80,000 BTC (worth roughly $9 billion) were sold in an over-the-counter deal last week – a move that captured crypto social media’s attention protos.com. Analysts noted the coins originated from wallets dormant since April–May 2011, fueling speculation they might be linked to the long-lost MyBitcoin exchange hack protos.com protos.com. The sale was facilitated by Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, whose client reportedly sold the hoard for estate planning reasons protos.com. Notably, blockchain sleuths observed no large on-chain transfer for this sale – Galaxy confirmed it was handled off-chain via an OTC transaction leaving “no blockchain crumbs” protos.com, so the market impact was muted. Still, the event underscores that even ancient Bitcoin stashes are now coming to market after 14 years of dormancy.
Meanwhile, institutional accumulation of Bitcoin accelerated. MARA Holdings (Marathon Digital) closed an upsized $950 million convertible bond offering with plans to plow most of the proceeds into Bitcoin cryptobriefing.com. Strong demand led Marathon to boost the raise from an initially planned $850M, and after fees it netted about $940M cryptobriefing.com. The Bitcoin miner, which already holds 50,000 BTC ($6 billion worth), said the new purchase will cement its position as the world’s second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder cryptobriefing.com (second only to MicroStrategy). This aggressive bet signals confidence that Bitcoin’s long-term uptrend remains intact. In the Ethereum camp, no major protocol updates landed these two days, but analysts highlighted a growing trend of companies leveraging ETH staking yields for treasury management. A recent Bernstein report noted that large firms forming Ethereum treasuries could earn ~3–5% annual yields via staking – potentially $30–50M on a $1B ETH stash – though with liquidity and slashing risks to navigate economictimes.indiatimes.com. Ether’s price held in the high-$3,700s, reflecting broader market consolidation after recent gains.
Mainstream Adoption: PayPal’s Crypto Push and Corporate Accumulation
In a major milestone for crypto adoption, PayPal announced a new service allowing U.S. merchants to accept over 100 different cryptocurrencies as payment coindesk.com. Dubbed “Pay with Crypto,” the feature will roll out in coming weeks and supports a wide array of digital assets – from Bitcoin and Ethereum to popular stablecoins like USDT and USDC – covering roughly 90% of the total crypto market cap coindesk.com. Crucially, merchants will receive funds in U.S. dollars, with PayPal handling instant conversion of the customer’s crypto at checkout coindesk.com. The aim is to cut cross-border transaction fees by up to 90%, making international e-commerce cheaper and faster than traditional card payments coindesk.com coindesk.com. “Businesses of all sizes face incredible pressure when growing globally,” said PayPal CEO Alex Chriss, noting how high fees and complex integrations stifle small merchants. With this new open platform, an artisan in Oklahoma City could seamlessly sell to a buyer in Guatemala and “increase their profit margins, pay lower transaction fees, get near instant access to proceeds” – all while earning 4% yield on any funds held in PayPal’s USD stablecoin (PYUSD) coindesk.com. The move represents PayPal’s biggest crypto initiative since launching PYUSD last year, and it extends the payments giant’s push to make stablecoins and blockchain rails mainstream for remittances and commerce coindesk.com. Industry observers lauded the development as a potential catalyst for wider merchant acceptance of crypto, given PayPal’s massive user base and global reach.
Beyond PayPal, other companies large and small also doubled down on crypto holdings. Sequans Communications, a NYSE-listed tech firm, revealed it added 755 BTC to its balance sheet (now holding 3,072 BTC total) as part of its treasury strategy economictimes.indiatimes.com. And in Japan, an unlikely player – Convano Inc., a chain of nail salons – raised ¥1.5 billion (~$10.1M) to acquire approximately 80 Bitcoin for its corporate investment portfolio economictimes.indiatimes.com. Convano’s move underscores how even non-tech businesses are embracing Bitcoin as a reserve asset. “It’s about diversifying into digital gold,” a company representative told local media, pointing to Bitcoin’s outperformance of traditional assets this year. Likewise, Immutable Holdings launched a new HBAR (Hedera) treasury program for clients economictimes.indiatimes.com, and CEA Industries is pursuing a $500M BNB treasury vehicle economictimes.indiatimes.com – highlighting a broader trend of firms accumulating various crypto assets as strategic reserves. Taken together, these developments show mainstream and institutional adoption of crypto is in full swing, from payment integrations that touch millions of users to public companies stockpiling coins as long-term investments.
Altcoins & DeFi: Tron Hits Nasdaq, Stablecoin Sidechain Raises Millions
It was a busy 48 hours for the altcoin world as well. Tron (TRX) made headlines on Wall Street – Tron Inc., a newly formed company tied to Justin Sun’s TRON ecosystem, debuted on the Nasdaq exchange this month via a reverse merger, and is wasting no time leveraging its public status cryptonews.com.au. On July 29, Tron Inc. filed a shelf registration with the SEC to issue up to $1 billion in new securities (common stock, preferred shares, debt, or warrants) backed by its holdings of TRX tokens cryptonews.com.au. The goal is to raise capital over the coming years and plow those funds into expanding Tron’s crypto treasury, which already exceeds 365 million TRX. In fact, as part of the merger deal, the company secured a $100M private investment in TRX and rebranded under the ticker “TRON” on July 17, with founder Justin Sun ringing the Nasdaq opening bell in celebration cryptonews.com.au cryptonews.com.au. Tron Inc.’s stock has been on a tear – surging over 1,300% since June – and jumped another 23% after the $1B offering was filed, reflecting investor enthusiasm cryptonews.com.au. By transforming a formerly small entertainment firm (SRM) into a crypto holding company, Tron is “following models pioneered by companies like MicroStrategy” in using traditional markets to build a massive crypto reserve cryptonews.com.au. The move signifies a new hybrid approach where blockchain projects seek legitimacy and capital via public markets while maintaining a core focus on digital assets. If successful, Tron Inc.’s war chest could dramatically grow TRX holdings, potentially influencing TRX’s circulating supply and market dynamics.
Another major altcoin project plasma-ed onto the scene with a splashy funding milestone. Plasma Network, a new stablecoin-centric blockchain (and EVM-compatible Bitcoin sidechain), closed its public token sale on July 28, raising $373 million in commitments – over 7 times its initial $50M target coindesk.com. The sale’s tremendous demand led to ~$323M in over-subscriptions that will be refunded. Backed by prominent investors including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Framework Ventures, Plasma aims to create a chain optimized for fee-free stablecoin transfers, starting with Tether’s USDT coindesk.com. At launch (expected within 40 days), the Plasma network will hold a whopping $1 billion in stablecoin liquidity, which would make it the fastest blockchain ever to reach ten-figure TVL coindesk.com coindesk.com. The project directly targets a market dominated by Tron and Ethereum, which currently settle billions in stablecoin transactions daily coindesk.com. By eliminating transaction fees for moving stablecoins, Plasma hopes to undercut existing networks’ costs and attract major stablecoin flows. U.S. participants in the token sale will have their new XPL tokens locked for 12 months due to regulatory constraints, but international buyers get access at launch coindesk.com. The combination of deep liquidity, strong backers, and a laser focus on stablecoins makes Plasma one of the most anticipated Layer-1 launches this year. Its oversubscribed sale – one of the largest in recent memory – suggests investors see demand for specialized blockchains tailored to specific use cases (in this case, stablecoin payments). Observers will be watching if Plasma can deliver on throughput and security to become a go-to network for stablecoin transfers in the coming months.
The broader altcoin and DeFi ecosystem also saw notable moves. On Solana, the popular meme coin BONK staged a comeback rally of about +6% on July 28 coindesk.com. Trading volumes in BONK spiked (with 3.8 trillion tokens changing hands during the midday surge) as Solana’s NFT market activity hit quarterly highs, indicating renewed confidence in the Solana network’s momentum coindesk.com coindesk.com. Solana’s daily NFT sales and unique buyers jumped to their strongest levels since mid-June, which analysts believe helped fuel BONK’s bullish reversal coindesk.com. This highlights how NFT ecosystem growth can bolster demand for related altcoins in that ecosystem. Elsewhere in DeFi, the team behind dYdX (DYDX) – a leading decentralized exchange – is looking to invest in its community. The dYdX Foundation proposed a new grants program and has applied for $8 million in DYDX tokens from its community treasury to fund developer grants over the next 12–18 months economictimes.indiatimes.com. The initiative aims to incentivize builders and researchers to contribute to dYdX’s Layer-2 protocol as it prepares for an upcoming V4 launch on its independent blockchain. Community responses so far have been positive, seeing it as a way to strengthen dYdX’s ecosystem and attract talent. On the flip side, not all alt news was rosy – tokens that recently saw hype faced some correction. For instance, Space and Time (SXT) tokens, which jumped after Grayscale announced an SXT trust, gave up 25% of their gains as excitement cooled and trading volumes normalized economictimes.indiatimes.com economictimes.indiatimes.com. Such pullbacks are reminders of the volatility still inherent in smaller cap coins post-listing or post-announcement. Overall, however, the altcoin sector over these two days was characterized by major capital formations and strategic moves – from Tron bridging into traditional finance, to Plasma raising a stablecoin war chest, to DeFi projects reinvesting in their communities – signaling a maturation in how crypto projects finance and govern themselves.
NFTs: Market Rebound and a $730K Exploit
After a prolonged slump, the NFT market flashed signs of revival during the July 28–29 window. NFT trading volumes surged, led by an unexpected star: Ozzy Osbourne’s CryptoPunks collection. The legendary rocker’s NFT venture – which involves CryptoPunks-themed digital art – saw its sales volume skyrocket 590% virtually overnight bitcoinist.com. This helped drive total NFT market sales to $221.5 million in the latest period bitcoinist.com, a marked improvement though still a far cry from the billion-dollar monthly peaks of 2021. The rally wasn’t limited to Ethereum-based collectibles; NFTs on Solana, Binance Smart Chain, and even Bitcoin (via Ordinals) participated in the upswing bitcoinist.com. However, the iconic CryptoPunks – one of the original and most valuable NFT collections – reasserted their dominance. Some individual Punk sales fetched as high as $700,000 apiece this week bitcoinist.com, showing that collectors remain willing to pay top dollar for rare pieces even in a quieter market. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), another blue-chip collection, also enjoyed a bump: BAYC notched $5.4 million in sales over the two-day stretch, up 55% from the prior period bitcoinist.com. The renewed demand for high-end NFTs has contributed to a modest recovery in floor prices for these collections. Market analysts note that positive sentiment in the crypto market (e.g. easing macro risks and rising coin prices earlier in the month) often trickles down to NFTs with a lag. The current NFT revival, while still nascent, is a hopeful sign that the digital collectibles space is finding a firmer footing in mid-2025. Platforms like OpenSea and Blur reported increased user activity, and NFT-focused funds pointed to new buyers entering the market, possibly drawn by lower prices and recent pop culture collaborations (like Osbourne’s project bridging rock music fans into NFTs).
It wasn’t all celebration in NFT land, however. A security scare at SuperRare reminded everyone that smart contract risks persist. On July 28, a hacker exploited a vulnerability in SuperRare’s staking rewards contract, managing to steal roughly 11.9 million RARE tokens (worth about $730,000) protos.com. Blockchain security firm SlowMist traced the breach to a faulty permission check in the contract’s updateMerkleRoot function, which allowed the attacker to maliciously modify the Merkle root and essentially claim large amounts of tokens for themselves protos.com. The hacker’s address had been pre-funded via Tornado Cash (the Ethereum mixer) ~186 days prior, a common tactic to obscure the fund source protos.com. After executing the exploit, the thief siphoned the 11.9M RARE into their wallet. (Notably, an independent frontrunning bot may have intercepted a portion of the loot – some reports suggest a bot managed to grab a chunk of the tokens before the original hacker could, adding a twist to the heist.) SuperRare’s core NFT marketplace and user funds were unaffected, since the hack targeted the auxiliary staking/rewards contract rather than the marketplace itself economictimes.indiatimes.com. “No NFTs stolen. No marketplace drained. Just a single flawed function in their staking contract,” one security researcher summarized on X. SuperRare immediately paused the affected contract and is working with auditors to patch the vulnerability. The team also reached out to the hacker’s address via on-chain message, imploring a return of funds (or offering a bounty for doing so), but no response has been observed so far. This incident follows a series of DeFi and NFT-related exploits in recent months, underscoring the need for rigorous smart contract audits. It also highlights that even established NFT platforms must remain vigilant as they add DeFi-like features (like token staking). SuperRare’s RARE token price dipped on the news but has since stabilized, and the marketplace assured users that it maintains full functionality for buying/selling art NFTs. Nonetheless, the $730K theft is a cautionary tale amid the NFT market’s comeback: innovation can breed new risks, and participants should stay alert to contract security and use trusted platforms.
Regulation & Government: Sanctioned Stablecoin Soars and ETF Delays Continue
Geopolitics and regulation intersected with crypto news in a big way. A rouble-backed stablecoin created to help Russia skirt Western sanctions has seen explosive growth, according to blockchain analytics firms. The token, known by its ticker A7A5, was launched in January by sanctioned Russian bank Promsvyazbank and fintech firm A7, ostensibly to facilitate trade with foreign partners (especially in Asia) outside the traditional banking system reuters.com reuters.com. In July, transaction volumes on A7A5 spiked dramatically, pushing the total value transferred via the coin to over $40 billion since launch reuters.com reuters.com. Elliptic – a renowned crypto compliance researcher – reported that more than $1 billion per day is now flowing through A7A5, which they say is becoming “increasingly effective” at helping Russian businesses and individuals evade sanctions by bypassing SWIFT and other monitored channels reuters.com reuters.com. The surge in July alone saw A7A5’s market capitalization triple to $521 million in just two weeks reuters.com, indicating rapid uptake. On July 28, the stablecoin’s issuer even injected $100 million of fresh USDT liquidity into A7A5’s decentralized exchange to meet demand, noting that liquidity was being snapped up “in minutes” by users arbitraging into the rouble token reuters.com. The implication is that Russian entities are aggressively acquiring A7A5 (using Tether as the bridge) to conduct cross-border deals under the radar. Western officials have been aware of such efforts – the U.S. Treasury previously flagged crypto’s role in sanctions evasion – but the sheer scale ($40B+ moved) revealed in this report startled many analysts. It dwarfs earlier estimates of Russian-sanctions-related crypto activity. Regulators in the U.S. and Europe may face pressure to respond, perhaps by targeting the gateways (exchanges or OTC desks) that convert large amounts of fiat to crypto for A7A5 purchases. For now, A7A5’s rise demonstrates how nation-states under sanctions are leveraging stablecoins and blockchain networks to create new financial circuits outside Western control. It’s a development likely to raise tough questions in Washington and Brussels about enforcement of financial restrictions in the crypto age.
In the United States, regulatory uncertainty around crypto investment products persisted, as the SEC once again punted on several high-profile crypto ETF applications. On July 28, the SEC announced it is delaying a decision on the proposed “Truth Social Bitcoin ETF” – an application notably linked to former President Donald Trump’s media company – pushing the deadline to September 18 for a final ruling coindesk.com coindesk.com. Truth Social’s parent company (Trump Media & Technology Group) had filed in June to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF under the new ticker symbol, but it has now joined the queue of pending crypto funds. The regulator also postponed decisions on the Grayscale Solana Trust’s conversion to an ETF and on Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF in the same announcement coindesk.com. These delays come amid a changing of the guard at the SEC. Newly appointed SEC Chair Paul Atkins – who succeeded Gary Gensler in June – has hit “pause” on all new crypto ETF approvals for the moment, as his team reviews concerns around staking mechanisms and in-kind redemption processes for these products coindesk.com coindesk.com. Insiders say the SEC is particularly cautious about novel ETF structures involving Solana or other staking-based yields, which require clarity on how underlying assets can be securely created/redeemed. The crypto industry’s optimism for quick ETF approvals (fueled by the batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs that launched in early 2024) has thus been tempered by these procedural holdups. Since January 2024, over $55 billion has flowed into the first wave of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs coindesk.com, proving massive investor appetite. But any further expansion – such as ETFs for other layer-1 coins or multi-asset “blue-chip crypto” funds – is on hold pending the SEC’s next moves. On a related note, Truth Social isn’t deterred by the delay; the Trump-affiliated company has multiple crypto ETFs in the pipeline, having also filed for a “Blue Chip Crypto” ETF and a dual Bitcoin-Ethereum ETF recently coindesk.com. Those too will face scrutiny under Chair Atkins’ more conservative approach. In Congress, lawmakers are closely watching the SEC’s stance. While the House made progress on crypto legislation earlier in July (passing the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins, which President Trump signed into law on July 18), the regulatory framework for crypto trading and ETFs remains a patchwork. The SEC’s cautious posture this week signals that, at least for the remainder of the summer, major new crypto investment products will likely not get the green light. Crypto market analysts note that regulatory clarity – or the lack thereof – has a direct impact on sentiment: every ETF delay or enforcement action tends to inject short-term volatility, while any hint of approval sparks rallies. For now, the industry will have to wait a bit longer for the next wave of institutional-grade crypto investment vehicles to hit U.S. markets.
Expert Commentary and Market Outlook
Across these various developments, leading voices in the crypto space weighed in with analysis and bold predictions. The dramatic Bitcoin whale sale led some analysts to reflect on market maturity. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, pointed out the likely link to the 2011 hack and noted that such a sale “might be the largest notional BTC liquidation by a single entity ever”. Others like Mike Novogratz took the event in stride – Novogratz quipped that his firm was “happy to find a home for the coins” and reiterated his view that long-term holders can sell into a deep market without crashing it, a sign of Bitcoin’s improved liquidity. On crypto adoption, PayPal’s move drew praise from fintech leaders. Dan Schulman, former PayPal CEO, called it “a watershed moment for digital commerce,” predicting many competitors will follow suit in enabling crypto at checkout. Crypto evangelist Anthony Pompliano tweeted that hundreds of millions of people just got exposure to using crypto “without even knowing it’s crypto” – heralding the integration as a win for Bitcoin and stablecoins’ utility.
Not all commentary was positive, however. The SuperRare hack revived debates on smart contract security. PeckShield and SlowMist (blockchain security firms) published post-mortems highlighting the need for rigorous audits, with SlowMist stating bluntly that “one mistaken line of code cost $730K; let this be a lesson to all DeFi projects” protos.com. Meanwhile, the Russia A7A5 stablecoin news drew concern from policymakers. A U.S. Treasury official (speaking off record to Reuters) said these findings “validate what we’ve been warning – that rogue nations will exploit crypto to dodge sanctions,” and suggested allied governments may need to “enhance monitoring of stablecoin flows tied to sanctioned entities” reuters.com reuters.com. In the broader markets, veteran trader Peter Brandt stirred the pot on social media by declaring “Bitcoin is crypto. All the rest are pretenders,” implying that alternative coins are destined to falter. His maximalist stance, which went viral with over 120K views bitcoinist.com, underscores the ongoing rift in sentiment: even as multi-chain growth stories like Tron and Plasma make headlines, some influential figures double down on the primacy of Bitcoin. Similarly, Blockstream CEO Adam Back (another noted Bitcoin bull) grabbed attention in an interview by predicting “99% of altcoins will eventually go to zero”, arguing that only Bitcoin has truly proven its resilience over multiple market cycles. Such remarks were met with pushback from the Ethereum and multi-chain community, who cite the success of protocols like DeFi and NFTs on other chains as evidence that non-Bitcoin crypto has lasting value.
Looking ahead, market strategists are eyeing the early fall timeline for potential inflection points. The SEC’s new September deadlines for ETF decisions, the expected Plasma mainnet launch within 40 days, and the looming Bitcoin halving in April 2024 all add ingredients for volatility and growth in coming months. For the immediate term, trading desks report a cautious optimism. Fundstrat Global Advisors noted that a major macro overhang was lifted last week by a $1.35 trillion US–EU trade deal, which could bolster risk assets (crypto included) if global economic sentiment improves bitcoinist.com. They suggest that with tariffs reduced and a more benign outlook, “liquidity could start chasing volatility again”, benefiting high-beta plays like crypto and even meme coins bitcoinist.com. On-chain data also shows continued accumulation: large Bitcoin addresses (whales) added to balances on recent dips, and Ethereum staking deposits ticked up, reflecting confidence in The Merge’s staking yield. A report from CryptoQuant even projected that Bitcoin could reach its cycle peak by September 10 based on MVRV metrics, though such precise timing is always speculative economictimes.indiatimes.com. For now, the crypto market enters August with bulls and bears finely balanced. The news of the past 48 hours – from enormous institutional bets to heightened regulatory scrutiny – encapsulates the bifurcated state of crypto in 2025. On one hand, innovation and adoption are accelerating at an unprecedented pace; on the other, regulators and old vulnerabilities continue to cast shadows. As always, investors and enthusiasts must navigate this landscape with care. If the last two days are any indication, the crypto arena will continue delivering both surprises and breakthroughs at every turn.
Sources: Major developments and quotes were sourced from reputable outlets including CoinDesk coindesk.com coindesk.com, Reuters reuters.com reuters.com, Cointelegraph/Economic Times economictimes.indiatimes.com economictimes.indiatimes.com, CryptoBriefing cryptobriefing.com cryptobriefing.com, Protos protos.com protos.com, Bitcoinist bitcoinist.com, cryptonews.com.au cryptonews.com.au cryptonews.com.au and other primary sources. All information reflects news and market data from July 28–29, 2025.
