As we approach the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, the crypto market is experiencing a downturn, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other major cryptocurrencies witnessing a slump. Despite this volatility, the ETF flows for Bitcoin and Ethereum remain strong, indicating a continued institutional interest in these assets. The potential for rate cuts within the Federal Reserve adds to the uncertainty, but the steady ETF flows suggest a level of resilience in the face of macro and policy concerns.
In a significant shift, Base token launchpad Zora has surpassed Solana in terms of daily tokens created, demonstrating the dynamism and competitiveness within the token creation ecosystem. Zora's unique approach of turning every social media post into a token could be a game-changer, offering a new way for traders to bet on the virality of posts.
In a landmark partnership, JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase are set to allow Chase customers to directly link their bank accounts to their cryptocurrency wallets starting in 2026. This move is a clear indication of the growing institutional interest in the crypto space, despite previous skepticism from JPMorgan's CEO. The partnership will provide traditional banking users with more direct access to the crypto economy, simplifying the conversion from fiat to crypto.
However, the crypto space is not without its challenges. Ripple's CTO has revealed that regulatory risks are the primary reason why Ripple and its partners have not adopted the XRP Ledger’s decentralized exchange for payment settlements. This highlights the ongoing tension between the potential of decentralized technologies and the need for regulatory compliance.
In conclusion, as the crypto market continues to evolve, it is crucial for legal and financial professionals to stay informed and adapt to these changes. The recent developments highlight the growing institutional interest in crypto, the dynamism of the token creation ecosystem, and the ongoing regulatory challenges facing the industry.
The following article summaries have been sourced from Decrypt, CryptoSlate, NewsBTC, and Crypto Briefing. Each summary includes a direct link to the original source.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other major cryptocurrencies experienced a downturn on Wednesday morning, ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision. The overall crypto market cap fell by 5.4% to $3.9 trillion. Despite the market's volatility, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF flows remained strong. ETH funds increased from $65 million on Monday to $218 million on Tuesday, and BlackRock's Ethereum Trust surpassed 3 million ETH.
Investors are highly confident that the U.S. central bank will keep interest rates unchanged, as indicated by a 97% probability shown by the CME FedWatch Tool. However, there is growing division within the Federal Reserve about rate cuts, adding to the uncertainty. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and the newly appointed Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman, have both expressed support for cutting rates in July. Despite the macro and policy concerns, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF flows have remained steady, with BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust surpassing the three million ETH threshold in its holdings.
Base token launchpad Zora has surpassed Solana's Pump.fun and LetsBonk in terms of daily tokens created, marking the first time since early 2023 that a chain has hosted more token launches than Solana, as per Coinbase director Conor Grogan. Unlike Pump.fun, Zora transforms every post on its social media platform into a token. In a single day, Zora created an all-time high of 51,575 tokens, while LetsBonk and Pump.fun created 22,554 and 4,173 tokens respectively. This means Zora accounted for 67.7% of all token creations across Base and Solana.
Pump.fun's market share has significantly declined since the start of the year, with LetsBonk surpassing it for Solana token creations. Now, Zora has outperformed both platforms following substantial growth. After its launch in January 2024, Pump.fun quickly became a popular app in the crypto space, generating nearly 5 million tokens by the end of the year. However, Zora's approach is different from Pump.fun's. Instead of creating tokens just for the sake of it, Zora turns every social media post into a token on Base. Traders then buy and sell the post, essentially betting on its virality.
JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase have announced a partnership that will allow Chase customers to directly link their bank accounts to their cryptocurrency wallets starting in 2026. Melissa Feldsher, Head of Payments and Lending Innovation for JPMorganChase, stated that this program will empower customers to take control of their financial futures, enabling them to convert their points into cryptocurrencies seamlessly and securely. From 2026, customers will also be able to transfer their Ultimate Rewards Points to their Coinbase account, with 100 points equalling $1 in redemption value. This is the first time a major credit card rewards program will be used to fund a crypto wallet.
Starting in Fall 2025, Chase customers will also be able to fund their Coinbase accounts using their credit cards. Both JPMorgan and Coinbase believe that this direct connection will provide mutual customers with the confidence, security, and privacy they're accustomed to as Chase customers. In addition, Coinbase clients will be able to fund their accounts using Chase credit cards. This partnership comes as JPMorgan is making significant strides in the crypto sector, despite its CEO Jamie Dimon's previous dismissal of Bitcoin as a "fraud" in 2017. However, earlier this year, Dimon announced that JPM clients would be able to buy Bitcoin.
Coinbase has announced a new partnership with JPMorgan Chase that will expand cryptocurrency access for the bank's 80 million customers. Starting later this year, Chase users will be able to interact with digital assets directly through Coinbase-linked services. This will include the ability for Chase credit card holders to fund their Coinbase accounts using their cards, although some transactions may be treated as cash advances. Additional features, such as the ability to link Chase bank accounts to Coinbase and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Circle’s USDC stablecoin, are expected to roll out in 2026.
Coinbase views this partnership as a significant step towards simplifying the conversion from fiat to crypto and providing traditional banking users with more direct access to the crypto economy. The company also sees the rewards conversion as a unique offering, allowing consumers to turn loyalty points into digital dollars. However, the partnership has faced criticism, with Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas questioning the high fees associated with credit card crypto purchases. Additionally, JPMorgan's involvement marks a significant shift in tone for the banking giant, whose CEO, Jamie Dimon, has previously criticized cryptocurrencies. Despite this, the partnership suggests growing institutional interest in the crypto space.
Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has stated that regulatory risks are the primary reason why Ripple and its partners have not adopted the XRP Ledger’s decentralized exchange (DEX) for payment settlements. This response was prompted by a query about the DEX's low activity despite Ripple's numerous institutional partnerships. Schwartz attributed the slow progress to institutional hesitance towards public liquidity pools, citing the difficulty of verifying liquidity sources on an open DEX as a key concern. Ripple currently refrains from using the XRPL DEX because of the potential legal and reputational risks associated with unreliable controls.
Schwartz also highlighted ongoing efforts to introduce permissioned features to address these concerns. For instance, permissioned domains under development could help institutions identify trustworthy liquidity providers, potentially facilitating safer use of on-chain payment rails. Despite the issues raised, Schwartz expressed optimism that traditional financial institutions like BlackRock might find it more efficient to build on existing networks like XRPL, rather than creating standalone blockchains. He cited Circle’s USDC strategy as an example of this trend, where Circle deployed its stablecoin across multiple public networks to leverage scale, interoperability, and existing liquidity. Schwartz believes that these characteristics position XRPL as a strong contender for future enterprise-grade tokenization projects.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance (DeFi) initiative associated with Donald Trump, has invested over $11 million into Ethereum and a new stablecoin project. This move aligns with WLFI's aim to expand its blockchain infrastructure and increase its footprint in the digital asset ecosystem. On July 30, WLFI announced a $10 million investment in Falcon Finance, a synthetic stablecoin protocol. The funds will be used to enhance Falcon's multi-chain interoperability, improve smart contract modules, and support liquidity-sharing mechanisms between Falcon's USDf and WLFI's USD1 stablecoin.
Falcon's USDf stablecoin has recently surpassed $1 billion in circulating supply, indicating a growing demand for decentralized dollar-pegged assets. Unlike traditional stablecoins, USDf operates via an overcollateralization model that adjusts for real-time risk, allowing it to accept various digital assets as collateral while maintaining price stability. Meanwhile, USD1 serves as a fiat-redeemable asset, backed by a reserve of US dollar deposits, government money market funds, and other short-term cash equivalents, providing an additional layer of trust and liquidity. Zak Folkman, co-founder of WLFI, stated that the partnership aligns with the project's broader ambition to reshape digital finance by combining Falcon's innovative collateralization model with their fiat-backed approach.
In addition to the stablecoin project, WLFI has also increased its exposure to Ethereum with recent purchases. The DeFi project acquired 256.75 ETH in July at an average cost of $3,895 per coin, amounting to $1 million. This follows last week's purchase of 3,473 ETH, which were then staked via the DeFi lending platform, Aave. Currently, World Liberty Financial holds approximately 77,226 ETH, valued around $296 million at today's prices, and has an unrealized profit of roughly $42 million.
Bitcoin's market condition remains indecisive as it continues to consolidate in a tight range for over two weeks. Neither bulls nor bears have taken full control, with the price hovering between key support and resistance levels. According to data from CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin Heat Macro Phase, a metric reflecting the market's overall temperature, currently sits at a neutral level. This suggests that market conditions are balanced, with no clear dominance from buyers or sellers. The market is currently in a wait-and-see mode, with moderate profit-taking, slowed ETF inflows, and stable long-term holder activity.
The Bitcoin Heat Macro Phase is a metric that combines several key market indicators into a single scalar value, providing a simplified view of Bitcoin's position in its broader macro cycle. When the Heat Macro Phase reaches high values near 50%, it typically signals an overheated market nearing a distribution phase or a correction. Readings closer to 30% reflect cooler market conditions, often indicating an undervalued market ripe for accumulation. Currently, the Bitcoin Heat Macro Phase sits at 44%, reflecting a balanced market environment with no clear dominance by bulls or bears. This mid-range reading aligns with Bitcoin's recent price action, reinforcing the idea that the next significant move will depend entirely on upcoming price behavior.
Bitcoin's price action remains confined within a horizontal range, currently trading at $118,269.81 on the 12-hour chart. The 50, 100, and 200 SMAs are all trending upward, suggesting a bullish broader structure. However, volume has decreased significantly, indicating a lack of conviction from both sides of the market. The tightening structure suggests that a breakout is approaching. If buyers manage to push BTC above $122K with strong volume, the next leg higher toward new all-time highs could follow. Conversely, a breakdown below $115K would invalidate the current setup and open the door to a deeper correction.
A recent phishing scam targeting Coinbase users has shown an increased level of sophistication, according to a viral story shared by TikTok user Steve. The scam involves mimicking real customer support email addresses from Coinbase, and then using an automated voicemail and follow-up call to warn of suspicious account activity. The scammers gradually build the victim's trust, eventually asking for their wallet keyphrase. The scammers use real names and email addresses, obtained through leaked data, to appear legitimate. Coinbase has suffered several significant data breaches in the past, with personal data from as many as 97,000 users exposed through compromised call center staff. The company estimates that social engineering scams cost them over $300 million annually.
The phishing attempts also exploit Coinbase's branding, with scammers using websites and emails that closely resemble the real ones. Fraudsters reportedly deceive users through cloned emails, spoofed caller IDs, PBX systems, and even pre-generated seed phrases. To protect against such scams, crypto investors are advised to never divulge their key phrase and to use a non-custodial wallet. Using a wallet with the most recent crypto security features is also important. The Best Wallet app, for example, offers MPC and biometric security and is fully non-custodial. The $BEST token enhances the wallet’s core functions, offering users lower transaction fees, higher staking rewards, and early access to new crypto projects. The $BEST presale has already raised over $14M, with tokens priced at $0.025405.
In conclusion, the best defense against phishing attempts is to keep your keys to yourself and always use a non-custodial wallet. As always, it's important to do your own research and not take this as financial advice.
Crypto analyst Lourenço has predicted a potential rally for Ethereum (ETH) to reach $9,000 in the current market cycle, according to NewsBTC. This prediction comes as ETH is on the verge of a breakout against Bitcoin (BTC), which could trigger a significant run for the cryptocurrency and other altcoins. Lourenço's analysis of the weekly ETH chart suggests that the altcoin may have already broken the trend on the upper side of the wedge with hard closes above. He also highlighted the importance of the $4,000 level, stating that once it flips into support, additional resistance between $4,700 and $5,000 can be expected.
Crypto analyst Galaxy also expressed a bullish sentiment for Ethereum, indicating a lot of potential upside for ETH on the BTC pair. He noted that the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still bottomed and that, from his perspective, the trend is just beginning. Despite Ethereum's price rallying over 60% in the past month, the RSI isn’t in overbought levels. Another analyst, Ted, emphasized the need for Ethereum to break above the $4,000 level, stating that if that happens, the ETH pump will be "unstoppable." At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading at around $3,800.
The White House has introduced a broad crypto regulatory framework, however, it does not address the issue of government Bitcoin reserves. The framework, part of a report from President Donald Trump's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, supports stablecoins, opposes US Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and advocates for regulatory clarity on digital asset trading and taxation. The report, which is due to be released later today, is expected to provide more detail on how the administration plans to implement a national Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile, a directive that was formally established by Trump in a separate executive order in March.
The report's key objectives include focusing on market structure, oversight mechanisms, consumer protections, and risk management practices. It also aims to clarify the overlapping regulatory roles between bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The working group recommends immediate coordination between these two bodies to facilitate digital asset trading, building on existing initiatives in the Clarity Act and GENIUS Act for stablecoins. The report also emphasizes the need for innovative financial products to reach consumers through regulatory sandboxes and safe harbors, while also addressing banking relationships for crypto firms. The framework calls for clearer capital rules and transparency around how crypto companies can obtain master accounts or bank charters.
The report preview promotes USD-pegged stablecoins as "strengthening the role of the U.S. dollar" while opposing CBDCs, with recommendations for an Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to ban CBDCs in the US. On taxation, the working group suggests the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service review existing guidance on mining and staking activities, along with new guidance on corporate alternative minimum tax and de minimis crypto receipts to facilitate payments.
Indonesia is set to implement significant changes to its cryptocurrency regulations, including doubling taxes on crypto transactions and eliminating value-added tax (VAT) for buyers from August 1. Domestic exchange sellers will now face a 0.21% transaction tax, an increase from the previous 0.1%, while those using foreign platforms will see their tax rise to 1% from 0.2%. These changes are part of new regulations from the Ministry of Finance.
In addition to transaction taxes, the government is also revising taxes on crypto mining. VAT for mining will be doubled to 2.2% from 1.1%, and the 0.1% special income tax will be eliminated. From 2026, income from mining will be taxed at standard personal or corporate rates. These changes come as Indonesia reclassifies crypto assets from commodities to financial assets, aligning them more closely with stock market instruments. The country has emerged as one of Southeast Asia's largest crypto markets, with over 20 million users and a total transaction volume exceeding 650 trillion rupiah (approximately $40 billion) in 2024.
Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, is partnering with JPMorgan Chase to enhance crypto accessibility for over 80 million Chase customers. The collaboration will introduce three key features: direct integration with the bank, the ability to fund Coinbase accounts using Chase credit cards, and the option to convert Ultimate Rewards points into USDC. Starting this fall, Chase credit card holders will be able to make purchases on Coinbase.
By 2026, the partnership plans to enable customers to convert Chase Ultimate Rewards points to USDC on Coinbase, marking the first time a major credit card rewards program allows points redemption for crypto assets. Additionally, the firms aim to enable direct bank account linking between JPMorgan and Coinbase in 2026, providing customers an alternative method to purchase digital assets. This collaboration follows JPMorgan's pilot of its 'deposit token' called JPMD, a stablecoin alternative for institutional clients, using Base, a network incubated by Coinbase.
