Solana Defies Market Drop, Touches $200 as Altcoins Retreat: Crypto Daybook Americas

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) The past 24 hours have witnessed a rare dynamic: a major token moving on technology news rather than trading flows and general narratives of institutional adoption. Solana’s native sol (SOL) experienced a notable spike in price volatility, rising as high as $200 for the first time since March after Jito Labs, an infrastructure company, announced Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) , designed to counter maximal extractable value strategies, such as front-running and sandwiching. SOL is now tussling with BNB for the No. 5 ranking among the world’s largest cryptocurrencies by market value. Bitcoin (BTC), meanwhile, is still trading directionless below $120,000, while ether (ETH) pulled back after printing an indecisive Doji candle on Monday. That left the CoinDesk 20 Index of the biggest tokens 2% lower over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 80 Index , which encompasses the next 80 largest cryptocurrencies, fell 3.5%, most likely reflecting profit-taking in altcoins after their run-up in the past few days. The pullback comes on the heels of consecutive weekly gains that look to have set the stage for a notable bull run. (Check out the TA section ). “Solana continues to lead altcoin performance, briefly surpassing $200, boosted by the Block Assembly Marketplace announcement, which introduced enhanced transaction speed and improved network efficiency,” Valentin Fournier, lead research analyst at BRN, said in an email. “The broader market, however, failed to hold its momentum, reflecting increased uncertainty as ETF demand slows.” While charts may point to further declines in the near future, the underlying market remains poised for growth, he said. “Short-term technicals may pressure prices further, but we remain constructive on the cycle overall,” he noted, pointing to institutional and corporate demand as long-term bullish catalysts. Speaking of institutional adoption, JPMorgan is reportedly considering offering loans backed by customer-held crypto assets, such as BTC and ETH, possibly starting as early as next year. Mexico-listed real estate firm Grupo Murano is planning to adopt BTC as a core strategic asset, with an initial investment of $1 billion and a five-year goal to build a $10 billion reserve . In traditional markets, investors pulled money out of leveraged Strategy (MSTR) ETFs while bargain-hunting the 2x short ETF, a sign of reassessment of directional bets. The greenback was bid against major currencies, including the euro and the risk-sensitive Australian dollar. The Bank of Japan reportedly said it will provide U.S. dollar-denominated loans to domestic institutions against pooled collateral, a move aimed at addressing dollar funding stress. Stay alert! What to Watch Crypto July 23, 1 p.m.: Hedera (HBAR) mainnet upgrades to version 0.63. The process is expected to take about 40 minutes, during which network users may experience temporary disruptions. July 23-24: The Root Network (ROOT) mainnet will undergo a technical upgrade (v11.79.0) affecting NFT ownership data storage, requiring some 24 hours of downtime for NFT-related operations like minting, bridging, transferring and marketplace activity to support improved performance and scalability for large-scale collections. Macro July 22, 8:30 a.m.: Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell delivers opening remarks at the Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference in Washington D.C. Livestream link . July 22, 1:00 p.m.: Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman speaks on innovation at the same conference. Livestream link . July 24, 8:15 a.m.: The European Central Bank will announce its interest rate decision, with President Christine Lagarde’s press conference following 30 minutes later. Livestream link . Main Refinancing Operations (MRO) rate Est. 1.9% vs. Prev. 2.15% July 24, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (Flash) July U.S. data on manufacturing and services activity. Composite PMI Prev. 52.9 Manufacturing PMI Est. 52.5 vs. Prev. 52.9 Services PMI Est. 53 vs. Prev. 52.9 Aug. 1, 12:01 a.m.: New U.S. tariffs take effect on imports from trading partners that failed to reach agreements by the July 9 deadline. These increased duties could range from 10% to as high as 70%, impacting a wide range of goods. Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) July 23: Tesla ( TSLA ), post-market, $0.42 July 29: PayPal Holdings ( PYPL ), pre-market, $1.29 July 30: Robinhood Markets ( HOOD ), post-market, $0.30 July 31: Coinbase Global ( COIN ), post-market, $1.35 July 31: Reddit ( RDDT ), post-market, $0.19 Aug. 5: Galaxy Digital ( GLXY ), pre-market Token Events Governance votes & calls Aavegotchi DAO is voting on a $245,000 funding proposal to expand Gotchi Battler into a revenue-generating game with PvE modes, NFTs and battle passes, aiming to reverse declining player numbers, boost GHST utility and create sustainable rewards. Voting ends July 22. Ethereum Name Service DAO is voting on a proposal from Tally to enter a one-year renewable agreement to enhance ENS governance. Voting ends July 22. Rocket Pool DAO is v oting to finalize Saturn 1’s implementation . Approval by a 75% supermajority will ratify key protocol changes, including new transaction designs and a potential revenue share to the pDAO treasury. Voting ends July 24. Lido DAO is voting on a new system that lets validator exits be triggered automatically through the execution layer, not just by node operators. It includes tools for different authorization pathways, emergency controls, and built‑in limits to prevent misuse. The update is expected to make staking more decentralized, secure, and responsive. Voting ends July 28. GnosisDAO is voting on a proposal to provide $30 million per year , paid quarterly, to Gnosis Ltd., now a non-profit, to sustain its ~150‑person team building critical Gnosis Chain infrastructure, products (like Gnosis Pay and Circles), business development, and operations. Voting ends July 28. Aavegotchi DAO is voting on funding three new features for the official decentralized application: a Wearable Lendings UI, Gotchis Batch Lending and a BRS Optimizer. Voting ends July 29. 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. July 29, 10 a.m.: Ether.fi to host a bi-quarterly analyst call. Unlocks July 25: Venom (VENOM) to unlock 2.84% of its circulating supply worth $12.48 million. July 31: Optimism (OP) to unlock 1.79% of its circulating supply worth $23.45 million. Aug. 1: Sui (SUI) to unlock 1.27% of its circulating supply worth $169.38 million. Aug. 2: Ethena (ENA) to unlock 0.64% of its circulating supply worth $19.75 million. Aug. 9: Immutable (IMX) to unlock 1.3% of its circulating supply worth $15.11 million. Aug. 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 1.73% of its circulating supply worth $59.26 million. Token Launches July 22: Binance to open new trading pairs for Ethereum Classic (ETC), The Graph (GRT) and Oasis (ROSE). July 22: KuCoin to list Delphinus Lab (ZKWASM), NoNoCoin (NOC), and Snakes (SNAKES). July 23: Binance Alpha to feature Alliance Games (COA). 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. Day 2 of 2: Malaysia Blockchain Week 2025 (Kuala Lumpur) July 24: Decasonic’s Web3 Investor Day 2025 (Chicago) July 25: Blockchain Summit Global (Montevideo, Uruguay) July 28-29: TWS Conference 2025 (Singapore) 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) Token Talk By Shaurya Malwa PENGU, the Solana-based memecoin linked to Pudgy Penguins, jumped 27% in 24 hours, outperforming every token in the top 100 by market cap and pushing its valuation past $2.4 billion. The move comes alongside a broader resurgence in NFT markets triggered by a single $10 million sweep of 45 CryptoPunks late Sunday by an unknown buyer, which sent Punk floor prices up 17% and went viral across X. As trader sentiment shifted, Pudgy Penguins’ floor price climbed 13% to 16.57 ETH ($63,150) — its highest in months — feeding directly into demand for its memecoin. Pudgy Penguins is an Ethereum-native NFT collection. It launched PENGU on Solana in December to reach new retail audiences. The strategy has paid off: The token is 310% over 30 days and sits at No. 59 by market cap. The NFT ripple also enveloped Bored Ape Yacht Club, which rose 23% to a 13.5 ETH floor, Prediction markets on Myriad give it a 64% chance of holding above 12.75 ETH by the end of the week. Collections like Moonbirds, Azuki, Cool Cats, Goblintown and CryptoDickbutts also posted double-digit floor price gains, marking the largest 24-hour moves for NFTs since early 2024. Derivatives Positioning Open interest in offshore perpetual BTC futures dropped over 0.5% today, a sign traders aren’t chasing the recovery from overnight lows under $116,000. For ETH, OI fell alongside price weakness, signaling profit taking. Perpetual funding rates for major tokens continue to reset to moderately bullish levels near 10% from the 20% and higher seen last week. Bull positioning in PUMP and FART is beginning to look a bit overstretched with annualized funding rates topping 40%. On Deribit, BTC risk reversals out to the August-end expiry have given up the call bias. ETH calls continue to be pricier across all tenors. Block flows over OTC network Paradigm featured call spreads including the December $140K/$200K BTC spread and the August $3.8K/$4.4K ETH spread. Market Movements BTC is up 1.26% from 4 p.m. ET Monday at $118,441.44 (24hrs: unchanged) ETH is down 2.55% at $3,661.35 (24hrs: -3.67%) CoinDesk 20 is down 0.76% at 4,094.63 (24hrs: -1.49%) Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 9 bps at 3.04% BTC funding rate is at 0.0157% (17.2233% annualized) on OKX DXY is unchanged at 97.85 Gold futures are down 0.27% at $3,397.30 Silver futures are down 0.65% at $39.08 Nikkei 225 closed down 0.11% at 39,774.92 Hang Seng closed up 0.54% at 25,130.03 FTSE is unchanged at 9,017.56 Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.64% at 5,308.76 DJIA closed on Monday unchanged at 44,323.07 S&P 500 closed up 0.14% at 6,305.60 Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.38% at 20,974.17 S&P/TSX Composite closed unchanged at 27,317.00 S&P 40 Latin America closed up 0.4% at 2,588.28 U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 1.8 bps at 4.388% E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.13% at 6,336.50 E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.29% at 23,274.00 E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are unchanged at 44,545.00 Bitcoin Stats BTC Dominance: 61.2% (1.04%) Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.03089 (-3.63%) Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 911 EH/s Hashprice (spot): $59.39 Total fees 4.26 BTC / $503,658 CME Futures Open Interest: 154,600 BTC BTC priced in gold: 35.0 oz. BTC vs gold market cap: 9.9% Technical Analysis The CoinDesk 80 Index has carved out a double bottom pattern, hinting at altcoin outperformance ahead. The double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern identified by two troughs separated by a recovery. A move through the trendline connecting the recovery is said to confirm the bullish trend change. Crypto Equities Strategy (MSTR): closed on Monday at $426.28 (+0.72%), +0.65% at $429.06 in pre-market Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $413.63 (-1.47%), +0.42% at $415.36 Circle (CRCL): closed at $216.1 (-3.43%), -3.67% at $208.16 Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $27.45 (+1.18%), +1.89% at $27.97 MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $18.83 (-3.49%), +0.64% at $18.95 Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $14.02 (+1.15%), +1.43% at $14.22 Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $13.27 (-0.6%), +0.45% at $13.33 CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $12.39 (-3.05%), +1.13% at $12.53 CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $26.48 (-1.01%) Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $39.67 (-3.81%), -1.94% at $38.90 Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $33.61 (-11.78%), unchanged in pre-market SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $25.25 (-12.89%), -1.92% at $24.76 ETF Flows Spot BTC ETFs Daily net flows: -$131.4 million Cumulative net flows: $54.59 billion Total BTC holdings ~1.3 million Spot ETH ETFs Daily net flows: $296.5 million Cumulative net flows: $7.8 billion Total ETH holdings ~5.05 million Source: Farside Investors Overnight Flows Chart of the Day The chart shows daily trading volume on the Solana-based decentralized exchange Raydium. The activity remains depressed despite BTC clocking record highs and altcoins catching a bid. That contrasts starkly with previous bull runs, which generated windfall gains for the DEX in terms of trading volumes. While You Were Sleeping Trump Media’s $2B Bitcoin Buy Challenges Halving Cycle Wisdom of BTC Peaking in 2025 (CoinDesk): The pro-crypto U.S. presidency may help bitcoin defy its usual boom-bust cycle, while Trump Media’s $2 billion investment could signal a strategic bet on monetary easing and dollar weakness. Cathie Wood’s ARK Loads Up on Ether Treasury Bet Bitmine Immersion (CoinDesk): Across its ETFs, ARK invested $116 million in ETH treasury firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) with a 4.4 million-share purchase while cutting its Coinbase stake by $90.6 million. Bank of England Considers Shelving Plans for a Digital Pound (Bloomberg): BoE chief Andrew Bailey remains unconvinced a retail CBDC is needed, with a final decision on the project deferred until the current design phase concludes. JPMorgan Explores Lending Against Clients’ Cryptocurrency (Financial Times): The bank may begin lending against bitcoin and ether in 2026, people familiar with the plans said, following earlier steps to accept crypto ETF holdings as collateral. Solana Breaks $200 as Jito’s BAM Draws Bullish Bets (CoinDesk): A new system for private, programmable transaction sequencing has boosted confidence in Solana’s infrastructure, drawing investor interest amid rising developer activity and optimism around long-term network utility. How China Curbed Its Oil Addiction — and Blunted a U.S. Pressure Point (The Wall Street Journal): Fearing U.S. disruption of foreign oil supplies, China poured billions into electric-vehicle production and extreme-depth drilling to replace imports with homegrown energy and reduce economic vulnerability. In the Ether

Source: CoinDesk