Crypto Price Analysis 8-4: BITCOIN: BTC, ETHEREUM: ETH, SOLANA: SOL, UNISWAP: UNI, ONDO FINANCE: ONDO

The crypto market has started the week positively, with Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies trading in the green. BTC fell below $114,000 on Sunday as bearish sentiment intensified over the weekend. However, it rebounded to reclaim $114,000 and reach an intraday high of $114,886 early in today’s session before registering a marginal decline and moving to its current level of $114,238. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) rebounded to reclaim $3,500 and move to $3,526, up over 2%. Ripple (XRP) is up almost 5%, trading around $2.97 as it looks to reclaim the $3 mark. Solana (SOL) is up nearly 1%, trading around $162, while Dogecoin (DOGE) is up over 2%, trading around $0.199. Cardano (ADA) is also trading in positive territory, up 2.52% at $0.732. Stellar (XLM) , Chainlink (LINK) , Hedera (HBAR) , Litecoin (LTC) , and Polkadot (DOT) also registered notable increases. However, Toncoin (TON) traded in the red, down almost 2%. CitiGroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Lead Blockchain Pivot Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Japan’s SBI Group have been at the forefront of traditional finance’s (TradFi) blockchain push. According to a report by Ripple and CB Insights, traditional financial institutions (TradFi) behemoths have backed several blockchain startups, thereby expanding their footprint in the ecosystem. The report states that global banks made over 345 investments in blockchain companies, with several in early-stage funding rounds. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs led with 18 deals each, while JPMorgan and Mitsubishi UFJ made 15 investments each. The report also focused on mega deals worth over $100 million. Banks contributed to 33 “mega deals” in a four-year window, pumping capital into firms focused on trading infrastructure, tokenization, custody, and payment solutions. Examples include CloudWalk, which raised over $750 million across two rounds backed by Banco Itau and others. Solaris, a German company, also secured over $100 million in a funding round led by the SBI Group. Arkham Intelligence Claims To Have Uncovered Crypto’s Biggest Heist Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has retroactively uncovered the biggest heist in crypto history. According to the intelligence platform, a $3.5 billion hack of a Chinese Bitcoin mining pool was discovered dating back to 2020. According to Arkham, LuBian, a Chinese mining pool operator, was hacked on December 8, 2020, with hackers draining 127,426 BTC, worth around $14.5 billion at current market prices. However, Lubian was able to save around 11,886 BTC by moving them to new addresses. Arkham believes the attack occurred through a brute-force attack to access the private keys. GENIUS Act Vague On Foreign Rules The GENIUS Act is the first comprehensive regulatory framework for US-issued stablecoins, with proponents arguing that it enhances trust, drives mainstream adoption, and bolsters the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency. The GENIUS Act could also benefit developing economies, attract institutional interest, and reinvigorate the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. However, critics have highlighted several concerns. These include the regulation of foreign issuers, doubts about the ban on yield-bearing stablecoins, and the potential dominance of corporate and traditional finance players. Christian Catalini, founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, stated, “Banks, fintechs, and even large retailers — essentially anyone with significant consumer or institutional distribution — will all be considering issuing their own stablecoin.” According to the Atlantic Council, the GENIUS Act has a major weakness called the Tether Loophole. The US-based think tank argued that the US stablecoin law failed to adequately regulate offshore stablecoin issuers. The act imposes strict rules on reserves, financial disclosures, and sanctions compliance, putting local issuers at a significant competitive disadvantage, potentially encouraging them to incorporate their operations in less demanding offshore jurisdictions. Timothy Massad, research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, bluntly stated, “The foreign issuer loophole was not sufficiently fixed.” The GENIUS Act requires foreign stablecoin issuers to meet standards “comparable” to those of US-based stablecoin issuers. However, it fails to define what qualifies as “comparable.” Christopher Perkins, President of CoinFund, stated that regulated US stablecoins give users the confidence that their holdings are fully backed, clearing the way for more issuers to set up shop in the US. “I think many investors will choose the onshore regulated version of stablecoins because of the incremental confidence they deliver.” Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis Bitcoin (BTC) has started the week in positive territory after reversing its losses on Sunday to end the weekend above $114,000. The flagship cryptocurrency faced substantial selling pressure last week. Selling pressure intensified as the week drew to a close, with the price dropping almost 2% on Thursday. Sellers retained control on Friday as BTC fell over 2%, dropping to a low of $112,792. The price continued declining on Saturday, dropping almost 1% before rebounding on Sunday. According to on-chain data, BTC’s decline over the weekend saw hodlers across the board sell their assets as the flagship cryptocurrency dipped below $112,000. According to data from analytics platform CryptoQuant, new investors and Bitcoin whales were sending their BTC to exchanges as prices fell. According to the platform, short-term holders (STHs) sent 40,000 BTC to exchanges on August 1. This was the largest figure sent to exchanges since July 15. Exchange activity also registered a substantial jump on August 1, as net inflows hit 16,417 BTC. A CryptoQuant “Quicktake” post noted, “Conversely, the Exchange Whale Ratio indicator rose to levels exceeding 0.70, meaning that most of these deposits were from whales. When large deposits coincide with whales dominating these deposits, the market typically enters a phase of selling pressure and rapid decline. If whales continue to deposit Bitcoin to exchanges at the same pace, further pressure on the Bitcoin price is expected.” Monthly average BTC inflows have increased gradually, with daily inflows rising from around 5,500 BTC to 7,000 BTC. CryptoQuant contributor Darkfrost stated, “Since early July, the monthly average of BTC inflows to Binance has been steadily rising again. Daily inflows have increased from around 5,300 BTC to 7,000 BTC today, marking a consistent rise over the past month. While this rise isn’t particularly sharp yet, it ends a prolonged downtrend, which had been in place since March, suggesting a shift in investor behavior.” Market experts called BTC’s weekend price action unusual, highlighting that weekends are illiquid and have wider spreads. “Very sizeable quoting like this on a weekend spells out that a very large player needed to bail out of risk before Sunday, next week. Not your average weekend price action. Since weekends are often more illiquid and have wider spreads, this means a desk would have to quote sufficient liquidity to facilitate a large client selling off that risk without causing the market to slip.” BTC registered a sharp decline on Friday (July 25), plunging to an intraday low of $114,779 as it started the previous weekend in the red. The price rebounded from this level to reclaim $117,000, settling at $117,565, ultimately registering a 0.69% drop. The price recovered over the weekend, rising 0.24% on Saturday and 1.31% on Sunday to reclaim $119,000 and settle at $119,398. BTC was back in the red on Monday, dropping 1.11% to $118,069. The price registered a marginal drop on Tuesday before falling to a low of 115,772 on Wednesday. BTC recovered from this level to reclaim $117,000 and settle at $117,788, ultimately registering a marginal drop. Source: TradingView Sellers retained control on Thursday as BTC fell 1.69% and settled at $115,800. Bearish sentiment intensified on Friday as the price dropped over 2%, falling to a low of $112,792 before settling at $113,365. BTC continued falling on Saturday, dropping almost 1% and settling at $112,601. The price fell below $112,000 on Monday as sellers attempted to drive the price lower. However, it rebounded to reclaim $112,000 and settle at $114,311, ultimately registering an increase of 1.52%. The current session sees BTC marginally up, trading around $114,727. Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis Ethereum (ETH) rebounded sharply on Sunday, reclaiming $3,500 after facing substantial selling pressure last week. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency plunged almost 6% on Friday, slipping below $3,500 to $3,488. Selling pressure persisted as the price dropped 2.72% on Saturday to settle at $3,393. However, markets began showing signs of recovery on Sunday and ETH successfully reclaimed key levels to settle at $3,500. Despite last week’s decline, ETH has continued attracting institutional interest. SharpLink Gaming continued its aggressive Ethereum acquisition strategy, completing the purchase of 15,822 ETH worth over $53 million. Data from Lookonchain shows that SharpLink spent $108 million over the preceding two days, completing the acquisition of 30,755 ETH at an average price of $3,530 per coin. SharpLink has modeled its Ethereum acquisition strategy on Strategy’s Bitcoin playbook, using capital markets to build its ETH treasury. The firm has completed several funding rounds, including a $425 million private placement in May and $413 million through a share issuance in July. Competition among ETH treasury companies is growing, with SharpLink and Bitmine Immersion Technologies emerging as key players. SharpLink briefly became the largest corporate holder of ETH, surpassing the Ethereum Foundation. However, it was soon overtaken by the Peter Thiel-backed Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which holds 625,000 ETH. ETH started the previous weekend in positive territory, registering a marginal increase on Friday despite facing selling pressure. Price action remained positive over the weekend as ETH rose 0.46% on Saturday and 3.52% on Sunday, crossing $3,800 and settling at $3,875. Despite the positive weekend, ETH was back in the red on Monday, dropping over 2% to $3,797. The price faced volatility on Tuesday as buyers and sellers struggled to establish control. Sellers ultimately gained the upper hand as ETH registered a marginal drop to $3,795. The price recovered on Wednesday, rising 0.42% to reclaim $3,800 and settle at $3,811. Source: TradingView Selling pressure returned on Thursday as ETH fell almost 3% and settled at $3,688. Bearish sentiment intensified on Friday as the price dropped 5.68%, slipping below $3,500 and settling at $3,488. Sellers retained control on Saturday with ETH dropping nearly 3% and settling at $3,393. Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, ETH recovered on Sunday, rising over 3% to reclaim $3,500. The current session sees the price continue pushing higher, up 1.56% at $3,553. Solana (SOL) Price Analysis Solana (SOL) plunged below $160 over the weekend as selling pressure intensified substantially. The altcoin dropped 5.57% on Friday and nearly 3% on Saturday, settling at $158 before rebounding and reclaiming $160 on Sunday. SOL registered a significant drop on Friday (July 25) as it fell to an intraday low of $175. However, it rebounded from this level to reclaim $180 and settle at $186, ultimately registering a 2.13% increase. Price action was mixed over the weekend as SOL fell 0.99% on Saturday and then rose 2% on Sunday to settle at $188. SOL reached an intraday high of $195 on Monday. However, it lost momentum after reaching this level and dropped over 3% to $183. Sellers retained control on Tuesday as the price fell 0.84% to $181. SOL fell to an intraday low of $170 on Wednesday before recovering to settle at $177, ultimately dropping 2.06%. Source: TradingView Sellers retained control on Thursday as SOL fell over 3% and settled at $172. Selling pressure intensified on Friday as SOL plunged 5.57%, slipping below $170 and settling at $162, but not before dropping to an intraday low of $159. Bearish sentiment persisted on Saturday as the price fell 2.57% to $158. Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, SOL recovered on Sunday, rising over 2% to reclaim $160 and settle at $162. The current session sees SOL up over 1%, trading around $163. Uniswap (UNI) Price Analysis Uniswap (UNI) faced substantial selling pressure last week as it fell below key levels and moving averages. The altcoin slipped below $10 on Wednesday and fell to a low of $8.69 by Saturday. However, it recovered on Sunday, rising 4.48% to end the weekend in positive territory at $9.15. UNI started the previous weekend in positive territory, rising almost 3% on Friday (July 25) and settling at $10.42. Buyers retained control over the weekend as the price rose 1.20% on Saturday and 4% on Sunday to settle at $11. Despite the positive sentiment, UNI was back in the red on Monday, dropping 5.41% and settling at $10.40. Sellers retained control on Tuesday as the price fell nearly 1% to $10.31. UNI plunged to an intraday low of $9.58 on Wednesday as selling pressure intensified. It rebounded from this level to settle at $9.99, ultimately registering a 3.04% drop. Source: TradingView Bearish sentiment persisted on Thursday as UNI fell over 6%, slipping below $9.50 and settling at $9.35. The price fell to an intraday low of $8.85 before recovering to reclaim $9 and settle at $9.04, ultimately dropping 3.36%. Sellers retained control on Saturday as UNI dropped 3.16%, slipping below $9 and settling at $8.75. Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, UNI recovered on Sunday, rising 4.48% to reclaim $9 and settle at $9.15. The current session sees UNI up over 2%, trading around $9.34. Ondo Finance (ONDO) Price Analysis Ondo Finance (ONDO) dropped to an intraday low of $0.979 on Friday (July 25). The price rebounded from this level to reclaim $1 and settle at $1.03, ultimately rising 1.92%. Price action remained positive over the weekend as ONDO rose 0.42% on Saturday and 2.52% on Sunday to settle at $1.06. Despite the positive weekend, ONDO was back in the red on Monday, dropping over 7%, slipping below $1 to $0.992. Sellers retained control on Tuesday as the price fell 3.34% to $0.959. ONDO fell to an intraday low of $0.901 on Wednesday as selling pressure intensified. However, it rebounded to settle at $0.945, ultimately dropping 1.48%. Source: TradingView ONDO reached an intraday high of $1 on Thursday as buyers attempted to regain control. However, it lost momentum after reaching this level and dropped to $0.918, a drop of almost 3%. The price continued declining on Friday, dropping over 3% and settling at $0.889. Sellers retained control on Saturday as ONDO fell 1.65%, dropping to a low of $0.844 before settling at $0.874. Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, ONDO recovered on Sunday, rising over 5% to reclaim $0.90 and settle at $0.921. The current session sees the price marginally up as buyers and sellers struggle to establish control. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Source: Crypto Daily