The market finally exhaled, Ethereum turned 11: The question is whether it can hold its breath again

The market finally exhaled, Ethereum turned 11: The question is whether it can hold its breath again

The crypto space climbed 1.1 per cent to US$2.21 trillion in the last 24 hours. What caught my eye first was where the demand concentrated. Layer 1 tokens led the charge, with the category gaining 1.45 per cent and outperforming the broader landscape. Ethereum and Solana dominated social media conversations, and the timing was no accident. Ethereum celebrated its 11th anniversary on the same day, and posts commemorating the mainnet launch generated a wave of bullish energy across trading communities.

This was not some manufactured hype cycle. People were genuinely reflecting on what Ethereum has built over more than a decade, and that reflective mood translated into real purchasing activity. Capital rotated into these core protocol assets in a way that signals a risk-on shift within crypto itself, not just a mindless beta play riding external momentum. I find that encouraging because it suggests participants are making deliberate allocation choices rather than simply chasing whatever ticks up first.

The supporting conditions around this advance also tell a compelling story. Bitcoin liquidations plunged 62 per cent over 24 hours to just US$22.55 million. Read that number again. When forced selling dries up to that degree, it removes a persistent ceiling that had previously capped attempts at prolonged upward movement.

Traders who might have been squeezed out of positions simply were not there to create that downward weight. The market had room to breathe, and it used that room effectively. A cleaner base with less leverage hanging over it gives any climb more legitimacy, and I believe we are watching exactly that unfold.

No honest assessment of this session can ignore the macro backdrop, because crypto did not advance in isolation. The correlation between digital assets and the S&P 500 hit 76 per cent over the past 24 hours, while the correlation with Gold reached 79 per cent. Those are high numbers, and they confirm this was a broad, macro-driven rotation rather than something unique to the blockchain world. Wall Street rebounded with force after a bruising stretch.

The Nasdaq jumped 2.8 per cent to snap a six-day losing streak. The S&P 500 climbed 1.7 per cent to 7,437.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 613.92 points, or 1.2 per cent, to close at 52,208.06. Microsoft alone skyrocketed 16 per cent after robust cloud and Azure results eased investor anxiety over artificial intelligence spending, adding a record US$450 billion in market value in one session.

Chip stocks followed suit, with Micron Technology soaring 18 per cent and Advanced Micro Devices climbing over 13 per cent. Across the Pacific, South Korea’s Kospi Index rocketed by up to 15 per cent in a historic intraday rebound powered by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped over 5 per cent.

When traditional markets rally with that kind of determination, crypto benefits from the improved liquidity environment, and pretending otherwise would be intellectually dishonest. I view this correlation as a positive for now because it means digital assets are participating in a genuine global risk-on rotation rather than floating untethered from reality.

Looking ahead, the technical picture presents a clear test. The total market cap sits right at the US$2.21 trillion pivot point, and the immediate hurdle is the 23.6 per cent Fibonacci level at US$2.23 trillion, with a stronger barrier at the recent swing high of US$2.26 trillion.

If buyers can push through that zone, the advance gains real credibility. If they cannot, we likely return to the range-bound trading that has defined recent weeks. For Ethereum specifically, analysts point to US$1,975 as the key breakout level that could open a path toward US$2,300. I will be watching that threshold closely because a decisive reclaim there would confirm the anniversary-driven enthusiasm has legs beyond a single news cycle.

One event looms large over the next 24 hours and could inject significant volatility into the picture. Over US$10.5 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options expire on July 31. That is an enormous notional amount, and an expiry of this magnitude has historically created sharp price swings as market makers adjust their hedges and positions roll over.

The climb we witnessed could either accelerate through expiry as bullish positioning reinforces itself, or it could stall and reverse as profit-taking meets the mechanical selling that large expiries often generate. I lean toward the former given the reduced liquidation environment, but I would not bet the house on it.

My overall read is cautiously bullish, and I use the word cautiously deliberately. The ingredients for a lasting push higher are present. Narrative-driven demand in Layer 1 tokens gives the run a story and a reason to exist beyond pure speculation. The macro backdrop broadly supports risk assets.

Leverage has flushed out, leaving a healthier structure underneath. But translating one good day into a trend requires follow-through, and the US$2.23 trillion to US$2.26 trillion barrier will demand exactly that. Social mood can ignite a move, but only continued capital inflow can carry it through meaningful overhead supply.

All things considered, this session felt like the market exhaling after holding its breath for too long. The combination of Ethereum’s milestone, Solana’s continued relevance, a dramatic drop in forced selling, and a powerful global equity rebound created conditions where buyers finally had permission to step in. Whether they maintain that confidence through a massive options expiry and into next week remains the open question. But for now, the tape looks constructive, the narrative feels organic, and the macro winds are at our backs.

 

Source: https://e27.co/the-market-finally-exhaled-ethereum-turned-11-the-question-is-whether-it-can-hold-its-breath-again-20260731/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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Is the US$63,619 Fibonacci level strong enough to prevent a total unwind back down to US$62,498?

Is the US$63,619 Fibonacci level strong enough to prevent a total unwind back down to US$62,498?

The global cryptocurrency market experienced a profound structural shift over the past 24 hours, staging a major relief rally that directly challenged recent bearish momentum. Bitcoin led the charge, surging 4.10 per cent to reach a spot price of US$64,884.04 and outperforming the broader digital asset market, which posted a robust 3.71 per cent increase.

This sudden influx of buying pressure pushed the aggregate crypto market capitalisation up by 3.43 per cent, bringing the ecosystem’s total valuation to an impressive US$2.22T. Unlike isolated, native crypto events that occasionally spark volatility, this collective upward movement stemmed directly from external macroeconomic forces, signalling a tightening bond between digital assets and traditional financial markets.

The broader investment landscape witnessed a highly synchronised cross-asset response, with a remarkable 91 per cent correlation between cryptocurrency movements and the S&P 500 index and an 81 per cent correlation with Gold. These historically high statistical alignments indicate that digital assets are currently trading as a high-beta vehicle, deeply sensitive to global interest-rate expectations and broader dollar liquidity conditions.

The primary catalyst behind this aggressive market expansion was the highly anticipated release of the June United States Consumer Price Index data on July 14. In a surprise twist that caught many market participants off guard, the inflation print fell 0.4 per cent on a monthly basis due to lower energy costs, a metric that came in significantly cooler than the initial -0.1 per cent forecast.

This unexpected contraction cooled annual inflation down to a steady 3.5 per cent, delivering a massive wave of macro relief to participants who had previously feared aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Because high interest rates typically drain liquidity from highly speculative, risk-on asset classes, this sudden disinflationary evidence sparked immediate expectations of future central bank rate cuts.

Traditional tech stocks and digital assets surged in tandem as capital rapidly rotated back into growth-oriented plays. For Bitcoin, this macro development reinforces its ongoing role as a sensitive atmospheric gauge of global monetary policy, meaning that any fundamental shift in the broader interest-rate outlook can trigger massive overnight capital reallocations.

While the fundamental shift in macroeconomic sentiment laid the groundwork for the rally, the price action accelerated into a violent move due to a massive leveraged short squeeze in the derivatives markets. Traders who had positioned themselves aggressively for further downside were caught completely off guard by the positive inflation data, triggering a fierce feedback loop of forced buying.

Over the 24-hour window, the market saw a staggering US$104.12 million in Bitcoin positions wiped out by liquidations, with short sellers bearing the brunt, accounting for US$99.41 million of that total. This rapid cascading failure of short positions forced algorithmic buying engines to purchase spot and futures contracts at prevailing market rates to close out bankrupt accounts, adding immense artificial rocket fuel to the organic demand.

To complicate matters for bears, the average funding rate across major exchanges surged by an astronomical 158.42 per cent during this brief period, indicating an immediate and aggressive influx of bullish leverage as market participants scrambled to chase the breakout.

Simultaneously, the digital asset ecosystem enjoyed a healthy dose of sector leadership and speculative flow distribution that extended far beyond Bitcoin alone. Ethereum spearheaded this internal rotation by posting a notable 5.8 per cent weekly gain, significantly outperforming Bitcoin’s 2.02 per cent weekly return. This capital divergence was heavily amplified by social media chatter that framed Ethereum as a form of sound money uniquely positioned to thrive in a lower-rate economic environment, quickly establishing the Layer 1 narrative as the top-trending sector in the industry.

This speculative appetite was further validated by a massive 107 per cent surge in overall derivatives volume, alongside a steady rise in open interest, indicating that fresh institutional and retail capital was actively flowing into leveraged altcoin positions. This distinct shift in internal market dynamics indicates that the 24-hour rally was not merely a passive, index-wide response to stock market trends but rather a calculated rotation into major alternative assets, which could signal a sustained period of altcoin momentum if the Ethereum-to-Bitcoin ratio continues to strengthen.

From a strict technical and structural standpoint, the near-term market outlook remains distinctively bullish but faces immediate hurdles that will test the true conviction of spot buyers. Bitcoin successfully broke above its critical 7-day Simple Moving Average of US$63,476 and is currently working to solidify the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level near US$63,619 as a new baseline of technical support.

If the asset can decisively hold its ground above this pivotal US$63,619 line, the immediate path of least resistance points directly toward the 23.6 per cent Fibonacci retracement level located at US$65,006. Analysts must remain cautious, as 24-hour spot trading volume decreased by 21.33 per cent during this breakout, indicating a slight divergence between price appreciation and absolute spot market participation.

A failure to attract consistent spot buying volume at these elevated levels could lead to a rapid unwind of recent leveraged gains, potentially triggering a swift technical pullback toward the 50 per cent Fibonacci support level anchored at US$62,498.

Looking at the digital asset market as a collective whole, the aggregate valuation is currently testing a monumental technical resistance ceiling at US$2.25T, a level that represents the recent swing high for the total crypto market cap.

The immediate future of this macro-driven momentum now hinges entirely on the upcoming Producer Price Index data scheduled for release on July 15. If the incoming wholesale inflation figures confirm the disinflationary trajectory established by the Consumer Price Index print, the market will likely gain the fundamental backing needed to clear the US$2.25T barrier.

A successful technical breakout above this overhead supply zone would officially open the doors for a broader market expansion targeting the US$2.31T to US$2.38T extension zone. If the wholesale inflation data springs an unpleasant surprise on investors, the market may face a stern technical rejection at the current ceiling, resulting in a healthy period of consolidation or a temporary retreat down to the well-established US$2.14T to US$2.20T support band.

This rapid market recovery proves that while internal crypto mechanics like short liquidations and sector rotations dictate the immediate velocity of price moves, global macroeconomic liquidity remains the ultimate puppet master of valuation. The immediate trading bias for the market leans toward continued bullish momentum, but this optimistic outlook demands absolute validation beyond a single day of frantic short covering.

To transform this sharp relief rally into a legitimate, long-term market recovery, Bitcoin must comfortably sustain its position above the US$63,619 technical floor while simultaneously attracting consistent, positive institutional exchange-traded fund inflows in the coming days.

Investors must closely monitor both the immediate technical pivot points and the incoming wholesale inflation data, as the tension between overhead technical resistance and shifting global interest rate expectations will determine whether this impressive rally marks the beginning of a prolonged expansion or simply a temporary pause in a broader macroeconomic correction.

 

 

Source: https://e27.co/is-the-us63619-fibonacci-level-strong-enough-to-prevent-a-total-unwind-back-down-to-us62498-20260715/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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The Independence Day crypto puzzle: Up or down?

The Independence Day crypto puzzle: Up or down?

When you look at the digital asset market, it has climbed 2.47 per cent to reach a total capitalisation of US$2.13 trillion in 24 hours. You might mistake this sudden upward movement for a fundamental shift in blockchain utility. I want to say this again: this is a classic macroeconomic relief rally.

Weak United States employment figures reduced expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes. This shift prompted traders to rotate capital into risk assets. The current market dynamics reflect shifting interest-rate expectations rather than any intrinsic evolution in decentralised network technologies. We see speculative capital chasing yields in a traditional financial system struggling with persistent inflation and uncertain monetary policy.

The primary catalyst for this rotation stems directly from disappointing economic data from the United States. The government reported that June payrolls grew by a mere 57,000 jobs. This figure represents 50 per cent of the projected 113,000. Authorities also revised the prior months downward. This weak data, combined with dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh about easing inflation risks, forced institutional traders to rapidly reprice their rate-hike expectations.

Consequently, capital flooded into digital assets and other alternative risk vehicles. This macroeconomic shift also explains the striking 86 per cent correlation we currently observe between Bitcoin and gold. Gold recently surged back above US$4,100. Investors clearly view both assets as inflation hedges against a weakening fiat system. The United States dollar subsequently slid against every major developed market currency. The dollar experienced a sharp bounce against the yen as global markets pared bets on near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Traditional equity markets experienced severe fragmentation during this same period. This fragmentation highlights the broader risk rotation. Technology indices took a hit while defensive sectors absorbed fleeing capital. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.6 per cent, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.4 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the negative trend and rose 1.1 per cent to claim a new record high.

The technology sector sell-off drove the SOXX index down 11.6 per cent over just two consecutive sessions. Major chipmakers led this decline. Applied Materials dropped 7.3 per cent. Micron fell 5.4 per cent. Intel sank 5.2 per cent. Investors clearly abandoned overvalued technology trades in favour of safety. Defensive sectors, including healthcare, consumer staples, utilities, and materials, all logged notable gains exceeding 2 per cent. This equity market behaviour perfectly mirrors the crypto relief rally. Both markets react identically to shifting Federal Reserve policy probabilities.

Treasury yields retreated following the employment miss. This retreat illustrates the repricing of interest rates. The two-year yield dropped four basis points to settle at 4.13 per cent. The 10-year finished slightly higher at 4.447 per cent. These bond market movements directly influence the daily liquidity available for speculative assets like cryptocurrency. When bond yields fall, the opportunity cost of holding yield-free assets decreases.

This decrease encourages capital to flow back into high-beta investments. This liquidity dynamic explains why the digital asset market reacted so violently to the jobs report. The combination of sliding treasury yields, a weakening dollar, and dovish central bank rhetoric creates a perfect storm for speculative digital assets. The underlying fundamental drivers stay constant during these macroeconomic shifts.

Within the digital asset ecosystem, capital rapidly flowed into high-beta sectors. This flow created a broad rally beyond the initial macroeconomic spark. The Ethereum ecosystem emerged as the top-performing narrative. It surged 16.7 per cent and contributed significantly to the overall market gains. Social sentiment platforms highlighted a generational opportunity for the asset. News outlets extensively covered its 2026 roadmap, focusing heavily on privacy and scaling upgrades. This intense buying pressure demonstrates how quickly liquidity rotates into existing layer-1 networks when macroeconomic conditions improve.

We must also acknowledge the deeply speculative nature of this liquidity injection. Tokens with minimal fundamental utility experienced explosive rallies from massive volume. These extreme price movements underscore the gambling nature of speculative financial activities. Participants actively chase outsized returns in deeply oversold altcoins.

The market faces immediate and critical resistance at the US$2.15 trillion pivot point. This level aligns with the 50 per cent Fibonacci retracement level. A daily close above this threshold could open the door to the US$2.18 trillion to US$2.21 trillion resistance range. Fragility defines the current relief rally.

A failure to hold the US$2.04 trillion to US$2.09 trillion support zone risks a swift retest of the yearly low at US$2.04 trillion. The most crucial near-term trigger for sustaining this upward momentum lies in the release of United States spot Bitcoin ETF flow data. Continued institutional outflows will undoubtedly cap any meaningful upside potential. We need to see these ETF flows turn positive to provide the continuous demand required to challenge higher resistance levels.

Global markets outside the United States present a similarly complex picture as investors digest the shifting macroeconomic landscape. Asian indices experienced mixed performance, featuring a distinct shift away from overvalued artificial intelligence-related trades. Regional investors now await further signals on United States rates and energy output from the upcoming OPEC meeting.

The Independence Day holiday closes United States markets. This closure reduces liquidity and exacerbates price volatility in both traditional and digital asset markets. This temporary reduction in daily trading volume means that current price levels might not reflect true market consensus. We must approach the week surrounding the holiday with extreme caution. Thin order books can lead to exaggerated price swings in either direction.

 

Source: https://e27.co/the-independence-day-crypto-puzzle-up-or-down-20260703/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

j j j