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Bitcoin holds US$63,500 as stocks rally: Which market tells the truth?

Bitcoin holds US$63,500 as stocks rally: Which market tells the truth?

Global financial markets experienced a dynamic start to August as investors navigated shifting geopolitical landscapes and evolving technological environments. American equities kicked off the month on a remarkably strong note. This momentum pushed the Dow Industrials to a closing record high. Signs of de-escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran pulled down crude costs and Treasury yields during a busy week for corporate earnings and economic data releases.

Energy commodities settled down about 5.0 per cent after the President announced on Sunday that negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would take place on Monday. Iran immediately disputed that officials planned any such talks. This sudden drop in fuel costs helped push government bond yields lower. Market participants simultaneously continued to gauge the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike should the regional conflict continue for a prolonged period.

Sector performance highlighted this shifting sentiment. Communication services emerged as the top-performing among the 11 major Standard and Poor’s divisions. This segment climbed 4.3 per cent on the back of significant gains from Meta Platforms and Alphabet. Technology giants continue to drive immense value creation across modern equity benchmarks. Energy dropped 1.2 per cent, making it the worst performer of the session.

Asian bourses made cautious gains at the start of trading as buyers followed the global rally. Crude costs held near the lowest levels in weeks while the regional conflict remained at a stalemate. The broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 per cent. South Korean equities led the regional charge by rallying as much as 2.1 per cent. Japan experienced a slight pullback as the benchmark index slid 0.3 per cent. Meanwhile, futures nudged 0.1 per cent higher.

Virtual currencies displayed remarkable resilience during this period of volatility in traditional equities. Blockchain tokens moved slightly lower in early sessions but largely decoupled from the aggressive stock swing. This divergence maintained a solid macro foundation for the alternative wealth class. The premier cryptocurrency fluctuated around US$63,500. This represented a 0.4 per cent decline after the coin encountered minor resistance near the US$64,000 threshold.

The second-largest network token traded slightly lower at US$1,840. Institutional interest remained incredibly high despite these minor price fluctuations. One prominent technology company announced its holdings reached 5.8 million tokens. This massive accumulation now makes up 4.8 per cent of the global supply. Crypto equities successfully leveraged the broader tech bounce. Proxy stocks like Galaxy Digital and Robinhood gained between 4 per cent and 5 per cent during the session.

The virtual currency ecosystem also faced several distinct challenges alongside these institutional triumphs. One prominent corporate strategy entity sold another US$105 million worth of crypto holdings last week. This same entity repurchased US$81.2 million of STRC. Security concerns also rattled buyers after a massive exploit drained US$116 million from the network. Hackers compromised a popular hardware wallet solution and stole 1,816 coins across 5,200 unique addresses. This specific breach devastated the community because the exploit affected hyper-secure cold storage wallets.

Mining operations faced severe financial headwinds as well. One prominent mining enterprise supported by the former president posted its third straight loss. This business lost US$57 million in the second quarter as the underlying coin fell 14 per cent during the exact same period. Operational efficiency remains absolutely critical for survival within this highly competitive extraction sector.

Peer-to-peer exchange protocols achieved a historic milestone that fundamentally alters the market structure. These onchain venues accounted for more than 24 per cent of spot cryptocurrency volume for the very first time. This achievement rapidly narrows the gap with traditional order books. The ratio of peer-to-peer to traditional spot volume reached a record 24 per cent in July. This figure jumped seven percentage points from the 17 per cent recorded a year earlier.

A prominent crypto news outlet reported this metric on August 3. Analysts calculated this data by separating spot activity on major protocols such as Uniswap and Aerodrome from futures and derivatives activity. Falling volume on traditional venues drove this increase in onchain market share.

A leading financial news publication noted that sharp declines in traditional spot activity forced major companies to cut staff. Buyers increasingly shift their operations to self-custodial alternatives. Total spot exchange volume stood at US$670 billion. This figure represents the lowest level in the past 12 months and drops sharply from an annual peak of US$2.23 trillion. Such dramatic volume contractions highlight the urgent need for better user experiences across all trading venues.

I view this structural shift toward peer-to-peer protocols as a profoundly positive development for the entire virtual currency ecosystem. Traditional order books dominated the early years of this industry and often operated with opaque internal practices. The current migration forces these legacy institutions to innovate or face extinction.

I strongly hope to see intense rivalry emerge across the sector. Clashes between newer systems like Hyperliquid and Aster against established networks like Uniswap and Aave will directly benefit everyday users through lower fees and better execution. We need fresh challengers to disrupt legacy giants just as traditional finance relies on fierce contests to drive progress.

New applications that challenge older codebases will drive continuous technical improvements and stronger security measures. Upgrades at onchain venues already helped expand their market share significantly. This relentless drive for innovation ensures the long-term survival and mainstream adoption of open finance. A mature monetary system requires robust contests to thrive and protect consumer interests. Market participants must embrace this evolution to build a stronger and more transparent global architecture for future generations.

Traditional banking institutions continue to monitor these on-chain developments with great interest. Major lenders are now exploring blockchain integration to streamline their cross-border payment systems. This institutional curiosity validates the underlying technology powering these new monetary protocols. Regulators also pay close attention to these shifting market dynamics.

Clear regulatory frameworks will eventually provide the necessary stability for mainstream capital to enter the open ecosystem. Buyers must carefully balance their portfolios between established traditional assets and emerging virtual innovations. Smart capital allocation strategies will dictate success in this rapidly evolving landscape. Investors who recognise the profound implications of decentralised ledger technology will position themselves advantageously for the next major economic cycle.

 

Source: https://e27.co/bitcoin-holds-us63500-as-stocks-rally-which-market-tells-the-truth-20260804/

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”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

Why I am leaning Ethereum over Bitcoin right now despite the hype

Why I am leaning Ethereum over Bitcoin right now despite the hype

The crypto market woke up on August 3 with a modest but telling pair of gains. Bitcoin climbed 0.55 per cent to US$63,220.03 over the past 24 hours while Ethereum advanced 1.07 per cent to US$1,871.70. The broader sector added 0.70 per cent. On the surface, these figures suggest a quiet recovery. Dig beneath them and a far more complex picture emerges, one shaped by leveraged speculation, geopolitical relief, and a fragile institutional backdrop that could shift at the first sign of macro turbulence. This moment is not a genuine turning point but a tense equilibrium in which traders are placing bets ahead of catalysts that have not yet materialised.

Bitcoin tells the more cautionary story. The single most striking data point is the 34.4 per cent surge in perpetual futures open interest to US$372.31B within one day. The average funding rate more than doubled to +0.0075 per cent. These numbers reveal that traders are aggressively rebuilding long positions and paying a premium to maintain them. In plain terms, the market is borrowing heavily to push prices higher. I find this deeply significant because it suggests the current uptick is supported by very little organic spot demand. When leverage drives price action, the rally tends to be fast and brittle. A sudden shift in sentiment or a spike in funding costs can trigger a cascade of liquidations that erases gains in hours.

What makes the Bitcoin picture even more fragile is the absence of institutional backing. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded US$265M in outflows on August 2. Capital is leaving these products rather than entering them. At the same time, the broader market sentiment index sits at 35, firmly in Fear territory. News flow remains dominated by negative developments, such as the Coldcard exploit. I interpret this combination as a warning sign. Traders are piling into derivatives while institutional money walks away. That divergence has historically preceded sharp corrections. The price may grind higher in the short term, but without spot buying to validate the move, I see limited upside before a potential pullback.

Technically, Bitcoin faces resistance at its 7-day simple moving average near US$63,613, followed by the more formidable US$64,500 to US$65,000 zone. A floor rests at US$62,000. A break below that level risks a slide toward US$60,000. The U.S. jobs report scheduled for August 7 will likely determine the market’s direction. Cool employment figures could ease expectations of Federal Reserve tightening and give bulls a reason to push higher. Hot numbers would reinforce the case for elevated rates and pressure risk assets including crypto. The jobs report will be the single most important near-term catalyst for Bitcoin, far more impactful than any technical level on its own.

Ethereum presents a different narrative. Its 1.07 per cent gain slightly outpaced the broader sector and appears tied to a genuine macro catalyst rather than pure leverage. President Donald Trump cancelled planned military strikes against Iran, contingent on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reported this development, and markets responded immediately. The cancellation reduced the oil price risk premium, lowered inflation fears, and lifted spirits across risk assets including crypto. I view this as a legitimate relief rally. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum’s move has a clear external trigger that explains why buyers stepped in.

Beyond geopolitics, Ethereum benefits from tangible institutional demand. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs attracted US$365.17M in net inflows during July, marking their strongest month in 2026 and reversing prior outflows. Derivatives activity adds another layer of conviction. The average funding rate increased 32.48 per cent to +0.0062929 per cent, indicating rising long positioning and speculative bullishness. This combination of ETF flows and derivatives engagement is more encouraging than what Bitcoin currently offers. It suggests that at least some capital is flowing into Ethereum through traditional investment channels rather than purely through leveraged bets.

Ethereum is testing a floor in the US$1,850-US$1,870 range. Holding this zone is critical for another attempt at the US$1,880 to US$1,910 ceiling, which aligns with the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level at US$1,875.40. A failure to hold would target the next demand area near US$1,750. The August 12 U.S. inflation report represents the next major macro trigger. Cooler readings could reinforce expectations for Fed easing and support further advances. A hot print would likely renew hawkish expectations and weigh on prices. In my opinion, Ethereum has a slightly better risk-reward setup than Bitcoin right now because its gains rest on a broader foundation of institutional flows and geopolitical relief rather than leveraged speculation alone.

Stepping back, I see both assets caught in a waiting game. The sector lacks a powerful fundamental driver to push a sustained directional move. Bitcoin leans on derivatives leverage that could evaporate quickly. Ethereum leans on macro sentiment, which could reverse just as quickly if geopolitical tensions reignite or inflation disappoints. The total crypto market cap rose just 0.70 per cent, which tells me that conviction remains thin. Traders are positioning but not committing.

My view is that the next two weeks will define the trajectory for both assets through the rest of August. If Bitcoin holds US$62,000 and absorbs the August 7 jobs report without a breakdown, a test of US$64,500 to US$65,000 becomes plausible. If it loses that floor, the path toward US$60,000 opens quickly. For Ethereum, the key is whether it can convert the US$1,880-US$1,910 ceiling into new support after the August 12 inflation release. Success there would signal a potential shift in trend. Failure would likely drag the price back toward US$1,750.

I remain cautiously neutral with a slight lean toward Ethereum over Bitcoin in the immediate term. The reason is straightforward. Ethereum has multiple pillars of support, including ETF inflows, geopolitical relief, and rising derivatives activity. Bitcoin has leverage and little else. In a market starved for conviction, the asset with broader backing tends to outperform when conditions tighten. That said, neither asset has broken free of its recent range, and I would not chase either one aggressively until volume confirms a genuine breakout. The smartest approach right now is patience, tight risk management, and close attention to the macro calendar. The next catalyst is coming. The question is whether traders will be positioned correctly when it arrives.

 

 

Source: https://e27.co/why-i-am-leaning-ethereum-over-bitcoin-right-now-despite-the-hype-20260803/

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”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

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”.

www.anndy.com
j j j