Bitcoin is approaching the $118K CME Gap, which could trigger a significant price surge towards $150K, fueled by strong market sentiment and rising trading volumes. Bitcoin nears $118K CME Gap,
Ethereum is dominating the cryptocurrency market with extraordinary price strength, surging over 200% since April and positioning itself as the top-performing major asset in the space. The rally has fueled growing optimism among analysts, with many projecting that all-time highs could soon be within reach for bullish investors. The combination of robust fundamentals, increasing institutional participation, and a favorable legal environment has created a perfect backdrop for Ethereum’s latest surge. One of the most striking developments supporting the rally is the historic drop in Ethereum’s supply on exchanges, now at its lowest levels ever. This signals strong long-term holding behavior among investors and reduces the amount of ETH readily available for sale, amplifying the potential for upward price moves. Institutional interest has been particularly notable, with large-scale purchases adding sustained buying pressure to the market. Some analysts are now warning of a possible “supply shock” — a scenario where rapidly increasing demand meets extremely limited supply, potentially accelerating price gains even further. With Ethereum’s network fundamentals strengthening and sentiment reaching new highs, the coming weeks could prove decisive in determining whether ETH pushes into uncharted territory and sets fresh all-time highs in this market cycle. Ethereum Whale Accumulation Fuels Speculation Of Institutional Buying According to top crypto analyst Ted Pillows, a mysterious wallet has purchased an astounding $1.34 billion worth of Ethereum over the past eight days, marking one of the largest single accumulation streaks in recent months. Pillows, who has been closely tracking the wallet’s transactions, suggests the scale and consistency of these buys point toward a major institutional player or a highly capitalized entity making a long-term bet on ETH. While the identity behind the wallet remains unknown, the activity has sparked widespread speculation across the crypto community. Some market watchers believe it could be the result of over-the-counter (OTC) deals designed to minimize market impact, while others suspect it may be a market maker firm strategically positioning ahead of a major move. The lack of public disclosure leaves the exact motive unclear, but the sheer size of the purchases underscores growing high-level confidence in Ethereum’s outlook. Many see the whale’s buying spree as a potential catalyst that could accelerate this move, especially with exchange supply at historic lows and institutional demand surging. The coming days could prove pivotal for Ethereum’s price trajectory. If the market interprets these massive inflows as the start of a sustained institutional accumulation phase, bullish momentum could intensify rapidly. ETH Price Analysis: Testing Resistance Near 2021 ATH Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $4,283, posting a 0.73% gain on the weekly chart as it approaches a major resistance area near its 2021 all-time highs. This surge follows a sharp rally from the $2,852 support level, which marked the breakout point for the current uptrend. The chart shows ETH trading well above its 50-week SMA ($2,768), 100-week SMA ($2,759), and 200-week SMA ($2,441), reflecting strong bullish momentum and a firmly established long-term uptrend. The breakout above $3,860 — now acting as immediate support — confirms market strength and could serve as a base for the next leg higher. However, the $4,300–$4,400 zone has historically been a critical inflection point. A decisive close above this range would likely trigger momentum buying, opening the path toward uncharted territory and potential new all-time highs. Conversely, failure to break through could see ETH retest $3,860 or even fall back toward $3,200 if selling pressure intensifies. Volume has picked up notably during this rally, signaling strong conviction among buyers. With fundamentals and institutional interest both strengthening, ETH’s ability to overcome this resistance could determine whether the next phase of the bull run accelerates in the coming weeks. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView
Ethereum whale amasses $1.34B in 8 days as key metrics signal bullish potential.
Miles Deutscher (631,000 followers on X) believes the crypto market is approaching a confluence of catalysts it has never enjoyed at this scale. In a thread posted on X in the early hours of August 12, the analyst wrote, “The stage is set for crypto’s biggest bull run ever,” arguing that the industry is facing “a bullish set of tailwinds/rate of change” unmatched in prior cycles. He then laid out ten drivers—spanning spot ETF demand, retirement-account access, stablecoin policy, political signaling, institutional adoption and market structure—that, taken together, form a cohesive case for another leg higher. Biggest Crypto Bull Run In History Deutscher’s starting point is hard flows. He notes that US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have amassed “$17B net over the last 60 days (> $11B in July alone).” Whether measured against the asset class’s historical market depth or the post-launch settling period for the new Ether funds, those figures imply that passive, rules-based demand is still expanding rather than plateauing. In his framing, this is “bidding on an unprecedented scale,” the sort of sustained, price-insensitive intake that tends to reset valuation anchors and absorbs episodic selling. The thread then pivots to distribution. Deutscher highlights the recent move to allow 401(k) plans to hold crypto, calling it a “massive new pool of buyers (trillions),” even while acknowledging the implementation lag. He amplifies a scenario analysis from @thepfund (Trader T), who estimates that, under base-case assumptions, the policy shift could translate to “Total estimated demand for crypto: $131–465 billion,” with an “88% allocated to Bitcoin: $115–409 billion … [and] 12% allocated to Ethereum: $16–56 billion.” The same post posits that “IBIT could grow 3.1× to $272 billion” and “ETHA could grow 3.3× to $37 billion,” using BlackRock’s footprint in 401(k) assets as a proxy for potential uptake. The precise pace will hinge on plan-by-plan approvals and compliance plumbing, but the directionality—retirement wrappers as a mainstream bridge—is clear in Deutscher’s thesis. Regulatory clarity for the transactional layer is his third pillar. “The genius act was approved,” he wrote, arguing that the measure provides more certainty around stablecoins and “opens up the floodgates for blockchain/stablecoin adoption.” He pairs that claim with a datapoint on the monetary base of the crypto economy itself: “Stablecoins just hit a fresh ATH (> $280B cap), 22 months up straight.” In other words, not only is policy becoming more permissive for dollar-on-chain infrastructure, but the float of tokenized dollars and near-dollars—an essential conduit for liquidity, market-making and cross-border transfers—has been expanding for almost two years without interruption. For Deutscher, those two facts rhyme: clearer rules plus a growing dollar stack create the conditions for higher throughput and, ultimately, risk appetite downstream. Related Reading: Crypto Watchlist: Why This Week Could Be Massive For Bitcoin Politics, while usually orthogonal to day-to-day price action, appears in his list because the signaling has become unusually overt. “The Trump family is actively shilling ETH/crypto/tokenisation,” he wrote, framing the public posture as a visibility event for the asset class. He amplified a short post from Eric Trump—“It puts a smile on my face to see ETH shorts get smoked today. Stop betting against BTC and ETH — you will be run over.”—to argue that high-level endorsements are now part of the narrative gravity well. More Catalysts For Crypto Institutional adoption remains a core motif. Deutscher cites an SEC ownership disclosure flagged by @MacroScope17 indicating that Harvard Management Company reported a new position of 1,906,000 shares of IBIT, BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, valued at $116.6 million as of June 30. “This is a hugely important ownership disclosure,” MacroScope wrote, and Deutscher agrees on the signal value: a storied university endowment has chosen to use the ETF channel to gain exposure, validating the wrapper and, by extension, the compliance pathway for peers. Inflows data are one thing; a recognizable allocator of record is another. Momentum and market behavior fill out the tactical half of his list. He points to Ethereum reclaiming $4,000—a multi-year level that, in his view, “gives it real momentum to push back toward (and beyond) its 2021 ATH.” He also argues that both majors have shown resilience—“BTC & ETH refuse to break down, even with heavy FUD”—which he reads as evidence of “seller exhaustion” meeting “sticky demand.” Related Reading: Crypto Set For $1.25 Trillion Tsunami As Trump Opens 401(k) Floodgates To underscore that take, he references @alpha_pls (Aylo), who urged traders to zoom out: “ETH/BTC has a lot of room to run and looks good on HTFs. ETH/USD looks good and it is going to break through that $4k level eventually… Ultimately, you can keep it simple: there are more buyers than sellers for the foreseeable future.” Aylo’s post also nods to potential treasury participation on the Ether side—“Tom Lee has told you his company will buy 5% of the ETH supply”—and to co-founder Joseph Lubin’s competitive posture, adding further narrative fuel to a majors-led phase. The rotation question—when and whether “altseason” reappears—features in Deutscher’s ninth and tenth points. “BTC dominance looks extremely weak, for the first time since 2024,” he wrote, framing that deterioration as a historical precursor to capital rotating down the risk curve. But he is specific about sequencing: liquidity, he says, is “more concentrated on majors/CEX, making the BTC/ETH trend cleaner,” which is “important for narrative alignment at this stage in cycle.” In contrast to late 2024, when he argues liquidity was “concentrated in the ‘trenches’—creating a less sustainable setup,” the current structure favors a strong, durable majors trend first, with healthier conditions “for an alt rotation to happen later.” Overall, Deutscher is describing a market where depth and settlement rails have thickened at the top, reducing slippage and volatility while the bid forms, before breadth expands. In his words, “The stage is set,” and if the catalysts he enumerates continue to materialize in tandem, he believes the next “explosive price move” has already begun to load. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $3.93 trillion. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
ETH open interest soared to a record high as Ether price rallied through $4,500. Is the rally sustainable?
Fears of a network takeover have sent the price of Monero crashing down. And the XMR charts don’t look pretty.
Roman Storm Retrial Pushed to Late 2025 Roman Storm’s legal battle over his role as Tornado Cash co-founder will extend well into next year after a US court approved a procedural delay that could push any potential retrial to December 2025. Court Approves Extended Deadlines In a filing to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday, Judge Katherine Failla agreed to a schedule proposed by both Storm’s defense team and federal prosecutors. The new timeline moves key deadlines far beyond the 70-day retrial window that typically follows a verdict. According to the order, the court believes “the ends of justice” outweigh the need for a speedy trial, citing the defense’s need for adequate time to prepare post-trial motions. Background on the Charges On Aug. 6, a jury convicted Storm on one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money business. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on two other felony counts: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Prosecutors have not yet confirmed whether they will pursue a retrial on these charges. Storm, indicted in August 2023, has been free on bail since his arraignment. His sentencing for the single conviction has not yet been scheduled. Tornado Cash Developers Under Continued Scrutiny Storm is not the only Tornado Cash developer facing legal challenges. Co-founder Roman Semenov, indicted alongside Storm, remains at large. Another co-founder, Alexey Pertsev, was convicted of money laundering in the Netherlands in 2024 and sentenced to more than five years in prison, a verdict he is appealing.
Bitcoin’s recent rally briefly surpassed its $120,500 breakout target, which has raised the question of what’s next for the leading cryptocurrency. But liquidity trends will determine whether momentum continues or stalls near all-time highs. Liquidity for Breakout Potential In its latest market commentary, Swissblock said that while broader macroeconomic volatility and potential downside pressure remain in play, Bitcoin’s price momentum is “aligning” and showing signs of “ignition.” Such a setup typically supports further gains. However, the firm warned that the path ahead will depend on the correlation between key on-chain and liquidity metrics. Meanwhile, Swissblock’s analytics firm Bitcoin Vector found that as Bitcoin edges closer to its all-time high, network growth is currently high at a ratio of around 82, and liquidity is in a mid-range at approximately 52. This combination historically favors continuation if liquidity strengthens into the 50-60 range, which is expected to provide “fuel for another leg” upward. On the other hand, if liquidity falls below 40 while network growth remains high, it could signal a late-stage risk setup. This pattern often precedes choppy tops or sharp pullbacks. Bitcoin Vector said that surpassing the all-time high is only the first step; sustaining the breakout and entering full price discovery will depend on liquidity trends. BTC Moves in Step with Stocks While Bitcoin managed to erase the prior week’s losses, Ethereum appears to have led the rally. The altcoin gained 21% over the past week and breached $4,300 for the first time since 2021. QCP Capital observed that the correlation between Bitcoin and equities has strengthened significantly since mid-July. Today’s crypto performance reflected gains in US stocks, which have rebounded from last week’s post-payrolls dip to trade near record levels, and in the process, shrugged off fresh tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty. The immediate market focus is on Tuesday’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI) release, with consensus expecting a 10 bps uptick in annual inflation to 2.8%. A softer-than-expected print would likely cement market expectations for a September Federal Reserve rate cut, odds already near certainty after a dovish pivot from several Fed officials. QCP stated such an outcome could provide the push needed for crypto to set new all-time highs. But, a hotter CPI reading could prompt a pause in the rally, with some traders already hedging via increased demand for front-end $115k-$118k BTC puts, while topside short-call covering continues. The firm expects front-end volatility to remain high until the CPI release, potentially followed by compression unless BTC decisively breaks resistance. Beyond on-chain liquidity metrics, institutional demand and spot ETF inflows remain critical watchpoints as Bitcoin hovers near its peak, while traders may engage in profit-taking likely before CPI. QCP maintained a structurally bullish outlook and cited the market’s resilience in absorbing recent large “OG whale” sell-offs without losing upward momentum. Key upcoming data include US CPI on August 12th, PPI and unemployment claims on August 14th, and US retail sales on August 15th. The post Momentum Is Here – But Will Liquidity Unlock Bitcoin’s Price Discovery? appeared first on CryptoPotato .
USDC issuer plans layer-1 blockchain launch in bid to “underpin all stablecoin finance”
The cryptocurrency market is experiencing some notable activity. An anonymous whale or institutional investor recently purchased 35,237 units of Ethereum (ETH). This purchase, valued at approximately $155.06 million, brings the investor's total ETH holdings to 328,421. The assets, totaling $1.445 billion, are held across 10 different wallets acquired through FalconX, GalaxyDigital, and BitGo. This whale had previously added 59,998 ETH ($253.62 million), bringing its total holdings to 293,184 ETH ($1.24 billion). Related News: Trump May Announce a New Candidate for FED Chair: Here Are His Views on Cryptocurrency Meanwhile, a total of 14,942 ETH ($64.17 million) was unstaking from three wallets belonging to another asset owner and deposited on the Binance exchange. On the other side of the market, another mysterious crypto whale, AguilaTrades, lost $683,000 by closing a 15x leveraged ETH short position. AguilaTrades' total losses from ETH short positions to date have reached $2.81 million. The ETH price made a new attack today, reaching the $4,500 mark. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: Mysterious Whale Unleashes Bull Mode on Ethereum: Entering a Buying Frenzy – Here Are the Details