2024-07-22 12:07

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for July 22, 2024. Latest Prices Top Stories Bitcoin settled above $67,000 following a brief surge above $68,000 on Sunday after President Biden said he would not seek reelection. BTC initially slumped after Biden's announcement before recovering to over $68,400 and was trading around $67,450 at the time of writing, 0.7% higher than 24 hours ago. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which measures the broader digital asset market, rose 1.25%. SOL and DOGE led the gains with increases of around 4.3% and 5% respectively. President Biden's withdrawal from the November election dropped pro-crypto candidate Donald Trump's probability of victory from 71% to 65% on Polymarket. Vice President Kamala Harris' odds almost doubled to 30% from 16%. While Biden's decision tempered Trump's White House prospects, the market's response was initially positive. "Biden’s withdrawal has opened up a possibility where, regardless of who sits in the White House, the U.S. government may embrace a more constructive stance towards the digital asset industry after November," Singapore-based crypto research firm Presto wrote in a Monday note. "Whether Harris or any other contenders will pursue such a path remains to be seen, but the optionality that hardly existed before is now there." Bitcoin's price is too high compared to its production cost of $43,000 and any increase is likely to be a short-term one, JPMorgan said in a report last week. BTC's volatility-adjustment comparison to gold was $53,000, further suggesting it is overpriced, the bank said. JPMorgan noted that momentum in bitcoin futures has been weak in recent weeks due to BTC liquidations by creditors of Gemini, Mt. Gox creditors and the German government. Liquidations are expected to subside this month and the bank continues to look for a rebound in Chicago Mercantile Exchange bitcoin futures positioning into August. Chart of the Day The chart shows bitcoin's Korea Premium Index, which measures the gap between South Korean and Western exchanges. The index has dropped to nearly zero for the first time since November, a sign of decreased retail investor participation in the market. Source: CryptoQuant - Omkar Godbole Trending Posts India Unlikely to See Crypto Tax Reduction in Tuesday's Budget Polymarket Bettors Put Nearly $80M on Biden's Democratic Chances HNT Token Beats Bitcoin With 40% Surge as Helium's Mobile Subscriber Count Tops 100K https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/22/first-mover-americas-bitcoin-settles-above-67k-after-biden-drops-out/

2024-07-22 12:04

The total value of tokens locked on Solana has increased over 25% in a month, crossing the $5.28 billion mark to levels not seen since April 2022, data tracked by DefiLlama show. Increased transactional activity on Solana-based applications and a surge in the total value locked (TVL) on the network have contributed to Solana's recent outperformance. Expectations of a possible exchange-traded fund (ETF) product and easing regulatory policies under a potentially crypto-friendly Trump administration have further boosted Solana's appeal among investors. Increased transactional activity and booming expectations of a possible exchange-traded fund (ETF) product may have contributed to Solana’s recent outperformance, several market observers told CoinDesk. Solana’s SOL tokens have gained over 18% in the past week, outpacing larger cryptocurrencies bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), to trade over $180 early Monday, setting a new three-month high. Some market observers said SOL gained as trading activity on Solana-based applications grew in the past few weeks, boosting fundamentals. “The Solana ecosystem is showing robust growth, evidenced by increased DEX activity, rising daily active users, and growing fee accrual to the network,” shared Pat Doyle, a blockchain researcher at Amberdata. “These strong fundamentals, coupled with the positive market sentiment, are pushing SOL forward.” Data tracked by DefiLlama show that the total value locked (TVL) of tokens on Solana has increased over 25% in a month, crossing the $5.28 billion mark to levels last seen in April 2022. The network has made at least $1.5 million each day since June while netting over $2 billion in on-chain trading volumes each day for the past week. Solana’s key appeal among traders is its fast settlement speeds and low fees. That's been the basis for meme coin trading frenzies several times in the past year. In comparison, Ethereum, the world’s largest blockchain by TVL of $60 billion, recorded smaller volumes at $1.7 billion, but higher fees at $3 million because it's more expensive for users. Easing regulatory policies are adding to SOL’s appeal among professional investors, said Rennick Palley, founding partner at crypto venture fund Stratos. “The recent pump is due to overall market sentiment improving and increasing odds that it and its ecosystem tokens won't be viewed as securities by the Trump admin,” he said, referring to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s apparent crypto-friendliness in pre-election speeches. “The upcoming ETH ETF launch is helping as well – SOL appears poised to be the next token with an ETF, which, given its relatively small size and strong price performance, would be extremely bullish,” Palley added. In early July, the Cboe submitted 19b-4 filings with the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) asking to list VanEck's and 21Shares' potential spot Solana ETFs, which were initially filed in late June. SOL trades at nearly $180 in European morning hours Monday with a 3.5% over the past 24 hours, beating the broad-based CoinDesk 20’s 1.3% rise. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/22/solana-etf-hopes-rising-fundamentals-are-driving-sol-prices-higher-traders-say/

2024-07-22 09:45

Popcat became the first cat-themed meme coin to hit $1 billion market capitalization, a resolved Polymarket bet shows. Meme coins popcat (POPCAT) and mog (MOG) surged over the weekend, driven by the cat-themed narrative and their use as beta bets by some traders. POPCAT briefly topped $1 billion capitalization to emerge as the winner in a highly traded Polymarket bet. Since earlier this year, the two have tended to rally alongside dog-themed tokens like bonk (BONK) and dogecoin (DOGE), which function as leveraged bets on the growth of their underlying blockchains. Meme coins popcat (POPCAT) and mog (MOG) surged over the weekend, driven by the cat-themed narrative and their usage as beta bets by some traders. Popcat briefly topped $1 billion in market capitalization to emerge as the winner in a highly traded Polymarket bet. Ether (ETH) has gained over 5% in the past week as ETH exchange-traded funds (ETF) are expected to start trading on July 23. Solana's SOL rose 15% in the same period, buoyed by increased transactional volumes. Since earlier this year, the cat-themed popcat and mog tokens have tended to rally as prices of Solana’s SOL and ether increase. These have jumped alongside dog-themed bonk (BONK) and dogecoin (DOGE), which also function as beta bets. Meme tokens have been increasingly seen as a leveraged way to bet on the growth of their underlying blockchains, and crypto traders refer to them as beta bets. POPCAT, based on Solana, spiked higher after a single $630,000 purchase of the tokens late Sunday pushed its capitalization over the $1 billion mark. Meanwhile, the Ethereum-based MOG rose 8% to a $960 million capitalization to set a new lifetime peak, extending a two-week run to over 70% as its cult following on social application X grew. A Polymarket bet on market capitalization for cat-themed tokens, which some expect to overtake their dog-themed counterparts in the next bull cycle, has racked up $4.6 million in trading volumes since going live in March. The market was resolved on Monday as the crossed the $1 billion level before paring gains. It had odds of as low as 2% in early April, and was the third-highest bet behind keycat and hobbes, two other cat-themed tokens. However, some Polymarket users argued possible market manipulation may have swayed the bet in favor of Popcat’s odds on the marketplace. “Okay so this is interesting because that's clearly market manipulation, but technically it did cross $1 billion on 1 website. Someone here with a vested interest in Popcat has manipulated the market and pushed it over,” wrote Polymarket user @The_Guru55. “Literally a 1 second pump with 1 order on 1 website is pretty questionable,” they added. Polymarket’s resolution remains in place and has not been disputed as of European morning hours Monday. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/22/popcat-crosses-1b-mog-rallies-as-solana-ethereum-beta-bets-gain-favor/

2024-07-22 09:44

The bitcoin price is currently too high versus its production cost and relative to its volatility-adjusted comparison to gold, the report said. Crypto market rebound expected to be temporary, the bank said. JPMorgan said the bitcoin price was still too high relative to its production cost and versus gold. Bitcoin and gold are both expected to benefit from the higher likelihood of a Trump election win, the report said. Any rebound in cryptocurrency markets in the near term is likely to be tactical in nature and not the beginning of a new long term bullish uptrend, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report last week. The bank said this was because the price of bitcoin (BTC) is currently too high versus its production cost of $43,000, and relative to its volatility-adjusted comparison to gold, which is $53,000. Bitcoin was trading around $67,220 at publication time. JPMorgan notes that momentum in bitcoin futures has been weak in recent weeks due to BTC liquidations by creditors of Gemini, Mt. Gox creditors and the German government. Liquidations are expected to subside this month and the bank continues to look for a rebound in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) bitcoin futures positioning into August. Bitcoin and gold are both expected to benefit from the higher likelihood of a Trump election win, as a “second Trump presidency is seen by some investors as more friendly towards crypto companies and towards crypto regulations, in contrast to the current Biden administration,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote. There is speculation that Trump could announce bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset at the Nashville Bitcoin conference later this week, and this “could trigger a parabolic rise in bitcoin’s price,” according to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/22/any-near-term-rebound-in-crypto-market-likely-to-be-temporary-jpmorgan/

2024-07-22 09:41

An unexpected election result and last week's $230 million hack of crypto exchange WazirX appear to have dented any hopes of a reduction in the tax. While some policy officials hold out hope for a reduction in the crypto tax, most experts don't expect any changes. The industry's primary desire is to see the 1% tax deducted at source reduced to 0.01%. India is unlikely to change its controversial tax-deducted-at-source (TDS) policy on crypto transactions when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reveals her full budget for 2024-2025 on Tuesday, experts said. The budget is the first since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected for a third straight term. What's different this time is Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unexpectedly failed to secure a majority, needing to form a coalition government. The budget is likely to take account of his alliance partners, who have already demanded in excess of $15 billion over the next few years. For the crypto industry, the TDS is a standout issue. The Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) has asked for the tax to be cut to 0.01% from 1% ever since it was announced two years ago. The industry body has presented data from multiple sources, including a think tank study that provided evidence to support a reduction. Among other arguments, it says lowering the rate will retain more transactions onshore, leading to higher revenue for the government. "I don't foresee the 1% TDS being reduced in the near term, despite it being necessary," said Punit Agarwal, founder of crypto taxation platform KoinX. "The current rate leads to capital flight to international exchanges and DEXs, ultimately causing a loss to the government." Other demands include establishing progressive taxes on gains instead of the flat 30% rate, and allowing losses to offset gains. They have also pushed for multi-agency regulation. Despite the surprise election result introducing the need to satisfy coalition partners and last week's $230 million hack of crypto exchange WazirX, which may have pushed crypto down the list of priorities, BWA officials said they are hopeful that at least one of their three requests would receive favor. The BWA is also looking for some "direction in terms of regulation." India does not have a comprehensive crypto regulation, though senior Finance Ministry officials have said they intend to submit draft legislation to parliament. What's giving them hope is that the association was invited for talks with the ministry as part of the pre-budget consultations, unlike in 2023 before February's interim budget. However, ministry officials "did not give us any sense or comment at all," said R Venkat, a Bharat Web3 Association member who attended the meeting. The Finance Ministry declined to comment. "High TDS may have driven retail investors to offshore exchanges, but the government's focus on stringent regulation suggests that a rate reduction is unlikely," said Rajat Mittal, a Supreme Court crypto tax counsel. "The need for robust oversight in the digital asset space is viewed as more critical than alleviating industry concerns." Read More: India Springs Election Surprise, Sends Equity Market Crashing With Uncertain Implications for Crypto CORRECTION (July 22, 12:01 UTC): Corrects penultimate paragraph to remove reference to 2022. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/22/india-unlikely-to-see-crypto-tax-reduction-in-tuesdays-budget/

2024-07-22 07:17

The general possibility of a crypto-friendly government coming into power is bumping sentiment among professional traders, one firm said. Bitcoin briefly surged above $68,000, driven by positive U.S. election predictions, before settling around $67,500 during early Asian trading hours on Monday. The broader crypto market, as represented by the CoinDesk 20 index, saw a 1.25% increase. President Biden’s announcement of not running in the upcoming election was seen as potentially favorable for the digital asset industry, regardless of the election outcome, among some traders. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly rose above $68,000, before falling to $67,500, at the start of Asian trading hours Monday as bullish sentiment largely rose among traders driven by a favorable U.S. election outlook. Majors rose higher driven by BTC strength. Ether (ETH) briefly crossed $3,500, Cardano’s ADA and Solana’s SOL added as much as 5%, while dogecoin (DOGE) jumped more than 8% before paring gains. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index that tracks the largest crypto tokens, minus stablecoins, rose 1.25%. BTC gains started late Sunday, as incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden said in an X post that he would not contest the upcoming November elections. However, this dropped the odds Republican candidate Donald Trump from Sunday’s 71% to 65% in Asian morning hours Monday on the crypto betting application Polymarket. Meanwhile, odds of sitting Vice President Kamala Harris rose from 16% to 30%. Read More: Polymarket Trading Explodes as 2024 Election Enters Uncharted Territory “Biden’s withdrawal has opened up a possibility where, regardless of who sits in the White House, the U.S. government embrace a more constructive stance towards the digital asset industry after November,” Singapore-based crypto research firm Presto shared in a Monday note to CoinDesk. “Whether Harris or any other contenders will pursue such a path remains to be seen, but the optionality that hardly existed before is now there,” Presto added. Trump’s favorable view of cryptocurrencies has attracted massive support from industry players in the past months. He is slated to appear at the Bitcoin 2024 conference later this week in Nashville, a move that has furthered sentiment among market watchers. “We would expect the market to rally higher as Trump's key economic policy would be a lower interest rate and cheaper borrowing costs. This would surely boost all risky assets, including BTC,” shared Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, in a Telegram message. “In the mid-long term till the 2025 election, we would expect BTC to continue to rally,” Hu added. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/22/bitcoin-briefly-tops-68k-as-biden-dropout-riles-up-crypto-bulls/