Bitcoin (BTC) broke through to new highs above $118,000, but still has more to prove. It needs to reclaim records against other major assets such as gold and the British pound to demonstrate that it is outpacing them on a relative basis.

July 11, 2025
 

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What to know:

 

By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Bitcoin (BTC) broke through to new highs above $118,000, but still has more to prove. It needs to reclaim records against other major assets such as gold and the British pound to demonstrate that it is outpacing them on a relative basis.

Since July 9, BTC has surged from $108,000, with each rally seeing very limited pullbacks, highlighting the strength of the bull run. It is up 60% from its April lows, when tariff concerns rattled the market. Notably, for the first time since February, bitcoin has overtaken gold in year-to-date performance, rising 27% versus gold’s 26%.

 

Significant liquidations have naturally followed the gains, as the $112,000 level, which marked the previous all-time high, was a well-defended position. Heavy short positions were defending that level, and their unwinding has fueled further upside momentum. U.S. crypto stocks are also higher in pre-market trading.

 

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin network hash rate, which measures the computational power used to mine the proof-of-work blockchain, has rebounded above 915 exahashes per second (EH/s), signaling strong network participation. A significant difficulty adjustment exceeding 7% is likely over the weekend.

 

Looking ahead, one key risk that could derail bitcoin’s momentum is the U.S. inflation data, due July 15. Last month, headline inflation printed at 2.4%, while core inflation came in at 2.8% year over year. For any hopes of rate cuts to remain intact, these numbers will need to trend lower. Stay alert!
 

Overnight Flows

 

A message from VeChain

The launch of StarGate, VeChain’s new staking platform, kicks off an exciting era of enhanced rewards and more attractive tokenomics for the real-world-proven blockchain. 

 

StarGate, part of the ‘VeChain Renaissance’ technical roadmap, delivers greatly enhanced staking APYs, while Renaissance introduces consensus upgrades, interoperability tools, and new features that make building on VeChain more rewarding than ever.

 

Key features and benefits of StarGate include:

 

Staking Nodes from as low as 10K $VET (~$200)

A massive 9.1% APY for certain Node types

Unique, secure NFT-based staking model

A 5.48 Billion $VTHO ($10+ Million) bonus pool for the first 6 months

Intuitive staking and reward claiming mechanics

 

StarGate is more than a staking program - it's the launch of a more decentralized, economically attractive era for stakers and builders alike. With thousands of new Nodes onboarded, VeChain welcomes a new generation of holders joining its mission to deliver the real-world potential of blockchain, and drive Web3 mainstream.

 

Visit StarGate to learn more.

Unlock Bonus Rewards
 

What to Watch

Crypto

  • July 14, 10 p.m.: Singapore High Court hearing on WazirX’s Scheme of Arrangement, marking a critical step in the exchange's restructuring after the $234 million hack on July 18, 2024.
  • July 15: Alchemist staking update launches, allowing token holders to stake ALCH for access to advanced features, premium benefits and ecosystem rewards, potentially boosting token utility and demand.
  • July 15: Lynq is expected to debut its real-time, interest-bearing digital-asset settlement network for institutions. Built on Avalanche’s layer-1 blockchain and powered by Arca’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund shares, Lynq enables instant settlement, continuous yield accrual and improved capital efficiency.
  • July 15, 3 p.m.: U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry holds a market structure hearingtitled “Stakeholder Perspectives on Federal Oversight of Digital Commodities.” Livestream link.
  • July 16: July 16, 9 a.m.: U.S. House Ways and Means Committee oversight hearing titled "Making America the Crypto Capital of the World: Ensuring Digital Asset Policy Built for the 21st Century."

Macro

  • Day 2 of 2: The fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, bringing together global leaders and stakeholders to advance Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction as the war with Russia drags on.
  • July 11, 8:30 a.m.: Statistics Canada releases June employment data.
    • Unemployment Rate est. 7.1% vs. Prev. 7%
    • Employment Change Est. 0K vs. Prev. 8.8K
  • Aug. 1, 12:01 a.m.: Reciprocal tariffs take effect after President Trump’s July 7 executive order delayed the original July 9 deadline, making this the start date for higher tariffs on imports from countries without trade deals.

Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)

  • July 23: Tesla (TSLA), post-market
  • July 29: PayPal Holdings (PYPL), pre-market
  • July 30: Robinhood Markets (HOOD), post-market
  • July 31: Coinbase Global (COIN), post-market
  • July 31: Reddit (RDDT), post-market
 

Token Events

Governance Votes & Calls

  • Compound DAO is running multiple votes on whether to adopt an Oracle Extractable Value (OEV) solution for Ethereum mainnet, Unichain, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Scroll, Mantle, Ronin and Linea. Delegates can choose between implementing Api3, Chainlink’s Secure Value Relay (SVR), or maintaining the current setup without OEV. All votes end July 12.
  • 1inch DAO is voting on a $25,000 grant proposal to research crustless cross-chain swaps between Bitcoin and Ethereum Virtual Machine networks using native Bitcoin tools like Taproot. Voting ends July 14.
  • Aavegotchi DAO is voting on a $245,000 funding proposal to expand Gotchi Battler into a revenue-generating game with PvE modes, NFTs and battle passes, aiming to reverse declining player numbers, boost GHST utility and create sustainable rewards. Voting ends July 22.
  • July 16, 5 p.m.: VeChain to host a monthly update with community representatives and the VeChain Foundation.

Unlocks

  • July 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 1.76% of its circulating supply worth $56.44 million.
  • July 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.79% of its circulating supply worth $19.04 million.
  • July 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 1% of its circulating supply worth $18.79 million.
  • July 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.87% of its circulating supply worth $39.25 million.
  • July 17: ZKSync (ZK) to unlock 2.41% of its circulating supply worth $10.29 million.
  • July 17: ApeCoin (APE) to unlock 1.95% of its circulating supply worth $10.51 million.
  • July 18: Official TRUMP (TRUMP) to unlock 45.35% of its circulating supply worth $912.43 million.
  • July 18: Fasttoken (FTN) to unlock 4.64% of its circulating supply worth $88.8 million.

Token Launches

  • July 11: PrompTale AI (TALE) to be listed on Binance, KuCoin, MEXC, and others.
  • July 11: Kraken to list Propy (PRO) and AIOZ Network (AIOZ).
  • July 12: Pump.fun to launch an initial coin offering (ICO) in which 33% of the supply of PUMP will be sold. The ICO will be conducted on Bybit, Kraken, Bitget, MEXC, KuCoin and Gate.io.
 

Conferences

The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through July 17.

  • Day 2 of 4: Mallorca Blockchain Days (Palma, Spain)
  • July 16: Invest Web3 Forum (Dubai)
  • July 20: Crypto Coin Day 7/20 (Atlanta)
  • July 24: Decasonic’s Web3 Investor Day 2025 (Chicago)
  • July 25: Blockchain Summit Global (Montevideo, Uruguay)
  • July 28-29: TWS Conference 2025 (Singapore)

Join us for this curated gathering that unites D.C.’s most important public officials with legal, policy and compliance leaders from the private sector to advance crypto standards and reform.

Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through July 17.

Token Talk