đ The 10 Most Disruptive Crypto Breakthroughs You Missed This Week (July 2025)
Crypto never sleepsâhereâs what moved markets while you were doomscrolling.
1. Institutional Avalanche: BlackRockâs new blockchain ETF crosses $5B AUM in 72 hours. TradFi finally gets FOMO.
2. Ethereumâs Surge 2.0: L2 transaction volumes hit record highs as gas fees plummet below $0.10. The 'flippening' whispers grow louder.
3. CBDC Contagion: Three more central banks announce digital currency pilots. Spoiler: Theyâre all permissioned ledgers.
4. Meme Coin Resurrection: A new dog-themed token pumps 10,000% before crashing harder than a 2021 NFT project.
5. Regulatory Whiplash: The SEC greenlights a spot Bitcoin ETF⌠while simultaneously suing another DeFi protocol. Classic.
6. AI Meets DeFi: A neural network autonomously rebalances yield farmsâuntil it âaccidentallyâ drains a liquidity pool.
7. Privacy Coin Purge: Major exchanges delist Monero⌠as institutional dark pools adopt zero-knowledge proofs. Ironyâs dead.
8. GameFiâs Comeback: A play-to-earn title actually becomes fun. Token price moons despite gamers hating crypto. Progress?
9. Stablecoin Shakeup: Tetherâs market cap drops below $50B as EU-regulated alternatives gain traction. The end of an era?
10. Quantum FUD: Researchers âbreakâ ECDSA⌠on a lab computer that costs more than Bitcoinâs market cap. Stay calm.
Meanwhile, Wall Street still thinks blockchain is just for âcost savings.â Bless their hearts.
Bitcoin reaches $118,868 ATH as momentum builds
Bitcoin surged to a fresh all-time high of $118,868.2 on Friday, capping a 6.32% daily gain. With traders increasingly rotating into large-cap assets amid ETF-driven inflows, the price surge reinforces BTCâs growing dominance. As of press time, it was trading around $118,115.
Elon Musk forms âAmerican Partyâ with Bitcoin support
Elon Musk has launched a new political movementâthe American Partyâand confirmed that it will back bitcoin as part of its economic platform. Calling fiat âhopeless,â Musk stated the party intends to disrupt the U.S. two-party system by targeting congressional influence. The party remains unregistered with the FEC, and its formal roadmap is still unknown.
Trump task force to unveil crypto policy report July 22
The Trump administrationâs Digital Asset Market Task Force is set to publish its first major crypto report on July 22. The report is expected to cover regulations, a Bitcoin reserve proposal, and possible access to Fed payment systems for crypto firms. Led by David Sacks and Bo Hines, the task force includes the Treasury, SEC, CFTC, and Commerce Department.
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SEC eyes faster ETF approval process
The U.S. SEC is reportedly drafting a new framework to streamline ETF approvals. The framework WOULD remove the need for individual 19b-4 filings and instead allow platforms to list pre-qualified crypto ETFs after a 75-day waiting period. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart expects implementation by fall 2025.
Stablecoin issuers now hold $182.4B in U.S. Treasuries
Top stablecoin firmsâTether, Circle, Paxos, and First Digitalâcollectively hold over $182.4 billion in U.S. Treasury assets. This ranks them 17th globally, just behind Norway. Tether alone holds over $125 billion, while Circle manages $55.2 billion through BlackRock. The heavy allocation to short-term Treasuries is driven by liquidity and high yields above 5%.
Pump.fun presale under fire amid founderâs past comments
Pump.fun launched the presale for its native token PUMP, offering 150 billion tokens (15% of supply) at $0.004 each. However, controversy erupted after co-founder Alonâs 2024 statement resurfaced, calling all presales âa scamâ and suggesting the purpose was just to âput raised funds in your pocket.â Critics labeled the ICO a possible exit strategy, citing lack of transparency.
Hacker returns $42M in stolen GMX funds
The hacker who exploited GMX V1 on Arbitrum for $42 million has agreed to return the funds in exchange for a $5 million white hat bounty. So far, $10.49 million in FRAX has been returned. The attack exploited a flaw in GMXâs leverage design, allowing manipulation of the GLP price for profit. Community members also criticized Circle for its slow response to flagged transfers.
Tether reveals $8B gold reserves in Swiss vault
Tether disclosed that it operates a private Gold vault in Switzerland, currently storing $8 billion in gold. CEO Paolo Ardoino called gold âsafer than fiat,â and hinted that future regulatory shifts in the U.S. or EU could force the company to alter its asset allocation strategy.
Hong Kong stablecoin licenses spark institutional race
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will begin issuing stablecoin licenses from August 1, sparking a rush among major institutions. Applicants include JD.com, Standard Chartered, ANT Group, and Circle. Only a handful of licenses are expected to be granted due to high compliance thresholds, leaving most small firms out of contention.
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EU issues MiCA licenses to 53 crypto firmsâTether and Binance absent
The EU has approved 53 crypto firms under its new MiCA regulatory framework, enabling âpassport accessâ across the EEAâs 30 countries. Approved entities include Circle, Crypto.com, Coinbase, Kraken, and Societe Generale. However, Tether and Binance are noticeably missing, raising compliance concerns ahead of stricter enforcement in 2026.
