Whales on the Move: Bitcoin’s Big Players Shake Markets as Expositions Jockey for xStocks Ahead of Crypto Week 2025

Crypto's heavy hitters are making waves—again. Bitcoin whales dumped $500M in 24 hours, triggering a 5% price swing while exchanges scramble to list xStocks ahead of next week's regulatory showdown.

Behind the scenes: Institutional money's playing hot potato with BTC, retail's chasing memecoins, and everyone's pretending they 'always believed in Web3.'

The kicker? Half these 'game-changing' xStocks will likely crater faster than a Lehman Bros intern's career prospects.

What Happened in Crypto This Week: Major Headlines

14 Years Old Bitcoin Whale Moves Thousands of Bitcoin for First Time

An “OG” Bitcoin whale, dormant for over 14 years, transferred 80,000 BTC—valued at approximately $8.69 billion—on July 4, 2025, marking the largest single-day movement of Satoshi-era coins in history. 

These colossal transfers, involving eight wallets acquired in 2011 when bitcoin traded at just $0.78, were moved to new addresses, sparked speculation about whether the early adopter is restructuring for security, preparing for a potential sale, or executing a strategic repositioning. While the coins were not sent to exchanges, alleviating immediate sell-off fears, the massive 140,000x return for the Bitcoin whale has garnered massive attention. 

Crypto Exchanges Line Up for xStocks to Launch Tokenized Stocks

In a transformative leap for crypto and traditional finance, major exchanges like Kraken, Bybit, and Gate.io have integrated with xStocks, a tokenized stock platform by Backed Finance, enabling 24/7 trading of over 60 U.S. equities, including Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla, on the solana blockchain. 

xStocks allows non-U.S. investors to trade, hold, and use tokenized assets in DeFi protocols like Raydium and Jupiter, with features like fractional ownership, zero commissions on Kraken, and USDT-settled perpetual futures on Gate with up to 10x leverage. 

‘Crypto Week’ to Vote on GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC Bills

The U.S. House of Representatives has designated July 14–18, 2025, as “Crypto Week,” a pivotal time for cryptocurrency regulation with lawmakers set to vote on three landmark bills. One bill is the GENIUS Act which establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins while the second, CLARITY Act, aims to clarify digital asset regulations by defining roles for the SEC and CFTC. Moreover, the Anti-CBDC Act seeks to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. 

Backed by House leaders like French Hill and Tom Emmer, this legislative push aims to position the U.S. as a global crypto leader, though debates and potential amendments could shape the final outcomes.

A $500 Casascius Bar Redeemed for $10M in Bitcoin

On the BitcoinTalk forum, a user known as “John Galt” shared that he has redeemed a rare Casascius gold bar containing 100 BTC for over $10 million. He initially purchased the bar in 2012 for just $500, which is now worth in millions as Bitcoin price has soared to $110,000 in recent times. The physical bar, one of the iconic collectibles minted by Mike Caldwell in 2011, were designed to hold a private key under a tamper-evident hologram which can unseal and access the wallet attached to it. 

Ethereum Community Foundation Launches, Aims to Send ETH to $10K

Ethereum core developer Zak Cole unveiled the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF) at the Ethereum Community Conference in Cannes, France, on 2nd July. The EFC has been launched with a bold mission to drive Ether (ETH) to a $10,000 price point by funding tokenless, Immutable infrastructure projects that enhance Ethereum’s ecosystem and burn ETH to reduce supply. 

Criticizing the ethereum Foundation for neglecting ETH as an asset, Cole’s ECF has raised millions in ETH donations to support initiatives like the Ethereum Validator Association (EVA). 

Crypto News You Might Have Missed

Robinhood has launched a Layer 2 blockchain on Arbitrum to power tokenized U.S. stock and ETF trading for EU customers. 

SharpLink Gaming has bolstered its crypto portfolio with purchasing additional 4,951 Ethereum for $12.4 million on July 1. 

: Figma has filed for an IPO in the U.S. and disclosed $100M in Bitcoin exposure as part of its treasury strategy. 

Nano Labs has invested $50 million in BNB with boosting its crypto portfolio and signaling confidence in Binance’s ecosystem growth. 

Turkey’s Capital Markets Board has banned PancakeSwap and 45 other crypto sites for unauthorized services. 

Buzz of the Week

This week’s crypto buzz centers on a provocative claim by a prominent crypto trader Crypto Bitlord, who suggested that the sudden movement of all 80,000 BTC (approximately $10 billion) from a 14-year-dormant Bitcoin whale wallet was likely the result of an AI-powered hack. He claims that the attack is targeting old and large addresses as per rumors circulating on dark web forums for months. 

🚨 BITCOIN WALLETS CRACKED 🚨

-We are hearing early reports that advanced AI technology is targeting large addresses to crack bitcoin private keys.

The technology has been rumored to exist for 3 months across dark web forums with known vendors claiming the existence. https://t.co/KJXenudL4N

The post ignited a firestorm of debate, with the crypto community quickly pushing back and labeling the claim baseless. There is no evidence supporting the hack claim but the incident underscored the market’s jittery response to whale movements and the power of speculative narratives in the crypto space. Though Crypto Bitlord himself later admitted it was a troll with a humorous “I made it up” meme. 

Top Gainers and Losers This Week

This week’s top gainers are led by Solana-based meme coin BONK, which has surged by 26% in renewed investors attention. 

What to Expect for Next Week?

As the crypto world heads into the next week, all eyes will be on the U.S. House’s “Crypto Week” (July 14-18) which WOULD potentially reshape the regulatory landscapes. The broader crypto market is expected to have heightened activity as the market braces for regulatory clarity and institutional adoption continues to rise. 

Also read: Drake Gives Bitcoin a Shoutout in New Track: “What Did I Miss?”