🚀 Bitcoin Holds Steady Under $120K While Ethereum & XRP Charge Ahead – Who’s Leading the Next Bull Run?

Crypto markets are playing tug-of-war as Bitcoin’s rebound hits a wall below $120,000—meanwhile, Ethereum and XRP are stealing the spotlight with surging momentum. Traders are pivoting fast, but is this altcoin rally sustainable, or just another overhyped detour before BTC dominance returns?

The Bitcoin Plateau: After clawing back from recent dips, BTC’s recovery stalls just shy of the $120K psychological barrier. Miners are hodling, whales are lurking, and the market holds its breath for the next catalyst.

Altseason Heating Up: Ethereum isn’t just riding Bitcoin’s coattails—it’s gunning for its own narrative with ETF whispers and scaling wins. XRP, ever the courtroom drama star, rallies as legal fog clears (for now).

The Bottom Line: While Wall Street debates ‘store of value’ vs. ‘utility,’ crypto’s real winners are the degens flipping alts between coffee breaks. Remember: in a market where ‘fundamentals’ mean whatever pumps your bag, today’s hero is tomorrow’s exit liquidity.

Market overview: US House ‘Crypto Week’ back on track 

The United States (US) House of Representatives’ self-proclaimed ‘Crypto Week’ is back on track after the lawmakers cleared a procedural bottleneck, allowing key crypto legislation to advance to the final votes late Wednesday. A previous vote on Tuesday had failed to advance the legislation, forcing President Donald Trump to intervene.

The House is expected to vote on the GENIUS Act on Thursday and advance it to President Trump’s desk if it passes for his signature. Notably, the CLARITY Act could undergo the final vote next week before the House goes on recess in early August. Moreover, the Senate will have to vote on the Market Structure CLARITY Act before it can reach the President’s desk for signing.

Passing all three crypto bills, including the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and the Anti-Central Bank Digital Asset (CBDC), is expected to foster clear regulations for digital assets in the US. 

One of President Trump’s campaign promises was to remove the legislative hurdles that have been stifling innovation and ensure clear regulations that will help build America as the global leader in cryptocurrency.

The Bitcoin price did not react to the House’s successful procedural vote and continues to consolidate at around $118,000 during the European session. Altcoins, including Ethereum and XRP, edge higher at the time of writing, showing no signs of fatigue.

Data spotlight: Bitcoin, Ethereum ETF inflows rising 

Ethereum spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) recorded the highest inflow on record of approximately $726 million on Wednesday, marking a significant increase from the previous day’s $192 million. This surge in US ETH spot ETFs underscores the growing institutional interest in Ethereum, resulting in a cumulative total net inflow of $6.48 billion and total net assets of $16.41 billion.

Ethereum spot ETF data | Source: SoSoValue 

As for Bitcoin spot ETFs, the inflow volume almost doubled from Tuesday’s $403 million to an average $799 million on Wednesday. None of the 12 ETFs licensed in the US experienced outflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT emerging as the best-performer with roughly $764 million streaming in.

Bitcoin spot ETF data | Source: SoSoValue 

Chart of the day: Bitcoin consolidates ahead of another breakout 

Bitcoin price shows signs of consolidation, with bulls aiming for highs above $120,000. A recovery attempt on Wednesday failed to breach the $120,000 hurdle, resulting in a brief correction to the daily low of $117,017.

Despite the lull in price action over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin appears technically bullish, supported by a buy signal maintained by the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator since June 26. 

The blue MACD line crossing above the red signal line indicated a buy signal for traders to consider buying BTC. If the signal holds with the green histogram above the zero line expanding, the path of least resistance could stay upward, thereby increasing the probability of BTC closing in on record highs of $123,218.

Still, traders should temper their bullish expectations considering the Relative Strength Index (RSI) NEAR overbought territory at 69. Profit-taking and volatility due to macroeconomic uncertainty could result in a trend reversal toward the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) currently at $108,990.

BTC/USDT daily chart

Altcoins update: Ethereum, XRP uptrend steady

Ethereum extends the bullish outlook, closing in on the short-term resistance at $3,500 at the time of writing. Its uptrend is backed by steady institutional demand and a robust technical picture, accentuated by a Golden Cross pattern formed when the 50-day EMA crossed above the 100-day EMA on July 10. The day’s close could confirm a second Golden Cross pattern, if the 50-day EMA settles above the 200-day EMA.

Traders will look for movement above $3,500 hurdle to ascertain the uptrend’s strength as they expand their bullish scope toward $4,000. In the event of the trend reversing downward, key tentative areas worth monitoring for support include $3,217, tested in January, and $2,880, a resistance-turned-support level.

ETH/USDT daily chart

As for XRP, the path of least resistance appears to be upward, backed by several bullish signals, including a MACD indicator buy signal and the overbought, yet upward-looking RSI.

XRP/USDT daily chart

Like Ethereum, XRP has the backing of a Golden Cross Pattern as observed with the 50-day EMA above the 100-day EMA on the chart above. The token is only 5% away from reaching record highs of $3.40.

Cryptocurrency prices FAQs

How do new token launches or listings affect cryptocurrency prices?

Token launches influence demand and adoption among market participants. Listings on crypto exchanges deepen the liquidity for an asset and add new participants to an asset’s network. This is typically bullish for a digital asset.

How do hacks affect cryptocurrency prices?

A hack is an event in which an attacker captures a large volume of the asset from a DeFi bridge or hot wallet of an exchange or any other crypto platform via exploits, bugs or other methods. The exploiter then transfers these tokens out of the exchange platforms to ultimately sell or swap the assets for other cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. Such events often involve an en masse panic triggering a sell-off in the affected assets.

How do macroeconomic releases and events affect cryptocurrency prices?

Macroeconomic events like the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates influence crypto assets mainly through the direct impact they have on the US Dollar. An increase in interest rate typically negatively influences bitcoin and altcoin prices, and vice versa. If the US Dollar index declines, risk assets and associated leverage for trading gets cheaper, in turn driving crypto prices higher.

How do major crypto upgrades like halvings, hard forks affect cryptocurrency prices?

Halvings are typically considered bullish events as they slash the block reward in half for miners, constricting the supply of the asset. At consistent demand if the supply reduces, the asset’s price climbs.