Crypto News

The second week of the Roman Storm trial kicked off with Judge Katherine Failla allowing a witness to testify that Tornado Cash could have been modified to prevent criminal use.

Tron Founder Justin Sun will join Jeff Bezos’ space tourism organization, Blue Origin, on its next mission, the company announced in a July 21 press release. Tron Founder Prepares For Takeoff According to the Monday press release , Sun will join real estate investor Arvi Bahal, Turkish businessman Gökhan Erdem, Puerto Rican meteorologist Deborah Martorell, teacher Lionel Pitchford, and Alpha Funds founder J.D. Russell aboard the space technology company’s NS-34 mission. In 2021, I bid $28M for a seat on @BlueOrigin ’s New Shepard rocket—funds that went to @clubforfuture , Blue Origin’s foundation, to support 19 space-based charities inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders. Proud to join Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission and continue encouraging… https://t.co/oLV4ly1Wtv — H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) July 21, 2025 Sun bid $28 million for the first seat on the New Shepard rocket back in 2021, with proceeds going to Blue Origin’s STEAM non-profit, Club For The Future. “Proud to join Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission and continue encouraging youth to pursue their dreams in science and space,” Sun said in a July 21 statement. News of Blue Origin’s latest mission comes just three months after the project faced public backlash for launching pop singer Katy Perry, reporter Gayle King, and Bezos’s now-wife, Lauren Sanchez, into space. Despite the announcement, a date for the mission— which will likely see the blockchain executive launched into space—is still to be decided. Justin Sun Cozies Up To Trump-affiliated Crypto Sun has become somewhat of a household name in the past year as he has become increasingly affiliated with the U.S. political scene. In January, the crypto tycoon increased his original $30 million investment in the Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token to $75 million. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had previously charged Sun and three of his companies for violating federal securities law back in 2023, dropped the case the following month. Earlier this month, Sun pledged $100 million to U.S. President Donald Trump-affiliated memecoin, $TRUMP. “We are committed to buying $100M of $TRUMP,” Sun said in a July 9 X post. “Together, $TRUMP and #TRON are the future of Crypto.” “$TRUMP on #TRON is the currency of #MAGA,” he added.

Coinbase has launched perpetual futures trading in the U.S., with eligible users in the country set to access two futures contracts as of July 21. On Monday, the exchange said U.S. users can now trade perpetual derivatives via its Coinbase…

Solana's market cap reached its highest level since January, boosting its DeFi TVL.

Bitcoin’s dominance is starting to slip as capital flows into a broader set of digital assets. From Ethereum’s sharp breakout to the resurgence of meme coins, the market has entered a phase of visible diversification. This raises a familiar question: Is an altcoin season underway? While the term often generates hype, verifying its arrival requires more than anecdotal gains. This analysis examines current price action, dominance metrics, and altcoin season indicators to assess whether the shift is technical noise or the beginning of a deeper rotation. Performance Snapshot: Ethereum, XRP, and Meme Tokens Ethereum surged from under $3,100 to over $3,750 in the first three weeks of July 2025, according to CoinMarketCap. The move coincided with a wave of liquidations and rising ETH inflows, especially into derivatives platforms. Market watchers tied the rally to anticipation around scaling upgrades and ETH’s improving market share. ↗️ #Crypto market is up today, the market cap has surpassed $4 trillion, #BTC is back above $120,350, #ETH is nearing $4,000, and ETH spot #ETFs saw the second-highest inflows yet. https://t.co/j23H5XZsPn — Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) July 18, 2025 XRP outperformed even more dramatically. On July 17, it breached its previous all-time high, touching $3.49 before retreating slightly. CoinMarketCap data confirms this level marked a new price discovery zone, aided by regulatory clarity in Asia and adoption by financial services platforms. It is currently trading at $3.61. DOGE also participated in the rally. While not reaching new highs, it climbed nearly 40% in a two-week window, driven by retail enthusiasm and Elon Musk’s renewed social mentions. This broader participation suggests the rally was not limited to high-cap utility tokens alone. Interpreting the Climb with Altcoin Season Index As of July 21, the Altcoin Season Index— tracked by Blockchaincenter —stands at 59. This index measures the number of top 50 coins outperforming Bitcoin over the last 90 days. While 75 is the official “altcoin season” threshold, the current level marks a steep climb from 28 in early June. It shows a shift in relative strength, especially when paired with falling Bitcoin dominance. The trend is clear, even if the season isn’t official yet. CMC Altcoin Season Index (Source: CoinMarketCap) Similarly, the CMC Altcoin Season Index tracks the performance of 100 altcoins relative to Bitcoin for the past 90 days and is currently showing a reading of 56. Bitcoin Dominance and Capital Migration Bitcoin dominance dropped to 60.49% this week, its lowest level since March, according to TradingView’s BTC.D chart . The decline mirrors the expanding inflows into Ethereum, meme assets, and select infrastructure tokens. Historically, BTC.D falling below 50% has marked a transition toward broader risk appetite. ETH’s share of total market cap rose 1.5% in July, while DeFi tokens like AAVE and UNI posted double-digit weekly gains. These shifts show a familiar pattern: capital exits Bitcoin for potentially higher-yield altcoins when market sentiment turns risk-on. That behavior is now repeating, albeit more selectively than in prior cycles. Infrastructure Tokens and the Flight to Utility Analysts are flagging a parallel theme beneath the meme hype: a rotation into infrastructure plays with perceived longevity. Chainlink (LINK) , trading around $19, is attracting institutional interest again. LINK’s cross-chain interoperability could be seen as essential to upcoming RWAs and enterprise integrations. Cardano (ADA) Price (Source: CoinMarketCap) Cardano (ADA) has risen by more than 50% over the past month, buoyed by recent ecosystem launches and expanded stablecoin options. ADA’s sustained community development and regulatory alignment could be factors in its rebound. Avalanche (AVAX), also up 50% over the past 30 days, is being watched for subnetwork upgrades. Analysts argue that these layer-1s are regaining traction not as Ethereum killers but as specialized tools for selective growth sectors. A Measured But Shifting Environment A full altcoin season is not yet confirmed. But with rising participation, declining BTC dominance, and renewed attention on utility-based tokens, the conditions are forming. If momentum continues, the coming weeks could mark a decisive phase in crypto’s internal capital rotation. Altcoin market cycles often move in phases, with early breakouts in majors like ETH and XRP followed by delayed gains in mid- and small-cap tokens. If historical patterns hold, the current broadening could indicate a more sustained altcoin-led period. However, volatility remains high, and sector rotations can reverse quickly. Investors should continue monitoring key indicators like dominance, volume flows, and relative strength to navigate what may be the early innings of an altcoin resurgence.

Nasdaq and S&P 500 are approaching record levels, ahead of a week of tech earnings reports.

Following its latest freeze of nearly $86K in stolen USDt, Tether’s enforcement capabilities are again in the spotlight — raising questions about centralized control in stablecoin ecosystems.

Crypto phishing websites are becoming increasingly difficult to stop, and big tech is not doing enough to stop them.

As Tron founder Justin Sun prepares to cross the Kármán line, he joins a diverse team of adventurers, philanthropists, and innovators, each with a story as compelling as his $28 million charity bid that first secured his seat.

Key Takeaways: 912,296.82 ETH tokens are permanently inaccessible, according to public blockchain records. BlackRock’s ETHA led ETF inflows, bringing total U.S. Ethereum ETF inflows to $5.5B. Ethereum’s self-custody model offers no built-in recovery for user-side errors. A recent GitHub post published by Coinbase Head of Product Conor Grogan has documented over 912,000 ETH that have been permanently lost due to user error or protocol failures, representing more than 0.76% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. Grogan compiled wallet addresses from public records, contract audits, and community-sourced data. The analysis excludes unknown lost-key events, covering only ETH that is provably inaccessible. A Total of 912,296.82 ETH Lost “To be clear, this $3.4B+ number significantly undershoots the actual lost/inaccessible ETH amount,” Grogan wrote. “It just covers instances where Ethereum is locked forever.” “For example, it doesn’t cover all lost private keys or things like Genesis wallets that have been forgotten,” said Grogan. Based on my research, a minimum of 913,111 Ethereum is lost forever due to user error. This is 0.76%+ of ETH supply, or $3.43 billion in lost funds If we include EIP‑1559 burned ETH (5.3M), then >5% of all ETH ever made ($23.42B) have been permanently destroyed pic.twitter.com/IlTduN7Kzx — Conor (@jconorgrogan) July 20, 2025 Major losses include 306,000 ETH trapped in a Parity multisig contract once used by the Web3 Foundation, 60,000 ETH from the failed QuadrigaCX exchange, and 11,500 ETH lost by the Akutars NFT project due to a contract error. Grogan also identified 25,000 ETH manually sent to a known burn address. The dataset incorporates findings from researcher Johannes, who documented over 12,000 ETH lost due to wallet typos, and credits contributions from Tayvano and J6sp5r. Grogan said future updates will expand the dataset to cover situations such as North Korean losses and cases involving unrecoverable private keys. Ethereum ETFs Grow with Record Inflows Ethereum ETFs have drawn over $5.5 billion in total inflows, with $3.3 billion added since mid-April. The renewed demand follows a rise in Ethereum basis yield and stronger futures activity. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) led with $489 million in inflows on July 17, its highest on record. ETHA brought in $1.25 billion across five sessions, raising BlackRock’s ETH ETF holdings to $6.94 billion. U.S. Ethereum ETFs collectively saw $726.74 million in daily inflows on July 17, beating the previous record. Fidelity’s FETH and Grayscale’s mini trust added $113.31 million and $54.18 million, respectively. The persistence of lost Ethereum indicates the protocol’s strict finality and lack of recourse for user-side errors. Unlike traditional financial systems that offer chargebacks or custodial recovery, Ethereum’s self-custody model makes asset recovery functionally impossible once certain errors occur. Institutional exposure now grows through vehicles like ETFs, making user education and wallet safety increasingly relevant. Preventing future losses will likely depend more on improved tooling and standards than changes to the protocol itself. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Can lost ETH ever be recovered through upgrades or forks? No. Ethereum’s consensus design does not allow selective access changes without a hard fork, which would require broad network coordination and is highly unlikely. Could other chains implement loss-recovery tools without compromising decentralization? Some newer chains experiment with programmable recovery functions or guardian models, but these involve tradeoffs in user control and system trust assumptions. How is ETH loss accounted for in monetary policy models or supply tracking? Lost ETH is not officially removed from circulating supply metrics, but is often considered when estimating effective supply and scarcity. Do ETFs holding ETH face specific technical risks from these loss patterns? While ETFs use custodians to minimize risk, operational security failures in staking, slashing, or private key management could still create large-scale losses.