The crypto market was abuzz with soaring gains this week, from Bitcoin surging to a new all-time high while a major security breach shook the DeFi space. Besides, the market sentiment remained buoyant as institutional interest continued to drive the crypto narrative forward.
Here’s a quick wrap-up of the key stories that defined the week.
What Happened in Crypto This Week? Major Headlines;
Bitcoin Price Hits New High Above $118K
Bitcoin reached a historic milestone on July 11 and surged past a new all-time high of $118,856 price mark. The rally was mainly driven by robust institutional demand for Bitcoin and the current favorable market conditions. The market confidence is currently fueled by supportive U.S. policies, including the anticipated regulatory clarity from upcoming “Crypto Week” legislation.
The $42 Million GMX Hack Shook DeFi
GMX, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Arbitrum, suffered a significant security breach on July 9. The hackers exploited a re-entrancy vulnerability GMX V1 protocol and drained approximately $42 million from the GLP liquidity pool. They manipulated the pool’s pricing logic to mint and redeem inflated GLP tokens while extracting assets like FRAX, USDC, DAI, wrapped Bitcoin, and Ether.
GMX swiftly disabled V1 trading and GLP minting on Arbitrum and Avalanche, offering the hacker a 10% white-hat bounty—about $4.2 million—to return the funds. Remarkably, the exploiter returned nearly all $40.5 million by July 11 after negotiations, marking a rare recovery in DeFi hacks.
PumpFun ICO Sells Out in 14 Minutes
The Solana-based memecoin launchpad, PumpFun achieved a staggering feat as its PUMP token Initial Coin Offering (ICO) sold out in just 14 minutes. On Saturday morning, PumpFun sold 125 billion tokens—representing 12.5% of the 1 trillion total supply—and raised over $500 million.
The ICO was launched across major crypto exchanges like Bybit, Kraken, and Gate.io. It required users to complete KYC verification and excluded U.S. and UK participants. The unprecedented demand—with 189 on-chain accounts committing up to $1 million each—underscored Pump.fun’s dominance in the memecoin space.
Ethereum Goes Institutional: GameSquare, SharpLink Dives Deeper
The institutional attention on Ethereum spikes-up with SharpLink Gaming acquiring 10,000 ETH from the Ethereum Foundation. Concurrently, GameSquare Holdings also launched a $100 million Ethereum treasury strategy with acquiring approximately 1,818 ETH for $5 million. The moves from both these giants signal a growing institutional interest in Ethereum with its price rising above $3,000 and highlighting its role as a key digital asset for corporate treasuries.
PENGU ETF Sparks Attention
Pudgy Penguins’ PENGU saw glorious spikes past week after the acknowledgment from SEC onto the Canary Capital’s Spot PENGU ETF filing. This innovative fund has sparked significant investor enthusiasm, pushing PENGU’s market cap past $1.23 billion and trading volume up 500% to $864 million. The ETF aims to allocate 80-95% of its portfolio to PENGU tokens and 5-15% to Pudgy Penguins NFTs, with minor holdings in Solana and Ethereum for liquidity.
News You Might Have Missed
Here are the essential news and updates that you might have missed this week;
- Vitalik Proposes Lower Gas Cap to Ethereum: Vitalik Buterin has proposed EIP-7983, an upgrade for capping Ethereum transaction gas at 16.77 million to boost network security, stability, and zkVM compatibility.
- Jack Dorsey Unveils Bitchat: Jack Dorsey has launched Bitchat beta, a decentralized, encrypted messaging app using Bluetooth mesh networks for offline, privacy-focused communication.
- Trump Media Files S-1 for Crypto ETF: Trump Media has submitted S-1 filing for Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip ETF, targeting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cronos.
- RLUSD Surpasses $500M in Market Cap: Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin exceeds $500 million in market cap, gaining traction as a USD-backed digital asset on Ethereum and XRP Ledger.
- Justin Sun Plans to Buy $100 Million of TRUMP: Tron founder Justin Sun pledges $100M to buy TRUMP meme coin while aiming to integrate it with TRON and boost its global adoption.
Buzz of the Week
Bhutan Sold Another 100 Bitcoin: Best Government Sellings Yet!
The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred another 100 BTC—valued at approximately $11.83 million—to Binance on July 11. This transaction hinted towards its continued strategy of selling Bitcoin during price peaks. It marks Bhutan’s second significant transfer to Binance in the past two weeks, following a $23.73 million (213.5 BTC) deposit, with sales executed at an average price of $88,612 over the past year.
Bhutan’s approach leverages its hydroelectric-powered mining operations and precise market timing to lock in profits, maintaining 11,611 BTC worth $1.37 billion, or 40% of its GDP.
In contrast, the German government sold 49,858 BTC between June 19 and July 12, 2024, at an average price of $57,600, missing out on $2.67 billion in potential profits as Bitcoin’s value later doubled. Germany’s rushed liquidation, primarily of seized assets, lacked Bhutan’s disciplined, gradual selling strategy, which could have been emulated by spacing out sales during market highs and using exchanges like Binance for liquidity.
Top Gainers and Losers of the Week
| Gainers | Losers |
| M (MemeCore): +838% | JTO (Jito): -5% |
| MOG (Mog Coin): +86% | OKB (OKB): -0.46% |
| XLM (Stellar): +65% | BGB (Bitget Token): -0.20% |
| IP (Story): +55% | – |
| PENGU (Pudgy Penguin): +47% | – |
What to Expect for Next Week?
The cryptocurrency market is poised for a dynamic week from July 14 to 20 as Bitcoin eyes to surge past $120,000 for the first time. The SEC’s decision on the Cardano (ADA) ETF—due by July 15—is a key focus with a 90% approval likelihood potentially boosting ADA’s price.
Moreover, the U.S. House’s “Crypto Week” will debate the CLARITY Act for crypto market rules, the GENIUS Act for stablecoin regulation, and the Anti-CBDC Act to block digital dollar deals—all three potentially shaping regulatory clarity and market sentiment.
Also Read: If Bitcoin Price Hits $350K, Satoshi Becomes The Richest Person
