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Bloomberg reported that US stocks finished the week lower as semiconductor names dipped following the reveal of an AI model from Chinese startup Moonshot, whose Kimi K3 model could rival the strongest offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic.The Nasdaq 100 closed down 1.5%, its worst week in almost a month. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.6%, widening its drop from a June record to 20%, meeting the definition of a bear market. Meta led the Magnificent Seven lower.The S&P 500 fell 1%, snapping two straight weeks of gains and finishing below its 50-day moving average. Nationwide chief market strategist Mark Hackett said bulls remain in control but are waiting for an all-clear signal from earnings.Vital Knowledge's Adam Crisafulli said the narrative has evolved into a more nuanced lens, noting Kimi is a large model requiring significant compute, though it creates market share headwinds for OpenAI and Anthropic.Concerns around AI capital spending resurfaced after TSMC reported results. However, even as chip stocks dragged the S&P 500 lower, a majority of stocks rose, and the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index finished at an all-time high.Hargreaves Lansdown senior equity analyst Matt Britzman said the rout resembles a crowded trader coming unstuck rather than a sudden collapse, adding it looks like a healthy reset rather than the end of the memory trade.Netflix fell 7.3% after forecasting a second consecutive quarter of slowing sales. Intuitive Surgical tumbled 14% on softer US growth for its da Vinci robots. Sweetgreen rose 14% after a parasite outbreak was traced to Taco Bell lettuce. Coca-Cola fell 4% after suspending Fairlife milk production.

Bloomberg reported that Meta Platforms Inc. is in early discussions to lease computing power from its data centers to Anthropic PBC, an opportunity for the social media giant to build a new business around its heavy investment in AI infrastructure.The arrangement could be worth as much as $10 billion over two years, according to the New York Times, which first reported the talks. Spokespeople for Meta and Anthropic declined to comment.Meta has been developing plans for a cloud computing business, including leasing capacity to other companies and selling access to AI models hosted on its infrastructure, akin to Amazon Web Services' Bedrock offering.CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Bloomberg that Meta is currently using all of its computing capacity internally, but lucrative offers have made him consider renting it out, saying the offers are so high it may make sense in some cases.Anthropic has been spending aggressively to secure computing capacity. It announced a deal in May to pay SpaceX nearly $45 billion over three years for computing power from multiple data center sites, and a separate $1.8 billion deal with Akamai Technologies.Meta shares, which were down nearly 6% earlier in the day, jumped on the news and were trading down roughly 2.5%.

CryptoQuant data released July 18 shows Bitcoin demand declined further on July 17 compared to the prior day, with negative demand concentrated in the spot market and selling pressure continuing. But the same dataset reveals the structural counterweight: the number of Bitcoins flowing into cumulative accumulation addresses is increasing — indicating that long-term holders and whale investors are absorbing the retail sell orders rather than allowing them to push prices to new lows. The spot market has seen continuous net outflows since November 2025 — eight months of sustained retail distribution — and whale investors have been absorbing those sell orders throughout. Analysts say when spot demand for Bitcoin returns to positive territory, the market may experience a strong upward trend.
Eight Months of Spot Outflows — and Eight Months of Whale Absorption
The November 2025 start date for continuous spot market outflows is a precise and important anchor. November 2025 was the month Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $126,080 — the peak at which retail investors who had bought during the bull run began systematically taking profits and distributing coins into spot market demand. The distribution has been running for eight consecutive months, through Bitcoin's 50% drawdown to the $58,000 late-June low and the partial recovery to the current mid-$60,000s.
What the CryptoQuant accumulation address data reveals is that whale investors have been on the other side of every retail sell order throughout that eight-month period — absorbing supply that retail holders distributed at progressively lower prices. The cumulative address framework — tracking Bitcoin flowing into wallets that have never spent and are consistently adding rather than reducing holdings — provides the cleanest on-chain measure of conviction-driven accumulation versus speculative trading. Rising cumulative address inflows during a period of continuous spot outflows is the precise signature of a market in the later stages of a bear market distribution cycle: retail exhaustion meeting patient whale accumulation.
The Convergence With Prior Bottom Signals
The CryptoQuant accumulation data is the latest addition to the cluster of simultaneous historical bottom signals that has been building throughout the June-July correction. Glassnode's Accumulation Trend Score at its maximum reading of 1.0. Bitcoin exchange supply at its lowest since 2017 per Santiment. Ethereum exchange supply at its lowest since 2015. 270,000 BTC absorbed by whales in two weeks per Bitfinex. Long-term holder supply at a record 79% of circulating supply. The realized P&L ratio at a 43-month low of −0.35. The Sharpe ratio matching the −20 level seen at the 2015, 2018, and 2022 cycle lows.
Each of these signals individually is consistent with a market in late-stage bear market distribution. Together — and now with CryptoQuant's cumulative address data confirming active whale absorption — they represent the most comprehensive structural accumulation picture Bitcoin has produced in the current cycle. The pattern is precisely what preceded the recoveries from every prior cycle low: retail distribution into whale absorption, coin supply migrating from weak to strong hands, and exchange supply contracting to the point where any return of demand meets minimal available sell-side inventory.
The Analyst Framework — When Spot Demand Returns
CryptoQuant analysts frame the current situation with a specific directional hypothesis: when spot demand for Bitcoin returns to positive territory, the market may experience a strong upward trend. The conditional framing is the most important element — the signal is not "Bitcoin will rise imminently" but "the structural setup for a strong upward trend is in place and the trigger is spot demand returning positive."
The trigger condition — spot demand turning positive — requires the macro permission that the current environment has not yet provided. Tuesday's CPI print provided the first glimpse of that permission: $181 million in ETF inflows on CPI day, Bitcoin briefly above $65,000, a three-day inflow streak totaling $368 million. But the chip selloff, Brent crude at $85, five consecutive days of US strikes on Iran, and Hormuz shipping transits at a three-week low of eight ships have collectively prevented that spot demand return from becoming sustained. The structural setup is complete. The macro catalyst — sustained enough to convert the $368 million three-day ETF inflow streak into a multi-week positive flow trend — has not yet arrived. The FOMC meeting July 28-29 is the next scheduled opportunity for the macro environment to provide that catalyst.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $132 million in net inflows on July 17 — extending the streak to four consecutive days of positive flows — with BlackRock's IBIT leading at $136 million in a single session, according to SoSoValue data. The weekly total for Bitcoin spot ETFs reached $75.5 million while Ethereum spot ETFs outperformed with $105.5 million in weekly net inflows, per Farside monitoring data. Total Bitcoin ETF net asset value stands at $77.736 billion with a net asset ratio of 6.04% of Bitcoin's total market cap. Historical cumulative net inflows have reached $51.352 billion.
IBIT's $136 Million — BlackRock Returns to Lead the Complex
BlackRock's IBIT recording $136 million in single-day net inflows on July 17 is the most significant individual fund data point of the week. IBIT had been a notable outflow contributor during June's record $4.51 billion monthly redemption — its absence from the inflow leader board during the early July recovery sessions had been flagged as the specific gap between Fidelity and ARK leading versus the broad-based institutional re-engagement that IBIT's participation would signal. Thursday's $136 million IBIT inflow — pushing the fund's total historical net inflows to $60.49 billion — represents BlackRock's return to active accumulation mode and is the most direct confirmation yet that the institutional re-engagement extends beyond Fidelity and ARK's buyer profiles.
The $136 million single-day IBIT inflow against the $132 million total Bitcoin ETF complex inflow means IBIT was net positive while other products collectively were slightly net negative — with Fidelity's FBTC recording a $4.18 million net outflow as the only meaningful detractor. The FBTC outflow is minor at $4.18 million against IBIT's $136 million and does not change the directional picture, but it confirms that the institutional rotation within the Bitcoin ETF complex — from the Fidelity-and-ARK-led early recovery to the BlackRock-led institutional confirmation — is still in process rather than complete.
Four Consecutive Days — The Streak in Context
The four-day inflow streak — Tuesday $181 million, Wednesday $108 million, Thursday $132 million, with the daily totals fluctuating rather than declining linearly — is the longest consecutive positive flow period since April's $1.97 billion monthly inflow. The non-linear daily pattern is constructive: Thursday's $132 million arriving on a day when Bitcoin was fading from $65,000 and the chip selloff was deepening confirms that the demand is not simply tracking price momentum but reflecting genuine allocation decisions by institutional buyers who are treating the current price levels as attractive entry points regardless of short-term price direction.
The weekly total of $75.5 million is modest in absolute terms relative to April's best weeks, but the directional shift is what matters — the product category had recorded nine consecutive weeks of outflows totaling approximately $6.9 billion before this streak began. Four consecutive positive days pushing the week into positive territory represents the first sustained reversal of that trend.
Ethereum ETFs at $105.5 Million — Outperforming Bitcoin on the Week
Ethereum spot ETFs attracting $105.5 million in weekly net inflows — outperforming Bitcoin's $75.5 million — is the week's most underreported data point. ETH ETFs are newer products with a smaller institutional base than Bitcoin ETFs, meaning $105.5 million in weekly ETH ETF inflows relative to the product's AUM represents proportionally stronger institutional demand than Bitcoin's $75.5 million. BlackRock's Ethereum ETF had already been flagged as accounting for nearly all of the early-week ETH ETF inflows — Thursday's data confirms that the Ethereum institutional demand signal is both real and broad enough to outpace Bitcoin's ETF flows on a weekly basis.
Ether's relative outperformance extends beyond ETF flows — ETH remains the only major cryptocurrency holding a positive weekly return (+4% over seven sessions) as Bitcoin has faded from $65,000 toward $63,000 on the chip selloff and Iran escalation. The combination of ETH price outperformance and ETH ETF inflow outperformance suggests institutional allocators are viewing Ethereum as the higher-quality risk-adjusted position within the crypto ETF complex at current prices.
The AUM and Ratio Picture — $77.7 Billion at 6.04% of Bitcoin's Market Cap
Total Bitcoin ETF net asset value at $77.736 billion with a 6.04% net asset ratio — meaning Bitcoin ETFs collectively hold 6.04% of Bitcoin's total market cap — provides the structural context for understanding how institutional adoption has progressed. A 6.04% market cap penetration in approximately 18 months since the January 2024 launch represents meaningful institutional adoption, but it also indicates that the overwhelming majority of Bitcoin's market cap is still held outside the ETF wrapper — leaving substantial room for the ratio to grow as institutional allocators continue to build positions.
The $51.352 billion in historical cumulative net inflows represents the genuine institutional demand signal — the net capital that has entered Bitcoin through the ETF channel since January 2024 — against which the $5.4 billion in 2026 YTD net outflows represents a 10.5% partial reversal. The four-day inflow streak at $75.5 million weekly represents approximately 1.4% of the 2026 YTD outflow total being recovered — real but proportionally early in any potential structural reversal.

US stocks closed lower Friday with the Dow Jones down 0.77%, the S&P 500 down 1.01%, and the Nasdaq down 1.4% as AI concept stocks sold off broadly across the session. The VIX volatility index — Wall Street's fear gauge — surged 12.19%, confirming that Friday's decline was not a measured correction but a fear-driven selloff with institutional hedging activity accelerating into the close. Intuitive Surgical led individual declines at 14.15%, followed by Cadence down 9.47%, Synopsys down 7.85%, Astera Labs down 5.04%, and Baidu down 4.95%.
The AI Selloff Broadens — From Semiconductors to Software and Robotics
Friday's AI concept stock declines extend the semiconductor selloff that began earlier in the week into adjacent sectors — from hardware into EDA software, robotics-assisted surgery, and networking infrastructure. The breadth matters: when the AI selloff was confined to pure semiconductor names like TSMC, Kioxia, and SK Hynix, it could be read as a supply-chain valuation reassessment specific to chip capex. When Intuitive Surgical — a surgical robotics company — falls 14.15% on the same day, the selloff is being applied across every company whose valuation premium is attributed to AI-adjacent growth potential regardless of sector.
Intuitive Surgical's 14.15% decline is the sharpest individual move of the session and the most unexpected — the company's Da Vinci surgical robot platform has been a beneficiary of AI-enhanced precision surgery narratives rather than a direct semiconductor capex play. A 14% single-session decline suggests either a significant earnings or guidance miss, or a rerating of the AI premium that had been applied to robotics and automation companies across the board.
Cadence's 9.47% drop and Synopsys's 7.85% decline are more directly interpretable — both are electronic design automation software companies whose revenue depends on semiconductor design activity. As the market questions whether the $725 billion in hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending will generate sufficient returns, the companies whose software enables chip design are directly exposed to any reduction in chip design activity. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index's 19% decline from its June peak is now being transmitted into the EDA software ecosystem.
Astera Labs — down 5.04% — is a connectivity solutions company whose PCIe and CXL interconnect chips are core AI data center infrastructure components. Baidu — down 4.95% — reflects both the US-China friction risk introduced by Trump's election interference allegations and the broader questioning of Chinese AI application revenue conversion that the global AI ROI reassessment is generating.
VIX at +12.19% — Institutional Hedging Accelerates
The VIX's 12.19% single-session surge is the most important market microstructure signal from Friday's close. VIX spikes of this magnitude reflect institutional portfolio managers actively purchasing put options and volatility protection at the close — a behavior that indicates professional money managers are positioning for continued downside rather than treating Friday's decline as a buying opportunity. The VIX at elevated levels heading into the weekend creates a self-reinforcing dynamic: higher VIX raises the cost of equity exposure, encouraging further de-risking at Monday's open, which sustains selling pressure into next week.
The combination of VIX +12.19% and the Nasdaq down 1.4% at Friday's close — with the chip selloff in its second consecutive day, Brent at $85, Iran strikes ongoing, and the FOMC meeting 10 days away — sets up Monday's Asian session as the next pressure test for Bitcoin's 200-week SMA at $62,873.
The Crypto Read-Through
The US equity close at session lows with the VIX surging 12.19% is the Friday data point most likely to weigh on Bitcoin in Monday's Asian session. Bitcoin's relative resilience throughout the week — holding near $63,000 while TSMC fell to its biggest drop since April 2025, Kioxia lost 16%, Netflix fell 9%, and Alphabet dropped 4.4% — has been one of the week's most constructive Bitcoin signals. Whether that relative resilience extends through a Monday open where US institutions arrive with VIX elevated, AI positions cut, and geopolitical uncertainty from Iran and US-China friction unresolved is the specific question the weekend is unable to answer.

CoinDesk reported that Cardano developer Input Output is handing control of core blockchain infrastructure to outside teams, reducing the network's dependence on the company that built it.The handover covers Cardano's Haskell node, Plutus smart-contract platform, Daedalus wallet, Hydra scaling technology and developer relations. It will begin in August and continue into 2027.Specialist companies include Se7en Labs, which specializes in Solana infrastructure, and Teragone, which leads development of Mithril. The plan calls for independent teams to maintain at least three Cardano implementations in Haskell, Rust and Go, with community review and voting.Founder and CEO Charles Hoskinson said the last stage of the Voltaire era is full decentralization of node and reference blueprint development. Input Output will focus more on research through IO Labs and IO Ventures.The announcement comes as Cardano faces weak activity, with just $70 million in TVL compared to rivals like Tron and Solana with over $4 billion each. ADA was trading at about 16 cents, nearly 95% below its September 2021 record of $3.10.Hoskinson acknowledged the network has stopped expanding and said further setbacks would be part of its development, adding that bones have to be broken and failures must occur to build confidence in the system.

BeInCrypto reported that FTX will pay creditors about $900 million on July 31 in its fifth distribution, with most creditors recovering more than 100% of their claims.
The payout follows FTX's court-approved bankruptcy plan. International customers get 9% more, reaching 105% of their claim. US customers get 5% more, also hitting 105%. Other creditor groups reach 103%, while the smallest accounts receive a full 120%.
Four earlier rounds have already paid about $10 billion since 2025, including a $2.2 billion round in March. Creditors should receive cash within 1 to 3 business days.
Passing 100% is rare in bankruptcy. FTX repaid the full claim plus 9% annual interest running from its November 2022 collapse under founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
The wind-down led by restructuring veteran John Ray III gathered more than $14 billion. It sold assets early, including a stake in Anthropic for about $1.3 billion.
Claims are valued at 2022 prices, meaning many who took cash lost out versus holding as crypto has climbed since. Preferred shareholders receive a second payment of $18 million on July 31, totaling $95 million so far.
FTX has not set a date for the sixth payout and warns of scams, saying it will never ask creditors to connect a wallet.

A trader sold another 800 billion BONK worth $2.48 million today, according to Lookonchain monitoring. According to NS3.AI, the trader had legally withdrawn 4.426 trillion BONK worth $21.2 million from the BONK treasury and still holds 2.4 trillion BONK worth $6.94 million. BONK has dropped by 40% since the incident on July 6.

SpaceX shares fell below their $135 IPO price this week after peaking above $200 following its Nasdaq debut. The stock has now lost roughly a third of its value from that high, while short interest climbed to about 185 million shares, or 29% of the tradable float. according to BeInCrypto, Elon Musk dismissed the drop and said SpaceX could eventually be worth more than Earth itself. Investors are also watching August share unlocks and a scrubbed Starship test flight.

According to CoinMarketCap data, the global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.19T, up by 1.01% over the last 24 hours.Bitcoin (BTC) traded between $62,538 and $64,388 over the past 24 hours. As of 09:30 AM (UTC) today, BTC is trading at $63,942, up by 1.57%.Most major cryptocurrencies by market cap are trading mixed. Market outperformers include DGB, XEC, and DODO, up by 20%, 13%, and 9%, respectively.Whales Step In as Retail Exits — AI Selloff Broadens, FTX Pays Creditors 105%, Gold Holds $4,100Institutional accumulation is rising as retail sells. The AI selloff spread beyond chipmakers — Nasdaq down 1.4%, VIX up 12%. FTX distributes $900M on July 31, recovering more than 100% for most creditors. Gold options show buyers building positions near $4,100.CryptoQuant: Whales Are Absorbing Bitcoin's Retail Selling Pressure — Cumulative Address Inflows Rising as Spot Outflows ContinueWhale wallet cumulative inflows are rising even as retail spot outflows continue — a demand divergence that historically precedes price stabilization rather than further decline. The pattern mirrors Q4 2022 and early 2023, where institutional accumulation at depressed prices absorbed retail capitulation before the next major recovery phase began. When the two cohorts diverge this sharply, it typically means the price is closer to a floor than a continuation lower.Bitcoin ETFs Post Fourth Consecutive Day of Inflows — IBIT Leads With $136 Million as Weekly Total Hits $75.5 MillionIBIT led with $136M on Thursday, bringing the weekly total to $75.5M across four consecutive positive sessions. July is now on track to be the first net-positive ETF month since April — a structural reversal after nine consecutive weeks of outflows totaling $6.9B. Four straight inflow days don't confirm a trend, but they are the necessary first step toward one.US Stocks Close Lower as AI Selloff Broadens — Intuitive Surgical Crashes 14%, VIX Surges 12%, Nasdaq Down 1.4%Intuitive Surgical crashed 14% as the AI return-on-investment fear that started in semiconductors spread into surgical robotics and AI-adjacent healthcare — a sign the reassessment is thematic, not sector-specific. VIX surged 12%, signaling genuine market uncertainty rather than routine rotation. The broadening of the selloff beyond chipmakers is the development that makes this week's equity weakness more structurally concerning than prior chip-driven corrections.FTX to Begin Nearly $900 Million Creditor Distribution at Month-EndThe fifth distribution brings most creditors to 105% of their original claim plus 9% annual interest running from November 2022 — a recovery rate that is extraordinary by any bankruptcy standard. The estate gathered more than $14B in total assets, including a $1.3B Anthropic stake sale, and has already paid $10B across four prior rounds since 2025. The $900M July 31 distribution is the largest single payout since the process began, and its completion will mark one of the most successful large-scale crypto bankruptcy resolutions in history.Gold Options Data Shows Bullish Positioning Near 4,100Options open interest data shows traders actively adding call options near the $4,100 level as gold defends the psychologically critical $4,000 floor — down 25% from its January all-time high of $5,327. JPMorgan forecasts gold rebounding to $4,300 in Q3 and $4,500 in Q4, and the options positioning suggests institutional buyers are building exposure at current levels in anticipation of that move. The $4,000 level is the line to watch — a sustained break below would open the path toward $3,800 and shift the options setup from bullish accumulation to defensive hedging.Market movers:NVDAB: $202.19 (+0.41%)MSFTB: $394.81 (-0.18%)TSMB: $399.46 (+1.30%)GOOGLB: $346.79 (-0.91%)METAB: $637.12 (-2.49%)AVGOB: $371.05 (+1.28%)SPCXB: $125.27 (-0.88%)TSLAB: $381.68 (-0.92%)MUB: $843.75 (+2.52%)AMDB: $491.42 (+1.64%)

An address previously linked to a governance attack that drained the BONK treasury transferred 400 billion BONK to a CEX, or centralized exchange, about 20 minutes ago. According to BlockBeats On-chain Detection, the address had earlier spent about $4.4 million to buy enough BONK tokens 10 days ago to reach the voting threshold for governance approval.
It then launched a governance proposal and forced it through, allowing 4.426 trillion BONK to be transferred out of the BONK treasury. The amount was reported to be worth about $21.2 million.

Large traders are betting on BTC rising to $72,000 by the end of the month, as latest options market flow suggests. The positioning points to bullish demand into the month-end expiry, according to CoinDesk, with traders focusing on a move higher around the Federal Reserve meeting.

Walmart Inc. has pulled four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products made by Taylor Farms as recalls tied to a cyclosporiasis outbreak widen, according to Bloomberg.
The move comes as cases linked to the outbreak continue to rise.

Gold options open interest data showed some bullish testing, with active additions to call options around the 4,100 level. According to Jin10, traders still need to watch the battle near the 4,000 round-number level.

A once-lucrative corner of Wall Street fixed income has deteriorated so sharply that investors are heading for the exits and arguing over who is to blame, according to Bloomberg. The source says vanishing collateralized loan obligation profits are behind the dispute.

According to CNBC, Trump Media & Technology Group has discussed charging Wall Street traders and investment firms as much as $100,000 a month for faster access to Donald Trump’s posts on Truth Social, with a discounted $60,000 monthly plan available for firms that sign up for three years. The company on Thursday unveiled Truth API, a paid licensed data feed for banks and trading firms that will provide the fastest access to posts from the 10 most influential Truth Social accounts, and said it had already signed up customers ahead of an August 1 launch. Trump Media said the product is its first step into data licensing and will include round-the-clock coverage of influential posts as well as an archive going back to 2022. Shares of Trump Media, which have fallen about 27% this year, closed roughly flat at $9.66 on Friday, giving the company a market value of about $2.7 billion.

Ripple Payments Europe was among 14 firms added to the European MiCA register, bringing the total number of authorized crypto providers in the bloc to 294. The unit received full authorization from Luxembourg’s CSSF and now serves as Ripple’s regulated payments arm across the European Economic Area, according to BeInCrypto, with passporting rights covering 30 countries. Ripple said the license pairs with its existing electronic money institution approval in Luxembourg; markets were little changed, with XRP near $1.07.

Foresight News reported that Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, increased its SpaceX holdings by 147,805 shares yesterday. According to Foresight News, the purchase was worth about $18.32 million.

Cardano is scheduled to activate the Van Rossem upgrade at around 1:44 a.m. UTC on July 19. According to NS3.AI, the upgrade will bring Plutus performance improvements, cost model changes, and stronger node security. CoinMarketCap data showed ADA trading at $0.1658, up 3.10% over the past 24 hours.

Hungary’s $20 billion electric-vehicle industry is facing a crackdown as the country’s new leadership targets environmental violations and considers higher taxes, according to Bloomberg.
The sector had long benefited from the protection of former premier Viktor Orban, but the new stance puts China on notice.

If Ether falls below $1,754, cumulative long liquidations across major centralized exchanges could reach $582 million, according to Coinglass data. According to ChainCatcher, if ETH rises above $1,927, cumulative short liquidations on major CEXs could reach $459 million.

The European Central Bank is likely to skip a second interest-rate increase in the coming week while leaving the door open to a move in September, according to Bloomberg.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said the market is entering the final stage of the bear phase. According to PANews, he said the Bitcoin bear market has lasted nine months and has put pressure on both short-term holders, defined as those holding for less than six months, and long-term holders, defined as those holding for more than six months.
Darkfost said a bear-market-ending signal has just been triggered through a downward cross in the STH/LTH cost basis, which requires a three-day confirmation window to validate. He added that the signal does not mean the bear market will end immediately when it appears or when a bottom forms, but rather indicates that the market is moving into its final phase.
He also said the signal reflects Bitcoin's cyclical nature, which is shown in investor behavior and choices across different cycles. Darkfost added that the influx of institutional investors does not appear to have had much impact on the Bitcoin holder base, and those behaviors have not changed significantly.

Li Auto has launched a new L6 with a 51-kWh battery, 300-km CLTC all-electric range and 20% to 80% charging time cut to 12 minutes, while keeping the price at 249,800 yuan, according to Jiemian News. The updated model also adds the company’s in-house M100 chip, Qualcomm 8797 cockpit chip and a 29-inch 6K display as standard equipment.
The move comes as Li Auto’s sales have become increasingly concentrated in the i6. Based on third-party sales data, the pure-electric model accounted for more than 62% of the company’s internal retail sales in the first six months of the year. Li Auto delivered about 193,500 vehicles in the first half, down about 5% from a year earlier, and its first-quarter gross margin fell to 6.1% as the company swung to a loss.
Li Auto CEO Li Xiang said the new L6 needs to help the company regain volume in the extended-range market. The previous-generation L6 had cumulative deliveries of nearly 400,000 units. The new version does not offer a Livis trim, with 800-volt active suspension and full wire-controlled chassis functions reserved for higher-priced models. Jiemian News also reported that Li Xiang told a small shareholder meeting that the company’s key goals this year are to complete the overhaul of the extended-range L series, including the L9, L8 and L6, and to keep the pure-electric i series at monthly sales of 30,000 units after the i9 launch.

U.S. federal debt reached a record $39.5 trillion, according to the Treasury’s Debt to the Penny database. According to NS3.AI, Adam Kobeissi said the debt has risen by about $3.2 trillion over the last 12 months. The Government Accountability Office warned that the fiscal outlook is projected to deteriorate further if current policies continue.

According to CNBC, IBM said Tuesday that second-quarter results would disappoint, sending its shares down 25% for their worst day on record and leaving the stock down more than 26% for the week. Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said customers are shifting technology budgets toward cybersecurity, hardware and AI tokens, reducing spending on traditional software and consulting and pushing some large deals into later quarters. The report triggered gains in cybersecurity names including CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, while software stocks such as Salesforce and ServiceNow fell. The piece also said investors rotated out of some semiconductor names and into hyperscalers, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF falling nearly 9% for the week as ASML raised its full-year sales outlook and Taiwan Semiconductor increased its capital spending forecast.

Binance Wallet announced on X that Meme Rush now supports multiple launchpad filters on Robinhood Chain, including Virtuals Protocol, Flap, and Bankr. The update is designed to help users discover more on-chain token opportunities through Meme Rush, according to the announcement.
Meme Rush now also allows users to track tokens across BSC, Solana, ETH, Base, and Robinhood Chain at the same time in a single feed. The feature is intended to let users follow multi-chain trends from one place, with the Robinhood Chain filters adding another layer of token discovery options within the platform.

According to Jin10, an Iranian security official warned that if the United States attacks Iran's infrastructure, the airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as the ports of Fujairah and Jebel Ali, should prepare for evacuation. The warning was reported by Fars News.

China reported a monthly trade surplus of $125.6 billion while second-quarter GDP rose 4.3% year over year. According to NS3.AI, growth slowed from 5.0% in the first quarter and came in below the 4.5% economists had expected.
Official data also pointed to weak domestic demand. Real-estate development investment fell 18% in the first half, highlighting continued pressure in the property sector. Investors are now watching the late-July Politburo meeting for clues on China’s next policy direction.

Strategy founder Michael Saylor published a long post on July 18 listing 100 reasons to oppose BIP 110. According to Odaily, he said the proposal would use Bitcoin consensus rules to restrict a category of controversial but currently valid transactions and would amount to governance intervention over use cases.
BIP 110, formally called "Reduced Data Temporary Softfork," was listed as complete on GitHub on June 25, 2026. It is designed to run for about one year and adds seven consensus restrictions, including an 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN outputs, 256-byte caps on some payload and witness items, and limits on certain Taproot-related structures.
Saylor said BIP 110 uses a 55% miner signaling threshold, below the 95% threshold in the standard BIP 9 process, and removes the usual timeout and FAILED status. He argued that using a lower threshold for controversial rule changes would raise the chance of a chain split and could affect miner fee revenue and long-term network security.
He also said Bitcoin’s existing relay and mining strategy tools already allow node operators and miners to limit unwanted transaction types without changing network-wide consensus rules. Saylor added that the Bitcoin base layer should remain conservative and opposed using consensus soft forks to regulate controversial use cases.

Foresight News reported that on-chain analyst Ember monitored a whale or institution that likely sold 30,000 ETH through Galaxy Digital seven hours ago. According to Foresight News, the transaction was valued at about $55 million.

Glenmark agreed to pay $29.6 million to settle claims brought by dozens of states over generic drug pricing. According to NS3.AI, a coalition of 48 states and territories reached the settlement.
The funds are designated for consumer restitution tied to overcharged generic prescriptions.

Scotiabank said policy adjustments do not need to follow a straight line, especially during periods of elevated uncertainty. According to Jin10, that view appears to be shaping market pricing for the European Central Bank's rate decision next Thursday, with markets expecting the ECB to leave the deposit rate unchanged at 2.25% after a 25 basis point hike in June.
ECB President Christine Lagarde's most recent major remarks were on July 1, when she said inflation risks to the upside and growth risks to the downside may now be more balanced than a few weeks earlier because changes are happening quickly. Since then, the conflict between the United States and Iran has resumed, and both WTI and Brent crude have risen by about $12 per barrel.
A June inflation report may have bought the ECB more time to assess conditions, given its data-dependent approach. Eurozone headline CPI fell 0.1% month on month, while core CPI eased to 2.4% from 2.6%, its highest level since April last year. Even so, market sentiment indicators showed hawks still largely in control.

Washington is moving against Brazil’s Pix instant-payment system even as dollar-linked stablecoins account for about 90% of the country’s crypto transaction volume. The U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on most Brazilian goods on July 22, and the case marks the first time Washington has used Section 301 to target a country’s domestic payment system, according to CoinDesk, citing concerns over Pix and dollar-based payment infrastructure. Brazilian regulators are also moving to curb stablecoins in regulated cross-border payments, while the central bank builds Drex.

Take-Two Interactive confirmed Grand Theft Auto VI will launch on November 19, 2026 in a preliminary SEC proxy filing and said fiscal 2027 is a turning point, according to BeInCrypto, with CEO Strauss Zelnick calling it a major inflection point. The filing also said fiscal 2026 net bookings rose to $6.72 billion, revenue reached $6.66 billion and adjusted EBITDA hit $1.4 billion, while shareholders will vote at a virtual annual meeting on September 17, 2026.

Stock ETFs saw a sharp increase in trading volume as the market fluctuated and adjusted on July 17. According to Odaily, stock ETFs recorded net inflows of more than 75 billion yuan that day, while net inflows from July 13 to July 17 exceeded 200 billion yuan over the five trading days. Since the start of July, stock ETFs have recorded net inflows of more than 320 billion yuan.

A U.S. official said Iran fired a ballistic missile at a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia on July 17 local time, marking Iran's first direct strike on Saudi Arabia in nearly four months. According to Jin10, Saudi civil defense issued alerts for two locations in Saudi Arabia on July 18, warning residents of a "potential danger," before later saying the danger had been lifted in both places.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel has been the common actor in all wars in the region over the past three years. According to Jin10, he said Israel has attacked multiple countries, including Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, and committed genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories. He added that if the region is to achieve real peace, the root cause of endless war must be contained.

ICICI Bank Ltd. posted better-than-expected first-quarter profit as loan growth accelerated across its retail and corporate businesses, according to Bloomberg.
The India-based lender, the country's second-largest private-sector bank, benefited from healthy demand in both segments.