Bitcoin Buying Frenzy

GM Anon!

The tides are turning fast. Macro’s breaking, institutions are rotating, and crypto isn’t just catching flows—it’s commanding them. GDP prints are rolling over, rate cut bets are surging, and sovereigns are openly buying Bitcoin. ETF demand is relentless, smart money’s hunting yield, and altcoins are either mooning or melting with zero in between. Let’s break it down!

TLDR

• U.S. GDP revised to -0.5%, USD hits lows, and 94% odds priced for a September rate cut, triggering broad risk-on sentiment.

• Trump confirms new China deal, considers replacing Powell; EU open to U.S. trade pact as global policy dynamics shift.

• Bitcoin fully recovers, with $14B in options expiring, Deribit OI near ATHs, and dominance climbing to 66%.

• Sovereigns and institutions accumulate BTC: Bhutan, Texas, Metaplanet ($5B plan), GameStop, Coinbase, and others go long.

• ETH sees $150M+ inflows from Bit Digital and Sharplink; Nano Labs raises $500M to accumulate BNB.

• Stablecoin cap hits $252.77B ATH, driven by EUR and FIUSD on Solana; Circle valuation drops below $200M but flips USDC.

• Alt-L1s gain traction: SEI rips 39.8%, HYPE dominates perps (77% share), Invesco Galaxy files for SOL ETF.

• Coinbase hits ATH and launches U.S.-style perps; Kraken debuts Krak app; Chainlink x Mastercard partner on RWAs.

• Regulatory tone shifts: crypto bill coming by Sep 30, banks cleared for crypto, reputational risk oversight ends.

• Smart money concentrates on GOR, LAUNCHCOIN (Solana), and KTA (EVM), while most alts without narratives continue bleeding.

Markets & Industry

The U.S. economic picture deteriorated this week, with Q1 GDP revised down to -0.5%, stoking hard landing fears and dragging the dollar to its lowest level since March 2022. Traders are now pricing in a 94% probability of a rate cut by the September FOMC, while Morgan Stanley projects seven rate cuts in 2026. Adding fuel to the fire, the Fed released plans to ease capital requirements for banks, and consumer pessimism over labor conditions hit a four-year high. The Fed’s tone is softening—but the political tone is sharpening.

On the geopolitical side, Trump confirmed a new trade deal with China and hinted at replacing Jerome Powell, stating he’s interviewing three to four candidates for the Fed chair role. Simultaneously, the Trump-era tariff pause is set to expire in less than two weeks, threatening new friction. The EU signaled it’s prepared to cut tariffs on U.S. imports and is open to a broader EU-U.S. trade pact, bringing potential relief to cross-continental flows.

That backdrop created a perfect storm for asset rotation. U.S. tech stocks attracted $4.4 billion in inflows last week, the highest in a year, as institutional investors bought at the fastest pace ever recorded. Nvidia hit an all-time high and became the most valuable company on Earth, anchoring the return of large-cap momentum. But the real migration wasn’t into equities—it was into crypto.

Bitcoin: Relentless Demand, Sovereign Purchases, and a Strategic Shift in Tone

Bitcoin has fully recovered from last week’s dip, with ETF inflows surging and BTC dominance nearing 66%. More than $14 billion in BTC options expired Friday, fueling an already frothy derivatives market, as BTC open interest on Deribit nears all-time highs. But price isn’t the story—buy-side aggression is.

Institutions, sovereign entities, and corporates are tripping over themselves to get exposure:

• Metaplanet purchased $133M in BTC and plans to inject $5B into its U.S. subsidiary to continue buying.

• Texas confirmed it will buy $10M in BTC for reserves.

• Bhutan is now the third-largest BTC holder globally.

• Bakkt Holdings, Green Minerals ($1.2B), Pompalino ($750M), Pomp’s ProCap ($386.5M), and GameStop ($2.7B in debt financing) all joined the BTC accumulation race.

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the firm is buying BTC every week.

• Sharplink added another $30M in ETH, pivoting hard into treasury-backed crypto.

• Nano Labs raised $500M to buy BNB, signaling a growing appetite for non-BTC majors.

Even the White House teased a “BTC accumulation plan”, and U.S. regulators are now considering allowing crypto to back federal housing mortgages—a radical policy shift with systemic implications. Meanwhile, CZ boldly predicted that 0.1 BTC will eventually be enough to buy a house. While hyperbolic, the narrative clearly resonates.

Ethereum, Stablecoins, and the Layer-1 Expansion

Ethereum is absorbing serious institutional flow. Bit Digital raised $150M and announced a full pivot to becoming a pure ETH staking and treasury company, joining Sharplink in reframing ETH as a base-layer yield vehicle. Stablecoin action followed suit.

Fiserv launched its FIUSD stablecoin on Solana, contributing to a sharp surge in EUR-denominated stablecoins, now at $500M in total market cap. Meanwhile, Circle’s valuation dipped below $200M, hurt by BIS criticism of stablecoins, even as it flipped USDC in market cap and neared Coinbase’s market cap highs.

Barclays banned customer crypto transactions, but the tide is clearly against them. The Fed officially ended its “reputational risk” oversight, freeing U.S. banks to legally engage in crypto activity, as confirmed by Powell himself. Regulatory walls are crumbling.

Alt-L1s also had a moment. Invesco Galaxy filed for a SOL ETF, and HYPE now makes up 77% of all perpetual DEX volume, reflecting a clear resurgence in crypto-native speculation. Sei (SEI) led the L1 cohort, as the market searched for beta plays around BTC strength.

Exchanges, Infrastructure, and Corporate Realignment

Coinbase stock hit a fresh ATH, just as the exchange announced plans to launch U.S.-style perpetual futures, a long-awaited expansion aimed squarely at institutional traders. Kraken rolled out its own payments app, Krak, while WLFI secured a $100M investment from a UAE fund, showing rising international capital interest in compliant crypto access.

In infrastructure:

• Chainlink and Mastercard announced a collaboration for onchain trading, strengthening LINK’s position as middleware for RWAs.

• Aurora Mobile added crypto reserves to its balance sheet.

• Zama raised $57M at a $1B valuation, targeting secure crypto systems.

• Kalshi raised $185M at a $2B valuation, doubling down on prediction markets.

• Dinari secured licenses to issue tokenized stocks.

On the regulatory side, Senator Tim Scott confirmed that the long-awaited crypto bill will be finalized by September 30, creating real traction on the legal front. Combined with Powell’s green light for bank crypto activity, the tide is shifting decisively in crypto’s favor.

Even legacy giants are changing posture. Circle’s drop in valuation has not stopped its product dominance, and U.S. policymakers are now exploring crypto as collateral for federal mortgages. These aren’t fringe ideas—they’re policy experiments backed by mounting capital flows.

Crypto is no longer reactive—it’s becoming the asset class others react to.

Majors & Memes

BTC quietly held its ground while the rest of the ecosystem was flushed out or rotating aggressively. BTC finished the week with a modest 1.0% gain, holding firm above $107K despite persistent macro uncertainty. It’s been one of the few assets showing resilience, refusing to break down even as liquidity remains uncertain, and rate cut expectations get pushed back.

SOL extended its pullback this week, shedding 4.4% as momentum continued to fade following previous attempts at a breakout. Price action remains heavy, with the token pinned below resistance and lacking conviction despite a still-active ecosystem. ADA was also under pressure, dropping 8.1%, making it one of the worst-performing majors this week. The move confirms its ongoing bleed, with no active catalysts or meaningful buyer interest. 

ETH fell 4.2%, continuing its post-ETF slump and now trading firmly below the $2,500 zone, underperforming BTC across all key pairings. XRP was down 3.9%, stuck in a sideways range that’s seen little narrative or speculative flow. BNB held relatively steady, dipping just 0.4%, a sign that Binance’s ecosystem strength continues to offer token-level insulation. TRX closed the week flat, showing no major volatility or directional bias. 

DOGE lost 6.0%, giving up early-week gains and once again proving how quickly meme flows reverse. The only notable large-cap asset to hold its ground and actually trend higher was APT, up 13.1%—a clean breakout move supported by real spot demand.

While the majors drifted or chopped, the real action unfolded below the surface. Speculative capital rotated hard into low-float, mid-cap names—igniting sharp breakouts in pockets of the market that still respond to liquidity and momentum. SEI was the clear leader, ripping 39.8% on strong volume and technical breakout confirmation. MOVE followed with a 35.1% gain, and DOG (Bitcoin) matched that with a 34.9% surge. 

These were classic liquidity rotations—pure plays on volatility, low float, and the market’s current appetite for high-beta asymmetry. EUL gained 31.8%, likely catching a wave of quiet DeFi interest, while SYRUP added 23.1% as it continues to ride the slow-building RWA narrative.

But as capital rushed into a few names, the rest of the board was getting obliterated. AB was the biggest loser, down a brutal 40.7%, a clear unwind of speculative positions. RVN shed 18.8%, OM followed closely with an 18.3% drawdown, and HNT dropped 18.0%. These weren’t isolated moves—they reflect the broader illiquidity problem plaguing most altcoins right now. Even structurally sound or formerly hyped tokens like TIA (–13.8%) and UNI (–11.1%) couldn’t escape the sell pressure. 

There's a clear pattern: unless a token has fresh narrative flow, capital is leaving. CRV, AR, PNUT, and a slew of other post-hype names fell anywhere between 12–18%, reinforcing that altcoin floors are thin and still vulnerable to further downside.

Mindshare

Mindshare over the past week has seen some dramatic rotations.

GOR maintained a strong, consistent presence throughout, peaking mid-cycle and holding significant market attention until June 25. It’s clearly the anchor narrative during this stretch, likely tied to its major inflows and smart money conviction. USLESS also showed solid traction early on, peaking between June 22–23, but faded sharply after June 24.

The standout surge came from Hosico, which exploded into the mindshare around June 24–25, dominating briefly before retreating again. This was a classic flash rotation—quick interest spike, likely tied to short-term catalysts or social pumps. LABUBU, aura, and House all saw similar mid-cycle bumps but couldn't sustain the narrative weight, hinting at lack of follow-through or new capital.

On the flip side, tokens like CHILLHOUSE, titcoin, and BUNKER gained traction only toward the tail end (June 25–26), suggesting potential fresh narratives forming. MONKEPHONE and TROLL, while present, never broke out into dominance.

In short, this week’s mindshare has been rotational and highly reactive—GOR remains the mainstay, Hosico was the speculative burst, and we now see potential handoffs to plays like CHILLHOUSE or BUNKER as attention reshuffles again.

Smart Money Accumulation

Over the past 7 days, smart money activity in the Solana ecosystem has been concentrated and conviction-driven, particularly around LAUNCHCOIN and GOR, which saw sharp increases in holdings. LAUNCHCOIN leads the board with a 75.86% increase and over $1.77M in value, reflecting sustained appetite. GOR surged even more dramatically at +126.63%, confirming the trend we’ve seen in daily flows—this is not just noise, but coordinated and confident accumulation.

Further down the list, CHILLHOUSE (+14.53%) and VIBE (+5.19%) saw moderate increases, indicating steady positioning rather than aggressive rotation. These aren’t breakout bets yet, but the holding strength suggests believers holding through volatility.

On the flip side, tokens like KLED, Fartcoin, USELESS, and DUPE all saw slight reductions in allocation despite high dollar balances. This could signal trimming for rotation, loss of narrative momentum, or simply profit-taking. The outflows are not catastrophic—but enough to suggest these aren't current priority plays for big wallets.

Overall, Solana smart money has narrowed in on a few high-conviction tokens, with GOR emerging as a breakout leader and LAUNCHCOIN maintaining dominance. Others are seeing stabilization, but not standout accumulation.

Over the last 7 days, smart money activity in the EVM ecosystem has been more mixed compared to Solana, with fewer standout performers but a few notable conviction shifts.

KTA saw a massive +359.19% increase in holdings, pushing its balance close to $1M. This jump dwarfs all other movements and signals a highly concentrated bet, keep an eye on this one in the coming days. SHRUB (+11.85%) and MOODENG (+8.56%) also recorded solid inflows, though at lower capital intensity, suggesting niche conviction rather than ecosystem-wide rotation.

On the downside, SBET was the clear loser with a -10.21% drop in holdings, indicating rotation out or declining conviction among big wallets. JOE (-2.35%), Mog (-3.18%), and PEPE (-0.13%) saw minor trimming.

Overall, while Solana smart money appears more concentrated around a few high-conviction leaders, EVM flows are scattered, with KTA the only standout bet. The rest of the ecosystem reflects more rotation and rebalancing than strong accumulation.

That wraps up this post—we hope you found the insights valuable. See you next week, anon! 🚀