Everyone’s buzzing about bitcoin (BTC) finally catching a bid, setting record prices on several exchanges and igniting bullish excitement. But don't let the spotlight on BTC cast AI coins into the shadow.

July 10, 2025
 

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What to know:

 

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Everyone’s buzzing about bitcoin (BTC) finally catching a bid, setting record prices on several exchanges and igniting bullish excitement. But don't let the spotlight on BTC cast AI coins into the shadow.

Major tokens supposedly associated with artificial intelligence, such as TAO, ICP, RENDER and FET, surged as much as 8% in the past 24 hours, outpacing even the 10 largest coins by market cap.

 

The catalyst is chipmaker Nvidia, a bellwether for all things AI, which rallied to a market valuation of $4 trillion on Wednesday, the first time any company has achieved this milestone.

 

"The size and success of this giant, and the other US tech behemoths, underscores how much the AI trade can overwhelm the market's response to week-to-week fluctuations in economic data and policy headlines," Lisa Abramowicz, co-host of Bloomberg Surveillance, said on X.

 

In other words, the AI sub-sector of the crypto market could get really hot.

 

Let's turn to ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, which also outshone the No. 1 coin yesterday amid record trading volumes in BlackRock's spot ether ETF. The rally followed Fidelity’s latest report, which highlighted the Ethereum blockchain's lead over Solana and other programmable chains in terms of developer activity, total value locked (TVL) and stablecoin use.

 

The report emphasized ether's dual role as both a medium of exchange and a store of value — narratives that have worked in bitcoin's favor for years.

 

In other news, PUMP, the official token of Pump.fun, traded 40% above its upcoming ICO price, while FART, VIRTUAL, and PENGU have each logged double-digit gains. SHIB appeared poised to outperform BTC, but continued to trade on a weak footing against its rival, DOGE.

 

Finally, macroeconomic factors necessitated that traders prepare for volatility. As QCP Capital astutely put it: “With a reignited trade war, a hawkish Federal Reserve, and tightening liquidity, volatility is likely to spike. Macro catalysts are lining up—so buckle up for a wild ride.” Stay alert.

 

Overnight Flows

 

A message from VeChain

The launch of StarGate, VeChain’s new staking platform, kicks off an exciting era of enhanced rewards and more attractive tokenomics for the real-world-proven blockchain. 

 

StarGate, part of the ‘VeChain Renaissance’ technical roadmap, delivers greatly enhanced staking APYs, while Renaissance introduces consensus upgrades, interoperability tools, and new features that make building on VeChain more rewarding than ever.

 

Key features and benefits of StarGate include:

 

Staking Nodes from as low as 10K $VET (~$200)

A massive 9.1% APY for certain Node types

Unique, secure NFT-based staking model

A 5.48 Billion $VTHO ($10+ Million) bonus pool for the first 6 months

Intuitive staking and reward claiming mechanics

 

StarGate is more than a staking program - it's the launch of a more decentralized, economically attractive era for stakers and builders alike. With thousands of new Nodes onboarded, VeChain welcomes a new generation of holders joining its mission to deliver the real-world potential of blockchain, and drive Web3 mainstream.

 

Visit StarGate to learn more.

Unlock Bonus Rewards
 

What to Watch

Crypto

  • July 10, 10 a.m.: The Polygon (POL) Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain is set to activate the Heimdall hard fork on mainnet, reducing finality time to around 5 seconds, and bringing "faster checkpoints, smoother UX, safer bridging, and head-room for the next wave of upgrades."
  • July 14, 10 p.m.: Singapore High Court hearing on WazirX’s Scheme of Arrangement, marking a critical step in the exchange's restructuring after the $234 million hack on July 18, 2024.
  • July 15: Alchemist staking update launches, allowing token holders to stake ALCH for access to advanced features, premium benefits and ecosystem rewards, potentially boosting token utility and demand.
  • July 15: Lynq is expected to debut its real-time, interest-bearing digital-asset settlement network for institutions. Built on Avalanche’s layer-1 blockchain and powered by Arca’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund shares, Lynq enables instant settlement, continuous yield accrual and improved capital efficiency.
  • July 15, 3 p.m.: U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry holds a market structure hearingtitled “Stakeholder Perspectives on Federal Oversight of Digital Commodities.” Livestream link.
  • July 16: July 16, 9 a.m.: U.S. House Ways and Means Committee oversight hearing titled "Making America the Crypto Capital of the World: Ensuring Digital Asset Policy Built for the 21st Century."

Macro

  • July 10: The 37th U.K.-France Summit takes place in London, where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss defense cooperation and migration management.
  • July 10, 8 a.m.: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) releases June consumer price inflation data.
    • Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. 026%
    • Inflation Rate YoY Est. 5.32% vs. Prev. 5.32%
  • July 10, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Department of Labor releases unemployment insurance data for the week ended July 5.
    • Initial Jobless Claims Est. 235K vs. Prev. 233K
    • Continuing Jobless Claims Est. 1980K vs. Prev. 1964K
  • July 10, 1:15 p.m.: Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller gives a speech at an event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. Livestream link.
  • July 10–11: The fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, bringing together global leaders and stakeholders to advance Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction as the war with Russia drags on.
  • July 11, 8:30 a.m.: Statistics Canada releases June employment data.
    • Unemployment Rate est. 7.1% vs. Prev. 7%
    • Employment Change Est. 0K vs. Prev. 8.8K
  • Aug. 1, 12:01 a.m.: Reciprocal tariffs take effect after President Trump’s July 7 executive order delayed the original July 9 deadline, making this the start date for higher tariffs on imports from countries without trade deals.

Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)

  • July 23: Tesla (TSLA), post-market
  • July 29: PayPal Holdings (PYPL), pre-market
  • July 30: Robinhood Markets (HOOD), post-market
  • July 31: Coinbase Global (COIN), post-market
  • July 31: Reddit (RDDT), post-market
 

Token Events

Governance Votes & Calls

  • Compound DAO is running multiple votes on whether to adopt an Oracle Extractable Value (OEV) solution for Ethereum Mainnet, Unichain, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Scroll, Mantle, Ronin and Linea. Delegates can choose between implementing Api3, Chainlink’s Secure Value Relay (SVR), or maintaining the current setup without OEV. Voting for all of these ends July 12.
  • 1inch DAO is voting on a $25,000 grant proposal to research trustless cross-chain swaps between Bitcoin and Ethereum Virtual Machine networks using native Bitcoin tools like Taproot. Voting ends July 14.
  • Aavegotchi DAO is voting on a $245,000 funding proposal to expand Gotchi Battler into a revenue-generating game with PvE modes, NFTs and battle passes, aiming to reverse declining player numbers, boost GHST utility, and create sustainable rewards. Voting ends July 22.

Unlocks

  • July 11: Immutable (IMX) to unlock 1.31% of its circulating supply worth $11.19 million.
  • July 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 1.76% of its circulating supply worth $52.14 million.
  • July 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.79% of its circulating supply worth $15.69 million.
  • July 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 1% of its circulating supply worth $14.75 million.
  • July 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.87% of its circulating supply worth $33.35 million.
  • July 18: Official TRUMP (TRUMP) to unlock 45.35% of its circulating supply worth $833.52 million.
  • July 18: Fasttoken (FTN) to unlock 4.64% of its circulating supply worth $88.8 million.

Token Launches

  • July 10: JPY Coin (JPYC) to be listed on Binance.
  • July 10: Pre-market derivatives on Pump.fun’s PUMP launch on Binance, Aevo.
  • July 12: Pump.fun to launch itsiInitial coin offering (ICO) where 33% of the supply of PUMP will be sold. The ICO will be conducted on Bybit, Kraken, Bitget, MEXC, KuCoin and Gate.io.
 

Conferences

The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through July 17.

  • Day 1 of 4: Mallorca Blockchain Days (Palma, Spain)
  • July 16: Invest Web3 Forum (Dubai)
  • July 20: Crypto Coin Day 7/20 (Atlanta)
  • July 24: Decasonic’s Web3 Investor Day 2025 (Chicago)
  • July 25: Blockchain Summit Global (Montevideo, Uruguay)
  • July 28-29: TWS Conference 2025 (Singapore)

Join us for this curated gathering that unites D.C.’s most important public officials with legal, policy and compliance leaders from the private sector to advance crypto standards and reform.

Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through July 17.

Token Talk