While bitcoin (BTC) holds just below its record high, the derivatives market is showing signs of froth. Perpetual funding rates indicate that long positions are still dominant and traders are paying a premium to maintain bullish exposure.

July 17, 2025
 
 

What to know:

 

By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

While bitcoin (BTC) holds just below its record high, the derivatives market is showing signs of froth. Perpetual funding rates indicate that long positions are still dominant and traders are paying a premium to maintain bullish exposure.

There are two ways of interpreting this, either the rally that took the largest currency to $123,000 is not yet spent, or it could be exhausted if not met with more spot buying. Don't you love markets?

 

In Glassnode’s latest weekly note, analysts point out that bitcoin has decisively broken into new all-time highs. While that signals strong underlying momentum, short-term holders are sitting on increasingly large unrealized profits, pushing key indicators into marginally overheated territory.

 

Markets were jolted Wednesday by speculation that President Trump was getting ready to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, sending risk assets briefly lower before the White House clarified he was “not planning” to remove him.

 

Separately, a FOIA request revealed that the U.S. Marshals Service holds just 28,988 BTC, far fewer than many in the market assumed, raising fresh questions about future government auctions and their market impact.

 

As bitcoin cools off, altcoins are taking the spotlight. Bitcoin dominance has fallen from 66% to 62%, while the total crypto market cap has surged to an all-time high of $3.8 trillion.

 

Ether (ETH) is trading above $3,400 following a 7% daily gain driven by ETF inflows and positive regulatory sentiment. Solana (SOL) also rallied 5% after Galaxy Digital accumulated $55 million worth of SOL, a move that underscored rising institutional demand. 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 18: Lorenzo Protocol, a Cosmos-based blockchain with native token BANK, launches USD1+ OTF on BNB Chain's mainnet. The institutional-grade on-chain traded fund lets users stake stablecoins to mint sUSD1+ tokens that earn stable, NAV-backed yield from real-world assets, CeFi quantitative strategies and DeFi protocols. All returns are settled in USD1 stablecoin, issued by World Liberty Financial, whose stablecoin infrastructure powers the product’s stable yield mechanism.

Macro

  • July 17: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is visiting London to sign a treaty with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on strengthening bilateral defense, migration and industry ties as Europe faces new security challenges.
  • July 17, 10 a.m.: Speech by Fed Governor Adriana D. Kugler on "A View of the Housing Market and U.S. Economic Outlook" at the Housing Partnership Network Symposium in Washington. Livestream link.
  • July 17, 6:30 p.m.: Speech by Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller on the economic outlook at an event hosted by the Money Marketeers of New York University.
  • Aug. 1, 12:01 a.m.: New U.S. tariffs take effect on imports from trade partners that failed to reach agreements by the July 9 deadline. These increased duties could range from 10% to as high as 70%, impacting a wide range of goods.

Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)

  • July 23: Tesla (TSLA), post-market, $0.42
  • July 29: PayPal Holdings (PYPL), pre-market, $1.29
  • July 30: Robinhood Markets (HOOD), post-market, $0.30
  • July 31: Coinbase Global (COIN), post-market, $1.35
  • July 31: Reddit (RDDT), post-market, $0.19
  • Aug. 5: Galaxy Digital (GLXY), pre-market
 

Token Events

Governance Votes & Calls

  • 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.
  • Uniswap DAO is conducting a temperature check on Etherlink’s request to co-incentivize Uniswap v3 liquidity. Tezos Foundation would put up $300K for three months of rewards on WETH/USDC, WBTC/USDC and LBTC/USDC, and is asking the DAO for $150K more, aiming to anchor Etherlink’s rising TVL and future native tokens on Uniswap. Voting ends July 18.
  • Ethereum Name Service DAO is voting on a proposal from Tally to enter a one-year renewable agreement to enhance ENS governance. Voting ends July 22.
  • Rocket Pool DAO is voting to finalize Saturn 1’s implementation. Approval by a 75% supermajority will ratify key protocol changes, including new transaction designs and a potential revenue share to the pDAO treasury. Voting ends July 24.
  • NEAR Protocol is voting on potentially reducing NEAR’s inflation from 5% to 2.5%. Two-thirds of validators must approve the proposal for it to pass, and if so it could be implemented by late Q3. Voting ends Aug. 1.
  • July 29, 10 a.m.: Ether.fi to host a bi-quarterly analyst call.

Unlocks

  • July 17: ApeCoin (APE) to unlock 1.95% of its circulating supply worth $10.49 million.
  • July 18: Official TRUMP (TRUMP) to unlock 45.35% of its circulating supply worth $903.36 million.
  • July 18: Fasttoken (FTN) to unlock 4.64% of its circulating supply worth $90.2 million.
  • July 20: LayerZero (ZRO) to unlock 23.13% of its circulating supply worth $58.87 million.
  • July 25: Venom (VENOM) to unlock 2.84% of its circulating supply worth $13.21 million.
  • July 31: Optimism (OP) to unlock 1.79% of its circulating supply worth $22.52 million.

Token Launches

  • July 17: Mogcoin (MOG) to be listed on Binance.US.
 

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.

  • July 20: Crypto Coin Day 7/20 (Atlanta)
  • July 21-22: Malaysia Blockchain Week 2025 (Kuala Lumpur)
  • July 24: Decasonic’s Web3 Investor Day 2025 (Chicago)
  • July 25: Blockchain Summit Global (Montevideo, Uruguay)
  • July 28-29: TWS Conference 2025 (Singapore)
  • Aug. 6-7: Blockchain.Rio 2025 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
  • Aug. 6-10: Rare EVO (Las Vegas)
  • Aug. 7-8: bitcoin++ (Riga, Latvia)
  • Aug. 9-10: Baltic Honeybadger 2025 (Riga, Latvia)
  • Aug. 9-10: Conviction 2025 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

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