Bitcoin crossed $80,000 this week. A month ago the Fear and Greed Index read 26. Today it’s 74.

That’s not a recovery. That’s a mood swing.

From Crowded Short to Crowded Long in Six Days

August 19: the US Treasury doubled its long-bond buyback program to at least $4 billion per session. A liquidity move, not a crypto move. Long-term yields fell, financial conditions eased, and risk assets caught a bid. Bitcoin moved first.

Higher prices then triggered around $4.3 billion in forced short liquidations. Traders betting against Bitcoin got margin-called, their forced buying pushed price up further, and that liquidated the next batch. Mechanical, not conviction.

What makes this different from every failed bounce this year is that money kept arriving after the squeeze should have run dry. US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $1.92 billion in the week to August 21, the strongest since October 2025, then extended to seven straight green days. ETF assets went from $78.67 billion to $98.56 billion.

So Bitcoin has flipped from a crowded short market to a crowded long market in about a week. The same mechanism that squeezed shorts on the way up will squeeze longs on the way down. BTC closed a week above its 50-week EMA for the first time since November 2025, which is a real technical shift. It’s also a market leaned hard in one direction, one bad print away from handing back a chunk of this.

What’s Moving Price Now

Jackson Hole, Friday August 28. Kevin Warsh’s first major keynote as Fed Chair. Whatever tone he sets on rates either extends this rally or caps it. Biggest catalyst left this month.

ETF flows. One redemption day above $200 million says the institutional bid is done and puts $70,000 back in play quickly. While inflows hold, this rally has a floor the June crash never had.

CLARITY Act, again. Trump met Coinbase and Robinhood executives at the White House and floated the US buying Bitcoin directly. Sentiment, not law. Odds on the bill passing this year are still slim, but headlines like that feed a hot market.

Don’t Get Rekt: The Phishing Job That Skipped the Spam

Most phishing works on volume. Blast a million emails, hope for a few clicks. This one worked on precision.

Rapid7 exposed an AI-run operation, Operation ASTERIX, that confirmed 885,000 phone numbers were attached to live crypto accounts. It did that by hammering exchange account-validation endpoints, the “this number is already registered” check that exists to make signup smoother. No passwords. No breach. Just asking “is this real” enough times to build a target list.

Then it went quiet. Logs showed 20 lead lookups and 6 phishing emails over two weeks. Small footprint, hand-picked targets, nothing loud enough to trip an alarm.

So the risk isn’t only clicking a bad link. A signup screen telling someone your number already exists is enough to mark you as worth attacking. Worth keeping in mind this week specifically, because people get sloppy right when their balances get bigger.

Market in One Paragraph

BTC is near $80,000 after topping $81,000 this week, up about 23% over seven days. ETH is around $2,480. Total market cap is $2.75 trillion, BTC dominance 58.1%. Solana ETFs stretched their inflow streak to five days with the year’s biggest single-day haul on Monday. None of this move is fake. Whether it holds is Friday’s question.

Fedha Academy: Challenge 3 Ends This Week

Challenge 3 wraps this week.
Top 5 on the leaderboard by profit get a ₹1,000 Amazon voucher each.
No real money in play, just your calls against everyone else’s.

Join the challenge!

If someone you know bailed during the Fear weeks and is now asking whether they missed it, forward them this. Honest answer: maybe, but with leverage stacked this hard, the next two weeks matter more than the last two.

Join FedHabit Telegram for launch updates.

Join Fedha Academy for trading courses and free paper trading.

See you next week.

- Team Crypto Cult

Citi announced this week that it’s launching Bitcoin custody for institutional clients. Goldman Sachs is expanding further into crypto through an acquisition. Wells Fargo is moving toward tokenized deposits.

The same week, investors pulled $390 million out of Bitcoin ETFs. The Fear and Greed Index sits at 30.

Same asset. Same seven days. Two completely different signals.

Two Clocks, One Asset

Last edition we talked about how Bitcoin moved from an on-chain asset to a macro asset once institutions crossed 18% of supply. This week gives you the other half of that story: institutions themselves aren’t one signal either. They run on two different clocks, and both are showing up on Bitcoin’s chart at the same time.

The first clock is infrastructure. When Citi builds custody, or Goldman buys its way into ETFs, that’s a multi-year bet. Banks don’t reverse a custody launch because ETF flows went negative for a week. These decisions get made on committee timelines and don’t care what BTC does on any given Tuesday.

The second clock is trading desks. ETF flows move on a completely different rhythm: rate expectations, yield moves, whatever the CPI print or Fed minutes just did. That desk pulled $853 million into Bitcoin ETFs the first week of August, then pulled $390 million back out the following week. Same institutions, opposite direction, seven days apart.

Retail traders watching this get whiplash because they’re reading both clocks as if they’re the same clock. They’re not. The bank that’s building the vault and the trading desk that’s short-term de-risking sit in the same building and report to different people. Bitcoin’s price responds to whichever clock is louder that week. Right now, the trading desk is louder.

What’s Actually Moving Price This Week

Three things, in order of what matters right now:

The Fed’s July meeting minutes drop today, and they’ll likely be out by the time most of you read this. Markets are pricing roughly a 52% chance BTC settles between $62,000 and $64,000 this week. The minutes are the closest thing to a real catalyst on the calendar.

Rising Treasury yields are the quiet story nobody’s naming directly. They’re not just pressuring BTC, they hit crypto miners hardest of all: Cipher Mining dropped 9% and TeraWulf fell 7% in a single session this week. When yields rise, every business built on cheap leverage gets squeezed first. Miners are the canary here, not Bitcoin itself.

A White House meeting with crypto industry leaders is expected this week. Given the CLARITY Act is still stuck since the Senate’s August recess, any signal from this meeting on regulatory direction will move more than the meeting itself would suggest.

Don’t Get Rekt: The Wallet That Got Hit Twice

A crypto whale lost $25.6 million to phishing on August 12. That’s not the story. The story is this is the same wallet that lost $24.2 million to a nearly identical phishing attack back in 2023.

Three years, same wallet, same attack pattern, no funds recovered either time.

The lesson isn’t just “don’t get phished.” It’s that getting compromised once and recovering doesn’t mean you fixed the underlying problem. If a wallet’s ever been touched by an attacker, the safe move is to treat it as burned. Move everything to a fresh wallet with new keys. Reusing an address after a breach is like changing your password but leaving the same email account that got hacked.

Market in One Paragraph

BTC is trading near $64,500, still below its 20-day and 50-day EMAs, pinned in the $62,000 to $65,000 range it’s held for two weeks. ETH is around $1,910. Total crypto market cap slipped from $2.30 trillion to $2.23 trillion over the past week as trading volume also cooled. Nothing here breaks the range either direction until the Fed minutes or a CLARITY Act signal gives the market a reason to move.

If someone in your circle is trying to decide whether “institutions are bullish” or “institutions are bearish” on Bitcoin right now, forward them this. The honest answer is both, depending on which desk you’re asking.

Join FedHabit Telegram for launch updates.

Join Fedha Academy for trading courses and free paper trading.

See you next week.

- Team Crypto Cult

For most of Bitcoin’s history, there was a playbook.

Watch the halving cycle. Track on-chain signals. Monitor miner capitulation. Follow exchange inflows and outflows. These were the tools that told you where price was heading, and for the better part of a decade, they worked.

In 2026, that playbook is mostly useless.

The Rule Change Nobody Announced

Institutional ownership of Bitcoin just crossed 17.9% of total supply.

When institutions own that much of an asset, the asset starts moving like an institutional asset. It responds to the same signals that move stocks, bonds, and commodities: CPI prints, Fed decisions, global liquidity conditions, quarterly rebalancing cycles. The on-chain signals that retail traders spent years learning to read still exist. They just don’t drive price the way they used to.

Here’s what that looks like in practice.

Bitcoin peaked at $126,198 in October 2025. By June 2026 it was at $59,300. A 53% crash. During that entire period, on-chain data showed whale accumulation, declining exchange balances, and long-term holder patience. All the signals a retail trader following the old playbook would interpret as bullish.

The price still fell 53%. Because the thing driving price wasn’t on-chain. It was the Fed holding rates at 3.75%, a CPI print that came in hot, and institutional portfolio managers trimming risk across their entire books, crypto included, in response to macro conditions that had nothing to do with Bitcoin specifically.

What Matters Now

If the old signals don’t drive price, what does?

Three things, in order of importance right now:

US CPI: tomorrow, August 12. The July inflation print drops at 8:30am ET, which is 6pm IST. This single number, combined with July’s payrolls data, effectively determines whether the Fed hikes in September. A soft print (inflation cooling) makes a September hold more likely and gives crypto room to breathe. A hot print (inflation sticking) raises the probability of another hike and puts pressure on everything risk-sensitive, including BTC.

FOMC September 16. The next rate decision. Markets are currently split on whether another hike is coming. The September decision will be the dominant driver of crypto direction for the rest of Q3. Everything between now and then is noise waiting for that signal.

CLARITY Act: September window. The US Senate went on summer recess without voting on the crypto regulatory framework. Prediction market odds of it passing in 2026 are now below 30%. The September return session is the last realistic window, with a genuine risk it slips to 2027. For Indian traders this matters indirectly: global regulatory clarity sets the tone for conversations in markets like ours. The longer the US stays in limbo, the longer India’s regulators can justify staying non-committal.

ETF Flows: The New Whale Signal

If you’re going to track one on-chain adjacent signal, track ETF flows. Not because ETFs are exciting, but because they now represent the clearest window into what institutional money is actually doing.

The first half of 2026 saw nearly $7 billion leave Bitcoin ETFs. June alone was the worst month on record at $4.5 billion in outflows. That correlated almost perfectly with BTC’s slide from $95,000 to $59,000.

Then something shifted in late July. ETFs recorded $172 million in net inflows for July overall, ending two consecutive months of outflows. August 6 saw $128.69 million in a single day across both Bitcoin and Ethereum products. Institutions haven’t resumed buying with conviction, but they’ve largely stopped selling.

Institutions have stopped selling but they haven't started buying yet. When that changes, BTC moves.

Don’t Get Rekt: The Coldcard Lesson

One more thing worth knowing, especially if you hold crypto yourself rather than on an exchange.

On July 30, an attacker drained $130 million from Coldcard hardware wallets without physically touching a single device. A 2021 firmware bug had reduced the randomness in seed phrase generation, making private keys reconstructable from publicly available data like serial numbers and device timestamps. 4,585 wallets across multiple attack waves. 41 minutes for the first wave.

The lesson isn’t that hardware wallets are bad. It’s that self-custody removes exchange risk and hands you every other risk: firmware bugs, setup errors, physical theft. Neither self-custody nor exchange storage is automatically safe. The question is which risks you understand and can manage.

If you hold a Coldcard set up after March 2021 using default setup, update your firmware and migrate to a new seed. Do it today.

Market in One Paragraph

BTC is holding around $65,000. ETH is around $1,900. Altcoins are mostly flat with isolated exceptions. Cardano ran 12% last week on no meaningful fundamental catalyst, which tells you the market is still largely speculative at the edges. Total crypto market cap is stable. The recovery from June’s lows is real but fragile, entirely dependent on whether macro cooperates.

If someone in your circle is still trading crypto using the old playbook: halving cycles, on-chain signals, moon charts. Forward them this. The rules changed while most people were busy watching price.

Join FedHabit Telegram for launch updates.

Join Fedha Academy for trading courses and free paper trading.

See you next week.

— Team Crypto Cult

You’re receiving this because you subscribed to Crypto Cult. Crypto Cult is powered by FedHabit, a crypto trading platform launching in India.

I want to do something different this week.

No market breakdown. No trading lessons. Just me talking to you directly, because something is happening with FedHabit that I’ve been wanting to share for a while, and this week feels like the right time.

Two years ago, I decided to build a crypto exchange in India.

I knew it would be hard. I didn’t fully know what hard meant.

The first thing you learn when you try to build a regulated financial product in India is that the rules are written in pencil. What’s acceptable today might not be tomorrow. You can do everything right and still be told: not yet.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is the regulatory body that governs crypto exchanges in India. To legally operate, you need their registration. Without it, you’re either offshore, grey, or not operating at all.

We went through the process once before. Built the product, prepared the documentation, went through the evaluation but came back without registration. Not because we were doing anything wrong, but because we hadn’t met certain criteria they had set. Specific, technical criteria. The kind that feels arbitrary until you understand the framework they’re operating within, and then they make a kind of sense, even if the timing hurts.

So we fixed it. Spent months understanding exactly what was required, restructuring what needed to be restructured, building what needed to be built. The compliance work that goes into a regulated crypto exchange in India is not small. It’s AML frameworks, transaction monitoring, KYC infrastructure, policy documentation that runs into hundreds of pages. Ruchika, our compliance lead, has probably read more RBI circulars than most people at the RBI.

We’re going back.

I’m not going to say exactly when or announce anything prematurely. But we’re in the process again, and this time we’ve done the work properly.

I’m telling you this not to build hype. I’m telling you because Crypto Cult has always been about being honest with the people reading it, and you deserve to know what we’re actually building and why it’s taking the time it’s taking.

India is one of the most complicated places in the world to build a crypto company. The RBI has publicly pushed for prohibition. The tax structure is punishing. The banking infrastructure for crypto is fragile. And yet 39 million people in this country hold crypto, mostly on platforms that are either offshore or operating under continuous regulatory uncertainty.

That’s the problem FedhaBit is trying to solve. An exchange that’s actually built for India. INR deposit/withdrawals, FIU registered (super soon…), built for the trader who wants a clean, compliant way to trade crypto in rupees, not just the one who’s willing to take the risk of going offshore.

Quick market update

Since last week’s edition, Bitcoin has been trading between $62,000 and $65,000, holding mostly flat. Risk appetite improved slightly on falling oil prices and easing US-Iran tensions, but the recovery is fragile. ETF inflows were positive for most of July before two days of $465 million in outflows last week. Institutional money is still not fully committed.

The Fed held rates this week as expected. BTC didn’t move dramatically either way, which is actually a decent sign. The market isn’t pricing in chaos. It’s waiting.

Two exchanges, BitMEX and BitMart, announced shutdowns this week. Some people are calling this a bottom signal. It isn’t necessarily that. Platforms closing is a sign the market is stressed, not that the stress is over. What it does mean is that the consolidation happening in the industry is real, and the exchanges that survive it will be the ones that built properly.

That’s all we’re trying to be.

See you next week.

Neel

You’re receiving this because you subscribed to Crypto Cult. Crypto Cult is powered by FedHabit, a crypto trading platform launching soon in India.

Three things happened in crypto this week that every Indian trader should understand together, not separately.

Japan recognised crypto as a financial asset and cut tax from 55% to 20%. India’s RBI is still pushing for a ban. The US Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a rate hike is on the table for the first time in years.

Same asset class. Three governments. Three completely different bets on what crypto becomes.

Let’s break it down.

📊 The Fed Meets This Week. Here’s What Actually Matters.

The FOMC decision lands at 2pm Eastern Time on Wednesday July 29, that’s 11:30pm IST on Wednesday night.

Markets are split. Futures price a 35-36% chance of a 25 basis point hike to 3.75-4.00%, with the remaining 65% expecting a hold. The June dot plot already told you the direction: 9 of 18 Fed officials expect at least one rate hike before December. The median year-end rate projection moved up to 3.8%, above where rates are today.

Here’s the thing most people get wrong about FOMC days: Bitcoin only rallied after 1 out of 8 FOMC meetings in 2025, even during a cutting cycle that should theoretically benefit risk assets. The actual decision matters less than what Warsh says at the 2:30pm press conference. He has already signalled he is ending forward guidance. That means less predictability, more volatility around every meeting, for the foreseeable future.

Two scenarios for Wednesday:

Hold with neutral language: BTC likely pushes toward $66,000-$68,000. The recovery that started in early July gets more credibility.

Hold or hike with hawkish language: BTC likely pulls back toward $61,000-$62,000. Not a crash, but a reset of the short-term recovery narrative.

A hold with cautious language on inflation could send Bitcoin back toward $66,000 to $68,000. A hawkish surprise would likely push the price toward $61,000 or lower.

The CLARITY Act is the second variable. The US Senate has until August 7 to pass the first real crypto regulatory framework. If it passes, it is the single biggest institutional catalyst of the year. If it stalls, expect ETF inflows to flatten. Watch both.

🌏 Japan Just Did What India Won’t

On July 15, Japan’s parliament passed a landmark bill. Crypto taxes in Japan are expected to drop from up to 55% to about 20% starting in 2028. The new law strengthens investor protections and opens the door for domestic crypto exchange-traded funds.

To understand how big this is: Japan was taxing crypto gains at up to 55%. That is among the highest rates in the world. Domestic participation had been suppressed for years because of it. This single bill changes that, and also opens a path to domestic spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The reclassification carries two consequences that reach beyond compliance. First, it opens a path for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Second, it clears the way for a tax overhaul.

Now look at where India sits. 30% flat tax on every gain, regardless of holding period. 1% TDS on every transaction, deducted at source. No loss offsetting. No carry-forward. And the RBI formally pushing the government toward prohibition.

Japan had a 55% tax and moved to 20%. India has a 30% tax and the RBI wants to go higher, to zero, as in no crypto at all.

The contrast matters for a practical reason: capital and talent follow regulatory clarity. Japan is actively trying to attract crypto companies, institutional investors, and retail participation. India is making it structurally expensive to stay. When FIU-registered exchanges here already struggle with banking partner friction, and offshore volumes keep climbing despite crackdowns, the regulatory environment is already having an effect.

This is not a political argument. It’s an observation about where the industry is heading and where Indian traders sit relative to it.

📉 One Number Worth Watching

BTC: 4 consecutive weekly gains

Bitcoin holds above key technical resistance after recording its fourth consecutive weekly gain. It started July at $58,000. It is at $65,000 today.

Four straight weeks of green after a 54% crash is not random noise. It is the first sustained recovery signal since the October 2025 peak.

What it needs to become a confirmed recovery: ETF inflows need to string together weeks, not days. The Coinbase Premium needs to turn positive. And BTC needs to hold above $63,800 after Wednesday’s Fed decision, not just before it.

If it does all three, the narrative shifts from “bear market bounce” to “cycle bottom confirmed.”

🚨 Don’t Get Rekt: The FOMO Tax

Every time crypto has four straight green weeks, the same behaviour emerges. People who sat out the bottom start buying at the top of the bounce because they cannot watch any longer.

The fear of missing out has a real cost. It causes people to buy when momentum is already priced in and sell when the next pullback hits, because they bought without a plan.

A recovery does not mean the risk is gone, it means the price went up. The same macro risks that caused the June crash, sticky inflation, a hawkish Fed, geopolitical uncertainty, are all still present. The price moved. The fundamentals did not change overnight.

If you are considering entering now: size it as though the price could drop 20% from here, because it could. If that scenario would make you sell, either size smaller or wait. The worst trade is one you cannot hold.

👋 What We’re Building

The Japan vs India contrast in this edition is exactly why FedHabit exists. Indian traders deserve a platform built for this market, with INR rails, FIU registration, and the infrastructure to trade seriously regardless of what the regulatory environment does next.

We are close to launch. The best way to stay updated is the Telegram channel.

Join the FedHabit Telegram for launch updates.

Join the Fedha Academy for free paper trading and courses.

See you next week.

— Team Crypto Cult

You’re receiving this because you subscribed to Crypto Cult. Crypto Cult is powered by FedHabit, a crypto trading platform launching soon in India.

Bitcoin hit $126,000 in October 2025. By late June 2026, it was at $58,188. A 54% drop from peak. The worst since the FTX collapse.

Here’s the strange part: nothing broke. No exchange collapsed. No stablecoin imploded. No fraud came out. The market just... fell.

That’s actually important. Here’s why.

📊 Where Things Stand Right Now

Bitcoin is back above $64,000 as of this week. It gained roughly 12% from its June low. ETF inflows have returned after the worst month on record. $510 million came back in just three sessions in early July.

But, one good week doesn’t erase eight bad ones. Year-to-date, US spot Bitcoin ETFs are still $5.4 billion in the red.

The real test comes July 28-29 when the Fed meets again. Rates have held at 3.50-3.75% for four straight meetings. There’s an 82% probability they hold again. The June inflation print came in softer than expected, which helped the recovery. If July’s inflation data cooperates, the recovery gets legs. If it doesn’t, the grind continues.

The single most useful number to track right now: ETF inflows. Research shows ETF flows now explain roughly 45% of Bitcoin’s weekly price moves. When BlackRock’s IBIT leads inflows, institutions are re-entering. When it leads outflows, they’re not. Watch that, not the price.

📚 What This Crash Taught You (If You Were Paying Attention)

The 2022 crash had a villain. Terra collapsed, FTX went to zero, Celsius froze withdrawals. The narrative was easy: crypto broke because bad people did bad things.

This crash had no villain. Bitcoin fell 54% from peak because of inflation data, geopolitics, rate expectations, and institutional portfolio rebalancing. Clean macro. No fraud, no collapse.

That’s a harder lesson to learn from because there’s nothing to blame.

Here’s what it showed instead: BTC is a risk asset, it behaves like one. When the Fed signals rates might go higher, and oil spikes because of Middle East tensions, and AI chip stocks sell off, Bitcoin goes with them. Not because of anything wrong with Bitcoin, but because that’s how risk assets work in a high-rate environment.

The traders who came through this period well did one of two things: they sized positions so a 50% drawdown didn’t force a sell, or they held cash and waited. Both require the same thing: knowing in advance how much loss you can actually absorb before you make emotional decisions.

📉 One Number Worth Watching

$63,800

That’s the level analysts have identified as the key resistance for Bitcoin right now. Below it, the market is still in recovery mode. A sustained break and hold above $63,800 would be the first technical signal that the downtrend is over, not just paused.

BTC is hovering just above this level as of Sunday. The Fed meeting on July 29 is the next major test. If rates hold and the statement sounds neutral, watch for a break above $63,800. If language turns hawkish, expect the range to compress back down.

🚨 Don’t Get Rekt: The “Nothing Broke” Trap

Because this crash had no villain, a lot of people are telling themselves: “the fundamentals are fine, I just need to hold.”

Sometimes that’s true, sometimes it’s cope.

The question to ask isn’t “did anything break?” It’s “do I still believe in why I bought this?” If you bought because of genuine conviction in the project’s utility, the answer might be yes. If you bought because the chart was going up and everyone was talking about it, that reason no longer exists.

Holding without a reason is not conviction. It’s avoidance.

👋 What We’re Building

FedHabit launches soon, a crypto trading platform built for Indian traders. INR-based, FIU-registered, built for execution over noise.

If this crash made you realise you need to actually understand how to trade before the next bull run, Fedha Academy is where to start. Free paper trading, 1v1 trading duels, and courses built for Indian market conditions.

Join FedHabit Telegram for launch updates.

Get started with Fedha Academy today!

See you next week.

— Team Crypto Cult

You’re receiving this because you subscribed to Crypto Cult. Crypto Cult is powered by FedHabit, a crypto trading platform launching in India.

Michael Saylor spent six years telling the world that selling Bitcoin is a mistake. “You do not sell your Bitcoin,” he said in October. Strategy, his company, bought 843,775 BTC at an average price of $74,476 per coin.

BTC is at $62,000 right now.

Last week, Saylor sold $216 million worth BTC. Strategy’s largest Bitcoin sale ever. To pay dividends.

Meanwhile, the RBI just told the Indian government it wants to ban crypto.

Busy week. Let’s get into it.

📊 The Man Who Invented “Never Sell” Just Sold

Strategy didn’t sell because they wanted to. They sold because they had to.

Strategy borrowed billions to buy Bitcoin, then issued preferred stock (called STRC) to raise more capital. That preferred stock pays dividends. Bitcoin is at $62,000, well below their $74,476 average buy price. The STRC stock broke its $100 peg. Dividends still need to be paid.

So Saylor sold 3,588 BTC between June 29 and July 5 at around $59,000 to $60,000 per coin, raising $216 million to cover those obligations.

The market absorbed it without breaking. BTC barely moved. A $216 million forced sale from the world’s most watched Bitcoin holder. The price held. Whoever was on the other side of that trade bought everything Saylor threw.

But the lesson here isn’t about Saylor. It’s about leverage.

Strategy built its entire model on borrowed money buying an asset it believed would only go up. When the asset went down 43% from its peak, the obligations didn’t go down with it. Dividends still get paid. Debt still gets serviced. And the only way to cover that is to sell the asset you said you’d never sell.

This is the same trap retail traders fall into with leveraged positions, just at a different scale. The conviction doesn’t matter when the margin call comes. Position sizing and debt always matter more than belief.

One more thing worth noting: Strategy still holds 843,775 BTC, about 4% of the entire Bitcoin supply. They’ve proven that even the most committed Bitcoin holder has a price at which the real world forces their hand.

🇮🇳 The RBI Wants to Ban Crypto. Again. Here’s What It Actually Means for You.

On July 8, Reuters published government documents showing the RBI has formally told the Union government its position on crypto: “lean toward prohibition.”

The RBI wants banks and financial institutions barred from holding, trading, or gaining any exposure to crypto. It opposes both dollar-pegged and rupee-pegged stablecoins. It told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance that cryptocurrencies are a threat to monetary stability, potentially used for terror financing and narcotics, and that the tax evasion problem is severe.

The numbers behind that last point are real. In the financial year ending March 2023, fewer than 25% of the 645,000 individuals who transacted in crypto declared those gains on their tax returns. The Enforcement Directorate has separately found over Rs 2,500 crore in unauthorized cross-border crypto transactions. The Income Tax Department has sent notices to over 44,000 taxpayers for undisclosed crypto income.

The RBI is not making this up. There is a genuine compliance problem. And that compliance problem is being used to justify the policy position.

Here’s what this actually means for the 39 million Indians currently holding crypto:

No ban is imminent. The RBI has wanted to ban crypto since 2018. The Supreme Court struck that ban down in 2020. Any new prohibition requires fresh legislation, a parliamentary process, and would almost certainly face another Supreme Court challenge. The government has not adopted a formal prohibition. A policy discussion paper from the Department of Economic Affairs has been “in final drafting” since May 2025 and has been shelved five times. The RBI’s preference and government policy are not the same thing.

But the pipes are tightening. When the RBI publicly tells banks to stay away from crypto, bank compliance teams hear it loud and clear, even without a formal directive. Expect fewer smooth INR on-ramps, more friction around stablecoin transactions, and some exchanges tightening services as their banking partners get cautious. The USDT premium in India already hit 8.5% above the USD/INR rate in late June, which is what on-ramp friction looks like in practice.

The regulatory grey zone is getting narrower. India has 39 million crypto investors holding roughly Rs 20,436 crore in digital assets, one of the largest retail crypto markets in the world by user count. That number is big enough to make a hard ban politically complicated. But “not banned” is not the same as “protected.” Every trader operating on FIU-registered exchanges in India is in a more stable position than someone using offshore platforms, because that’s exactly the population that becomes collateral damage when enforcement tightens.

Conclusion: The RBI’s position hasn’t changed since 2018. What’s changed is the context around it. The US has passed regulatory frameworks, Europe has MiCA, and India is increasingly the odd one out. That contrast is making the RBI’s position harder to maintain politically. Whether the Indian government eventually moves toward regulation rather than prohibition is the real question, and that answer likely comes in the monsoon parliamentary session. A standing committee report is due. Watch that.

📉 One Number Worth Watching

Coinbase Premium: Negative for 50 straight days

The Coinbase Premium tracks the price difference between BTC on Coinbase (US) and BTC on Binance. When it’s negative, BTC is cheaper in the US than everywhere else, meaning US buyers are less aggressive than the rest of the world.

It’s been negative for 50 consecutive days. Combined with 8 straight weeks of ETF outflows before last week’s reversal, this tells you that American institutional money has been leaving, not leading, the current recovery.

The recovery you’re seeing in BTC right now is being driven by buyers outside the US, the same pattern we saw in Edition 2 with whale accumulation. When US demand eventually returns, it tends to accelerate moves that are already in progress.

Watch: if the Coinbase Premium turns positive and holds for a week, that’s the signal that US institutional money is back in. That’s when the recovery gets more credible.

🚨 Don’t Get Rekt: Someone Just Voted Themselves $20 Million

On July 6, someone spent $4 million buying BONK tokens, used that stake to dominate a governance vote with 99.9% of the votes cast, and legally transferred $20 million from the BONK DAO treasury to their own wallet.

No code was hacked. No vulnerability was exploited. The voting system worked exactly as designed. Seven wallets voted total. One of them owned almost all the votes.

This is a governance attack, and it is becoming the most common form of crypto theft because it requires zero technical skill. Just capital and a poorly designed voting system.

The mechanics: BONK DAO used token-weighted voting, meaning whoever holds the most tokens controls the vote. The attacker bought just over 1% of BONK’s supply, the minimum quorum threshold, spent six days letting the proposal sit there while almost nobody else voted, then passed it and moved the treasury.

The broader lesson isn’t about BONK specifically. It’s about any project where:

• Governance token supply is concentrated or cheap to accumulate

• Voter participation is consistently low

• Treasury funds can be moved in a single proposal with no timelock

Every DAO you’re invested in has this attack surface. The projects that survive governance attacks are the ones with timelocks (a waiting period between a vote passing and execution), higher quorum requirements, and multisig treasury controls that require multiple parties to approve any transfer.

If you’re holding a governance token in any project, spend five minutes understanding who controls the votes and what protections exist between a proposal passing and funds moving. Most people don’t and that’s why these attacks keep working.

👋 What We’re Building

FedHabit is a crypto trading platform for Indian traders, INR-based, built for execution and transparency, and launching soon.

While we build toward launch, Fedha Academy is live and free. Paper trading, 1v1 trading duels, and courses on how markets work.

Try Fedha Academy!

Join the Fedhabit Telegram for launch updates.

See you next week.

— Team Crypto Cult

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June was rough. Bitcoin dropped to $58,188 - its lowest price in 21 months. US spot ETFs bled a record $4 billion. The Fear & Greed Index hit 24. Basically, everyone was miserable.

And right in the middle of all that selling, the biggest Bitcoin wallets on the planet quietly bought $16.7 billion worth of BTC in two weeks.

One of these groups is going to look very smart. The other is going to look very silly.

This edition is about figuring out which.

📊 What Actually Happened Last Week

The bad news first: US spot Bitcoin ETFs had their worst month in history. $4.06 billion out the door in June. BlackRock’s fund alone shed $3.55 billion. The cumulative ETF inflows for 2026 are now negative for the first time since launch. These funds pulled in billions in 2024 and 2025. All of that is now gone.

The trigger was macro. US CPI printed at 4.1% in late June - the highest since April 2023. The Fed is not cutting rates. BTC dropped to $58,188 on June 25 as $1.48 billion in positions got liquidated in a single day. It was ugly.

Now the interesting part.

While ETFs were bleeding, on-chain wallets classified as whales accumulated 270,000 BTC near $59,000. That’s $16.7 billion absorbed in two weeks, according to Bitfinex analysts. The spot premium, which tracks how aggressively US buyers are bidding, stayed negative the whole time - meaning this wasn’t American institutional desks. Someone else was buying everything Wall Street was throwing overboard.

BTC has since recovered to $62,000+. ETFs actually recorded $221 million in net inflows on July 2, ending a 10-day outflow streak.

This exact pattern - institutions selling through ETFs while large wallets accumulate on-chain - showed up in late 2022 before the recovery. It showed up in February 2025 before the next leg up. Both times, the on-chain signal was the one worth following.

Nobody knows if this is the bottom. But if you’re only reading ETF headlines, you’re reading half the story.

📚 How to Read On-Chain Data Without Getting Played

Every time whale accumulation numbers come out, crypto Twitter becomes a collection of people who’ve just discovered on-chain data and are screaming about the bottom.

“Smart money is buying. Follow the whales.”

This is not wrong. It’s also incomplete in a way that causes real damage to retail portfolios.

Here’s what actually matters when you look at on-chain data:

Look at duration, not a single day. One day of whale buying is noise. Two weeks of consistent accumulation near a specific price level, like what happened between $58,000 and $60,000 in June, is a signal. The difference is whether large holders are positioning or just rebalancing.

Understand who is selling and why. ETF outflows in June were driven by macro risk management, not crypto-specific conviction. Hedge funds, pension allocators, and registered advisors trim Bitcoin positions the same way they trim tech stocks when inflation data comes in hot. They’re not making a judgment about Bitcoin’s long-term value. They’re managing quarterly performance reports. That’s a completely different motivation from a whale who bought at $59,000 and is comfortable waiting a year.

On-chain tells you the setup, not the timing. 270,000 BTC accumulated near $59,000 creates a dense cost-basis cluster. Those holders are unlikely to sell at a loss. That’s support. But support doesn’t mean the price goes up tomorrow. It means there’s a floor that needs to be broken for the bear case to continue. Use it as context, not a buy trigger.

The trap most retail traders fall into: they see whale accumulation data, buy immediately, the price drops another 10% before recovering, and they panic sell. The whale can wait 18 months. Most retail traders cannot hold through a 10% drawdown without second-guessing the entire trade.

📉 One Number Worth Watching

Fear & Greed Index: 24

Below 25 is extreme fear. The index has been this low four times in the past four years. Every single time, it marked either the exact bottom or within 10% of it.

That’s not a prediction. That’s a base rate.

The index is a composite of volatility, trading volume, social media sentiment, and market momentum. When it hits 24, it means the average market participant is scared, selling, or both. Historically, that’s when the best long-term entries appear, not when everything looks comfortable and green.

What to watch: if BTC holds above $60,000 through July and the index climbs back toward 40, that’s early confirmation that sentiment is turning. Not a reversal signal on its own, but a useful piece of the picture.

🌐 Robinhood Built a Blockchain.

On July 1, Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain - its own Ethereum Layer 2, built on Arbitrum - and announced that users in 120+ countries can now trade Apple, Nvidia, and Google “stocks” on-chain, 24/7, through their crypto wallet.

Big headline. Genuinely impressive product. But here’s what’s buried in the disclosures:

These are not actual shares. Robinhood calls them “Stock Tokens” - tokenized derivatives that track the price of a stock. You don’t get ownership. No shareholder rights. No voting. No dividends in the traditional sense. What you’re buying is price exposure packaged in blockchain format.

For context: Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited issues these as tokenized debt securities. You’re essentially holding a financial instrument that promises to track a stock price, issued by a company, sitting on a blockchain. That’s very different from holding 1 share of Nvidia.

Is that bad? Not necessarily. For someone in India who wants exposure to US tech stocks without going through GIFT City or a foreign broker, this kind of product - if it ever becomes available here - has genuine utility. Getting price exposure to Nvidia at 3am on a Sunday without converting INR to USD and waiting for settlement is genuinely useful.

But the marketing calls it stock trading. The fine print says otherwise.

The bigger picture is worth paying attention to: Robinhood, a brokerage with $307 billion in assets, just built its own blockchain, tokenized equities across 120 countries, and integrated DeFi into a mainstream retail trading app. Stripe, Coinbase, and Goldman Sachs are all doing versions of the same thing. Traditional finance is not watching crypto from a distance anymore. It’s building rails on top of it.

The next cycle won’t look like 2021. The infrastructure being built right now - tokenized assets, on-chain equities, institutional DeFi - is what carries it.

🚨 Don’t Get Rekt: Recovery Scams Are Already Starting

BTC bounced from $58,000 to $62,000 in a week. That’s enough green for the ecosystem’s worst actors to come back out.

Watch for this pattern over the next few weeks: projects that quietly died in the bear market relaunch with new names, fresh websites, and “the technology is finally ready” messaging. Influencers who went silent for six months suddenly have a new favorite coin with “massive fundamentals.” Telegram groups start running countdowns to “last entry before 10x.”

This happens at the start of every recovery. Retail money that survived the bear gets taken at the first sign of green.

One filter that works: if a project had no meaningful user activity during the bear market, it’s not a real project. Real utility doesn’t require a bull market to function. If nobody was using it when the token was down 80%, there’s no reason to believe the token price going up changes that.

The bear market was a filter. Pay attention to what survived it.

👋 What We’re Building

Fedhabit is a crypto trading platform for Indian traders - INR-based, built for execution and transparency, launching soon.

While you wait, Fedha Academy is live and free. Paper trading, 1v1 trading duels, and courses on how markets actually work. If you’ve been holding through this bear market wondering what you should have done differently, that’s exactly what it’s built for.

Join the Fedhabit Telegram for launch updates.

Try Fedha Academy a free platform where you can study crypto trading, practice with paper trading, and play 1v1 trading duels

See you next week.

- Team Crypto Cult

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We went quiet for 7 months, but the market didn’t.

Bitcoin crashed. Altcoins got cooked. The halving didn’t do what everyone said it would. Your portfolio probably had a rough winter, and honestly, so did a lot of people’s conviction.

Crypto Cult is back. More on what that means in a bit. First, the market.

📊 What Happened While We Were Gone

2025 ended badly. 2026 started worse.

Bitcoin fell 10% in January, another 15% in February. Altcoins fell harder. Then March steadied, April came back at +11.8%, and BTC is now sitting around $80K trying to hold above resistance.

Honest read: this is a Bitcoin recovery, not a crypto recovery. BTC dominance is at 60%. The Altcoin Season Index is 39/100. Bitcoin is eating most of the gains right now, and the majority of alts are still underwater.

If you’ve been waiting for your altcoin bags to bounce like BTC did, the wait is not over yet.

One thing worth knowing about in India: the CLARITY Act just passed in the US. It’s the first real crypto regulatory framework to get serious traction in the world’s biggest financial market. It won’t change your 30% tax bill tomorrow, but it changes how seriously the world treats this asset class. Worth keeping an eye on.

📚 The One Thing Bear Markets Teach You

The bear market doesn’t kill portfolios but the recovery does.

Here’s what happens: traders hold through the pain, refuse to sell at a loss, and then the moment prices start moving up, they dump everything to “break even.” Then watch the same coin go 3x after they sold.

It’s called relief selling. It happens because people held without a plan, so they panic the moment there’s any green.

The lesson is not “be patient.” It’s more specific than that. Know why you’re holding before the recovery starts.

Go through your portfolio right now and ask, for each position:

• Did I buy this because I believed in the project, or because someone was loud about it on Twitter?

• What’s my exit plan if it recovers 30%? 50%? 2x?

• Am I holding because I still believe in it, or because I’m too scared to lock in the loss?

If you can’t answer these, you’re not investing. You’re hoping. And unfortunately, hope doesn’t have a stop loss.

📉 Numbers Worth Watching Right Now

BTC Dominance: 60% | Altcoin Season Index: 39/100

Both of these together say the same thing: it’s Bitcoin’s market right now, not crypto’s.

Altcoin season historically kicks in after BTC dominance drops below 55% and the Altcoin Season Index crosses 50 and holds there. We’re nowhere near that.

What to watch: if BTC consolidates above $85K and dominance starts falling, that’s usually when money starts rotating into alts. Until then, chasing low-cap coins is gambling, not trading.

🚨 Don’t Get Rekt: The Recovery Scam Playbook

Every time the market starts recovering, the same thing plays out.

Projects that quietly died in the bear come back with new names and a fresh whitepaper. Influencers who went silent for months suddenly have “strong conviction” in something new. Telegram groups start pumping coins with urgency: “last entry before it 10x’s.”

This happens every single cycle. And every single cycle, people who survived the bear give their money away right at the start of the recovery.

One filter that works: if a project needs a bull market to be useful, it was never a real project. Real utility doesn’t disappear when prices fall. If nobody was talking about a coin’s fundamentals during the bear, only its price, be careful buying it now just because it’s moving.

👋 What’s New With Us

Crypto Cult is now part of Fedhabit, a crypto trading platform we’re building for Indian traders. INR-based, built for execution and transparency, launching soon.

This newsletter stays what it was. We’re not turning it into a product update email. That’s not what you signed up for.

But if you want to see what we’re building:

Join the Fedhabit Telegram for launch updates and early access: https://t.me/fedhabitTG

Check out Fedha Academy, a free platform where you can study crypto trading, practice with paper trading, and play 1v1 trading duels: https://fedhaacademy.in/

Both free.

See you next week.

— Team Crypto Cult

You’re receiving this because you subscribed to Crypto Cult. Crypto Cult is now powered by Fedhabit, a crypto trading platform launching in India.

GM readers! Cryptocappy is back to deliver you the latest updates from crypto world.

Indian High Court Declares Crypto as Property—WazirX Blocked from XRP Redistribution

It ruled that cryptocurrencies like XRP are property—protected by law, just like land or gold.

This decision blocks WazirX from moving users’ XRP tokens as part of its Singapore restructuring plan. The court stepped in to protect 3,532 XRP tokens after WazirX tried to spread the losses from its $234 million hack in July 2024 across all users. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said no to that plan—calling it unfair.

Experts say this ruling is a win for crypto users. It boosts consumer protection and could lead to better crypto rules in India.

JPMorgan to Accept Bitcoin, Ethereum as Loan Collateral

JPMorgan may soon let big clients use Bitcoin and Ethereum to get loans. The crypto would be held by a trusted third party—not by the bank itself.

This move, expected by late 2025, is one of Wall Street’s boldest steps into crypto yet. It means clients could borrow money by using their crypto as collateral, without giving it up. JPMorgan’s stock ticked up slightly after the news.

Bitcoin Climbs to $115K- As US–China Trade Talks Boost Market Mood

Bitcoin jumped 3.5% over the weekend, climbing from $110,960 to $115,400 before settling at $115,235.

The reason? Fresh hope of peace in the U.S.–China trade war. Officials from both countries met in Malaysia and agreed on a basic plan to ease tensions.

Bitcoin is still about 6.5% below its October high of $126,000—but this rally shows how fast things can change.

Billions Stolen in Crypto by North Korea -Chainalysis Says Global Efforts to Stop Crypto Theft Are Growing Stronger

North Korea has stolen $2.84 billion in crypto since Jan 2024, says a new UN-backed report. Most of it came from the Bybit hack in February, and $1.65 billion was stolen just this year.

The country is also secretly sending IT workers abroad—violating UN rules—to earn money and support its cyber operations.

Experts say better blockchain tracking and cybersecurity tools are helping countries spot and freeze stolen crypto before it’s laundered.

Japan Launches First Official Yen-Backed Stablecoin- JPYC

It’s designed to be safe, legal, and backed by real yen and government bonds.

JPYC aims to challenge the dollar’s dominance in the $297 billion stablecoin market, where 99% of coins are USD-based.

This move follows Japan’s new crypto rules set in 2023, focused on consumer protection and financial stability—especially after the TerraUSD collapse.

JPYC could also help boost demand for Japanese government bonds and offer a global alternative to dollar-based stablecoins.

That’s a wrap for this edition. Stay curious, stay sharp, and we’ll be back with more insights on crypto.

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WazirX Restarts Operations After $234Million Breach

WazirX is set to restart operations on October 24 with zero trading fees—over a year after hackers stole $234M in one of crypto’s biggest breaches. Backed by 95.7% of creditors, its Singapore-approved plan will reopen access to 6.6M users locked out since the July 2024 hack linked to North Korean attackers.

INR withdrawals are already live, with crypto trading resuming Friday. Recovery Tokens will help users reclaim 75–80% of frozen funds, though some report lower-than-expected payouts. Trading will roll out in phases, starting with crypto-to-crypto and USDT/INR pairs.

To boost security, WazirX has partnered with BitGo for insured, institutional-grade asset custody.

Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, aka “CZ,” has been pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House confirmed.

CZ stepped down as Binance CEO in 2023 and served four months in a low-security prison after pleading guilty to money laundering violations.

The pardon marks another crypto-friendly move by Trump’s administration.

First reported by The Wall Street Journal, the news adds to growing clemency for digital asset leaders.

EU Bans Russia-Linked Stablecoin in Landmark Crypto Sanction

The EU has rolled out its 19th sanctions package against Russia—its first to hit crypto.

It banned the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, used by Russian firms to bypass SWIFT and fund cross-border trade. All A7A5 transactions will be blocked across the bloc starting November 25.

The coin’s developer and platform operator were also sanctioned, as the EU targets both fiat and blockchain routes fueling Russia’s war economy.

Crypto Company Slapped With $126M Fine in Canada

Canada has fined crypto platform Cryptomus a record $126 million for major anti-money laundering failures.

The Vancouver-based firm, linked to over 2,500 unreported suspicious and large crypto transactions in July 2024 alone, was found to have ties to child exploitation, ransomware, and sanctions evasion.

It’s FINTRAC’s biggest enforcement yet—nearly 9x larger than last month’s $14M fine against KuCoin’s operator. Binance’s Canadian arm was also fined C$6M earlier this year for similar violations.

That’s all for today folks! Cryptocappy will be back with more such insights. Stay Tuned!

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The suspect allegedly planned the attack after learning the victim owned Bitcoin. They have now been arrested.

This brutal case is part of a rising global trend called “wrench attacks” — where criminals use physical violence to steal crypto. A recent report shows 2025 is already the worst year for crypto theft, with losses expected to cross $4 billion. Thieves are now targeting individuals more than exchanges, especially when Bitcoin prices surge.

🛡️ Here’s how to Stay Safe from Crypto Kidnapping:

• Use multisig wallets and split your holdings across devices.

• Stay private—don’t flaunt crypto wealth online or offline.

• Secure your home, devices, and set up emergency protocols.

• Be extra cautious during bull runs—attackers follow the money.

In other news:

Coinbase Launches Crypto Staking in New York

Coinbase now offers crypto staking in New York, after years of pushback from state regulators.
People in New York can earn up to 16% yearly returns by staking coins like Ethereum and Cosmos.

MetaMask Just Got Faster: Plans Polymarket Integration

MetaMask now lets users trade derivatives through Hyperliquid. Support for Polymarket is coming soon. Users can also earn rewards—including Linea’s native token—by using the wallet.

Jupiter to Launch Its Own Stablecoin on Solana

Solana’s Jupiter is teaming up with Ethena to launch its own stablecoin, JupUSD, in Q4. The coin will be backed by USDtb—Ethena’s treasury-backed stablecoin. Stablecoins are booming, with the market cap jumping 75% in a year to over $300 billion.

Gemini Grows in Australia Ahead of New Crypto Rules

Gemini now allows Aussie users trade crypto directly in AUD, thanks to new local bank integrations. The move follows its official registration with Australia’s anti-money laundering watchdog. As draft laws aim to regulate crypto under the Corporations Act, Gemini has named James Logan as Head of Australia to lead strategy and partnerships.

That’s all for today folks! Cryptocappy will be back with more such insights. Stay Tuned!

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India’s crypto journey has been anything but smooth. One moment, digital assets are hailed as the future of finance - the next, they’re tangled in bans, tax crackdowns, and regulatory uncertainty.

And in this tug-of-war between progress and caution Indians are already embracing cryptocurrency.

According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Asia-Pacific Crypto Adoption Report, the region’s crypto activity is growing at lightning speed. In just two years, the value of monthly transactions has jumped from around $81 billion in mid-2022 to nearly $244 billion by the end of 2024.

By mid-2025, people in India were making around $338 billion worth of crypto transactions every month—more than any other country in the region.

In India, much of the growth is happening at the grassroots level. People are using crypto for sending money home, everyday trading, and through apps like UPI. Many young adults now see crypto as both an investment and a way to earn money, showing that digital assets are becoming more accepted.

India’s success comes from its large population, strong tech systems, and financial tools that make crypto easy to use. Sending money through crypto is often cheaper and faster than using regular banks. Fintech apps have also made it simple to trade crypto alongside regular payments.

But the Indian government and RBI remain wary of cryptocurrency. Their main concerns? Financial instability, illegal use, and loss of control over the rupee. To discourage speculative trading, India imposes a 30% tax on crypto profits—without allowing deductions or loss offsets. There’s also a 1% TDS (tax deducted at source) on every crypto transaction. The RBI sees crypto as a threat to monetary sovereignty and prefers promoting its own digital rupee. While crypto isn’t banned, heavy taxes and strict rules reflect the government’s cautious stance. For now, India’s crypto policy walks a tightrope between innovation and regulation.

The increasing crypto adoption among Indians shows how a connected and tech-savvy population can drive huge crypto activity—even while the rules are still being figured out.

Pro-crypto stance of India could unlock new paths for financial inclusion, tech innovation, and global competitiveness. With its young, digital-first population and strong fintech backbone, India has the potential to lead the world. Embracing crypto—smartly and safely—could empower millions and position India as a future-ready force in digital finance.

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Breaking this week:

The U.S. government has officially shut down after Congress couldn’t agree on a new budget before the deadline. This means many government offices and services are now closed or running with limited staff.

This shutdown may delay key crypto developments, like altcoin spot ETF approvals and investigations into Digital Asset Treasury firms. A Solana ETF was expected soon, but the SEC won’t process new filings during the shutdown.

With the Trump administration backing crypto, hopes for ETF approvals were high—especially after the SEC allowed broader listing standards. But since ETF reviews aren’t considered essential, progress is now on hold. Launches from firms like Grayscale and Canary could be pushed back.

Its effect on crypto:

Bitcoin crossed $121,000 recently as investors rushed back into crypto ETFs, hoping the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates soon.

It rose 2% in 24 hours to $120,286, and nearly 8% over the past week, as people looked for safer places to invest.

On the downside, The SEC has paused its review of crypto ETF applications because of the government shutdown. That means decisions on altcoin ETFs—like the expected approval of Solana funds—are now on hold.

In other news:

Samsung will enable 75 million wallet users connect to Coinbase, showing its growing support for crypto -

Samsung Wallet just leveled up your crypto game. As part of its collab with Coinbase, users get a free 3-month Coinbase One membership—think zero trading fees on select assets, boosted staking rewards, and sweet partner perks.

Plus, if you’re new to Coinbase, your first trade earns you a $25 credit. Not bad for tapping into the future of finance, right?

Standard Chartered predicts Bitcoin could soon hit $135,000

Bitcoin jumped past $121,000, continuing its strong start to October—often called “Uptober” in the crypto world. By early Friday, it was trading around $120,420, up 1.3% from the day before, according to CoinGecko.

UK Gov Seizes $7 Billion in Bitcoin, Plans to Keep It

The UK government wants to keep most of the $7 billion in Bitcoin it seized from a Chinese investment scam. The scheme’s organizer, Zhimin Qian, pleaded guilty this week, after her assistant was convicted last year.

The case now raises questions about who gets the 61,000 BTC seized in 2018, while over 120,000 victims in China are still waiting for compensation.

Thanks for reading. Cryptocappy will be back with fresh insights, price moves, and policy updates. Until then, trade smart and stay informed.

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Google Cloud is building its own blockchain (GCUL – Google Cloud Universal Ledger) for banks and financial institutions to move money and digital assets faster, cheaper, and more securely.

🛠 What is it?

• A Layer-1 blockchain (like Ethereum or Solana but made by Google Cloud).

• It’s meant for banks and big financial companies, not casual crypto trading.

💡 Why is Google doing this?

• To help with payments, settlements, and tokenized assets (like digital bonds, stocks, or currencies).

• To give financial firms a neutral platform — not controlled by a competitor like Stripe or Circle.

• To make cross-border payments and 24/7 settlements faster and smoother.

🌍 Why it matters

• It could replace slow systems like SWIFT for bank payments.

• It competes with other finance blockchains being built by Stripe (Tempo) and Circle (Arc).

• Shows that big tech like Google is taking blockchain for finance very seriously.

In other news:

Canary Capital Applies for U.S.-Based Crypto ETF

The firm has also filed for Litecoin and Tron ETFs. Although Bitcoin is mined worldwide, the U.S. holds the biggest share of its mining power—driving demand for more American-focused crypto funds.

This comes after the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which have already attracted massive inflows: $55.7B into Bitcoin ETFs and $12.4B into Ethereum ETFs since their launches.

Elon Musk Files Lawsuit Against Apple and OpenAI Over iPhone AI Monopoly

Musk’s companies X Corp. and xAI say Apple’s exclusive deal with ChatGPT gives OpenAI access to billions of user questions while shutting out rivals.

The lawsuit also claims Apple rigged App Store rankings to push ChatGPT above Musk’s own chatbot, Grok, which was sitting in second place under “Productivity.” X Corp. and xAI are asking the court for billions in damages and to stop Apple’s exclusive partnership with OpenAI.

That’s all for today, folks! See you tomorrow with more updates from the crypto world.

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Ethereum’s on fire lately—its price has been climbing for weeks and might soon break its 4-year-old record. 🔥

BlackRock’s Larry Fink has praised Ethereum ETFs as a gateway to the future of tokenization. In short: institutions are now betting big on ETH.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan says Ethereum might keep rising as Wall Street starts pumping out stablecoins—digital dollars—especially after the new GENIUS Act made rules clearer. Even if these coins run on side networks, they’ll still boost Ethereum’s ecosystem.

Why Ethereum Is Outperforming Bitcoin?

1. ETF Inflows Are Driving Demand
   Spot Ether ETFs launched in the U.S. in mid-2024, opened the floodgates for new money. What fueled Bitcoin’s rally last year is now doing the same for Ethereum.

2. The Dencun Upgrade Changed Everything
   In March 2024, Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade slashed fees on Layer-2 networks, making transactions faster and cheaper.

3. Ethereum Has More Real-World Use Cases
   DeFi apps, NFTs, gaming, tokenized assets, and most stablecoins run on Ethereum. This makes ETH directly tied to real economic activity — unlike Bitcoin, which is mostly used as a store of value.

But What Makes Ethereum Special?

Ethereum is a programmable blockchain. Developers can build apps for payments, lending, gaming, and tokenization. Every action on these apps requires ETH for fees, creating a constant demand loop. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is simpler: a secure, fixed supply “digital gold” with the strongest brand and liquidity.

If Ethereum’s momentum continues Ethereum can become the default global financial settlement layer, while Bitcoin remains the digital gold reserve.

Ethereum isn’t here to replace Bitcoin — the two play different roles. But right now, thanks to ETFs, upgrades, and real-world use cases, Ethereum is outgrowing Bitcoin.

This shift could define the next phase of the crypto industry.

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GM readers.

The U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs (extra taxes) on Indian goods to 50%, starting from August 27. This is a response to India’s purchase of oil from Russia, which the U.S. sees as helping Russia during the Ukraine war.

Why It’s a Big Deal for India?

• India now faces the highest U.S. import tax — same as Brazil — making Indian goods much more expensive in the U.S.

• This affects 55% of India’s exports to the U.S., especially from small businesses (MSMEs)

• India’s competitors like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and China face lower tariffs (20–30%), so they’ll look cheaper to U.S. buyers

What Gets Expensive?

These Indian products will now cost more in the U.S. and buyers in the U.S. may switch to other countries for these items: Textiles & clothing, Gems & jewellery, Shrimp & seafood, Leather & footwear, Chemicals & machinery

What Stays Cheap?

Some Indian exports are not affected by the 50% tariff as they are exempted: Pharmaceuticals (medicines), Electronics & semiconductors, Energy products like crude oil and coal

Short-Term Impact (Next Few Months)

• Export orders have been paused or cancelled as buyers are rethinking deals

• Job losses are expected in textile, jewellery, and seafood sectors

• Rupee may weaken due to lower foreign trade

• India’s GDP growth could drop by 0.3–0.5% if no deal is made

Long-Term Impact (If Tariffs Stay)

• India may significantly lose market share in the U.S.

• India may diversify exports to Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia

• Increased pressure to finalize a trade deal with the U.S. or reduce Russian oil imports

Is there any silver lining for India?

• India might speed up trade deals with other countries like UK, Australia and Canada

• It might give a push to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce dependency on U.S. and could lead to stronger self-reliance in key sectors

Conclusion!

As global trade shifts, India might have to consider opening its economy to crypto and Web3 to reduce reliance on traditional dollar-based frameworks.

Global trade fragmentation could push investors toward decentralized assets like cryptocurrency.

This tariff hike is a big blow to India’s exports, especially for small businesses. But there’s a 21-day window before it kicks in — a chance for India and the U.S. to negotiate and avoid long-term damage.

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After $44M Breach, CoinDCX Offers Bounty to Unmask Exploiters🕵

On July 19, CoinDCX said it was hit by a $44 million hack targeting one of its internal accounts. The company stressed that customer funds are still safe.
To help recover the stolen assets, CoinDCX has launched a bounty program. Anyone who helps track down the funds could earn up to 25% of the amount recovered — possibly as much as $11 million.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about how secure centralized crypto exchanges really are. It also reminds the industry of last year’s $230 million hack at WazirX, renewing calls for stricter security measures.

Thailand SEC Sets New Rules for ICO Investors🔍

The plan is to make things easier for investors who’ve already passed crypto knowledge tests — they won’t need to take them again. But before investing, everyone will still go through full checks to make sure the investment suits them. Comments on this proposal are open until August 1, and the new rules could change how people join ICOs in Thailand.

The regulator is also thinking beyond just ICOs. Back in June, they asked whether crypto exchanges should be allowed to list their own tokens — with stricter rules to stop insider trading.

Coinbase Investors Finally See Profits after 4 years💰

Coinbase made its big stock market debut in 2021 — one of the biggest crypto IPOs ever. After more than four years, investors who bought in during the launch are finally seeing profits. On July 18, Coinbase’s stock hit its highest-ever price of $444.65, before dipping slightly. As of now, it’s trading around $428.75 in pre-market. This jump happened during a strong Crypto Week, where two key bills — the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts — were passed, boosting investor confidence.

BitGo Joins IPO Race After Circle's Blockbuster Market Debut📢

BitGo, a company that helps safely store crypto, has quietly filed papers to go public through an IPO (Initial Public Offering). The firm was valued at $1.75 billion after raising $100 million in 2023. If approved, BitGo will join other crypto companies like Circle and eToro that went public in 2025. It also joins Gemini and Bullish, who’ve recently submitted IPO filings too.

BitGo manages over $100 billion in digital assets and has been growing its crypto services this year.

Thats a wrap for today. See you again with more updates on crypto. Until then have a great day!

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CoinDCX Hit by $44M Hack—Turns Out It Was an Inside Job

CoinDCX, an Indian crypto exchange, has reportedly been hacked for around $44.2 million, as shared by blockchain investigator ZachXBT and security firm Cyvers. CEO Sumit Gupta confirmed the breach and said that customer funds are safe. The problem came from an internal wallet used for trading with a partner exchange—not one used by users.

ZachXBT explained that the hacker started by sending 1 ETH through Tornado Cash (a tool that hides transaction details) and then moved funds from Solana to Ethereum. This shows they used a planned method across different blockchains to hide the money.

Hungary Criminalizes Unregistered Crypto Trading

Unlicensed crypto exchange operators could now face up to 8 years in jail, while large-scale traders without proper registration could get up to 5 years.

The goal is to stop illegal crypto activities, but exchanges that follow the rules can still operate. However, the lack of clear details in the law has made the market a bit unsure.

Once the EU’s MiCA regulations are fully in place by 2026, crypto exchanges with official EU licenses will be allowed to operate in Hungary.

Crypto Market Crosses $4 Trillion as Bitcoin and Ethereum See Big Money Inflows

The total value of all cryptocurrencies touched $4 trillion on Friday morning.

Bitcoin alone reached a market cap of $2.4 trillion, while Ethereum hit $440 billion, thanks to rising interest from big investors.

Bitcoin ETFs brought in $522.6 million on Thursday, marking the second week in a row with over $2 billion in total inflows. Most of that came from BlackRock’s IBIT, which captured $497.3 million just that day.

Former Rugby Star Jailed Over $900K Crypto Mining Scam

Shane Donovan Moore, a former semi-pro rugby player, has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for scamming over 40 people out of $900,000.

Moore claimed he had crypto mining machines and promised investors 1% daily returns. But the equipment didn’t exist. He used the money for luxury spending and to pay back earlier investors—classic Ponzi scheme tactics.

Judge Tana Lin said Moore caused serious emotional and mental harm to the victims through his lies and manipulation.

Thats a wrap for today folks! Catch you soon with more updates on crypto.

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Big Move! Trump to Approve America’s First Major Crypto Law

The House has passed the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-focused bill, with strong bipartisan support—paving the way for President Trump to sign it into law. Another major win came with the CLARITY Act, which lays out rules for crypto market structure. It passed more easily than expected, gaining 78 votes from Democrats.

Industry leaders are calling it a breakthrough moment, wrapping up what’s now being dubbed “Crypto Week”—a dramatic stretch that came close to falling apart just hours earlier.

GENIUS Act Becomes First U.S. Crypto Law After House Approval

The GENIUS bill sets clear rules for stablecoin issuers. They must keep full reserves to back their coins, go through regular audits, and register with either federal or state regulators. It also bans algorithmic stablecoins that aren’t backed by real assets.

One key feature is its dual-licensing system—both federal and state authorities can approve and oversee stablecoin issuers.

BlackRock Plans to Add ETH Staking to Its ETF—SEC Filing In

Nasdaq has submitted a request to change the rules so that BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF can include staking. This is the latest step by Ethereum funds trying to offer staking as part of their products.

Investor interest is strong—Ethereum funds have attracted $2.3 billion over the past nine days.

70% of Bitcoin Users Admit They Don’t Understand It — GoMining Survey

Only 34% of people in a recent survey said they feel “very confident” about the Bitcoin ecosystem. Most admitted they’re confused by its basics.

Some said they’re frustrated by conflicting information online and the lack of clear education in the crypto space. While many are eager to get more involved, they feel held back by how complicated Bitcoin’s core ideas can be.

This shows that better education might be just as important for Bitcoin’s growth as price trends or government rules.

Coinbase Launches All-in-One App Combining Wallet, Social, and AI Features

On Wednesday in Los Angeles, Coinbase introduced a new app called Base, turning its old Wallet into an “everything app” for Web3. The app brings together social features, AI tools, and ways to earn—letting users make money from posts, messages, trading, and even gaming, all in one place.

Base is designed to make Web3 more fun, social, and creator-friendly, whether you're a crypto pro or just getting started.

That’s all for today folks. See you again with more updates on crypto. Until then have a great day!

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