SnapShot 214

New BTC ATH: $118K

Hello SnapShotters,

The Fourth of July fireworks didn’t stop at Capitol Hill. Markets lit up too; U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful’ stimulus bill sent risk-on sentiment soaring. Bitcoin pushed to a new all-time high of above $118,000, and Ether breached the $3,000 mark. XRP was among the big winners, buoyed by Ripple’s banking license bid and the naming of BNY Mellon as custodian to RLUSD’s reserve assets.

Onto ETFs, Trump Media’s Truth Social makes another crypto ETF filing, this time with a ‘blue chip’ basket featuring BTC, ETH, SOL, CRO, and XRP. Among them, CRO saw a marked 16% rise.

ETF flows continued to impress: U.S. spot BTC ETFs raked in $1.3B in net inflows over the past five trading days, pushing cumulative flows near $50B. ETH ETFs clocked in $297M for the same period.

Beneath the rally, global trade tensions are simmering. With August 1 as the new deadline for trade deals to be struck, the risk of reimposed tariffs remains a key overhang. At the same time, Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled that prospective rate cuts are being held back, in part due to uncertainty surrounding the administration’s trade strategy. 

Let’s take a closer look at the major happenings in crypto and blockchain.

Market Spotlight

Note: Market prices captured in USD at the time of sending. Explore more on Crypto‌.com/Price. 
Want more? Get weekly Market and DeFi Updates from Crypto.‌com’s Research Team.

News Snaps

✈️ Emirates Taps Crypto.com Pay

The airline has signed an MoU to enable crypto payments via Crypto.com Pay, converting transactions to AED at checkout. The partnership supports Dubai’s digital finance ambitions, with plans for co-branded campaigns and a phased global rollout.

⚙️ Buterin Proposes Gas Cap for Ethereum Transactions

Vitalik Buterin has co-authored EIP-7983, proposing a 16.77M gas cap per transaction to curb denial-of-service risks and improve Ethereum’s stability. It also aims to boost zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) compatibility by encouraging smaller, chunked transactions.

🧈 Tokenized Gold Demand Glitters

As gold prices climb, digital gold tokens like Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) are seeing explosive adoption. Since December 2024, XAUT wallet counts jumped 172%, while PAXG holders rose 39%. The data signals renewed appetite for gold-backed crypto assets in the face of market uncertainty.

📜 SEC Issues First-Ever Crypto ETF Guidance

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released its first disclosure guidelines for crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), paving the way for spot ETFs tied to assets like Solana, XRP, and even Trump-themed memecoins. A broader framework is in the works, potentially slashing approval times from 240 to 75 days.

🌞 Solana Matches All Other Chains in Active Users

Solana equaled the combined monthly active addresses of all Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchains in June, per Artemis data. It also led all networks in revenue for a third straight quarter, pulling in $271M in Q2 2025, reinforcing its dominance in both usage and economic throughput.

📦 Truth Social Files for Crypto Blue Chip ETF

Trump Media’s Truth Social has filed to launch an ETF tracking BTC, ETH, SOL, CRO, and XRP. The proposed fund, structured as a Nevada trust and sponsored by Yorkville, aims to list on NYSE Arca. It expands Truth Social’s prior BTC ETF and dual-spot BTC/ETH ETF push.

What’s Ahead

🔭 Coming up: ‘Crypto Week’

Having declared the week of July 14 ‘Crypto Week’, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee will debate a slate of crypto bills, including the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS stablecoin bill, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. All eyes are on how Congress shapes the future of digital assets.

Number of the Week

Chart of the Week

Quiet Chart, Loud Fundamentals: BTC Volatility Hits Multi-Month Lows

Bitcoin’s at-the-money implied volatility (or its expected price movement) has dropped across all time frames (1-week to 6-month), reaching levels last seen in October 2023. 

This sharp decline suggests a market pricing in relative calm, even as U.S. spot BTC ETFs posted a record $4.6B in net inflows in June, and nearly $50B cumulatively since launch.

Research & Insights

Monthly Feature Article | InfoFi: The Race to Monetize Attention

In crypto’s latest frontier, attention is becoming a currency. The rise of Information Finance (InfoFi) is bringing about a trend where insights, influence, and even social clout are being tokenized, ranked, and rewarded on-chain.

From Kaito’s Yap-to-Earn model and ElfaAI’s sentiment-driven trading tools to Ethos’ decentralized credibility scores, this emerging sector is turning creators into capital allocators, and attention into investable signals. 

But as rewards flow to those who speak loudest, questions linger: Can blockchain measure quality as well as quantity? And will InfoFi evolve beyond point-farming into something with staying power?

🔍 Read the full report to see how InfoFi could redefine what it means to be early in crypto.

Crypto Trivia

What was the first mainstream video game to integrate a crypto wallet?

A) Fortnite
B) Axie Infinity
C) Blankos Block Party

Find the correct answer at the end of this newsletter. 👇

NFT Spotlight

‘The Niiplz: NiiMootantz‘ is a surreal new chapter in the ever-expanding Clayverse sculpted from digital noise and corrupted clay, dropping on Wednesday, July 16.

Created by Diego M. Montes, also known as Zinkete, each NiiMootantz is a one-of-a-kind figure that shapeshifts and bends, distorting both reality and memories with chaotic charm and mythic mischief.

Zinkete draws inspiration from imperfection, channeling his creativity through video games, cartoons, and films as a means of expression.

Experience mutations beyond imagination. Step into the Clayverse today.

Product Updates

🧺 Introducing Whale Baskets in the Crypto.com App

‘Whale Baskets’ is a new feature that lets you mirror the strategies of legendary investors like Warren Buffett, Nancy Pelosi, Dan Meuser, and Bill Ackman. There are no subscription fees, and you can start with as little as US$50 using your Cash Account or Crypto Wallet — secure and SIPC-protected. Pick a whale today.

🪙 Win a share of 60,000 USDC in the dYdX x Onchain Royale

dYdX and Crypto.com are jointly hosting Onchain Royal, a trading competition available exclusively through the Crypto.com Onchain App. With 20,000 USDC allocated for consistent traders and 40,000 USDC for top performers, traders of all experience levels stand a chance to win. Registrations are open until July 14, and users must sign up during this period to be eligible. 

To register, simply download the Onchain App and tap on the Onchain Royale banner to join.

🔵 The Blue Chip ETF Tokens Crypto Basket Is Now Available

Diversification is now made easier with the Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip ETF, as filed by Yorkville American Digital with Trump Media & Technology Group. It consists of BTC, ETH, SOL, CRO and XRP. You can buy low and sell high with the auto-rebalancing feature, and track your basket performance separately from your other holdings. Try it now.

This is informational content only and should not be considered as an investment recommendation. Some Crypto.com products may not be available in some jurisdictions.

Crypto Learn

What Is the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance?

In 2024, three major AI blockchain projects — Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET — merged to form the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI), aiming to build a robust, open-source technology stack that empowers developers, enterprises, and researchers to create ethical, scalable, and innovative AI solutions. 

Key strengths of the ASI:

• Reduces reliance on Big Tech and centralized control
• Community-driven governance with a shared, open-source token
• Promotes responsible, ethical, and accessible AI
• Enables liquidity and interoperability across chains like Ethereum and Cardano

ASI’s vision is bold, but it must navigate complex technology, tough competition, and market risks to succeed. Find out more in our new University article.

CryptoIRL

Staying hydrated is no sweat for @Cryptorockstar4 and the Crypto.com Icy White Card.

Hashtag #CryptoIRL with your Crypto.‌com Card on your social profiles to get featured. Your 15 minutes of fame in the #CROFam awaits you!

Security Tips

No, Trump Didn’t Promote Bitcoin at the NATO Summit

A viral video showing Donald Trump promoting Bitcoin at a NATO summit has been confirmed as a deepfake scam. In the circulated AI-generated clips, the U.S. president appeared to urge viewers to scan a QR code and send BTC to an address with the promise of doubling their funds.

It was noted that none of the videos were shared through official White House channels. Some clips also featured him incorrectly referring to himself as the 45th U.S. president — he is both the 45th and 47th.

How to stay safe from deepfake scams:

1. Be alert to generic or unnatural voiceovers and mismatched mouth movements
2. Always cross-check claims using official news or project channels
3. Do not click on links to suspicious websites

Crypto Trivia Answer

C) Blankos Block Party

Released by Mythical Games, Blankos was the first game from a major studio to integrate a crypto wallet behind the scenes, letting users truly own in-game items as NFTs, without even knowing it.

That’s it for this week’s SnapShot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.