Between boldness and stubbornness, Bukele launches his "Bitcoin banks": one foot in global finance, the other in crypto, and the IMF coughing in its tie.
Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally above $123,000 in mid-July has given way to a choppy and uncertain phase. The price has slipped to $116,191 as of press time, showing minimal change over the past 24 hours but up 0.65% over the week.
Following a drop towards the end of July, the crypto market witnessed a fresh injection of optimism over the past week. Artificial intelligence (AI) assets also leveraged this market wave, with many experiencing a strong northward push, as the sector crossed $34 billion in valuation.
The asset tokenizer Brickken and the decentralized credit protocol Credefi announced, on July 28, 2025, a strategic partnership marking a major breakthrough in the convergence between regulated tokenization and decentralized finance. From now on, holders of shares or bonds tokenized via Brickken can use these securities as collateral to borrow USDC directly on Credefi, through a permissionless, peer-to-peer, and non-custodial mechanism.
On the chessboard, two visions of AI faced each other. Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, and Elon Musk, founder of xAI, crossed their models in a chess tournament organized by Google. For three days, OpenAI’s o3 and xAI’s Grok 4 competed without any specialized assistance. Much more than a simple exhibition match, the event turned into a revealing moment: behind the final score was the real gap between two artificial intelligences, and two strategies, which came to light.
The meteoric rise of Ether propels Vitalik Buterin back into the exclusive circle of on-chain billionaires. The co-founder of Ethereum sees the public value of his holdings exceed one billion dollars, driven by an ETH crossing $4,000 for the first time in eight months. This resurgence occurs in a boiling market, fueled by massive institutional flows and renewed confidence in the Ethereum ecosystem.
After reaching an unprecedented high of $123,000, bitcoin begins a clear slowdown. The euphoria of recent weeks gives way to a consolidation phase, where every market movement is closely scrutinized. The latest Institutional Insights report from CryptoQuant reveals tangible signs of exhaustion: momentum decline, liquidity slumps, and sustained profit taking. This cocktail places the flagship asset at a crucial moment, between technical pause and correction risk.
Altcoins are no longer a fleeting bubble. Their presence is consolidating to the point of attracting the biggest names in traditional finance. BlackRock, a Wall Street giant, is now opening up to leading cryptos like ether. This institutional shift changes the game in the crypto ecosystem. However, for Michael Saylor, a leading figure of MicroStrategy, a hierarchy is imposed: bitcoin remains the benchmark. And even if Ethereum shines, he refuses to grant it the same status.
Ethereum saw the biggest short liquidation in the crypto market on Friday, wiping out $105 million in bearish bets as the price surged past $4,000 for the first time in eight months. The move drew reactions from high-profile figures, including Eric Trump, who warned traders against betting against Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Michael Saylor highlights Bitcoin as a superior store of value while the cryptocurrency climbs above $120,000 amid growing institutional interest.