Buyer exhaustion may set the stage for a correction in August before investor capital surges into altcoins, as in previous market cycles. Investor sentiment toward cryptocurrencies surged this week, with growing retail interest in altcoins suggesting Bitcoin’s recent euphoria phase may be nearing an end, according to analysts. The crypto asset sentiment index rose from 0.23 to 0.91 within a week, according to Max Shannon, senior research associate at crypto index fund manager Bitwise. Google searches for altcoins and Ethereum also rose to a multiyear high, reminiscent of prior bear markets, which may signal a growing investor mindshare for altcoins and Ether (ETH), following Bitcoin’s latest all-time high above $124,000. Read more
Crypto ATMs are facing increasing pressure from regulators, including bans at the municipal level. Crypto kiosks or automatic teller machines (ATMs) are facing increasing pushback from US regulators amid concerns about fraud and crime. Once seen as a bellwether of crypto adoption, crypto ATMs, which allow users to buy or convert crypto anonymously, are increasingly under lawmakers’ microscope. Critics and regulators have flagged numerous cases in which the machines are used to commit or facilitate illicit activity. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has noted an increasing amount of money related to criminal activity going through crypto ATMs. In 2024, the FBI received nearly 11,000 complaints of fraud cases at crypto kiosks, valuing over $246 million. Read more
Critics misunderstand the GENIUS Act’s actual influence. It doesn’t free Bitcoin from taxes but breaks Wall Street’s stranglehold on dollar clearing. Opinion by: Zachary Kelman No, the GENIUS Act doesn’t remove all government control over money. It doesn’t make Bitcoin tax-free. It doesn’t “legalize” decentralized finance (DeFi). And no — it’s not a Trojan horse for a Mark-of-the-Beast-style CBDC, especially with the anti-CBDC provisions passed alongside it. What the GENIUS Act does — and what we should cheer — is break the stranglehold that a handful of powerful banks and regulators have maintained over global dollar clearing for decades. It ends their monopoly on who gets access to clean dollars — and makes their quiet mandate to monitor how that money is used, and whether it aligns with political agendas in Washington or on Wall Street, far more difficult — perhaps even out of reach. Read more