Bitcoin rises amid Fed inflation talks: Bull trap or $65K next?
Bitcoin (BTC) reacted positively to US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks on stubborn inflation. Despite the gains on Wednesday, traders fear that incentives for fixed-income investments and strong earnings momentum in tech stocks will continue to pressure non-yield-bearing assets like cryptocurrencies.
The US five-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.22%, meaning traders demanded higher returns to hold government bonds. Even as inflation eventually eases and WTI crude oil prices fell to a 4-month low, investors anticipate monetary expansion.
Regardless of how the Fed manages interest rates and its balance sheet, the US Treasury dictates debt issuance trends.
Bitcoin bounces off 21-month low, but leverage data signals caution: Was $57K the bottom?
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $61,490 at the time of publication after falling to a 21-month low of $57,737 earlier on Wednesday.
Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) also gained, up 3% and 4.85%, respectively.
The bounce took place amid deep investor caution, with sentiment trackers gauging the balance of fear and greed in crypto markets currently reading around 11 out of 100, which is in “Extreme Fear” territory. Despite the rebound from the yearly low, Bitcoin remains down roughly a third since the start of the year.
Investors’ cautious stance shows up clearly in the institutional products. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have hemorrhaged funds in recent weeks, including a reported $4.5 billion total outflow in June, the largest since the ETFs launched.
Related: Bitcoin price taps new July high above $62K on weak US jobs data
Analyst warns BTC could drop further after worst June since 2022
Bitcoin could face further downside pressure after ending June below its 200-week moving average while still trading above its realized price, a combination that crypto analyst PlanB says suggests the market has yet to reach a bear market bottom.
Bitcoin fell 20.5% in June to close the month at $58,526 — its worst monthly performance since June 2022 — below its 200-week moving average of $62,000 but above its realized price of $52,000.
Bitcoin is down 8.80% over the past 30 days. (CoinMarketCap)
“ALL previous bear market bottoms were below realized price,” said PlanB, the creator of the stock-to-flow pricing model. He added in a separate post that Bitcoin could drop to $52,000.
Ether treasury Sharplink bought $16M ETH last week
Crypto treasury company Sharplink, which resumed buying Ether last week after an eight-month pause, has bought a total of $16 million worth of Ether since June 25.
Onchain data from Arkham shows that after Sharplink bought 5,000 ETH on June 25, it bought another 5,000 ETH (worth $8.5 million) on June 26.
Ether is down 10.73% over the past 30 days. (CoinMarketCap)
The company confirmed the ETH purchases in an announcement, adding it bought it at an average price of $1,611 per ETH.
The two-day buying spree adds to evidence that Sharplink has revived its active Ether accumulation strategy, with its total Ether holdings now at 866,725 ETH. The crypto treasury company was once a close competitor to Bitmine as the world’s largest ETH treasury company, but has fallen far behind.
“The Company’s ETH purchases reflect its continued commitment to growing its ETH treasury as a long-term reserve asset,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Crypto enters Q3 with thinner liquidity but less leverage after Q2 reset: Talos
Cryptocurrency markets entered the third quarter of 2026 with less leverage but thinner liquidity after a wave of liquidations cleared speculative positions while major sources of demand weakened during the second quarter.
According to a market update from institutional data provider Talos, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) long liquidations totaled $8.35 billion in Q2. The data provider pointed out that the deleveraging coincided with spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows, reduced Bitcoin buying by Strategy and a contraction in stablecoin supply.
While the reset left the market more stable heading into Q3, Talos said reduced order-book depth weakened its ability to absorb renewed selling pressure. This means the market could be less vulnerable to a chain reaction of forced selling, but prices may still swing sharply because there’s less trading activity to absorb large orders.
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