Altcoin Season Returns as Ether Treasuries Surge, BTC Dominance Slips: Crypto Daybook Americas
Altcoin season has arrived, as CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index surpasses 50 for the first time since December. This surge is fueled by several factors, including the GENIUS Act, which provides a regulatory framework for stablecoins, potentially attracting institutional investment into Ethereum and other layer-1 blockchains. Companies like SharpLink Gaming and Bitmine Immersion Technologies are building ether treasuries, mirroring bitcoin strategies. The potential approval of BlackRock’s spot ether ETF, incorporating staking, could further boost ether’s appeal. Technical indicators for ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC pairs suggest significant rallies.
Bitcoin’s momentum has weakened, leading to a decline in its market share and a shift toward altcoins. Despite this, on-chain data from Glassnode indicates continued BTC accumulation across various wallet sizes. OPERS, a U.S. public pension giant, increased its holdings in Palantir and Strategy (a bitcoin holder). In traditional markets, the yen strengthened following Japan’s ruling coalition’s Upper House election loss.
Upcoming events include Hedera’s mainnet upgrade (July 23), The Root Network’s mainnet upgrade (July 23-24), and significant macro events, such as Fed Chair Powell’s remarks (July 22) and new U.S. tariffs (August 1). Several companies, including Tesla, PayPal, Robinhood, Coinbase, and Reddit, are set to release earnings reports.
The crypto space is also witnessing numerous token events, including governance votes on Aavegotchi DAO, Ethereum Name Service DAO, and Rocket Pool DAO. Several tokens, including Venom, Optimism, Sui, Ethena, Immutable, and Aptos, will have scheduled unlocks. Trusta.AI will be listed on various exchanges. Several conferences, including CoinDesk’s Policy & Regulation conference and Malaysia Blockchain Week, are also on the horizon.
Conflux’s CFX token surged over 115% due to announcements of a yuan-pegged stablecoin and the Conflux 3.0 upgrade. Bitcoin futures open interest remains steady, while ether’s reaches record highs. Annualized perpetual funding rates in XRP and XMR are nearing 50%. Market movements show BTC up 1.06%, ETH up 7.19%, and the CoinDesk 20 up 5.5%. Bitcoin dominance has fallen below 61%.
