Cryptocurrency
ETH is up 20% for the week. Is this a bull trap?

Ethereum gained 20% over the past week and continued to build on the gains this morning, hitting $1,412. Euphoria over the impending move to Proof-of-Stake or a bull trap?
As of this morning’s writing, Ethereum was well ahead of bitcoin regarding growth. Meanwhile, a popular crypto analyst and trader nicknamed Bluntz noted that ETH has recovered above its 200-week moving average. This could be a signal that the coin has hit bottom.
Recall that the growth rate of ETH picked up towards the end of last week after it became known that the Ethereum blockchain may move to a new Proof-of-Stake algorithm as early as September 19. This was announced by one of the developers of the project. Against this background, the exchange rate of ETH immediately jumped more than 12% to $1,300.
The developers plan to complete all of the updates to the test networks before the main network moves. For example, the Goerli test network has yet to “merge” (go through the Merge phase) with the new algorithm on August 11.
However, it’s too early to celebrate the victory. ETH is still trading 71% below its all-time high of November, and the crypto market continues to be dominated by gloomy sentiment.
Many industry analysts still expect a final surrender triggered by further interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and gloomy news on the recession and inflation. In that case, bitcoin could head back under the $20,000 mark, and Ethereum would surely follow it southward as well.
If that’s the case, the 3-day ETH pummeling might just be a bull trap, since the coin has been in a downtrend for the past 8 months, and bear markets don’t usually end that quickly.
The number of ETH on the steaming blockchain is on the rise
Investors, however, continue to consistently accumulate ETH stocks. According to CoinShares, capital inflows from institutional investors into Ethereum-based products and funds have started to increase again, although investors’ positions on bitcoin have remained mostly short.
On July 18, analyst firm Glassnode reported that the number of addresses with more than 32 ETH on their balance sheet hit a 16-month high of 116,895, breaking the previous day’s record.
As a reminder, 32 is the smallest number of tokens to have on their balance validator nodes. However, many exchanges now offer various staking services, so in fact, an investor can engage in staking even with a smaller number of coins.
According to Beacon Chain, there are currently 13,089,105 ETH in staking. At current prices, this is equivalent to about $18.3 billion and represents nearly 11% of the total number of coins in circulation.
Speculation periodically starts creeping around the market that a powerful wave of Ethereum sales should be expected after the Merge phase. However, developers have repeatedly confirmed that the coins will not be unlocked in an “all at once” format to maintain the security and performance of the network.
Cryptocurrency
$500M in Shorts Liquidated as Bitcoin (BTC) Blasts Above $101K

It almost felt inevitable today that bitcoin will eventually break past the coveted $100,000 milestone and after a brief hesitation, the asset has soared to a new multi-month peak above $101,000.
The altcoins have followed suit with massive price gains from the likes of PEPE, SUI, FARTCOIN, and many others.
CryptoPotato reported earlier today that BTC had risen to $99,700 amid reports that China and the US will have talks later this week in Switzerland in regards to striking a tariff deal. Later, Trump teased a big announcement for tomorrow that will involve the UK.
BTC stood close to the six-digit entry territory for almost the entire day and was stopped there at first. However, the asset flew past it an hour ago and kept surging to a new three-month peak of over $101,000.
Recall that just a month ago the primary cryptocurrency struggled below $80,000 and even dumped to a 2025 low of under $75,000 amid the darkest hours of the Trade War.
Now, though, bitcoin’s realized cap has marked another all-time high, while the break above $100,000 could be different than previous such increases.
VIRTUAL and PENGU lead the daily gains from the top 100 alts, with price surges of 36% and 33%, respectively. PEPE, SUI, and FARTCOIN follow suit by charting 20-25% daily jumps.
Even Ethereum has soared by double digits in the past 24 hours, and managed to break past $2,000 for the first time in well over a month.
The total value of liquidations on a daily scale is up to $580 million, according to CoinGlass. The majority, expectedly, comes from short positions (almost $500 million). The total number of wrecked trades is above 145,000.
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Cryptocurrency
SKALE Announces BITE Protocol to Protect Against Blockchain Industry’s Nearly $2 Billion MEV Vulnerability

[PRESS RELEASE – San Francisco, CA, May 8th, 2025]
BITE is set to become the first protocol to eliminate MEV at the consensus level, ending front-running, sandwich attacks, and other transaction exploits.
SKALE Labs, the team behind the gas-free invisible blockchain network SKALE, today announced the launch of BITE Protocol, the industry’s first consensus-level solution designed to eliminate Maximal Extractable Value (MEV). With over $1.8 billion lost to MEV extraction since 2020, BITE Protocol seeks to bring blockchain transactions in line with that of traditional finance transactions, eliminating front-running tactics that have plagued the industry as more traditional institutions enter the space.
BITE, short for ‘Blockchain Integrated Threshold Encryption‘, prevents any party, including validators, from accessing transaction contents before a block is finalized. While previous attempts at eliminating MEV have only addressed issues at a surface level, BITE’s new cryptographic protocol integrates threshold encryption directly into the consensus layer, creating a fundamentally level playing field for all blockchain participants. By encrypting transactions before they enter the mempool and only decrypting them after block finalization, BITE delivers true transaction privacy and fairness.
SKALE Labs CEO and Co-Founder Jack O’Holleran commented, “BITE Protocol represents a watershed moment for blockchain technology, which could result in making current L1 blockchain technology obsolete. BITE Protocol encrypts consensus and completely removes MEV from blockchain, finally putting an end to front-running, sandwich attacks, time bandit attacks, and other methods of taking value from end users. Rather than applying band-aid solutions to the MEV problem, BITE addresses it at its root through cryptographic guarantees in the consensus layer itself. “
The protocol is poised to transform the blockchain landscape from one where privileged actors can exploit ordinary users to one where everyone operates with the same information at the same time, bringing blockchain closer to the fairness expected in traditional financial markets while maintaining its decentralized nature. The protocol’s impact extends across decentralized exchanges, NFT marketplaces, lending protocols, on-chain games, prediction markets, and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platforms, where transaction fairness and privacy are essential for bringing traditional assets onto blockchain networks.
For more information, please visit: https://skale.space/blog/introducing-bite-protocol-the-end-of-mev-and-the-dawn-of-blockchain-privacy
About SKALE Labs
SKALE, the gas-free invisible Layer1 blockchain network, is “built different” to scale gaming, AI, social, and high-performance dApps to the masses. SKALE Chains are gas-free, fast, and EVM-compatible, making them ideal for a wide range of decentralized applications. With a commitment to driving the mass adoption of Web3 technologies, SKALE empowers developers and businesses to build scalable, efficient, and user-centric blockchain applications.
Harmonizing speed, security, and decentralization, SKALE Labs was born in Cali in 2017 by Jack O’Holleran and Stan Kladko, PhD. As of 2025, the network serves over 55 million unique active wallets and has saved users over $11 billion in gas fees.
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Cryptocurrency
Top Bitcoin (BTC) Predictions as the Price Approaches $100K

TL;DR
- Popular analysts see momentum building for a BTC breakout, with short-term targets ranging from $104.5K to $108K.
- Positive net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs and declining exchange balances signal strong investor confidence, but the RSI breached 70, which could be a precursor of an incoming correction.
What Are the Next Targets?
The primary cryptocurrency has been on a serious uptrend lately, with its price currently standing just south of the psychological mark of $100,000. That said, it’s hard to believe that nearly a month ago, it briefly tumbled below $75,000, but after all, such fluctuations are quite common in the crypto world.
Bitcoin’s latest rally (and that of the entire digital asset market) was likely fueled by US President Donald Trump, who teased a “major trade deal” with a “respected country.” The price jump also came shortly after the FOMC meeting, during which the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 4.25%- 4.50%.
Bitcoin’s pump toward $100K has sparked fresh optimism among analysts, with many envisioning more room for growth in the short term. X user Rekt Capital thinks the asset needs to stay above $98,700 “for the retest of the week to position itself for a breakout towards $104.5K.”
For their part, CRYPTOWZRD predicted that a push beyond $100,000 can trigger further upside pressure to as high as $108,000.
“On the other hand, any geopolitical shift with China can cause extreme volatility, where $91,500 will be the main daily support target from a worsening situation,” they warned.
Crypto Yoddha and Merlijn The Trader also gave their two cents. The former believes BTC is about to break a long-term range high resistance, which could fuel an ascent towards a new ATH of roughly $140,000.
Merlijn The Trader did not set an exact price target, simply forecasting that the asset “is ready to detonate.” He based the potential scenario on the “perfect rising channel” and “momentum building.”
The Signals From the Indicators
In addition to the bullish forecasts mentioned above, some important metrics hint that BTC’s rally is nowhere near its end.
Data compiled by SoSoValue shows that the daily total net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs have been positive on most days in the past few weeks. This means that more capital is entering these funds than exiting, signaling growing investor confidence and the asset’s growing appeal as an investment choice.
On the other hand, BTC’s exchange netflow has been negative in the last several days, reflecting a shift from centralized platforms towards self-custody methods. This is generally considered a bullish factor since it reduces the immediate selling pressure.
Still, not all indicators suggest a continued upswing. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), which measures the speed and magnitude of the latest price changes, has surged past 70. Readings above that level are interpreted as bearish since they indicate the asset might have entered overbought territory and could be due for a pullback.
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