Cryptocurrency
Crypto enthusiasts are wrong to target Gary Gensler
Laws in the United States are the problem. Cryptocurrency advocates should focus on changing them — and, in the meantime, consider moving to the European Union.
The animus of the entire crypto world is focused on Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.
Critics argue that he paints cryptocurrencies with too broad a brush. They argue that he gaslights well-meaning entrepreneurs by encouraging them to “come in and register,” knowing his process is set up for them to fail. They argue he knows new rules are needed but prefers to enforce impractical rules in order to stifle the industry altogether. And, of course, under his leadership, the SEC filed an enforcement action against Coinbase, arguing several top coins, including Polygon’s MATIC, Solana’s SOL and others are securities largely because their issuance involved capital formation, despite their necessity in operating underlying networks.
And it’s not just naysayers in the peanut gallery. The campaign is costing the United States dearly. Venture capital investment in the U.S. crypto industry has fallen this year compared to the European Union. America is losing its lead, and time is of the essence.
The cynical explanation for Gensler’s position is political. Gensler taught a course on blockchain at MIT and is on tape explaining how not all tokens are securities, so he presumably understands the nuances of digital assets. Rather, he is playing dumb to implicitly support the agenda of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is mobilizing an “anti-crypto army” and has been informally deputized by the administration of President Joe Biden to define crypto policy. If Biden wins the presidency again, perhaps this will help Gensler earn an appointment as Treasury secretary.
In response, lawmakers are piling on with bills proposing to fire him. Representatives Warren Davidson and Tom Emmer introduced the “SEC Stabilization Act,” which proposes removing Gensler and restructuring the agency to make it less partisan.
This would be misguided — not because Gensler is in the right, but because his positions are not clearly wrong under current law.
The U.S. approach to securities law relies on the Howey test, which asks whether buyers have an “expectation of profit to be derived from the efforts of others.” Of course, buyer expectations can be influenced by but are not entirely in the issuer’s control. They might also be affected by trends in the market, groupthink or even whimsy. The benefit of this approach is that it is hard to game. But the cost is a “Schroedinger’s cat” paradox, wherein the very act of perception by third parties determines whether a token is a security or not. This deters capital formation by imposing enormous risk on entrepreneurs and users that is inherently out of their control.
This paradox is put in relief by the EU’s landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation. The regulation acknowledges that utility tokens are not all financial instruments and prescribes clear and practical requirements for disclosure and behavior that legitimate projects are able to follow.
The EU defines securities based solely on factors in the control of the issuer, namely the structure of an instrument itself and the way it is marketed. This explains how MiCA so cleanly allows for utility tokens while the U.S. struggles with simply defining them.
This difference really matters. For example, imagine you are an entrepreneur issuing a governance token for a protocol that entitles holders to vote for changes to open-source software. In the EU, under MiCA, you can publish a transparent white paper and do your best to dispute any mischaracterizations. In the U.S., you can do the same, but you have no guarantee it’s enough.
If bad actors have conditioned buyers to expect profits from tokens writ large, you may be stuck. And since every new wave of technology gets hijacked by bad actors like Sam Bankman-Fried, there will always be bad actors who condition buyers when capital formation is most important for driving society forward.
As a result of the U.S. paradox, firing Gensler might provide temporary relief, but it would not necessarily solve the problem — which is a lack of clarity and adaptability. There is no guarantee that Gensler’s replacement will necessarily reach a different conclusion.
The only comprehensive solution is new legislation that refines the U.S. definition of a security or carves out a separate framework for digital asset issuers and exchanges. Until we see serious efforts at that, a sword of Damocles will forever hang over the U.S. crypto space, always just one election or chair away from being cut.
Cryptocurrency
Ethereum (ETH) Price Decline, Recent Cardano (ADA) Predictions, and More: Bits Recap August 1
TL;DR
ETH slumped by 6% amid the broader market correction, but whale accumulation, a nine-year low in exchange balances, and steady ETF inflows hint at a possible rebound in the near term.
ADA dropped even more, yet analysts remain bullish, with some predicting a surge beyond $4 if the asset clears key resistance at $0.92.
BTC briefly dipped below $114,500, but an RSI near 30 suggests oversold conditions, while optimistic traders eye a breakout to $145K-$150K.
ETH Heads South
The past several hours have not been pleasant for the cryptocurrency market, which has registered a significant pullback following the latest tariffs implemented by the Trump administration.
Ethereum (ETH) is among the losers with its price dropping by 6% on a daily scale to around $3,600 (per CoinGecko’s data). Historically, August has tended to be a bearish month for the asset, with gains recorded only in 2017, 2020, and 2021. It will be interesting to see if this year proves to be among the exceptions.
On the other hand, some key factors suggest that this might be only a temporary correction, followed by another rally. Whales have scooped up thousands of ETH in the past days, signaling strong confidence and reducing the amount of coins available on the open market.
Additionally, the number of tokens stored on crypto exchanges plummeted to a nine-year low of under 19 million. This means that investors have shifted from centralized platforms toward self-custody methods, which reduces the immediate selling pressure.
The flow of capital into spot ETH ETFs remains solid, while those interested in exploring more bullish factors and optimistic price predictions can refer to our article here.
ADA’s Next Targets?
Cardano’s native token has performed even worse than ETH in the past 24 hours, slipping by 8% to approximately $0.72 (its lowest point since mid-July).
Despite the downtrend, many analysts foresee a renewed uptrend knocking on the door. The popular X user, Ali Martinez, believes ADA’s current price structure resembles that of the last bull cycle, which was later followed by a massive rally.
Cardano $ADA is showing the same price structure as the last cycle, only this time, it’s unfolding more gradually. And it feels like we’re right at the beginning of an explosive move. pic.twitter.com/xbg3phaz6x
— Ali (@ali_charts) August 1, 2025
Hardy and Smith are also among the optimists. The former claimed ADA’s bull run has yet to begin, while the latter argued that the valuation could skyrocket to a new all-time high above $4 once it surpasses the breakout target of $0.92.
What About BTC?
The primary cryptocurrency briefly dipped under $114,500 before recovering some of the losses. As of this writing, it trades at around $115,000, representing a 3.2% drop on a daily basis.
Its negative performance coincides with the broader correction of the cryptocurrency market, as well as the actions of retail investors who appear to have shifted into selling mode.
However, many members of the crypto community believe BTC’s bull run is far from being over. X user CRYPTOWZRD forecasted a pump to $145,000 if it breaks $120,000, whereas Grypto GEMs set a target of $150,000.
Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI), which measures the latest speed and magnitude of price changes, supports the bullish thesis. Currently, the ratio is hovering around 30, meaning the asset is oversold and may be due for a resurgence. Conversely, anything above 70 could be interpreted as a precursor of a pullback.
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Ethereum spot ETFs have recorded net positive flows for 20 consecutive trading days.
This accumulation streak, highlighted by a $17 million net intake on July 31, stands in stark contrast to Bitcoin ETFs, which saw a $115 million exit on the same day, their first outflow after five days of gains.
Institutional Appetite
The latest run of 20 days surpassed an earlier one of 19 green days between May 16 and June 12, cut short by $2.18 million in outflows on June 13. This was followed by a few days of intermittent flows before the current spree kicked off in earnest on July 3.
It has since pushed cumulative allocations to $9.64 billion, per SoSoValue data, with July alone seeing $5.41 billion in net capital directed toward ETH ETFs, more than the combined total of the previous 11 months.
BlackRock’s ETHA remains the market leader, attracting $18.18 million on July 31 and now holding $11.37 billion in assets, representing 2.52% of ETH’s market cap. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s ETHE reported $6.8 million in withdrawals, though its $4.22 billion asset base shows its continued relevance. Fidelity’s FETH recorded a $5.62 million boost, bringing its net assets to $2.55 billion.
The momentum is striking when viewed against historical trends. The last recorded outflow was on July 8, after which funds posted some of their largest single-day gains, including $726.7 million on July 16, $602 million on July 17, and $533.8 million on July 22. These inflows helped Ethereum ETF assets climb to $21.52 billion, roughly 4.77% of the cryptocurrency’s market cap.
Ethereum Price Action
Despite the ETF-fueled demand, ETH slipped 2.4% in the last 24 hours to around $3,786, following a brief rally to $3,933 earlier this week. However, the token is up 53% in the past 30 days, outpacing Bitcoin’s rangebound movement between $116,000 and $119,000.
Industry analysts see these ETF flows as structurally bullish. Recently, QCP Capital cautioned that overheated funding rates could introduce near-term resistance around $4,000, but it stressed that continued institutional demand, paired with corporate treasuries like SharpLink Gaming and BitMine accumulating billions in ETH, may underpin further upside.
Meanwhile, on July 31, the total value traded across ETH ETFs stood at $1.28 billion. If this pace holds, it could help ETH challenge its November 2021 all-time high of $4,878 sooner than expected, potentially cementing its role as the frontrunner in an altcoin-led cycle.
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Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, believes that the world’s largest asset manager – BlackRock – will file for an XRP ETF.
If true and if history is any indicator, this could have a long-term positive impact on XRP as an asset, following in the footsteps of ETH and even BTC.
BlackRock XRP ETF a Possibility According to Expert
Geraci believes that it’s only logical for BlackRock to file for an XRP ETF. He cited the asset manager’s attempt to position itself as a “thought leader,” and thinks that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for the financial behemmoth to ignore a top-five non-stablecoin cryptocurrency by means of total market capitalization. He also thinks the firm will file for a spot Solana (SOL) ETF.
He also believes that they will be filing for an index-based crypto ETF:
If launching index-based crypto ETF (which I’m highly confident they will), then you’re launching individual spot ETFs. I get the “BlackRock is all in on ETH,” or “they think XRP is scam.” This is all about business. They open up flank not pursuing additional spot ETFs IMO.
To this, he also added that by failing to add more individual spot ETFs, BlackRrock would essentially send a message to their clients and prospective investors that “there will only ever be two winners in crypto: BTC and ETH.”
He also said that they are still early because one of their main competitors is still following the “blockchain, not bitcoin” meta.
Sticking w/ prediction that BlackRock will launch both xrp & sol ETFs…
Doesn’t make sense that world’s largest asset manager (& current leader in both spot btc & eth ETFs) would ignore two top 5 non-stablecoin crypto assets.
I also expect them to launch index-based crypto ETF.
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) August 1, 2025
XRP ETFs The New Meta?
It’s perhaps safe to assume that a major deterrent for large-scale asset managers to file for XRP ETFs was the ambiguity surrounding its legal status amid the case between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs.
Now that this has almost been resolved, and following the Commission’s newfound crypto-oriented focus, investors and asset managers are far more confident in the US-based crypto company. This has also largely been reflected in XRP’s price, which is up by a staggering 400% in the last year.
Multiple companies have already filed for a spot XRP ETF, including Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, Canary Capital, Grayscale, 21Sharse, and WisdomTree.
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