Bitcoin’s price ascent to $120,000 came to a halt yesterday as the asset was rejected once again at that resistance and pushed south by a couple of grand.

The altcoins, which were flying high yesterday, have seen even bigger price declines over the past 24 hours, with SUI leading the adverse trend.

BTC Stopped at $120K

Bitcoin had a spectacular start to the business week as its ascent that began last week culminated on Monday with a price surge to just over $123,000. Thus, the cryptocurrency set a new all-time high after adding over $15,000 in the span of about five days.

This ‘up only’ mode finally came to an end, and the asset went on an expected correction. It lost over seven grand in the following day or so, driven mainly by profit-taking and some uncertainty in the US after the worrying CPI data for June.

Nevertheless, the bulls didn’t allow a further breakdown, and BTC started to recover the lost ground. By the end of the week, it challenged $120,000 and even went for $121,000 on a few occasions, but to no avail. The subsequent rejections pushed it south hard, and BTC slipped to $117,000 yesterday.

It has recovered some ground and now trades around $118,000, but it’s still in the red on a daily scale. Its market cap has declined to $2.350 trillion, while its dominance over the alts is below 60%.

Alts Retrace

Many altcoins posted impressive gains on Friday, but the situation has flipped since then. XRP, which skyrocketed to a new all-time high of over $3.6, has lost almost all gains and is down to just over the previous peak of $3.4. Ethereum was stopped at $3,700 and is now below $3,600.

SUI has dumped the most from the larger-cap alts, followed by HYPE, XLM, ADA, SOL, and LINK. Dogecoin and ETC are the two exceptions from this cohort of altcoins.

The total crypto market cap, which soared past $4 trillion yesterday, is down by $100 billion since the peak to $3.940 trillion now.

Michael Saylor’s bold “financial engineering” at Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) to amass significant Bitcoin holdings has sparked a trend among corporations. Over 50 firms have already adopted a similar BTC-focused treasury strategy. However, a new segment of companies is emerging, seeking not only crypto exposure but also aligning directly with Ethereum’s economic ecosystem.

At first glance, the sharp price swings seen in Ethereum treasury stocks might look like speculative rollercoasters similar to meme coins. But the approaches taken by this initial wave of ETH treasury firms differ at a fundamental level.

Inside the First ETH Treasury Wave

According to Galaxy Digital, these firms are moving beyond hype-driven or passive crypto exposure and are instead actively using Ethereum as a productive reserve asset by staking for yield or leveraging advanced DeFi strategies.

This approach sets them apart from Bitcoin treasury adopters, who often took a passive “digital gold” stance financed by leverage-heavy convertible debt.

Meanwhile, ETH treasury companies like SharpLink, BitMine, Bit Digital, and GameSquare have chosen to fund their strategies with equity, thereby avoiding the structural vulnerabilities linked to debt obligations and looming maturities.

Galaxy Digital also said that the capital held by these firms is actively deployed rather than sitting idle. Through ETH staking, they boost validator security and protocol stability across the network. In cases like GameSquare, treasury funds are also used for DeFi-native yield strategies, which support liquidity pools, lending platforms, and other essential Ethereum infrastructure.

Despite the ongoing risks of dilution, smart contract exposure, and price swings, investors can use dilution impact assessments and premium-to-book valuations to gauge both the downside and potential income-based upside. This wave of ETH treasuries appears to be a more actively engaged and capital-efficient model.

Firms Scale Ethereum Holdings

This month, the Nasdaq-listed online tech firm SharpLink made a significant Ethereum acquisition and became the largest corporate holder of ETH to date. From July 7 to July 13, the company bought around 74,656 ETH at an average price of $2,852, which is roughly worth $213 million. With this purchase, SharpLink’s total Ethereum holdings have grown to approximately 280,706 ETH.

Las Vegas-based BitMine Immersion Technologies raised $250 million via a private placement of 55.6 million shares at $4.50 each on June 30 to grow its Ethereum treasury. The raise added 81,380 ETH to its balance sheet and increased total holdings to 163,000 ETH while expanding its share count by 13x.

New York-based Bit Digital raised $172 million in June after selling 280 BTC to build its Ethereum treasury under CEO Sam Tabar. By March 31, it held 24,434 ETH, out of which it staked 21,568 ETH with a 3.2% average yield in 2024, and completed its pivot to an ETH staking and treasury model.

Texas-based GameSquare Holdings raised $8 million in July via a follow-on equity offering and partnered with Dialectic to launch an Ethereum treasury program targeting 8-14% yields. The company made its first crypto move by purchasing $5 million in ETH.

XRP has finally broken out of months of consolidation, reclaiming critical levels against both USDT and BTC. This breakout comes as broader market sentiment shifts bullish, with Ethereum and Bitcoin also showing strong rallies.

Volume and momentum are backing the move, but traders should stay alert for potential profit-taking or short-term pullbacks following such sharp advances.

By Shayan

XRP/USDT Analysis

Against USDT, XRP has smashed through the long-standing $3.00 resistance zone, which had previously acted as a ceiling during several failed breakout attempts.

The move was clean and impulsive, with the price now pushing toward the $4.00 psychological resistance level. This is the next major mark to watch, as it is likely a potential target for many buyers. The RSI is also sitting above 80, showing strong momentum, but also flashing caution for potential short-term overextension.

Looking at the structure, XRP broke above the descending wedge that had capped price action for the past 6 months.

This shift marks a clear change in market character. As long as the XRP price stays above the $3.00 region, buyers are in control. A deeper retracement into the breakout zone could offer a high-probability retest entry. Losing $3.00 again, however, would invalidate the breakout and suggest a return to the range.

XRP/BTC Analysis

The XRP/BTC pair has surged impressively, breaking above the key 2,500 SAT high and the 200-day moving average located nearby. It is now testing the upper boundary of a major supply zone around 3,000 SAT.

This level previously acted as a distribution zone several times during earlier rallies and has now become the battleground between buyers and profit-takers. The XRP price has also created a fair value gap just below the current price, which could act as a short-term support to help push the price through the 3,000 SAT zone.

Moreover, the RSI is currently hovering around 88, suggesting overheated conditions that may lead to short-term cooling. If XRP holds above the 2,500 SAT region, the bullish structure remains intact, and continuation above the 3,000 SAT resistance band becomes likely.

However, any rejection from 3,000 SAT could trigger a pullback to retest the 200-day moving average around 2500 SAT.