Russia’s largest commercial bank, Sber, launched a Bitcoin-linked bond product that’s now trading on OTC markets and may soon be listed on the country&#8217;s top stock exchange.

Russia’s largest bank Sber offers up Bitcoin-linked bonds

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Crypto Task Force will 
be touring the country between August and December, from New York to 
California, according to a Friday press release published by the regulator. 
The task force was launched in January by then Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda who 
appointed longtime crypto advocate and SEC Commissioner […]

SEC Crypto Task Force to Tour the US

Data shows the cryptocurrency derivatives market has seen more than $700 
million in long liquidations as Bitcoin and altcoins have plummeted. Bitcoin 
Price Just Made A Low Under $115,000 Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency 
market has witnessed a wave of bearish momentum during the past day as prices 
across the coins have declined. BTC went into the low $114,000 levels earlier 
in the day, but the coin has since bounced back above $115,000. Related 
Reading: Altcoin Season Here? 6 Key Metrics Show Market Shift The below chart 
shows how the asset&#8217;s recent performance has looked. Last week, BTC also 
dropped toward the $115,000 mark, but back then, it was able to quickly bounce 
back to resume sideways movement around $118,000. As such, it only remains to 
be seen whether the current deviation is a temporary one as well or if it&#8217;s 
the start of a real break away from the consolidation range. Most of the 
altcoins have taken a worse hit than the number one cryptocurrency during the 
past day, with some like Solana (SOL) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) exceeding losses 
of 5%. Crypto Derivatives Market Has Racked Up Large Liquidations A 
consequence of the market-wide volatility has been that liquidations have 
piled up over at the derivatives side of the cryptocurrency sector, according 
to data from CoinGlass. Below is a table that shows the numbers related to the 
latest market liquidations. As is visible above, a total of $804 million in 
cryptocurrency contracts have found liquidation during the past day. Out of 
these, $741 million of the contracts, equivalent to 92% of the total, were 
longs. Ethereum (ETH) led the derivatives flush with $250 million in 
liquidations, Bitcoin followed at $200 million. ETH topping the sector in this 
metric over BTC is likely a combination of two factors: its price has seen a 
steeper decline in the last 24 hours and speculative interest around it has 
been elevated due to the earlier breakout. Signs were already there that a 
volatile liquidation event may be coming. As this chart shared by CryptoQuant 
community analyst Maartunn on Wednesday shows, the Bitcoin Aggregated Open 
Interest was sharply climbing. The &#8220;Aggregated Open Interest&#8221; here naturally 
refers to an indicator that keeps track of the total amount of derivatives 
positions related to BTC that are open on all centralized exchanges. Related 
Reading: PENGU Down 11%, But These TA Signals Could Point To Rebound The 
speculators haven&#8217;t been dissuaded by the latest liquidations, either, as 
Maartunn has today pointed out a sharp jump in the Bitcoin Open Interest on 
cryptocurrency exchange ByBit. Featured image from Dall-E, CoinGlass.com, 
charts from TradingView.com

Bitcoin Plunge Below $115,000 Wipes Out $700M In Crypto Longs

Bitcoin ETFs saw $812 million in outflows, led by Fidelity and ARK, while 
Ether ETFs ended their longest inflow streak with $152 million in losses.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs see second-largest outflow, Ether ETFs end 20-day streak

The Senator was speaking during the discussion of a recently introduced bill 
that would allow the President to appoint the Federal Reserve Inspector 
General. Cynthia Lummis Rips Federal Reserve Over Lack of Transparency Wyoming 
Senator Cynthia Lummis, also known as the “Crypto Queen,” delivered a 
blistering rebuke of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday, calling […]

Cynthia Lummis Says Fed Is a ‘Giant Black Hole of Unaccountability’

Bitcoin (BTC) is navigating a period of heightened uncertainty as its price 
struggles to regain upward momentum following recent declines. Over the past 
24 hours, the world’s largest cryptocurrency recorded a dip to $114,326 before 
slightly recovering above the $115,000 mark. Despite this rebound, the asset 
remains under pressure, with recent market movements highlighting potential 
shifts in trader sentiment and long-term holder behavior. Data shared by 
market analysts indicates that derivatives activity is playing a significant 
role in current price fluctuations. Insights from the analytics platform 
CryptoQuant suggest that sudden changes in leveraged positions and aggressive 
selling pressure on major exchanges are contributing to the ongoing 
volatility. At the same time, on-chain data shows an increase in activity from 
long-term Bitcoin holders, suggesting a structural change in the market that 
may influence future price dynamics. Related Reading: Bitcoin New Investor 
Dominance Rises – No Signs of Mass Profit-Taking Yet Leveraged Positions Under 
Pressure on Major Exchanges According to a recent analysis by CryptoQuant 
contributor Amr Taha, Bitcoin’s decline below $115,000 coincided with a 
notable reduction in open interest on Binance, dropping from $14 billion to 
under $13.5 billion in a short span. This 4% decline in open interest within a 
single day is often linked to liquidation events, where leveraged positions 
are closed automatically due to margin calls. Taha explained that many traders 
appear to have exited long positions as the price fell, potentially triggering 
a cascade of sell orders and amplifying market pressure. Net Taker Volume on 
Binance also turned sharply negative, nearing -$160 million, suggesting an 
increase in aggressive selling activity. This trend reflects fear-driven 
reactions among market participants, particularly retail traders, who may have 
chosen to close or reverse positions amid expectations of further price 
declines. Despite this wave of selling, Taha noted the possibility of a short- 
term rebound. A reduction in leveraged long positions combined with an 
increase in short exposure could create conditions for a market rebalancing or 
a short squeeze if selling pressure eases in the coming days. Dormant Bitcoin 
Wallets Show Signs of Major Reallocation In addition to short-term derivatives 
market dynamics, other analysts are pointing to broader structural changes in 
Bitcoin’s investor base. CryptoQuant analyst OnChainSchool highlighted that in 
2024, more than 255,000 BTC previously inactive for over seven years were 
reactivated. In 2025, this trend has continued, with over 215,000 BTC already 
moving within the first several months of the year. The average monthly 
movement of long-dormant coins has risen from 4,900 BTC in 2023 to over 30,000 
BTC in 2025. Transaction sizes have also grown significantly, from around 162 
BTC to over 1,000 BTC per transfer. According to OnChainSchool, these patterns 
indicate that large-scale holders, rather than retail investors, are 
reallocating capital on a scale not seen in previous cycles. The analyst 
suggested that beyond price fluctuations, these shifts may have long-term 
implications for market liquidity and Bitcoin’s future ownership distribution. 
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView