Polymarket comes back to the United States more than two years after US regulators dropped investigations into the predictions market platform.

Polymarket set to reenter US with $112M acquisition of QCEX derivitives exchange

Last week bitcoin didn’t just tiptoe past its former highs, it obliterated 
them, surging to an unprecedented $118,000 and triggering over $1 billion in 
short liquidations. With psychological resistance cleared and strong hands in 
control, the path to $250K may be wide open. This editorial is from last 
week’s edition of the Week in Review […]

The Hard Road’s Behind Us, the Easy Is Ahead

Wyoming’s Republican Senator has criticized the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank over 
its role in Operation Choke Point 2.0, and now she’s calling for the Fed 
Chairman to step down. Lummis Ramps Up Pressure, Calls for Powell’s 
Resignation Fed Chair Jerome Powell has had a rough year. He has been taunted 
by the president, accused of […]

Cynthia Lummis Calls for Powell to Resign

Ethereum’s derivatives market has erupted in the past seven days, and the 
trading desk at Singapore-based QCP Capital argues it is the clearest evidence 
yet that a long-anticipated altcoin season is finally under way. In a note to 
clients on Monday, the firm says total perpetual open interest (OI) in ether 
futures has vaulted from “under $18 billion to more than $28 billion in just a 
week,” a jump large enough to drag the composite “altcoin-season index” above 
the critical 50-point threshold for the first time since December. Altcoin 
Season Ignites As Ethereum Outpaces BTC While it’s no surprise that retail may 
be chasing the momentum, it’s becoming increasingly clear that institutions 
are leading the charge this cycle, driven by a shift in narratives and 
structural developments,” QCP writes, pointing to the unusually large sizing 
of recent block trades on CME and Binance. Related Reading: Ethereum Set To 
Hit $10,000, Elliott Wave Analysis Predicts QCP singles out last Friday’s 
signing of the GENIUS Act as the pivotal spark behind the rotation. The law 
creates a comprehensive federal regime for dollar-backed stablecoins, forcing 
issuers to hold 100 percent short-term Treasury or cash reserves and submit to 
Bank Secrecy Act oversight. The White House cast the statute as “historic 
legislation that will pave the way for the United States to lead the global 
digital-currency revolution.” With regulatory clarity finally in hand, 
corporate treasuries “are racing to build their stockpile,” QCP says, treating 
ether and other smart-contract platforms—Solana, XRP Ledger and Cardano among 
them—as the infrastructure layer that will benefit most from an explosion in 
stablecoin issuance. The desk compares the emerging strategy to the hard-money 
playbook adopted by publicly listed bitcoin bellwethers such as MicroStrategy 
and Japan’s Metaplanet. The note argues that the policy tailwind is already 
reshaping capital flows. Spot ether ETFs attracted $602 million on July 17, 
out-pulling bitcoin ETFs’ $522 million and marking the first daily flow 
victory for ETH in the eighteen-month history of US crypto ETPs. BlackRock’s 
iShares Ethereum Trust recorded the single largest subscription and, according 
to QCP, is “broadcasting confidence” that its pending amendment to allow on- 
chain staking will secure SEC approval later this year. Industry analysts 
concur: the agency is widely expected to rule on the batch of staking 
amendments before year-end despite BlackRock’s late filing. Related Reading: 
Tom Lee Predicts $30,000 Per Ethereum As Treasury Frenzy Begins Derivatives 
positioning mirrors the spot-market exuberance. QCP highlights “aggressive” 
demand for out-of-the-money call spreads such as the ETH-26 Sep 25 
$3,400/3,800 and ETH-26 Dec 25 $3,500/4,500 structures, along with a 
persistent bid for call-side risk reversals across all listed tenors. Implied 
volatility skews now favour calls by their widest margin since the April 2024 
meme-coin frenzy, signalling traders’ willingness to pay up for upside 
exposure through the fourth quarter—precisely the window in which ETF staking 
approval could drop. The Ether surge has already carved four percentage points 
out of bitcoin’s market-share lead, driving BTC dominance down to 60 percent 
while lifting ETH’s share from 9.7 percent to 11.6 percent, QCP notes. If that 
trend holds—and the firm stresses that sustained follow-through in the options 
market is a key litmus test—“the next leg of altcoin season may already be in 
motion.” For now, QCP is monitoring three metrics: perpetual OI growth, the 
altcoin-season index, and relative ETF flows. A decisive break of bitcoin 
above $121,000 could delay rotation, the desk concedes, but the structural 
forces unleashed by the GENIUS Act and the prospect of yield-bearing ether 
ETFs give institutions a tangible reason to diversify. As QCP puts it, “we’ll 
be watching these signals closely—and if anything else confirms the thesis, 
you’ll be the first to know.” At press time, ETH traded at $3,846. Featured 
image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum Open Interest Explodes To $28 Billion—Altcoin Rotation Begins: QCP

Western Union&#8217;s stablecoin integration could revolutionize global payments, 
enhancing speed and accessibility while challenging traditional remittance 
models.
The post Remittance giant Western Union looks to integrate stablecoins into 
its digital wallet offerings appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Remittance giant Western Union looks to integrate stablecoins into its digital wallet offerings

High-profile trader Dave Portnoy recently revealed that he sold his XRP 
holdings at $2.40 just two weeks before the asset reached a new all-time high 
of $3.66. The Circle Factor Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, 
recently said he sold his XRP holdings at $2.40 two weeks before the digital 
asset hit a new […]