US Representative Dina Titus has asked the CFTC to investigate Brian Quintenz, Donald Trump’s pick to run the agency, over his ties to Kalshi.

CFTC pressured to probe nominee Brian Quintenz over ties to Kalshi

After falling below a crucial support level, Bitcoin (BTC) is attempting to 
recover some of its lost ground. An analyst suggested that this week’s 
performance will be decisive for the cryptocurrency’s next trend. Related 
Reading: Pundit Says Ethereum Price Is Headed For $9,000 After This Broadening 
Wedge Retest Bitcoin Loses Bull Flag Formation Over the weekend, Bitcoin lost 
its post-breakout range for the first time in three weeks, falling to a local 
low of $112,296 on August 3. The flagship crypto had been trading between the 
$114,000-$120,000 range since the early July breakout, hitting its all-time 
high (ATH) of $122,838 amid the rally. As July neared its end, BTC experienced 
some volatility, retesting the range lows twice over its last week. However, 
the cryptocurrency was unable to repeat its price recovery from the previous 
weekend, losing the crucial area on August 1. Rekt Capital noted that 
Bitcoin’s rally could be at risk, explaining that BTC has formed a bull flag 
in the weekly chart and held the pattern’s lows as support until the latest 
Weekly Close. Following its recent price action, the analyst considers that 
this week’s performance will be pivotal to see whether the pattern’s bottom, 
around the $117,200 area, will become a new resistance and confirm the 
breakdown, or if the flagship crypto’s price will recover the structure. 
According to the analysis, if the price can reclaim the structure, the 
correction would be considered a fake downside deviation before 
resynchronizing with the pattern. Meanwhile, turning the pattern’s bottom into 
resistance would be a bearish retest, confirming the breakdown, and 
potentially leading to a new retest of the $112,000 area as support. BTC’s 
Weekly Close To Determine Next Trend Rekt Capital also detailed that this 
week’s performance will determine the future of BTC’s second Price Discovery 
uptrend, which has technically started its fifth week. Depending on what 
happens to the Bull Flag (reclaim or a confirmation of the breakdown), we will 
know whether the Price Discovery Uptrend 2 will continue or whether BTC has 
experienced a very short PDU2 instead. Last week, the analyst retesting that 
the continuation of the Price Discovery trend could fail as BTC transitioned 
into weeks 5-7 of this phase. Historically, the second uptrend has started to 
slow down around Weeks 5-6, hitting its peak during this “Danger Zone.” If 
Bitcoin reclaims the Bull Flag and challenges new highs, then its second Price 
Discovery uptrend will progress according to its historical tendencies. 
However, if it fails to Weekly Close above the pattern’s bottom and confirms 
additional downside, the second Price Discovery uptrend would have ended in 
Week 2, much quicker than has historically been the case. Moreover, it would 
reveal that BTC has been in its second Price Discovery Correction, which 
“would be going completely against the grain of history.” Related Reading: 
Analyst Warns XRP Investors Not To Let Fear Dictate Moves As Long As Price 
Holds This Level The analyst suggested that macro-wise, Bitcoin still has 
plenty of time for a third Price Discovery uptrend. If the second phase has 
already ended, a final uptrend could overcompensate for the current uptrend’s 
underperformance. Previously, Rekt Capital asserted that what comes after the 
second uptrend would depend on how long the corrective phase takes, as a shot 
correction could allow for a third uptrend before the bear market. Featured 
Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Is Bitcoin’s Price Discovery Rally Over? This Week’s Performance May Hold The Answer

Michael Saylor’s enterprise software company, Strategy (previously 
MicroStrategy), has made headlines once again with a substantial Bitcoin (BTC) 
acquisition, pushing its total holdings beyond 600,000 coins. The company 
purchased an impressive $2.46 billion worth of Bitcoin over the past week, 
marking its third-largest purchase by dollar amount since it began acquiring 
the digital asset five years ago. Bitcoin Acquisition At Record Prices Between 
July 28 and August 3, Strategy added 21,021 Bitcoin to its holdings, bringing 
its total to 628,791 tokens. At current market prices, the firm’s portfolio is 
valued at over $71 billion. Saylor has adeptly transformed his company from a 
traditional software provider into the leading corporate buyer of Bitcoin, 
utilizing innovative financial strategies to fuel these purchases. Related 
Reading: Top Analyst Says Bitcoin Is Trapped: ‘Nothing To Do Until October’ 
The latest acquisition was made at an average price of $117,526 per token, 
which is the second-highest price the company has ever paid, just shy of the 
$118,940 average from the previous month. Strategy is the largest corporate 
Bitcoin holder, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net. BTC mining 
company MARA Holdings is second with 50,000 coins, which highlights Saylor’s 
firm&#8217;s purchasing power. Notably, this position has not only solidified 
Saylor’s influence in the crypto space but has also inspired other public 
companies to adopt similar treasury strategies aimed at accumulating and 
holding digital currencies. These include Trump’s social media company, 
boosted by a new regulatory regime and legislation in the US aimed at 
positioning the country as the crypto capital of the world, a mission that 
President Donald Trump has advocated since his election campaign last year. 
Saylor&#8217;s Strategy Pledges To Protect Shareholder Value To fund these massive 
purchases, Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor has employed a mix of common and 
preferred share sales alongside debt instruments. Recently, the company 
launched its latest preferred stock offering, dubbed &#8220;Stretch,&#8221; in late July. 
In its second-quarter report, Strategy announced an unrealized gain of $14 
billion, primarily driven by the recent rebound in Bitcoin prices and a new 
accounting requirement that necessitated the revaluation of its Bitcoin 
holdings. Saylor has also made a commitment to investors, stating that he will 
refrain from issuing new common shares at less than 2.5 times the company&#8217;s 
net asset value, except for covering debt interest or preferred dividends. 
Related Reading: Analyst Warns XRP Investors Not To Let Fear Dictate Moves As 
Long As Price Holds This Level This pledge comes in light of concerns raised 
by critics like Jim Chanos, who have expressed apprehension about the premium 
that Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings place on its share price and the numerous 
securities offerings the company has executed. Since its initial foray into 
Bitcoin, Strategy’s stock, MSTR, has skyrocketed over 3,000%, significantly 
outperforming Bitcoin itself and major stock indices such as the S&amp;P 500 and 
Nasdaq 100. The company’s largest purchases occurred in November, totaling 
$5.4 billion and $4.6 billion, respectively, demonstrating Saylor&#8217;s aggressive 
strategy in the cryptocurrency market. However, on Monday, the firm did not 
disclose any further purchases, as it has commonly done over the past few 
months. Perhaps it is starting to reassess its direction with biweekly 
acquisitions. It remains to be seen what the firm&#8217;s next moves will be, as 
there have been no further official comments on the matter. Featured image 
from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

Strategy Expands Bitcoin Holdings With Massive Third-Largest Acquisition

Class-action lawsuits against crypto-related firms are building up, with cases 
facing major firms such as Bakkt and Coinbase.

From Coinbase to Milei and LIBRA: Crypto class-action suits pile up

USDe’s supply has increased by 70%, while USDS’s supply has increased by 23% 
since the GENIUS Act was signed into law on July 18.

Yield-bearing stablecoin supply surges after the GENIUS Act

BlackRock’s IBIT outflowed $292 million on Monday as Bitcoin continued to 
recover from weekend volatility.