🌍 100% $XPL at TGE. EZ!

Is This Why BTC & Gold Just Exploded?

the-crypto-fire-banner

While the market’s still debating whether Layer-2s are overhyped, Eclipse just hit a $420M valuation before most people even know what it is. So why are whales loading up? Or it’s just another overvalued narrative pump waiting to implode?

Here’s what we got for you today:

crypto-chart

⭐ 5 Things You Shouldn’t Miss

🐋 The 80,000 BTC whale is officially selling, right after Bitcoin hit ATH nearly $124K. As of the afternoon on July 15, the whale transferred another $2B in BTC to Galaxy Digital → real selling pressure. Maybe it’s profit-taking time. The selloff is creating short-term pressure, though many see it as a healthy correction after the ATH.

🚨 Just days after pulling off a historic ICO, pump.fun quietly moved 187,770 SOL (worth ~$30M) to a wallet believed to be their buyback address → instantly sent $PUMP.X ( ▲ 6.46% ) ’s price up 20%. $19.26M worth (118,351 SOL) has already been used to buy nearly 3 billion PUMP tokens. Critics say it's damage control after a $741M $SOL.X ( ▼ 2.23% ) dump.

🚫 US House delays 3 major crypto bills during “Crypto Week” with a vote of 196 in favor vs. 222 against, even with Trump’s loud support. But 12 Republicans voted NO. They say the bills don’t go far enough to block the Fed from launching a CBDC. Some reports even say Trump plans to call resistant lawmakers directly to break the deadlock.

📈 June CPI came in at 2.7%, up 0.3% from May and right in line with forecasts. That’s the highest level since February. Meanwhile, Core CPI hit 2.9%, slightly below expectations of 3%. A small win. Bitcoin ($BTC.X ( ▲ 0.02% ) ) bounced back to $118K, after a brief dip from its ATH near $124K, caused by whale activity (80K BTC moved from an old wallet)

🚀 Get ready. Plasma just confirmed the public sale of $XPL from July 17. 100% of tokens unlock at TGE for non-US users. Remember, Plasma already ran two ICO registration rounds, each hitting $1B in deposits in under 30 minutes. This time, any excess $XPL will be reallocated instead of refunded (unlike the $PUMP.X ( ▲ 6.46% ) sale).

🏆 Gold & Bitcoin Both Just Hit ATHs! Is This the Top?

We’re seeing something rare: Gold – the symbol of stability, and Bitcoin – the face of financial innovation, both breaking all-time highs in the first half of 2025.

And now they’re racing to the top together. So what’s going on?👇

🔍 Why Are Both Gold and Bitcoin Pumping in 2025?

It’s not just hype, both assets are riding a macro wave. Since the start of 2025:

  • Gold ($XAUUSD ( 0.0% ) ) is up ~26%, now trading above $3,300

  • Gold ETF (GLD) — a proxy for institutional demand — is up 25.9%

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is holding its own:

  • Up ~31% year-to-date

  • Hit a new ATH of $123,000 on July 14

So what’s driving this? It all starts with the falling U.S. dollar. The DXY index (USD strength vs. other major currencies) has dropped nearly 10% in 2025.

Whenever the dollar weakens, capital tends to rotate into non-sovereign assets like gold and, more recently, Bitcoin.

These are assets that can’t be diluted by government money printing → making them ideal hedges when fiat currencies lose value.

📉 Interest Rates and Global Liquidity: Is the Tide Turning?

The Fed hasn’t cut rates yet but markets are already pricing in what’s coming.

According to Goldman Sachs, the Fed could lower rates up to 3 times in the second half of 2025, if economic data keeps cooling.

But don’t expect fireworks just yet… The CME FedWatch Tool shows only a 6.7% chance of a rate cut at the next meeting on July 30. Most of the market still believes the Fed will hold steady.

Meanwhile in China… it’s a different story. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is already making aggressive moves. Faced with a real estate crisis and $35B in international debt coming due, the PBoC is injecting serious liquidity into the system.

That’s helped push global M2 money supply up sharply → a backdrop that’s historically been bullish for assets like Gold and Bitcoin.

A Note on Timing: Historically, Gold reacts quickly to changes in monetary policy. Bitcoin tends to lag behind by about 90 days after M2 starts rising.

So if you're seeing BTC strength now? It could be the delayed reaction to global liquidity that started building months ago.

📊 So… Is Bitcoin or Gold Leading the Money Flow?

Right now, it’s starting to look like Bitcoin is taking the lead. The BTC/Gold ratio sits around 36 (that’s $123K BTC vs. $3,370 gold) and it’s climbing.

→ That suggests more capital is flowing into Bitcoin over gold in this current rally. Institutional interest is also heating up. BTC’s Realized Cap (a metric showing actual capital inflow) has jumped by $4.4B in just the past few weeks.

But hold on… The price surge might not be entirely “organic.”

👉 Over $1B worth of short positions have been liquidated recently

👉 $500M of that happened in just 5 hours. That’s a textbook short squeeze where forced liquidations drive prices up fast, without real new money entering.

The Fear & Greed Index is now at around 70 — deep in the “Extreme Greed” zone.
That means short-term speculation is dominating the crypto market.

If fundamentals don’t catch up soon, we could be looking at a correction to cool off the hype.

📌 What Should Investors Watch Next?

The simultaneous surge in Gold and Bitcoin is a clear signal: capital is rotating out of traditional finance. Why?

  • Falling trust in monetary policy

  • A weaker U.S. dollar

  • And rising global liquidity

Since the 2008 crisis, every time the USD weakens and M2 money supply surges, investors rush toward assets like Gold and Bitcoin as safe havens or simply to hedge against currency debasement.

Right now, markets are stuck in a wait-and-see mode. The Fed has held rates high for multiple meetings and everyone’s watching for a clear pivot signal. The Bullish Scenario:

  • The Fed starts cutting rates

  • M2 keeps rising

  • The dollar stays weak

If that happens, Bitcoin could be looking at a short-term target of $130,000 to $140,000.

⁉️ With a $420M Valuation… Is Eclipse Worth Betting On?

There’s a lot of buzz around Eclipse right now and for good reason. It’s a new Layer-2 project that just launched its token $ES.X ( ▼ 10.46% ) , with a valuation already hitting $420 million. But is it actually worth investing in?

In this post, we’ll cover:

  • What makes Eclipse different from other L2s

  • Whether the $420M valuation makes sense

  • The real opportunities vs. real risks of buying $ES ( ▲ 1.83% )

1️⃣ How Is Eclipse Different from Other Layer-2s?

Eclipse isn’t your typical Ethereum Layer-2. While most L2s like Optimism or Arbitrum run on the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), Eclipse is doing something bold:

→ It brings the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) onto Ethereum. That means you get Solana’s speed with Ethereum’s security, the best of both chains.

On paper, this setup lets Eclipse hit up to 9,000 TPS with avg. fees around $0.02. That’s insanely fast and cheap compared to standard L2s.

But here’s where it gets interesting:

This model opens the door for Solana developers to build apps that tap into the Ethereum community and liquidity — without rewriting everything for the EVM.

It’s a cool idea but not a brand new one. Projects like Sonic SVM and Soon Network are also exploring this hybrid space. Eclipse is just one of the more hyped contenders leading the charge.

2️⃣ Is the $420M Valuation Too High?

Let’s get this straight first, the $420M valuation is not official, but based on pricing from Whales Market, a pre-market trading platform. Right now, $ES.X ( ▼ 10.46% ) is trading at $0.42, up from $0.35 just a few days ago, that’s a +20% jump already.

So… is it fair? Eclipse has raised $65M from big names like:

Unlock Full Market Insights in This Part with Pro Plan

You’re reading a premium insight. Stay ahead of the crypto curve. Go beyond the headlines with full access to premium insights, in-depth analysis, and actionable investment narratives. FREE for 14 days – no commitment, cancel anytime.

Continue Reading with Pro Access >>

🤡 Meme Of The Day

crypto-meme

We read your emails, comments, and poll replies daily

Rate us today!

Your feedback helps us improve and deliver better content!

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Hit reply and say Hello – we'd love to hear from you!

Like what you're reading?

And if you’ve got a friend deep in crypto (or just getting started), feel free to forward this to them. They can sign up here.

Cheers,

The Crypto Fire

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Traders should conduct thorough research, understand the risks, and carefully evaluate their decisions before investing in cryptocurrency.


Reply

or to participate.