Bitcoin ETF Losing Momentum as Crypto Market Enters Summer Slump: Report

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a boost in June with BlackRock’s application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, its price entered a summer slump in July. While some altcoins performed well, like XRP with a monthly close of +49%, the overall response to Ripple Labs’ partial victory against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission was more muted than expected. The SEC is expected to appeal the ruling, and market activity has been relatively quiet during the summer months.

Decline in NFTs and DeFi

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have suffered during the bear market, and in July, interest in NFTs declined even further. Classic collections saw their prices drop to levels similar to before the 2021 craze. The floor price of Bored Ape Yacht Club fell below 30 Ether (ETH), and the top five NFT collections earned only $800,000 in monthly royalties.

The decline in NFTs was accompanied by negative news involving Azuki, a well-known blue-chip NFT project. AzukiDAO filed a proposal to sue Azuki’s founder and recover 20,000 ETH lost to alleged rug pulls.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector also faced challenges, with a significant security vulnerability discovered and exploited. While DeFi vulnerabilities typically stem from poorly implemented smart contracts, this time, the Vyper programming language, an alternative to Solidity, was affected. It resulted in Curve Finance being exploited for over $61 million in a reentrancy hack.

As a result of the hack, the price of CRV crashed. However, the exploited funds were returned several days later, with the hacker accepting a 10% bounty. More information about these developments, as well as recent news about ZK-rollups, can be found in Cointelegraph Research’s monthly trends report on DeFi.

Strength in Crypto Stocks

Crypto stocks have demonstrated unusual strength in recent months, particularly the top mining stocks, which consistently outperformed BTC. The Cointelegraph Research Investor Insights Report has been monitoring the performance of these stocks since their rally earlier this year.

In July, the market prices of tokens and coins lagged behind the performance of crypto stocks. Publicly traded crypto companies gained an average of 23.9% in stock price by the end of the month. Coinbase shares soared in mid-July due to the outcome of the Ripple lawsuit, reaching above $100 per share for a week and closing the month with a gain of +32.19%.

MicroStrategy also experienced a bullish monthly close at +27.25%. However, mining companies were the top performers, with Stronghold Digital Mining shares increasing by almost 75%. TeraWulf and Riot Platforms also saw gains of over 50% from their early July levels.

The Cointelegraph Research Team

The Cointelegraph Research department consists of highly talented individuals in the blockchain industry. With a mix of academic rigor and practical experience, the researchers are dedicated to providing the most accurate and insightful content available in the market.

With their extensive experience in traditional finance, business, engineering, technology, and research, the Cointelegraph Research team is well-positioned to deliver the latest Investor Insights Report with the utmost expertise.

The opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or any specific security or investment product.

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