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- Is $150K next for Bitcoin?
Is $150K next for Bitcoin?
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‘Store of value’ Ethereum may soon hit $3K if Q2’s cycle doesn’t repeat itself
Key points:
Despite its so-called underperformance for most of the year, ETH has been one of Q3’s biggest crypto winners.
Despite some concerns, many are predicting the altcoin will breach $3,000 soon.
News - Ethereum [ETH], the world’s largest altcoin, has always been accused of underperforming on the price charts. Especially in comparison to Bitcoin [BTC]. However, that is not the case anymore, with ETH now among Q3’s biggest winners.
In fact, since hitting a multi-month low of $2,114 on 22 June, ETH has gained by just under 25% on the price charts. In doing so, it reclaimed not just one, but two strong resistance levels.
A parabolic run ahead? - As it stands, Ethereum is on the kind of parabolic run it hasn’t seen in months. And yet, a lot of traders are still piling onto the shorts bandwagon, with 60% of the market’s traders leaning bearish.
According to AMBCrypto’s analysis, this implied that either the bears have been front-running a rejection or they’ve been underestimating the strength of the altcoin’s rally.
It would seem though that right now, a significant number of traders are betting on a repeat of what happened during the May-June cycle. At the time, projections of $2.8K fizzled out, with the crypto unable to breach the $3K-level. Such was the scale of the altcoin’s depreciation, that it lost 20% of its value in just 2 weeks.
At the time of writing, Ethereum’s Open Interest was as high as $36.5 billion, close to June’s figures of $41.75 billion.
Fidelity hops on board the hype wagon - Thanks to its latest price performance and its underlying value, Ethereum has now grabbed the full attention of those on Wall Street. Asset manager firm Fidelity is one such party, with the same now viewing ETH as a ‘store of value’ and a wealth preservation alternative.
This assessment seemed to be in line with that of many pro-Ethereum analysts. Anthony Sassano, for instance, claimed,
“ETH is a $100 trillion asset trading at $316 billion.”
Bitcoin closes in on $112K as favorable liquidity set-up fuels breakout odds
Key points:
A major surge in investor demand and a cascade of shorts liquidations fueled Bitcoin’s latest uptick.
While it may be too optimistic a projection, some analysts believe $150K might not be out of the question either.
News - Bitcoin has been one of 2025’s most consistent performers. Despite a lot of uncertainty on a geopolitical and economic level, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has continued to trade within a price range for quite some time.
In fact, it would now seem that BTC might be ready for its next leg upwards. Especially after it closed in on $112,000 after President Donald Trump announced the latest round of tariffs which targeted countries like Malaysia, South Africa, Laos, and Myanmar.
What are the analysts saying? - Bitcoin’s latest rally hasn’t come out of the blue though. Instead, it has been backed and supported significantly on a technical level. According to Bitfinex’s analysts, for instance,
“This rally has been built on solid ground, supported by real capital flows rather than short-lived speculative leverage.”
Similarly, eToro’s Josh Gilbert claimed that this might be the first bull market with institutional participation being “front and center.”
Is it time to hold or sell at the top? - What might be next for the world’s largest cryptocurrency? Well, on-chain metrics seemed to support the optimism and bullishness of most projections.
Consider this - At the time of writing, the macro cycle risk associated with Bitcoin was on the way down. According to Willy Woo, “Dips in risk are areas of new-found liquidity, often a prelude to launch new highs.” Each of Bitcoin’s previous bull cycles have all corresponded with a decline in this metric.
Similarly, a composite tracker of the top-30 cycle peak signals, including Pi Cycle and MVRV Z-Score, suggested that holders should continue to hold the cryptocurrency with the expectation of further gains.
Thanks to such bullish metrics, it’s no wonder then that someone like Capriole Investments’ Charles Edwards is backing BTC to hit $150K on the charts. Others, however, have been more cautious, with QCP Capital warning,
“Beware the quiet. Volatility may be on summer break, but Q3 and Q4 might deliver fireworks.”
GMX halts trading after $40M exploit drains Bitcoin, Ethereum
Key points:
Trading on GMX V1 was disabled after a possible re-entrancy attack exploited the protocol.
Minting and redemption of GLP tokens on both Arbitrum and Avalanche has also been halted.
News - GMX protocol, a cross-chain decentralized exchange, is the latest victim of crypto-crime this year after a possible re-entrancy attack led to the drain of $40M in Bitcoin and Ethereum. To be specific, culprits hit the GLP liquidity pool of GMX V1 on Arbitrum.
According to a statement from GMX,
“The exploit does not affect GMX V2, its markets, or liquidity pools, nor the GMX token itself. Based on the available information, the vulnerability is limited to GMX V1 and its GLP pool.”
Details and suspicions - The liquidity pool in question had an underlying basket of cryptos including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a whole host of stablecoins. At the time of writing, a complete post-mortem was still awaited from the GMX protocol. This, despite quite a few theories floating about.
For example, TAC’s Suhail Kakkar claimed that the exploit was indeed a re-entrancy attack, one where the attacker was able to trick the contract into believing that nothing had been withdrawn. Once done, the culprit was able to “mint tokens repeatedly, using the same base funds.”
For its part, GMX was a little more vague, simply claiming that “the manipulation involved relates to the calculation of the short average price on V1, and the same calculation mechanism is not employed in the GMX V2 contracts.”
Others like SlowMist, however, were more blunt in their assessment, with the security firm claiming that a major design flaw was exploited by the perpetrators.
Here, it’s worth noting that until a full investigation is complete, GMX has “updated the caps for the GM tokens of GMX V2 on Arbitrum and Avalanche.”
What’s going to happen next? - For its part, the GMX protocol has announced a “10% white-hat bounty” worth $4 million. It also revealed that it won’t pursue any legal action if the funds are returned within the next 48 hours.
Needless to say, GMX’s latest steps and calls for a “swift and ethical resolution” did little to assuage the doubts of many in the market. At press time, the token was valued at $11.56, down almost 20% in the last 24 hours alone.
Dubai-based airline Emirates to explore integration of crypto-payments
Key points:
Airline has signed an MoU with Crypto.com.
Emirates would be the second airline after Air Arabia to adopt this feature.
News - Crypto-adoption has been on the rise over the past few years, with crypto-payment options making headway across a multitude of sectors. It would seem now that the airline industry is the latest to embrace this technology, after Emirates’ latest update.
In an announcement, the Dubai-based airline revealed that it has signed a preliminary deal with Crypto.com - A deal that will allow its customers to make payments via the exchange’s payments platform.
Catering to a changing audience - While details are sparse right now, this update can be seen as an attempt to cater to evolving audience preferences. In fact, according to Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer,
“This taps into younger, tech-savvy customer segments who prefer digital currencies.”
Here, it’s worth pointing out that at this time, a clear timeline or roadmap isn’t available. As it stands, the partnership is expected to come into effect sometime next year.
When it does, Emirates might become the second airline to enable crypto payments in the Middle East after Sharjah-based Air Arabia.
Another step forward for UAE - Emirates’ announcement should be viewed within the larger context of the development of Dubai’s digital sector. Over the last few years, for instance, the UAE has consistently emerged as a growing hub for crypto companies.
The setting up of VARA in 2022 and the emergence of free zones like the DMCC have been instrumental to the region’s popularity among crypto entities.
More stories from the crypto ecosystem
Interesting facts
A Bankless survey from 2024 found that over 67% of millennials now consider Bitcoin to be an essential asset, even over and above the likes of more traditional stores of value like gold.
August 2016 saw Genesis Mining send the first Bitcoin transaction from space using a combination of a weather balloon with a Bitcoin wallet and a 3D model of the cryptocurrency.
According to a report by The Giving Block, 2024 saw over $1 billion in cryptocurrencies being donated to charitable causes, with 70% of Forbes’ Top 100 charities now open to cryptos.
Top 3 coins of the day
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
Key points:
At press time, PENGU was trading at $0.019 following a significant uptrend on the price charts.
PENGU has been among the market’s biggest winners since mid-June.
What you should know:
Despite a few days of price depreciation, PENGU resumed its uptrend on the price charts, and did so in a major way indeed. In fact, it has climbed by over 30% in the last few days alone, with the same highlighted by the bullishness of the altcoin’s technical indicators. Its Simple Moving Average, for instance, was well below the price candles and corresponded with the crypto’s price performance. Similarly, the Parabolic SAR’s positioning below its most recent price candles also reiterated the bullishness of the market. That’s not all either, as the altcoin’s long/short ratio climbed to 1.03 on the back of its growing social volumes. This implied that the crypto’s uptrend might not stop anytime soon.
dogwifhat (WIF)
Key points:
Like PENGU, WIF’s recent gains have been significant.
Unlike PENGU though, its uptrend wasn’t as steep or clear yet.
What you should know:
WIF has been among the market’s biggest memecoins over the past year. While its performance has wavered over this time, it would seem that it might finally be on its way to committing to a consistent uptrend. Like PENGU, WIF saw significant price appreciation on the price charts, with the crypto gaining by +14% in just over a few days. Worth pointing out, however, that there may be the risk of WIF consolidating within a tight range, with the same evidenced by a flattening Parabolic SAR. Also, its RSI appeared to be closer to the overbought zone, rather than the zone of equilibrium.
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
Key points:
Priced at $41.80 at press time, the altcoin has gained by 13% in July.
A high correlation with the world’s largest cryptocurrency accrued profits for the altcoin.
What you should know:
It’s been a good few weeks for Hyperliquid [HYPE], with the crypto hitting two new all-time highs in just under a month. While it was priced at $41.80 at press time, it climbed to as high as $45.30 less than 24 hours ago. This, after it saw gains of over 200% in Q2 of 2025 alone. The scale of its recent gains were evidenced by the findings of the Aroon indicator, with the same hinting at the strength of the market trend. On the contrary, the mouth of the Bollinger Bands seemed to tighten around the price candles - A sign of falling price volatility. Since $40M in unstaked HYPE is expected to re-enter the market soon, it’s too early to say what kind of impact that will have on the altcoin’s volatility.
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