Hi! Eric here.

Bitcoin broke its own record this week, earning itself a new all-time high at $118,667 by riding a wave of renewed confidence in digital assets. 

And it won’t stop there, analysts say. 

“We’re well on track to break through the $120,000 barrier,” Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, deputy CEO of crypto exchange Bitpanda, shared with DL News.

This week, investors ploughed over $868 million into bullish trades that only pay out if Bitcoin closes September at a price higher than $140,000.

Earlier this month, Bitwise analysts projected that the price could jump as high as $136,000 in this month alone. 

Indeed, there’s no shortage of optimistic signals. 

US President Donald Trump’s support of the crypto industry may even result in three pro-industry bills being passed during Congress’ “Crypto Week” next week.

Elsewhere, institutions increasingly add crypto to their portfolios by either tapping the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds, or by buying shares into companies that top up their treasuries with digital assets, thus becoming proxies for cryptocurrencies. 

Investors are also slowly returning to the industry. Venture capital firms have poured nearly $11 billion into the industry so far this year, already cresting the amount raised throughout 2024.

Even fintech firms like Robinhood are doubling down on their crypto efforts, with the recent launch of several tokenised stocks services being hailed as the next major driver of onchain adoption.

To be sure, black swan events could always kneecap the rally. 

The Federal Reserve has still not decided to cut interest rates and thus keeping many investors from betting on risk-on assets like cryptocurrencies. 

Another escalation in the different wars around the world or a new wave of tariffs could also halt the expected injection of liquidity into the market. 

But for now, all things considered, the industry has a lot to be bullish about.

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Check out Liam Kelly’s scoop about how World has quietly paused its eye-scanning services in Germany.

Ben ‘BitBoy’ Armstrong arrested again in Georgia on harassment charges

The seemingly uncontrolled descent of Ben Armstrong continued this week with the news that the crypto influencer has been arrested. Again. Check out Kyle Baird’s report.

Wall Street’s crypto push puts fractional reserve stablecoins in play, analysts say

Banks are increasingly tapping into crypto, with several considering launching their own stablecoin. Tim Craig reported that those efforts may challenge the crypto norm of how they hold the reserves.

Post of the Week

Time moves differently in crypto than in traditional markets, as Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas wrote this week.

DL News is an independent news organisation that provides original, in-depth reporting on the largely misunderstood world of cryptocurrency and decentralised finance. From original stories to investigations, our journalism is accurate, honest and responsible.