Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina）
Author | Ethan (@ethanzhang_web3）
What should have been a week to boost industry confidence has now added another layer of "uncertainty" due to legislative back-and-forth.
On July 16, Beijing time, Trump announced on social media that he had met with 11 key congressmen and gained their support to push the GENIUS Act into the formal voting stage.
In the early morning of July 17, the US House of Representatives passed a procedural vote with a vote of 217:212, officially establishing the legislative process for three crypto bills, including GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC. Although this vote does not represent the final passage of the bill content, it means that legislation has entered the final stage, and the stablecoin bill could enter the final vote as early as this Thursday.
This "crypto week" is moving from anxious waiting towards reality, while the market is quietly gaining strength on the other side.
OKX real-time quotes show that ETH broke through the $3,400 mark this morning, reaching a high of $3,428, with a 24-hour peak increase of 11.91%, falling back to 3,380 USDT before this article was written;BTC remained relatively calm, oscillating around $120,000, with a 24-hour peak increase of only 3.14%, currently priced at 118,740 USDT.
Other Altcoin markets also saw a general rise this morning, with BONK's 24-hour peak increase of 21.2%, currently at 0.000037854 USDT; CRV's 24-hour peak increase of 13.31%, currently at 0.9226 USDT; JUP's 24-hour peak increase of 9.56%, currently at 0.53 USDT; BOME's 24-hour peak increase of 18.43%, currently at 0.002113 USDT; SOL's 24-hour peak increase of 6.55%, currently at 170.81 USDT.
With the US House of Representatives passing the procedural vote on cryptocurrency-related bills, crypto concept stocks rose generally, including: Coinbase (COIN) up 4.21%, currently at $404.26; Circle (CRCL) up over 22%, currently at $238.58; Strategy (MSTR) up 2.29%, currently at 452.42%; Mara Holdings (MARA) up 5.17%, currently at $19.73.
In terms of derivatives trading, Coinglass data shows that over the past 24 hours, the entire network liquidated $469 million, with long positions liquidating $172 million and short positions liquidating $297 million. By cryptocurrency, BTC liquidations were $73.99 million, and ETH liquidations were $193 million.
ETH's rise is not a single-point outbreak, but the result of structural fund-driven momentum. On-chain data shows that in the past 48 hours, multiple institutions and large-value addresses have completed a "silent accumulation" of ETH.
Profit-taking and buy the dips intersect, on-chain main forces split
Trend Research's massive reduction has undoubtedly become the market's focus.
According to Lookonchain data, they sold a cumulative 69,946 ETH in the past 24 hours, cashing out $218.3 million, with a single transaction last night selling 21,000 ETH worth about $67 million. Despite this, the institution still holds over 115,000 ETH, with an account value close to $380 million.
But some other forces are quietly taking over.
SharpLink Gaming added 10,614 ETH today through a strategy account, worth about $35.62 million. Their total holdings have reached 296,508 ETH, valued close to $1 billion, becoming one of the most aggressive ETH financial configurators on-chain.
Buyers and sellers are not opposed, but rather two ends of a game. The main forces are divided, and the market is pricing. ETH's rise is not a castle in the air, but a re-evaluation after a "chip handover".
Bill stalled, why is ETH surging?
On the surface, the bill delay should be negative. However, the market did not decline because of this, but instead showed a reflexive upward trend.
Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau pointed out in a CNBC interview that the passage of bills like GENIUS is a "matter of time", not a question of "whether it will pass". The procedural vote has cleared institutional obstacles for formal legislation.
But what truly drove ETH's strong rise is the increasingly clear asset narrative behind it.
On one hand, in May 2024, the SEC approved multiple Ethereum spot ETF listing applications and officially began trading in July, marking ETH's formal entry into the US mainstream investment market after Bitcoin. The current market focus has shifted to subsequent capital inflows, whether staking is supported, and whether related option products can be launched.
On the other hand, since the Ethereum Foundation initiated structural reforms at the beginning of the year, traditional financial markets' acceptance of ETH has continuously improved. Following the MicroStrategy effect, US-listed companies like SharpLink Gaming have begun incorporating ETH into their balance sheets as long-term reserves.
Moreover, ETH's core position in on-chain finance naturally gives it the "digital sovereign asset" attribute to counter liquidity tightening and USD fluctuations. In short, ETH is no longer just a "crypto platform coin", but is slowly becoming an "on-chain version of government bonds".
Future outlook: The three-way game of legislation, interest rate cuts, and "Altcoin season"
ETH's breakthrough may be just the beginning of a new cycle.
The FOMC meetings on July 22 and July 30 are seen as key windows for this macroeconomic game. If the Federal Reserve signals interest rate cuts, the crypto market will usher in a second layer of liquidity drive.
On the legislative front, the US House of Representatives has today advanced the GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC three key crypto bills to the final voting stage. The stablecoin bill is expected to be voted on as early as Thursday, and if passed, will be sent to the president for signature. Even if the final vote count varies, just entering the voting process has already boosted market risk appetite.
More importantly, ETH's strength is reigniting expectations for "Altcoin season".
On-chain data shows that emerging public chain tokens like SUI and HBAR have 24-hour increases of over 12%, while mainstream Altcoins like SOL, AVAX, LTC, and DOGE have simultaneously turned red. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes wrote yesterday that "the Ethereum season has arrived", predicting that ETH will outperform BTC, and DeFi and Non-Fungible Token sectors will also warm up. He even changed his social media avatar to a CryptoPunk to show his confidence.
Conclusion: FOMO sentiment has not truly spread
From Trump personally pushing the bill, to ETH strongly breaking through $3,400, to on-chain institutions steadily building positions, the script of this "crypto week" seems to be being rewritten.
However, the current market has not fully resonated, with BTC sideways and Altcoins diverging, and FOMO sentiment has not truly spread.Perhaps this is the moment for calm investors to enter,when you next hear the entire scene shouting "Altcoins taking off", ETH may have already flown far ahead.
