The Federal Reserve continues to face pressure from the Trump administration regarding interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, the crypto market, particularly Ethereum (ETH), receives positive news, including a significant statement from the SEC and upcoming network upgrades.
Market Overview
US equities closed mixed on Monday, July 21st, with the Dow Jones seeing a slight decrease, while the S&P 500 continued its upward trend to a new peak despite a modest session close, and the Nasdaq gained 0.38%. Stock futures continued their upward trajectory. Gold and oil contracts hovered around $3404 per ounce and $66.88 per barrel, respectively.
Bitcoin surged to $119,000 at one point, then corrected to $116,000, before recovering to around $118,000. Altcoins showed mixed performance, with some gaining and others declining. The overall crypto market capitalization slightly decreased to $3.98 trillion.
Good news for crypto, specifically ETH, related to a statement from the SEC Chairman. Recently, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins officially declared that ETH “is not a security.” This is a monumental clarification for the Ethereum ecosystem and the broader crypto market.
Recent updates from the Bitcoin Heatmap on-chain show that many large wallets (holding 1–10,000 BTC) are in an accumulation trend, indicated by green coloring. However, this chart only reflects wallet trends (accumulation or distribution) and does not show actual trading volume, nor does it include data from centralized exchanges or the activities of miners and ETFs. Therefore, while many wallets are accumulating, selling pressure from other sources might cause the price to trade sideways. The chart serves as a reference and does not reflect the entire market.
US Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $131.4 million in outflows on Monday after many days of large inflows. However, ETH spot ETFs continued to attract strong inflows of $296.5 million. The SOL ETF saw zero net flow. This divergence in ETF flows suggests a potential rotation of capital within the digital asset space.
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Investigation into the Fed
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called for a comprehensive review of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) operations, not only regarding the spending on its headquarters renovation but also concerning whether the Fed is fulfilling its two core mandates assigned by Congress: controlling inflation and maintaining employment.
Secretary Bessent criticized the Fed for repeatedly making erroneous decisions, particularly raising interest rates too late in the past, allowing inflation to spiral out of control. He proposed a comprehensive investigation similar to those conducted for other agencies if repeated misconduct occurs.
Concurrently, Representative Anna Paulina Luna has sent a formal letter to the US Department of Justice, requesting an investigation into Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for suspected false statements related to the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project (Eccles Building).
Bessent also cautioned the public not to believe leaked news, such as recent reports about President Trump wanting to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. According to him, that is only a small part of the story, and the final decision always rests with the President, based on consultations with advisors, including the Treasury Secretary.
Politically, officials in the Trump administration are constantly bringing up the Fed issue as a way to exert pressure, aiming to push the Fed to cut interest rates—which is considered necessary to improve borrowing capacity and support the economy ahead of the midterm elections. While it remains unclear whether the President has the power to dismiss the Fed Chair, pressure from the White House and political circles is escalating.
Finally, Bessent argued that the Fed should cut interest rates because inflation is low, while criticizing the Fed’s economic experts as conservative and unwilling to adapt their thinking to reality. Secretary Bessent believes that cutting interest rates now is urgent as inflation has cooled, while the economy and the public need credit support to recover and prepare for the crucial upcoming election period. This growing pressure from the Treasury and Congress signals a deepening political battle over monetary policy, which could have significant implications for market stability.
Ethereum’s Upcoming Upgrades: Fusaka and Glamsterdam
Ethereum is preparing to enter a crucial phase of upgrades with two major updates: Fusaka and Glamsterdam, aimed at improving performance, scalability, and security for the network.
The Fusaka upgrade is tentatively scheduled for mainnet deployment between November 5th and 12th. This will be the next hard fork after Pectra—an upgrade implemented six months ago. Fusaka includes 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), notably EIP-7825, which enhances Ethereum’s resilience against attacks. Some other proposals, like EIP-7907 and the EVM Object Format, will be removed to shorten testing time. The Fusaka implementation process began in July with testnet trials and will be completed by mid-November.
Meanwhile, Glamsterdam is the subsequent upgrade, currently being planned and expected to launch in 2026. Proposals under consideration include reducing block creation time from 12 seconds to 6 seconds and increasing the gas limit to 45 million. These changes will enable the Ethereum network to process transactions faster and in larger volumes; approximately 50% of validators already support these changes.
Overall, the Fusaka and Glamsterdam upgrade series demonstrates Ethereum’s determination to optimize network performance, meet the growing demands of users and decentralized applications, and maintain its leading position in the blockchain ecosystem.
Other Key Crypto Updates
Strategy (MicroStrategy) has acquired an additional 6,220 BTC (approximately $740 million) at an average price of $119,000. They now hold 607,770 BTC (approximately $43.61 billion), purchased at an average price of $71,756 per Bitcoin. Concurrently, Strategy also announced it would issue 5 million STRC preferred shares (priced at $100 per share) to raise $500 million, to be used for further Bitcoin purchases and to support business operations. The shares pay monthly cash dividends (~9% annual yield) and have a buyback option at $101. Major banks will support this offering, signaling continued institutional confidence in MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin-centric strategy.
Trump Media has accumulated approximately $2 billion worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related securities, accounting for about two-thirds of the company’s total $3 billion in liquid assets. This substantial allocation by a public media company highlights the increasing adoption of Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset.
Mercurity Fintech (MFH) has secured a $200 million credit facility from Solana Ventures to implement its digital asset management strategy. This includes accumulating SOL, participating in staking/DeFi to earn yield, and investing in projects building on Solana. This strategic move underscores the growing institutional interest in the Solana ecosystem and its DeFi opportunities.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please do your own research before making investment decisions.
