News
12 Aug 2025, 13:00
Explaining why Ethereum’s ATH is now a matter of ‘when,’ not ‘if’
Are Ethereum shorts positioned for a fade, or gearing up for a short squeeze?
12 Aug 2025, 13:00
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF Leads Growing Interest in Crypto-Linked Funds Amid Record Inflows
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF leads the market with $57.4 billion in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund at $12.1 billion, showcasing the growing interest in crypto ETFs.
12 Aug 2025, 13:00
Grayscale Debuts First Investment Trusts for Sui’s Core Protocols
Digital asset investment platform Grayscale has launched two new single-asset trusts providing exposure to Sui protocols DeepBook and Walrus. The Grayscale DeepBook Trust and Grayscale Walrus Trust invest solely in the native DEEP and WAL tokens, respectively. DeepBook is a decentralized central limit order book (CLOB) built on the Sui blockchain. It serves as a foundational liquidity layer for the Sui ecosystem, meaning that it provides the underlying infrastructure for decentralized exchanges (DEXs), wallets, and other applications on Sui to facilitate token trading. Walrus, meanwhile, is a blockchain-based data storage platform designed to host the massive wells of information driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The trusts are open for daily subscription via private placement to accredited investors, marking a new avenue for institutional participation in Sui’s DeFi, social and gaming use cases. Stamford, Connecticut-based Grayscale is best known for its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Ethereum equivalent (ETHE), both of which it has converted into exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm has subsequently expanded its focus to more niche areas of the digital asset market to appeal to investors with an eye on a wider array of blockchain use cases. Read more: Swiss Bank Sygnum Launches Regulated SUI Custody and Trading for Institutions
12 Aug 2025, 12:59
Empery Digital: Another Ailing Business Turned Bitcoin Treasury
Summary Empery Digital pivoted from powersports to a Bitcoin treasury strategy, abandoning its original business which was encountering several post-COVID challenges. The company now holds $470 million in Bitcoin, with its market cap now tracking that NAV, offering no holding company upside, though multiples on NAV are common in this space. Empery is therefore a Bitcoin proxy for equity markets. We have never been convinced by Bitcoin. The only upside here other than further appreciation of Bitcoin, which is a gamble in our view, is meme value and if Empery ends up trading at multiples of NAV. Empery Digital ( EMPD ) used to be called Volcon, which was a company we covered some years ago as a power sports play that was trying to establish some powersports bike products for the offroad recreation market . There were lots of challenges as a totally new company, and they were both a retreat in the enthusiasm for the powersports category post-COVID, some idiosyncratic issues around the ability to get a profitable product to market, and then perhaps most importantly the general environment for reflexivity risk plays, where anything cash burning had a major issue of being neglected by a market that had become picky due to higher costs of capital, and therefore facing more significant dilutions when inevitable fund raising activity was required. Empery Digital is the new name for the company in line with its new, and to us unappealing strategy of pivoting into becoming a Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) treasury company, and therefore a speculative instrument to get exposure to Bitcoin. While maybe it has meme value, it represents a capitulation on a very challenged and now side business of producing powersports products and also distributing golf carts from Vietnam. Obviously the introduction of a 20% tariff on Vietnam by Trump is bad news for this latter activity . This doesn't really matter much, because Empery carries now $470 million worth of Bitcoin , where in Q1, prior to the Q2 cash injection and share placement, total assets were just $22 million. Since we do not want to invest in Bitcoin, Empery is just not interesting to us and probably never will be even if it seems to be trading close to NAV. We think the only way this works out for investors is if Bitcoin continues to climb, and perhaps if this also becomes a meme stock, where it can trade for multiples of its NAV like Metaplanet ( OTC:MTPLF ), another stock we aren't interested in . The Business Updates They have stopped producing the Grunt, terminating that product's manufacturing agreement in December 2024 . They have sold all the remaining Grunt units as of the last SEC filing which is the Q1 10-Q. They seem to be still selling the Brat, also manufacture by a third party. In addition to that, they distribute golf carts that are purchased from Vietnam. China had been hit by countervailing duties to counter the subsidies China puts in place for the benefit of its manufacturers. A punitive tariff had been put in place even under the Biden administration it would seem . Vietnam was a strategy to get away from that but the tariffs which were at 2.5% before Trump are now settled at 20%, which is a considerable hit to economics and marginality of this distribution activity. They do say that they are continuing to consider new opportunities to develop powersports products, but since the share purchase agreement and the new Bitcoin strategy, we doubt any of that will really matter to the business case. As of March 31 2025, total assets were $21 million, with $17.6 million in cash. The significant change since then was the selling of shares to new investors in July. The company raised more than $400 million in a share purchase agreement , valuing the shares at $10. It was still very dilutive due to the extreme declines in the price of Volcon prior to this, and the new shareholders have taken over the cap table. Some of the investment was made in the form of BTC, and warrants were issued in the amount to be able to purchase almost 6 million additional shares, which is more than 10% dilution should they be exercised. We assume that with the around $9 exercise price they were all exercised in the run-up of the stock. Data by YCharts In addition to the now marginal business of trying to sell golf carts from Vietnam and develop their powersports products, the new primary activity is trying to be a Bitcoin treasury company, something like Metaplanet or MicroStrategy ( MSTR ). So the proceeds they've received they've invested in Bitcoin, of which they now hold $470 million as of August 6th - 4000.85 BTC. While in the previous 10-Q, there were some proceeds coming in from a previous SPA evidently, in the amount of around $18 million from issuing stocks and warrants, the next 10-Q is going to show more than $400 million coming into the company balances. Now the assets of the company are more than 90% Bitcoin, and that would grow assuming the residual powersports business continues to burn cash. Bottom Line At around 464 million market cap, it is trading at an ever so slight discount to the Bitcoin NAV. That doesn't provide much upside even for the Bitcoin bulls. This process of turning your ailing business into a crypto box is something that has become fashionable to turn the fortunes of a stock around , even by businesses, such as Volcon, which prior to the pivot had nothing to do with the world of blockchain, Bitcoin or even technology. Beyond the fact that this is the sort of thing that only starts happening when markets get a little too exuberant, there is no edge in just becoming a crypto box. While some companies like Metaplanet portray their writing put strategy to create income to finance even more Bitcoin purchasing as some sort of edge, the strategy is not exotic and just reflects immense risk taking behaviour. The long story short is that this is not something that makes Empery appealing at all. For meme speculators, there is a chance this bounces, although it's already shone already last month, in line with the sort of unreasonable NAV multiples as seen on stocks like Metaplanet, where the Bitcoin holdings were worth a fraction of the company's market cap, despite Bitcoin "treasury" being almost the entire activity of the business. But other than these wild speculations, it is an instrument that trades more or less at NAV and would be beholden otherwise to the fortunes of Bitcoin, which is still a highly speculative security, impractical to use and with debatable decentralisation due to the issue of mining pools and mining pool administration.
12 Aug 2025, 12:59
Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Loses Momentum, Dips Below $120,000
Bitcoin (BTC) lost momentum after surging to an intraday high of $122,319 on Monday. As a result, the flagship cryptocurrency plunged to an intraday low of $118,050 before settling at $118,628. BTC is down nearly 2% over the past 24 hours, trading around $118,618. However, analysts believe its bullish structure remains intact. Ethereum ETH Holders Could Pivot Back To Bitcoin (BTC) Bitcoin (BTC) pioneer Samson Mow believes Ethereum (ETH) investors will turn back to BTC once ETH prices get high enough. The pivot back to BTC could reverse a five-week jump in ETH prices. Mow explained his stance in a post on X, stating, “Let me explain what’s happening with ETHBTC. Most ETH holders have a lot of BTC (ICO/insiders), and they are rotating that BTC into ETH to pump it on new narratives (Ethereum Treasury co’s). Once they’ve gotten it high enough, they’ll dump their ETH, creating new generational bagholders, and then rotate the gains back into BTC . No one wants ETH in the long run.” Mow has criticised altcoins in the past, and added that it will be difficult for ETH to jump to all-time highs, stating that the closer it gets to its all-time high, the stronger the trader’s drive to sell the asset. Could the US Nationalise Bitcoin Holdings? Analysts Think So Corporate crypto treasuries have crossed $100 million in value, prompting concerns that the US could nationalise some of the holdings in a move harking back to the gold standard era. Bitcoin treasury companies hold over 791,662 BTC worth $95 billion, a staggering 3.98% of BTC’s circulating supply. Corporate treasuries could become a central point of vulnerability for BTC, following a similar path to gold in 1971. One crypto analyst stated, “If the US dollar is structurally getting weak and China is coming in, it’s a fair point that the US might make an offer to all the treasury companies and centralize it, where it could be then put into a digital form, not create a new gold standard. You could then rug it like happened in 1971. And it’s all centralized around the digital Bitcoin. The whole history repeats again back to the beginning.” Strategy Adds To Bitcoin (BTC) Holdings Michael Saylor’s Strategy has added to its Bitcoin stash, purchasing 155 BTC for $18 million in the week ending Sunday, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Strategy completed the purchase at an average price of $116,401 per coin. BTC started the previous week around $114,00 and traded above $120,000 by Sunday. The latest acquisition increases the company’s Bitcoin holdings to 628,946 BTC , valued over $72 billion. The purchase also marks the fifth anniversary of the company’s Bitcoin strategy. Strategy launched its Bitcoin buying spree on August 11, 2020, with a $250 million purchase of 21,454. The price of the asset has soared nearly 1,000% since Strategy’s first purchase. However, some Bitcoin community members were surprised by the small purchase, which is one of the smallest in the company’s history. Coin Bureau founder Nic Puckrin commented on Saylor’s post, stating, “Only 155 BTC ? Looks like you need to raise more fiat.” Metaplanet, Smarter Web, Add To Bitcoin (BTC) Treasuries Japan’s Metaplanet and the UK’s The Smarter Web Company have added nearly $100 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to their treasuries. Metaplanet disclosed it purchased 518 BTC for around $61 million at an average price of $118,519 per coin. The purchase takes the Tokyo-based firm’s Bitcoin holdings to $18,113, worth around $2.15 billion at current prices. The purchase comes after Metaplanet announced plans to raise 555 billion Japanese yen ($3.7 billion) through perpetual preferred shares to fund future Bitcoin acquisitions. On the other hand, London-based The Smarter Web Company purchased 295 BTC for $35.2 million at an average price of $119,412 per coin. The company funded its purchase in part by a $10.2 million equity raise completed on Monday. It also raised $21 million through a Bitcoin-denominated bond offering last week. The latest acquisition takes The Smarter Web Company’s Bitcoin holdings to 2,395 BTC , valued at around $284 million. Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally lost momentum on Monday despite starting the week on a bullish note. The flagship cryptocurrency raced to an intraday high of $122,319 before slipping below $120,000 and settling at $118,701. The current session sees BTC marginally down, trading around $118,552. Despite the pullback, BTC’s bullish structure remains intact, underpinned by growing institutional interest and improving macroeconomic conditions. However, analysts have warned the price could drop to $100,000, or even lose the $100,000 support if selling pressure persists. ZAYK Charts used the Wyckoff method to analyze the current market, stating that the BTC/USDT pair has already seen the classic “mark up” rebound phase from long-term lows, and has entered the “distribution” phase, an area where an uptrend generally reverses. “After a strong Accumulation Phase in March–April confirmed by bullish RSI divergence, BTC entered a powerful Mark-Up phase, reaching new highs. Currently, price action is showing signs of a Distribution Phase — sideways movement with weakening momentum, supported by bearish RSI divergence. If distribution confirms, the next phase could be a markdown, with a potential drop toward the 95K zone.” BTC registered a sharp decline on Friday (August 1), dropping over 2% and settling at $113,365. Sellers retained control on Saturday as the price fell 0.67% and settled at $112,601. Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, BTC recovered on Sunday, rising 1.52% to cross $114,000 and settle at $114,215. The price continued pushing higher on Monday, registering a 0.69% increase and settling at $115,051. BTC plunged to an intraday low of $112,707 on Tuesday as selling pressure returned. It rebounded from this level to reclaim $114,000 and settled at $114,051, ultimately dropping 0.83%. The price recovered on Wednesday, rising 0.80% to reclaim $115,000 and settle at $115,028. Source: TradingView Bullish sentiment intensified on Thursday as BTC rallied, rising over 2% to cross $117,000 and settle at $117,515. Despite the positive sentiment, the price was back in the red on Friday, dropping nearly 1% to $116,683. Sellers retained control on Saturday as BTC registered a marginal decline. However, it was back in bullish territory on Sunday, rising 2.42% to cross $119,000 and settle at $119,309. BTC surged to an intraday high of $122,319 on Monday, starting the week on a bullish note. However, it lost momentum after reaching this level and fell below $120,000 to $118,701, ultimately registering a 0.51% drop. The current session sees the price marginally up, trading around $118,858. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
12 Aug 2025, 12:56
Ethereum Open Interest Nears $60 Billion as ETH Hovers Near All-Time High
The value of open positions on ETH’s future price has nearly doubled since just weeks ago.
