Crypto takes center stage in Washington
There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:
Bitcoin dipped below $113K to start the week. What’s behind the price action, and why one altcoin is having a breakout 2025.
Crypto policy is taking shape in Washington. From the Capitol to the White House, regulatory clarity is making strides.
Ethereum just saw a four-year high in onchain transactions. Plus, more key stats from around the cryptoverse.
MARKET BYTES
Markets dipped this week on economic data, profit-taking
Despite a wave of positive news around emerging crypto regulations in the U.S., prices for a wide range of tokens dipped this week after several economic data reports came in worse than expected.
On Tuesday, bitcoin slipped below $113,000 for the first time in a month, ether dipped to around $3,600 (down about 4% for the week, but still up more than 40% for the month), and many altcoins were down by even more. As of Wednesday morning, however, BTC had rebounded above $115,000.
Spot BTC ETFs saw more than $333 million in outflows on Monday. And after a blockbuster July, ETH ETFs shed $465.1 million on Monday, their worst day since launching last summer.
But one analyst noted that much of the outflows are likely traders selling to lock in profits. “This move reflects short-term profit-taking and risk-off rotation, not a long-term rejection of ETH exposure,” said Kronos Research CIO Vincent Liu.
Let’s dive into some other developments…
Corporate crypto treasuries are the “hottest business strategy”
The “hottest business strategy this summer,” according to the Wall Street Journal, is companies that raise capital to buy BTC, ETH, or other tokens for their corporate treasuries.
“A Japanese hotel operator, a French semiconductor manufacturer, a Florida toy maker, a nail-salon chain, an electric-bike maker—they’re all plowing cash into tokens, helping to send all kinds of digital currencies to record levels,” the Journal noted.
The crypto-treasury strategy was pioneered by Michael Saylor’s firm Strategy, which owns around $71 billion in BTC and has been one of the best-performing stocks on Wall Street in 2025. Last week, the company announced plans to raise more than $2 billion to fuel its goals of acquiring up to 7% of BTC’s total supply. (It holds around 3% currently.)
Companies aren’t just targeting BTC, however. The rise of ETH treasury companies has been a key crypto storyline of 2025. Crypto tech firm Bitmine has accumulated around $3 billion in ETH over the last 18 months, and Nasdaq-listed gaming firm SharpLink holds around $1.9 billion in ETH after acquiring more than $250 million more this week. And a number of smaller treasury firms hold ETH positions worth more than $250 million.
Stacking gains… For the biggest ETH players, the strategy seems to be working, at least so far. As of Monday, the NYSE-listed Bitmine was up 650% since the end of June. And SharpLink’s stock has surged more than 420% since the end of May.
Why XRP has been one of 2025’s breakout tokens
Last year, XRP was mired in regulatory uncertainty and trading for pennies. As of Tuesday, it was up more than 400% for the year, and trading around $3.00.
A few major factors have helped XRP rebound into one of the crypto market’s biggest altcoins. According to Decrypt, “The Ripple-linked cryptocurrency has been one of 2025's standout performers, driven by growing speculation about a spot XRP ETF and regulatory clarity following the SEC lawsuit resolution.”
Market watchers expect spot XRP ETFs to begin trading this fall, helping bring institutional capital into the token.
Quick refresher: The XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain and its native XRP token were launched in 2012. They’re designed to work together as a fast, cheap, and scalable peer-to-peer global payments system. Ripple is a blockchain company that uses XRP and XRPL as part of its digital payments network.
A new report from Ripple and CB Insights shows how quickly crypto technologies like stablecoins, tokenization, and crypto-powered payments are transforming the global financial industry. According to the report, 90% of finance execs surveyed expect a major impact by 2028.
Bullish signal… As noted in Coinbase’s latest shareholder letter, in both the first and second quarters of 2025, XRP accounted for more transaction revenue than any token besides BTC — topping both ETH and Solana. “XRP’s Q1 retail rise was driven by legal clarity and low-cost appeal, attracting value-focused traders.” said Kronos Research CEO Hank Huang.
POLICY NOTES
From the Capitol to the White House, crypto is the hottest topic in Washington
Fresh off the heels of the passage of the GENIUS Act, a landmark bipartisan stablecoin regulation bill, Washington is continuing to make big strides toward ensuring that the U.S. remains the world’s crypto hub.
Among the latest moves: The White House released a comprehensive crypto policy report; the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman announced a major plan to modernize the agency’s rules for the digital age; and after the GENIUS Act, Congress is now focused on passing another critical crypto bill within the next two months.
Here’s what you need to know.
The White House says crypto can help create a “new American Golden Age”
In a 166-page policy report released last week, President Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets compared crypto to railroads and the internet, noting that “digital assets and blockchain technologies can revolutionize not just the American financial system, but systems of ownership and governance economy-wide.”
The report outlined a series of policy recommendations aimed at making digital assets a “hallmark of the new American Golden Age,” impacting consumers, banks, and the federal government itself.
The Working Group, which includes White House crypto “czar” David Sacks and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, among others, urged Congress to move quickly to pass the CLARITY Act, which would create a clear regulatory framework for crypto in the U.S.
The report also encourages regulators to empower banks to innovate in areas like tokenization and stablecoin issuance, and advises providing certain crypto firms exemptions from some securities law requirements to help allow “innovative financial products to reach consumers without bureaucratic delays.”
What the SEC’s “Project Crypto” could mean for the industry
In a Thursday speech that Bernstein analysts described as “the boldest and most transformative crypto vision ever laid out by a sitting SEC chair,” SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced “Project Crypto,” a sweeping new vision to update the nation’s outdated securities laws.
Atkins defined the plan as “a commission-wide initiative to modernize the securities rules and regulations to enable America’s financial markets to move onchain.”
As part of Project Crypto, Atkins says he’s directed the agency to draft “clear and simple” rules of the road for crypto asset distributions, custody, and trading. He also declared that “most crypto assets are not securities” — a major reversal from past SEC leadership.
Atkins, who said he believes “deeply” in the right to hold assets in self-custody wallets, also encouraged crypto companies that left the U.S. due to the previous administration’s “regulation-by-enforcement crusade” to return to the country, with promises not to stifle entrepreneurship.
Analysts at Bernstein say that Project Crypto lays the groundwork for the mass tokenization of traditional assets including stocks and bonds, which could help make the U.S. home to the world’s largest tokenized securities market in the world.
The Senate engages with CLARITY bill after passage in the House
The U.S. Senate is currently working on finalizing the draft text for the CLARITY Act, a landmark bill backed by both Republicans and Democrats that would create a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto.
The law would mandate a clear, regulated path for new token issuance at the SEC; define the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) as the official regulator of crypto secondary spot markets; and codify the right to self-custody of crypto assets. On Tuesday, the CFTC said it would start an initiative to allow the trading of spot crypto asset contracts on federally regulated futures exchanges, a move that would deepen the ties between crypto and TradFi.
The CLARITY Act already passed in the House of Representatives in July, but it could have a more complicated route through the Senate as it needs to pass out of both the Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee before seeing a full Senate vote.
Still, Sen. Tim Scott (R - S.C.), who chairs the Banking Committee, has set a Sept. 30 deadline for the passage of the bill.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
$238 billion
Total amount transacted on the Ethereum network in July, a four-year high. Meanwhile, ether-fueled transaction counts and active addresses both rose near record highs above 46 million and 17 million, respectively. Onchain activity has spiked alongside expanding investor interest in ETH-powered stablecoins and DeFi.
$100 billion
The amount that Ripple estimates financial institutions invested in blockchain infrastructure between 2020 and 2024, according to a new report. The report cites more than 10,000 deals across blockchain verticals including payments, tokenization, and asset custody.
5,000
Minimum number of Yuga Labs NFTs recently purchased by “scrap-metal billionaire” Adam Weitsman. The NFTs come from collections related to Yuga Labs’ metaverse project Otherside, including virtual deeds to property. At the peak of the NFT craze, Otherside deeds netted Yuga Labs more than $300 million.
TOKEN TRIVIA
When did Ethereum originally launch?
A
2013
B
2015
C
2017
D
2019
Find the answer below.
Trivia Answer
B
2015
