Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of approximately US$123,000 (AU$187,600) on 14 July, driven by the successful negotiation of a framework trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. This significantly reduced proposed tariffs and eased transatlantic trade tensions, providing a strong macro backdrop for digital assets. By the end of the month, Bitcoin had retraced slightly to around US$118,000 (AU$182,600) following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting. Despite this pullback, Bitcoin finished July up 10.12% in USD terms and 12.09% in AUD terms.
In the US, regulatory progress continued in a direction favourable to the digital asset sector. The House of Representatives declared the week of 14 July the first “Crypto Week”, during which lawmakers reviewed a suite of crypto-related legislation, including the CLARITY Act (the House market structure bill), the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS Act). This culminated in the GENIUS Act being signed into law, establishing a federal framework for stablecoins that includes full reserve backing, mandatory monthly audits, and robust anti-money laundering compliance. Following this milestone, the White House Working Group on Digital Asset Markets released a comprehensive 166-page report outlining recommendations on stablecoin oversight, digital asset market structure, and broader regulatory oversight. This report will serve as a regulatory bible for all crypto-related legislation or guidance documents that come out over the next three and a half years under President Trump.
July witnessed a significant acceleration in the integration of digital assets into traditional finance. Key developments included SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ announcement of Project Crypto on 31 July, an initiative aimed at bringing crypto activities such as ICO, airdrops and tokenisation back to the U.S., modernising the SEC’s custody requirement, enabling broker-dealer “super-apps” that offer trading, staking, lending, and crypto under one license, and updating outdated rules to support DeFi and on-chain software. This move is seen by industry insiders as a crucial step towards integrating crypto with mainstream financial infrastructure.
The SEC also made another significant improvement for the industry in July with its approval of in-kind creation and redemption by authorised participants for crypto asset exchange-traded products. Until now, spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. have operated under an in-cash basis model. With in-kind transactions now permitted, ETF units can be created or redeemed using Bitcoin itself by authorised participants—bringing Bitcoin ETFs in line with the mechanics of traditional equity and commodity ETFs. This change enhances efficiency, reduces trading slippage, and ultimately benefits end investors. It is a major step toward the maturation and normalisation of digital asset investment vehicles.
In other notable collaborations, JP Morgan Chase partnered with Coinbase to allow the bank’s customers to link accounts and convert points into cryptocurrencies starting next year. JP Morgan was also reportedly considering offering crypto-backed loans to clients as early as next year. Furthermore, Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the 21st Century Mortgage Act, which mandates that crypto assets on regulated U.S. exchanges be accepted as qualifying reserves for single-family mortgage underwriting.
Standard Chartered launched a BTC and ETH spot trading desk for institutional clients, offering direct USD-paired trades via its UK entity. PayPal’s launched Pay with Crypto checkout allowing merchants to accept BTC, ETH, SOL, and 100+ other tokens while slashing cross-border fees by up to 90%.
Corporate treasury adoption of digital assets gained significant momentum in July, with several major firms expanding their Bitcoin holdings and strategic allocations. Globally, Strategy acquired an additional 17,075 BTC during the month, increasing its total Bitcoin holdings from 597,325 BTC to 628,791 BTC. Purchases were funded by the closing of Strategy’s fourth preferred stock called Stretch, which raised approximately $2.5 billion in gross proceeds, an upsized from an initial $500 million, making it “the largest U.S. IPO completed in 2025 to date.”
Bitcoin miner MARA, which currently has 50,000 BTC, closed a $950 million private offering in July to buy more Bitcoin. Another leading Bitcoin treasury firm, Twenty One expects to receive approximately 5,800 additional Bitcoin from Tether, ahead of Twenty One’s planned public listing. This brought Twenty One’s total holdings to over 43,500 Bitcoin. Metaplanet increased its Bitcoin stack from 12,345 BTC to 17,132 BTC. Remixpoint Inc., a Tokyo-listed energy and cryptocurrency services firm, said it has raised approximately 31.5 billion yen (US$215 million) in a financing deal and will deploy the entire proceeds to purchase bitcoin for its corporate treasury. Murano Global Investments PLC, a Nasdaq-listed real estate firm, announced its pursuing a bitcoin treasury strategy with a recent acquisition of 21 BTC. The company entered a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement of up to US$500 million with investment fund Yorkville, with proceeds primarily earmarked for further bitcoin purchases.
In Australia, DigitalX commenced execution of its Bitcoin-first treasury strategy, acquiring 241.7 Bitcoins through $19.7 million of placement proceeds anchored by Animoca participation, UTXO, and ParaFi and reallocation of its digital assets. After these acquisitions, DigitalX held 499.8 BTC in total, comprising 306.8 BTC held directly and 193 BTC held via 881k units in the ASX-listed DigitalX Bitcoin ETF (BTXX). DigitalX is the only ASX listed company that provides dual institutional access to Bitcoin through its expanding Bitcoin treasury and DigitalX Bitcoin ETF (BTXX).
