XLM to follow XRP’s bullish rally, Trump’s big crypto nod: Hodler’s Digest, July 13 – 19

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Top Stories of The Week

Crypto execs center stage as Trump signs stablecoin bill into law

US President Donald Trump signed one of the first bills related to crypto and blockchain of his administration into law on Friday after delays due to debates in the House of Representatives and Senate.

In a Friday signing ceremony attended by many cryptocurrency company executives and high-ranking Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law.

The president acknowledged the support of several crypto figures in attendance, including Kraken co-CEO David Ripley, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev.

36% of Gen Z spend crypto daily; Gen X leads high-value spending

Cryptocurrency payments are becoming more popular across various user groups for everyday purchases and high-value transactions, indicating that digital assets are maturing beyond their role as speculative instruments.

Gen Z users stand out in terms of daily transactions, with 39% spending crypto on gaming and 36% on daily purchases and travel bookings.

Gen X dominates high-value spending, with 40% using crypto for travel, digital products and real estate, according to a Bitget Wallet survey of 4,599 crypto wallet users shared with Cointelegraph.

The findings show increasing interest in crypto’s practical use. Gaming, daily purchases and travel bookings are the top categories.

Dave Portnoy dumped his XRP two weeks ago: ‘I want to cry’

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is kicking himself for selling off most of his XRP just weeks before the cryptocurrency reached new year-to-date highs on Thursday.

“I would’ve made millions, and I want to cry. I don’t own it anymore, even though I was the leader of the XRP army,” Portnoy said in a video posted to X on Thursday.

His comments came shortly after XRP broke its yearly high of $3.29 and surged to $3.60, marking a 19.61% gain in the past 24 hours at the time of publication, according to Nansen data.

“I sold XRP when it went up to $2.40 because the guy that told me to buy it told me to sell it because he thought Circle would compete with them and was unhappy with it,” Portnoy explained.

Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale shifts second 40K BTC pile to Galaxy Digital

A Satoshi-era Bitcoin whale with 80,201 Bitcoin has shifted their remaining 40,192 Bitcoin, worth $4.77 billion, to Galaxy Digital, joining a 40,009 BTC transfer to the asset manager on Tuesday.

Blockchain onchain data service Onchain Lens was among the first to notice the new transfer. This means the whale has shifted 80,201 to Galaxy Digital in the last four days, equating to $9.6 billion at current prices.

During this time, at least 6,000 Bitcoin were sent to crypto exchanges Binance and Bybit, blockchain intelligence platform Nansen shows.

Trump eyes executive order to open up retirement funds to crypto: FT

US President Donald Trump is reportedly set to sign an executive order that could allow American 401(k) retirement plans to invest in alternative assets outside of stocks and bonds, such as cryptocurrencies.

The executive order could be signed sometime this week, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing three people who have been briefed on the plans.

The new 401(k) investment options could run across a broad spectrum of assets, including digital assets, metals and funds focused on infrastructure deals, corporate takeovers and private loans.

The executive order would instruct Washington regulatory agencies to investigate the best path forward for 401(k) plans to start investing in crypto, and investigate any remaining obstacles to making it a reality, according to the Financial Times.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $118,281, Ether (ETH) at $3,553 and XRP at $3.43. The total market cap is at $3.85 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Bonk (BONK) at 53.65%, Curve DAO Token (CRV) at 51.11% and FLOKI (FLOKI) at 40.43%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Pump.fun (PUMP) at 29.73%, Pi (PI) at 5.32% and Hyperliquid (HYPE) at 5.05%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most Memorable Quotations

Anthony Anzalone, founder and CEO of Xion:

“If anything, I see an inverse correlation between the success of this industry and the memecoin market cap because it reads that capital doesn’t have anywhere better to flow.”

Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports:

“I would’ve made millions, and I want to cry. I don’t own it anymore, even though I was the leader of the XRP army.”

Eric Jackson, founder of EMJ Capital:

“Once ETH becomes a productive, staked asset within an ETF wrapper… It’s no longer just ‘digital oil.’ It’s an institutional-grade yield product.”

André Dragosch, director and head of research, Europe at Bitwise:

“Bitcoin is at new all-time highs, but retail is almost nowhere to be found.”

Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner at Fairlead Strategies:

“That puts Bitcoin at around $135,000 as an intermediate-term objective.”

Nassar Al Achkar, chief strategy officer at CoinW:

“The passing of the GENIUS Act and Trump’s plan to open the US retirement market to crypto investments could unlock trillions in institutional capital.”

Top Prediction of The Week

Stellar’s XLM has 'most bullish chart' in crypto, mirroring XRP price

Stellar looks set for a 35% price rally, driven by a bullish continuation pattern and XRP’s recent surge. XLM is consolidating within an ascending triangle, a classic bullish continuation setup characterized by rising lows and horizontal resistance.

The resistance level, near $0.52, has been tested multiple times since Tuesday, while the higher lows show increasing buying pressure.

A breakout above $0.52 could confirm the pattern and trigger a rally toward $0.63 by August, marking a 35% gain from the current price.

The upside target is derived by adding the triangle’s maximum height to the breakout point.

Top FUD of The Week

UK officer jailed for 50 Bitcoin theft during Silk Road 2.0 probe

A former officer of the National Crime Agency has been sentenced to prison for stealing 50 Bitcoin — now worth $5.9 million — seized from the co-founder of the defunct online black market Silk Road 2.0.

The Crown Prosecution Service said on Wednesday that Paul Chowles, an ex-operational officer with the National Crime Agency who was part of a team investigating Silk Road and Silk Road 2.0, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for stealing 50 Bitcoin.

In May, Chowles pleaded guilty to charges of theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property.

Lawsuits piling up against Strategy could take years, go nowhere, lawyer says

The securities fraud lawsuits facing Michael Saylor’s company Strategy could take years to play out — if they go anywhere at all, according to legal experts.

Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, pioneered the use of Bitcoin (BTC) as an asset reserve for corporate treasuries. The company has been since 2020 making regular purchases of Bitcoin, with over 601,550 BTC in its balance sheets and no plans to cap the accumulation.

Now, Strategy has investors questioning its crypto approach. As of mid-July, at least seven law firms have filed complaints against Strategy. Many of the complaints have similar claims, echoing that the defendants overstated the anticipated profitability of its Bitcoin investment strategy and understated volatility risks, as well as the magnitude of losses the company could recognize following the adoption of the ASU 2023-08 accounting principles.

El Salvador hasn’t bought Bitcoin since signing loan deal, IMF says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a report on Tuesday about its ongoing loan agreement with El Salvador, claiming that the Central American country has not bought any new Bitcoin since signing the agreement in December 2024.

El Salvador’s Chivo Bitcoin wallet “does not adjust its Bitcoin reserves to reflect changes in clients’ Bitcoin deposits,” the report read. Chivo doesn’t sell its BTC, leading to “minor” discrepancies that made it appear as if El Salvador’s public sector was accumulating BTC.

A letter of intent signed by El Salvador’s central bank president, Douglas Pablo Rodríguez Fuentes, and minister of finance, Jerson Rogelio Posada Molina, contained within the IMF report, confirmed the details:

“In line with commitments under the program, the stock of Bitcoins held by the public sector remains unchanged, and we are taking steps to mitigate fiscal risks by reducing the public sector’s role in the Chivo wallet and reframing the Bitcoin project.”

‘Slaughterbot’ drones in Ukraine, MechaHitler becomes sexy waifu: AI Eye

Grok’s spicy waifu Companion Ani gets mixed reaction — and a memecoin — plus, new research suggests AI agents are rubbish.

Outrage as $1.8B ‘DGCX’ crypto scam ringleader mocks victims: Asia Express

A $1.8 billion crypto fraud unravels in China, NFT offers digital citizenship in Japanese village, and more.

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