🚀 Ethereum Soars to New Heights: CoinDCX Loses $44M in Hack, Altcoin Treasuries Boom & More Crypto Drama

Ethereum defies gravity—again—as institutional money floods into smart contract platforms. Meanwhile, CoinDCX gets a $44 million reminder that crypto security isn't optional.

Altcoin treasuries balloon as projects hoard war chests. Because nothing says 'decentralized' like VCs sitting on nine-figure token stashes.

Elsewhere: Layer 2s eat Ethereum's lunch (while paying it rent), and some hedge fund manager probably just bought a private island with your exit liquidity.

Stay paranoid out there—the bulls are running, but the wolves are always hungry.

Top Headlines for This Week

Below are some of the major headlines, giving overview on What happened in the crypto market this week.

Ethereum Surges Past $3,800 in Meteoric Rise

Ethereum (ETH) price soared past $3,800 this week, marking its highest level since January 2022. The latest rally in ETH price is driven by robust institutional interest and increasing regulatory clarity for the crypto industry. The $2.18 billion in ETF inflows last week alone and major firms like Bitmine and Sharplink holding over $1 billion each in ETH suggest that Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem is thriving. 

The Same Patterns in $44M CoinDCX Hack

On July 19, 2025, Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX suffered a massive $44.2 million hack. Cybersecurity firm Cyvers linked the sophisticated attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group while noting similarities to the $234 million WazirX breach on the same date in 2024. The nature of the attack included pre-attack test transactions and similar cross-chain tactics of washing funds via Tornado Cash. 

CoinDCX assured users that customer funds in secure cold wallets remained untouched and announced a recovery bounty program offering up to 25% of recovered assets. 

Bitcoin Institutional Buying Continues 

The institutional buying for Bitcoin continued this week as well, with major players bolstering their crypto holdings. Michael Saylor’s Strategy made the usual headline on Monday, 21 July, snapping up 6,220 BTC for $739.8 million and announcing plans to raise $2.474 billion for further Bitcoin purchases. 

Additionally, Semler Scientific acquired 175 BTC worth $21 million on July 24, while Sequans Communications added 1,264 BTC for $150 million, bringing its total to 2,317 BTC. Bitcoin-based payments giant Block also joined the S&P 500 on July 23, which revealed holdings of 8,584 BTC on its balance sheet. All these moves reflected the growing institutional confidence fueling Bitcoin’s rally toward $123,000.

Justin Sun Rings Nasdaq Bell with Tron Going Public in US

Tron founder Justin Sun rang the Nasdaq bell on July 24 and celebrated a milestone as TRON went public in the U.S. through a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment. The firm rebranded as Tron Inc. with the ticker TRON. The $210 million deal, backed by a $100 million private equity investment for a TRX token treasury and led by Dominari Securities, followed the SEC pausing its probe into Justin Sun. 

Altcoin Treasury Strategies Heat Up Crypto Market

The crypto market buzzed with altcoin treasury strategies, with major players diversifying their holdings. Bit Origin Ltd kicked off a $500 million crypto treasury with a $10 million Dogecoin purchase, acquiring 40.5 million DOGE tokens. SharpLink Gaming bolstered its ethereum reserves, amassing 360,807 ETH—valued at over $652 million, solidifying its position as a leading Ethereum treasury holder. 

The TON Foundation also announced plans to raise $400 million for a publicly traded Toncoin treasury company via a SPAC, while Windtree Therapeutics unveiled a $520 million BNB-focused treasury strategy. 

News You Might Have Missed

• BitGo Files for IPO: Crypto custody giant BitGo confidentially files for a U.S. IPO, with assets under custody soaring past $100 billion.

• Ethereum Block Gas Limit Rises to 45 Million: In a move to boost transaction capacity, Ethereum’s block gas limit was raised from 36 million to 45 million. 

• Solana DEX Volume Spikes to Record Highs: Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume surged to $6 billion this week, marking a two-month high. 

• WOO X Hacked For $14 Million: Taiwan-based crypto exchange WOO X halted withdrawals after a $14 million hack targeting nine user accounts in a phishing attack. 

• Global Money Supply Hits New High: Global M2 money supply soared over $110 trillion, with analysts predicting Bitcoin will follow and surge to $170,000. 

Buzz of the Week

The PUMP token, native to the Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.Fun, crashed below its $0.004 ICO price, trading at $0.0025 following a 42% drop in the past seven days. The sell-off intensified after PumpFun co-founder Alon Cohen’s announcement during a livestream with Michael “ThreadGuy” Jerome that the anticipated airdrop—meant to reward early users—would be delayed indefinitely to prioritize long-term ecosystem development. 

The news sparked community frustration, with blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reporting that two private sale investor wallets dumped 1.25 billion PUMP tokens worth $3.81 million at a $1.19 million loss. 

pump ico pic.twitter.com/pOUQg0IFbk

This sell-off fueled fears of a broader memecoin market correction. Despite some investors doubling down on their positions, the lack of a clear airdrop timeline eroded retail confidence. These price movements in the PUMP token highlighted the risks of speculative tokens reliant on HYPE without immediate utility. 

Top Gainers and Losers This Week

What to Expect for Next Week?

As the crypto industry enters the final week of July 2025, all attention is focused on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which is scheduled for July 29-30. The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain the federal funds rate at 4.25%-4.50%, with Polymarket showing a 96.3% probability of no rate cut despite political pressure from President Trump for easing. Various analysts think that this stability could keep Bitcoin’s rally toward $125,000-$130,000 in check.