Crypto Markets Mixed, BTC Holds Steady amid Major Trade and Regulatory News

The cryptocurrency market began the week with a mixed performance on Monday, July 21, as most large-cap assets posted modest gains or traded flat following major weekend developments — including President Donald Trump signing the GENIUS Act into law on Friday evening.

Bitcoin (BTC) held steady on the day at just under $118,600 – a 1.7% decrease over the past week. This comes after BTC reached an all-time high of $123,000 last week.

Ethereum (ETH) is also flat over the past 24 hours after breaking over $3,700 for the first time since December, and currently trading near $3,781. ETH is up over 27% on the week and 57% on the month, continuing the leading altcoin’s recent rally on back of record ETF inflows and new institutional investment via treasury firms.

XRP is up nearly 3% on the day to trade at $3.62 after a strong week, gaining over 22% and breaking over the $3 mark for the first time since January.

Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) were the exceptions among large-cap crypto assets, surging 8% and 6% today, respectively.

Total cryptocurrency market capitalization hit a new all-time high of $4.048 trillion earlier in the day — after breaking over $4 trillion for the first time on Friday — but has since pulled back slightly to $4.01 trillion, down 3% today, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume over the same period reached $253 billion.

Liquidations and ETFs

Over the past 24 hours, more than $422 million in crypto positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. Short positions made up $203 million, while long positions accounted for $219 million. Ethereum led liquidations with $128 million, followed by Bitcoin at $63 million.

On the ETF front, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $363 million in inflows on Friday, according to SoSoValue. Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs attracted $402 million in net inflows the same day.

Trump’s Trade Talk

Monday’s crypto market activity followed several major trade headlines, including the Trump Administration’s upcoming tariffs and reports that the UK is considering selling part of its seized Bitcoin holdings. If confirmed, the sale could trigger significant selling pressure, analysts from Bitunix said in a statement shared with The Defiant.

On Sunday, top Trump officials insisted that August 1 is a firm deadline for tariffs to begin. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said countries can continue negotiating after that date but will still have to pay the tariffs starting that day, CNBC reported.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump’s planned tariffs – some as high as 40% – are meant to pressure trade partners into better deals rather than serve as a hard deadline. Bessent also noted that the tariffs could be delayed if negotiations progress.

This follows a significant week in U.S. crypto regulation, with the U.S. House of Representatives passing three key bills last week – the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act – and Trump signing the GENIUS Act into law on Friday evening.

What Does This Mean for BTC?

“The regulatory environment provides crucial tailwinds that distinguish this cycle from previous rallies built on speculation alone,” said Werner Brönnimann, investment manager at crypto bank AMINA.

Still, Brönnimann cautioned that macroeconomic factors could complicate Bitcoin’s path forward, regardless of growing institutional interest.

“While regulatory clarity supports institutional inflows, Bitcoin remains sensitive to monetary policy shifts – aggressive Fed tightening in response to tariff-driven inflation could override even strong institutional demand,” Brönnimann said in comments shared with The Defiant: