Crypto Bounces Off Lows as Markets Brace for Fed Minutes, Japanese Bond Yields Spike
Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) edged higher from overnight lows on Tuesday, even as broader markets turned risk-off. U.S. equity futures slipped and Japanese bond yields surged to multi-decade highs — a development that could dampen appetite for high-beta assets like cryptocurrencies.
The CoinDesk 20 Index was down 1.5% over the past 24 hours, while the CoinDesk 80 Index, which tracks smaller-cap digital assets, fell 1.4%.
Markets are now awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes, due later today. Investors are also closely watching the Treasury General Account (TGA), which the U.S. government is in the process of replenishing — a move that may tighten liquidity and weigh on asset prices.
Meanwhile, institutional adoption continues to show signs of life: Point72 Asset Management and ExodusPoint Capital disclosed equity stakes in crypto payments firm Alt5 Sigma, according to filings cited by Bloomberg.
Derivatives Flush Bullish Bets, But No Surge in Shorts Yet
Roughly $448 million in leveraged crypto futures positions were liquidated in the past day, with most of the pain concentrated in long positions — clearing out excessive bullish leverage.
- Open interest (OI) declined for BTC, DOGE, and XRP, while ETH remained flat. OI increased for LINK, HYPE, and SUI, signaling pockets of renewed activity.
- Funding rates remain slightly positive across most major tokens, except ADA and XMR, where they’ve flipped negative — pointing to growing short bias in those names.
- Solana futures on CME remain near record highs, with OI above 4.6M SOL. The three-month annualized premium jumped to 16% from 12%, showing strong bullish momentum.
BTC open interest is back at 145.76K BTC, the highest since late July. ETH open interest is nearing the 2 million ETH mark, though premiums have faded back below 10%.
On Deribit, short-dated and near-term put options on BTC and ETH continue to trade at premiums to calls — indicating cautious sentiment amid the ongoing correction. On Paradigm, flows showed increased demand for BTC and ETH puts, including strategies like spreads and calendar trades.
Solana Launchpad Pump.fun Tops $800M Revenue as Meme Token Wars Heat Up
Solana-based token launch platform Pump.fun has surpassed $800 million in lifetime revenue, driven largely by its 1% swap fee, per Dune Analytics. Daily revenue continues to average over $1 million, cementing Pump as one of crypto’s top-earning platforms.
Pump initially monetized token “graduations” to Raydium, but now generates revenue from its in-house DEX, PumpSwap. Despite increased competition, its sticky user base has helped it maintain dominance.
Pump’s token ICO in July raised $600 million in just 12 minutes. The platform has since begun above-market buybacks, aimed at supporting price and confidence in the ecosystem.
Competitor LetsBonk briefly overtook Pump in graduated tokens last month due to a Raydium LaunchLab push and Bonk community hype, but has since seen revenues fall below $30,000 per day — down from $1M earlier this month.
New launchpad Token Mill is experimenting with a “King of the Mill” burn-and-buy mechanism, using fees to support whichever token sees the highest volume every 30 minutes. The model is designed to gamify volatility as a growth lever.
Solana, however, lost its lead in memecoin issuance to Coinbase’s Base network, which has integrated social platforms like Zora. On Monday alone, Base saw 58,000 new tokens, outpacing Solana’s 33,000.
