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Crypto Jul 7: BTC climbs, BonkDAO drained of $20M

Daily overview of the global crypto market on Tuesday, July 7: top 15 coins, stablecoins, NFTs, ETF flows and regulation. Bitcoin holds above $63,000 for a second day, sentiment exits extreme fear for the first time since early June, spot Bitcoin ETFs attract over $200 million for a second day running, and BonkDAO loses about $20 million in a governance attack.

Toms Ābeltiņš

8 July 20268 min read

Crypto Jul 7: BTC climbs, BonkDAO drained of $20M

On Tuesday, July 7, the crypto market saw its second consecutive up day: Bitcoin held above $63,000 (opening at $63,997 - the highest since mid-June), Ethereum is up 11.7% on the week, and the Fear & Greed Index rose from 24 to 27 points, leaving the extreme fear zone for the first time since early June. Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $265.7 million on July 6 - the second consecutive day above $200 million, led by BlackRock's IBIT (+$209.4 million). The darkest news of the day: the BonkDAO treasury lost about $20 million in a malicious governance vote attack, sending BONK down 9-10%, while Binance Alpha token TAC lost 90% of its value in 15 minutes. The SEC's safe harbor proposal could be published as early as July.

Global crypto market on July 7: BTC up for a second day, sentiment exits extreme fear, BonkDAO loses $20 million

Tuesday, July 7, was the crypto market's second consecutive up day - and the first day in more than a month when market sentiment climbed out of the extreme fear zone. Bitcoin held firmly above $63,000 and touched the $64,000 area early in the day, Ethereum is already showing a nearly 12% weekly gain, and spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than $200 million for the second day running - this time with BlackRock's IBIT back on the buy side. The darkest news of the day came from the Solana ecosystem: the BonkDAO treasury lost roughly $20 million in a malicious governance vote attack, reigniting the debate over DAO voting security.

Market overview

Total crypto market capitalisation edged up to roughly $2.3 trillion on Tuesday, with virtually all major coins in the green for the day. The Fear & Greed Index rose from 24 to 27 points - a symbolically important step, as the index left the extreme fear zone for the first time since early June and moved into "ordinary" fear. Cautious optimism is returning, although 24-hour trading volume declined from $94 billion to $82 billion.

Volatility has not gone anywhere, however: more than $532 million in positions were liquidated over the day, split almost evenly between longs and shorts - the market is still searching for direction, and speculators on both sides are paying for their conviction.

The broader context was framed by Bernstein analysts' assessment that Michael Saylor's Strategy has effectively been the Bitcoin market's "balancing force" this year: although spot ETFs have lost around $5.5 billion since the start of the year, corporate treasury buying - Strategy in particular - has kept overall net market flows positive. Saylor himself posted "Bitcoin is Digital Energy" on Tuesday together with the company's accumulation chart, and the market is now waiting for the next SEC filing to show whether the company has returned to buying after last week's sales.

Top 15 coins on July 7

Major coins mostly continued their recovery on Tuesday - the rare exceptions were BNB and XRP with a symbolic minus.

1. Bitcoin (BTC) ▲ ~$63,400 (+1% on the day)

Bitcoin's day began with an open at $63,997 - the highest mark since mid-June - and continued in a stable corridor above $63,000. On a weekly basis BTC is up more than 6%, and the more optimistic commentators are again starting to talk about a $70,000 target. Technically, the $64,000 resistance remains decisive - a convincing break would open the way back to early-June levels.

2. Ethereum (ETH) ▲ ~$1,790 (+1.7% on the day)

Ethereum opened at $1,798 and held in the $1,775-1,800 band during the day. The weekly balance is impressive: +11.7%, the best reading among the largest coins. Institutional demand is not fading - Tom Lee's Bitmine announced another $74 million ETH purchase, continuing its march toward the publicly declared goal of accumulating 5% of the entire Ethereum supply.

3. Tether (USDT) ◆ ~$1.00 (stable)

USDT held its peg with a capitalisation of around $184 billion. After the end of the MiCA transition period, the issuer's availability on regulated EEA exchanges continues to shrink, but global demand remains stable.

4. BNB ▼ ~$567 (-0.5% on the day)

BNB was one of the few large coins in the red. An additional shadow over the ecosystem was cast by the flash crash of the TAC token listed on the Binance Alpha platform - a drop of more than 90% in roughly 15 minutes.

5. USDC ◆ ~$1.00 (stable)

USDC held its peg with a capitalisation of around $73 billion. Competition among regulated stablecoins is intensifying in July as the GENIUS Act rules deadline of July 18 approaches.

6. XRP ▼ ~$1.11 (-0.5% on the day)

XRP stabilised just below $1.12 after Monday's MiCA licence euphoria. Analysts point out that in the short term XRP's price is still driven by Bitcoin's direction rather than its own fundamentals - monetising the regulatory gains in EEA markets will take months.

7. Solana (SOL) ◆ ~$80 (little changed)

Solana's day passed in the shadow of the BonkDAO incident, but the SOL price itself held at the $80 level. The fundamental story remains strong: Solana's RWA (real-world asset tokenisation) ecosystem has reached a new record of $3.4 billion in total value - roughly +230% in a year.

8. TRON (TRX) ◆ ~$0.32 (little changed)

TRX continued its habitual low-volatility path - the network remains one of the largest USDT settlement layers with a resilient revenue base.

9. Hyperliquid (HYPE) ▲ ~$70 (moderate gain)

HYPE recovered along with the market, and Tuesday's active liquidation day ($532 million across the market) was a reminder of why the derivatives exchange revenue model remains one of the most resilient in the sector in this phase.

10. Dogecoin (DOGE) ▲ ~$0.076 (slight gain)

DOGE followed the market with a moderate rebound, but the memecoin segment as a whole was shaken on Tuesday by the BONK drama - capital continues rotating from memecoins into DeFi and infrastructure narratives.

11. Zcash (ZEC) ◆ ~$460 (consolidation)

ZEC continued consolidating after the late-June rally, keeping its place in the top 12. The privacy coin narrative remains one of the most durable stories of 2026.

12. Cardano (ADA) ◆ ~$0.21 (consolidating after Monday's +9%)

After Monday's RealFi rally, ADA took a pause on Tuesday and consolidated around the $0.21 level. Since its June low the coin has recovered about 28%, and the network added nearly 15,000 new wallets in a week - one of the strongest on-chain signals among the large caps.

13. Stellar (XLM) ◆ ~$0.20 (little changed)

XLM continued trading around the $0.20 level without a clear direction.

14. Monero (XMR) ◆ ~$330 (little changed)

XMR consolidated around $330, maintaining the privacy coins' relative strength against the broader market.

15. Chainlink (LINK) ▲ ~$7.9 (slight gain)

LINK moved with the market toward the $8 resistance, a break of which would be the first positive technical signal since mid-June.

Stablecoins

Total stablecoin capitalisation held above $260 billion: USDT ~$184 billion, USDC ~$73 billion. July's main event is still ahead - the US Treasury's GENIUS Act implementation rules are expected on July 18, and a fierce battle is unfolding around them: the banking sector is demanding that regulators close the "loophole" allowing stablecoin issuers to offer yield, fearing deposit flight. In Europe, following Ripple's full MiCA licence, RLUSD's position in the regulated market continues to strengthen.

NFT market

Signs of recovery are appearing in the NFT market: weekly trading volume reached roughly $88 million, up about 37% from the previous week. The overall picture remains modest, however - the half-year total of around $2.8 billion is far from the peaks of previous years, and activity is concentrated in a narrow circle of collections, with gaming NFTs accounting for about 38% of all volume.

ETF flows

Monday's (July 6) final figures turned out significantly better than the preliminary ones: spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $265.7 million - the second consecutive day above the $200 million mark. The most notable turn: this time the flows were led by BlackRock's IBIT with $209.4 million, after the fund had lost billions over the previous ten sessions. Together with the Ethereum funds, digital asset ETFs pulled in around $286 million over the day. After June - the worst month in spot Bitcoin ETF history with over $4 billion in outflows - two strong inflow days in a row are the first serious signal that institutional capital is returning.

Security incidents

The day's biggest incident hit the Solana ecosystem: BonkDAO - the governance organisation tied to the BONK memecoin - confirmed that its treasury lost roughly $20 million as the result of a malicious governance proposal. The attack mechanics were unusual: the attacker did not exploit any smart contract vulnerability, but had previously bought about $4 million worth of BONK tokens on exchanges, gaining a dominant share of voting power on the Realms governance platform. The proposal was publicly visible for six days, yet only seven wallets voted - and those linked to the attacker controlled about 99.9% of the vote. BONK's price fell 9-10% after the disclosure, South Korean exchange Upbit temporarily suspended BONK deposits and withdrawals, and the team has turned to law enforcement. The incident has reignited the debate over whether token-weighted voting alone is safe enough for DAO treasury decisions.

Separate turbulence hit the Binance Alpha-listed TAC token, whose price fell more than 90% in roughly 15 minutes. There is no confirmation of a hack - the crash is so far attributed to liquidity and market structure factors, but the case is a reminder of the risks of low-liquidity tokens.

Regulatory news

On the US side, attention turned to the SEC's updated regulatory agenda: the "Regulation Crypto" proposal, which would establish safe harbors and exemptions for certain on-chain activities, including DeFi and tokenised securities, could be published as early as July. Startups valued at up to $5 million in their first four years would be able to raise up to $75 million through qualifying crypto investment contracts - it would be the first major crypto-specific SEC rulemaking under Atkins's leadership. July's regulatory calendar is dense: the GENIUS Act stablecoin rules are expected on July 18, and on July 17 the House of Representatives holds its CLARITY field hearing in New York.

Macro context

The main macro driver of the crypto market's rise is growing expectations of US interest rate cuts - in analysts' view, it is precisely the shift in monetary policy expectations that explains Bitcoin's and Ethereum's strongest monthly performance since May. The decisive events follow in the coming days: the Fed's June meeting minutes are published on Wednesday, July 8, and the ECB's minutes on Thursday. The risk asset backdrop remains favourable, although the rise in oil prices (+2.4% on Tuesday) is a reminder of inflation risks that could yet complicate the rate-cut timetable.

Key figures - July 7

Bitcoin: ~$63,400 (+1% on the day; open at $63,997, +6.4% on the week)
Ethereum: ~$1,790 (+1.7% on the day; +11.7% on the week - best among large caps)
Total market capitalisation: ~$2.3 trillion
Fear & Greed Index: 27 (fear; first time out of extreme fear since early June)
24h liquidations: ~$532 million (roughly 50/50 longs/shorts)
Spot Bitcoin ETFs on July 6: +$265.7 million (IBIT +$209.4 million; second day above $200 million)
BonkDAO: ~$20 million lost in a governance attack; BONK -9-10%
TAC: -90% in roughly 15 minutes (flash crash with no confirmed exploit)
Bitmine: +$74 million ETH purchase on the way to the 5% supply goal
Next catalysts: Fed minutes July 8, ECB minutes July 9, CLARITY hearing July 17, GENIUS rules July 18

This article was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.

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