The $3K Breakout That's Making Waves

Hello and welcome to Crypto Intel, the twice-weekly newsletter covering the latest updates, breaking news, and exciting opportunities in the crypto world.

It started with a push past resistance. Then it became something else.

Futures flipped, shorts got burned, and prediction markets collapsed under the weight of new momentum. The move wasn’t loud. It was conclusive.

This wasn’t just another rally. It was a sentiment reset.

As Bitcoin and Ethereum moved together, the headlines followed.

But under the surface, deeper shifts were already underway, with consolidation, retrenchment, and a reevaluation of risk.

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Market-Moving News

The charts looked clean, but the pressure points ran deeper.

Liquidity snapped back. Platforms faced hard lessons. And the edge between safety and innovation got thinner.

One rally rewrote trader expectations. One report exposed cracks in a red-hot sector. One protocol froze in real time, reminding everyone just how fast momentum can turn.

Markets

Ethereum Breaks $3K as Bitcoin Hits Record High, $1.1B in Shorts Liquidated 

Ethereum surged above $3,000 on Thursday for the first time since February, gaining 8.8% on the day and triggering $258 million in short liquidations.

The move followed a record-setting $383.1 million in daily inflows into U.S.-based Ethereum ETFs, signaling renewed institutional appetite for ETH exposure.

Bitcoin also climbed aggressively, reaching a new all-time high of $118,667 by Friday morning.

Across the market, over $1.14 billion in short positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with Bitcoin accounting for $678 million.

According to CoinGlass, more than 230,000 traders were caught on the wrong side of the move.

While Ethereum has since pulled back below $3,000, the breakout remains significant.

It marked a sharp reversal in sentiment, with derivatives traders pushing ETH futures volume to $62.1 billion, briefly surpassing Bitcoin. 

Earlier in the week, prediction markets gave ETH a higher likelihood of falling to $2,000 than reaching $3,000.

That narrative collapsed quickly as flows picked up and prices accelerated.

The rally also shifted broader market positioning.

Total crypto market capitalization climbed to $3.63 trillion, and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index moved deeper into “Greed” territory.

Ethereum’s surge, paired with Bitcoin’s record, has renewed discussion about whether this cycle’s leadership will be more balanced than in previous cycles.

Even if the $3,000 level doesn’t hold in the short term, the market response to ETF inflows and derivatives volume suggests traders are recalibrating for more upside, especially if macro conditions remain supportive.

Web3

Blockchain Gaming Hits Reset as User Activity Falls 17% 

Web3 gaming is hitting a wall.

According to DappRadar’s Q2 2025 report, daily unique active wallets across blockchain games fell 17% quarter-over-quarter, while funding plunged a staggering 93% from the same period last year. 

Total funding dropped to just $73 million, the lowest in two years.

Over 300 Web3 titles have shut down in recent months, citing unsustainable tokenomics and poor user retention.

But it’s not all retreat. What we’re seeing may be more of a consolidation than a collapse.

Capital is flowing toward foundational infrastructure, like game engines, asset distribution networks, and ecosystem tooling, rather than direct-to-consumer games.

Chain-specific ecosystems like WAX, opBNB, and Aptos are gaining traction as developers gravitate toward scalable, lower-cost environments.

Notably, large studios like Sega and Ubisoft continue to explore blockchain integrations, suggesting institutional interest hasn’t fully evaporated.

Meanwhile, smaller teams are pivoting away from speculative play-to-earn mechanics and toward AI-powered interactive experiences and user-owned assets with real utility.

The decline in short-term activity may actually be the shakeout the space needs. Less noise, more focus. 

If 2021–2023 was about hype cycles and token farming, the next phase may be about sustainable gameplay and actual fun. Web3 gaming isn’t dead, but it’s evolving, fast.

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Security

GMX Halts Trading After $40M Exploit Hits V1 Pools 

Decentralized exchange GMX suspended trading on its V1 platform this week after a $40 million exploit drained funds from a major liquidity pool on Arbitrum.

In response, the team also paused minting and redemption of GLP tokens on both Arbitrum and Avalanche to prevent additional losses.

The GMX V2 protocol was not affected.

According to early findings from security firm SlowMist, the attack stemmed from a design flaw in the protocol’s calculation of total assets under management, allowing the hacker to manipulate GLP pricing. 

The stolen funds were quickly moved to an unknown wallet, and mitigation efforts are ongoing.

This breach marks one of the more significant DeFi exploits in Q3 and adds to what has already been a brutal year for crypto security.

Industry-wide, losses from hacks and exploits have surpassed $2.5 billion in 2025, with no signs of slowing.

GMX’s incident follows recent high-profile breaches at centralized exchanges and even national financial systems, underscoring the systemic nature of these vulnerabilities.

While GMX’s swift response and isolation of the issue to V1 helped limit broader damage, the event is another reminder that even established protocols remain exposed. 

With growing TVL and more complex mechanics across DeFi, protocol resilience is mission-critical.

Expect more scrutiny, more audits, and increased pressure to harden defenses.

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Future Forward

In crypto, tomorrow’s breakout often hides in today’s calendar. The smartest plays don’t wait for the headlines; they get in position before the spotlight hits.

Trends start quietly. Narratives build slow. But when the pieces align, the payoff goes to those already in the room.

Crypto Conferences:

💎 WeAreDevelopers World Congress 2025 (Jul 9, 2025)

💎 Mallorca Blockchain Days VI (Jul 10-13, 2025)

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Upcoming Airdrops:

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Upcoming Token Launches:

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Crypto Know-How: CEX vs. DEX—What’s the Real Trade-Off?

Not all exchanges are built the same. Centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Binance and KuCoin offer speed, deep liquidity, and fiat access, but they also require trust.

When you use a CEX, you’re handing over custody of your crypto.

That means if the platform is hacked, mismanages funds, or comes under regulatory pressure, your assets could be at risk.

Even with Proof of Reserves (PoR) audits that are designed to show that user funds are backed, there’s room for manipulation.

Audits often show assets but not liabilities, and some platforms have been known to shuffle funds to pass checks. 

KuCoin, for example, has tried to counter this with live, real-time PoR dashboards and a massive $2B “Trust Project,” but concerns remain industry-wide.

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs), on the other hand, let you trade peer-to-peer from your own wallet. That means you keep your keys and your control. 

There’s no central point of failure, no custodial risk, and often, access to tokens you won’t find on CEXs.

But they also require more technical know-how, and with great power comes great responsibility.

For now, it’s a trade-off between convenience and self-custody. But as infrastructure evolves, the future may bring hybrid models that blend the best of both worlds.

Everything Else

• Remixpoint is putting another $215 million toward expanding its Bitcoin treasury, reinforcing the trend of corporate accumulation.

• The first Telegram-native unicorn in Web3 is here, with The Open Platform reaching a $1 billion valuation as on-chain activity spikes.

• Dogecoin surged 10% after a major volume spike, but SHIB’s steady gains are offering a quieter, tactical play for some traders.

• Despite two analyst downgrades, Coinbase shares closed higher as the broader crypto rally lifted sentiment.

• A $20 million crypto theft landed a SIM-swapper back in court, with a fresh 12-year prison sentence handed down this week.