Clapp Weekly: Pre-CPI lull, Trump Media's crypto loss, XRP loses $1
BTC price
Bitcoin has remained trapped in the $62k-$66k corridor for much of the summer, extending its sideways grind into a fifth week. A recent dip pushed it toward $63.5k, while steady ETF inflows (until they snapped on August 10) were offset by OTC selling from miners and Strategy. The lowest trading volume in three years leaves little firepower for a decisive move. Today's US CPI report could finally break the stalemate.
BTC dipped toward $64k on August 5, then rebounded toward $64.8k before pushing higher. It breached $65k on August 7 and held near the level until another sell-off on August 10. BTC fell from a weekly high of $65,234.54 to $63.8k within hours, eventually bottoming at $63,304.52 yesterday.
Currently trading at $63,982.83, BTC is down 0.5% over the past 24 hours, with a 0.6% loss over the past seven days.
ETH price
Ether retreated as $1,950 triggered long liquidations, while traders cut risk ahead of today's US inflation report. Spot ETH ETFs have seen the strongest weekly inflows since April, and the staking ratio reached a record 33.9%, further reducing liquid supply. Meanwhile, BitMine repurchased 3 million shares of its common stock and acquired 7,391 ETH last week, while SharpLink reported $394.3 million in Q2 losses amid the decline in ETH's price.
ETH rose from below $1.9k to $1,915.39 on August 5, then traded in a tight range around $1.9k until August 10, when it followed Bitcoin lower. The price slipped from $1.92k to $1,868.86, briefly recovered before falling further to $1,861.50, and then bounced.
Currently changing hands at $1,903.03, ETH is up 0.6% over the past 24 hours, with a 0.9% gain over the past seven days.
Seven-day altcoin dynamics
Sentiment has remained relatively stable over the past week, staying in the Fear zone (27/100 at press time). Following Friday's weak jobs report, traders are looking for softer inflation data to further cement expectations for Fed cuts by year-end.
The next move could also hinge on whether Iran and the US reach a deal over the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg the parties are close to "some sort of an arrangement," but traders remain skeptical.
Meanwhile, oil resumed its climb. Brent rose 0.9% to $89.67 early Wednesday, marking a sixth straight session of gains and its longest winning streak since April.
Traders brace for July CPI
July's US Consumer Price Index is shaping up as a binary catalyst for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The print could finally push BTC out of its $62,000–$66,000 range, which has held for weeks, in either direction.
A hotter-than-expected core reading — above 0.2% MoM or 2.5% YoY — would make a September Federal Reserve rate hike more likely, push Treasury yields higher, and weigh on risk assets. A softer reading, on the other hand, could give risk assets some breathing room by easing rate pressure and improving liquidity expectations.
The report lands at 8:30 a.m. ET on August 12, providing the first major inflation reading since Warsh's inflation-focused press conference in late July. The ongoing US-Iran conflict has clouded the economic outlook, pushing energy prices higher and adding to inflationary pressure.
Treasury yields hinder growth
US Treasury yields remain at multi-year highs, with the 10-year near 4.6% and the 30-year above 5.2%, the highest level since 2007. Higher risk-free yields make bonds more attractive relative to risk assets, reinforcing the pressure on crypto. That backdrop, combined with the Fed's higher-for-longer stance, has contributed to ETF caution.
Today's CPI print could therefore be crucial for determining whether the macro backdrop starts working for or against Bitcoin.
XRP sinks below $1 after Coreum hack
On August 11, Ripple's XRP slipped below $1 for the first time since November 2024. The latest decline followed the draining of 200,000 XRP from the Coreum cross-chain bridge over 97 minutes on August 9. The attacker exploited a validation gap in the relayer software.
The XRP Ledger itself remained secure, but XRP still came under pressure amid broader market caution (more below).
Top weekly winners
- BTW (+61.7%) is surging on upcoming ecosystem expansions, listings on major exchanges including Binance and Upbit, and growing interest in Bitcoin-related infrastructure (BTCFi). Demand for perpetual futures contracts, launched this summer, is adding to speculative demand.
- PUMP (+14.4%) soared on growing user activity after Pump.fun's weekly fees surpassed $10 million for the first time, with $5.02 million allocated to buybacks and burns. The platform also reported an all-time high in daily active traders.
- LIT (+11.7%) gained on heavy whale accumulation and an aggressive, revenue-fueled buyback-and-burn mechanism. One wallet accumulated roughly 3.38 million LIT (around $7.37 million) in a single day. Bullish sentiment is also being fueled by a Robinhood Chain integration.
Top weekly losers
- CRO (-13.6%) came under pressure after Trump Media ended its planned treasury venture with Crypto.com. The company reported a $238 million net loss for Q2, citing the decline in the value of its 756.1 million CRO holdings.
- ONDO (-10.6%) fell as an internal succession dispute escalated into Delaware court proceedings following the unexpected death of founder Nathan Allman. His mother, Kathleen Allman, has filed a lawsuit claiming CEO De Bode unlawfully seized control of the company.
- SHIB (-10.2%) fell alongside the broader market, typical of high-beta assets such as meme coins. The dip came despite strong network activity and a surge in futures: futures net flow jumped 3,402% in one hour, while a 507% surge in Shibarium transactions failed to revive momentum.
Cryptocurrency news
Trump Media's crypto bet backfires: $238M loss as Bitcoin tanks
Trump Media & Technology Group reported a staggering $238 million net loss in the second quarter — a sharp jump from the $20 million loss it posted a year earlier. The company said the "vast bulk" of the loss came from non-cash charges, including more than $190 million in unrealized losses across digital assets, pledged digital assets, and equity securities.
The company hasn't sold its holdings, but the value of its crypto portfolio has taken a beating. Even President Trump's media empire couldn't escape the crypto bear market.
The numbers
Trump Media held roughly 9,477 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $557 million, as of June 30. It also held more than 756 million Cronos tokens, worth about $40 million. Bitcoin has fallen more than 46% over the past year, recently trading near $63,500. Cronos has fared worse, dropping roughly 72% over the same period.
The damage extended across the first half of the year. A June SEC filing showed Trump Media recorded about $361 million in digital asset-related losses during the six months ended June 30.
Pulling back from Crypto.com
The company is scaling back its crypto ambitions. Last week, Trump Media abandoned plans for a Crypto.com-backed CRO treasury company and ended a broader digital asset agreement with the exchange, citing market conditions and shifting priorities.
That partnership had been a cornerstone of Trump Media's crypto expansion. Now it's being unwound.
A pivot in strategy
Despite the losses, the company reported signs of progress. Revenue rose 89% to nearly $2 million, helped by the launch of its Truth+ streaming service. Total assets stood at $2 billion, and the company said it has largely resolved legal disputes tied to its earlier merger.
Trump Media also announced it will revise its Bitcoin treasury strategy to use options and other financial tools to limit volatility. It's also expanding beyond social media, with plans to merge with TAE Technologies, an energy-security infrastructure company.
The broader picture
Trump Media's losses mirror the pressure facing Strategy and other corporate Bitcoin holders. Strategy, the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has sold roughly $430 million worth of Bitcoin since June.
For Trump Media, the crypto bet was a costly one. The company is now pivoting , but the damage to the balance sheet is already done.
XRP loses $1 after Coreum bridge drains 200,000 XRP in 97 minutes
The Coreum bridge — which lets users lock XRP on the XRP Ledger and receive equivalent tokens on Coreum's network — was drained of roughly 200,000 XRP on August 9. The attacker executed 94 payments over 97 minutes, leaving just 493.5 XRP behind.
How it happened
A cross-chain bridge just lost nearly all of its XRP, while nothing was broken. Every transfer carried valid authorization. A quorum of 17 out of 28 relayers signed off on each payment, and the multi-signature process worked exactly as designed.
The problem sat in the code. The bridge's software never verified that a payment had actually been sent to the bridge itself before crediting the corresponding balance. That missing check let the attacker move funds between their own wallets, tag them as deposits, and trigger real XRP payouts.
All the required signatures were valid, and the procedure was correct — but the premise was false. The bridge credited the attacker with a transfer he sent to himself.
The XRP Ledger was never at risk
No private keys were compromised, and the XRP Ledger's own protocols were untouched. Analysts stressed this was a third-party infrastructure failure, not a flaw in XRP itself.
Coreum — which rebranded to "tx" in March — has halted the bridge, identified and fixed the vulnerable code, engaged blockchain forensics, and filed a complaint with the FBI. It has not said how affected holders will be made whole.
Market impact
XRP briefly slipped below $1 on August 11, hitting $0.99, before recovering to about $1.01 at press time. The dip reflected broader market caution rather than panic over the bridge itself.
For now, the bridge is down, while the stolen XRP is moving. The industry is watching to see how tx handles the fallout.
This incident is a reminder that bridges remain one of crypto's weakest links. Even properly functioning multi-signature setups can be exploited if the logic upstream is flawed.
