Newsletter

CCM Blockchain Newsletter (July 21, 2025)

Bitcoin takes a breather while stocks rip to all-time highs.

Christian Lopez

21 Jul 2025 — 7 min read

Happy Monday everyone, and welcome back to this week’s market newsletter. Please see below this week’s market data.

CCM Digital Weekly Market Update (2025.07.18)

CCM Digital Weekly Market Update (2025.07.18).pdf

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Bitcoin Market Update and News

Bitcoin takes a breather: Bitcoin dipped last week from its record high of $123,000 on July 14. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is down 1.5% week-over-week to $118,100.
CLARITY, GENIUS, and NO-CBDC Bills pass House in crypto legislation push: Three crypto-focused bills passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week, with one now headed to the Oval Office for a signature to be enacted into law. The stablecoin market structure bill, GENIUS, passed with bipartisan support after passing in the Senate last month; the bill would create a registration process for USD stablecoin issuers and require 1-to-1 backing with USD instruments, among other provisions. The CLARITY Act also passed in the House with bipartisan support and is now headed to the Senate; the bill creates guardrails for token-issuing projects, establishes clear regulation for crypto trading platforms, and delineates specific responsibilities for the CFTC’s and SEC’s regulatory mandates for crypto. The Anti-CBDC bill, which explicitly bars the U.S. government from issuing a central bank digital currency with direct accounts at the Federal Reserve, was more partisan, barely eking out a 219-210 victory.
Charles Schwab could soon offer Bitcoin trading: One of the world’s largest asset managers could soon expose crypto trading to their 36.7 million brokerage accounts. CEO Rick Wurster said on CNBC last week that the company will launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading “sometime soon” for its clients. “What we hear from many of our clients are [sic] that they have 98% of their wealth here at Schwab, and they might hold a percent or 2% at some digital native firm to hold their crypto, and they really want to bring it back to Schwab because they trust us,” the CEO said.

Interesting Reads and Videos

Bitcoin Treasury Company News and Updates

Bitcoin Standard aims for public listing with fourth largest BTC treasury: Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company is gunning for a Nasdaq listing through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners I, a SPAC offshoot of Cantor Fitzgerald. The company says it holds 30,000 BTC on its balance sheet, which would make its BTC holdings the fourth largest of any public company should the deal go through. Bitcoin Standard is looking to raise $1.5 billion through public equity financing.
Strategy increases its Bitcoin holdings to over 600,000: Strategy is at it again. The godfather of Bitcoin treasury companies has purchased 4,225 BTC for $472.5 million, increasing its holdings to 601,550 BTC. Strategy tapped every stock in its arsenal for the buy, selling shares of MSTR as well as each of its series A preferred stocks, STRK, STRF, and STRD.
Metaplanet ups its treasury above 16,350 BTC: Metaplanet announced last week that it added 797 BTC to its balance sheet ($93 million). The company now holds 16,352 BTC.
Jack Dorsey’s Block to enter the S&P 500: Block, the software and services firm cofounded by Jack Dorsey and formerly known as Square, will join the S&P 500 before market open on Wednesday, July 23. In addition to operating the point-of-sale platform Square, the company provides software and services for the Bitcoin industry, and it holds 8,584 BTC in its treasury.

Market Overview

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit all time highs: Equities had a bumpy ride last week following tariff news and June’s CPI read, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq shrugged off any negative news to set record highs by the end of the week.
- S&P 500: $6,296.79 (+0.7%)
- Dow: $44,342.19 (-0.01%)
- Nasdaq: $20,895.66 (+1.5%)
- Russell 2000: $2,240.01 (+0.4%)
CPI ticks up in June driven by energy, tariff-sensitive goods: June’s CPI read gives the same story for a new month: inflation is sticky, and now we’re potentially seeing the impact of tariffs on certain goods. Headline CPI rose 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year, while core CPI rose 0.2% and 2.9%, respectively. Shelter and food rose 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, while used cars and trucks (-0.7%), new vehicles (-0.3%), airline fares (-0.1%), and lodging away from home (-2.9%) helped moderate the overall CPI figure. Energy (+0.9%) and tariff-sensitive goods like household furnishings (+1%),, apparel (+0.4%), and others led increases for the month of June.

S&P 500 industrial sector continues to outperform in 2025: One sector stands above the rest in 2025’s stock market performance: industrials. Per reporting by Lewis Krauskopf for Reuters, S&P 500 industrials have increased 15% thus far in 2025, the best performance so far out of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors and double the index’s total returns for the year. Aerospace and defense stocks have bolstered the sector’s performance, with this group rising 30% year-to-date.

Chart source: Capital Flows | Bloomberg Terminal

President Trump says he wants to fire Jerome Powell, but prediction markets are unconvinced: President Trump has been vocal about firing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, criticizing him with the sobriquet “Too Late” for the Fed’s decision to not lower interest rates in 2025. Prediction markets, however, are not convinced that President Trump will make any changes this year, especially after he said that any immediate change to the position is “highly unlikely” even if he “doesn’t rule anything out.” The Polymarket and Kalshi odds for Powell’s ouster in 2025 are currently 20% and 23%, respectively.
M&A activity slows in June: According to FactSet, M&A activity drooped in June, falling by 2.9% from May for a total of 989 deals. Technology Services, Electronic Technology, Produce Manufacturing, Transportation, and Non-Energy Minerals, in that order, had the largest 3-month gains for year-over-year deal count, while Finance, Commercial Services, Consumer Services, Distribution Services, and Retail Trade, in that order, saw the biggest declines. Transactions at or above $1 billion, however, ticked up 18% year-over-year at 392 deals.

Export-exposed stocks are outperforming their domestic counterparts: Per John Authers for Bloomberg, U.S. stocks that derive the majority of their revenue from exports are outperforming domestic stocks (i.e., those with minimal foreign sales). Since the Trump Administration’s original tariff pause on April 9 and as of July 15, a basket of export-heavy stocks are up 17%, versus 5% for domestic stocks; year-to-date, the returns for either basket are 11% and 4%. Authers argues that the dollar’s weak year and the 90-pause have allowed exporters to jump ahead. He adds that investors have largely priced in tariffs, but that could change and the gap could close if current tariff negotiations disappoint and the Administration rolls out a more aggressive tariff regime.
June retail sales report shows consumer resilience: The U.S. Census Bureau’s June Retail Sales report indicates that consumer spending has been resilient despite tariff pressures. Retail spending bounced back from May’s -0.9% change, rising +0.6% month-over-month and 3.9% year-over-year. Miscellaneous stores (+1.8%) led spending, followed by motor-vehicle and parts dealers (+1.2%), building materials and garden stores (+0.9%), clothing and accessories (+0.9%), and restaurants and bars (+0.6%). Gas station spending was flat, while the tariff-vulnerable sectors such as furniture and home-furnishings (-0.1%), electronics and appliances (-0.1%), and department stores (-0.1%) all saw declining sales.
Tariffs generate nearly $27 billion in June: As detailed by Edward Jones, the average tariff rate in the U.S. has spiked from ~2.4% to ~20.6% (the highest level since 1910), and U.S. tariff revenue has surged accordingly. The U.S. Treasury raked in a record $27.2 billion gross and $26.6 billion net (after refunds) in June alone, versus $22.8 billion gross in May.

Oil slips: Oil prices fell modestly last week. As prices fall, active U.S. oil rig counts continue to decline, with Baker Hughes reporting 422 oil rigs active as of July 18, down by two week-over-week the lowest since September 2021.
- WTI Crude: $67.34/barrel (-1.6%)
- Brent Crude: $69.28/barrel (-1.5%)

The week ahead in data: