Ethereum Surges Above $1,600, 24-hour Gain of 1.8%

CryptoQuant analyst Sunny Mom stated in a post that Bitcoin surged from roughly $64,000 to $66,000 over two days, but the rally was driven more by short squeezes and leveraged capital rather than a meaningful recovery in spot demand. Between July 18 and 19, funding rates briefly turned negative; after short positions were squeezed, this triggered the price rebound. Concurrently, open interest rose from around $21.2 billion to a record $23 billion, signaling continued inflows of new leveraged positions. Data shows Bitcoin’s spot trading volume has been "cooling down" since April and has not yet rebounded significantly, while futures volume remains at a "neutral" level with no notable spike. Stablecoin net flows on exchanges are negative, yet total stablecoin market capitalization has not dropped sharply, indicating most funds are still on the sidelines. US Bitcoin spot ETFs have logged inflows for the second straight week, with a single-day net inflow of approximately $271 million on July 20—including $116.5 million into IBIT—reflecting partial institutional funds returning, though the scale is too small to lift overall spot volume. Sunny Mom added that the rally was kickstarted by a short squeeze, sustained by leveraged capital, with ETF funds trickling back gradually. The current market is not overheated, but the rally’s foundation remains fragile; if momentum weakens, leveraged positions could be unwound rapidly, potentially triggering a sharp market correction.

According to CNN, after SpaceX goes public, the market is closely watching whether Elon Musk will push for a merger between SpaceX and Tesla. Tesla will release its earnings report after U.S. stock market close on Wednesday, followed by an investor call, where Musk may offer more clues about the future relationship between the two firms. JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta said that strategically, a merger would align the two companies’ visions, engineering management, and AI operations. The two firms already established a joint venture named Terafab in March this year to build a chip factory in Austin, Texas. Tech analyst Dan Ives estimates the likelihood of a Tesla-SpaceX merger by 2027 is over 80%, though this is only his personal view. If merged, the combined entity could reach a valuation of around $3 trillion, comparable in size to Microsoft. The merger could also boost Musk’s control over Tesla; he currently holds more than 80% of SpaceX’s voting rights, while his stake in Tesla is roughly 20%. However, the potential deal still faces regulatory hurdles. Gupta pointed out that Tesla has a large factory in China and generates a significant portion of its sales and profits there, while SpaceX maintains close ties with the U.S. government. Additionally, both companies’ valuations are heavily reliant on market confidence in Musk, and merging would concentrate related risks.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, Abraxas Capital withdrew 13,500 ETH from Aave, valued at approximately $26 million. Additionally, the firm also withdrew 1,790 ETH from Binance, worth around $3.4 million.

Wells Fargo raises SanDisk (SNDK) price target from $1,250 to $1,620.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the United States remains willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis, but Tehran is not taking the talks seriously. Rubio noted that Washington is "always committed to diplomacy" but questioned whether Tehran views the negotiations with equal seriousness. "The problem we face now is that they are not serious about the talks. If they are, we will be too; if not, we will take necessary measures to protect our interests and those of our allies," Rubio said. He stressed that Iran must not control the Strait of Hormuz, as that would set a dangerous global precedent. Rubio added: "If we set a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can control an international waterway, charge tolls, and blow up ships that fail to pay, we will have created a very dangerous model that will be repeated in other parts of the world." (Jin10)

According to Bloomberg, Alphabet will release its second-quarter financial results after U.S. stock market close on Wednesday. Investors will focus on whether Google Cloud’s growth can prove its large-scale AI investments are yielding returns. Market forecasts show Alphabet’s revenue and net profit will both grow around 25% year-over-year, while Google Cloud’s revenue is expected to jump nearly 65% to $22.4 billion, compared to a 63% increase in the first quarter. Alphabet previously projected its capital expenditures would reach up to $190 billion in 2026, and noted that spending would “increase significantly” in 2027. Analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg show its 2027 capital expenditures could rise to $262 billion, nearly three times the 2025 level. Investors are therefore hoping the cloud business will continue accelerating to confirm that its expanding AI infrastructure investments are delivering returns. Alphabet’s stock has risen around 11% since the start of 2026, but is down 14% from its all-time high hit in May. Jonathan Cofsky, an investment manager at Janus Henderson, said that if the cloud business accelerates its growth and search operations remain strong, it will help ease market concerns about the scale of spending and overall investment returns. Alphabet’s current 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is around 23x, higher than its 10-year average of 21x and on par with the Nasdaq 100 index. Mark Mahaney, an analyst at Evercore ISI, believes that given the sustained strong demand for AI infrastructure, Google Cloud’s revenue forecast still has significant upside potential.