Crypto Currents: House passes ‘Genius Act’ stablecoin bill

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the “Crypto Currents” weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.

HOUSE PASSES ‘GENIUS ACT’ CRYPTO BILL: Congress progressed the Genius Act bill, which outlines the first federal rules for stablecoins, on Thursday, the New York Times’ David Yaffe-Bellany and Robert Jimison reported, citing the vote. The bill now moves to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature, which is expected Friday. The House also passed the Clarity Act, which would establish cryptocurrency regulations and weaken the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission to police crypto, on Thursday.

STRATEGY BUYS MORE BITCOIN: In a Monday regulatory filing, Strategy (MSTR) disclosed that the company acquired 4,225 bitcoin for an aggregate purchase price of $472.5M during the period of July 7 to July 13. The company’s aggregate bitcoin holdings amount to 601,550 as of July 13, the filing stated.

Additionally on Monday, TD Cowen raised the firm’s price target on Strategy to $680 from $590 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm believes the company will continue to invest capital flows into bitcoin. No other company will likely be able to match let alone beat Strategy’s cost of capital advantage, the analyst said. TD added Strategy’s “broad” securities offerings drive a competitive advantage. Its new price target represents a 10-times multiple of estimated 2025 bitcoin price gains.

COINBASE INITIATED WITH BUY: Argus initiated coverage of Coinbase (COIN) on Monday with a Buy rating and $400 price target. The company is the leading cryptocurrency trading platform that also provides services such as custodial solutions, analytics tools and risk management tools, and in May, the stock was included in the S&P 500, the analyst said. Coinbase is also in the early stages of expanding into other crypto products as well, and while its valuations are “off the charts”, its margins are higher than the peer group and its growth runway is promising, justifying the premium, Argus added.

Also on Monday, Citizens JMP raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $440 from $400 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm is bullish on the business outlook across Financial Services and FinTech, with capital markets recovering solidly with M&A activity still on a “normalization” tracking up 20% over the first half of last year and is annualizing $4.3T. The IPO market is also restarting after a more than three-year hiatus with the number of U.S. IPOs up 80% year over year, the analyst said. The digital asset industry is rapidly evolving from more of a speculative base to mainstream adoption, with legislation and Financial Services regulation finally coming together likely in the second half, and coupled with more mature infrastructure and business models, the growth prospects remain elevated and still likely underestimated over the next couple years, the firm said.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $417 from $395 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm cited increasing regulatory clarity going into Crypto Week for the target increase. However, the analyst expected consensus forecasts for Coinbase to come down going into the Q2 report. The company’s setup into earnings appears unfavorable with Oppenheimer expecting trading volume down 3% year-over-year and 44% quarter-over-quarter, 24% below consensus, the analyst said. The firm believes the buy-side is “well aware of this weak print” but thinks a more share attractive entry point could happen after the print.

On Thursday, Rosenblatt raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $470 from $300 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said that with bitcoin prices all-time highs amid favorable political tailwinds, Coinbase shares are up 50% over the last month. The analyst remains bullish “for several reasons.” Legislative progress is tracking ahead of expectations and should provide further tailwinds once signed into law while trading volume has recently rebounded, the analyst said.

PETER THIEL DISCLOSES 9.1% STAKE IN BITMINE: In a Tuesday regulatory filing, it was revealed that billionaire investor Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has acquired a 9.1% stake in Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), a public company that recently pivoted its treasury to focus exclusively on holding Ethereum. The stake represents 5.094M shares and the filing with the SEC does not allow for activism.

Additionally on Thursday, BitMine announced holdings of ethereum and Ethereum equivalents exceeding $1B. The company closed on its initial private placement of $250M on July 8 in furtherance of its asset light treasury strategy. As of July 17, the company’s Ethereum holdings total 300,657 at $3,461.89 per etherum.
“At BitMine, we have surpassed $1B in Ethereum holdings, just seven days after closing on the initial $250M private placement,” said Thomas Lee, Chairman of BitMine’s Board of Directors. “We are well on our way to achieving our goal of acquiring and staking 5% of the overall ETH supply.”

BITCOIN STANDARD TREASURY COMPANY TO GO PUBLIC: BSTR Holdings announced Thursday it has entered into(CEPO). Upon closing, the combined company is expected to trade under the ticker symbol “BSTR.” The company will be led by Adam Back, CEO, and Sean Bill, CIO. BSTR will launch with 30,021 bitcoin on its balance sheet and up to $1.5B of PIPE financing, the largest ever PIPE announced in conjunction with a Bitcoin Treasury SPAC merger, with the SPAC contributing up to an additional ~$200M, subject to redemptions. The Board of Directors of both BSTR and CEPO have unanimously approved the Business Combination. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to CEPO shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions.

“Bitcoin was created as sound money and BSTR is being created to bring that same integrity to modern capital markets,” said Back. “By securing both fiat and Bitcoin funding on day one, including the first convertible preferred round announced in conjunction with a Bitcoin treasury SPAC merger, we are putting unprecedented firepower behind a single mission: maximizing Bitcoin ownership per share while accelerating real-world Bitcoin adoption. I’m grateful for the trust of the Bitcoin OG community and for the unwavering support of Cantor Fitzgerald.”

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:

• Bit Digital (BTBT) purchases approximately 19,683 Ethereum
• Galaxy Digital (GLXY), Antalpha (ANTA) invest in Function
• Canaan (CAN) to (CIFR)
• Mara Holdings (MARA) leads $20M investment in Two Prime
• Bank of America (BAC) CEO says ‘will partner with some stablecoin’ networks

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital, Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings, Strategy, Riot Platforms (RIOT) and TeraWulf (WULF).

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 1% this week to $118,735 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.