After the Prague upgrade, Bitcoin ETFs have seen continuous outflows, while Ethereum ETFs have maintained a continuous inflow of funds for 15 days, indicating that a quiet shift is occurring in the market. It was previously mentioned that the Prague upgrade is crucial for the approval of Ethereum ETF staking in the U.S. Once Ethereum ETF staking is implemented, holders will be able to earn about 5% annualized returns through staking.
The Prague upgrade significantly reduced transaction fees on the Ethereum network and improved transaction speed, making its performance comparable to Solana. However, compared to Solana, Ethereum's advantages in security and decentralization are more pronounced, which is precisely what Solana lacks. For traditional institutions and seasoned investors, Ethereum is not only safe and stable but also holds potential for future price increases, plus it can earn about 5% interest annually through staking, which is extremely attractive for institutions.
This also explains the recent continuous inflow into Ethereum ETFs while Bitcoin ETFs are seeing outflows. For century-old financial institutions and experts in traditional investment fields, they are more aware of future investment opportunities.
Why hasn't the price of Ethereum risen yet? It is actually similar to the situation when Bitcoin ETFs were first launched: initial inflows of institutional funds but little price movement, and only after institutional holdings reach a certain scale will they drive prices up with real capital. The logic of Ethereum ETFs is the same. Previously, Ethereum had limited appeal to institutions because Bitcoin's consensus far surpassed that of Ethereum. However, after the Prague upgrade, Ethereum's network advantages began to emerge, attracting continuous inflows of institutional funds. It is foreseeable that when institutional holdings reach a certain level, funds will enter to drive prices up.
The negative emotions brought by Trump and Musk quickly dissipated, and there are rumors of reconciliation. Currently, what we can see is that this online argument has not escalated. As mentioned yesterday, without this 'argument', market sentiment is actually stable, and there are no significant macro or event-driven negatives.
Facing this situation in the crypto space, we must combine the current market conditions with our own risk tolerance to adopt a systematic response strategy.
Liquidity exhaustion and institutional dominance
Retail selling vs. institutional accumulation: Retail investors sold a total of 247,000 BTC by 2025, while institutions like MicroStrategy and BlackRock ETF increased their holdings by 417,000 BTC, leading to market liquidity concentrating on Bitcoin while altcoins suffered significant losses.
Bitcoin ETF siphoning effect: The current market value of Bitcoin ETFs is $122.98 billion, accounting for 6.16% of Bitcoin's market value, but the funds remain in trusts and have not flowed into the altcoin ecosystem, exacerbating market differentiation.
Survival strategy: Control risks, ensure liquidity
Strict position management, stop-loss discipline, cash is king: Convert at least 50% of assets into compliant stablecoins like USDC to avoid volatility and wait for stabilization signals (such as Bitcoin daily closing above 106,000).
De-leveraging and risk-hedging operations, unwinding high-leverage contracts: Retail investors often use 100x leverage, which can easily trigger liquidation, so it should be reduced to below 5x or temporarily avoid derivatives.
Altcoins remain weak in this market, so it is essential to be cautious at this stage and avoid entering blindly. Recently, many people chased prices during the rise a few days ago and ended up getting stuck. Therefore, everyone must exercise restraint and avoid hasty actions.
Otherwise, you will be stuck waiting for the market to arrive again, falling back into the trap of altcoins! It's unnecessary; it’s better to wait until the market is in place before entering, thus reducing risk significantly. Don't get overly bullish when prices rise, and don't immediately expect prices to drop to zero when they fall; that is an incorrect mindset!
That's all I want to share with you today, I am July, and you can follow the daily article updates!