ETH gains momentum from Robinhood L2 launch while Saylor creates confusion: Hodler's Digest, July 5-12, 2026
Robinhood Chain receives positive sentiment from Ethereum skeptics. Trump and Nigel Farage face cryptocurrency-linked controversies, plus additional developments.
Ethereum price receives boost from Robinhood Chain momentum
Investor confidence in Ethereum has experienced a significant uplift following the triumphant debut of Robinhood Chain, a layer-2 solution. This recently introduced blockchain platform utilizes ETH as its primary gas token, with approximately $141 million worth of ETH having been transferred to the network already.
The network now hosts over half a million ETH-holding wallets, experiencing a remarkable surge that eclipsed both the Ethereum L1 and competing L2 Base during the previous 24-hour period, recording DEX transaction volumes totaling $877.56 million. This L2 solution represents an extension of traditional finance trading platform Robinhood, which provides tokenized stock offerings to users across 120 nations, thereby reinforcing the EVM-compatible infrastructure.
Numerous industry experts have historically viewed L2s as potentially detrimental to Ethereum, arguing they redirect activity from the L1 layer while contributing minimal transaction fee revenue. Yet, even certain previous ETH skeptics are now reconsidering this position. Crypto influencer Ansem stated:
"lighter and robinhood L2s are sneakily best setup for an eth bull thesis in a very long time."
6th Man Ventures' Mike Dudas further commented that "robinhood chain is the single most bullish thing i've seen in eth-land in years."
Additional support for Ethereum stems from its dominant 47% share of the Real World Assets market, based on information from Rwa.xyz. Leon Waidmann, serving as head of Research at Lisk, observed that Ethereum's Total Value Locked (TVL) standing at $260 billion has exceeded Ether's market capitalization of $210 billion. According to Waidmann, this imbalance indicates that "ETH is underpriced," given that the present relative valuation sits below levels observed during the 2022 bear market.
British lawmakers consider permanent prohibition on cryptocurrency donations following Nigel Farage controversy
UK Labour party members are contemplating implementing a complete prohibition on digital currency contributions as a response to Nigel Farage's parliamentary resignation and concerns regarding the potential sway crypto industry billionaires exercised over his political positions.
Thursday reporting from The Guardian indicated that Labour MPs have suggested converting the temporary moratorium on cryptocurrency donations, which was implemented in March, into a permanent measure following revelations that the Reform party leader had personally received millions in British pounds, which he characterized as "gifts" from individuals within the industry.
Farage dramatically stepped down from his parliamentary position the previous week in what appeared to be an attempt to preempt an inquiry into these donations being conducted by the UK's parliamentary standards commissioner.
"Let me be absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong," Farage declared during an X livestream broadcast. "I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money."
The principal political parties have declined to nominate candidates to run against him in the forthcoming by-election, leaving his most significant political challenger as the satirical character Count Binface, who has garnered backing from those critical of Reform.
Bitcoin strategic reserve encounters obstacles as federal departments clash over jurisdiction: Bloomberg
Efforts by the Trump administration to create a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve have reportedly encountered significant challenges, with the Commerce and Treasury departments engaged in disagreement concerning the reserve's organizational framework and which agency should maintain primary supervisory authority over the assets.
An executive order issued in March 2025 by US President Donald Trump designated the Treasury Department as the location for housing the SBR, while additional agencies would provide assistance with asset confiscations to develop the reserve.
Questions have arisen, however, regarding whether the Treasury possesses the statutory authority to administer the Bitcoin (BTC) assets, in part due to the cryptocurrency's price volatility, according to Monday reporting from Bloomberg citing individuals with knowledge of the situation.
Sources indicated that the Commerce Department has positioned itself as a potential alternative to manage the reserve. The Department of Justice is also reportedly collaborating with both departments to identify legally permissible approaches, they added.
Senator Wyden pushes Senate leadership to maintain developer safeguards in cryptocurrency legislation
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden from the United States has called upon Senate leadership to guarantee that protections for cryptocurrency developers remain incorporated within the crypto market structure legislative proposal.
In correspondence addressed to Senate Minority Leader John Thune and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Wyden advocated for retaining a particular provision of the CLARITY Act identified as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA).
"Developers who make and release software that allows people to manage their own digital assets — and, critically, where the developer does not control user assets — should not be treated as money transmitters solely because they create or publish software," Wyden articulated in his letter.
This correspondence follows opposition to the BRCA from specific groups and legislative representatives. A coalition of law enforcement agencies and an alliance of Catholic organizations presented arguments last month suggesting it might generate loopholes in the monitoring of illegal activities.
Senate leadership is working toward achieving passage of the legislation within the current month.
Trump acknowledges political motivations behind cryptocurrency involvement
US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that his engagement with cryptocurrency was influenced "for politics" and that he adopted a pro-crypto position after observing the substantial financial activity within the industry.
During a Monday press conference held in the Oval Office announcing "Trump Accounts," investment accounts designed for individuals under 18 years of age, Trump received a question about whether these accounts would accommodate Bitcoin (BTC).
"I've become a big crypto guy only for one reason: If we don't have it, China's going to have it," Trump responded. "I'm a fan, I wasn't initially, I didn't know much about it, but, for some of my first term, I wasn't much involved, and I watched it grow, and it's a huge industry."
"I got involved in it a little bit for politics," Trump continued. "I realized there are a lot of people that love crypto."
During his initial presidential term, Trump characterized himself as being "not a fan" of cryptocurrency and labeled Bitcoin "a scam." Subsequently, both he and members of his family have developed substantial business connections within the crypto sector, with Trump receiving criticism regarding his pro-crypto position and for generating greater revenue from cryptocurrency in 2025 than any publicly traded exchanges or mining operations.
A group of five senators has requested committee hearings to examine whether Trump's policy decisions are potentially being influenced by cryptocurrency funding originating from United Arab Emirates-connected entities and other sources.
Winners and Losers
As the week concludes, Bitcoin (BTC) stands at $63,762, Ether (ETH) is positioned at $1800 and XRP (XRP) trades at $1.08. The aggregate market capitalization reaches $2.2 trillion based on CoinMarketCap data.
Within the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, the three leading altcoin gainers for the week include DeXe (DEXE) posting a 94% increase, Pyth Network (PYTH) recording 19%%, and Arbitrum (ARB) achieving 15%.
The three altcoins experiencing the largest weekly losses are Bonk (BONK) declining 19%, Jupiter (JUP) down -18% and Pi (PI) dropping -16%.
Top Prediction of the Week
Bear market for Bitcoin potentially approaching final phases: Jamie Coutts, Real Vision
According to Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts, Bitcoin may be transitioning into the final phases of the bear market, with downward momentum showing signs of deceleration.
"I think we're getting through most of the bear market action. It's still not over, clearly. But you know, I think we're approaching at least the second half," Coutts expressed during his appearance on Cointelegraph's Trade Secrets interview program.
He highlighted that Bitcoin's price volatility has decreased by approximately 50% when compared with the preceding market cycle, indicating the present downturn could prove less dramatic than historical bear markets.
Coutts further mentioned that he remains uncomfortable providing forecasts for Bitcoin reaching $1 million by 2030 given the excessive number of unpredictable variables. Nevertheless, he stated:
"I'm more comfortable with a forecast in the next sort of two to three years that Bitcoin should get to sort of $200,000 to 250,000."
Top FUD of the Week
Saylor and Strategy require clearer communication regarding BTC strategy shift to reassure market participants
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Charter's global head of digital assets research, contends that Strategy's recent divestment of $216 million in Bitcoin to finance STRC dividend payments — combined with Michael Saylor's communication approach regarding such decisions — "are muddying the waters for BTC near-term."
"We think effective communication of MSTR's new strategy (using BTC to back STRC) is key to reassuring markets that wholesale selling is unlikely; this should in turn support BTC prices," Kendrick communicated in a Friday note distributed to clients. "Indeed, if this signalling proves effective, it should remove the need for MSTR to actually sell any BTC by supporting STRC's price," he explained.
According to Kendrick, Strategy's longstanding "never sell" philosophy had constrained the organization's options for utilizing its industry-leading digital asset treasury holdings.
"The problem with the 'never sell' approach is that it limits what MSTR's BTC holdings can do — or, perhaps more importantly, what they are perceived to be doing," the StanChart analyst articulated.
New York court denial of Kalshi's blocking attempt against gambling law enforcement triggers appeal
Kalshi has filed an appeal challenging a New York federal judge's denial of its request to prevent New York State Gaming Commission officials from enforcing state regulations against its sports-related event contract offerings.
This appeal intensifies an expanding legal dispute centered on whether sports prediction market platforms constitute federally regulated derivative products or gambling offerings subject to state regulation. This legal question has already produced divergent rulings across various United States courts.
Judge Analisa Torres dismissed that position and determined that New York gambling statutes, as they apply to Kalshi's sports-event contract products, were not superseded by the US Commodity Exchange Act. The court concluded that Kalshi had failed to demonstrate a "clear or substantial showing" of probable success regarding the case's merits.
"Major loss for Kalshi in the nation's financial capital, with likely knock-on effects in other cases (esp. Connecticut and other SDNY lawsuits)," attorney Daniel Wallach commented.
Cryptocurrency trader suffers $1M loss through phishing approval signature
A cryptocurrency holder experienced a loss approaching $1 million on Wednesday after authorizing a fraudulent token approval on Ethereum, as evidenced by onchain transaction records.
A Thursday alert from Scam Sniffer disclosed that a victim forfeited 999,999 USDt (USDT) through an Ethereum phishing token approval scam operation. Initial attempts by scammers to drain a rounded $1 million via multicalls were unsuccessful due to insufficient available funds, but subsequent efforts seconds later succeeded in extracting the precise remaining balance through follow-up transaction transfers.
"The script recalculated and pulled the exact remaining balance," Scam Sniffer reported.
Phishing token approval schemes utilizing social engineering tactics have emerged as a prevalent cryptocurrency fraud methodology. Throughout 2025, phishing-related losses accumulated to $723 million across 248 separate incidents, based on CertiK data. Fraudsters deceive victims into granting malicious actors access privileges to their wallets, disguised as seemingly legitimate transaction requests.
Victims incorrectly assume that selecting "approve" will merely initiate a minor operation, but fraudulent links actually provide attackers with authorization to completely drain wallet funds.