Good morning investors. While Wall Street was sleeping, bitcoin soared to $120,000, President Trump announced more tariffs, and the new Superman movie secured a $122 million box office weekend.

Let’s get to the news.

Wall Street’s buying a lot of bitcoin

Everyone’s talking about the stock market’s all-time highs but bitcoin is quietly smashing records of its own. 

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, touched $120,000 Sunday for the first time, three days after the S&P 500 notched a record close of 6,280.46. 

However, as long-time Opening Bell Daily readers know, a rising stock market is as much about currency debasement as it is corporate earnings.

It’s no accident that both bitcoin and the benchmark US stock index touched record highs right as the US dollar wrapped up its worst first-half performance in three decades. 

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of rival currencies, has weakened nearly 11% in 2025.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and bitcoin have climbed roughly 6.7% and 27%, respectively, this year. 

It’s true that the stock market has climbed due to stronger-than-expected earnings, cooling inflation and optimism for Fed rate cuts, but the uptrend is also being fueled by the downtrend of the underlying currency. 

Priced in bitcoin — rather than US dollars — the S&P 500 has dropped 85% since 2020.

And while bitcoin’s rally has drawn relatively muted retail and media attention this year, according to Google Search volumes, demand from Wall Street and institutional buyers has accelerated. 

The 11 active US spot bitcoin ETFs have bought 1.26 million bitcoin worth roughly $150 billion. That means institutions now own more than 6% of total bitcoin supply. 

On Friday, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) became the fastest ETF ever to cross $80 billion in assets under management.

It hit the milestone in 374 days — five times faster than the previous record, according to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.

So how much higher will bitcoin go this year?

Traders on the prediction market Kalshi see the crypto hitting $146,000 before 2026, representing about 23% upside from current levels.

Market snapshot

Elsewhere

🇲🇽 President Trump announced 30% tariffs on Mexico and the EU. He unveiled the letters to the trade partners on Saturday, and said the new levies will begin August 1. If either partner retaliates with higher tariffs, “then whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 30% that we charge,” Trump said. (CNBC)

🏦 The Fed has quietly rebuffed White House criticisms. President Trump has repeatedly criticized Jerome Powell’s leadership, and the latest salvo came from the budget office questioning the Fed’s expensive HQ renovations. The Fed responded in a newly updated “FAQ” page on its website that details the construction project. (Link)

📊 Economists have slashed their recession odds. The bearish outlook for tariffs has not yet materialized. Respondents to the WSJ’s quarterly survey of economists showed rising expectations for job creation and GDP growth, as well as cooling inflation forecasts compared to three months ago. (WSJ)

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About me

📰 I’m Phil Rosen, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Opening Bell Daily. I’ve published books, lived on three continents, and won awards for my journalism, which has appeared in Business Insider, Fortune, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg and Inc. Magazine.

I write our flagship newsletter to prepare you for each trading day — unpacking markets, economic data and Wall Street with analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

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