Bitcoin Tops $67K as Cryptos Rally Amid Global IT Outage; Solana’s SOL Leads Altcoins

The
crypto
rally
resumed
on
Friday
with
bitcoin

(BTC)
notching
its
highest
price
in
a
month,
while
the
world
grappled
with
a
major
IT
outage.

BTC
started
rising
from
$64,000
during
the
early
U.S.
trading
hours
and
broke
above
$67,000
later
in
the
day
for
the
first
time
since
June
17.
The
price
increase
was
accompanied
by

strong
trading
volumes
for
BlackRock’s
spot
bitcoin
ETF
(IBIT).
At
press
time,
the
largest
crypto
asset
changed
hands
slightly
above
$67,000
advancing
5.5%
over
the
past
24
hours.

Solana

(SOL)
led
among
altcoin
majors
with
an
8.5%
increase
over
the
same
period,
topping
$170
for
the
first
time
since
early
June.
The
token
outperformed
the
broad-based
digital
asset
benchmark

CoinDesk
20
Index
(CD20),
which
rose
4.3%.

Ethereum’s
ether

(ETH)
reclaimed
the
$3,500
level,
but
underperformed
with
a
3%
increase.
The
first
spot-based
ETH
exchange-traded
funds
(ETF)
in
the
U.S.
will
likely
start
trading
on
Tuesday
next
week,
Friday

regulatory
filings
by
Cboe
showed.

Cryptocurrencies
slid
lower
earlier
this
week
in
tandem
with
a
U.S.
stock
sell-off.
However,
Friday’s
rally
happened
as
major
equity
indexes
continued
their
losing
streak.

The
tech
heavy
Nasdaq
Composite
was
down
0.8%,
while
the
broad-based
S&P
500
lost
0.6%
as
of
1
p.m.
ET,
while
gold
plummeted
over
2%
during
the
day
following
a
fresh
all-time
earlier
this
week.

As
a
software
update
by
cybersecurity
service
provider
CrowdStrike
caused
widespread
computer
outages
around
the
world
halting
airlines,
banks
and
businesses,
some

crypto

observers
emphasized
the
resiliency
of
decentralized
systems
like
public
blockchains
compared
to
centralized
networks.

Read
more:



CrowdStrike
Outage
Could
Be
Fixed
Within
the
Day,
Unlikely
Caused
by
a
Hack,
Polymarket
Bettors
Say

Charles
Edwards,
founder
of
crypto
hedge
fund
Capriole
Investments,
took
notice
of
bitcoin’s
rapid
surge
coinciding
with
the
U.S.
traditional
market
opening,
perhaps
a
sign
of
bidding
from
institutional
investors.

“Did
some
institution
just
wake
up
and
decide
Bitcoin
is
a
safe
haven
decentralized
store
of
value
as
global
tech
and
banking
systems
fail
from
Microsoft’s
blue
screen
of
death?,”
he

posted
on
X.

Looking
at
a
longer
timeframe,
bitcoin
is
trading
around
the
midpoint
of
a
multi-month
sideways
channel
between
$56,000
and
$73,000.
Spot
prices
might
be
range-bound
in
the
near
term,
but
traders
are
increasingly
positioning
for
a
breakout
to
new
all-time
highs
towards
the
U.S.
elections
in
November,
digital
asset
hedge
fund
QCP
said
in
a
market
update.
QCP
analysts
noted
strong
demand
for
December
$100,000
bitcoin
call
options
from
institutions.

Mads
Eberhardt,
crypto
analyst
at
Steno
Research,

expressed
a
bullish
view
for
the
second
half
of
the
year
for
crypto
assets,
supported
by
multiple
tailwinds
including
coming
U.S.
interest
rate
cuts,
rising
liquidity,
regulatory
clarity
in
Europe
and
rising
chances
of
more
crypto-friendly
U.S.
leadership.

“Bitcoin
at
$100,000.
Ethereum
at
$6,500,”
he

said
about
his
price
targets.

Update
(July
19,
20:25
UTC):

Updates
headline,
story
with
latest
prices.
Adds
paragraph
with
ether
(ETH)
price
and
Cboe
filing
about
spot
ETF
trading.