Asian Crypto Pulse

Daily Updates:

• Bitcoin moved sideways today, climbing back to $118K after briefly dipping near $117.4K earlier in the morning. The token is up about 0.8%, consistent with the relatively flat price action seen throughout the week. BTC’s 7‑day at‑the‑money implied volatility spiked to 36.7% before easing back to roughly 33%.
• ETH climbed over 1% in the past 24 hours, bouncing from $3,700 earlier in the session back to the $3,800 level. Its 7‑day ATM volatility, which surged to 70% yesterday, has cooled slightly—now around 63%.
• Option skews continue to fluctuate. BTC’s 3‑day 25‑delta put‑call skew reversed from +3% to roughly ‑1.1%, signalling a short‑term sentiment shift. ETH’s skew briefly spiked to 6.6% but has since eased to just above 3.3%.
• Notably, altcoins are also showing strength today. Spot prices for XRP and Solana (SOL) gained positive traction in the past 24h.

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• US Job Openings fell by 275,000 to 7.44M in June, missing expectations of 7.5M and signalling softer labour demand. The pullback was led by accommodation and food services (-308k), health care (-244k), and finance (-142k), while retail (+190k) and information (+67k) saw gains. Openings fell across the Northeast, South, and Midwest, while hires (5.2M) and quits (3.1M) were little changed. 

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• Eurozone GDP grew 1.4% year-on-year in Q2 2025, slightly down from 1.5% in Q1 but beating expectations of 1.2%, per the preliminary flash estimate. Ireland led growth with a massive 16.2% jump, followed by Lithuania (3%) and Spain (2.4%). Other major economies showed modest gains, with Germany and Italy up just 0.4%. The ECB forecasts 0.9% growth for the year but warns that unresolved US tariffs on European exports could weigh on the outlook despite a recent deal.

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• Strategy, world's largest Bitcoin Treasury Company, announced yesterday that they bought 21,021 Bitcoin at an average of $117,256 per coin, after raising $2.5B from its fourth preferred stock issuance (STRC), the largest US IPO of 2025 so far. 
• The purchase brings the company’s holdings to 628,791 BTC, the biggest among public firms, and marks its largest acquisition since March. 

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• On July 29, the SEC approved in-kind creation and redemption for Bitcoin and Ether ETPs, allowing authorised participants to exchange shares directly for the underlying crypto assets instead of cash. 
• In the context of already approved spot crypto ETFs, in-kind redemptions allow investors to receive Bitcoin or Ether directly, rather than in cash, a process considered more efficient as it avoids selling assets on the market and can potentially lower transaction costs.
• SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the move reflects a push to build a “fit-for-purpose” regulatory framework for digital assets, while the agency highlighted the operational and cost advantages for issuers and investors.

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• Japan’s Osaka Exchange is actively researching the potential launch of futures and options linked to cryptocurrency products. President Ryusuke Yokoyama said the exchange plans to consult with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) once regulatory discussions on crypto rules advance, though no decisions have been made yet.
• Meanwhile, parent company Japan Exchange Group is also considering crypto-related ETFs for listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The moves come as the FSA evaluates whether to regulate crypto under-investment laws, which could align tax treatment of digital assets with stocks and boost market participation.

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• On July 29, the Bank of Korea (BOK) announced that it has established a new virtual assets division to monitor the crypto market and support discussions on regulatory frameworks. The unit, housed under the central bank’s Financial Payment Systems Bureau, will play a key role in exploring Korean won‑backed stablecoins.
• The BOK also renamed its Digital Currency Research Team to the Digital Currency Team, signalling a pivot from research to active digital currency initiatives.

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• Algeria has banned cryptocurrency and related activities, such as trading, mining, and promotional efforts, as of July 24, joining China in its strict anti-crypto stance. 
• This law aims to combat money laundering with violations punishable by fines or even prison time. 

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• Coinbase Institutional have announced the introduction of new derivative products - nano Solana Perp Style Futures and nano XRP Perp Style Futures, which contrary to their name provide exposure to 5 Solana and 500 XRP respectively. Also, unlike traditional perps, they are instead long-dated futures with 5 year expiries. 
• These are to launch on Aug 18, 2025 targeted at US investors.  

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• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision yesterday, July 29,  on the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, a product tied to President Donald Trump’s media company. The regulator also delayed rulings on other crypto products, including the Grayscale Solana Trust and Canary Capital Litecoin ETF.

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• Hong Kong-based, fintech RD Technologies, has secured $40M in Series A2 funding ahead of the city’s new stablecoin licensing regime, which takes effect on August 1, 2025. The round was led by a mix of existing and new investors, including ZA Global and Bright Venture.
• Founded in 2020, RD is developing HKDR, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Hong Kong dollar. The company has also participated in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s stablecoin sandbox, a regulatory initiative allowing fintech firms to test digital currency projects under close supervision to ensure compliance and security.
• The upcoming licensing framework will require all issuers of fiat‑backed stablecoins to obtain HKMA authorization, marking a key step in bringing stablecoins under formal regulation in Hong Kong.

This Week’s Calendar:

Charts of the Day:

Figure 1. BTC at-the-money implied volatility across selected tenors. Source: Deribit, Block Scholes

Figure 2. ETH at-the-money implied volatility across selected tenors. Source: Deribit, Block Scholes

Figure 3. BTC 25-delta put-call skew ratio across selected tenors. Source: Deribit, Block Scholes

Figure 4. ETH 25-delta put-call skew ratio across selected tenors. Source: Deribit, Block Scholes