Bitcoin Flirts with $120K, Altcoins Surge, Regulators Strike & NFT Mania Returns – Crypto Roundup (July 23–24, 2025)
Bitcoin briefly blasted up to the $120,000 mark – heights unseen in years – before pulling back ~2% mid-week cointelegraph.com. The quick dip to around $117,500 on Wednesday triggered a wave of liquidations: over 176,000 traders saw positions wiped out, totaling >$500 million in losses cointelegraph.com. Market veterans framed it as a healthy breather rather than a true breakout. “Not an actual breakout upwards… likely we’re going to retest the lows of the range again,” noted trader Michaël van de Poppe after BTC’s liquidity grab cointelegraph.com. Analysts are eyeing support near $113K as a potential local bottom – roughly a 6–7% pullback from the top cointelegraph.com. Despite this volatility, Bitcoin’s uptrend remains intact on higher timeframes. Optimistic bulls still target fresh highs above $130K once the current consolidation passes cointelegraph.com. Caution is creeping in, however, as open interest across crypto derivatives hit all-time highs, prompting on-chain firm Glassnode to warn of “froth” building in the market. Elevated leverage “tends to amplify both upside and downside volatility” and can leave the market “fragile,” Glassnode observed cointelegraph.com cointelegraph.com – a reminder for traders to manage risk even as sentiment runs hot. A broad altcoin rally is accompanying Bitcoin’s surge, reviving chatter of