On a day marked by notable personal milestones within the cryptocurrency community, as highlighted by journalist Eleanor Terrett's announcement of her US citizenship on July 1, 2025, the digital asset markets painted a picture of consolidation and cautious optimism. Traders navigated a complex environment defined by technical resistance for Bitcoin (BTC) and divergent strength in the altcoin sector, particularly among AI-related tokens. The market's primary focus remained on key support levels and the underlying on-chain data, which offered a mixed but intriguing outlook for the second half of the year. While sentiment was generally positive following a strong second quarter, the day's price action underscored a period of price discovery and potential volatility ahead.

Bitcoin Navigates Key Resistance Zone

Bitcoin experienced a day of tight consolidation, trading within a narrow range between $84,200 and $85,800. The primary challenge for bulls was overcoming the significant resistance level at $86,000, a zone that has capped upward momentum for the past two weeks. Trading volume on major spot exchanges was moderate, down approximately 15% from the weekly average, suggesting that many larger players were waiting on the sidelines for a clearer directional signal. The price of BTC found reliable support near its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA), which sat at approximately $83,900. A sustained dip below this level would be a bearish signal for traders, potentially opening the door to a retest of the psychological $80,000 support area. Derivatives data indicated a neutral to slightly positive funding rate across major perpetual swap markets, showing that long positions were not overly leveraged, which can be seen as a healthy sign preventing imminent long squeezes.

On-Chain Data Reveals Underlying Holder Behavior

A deeper look at on-chain metrics provided a more nuanced view of the market structure. Data showed a slight uptick in BTC flowing into centralized exchanges over the 24-hour period, a metric often associated with an intention to sell or take profits. However, the movement was not significant enough to signal a major trend reversal. More importantly, metrics tracking long-term holder (LTH) supply showed continued accumulation, with the cohort of wallets holding BTC for over 155 days remaining steadfast. This divergence—short-term holders potentially taking profit while long-term investors hold firm—is characteristic of a mid-bull cycle consolidation. The Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Z-score, a tool used to assess when an asset is over or undervalued, hovered around 2.8, indicating that while BTC was not in deep value territory, it was also far from the overheated highs seen in previous cycle peaks.

Ethereum and AI Tokens Steal the Spotlight

While Bitcoin consolidated, Ethereum (ETH) displayed notable relative strength. The price of ETH pushed towards the $4,650 mark, posting a 2.5% gain on the day. The critical ETH/BTC ratio also saw a significant move, climbing 3% to 0.055, its highest level in over a month. This outperformance was largely fueled by growing anticipation for the upcoming Pectra (Prague-Electra) network upgrade, which is expected to introduce several key improvements, including Verkle Trees and account abstraction enhancements. Staking inflows for ETH remained robust, with the total amount of staked ETH surpassing 35 million. Elsewhere, the altcoin market was a mixed bag, but the artificial intelligence sector was a clear winner. AI-focused tokens such as Fetch.ai (FET), SingularityNET (AGIX), and Render (RNDR) posted impressive gains ranging from 8% to 15%. This surge was attributed to a recent announcement from a major tech corporation detailing a breakthrough in generative AI efficiency, creating a powerful narrative that drove speculative capital into the sector. This rotation highlights a maturing market where traders are increasingly focused on specific use cases and technological narratives rather than just broad market movements.