BTC Surges Back to $65K, JPMorgan Flags Hyperliquid Risk, and the European Central Bank Steps Up Digital Euro Push

In crypto news today (July 15), Bitcoin has surged back to $65,000, with an impressive +3.5% move over the past 24 hours. At this time of writing, BTC USD is sitting just under $65K, but if it can close above on a 4-hour candle, a push toward $70,000 could be on the cards.

This move from Bitcoin comes as $181M in inflows were recorded across various BTC ETFs yesterday. This trend of the Bitcoin price action correlating to the direction of ETF flows continues. It is worth keeping an eye on ETF performance for clues as to where BTC is heading.

With the majority of the market spiking higher alongside Bitcoin, a few notable projects are in the red today. Bittensor (TAO) and World Liberty Fi (WLFI) are both down about -1%, while Ethereum (ETH) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) are each up about +5%.

The Fear & Greed Index hasn’t reacted yet to the market-wide spike, jumping just 3 points from yesterday to 25/100, still in ‘Extreme Fear’ territory. If Bitcoin can hold at around or above $65,000 throughout the rest of the week, there is a good chance the index moves toward the ‘Fear’ territory.

Crypto News Today: JPMorgan Highlights Risk for Circle and Coinbase Due to Hyperliquid’s Rapid Growth

JPMorgan has revised its forecasts for Circle and Coinbase, stating that their new agreement with the crypto trading platform Hyperliquid poses long-term risks for the economics of the USDC stablecoin. The bank argues that this arrangement will force both companies to compete to increase token distribution.

Hyperliquid has emerged as one of the largest distribution channels for USDC. DefiLlama data shows that the platform currently holds approximately $6Bn worth of the stablecoin, which accounts for about 8% of its total supply (73.15Bn tokens).

JPMorgan describes the agreement as creating a classic “prisoner’s dilemma,” in which Circle and Coinbase are incentivized to sacrifice some of their profitability to expand USDC’s market share.

Hyperliquid is recognized as the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange and is one of the fastest-growing trading platforms in the cryptocurrency industry.

Its trading volume exceeded $150Bn in July, and its share of Binance’s trading volume reached 11.5%. Analysts believe these figures indicate that Hyperliquid is continuing to capture market share in crypto derivatives trading.

Under the new agreement, Coinbase will count USDC held on Hyperliquid as part of its ecosystem assets. Coinbase will retain income from the stablecoin’s reserves and allocate 90% of that revenue to Hyperliquid.

The European Central Bank Selects 36 Participants for its 2027 Digital Euro Pilot

In other crypto news from today, the European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 payment companies and banks from across the euro area to participate in a 12-month digital euro pilot program. Testing is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027, representing another step in the technical preparations for a potential retail central bank digital currency.

According to the ECB’s website, the participants were selected from over 50 applicants, including both banks and non-bank payment service providers. The final list includes prominent institutions such as Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, and France’s BPCE group, as well as digital platforms such as Revolut Bank UAB, Stripe Technology, and Adyen.

These participants will serve as digital euro distributors and/or acquiring payment service providers. Distributors will provide Eurosystem staff with access to test accounts and payment services, while acquiring providers will assist selected businesses in accepting payments using the beta version of the digital euro.

The ECB intends to use this beta version of the currency to test various aspects, including payment functionality, operational processes, and user experience. Both the central bank and 19 national central banks from across the euro area will be involved in the pilot.

Participants will include Eurosystem staff, online retailers, cafes, restaurants, and other businesses that will test person-to-person transfers and payments to merchants. Transactions will occur both online and offline, including at physical points of sale.

The pilot aims to help the ECB refine the digital euro’s technical architecture before making a final decision on whether to issue it. According to the project roadmap, the central bank hopes to be prepared for a potential first issuance in 2029, contingent on the adoption of the necessary legislation in 2026. The ECB will make its final decision only after this legislation is approved.

Read original story Crypto News Today (July 15): BTC Surges Back to $65K, JPMorgan Flags Hyperliquid Risk, and the European Central Bank Steps Up Digital Euro Push by Alex Ioannou at 99bitcoins.com