Weekly Review: Bitcoin surges to $64,000, while Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 upends the semiconductor market
The past week was a real rollercoaster for the crypto market. Bitcoin, starting with a drop to $61,000 amid geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, managed to recover its losses and end the seven-day period near $64,500, gaining about 1%. However, the main event that stirred not only the crypto sphere but also the global semiconductor market was the release of the new AI model Kimi K3 by China's Moonshot AI.
Macroeconomic Background and Bitcoin
The key driver of the recovery was the US Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which came in at 2.6% against the forecasted 2.8%. Slower-than-expected inflation, coupled with positive rhetoric from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, brought optimism back to the markets. A local high of $65,500 was reached on July 15, after which consolidation began. On Friday, the market dipped due to a crisis in the chip sector, but Bitcoin recovered by the weekend.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded capital inflows for the second consecutive week — a net $75.5 million from July 13 to 17. Ethereum funds were also in positive territory, attracting $105.5 million. However, the Fear and Greed Index, rising to 28 points, remains in the "red zone," indicating persistent investor nervousness. Bitcoin's dominance is stable at 57%, with a total market capitalization of $2.27 trillion.
Regulatory Battles: CLARITY Act Under Fire
Democratic Senators Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen opposed the current version of the CLARITY Act, insisting on the inclusion of anti-corruption provisions. They propose banning the president, cabinet members, and members of Congress from owning crypto businesses, which is directly linked to the activities of Donald Trump and his family. Consideration of amendments is expected from July 20, and 60 votes will be required for their adoption. This is a serious signal: regulation cannot be "blind" to conflicts of interest at the highest levels.
BIP-110: A Stillborn Initiative
The BIP-110 proposal, which limits non-payment data in Bitcoin transactions, received support from only about 1% of miners against the required 55%. No major pool signaled readiness for a fork. Critics, including Michael Saylor and Adam Back, called it unnecessary. In contrast, developer Leonidas introduced the DOG Mode client, which raises transaction limits and simplifies sending Ordinals without requiring majority consensus. This is a vivid example of how the community bypasses rigid frameworks.
Kimi K3: A Blow to Nvidia and the Entire Chip Market
China's Moonshot AI released the Kimi K3 model with 2.8 trillion parameters, native vision, and a context of 1 million tokens. It is second only to proprietary Claude Fable 5 and GPT 5.6 Sol, but more importantly, it triggered a massive sell-off in chipmaker stocks. Indices in Asia and the US fell sharply: Nvidia temporarily lost its title as the world's most valuable company. Investors recall the "DeepSeek effect" of January 2025, when a single model wiped $590 billion off the market leader's capitalization. The situation demonstrates that open AI models are now capable of directly influencing global financial flows.
Ecosystem News
The Ethereum Foundation's privacy team spun off into a commercial company, EthSystems, targeting institutional ZK solutions. In Japan, crypto assets were officially recognized as financial instruments, and Visa launched a stablecoin platform for banks. These steps indicate a gradual but steady integration of digital assets into traditional financial infrastructure.
My Expert Opinion: Kimi K3 is not just another model but a trigger for reassessing the entire AI value chain. If open Chinese solutions continue to catch up with and surpass proprietary Western counterparts, volatility in the semiconductor market will become the new norm, which, in turn, will indirectly pressure the crypto market through overall risk appetite.