Cryptocurrency market on the morning of July 21: Exodus reduces staff, Celsius pays a fine, and LSE prepares for night trading
While retail investors were taking a break, the crypto industry continued to live its own life. The morning of July 21 brought a number of significant events: from personnel changes at Exodus to large fines for the founders of Celsius and ambitious plans by the London Stock Exchange (LSE). We break down the key points.
Market Dynamics: Bitcoin and Altcoins
Bitcoin (BTC) started the day in a sideways movement. As of 07:35 (Moscow time), the first cryptocurrency is trading around $65,475, showing a 24-hour low of $63,720 and a high of $65,721. Ethereum (ETH) is showing more confident growth, holding at the $1,923 level. In the top 10 by market cap, Hyperliquid has the best daily result (+3.93%), while Ethereum leads the week (+7.72%). Among the laggards are TRON, which lost 0.18% in a day, and Hyperliquid, which fell 1.03% over the week.
In the top 100, Lido DAO (+13.98% in 24 hours) and Pump.fun (+40.92% over the week) stand out. The worst daily result is for Pi (-8.58%), and over the week, for DeXe (-17.79%). This volatility indicates a continued redistribution of capital between sectors.
Exodus: Staff Reductions and a Shift in Focus
Crypto wallet developer Exodus announced a 25% reduction in staff. The company is restructuring towards creating a full-fledged infrastructure for stablecoins and payments. The layoffs followed the acquisitions of Monavate and Baanx, which, according to management, will reduce dependence on third-party service providers. The restructuring is expected to bring operational cost savings of between $10 million and $13 million per year, with the full effect materializing by 2027.
Celsius: Former Top Managers Pay for Deception
The co-founders of the bankrupt crypto platform Celsius — Shlomi Daniel Leon and Hanoch "Nuke" Goldstein — are required to pay over $6 million to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle claims. The regulator alleges they misled clients regarding the platform's reliability. Former CTO Goldstein will pay $2.014 million, and former strategy director Leon will pay $4.1 million. Both are also banned from promoting and selling products related to crypto assets. At its peak, Celsius managed $25 billion in assets, and by the time of bankruptcy, it owed users $4.7 billion.
London Stock Exchange Goes into Night Shift
The LSE plans to launch a platform for night trading in the first half of 2027. The new venue will operate separately from the main market — from 17:00 to 7:50 London time. At launch, it will offer access to exchange-traded products tracking UK and US stock markets. The main market will continue to operate during regular hours (from 8:00 to 16:30). This move is a direct response to growing competition from crypto exchanges and platforms for tokenized stocks that operate around the clock.
Expert Opinion: The LSE's decision is a significant trend. Traditional exchanges are beginning to adapt to the realities of digital assets, where trading hours are not limited. However, launching only in 2027 seems too conservative, given the speed of development in the crypto market.