As of early evening on July 15, Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) gained 0.6% to $64,939.64, Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) rose 2.6% to $1,923.23, and Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) increased 0.3% to $77.35.
What’s driving crypto markets
Crypto sentiment improved on further positive inflation news as traders shifted expectations for near-term Fed tightening. High interest rates make yields on safer assets, such as U.S. Treasuries, more attractive, and increase the cost of borrowing. This can often squeeze riskier assets like cryptocurrencies.
Crypto ETF snapshot
Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs both turned positive last week, attracting fresh capital and suggesting institutional demand — a key indicator of long-term strength — could be strengthening again. Spot Bitcoin ETFs gained over $180 million in inflows yesterday, with $139 million flowing into the popular iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. On the Ethereum side, iShares Ethereum Trust ETF gained $58 million.
What this means for investors
Inflation and interest rates remain key drivers for crypto prices, as today’s gains across major cryptocurrencies demonstrate. The big crypto news today is that Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have made a bid to acquire PayPal. It is unclear whether PayPal will accept the offer, but if it did, it could unite two giants in the emerging stablecoin industry, combining business and consumer payments.
In regulatory news, it isn’t clear when (or indeed whether) further U.S. crypto legislation in the form of the Clarity Act will reach the Senate floor. However, Japan has just reclassified cryptocurrencies, recognizing them as “financial assets” and dramatically reducing crypto taxes.
Top 10 crypto performance
#NamePrice24h7d1Bitcoin (BTC)$64,927.00+0.7%+4.5%2Ethereum (ETH)$1,922.17+2.5%+10.6%3Tether (USDT)$0.9993-0.0%+0.0%4BNB (BNB)$579.93-0.0%+2.5%5USDC (USDC)$0.9998-0.0%-0.0%6XRP (XRP)$1.11-0.2%+2.1%7Solana (SOL)$77.18+0.3%+0.1%8TRON (TRX)$0.3244-0.2%-1.7%9Figure Heloc (FIGR_HELOC)$1.03-0.1%+0.0%10Hyperliquid (HYPE)$66.83+2.5%+0.0%
Ranked by market cap. Data: CoinGecko, as of July 15, 2026 20:17 UTC.
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Emma Newbery has positions in BNB, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Hyperliquid, PayPal, Solana, XRP, and iShares Bitcoin Trust. The Motley Fool recommends BNB and TRON and recommends the following options: short September 2026 $47.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
