Bitcoin (BTC) makes history as the third week of July begins above $120,000 per coin.
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BTC price strength shows no signs of reversing as $123,000 appears for the first time after the weekly close.
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July gains remain standard in percentage terms despite the giant US dollar figures.
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US CPI week dawns with a cloud hanging over the fate of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
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US deficit woes are driving Bitcoin relentlessly higher, analysis says — and the whole situation is anything but “normal.”
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Bitcoin dominance is showing weakness and altcoins are more than happy to pick up the slack.
Bitcoin traders eye next BTC price top levels
Celebrations are everywhere this week as BTC/USD passes $120,000 for the first time in a giant surge higher.
All-time highs now sit at $122,600, with the weekly candle locking in $10,000 of upside, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirms.
After two months of consolidation, price discovery came thick and fast, but commentators are already wondering how much fuel is left in Bitcoin’s tank.
“It’s taken 44 months for this massive Cup & Handle pattern to develop on the $BTC chart, and price is now just 2% away from the target I identified in May 2024 when the cup first formed,” Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators, wrote in part of a post on X.
Alan acknowledged that “a lot has changed” since then, and Bitcoin is in a completely different place as a macro asset.
“Hence, I believe price will go higher before we reach the cycle top,” he added.
Among traders, upside targets likewise appear limited, with popular pundit BitQuant sticking to his $145,000 goal.
Coming Soon https://t.co/WsVESAqNVK
— BitQuant (@BitQua) July 4, 2025
“$BTC is going to hit $135,000 in Q3,” fellow trader Cas Abbe continued.
“A strong weekly close above $107.7K was needed and it happened last week. After that, $BTC pumped $10,000 in just a week and still showing no signs of exhaustion. I think a rally to $120K, followed by some consolidation and then a pump to $135,000 is highly likely.”
A July like any other?
While impressive in US dollar terms, percentage gains for BTC/USD add some much-needed context to the rally.
Bitcoin is up by just under 14% in July so far, making its performance in fact fairly typical.
🔥 BULLISH: Bitcoin is forecast to hit a new all-time high in July, as historical data shows strong risk-asset returns this month. $BTC has never lost over 10% in July and the S&P 500 posting gains 10 years in a row. pic.twitter.com/PQZHyknOHy
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 1, 2025
Data from CoinGlass shows that July has spawned gains of more than 20% in the past decade, while Q3 performance has been even more varied.
August, on the other hand, frequently ends up as a “red” month.
The bulk of price performance tends to occur sooner rather than later in the monthly candle. The phenomenon is also true of other assets beyond crypto — including US stocks.
“July tends to be a strong month, but most of those gains happen the first half of the month,” Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, wrote about the S&P 500 on X this weekend.
“Not end of world stuff here, but some consolidation at some point the next two weeks would be perfectly normal.”
In a separate post, Detrick noted record gains for the S&P in May and June this year while drawing comparisons to 1987, the year of the Black Monday crash in October.
The 11.4% gain for the S&P 500 this yr in May/June is the largest gain ever during these historically weak months
>5% (and higher) in both months only 9 times
Incredibly, it has happened the past 3 yrs
Yes, 1987 is here, but all in all, this isn’t a reason to turn bearish pic.twitter.com/zXxNnJEvlP
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) July 13, 2025
CPI week comes as Fed’s Powell faces calls to resign
A key week for US inflation data sees the June print of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) under the microscope.
Initial jobless claims and June import prices add to the mix, with speaking appearances from senior Federal Reserve officials throughout the week.
🇺🇸 UPDATE: The US CPI and core CPI data will be released on Tuesday.
What’s your prediction? pic.twitter.com/gAlFX3Xk8B
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 14, 2025
Two weeks out from the Fed’s next meeting on interest rates, inflation data is gaining weight for markets. Sentiment still believes that rates will not come down before September, as confirmed by CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
At the same time, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has maintained a hawkish economic stance, is under increasing pressure to do so by US President Donald Trump.
“I call him…
cointelegraph.com