Crypto Market Update: PayPal Receives US$53 Billion Joint Bid

Bitcoin price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$64,920.63, up by 0.5 percent over the past 24 hours.

The crypto and stock markets are rallying after US consumer and producer price index data showed cooling inflation, dropping higher interest rate projections to 12 percent compared to nearly 42 percent on July 10.

Bitcoin saw a three week high of US$65,200, while Ether reached US$1,895, its highest since June 3.

However, Bitfinex analysts warn that the rally is “borrowed strength” rather than a sign of genuine, organic demand.

“Options traders are actually hedging into the move higher rather than building positions,” the firm said.

“The 25-delta skew has puts trading five to seven volatility points over calls across all of the important expiries. This implies that traders are once again willing to pay a premium for downside protection rather than a speculative bid. The protection bid deepened through a 4.4 percent rally: participants are renting the upside and paying up to insure the downside. Dealers remain below the gamma flip we last verified near US$68,000 in late June.

Analysts are monitoring the US$68,000 to US$68,300 band as a critical confirmation point, noting that failure to break above it could lead to a retest of lower support levels.

Ether and altcoin price update

• Ether (ETH) was priced at US$1,924.45, trading 2.7 percent higher over the last 24 hours.

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.11, trading 0.1 percent higher over the past 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$77.25, trading 0.5 percent higher over the past 24 hours.

Today’s crypto news to know

Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:

• PayPal draws US$53 billion joint takeover bid
• Securitize, Cantor team up to offer tokenized stocks
• US, UK unveil joint roadmap to align tokenization regulations
• Aave launches V4 on Avalanche
• Ripple joins x402 Foundation

PayPal draws US$53 billion joint takeover bid

Payment processing giant Stripe has partnered with private equity firm Advent International to launch a massive US$53 billion takeover bid for rival PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL).

According to a Reuters exclusive, the joint consortium reportedly submitted an offer of US$60.50 per share, representing a significant 28 percent premium over PayPal’s closing price on Tuesday (July 14).

PayPal’s market dominance has steadily eroded against competitors like Apple Pay, sending its valuation crashing from a 2021 peak of US$360 billion down to roughly US$36 billion this year.

Backed by US$50 billion in committed bank financing, the proposed deal would see Stripe and Advent hold equal…