The Ethereum-based BUIDL fund from the leading asset manager BlackRock has gulped over $5 million in assets over the past week despite the ongoing market turbulence.

Market analytics resource IntoTheBlock (ITB) revealed this in a recent disclosure, stressing that the fund has commanded considerable interest among investors. 

Launched in March on Ethereum, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) marks the company’s first tokenized fund. It allows qualified investors to procure yields in U.S. dollars by subscribing through the fintech company Securitize. 

Notably, two months after the fund’s launch, Securitize secured a $47 million funding round from multiple investors, including BlackRock. 

The BUIDL fund allocates investments into U.S. Treasury bills, cash, and repurchase agreements. This enables investors to generate yield while maintaining their holdings as tokens on the blockchain. Despite a correlation with the crypto industry, the fund has maintained a positive path amid the ongoing market turmoil.

According to data sourced by ITB, BUIDL now boasts $491 million in assets under management (AUM) amid a sustained growth trajectory. This feat comes as the broader global crypto market lost $290 billion in July, with Bitcoin (BTC) collapsing below $57,000.

On-chain data shows that BUIDL’s AUM stood at $486.46 million as of July 2. Interestingly, this figure has since increased to $491.83 million, recent data confirms. The growth rate indicates an addition of $5.37 million in the last week despite the bearish atmosphere.

With this bullish performance, BUIDL has maintained its position as the largest blockchain-based money market fund. Notably, BUIDL surpassed the BENJI fund from Franklin Templeton to become the largest money market fund in May, when its AUM soared to $375 million. 

As such, BUIDL has recorded inflows totaling $116.83 million. Meanwhile, BENJI has only seen $33.97 million in capital inflows within the same period.

The first week of July introduced bearish pressure, leading to massive losses in the crypto market. Bitcoin (BTC) led the downtrend, as it consistently recorded lower lows amid sustained selling pressure.

Notably, the rest of the market experienced similar losses. Consequently, the global crypto market cap lost $140 billion, as it dropped further to $2.11 trillion, its lowest level since late February. While most assets remained down, a few witnessed remarkable recoveries.

Here are our top picks for cryptocurrencies to watch this week following their noteworthy performances during the downtrend last week:

Bitcoin drops to 5-month low

Bitcoin’s start to the week was mildly bullish following a consolidation phase two weeks back. However, bearish pressure emerged as the leading crypto asset maintained a divergence from U.S. equities, currently in their bullish stage.

BTC was subjected to its toughest bearish selling pressure this year, as bankrupt exchange Mt. Gox began creditor repayments, the German government distributed thousands of BTC tokens, new holders began selling off their assets and miners showed signs of capitulation.

Last week alone, Bitcoin gave up multiple psychological thresholds from $63,000 to $58,000. The asset slumped to a 5-month low of $53,485 on July 5 but immediately rebounded from this position. Despite the mild recovery, BTC ended last week with a 4.5% drop, slightly above $58,000.

At press time, the asset has again forfeited the $58,000 threshold amid an additional 1.13% drop. Nonetheless, it has maintained a position above the lower Bollinger Band ($56,347). Bitcoin’s hopes of a full recovery hinge on its ability to reclaim the 20-day SMA ($61,509) and the upper Bollinger Band ($66,676).

LTC slumps 12%

Litecoin (LTC) was one of the numerous victims of last week’s market collapse. The asset showed resilience at the start of the week, largely consolidating from June 30 to July 2. 

However, as pressure mounted, LTC recorded three consecutive intraday losses from July 3 to 5, dropping 18.6% within this period. When the market staged a mild rebound on July 6, LTC gained 5.72% but closed the week with a 12.7% loss. 

Litecoin’s MACD line crossed below the Signal line on July 4, confirming the bearish momentum. 

With both lines currently sloping downward, this suggests the bearish momentum is increasing. LTC needs to decisively close above Fib. 0.236 ($64.60) to mount a formidable defense against any more declines this week.

TRX bucks the trend, hits 4-month high

Tron (TRX) was one of the few assets that bucked the overall bearish trend last week.

TRX started the week with an indecisive bearing, but eventually increased 3.5% over four days to $0.12997 on July 3, looking to recover the $0.13 territory. The last time Tron saw this level was on March 13.

The retest of the $0.13 region coincided with the widespread drop in the market. Tron crashed 6.7% to a low of $0.12117 on July 5, but immediately rebounded.

A recovery push on July 6 helped it reclaim the bullish momentum, leading to a four-month high of $0.13028. Tron closed last week with a 3.5% increase.

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to reconsider a bill aimed at overturning a contentious Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directive that critics claim hampers crypto companies from collaborating with banks.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has slated the bill, previously vetoed by President Joe Biden in May, for reconsideration on July 9 or later. 

Although the measure had previously passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support, achieving the two-thirds majority needed to override Biden’s veto may be challenging.

The SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121) in March 2022, advising financial institutions that hold crypto on behalf of customers to include those assets on their balance sheets as if they owned them. 

The guidance was criticized for discouraging investment banks and other traditional financial entities from providing crypto custody services on a large scale. 

House majority whip Tom Emmer even called SAB 121 “illegal” and a “violation” of the SEC’s statutory mission. 

The Senate had voted on the resolution to repeal this accounting guidance, which many critics argued was unnecessary and deterred investment. 

Despite the controversial nature of SAB 121, there was sufficient bipartisan support for the measure to pass through Congress. 

Lawmakers, investment banks, crypto investors, and even some crypto skeptics—typically divided on many issues—united in their desire to see SAB 121 repealed. They argued that the guidance forces banks to treat crypto assets differently from other types of assets, creating unnecessary complexity and uncertainty.

While the guidance is not a formal rule, the lack of clarity on how much banks would need to hold against crypto assets or how the SEC would enforce it has deterred several large firms from entering the crypto custody business.

When President Biden vetoed the bill, he posted a letter on the White House website explaining his decision. He emphasized that his administration would not support measures that jeopardize consumer and investor well-being.

He also noted that SAB 121 reflected considered technical views on the accounting obligations of firms safeguarding crypto assets. 

Biden further stated that the Republican-led resolution to disapprove of SAB 121 would improperly limit the SEC’s ability to establish appropriate regulatory frameworks and address future issues.

The U.S. President explained that overturning the guidance would undermine the SEC’s broader authority over accounting practices. He also asserted the necessity of appropriate guardrails to protect consumers and investors, which are essential for harnessing the potential benefits of crypto innovation. 

He further expressed his administration’s readiness to collaborate with Congress to develop a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets, building on existing authorities to promote responsible development and maintain U.S. leadership in the global financial system.

As the House prepares to revisit the bill, the crypto industry and its supporters are watching closely to see if the measure can gather enough support to override the presidential veto and repeal SAB 121. The outcome could significantly impact how banks handle crypto assets and the future of crypto custody services in the U.S.