Bitcoin is starting the week around $24,000, even hitting the $25,000 mark Sunday into Monday, as investors show some optimism after July inflation data shows high prices cooling slowly. Meanwhile, Ether is also moving slightly higher thanks to a successful test run ahead of next month's so-called 'Merge' of its underlying blockchain. Can cryptocurrencies keep their momentum going, or is this rally going to be short-lived? Tony Saliba, CEO of Mercury Digital Assets, joins Closing Bell to discuss crypto price movement, factors to watch, and more.

Closing Bell

Bitcoin Hits $25,000 Threshold, But Can It Sustain Momentum?

even as crypto prices are under slight pressure today. Can these coins keep the momentum going, joining me now is Tony Saliba Ceo of Mercury and digital assets from focused on trading solutions for spot crypto and crypto derivatives. Tony thanks for coming on the show, we had seen Bitcoin touch 25,000 just within the past 24 hours. Do you think that there is for the room for crypto to run to the upside? Hi Kristen? Uh Absolutely. I think that Bitcoin was kind of the baby thrown out with the bathwater when risk off kind of happened at the end of the first quarter. A lot of the peripheral all coins and and utility coins got trashed, but Bitcoin I think got hit um a little bit too hard. I definitely think that there's a base building here, what we're seeing with our clients are predominantly institutions and everybody is using this time to build out more infrastructure and expand their businesses. So that's only gonna mean higher prices for all of the leading coins. Bitcoin ether Giordano, a number of that you've already mentioned today, We've been talking more and more about this so called merge for ethereum Tony expecting to happen next month. What exactly is that for viewers tuning in? Wondering what the so called merge is and how might it impact the price of Cryptocurrency? Well, it's it's um, if you're getting on, its new network which would reduce the uh costs involved in using E. R C 20 and I think it's just another, I mean, another aspect of building out this network, which ether Bitcoin and some of the other protocols um that are very popular today are doing? I think there's um a lot of room to grow for that. I think that um uh has been a popular platform. There are other platforms that you can launch your tokens on. But moving into this merge allows for either to stay ahead of the game. Mhm. Our regulation also in focus Tony, of course, as we know the Cftc, the sec, both looking at Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as well. What are you focused on when it comes to regulation and the impact? That's a great question, Kristin. So we come from traditional finance and having been regulated, heavily regulated by the sec and Finra. Um Mercury um stands ready to embrace this um aspect of the business. Should it be one of those two bodies? Um My intel tells me it may stay in the um in the effect around or C. F. T. C. But what we're doing is bringing all of the current traditional finance metrics to crypto best execution metrics besides M. L. And K. Y. C. Which everybody does. We also have um real time reporting and um uh impact of execution and cost to deliver. So, um what Mercury does is we're one step ahead of the traditional finance delivery and ready to embrace compliance. Should dad hit us? Mm hmm There was so much focus Tony earlier this year that Cryptocurrency was a hedge against inflation fast forward to today. Mid august eight months later. Do you think that that was a fair correlation? Seemingly it seems like Bitcoin like many other cryptocurrencies does move more in tandem with the stock market per se. Not necessarily as a hedge against inflation or higher prices. Okay, Tony froze for us must be in a galaxy far away based on that background shot. But we appreciate it. Tony. Thank you for joining. That was Tony to leave us Ceo of Mercury additional assets.