Market highlights
- Controversial Bitcoin fork supporting BIP-110 stalled after mining two blocks in eight hours.
- BlackRock launched tokenised shares for six European money market funds on Ethereum.
- Ethereum developers published EIP-8361, which would progressively burn validator rewards.
- Senate Majority Leader moved to set up procedural vote on CLARITY Act for September 15.
- Trump Media abandoned plans for a Crypto.com-backed CRO treasury company.
- Tokenized real-world asset deposits tripled to US$7.4 billion over the past year.
Macro market overview
TradFi risk assets had their strongest week since April, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high on Friday, August 7, while the Dow Jones reached new highs, too. The Nasdaq lagged slightly, presumably due to continued caution around artificial intelligence (AI) investment. A weaker than expected July non-farm payroll of -23,000 jobs has increased hope that the U.S. Federal Reserve may keep rates on hold at its September 16 meeting. According to CME's Fed Watch tool, the likelihood of the Fed keeping rates on hold is currently 48.8%.
Geopolitical uncertainty continues to weigh on markets as prospects for a U.S.–Iran agreement remain unclear. While Washington has said negotiations are progressing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran denies negotiations are underway, demanding concessions before talks resume. As the new week began, talks appeared to stall, leading to oil gaining to US$82 per barrel.
For the week ahead, the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision, the U.S. core consumer price index (CPI) and U.S. core produce price index (PPI) will presumably be top of mind for market participants. Similarly, developments in the Middle East and Q2 earnings from On Holding, Cava Group, Super Micro and CoreWeave will also weigh on markets.
Weekly performance: S&P 500 +3.6%, Dow Jones +3%, Nasdaq +5.2%.
Looking ahead:
- Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision - Tuesday, August 11
- U.S. core CPI - Wednesday, August 12
- U.S. core PPI - Thursday, August 13
Crypto Market Performance
Market Cap: $2.21T (+0.24%)
Performance was mixed across crypto sectors this week, though the subdued gains and losses emphasise that the market has generally been quiet. Consumer and culture saw the steepest declines, while smart contract platforms gained around 2.9%. The crypto fear and greed index remains in fear territory at 38.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Bitcoin (BTC)
- Opened the week at US$63,500 and gained to a weekly high of US$65,416 on Sunday, August 9 on growing hopes that the Fed will keep rates on hold at its September 16 meeting. An uptick in bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows has presumably buoyed prices, too. Bitcoin declined into the new week on Middle East tensions and is trading around US$63,950 (+0.6% 7D).
- BTC dominance ranged between 58.9% and 59.3% this week.
- Bitcoin investment products saw inflows of US$850.4 million, a substantial turnaround from previous weeks as market sentiment steadily improves.
A controversial Bitcoin fork supporting BIP-110 stalled after mining just two blocks in roughly eight hours. The proposal sought to restrict non-financial data, including Ordinals inscriptions, but attracted minimal mining support. With just 2.53% backing (55% is the activation threshold), the breakaway chain fell significantly behind Bitcoin's main network.
A bitcoin wallet dormant for 15 years moved 49.97 BTC, now worth about US$3.2 million, after acquiring the coins for roughly US$500 in 2011. The funds were transferred to a new address linked to FalconX infrastructure, potentially signalling consolidation, collateral use or preparations for a sale. As the new week started, another bitcoin wallet dormant for 12.5 years moved 26.96 BTC worth US$1.75 million, though its unclear what the holder will do next.
In bitcoin buying (and selling) news:
- Strategy sold 1,690 BTC (US$109 million), bringing its total holdings to 840,447 BTC at an average purchase price of US$75,385 per bitcoin. All proceeds were used for preferred stock buybacks totalling US$108.6 million as part of the firm's US$1 billion Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program announced June 29.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Ethereum (ETH)
- Opened the week at US$1,883 and gained to a weekly high of US$1,940 on Friday, August 7, followed by a mostly flat weekend. Ethereum declined into the new week and is now trading around US$1,870 (+0.9% 7D).
- Ethereum dominance ranged between 10.4% and 10.6% this week.
- Ethereum-focused funds saw inflows of US$252.3 million.
BlackRock launched tokenised share classes for six European money market funds holding a combined US$311 billion. Using J.P. Morgan's Kinexys platform, tokens will be issued on Ethereum, enabling round-the-clock transfers and near real-time visibility. The products target professional investors and expand BlackRock's push into tokenised financial assets.
Ethereum developers published EIP-8361, which would progressively burn validator rewards as more ETH is staked, reducing consensus issuance to zero if staking reaches 50% of supply. Supporters argue it would curb excessive staking and dilution, while critics warn the changes could undermine network security and disadvantage specialist node operators.
Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum's roadmap is increasingly focused on quantum resistance, privacy and AI-assisted security. Developers are leaning on STARKs and AI-enabled formal verification to strengthen the protocol, while pursuing native rollups and simplified specifications. The shift reflects preparations for quantum-computing threats alongside efforts to improve scalability and security.
In Ethereum buying news:
- BitMine bought 7,391 ETH (US$14.2 million). The company now holds over 5.8 million ETH, worth US$11.2 billion, or around 4.8% of supply.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Altcoins
The altcoin season index is currently 40, which is leaning toward bitcoin season.
Omnichain gains
- LayerZero gained 15.3%. The omnichain interoperability protocol gained on news of its integration with the Global Dollar Network, a consortium of over 150 fintech companies. The partnership will leverage LayerZero's Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard, which currently processes 87% of cross-chain transfer volume.
SOLid proposal
- Solana gained 3.6%. The gains came on broader sentiment improvements and a proposal to significantly increase SOL burns while reducing new token issuance. Daily burns could rise from around 650 SOL to 7,500–9,000 SOL, while annual disinflation would accelerate. The changes aim to constrain supply growth, potentially supporting SOL's value.
Crypto ETF News
Digital asset investment products saw inflows of almost US$1.1 billion as sentiment improved following the outflows in recent weeks. July's below forecast jobs report presumably quelled concerns around imminent U.S. interest rate hikes and increased appetite for crypto assets.
In altcoins, XRP and HYPE saw inflows of US$1 million and US$4 million, respectively. Solana saw outflows of US$900,000.
Hashdex will close and liquidate its U.S. spot bitcoin ETF after struggling to attract investors, with assets under management reaching just US$14.7 million. Trading will end on August 17, followed by liquidation of its bitcoin holdings and cash distributions to shareholders.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Other crypto news
- Protracted negotiations between U.S. Senators kept passage of the CLARITY Act out of reach before the August recess started on Friday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved to set up a procedural vote on the bill on September 15. This procedural vote will be the first in a multi-step process to final passage, with 60 votes needed to pass the bill, requiring about six Democratic votes. The major sticking points to be resolved include illicit finance and law-enforcement provisions, ethics provisions around President Trump's crypto dealings and stablecoin yields and rewards.
- Tokenised real-world asset deposits nearly tripled to US$7.4 billion over the past year, according to CoinShares. Growth has been driven largely by tokenised U.S. Treasuries and private credit, highlighting rising institutional demand for blockchain-based financial products despite weaker activity across the broader DeFi market.
- Trump Media abandoned plans for a Crypto.com-backed CRO treasury company and scaled back its prediction market ambitions, citing market conditions and shifting priorities. Rather than integrating prediction markets into Truth Social, it will promote Crypto.com's products. The company is now refocusing on media, data licensing and its planned merger with fusion energy company TAE.
- Visa is expanding stablecoin payments through crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash, allowing eligible Visa Direct clients to prefund accounts and make cross-border payouts using stablecoins. The integration enables businesses to manage liquidity outside traditional banking hours and recipients to receive stablecoins directly, further embedding blockchain-based payments into Visa's global network.
- Circle will launch its Arc blockchain mainnet on September 16, with 11 major institutions including BlackRock, Mastercard, Visa and Standard Chartered serving as validators. Arc's testnet has already processed more than 500 million transactions. Circle also reported Q2 net income of US$48 million and strong growth in USDC transaction volumes.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the country's first comprehensive crypto law, establishing a regulated framework for exchanges, custodians and brokers. Licensed trading will be permitted under central bank oversight, although crypto payments remain banned. Retail investors face annual purchase limits, while certain cryptocurrency transactions remain permitted for cross-border trade. Also this week, Russia's A7A5 stablecoin reached almost US$140 billion turnover since its February 2025 launch.
- The U.S. Treasury sanctioned crypto exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether, accusing them of laundering millions for Iran's Revolutionary Guard and sanctioned Iranian platforms. Authorities allege Shelbit transferred millions to Iran-linked wallets and Nobitex. The measures freeze U.S.-linked assets, while foreign firms dealing with the exchanges risk secondary sanctions.
from Caleb & Brown Cryptocurrency Brokerage.
