Quick Take

• BTC spot demand turned positive for the first time since February 2026.
• BTC climbed above US$77,000, its highest level in three months, after closing the prior week near $63,000. U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $1.9 billion in net inflows last week, reversing the prior week's $385 million in outflows. Similarly, U.S. spot ETH ETFs attracted $693 million in net inflows, swinging from a $3 million outflow the previous week.
• Gold prices rose for a third straight week, hitting a three-month high of roughly $4,607/oz on Friday, a notable jump from its $4,000 level in mid-July.
• The U.S. stock market experienced a broad pullback, interrupting bullish momentum seen earlier in the month. Investor sentiment was weighed down by a sharp spike in long-term Treasury yields, renewed Middle East geopolitical tensions, and concentrated tech sector profit-taking. Although a late Friday rally helped pare some of the declines, major averages still finished the week firmly in negative territory.
• • S&P 500 dropped 1.43% to close at 7,674.37. Nasdaq Composite declined 2.05%. Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.85%.
  • Key Market Drivers: 
  • • Surging Treasury Yields: A rapid bond market sell-off pressured stock valuations. The 30-Year U.S. Treasury yield temporarily spiked to a 19-year high of 5.3% before pulling back after the Treasury intervened by doubling its long-bond buybacks.
    • Strong Economic Data: U.S. business activity accelerated sharply as the S&P Global Flash Composite PMI jumped to 56.0 — its highest level since April 2022. The strong data reinforced concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep monetary policy tighter for longer to combat sticky inflation.
    • Geopolitics & Commodities: Renewed geopolitical tensions involving Iran drove up energy supply risks, pushing Brent crude oil up over 6% for the week. Gold and silver also saw heavy buying as investors sought inflation and volatility hedges.
    • Mixed Retail Earnings: Mixed corporate earnings reports from major retailers (including Walmart, Target, and Ross Stores) painted a complex picture of consumer spending, setting a cautious market tone.
  • Sector and Style Dynamics: The formerly high-flying hardware, semiconductor, and optical communications sectors faced steep, concentrated profit-taking. AI-related stocks were among the market’s biggest drags, pulling down the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Due to the spike in interest rates, value-oriented and defensive blue chips (heavily weighted in the Dow) noticeably outperformed higher-duration growth and tech stocks.

Research Dashboard

According to our research dashboard, the price, volume, and volatility indices increased +24.95%, +174.96%, and +330.34%, respectively, last week. 

Index tokens rose across the board, led by Bitcoin (+23.64%) and Ethereum (+31.37%). Strong performance in BTC and ETH drove the price and volatility indices, while XRP and HYPE propelled trading volume.

On August 19, a multi-catalyst surge drove Bitcoin out of its weeks-long $64,000 consolidation range past $78,000. This rally was fueled by macroeconomic shifts, regulatory tailwinds, and a massive derivatives market reaction:

• Treasury Liquidity: Increased U.S. Treasury bond buybacks lowered long-term yields and weakened the U.S. Dollar, boosting risk assets like crypto.
• Regulatory Momentum: A White House crypto summit and progress on the CLARITY Act signaled regulatory momentum, supported by steady institutional interest in Bitcoin ETFs.
• Short Squeeze: Liquidations of heavily leveraged short positions triggered massive forced buying, driving rapid price surges in major assets like BTC and ETH.

Chart of the Week

Bitcoin recently climbed back toward $78,000, supported by improving market flows and renewed investor interest. However, spot market fundamentals reveal a deeper shift.

Onchain metrics suggest that  30-day apparent-demand — an estimate of net spot demand relative to newly created BTC supply — recovered sharply from deeply negative levels (roughly 206,000 BTC on July 23) to move back above zero (36,900 BTC on August 22) for the first time since February 2026. That matters because a move above zero could indicate spot accumulation is absorbing new supply again.

Weekly Performance

Top-cap tokens all saw bullish price action last week, led by XRP (+53.2%) and POL (+46.1%).

DeFi categories all gained last week, led by Meme (+14.1%). Its surge was largely driven by Pump.fun (PUMP) and Official Trump (TRUMP).

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to advance a “fair” version of the CLARITY Act at a White House crypto event. The comments drew political attention to market-structure legislation, though the bill still requires a Senate vote and bipartisan support. An onchain tracker reported that the TRUMP team has been selling $TRUMP by repeatedly adding and removing liquidity, receiving 3.39 million USDC.

News Highlights

Company News

• Trading Technologies (TT) announced a strategic partnership with Crypto.com to integrate connectivity to OG.com, Crypto.com’s CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse, directly into the TT trading platform. Scheduled to launch in Q4 2026, the integration will provide institutional clients with secure access to regulated prediction markets and digital asset derivatives.

Regulation

• The U.S. Treasury Department proposed rules implementing the GENIUS Act, defining covered stablecoin issuers and establishing regulatory requirements. The proposal aims to foster payment-stablecoin innovation while reinforcing the U.S. dollar’s global role. Public comments will remain open for 60 days, with final rules targeted for January 2027.
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a tailored framework for certain crypto-asset investment contracts after Congress failed to advance the CLARITY Act before recess. The proposal includes potential issuance exemptions, reporting obligations, and a safe harbor for some tokens. While it may offer interim regulatory clarity, legislation remains necessary for a durable framework.
• U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to advance a “fair” version of the CLARITY Act at a White House crypto event. The comments drew political attention to market-structure legislation, though the bill still requires a Senate vote and bipartisan support.
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig said the agency could proceed with crypto-related rules even if Congress does not pass the CLARITY Act. Potential focus areas include leveraged or margined crypto trading and developer protections. This signals  regulators may pursue administrative action while legislation remains stalled, increasing the possibility of overlapping or evolving rules.

Adoption

• Toyota Finance launched a one-year tokenized bond that retail investors can purchase through the Toyota Wallet app, with a 100,000-yen minimum investment and a reported 1.72% annual interest rate. The offering demonstrates how tokenized securities can be distributed directly through consumer platforms without requiring a conventional securities account.
• X is reportedly exploring stablecoin payments, potentially including USDC, for creators as part of a revised rewards strategy. Stablecoin payouts could improve the speed and reach of cross-border compensation, though the plan remains exploratory and faces compliance, liquidity, and adoption considerations.
• Citi plans to introduce Bitcoin custody for institutional clients in late 2026 through its Custody+ platform. Integrating BTC with conventional custody and settlement services could reduce operational barriers for institutional investors and further integrate Bitcoin within TradFi infrastructure.

Others

• Circle is targeting September 16 for the public mainnet launch of its Arc network. The network is expected to support open participation for users and applications while retaining a permissioned validator set that includes Circle and major financial institutions. Featuring USDC-denominated fees and Ethereum compatibility, Arc could strengthen Circle’s role in payments and institutional settlement infrastructure.
• Solana activated 350-millisecond block slots on Mainnet Beta, down from the previous 400-millisecond target. The change is the first stage of a phased move toward 200-millisecond slots. Faster slots could improve confirmation speeds and throughput, but further reductions depend on validator performance and acceptable block-skip rates.
• Optimism approved reallocating 546.9 million OP tokens from planned future airdrops to a Strategic Ecosystem Fund. The fund is intended to support partnerships, institutional adoption, liquidity, and OP Enterprise initiatives. The decision may strengthen ecosystem development, but it creates governance and dilution concerns because the tokens were previously associated with user distribution.
• GnosisDAO approved a plan to transition Gnosis Chain from an independent Layer-1 network into a zero-knowledge-proven Ethereum Economic Zone rollup. The proposed model would settle transactions on Ethereum and could improve interoperability, composability, and security while reducing reliance on bridges. The transition is targeted for late 2026 or early 2027.
• Cross-chain liquidity protocol Maya Protocol halted its MAYAChain network after an exploit that caused roughly $1.7 million in losses, including BTC and other assets.

Catalyst Calendar

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