Welcome to the Crypto.com Monthly Research Roundup Newsletter

1. Research Dashboard

According to our research dashboard, 213 public companies collectively acquired over 1.2 million BTC (approximately US$99 billion) as of September 15, representing over 6% of Bitcoin's total supply.

In August, the price, volume, and volatility indices grew by +27.07%, +16.98%, and +26.74%, respectively.

2. Charts of the Month

Global cryptocurrency owners increased by 4.5% in the first half of 2026, rising from 741 million in December 2025 to 774 million in June 2026. This growth was driven by increased institutional adoption, macro hedging against U.S. debt and global inflation, and the accelerated development of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and stablecoins. Check our latest Crypto Market Sizing H1 2026 report for the details.

U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw a significant surge in inflows in August, accumulating approximately $3.3 billion and $1.8 billion in net inflows, respectively — their highest levels since last October. These combined inflows outpaced October 2025, buoyed by strong ETH ETF performance, which accounted for over half of BTC’s total inflows.

Assets under management (AUM) also grew substantially. BTC ETF AUM increased by 27.9% to $97.6 billion as of August 28, while ETH ETF AUM rose 48.9% to $15.2 billion. Of the total $26.3 billion AUM increase, $5.1 billion came from new net inflows, while the remaining $21.2 billion was driven by price appreciation.

3. Monthly Feature Articles

RWA Perpetuals: Enhancing Portfolios Beyond Crypto

This report highlights actionable strategies to optimize risk-adjusted returns by backtesting cash-and-carry trading and equity-stock rotation strategies using Crypto.‌com's real-world asset (RWA) perpetual futures.

Key Takeaways:

• Real-world asset (RWA) perpetual futures (perps) give traders synthetic exposure to traditional assets, such as equities, gold, and crude oil, directly within the crypto ecosystem, eliminating the need for separate brokerage accounts or complex cross-platform transfers. Research indicates these instruments can act as predictive indicators for traditional market movements at the Monday opening bell.
• This report evaluates two core trading strategies on RWA perps:
• • Proxied Cash-and-Carry Trade: A market-neutral strategy capturing funding rate differentials between tokenized perps and spot equivalents.
  • Equity/Gold Rotation: A regime-following strategy dynamically allocating capital between S&P 500 proxies and gold using momentum and volatility metrics.
• Backtest results from April to August 2026 show the cash-and-carry trade on gold strategy performed best, achieving around 25% annualized return and a 1.92 Sharpe ratio.
• Meanwhile, returns on the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) were volatile and constrained because of several exit windows. The equity/gold rotation recorded the lowest Sharpe ratio (+0.41).
• All strategies demand disciplined execution and rigorous risk controls. Traders should be mindful of inherent risks, including funding rate volatility, margin erosion, and concentration risk during simultaneous asset declines. Success requires balancing yield opportunities with robust protective measures, such as stop-loss orders.

Monthly Market Update (August 2026)

Global financial markets experienced a broad recovery in August, driven by a powerful rebound in digital assets and positive momentum across major equity benchmarks. Digital assets delivered standout performances, led by Bitcoin (+25.0%), Ethereum (+32.6%), and Solana (+41.5%). This optimism extended to U.S. equities, where the Nasdaq Composite (+3.9%), S&P 500 (+2.6%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.3%) all posted gains. Gold continued its ascent (+9.9%), while the Real Estate faced a correction (-4.0%).

Key Takeaways:

• Overall Market Performance: In August 2026, global markets broadly recovered, led by strong gains in digital assets (Bitcoin +25.0%, Ethereum +32.6%, Solana +41.5%) and U.S. equities (Nasdaq +3.9%, S&P 500 +2.6%, Dow +1.3%). Gold rose 9.9%, while Real Estate fell 4.0%.
• G20 Macro Environment: Central banks maintained a "wait and watch" approach in August, holding rates steady across most G20 economies. The Central Bank of Brazil was an exception cutting the Selic rate by 25 bps. Markets are monitoring potential trade frictions, fiscal deficit management, and the broader realization of AI-driven capital expenditures.
• Crypto Market Dynamics: All DeFi categories saw growth in August, with Oracles (+30.8%) leading market cap gains. Institutional interest remained strong, with U.S. spot BTC and ETH ETFs recording net inflows of US$3.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.
• Crypto Regulatory Developments: Regulatory activity intensified. The U.S. Treasury proposed stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act, the Bank of England received an innovation mandate, and South Korea, Japan, and Brazil tightened transfer and exchange controls to combat fraud and money laundering. Pakistan opened its licensing portal for virtual asset service providers.
• Equity Market Trends: U.S. markets were driven by AI and semiconductor optimism, particularly following strong Nvidia earnings. European markets hit record highs early in the month but faced late volatility from geopolitical tensions and rate expectations. Asian markets were split: Japan and South Korea advanced on earnings and capital rotation, while India and Hong Kong faced corrections.
• New Developments in Crypto and TradFi: Crypto.com launched Tokenized Stocks, partnered with Trading Technologies, and expanded Pay™ integrations to Dubai Duty Free and REAL Jet. Institutional adoption continued as BlackRock launched tokenized money market funds, Wells Fargo announced tokenized deposits, and Charles Schwab expanded its crypto platform offerings.
• Outlook on Key Projects: Bitcoin saw net accumulation return as demand recovered, Ethereum advanced its roadmap focusing on quantum readiness, and Solana expanded its remittance ramps. Projects such as Ethena Labs and World Liberty Trust also progressed.

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