Folks, gather ’round, because Bitcoin-yes, that magical internet money everyone’s been yammering about-is currently sitting pretty at $113,000. Or rather, it’s *not* sitting pretty, because it failed to leap over the $115,000 hurdle. Oh, how the mighty have… well, not fallen, but certainly stumbled 😅.
Not so long ago, people were dreaming of $135,000 like kids eyeing candy in a shop window. Now? The mood is as flat as a pancake left on the griddle too long. The CoinDesk 20 Index, which tracks the big shots of digital assets, slipped to 3,996-a dip of 0.46% on the day. It even touched 3,957, proving this isn’t just a Bitcoin story; it’s a full-blown market shrugathon 🤷♂️.
Why the gloom? Well, the market’s waiting for one man: Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair who’s got more power over markets than a cat has over a laser pointer. He’s set to speak at Jackson Hole, and if he says anything less dovish than “free money for everyone,” crypto might just take another tumble.
And speaking of tumbles, Bitcoin funds have seen over $1 billion yanked out in just a few days. Ether ETFs? They’ve lost half a billion bucks this week. Call it hedging, call it profit-taking, or call it plain old panic-but folks are running for the exits faster than a mouse spotting a cat 🐱👤.
Ether, XRP, and Solana? They’re all drifting like leaves in a lazy river. ETH is stuck near $4,289, while XRP and SOL are down over 6% this week. Nobody’s buying aggressively, and nobody’s selling wildly either. They’re just… waiting. Waiting for Bitcoin to make the next move, like a dog waiting for its master to throw a stick 🐶.
Options traders are pricing in a swing of about ±2% around Powell’s speech. That’s bigger than usual, but not quite “run for the hills” territory. Still, if Powell sounds hawkish, Bitcoin could drop toward $108,000 quicker than you can say “buy the dip.” On the flip side, if he hints at rate cuts, we might see a bounce that’ll have everyone shouting, “To the moon!” 🌕
As Pulkit Goyal from Orbit Markets put it, “BTC options are pricing in about a ±2% move.” Translation: strap in, folks, because Powell’s words could send us soaring or sinking faster than a poorly anchored boat in a storm ⛈️.
Token Events
- Governance votes & calls:
- Aavegotchi DAO is voting on sponsoring Bitcoin Ben’s Crypto Club Las Vegas. Choices include a $1,000/month membership or a $5,000 mural. Voting ends Aug. 23.
- Aug. 22: Polygon hosting an “ask me anything” with CEO Marc Boiron at 2 p.m.
- Aug. 22: Aptos hosting an “ask me anything” with Bitso at 2 p.m.
- Aug. 22: Basic Attention Token hosting an X spaces event at 17:00 UTC.
- Unlocks:
- Aug. 25: Venom unlocking 2.34% of its circulating supply worth $9.45 million.
- Aug. 28: Jupiter unlocking 1.78% worth $26.36 million.
- Sep. 1: Sui releasing 1.25% worth $153.1 million.
- Token Launches:
Conferences
The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference is happening in Washington on Sept. 10. It’s your chance to rub elbows with the folks who make the rules. Use code CDB10 for 10% off through Aug. 31. Because who doesn’t love a discount? 🎟️
- Day 2 of 2: Coinfest Asia 2025 (Bali, Indonesia)
- Aug. 25-26: WebX 2025 (Tokyo)
- Aug. 27: Blockchain Leaders Summit 2025 (Tokyo)
- Aug. 27-28: Stablecoin Conference 2025 (Mexico City)
- Aug. 28-29: Bitcoin Asia 2025 (Hong Kong)
Token Talk
By Shaurya Malwa
- On-chain investigator Dethective uncovered some shady business involving YZY and LIBRA. Insiders made off with nearly $23 million through early access and pre-seeded trades. One wallet bought $250,000 worth of YZY at $0.20 and flipped it for nearly $1 million in eight minutes. Eight minutes! That’s faster than it takes to microwave popcorn 🍿.
- Ripple and SBI Holdings are teaming up to introduce the RLUSD stablecoin in Japan by Q1 2026. RLUSD is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries, and cash equivalents. Ripple says it’s got “regulatory clarity,” which is fancy talk for “we’re trying to stay out of trouble.”
Market Movements
- BTC is up 0.56% from 4 p.m. ET Thursday at $113,062.98 (24hrs: -0.47%)
- ETH is up 2.07% at $4,329.01 (24hrs: +0.69%)
- CoinDesk 20 is up 0.66% at 3,999.94 (24hrs: -0.6%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 3 bps at 2.96%
- BTC funding rate is at 0.0197% (21.5715% annualized) on KuCoin
- DXY is up 0.11% at 98.73
- Gold futures are down 0.32% at $3,370.90
- Silver futures are down 0.26% at $37.98
- Nikkei 225 closed unchanged at 42,633.29
- Hang Seng closed up 0.93% at 25,339.14
- FTSE is unchanged at 9,312.56
- Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.28% at 5,477.63
- DJIA closed on Thursday down 0.34% at 44,785.50
- S&P 500 closed down 0.4% at 6,370.17
- Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.34% at 21,100.31
- S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.63% at 28,055.43
- S&P 40 Latin America closed up 0.47% at 2,661.02
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 0.5 bps at 4.337%
Bitcoin Stats
- BTC Dominance: 59.4% (-0.26%)
- Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.03826 (1.87%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 933 EH/s
- Hashprice (spot): $55.19
- Total fees: 3.09 BTC / $349,943
- CME Futures Open Interest: 145,250 BTC
- BTC priced in gold: 33.9 oz.
- BTC vs gold market cap: 9.56%
Technical Analysis
- Ether’s price remains locked in an ascending channel, while Bitcoin has dived out of its bullish channel. This means Ether might have bigger gains if Powell turns dovish. But hey, nothing’s guaranteed in this wild west of crypto 🤠.
Chart of the Day
- This chart shows BTC’s historical monthly performance since 2010, highlighting September as a seasonally bearish period with an average loss of 4.68%. Bulls, beware: history might repeat itself after Powell speaks. Or not. Who knows? 🤷♀️
Siamak Masnavi contributed reporting.
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2025-08-22 15:34