Crypto Market

BTC and ETH Market Insight

The crypto market experienced significant volatility this week. Bitcoin has reached a new record high, surpassing $124,500 and exceeding its July peak. Ethereum was approaching its 2021 record of $4,866. The market was under pressure from hot PPI readings, leading to reduced speculation about Fed rate reductions. According to Glassnode, BTC’s average entry price for newer investors and its standard deviation bands help identify overheated zones. The average entry price is around $107K and $127K marks the +1σ level and key resistance.

Upcoming Macro Calendar - Source: Trading Economics

Options Market

ETH, buoyed by strong buying from spot ETFs and institutional accumulation, continued its robust performance, aggressively approaching its ATH as BTC set a new ATH. However, a higher-than-expected PPI report tempered market sentiment, leading to a notable pullback in both assets from their highs. Implied volatility surged alongside realized volatility, with BTC’s implied volatility experiencing a significant rebound after a prolonged period of suppression. The options market saw a shift in skew favouring puts, reflecting increased demand for downside protection amid the market's downward movement.

Altcoins and Blockchain News

• The Federal Reserve rescinds special oversight requirements for banks engaging in crypto activities.
  
  
• SEC Chairman says blockchain rules can be established without needing Congressional approval.
  
  
• Coinbase completes $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, becoming the global leader in crypto derivatives.
  
  
• The SEC delays decision on Bitwise and 21Shares' Solana ETF proposals until October 16.
  
  
• On August 15, former U.S. President Donald Trump stated he will impose tariffs on semiconductors within the next two weeks.
  
  
• According to Cointelegraph, earlier this month, Trump-affiliated mining company American Bitcoin Corp. purchased 16,299 Antminer U3S21EXPH machines from Bitmain for approximately $314 million, with a total hashrate of 14.02 EH/s.
  
  
• Crypto exchange Gemini officially filed its S-1 listing document on Friday, revealing that a draft registration had already been secretly submitted in early June.
  
  
• SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings have surpassed $1 billion in value.
  
  
• DeFi smart agent platform Almanak announced it has raised $8.45 million in funding, with participation from Delphi Labs, HashKey Capital, BanklessVC, NEAR Foundation, RockawayX, Matrix Partners, AppWorks, Sparkle VC, Shima Capital, and others.
  
  
• According to DefiLlama data on August 17, the total market cap of stablecoins across the network stands at $276.916 billion, up 2.18% over the past 7 days, with USDT accounting for 60.12% of the market.

Macro

The major benchmarks closed with solid gains, hitting new record highs: the DJIA added +1.7%, the S&P 500 +0.9%, and the Nasdaq +0.8%. The Chinese also finished the week with remarkable gains: the Shanghai Composite Index added +1.7%, the CSI 300 +2.37% and the Hang Seng index added +1.65%.