Today's news tips:
1. Macroeconomic Outlook Next Week: Powell will "fight" the market's expectations of a rate cut
2. Standard Chartered Bank: Norway's sovereign wealth fund increased its holdings of Bitcoin-related assets by 83% in the second quarter
3.Canary Capital CEO: Bitcoin will reach $140,000-150,000 this year, while Ethereum will not reach a new high
4. QCP: The recent correction in the crypto market is relatively healthy, and the overall upward trend will not be affected
5. Binance Alpha will airdrop at 20:00 today, with a threshold of 200 points
6. Ethereum Foundation-linked wallets sold 7,294 ETH at an average price of $4,558 over the past three days.
7. A certain address is suspected of increasing its holdings by 3,333 ETH, bringing the total amount of ETH held since yesterday to approximately $75 million.
8. The top 100 Bitcoin treasury listed companies hold 975,475 Bitcoins, and 13 institutions disclosed increasing their BTC holdings this week.
Macro
Next week's macro outlook: Powell will "fight" the market's expectations of rate cuts
The mixed news of U.S. economic data over the past week has led to continued fluctuations in market expectations for the Fed's rate cuts. Data released on Friday showed that consumer confidence unexpectedly declined for the first time since April, and inflation expectations rose. Due to continued speculation that the Fed would restart rate cuts, the U.S. dollar index closed lower for the second consecutive week, falling back below 98. U.S. Treasury yields generally rose amid inflation concerns, with long-term yields leading the gains, and the 10-year Treasury yield hitting a two-week high. Next week, investors will look to the annual policy symposium held by Federal Reserve policymakers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for clues about the path of rate cuts. The following are the key points that the market will focus on in the new week:
At 23:00 on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Board Governor Waller delivered a speech at the Wyoming Blockchain Seminar;
At 2:00 on Thursday, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its monetary policy meeting;
At 3:00 on Thursday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, a 2027 FOMC voting member, will deliver a speech on the economic outlook;
At 20:30 on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending August 16;
At 22:00 on Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell delivered a speech at the Jackson Hole Global Central Bank Annual Meeting.
Next week's European and American PMI data will provide more clues about how Trump's tariffs are affecting the economy. HSBC analysts said in a note, "Now that reciprocal tariffs have taken effect, the input cost component of the PMI survey, particularly in the United States, should initially feel the impact of the tariff increases on prices."
In its report on the review of the "Henan Province Regulations on the Management of Property Involved in Cases (Draft)," the Henan Provincial People's Congress stated that virtual currency possesses the attributes of property and is considered property involved in cases. This recognition has essentially reached a consensus in judicial practice. However, my country currently has a complete ban on virtual currency transactions, and with no legal trading platforms, local authorities are still in the exploratory stages of handling virtual currency involved in cases. The report also revealed that the Ministry of Public Security is currently researching and developing relevant regulations, arguing that unified national regulations are more appropriate, rather than local legislation.
According to the Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court's official account, the Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the Shanghai First Intermediate Court) recently concluded a second-instance criminal case involving digital collectibles. Defendants Wang and Liu, under the guise of operating a digital collectibles platform, issued digital collectibles whose underlying electronic images were generated by AI. They falsely advertised the collectibles' potential for appreciation and promised a "half-price" return with principal guaranteed. The court found Wang and Liu guilty of fundraising fraud. The court sentenced Wang to eight years and six months in prison and a fine of 550,000 yuan; and Liu to seven years and two months in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan. The tools used in the crime were confiscated, and the stolen money was returned to the victim. The court ordered further repayment of the remaining balance.
From October to December 2023, Wang and Liu registered a technology company in Shanghai, primarily operating a digital collectibles platform. During this period, Wang and Liu used platforms, WeChat groups, and other online media to publicly advertise and sell digital collectibles to the public. They purchased digital images generated using computer AI for 2,888 yuan from others and then "chained" them (that is, placed them on a private blockchain created by a third-party blockchain company), transforming the images into digital collectibles with high investment value.
Wang and Liu issued 7,888 to 16,888 digital collectibles involved in the case on a certain platform at prices ranging from 9.9 to 69.9 yuan. Furthermore, Wang and Liu distributed red envelopes in chat groups, fabricated false claims of their overseas locations, and created the illusion of substantial financial resources. They falsely advertised the value-added prospects of the digital collectibles involved, promising physical feedback, "half-price" principal protection, and a buyback guarantee. They lured victims into purchasing the platform's first-released collectibles and then trading them on the platform's secondary market. They set up platform activities such as "blind boxes," "synthesis," "airdrops," and "priority purchases" to attract more victims to invest. They manipulated the trading volume and price of collectibles on the platform's secondary market by buying and selling them themselves, creating the illusion of active trading. When victims were unable to trade their collectibles and requested a refund, they blocked them.
Viewpoint
The QCP report stated that the release of US PPI data essentially eliminated the possibility of a 50 basis point interest rate cut. Regarding cryptocurrencies, US Treasury Secretary Benson & Melson stated that he would not sell confiscated Bitcoin and would explore budget-neutral ways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand reserves. Bitcoin has stabilized around $119,000 after falling from a high of $124,000 to $117,000, with risk reversals clearly favoring bearish options. Despite pressure from macroeconomic factors, the QCP believes that the upward trend in cryptocurrencies that began in April of this year remains intact, supported by payment integration, balance sheet allocations, speculative positioning, and increasing enterprise adoption.
Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg told CNBC: "There is more than a 50% chance that Bitcoin will rise to the $140,000 to $150,000 range this year before a new bear market begins." Steven McClurg attributed the rise to growing demand for ETFs and an expansion of the institutional buyer base, including sovereign wealth funds, pensions and corporate bonds.
However, Steven McClurg doesn't believe Ethereum's recent surge will continue. "I'm not a big fan of Ethereum, simply because it's an old technology. There are many other protocols that are faster, have lower transaction costs, and are fundamentally more secure. While Ethereum has performed well over the past five years or so, new blockchains like Solana and Sui have surpassed it. I expect Ethereum to gradually decline and not reach new all-time highs."
Analyst: Over 890,000 ETH awaiting redemption, which may intensify the selling pressure of ETH
According to data from validatorqueue.com, the Ethereum blockchain validator exit queue has reached 897,599 ETH, a new all-time high. Juan Leon, senior investment strategist at Bitwise, suggested that the growing queue of ETH waiting to be unstaked may be the cause of the asset's recent pullback. After nearing a record high, ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has lost hundreds of dollars in value in recent days.
Juan Leon explained that the queue of unstaked ETH could negatively impact the price of ETH. "Tokens like stETH can trade at a discount. This discount reduces their value as collateral, triggering risk reduction, hedging, and even liquidations, ultimately leading to a sell-off in ETH spot trading." Juan Leon added that as the redemption queue grows, some trades may close out, especially if the cost of borrowing ETH spikes. When this happens, "leveraged 'stETH loops' trades conducted through liquidity pools on DeFi protocols will no longer be profitable." Leon said: "Traders repay their loans by closing their positions and selling ETH, creating a synchronized selling pressure."
Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, tweeted, “Ignore the noise. If you truly believe in Bitcoin or Ethereum, buy them directly or buy a spot ETF. You don’t need the financial engineering associated with a ‘treasury company.’”
Jamie Coutts, chief cryptocurrency analyst at Real Vision, wrote on the X platform that the explosive growth of blockchain staking market capitalization means sovereign wealth funds, tasked with protecting national prosperity, will become the largest holders of Bitcoin and related industries (such as mining) in the future. They will not only use it as a means of storing value, but will also become the backbone of grid optimization and energy balance in the era of artificial intelligence.
At the same time, these funds will conduct large-scale blockchain staking operations, generating returns from the on-chain token economy. In a world where AI replaces entire industries, staking returns could evolve into an indirect universal basic income—a sovereign "digital dividend" redistributed to citizens. Just as oil royalties funded social programs in the 20th century, blockchain revenues could fund welfare and stability in the 21st century.
Project News
Cardano Developer EMURGO to Stop Delegating Genesis ADA to 7 Community DReps
Cardano developer EMURGO announced on Twitter that it will stop delegating Genesis ADA to seven community DRep tokens to promote inclusiveness and fairness in Cardano governance. EMURGO had previously stopped delegating Genesis ADA to its own DRep tokens. This action is in response to community feedback, including concerns raised during the Rare Evo discussion regarding EMURGO's use of Genesis ADA delegation. This delegation removal will occur after the transition from Epoch 576 to Epoch 577 to ensure that active treasury proposals are not impacted.
Binance Alpha will airdrop at 20:00 today, with a threshold of 200 points
According to the official announcement, Binance Alpha will airdrop tokens at 8:00 PM today. Users holding at least 200 Binance Alpha Points can claim the tokens on a first-come, first-served basis until the airdrop pool is fully redeemed or the event ends. Detailed details will be announced separately.
Important data
According to Lookonchain monitoring, a wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation (0xF39d) sold 7,294 ETH at an average price of $4,558 over the past three days, totaling $33.25 million. The wallet bought 33,678 ETH at a low price of $1,193 between June 13 and 16, 2022, totaling $40.2 million.
CryptoSlam data shows that NFT market transaction volume increased 30% over the past week, reaching $173.2 million. NFT buyers surged 190.41% to 214,716, while NFT sellers increased 168.71% to 115,289. The number of NFT transactions decreased 10.65% to 1,553,949.
Ethereum network transaction volume reached $105.4 million, an 85% increase from the previous week. BNB Chain network transaction volume reached $18.1 million, a 33.48% increase. Polygon network transaction volume reached $11.5 million, a 35.51% decrease. Mythos Chain network transaction volume reached $9.3 million, a 3.52% decrease. Solana network transaction volume reached $8.9 million, a 10.14% increase.
This week's high-value transactions include:
- Bored Ape Yacht Club #4795 sold for 200 ETH ($909,183)
- Bored Ape Yacht Club #2337 sold for 140 ETH ($634,809)
- Bored Ape Yacht Club #9670 sold for 140 ETH ($633,982)
- Bored Ape Yacht Club #7706 sold for 140 ETH ($633,982)
- Bored Ape Yacht Club #9670 sold for 100 ETH ($453,435 USD)
According to @ai_9684xtpa, a certain address appears to have increased its holdings by another 3,333 ETH, worth $14.93 million, just seven minutes ago. Since yesterday, a total of 16,872 ETH (worth $74.99 million) has been withdrawn from Kraken, at an average price of $4,444.76.
This morning , a new address has withdrawn over $60 million worth of ETH from Kraken since yesterday.
Data: a16z achieved $12.06 million in profits in the past week, leading investment institutions
According to Nansen data, in the past week, based on realized profits and losses, a16z realized a profit of US$12.06 million through 9 wallets, leading investment institutions; Master Ventures realized a profit of US$2.59 million; and Defiance Capital realized a profit of US$942,800.
According to data disclosed by BTCtreasuries, a total of 13 institutions disclosed an increase in their Bitcoin holdings this week, including Galaxy increasing its holdings by approximately 2,894 BTC, Metaplanet increasing its holdings by 518 BTC, The Smarter Web Company increasing its holdings by 295 BTC, DDC Enterprise increasing its holdings by 120 BTC, and Bitmax increasing its holdings by 51.11 BTC. As of August 16, the top 100 listed Bitcoin treasury companies held 975,475 BTC.
Institutional holdings
Bitcoin Standard Treasury: Will increase Bitcoin holdings to more than 50,000
According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin Standard Treasury (BSTR), led by cryptography pioneer Adam Back, announced that it is preparing to go public on the Nasdaq through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners (CEPO). It currently has 30,021 BTC on its balance sheet and plans to increase its Bitcoin reserves to more than 50,000.
If this goal is achieved, Bitcoin Standard Treasury is expected to surpass MARA Holdings (MARA) to become the second-largest BTC holder after Strategy. As of now, MSTR, MARA, and BSTR hold a total of approximately 710,000 Bitcoins, accounting for approximately 3.38% of the fixed supply of 21 million Bitcoins.
Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that Norges Bank Investment Management increased its Bitcoin-related holdings by 83% in the second quarter. The fund increased its Bitcoin equivalent exposure from 6,200 BTC to 11,400 BTC in the second quarter, an 83% increase. This holding is invested almost entirely in MicroStrategy, with an additional position of approximately 200 BTC in Metaplanet. Norges Bank Investment Management, also known as the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, managing $1.7 trillion in assets.
