The crypto market opened the week under pressure as macro jitters resurfaced, sparking over $550 million in liquidations across the last 24 hours. Prices began fading Thursday after July wholesale inflation came in hotter than expected, dialing back September rate cut odds. Saturday saw a sharp round of profit taking, $3.3 billion in realized gains marked the heaviest single-day total since mid-July and one of the biggest of the year. Seasonality may be playing a role here too. August tends to be soft across risk markets, and with few near-term catalysts, the path of least resistance could remain choppy.
Some added policy overhang came from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who clarified that the U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, announced back in March, will be limited to BTC seized by the government. The administration is still evaluating “budget-neutral” ways to expand that position, but markets took the update as a walk-back.
Still, ETF and treasury demand helped steady sentiment. Despite net outflows on Friday, the major crypto ETFs closed the week with $550 million and $2.85 billion in inflows, respectively, and a record-breaking $40 billion in combined trading volume. MicroStrategy added another 430 BTC ($51.4 million) last week, while Metaplanet boosted its holdings by 775 BTC ($94 million), bringing its bitcoin-to-debt ratio to a striking 18 to 1.
The next macro checkpoint is Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole later this week, which could reset expectations for the Fed’s remaining meetings this year.
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