Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Bitcoin hovered near the $63,000 mark on Friday despite softer July CPI and PPI data as weak liquidity weighs on the crypto market. The cryptocurrency was trading at $62,847 mark.

In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin and Ethereum were down 1.31% and 0.70% respectively. Among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin, and Cardano fell up to 1.89%.

Prateek Gupta, Head of Business, Mudrex said the muted crypto response reflects weaker market liquidity, with daily spot Bitcoin volume falling to $1.19 billion, its lowest since 2019, versus a $14.7 billion peak in February.

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Gupta further said that institutional demand also remains subdued, with Bitcoin ETFs recording more than $200 million in outflows this week.

The global crypto market capitalisation edged down 1.29% to $2.16 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. After the recent correction, the Bitcoin price is struggling to hold support at $63,000 as the bears have called the rally below $64,000, said CoinDCX Research Team.

Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange said crypto markets remain cautious despite a more supportive macro backdrop, with Bitcoin trading near $63.5K and Ethereum around $1.89K. Softer US producer inflation has eased near-term rate concerns, but crypto’s muted response suggests that fresh spot demand remains limited.

Sehgal further said that ETF flows are reinforcing that divergence. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $125.4 million in net outflows on August 13, extending the previous session’s outflows, while spot Ethereum ETFs saw a modest $6.5 million net inflow.

In the past week, Bitcoin and Ethereum were down 2.62% and 1.81% respectively. Among the major altcoins, BNB, Solana, Tron, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin rallied upto 3.57% whereas XRP and Cardano were down 2.42% and 9.70% respectively.

Vikas Gupta, Country Manager – India, Bybit shared with ETMarkets said Institutional flows have also become inconsistent. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a $144.6M outflow on Aug. 10, followed by only a $7.8M inflow on Aug. 11, showing that institutional demand isn't providing a consistent upward catalyst.

He further said that earlier in August, U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded several consecutive sessions of inflows, showing that institutional appetite remains present but is highly sensitive to macro conditions.

Market perspective

Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX

For futures traders, 0.0134–0.0132 is the immediate downside zone to monitor. A sustained loss of this area would make roughly 0.0130–0.0124 the next notable support region.

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CoinSwitch Markets Desk

Bitcoin remains stuck just below $64,000, trading around 63,600–63,900 and struggling to hold above the level despite a softer-than-expected July PPI print. On the upside, BTC first needs to reclaim 64,000–64,150 to steady short-term momentum, with $64,500 and then the $65,000 shelf the levels to watch before any renewed attempt higher.

Vikram Subburaj, CEO, Giottus

Immediate support lies around 62,800-63,000, followed by $62,000. Resistance is visible near 63,900-64,000, with the 65,000-66,000 regions remain the stronger ceiling for the current recovery.

Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO, Pi42

Bitcoin continues to consolidate around the $63,000 to $64,000 zone, but the sharp decline in spot trading volumes and continued ETF outflows show that conviction remains limited.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

A closer look at the recent performance of BTC, ETH, and ADA and what could be coming next.

The formation of a certain setup suggests that BTC could be gearing up for a major price move, yet the exact direction can’t be predicted.

One popular analyst believes the current conditions present an ideal opportunity to invest in ETH, while Cardano’s ADA has lost momentum and might be headed for a substantial decline.

Up or Down for BTC? The primary cryptocurrency has been hovering in the narrow range of $63,000-$65,000 over the past week, currently trading just south of the lower boundary. The X account Barchart claimed that the minor volatility has resulted in a huge squeeze of the Bollinger Bands.

The technical indicator, created by John Bollinger in the 1980s, features a moving average framed by two channels (upper and lower) that widen in turbulent markets and contract when things calm down.

Tightening the bands is usually a precursor to a big move, but it remains unclear whether it will be up or down, with historical data showing mixed signals. In March, the Bollinger Bands (on a monthly scale) tightened like never before, and shortly after, BTC plunged from approximately $75,000 to roughly $65,000.

It was a completely different story in May last year. The bands squeezed at a time when the asset was worth around $95,000 and, weeks later, exploded above $110,000.

Time to Buy ETH? The second-largest cryptocurrency has been trading well below $2,000 for the past few months, with many traders and investors perhaps anticipating further declines that can confirm the cycle’s bottom. Analyst Michael van de Poppe believes the moment will never come, arguing that the ideal time to hop on the ETH bandwagon is right now.

You may also like: ‘Crypto Is Dead’ Talk Is Rising; Could Peak Fear Be a Contrarian Signal? Solana Overtakes Bitcoin and Ether in GSR’s Latest Crypto Portfolio Shake-Up Bitcoin Rebound Faces Risk as Futures Demand Outpaces Spot Buying: Analysts “It’s always awkward to be positioning yourself into a position, as that’s the purpose of the markets. Previous breakouts of the market have resulted in generally big returns, as ETH is known for volatile movements. In that sense, last time a 60% breakout in less than a week took place. In 2023, the same happened,” he said.

Ali Martinez and Gerla also gave their two cents on the matter. The former thinks the June fall to $1,580 was the launchpad for a potential uptrend, setting $3,000 as the target. The latter was even more optimistic, envisioning a price explosion to a new all-time high of $10,000.

ADA Hits a Wall Cardano’s native cryptocurrency started August on the right foot, eventually pumping to nearly $0.21 (the highest mark since early June). During its uptrend, the asset was the subject of numerous bullish predictions, with some commentators expecting a surge to $3.

However, the bears regained control, and overall sentiment shifted drastically. Ali Martinez paid attention to factors such as the declining number of whales, the formation of a death cross between Cardano’s MVRC ratio and its 7-day simple moving average, and the sell signal on the TD Sequential indicator to predict a potential plunge as low as $0.145.

Sjuul | AltCryptoGems also presented a cautious outlook. He claimed that ADA had “a nice run, but it seems in trouble now,” as “the structure is breaking bearishly, with a fresh lower low.”

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Equity Perp Volume Surges 17x as Chip Stocks Draw Crypto Traders

Bitcoin has dropped sharply from its peak of approximately $126,080 in October, recently trading in the low $60,000s. This nearly 50% decline has unsettled investors, but some analysts believe this movement remains in line with Bitcoin’s historical patterns.

Market cycles in focusAsset manager VanEck reported on Thursday that Bitcoin’s recent slide closely follows its established four-year halving cycle. During each halving, mining rewards are cut in half, reducing the number of new coins entering circulation and often triggering a downtrend in price. VanEck described this cycle as a recurring aspect of Bitcoin’s broader market structure, not an unusual event.

The company used its GEO framework—which considers Global Liquidity, Ecosystem Leverage, and On-Chain Activity—to assess current conditions. According to VanEck, two out of the three GEO signals currently indicate neutral market sentiment, while ecosystem leverage shows signs of improvement. The firm suggested these readings could indicate an early phase of bottoming out and implied that it may be a suitable period for investors to consider scaling into new positions.

Mini dictionary: VanEck is a global asset management firm known for its research on digital assets, ETFs, and commodity investments. Its GEO framework is used to evaluate crypto market conditions by assessing liquidity, leverage, and on-chain activity.

On-chain data signals from long-term holdersBlockchain analytics provider CryptoQuant offered a separate analysis using on-chain data. The firm emphasized that long-term Bitcoin holders, regarded as some of the most resilient participants in the market, are currently experiencing greater unrealized losses than the general market. This is based on the adjusted Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) indicator, which tracks the profitability of coin holders compared to the price at which they acquired their assets.

Analyst MorenoDV noted that this same pattern—where long-term holders endure larger losses—has appeared at every major market bottom for Bitcoin in previous cycles.

MorenoDV explained that each time long-term holders faced outsized losses relative to other market participants, the market was either approaching or at the cycle’s lowest price level.

Despite these historical signals, CryptoQuant cautioned investors against calling a definitive bottom at this stage. In past bear cycles, the NUPL metric for long-term holders dropped to even more negative levels before the market reversed, indicating that another sharp sell-off could still occur if sentiment deteriorates further.

The analytics firm also suggested that if institutional demand strengthens and the holder base demonstrates greater resilience, Bitcoin might avoid the severe capitulation events that have defined earlier downturns.

Comparing signals with previous cycle lowsBoth VanEck and CryptoQuant point out that, although the market appears strained when compared to historical benchmarks, it has not reached the extremes typically associated with lasting cycle bottoms. The data implies that while Bitcoin is showing some early signs of stabilizing, risks of a final, sharp correction remain if the historical patterns continue as before.

MetricCurrent CyclePrevious Cycle BottomPrice drop from peak~50%70%–85%NUPL (Long-term holders)Negative, but not extremeDeep negative zonesMarket sentiment (VanEck GEO)Neutral to constructiveDeeply negativeUltimately, current market indicators suggest that Bitcoin’s present decline is consistent with patterns seen in earlier cycles. Analysts remain watchful for further developments as the market seeks new signs of stabilization.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

In brief
The Bitcoin Red Team is using Chinese AI models to search Bitcoin projects for security flaws.
Calle said developers have confirmed numerous critical and high-severity vulnerabilities.
They warned that unmaintained projects should not be trusted.
The Bitcoin Red Team is using Chinese AI models to search nearly the entire Bitcoin open-source ecosystem for security flaws, according to pseudonymous developer and Red Team lead Calle.

The volunteer group combines AI tools with human review to examine wallets, Lightning applications, software libraries, and other Bitcoin projects. Researchers privately report credible findings to developers so the flaws can be fixed before details are released.

Myriad: Bitcoin's next move? Click to make your prediction.“We’re experiencing a massive collision between decades of human open source slop against 2 weeks of Kimi K3,” Calle wrote Thursday on X. “Everything is broken, Bitcoin is burning.”

Kimi K3 is an AI model from Chinese startup Moonshot AI that developers can download and run on their own systems. It can analyze large codebases and complete lengthy software tasks with little supervision.

The Bitcoin Red Team has also used Chinese developer Z.ai’s GLM 5.2, as well as models from OpenAI and Anthropic. American models, though, come with limitations, and developers frequently run up against restrictions imposed by OpenAI and Anthropic when doing security research. “Red team rugged by OpenAI cyber again,” Calle posted earlier this week. “Don’t like asking for permission. Loading up Kiimi K3.”

Nevertheless, the developer noted that the team is making progress, even if slow and painful.

“We’ve basically completed a basic scan of virtually the entirety of Bitcoin open source,” Calle wrote. “The low hanging fruit is done.”

In August, the group reported filing 4,962 findings across 390 projects, including 85 rated critical and 635 rated high severity. Calle said developers had confirmed “a ton of real critical and high vulnerabilities,” though the group has not named the affected projects or released technical details.

“Response speed is very different across projects and shows how healthy each project is,” they wrote. “I recommend acting fast these days.”

Lightning software, which supports faster and cheaper Bitcoin payments, was particularly difficult to review because of its complexity, Calle said, calling it “more broken than the average.”

“Those projects that started AI audits months ago are in a completely different position than those who didn’t,” he wrote. “Projects need their own AI audit pipeline going into the future.”

Calle also warned against relying on unmaintained projects and said AI has made it more stressful for developers to keep their software secure.

The Bitcoin Red Team is not alone. Last month, Hugging Face used China’s GLM 5.2 to investigate a breach after OpenAI models hacked into its systems and U.S. commercial models refused to analyze the attack logs.

Despite saying Bitcoin is “burning,” Calle argued that the audits are making its software stronger.

“Bitcoin is the obvious first target, but the rest of the world will follow shortly,” Calle wrote. “Sometimes old things need to burn so new things can grow on healthy soil.”

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How Pokémon Cards Outpaced the S&P 500 and Bitcoin

County Executive Blakeman speaks with PubKey co-founder Thomas Pacchia (R) and River CEO and CTO Alex Leishman (L)

Frank Corva

Earlier today, New York gubernatorial candidate and current Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman made an appearance at New York City Bitcoin-themed bar PubKey to discuss what he would do to make the Empire State more welcoming to the Bitcoin and crypto industry if he were to be elected governor.

At the bar, which is no stranger to hosting major political figures, as the likes of Rep. Thomas Massie and even President Trump himself have made appearances there in recent years, Blakeman made it clear that New York has been unfriendly to the crypto industry for too long and that it’s time for a change.

“When I become governor, we will work together with the crypto industry not only to end the restrictions and the regulations that are trying to strangle this business, but also [...] to create economic activity in the state,” Blakeman told those in attendance at the event.

The main regulation that makes it difficult for Bitcoin and crypto businesses to operate in New York State is the Virtual Currency Business Activity License, more commonly referred to in Bitcoin and crypto circles as the “BitLicense”.

When asked if he’d be willing to abolish the BitLicense, Blakeman responded, “Yes, I think we have to get rid of it.”

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The Burden of the BitLicenseThe BitLicense was first enacted into law by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in June 2015 and has ever since made it difficult for crypto businesses to operate in New York given how arduous it is to obtain one.

It imposes notable financial costs that can reach over $1 million on crypto companies and applicants often face years-long delays.

“The BitLicense is something that nobody voted for and it just has been a pernicious piece of regulation that’s been hurting New York State, New Yorkers, and the industry at large for many years,” Thomas Pacchia, co-founder of PubKey and long-time New Yorker, told me in an interview.

“It’s been punitive not just for Bitcoin companies that want to operate in New York — like River, for example — but also, if you take the state’s point of view, New York has missed the opportunity to bring in tax revenue from businesses that would have operated here otherwise,” Pacchia added.

A 'Dismantle the BitLicense' poster on the wall at PubKey

Frank Corva

River CEO and CTO, Alex Leishman, was in attendance at the event.

Pacchia introduced Leishman to Blakeman, informing Blakeman that “River is one of the main exchanges that doesn’t service [customers in] New York State because of the BitLicense.”

Blakeman asked Leishman how many states River operates in, to which Leishman responded “48”.

After commenting on current New York governor Kathy Hochul’s failure to engage with businesses like River, Blakeman said to Leishman, “We’ll be welcoming you [on] January 1st in New York.”

Maintaining New York’s Status as the Financial Capital of the WorldWhile it’s been proposed since as far back as 2019 that the NYDFS would ease the requirements for obtaining a BitLicense, the opposite has transpired — it’s only become more difficult for companies to acquire one.

Jack Mallers, CEO of Bitcoin exchange Strike, which has recently obtained a BitLicense after years of effort, spoke to how challenging it was to accomplish this task when he and his team appeared at PubKey earlier this year to celebrate the milestone.

Blakeman spoke to the idea that it’s antithetical to a city like New York that it’s so difficult for crypto companies to operate and serve customers here.

County Executive Blakeman speaking with reporters at PubKey

Frank Corva

“When I’m governor, this should be the financial capital of the world,” said Blakeman. “And without crypto, it is not the financial capital of the world.”

Pacchia spoke to this point, as well.

“I think New York still thinks it’s the financial capital of the world, but it’s kind of delusional when you look at all of the fintechs that have gone to places like Dubai or Singapore,” said Pacchia.

“Also domestically, just look at Citadel and other hedge funds going to Miami,” he added.

“It's not a foregone conclusion that New York just keeps the ‘financial capital of the world’ title and doesn't do anything to actually work on that — and it needs a lot of maintenance right now.”

According to a post by Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet has launched the "BitBonds" bond issuance program and completed its first batch of issuances. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Metaplanet Securities, the company issued the 21st to 24th series of unsecured ordinary bonds under Japan’s small-scale private placement system, totaling approximately 200 million yen. Gerovich noted that the small-scale issuance is primarily a pilot, designed to establish the framework for BitBonds’ subsequent issuance, distribution, and management. BitBonds are unsecured ordinary bonds and are not collateralized by Bitcoin held by Metaplanet. Metaplanet will leverage its Bitcoin reserve balance sheet and its subsidiary securities firm’s capabilities in financial product issuance, distribution, and management to further build out its related financial product platform.

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Duan Yongping responds to POP MART position changes: Combined with options trading, the current price is not expensive in the long term.

Duan Yongping responded to recent queries about shifts in his Pop Mart holdings on Chinese investment platform Xueqiu yesterday, clarifying he has "never directly sold a single share of Pop Mart." After purchasing some of the stock, he directly sells call options, a strategy essentially identical to selling put options.
Duan explained that when his short put positions approach their upper limit, he adopts the "buy stock + sell call" tactic; if the calls are assigned at expiration, the outcome is fundamentally the same as if puts had been exercised at expiration. He added that he may stick to similar strategies for a long time, with Pop Mart’s current option premium standing at roughly 5% per month.
On Pop Mart’s long-term value, Duan remarked, "Looking at the long term, I don’t think Pop Mart’s current price is expensive; I have no idea about the short term." He noted this is the core logic behind his option strategy. This approach may result in lower returns, but it is a relatively conservative strategy; he may adjust his tactics if future premiums decline.
Duan also stressed he has no plans to sell Pop Mart at a specific time or price, "and may not have such plans for a very long time." He further disclosed that selling puts is just one of his investment strategies, and he has used similar methods across other investments; roughly 80% to 90% of his past Apple stock holdings were likely acquired via put options.
In response to recent market questions about his "simultaneous reduction and increase of holdings," Duan’s earlier comments clarify that these holding changes mainly stem from trading mechanisms like option expirations and exercises, and do not signal a long-term bearish outlook on Pop Mart.

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Iran plotting to assassinate Trump? Israel has issued multiple warnings, while the CIA says the relevant intelligence has never been independently verified.

According to multiple current and former U.S. officials, over the past year, Israel has repeatedly warned U.S. intelligence agencies and the White House that Iran is plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, with the warnings even detailing specific methods including snipers, hitmen, and shoulder-fired missile attacks. The warnings reportedly began in June 2025, on the eve of the Israel-Iran conflict, and increased significantly in February this year before the U.S. decided to take military action against Iran. In July this year, Israel also warned that Iran could target Air Force One with a shoulder-fired missile during Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The U.S. subsequently implemented enhanced security measures and moved Trump to another aircraft. However, multiple sources familiar with the matter said the CIA has been unable to independently verify the specific assassination intelligence provided by Israel, assessing it as "low confidence." Turkey also stated that its intelligence agency found no evidence to corroborate the threats at the time. Even so, the intelligence still influenced the Trump administration’s Iran policy. Sources said that when Trump decided to take military action against Iran in February this year, the assassination warning provided by Israel was one of the decision-making references. Currently, tensions between the U.S. and Iran are further spilling over into the economic sphere. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a series of major measures targeting Iran will be announced next week, including further tightening economic sanctions and restricting the flow of goods in and out of Iranian ports through continuous military intercepts in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Goldman Sachs: SMIC's Q2 performance exceeded expectations, sets Hong Kong-listed share target price at HK$135

Goldman Sachs released a report stating that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported Q2 revenue of $3 billion, up 36% year-over-year and 20% quarter-over-quarter, exceeding both the bank’s and market expectations, as well as management’s QoQ guidance of 14% to 16%. During the period, gross margin stood at 25.3%, higher than the bank’s (21%) and market’s (21.4%) expectations, and also above management’s 20% to 22% guidance range. Goldman Sachs noted that the QoQ revenue growth was mainly driven by increased wafer shipments and higher average selling prices, while management attributed the gross margin improvement to a better product mix and rising average selling prices. For Q3 guidance: revenue is projected to grow 2% to 4% QoQ, in line with Goldman’s and market expectations; gross margin guidance of 26% to 28% outpaces both the bank’s and market forecasts. The bank maintained a "Buy" rating on SMIC, holding a positive view on the company’s long-term growth prospects, driven by rising demand from local fabless semiconductor clients and AI-related opportunities. Goldman Sachs set a Hong Kong-listed share target price of HK$135. (Jinshi)

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Bitcoin whale who has held BTC for three years is suspected of offloading, with a cost basis of only around $20,000 and once posting an unrealized profit of over $15.31 million.

According to monitoring by ai_9684xtpa, a Bitcoin (BTC) whale that has held its position for roughly three years appears to be initiating a sell-off. Address bc1q7…jvlgw deposited 158.7 BTC to Coinbase eight hours ago, valued at approximately $10.01 million. The funds trace back to address 3JLdM…jEp9L, which withdrew BTC from Kraken on March 11, 2023, and has held the asset long-term since. During the current bull market, this address once posted unrealized gains exceeding $15.31 million. If all 158.7 BTC transferred to Coinbase are sold, the whale is projected to realize a profit of around $6.206 million, a figure that marks a more than 40% drop from its peak unrealized gains.

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Fintech firm Chime explores bringing stablecoins to its consumer banking platform.

According to Bloomberg, fintech firm Chime Financial is exploring adding stablecoins as a new feature to its consumer banking platform, the latest sign that stablecoin adoption is expanding further beyond the crypto market into everyday payments. Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that Chime invited blockchain technology companies to submit proposals in late spring this year, aiming to deliver end-to-end stablecoin wallet services. It remains unclear which technology supplier Chime will ultimately select, nor the specific stablecoin products and functionalities it will roll out.

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This whale, who held 2.93M $HYPE($163.37M), is selling $HYPE again! 2 weeks ago, he sold 1.03M $HYPE ($57.44M). 1 hou...

This whale, who held 2.93M $HYPE($163.37M), is selling $HYPE again! 2 weeks ago, he sold 1.03M $HYPE ($57.44M). 1 hour ago, he sold another 923,743 $HYPE($53.02M). He still holds 969,595 $HYPE ($55.5M).

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Bitcoin miners are selling. Fast. Publicly traded mining companies have offloaded approximately 28,000 BTC in 2026, a liquidation worth around $1.78 billion at current prices, as the gap between what it costs to produce a coin and what the market will pay for it keeps widening.

Their collective reserves have fallen from 127,000 BTC at the start of the year to roughly 99,000 BTC, a drawdown of about 22% in just a few months.

The cost problem is the whole problem Average production costs for publicly traded miners sit at approximately $74,300 per BTC. With Bitcoin’s price down 27% year-to-date in 2026, a meaningful slice of the industry is running at a loss on every coin it produces. Around 20% of miners are estimated to be operating in the red under current conditions.

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The companies driving the bulk of the sales include some of the sector’s biggest names: MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer.

Mining difficulty has dropped roughly 18% since its November 2025 peak, which marks the longest sustained difficulty decline on record. In plain terms: the network has gotten easier to mine because weaker operators are shutting off machines and leaving.

Miners are not the only sellers, but they are consistent ones To put the miner liquidation in context, it is not the largest source of selling pressure on Bitcoin this year. ETF outflows have exceeded $4.4 billion over the same period, dwarfing the $1.78 billion in miner sales by a factor of roughly 2.5.

The AI pivot is reshaping the mining business Many mining companies are not just selling Bitcoin to survive. They are selling it to fund a transition toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center operations.

Mining rigs and AI compute infrastructure share a common dependency: cheap power and purpose-built facilities. Companies that have already built out large-scale data center footprints are finding that renting that capacity to AI workloads can be more predictable and more profitable than mining Bitcoin at a loss.

A company like Core Scientific is increasingly less a Bitcoin miner and more a data center operator that happens to mine some Bitcoin on the side. The BTC sales fund that transformation.

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Bitcoin (BTC) has lost nearly half its value from its October 2025 peak, but the network’s mining power has declined much less sharply. According to Bitcoin analyst Axel Adler Jr., miners are facing tighter economics as transaction fees contribute almost nothing to revenue, yet the hashrate decline remains controlled rather than showing signs of major capitulation.

Bitcoin Price Falls, Hashrate Holds UpBTC fell from around $124,700 in early October 2025 to approximately $63,400 on August 12, 2026, marking a 49% decline. Over the same period, the 7-day average Bitcoin hashrate dropped from roughly 1,150 EH/s to 886 EH/s, a decline of 23%.

Bitcoin is down 49% from its October peak. Hashrate is down only 23%.

Fees account for just 0.71% of miner revenue – nearly the same as in December 2015. Mining economics are contracting, but there is no capitulation yet.

Why the network is holding up – in Morning Brief #234 👇… pic.twitter.com/UDyzgdaZ14

— Axel 💎🙌 Adler Jr (@AxelAdlerJr) August 13, 2026 The gap is major. Mining infrastructure has absorbed the downturn better than Bitcoin’s price. While lower prices have reduced miners’ dollar-denominated revenue and squeezed less-efficient operators, the network has not experienced a sharp collapse in computing power.

Miner Fees Fall to 2015 LevelsBitcoin transaction fees are very low, making up just 0.71% of miner revenue.This is similar to December 2015, when fees made up 0.69% of miner revenue.Low fees suggest weak demand for Bitcoin block space.Since mid-2025, fees have stayed around or below 1% of miner revenue.Miners currently depend heavily on the block reward rather than transaction fees.In 2015, miners received 25 BTC per block, compared with just 3.125 BTC today.So, the comparison with 2015 is about the revenue structure, not Bitcoin’s overall mining economics or network demand.Mining Sector Is Adjusting, Not CollapsingDespite weaker profitability, hashrate has recently remained around 900 EH/s, with occasional rebounds after falling from its October peak. This suggests miners are gradually adjusting operations instead of exiting the network at an accelerating pace.

A sharper decline in hashrate would indicate that more inefficient miners are being forced offline. Meanwhile, a sustained increase in fee revenue above 1% would signal stronger demand for blockspace and improving mining economics.

What Comes Next for Bitcoin Miners?For now, Bitcoin mining appears to be undergoing a controlled adjustment rather than a full capitulation. Bitcoin is trading about 49% below its October peak, while fees contribute less than 1% of miner revenue, yet nearly 900 EH/s of computing power remains active.

The clear signs ahead will be whether hashrate begins falling rapidly or stabilizes and recovers, and whether transaction fees can regain a meaningful share of miner income.

Story Ends Here

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Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is set to expand its presence in cryptocurrency-linked investment products through a major acquisition of Neos Investments. The Wall Street firm announced an agreement to purchase the specialized ETF provider in a transaction valued at as much as $2.25 billion, combining cash and equity components tied to specific performance and service milestones.

The deal, revealed on August 12, 2026, is projected to finalize in the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory clearances and standard closing requirements.

Upon completion, three options-driven income funds focused on digital assets will transfer under the umbrella of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

These include the Neos Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI), the Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF (XBCI), and the Ethereum High Income ETF (NEHI).Importantly, none of these vehicles purchase bitcoin or ether outright.

Instead, they secure exposure via exchange-traded products tied to the cryptocurrencies and employ options strategies—primarily covered-call approaches—to generate consistent monthly distributions for shareholders.

BTCI, which debuted in October 2024, stands as the largest of the trio, holding more than $1 billion in net assets.

The other two maintain smaller but growing footprints, with XBCI around $111 million and NEHI exceeding $77 million.

Neos itself, established in 2022 and based in Westport, Connecticut, oversees approximately $30 billion across a suite of 19 systematic options-based income ETFs as of mid-2026.

These products emphasize high monthly payouts, tax efficiency, and portfolio diversification, spanning traditional equity indexes as well as commodities and digital assets.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management already manages about $40 billion in comparable income and outcome-oriented options strategies.

Adding Neos will elevate the combined active ETF holdings to roughly $80 billion within a broader $130 billion global ETF platform, positioning the firm among the top eight active ETF providers according to industry data.

This move builds on Goldman’s earlier acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, further solidifying a comprehensive franchise in derivatives-based ETFs.

Industry observers note that demand for such income-focused vehicles has surged, with the broader derivative income ETF category expanding to around $180 billion in assets and posting compound annual growth exceeding 70 percent since 2021.

David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, highlighted the strategic alignment, describing Neos’ disciplined methodology as highly complementary to existing buffer, managed-outcome, and income capabilities.

The combination, he indicated, will equip investors with a versatile set of tools suited to varying market conditions.

Neos co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella will transition into partner roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, bringing their options expertise and entrepreneurial approach.

The full Neos investment and client-service teams are expected to integrate as well, preserving the firm’s specialized focus while leveraging Goldman’s scale, distribution reach, and operational resources.

The acquisition arrives amid rising institutional interest in structured crypto exposure that prioritizes yield generation over pure price appreciation.

By absorbing an established platform rather than building products from scratch, Goldman gains immediate scale in a competitive niche where rivals have also introduced similar income-oriented bitcoin offerings.

For advisors and investors seeking tax-efficient monthly income alongside indirect digital-asset participation, the integration expands available choices within a familiar ETF wrapper. The transaction underscores Goldman’s broader push into active and outcome-oriented ETFs, reinforcing durable fee-based revenue streams while addressing evolving client needs in volatile markets.

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Leading cryptocurrencies held steady on Thursday, while stocks climbed to record highs following softer-than-expected producer inflation data.

Crypto Market SteadyBitcoin’s attempt to break above $64,000 fizzled, sending the cryptocurrency below $63,000 amid a 19% drop in 24-hour volume.

Ethereum wobbled within the $1,861-$1,898 range, with 24-hour trading volume down 12%. XRP and Dogecoin posted modest gains.

Nearly $212 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with long and short liquidations broadly balanced, according to Coinglass data.

Bitcoin’s open interest slid 0.68% over the last 24 hours. Notably, retail and whale derivatives traders on Binance remained net long on the apex cryptocurrency despite the price decline.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.17 trillion, declining 0.47% from the previous day.

Stocks Hit Record HighStocks rallied sharply on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13%, or 69.72 points, to end at 53,839.99. The S&P 500 climbed 0.65% to close at a record high of 7,798.99, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.81% to settle at 26,803.03.

The Producer Price Index was unchanged in July, falling short of economists’ forecast for a 0.2% monthly increase. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy, rose 0.2% in the month against the 0.3% expected.

The PPI numbers landed a day after the July Consumer Price Index rose 3.4% from a year earlier, matching expectations, while core inflation eased to 2.5%, also as expected.

The odds of an interest rate hike in September fell further, from 40.6% to 34.8% in a day,  according to the CME Fedwatch tool.

Will the Market Move Against Retail Fears?Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant highlighted Bitcoin’s latest rejection at the Trader On-chain Realized Price of $65,600, a level that has consistently capped price rebounds in recent months.

“Reclaiming it is the level to watch,” the firm added.

The Realized Price is the average acquisition cost basis of all coins in circulation, calculated by taking the total value of assets when they last moved on the blockchain divided by the total circulating supply.

On-chain analytics firm Santiment noted rising social mentions of “dead,” “dying,” “over,” “ended” tied to cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, a sign that “retail patience is breaking.”

“Crypto markets often move hardest against the crowd when the crowd becomes too certain that upside is gone,” Santiment said. “When ‘crypto is dead’ talk rises while Bitcoin holds key levels, stronger hands keep accumulating, and forced sellers fade, the setup often becomes more attractive for patient buyers.”

Photo Courtesy: Marc Bruxelle on Shutterstock.com

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Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has announced the completion of its first independent audit of reserves, conducted by KPMG U.S. The El Salvador-based company described the review as the most extensive inaugural financial audit in history.

KPMG signs off on Tether’s reservesFor years, Tether faced criticism for a lack of transparency regarding its reserve holdings. Industry observers regularly questioned the absence of an independent, thorough audit conducted by one of the Big Four accounting firms.

According to Tether, KPMG performed a detailed review, including the physical verification of each gold bar held in its reserves. The audit included independent substantive testing and verification of all assets and statements, rather than relying solely on reports from external custodians or counterparties.

Tether stated that this process involved KPMG physically counting and inspecting each gold bar to confirm its existence and identifying features.

CEO Paolo Ardoino addressed the doubts surrounding the review, stating that detractors have long claimed an audit of Tether could not be completed and accused the company of avoiding rigorous scrutiny. “We have once again proven them wrong. Completing our financial statement audit sets a new standard for the industry and reflects the leadership we’ve brought to this market from the start,” Ardoino said.

“They said the Company refused to subject itself to the most rigorous scrutiny. We have once again proven them wrong. Completing our financial statement audit sets a new standard for the industry and reflects the leadership we’ve brought to this market from the start.”

Tether did not refer specifically to its sizeable Bitcoin reserves within the audit statement and did not immediately respond to external inquiries on this point.

Mini dictionary: KPMG, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, provides audit, tax, and advisory services for major corporations and financial institutions worldwide, and an independent reserve audit by such a firm is considered a significant benchmark of transparency in the financial sector.

Breakdown of Tether’s reservesTether, established as a leading stablecoin issuer, holds a diversified reserve portfolio that includes gold, U.S. Treasuries, and substantial holdings of Bitcoin. Recent years have seen the company increase its gold acquisitions and amass nearly $60 billion in Bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence.

With its USDT stablecoin, Tether has reached a market capitalization of over $183 billion, making it the world’s third largest cryptocurrency by market value.

AssetDetailsGoldPhysically inspected and verified by KPMGBitcoinNearly $60 billion held in reserves (Arkham Intelligence)US TreasuriesHoldings exceed reserves of some countriesArdoino further highlighted Tether’s evolution, emphasizing that the firm has grown from a disruptive stablecoin issuer into one of the most significant private financial companies globally. He commented, “This audit demonstrates that our financial infrastructure and governance have evolved alongside that responsibility.”

“This audit demonstrates that our financial infrastructure and governance have evolved alongside that responsibility.”

The completion of the audit marks a milestone for Tether and the broader stablecoin sector, addressing longstanding calls for transparency and independent validation of reserves.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer @Matt_Hougan has published a memo arguing that protocol revenue is becoming the primary driver of token value across crypto, and that markets have not yet priced in the shift.

How Protocols Are Returning Revenue to Tokens

Hyperliquid is the headline example.

Uniswap followed a different path.

Pump.fun has also made significant progress on supply reduction.

A Structural Shift, With Caveats

The argument is not without its limits, however. Buyback and burn programs are not legally binding distributions, and burn rates remain closely tied to trading volumes that can move sharply with broader market sentiment.

Still, the direction of travel is becoming clearer.

Sources:
Crypto.news: Bitwise CIO sees crypto valuations doubling on token revenue
The Crypto Times: Why Bitwise CIO Thinks Crypto Prices Are Too Low as Buybacks Expand
CoinDesk: Uniswap UNIfication Proposal Backed Overwhelmingly by Voters

He says Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and much of the broader altcoin market will likely underperform the former in the future.

Bitcoin Breakout Could RunIn a podcast on Aug. 12, DonAlt said Bitcoin has effectively gone nowhere for six to ten weeks, repeatedly testing resistance while holding support.

He highlighted roughly $65,600 as the key upside level. A convincing breakout above that area could create a momentum trade and potentially trigger a fast move higher.

On the downside, he sees the low $62,000 region as increasingly important. A deeper move toward that area would raise the odds of another test of the range lows.

Despite the lack of momentum, DonAlt said sentiment looks too pessimistic relative to the actual price action.

"People are overly bearish," he said, noting that calls for $40,000 Bitcoin increasingly appear to treat another collapse as inevitable despite BTC continuing to hold its broader range.

His current bias: "Up is probably more likely than down."

Ethereum Outlook Looks StrongerDonAlt said Ethereum is still trading against major resistance around $1,900, but its performance against Bitcoin has improved substantially.

If ETH clears that resistance, he sees the potential for a rapid move toward roughly $2,400 to $2,500.

That leaves him considering buying before confirmation rather than chasing a breakout later.

"I kind of feel like the resistance is more likely to break than not," DonAlt said.

He also prefers Ethereum "not even close" when choosing between ETH, XRP and Solana, arguing that ETH offers the stronger long-term relative setup.

Solana Setup Unclear, XRP Narrative WeakSolana, by comparison, is sitting in what DonAlt described as the "middle of nowhere."

Unlike Ethereum, which has identifiable support and resistance levels offering cleaner risk management, Solana currently lacks an obvious invalidation point.

He sees a more attractive SOL trade emerging if it reclaims roughly $100, potentially opening a move toward $120.

Longer term, however, DonAlt expects Ethereum to outperform Solana.

DonAlt is similarly cautious on XRP as he said the setup that originally attracted him has disappeared.

XRP is now trading around $1 after a brutal decline, and DonAlt sees little compelling technical support until potentially around $0.75.

More importantly, the narrative catalyst that drove his earlier trade has weakened.

While XRP could still rally alongside broader retail participation, DonAlt said he would probably choose another asset if deploying capital today.

Image: Shutterstock

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T. Rowe Price crypto head Blue Macellari on Thursday argued AI has pulled the marginal crypto buyer away from crypto, and institutional adoption is moving too slowly to fill that gap.

How AI Stole Crypto’s Marginal BuyerShe also pointed to a sugar high wearing off. From the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs through last summer, crypto received unprecedented positive news almost every week.

A new administration, a new SEC, fresh regulatory guidance, and wave after wave of institutional adoption announcements kept sentiment running hot.

That pace was impossible to sustain, and the market has been digesting the slowdown ever since.

Moreover, she acknowledged the October crash itself remains a mystery. “I don’t feel like I’ve heard something where I was like, ‘Oh okay, that was it, that makes sense to me,'” Macellari said.

Why Has Crypto Struggled to Capture Upside Since October?Macellari pointed to two reasons for the weakness. From the launch of the first Bitcoin ETFs through last summer, crypto received unprecedented positive news almost every week without a break. 

A new administration, a new SEC, fresh regulatory guidance, and wave after wave of institutional adoption announcements kept sentiment running hot. 

That kind of momentum is impossible to sustain, and the market has been digesting the slowdown ever since.

Second, AI sucked the air out of the room for the marginal crypto buyer.

Why Is She Still Bullish on Crypto’s Bigger Picture?Macellari noted that every major institutional player is now building something in crypto.

The demand from large corporate boards has accelerated sharply, with her doing 15 to 20 board presentations on tokenization and stablecoins in just the past six months after never being asked before that.

She said the total addressable market for crypto has expanded from 8 billion people to effectively infinite as AI agents begin transacting on-chain. 

Stablecoins are growing fast, the real-world asset bucket is building, and 24/7 equity trading on-chain is coming. The infrastructure is in place, the institutions are here, and the only missing piece is speed of execution.

Where She Sees The Opportunity Right NowMacellari identified on-chain finance as the clearest opportunity, covering tokenization, payments, and chains built for institutional use. 

Photo via Shutterstock

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While Riot, Hut 8, and Core Scientific printed strong gains, Bitdeer, Argo, and Canaan are down 20%, 24%, and 71% YTD.

Bitcoin mining stocks have been on a run in 2026, with Riot Platforms, Hut 8, Bitfarms, and Core Scientific posting some of the group’s biggest year-to-date gains, according to a CryptoQuant chart analyst Maartunn shared on X covering trading from January through July.

The move has less to do with mining Bitcoin itself and more to do with miners repositioning as power and data center suppliers for AI companies, reflecting a change in how the market is pricing these stocks.

The Chart Behind the Rally Maartunn’s chart put Riot’s year-to-date gain at 83% through late July, with Hut 8 up 72%, Bitfarms up 50%, and Core Scientific up 31% over the same stretch.

“It’s a race for power, grid access, and AI-ready infrastructure,” Maartunn wrote, arguing the sector has moved past pure hashrate competition.

That framing lines up with what’s happened since. On August 11, Bloomberg reported that Anthropic agreed to pay Riot $9.1 billion over 20 years for 191 megawatts of computing capacity at its Rockdale, Texas site, enough to power roughly 143,000 homes.

Riot’s shares jumped 24% in after-hours trading on the news, even after closing the regular session down more than 5% and posting a $237 million quarterly loss.

IREN, another miner chasing the same trend, climbed close to 10% this week after landing a $3.4 billion cloud contract with Nvidia, part of its own shift from mining into AI cloud services. Maartunn’s numbers only run through late July, though, while the market data available this week runs through August 12, and the two datasets don’t line up perfectly.

You may also like: Metaplanet Moves $250M in Bitcoin as Paper Loss Swells to $1.4B When Will Strategy Buy Bitcoin Again? CEO Phong Le Has the Answer Bitcoin Knots Plans New Proof-of-Work Algorithm After BIP-110 Enforcement Fails By that more recent close, Riot’s year-to-date gain had settled near 60%, still strong but down from the 83% cited in the July chart, with shares trading around $20. Hut 8 pushed further to a roughly 98% gain, near $91 a share. Core Scientific extended its climb too, up 43% year-to-date and trading near $21.

Others showed more modest upticks, including CleanSpark, which, at the time of writing, was around $12, up 20% this year, and IREN, whose shares were trading near $44, a 16% jump since the start of the year. MARA, the largest publicly traded miner, was about $10, with a much smaller 7% YTD gain.

But not everyone in the sector is celebrating, as data from Yahoo Finance shows Bitdeer, Argo Blockchain, and Canaan are down about 20%, 24%, and 71% in the same period when their counterparts printed green.

Where the Money for This Is Coming From MARA’s results show why miners are looking elsewhere. In its August 6 shareholder letter, the company reported Q2 revenue of $174.9 million, down 27% year over year, and a $611.3 million net loss. It also sold 2,213 BTC during the quarter while continuing to invest in new infrastructure.

But that does not mean mining is disappearing, with analyst Shanaka Anslem Perera noting on July 6 that the network absorbed a large miner exit after public firms, including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer, sold more than 32,000 BTC in the first quarter of 2026 and put that money into AI contracts worth an estimated $70 billion industry-wide.

The pivot briefly knocked Bitcoin’s network hash rate down about 4%, the first drop in six years, before difficulty adjustments restored profitability and the network kept producing blocks on schedule.

Tags:

Bitcoin had a chance to break higher today, but the move failed to gain real traction, according to one chart analyst who says the setup still points to a bear market where upside attempts tend to fizzle out more often than they succeed.

Why Rally Attempts Keep Failing

The main issue, according to the analysis, is that any move higher right now is fighting against the broader trend rather than confirming a real reversal. That makes these bounce attempts inherently fragile, even when short-term momentum looks encouraging. The overall pressure remains tilted to the downside, though the analyst noted Bitcoin can still grind modestly higher before the larger trend reasserts itself.

Where Support Currently Sits

Bitcoin’s wider support zone sits between $59,317 and $62,436, per the analysis, an area that has held so far and continues to suggest the market retains some underlying strength. Within that broader range, a tighter support area runs from $62,886 up to $63,775, and is being tested now, marking the most immediate zone traders are watching for signs of stability.

Resistance Level That Hasn’t Broken Yet

On the upside, the key resistance level sits near $64,470, a swing high that formed on Tuesday. That level has held firm so far, and the analyst said a confirmed move above it would be the first real sign that a short-term low is actually in place. Until that happens, the recent bounce off support is being treated as a pause within the larger downtrend rather than a genuine turnaround.

What Happens If Support Breaks

The analyst pointed to one final level worth watching closely: the recent August low, sitting at $62,220. A confirmed break below $62,220 would hurt the case for a rally toward $69,000, a target tied to the idea that Bitcoin could still complete a larger corrective bounce toward the $69,000 to $72,000 range if support continues to hold.

If that lower level breaks instead, the analyst said buyers would need to defend an even lower support region, and the odds of reaching that $69,000 to $72,000 zone would meaningfully decrease.

What Comes Next

For now, the analyst expects Bitcoin to attempt another push higher in the coming sessions, though there’s no confirmed signal yet that a genuine reversal has begun. The next moves in both the $62,886 support zone and the $62,220 invalidation level will likely determine which direction the market leans from here.

Story Ends Here

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Publicly traded Bitcoin miners are cutting mining capacity faster than the Bitcoin network overall, suggesting that more operators are redirecting electricity and infrastructure toward data centers and high-performance computing (HPC), in another sign of the sector’s evolution beyond creating more crypto.

In the latest Miner Weekly newsletter, BlocksBridge Consulting reported that realized hashrate among a cohort of public Bitcoin miners fell from 368.3 exahashes per second (EH/s) in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 319 EH/s in the second quarter of 2026, a 13.4% decline.

The contraction was even sharper when excluding Bitdeer, which continued to expand its mining operations. Without Bitdeer, the cohort’s realized hashrate fell 21.2% over the six-month period, from 324.6 EH/s to 255.9 EH/s. Bitdeer’s realized hashrate, meanwhile, increased 44% to 63 EH/s.

By comparison, the Bitcoin network’s average hashrate declined 10.6% over the same period.

The shift comes as more miners report a growing share of revenue from non-mining activities. Core Scientific generated $136.7 million in colocation revenue during the second quarter, compared with just $27.5 million from Bitcoin mining. TeraWulf reported $31.9 million in HPC lease revenue, compared with $12.8 million from mining.

Core Scientific and TeraWulf are now generating the majority of their revenue from non-mining activities.
Source: TheEnergyMag

Riot Platforms and Bitdeer remain much earlier in the transition, with Bitcoin mining continuing to account for the vast majority of their revenue in the most recent quarter.

Unwinding post-China mining boomBlocksBridge framed the current pullback as an unwinding of the expansion cycle that followed China’s Bitcoin mining ban in 2021, which triggered one of the sharpest declines in network hashrate before a rapid recovery as miners relocated overseas.

In North America, that migration helped fuel an expansion among public miners, which raised capital and acquired new power sites to expand their operations. 

One halving cycle later, the economics have shifted significantly. Weaker mining profitability, coupled with surging demand for AI infrastructure since 2022, has prompted several public miners to repurpose sites and power capacity away from Bitcoin mining entirely.

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, has reiterated his confidence in Bitcoin, citing the ongoing fiscal deficit in the United States as a key driver for his bullish stance on the cryptocurrency.

Deficit concerns and Bitcoin outlookNovogratz addressed the issue on X, responding to comments from Charlie Bilello, an investor and market commentator who highlighted concerns about the scale of America’s fiscal shortfall. Bilello noted that, in July, the federal government collected $334 billion but spent $766 billion, resulting in a $432 billion deficit for the month.

Novogratz described the situation as “scary,” emphasizing the urgent need for a shift in the country’s fiscal policy. He pointed to the so-called “3-3-3” framework that aims for 3% real economic growth, a deficit equal to 3% of GDP, and an increase in oil production by 3 million barrels per day. Novogratz credited Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for promoting this strategy, but acknowledged, “Unfortunately we aren’t even close to that.”

“The government’s inability to deal with its spending addiction keeps me bullish BTC even in a year where the energy in the crypto space is low.”

Galaxy Digital is a financial services and investment management company focused on the digital asset and blockchain technology sector. The firm, led by Novogratz, offers trading, asset management, and advisory services within the crypto industry.

Projections and potential market impactLong-term budget forecasts from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have further highlighted the scale of the fiscal challenge. The CBO projected in February that the federal budget deficit will reach $1.9 trillion in fiscal 2026. The agency also estimated that debt held by the public could hit 101% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and climb to 120% by 2036 if current policies remain in place.

Latest CBO data shows the government had already racked up a $1.4 trillion deficit over the first nine months of fiscal 2026. Novogratz remarked, “At one point the bond market will force fiscal discipline,” underscoring the potential for external market pressures to drive policy changes.

Fiscal MetricValue (July)CBO 2026 ProjectionCBO 2036 ProjectionMonthly deficit$432 billionN/AN/AFederal deficit (annual)N/A$1.9 trillionN/ADebt as % of GDP101% (2024)N/A120%Fiscal policy, inflation, and cryptocurrencyNovogratz linked the persistent deficits to rising inflation across several sectors over the past decade. He argued that the massive increase in public debt is directly correlated with inflationary pressures.

He also suggested that the consequences of unchecked government spending could be felt across the political landscape, particularly by incumbents from both major parties ahead of the midterm elections.

Novogratz connected the government’s fiscal behavior with his confidence in Bitcoin, stating that, despite market sentiment, macroeconomic fundamentals keep his outlook positive for the leading cryptocurrency.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

As revealed in the latest SEC filing, U.S.-based Riot Platforms will sell 4,300 BTC and direct the proceeds toward expanding its data center network for AI workloads, confirming that the largest miners are moving away from the strategy of passively accumulating cryptocurrency.

The shift in priorities was driven by a prolonged decline in mining income. In the second quarter, the company's mining revenue fell 19.3% due to rising electricity costs and hashprice falling to historic lows.

Bitcoin mining margin pressures are funding the AI pivotThe market situation remains tense. Bitcoin is trading within a narrow range of around $63,500–$63,700, while the average cost of mining it across the market, according to industry models, stands at $76,000–$78,000 per coin.

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As a result, the average miner on the network is currently operating at a loss, as hashprice has fallen to a record low of $30–$35 per PH/s per day. Only operators with extremely cheap electricity and the latest equipment remain profitable.

Bitcoin miners revenue (USD) over the last 6 months, Source: Blockchain.comRiot's figures are better than the market average, but the broader trend has affected the company as well. Its direct cost of mining one Bitcoin rose to $49,912 due to higher energy rates and the expansion of its capacity in Kentucky. 

This forced management to partially liquidate its holdings by selling some of its accumulated coins, while mining revenue stood at $113.7 million.

At the same time, the company maintains a strong balance sheet and a $1.2 billion cushion of liquid assets, including $548.9 million in cash and a reserve of 11,380 BTC.

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However, its business model is shifting toward a more predictable infrastructure business. Riot has already delivered its first capacity for AMD, while its key long-term project is a 20-year contract to lease AI laboratory facilities, with expected revenue of $9.1 billion.

Riot's actions reflect a broader market trend in 2026, as miners gradually transform into operators of computing centers. Other major players, including MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer, have previously partially or fully liquidated their crypto reserves to fund the construction of AI infrastructure.

Bitcoin price fell nearly 3% from an intraday high of $65,234 to $63,304 as an expected U.S. inflation report failed to push the asset beyond its established trading range.

Summary

Bitcoin price remained inside its $62,000–$66,000 range after July inflation matched forecasts.
4-hour momentum remains weak, with BTC trading below its Bollinger Band midpoint.
Liquidation clusters near $64,700 and $62,800 could shape Bitcoin’s next move.
CoinEx analyst Jeff Ko said weaker employment data affected rate expectations more than CPI.

Bitcoin price action today
According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price traded near $63,600 at the time of writing after briefly reaching $65,234, leaving the asset about 3% below its intraday high. The move followed the release of U.S. inflation data that largely matched economists’ forecasts and offered traders no major upside surprise.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that headline inflation rose 0.1% month over month in July and slowed to 3.4% annually from 3.5% in June. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2% during the month and 2.5% from a year earlier.

CoinEx Chief Analyst Jeff Ko told crypto.news that the figures produced only a limited change in financial conditions. Treasury yields declined after the release, but the 10-year yield remained elevated near 4.68%, while the U.S. dollar weakened slightly.

“July CPI landed almost exactly on consensus. Headline CPI rose 0.1% month-on-month and 3.4% year-on-year, down from 3.5% in June, while core CPI increased 0.2% month-on-month and 2.5% year-on-year,” Ko said.

Bitcoin’s inability to hold above $65,000 supports a sell-the-news interpretation. Traders had pushed BTC toward the upper end of its recent range before the inflation release, but the expected reading provided little reason to increase short-term exposure.

Why expected CPI failed to lift Bitcoin
Ko said Bitcoin’s subdued reaction showed that traders had already accounted for the inflation slowdown before the official report arrived.

“The muted market reaction suggests the CPI print was largely priced in,” Ko told crypto.news.

BTC has traded mainly between $62,000 and $66,000 in recent weeks as institutional demand competes with sales by miners and corporate holders. Trading volume and implied volatility have also declined, limiting the market’s ability to sustain moves outside that range.

Strategy added to the selling pressure after disclosing the sale of 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million at an average price of $64,262. The transaction marked its fourth consecutive week of Bitcoin sales, bringing the 4-week total to 6,916 BTC worth about $429.4 million.

Institutional flows had shown improvement before the latest decline. Ko told crypto.news on Wednesday that U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted roughly $850 million during the previous week, their strongest weekly result since April. crypto.news previously reported $854 million in weekly inflows, led by approximately $694 million entering BlackRock’s IBIT.

Ko had described BTC near $65,000 as an “absorption phase,” in which returning institutional demand was being met by existing selling. The subsequent failure to break $66,000 means the transition from accumulation into a stronger markup phase remains unconfirmed.

Jobs data had a greater effect on rate expectations
Ko said the weak July employment report created a larger change in interest-rate expectations than the in-line CPI reading. U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, compared with expectations for an increase of about 80,000, while May and June gains were revised down by a combined 103,000.

“The weak July jobs report arguably mattered more for the rates outlook in a way that rate futures cut the probability of a September hike from around 57% to roughly 44% after the payrolls miss, a bigger repricing than we saw following the in-line CPI data.”

The analyst estimated that the probability of a September rate increase declined further from about 48% to the low-40% range following CPI. A lower likelihood of immediate tightening can support risk assets, but the continued elevation in Treasury yields has limited that benefit for Bitcoin.

July producer prices offered another mixed signal on Thursday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Producer Price Index was unchanged during the month after falling 0.1% in June, although final-demand prices remained 4.7% higher year over year.

Ko identified July PCE, August CPI, and the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 15–16 meeting as the next major U.S. catalysts. He also warned that July CPI mostly predates the latest increase in geopolitical and oil-price risks, which could feed into future inflation readings.

Bitcoin technicals favor sellers below $64,000
Bitcoin’s daily chart shows the price near $63,637 and below the 20-day simple moving average at approximately $64,079. BTC is also below the 100-day and 200-day averages near $67,285 and $69,670, respectively, keeping the broader recovery under pressure.

Bitcoin price daily chart — Aug. 13 | Source: crypto.news
The 50-day average sits near $63,445, placing BTC just above a short-term support area. A daily close below that level would weaken the current range and expose the psychological $63,000 mark.

Aroon readings add to the bearish setup. Aroon Down stands at 71.43%, compared with Aroon Up at 14.29%, showing that recent lows carry more influence than recent highs.

On the 4-hour chart, Bitcoin trades below the Bollinger Band midpoint at $63,885. The lower band near $63,064 provides immediate support, while the upper band around $64,705 overlaps with the first major recovery target.

Bitcoin price 4-hour chart — Aug. 13 | Source: crypto.news
The 4-hour relative strength index stands at 43.85. The reading points to weak momentum but has not reached oversold territory, leaving room for further selling if $63,000 fails.

Liquidation levels frame Bitcoin’s next move
CoinGlass’ three-day liquidation heatmap shows a large concentration of leveraged positions around $64,500–$64,700. A recovery above $63,900 could draw BTC toward that liquidity before another attempt at $65,000.

Bitcoin liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass
A second cluster sits around $62,700–$62,900. Losing the lower Bollinger Band and $63,000 support could trigger forced long closures and pull the price toward that area. Further support lies between $61,000 and $62,000.

CryptoQuant contributor Rain said about 45%–46% of Bitcoin’s supply is currently held at an unrealized loss, a condition the analyst associated with periods of deeper market stress. Rain identified $61,000–$62,000 as the key area to defend and projected a possible move toward the low-$50,000 range if that support fails.

Nearly half of $BTC supply is underwater now.

Around 45–46% of BTC sits at an unrealized loss, a zone historically associated with deep bear-market stress rather than cycle tops.

But price still trades below the 20D and 50D EMAs, with $61K–$62K acting as the line I’d watch.… pic.twitter.com/br27P5AQC9

— Rain (@raintures) August 13, 2026

Ko said a stronger crypto recovery would require several macro and market signals to align.

“For crypto, the strongest confirmation would be falling real yields, a weaker dollar, and improving ETF/stablecoin flows at the same time.”

Bitcoin must first reclaim $63,900 and $64,700 to improve its short-term structure. Failure to hold $63,000 would instead place the $62,700 liquidity pool in focus, keeping BTC within the broader range that has restricted its price since July.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

In brief Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said the company did not sell Bitcoin. Gerovich said a 5,014 BTC transfer was a routine move between company custody addresses. The denial came as Metaplanet launched BitBonds, a fixed-rate debt program that could help fund future Bitcoin purchases. Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich denied claims that the company sold Bitcoin after a 5,014 BTC transfer, valued at roughly $320 million, between company wallets drew attention online.

“We transferred 5,014 BTC between Metaplanet custodial addresses over the past 24 hours,” Gerovich wrote on X. “This was a routine custody operation. No bitcoin was sold, and our holdings remain 43,000 BTC.”

Myriad: Bitcoin's next move? Click to make your prediction.Gerovich said the transfers were visible because Metaplanet publishes its Bitcoin addresses, allowing the movements to be tracked in real time.

Recent Bitcoin sales by Strategy have added fuel to speculation that Metaplanet could be looking to offload some of its holdings, after the U.S. Bitcoin treasury firm sold 6,948 BTC for roughly $432.5 million this year.

The denial also came as the Tokyo-listed firm launched BitBonds, a fixed-rate debt program that gives it another way to raise capital. Metaplanet has continued to add to its Bitcoin treasury, buying 5,075 BTC in the first quarter of 2026 and another 1,005 BTC in June, bringing its holdings to 43,000 BTC, worth around $3 billion.

Metaplanet said the program could be used for future Bitcoin purchases and other corporate purposes. Debt allows the company to raise cash without immediately issuing more shares or selling Bitcoin.

“The Company intends to continue issuing bonds under the Program in light of market conditions and other factors and, over the medium to long term, as the scale of issuance expands, to put in place the arrangements necessary to enable public bond offerings made under a securities registration statement or similar filing,” Metaplanet said in a statement.

The program expands Metaplanet’s capital-markets strategy as it continues to build one of the largest public-company Bitcoin treasuries outside the U.S.

While BitBonds gives Metaplanet another way to raise money for Bitcoin purchases, it also adds more obligations. If Bitcoin falls, the company still has to make payments on its debt.

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Hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor has announced a data breach exposing customer data. 

Writing on X Thursday, the company said that 13,689 customers from the US, UK, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, and Portugal who received an order 90 days prior to August 8 were affected. 

We have some difficult news to share. Unfortunately, one of our shipping providers has experienced a data breach that exposed sensitive order data. This affects new customers in the US, UK, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, and Portugal who received an order within the 90 days…

— Trezor (@Trezor) August 13, 2026 “Our systems and devices remain secure, but affected customers could experience an increase in phishing attempts,” the Prague, Czech Republic-based company said. “We are deeply sorry to the community and those affected.”

Trezor said that 11,742 customers had their names, emails, phone numbers, and shipping addresses leaked. Another 1,947 customers had just their names, cities and emails exposed. 

SatoshiLabs, the parent company of Trezor, said in an email to Bitcoin Magazine that its third-party fulfillment partner, ShipMonk, had experienced “unauthorized access to their systems containing customer data.”

“Scammers can use the leaked information to send fake emails, make fake phone calls, send fraudulent letters, or potentially impersonate banks, crypto exchanges, or even Trezor,” the company said. 

SatoshiLabs said it was continuing to investigate the incident. 

Trezor is one of the most popular Bitcoin hardware wallet solutions, and also has support for storing other cryptocurrencies. 

Bitcoiners’ personal data has been targeted by cybercriminals in the past: back in 2020, an unauthorized party accessed popular hardware manufacturer Ledger’s e-commerce and marketing database, leaking over 1 million email addresses and the personal contact data of nearly 10,000 customers. 

And at the start of this year, customers reported receiving emails from Global-e, Ledger’s payment partner, that a data breach at its cloud systems leaked sensitive customer data. 

The Bitcoin community is still reeling after hackers targeted Canadian company Coinkite’s popular Coldcard product. 

Hackers started draining $111 million in Bitcoin from the popular Coldcard hardware wallets at the end of last month.The amount stolen could be much higher as investigations continue, with some estimating the real figure to be over $130 million. 

The theft continued, with Bitcoiners — and Coinkite — asking users to move their funds as hackers continued to drain digital coins from the later devices. 

Mathew Di Salvo

Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.