1 month ago
Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making quality successful the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a regular summary of apical stories during U.S. hours and an overview of marketplace moves and analysis. For a elaborate overview of U.S. markets, spot CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.
As East Asia begins its trading day, BTC is trading astatine $116,263, down 1.1% connected the time and 2% little connected the week, according to CoinDesk marketplace data, portion ETH sits astatine $4,322, disconnected 3.8% successful the past 24 hours but inactive up 2.6% weekly.
The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), an scale tracking the largest crypto assets, is down 2.4%.
Polymarket odds suggest traders are bracing for weakness done the extremity of August. The astir apt result for BTC is present a adjacent beneath $111,000 with a 34% probability, portion ETH’s highest-weighted script is simply a decorativeness adjacent $4,800 astatine 43%.
Enflux, a Singapore-based marketplace maker, said the marketplace is being pulled successful 2 directions.
“The marketplace remains caught betwixt beardown underlying organization conviction, highlighted by Strategy Inc.’s further 430 BTC acquisition and structural financing shift, and a deficiency of contiguous retail follow-through,” it wrote successful a enactment to CoinDesk.
Enflux pointed to VanEck’s reiterated $180,000 year-end bitcoin people arsenic grounds that institutions are positioning for continuation, adjacent arsenic retail-favored narratives specified arsenic XRP and DOGE person been capped by the SEC’s delays connected ETF approvals.
Solana remains an exception, Enflux wrote, with “quiet strength” from its dominance successful USDC transfers and PumpFun’s stock of caller token issuance.
Still, derivatives positioning shows caution.
QCP reported successful a caller marketplace update that perpetual backing rates turned antagonistic implicit the weekend, a setup that preceded earlier pullbacks, and options skews present favour puts crossed maturities.
The effect is simply a marketplace that looks structurally supported astatine the apical but tactically antiaircraft into Thursday’s Jackson Hole symposium, wherever Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to code argumentation nether the value of higher-than-expected inflation and a White House that continues to situation the Fed's neutrality.
With crypto search interest astatine a four-year precocious and the GENIUS Act sailing done Washington, and now successful the hands of regulators, the instauration for a broader rally is inactive being built.
But for now, prediction markets and terms enactment suggest condemnation is concentrated astatine the top, portion flows stay selective.
Market Movers
BTC: Bitcoin swung betwixt $114,993 and $117,620 connected August 18, with volumes acold supra mean arsenic traders digested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s clarification that strategical reserves would beryllium filled done budget-neutral acquisitions alternatively than nonstop authorities purchases arsenic good arsenic anticipated the upcoming Jackson Hole acme wherever Jerome Powell is expected to outline the lawsuit for keeping rates arsenic is.
ETH: Ethereum fell 3% to $4,330.61 connected Aug. 18 amid dense volatility and repeated absorption adjacent grounds highs, adjacent arsenic U.S. spot ETFs drew $3.71 cardinal of inflows successful stark opposition to ongoing retail selling.
Gold: Gold hovered adjacent $3,333–$3,394 an ounce Monday, rising successful aboriginal U.S. trading arsenic position-squaring acceptable successful up of the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium, wherever Chair Jerome Powell whitethorn hint astatine September complaint cuts, portion traders besides weighed U.S.-Ukraine diplomacy and broader geopolitical uncertainties shaping haven demand.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific stocks mostly slipped Tuesday up of White House talks betwixt Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders, though Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1% and the Topix was flat.
S&P 500: U.S. stocks were small changed Monday arsenic the summertime rally showed signs of fatigue up of Fed minutes, large retail earnings, and Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole code aboriginal this week.
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