Executive brief
Bitcoin has climbed above $66,000, reaching its highest level in over a month as institutional demand resurges. This breakout comes despite significant geopolitical volatility, including reported Iranian strikes on an Amazon datacenter in Bahrain and a continued oil price surge toward $90 per barrel. The primary driver for the current market optimism appears to be a major legislative breakthrough in the United States. President Trump has reportedly agreed to a historic ethics deal for the Clarity Act, which would establish a federal framework for digital assets. Treasury Secretary Bessent noted the bill is now at the 1-yard-line for Senate approval.
However, institutional strategies are showing signs of caution. Strategy has raised its cash reserves to $3.2b without adding new Bitcoin for four weeks, while BitMine has slowed its Ethereum purchases to focus on stock buybacks. This shift suggests a priority on capital structure and liquidity during periods of macro uncertainty. In the infrastructure sector, Bitcoin miners such as Hut 8 are securing massive AI data centre contracts, including a $9.8b lease, indicating a pivot toward high-performance computing.
The directional cue remains bullish for Bitcoin price action as ETF inflows hit a five-day streak, yet the rising cost of energy and potential new 10% global tariffs present a key risk cue for broader market liquidity. Opportunity persists in the tokenisation sector, as Brazil’s regulator fast-tracks a 60-day task force for a national framework.
1) Top 20 news headlines
- White House pushes Senate Democrats to take historic crypto Clarity Act ethics deal; betting odds for the bill passing this year jumped to 43% on Polymarket.
- Movement Labs files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy months after token scandal; the filing follows an internal investigation into its MOVE token launch and a Binance ban.
- Claude’s Fable 5 just solved an 87-year-old math problem; the AI model disproved the Jacobian conjecture over the weekend.
- Galaxy sets up $5 million fund to help shield Bitcoin against quantum threats; the firm is funding developers to strengthen blockchain security against future decryption capabilities.
- Russia’s parliament passes crypto market law with $3,800 annual cap for retail investors; the new rules allow companies to use tokens to bypass sanctions in global trade from 1 September.
- Augustus raises $180 million to build a clearing bank for AI and stablecoins; the funding round values the firm at $1b.
- Jack Mallers steps down as XXI Capital CEO as Tether merger plans fall; the proposed three-way combination between Twenty One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy has been abandoned.
- Bitcoin hits one-month high above $66,000 as chip trade turns into tailwind; semiconductor shares rebounded while ETF inflows over five days passed $600m.
- Bitcoin ETFs post five-day inflow streak, longest since May; spot funds recorded $227m in daily inflows as price momentum returned.
- UK Parliament begins inquiry into banking chokepoint for crypto businesses; the investigation focuses on banks refusing accounts to digital asset firms.
- Cardano activates Van Rossum hard fork on mainnet; the upgrade moves the network to protocol version 11 through its first community-voted process.
- Exodus to cut 25% of global workforce in payments shift; the restructuring follows acquisitions of Monavate and Baanx.
- Hut 8 surges on $9.8 billion AI data centre lease; the contract lifted the compute sector after concerns over data centre capacity demand.
- BitMine slowed ether purchases to buy back $86 million in stock; the firm added only 7,430 ETH last week as it nears a 5% supply ownership goal.
- Strategy raises cash reserves to $3.2 billion, leaves Bitcoin holdings unchanged; capital was raised to fund dividends on preferred stock rather than buy more tokens.
- Brazil’s securities regulator sets 60-day deadline for tokenisation proposal; the task force will address ownership records and transaction reversibility.
- Bank of Korea prepares for live CBDC transactions with nine banks; the pilot will allow consumers to trade tokenised won across commercial lines in September.
- Grayscale files S-1 for first US Worldcoin ETF; the filing expands the firm’s lineup of crypto-related exchange-traded products.
- Five wallets earn millions on Polymarket World Cup contracts; 54 traders collected $22.3m in profit while 66.7% of addresses finished in the red.
- SEC sues Mining Automatic over alleged $22 million crypto mining scheme; the regulator claims only 13% of investor funds were used for mining operations.
2) BTC and ETH ETF flows
| Metric | BTC | ETH |
|---|---|---|
| Net inflow | $226,919,372.63 | $38,088,603.80 |
| Value traded | $1,744,434,620.00 | $593,295,682.70 |
| Net assets | $79,163,282,869.05 | $10,294,602,911.85 |
| Cumulative net inflow | $51,579,169,915.86 | $11,116,989,754.02 |
3) X trending news
- AI flipping tech to inflationary; import prices for computer products surged 7.4% in the first half of 2026, the highest since 2016.
- US oil prices surge toward $90; prices have jumped 34% since 2 July, potentially pushing gas to $4.20 per gallon.
- Clarity Act at 1-yard-line; Treasury Secretary Bessent has called for Congress to pass the crypto market structure bill immediately.
- Iran strikes Amazon datacenter; the IRGC claimed missile attacks on Bahrain central data infrastructure in retaliation for nuclear project strikes.
- Trump imposes 50% Canadian tariffs; the new proclamations target a range of goods in response to reported trade discrimination.
- London Stock Exchange 24/7 trading; the exchange plans round the clock trading by 2027 to compete with crypto platforms.
- CZ says crypto not going away; the Binance founder stated that AI will need to use money, and that money will be digital.
