THE WEEKLY WRAP
Crypto markets had a big week, with total market capitalisation climbing 20.57% and returning to levels last seen in May.
Sentiment moved just as quickly. The Fear and Greed Index jumped from 41 to 73, shifting from “Fear” into “Greed” in the space of a week.
ETF flows also flipped heavily positive. Bitcoin ETFs recorded US$1.92 billion in net inflows, compared with a US$389.71 million outflow last week. Ethereum ETFs brought in another US$697.18 million, after finishing almost flat the week before.
The timing of the breakout also lined up with another crypto event at the White House.
On August 19, President Donald Trump met with crypto executives and regulators, where he again pushed Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, which would establish a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets in the US. Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies moved sharply higher around the event, although lower bond yields, a weaker US dollar and short covering were also cited as factors behind the rally.
BTC vs GOLD vs NASDAQ vs ETH vs VAS
🟡 Gold: +8.34%
🔵 Nasdaq: +14.10%
🔴 Vanguard Australian Shares: +4.45%
🟠 Bitcoin: -9.68%
⚪ Ethereum: -16.40%
Crypto made up a lot of ground this week. Bitcoin improved from -26.77% to -9.68% year-to-date, while Ethereum moved from -36.03% to -16.40%.
Gold also had a strong move, climbing from +1.92% to +8.34%, while Australian shares edged higher to +4.45%.
The Nasdaq slipped from +18.16% to +14.10%, but remains the strongest performer of the five year-to-date.
Despite this week’s crypto rally, Bitcoin and Ethereum are still the only two assets on the chart sitting in negative territory for 2026.
Source: TradingView, BTC, GOLD, NASDAQ, VAS, ETH
Bitcoin
One of the biggest stories behind Bitcoin’s breakout was happening in the derivatives market.
As BTC pushed above US$69,000 on August 19, more than US$1 billion worth of Bitcoin short positions were liquidated in around an hour. When leveraged shorts are liquidated, positions are automatically closed, adding further buying pressure to an already fast-moving market.
Across the broader crypto market, more than US$4 billion in bearish positions were reportedly wiped out during two days.
BTC Technical Analysis
Bitcoin broke decisively above the short-term high around US$67,300, rallying all the way towards US$80,000.
Since the breakout, price has consolidated near the highs, with BTC testing US$80,000 at the time of writing.
The next area to watch sits around US$82,000–US$83,000, near the top of the longer-term range. A move into that zone would test whether the breakout can extend further, while a rejection could see Bitcoin fall back into the broader range and consolidate again.
Source: TradingView, BTC/USDT
Ethereum
Vitalik wants AI to speed-run decades of cryptography.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published the final part of a three-part series on cryptographic obfuscation this week, exploring ways to make computer programs work normally while hiding how they work underneath.
His latest idea, called “local mixing,” involves adding junk, shuffling and repeatedly rewriting parts of a program until its original structure becomes extremely difficult to unravel.
The technology is still highly experimental. Buterin himself described it as a “wild and risky bet”, but suggested AI could help researchers compress decades of cryptographic testing and attacks into just a few years.
Basically: use AI to attack the cryptography until the cryptography gets better.
ETH Technical Analysis
Ethereum has already returned to its April range highs, putting it ahead of Bitcoin in the short term.
After holding support around US$1,800, ETH broke higher and rallied towards US$2,500, where price is now consolidating.
That relative strength is also showing up in the ETH/BTC pair. Since 9 June, ETH has outperformed Bitcoin by roughly 24%, with ETH/BTC rising from around 0.0253 to 0.0313.
With ETH already testing its previous range high while Bitcoin remains below its own, Ethereum has been the stronger of the two during the latest move.
Source: TradingView, ETH/USDT
Altcoins
SocialFi led the pack again this week, jumping 53.70%, with PUMP up 73.60% helping push the sector higher.
DeFi followed at +23.70%, with ENA gaining 82.79% and AAVE climbing 47.45%. The Bitcoin ecosystem rose 22.46%, helped by the week’s biggest mover, Stacks (STX), up 101.33%.
AI gained 19.73%, DePIN added 19.40%, and RWA finished up 9.54%. XRP also had a strong week, gaining 47.45%.
Memes technically broke the chart this week thanks to a data glitch so we removed the sector from the comparison. The actual moves were still huge, with TRUMP +68.56%, PENGU +63.90% and PEPE +55.86%.
Source: https://defillama.com/narrative-tracker
Stacks (STX)
STX was the standout mover this week, climbing 101.33%.
Stacks is building a smart-contract and DeFi ecosystem around Bitcoin, and this week the market turned its attention to its upcoming Bitcoin staking launch.
Its first Genesis Bond is expected to begin in September, allowing an initial group of institutions to put BTC to work through Stacks and earn rewards in Bitcoin. Fordefi also announced support for the product this week, adding institutional self-custody infrastructure ahead of the launch.
Add a 20%+ Bitcoin rally and renewed interest in the Bitcoin ecosystem, and STX went from around US$0.12 to above US$0.24 in less than a week.
Result: STX more than doubled.
THIS WEEK’S INSIGHTS
🍔 Big Macs, iPhones and Bitcoin?
Ten years ago, one Bitcoin couldn’t buy you an iPhone.
Today, at current prices, it could theoretically buy around 77 of them.
This week’s Insights article takes Big Macs, petrol, bread and iPhones, prices them in both AUD and Bitcoin, and shows how much the answer changes when you change the measuring stick.
