Bitcoin fell to the $77,000 range as hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh heightened concerns over another U.S. interest-rate hike, weighing on sentiment across the cryptocurrency market.
As of 9:15 a.m. on the 31st, Bitcoin was trading at 108.18 million won on South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, down 1.10% from the same time the previous day.
At the same time, Bitcoin was trading at $77,816 on CoinMarketCap, down 0.49% over 24 hours.
Bitcoin’s recent volatility increased following Warsh’s speech at Jackson Hole on the 28th. After briefly rising above $80,000, Bitcoin fell into the $76,000–$77,000 range as concerns over renewed monetary tightening resurfaced.
At the annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Warsh emphasized the importance of price stability. He suggested that further policy action could be necessary unless there is sufficient confidence that inflation is slowing toward the Fed’s 2% target.
Markets interpreted the comments as leaving the door open to another rate hike. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, the probability of a rate hike at the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting rose from 35.4% before Warsh’s comments to 55.7% afterward, an increase of 20.3 percentage points.
Stronger expectations for higher interest rates have put additional downward pressure on Bitcoin. Higher rates can increase the attractiveness of safe-haven assets such as government bonds while weighing on risk assets such as Bitcoin. Rising U.S. short-term Treasury yields following Warsh’s remarks have also been cited as a factor limiting risk appetite.
Bitcoin Rises More Than 25% in August, Its Biggest Monthly Gain Since 2017
Bitcoin rose more than 25% during August, recording its strongest August performance since 2017.
According to foreign media reports on the 30th, Bitcoin started the month around $62,000–$64,000 before briefly surpassing $81,000. Its August gain exceeded 25%, marking the strongest August increase since 2017, when Bitcoin rose about 65%.
Historically, August has been considered a weak month for Bitcoin returns. Since 2013, the median August return has been around -7%.
The industry attributed the latest rally to factors including inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and expectations of increased liquidity. However, Bitcoin remains about 30% below its level at the beginning of the year, making its ability to break through the $81,000 resistance level a key turning point for further gains.
Strategy Signals Resumption of Bitcoin Purchases After Two Months
Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has hinted that it may resume Bitcoin purchases after roughly two months.
According to foreign media reports on the 30th, Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor posted a chart showing the company’s Bitcoin holdings on X along with the message, “We’re Back.” The market interpreted the post as a possible signal that Strategy had purchased additional Bitcoin for the first time since June 22. The size of any purchase has not been disclosed.
Rather than selling Bitcoin recently, Strategy raised about $2 billion through the sale of its MSTR common stock as part of a restructuring of its financial position. Industry observers believe that improved cash availability could allow the company to use future funding for additional Bitcoin purchases and purchases of its perpetual preferred stock, STRC.
BNB Chain Takes Nearly 50% of Tokenized Stock Market, Surpassing Ethereum
BNB Chain has expanded its share of the tokenized stock market to roughly 50%, overtaking Ethereum to become the market leader.
According to foreign media reports on the 30th, the value of tokenized stocks on BNB Chain exceeded $1.3 billion as of the end of August. Ethereum stood at about $800 million, while Solana recorded approximately $550 million. With the total tokenized stock supply at around $2.9 billion, BNB Chain accounted for nearly half of the market. The growth of BNB Chain was reportedly driven by the tokenized stock platform bStocks.
However, BNB Chain’s lead in tokenized stocks does not extend to the broader real-world asset tokenization market. BNB Chain accounts for about 15% of the overall RWA market, while Ethereum remains the leader with approximately 45%.
