Cryptocurrency Roundup: Bitcoin Retreats From US$80,000 High As Washington’s Crypto Regulatory Push Accelerates

Bitcoin briefly cleared the US$80,000 level for the first time in more than three months before retreating, closing the week at US$77,682 with a loss of just 0.07 per cent. The pullback followed a hawkish speech from Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh, at the Jackson Hole symposium, which lifted the estimated probability of a September rate hike to between 56 and 60 per cent and pressured risk assets broadly.

The retracement came after a period of sharp upward momentum that saw Bitcoin surge by US$15,000 in under two days, posting a 22.6 per cent weekly gain – its largest in three years and the biggest single-week increase in US dollar terms on record. Bitcoin wicked to a high of US$81,479 before sellers reasserted control.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalisation fell 0.94 per cent to US$2.59 trillion, while Bitcoin’s share of that market rose to 60.19 per cent.

Treasury buybacks and the liquidity trade

Prior to the move upward, Bitcoin’s volatility had dropped to levels lower than all but 1.5 per cent of its recorded history. That set up conditions for a short squeeze, apparently triggered by a US Treasury announcement that it was doubling bond buybacks to US$4 billion per operation in an attempt to reduce elevated yields.

The strategy has not yet had its intended effect, meaning further intervention is expected. US debt crossed the US$40 trillion mark, and the interest bill is now the second-largest line item in the government’s budget. CNBC reported the Treasury may use the US$950 billion general account to fund further buybacks.

BitMEX founder, Arthur Hayes, argued the move will add more liquidity to the system, regardless of whether it constitutes formal money printing. “If yield curve control is coming, the price of Bitcoin is going to be in the hundreds of thousands very quickly,” he declared.

Billionaire investor, Ray Dalio, offered a more measured view, warning that the US may face a debt crisis within one to five years. He has advised investors to allocate 15 per cent of their portfolios to gold and a small portion to Bitcoin.

Australia’s government debt crossed US$1 trillion in the same period, though at 32 per cent of GDP it sits well below Germany at 70 per cent, the US at 125 per cent and Japan at 250 per cent.

Whale accumulation continues despite volatility

Large holders continued buying through the turbulence. Bitcoin whales accumulated over 39,154 BTC – roughly US$3 billion – in a single week. Wallets holding more than 100 BTC added approximately 43,000 BTC over the preceding 60 days, while those holding more than 10,000 BTC added 46,420 BTC over the same period.

Derivatives data told a parallel story. From August 20, Bitcoin’s open interest climbed from the US$46 billion to US$49 billion range toward US$57 billion. When price and open interest rise in tandem, it typically signals new capital entering the market rather than short covering.

Bitrue Research Institute noted the structural dynamics at play. “Bitcoin and XRP are not moving in isolation,” the institute observed. “The leverage buildup and the location of liquidation clusters suggest that Bitcoin’s ability to secure a hold above US$80,000 could serve as a meaningful catalyst for XRP’s next directional move.”

ETF inflows hit strongest levels in 10 months

US spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds recorded their strongest week of inflows since October 2025, attracting a combined US$2.61 billion. The Bitcoin ETFs drew US$1.92 billion, which Galaxy Research identified as the 18th-largest weekly inflow since the products launched in January 2024. Ether ETFs took in US$697 million.

The inflow streak broke on the final day of the week, with Friday’s session recording an outflow as the hawkish tone from Jackson Hole filtered through to risk sentiment.

Solana stands out as altcoins falter

It was a difficult week for most altcoins in the wake of the Fed-driven pullback. Cardano fell 15.11 per cent, XRP dropped 10.71 per cent, Litecoin lost 8.30 per cent and Avalanche fell 6.52 per cent.

Solana was the exception, gaining 6.62 per cent to close at US$102. The rally coincided with Bitwise’s BSOL becoming the first individual Solana ETF to cross US$1 billion in assets under management, reaching the milestone in just 10 months. XRP’s ETF products also posted their strongest week of 2026, despite the token’s price decline.

Ethereum added the equivalent of Solana’s entire market capitalisation during the prior week’s rally, surging 30 per cent to US$2,480. XRP had gained 47.5 per cent during the same upswing, while Solana rose 29.1 per cent and Hyperliquid climbed 31.4 per cent.

Tokenised assets continue to expand

The value of tokenised real-world assets on-chain reached US$38.35 billion, held across nearly 3 million wallets. Stellar was a notable contributor, with its tokenised real-world asset market expanding 360 per cent to US$4 billion.

CLARITY Act faces critical September vote

The legislative push to establish a federal regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in the US is approaching a pivotal moment, with a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act scheduled for September 15.

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives in July 2025, has been stalled in the Senate amid disputes over the treatment of stablecoin rewards, concerns about illicit finance and an unresolved debate over how to address US President, Donald Trump’s, growing cryptocurrency holdings, which have reached hundreds of millions of dollars through World Liberty Financial and his official memecoin.

At a White House press conference with crypto company executives including Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, and Gemini co-founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Trump urged lawmakers to pass “a fair version” of the bill to keep the US “ahead of China.”

Armstrong told reporters the bill would make US crypto policies “durable into the future, so it could survive for decades and decades to come.” He speculated it could attract “more than 60 votes” once the Senate addressed a cloture motion on September 15.

“It’s very bipartisan, I would say,” Trump remarked.

However, as of the end of August, the bill does not appear to have the 60 votes required to advance to a full vote.

Ethics provisions remain a sticking point

The debate over ethics provisions continues to complicate the bill’s path. In July, Trump agreed to a provision barring public officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, but Democrats criticised it for limiting enforcement to the Justice Department.

Democratic Senator, Ruben Gallego, who co-wrote a bipartisan counterproposal with Republican Senator, Thom Tillis, that would expand enforcement to state attorneys general, pushed back on Trump’s framing.

“I think, unfortunately, what the President means is fair to him,” Gallego remarked at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium. “The President is agreeing to some limitation. It’s not his place to agree. It’s the place of the Congress, the Senate and then the White House. The President doesn’t just get to decide what level of regulation he gets.”

Democratic Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the bill’s lead negotiators, called for enforceable ethics language, pointing to a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing 63 per cent of Americans believe Trump’s crypto profits are not appropriate.

“We can pass smart, clear rules for digital assets and shut down presidential self-dealing at the same time,” Gillibrand argued. “There must be an enforceable ban, and any market structure bill that leaves enforcement solely in the hands of the President’s own Justice Department and allows him to profit from crypto isn’t a reform. It’s a permission slip.”

Crypto In America has reported that behind closed doors, efforts are underway to convince Trump that accepting certain elements of the proposed ethics deal could be in the President’s own interest.

Stand With Crypto endorses 32 candidates ahead of midterms

Crypto advocacy group, Stand With Crypto, which is backed by Coinbase, is endorsing 32 House candidates it considers pro-crypto for the upcoming US midterm elections. The endorsed candidates include Republican, Warren Davidson, and Democrat, Ritchie Torres.

The group has not yet disclosed which candidates it will back in Senate races, a move designed to increase pressure on Senators to support the CLARITY Act when the vote comes.

SWC Executive Director, Mason Lynaugh, framed the midterms as a turning point. “The midterms come at a key inflection point for crypto policy in Washington, D.C. As candidates from both parties are trying to reach voters outside of more traditional constituencies, they overlook crypto voters at their own peril,” Lynaugh commented.

The organisation and the broader crypto industry spent millions of dollars through super PACs during the 2024 election cycle. One PAC, Fairshake, spent US$12 million in Ohio backing crypto-friendly Republican, Bernie Moreno, who defeated former Senate Banking Committee Chair, Sherrod Brown.

SEC proposes new token sale exemptions

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released a proposal for Regulation Crypto Assets, which would create a tailored framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets.

Under the proposed rules, start-ups could raise up to US$5 million via token sales over a four-year period without full SEC registration. A separate exemption would allow US-based issuers to raise up to US$75 million during each 12-month period, subject to ongoing reporting requirements and disclosure of project tokenomics, smart contracts and source code.

The proposal also includes a conditional safe harbour from the term “investment contract” in the definitions of “security” under federal law. If the conditions are met, a crypto asset would not be deemed subject to an investment contract for the purposes of those definitions.

SEC Chairman, Paul S. Atkins, explained the rationale. “Regulation Crypto Assets seeks to provide crypto asset entrepreneurs and market participants with clear pathways to raise capital under the federal securities laws,” he stated. “Advancing this regulatory framework is a key element in our strategy to advance the rule books for the modern era.”

The proposal is open for public comment for 60 days.

CFTC signals it will act independently if needed

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is signalling it will not wait for Congress to act. CFTC Chair, Mike Selig, warned the regulator will issue its own rules if lawmakers cannot agree to pass the CLARITY Act.

“If CLARITY continues to stall because of Democratic obstruction, the CFTC will utilise its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets,” Selig declared during the first meeting of the CFTC’s new Innovation Advisory Committee.

The committee includes 43 representatives from firms including Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Nasdaq, NYSE and CME. Among the topics discussed were the potential for crypto exchanges to offer leveraged trading under CFTC oversight, legal pathways for on-chain DeFi protocols in the US and modernised rules for prediction markets.

Robinhood CEO, Vlad Tenev, told the committee that the patchwork of 50 different state-level crypto regulations is more harmful to customers than to the companies themselves.

Selig also called for America to become the “compute capital of the world” and warned against states attempting to block prediction markets, a reference to recent regulatory friction in that sector.

Singapore and Hong Kong compete for crypto fund managers

In Asia, Singapore and Hong Kong are engaged in a competitive push to attract cryptocurrency asset managers through tax concessions.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced it will exempt certain investment profits from taxation for fund managers, including those running single-family office funds. The move came two months after Hong Kong issued a bill to cut taxes for hedge funds.

MAS Deputy Chairman, Chee Hong Tat, emphasised it is not a “zero-sum game” between the two financial hubs.

Singapore is also expanding a scheme to help investment professionals relocate to the city-state and is offering a co-investment arrangement between MAS and fund managers who establish operations there. In Hong Kong, Standard Chartered has become the first bank authorised to distribute a new regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin called HKDAP.

Upcoming catalysts in focus

Market participants are now watching several events that could shape the next move. Expanded Treasury buybacks are set to begin on September 9, followed by the CLARITY Act procedural vote on September 15. Both could have material effects on sentiment and positioning.

Bitrue Research Institute cautioned that the current market structure is contingent on Bitcoin holding key support levels. “Upcoming events, particularly expanded Treasury buybacks starting September 9 and a potential CLARITY Act procedural vote mid-September, may provide the fundamental support needed to turn short-term positioning into a more sustained move,” the institute noted. “But the structure only holds if Bitcoin does.”

Last Updated on August 31, 2026 by Nick Ross