Trump family went pro-crypto after Biden ‘weaponized banks’ — WSJ

Bitcoin price remains under pressure, consolidating above $111,980 support after dropping more than 3%.

BTC pullback continued as weakening demand and profit-taking keep weighing in, as spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) saw over $1.15 billion in outflows.

Bitcoin Spot ETFs Record the Highest Weekly Outflow in Five Months

Bitcoin price continued its correction over the weekend, having declined nearly 8% from its all-time high of $124,747 on August 14. The falling institutional demand fueled this price pullback.

SoSoValue data shows that Bitcoin Spot ETFs have recorded a total of $1.15 billion in outflows until Thursday, the highest outflow since early March. If this outflow continues and intensifies, BTC could see further correction ahead.

On-chain Data Shows Profit-taking Activity Fuels BTC Correction

CryptoQuant’s weekly report on Wednesday highlighted that slowing demand and profit-taking are key drivers of the BTC correction.

The graph below shows that the BTC demand is continuing to weaken. Bitcoin Apparent Demand has dropped from its July peak of 174,000 BTC to 59,000 BTC on Wednesday.

During the same period, the demand from major institutional buyers has also slowed, with 30-day ETF net purchases (red) standing at 11,000 BTC, their lowest level since April 25, and Strategy’s accumulation (grey) falling sharply from 171,000 BTC in November 2024 highs to 27,000 in the last 30 days, suggests fading momentum, which likely contributed to the recent price correction. If demand continues to soften, Bitcoin could remain in a consolidation phase or see further correction.

Glassnode’s report also supported this bearish thesis. The graph below shows that Open Interest (OI) across Bitcoin futures contracts remains elevated at $67 billion, suggesting overheated leveraged conditions and even moderate price movements can trigger a significant contraction in leveraged positions.

The report further explained that while liquidation volumes were triggered during this correction, with shorts reaching $72.8 million across the record high, and longs hitting $99 million during the downtrend, they remained low compared to those seen during similar volatile price moves in July.

This suggests that a significant portion of recent contract closures were likely voluntary, and therefore risk-managed, rather than driven by forced liquidations as excessive leverage is flushed out.

Bitcoin Slides After Hawkish FOMC Stance

On the macroeconomic front, the minutes from the late-July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, released on Wednesday, struck a hawkish tone. Policymakers expressed greater concern over persistent inflation than over the labor market, fueling downside pressure on riskier assets such as Bitcoin.

This hawkish stance comes after US Producer Price Index (PPI) data figures significantly exceeded economists’ expectations, suggesting that inflation is gradually escalating in the pipeline, which led BTC to slide 1.58% last week.

Traders remain cautious as Bitcoin is showing muted momentum.

Some Signs of Optimism

Despite BTC continuing its correction this week, treasury companies such as Metaplanet and Strategy had added a total of 1,185 BTC on Monday, comfortably buying at these price dips.

During the same period, CMB International Securities, a subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, announced the official launch of virtual asset trading in Hong Kong, supporting trading of BTC, ETH, and USDT. This announcement marks a milestone as it becomes the first Chinese bank-affiliated brokerage firm to carry out this business in compliance, covering mainstream currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Additionally, the news that US President Donald Trump is setting the stage for a trilateral meeting with Russia and Ukraine came in. This raises hopes for a breakthrough towards ending the protracted Russia-Ukraine war and could help risk-on sentiment, which could boost investors’ confidence and rally in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Is BTC Out of the Woods?

BTC price has fallen over 8% from its record of $124,747 on August 14, closing below an ascending trendline drawn by connecting multiple lows since early April this week, and retested its support level at $111,980 on Thursday. At the time of writing on Friday, it hovers at around $113,200.

If the support at $111,980 holds and BTC recovers and closes above its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $114,788, it could extend the recovery toward its next daily resistance at $116,000.

However, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads 42, below its neutral value of 50, suggesting bearish momentum. For the recovery rally to be sustained, the RSI must move above its neutral level.

However, if BTC continues its correction and closes below $111,980 support, it could extend the decline toward its 100-day EMA at $110,604.

One seller punched a hole in Bitcoin’s weekend, while Ether kept setting new records and stealing the spotlight.

The Weekend Plot Twist: One Seller, Big Splash

If you are hunting for a complex macro narrative behind Bitcoin’s stumble, stand down. The proximate cause was much simpler, and much louder. A single Bitcoin whale offloaded 24,000 BTC on Sunday, a sale worth about $2.7 billion, and that one move kicked off a rapid cascade of liquidations. Bitcoin fell from about $114,666 to $112,546 in nine minutes, with a local bottom near $112,174. The same whale was understood to be rotating billions from BTC into ETH over the week, a tidy bit of opportunism that turned into market theater for everyone else.

How a Sell Button Becomes a Market Event

The 24,000 BTC sale triggered roughly $623 million in liquidations as over-levered longs learned, again, that weekends can be thin and unforgiving. Yet even in the aftermath, Bitcoin clawed back from a weekend low near $110,484 and hovered around $113,000.

Translation: Positioning, rather than a mass event.

It just goes to show that older wallets and their whales have serious firepower and can distort flows when they move. That context matters, but Sunday’s culprit was not a faceless crowd. It was one whale with a very heavy hand and an appetite for ETH.

Meanwhile, Ether Kept Writing the Headline

While Bitcoin dealt with a whale-induced bruise, Ether kept sprinting. Axios reports ETH broke its 2021 record and peaked at about $4,945.60 on August 24, pushing Ethereum’s market value toward $600 billion. It’s back down to $ 4,723 at the time of writing, but still…

It might not have made $5,000, but ETH hopped above the $4,900 mark and traded in uncharted territory after smashing its four-year high on Friday. The optics are hard to miss. Bitcoin took a whale punch, Ether posted a personal best and kept pressing higher.

Why ETH Outpaced BTC

Part of the story is rotation. If a single whale can yank billions from BTC into ETH and then lever long on ETH, you do not need a PhD to understand which asset gets the momentum bid. But there is also a cleaner narrative tailwind. Axios points to rising institutional participation and interest around Ethereum’s programmable base layer, plus the growing role of ETFs and treasury buyers. That cocktail creates steady demand, which looks very different from a weekend liquidity pocket.

None of this means Bitcoin is in trouble. This is simply the movement created (initially) by one whale moving his pieces around the board.

What Matters Next

The market learned two things. One, a single motivated seller can still make a mess, especially on a quiet weekend, so risk control is not optional. Two, Ether’s bid is not just vibes. New highs near $5,000 and improving sentiment suggest a different phase for the number two coin, at least for now. If Bitcoin shakes off the whale’s wake, and ETH keeps flirting with five figures, this could turn into the rare stretch where rotation helps the whole complex instead of cannibalizing it.

For more news around crypto and other trending topics, visit our dedicated sections.

The native token powering the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid was one of the few tokens to post a gain over the 24 hours, as crypto entrepreneur Arthur Hayes told an audience in Tokyo he expects it to 126x over the next three years.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) has gained almost 4% over the last 24 hours and is now trading at $45.64 — though it briefly reached over $47 earlier in the day.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes made the forecast at the WebX 2025 conference in Tokyo on Monday local time.

Hayes said that stablecoin expansion would push the DEX’s annualized fees to $258 billion while its current annualized revenue is just $1.2 billion.

Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures, derivative contracts without an expiry date, allowing speculators to take leveraged positions on crypto assets without owning them.

SBI Group, one of Japan’s largest financial giants with over $200 billion in assets, has announced a major partnership with Chainlink, the leading oracle network in blockchain. The collaboration begins in Japan, known for its advanced financial system, and is expected to expand into global markets.

A survey by SBI Digital Asset Holdings recently showed that 76% of institutions are interested in tokenized securities. However, many hesitate due to weak infrastructure. The SBI–Chainlink partnership aims to solve this by building secure and reliable systems that allow institutions to confidently step into the world of digital assets.

Tokenized Assets Take the Lead

The first focus will be on tokenizing real-world assets like real estate and bonds. With Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), institutions can move these assets securely across multiple blockchains while meeting compliance requirements.

Fund operations are also set to become smoother. By bringing Net Asset Value (NAV) data on-chain using Chainlink SmartData, asset managers will gain better liquidity, transparency, and efficiency.

Stablecoins and Faster Payments

The partnership also extends into stablecoins and cross-border transactions. With Chainlink’s Proof of Reserve, institutions can verify stablecoin reserves in real time, ensuring trust and transparency.

On the payments side, CCIP will power payment-versus-payment (PvP) settlements for foreign exchange and international transfers. This development enables safer, faster, and compliance-friendly cross-border transactions. Notably, these transfers can be settled without using a bridge currency like XRP or USDT, marking a major shift in how global payments may evolve.

Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov praised SBI as one of the most forward-thinking companies in the blockchain space, highlighting its role in advancing tokenization and stablecoin settlement projects. 

SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao echoed this view, describing Chainlink as a “natural partner” capable of delivering secure and compliant solutions for cross-border finance.

This is not the first time the two groups have worked together. In Singapore, under Project Guardian, SBI Digital Markets, Chainlink, and UBS Asset Management successfully tested automated fund administration. That achievement laid the groundwork for today’s larger-scale partnership.

Crypto Community’s Take

Crypto analyst Zach Rynes pointed out a striking detail from the announcement: with CCIP, cross-border payments can happen directly through PvP settlement, eliminating the need for a middle currency. This innovation could reshape global finance and further boost institutional adoption of blockchain technology.

FAQs

SBI Group teamed with Chainlink to boost tokenized assets, stablecoins, and cross-border finance in Japan and globally.

76% of institutions want tokenized securities; SBI aims to solve infrastructure gaps with Chainlink’s secure tech.

They plan to tokenize real-world assets like real estate, bonds, and funds using Chainlink’s CCIP.

SBI and Chainlink enable fast PvP cross-border payments without bridge currencies like XRP or USDT.

Yes, they collaborated in Singapore under Project Guardian to test automated fund administration.

Japanese-listed company Metaplanet Inc. has added another 103 Bitcoin to its treasury, spending around 1.736 billion yen ($11.78 million). With this latest move, the company’s total Bitcoin stash has climbed to 18,991 BTC, representing a massive investment of nearly 285.8 billion yen ($1.94 billion).

This purchase is part of Metaplanet’s ongoing Bitcoin Treasury Operations, a strategy that uses metrics like BTC Yield and BTC Gain to track performance. Over the past few quarters, these numbers have shown strong results, providing a direct boost to shareholder value.

A Steady Bitcoin Accumulation Strategy

Metaplanet Bitcoin’s holding journey began in April 2024 and has been steadily stacking BTC ever since. This isn’t a one-time gamble but a clear sign the company sees Bitcoin as a long-term store of value. Fast forward to August 2025, and Metaplanet now holds nearly 19,000 BTC, putting it in 7th place worldwide among corporate Bitcoin holders, right up there with some of the biggest global names that also keep Bitcoin on their balance sheets. 

With each reporting period, the company has revealed consistent accumulation, showing that Bitcoin is no longer just an investment for Metaplanet; it has become a core pillar of its business strategy.

Metaplanet Q2 2025 Revenue Jumps 41%, Net Income Hits ¥11.1B

The company’s growing Bitcoin position comes alongside impressive financial results. In the second quarter of 2025, Metaplanet reported revenues of 1.2 billion yen ($8.4 million), marking a 41% increase from the previous quarter. Net income also turned around dramatically, reaching 11.1 billion yen ($75.1 million), compared to a 5 billion yen ($34.2 million) loss in the first quarter.

In its quarterly report, the company reaffirmed its full-year projections of 3.4 billion yen in revenue and 2.5 billion yen in operating profit. Executives credited recurring cash-secured put premiums and strong operational performance as the main drivers of growth.

The company also tapped capital markets to fuel its treasury growth. It redeemed parts of its the 19th bond series in July and funded those redemptions through proceeds from stock acquisition rights. Heavy share exercises followed, including 9 million shares on July 10 and 14, 14.9 million shares between August 12–15, and another 4.9 million on August 20.

Boosted by Strong Financial Results

Alongside their Bitcoin plays, Metaplanet’s financial performance has garnered attention. A standout moment came in mid-August when the company was upgraded from small-cap to mid-cap in the FTSE Japan Index, leading to inclusion in the FTSE All-World Index as well.

By steadily expanding its reserves and boosting them with improved financials, Metaplanet has firmly positioned itself as a pioneer among Japanese corporations in the digital asset space.

FAQs

Metaplanet holds 18,991 BTC, worth about ¥285.8B ($1.94B), ranking 7th among corporate holders.

Metaplanet began its Bitcoin accumulation strategy in April 2024 and has added steadily since.

Q2 2025 saw revenue jump 41% to ¥1.2B, net income ¥11.1B, making it a top-performing crypto stock.

Strong Bitcoin holdings and profits upgraded Metaplanet to FTSE mid-cap, a key Japanese Bitcoin stock.

Tokenized real-world assets could eventually represent trillions of dollars worth of traditional finance assets in a multichain future, according to Animoca.

“The estimated $400 trillion addressable TradFi market underscores the potential growth runway for RWA tokenization,” said researchers Andrew Ho and Ming Ruan in an August research paper from Web3 digital property firm Animoca Brands.

The researchers found that the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) sector is just a small fraction ($26 billion) of the total addressable market currently, which is over $400 trillion.

These asset classes include private credit, treasury debt, commodities, stocks, alternative funds and global bonds.

There is currently “a strategic race to build full-stack, integrated platforms” by large asset managers, and long-term value will accrue to those who can “control asset lifecycle,” the researchers said.