Daily Crypto Roundup - 21 Aug
Today’s Market Update
Bitcoin was edging lower on Thursday, although other cryptos were picking up gains as investors tried to figure out the Federal Reserve's next move.
BTC down 0.45% to $113,104 over the past 24 hours.
Ethereum was up 2.05%, Solana was up 2.27%, and XRP was up 0.78% over the past 24 hours, per data from the crypto exchange Kraken.
Digital-asset prices have soared this year thanks to a slew of positive regulatory developments, but they have lost some steam over the past week after wholesale inflation data came in a little hotter than expected.
Fed chair Jerome Powell's Friday speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday is a likely crunch point for cryptos. If Powell signals a flurry of interest-rate cuts are coming, that ought to reignite the rally. When borrowing costs fall, cryptos tend to get a boost because they are more appealing compared with lower-yielding assets such bonds or cash.
Crypto Dynamics Roundup
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller called for embracing the “technology-driven revolution” powered by AI and stablecoins as a way to boost the U.S. economy. “The technology may be new, but using innovative technology to create new payment services is not a new story,” Waller said in a speech prepared for the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.
Previously, Waller supported certain decentralized finance elements he endorses, including virtual currency technologies, as complements to traditional payment systems. He emphasized that distributed ledger technology can enable more efficient and faster asset transfer tracking.
Bitcoin saw a slight rebound but remains near lows, having dropped to a two-and-a-half-week low the previous night. LMAX Group strategist Joel Kruger said in a report that since hitting an all-time high last week, Bitcoin has been in “correction mode.”
According to a chart posted by @Cointelegraph, CryptoQuant stated that Bitcoin’s current decline is similar to previous cycles. The correction may persist for 2-4 weeks before rebounding to new highs.
According to @DecryptMedia, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a preliminary ruling in a $228 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme case. Prior to the CFTC’s civil case victory, the defendant, Alexander, was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2023 for criminal convictions. Since January 2025, a court-appointed receiver has begun distributing recovered funds to defrauded investors.
Eric Trump, son of former President Trump, reiterated his enthusiasm for Bitcoin at Wednesday’s Jackson Hole SALT conference, stating he believes Bitcoin’s value will eventually surpass $1 million.
The co-founder of Bitcoin mining firm American Bitcoin, who calls himself a “Bitcoin maxi,” said he now dedicates over 50% of his time to crypto projects as Trump Organization’s Executive VP. He stands by his earlier prediction that Bitcoin will reach $175,000 by year-end.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan predicted in a recent report that Bitcoin will achieve a 28.3% compound annual growth rate over the next decade, rising from $113,000 to $1.4 million by 2035, with a total market cap of $28 trillion, surpassing the U.S. Treasury market and gold’s market value.
Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis plans to send a cryptocurrency market structure bill to the President for signing by year-end, using the House-passed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act as the Senate version’s foundation.
Lummis aims to retain House amendments on stablecoins and other provisions to respect the House’s work, which received 78 Democratic votes. Her goal is to complete the legislation by Thanksgiving.