TL;DR

• BTC and ETH saw a rebound on the daily charts, but await a clear breakout for trend direction.
• Bitcoin spot ETFs had a net inflow of $64.91 million, while Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow of $874.6K.
• Mt. Gox continues large-scale repayments, with the market smoothly absorbing potential volatility.
• Bitcoin OTC platform balances hit a two-year high, suggesting emerging miners sell pressure.
• Babylon launched its staking mainnet, driving BTC on-chain gas fees up to 1,500 sats.
• Seven projects secured funding today, totaling $24.7 million, with the highest amount at $8 million.

Market Analysis

According to Gate.io Market Data, as of August 23 at 12:00 (GMT+8) [1]：

BTC Market Overview — BTC has increased by 0.33% over the past 24 hours, currently priced around $60,861.3. The price peaked at $61,396.0 and bottomed out at $59,712.3 during this period. On the daily chart, BTC has shown a rebound over the past three days, breaking above the 20-day moving average. On the 1-hour chart, the key resistance lies around $62,638.

ETH Market Overview — ETH has risen by 1.83% over the past 24 hours, with the current price approximately $2,669.07. During this timeframe, the highest price within this period was $2,652.84, and the lowest was $2,584.21. The price remains within the $2,500 - $2,780 consolidation range, and a clear trend will emerge only after a breakout from this range.

Altcoins — Altcoins have shown signs of recovery recently. Among the top 100 tokens by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, only seven tokens saw slight declines. Nearly half of the tokens posted gains exceeding 5%. The blockchain-based machine learning network Bittensor recorded the highest increase at 12%, likely driven by positive news that Grayscale will launch a new trust product for Bittensor.

ETF — According to SoSovalue data, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $64.91 million yesterday, bringing the cumulative net inflow to $17.62 billion. The total net asset value of these ETFs is $55.13 billion, representing 4.60% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization. The total daily trading volume was approximately $899 million.

Regarding Ethereum ETFs, there was a net outflow of approximately $874,600 yesterday, bringing the total net outflow to around $459 million. The total net asset value (NAV) of Ethereum ETFs stands at $7.27 billion, representing 2.30% of Ethereum’s total market capitalization. The total trading volume for the day reached $93.87 million.[2]

U.S. Stock Market——According to TradingView data, the three major indices closed lower yesterday—Dow Jones dropped by 0.43%, S&P 500 fell by 0.89%, and Nasdaq declined by 1.68%.

Spot Gold—— The price of gold stands at $2,493.11 per ounce, reflecting a 24-hour decrease of 0.38%.[3]

Top Performers

According to Gate.io, as of 4:00 AM (UTC+0) on August 23, the following tokens have been trending over the past 24 hours:[4]

• KONET（KONET） —— Experienced a daily gain of approximately 149.2%, with a circulating market cap of $50.23 million. The surge in KONET’s price may be attributed to its Initial Farm Offering (IFO) on Gate.io at 2:00 AM (UTC+0) on August 22. KONET’s mainnet recently underwent an upgrade, implementing a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism to enhance network efficiency and security. This upgrade also included the EIP-1559 fee-burning mechanism and PoSDAO decentralized governance, aimed at encouraging more stable staking by network participants.[5]
• ALPACA（Alpaca Finance） —— Recorded a daily increase of about 97.92%, with a circulating market cap of $38.68 million. On August 22, ALPACA’s derivative trading pairs were listed on a major exchange, significantly boosting market liquidity and trading volume. Alpaca Finance is a lending protocol operating on the BNB Chain and Fantom, supporting leveraged yield farming. It offers lenders secure and stable returns and provides borrowers with uncollateralized loans for leveraged yield farming, thereby significantly increasing their farming capital and potential profits.[6]
• CREAM（Cream Finance） —— Saw a daily rise of approximately 58.74%, with a circulating market cap of $41.15 million. The sharp increase in CREAM’s price may be related to Cream Finance’s announcement of its expansion into the Web3 incubator space. Cream Finance recently revealed that its C.R.E.A.M. Collective will focus on investing in entrepreneurs and projects, expanding beyond its lending platform functionality. The collective aims to support innovation in the Web3 space through collaborations with builders, investors, operators, and collectors. Previously, Cream Finance was known as a decentralized lending protocol that provided financial services to individuals, institutions, and other protocols.[7]

Data Highlights

The Cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index stands at 39 today, indicating that market sentiment remains in the “fear” zone
According to Gate.io Bigdata, the Fear & Greed Index (FGI) at 39 suggests that the market is still predominantly fearful. With the market currently in a state of consolidation and moving sideway, most investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach. It is recommended to wait for a clear market direction before making any trading decisions.[8]

Macroeconomic Data

According to CME’s “FedWatch Tool,” the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September has risen to 75%, while the likelihood of a 50 basis point cut has decreased to 25%.[9]

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) minutes from its July meeting, released on August 22 (UTC+0), indicate that policymakers were not in a hurry to cut rates during their last meeting. They view September as the next optimal time to review whether a rate cut is necessary. Given the significant risk of an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent market consolidation, both the U.S. and Eurozone face crucial rate decisions in September, presenting considerable policy risk. Investors are advised to remain cautious and wait for these key decisions before making investment moves.

Contract Liquidations, Funding Rates, and Long/Short Ratios
As of 10:00 AM (UTC+0) on August 23, long contract liquidations amounted to approximately $22.779 million, accounting for about 45.55% of the total, while short contract liquidations were around $12.742 million, making up 54.45%. The long/short ratio stands at 0.8365. In the futures market, long-term positions are predominantly short (about 55.1%), while short-term positions are mainly long.

Babylon Mainnet Staking Launches, BTC On-Chain Gas Fees Surge to Record High
On August 22, Babylon’s staking mainnet officially launched, reaching its initial staking cap of 1,000 BTC within just three hours. The rush to secure limited staking slots triggered a brief spike in on-chain gas fees, reaching 1,500 sats. Although this gas fee competition subsided after nine blocks, the median gas fee during the first hour of Babylon’s launch soared to 798 sats/vB, marking a recent high. This level was only surpassed by the gas fees recorded during the Bitcoin halving event in April and the launch day of the Rune protocol, which saw fees peak at 1,917 sats/vB.

In this intense gas fee competition, Solv emerged as the biggest winner, successfully staking 250 BTC, solidifying SolvBTC.BBN’s position as a leading BTC liquid staking solution. Meanwhile, Bedrock staked over 200 BTC, achieving a staking rate of 44%, which was delegated to its partner, RockX. Lorenzo also successfully staked 129 BTC, with a staking rate of 52%, ranking third among the top participants.

The high gas fees underscore the market’s interest and anticipation for new on-chain Bitcoin applications, which could drive the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem and present new opportunities. This trend is one to watch closely in the coming months.

Spotlight Analysis

Mt. Gox Continues Large-Scale Repayments, Market Smoothly Absorbs Potential Volatility
On August 21, Mt. Gox addresses resumed significant transfers. Among the three transfers, one was a minor transfer of 0.02 BTC, likely used for gas fees, while the other two involved large amounts. A transaction of 12,000.17 BTC (approximately $709.44 million) was sent to a new address ending in “C7wnWhTb.” Based on past patterns, this address is likely a temporary holding address before funds are transferred to creditors or centralized exchanges (CEX). Another transaction of 1,264.7 BTC (around $75.36 million) was already transferred to the CEX Bitstamp.

According to a recent announcement from Mt. Gox[10], since July 2024, they have repaid over 19,000 creditors with BTC and Bitcoin Cash through designated cryptocurrency exchanges. In July, Mt. Gox transferred 95,523 BTC (valued at $6.14 billion) to exchanges such as BitGo, Bitstamp, Kraken, SBIVC Trade, and Bitbank for distribution to creditors. [11]Notably, on July 16, Kraken received 48,641 BTC (worth over $3 billion) from Mt. Gox, earmarked for creditor compensation. Mt. Gox plans to repay approximately 142,000 BTC and 143,000 BCH in total, with a combined value exceeding $8 billion.[12]Gate Research previously analyzed the short-term emotional impact of the Mt. Gox repayment plan, noting potential market volatility. However, recent BTC price action, including a test of the $62,000 resistance level, suggests that the emotional impact has been gradually diminishing. Despite this, Mt. Gox still holds 46,164 BTC (worth $2.74 billion). Should these BTC be released during a period of low market sentiment, it could pose a potential risk to the market.

Bitcoin OTC Platform Balances Surge to Two-Year High, Signaling Potential Miner Sell-Off Pressure
According to data from CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin balance held by miners on over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks has recently surged to its highest level in nearly two years, reaching approximately 153,000 BTC. Over the past three months, this balance has increased significantly by 70%. OTC platforms are typically favored by large investors and miners because they allow transactions to occur without causing significant price fluctuations in the broader market. The rise in OTC balances may indicate that miners are preparing to sell more Bitcoin, which could introduce sell-off pressure and impact market dynamics.

Historically, this trend is not unprecedented. For example, in November 2021, after OTC balances peaked, Bitcoin prices entered a bear market. A similar scenario occurred in June 2018, when high OTC balances were followed by a market correction. However, historical performance does not guarantee future outcomes, and it remains unclear whether the current balance has reached a cyclical peak. Therefore, it is crucial to closely monitor changes in OTC balances to better understand the actions of Bitcoin miners and the potential impact on the market.[13]

Funding News

According to Rootdata’s investment and funding data, seven projects received financing in the past 24 hours, with a total disclosed amount of $24.7 million. Excluding undisclosed amounts, the highest single funding round reached $8 million. Here are the details of the top three projects by funding amount:[14]

Credbull — On-chain private credit fund Credbull completed a $5.2 million funding round, though the specific round was not disclosed. The funding was led by GnosisVC, with strategic participation from Outlier Ventures and other investors. Credbull describes itself as the “first licensed on-chain private credit fund protocol,” launched on the Polygon PoS blockchain in April of this year. The project aims to democratize private credit real-world asset (RWA) investments by bridging the gap between traditional finance and Web3. Its goal is to broaden access to the private credit market, allowing a wider range of investors to participate in this sector.

SatLayer — Bitcoin re-staking platform SatLayer announced the completion of an $8 million Pre-Seed funding round, co-led by Hack VC and Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Franklin Templeton and others. SatLayer is built on the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon and allows users to re-lock their already staked Bitcoin to support the security of decentralized applications and infrastructure. Co-founder Luke Xie mentioned that the initial fundraising target was $4 million, but due to strong market demand, the project successfully raised double that amount.

Arch — Cryptocurrency lending platform Arch announced on August 22 that it has completed a $5 million seed funding round, co-led by Morgan Creek Digital and Castle Island Ventures. Additionally, Galaxy provided $70 million in debt financing. The funds will be used to serve institutional clients and individual investors. Arch was founded in February 2022 by financial industry veterans Dhruv Patel and Himanshu Sahay, with the aim of revitalizing the crypto lending sector, which has been severely impacted by the collapse of companies like BlockFi and Genesis.

Airdrop Opportunities

Magic Eden
On August 22, Magic Eden announced the official launch of its $ME token, which users can claim through the newly launched Magic Eden Wallet. As the largest NFT marketplace on Solana, Magic Eden has expanded its reach to multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Polygon. Users can browse and trade various NFTs through its platform. Magic Eden continues to innovate, with recent developments such as support for Bitcoin Ordinals and the introduction of the Diamond Rewards program. The team will release further details regarding the airdrop plan in the near future.

DeAgentAI
Deagent aims to create the world’s first AI intelligent neural network within Web3 by developing its proprietary LLM model and Agent-Centric Index (AGI) system. The platform enables users to create and deploy their own AI agents, incentivizing high-quality agents through a token-based economic model, thereby fostering innovation and growth in the field of artificial intelligence.

On August 22 (UTC), Deagent announced on its official Twitter the launch of a task-based points earning system. To participate, users need to visit the airdrop page on the official website, connect their wallet, and complete the listed tasks. These tasks include simple actions such as joining the Discord and Telegram channels, and following the project on X (formerly Twitter).[15]

References：

1. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
2. SosoValue，https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
3. TadingView，https://www.tradingview.com/markets/#indices
4. Gate.io，https://www.gate.io/zh/price
5. Gate.io，https://www.gate.io/zh/startup/1783
6. Alpaca Finance，https://x.com/AlpacaFinance
7. Cream Finance，https://x.com/CreamdotFinance/status/1826637199518888430
8. Gate.io，https://www.gate.io/zh/bigdata/homeindex
9. CMEgroup，https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html
10. Mt.Gox，https://www.mtgox.com
11. Arkham Intelligence，https://platform.arkhamintelligence.com/explorer/entity/mt-gox
12. Dune，https://dune.com/queries/2353765/3854614
13. CryptoQuant，https://cryptoquant.com/analytics/query/6634abc91baced59876c4b88
14. Rootdata，https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
15. DeAgentAI，https://x.com/DeAgentAI/status/1826537757373550965

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Disclaimer
Investing in the cryptocurrency market involves high risk, and it is recommended that users conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products they are purchasing before making any investment decisions. Gate.io is not responsible for any losses or damages caused by such investment decisions.