Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin Stability and Toncoin Decline Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

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• CoinDesk 20 Index: 2,077 (+0.3%)
• Bitcoin (BTC): $63,982 (−0.0%)
• Ether (ETH): $2,745 (−0.5%)
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Bitcoin (BTC) has remained stable around the $64,000 mark early this Monday, having briefly surged to $65,000 over the weekend. This uptick was largely fueled by dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during the Jackson Hole symposium. On Friday, Powell indicated that an interest rate cut could be on the horizon in September, inspiring confidence in the crypto market.

Among the major cryptocurrencies, Solana (SOL) demonstrated notable resilience, rising 3% in the past 24 hours despite a decrease in the likelihood of a SOL-based spot ETF approval in the United States. The broader CoinDesk 20 index also saw a modest increase of 0.6% during this time. The recent recovery in cryptocurrency prices has been bolstered by a significant expansion in stablecoins, with an average of $1 billion worth of tokens minted over the past week, as highlighted by Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research. Market strategist Joel Kruger from LMAX Group noted, “Technically speaking, it’s looking more and more like we are in a bullish consolidation ahead of the next big push higher.” He anticipates that this could lead to Bitcoin achieving fresh record highs and Ethereum (ETH) breaking out to challenge its previous all-time highs from 2021.

In a contrasting development, Toncoin experienced a sharp decline following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov over the weekend. Durov’s arrest was prompted by a warrant from France’s OFIM, which is focused on preventing violence against minors. This action is part of an investigation into Telegram’s alleged lack of moderation and cooperation with law enforcement. Despite Telegram’s assertion that it complies with all EU laws, TON was trading at approximately $5.60 early Monday, marking a nearly 17% drop since Durov’s arrest. The TON network was originally initiated by Telegram but later evolved independently due to regulatory challenges.

Furthermore, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw significant inflows, totaling $250 million on Friday, coinciding with Powell’s remarks. This surge in investment was accompanied by robust trading activity, with the eleven ETF products recording over $3 billion in trading volume—the highest level in more than a month. Notably, BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC led the way in inflows, while Grayscale’s GBTC faced outflows.

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