MarsBit News, on August 15, the crypto market saw a widespread decline. According to market information, Ethereum dropped below $4,500 this morning, currently trading at $4,568, while Bitcoin fell below $118,000, now priced at $118,488. The total cryptocurrency market cap decreased to $4.09 trillion, with a 24-hour decline of 3.9%. US stock indices were near flat, with the S&P 500 up 0.03%, Nasdaq down 0.01%, and Dow down 0.02%, with the S&P 500 creating new closing highs for three consecutive trading days. Large tech stocks generally rose, with Intel surging over 7%. Altcoin market experienced widespread decline, with Ethereum ecosystem tokens leading the drop, including: REZ down 16.36% in 24 hours; SSV down 15.13%; ORDI down 15.48%; EIGEN down 15.02%; TNSR down 14.8%. According to RockFlow market data, crypto stocks generally declined, with: Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf (WULF) surging 59.52% after signing two 10-year AI hosting agreements with AI cloud platform Fluidstack, with estimated first 10-year contract revenue around $3.7 billion; Crypto trading platform Bullish (BLSH) up over 9.85%, with trading volume of $2.513 billion; Circle (CRCL) down 9.08%, with trading volume of $2.557 billion; Coinbase (COIN) down 0.65%, with trading volume of $3 billion; MicroStrategy (MSTR) down 4.35%, with trading volume of $6.145 billion; SharpLink Gaming (SBET) down 0.13%, with trading volume of $1.056 billion; Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) down 2.04%, with trading volume of $4.242 billion.
MarsBit News, according to Coinglass data, network-wide liquidations in the past 24 hours totaled $1.059 billion, with long positions liquidated at $883 million and short positions at $176 million. Among these, Bitcoin long positions were liquidated at $166 million, Bitcoin short positions at $34.24 million, Ethereum long positions at $277 million, and Ethereum short positions at $68.27 million.
Additionally, in the last 24 hours, 229,306 people were liquidated globally, with the largest single liquidation occurring on Binance - BTCUSDT valued at $6.25 million.
US Imposes Blacklist Sanctions on Ruble Stablecoin AVA and Garantex's Crypto Network
MarsBit News, on August 15, according to CoinDesk, the US imposed blacklist sanctions on the ruble stablecoin AVA and the crypto network of the closed Russian crypto exchange Garantex. Garantex, which previously processed over $100 million in illegal transactions before being shut down, subsequently created a renamed platform Grinex to continue operations. The stablecoin AVA, supported by Russian institutions, is used to circumvent international sanctions, with daily trading volume reaching $1 billion. The US, in cooperation with German and Finnish police, seized Garantex's website domain and froze $26 million in assets in March. Key Garantex executives Sergey Mendeleev, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky, along with Mendeleev's company InDeFi Bank and Exved, were also placed on the sanctions list for helping sanctioned Russian enterprises trade through crypto channels. A report by blockchain analysis company Elliptic shows that the ruble stablecoin AVA supported a "sanctions evasion plan" enabling Russian companies to conduct cross-border payments bypassing traditional banking systems.
MarsBit News, according to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks $124,215, the cumulative short position liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $4.656 billion. Conversely, if BTC falls below $112,683, the cumulative long position liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $2.485 billion.
MarsBit News, on August 15, according to the Federal Reserve schedule, Fed Chair Powell will deliver a speech on economic prospects and Fed policy framework assessment at the Kansas City Fed's annual central bank meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on August 22 at 10 AM Eastern Time (10 PM Beijing time). This speech comes at a critical moment: recent data shows tariff measures have partially impacted inflation, while the job market is slowing down. This complex situation has strengthened market expectations of a potential 25 basis point rate cut at next month's meeting. Meanwhile, US President Trump continues to pressure for rate cuts and is looking for a replacement. Powell's Fed Chair term will end in May next year.
SEC Delays Decision Date for Bitwise and 21Shares Solana ETF Proposals to October
MarsBit News, on August 15, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in Thursday's filing that the decision date for the Bitwise Solana ETF and 21Shares Core Solana ETF proposals has been postponed to October 16. "The SEC believes that designating a longer time to make a decision is appropriate to have sufficient time to consider the proposed rule changes and the issues raised." Other Solana ETF applications, including those from Grayscale and Fidelity, have also faced delays.
Fed's Barkin: 4.2% Unemployment Rate Not a Bad Number
MarsBit News, on August 15, Fed's Barkin stated that a 4.2% unemployment rate is not a bad number. The unemployment rate has remained very stable, with slowing job growth matching slowing labor force growth. Initial job data was more surprising than the revised value. Companies have been restraining hiring, so there may not be much room for layoffs even under cost pressures. Given wage growth and employment, households' potential momentum seems to remain strong.
Inflation Leading Indicator "Explodes", Fed Rate Cut Prospects Become Uncertain
MarsBit News, on August 15, a report released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday showed that July wholesale prices rose far beyond expectations, boosted by soaring profit margins, potentially indicating that inflation remains a threat to the US economy. Service inflation was the main driver of overall PPI increase, with service prices rising 1.1% in July, also the largest increase since March 2022. The report shows that despite weak demand in the first half of the year, businesses are adjusting pricing of goods and services to help offset costs related to US tariff increases. How much of the tariff costs businesses pass on to consumers will be a key factor influencing future interest rate trends. Due to Trump's policies, especially tariff policies causing economic uncertainty, companies have reduced new employee hiring. However, relatively low initial claims suggest that employers are not conducting large-scale layoffs. Earlier this week, the July CPI report was basically in line with expectations, after which the market was almost certain the Fed would lower key rates at the September meeting. After the latest US economic data was published, traders reduced their bets on the Fed cutting rates in September.
Meanwhile, some analysts continue to downplay the significance of last month's weak employment data, believing that the labor market slowdown is due to a reduction in labor supply caused by Trump's immigration policies. If this is true, then Powell's inaction would be correct, as interest rate cuts would have no impact on the weakness in labor supply.
Intel's US Stock Gains Expand to 6%, Market Value Rises to $103 Billion
MarsBit Financial News, August 15, the Trump administration reportedly discussed the US holding Intel shares, with Intel's US stock gains expanding to 6% and market value rising to $103 billion.
CNBC: Potential Federal Reserve Chair David Zervos Supports Significant Rate Cuts
MarsBit Financial News, August 15, according to CNBC, David Zervos, chief market strategist and potential Federal Reserve chair, stated that Federal Reserve officials should not be intimidated by the potential inflation pressure shown in the July Producer Price Index. Instead, he advocates for the Federal Reserve to actively implement loose measures to prevent labor market slowdown, which would actually help create over 1 million jobs. In the past three Federal Reserve meetings, Zervos has advocated for a 0.5 percentage point cut in the federal funds rate, a stance he reiterated in an interview. "I absolutely maintain the same view. I believe there is a reasonable and very compelling narrative that monetary policy is restrictive. Overall, I see no reason to change this perspective."
Treasury Secretary: US Exploring Acquiring More BTC with 'Budget Neutral' Approach
MarsBit Financial News, August 15, US Treasury Secretary Becent stated that confiscated BTC will be used as a US strategic reserve, and the US is exploring acquiring more BTC with a 'budget neutral' approach.
MarsBit Financial News, August 15, JPMorgan noted in a Thursday report that as Wall Street begins to issue a large number of stablecoins in the Ethereum ecosystem, ETH's recent unexpected performance may continue. According to the bank's analysts, a series of US dollar-pegged tokens - following the passage of the GENIUS Act last month, which provides a regulatory framework for stablecoins - are expected to impact Ethereum's price, even if these assets are issued on layer-2 networks rather than directly on the Ethereum mainnet.
Analysts stated: "We believe Ethereum is becoming a pathway to directly access the expected high-speed growth of stablecoins, as the Ethereum network hosts most of these stablecoin assets, whether directly hosted on L1 or indirectly hosted through some L2."
Greeks.Live: Options Market Shows Optimistic Market Sentiment, Bull Market Likely to Continue
MarsBit Financial News, August 15, Greeks.Live analyst Adam posted on social media, "As BTC reaches a new all-time high and ETH approaches its historical high, the market experiences a slightly unexpected pullback, mainly triggered by unexpected PPI. The options market shows little change, with no significant variations in major term IV and Skew. However, trading volume indicates market enthusiasm, with Deribit trading $10.9 billion in options today, marking the first single-day transaction exceeding $10 billion. High trading enthusiasm suggests market confidence remains strong, and the bull market is likely to continue."
