Coindesk

Altcoin season may be weeks away, according to Coinbase Institutional’s latest monthly outlook, which forecasts a shift in market leadership from bitcoin to alternative cryptocurrencies beginning in September.Altcoin season refers to a market phase when cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin — often led by Ethereum's ETH, Solana's SOL, and other large-cap tokens — post significantly higher percentage gains than BTC over a sustained period.The Aug. 14 report, authored by David Duong, Coinbase’s global head of research, identifies three main drivers: falling bitcoin market dominance, improving liquidity and growing investor willingness to rotate into higher-beta assets. Duong frames this as a cyclical transition, with capital moving down the risk curve as market confidence builds.Bitcoin dominance — its share of total crypto market...

Crypto markets saw over $1 billion in leveraged positions wiped out in the past 24 hours after hotter-than-expected U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data fueled fears of persistent inflation and delayed Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations. The sell-off came hours after bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high above $123,500, with traders unwinding risk across the board. Major memecoin dogecoin (DOGE) fell 9% to lead losses among majors, with Solana's SOL, XRP, and BNB Chain's BNB dropping between 3-7%.Liquidation data shows $866 million in long positions were erased — more than six times the $140 million in shorts — as prices reversed sharply from recent highs. Ether traders took the biggest hit, with $348.9 million liquidated, followed by Bitcoin at $177.1...

Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.As Hong Kong begins its trading day, ETH is changing hands above $4600, down 3% on-day.As ETH is up nearly 16% in the last week, and 45% in the last month, this probably isn't a concern for most traders. After all, the ETH/BTC ratio has broken above its 365-day moving average, a signal that has historically marked extended periods of ETH outperformance, and spot ETF flows are reinforcing the move.However, the same data shows early warning signs of...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent began Thursday by dashing the hopes of at least some bitcoiners, saying the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve would be made up of the $15 billion to $20 billion already held by the government, but that there was no intention of making any fresh purchases.He ended the day, however, by seemingly contradicting those remarks, saying his department is "committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve."The fresh buys would be in addition to tokens forfeited to the government, which will be the “foundation” of the reserve, Bessent said.U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to create a strategic bitcoin reserve which Bessent has advocated for. Earlier this month, Bo Hines,...

Wall Street bankers are hammering away at some provisions of the new U.S. stablecoin law that was hailed by President Donald Trump and the crypto sector as a huge first step toward establishing a fully regulated U.S. industry, and the banks are joined by unusual bedfellows from the consumer-advocate world in sounding alarms.Hoping to revise and cut provisions that might threaten aspects of the current financial system, the American Bankers Association and other bank lobbying groups aligned in a letter this week with Americans for Financial Reform — usually a staunch opponent of Wall Street's policy aims — and the National Consumer Law Center. One provision of the stablecoin law known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S....