In this video, Gary Thomson explores why the Japanese yen has weakened again after briefly recovering following US-Japan currency intervention, with USD/JPY back above 159.

👉 Key topics covered:

✔️ Why the Yen Recovery Faded — The wide US-Japan rate gap continues to weigh on the yen and support carry trades.

✔️ Geopolitics and Oil — Middle East tensions and higher oil prices are adding pressure on Japan while supporting the dollar.

✔️ Investment Flows — Strong US investment, particularly in AI, continues to attract capital away from Japan.

✔️BoJ Rate Hike Expectations — Markets are increasingly pricing in a potential September rate hike, but could one move be enough to reverse the yen’s trend?

✔️Potential Intervention — With USD/JPY above 159, traders are watching for further action from the BoJ and Japanese authorities.

Interest-rate differentials, capital flows, geopolitical risks and intervention continue to drive the USD/JPY pair.

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Watch it now and stay updated with FXOpen.

This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

StablecoinX shares have climbed more than 12% after the Nasdaq-listed company disclosed a 3-billion-token ENA treasury and reported its first quarterly results since going public.

StablecoinX values its ENA treasury at $218.4 million

StablecoinX said in its Aug. 14 quarterly results release that its ENA treasury totaled approximately 3 billion tokens at the end of the second quarter, giving the company control of roughly 20% of ENA’s 15 billion-token supply.

Using ENA’s June 30 closing price of $0.07204, StablecoinX valued the position at $218.4 million. The treasury was worth approximately $9.09 for each of the 24,029,375 Class A shares outstanding on that date, according to the company.

Around 284.95 million ENA tokens came from the Ethena Foundation as part of StablecoinX’s business combination. Cash and in-kind investments made by private investment in public equity participants accounted for another 2.75 billion tokens.

StablecoinX reported total assets of $232.6 million at quarter-end, including $18.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its balance sheet carried $212.9 million in digital intangible assets, consisting mainly of ENA recorded at cost after impairment.

Shares rose more than 12% during early U.S. trading on Friday following the results. The stock reaction came less than two months after StablecoinX completed its merger with special-purpose acquisition company TLGY Acquisition Corp.

As crypto.news reported in June, the business combination closed on June 25, with StablecoinX’s Class A shares and public warrants starting Nasdaq trading one day later under the symbols USDE and USDEW.

A non-cash ENA charge drove the quarterly loss

For the three months ended June 30, StablecoinX recorded a net loss of $34.2 million, equal to $15.27 per share. Most of the loss came from a $36.2 million impairment charge tied to its digital intangible assets rather than spending by its operating business.

After excluding the impairment and changes in the value of digital asset-related instruments and warrant liabilities, the company calculated an adjusted non-GAAP net loss of $188,204. StablecoinX had used $81,680 in cash for operating activities during the first six months of 2026.

Revenue remained limited because the company’s infrastructure operation only began producing income near the end of the reporting period. StablecoinX generated $62,372 from infrastructure services during the final two weeks of June, with no revenue reported from its other planned business lines.

Chief Executive Edward Chen described the quarter as StablecoinX’s first reporting period as a public company and said the completed merger had opened a stock-market route into yield-bearing digital dollar products.

“Our first quarter end as a public company reflects the successful close of our business combination.”

The company’s ENA position leaves its asset value and reported results closely tied to the market price of Ethena’s governance token. StablecoinX also identified ENA volatility, changing regulatory conditions, and difficulties launching its planned products as risks that could affect its financial performance.

For U.S. investors, StablecoinX provides exposure through Nasdaq-listed shares rather than requiring the direct purchase or custody of ENA. Its public status also requires the company to disclose financial results and material developments through filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Infrastructure services have processed $3 billion

Beyond the token treasury, StablecoinX operates a decentralized verifier node that checks and delivers cross-chain messages for Ethena products. The company said the node had verified more than 10,000 messages and surpassed $3 billion in cumulative cross-chain volume as of Aug. 12.

Every message verified by the node had been delivered successfully, according to StablecoinX. Fees from the infrastructure service are based on processed volume rather than the number of individual transactions.

During July, the company began rolling out a second business line through its StablecoinX Harness middleware platform. The initial phase launched on July 2, and StablecoinX signed its first Harness client eight days later.

Harness is designed as a single application programming interface through which companies can access payment routing, cross-chain bridging, liquidity, treasury management, and institutional reporting tools. StablecoinX also opened applications for a design partner program covering payments and agents, blockchain networks and protocols, and institutional users.

A third business line, Distribution Services, is planned for 2027, subject to market and regulatory conditions. StablecoinX said the service would give investors indirect access to USDe and could generate distribution and management fees from deployed capital.

Ethena has expanded institutional access to USDe

StablecoinX’s original treasury plan began with a $360 million PIPE financing announced in July 2025. A further $530 million round disclosed in September brought committed PIPE funding to approximately $890 million, with YZi Labs, Brevan Howard, Susquehanna Crypto, and IMC Trading among the participants.

The financing agreements called for part of the proceeds to purchase locked ENA at a discount from an Ethena Foundation subsidiary. StablecoinX also entered a long-term collaboration agreement that allows it to acquire additional tokens directly from Ethena under agreed terms.

While the treasury gives StablecoinX a large position in Ethena’s governance system, its operating plan depends on demand for USDe and other products connected to the protocol. USDe uses crypto assets, hedged derivative positions, and other backing arrangements to maintain its target value, while holders of its staked form, sUSDe, can receive rewards.

By July 31, USDe supply had settled at approximately $3.9 billion, according to StablecoinX. The protocol’s backing ratio stood near 101.7%, while the annual percentage yield on sUSDe increased from 3.8% to 4.1% during July. Ethena has generated more than $800 million in cumulative protocol fees and distributed over $750 million in ecosystem rewards since its launch.

Institutional distribution has continued despite the decline from USDe’s previous supply peak. In June, BlackRock integrated USDe into Aladdin, allowing financial institutions using its investment management platform to access the synthetic dollar through existing portfolio and risk systems.

Coinbase also introduced an Ethena-powered lending vault in June. The product lets users lend USDC through Morpho markets while Ethena-related assets form part of the vault’s collateral structure.

Ethena has since added FalconX to an institutional lending program that already included agreements with Anchorage Digital, Maple Institutional, and Coinbase Asset Management. Ethena’s June governance report placed institutional lending at approximately $310 million, or 6.9% of USDe’s backing portfolio.

Israel’s Bank Leumi has partnered with Galaxy Digital to let customers trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL) through the bank’s investment platform, with the service expected to launch in early 2027.

The companies said Friday that customers of Leumi and Pepper, its mobile banking arm, will be able to buy, hold and sell the three cryptocurrencies through a dedicated section of the Leumi Trade app. Leumi and Galaxy said the rollout would make Leumi the first Israeli bank to offer digital asset trading services to customers.

Leumi will use GalaxyOne Institutional for trading and related services, while Galaxy’s custody infrastructure platform, formerly known as GK8, will support the bank’s digital asset infrastructure.

According to Leumi, the bank serves millions of customers across its retail and business operations.

The partnership comes after Galaxy reported an $85 million net loss in the second quarter, which it attributed largely to declining digital asset prices. Despite the loss, its digital assets business generated $66 million in adjusted gross profit, up 34% from the previous quarter.

Galaxy Digital, founded and led by Mike Novogratz, began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker GLXY in May 2025. Its shares were trading at $21.38 on Friday morning, up about 2% on the day but down roughly 25% over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Magazine: Solana’s fee overhaul increases burn and makes resource hogs pay

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich has publicly denied speculation that the treasury company was selling its Bitcoin holdings after a routine transfer sent rumor mills into overdrive.

Gerovich clarified that the Bitcoin treasury company moved 5,014 BTC, worth around $320 million, between its custodial wallets, not to an exchange.

Metaplanet Shuts Down Bitcoin Sale Speculations

Gerovich confirmed the Bitcoin treasury company’s Bitcoin holdings remain unchanged after blockchain trackers spotted a transfer from wallets linked to the company. The transfer fueled speculation that Metaplanet was following Strategy’s lead and cashing out on some of its holdings. However, Gerovich moved quickly to calm speculation, stating that it was a routine transfer between company wallets.

“We transferred 5,014 BTC between Metaplanet custodial addresses over the past 24 hours. This was a routine custody operation. No bitcoin was sold, and our holdings remain 43,000 BTC. All of our addresses are published, which is why the transfers were observable in real time. Total network fees to move $322 million in bitcoin: approximately $8.”

Metaplanet’s wallet addresses are public, allowing anyone to view transfers on-chain. However, the company’s commitment to transparency around its holdings briefly worked against it, setting off alarm bells in the community. Metaplanet currently holds 43,000 BTC, worth around $3 billion at current prices. With BTC’s steep decline, the company is sitting on an unrealized loss of around $1.4 billion, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

Recent Strategy Sales Increase Scrutiny On Bitcoin Treasury Companies

Strategy’s recent Bitcoin sales have soured market sentiment and increased scrutiny of Bitcoin treasuries. This is why Metaplanet’s routine transfer created significant speculation about an imminent sale, with investors assuming it is following Strategy’s footsteps. Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has been strategically selling BTC to fund dividend obligations on its preferred STRC stock and buy back STRC. It is also selling MSTR to fund its dollar reserve.

Future Bitcoin Acquisitions

Metaplanet’s Bitcoin stash has grown steadily in 2026, despite a substantial decline in BTC’s price. The company added 5,075 BTC during Q1 2026, followed by a 2,823 BTC purchase in Q2, taking its total stash to 43,000 BTC. Metaplanet is the third-largest Bitcoin treasury company in the world and the largest in Asia. It plans to increase its Bitcoin holdings to 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.

The Bitcoin treasury company has also launched BitBonds, a fixed-rate debt program to fund future Bitcoin acquisitions and other corporate obligations. The program allows Metaplanet to raise capital without issuing stock or dipping into its Bitcoin holdings.

The company stated, “The Company intends to continue issuing bonds under the Program in light of market conditions and other factors and, over the medium to long term, as the scale of issuance expands, to put in place the arrangements necessary to enable public bond offerings made under a securities registration statement or similar filing.”

Metaplanet is also expanding beyond Bitcoin accumulation, establishing Metaplanet Ventures in March 2026, and pledging 4 billion yen ($25 million) over two years toward Bitcoin and crypto infrastructure in Japan.

Metaplanet Posts 3.33 Billion Yen Operating Profit

Metaplanet published its revenue numbers for the first half of 2026 on Thursday, reporting 4.94 billion yen ($33 million) in first-half revenue, a 134% increase year-over-year. It also reported a 3.33 billion yen ($20.3 million) operating profit, up 136%, while reporting a 182.8 billion yen net loss ($1.2 billion), driven by a non-cash Bitcoin valuation loss. Metaplanet noted that it sold no Bitcoin in 2026 and added 7,898 BTC during H1 2026, taking its holdings to 43,000 BTC.

The company reported 4.7 billion yen in revenue from its Bitcoin income business and a 4.2 billion yen profit. The majority of this revenue came from Bitcoin derivatives trading, with option premium income accounting for 4.5 billion yen.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bitcoin moved lower into Friday’s Wall Street open, with traders increasingly focused on whether the market is setting up for a renewed downside break. While broader risk assets managed to hold momentum after encouraging US inflation developments, BTC failed to participate, slipping toward month-to-date lows around the low-$62,000s.

Market attention has now shifted to the next major US macro release: the Aug. 26 Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. QCP Capital said the crypto sector’s muted response to softer inflation so far makes the upcoming PCE print especially important for what comes next.

Key takeaways

• BTC is trading below $63,000 and is nearing new August lows, despite US equities hitting record highs.
• Rekt Capital highlighted $63,220 as a weekly-close threshold, warning that staying below it could encourage a deeper breakdown.
• TradingView data showed BTC down about 1.3% on the day to roughly $62,570, near month-to-date lows.
• QCP Capital pointed to the upcoming Aug. 26 PCE release as the next critical test for whether macro tailwinds can translate into sustained crypto demand.

BTC underperforms as stocks press to new highs

According to TradingView, BTC/USD was down about 1.3% on the day to $62,570, trading close to its lowest levels month-to-date. This comes as US stocks continued to climb, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both posting gains by the time of writing on Thursday’s close—an environment that has typically supported risk-on assets.

The divergence matters because it suggests Bitcoin is not simply tracking the improving equity tape. Earlier coverage noted that inflation relief in the US had reduced expectations for further interest-rate pressure, but Bitcoin still lacked the follow-through traders often look for when macro conditions improve.

$63,220 on weekly close as a decision point

One of the clearest near-term signposts is $63,220. Trader and analyst Rekt Capital warned that the Sunday weekly close needs to be above that level to avoid setting up what he described as “a breakdown.” In a post on X, Rekt Capital also stressed that $63,000 is no longer behaving like reliable support after weakening throughout August.

Rekt Capital further tied the current structure to prior market behavior, noting that a 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) near $65,827 appears to be acting as resistance. He framed this as reminiscent of the 2022 bear-market pattern, emphasizing that BTC has recently struggled to reclaim key levels that would normally help stabilize price action.

For traders, the practical implication is straightforward: the market is approaching a level where confirmation could shift from “range behavior” to “trend continuation lower” if price fails to regain momentum on the weekly timeframe.

Derivatives positioning and liquidation risk remain in focus

The caution around a potential breakdown has also been linked to positioning in derivatives markets. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph reported increasing odds of a liquidation event as BTC approached an area of liquidity around $61,000, alongside rising open interest (OI) in futures and other derivatives venues.

That setup can amplify volatility when price breaks downward, particularly when leverage is concentrated on one side of the market. In a recent edition of its newsletter, onchain analytics platform Glassnode summarized the broader imbalance: “Traders have added substantial risk, most of it long, into a market that shows no matching demand,” according to The Week Onchain.

In this context, the market’s inability to rally alongside stocks becomes even more notable—if demand doesn’t show up when price is supported by the macro narrative, leveraged long positioning can become vulnerable quickly when technical levels fail.

PCE on Aug. 26 becomes the next macro catalyst

Beyond technical levels, QCP Capital argued that the crypto market’s response to improved inflation conditions has been inconsistent. In its latest analysis, QCP said the phenomenon is “increasingly important,” distinguishing between “resilience” and “momentum.” The firm noted that BTC absorbed several negative headlines without a sustained breakdown last week, but that softer inflation data have only produced a muted response so far.

QCP’s key point for investors is that the market may be waiting for a more decisive macro signal rather than reacting to incremental improvements. The firm said macro traders are now focused on the Aug. 26 PCE index release—widely recognized as the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

According to data referenced by QCP, the PCE “last print” in July marked its first monthly decline since 2020, based on figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That makes the upcoming reading notable: if the data reinforces a cooling inflation trend, traders may look for whether crypto can finally convert the narrative into sustained buying demand rather than staying range-bound or weakening.

At the same time, the key uncertainty is timing and translation. So far, the pattern described by QCP suggests that macro relief hasn’t yet been strong enough to move crypto into a clear uptrend. With BTC sitting below key technical thresholds, the PCE release could influence whether leveraged traders choose to reduce risk or add exposure—potentially affecting volatility regardless of the direction of inflation prints.

Heading into the Aug. 26 PCE report, traders will likely watch both the weekly technical level near $63,220 and whether derivatives positioning continues to build risk on the long side. If BTC remains unable to reclaim that threshold, the market may be setting up for sharper downside moves; if it does recover, investors will want to see whether the macro narrative finally produces sustained momentum rather than a brief relief rally.