Israel’s Bank Leumi is partnering with Galaxy Digital to bring crypto trading to its banking app, expanding digital asset access beyond institutions and into mainstream retail finance. The service is expected to launch in early 2027, allowing customers to buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana directly through Leumi’s trading interface.

Leumi said customers of the bank and its Pepper mobile banking arm will be able to use a dedicated section within the Leumi Trade app for the three cryptocurrencies. The companies also framed the rollout as a first for an Israeli bank, while detailing how Galaxy will provide both trading capabilities and custody support.

Key takeaways

• Leumi and Galaxy Digital plan to offer crypto trading for Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana through the Leumi Trade app.
• Launch timing: early 2027, according to the companies’ announcement.
• GalaxyOne Institutional will be used for trading and related services, with Galaxy custody infrastructure supporting the setup.
• Leumi says it will be the first Israeli bank to provide digital asset trading to retail customers.

Leumi brings crypto trading into its retail app

Under the agreement announced Friday, Leumi will enable customers to access crypto markets for three major assets—Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL)—via a dedicated section of the Leumi Trade application. The functionality is designed around three common user actions: buying, holding, and selling.

Leumi positioned the integration as an industry milestone in Israel, stating that it expects to be the first Israeli bank to offer digital-asset trading services to customers. The bank also emphasized its customer footprint, noting that it serves millions of clients across retail and business operations.

For market participants, the development is notable because it suggests regulated banks are continuing to build distribution channels for crypto rather than limiting participation to broker-dealers or crypto-native platforms. While the exact user experience and onboarding steps were not detailed in the announcement, the “through the bank’s app” approach is a meaningful shift in where retail crypto services are likely to be discovered and accessed.

Galaxy provides trading and custody infrastructure

The partnership is supported by two separate pillars of Galaxy’s platform. Leumi said it will use GalaxyOne Institutional for trading and related services. For custody and digital asset infrastructure, the companies said Galaxy’s custody platform—formerly known as GK8—will support the technical foundation behind the offering.

That separation matters from a risk and operations standpoint. Trading systems and custody systems typically require different controls, reporting, and security tooling, and the announcement indicates Leumi will be leveraging Galaxy’s established infrastructure rather than building a complete stack internally. For investors and users watching the space, this approach is often associated with faster deployment timelines and more consistent institutional-grade operational standards.

However, until closer to launch, key details remain unclear—such as whether the service will operate with specific regional restrictions, what user limits or compliance requirements will apply, and how the platform will handle order routing and settlement. Those elements could influence both customer demand and operational risk management when the service goes live.

Why the timing and partnership structure matter

The stated target—early 2027—places the Leumi rollout well into the future, giving the banks time to complete integration, compliance procedures, and security hardening. From an editorial perspective, the duration is also a reminder that bank-led crypto products are often slower-moving than crypto-native services, particularly when custody, reporting, and regulatory frameworks must be aligned.

Galaxy Digital’s role as the technology and liquidity partner also highlights how large crypto firms are increasingly positioning themselves as infrastructure providers to traditional finance. Rather than building standalone consumer exchanges, these collaborations aim to turn crypto market access into a feature inside existing banking channels.

That shift could be important for adoption. Bank apps typically come with established customer onboarding, payment rails, and support workflows. If Leumi’s offering proves smooth and reliable, it could reduce friction for mainstream users who want exposure to major cryptocurrencies but prefer the familiar interface of a regulated bank.

Galaxy’s recent performance underscores a volatile backdrop

The announcement arrives after Galaxy reported a challenging period for its broader business. According to Cointelegraph’s earlier coverage linked in the original report, Galaxy posted an $85 million net loss in Q2, which it attributed largely to declining digital asset prices. Despite the net loss, Galaxy’s digital assets segment generated $66 million in adjusted gross profit, reported as up 34% quarter-over-quarter.

This matters because it frames the partnership against a backdrop where the crypto market’s direction can swing profitability. Even so, the fact that Galaxy continued to report positive adjusted gross profit in the digital assets business suggests that trading and infrastructure services may remain comparatively resilient during down cycles—especially if counterparties and institutional users continue to operate.

For readers tracking Galaxy’s broader strategy, the Leumi deal reinforces an angle that the company has been pursuing for some time: using institutional infrastructure and market services to gain access to distribution partners. Galaxy Digital, founded and led by Mike Novogratz, began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker GLXY in May 2025. Yahoo Finance data showed the stock at $21.38 on Friday morning, up about 2% on the day but down roughly 25% over the past year.

What to watch next

With an early-2027 launch horizon, the most important developments for customers and the market will be regulatory approvals, product design details inside Leumi Trade, and how Galaxy’s trading and custody components are integrated for a bank-grade user experience. Until then, investors should watch for additional partner announcements and any operational disclosures that clarify how Leumi plans to scale crypto access while managing custody, compliance, and liquidity requirements.

P2P.org has integrated its staking infrastructure with Arkis, allowing institutional clients to use staked Solana and Avalanche assets as collateral while continuing to earn protocol rewards.

P2P.org staking enters Arkis collateral system

P2P.org said in an Aug. 13 announcement that Arkis clients can now stake supported assets through its validator infrastructure and post the resulting positions as collateral without unstaking them first.

At launch, the integration supports Solana and Avalanche. P2P.org and Arkis did not say when other proof-of-stake networks might be added.

Once deposited, the staked asset and any trades backed by it sit within a single Arkis account. The prime broker calculates margin from the aggregate risk of the account instead of assessing each position separately at the trading venue where it is held.

Clients can therefore borrow against a supported staked position in the same way that they borrow against other collateral accepted by Arkis. According to the announcement, the asset continues generating protocol rewards while it supports the client’s trading positions.

The service is available through Carry Trades in Arkis Alpha. After a client selects a staked asset, the platform displays the strategies that accept it as collateral and provides the stated economics before capital is committed.

P2P.org supplies the non-custodial staking and validator infrastructure, while Arkis handles credit, collateral, and portfolio risk.

“Collateral is only as good as the operator standing behind it,” said Artemiy Parshakov, vice president of strategic solutions at P2P.org.

Parshakov added that staking can no longer be treated as a passive balance-sheet position once an institution borrows against it. According to the executive, P2P.org’s validator operations must meet the standards applied under Arkis’s credit and risk framework.

Arkis prices validator risk into margin

Adding staked assets to a margin account introduces risks that do not apply to cash or unstaked tokens. Proof-of-stake networks can penalize validators for conduct such as signing conflicting blocks or failing to meet certain network requirements.

Known as slashing, the penalty can reduce the number of tokens attached to a validator. Extended downtime can also reduce expected rewards, changing the value of a position used to support an open trade.

Arkis said its risk framework considers the quality of the staking operator when determining how the collateral should be treated. Slashing history and validator downtime are therefore assessed as margin inputs rather than excluded from the calculation.

“A growing share of institutional books sits in assets that earn yield, and credit providers have been slow to treat those positions as part of the portfolio they margin,” said Oleksandr Proskurin, chief product officer and co-founder of Arkis.

Proskurin said the integration places staked assets alongside the client’s other positions for margin purposes. Arkis chose P2P.org because the prime broker wanted to assess the operator behind the staked asset as part of its underwriting process, he added.

According to Arkis, the Spark-backed company has deployed more than $250 million in institutional credit since 2022 without recording bad debt. The figure is company-provided and was not independently verified in the announcement.

P2P.org reported that its validators operate across more than 40 proof-of-stake networks and secure over $10 billion in staked assets. The company also claimed that it has not recorded a slashing incident since its establishment in 2018 and serves more than 190 institutional clients.

Staked collateral keeps capital in use

Without such an arrangement, a fund may need to unstake an asset before using it as collateral elsewhere. Unstaking can involve a waiting period determined by the blockchain, during which the holder may lose access to trading opportunities or stop receiving some rewards.

The P2P.org integration allows the staked position to remain active while Arkis uses it to support other trades. Any rewards remain determined by the underlying protocol and can vary based on network conditions, the amount staked, validator performance, and protocol rules.

Using an earning asset as collateral does not remove liquidation or slashing risk. A decline in the token’s market price, a change in margin requirements, or a validator penalty could reduce the collateral supporting an open position.

The Arkis arrangement differs from restaking, in which an already-staked asset is used to secure additional blockchain services. As an August staking explainer detailed, restaking can expose an asset to several sets of slashing conditions when it secures multiple protocols.

Under the announced Arkis structure, the supported staked position serves as financial collateral within a prime brokerage account. The companies did not state that Solana or Avalanche assets would be restaked to secure another network.

P2P.org has used similar integrations to place its staking services inside existing institutional systems. In June, crypto.news reported that Taurus had integrated P2P.org validators with Taurus-PROTECT, allowing financial institutions to stake while retaining custody and control of their assets.

An earlier collaboration added P2P.org to Northstake’s ETH validator marketplace in January 2025. The companies said the marketplace was designed to provide regulated institutions with access to Ethereum validator infrastructure.

U.S. guidance covers some staking arrangements

For U.S. institutions, a May 2025 staff statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance addressed certain forms of protocol staking carried out directly or through a third-party operator.

The SEC staff statement said the protocol staking activities described in its analysis did not involve the offer and sale of securities. Its position covered some non-custodial arrangements in which token owners retain ownership and control of their assets and private keys while assigning validation rights to a node operator.

The division said its view depended on the specific facts and circumstances. Services that include additional business arrangements or depart from the activities described in the statement may require a separate legal assessment.

P2P.org describes its staking infrastructure as non-custodial, but neither company announced specific access for U.S. institutions or said that the Arkis integration had been assessed under U.S. securities law. The release also did not disclose whether geographic restrictions apply to Arkis Alpha.

In May 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed that national banks and federal savings associations may outsource permissible crypto activities to third parties when they maintain appropriate third-party risk controls. The OCC guidance addressed custody and transaction execution but did not approve P2P.org, Arkis, or the use of staked assets as trading collateral.

P2P.org separately announced an Aug. 11 partnership with BoulderTech to distribute staking and decentralized finance services in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. BoulderTech will connect the validator operator with regional exchanges, custodians, banks, asset managers, and funds, while both companies assess whether to deploy validator infrastructure at IRSA-backed facilities in Argentina.

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.

💬 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more market insights every week.

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

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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.