BTC traded at $78,499, up 0.64% over 24 hours, while ETH stood at $2,446.01, down 0.31%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was 4.718% and gold futures were at $4,493.90. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell 0.25% and 0.70% in the latest session, while WTI and Brent gained 3.73% and 3.56%.
1. U.S. spot BTC ETFs drew $924 million last week
U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $924 million in combined net inflows from August 24 to 28, led by $938 million into the largest individual product. BTC traded at $78,499, up 0.64% over 24 hours. ETF net flows track money created through fund subscriptions and redemptions, not total BTC market volume.
Assets to watch: BTC
2. PONS gained 11.66% as a new wallet bought about $1.9 million
PONS traded at $0.3476 on August 31, up 11.66% over 24 hours, with about $76.25 million in volume. On-chain monitoring showed a new wallet buying 5.24 million PONS worth roughly $1.9 million. A single large purchase can change the short-term order balance but does not represent the direction of all holders.
Assets to watch: PONS
3. XMR extended its daily gain to 11.30%
XMR traded at $537.19 on August 31, up 11.30% over 24 hours, with about $248 million in volume. Earlier on-chain monitoring showed the largest holder still carrying a 16,000-XMR position at 4x leverage, with more than $1.53 million in unrealized profit. Leverage magnifies both gains and losses, and one address does not represent the market's overall positioning.
Assets to watch: XMR
4. U.S. spot ETH ETFs drew $824 million last week
U.S. spot ETH ETFs recorded $824 million in combined net inflows from August 24 to 28. The largest individual product drew $567 million, while another received $96.5 million. ETF net flows reflect fund-share subscriptions and redemptions, not net inflows recorded directly on Ethereum.
Assets to watch: ETH
5. Wintermute's on-chain short positions reached $149.2 million
On-chain monitoring on August 31 showed Wintermute with about $149.2 million in short positions, $5.01 million in longs and approximately $1.73 million in total unrealized profit. Its ETH, SOL and BTC shorts were about $58.36 million, $26.11 million and $19.16 million, respectively. The figures cover identifiable on-chain addresses and exclude unassigned or over-the-counter hedges.
Assets to watch: BTC, ETH, SOL
6. Outstanding DeFi loans rose to $26.1 billion
CryptoRank data on August 31 showed outstanding DeFi loans rising from $20.1 billion in June to $26.1 billion in August, an increase of about 30%. Aave accounted for roughly $12.5 billion, or 48% of the total, while Morpho and Spark held about $5.1 billion and $2.1 billion. Outstanding loans measure principal yet to be repaid, not protocol revenue.
Assets to watch: AAVE, MORPHO
7. Token buybacks reached $638 million in 2026
FT and Allium data published on August 31 put crypto-project token buybacks at about $638 million in 2026, above $545 million in 2025. Buybacks linked to Hyperliquid and Pump.fun represented nearly 90% of the total. Buyback value measures funds used to repurchase tokens, not token-price appreciation.
Assets to watch: HYPE, PUMP
8. Another 250 million USDC was minted on Solana
On-chain data on August 31 showed USDC Treasury minting another 250 million USDC on Solana. New issuance places stablecoin supply at an on-chain address, but it is not equivalent to market buying before the funds are transferred or exchanged.
Assets to watch: SOL
9. OpenAI bought tens of thousands of Macs for AI training
The Information reported on August 31, citing internal sources, that OpenAI had bought tens of thousands of Mac mini and Mac Studio computers for reinforcement learning and computer-use agent training. Apple's latest quarterly Mac revenue rose 29% year over year to $10.4 billion, making it the company's fastest-growing hardware segment for the quarter.
Assets to watch: OPENAI, AAPL
10. Barclays raised its 2026 Fed rate-hike forecast
Barclays expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 basis points in both September and December, revising an earlier forecast for no change. Twenty-five basis points equal 0.25 percentage points; this remains an institutional forecast, not a policy decision already made by the Fed.
Assets to watch: TLT, SPX500, NAS100
Market snapshot
BTC: $78,499 (24h +0.64%) | ETH: $2,446.01 (24h -0.31%)
Gold futures: $4,493.90 (-0.79%) | Silver futures: $66.935 (-0.09%)
WTI: $86.51 (+3.73%) | Brent: $91.24 (+3.56%)
S&P 500: 7,711.76 (latest session -0.25%) | Nasdaq 100: 29,433.43 (latest session -0.70%)