Forget the Headlines—This 74% Move Showed Where Crypto Traders Are Really Looking

Liquidity—not inflation—just pulled $400B out of risk assets, slamming Bitcoin and stocks in the process.

At the same time, Wall Street and crypto groups are clashing over stablecoin rules, while retail's "alt season" excitement collapsed almost overnight.

The common thread? Momentum is being tested everywhere—from macro flows to market sentiment. And the next breakout may not wait for confidence to return.

Next Wave Winners (Sponsored)

7 Stocks Ready to Ride the Market’s Next Growth Cycle

Economic headwinds don’t slow down every company.

In fact, some thrive when others stall.

Our newest research reveals seven stocks primed to lead the market’s next growth cycle.

From booming industries to smart strategies, these picks stand out for their profit potential.

Don’t miss your chance to be early.

Download your free copy now.

[Get Instant Access]

Never Miss a Game-Changing Crypto Play Again!

We now send our daily picks via text, too, so you’ll get the same powerful content right on your phone.

👉 Click here to get crypto picks by text so you’re always in the know.

Market-Moving News

This week was about pressure points, not just price charts.

A Treasury cash rebuild drained liquidity, banks and crypto groups squared off over who controls stablecoin rails, and retail's altcoin hype cycle sputtered out in real time.

Together, these stories show how fragile momentum can be when macro stress, regulation, and sentiment collide.

If you're only watching token prices, you're missing where the real shifts are happening.

Markets

$400B Treasury Liquidity Drain Pressures Bitcoin and Stocks

Bitcoin and equities have slipped sharply as the US Treasury rebuilds its General Account, draining liquidity from markets.

The CoinDesk 80 Index fell 13% since last Thursday, while BTC dropped 8% from record highs above $124,000.

Most headlines tied the sell-off to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming Jackson Hole speech and sticky inflation.

Analysts argue the true driver is the Treasury's push to refill its account with $400B in new debt issuance.

The Treasury General Account (TGA) acts as the government's checking account at the Federal Reserve. When it rebuilds its balance, liquidity is pulled out of the system, squeezing risk assets.

Coinbase's David Duong said Jackson Hole is "just an excuse" for risk trimming, with the TGA drain the real force behind Bitcoin's decline.

He expects the outlook to clear by September once issuance stabilizes.

Delphi Digital warned conditions are weaker than during past rebuilds, with fewer liquidity buffers and lower foreign demand for Treasuries.

Without those cushions, funding rates could rise and weigh on crypto further.

The TGA has already climbed from $320B to over $500B since late July and may reach $600B in the coming months.

Analysts say the drain will be harder to absorb than in 2024, when reserves and foreign demand provided relief.

This liquidity squeeze highlights how macro forces can overpower crypto's own momentum.

For investors, it suggests watching dollar funding conditions as closely as charts—because when liquidity tightens, BTC rallies struggle to stick.

Policy

Crypto Industry Pushes Back on Bank-Led Stablecoin Rewrite

Crypto groups are fighting Wall Street's push to weaken the newly passed GENIUS Act, America's landmark stablecoin law. They argue banks want to tilt the rules in their favor while undercutting consumer choice.

At issue is Section 16(d), which allows subsidiaries of state-chartered institutions to support stablecoin issuers across state lines.

This provision lets stablecoins operate nationwide without duplicative state licenses.

Banking lobbies say this creates regulatory arbitrage and bypasses protections that apply to insured banks.

They also warn that affiliate yield programs could drain trillions in deposits from the banking system.

Crypto groups counter that the fears are overstated. A July 2025 Charles River Associates study found no significant link between stablecoin growth and bank deposit outflows.

Instead, they note stablecoin reserves largely stay in banks and Treasuries, continuing to support credit markets.

They argue that yield-sharing ensures competition for underbanked users who earn little in traditional accounts.

The law is settled, but stablecoin rules will be revisited in the broader Digital Asset Market Clarity Act now in the Senate. Bankers see this as a chance to claw back favorable terms.

This fight is about who controls stablecoin rails—banks or crypto-native issuers.

For investors, the outcome will shape whether stablecoins remain an open, competitive sector or fold into the legacy banking system.

AI Profit Picks (Sponsored)

Top Stock Picks to Profit from Emerging AI Technology

AI isn’t just the future—it’s already reshaping industries faster than most realize.

A new report reveals 5 stocks positioned to ride this $15 trillion disruption, including one overlooked company still flying under Wall Street’s radar.

From ChatGPT adoption to advanced machine learning, these stocks could be tomorrow’s leaders.

The opportunity isn’t about hype—it’s about real businesses positioned at the heart of AI’s expansion.

Don’t wait until the headlines catch up.

[Grab your free copy now before the crowd piles in.]

Sentiment

Google Searches for 'Alt Season' Collapse Over 50%

Search interest for "alt season" plunged this week, dropping from a Google Trends score of 100 on Aug. 13 to 45 by Tuesday.

The sharp decline came as Bitcoin and altcoins retraced after last week's highs.

Just a week ago, interest in "altcoin" hit its highest since 2021, and Ethereum searches reached a two-year peak.

That momentum faded as DOGE and XRP surrendered recent double-digit gains.

Economist Alex Krueger questioned whether the initial spike in searches was organic. He suggested it may have been inflated by bots or coordinated promotion.

Traders often monitor search activity as a proxy for retail interest and potential FOMO. Historically, spikes in "alt season" queries have aligned with local market tops.

Some analysts say the term's relevance is fading. Cristian Chifoi noted exchanges like Coinbase heavily promoted "altseason," likely distorting the data.

Coinbase Institutional's David Duong still suggested September could bring an altcoin rotation. But others argue ETFs and corporate holdings are now stronger indicators of market cycles than Google Trends.

Search metrics once offered a clean read on retail sentiment, but their reliability is waning.

For investors, this means relying more on flows, on-chain data, and institutional positioning than buzzwords trending online.

Handpicked Five (Sponsored)

5 Handpicked Stocks You Can’t Afford to Overlook

With so many stocks to choose from, it pays to focus only on the best.

Our special report does exactly that — narrowing thousands down to just five with breakout potential.

Prior editions of this research have uncovered some of the market’s biggest success stories.

Now it’s your turn to see what could be next.

Access is 100% free for a limited time.

[Download it now]

*This free resource is being sent by Zacks. We identify investment resources you may choose to use in making your own decisions. Use of this resource is subject to the Zacks Terms of Service.
*Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing involves risk. This material does not constitute investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Zacks Investment Research is not a licensed dealer, broker, or investment adviser.

Future Forward

The next breakout won't come with neon lights—it'll slip in quietly through a forgotten GitHub repo, a buried line in a governance vote, or a funding round no one noticed.

While headlines sprint after hype, the real alpha hides in the fine print.

It's the odd token unlock that doesn't add up, the dormant whale wallet that suddenly stirs, or the "minor" patch note that isn't minor at all.

By the time it hits Twitter feeds, the trade's already halfway gone.

Crypto Conferences:

💎 Law AI and Crypto Navigating Europe's New Regulatory Landscape (Aug 21, 2025)

💎 Cripto Latin Fest 2025 (Aug 21, 2025)

💎 Coinfest Asia 2025 (Aug 21, 2025)

Upcoming Airdrops:

🎁 Redacted (RDAC) Airdrop (Aug 31, 2025)

🎁 Solana Name Service (SNS) Airdrop (by Sep 21, 2025)

Upcoming Token Launches:

🚀 XorionChain (XOR) IDO on Huostarter (Aug 27, 2025)

🚀 UOMI (UOMI) IDO on Spores (Sep 6, 2025)

🚀 TransferMole (AIPAY) TGE and Distribution (Sep 30, 2025)

Which event are you most excited for? Let us know!

Crypto Know-How: What Is the Lightning Network?

The Lightning Network is a system built on top of Bitcoin that makes payments faster and cheaper.

Instead of sending every transaction directly to the blockchain, it lets users create private payment channels where transfers happen instantly.

These channels are like tabs at a bar—you can send money back and forth as many times as you want, and only settle the final bill on the blockchain.

This drastically reduces fees and removes long confirmation times.

The network connects channels together, so you don't need a direct link with everyone you want to pay. If Alice is connected to Bob, and Bob is connected to Carol, Alice can pay Carol by routing through Bob.

For users, this means sending Bitcoin is almost as easy as sending a text—fast, cheap, and available 24/7.

As adoption grows, Lightning could help Bitcoin scale beyond being digital gold into a practical global payments system.

Everything Else

• Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman said staff should be allowed to hold small amounts of crypto to gain practical experience, signaling a shift toward more open regulation.

• SoFi partnered with Lightspark to become the first US bank to integrate Bitcoin Lightning and UMA for instant, low-cost international remittances.

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins said very few crypto tokens should be considered securities, marking a sharp break from the Gensler era.

• The CFTC won a $228.5M restitution order against Eddy Alexandre in its civil case over the EminiFX crypto Ponzi scheme.

• An Ether trader who grew $125K into $43M was nearly wiped out in two days, showing the extreme risks of leveraged trading.