coindesk.com
Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:
Bitcoin steadied in Asia Thursday at $114,610 (+1.4%), clawing back some ground after last week’s slide, while ether outpaced with a 5.8% jump to $4,370.73 as investors rotated selectively across the market.
The CoinDesk 20, a measure of the performance of the largest crypto assets, is up 3.5%, trading above 4,078.
OKX Singapore CEO Gracie Lin said in a note to CoinDesk that the rising $ETH/$BTC ratio shows capital shifting into ether’s relative strength while Bitcoin consolidates.
"Crypto capital is getting more selective," Lin told CoinDesk.
She stressed that this is not a broad “altseason,” but a targeted move into $ETH as macro catalysts like the Jackson Hole conference and U.S. inflation data loom.
Fresh figures from CryptoQuant underline why Bitcoin’s rally has cooled. Apparent demand has dropped from 174,000 $BTC in July to 59,000 $BTC today, while ETF inflows have slowed to their weakest since April," the firm wrote in a recent report.
Profit-taking remains heavy, with whales realizing $2 billion in gains on Aug. 16 alone, bringing total realized profits since July to $74 billion. CryptoQuant analysts now classify the market as in a “bullish cooldown” phase, with $110,000 flagged as an important support level.
In a note to CoinDesk, analysts at Enflux, a Singapore-based market maker noted that retail enthusiasm for altseason has dropped sharply compared to last week, even as strategic bets like BNB hitting all-time highs and Hyperliquid’s operational strength continue to draw capital.
“This indicates that the altcoin market is no longer a uniform beta trade, as macro conviction is forming, but more selective and concentrated, also on the institutional side,” the firm said.
The result is a market less defined by broad rallies and more by selective winners, with $ETH setting the tone as capital stays in crypto but moves with sharper focus, favoring resilience over speculation.
Market Movers
$BTC: Bitcoin edged up 1.4% to just above $114,000 while U.S. stocks slipped, and altcoins showed unusual resilience as $BTC dominance nears a six-month low.
$ETH: Ether outperformed bitcoin, climbing 5.8% as traders rotated into majors despite slowing $BTC demand.
Gold: UBS raised its gold price target to $3,600 per ounce in Q1 2026, citing the strongest bullion demand since 2011 driven by U.S. macro risks, de-dollarization, and heavy ETF and central bank buying.
S&P 500: The Nasdaq fell 0.68% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.26% Wednesday as investors rotated out of tech stocks into sectors like energy, healthcare, and consumer staples ahead of the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium.