🗓 SUMEX Monday Watchlist: Top Crypto Shakers (August 18)

Crypto markets are calm, awaiting Fed Chair Powell's Jackson Hole speech. While volatility has eased, experts warn against complacency as Trump's tariffs threaten economic growth. Bitcoin dipped to $115K, extending losses after a hotter-than-expected US PPI. Here's what's moving crypto.

Key Monday News

🥇 Ethereum's Next-Level ETF Dominance

Spot ether ETFs outperformed Bitcoin products for a fifth straight day on Aug. 15 ($3.4B vs $966M), supported by growing corporate treasuries, shrinking supply, and staking yields. BlackRock's ETHA and Fidelity's FETH led gains, though experts warn of potential September corrections and retail profit-taking.

🫣 DOGE Under Attack

Qubic, the AI blockchain project behind Monero's recent 51% attack, is preparing to target Dogecoin following a community vote. The Monero takeover destabilized XMR (-11.4% over 14 days), raising concerns for other proof-of-work coins. Similar control over DOGE would pose catastrophic security risks.

💥 Solana Smashes 100K TPS Barrier

Solana's mainnet briefly surpassed 100,000 transactions per second (peaking at 107,540 TPS) using 'noop' program calls — lightweight instructions for capacity testing. While real-world throughput averages 3,500 TPS, the network could theoretically handle 80,000-100,000 TPS in actual transfers.

🛒 Wall Street Goes All-In on Bitcoin ETFs

Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs and Harvard led billions in Bitcoin ETF purchases during Q2 2025, while also heavily investing in Bitcoin-linked stocks. Brevan Howard nearly doubled its IBIT position, Harvard reported a $1.9B stake, and Goldman Sachs added $3.3B across IBIT and FBTC.

🏛 Fed Drops Extra Crypto Scrutiny

The Federal Reserve has terminated its special supervisory program for banks involved in crypto, eliminating stricter guidelines for services like custody and stablecoins. These activities will now fall under normal supervision, reflecting regulatory shifts under the Trump administration.

Macro Signals to Watch

📃 July FOMC minutes (Aug. 20): Will reveal the reasoning behind July's rate hold; dovish signals could boost easing odds (currently 82.9%), supporting crypto.

🛠 S&P Global Services PMI (Aug.21): The projected dip to 53.3 after July's outperformance would benefit crypto markets.

🏭 S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (Aug. 21): A slight improvement to 49.9 is expected; significant acceleration could hurt risk assets.

🎙 Powell’s Jackson Hole address (Aug. 22) — Hints at September easing would boost crypto sentiment after mixed PPI/jobs data.

Top Movers: OKB vs SPX

↗️ OKB (+152.8%) — Soared after OKX burned 279M tokens ($26B), reducing the total supply to 21M and phasing out Ethereum mainnet connections.

📉 SPX (-23.1%) — Ended its bullish run (previously fueled by DeFi expansion and listings) amid the broader meme coin downturn.

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