Happy Tuesday everyone, and welcome back to this week’s market newsletter. Please see below this week’s market data.

Bitcoin Market Update and News

• Bitcoin hits new all-time high: Bitcoin surged to an all-time high above $124,000 last week, only to retrace back below $120,000 to finish it. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is down 5.2% WoW to $113,400.
• Bessent rules out new Bitcoin buys for U.S. strategic reserve: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated on Fox News last week that the U.S. government would not outright purchase Bitcoin for the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Bessent said that the government would continue to build the stockpile though Bitcoin confiscated in criminal cases, adding that the U.S. Bitcoin reserve totals $15-20 billion.

Interesting Reads and Videos

• BitMEX Research: Treasury Company Advisory Agreements 
• Q2 2025 public bitcoin miners earnings and developments recap
• Jack Dorsey's Proto Miner is Coming For Bitmain

 Bitcoin Treasury Company News and Updates

• Nakamoto Holdings completes merger with KindlyMD: Newcomer Nakamoto Holdings (NASDAQ: NAKA) has completed its merger with KindlyMD with $540 million in dry powder to plow into its Bitcoin treasury. The company concurrently announced that the combined entity would uplist to Nasdaq Global Markets from Nasdaq Capital Markets, and it also announced a $200 million convertible note offering. 
• Metaplanet increases Bitcoin holdings to 18,888 BTC:  Metaplanet bought 518 Bitcoin for ~$61.4 on August 12, and it purchased an additional 775 BTC on August 18 (~$93 million) to increase its Bitcoin treasury to 18,888 BTC $~2.18 billion).
• Strategy buys $18 million BTC on fifth anniversary of first purchase: Strategy added $18 million Bitcoin to its trove on August 11, a buy that commemorated the fifth anniversary of Strategy’s first purchase on August 11, 2020 of 21,454 BTC. Strategy now holds 628,946 BTC worth $72.6 billion. 

Market Overview

• Equities gain as S&P 500 hits record high, Dow falls just short: Stocks ended in the green last week, despite taking a hit on Friday into market close. The S&P 500 hit an all-time high on August 13, its 17th record high in 2025. The Dow rose the most on the week, ending just shy of a record high.
  • S&P 500: 6,450 (+0.9%)
  • Nasdaq: 21,623 (+0.8%)
  • Dow: 44,946 (+1.7%)
  • Russell 2000: 2,686.52 (+3.1%)

• Powell to speak August 22 at Jackson Hole: Fed Chair Jerome Powell has one of his most important speeches of the year this Friday at the annual Kansas City Fed symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Powell’s remarks come as the U.S. job market softens and expectations are high for a 25 bps rate cut in September, with CME’s FedWatch tool reading 82.6% probability for a cut next month. 
• CPI, PPI still elevated in July: July’s final PPI print came in higher than expected, and CPI didn’t fare much better. PPI rose 0.9% in July and 3.3% annually, led by services with a 1.1% MoM increase versus 0.7% for goods MoM. Gasoline fell 1.3% over the month,while fresh and dry vegetables surged a staggering 39%. Headline CPI increased 0.2% in July and 2.7% annually, and Core CPI rose 0.3% monthly and 3.1% annually.
• US nonfarm payroll 3-month average falls to lowest level in 1.5 years: The summer has put a chill on the job market. The 3-month average gain to nonfarm payrolls is 35,000 as of July, the lowest level for at least the last year and a half. With the job market softening, calls and expectations for a rate cut in September are growing. 

U.S. earns $28 billion in tariff duties in July: The U.S. government hauled a record $28 billion in customs fees last month, four times than the amount collected in July 2024. The U.S.’s goods trade deficit shrunk 10% last quarter to $265 billion, with the deficit decreasing the most with China and 10% on average.

• U.S. business applications surge in 2025: The number of applications for U.S. businesses has increased parabolically since November 2024. There were 470,571 applications submitted in July, a 2.6% increase from June and 12.3% annually.

• Retail sales increase in July: The U.S. Census Bureau’s retail sales report for July showed strong spending last month. Sales grew to $726.3 billion, a 0.5% increase from June and 3.9% annually. Online retail sales surged 8% YoY, and food services rose 5.6% YoY but declined 0.4% MoM. Building materials, electronics, and restaurants saw the weakest performance in July, while automobiles experienced strong sales. 
• Import costs rose in July but were down year-over-year: Import prices rose by 0.4% month-over-month, bouncing back from a revised –0.1% in June. On a year-over-year basis, import prices decreased by 0.2%, narrowing from a larger –0.5% decline in June. Fuel imports drove the increase at 2.7%, the largest monthly rise since January 2025. Export prices increased 0.1% month-over-month, following a 0.5% gain in June, and up 2.2% annually. Nonagricultural exports led the rise in July, buoyed by higher prices in automotive vehicles, capital goods, and consumer goods.
• AI boom mints billionaires at a rapid clip: With AI valuation skyrocketing, the U.S. is adding billionaires at a rate that would make prior tech bubbles blush. According to CB Insights, there are 498 AI startups that have achieved unicorn status ($1 billion valuation) for a combined value of $2.7 trillion, with 100 of these founded from 2023 on. “Going back over 100 years of data, we have never seen wealth created at this size and speed. It’s unprecedented,” MIT Principal Researcher Andrew McAfee told CNBC. 
• Consumer sentiment droops in August: According to the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index, headline sentiment dropped to 58.6 in August, down from 61.7 in July. The ~5% decline month-over-month marks the first dip in four months, signaling a downturn despite lingering economic optimism. The downturn is driven primarily by inflation concerns and tariffs, which have dampened expectations.
• Oil slides once again: Oil prices fell last week again last week, extending an ongoing selloff. Week-over-week changes as of market close on August 15:
  • WTI Crude: $62.80/barrel (-1.7%)
  • Brent Crude: $65.85/barrel (-1.1%)

The week ahead in data:

• National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index  (Monday)
• U.S. Census Bureau housing starts report (Tuesday)
• Federal Reserve July 29-30 minutes release (Wednesday)
• The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (Thursday)
• National Association of Realtors existing home sales report (Thursday) 
• U.S. Department of Labor weekly unemployment claims (Thursday)

Notable corporate earnings this week:

• Palo Alto Networks (Monday)
• Riskified (Monday)
• Fabrinet (Monday)
• Home Depot (Tuesday)
• Cardinal Health (Tuesday)
• Sea Ltd. (Tuesday)
• Tencent Music (Tuesday)
• Toll Brothers (Tuesday)
• Lowe’s (Wednesday)
• Target (Wednesday)
• Analog Devices (Wednesday)
• Baidu (Wednesday)
• TJX Companies (Wednesday)
• Walmart (Thursday)
• Workday (Thursday)
• Intuit (Thursday)
• Ross Stores (Thursday)
• Zoom Communications (Thursday)
• BJ’s Wholesale (Friday)
• Buckle (Friday)

Thank you for reading, and please feel free to reach out with any questions.