Night trades and signals: Anthropic, Hayes, and BlackRock set the tone for bitcoin — market review for August 11
While most market participants were resting, the crypto industry received several important signals that could determine the medium-term trend. From a multi-billion dollar deal in the AI sector to a change in the rules of the game in the largest bitcoin ETF, I break down the key overnight events and their impact on digital assets.
Market in numbers: consolidation without surprises
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near $63,980 by 08:40 Moscow time. Overnight, on the 15-minute chart, prices dipped to $63,800, then bounced to $64,100, but ultimately settled around $64,000. Ether (ETH) held near $1,874, with prices fluctuating in a narrow range of $1,868–$1,880 after midnight, indicating reduced speculative pressure.
Altcoins in the top 10 showed minimal volatility. The leader in gains was Hyperliquid (HYPE) with an increase of 2.12%, followed by Solana (SOL) at plus 1.04%. BNB, on the other hand, corrected by 0.52%. Among the top 100, Curve DAO Token (CRV) stood out, rising by 10.8%. Internet Computer (ICP) and Lighter (LIT) gained 7.84% and 6.62%, respectively.
The day's laggard was the Audiera (BEAT) token, which plunged by 51.2%. Canton (CC) lost 6.25%, and Cardano (ADA) fell 4.94%.
ETF flows and liquidations
Spot bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of $144.67 million, while ether products lost $14.59 million. At the same time, Solana funds attracted $8.83 million, and HYPE funds brought in $2.74 million. This divergence points to a redistribution of capital within the ecosystem rather than a mass exit by investors.
Over the past 24 hours, exchanges liquidated positions of 68,722 traders totaling $201.08 million. The largest liquidation order was on Hyperliquid — a BRENTOIL oil contract worth $10.55 million, highlighting the growing influence of cross-margin products.
Deal of the century: Anthropic and Riot Platforms
The key event of the night was an agreement between AI developer Anthropic and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms worth $9.1 billion over 20 years. Anthropic, the creator of the Claude model, will receive 191 MW of computing capacity at Riot's facility in Rockdale, Texas. Full deployment of the capacity is scheduled by June 2028. Two five-year extension options could increase the total contract value to $16.1 billion.
This deal is a vivid example of how AI companies are rushing to secure infrastructure for growing demand. For miners, this is business diversification that reduces dependence on bitcoin's volatility.
Hayes on the yen rescue: a bullish scenario for BTC
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes presented a scenario for the strengthening of the Japanese yen, which he considers positive for the crypto market. In his view, Japan will not sharply raise rates or sell off U.S. Treasury bonds. Instead, Tokyo could use the Fed's FIMA repo facility, pledging U.S. government bonds in exchange for dollars, and then selling them to buy yen.
If the $60 billion counterparty limit is raised, the Fed's balance sheet will expand, and the Japanese government and the GPIF fund hold about $1.37 trillion of such bonds. Hayes considers the resulting dollar liquidity bullish for bitcoin, gold, and ether. The logic is simple: additional dollar issuance always pushes hard assets higher.
BlackRock lowers the entry threshold for ETFs
BlackRock managing director Robert Mitchnick said the company has lowered the minimum threshold for exchanges in its bitcoin ETF. For in-kind transactions, the minimum has dropped from $25 million to $1 million. Now, an investor with $1 million in bitcoin will be able to conduct exchanges through authorized participants and receive shares of the IBIT fund.
Mitchnick also spoke about the BITA fund, designed for investors who need returns in the 15–19% range in exchange for lower volatility and limited bitcoin upside potential. This is a clear step toward institutionalization and attracting conservative capital.
My take: The overnight events point to two trends: the growing integration of AI and crypto infrastructure, and the gradual lowering of barriers for institutional investors. The Anthropic and Riot deal is not a one-off story but the beginning of a new era of partnerships. As for Hayes's scenario, it looks logical, but its implementation depends on the political will of the Fed and the Bank of Japan. While the market consolidates, such macro signals could become the trigger for the next surge.