While the market consolidated in a narrow range, major players made fateful moves. Quantum giant Jane Street revealed billion-dollar investments in bitcoin ETFs, Farcaster operator is seeking a new owner, and Compound is launching a record-breaking program to attract institutional capital.
Market in numbers: calm before the storm
Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $64,172 on the morning of August 18, up 1.21% over the day. The overnight session ranged between $63,950 and $64,460, indicating extremely low volatility. Ether (ETH) hovered near $1,894, virtually unchanged (−0.16%), although short-term dips to $1,885 were observed overnight.
In the top 10 by market cap, only bitcoin stood out, while XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 0.72% and 0.42%, respectively. Among the top 100, Venice Token (VVV) posted the best result with a 10.21% gain, followed by Polygon (POL) and Morpho (MORPHO) with increases of 5.52% and 3.44%. The laggard was Worldcoin (WLD), which plunged 11.69%, along with Filecoin (FIL) and OKB, which lost 6.70% and 5.83%.
Inflows into spot crypto ETFs continued. Bitcoin funds attracted $137.32 million, Ethereum products — $4.95 million, and Chainlink (LINK) — $2.07 million. Over the day, $224.25 million in positions were liquidated, of which $140.94 million were shorts. The largest liquidation order was $10.29 million on the BTC-USD pair on Hyperliquid.
Institutional footprint: Jane Street and Compound
The key news of the night is the disclosure of Jane Street's positions. The company holds shares in spot bitcoin ETFs worth over $1 billion as of June 30. The bulk — about $828 million — is in BlackRock's IBIT fund, with the remainder distributed across Fidelity (FBTC) and Grayscale (GBTC) products. It is important to understand: this is not a direct purchase of bitcoin, but exposure to its price through regulated instruments, which is more acceptable for a traditional giant.
At the same time, the DeFi sector is undergoing structural changes. Farcaster operator — company Neynar — is seeking a new owner for the protocol less than seven months after acquiring it from Merkle Manufactory. The reason is simple: revenue collapsed from $35.43 million in the first quarter of 2026 to a meager $377,000 for the period from July 1 to August 17. The new owner will be offered the Clanker platform for launching tokens and developer services.
Against this backdrop, the Compound fund approved a record budget of $52 million for a new team and development. The DAO community approved the program led by Executive Director Aaron Schnarch. The goal is to bring institutional lending to the blockchain, including support for real-world assets and tools for on-chain lending. Since its launch in 2018, the protocol has processed about $480 billion in deposits and loans.
My view
Jane Street's billion-dollar position is not just a number, but a signal that traditional financial giants view bitcoin ETFs as a liquid and regulated asset. However, Farcaster's revenue collapse is a reminder: hype without sustainable monetization is a dead end. Compound, meanwhile, is making the right bet on institutions, but competition in this segment will be fierce.