Bitcoin storms past $79,500, Ethereum braces for disruptions, and the SEC changes the game: the week's top events
The outgoing week proved truly historic for the digital assets market. Bitcoin not only recovered from a prolonged correction but also demonstrated a powerful rally, updating multi-month highs. At the same time, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon: the Ethereum Foundation warns of technical risks, and U.S. regulators are trying to bring order to the industry.
Bullish Breakout: Digital Gold Accelerates
On August 17, the leading cryptocurrency once again outpaced the stock market in daily dynamics, immediately drawing analysts' attention. Glassnode data confirmed: over the past three months, the asset outperformed the S&P 500 in only a third of trading days, but the situation is now changing dramatically. CryptoQuant experts recorded clear signs of recovering spot demand, indicating a possible end to the bearish phase.
The culmination came on August 20, when quotes surged nearly 8% in a day, approaching $70,000 for the first time in 11 weeks. However, the movement did not stop there. Within a few days, Bitcoin broke through the $79,000 level, and on Binance the price reached $79,500 — the last time such values were observed was in mid-May. This rally was accompanied by record short liquidations: over the first 24 hours, positions worth about $3 billion were forcibly closed, of which $2.7 billion were shorts.
At the core of such explosive growth, in my assessment, lies a classic short squeeze triggered by the U.S. Treasury's statement about plans to at least double the volume of government bond buybacks under the liquidity support program. This is a signal that fiscal authorities are ready to pump money into the market, which is always positive for risk assets.
Altcoins in the Mainstream, ETFs Set Records
Bitcoin's weekly growth amounted to an impressive 22.5%, but most major altcoins showed even stronger dynamics. Ethereum, although it did not hold the $2,500 level, gained 29.3%. XRP surged 50%, while HYPE and Dogecoin rose 41.3% and 32%, respectively. The market is clearly in a "risk-on" phase.
Institutional investors did not stand aside. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest weekly inflow since October 2025 — $1.92 billion. Ether funds also attracted a record $697 million. The Fear and Greed Index jumped from 34 to 71 points before correcting to 66, reflecting a high level of optimism but without euphoria yet. The total market capitalization grew from $2.17 trillion to $2.62 trillion, while Bitcoin's dominance slightly increased to 59.2%.
Ethereum Foundation Warning: Prepare for Disruptions
Against the backdrop of overall positivity, the Ethereum Foundation team issued an alarming warning. The upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade will change the gas model, which could take a significant portion of software out of service. Wallets, indexers, and fee estimation tools will be affected, especially those using a "hard-coded maximum gas limit."
The problem lies in EIP-8037, which adds a separate state-gas dimension for operations that create new state. A regular ETH transfer to an existing address will retain a cost of 21,000 units, but sending coins to a new address will incur an additional charge. Developers are strongly advised to test their systems on the public Plataberget testnet and review smart contracts that rely on the old fee calculation logic.
Regulatory Storm: GENIUS Act and New SEC Rules
The U.S. Treasury presented a draft of rules for implementing the GENIUS Act — the first federal law on payment stablecoins. The document defines strict requirements for issuers: one-to-one reserves, a limited list of permissible assets (dollars, deposits, short-term Treasury bonds), as well as regular disclosures and independent audits.
In parallel, the SEC proposed a new draft of Regulation Crypto Assets, which simplifies capital raising through tokens. The initiative provides two exemptions from registration requirements: up to $5 million over four years and up to $75 million over a 12-month period, with mandatory disclosures and financial reporting for the second mechanism. A "safe harbor" for investment contracts was also proposed, allowing certain assets to fall outside securities laws.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized that the rules will not replace congressional law but will only create a temporary framework. This is a reasonable approach: regulatory clarity is now critical for attracting institutional capital.
Solana Accelerates: Slot Time Reduced to 350 ms
The Solana team activated the first stage of reducing the average slot time from 400 to 350 ms on the mainnet as part of implementing SIMD-0525. This is the first reduction in slot length since the network's launch. Validators on the Agave v4.2 client are already operating in the new mode. A phased reduction to 300, 250, and 200 ms is planned, with the possibility of stopping the upgrade if the share of missed blocks increases. This is a significant step toward improving network throughput.
My conclusion: The current rally looks fundamentally justified, but the market is entering an overheated zone. The Ethereum Foundation's warning is a reminder that technical risks have not disappeared, and regulatory initiatives, although positive in the long term, could create short-term volatility. Investors should remain cautious and diversify risks.