• Bitcoin and Ether moved within comparatively narrow ranges after last week’s double-digit rally, suggesting consolidation rather than a material reversal of the recovery.
• Overall market capitalisation was virtually unchanged while Bitcoin dominance increased to 59.7%, indicating that capital remained concentrated in the largest asset rather than broadening decisively across the market.
• Ether’s annual issuance rate remained broadly stable at approximately 0.87%, leaving supply dynamics largely unchanged as its relative performance stabilised following the previous week’s outperformance.

Bitcoin gains 24% in strongest month since November 2024

• Bitcoin rose approximately +24% during August, delivering its strongest monthly performance since November 2024 and its strongest August since 2017.
• The rally accelerated during the second half of the month, supported by a softer US dollar, Treasury-market liquidity measures and expectations of progress on US crypto market-structure legislation.
• Bitcoin briefly crossed $80,000 before closing the month near $78,000, retaining most of the advance despite consolidation during the final week.

NYSE parent company and tZERO partner on tokenised securities infrastructure

• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, selected tZERO as a design partner for its planned NYSE-affiliated tokenised securities platform.
• ICE will invest in tZERO’s latest financing round and license its portfolio of 103 blockchain patents covering compliant transfers, smart contracts and corporate actions.
• The firms will also explore using tokenised assets for collateral management across ICE clearing houses, extending the initiative beyond issuance and trading into post-trade market infrastructure.

BitGo acquires NYDIG trading business for up to $57.5m

• BitGo agreed to pay $42.5m in cash and stock for NYDIG’s institutional trading business, with a potential $15m earnout taking total consideration to as much as $57.5m.
• Approximately 30 NYDIG employees will join BitGo as the company expands its institutional markets platform across custody, trading, financing and settlement.
• The acquired operation adds derivatives, structured products, financing capabilities and established client relationships to BitGo’s regulated custody and trading platform.

Russia’s largest bank forecasts $46bn of regulated crypto trading

• Sberbank expects regulated cryptocurrency trading on Russian exchanges to reach as much as RUB4tn ($46.4bn) during the first year of the country’s new framework.
• The bank forecasts volume could rise to approximately RUB7.5tn ($87.1bn) by 2029, while qualified investors will be permitted to purchase cryptoassets without the annual limits applied to retail investors.
• Sberbank is preparing a crypto wallet and digital-asset depository and plans to offer loans secured by Bitcoin, Ether and USDT once the relevant assets receive central-bank approval.

Polymarket seeks $1bn at $21bn valuation

• Prediction market platform Polymarket is raising $1bn in a round led by 1789 Capital, valuing the company at approximately $21bn.
• 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, is contributing around $300m after previously investing approximately $200m in the business.
• The proposed valuation is 40% above Polymarket’s reported $15bn valuation in April this year, showing the rapid institutional investment in prediction market infrastructure despite the continued regulatory scrutiny.

This weekly financial roundup is for informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice. Information is taken from public sources and Nickel takes no responsibility for its veracity. The information was sourced around the time of publication but may become out of date, even over short periods of time. Consult a professional before acting.