Market Rallies as Trump Opens 401(k) Floodgates: Crypto Daybook America

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

Crypto markets rallied in the past 24 hours, with the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index rising 5.3% as fresh U.S. policy signals and regulatory clarity supported risk appetite across the sector. Bitcoin

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gained a relatively muted 1.3% to $116,500.

The rally took off after President Donald Trump signed an executive order opening 401 (k) retirement plans to a broader range of investments, including cryptocurrencies. The order directs the Department of Labor and Securities and Exchange Commission to publish new guidance for retirement accounts.

“This move effectively opens access to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for retirement investors, unlocking a staggering $8.7 trillion in assets under management.,” James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, said in an emailed statement.

Jake Ostrovskis, OTC trader at Wintermute, told CoinDesk that the impact of the move could not be understated.

“Just a 2% allocation to Bitcoin and Ethereum would represent 1.5x the total cumulative ETF inflows to date, while a 3% allocation would more than double the entire market,” Ostrovskis said. “Critically, these would be largely price-insensitive buyers focused on meeting allocation benchmarks rather than tactical trading.“

In practice, that means 401 (k) funds would create “sustained, predictable demand flows that could provide a structural bid for digital assets regardless of short-term price volatility,” Ostrovskis added.

While crypto has never been formally banned from the retirement investments, previous guidance strongly discouraged fiduciaries from offering it.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum blockchain hit a new record for average daily transactions this week, according to data from Dune Analytics. The increase was underpinned by the SEC's clarification earlier this week that certain liquid staking models don’t constitute securities under the 1933 Securities Act, making it safer for institutions to offer staking services.

Ether's (ETH) price surged 4.6% over the past 24 hours to near $3,900.

While fireworks were going off in the crypto sector, TradFi was more subdued. The S&P 500 dropped in Thursday’s session, and the Nasdaq closed 0.35% higher, furthering the concentration of megacaps in the indexes. The 10 largest stocks now account for 76% of the entire stock market capitalization, data shared by Barchart shows.

Gold rose on tariffs being imposed on some bullion bars. Looking ahead, investors are bracing for July’s inflation report, due next week, which may influence the odds of a dovish Fed interest-rate cut in September. Stay alert!

What to Watch

Crypto Aug. 15: Record date for the next FTX distribution to holders of allowed Class 5 Customer Entitlement, Class 6 General Unsecured and Convenience Claims who meet pre-distribution requirements. Aug. 18: Coinbase Derivatives will launch nano SOL and nano XRP U.S. perpetual-style futures.

Macro Aug. 8: Federal Reserve Governor Adriana D. Kugler's resignation becomes effective, creating an early vacancy on the Board of Governors that allows President Trump to nominate a successor. Aug 8: President Trump’s deadline for Russia to commit to a ceasefire and peace deal in Ukraine, with intensified U.S. sanctions and secondary tariffs on countries purchasing Russian energy if the deadline is not met. Aug. 8: U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House to sign a peace agreement. The U.S. will also sign bilateral economic agreements to promote trade and regional stability. Aug. 8, 7 p.m.: Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics releases July consumer price inflation data.. Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.19% vs. Prev. 0.1% Inflation Rate YoY Est. 4.81% vs. Prev. 4.82% Aug. 12, 8 a.m.: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) releases July consumer price inflation data. Inflation Rate MoM Prev. 0.24% Inflation Rate YoY Prev. 5.35% Aug. 12, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases July consumer price inflation data. Core Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.2% Core Inflation Rate YoY Est. 3% vs. Prev. 2.9% Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. 0.3% Inflation Rate YoY Est. 2.8% vs. Prev. 2.7%

Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) Aug. 8: TeraWulf (WULF), pre-market, -$0.06 Aug. 11: Exodus Movement (EXOD), post-market, $0.12 Aug. 12: Bitfarms (BITF), pre-market, -$0.02 Aug. 12: Fold Holdings (FLD), post-market, N/A Aug. 15: BitFuFu (FUFU), pre-market, $0.07

(Estimates based on FactSet data)

Token Events

Conferences

The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through Aug. 31.

Token Talk

By Shaurya Malwa

Ethereum’s seven-day average daily transactions hit a record 1.74 million as staked ETH levels climbed to an all-time high.

Over 36 million ETH, nearly 30% of total supply, is now locked in staking contracts, according to Dune Analytics.

The increase followed the SEC’s clarification that certain liquid staking activities and staking receipt tokens aren’t securities under the 1933 Act if they meet strict assumptions.

The ruling reduced legal overhang, opening the door for greater institutional participation.

The trend is also backed by yield-seeking holders and growing treasury allocations from publicly listed firms, tightening liquid supply.

Public companies now control $11.77 billion in ETH, led by BitMine Immersion Technologies ($3.2 billion) , SharpLink Gaming ($2 billion) , and The Ether Machine ($1.3 billion) .

Vitalik Buterin said treasuries are “good and valuable” for Ethereum but warned that excessive leverage could spark cascading liquidations.

ETH has rallied 163% from April lows with more than 500,000 ETH ($1.8 billion) staked in the first half of June alone — a pace CryptoQuant’s Onchainschool said reflects “rising confidence and a continued drop in liquid supply.”

Derivatives Positioning

Total BTC futures open interest sits at $80.65 billion, flat on the day after a mild pullback earlier this week.

CME remains dominant with a 20% share, underscoring steady institutional exposure. Binance and OKX flows were mixed, with OKX OI up 3.95% in the past 24 hours despite heavier intraday swings.

ETH liquidations led the market over the past 24 hours at $188.7 million, dwarfing BTC’s $52.6 million and XRP’s $29 million.

The largest liquidation was a $34.28 million ETH-USDT long position on HTX, reflecting concentrated leverage in ETH perps ahead of price swings.

Liquidation data skews heavily to the short side, with $319 million in shorts wiped versus $91 million in longs, suggesting that the recent upside caught positioning off guard and may have forced momentum-driven covering across majors.

BTC open interest distribution shows CME’s basis holding firm at 2.61%, suggesting sustained carry demand from TradFi desks, while Binance’s basis is muted at 0.61%, indicating less aggressive directional leverage from offshore traders.

ETH funding rates remain elevated at or near exchange-imposed caps, signaling persistent long bias despite the heavy wipeout of shorts. This combination — high funding plus fresh OI — suggests traders are rotating back into directional plays rather than fully deleveraging.

Market Movements

BTC is down 0.43% from 4 p.m. ET Thursday at $116,701.75 (24hrs: +0.22%)

ETH is up 0.68% at $3,900.02 (24hrs: +2.08%)

CoinDesk 20 is up 2.2% at 4,046.33 (24hrs: +3.94%)

Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is unchanged at 2.9%

BTC funding rate is at 0.004% (4.4052% annualized) on Binance

DXY is down 0.16% at 98.24

Gold futures are up 1.12% at $3,492.50

Silver futures are up 0.80% at $38.60

Nikkei 225 closed up 1.85% at 41,820.48

Hang Seng closed down 0.89% at 24,858.82

FTSE is unchanged at 9,095.08

Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.13% at 5,339.07

DJIA closed on Thursday down 0.51% at 43,968.64

S&P 500 closed unchanged at 6,340.00

Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.35% at 21,242.70

S&P/TSX Composite closed down 0.57% at 27,761.27

S&P 40 Latin America closed up 2.03% at 2,666.61

U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 0.6 bps at 4.25%

E-mini S&P 500 futures are up 0.26% at 6,383.25

E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are up 0.28% at 23,562.75

E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are up 0.17% at 44,155.00

Bitcoin Stats

BTC Dominance: 60.82% (-0.31%)

Ether to bitcoin ratio: 0.03343 (0.42%)

Hashrate (seven-day moving average) : 966 EH/s

Hashprice (spot) : $57.95

Total Fees: 5.2 BTC / $602,389

CME Futures Open Interest: 137,710 BTC

BTC priced in gold: 34.4 oz

BTC vs gold market cap: 9.73%

Technical Analysis

The ETH/SOL ratio is testing a key weekly resistance (~22.4) ; a confirmed breakout could trigger strong continuation with ether rising toward the 34-36 SOL range.

RSI shows strong momentum (70+) with no bearish divergence, supporting the breakout potential.

Unless rejected, the setup favors ETH outperformance vs. SOL on confirmation.

Crypto Equities

Strategy (MSTR) : closed on Thursday at $402.01 (+4.85%) , -0.25% at $401 in pre-market

Coinbase Global (COIN) : closed at $310.79 (+2.38%) , +0.86% at $313.45

Circle (CRCL) : closed at $152.93 (-5.43%) , +1.12% at $154.64

Galaxy Digital (GLXY) : closed at $28.09 (+2.74%) , +1.35% at $28.47

MARA Holdings (MARA) : closed at $15.95 (+0.38%) , -0.13% at $15.93

Riot Platforms (RIOT) : closed at $11.58 (-0.69%) , +0.35% at $11.62

Core Scientific (CORZ) : closed at $14.35 (+1.7%) , +0.84% at $14.47

CleanSpark (CLSK) : closed at $10.72 (-2.55%) , unchanged in pre-market

CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) : closed at $25.37 (-1.4%)

Semler Scientific (SMLR) : closed at $37.54 (+5.27%) , unchanged in pre-market

Exodus Movement (EXOD) : closed at $31.34 (+6.74%)

SharpLink Gaming (SBET) : closed at $23.36 (+5.51%) , +2.57% at $23.96

ETF Flows

Spot BTC ETFs

Daily net flows: $277.4 million

Cumulative net flows: $54 billion

Total BTC holdings ~1.29 million

Spot ETH ETFs

Daily net flows: $222.3 million

Cumulative net flows: $9.37 billion

Total ETH holdings ~5.6 million

Source: Farside Investors

Overnight Flows

Chart of the Day

The memecoin sector's outperformance of the wider cryptocurrency market was short-lived, showing that while its heightened volatility could present opportunities, market timing is critical.

Meanwhile, layer-2 tokens have outperformed in the past month, as Velo data shows.

The worst-performing sector throughout the period were gaming-related tokens, which consistently underperformed.

While You Were Sleeping

In the Ether