Bitcoin Holds $78K; Singapore Tightens Stablecoin Rules

Bitcoin ($BTC) consolidated near $78,000 as traders await a breakout from the 77K-80K range established after Fed Chair Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole speech. Technical analysis indicates resistance at the 82,500 swing high, with support holding at 67,000. BlackRock drove a $217M Bitcoin ETF inflow rebound, while Ethereum ETFs extended their positive flow streak to 11 consecutive trading sessions. Alternative crypto ETFs tracking $XRP and $SOL each logged a 10th consecutive session of inflows. Market participants are focused on whether $BTC breaks above 79,887 to extend the uptrend or falls below recent lows, with Fed policy expectations currently pricing 67% probability of a rate hike.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) spent $635M purchasing its $STRC perpetual preferred stock, a par-value instrument designed with an approximately $100 par reference. Bitfinex Securities listed five equity-backed tokenized notes tied to Strategy and Metaplanet through Luxembourg's ORO II fund, offering trading against dollars, USDT, and Bitcoin for eligible non-US investors. The London Stock Exchange announced a collaboration with Payward (Kraken) to bring the UK's largest stocks on-chain through tokenization. Bitcoin miners continue pivoting to AI data center infrastructure, with $IREN, $WULF, $CLSK, $MARA, and $RIOT expanding power capacity allocations.

Singapore's regulators proposed requiring stablecoin issuers to maintain 100% reserves and banned yield-bearing features for stablecoins, while simultaneously considering allowing jointly issued cross-border stablecoins into its regulatory regime after earlier restricting the framework to domestic issuance. Thailand's SEC proposed rules to grant retail investors access to regulated overseas crypto derivatives, requiring such products to trade on qualifying, centrally cleared exchanges. Ireland excluded cryptocurrencies from new tax-advantaged investment accounts that will offer benefits for stocks, bonds, and ETFs, citing crypto as a higher-risk product alongside derivatives. Webull expanded crypto trading into Canada through a Coinbase ($COIN) collaboration, adding digital assets alongside traditional securities as Canadian regulators advance toward clearer industry rules.

Arbitrum ($ARB) surged 30% on revenue developments related to Robinhood Chain integration. The layer-2 scaling solution benefited from increased institutional activity as traditional finance platforms expand blockchain infrastructure. Hyperliquid faced security scrutiny as tens of millions in assets linked to North Korean hacker groups moved on the platform, complicating efforts to onshore the crypto trading platform to US jurisdiction. CME's share of $XRP futures market activity increased as the token rallied 40% over the past week, reflecting growing institutional interest in regulated derivatives products.

1789 Capital, linked to Donald Trump Jr., is leading a $1 billion funding round for Polymarket that would value the prediction market platform at $21 billion, just below Kalshi's $22 billion valuation. The deal represents continued institutional capital deployment into crypto-native platforms despite regulatory uncertainty. The investment reflects growing legitimacy of blockchain-based prediction markets following increased mainstream adoption during recent election cycles. Institutional infrastructure development continued with traditional exchanges and custody providers expanding digital asset offerings for qualified investors.

Bitcoin technical levels at 79,887 resistance and range support will determine near-term direction as markets await key US economic data including ISM Manufacturing PMI, Job Openings, ADP payrolls, Jobless Claims, ISM Services PMI, and the monthly NFP report. Fed Chair Warsh's hawkish stance suggesting financial conditions remain insufficiently restrictive has markets pricing a 67% probability of a rate hike at the upcoming FOMC meeting, with only a soft CPI report likely to push probabilities below 50%. Crypto market participants are positioned for either an extension toward 98,000 on dovish repricing or a retreat toward 67,000 support on hawkish surprises. Singapore's stablecoin framework proposals are expected to influence regional regulatory approaches across Asia-Pacific jurisdictions.