demand

Strive CEO Matt Cole stated that the BTC/gold ratio is sending a strong signal, indicating that the next Bitcoin cycle could be the strongest in history.Currently, there are two major structural factors: the long-term structural depreciation of the dollar, and Bitcoin has never experienced a true secular dollar collapse; and in an AI-driven prosperous world, capital will increasingly chase "scarce assets" that cannot be replicated. If Bitcoin can perform stronger relative to gold, it will attract a disproportionate inflow of funds, creating a positive feedback loop.

Bitcoin recently rose to a monthly high, with Bitfinex analysts stating that this round of market activity is primarily driven by spot buying and short covering, rather than new leveraged funds, thus providing a longer duration compared to typical short squeeze scenarios. As investors who bought Bitcoin in the past five months are currently in a profit state, the main risk of the current upward trend comes from profit-taking chips flowing into trading platforms.Bitfinex believes that the U.S. Treasury's announcement on August 19 to expand the scale of long-term bond repurchases is an important factor driving the recent market activity. The initial phase of this rise was indeed driven by short liquidations. On the same day, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF recorded an inflow of $297.6 million. However, the subsequent price increase mainly came from spot buying. From the position structure, while Bitcoin prices rose by 10% to 11%, open interest (OI) only increased by about 4%, indicating that spot demand and short covering played a major role, while the impact of leveraged funds was limited.Bitfinex pointed out that the $68,000 to $69,000 range is currently an important support level, close to the average cost of buyers over the past five months. If Bitcoin maintains above this level, it will keep these investors in a profitable state, reducing the pressure of previously trapped chips selling during rebounds. In terms of funds, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF saw an inflow of $606.29 million on August 20, the largest single-day inflow since May 1, with BlackRock's IBIT contributing about 82%. Bitfinex stated that if fund inflows continue for a week, it will further strengthen the market demand structure.However, Bitfinex warns that the current biggest risk is a large amount of profitable Bitcoin flowing into trading platforms, which could trigger the largest profit-taking market since 2026. Analysts indicate that if real yields rise again to levels that previously suppressed Bitcoin from falling below $65,000, macro factors could still quickly impact the market.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated that this week, Bitcoin ETF net inflows reached 14,700 BTC, marking the second-largest weekly inflow since October 2025. Since August, the cumulative net inflow is approximately 21,958 BTC, indicating signs of a resurgence in demand are beginning to emerge.

On-chain data analyst Murphy stated that this round of BTC price increase is "a bit different": the scale of futures liquidations has reached a record, but the open interest (OI) has simultaneously decreased. The price increase is mainly driven by short liquidations or buy-ins to cover positions, which belongs to the clearing of existing positions rather than new leveraged net exposure. If driven solely by liquidations, prices often show a spike followed by a drop; this time, after the surge, the price has stabilized, indicating that there are other spot funds taking over.Murphy pointed out that if the contracts are dominated by long positions, OI usually rises and rates increase, but this round saw OI decrease almost throughout, with no large-scale new leverage entering the market. The exchange's spot relative trading volume (SRV) reached 2.94 from August 19 to 20, about three times the average of the past 30 days. Similar volume increases in the past two years have mostly occurred during panic sell-offs or bull market phases, which is different from the scenarios in January when it rebounded to about $96,000 and in May when it rebounded to about $82,000, where leverage was dominant.He emphasized that the demand for spot is only a potential sign that has appeared for the first time since entering a bear market, combined with the price challenging the short-term holder cost line (STH-RP) and the seller exhaustion index entering extreme zones, it is still insufficient to conclude a trend reversal.

Cryptocurrency analyst Darkfost stated that the apparent demand for Bitcoin in 2026 reached a record of 25,000 coins, indicating that the actual spot buying volume exceeds the newly mined coins, with market buying power stronger than supply.Apparent demand is calculated by subtracting the daily change in supply that has not been used for over a year from the daily block subsidy, used to measure whether structural accumulation can effectively absorb new supply.

According to BeInCrypto, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated at a semiconductor manufacturing plant near the company's headquarters in Boise, Idaho, that memory has become a strategic infrastructure in the AI era, and the growth in AI-driven demand will permanently reset the economic logic of this cyclical industry. In terms of financial data, Micron's revenue for the third quarter reached $41.46 billion, a significant increase from $9.3 billion last year, with a gross margin rising to 84.6%, and it is expected that the gross margin for the fourth quarter will further increase to about 86%.On the supply side, the demand from data center customers is about 150% of the supply that Micron can commit to, indicating a significant gap. Mehrotra also listed autonomous vehicles, robotics, and AI consumer devices as sources of incremental demand in the future.

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju posted on the X platform that the demand for Bitcoin spot and perpetual futures has turned positive for the first time since reaching a historic high in October 2025. The scale of demand is still relatively small, but if this trend continues for a month, it can be reasonably concluded that the bear market has ended and a new bull market cycle has begun.

Nick Timiraos, the chief economic reporter for The Wall Street Journal and known as the "mouthpiece of the Federal Reserve," recently wrote that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is facing intense scrutiny from Congress. On Wednesday local time, four members of the Senate Banking Committee, led by Senator Chris Van Hollen, jointly sent a letter to Warsh, demanding that he publicly disclose all communication details with President Donald Trump.Earlier reports indicated that Warsh had maintained frequent phone contact with Trump since taking office, but the publicly available schedule from the Federal Reserve does not record any related calls during Warsh's early days in office. Lawmakers believe that this "selective transparency" could raise concerns about government interference in monetary policy.Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, previously stated that Warsh has long engaged in economic discussions with Trump but claimed that Trump would not pressure the Federal Reserve. Trump later denied the related reports, stating that he had only had a brief conversation with Warsh a few days prior.Currently, the Federal Reserve has stated that it will continue to delay the disclosure of the chairman's schedule according to established rules. The market is watching to see if Warsh will provide additional information and whether this matter will affect public confidence in the independence of the Federal Reserve.

According to Reuters, citing informed sources, Samsung Electronics has raised prices for some new advanced foundry service orders by up to 15%, due to a surge in demand for AI chips leading to tight capacity. The company has long lagged behind TSMC in the foundry sector. Demand from Chinese customers is particularly strong, but Samsung must prioritize serving U.S. customers and reserve some capacity to support its own chip production, making it unable to take on all orders. Affected by U.S. export restrictions on advanced chip equipment to China, Chinese companies are increasingly reliant on overseas foundries, with some Chinese customers accepting the maximum price increase.Informed sources stated that Samsung raised the prices for the 4nm (SF4) process in July, with price increases of 10% to 15% for Chinese and U.S. customers, and 5% to 10% for Taiwanese customers; the price for 5nm (SF5) wafers increased by 10% to 15%, nearly 10% higher than the older 8nm process. The SF4 production line at the Pyeongtaek factory has been operating at full capacity since the end of last year, producing logic chips for customers like Qualcomm and providing basic bare chips for Samsung's own HBM. Analysts point out that after TSMC's advanced capacity was fully booked, customers turned to Samsung and Intel, giving Samsung room to raise prices.Samsung's foundry business has been continuously losing money since 2022, but the company expects to quickly turn a profit driven by improved utilization rates, yield improvements, and rising prices. Foundry revenue in the second half of the year is expected to grow by double digits year-on-year, with advanced processes accounting for more than half, and AI and high-performance computing applications accounting for over 30%. Companies like Tesla, Apple, Broadcom, and NVIDIA have already reached relevant cooperation agreements with Samsung, and Google is also in talks to use the SF4 process.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost posted that retail demand for Bitcoin is increasing and is close to the highest level in the past two years. Historical data shows a clear correlation between the growth of retail demand and local peaks in Bitcoin prices.Currently, the rebound of Bitcoin is weak, but retail demand has surged sharply. The analyst believes this may reflect the "impatience" of this group— they have become more sensitive to small fluctuations in BTC.

According to Cointelegraph citing CryptoQuant data, Bitcoin spot demand is about to turn positive for the first time since February. This shift has historically corresponded with subsequent price increases.Data shows that after similar signals appear, Bitcoin's median increase over the next 60 days is approximately 18.1%, with a win rate of about 78%. A positive turn in spot demand typically reflects an increase in buying power, and the market is focused on whether this can be sustained and drive the market.

Regarding the issues of BitMart users' asset withdrawal restrictions and employees' unpaid salaries and compensations, employees of the platform publicly called on BitMart's management and relevant responsible parties to respond publicly by August 19 regarding the whereabouts of user assets, the platform's reserve situation, the reasons for withdrawal restrictions, and employee salary compensations. The open letter pointed out that a large number of users are still unable to withdraw their assets normally, and some employees have not received their last month's salary and due compensation; against this backdrop, if the platform only responds with announcements such as "ceasing operations," it cannot resolve the actual problems faced by users and employees. Relevant individuals requested that BitMart publicly disclose wallet, asset, liability, and available reserve information that can be verified by third parties, and explain when the platform became aware of the funding and withdrawal issues, who made the relevant decisions, and whether it continued to encourage users to redeem or trade despite being aware of the risks.The open letter also called for an investigation into related accounts, affiliated companies, trusts, and other funding arrangements associated with BitMart user assets, and specifically requested that the founder's partner provide explanations regarding their related accounts and funding situation. The open letter stated that there is currently information pending further verification indicating that BitMart accounts related to the founder's partner may have held assets worth tens of millions of dollars and have records of batch withdrawals; relevant individuals emphasized that no criminal characterization will be made against any individual until evidence is fully verified, but they demanded public clarification on whether the aforementioned accounts exist, asset ownership, sources of funds, transfer directions, and whether there is any connection with BitMart user assets, and called for an independent investigation into the relevant fund flows. At the same time, the open letter requested that BitMart promptly settle the salaries and compensations owed to employees, asserting that ordinary employees should not bear the consequences of management's operational decisions.In addition, the open letter requested that BitMart publish a user repayment plan with a clear execution timeline by August 19, including the scale of remaining assets, total liabilities, expected recovery ratio for users, repayment order, start and completion times, and supervision mechanisms, and explicitly stated acceptance of third-party independent audits. The open letter indicated that if a complete, transparent, and verifiable asset explanation and repayment plan are not obtained by then, they will consider submitting existing materials, funding clues, and relevant evidence to law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, lawyers, and the media in various locations to promote further investigation.

IREN Co-Founder and Co-CEO Daniel Roberts stated that each new AI data center will further increase rather than decrease AI demand.Roberts believes that simply comparing the current AI infrastructure cycle to past technology booms is misleading. More powerful AI requires more computing power, and lower-cost AI will drive more users and applications to use AI.He pointed out that each leap in AI capabilities creates a large number of new application scenarios that did not exist before, so demand can grow rapidly at the pace of software development, but the supply of computing power cannot expand at the same speed.The construction of computing power infrastructure is limited by real-world conditions such as power access, transmission lines, concrete, steel, and construction personnel, making it difficult to quickly increase the speed of supply expansion.Roberts stated that in past technology boom cycles, technological advancements often helped the supply side catch up with demand, but the current AI technology itself is driving demand to grow exponentially, while the speed of infrastructure construction in the real world struggles to keep up.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated on the X platform that the inflow of XRP whale funds on the Binance platform has recently seen a significant decline, dropping to the lowest level since 2021 based on a 3-month average.Data shows that the current inflow of XRP whales to Binance is approximately $61 million, a substantial decrease compared to previous levels. In contrast, this metric reached $456 million in January 2025 and $355 million in October 2025, with the current level being about 6 to 8 times lower than before.Although XRP has been struggling to maintain the critical $1 price level recently, the inflow behavior of whale funds that previously preferred to conduct large transactions through Binance is decreasing. However, the net inflow of XRP remains positive at around $18.8 million, indicating that inflow funds still temporarily dominate.Darkfost pointed out that this trend is similar across the entire crypto market, with overall trading volume and fund inflows declining, which may reflect that selling pressure is easing, but new demand in the market has not yet shown a significant rebound. The cooling of whale trading activity is a positive signal for XRP, but it is still insufficient to confirm that the market has reversed, and it is too early to determine if XRP is starting a new upward trend.

U.S. Democratic Senator Warren asked Treasury Secretary Basent to explain the basis for the Trump administration's intervention in the yen. In a letter dated August 13, Warren pointed out that the government has not provided detailed justification and has not disclosed how much money was used to purchase yen.Basent confirmed that the U.S. and Japan jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market for the first time since 1998 to support the yen, but did not specify the amount of funds.

Zhao Haijun, Co-CEO of SMIC, stated that the demand for AI-supported chips has increased by 40%.

Glassnode published a market perspective stating that Bitcoin is currently caught between the median realized price (around $63,000) and the cost basis of short-term holders (around $68,700). Spot trading volume has hit its lowest level since 2019, and the market is in an extremely quiet compression state. Despite core inflation falling to 2.5% in July and the stock market reaching new highs, Bitcoin has shown almost no reaction and even weakened, indicating a clear lack of demand.On the other hand, selling pressure is easing: profit supply is approaching the past bear market bottom area, the seller exhaustion indicator has hit a cycle low, and the adjusted SOPR has been rejected near the breakeven line nine times. Meanwhile, buyers continue to be absent, with minimal net inflows into ETFs, and coins are still flowing into exchanges; however, derivatives leverage has already massively gone long, with open interest relative to trading volume being high, and the order book's buy side is also thinning. Glassnode believes that the key observation points are the upper level of $68,700 and the lower level of about $58,500: effectively standing above the former with accompanying volume and ETF inflows recovering may confirm improvement, while losing the latter could easily lead to accelerated declines under thin buy support and crowded longs. Glassnode remains cautious overall, believing this is the late-stage bear market compression phase, and real demand signals have yet to appear.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has lowered its global oil demand forecast for this year, primarily due to ongoing export disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and high fuel prices. The IEA expects global oil demand to decline by 1.56 million barrels per day by 2026, reaching 103.29 million barrels per day. It is anticipated that global oil demand will decrease by 4.9 million barrels per day year-on-year in the second quarter, with a recovery in the fourth quarter, increasing by approximately 580,000 barrels per day.