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Dubbed the Sydney Copper project, Nova Copper (unlisted) and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs signed an agreement last week covering the proposed exploration activity at the project in Cape Breton, N.S. The Assembly signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the exploration and development of the project. The MOU is the foundation for open, good faith dialogue between Nova Copper and Indigenous people and opens the doors for the Mi’kmaq to be involved with the project. It includes Nova Copper’s to undertaking a Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) program to support a greater understanding of the project respecting the traditional knowledge of the Mi’kmaq. “Mining is one of the major employers of Indigenous people across Canada and we want to see that success extend to our Mi’kmaw partners on Unama’ki (Cape Breton) and across Mi’kma’ki. This MOU builds on the positive dialogue we have been pursuing for several years,” said Harry Cabrita, CEO of Nova Copper. The company is relogging historical core, digitizing a 3D model of the historical data, and conducting a baseline water survey. The site has proximity to other established mineral projects and is located in a mining-friendly community with roads. On the project itself, there are 12 km of drill roads. The Sydney project displays gold, molybdenum, silver and rhenium as well as copper. The company plans to complete an inaugural resource estimate and a preliminary economic assessment in the next 24 months. Nova Gold is headquartered in Halifax, N.S. Call 902-333-5305 or email contact@novacopper.ca.

Osisko Development (TSXV, NYSE: ODV) has successfully closed its $203 million bought deal private placement for the Cariboo gold project. The property, 65 km east of Quesnel, British Columbia, is shovel ready. Both an underground mine and a carbon-in-pulp recovery plant are planned. The offering consisted of two parts. First, the company issued approximately 58.6 million units at the issue price for aggregate gross proceeds of $120 million. The second is a non-brokered portion consisting of approximately 40.5 million units for gross proceeds of $85 million. The non-brokered units were largely taken up by Double Zero Capital, a Delaware investment firm, and the units represent about 15.4% of Osisko Development’s issued and outstanding common shares. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of a share purchase warrant exercisable at $2.56 per share. Certain insiders of Osisko Development subscribed for 628,000 units for gross proceeds of about $1.3 million. Osisko will use the net proceeds of the offering to fund the distributed equity portion of the capital committed to the Cariboo gold mine. In July, the company arranged a $450 million loan credit facility with Appian Capital Advisory. The updated Cariboo feasibility study was released in April 2025. Using a current gold price of $3,300/oz. and a mine life to 12 years, the NPV (at 5% discount) is nearly $2.1 billion and the IRR is 38%. In the updated scenario, the annual gold output would average 193.800 oz. in years four through nine. Proven and probable reserves over all zones are 16.7 million tonnes grading 3.78 g/t gold and containing just over 2 million oz. of gold.

Ethereum has entered a volatile phase after reaching a multi-year high near $4,790, retracing sharply to the $4,200 level. The correction represents an 11% decline in just a few days, shaking out overleveraged positions and fueling debates among analysts about ETH’s next move. Some market watchers warn that Ethereum could face a deeper pullback if the $4,200 level fails to hold as support. A breach here could send ETH lower, with traders eyeing the $3,900–$4,000 zone as the next major demand area. This cautious perspective highlights that momentum may be fading after the strong parabolic rally since mid-July. However, a different narrative is emerging. Many analysts argue that Ethereum has already flushed out excess leverage during this drawdown, setting the stage for renewed strength. With demand from institutional flows, strong ETH ETF inflows, and continued whale accumulation, bullish voices believe ETH is preparing for another leg higher — potentially toward new all-time highs above $4,900. Ethereum Grabs Liquidity At Key Price Level Top analyst Ted Pillows recently shared Ethereum’s liquidity heatmap, highlighting the $4,350 zone as a critical level where major liquidity was taken. According to Pillows, this move will determine whether Ethereum can stabilize and build a stronger base for its next rally. He poses the essential question: Will $4,350 be enough for ETH to hold? In the short term, the $4,350 zone now acts as an important pivot. If ETH maintains this level, it could serve as a launchpad for another push toward $4,800 and eventually beyond $5,000. However, a failure to hold could see price retest deeper supports near $4,000, which would prolong consolidation before any further breakout. Supply on exchanges is declining, signaling strong accumulation and reduced selling pressure. Institutional adoption is rising, with ETFs attracting record inflows and major companies adding ETH to their treasury strategies. Regulatory clarity in the US has improved, easing concerns for large-scale investors and legitimizing ETH as a core asset. With these drivers in place, Pillows and many others believe that Ethereum is on a clear path to set new all-time highs above $5,000, once the current volatility settles. The market may be turbulent in the coming weeks, but the broader trajectory still points higher. Weekly Chart Analysis: Consolidation Below Resistance Ethereum’s weekly chart shows a decisive pullback after touching $4,790, with the price now retracing to around $4,270. The move represents an 11% decline from the recent peak but comes after an explosive rally that pushed ETH above long-term moving averages, highlighting a shift in market momentum. The 50-week moving average sits at $2,811, while the 100-week and 200-week averages are clustered near $2,788 and $2,443, respectively. ETH’s distance above these levels reflects strong bullish momentum, as the asset remains well supported by its higher trend structure. Historically, when Ethereum trades significantly above these averages, corrections tend to be part of a healthy consolidation before resuming upward movement. Long-term investors may interpret the retracement as a reset of overextended conditions, potentially preparing ETH for another leg higher. If Ethereum stabilizes here, a retest of $4,790 and eventual breakout toward new all-time highs above $5,000 remains a plausible scenario in the coming months. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

GoviEx Uranium (TSXV: GXU) has entered the Australian capital market by combining with ASX-listed shell company Tombador Iron (ASX: TI1) in a proposed reverse takeover (RTO) that would see GoviEx end up with a new capital structure, investor base and additional cash on hand. Under the RTO arranged on Monday, Tombador would acquire all of GoviEx’s Class A shares, issuing 0.2534 of its own shares for each GoviEx share acquired. Upon completion, existing GoviEx shareholders would own 75% of the combined company, which will be renamed as “Atomic Eagle” listed on the Australian exchange. Compared to GoviEx, Atomic Eagle will have a much tighter share structure, with approximately 345 million outstanding, which the company says is “expected to result in a more efficient float and reduced share price volatility” and would provide “greater flexibility for future capital raises.” By noon Monday, GoviEx traded at a near 52-week low of C$0.055 with a market capitalization of C$56.2 million ($40.7 million). Tombador, which at the moment has no operating mining business and approximately A$10.4 million in cash, will also conduct a financing of at least A$5 million and up to A$10 million. This would bring the combined company’s cash balances to between A$19.4-A$24.4 million. The business combination would also bring on board key personnel of Matador Capital, an early-stage investor in Australia’s Boss Energy and Lotus Resources. Daniel Major, GoviEx’s CEO, will continue to lead Atomic Eagle, joined by a board of seasoned industry professionals that includes Tombador’s executive director Stephen Quantrill and Keith Bowes, former managing director at Lotus Resources. Shareholders of GoviEx will vote on the transaction in a meeting scheduled for October 24. Certain company insiders holding 27.6% of its shares are expected to vote in favour. ‘Transformational’ deal Govind Friedland, GoviEx’s executive chairman, calls the RTO “a transformational transaction” for the company, whose main focus is advancing the Muntanga uranium project in Zambia. “It brings an Australian public listing, a new capital structure, a refreshed board, new substantial shareholders, a cornerstone investor with recent uranium development experience and a strengthened balance sheet,” Friedland said. The combined company will continue with the development of Muntanga, situated in one of the largest and most underexplored sandstone-hosted uranium basins in the world. Earlier this year, GoviEx released a feasibility study that outlined a potential 12-year operation averaging 2.2 million lb. of uranium oxide production per annum, at low operating costs of $32.2/lb. The project’s after-tax net present value is estimated at $243 million, with an internal rate of return of 20.8% and a 3.8-year payback period. “Uranium is growing in importance and prominence in the global transition to clean energy,” Tombador’s Quantrill said, adding that he welcomes the opportunity to work with Friedland and his team alongside the experienced leadership from Matador to realize the potential of the GoviEx projects.

Ethereum’s (ETH) latest price rally has sparked renewed debate over whether the market is nearing a critical turning point. Analysts are looking closely at past cycles for insight, with some suggesting that history may be repeating itself. If the patterns hold true, ETH could be only weeks away from a cycle peak, making this a decisive moment for investors to consider when it might be time to sell everything. Ethereum’s Cycle Top Signals When To Exit Crypto analyst Jackis has shared insights into Ethereum’s recent price movements, indicating when investors should exit the market entirely. In a recent X social media post, the analyst noted that the ETH price action is closely mirroring its behavior from previous market cycles. Looking at the chart, Ethereum had hit one of its major cycle tops in January 2018, followed by another peak in November 2021. Moreover, both instances were preceded by a sharp upward trajectory that culminated in heavy corrections. Jackis also points out that in those earlier cycles, ETH was trading significantly above prior highs before topping out. This time, however, the altcoin has not even broken into a new all-time high yet, although it is currently approaching that critical resistance. Notably, the timing of ETH’s current setup is significant, as the four-year cycle theory suggests that the cryptocurrency could be just four weeks away from a major top. Jackis noted that this window aligns with September, which could serve as a critical moment for investors to reassess risks and consider whether “selling everything” is warranted. The analyst further highlighted that while Ethereum’s structure shows strength, most altcoins are lagging far behind. Cryptocurrencies such as Binance Coin (BNB), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE) have already established their tops in 2021 and remain far below those levels. Jackie stated that their price action suggests a market environment more consistent with ETH trading around $2,200, rather than its current level below $4,500. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has continued to march higher since its November 2022 lows, forming higher lows and higher highs in a textbook bull market structure. ETH Panic Selling Or Pre-Breakout Opportunity? In other news, crypto market expert Ether Wizz argues that the current panic selling of Ethereum mirrors the same mistake traders made with Bitcoin in past cycles. At the time, early sellers underestimated the strength of institutional demand and long-term buyers, only to watch BTC surge far beyond expectations. The analyst highlighted a recent rebound in the Ethereum price above the 50-week Simple Moving Average (SMA), which historically has signaled the beginning of explosive rallies. The comparison between Ethereum’s 2025 chart and its 2017 breakout also highlights a similarity. In both cases, the cryptocurrency consolidated, reclaimed its moving average, and then accelerated higher. Notably, Ether Wizz points out that Ethereum could still experience a short-term correction of 5% to 10%. However, he argues it is misguided to assume ETH has already peaked, maintaining instead that the cryptocurrency is in the early stages of a move that could eventually drive its price toward a new all-time high of $10,000.

Critical Metals (Nasdaq: CRML) has returned results as thick as 65 metres grading 0.55% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from surface at Tanbreez, one of the largest undeveloped heavy rare earth deposits outside China. That result in hole DDH-C-24 at the Fjord deposit in southern Greenland is top-tier and important for showing continuity in a bulk target that could support long-life production. The Tanbreez hole included 25.5% heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) and 90 parts per million (ppm) gallium oxide (Ga2O3), an important energy transition metal for its use in semiconductors, LED lights and solar panels. “These incredible results underscore the strategic value of Tanbreez as a rare earth elements and gallium project with scale, grade, and a high proportion of critical heavy rare earths,” Critical Metals CEO and executive chair Tony Sage said in a release on Monday. “With China’s total control over the rare earth market globally, securing sources of these critical minerals has become paramount for US defence capabilities and national security.” Rare earth tailwinds The results come just over a month after the United States’ Department of Defense (DoD) struck a key partnership to spur domestic production of rare earths. The deal with MP Materials (NYSE: MP) made the Pentagon the largest shareholder in MP, which operates the Mountain Pass rare earths mine in California, and set a price floor of $110 per kilogram for neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) materials. Critical Metals shares fell 6.9% to $5.43 apiece on Monday morning in New York, for a market capitalization of $534.4 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of $1.23 to $10.15. While the Tanbreez assay is much less than the 17% TREO surface channels samples found at US Critical Materials’ (OTC: USCMF) Sheep Creek project in Montana or Steenkampskraal Holdings’ 14% TREO in South Africa, it’s in line with bulk, low-to-mid grade, very large-scale rare earth projects such as nearby Kvanefjeldheld by Energy Transition Minerals (ASX: ETM) and Norra Kärr in Sweden held by Leading Edge Materials, TSXV: LEM). High-grade HREO Another noteworthy Tanbreez result, hole DDH-B-24 cut 61.3 metres grading 0.5% TREO, 26% HREO and 100 ppm Ga2O3; while hole DDH-A2-24 intersected 41 metres at 0.52% TREO, 26.9% HREO and 95 ppm Ga2O3. DDH-A1-24 cut 40 metres grading 0.48% TREO, 27.1% HREO and 100 ppm Ga2O3, with mineralization remaining open at the bottom of all holes, the company said. The holes are part of an ongoing resource upgrade program for Fjord, with more than 1,500 metres drilled so far this year and additional assays pending. The project has an estimated net present value of about $3.04 billion (C$4.1 billion) or about $2.8 billion to $3.6 billion at discount rates of 15% and 12.5%, respectively, before tax; with an internal rate of return of 180%, according to a preliminary economic assessment from March. Tanbreez, made up of the Fjord and Hill zone deposits, hosts 25.4 million indicated tonnes grading 0.37% TREO and 19.5 million inferred tonnes at 0.39% TREO.

Most Read: Gold (XAU/USD) Hovers at $3350/oz, Russia-Ukraine Developments in Focus USD/CAD advances in the US session, trading above the 100-day MA as the potential for further gains grows. There are of course headwinds for the pair which could scupper a move higher in the coming days. Geopolitical Risk The important meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended on Friday without any major progress. However, Trump said on Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could end the war with Russia quickly if he chooses to. Trump, Zelenskiy, and key European leaders are set to meet later today to discuss ending Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years. The move has kept Oil prices on edge of late with WTI trickling lower over the past few trading sessions. Weaker WTI oil prices have weighed on the Canadian Dollar and could aid a move higher for the pair if the decline continues. Bearish FED Outlook Gathers Pace Confidence that the Federal Reserve is ready to cut two or three times this year sees investors happy to remain long risk assets. The increasing probability of rate cuts will also weigh on the US Dollar but for now it appears the Canadian Dollars weakness is overshadowing the US Dollar weakness. This sets the pair up for further gains. Wednesday sees the release of the minutes of the July FOMC meeting, where two dissented for a 25bp rate cut. Of greater interest, however, will be Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium this Friday afternoon. The Jackson Hole meeting could set the tone for the US Dollar moving forward. Data Ahead Which Could Affect USD/CAD The week ahead brings data from both the US and Canada. The FOMC minutes and the S&P PMI data will be released from the US which could stoke some volatility in the pair. Tuesday will bring Canadian inflation data which is cooler but not quite where the Bank of Canada would like it to be. Canada’s central bank is unlikely to speed up rate cuts as its preferred inflation measure stayed high at 3% in June. The Bank of Canada lowered its policy rate to 2.75% in July but plans to move cautiously due to stubbornly high service prices, tariffs, and weakening demand. This makes the CPI release tomorrow all the more interesting. A drop in inflation could aid USD/CADs move to the upside and facilitate a test of the 200-day MA. For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar. (click to enlarge) Technical Analysis - USD/CAD From a technical standpoint, USD/CAD is back above the 100-day MA but continues to grind higher. The varying risks for the pair is currently keeping any significant moves at bay but there is a growing probability that further upside may materialize The pair is still showing a bullish trend after pulling back and holding support at a previous resistance level. Looking at the RSI and it is currently hovering around the 60 mark. This is another sign that bullish momentum remains intact. Immediate resistance rests at 1.3860 before the 1.4000 and 200-day MA at 1.4035 comes into focus. A move lower from here may find support at 1.3747 before the most recent swing low at 1.3588 comes into focus. USD/CAD Daily Chart, August 18, 2025 Source: TradingView.com (click to enlarge) Client Sentiment Data - USD/CAD Looking at OANDA client sentiment data and market participants are Short on USD/CAD with 64% of traders net-short. I prefer to take a contrarian view toward crowd sentiment and thus the fact that the majority of traders are net-short suggests that USD/CAD prices could continue to rise in the near-term. Follow Zain on Twitter/X for Additional Market News and Insights @zvawda Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2025 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

After a blow-out end to 2024 and a roaring start to 2025, the meme coin corner of the crypto world has slowed down. But it’s still a market you can’t ignore – it’s just harder to pin down. The sector’s aggregate value sits around $68B, and while performance has been mixed this year, trading interest remains strong wherever investors think the best meme coin deals lurk. Institutional data firms say the phenomenon isn’t only cultural, it’s mechanical. Kaiko notes meme tokens have repeatedly dominated trading volumes in bursts this year, even as regulators question whether they belong in investable indexes. One answer to the question of meme coin viability might be to avoid it altogether, but instead of considering ‘memes’ versus ‘utility tokens,’ what about a meme coin that brings genuine utility? Enter Little Pepe ($LILPEPE). ‘Little Pepe’ Tries Infrastructure, Not Just Virality Little Pepe ($LILPEPE) is a project positioning itself as a meme-powered ecosystem running on an EVM-compatible Layer-2. Keep the community and branding that fuel meme adoption, but pair it with cheaper, faster transactions than Ethereum mainnet. That’s how you attract traders who are tired of getting clipped by gas fees during hype cycles. The network is designed for near-zero fees, EVM tool compatibility, and anti-sniper protections on its integrated launchpad, making it one of the best crypto presales of 2025. Presale Momentum and a Big Giveaway The Little Pepe presale is moving fast, over a week ahead of schedule. The presale has raised about $21.M, selling 12.75B tokens and moving into Stage 11 at $0.0020 per token. The team is also running a $777K giveaway for early participants (ten winners at $77K each), contingent on a minimum $100 presale buy-in and social-engagement tasks. So far, so good. And the progress fits in perfectly with the proposed roadmap: a ‘pregnancy’ phase (presale and partnerships) a ‘birth’ phase (launch and top-tier exchange listings) a ‘growth’ phase that targets a top-100 market-cap slot and the formal launch of its Layer-2 EVM chain The core idea is to become an infrastructure for future meme launches rather than a one-off token. Little Pepe ($LILPEPE) – Meme Coin Momentum, Layer-2 Utility High transactions at minimal cost, and a built-in launchpad. Little Pepe isn’t just about creating a meme coin wave – $LILPEPE is ready to build a project that creates its own meme coins. The project is fully audited by Certik, providing a degree of security, transparency, and user trust. The meme sector has matured from one-click jokes to sprawling micro-economies, but the market’s lesson of 2025 is clear: novelty isn’t enough by itself. Projects with Little Pepe’s cheaper execution, fairer initial trading, and developer-ready rails will have a better chance to succeed, and maybe even start the next meme coin rush. Little Pepe threads the needle, keeping the frog-fueled fun while building the platform beneath it. That’s enough to put $LILPEPE among the best cryptos to buy in 2025. Check out the project’s whitepaper, and if you haven’t already done so, follow the project on Telegram and X. Backing Grows for Little Pepe, One of the Best Crypto Presales of 2025 The meme coin sector is sizable but volatile, and choosing the wrong presales carries elevated risk. But Little Pepe’s emphasis on low-fee, high-throughput rails is exactly what could carry it through any meme coin turmoil. Stage 12 of the presale beckons once the project passes 14.2B tokens sold. As always, do your own research. This isn’t financial advice.

Bitcoin is trading around the $115,000 level after a sharp pullback from its recent all-time high near $124,000. Volatility has returned to the market, sparking renewed debate among analysts and investors over whether BTC is preparing for a deeper correction or gearing up for the next leg higher. The current price action reflects indecision, with buyers and sellers locked in a tight battle at these critical levels. Some analysts warn that Bitcoin could face stronger selling pressure if it fails to reclaim momentum, while others argue that this retrace is a healthy reset before another aggressive move upward. What is clear, however, is that investors are preparing for heightened market swings in the coming weeks. Key on-chain data reveals that short-term holders (STHs) remain under pressure. Since November and December of 2024, the average profit realized by this group has not exceeded 5%. This means their Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) has stayed below 1.05, signaling that many recent market entrants have struggled to lock in meaningful gains. Historically, this kind of stagnation in STH profitability has preceded major directional moves, suggesting that Bitcoin may be on the verge of its next decisive phase. Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Under Pressure Top analyst Darkfost has provided a fresh take on Bitcoin’s current market structure, focusing on the behavior of short-term holders (STHs) through the lens of the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR). The SOPR measures the average profit or loss realized when a UTxO is spent, making it one of the most reliable gauges of investor profitability and selling behavior. At present, the STH SOPR remains stuck at the neutral ratio of 1. This means that, on average, recent market entrants are breaking even on the coins they sell, rather than realizing a profit or a loss. According to Darkfost, this suggests that many STHs entered the market late, likely during Bitcoin’s push above $100,000 over the past six months. As a result, they now find themselves in a holding pattern, waiting for price appreciation to secure meaningful returns. Darkfost emphasizes that in bull markets, these dynamics often follow a predictable pattern. When STHs are shaken out, their SOPR typically dips below 1, reflecting selling at a loss. Historically, such phases have created attractive dollar-cost averaging (DCA) opportunities, as capitulation from weaker hands clears the way for stronger upward trends. Bitcoin Price Analysis: Key Levels in Focus Bitcoin is currently trading near $115,133, after pulling back sharply from the recent peak at $124,000. The chart shows that BTC has broken away from its mid-summer consolidation, but momentum has cooled, with price now testing support around the 50-day moving average ($115,712). This level will be critical in the short term, as a sustained breakdown could open the way toward the 100-day moving average near $110,833. Despite the recent decline, the broader structure remains constructive. Bitcoin has spent much of the past six months above the psychological $100,000 level, establishing strong long-term support. The rejection near $123,217, marked by the yellow resistance line, suggests that bulls will need more conviction to push BTC into new highs. A clean breakout above that level could quickly send the price toward the $130,000–$135,000 region. On the downside, the 200-day moving average ($100,339) remains the ultimate line of defense. As long as BTC stays above this level, the broader bull trend remains intact. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

Harmony Gold’s (JSE: HAR, NYSE: HMY) acquisition of MAC Copper (NYSE: MTAL, ASX: MAC) has cleared the final regulatory hurdle after Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) gave its approval of the $1 billion deal. The FIRB approval, says MAC Copper CEO Mick McMullen, is “another significant step towards implementation of the transaction as all requisite regulatory approvals have now been obtained.” It follows last week’s approval of the deal by the South African Reserve Bank. The transaction still requires approval from investors, satisfaction of certain restructuring conditions, and sanction by the court. Shareholders of MAC are expected to cast their votes at meetings scheduled for August 29 in Jersey and online. As disclosed in its announcement in late May, Harmony would pay $12.25 for MAC’s common shares, a 20% premium at the time, for a total transaction value of $1.03 billion. On Monday, MAC Copper traded at $12.14 apiece on the NYSE, with a market capitalization of $1 billion. Copper shift The acquisition of MAC represents a strategic shift by South Africa’s leading gold producer to diversify its portfolio with critical minerals such as copper. MAC’s main asset is the CSA mine in New South Wales, which currently ranks amongst the highest-grade copper mines in Australia and is one of its oldest copper operations, with a history stretching back nearly 150 years. At 1.9 km, it is also one of the country’s deepest underground operations. The mine and facility were previously held by Glencore. In March 2022, MAC won a bid to acquire the asset for $1.1 billion. The transaction expands the company’s existing copper footprint in Australia, where it entered in 2022 with the Eva copper project in Queensland. The Johannesburg-based miner expects to begin production at Eva by 2028. With CSA and Eva combined, Harmony aims to produce 100,000 tonnes of copper annually within five years.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is preparing to approve the country’s first Yen-denominated stablecoin. This will be the first time a domestically issued, fully collateralized Yen stablecoin is expected to go live at national scale. Japan’s stablecoin can be approved and launched as early as this autumn. Furthermore, Tokyo-based fintech JPYC is set to lead issuance under Japan’s revised regulatory framework. 18 August 2025 local media reports also confirmed that JPYC aims to issue roughly $7 billion of the new cryptocurrency over three years. The stablecoin will be pegged 1:1 to the Japanese Yen. It will be backed by highly liquid assets such as bank deposits and Japanese government bonds (JGBs). Japanese blockchain technology developer, Soramitsu, is working with the State Bank of Pakistan to launch a pilot program for a CBDC this year. Can this partnership fast-track Pakistan’s timeline for launching a CBDC? Jameel Ahmad, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, is working closely with Soramitsu. Pakistan’s move indicates the country’s intent to modernize its financial structure, especially in partnership with US President Donald Trump. Japan’s technical expertise in fintech and digital currency regulation will be leveraged by Pakistan to design a secure, efficient, and scalable CBDC framework. DISCOVER: 9+ Best High-Risk, High-Reward Crypto to Buy in August 2025 Key Takeaways Japan is entering the stablecoin mainstream with a tightly supervised, yen-pegged instrument. It will connect blockchain efficiency with the credibility of cash and government bonds. With JPYC expected to lead issuance and approval targeted for this fall, the move could rewire domestic payments. It can also streamline remittances, and add a new, steady buyer to Japan’s bond market. The post Japan’s First Yen-Backed Stablecoin Poised For Approval This Fall appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

Dogecoin is once again in the spotlight as market analyst Master Ananda outlines a bold outlook for its current bull cycle. Past cycles show that major moves in DOGE often unfold over many months, not weeks. Ananda highlights that the meme coin has already been in an uptrend for years, with strong momentum since 2022 and a clear breakout from October 2023. While no one can predict markets with certainty, the analyst argues that the path of growth is already in motion, and price targets suggest a possible climb as high as $2.55 this cycle. Dogecoin’s Historical Growth Patterns Vs. Current Cycle Looking back at Dogecoin’s history, the numbers speak for themselves. In the last bull market, DOGE grew an incredible 65,527% over 420 days, proving that its rallies have the power to stretch far beyond what most expect. This context makes it hard to believe the claim that all potential growth must be squeezed into just two months, or “eight candles,” as Ananda puts it. Dogecoin hit its bear market bottom in June 2022, following the May 2021 all-time high. From that point, including a long stretch of consolidation, DOGE has been on a steady climb for 1,155 days. The uptrend became much clearer in October 2023, meaning it has been building strength for 672 days since then. Given this background, Ananda asks: Who decides the rally has to end in exactly two months? Why not three, four, or even more months of continued growth? He points out that the market does not always follow the predictions of central banks or analysts, and external expectations like recession fears often fail to match what happens. In some cases, while traditional markets fall, crypto can surprise everyone by turning ultra bullish. For Dogecoin, that kind of perfect timing is not impossible. With this in mind, the analyst believes the idea of a short-lived rally underestimates Dogecoin’s potential. Its chart shows years of progress and a trend that is still far from over. While it remains below its all-time high, Ananda is confident that the crypto will surpass it this cycle. Key Price Targets And Resistance Levels Ahead Turning to the chart, Ananda lays out clear price levels to watch. The first significant resistance stands at $0.47, a milestone that is within reach this month if momentum continues. Breaking through that level would set the stage for a test of the previous all-time high at $0.74. Beyond that lies $1.166, which Ananda calls the primary resistance for the current move. If Dogecoin can push past this zone, the door opens to even higher targets that could redefine the cycle, with the potential for a price climb to $1.85 or even $2.55, marking an increase of around 1,000% from current levels. While short-term uncertainty is always present, especially with talk of recessions or market corrections, Ananda argues that Dogecoin’s setup remains bullish. The market may look calm now, but the conditions are in place for a breakout.

Nasdaq and the broader tech sector are starting the week more cautiously, with overnight futures showing the Dow holding up relatively well against the more risk-sensitive Nasdaq. (An informal invitation to consult our most recent analysis on the Dow) After weeks of steady outperformance from tech compared to other sectors, the latest dip could be simple profit-taking—but in the bigger picture, it looks like flows are shifting as the appetite for risk begins to cool. Markets are still waiting to learn more from the post Trump-Putin meeting developments, with EU leaders showing up to the White House today to discuss on the future path of action for the Ukraine-Russia ongoing war. Participants will look to learn more on this before showing more appetite to risk. There is also key data appearing this week with PMIs from all around the globe. Earnings season adds another layer of focus, with consumer giants like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot reporting this week and offering a read on household demand. Meanwhile, the most recent PPI data has already begun to weigh on sentiment. Let’s look at the charts to see if this cautious tone starts building into something larger. Read More: Cryptocurrencies extend their decline from recent highsNasdaq Daily Chart Nasdaq Daily Chart, August 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView The Nasdaq is showing consecutive doji candles at the higher bound of the May upwards Channel. Bulls will have to be cautious particularly as a Daily Bearish divergence on the RSI is showing up after months of relentless rallying. With momentum and sentiment appearing to shift, it will be essential to approach markets with a bit more caution, particularly with the PPI showing tariff-led inflation making its way to the US. The September rate cut is still not out of the picture and a new ATH has just been formed, showing that markets are still far from bearish. Nasdaq 4H Chart Nasdaq 4H Chart, August 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView Momentum is still around neutral and the 4H MA 50 is showing as immediate support (23,650). Keeping this one in check is essential for bull/bear momentum analysis as we are nearing the mid-line of the longer-trend upward channel. Any bearish continuation may point towards the 4H MA 200 which coincides with the lower bound of the channel (around 23,200). Levels to watch for the Nasdaq: Resistance Levels Top of Ascending Channel and Daily resistance 24,000 to 24,100Daily highs and ATH 23,986Friday highs 23,880Support Levels 23,700 current Pivot Zone at the NFP highs (confluence with 1H and 4H MA 50)23,500 Support23,150 Main Support Zone Safe Trades! Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2025 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

As you might have heard, Qubic, the AI-focused blockchain project, was behind Monero’s 51% attack, which allowed them to gain majority control over its network. Well, the community is back at it again – and this time they have Dogecoin (DOGE) in their sights. This time, answering to Qubic’s founder, Sergey Ivancheglo’s post on X about which ASIC-enabled proof of work blockchain the community should target next. Some big names were thrown into the mix, including Dogecoin, Kaspa (KAS), and Zcash (ZEC). On 17 August 2025, Ivancheglo, also known as Come-from-Beyond, shared in an X post that the community voted to pursue the memecoin king, Dogecoin. EXPLORE: 10+ Crypto Tokens That Can Hit 1000x in 2025 DOGE Price Chart In The Red After Qubic Targets Dogecoinc With its market capitalisation of $35Bn, Dogecoin is firmly on Qubic’s radar, accumulating 300 votes, eclipsing the other contenders’ total tally. Currently, Dogecoin’s price is trading in the red. The memecoin is in a sharp decline as of this writing, slipping more than 5%, bringing it closer to its critical $0.21 support. This decline occurred after users discovered Qubic’s targeting of Dogecoin. (DOGEUSDT) On-chain and derivatives data further reinforce the current bearish sentiment as DOGE holders incur losses and short positions gain traction among traders. Santiment’s Network Realised Profit/Loss (NPL) indicator, which measures market pain, slid from 2.68 million to -271.41 million between 14 and 15 August, indicating holders are realising losses and increasing selling pressure. (Source) This is the lowest dip that the indicator has recorded since July 2022. Moreover, Coinglass’s long-to-short ratio hit 0.79 on 18 August 2025, its highest in over a month, signalling a bearish sentiment as traders scramble to position for a decline in Dogecoin’s price. Dogecoin saw an 8.58% pullback on 14 August 2025, facing resistance at the $0.24 daily level. It found support near $0.21 from where its price rebounded 4.6% through Sunday. The memecoin is currently trading at around the $ 0.22 level. A slide down its support at $0.21 could lead to further downturns, with key support resting at $0.18 level on the weekly chart. (DOGEUSDT) Momentum indicators show market uncertainty. While the daily RSI hovers at a neutral 50, the MACD lines converge, suggesting market indecisiveness. EXPLORE: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 Qubic’s Reasoning Behind Monero Attack: “A lot of electricity is burned for useless #POW” Qubic’s mining pool achieved a six-block reorganisation following a month-long standoff with Monero miners. At the time of this writing, it commands a hash rate of approximately 2.32 Gh/s, currently the most powerful on the Monero chain, according to MiningPoolStats’s data. After the takeover, Qubic announced that Monero’s core features, such as privacy and transaction speeds, remain uncompromised. However, it spelled out its end goal: to provide Monero’s security by Qubic miners. When asked about the reason behind his attack on Monero, Ivancheglo said on X, “A lot of electricity is burned for useless #PoW, we need that electricity for #AI.” Qubic’s aggressive scaling strategy has caused quite the stir in the proof-of-work landscape. It is now going after established blockchains to test their limits. While Dogecoin is a significantly larger fish to fry, Qubic’s miner community has approved this project. EXPLORE: 9+ Best High-Risk, High-Reward Crypto to Buy in August 2025 Key Takeaways Qubic miners are now going after established blockchains like Dogecoin Qubic wants Monoero’s security to be provided by Qubic miners DOGE price is in the red after this announcement and has slipped more than 5% today The post Qubic Targets Dogecoin After Monero’s 51% Attack appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

There were a few signals traders could have spotted ahead of the ongoing selloff. After last Friday's warning from Bitcoin, with an all-time high leading to a direct retracement, the crypto market has started to make its way off its most recent highs. Ethereum staged a huge rally toward its record levels, but buyers failed to break through the $4,870 all-time high—a sign of hesitancy from the market that sellers enjoy. Altcoins were also a bit timid on the last leg of the rally showing some lack of depth in buying. And with cryptocurrencies still firmly in the risk-asset camp, renewed geopolitical headwinds (including uncertainty with the Russia-Ukraine war) are giving investors further reasons to cash out from the rallies. Let's see through BTC and ETH intraday charts if this should keep on going or if this is just a small retracement in the longer-term trend. A follow-up from our most recent crypto piece: Imminent profit-taking in Cryptocurrencies – What's the story Read More: Gold (XAU/USD) Hovers at $3350/oz, Russia-Ukraine Developments in FocusBitcoin 8H Chart Bitcoin 8H Chart, August 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView Bitcoin is $9,000 (7.20%) from its most recent ATH at $124,269, with the shape of the most recent highs appearing as a double top. Despite this warning sign, the ongoing 8H candle is showing a doji-indecision as shorter timeframes enter oversold territory. The current candle appears as dip buyers try to re-enter at the upward trendline that has served as support since the end of April. Prices are located right between the 50 and 200-period MAs – showing that the action is much less balanced than the previous uptrend. Levels to watch for Bitcoin trading: Levels for BTC trading: Support Levels: $114,500 to $115,500 rebound at the current supporting trendline$110,000 to $112,000 previous ATH support zone (MA 200 at $111,350)$100,000 Main support at psychological levelResistance Levels: $116,000 to $117,000 Pivot50-period MA $117,330Major Resistance $122,000 to $124,500Current all-time high $124,596Ethereum 8H Chart Ethereum 8H Chart, August 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView Ethereum's outlook doesn't look as bleak, with the ongoing retracement hanging around the $4,200 to $4,300 consolidation zone (yellow box). With prices evolving in a current upward channel, sellers seem to have appeared at the higher bound just before the $4,870 2021 record. Buyers took the current rally to $4,790. As mentioned in the intro, a failure to breach the past highs is interpreted by sellers as lack of persistence from ETH bulls. Nonetheless, after reaching ultra-overbought levels, such retracements are healthy. Probability of a higher rebound from here are still decent as long as prices hold above the $4,000 pivot, and even higher probability if buyers take the short-term hand here. Levels for ETH trading: Support Levels: $3,500 Support zone$4,000 Main pivot (confluence with 50-period MA)$4,200 to $4,300 consolidation zone (currently testing)Resistance Levels: Current highs $4,793$4,700 to $4,900 All-time high resistance zone$4,870 2021 recordPotential resistance at 1.618% Fibonacci extension of April to July up-moveA look at the crypto Market Cap Total Market Cap Weekly Chart, August 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView The Total Crypto Market Cap is testing the 2024 highs. As long as profit-taking doesn't go below 3.50T, we can assume that this is just some healthy retracement instead of the beginning of a bear trend. Altcoins are retracing a bit more strongly, but this is common as they are the most risky of the already-risky crypto asset class. We will stay in touch frequently to see how this story develops. Safe Trades! Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2025 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

To this day, there is still an insane amount of mystery behind the actual creator of Bitcoin and the man behind the Satoshi Nakamoto alias. Now, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is the latest high-profile figure to be put under the spotlight as a possible candidate for Bitcoin’s founder. From the likes of Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, Adam Back, to Craig Wright (LOL) and the ultimate crackpot theory that the CIA created Bitcoin, there have been multiple attempts at uncovering Bitcoin’s creator since its inception in 2009, to no avail. To this day, entire Twitter threads are created, as sleuths claim to have discovered Satoshi’s true identity. DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 Could Jack Dorsey Be Satoshi Nakamoto? Jack Dorsey was born in 1976 in St. Louis. At just 15, he wrote a dispatch software used by taxi companies for years. He dropped out of college, moved to California, and by 2006, created Twitter. His first tweet has become an iconic phrase, reading: “just setting up my twttr.” Since the early 2010s, Dorsey has been an enormous proponent of decentralization. He admired cypherpunks like Adam Back. He wore RSA shirts in the 90s, long before the idea of Bitcoin even existed. And when BTC appeared in 2009, he became one of its earliest high-profile endorsers. In 2009, Jack Dorsey built Square, which started as a simple card reader. Under his leadership, the company rebranded to Block in 2021 and quickly became one of Bitcoin’s most prominent corporate supporters. Dorsey’s endorsement of Bitcoin from within his business dealings came long before 2021, as Block (Square at the time) integrated BTC into its Cash App in January 2021 and, around the same time, began funding open-source blockchain developers with Block’s Bitcoin arm, Spiral. In a Bitcoin TV podcast with Strategy (formerly Micro Strategy) founder Michael Saylor, Jack Dorsey said Bitcoin will “unite a divided world”, going as far as saying that fixing money could even bring world peace. DISCOVER: Top Solana Meme Coins to Buy in August 2025 Many Mysteries And Coincidences Fuel The Dorsey Being Satoshi Theories In 2009, the year Bitcoin was created, the intriguing mystery began regarding the theories that Jack Dorsey is Satoshi Nakamoto. Around this time, many people started noticing strange overlaps with Dorsey’s life. To begin, the first Bitcoin transaction was on Dorsey’s mother’s birthday, and the last block Satoshi ever mined was on his father’s birthday. Finally, the Satoshi BTC forum account was created on November 19, Dorsey’s own birthday. Also in 2009, Satoshi once entered an IRC channel without masking his IP, which traced back to California. At that time, Dorsey was living and working in San Francisco, California. Then, five years later, in 2014, a hacker of Satoshi’s email claimed he was from St. Louis, which is, coincidentally, Jack Dorsey’s hometown. There are more, smaller nuggets of information that support the theory. For one, Dorsey is believed to have worn Adam Back’s RSA shirts throughout the 90s. Dr. Adam Back originally introduced the RSA shirt design in 1995 in protest of the US government classifying the RSA encryption code as a munition and illegal to export to non-US citizens. The shirt featured a five-line encryption software program on the front and clauses from the US Bill of Rights on the back. By doing so, he had shown the importance of code as free speech. Finally, Jack Dorsey is alleged to have traveled to Japan weeks before Bitcoin.org was registered, and he wrote in 2001 about “leaving a mark on the world without leaving a trace,” which is seen by many as exactly what Satoshi Nakamoto intended with his creation of Bitcoin. Dorsey Himself Has Refuted Claims That He Is Satoshi.. Kind Of Jack Dorsey mostly denied speculation that he is the infamous Bitcoin creator. In a 2020 podcast interview with Lex Fridman, he smiled and said, “No. And if I was, would I tell you?” Many experts agree and have dismissed the theory as a pure coincidence. Those who refute the Dorsey being Satoshi suggestions are quick to point out that, unlike most cypherpunks of his era, he was an extremely public individual who posted what he was up to on nearly an hourly basis. To put into context, around the time Bitcoin was officially launched (2009 and 2010), Jack Dorsey posted over 6,200 tweets, providing a significantly larger dataset to work with compared to Satoshi, who created fewer than 1,000 timestamped events during the same period. During that same period of 2009 & 2010, Jack Dorsey was not only Chairman of the Board of Twitter, but also the CEO of the then fledgling startup Square. He would have been an extremely busy person, not only overseeing multiple companies but also traveling around the world, meeting important people, doing press interviews, speaking at conferences, promoting philanthropic causes, and more. As a result, his activities do not fit the profile of someone who had the time and mental bandwidth to build an entirely new financial system from scratch while maintaining perfect anonymity. Dorsey is, nonetheless, another fun candidate for the man behind the Satoshi Nakamoto mask. EXPLORE: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in August Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates The post Satoshi Nakamoto Finally Uncovered? Is Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey Bitcoin’s Anon Creator appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

Chainlink recently launched its LINK reserves feature that allows it to channel its on-chain and enterprise fees into it. Data compiled on its website shows that it now has 109,663 LINK tokens in its reserves. Chainlink is quickly becoming the best altcoin to buy in 2025. With LINK currently trading for $24.6, the reserves are valued at over $2.8 million, and this number is expected to continue rising. Thus far, the strategy has been profitable, with the LINK cost basis being $19.65. ChainlinkPriceMarket CapLINK$17.12B24h7d30d1yAll time Chainlink Reserve Launched On August 7: Has Everything Changed For LINK Price? Launched on August 7, The Chainlink Reserve is being built up by using Chainlink’s Payment Abstraction protocol to convert off-chain and on-chain revenue into LINK. Introduced earlier this year, Payment Abstraction is an on-chain infrastructure that reduces payment friction by enabling users to pay for Chainlink services in their preferred form of payment, such as gas tokens and stablecoins. Payments are then programmatically converted to LINK using a combination of Chainlink services and decentralized exchange infrastructure. The Chainlink team has stated that it does not expect any withdrawals from the Reserve for multiple years, and so it is expected to grow over time. Crypto trader @CatfishFishy made a solid point regarding the new Chainlink Reserve and how it helps to eliminate the last remaining fud around LINK, especially in comparison to Ripple Labs and the XRP token. The trader said, “(Chainlink Reserve) Killed two biggest FUD uncertainties: Chainlink is a money-making machine already. Clear confirmation about no predatory, competing conflicts like Ripple Labs equity vs XRP token holders. Chainlink generates revenue from useful services -> LINK token buybacks & yield to stakers. Ripple makes 99% of its money from dumping XRP – Ripple buys companies for itself and its own Ripple stock. Future fees will be in the billions. Chainlink platform is needed by DeFi + TradFi more than any other protocol to deploy on-chain finance use cases at scale because no other protocol offers what Chainlink does.” DISCOVER: The 12+ Hottest Crypto Presales to Buy Right Now Other Chainlink News And Announcements Boosting Positive LINK Sentiment Chainlink’s total value secured (TVS) on its platform continues to grow, reaching over $84 billion, with most of the funds allocated to Ethereum’s network. In addition, Chainlink has secured partnerships with some of the largest companies worldwide. Most recently, it announced a significant collaboration with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. (SOURCE) This partnership will enable ICE to utilize Chainlink’s technology to enhance its foreign exchange and metals trading. This is just one example of how Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP) is being applied in the real-world asset tokenization industry. Meanwhile, demand for the LINK token remains high. Its futures open interest sits at $798.3m in the past 24 hours, after surging to a record $1.5 billion last week, a considerable increase from the year-to-date low of $421 million. Coinalyze data shows that the Chainlink OI (open interest) is up over 16% since yesterday, highlighting the strength and demand for LINK and strengthening its claim as the best altcoin to buy in 2025. (COINALYZE) Whales Are Stacking LINK And Price Action Is Bullish: Is Chainlink The Best Altcoin To Buy This Year? Whale accumulation has continued this month, with large investors now holding over 5.6 million LINK tokens. This represents an increase of more than 65% in just one month. Whale buying is often seen as a bullish indicator for a token, as it reflects strong demand from investors who have a significant stake in the market and the means to control the charts. The Relative Strength Index and the MACD indicators have continued to rise as bulls target the key resistance level at $27.18, its highest point since January this year. A move above that level will indicate a move toward the psychological resistance at $30. Incredibly, all of the TradingView moving averages show a buy signal, both EMA’s and SMA’s across 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 day timeframes. With the majority of indicators flashing heavy buy signals for LINK, it is quickly cementing itself as the best altcoin to buy as we head deeper into 2025. While the majority of digital assets are red on a 7-day timeframe, LINK is up nearly 12%, highlighting its strength during this current dip. Chainlink has moved up to number 12 in the list of biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, overtaking wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) and Lido’s wrapped Ethereum (stETH). LINK’s current market cap is around $16.5 billion, and many analysts call for It to become a top-five digital asset in the near future. Institutional usage coupled with the Chainlink Reserve program drives the LINK price higher. (TRADINGVIEW) EXPLORE: 10 Best AI Crypto Coins to Invest in 2025 Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates The post Reserves Could Trigger a Chainlink Skyrocket: Is LINK The Best Altcoin to Buy in 2025? appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

Qubic’s mining group has picked Dogecoin as its next target after claiming it briefly gained majority control of Monero’s network, according to reports. The group said it reorganized six blocks on Monero and then asked its community to vote on which ASIC-friendly proof-of-work coin to test next. The vote came on Aug. 17. Community Picks Dogecoin Based on reports, Dogecoin won the vote with more than 300 votes. Qubic’s founder, Sergey Ivancheglo, shared that Dogecoin beat out Zcash and Kaspa in a public poll. The project says its Monero pool reached a 51% share and that it currently runs about two point three GH/s of Monero hashrate. The group calls these moves “stress tests” and says they are meant to show how its mining model works, while also using pool profits to buy and burn QUBIC tokens. The group added it does not want to destroy networks. The technical claim has sparked debate in the Monero community. Some developers and miners question whether the pool ever held sustained, uncontested control. Others say the actions — which reorganized blocks — are proof the group can alter short stretches of chain history. Either way, the interruption was enough for Kraken to pause Monero deposits while exchanges and services assessed risk. What A 51% Attack Can Do A 51% attack lets the controller reorganize blocks or stop transactions. A group that controls more than half of a network’s mining power can rewrite recent blocks, halt certain transactions, or try double-spends. Qubic’s move showed it could force a small reorg on Monero. If a similar level of control were applied to Dogecoin, the effect could be larger because Dogecoin has a market capitalization above $35 billion. Still, Dogecoin benefits from merged-mining with Litecoin and runs at a much higher hashrate, so an attack would likely cost far more. Markets and exchanges reacted quickly. Prices moved on the news and custodial services tightened checks. Kraken’s decision to pause deposits underscored how exchanges will act fast when block reorgs or other threats appear. Users and traders faced increased short-term uncertainty. What To Watch Next Based on reports, the timeline is unclear but the issue raises bigger questions. Qubic has not given a clear timeline for any action against Dogecoin. Observers will watch for technical logs, more statements from the project, and any responses from Dogecoin and Litecoin developers. A Hostile Act? People will also be looking for proof that Qubic’s tests were non-destructive and for evidence about how long the pool actually held control. Most outlets call what Qubic did a 51% attack (a chain reorg), not a “hack” in the usual sense — but it’s still an attack on network consensus and many people treat it as hostile. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView

Gold prices have rallied from an overnight low around the $3323/oz handle to a high of $3360/oz before settling around the $3350/oz mark.The precious metal looks set to continue its choppy price action at the start of a busy week. The recovery in Gold from the overnight low could in part be down to lower US Treasury Yields with the benchmark 10Y US Treasury yield falling from its recent highs. Russia-Ukraine Developments as Trump and Zelensky Set to Meet European leaders will meet with Zelenskiy and Trump on Monday to discuss a possible deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Under the proposed plan, Russia would give up small areas of occupied Ukraine, while Ukraine would give up parts of its eastern region that Russia has been unable to take. These ideas were reportedly discussed by Putin and Trump during their summit in Alaska on Friday. The question moving forward will be whether a peace deal will have a significant impact on Gold prices. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been running for the better part of three and a half years. It will be interesting to see how much risk premium has been priced into gold as a result and if there will be a significant selloff if a deal is struck. Either way, this is worth monitoring. US Dollar Index (DXY) Outlook The US Dollar Index was higher this morning ahead of what is shaping up to be a busy week. Geopolitical developments, Fed Speak and Jackson Hole are all in focus. The DXY continues to trade at a key confluence level as rate cut bets from the US Federal Reserve continue to change. Money markets now see an 83% chance that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by a quarter point next month. However, traders have become less certain about a rate cut after recent data showed higher U.S. wholesale prices and strong retail sales in July. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak about the economy and the Fed's plans at the Jackson Hole symposium from August 21 to 23. MUFG Bank predicts the Fed will cut rates in September but doesn’t expect Powell to clearly signal this during his speech. This will be Powell's last address at the conference before his term ends next May, as he balances the Fed's goals of keeping prices stable and unemployment low. A pivotal week for the greenback and one which could have implications for Gold prices as well. US Dollar Index (DXY) Source: Tradingview Gold Prices Moving Forward Gold prices continue to hold firm for now with downside potential limited thanks to a host of uncertainties still prevalent in global markets. Safe haven demand remains in play and this could in part explain Gold's resilience. The performance of Gold moving forward hinges on potential changes in rate cut bets as well as geopolitical developments. There is another concern for Gold prices. Given the rally over the last 18 months, Gold's value could lead to a pivot or rotation toward other commodities which continue to play catch-up to gold.So while we could still see some upside in gold, I’d say the bigger opportunity is elsewhere in commodities at this stage of the monetary-macro-metal cycle. Technical Analysis - Gold (XAU/USD) From a technical standpoint, on the two-hour chart below we can see that Gold has rejected of the 50-day MA. Price is however trading just above a key area of support as market participants seek clarity. The RSI Period-14 remains above the 50 neutral level which is also a sign of bullish momentum. Either way Golds next move will need a catalyst in either direction for a potential breakout. Immediate support rests at 3331 before the 3314 and 3300 handle came into foucs. A move higher first need acceptance above the 50-day MA before the 3361 and 3375 handles come into focus. Gold (XAU/USD) Daily Chart, August 18, 2025 Source: TradingView (click to enlarge) Client Sentiment Data - XAU/USD Looking at OANDA client sentiment data and market participants are Long on Gold with 67% of traders net-long. I prefer to take a contrarian view toward crowd sentiment and thus the fact that the majority of traders are net-long suggests that Gold prices could continue to slide in the near-term. Follow Zain on Twitter/X for Additional Market News and Insights @zvawda Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2025 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Crypto analyst Josh Olszewicz expects Bitcoin to endure a grinding, probabilistic market over the next six weeks before conditions improve into the fourth quarter, warning that September seasonality, softening momentum signals, and mixed ETF flow dynamics argue for patience rather than leverage. “The TL;DW is probably chopped and bearish near-term, bullish Q4,” he said in an August 18 video, adding that the path to a cleaner upside impulse is explicitly conditional on a handful of technical and flow triggers rather than a single catalyst. The Battle Lines Are Drawn For Bitcoin Olszewicz anchors the near-term roadmap in flows and seasonality. He wants “just nothing—just flatline on [ETF] flows for the next couple weeks and then four weeks of even worse,” arguing that a reset would “set us up for Q4.” While he noted, “We did have $550 million in a week, which is pretty good for any ETF… still a solid number… not zero,” he contrasted that with earlier, much larger weekly tallies and observed that corporate treasury buying—“still a lot of sellers obviously if price hasn’t gone anywhere”—has slowed from peak pace. The implication is not overt bearishness, but “time, not price”: either sharp pullbacks in names that ran or “dead sideways for six weeks.” On Bitcoin’s chart, Olszewicz reduces the debate to a well-defined line in the sand and a small set of Ichimoku- and trend-based triggers. “Since July… $121–$122,000 is still the imaginary line in the sand… a daily close above that level, I’m good with higher,” he said, adding, “Above $120,000 it’s easy. I like $150,000.” Until that break, he sees “chop” dominating. He identifies “the first signs of trouble” as “closing in the daily cloud and/or closing below the 20-week moving average—the yellow line there at $104,000,” and stresses the timing nuance: “If we get a close below the cloud in September, I’m a little less worried than if we get it in October.” A decisive slip late in Q3 rolling into Q4 would be more concerning. “If we close below $100k in October, then I’m closer to this cycle-over, no-more-cycles camp,” he warned, clarifying, “We’re far from that currently… there’s nothing here that’s bearish whatsoever—it’s just momentumless.” His preferred system-of-confirmation leans on the Ichimoku suite and a separate cloud backtest he tracks on the BTC daily chart. That model “caught [the] April move” early; at present it reads “okay,” but he outlines the precise sequence that would flip his bias: “You need first the bearish TK cross… and then a close in the cloud… then there’s a decent edge-to-edge trade.” It’s a decision tree, not a prediction: “It’s nuanced… if this, then that.” Macro timing could add friction in the interim. He points to Friday’s Jackson Hole appearance by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as the only obvious near-term “catalyst,” suggesting a hawkish tone—“not cutting, needing more data, needing more time”—would be a headwind. He also mused that “Trump may even announce his replacement before Powell speaks… just to steal the thunder,” framing it as a headline-risk factor for risk assets, not a base case. Still, the larger macro backdrop—rising global money supply and debt—remains a structural tailwind for scarce assets, in his view: “That’s going to provide a nice cushion… as they keep printing money everywhere globally.” Waiting For The Q4 Seasonality Olszewicz emphasizes that this doesn’t preclude upside, but it does undercut the probability of trending continuation in the very near term. By contrast, he calls Ethereum’s positioning “horrific… for the long side,” even as ETH just printed a record ETF-flow week—an apparent paradox he resolves by distinguishing one-week surges from the “stream of continuous flows” that sustains trends. The comparison matters for Bitcoin because a broad-based crypto risk bid is harder to maintain if ETH’s positioning and overbought technicals stall leadership. Within Bitcoin’s own market structure, Olszewicz blends tactical caution with the longer-term thesis many cycle investors still hold. He flags that “August has been bullish” so far but notes the historical rarity of “six months in a row” of green closes, and he reiterates that traders looking for “high-conviction moves” with leverage should prefer to wait for signals rather than force exposure in “nothingness.” Conversely, for long-horizon holders, he cites the power-law corridor as a reason to avoid second-guessing unless the market fails badly into Q4: “If you think there’s a… 30–50% chance that we actually attempt a parabolic move past the midpoint of the power law… it’s probably just worth sitting tight as an investor and saying, okay, show it to me.” That framework also explains his tolerance for deeper retests without abandoning the larger uptrend. He repeats that there is “plenty [of] room to get angry and go down,” with the 20-week moving average and daily cloud serving as objective guardrails. A September cloud break is a warning; an October cloud break or an October close below $100k would be a far stronger statement about the cycle’s health. Until then, he expects a market “holding levels,” with $121,000–$122,000 as the trigger that would convert “dead momentum” into a genuine impulse. For Bitcoin traders, the takeaway is spare and unsentimental. There is no “magical setup” this week, and the statistically unfriendly month of September looms. The bullish path into Q4 exists, but it must be earned: In the meantime, Olszewicz’s baseline is either rangebound “nothingness” or opportunistic pullbacks that reset overheated pockets of the market. The contingency that flips that script is clear enough to write on a Post-it: maintain the cloud, defend the 20-week around $104,000, and close decisively above $121,000–$122,000. Only then, Bitcoin could target $150,000.” At press time, BTC traded at $115,069.

This is a follow-up analysis and update of our prior report, “Dow Jones Technical: Minor pull-back found support with bullish elements sighted in Caterpillar”, published on 4 August 2025. The US Wall Street 30 CFD Index (a proxy for Dow Jones Industrial Average futures) has kicked off the anticipated bullish impulsive upswing from the 1 August 2025 minor swing low of 43,335. It rallied by 2.9% from 4 August, surpassing the previous 43,100 record high in December 2024, and rallied to a new all-time intraday high of 45,283 on last Friday, 15 August’s Asian session, before it pulled back and closed at 45,032 at the end of the US session. Let’s now examine its latest medium-term (multi-week) directional bias from a technical analysis perspective. Fig. 1: US Wall Street 30 CFD Index medium-term trend as of 18 Aug 2025 (Source: TradingView) Fig. 2: Performances of major global benchmark stock indices from 11 Aug 2025 to 15 Aug 2025 (Source: MacroMicro) Preferred trend bias (1-3 weeks) Bullish bias above 44,420 key medium-term pivotal support for the US Wall Street 30 CFD Index, with the next medium-term resistances coming in at 45,660/45,730 and 46,180 (Fibonacci extensions) (see Fig. 1). Key elements The Dow Jones Industrial Average has managed to outperform its peers last week, recording a rally of 2.2% from 11 August 2025 to 15 August 2025, surpassing the S&P 500 (1.2%) and the Nasdaq 100 (0.8%). (see Fig. 2).The price actions of the US Wall Street 30 CFD Index have continued to oscillate above its 20-day and 50-day moving averages since 12 August 2025, reinforcing a medium-term uptrend phase.The 4-hour RSI momentum indicator of the US Wall Street 30 CFD Index is still hovering above the 50 level, which suggests a potential bullish condition for the US Wall Street 30 CFD Index.The financial sector, holding the largest weight of about 27% in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stands to benefit from the recent steepening of the US Treasury yield curve. The 10–2 year spread widened from 0.4% on 1 August to a three-month high of 0.6% as of Friday, 15 August, a move that could boost banks’ net interest margins and, in turn, create a positive feedback loop for the Dow.Alternative trend bias (1 to 3 weeks) Failure to hold at the 44,420 key support negates the bullish tone for a slide to retest the next medium-term support at 43,925 (also the 50-day moving average). A break below it may trigger a deeper corrective decline to expose the major support zone of 43,335/43,130 (also the 200-day moving average). Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2025 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

The success of Ethereum is boosting ecosystem tokens, including Arbitrum. Although ETH USD momentum appears to be fading, blue-chip tokens tied to the first smart contract platform are thriving. Among them, ARB crypto is on the verge of a major breakout, looking at the formation on the daily chart. From Coingecko, Arbitrum ranks among the top-performing coins, easily qualifying as one of the best cryptos to buy. In the last 24 hours, ARB ▼-1.06% is up nearly 10%, extending weekly gains to over 16%. At this pace, the token has added over 40% in the past two weeks, reversing July losses and pushing monthly gains to over 14%. Impressively, ARB has nearly erased losses from the past year. At spot rates, ARB USD is just 0.1% down year-to-date, pointing to buyers’ resilience. DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 Bitcoin Dominance Falling, Arbitrum Bulls Absorb Supply The good news is that there are hints of an altcoin season forming. Over the past few weeks, Bitcoin’s dominance has been declining. Bitcoin accounts for 56.4% of the market, down from over 60% in June. Meanwhile, Ethereum and other coins are gaining ground. Ethereum now holds over 13% of the market share, up from less than 10% in early July 2025. (Source: Coinstats) As altcoins prepare to thrive, ARB may emerge as one of the best cryptocurrencies to invest in, despite token unlocks. In 2024, ARB crypto fell primarily due to token unlocks and an underperforming Ethereum. As ETH regains momentum, ARB is shaking off weaknesses. On August 16, 2025, 92.65 million ARB worth over $44 million were released. A similar amount hit the market on July 16, and another 92.65 million ARB will be released next month. (Source: Tokenomist) Monthly token unlocks will continue until 2027. While previous unlocks slowed bulls, ARB remains firm, suggesting buyers are optimistic about the future, a bullish indicator. DISCOVER: 9+ Best High-Risk, High-Reward Crypto to Buy in 2025 Arbitrum Bulls Determined, ARB Crypto May Spike 150% ARB crypto bullish, in a breakout formation Will Arbitrum lead the next altcoin season? Bitcoin dominance falling Arbitrum bulls absorb supply from ARB token unlocks The post Is Arbitrum Ready for a 150% Spike? ARB Crypto on the Brink of a Major Breakout appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

Crypto pundit XRP Avengers has declared that XRP can’t hit $1,000, a price level that has been discussed among community members. The pundit explained why he holds this belief, alluding to the altcoin’s market cap. Why XRP Cannot Hit $1,000 In an X post, the crypto pundit said that XRP cannot hit $1,000 based on the market cap. He noted that if the altcoin were to hit $1,000, which is impossible, its market cap would be 100 trillion, which is like 10 times the global GDP. XRP Avengers added that $10 is the max price that the altcoin can reach and that it would take ages for that to happen and require banks to almost solely use it for transactions. In line with this, the crypto pundit revealed that he is simply waiting for XRP to hit between $5 and $10 before selling, as reaching $1,000 is “genuinely impossible.” Market expert Tony Severino also explained that XRP cannot reach this price target even by 2030. He noted that a rally to $1,000 would make the altcoin four times Gold’s market cap and 15 times Apple’s market cap, which he considers impossible. Meanwhile, software engineer Vincent Van Code disputed XRP Avengers’ claim that the altcoin cannot reach $1,000. He stated that if holders purchased 99% of XRP for $1, for example, then the 1% being purchased for $1,000 each is indeed possible. The software engineer added that it doesn’t mean that the altcoin’s total supply needs to be multiplied by $1,000, but only the relatively small number of tokens that were purchased for this amount. Vincent Van Code remarked that anything in the world, including XRP, can have any value, as all that matters is there being a market for it. Analyst Doubles Down On $1,000 Prediction Crypto analyst BarriC has doubled down on his prediction that XRP can hit $1,000 following XRP Avengers’ remarks. In an X post, he noted that the altcoin’s price action has only ever existed within the parameters of an altcoin season and the 4-year cycle. The analyst added that there is no historical data on what a utility run will look like for any crypto. Therefore, BarriC remarked that claims that XRP can never hit $1,000 are completely false. The analyst further claimed that it makes logical sense that the altcoin could reach this price level if every bank around the world adopts and utilizes it. When that happens, he expects trillions of dollars to flow directly into and through XRP. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.98, down over 4% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Overview: The US dollar is mostly consolidating today in quiet turnover. Among the G10 currencies, the dollar-bloc, which underperformed before the weekend, are firmer today, while the other G10 currencies are softer. The focus is not so much on data today but on the meeting in the White House with Ukraine's Zelensky and the European leaders to discuss the outcome of the President Trump's talk before the weekend with Putin. Apparently, Putin wants all of the Donbass territory, even the part he has not taken. Trump had threatened tough sanctions if a ceasefire was not agreed. There is no ceasefire and there have been no new sanctions announced. While Europe continues natural gas from Russia, and the US has not stopped trading with Russia completely, and China is the second largest buyer of Russian oil after India, only India has been sanctioned. White House adviser Navarro condemned India in an op-ed piece in the Financial Times. India is now paying a higher tariff than China. India is so insulted that Prime Minister is seeking to mend ties with Beijing. Asia Pacific equities were mixed, but mostly firmer. Although the Hang Seng and mainland companies that trade there fell, the CSI 300 rose to new highs for the year, and the Shanghai Composite reached its best level since 2015. On the other hand, South Korea's Kospi was tagged for 1.5%, dragged lower by the chip sector. Europe's Stoxx 600 is nursing a minor loss after slipping slightly before the weekend. US index futures off trading around 0.1%-0.15% lower. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly 2-4 bp lower in Europe, though the 10-year Gilts is a slight laggard and Italy's yield is off five basis points. The 10-year US Treasury yield is down 2.5 bp to about 4.29%. It has risen in eight of the past nine sessions. Gold has traded on both sides of Friday's narrow range. The pre-weekend high was slightly shy of $3349 and a close above there would be constructive. October WTI is firm now (~$62.50), but only after it initially slipped to a three-day low near $61.65. Last Friday's high was around $63.25. USD: The Dollar Index is consolidating inside last Friday's range, which was inside last Thursday's range (~97.63-98.32). The session high, slightly above 98.00, was seen in early European turnover. Initial support now may be in the 97.80 area. The combination of last week's PPI reading, June-July retail sales data, and some official comments saw the market rein in some of the speculation of a 50 bp cut next month. Many were so taken by downward revisions in the recent jobs report that they forgot Fed Chair Powell's guidance that give weaker supply of workers (see immigration policy) and the slower hiring, the unemployment rate is key because it measures the relative strength of the supply and demand. In the middle of last week, the Fed funds market was pricing in a small chance of a 50 bp cut, but by the end of the week it had returned to where it was on Monday, slightly less an a 90% chance of a quarter-point cut, which slightly less of a chance see on August 8 and virtually unchanged from what prevailed om August 1 after the employment data. The Dollar Index frayed the trendline drawn off the July lows. It is found slightly above 97.80 today. A break would target the low from late July near 97.10. That said, with the Dollar Index having come down around 2.6% since August 1, and the market nearly completely pricing in a quarter-point cut, and the light economic calendar this week, the Dollar Index may spend most of the week consolidating. EURO: The euro's low last week was set on Monday slightly below $1.16. It reached $1.1730. It is consolidating today between roughly $1.670 and $1.1715. The down trendline connecting the July highs is near $1.1745 today. A move above it sets up a test on the high from late July in the $1.1780-90 area. We are also monitoring the US two-year premium over Germany It has was last above 200 bp in late July, but is now below 180 bp. The low for the year was recorded in early March, near 167 bp. With Q2 GDP out of the way, today's June trade figures understandably had minor impact. The trade surplus averaged 15.6 bln euros a month in the first half. The average in H1 24 was about 17.0 bln euros. Recall that after Russian invaded Ukraine in 2022, the disruption saw it run a huge deficit in H1 22 (average monthly deficit was 25.8 bln euros). It was still in deficit in H1 23 (average ~11.2 bln euros). CNY: Chinese officials seem wary of getting the short end of the stick in the periodic efforts by the US to force other countries to re-value their currencies against the dollar, rather than seek a dollar devaluation per se. The dollar is over-valued against nearly all the major currencies but the Swiss franc, according to the OECD's model. Beijing prevents the US from getting an export advantage over it by shadowing the dollar. The greenback has been confined mostly to the upper end of its CNH7.15-CNH7.20 range that has dominated for the past few months. It recorded the low for the month last Thursday near CNH7.1680 but finished last week at a three-day high, slightly below CNH7.1900. It is trading between CNH7.1790 and CNH7.1890 today. Last Thursday, the PBOC set the dollar's reference rate a new low for the year (CNY7.1337), and a new low was set today (CNY7.1322). It was the fourth consecutive session that the fix was below CNY7.14. JPY: Despite the firmer US Treasury yields ahead of the weekend (2-4 bp), the dollar settled about half a yen lower near JPY147.25. It recorded an inside day, having been confined to Thursday's range (~JPY146.20-JPY147.95). Today, it is inside last Friday's range and has traded between JPY147.00 and JPY147.60. A break of last Thursday's range may be technically important, but the more impulsive move may be on the downside. The JPY146 area may be the neckline of a larger topping pattern. At the end of last week, Japan not only reported stronger than expected Q2 GDP (1.0% vs. the median forecast in Bloomberg's survey for 0.4%), but Q1 GDP was revised to 0.6% from the initial estimate of -0.2%. Japan, it turns out was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in H1 25. Net exports, which subtracted 0.8 percentage points from GDP in Q1 added 0.3 percentage points in Q2. On the other hand, inventories that contributed 0.6 percentage points to Q1 GDP subtracted 0.3 percentage points in Q2. And June industrial output was revised to 2.1% from 1.7%. Still, the odds of a rate hike next month barely changed with almost 3 bp of tightening discounted up from 1.5 bp last Monday. In late July, the swaps market briefly had 7 bp of tightening priced. There is about 10 bp of tightening discounted for October. While it is the most for the month, in late July 17 bp were discounted. Now 17 bp of tightening is discounted by the end of the year, up from about 14.5 bp a week ago, but down from 21 bp on July 24. GBP: Sterling reached almost $1.36 last Thursday, helped by the better-than-expected Q2 GDP, even if bolstered by government spending. The subsequent pullback was limited to about three-quarters of a cent. It held above the five-day moving average before the weekend and today. It comes in near $1.3540 today. Sterling has not closed below it since August 1. Last Thursday's low was about $1.3520 and that may offer intraday support. Sterling has rallied by a little more than four cents since that August 1 low. This is around the average size of sterling rallies this year before corrective forces emerge. This is not to argue that there is something ontologically important about four-cent moves, but simply the way to quantify that it has come a long way in brief period. That in turn may change the risk-reward of establishing new longs now. This week's data is backloaded, with CPI on Wednesday, flash PMI Thursday, and retail sales Friday. CAD: The US dollar finished last week firmly near the week's high (~CAD1.3820), slightly below the (61.8%) retracement of the greenback's losses from the August 1 high. It is in a narrow range today (~CAD1.3790-CAD1.3815). A push above CAD1.3820 could spur a move to the month's high near CAD1.3880. A move below CAD1.3780 would weaken the US dollar's technical tone. Canada reports July housing starts and June portfolio capital flow. The former is not much of a market mover in the best of times and especially today, ahead of tomorrow's CPI. Foreigners have been sellers of Canadian paper assets this year, liquidating about C$18 bln in the first five months of the year after buying about C$85 bln in the first five months of last year and around C$26.5 bln in the Jan-May 2023. In fact, it is the first time foreign investors have been net sellers of Canadian stocks and bonds through the first five months of the year since at least 1988, when the Bloomberg's history of the time series began. Still, more important for the markets is tomorrow's July CPI report. The bar seems high for a rate cut, and the swaps market is discounting almost a 30% chance of a cut, but it does not have one fully discounted until next March. AUD: The Australian dollar posted a bearish outside down day last Thursday but there was no follow-through selling ahead of the weekend. It frayed resistance near $0.6520 area but was unable to convincingly surmount this hurdle. It is trading between about $0.6505 and $0.6525 today. With the central bank seen alongside the Fed as the most aggressive G10 central bank over the near 9-12 months, the Australian dollar may not be a favorite in the macro camp and the broad sideways movement will not appeal to the trend-followers and momentum traders. Speculators in the CME futures have their largest net short Australian dollar position since April 2024. MXN: The dollar made a marginal new low for year in the middle of last week against the Mexican peso, inching a little closer to MXN18.51. It recovered smartly and reached almost MXN18.8530 the next day. It consolidated before the weekend, recording an inside day. After falling a little more than 12% since the early April high, the greenback has stabilized even with that marginal new low, it is in a range and call the floor around MXN18.50. The upper end of the range is MXN19.00. The rule of alternation suggests that after the lower end of the range more or less held, a move to the upper end should be anticipated. The US dollar is trading firmly but so far has held below last Thursday's high (~MXN18.8530). Disclaimer

Silver coins serve as both valuable investments and prized collectibles, but a single storage mistake can destroy decades of careful collecting. Without proper storage and handling, silver coins face serious threats from tarnishing, humidity damage, and scratches or surface wear. Improper methods can permanently reduce a coin’s value, sometimes by hundreds or thousands of dollars. This comprehensive guide provides proven solutions for how to store silver bullion coins, preserve your collection’s condition and maximize its long-term value. Why Proper Storage Matters Understanding silver’s unique chemical properties is essential for any serious collector or investor. Silver behaves differently to other metals when exposed to air and moisture, requiring specific storage approaches to maintain its condition and value. Does silver rust or just tarnish? A common misconception is that silver can rust like iron or steel. The question “Does silver rust?” has a clear answer: no. Silver does not rust because it contains no iron, which is required for the oxidation process that creates rust. However, the question “Does silver tarnish?” is a different matter entirely. Silver undergoes a process called tarnishing when it reacts with sulfur compounds in the air to form silver sulfide. This chemical reaction creates the characteristic dark, discolored coating that can dramatically affect a coin’s appearance and market value. Pure silver is less prone to tarnishing than sterling silver, but even the finest silver coins will eventually show signs of sulfur exposure without proper protection. Impact of Environmental Factors Humidity, air exposure, and temperature all play important roles in silver tarnishing. High humidity can accelerate tarnishing by creating conditions that allow sulfur compounds in the air to react more readily with silver surfaces. Air exposure is equally problematic, as everyday air contains sulfur compounds from pollution, household products, and natural sources. However, research shows that temperature plays a more significant role than humidity alone – sulfur vapor pressure increases at higher temperatures, accelerating the tarnishing process. Contact with non-archival materials poses another serious threat. Cardboard, certain plastics, rubber, and adhesives release sulfur compounds that can concentrate around stored coins. Even materials like wood and paper can contain chemicals that promote tarnishing. Fingerprints and skin oils transfer salt and moisture that create localized corrosion, leaving permanent marks on coin surfaces. Best Methods for Storing Silver Coins Protecting your silver coin investment requires choosing the right storage methods and materials. The key is creating barriers between your coins and the environmental factors that cause tarnishing while ensuring easy access for viewing and handling when necessary. Click here to see how one collector safely stores his silver collection using proven methods. Airtight Containers and Capsules Airtight storage represents the gold standard for silver coin preservation, ideal for preventing air exposure that leads to tarnishing. The most effective approach involves creating sealed environments that block sulfur compounds from reaching your coins, whether through individual capsules or specialized coin storage boxes designed for airtight protection. Image: Silver coin stored in protective airtight capsule Source: NGC Individual coin capsules offer the highest level of protection for valuable pieces. These clear, hard plastic containers come in specific sizes to fit different coin dimensions snugly, preventing movement that could cause scratches. The airtight seal creates a controlled microenvironment around each coin, significantly reducing oxidation and tarnishing risks. For bulk storage or multiple encapsulated coins, larger airtight coin storage containers provide an additional layer of protection. These storage systems work particularly well when combined with silica gel packs, which absorb residual moisture and maintain optimal humidity levels. Storage cubes represent another popular option, featuring secure, rotatable lids and transparent designs that allow viewing without breaking the protective seal. Archival-Grade Materials The materials you choose for coin storage can make or break your collection’s long-term value. Archival-grade materials are specifically designed to remain chemically stable over decades, preventing the release of harmful compounds that damage silver coins. What storage materials should be avoided with silver? PVC-based plastics represent a major threat to coin collections and should be avoided entirely, as polyvinyl chloride breaks down over time and releases corrosive gases that permanently damage coins. Mylar flips made from inert polyester film offer superior protection with excellent clarity and chemical stability. Acid-free paper and cardboard provide safe alternatives for labeling and organizing without introducing acidic compounds that could damage coins. Image: Mylar coin flips for safe archival storage of silver coins Source: PCGS Beyond material selection, collectors must also consider the format that best suits their coin collection storage needs. Storage tubes have both advantages and drawbacks. They efficiently store multiple coins of the same size while protecting edges from damage, but coins can shift and scratch against each other during handling. Albums provide excellent organization and display capabilities for series collections, though they increase handling risks and may not offer airtight protection. Flips offer the best balance of protection and accessibility, allowing individual coin storage with clear visibility, but require careful selection to ensure they’re made from archival-safe materials. Storing at Home Home storage offers convenience and immediate access to your collection while allowing you to maintain complete control over storage conditions. Understanding how to store silver coins at home requires balancing security, environmental protection, and accessibility. For maximum protection, fireproof safes represent the ideal solution for valuable collections. Quality safes protect against both theft and fire damage, with models specifically designed for documents and valuables maintaining lower internal temperatures during fires. Whether you’re protecting newly acquired silver bullion or established collections, proper safe selection ensures your investment remains secure. Image: Flames from a fire Source: Cullan Smith Some collectors prefer distributing their holdings across multiple secure locations within their home rather than concentrating everything in one safe. This approach can reduce risk but requires meticulous record-keeping to track locations and inventory. Regardless of your storage method, monitoring environmental conditions remains crucial. Digital hygrometers help track humidity levels, with optimal conditions maintaining relative humidity below 50 percent. Collectors should steer clear of problematic areas like basements and attics where temperature and humidity fluctuate significantly. Protecting your collection also requires attention to security measures. Installing security systems and maintaining discretion about your collection’s existence provide essential protection against theft. Long-Term Storage For collectors with substantial holdings or those seeking maximum security, the question of how to store silver coins long-term points toward professional storage facilities that offer advantages home storage cannot match. What is the best way to store silver coins long-term? Bank vaults and safety deposit boxes provide trusted, cost-effective storage with established security protocols. Banks offer robust physical security with surveillance systems and controlled access, though availability is limited to banking hours. However, bank insurance policies rarely cover the contents of safety deposit boxes, requiring collectors to arrange separate coverage for their holdings. Additionally, banks may restrict access during emergencies or economic disruptions. Image: Professional bank vault with secure storage facilities for precious metals Source: rc.xyz NFT gallery Private depositories specialize in precious metals storage and typically provide comprehensive insurance as part of their service. Top facilities offer state-of-the-art security measures, 24/7 monitoring, and full insurance coverage against theft, damage, and natural disasters. For long-term investors seeking tax advantages alongside secure storage, a Gold and Silver IRA offers another professional storage solution with additional retirement benefits. For all above options, documentation is critical. Maintaining detailed inventories with photographs, grades, and serial numbers protects against loss and supports insurance claims. Regular independent audits verify your holdings and provide accountability, whether stored in bank vaults or private facilities. Tarnish Prevention Tips Effective tarnish prevention combines controlling environmental factors with proper handling practices to keep your silver coins in pristine condition. What causes silver coins to tarnish? Silver tarnishing occurs when silver reacts with sulfur compounds in the environment to form silver sulfide. Primary sources include air pollution, household products, certain plastics, cardboard, and rubber materials. Image: Tarnished silver coins Source: Numista How do you store silver coins without them tarnishing? To avoid tarnishing when storing silver coins, use airtight containers combined with anti-tarnish strips containing activated carbon that absorb sulfur compounds. Keep coins away from materials like wood, cardboard, and certain plastics that release harmful compounds into the air. Storage Environment Conditions Optimal environmental conditions significantly slow tarnishing reactions, which is crucial knowledge for collectors learning how to store silver coins to prevent tarnishing. Humidity levels below 50 percent work best, with silica gel packets helping maintain this level when replaced periodically. Coins stored away from direct sunlight and fluorescent lighting experience less damage, as UV rays can accelerate chemical reactions and damage protective storage materials. Storage locations away from heat sources like furnaces, water heaters, and sunny windows provide more stable conditions. Temperature fluctuations stress both coins and storage materials, potentially compromising protective seals. Basements and attics present particular challenges due to varying conditions and are generally unsuitable for coin storage. Proper Handling Techniques Proper handling techniques significantly reduce tarnishing risks and physical damage to silver. Learning how to store silver bullion so it doesn’t tarnish starts with using cotton or nitrile gloves to prevent skin oils, salts, and acids from transferring to surfaces, while holding pieces by their edges rather than touching the faces protects against fingerprint damage and localized tarnishing. Image: Silver coin handling using cotton gloves Source: Royal Mint Experienced collectors minimize direct handling by using magnifying glasses or photography for detailed examination, reducing potential damage from repeated physical contact. When handling becomes unavoidable, working over soft surfaces provides protection against accidental drops. Regular visual inspections help detect early signs of tarnishing, though limiting examinations to sight-only checks without touching proves most effective for long-term preservation. Special Cases Certain types of silver coins require modified storage approaches due to their unique characteristics, historical significance, or physical dimensions. Collectible and rare silver coins especially demand careful preservation to maintain their investment potential and numismatic value. Storing old or historical silver coins Historical and old silver coins present unique preservation challenges that require extra care and consideration. Decades or centuries of exposure have often left these coins more fragile, requiring gentler handling and more stable environmental conditions. When it comes to how to store old silver coins properly, the focus should be on preservation rather than restoration. Individual storage in archival-quality holders prevents movement while allowing viewing, and climate-controlled environments help protect these already-weathered pieces from further environmental stress. Collectors should resist any cleaning attempts, as many historical pieces have developed natural patina over time, and removing this patina can destroy both historical significance and market value. Storing silver dollar coins Silver dollars require special consideration due to their larger size and weight compared to standard coins. Knowing how to store silver dollar coins effectively requires selecting appropriately sized storage containers, as standard coin holders may not accommodate their dimensions properly. Image: 1925 Peace silver dollar showing larger size requiring specialized storage Source: Numista Their increased surface area also makes silver dollars more prone to tarnishing and environmental damage. Airtight capsules designed specifically for dollar-sized coins provide optimal protection while ensuring snug fits without excessive movement that could cause edge damage. Storage tubes work well for multiple silver dollars of the same type, but require careful handling to prevent coins from sliding against each other. Common Storage Mistakes to Avoid Even experienced collectors sometimes fall into storage traps that can damage their investments over time. Recognizing these common errors helps prevent costly mistakes that could affect your collection’s value and condition. Storing silver coins in PVC flips Using PVC flips to store silver coins is one of the most dangerous mistakes collectors make. These inexpensive holders break down over time, releasing chlorine gas that creates permanent green stains on silver coins known as “PVC damage”. This chemical reaction cannot be reversed and significantly reduces coin values. Using damp basements for storage Many collectors turn to basements for storage as they offer space and security away from daily household activity. Unfortunately, these areas frequently suffer from moisture issues that create problematic environments for silver coins. High humidity accelerates tarnishing while temperature fluctuations stress both coins and storage materials, potentially compromising protective seals. Basement storage also increases exposure to flooding risks and typically lacks the consistent climate control essential for long-term coin preservation. Lack of labeling and organization Poor organization can have a significant effect on silver coins that many collectors don’t consider. When collections lack proper structure, collectors must dig through and repeatedly move coins while searching for specific pieces. This excessive handling increases scratch risks and exposes coins to skin oils, which is why proper organization matters when considering how to store silver bullion. Conclusion Knowing how to store silver coins properly protects both your investment value and coin condition for generations. The key principles include using airtight storage, choosing archival-grade materials, and maintaining controlled environments. These storage fundamentals work best when combined with proper handling techniques that minimize damage and avoid common storage mistakes. Environmental control through humidity management and sulfur-free conditions completes the preservation strategy. Ready to protect your silver investment? Explore Blanchard’s secure storage options and other premium products. FAQs How do you store silver coins at home safely? Safe home storage requires climate control with humidity below 50%, avoiding basements and attics, security systems, and proper archival materials. Can you store silver coins in plastic? Yes, but only in archival-grade plastics like Mylar. Avoid PVC plastics entirely as they release corrosive gases that permanently damage coins. Is it OK to store silver coins in Mylar flips? Yes, Mylar flips are excellent for silver storage. They’re made from inert polyester film that provides clarity and chemical stability. Can silver coins be stored in a regular safe at home? Fireproof safes work best for valuable collections. Choose models rated for paper protection to ensure low internal temperatures during fires. Are safe deposit boxes good for storing silver coins? Yes, they provide security and controlled access, but bank insurance rarely covers contents, requiring separate coverage for your holdings. The post How To Store Silver Coins appeared first on Blanchard and Company.