Gate Research: Bitcoin climbs as stablecoin adoption supports market sentiment

Summary

• Over the past week, U.S. stocks moved broadly higher on the back of a rebound in tech shares. Hong Kong stocks followed a pattern of sharp decline followed by repair, while South Korean equities rebounded after severe volatility, though foreign investors remained cautious. Overall, global risk appetite improved.

• BTC moved upward in a volatile range this week and remained resilient, supported by improving regulatory expectations, continued inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, and a recovery in risk assets. However, the market is still watching the Fed's policy path and changes in macro liquidity.

• ETH outperformed BTC, benefiting from stronger activity in tokenized finance, stablecoin applications, and on-chain ecosystems. Sectors such as AI computing power, ComputeFi, and decentralized infrastructure were relatively active.

• The U.S. digital-asset regulatory framework continued to advance. Circle released its second-quarter earnings and expanded USDC's use in RWAs and payments, while Robinhood beat expectations and accelerated its push into tokenized stocks. Stablecoins and asset-tokenization infrastructure remained market focal points.

• On-chain dollar liquidity remained at a high level, with total stablecoin supply at about $309.9 billion. Ethereum mainnet gas stayed near historical lows, keeping on-chain transaction costs cheap and providing strong support for ecosystem activity.

• This week's financing activity was mainly concentrated in stablecoin payments, AI networks, and on-chain consumption. Yellow Card, Perceptron Network, and Bundle were among the representative projects with the largest disclosed funding amounts.

• Over the next 7 days, the market is expected to see about $597 million in token unlocks, with HYPE, AVAX, and APT as the main projects to watch.

Equity Markets

The following review is organized around the past five trading days (July 30 to August 5, 2026). Because some official August 5 closing and fund-flow data for Hong Kong and Korean stocks have not yet been fully recorded by major public information sources, the relevant sections use verified data only and do not add unconfirmed figures.

U.S. Stocks Overview

• Closing performance of the three major indices: As of August 5, the S&P 500 closed at 7,723.55, down 0.17% on the day; the Dow Jones rose 0.49% to 54,349.12; and the Nasdaq fell 0.83% to 26,363.44. Compared with the July 29 close, over the past five trading days the S&P 500 gained about 5.57%, the Dow gained about 5.34%, and the Nasdaq gained about 7.86%, with tech stocks posting the strongest rebound after the previous sharp sell-off.

• Sector performance: The market first weakened and then rebounded. On July 29, AI and semiconductor names such as Nvidia, Micron, and AMD declined and dragged down the Nasdaq. On July 30, Microsoft's sharp rise drove a rapid rebound in tech, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.7% and the Nasdaq rising 2.8% in a single day. On August 4, the semiconductor sector strengthened further, with Nvidia up 2.6%, Broadcom up 6.6%, and Micron up 7.6%. Palantir surged about 29.5% after raising its full-year revenue outlook. Profit-taking emerged on August 5. The Dow continued making new highs with support from traditional blue chips, while weaker tech shares pulled the Nasdaq lower.

• Major announcements and economic data: The policy path after the Fed's July meeting remained a market focus. High inflation and rising long-end U.S. Treasury yields at one point pressured risk appetite. U.S. job openings at the end of June were close to 7.4 million, slightly lower than in May but broadly in line with expectations. Palantir's second-quarter revenue rose about 93% year over year to $1.94 billion, and it raised its full-year revenue outlook. Earnings from AMD, Amazon, and multiple AI infrastructure companies also triggered large share-price swings. Expectations of easing geopolitical tensions pushed Brent crude down 5.3% on August 4 to $79.36 per barrel, becoming an important catalyst for the equity rebound.

Hong Kong Stocks Overview

• Market close: Over the past week, Hong Kong stocks broadly followed a pattern of sharp decline followed by repair, with the indices outperforming thematic stocks. On July 28, the Hang Seng Index closed at 25,310.85. By August 3, it had regained the 26,000 level, while the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.96% that day to 4,875.61. The market then repeatedly tested the 26,000 mark, with internet platforms and domestic semiconductor stocks relatively stronger.

• Southbound flows: At the start of the week, southbound capital shifted from continuous net outflows to clear inflows. Net buying reached about HK$10 billion on August 3 alone, becoming an important source of support for the Hang Seng's return above 26,000. Flows were mainly directed toward major internet platforms, index heavyweights, and some semiconductor companies, while previously strong names such as Xiaomi saw profit-taking.

• Sector performance: Semiconductors, PCBs, and domestic memory-related supply chains led gains in the latter part of the week, with names such as GigaDevice and Montage Technology rising more than 5% on August 5. Performance among leading internet stocks diverged, with Alibaba up about 1.83%, Tencent up about 0.94%, and NetEase down about 1.46%. Financials and oil stocks lagged, with HSBC down more than 2%. Overall, capital gradually rotated out of high-volatility AI hardware and gold-jewelry names and back into large internet platforms, domestic semiconductors, and heavyweight stocks with clearer earnings visibility.

• Major announcements and IPO developments: The Hong Kong listing of Zhongji Innolight and its follow-up liquidity performance remained a market focus. HKEX simultaneously launched related stock options and added the stock to the list of securities eligible for short selling. The market is also watching how ChangXin Memory's potential listing could support valuations across Hong Kong and A-share memory supply chains, as well as how Alibaba Cloud's new-generation Qwen model could catalyze cloud-computing and AI-application sectors. Previously hard-hit new-consumption companies such as Lao Pu Gold have entered an earnings-validation phase.

South Korean Stocks Overview

• Market close: South Korean equities were the most volatile major market over the past week. On July 29, the KOSPI plunged 10.84% to 6,023.66 amid concentrated selling in semiconductor stocks and triggered circuit breakers. It then staged a historically rare rapid repair as U.S. tech stocks rebounded, oil prices fell, and short covering emerged. Even so, the index has not fully recovered the previous decline, and the market remains in a high-volatility state.

• Foreign and institutional fund flows: On July 29, foreign investors were net sellers of about KRW 4.97 trillion in the KOSPI market, making this the main funding-side driver of that day's sharp drop. Retail investors were net buyers of about KRW 4.33 trillion, while institutions were net buyers of about KRW 630.1 billion. In the following trading days, foreign selling slowed somewhat, and short-term capital rotated back into Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, but overall positioning remained cautious. The flow pattern shows that this rebound mainly reflects oversold repair and short covering, and cannot yet be fully regarded as a trend-level return of foreign capital.

• Sector performance: After plunging on July 29, semiconductors became the main driver of the rebound, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix showing significantly greater volatility than the broader market. Auto, battery, and industrial shares also repaired, but with less strength than semiconductors. Biotechnology and some high-dividend companies remained relatively stable. Because Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix carry heavy weights in the KOSPI, price changes in these two companies continued to dominate index direction.

• Major announcements: Second-quarter earnings from SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics became the core basis for the market's reassessment of Korean semiconductor stocks. Investors are focusing on HBM pricing, capacity utilization, AI server demand, and 2026-2027 capital-expenditure guidance, while also closely watching whether U.S. tech companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon maintain AI infrastructure investment. Short-term risks come from foreign-position adjustments, won volatility, and passive deleveraging pressure in highly leveraged semiconductor ETFs.

Market Commentary

• BTC - Against a backdrop of improving regulatory expectations and resilient risk assets, but still-cautious macro liquidity, BTC moved upward in a volatile range. Hourly and 4-hour moving-average structures shifted to neutral, with the ultra-short-term structure bullish while the daily trend remained bearish, showing that the repair is continuing but that larger-timeframe pressure has not yet been eliminated. Short-term EMAs maintained upward momentum, MACD positive momentum continued, and RSI stayed in neutral-to-strong territory. On the Bollinger Bands, price traded near the upper band, indicating strong short-term momentum, though further upside still requires continued volume support. The main support zone below lies between 64,388 USDT and 63,879 USDT, while the main resistance zone above lies between 64,897 USDT and 65,020 USDT.

• ETH - In an environment where major coins are repairing together and tokenized finance and stablecoin applications are gaining traction, ETH outperformed BTC. Hourly and 4-hour moving-average structures turned neutral, while both the ultra-short-term and daily structures remained bullish, showing resilience after the short-term breakout. Short-term EMAs moved higher and led the major cycles, MACD positive momentum strengthened, and RSI entered overheated territory. On the Bollinger Bands, price stayed close to the upper band, showing dominant trend momentum, though the risk of chasing strength also rose. The first support zone below lies between 1,882 USDT and 1,856 USDT, with further support at 1,846 USDT. The main resistance zone above lies between 1,919 USDT and 1,928 USDT.

• Altcoins - The Crypto Fear and Greed Index stood at 27 today, unchanged from the previous day, and remained in the Fear zone. Prices have rebounded continuously without a further improvement in sentiment, showing that the market remains cautious about U.S. legislative progress, monetary policy, and the sustainability of incremental capital. Sharp moves in isolated sectors have not yet turned into a broad expansion in risk appetite.

• Stablecoins - Total stablecoin supply stands at about $309.9 billion, essentially flat over the past 24 hours (about +0.01%) and up slightly by about 0.02% over the past 7 days, with overall size still holding above the historic high level of $300 billion. Of this, USDT supply is about $183.9 billion and USDC about $73.7 billion, together accounting for about 83% of the total stablecoin market. Overall, on-chain dollar liquidity remains abundant, and elevated stablecoin supply continues to provide sustained capital support for the crypto market.

• Gas Fee - Ethereum mainnet gas fees continued to stay near historical lows. Standard gas price has recently remained in the 0.05-0.15 Gwei range for an extended period and is currently about 0.07 Gwei. The low-gas environment reflects limited mainnet congestion and also means that the costs of on-chain trading, DeFi interaction, and asset transfers remain extremely low, supporting both user activity and the on-chain application experience.

Trending Tokens

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market continued to repair against the backdrop of an approaching U.S. regulatory-legislation window, expanding stablecoin payment use cases, and resilient risk assets. BTC approached 65,000 USDT, ETH led in gains, and GT rose moderately. Decentralized computing-power, AI execution-layer, and ComputeFi tokens strengthened in clusters, but the highest gains were still mainly contributed by a small number of names.

BLESS Bless (+121.95%, market cap $46.3824 million)

According to Gate market data, BLESS is currently priced at 0.025185 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 121.95%. Bless is building a decentralized computing resource network that organizes the CPU and GPU capabilities of idle devices into callable computing power, providing distributed infrastructure for AI, Machine Learning, and data processing tasks.

BLESS has not had any major project announcements in the past 24 hours that could explain the increase alone. This round of increase is mainly driven by the rotation of decentralized computing power and AI infrastructure narratives, the rapid expansion of trading volume, and the resilience of low-priced assets. After the price doubled in a single day, it is more sensitive to profit taking and liquidity changes. It remains to be seen whether the actual task demand, node growth, and trading depth can be sustained.

HEI Heima (+111.95%, market cap $18.83 million)

According to Gate market data, the current price of HEI is 0.26677 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 111.95%. Heima is a Layer 1 network for multi-chain and cross-chain interoperability, evolving to an AI execution layer, coordinating cross-chain assets and application interaction through identity, intent execution, and security modules.

The rise of HEI is related to the warming of AI execution layer, chain abstraction, and cross-chain infrastructure narratives. The repricing of the market's expectation of token destruction governance has also amplified short-term resilience. There have been no new independent major announcements in the past 24 hours, and whether the rally can continue still depends on the implementation of governance, cross-chain usage, and developer adoption. The volatility risk has significantly increased after the sharp rise.

CYS Cysic (+62.56%, market cap of $139 million)

According to Gate market data, CYS is currently priced at 0.8637 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 62.56%. Cysic is building a ComputeFi infrastructure that converts global computing resources into verifiable and tokenized on-chain assets through hardware acceleration, zero-knowledge proof systems, and a verifiable computing market.

CYS continued its strong performance from the previous day. ComputeFi, zero-knowledge computing power, and verifiable computing narratives continued to attract funds, and the expansion of transaction volume further strengthened the effect of the gain chart. After a series of significant increases, the price has significantly deviated from the previous trading range. In the future, the supply of computing power, the amount of network tasks, and the adoption of the ecosystem need to grow simultaneously. Otherwise, the release of profit-taking positions may amplify the pullback.

Key Data Highlights

Western Union has partnered with Rain, a stablecoin infrastructure company, to launch a stablecoin remittance card

Western Union announced on August 5, 2026, that it has partnered with Rain, a stablecoin infrastructure company, to launch Stablecard. Users can hold, receive, transfer, and spend USDPT, a stablecoin run on Solana. The product initially covers 37 markets and plans to expand to more than 60 markets by the end of the year. It also allows users to deposit remittances directly into USDPT wallets for spending on the Visa network.

This product connects stablecoins, cross-border remittances, and existing bank card acceptance networks, showing that traditional remittance institutions are transitioning from pilot projects to large-scale products. Its advantage lies in expanding the accessibility of dollar-denominated assets, but its actual competitiveness still depends on the cost of fiat currency deposits and withdrawals, local regulations, wallet security, and user experience. If these frictions do not significantly decrease, on-chain settlement may not automatically translate into lower total costs.

BlackRock's tokenized reserve fund has received the highest stability rating

On August 5, 2026, S&P Global Ratings awarded the highest AAAm principal stability fund rating to BlackRock's newly launched tokenized money market fund, BRSRV. The rating is based on factors such as the underlying investment and counterparty credit, duration structure, and management's ability to maintain a stable net worth. The fund holds cash, US Treasury securities maturing within 93 days, and overnight repurchase guaranteed by Treasury securities. It uses an allowlist wallet and permissioned tokenization architecture.

This is an important change in this issue of Financial Marekt, indicating that the rating system has started to incorporate on-chain operational control into the credit assessment of traditional money funds. The highest rating helps stablecoin publishers and institutional funds to consider tokenized shares as a qualified reserve tool. However, the rating mainly measures principal stability and credit risk, and does not eliminate the risks of smart contracts, blockchain networks, liquidity, and compliance access. Scale growth still requires real cash flow verification.

Proof of Play announces the cessation of blockchain game operations

Blockchain game developer Proof of Play announced its cessation of operations on August 5, 2026, stating that it failed to establish a sustainable business around its decentralized game vision. The company will open most of the code and art assets of Pirate Nation, smart contracts, and power builder; an independent foundation will continue to support the PIRATE token and website, and another game will be taken over by a third party.

This incident reflects that it is still difficult for blockchain games to establish stable income and long-term user retention solely through asset on-chain and token incentives. Even if the underlying network contributes high on-chain activity, it does not mean that the product business model is established. Open-source assets can provide space for the community to continue development, but studio withdrawal will weaken content iteration and organizational execution. The market will pay more attention to sustainable value beyond real payments, active users, and tokens.

Focus of the Week

Bitcoin Continues to Consolidate as the Market Focuses on the Fed's Policy Meeting

This week, Bitcoin broadly remained in a rangebound pattern, with price repeatedly fluctuating around the $63,000-$66,000 zone. Market risk appetite was affected by expectations around the Fed's policy meeting and the macro backdrop, and investors generally remained cautious while waiting for new policy signals.

Although the crypto market has recently lacked strong new catalysts, institutional allocation demand has remained somewhat resilient, and the market as a whole has not seen obvious panic selling. In the short term, the Fed's subsequent policy path will remain an important variable affecting crypto-asset trends. If rate-cut expectations continue to strengthen, risk assets may regain favor with capital.

Bitcoin ETFs Continue Attracting Institutional Capital as Spot Demand Still Supports the Market

This week, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their inflow trend, providing the market with continued spot-buying support. Although Bitcoin has not broken through key resistance, institutional allocation demand has remained stable and continues to serve as an important source of market support.

From a market-structure perspective, ETFs have gradually become an important channel for traditional capital to enter the crypto market. Against a backdrop of continuing macro uncertainty, continued institutional inflows suggest that long-term allocation demand has not changed materially. If the market later sees new policy or liquidity tailwinds, ETF capital could still become an important incremental force driving Bitcoin higher.

The Market Lacks New Catalysts as Capital Continues Focusing on Infrastructure and Long-Term Value Tracks

This week, the crypto industry entered a relatively calm phase overall. Neither the regulatory side nor major public chains saw a major event strong enough to change the market trend, and sentiment remained mainly wait-and-see. At the same time, institutional investment activity continued to concentrate in long-term value tracks such as AI, digital identity, and payment infrastructure, showing that capital is paying more attention to infrastructure building than to short-term market fluctuations.

Overall, in the absence of new market catalysts, capital-allocation logic is gradually returning to fundamentals. Compared with high-volatility theme speculation, infrastructure projects with technological barriers, real use cases, and long-term growth potential remain the key direction for institutional capital deployment, also reflecting that the industry's investment logic is continuing to evolve toward long-term value-driven growth.

Funding Weekly Recap

According to RootData, from July 31, 2026 to August 6, 2026, multiple crypto and related projects announced completed financings across areas such as payment infrastructure, AI networks, and on-chain consumption. Below is a brief introduction to the projects with the largest financing sizes this week:

Yellow Card

On August 4, Yellow Card announced the completion of a $40 million strategic financing, with investors including Blockchain Capital and Polychain Capital.

Yellow Card is a leading African crypto-payments and stablecoin infrastructure platform that has long focused on cross-border payments, enterprise settlement, and digital financial services. This financing shows that the capital market continues to view the growth potential of stablecoin payments in emerging markets favorably. As global payment infrastructure accelerates its migration on-chain, stablecoins are being used more widely in cross-border remittances, trade settlement, and enterprise payments, making payment platforms with regional network advantages and compliance capabilities a key focus for institutional allocation.

Perceptron Network

On July 30, Perceptron Network completed a $6.5 million strategic financing, with investors including P2 Ventures and Selini Capital.

Perceptron Network focuses on AI and decentralized network infrastructure and is committed to building a new type of network that supports AI Agents and on-chain intelligent collaboration. This financing reflects the market's continued attention to the convergence of AI and Web3. As demand for AI Agents, decentralized inference networks, and data collaboration grows rapidly, infrastructure projects that combine AI capabilities with on-chain verifiability are gradually becoming a key focus for the next wave of capital.

Bundle

On August 4, Bundle completed a $5.5 million Seed round, with investors including Ethereal Ventures and Further Ventures.

Bundle focuses on on-chain consumption and the payment experience, and is committed to lowering the barrier for users entering Web3. This financing shows that against the backdrop of continued growth in stablecoin payments, on-chain consumption, and crypto-financial products, application-layer infrastructure that can improve user experience, enhance payment efficiency, and connect the traditional internet with Web3 continues to enjoy sustained institutional interest.

Next Week to Watch

Token Unlocks

According to Tokenomist data, over the next 7 days (August 7 to August 13, 2026), the market is expected to see about $597 million in token unlocks. Overall unlock scale is up sharply from last week, and the number of large unlock projects has increased, so close attention should be paid to the potential impact on market liquidity and price volatility. The top three projects by unlock size are as follows:

• HYPE will unlock about $23.83 million worth of tokens over the next 7 days, accounting for about 0.2% of circulating supply.

• AVAX will unlock about $11.10 million worth of tokens over the next 7 days, accounting for about 0.4% of circulating supply.

• APT will unlock about $6.70 million worth of tokens over the next 7 days, accounting for about 1.3% of circulating supply.

References:

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
• DeFiLlama, https://defillama.com/stablecoins
• Etherscan, https://etherscan.io/gastracker
• Coingecoko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/cryptocurrency-heatmap
• The Block, https://www.theblock.co/post/383595/tom-lees-bitmine-88-million-eth
• The Block, https://www.theblock.co/post/383711/polymarket-third-party-vulnerability-hack
• Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/24/trump-media-shuffles-2-000-btc-after-fresh-bitcoin-inflows
• Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
• Tokenomist, https://tokenomist.ai/
• Deribit, https://www.deribit.com/statistics/BTC/metrics/options
• X, https://x.com/AustinBarack/status/2003902632973275405?s=20
• CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/24/nvidia-buying-ai-chip-startup-groq-for-about-20-billion-biggest-deal.html

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