Miners

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

Bitcoin’s price is holding near records, but the chain itself is quiet. Glassnode data shows transaction fees have collapsed back toward decade lows, even as BTC flirts with six figures.

In past cycles, fee spikes tracked bull markets as traders bid for blockspace. This year, the fee curve is flat while price rises, a clear sign that onchain demand is no longer driving the market.

(Glassnode)

A new report from Galaxy Research shows median daily fees have fallen more than 80% since April 2024, with as much as 15% of daily blocks now clearing at just 1 satoshi per vbyte. Nearly half of recent blocks are not full, signaling weak demand for blockspace and a dormant mempool.

This is a sharp contrast to prior bull cycles, where price rallies translated into congestion and fee spikes.

The data confirms a structural shift: spot ETFs and custodians now hold more than 1.3 million BTC, and coins parked in those wrappers rarely touch the chain again.

At the same time, retail activity that once clogged the Bitcoin blockchain has migrated to Solana, where memecoins and NFTs benefit from cheaper and faster execution. The result, Galaxy notes, is that the bitcoin price is being set by custodial inflows while the network’s onchain demand – once a proxy for price movement – has slowed down.

For miners, this dynamic is particularly punishing. With rewards halved to 3.125 BTC and fees contributing less than 1% of block revenue in July, profitability is under strain. That stress is pushing listed miners to diversify into AI and HPC hosting.

Read more: Bitcoin Mining Faces ‘Incredibly Difficult’ Market as Power Becomes the Real Currency

A report from earlier this year by Rittenhouse Research argues that Galaxy Digital’s move out of mining altogether could be the model for the sector.

This move has been applauded by the equity markets. While BTC is down more than 3% on-year, the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF has gained nearly 22%. Investors are rewarding firms that have leaned into diversification rather than relying on block rewards alone.

Listed miners tell a similar story. Hive, Core Scientific, and TeraWulf all reported Q2 results padded by HPC and AI hosting revenues.

Those with no diversification, like Bitdeer and BitFuFu, remain deeply exposed to electricity costs, equipment depreciation, and a fee market that Galaxy warns in its report is “anything but robust.”

The juxtaposition is telling: Galaxy’s own research warns that the Bitcoin blockchain’s settlement role is stagnating, while Galaxy’s balance sheet is being repositioned for growth in AI data centers.

Onchain data makes the point: without organic demand for blockspace, fees can’t fund security. And if fees stay low, equity markets are painting a clear picture that mining sector’s best future returns may come from AI, not Bitcoin.

Market Movements

BTC: Bitcoin traded at $113,286.95, down 1.79%, after briefly plunging to a six-week low near $110,600, with the broader crypto market facing heavy liquidations and volatility.

ETH: Ether traded flat at $4,779 as Jerome Powell’s dovish Jackson Hole remarks boosted expectations of a September rate cut, with asset managers predicting new highs for bitcoin and an ETH breakout above $5,000 despite risks from treasury adoption and equity volatility.

Gold: Gold closed at $3,371 after Powell’s dovish Jackson Hole remarks boosted September rate-cut odds.

Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific stocks climbed Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.08%, after Powell signaled potential Fed rate cuts in September during his Jackson Hole speech.

Elsewhere in Crypto

The Funding: Why raising a crypto VC fund is harder now — even in a bull market (The Block)
Why Luca Netz Will Be ‘Disappointed’ If Pudgy Penguins Doesn’t IPO Within 2 Years (Decrypt)
KPMG Says Investor Interest in Digital Assets Will Drive Strong Second Half for Canadian Fintechs (CoinDesk)

Source link

The Bitcoin mining industry is squarely in the crosshairs of the US-led trade war, with publicly traded miners receiving hefty invoices from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Yet, in a twist, a mining venture backed by US President Donald Trump’s family secured more than 16,000 rigs from China’s Bitmain without incurring additional duties.

Beyond mining headwinds, the broader blockchain sector is intensifying efforts to court Wall Street as institutional adoption accelerates across exchange-traded funds, corporate treasuries and tokenized real-world assets. Ether (ETH) treasury firms are also ramping up accumulation, while reports suggest China may be preparing to greenlight yuan-backed stablecoins.

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter explores these developments, highlighting The Miner Mag’s latest findings, Polkadot’s new capital markets division, SharpLink’s major ETH purchase and Beijing’s potential stablecoin pivot.

US Bitcoin miners face $100M+ tariff hit

The US Bitcoin mining industry has been swept into President Donald Trump’s trade war, with public miners CleanSpark and IREN warning of potential tariff liabilities of $185 million and $100 million, respectively, according to The Miner Mag.

Both companies said they received invoices from US Customs and Border Protection, which alleged that certain mining rigs were of Chinese origin. Under the White House’s revised tariff schedule, equipment sourced from China is now subject to an effective duty of 57.6%.

Beyond tariffs, The Miner Mag noted that mining revenues “remain under pressure,” with transaction fees slipping below 1% of block rewards.

Production data for July showed IREN and Mara Holdings each mined more than 700 BTC, while CleanSpark and Cango generated over 600 BTC apiece.

Source: The Miner Mag

Polkadot establishes capital markets division

Polkadot has launched a new capital markets division aimed at attracting institutional investors to its blockchain — a move that underscores the industry’s growing effort to court Wall Street.

The new entity, Polkadot Capital Group, is based in the Cayman Islands and was established in response to rising institutional demand for digital assets, the company said. It also pointed to recent positive regulatory signals in the United States as a catalyst for the launch.

Polkadot Capital Group will focus on showcasing blockchain use cases across decentralized finance, staking and real-world assets, while helping traditional finance players explore crypto opportunities in areas such as asset management and banking.

Polkadot is the 24th largest blockchain by market capitalization with a total value of around $6 billion.

China reportedly weighs yuan-backed stablecoins

Despite its sweeping restrictions on digital assets, China is reportedly considering allowing the development of yuan-backed stablecoins — a potential policy shift that would mark a major reversal for the world’s second-largest economy.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters said authorities in Beijing are open to approving yuan-backed stablecoins as part of a broader strategy to expand the currency’s role in global trade. Such a move would represent a sharp departure from the country’s stance nearly four years ago, when it effectively banned crypto trading and mining.

The reports come as stablecoin adoption surges elsewhere, particularly in the United States, which recently passed the GENIUS stablecoin bill. The total value of stablecoins in circulation has now surpassed $288 billion, with US dollar–backed tokens accounting for the overwhelming majority.

SharpLink bags another $667M ETH

SharpLink, a sports betting firm that has adopted Ether as a treasury asset, added 143,595 ETH as the token approached all-time highs, according to regulatory filings.

The purchase, valued at $667.4 million, brings SharpLink’s total holdings to 740,760 ETH — worth roughly $3 billion at current market prices.

Even with the massive haul, SharpLink is not the largest Ether treasury holder. That title belongs to BitMine, which acquired 373,000 ETH on Monday, lifting its total holdings to 1.52 million ETH, valued at about $6.5 billion.

While ETH has corrected lower this week, the asset remains one of crypto’s top performers, having gained nearly 200% since its April low.

Source: SharpLink

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.