FORESTA

$STX is up 18%+ in 24 hours with trading volume surging 145%, driven by its strong correlation (0.97) with **Bitcoin**, which recently bounced from ~$62,670 to $77,000. $APR

Short-Term Outlook (4-hour chart):

· Broke out of a Bollinger Band contraction (accumulation phase) with rising Open Interest (OI) across major exchanges.
· Key levels: Needs to hold $0.16–$0.17 as support to maintain upward momentum. Failure could send it back to $0.14.

Long-Term Outlook (daily chart):

· Still in the "discount zone" — the true bullish shift requires reclaiming the premium zone above $0.26.
· If $0.26 becomes support, upside target is **$0.40** (yearly high).
· If not, this rally is likely just a bear-market retracement.

Bottom line: Upside depends on Bitcoin staying strong and $STX flipping $0.26 into support; otherwise, the broader bearish structure remains intact.

$ENA Upbit Volume Jumps 273% As Bitcoin Rally Pulls Korean Traders Back In

Upbit’s trading activity surged sharply as Bitcoin’s latest rally brought South Korean crypto traders back into the market.

CoinGecko exchange data showed Upbit’s 24-hour trading volume rising 273% to roughly $1.84 billion on August 21. The move marked the exchange’s strongest daily volume since mid-March 2026, with XRP standing out as one of the largest traded assets at around $418.9 million in volume.

That is a sharp move for one of Asia’s most important crypto exchanges.

$ONG Is the Bitcoin Bear Market Really Over? $BTC

Bitcoin surged ~23% since Aug 19, climbing from ~$63,000 to over $79,000, driven by short liquidations and spot market demand.

Key bullish takes:

· Ki Young Ju (CryptoQuant CEO): Bear market is largely over; recovery signals a bottom, though a short-term dip is possible.
· Jack Yi (LD Capital founder): Bear trend officially ended after BTC broke key moving averages; the drop from $126K to $57K was the ultimate bottom. Expects 2 more weeks of upside, then a correction, and warns against leveraged longs.

ALPHA TOP GAINERS
$XPIN
$BTW
$CROSS

🚨 BREAKING : Justin Sun Scores Key Win as California Court Rejects World Liberty’s Arbitration $BTC $NEIRO

A California federal judge rejected WLFI's bid to force Justin Sun's individual claims into secret arbitration on August 20, 2026.

Sun's claims will now proceed in open court, exposing a dispute rooted in his $45M investment and backdoor smart contract allegations.

Sun alleges WLFI embedded hidden freeze and burn controls, then used them against his wallet after the relationship soured.

$ASTER JUMPS 10% ON HYPERLIQUID OPTIMISM - IS $0.80 NEXT ? $ONG

Aster [$ASTER ] rose 10%+ to $0.65 after Trump said CFTC Chair Selig is working to bring rival Hyperliquid into the U.S. in a compliant way. Traders treated this as a positive sector-wide signal for decentralized perpetual futures DEXs, especially since Aster (backed by CZ) could benefit from increased attention and capital—even though it directly competes with Hyperliquid. CZ's stance on fair industry treatment supports this view.

Volume tripled from $55M to $152M in 24 hours, confirming stronger participation. Next resistance levels are $0.67 and $0.80, but sustained volume is needed for further gains.

$ONG IS THE SUPER CIRCLE LOOMING IN THE CRYPTO MARKET 🚨🚀📈 $BTC

The crypto market is not currently in a "super cycle," but the idea is a subject of intense debate.

Here is the breakdown of the current perspectives:

📉 The "No Super Cycle" View (Current Reality)

✅Still in a 4-Year Cycle: Binance founder CZ stated at a recent conference that the "super cycle" idea has not materialized. He believes market data shows it is still following the strict four-year cycle and is currently in a bear market phase.

✅Bear Market Signals: Asset manager VanEck reports that Bitcoin has triggered 8 of 12 "capitulation indicators," suggesting the market is near a historical bottom. The current decline is also in its 10th month, aligning with the typical 11-to-12-month bear market duration.

⚖️ The Bullish Case: Why the Cycle Could Break (Debated)

Despite the current market, several structural factors could eventually fuel a "supercycle" or disrupt the old model:

✅ Institutional Adoption: Fidelity's 2026 outlook suggests we might be entering a multi-year bull phase driven by government adoption (like the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve) and corporate holdings. This new demand could end the traditional four-year cycle.
·
✅A Changing Market: The old playbook is being challenged. Institutional capital, ETFs, and global liquidity conditions now have a much larger influence on crypto, potentially making the simple four-year pattern less reliable.

✅Possible Bottom Signal: Some analysts see current low sentiment and rebounding retail activity as clear bottom signals, indicating a new cycle may be forming.

In short, the market is acting according to historical bear market patterns. However, a range of analysts point to unprecedented institutional and governmental adoption as a potential catalyst to break the cycle and eventually create a supercycle. The outcome depends on whether this new demand is strong enough to overwrite the old rhythm.

$BTC Bitcoin broke above 75,000 USDT earlier today (August 21, 2026), hitting its highest level since May 28. It's up about 8% in the past 24 hours. $ONG

Three main drivers behind the surge:

✅Regulatory optimism – Growing market expectations that the Clarity Act and other crypto-friendly bills might pass soon.

✅Macro tailwinds – The U.S. Treasury buyback program is pushing bond yields down and the dollar weaker, driving capital into Bitcoin.

·✅Short squeeze – The rapid price jump liquidated roughly $3 billion in short positions, fueling even more upside momentum.

$ONG is the top gainer the 150% surge in ONG over 24 hours is primarily driven by its v3.0.0 mainnet upgrade and a significant tokenomics overhaul that reduces its total supply .

🚀 Key Drivers of the Surge

· ✅Mainnet Upgrade (v3.0.0): Major network upgrades are often seen as bullish. The recent mandatory node upgrade to v3.0.0 solidifies the changes below .

✅ Token Supply Reduction: A community governance vote passed with overwhelming support to permanently reduce ONG's maximum and total supply from 1 billion to 800 million, creating a deflationary "hard cap" .
·
✅Permanent Liquidity Lock: An additional 100 million ONG worth of assets are permanently locked via a new liquidity mechanism, effectively removing them from circulation and reducing the effective circulating supply to ~750 million

·✅Exchange Support: South Korean exchange Bithumb paused deposits and withdrawals on August 20 to support the technical upgrade, often a catalyst that draws market attention and speculative interest .

$BTC Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) just saw its market cap jump $7 billion in two days due to a short squeeze. $ACE

Key points:

· Most shorted large-cap stock – short interest hit ~9% of float (~32.5M shares, ~$3B in bets against it) by late July.

· The trigger: Chairman Michael Saylor publicly reaffirmed the company has no plans to sell its Bitcoin holdings.

· Caveat: Strategy did sell 3,588 BTC (~$216M) in early July, but only to cover dividend obligations – not as a strategic move.

· Analyst Tom Lee had warned earlier that bearish traders were overleveraged, making the stock vulnerable to a sharp upside squeeze – exactly what happened.

Bottom line: A heavily shorted Bitcoin proxy stock exploded upward after its leader doubled down on holding BTC, despite a small technical sale for dividends.

$BTC An anonymous cryptocurrency whale has opened a combined $81.6 million in leveraged short positions against Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH) on the Hyperliquid exchange, according to blockchain tracking platform Lookonchain. The move, detected on-chain, reveals a significant bearish bet by a single entity amid current market conditions. $ACE

$BTC crosses $72 000 USDT 📈🚀

$XRP The US Treasury doubled debt buybacks ($2B→$4B), boosting liquidity and risk appetite, which sparked a crypto-wide short squeeze. XRP saw $120M in liquidations, mostly from long positions.

· Current price action: XRP holds above $1.14, supported by the 50-day EMA ($1.076) and a reclaimed trendline ($0.995). But it faces stiff resistance at the 100-day ($1.153) and 200-day ($1.338) EMAs.

· What to watch: A break above $1.153 could target $1.30 and then $1.338. Beyond that, $1.900 is the next major level. Until then, the rally remains a recovery, not a confirmed reversal.

$BTC ELON MUSK'S X IS EXPLORING STABLECOINS TO PAY INFLUENCERS AND CONTENT PROVIDERS

X (formerly Twitter) is in early talks to use Circle's USDC stablecoin for paying royalties to top content creators, per a source. This aligns with Elon Musk's crypto-friendly moves—SpaceX already uses stablecoins for Starlink payments, and Musk recently hired crypto designer Benji Taylor. X is also replacing its Revenue Sharing program with a new "Original Content Rewards Program" to better reward original work. Stablecoins are increasingly popular for fast, low-cost global payments. X hasn't commented officially.

$BTC Forbes suggests Bitcoin could become a neutral global reserve asset, offering an alternative to the dollar-dominated system. Key points:

· Current system's problem: The dollar's reserve status gives the US funding advantages but creates the "Triffin Dilemma" – conflicting US domestic needs vs. global demand for reserves. This weakens US competitiveness and deepens trade deficits.

· Flaws in other alternatives: Stablecoins rely on US bonds, and gold lacks portability and transaction efficiency.

· Bitcoin's potential: Fixed supply, no government credit needed, and easy global transfer make it suitable as a reserve asset.

· Challenges: Price volatility and limited institutional adoption remain obstacles. The dollar will still dominate trade, but Bitcoin could reduce global reliance on US debt.

$MRNAon THE FEAR AND GREED INDEX IS NOW 56 WHAT DOES IT MEAN ?

A Fear and Greed Index of 56 means the market is in "Neutral" territory. Investor sentiment is balanced, with neither extreme fear nor extreme greed dominating .

📊 Decoding the Score

Most versions of the index use this scale :

· 0-25: Extreme Fear
· 26-44: Fear
· 45-55: Neutral
· 56-75: Greed
· 76-100: Extreme Greed

At 55, the market is at a "wait-and-see" point—fear has subsided, but greed hasn't taken over . This often signals a consolidation phase without a clear directional bias .

🤔 What It Means for You

· A Neutral Snapshot: It simply reflects a calm, balanced mood. Direction is likely to be driven by external news (regulations, macro data) rather than pure emotion .
· Not a Buy/Sell Signal: The index shines during extreme readings as a contrarian indicator (e.g., buying in fear, selling in greed). A neutral 55 offers less clarity for such strategies .

TODAY'S TOP GAINERS
$RED is leading the way and rallied 37% in 24h driven by a sudden surge in volume and capital inflow.
$RE
$MVLLB

$BTC Ether surged 18% to $2,250, doubling Bitcoin's 8% move and leading majors with a 20% weekly gain. Hyperliquid's HYPE topped all with a 19% daily jump to $70. Solana, XRP (recovering the $1 level), and Dogecoin all posted 8–10% gains.

BNB rose just 3.5% to $626, while Tron flatlined at $0.33—the only major down on the week. Meanwhile, bonds rallied globally: U.S. 30-year yields fell to 5.18%, and the Bloomberg long-term Treasury index saw its best day since February 2025, with Japanese, Australian, and NZ bonds following suit.

The move was triggered by Treasury Secretary Bessent doubling bond buyback operations, boosting liquidity—sparking a short squeeze that liquidated ~$1.4B in Bitcoin shorts. Trump's endorsement of crypto legislation added optimism. **Caution:** Ether's 18% spike came on macro liquidity news, not Ethereum-specific fundamentals—such moves often partially reverse. Watch the **$2,200** support level.

Solana’s 2026 Upgrades Could Give SOL an Edge Over Ethereum, Avalanche and Sui $MRNAon

Solana (SOL) is entering a major infrastructure phase as Agave 4.2 begins activating three upgrades: 90% lower storage costs, 3.3x larger transactions and a staged reduction in slot times from 400ms toward 200ms. The changes could boost Solana’s position against other high-performance blockchains while creating new demand for the SOL ecosystem.

Faster Slots: 400ms to 200ms

Anza CEO Brennan Watt says Solana is preparing to cut slot times from ~400ms to 350ms, as the first step toward a longer-term goal of 200ms. Faster slots mean lower latency and quicker transaction processing.

$RICE TRUMP PUSHES CONGRESS TO MOVE ON CLARITY ACT DURING WHITE HOUSE CRYPTO EVENT $TRUMP

At a White House event with crypto CEOs, President Trump urged Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, calling it "fair" and "very bipartisan." He argued the legislation would keep the U.S. ahead of China and unlock future innovation.

The event preceded the CFTC’s new Innovation Advisory Committee, which includes major crypto executives. While the administration has advanced crypto rules (SEC proposal, Treasury stablecoin plan), the bill is stalled in the Senate over Democratic demands for ethics limits on Trump’s and other officials’ crypto ties.

The Clarity Act faces a narrow Senate window next month before a recess until November elections. It needs 60 votes, and its viability remains untested. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong praised it as a bipartisan compromise that would make the administration’s crypto progress durable for decades, urging unity to get it passed.