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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.
BTC is pinned near $111,000 with volatility compressed to multi-month lows, the kind of calm that tends to precede decisive moves. Traders know what could break the lull: September’s U.S. inflation data and the Fed’s rate decision a week later.
Prediction markets are leaning heavily toward easing. Polymarket bettors are assigning an 82% chance of a 25-basis-point cut on Sept. 17, leaving only slim odds for a deeper move or no change. Beyond that, October expectations are fractured, with nearly even probabilities for another cut or a pause. That divergence explains why volatility, though absent now, is unlikely to stay that way.
“Markets often look calm just before they move. Bitcoin is trading in one of its tightest ranges in months, and volatility across crypto has compressed to multi-month lows,” said Gracie Lin, OKX Singapore CEO. “With U.S. inflation data like Core CPI out on Sept. 11 and the Fed’s much-anticipated rate decision just ahead, this quiet period is setting the stage for the next decisive move. Whether the catalyst is an upside inflation surprise or a dovish signal from the Fed, what’s clear is that the absence of volatility is rarely permanent in digital assets; history shows the market will find its next direction soon enough.”
If a cut pulls money-market returns lower, the opportunity cost of sitting in cash rises, which is the pivot market maker Enflux says could send flows toward crypto.
“The real debate now is not if cuts come, but whether liquidity deployment shifts into BTC, ETH, and even riskier assets,” the firm told CoinDesk.
In other words, the Fed’s cut may grab headlines, but the real trade is whether sidelined cash rotates into digital assets — a shift that could fuel the return of volatility.
Market Movement
BTC: Bitcoin has dipped slightly intraday, trading between approximately $110,812 and $113,237, reflecting short-term volatility amid shifting investor sentiment and broader crypto market dynamics.
ETH: ETH is modestly up intraday, with a range between roughly $4,279 and $4,379, signaling steady demand and some renewed investor interest. Range, however, is limited with modest ETF flows and traders awaiting the Fed's next move.
Gold: Gold is rallying to record highs, fueled by mounting expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, a weakening U.S. dollar, and renewed safe-haven demand.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific stocks opened mostly higher Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.2%, as investors awaited China’s August inflation data showing an expected 0.2% CPI drop and a smaller 2.9% PPI decline.
S&P 500: U.S. stocks closed at record highs Tuesday, with the S&P 500 up 0.27% to 6,512.61, as investors looked past a record payroll revision that cut 911,000 jobs from prior figures.
Elsewhere in Crypto
Grayscale filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday for three crypto exchange-traded funds, expanding its roster of potential offerings as issuers jockey for regulatory approval.
The asset manager submitted an S-1 registration for a Litecoin (LTC) ETF, a move that follows its earlier bid to convert the Grayscale Litecoin Trust into an ETF.
At the same time, it lodged S-3 filings for exchange-traded funds tied to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Hedera (HBAR). If approved, the products would join a lineup that already includes spot bitcoin and ether ETFs launched last year.
The filings underscore Grayscale’s push to diversify its crypto-linked investment products while regulators weigh how far to open the door to such funds. Just a day earlier, the firm sought to convert its Chainlink (LINK) Trust into an ETF, signaling a rapid pace of applications despite regulatory uncertainty.
Grayscale is not alone. Fidelity, VanEck and several other issuers have lined up proposals for digital-asset funds in hopes that the SEC will sign off on more products later this year. Industry executives say broader approval could help mainstream investors gain exposure to cryptocurrencies through regulated markets, while potentially easing concerns about custody and transparency.
For now, the SEC under Chair Paul Atkins has delayed decisions on a range of crypto ETF applications. A green light from regulators would give investors a way to trade crypto exposure alongside traditional securities in brokerage accounts.
Crypto mining stocks jumped on Tuesday after Nebius Group announced a five-year agreement to supply Microsoft (MSFT) with graphic processing units valued at $17.4 billion.
The deal, aimed at bolstering Microsoft’s artificial intelligence infrastructure, sparked investor enthusiasm for companies with large-scale computing power, bitcoin miners among them.
Read more: CoreWeave Shares Gain 4.5% After Launch of VC Arm Targeting AI Startups
The rally in mining shares came even as bitcoin (BTC) itself gave up an early advance and declined by about 1% to $111,100 over the past 24 hours. The contrast underscored how investor attention is increasingly tied to the role mining infrastructure could play in the AI boom rather than just bitcoin’s price action.
Leading was a 22% gain for Bitfarms (BITF), while shares of Cipher Mining (CIFR) rose 20%. IREN (IREN), Hut 8 (HUT), Riot Platforms (RIOT) and TeraWulf (WULF) were up mid-teens percentages.
Interestingly, the weakest sector performer was MARA Holdings, which in recent months has positioned itself as more of a bitcoin treasury company, rather than high performance computing player. Shares of MARA were higher by just 4% on Tuesday.
The outsized moves reflect the industry’s shifting reality. For years, mining profitability was largely dictated by bitcoin’s four-year halving cycle, when block rewards are cut in half. That rhythm no longer dominates, leaving companies exposed to surging power costs, relentless hardware production, and intensifying competition. Hardware makers like Bitmain continue to expand, adding pressure to an already crowded field.
At the same time, AI is reshaping the business model. Miners with large energy footprints and advanced computing infrastructure are exploring ways to lease capacity to hyperscalers or pivot toward data center services. The Nebius-Microsoft deal highlighted how valuable GPU access has become and why markets are rewarding miners with scalable infrastructure.
Filecoin (FIL) traded little changed over the last 24 hours, with the shares trading in a $0.08 range representing 3.3% volatility between $2.41 and $2.50, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model.
The model showed a pronounced V-shaped recovery trajectory, as the digital asset initially retreated from $2.44 to test institutional support levels near $2.41-$2.42 during overnight trading, before mounting a sustained rally that reached $2.50 during the morning hours.
Selling pressure emerged at the $2.50 resistance level with institutional volume reaching 4.7 million tokens, while the $2.41-$2.42 price zone demonstrated robust institutional backing through multiple successful support tests, with trading volume exceeding the 24-hour average of 2.80 million units, according to the model.
In recent trading FIL was 0.3% lower over 24 hours, trading around $2.43.
The wider crypto market was also lower, with the broad market gauge, the CoinDesk 20, down 0.8%.
Technical Analysis:
- V-shaped institutional recovery pattern materialized during 24-hour trading session.
- Strong support established at $2.41-$2.42 zone through multiple successful institutional tests.
- High-volume resistance identified at $2.50 institutional level.
- Above-average institutional trading volume of 4.70 million during key corporate resistance tests.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
Much ado has been made about U.S. President Donald Trump’s open-armed embrace of crypto.
One theory is that the White House’s friendliness toward digital assets is a favor to Silicon Valley donors, a gesture to innovation-friendly constituencies. Another is that it reflects an administrative belief in the efficiency gains that blockchain can bring to payments.
Both explanations may hold some truth. But they miss a more pressing, and under-analyzed, reason: America has a debt problem. And the challenge isn’t just how much the U.S. owes ($37 trillion and counting), either — it’s who will keep buying that debt.
Foreign buyers of U.S. Treasuries — long the dependable stalwarts of American borrowing — are pulling back. Among other examples, China’s holdings dropped to their lowest since 2009, while Japan, once the largest foreign holder, has been trimming too.
With interest rates still above 4%, Washington is scrambling for new sources of demand.
Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who describes himself first and foremost as America’s bond salesman, believes he has found a steady source in crypto. His unlikely new customers: stablecoins.
Stablecoins as Treasury Buyers
Stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the dollar — now represent one of the fastest-growing sources of U.S. debt demand.
To understand why this is significant, it’s important first to understand the math: every $1 deposited into stablecoins results in roughly $0.90 flowing into Treasuries. Compare that with U.S. bank deposits, where only ~11% of funds ultimately cycle into Treasuries. The difference is stark. Put another way, the game plan is quite simple: every dollar that flows out of a bank deposit and into a stablecoin yields about $0.79 in net new Treasury demand.
This explains how Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, became a top-20 holder of Treasuries — with over $125bn in U.S. debt. Circle, which issues USDC, is not far behind. Together, they now hold more Treasuries than some sovereigns, ranking around the 18th largest holder worldwide.
In short: stablecoins are not just a tool for crypto traders. They’ve become a uniquely efficient channel for Treasury demand.
Clearing the Runway
It seems like no accident, then, that the Trump administration has cleared the runway for a domestic stablecoin boom.
The GENIUS Act, passed in July, requires stablecoins to be backed one-for-one with cash or short-term Treasuries — effectively channeling inflows into government debt. A companion Digital Asset Market Clarity Act promises the first federal rulebook for crypto investment. Bessent himself has not been shy about this topic, publicly calling stablecoins a way to boost demand for U.S. government debt and cement U.S. Dollar dominance globally.
Other steps from the administration seem to support this theory and strategy as well. A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and broader U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, seeded with crypto seized by law enforcement, signaled that the government views digital assets as part of its financial toolkit. Additionally, a recent executive order barred banks from blocking crypto transactions, lowering friction for both retail and institutions. Another rule change opened the door for 401(k) retirement savings to invest in digital assets, creating a powerful new capital channel.
Each initiative reduces the perceived risk of crypto, draws in new participants, and ultimately pushes more dollars into stablecoins — and by extension, into Treasuries.
Pitfalls and Risks
For all its momentum, Bessent’s strategy is not without hazards. Stablecoins are still small relative to the $50 trillion U.S. financial system, and their demand can be fickle. If sentiment turns or crypto adoption stalls, the Treasury bid could shrink just as quickly as it has grown, leaving Washington once again searching for buyers.
Even if growth continues, the mechanics of stablecoin reserves carry distortive effects. Because issuers are restricted to holding only cash and short-term Treasuries, their rise channels demand almost exclusively to the front end of the yield curve. That concentration tilts issuance away from longer-dated bonds and may reshape the maturity profile of U.S. debt in ways policymakers weren’t expecting.
Finally, banks are unlikely to cede ground quietly. Deposit flight into stablecoins is a direct threat to their business model, which depends on capturing the yield on U.S. dollars. That is precisely why the GENIUS Act prohibits issuers from offering yield-bearing tokens. But workarounds are already being explored, setting up a competitive fight over who earns the yield on the dollars backing the stablecoin.
Conclusion
The prevailing narrative is that Trump’s crypto pivot is about innovation or pandering to Silicon Valley. The reality looks more pragmatic — and more urgent. Stablecoins are being positioned as a Trojan horse for Treasury demand, one that channels global dollars into U.S. debt more efficiently than banks or foreign sovereigns.
Whether this gambit succeeds or inflates another bubble remains to be seen. But it reframes the crypto debate: in Washington’s eyes, stablecoins are not a sideshow. They may be the ballast keeping America’s debt machine afloat.
Decentralized finance protocol Ethena (ENA) submitted Tuesday a proposal to issue Hyperliquid's upcoming stablecoin, joining a bidding race that has already attracted a slew of companies like Paxos, Sky, Frax and Agora.
The token would be fully backed by Ethena's USDtb, a stablecoin issued with federally chartered bank Anchorage Digital and fully backed by BUIDL, the tokenized money market fund by asset management giant BlackRock and Securitize.
"We are excited to enable Ethena’s USDtb, which is 100% backed by BUIDL and uniquely positioned to offer institutional grade cash management as well as on-chain liquidity to Hyperliquid users," said Robert Mitchnick, Blackrock's head of digital assets, in the proposal.
If adopted, Ethena pledged that 95% of net revenue from USDH reserves would flow back to the Hyperliquid ecosystem, the proposal said. Ethena also said it would cover the costs of migrating existing USDC trading pairs on Hyperliquid to USDH to ease adoption.
The proposal comes as competition to win the issuance of Hyperliquid's USDH stablecoin is intensifies. The decentralized exchange executed almost $400 billion in perpetuals trading volume last month, making it an attractive market for stablecoin providers to corner. Sky (formerly MakerDAO), Paxos, Sky, Frax, Agora and Native Markets threw their hat in the ring. Validators are set to vote on proposals on September 14.
Read more: Sky Pitches Genius-Compliant USDH Stablecoin With $8B Balance Sheet and 4.85% Yield
BNB swung sharply between gains and losses in a volatile 24-hour stretch. The token dropped to an $872 low earlier before rallying to $884 and then seeing a sharp reversal wipe out those gains.
The initial drop took BNB from around $880.50 to a low of $871.99. From there, the token staged a comeback, peaking near $884.60 before selling pressure brought it back down to its current level at $873.6.
That rebound came on a wave of trading activity, with volume spiking to nearly 60,000 tokens, particularly around $876, a level that acted as key support during the session, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model.
However, things quickly turned around for the token, which fell more than $5 in just minutes on a volume spike that coincided with a broader market sell-off. That drop came after reports that Israel launched an attack against Hamas’ leadership in Qatar.
While the broader crypto market fell, the price of gold saw a bump that saw futures near a new record at $3,700 an ounce, while gold-backed cryptocurrencies PAXG and XAUT hit highs of before dropping back.
Meanwhile, CoinDesk Data’s latest Exchange Review report revealed that Binance saw $2.63 trillion in futures trading volume last month, a new monthly record. Along with Bybit and Crypto.com, it was one of the largest exchanges by spot trading volume.
BNB can be used to pay for trading fees on Binance, allowing users to get a 25% trading discount on fees being paid. It’s also the native token of the BNB Chain.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
U.S.-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is creating a new ecosystem that combines stablecoin-based micropayments with AI.
Building on the release earlier this year of x402, an open source payment protocol that enables instant stablecoin payments on any website, Coinbase engineers have added a discovery layer for AI agents, something like a “Google for agents,” that the firm is calling x402 Bazaar.
This matters because it’s about unlocking new paradigms within agentic commerce, a term often associated with humans setting out requirements and preferences for AI agents to shop for them.
In fact, the marketplace of things AI agents are going to want to buy is actually significantly bigger than the things that humans may want to buy, says Erik Reppel, head of engineering at Coinbase Developer Platform. He used the term “pay-per-crawl” to describe the problem being solved.
“Think of it as like paywalls for scrapers,” Reppel said in an interview. “ So x402 is a great standard for situations where an AI agent needs access to data or access to content in order to make more informed, better decisions.”
Imagine an agent pulling the latest market data, commissioning a design from an AI art model, or subscribing to a live data feed for sports or finance, Coinbase said in a blog about x402 Bizarre.
Some of the first projects listed include Prixe, a stock price API allowing agents to create up-to-date financial reports, and various image and video generation endpoints.
As more services are added, the possibilities for autonomous workflows will only expand, Reppel said.
“Really any digital goods or any digital piece of media can be paid for with X 402,” he said.
Shares of CoreWeave (CRWV) rose as much as 9% on Monday morning after the company announced it’s launching a venture capital arm focused on early-stage artificial intelligence startups.
The stock was higher by 4.5% as midday U.S. hours approached..
The new fund, called CoreWeave Ventures, will focus on investing in startups building tools, infrastructure or applications for AI. The company didn’t disclose how much capital would be committed but framed the effort as an extension of its broader mission to support high-performance computing for machine learning and generative AI.
“Our aim with CoreWeave Ventures is to give other audacious, like-minded founders the support they need to drive technical advancements and bring to market the next class of innovation,” said Brannin McBee, co-founder and chief development officer at CoreWeave.
CoreWeave specializes in cloud computing optimized for AI workloads, offering access to Nvidia GPUs and fast storage to clients ranging from large enterprises to research labs. It went public earlier this year at $40 per share and surged to a high of $187 in June before pulling back.
The launch of CoreWeave Ventures comes during a busy period for cloud infrastructure firms focused on AI. On Monday, Nebius, another player in the “neocloud” space, signed a five-year, $19.4 billion agreement with Microsoft to supply computing power. That announcement sent several AI and data center stocks higher, adding momentum to the sector.
CoreWeave is also in the process of acquiring bitcoin miner Core Scientific (CORZ) in a $9 billion all-stock deal. The merger, announced in July, is still subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
For AI startups, the arrival of another specialized investor could offer an alternative to generalist VC firms or hyperscaler-linked capital. And for CoreWeave, it’s a chance to bet on the ecosystem it helps power — and maybe get early access to the next breakthrough.
Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) endured a turbulent 24 hours session, swinging through a $0.22 corridor that represented a 4% range. After testing support at $4.83, the token mounted a strong rally to reach $5.05 by 06:00 UTC before falling back.
That move confirmed $4.83 as a crucial accumulation zone, where volume surged to 348,793 units, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis data model.
The rally faltered at $5.05, where concentrated distribution created a firm ceiling. The reversal accelerated, beginning with consolidation near $4.97 before a late push to $4.99 at 14:00 UTC. Selling pressure then overwhelmed the market, driving ICP down to $4.93 within minutes.
At the time of writing, ICP traded just below $4.90, 3% below its intraday high of $5.05.
Turnover spiked sharply during this interval, with more than 170,000 units transacted between 14:01 and 14:03, suggesting systematic liquidations or stop-loss execution.
Beyond technicals, ICP’s momentum reflects ongoing ecosystem development. On Sept. 4, the network achieved its Ignition milestone, enabling large language models (LLMs) to run natively on-chain.
The upgrade allows developers to build AI-powered decentralized applications (dapps), including those that can generate smart contracts directly, on the ICP blockchain. The long-term vision is to create a “self-writing Internet” where even non-technical users can deploy dapps using natural language inputs.
Technical Analysis
- ICP traded in a $0.22 corridor between $4.83 support and $5.05 resistance.
- Strong accumulation confirmed at $4.83, supported by above-average volume of 348,793 units.
- Rally peaked at $5.05 before heavy selling emerged. A sharp reversal saw prices fall from $4.99 to $4.93 within minutes.
- Volume exceeded 170,000 units during 14:01–14:03, signaling systematic liquidation.
- New support formed at $4.93, marking a potential pivot for future sessions.
- Resistance remains entrenched at $5.05, the key threshold for a sustained breakout.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.