Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. posted their largest weekly outflow in six weeks even after softer July inflation data, highlighting a defensive turn in crypto positioning ahead of several policy events. From Aug. 10 to Aug. 14, spot BTC ETFs saw net outflows of $389.7 million, while Bitcoin fell about 3% for the week and closed Sunday near $62,800, according to the report by Coinstack, translated by TechFlow. The move came after July CPI rose 0.1% month over month and 3.4% year over year, in line with expectations, while core CPI eased to 2.5%. Producer prices were flat and core PPI rose 4.2%, also matching forecasts. The same week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission canceled its planned Aug. 14 vote on the proposed "Crypto Regulatory Framework," described in the report as the agency’s first formal crypto-specific rule, while a tokenization innovation exemption was also delayed indefinitely. The report says legislative and regulatory tracks both lost momentum, with the CLARITY Act facing a Sept. 15 cloture test that is seen as unlikely to reach 60 votes. Investors are now watching a White House crypto meeting on Aug. 19 involving executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, Kalshi, Chainlink Labs and a16z, the Aug. 20 FOMC minutes, and the Aug. 27-29 Jackson Hole conference, where Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is expected to give his first Jackson Hole speech since taking office.

South Korea’s tighter rules for single-stock leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds sharply reduced trading activity, but a report released Aug. 19 by the National Assembly Research Service questioned whether that decline should be treated as a clear policy success. After the minimum margin requirement was raised from 10 million won to 30 million won under emergency measures approved on July 29 and effective July 31, average daily turnover in 16 single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs fell from about 11.7 trillion won to 1.3 trillion won between July 31 and Aug. 10, an 89% drop. The report argued that lower trading volume does not prove investors now understand the products’ risks, nor does it mean losses will necessarily shrink. Instead, it said overly strict entry barriers could push speculative demand into overseas leveraged products with looser regulation. The report also pointed to Hong Kong’s variable leverage mechanism introduced last month as a possible reference point, while noting South Korea is pursuing parallel steps including a capital markets law amendment submitted on Aug. 11 and a simulation-trading requirement for new investors that takes effect Aug. 19.

On Aug. 19, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield briefly rose to 4.75%, the highest since January 2025, while the 20-year yield climbed to about 5.28%. A Bitunix analyst said the move reflects a broader reassessment of U.S. fiscal deficits, inflation risk and term premium rather than just near-term Federal Reserve expectations. As long-end yields rise, funding costs increase across the economy, and bitcoin and other crypto assets remain exposed to shifts in dollar liquidity and risk appetite. The note also pointed to the Fed’s July meeting minutes, Japan’s possible policy tightening and Switzerland’s zero-rate backdrop as part of a global funding-cost reset.

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $189 million in total net inflows on Aug. 18 Eastern Time, according to SoSoValue. BlackRock’s IBIT led the group with $144 million in daily net inflows, bringing its cumulative historical net inflows to $61.4 billion. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $23.92 million in daily net inflows and $10.02 billion in cumulative inflows. On the outflow side, VanEck’s HODL posted the largest daily net outflow at $16.92 million, while its historical cumulative net inflows stood at $1.07 billion. Separately, Hashdex said its spot Bitcoin ETF DEFI has begun a closure and liquidation process due to factors including asset size, trading liquidity, and operating costs. The fund ended trading on NYSE Arca on Aug. 17 and is set to be delisted afterward. Starting Aug. 18, the fund began liquidating its remaining Bitcoin holdings and expects to distribute cash liquidation proceeds to shareholders around Aug. 24. Bloomberg data showed DEFI had about $7.28 million in assets under management as of July 30. As of publication, total net assets across spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $79.3 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 6.12% and cumulative historical net inflows of $52.28 billion.

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $189.3 million in net inflows in the previous session, according to data tracked by Farside Investors and cited by BlockBeats on Aug. 19. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $143.6 million of that total. The update also marked the second straight day of net inflows for Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum ETFs also saw fresh demand. The group posted $71.4 million in net inflows for the same period, with ETHA contributing $64.7 million. The figures offer a session snapshot of capital moving into U.S.-listed crypto investment products, with IBIT and ETHA leading their respective categories in the data cited in the report.

AI-linked stocks sold off sharply overnight in the US, with the Nasdaq Composite closing down 1.33% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling nearly 5%, before the weakness spread into Asia-Pacific markets and China A-shares. In the article, author Gelong attributes the move to three overlapping pressures rather than a single trigger. First, rising tension between the US and Iran lifted oil prices and inflation expectations, pushing long-dated US Treasury yields higher and weighing on richly valued growth sectors. Second, newly disclosed second-quarter figures for OpenAI showed quarterly revenue growth of only 18% from the prior quarter, alongside widening operating losses and continued executive departures, raising fresh questions about the pace of large-model commercialization. Third, continued friction between South Korea and the US over semiconductor investment plans added uncertainty to the global memory supply chain, especially the HBM segment that sits at the center of AI computing infrastructure. The article argues that while the long-term need for AI compute remains intact, investors are becoming less willing to pay extreme premiums for distant growth stories and are shifting their focus toward actual earnings, financing costs and the direction of global supply-chain negotiations.

SEC’s Q2 13F deadline on August 14 brought Wall Street’s crypto positions back into view, and the data showed a clear mismatch with price action. Bitcoin fell about 14.2% in the quarter, yet reported institutional BTC holdings rose 7.5% to about 536,000 coins, even as total ETF holdings declined. Bank-level filings were even more striking: Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan both expanded ETH exposure faster than BTC, while several firms shifted from spot holdings into options. The quarter also showed growing divergence in crypto-linked equities, with Strategy, Circle, Coinbase, and Robinhood drawing very different allocation decisions. Some institutions kept adding, others paused, and a few were already rotating into new products such as Solana and XRP funds.

PANews’ August 18-19 digest was packed with policy, markets, and AI updates. The U.S. debt burden may cross $40 trillion sooner than expected after tariff-related revenue losses accelerated Treasury borrowing. The SEC also proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets,” a new framework that includes startup and fundraising exemptions plus a safe harbor for digital assets that stop all managerial activity. OpenAI said it is tightening safeguards on its unreleased models, adding sandboxing and faster alerts after recent security concerns, while also pausing parts of its latest reinforcement learning training for two weeks. Elsewhere, Bhutan’s government-linked address moved 300 BTC, USDC Treasury minted 250 million USDC on Solana, and Metaplanet said it will use 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash to acquire Super League and build a U.S. Bitcoin treasury platform called Superplanet. Cash App expanded beyond Bitcoin and USDC by integrating MoonPay, Ripple Prime sold $275 million of senior unsecured notes, and FASB proposed treating qualifying stablecoins as cash equivalents. The digest also covered NoOnes’ shutdown plan, a Maya Protocol exploit, Solana’s slot-time reduction, and major AI and IPO updates from OpenAI, Anthropic, Temporal, and Zhiyu/Unitree-related market listings.