Hey there digital diners!

Welcome to this week’s Hodl Report, keeping you up to date in an industry where crypto prices flip more than pancakes on Sunday morning! 🥞

It’s been one heck of a week in crypto, and if your heart rate hasn’t spiked yet, you must have diamond hands of steel. 💎👐

🚨 On August 5th, the markets decided to take a nose dive that would make even Evel Knievel cringe. Since crypto is a risk asset, the swings are even more extreme causing Bitcoin to plunge almost 20% in under two hours, dropping from $58k to briefly touching $49.6k - ouch!

And that was just the warm-up, with the total crypto market cap dropping from $2T to $1.7T in seven hours, and meme coins getting smacked around harder than a piñata at a five-year-old’s birthday party. 🪅🎉

What caused this epic crash? 📉 Investors panicked due to a trifecta of chaos: Japan’s sudden interest rate hike, disappointing U.S. jobs data and escalating geopolitical tensions with Israel and the middle east.

When Japan decided to bump up interest rates, it triggered the unwinding of the Yen carry trade (that’s when people borrow cheap Yen to gamble on riskier stuff). But after the markets started freaking out, the Bank of Japan pumped the brakes. They basically said, "Whoa, let’s keep things chill for now," because raising rates when the markets are as unstable as a Jenga tower in an earthquake probably isn’t the best idea.🫨

With the U.S. jobs report showing higher unemployment than expected and tensions in the Middle East heating up with Iran threatening Israel, retail investors did what they do best—panic and sell at the worst time. Meanwhile, the savvy institutional investors calmly bought the dip like it was a Black Friday sale. 😅🏷️

After a $230B correction in the crypto markets, the whales swooped in like pros, snagging deals Bob Barker himself would have applauded.👏

While traditional markets bounced back quickly, crypto took its sweet time. But by the end of the week, Bitcoin was back over $60k, a number that’s as comforting as a warm blanket on a cold night. 😌📈

No matter what caused the dip or how the market reacted, it’s clear that the bull run still has some juice left. 💪

Here’s a tip: If you’re in this for the long haul, don’t let short-term dips shake you out. Use these moments to reassess why you’re holding, and if your thesis still holds strong, maybe even buy a little more. If not, just sit tight, relax, and most importantly, Don’t F**k This Up! 😅💸

1. Morgan Stanley pitching Bitcoin ETF to clients: 15,000 wealth advisors at Morgan Stanley have been given the green light on August 7, to start pitching their clients to invest in Blackrock or Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF. As a precautionary measure for launch, only clients with a net worth over $1.5 million will be allowed to be pitched.

2. First Solana ETF to launch in Brazil: The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), partnered with the CME Group to approve the launch of the first Solana spot ETF in Brazil and worldwide in the next 90 days.

3. Ripple lawsuit with SEC finally settled: Ripple Labs was found liable to pay a $125 million civil penalty (SEC originally seeking $2 billion) for violating United States securities laws in a case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission back in 2020. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggested the ruling was a “victory”.

4. FTX concludes 20-month lawsuit with CFTC: FTX and Bankman-Fried, accused of a fraud that resulted in $8 billion in customer losses, reached a settlement of $12.7 billion with the CFTC. Creditors with claims of up to $50,000 are expected to receive approximately 118% of their validated claims, including interest, while other creditors are projected to be repaid 100% of their validated claims.

5. Xapo Bank launches interest-bearing Bitcoin accounts: A 1% yield is being offered to Xapo clients in the UK market, without any staking, lending or asset lock-up. Bitcoin accounts are able to spend it “like fiat” with a “universally accepted” debit card.

6. Crypto mining now legalized in Russia: After legalizing Bitcoin transactions for international payments just last week, Putin has now signed an order allowing Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to be allowed to engage in cryptocurrency mining. Individual miners can participate without registration, provided their energy consumption remains within government-set limits.