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At press time, HBAR price is trading at $0.2417, having appreciated 1.2% in the last 24 hours. The token has been holding above $0.23, an indication of strength even in the face of wider market volatility. Speculations around BlackRock HBAR ETF filling have created some hype, drawing interest on the future of the asset. The
The post HBAR Price Prediction as Speculation Over BlackRock’s HBAR ETF Grows- Is $0.50? Next? appeared first on CoinGape.
Welcome to the Asia Pacific Morning Brief—your essential digest of overnight crypto developments shaping regional markets and global sentiment. Monday’s edition is last week’s wrap-up and this week’s forecast, brought to you by Paul Kim. Grab a green tea and watch this space.
Bitcoin fell below $117,000 after hitting a new all-time high above $124,000, as hot inflation data reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Markets now expect only two rate cuts this year instead of three.
The cryptocurrency market experienced significant volatility last week, driven by a series of unsettling macroeconomic indicators that have dampened expectations for aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. After surging to a new all-time high above $124,000, Bitcoin saw its price retreat, at one point falling below $117,000.
The downturn in sentiment follows a string of inflation reports that came in hotter than anticipated, casting doubt on the likelihood of continued monetary easing from the U.S. central bank.
Last week’s most critical economic report arrived on Tuesday with the release of the July Consumer Price Index (CPI). The market reacted positively because the headline CPI was lower than Wall Street’s expectations. However, a closer look at the details reveals that the situation was not good.
The details of the CPI report showed a notable acceleration in both Core CPI (which excludes food and energy) and “Supercore” CPI (which measures services inflation ex-housing). The steep ascent of Supercore CPI since April, particularly, points to rapidly accelerating service sector inflation.
The bigger shock was Thursday’s release of the July Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesale level. The PPI unexpectedly surged by 0.9% month-over-month, a record spike and the first of its kind in three years. This was a surprise, as producer prices had remained relatively stable in May and June, even as the US “tariff war” intensified.
Trade specialists interpret this latest surge as a delayed reaction to US tariff policy. While companies initially appeared to absorb the costs by building inventories, the July data suggest they can no longer bear the financial strain. The signal is that businesses are now passing these tariff-related cost increases on to the next production stage, with services inflation again being a primary driver. In particular, the rise in prices within the services sector was also prominent in the PPI.
Perhaps the most alarming indicator for the market was the July US Import Price Index. According to conventional economic theory, tariffs typically drive import prices higher. The Trump administration cited the muted May-June effects to argue that its trade policies avoided inflation.
However, July’s sharp increase in import prices suggests a critical turning point. This implies that import and export companies, which have been absorbing tariff costs, are now passing them on to consumers.
The Federal Reserve has expressed significant concern about tariffs’ inflationary potential in its last two Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings. If import prices continue to climb in August due to trade policy, the Fed’s further rate cuts could become increasingly difficult to justify.
The shifting macroeconomic landscape directly affects Bitcoin’s price and market performance. The shifting macroeconomic landscape directly affects Bitcoin’s price and market performance.
This correlation was on full display Thursday, when Bitcoin’s price soared past $124,000 after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned the possibility of a 50-basis-point rate cut during a media interview in September. The PPI report release immediately wiped out those earlier market gains. Bessent retracted his comments and recommended a more conservative 25-basis-point rate cut.
Market expectations have since been recalibrated. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, as of Friday, investors are now pricing in only two rate cuts for the remainder of the year, down from three. Fund flow data also shows this significant shift in investor sentiment.
On Friday, around the time of the import price index release, there was a surge in Bitcoin deposits on the Binance exchange. A sudden increase in Bitcoin deposits is generally considered a movement of funds for selling. After recording net inflows all week, Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs experienced a net outflow.
Altcoins have not been immune. Last week, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, broke its all-time high on Monday. However, it failed to surpass its all-time high in USD ($4,860) throughout the week. As of 00:00 UTC on Monday, Ethereum trades at around $4,460.
What seemed like a certainty just last week—three Fed rate cuts this year—has now entered the realm of uncertainty.
While deteriorating July US employment data had built a strong case for easing, the resurgence of inflation has given the Fed pause. The decision-making now falls squarely on the shoulders of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The financial world will be looking for clues at the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which runs from August 21 to 23. The prestigious event, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, brings together central bankers from around the globe.
Chair Powell will deliver a speech on US monetary policy at 02:00 am UTC on Friday. He mentioned the Fed’s monetary policy shift at the Jackson Hole meeting. A well-known example is when he alluded to a 50 basis point cut in his Jackson Hole speech last September.
Two prominent ‘doves’ will also be speaking this week: Vice Chair Michelle Bowman (Wednesday) and Governor Christopher Waller (Thursday). Both have previously advocated for preemptive rate cuts, citing concerns over a slowing economy and a weakening labor market. Investors will be watching closely to see if the recent inflation data has tempered their dovish stance.
A few high-impact macroeconomic indicators will be released this week. However, the July FOMC meeting minutes, which will be released on Wednesday, could significantly impact the market, depending on their contents.
If other FOMC members also supported rate cuts alongside Bowman and Waller, markets could revive cut expectations. This scenario could bring another round of volatility to Bitcoin markets. We wish all our readers a successful week of investing.
The post Fading Fed Rate Cut Hopes: Is a Bitcoin Price Drop Next? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
A disturbing new scam is leveraging the obscure OP_RETURN feature in Bitcoin transactions to target one of the most infamous addresses in crypto history — the 1Feex wallet containing approximately 80,000 BTC stolen from Mt. Gox.
That stash is worth over $8.7 billion at current prices, making it a prime target for fraudsters attempting to claim legal rights over it.
The Mt. Gox collapse in 2014 resulted in 850,000 BTC going missing. Although 140,000 BTC were recovered for creditor repayments, wallets like 1Feex have remained untouched until now.
Whoever is behind the scam is likely banking on two outcomes. The first is collecting sensitive user data by masquerading as the wallet’s custodian.
Second, they are laying the groundwork for a legal claim to ownership, perhaps similar to past lawsuits aimed at forcing Bitcoin developers to hand over access to lost coins.
Going by the latter, BitMEX Research has uncovered a scam. It involves sending small transactions to legacy Bitcoin addresses using the OP_RETURN field. This is a space in the Bitcoin blockchain meant to store arbitrary data.
One such transaction to the dormant 1Feex address contains a message directing viewers to a suspicious website.
“NOTICE TO OWNER: see www.salomon[]bros.[]com/owner_notice,” BitMEX Research revealed.
The linked website represents a client who has taken “constructive possession” of the wallet and is seeking to identify a “bona fide owner.”
It reportedly claims affiliation with the historic Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers. However, BitMEX researchers state that the links are fake.
“Do NOT fill in this form,” the team warned.
BitMEX Research team also pointed out that the site seeks personal identification data under pretenses. The scam attempts to cloak itself in legal legitimacy.
Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, reflects broader concerns in the crypto community, especially regarding the scam’s legal framing.
Users immediately mentioned Calvin Ayre, a longtime Bitcoin SV proponent and controversial figure. Ayre has reportedly funded legal actions asserting ownership over dormant or stolen Bitcoin.
However, some users took this insight with a pinch of salt, cautioning against slander. More closely, one user asked for proof that Ayre has run phishing-style scams.
Notwithstanding, the fact remains that OP_RETURN is now being weaponized in a gray zone between spam and pseudo-legal attacks.
Meanwhile, this scam arrives amid renewed controversy over OP_RETURN limits in Bitcoin Core. BeInCrypto reported on a proposal to restrict OP_RETURN data to 80 bytes under Bitcoin Core v0.30. The report cites network bloat and spam concerns.
While the limit remains under review, the new wave of scams may give fresh weight to the argument for tighter controls.
“OP_RETURN outputs greater than 83 bytes will increase significantly, UTXO bloat will keep getting worse and there will be more garbage on chain. This is going to age like a bad tattoo,” self-proclaimed Bitcoin expert Jimmy Song said at the time.
Further, in late April, BeInCrypto reported a rift among Bitcoin Core developers triggered by Peter Todd’s proposal to restrict OP_RETURN even further.
Critics argued that it would stifle innovation and off-chain use cases. Meanwhile, others supported it to reduce attack surfaces and abuse.
Also, Bitcoin should not follow an “L2 centric” roadmap. It’s actually what killed Ethereum.
Bitcoin is money and should be focused on that.
— Alishiya
(@alipaints) April 29, 2025
However, as this new exploit demonstrates, OP_RETURN is now being twisted for phishing schemes. Bad actors prey on legal uncertainty and dormant assets.
In this case, billions are at stake as the line between technical freedom and exploitable vectors is again under scrutiny. The interest comes as OP_RETURN transactions anchor these messages immutably into Bitcoin’s ledger.
The post Scammers Use OP_RETURN to Lay Claim to Mt. Gox’s Lost 80,000 Bitcoin appeared first on BeInCrypto.
The crypto market has been showing signs of strength lately, and Dogecoin hasn’t been left out. The meme coin has jumped more than 16% in the past week, but over the last day, it’s been moving sideways.
Some on-chain and chart signals suggest sellers could be gearing up to take profits, leading to a short-term pause or pullback. Whether DOGE can keep climbing or start slipping could all come down to one critical support level.
The percentage of addresses in profit for DOGE recently touched about 84%; the same level seen on July 27 before the price dropped from $0.24 to $0.19 in just a week. Historically, when too many holders are in profit, some tend to cash out.
Backing this up, exchange spot netflow has flipped from –$52 million on August 10 to +$2.7 million on August 11. More DOGE is moving into exchanges, often a sign that traders are preparing to sell.
For token TA and market updates: Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.
The Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) shows whether coins are being sold at a profit or loss. A reading above 1.0 means holders are taking profits.
On August 10, DOGE’s SOPR climbed to 1.045, close to the levels seen in late July, which was followed by quick pullbacks. It’s a sign the market could be near another short-term cooling-off point. Plus, an increasing SOPR aligns with the sell-based narrative.
On the 4-hour chart, the DOGE price is hovering near $0.235, just under the falling trendline of a descending triangle pattern. This setup often leans bearish in shorter time frames, hinting at consolidation and not a breakdown.
The Fibonacci levels act as the base of the descending triangle, showing up as key support levels. Dogecoin price has broken past several levels aligned with the $0.23 mark. If $0.235 breaks, traders might have to watch for the following hints:
Breaking past $0.24 would invalidate the bearish triangle and keep the bullish momentum ongoing. For now, $0.22 is the line in the sand that could decide if DOGE keeps rallying or sees more red candles.
The post Dogecoin Price Faces Profit-Taking Risk—One Key Level Could Decide Its Next Move appeared first on BeInCrypto.
