Tether minted $1 billion in USDT on the Tron network today, bringing its total minted tokens since January to 12 billion. This reflects growing demand for crypto and could signal bullishness.
Previously, major stablecoin issuances have led to a bullish cycle. With fresh inflows, the market sentiment is trending towards Greed, and Tether may facilitate more bullishness.
This new USDT minting could have broad market implications for a few reasons. Major net issuances often reflect growing demand from institutions and OTC desks that need large blocks of stablecoins for cross-border settlements or build-up before buying digital assets.
In isolation, this single issuance could push the needle in a bullish direction. However, since Lookonchain data shows a pattern of major mintings, Tether could spur a lot of optimism.
Despite recently hitting a three-year low, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has been trending upward. It’s currently in Neutral but briefly exhibited Greed yesterday.
In other words, the market is primed to accept a bullish signal, and Tether’s major minting may provide it.
Still, not every mint equates to immediate market deployment. True bullish pressure arrives only when those new USDT hit exchange wallets. Luckily, that seems like a very achievable goal.
Welcome to the Asia Pacific Morning Brief—your essential digest of overnight crypto developments shaping regional markets and global sentiment. This Monday’s edition is brought to you by Paul Kim. Grab a green tea and watch this space.
The crypto market in August is off to a challenging start. Last week, Bitcoin prices sharply fell, breaking below the $117,000–$120,000 range established since July 11. Bitcoin dropped nearly 4% over the week, with some altcoins plunging over 15%.
First by Powell, Second by NFP
Last week’s decline unfolded in two main phases. One cause was the remarks of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on Wednesday. The market had been highly anticipating a rate cut in September after the pause in July, but Powell poured cold water on these expectations.
Powell stated that the possibility of a September rate cut is still uncertain. While acknowledging signs of a potential recession, he explained that it is reasonable to keep rates steady as the inflationary effects of tariffs are yet to be confirmed.
He also emphasized that the labor market remains solid and near balance, urging the focus to shift from employment to inflation risks.
Interestingly, there was strong internal opposition within the Fed to this view. Fed Governor Christopher Waller pointed out that private sector employment growth has slowed significantly. Despite surface-level health, data revisions reveal weakness, prompting calls for preemptive rate cuts.
For now, Powell’s perspective aligns with the majority within the Fed, and the market has to temper its expectations for a September rate cut. Bitcoin prices fell to $115,800.
Bitcoin Price. Source: CoinMarketCap
The nonfarm payroll (NFP) data was released on August 1, resulting in the second decline. The July NFP estimate among Wall Street analysts was around 110,000, but the actual figure came in at 73,000. This contradicts Powell’s optimistic outlook and indicates a significant deterioration in the US labor market.
More concerning was the major downward revision of May and June data by 258,000 jobs. The initially strong June NFP figure of 147,000 was mostly a statistical illusion. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics revised June’s figure to 14,000 and May’s to 19,000—the lowest in five years.
The official unemployment rate matched expectations at 4.2%, but the broader U-6 unemployment rate hit 7.9%, the highest since the COVID-19 crisis. The number of long-term unemployed and those seeking work for over 27 weeks also worsened. These indicators of a sharp economic downturn and labor market weakness caused a plunge in the US stock market. Bitcoin also retreated to around $112,000 on that day.
Macro Downturn Drags Corporate Buying and ETFs, Which Once Led the Rise
Throughout the week, major macroeconomic trends seemed to drag the crypto industry along. The inflows into spot-listed ETFs that had driven Bitcoin and Ethereum prices during July diminished significantly after July 30. On August 1, spot ETFs recorded their biggest single-day outflow since February this year.
Ethereum-buying companies, which were major drivers behind Ethereum’s price rise, also faltered. The week started positively: Sharplink Gaming confidently announced an additional $296 million Ethereum purchase and staking, while Bitmine, led by CEO Tom Lee, claimed Ethereum’s intrinsic value is $60,000.
Standard Chartered Bank forecasted that companies buying Ethereum would hold about 10% of the total supply, noting a strategic accumulation that has surpassed $10 billion—a 50-fold increase in just four months.
However, these firms were powerless against the price crash later in the week. Ethereum fell 7.2%, with top Ethereum-holding companies Sharplink Gaming (-30.80%) and Bitmine (-23.16%) stocks also plummeting.
Given this situation, bearish sentiment naturally spread. Crypto influencer Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX, made bearish predictions for major cryptocurrencies. He predicted Bitcoin could fall to $100,000 and Ethereum to $3,000. Hayes cited upcoming US tariff legislation and slow global credit expansion as key factors.
Over the weekend, on-chain data caught attention with a concerning Ethereum metric. The Ethereum holder accumulation ratio dropped to 27.57%—the lowest in two months. This indicates investors are no longer aggressively increasing their ETH holdings.
US Stock Market Is the Key
The warm momentum from July disappeared suddenly amid this sharp decline. What lies ahead for crypto prices this week? The key will be whether the US stock market can rebound from the shock of the NFP data revision.
The US Employment Statistics Bureau has a history of revising annual nonfarm payroll data by over 800,000 jobs last year, revealing that these jobs never actually existed despite prior reports for the previous year. However, even that revelation did not trigger significant stock market volatility.
The steep drop last Friday was partly due to the recent US stock market hitting new highs smoothly; the weakening employment figures provided an opportune trigger for correction. If the US stock market recovers without further corrections, the crypto market is likely to bounce back as well.
However, if further corrections continue, Powell’s comments denying a September rate cut despite strong US employment will become crucial. CME Group’s FedWatch tool already forecasts three rate cuts within the year.
No major macroeconomic issues are expected this week, but US employment remains a critical focus. The Conference Board will release its Employment Trends Index on Monday, and this data could significantly impact US stock markets.
We wish our readers successful investments this week as well.
Binance Alpha announced an airdrop for Redacted’s new RDAC token, making it the first platform to host the asset. RDAC fell more than 40% after the token first launched, but it has slowly recovered throughout the day.
RDAC powers Redacted’s startup accelerator ecosystem, enabling users to access a wide variety of Web3-oriented platforms. It already has staking capabilities to let holders passively reap additional rewards.
As with other recent projects, Binance Alpha attracted a lot of notoriety when it announced an airdrop for Redacted’s new RDAC token.
Binance is the first platform to feature Redacted (RDAC), with trading beginning on May 13, 2025, at 10:00 UTC.
Eligible Binance users with at least 205 Alpha points can claim an airdrop of 482 RDAC tokens on the Alpha Event page starting at 10:00 UTC on May 13, 2025.… https://t.co/7xOXmKrcBe
Redacted, a platform designed to accelerate startups across various Web3 sectors, was founded in 2021. It first launched RDAC in a closed sale this March, surpassing the firm’s $3 million funding target.
RDAC powers Redacted’s broader blockchain ecosystem, from various infrastructure platforms to staking rewards and more. These platforms offer features like cross-chain bridging, a DePIN GameFi project, marketplaces, NFT minting, etc.
Revenue from these platforms gets funneled back into the ecosystem, which attempts to maintain RDAC’s long-term sustainability.
Binance’s airdrop announcement attracted a lot of community interest, as this was the average retailer’s first opportunity to acquire RDAC.
Users can earn the asset by completing tasks within the Redacted ecosystem, like interacting with community channels. They can then stake RDAC to unlock additional benefits and rewards in addition to simply selling the token.
Crypto airdrops can frequently cause immense selling pressure, and RDAC’s Binance debut was no exception. Speculative investors quickly dumped the token, causing its value to plummet more than 50% in the first three hours.
However, it has steadily regained this ground throughout the day, displaying community interest in buying it and engaging with Redacted’s ecosystem.
Hopefully, RDAC’s quiet gains after the Binance airdrop are an encouraging sign for the ecosystem’s viability. Redacted has been constructing its startup accelerator for several years, and it has ambitious plans for the future.
A high-profile introduction like this can help set RDAC up for long-term success.
Bolivia’s Ministry of Trade and Imports has rejected a state-backed plan to use cryptocurrency for fuel imports.
This move, which marks a stunning policy reversal, signals a retreat from the government’s recent push to adopt digital assets as a workaround for dollar shortages.
Bolivia Rejects Crypto-for-Fuel Scheme Amid Energy Sector Turmoil
The initial plan, announced in March by Bolivia’s state-owned energy giant YPFB, aimed to use crypto to secure fuel imports. This was in response to acute shortages of both US dollars and refined fuel.
As reported by Reuters on March 13, the proposal had received government backing at the time.
But in a statement released Tuesday, Director of Trade and Imports Marcos Duran clarified that YPFB will not be permitted to use crypto for international transactions.
“YPFB must use Bolivia’s own resources and dollar-based financial transfers,” Duran said.
Head of digital assets at VanEck, Mathew Sigel, labels this a clear U-turn on crypto policy.
“U-Turn: Bolivia appears to back away from its crypto-for-fuel scheme,” Sigel quipped.
The crypto reversal comes after Russia’s Gazprom announced its exit from Bolivia’s Azero gas project, ending a 16-year involvement.
According to The Moscow Times, the departure reflects the broader instability in Bolivia’s energy sector, marked by falling gas production and increased reliance on fuel imports.
With dwindling foreign reserves, Bolivia has faced mounting pressure to diversify payment methods for essential imports. The crypto-for-fuel concept was seen as a bold, if risky, workaround to bypass the country’s dollar liquidity crisis.
However, the Ministry’s rejection raises fresh questions about coordination within Bolivia’s government and the viability of crypto in sovereign trade arrangements, particularly in volatile or resource-constrained economies.
