Fed Signals, Inflation Data and IREN Earnings: What Crypto Markets Are Watching -

Crypto Week Ahead: Aug. 24–28

Bitcoin enters the final week of August with a 23% gain for the month, putting it on track for its strongest August since 2017. BTC climbed 65% in August that year, while the historical median return for the month stands at -7%, according to CoinGlass.

The rally is now heading into a week packed with potential catalysts, including key U.S. inflation and growth data and the Jackson Hole symposium. Investors will be looking for clues about the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves.

“Bitcoin enters next week with considerable momentum, but also with a much higher bar to clear after its strongest weekly rally in years,” Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, told CoinDesk. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s keynote at Jackson Hole will be a major focus.

Hathorn said a dovish speech that keeps the prospect of further Fed tightening low could support the weaker dollar and lower Treasury yields that have helped Bitcoin. A hawkish surprise, on the other hand, could trigger profit-taking.

Hong Yea, co-founder and CEO of onchain investment platform Grvt, said traders will be watching the “collision of Jackson Hole with geopolitical risk.” Tensions surrounding the U.S.-Iran conflict remain unresolved, while the Russia-Ukraine war continues to raise the possibility of further escalation.

What’s on the Calendar

All times ET.

Crypto

Aug. 24: Comment periods close on two joint SEC-CFTC requests concerning derivatives product definitions, alternative compliance and swap data reporting.
Aug. 24, 10:30 p.m.: BNB Smart Chain is expected to activate the Pasteur hard fork.

Macro

Aug. 25, 8:15 a.m.: U.S. weekly ADP employment data.
Aug. 25, 10 a.m.: U.S. August Consumer Confidence report.
Aug. 25, 1 p.m.: U.S. July money supply figures.
Aug. 25, 9:30 p.m.: Australia’s July inflation rate and RBA Trimmed Mean CPI.
Aug. 26–28: Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
Aug. 26, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. July Core PCE Price Index, with monthly inflation expected at 0.2% and annual core PCE at 3.3%.
Aug. 26, 8:30 a.m.: Second estimate of U.S. Q2 GDP, expected at 1.5% quarter over quarter.
Aug. 26, 9 p.m.: South Korea’s interest-rate decision.
Aug. 27, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 22.
Aug. 28, 10 a.m.: Final August Michigan Consumer Sentiment and one-year inflation expectations.
Aug. 28, 10 a.m.: Preliminary annual revision to U.S. nonfarm payrolls.

Earnings

Aug. 27: IREN reports after the market close.
Aug. 27: Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR) reports before the market opens.

Governance Votes

CoW DAO: Vote on replacing fixed settlement penalty caps with volume-based percentages, ending Aug. 25.
Superfluid DAO: Vote on Established Project campaigns and Season 7 SUP allocations, ending Aug. 25.
Sushi DAO: Vote on tokenomics changes, a SUSHI reserve and liquidity migration to Robinhood Chain, ending Aug. 25.
ShapeShift DAO: Vote on extending its Tokenomics and Operations workstreams for four months, ending Aug. 26.
Arbitrum DAO: Vote on expanding its Audit Program into a broader Security Program, ending Aug. 27.
GnosisDAO: Votes on $15 million in annual funding for Gnosis Ltd. and reviving GIP-99 governance, both ending Aug. 27.

Token Unlocks

Aug. 24: TON will unlock 1.33% of its circulating supply, worth around $54.12 million.
Aug. 25: Humanity will unlock 7.92% of its circulating supply, worth roughly $20 million.