Bitcoin Hits $81,000 Before Pullback, Solana Rises Against the Trend: This Week's Crypto Market Recap

This week's cryptocurrency market saw notable volatility: Bitcoin briefly broke above $81,000, hitting a three-month high, but a Friday speech by the Federal Reserve chair triggered a sell-off in risk assets, and major coins gave back gains. Solana was one of the few assets to remain strong against the trend. Below are the key market points for the week.

1. Weekly Market Overview

In the first four trading days of the week, the crypto market extended last week's rally, with Bitcoin rising above $81,000, its highest in three months; Ethereum, Solana, XRP and others also moved higher. After Friday, market sentiment reversed sharply, and most major coins turned lower on the weekly chart except Solana. For the full week, Bitcoin fell more than 1%, Ethereum and XRP fell more than 3%; Solana remained in positive territory, making it the best-performing major crypto asset of the week.

2. Solana's Countertrend Rally: Governance Change and Supply Expectations

Solana's strength mainly stemmed from a change at the network governance level. Solana validators passed a proposal to adjust the annual issuance/inflation rate. According to estimates, the network will issue about 18.9 million fewer SOL over the next six years than under the original inflation schedule, meaning expectations for long-term SOL supply growth have been lowered. The change boosted market sentiment toward Solana; at the same time, Solana-related ETFs also saw inflows this week, further supporting the price.

3. Continued Inflows into Crypto ETFs

Despite the broader market pullback on Friday, crypto ETFs overall still recorded notable net inflows this week. Bitcoin ETFs saw weekly inflows of about $924 million, Ethereum ETFs about $824 million, Solana ETFs about $153 million, and XRP ETFs over $110 million. Institutional funds continue to show interest in allocating to crypto assets.

4. Fed Chair's Remarks Trigger Sell-off

On Friday, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh spoke at the annual Jackson Hole event, sending hawkish signals on inflation. The market interpreted this as a possibility of further rate hikes, risk assets broadly came under pressure, and cryptocurrencies pulled back sharply from their highs. This event again shows that expectations for major central bank policy have a significant impact on short-term volatility in crypto markets.

5. Institutional Forecasts and Market Developments

Several institutions updated their views on crypto assets this week. Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani predicted in a client note that Bitcoin could reach $300,000 by 2029 and about $500,000 by mid-2027. A co-founder of a leading crypto exchange said that in the next bull market, Bitcoin could become a more important asset than gold.

Traditional brokerage Charles Schwab also announced this week that it will expand its clients' cryptocurrency trading scope, adding Solana, Chainlink and other coins to its existing Bitcoin and Ethereum offerings over the coming months. The firm has over $12 trillion in client assets.

Additionally, a survey by the National Institute on Retirement Security showed that 77% of respondents believe including cryptocurrencies in retirement savings plans is risky, with 46% considering the risk very high; 53% of respondents oppose employers offering crypto asset options in retirement plans. This indicates that although crypto assets are becoming more widely adopted, market acceptance in long-term retirement savings scenarios remains limited.

6. What to Watch Next Week

Next week, several economic data releases and central bank official speeches could affect the crypto market. August 31: Japan retail sales, China manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI; September 1: Eurozone CPI, US manufacturing PMI; September 2: US employment-related data; September 3: US services PMI, initial jobless claims; September 4: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speech, as well as US unemployment rate and nonfarm payrolls.