Bitcoin Rally Redirects Miner Focus
Bitcoin's August rally reversed recent trends in the mining sector. Mining stocks gained as much as 67%, outpacing stocks with greater exposure to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure.
Canaan, American Bitcoin and Cango gained between 41% and 67% during the period, compared with about 21% for CoreWeave, 17% for Nebius and 15% for IREN. Bitcoin itself rallied roughly 23% in late August.
According to BlocksBridge Consulting, three factors drove the rally: an expansion of US Treasury liquidity-supporting buybacks, renewed regulatory optimism following a White House crypto meeting, and a sharp short squeeze that liquidated more than $1.6 billion in positions.
Corporate Treasuries Expand Bitcoin Holdings
Strive and Strategy added significant Bitcoin to their corporate treasuries in late August. Strive purchased 1,800 BTC for approximately $143 million at an average price of $79,431 per BTC, lifting its total holdings to 23,156 BTC. Strategy acquired 4,603 BTC at an average price of $80,318, bringing its holdings above 845,000 BTC.
The purchases began after August 19, when the US Treasury announced plans to double certain long-term bond buybacks.
Bitmine Nears 5% of Ethereum Supply
Bitmine extended its Ether buying streak to 65 consecutive weeks, adding 53,501 ETH and bringing its total holdings to more than 5.9 million ETH. The company now owns 4.9% of Ethereum's 120.7 million circulating supply.
Despite continued accumulation through the downturn beginning in late 2022, Bitmine holds roughly $5.1 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether holdings.
Financial Consortium Develops Stablecoin for 2027
A consortium of 21 major financial institutions plans to establish a new company to develop and issue stablecoins. The group intends to launch a US dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027 before expanding to other G7 currencies, with a euro offering following.
The stablecoin will target wholesale, institutional and retail markets for cross-border payments and digital asset settlement. The venture builds on an initiative announced last October by 10 banks exploring reserve-backed digital money on public blockchains. The consortium now spans North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and intends to comply with both the US GENIUS Act and the EU's MiCA regulation.
