Solana outperforms as Bitcoin holds steady

TLDR

• Bitcoin closed the week at US$77,682 (A$108,469), down 0.07%, after wicking to a high of US$81,478.67
• Total crypto market cap fell 0.94% to US$2.59 trillion as Bitcoin dominance rose to 60.19%
• Whales added over 39,000 BTC (~US$3 billion) in the past week even as smaller wallets showed strong selling sentiment
• US spot Bitcoin ETFs logged US$924 million in weekly inflows before Friday's outflow
• Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole speech lifts September rate-hike odds to 56-60%
• Altcoins broadly underperformed: ADA fell 15.11%, XRP dropped 10.71%, LTC lost 8.30% and AVAX fell 6.52%.
• Solana was the standout, up 6.62% after Bitwise Solana ETF crosses US$1B AUM milestone

Introduction

Bitcoin closed the week at US$77,682 (A$108,469), essentially flat, down just 0.07%, after wicking up to a high of US$81,478.67 (A$113,772) and failing to hold above the US$80,000 level. The pullback followed a hawkish Jackson Hole speech from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, which lifted rate-hike expectations and pressured risk assets broadly. While Bitcoin absorbed the move relatively well, altcoins bore the brunt of it: the total crypto market cap fell 0.94% to US$2.59 trillion (A$3.62 trillion), and Bitcoin dominance rose to 60.19% as capital rotated back toward the largest asset. Here's what mattered this week and what's we are watching heading into September.

Weekly trading stats as of Monday, August 31st 10:00 AM AEST, based on data from TradingView in USD.

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Bitcoin wicks above US$81,000 but closes the week flat

Bitcoin traded as high as US$81,478.67 (A$113,772) during the week before retracing to close at US$77,682 (A$108,469), down just 0.07%. The pullback came after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech struck a notably hawkish tone, lifting the estimated probability of a September rate hike to 56-60%.

July headline PCE inflation came in at 3.7% and core PCE at 3.3%, both above the Fed's 2% target, with US inflation now running above target for 65 consecutive months. The speech triggered a broader selloff, with the S&P 500 down 0.3%, the Nasdaq down 0.5%, gold down 3% to US$4,455/oz, and Bitcoin dropping over 3% intraday before stabilising.

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Whale accumulation continues even as ETF inflow streak breaks

Despite the volatility, large holders kept buying. Bitcoin whales accumulated over 39,154 BTC (~US$3 billion) in the past week, with wallets holding 100+ BTC adding roughly 43,000 BTC over 60 days and those holding 10,000+ BTC adding 46,420 BTC over the same period. Smaller wallets (0.1-1 BTC) told the opposite story, posting an Accumulation Trend Score of -0.982 clear evidence retail sold into the rally while larger players kept building.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs added US$924.48 million in net inflows over a nine-day streak, including a particularly strong US$1.92 billion window from 17-21 August, before US$201.81 million in outflows on 28 August as the Warsh speech landed. Ethereum ETFs told a stronger story, extending their streak to 10 consecutive days with US$1.52 billion in inflows, pushing cumulative Ethereum ETF totals to near US$13 billion.

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Altcoins broadly underperform, though Solana and XRP notch ETF milestones

It was a rough week for most altcoins. ADA led the declines, down 15.11% to close at US$0.1927, while XRP fell 10.71% to US$1.3575 this despite XRP ETFs posting their strongest week of 2026, with US$110.49 million in inflows lifting cumulative net inflows to an all-time high of US$1.66 billion. LTC dropped 8.30% to US$47.94, AVAX fell 6.52% to US$7.113, and LINK slipped 3.46% to US$11.144.

Solana was the standout exception, up 6.62% to close at US$101.75. The move came as Bitwise's BSOL became the first individual Solana ETF to cross US$1 billion in AUM just 10 months after launch, holding 9.33 million SOL and capturing 79% of cumulative net flows into Solana ETFs, even with SOL still trading 60% below its all-time high.

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Tokenized real-world assets keep climbing

Away from this week's volatility, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) continued their steady march higher. On-chain RWA value reached US$38.35 billion, held across almost 3 million wallets, a milestone significant enough that even Binance co-founder CZ has acknowledged underestimating how quickly the sector has grown.

Stellar was one of the standout networks, with its tokenized RWA market expanding 360% to US$4 billion, led by issuers Spiko, Realiz and Franklin Templeton. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is now planning to connect its tokenization service to Stellar, a notable step toward linking traditional market infrastructure with on-chain settlement.

For an industry that spent much of the week focused on Fed policy and altcoin drawdowns, the RWA numbers are a reminder that tokenisation of traditional assets remains one of the more durable growth stories in digital assets.

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Final thoughts

Looking ahead to September

Traders are watching MicroStrategy for signs of renewed Bitcoin buying after Michael Saylor's "We're back" post signalled a possible end to its 10-week pause; the company's 840,447 BTC holdings are now valued at US$66.4 billion, comfortably in profit. Russia's Sberbank is set to begin accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT as loan collateral from 1 September, pending central bank approval. And the Senate is scheduled to vote on the CLARITY Act on 15 September, a potential catalyst for clearer regulatory treatment of assets like XRP.

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