Crypto Weekly: Solana Leads Altcoin Gains as XRP and DOGE Slide

Crypto Economy Ends Flat After Volatile Week

Crypto markets endured another volatile session this week as bitcoin and major altcoins retreated from multi-week highs before mounting a late recovery. The choppy price action stood in stark contrast to the prior week’s explosive rally, which saw digital assets add over $500 billion in market value in just seven days.

Market data shows that after starting the week with an aggregate market capitalization of close to $2.74 trillion, the crypto economy dropped below $2.7 trillion Aug. 23 before gradually recovering to reach $2.79 trillion by Friday. However, the crypto market cap was down to approximately $2.73 trillion by Saturday afternoon, ending the week virtually flat.

Momentum from the previous week’s U.S. Treasury bond buyback announcement propelled crypto markets into Tuesday, Aug. 25, lifting bitcoin briefly above $81,000 before the rally stalled. After consolidating between $77,000 and $79,000 for two days, bitcoin surged again Thursday to reclaim the $81,000 mark for the second time in a week.

However, in the lead-up to and after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole address, bitcoin dropped below $77,000. The top cryptocurrency ultimately erased some of those losses, reclaiming $78,000 by Saturday afternoon to post a modest 1% weekly gain. The uptick kept bitcoin on track to finish August with gains exceeding 20%.