Crypto Market Update August 18: Bitcoin Rebounds Ahead of Trump’s Crypto Meeting as AAVE Leads Altcoins
Highlights
- The crypto market is rising as Bitcoin price reclaims $64,000 while AAVE leads altcoin gains.
- The surge comes on the back of rising inflows to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
- Trump's meeting with crypto executives on August 19 could also shift semtiment.
The crypto market is up slightly today, August 18, with Bitcoin (BTC) rebounding to $64,200 at the time of writing. The gains come ahead of President Trump’s meeting with crypto executives on August 19. Aave (AAVE) is standing out among altcoins, with the price up by 4% to trade at $89 at the time of writing.
What is Driving the Crypto Market Today?
The total crypto market cap is up by 0.49% today to $2.19 trillion at the time of writing. Data from CoinMarketCap also shows that all of the top ten cryptos by market cap, apart from Bitcoin (BTC), have registered gains or losses of less than 1%.
Bitcoin remains the biggest gainer in the top ten list, while Binance Coin (BNB) is the biggest loser after the price dropped by 0.57% to trade at $601 at the time of writing.
The sideways moves come as investors hold steady ahead of a meeting between Trump and crypto executives on August 16. There is no certainty about what will be discussed in the meeting, but focus has shifted towards the CLARITY Act, which missed passing before the US Senate broke for recess on August 7.
Still, the upcoming meeting has not increased the odds because data from CoinGape prediction markets show that there is only a 20% chance that the bill will pass in 2026.
The slight gains seen with Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) today also come on the back of returning inflows to BTC and ETH ETFs. Data from SoSoValue shows that Bitcoin ETFs had $137 million in inflows on August 17, while Ethereum ETFs topped $4.95 million.
The lack of strong gains in the crypto market today also comes as the price of oil rises to the highest point since July after US envoy Jared Kushner revealed that Iran is not showing any interest in securing a deal.
Crypto Market Data Today
- Total Crypto Market Cap: $2.19 trillion (+0.63%)
- 24-Hour Trading Volumes: $49.24 billion
- Bitcoin: $64,231 (+1.10%)
- Ethereum: $1,898 (-0.08%)
- XRP: $0.99 (+0.01%)
- Bitcoin ETF Flows: $137.32 million
- Ethereum ETF Flows: $4.95 million
- Bitcoin Dominance: 58.8%
- Altcoin Season Index: 45/100
- Fear and Greed Index: 41 (Fear)
Crypto Derivatives Volume Doubles as Open Interest Hits 11-Week High
Data from CoinGlass shows that the total volumes across the crypto market have doubled from $68 billion on August 17 to $149 billion today. This rise suggests that there is an increase in leverage positions in the market.
The surge in crypto futures activity is further seen in the surge in open interest to $122 billion, with this being the highest point reached by this OI since June 2.
The derivatives market positioning today is also seen to be leaning long, with Bitcoin’s funding rate on the exchange standing at 0.0056, while Ethereum’s funding rate stands at 0.0024%.
The liquidations across the crypto market have also increased by 53% today to $213 million, with $87 million being long liquidations, while $125 million are short liquidations per CoinGlass.
Bitcoin Funding Rate on Binance Hits 20-Month High
The Bitcoin funding rate on Binance has surged to the highest point in 20 months per CryptoQuant data, with analyst Gaah noting that the surge suggests that the future Bitcoin outlook is bullish as more traders open long positions.
The rising funding rate also comes as analyst Daan Crypto notes that the price of Bitcoin is about to break out of consolidation because it is trading within a symmetrical triangle on the one-day chart.
BTC price needs to move above the upper trendline to confirm a bullish breakout. However, a drop below the lower trendline could see the price retest the psychological support of $60,000.
A previous CoinGape Bitcoin price analysis also observed that BTC was nearing a bearish crossover between the 50-week and the 150-week SMA that could push the price to $59,000.
AAVE Price Gains on Rising Network Activity
The price of AAVE is rising today after the value of Active loans on the DeFi platform reached $150 million. Aave founder Stani Kulechov notes that the amount of loans is at an all-time high.
The rising network activity is fuelling buying pressure for AAVE, because the price is now approaching resistance at the 50-day SMA of $91. However, AAVE needs to close above this obstacle to confirm that the short-term trend is leaning bullish.
If AAVE closes above $91, bulls could target the 200-day SMA of $96. However, the RSI reading of 48 shows that the momentum is still favoring bears, and this could derail the ongoing recovery.
Catch up on yesterday’s key developments and the coins that made the biggest moves in our Crypto Market Update August 17.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why is the crypto market up today?
2. Why is AAVE leading altcoin gains?
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24 Hours volume
$13.12B
Market Cap
$1.27T
Max Supply
21M
