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Asia Morning Briefing: BTC Demand Cools While 'Crypto Capital Is Getting More Selective,' OKX’s Gracie Lin Warns
With Bitcoin demand cooling and profit-taking accelerating, investors are rotating into ether and a handful of resilient plays while retail “altseason” fades.
Updated Aug 21, 2025, 7:14 a.m. Published Aug 21, 2025, 12:09 a.m.
What to know:
- Bitcoin steadied in Asia, rising 1.4% to $114,610, while ether surged 5.8% as investors shifted focus.
- The CoinDesk 20 index rose 3.5%, with analysts noting a selective move into ether driven by macroeconomic factors.
- CryptoQuant reports a drop in Bitcoin demand and ETF inflows, classifying the market as in a 'bullish cooldown' phase.
Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.
Bitcoin steadied in Asia Thursday at $114,610 (+1.4%), clawing back some ground after last week’s slide, while ether outpaced with a 5.8% jump to $4,370.73 as investors rotated selectively across the market.
The CoinDesk 20, a measure of the performance of the largest crypto assets, is up 3.5%, trading above 4,078.
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OKX Singapore CEO Gracie Lin said in a note to CoinDesk that the rising ETH/BTC ratio shows capital shifting into ether’s relative strength while Bitcoin consolidates.
"Crypto capital is getting more selective," Lin told CoinDesk.
She stressed that this is not a broad “altseason,” but a targeted move into ETH as macro catalysts like the Jackson Hole conference and U.S. inflation data loom.
Fresh figures from CryptoQuant underline why Bitcoin’s rally has cooled. Apparent demand has dropped from 174,000 BTC in July to 59,000 BTC today, while ETF inflows have slowed to their weakest since April," the firm wrote in a recent report.
Profit-taking remains heavy, with whales realizing $2 billion in gains on Aug. 16 alone, bringing total realized profits since July to $74 billion. CryptoQuant analysts now classify the market as in a “bullish cooldown” phase, with $110,000 flagged as an important support level.
In a note to CoinDesk, analysts at Enflux, a Singapore-based market maker noted that retail enthusiasm for altseason has dropped sharply compared to last week, even as strategic bets like BNB hitting all-time highs and Hyperliquid’s operational strength continue to draw capital.
“This indicates that the altcoin market is no longer a uniform beta trade, as macro conviction is forming, but more selective and concentrated, also on the institutional side,” the firm said.
The result is a market less defined by broad rallies and more by selective winners, with ETH setting the tone as capital stays in crypto but moves with sharper focus, favoring resilience over speculation.
Market Movers
BTC: Bitcoin edged up 1.4% to just above $114,000 while U.S. stocks slipped, and altcoins showed unusual resilience as BTC dominance nears a six-month low.
ETH: Ether outperformed bitcoin, climbing 5.8% as traders rotated into majors despite slowing BTC demand.
Gold: UBS raised its gold price target to $3,600 per ounce in Q1 2026, citing the strongest bullion demand since 2011 driven by U.S. macro risks, de-dollarization, and heavy ETF and central bank buying.
S&P 500: The Nasdaq fell 0.68% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.26% Wednesday as investors rotated out of tech stocks into sectors like energy, healthcare, and consumer staples ahead of the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium.
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