All Eyes on Powell as Bitcoin Holds Below $113K: Crypto Daybook Americas
1Your day-ahead look for Aug. 22, 2025.
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By Shaurya Malwa (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)Bitcoin BTC$116,135.47 is sitting around $113,00 having failed to clear $115,000. Not so long ago, when it was setting new highs and euphoria called for a push to $135,000, those numbers would have sounded wild.
Now things are more muted. The CoinDesk 20 Index , a benchmark for the largest digital assets, slipped to 3,996, down 0.46% on the day after opening above 4,012. It touched a low of 3,957, showing how the pullback has been broad, not just a bitcoin story.
For the time being, the market seems to be waiting for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to step up to the podium at Jackson Hole and either calm nerves or shake things up again.
The mood isn’t great. Bitcoin funds have seen over $1 billion pulled in just a few days, according to SoSoValue data.
Ether ETFs, despite seeing net inflows yesterday, have lost another half a billion dollars this week. Call it hedging, call it profit-taking, but money is flowing out. That’s a clear sign institutional traders would rather be safe than sorry heading into Powell’s speech.
Ether, XRP, and Solana SOL$197.69 are all drifting the same way. ETH is stuck near $4,289, down from recent highs as network activity cools. XRP and SOL are each off more than 6% this week. None of them are crashing, but nobody’s buying aggressively either. They’re waiting for bitcoin to make the next move.
Options are pricing in a couple percent swing around the speech — bigger than average, but not panic levels. That swing could be up or down, though the tilt feels negative if Powell sounds less dovish than markets want.
As Pulkit Goyal from Orbit Markets put it, “BTC options are pricing in about a ±2% move around Powell’s speech.”
The stakes are simple. If Powell hints at rate cuts, risk assets — crypto included — will probably breathe easier and bounce. If he remains cautious, the pullback could deepen, potentially pushing bitcoin toward the $108,000 support level.
That’s why everyone’s watching so closely.
Longer term there is still bullish chatter, however. Bitwise says pensions might one day push BTC to $200,000. Maybe. But that’s not today’s story. Today’s story is that bitcoin, like every other risk asset, is hanging on Powell’s words. Stay alert!
The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through Aug. 31.
By Shaurya Malwa
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Source: Farside Investors
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team in Asia with a focus on crypto derivatives, DeFi, market microstructure, and protocol analysis.Shaurya holds over $1,000 in BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, SUSHI, CRV, NEAR, YFI, YFII, SHIB, DOGE, USDT, USDC, BNB, MANA, MLN, LINK, XMR, ALGO, VET, CAKE,...
https://www.coindesk.com/daybook-us/2025/08/22/all-eyes-on-powell-as-bitcoin-holds-below-usd113k-crypto-daybook-americas
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