Trading through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly ground to a halt as the 60-day U.S.-Iran ceasefire expires without a new agreement, bringing renewed concerns about oil prices and their impact on crypto markets. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETF flows are beginning to improve.
NVIDIA and OpenAI plan $600 billion AI computing expansion
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said the chipmaker will start acquiring land, securing power and developing infrastructure for AI factories, beginning with a facility in Portsmouth, Ohio, that OpenAI will occupy.
NVIDIA will contribute toward certain lease and electricity costs and provide a residual-value guarantee, while OpenAI will cover the lease payments and install NVIDIA’s computing systems.
NVIDIA estimates the Ohio project could generate $150 billion to $200 billion in revenue for the company during each hardware upgrade cycle across its 20-year lifespan. Including OpenAI’s other planned deployments, the total computing opportunity could approach $600 billion by 2030.
Huang dismissed concerns that the deal amounts to circular financing, emphasizing that OpenAI will pay the lease.
Strive expands Bitcoin holdings
Strive Asset Management bought an additional 79 BTC for about $5 million, with an average purchase price of $63,231 per coin.
The transaction increased the company’s Bitcoin holdings to 20,246 BTC, worth roughly $1.27 billion at current prices.
Strive shares were around 0.5% higher in premarket trading.
Bitmine reaches 4.8% of Ethereum supply
Bitmine Immersion now holds 5.815 million ETH, according to its latest company update.
The position represents approximately 4.8% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply.
Bitmine also repurchased 1.7 million shares last week, taking its total buybacks since July to 20.8 million shares.
BMNR shares were unchanged in premarket trading.
Anthropic revenue reportedly tops $11.5 billion
Anthropic’s revenue reportedly jumped more than 14 times year over year to above $11.5 billion in the second quarter, according to Bloomberg.
The AI company also generated positive operating income, strengthening expectations that it could pursue a major public listing as soon as this fall.
The report helped lift technology sentiment, with Nasdaq 100 futures gaining about 0.5%.
Strategy raises cash but leaves Bitcoin holdings unchanged
Strategy raised $333.7 million last week by selling common stock, according to a Monday filing.
The company allocated $132.2 million toward repurchasing its STRC preferred shares, while the remainder went toward dividend payments and strengthening its cash position.
Strategy’s cash reserves now stand at approximately $4.8 billion, while its Bitcoin holdings remain unchanged at 840,447 BTC.
MSTR rose about 1.3% in premarket trading, while STRC was little changed.
Bitcoin and traditional risk assets move higher
Risk assets opened higher Monday, with Bitcoin, gold and silver all recording gains.
Bitcoin rose roughly 1% over 24 hours to trade above $63,500. Gold moved closer to $4,400 an ounce, while silver held just below $66.
Memory stocks also rallied before the market opened. The Roundhill Memory ETF climbed more than 4.5%, extending its recovery from July lows to about 35%, while Sandisk advanced more than 4%.
Micron Technology gained roughly 3%, and the Invesco QQQ added more than 0.5%.
Hormuz shipping disruption revives oil concerns
The U.S.-Iran ceasefire was due to expire Monday with no new agreement in sight, while commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had dropped dramatically.
Kpler data showed just five cargo ships passing through the waterway Saturday and none on Sunday, compared with 31 during the previous weekend.
Traffic is now about 90% below prewar levels through a waterway that normally handles roughly 20% of global oil shipments.
Tehran reportedly said it had reached an agreement with Oman to reopen the strait if Washington removes its naval blockade, according to CNBC.
Any prolonged disruption could push oil prices higher, adding to inflation pressures and potentially reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance.
Higher crude prices could also strengthen the dollar and Treasury yields, creating another headwind for Bitcoin just as ETF demand begins showing signs of recovery.
Bitcoin remained around $63,300 Monday and continued to trade below $64,000.
HIVE rallies on $350 million GPU cloud contract
HIVE shares jumped about 9% in premarket trading after the company announced a five-year GPU cloud agreement worth $350 million.
The deal lifts HIVE’s contracted annual recurring revenue to around $180 million, with the company targeting $200 million by the fourth quarter of 2026.
HIVE’s fiscal Q1 2027 results showed revenue rising 73.5% year over year to $79.1 million, while high-performance computing revenue increased 52% to $7.1 million.
Dollar slides to lowest level since June
The Dollar Index fell to 99.29 early Monday, marking its lowest level since June 5, according to TradingView.
The decline pushed the index beneath the bullish trendline that had supported its advance from the January low of 95.55.
Continued dollar weakness could provide support for Bitcoin and other risk-sensitive assets.
Bitcoin ETF demand begins to turn higher
Bitcoin’s price remains stuck around $63,500, but ETF flows have shown a notable improvement, according to Yusuf Fakhro, a partner at ARP Digital.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than 14,000 BTC over the five days through Aug. 7, their strongest period since May.
Q3 has recorded approximately 11,000 BTC of net inflows so far, reversing some of the roughly 110,000 BTC in outflows seen during the latter part of Q2.
Fakhro said the shift suggests institutional investors have moved from selling toward buying, although overall market activity remains subdued.
Spot trading volumes have fallen to their lowest level in around two and a half years, while perpetual futures volumes have reached three-year lows. Market volatility is also close to multi-year lows.
Fakhro sees the combination of fresh demand and unusually thin trading activity as a potential sign that Bitcoin is forming a durable bottom. He views the cryptocurrency’s extended $60,000-$80,000 range and resistance to a deeper collapse as signs of market apathy rather than fundamental deterioration.
Still, risks remain on both sides. Bitcoin continues to trade between roughly $62,000 and $64,000, while elevated leverage could make any breakout more aggressive.
Perpetual futures open interest has remained above 300,000 BTC despite the sharp decline in trading volumes, leaving the market vulnerable to a large liquidation-driven move if prices break decisively in either direction.
