Crypto Week Ahead: Aug. 17-23
Markets will remain focused on the Federal Reserve’s battle to bring inflation lower without tipping the economy into recession or causing a sharp rise in unemployment. The release of the July FOMC minutes on Wednesday could offer fresh insight into policymakers’ views on the path of interest rates and the possibility of further tightening.
Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, puts the odds of a September rate hike at only 25%. He expects the Fed’s next increase to come in December, although he also anticipates inflation could pick up again in early 2027.
Geopolitical developments will also be important for markets, particularly because tensions can quickly affect volatility and crude oil prices.
Higher borrowing costs typically weigh on cryptocurrencies and other risk assets because they make safer investments more attractive.
In the crypto industry, European Union operators face a Sunday deadline to stop processing transactions involving 14 designated crypto platforms, making it one of the week’s most important regulatory developments.
Key Events to Watch
All times ET
Crypto
- Aug. 18: The revenue-sharing agreement between Coinbase and Circle covering USDC enters its first three-year renewal period.
- Aug. 23: The EU’s prohibition on transactions involving 14 named crypto-asset service providers takes effect.
Economic Data
- Aug. 17, 8:30 a.m.: Canada’s July CPI report. Annual inflation is expected at 2.6%, down from 2.8%.
- Aug. 18, 9:15 a.m.: U.S. July industrial production. Economists expect a 0.3% monthly increase, compared with 0.1% previously.
- Aug. 19, 2 a.m.: U.K. July CPI. Headline inflation is forecast at 3.0%, versus 2.6% previously, while the previous core reading was 2.6%.
- Aug. 19, 5 a.m.: Final July inflation data for the euro area. Headline CPI is expected at 2.9%, while core inflation is forecast at 2.5%.
- Aug. 19, 2 p.m.: Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July 28-29 meeting.
- Aug. 20, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 15. Estimates call for 201,000 claims versus 209,000 previously.
- Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m.: Japan’s July CPI report, with the previous headline reading at 1.7% and core inflation at 1.6%.
- Aug. 21, 2 a.m.: U.K. July retail sales, following a 1.0% monthly increase previously.
- Aug. 21, 4 a.m.: Preliminary August euro-area S&P Global Composite PMI, expected at 51.6 versus 52.0 previously.
- Aug. 21, 9:45 a.m.: Preliminary August U.S. S&P Global Composite PMI, forecast at 53.2 compared with 54.5 previously.
Corporate Earnings
- Aug. 17: BitFuFu (FUFU), before the market opens; expected EPS of $0.01.
- Aug. 18: Canaan (CAN), before the market opens; expected EPS of -$0.14.
- Aug. 18: BTCS Inc. (BTCS), after the market closes.
Governance Votes
- Compound: Proposals 595 and 596 would reduce interest rates on deprecated markets to zero and introduce additional layer-2 security measures. Voting ends Aug. 16.
- Frax Finance: FIP-450 and FIP-451 would add Gearbox and Royco yield strategies to sfrxUSD. Voting continues through Aug. 17.
- ShapeShift DAO: Members are voting on moving the rFOX staking program from Arbitrum to Ethereum mainnet on Oct. 1, with revenue-sharing rewards temporarily increasing to 50% for three months. Voting closes Aug. 18.
- Rocket Pool: A proposal would replace Snapshot with RocketDash as the DAO’s official offchain signaling platform. Voting ends Aug. 19.
- GnosisDAO: Members are considering converting Gnosis Chain from a standalone layer 1 into an Ethereum-settled rollup with synchronous composability. Voting closes Aug. 19.
- Decentraland DAO: A proposal seeks to establish clearer governance rules and an appeals process for platform-wide bans. Voting ends Aug. 19.
- THORSwap: TIP-19 proposes a 1:1 migration of THOR tokens to METRO on Ethereum mainnet. Voting closes Aug. 22.
Token Unlocks
- Aug. 17: Aster (ASTER) — 1.8% of circulating supply, worth approximately $28.3 million.
- Aug. 18: Official Trump (TRUMP) — 4.1%, valued at about $40 million.
- Aug. 20: LayerZero (ZRO) — 4.5%, worth roughly $24.8 million.
- Aug. 20: Kaito (KAITO) — 6.2%, valued at approximately $11.7 million.
- Aug. 21: Avalanche (AVAX) — 0.7%, worth around $23.1 million.
- Aug. 21: Morpho (MORPHO) — 3.9%, valued at about $22.7 million.
- Aug. 21: Akedo Games (AKE) — 4.9%, worth approximately $14.1 million.
Token Launches
No major token launches are currently confirmed for the week.
Conferences
- Aug. 17-20: Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026 in Wyoming.
- Aug. 20-21: Coinfest Asia 2026 in Bali.
