Every week, the Bitcoin Weekly Dispatch follows Bitcoin’s story in motion: tracking the markets, corporate moves, regulatory environment, mining progress, protocol upgrades, Lightning Network growth, and the new tools and products driving adoption.
In a week of sharp price swings, major corporate treasury buys, and fresh regulatory momentum, Bitcoin strengthened its foothold in global finance. While the market pulled back from record highs, institutional inflows and national reserve debates underscored long-term conviction, with many viewing the dip as healthy consolidation.
Bitcoin Price Action
Bitcoin endured a turbulent week, starting with a sharp correction from last Thursday’s all-time high above $124,000 to a low of $112,000 early in the week. The nearly 10% drop followed fading expectations of a September Fed rate cut — down from 98% to 69% (CME FedWatch Tool) after a hotter-than-expected U.S. PPI report — alongside a $400B liquidity drain from the U.S. Treasury General Account (TGA), which pressured both equities and crypto.
By Friday, Bitcoin staged a rebound after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish remarks, hinting at a possible 25bp cut in September due to rising employment risks. This briefly lifted BTC above $117,000 before momentum faded.
On Sunday, August 24th, markets were rattled by a $310M flash crash reportedly triggered by a single whale dumping 24,000+ BTC. The entity, which still holds roughly 152,874 BTC across associated addresses, had not moved funds in over six years. The coins originated from HTX deposits, and one address alone continues to hold about 5,266 BTC. Following the sell-off, Bitcoin traded around $110,800, closing the week near $113,450.
Despite finishing down 3.5% from its weekly open near $118,000, long-term sentiment remained intact. Bitwise forecast Bitcoin leading all assets with 28.3% annualized growth over the next decade, while Bill Miller IV suggested that even a 1% allocation of global retirement funds could lift Bitcoin’s price by $30,000 — with 2% still a “conservative” target.
Corporate Treasury Expansions and Acquisitions
Corporate adoption of Bitcoin as a treasury asset accelerated this week, with more purchases, strategic financial maneuvers, and growing institutional custody reinforcing Bitcoin’s integration into mainstream finance, though some warn that the potential for outsized returns may be diminishing.
- MicroStrategy’s Continued Accumulation: MicroStrategy, the leading corporate Bitcoin holder, acquired an additional 430 BTC for $51.4 million at an average price of approximately $119,535 per BTC. MicroStrategy’s total holdings now stand at 629,376 BTC, solidifying its position as the top corporate Bitcoin holder globally.
- KindlyMD’s First Major Purchase: KindlyMD (NASDAQ: NAKA), announced its first Bitcoin purchase since completing its merger with Nakamoto Holdings, Inc, acquiring 5,743.91 BTC. The purchase is valued at $679 million at an average price of approximately $118,205 per BTC.
- Metaplanet’s Expansion: Japan’s Metaplanet, Asia’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, purchased an additional 775 BTC for $93 million, bringing its total holdings to 18,888 BTC, valued at approximately $2.18 billion. This acquisition marks 60.4% completion of Metaplanet’s plan to own 30,000 BTC by the end of 2025. The company’s growing prominence was recognized with an upgrade from Small Cap to Mid Cap in the FTSE Global Equity Index, securing its inclusion in the FTSE Japan Index and FTSE World Index, potentially attracting further institutional investment.
- Amdax’s Bold Treasury Move: Dutch cryptocurrency service provider Amdax announced plans to launch a Bitcoin treasury company, AMBTS, on Euronext Amsterdam, aiming to hold up to 1% of Bitcoin’s total supply in custody for institutional investors.
⚠️ Skepticism on Treasury Returns: Despite the enthusiasm, Ledn CEO and co-founder Adam Reeds cautioned that the potential for significant returns from Bitcoin treasury strategies may be fading as the asset matures and adoption grows, suggesting that early-mover advantages seen by companies like MicroStrategy may not be replicable for newer entrants.
Reeds’ comments came as MicroStrategy’s stock (MSTR) fell 5.7% on Tuesday alone, closing at approximately $358.13, down 20% over the past month and 37% from its record high late last year, reflecting broader market pressures and concerns about dilution.
Recent coverage from Barron’s highlights mounting concerns: although Strategy MSTR experienced a 140% surge over the past year due to its Bitcoin holdings, analysts caution that the stock may face further losses. The core risk centers around its heavy reliance on leveraged Bitcoin exposure, which brings high volatility and limited financial flexibility. The stock is currently trading at a 1.34× premium relative to its Bitcoin holdings, making it vulnerable if Bitcoin’s rally falters.
Despite a year-to-date return of nearly 140%, Metaplanet’s stock also faced decline this week, falling roughly -10.5%, and is down about -30.2% over the past month.
The decline was exacerbated by a broader sell-off in Bitcoin treasury firms, a dip in Bitcoin’s price, and investor concerns following the announcement of updated MSTR Equity ATM Guidance. The new policy allows Strategy to issue shares when trading below 2.5 times its modified net asset value (mNAV), currently at 1.64, for purposes beyond debt repayment and preferred equity dividends, such as tactical Bitcoin purchases when deemed advantageous.
Some shareholders criticized this as a reversal from Q2 earnings guidance, which limited share issuance to debt and dividend obligations, raising fears of dilution. Others, however, viewed it as a bullish signal for Bitcoin, enabling the firm to acquire more BTC during price dips.
Strategy today announced an update to its MSTR Equity ATM Guidance to provide greater flexibility in executing our capital markets strategy. pic.twitter.com/AbyVqPgIbL
— Strategy (@Strategy) August 18, 2025
Bitcoin ETFs
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of about $1.18 billion, led by iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) with approximately $615 million, alongside large withdrawals from Fidelity’s FBTC, ARKB, and GBTC. The biggest single-day move came on August 20, with –$523 million in redemptions, marking one of the year’s largest daily outflows.
- Despite the broad pullback, a few funds like VanEck’s HODL and Franklin’s EZBC recorded modest inflows, signaling selective institutional accumulation amid cautious market sentiment.
- BlackRock’s Dominance as Custodian: BlackRock has emerged as the largest known Bitcoin custodian, surpassing major exchanges, with holdings of approximately 749,000 BTC, bolstered by recent purchases of 4,428 BTC and 930 BTC, according to CryptoQuant. Launched in January of last year, the exchange-traded fund has amassed over 781,000 bitcoins, a staggering amount equivalent to more than $88 billion.
Policy and Regulations
- The Winklevoss Twins Bitcoin Donation: Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the founders of Gemini, donated $21 million in Bitcoin (about 188.5 BTC) to launch the Digital Freedom Fund PAC, a new political action committee backing pro-crypto Republican candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. The PAC is explicitly aligned with President Trump’s crypto agenda, focusing on opposing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), protecting peer-to-peer transactions and software developers, and promoting “skinny” market structure legislation.
- Philippines’ Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Proposal: In a significant development, Philippine Congressman Miguel Luis Villafuerte introduced House Bill 421, the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act,” proposing that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) acquire 10,000 BTC over five years (2,000 BTC annually) to establish a national Bitcoin reserve. The assets would be held in cold storage for at least 20 years, with limited liquidation allowed only for retiring sovereign debt, aiming to position Bitcoin alongside gold and foreign reserves for financial stability.
- Brazil discusses National Bitcoin Reserve: Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies took a historic step on August 20, 2025, holding its first public hearing on a proposal to establish a national Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The bill, introduced in November 2024, seeks to allow up to 5% of the country’s treasury funds to be used to buy Bitcoin, which translates to a potential investment of roughly $15 billion, assuming the central bank’s total reserves of about $300 billion as of February.
Bitcoin Mining
- Google Increases Stake in TeraWulf: Google has become the largest shareholder of Bitcoin miner-turned-AI infrastructure firm TeraWulf, securing a 14% equity stake by increasing its financial backstop in Fluidstack lease agreement — now totaling $3.2 billion in return for warrant rights to over 73 million shares. The deal supports Fluidstack’s long-term colocation expansion at TeraWulf’s Lake Mariner campus and, importantly, that backstop is tied solely to AI and high-performance computing lease revenue — not TeraWulf’s Bitcoin mining operations. Meanwhile, TeraWulf plans to maintain its mining platform while pivoting toward AI/HPC hosting as a core driver of future growth.
- Another Win for Solo Miners: A solo Bitcoin miner solved block #910,440 using Solo CKPool, earning 3.137 BTC, which was worth approximately $365,000 at the time. Remarkably, this is the first block that Solo CKPool has mined that has included sub 1sat/vB transactions.
Security and Legal Incidents
- $91M Social Engineering Scam: A victim lost 783 BTC (~$91.4M) after being tricked by fraudsters posing as exchange and wallet support. According to ZachXBT, the stolen funds are now being laundered through Wasabi Wallet.
This week underscored Bitcoin’s dual identity: a volatile, macro-sensitive asset in the short term, yet increasingly entrenched in corporate treasuries, ETFs, and even sovereign strategies. From a whale-driven flash crash to billion-dollar institutional flows, the market’s swings revealed both risk and resilience. For Bitcoiners, the message was clear — volatility is temporary, but adoption is accelerating, and the long-term trajectory remains firmly upward.
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