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Bitcoin rebounded towards $81,000, boosted by a positive reaction in risk assets following Nvidia's strong Q2 earnings beat of $96.2 billion. The move helped BTC reclaim the $80,000 level as market attention turned to an upcoming keynote speech by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium. Analysts noted that sell-side pressure above $82,000 appears to be weakening ahead of a major $6.58 billion Bitcoin options expiry event on Friday, which could pave the way for a cleaner path toward $85,000 if resistance is broken.

Russia's largest bank, Sber, intends to expand its cryptocurrency-backed lending services to include Tether's USDt stablecoin and Ether as collateral, in addition to Bitcoin, following the enactment of a new Russian crypto law. The expansion is contingent upon approval from the Bank of Russia, which recently proposed these assets for regulated exchange trading. Concurrently, Sber has expressed skepticism regarding demand for Russia's central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, noting a lack of clear interest from retail, corporate, or institutional clients ahead of its broader launch.

Balancer, a decentralized exchange, has proposed an orderly wind-down of its protocol. The proposal follows a failed restructuring attempt after Balancer Labs shut down in March. CEO Marcus Hardt stated that while cost-cutting and product delivery were successful, revenue failed to materialize. This shortfall is attributed to the lasting negative impact of a major exploit in November 2025, which Hardt admitted he underestimated. Revenue has sharply declined since the exploit. The wind-down plan involves phasing out operations, allowing liquidity providers to exit, and eventually distributing the remaining treasury (over $9 million) to BAL tokenholders. A Snapshot vote is scheduled for late September to decide the proposal's fate.

Crypto lender Arch Lending plans to expand into loans backed by tokenized stocks, citing the rapid growth of the onchain equity market and a current lack of lending options against such assets. Co-founder Himanshu Sahay stated the move will happen "pretty soon," pointing to tokenized equities from firms like Superstate, Robinhood, and Securitize. While Arch has recently launched loans backed by tokenized gold, its loan book is still dominated by Bitcoin (over 80%). The tokenized equity lending market is already developing, with examples like Ondo Finance's ETF-backed loans on Morpho, and Kraken and Coinbase integrating tokenized stocks for margin and DeFi uses. The total value of distributed tokenized stocks has surged to about $3.15 billion from roughly $630 million a year ago.

Bitcoin is poised for its best Q3 performance since 2017 with gains exceeding 40%, despite facing new resistance near $85,700 due to shifting exchange liquidity. The cryptocurrency closed the week at $84,450, its highest since late January, before dipping to one-week lows. Key upcoming events include the monthly and quarterly closes, which will occur near significant price levels like the 2026 yearly open at $88,700 and ETF investor cost bases. Markets are pricing in a 70% chance of a 0.25% Fed rate hike in October, with attention on upcoming August PCE inflation and September jobs data. Geopolitical tensions and oil price volatility add to the macroeconomic uncertainty. Analysis by Rekt Capital suggests Bitcoin must defend the $82,500 support level to confirm a bullish reversal pattern similar to the 2022 bear market recovery. Holding this level could lead to a consolidation range above it, while a break below risks a retreat into the $60,000-$80,000 range.