Happy Friday! Welcome to the 36th instalment of the Coinbyte Weekly Wrap.

The market traded in a relatively stable but slightly weaker range this week, with BTC reaching a high of US$79,818.34 and a low of US$74,944.60, before settling at around US$76,517. Bitcoin posted a weekly decline of 0.52%, reflecting relatively limited movement over the past seven days.

Major altcoins showed a mixed performance over the past seven days. BNB and Solana led the gains, rising 3.27% and 2.05% respectively, while Cardano recorded the largest decline among the listed major altcoins at 8.55%. TRX and Dogecoin also fell 1.79% and 2.15%, while Ether slipped 0.50%. USDC edged up 0.01% over the week.

Trading activity across major cryptocurrencies remained active: BTC average daily volume over the past seven days reached approximately US$26.5bn, while USDT recorded around US$63.1bn. ETH and SOL recorded approximately US$15.6bn and US$3.0bn respectively. Meanwhile, Bitmine increased its holdings by 27,180 ETH, while Strive’s Bitcoin holdings surpassed 25,000 BTC, with treasury transactions continuing to progress.

Market volatility also remained a key theme, with advisor Tom DeMark expecting significant volatility over the coming weeks.

Overall, this week’s market action showed relatively limited movement in Bitcoin, while major altcoins delivered mixed performances. At the same time, continued ETH and BTC treasury accumulation and expectations of increased volatility remained notable themes across the market.

Beyond price action, regulatory developments and blockchain adoption remained key themes this week. The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, leaving a broader digital asset regulatory framework stalled, while Solana recorded a record 263,000+ new SPL tokens minted in a single day. Institutional adoption also continued to expand, with Standard Chartered highlighting Arbitrum’s role in blockchain infrastructure for traditional financial institutions, while the UK FCA explored a dedicated regulatory framework for tokenized gold.

The convergence between crypto infrastructure and AI also gained momentum. JPMorgan upgraded IREN and raised its price target, citing the company’s shift from Bitcoin mining toward AI infrastructure and its expanding AI cloud business. Meanwhile, Anthropic and OpenAI continued to focus on AI safety, development pacing and industry coordination, highlighting the growing importance of governance alongside technological development.

Together, these developments show that the digital asset industry is continuing to evolve across regulation, blockchain adoption, institutional infrastructure and tokenization, while crypto-related infrastructure is increasingly connecting with the broader AI ecosystem.

Performance

Newsflow

Regulation | CLARITY Act Vote Falls Short

The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act after the bill fell short of the 60 votes needed for a procedural vote, with the final vote at 49-50. The bill aims to establish a broader regulatory framework for digital assets, but disagreements over ethics provisions and President Trump’s crypto interests remain a key obstacle. link

Adoption | Solana Mints Record 263K Tokens

Solana recorded a record 263,000+ new SPL tokens minted in a single day, more than five times the daily peak seen during the December 2024 memecoin cycle. Of 40,360 tokens launched through launchpads, Pump.fun accounted for 34,184, highlighting the continued scale of token creation across the Solana ecosystem. link

More News

Institution | Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Arbitrum’s ARB token with a US$10 price target for end-2030, citing its growing role in providing blockchain infrastructure for traditional financial institutions. The bank expects tokenized assets to reach US$4 trillion by 2028, while external chains such as Robinhood Chain are already contributing fees to Arbitrum. link

Tokenization | The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is exploring a bespoke regulatory regime for tokenized gold and potential exemptions from existing fund rules. The regulator is seeking industry views on whether tokenization could make gold easier to trade, transfer and use as collateral, as part of its broader push to develop tokenized wholesale markets. link

Institution | JPMorgan upgraded IREN from Underweight to Overweight and raised its price target from US$46 to US$65, citing the Bitcoin miner’s growing shift toward AI infrastructure. The bank highlighted IREN’s US$5.5 billion Nvidia deal and its expanding AI cloud business, reflecting the broader move among crypto miners to repurpose power and data-center infrastructure for AI computing. link

Regulation | The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act in a 49-50 procedural vote, leaving the bill stalled. Crypto industry executives said the near-term focus may shift to SEC and CFTC rulemaking, but warned that agency rules can be changed by future administrations, leaving businesses facing continued regulatory uncertainty. link

AI | Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a temporary slowdown in frontier AI development, proposing independent safety evaluations, industry coordination and international cooperation. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk also expressed support for the proposal, highlighting growing industry attention on AI safety and governance. link

AI | OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the company will not go public in 2026, citing ongoing work on AI safety and alignment. Altman also said OpenAI supports pacing frontier AI development and suggested leading AI companies could work together on safety standards and coordination. link

Disclaimer: This newsletter and its contents are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice from BYTEATLAS PTY LTD, trading as CoinByte AU (“CoinByte”). CoinByte is not a licensed financial adviser. Readers should not make any investment decisions based on this newsletter without independent research and advice from a qualified professional. The information may be incomplete or inaccurate, and CoinByte makes no representations about its accuracy. Opinions expressed in quoted material are those of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect CoinByte’s views. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile and risky. Use of this information is at your own risk, and CoinByte is not liable for any losses arising from its use.