Ethereum's top sandwich bot made $295M, then lost $7.5M

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[1] MEV Explained: Ethereum's Top Sandwich Bot Made $295M, Then Lost $7.5M (https://news.bitcoin.com/learning-insights/me ...)

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Aug 30 2026, 12:49

Bitcoin stalls at $78,000 as hawkish Fed triggers 5.7% pullback

Bitcoin fell 5.7% to $76,845 after a hawkish Fed speech and now trades at $78,019, unable to close above the $78,670 level that capped May's rally. CoinGlass logged about $486 million in liquidations across roughly 95,731 traders on Friday, with longs taking $368 million, as the leverage flush compounded the macro shock. US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $201.81 million in net outflows on 28 August, snapping a nine-day inflow streak that had pulled close to $3 billion into the funds since 17 August. ARK 21Shares ARKB drove the reversal with $114.9 million out, followed by Bitwise BITB at $49.7 million and BlackRock IBIT at just $33.4 million. Everything hinges on a daily close above $78,670 with volume behind it; a second rejection there reopens $72,170, the 200-day EMA, and then $65,000, given how little volume sits in between. The trigger was macro, not crypto. On Friday 28 August, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivered his first Jackson Hole keynote, pointing at PCE inflation still running 3.7 percent year over year and a hotter 4.1 percent annualized over the previous six months. Markets repriced fast: September rate-hike odds on CME FedWatch jumped to roughly 56 percent from 35 percent a day earlier, touching 60 percent intraday. Gold fell 2.4 percent, US equities gave up early gains, and Bitcoin dropped from $81,455 to a low of $76,845 before closing near $77,800. Altcoins took the flush harder. Ethereum closed at $2,443, down 2.70 percent; Solana at $104.13, down 4.65 percent; XRP at $1.3833, down 4.80 percent. **The ETF tell** The distribution of Friday's ETF outflows matters. IBIT's small share of the redemptions suggests profit-taking after a fast rally, not a broad institutional exit. August month-to-date inflows still sit above $3.1 billion, the strongest month of 2026, and the funds collectively hold more than a million bitcoin. Ether ETFs went the other way entirely, adding $102 million on the same day for a tenth straight session of inflows. Still, ETF creations force funds to buy spot and redemptions force them to sell; if outflows extend this week, the market loses the bid that held $80,000. **The chart** Bitcoin bottomed near $62,277 in mid-August, went near-vertical, cleared the 200-day EMA at $72,170 in days, and ran straight into $78,670. The problem is that $78,670 is the same level that capped the early May rally. Back then BTC consolidated just under it for two weeks, failed, and collapsed to the low $60,000s by June. The current structure is a near-perfect echo, with one key difference: in May the 200 EMA was overhead and falling; today it sits below price at $72,170 and has started to flatten. Momentum is cooling. Daily RSI reads 71.03, overbought, and has already crossed below its own moving average at 74.90. The move up was fast enough to leave a volume vacuum between roughly $68,000 and $76,000, air that cuts both ways. The bull case needs a daily close above $78,670, ETF flows back in net inflow this week, and the $76,700 to $77,300 area holding on a retest. Get all three and $81,000 falls, with $88,000 open behind it. The bear case needs one thing: a second rejection here followed by a loss of $72,170, which reopens $65,000 fast. The base case is chop: ranging between $74,450 and $78,670 while RSI cools is the healthiest outcome for the bulls. Sentiment is the risk. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index hit 72 on 28 August against a 30-day average of 42; when positioning gets that crowded that fast, small events produce outsized selling. Friday proved it. Watch the ETF prints Monday through Wednesday. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Aug 30 2026, 12:22

Bitwise BSOL crosses $1B AUM as XRP ETFs trail Solana

Bitwise's Solana Staking ETF crossed $1 billion in AUM on Aug. 26, the first US-listed Solana fund to hit that mark in 10 months. The fund held 9.33 million SOL worth approximately $1.018 billion, with 96 percent of assets staked through a Helius-powered program generating a 5.80 percent net reward rate over 90 days. "Most of the approximately $1 billion of inflows have come in a bear market, an impressive indication of investor conviction," Bitwise said on X. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the category's $1.7 billion in cumulative flows was "impressive" given the sector avoided prolonged outflows during a difficult first half. The milestone arrived as Solana spot ETFs posted their strongest 10-day inflow stretch on record at $138 million, including a $47 million single-day inflow on Aug. 25, according to Glassnode. BSOL captured roughly 79 percent of the category's cumulative flows. Goldman Sachs disclosed $88.1 million in holdings across three US Solana ETF products as of June 30, making the bank the largest known institutional holder. The fund recorded $126 million in single-day trading volume on Friday, a new high. The milestone highlights a widening gap between Solana and XRP ETF markets. Bitwise's CEO said XRP ETFs are growing steadily but have yet to enter the "big league" of billion-dollar crypto funds. The divergence comes as Solana's governance community approved faster disinflation — doubling the annual rate from 15 percent to 30 percent — while rejecting a proposed fee-and-burn structure. BSOL shares remain roughly 40 percent below their listing price, while SOL trades about 60 percent below its all-time high. SOL fell 4.26 percent to $103.58 over 24 hours, tracking broader crypto weakness after hawkish Federal Reserve commentary. The token had gained nearly 45 percent over the month preceding the milestone. Charles Schwab, which manages $12 trillion in assets, said it would begin rolling out spot Solana trading in the coming months. Cumulative trading volume for spot Solana ETFs has surpassed $13 billion since their September 2025 launch, according to The Block data. Investor flow data for the first half of 2026 showed advisers were net buyers during the second quarter, while hedge funds were net sellers. Net subscriptions totaled $267.1 million in the first six months, lifting holdings from 5.15 million SOL to 8.05 million SOL by June 30. The fund charges a 0.20 percent management fee and targets full deployment of eligible assets for staking. Staking rewards accrue in SOL and remain inside the portfolio rather than being distributed as cash, meaning they can add tokens backing each share over time. Bitwise cautioned that rates vary and are not guaranteed. ## XRP ETF market still short of billion-dollar mark The XRP ETF market has grown steadily but has yet to produce a billion-dollar fund. Bitwise's CEO framed the comparison as a reality check for XRP investors, noting that Solana's regulated staking products have attracted a different scale of institutional capital. Cumulative inflows across Solana ETFs represent roughly 2.2 percent of SOL's total market capitalization. The gap reflects structural differences between the two assets. Solana ETFs offer staking yields, giving investors a passive income stream on top of price exposure. XRP ETFs, by contrast, provide no yield mechanism, making them less attractive in a low-yield environment. The sustained inflows despite a bear market suggest institutional demand for regulated staking products is not a passing trend. As the regulatory environment evolves, similar products could emerge for other networks, potentially reshaping how institutions access crypto yields. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Aug 30 2026, 12:19

Market makers pivot to yield strategies as bitcoin tops $80,000

Bitcoin's 25% rally above $80,000 last week pushed market makers to pivot from directional bets to yield-generating strategies, with basis trades and funding rate harvesting now dominating desk activity. "Market makers are quietly collecting yield rather than making directional bets," according to CoinDesk Research, which tracks order book depth and trading desk behavior across major exchanges. The shift comes as Bitcoin's average 0.5% market depth across major spot exchanges stood at roughly $9.6 million in BTC on Aug. 18, the day the rally began from around $64,000, in line with the $9 million record on Jan. 1. Depth pulled back slightly to $8.7 million by Aug. 25 when BTC reached $80,000 but remained within normal variance. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $2.36 billion of net inflows last week, their strongest week since early October 2025, with $537 million on Aug. 20 and $659 million on Aug. 21. The pivot to yield strategies suggests reduced speculative volatility but sustained market liquidity, potentially supporting a more stable yet upward-trending market. Bitcoin's realized capitalization increased by over $4.6 billion in the week ending Aug. 30, coinciding with the price rally, though the 30-day average growth rate remains low at 0.4 percent, meaning the liquidity expansion is not yet confirmed. **Basis trades and funding rates** Basis trades — buying spot bitcoin while shorting perpetual futures to capture the funding rate differential — have become the preferred strategy for market makers seeking low-risk returns. Funding rates on major exchanges have remained positive throughout the rally, rewarding those holding long spot positions hedged with short futures. The strategy differs from the directional positioning seen during Bitcoin's October 2025 run to record highs above $120,000, when market makers aggressively accumulated spot inventory. Ether and Solana show the same pattern in their respective order books, with 0.5% higher depth on Aug. 25 than in October. **Macro backdrop and next levels** The U.S. Treasury's decision to at least double its purchases of government bonds with longer maturities from $2 billion to $4 billion a month triggered the rally, reviving the "debasement trade" as investors rotate into scarce assets. U.S. government debt stands at a record high around $40 trillion. Bitcoin traded at $78,634 as of 14:30 UTC on Aug. 30, after briefly touching highs above $81,300 earlier in the week. The pullback followed hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium, which pushed short-term Treasury yields higher and triggered roughly $200 million in long liquidations within a 60-minute window. Support sits at $75,800-$77,000, with a sustained break below potentially exposing BTC to $74,000. Resistance at $80,000-$81,500 remains the near-term hurdle for bulls. James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, expects bitcoin to remain within its current range unless the Federal Reserve provides clearer confirmation that the risk of further rate rises has disappeared. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.