The Daily: Is bitcoin's rally the real turnaround? Bernstein thinks so, plus more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Friday! Are we so back? Bitcoin is flirting with $80,000 after its strongest weekly rally in years, as a historic short squeeze and improving macro sentiment reignite the crypto market.

In today's newsletter, Bernstein says bitcoin's surge toward $80,000 points to a liquidity-driven momentum shift, Strategy shares hit a two-month high with its bitcoin back in the black, Shinhan partners with the Solana Foundation for tokenized fund issuance, and more.

Meanwhile, inside the Oval Office meeting, President Trump appeared "bullish" on the Clarity Act as he solicited feedback from crypto and finance CEOs, Sarah Wynn reports.

P.S. Don't forget to check out today's reader poll on Standard Chartered's year-end bitcoin price prediction later in the newsletter.

Bitcoin surge toward $80,000 points to liquidity-driven momentum shift as ETF flows rebound: Bernstein

Bernstein said bitcoin's two-day surge toward $80,000 could mark a broader momentum shift, driven by improving liquidity, rebounding ETF demand, and a friendlier regulatory backdrop.

• Bitcoin hit as high as $79,500 Friday before easing to around $77,000, a rally the analysts tied to the U.S. Treasury's plans to double the size of its longer-dated debt buybacks to $4 billion per operation.
• The analysts said bitcoin historically reacts well to such liquidity expansion, and expect more of it to flow into the asset as a hedge as AI spending increasingly taps debt markets.
• Spot bitcoin ETF flows have also turned, drawing $1.6 billion in net inflows this week, including $606.3 million on Thursday alone, led by BlackRock's IBIT, after some $7 billion in outflows over May and June.
• Meanwhile, Strategy's balance sheet has stabilized, the analysts said, with its 840,447 BTC now back above the $75,385 average cost for an unrealized profit of nearly $2 billion, amid expectations of resumed buying.
• Bernstein also sees greater regulatory certainty coming with or without the Clarity Act, via accelerated SEC and CFTC rulemaking.

Strategy shares hit two-month high as STRC rebounds toward $100 alongside bitcoin

Strategy shares hit a two-month high on Friday, rising 7.5% above $120 as bitcoin briefly touched $79,500 and the company's STRC preferred stock climbed back above $96 toward its $100 target.

• STRC, which funded much of Strategy's recent bitcoin buying, had previously sunk below $70 in a June selloff that stoked fears the firm couldn't cover its 12% dividend rate.
• The rebound follows Strategy's $333.7 million MSTR share sale last week, which the firm used to fund STRC dividends and buybacks while boosting its USD reserve to $4.8 billion, but not buying any bitcoin.
• Meanwhile, TD Cowen pushed back on MSCI's proposal to drop treasury firms like Strategy from its index, calling the methodology arbitrary and "DOA."

South Korea's Shinhan partners with Solana Foundation, Etherfuse, Orca for tokenized fund issuance

Shinhan Asset Management, one of South Korea's largest financial firms with about $97 billion under management, signed a four-way agreement with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse, and Orca to pilot a tokenized fund.

• The proof-of-concept involves issuing and distributing a Korean won-denominated tokenized fund, modeled on BlackRock's BUIDL, allowing overseas institutions to buy a KRW ultra-short-term bond.
• The pilot will test know-your-customer and anti-money laundering frameworks, security audits, blockchain operations, and onchain liquidity design against both domestic and international rules.
• National Assembly amendments to create a legal framework for security token offerings, set to take effect in February 2027, have also spurred other South Korean financial giants into tokenization.

Anchorage CEO says AI agents need bank accounts for 'The Jetsons'-like future

Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley said AI agents will become "first-class economic actors" that carry out transactions across cash, card, and crypto rails, likening the future to "The Jetsons."

• The crypto-native bank has built an agentic banking platform with a "know-your-agent" setup, allowing institutions to fund and control AI agents acting on their behalf.
• McCauley argued agents need actual bank accounts, rather than simply giving AI systems a way to make payments, allowing them to both send and receive funds.
• He also expects a wave of agent-driven microtransactions, citing blockchain gas fees as a model, with agents paying per API call rather than subscribing to services.

MANTRA freezes all transactions and network following incident

MANTRA Chain, a Layer 1 focused on real-world asset tokenization, halted its network and froze all transactions on Friday as a precaution after discovering an incident, seeing its MANTRA token fall over 10%.

• MANTRA later said it had identified the root cause of the issue and "contained the immediate threat," with no user funds exploited.
• The incident was isolated to the Cosmos EVM module of MANTRA Chain and affected two wallet addresses, according to the team, with remediation efforts currently underway and resumption possible within the day, subject to successful testing.

Looking head to next week

• U.S. PCE and GDP data are due on Wednesday. U.S. jobless claims figures are out on Thursday.
• U.S. FOMC member Thomas Barkin will speak on Tuesday and Wednesday. U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh speaks on Friday.
• Meteora and Blast are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
• ETH Belgrade, Solana Summit Serbia, and Bitcoin Asia all get underway. The Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium also begins.

Reader poll

Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick says bitcoin could revisit its $126,000 all-time high by year-end. Will it get there?

YES, NEW ALL-TIME HIGH

NO, FALLS SHORT

One click records your pick. We'll share the answer in a later edition.

In last Friday's poll, 57% of you said index providers like MSCI shouldn't kick out bitcoin-treasury companies such as Strategy and Metaplanet, preferring to let investors decide.

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