Gate Daily (August 14): Bitcoin reaches a historic high of $124,000; altcoin Google searches hit a five-year high; Standard Chartered raises Ethereum target price to $7,500.

Bitcoin (BTC) has reached an all-time high, peaking at $124,474 on August 14. Meanwhile, altcoins are also on the rise, and Bitcoin Dominance has dropped to a range of 59-61%. Google searches for altcoins have reached a five-year high. Google has stated that the new rules for the Google Play Store will not restrict the listing of unregistered hosted wallets. Standard Chartered has raised its 2025 price forecast for Ethereum (ETH) from the previous $4,000 to $7,500.

Today's Outlook

1. Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July was 4.3%, previous value.

2. UK's June industrial output (year-on-year), previous value was -0.3%

3. UK Q2 GDP preliminary (quarterly), previous value was 0.7%.

4. UK June Goods Trade Balance (million GBP), previous value was -21688

5. UK Q2 GDP preliminary value (annual rate), previous value was 1.3%

6. Eurozone second quarter GDP revision (annualized), previous value was 1.4%

7. Eurozone Q2 GDP revision (quarterly), previous value was 0.1%

8, The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. last week, seasonally adjusted (in thousands) (as of 0809), was 226, previous value.

9. U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for July (year-on-year), previous value was 2.3%

10. Berkshire Hathaway, led by Buffett, submitted its 13-F report.

11. Chicago Fed Chair Goolsbee spoke on monetary policy.

12. The Bank of Canada released the minutes of the monetary policy meeting.

13. Atlanta Fed President Bostic speaks on the U.S. economic outlook.

Macro Events & Crypto Hotspots

1. Google's search activity for "altcoins" has reached its highest level in five years, comparable to the interest level at the time Ethereum was established. This surge aligns with changes in market structure, as Bitcoin's share of the entire cryptocurrency market peaked in mid-summer and has since declined to 60%. Such patterns often emerge prior to periods of strong performance by other cryptocurrencies. Subsequently, Ethereum reached a new high not seen in years, breaking through the $4,500 mark. Bitcoin's dominance has recently receded, falling into the 59-61% range, which historically indicates that capital begins to shift towards larger market cap altcoins such as Ethereum, Solana (SOL), and Ripple (XRP). The institutional market also appears to be experiencing similar rotation. CoinShares reported that late July saw a record weekly inflow for digital asset investment products, totaling $4.39 billion, with Ethereum inflows reaching $2.12 billion, nearly double the previous single-week inflow for that asset.

2. According to the updated policy, Google Play will require cryptocurrency wallet providers in 15 jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, to obtain a license and comply with "industry standards." This revision does not affect non-hosted wallets. According to Google Play's policy notice, these changes will take effect on October 29. Developers in the United States need to register as money service businesses or money transmitting businesses with local regulators, while developers in the European Union must register as cryptocurrency asset service providers (CASP). In the United States, companies registered as money service businesses with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) must meet specific requirements, including implementing a written anti-money laundering program. This may lead to broader adoption of "know your customer" investigations and other measures. In response to strong opposition from the cryptocurrency community, Google addressed concerns about the impact of this policy on X and stated, "Non-hosted wallets are not subject to the Google Play cryptocurrency exchange and software wallet policy. We are updating the Help Center to clarify this."

3. Standard Chartered Bank has raised its 2025 Ethereum price forecast from the previous $4,000 to $7,500, citing recent changes in U.S. regulations that have led to a surge in institutional purchases and accelerated adoption of stablecoins. In a report shared with Cointelegraph, the bank stated that since early June, funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have acquired 3.8% of all circulating ETH, nearly twice the fastest pace of similar increases in physical Bitcoin during the 2024 U.S. election cycle. Standard Chartered wrote: "Since our last update on ETH forecasts in March, there have been significant changes. The first strong positive signal is the active participation of the Ethereum Foundation and Etherialize, the two organizations behind the Ethereum ecosystem, in industry activities."

Market Trend

1. $BTC has reached a new all-time high again, touching a peak of 124,474 USD, with liquidations of 131 million USD in the past 24 hours, primarily in short positions;

2. The S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index of the U.S. stock market hit new closing highs for two consecutive days on August 13, with investors almost certain that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will restart interest rate cuts in September. U.S. Treasury Secretary Becerra also stated that it is very likely the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points (0.5 percentage points) next month, ultimately lowering rates by more than 150 basis points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 463.66 points, an increase of 1%, closing at 44,922.27 points; the S&P 500 Index rose by 20.82 points, an increase of 0.3%, closing at 6,466.58 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 31.24 points, an increase of 0.1%, closing at 21,713.14 points.

3. In the Gate BTC/USDT liquidation map, based on the current 123,338.30 USDT, if it drops to around 120,736 USD, the cumulative liquidation amount for long positions exceeds 483 million USD; if it rises to around 124,195 USD, the cumulative liquidation amount for short positions exceeds 112 million USD. The liquidation amount for shorts is significantly higher than that for longs, so it is recommended to reasonably control the leverage ratio to avoid triggering large-scale liquidations during market fluctuations.

4. In the past 24 hours, BTC spot inflow was $3.21 billion, outflow was $3.20 billion, with a net inflow of $0.01 billion.

5. In the past 24 hours, contracts such as $ETH, $SOL, $XRP, $ADA, $DOGE have seen net outflows leading, indicating trading opportunities.

News Updates

1. El Salvador has made a profit of 66 million USD from buying Bitcoin, with a yield of 115%.

2. MyStonks: The regulatory agency's investigation is focused only on a single user, and the platform's business operations are normal.

3. Bitcoin's market value surpasses Google, rising to the fifth position in global asset market value.

4. Mizuho Securities: The benchmark stock price of Circle (CRCL) is $84, and it may even drop to $40.

5. Google: The new rules of the Google Play Store will not restrict the listing of unregistered non-hosted wallets.

6. According to informed sources: The crypto Wallet MetaMask may announce details of the stablecoin mUSD this week.

7. Market News: Canary Trump Coin ETF has been registered in the state of Delaware, USA.

8. Offchain Labs acquires smart account development team ZeroDev

9. GMX has completed a compensation plan of approximately 44 million USD to address the V1 vulnerability issue.

10. The AI project Sapien will conduct its TGE on August 20, with 5% airdropped to early contributors.

11. Trump is considering 11 candidates to succeed the Federal Reserve Chair, including David Zervos and Rick Rieder.

12. U.S. Treasury Secretary Becerra: The Federal Reserve may cut rates by 50 basis points in September, and rates should be lowered by 150-175 basis points.

X KOL Selected Insights

Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): "Today's assignment isn't too difficult. Trump is still routinely criticizing Powell, believing that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates, and thinks that the current U.S. federal funds rate should only be 1%. This is actually a key point that should be examined next year, because once Trump has enough votes, he might just be targeting this goal. After the new Federal Reserve chairman is in place in May next year, this will be the market's biggest expectation. Additionally, today, Bessenet also joined in the fun, openly stating that the Federal Reserve should cut rates by 50 basis points in September, and it seems the market believes it. It looks like there’s no way to avoid a cut in September now; Powell is really being grilled here. If a rate cut happens, he will face pressure and be criticized, trying to curry favor with Trump. If not cut, although he can maintain his reputation, it’s highly likely he will be burned by the market. Even if there is a cut, but only by 25 basis points, Trump will probably still criticize him. So, Powell's situation in September is quite difficult, not to mention that there is also the dot plot in September. Speaking of the dot plot, it’s interesting to see who is Trump’s person; it will be clear at a glance."

"Looking back at the data for Bitcoin, as the price of BTC nearly breaks new highs again, the turnover rate is actually decreasing. Investors have shed macro data and returned to a situation of reduced selling pressure on BTC. Let's continue to watch BTC's performance, of course, this is also Trump's stage; if you don't believe it, you can't do it. There's not much to say about support; construction of the seventh support level has already begun. My only concern is whether there will be another gap in URPD if it breaks new highs. From the current perspective, the risk seems low, so let's wait and see."