Bitcoin Holds $78K, Solana Gains 40% in August as ETFs See $153M Weekly Inflows

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by marketcap, is holding above $78,000 on Monday even as a stronger dollar, rising oil prices and renewed geopolitical tensions create a risk-off backdrop for crypto markets.

Bitcoin briefly fell below $77,000 in the early hours before recovering, leaving it down less than 1% over 24 hours. The cryptocurrency remains up more than 24% in August, putting it on track for its strongest monthly performance since 2017 and its largest monthly gain since November 2024.

Solana Leads the Majors

Solana leads Monday's declines among major cryptocurrencies, falling roughly 3% in the past day. Despite that, the weekly picture looks considerably stronger for Solana. After reaching a weekly high of $110 over the weekend, $SOL has slipped to about $102 but remains up more than 7% over the past week. That gives it the strongest weekly performance among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Solana remains up more than 40% in August. With Monday marking the final day of the month, $SOL remains on course for its largest monthly green candle since 2024.

The network also maintains the top position in DEX volume across daily, weekly and monthly timeframes. Last week, Solana completed voting on 3 major governance proposals and recorded its biggest week ever for token launches, with more than 800,000 new tokens created.

Solana ETFs Post Record Inflows

Institutional demand has also strengthened. U.S. spot Solana ETFs recorded more than $153 million in net inflows last week, marking their strongest week of 2026 and setting a new yearly record.

Only the final week of October 2025, when U.S. spot Solana ETFs launched, produced larger weekly inflows.

The strong ETF demand comes alongside Solana's broader market gains, although the latest price pullback shows that institutional flows have not insulated $SOL from wider macroeconomic pressure.

Saylor Returns to Bitcoin Buying

Strategy made its first Bitcoin purchases since late June, adding 4,603 $BTC for $369.7 million last week at an average price of $80,318.

The company funded the acquisition through $602.8 million in common-stock sales. It allocated the remaining proceeds to $151.8 million in STRC preferred-stock buybacks and additional cash reserves.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor now leads a company holding 845,050 $BTC acquired for $63.73 billion at an average price of $75,412 per Bitcoin.

Strategy was not alone in adding exposure. Bitcoin treasury firm Strive purchased 1,800 $BTC last week for $143 million, paying an average of $79,431 per coin. The purchase brings Strive's holdings to 23,156 $BTC, worth nearly $1.8 billion.

Iran conflict sends oil above $90

Geopolitical tensions added another source of pressure to markets after U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers, triggering retaliation against local military bases and pushing crude prices sharply higher.

President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that "Iran is officially a Failed Nation".

Following the declaration, brent crude climbed over 3% to $90 per barrel, while WTI rose 3% to $86.3. The oil surge has renewed inflation concerns and could complicate the Federal Reserve's interest-rate outlook.

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