Venor MarketsMarket PulseHomeVenor MarketsMarket PulseHomeFX, gold and oil are closed — crypto trades on. Session preps resume Sunday 21:00 UTC. Updated 2026-08-23 12:55 UTC.
It was one of those weeks where the old script gets torn up. Headline after headline asked a question that's becoming uncomfortable for Washington: the Treasury's bond-market intervention isn't working — so what comes next? Add CryptoRank's report that foreign investors dumped $29 billion in Treasury bills, with Washington now pivoting to stablecoin issuers to help back US debt, and you have markets trying to price a brand-new playbook.
Gold responded the way gold does. FOREX.com notes it climbed almost 7.5% after a sharp rebound, pressing into a key resistance zone as the week closed. Crypto had its strongest rally in months — CoinDesk called it a "squeeze-led" surge where Treasury intervention, regulatory moves and a historic short squeeze collided. Geopolitics simmered underneath: US-Iran tensions kept the Strait of Hormuz in focus, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs after trade talks broke down, and Turkey quietly repealed the regulation that brought under-the-mattress gold into the financial system.
Our own Technical Barometer set the tone this week, and it's broadly constructive.
Gold is our clearest bull. We read it as BULLISH CLEAR at 77/100 — daily, H4 and H1 all pointing up, with H4 RSI at 72.6. Major support sits at 4,526.92, and there's no tested ceiling above. Plain words: buyers are firmly in control, though price is stretched.
GBP/USD follows with a clear bullish tilt (73/100) — D1 and H4 up — with support at 1.36222 and resistance at 1.36563. EUR/USD is constructive (65/100) on the higher timeframes, with major support at 1.15380 underpinning the bull case. USD/JPY is the odd one out: genuinely neutral at 44/100, with nothing on the daily or H4 charts committing to direction. Oil reads bullish at 70/100, holding above support at 84.50 with resistance at 86.90 — and with Hormuz headlines swirling, energy traders are watching that range closely.
Crypto is the one market open all weekend, so this is your live action. Bitcoin and Ethereum both read BULLISH LEANING at 67/100 on our barometer. Bitcoin's H4 RSI is hot at 71.6, with major support at 76,577.3 and resistance at 77,476.4. Ethereum has been the star of the show: TechStock² reports Ether gained 29.6% in seven days, beating bitcoin by 6.9 percentage points. The squeeze was the week's engine — KuCoin notes short sellers got trapped as Treasury and stablecoin moves pushed prices higher.
The street is watching for the next leg. FXStreet says bitcoin's range trade hints at a looming volatility burst, while Yellow.com's technical analysis points to a potential $4,200 breakout for Ethereum — a third-party call, not ours, but worth knowing. The regulatory backdrop is thickening too: the EU blocked 14 crypto platforms from August 23, Nigeria is weighing a capital floor that could cut local access to global platforms, and NoOnes — a P2P marketplace serving 2.5 million users — began winding down after sanctions.
The big debate is the Treasury one. City Index UK frames it well: the Treasury is fighting market forces just as Warsh wants them to do more of the work — and the battle over who sets long-term borrowing costs could define the weeks ahead. Bessent and Warsh now dominate the conversation, and what they say at Jackson Hole and in speeches will move markets.
Gold sentiment has shifted decisively. Kitco reports Wall Street went full-bull on gold as rate-hike bets recede, with Main Street holding a bullish majority ahead of the Fed minutes. FOREX.com's question — can gold hold above $4,500? — is on everyone's lips. And with JPMorgan's tokenized Treasury product surging to $884.6M in three months, the intersection of TradFi, crypto and government debt is the theme of the season.
A heavyweight calendar. Monday brings Treasury Secretary Bessent speaking. Wednesday is the big one: Australian CPI early, then US Core PCE and Preliminary GDP back-to-back. Thursday kicks off Jackson Hole. Friday closes with Fed Chairman Warsh speaking and the Preliminary Benchmark Payrolls Revision. Kiplinger flags more key inflation data and a major Fed speech on the menu — volatility should have no trouble finding an excuse.
- Gold's test of the key resistance zone ahead of CPI (FOREX.com).
- The Fed-speak chorus: Bessent Monday, Jackson Hole Thursday, Warsh Friday.
- Whether the Treasury-stablecoin story keeps moving markets.
- Oil's reaction to any Hormuz headlines against its 84.50–86.90 range.
- Crypto's weekend action — can the squeeze extend, or does it fade into next week's data?
Keep the coffee warm, keep the position sizes small, and keep learning.
Remember: this is education and context, not investment advice.