Strategy (MSTR) rose 6% to $118 on Aug. 21, extending its five-session gain to 27%. The total crypto market cap climbed from $2.1 trillion on Aug. 19 to $2.5 trillion, while Bitcoin moved above $79,000 for the first time since May 2026 and surpassed Meta in market-cap rankings. Other crypto-linked stocks also advanced, with Coinbase (COIN) up 6.81% to $184 and Circle (CRCL) up 7% to $89.

Bitcoin rose past $79,000 and extended its rally. Crypto short positions and ETF inflows also surged. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is exploring potential crypto-related regulatory rules, Investor's Business Daily reported.

The U.S. Treasury has issued more than $100 billion in tariff refunds since May, exceeding half of the total revenue collected from IEEPA tariffs over the same period. Refunds hit $21.97 billion in May, topping that month’s collections for the first time, and surged to $49.18 billion in June, pushing net customs revenue to negative $25.56 billion. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found tariffs lifted prices of pharmaceuticals and household utensils by more than 4%. The jump in refunds is undermining the tariffs’ fiscal payoff.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the Department of Transportation’s decision to terminate Delta Air Lines’ immunized joint venture with Aeromexico, allowing the partnership to continue. The court said the DOT focused only on the Mexico City market rather than the broader U.S.–Mexico market analysis used when the pact was first approved in 2016. On U.S.–Mexico routes, American Airlines holds just over a 20% seat share, compared with just under 20% for the Delta–Aeromexico venture, while Mexico’s low-cost carrier Volaris has 19%, according to Cirium schedule data. The joint venture resumed after Mexico was returned to the FAA’s Category 1 safety rating in 2023.

U.S. stocks rose, with the S&P 500 up 0.37%, the Dow up 0.67%, and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.10%, as steady crude prices lifted sentiment. Bitcoin climbed more than 5% to a three-month high and is up more than 20% for the week, with more than $2 billion in short positions liquidated in the perpetual futures market since Wednesday. Markets are pricing in a 35% probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike in September. European equities also advanced, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.45%.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a new regulatory framework for digital assets, reshaping existing crypto rules. The framework is intended to provide clearer regulatory guidance for the digital asset market. Specific provisions and implementation details have yet to be released. The move is seen as a significant policy update that could have far-reaching implications for how the industry approaches compliance.

XRP rose nearly 20% over 24 hours, with trading volume climbing into the top tier globally. Ripple’s CEO held a closed-door meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to discuss a path forward for the Clarity Act, which could bring institutional capital into compliant tokens if enacted. On-chain data show 23% of XRP volume concentrated in the three-hour overlap between London and New York trading, a pattern often associated with institutional activity. Ripple minted more than 74 million RLUSD stablecoins and burned 35 million in a single day, while whales added more than 300 million XRP this week, taking total holdings to 16.36 billion.

Gold and silver prices in New Delhi rose to their highest levels in more than three months on Friday. Gold of 99.9% purity gained Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,63,500 per 10 grams, while silver climbed Rs 5,000 to Rs 2,50,000 per kilogram, marking a 15-week high. A weaker US dollar and firmer global markets helped lift safe-haven demand for precious metals.