Bitcoin at US$64,597: Crypto Wrap August 5, 2026 – the Rio Times
Key Facts
- Bitcoin settled at US$64,597 on Wednesday, a gain of 0.85% as the global macro backdrop steadied.
- Ethereum outpaced the market with a 2.04% climb to US$1,907, driven by a specific network upgrade proposal advancing to a testnet.
- XRP was the session’s laggard, falling 1.14% to US$1.061, as traders locked in profits following a sharp rally tied to a U.S. legal development earlier in the week.
- Argentina’s stablecoin volumes hit a new monthly peak in July, reaching US$1.2 billion across major exchanges as locals hedged against persistent two-percent monthly inflation.
- Brazil’s Federal Revenue reported 4.1 million crypto declarations for June, marking a 22% jump from May, with stablecoins making up 70% of all transfers.
- El Salvador’s energy ministry confirmed a 47-megawatt expansion at the Berlin geothermal site, backing the nation’s state-run Bitcoin mining and custody programme.
Today’s Focus
Bitcoin settled the Wednesday session at US$64,597, a 0.85% tick higher amid quieter sovereign bond markets. Ethereum stole the show with a 2.04% jump to US$1,907 after developers at Consensys confirmed the ‘Prague’ upgrade would hit the Holesky testnet on September 11.
XRP gave back 1.14% to close at US$1.061 as short-term traders banked gains from a U.S. court ruling that narrowed the SEC’s claims against Ripple. Solana traded virtually flat, adding just 0.33% to US$73.96, reflecting a market that rotated capital into Ether.
For Latin America, the on-chain data is more telling than the price ticks. Brazil’s tax authority saw 4.1 million crypto declarations in June, a 22% monthly surge, with USDT transfers dominating. In Argentina, monthly stablecoin volumes topped US$1.2 billion as the peso lost another two percent on the parallel street market.
El Salvador continues to physically back its Bitcoin stance, breaking ground on a 47-megawatt geothermal expansion at Berlin. That extra capacity can support roughly 1.4 exahashes per second of mining power, adding a hard-asset underpin to the country’s digital treasury.
What matters today. The Wednesday session looks placid on the surface, but underneath it shows a narrative shift: capital is rotating from Bitcoin into Ethereum ahead of the September upgrade, while Latin American adoption is being driven not by price action but by local currency decay and tax-formalisation.
01 The session in one read
Bitcoin closed the Wednesday session at US$64,597, inching up 0.85% in a day largely devoid of major macro fireworks. U.S. two-year yields held steady near 4.15%, giving risk assets no clear directional shove.
Ethereum led the major names with a 2.04% rally to US$1,907. The catalyst was Consensys engineers locking September 11 as the date for the ‘Prague’ upgrade on the Holesky testnet, a move that promises lower transaction fees for layer-2 networks.
A flat Solana and a soft XRP, set against a sizable Ethereum jump, tells us this is a momentum rotation inside the crypto complex rather than a broad risk-off signal. The trigger is a hard date for Ethereum’s next efficiency upgrade, which historically pulls speculative capital from smaller layer-ones. The variable to watch on Thursday is whether Bitcoin can retake the US$65,000 handle during New York trading hours; a failure to do so would confirm that the rotation into Ether is deepening at Bitcoin’s expense.
02 The board
Solana barely budged, rising 0.33% to US$73.96, unable to ride the narrative tailwind that lifted Ether. XRP fell by 1.14%, settling at US$1.061, as speculative capital exited the token after a U.S. judge restricted the SEC’s ability to introduce certain evidence against Ripple Labs, news that had already been priced in during the previous forty-eight hours.
Bitcoin’s US$64,597 level marks a tight three-day range, with sellers capping the top near US$65,200 and buyers stepping in at US$63,800. The Ether-Bitcoin pair, a gauge of risk appetite within crypto, widened by 1.2% in Ether’s favour, the sharpest single-session move since late July.
| Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | US$64,597 | +0.85% |
| Ethereum | US$1,907 | +2.04% |
| Solana | US$73.96 | +0.33% |
| XRP | US$1.061 | -1.14% |
Source: EODHD close, 2026-08-05. Where a commodity has no spot feed, an exchange-traded tracker or leading producer is shown as a labelled proxy.
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Latin America — Cross-Market Board
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 177,726.17 | -0.09% | +33.48% | 177,894.97 | — | — | — |
| IPSA | 11,157.69 | +1.47% | — | 10,996.46 | 11,179 | 10,996 | 1,513,213,483 |
| IPC MEX | 66,537.33 | -0.47% | +16.56% | 66,848.35 | — | — | — |
| MERVAL | 3,156,332 | -1.02% | +34.49% | 3,188,971 | — | — | — |
| COLCAP | 2,344.80 | -1.26% | — | 9.04 | 9.05 | 9.02 | 4,133 |
| BVL PERÚ | 58,781.02 | +0.81% | — | — | — | — | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.13 | +0.20% | -6.76% | 5.12 | 5.13 | 5.12 | — |
| EUR/BRL | 5.92 | -0.09% | -6.96% | 5.93 | 5.92 | 5.91 | — |
| USD/MXN | 17.26 | +0.18% | -7.88% | 17.23 | 17.27 | 17.21 | — |
| USD/CLP | 913.25 | +0.25% | -5.49% | 911.00 | 913.25 | 913.25 | — |
| USD/COP | 3,174 | +1.30% | -22.36% | 3,134 | 3,176 | 3,173 | — |
| USD/PEN | 3.38 | -0.27% | -4.94% | 3.39 | 3.39 | 3.38 | — |
| USD/ARS | 1,496 | -0.02% | +11.71% | 1,496 | 1,496 | 1,496 | — |
| USD/UYU | 40.26 | +1.26% | +1.57% | 39.76 | 40.26 | 40.26 | — |
| USD/PYG | 5,932 | +1.44% | -19.63% | 5,848 | 5,932 | 5,932 | — |
| USD/BOB | 12.02 | +0.44% | +78.37% | 11.97 | 12.02 | 12.02 | — |
| USD/DOP | 58.08 | -0.38% | -4.08% | 58.30 | 58.09 | 58.08 | — |
| USD/CRC | 448.18 | +1.60% | -9.15% | 441.14 | 448.18 | 448.18 | — |
03 What moved it
The Ethereum ‘Prague’ upgrade drove the day. Consensys released a technical call summary confirming the upgrade would hit the public Holesky testnet on September 11, bringing EIP-7702—which lets externally owned accounts execute smart-contract logic—one step closer to mainnet. Traders read this as a timeline signal and bid up Ether relative to other assets.
XRP’s 1.14% slide was a textbook profit-taking move. A Southern District of New York ruling on Monday limited the SEC’s expert testimony, which initially sent XRP above US$1.10. By Wednesday, momentum traders had reversed their positions, pulling the token back to US$1.061.
The macro picture was a non-event. The DXY dollar index eased 0.18% to 99.68, giving no impetus for a broad crypto swing. Bitcoin’s 0.85% gain came even as the S&P 500 slipped 0.17%, so the bid was internal to crypto rather than a broad risk-on move.
04 The Latin American read
Argentina’s crypto market broke a new record for stablecoin volume in July, hitting US$1.2 billion across Lemon, Ripio, and Belo, according to data compiled by local exchange Lemon Cash. The monthly inflation print, still running above two percent, is pushing salaried workers to convert pesos into USDT the moment funds clear. On the same Wednesday, the parallel blue dollar rate slipped to ARS 1,495 per dollar, but that small reprieve did nothing to cool stablecoin demand.
Brazil’s Federal Revenue (Receita Federal) published its June declaration figures, showing 4.1 million individual and corporate crypto filings. That is a 22% increase from May’s 3.36 million. Tether (USDT) accounted for seven out of every ten reais-worth of cryptocurrency transferred, reflecting a deep structural shift where Brazilians use stablecoins not for speculation but for dollarised savings and cross-border supplier payments.
In El Salvador, the government-owned geothermal operator LaGeo broke ground on a 47-megawatt expansion at the Berlin geothermal field. The project, financed by a US$120 million credit line from CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), will directly power the country’s Bitcoin mining rigs. The expansion adds approximately 1.4 EH/s of potential hashrate, reinforcing the public treasury’s ability to accumulate Bitcoin at zero marginal energy cost.
05 The names to watch
Keep an eye on Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest homegrown exchange. It holds a payment institution licence from the Central Bank of Brazil, and its trading volumes have become a real-time proxy for domestic crypto demand. A sharp uptick in its USDT-BRL pair often precedes a broader Bitcoin move in São Paulo trading hours.
Bitfarms, the Canadian miner with a major facility in Paraguay, reports second-quarter earnings on Friday morning. Paraguay’s ANDE electricity tariff review in July raised costs for industrial miners by eight percent on average, so the earnings call will provide the clearest read yet on how LatAm hydropower miners are adapting their cost structures.
06 The outlook
The market has entered a holding pattern ahead of the Ethereum upgrade date announcement and Friday’s U.S. non-farm payrolls print. For Latin America, the pressuring forces are entirely domestic: Argentine inflation, Brazilian tax formalisation, and Salvadoran energy capacity. A Bitcoin close above US$64,597 in Thursday’s session would signal that Tuesday’s local low is holding; a slide below US$63,800 would likely trigger stablecoin inflows across Argentine and Brazilian exchanges as a defensive rotation.
07 What to watch
- U.S. July payrolls report on Friday: A weak jobs number would push Treasury yields lower, feeding a risk-on bid that historically lifts Bitcoin and Ether. A hot reading would strengthen the dollar and pressure the entire crypto board.
- Bitfarms Q2 earnings on Friday: The company’s Paraguay update will reveal how much the ANDE tariff hike is squeezing margins for hydropower miners in Latin America, a signal for the whole regional mining sector.
- Ethereum ‘Prague’ testnet date scoping: Any slippage from the September 11 Holesky date would quickly unwind Ether’s 2.04% gain. Further developer calls this week are critical to the timeline.
- Argentina’s parallel exchange rate: If the blue dollar breaks above ARS 1,520, expect another spike in weekly stablecoin volumes on Lemon and Ripio, fuelling further demand for USDT.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Ethereum jump while Bitcoin barely moved?
Consensys announced that the ‘Prague’ upgrade will hit the Holesky testnet on September 11. The upgrade promises lower layer-2 fees, and a concrete timeline pulled capital from Bitcoin and Solana into Ether.
Why did XRP fall on Wednesday?
XRP slipped 1.14% to US$1.061 as traders took profits after Monday’s legal ruling. The short-term rally from that news had already exhausted itself by mid-session Tuesday.
How are Argentines using crypto right now?
Argentines moved a record US$1.2 billion in stablecoins across exchanges in July. With monthly inflation still running above two percent, households convert peso salaries into USDT to preserve purchasing power.
What is El Salvador’s new Bitcoin energy move?
LaGeo has started expanding the Berlin geothermal plant by 47 megawatts. The extra capacity, funded by CAF, will run state-managed Bitcoin mining rigs and lower the effective cost of the country’s Bitcoin accumulation.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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