What's Driving Bitcoin and Crypto This Week: Market Movers You Need to Know

The cryptocurrency market is setting itself up for a volatile week ahead, with multiple macro catalysts and on-chain events poised to shake the landscape. Following Jerome Powell’s recent dovish comments that sent Bitcoin and Ethereum soaring—with ETH hitting fresh all-time highs after rallying from $1,350 lows in April—investors are bracing for a series of coin earnings reports and economic data releases that will determine near-term momentum.

Tech Sector Earnings Will Define Market Sentiment

The week kicks off with a critical focus on corporate earnings, particularly NVIDIA’s results due Wednesday. As the world’s dominant AI chip maker, NVIDIA’s numbers carry outsized importance for both equities and crypto sentiment. Wall Street is eyeing revenue figures around $46 billion (a 53% surge year-over-year), with some analysts projecting as high as $52 billion. Strong earnings from this sector bellwether would validate the AI boom narrative and likely propel both traditional markets and digital assets higher.

Beyond NVIDIA, other major tech firms including CrowdStrike, Dell, and Marvell Technologies will publish results this week, adding to the earnings cycle intensity that historically moves risk-on sentiment across markets.

Inflation Data and Fed Policy Signals

Thursday brings the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) report—the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge—which carries significant weight for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. Unlike the Consumer Price Index, the PCE tracks price changes across both urban and rural consumption patterns, offering a more comprehensive inflation picture.

Economists are modeling core PCE growth of 0.3% monthly (2.8% year-over-year), with the Bureau of Labor Statistics releasing this critical data point on Friday. This report, combined with upcoming personal income and spending figures, will heavily influence the Fed’s policy trajectory. Additional macro data to watch includes GDP releases, consumer confidence surveys, and durable goods orders—all of which will cascade into market positioning ahead of the August nonfarm payrolls report.

Token Unlocks Present Supply-Side Risks

While macro factors capture headlines, on-chain catalysts shouldn’t be overlooked. Crypto unlocks this week could introduce significant selling pressure, as historical patterns show these releases often weigh on prices by expanding token supply during periods of limited institutional demand.

Pi Network will continue its aggressive daily release schedule with 49 million tokens hitting the market—a familiar pattern that will extend over years to come. More impactful are the mid-cap unlock events: Axelar will unlock $5 million worth of tokens (1.5% of float), while Ronin’s gaming ecosystem will see $10 million in releases. The heaviest supply hits come from Optimism and RedStone, unlocking $25 million and $16.5 million respectively, which could create near-term headwinds for these projects.

The convergence of earnings season, inflation data releases, and substantial token unlocks creates a multi-layered catalyst environment. Smart investors should monitor all three factors simultaneously—macro trends drive sentiment, while on-chain metrics reveal potential supply shocks that can amplify or counter broader market moves.