President Donald Trump called on Congress on Aug. 19 to pass a version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act that would establish federal oversight of digital assets and set rules for exchanges, brokers and custodians. The House approved its version of the bill by a 294–134 vote in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee cleared it before the August recess. The Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and Republicans hold 53 seats, so bipartisan support is needed. Polling from Polymarket and Galaxy Digital showed the bill’s probability of passage falling below 20% and 10% respectively by mid‑August. The legislation would divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, create legal categories for digital assets, and require registration for exchanges, brokers and custodians while mandating asset segregation and disclosure. Negotiations remain divided over ethics restrictions for senior officials with crypto holdings, treatment of decentralized finance protocols, and reward structures for stablecoins. At the White House event, Trump said the legislation would keep the United States ahead of China and support future innovation, and described the proposal as bipartisan. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told attendees that enacting the act would make the administration’s crypto policy durable and could last for decades. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency’s latest crypto proposal supports congressional action by providing certainty for capital raising, but the SEC cannot rewrite the statutory division between securities and commodities oversight. The SEC proposal includes two investment‑contract fundraising exemptions — up to $5 million over four years and up to $75 million within 12 months — and requires disclosure and offers a safe‑harbor provision, with a 60‑day comment period. Treasury’s GENIUS Act, signed by Trump in July 2025, adds stablecoin rules on federal or state authorization, reserve requirements, redemption, compliance and disclosure. CFTC’s first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting took place on Aug. 20, with executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken and other firms, as well as representatives from prediction market and AI companies. The committee advises the CFTC but cannot adopt regulations, and public comments on the meeting are due by Aug. 27. The bill’s fate remains uncertain as the Senate reconvenes in September, with the 60‑vote threshold and ongoing disputes over ethics provisions and DeFi treatment leaving the timeline open.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, regulation, and the forces moving digital assets.
President Donald Trump urged Congress on Wednesday to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, a market structure bill that cleared the House in July 2025 while the Senate remains in recess, according to remarks made at a press conference with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Gemini co‑founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. He said the legislation would keep the United States ahead of China and noted bipartisan support among Democrats. The CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 but has remained stalled in the Senate for several months due to concerns about tokenized equities, stablecoin rewards, and potential conflicts of interest involving the Trump family, according to statements from Senate officials and industry observers. Armstrong, speaking after Trump and the regulatory officials, said the bill would create durable crypto policy that could survive for decades, and he suggested it might secure more than 60 votes once the Senate addresses a cloture motion scheduled for September 15. Trump followed by saying that the bill reflects a fair approach and that many Democrats support it, according to his remarks. Senator Ruben Gallego, speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, responded that the president does not have authority to determine regulatory levels and that such decisions belong to Congress, the Senate, and the White House. CFTC Chair Michael Selig indicated the agency would explore advancing crypto regulations at its upcoming Innovation Advisory Committee meeting, noting that Congress will not reconvene for another month. The White House previously hosted crypto industry leaders at a summit in March 2025 and held a signing ceremony for the GENIUS stablecoin bill in July 2025, as reported by the administration. Related reporting from Cointelegraph noted that the SEC has proposed new crypto rules in the absence of the CLARITY Act, offering safe harbor provisions for certain tokens. Analysts have raised questions about the potential impact of the bill on the Trump family's business interests, which have been cited as a factor in the Senate's delay. The Senate is set to consider a cloture vote on September 15, and the outcome of the CLARITY Act remains uncertain as legislators continue to debate its provisions.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered supplemental consent orders on Aug. 19 against former Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison and co‑founder Gary Wang, imposing five‑year trading bans and registration restrictions of eight to ten years. The orders, which build on initial consent agreements dated Dec. 23, 2022, bar both individuals from trading in CFTC‑regulated markets and from registering with the Commission for the specified periods. Ellison faces a five‑year trading ban and a ten‑year registration ban, while Wang receives a five‑year trading ban and an eight‑year registration ban. Both sanctions stem from the CFTC’s December 2022 amended complaint that alleged participation in a scheme that resulted in more than $8 billion in customer losses at FTX. The regulator cited their cooperation in the investigation, assistance in related criminal proceedings, and an $11.02 billion forfeiture order as factors in setting the civil penalties. The CFTC stated it is not seeking additional monetary penalties, disgorgement, or restitution. In a statement, CFTC Enforcement Director David I. Miller said, “Ellison and Wang were senior executives who committed fraud at Alameda and FTX for which they were found liable,” adding that “their sanctions, however, reflect their material assistance in the Commission’s FTX‑related investigations.” The agency emphasized the value of cooperation in its enforcement division. The trading and registration restrictions prevent both former executives from participating in CFTC‑regulated markets during the imposed periods. Their criminal sentences, imposed in 2024, also considered their assistance: Ellison received a two‑year prison term after serving as a key witness in the trial of former FTX founder Sam Bankman‑Fried, while Wang was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release after prosecutors highlighted his role in tracing funds and explaining the exchange’s code. FTX litigation remains active, with a proposed $54 million class‑action settlement by law firm Fenwick & West still pending court approval. The case illustrates ongoing regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry.
BitGo Korea has obtained VASP registration from South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit, becoming the first overseas crypto firm to register its own local subsidiary directly. The FIU accepted the filing on Aug. 18, two days before stricter registration checks took effect on Aug. 20.
The registration permits BitGo Korea to provide custody and transfer services to financial institutions and corporations. Hana Financial Group holds a 25% stake, and SK Telecom holds 10%, according to the report. The company plans to serve institutional customers but has not disclosed a launch date, the assets it will support, or custody fees.
BitGo Korea’s registration follows a broader tightening of South Korea’s VASP rules, which now require deeper review of controlling shareholders and executives and impose debt‑to‑equity limits of 200% and a prohibition on prior insolvency. Transfers of 10 million won to foreign VASPs must be reported six months after the rules are promulgated.
The approval does not grant BitGo Korea permission to operate a won‑based retail exchange, nor does it extend insurance protections that apply to its U.S.-regulated entities. The company said the registration supports its broader plan to build regulated infrastructure in major markets.
OKX restricted employees based in Hong Kong and staff traveling through mainland China from using Anthropic’s Claude model after its enterprise account was temporarily suspended in early August, the company said. Anthropic restored the account shortly thereafter, but OKX will route requests from the affected locations through other AI providers to remain compliant with regional access policies, Bloomberg reported. The exchange spends an estimated $6 million to $8 million each month on AI model usage, amounting to $72 million to $96 million annually if the monthly rate remains constant. AI capabilities are integrated into employee performance evaluations as OKX expands internal model adoption globally. The suspension lasted only a brief period, and the corporate account has since been reinstated. OKX has not disclosed how many employees used Claude from restricted jurisdictions or what specific activity prompted the initial suspension. In addition to OKX, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have also limited Claude access for staff in Hong Kong, according to internal communications reviewed by Bloomberg. Anthropic has not accused OKX of deliberately violating its policies, stating only that earlier usage may have fallen outside permitted geographic conditions. The restriction does not affect OKX’s trading services, customer assets, or market operations, and no measurable market reaction has been reported. OKX must implement geographic access controls and may need to renegotiate its contract with Anthropic to fully restore Claude access in the future, a timeline for which has not been announced.
Bitcoin briefly rose to $70,000 on Wednesday on Coinbase and other exchanges, marking the first time above that level since June 2, before falling back below $70,000. The price increase followed a doubling of the Treasury Department’s bond buyback program and growing optimism that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act could advance after a Senate procedural vote scheduled for September 15. President Donald Trump urged Congress during a White House meeting with crypto executives to pass a “fair” version of the legislation, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the expanded buybacks aim to support liquidity in the Treasury market, which totals more than $30 trillion. Technical analyst Aksel Kibar identified an inverse head‑and‑shoulders pattern with a neckline near $66,600, suggesting a potential move toward $76,000 if the breakout holds. The Federal Reserve’s July minutes showed most officials favored keeping rates unchanged, though several indicated a possible rate hike if inflation pressures persist. Whether the price can sustain gains will depend on the outcome of the pending legislation and the Federal Reserve’s future policy decisions.
Bitcoin rose above $68,000, up about 6% in the past 24 hours, while Ether climbed 8.4% to $2,084, after the Treasury announced it would double the size of its Treasury bond buyback program.
The Treasury’s expanded buyback operation is intended to support liquidity in the $30 trillion Treasury market, a move that market participants said could reinforce risk appetite across assets. Crypto-related equities rallied alongside digital tokens, with Bullish gaining nearly 13% and Coinbase rising 11% ahead of a meeting between President Trump, crypto executives and regulators. CoinGlass data showed that about $1.4 billion of short positions were liquidated in the last four hours as traders closed bearish bets.
Ether’s open interest on trading pairs spiked to $13 billion before easing to $12.5 billion, while Solana added 7% to $82. Gold also rose, jumping 2.7% to $4,528 an ounce, its highest level since early June. The price movement occurred hours before President Trump is scheduled to meet with crypto leaders, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, CFTC Chair Mike Selig, and representatives from Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, CME Group and DTCC.
Bitcoin’s price is approaching a key technical level that market technician Aksel Kibar says could confirm an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern if it sustains a break above $66,600.
A break and hold above that neckline would project a measured upside target of $76,000, according to Kibar’s analysis. The pattern, which has been forming on daily charts since the June lows, consists of three troughs with the middle one deepest and a resistance line connecting the peaks. Bitcoin last traded around $66,500, about 1% below the neckline, after a 3% rise from midnight UTC. While the pattern suggests a potential reversal, confirmation requires a decisive hold above the resistance. The price has risen from a peak of $126,000 in October of the previous year, following a prolonged bear market.
GMO Coin may suspend Bitcoin services when eCash takes its first balance snapshot at block 963,648, expected around midnight Japan time on August 23. eCash is a new Bitcoin-derived chain that plans to credit holders with a separate ECX asset. The project describes the upcoming snapshot as an Alpha stage, a practice test rather than the final mainnet launch. The exchange's August 7 notice says any suspension would be conditional, with start and end times undecided. Potential services that could be paused include Bitcoin spot trading, BTC/JPY foreign exchange and leveraged trading, and BTC deposits and withdrawals. GMO has not said whether the Alpha snapshot will trigger a pause or how long an interruption might last. The eCash roadmap outlines three stages: Alpha at block 963,648, Beta at block 967,680 around September 20, and Mainnet at block 973,728 around October 31, with dates tied to Bitcoin block production. A revised schedule still lists block 963,648 as the fork point, while an updated integration guide from August 11 calls the same block the fork point and notes that final parameters, including the fork height and replay scheme, will be published later. The project states that replay protection is optional and that the new chain uses the same address formats as Bitcoin, but GMO warns that these features could create transfer risks. GMO cautions that volatility and thin liquidity on the new chain could widen spreads, lead to margin calls, or cause forced sales, and that early chain instability might result in transaction reversals. The exchange has not confirmed a freeze and will issue a further notice if a service pause is implemented. The exchange's next notice will determine whether customers face an actual interruption and will provide the missing start and end times.
Sweden‑listed H100 Group reported a pre‑tax loss of 98 million Swedish kronor for the second quarter and a loss of 253 million kronor for the first half of 2026. Operating income was 3 million kronor, unchanged from Q2 2025, and H1 net income rose to 6.1 million kronor from 5.8 million kronor in H1 2025. The company said the Q2 loss was a non‑cash write‑down attributed to Bitcoin’s price decline, as posted on its X account on Wednesday. H100, which combines health‑technology operations with a Bitcoin treasury function, became Europe’s second‑largest Bitcoin treasury company in August after acquiring two smaller Norwegian Bitcoin treasury firms and their holdings. Those acquisitions increased its Bitcoin holdings to 3,506 BTC, valued at about $226 million, according to BitcoinTreasuries, which ranks H100 behind Germany’s Bitcoin Group, which holds 3,605 BTC. The company’s share price fell 4.2 % on Tuesday, extending its 24 % decline year‑to‑date, according to StockAnalysis data. The interim report was published on Wednesday, and H100 did not provide further comment.
Solana will move its target block time from 400 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds in epoch 1020, after a one‑epoch delay that keeps the current parameters in effect through epoch 1019. Testnet is already operating at a 200‑millisecond target and Devnet at 300 milliseconds, where a 250‑millisecond gate has been activated but not yet enabled.
The change reduces the interval for block production without increasing the compute allowance per second. Solana’s July 30 changelog noted a maximum block limit of 100 million compute units, and the SIMD‑0525 proposal shows that a 350‑millisecond slot would correspond to roughly 87.5 million CU, compared with 75 million at 300 ms and 62.5 million at 250 ms. The theoretical per‑second compute budget remains approximately 250 million CU.
The proposal also trims budgets for account‑write, vote, data‑allocation, data‑shred, coding‑shred and partitioned‑reward transactions, aiming to create more frequent scheduling opportunities without raising the total workload per validator. Shorter slots mean validators must complete hand‑off, gossip and voting within a reduced wall‑clock window, potentially tightening coordination margins.
Epoch duration will halve from about 48 hours to 24 hours because the slot count stays constant while the target time shortens. Off‑chain software that assumes a 400‑millisecond slot length may miscalculate elapsed time, affecting RPC clients, explorers and other services.
The immediate rollout is limited to epoch 1020; a transition to a 200‑millisecond target would depend on the activation of the Alpenglow VAT mechanism, which has not been confirmed on any cluster. The change is intended to rotate scheduling opportunities more quickly while keeping resource ceilings roughly constant, and validators will need to adapt to the tighter timing constraints.
Senator Ruben Gallego said that a rushed cloture vote on the CLARITY Act could undermine bipartisan negotiations on the broader U.S.
Senator Ruben Gallego said that a rushed cloture vote on the CLARITY Act could undermine bipartisan negotiations on the broader U.S. crypto market structure bill. The Senate has scheduled a procedural cloture vote for September 15, which requires 60 votes to proceed. Gallego, speaking at the SALT Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, urged the industry to support continued talks rather than demand an immediate floor vote. He noted that the White House has not responded in detail to bipartisan ethics language submitted before the August recess.
The cloture vote will determine whether the Senate begins formal consideration of H.R. 3633. A successful vote would allow the Senate to debate the bill and consider amendments, while a failure could stall the process as the calendar narrows before the November midterm elections. Lawmakers continue to dispute ethics provisions, stablecoin reward structures, and the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committee over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Gallego and Republican Senator Thom Tillis sent joint ethics language to the administration, but no point‑by‑point response has been provided.
Banks and crypto firms remain divided over whether platforms should offer rewards tied to stablecoin balances. Banks argue that such rewards could divert deposits from regulated lenders, while crypto companies say restrictions would limit consumer choice and protect banks from competition. In addition, the Senate Banking Committee advanced its version of the bill 15 to 9 in May, with Gallego and Senator Angela Alsobrooks joining Republican votes. Gallego said his support does not guarantee a vote for the final text without changes.
If cloture fails, Senate leaders may resume negotiations and attempt another procedural vote, though the limited timeframe could make further action difficult. If cloture succeeds, the Senate must reconcile any amendments with the House version, which passed 294 to 134 in July 2025, before sending the legislation to President Trump. The outcome of the September 15 vote will hinge on whether negotiators can resolve ethics and stablecoin issues before the procedural hurdle.
Bearish crypto positions lost a record $2.7 billion in 24 hours as Bitcoin rose toward $70,000, marking the largest forced short closures since 2021, according to CoinGlass. The liquidations involved roughly 172,000 traders and total crypto liquidations reached nearly $3 billion, with shorts accounting for about 92 % of the wipeouts and outnumbering long liquidations by more than ten to one. Bitcoin traded above $69,100 in Asian morning, up almost 8 % in the past 24 hours after briefly touching $69,900, a gain of more than $5,700 from the previous low near $64,100. The short squeeze closed more than $1 billion of shorts in about an hour and $1.42 billion for the day, including $1.13 billion in ether and $104.7 million in solana. The largest single position liquidated was a $48.8 million bitcoin trade on Hyperliquid. The figures may be understated because Binance limited its liquidation reporting in April 2021 and CoinGlass records only one order per second from the exchange, potentially obscuring the true volume, according to the data provider. Analysts noted that the rapid unwind, driven by forced buying rather than sustained demand, could see price support wane as traders reassess positions.
FalconX and Ethena announced a $1 billion secured lending facility that will use assets backing the USDe stablecoin to fund overcollateralized loans for institutional borrowers.
The facility is structured through a special purpose vehicle, with FalconX originating and servicing the loans and managing collateral, while qualified custodians hold the pledged assets. Ethena will gain access to institutional lending as an additional source of return on its USDe assets beyond its traditional funding‑rate and basis‑spread strategies.
The loans are intended for institutional trading strategies, corporate treasury management and payment solutions. The companies did not disclose expected returns, loan terms, specific borrowers or the amount of capital initially deployed. The arrangement expands an existing relationship in which FalconX provides trading and financing services for USDe.
USDe, Ethena’s dollar‑pegged synthetic token, has a market capitalization of about $4 billion according to DefiLlama data. Unlike fiat‑backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, USDe maintains its peg through crypto collateral paired with short derivatives positions, generating yields from funding rates and basis spreads.
The deal reflects growing institutional interest in DeFi‑linked credit products, though the facility’s impact on USDe liquidity and market stability remains uncertain.
Ether rose 18% to about $2,250 over a 24‑hour period, while Bitcoin climbed to just above $69,100, marking a 9% weekly gain and the largest weekly increase among major cryptocurrencies.
The rally was triggered by the U.S. Treasury’s decision to at least double its bond buyback operations, which traders said increased liquidity in the $30 trillion Treasury market; the 30‑year Treasury yield fell to 5.18% and the 10‑year to 4.63%, and a Bloomberg Treasury index rose 1.7%, its biggest single‑day gain since February 2025. President Donald Trump, appearing at a White House event with executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple and Chainlink Labs, urged Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, calling for a fair market‑structure bill.
Short‑position liquidations totaling roughly $1.4 billion were cleared within four hours as traders responded to the market environment. Ether’s 18% surge, which occurred during Asian morning hours, exceeded Bitcoin’s one‑day gain and lifted its weekly return to 20%. Other major cryptocurrencies posted gains: HYPE rose more than 19%, Solana climbed over 10%, XRP advanced 10%, and Dogecoin added almost 8%; BNB rose 3.5% while Tron remained essentially flat.
The ability of Ether to hold above $2,200 will depend on forthcoming congressional action on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the persistence of liquidity support in the broader market.
Bitcoin.com announced it will integrate the UAE‑registered USDU stablecoin into its self‑custodial web and mobile wallet, enabling users to hold, send and receive the token. Universal Digital, the issuer of USDU, launched the token in January under the UAE Central Bank’s Payment Token Services Regulation, which designates it as the first foreign payment token registered in the country. The integration allows the stablecoin to be used immediately for holding and transfers, while swap and buy‑sell functions are expected later through third‑party providers. Bitcoin.com said it will accept USDU for designated services and work toward enabling payments between users and merchants across its products, with availability varying by jurisdiction. Zodia Custody added support for USDU in July for institutional clients, and a USDT‑USDU liquidity pool launched on Uniswap in August, expanding the token’s decentralized liquidity. The move follows a broader distribution effort for USDU, though the regulatory framework limits digital asset payments to fiat or registered foreign payment tokens. The integration may increase USDU’s accessibility beyond institutional channels, but the extent of its adoption will depend on jurisdictional approvals.
Arthur Hayes, co‑founder of BitMEX, has proposed allocating roughly 20% of the Flop Network’s FLOP token supply to testnet participants over a ten‑year period, without conducting a presale. The proposal describes a decentralized computing network that would connect AI agents needing processing power with miners providing hardware resources, using FLOP as the payment and reward token. Under the plan, testnet participants could receive about one‑fifth of the total token supply while miners would earn block rewards and inference fees for processing AI inference requests. The scheme includes no presale, as Hayes funded development personally, and aims to reward contributors who supply compute, memory storage, or validation services. Details on the total token supply, release schedule, and eligibility criteria have not been disclosed, and technical aspects such as verification of inference work, blockchain hosting, validator count, and consumer‑hardware compatibility remain unspecified. No white paper, security audit, or official token contract has been published. The proposal also envisions a machine‑payment market that would accept stablecoin transactions, with AI agents currently settling $73 million in USDC‑denominated transactions. Legal frameworks for agent commerce are being developed by the American Arbitration Association and Integra Ledger. Hayes indicated that a subsequent article would explain the pricing model based on floating‑point operations per unit of time and the network’s implementation plan. The proposal leaves several unanswered questions regarding token economics, technical implementation, and regulatory compliance.
President Donald Trump said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a fully compliant and legal fashion. The HYPE token rose 11% after the statement.
Hyperliquid is a blockchain-based exchange that offers perpetual futures, contracts that expire never and allow traders to connect crypto wallets directly. The platform has grown rapidly this year, highlighting the demand for perpetual futures that have largely been served by offshore exchanges.
Trump made the remarks at a White House event attended by crypto and technology executives including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, and leaders from Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange. He noted that CFTC Chair Mike Selig is working very hard on a compliant path for the exchange, though he did not describe the specific regulatory requirements or the status of any approval.
U.S. derivatives exchanges must meet registration, customer protection, and oversight rules that have kept many crypto platforms from serving American customers directly. The CFTC previously cleared Coinbase Derivatives to offer perpetual-style bitcoin and ether futures in April 2025, with trading beginning in July 2025, and Kalshi to offer a similar product; other U.S. venues have since entered the market.
Bringing Hyperliquid onshore would require meeting those regulatory standards, and no formal approval has been granted. The statement indicates the agency is exploring the possibility, but the form of an onshore version and the timeline remain unresolved.
Hyperscale Data sold roughly 686 Bitcoin in August 2026 for $43.4 million and used the proceeds to repay all Morpho‑backed loans, releasing the pledged collateral. The company reported $16 million of Morpho borrowings secured by cbBTC with a carrying value of $25.4 million as of June 30, 2026, and $201.7 million in current liabilities versus $36.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. The repayment removed a near‑term financing pressure but left the firm with insufficient liquidity to meet operating needs, obligations and planned capital expenditures for the next 12 months, raising a going‑concern notice. The filing indicated that after the June 30 balance sheet, Hyperscale received an additional $31.6 million in net proceeds from Bitcoin‑backed borrowing through Morpho before the August sale. The firm recorded a $49.1 million net loss for the first half of 2026 and used $9.9 million of cash in operating activities. Management noted that its planned 20‑megawatt Michigan AI data center deployment would require more than $100 million in investment, a amount that depends on financing availability. Hyperscale must still raise or generate sufficient capital to sustain operations and complete the Michigan project while under a going‑concern warning.
Bitcoin rose from around $64,100 to nearly $70,000 on Aug. 19 after the U.S. Treasury announced an increase in its buyback program for long‑dated Treasury securities, prompting a rapid decline in long‑term yields and the liquidation of roughly $1.4 billion in crypto short positions within four hours. The Treasury said it would raise the maximum size of its liquidity‑support buybacks for 10‑to‑20‑year and 20‑to‑30‑year securities from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, with transactions scheduled from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4, citing a goal of improving liquidity in longer‑dated Treasuries. Prior to the announcement, the 30‑year Treasury yield had peaked near 5.34% and the 10‑year yield was near recent highs; after the announcement the 30‑year fell to about 5.19% and the 10‑year slipped to roughly 4.65%. The price move coincided with a 0.75% decline in the dollar index to 98.90, a rise in gold, and gains in equity markets. Bitcoin’s intraday high reached $70,000, while Ethereum climbed to $2,333.65, a 21.7% increase. Short‑position liquidations of about $1.4 billion contributed to the rapid price appreciation. The 200‑day moving average stood at $69,031, and short‑term holder cost basis was estimated at $68,500, compared with a broader market mean of $75,800. Glassnode’s realized profit/loss ratio was 0.75, above the sub‑0.5 level that historically signals seller exhaustion but below the 2.0 threshold the firm uses to confirm a genuine recovery. Coinbase’s premium metric remained negative, and spot‑ETF inflows had modestly turned positive after a period of outflows. Jamie Patton of TCW said that claims the Treasury had effectively capped yields were overstated, noting that forces pushing long rates higher are global and cannot be eliminated by a single buyer. The Treasury’s $4 billion buyback ceiling is small relative to the more than $32 trillion Treasury market and the $5.5 trillion of 20‑ and 30‑year debt outstanding. Federal Reserve minutes released the same day indicated a 9‑to‑3 vote to keep the policy rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, with three officials dissenting in favor of a 25‑basis‑point hike, suggesting ongoing tightening pressure. Market pricing continued to assign a better‑than‑even chance of a rate hike by October and a higher probability by December. Whether the rally will be sustained will depend on the trajectory of long‑term yields, the ability of spot buyers to replace the short‑covering, and the evolution of the profit/loss ratio toward the 2.0 level that Glassnode deems indicative of a true recovery.
Circle has renewed its agreement with Coinbase for three more years, preserving the existing economics of USDC. Starting August 18, the contract adds two notice‑and‑cure remedies if Coinbase fails defined support thresholds. A product‑support failure gives a 60‑day cure window; a reseller failure gives a 90‑day window. After the cure period, Circle may issue an exclusion notice, allowing Coinbase to continue receiving payments for up to 12 months. Neither company has disclosed a missed threshold or an exclusion notice. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said on August 5 that the agreement was renewed on its existing terms. The original contract dated August 18, 2023 set an initial three‑year term with possible three‑year renewals. The agreement separates product economics and ecosystem economics, each with its own threshold and timing. A product threshold concerns support across a minimum number of chains or Layer‑2 networks, products, and discoverability; the reseller threshold concerns the ability for users to buy and sell USDC for dollars on a platform. Circle may exclude a product stream while preserving ecosystem economics, or exclude a reseller stream while preserving product economics. The deal adds a 60‑day or 90‑day cure period before exclusion, and a five‑year cumulative period to re‑satisfy a threshold after an exclusion. Coinbase reported average USDC holdings of $20 billion in Q2 and that its quarter‑end holdings exceeded 30 % of all USDC in circulation. Circle’s total USDC circulation stood at $73.3 billion as of June 30.
Swift, HSBC and Standard Chartered executed the first live interbank transaction on Swift’s blockchain‑based ledger, linking their separate tokenized deposit platforms. Tokenized deposits are claims against issuing commercial banks, distinct from stablecoins that are issued by specialist firms and backed by reserves. The ledger matched and netted the banks’ obligations before recording them on each institution’s own infrastructure, without moving the underlying fiat currency. The transaction involved 17 banks from six continents participating in Swift’s pilot for interoperable tokenized deposit live transactions. HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service is operational in six markets — Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates — and supports seven currencies, including the offshore yuan, Hong Kong dollar, Singapore dollar, euro, British pound, U.S. dollar and UAE dirham. Standard Chartered used its own tokenized deposit infrastructure. The parties did not disclose the transaction’s value, currency, customers or originating jurisdictions. The ledger demonstrated that banks can coordinate obligations across independently operated systems without creating a new public payment token. Settlement was performed through existing payment systems, meaning the test focused on interoperability and orchestration rather than full on‑chain settlement. Both banks described the milestone as a step toward more seamless, always‑on financial services, but noted that broader commercial use will require further testing, liquidity assurance and multi‑currency support. Wider adoption will depend on additional testing, sufficient liquidity and support across currencies and jurisdictions, and Swift has not set a timeline for moving the ledger beyond its controlled rollout.
President Donald Trump urged Congress on Wednesday to advance a version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act during a White House event with crypto industry executives.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has been stalled in the Senate since its introduction, with key provisions still under discussion and requiring 60 votes for passage.
Trump was joined by executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, Chainlink Labs, Kraken, Anchorage Digital, Grayscale and OKX, as well as leaders from prediction market platforms and artificial intelligence firms. He said the legislation would keep the United States ahead of China and would open the door to further innovation, according to his remarks. The president noted that only minor adjustments might be needed and that a small group of senators needed to be engaged to achieve consensus.
The meeting was scheduled ahead of a planned Innovation Advisory Committee session at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday, where the committee includes executives from the same companies.
Trump met with the executives in the Oval Office, and Chainlink Labs CEO Sergey Nazarov said the administration considered the bill feasible and identified only a few small issues.
The bill faces a final Senate voting window next month before the chamber recessed ahead of the November elections, and it has yet to secure the 60 votes required for passage.
Senate Democrats have proposed ethics limits on Trump's crypto involvement and on the business relationships of other senior officials, adding a layer of disagreement over the legislation's final language.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency's new crypto assets rule depends on congressional action to provide legal certainty for market participants, and he urged that the Clarity Act be sent to the president for signature.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described the act as a bipartisan compromise that could make recent regulatory moves durable for decades, while emphasizing the need for broad support.
Analysts say the bill's prospects remain uncertain, as it must garner sufficient bipartisan backing before the upcoming Senate vote.
The legislation is set for a final Senate vote next month, but whether it will achieve the votes needed for passage is still undetermined.
OCC head Jonathan Gould said the agency will issue final rules for stablecoin implementation by November, ahead of the January 2027 effective date of the GENIUS Act. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, creates a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins overseen by the OCC, the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board. The OCC released a 376‑page proposal in February and has been reviewing feedback from the crypto industry. Gould said at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium that the final rule will be published after considering that feedback, and that the regulator could begin processing applications for stablecoin issuers in 2027. Agencies have until January 18 to finalize regulations, but as of July no final rules had been published, leaving issuers with regulatory uncertainty. Several agencies have already issued proposals and collected public comments on the implementation of the law.
Senator Ruben Gallego said a rushed vote on the CLARITY Act could set back United States crypto market structure legislation. He made the remarks at the SALT Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, noting that lawmakers still need to resolve ethics and stablecoin yield provisions, assemble a bipartisan coalition to reach the 60‑vote threshold, and complete the Agriculture Committee portion before sending the bill to the House. Gallego warned that a fast procedural vote could occur before negotiations are finished, complicating the Trump administration’s push for swift passage. He said Congress still has several steps, including finalizing the ethics language that he and Republican Senator Thom Tillis submitted to the White House, and that insufficient ethics restrictions could hinder Democratic support. The White House has not responded to those proposals, according to Gallego, who described repeated unanswered offers. He urged Senate Democrats and Republicans to continue negotiating rather than pursue an immediate vote. Senate leaders have delayed action until September, with Majority Leader John Thune confirming the vote will be postponed until after the August recess. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said the administration is willing to negotiate until the September vote but cannot wait indefinitely. The situation remains unresolved as lawmakers must reconcile the bill’s various components and secure sufficient support before a vote can be scheduled.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened a 60‑day public comment period on August 19 to gather input on how exchanges might list and supervise derivatives tied to artificial intelligence computing capacity. The agency released a 19‑page request (RIN 3038‑AF77) that examines market liquidity, benchmark reliability, potential manipulation, customer protection and the feasibility of perpetual compute futures. CME Group plans to launch two cash‑settled compute futures contracts on October 5, referencing monthly rental costs for Nvidia H100 and Blackwell B200 GPUs. The contracts would let developers hedge rental expenses and allow traders to speculate on AI infrastructure demand. The CFTC notes that compute markets rely largely on private bilateral agreements, with prices varying across providers, regions and processor models, raising questions about price transparency and surveillance. The agency requested data on transaction volumes, market concentration, the share of trades with publicly disclosed pricing, anti‑money‑laundering safeguards, position limits, retail disclosures and geopolitical considerations. Chairman Michael S. Selig said a robust derivatives market for compute is essential for the United States to lead in AI and described the request as an initial step toward establishing “clear rules of the road.” The CFTC emphasized that the inquiry does not propose a rule, approve a contract or authorize any exchange to trade compute derivatives. Comments will remain open for 60 days after the notice appears in the Federal Register, and the agency may use the feedback to shape future guidance or rulemaking.
Trader with wallet pension-usdt.eth was liquidated on Hyperliquid after a 12‑second forced sale of a 50,000‑ETH short position, erasing about $24 million and wiping out roughly half of its $49 million in short‑selling profits.
Context: The short had been open for two months, during which ether rose 18 % after a Treasury buyback announcement and bitcoin climbed from roughly $64,000 to nearly $70,000. The trader had previously realized $49 million in profits from short positions, including $6 million from a 60,000‑ETH short in June and $3.6 million from a 1,400‑BTC short in the same month.
Details: Hyperliquid records show the liquidation occurred between 04:51:03 and 04:51:15, consisting of five forced sales: 9,989 ETH at $2,193; 20,698 ETH at $2,209; 15,830 ETH at $2,214; 1,871 ETH at $2,236; and the final 1,417 ETH with no buyers, which Hyperliquid absorbed into its insurance fund. The ether price rose $43 over the 12‑second interval, making each subsequent tranche more expensive to close.
The wallet, displayed as “Penision Fund,” now holds $35.61 and is down 100 % over the past 30 days, with $16.48 million in losses against $111.76 million of traded volume. The day’s largest liquidation was a $48.8 million bitcoin position; overall, $2.74 billion of crypto shorts were liquidated in 24 hours, the biggest wave since 2021.
The event underscores the volatility of leveraged crypto positions and the impact of sudden market moves on individual traders.
Fairshake, a crypto political action committee, spent more than $2 million to try to defeat Democrat Oliver Gilbert in the Florida primary, but Gilbert won. The group has recorded 49 wins out of 53 primary contests this cycle, with the Florida effort representing its largest single expenditure. Ads supporting Gilbert cited Miami Herald headlines that were not published by the newspaper. Gilbert, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, campaigned against Donald Trump’s policies and criticized his own crypto connections. Other Fairshake‑backed candidates, including Republicans Sydney Gruters and Democrat Lois Frankel, as well as Nick Begich in Alaska and Harriet Hageman in Wyoming, also won their primaries. Spokesman Geoff Vetter said the group will continue building a pro‑crypto congressional majority.
Securitize reported first‑quarter results with average tokenized assets under management at $4.3 billion, up 16 % year over year, and transaction volume at $5.3 billion, up 147 %. Revenue fell 5 % to $14.4 million, tokenization revenue dropped 12 % to $7.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA turned to a $5.5 million loss. The company added more assets to the blockchain and processed substantially higher activity than a year earlier, yet revenue declined. CFO Francisco Flores said on the earnings call that asset‑based revenue is not material and that only a small fraction of transaction volume is currently monetized. He noted that recurring asset‑servicing fees rose 3 % to $6.6 million, while transaction‑based revenue remains limited. Edwin Mata, CEO of Brickken, said the results illustrate a structural issue across the tokenization industry. He explained that each new issuance typically requires bespoke integration, jurisdiction‑specific setup and professional services, creating project‑based revenue rather than recurring streams. Mata argued that long‑term revenue will depend on infrastructure that manages assets over time, similar to enterprise software, rather than on one‑off implementation fees. Utkarsh Ahuja, founder and managing partner at Moon Pursuit Capital, described the figures as a reality check because adoption and monetization are not synchronized. He said investors will focus on revenue quality, retention, margins and the economics of servicing assets as institutional capital increases. Securitize’s pre‑listing projection targeted $110 million of revenue and $32 million of EBITDA for 2026, with about $85 million expected to be recurring. Management now forecasts full‑year revenue between $70 million and $80 million, requiring roughly $18 million to $23 million per quarter in the second half. Reaching the original $110 million target would need quarterly revenue above $38 million, more than double the second‑quarter level. The next test for tokenization platforms is whether additional billions of dollars in assets or transaction volume can translate into self‑sustaining, recurring revenue beyond project‑based fees.
AIxCrypto Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed firm, reported a $5.22 million fair‑value gap in its cryptocurrency holdings as of June 30 and said it would exit its crypto positions while expanding into event robot rentals.
According to the firm’s June 30 quarterly report, the portfolio comprised 46 bitcoin, 616 ether, 6,659 solana, 1,308 BNB and smaller amounts of ADA, LINK, TRX, USDT and XRP, with an aggregate cost basis of $10.43 million and a fair value of $5.21 million.
The report showed a $984,364 non‑cash loss from fair‑value remeasurement in the second quarter and noted that the company had used $7.94 million of cash in operations during the first half.
With an accumulated deficit of $150.3 million and no recurring operating revenue, the filing raised substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
AIxCrypto completed its first paid commercial robot order on August 15 for a Malibu event, deploying six robots across three product types for one customer, but it has not disclosed revenue, delivery costs or prospects for repeat demand.
The firm’s near‑term priorities include validating repeat demand and operating economics in Los Angeles before a planned 10‑city expansion.
A financing agreement permits conditional stock sales up to the lesser of $50 million or 19.99% of pre‑agreement voting power, with each draw priced at a discount to a three‑day trading benchmark and a 3% fee, subject to shareholder approval.
The planned crypto sale would end a treasury strategy whose remaining holdings were valued at about 50% below aggregate cost at June 30, and the company’s ability to improve liquidity will depend on the success of its robotics pivot.
Four candidates endorsed by cryptocurrency‑aligned political action committees won primary elections in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming on August 19, 2025 after the PACs reported spending roughly $3.6 million on the races.
The spending reflects the growing role of crypto‑focused groups in U.S. politics, as Fairshake and its affiliates have allocated more than $130 million to support pro‑crypto candidates since 2024 and hold a $193 million war chest as of January.
Lois Frankel, a Democrat, won the primary in Florida’s 23rd congressional district after Protect Progress spent more than $150,000 on supportive media. Republican Nick Begich advanced in Alaska’s at‑large congressional district after Defend American Jobs spent about $1.5 million on ads. Republican Sydney Gruters won Florida’s 16th congressional district primary, and Representative Harriet Hageman won the Wyoming Senate primary.
In Florida’s 24th district, Democrat Oliver Gilbert defeated challengers Shevrin Jones and Kendrick Meek with 34.4% of the vote. The race was marked by more than $2 million in negative ads from Protect Progress that included misrepresentations of Gilbert’s policy positions, according to The New York Times. Gilbert said in his acceptance speech that “Donald Trump’s tech billionaire buddies” were behind the ads, a claim reported by the Miami Herald; a Protect Progress spokesperson said the underlying facts in the ads were true.
Fairshake, which reported a $193 million war chest in January, has funded more than $130 million of ads supporting pro‑crypto candidates in the 2024 election cycle and has spent over $82 million on races ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The House passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in July 2025 with a 294‑134 vote; the legislation is pending Senate action and some Democrats have advocated tighter ethics provisions related to the Trump family’s crypto investments. The primary results could affect the composition of Congress in the November 2026 elections, potentially influencing the fate of the CLARITY legislation and broader digital asset regulation.
BitBox disclosed on Monday that it released a firmware update fixing two wallet firmware vulnerabilities. One vulnerability affected memory handling in unconfigured BitBox02 and BitBox02 Nova devices, allowing a malicious host to execute arbitrary code and install malicious firmware that could result in fund loss. A second issue impacted the Silent Payments feature, permitting a malicious host to lock Bitcoin to an unintended address; attackers could demand ransom to recover the coins. BitBox said no confirmed incidents of exploitation or fund loss have been reported. The company has not responded to inquiries from Cointelegraph before publication. The update follows a Coldcard firmware flaw identified in March 2021 that compromised seed randomness, enabling attackers to derive private keys and leading to more than $112 million in stolen Bitcoin from over 8,600 addresses, according to Galaxy Research. Galaxy Research said the breach resulted in the loss of approximately 1,778.6 BTC from more than 8,600 addresses. Additional data breaches affected Trezor and SafePal, exposing customer and order information for over 53,000 users, though neither incident compromised private keys or recovery phrases, according to the companies. Both companies warned that the exposed data could facilitate phishing and impersonation attacks. A recent article asked whether these incidents indicate overall insecurity of hardware wallets. The episode underscores continued challenges in securing self‑custody solutions as the industry seeks stronger safeguards.