Bitcoin crossed $80,000 on August 25, the first time in nearly 15 weeks, after an eight‑day rally of about 28 percent. The price rose from a low near $57,700 in early July to a high above $81,000 during the period, adding roughly $350 billion to market capitalization. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $1.92 billion in net inflows for the week ending August 21, the strongest weekly total since October 2025. The U.S. Treasury announced on August 19 that it would increase the maximum size of its longer‑dated securities buyback program to at least $4 billion, with the expanded operations running from September 9 through November 4. Treasury buybacks initially lowered longer‑term yields and improved market liquidity expectations. The Money Flow Index reached 77.22, indicating strong capital inflows and approaching the overbought level of 80. Technical indicators showed upward momentum, with the Know Sure Thing reading near 112.5, well above its signal line of 40.2. Rekt Capital noted that Bitcoin’s weekly close above the 50‑week exponential moving average was technically bullish but highlighted the narrow margin above the average, warning that a failed retest could turn the move into a short‑lived rally. Price action was testing a resistance zone between $80,000 and $82,000, with support expected near $76,000 or $78,000 if the breakout were not sustained. Upcoming U.S. personal income, spending and PCE inflation data on August 26 are expected to influence Treasury yields and risk‑asset demand, which may determine whether Bitcoin can hold above $80,000.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, regulation, and the forces moving digital assets.
Bitcoin climbed above $80,000 for the first time since May 15, extending its rebound from a June sell‑off as U.S. Treasury announced plans to double purchases of long‑dated government bonds and indicated it might use its General Account to fund the transactions, while spot bitcoin exchange‑traded funds attracted about $1.9 billion in inflows last week, the largest weekly total since October 2025.
Bitcoin rose from a low near $58,000 in late June to roughly $77,000 in early August before crossing the $80,000 mark on Monday, representing a roughly 38 percent increase from its June trough. The weekly inflow of $1.9 billion into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs marked the strongest weekly accumulation since October 2025. The Treasury’s decision to accelerate bond buybacks and its suggestion of using the General Account have been cited as factors supporting market conditions. “Core PCE will be closely watched for signs of whether underlying price pressures are continuing to moderate,” said Thadeu Dos Santos, regional director of FX‑broker Infinox. “A firmer‑than‑expected reading could support Treasury yields and the dollar, while softer inflation could reduce expectations of further monetary tightening.” Analysts noted that falling Treasury yields and the prospect of reduced monetary tightening have contributed to the recent rally.
The price level remains a focal point for investors as the market monitors upcoming Federal Reserve inflation data and further Treasury actions.
Bitcoin rose 23.6% and ether rose 31.3% in the week ended August 24, 2026, as crypto ETFs recorded $2.62 billion in inflows, the largest weekly totals since October 2025. Bitcoin climbed from about $62,000 to $79,500 before settling near $77,000, while ether moved from below $1,900 to above $2,520 and then slipped just under $2,500. The inflows were $1.92 billion for bitcoin ETFs and $697 million for ether ETFs. Both assets crossed their 200‑day simple moving averages, and short‑term averages began to turn higher, a pattern analysts described as a possible golden cross that often signals upward momentum. The price surge followed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of expanded Treasury bond buybacks, which pushed yields lower and the U.S. dollar weaker. A weaker dollar and lower yields supported risk assets, including gold, which rose 15% in the past month to above $4,600, and the U.S. Dollar Index fell to 98.9, below its 200‑day average of 99.1. Analysts said the continuation of the rally will depend on future Treasury policy and macroeconomic data.
Fidelity's FETH and FSOL exchange‑traded funds have been given authority to stake up to 100% of the crypto assets they hold, according to prospectuses filed on August 21, while also describing procedures for redemption if network exit delays occur. The prospectuses, filed by FD Funds Management, indicate that the funds have no minimum staking requirement and that the sponsor may retain unstaked assets to cover expenses, redemptions, and liquidity needs. Fidelity amended trust and custody arrangements in August, stating that staking is expected to begin as soon as practicable after the prospectus filing date. The funds have not disclosed current staked amounts. FSOL reported 1,675,797 SOL staked out of 1,687,589 SOL held at June 30, representing a fair value of $126.3 million and a trailing 30‑day staked percentage of 99.64%. Its net assets were reported at $127.079 million. FETH’s June 30 report listed 476,311 ether with net assets of $758.609 million and did not provide a staked‑ether figure. Redemption procedures include using reserves as a first buffer, extending settlement periods temporarily, and delivering cash in place of crypto if an exit is not practicable, according to the filings. Exit timelines differ by network: Solana staking may be regained within two days under normal conditions, while Ethereum validators must exit the active set and wait for a network sweep, which can be lengthened by high demand or disruptions. The sponsor may employ additional backstops such as credit facilities, direct borrowing of digital assets, sales of validator positions, or use of liquid staking tokens, though none were in place as of the August filing. The arrangements outline discretionary options for managing redemption risk and do not guarantee automatic protection; the ultimate impact on investors remains to be seen.
Traders placed $2.9 million in premium on call-option contracts expiring Sept. 4 with a $82,000 strike, betting that Bitcoin would rise above that level. Bitcoin rose about 25% in the prior week, reaching roughly $80,000, driven by the U.S. Treasury’s bond‑buyback announcement, inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, and short liquidations. A single trade involved 2,000 contracts, the maximum loss being the premium if Bitcoin stays below $82,000 through the expiry, according to Laevitas. The seven‑day skew for Bitcoin slipped to -5.17% from +2.36%, indicating a bias toward put options and downside protection, Laevitas reported. The bet remains open until Sept. 4, and the broader options market continues to show mixed sentiment as Bitcoin hovers near $80,000.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland researchers found that showing households Bitcoin’s 14% annual return raises the likelihood they will own cryptocurrency. The study, based on a 2025 survey of 5,352 U.S. adults, randomly assigned participants to view information about Bitcoin’s recent performance, the S&P 500, GameStop, or the Federal Reserve’s inflation forecast. Participants who saw Bitcoin’s return data were 2.4 to 2.5 percentage points more likely to report crypto ownership, a 23% relative increase from a baseline ownership rate of about 11%. Desired crypto allocations rose by roughly 2 percentage points, mainly by reducing cash and bank holdings and increasing stock allocations. Expected one‑year crypto returns increased by 3.2 percentage points for the Bitcoin return group and by 1.2 points for those shown a price chart. The effect was strongest among respondents who previously avoided crypto because of limited knowledge, while those who already viewed crypto negatively were unaffected. The authors said the findings illustrate a mechanism by which past gains can fuel speculative demand and price appreciation.
BNB Chain activated the Pasteur hard fork on the BNB Smart Chain mainnet at 02:30 UTC on August 25, 2026, introducing three proposals aimed at improving bridge verification, validator authorization and block capacity.
The upgrade, part of the BEP-673 plan, had been tested on the Chapel testnet since July 21 and was scheduled for activation.
BEP-682 prevents duplicate validator entries in cross‑chain light‑block submissions, requiring distinct validators to meet supermajority thresholds. BEP-695 addresses validator key rotation, penalty handling and governance restrictions. BEP-675 adds an optional route for builders to submit pre‑executed blocks, potentially increasing throughput. Node operators were required to run client version 1.7.7 and remove the EnableBAL field. The network continued producing blocks at a 450‑millisecond interval with no immediate major disruptions reported.
Internal testing on QANet showed transaction throughput rising from 1,237 to 2,324 transactions per second, a gain of roughly 88%, while average gas consumption per block increased from 46.35 million to 84.15 million, remaining below the 100‑million gas limit. The network’s block interval was unchanged.
Further evaluation will depend on mainnet block utilization, transaction throughput and validator performance to determine whether the capacity gains observed in testing are sustained.
Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong began distributing HKDAP on Aug. 24, providing eligible institutional clients and partners access to Hong Kong’s first live regulated local‑currency stablecoin. Anchorpoint, which holds one of two stablecoin issuer licences granted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April, launched the token via a controlled beta on Ethereum for institutions and professional investors. As of Aug. 19, 522,000 HKDAP were in circulation. Standard Chartered plans to offer tokenized money market fund subscription and settlement services in the fourth quarter of 2026, while also testing HKDAP for intra‑group corporate transfers, cross‑border payments and treasury management. The bank has not disclosed participating asset managers or expected transaction volumes. Distribution is conducted through a business‑to‑business model in which Anchorpoint works with regulated banks, exchanges and authorized partners such as HashKey and OSL. Access remains limited to institutions, corporate customers and professional investors during the beta phase, with potential retail expansion later in 2026 pending market conditions and regulatory requirements. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority awarded two licences in April, one to Anchorpoint and one to HSBC, and warned that unrelated tokens using the HKDAP or HSBC ticker symbols were circulating without connection to the licensed issuers. An independent review by security researcher Yajin Zhou identified concerns about the contract’s approval, upgrade and access‑control architecture but found no theft or loss; Anchorpoint had not issued a detailed public response at the time of writing.
Bitcoin rose above $80,000 on Tuesday, up 4% for the day and about 25% in the past week after the Treasury announced plans to expand its bond buyback program. Solana gained 8% to just over $101, extending a seven‑day increase of roughly 35%, while XRP posted a weekly gain of more than 52%. The cryptocurrency market’s momentum indicator for Bitcoin approached 78 on a 0‑100 scale, a level typically interpreted as overbought, suggesting a possible short‑term pause. Analysts noted selling pressure expected between $78,500 and $82,000 and potential buying interest around $72,400 to $73,500. Solana’s price rise coincided with votes on two proposals that would reduce its inflation by slowing new issuance and increasing daily burns to as much as $800,000; the vote concludes on Thursday. Ether rose more than 2% to just under $2,500, a 32% weekly increase, and BNB advanced about 2% to under $714. Zcash climbed over 1% to $846, its strongest weekly performance among the top dozen tokens, while Dogecoin rose to 9 cents for a 32% weekly gain and Tron edged up 0.5% to under 35 cents. Hyperliquid’s HYPE fell slightly to $81 but remained up 36% for the week. The rally follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s statement that the department will continue its regular bond sales and that the Treasury holds between $80 billion and $200 billion in cash that could be used for larger buybacks. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to speak at the Jackson Hole conference on Wednesday, a venue where policy shifts have historically been signaled. Upcoming events include a procedural vote on the Clarity Act, the SEC’s consultation on its crypto framework, the September Federal Reserve meeting, and releases of PCE inflation data and payroll numbers.
Solana’s treasury company and validator operator announced on August 21 that it would oppose the SGP‑0002 proposal to accelerate SOL disinflation, a change that could lower staking yields for delegators. The proposal seeks to double the annual disinflation rate from 15 % to 30 % while keeping a 1.5 % terminal inflation rate, which the model estimates would reduce issuance by about 18.89 million SOL over six years. Under Solana’s governance design, delegated stake follows a validator’s default vote, but native stakers may override the position without undelegating. An override recorded on August 23 directed 15.5858 SOL for the proposal, demonstrating the mechanism’s operation. The live vote tally, captured on August 23, showed roughly 5.27 million SOL in favor and 547,019 SOL against across 24 votes, representing about 90.6 % of decisive stake at that snapshot. No vote attributed to Solana Company, HSDT or its validator operation was identified in the public tables. The proposal requires two‑thirds of combined for and against stake to pass, with a one‑third participation threshold, and current code locks the totals after the epoch without resolving the quorum definition. Voting runs through epoch 1023 and is scheduled to close at the epoch‑1024 boundary, estimated for Thursday around 15:30 UTC, subject to slot timing. A successful vote would move the proposal into an accepted state, after which technical work via Solana Improvement Documents would be required for implementation and activation. The treasury firm reported that 99.4 % of its Q2 revenue derived from staking on company‑held SOL, amounting to $2.512 million of $2.526 million total revenue, while its income statement recorded a $32.7 million operating loss and a $30.3 million net loss. Staking revenue and validator commission revenue are tracked separately, and the company noted that its quarterly staking rewards were automatically restaked. The potential yield impact under the faster disinflation schedule is projected to fall from 5.84 % to 4.34 % in the first year, then to 3.00 % and 2.25 % in subsequent years, assuming 68 % staking participation. Whether the override mechanism will maintain delegator control over governance choices when a validator’s economic interest is evident remains to be seen.
Bernstein analysts said they expect USDC to enter a growth cycle and set a $140 price target for Circle, implying about 60% upside from current levels.
USDC supply rose roughly $2 billion in seven days, ending a six‑month period of stagnant growth.
The firm maintained an Outperform rating on Circle (CRCL) and noted that the next phase of stablecoin growth could be driven by renewed crypto market momentum, clearer U.S. regulatory clarity, tokenized capital markets and expanding use of stablecoins for payments, including transactions by artificial intelligence agents.
Circle, the second‑largest dollar‑backed stablecoin by market capitalization, saw its share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume increase from about 40% in 2025 to over 60% in 2026, surpassing Tether’s USDT by that measure.
Circle reported $701 million in revenue and $48 million in net income in its latest quarter, up from the prior year, and its shares have risen about 40% over the past month after a June 2025 IPO that raised roughly $1.1 billion at a $31 price.
Stand With Crypto, a digital‑asset advocacy organization that receives backing from Coinbase, announced it is endorsing 32 incumbent U.S. House members for re‑election in the 2026 midterm elections. The group, which says it has gathered the contact information of millions of online supporters, aims to coordinate a crypto‑focused voting bloc. It evaluates candidates on their positions regarding digital‑asset regulation and has been involved in recent legislative pushes on the issue. The endorsement list includes Republicans Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip; Glenn GT Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee; and Bryan Steil, chair of the digital‑assets subcommittee on the Financial Services Committee. It also includes Democrats Jim Costa, a member of the Agriculture Committee’s minority party; Steven Horsford, who introduced the PARITY Act; Bill Huizenga, who co‑sponsored the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act and the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act; Warren Davidson, who introduced the Bitcoin for America Act; and Ritchie Torres, who recently re‑introduced the BRCA alongside Emmer. Stand With Crypto said the midterms represent a crucial moment for crypto policy in Washington, noting that candidates who ignore crypto voters may face electoral consequences. While the endorsements do not come with direct campaign contributions, the group noted that candidates receiving high grades from its scoring system often attract financing from crypto‑industry political action committees, including the Fairshake super PAC, which holds $122 million and has funded advertisements for 49 primary winners. Stand With Crypto indicated it will provide further endorsements for Senate races and non‑incumbent candidates before the general election.
Seven spot XRP exchange-traded funds held roughly $1.44 billion in assets as of late August 2026, equal to 1.9 % of XRP’s $92 billion market capitalization, compared with 6.5 % ...
Seven spot XRP exchange-traded funds held roughly $1.44 billion in assets as of late August 2026, equal to 1.9 % of XRP’s $92 billion market capitalization, compared with 6.5 % for Bitcoin’s spot ETF complex.
The first fund, REX Osprey’s XRPR, launched in September 2025, followed by Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and four additional issuers through December 2025. On March 17, 2026, the SEC and CFTC released a joint interpretive document classifying XRP as a digital commodity, ending the legal dispute that began with the SEC’s December 2020 lawsuit against Ripple.
Whale wallets added about 380 million XRP tokens during the week of August 18, raising large‑holder balances to 16.36 billion tokens, according to on‑chain analytics. The price had been near $1.00 before the accumulation, then rose to $1.23 on August 20 and $1.48 by August 21, a 56 % increase over the week, as reported by market data.
The regulatory classification removed the legal barrier that had limited institutional participation. Following the classification, Coinbase enabled trade‑at‑settlement for XRP futures on May 1, 2026, and custody providers were able to list XRP under the same commodity framework used for gold and oil futures, according to the agencies' statements.
RLUSD, Ripple’s US‑dollar stablecoin, reached a market value of $1.7 billion by August 2026, with more than half of its supply held on the XRP Ledger. Ripple announced that a private credit lending product would settle on the XRP Ledger, potentially expanding XRP’s utility beyond payments, according to the company’s announcements.
The Swell and XRPL Apex conference will take place at The Shed in New York from October 27 to 29, 2026, with more than 1,500 attendees and over 75 speakers, including Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, according to Ripple’s event details.
The CLARITY Act Senate procedural vote is set for September 15, 2026. A favorable vote could codify XRP’s commodity status in law, according to legislative timelines, which may encourage further institutional inflows.
XRP remains 57 % below its November 2025 cycle high of $3.65, and the current $1.48 price reflects ongoing institutional activity alongside persistent supply overhang from Ripple’s escrow releases, according to market data.
Cosmos Labs urged Cosmos EVM chain operators to request validator halts after a security incident that affected multiple networks in late August 2026.
The Cosmos EVM is a shared software stack that enables Cosmos SDK chains to execute Ethereum-compatible smart contracts. A vulnerability in a common module can expose independent networks running affected versions or configurations.
KiiChain reported that 148,326,583.15 KII was drained through 18 repeated attacks on August 22, 2026, and that its network was halted at block 9,355,723. TAC said an attacker drained an account before its validators halted the network at block 24,671. MANTRA resumed block production after approximately 30 hours and stated that user balances remained unchanged.
Cosmos Labs has not disclosed which chains were affected, the specific vulnerability, or the total amount of loss. Disclosures from MANTRA, TAC and KiiChain link the attacks to the Cosmos EVM software stack, but the company has not confirmed a single underlying vulnerability or identified every chain asked to stop.
The incident follows an earlier Cosmos EVM flaw involving the ICS20 precompile, which allowed incorrect state handling during nested execution and resulted in an estimated $7 million loss on SagaEVM in January. The current attacks are under investigation, and Cosmos Labs has promised a post‑mortem report that will detail the faulty component, affected versions, exploitation timeline and total losses, as well as whether the incidents share a common code path. Until the report is released, operators are advised to monitor official chain status pages and avoid unverified transaction channels.
Coinbase launched tokenized U.S. stocks on its Base blockchain, beginning with Apple, Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet shares for investors outside the United States.
Coinbase said the tokens are backed one‑to‑one by shares held by custodian Alpaca and are issued under Abu Dhabi Global Market regulation.
The rollout follows Coinbase's establishment of a tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi, where regulators recently approved the company to arrange and custody tokenized securities.
Competitors such as Kraken and Binance are also offering tokenized equities, positioning the market for broader adoption.
Analysts estimate that tokenized securities could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, according to Citi.
The tokens trade around the clock on eligible onchain venues and can be transferred between wallets without a whitelist, according to Coinbase.
Dividends and stock splits are reflected in the tokens, and they can be used as collateral in decentralized finance applications.
Chainlink provides continuous price data for the tokenized shares, enabling DeFi platforms to value the assets.
More stocks are expected to be added after the initial batch, Coinbase said.
The development expands access to U.S. equities for non‑U.S. investors while operating under ADGM oversight.
The U.S. Treasury announced expanded sanctions on Iran’s digital asset sector, targeting entities that facilitate more than $100 million in crypto payments linked to oil sales. The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued sectoral sanctions determinations covering digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, and sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels associated with nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks. The determination authorizes OFAC to sanction foreign persons and companies operating in or providing services to Iran’s digital asset sector. It noted that Iran has increasingly used cryptocurrency to evade sanctions, including transactions involving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and government insiders. The Treasury cited UAE‑based Ukrainian broker Ivan Obukhov, who processed over $100 million in crypto payments since 2023 for IRGC’s Quds Force, and his UAE company Foscom FZE. OFAC also sanctioned Obukhov and Foscom FZE. The measures follow previous designations of crypto exchanges and wallets tied to Iran, including UK‑registered Zedcex and Zedxion in January, four Iranian exchanges such as Nobitex on June 3, and Shelbit and Aban Tether on August 7, which the agency said facilitated $5 million in digital assets connected to Iran. The Treasury said the new determination expands its ability to sanction participants in the broader sector under Executive Order 13902, requiring blocking of U.S.-linked property and potentially restricting foreign banks that handle significant transactions for designated parties. The action marks a further step in the United States’ effort to curb Iran’s use of cryptocurrency for illicit oil trade, though the full impact remains to be seen.
NoOnes advised its more than 2.5 million users to withdraw balances by Sunday, August 23, after entering withdrawal‑only mode following EU sanctions that listed NoOnecrypto INC. on a restricted financial and crypto‑asset list. Users can still sign in, view balances and withdraw funds while the platform works to remove money.
In early statements, NoOnes said NoOnecrypto INC. is a separate legal entity not linked to its management and that the sanctions did not affect its operations. The platform said services would remain normal and users did not need to act.
Later, the company said it could not resolve the sanctions, attributing the wind‑down to loss of partners and high‑risk classifications of its wallets and transactions by blockchain‑monitoring firms. Bitget warned that transactions involving entities on the EU list could face enhanced review, rejection or account restrictions. Chainalysis said it labeled the listed entities in its products.
The platform announced that withdrawal routes include Bitcoin over the Bitcoin network and USDT over the Tron network via the TRC‑20 protocol. It warned that receiving exchanges or services may delay, reject or restrict transfers and advised customers to confirm acceptance before sending funds.
Services that were discontinued include Bitcoin Lightning, all USDT networks except TRC‑20, Swap, Visa, crypto off‑ramps, gift cards, partner payouts and new registrations. The P2P marketplace closed on August 21 at 11:59 p.m. UTC. Accounts already on hold cannot withdraw immediately; NoOnes said it will move those accounts to banned status, allowing withdrawals once each change is completed. The company has not announced a date for when normal withdrawal services will resume, and it remains unclear which partners have ceased support.
Bitmine, an Ethereum treasury firm, bought 32,447 ETH worth approximately $81.2 million last week, marking its largest weekly acquisition since early July. The purchase increased its total holdings to about 5.85 million ETH, valued at roughly $14.6 billion, or 4.8% of Ethereum's 120.7 million token supply. The firm aims to reach 5% of the supply, which would require roughly 6.04 million ETH, leaving it about 187,000 ETH short.
Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine and cofounder of Fundstrat, said the weekly 30% rally in ether could have further upside, pointing to two prior weeks when ETH rose more than 30% before larger price increases in 2021 and 2025. He noted that the recent gain might signal a launch point for a broader move, while acknowledging that historical patterns do not guarantee similar returns.
Lee also cited potential support from easier financial conditions, Wall Street's push to tokenize assets, and the possible use of blockchain technology by AI agents, which he said could help ether gain ground against bitcoin. Bitmine has staked 5.07 million ETH, about 87% of its holdings, projecting roughly $330 million in annualized staking revenue at current yields.
Strategy, the world’s largest public company holding Bitcoin, raised roughly $2 billion through a common‑stock offering between August 17 and August 23 and launched a $1.59 billion cash account while keeping its Bitcoin holdings unchanged at 840,447 BTC.
According to an SEC filing, the company sold 18.26 million MSTR shares via its at‑the‑market program and used $136.4 million to repurchase about 1.43 million STRC preferred shares.
It added $300 million to its US dollar reserve, bringing the reserve balance to $5.1 billion, and directed the remainder to the new cash account.
The firm reported $5.1 billion in its reserve and $1.59 billion in the cash account as of Sunday, for a combined cash total of $6.69 billion.
The cash account gives management flexibility to respond to market conditions and can fund Bitcoin purchases, preferred‑stock dividends, debt payments and securities repurchases.
Strategy initially created its US dollar reserve in December 2025 with $1.44 billion to support dividend and interest obligations and has increased the reserve from $900 million at the end of May to $5.1 billion.
The company made no Bitcoin purchases or sales during the week, leaving its holdings at 840,447 BTC, acquired for $63.36 billion at an average price of $75,385 per Bitcoin.
Strategy stepped up cash buildup in June to meet growing dividend and interest obligations while preserving its long‑term Bitcoin exposure.
The firm has not indicated a timeline for future Bitcoin purchases.
Ledger issued version 1.22.2 of its Ethereum app on August 12 to address a vulnerability that could let a malicious decentralized application submit a different transaction for approval while the device continued to display the original transaction. Security researcher TestMachine disclosed on August 22 that the flaw involved a race condition in the signing state, allowing a second signing command to replace the transaction in memory without a new user review. The issue was reproducible on Ledger Flex and, according to TestMachine, affected Nano X, Nano S Plus, Stax, Apex, and other models that share the same app manifest. Ledger’s code repository shows two commits that added state checks to prevent new signing sessions during an active review and to reject approval callbacks when the device state no longer matches the expected signing context. Version 1.22.2 implements these safeguards by refusing additional signing requests while a review is pending and by validating the state before processing approval callbacks. Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet said on August 23 that the Donjon team identified the bug in clear signing flows and deployed the fix about two weeks prior to TestMachine’s report. He added that no in‑the‑wild exploitation, fund loss, or private‑key extraction has been observed. Users are advised to confirm the Ethereum app version is 1.22.2 and to keep device firmware, apps, and client software up to date. The patch is separate from the 2023 Zilliqa app flaw and the 2023 Connect Kit compromise. The update resolves the documented race‑condition pathway, but confirmation of its adoption across all affected devices remains pending.
The Blockchain Association filed comments on the proposed GENIUS Act customer identification requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers. It supports identity checks for direct issuer‑customer relationships but opposes extending them to peer‑to‑peer transfers. Five federal agencies proposed joint standards in June 2026. The proposal would require issuers to collect a customer’s name, address, date of birth or formation date and identification number before account opening. It would require record retention for five years after the account closes or the verification is created. The rule would be added to each issuer’s anti‑money laundering and counter‑terrorist financing program under the Bank Secrecy Act. The Association said the requirement should apply only when the issuer has a direct customer relationship, such as issuing, redeeming, converting, repurchasing or providing custody of a stablecoin. It argued that the rule should not cover downstream transactions where the issuer does not intermediate, facilitate or approve the transfer. The agencies noted that roughly 99% of stablecoin activity takes place in secondary markets. They also said issuers have limited ability to obtain identities without direct interaction. The proposal allows issuers to rely on verification performed by other federally regulated financial institutions, provided the reliance is reasonable, documented in a contract and certified annually. The issuer remains responsible for compliance. The Association requested clarification on how the arrangement would work across affiliates, intermediaries and state‑regulated entities. It also asked that digital identity tools and verifiable credentials be explicitly permitted. The public comment period closed on August 21, 2026. Regulators will review the submissions and may adjust the definitions of “account,” “customer” and “digital asset service provider” before issuing a final rule. The agencies estimate that issuers will have 12 months after the final rule’s publication to comply, though no final publication date has been set. Implementation of the GENIUS Act’s licensing and restriction provisions for unlicensed stablecoin issuance is scheduled for January 18, 2027. The final rule will be issued after the agencies complete their review of the comments, and the scope of the customer identification requirement will affect the compliance requirements for issuers.
Bitcoin rose about 27% over the past month, reaching near $80,000 after a sharp rebound. Analysts said a pullback or consolidation would be healthy, with the $75,000‑$76,000 range identified as a key level. Hashdex CIO Samir Kerbage noted that a sustained break above $83,000 could enable a move toward $100,000, given thin historical trading volume between $80,000 and $90,000. Hyperion Decimus’ Chris Sullivan highlighted that breaking above key moving averages, rising volume and broader market breadth suggested a possible trend change, but warned the rally had left the asset overbought, making a pullback necessary to test its strength. He watched the $67,000‑$70,000 area for support if the decline deepened. Bitget Research analyst Ryan Lee projected near‑term trading between $74,000 and $81,000, saying a retreat to $75,000‑$76,000 could reflect profit‑taking. Kerbage also said consolidation between $75,000 and $83,000 would help the market build a base. Joel Kruger of LMAX Group pointed to bitcoin’s move through $67,300 and $70,000 as evidence of a potential cycle low, with $83,000 as the next major upside target. He attributed the rally to weaker long‑term Treasury yields, a weaker dollar, renewed demand for spot bitcoin ETFs and short‑covering of more than $2.7 billion in bearish positions. Continued inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs could support further gains. The market remains focused on whether buying pressure can sustain above $80,000.
Defense attorneys for Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a former U.S. soldier charged with fraud for alleged illegal Polymarket trades, filed a motion in the Southern District of New York opposing the CFTC’s request to file an amicus brief in his criminal case.
CFTC officials argue that event contracts on Polymarket fall under the agency’s jurisdiction as swaps, a claim the defense contests. The agency previously sought permission to file a brief that would address the legal question of whether such contracts are regulated under commodity futures law.
Van Dyke was charged in April with fraud related to trades on Polymarket concerning the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, for which he allegedly possessed nonpublic information. The indictment alleges he earned more than $400,000 from the transactions. A federal judge has stayed the civil CFTC proceeding pending the outcome of the criminal trial, which may begin in late 2026 or early 2027. Van Dyke has entered a not guilty plea.
His attorneys argue that the CFTC’s attempt to intervene through an amicus brief improperly shifts the focus of the case and exceeds the agency’s authority. They contend that the commission’s counsel filed a notice seeking leave to file the brief on the basis that the defense claims the contracts are not swaps.
Legal experts note that the case highlights ongoing regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets, including those operated by Kalshi and Polymarket, and may set precedent for how such platforms are classified under U.S. commodity law.
The outcome of the criminal trial and the CFTC’s pending brief will determine whether prediction market contracts are treated as regulated swaps, a determination that could influence future enforcement actions across the industry.
Stand With Crypto, an advocacy organization launched by Coinbase in 2023, announced the endorsement of 32 candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. The group said the candidates were selected for their pro‑crypto positions and their potential to influence digital‑asset legislation. In a notice released on Monday, Stand With Crypto outlined its slate, which includes six candidates previously announced in March, three Republicans and three Democrats, all of whom won primary elections. The organization noted that more than 270 pro‑crypto candidates had been elected to Congress in 2025 and that crypto‑focused political action committees spent over $170 million supporting candidates in the 2024 cycle. Stand With Crypto said the endorsements aim to shape policy discussions such as the GENIUS Act and the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, which the House passed with bipartisan support in July 2025. The Senate is scheduled to consider cloture on the CLARITY bill after the August 15 recess, leaving a limited window before the November election. President Donald Trump appeared with several crypto executives last week, urging the Senate to pass a “fair” version of the legislation, while his family’s financial ties to the industry have drawn public scrutiny. The endorsements underscore the growing influence of digital‑asset policy in electoral politics, and the composition of the next Congress will affect the prospects for comprehensive market‑structure legislation.
FalconX filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 12 to have cash‑settled perpetual contracts tied to a single security or narrow index treated as security‑based swaps under SEC rules.
The filing also includes comparable contracts offered through decentralized finance protocols and explicitly excludes Bitcoin perpetuals and broader crypto perpetuals.
FalconX is listed on the CFTC’s registered swap dealer roster and describes its business as focused on digital assets and market participants.
Under the joint SEC‑CFTC regime, contracts that are listed as security futures on an exchange authorized by both agencies remain subject to listing requirements, clearing, margin, position limits, surveillance and trading halts.
FalconX’s proposal would apply to bilateral and over‑the‑counter transactions, platform‑offered contracts, non‑U.S. venues and DeFi equivalents.
If the SEC classifies the contracts as security swaps, dealers could be required to register, meet capital and margin standards, and report transaction data.
FalconX also requests that the SEC raise the combined‑notional threshold for alternative compliance from 10 % to 49 % while retaining the fixed‑dollar cap and existing registration requirements.
The CFTC’s June policy statement reserved other asset classes for separate review and identified equity and narrow‑index products as distinct regulatory questions.
An independent researcher, Amadeus Brandes, filed a comment on Aug. 21 recommending the existing mixed‑swap process and highlighting concerns about insider information, manipulation, leverage and funding‑rate risks; the comment period closes on Aug. 24.
Neither filing constitutes agency policy, changes jurisdictional rules, or commits the SEC or CFTC to rulemaking.
Bitcoin steadied near $77,800 on Monday, a few points above $78,000, after a 24% weekly gain, the highest since March 2023, following the Treasury’s decision to double long‑dated bond buybacks. The announcement triggered more than $3 billion in short liquidations within 24 hours, breaking a six‑week trading range.
Gold rose about 0.8% to near record levels, while equities lagged the broader rally. The Treasury’s debt‑management strategy kept pressure on long‑dated yields, which had briefly reached a 19‑year high before retreating.
Bitcoin’s dominance stayed near 59.2%, and the Altcoin Season index increased to 42 out of 100, indicating selective altcoin strength. Bitcoin futures open interest declined to 715,000 BTC, the lowest level in two months, as spot buying replaced leveraged positions. Similar declines were seen for Ethereum, Solana and XRP futures. Zcash’s open interest rose to 2.24 million tokens, accompanying a price increase of more than 70%. Annualized funding rates for major cryptocurrencies remained around 10%, indicating moderate bullish bias, and implied volatility for Bitcoin rose to an annualized 47% from 36% a week earlier.
Altcoin performance varied: Hyperliquid’s HYPE slipped 3.3% to $79.59 after a record high the prior week, while Aave rose 0.6% to $140.68, posting a 62% weekly gain. XRP fell 2.8% to $1.48 but was up 47% over the week, and Morpho dropped 6.2% to $2.73 after a rapid increase, yet still recorded a 33% weekly gain. Ethena doubled to $1.79 following a steep decline, illustrating sharp price movements among select tokens.
Market participants note that funding rates and volatility remain within historical ranges, suggesting the recent rally may be sustainable, though future direction depends on evolving Treasury policy and macro‑economic data.
Reported losses from AI‑driven deepfake scams in the cryptocurrency sector reached $893.35 million in 2026, a 263% increase over the total reported for 2025, according to TRM Labs.
TRM Labs' AI‑in‑Crime Adoption Index classifies scams as the only crypto‑crime category with mature AI adoption, and reports of scammer‑side AI use have risen roughly 13‑fold since 2022.
Chainalysis found inflows to impersonation scams increased more than 1,400% year over year and indicated that operations linked to AI service providers generated 4.5 times more revenue on average than those without such links. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded 22,364 AI‑related complaints and $893.35 million in associated losses, compared with $11.37 billion in total cryptocurrency‑related losses.
Attackers use deepfakes, synthetic video, voice cloning, and AI‑generated documents to persuade authorized users to approve transfers, bypassing traditional smart‑contract security that verifies signatures and contract execution.
Because blockchain transactions are irreversible once authorized, the security burden shifts to identity verification before approval. FinCEN has warned financial institutions to monitor mismatched identity information, device changes, third‑party webcam tools, resistance to multifactor authentication, and rapid post‑change transfers. Corporate treasuries face similar risks when synthetic executive voices or videos pressure employees to authorize payments.
The data suggest that future mitigation may require stronger pre‑authorization identity checks and delayed activation of new withdrawal addresses, while on‑chain monitoring remains useful for detecting suspicious flows after a transaction is approved.
Ethereum has put forward draft EIP-8390, which would retire the 512-validator sync committee and remove its consensus rewards, replacing the Altair light-client interface with off-chain zero-knowledge proofs. The proposal estimates that eliminating the committee’s reward weight would cut annual consensus issuance by approximately 33,800 ETH, or about 1/32 of total issuance. The draft, posted to the EIP repository on August 24, is in draft status and lacks an activation epoch or a defined roadmap. It removes the sync committee’s weight of 2 within a 64‑unit denominator without redistributing the weight, resulting in a reduction of consensus issuance from 2/64 to 1/32. The document indicates that about 901,505 validators are staked with roughly 42,328,615 ETH locked, producing annual issuance of around 1.082 million ETH. Light-client implementations such as Helios, Lodestar, Nimbus, and Datachain’s IBC client depend on the current Altair update flow and would need to migrate or cease functioning if the proposal activates. The draft claims that Casper FFG finality could be proved within one epoch on a single GPU and verified in milliseconds, but it does not provide implementation details, benchmark data, or a specification for a proving service or client interface. No in‑protocol incentives for producing finality proofs are included, and the proposal leaves migration and economic considerations open. Ethereum would replace a verified on‑chain sync committee mechanism with an off‑chain proof system that is not yet part of the protocol specification.
Solana validators are voting through Thursday on three proposals that could increase daily token burns to as much as $800,000 and change the network’s rate of new token issuance. The votes are weighted by the amount of SOL staked, giving influence to validators and stakers. Two proposals address token supply: one would double the annual reduction in newly minted SOL from 15% to 30%, and another would split transaction fees so that a portion is destroyed based on computational demand, raising daily burns from about 650 SOL to between 7,500 and 9,000 SOL (approximately $61,000‑$846,000 at current prices). A third proposal would ratify the Solana Constitution, formalizing the voting system currently in use. The voting period began on Sunday and will run until Thursday at 15:30 UTC. SOL was trading above $96, up 1.6% in the past 24 hours and 28% over the past week. The proposals will be counted after the vote, though the constitution proposal is being decided before the results of the supply measures are known. The outcome will determine whether the network adjusts its supply mechanics before the constitution is formally adopted.
According to a filing on Monday, Strategy raised approximately $2 billion last week by selling 18.26 million shares of its common stock, allocating $300 million to its USD Reserve and $136.4 million to repurchase preferred shares while directing the remainder to a new USD Cash liquidity pool, bringing total dollar liquidity to $6.69 billion. The company, which holds 840,447 BTC valued at about $65.6 billion, did not purchase or sell bitcoin during the week ended August 23, leaving its holdings unchanged for a second consecutive week. The USD Reserve, designated for dividend payments on preferred stock and interest on debt, stood at $5.1 billion, while the USD Cash pool, which provides flexibility to acquire bitcoin, repurchase shares, repay convertible notes or meet other obligations, held $1.59 billion as of August 23. Strategy has repurchased roughly $483.4 million of preferred stock under its $1 billion Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program, with $516.6 million remaining, and its separate $1 billion common‑stock repurchase authorization remains untouched. Strategy said the additional liquidity will enable management to react more quickly to market conditions, though no specific deployment plan for the funds beyond existing authorizations has been disclosed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an amicus brief in the criminal case of U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke on August 24, after a federal judge granted the regulator permission to submit its arguments.
Van Dyke, who has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging that 13 Polymarket wagers generated approximately $409,881 using classified information before the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, must respond to the CFTC’s arguments in a ten‑page filing due September 9, 2026.
The CFTC’s brief argues that event contracts can qualify as swaps when their value derives from events with financial, economic or commercial consequences, citing potential effects on Venezuelan bonds, oil prices and the nation’s currency.
Van Dyke’s attorneys contend that the contracts were straightforward geopolitical wagers without underlying financial products and that the CFTC’s interpretation exceeds the statutory definition of a swap under the Commodity Exchange Act.
They also dispute whether CFTC Rule 180.1, which bars fraud connected with swaps, supports the commodities fraud charge alleged in the indictment.
Judge Margaret Garnett rejected a request to exclude the brief, stating the court would give the regulator’s arguments appropriate weight, and added the brief to the criminal record without deciding the swap question.
The parallel civil action filed by the CFTC on April 23, its first insider‑trading case involving prediction‑market contracts, remains paused pending the criminal proceeding.
Van Dyke faces charges including commodities fraud, wire fraud, misuse of government information and conduct involving alleged criminal proceeds; the criminal trial is tentatively scheduled for December 7, with a status conference expected on September 28.
The court’s determination on whether the contracts constitute swaps could shape the application of federal commodities law to prediction markets.
Bitcoin rose above $80,000 on Aug. 25 after the Treasury announced it would double the maximum size of long‑dated buyback operations to at least $4 billion per transaction beginning Sept. 9. The Treasury’s Aug. 5 refunding statement authorized up to $38 billion of liquidity‑support purchases for the quarter and up to $25 billion of short‑maturity cash‑management buybacks, and the New York Fed is conducting about $10 billion of reserve‑management purchases this month. Bitcoin had traded below $65,000 before the announcement and reached an intraday high above $81,000, marking its strongest weekly advance in months. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $517 million in net inflows on Aug. 19, and derivatives liquidations accelerated the price rise. The 10‑year Treasury yield fell toward 4.65% and the 30‑year yield moved closer to 5.20% before recovering, indicating that the announced purchase sizes had not fundamentally changed market concerns about borrowing. Arthur Hayes, co‑founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, argued in his Aug. 25 essay “Same Same But Different” that the expanded buybacks could add dollar liquidity and suppress long‑term yields, making risk assets such as Bitcoin more attractive. He said Maelstrom had moved to “maximum risk” exposure, increasing positions in Bitcoin, Ether, Ethena and Ether.fi, though he did not disclose specific position sizes. The Treasury described the buybacks as a mechanism to improve liquidity in older securities and manage its cash position, not as monetary stimulus. No buybacks under the enlarged limits had been executed when Hayes published his essay. The larger buyback limits take effect on Sept. 9, and the Treasury will review future purchase sizes during its next quarterly refunding on Nov. 4. Analysts note that the impact on Bitcoin prices remains uncertain until actual buyback volumes and Treasury yield movements are observed.
BNB Chain deployed the Pasteur hard fork on its Binance Smart Chain network on Tuesday, aiming to close verification and authorization gaps in its cross‑chain bridge and increase transaction capacity. The upgrade combines three Binance Evolution Proposals: BEP‑682 rejects duplicate validator entries during light‑block verification, BEP‑695 tightens controls on validator key rotation, slashing and governance voting, and BEP‑675 lets builders submit blocks they have already executed. By allowing builders to submit pre‑executed blocks, the new route reduces the time validators spend on repeated transaction execution, enabling more transactions per block while preserving the 450‑millisecond block interval. In controlled tests on QANet, an internal environment that mirrors the geographically distributed validator setup, throughput rose by about 88%, from 1,237 to 2,324 transactions per second, and average gas used per block increased from 46.35 million to 84.15 million. BNB Chain noted that these figures come from a test workload and have not been measured on the mainnet. The Pasteur upgrade follows previous hard forks, including Maxwell, which cut the average block time from 1.5 seconds to 0.8 seconds in June 2025, and Fermi, which reduced the interval to 450 milliseconds. The team said the changes are intended to improve bridge security, staking security and governance security without altering the block time limit. Further monitoring will be required to assess the impact on network performance and security.
Gemini and Apex Fintech Solutions have signed a non‑binding letter of intent to make Gemini Titan the exclusive regulated venue for crypto event contracts offered by brokerages through Apex’s Futures Commission Merchant. Apex provides trading and clearing infrastructure to hundreds of financial firms serving tens of millions of investors, according to Apex. The partnership would allow brokerages to use Gemini for execution and clearing of crypto event contracts, expanding Gemini’s distribution of its prediction‑market business. Gemini received CFTC approval to operate a designated contract market in December 2025 and to clear derivatives in‑house in April, and has been building its regulated prediction‑market business since then. The companies already work together on stock trading, with Apex Clearing providing custody and clearing for Gemini’s zero‑commission US equities offering launched in July. Legal challenges are mounting for prediction markets at the state level; a Washington state judge recently ordered Kalshi to stop offering a broad range of event contracts, rejecting the claim that federal commodities law preempts state gambling law. The arrangement is pending further regulatory review and has not been finalized, leaving the timeline for rollout unclear.
The European Central Bank (ECB) said its planned digital euro would not allow the central bank to identify individual users. The ECB is developing the digital euro to strengthen Europe's payments system and reduce reliance on non-European payment providers, with a pilot possibly beginning in 2029 pending legislation. The ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the design would limit data collection, allowing only banks involved in transactions to see details for anti-money-laundering purposes, while the Eurosystem would not directly link payments to persons. Offline digital euro transactions would be visible only to the payer and payee. Lawmakers, privacy advocates and members of the crypto community have warned that government-issued digital currencies could increase financial surveillance. In the United States, President Donald Trump in January 2025 prohibited federal agencies from developing or promoting a CBDC, citing privacy and sovereignty concerns, and House lawmakers introduced the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital euro. The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved the digital euro legislation in June, and the proposal was cleared for council negotiations in July. The ECB said the digital euro could be issued as early as 2029 if legislation is adopted and technical requirements are met. The debate continues as European authorities balance payment sovereignty with privacy considerations.