Cryptocurrency
Ripple recruits LME treasury veteran for tokenization push
After a decade overseeing treasury operations at the London Metal Exchange, Joseph Thompson is shifting his focus to digital assets. His move to Ripple’s trading and markets team signals a strategic expansion into tokenization, leveraging his deep expertise in liquidity, collateral risk, and institutional clearing to bolster the firm's infrastructure.
Bitcoin Realized Cap Surges by $4.6 Billion as Liquidity Returns
Bitcoin’s realized capitalization expanded by more than $4.6 billion in the week ending August 30, marking the strongest short-term movement since the current bear market began. This influx coincided with a sharp recovery for the cryptocurrency, which climbed above $81,200 before stabilizing near the $78,000 threshold.
Solana sets September 9 for Transaction V1 rollout
Solana Foundation Vice President of Technology Jacob Creech has outlined a series of technical milestones for the blockchain, confirming the activation of Transaction V1 for September 9. This upgrade will significantly expand the network’s transaction capacity, while separate initiatives for rent reduction and consensus improvements move forward.
Luke Dashjr departs Bitcoin mining pool OCEAN
Luke Dashjr has resigned as chairman, chief technology officer, and director of the Bitcoin mining pool OCEAN. The split, finalized on August 29, follows a mutual agreement with parent company Mummolin Inc. to buy back all of Dashjr’s equity, effectively ending his ownership and leadership role within the firm.
Vietnam Clears Five Crypto Exchange Applicants for Initial Review
Five firms have moved past the initial assessment stage of Vietnam’s five-year digital asset pilot program, signaling the first concrete step toward regulatory oversight. While the State Securities Commission has acknowledged this progress, authorities have yet to issue a final operating license or disclose the identities of the candidate companies.
Matt Damon to Headline Ripple Swell 2026 in New York
Academy Award winner and Water.org co-founder Matt Damon will take the stage as a keynote speaker at Ripple Swell 2026. The conference is scheduled for October 27–29 at The Shed in Manhattan, marking a significant convergence of traditional finance, humanitarian efforts, and blockchain technology.
Coinbase to Remove BADGER and STORJ From Trading Platforms
Coinbase will terminate trading support for Badger DAO (BADGER) and Storj (STORJ) on September 28, 2026. The exchange, which initiated the delisting process by shifting both assets into a restricted limit-only mode, cited internal reviews of its listing standards as the primary driver for the decision.
Real Trump Coins distances itself from GOLD token crash
The company behind licensed Trump-themed merchandise has disavowed the Solana-based GOLD token after a promotional campaign on its official social media channels triggered a massive market collapse. The firm claims third-party actors hijacked its accounts to shill the asset, which lost 99% of its value in minutes.
BIS Chief Skeptical of Stablecoins as Scalable Payment Method
Stablecoins fail to function as a credible, large-scale payment method, according to Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos. Speaking at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium, he argued that tokenized bank deposits offer a superior path for digital finance by remaining anchored to central bank money.
Tokenized Stock Volume Surges to $29.5 Billion on Base
Tokenized stock transfer volume skyrocketed by 415% over the 30 days ending August 29, hitting a record $29.5 billion. This surge coincides with Coinbase’s strategic expansion into real-world assets, as the exchange introduced four equity tokens on its Base network, signaling a shift in how traditional securities circulate onchain.
Sberbank Prepares to Accept Ethereum and Tether as Loan Collateral
Sberbank aims to broaden its crypto-backed lending portfolio by accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether’s USDT as collateral. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov confirmed the bank's intent to integrate these digital assets once the Bank of Russia grants formal approval for their public circulation within the country's developing regulatory framework.
Bitcoin Rally Shifts as ETF Inflows Meet Institutional Hesitation
Bitcoin’s sharp climb from $63,500 to over $80,000 recently drew its strength from spot market buying and short covering rather than speculative leverage. However, a cooling trend in institutional demand, highlighted by a sudden $201.9 million outflow from U.S. spot ETFs, now puts that foundation to a critical test.
UK Police Seize $1.4 Million in Darknet-Linked Crypto Assets
Avon and Somerset Police have recovered 20.21 Bitcoin and additional assets valued at over $1.4 million, successfully tracing funds linked to illicit darknet marketplaces that operated between 2016 and 2019. The forfeiture, finalized earlier this year, marks the force's largest recovery since new crypto-freezing powers were enacted in 2024.
Solana Token GOLD Collapses 99% After Trump-Linked Promotion
The GOLD token plummeted 99% from its peak after a cluster of wallets controlling over 82% of the supply liquidated their holdings for approximately $1.01 million. The crash occurred within seconds of a promotional post on X, mirroring a pattern of rapid-fire market manipulation often observed in the meme coin sector.
Hyperliquid Gains First Builder-Deployed Outcome Exchange
Hyperliquid has recorded the first deployment of an outcome-based decentralized exchange under the moniker OUT, utilizing the network’s HIP-4 framework. The transaction confirms the creation of the market via on-chain records, marking a milestone for the protocol's permissionless market expansion, though live trading status remains unverified.
Interpol Targets West African Crime Networks in Global Crypto Crackdown
Operation Jackal IV has dismantled cross-border financial crime networks, resulting in 58 arrests and the seizure of $2.67 million. Spanning 22 countries, the eight-month initiative targeted West African organized crime groups utilizing romance scams, fake cryptocurrency investments, and sophisticated money laundering schemes to exploit victims globally.
US Secures 55% Output Share in Venezuelan Oil Venture
President Donald Trump has announced a deal granting the United States a 55% effective output share in a new venture controlling 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude. Negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the pact aims to replenish U.S. reserves and stabilize domestic fuel costs.
New Fund Filings Expand XRP Investment Options in the US
Recent U.S. regulatory filings have surfaced for three distinct XRP-linked exchange-traded products, underscoring a broader push to integrate the token into diversified financial portfolios. While these documents from ProShares and Morningstar Funds Trust signal growing institutional interest, they remain separate from the established spot ETF market.
NFT Market Volume Plummets 45% as Trading Activity Widens
Global NFT sales dropped 44.7% to $63.33 million over the past week, even as the market witnessed a surge in unique user participation. While total transaction volume contracted to 802,330, the number of active buyer and seller addresses climbed significantly, suggesting a shift toward broader but lower-value market activity.
Crypto Startups Secure $184 Million in Weekly Funding Surge
Eight blockchain-focused projects captured $184.1 million in new capital between August 22 and August 28, a period defined by heavy institutional interest in market infrastructure and tokenization. RQD* Clearing and Fasset led the activity, together accounting for nearly $142 million of the total disclosed financing across the industry.
Cardone Capital scales hybrid real estate and Bitcoin strategy
Grant Cardone’s investment firm has expanded its unconventional portfolio by adding 1,200 Bitcoin and 2,000 multifamily residential units. By funneling rental income into regular cryptocurrency purchases, the firm aims to accumulate 10,000 BTC across specialized private funds, doubling down on a model that blends tangible property with volatile digital assets.
SEC Seeks to Align EU Debt Futures Under CFTC Oversight
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed an amendment to Rule 3a12-8, seeking to categorize European Union debt alongside sovereign securities. This shift would allow futures tied to EU debt to fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, bridging a long-standing regulatory gap.
Ninth Circuit Ruling Leaves Kalshi’s Sports Betting Model Exposed
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has cleared the way for Nevada regulators to enforce state gambling laws against Kalshi, rejecting the firm’s argument that its sports event contracts are federally regulated swaps exempt from local oversight.
Bullish Backs USD.AI with $100M Facility for GPU-Backed Loans
Bullish has committed a $100 million stablecoin debt facility to USD.AI, providing the protocol with capital to finance high-performance computing hardware. The deal marks a strategic push by the exchange operator to expand its exposure to real-world assets by funding infrastructure operators through non-recourse, hardware-secured loans.
Lazarus Group Shifts $19 Million in Bitcoin Amid Heightened Scrutiny
Wallets linked to the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group moved 244.148 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $19.42 million, on August 28. While blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain confirmed the transaction, the ultimate destination of the funds—whether to an exchange, a mixer, or another internal address—remains unverified by investigators.
HyENA platform shutters after processing $4 billion in trades
After facilitating over $4 billion in trading volume for 12,000 users, the derivative platform HyENA is winding down operations. The shutdown follows shifts in Hyperliquid’s stablecoin ecosystem, which effectively narrowed the utility for the USDe-backed margin products that served as the project’s core offering.
Stash of Lost Bitcoin Linked to Irish Drug Dealer Moves to Coinbase
A wallet once thought to be permanently locked has transferred 500 BTC, worth approximately $39.56 million, to the institutional platform Coinbase Prime. The movement follows years of uncertainty regarding the assets, which were famously hidden inside a fishing rod case by convicted Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins.
Solana-based Avici hit by $1M exploit, token hits record low
A systematic security breach targeting the Solana-based crypto card platform Avici has drained over $1 million in user collateral. As reports of unauthorized withdrawals emerged, the project’s native AVICI token plummeted nearly 50%, reaching an all-time low of $0.2175 amid growing concerns over the platform's self-custody architecture.
Tokenized Gold Emerges as Productive Collateral in Crypto Lending
Investors are increasingly deploying tokenized gold as collateral for crypto-backed loans, signaling a shift in how holders view digital bullion. As demand surges on platforms like Aave and Arch Lending, users are moving beyond passive ownership to leverage their assets for liquidity without exiting their long-term gold positions.
Former Defense Secretary Esper Urges Senate to Pass CLARITY Act
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has framed the pending CLARITY Act as a critical national security imperative, warning the Senate that failure to establish comprehensive digital asset regulations by the September 15 procedural vote could erode American financial influence and compromise the nation's ability to enforce global sanctions.