Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

FORBES: Tom Lee Shock Has Ethereum Traders Suddenly Eyeing $10,000

Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the UK’s largest retail investment platforms, is making Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded notes (ETNs) available to its 2 million UK investors, ending its status as the largest retail investment platform to hold back from offering crypto products.

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Nine ETNs from six issuers, including BlackRock’s iShares, WisdomTree and 21Shares, are now listed on the platform, with annual fees ranging from zero to 0.35%. The products will be available through Hargreaves’ Advanced Investing service and are subject to additional investor safeguards.

The move comes after the FCA lifted its ban on retail access to crypto ETNs in October 2025.

Despite the regulatory change, adoption has remained relatively modest, with industry participants citing limited access through tax-advantaged accounts and the need for greater investor education.

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Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

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Standard Chartered will now hand institutional clients real Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in the United Arab Emirates. Those clients receive the coins themselves, not a derivative that only tracks the price.

The bank announced the desk on Thursday through its Dubai arm. Only 29 lenders worldwide carry the too big to fail label. Just one of them now delivers coins.

Standard Chartered’s Bitcoin Desk Sits Inside a Too Big to Fail BankThe Financial Stability Board names those 29 banks every year. Its 2025 list puts Standard Chartered in the lowest risk bucket, carrying a 1% capital surcharge.

JPMorgan sits three tiers above it. Citigroup and HSBC sit two. Standard Chartered says no rival G-SIB offers the same deliverable spot service.

The smallest of the systemic banks moved first, not the biggest. Deliverable may be the key word here, seeing as the client ends up holding Bitcoin. This means someone at the bank must move real coins and guard them.

The appeal is the fee stream. The bank earns on the spread, the settlement and the custody, rather than losing that revenue to crypto exchanges.

Why Dubai Got This Before New YorkStandard Chartered built the Dubai stack in pieces. Custody came first, in September 2024, with hedge fund Brevan Howard Digital as its opening client.

Spot trading followed in London in July 2025. The bank then added USDC minting there in July 2026. Execution was the last gap.

Every step cleared the Dubai Financial Services Authority. All four launches happened in Dubai or London, never in the United States.

Rivals, meanwhile, are behind. Citi is still readying bitcoin custody, a service Standard Chartered has run for two years.

Banks are not chasing a rally. They are building while the price is low, for clients rich enough to qualify. Retail is nowhere on that list.

Fed Mouthpiece: Governor Waller shifts stance, now cautiously optimistic about holding interest rates steady

Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos, known as the "Fed’s mouthpiece", says Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s overall stance has not fundamentally changed since July, but his policy tilt has shifted: from concerns and a bias toward tightening monetary policy back then, to cautious optimism and a preference for keeping interest rates unchanged now. The final decision will depend on August’s inflation data. Waller’s reaction path for the September 15-16 policy meeting is clear: if inflation continues moving toward the 2% target, he will hold rates steady; if August’s inflation figures come in higher, he will consider a rate hike.

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Apple faces a $2.7 billion class-action lawsuit, accused of unfair application tracking rules against third-party developers and gaining an improper advantage for its own advertising ecosystem.

Apple Inc. is facing a class-action lawsuit in London seeking up to ￡2 billion (approximately $2.7 billion) in damages. The suit was filed today at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, initiated by Ann Pope, a former senior official at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, on behalf of app developers. The core allegation is that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, launched in 2021, imposes stricter restrictions on third-party developers than on its own services, granting Apple’s in-house advertising ecosystem an unfair competitive advantage. Ann Pope stated that Apple’s policies have "caused very significant harm to businesses that rely on Apple as a gatekeeper." Since its rollout, ATT has been a longstanding focus of global regulatory scrutiny. Apple’s official stance is that the feature is designed to let users control whether apps track their activity across other companies and websites. However, plaintiffs argue there is a double standard in the rule’s implementation: third-party apps’ tracking requests require strict pop-up authorization, while Apple’s own personalized ads and services can bypass equivalent restrictions. This lawsuit is the latest legal challenge facing Apple over its ATT policy, and marks the first major private antitrust lawsuit in the UK targeting Apple’s app ecosystem rules, following regulatory reviews from the EU, the U.S., and multiple other countries.

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Bonk Guy holds $2.52 million worth of USELESS, with an unrealized profit of $1.68 million.

According to Lookonchain's monitoring, five months ago, when Solana ecosystem meme coin USELESS’s market cap dropped to $30 million, well-known crypto KOL "Bonk Guy" began using a dollar-cost averaging strategy to buy the token. Over the past month, Bonk Guy has continued purchasing USELESS, and now holds 15.9 million tokens worth $2.52 million, with an unrealized profit of $1.68 million. Per GMGN data, USELESS, the Solana meme coin, rose over 50% in 24 hours, pushing its market cap above $150 million. On September 1, Bonk Guy said his bullishness on USELESS is even stronger than when he traded BONK in 2023, noting that USELESS previously surged from a $4 million market cap to $450 million in a non-bull market, and could see even larger gains if it experiences a real bull market for the first time. After Bonk Guy’s bullish call on September 1, USELESS jumped over 50% that day, breaking through the $100 million market cap mark. BlockBeats reminds users that most meme coins have no real use cases, are highly volatile, and require cautious investment.

1 minutes ago

Meme coin FATCOIN’s market cap hits a new high, surging past $3.8 million with a 66% gain in the past 24 hours.

According to GMGN market data, the meme stock coin FATCOIN on Robinhood Chain has hit a new all-time high, with its market cap exceeding $3.8 million, a 66% 24-hour gain, and a 24-hour trading volume of $3.5 million. FATCOIN (nicknamed "Fat Coin") is paired with tokenized shares of Eli Lilly (LLY), the leading U.S. weight-loss drug developer. BlockBeats Note: Stock Meme is an emerging concept that merges traditional meme coins with tokenized U.S. stocks. Unlike typical meme coins paired with USDT or ETH, these tokens form trading pairs directly with on-chain U.S. stock tokens (e.g., NVDA, TSLA, AAPL, etc.). This approach retains meme coins’ high volatility and community-driven speculative traits while tapping into the popularity and narratives of real stocks. A portion of transaction fees is often redirected to the community treasury to accumulate the corresponding U.S. stock tokens, creating a dual-driven model of "sentiment speculation + real asset anchoring". Note: Prices are highly volatile; invest with caution.

1 minutes ago

AI company Humain plans to launch a $2.5 billion fund focused on data center investments.

Beating AI Insight Flash News: According to a Bloomberg report, AI firm Humain plans to raise an initial $2.5 billion to establish a fund focused on data center investments. People familiar with the matter said the fund will finance the 250-megawatt data center capacity being built by Humain in partnership with Al Moammar Information Systems, with the overall scale potentially expanding to 1 gigawatt in the future. Backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), Humain is advancing local AI computing power and data center infrastructure development to meet surging demand for AI computing resources.

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Fed's Waller: Whether to raise interest rates in September will hinge heavily on next week's August CPI

Fed Governor Waller shifted from potentially supporting interest rate hikes to adopting a dovish stance after his remarks. The labor market is in good shape, and he expects the August jobs report to sustain this trend. Three-month core inflation has shown "significant improvement" at an "encouraging pace". Headline and core PCE are not the best indicators for judging inflation trends. Pending revisions by the U.S. Commerce Department to estimates of non-market prices could lower the 12-month PCE by a few tenths of a percentage point. Waller noted that the next interest rate decision will "largely depend" on the August inflation data set to be released next week. "If we continue to make progress toward the 2% target, I am willing to support keeping the policy rate at its current level. But if inflation data comes in higher than expected, I will consider a rate hike. An acceleration in inflation may not prompt me to support policy tightening. If there is evidence in August that the momentum of inflation moving toward the 2% target has reversed, a small adjustment to our policy stance will help ensure inflation returns to target."

1 minutes ago

Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

On September 2, U.S. investor demand for cryptocurrency ETFs was clearly divided, with Bitcoin drawing in new investment, while Ethereum, XRP, and Solana products all saw daily net outflows.

Surge of spot ETF inflowsThe most recent ETF data shows that during the session, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw net inflows of $101.15 million. As a result, their total net assets increased to $97.22 billion, while their cumulative net inflows reached about $54.73 billion. Additionally, daily trading volume for Bitcoin ETFs was approximately $1.73 billion, significantly higher than that of any other category of cryptocurrency ETF.

XRP/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe picture for the main altcoins was significantly worse. Despite maintaining positive 30-day flows of $1.83 billion, Ethereum ETFs saw daily net outflows of $48.08 million. Their total inflows are still around $13.03 billion, indicating that the most recent withdrawal is not as large as the total amount of capital that has been accumulated over time.

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Withdrawals are spikingEvery day, XRP had to deal with an even greater withdrawal. Together, the five XRP ETF products recorded outflows of $57.20 million. Nonetheless, cumulative net inflows are approximately $1.68 billion, and XRP's 30-day figure is still positive at $165.22 million.

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Of the three, Solana had the biggest outflow, losing $6.13 million over the course of the day. Its overall figures are still positive: SOL ETFs have drawn $197.60 million over the past 30 days and roughly $1.34 billion overall.

The divergence indicates that, rather than completely giving up on cryptocurrency ETF exposure, investors are currently viewing Bitcoin as the safer option during a time of uncertainty. Some of this hesitancy is also reflected in price action.

Following its spectacular August surge toward $1.70, XRP is currently trading at $1.36, testing the 200-day moving average at $1.35. If XRP is to avoid the correction continuing toward its 20-day EMA at $1.29, it is crucial to hold onto this level.

As a result, the ETF data shows conflicting results. Although altcoin products are experiencing short-term redemptions, their 30-day flows are still positive. While its biggest rivals moved in the opposite direction, Bitcoin has regained the strongest immediate institutional demand, adding more than $100 million.

ARK Invest digital asset researcher Lorenzo Valente compared Ethereum, Solana and Hyperliquid with three U.S. restaurant businesses on Sept. 3, arguing that their different operating structures require separate valuation frameworks.

Summary

ARK researcher Lorenzo Valente compared Ethereum, Solana and Hyperliquid through three contrasting restaurant business models. Ethereum uses layer two networks for scaling while collecting relatively limited settlement fees today overall. Solana processes applications within one integrated environment, keeping execution fees closer to validators and holders. Hyperliquid channels most eligible trading fees toward HYPE purchases through its Assistance Fund mechanism automatically. Valente said each architecture requires separate valuation methods because revenue paths and risks differ materially. In an essay, Valente likened Ethereum to McDonald’s, Solana to Chipotle and Hyperliquid to In-N-Out. The comparisons address how each blockchain expands, controls its infrastructure and directs revenue toward its native asset.

Valente argued that Ethereum operates like a franchise network because independent layer 2 teams build their own systems while relying on Ethereum for settlement. Solana resembles a company-owned chain because applications execute inside one integrated environment. Hyperliquid offers a more concentrated structure built around its trading venue, consensus system and fee-funded HYPE purchases.

The restaurant comparisons are Valente’s analytical framework. They are not ARK investment recommendations or objective classifications of the three networks.

Ethereum resembles a franchise that charges limited rent Ethereum’s scaling roadmap allows layer 2 networks such as Arbitrum, Base and OP Mainnet to process transactions away from its main execution layer. Those networks periodically submit data or proofs to Ethereum to inherit parts of its security and settlement infrastructure.

Valente compared this arrangement with McDonald’s franchising model. Ethereum provides the brand, standards, developer ecosystem and settlement layer. Independent teams finance and operate the layer 2 networks, just as franchise operators fund and manage individual restaurants.

“Blockchains Are Cities” from @hosseeb and @jmonegro “Fat Protocols” are two pieces I’ve returned to repeatedly over the yrs

But things changed in the last 10 years

This piece looks at the trade-offs between ETH, SOL, and HYPE and why all 3 can win imo https://t.co/vTDivLVenu

— Lorenzo Valente (@LorenzoARK) September 2, 2026 This structure helps Ethereum expand without financing every new execution network itself. Separate teams can develop specialized products, attract users and experiment with different technologies while continuing to settle on Ethereum.

However, Valente argued that Ethereum captures too little of the economic activity generated by those networks. Layer 2 operators collect transaction fees from users but pay Ethereum primarily for data availability and settlement.

EIP-4844 introduced separate blob space for rollup data in March 2024. Blobs reduced the cost of submitting layer 2 data to Ethereum, making transactions cheaper for users. They also lowered the fees that rollups paid to the main network when blob capacity exceeded demand.

Valente described this as Ethereum building a successful franchise network but failing to collect enough rent. In his view, Ethereum owns valuable settlement infrastructure but prices access too close to its operating cost.

The analogy has limits. Ethereum does not sign commercial franchise agreements with layer 2 operators. It also cannot impose royalties, control their products or prevent them from using alternative data availability services. Any proposal to raise the minimum blob fee would require technical review and acceptance through Ethereum’s decentralized governance process.

Ethereum developers have considered changes to blob pricing as demand and capacity evolve. A higher fee floor could increase payments to Ethereum, but it could also increase layer 2 transaction costs or encourage operators to use competing systems.

Solana keeps more activity inside one environment Valente compared Solana with Chipotle because both follow what he described as a vertically integrated model. Solana processes application activity directly through its base network instead of making external rollups the main route for scaling.

Trades on Jupiter, token launches, stablecoin transfers and other application transactions share the same execution environment. Users pay base and priority fees, while validators may receive additional value through transaction ordering and Jito tips.

This structure keeps more of the fee flow within the Solana network. Validators and their delegators receive compensation, while part of the base fee is burned. The relationship between network use and value capture is therefore more direct than it is when execution occurs on an independent layer 2.

Valente compared that arrangement with Chipotle owning and operating its restaurants. The company controls the customer experience and retains store revenue, but it must also finance expansion and absorb operational failures.

Solana faces a similar trade-off. Its unified architecture provides direct control over execution, fee markets and performance upgrades. It also means congestion or network disruption can affect applications across the ecosystem simultaneously.

The network has invested in additional validator clients, including Firedancer, to improve performance and reduce its dependence on one main software implementation. Solana’s Firedancer and Alpenglow upgrades could strengthen performance and validator diversity, although their full effects depend on deployment and operator adoption.

Valente argued that Solana’s integrated model produces better fee retention than Ethereum’s rollup structure. That assessment depends on which revenues and costs are included. Validator rewards involve token issuance, while application fees do not automatically accrue equally to every SOL holder.

Hyperliquid creates the shortest fee-capture chain Hyperliquid received the In-N-Out comparison because it combines a focused product range, internal infrastructure and limited reliance on outside capital. Its original product centered on perpetual futures trading through an onchain order book.

The platform built its own consensus system, HyperBFT, and operates its trading infrastructure through HyperCore. It later added HyperEVM for general smart contract applications, but derivatives remain a major source of activity and revenue.

Valente argued that Hyperliquid has the shortest value-capture path among the three networks. Trading fees flow into the protocol, and the Assistance Fund uses most eligible revenue to purchase HYPE from the market.

The model differs from a conventional corporate share repurchase. HYPE is a crypto token rather than equity, and holding it does not grant the same legal claims as owning company stock. Assistance Fund purchases can still create recurring market demand when trading activity generates sufficient fees.

Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund directs most protocol trading fees into HYPE purchases. Crypto.news reported in May that the fund had used more than $1.3 billion for purchases since the mechanism began, based on available protocol and market data.

More recent research found that Hyperliquid and Pump.fun accounted for nearly 90% of tracked crypto token repurchases during 2026. Those figures measure purchases during the examined period and should not be interpreted as guaranteed future demand.

Hyperliquid has also expanded through HIP-3, which lets approved builders deploy perpetual markets while using its underlying infrastructure. Official documentation says spot and HIP-3 deployers may retain up to 50% of fees generated by their deployed assets.

Valente compared the arrangement with a tightly controlled restaurant operator allowing outside builders to introduce products without surrendering its infrastructure or customer relationship.

Different models produce different concentration risks Ethereum’s main advantage under Valente’s framework is distribution. Independent layer 2 teams provide external capital, engineering capacity and access to large companies. The cost is weaker control over users, execution revenue and the behavior of those networks.

Solana retains more activity inside one system. This can strengthen fee capture and product coordination, but the network must support a broader technical surface and absorb system-wide operational risks.

Hyperliquid offers the most direct relationship between product revenue and token purchases. It also carries the greatest concentration risk of the three models because activity, leadership and revenue remain closely connected to one trading ecosystem.

Valente warned that builders responsible for a large share of HIP-3 trading could eventually seek better fee terms. Revenue may also weaken during a prolonged decline in derivatives activity.

The comparison does not establish which token will outperform. Valuations also depend on issuance, liquidity, governance, competition, regulation and demand for the products running on each network.

No verified market move could be attributed directly to Valente’s essay. ETH, SOL and HYPE trade continuously and respond to broader crypto prices, leverage, protocol activity and macroeconomic conditions.

What happens next Ethereum’s value-capture debate will focus partly on blob demand and pricing. Developers can adjust capacity or fee parameters, but changes require testing and community support. Higher settlement revenue would need to be balanced against affordable layer 2 transactions.

Solana’s model will be tested by network upgrades, validator-client diversity and its ability to support higher activity without recurring congestion. The expansion of institutional products and consumer applications could also change its fee composition.

For Hyperliquid, HIP-3 adoption will show whether the network can expand beyond its internally developed markets while preserving its revenue share. Trading volumes and Assistance Fund purchases will remain important measures of the model’s durability.

Valente’s central argument is that investors should not value every layer 1 network using identical metrics. Ethereum emphasizes external ecosystem expansion, Solana emphasizes unified execution and Hyperliquid emphasizes direct product revenue. Each model can succeed, he said, but each carries a different path to failure.

FAQs Did ARK Invest officially classify Ethereum as McDonald’s? No. Lorenzo Valente presented the comparison in an analytical essay. The analogy represents his framework for examining blockchain economics.

Why did Valente compare Solana with Chipotle? He argued that Solana operates an integrated network where applications execute directly and fees remain within the underlying system.

Why was Hyperliquid compared with In-N-Out? The comparison reflects Hyperliquid’s focused product, internal infrastructure, limited outside funding and direct fee-to-token purchase mechanism.

Does Ethereum receive fees from layer 2 networks? Yes. Layer 2 networks pay Ethereum for data and settlement. Valente’s criticism concerns the amount Ethereum captures relative to layer 2 activity.

"The total value of crypto assets that have been stolen to date exceeds the yearly GDP of a medium-sized nation."

So reads the start of the Motivation section in the EIP-7906 draft proposal, which was created in early 2025, meaning that "GDP" has swelled from various exploits since then.

Of course, the problem of onchain theft isn't unique to the Ethereum ecosystem, but Ethereum does undoubtedly have a major thorn here, namely "de facto blind signing" of everything, as EIP-7906's authors put it, since today there's no way to easily vet and restrict what transactions will do once signed.

In other words, there's no network-level handle on outcomes, only on signed calldata. This means something like a wallet or a tx simulation UI can display wrong data, or miss hostile intentions, and Ethereum will still commit whatever was executed because a provided signature authorizes execution, and not a checked outcome.

This gap between intention and execution is exactly what EIP-7906, a.k.a. transaction assertions, is meant to solve. This standard's introduction will be pivotal, to the point that its arrival will mark a sort of "before" and "after" milestone in Ethereum UX.

Transactions assertions will be one of those features that we look back on and wonder how we used Ethereum without them. https://t.co/cUtPzeBCIq

— ً (@lightclients) September 1, 2026 It seems we won't have to wait very long, either. EIP-7906 is proposed for inclusion (PFI) in Ethereum's Hegotá upgrade and has already been demoed in a Hegotá devnet next to frames. The EIP isn't officially considered/scheduled for inclusion yet, and it may get pushed to Ethereum's following upgrade, but it's possible we'll see it live in 2027 at the earliest.

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That's all the general background here, but to understand how transaction assertions actually work, you have to know the basics of "frame transactions" per EIP-8141, which is already formally slated for Hegotá and which EIP-7906 is fundamentally built around.

As you can imagine from the name, frame transactions break transactions into frames, i.e. short, labeled steps with different jobs. One frame can validate a signature, another can let a sponsor pay your gas, with others you can make approvals, swaps, batches, etc.

EIP-8141: Frame Transaction

Add frame abstraction for transaction validation, execution, and gas payment

Ethereum Improvement Proposals

However, in its default structure, EIP-8141 doesn't have a baked-in outcomes check to make sure your list of frames only do what your wallet screen has indicated. Here then cue in transaction assertions, as EIP-7906, if pushed to mainnet, would add a frame mode for precisely this type of checking job.

The EIP's new proposed frame mode is specifically POST_TX, which would have to sit at the very end of your frames list. It'd run as a static call, so it could read but not write anything, and its three new opcodes, TXTRACE, TXDIFF, and EVENTDATACOPY, would only work inside it.

The neat thing is that by the time POST_TX runs, your real balance, storage, and event diff changes would already exist, and then your smart account would get a look at that data. If the results don't match with what's expected, the execution frames will revert. Accordingly, EIP-7906 can provide vetoes on onchain outcomes rather than mere (and potentially flawed) previews of them.

Under this paradigm, you'd be able to guarantee a swap will fire off as expected or dodge an approval drainer after trying to ape into an NFT mint that was discreetly nefarious, and so on. Everything that opcodes expose could get checked against your transactions' literal traces instead of simulations or calldata summaries that hostile frontends can fake.

To be sure, transaction assertions aren't a panacea for all of the Ethereum ecosystem's security problems, but it's safe to say that they can prevent plenty future onchain losses. We don't have to sign transactions and just hope for the best. We can authorize execution and then refuse to keep the results if something's gone wrong.

That's a powerful shift that will prove to be a big level up for Ethereum UX. For now, the main question that remains is the timeline. In one week, Ethereum client teams will submit their ranking preferences for further Hegotá inclusions, so we'll know more then on the community's appetite for transaction assertions coming sooner or later, like the upgrade after Hegotá.

Table of contents

Coinbase launched regulated derivatives contracts for eligible Canadian traders on September 2, giving users access to crypto, commodity and index futures through Coinbase Financial Markets. The company announcement lists 23 perpetual and dated crypto futures, including contracts tied to Bitcoin, Ether and Solana. Coinbase said the rollout makes it the first major crypto-native platform to offer direct native crypto futures in Canada.

The initial lineup combines perpetual-style and dated contracts. Coinbase is also offering five commodity futures linked to markets including gold, silver and oil, plus index futures such as COIN50. Access is limited to customers who meet the platform’s eligibility requirements.

Coinbase describes the contracts as nano-sized, which reduces the capital needed for each position relative to larger contract formats. Eligible traders can take long or short positions with leverage of up to 10 times. That leverage can magnify losses as well as gains, and the company warns that futures trading may not suit every investor.

CFM Provides the Regulated Route The contracts are offered by Coinbase Financial Markets, a futures commission merchant registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a member of the National Futures Association. Coinbase previously secured U.S. authorization for crypto futures sales through its regulated broker, providing the structure now used for eligible Canadian customers.

Product Mix Extends Beyond Crypto Combining crypto, commodities and an index in one derivatives menu broadens the launch beyond directional bets on individual tokens. It also gives users several instruments for hedging, although the announcement does not say that every Canadian Coinbase customer will qualify. Availability depends on the platform’s assessment and product rules.

The rollout also builds on Coinbase’s wider derivatives infrastructure. Its futures business has previously worked with Nodal Clear to introduce USDC as collateral in U.S. futures markets.

Launch Pricing Comes With Risk Warnings Coinbase set introductory pricing at 0.02% per trade plus $0.11 per contract for eligible Canadian traders, describing the terms as temporary. The company did not specify an end date for the launch offer.

The announcement emphasizes that leverage can cause losses exceeding the initial investment. The launch therefore expands regulated product choice in Canada without removing the market, liquidation and leverage risks attached to derivatives. Traders must still pass Coinbase’s eligibility process before using the contracts.

AUTHOR

Tokoni Uti is a Lagos-based writer with several years of experience. Her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Free Press and the San Diego Free press among others. She is a graduate of Bowen University.

Binance Alpha Debut Lifts PONS to a Fresh All-Time High

Bitcoin ETFs posted a net inflow of $101 million yesterday, while Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow of $48.2 million.

According to monitoring by Farside Investors, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $101 million yesterday. Of that, BlackRock’s IBIT recorded a net inflow of $115.4 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC posted a net outflow of $56.2 million. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs overall had a net outflow of $48.2 million. Among them, BlackRock’s ETHA saw a net outflow of $53.4 million, ETHB posted a net inflow of $52.9 million, Fidelity’s FETH had a net outflow of $26.2 million, and ETHE recorded a net outflow of $23.5 million.

5 minutes ago

Is Kimi's $50 billion valuation overpriced? Its annual recurring revenue (ARR) exceeds $1.2 billion, matching that of Zhipu AI, and stands at nearly $2.5 billion, approaching MiniMax.

Beating AI Insight News Flash: Moonshot AI, the developer of Kimi Chat, is advancing toward a Hong Kong IPO, with its latest Pre-IPO round targeting a valuation of approximately $50 billion. This valuation may seem high, but when extrapolating from listed peers MiniMax and Zhipu AI, there is a clear revenue threshold Kimi needs to hit. Based on rough market cap calculations as of September 3, MiniMax has a total market cap of around $16 billion, with August annual recurring revenue (ARR) exceeding $800 million, translating to less than 20x ARR. Zhipu AI’s total market cap is roughly $66 billion, with August ARR of $1.6 billion, corresponding to about 41.25x ARR. If Kimi is valued at $50 billion, its valuation multiple will be lower than Zhipu’s as long as its ARR exceeds approximately $1.212 billion; hitting $2.5 billion in ARR would correspond to a 20x multiple, close to MiniMax’s level. Kimi’s last explicit ARR disclosure was $300 million in mid-June. After the K3 model launched in July, President Zhang Yutong stated that the enterprise ARR had seen "multiple-fold growth" and recorded its largest single-day increase in history. Bloomberg also reported that daily sales rose at least sixfold following K3’s release, but the company has not yet disclosed the absolute value of its latest ARR. Therefore, the key to judging whether the $50 billion valuation is reasonable now boils down to one figure: Kimi’s latest ARR after the K3 launch.

5 minutes ago

US SEC Chair Again Urges Congress to Advance the CLARITY Act

U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins told Fox News in an interview that he hopes Congress will swiftly advance the CLARITY Act and send it to President Trump for signing. Meanwhile, the SEC is continuing to develop regulatory rules adapted to blockchain and crypto asset markets. The U.S. Senate has set September 15 as the key procedural vote date for the CLARITY Act, which requires 60 votes to move the bill forward to formal consideration. Even if legislative efforts continue to face obstacles, the SEC and CFTC plan to leverage their existing authorities to advance the crypto market regulatory framework.

5 minutes ago

Predict.fun announces the launch of 15-minute up/down prediction markets for SPY/USDT and QQQ/USDT.

Prediction market platform Predict.fun has launched a new 15-minute up/down prediction market. Two markets—SPY/USDT and QQQ/USDT—are now live, allowing users to trade by predicting the future 15-minute price direction of the underlying assets. The new offering aims to provide users with a more high-frequency, flexible prediction experience. The market is open for participation now; welcome users to visit Predict.fun to try it out.

5 minutes ago

Bitget has launched USDT-margined CP perpetual contracts.

Per an official announcement, Bitget has launched U-denominated CP perpetual contracts, supporting up to 20x maximum leverage. Contract trading bots will also be rolled out simultaneously. For more details, refer to Bitget’s official platform.

5 minutes ago

Bessent: Iran Sanctions to Expand to Digital Assets, Aviation, and Shipping Sectors

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated at a Washington press conference yesterday that the Trump administration may designate digital assets, aviation and shipping sectors as new sanctions targets amid further pressure on Iran’s economy.

5 minutes ago

The cryptocurrency market remained muted on Wednesday, even as softer private employment data modestly reducing the odds of a rate hike.

Crypto Market StableBitcoin held steady, with trading volume dropping 13% over the last 24 hours. The apex cryptocurrency has corrected by 1.68% over the past week.

After failing to hold above $2,400 early in the session, Ethereum slid to an intraday low of $2,356. XRP and Dogecoin also recorded gains.

Cryptocurrency-related stocks dipped, with Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BMNR) closing down 1.35% and 1.33%, respectively. 

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Over $280 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with long position traders bearing the brunt of the losses, according to Coinglass data.

Trending

Bitcoin’s open interest fell 0.35% over the last 24 hours. Notably, sentiment among retail and whale derivatives traders was markedly bullish.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

The global cryptocurrency market cap slipped 1.74% in the last 24 hours to $2.60 trillion.

Stock Market ReboundsStocks halted their losing streak on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 295.07 points, or 0.56%, to end at 53,061.95. The S&P 500 rose 0.46% to close at 7,666.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.45% to close at 26,217.83

U.S. private payrolls increased by 38,000 jobs in August, marking the slowest pace of job creation since January.

The probability of a rate hike to 3.75%–4.00% at the Federal Reserve’s meeting later this month fell from 67% to 62.3% in 24 hours, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Whales Buy BTC DipAli Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, noted that large investors have been scooping up Bitcoin despite the correction.

Martinez highlighted that since Bitcoin’s retracement from $81,474 to $76,732, whales have accumulated 6,765 BTC, worth roughly $521 million.

Michaël van de Poppe, another well-known cryptocurrency researcher, analyzed Ethereum’s moves, highlighting potential downside sweeps to $2,355 followed by $2,300 as initial buying zones.

“Best case: $2,200 would be the ideal spot for long entries,” Van De Poppe said. “However, ultimately, this dip is to get yourself positioned before ETH goes to $3,000.”

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Bitcoin holds near $77,000 as ETF outflows weigh on sentiment, while traders await clearer macroeconomic signals and regulatory developments.

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Coinglass data shows 89,097 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $338.25 million.        SoSoValue data shows net outflows of $236.5 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Tuesday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $10.95 million. In the past 24 hours, top gainers include Bitway, Filecoin and Arbitrum. Notable Developments:

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Daan Crypto Trades noted that Bitcoin’s unusually low and early monthly high at $79,200 is likely to be swept. He sees a potential reversal opportunity around that move, with $80,000 remaining the key level for higher-time-frame continuation.

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Ethereum Price Prediction: Will ETH Drop to $2K Next if Buyers Fail to Regain Control Soon?

Summary

The global NFT market is projected to reach $60.82 billion in 2026, up from $43.08 billion in 2025, with gaming NFTs capturing 38% of total transaction volume. An NFT is a cryptographic token on a blockchain that proves ownership of a unique digital or physical asset, most commonly built on the ERC-721 or ERC-1155 standards on Ethereum. Real utility has overtaken speculation as the primary growth driver, with tokenized real world assets, event tickets, in-game items, and digital identity credentials all relying on NFT infrastructure. Environmental objections have largely been resolved since Ethereum moved to proof of stake in September 2022, cutting the network energy use by 99.99% according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Legal frameworks remain fragmented, though the Yuga Labs v. Ripps circuit ruling confirmed that an NFT qualifies as goods under the Lanham Act, setting an early precedent for trademark enforcement in digital assets. The narrative that NFTs died sometime in 2023 makes for a clean headline, but it confuses a price correction in speculative art collectibles with the technology itself. Monthly trading volumes bottomed out in mid-2023 and then climbed back steadily. By October 2025, NFT trading volume hit $546 million in a single month with 10.1 million individual sales, an annual high. The collapse was real for profile-picture speculation, yet the underlying standard, a way to record verifiable ownership of a unique asset on a public ledger, never stopped working.

What changed is who uses NFTs and why. The buyer paying six figures for a cartoon ape grabbed attention in 2021. The concert venue issuing 40,000 tickets as tokens in 2026 does not make the same splash, but the second example moves more volume, solves a real problem, and does not depend on floor-price hype. Understanding what an NFT actually is, how the technology works, and where it applies today matters more now than it did during the speculative peak.

How NFTs work under the hood A non-fungible token is a unit of data stored on a blockchain that certifies a digital or physical asset as unique and not interchangeable. The word “fungible” means mutually replaceable. One bitcoin is identical to any other bitcoin, making it fungible. An NFT, by definition, is not. Each token carries a distinct identifier that separates it from every other token on the same contract.

On Ethereum, the two dominant standards are ERC-721 and ERC-1155. ERC-721, introduced in January 2018, assigns a single unique ID to each token. Every CryptoPunk, every Bored Ape, and every one-of-one art piece is an ERC-721 token. ERC-1155, proposed later that year, allows a single smart contract to manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens in the same deployment. A game studio can issue 10,000 identical healing potions and one legendary sword under the same contract, reducing gas costs and simplifying inventory logic.

The token itself does not store the image, video, or file it represents. Instead, it holds a pointer, usually a URI, that links to metadata hosted elsewhere. That metadata describes the asset and may include a link to the actual media file, often stored on IPFS or Arweave for durability. When someone says they “own an NFT,” they own the on-chain token and whatever rights the creator attached to it. The media file could, in theory, disappear if the hosting fails, which is why decentralized storage matters.

Minting is the process of creating an NFT. A creator deploys or interacts with a smart contract, which writes a new token ID to the blockchain. From that point forward, every transfer of ownership is recorded publicly. Buyers need a compatible crypto wallet to hold and transact with their tokens.

A short history of non-fungible tokens The concept predates the 2021 boom by several years. Colored Coins on Bitcoin in 2012 explored the idea of attaching unique metadata to satoshis. The Counterparty platform followed in 2014, enabling custom token creation on Bitcoin. Rare Pepes, trading cards minted on Counterparty in 2016, became some of the earliest examples of digital collectibles with secondary-market value.

CryptoPunks launched on Ethereum in June 2017, giving away 10,000 algorithmically generated pixel portraits for free. Larva Labs, the studio behind the project, did not even use the ERC-721 standard because it had not been written yet. CryptoKitties followed in late 2017, briefly congesting the Ethereum network as users bred and traded digital cats. That congestion, ironically, proved that demand for on-chain collectibles was real enough to stress a major blockchain.

NBA Top Shot, built on the Flow blockchain by Dapper Labs, brought NFTs to mainstream sports audiences in late 2020. Users purchased video highlight “moments” of NBA plays, and the platform generated over $700 million in sales within its first year. It was the first NFT project many non-crypto users encountered.

The real explosion came in early 2021. Beeple sold “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” at Christie’s for $69.3 million in March of that year. Within months, monthly NFT trading volumes on OpenSea alone surpassed $3 billion. Celebrities, sports leagues, and fashion brands rushed in. Adidas, Nike (through its RTFKT acquisition), and Gucci all launched NFT collections. By early 2022, the hype peaked.

Then came the correction. As crypto markets contracted through 2022 and 2023, speculative NFT collections lost 90% or more of their floor prices. OpenSea laid off staff. Several high-profile projects abandoned their roadmaps. Critics declared the technology a fad. The total NFT sales volume for the first half of 2025 came in at $2.82 billion, a fraction of the 2021 peak but still a sign of persistent demand.

But beneath the noise, builders kept shipping. Blur launched in late 2022 and introduced a trader-focused marketplace model that rewarded active traders with token incentives. Magic Eden expanded from Solana to support Ethereum, Bitcoin Ordinals, and other chains, positioning itself as the leading multi-chain marketplace. By cumulative volume as of 2026, OpenSea leads at $23.14 billion, followed by Blur at $8.54 billion and Magic Eden at $6.39 billion. Together those three platforms account for 82% of total NFT trading volume.

Where NFTs stand in 2026 The market has recovered on a fundamentally different footing. The global NFT industry was valued at $43.08 billion in 2025 and is on track to reach $60.82 billion in 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 41.2%. The critical shift is that utility-driven categories now dominate.

Gaming NFTs alone capture 38% of total transaction volume. Asia leads global NFT ownership with 2.8 million holders, the largest regional concentration. Monthly active traders exceeded 820,000 in October 2025, suggesting sustained participation well beyond a handful of whales.

This is not the same market that peaked on profile-picture hype. The median transaction size is smaller, the use cases are broader, and the infrastructure is more mature. Layer-2 rollups and account abstraction have reduced gas costs and simplified the user experience to the point where many buyers do not even know they are interacting with a blockchain.

Token-bound accounts, introduced through ERC-6551, have added another dimension. Under this standard, an NFT itself can own other assets. A game character NFT can hold its own inventory of weapon and armor tokens, all bundled together. When the character sells, its entire inventory transfers with it. This kind of composability was not possible in the early NFT era and represents a meaningful step toward more complex on-chain ownership structures.

Real utility beyond digital art The most significant growth in NFTs since 2024 has come from applications that have nothing to do with collectible images.

Gaming and virtual worlds. In-game items such as weapons, skins, land parcels, and characters are increasingly issued as NFTs on chains like Immutable X and Polygon. The key advantage is interoperability. A rare item earned in one game can, if both developers support the same standard, be used or sold in another. This model is still maturing, but major studios including Ubisoft and Square Enix have run pilot programs, and the gaming share of NFT volume speaks for itself.

Real world asset tokenization. Physical goods are being paired with on-chain tokens that serve as certificates of authenticity and ownership. Luxury watches, handbags, fine art, and real estate shares now have “digital twin” NFTs that travel with the asset through secondary markets. This category bridges traditional finance and decentralized finance in a way that purely digital collectibles never did.

Ticketing and access passes. Event tickets issued as NFTs solve counterfeiting and scalping problems by tying each ticket to a verifiable on-chain record. Organizers can program royalties on secondary sales, enforce transfer restrictions, or unlock post-event perks for holders. Platforms including GET Protocol and YellowHeart have processed millions of NFT tickets.

Identity and credentials. Soulbound tokens, non-transferable NFTs proposed by Vitalik Buterin in 2022, are being explored for diplomas, professional certifications, and membership badges. Because they cannot be sold or transferred, they serve as verifiable credentials tied to a specific wallet.

Music royalties. Artists are tokenizing fractional ownership of royalty streams, letting fans invest directly in songs. Platforms like Sound.xyz have distributed royalties to token holders, creating a new revenue model that bypasses traditional label structures. The appeal for musicians is direct-to-fan economics: rather than receiving a fraction of a cent per stream, an artist can sell a limited edition of 1,000 NFTs representing a share of a song’s future earnings and capture revenue immediately at the point of sale.

How the environmental picture changed Before September 2022, the environmental criticism was legitimate. Ethereum ran on proof of work, the same energy-hungry consensus mechanism that Bitcoin still uses. Minting a single NFT on proof-of-work Ethereum consumed energy comparable to days of household electricity use in some estimates.

The Merge, completed on September 15, 2022, switched Ethereum to proof of stake. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, this cut Ethereum electricity consumption by 99.99%. A proof-of-stake validator runs on hardware no more demanding than a consumer laptop and consumes a fraction of the energy that a single mining rig required.

Since the vast majority of NFTs are minted on Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and other proof-of-stake chains, the energy argument against NFTs no longer holds at scale. The exception is Bitcoin Ordinals, inscriptions written directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain, which does still operate on proof of work. However, Ordinals represent a small fraction of the overall NFT market.

This does not mean NFTs have zero environmental footprint. Data centers, network infrastructure, and user devices all consume energy. But the orders-of-magnitude reduction from the Merge moved the conversation from “NFTs are an environmental disaster” to “NFTs consume about as much energy as any other web service.”

The legal and intellectual property landscape Buying an NFT does not automatically grant copyright, trademark rights, or commercial use rights to the underlying work. What a buyer receives depends entirely on the license the creator attaches. Some projects, like Bored Ape Yacht Club, grant holders full commercial rights. Others reserve all rights for the original creator.

Courts are beginning to set precedent. The Yuga Labs v. Ripps ruling at the circuit level confirmed that an NFT qualifies as goods under the Lanham Act, giving trademark holders a legal pathway to challenge infringing NFT collections. The joint USPTO and U.S. Copyright Office report on NFTs and intellectual property, published in 2023, concluded that existing intellectual property frameworks broadly apply to NFTs but acknowledged gaps in enforcement, especially across jurisdictions.

AI-generated NFT art adds another layer of complexity. Under current U.S. copyright doctrine, a work must have a human author to receive protection. Purely AI-generated images used as NFTs likely cannot be copyrighted, leaving their creators with limited legal recourse if the work is copied.

Royalty enforcement is another unresolved area. Early NFT marketplaces honored creator royalties on secondary sales as a social norm, but newer platforms began making royalties optional to attract volume. This created a race to the bottom where creators saw their revenue streams cut. On-chain royalty enforcement through smart contracts offers a partial solution, but it only works when the buyer stays within a single marketplace ecosystem.

Jurisdiction remains the hardest problem. NFTs exist on decentralized networks that span every country simultaneously. A creator in France, a buyer in Japan, and a marketplace server in the United States each fall under different legal regimes, and no international framework specifically governs NFT transactions yet. The European Union’s MiCA regulation, which took full effect in late 2024, covers certain crypto assets but does not explicitly address most NFTs unless they qualify as financial instruments.

Limitations and open problems NFTs solve the ownership-record problem elegantly, but they do not solve every problem their advocates claim.

Metadata fragility. If the server or IPFS pin hosting an NFT’s image goes offline, the token still exists on-chain, but it points to nothing. Permanent storage solutions like Arweave help, but not every project uses them.

Wash trading. Inflated volume numbers have plagued NFT marketplaces. A single user trading between their own wallets can artificially boost a collection’s apparent demand. Marketplace incentive programs, where platforms reward trading volume with token airdrops, have made this worse.

Interoperability gaps. Cross-chain NFT transfers remain clunky. Bridging an NFT from Ethereum to Solana is not as simple as sending a stablecoin. Standards differ, metadata formats vary, and bridge exploits have caused significant losses.

Scams and rug pulls. The low barrier to minting means anyone can create a collection, promise a roadmap, and disappear with buyer funds. Due diligence is entirely on the buyer in most cases.

Speculation versus use. While utility is growing, a significant portion of NFT volume still comes from traders flipping tokens for short-term profit. Distinguishing genuine demand from speculative churn remains difficult even with on-chain data.

Royalty erosion. Creator royalties on secondary sales were once a defining feature of NFTs, promising ongoing income for artists. In practice, marketplace competition has eroded enforcement, and many platforms now treat royalties as optional. Builders are working on smart-contract-level enforcement, but no widely adopted standard has solved this completely.

User experience barriers. Despite improvements in wallet design and account abstraction, onboarding a non-crypto user to buy their first NFT still involves friction: setting up a wallet, acquiring tokens for gas, understanding approvals, and navigating marketplace interfaces that assume blockchain literacy.

What this does not cover This guide focuses on what NFTs are, how they work, and where they apply. It does not cover how to mint your own NFT collection, detailed smart contract development in Solidity, specific investment advice on any NFT project or collection, technical tutorials for building on ERC-721 or ERC-1155, or the broader crypto ecosystem beyond the NFT-specific layer. Each of those topics warrants its own deep dive.

Practical checks Verify metadata storage before buying. Check whether the NFT’s image and metadata are stored on IPFS, Arweave, or another decentralized solution. If the metadata URL points to a centralized server, the asset is only as durable as that server.

Read the license, not the marketing. Before assuming commercial rights, find the actual license terms attached to the NFT project. Many collections grant no rights beyond personal display. The difference between “you own the IP” and “you own a token” is the difference between a business asset and a collectible.

Use a hardware wallet for high-value holdings. NFT theft through phishing and malicious approvals is common. A hardware wallet that requires physical confirmation for each transaction is the strongest defense against remote exploits. Review your wallet’s token approvals regularly and revoke any you do not recognize.

Check on-chain provenance, not marketplace screenshots. Verify ownership history directly on a block explorer like Etherscan. Marketplace interfaces can lag, display errors, or be spoofed. On-chain data is the only source of truth for who owns what and when it changed hands.

Start with established marketplaces. OpenSea, Blur, and Magic Eden each offer different strengths, but all three provide baseline protections against fraudulent listings. Avoid purchasing from unfamiliar sites that ask for wallet permissions you do not understand.

What does NFT stand for? NFT stands for non-fungible token. “Non-fungible” means the item is unique and cannot be swapped one-to-one with another token of the same type, unlike currencies or commodity tokens that are interchangeable.

How is an NFT different from cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether are fungible, meaning each unit is identical and interchangeable. An NFT is a unique token with its own identifier. You can trade one bitcoin for another and have the same value; you cannot do the same with two different NFTs because each represents a distinct asset. Both live on blockchains, but they serve fundamentally different purposes: cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange, while an NFT is a certificate of ownership for a specific item.

Do NFTs have value in 2026? Yes. The NFT market is projected at $60.82 billion in 2026. However, value varies enormously by category. Gaming items, event tickets, and RWA tokens generate consistent demand, while speculative art collections remain volatile. An NFT is only as valuable as the utility or cultural significance behind it.

Are NFTs bad for the environment? The vast majority of NFTs are now minted on proof-of-stake blockchains. Ethereum cut its energy consumption by 99.99% after moving to proof of stake in September 2022. NFTs on Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and similar chains have a minimal energy footprint comparable to standard web services. The one exception is Bitcoin Ordinals, which rely on proof-of-work mining. However, Ordinals account for a small share of total NFT activity.

What happens if the image linked to my NFT disappears? The token itself remains on the blockchain, but it would point to a dead link. This is why decentralized storage matters. NFTs with metadata on IPFS or Arweave are far more durable than those hosted on centralized servers. Always check where an NFT’s metadata is stored before purchasing.

Can someone copy the image of my NFT? Anyone can right-click and save a JPEG, but they cannot replicate the on-chain token that proves ownership. The value of an NFT is the verifiable ownership record, not the image file itself. Think of it like a deed to a house: anyone can photograph the building, but only the deed holder owns the property.

Do I own the copyright when I buy an NFT? Not automatically. Copyright ownership depends on the license the creator attaches to the project. Some collections, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, grant full commercial rights to holders. Others retain all intellectual property rights with the original artist. Always read the specific terms before assuming you can commercially use the underlying work.

What is the safest way to store NFTs? A hardware wallet offers the highest security for NFT storage. Devices from Ledger and Trezor require physical confirmation for every transaction, which prevents remote attackers from moving your assets. Pair a hardware wallet with regular approval audits on Etherscan to revoke permissions you no longer need.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency and NFT markets are volatile and carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research and consult qualified professionals before making any financial decisions. Information is current as of September 2, 2026, and may become outdated.

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An unaudited report released by the Arbitrum Foundation shows that Arbitrum DAO generated $6.19 million in revenue in the first half of 2026, with sources including Arbitrum One transaction fees, Timeboost sequencing priority auctions, scaling program licensing fees, and treasury management returns. The protocol’s gross profit margin exceeded 97%, and non-ARB treasury assets stood at $125 million as of the end of June. In H1 2026, Arbitrum processed a total of 478 million transactions, accounting for roughly 18% of its cumulative lifetime total of 2.7 billion transactions; monthly average stablecoin transfer volume surpassed $70 billion, and the number of stablecoin holders rose 40% to 10.5 million. Additionally, Arbitrum has deployed over 2,000 tokenized RWAs. Robinhood Chain, built on Arbitrum’s tech stack, launched its mainnet on July 1, contributing $360,000 in licensing fees to the DAO that month, making up 35% of its monthly revenue. On September 1, Robinhood Chain hit daily fees of $3.75 million, decentralized exchange (DEX) volume exceeding $1.5 billion, and total value locked (TVL) of over $750 million.

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Agent of "BTC OG Insider Whale": Bitcoin has held the $76,600 support level; if it breaks through $79,000, it could test higher highs.

Garrett Jin, the representative of the "BTC OG Insider Whale", stated in a post that Bitcoin (BTC) has held the critical level of $76,600. If BTC climbs further above $79,000, the price may attempt to form a higher high. However, even if BTC does post a higher high, this would still not be sufficient to confirm a genuine breakout in the market.

4 minutes ago

NVIDIA rises nearly 5%, with its current market capitalization standing at $5.49 trillion.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), NVIDIA's stock rose 4.82%, with its current market capitalization standing at $5.49 trillion.

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Mastercard has taken a prominent step in the crypto space by joining an upcoming XRP Ledger hackathon in New York as a sponsor. The global payments leader is set to participate in the 36-hour developer event scheduled for October 24 and 25, bringing together teams aiming to build and launch projects on the XRP Ledger prior to Ripple‘s Swell conference, which will follow in the next week.

Mastercard deepens XRPL involvementThe hackathon will focus on four primary tracks: protocol innovation, agentic finance, lending, and borrowing. Organizers have also called on existing developer teams to consider integrating XRPL features into their current projects.

Mastercard’s engagement with Ripple has been gradually expanding over the past year. In November 2024, Ripple announced a partnership with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini, revolving around Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. This collaboration followed the launch of a special XRP-compatible Mastercard credit card by Gemini in August of last year.

As investors react to rapid shifts driven by central bank decisions or sudden altcoin listings, the need for more efficient tools has become a focal point in the community. Rather than managing charts, news, and portfolios across multiple platforms, traders are now turning to privacy-first solutions like CryptoAppsy. The platform allows users to view real-time charts, access smart price alerts and coin-specific news, and track macroeconomic data—all on a single screen, without requiring account registration.

Peter Brandt shifts Bitcoin outlookIn the latest market developments, Bitcoin surged to $72,335, prompting notable trader Peter Brandt to abandon his bearish outlook and open a long position. Brandt, who leads Factor LLC, credited a decisive breakout from an infrequent inverted head-and-shoulders chart pattern as the cause for his shift in strategy, ending what had been an extended period of declines for the top cryptocurrency.

Brandt had previously expressed concerns about Bitcoin’s trajectory, suggesting there was a significant chance for a further drop, particularly as the broader trend pointed downward. However, once the CME Bitcoin futures (BTC-056 contract) price broke decisively above the crucial neckline of the pattern, the outlook reversed, resulting in a daily gain of $2,585 and driving the asset sharply higher.

Due to the prolonged formation of the right shoulder, Brandt had assessed a 60/40 probability favoring a downside resolution, especially since the broader trend had been bearish, but the technical breakout changed that dynamic.

Protest at Ripple co-founder’s homeIn San Francisco, a group of Sunrise Movement activists gathered outside the home of Chris Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder, as part of a nationwide protest targeting the use of automated license plate readers and law enforcement surveillance technology.

The demonstration, which took place on Friday, was aimed at criticizing Larsen for backing the city’s expansion of police surveillance systems. Protesters distributed flyers on the risks posed by Flock cameras and carried a mock surveillance camera to highlight their concerns, with a message asking if this approach makes residents feel safer.

Luc Bouchard, a local Sunrise Movement organizer, stated that the group doubts automated license plate readers are effective in curbing crime and argued that resources would be better invested in affordable housing.

BlackRock leads US Ethereum ETF inflowsBlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) has posted more than $1.02 billion in net inflows over nine straight US trading sessions from August 17 to August 27, according to data from SoSoValue and reports compiled by Farside.

During this period, ETHA captured roughly 72% of the total net inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs in the US market. The broader group of funds attracted around $1.42 billion in the same span, while ETHA consistently avoided outflows.

On August 28, the US spot Ethereum ETF market saw an additional $102.1 million in net inflows. ETHA remained at the forefront, taking in approximately $83.8 million that day as demand for BlackRock’s offering continued to outpace its competitors.

ETHA accumulated $889.8 million in its first eight trading sessions, underscoring strong investor demand for exposure to Ethereum via BlackRock’s ETF product.

Shiba Inu gains exposure in Japan with new exchange listingJapan’s Shiba Inu community is gaining momentum after the country’s first new registration of a crypto asset exchange operator since 2022. Laser Digital Japan, the local unit of Nomura’s digital assets division, confirmed it has secured registration and can now operate as a crypto asset exchange service provider under the Payment Services Act.

This milestone follows four years without new entrants to Japan’s crypto asset industry, a period in which the country has implemented sweeping regulatory reforms, especially regarding stablecoins. Institutional sentiment has turned more positive as digital assets are increasingly seen as diversification tools, with Shiba Inu set to benefit from the growing presence of exchanges like Laser Digital Japan.

Something interesting is happening on Ethereum. The network’s own activity metrics are sliding, but the DeFi protocols built on top of it are quietly thriving.

Ethereum’s daily active addresses fell from over 1.5 million in January to roughly 544,000 by July, a decline of about 64%. At the same time, DeFi protocols like Aave are seeing a surge in new wallet creation, with Aave adding 1,806 new wallets on Ethereum on June 30 alone. That was its highest single-day total since October 2021.

The numbers behind the divergence Ethereum’s broader network saw new-address creation average 327,000 per day in mid-January, with a single-day peak near 394,000. Those figures were boosted by the Fusaka upgrade in late 2025, which slashed transaction fees and made stablecoin transfers significantly cheaper.

Total value locked across Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem held steady at roughly $41 billion as of July, showing resilience even as the headline metrics deteriorated.

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Data from analytics platforms including Santiment and Dune supports this read. Wallet growth in DeFi-specific protocols, particularly those focused on borrowing and lending, is outpacing the broader Ethereum trend.

What’s driving DeFi wallet growth Lending protocols like Aave operate on a fundamentally different dynamic. Users who deposit collateral or take out loans tend to maintain their positions over weeks or months, not hours.

The Fusaka upgrade played a supporting role here too. By reducing gas fees substantially, it lowered the barrier to entry for DeFi participation. Stablecoin transfers became cheaper, which matters enormously for lending protocols where stablecoin deposits form a large share of available liquidity.

Lower fees also mean that smaller positions become economically viable. A user who might have been priced out of depositing $500 into Aave when gas costs ate 5% of their position can now participate without that friction.

What this means for the Ethereum ecosystem The divergence raises a legitimate question about how to measure Ethereum’s health. A 64% decline in six months coincides with TVL holding steady at $41 billion and DeFi protocols posting multi-year highs in wallet creation.

Layer-2 solutions have already siphoned some transaction volume away from the main chain, and the cooling of NFT speculation removes another source of demand for ETH as gas.

Aave’s June 30 spike was impressive, but a single-day record doesn’t guarantee a trend. The users who remain are the ones actually using financial products, not speculating on digital art.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

20h05 ▪ 5 min read ▪ by Lydie M.

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Grayscale, a16z and the Crypto Council for Innovation ask the SEC not to automatically tighten the rules for the new generation of ETFs. The crypto sector especially refuses that Bitcoin, Ethereum or other digital assets be placed in the same category as private asset funds, leveraged strategies or event contracts. The three organizations want faster reviews tailored to the real risk of each product.

In brief Grayscale, a16z and the CCI sent their proposals to the SEC at the end of August. a16z asks the SEC not to treat all new ETFs as a single category. Grayscale notably wants to establish a confidential procedure before the official submission of a file. Crypto refuses a single rule for all ETFs The SEC has been working on this file for several weeks. The regulator opened at the end of June a consultation on new ETFs and digital assets. Grayscale and a16z have now responded.

The common point between their letters is quite clear: a crypto ETF should not automatically face new constraints simply because the SEC considers it “novel,” that is, new or unusual. The category studied by the regulator is very broad.

It can include products exposed to crypto, private assets, commodities, a single stock, highly leveraged strategies, or prediction markets. a16z believes these products do not present the same liquidity, valuation, or investor protection issues.

The company also recalls that crypto ETFs and ETPs now have a more developed infrastructure. Bitcoin and Ethereum have already set precedents. Solana also has products listed in the United States. For a16z, starting almost from scratch for each new category therefore does not make much sense.

Grayscale and a16z propose two different paths However, the two groups do not agree on everything. a16z wants to keep the current definition of an “investment company” provided by the Investment Company Act of 1940. A product that mainly holds assets that are not financial securities should not automatically fall into this category.

Grayscale defends a similar position. The manager notably refuses that the SEC impose new portfolio conditions, minimum quotas of financial securities, or additional restrictions on crypto products that already have a compliance history. The matter is becoming concrete for Grayscale. The group also removed three Cardano, Hedera, and Polkadot ETF applications in August.

Another problem: timing. Today, an issuer can finish part of the registration of its fund while the authorization for listing by the exchange is still pending. a16z wants to better coordinate these two procedures. The company proposes standardized timelines, shorter reviews, and, when possible, simultaneous processing of applications.

Grayscale puts forward another idea. The group wants an optional and confidential procedure before the public filing, with a defined response time for SEC staff. The CCI also supports this mechanism. It notably mentions the problem of files copied very quickly after their publication, a phenomenon that the use of AI could accelerate even more.

The next wave of crypto ETFs is happening now The market concerned is already large. Assets held in US ETFs exceed 12 trillion dollars according to figures cited in the responses addressed to the SEC. More than 4,600 funds are now available.

Crypto represents only part of this market. But it is advancing quickly. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recently approached 100 billion dollars in assets. Ethereum and Solana also have their own products, while managers are testing assets increasingly distant from the two large cryptos.

One detail still divides the players. a16z would like to reserve the term “ETF” for funds registered under the Investment Company Act. Other products would be clearly identified as ETPs. Grayscale opposes this. For the manager, the term ETF can also describe a listed product with an arbitrage mechanism and a transparent price, regardless of its precise legal framework.

The CCI prefers clearer information on the regulatory status of each product rather than a complete change of names. The SEC must now decide between investor protection, speed of procedures, and the arrival of much more varied crypto products. As for the candidates, they are no longer waiting for Bitcoin or Ethereum: Grayscale has, for example, filed an application to launch a BNB ETF on Nasdaq.

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Lydie M.

Enseignante et ingénieure IT, Lydie découvre le Bitcoin en 2022 et plonge dans l’univers des cryptomonnaies. Elle vulgarise des sujets complexes, décrypte les enjeux du Web3 et défend une vision d’un futur numérique ouvert, inclusif et décentralisé.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Remixpoint, a Tokyo-listed energy and digital asset firm, has exited every altcoin on its balance sheet.

In a timely disclosure filed on September 2, 2026, the company confirmed it sold all of its Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin on September 1.

The total proceeds came to ¥878,814,569 (~$5.5 million). After the sales, the firm now holds only Bitcoin, approximately 1,506 BTC, cementing its shift to a pure Remixpoint Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Four Altcoins Sold in One Day, Dogecoin Was the Only Loser The sales covered four assets in a single trading day. Remixpoint sold 901.44 ETH, 13,920 SOL, 1.19 million XRP, and 2.8 million DOGE.

Against a combined book value of ¥761 million, the firm booked a gain of ¥117,772,649 (~$737,000). ETH and SOL carried the bulk of the profit.

XRP came in as a modest gain. Dogecoin was the only position sold at a loss, at ¥3.25 million below cost.

The sale was executed into a turbulent tape. As CoinGape had reported, Bitcoin fell below $77,000 as fresh U.S. military strikes triggered a broad risk-off selloff on September 1.

Despite that backdrop, Remixpoint still closed the altcoin stack in profit relative to its fiscal-year opening book value.

This signals the sales were a planned strategy close-out. Not capitulation.

Meanwhile, other firms are moving in a different direction on the very same assets.

SharpLink has resumed Ethereum accumulation, and Solana treasury firm DFDV resumed SOL purchases as prices climbed above $100.

Remixpoint’s exit makes it an outlier among DAT peers still stacking altcoins.

Remixpoint Joins Japan’s BTC-Only Treasury Wave, But Charts Its Own Course This move places Remixpoint firmly inside Japan’s growing wave of Bitcoin treasury companies. Yet the firm’s path differs from peers like Metaplanet.

Japan’s largest Bitcoin treasury, Metaplanet, recently added 2,823 BTC, while also launching its U.S. Superplanet vehicle and deploying Bitcoin as productive collateral.

Metaplanet is scaling aggressively. Remixpoint, by contrast, sold its altcoin sleeve to fund grid-scale battery projects.

The company’s own disclosure confirms BTC also generated yield during the holding period.

Bitcoin lending between February and August 2026 produced 14.92 BTC, worth approximately ¥164.21 million.

August alone yielded 2.48 BTC (~¥31.15 million). Combined ETH and SOL staking over the same window added ¥29.87 million.

Management’s logic is clear: BTC serves as both the reserve asset and the yield engine. Altcoin staking was not worth the complexity.

The XRP exit is particularly notable given Japan’s regulatory direction. Lawmakers are advancing a bill to treat Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP like stocks, which could cut crypto tax toward 20%.

At the same time, SBI Holdings is still expanding XRP rails and gaming firm Gumi is adding both BTC and XRP.

Remixpoint’s XRP exit is one mid-cap treasury de-risking, not a signal that Japan is abandoning the asset.

Globally, the DAT debate is also shifting. Strategy has authorized Bitcoin sales for credit and dividend purposes, though Michael Saylor insists the firm will remain a net Bitcoin buyer.

Smaller Japanese firms like ANAP have also entered the BTC treasury space. Remixpoint’s ¥117.8 million profit will book as Q2 FY2027 revenue, quarter ending September 30, 2026.

Proceeds are directed toward battery storage expansion and strengthening shareholder value.

Our guide compares top decentralized futures exchanges by liquidity and fees.

EURC joins USDC on Circle's native transfer railsStablecoin issuer @circle has extended its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) to cover native EURC transfers, applying the same burn-and-mint mechanism it already uses for $USDC. The expansion launches first on Ethereum and Base.

Under the protocol, That means no wrapped version of EURC is created at any point in the process.

Adding EURC to CCTP brings Circle's euro token in line with the infrastructure that has underpinned USDC cross-chain transfers since the protocol launched.

EURC's growing footprint under MiCAThe timing reflects EURC's rapid growth.

Bringing native EURC transfers to CCTP removes a key friction point for developers and institutions moving euro-denominated liquidity between chains without relying on wrapped assets or third-party bridges.

Sources
Circle: Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP)
Circle: EURC Exceeds €400 Million in Circulation
Crypto News: Circle's euro stablecoin EURC tops €400 million in circulation