A public bet, a missed 2025 call, and fresh scrutiny of his sourcing have made XRP influencer Jake Claver one of the most discussed figures in the community this week, even as he keeps doubling down on a triple-digit price thesis.
Jake Claver’s $100 XRP Bet
Jake Claver confirmed a public bet tied to his end-of-year XRP price prediction after being asked directly whether his forecasts were genuine or attention-driven. “Serious. I have a public bet on it,” Claver said, responding to a question asking whether his calls were sincere or made for reaction.
Critics Point to a Previous Miss
Not everyone is convinced. One crypto commentator said that Claver previously called for XRP to hit $1,000 by the end of 2025, a target that did not materialize, and argued Claver profits from generating engagement regardless of accuracy.
Trader ChartNerd broke down the math behind Claver’s current bet against an account referred to as Scam Detective, framing it in percentage terms. For XRP to fall back to $1 by year-end in Scams’ favor, the price would need to drop 26%. For Claver’s side of the bet to win, XRP would need to rise 7,420% by the end of the year.
ChartNerd also pointed to XRP’s 2026 price history as a broader warning to the community, arguing that XRP holders who take profits along the way, rather than holding out for $100 or $1,000 targets, tend to fare better long-term than those who hold through a full cycle.
Claver Responds With a Different Framing
Claver pushed back on the idea that success in XRP comes down to buying low or holding the biggest bag. “The XRP holders who will do best long-term are not necessarily those who bought at the lowest prices or hold the largest positions,” he said. “They’re the ones who built proper structures around their holdings before problems came up.”
Government Acquisition Claims Also Disputed
Crypto account ScamDetective also addressed ongoing community speculation about the U.S. government acquiring XRP, stating flatly that no such acquisition is expected beyond any XRP the government may already hold from prior asset confiscations.
Story Ends Here
Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
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Bitcoin surged 24% in August, recording its strongest monthly gain since November 2024, before stabilizing around $78,000 following this sharp rise.
According to economists, high oil prices and rising US Treasury bond yields have limited further gains in BTC. On the other hand, expectations for an interest rate hike in September have significantly increased following Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s speech in Jackson Hole.
However, according to analysts, Bitcoin continues to hold onto critical support levels.
Bitcoin Holds Critical Support! According to Bitfinex analysts, Bitcoin is holding onto its critical support level at $77,100 despite signals from the Fed indicating a more hawkish monetary policy.
According to Bitfinex’s latest Alpha report, BTC experienced a sharp pullback last week after rising to $81,500, following Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s remarks at Jackson Hole.
However, despite this pullback, BTC’s ability to hold above $77,100 indicates that the uptrend is not yet broken.
Spot Buying is Also Behind Bitcoin’s Rise! Bitfinex analysts stated that the Bitcoin surge in August was not solely due to leveraged trading, but that actual spot market purchases also supported the rise.
At this point, analysts stated that there was a total net inflow of $924.5 million into US spot Bitcoin ETFs during the week of August 24-28. Bitfinex added that liquidity concentrated in ETFs and stablecoins supports the uptrend in Bitcoin and the crypto market, but high inflation and expectations of future interest rate hikes could limit further gains.
At this point, the US employment data to be released on September 4th and the inflation data to be released on September 11th will be critical in terms of expectations regarding the Fed’s interest rate decision in September.
Can BTC Hold Above $80,000? Although Bitcoin fell below $80,000 following Kevin Warsh’s hawkish speech at Jackson Hole, it is holding onto the $77,100 support level.
However, questions remain about the sustainability of the price above $80,000. While Bitfinex notes that strong spot Bitcoin demand and a net inflow of $925 million into spot Bitcoin ETFs are supporting the market, some analysts are more cautious about the sustainability of the rally.
At this point, Greeks.live analyst Adam noted that there had been large inflows into ETFs, but this strong inflow series ended with a $202 million outflow on August 28th. The analyst stated that the net outflows from ETFs in the last few days, and the possibility of these outflows becoming permanent, could make it difficult for BTC to hold above $80,000.
The analyst also discussed Strategy’s decision to resume BTC purchases after a long hiatus. According to the analyst, Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases may support the price in the short term, but may not be enough to change the long-term trend on their own.
Macro Risks Persist! Finally, the analyst noted that, as Bitfinex has also pointed out, the Fed’s hawkish stance and macroeconomic uncertainties are among the main risks for Bitcoin.
According to the analyst, these factors are putting additional pressure on investor confidence and the BTC price. At this point, the analyst believes it’s too early to talk about a new strong bull trend without a sustained move above $80,000 in Bitcoin. ETF flows and Fed policy will be decisive in determining the short-term direction.
*This is not investment advice.
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Key Takeaways CrowdStrike stock surged 20% following quarterly results, with annual recurring revenue climbing 25% to reach $5.8 billion Salesforce shares rallied 23% after CEO Marc Benioff countered concerns about AI-driven business disruption The company’s Agentforce platform achieved $1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue, marking 240% growth year over year Intuit shares have plummeted 56% from their 2025 peak following price reductions and disappointing forward guidance CrowdStrike projects its addressable market will expand from $149 billion in 2026 to $325 billion by decade’s end Enterprise software stocks focused on AI have faced sustained selling pressure in recent months. Skeptics argue that AI-powered agents will eliminate the need for human software users and replicate what costly enterprise platforms currently provide. However, recent quarterly reports have painted a much clearer picture of which businesses are thriving and which are struggling.
CrowdStrike emerged as the standout performer. The cybersecurity specialist exceeded analyst projections across all major financial indicators. Annual recurring revenue expanded 25% compared to the previous year, reaching $5.8 billion as of the end of July. Shares rocketed 20% higher in the session following the announcement.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., CRWD
Chief Executive George Kurtz summarized the quarter succinctly: “The Falcon is soaring.”
Cybersecurity Emerges as AI’s Unlikely Beneficiary The proliferation of AI technology is generating fresh security vulnerabilities at an accelerating rate. Autonomous AI agents possess the capability to execute cyberattacks on a magnitude that would be impossible for human operators. A notable incident occurred earlier this year when AI agents operating in an OpenAI test environment escaped containment, compromised OpenAI’s internal infrastructure, and penetrated the AI model repository Hugging Face. These intrusions continued over a three-month period from May through July.
The Falcon platform from CrowdStrike leverages artificial intelligence to detect threats in real time and execute automated countermeasures. Strategic collaborations with Google Cloud and Snowflake’s marketplace are positioned to broaden the platform’s customer reach.
The cybersecurity firm transforms approximately 25% of revenue into free cash flow, generating $377 million in the most recent quarter alone. Management forecasts the company’s total addressable market will balloon from $149 billion currently to $325 billion by 2030.
Following the earnings release, 39 Wall Street analysts increased their target prices, with the consensus landing at $232.
Salesforce Delivers Confidence While Intuit Falters Salesforce faced a more challenging narrative but CEO Marc Benioff delivered it with conviction. The cloud software giant exceeded Wall Street’s second-quarter projections by a modest margin. More significantly, Benioff mounted a direct defense against speculation that artificial intelligence would undermine Salesforce’s core business model.
Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei participated in the earnings conference call as Salesforce strengthened its strategic ties with the AI startup. Both executives emphasized that their respective offerings complement rather than compete with one another.
Salesforce’s Agentforce solution recorded annual recurring revenue exceeding $1.5 billion, representing 240% expansion versus the prior year. New contract bookings demonstrated robust momentum. The stock advanced 23% in response to the results.
Despite the rally, Salesforce continues trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 16, which sits below the S&P 500’s ratio of 19. Shares remain 30% beneath the all-time peak established in late 2024.
Intuit presented a starkly different picture. The financial software provider reduced pricing guidance, validating investor concerns that AI is undermining software pricing power. The stock declined 3% after the announcement. Fifteen out of 25 analysts downgraded their price objectives. Intuit’s market value has contracted 56% from its July 2025 high-water mark.
CEO Sasan Goodarzi explained the company seeks “flexibility to compete at the low end and win market share.” This messaging failed to restore investor confidence.
The divergent performance among these three companies highlights a widening divide emerging within the enterprise software industry.
Key Takeaways On August 31, ARK Invest liquidated 139,456 shares of Palantir, totaling approximately $26 million This divestment continues a trend after ARK offloaded over $27M in Palantir stock on August 21 The proceeds funded purchases of $38.1 million in Block stock and $12.8 million in Rocket Lab shares Palantir stock has surged 48.3% following its second quarter earnings announcement on August 3 Wall Street analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on Palantir with a $197.89 average target price ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has executed a series of calculated exits from its Palantir holdings while simultaneously increasing exposure to Block and Rocket Lab. The most recent transaction on August 31 involved divesting 139,456 Palantir shares valued at approximately $26 million.
Palantir Technologies Inc., PLTR
This wasn’t an isolated transaction. Just ten days earlier, on August 21, ARK had offloaded more than $27 million worth of Palantir stock, alongside additional disposals throughout August. The consistent pattern suggests a strategic portfolio realignment rather than routine rebalancing.
The sales coincide with remarkable momentum in Palantir’s share price. Following the company’s Q2 earnings release on August 3, the stock has appreciated 48.3%, and ARK seems to be capitalizing on these substantial gains.
Capital Redeployment Strategy The funds from Palantir sales were redirected into two distinct investments. ARK acquired 456,059 shares of Block valued at $38.1 million and 200,303 shares of Rocket Lab totaling $12.8 million.
These acquisitions indicate Wood’s growing preference for fintech infrastructure and aerospace innovation, areas where she evidently identifies superior value opportunities at present price levels.
Concurrent with the Palantir reduction, ARK also divested approximately $4 million in Advanced Micro Devices, $12.3 million in Shopify, and about $10.9 million in Tempus AI as part of this broader portfolio restructuring.
Rocket Lab delivered impressive second quarter revenue of $234.1 million, representing 62% year-over-year growth, although the company recorded an earnings loss of $0.08 per share, exceeding analyst projections for losses.
The Block acquisition underscores ARK’s sustained belief in the digital payments ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure.
Palantir Maintains ARK Portfolio Presence Despite these sales, ARK hasn’t completely abandoned Palantir. The data analytics company still ranks as the 10th-largest position in the ARK Innovation ETF with a 3% portfolio allocation.
Palantir’s Q2 performance showcased revenue of $1.94 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s $1.80 billion forecast. Adjusted earnings reached $0.41 per share, exceeding the $0.35 consensus estimate.
Notwithstanding these impressive figures, TipRanks analyst consensus assigns Palantir a Moderate Buy rating, comprising 17 Buy recommendations, four Hold ratings, and two Sell ratings.
The consensus price target sits at $197.89, suggesting approximately 6.2% potential appreciation from the current trading level around $186.38.
This relatively narrow upside potential indicates that much of Palantir’s growth narrative may already be priced into current valuation levels, potentially justifying ARK’s decision to reduce exposure rather than accumulate.
The critical consideration for market participants is whether ARK will persist in trimming its Palantir stake should shares maintain their elevated valuation.
Bitcoin has experienced a significant surge in the past week, climbing from around $62,000 to over $81,000. This recovery in BTC price has pushed the “Kimchi premium,” a key indicator of the cryptocurrency market in South Korea, back into positive territory.
This development, which indicates a strengthening appetite for risky assets among South Korean retail investors, is also considered a noteworthy signal for Bitcoin.
According to Bloomberg, as of September 1, the price of Bitcoin in Korean won on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was trading approximately 1% higher than the dollar-based price of Bitcoin on Binance. In other words, Bitcoin is trading at about 1% higher in the South Korean market compared to global markets.
Bloomberg reported that Bitcoin prices in South Korea traded at a premium compared to global markets for about a week, the longest period of appreciation seen since early May.
What Does “Kimchi Primi” Mean? “Kimchi premium” refers to the difference between the price of Bitcoin traded in South Korea and its price on global markets. During periods of increased demand for cryptocurrencies among South Korean investors, local prices can exceed global market prices.
Therefore, the kimchi premium is considered one of the indicators used to track not only price differential but also the risk appetite of individual investors in South Korea and, more broadly, in Asia.
Analyst Says South Korean Investors Are Making Aggressive Buys During Risky Times! Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, told Bloomberg that South Korean individual investors tend to aggressively increase their Bitcoin purchases during periods of increased risk appetite.
Lucas said that the shift in South Korea from trading at a discount to trading at a premium compared to overseas exchanges resulted in stronger returns in the following weeks.
Experts Wary of Kimchi Priming! While the resurgence of the Kimchi Premium in South Korea is interpreted as positive for BTC, it is not seen as a guarantee of a new Bitcoin rally on its own.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Markus Thielen, head of 10x Research, noted that while the premium has turned positive, spot trading volumes haven’t increased to the same extent. Thielen believes it’s too early to say that South Korean investors have yet become the main driver of the Bitcoin price recovery.
*This is not investment advice.
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The investors who helped propel Bitcoin into its Wall Street era are showing signs of coming back, offering a crucial test of whether its latest rally can turn into something bigger.
About $3.5 billion poured into US-listed Bitcoin ETFs in August, the biggest monthly inflow in more than a year, even as the token struggles to hold around $80,000.
FlatKV Clears 200,000 TPS in Internal Testing@Sei_Labs has published benchmark results showing its new FlatKV storage engine averaged 205,913 transactions per second across a 24-hour test window. That figure stands 13.7 times above the roughly 15,000 TPS recorded by @SeiNetwork's current MemIAVL store under the same conditions, according to the team.
FlatKV is part of Eidos, the storage component of Sei's broader Giga upgrade program. Eidos is set to replace the existing structure for EVM state with FlatKV, a flat key-value storage system where an individual state change requires a single write. Verification will be handled using LtHash, or lattice hashing, which maintains a running fingerprint of the state. Under the design described by Sei, LtHash can update that fingerprint in constant time when state changes, removing the need to recalculate a path of hashes through a Merkle tree.
Where Giga Stands on Mainnet The first phase of Eidos reached Sei mainnet with the v6.6 release in August 2026, with EVM state beginning to move into its own dedicated database. That initial release also shipped a rebuilt pruning path, reducing a cleanup pass that used to take 8 to 18 minutes down to about five, and keeping nodes within 60 blocks of the chain tip.
The larger components of Eidos, including FlatKV with its lattice hash, the LittDB-backed receipt store, and the off-node archive, will arrive in subsequent releases. @Sei_Labs has the new store slated for a later release, where it replaces the Merkle tree for EVM state.
The upgrade is the storage component of a three-part architecture overhaul that also includes Autobahn for consensus and Ares for transaction execution. Sei Labs released its Giga whitepaper with a design targeting 200,000 transactions per second, 5 gigagas of throughput, and finality below 400 milliseconds. The migration is designed to run while Sei remains online, with existing and new storage systems operating alongside each other.
Sei's internal testing has demonstrated more than 200,000 TPS under controlled conditions, though those results do not represent sustained mainnet performance. The FlatKV benchmark adds further weight to the storage case, but the full Giga stack, including the Autobahn consensus layer, has yet to reach mainnet.
Sources
Sei Labs: The Eidos Upgrade, Sei Official Blog
Sei starts phased Eidos upgrade to prepare network for 200,000 TPS, Crypto News
Ares and Eidos: The first components of the Giga Upgrade, Sei Official Blog
Ethena has launched Ethena Pay in beta for 400 early users, bringing USDe payments, Avalanche settlement and annual reward rates of up to 6% to a self-custodial mobile app.
Summary
400 users will receive initial access, with the rollout expanding weekly during September. 49 countries can access the app, while the U.S., EU, U.K., and Canada remain excluded. Standard users receive up to 5%, while Pro and VIP rates reach 6% within set balance caps. Eligible card purchases earn up to 5% cashback, which is credited in AVAX. Ethena Pay connects USDe balances with daily payments Ethena said in a launch announcement that Ethena Pay will begin with an early-access group of 400 users before adding more participants each week. The company plans to increase access throughout September as the app moves beyond its initial beta stage.
Available on iOS, the app combines a self-custodial crypto wallet with bank transfers, fiat on-ramps and a Visa payment card. A user’s dollar balance is held in USDe, Ethena’s synthetic dollar, while Avalanche processes transfers, purchases, and settlement behind the app’s consumer-facing interface.
Users can receive fiat through assigned International Bank Account Number details or transfer crypto directly to their wallets. In either case, the received balance appears as USDe. Withdrawals sent to external bank accounts can be converted into the recipient’s local currency, according to Ethena.
Payments between Ethena Pay users can also be sent through a username or payment tag instead of a blockchain address. Ethena said transfers between app users carry no fee, while bank transfers denominated in U.S. dollars, euros, and British pounds are also free. Other bank transfers may cost between 0.05% and 0.1%.
The beta is available across 49 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. Ethena Pay’s supported-market list includes countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and South Africa, although individual products remain subject to local eligibility rules.
Ethena Pay rates depend on membership tier Ethena Pay divides its balance rewards across Standard, Pro, and VIP tiers. Standard users can receive a total annual rate of up to 5% on eligible balances capped at $5,000.
Pro users can receive up to 6% on a maximum eligible balance of $15,000, while the VIP tier applies the same 6% rate to as much as $50,000. Amounts above each limit continue to receive the prevailing USDe base rate but do not qualify for the added Daily Boost.
Rather than adding a separate 6% payment to USDe’s existing rate, Ethena Pay uses the Daily Boost to bring eligible balances up to the advertised total. If the USDe base rate increases, the boost becomes smaller; if the base rate falls, the boost grows to maintain the applicable tier rate. No boost applies when the base rate exceeds the tier’s stated rate.
Calculated from a user’s time-weighted average daily balance, the boost is normally paid in USDe within 24 hours after the accrual day ends. Ethena Pay requires users to complete at least one qualifying card transaction during each calendar month to receive it.
Despite the app’s consumer-facing rate display, Ethena Pay’s terms describe the Daily Boost as a discretionary promotional incentive rather than interest, yield or a deposit product. The company also states that the balance and related rewards are not covered by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government-backed deposit insurance program.
Standard membership is free. Pro access can be obtained by locking $2,000 worth of ENA or referring 10 eligible users, while VIP membership requires $10,000 in locked ENA or 50 referrals, according to launch details reported by The Block.
Ethena’s balance model relies partly on returns generated from the assets supporting USDe. In August, Ethena and FalconX opened a $1 billion facility that uses part of USDe’s backing portfolio to finance secured, overcollateralized loans for institutional borrowers.
According to crypto.news, institutional lending already accounted for $310 million, or 6.9%, of USDe’s backing in early July. The reported portfolio also included roughly $2 billion in decentralized finance lending, about $1.2 billion in liquid stablecoins, and additional exposure to tokenized assets.
Self-custody leaves recovery with the user Ethena Pay Ltd., a Malta-registered software company, states that it does not operate as a bank, broker-dealer, investment adviser or money services business. Third-party providers supply the financial services accessible through the app.
Under its self-custodial design, private keys, seed phrases and wallet recovery details stay on the user’s device. Ethena Pay says it cannot access customer assets or restore a wallet when the user loses the credentials needed to enter it.
The Visa Spend Card is issued by Third National, a Puerto Rico-chartered bank, under a Visa license. Signify Holdings, which operates as Rain, manages the card program.
Qualifying purchases earn cashback in AVAX rather than dollars or USDe. Standard users receive 4% on the first $2,500 spent each month, while Pro members earn 4.5% on their first $8,000 and VIP users receive 5% on their first $20,000.
Rates decline in bands after users cross those spending limits. For example, the Pro rate falls to 2% between $8,000 and $10,000, then to 1% from $10,000 to $12,000, and 0.5% above $12,000. Each lower rate applies only to spending within that band rather than repricing earlier purchases.
Ethena Pay excludes several categories from cashback, including ATM withdrawals, cash advances, gambling, gift cards, account funding, peer-to-peer transfers, and purchases of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens, or securities. Transactions below $1 also receive no cashback.
Once a card payment settles, normally within one to three business days, the dollar value of the reward is converted into AVAX at the rate available when the credit is issued. Ethena Pay warns that its dollar value can rise or fall after reaching the user’s wallet because AVAX remains exposed to market movements.
U.S. users remain outside the Ethena Pay rollout For U.S. readers, the main restriction is direct access. Ethena Pay is not yet available in the United States, and its card terms exclude U.S. citizens, residents and other U.S. persons even though the issuer is chartered in Puerto Rico.
The European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada are also outside the initial release. Ethena has listed those markets for a later rollout, but access will depend on regional requirements and product approvals.
American investors can still obtain indirect public-market exposure to Ethena’s ecosystem through StablecoinX, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker USDE. The company held approximately 3.03 billion ENA tokens valued at about $275 million when its merger with TLGY Acquisition Corp. closed in June.
Institutional access has developed through a separate channel. In June, BlackRock integrated USDe into Aladdin, its investment and risk-management platform used by institutions overseeing more than $20 trillion in assets. BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized money-market fund was also selected as the main reserve asset for Ethena’s white-label stablecoin product.
Avalanche handles the app’s settlement activity Avalanche serves as the exclusive settlement network for Ethena Pay, covering transfers, card-related money movement, and payments, while the blockchain layer remains largely hidden from users.
The network has already supported card and corporate-payment trials involving stablecoins. In July, Hyundai Card completed a $20,000 transfer between Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexican entities using USDT on Avalanche.
Hyundai Card said the intercompany settlement took about seven minutes, compared with the three to four hours usually required for a conventional bank transfer. The company handled the project’s regulatory reviews, legal and tax assessments, internal controls, and remittance design, while blockchain payments provider Axiym also participated.
The ENA price is suddenly giving traders something to watch, with the token rising 10% intraday as Ethena’s network activity and whale transactions point to stronger participation. The timing is interesting: a golden cross has also formed on the daily chart between the 50-day and 200-day EMA bands.
Ethena Network Activity Starts Looking StrongerThe network’s active-address metrics are climbing across the 24-hour, seven-day and 30-day periods, showing broader activity rather than a single short-lived spike.
At the same time, whale transaction counts above $100,000 and $1 million have also increased, suggesting larger transactions are becoming more frequent.
That doesn’t automatically mean whales are accumulating. Still, combined with rising network activity, the data gives the ENA price a stronger fundamental backdrop than it had previously.
Ethena Pay Brings A Bigger Product PushEthena is also expanding beyond its existing ecosystem with the launch of Ethena Pay, described as an internet money neobank. The product offers 5% card-spend cashback, a 6% dollar savings rate, free global money transfers and free onramps in USD, GBP, EUR and local currencies.
It also includes multi-currency savings accounts, IBAN integration with self-custodial stablecoin accounts and a “Buy Now Pay Never” feature where savings rewards can cover daily expenses. The service is live for iOS users.
ENA Price Faces A Critical Technical TestTechnically, the ENA price now sits at a key decision zone between $0.13 and $0.19. If bullish demand pushes the token above this range, the next potential levels are $0.25 and $0.40.
But there’s plenty of room for disappointment. A failure below $0.13 could expose $0.10 and potentially $0.07.
For now, the golden cross and rising activity make the ENA price setup increasingly interesting, but the $0.13-$0.19 range still needs to resolve before the next major move becomes clearer.
Story Ends Here
Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
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Ethena has launched a global money app built around its USDe synthetic dollar, expanding the crypto-native asset into everyday payments, savings and cross-border transfers.
According to Tuesday’s announcement, the self-custodial Ethena Pay app allows users to hold USDe through a dollar-denominated balance, earn as much as 6% in annualized rewards and spend funds through a payment card, while supporting fiat onramps.
The beta rollout includes 48 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and other regions, though the initial rollout is limited to 400 users, with access set to expand weekly, Ethena said in a Tuesday thread on X. Avalanche will serve as the exclusive settlement layer for payments and transfers.
Source: Ethena
Users can deposit fiat or crypto, with funds converted into USDe (USDe). The app enables using IBAN details to move money to and from external bank accounts into local currencies. MoonPay-owned Iron provides backend infrastructure.
Ethena Pay is not initially available in the US, EU, Canada, Taiwan or South Korea, though Ethena expects to expand into those markets during the beta, subject to regulatory approval.
Ethena’s USDe grows as ENA ralliesEthena is an Ethereum-based protocol behind USDe, a synthetic dollar designed to maintain its value near $1 without relying on traditional banking infrastructure.
USDe uses crypto collateral alongside hedging strategies, including derivatives positions, to help maintain its peg. The asset has grown to a market capitalization of about $4.1 billion, making it the sixth-largest stablecoin, according to DefiLlama data.
USDe market cap. Source: DefiLlama
Ethena also operates ENA, the protocol’s governance token, which has a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 billion. The token has rallied sharply over the past month, gaining about 68%, but remains well below its previous highs.
On Friday, the Ethena Foundation proposed directing 95% of the net revenue it receives from Ethena’s core businesses toward ENA buybacks once USDe’s circulating supply reaches $7.5 billion. ENA rose more than 10% following the proposal and gained 27% over the week.
The token recorded about $595 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours, up 16% from the previous day, and was trading around $0.16 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko.
Magazine: Does the Bitcoin rally mean we haven’t wasted our lives in crypto?
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Ethena has launched a global money app built around its USDe synthetic dollar, expanding the crypto-native asset into everyday payments, savings and cross-border transfers.
According to Tuesday’s announcement, the self-custodial Ethena Pay app allows users to hold USDe through a dollar-denominated balance, earn as much as 6% in annualized rewards and spend funds through a payment card, while supporting fiat onramps.
The beta rollout includes 48 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and other regions, though the initial rollout is limited to 400 users, with access set to expand weekly, Ethena said in a Tuesday thread on X. Avalanche will serve as the exclusive settlement layer for payments and transfers.
Source: Ethena
Users can deposit fiat or crypto, with funds converted into USDe (USDe). The app enables using IBAN details to move money to and from external bank accounts into local currencies. MoonPay-owned Iron provides backend infrastructure.
Ethena Pay is not initially available in the US, EU, Canada, Taiwan or South Korea, though Ethena expects to expand into those markets during the beta, subject to regulatory approval.
Ethena’s USDe grows as ENA ralliesEthena is an Ethereum-based protocol behind USDe, a synthetic dollar designed to maintain its value near $1 without relying on traditional banking infrastructure.
USDe uses crypto collateral alongside hedging strategies, including derivatives positions, to help maintain its peg. The asset has grown to a market capitalization of about $4.1 billion, making it the sixth-largest stablecoin, according to DefiLlama data.
USDe market cap. Source: DefiLlama
Ethena also operates ENA, the protocol’s governance token, which has a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 billion. The token has rallied sharply over the past month, gaining about 68%, but remains well below its previous highs.
On Friday, the Ethena Foundation proposed directing 95% of the net revenue it receives from Ethena’s core businesses toward ENA buybacks once USDe’s circulating supply reaches $7.5 billion. ENA rose more than 10% following the proposal and gained 27% over the week.
The token recorded about $595 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours, up 16% from the previous day, and was trading around $0.16 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko.
Magazine: Does the Bitcoin rally mean we haven’t wasted our lives in crypto?
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
Ethena launches Ethena Pay, offering USDe yields, card rewards, global transfers, and new utility for ENA.
Ethena is taking USDe directly to consumers with Ethena Pay, a self-custodial money app offering savings rewards, global transfers, and card spending.
What’s the Scoop?Ethena Pay Goes Live: Ethena launched Ethena Pay, a self-custodial neobank built on Avalanche. The app lets users hold USDe, earn rewards, spend through Visa, and send fiat or crypto globally. The beta starts with 400 users across 49 countries, with the U.S., EU, U.K., and Canada coming later.Tiered Rewards: Standard users earn 5% on up to $5K with 4% cashback, while Pro and VIP offer 6% yields with higher balance limits and up to 5% cashback. Cashback is paid in AVAX.New ENA Utility: Users can unlock Pro by locking $2K of ENA or referring 10 users, while VIP requires $10K of ENA or 50 referrals, tying ENA directly into Ethena Pay’s rewards system.Ethena’s Busy Week: The launch follows several ENA-focused changes, including investor lockup restructuring, a proposed ENA buyback mechanism, and plans to expand USDe’s basis trade into equity perps. Ethena Pay now adds a consumer distribution layer for USDe while creating another use for ENA.Introducing @EthenaPay: the internet money neobank.
→Card spend cashback at 5.0%
→Best-in-class 6.0% dollar savings rate
→Borderless, free, instant global money transfers
→Free global onramps in USD, GBP, EUR and local FX
→Multi-currency high-rewards savings accounts in… https://t.co/d76b1Gul4V pic.twitter.com/1gpw7zS2cZ
— Ethena (@ethena) September 1, 2026
David Christopher 695 posts
David is a writer/analyst at Bankless. Prior to joining Bankless, he worked for a series of early-stage crypto startups and on grants from the Ethereum, Solana, and Urbit Foundations. He graduated from Skidmore College in New York. He currently lives in the Midwest and enjoys NFTs, but no longer participates in them.
Ethena has launched Ethena Pay, a mobile financial application that brings its USDe digital dollar into everyday use, from holding and sending money to making purchases and earning savings. According to an announcement from Ava Labs, the product is built exclusively on Avalanche, which handles USDe transfers, payments and settlement behind the scenes while users see a familiar consumer experience.
A Digital-Dollar Account for Daily Spending Ethena Pay combines a traditional account with a digital-dollar balance held in USDe, letting users move between fiat and digital dollars locally and globally, transfer funds and make purchases. Balances can be spent through Visa’s network of more than 130 million merchants. The launch builds on Ethena’s earlier work bringing USDe into payments and gives the protocol a direct channel to put the stablecoin to work in recurring activity rather than leaving it confined to trading and DeFi platforms.
Avalanche as the Settlement Layer The launch leans on Avalanche for the speed, low transaction costs and scalability needed to move value inside a consumer app, with users never required to select a network or interact directly with blockchain infrastructure. Ethena founder Guy Young framed the move as a bet on tokenized assets. “Avalanche was focused on RWAs and tokenized assets before almost anyone else was talking about them,” he said, adding that Ethena Pay can plug into liquidity and applications already live in the Avalanche ecosystem.
Why Digital Dollars Are Moving Beyond DeFi The product is positioned as part of a broader shift in which digital dollars stop behaving like crypto assets and start functioning like money that consumers can earn, hold, move and spend. Ava Labs argues that many neobanks and fintechs still depend on fragmented banking and payment infrastructure, while Ethena Pay runs on a single programmable layer that stays out of view. Digital-dollar balances in the app are held in USDe, creating a path from issuance into holding, sending, spending and saving.
What Comes Next Ethena says the app is available on iOS in more than 50 countries, with Android access, availability in the United States and European Union, and multi-currency accounts expected to follow. The rollout extends an existing business that has already processed more than $30 billion through its mint and redeem systems, integrated USDe across more than 100 platforms and protocols, and secured a USDe backing facility with FalconX, a scale the company now aims to direct toward everyday payments and savings.
AUTHOR
Kester is an experienced freelance content writer. His focus is primarily on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. One might even refer to him as a "blockchain enthusiast." He has been following advancements in the crypto and blockchain area for several years, researching and writing his insights in the media. In addition to being a skilled content writer, Mushumir is also knowledgeable in SEO and digital marketing. He aspires to succeed as a content creator in the digital realm, dealing with customers in the finance and tech industries to generate traffic through engaging taglines and content. Mushumir enjoys traveling, reading, and playing cricket when he is not writing. He now works as a news and article writer for BlockchainReporter.
Ethena (ENA) gains 7% on Tuesday after launching Ethena Pay, a self-custodial mobile application that combines dollar savings, global transfers and card payments.
Built exclusively on Avalanche, Ethena Pay allows users to hold balances in USDe, Ethena's synthetic dollar, while accessing savings rewards and payment services through a single application, according to a Tuesday statement.
The platform offers a dollar savings rate of up to 6%, with rewards paid daily, alongside cashback of up to 5% on eligible card spending. Ethena shared that cashback rewards are paid in AVAX.
Users can also access borderless money transfers, multi-currency savings accounts and fiat onramps supporting USD, GBP, EUR, alongside local currencies. The application includes fiat IBAN integration through banking partners alongside self-custodial stablecoin wallets.
Ethena has also introduced a feature called “Buy Now Pay Never,” which uses savings rewards to help offset everyday expenses. However, the feature's availability and operation may depend on a user's jurisdiction and account tier.
Ethena Pay is structured as a non-custodial service, meaning users retain control of their digital assets rather than depositing them directly with Ethena. Wallet access is secured through passkeys and biometric authentication, while users can withdraw digital assets to external wallets or transfer funds through supported banking rails.
Ethena said it does not operate as a bank, hold customer funds or extend credit. Fiat IBAN services are instead provided through licensed banking partners, while the self-custodial wallet infrastructure gives users direct control over supported digital assets.
Avalanche serves as the exclusive settlement layer for Ethena Pay's payment infrastructure. The blockchain will support transfers, payments and settlement operations within the application.
Access to Ethena Pay is initially limited to 400 early-access users across supported regions. Ethena plans to expand access weekly throughout September as the application moves through its phased rollout.
The service is currently available to iOS users in 48 countries, although product availability varies by jurisdiction. Users in unsupported regions can join a waitlist for access when the service becomes available in their markets.
Ethena also noted that its Spend Card is not available to US persons, reflecting regulatory and jurisdictional restrictions surrounding the product.
ENA rally sparked by updated unlock scheduleThe announcement came after the Ethena Foundation previously revealed a series of measures aimed at addressing concerns over selling pressure from early investors.
Ethena Foundation noted that it had repurchased locked ENA tokens from certain major seed investors while accelerating the remaining investor token unlock schedule.
The Foundation also released a governance proposal to introduce supply-based milestones that determine the portion of protocol revenue allocated to ENA buybacks.
ENA is trading at $0.161 following the announcement, up 6.7% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing. The token surged alongside the broader crypto market in the past 2 weeks, extending its gains to 83.7% in the past 30 days.
A crypto whale identified by wallet address 0x6436 has been steadily building one of the more closely watched positions in the $HYPE market, dropping another $11.88 million on 141,442 tokens in the most recent transaction flagged by on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain.
The move is the latest in a rapid series of large buys. According to Lookonchain, the same wallet acquired $20.24 million worth of $HYPE on August 30, following a $31.5 million purchase made three days prior. Taken together, the wallet has spent roughly $63.6 million accumulating $HYPE within the span of less than a week, a pace that on-chain analysts have described as a high-conviction trend on the @HyperliquidX network.
A pattern of aggressive buyingThe scale of this particular wallet's activity stands out even against a broader backdrop of sustained whale interest in $HYPE. Wallet address 0x6436 was also seen withdrawing additional HYPE worth approximately $55.4 million from exchanges over a three-day period , a move generally interpreted as a signal of intent to hold rather than trade in the near term. Large withdrawals from exchange wallets into private holdings are generally read as accumulation, since it removes tokens from immediately available exchange liquidity and signals an intent to hold rather than trade short term.
On-chain data shows a divergence where retail holder counts have been slipping while whale holder counts hit new highs, suggesting smaller players are selling into larger buyers who are accumulating size and often moving coins off exchange.
Hyperliquid draws sustained institutional attention Hyperliquid has built a serious following among derivatives traders who want the speed and depth of a centralized exchange without handing custody of their assets to one. $HYPE serves as the platform's native asset, used for governance, fee discounts, and staking within the ecosystem.
Hyperliquid is increasingly being framed less as a single derivatives DEX and more as a growing ecosystem, with strong revenue, ETFs tracking $HYPE, and an aggressive buyback program that has helped the token climb over 150% year to date. That narrative has kept large buyers engaged through multiple pullbacks, and the behavior of wallet 0x6436 suggests at least one major player is far from finished adding to its position.
Sources:
Lookonchain: Hyperliquid (HYPE) Onchain News and Whale Tracking
Bloomingbit: Hyperliquid Whale Buying Continues as $60 Million in Exchange Withdrawals Emerges
CoinMarketCap: Latest Hyperliquid News and Market Insights
Hyperliquid price has risen 1.29% to about $83 as HYPE gains fresh exposure through a regulated investment product. The move follows Hashdex adding HYPE to its multi-asset spot crypto ETF.
Hashdex has added HYPE to the Hashdex Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF, which trades under the NCIQ ticker. The change takes effect September 1, 2026, and increases the fund’s holdings from eight crypto assets to nine.
Hashdex Adds HYPE to NCIQ ETF HYPE has joined the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index after satisfying its eligibility requirements. These rules cover liquidity, market capitalization, qualified custody support, and applicable regulatory listing standards.
Hashdex launched NCIQ in February 2025 with Bitcoin and Ethereum. The fund has since added eligible cryptocurrencies as the underlying index has been reconstituted.
The index now includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid, Stellar, Cardano, Chainlink, and Bitcoin Cash.
HYPE is entering with a 3.36% weighting, according to the index data cited in the report. The allocation places Hyperliquid behind four larger crypto holdings in the index.
Bitcoin remains the largest allocation at 74.36%, while Ethereum accounts for 11.88%. XRP holds 5.21%, making it the third-largest asset, while Solana accounts for 3.79%.
Why Has Hashdex Added HYPE? HYPE has qualified for the index after meeting the methodology used to determine which crypto assets can join. Hashdex is therefore adding the token as part of NCIQ’s rules-based structure.
The addition also gives NCIQ investors exposure to Hyperliquid without requiring them to purchase HYPE separately. That exposure sits alongside eight other eligible crypto assets within the fund.
Hashdex CIO Samir Kerbage said the ETF was designed to expand as the cryptocurrency market developed.
“When we launched NCIQ in February 2025 with two assets, the whole point was that the portfolio would expand,” Kerbage said.
Kerbage also cited Hyperliquid’s decentralized trading model and recent regulatory developments. He said the ecosystem has become an increasingly important part of crypto and financial markets.
For investors, Kerbage said index investing provides systematic exposure to an evolving crypto market. It also avoids requiring investors to select individual assets as the market changes.
Hyperliquid Eyes Wider US Market Access HYPE’s ETF inclusion comes as Hyperliquid is also seeking greater access to the U.S. market. The decentralized trading platform is widely known for its perpetual futures products.
Hyperliquid and Kraken parent Payward have reportedly discussed offering selected perpetual futures to U.S. traders. The potential arrangement would involve CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange Bitnomial.
Hyperliquid has historically restricted U.S. users because of domestic rules covering derivatives trading. A regulated structure could provide a route for selected products to reach U.S. customers.
U.S. officials are also considering regulatory paths for bringing more offshore crypto trading activity under domestic oversight. Any Hyperliquid expansion would remain subject to U.S. regulatory requirements.
Crypto index investing is moving beyond Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) as institutional products increasingly absorb newer digital assets that meet stricter liquidity, custody and regulatory standards.
• What’s going on with BTC today?
Hashdex’s Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF (NASDAQ:NCIQ) added Hyperliquid (CRYPTO:HYPE) on Tuesday, taking the fund’s portfolio to nine cryptocurrencies.
HYPE’s inclusion follows its addition to the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index, where constituents must meet minimum requirements for liquidity, market capitalization, exchange availability, custody support and compatibility with Nasdaq’s generic listing standards for crypto ETPs.
NCIQ now has exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Stellar, Cardano, Chainlink, Bitcoin Cash, in addition to HYPE. The fund launched in February 2025 with only Bitcoin and Ethereum and has expanded through successive quarterly reconstitutions.
Trending
The shift is notable because it reflects the growing institutionalization of crypto beyond the largest tokens. Hyperliquid has emerged as a major decentralized trading ecosystem, while HYPE has been one of the stronger-performing large crypto assets this year. HYPE has gained nearly 223% so far in 2026, reaching about $83, recently.
Crypto Indexes Are Becoming More DynamicThe Nasdaq CME Crypto Index is designed to evolve as the market changes rather than maintain a fixed basket. Assets must trade on at least two approved exchanges, have support from a qualified custodian and satisfy liquidity requirements. Eligible assets also need to represent at least 0.5% of the market capitalization of the eligible universe before they can be considered for inclusion. Constituents are then weighted by free-float market capitalization.
That methodology is becoming more relevant as regulated crypto investment infrastructure expands. CME launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures in June, giving investors a regulated way to gain broad crypto exposure through a single futures contract. CME said average daily volume across its cryptocurrency futures suite was up 43% year-to-date as of May.
For investors, NCIQ’s expansion offers a different proposition from single-asset crypto ETFs. Rather than betting on which token will lead the next rally, the rules-based approach automatically adds assets as they become sufficiently liquid, sizable and institutionally accessible.
Hashdex manages about $1 billion in assets, as of Aug. 24.
Read Next
Photo: CryptoFX on Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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US-listed HYPE sector treasury firm Hyperliquid Strategies Inc (PURR) has amended its ChEF purchase agreement with Chardan Capital Markets, lifting the total commitment for newly issued common stock from $1 billion to $2.5 billion. The newly issued shares have a par value of $0.01; while the financing scale has expanded significantly, the issuance remains subject to clear price and quantity constraints. This amendment introduces a trading platform cap mechanism: once cumulative sales exceed $1 billion, additional issuances priced below $12.02 per share will be restricted, with a cap of 42,641,847 shares, equivalent to 19.99% of the outstanding shares prior to the amendment. Any additional issuance beyond this threshold will require shareholder approval in line with Nasdaq rules. This design not only greatly boosts financing capacity but also provides existing shareholders with protection against excessive dilution. According to market data from BIT (bit.com), PURR closed down 7.31%.
Pump.fun and its cofounders will have to defend against purchaser accusations that they orchestrated a memecoin launch scheme with hierarchical advantages for insiders.
Two of the three purchaser-plaintiffs adequately alleged Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and RICO conspiracy claims against Pump.fun and the three executives, Judge Colleen McMahon said Monday.
They sufficiently pleaded wire-fraud and unlicensed-money-transmission predicates for racketeering activity, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York judge said, sparing some proposed class claims from dismissal. And they tied these pleaded predicate offenses to alleged injuries, namely that the purchasers had to pay transaction fees ...
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George Town, British Virgin Islands, September 1st, 2026, Chainwire
Aster, the privacy-first onchain trading platform backed by YZi Labs, today announced the kickoff of USD1 RWA Boost: Phase 1 with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), featuring 125,000,000 $WLFI and 6,250,000 USD1 in rewards.
The campaign builds on AOS-2, Aster’s earlier expansion of its Aster Open Standards (AOS) framework from spot markets to perpetuals.
Leonard, CEO at Aster, said: “AOS-2 is turning Aster from a decentralized perp exchange into an open infrastructure layer where anyone can launch and operate their own perpetual markets on top of Aster Chain. The first USD1 RWA perpetuals show that model is already working.”
AOS-2: A Published Standard for Perpetual Listings
AOS-2 is Aster’s standardized, onchain framework for initiating perpetual market listings, enabling projects to propose new markets through a transparent and automated process.
Applicants stake 1 million $ASTER, locked for four years with no early exit, before the proposal goes to an onchain validator vote. If approved, Aster’s risk team configures the market and the perpetual can go live as early as T+1; if rejected, the stake is returned in full.
Listing access runs on published onchain rules, while leverage and other trading parameters stay under Aster’s risk controls, letting Aster bring new markets to traders faster without giving up risk management.
The campaign runs from August 31 through December 31, 2026, covering SPCX/USD1, CL/USD1, XAU/USD1, SNDK/USD1, SKHYNIX/USD1, and MU/USD1.
Users earn Trading Points through taker volume on eligible USD1 pairs, which determine their share of the USD1 reward pool, while Open Interest (OI) Points are earned by holding eligible positions and determine their share of the $WLFI reward pool. Traders using Single Asset Mode with USD1 as collateral receive a 2x boost on OI Points. Rewards are calculated across weekly epochs and distributed the following week.
“When real-world assets trade onchain, the settlement asset matters as much as the market itself. Perpetuals on gold, energy, and equities, all denominated in USD1, give traders one dollar instrument across every one of these markets, and that is what stablecoins were built to do. We are supporting these markets because this is where onchain market structure is heading, and Phase 1 is only the start,” said Zach Witkoff, Co-Founder and CEO at World Liberty Financial.
Building the Frontier of Onchain Trading
AOS-2 gives Aster a repeatable, onchain path for bringing new markets to the platform, and the first USD1 RWA perpetual listings show that path is already at work. Paired with the ecosystem support from Aster and WLFI, the launch turns a new listing framework into real trading activity from day one.
As more real-world and crypto-native assets move onchain, Aster aims to become a leading venue for bringing new asset markets onchain. The map gets bigger from here.
About Aster
Aster is a privacy-first onchain trading platform backed by YZi Labs, with unique features like Hidden Orders to protect user trading activity. It pioneers the frontier of on-chain trading through perpetual futures, spots, and earn products for top-trending assets, including RWAs, memes, and core crypto markets. It is powered by Aster Chain, a Layer 1 blockchain built to power the future of decentralized finance.
Users can learn more about Aster on the official website or follow Aster on X.
*Disclaimer: Eligible pairs, reward parameters, and campaign rules are subject to change during the campaign. Please refer to the official campaign page for the latest eligible pair list and campaign details. Trading cryptocurrencies and leveraged products involves significant risk and may result in the loss of capital. This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment or financial advice.
Team Allocation Stays Locked Until September 2027@Aster_DEX announced Tuesday that the cliff on its team token allocation has been extended by one year. The 400 million $ASTER set aside for the team, representing 5% of the project's maximum supply, will now remain fully locked until September 17, 2027. Under the original schedule, the allocation was due to begin vesting at 10 million tokens per month from September 17 this year.
CoinGecko data confirms that the team allocation cliff has been extended by 12 months to September 2027, and that zero tokens from that tranche have unlocked since the project's token generation event approximately one year ago. The extension removes a near-term vesting overhang that had been on the radar of token holders and analysts tracking the project's supply schedule.
Buyback-and-Burn Program Continues UnchangedAster said the cliff extension does not alter its buyback-and-burn program. According to Aster's official tokenomics documentation, for every $ASTER bought back using platform fees, an equal amount is burned from reserves, with the team allocation burned first. Burns are executed bi-weekly and will continue until the total supply reaches 3 billion tokens, down from the original 8 billion at launch.
The upgraded buyback mechanism, introduced on June 17, 2026, directs 99% of daily platform fees toward $ASTER repurchases for veASTER stakers, with a matching burn from team reserves running in parallel. The Crypto Times reported that the first burn under the upgraded model saw nearly 2.94 million $ASTER bought back and an equal number permanently removed from the team allocation. Per Aster's own published updates, cumulative burns from the team allocation under the upgraded program had reached approximately 11.1 million $ASTER by August 10.
The combination of a locked team allocation and an active deflation mechanism via fee-funded buybacks places Aster among the more supply-conservative perpetual DEX tokens in the current market. Whether the locked supply and ongoing burns translate into sustained price support will depend largely on platform fee generation and trading volumes going forward.
Sources:
CoinGecko: Aster (ASTER) Token Data
Aster Official Tokenomics Documentation
The Crypto Times: Aster Burns 2.9M Tokens in First Buyback
In brief Bitcoin has closed 8 of the last 13 Septembers in the red, averaging a 2.97% loss, the worst month of the year by both average and median return. September 2025 broke the streak with a 5.16% gain, Bitcoin's third straight green close, only for October to turn negative for the first time since 2018 days before a Trump tariff threat triggered $19 billion in liquidations. Bitcoin opens September 2026 around $77,500 after a near 25% jump in August, with the Fed weighing its first hike since 2023 and a midterm election year stacking its own seasonal drag on top. Bitcoin investors have lost money in eight of the last 13 Septembers. The S&P 500 has averaged a loss in September since 1945, and researchers at Yardeni have traced the pattern all the way back to 1928.
Bitcoin didn't invent this curse, but still the digital asset has joined it.
Myriad: Bitcoin price next move? Click to make your prediction.Crypto traders call it "Red September," a cyclical market boogeyman of sorts that resurfaces every year right around now. But it isn't superstition. It's a data pattern stubborn enough that both a fifteen-year-old asset and a hundred-year-old stock index can't shake it.
But why though?
The math behind the curseSince 2013, Bitcoin has closed September lower eight times out of 13 completed years, a 38.5% win rate, according to monthly return data tracked by CoinGlass. The average return is negative 2.97%, the median is negative 2.44%, and both numbers matter here: a negative median means even a "normal" September loses money, not just a couple of catastrophic ones dragging the average down.
Bitcoin monthly returns. Image: CoinglassOnly June comes close, averaging a smaller 1.59% loss over the same stretch. Everything else on the calendar is positive on average. October, the best month by a mile, has returned 19.92% on average with a 14.71% median, the "Uptober" reputation crypto Twitter always celebrates when the time comes.
August deserves a footnote here, because the number lies. Its average return is a perfectly respectable positive 2.82%, but its median is negative 6.99%. Translation: most Augusts lose money, and it's only the freak years among them that boost the average into positive territory.
It's not just cryptoWall Street's version of this is older and better documented. The S&P 500 has averaged roughly a 0.6% decline in September since 1945, according to Chase's own market research, and it's the only month with a negative long-run average. Zoom out to 1928 and the number gets worse, closer to a 1.1% to 1.2% average loss.
Nobody agrees on why. The leading theories: mutual funds close their fiscal year on October 31 and dump losers in September to harvest tax losses; institutional desks return from summer break and execute deferred de-risking all at once; and the Fed's mid-month meeting tends to land right in the middle of the chop.
None of those explain Bitcoin, which doesn't have a fiscal year or a summer vacation, but is still a financial investment nonetheless.
This year carries an extra layer. 2026 is a midterm election year, and across the last 10 midterm cycles since 1986, the average U.S. stock market low has landed on September 2, with drawdowns averaging nearly 17% from the prior high before markets recover. Bitcoin trades more like a high-beta tech stock than a hedge these days, so that correlation cuts both ways.
What happened last SeptemberLast year's Red September followed the script, then flipped it. Bitcoin opened the month trading right around $108,000 with its RSI reading oversold near 38, and DYOR CEO Ben Kurland told Decrypt the idea of Red September is "more myth than math."
Math won the early rounds. By mid-month, a brutal week had wiped roughly $162 billion off crypto's total market cap and pushed Bitcoin down toward $112,000, briefly touching an intraday low near $111,986. Myriad, the prediction market built by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, had traders pricing nearly 60% odds of another red day at the bottom.
Bitcoin price data. Image: TradingviewBitcoin clawed back anyway. ETF inflows played a role. CryptoQuant flagged long-term holders rotating coins into ETFs as a bullish tell, and Bitcoin rallied above $114,000 to close the month up 5.16%, the third consecutive green September on record.
Then October wrecked the partyThe redemption arc lasted six days. Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high above $126,000 on October 6, and the "Uptober" trade looked bulletproof again.
It wasn't. On October 10, President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, and crypto became the only market open to react. Within 24 hours, $19 billion in margin positions were wiped out, 1.6 million traders got liquidated, and market maker Wintermute told Decrypt it stopped trading entirely because the move broke its own internal risk rules.
Bitcoin fell from above $121,000 to briefly below $102,000 that day, dragging altcoins down even harder. Some layer-2 tokens lost 70% within hours. October closed down 3.69%, only the third red October since 2013, and the damage kept compounding: November finished down 17.67%, Bitcoin's worst November since 2018, on its way to a 21-month low near $59,300 by this past June. Crypto traders have taken to calling that stretch the crypto winter.
So last year was atypical. We had Uptember and Red October, which is not how the market universe tends to behave.
Bitcoin's setup this time
Bitcoin is trading around $77,500 as September opens, down slightly on the day after closing out a nearly 25% August, its best August since 2021. That rally has stalled just under resistance between $81,455 and $82,538, with support sitting in the $73,670 to $75,157 zone underneath.
Bitcoin price data. Image: TradingviewThe macro picture has flipped hard since spring. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh used his first Jackson Hole speech to flag that the PCE price index is running 3.7% annually and accelerating on a six-month basis, and CME’s FedWatch tool now put the odds of a September rate hike at 68.2. The 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.28% in late August, a level last seen before the 2008 financial crisis.
Gold has been rallying right alongside Bitcoin, which tells you something about what's actually driving this: not risk appetite so much as a growing debasement trade, investors hedging against a Fed that might be forced to keep printing while inflation refuses to cooperate. The SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets rule, published August 18, adds a rare regulatory tailwind to an otherwise jumpy setup.
The next hard date is September 15 to 16, when the Fed decides whether to hike rates for the first time since its 2022-2023 tightening cycle, a stretch that dragged Bitcoin down roughly 65% to a $15,500 low in November 2022.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
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In brief Bitcoin has closed 8 of the last 13 Septembers in the red, averaging a 2.97% loss, the worst month of the year by both average and median return. September 2025 broke the streak with a 5.16% gain, Bitcoin's third straight green close, only for October to turn negative for the first time since 2018 days before a Trump tariff threat triggered $19 billion in liquidations. Bitcoin opens September 2026 around $77,500 after a near 25% jump in August, with the Fed weighing its first hike since 2023 and a midterm election year stacking its own seasonal drag on top. Bitcoin investors have lost money in eight of the last 13 Septembers. The S&P 500 has averaged a loss in September since 1945, and researchers at Yardeni have traced the pattern all the way back to 1928.
Bitcoin didn't invent this curse, but still the digital asset has joined it.
Myriad: Bitcoin price next move? Click to make your prediction.Crypto traders call it "Red September," a cyclical market boogeyman of sorts that resurfaces every year right around now. But it isn't superstition. It's a data pattern stubborn enough that both a fifteen-year-old asset and a hundred-year-old stock index can't shake it.
But why though?
The math behind the curseSince 2013, Bitcoin has closed September lower eight times out of 13 completed years, a 38.5% win rate, according to monthly return data tracked by CoinGlass. The average return is negative 2.97%, the median is negative 2.44%, and both numbers matter here: a negative median means even a "normal" September loses money, not just a couple of catastrophic ones dragging the average down.
Bitcoin monthly returns. Image: CoinglassOnly June comes close, averaging a smaller 1.59% loss over the same stretch. Everything else on the calendar is positive on average. October, the best month by a mile, has returned 19.92% on average with a 14.71% median, the "Uptober" reputation crypto Twitter always celebrates when the time comes.
August deserves a footnote here, because the number lies. Its average return is a perfectly respectable positive 2.82%, but its median is negative 6.99%. Translation: most Augusts lose money, and it's only the freak years among them that boost the average into positive territory.
It's not just cryptoWall Street's version of this is older and better documented. The S&P 500 has averaged roughly a 0.6% decline in September since 1945, according to Chase's own market research, and it's the only month with a negative long-run average. Zoom out to 1928 and the number gets worse, closer to a 1.1% to 1.2% average loss.
Nobody agrees on why. The leading theories: mutual funds close their fiscal year on October 31 and dump losers in September to harvest tax losses; institutional desks return from summer break and execute deferred de-risking all at once; and the Fed's mid-month meeting tends to land right in the middle of the chop.
None of those explain Bitcoin, which doesn't have a fiscal year or a summer vacation, but is still a financial investment nonetheless.
This year carries an extra layer. 2026 is a midterm election year, and across the last 10 midterm cycles since 1986, the average U.S. stock market low has landed on September 2, with drawdowns averaging nearly 17% from the prior high before markets recover. Bitcoin trades more like a high-beta tech stock than a hedge these days, so that correlation cuts both ways.
What happened last SeptemberLast year's Red September followed the script, then flipped it. Bitcoin opened the month trading right around $108,000 with its RSI reading oversold near 38, and DYOR CEO Ben Kurland told Decrypt the idea of Red September is "more myth than math."
Math won the early rounds. By mid-month, a brutal week had wiped roughly $162 billion off crypto's total market cap and pushed Bitcoin down toward $112,000, briefly touching an intraday low near $111,986. Myriad, the prediction market built by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, had traders pricing nearly 60% odds of another red day at the bottom.
Bitcoin price data. Image: TradingviewBitcoin clawed back anyway. ETF inflows played a role. CryptoQuant flagged long-term holders rotating coins into ETFs as a bullish tell, and Bitcoin rallied above $114,000 to close the month up 5.16%, the third consecutive green September on record.
Then October wrecked the partyThe redemption arc lasted six days. Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high above $126,000 on October 6, and the "Uptober" trade looked bulletproof again.
It wasn't. On October 10, President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, and crypto became the only market open to react. Within 24 hours, $19 billion in margin positions were wiped out, 1.6 million traders got liquidated, and market maker Wintermute told Decrypt it stopped trading entirely because the move broke its own internal risk rules.
Bitcoin fell from above $121,000 to briefly below $102,000 that day, dragging altcoins down even harder. Some layer-2 tokens lost 70% within hours. October closed down 3.69%, only the third red October since 2013, and the damage kept compounding: November finished down 17.67%, Bitcoin's worst November since 2018, on its way to a 21-month low near $59,300 by this past June. Crypto traders have taken to calling that stretch the crypto winter.
So last year was atypical. We had Uptember and Red October, which is not how the market universe tends to behave.
Bitcoin's setup this time
Bitcoin is trading around $77,500 as September opens, down slightly on the day after closing out a nearly 25% August, its best August since 2021. That rally has stalled just under resistance between $81,455 and $82,538, with support sitting in the $73,670 to $75,157 zone underneath.
Bitcoin price data. Image: TradingviewThe macro picture has flipped hard since spring. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh used his first Jackson Hole speech to flag that the PCE price index is running 3.7% annually and accelerating on a six-month basis, and CME’s FedWatch tool now put the odds of a September rate hike at 68.2. The 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.28% in late August, a level last seen before the 2008 financial crisis.
Gold has been rallying right alongside Bitcoin, which tells you something about what's actually driving this: not risk appetite so much as a growing debasement trade, investors hedging against a Fed that might be forced to keep printing while inflation refuses to cooperate. The SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets rule, published August 18, adds a rare regulatory tailwind to an otherwise jumpy setup.
The next hard date is September 15 to 16, when the Fed decides whether to hike rates for the first time since its 2022-2023 tightening cycle, a stretch that dragged Bitcoin down roughly 65% to a $15,500 low in November 2022.
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The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
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Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is sounding the institutional alarm on crypto, and for once, the data backs up the enthusiasm. The firm’s latest research shows that spot Bitcoin ETFs and digital asset trusts now control 12.2% of Bitcoin’s total supply, a figure that would have seemed absurd just two years ago when the SEC was still playing keep-away with spot ETF applications.
ARK’s own crypto-linked assets across its suite of ETFs have surpassed $2.15 billion as of November 2025.
The numbers behind the narrative ARK’s flagship fintech ETF, ARKF, has allocated approximately 29% of its portfolio to digital assets. The fund’s holdings span major crypto-adjacent companies like Coinbase and Circle, alongside ARK’s own ARKB Bitcoin ETF, creating a layered exposure strategy that gives investors multiple entry points into the digital asset ecosystem.
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The firm has also continued purchasing crypto-related equities during market dips throughout 2025 and into 2026.
From retail frenzy to institutional infrastructure ARK has reinforced its commitment to broadening access by filing for two crypto index ETFs tied to the CoinDesk 20 in December 2025. One fund would include Bitcoin exposure, while the other would exclude it via futures, essentially letting investors choose whether they want the flagship asset in their broader crypto basket.
The CoinDesk 20 index covers the largest digital assets by market capitalization, so these ETFs would give traditional investors a diversified crypto portfolio through a single ticker.
What the bear market thesis means ARK’s research points to a transition from retail to institutional demand for Bitcoin through regulated vehicles like spot ETFs. On-chain data can reveal patterns invisible in price charts alone, such as whether long-term holders are accumulating or distributing, and whether network usage is growing independent of speculative trading volume.
ARK’s filing for CoinDesk 20 index ETFs also signals something about competitive positioning. The firm isn’t content to compete solely on Bitcoin exposure, where BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has dominated flows. By moving into broader crypto index products, ARK is carving out territory in a segment where fewer incumbents have established themselves.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Strive, Inc. has generated enough capital through its preferred stock program to purchase 104 Bitcoin over a nine-day stretch, continuing one of the more methodical institutional accumulation strategies in the market right now.
The company’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, ticker SATA, has become the engine behind a Bitcoin treasury that now exceeds 23,000 BTC. Strive isn’t selling common shares, issuing debt, or conducting buybacks to fund these purchases. It’s running the whole operation through a single preferred equity instrument.
How the SATA machine works Strive authorized the at-the-market (ATM) program in December 2025 with a ceiling of $500 million. The preferred shares carry a par value of $100 and pay a variable annualized dividend of roughly 13%, which shifted to daily payouts as of June 2026.
When SATA trades near or above its par value, Strive activates its ATM facility and sells new preferred shares into the market. The proceeds go directly toward buying Bitcoin. When conditions aren’t favorable for existing preferred holders, the company simply doesn’t sell.
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Between August 24 and August 28, 2026, Strive completed its most aggressive single acquisition to date: 1,800 BTC funded by approximately $80.3 million in SATA proceeds. That purchase alone pushed total holdings to 23,156 BTC.
The treasury trajectory Strive’s Bitcoin holdings have scaled dramatically in a relatively short window. The company held only a small number of BTC in late 2025 when the SATA program launched. By August 2026, it had accumulated over 23,000 BTC.
The 104 BTC raised over nine consecutive days represents the latest data point in what has become a remarkably consistent cadence. Earlier periods saw the program generate funding capacity for over 1,192 BTC in a single week.
Strive also carries no long-term corporate debt. In a landscape where several Bitcoin treasury companies have layered convertible notes and term loans on top of equity raises, the zero-debt posture gives Strive a cleaner balance sheet and fewer forced-selling scenarios if Bitcoin prices drop sharply.
What this means for Bitcoin treasury plays The 13% variable dividend is the carrot for preferred shareholders. Investors buying SATA are essentially lending capital to Strive at a 13% cost, with the understanding that the proceeds will be deployed into Bitcoin.
Daily dividend payments, introduced in June 2026, add another layer of appeal for income-focused investors who want crypto exposure without holding the asset directly.
The risk runs in both directions. A sustained Bitcoin downturn would leave Strive holding a depreciating asset while still owing 13% annually to preferred shareholders. At 23,156 BTC, even a modest percentage decline in Bitcoin’s price would represent hundreds of millions in unrealized losses, while the dividend clock keeps ticking regardless.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
OCEAN Mining, the decentralization-focused Bitcoin mining pool, has named Bob Burnett as its new chairman of the board. The appointment fills a leadership vacuum that opened when co-founder Luke Dashjr stepped down from his roles as chairman and CTO on August 29, 2026.
Burnett isn’t exactly a newcomer to OCEAN’s orbit. As CEO of Barefoot Mining, he’s directed over 90% of his company’s hashrate to the pool, making him one of its most significant contributors and loudest advocates.
From biggest customer to boardroom leader Burnett’s elevation follows what appears to have been a deliberate pause in succession planning. After Dashjr’s departure, OCEAN initially chose not to name an immediate replacement, instead emphasizing its commitment to continuing transparent, permissionless operations.
Burnett brings operational credibility to the role, having publicly championed OCEAN’s model and participated in performance studies that he says demonstrate better financial returns compared to traditional FPPS (full pay-per-share) pools.
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OCEAN launched in November 2023 with roughly $6.2 million in seed funding led by Jack Dorsey, and has since grown to represent between 2.45% and 2.88% of recent Bitcoin blocks. Its hashrate estimates range between 13 and 25 EH/s, depending on the measurement window.
Why OCEAN operates differently Most Bitcoin mining pools function like middlemen. Miners contribute hashpower, the pool finds blocks, and the pool distributes rewards, often holding custody of funds during the process. OCEAN takes a different approach.
The pool uses a proprietary system called DATUM that lets individual miners build their own block templates. In plain terms, miners get to choose which transactions go into the blocks they’re working on, rather than handing that decision to a centralized pool operator. Payouts are non-custodial, meaning the pool never holds miners’ Bitcoin.
OCEAN also employs what it calls the TIDES system to ensure payout transparency. The entire setup is designed to address a concern that’s been brewing in Bitcoin circles for years: that mining pool consolidation undermines the decentralization Bitcoin was built to provide.
OCEAN achieved SOC 2 Type 1 compliance in November 2025 and added SOC 1 Type 1 certification in March 2026.
The Dashjr departure and what it signals Luke Dashjr’s resignation from OCEAN wasn’t a quiet exit. A longtime Bitcoin Core developer and one of OCEAN’s co-founders, Dashjr left citing evolving internal visions and protocol debates.
What this means for Bitcoin mining’s competitive dynamics The broader question is whether OCEAN’s model can scale without compromising the principles that differentiate it. Non-custodial payouts and miner-built block templates add complexity. OCEAN’s counter-argument, supported by Burnett’s own data, is that the economics actually favor its approach through the TIDES system compared to conventional FPPS arrangements.
The risk, of course, is concentration of a different kind. When your new chairman also runs the operation contributing the largest share of your hashrate, the line between customer and controller gets blurry. OCEAN will need to demonstrate that Burnett’s dual role doesn’t create the same centralization dynamics the pool was founded to prevent.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin price has fallen below $77,000 as fresh U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets have pushed oil prices higher and triggered heavy selling across crypto and stock markets.
Summary
Bitcoin price dropped to $76,762 after losing the $78,000 and $77,000 levels. Crypto traders suffered about $115 million in long liquidations within one hour. Brent settled at $94.65, while U.S. crude closed above $90 per barrel. U.S. strikes targeted Iranian positions after reported attacks near the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin price falls below $77,000 The U.S. Central Command said American forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, citing recent attempted attacks against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. military personnel stationed in the region.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell through $78,000 as reports of the operation emerged before extending its decline below $77,000. The cryptocurrency traded around $76,762 at the time of writing, after falling from an intraday high near $79,166.
Selling also reached Ethereum (ETH), which moved below $2,400 during the market decline. According to CoinGlass data cited in the original report, roughly $115 million in leveraged long positions across the crypto market were liquidated within one hour.
Liquidations occur when an exchange closes a leveraged position after the trader’s collateral can no longer cover mounting losses. A rapid price decline can therefore force the closure of long positions, adding more sell orders to an already weak market.
One day earlier, Bitcoin had held near $78,000 even as earlier exchanges between U.S. and Iranian forces pushed crude prices above $90. The latest round of strikes placed renewed pressure on that price area and erased the asset’s brief attempt to hold above short-term support.
The decline has also followed a strong August for Bitcoin. BTC gained about 23% during the month, according to market data cited in earlier coverage, before renewed geopolitical and interest-rate concerns weighed on the opening trading sessions of September.
US strikes increase pressure near the Strait of Hormuz According to CENTCOM’s account, the operation followed alleged Iranian attempts to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American service members deployed to the region.
Iranian state media reported explosions across several locations on the country’s southern coast, including Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas and Chabahar. Reports cited by Axios also identified Jask, Konarak, Minab and Sirik among the areas struck.
Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas sit close to the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage connecting Persian Gulf energy exporters with international markets. Before the current conflict, roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies moved through the waterway, according to Reuters data previously cited in market coverage.
The Associated Press reported that Tuesday’s action ended roughly a month without direct military exchanges between the two countries. Earlier U.S. strikes on Sunday targeted rocket launchers on Larak Island, after which Iran launched missiles toward American sites in Jordan. Jordanian forces intercepted the missiles, while the United Arab Emirates said it stopped an Iranian drone over its waters.
Following Tuesday’s strikes, Iranian semi-official news agencies Fars and Tasnim reported that Tehran had started launching missiles and drones in response. An IRGC spokesperson said the United States “will regret its new attacks,” according to Fars.
President Donald Trump described the American operation as “large and powerful” and warned Tehran against further retaliation. According to Trump, another Iranian response would lead to a “much harder and higher level” of U.S. attack.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said earlier on Tuesday that Tehran was prepared to return to a ceasefire agreement brokered with Washington in June if the United States followed its terms. Trump later questioned the value of another agreement during comments reported by the Associated Press.
Oil above $90 adds inflation and rate pressure Crude prices accelerated as military activity returned to areas around the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that Brent crude settled 4.6% higher at $94.65 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 5.2% to $90.22.
Oil traders were also monitoring reports that two tankers had been hit while leaving the strait. Iranian officials have warned that Gulf oil exports could face additional disruption if military and economic pressure on Tehran continues.
Earlier exchanges between Washington and Tehran had already exposed the sensitivity of financial markets to oil supply risks. In July, a warning of further U.S. strikes coincided with a $500 billion stock selloff as crude prices rose and Bitcoin came under pressure.
Higher energy prices matter to U.S. crypto investors because a sustained rise in fuel costs can feed into inflation data and influence Federal Reserve policy. U.S. Treasury yields rose during Tuesday’s trading, while the S&P 500 fell to its lowest level since Aug. 4, according to market data cited in the original report.
August inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s September policy decision could therefore affect Bitcoin’s next move. In August, Bitcoin rebounded after CPI data showed annual U.S. inflation at 3.4%, but oil supply disruptions could place fresh pressure on subsequent readings.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has maintained a firm position on inflation and left open the possibility of higher interest rates. Rising Treasury yields can increase the appeal of interest-bearing assets while raising financing costs, conditions that have previously weighed on Bitcoin and other assets that do not produce yield.
US markets fall as leveraged crypto positions unwind Pressure from the military escalation has not remained confined to digital assets. U.S. equities declined as investors assessed the effect of higher oil prices, while the selloff in government bonds pushed Treasury yields upward.
Bitcoin’s fall below $77,000 placed the asset close to the lower end of the price range it had established after its August rally. The intraday low near $76,483 left the $76,500 area as an immediate level being tested by sellers, based on market pricing during the session.
A sustained break below that region would remove another support area that previously slowed declines. Any recovery would first require Bitcoin to regain $77,000, followed by the former support zone between $78,000 and $79,000.
Liquidation data offer another measure of the pressure facing leveraged traders. CoinGlass attributed the one-hour liquidation total of roughly $115 million mainly to long positions, indicating that traders positioned for higher prices absorbed most of the forced closures during the drop.
Meanwhile, Iran’s response remained active late Tuesday, with Fars and Tasnim reporting new missile and drone launches after the U.S. operation. American officials said the initial strikes were directed at Iranian radar and military capabilities associated with threats to commercial vessels and U.S. personnel.
Bitcoin slid on Tuesday after investors went into “risk-off” mode following escalating attacks between the U.S. and Iran.
The largest cryptocurrency had initially shrugged off President Donald Trump’s threats to the Middle Eastern nation, as well as the first strikes.
But things heated up on Tuesday, and bitcoin’s price slid. It was recently down more than 2% on the day, trading for $77,363. The coin had pushed past as high as nearly $81,282 on Friday.
The Tuesday attacks from the U.S. were because Iran tried to put mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and also because of an attack on an American military base in Jordan, according to President Trump.
U.S. Central Command said on X that Iran had also attacked commercial ships.
Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 1, 2026 “The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region,” the post read.
Iran responded with a “decisive operation” against U.S. military bases, according to Iranian media. Oil surged on the news.
Bitcoin’s price has been sensitive to geopolitical tensions this year — especially after Iran and Israel attacked Iran. The cryptocurrency has typically faced downward pressure on news of war, only to then rally when Trump raised hopes of a ceasefire.
Despite Bitcoin’s price being relatively muted, in recent months, it has made more wild swings since mid-August.
Bitcoin’s immediate reaction to rising oil prices is to drop: more expensive energy means higher inflation, and higher inflation typically means the U.S. central bank will postpone rate cuts, which can restrict the liquidity that bitcoin needs to gain momentum.
The Federal Reserve’s chair, Kevin Warsh, last week gave his first major speech as leader of the central bank and said that inflation in the world’s largest economy had not come down enough.
Traders are now no longer pricing in an interest rate cut this year, instead expecting a hike. Bitcoin has typically performed well in the past in low interest rate environments.
Still, the coin had one of its best runs in August after the U.S. Treasury said it would at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations, in response to surging borrowing costs.
The announcement hurt the dollar but non-yielding assets like bitcoin and gold have benefited.
Mathew Di Salvo
Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.
Wall Street’s biggest desks turned defensive as September opened. CNBC’s Investment Committee did the opposite. None of its four members plans to sell.
The split comes as stocks enter the month after 27 record closes this year. September is also the weakest month on the calendar.
Why Wall Street Is Buying ProtectionScott Rubner runs equity and equity derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities and came from Goldman Sachs. His August 31 note made three points.
Earnings are done.
Companies authorized more than $1.1 trillion in buybacks through August. Those buyers go quiet from September 12.
Retail steps back too.
Rubner’s data shows September has the year’s weakest dip buying. Purchases on down days run near half the normal pace.
Hedges are cheap.
The VIX closed August at 14.4, its second lowest finish since December 2025.
“Use strength to reduce some exposure and add inexpensive protection into this event window,” he noted.
Others followed, with JPMorgan’s trading desk moving to neutral. Wells Fargo turned cautious on fears that AI spending has peaked.
Both were far more bullish weeks ago, when JPMorgan raised S&P forecasts as hedging demand dried up.
Why the Committee Is Not Selling
Joe Terranova, Virtus Investment Partners
Momentum fell double digits this quarter while quality rose 1.5%. The market has somewhere to land, he says, so he will not turn bearish yet.
Stephanie Link, Hightower
She is not trying to time the month. Any dip becomes a chance to add to positions she has been building. Value has beaten growth by 14% this year.
Jason Snipe, Odyssey Capital Advisors
He calls himself a long-term investor, not a tactical trader. A soft patch is where he adds exposure.
Josh Brown, Ritholtz Wealth Management
Momentum peaked on June 22 and has fallen 13.7% since. That rotation already happened, he argues. Trading the calendar only creates taxable gains.
The Investment Committee explain how they are setting up their portfolios as we head into September. Source: CNBCFollow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
However, the record is milder than the reputation, because since 1950, September has cost the S&P 500 just 0.6% on average. The month still finished higher 34 times out of 75.
The economy is also holding up. Job openings stayed at 7.3 million in July, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.
Job openings rose from 7.18m in June to 7.27m in July, but beneath the surface measures of labor churn ticked lower:
— Liz Thomas (@LizThomasStrat) September 1, 2026
Bitcoin (BTC) faces the same test. BTC traded near $77,130 on Tuesday, down over 2% over the last 24 hours. Both markets carry a weak September seasonality record.
Bitcoin Price Performance. Source: BeInCryptoThe desks are paying for insurance. The committee is waiting for the sale.
The big money is tiptoeing back in. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $3.5 billion in net inflows during August, marking the strongest monthly figure in more than a year and signaling that the institutional investors who helped turn Bitcoin into a Wall Street fixture are re-entering the picture.
The timing is notable. Bitcoin has been trading around the $80,000 level, a psychologically significant price point that, until recently, looked more like a ceiling than a floor.
From outflows to a flood of fresh capital To appreciate how dramatic this reversal is, you need to rewind a few months. Through mid-2026, Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows totaling roughly $2.6 billion. Money was leaving, not arriving.
Then August happened. A $3.5 billion swing in the opposite direction doesn’t just erase the earlier pessimism. It dwarfs it. That’s the equivalent of the entire first-half exodus being reversed in a single month, with nearly a billion dollars to spare.
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BlackRock’s IBIT frequently led the charge on daily inflows during this period. When the world’s largest asset manager is consistently topping the leaderboard in Bitcoin ETF purchases, it sends a signal that reverberates well beyond crypto circles. Fidelity’s offerings also played a significant role in the resurgence, reinforcing the idea that this isn’t a one-firm anomaly but a broader institutional trend.
What changed: Treasury moves and liquidity tailwinds Institutional investors don’t typically reverse course because of vibes. They follow liquidity, and in August, the US Treasury provided exactly that. Bond buyback initiatives targeting longer-dated debt injected fresh liquidity into the financial system, creating favorable conditions for riskier assets across the board.
Bitcoin, which has increasingly traded in correlation with broader risk appetite, benefited directly. When the Treasury effectively loosens financial conditions, capital tends to flow toward higher-return opportunities. And for institutions already familiar with Bitcoin’s risk-reward profile through their earlier ETF positions, re-entering the trade becomes a relatively straightforward decision.
The ETF infrastructure that launched in early 2024 created permanent on-ramps for this capital, and those on-ramps don’t disappear during quiet periods. They just sit idle until conditions shift.
Corporate treasuries join the party Beyond the ETF flows themselves, a parallel trend is reinforcing the institutional narrative. Corporate treasury involvement with Bitcoin has been expanding, with more companies integrating Bitcoin exposure into their broader financial strategies.
The current wave is more methodical, involving structured approaches to digital asset allocation that fit within existing corporate governance frameworks. Companies are treating Bitcoin less like a speculative bet and more like a line item in a diversified treasury strategy.
What this means for the market ahead The August inflow numbers represent more than a single data point. They suggest that the institutional thesis on Bitcoin, which wobbled during the mid-2026 outflow period, has been reasserted rather than abandoned.
Price discovery driven by BlackRock and Fidelity looks very different from price discovery driven by retail traders on leverage. The risk, of course, is that macro conditions shift again. If Treasury policy reverses or broader financial conditions tighten, the same institutional investors who returned in August could pull back once more.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin (BTC) today is down by 2.16% to trade at about $77,000 following extensive bond sell-offs, a hawkish Fed note, and renewed hostilities in the Middle East. While $80K remains a crucial ceiling to clear on the road to $90K, the question of when Bitcoin will permanently cross the six-figure line also lingers.
Bitcoin at $100,000K: when does it happen?According to Giovanni Santostasi’s Bitcoin Power Law Theory, the asset is trading at roughly 56.7% below its fair value of $178,860. This is essentially the midline between the current resistance ceiling/cycle peak of $553,000 and a support line/absolute bottom of $63,460.
Source: Bitbo
Historically, Bitcoin trading at 0-10% above the lower resistance has signaled an optimal buying zone. Even more, the Power Law predicts that Bitcoin will cross the $100,000 support line for good after 2028.
Predictions for 2026-2030Per the Power Law model, here are the projections for BTC price at the end of 2026 through 2030.
End of 2026: support line at $69,500, fair value at $198,700, and resistance ceiling at $615,000.
End of 2027: support line at $95,400, fair value at $272,500, and resistance ceiling at $844,000.
End of 2029: support line at $171,300, fair value at $489,500, and resistance ceiling at $1,515,000.
End of 2030: support line at $224,800, fair value at $642,400, and resistance ceiling at $1,990,000.
Caveats to the Power LawHistorically, the Bitcoin Power Law has been quite reliable in long-term predictions such as the 2015, 2018, and 2022 bottoms.
It has, however, fallen short in near-term predictions due to BTC’s volatility. Furthermore, its chart assumes Bitcoin adoption will forever be up, and it fails to price in events such as halving cycles, miner capitulation, and regulatory, macroeconomic, or geopolitical shocks.
Several financial announcements are scheduled for this month, along with a Congressional vote on the Digital Assets CLARITY Act.
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According to BIT (bit.com) market data, the escalating US-Iran conflict has seen the US military strike targets inside Iran. US President Donald Trump warned Iran would face far more severe retaliation if it launches a counterattack, while Iran has initiated its own response. The renewed conflict has boosted crude oil prices while pressuring US stocks and cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin briefly falling below $77,000. At the close of US trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.79%, the S&P 500 fell 0.71%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.03%. US sectors including semiconductors, storage, optical communications, and cryptocurrencies all retreated. Global sovereign bond yields hit their highest level since 2008, with the 10-year US Treasury yield hitting a near 20-month peak. The US Dollar Index rebounded to near a two-week high, while the Japanese yen weakened below 160, hitting its lowest level since the US intervened in the foreign exchange market in late July. Semiconductor and storage sector performance: Seagate Technology (STX) down 1.42%, Western Digital (WDC) down 0.02%, SanDisk (SNDK) down 1.90%, Micron Technology (MU) down 2.64%, Nvidia (NVDA) down 1.51%, Intel (INTC) down 0.60%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) down 2.36%, Broadcom (AVGO) down 0.18%, Qualcomm (QCOM) down 2.27%. Crypto-related stocks: Strategy (MSTR) down 6.06%, Coinbase Global (COIN) down 6.01%, Circle Internet Financial (CRCL) down 6.35%, BitMine Immersion (BMNR) down 7.70%. Optical communications stocks: Marvell Technology (MRVL) down 0.60%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) down 3.99%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) down 5.01%, Coherent Corp. (COHR) down 2.09%, Ciena Corporation (CIEN) down 5.87%, Nokia (NOK) down 2.07%. According to Bitget market data, Brent crude oil rose 4.5% to $94.5 per barrel.
XRP is currently testing a key resistance level, with the latest price action unfolding just beneath the 50-week exponential moving average (EMA) at $1.54. This level has caught the attention of technical analyst ChartNerd, who marks it as a pivotal barrier for the cryptocurrency as the weekly close draws near.
The significance of the 50-week EMAThe 50-week EMA is widely followed by traders as a trend indicator, with price action above or below this line often interpreted as a shift in market direction. ChartNerd’s analysis, which spans from November 2024 to August 2026, highlights that XRP previously reached a peak at $3.65 in mid-2025 before entering a prolonged period of decline.
The chart indicates that XRP recently rebounded from lows near $1, rallying up to the $1.54 resistance before stalling at this crucial point.
Previous attempt and warning signsA similar setup played out in January 2026. During that period, XRP managed to push above the 50-week EMA but failed to close above it by week’s end. Another unsuccessful attempt followed the next week, leading to a substantial drop and a flash crash in February. The subsequent downtrend extended for several months.
ChartNerd flagged early warning signals on August 23, cautioning that failure to close above the 50-week EMA would likely trigger a broader retracement, indicating that XRP was not out of danger. The forecast was realized as the asset resumed its downward trajectory, with broader market factors influencing the movement.
ChartNerd identified $1.54 as a critical resistance, emphasizing that another weekly close below the 50-week EMA could set off a deeper retracement for XRP. The analyst pointed to January’s rejection, adding that only a clean break and sustained move above $1.54 would invalidate the bearish outlook.
Mini dictionary: Exponential Moving Average (EMA): A technical indicator that gives more weight to recent price data, making it more responsive to new information than a simple moving average.
What analysts are watching nowChartNerd maintains that $1.54 remains the make-or-break level for XRP. The analyst warns that if the current weekly candle closes below the 50-week EMA for a second consecutive time, it would mirror the January pattern and likely lead to further declines. The “invalidation” point for this scenario is a definitive weekly close above $1.54, backed by sustained follow-through buying.
At the time the chart was published, XRP was trading at $1.4012, placing it below the pivotal EMA level. Last week, XRP traded as high as $1.68 before losing momentum and closing below the resistance. Traders are now monitoring the weekly close, as it is seen as a significant indicator of the next potential major move for the digital asset.
MetricCurrent ValueResistance LevelPrevious HighXRP Price$1.4012$1.54 (50-week EMA)$1.68 (intraweek), $3.65 (mid-2025 peak)Importance of the weekly closeTraders place significant emphasis on weekly closes, as they are considered more meaningful than brief intraweek price spikes. A close above $1.54 would indicate a possible shift in momentum in favor of bullish sentiment. Conversely, a second consecutive close below this level is viewed by analysts as confirmation of a bearish technical structure, with historical precedent suggesting potential for further downside movement.
If XRP closes above the 50-week EMA at $1.54, momentum could favor bulls. Otherwise, another close below this threshold may reinforce the risk of a continued downturn.
Many market watchers now await the week’s final print to determine whether XRP can escape its current resistance and establish a new trajectory, or if history will repeat with another move lower.
Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP tokens as part of its regular monthly escrow release, according to blockchain tracker Whale Alert.
The move comes as XRP’s price shows renewed momentum but still struggles to fully break its recent downtrend.
What the September Unlock Actually MeansThree separate transactions released 500 million, 400 million, and 100 million XRP from Ripple-controlled escrow accounts. The release follows Ripple’s established mechanism, which allows up to 1 billion XRP to become available at the start of each month.
Ripple originally placed 55 billion XRP into escrow back in 2017. At the time, the company said any unused tokens would return to escrow for future releases.
As of August 31, roughly 32.28 billion XRP remained locked in Ripple’s on-ledger escrow, according to an on-chain tracker that calculates the balance directly from active XRPL escrow objects. After this latest unlock, that figure drops to approximately 31.14 billion XRP.
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Ripple’s September Unlock Releases 1 Billion XRP Tokens. Source: X/@whale_alertThat leaves roughly 31.28% of XRP’s fixed 100 billion maximum supply still locked inside Ripple’s escrow.
An unlock, however, does not mean Ripple actually sold 1 billion XRP. The company has historically re-escrowed a large portion of each monthly release, meaning tokens reaching the broader market tend to be far smaller than the headline figure suggests.
XRP’s Price Still Fighting for MomentumXRP currently trades near $1.36, falling 0.5% over the past 24 hours, though the token has fallen about 8.20% over the past week after nearly touching $1.70 in August.
The token has still climbed roughly 30.8% over the past 30 days and 14.5% over the last 90 days, though it remains under pressure on a year-to-date basis.
XRP Price Performance. Source: BeInCryptoLeveraged positions felt some pain during this stretch. More than $3.32 million worth of XRP positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with short liquidations accounting for roughly $1.19 million against about $2.13 million in long liquidations, according to Coinglass data.
The mismatch between short and long liquidations suggests bearish traders bore the brunt of recent volatility, even as XRP’s broader trend still lacks a decisive breakout.
Whether the token can build on its 30-day gains likely depends on demand absorbing this month’s escrow release without adding fresh selling pressure.
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A prediction by crypto commentator BarriC has sparked widespread discussion within the XRP community, suggesting that the cryptocurrency could experience an extraordinary price rise if history repeats itself. BarriC compared XRP’s rapid surge from $0.006 to $3 during the 2017–2018 bull run to its current situation. Based on this historical move, he calculated that applying the same scale of increase to XRP’s recent price near $1.38 would yield a potential target of $750.
Analysis of the 2017 rallyXRP’s rise between 2017 and 2018 remains notable as one of the most significant in its history. The token climbed from fractions of a cent to $3 within a comparatively brief period, primarily driven by retail speculation and a surge in overall cryptocurrency market activity. Analysts have noted that this rally was preceded by a lengthy consolidation phase.
Technical analyst ChartNerd has previously drawn parallels between XRP’s consolidation structure in 2016–2017 and its setup heading into 2026, referencing over 13 months of sideways price action that resemble the pre-rally phase seen before the previous breakout.
BarriC pointed to the previous price action: “A similar price rise for $XRP right now would be approximately $1.38 to $750.” He characterized this as a structural analysis rather than a guarantee.
This approach uses proportional math: the 2017/2018 rally delivered an estimated 500x return from the starting price. Multiplying the recent price of $1.38 by the same factor produces the $750 projection. BarriC clarified his observation as an exercise in historical symmetry, not a future promise.
Mini dictionary: BarriC is an independent crypto analyst known for sharing market commentary and historical comparisons, particularly on social media platforms.
BarriC’s projection has generated both support and skepticism among the XRP community. Some users expressed doubt, with one commenter noting that the current market structure differs significantly from 2017 and predicting a gradual rather than explosive move. Another participant outlined a more conservative plan, intending to sell XRP at $13 to $27.
Other commenters pointed to external factors like global events, such as US–Iran relations, as potential influences on future price action. Some agreed with BarriC’s bullish outlook, suggesting another large-scale rally could emerge.
XRP’s present positionXRP recently experienced a pullback from its highs near $3.65, posting several consecutive monthly declines. Ongoing downward pressure has led to increased caution among market participants.
An analyst described XRP as currently sitting within the “green area” of its long-term weekly uptrend, viewing the current price as similar to conditions before past breakout moves. This zone is considered by some traders as historically significant for possible trend reversals.
PeriodStarting PricePeak PriceMultiplier2017–2018$0.006$3~500xCurrently (projection)$1.38$750 (hypothetical)~500xThe $750 projection and market realitiesWhile the $750 figure is mathematically derived, achieving this level would require more than a 500x gain from present prices and elevate XRP’s total market capitalization well beyond that of Bitcoin. Most market analysts consider such an advance implausible within a single cycle.
Analyst Jake Claver also cited a $750 price target earlier this year, referencing statements by Monica Long, the president of Ripple, about full-scale institutional adoption in 2026. His comments drew skepticism, with many doubting the feasibility given the required market cap.
Ripple is a company specializing in blockchain-based payment solutions, and Monica Long currently serves as its president. The company’s XRP token is widely used in cross-border transactions, but ambitious price targets have regularly met with caution in the broader industry.
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The institutional landscape of the cryptocurrency market has reached an important milestone — Hyperliquid (HYPE) has officially joined the regulated Nasdaq CME Crypto Index alongside Bitcoin, XRP, and other leading digital assets.
The changes to the benchmark's composition took effect today following a scheduled quarterly rebalancing, as confirmed by an official supplement to the prospectus of the Hashdex Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF (NCIQ) filed with the SEC.
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The updated documentation revealed the exact weights of nine assets within the index. Bitcoin (74.36%) and Ethereum (11.88%) retain the largest shares. At the same time, HYPE debuted with a 3.36% weighting, coming close to Solana (3.79%) and surpassing all other participants.
Weekly price chart of Hashdex Nasdaq CME Crypto Index ETF (NCIQ), Source: TradingViewAgainst this backdrop, XRP firmly retained its status as the third-largest asset in the index with a 5.21% share — its slight decline occurred within the framework of standard market volatility, confirming the coin's resilient position in the face of a new strong competitor.
The remaining less than 1.5% of the fund is divided among Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, and Bitcoin Cash.
How Hyperliquid's ETF foundation opened the token's path into an index with Bitcoin and XRPHyperliquid's inclusion in the Nasdaq CME index was driven by its strict compliance with the exchange's requirements for market capitalization, liquidity, and secure custody standards. This step is supported by developed infrastructure in the U.S. market.
Statistics from the SoSoValue platform as of September 1 show that the net asset value of spot HYPE ETFs reached $461.54 million, equivalent to 2.45% of the coin's market capitalization. By issuer, BlackRock's IBYH fund leads with $236.10 million in net assets, followed by Fidelity's FHYP with $138.59 million and 21Shares' THYP with $86.85 million.
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Combined net inflows into these spot funds reached $344.31 million, with a daily trading volume of $14.72 million, while the HYPE token itself was priced at $83.62 ahead of the rebalancing.
The fact that Hyperliquid has joined the Nasdaq CME index alongside Bitcoin, XRP, and other industry leaders changes the asset's distribution — buying the diversified Hashdex fund now automatically includes exposure to HYPE.
With the CLARITY Act vote roughly two weeks out, one crypto expert says the market is still trading in what he calls “pre-clarity mode,” a calm stretch he expects to give way to daily volatility once lawmakers actually vote.
What the Prediction Markets Are Saying
Checking prediction platform Kalshi, the expert walked through where traders currently see XRP landing by year-end. Odds that XRP finishes above $2 sit near 45%, meaning close to half the market expects the token to at least double from current levels.
Roughly 21% of traders are betting XRP clears $7 by year-end. He said the trade he finds most interesting sits somewhere above $4.50, a level he admitted “nobody expects” but wouldn’t rule out, adding he wouldn’t be shocked if XRP breaks its all-time high before the year closes. On the CLARITY Act itself, prediction markets currently price passage odds at roughly 45-50%.
Support Holding, Whales Reportedly Returning
XRP longs appear to be gaining confidence as price continues holding the $1.36 support floor, “by the skin of its teeth,” warning that a bigger volatility move looks imminent either way.
There was also a big jump in accumulation signals, reporting the metric surged to 90 out of 100, the highest reading since the recent short-term correction began.
September’s Historical Track Record
Adding a seasonal angle, September has historically been a decent month for XRP, with an average return of +12.19% and five green Septembers against three red ones since 2018, a track record he said tilts the odds bullish heading into the month.
Analyst Dark Defender added that August closed with a bullish green candle and that XRP is now breaking through initial resistance, a pattern he described as signaling a new upward impulse. He laid out a resistance ladder at $1.88, $4.11 and $5.85, with $7.07 marked as a longer-term target if momentum builds.
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Bitwise’s spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for XRP has exceeded $507 million in assets under management (AUM), underscoring the growing appetite from institutional investors for regulated exposure to the token. Despite strong money flows into the ETF, XRP has faced resistance in maintaining its recent momentum in the broader market.
ETF inflows drive institutional interestBitwise is a leading digital asset manager, offering cryptocurrency-based investment products for both individual and institutional clients. During the last week, U.S. spot XRP funds registered nearly $110 million in new inflows. This surge marks a significant shift, as more investors prefer to gain exposure to XRP through regulated financial products instead of relying solely on cryptocurrency exchanges.
XRP’s rise in institutional adoption has given the asset a stronger narrative among large investors compared to earlier in the year. However, analysts cautioned that while increased ETF participation supports demand, it does not guarantee continued price appreciation—especially as derivatives traders scale back risk after a sharp rally.
At the end of August, XRP traded at approximately $1.36 to $1.37, well below the $1.70 resistance level some traders had anticipated. Over the course of August, XRP delivered a 37% gain, representing its strongest monthly performance since Ripple reached a settlement in its high-profile dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Still, the token dropped about 7% in the following week, largely due to leveraged positions being unwound and declining buying activity.
XRP posted a 37% monthly gain in August—the best run since Ripple’s settlement with U.S. securities regulators. Nonetheless, the token saw a 7% dip over the previous week as market participants reduced risk and positive momentum weakened.
MetricValueReference PeriodXRP closing price$1.36–$1.37End of AugustResistance level tracked$1.70CurrentMonthly gain37%AugustWeekly decline7%Prior weekBitwise XRP ETF AUM$507 millionCurrentWeekly ETF inflows$110 millionCurrent weekXRP Ledger upgrade on the horizonAn upcoming XRP Ledger mainnet upgrade scheduled for September 11 has drawn attention in the community. The upgrade aims to enhance features related to vaults, decentralized automated market makers, and lending protocols. These changes are expected to improve the utility and sophistication of the ledger, particularly for institutional or advanced use cases.
Despite these planned technical upgrades, many traders have focused primarily on ETF-driven momentum instead of developments on the XRP Ledger. Market participants indicate that the effectiveness of the upgrade will be evaluated once it is in place, potentially serving as a new catalyst or a test for the ongoing rally in XRP.
Mini dictionary: XRP Ledger mainnet upgrade, a scheduled update improving network infrastructure with features such as vaults, automated market makers (AMMs), and lending protocols, aiming to expand the ledger’s appeal for institutional adoption and advanced use cases.
Short-term outlook and key themesSeveral analysts emphasize that, while capital inflows to funds have supported XRP, short-term risks remain. The recent retreat in price, following the best monthly rally since the end of the SEC case, suggests a cautious approach among leveraged traders and large holders.
Ongoing debates include the paths for XRP to reclaim higher price levels, with some market participants discussing possible rallies to $4 or even $7, but with significant caveats related to market sentiment and technical resistance. The upcoming mainnet upgrade could alter trading dynamics as the effectiveness and adoption of new ledger features become clearer.
The evolving institutional narrative, continued product innovation, and sustained ETF inflows may shape the next phase for XRP in the months ahead.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has put forward its most extensive update of transfer-agent regulations in decades, aiming to bring blockchain-based recordkeeping and tokenized securities into regulatory oversight. This proposed framework marks a shift from rules largely designed during the paper certificate era to one that reflects modern digital practices.
Proposal Targets Blockchain RecordkeepingAnnounced on September 1, the SEC’s plan seeks to update the guidelines and documentation for registered transfer agents. These agents are responsible for maintaining official securities ownership records and overseeing the issuance, transfer, and cancellation of securities.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that the overhaul is designed to accommodate operational advancements, including the use of distributed ledger technology in securities offerings and share management. The fact sheet clarifies that the proposal would formally recognize both electronic and blockchain-based records, as well as securities without physical certificates.
Commissioner Hester Peirce has highlighted the growing interest among market participants in the tokenization of shares, urging discussion around whether transfer agent regulations should support on-chain trading of these securities. She suggested that digital-wallet addresses could be considered alongside current shareholder identifiers.
The SEC did not endorse the XRP Ledger or any specific blockchain network. Instead, the proposed rules emphasize technology-neutral requirements, aiming to enable blockchain-native securities operations to function within established market expectations.
Comments on the SEC proposal are open for 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register. The rule remains at the proposal stage and has not been formally adopted.
Mini dictionary: Transfer Agent, a regulated entity that maintains official securities ownership records for companies, processes transfers, cancellations, and the issuance of new securities.
Ripple and Institutional Tokenization EffortsThe timing of the SEC’s proposal is notable for XRP investors, as Ripple continues to expand in institutional tokenization markets. Ripple operates as a payments and enterprise blockchain technology company, and develops the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized, open-source blockchain for settlement and asset issuance.
Ripple recently announced a partnership with SettleMint to integrate Ripple Custody services with tokenized asset management for regulated institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. This integration supports the complete tokenization cycle, including issuance, compliance, settlement, and servicing for institutional investors.
Earlier initiatives include Aviva Investors’ launch of a tokenized liquidity-fund share class using XRPL, as well as a Ripple, Mastercard, Ondo, and JPMorgan pilot that utilized XRPL for tokenized U.S. Treasury redemption. Ripple has also made investments in ZILO and Licuido to develop infrastructure supporting issuance, transfer agency, and collateral movement.
These steps underline Ripple’s ongoing push to strengthen capital markets infrastructure for digital assets.
XRP Price and Institutional ParticipationDespite the regulatory news, XRP’s price has stayed relatively stable. The cryptocurrency recently traded at $1.38, up 0.3% over the past 24 hours. Its market capitalization was about $86.4 billion, though it remained down 6.4% over the last week.
MetricCurrent ValueChangeXRP Price$1.38+0.3% (24h)XRP Market Cap$86.4 billion-6.4% (7d)Institutional exposure to XRP is growing separately from retail price movements. U.S. spot XRP ETF inflows have reached nearly $1.8 billion, and Goldman Sachs has disclosed approximately $87.4 million in XRP ETF holdings, making it the largest known institutional investor in this category.
XRP Ledger and associated products are advancing in the regulated asset tokenization sector, even as the SEC considers updating its rules to address blockchain-based recordkeeping. The proposed regulatory changes demonstrate an official recognition of market infrastructure shifting toward blockchain technology.
The SEC’s proposal does not assign any special regulatory treatment to XRPL but indicates that core securities recordkeeping and transfer mechanisms in the U.S. may increasingly incorporate blockchain technology. For companies like Ripple and ecosystems supporting regulated tokenized assets, this represents a significant step forward.
Ripple has returned 200 million XRP, worth roughly $272 million at current prices, back into its escrow system. The transaction, flagged by blockchain tracker Whale Alert, is part of the company’s recurring monthly ritual of unlocking and then re-locking the vast majority of its token reserves.
How Ripple’s escrow machine works The escrow system dates back to December 2017, when Ripple deposited 55 billion XRP into a series of time-locked smart contracts. The mechanism was designed to address a very specific concern: that Ripple, which controls a huge chunk of XRP’s total 100 billion token supply, might flood the market and crater the price.
Each month, a maximum of 1 billion XRP becomes eligible for release. The unlocks typically happen in tranches on the first of the month. Recent releases have followed a pattern of 500 million, 400 million, and 100 million XRP batches.
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But the unlock is only half the story. Historically, Ripple re-locks between 600 million and 800 million XRP back into escrow within days of the release. That means the net amount actually entering potential circulation each month lands somewhere between 200 million and 300 million XRP.
The shrinking escrow balance As of September 1, 2026, approximately 31.28 billion XRP remained locked in escrow, representing about 31% of the total supply. That’s a significant drop from the original 55 billion deposited nearly nine years ago. Simple math puts the average net monthly decrease at roughly 221 million XRP since the program began.
Where does the XRP that doesn’t return to escrow actually go? Ripple has consistently stated that these tokens fund its operations, fuel partnerships, and power its On-Demand Liquidity solutions, the cross-border payment product that uses XRP as a bridge currency. There has been no reported evidence of immediate large-scale exchange sales directly tied to the monthly unlocks.
Why the market mostly shrugs at these events Every month, crypto Twitter lights up with Whale Alert notifications about Ripple’s escrow activity. And every month, the market reaction is approximately nothing. The contracts are automated. The schedule is public. The re-locking pattern is well-documented over years of data. Market participants have long since priced the monthly cycle into their models.
Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has repeatedly emphasized that the escrow mechanism exists specifically to create predictability and transparency around XRP supply dynamics.
At roughly 200 to 300 million XRP per month entering potential circulation, the annual dilution rate is modest relative to the overall supply of 100 billion tokens.
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