Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has expanded its gold holdings significantly in the second quarter of 2026, acquiring 14 additional tonnes. This purchase brings Tether’s total gold reserves to 146 tonnes, valued at approximately $18.8 billion. As a result, Tether is now one of the largest private holders of gold outside of government entities and central banks. This substantial increase in gold holdings comes as the company looks to bolster the backing of its stablecoin, which remains the largest dollar-pegged currency in the market.

The move by Tether suggests a strategic decision to diversify and strengthen its reserve assets, with gold now representing about 10% of its $187.8 billion reserves. The acquisition may have implications for the broader gold market, as it indicates increased demand from private institutions. Analysts are observing how this development might influence gold prices, especially as market participants assess the potential impact on future gold price movements.

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Market data currently reflects limited immediate impact on gold reaching higher price thresholds by the end of December 2026. However, the acquisition by a major player like Tether could play a role in shaping market sentiment and expectations in the coming months.

Key Takeaways Tether’s acquisition of 14 tonnes of gold appears to suggest a strategic reserve diversification effort. This purchase positions Tether as a significant private holder of gold, potentially influencing market perceptions. Current market pricing suggests limited immediate expectations for gold to hit $15,000 by year-end. What to Watch Market participants will be closely watching central banks and other major institutional players for any similar moves that could further influence gold demand. Analysts will also monitor economic indicators such as Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and geopolitical developments that could impact gold prices. Should central banks increase their gold purchases or geopolitical tensions rise, this could be consistent with scenarios where gold prices move towards higher thresholds.

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

Round-the-Clock Equity Data Comes to Sei@Chainlink U.S. Equities Streams are now live on @SeiNetwork, delivering institutional-grade price data for the $80 trillion global stock market to a blockchain environment that never closes. Chainlink Data Streams has been integrated into Sei Network as its preferred oracle solution, bringing low-latency, high-frequency market data to power real-time DeFi and trading applications.

The practical effect is significant. Decentralized venues on Sei can now bypass the opening and closing hours of legacy exchanges, settling tokenized equity positions around the clock with sub-second finality. Sei, a layer-1 blockchain featuring EVM compatibility and parallelized execution, will use Chainlink Data Streams for sub-second price latency, high data accuracy, and liquidity-weighted bid-ask spreads.

Chainlink has launched Data Streams for major U.S. equities and ETFs including SPY, CRCL, QQQ, NVDA, AAPL, and MSFT, with additional markets and asset classes on the horizon. The infrastructure has helped enable more than $25 trillion in on-chain transaction volume for leading DeFi applications.

Monaco Trading Builds High-Frequency Equity Markets on $SEI@MonacoTrading is among the first protocols to put these $LINK-powered streams to work, using them to build high-frequency markets for primary stock tickers directly on the $SEI execution layer. Monaco is the high-frequency trading layer designed to establish a decentralized Wall Street on the Sei network. The protocol achieves microsecond execution coupled with Sei's 400-millisecond settlement, a 200,000x improvement over traditional T+1 settlement cycles.

Chainlink U.S. Equities Streams are already being leveraged by other top protocols, including Lighter, BitMEX, ApeX, HelloTrade, Decibel, Opinion Labs, and Orderly Network. The arrival of the streams on Sei broadens that ecosystem further, giving builders on the network access to the same pricing infrastructure used by established derivatives venues.

Chainlink's recent partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce will also bring Bureau of Economic Analysis data on-chain to Sei Network, including Real GDP, PCE Price Index, and domestic purchasing metrics. That layer of macroeconomic data, combined with live equity feeds, positions Sei as one of the more comprehensively wired blockchains for finance-focused applications.

Sources:
Chainlink Data Streams Launches on Sei as Preferred Oracle Infrastructure (Sei Blog)
Chainlink Launches 24/5 U.S. Equities Streams (Chainlink Blog)
Monaco Launches Wall Street-Grade Trading Infrastructure on Sei (PR Newswire)

Circle just made it easier for AI agents to shop around. The USDC issuer rolled out a Discovery API on July 31 as part of its broader Agent Stack platform, giving autonomous software a way to browse, filter, and evaluate services that accept USDC payments, all without a human logging in.

What the Discovery API actually does The API works as a public endpoint, meaning AI agents can query it without user authentication. Most financial APIs require some form of login or credentialing before you can even browse what’s available.

The endpoint supports 14 query parameters for filtering results. Agents can search by category, blockchain, pricing, and other criteria to find services that match their specific needs. Every service listed in the marketplace has been pre-screened, which means agents aren’t just finding random endpoints. They’re discovering counterparties that have already passed compliance checks.

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The Discovery API builds on Circle’s Agent Stack, which launched on May 11 alongside the company’s Q1 2026 earnings. That initial release included Agent Wallets for autonomous fund management, a Nanopayments system for small machine-to-machine transfers, and an Agent Marketplace where services could list themselves for discovery by other agents.

The stack is designed to be chain- and protocol-agnostic, with initial support spanning Arbitrum, Base, and Ethereum.

Why this matters for USDC and stablecoin competition The compliance angle is worth lingering on. Every service in the Agent Marketplace undergoes screening for sanctions compliance and operational health before it’s discoverable through the API.

For the broader stablecoin market, Circle’s agent-focused strategy raises an interesting competitive question. Tether dominates in trading volume and overall circulation, but it hasn’t made comparable moves toward machine-to-machine infrastructure.

By launching across Arbitrum, Base, and Ethereum simultaneously, Circle is hedging against blockchain platform risk while maximizing the addressable developer population. Developers building on any of those chains can integrate the Discovery API without migrating their existing stack.

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

Rarible has launched its NFT marketplace on Solana, selecting Claynosaurz as the first featured collection available through the new integration.

The company said Thursday that it had spent several months developing, testing, and preparing the Solana rollout. Rarible plans to add more collections from across the ecosystem over the coming days and weeks.

Rarible said its preparations also included discussions with Solana NFT communities and project teams. Feedback from those conversations helped shape decisions around the marketplace and will continue informing future additions, according to the announcement.

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The company said it intends to work directly with individual projects rather than simply adding their collections to the platform. This approach will include marketplace experiences designed around each project’s identity, community, and content.

Claynosaurz, a collection of 10,000 animated three dimensional dinosaur NFTs launched on Solana in November 2022, will serve as the first featured project.

Rarible also pointed to the earlier launch of its Gacha Station product on Solana as an initial indication of its broader expansion plans. The feature allows users to open digital packs containing collectible assets and is currently promoted through Rarible’s marketplace.

In July, Rarible said it had started development, integrations, and security audits for its planned Solana marketplace launch, with the company targeting a rollout within four weeks.

Rarible said the current marketplace represents the foundation of a broader Solana expansion. The company plans to introduce additional projects, marketplace improvements, content, features, and community activations as the rollout continues.

Rarible Protocol previously added support for Solana based NFTs in 2022. The latest rollout extends the company’s consumer marketplace and collection focused experience across the ecosystem.

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

The Solana blockchain has reached a significant milestone in the tokenization of traditional financial instruments. Its real-world asset (RWA) sector has expanded to a total value of $3.73 billion, establishing a fresh all-time high for the network.This growth reflects increasing participation from institutional players who are transferring a range of conventional assets onto the Solana platform.

These include government-backed securities such as Treasuries, shares in public companies, private credit arrangements, investment funds, physical commodities, and additional categories of tangible value.

Once placed on Solana, these holdings gain new characteristics: they become programmable through smart contracts, able to interact seamlessly with other on-chain applications, and available for trading or use around the clock without traditional market-hour restrictions.

The shift underscores a broader trend in which established financial entities seek the operational advantages of blockchain technology.

By converting real assets into digital tokens on a high-throughput network like Solana, institutions can unlock efficiencies in settlement speed, reduce intermediary costs, and enable innovative uses such as automated collateralization or fractional ownership.

The 24/7 accessibility removes barriers associated with conventional banking and exchange schedules, allowing participants across time zones to engage continuously.

Observers note that the rise to $3.73 billion demonstrates growing confidence in Solana’s infrastructure for handling regulated and high-value assets.

The network’s design prioritizes low transaction fees and rapid confirmation times, factors that appeal to organizations managing large volumes of capital.

As more Treasuries, equities, and credit products migrate on-chain, the ecosystem creates opportunities for greater liquidity and composability—meaning these assets can be combined or used as building blocks within decentralized finance applications.

While the headline figure marks a peak in total value locked or represented, the underlying activity involves careful bridging between traditional finance and blockchain systems.

Institutions must navigate compliance requirements, custody solutions, and oracle mechanisms that accurately reflect real-world prices and ownership.

The successful scaling to this level suggests that technical and regulatory hurdles are being addressed sufficiently to support continued expansion.

The presence of diverse asset classes on Solana points to potential for further innovation.

Tokenized funds could offer automated rebalancing, commodities might enable more transparent supply-chain tracking, and private credit instruments could improve access for a wider range of investors.

The programmable nature of these assets allows developers to create novel products that were previously impractical in purely off-chain environments.

This milestone arrives amid wider industry interest in RWAs as a pathway for bringing substantial traditional capital into blockchain networks.

Solana’s achievement of a $3.73 billion RWA footprint highlights its position as a competitive venue for such activity.

As institutions continue to experiment with and deploy these instruments, the focus remains on realizing practical utility beyond mere representation—ensuring that on-chain assets can interact effectively with everyday financial obligations and real economic needs.

The record valuation signals meaningful progress in the integration of conventional finance with blockchain capabilities.

By making Treasuries, equities, private credit, funds, commodities, and similar holdings programmable, composable, and continuously available, Solana is facilitating a new phase of asset management that prioritizes efficiency, accessibility, and technological flexibility.

Shiba Inu faced a sharp decline in its daily token burn rate as only $7 worth of SHIB was removed from circulation over the past 24 hours, according to data from Shibburn. This represents a significant drop from recent periods, highlighting waning burn activity after a recent surge.

Burn Rate Fluctuations and Major ContributorsThe recent daily burn amounted to 1.38 million SHIB, substantially less than the figure recorded the day before last. The daily burn rate consequently fell by 87.63%, marking a reversal from the previous day’s increase of 706%, when the total burn reached 17,464,058 SHIB.

Over the past seven days, 315.80 million SHIB have been burned, pushing the weekly burn rate down by 69.94%. However, the monthly dynamics paint a different picture. In the last 30 days, the total burn soared 1,351% compared with previous periods, totaling 3.47 billion SHIB removed from circulation.

WoofSwap has played a dominant role in recent burn activity, sending 3,081,392,109 SHIB to dead wallets in the past month. Robinhood followed as the second-largest contributor, burning 154,315,629 SHIB during the same timeframe.

Throughout its history, Shiba Inu has seen 410,843,687,208,931 SHIB burned out of the original 1 quadrillion supply, distributed across 21,473 separate transactions.

Market Reaction and Derivatives DataThe decline in the SHIB burn rate has coincided with a price retreat. Shiba Inu dropped 3.35% in the last 24 hours amid mixed action in the broader cryptocurrency market. Most major coins showed little direction, contributing to a subdued trading atmosphere.

Derivatives market data signal muted engagement, with open interest in Shiba Inu falling 5.03% to $43.51 million, according to CoinGlass. This decrease suggests potential capital outflows as both Bitcoin and Ethereum futures lacked momentum, leading investors to adopt a wait-and-see approach or to reallocate toward selectively active altcoins.

Developer Activity and Expanding Use CasesDespite the lack of significant price and burn activity, underlying developer efforts remain steady. Mazrael, a key figure following Shiba Inu development, pointed out continued progress by the project’s team.

Developers have expanded 18 documentation pages to include detailed guidance on ERC-4337 gasless transactions via Paymaster, new crypto payments APIs, hosted endpoints for on-chain data, and an updated ShibaSwap SDK. These technical upgrades aim to equip developers with the fundamental tools needed to build consumer-focused applications on Shibarium, which could boost ecosystem utility over time.

As the market navigates periods of low momentum and shifting capital, platforms facilitating seamless asset access stand out. 1stepSwap is a highly practical solution that bridges traditional finance and crypto by moving real-world assets onto the blockchain. Users can gain exposure to leading U.S. equities or commodities like gold and silver directly from their wallets, all without unnecessary intermediaries or complex onboarding. Notably, 1stepSwap identifies optimal market prices in real-time, enabling users to transact leading global stocks and diversified assets with speed and efficiency.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Eggs, Livestock, and K-Pop on the BlockchainDB Securities has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Optimism Foundation to build security token offering (STO) and real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure in Jeju, South Korea. The deal puts the Korean brokerage among the first institutions actively sourcing assets ahead of a fast-approaching regulatory deadline.

South Korea's amended Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act are scheduled to take full effect on February 4, 2027, inaugurating the country's first regulated environment for blockchain-based securities. DB Securities is not waiting for the rules to land. Digital asset lead Lee Ju-sik, speaking to Yonhap Infomax, said products won't materialize just because the rules do, so the firm is sourcing assets directly.

DB Securities said it will pursue a platform to tokenize Jeju smart farms, livestock assets, and K-content intellectual property, aiming to become a leading institution in South Korea's market for underlying assets for tokenized securities. Revenue from a 20-farm Jeju egg operation is lined up as its next STO product, with talks also underway with a major entertainment company to tokenize the operating rights of K-pop concerts.

The MOU signing ceremony was held at the Optimism Foundation's headquarters in Manhattan, New York, with Kyle Jenke, the foundation's Chief Business Officer, and Lee Ju-sik, head of DB Securities' digital asset business team, both in attendance.

A Hybrid Multichain Approach via OP StackOn the infrastructure side, DB is building a hybrid multichain setup using @Optimism's OP Stack. The choice of OP Stack is driven by the fact that it allows regulated institutions to operate their own infrastructure rather than sharing space on a third-party chain, settling on Ethereum while maintaining control over their roadmap and risk management.

The agreement will establish domestic and international STO and RWA business models by combining Optimism's blockchain infrastructure with DB Securities' institutional underwriting capabilities, implemented gradually over the next two years as both companies align development with evolving digital asset regulations in South Korea and overseas. DB Securities says the Superchain could carry it into global STO markets further down the line.

Lee said the agreement with @Optimism, whose technology is used by global platforms including Coinbase and which also partners with Upbit, would help bolster the credibility and stability of South Korea's STO and RWA businesses.

Sources:
Optimism Foundation: DB Securities MOU announcement
Coin Edition: DB Securities, Optimism Partner on Jeju-Focused Tokenized Asset Initiative
KoreaTechDesk: South Korea's amended Electronic Securities Act and STO framework

@SuiNetwork is moving to harden its cryptographic foundation against quantum threats, integrating two signature schemes formally approved by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The decision places Sui among the first major layer-1 networks to adopt post-quantum protections at the protocol level.

Two Algorithms, Two Use CasesThe architecture assigns each algorithm a distinct role. For everyday transactions, ML-DSA-65 becomes a native protocol signature scheme, covering standard user accounts. Smart contract vaults, which hold assets under programmable conditions, will be secured using SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s.

The two standards are technically distinct. ML-DSA (FIPS 204) is intended as the primary standard for protecting digital signatures and uses the CRYSTALS-Dilithium algorithm, built on lattice-based mathematics. SLH-DSA (FIPS 205), also designed for digital signatures, employs the Sphincs+ algorithm and is based on a different mathematical approach, intended as a backup method in case ML-DSA proves vulnerable. NIST expects that the two digital signature standards, ML-DSA and SLH-DSA, will provide the foundation for most deployments of post-quantum cryptography.

Sui opted for Level 3 security parameters rather than the lower-cost Level 1 option. The choice followed a July 2026 incident where an AI model halved the effective key strength of HAWK, a post-quantum signature candidate, in about 60 hours, after two years of expert human review had cleared it. The episode underscored that candidates not yet stress-tested by AI-assisted cryptanalysis carry meaningful residual risk.

No Asset Migration RequiredThe rollout is designed to minimize disruption for $SUI holders. The upgrade mechanism uses address aliases and deterministic seeds, allowing users to move to quantum-safe keys without transferring existing holdings or changing their public addresses. This approach removes one of the most significant barriers to adoption of new cryptographic standards in live networks, where forcing on-chain asset migration typically creates friction and security risk during the transition window.

NIST released the principal three post-quantum cryptography standards in 2024 following a multi-year international competition involving industry, academia, and governments, and organizations are encouraged to begin applying these standards now to migrate their systems to quantum-resistant cryptography.

Sources:
Investing.com: Sui Adopts Post-Quantum Signature Schemes
NIST: First 3 Finalized Post-Quantum Encryption Standards
NIST CSRC: Post-Quantum Cryptography Project

Hayes Deepens His Ethena PositionBitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has purchased another 10.9 million $ENA tokens worth approximately $985,000, according to on-chain tracking platform Lookonchain. The latest buys bring his total accumulated position over the past five days to 22.64 million ENA, valued at nearly $2 million.

The sustained buying spree has caught the market's attention because it reflects growing conviction from one of crypto's most closely followed investors. Instead of chasing short-term momentum, Hayes appears to be steadily building exposure while ENA continues trading below its previous highs. Hayes' family office, Maelstrom, has previously backed Ethena's ENA token as part of its broader venture-stage investment strategy.

Ethena Under Pressure Despite Smart-Money InterestThe renewed accumulation comes as $ENA trades well below its historical highs. The token's all-time high was $1.52, with an all-time low of $0.07. It has since recovered modestly but remains under supply-side pressure from a regular unlock schedule. Ethena released 171.88 million ENA tokens on August 5, worth approximately $15.36 million, accounting for 1.97% of the released supply. Of that tranche, 93.75 million tokens were awarded to core contributors, with investors receiving 78.13 million ENA.

Despite the price weakness, Ethena's underlying protocol continues to attract institutional interest. USDe supply stands at $4.7 billion with consistent backing above 100 percent and integrations across Morpho, Pendle, and Hyperliquid. Janus Henderson has also taken a position in ENA to explore regulated products tied to the ecosystem.

Whale activity from prominent figures like Hayes can serve as a market sentiment indicator, though consistent accumulation by a well-known trader does not always predict future price movements. Whether Hayes' steady buying at current levels signals a longer-term conviction play or a tactical repositioning remains to be seen, but it has put $ENA firmly back on the radar of both retail and institutional watchers.

Sources:
BeInCrypto: Here's Where Arthur Hayes Is Putting His Money in 2026
Coinpedia: ENA Price Surges on Fresh Arthur Hayes Buy
Yahoo Finance: 3 Token Unlocks to Watch in the First Week of August 2026

Strategy’s version, according to Michael Saylor, is not that story.

The executive chairman of Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has publicly stated that even a collapse in Bitcoin’s price to $5,000 would leave the company’s collateralization position intact. The reason, he argues, is straightforward: most of that capital was never borrowed in the first place.

Why overcollateralization matters here Strategy has issued Bitcoin-backed preferred securities with reported overcollateralization rates as high as 6x. In plain terms, for every dollar of obligation attached to those instruments, there are roughly six dollars of Bitcoin sitting behind it.

At a $5,000 price level, which would represent a drawdown of more than 90% from recent highs, most leveraged Bitcoin players would have been wiped out long before reaching that floor.

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Strategy has structured its exposure primarily through equity and preferred stock raises, not through debt that carries margin-call mechanics.

The numbers behind the conviction Strategy currently holds approximately 842,138 BTC, making it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin on the planet. The average cost basis sits near $75,000 per BTC, which means the total outlay exceeds $64 billion.

Early 2026 was not kind to that position. Bitcoin price declines generated paper losses estimated between $8 billion and $12 billion during the first quarter.

Paper losses on an equity-funded position are uncomfortable, but they’re not the same thing as a margin call. No one is forcing an asset sale because the price moved against you.

The firm updated its capital framework in mid-2026, introducing a provision that allows limited Bitcoin sales to cover dividends and liquidity needs. The framing from Strategy was careful: the company still describes itself as a net buyer over time.

That rebranding, from MicroStrategy to Strategy, accompanied these updates. The company is, in its own telling, a Bitcoin treasury company with a capital strategy built specifically around long-term accumulation and yield generation from Bitcoin-backed securities.

What this means for investors watching Strategy Paper losses in the $8 billion to $12 billion range are real costs to shareholders, even if they don’t trigger forced selling. The average cost basis of roughly $75,000 per BTC means the position was underwater at various points in early 2026.

The preferred securities Strategy has issued carry yield obligations. The 6x overcollateralization ratio provides a deep buffer, but the company still needs to generate enough capital to service those instruments over time. That’s where the new permission to sell limited Bitcoin holdings comes in.

The $5,000 floor claim is worth taking seriously as a stress test reference rather than a price prediction. If Strategy’s collateral remains solid at that level, it removes a major tail risk that has historically hung over the stock: the fear that a severe Bitcoin drawdown could force distressed asset sales. Saylor is essentially arguing that Strategy has been deliberately de-risked against that scenario through its capital structure, and the overcollateralization numbers, at least as reported, support that reading.

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

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drew $244.4 million in net inflows on Wednesday, bolstering their momentum as August began.

Bitcoin ETF inflows intensifySpot Bitcoin ETFs in the US started the month with a strong performance, locking in a combined $626 million in net inflows across three consecutive sessions, according to data from SoSoValue.

Among these, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), a product from leading asset manager BlackRock, led the sector with $479 million in net inflows during the three-day span. Cumulative net inflows for IBIT have now reached nearly $61 billion, Farside Investors reported.

The surge in ETF inflows followed Bitcoin’s price moving above $64,920 at one point on Wednesday. Bitcoin was last recorded at $64,744.53, representing a 0.7% increase over the last 24 hours, based on CoinGecko figures.

Market sentiment and price movementDespite strong inflows and a positive price trend, sentiment among cryptocurrency investors remained cautious. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which monitors the emotional state of the broader crypto market, held steady in the “Extreme Fear” zone with a score of 25, falling from 27 the previous day.

Many investors and analysts view sustained ETF inflows as an indicator of growing institutional interest in Bitcoin. However, persistent fears about market volatility and security risks have kept overall sentiment restrained.

BlackRock, headquartered in New York, is the world’s largest asset manager. Its iShares ETFs play a significant role in the development of crypto-backed products for institutional and retail investors.

Mini dictionary: Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a tool that aggregates various market indicators to gauge the prevailing sentiment among cryptocurrency investors. Scores below 25 are considered “Extreme Fear,” potentially signaling undervalued market conditions or pessimism among participants.

Ethereum and XRP ETFs move in opposite directionsOn Wednesday, spot Ether and XRP ETFs exhibited diverging trends. Spot Ether ETFs registered $60.9 million in net inflows, marking the second consecutive day of positive net flows. This brought total inflows for Ether ETFs over the two-day period to $114.6 million.

Meanwhile, XRP ETFs recorded $3.58 million in net outflows. These withdrawals reduced net assets in XRP ETFs to $993.4 million, while cumulative net inflows for the asset class stayed at $1.51 billion.

ETFLatest Net Inflows/Outflows2-3 Day Total InflowsCumulative Net InflowsTotal Net AssetsSpot Bitcoin ETFs+$244.4 million (Wed)+$626 millionN/AN/AiShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)N/A+$479 million~$61 billionN/ASpot Ether ETFs+$60.9 million (Wed)+$114.6 million (2 days)N/AN/AXRP ETFs-$3.58 million (Wed)N/A$1.51 billion$993.4 millionPerformance data for Wednesday underscores the varied investor appetite for different cryptocurrency-backed ETFs, highlighting divergent patterns for Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US accumulated $626 million in net inflows over three consecutive days, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which contributed $479 million and raised cumulative net inflows to nearly $61 billion.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

XRP Joins Crypto.com's Dual Invest Lineup@Cryptocom has expanded its Dual Invest product suite to include $XRP, opening up structured yield opportunities on the token for both retail and institutional users. The addition allows participants to target triple-digit reward rates on XRP, a rate level that Crypto.com has advertised across its Dual Invest platform since the product launched in February 2025.

Dual Invest is a structured earn feature that lets users lock in a fixed reward rate by setting a target price and term for a chosen asset. The product lets users earn rewards in one of two digital assets, depending on how the market moves. The reward rate is presented to users upfront, before they enter into a plan. At settlement, the payout is issued in either the deposited token or an alternate token, depending on whether the target price is reached.

Three primary strategies are available: "Buy Low" for purchasing assets at a target price lower than current, "Sell High" for selling at a target price higher than current, or hold and earn rewards. The structure gives users a degree of flexibility across different market conditions, which Crypto.com positions as a hedge against volatility.

XRP Added Alongside $BTC, $ETH, and $SOLWith the XRP inclusion, Dual Invest now covers a broader set of major assets. $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL were already available on the platform before this latest expansion. An Auto-Renew feature is also available, which automatically places a new order with the same target price and deposit amount if a user's target price is not reached at expiry. This allows users to maintain exposure without needing to manually re-enter positions.

The timing of the addition is notable given the growing institutional profile of XRP. The SEC dropped its case against Ripple in 2025, and seven spot XRP ETFs are live in the US with over $1.2 billion in assets under management. That regulatory clarity has helped bring more structured products to market around the asset.

As with any structured yield product, risks remain. Market risk means the value of tokens may fluctuate based on market conditions. If a target price is reached and the deposit token is automatically converted, but the deposit token's price continues to move in the same direction, users could miss out on potential gains. Dual Invest is available in select jurisdictions.

Sources:
Crypto.com: Dual Invest Product Launch
Crypto.com Help Center: Dual Invest
Crypto.com University: What Is Dual Invest

PANews reported on August 6 that FlashRescue co-founder @DarcyAri stated on X platform that in a recent case being jointly investigated with a partner, funds in a Tether address were moved while Tether was executing a freeze proposal, causing the amount frozen to decrease. Further review by FlashRescue found that this is not an isolated incident. As of August 3, 2026, an analysis of 2,955 Tether freeze events across the Ethereum and Tron networks revealed the following among high-risk addresses involved in entity sanctions, fraudulent activities, money laundering, FATF blacklisted jurisdictions, malicious attacks, and more: 60 addresses emptied their assets and completed front-running transfers before the freeze was formally enforced, with a total net outflow of 20,429,847 USDT. On average, transfers began 13 minutes and 59 seconds after a freeze proposal was submitted, and major funds were moved within 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Another 113 addresses transferred part of their assets before the freeze execution, involving approximately 35.5243 million USDT.

Tether takes an average of 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 15 seconds from submitting a freeze proposal to formally executing the freeze. There is a significant time window between the public disclosure of the freeze proposal and the actual enforcement. In one case on July 3, an address cluster moved funds consecutively within minutes, sent them to the same address, and then split and transferred them further. The above cases indicate that some high-risk addresses may be actively monitoring Tether freeze proposals and exploiting the time gap between proposal disclosure and actual enforcement to conduct front-running transfers. This mechanism leads to failures in freezing illicit funds and undermines the effectiveness of sanctions, anti-money laundering, and law enforcement assistance measures.

LINK's latest setup combines shrinking exchange supply, rising whale activity, and improving fundamentals, while traders await a confirmation.

Chainlink recorded 1.26 million tokens in net exchange outflows over 24 hours. This was the largest daily outflow since June 29.

Santiment said the drop in exchange supply means fewer LINK tokens are available for quick sell orders, which could potentially lower future sell-off risk.

Bullish Signals The timing of the move is interesting, according to Santiment. In July, the DTCC processed tokenized US securities trades with Chainlink listed among its technology providers. Meanwhile, its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) expanded support across institutional and crypto networks, including Canton and Robinhood Chain. Santiment believes that these developments could be positive for patient LINK bulls.

The crypto asset started July near $7.85 and briefly slipped below $7.6 before recovering. The price then climbed higher and even broke above $8, eventually reaching around $8.86. However, the rally did not hold, and by August LINK pulled back toward $8.2.

Against this backdrop, whale activity around Chainlink has picked up significantly, which essentially reflected stronger confidence among major holders. The network also ranked second in Santiment’s RWA development ranking, behind Hedera, after showing improved activity compared with the previous month.

Pseudonymous market watcher, ‘The Boss,’ said the crypto asset is now testing whether it can break out of the downtrend that has controlled its price for weeks. It has held a long-term demand zone while challenging a descending trendline that has repeatedly rejected price. According to the trader, the structure has strengthened, but confirmation is still needed. A break above the first resistance of $11.62 could mark LINK’s greatest technical recovery since the decline began.

The focus is now on whether buyers can form higher highs and higher lows while staying above the demand zone. If that structure fails, the asset could remain trapped inside the broader bearish trend.

You may also like: LINK Whales Move Millions to Binance Before Key Banking News Over 535,000 LINK Holders Signal Quiet Chainlink Accumulation Amid Market Uncertainty CCIP Adoption Zooming out, Chainlink is also seeing wider adoption across its ecosystem. Dozens of projects have switched to its technology in recent months. These include Kraken’s kBTC, along with Solv Protocol’s SolvBTC and xSolvBTC.

BitGo also announced moving its cross-chain infrastructure to Chainlink’s CCIP. The move comes as more projects shift away from LayerZero following the $292 million KelpDAO bridge exploit earlier this year.

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Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency launched in 2016, is preparing for a pivotal governance event as coinholders prepare to vote on the proposed scope of the upcoming NU7 network upgrade. The voting period will begin on August 25 and is expected to run for approximately 18 days, with several key protocol changes under consideration.

New governance mechanism and voting processThis vote introduces a new governance framework for Zcash. Valar Group and Project Tachyon are coordinating the process using a recently developed Tokenholder Voting Chain. This infrastructure replaces Zcash’s older governance mechanisms and utilizes a distributed election authority composed of at least 10 validators. Tally results can only be accessed after two-thirds of the validator set grants approval, increasing security and collective oversight.

A critical condition for legitimacy has been set: the voting process requires the participation of at least 1,000,000 ZEC. If this quorum is not met, the results will not be recognized as valid, marking a significant engagement threshold for the Zcash community.

To join the vote, users must hold spendable shielded ZEC in Ironwood at the snapshot, scheduled for August 24 at 19:00 UTC. After the snapshot is taken, voters are free to move their funds, and the voting window will remain open until September 12.

Mini dictionary: Ironwood, the Zcash reference wallet developed to support shielded transactions, allowing users to store and transact using ZEC with privacy features enabled.

Key issues on the ballotCoinholders will weigh in on several issues, ranging from technical and schedule matters to fundamental economic parameters. Among the most critical proposals, participants will decide whether to transition Zcash’s current halving schedule to a smoother issuance model through the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM). The ballot will also include options on when to activate transaction fee reissuance, plans to deprecate the legacy Sprout transaction format, and whether to reduce block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. Additionally, voters will set guidance on how quickly the NU7 upgrade should be released if certain features miss the initial deadline.

Mini dictionary: Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM), a proposed protocol change to Zcash’s issuance model that replaces sharp halvings with a gradual, predictable reduction in mining rewards, aimed at promoting long-term security and development funding.

Participation threshold and its significanceThe requirement for at least 1 million ZEC to participate represents a significant percentage of Zcash’s circulating supply. Given that Zcash’s total circulating supply is much lower than that of Bitcoin, achieving this quorum would demonstrate robust engagement from the community and could reinforce the legitimacy of future technical changes decided through on-chain governance.

ZEC technical performance and market conditionsZEC’s technical indicators have recently improved. The coin is currently trading above its 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day moving averages, while the 200-day moving average continues to trend upward beneath the current price. The token has climbed above the key $500 psychological level and is consolidating around nearby support zones. With the relative strength index (RSI) recovering toward 54, market momentum appears neutral, and conditions do not indicate significant overbought pressure.

IndicatorCurrent LevelPriceAbove $50020-day MABelow current price50-day MABelow current price100-day MABelow current price200-day MATrending up, below current priceRSIAround 54Should ZEC maintain its position above its cluster of shorter-term moving averages, analysts may anticipate renewed attempts to reach previous highs set earlier this summer.

Zcash coinholders will vote on proposals such as a new issuance schedule, transaction fee policy, and shorter block times, while a 1 million ZEC participation quorum aims to ensure strong governance legitimacy for the decisions made in the forthcoming NU7 upgrade.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Last night, leading decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol Uniswap announced the official launch of its own launchpad pools.trade on the Robinhood Chain. According to Hayden Adams, the platform had already gained massive traction in the crypto community ahead of its official release, enabling token issuance and trading via on-chain contract interactions, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $150 million. Meanwhile, Uniswap’s move has impacted the interests of existing launchpad players. Multiple industry figures, including Bankr founder (@0xDeployer), have expressed dissatisfaction with what they term Uniswap’s "monopolistic" behavior. Additionally, pons, a previously viral token launch platform on Robinhood Chain, has seen its token market cap decline for multiple consecutive days following pools.trade’s launch, dropping from a peak of $67 million to below $20 million. Almost concurrent with pools.trade’s launch, Bankr’s founder and Sushi’s founder engaged in "close interactions", hinting at deep collaboration in the launchpad space to co-build pools.fun. Some analysts believe Bankr will migrate its existing Robinhood Chain launch process from Doppler/Uniswap v4 to Sushi’s launch framework, while retaining its distribution layer. BlockBeats notes that the current launchpad war on Robinhood Chain has entered a white-hot phase, but market consensus holds that the current environment lacks neither launch platforms nor liquidity; what is missing are narratives and innovations that can truly trigger user FOMO.

Relevant content

After AMD released its quarterly results, institutional analysts had mixed reactions, with Mizuho cutting its price target.

After AMD released its quarterly results, institutional analysts remain broadly constructive overall. Though elevated expectations led to a mixed market reaction, the analysts’ consensus is that AMD’s AI and data center growth narrative remains intact. Wells Fargo issued the most optimistic update, raising its price target from $615 to $700, and believes earnings could significantly exceed its prior estimate of $20 per share for 2029–2030. Jefferies raised its price target to $650 and maintained a Buy rating, stating that while the results failed to meet lofty expectations, the long-term AI thesis remains on track. Mizuho cut its price target from $625 to $580 but kept an Outperform rating, noting the quarter’s performance was solid against a challenging backdrop. JPMorgan sharply raised its price target from $385 to $550 while maintaining a Neutral rating, citing that its September quarter guidance came in slightly below expectations. Overall, analysts see significant upside potential in AMD’s expanding AI GPU and server business, with the main debate centered on whether short-term execution can keep pace with increasingly aggressive expectations.

2 minutes ago

SoftBank secures $10 billion margin loan using its OpenAI stake as collateral.

SoftBank Group has successfully secured a $10 billion margin loan using its stake in OpenAI as collateral. The two-year loan is provided by a consortium of lenders including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho Securities, Apollo Global Funding, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). SoftBank plans to complete the fund drawdown this month.

2 minutes ago

Citigroup lowers SanDisk's target price from $2,500 to $2,100

Citigroup research report cuts SanDisk (SNDK.O) price target from $2,500 to $2,100.

2 minutes ago

X Layer DeFi's Total Value Locked (TVL) has surged past $100 million, growing nearly tenfold in half a year.

OKX Wallet announced in a Chinese post that X Layer’s DeFi total value locked (TVL) has surpassed $100 million, growing nearly tenfold over the past six months. Meanwhile, X Layer’s stablecoin issuance volume has exceeded $2 billion, ranking among the top 10 global public blockchains. Its cumulative active addresses have broken through 4.2 million, and cumulative on-chain transactions exceed 400 million. OKX Wallet noted that with continued liquidity accumulation and steady growth in its user base, its next step will be to attract more assets, applications, and users to X Layer, driving the public blockchain to support more real-world demands and further refine its ecosystem development.

2 minutes ago

Crypto exchange Bitget has signed a cooperation agreement with the Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority, with plans to establish an office in Bhutan.

Crypto exchange Bitget has recently signed a cooperation agreement with Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority (GMCA). Under the terms of the deal, Bitget will establish a legal entity in Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), prepare applications for relevant financial service licenses under the regulatory framework of the Gelephu Financial Services Office (GFSO), and collaborate with GMCA on operational, regulatory, and ecosystem development workflows. Per the plan, Bitget will also gradually set up local offices and carry out local recruitment, supporting local talent cultivation and long-term development. As a special administrative zone in southern Bhutan, GMC is being built into a next-generation international financial and innovation hub, with its virtual asset regime governed by the Financial Services Act 2025. Jigdrel Singay, a director of the GMC Board, noted that bringing in partners like Bitget will help introduce global expertise while advancing local capabilities and the broader financial ecosystem.

2 minutes ago

ETF issuer Roundhill will launch an optical module stock ETF tomorrow, covering LITE and the A-share stock nicknamed "Yi Zhongtian".

Renowned investment management firm Roundhill will launch an optical module stock ETF tomorrow. According to its official website, the ETF is named LYTE. Its major holdings include Lumentum Holdings Inc (LITE) at 15.42% and Coherent Corp (COHR) at 15.23%, while Chinese A-share companies Sunway Communication, China Information Technology, and Topband account for 14.59%, 14.22%, and 7.9% of the portfolio respectively.

2 minutes ago

Grayscale has completed CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF’s (GDLC) quarterly rebalancing, increasing XRP, Solana (SOL), and Bitcoin (BTC) allocations. The crypto asset manager also announced weightings of Ethereum (ETH) and BNB in the large-cap digital assets fund.

XRP, Solana & Bitcoin Holdings to Rise in Grayscale’s GDLC ETF Grayscale Investments Sponsors finished its quarterly portfolio review and rebalanced the GDLC ETF in line with the CoinDesk 5 Index Methodology. The index provider determined that Bitcoin, Ethereum (Ether), XRP, Solana (SOL), and BNB continued to meet the inclusion criteria.

As a result, Grayscale has adjusted the fund’s portfolio by purchasing and selling some existing fund components in line with their weightings. Thus, no new tokens were added to or removed from the GLDC ETF during rebalancing.

The crypto components’ weighting in the fund is adjusted to 75.54% Bitcoin, 13.30% Ethereum, 4.64% BNB, 3.98% XRP, and 2.54% SOL. Each share represented almost 0.0003 Bitcoin, 0.0021 Ether, 0.0023 BNB, 1.0633 XRP, and 0.0099 SOL.

Notably, the earlier allocations were 75.53% BTC, 13.43% ETH, 4.64% BNB, 3.88% XRP, and 2.52% SOL. The latest update shows a slight increase in XRP, Solana, and Bitcoin weightings, whereas a small cut in Ethereum. Meanwhile, BNB’s allocation remains stable at 4.64% in the Grayscale GDLC ETF.

Meanwhile, Grayscale XRP ETF (GXRP) sold over $180 million worth of Ripple’s XRP. It also reported massive depreciation in net asset value due to XRP price downturn.

Price Action Mixed amid Rising Uncertainty Bitcoin price holds advance towards $65K amid pause in US-Iran war for diplomatic deal between the US, Iran and Oman. BTC currently trades at $64,722, up almost 1 % over the past 24 hours, but trading volume remains low due to broader crypto market uncertainty.

Meanwhile, XRP price dropped more than 2% in the past 24 hours as Senate Majority Leader John Thune didn’t file cloture on the Clarity Act. XRP is currently trading at $1.05, with a 24-hour low and high of $1.04 and $1.07, respectively.

However, trading volume has increased by 33% over the last 24 hours as traders await Clarity Act’s progress in the Senate. Analyst Ali Martinez predicted a fall to $0.80 if XRP price fails to hold above $1.

Check out the best crypto copy trading platforms to closely track the moves of experienced traders amid crypto market uncertainty.

11h05 ▪ 5 min read ▪ by Luc Jose A.

Summarize this article with:

The US Solana ETFs display a very rare phenomenon: no capital movement. For several sessions, investors have recorded neither subscription nor redemption across all these products, an unusual situation in a market where flows evolve almost daily. This immobility raises questions: does it indicate a waning of institutional demand or simply reflect the specific functioning of these financial vehicles? To answer, one must distinguish the flows officially recorded by issuers from the activity that continues to be observed in the secondary market.

In Brief The six spot Solana ETFs in the United States have recorded five consecutive sessions of strictly zero net flows, occurring right after an $18.1 million outflow from Bitwise’s BSOL fund. This apparent freeze of the primary market is partly explained by the high proportion of seed capital and conversions of pre-existing assets, representing nearly 40% of the $1 billion cumulative assets under management. However, this absence of new share creation does not mean trading has stopped, as investors continue to trade existing shares on the secondary market with active volumes. This temporary neutrality on Solana contrasts with the bullish dynamics of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, illustrating increased selectivity by institutions towards altcoin-backed vehicles. Flow Immobilism and the Footprint of Initial Capital All six Solana spot ETFs listed in the United States have experienced a consecutive sequence of five sessions closed with absolutely zero net flow. According to data provided by Farside Investors, the factual situation of the products is summarized as follows :

A generalized freeze of subscriptions : funds registered under the tickers BSOL, VSOL, FSOL, TSOL, SOEZ, and GSOL all displayed a value of $0.0 million during sessions from July 29 to August 4, 2026 ; A prior triggering event : this halt in subscriptions on the primary market occurred immediately after a capital outflow of $18.1 million recorded on July 28 from the BSOL fund managed by Bitwise ; A high accumulated total : despite this five-day freeze, Farside Investors’ dashboard accounts for a cumulative total of $1.122 billion in net inflows for the entire range as of August 4. A detailed examination of this billion dollars reveals a particular financial composition. Indeed, the seed capital alone represents $449.3 million, about 40% of the total accumulated $1.122 billion. This proportion shows that only a fraction of the total amount displayed corresponds to genuine creation of shares made after the funds’ launches. Moreover, analytical tracking data specifies that $102.7 million included in this seed capital, for Grayscale’s GSOL fund, actually constitute the conversion of a pre-existing financial product and not an injection of new capital to the market.

The Mechanics of Solana’s Primary Market versus Secondary Trading To understand this figure, it must be recalled that this data only measures the balance of the primary market after counting share creations and redemptions. Thus, authorized operators manage this process in the primary market, while investors can trade existing shares among themselves on exchanges. Consequently, the absence of net creation does not indicate a total absence of economic activity in the secondary equity markets.

Issuer asset figures perfectly illustrate this distinction in activity. Bitwise declared approximately $596.37 million in net assets for its BSOL fund according to data dated August 2. On the other hand, 21Shares reported about $3.09 million in assets for the TSOL fund as of August 3, while maintaining a non-zero daily trading volume on exchanges. These asset and volume data demonstrate that the secondary market continued to function autonomously while primary creations remained halted.

Market Divergences and Outlook for Altcoins The temporary paralysis observed on Solana fits within a broader market context where investor behaviors vary significantly according to asset maturity. On August 4, 2026, at the very moment Solana showed $0.0 million, Farside Investors reported net inflows of $211.5 million for Bitcoin ETFs and $53.1 million for Ethereum ETFs in the United States. These gaps highlight the differences in size and institutional anchoring between the two sector giants and the vehicles backed by altcoins.

Assessing a real long-term trend change will require analyzing the joint evolution of new creations, redemptions, and trading volumes. Thus, the current neutrality of primary flows on Solana reflects a wait-and-see posture among authorized investors. The resumption of share creation momentum will depend on the secondary market’s capacity to absorb existing volumes and the return of marked buying interest for financial products derived from Solana.

In short, these five consecutive days of zero net flows do not represent investor desertion but materialize a technical equilibrium point in the primary market of Solana ETFs. The clear distinction between volumes traded on exchanges and share creations remains the key to correctly interpreting the performance of these instruments.

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Luc Jose A.

Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019. Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.

DISCLAIMER

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

TL;DR: We are announcing BOLD (Bounded Liquidity Delay): a dispute protocol we invented at Offchain Labs that can enable permissionless validation for Arbitrum chains. The code and specification are now available on Github here!

BOLD allows Arbitrum-technology chains to:

Guarantee safety and liveness of their chainMinimize latency to settle statesPrevent dishonest parties from raising the cost for honest onesToday, Optimistic Rollup chains that support fraud proofs, such as Arbitrum One and Nova, settle their state to Ethereum. A set of entities, known as validators, post claims about the L2 state they have verified to be true to a smart contract. During a 7 day period, other validators can challenge these claims, and a dispute resolution process occurs. Once a claim is confirmed, that L2 state is considered correct on Ethereum. This validation process is why assets can be bridged between Arbitrum chains and Ethereum L1 with a 7 day delay. A challenge protocol involves parties submitting fraud proofs to Ethereum to determine the correct result of L2 execution.

However, validation on Arbitrum One and Nova via fraud proofs today is permissioned because their dispute protocols are vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks. A malicious validator can repeatedly spend funds to prevent assertions from being confirmed, therefore delaying withdrawals from L2 to L1 for as long as they’re willing. Ed Felten from our team has previously written about Delay Attacks on Rollup Protocols and their severity here.

We have invented a new approach to validation that gives us a fixed, upper bound 7 days of additional delay on confirmations without suffering from delay attacks. Our protocol, called BOLD can make validation of Arbitrum chains safely permissionless, moving them many steps up in the ladder of decentralization. The approach allows a single, honest validator to win disputes on Ethereum against any number of adversaries.

The code and research specification are now available on Github here. We are also contributing the code to the Arbitrum Nitro codebase for development and testing. Soon, we’ll be announcing both local devnets for the community to try and a public testnet for the protocol!

Introducing BOLD

Every layer 2 system has to cope with the problems of delays when settling their state to Ethereum. BOLD is an evolution of Arbitrum’s dispute system culminating in a much more robust approach. To our knowledge, BOLD is the first, practical challenge protocol that supports efficient all-versus-all disputes. It:

(a) Guarantees fixed upper bounds on confirmation times for Optimistic Rollups’ settlement, …and

(b) Ensures a single honest party in the world can win against any number of malicious claims

Disputes in BOLD are tied to deterministic execution of an L2 state, not to a particular staker or entity. This means anyone who agrees with a state can defend it, until a single point of disagreement is found. Because the honest L2 state is deterministic, honest parties will always win if participating, as evil ones cannot fake proofs of execution.

For detailed information on how BOLD works and what makes it special, check out our research specification available on Github here.

Code Is Now Available

Today, we are making public our implementation of BOLD and publishing our research specification that explains the protocol’s internals under github.com/offchainlabs/bold. The codebase includes a complete implementation of a challenge manager that not only posts assertions about an L2’s state, but can participate in challenges against any number of malicious adversaries and confirm the correct state.

Our implementation is modular, and can be integrated in Arbitrum Orbit chains or Arbitrum One/Nova should the DAO decide to adopt it. When integrated into an L2 validator node, BOLD encapsulates all logic required to participate in challenges, post assertions about L2 states to Rollup contracts on Ethereum, and confirm such assertions.

BOLD has also been audited by Trail of Bits, with our audit report included in the repository here. The codebase also follows the same licensing as Arbitrum Nitro at this time, as we plan to integrate the code as a dependency Arbitrum technology chains can easily use — batteries included.

We believe additional tooling is crucial to understand a complex system such as this. As a result, we are also building a Challenge visualizer and API that is in the works! Sneak peek below, built by Preston Van Loon:

Roadmap

There are a few more steps to complete before BOLD is ready for production. Coming up next, we plan on:

Sharing instructions for running an Arbitrum Nitro devnet with BOLD challenges enabled in the coming weeksPublishing our formal proofs code for BOLD, written in the Isabelle programming language along with our full, academic-style paperA public testnet environment (a new one will be provisioned for BOLD) for the community to participate in challenge games…and if there is positive community feedback, we plan to prepare an AIP so the DAO can decide whether to adopt this new challenge protocol in Arbitrum One and NovaWritten by Ed Felten and Raul Jordan — August 3, 2023

Two of the most influential U.S. banking trade groups are pressing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to extend anti-money laundering obligations for stablecoin issuers well beyond the point of token issuance, setting up a direct clash with crypto industry groups over how far compliance duties should reach.

Banks Push for Broader Compliance Perimeter The Bank Policy Institute (@bankpolicy) and The Clearing House Association (@TCHtweets) filed a joint comment letter on the FDIC's proposed rule to implement Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance standards for FDIC-supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers. Their submission arrived as the agency's comment window closed on Tuesday.

The banking groups' position is clear: AML obligations should not stop at issuance. BPI and The Clearing House emphasized the meaningful gaps in AML/CFT obligations in the secondary market for payment stablecoins, arguing that most illicit activity occurs there and that current requirements fail to impose sufficient AML obligations on secondary-market actors such as DeFi firms, certain digital asset custodians, and exchanges.

Crypto Side Warns of DeFi Consequences Crypto investment firm Paradigm (@paradigm) and the Hyperliquid Policy Center (@HyperliquidPC) warned U.S. regulators that proposed stablecoin AML rules could push regulated dollar tokens away from permissionless DeFi if issuers are made responsible for secondary-market activity.

In their letter, the two groups argued that the proposal could expose stablecoin issuers to liability for secondary-market transactions they cannot directly control, with their core concern being that issuers may be held responsible for activity taking place through public blockchain smart contracts, even when those issuers do not know the users involved and cannot stop the transaction in real time.

The two groups argued that regulators should separate primary issuance, where issuers have direct customer relationships, from secondary-market activity, where stablecoins move through wallets, decentralized finance apps, and validators outside an issuer's direct control. A wallet address "that simply holds or transfers" a stablecoin should not be treated as an issuer customer, they argued, and developers, protocol operators, and validators should be protected from issuer-style obligations when they have "no direct relationship with the issuer."

According to the two groups, extending strict issuer liability to the secondary market through smart contracts would create "impossible obligations," forcing issuers to launch stablecoins only on permissioned networks and effectively pulling regulated dollar stablecoins out of DeFi, creating a vacuum quickly filled by unregulated offshore alternatives. Unclear rules are described as "especially serious" for validators, as they could be read to cover infrastructure operators on networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and Hyperliquid, potentially pushing U.S.-based staking and infrastructure building offshore.

The FDIC now proceeds to draft a final rule with both camps firmly on record. The outcome will have broad consequences for how dollar-pegged tokens are deployed across open blockchain networks.

Sources:
Bank Policy Institute: BPI and The Clearing House Comment on FDIC's BSA and Sanctions Proposal for Stablecoin Issuers
Decrypt: Paradigm, Hyperliquid Policy Center Push Back on GENIUS Act Stablecoin AML Rule
FinanceFeeds: Hyperliquid Policy Center and Paradigm Push Treasury on AML Rule

The United States government is sitting on 328,372 BTC, worth approximately $25 billion, making it the single largest sovereign holder of Bitcoin on the planet. Not bad for a collection that was never actually purchased.

Every last satoshi in that reserve came from criminal and civil asset forfeitures, including seizures tied to the Silk Road marketplace and the Bitfinex hack. The government essentially stumbled into becoming a Bitcoin whale through law enforcement, then decided to keep the coins instead of auctioning them off like it used to.

From evidence locker to strategic asset The pivot happened on March 6, 2025, when President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14233, formally establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The order did two important things: it consolidated all federally seized Bitcoin under a single framework, and it explicitly prohibited the sale of any coins in the reserve.

The Treasury Department now manages the reserve alongside a separate entity called the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, which handles other forfeited tokens that aren’t Bitcoin. The distinction matters because the executive order treats Bitcoin differently from every other digital asset, essentially giving it a privileged tier in the government’s balance sheet.

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Congress wants to go bigger The executive order was just the opening move. Two pieces of legislation are working their way through Congress with the goal of making the reserve permanent and potentially expanding it dramatically.

The BITCOIN Act and the American Reserve Modernization Act, or ARMA, are both pending. These bills aim to codify the reserve’s existence into law, meaning a future president couldn’t simply reverse it with a new executive order. They also explore frameworks for acquiring additional Bitcoin beyond what’s seized through law enforcement.

Some legislative proposals envision the US eventually holding up to 1 million BTC. That would represent nearly 5% of Bitcoin’s hard-capped 21 million supply. As of July 2026, those expanded holding targets remain unresolved due to inter-agency coordination challenges that have slowed progress.

The current 328,372 BTC reserve already accounts for roughly 1.5% of Bitcoin’s total supply cap. And because the executive order prohibits sales, those coins are effectively removed from the liquid market.

What this means for investors Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins is its defining feature. When a sovereign government locks away 1.5% of that supply with no intention of selling, it creates a structural reduction in available coins.

The signal to other nations may matter more than the direct supply impact. When the world’s largest economy formally treats Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, it provides cover for other governments to do the same. Several countries have already begun exploring similar frameworks, and the US move gives them a template to follow.

Traders should watch the legislative calendar closely. If either the BITCOIN Act or ARMA passes with provisions for active Bitcoin acquisition beyond seizures, it would represent a fundamentally different demand dynamic than anything the market has priced in.

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

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/24/world/gallery/vladimir-putin/index.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a landmark law that establishes a regulatory framework for crypto exchanges, digital depositories, and market participants, as reported by TASS. While the law introduces regulation for these entities, it maintains a ban on using cryptocurrency for domestic payments within Russia. The Bank of Russia is set to be the main regulator for this framework, with a transition period extending through July 2027. The regulation aims to create a legalized infrastructure for buying, selling, and storing digital currencies through licensed intermediaries.

Crypto markets appear to have interpreted the development as a mixed indicator for Bitcoin’s future price, especially in speculative markets. The introduction of regulatory clarity is seen as potentially positive for institutional engagement. However, the continued ban on using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment could dampen broader retail enthusiasm, which may be impacting market sentiment regarding Bitcoin’s ability to reach high price targets.

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Current market odds for Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by December 31, 2026, remain low, with pricing reflecting a 2% probability. The regulatory framework seems to have led to a moderate decrease in optimism for such high price levels, as suggested by the slight downtrend in odds for Bitcoin achieving significant price hikes.

Key Takeaways The new Russian law appears to provide regulatory clarity for crypto exchanges and digital depositories. Market pricing suggests that while regulatory clarity could encourage institutional participation, the ban on crypto payments may limit retail enthusiasm. Current odds for Bitcoin reaching $200,000 by the end of 2026 are at 2%, reflecting limited market confidence in achieving this price level. What to Watch Observers should monitor how the Bank of Russia implements the new regulatory framework and its impact on institutional engagement within the crypto market. Developments in international crypto regulations, particularly regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border trade, could influence market sentiment. Watching for any further legislative changes in Russia that might affect the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method will also be pivotal in assessing future market movements.

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Term Structure

Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.1% — — View market → December 31 2.4% — — View market → December 31 3.5% — — View market → December 31 4.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 8.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 24% — — View market → January 1 2027 4.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.1% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.7% — — View market → January 1 2027 5.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 56.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 10.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.7% — — View market → January 1 2027 3.2% — — View market → January 1 2027 35% — — View market → January 1 2027 15.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 7.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 4% — — View market → January 1 2027 2.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.8% — — View market → January 1 2027 1.3% — — View market → January 1 2027 0.9% — — View market → January 1 2027 10.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 22.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 33.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 50.5% — — View market → January 1 2027 71.5% — — View market →

First production Layer 2 to stream EIP-7928@worldnetwork says it will become the first production Layer 2 to stream EIP-7928 block access lists, going live on mainnet on August 17. The network will stream full block access lists inside every flashblock, allowing validators to begin verifying transactions while blocks are still being assembled. That inverts the usual approach, where nodes must replay everything sequentially after a block is complete.

Block-Level Access Lists (BALs) function like a map for the network, detailing which parts of the database will be accessed before the work begins. The execution layer stores the full Block Access List, including every account change that the transactions will touch, along with the final results of those changes. Because they give instant visibility into which transactions do not overlap, BALs allow nodes to perform parallel disk reads, fetching information for many transactions simultaneously.

Unlike Ethereum's planned implementation of EIP-7928, which is expected to arrive as part of the Glamsterdam upgrade, World Chain is deploying the feature through a runtime flag rather than a hard fork. This approach allows client operators to upgrade software ahead of the August 17 mainnet rollout without requiring a coordinated network-wide upgrade.

Throughput target and the Glamsterdam connectionInternal benchmarking on World Chain test networks showed validation latency remained effectively stable even as throughput increased substantially, reaching up to one gigagas per second using standard cloud infrastructure. According to the results, higher transaction throughput can be achieved without a corresponding increase in the computing resources required for independent chain verification.

The implementation is designed to address one of the blockchain industry's key scaling challenges: boosting transaction capacity without compromising decentralization by forcing validators to use increasingly powerful hardware.

For @ethereum, EIP-7928 is central to its own roadmap. Glamsterdam is Ethereum's next major network upgrade after Fusaka, combining the Gloas consensus layer fork and the Amsterdam execution layer fork. It is headlined by two changes: enshrined proposer-builder separation (EIP-7732), which moves block building into the protocol, and Block-Level Access Lists (EIP-7928), which enable parallel transaction execution. Glamsterdam is Ethereum's next hard fork after Fusaka, targeting activation at the end of August 2026.

World Chain's early rollout gives the broader Ethereum ecosystem a live production data point on EIP-7928 ahead of that hard fork, potentially informing how the feature performs under real network conditions.

Sources:
World Chain to launch streamed EIP-7928 block access lists - CoinJournal
Glamsterdam upgrade overview - Ethereum.org
Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade: what changes for infrastructure - Chainstack

Key Highlights Table of Contents

Key HighlightsStablecoin Expansion Drives Q2 Financial PerformanceArc Network Rollout Strengthens Institutional PositioningPayment Infrastructure and Regulatory Wins Accelerate GrowthGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks Circle’s Q2 revenue increases 7% year-over-year as USDC circulation hits $73.3 billion. Quarterly onchain transaction volume for USDC jumps 151% to reach $14.8 trillion. Arc public mainnet scheduled for September 16 launch with leading financial institutions as validators. Company receives federal and New York trust charters for digital asset custody services. CRCL shares decline 0.41% despite positive quarterly performance and institutional momentum. Circle (CRCL) shares declined 0.41% to close at $62.99 even as the company posted solid second-quarter results driven by USDC expansion and institutional adoption. The stablecoin issuer reported revenue gains, increased network activity, and significant progress in its blockchain infrastructure initiatives. Trading saw early gains evaporate during morning hours before shares stabilized in afternoon trading.

Circle Internet Group, CRCL

Stablecoin Expansion Drives Q2 Financial Performance Circle posted $701 million in combined revenue and reserve income for the second quarter, representing 7% growth versus the prior year period. Reserve income totaled $668 million, supported by a 25% year-over-year increase in average USDC circulation. However, declining reserve return rates tempered what otherwise would have been stronger income expansion.

The quarter closed with USDC circulation standing at $73.3 billion, up 19% from the same period last year. Onchain transaction volume surged dramatically, climbing 151% to $14.8 trillion across all supported blockchain networks. Circle’s meaningful wallet count reached seven million, showing 24% annual growth.

The company swung to a profit of $48 million in net income from continuing operations, compared to a substantial loss in the year-ago quarter. Much of this improvement stemmed from reduced stock-based compensation expenses following Circle’s 2025 public market debut. Adjusted EBITDA grew 8% to $143 million, benefiting from higher reserve income generated by expanding circulation.

Arc Network Rollout Strengthens Institutional Positioning Circle announced that Arc’s public mainnet will go live on September 16, featuring privacy capabilities and programmable finance infrastructure. The platform is designed to facilitate tokenized real-world assets and agent-driven payment solutions. Over 100 institutional participants and ecosystem developers are currently building applications for the network.

Arc’s founding validator group includes prominent names such as BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, Mastercard, Visa, ICE, and Standard Chartered. These institutions will play critical roles in network security while developing settlement infrastructure and digital asset solutions. BlackRock has announced intentions to deploy its BUIDL tokenized liquidity fund natively on the Arc network.

DTCC is working to enable tokenized asset support through its securities custody platform. BNY, Standard Chartered, and additional financial institutions are exploring various use cases including custody services, settlement mechanisms, and stablecoin integration. These collaborations position Circle strategically within both traditional finance and emerging blockchain-based capital markets.

Payment Infrastructure and Regulatory Wins Accelerate Growth Circle broadened USDC availability through new partnerships with BNY, JCB, Nium, Grupo Bind, and Standard Chartered. These collaborations focus on custody solutions, cross-border payment rails, local currency conversion, and institutional-grade stablecoin services. Kakao Group has also begun evaluating USDC payment infrastructure for deployment in South Korea.

Circle Payments Network achieved $14.7 billion in annualized transaction volume by the end of the quarter. This represents a 76% sequential increase from the prior quarter, while the number of participating institutions grew 29% to reach 175. The platform also saw significant adoption for agent payments, with USDC settling 99.3% of x402 transaction volume.

On the regulatory front, Circle received approval for Circle National Trust, granting the company a national trust bank charter from federal regulators. New York state regulators simultaneously approved Circle New York Trust as a limited-purpose digital asset company. These dual approvals lay groundwork for expanded custody operations and potential future management of USDC reserve assets.

Pools opened four and a half hours behind its own countdown. Uniswap Labs claims the product and disclaims every token on it, including FRONG, the frog memecoin named after its teaser video that leads the platform at a $12.1 million valuation.

Uniswap opened pools.trade, a memecoin launchpad on Robinhood Chain, shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Aug. 5, four and a half hours after the public countdown it had set expired. The highest-valued token on it is FRONG, minted six days earlier by the same contracts, carrying the name of the video Uniswap used to tease the launch.

FRONG traded at $0.0121 as of 6:56 p.m. ET, up 31.9% on the day, with a fully diluted valuation of $12.1 million and $1.1 million in liquidity, according to Uniswap’s index on pools.trade. The site put 24-hour volume at $20.6 million and cumulative volume since launch at $60.96 million, across 172,694 buys from 12,206 wallets and 152,183 sells from 10,942 wallets. It counted 12,141 holders.

“Pools is built by Uniswap Labs,” Uniswap’s announcement of the product says. It also says the firm “has not independently reviewed or verified any token or project displayed” and that “the appearance of a token does not constitute a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation.”

On X, Uniswap said Pools is “intended for memecoins: speculative, highly volatile assets that can go to zero.”

Countdown Starts NowUniswap’s account posted “Countdown starts now” with a link to pools.trade at 12:31 p.m. ET on Aug. 4. The post carried a night-vision clip of a frog sitting at the edge of a pond, overlaid with a timer counting down from 24 hours. It drew 1.1 million views. Hayden Adams, founder and CEO of Uniswap Labs, replied to it 91 minutes later with “wait whats this about?”

Until the launchpad opened, the pools.trade holding page carried the same clip, served from a file named frong.mp4, under page metadata reading “Coming soon from Uniswap.” FRONG was minted on July 30, five days before Uniswap posted the video publicly. How long the file had been reachable on the domain before then is unclear.

Two minutes before the 24-hour countdown ran out the following day, with the site still reading “DEPLOYING…”, Adams posted: “gonna be another ~hour / appreciate the patience and stay tuned.” That post has drawn more than 135,000 views. At 4:29 p.m. ET, still with nothing shipped, he posted a screenshot of an old DJ Khaled message about servers going down under demand.

The site was live by 5:10 p.m. ET, four hours and 39 minutes after the countdown expired, labeled “Beta” and returning empty loading states on some pages. The launch thread followed at 6:49 p.m. ET.

Minted Before The ProductFRONG’s contract is 0x6245…0c47, a verified ERC-20 with a fixed 1 billion supply, according to Robinhood Chain’s Blockscout explorer. It was created at 20:16:59 UTC on July 30 in block 23,595,790, and its Uniswap v4 pool was created in the same block.

The creating transaction is a multicall sent by an unidentified wallet, 0xE195…cE58, to a verified contract named LiquidityLauncher at 0x00004c4c…D4e9. The token itself was minted by a second verified contract, UERC20Factory, at 0x000000e2…d49b. Neither carried a public label tying it to Uniswap Labs before Wednesday’s announcement. Both were deployed by the same wallet, 0x32f4…07aD, through the public CREATE2 deployer used across EVM chains, LiquidityLauncher on July 6 and UERC20Factory on July 8, three weeks before FRONG appeared and four weeks before Uniswap posted its countdown.

Buying in the creation block is by design. Uniswap describes it as sniping mitigation: “Creators buy in the same block the token is launched, preventing snipers from being the first to buy a new token.”

No wallet holds a large share of the supply. The largest holder is Uniswap’s v4 PoolManager, with about 34.3 million FRONG, or 3.4%, which is the liquidity pool itself. The largest address outside it holds 16.2 million tokens, 1.6% of supply, and no other address in the top five holds more than 1.15%. Blockscout has recorded more than 600,000 transfers.

Zero Launchpad FeesPools charges no launchpad fee. Each token opens a standard Uniswap v4 pool with a 0.25% LP fee that autocompounds back into a protocol-held position the creator cannot withdraw. Creators can switch on an optional fee at launch and take 0.05% of that 25 basis points. Uniswap puts the industry comparison at “a fraction of the standard ~1% on other launchpads.”

Both launch formats mint a fixed 1 billion supply and end in a v4 pool. Instant Launch, which FRONG used, goes live immediately on a bonding curve with no graduation requirement. Crowd Launch runs a four-hour window in which bids fill gradually and price moves with demand, using TWAP bids to blunt bundling; it graduates at a $10,000 launch FDV or refunds every order.

Tokens launched on Pools surface in the Uniswap web app and wallet, in the Launch Aggregator tab Uniswap shipped on July 30, and through the Uniswap API that routes for MetaMask, Ledger and third-party aggregators.

Frogs All The Way DownFRONG topped a trending list that also carried pools.trade, a token named after the launchpad, at a $2.3 million valuation and up 2,468.3%; ChowdLaunch at $991,900; Unicorn Pegasus at $602,800, up 3,781.5%; ABE at $494,200; and Unifrog at $428,300, all per pools.trade’s own index. The platform dated FRONG, pools.trade, Unifrog and ABE to six days before it opened. Its “New” tab filled with tokens stamped “just now” within two hours of the announcement.

At least one copycat is circulating. A separate FRONG contract paired on Uniswap v2 at 0x99C9…01d0 holds $0.37 in liquidity and has recorded no trades in 24 hours, according to GeckoTerminal. Its contract is unverified, and Blockscout counts 796 holders.

Second Home On RobinhoodRobinhood Chain holds $426.9 million in total value locked and processed $322.8 million in DEX volume on Aug. 4, the last complete day, according to DefiLlama. Weekly volume is down 33% against the prior week. Uniswap’s v3 and v4 deployments are the chain’s two largest venues by volume, and Uniswap took $1.67 million in fees on the chain over 24 hours.

The chain has run on memecoins since it opened. The Defiant reported that Robinhood Chain metrics surged as the network leaned into memecoins in its first week, and that it overtook Base on daily active users three weeks after launch, with memecoin trading rather than the tokenized stock trading the chain was built for driving activity. Uniswap switched on protocol fees for v4 pools on July 27, nearly tripling protocol revenue.

UNI traded at $4.03, up 3.8% over 24 hours in a $3.83 to $4.19 range, with a market capitalization of $2.52 billion and $249 million in 24-hour volume, according to CoinGecko.