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Critics warn the US Treasury’s push to embed ID checks into DeFi smart contracts could erode privacy and hollow out permissionless finance. The US Treasury is exploring whether identity checks should be built directly into decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts, a move critics warn could rewrite the very foundations of permissionless finance. Last week, the agency opened a consultation under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), which was signed into law in July. The Act directs the Treasury to evaluate new compliance tools to fight illicit finance in crypto markets. One idea was embedding identity credentials directly into smart contracts. In practice, this would mean a DeFi protocol could automatically verify a user’s government ID, biometric credential, or digital wallet certificate before allowing a transaction to proceed. Read more
Ethereum gaming network Xai claims Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI has caused market confusion and reputational harm. Ethereum-based gaming network Xai has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, accusing it of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The complaint, lodged in the Northern District of California on Thursday, claims Musk’s xAI company has created widespread market confusion, damaging Xai’s brand. Ex Populus, the Delaware corporation behind Xai, said it has used the XAI trademark in US commerce since June 2023, including through its blockchain gaming ecosystem and the $XAI token. “This is a classic case of trademark infringement that requires the Court’s intervention to remedy,” the filing said. Read more
Since 2016, whenever Ether’s price has gone up in August, it has historically fallen in September, data shows. Ether’s price has climbed 25% since the beginning of August, but historical data suggests the cryptocurrency could lose steam in September. Only time will tell if Ether (ETH) plays out differently this year, with billions flowing into spot Ether ETFs and treasury companies. Crypto trader CryptoGoos said in an X post on Friday, “ETH seasonality in September during post-halving years is typically negative. Will this time be different?” Read more
Mentions of Federal Reserve-related keywords and the anticipated interest rate cut have reached an 11-month high, according to Santiment. The surge in social media chatter around the highly anticipated US Federal Reserve September interest rate decision could be a warning sign for crypto, says sentiment platform Santiment. It comes after the crypto market rallied on Friday and market sentiment returned to greed following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish remarks at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium. He hinted that the first rate cut of 2025 could come in September. “Historically, such a massive spike in discussion around a single bullish narrative can indicate that euphoria is getting too high and may signal a local top,” Santiment said in a report on Saturday. The firm said that social media mentions of keywords tied to the Fed and interest rate cuts have jumped to their highest level in 11 months. Read more
All eyes are on Ether as it hits new highs for the first time since 2021, while Coinbase ramps up workplace security: Hodler’s Digest The total US dollar-pegged stablecoin market is projected to swell to $1.2 trillion by 2028, spurred on by comprehensive crypto regulations in the United States, according to crypto exchange Coinbase. Coinbase said the projections mean the US Treasury issuance would have to be $5.3 billion per week over the next three years to satisfy demand from stablecoin issuers, who use short-term US Treasury bills as backing collateral for their digital fiat tokens. This issuance schedule would cause a minor and temporary drop in three-month Treasury yields of about 4.5 basis points, contrary to analyst predictions that demand from stablecoin issuers will significantly reduce the interest on US government debt. Coinbase wrote in a market report: Read more
All eyes are on Ether as it hits new highs for the first time since 2021, while Coinbase ramps up workplace security: Hodler’s Digest The total US dollar-pegged stablecoin market is projected to swell to $1.2 trillion by 2028, spurred on by comprehensive crypto regulations in the United States, according to crypto exchange Coinbase. Coinbase said the projections mean the US Treasury issuance would have to be $5.3 billion per week over the next three years to satisfy demand from stablecoin issuers, who use short-term US Treasury bills as backing collateral for their digital fiat tokens. This issuance schedule would cause a minor and temporary drop in three-month Treasury yields of about 4.5 basis points, contrary to analyst predictions that demand from stablecoin issuers will significantly reduce the interest on US government debt. Coinbase wrote in a market report: Read more
Caitlin Long said mismatches between legacy financial systems and blockchain protocols, which settle in real-time, may impact TradFi firms. Institutional investors from the traditional finance world lack the updated risk tolerance models to deal with crypto and may face trouble during the next bear market, according to Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long. “Big Finance is here in a big way, and that seems to be driving this cycle. I suspect it will continue to drive this cycle,” Long told CNBC at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on Friday. Long said that legacy financial institutions are comfortable taking on large amounts of leverage due to fail-safes built into the system, like discount windows and other “fault tolerances.” Read more
Rumors on social media about a World Liberty Financial governance proposal from October 2024 drove the Aave token down by over $30. The price of the Aave (AAVE) token tumbled by over 8% on Saturday, following rumors that the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol would receive a different token allocation from World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi platform backed by members of US president Donald Trump’s family. “The WLFI team told WuBlockchain that the claim that ‘Aave will receive 7% of the total WLFI token supply’ is false and fake news,” blockchain reporter Colin Wu said, sparking a debate about the rumor and the token arrangement on social media. Wu was referencing a WLFI community proposal from October 2024, outlining an arrangement in which the Aave decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), responsible for governing the protocol, would receive 7% of the WLFI governance token’s circulating supply and 20% of protocol revenues generated by the WLFI deployment on Aave v3. Read more
Bitcoin accounts for an ever-greater share of global money as central banks continue to print currency and reduce purchasing power. Bitcoin (BTC) grew to account for about 1.7% of global money, a figure that includes aggregate M2 money supply data for all major fiat currencies, the largest minor currencies, and gold’s market cap, according to River, a Bitcoin financial services company. “In 16 years, Bitcoin went up to 1.7% of global money,” River said. The company weighed Bitcoin’s market cap against a $112.9 trillion basket of fiat currencies and $25.1 trillion in hard money, which excluded silver, platinum, and exotic metals like palladium. The data assumes Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $2.4 trillion, which it topped earlier in August. However, BTC’s current market cap is approximately $2.29 trillion, which brings its total share of global money down to around 1.66% at the time of this writing. Read more
Brazil's 17.5% crypto tax signals a global shift as governments eye digital assets for revenue, ending the era of tax-friendly crypto investing worldwide. Opinion by: Robin Singh, CEO of Koinly Crypto may be the first tax lever governments pull when scrambling for more revenue, if Brazil’s recent move is anything to go by. In June, Brazil scrapped its tax exemption for minor crypto gains and introduced a flat 17.5% tax on all capital gains from digital assets, regardless of the amount. The decision was part of a broader effort by the Brazilian government to bolster revenue through increased taxation of financial markets. Read more
Corporate Bitcoin treasuries nearly doubled in H1 2025, but analysts warn some firms may be using crypto reserves as a short-term PR boost. Corporate adoption of crypto in treasury management is growing rapidly. In the first half of 2025, the tally of public companies holding BTC nearly doubled, according to a report from K33 Research. K33 revealed that between December 2024 and June 2025, the number of listed firms with Bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheets climbed from 70 to 134, amassing a total of 244,991 BTC. The trend is drawing comparisons to earlier waves of corporate gold adoption. “There are clear parallels, particularly around providing a means for investors to access an underlying asset which they may have previously struggled to access,” Mike Foy, chief financial officer at AMINA Bank, told Cointelegraph. Read more
Thai police have arrested a South Korean man accused of helping a call center gang launder over $50 million in crypto into gold. Thai authorities have arrested a South Korean man accused of helping a call center gang launder cryptocurrencies into gold worth more than $50 million. The Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) said officers apprehended Han, 33, at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday under a warrant issued in February, according to a report from The Nation. He faces charges of fraud, computer crimes, money laundering, and involvement in a criminal syndicate. The case stems from a large-scale call center scam that began in early 2024. Victims were lured into “investment opportunities” promising 30%–50% returns. Initial payouts created a false sense of security, but as deposits grew, withdrawals were blocked with claims that investors had failed to meet requirements. Read more
A popular crypto sentiment tracker surged back into Greed on Saturday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a possible rate cut in September. Crypto sentiment returned to greed on Saturday as the crypto market surged, following dovish comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that raised speculation of a possible rate cut in September. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall crypto market sentiment, rose to a “Greed” score of 60 on Saturday, up 10 points from Friday’s “Neutral” reading of 50, after briefly dipping into Fear earlier in the week. The rebound came after Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, where he said that the current conditions in inflation and the labor market “may warrant adjusting” the Fed’s monetary policy stance. Read more
High-leverage trader James Wynn is back in the spotlight with a 25x Ether long showing strong gains, while his parallel Dogecoin bet is struggling in the red. James Wynn, a crypto trader known for his high-leverage crypto bets, has entered a massive leveraged position on Ether (ETH), opening a 25x long as ETH pushes to fresh highs above $4,860. According to onchain data, Wynn deployed roughly $5,568 in margin to control a 29.3 Ether position valued at $139,215, with an average entry price of $4,239. At the time of writing, the position is showing unrealized gains of $14,888, representing a return of more than 267%. Wynn is also running a 10x Dogecoin (DOGE) long, valued at $206,130 for 867,335 DOGE. Entered at an average price of $0.2398, the trade is slightly underwater, showing an unrealized loss of $1,886 with DOGE currently near $0.237. Read more
Trish Turner has resigned as head of the IRS crypto division after only a few months in the role and is reportedly moving to the private sector. Trish Turner has stepped down as head of the US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) digital assets division, just three months into the role. “After more than 20 years with the IRS, I have closed an extraordinary chapter of my career with deep appreciation for those who shaped my journey and made the work so meaningful,” Turner said in a LinkedIn post on Friday. “Together, we navigated complex challenges, built lasting programs, and laid the groundwork for the IRS’s digital asset strategy as it shifted from niche to mainstream,” Turner added. Read more
Concerns are rising among Bitcoiners over institutions doing "institutional-like things" with Bitcoin, Preston Pysh said in a recent podcast interview. Early Bitcoin adopters aren’t likely to stop being skeptical of institutional adoption anytime soon, says Bitcoin venture fund Ego Death Capital co-founder, Preston Pysh. “Part of that culture that brought it to where it is, is looking at where this is all going and saying no, no, no, no, this is all moving in a bad direction,” Pysh told Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories podcast on Friday. Pysh said that institutions engaging in “institutional-like things,” such as Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives, have some Bitcoiners concerned about the long-term impact and whether Bitcoin can still serve as the safe-haven asset it once was. Read more
Bitcoin chased its range highs after the Federal Reserve hinted at a policy pivot during the closing speech of the Jackson Hole Symposium. Key takeaways: Bitcoin surged 5% to $117,300 after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at an upcoming interest rate cut, liquidating $379.88 million in shorts. Analysts say the BTC “uptrend is back,” with the potential to hit $200,000 before the end of the year. Read more
The proposed bill included a list of targetable offenses, including the theft of cryptocurrencies, ransomware attacks, and pig butchering scams. Arizona lawmaker David Schweikert introduced “The Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025” in August, which proposes neo-privateers — state-sanctioned pirates — to combat cybercriminals engaged in threats against the United States. The bill authorizes the US president to issue letters of marque to “privately armed and equipped persons” contracted by the government to “employ all means reasonably necessary” to seize property and detain or “punish” cybercriminals deemed a threat by the president. These threats include crypto theft, pig butchering scams, ransomware attacks, identity theft, accessing computers without authorization to gather sensitive personal or classified information, online password trafficking, and compromising computers with malicious code. The bill read: Read more
Robust onchain activity, a resilient futures market and improving investor optimism boost the chance for ETH to hit $5,000. Key takeaways: Ethereum network activity surged by 63% in 30 days, strengthening the case for an imminent breakout to $5,000. Ether futures open interest jumped to $69 billion, highlighting robust demand for leveraged exposure. Read more
The judge suggested that a brief stay while awaiting a ruling in a similar case in the appellate court could “reduce the burden of litigation.” An Illinois judge has granted a motion to stay proceedings in a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase pending a ruling in the appellate court. In a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman granted a motion filed by Coinbase to stay a lawsuit involving alleged violations of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. The motion requested waiting for a ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which is considering a case involving Nuance Communications supplying voice identification technology to Charles Schwab — a decision that could impact the Coinbase lawsuit. Read more5789 items