Pencil Finance's on-chain student loan cycle could revolutionize educational financing by enhancing transparency and reducing costs.

The post Pencil Finance completes first fully on-chain student loan cycle with $1M deployment appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

India's mediation offer could shift the conflict towards diplomacy, potentially reducing military actions and influencing global market dynamics.

The post India ready to mediate in Russia-Ukraine conflict, says foreign minister appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The surge in oil prices due to Iran tensions could exacerbate global inflation, influencing monetary policies and economic stability worldwide.

The post Oil prices surge amid escalating Iran conflict, impacting global markets appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Standard Chartered's move may boost institutional crypto adoption, potentially influencing market dynamics and regulatory landscapes globally.

The post Standard Chartered launches institutional spot crypto trading in UAE appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Anthropic's IPO could significantly boost investor confidence in AI ventures, potentially reshaping market dynamics and investment strategies.

The post Anthropic files for US IPO, valued at $965B: NYT appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

‘Crypto Capital of the World’: SEC Chair Expects Clarity Act to Pass This Month

Wall Street’s top regulator has said that he expects the long-awaited Clarity Act will get passed this month and the U.S. will be on track to be the “crypto capital of the world.” 

Speaking to Fox Business on Tuesday, Securities and Exchange Chairman Paul Atkins confirmed that the regulator was pushing ahead with rules to help the crypto industry. 

Pro-crypto lawmakers had hoped to pass the Clarity Act before Congress broke for August recess, but the vote slipped to September. The bill will establish a framework for distinguishing between digital assets that are securities, commodities or stablecoins. 

“The Clarity Act will be voted on in the Senate on the 15th of September,” Atkins said. “I anticipate and hope that it will be passed by the Senate and sent ultimately to the President’s desk for a signature.”

He added: “We’re changing the past approaches to try to update [rules], modernize them in the age of blockchain and crypto assets.”

Despite a vote on the Clarity Act being delayed, regulators like the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission have said they will still proceed with trying to shape crypto policy. 

Last week, the SEC sent a proposal to the White House aiming to “clarify the framework for the custody of crypto assets” for investment advisers and companies. 

Despite being passed by the House of Representatives last year, the Clarity Act has been in a deadlock for most of this year after the banking lobby clashed with lawmakers and crypto businesses over whether platforms like Coinbase should be able to pay customers yield. 

Some lawmakers have sought to change wording in the bill regarding ethics, and a new bill started circulating in July. The draft bans government officials from promoting and making money from crypto. 

But other Democratic lawmakers said it still fell short; a number of pro-crypto Republicans accused Democrats of deliberately playing politics and delaying the bill. 

This post ‘Crypto Capital of the World’: SEC Chair Expects Clarity Act to Pass This Month first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Tells People To Escape Fiat Inflation With Bitcoin

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas is at it again. 

This time, the third richest man in Mexico told his followers that “fiat inflation is a hidden tax,” and the way to hedge against it was to buy bitcoin. 

Salinas, the former chairman of home appliance and electronics retailer Grupo Elektra and Banco Azteca founder, told his followers to opt out and start protecting their savings. 

“Bitcoin changes one fundamental rule: no one can print more just because they want to,” Salinas said in a video on X on Monday. 

“While you have to work to earn more money, the system can simply create more of it. Don’t be fooled: learn, protect your savings, and defend your freedom, buy bitcoin and hold it.” 

It’s not the first time Salinas has told his followers to be aware of government monetary policy. 

The billionaire posts on X almost daily to millions of followers, and criticizing central bank money creation is one of his recurring themes, appearing in tweets, interviews, conference keynotes, and video messages. 

In recent years, the entrepreneur has stepped up his criticisms of governments — and his praises of bitcoin. Earlier this year admitted he had increased his allocation in the asset from 10% to 70% of his portfolio. 

Salinas’ bitcoin enthusiasm all stems from central bank monetary policy. Speaking at Bitcoin 2022, Salinas described traditional money as “the fiat fraud.”

“What they are doing is printing money out of thin air, and then making fake purchases,” he said of the Federal Reserve. 

The business magnate has also talked about his success in “orange pilling” his friends and family. 

“I convinced my wife to mortgage the house that she has and take a loan to buy bitcoin,” he once boasted in an interview. 

This post Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Tells People To Escape Fiat Inflation With Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

When the Banks Don’t Work, Bitcoin Does: Cornell University’s Adoption Index

A lot of people have heard of Bitcoin but even among those who hold it, knowledge is shallow. 

Though for those holding the leading cryptocurrency, it appears to be solving a problem: getting around failing banking rails or inflation. 

That’s according to new findings from the U.S. Ivy League research university Cornell, which spoke to nearly 26,000 around the globe about Bitcoin. 

In its new Bitcoin Adoption Index report, the top college found that El Salvador, Venezuela and Nigeria were the countries that had the highest number of people who had ever owned bitcoin. 

“Ranked by the share of all respondents who have ever owned bitcoin, the leaders are not wealthy financial centers — they are economies where the national currency has been unstable and everyday access to dollars or reliable banking is hard,” the report read.  

“In each, bitcoin functions less as a speculative bet and more as a practical workaround.” 

Still, Cornell found that actually being able to explain the fundamentals of the protocol was difficult for most — including how many bitcoins would ever be minted in existence. In fact, 58% of those surveyed said they didn’t know the supply was capped at 21 million coins. 

But technicalities aside, the cryptocurrency has still proved helpful to people wanting to use it, the report found. 

One Venezuelan — who wasn’t named — told interviewers that Bitcoin was “faster, cleaner, and much less risky” than other methods of getting dollars in the country. 

While another Salvadoran was quoted saying: “When nobody controls [bitcoin], it means we all have control of it.”

And a Nigerian interviewee reportedly told Cornell researchers: “I’ve been to six African countries and whenever I go there, I don’t fear it because I know I can spend my bitcoin.”

Bitcoin adoption started growing in Venezuela ahead of other countries years ago, when hyperinflation crippled the economy and strict government currency controls meant getting dollars became difficult. 

El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender — along with the dollar — in 2021. The country’s leader admitted that getting its citizens to use the cryptocurrency was difficult but the Central American nation still says it buys the asset for its government coffers. 

In Nigeria, which has had some of the highest transaction volumes in the world, saving in bitcoin has been used by some to get around the collapse of the naira.

Cornell University’s research was fielded by Morning Consult in partnership with the Tech Policy Institute in Cornell University’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, the Cornell Bitcoin Club, the Human Rights Foundation and the Reynolds Foundation.

Researchers interviewed 25,880 people in 25 countries between December 16, 2024 to March 10, 2025, asking 125 individual questions. 

This post When the Banks Don’t Work, Bitcoin Does: Cornell University’s Adoption Index first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Capital B Raises €7.6M From Adam Back to Fund Another Bitcoin Buy

Top bitcoiner Adam Back has invested €7.6 million ($8.8 million) in Capital B, the Euronext Growth-listed company that bills itself as Europe’s first bitcoin treasury company. 

The company said Wednesday that the investment will be used to buy more bitcoin. Adam Back is the CEO of bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream, and one of the biggest and well-known figures in the space 

Capital B’s announcement comes after the company last week said it had raised €21 million ($24 million) in a private placement backed by Blockstream’s Adam Back and asset manager TOBAM.

“The proceeds of the Private Placement will be used primarily to strengthen Capital B’s balance sheet through the accumulation of bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset,” the company said in a statement. 

“This capital increase is a key step in implementing the company’s Bitcoin Treasury Company strategy, focused on increasing the number of bitcoin per share on a fully diluted basis over time.”

It added that the placement would fund it buying 376 additional bitcoins, taking its potential holdings to 3,521 coins from its current stash of 3,145.

Capital B is the 26th biggest publicly traded bitcoin treasury in the world, according to Bitcoin Treasuries, with a total of 3,145 bitcoins in its coffers — worth $242 million at today’s bitcoin price of $76,959. 

Capital B built much of that position through fundraising rounds during the first half of 2026. 

In May, it acquired 192 coins for €13 million after completing three capital raises.

Capital B’s is trying to build a bigger bitcoin position as other treasuries look to raise funds and accelerate their buys. 

NYSE-listed AI-powered education company Genius Group last week said it was aiming to build parallel AI and bitcoin treasuries worth a combined $1.6 billion, after the company sold its entire bitcoin reserves to repay $8.5 million in debt. 

The Bitcoin treasury model has taken a hit since last year when the price of the leading cryptocurrency took a hit. 

A number of companies in the space have had to liquidate their holdings — including the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin, Nasdaq-listed Strategy.

This post Capital B Raises €7.6M From Adam Back to Fund Another Bitcoin Buy first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

The Quantum Issue: Letter From The Editor

Quantum this, quantum that…who put a stupid cat on-chain!?

Ahem. 

Alright, let’s be serious. The threat that a viable, actually functioning, quantum computer would pose to Bitcoin if it were to be built is very serious. It is the concrete example of an existential threat, in every sense of the word. 

One of the bedrock foundations that Bitcoin rests upon is the assumption of a functioning cryptographic system that can be used to produce unforgeable signatures, i.e. that if you follow that system’s protocol properly when signing things, there is no way that anyone but a bitcoin’s rightful owner could produce a signature needed to spend it unless the rightful owner failed to secure their private key from theft. 

Quantum computers toss that right out the window. There goes the integrity of the entire mechanism that is used for owners of bitcoin to authenticate their ownership for the protocol to process their legitimately authorized transactions, and ONLY their legitimately authorized transactions. There’s no way for anyone to actually own anything in the context of the Bitcoin protocol if that assumption breaks. 

Bitcoin breaks if that assumption breaks. 

Thankfully, there are many different cryptographic systems that exist, and not all of them rest on assumptions that a quantum computer breaks. That’s the good news. The bad news is that its all a set of tradeoffs, none of them are ideal, and there are going to be some hard choices that have to be made. 

But there are solutions to just about every one of the problems that a viable quantum computer would create…except the problem of choosing which solutions to use. So in light of that, here is The Quantum Issue. 

This issue is a lot more structured than most past issues, and that is to ensure that it guides a reader through the entirety of the problem space and solution space without assuming any prior understanding (this is a very deep and technical subject). 

The first set of articles goes through the general issue of quantum computing itself, how it differs from classical computing, why that matters, how likely it is one is developed soon, etc.

The second set examines Bitcoin’s exposure. How is it exposed? How badly is it exposed? How can that degree of exposure change? 

The third set examines concrete (or developed enough to not be too hard to get to a concrete place) solutions to securing your bitcoin in a quantum safe way, and handling a network wide migration to those solutions. 

Don’t miss your chance to own The Quantum Issue — featuring articles written by many influential figures in the space working on the necessary pieces for a post-quantum Bitcoin!

This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Quantum Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.

This post The Quantum Issue: Letter From The Editor first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Shinobi.

Bitcoin is testing a roughly $68 billion breakeven wall that has repeatedly stalled its push back above $80,000.

About 880,000 BTC carry a cost basis between roughly $77,500 and $80,300, leaving a large group of holders close to where they originally bought, Bitfinex Alpha data shows.

Data from CryptoSlate shows Bitcoin trading near $77,890 as of press time after spending much of the past week trapped below $80,000.

The concentration means even modest price moves can shift tens of billions of dollars in Bitcoin between profit and loss, potentially releasing supply from investors who endured months underwater.

So far, that selling has been absorbed, setting up a test of whether fresh demand can clear the zone or whether the recovery stalls near current levels.

Older buyers are using the rally to get out near cost

The behavior of long-term holders suggests some investors are already taking advantage of the recovery to exit positions without realizing significant losses.

Bitcoin's long-term holder Spent Output Profit Ratio, or SOPR, has moved around 1 for nine consecutive sessions, with readings between 0.88 and 1.19 and a latest level near 0.98, Bitfinex said. A reading around 1 indicates coins are being moved at roughly the same price at which they were acquired.

Bitfinex analysts tied that activity primarily to investors who accumulated Bitcoin around February and March, when prices were close to current levels. Those holders subsequently sat through the downturn and now have an opportunity to recover their original investment as Bitcoin revisits their entry prices.

That creates a recurring supply problem. Bitcoin closed at $80,256 on Aug. 27, when 72.1% of supply was in profit. By the time it closed at $77,468 several days later, that share had fallen to 67.7%. The change implies roughly 880,000 BTC sit inside the narrow $2,800 cost-basis window now surrounding the market.

At about $77,000 per Bitcoin, that represents nearly $68 billion of supply whose profitability changes as prices move through the region.

The pattern has yet to resemble capitulation. Bitfinex said sustained SOPR readings below 0.9 alongside falling prices would indicate holders had begun accepting deeper losses to exit. Instead, sellers have largely appeared around breakeven while buyers have prevented a more decisive breakdown.

Bitcoin's True Market Mean, an on-chain measure Bitfinex uses to estimate the average acquisition price of active investors, stands near $76,350. That places the market only slightly above another level where a broader portion of holders approaches cost.

Strategy steps in as the ETF bid cools

The demand absorbing those sellers is also changing, with Strategy returning to the market just as buying through US spot Bitcoin ETFs has become less consistent.

Strategy bought 4,603 Bitcoin for $369.7 million between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30, ending a 10-week pause in purchases. The acquisition lifted the company's holdings to 845,050 BTC and was made at an average price of $80,318, placing Strategy's buying directly inside the zone where Bitcoin has repeatedly struggled to hold gains.

That timing provides an unusually direct test of corporate demand. Strategy paid above every Bitcoin daily close since May 14, even as other investors were using prices near $80,000 to sell.

The purchase also arrived as ETF demand cooled following one of its strongest stretches of the summer.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs had accumulated about $3.04 billion during a nine-session inflow streak before recording a $201.9 million outflow on Aug. 28. A $216.7 million inflow followed, but the products opened September with another $236.5 million in withdrawals.

The reversal does not establish a sustained ETF exodus, particularly after August's heavy inflows. It does reduce one source of buying pressure at a point where Bitcoin is encountering a large concentration of potential sellers.

Bitfinex described the shift as a handoff between the liquidity engines behind the recent rally, with corporate purchases helping offset softer ETF demand.

That balance could become increasingly important if breakeven selling persists. The more supply investors release around $78,000 to $80,000, the more sustained demand will be needed to convert the region from resistance into support.

Options traders are insuring against a deeper break

Derivatives traders are preparing for that balance to fail even as the options market prices relatively subdued volatility.

Average Bitcoin implied volatility stood at 37.2 in Bitfinex's analysis, putting it in the 18th percentile of daily closes over the past year. Options have therefore been cheaper on fewer than one in five trading days during that period.

Yet protection is concentrated around the period containing key US economic releases that could shift expectations for Federal Reserve policy.

The Sept. 11 options expiry has one put outstanding for every call, compared with a put-call ratio of 0.56 across the broader options market. Downside positions are concentrated between $68,000 and $75,000, while the largest call open interest sits at $80,000.

That positioning suggests investors are keeping exposure to another advance while paying for protection against a retracement through the current support zone.

The timing coincides with US payroll and inflation data that could alter expectations for the Fed after Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole remarks helped knock Bitcoin from an Aug. 28 high above $81,000.

Bitcoin now needs to clear the supply shelf

The next move may depend on whether buyers can exhaust the remaining breakeven supply without allowing Bitcoin to lose the cost basis supporting the recovery.

Bitfinex sees two daily closes above $82,818, accompanied by improving holder profitability and positive ETF flows, as confirmation that the current supply shelf has been absorbed. That would put roughly $85,200, another on-chain cost-basis level, into focus.

A failure would expose the opposite side of the trade. Two closes below about $76,657 would weaken the current structure and could open a move toward $73,500, followed by the short-term holder cost basis near $69,980.

Bitcoin's August rally still gives buyers some historical support. The cryptocurrency gained roughly 24% during the week ended Aug. 23, its strongest weekly percentage increase since March 2023. Since 2020, Bitcoin has posted 17 weekly gains exceeding 15% and was higher 30 days later in 14 of those cases, with a median return of 8.4%, Bitfinex found.

The immediate obstacle is closer than those historical returns suggest. Before Bitcoin can extend the rally, buyers have to absorb a block of supply worth nearly $68 billion from holders who have finally been offered a chance to leave near where they came in.

The post Bitcoin cannot break out past $80,000 until it devours an 880k BTC roadblock that choked every rally appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Ontology said its mainnet resumed normal operation on Sept. 2 after an emergency security pause and told every sync-node operator to upgrade to version 3.1.5. Sync nodes are infrastructure that keep their copy of the blockchain synchronized with the network.

The restoration notice says the new software is required to maintain compatibility with the restored chain and ensure stable synchronization. Ontology told operators to upgrade as soon as possible, confirm that their nodes are fully synchronized, and verify normal operation afterward.

Older software therefore carries a compatibility and synchronization risk, although the notice does not say that every unupgraded node has already failed.

The restoration followed a pause that began Aug. 31. Ontology initially described the trigger as a potential security concern found during a daily security check and suspended block production, leaving on-chain transactions unprocessed.

A Sept. 1 update escalated that description, saying the team had identified malicious attack activity targeting the network while remediation, testing, and a network upgrade were underway.

During the pause, Ontology told users not to attempt time-sensitive on-chain transactions and said they did not need to move ONT, ONG, or other assets because of the announcement. It said block production would not restart until the network had been assessed and deemed safe to operate.

Ontology also said its investigation found that the activity did not involve or compromise user assets. That remains the network's assessment because it has not published an independent forensic report.

The code offers clues, not an attack explanation

The v3.1.5 release provides a Linux AMD64 binary and checksum but no incident explanation. The tagged code change disables registrations for several legacy native contracts at mainnet block 20,770,894, one block after the 20,770,893 height observed during the halt. Its parent commit changes cross-chain message deserialization.

The public code shows the shape of the emergency software change, but Ontology has not linked either commit to a specific attack path. Its notices do not identify the vulnerability or attacker method, explicitly name the affected component, or provide forensic evidence or a postmortem.

The restoration announcement confirms the mainnet's return, not a service-by-service recovery across the wider ecosystem. It does not establish whether public RPC providers, exchange deposits and withdrawals, wallets or dapps have all resumed normal operation.

The malicious-activity confirmation had already moved the incident beyond the initial pause, as CryptoSlate reported in a Sept. 1 examination of network shutdowns.

Ontology said monitoring will continue with technical and security partners. For now, v3.1.5 tells operators what they must do, while the reason for the emergency change remains undisclosed.

The post Ontology forces urgent node upgrade after restarting chain hit by malicious activity appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Travel Rule that will require supervised crypto platforms to collect and transmit information identifying the people or entities behind coin transfers.

The regulator announced the rule on Sept. 2, and an associated notification is dated Aug. 25. It takes effect Feb. 27, 2027, after a 180-day implementation period from publication in the Royal Gazette.

The lead time lets operators prepare systems for exchanging transfer data, checking transactions, and requesting required information from customers, according to the SEC’s customer-facing Q&A.

How crypto transfers will change

SEC-supervised digital-asset operators must collect information on customers and their counterparties when coins are transferred. They must also check counterparties and verify the qualifications of digital-asset service providers or intermediaries in the transfer route.

An operator sending a transfer instruction must pass originator and beneficiary information to the operator receiving it. Transfer-related records must be kept for at least five years.

Customers will face different information requests based on transfer size. When sending coins from a wallet held with a regulated platform, a customer must identify the recipient even when the transfer is no more than 30,000 baht.

For transfers over 30,000 baht, the customer must also provide the recipient’s province or city and country. If the recipient is a legal entity, the customer must also provide its registration number. Smaller transfers require basic recipient identification, while larger ones require additional location or entity details.

On incoming transfers between regulated operators, the recipient’s platform must collect information from the sender’s operator before allowing the recipient to move the coins out of the wallet.

The process becomes more specific when coins arrive at a regulated-platform wallet from a self-hosted wallet. The platform must collect sender information as it would for another transfer. If the transaction exceeds 30,000 baht, it must also verify that the user owns or controls the wallet by confirming the person can control or access it.

The obligation falls on supervised operators when a transfer touches their services, and the Q&A does not state that every coin transfer requires proof of wallet ownership.

The rule also stops short of extending the new data checks across all platform activity. It does not apply to trades on an operator’s order book or to transfers and withdrawals of Thai baht because it governs coin transfers.

The SEC said most transfers should continue through normal processes when customers provide complete information and platforms are ready. High-value transfers, cases with missing data, or transactions requiring added wallet checks may take longer.

The post Thailand puts private wallets and offshore crypto transfers on notice in a major new crypto rule appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam's separate Venezuela investment firm, Primavera, is reportedly pursuing three oil assets as the country reallocates energy projects under a US-backed restructuring.

Reuters reported on Sept. 2 that Primavera was among companies expected to sign Venezuelan energy agreements as soon as that day. Bloomberg reported on Sept. 1 that Ehrsam was seeking control of at least three fields operated by Alvorada Heavy Industries in the Boca, Guico and Guara blocks of the Orinoco Belt.

Bloomberg attributed the block-level details to unnamed people familiar with nonpublic talks, while Reuters did not identify the fields.

Coinbase co-founder's crypto fortune targets Venezuela

Neither Coinbase nor Paradigm has been identified as a bidder or participant, and no blockchain, cryptocurrency, or digital payments component has been established for the reported transaction.

Ehrsam nevertheless retains close ties to the crypto industry. Coinbase's 2026 proxy filing lists him as a director, while Paradigm describes him as a co-founder and senior advisor. The distinction makes this a story about crypto-derived personal capital entering a state-mediated commodity business.

Banco de Venezuela said it hosted Ehrsam at a digital-finance event in Caracas on May 13, where he discussed opportunities involving cryptocurrencies and the country's financial sector.

The talks are unfolding during a wider reallocation of Venezuelan energy assets. On Aug. 31, a White House fact sheet said interim Venezuelan authorities had granted North American Blue Energy Partners 100-year concessions covering 17 fields.

The arrangement includes a 35% US government equity stake, preferential purchase rights over production and veto power over board appointments.

The authority behind those long-term rights is already contested. The Associated Press reported that analysts questioned whether acting President Delcy Rodríguez could grant 100-year oil-field rights and noted that the National Assembly had not approved the wider arrangement.

Primavera's reported pursuit shows how capital built in crypto can move into politically allocated hard assets. An executed agreement, including the assets and terms it covers, would determine whether that pursuit becomes operational control.

Until then, Boca, Guico, and Guara remain reported targets under negotiation.

The post Coinbase co-founder joins rush for Venezuelan oil assets under new US-backed framework appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Circle president Heath Tarbert told Congress on Sept. 2 that placing digital-dollar infrastructure under US rules could reinforce the network effects that support the currency’s global role. The testimony framed stablecoin and digital asset legislation as a tool of dollar statecraft.

US rules can strengthen private dollar-token rails, while official reserve share remains a separate contest. Regulated stablecoins can spread private use of dollar-denominated tokens, change how issuers hold reserves, and add demand for short-term Treasuries.

Central banks remain responsible for deciding which currencies they hold. Tarbert acknowledged the boundary, arguing that payment technology cannot substitute for sound economic policy and that digital infrastructure cannot preserve dollar primacy on its own.

The dollar accounted for 57.13% of allocated global foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2026, up from 56.42% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest COFER brief. Exchange-rate valuation effects accounted for around half of that quarterly increase.

The latest move was an increase, even against a longer-term decline in the dollar’s official reserve share. The valuation adjustment also prevents crediting the change to stablecoin adoption. A central bank’s reported reserve mix can shift when exchange rates move, even without an equivalent portfolio decision.

COFER tracks reserve assets reported by monetary authorities, and stablecoin market capitalization measures liabilities issued by private companies to token holders.

The Bank for International Settlements estimated that roughly 98% of stablecoin value is denominated in dollars. That shows the dollar’s dominance in private token markets.

BIS researchers nevertheless expect the near-term effects to appear mainly in private stores of value and means of payment, rather than in the official reserve, intervention or anchor-currency functions of central banks.

Stablecoins can consequently expand the dollar’s digital reach while fiscal credibility, institutions, market depth, and valuation forces continue to shape official reserve demand. This distinction separates consumers and businesses choosing a digital payment instrument from monetary authorities choosing a reserve portfolio.

What regulated stablecoins can change

The GENIUS Act issuer framework requires one-to-one permitted reserves, redemption at par, disclosures, supervision, and financial-crime compliance.

Those rules can improve reserve quality, influence where issuers locate, shape whether unlicensed issuers can offer stablecoins in the US, and steer more issuer assets toward short-term safe instruments.

GENIUS was enacted in July 2025, but its main requirements were not yet generally effective on the date of Tarbert’s testimony. Treasury’s August rulemaking notice said the general effective date was expected to be Jan. 18, 2027, unless final implementing rules made the law effective 120 days after their issuance.

A broader restriction on offering payment stablecoins from unlicensed issuers is scheduled to begin July 18, 2028.

Once it takes effect, the framework can govern backing, redemption, and supervision, leaving central bank currency allocations outside.

CLARITY addresses the trading and intermediary layer above stablecoins. The House passed the measure, the Senate Banking Committee advanced its portion 15-9, and the updated merged Senate text was released July 22.

The proposal’s principal function is to allocate jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and set rules for digital-asset intermediaries and markets.

If enacted, those rules could make US digital asset markets easier to operate in and extend the reach of regulated dollar tokens. Its effect would run through market structure rather than official reserve allocation.

Stablecoin issuers need liquid assets to support redemptions, and Treasury bills can satisfy that need. A Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee analysis, using major-issuer data through September 2025, found that bills represented 53% of Tether and Circle assets. Their bill holdings had increased by $70 billion since 2022.

Even after that growth, stablecoin issuers held less than 1% of Treasuries outstanding. Their demand can affect the bill market at the margin, while broader demand for Treasury debt and official dollar reserves responds to other forces.

The Federal Reserve staff estimated stablecoin market capitalization at $317 billion on April 6, 2026, more than 50% above its level in early 2025. The date is essential because market capitalization moves continuously, and the figure should not be placed beside official reserves as if the series were equivalent.

The Fed analysis found USDC had high-quality reserves equal to its stablecoin liabilities. USDT reported total reserves at about 1.04 times liabilities, but higher-quality reserves at roughly 0.74 times liabilities.

Regulation can narrow those differences and make redemption promises more credible, a concrete way GENIUS could strengthen private dollar infrastructure.

Fed staff warned that complex intermediation, vertical integration and deeper links to traditional finance can increase opacity and contagion, amplifying operational or liquidity failures. Those dependencies can transmit problems further as adoption grows.

BIS researchers warn that broad adoption of dollar stablecoins could accelerate private currency substitution, weaken domestic monetary-policy traction and capital controls, and redirect emerging markets' savings toward US Treasury bills. A run on a major issuer could then transmit stress into local financial systems and short-term dollar markets.

Migration from bank deposits toward stablecoins can also shift funding and intermediation outside familiar channels, even when issuer reserves ultimately flow back into government securities.

Tarbert’s case is strongest on these private rails. US rules can help determine whether dollar stablecoins grow within a supervised system, what backs them, and which markets they connect.  Greater reach also enlarges the channels through which runs, operational failures and currency substitution can spread.

The IMF’s 57.13% figure records the separate decisions of official reserve managers, whose allocations respond to economic credibility, liquid market depth, institutions, policy, and valuation effects.

Stablecoins can extend the dollar’s private reach and create demand for its shortest-dated government debt. Official reserve share still turns on the policies that sustain confidence in the dollar itself.

The post How stablecoins are quietly becoming the Fed’s debt buyer of last resort appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Fake investment ads on Telegram channels funneled EU victims to a lookalike exchange that emptied their wallets.

The order calls the prediction market platform a sports betting operation "masquerading as an investment opportunity."

After Claude models accessed real systems during cyber tests, Anthropic tightened its safeguards and warned that flawed training can encourage dangerous behavior.

Afterquery's valuation jumped more than tenfold in five months, making it Y Combinator's fastest unicorn ever.

Agents seized digital assets, domains, and servers allegedly used by Hamas’ military wing to collect donations and recruit supporters.

Multicoin Capital has sold another chunk of its HYPE holdings, cutting its position by roughly 10% as the investment firm continues to take profits from its massive bet on Hyperliquid.

Trading platform CPO confirms the 'Earn on XRP' feature is in its final phase, mobilizing 1.6 billion tokens and unlocking passive yield under U.S. regulation.

The biggest launchpad on Robinhood is attracting fresh funds and seeing its valued pushed to the sky.

XRP drew more questions than any other cryptocurrency during a presentation to about 400 wealth managers, according to Bitwise research analyst Ryan Rasmussen.

The market is not yet ready for a rally continuation, but the accumulation on the bullish side is reassuring.

TLDR

• Fred Ehrsam’s firm Primavera is reportedly negotiating for three Venezuelan oil fields in the Orinoco Belt.
• The fields are operated by Alvorada Heavy Industries in the Boca, Guico and Guara blocks.
• Neither Coinbase nor Paradigm is listed as a bidder in the reported deal.
• No signed agreement or asset transfer has been confirmed yet.
• The talks come as Venezuela reallocates energy assets under a new US-backed framework.

Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase and later helped start the crypto investment firm Paradigm. He also runs a separate firm called Primavera, which is not connected to either company.

Primavera is reportedly in talks to take control of three oil fields in Venezuela. The news was first reported by Bloomberg on Sept. 1, based on people familiar with the private discussions.

Which Fields Are Involved

Bloomberg reported that Ehrsam is seeking control of fields operated by Alvorada Heavy Industries. The three blocks are named Boca, Guico and Guara, all located in the Orinoco Belt.

Reuters also reported on the story on Sept. 2. That report said Primavera was among the companies expected to sign Venezuelan energy agreements around that date. Reuters did not name the specific fields involved.

No agreement has been signed as of this writing. No transfer of assets has taken place either.

Coinbase has not been named as a participant in the deal. Paradigm has also not been named as a bidder.

There is no cryptocurrency or blockchain component tied to the reported oil deal. This appears to be a personal investment move by Ehrsam through Primavera, separate from his crypto companies.

A Wider Shift in Venezuelan Energy

The Primavera talks are part of a larger change happening in Venezuela’s energy sector. On Aug. 31, the White House released a fact sheet describing a new oil agreement.

That agreement grants North American Blue Energy Partners 100-year concessions covering 17 fields. The deal includes a 35% equity stake for the US government.

It also gives the US government preferential rights to buy oil production from those fields. The agreement includes veto power over who sits on the board overseeing the fields.

The scale of this arrangement has raised questions among analysts. The Associated Press reported that some experts are unsure whether Venezuela’s acting leadership has the legal authority to grant 100-year rights.

Delcy Rodríguez is serving as Venezuela’s acting president. The AP reported that the National Assembly has not approved the broader arrangement covering these oil concessions.

Ehrsam has ties to Venezuela beyond this reported oil deal. Banco de Venezuela said he attended a digital finance event in Caracas on May 13.

At that event, Ehrsam discussed opportunities involving cryptocurrencies and Venezuela’s financial sector, according to the bank. That appearance shows a longer-standing interest in the country beyond the current oil talks.

Coinbase’s 2026 proxy filing still lists Ehrsam as a company director. Paradigm’s website describes him as a co-founder and senior advisor to that firm.

Those roles mean Ehrsam remains connected to the crypto industry even as Primavera pursues assets in a different sector. The oil deal itself does not involve crypto trading or blockchain technology.

For now, the Boca, Guico and Guara fields remain reported targets rather than confirmed assets. Whether Primavera gains control will depend on a signed agreement, which has not yet been made public.

The post Coinbase Co-Founder’s Firm Primavera Pursues Venezuelan Oil Fields appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• An outdated Rain Solana contract allowed unauthorized withdrawals from card collateral accounts across multiple programs.
• Blockaid estimated about $1.1 million was stolen, with proceeds later entering Tornado Cash on Ethereum.
• Avici reported $500,859 drained from 1,685 users, while Tria identified $431,945 affecting 636 customers.
• Rain said every program using the vulnerable contract version has been upgraded since the attack.
• Self-custodial wallets were unaffected because the attacker targeted separate contracts holding funded card balances.

An attacker exploited an outdated Rain card contract on Aug. 28, taking about $1.1 million from stablecoin card programs on Solana. Blockchain security firm Blockaid tracked the incident and published its findings.

Rain provides infrastructure that lets crypto companies issue cards funded with stablecoins. Customer deposits move into collateral accounts controlled by onchain contracts.

These collateral accounts are separate from a user’s personal wallet. Their safety depends on the code and controls set up by the infrastructure provider.

Blockaid found four contract deployments sharing the same code as the flawed version. The attacker drained funds from at least two of them.

How the Exploit Worked

The outdated contract required two separate approvals before certain actions could happen. It used Solana’s Ed25519 verification system to check signatures.

Blockaid said the attacker reused one signature so it looked like two separate approvals. This let the attacker bypass the requirement without permission from account owners.

After bypassing the check, the attacker gave itself admin access over individual accounts. It then withdrew USDC and USDT from those accounts.

Blockaid recorded 2,945 admin additions and 5,288 withdrawal calls. In total, it counted 8,233 exploit transactions over about two hours and 29 minutes.

The first two withdrawals happened three seconds apart. This pace suggests the attacker had built a system to target many accounts quickly.

Where the Funds Went

The stolen stablecoins were sent to one Solana wallet. The attacker then swapped them for SOL using decentralized exchanges.

Blockaid traced the funds from Solana to Ethereum through the deBridge cross-chain protocol. About 455.9 ETH entered Tornado Cash between 19:20 and 19:49 UTC.

Tornado Cash mixes deposits so withdrawals can’t easily be linked to the original wallet. Blockaid said the funds had not been recovered as of its report.

Two Ethereum addresses were linked to the early funding of the attacker’s Solana activity. Neither Rain nor law enforcement has named who controls those addresses.

Avici said the attacker took $500,859.22 from 1,685 users. The company refunded all affected customers and added 10% cashback.

Tria reported losses of about $431,945 across 636 customers. It said each customer would be reimbursed.

Blockaid also named Solayer Pay as an affected program, though no confirmed loss figure was available for it. The gap between disclosed losses and Blockaid’s $1.1 million estimate has not been fully explained.

Avici’s token dropped 49% from its daily high after news of the exploit spread. It reached a low of $0.217 before recovering some value. Tria’s token also fell more than 10% at one point.

Rain said every program running the outdated contract has been upgraded. The company reported no further unauthorized activity since making the changes.

Rain has not released a full technical report or explained why older contract versions remained in use. It also has not said whether an audit caught the flaw before the attack happened.

The post Rain Card Exploit Drains $1.1 Million From Solana Users appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• The CFTC filed a motion on Sept. 2 asking a federal court to dismiss CME Group’s lawsuit over Bitcoin perpetual futures.
• The agency says CME lacks legal standing because it can list the same type of contract itself.
• CME argues Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual contract should be classified as a swap, not a futures contract.
• The CFTC says CME’s Bitcoin and Ether futures volumes rose in June and August compared with May.
• CME must respond to the dismissal motion by Oct. 2.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked a federal court on Sept. 2 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by CME Group. The case involves how regulators treat Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts.

CME sued the CFTC in June after the agency approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual contract in May. CME wants the court to overturn that approval.

The CFTC’s motion argues that CME does not have legal standing to bring the case. The agency says CME can list the same type of contract itself.

CME claims the CFTC’s approval gave newer exchanges an advantage. The company says perpetual contracts should be regulated as swaps, not futures.

The CFTC disagrees with that argument. It says a futures contract does not need a fixed expiration date under current law.

CME Says Contracts Are Swaps

Perpetual contracts let traders hold price exposure without an expiration date. They use funding payments to keep the contract price close to the asset price.

CME argues this structure fits the legal definition of a swap under the Dodd-Frank Act. Traditional futures usually have set expiration and settlement dates.

The CFTC rejects that view. The agency approved Kalshi’s BTCPERP contract through a formal review process required for new products.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has defended the approval. He said the contract remains subject to standard leverage, margin, and customer protection rules.

CME CEO Terry Duffy has criticized the approval process. He has said perpetual contracts could lead to excessive speculation.

Kalshi disagrees with that criticism. The company has said the lawsuit is an attempt to limit competition.

Case Timeline and Next Steps

The CFTC pointed to CME’s own trading data in its filing. Bitcoin and Ether futures volume on CME rose in June and August compared with May.

The agency said any competitive harm to CME is self inflicted, since the company chose not to list similar contracts. It also requested an oral hearing on the motion.

Even if the court agrees with CME on classification, the CFTC said other exchanges could still offer similar products under swap rules. That would not remove the competition CME says it faces.

CME must file its response to the dismissal motion by Oct. 2. The court has not ruled on the motion or on how perpetual contracts should be classified.

Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual contract remains available for trading while the case continues. The company is reportedly preparing more perpetual contracts, including one tied to crude oil.

The post CFTC Moves to Dismiss CME Lawsuit Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Trump is privately discussing declaring the US-Iran war over, according to a WSJ report shared on X by analyst CryptoRednirav.
• Bitcoin price rose above $77,500, trading near $77,730 in early Thursday trading.
• Oil prices slipped slightly, with WTI crude under $91 and Brent crude near $95 per barrel.
• Fed President John Williams eased inflation and rate hike fears, citing strong US economic growth.
• Polymarket data shows 63% of bettors still expect Bitcoin to hit $85,000 by December 31, 2026.

Bitcoin price rose above $77,500 during early Thursday trading. The move followed reports that President Trump may declare the war with Iran over.

Trump is privately discussing the idea with senior aides. He has reportedly told them he favors ending the conflict.

The report first came from the Wall Street Journal on September 3. Analyst CryptoRednirav shared the story on X, summarizing the key details for followers.

In the post, CryptoRednirav wrote that officials believe continued economic pressure could force Iran to give up its nuclear program or face collapse. The tweet also noted concerns among aides about the midterm elections.

Trump plans to campaign in 35 key races ahead of the midterms. Aides reportedly warned that further military action could hurt Republican chances at the polls.

The talks come after fresh strikes across the Middle East this week. Iran launched missile and drone attacks on US forces, including a strike on facilities in Kuwait.

Oil Prices Slip as War Talks Continue

Iranian forces claimed hits on several US bases across multiple countries. The US has not yet responded to the attacks.

WTI crude oil traded under $91 a barrel on Thursday. Brent crude held near $95 a barrel, slipping only slightly.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US embassies to push governments to cut trade with Iran immediately. The White House is also watching interceptor stockpiles, which officials say are close to zero.

Trump told reporters this week that renewed action against Iran “won’t continue for too long.” The war began with US and Israeli strikes in late February.

Since then, the conflict has seen several ceasefire attempts and interim deals. Each previous attempt to end the war has been followed by new rounds of fighting.

Fed Comments Ease Rate Hike Concerns

Rising oil prices had sparked worries about inflation and a possible Fed rate hike. Bitcoin recovered after New York Fed President John Williams pointed to a lower inflation trend.

Williams said rising Treasury yields are linked to a strong US economy and heavy investment in AI and technology. He said inflation is not the main driver.

Bitcoin is trading around $77,730, up more than 1% over the past few hours. The intraday range sits between $76,297 and $77,830.

Trading volume dropped 12% over the past 24 hours. The drop comes ahead of Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls data release.

Polymarket data shows prediction market users still expect Bitcoin to reach $85,000 by December 31, 2026. Currently 63% of bets on the platform say “Yes.”

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Rises Above $77,500 as Trump Weighs Ending Iran War appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Thailand’s SEC will require licensed crypto platforms to collect and share sender and recipient information for coin transfers.
• The rule takes effect Feb. 27, 2027, giving operators a 180-day window to prepare after publication.
• Transfers over 30,000 baht require extra recipient details, including location and, for companies, a registration number.
• Self-hosted wallet transfers above 30,000 baht may need ownership verification before funds can move.
• The rule does not cover order book trades or Thai baht transfers, since it only applies to coin transfers.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a new rule for crypto platforms. The rule targets how coins move between wallets.

The regulator announced the rule on Sept. 2. The official notification is dated Aug. 25.

The rule takes effect Feb. 27, 2027. That gives operators a 180-day window after publication in the Royal Gazette to prepare.

The extra time lets platforms build systems to exchange transfer data. They also need time to check transactions and request information from customers.

How the New Rule Works

Licensed digital asset operators must collect data on customers and their counterparties. This applies whenever coins are transferred.

Operators must also check counterparties. They need to verify the qualifications of other providers involved in the transfer route.

When one operator sends a transfer, it must pass sender and recipient information to the receiving operator. Records of these transfers must be kept for five years.

Customers face different rules based on how much they send. Any transfer requires basic recipient identification, even small ones.

Transfers above 30,000 baht need more detail. Customers must add the recipient’s city, province, and country.

If the recipient is a company, the customer must also share its registration number. This applies only to larger transfers.

Self-Hosted Wallets Face Extra Checks

The rule also covers transfers between regulated platforms. The receiving platform must collect sender information before letting a customer move funds out of their wallet.

Self-hosted wallets get closer attention. When coins arrive from a personal wallet, the platform must collect sender details just like any other transfer.

If that transfer is above 30,000 baht, the platform must confirm the customer actually owns or controls the wallet. This step could add time to some transactions.

The rule does not cover every crypto activity though. Trades made directly on an operator’s order book are not included.

Transfers and withdrawals of Thai baht are also left out, since the rule only governs coin transfers.

The SEC says most transfers should move as usual. This applies when customers give complete information and platforms are ready for the change.

Delays are more likely in specific cases. High-value transfers, missing data, or wallet verification checks could slow things down.

The post Thailand SEC Issues New Crypto Travel Rule for Wallet Transfers appeared first on Blockonomi.

Following the latest escalation in the Middle East war, bitcoin’s price dipped toward $76,000 yesterday for the first time in almost two weeks before rebounding today.

Most larger-cap alts have posted some gains over the past day, with XRP climbing to over $1.35 and BNB tapping $700. ETH still fights for $2,400.

BTC Rebounds

The breakout from a couple of weeks ago drove the primary cryptocurrency from under $65,000 toward $80,000 within days. After hitting some resistance there at first, BTC finally managed to surge past that level last week, jumping to $81,200 and $81,500 on a couple of occasions.

However, the bulls were too exhausted and couldn’t continue driving the asset north. Instead, bitcoin dropped to $77,000 last Friday after Kevin Warsh’s hawkish speech at Jackson Hole.

Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency managed to recover some ground during the weekend and touched $79,000 on Sunday. It dipped back down to $77,000 on Monday after the strikes in the Middle East resumed, rebounded to $79,000 and closed the month in the green, and dropped once again yesterday to $76,200 – its lowest price tag in 10 days.

Nevertheless, that level provided the necessary support, and BTC now trades close to $78,000. Its market capitalization on CMC is up to $1.560 trillion, while its dominance over the alts stands still at 59.6%.

ARB Rockets

Arbitrum’s native token is today’s top performer, having surged by 18.5%. It now trades close to $0.14 after a 50% increase in the past week. NIGHT is next with an 11.5% pump, followed by CAKE (9%), APT (9%), LIT (8%), and PYTH (6.5%).

SUI and ADA have surged the most from the larger caps, both up by over 6% to $0.21 and $0.77. XRP has reclaimed the $1.35 support after a 2.7% daily increase. ETH fights for $2,400, while BNB is slightly above $700. SOL is back to $100, while TRX is up by just over 1%. In contrast, UNI has slumped by 6.5% after its recent rally, while SKY is down by almost 6%.

The total crypto market cap is up by $20 billion to $2.620 trillion on CMC.

The post ARB Skyrockets by Double Digits Again, BTC Recovers From Drop to $76K: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Over the past few days, developments in Ripple’s ecosystem centered on asset management, custody, and tokenization.

Meanwhile, XRP has failed to extend the rally that briefly carried it to around $1.70 in August, leaving traders focused on resistance levels and key support lines.

Bitwise XRP ETF Tops $500 Million

Bitwise’s spot XRP ETF has surpassed $500 million in assets under management only nine months after it was first launched. As CryptoPotato reported, the fund held about $507 million after Monday’s close, while US spot XRP ETFs had managed to attract a record $1.66 billion in cumulative net inflows by the end of last week.

Bitwise’s product leads this particular category with more than $600 million in cumulative inflows. It’s currently ahead of Canary Capital’s XRPC and Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ.

The milestone suggests that there’s continued demand for regulated exposure to XRP despite the token’s pullback from its August high.

Ripple, SettleMint Target Banks with New Institutional Stack

Ripple Labs and SettleMint have launched a partnership. It seeks to integrate Ripple Custody with SettleMint’s Digital Asset Lifecycle Platform.

The offering is aimed at allowing regulated financial institutions to custody, issue, and manage tokenized assets through a single system.

The service is already live in Asia, with expansion already planned. It targets banks, market infrastructure operators, and sovereign entities, while RLUSD and XRP are among the assets that support Ripple’s institutional solutions.

The partnership also provides the company with more exposure to tokenization – a market BCG estimates could reach $88 trillion in the next 10 years.

Evernorth Moves Closer to Nasdaq Listing

The popular XRP-focused treasury company Evernorth cleared yet another important regulatory hurdle after the US Securities and Exchange Commission declared its registration statement effective. Shareholders of merger partner Armada Acquisition Corp. II are scheduled to vote on the transaction on September 30th.

If approved, the combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN. Evernorth has so far disclosed more than $1 billion in gross proceeds from its investors, including Ripple, SBI Holdings, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and Arrington Capital.

The strategy is centered on holding and actively managing XRP as a corporate treasury asset.

XRP Price Update: Bulls Need to Reclaim $1.40 – $1.50

Last but not least, let’s take a closer look at XRP’s price action throughout the past few days. It is trading at around $1.35 at the time of this writing, with a market capitalization nearing $85 billion. It has slipped by about 2% in the past few days, dropping by 6% on the weekly chart.

That said, analysts remain divided. Some of them foresee $1.70 as the next major target if the current breakout holds. On the other hand, some highlight the resistance that is currently being faced at around $.140 to $1.43 followed by $1.5, warning that failing to break above these levels could signal weakness and a drop to below $1.3.

The post Important Ripple News and XRP Price Update: September 3 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin (BTC) sat near $77,000 today, clawing back part of a slide that took it under $76,500 earlier in the week after fresh US-Iran strikes spooked the markets.

Analysts are now split on whether the dip was a shakeout before another push higher or the first sign of a deeper pullback.

Traders Watch the $83,000 Gap

Analyst NoName is watching the CME futures gap above the current price and considers $83,000 the line that decides what happens next. They wrote that Bitcoin needs “the level that separates a real reversal from another relief rally” with a daily close above it backed by real spot volume.

Without that close, they are treating the recent bounce as a retest of old supply rather than confirmation of a new uptrend, and their downside case is blunt: if $83,000 rejects and $74,000 gives way, they see room for a drop toward $50,000 to $55,000 before Bitcoin finds a real bottom.

But not everyone is reading the chart that way, including Doctor Profit, who dismissed calls for a new low outright, saying, “I consider the bear market as over.”

Another market watcher, Sykodelic, pointed to the monthly candle instead of shorter timeframes, citing the reversal structure, a bullish tick on the DSS Bressert indicator, and a flattening MACD.

He called the setup “not bearish, and never been bearish,” and said the monthly close held above the $76,400 level he had flagged as the line between confirming the reversal and voiding it.

Behind the argument sits a rough week. As CryptoPotato reported previously, Bitcoin got turned away at $79,000 more than once before the latest leg down pushed it under $76,500 for the first time since August 23, with renewed US-Iran fighting being the main trigger. You can hear more about that in the video below:

The primary cryptocurrency is now changing hands above $77,000, having traded between $76,300 and $77,800 in the last 24 hours. It’s down almost 2% for the week but still up nearly 22% for the month.

August’s Rare Green Candle Complicates the Picture

The pullback follows a month that broke a pattern, with BTC closing August up almost 25%, the first green August during a bear market stretch comparable to 2014, 2018, or 2022, when it fell between 9% and 18% at the same point in each cycle.

It was also the asset’s best August since 2017, when the month closed up more than 65%. Furthermore, the third quarter is already up close to 33%, with one month left to go.

That doesn’t change where Bitcoin sits against its cycle high, though. It remains down close to 30% for the year and more than 38% below its October 2025 peak of over $126,000, with dominance currently above 57%.

The post Bitcoin Could Crash to $50K if Bulls Fail This Crucial Test: Analyst appeared first on CryptoPotato.

XRP is changing hands around $1.35, down roughly 6% over the last week after slipping beneath a support level chart analysts had been watching closely since late August.

Trader ChartNerd says the token’s second failed weekly close above its 50-week EMA leaves room for a deeper slide to $1.27, or lower, before the rally that took XRP to $1.70 can resume.

Bulls Lose Their Grip on the $1.36 Floor

ChartNerd has been tracking XRP’s four-hour structure for weeks, watching a range that formed beneath $1.47 resistance and above $1.36 support. That floor has now been swept twice. According to the analyst, the price rejected from $1.43 and printed another lower high beneath a bearish trend signal sitting at $1.39.

Zooming out, the picture traces back to August 22, the day XRP touched a multi-month high of $1.70, as CryptoPotato reported. The rally followed a broader market move triggered by Bitcoin’s jump from under $65,000 to $80,000, and pushed XRP up 70% in three days after a tough start to the month that had briefly dragged it under $1.00. It ended August at just under $1.40, still a 30% monthly gain despite the pullback.

ChartNerd flagged the retracement risk the day after that peak, warning that a weekly close below the 50 EMA “would be an early warning sign in advance for a larger retracement.”

That’s exactly what has followed: two consecutive weekly closes beneath the average and a retreat the analyst pegged at around 22% from the top. The next support in that scenario is the weekly 20 EMA, which now sits at $1.27.

No Recovery Case Until $1.50 Gets Reclaimed

ChartNerd’s resistance ladder above the current price runs from $1.40 to $1.43, then $1.47, then $1.65, $1.82, and $2.40. On the downside, the levels being watched are $1.30, $1.27, $1.21, and $0.85, the last tied to a zone the analyst has been flagging for accumulation since June.

The broader case for a bottom rests on a golden cross that hasn’t formed yet. XRP’s EMAs are coiling, with price stuck under the 50-week average and above the 20-week one. Until both are reclaimed and held, ChartNerd isn’t willing to call a floor, comparing the current stretch to the compression that preceded August’s breakout.

Spot XRP ETFs still pulled in more than $110 million last week, their strongest inflow since December, which has kept some traders open to a faster turnaround than the charts alone suggest.

September carries its own catalysts, including a CLARITY Act vote in the Senate around September 15 and a shareholder vote on Evernorth’s planned Nasdaq listing. But none of that changes the technical picture ChartNerd is describing: XRP is boxed in below resistance, and until that changes, another leg down to $1.27 or beyond stays on the table.

The post XRP’s Next Move Comes Down to These Key Price Levels: Analyst appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The meme coin sector was at the forefront of gains during the last bull cycle, but over the past several months, interest in such tokens has fallen sharply.

We asked three of the most popular AI-powered chatbots to assess whether any of the leading ones (or perhaps some overlooked names) have a realistic chance of staging a revival and turning into sensations this month. Here’s what they said.

Mixed Answers

According to ChatGPT, Dogecoin remains “the safest bet” for September because of its size, liquidity, and recognition in the crypto community. OpenAI’s platform noted that it is still the biggest meme coin, reminding that lately whales have purchased a significant amount of DOGE, thus potentially setting the stage for a price uptrend.

It also claimed that the token would be among the first altcoins to benefit from a further crypto recovery. Despite the latest correction, the market has been on a major upward move over the past two weeks, and we have yet to see whether September will deliver further gains.

ChatGPT argued that Shiba Inu (SHIB) offers more upside than DOGE but paid attention to its tremendous circulating supply, which remains a major obstacle to a price rally.

“Routine burns remove only a tiny portion of that amount, meaning sustained buying pressure matters far more than eye-catching changes in the daily burn rate,” it added.

The chatbot also touched on PEPE, describing it as the most speculative of the leading meme coins. In addition, it classified Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) as “the strongest alternative candidate.”

Perplexity presented a different answer, claiming that DOGE’s potential upside may be more steady than parabolic in the next four weeks. It claimed that PEPE is unlikely to experience a decisive breakout within that period, while Shiba Inu has the best chances:

“SHIB looks like the coin where price is still quiet, but the tape is screaming accumulation, right into a time of year when it has historically moved the most. That combination is why it’s the most likely to deliver a “history-making” September move.”

The Surprising Bet

Google’s Gemini picked the cat-themed Cash Cat (CASHCAT) as its choice for a meme coin that could stun the market with a shocking increase this month. It noted that the token is closely linked to Robinhood Chain, which means further ecosystem developments could directly benefit it.

At the same time, the chatbot warned that the meme coin’s potential rally in September may abruptly end with a brutal crash in October. As a matter of fact, tokens of that type are notorious for their enhanced volatility, and such a reaction will not be something new.

The post DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, or Something Else: Which Meme Coin Can Make History in September? (3 AIs Weigh In) appeared first on CryptoPotato.