Cryptocurrency
Ongoing coverage on Cryptocurrency.
Latest coverage
Clarity Act stumbles, Strategy trims again, and the fight nobody saw behind Mastercard’s $1.8 billion BVNK buy
The cryptocurrency industry is undergoing a significant stress test, with events like a major Bitcoin outflow due to a Coldcard wallet attack, the failure of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to pass the Senate, and multiple corporate treasury sales of Bitcoin. Despite these challenges, institutional interest remains, with Fidelity proposing staking rewards for its Ether ETF and Goldman Sachs acquiring NEOS. Meanwhile, Bybit has sued North Korea over a $1.5 billion hack, and over 100 crypto projects have shut down this year, indicating a market shakeout.
GalaSwap Adds PIEVERSE, GLM, EZIG and UMA to Its Token Lineup
GalaSwap, Gala's decentralized exchange on GalaChain, has added PIEVERSE, GLM, EZIG, and UMA to its trading lineup. These additions are part of a $2 million incentive program aimed at attracting assets from other blockchains to GalaChain, where GALA tokens are burned for gas fees on each swap. This move supports Gala's goal of transforming GalaChain into a general-purpose utility chain beyond just gaming.
Solana Gets Direct Access to MoneyGram’s 500,000 Cash Counters as Ramps Expands Beyond Stellar
MoneyGram Ramps has expanded its services beyond Stellar to include the Solana blockchain, providing direct access to its network of nearly 500,000 retail cash counters. This integration allows Solana wallets, such as Rift, to directly deposit and withdraw cash using USDC, eliminating the need for third-party bridges. The expansion aims to facilitate remittances, cross-border payouts, and aid distribution by connecting digital assets to physical cash networks globally.
Iran war stalls World Liberty Financial’s Maldives resort token launch
World Liberty Financial has postponed the launch of a cryptocurrency token linked to a Maldives resort due to disruptions caused by the Iran war affecting regional travel. The token was intended to provide holders with a share of revenue from loans financing the Trump-branded resort. The delay highlights the dependence of tokenized real-world assets on underlying physical operations and market conditions, as the token's value has significantly declined from its peak.
Bitcoin Pinned at $63,000 as Order Books Thin Out — and the S&P 500 Sets a New Record
Bitcoin is currently pinned around $63,000, failing to capture the risk appetite that propelled the S&P 500 to a new record high. Despite a supportive macro environment, Bitcoin's order books are thinning, with reduced buy-order depth and declining spot exchange volume. Analysts suggest that a decisive break below $63,000 could trigger leveraged selling, potentially pushing Bitcoin towards $58,500, while a recovery would require reclaiming $68,700 on increased volume and ETF inflows.
Metaplanet CEO Shoots Down $320M Bitcoin Sale Rumors: ‘No Bitcoin Was Sold’
Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich has denied rumors that the company sold 5,014 Bitcoin, valued at $320 million. He clarified that the cryptocurrency was merely transferred between Metaplanet's own custodial wallets as part of a routine operation, and the company's total holdings remain at 43,000 BTC. This clarification comes amid increased scrutiny of digital asset treasury firms.
Goldman Sachs Pays Up to $2.25B for NEOS, Inheriting $1B in Bitcoin Income ETFs
Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion to gain access to its cryptocurrency income ETFs, including Bitcoin High Income ETF and Ethereum High Income ETF. The acquisition, expected to close in early 2027, is part of Goldman Sachs' broader strategy in structured products and derivative-income ETFs. NEOS's co-founders, Garrett Paolella and Troy Cates, will join Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Cypherpunk’s $46M Zcash Markup Turns a $4.7M Operating Loss Into $39.4M of Net Income
Cypherpunk Technologies reported a net income of $39.4 million for the second quarter, largely due to a $46 million unrealized gain from its Zcash holdings. Excluding this accounting entry, the company incurred an operating loss of $4.7 million. The company's biotechnology subsidiary, Leap Therapeutics, is also seeking resources for its sirexatamab drug program.
Bitcoin, Ether and USDT: Russia’s Central Bank Narrows Retail Crypto Trading to Three Assets
Russia's central bank has decided to allow retail investors access to only three cryptocurrencies on regulated exchanges: Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether (USDT). Non-qualified investors will be subject to an annual trading limit of 300,000 rubles per intermediary, while qualified investors are exempt. Crypto payments remain banned within the country.
Harmony mint exploit wipes 40% off ONE, but Bitcoin holds near $64,000 with U.S. CPI in view
The Harmony blockchain experienced an exploit resulting in the minting of approximately 4 billion ONE tokens, causing the token's value to drop by 40%. Despite this significant event, Bitcoin's price remained stable near $64,000, indicating the market's focus on upcoming U.S. CPI data and broader economic factors rather than the Harmony incident. The exploit's limited impact on Bitcoin suggests a compartmentalization of risk within the cryptocurrency market.
XRP Open Interest Swells to Its Highest Since October Just as CPI Day Arrives
XRP's open interest has reached its highest point since October, totaling $2.73 billion, as the cryptocurrency hovers near the $1 mark. This significant leverage buildup occurs just before the U.S. CPI release, potentially increasing volatility for XRP compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The article also briefly mentions a bridge exploit on the XRP Ledger and Zcash's Tachyon upgrade.
MoneyGram Ramps goes live on Solana, offering cash-out across 170 countries
MoneyGram has launched its "Ramps" service on the Solana blockchain, enabling users to convert cash into digital assets and vice versa across 170 countries. This integration aims to simplify cross-border payments by leveraging MoneyGram's existing network without requiring users to directly interact with blockchain technology. The move follows MoneyGram's previous collaborations with the Stellar Development Foundation and its own stablecoin initiative, MGUSD.
Cardano earned its ETF fast lane on Aug. 9 — its only sponsor had quit on Aug. 7
Grayscale withdrew its Cardano Trust ETF registration just days before Cardano met the SEC's six-month CME futures threshold, a requirement that would have expedited the ETF's review process. This withdrawal leaves a gap in the market for a dedicated spot Cardano ETF, with existing futures-based or basket ETFs holding minimal assets. The article analyzes whether another sponsor will step in or if this signifies a lack of institutional interest in Cardano.
AIxCrypto burned 97% of its cash, then handed $12 million to the company that controls it
AIxCrypto, a pre-revenue company developing a robot-rental marketplace, has depleted 97% of its cash, leaving only $577,328. The company transferred $12 million to securities of its controlling shareholder, Faraday Future, while its digital asset portfolio also saw a significant decline in value. AIxCrypto faces current liabilities nearly triple its remaining cash, with potential future funding routes involving discounted equity issuance or further erosion of its digital asset holdings.
EIP-8363 puts Ethereum’s native yield on a path to zero — and SharpLink’s $125M treasury toward DeFi
Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-8363 aims to reduce native staking yield to zero as more ETH is staked, with a target of 60.25 million ETH. This proposal, if passed, will gradually decrease consensus rewards over approximately 18 months. SharpLink, a company with a $125 million ETH treasury, is planning to shift its focus towards decentralized finance strategies to compensate for the potential reduction in native yield.
GalaSwap Opens Trading on ZRO, SBB, QNT and CARV
GalaSwap has added four new tokens, ZRO, SBB, QNT, and CARV, to its decentralized exchange operating on GalaChain. This expansion continues Gala's strategy of integrating various digital assets onto its platform, positioning GalaChain as a general-purpose utility chain for cross-chain liquidity rather than solely for gaming.
ICON pulls the plug Dec. 31, sealing the last chance to swap ICX for SODA
The ICON Network will cease operations on December 31, 2026, marking the final opportunity for users to swap their ICX tokens for SODA at a 1:1 ratio. Trading and funding for ICX have already stopped on Kraken, with automatic swaps for customers. Holders who self-custody their ICX must manually migrate their tokens before the December 31 deadline to avoid losing them on the defunct network.
Sky Mavis restores Ronin Wallet’s fiat purchase site after lengthy downtime
Sky Mavis has restored the fiat purchase functionality within the Ronin Wallet after an extended period of downtime. The purchase site, which allows users to buy crypto with traditional currency via the +Fund feature, is now operational again. The outage was attributed to necessary updates, with the company providing limited details on the duration or specific providers affected.
Russia’s hardware wallet demand doubles ahead of new crypto rules
Demand for hardware wallets in Russia has doubled ahead of new cryptocurrency regulations set to take effect on September 1, 2024. Retailers M.Video and Wildberries reported significant increases in unit sales, with customers opting for more affordable models. The new framework will restrict crypto transactions to regulated entities and limit retail investor purchases, driving demand for non-custodial wallets to store private keys outside these channels.
How a 5-Second Binance Move Turned Polymarket Settlements Into an $8.2M Payday
Researchers from Stanford University and Singapore Management University have identified that 821 accounts exploited settlement windows on Polymarket's prediction markets, extracting $8.2 million through market manipulation. The exploit involved manipulating prices on Binance during settlement windows to ensure favorable contract resolutions. Polymarket has since updated its settlement mechanics to a time-weighted average price (TWAP) to prevent future manipulation, a change that took months of trader complaints and academic research to implement.
