Author: James Wilson

Bitfinex Securities has completed a record $50 million tokenized capital raise for metals company Alkemya through a security backed by partnership interests tied to an independently valued $1.64 billion nickel asset base. Summary Bitfinex Securities completed a record $50 million capital raise for Alkemya through its ALKN tokenized security. ALKN represents fractional interests in a Luxembourg partnership holding nickel wire independently valued at about $1.64 billion. Alkemya plans to use the proceeds to commercialize engineered nickel products for applications including semiconductors. Additional ALKN tokens will remain available to eligible investors until Oct. 15, with secondary trading delayed until at least…

Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao backed Hong Kong as a potential Web3 and real-world asset hub during an August 27 book meeting in the city. Summary CZ described Hong Kong and Web3 as a strong combination during August 27 book meeting. Hong Kong regulators had authorized thirteen tokenized products by March 2026, according to SFC data. CZ predicted tokenized securities and other real-world assets will become a major Web3 development direction. CZ said easing U.S. regulatory pressure could accelerate decentralized exchange growth, without announcing specific projects. Hong Kong’s Project Ensemble is testing transactions involving tokenized deposits, funds, bonds and other…

A cluster of 12 wallets deposited 36 million USDC into Hyperliquid during the 24 hours ending Aug. 27 and used about $24 million to purchase HYPE, according to on-chain analyst EmberCN. Summary Suspected linked wallets deposited 36 million USDC into Hyperliquid through twelve addresses within one day. Twenty-four million USDC reportedly purchased 282,090 HYPE at an average price near $81.50 per token. EmberCN estimated the cluster held and staked 4.679 million HYPE worth approximately $381 million overall. No public a16z statement, filing or signed wallet proof confirms ownership of the reported addresses. Earlier analysts produced different cluster totals, showing attribution…

Ripple said on Aug. 25 that its RLUSD stablecoin crossed $2 billion in market capitalization during the previous week, less than two years after its December 2024 launch. Summary RLUSD crossed $2 billion in market value less than two years after its global launch. Nearly $1 billion of RLUSD was issued on XRP Ledger, according to Ripple’s latest update. Ethereum held slightly more RLUSD than XRP Ledger when the stablecoin passed the milestone overall. Standard Custody issues RLUSD under New York oversight and maintains segregated reserve accounts for holders. Ripple publicly reported $1.98 billion in reserves against $1.87 billion circulating…

Solana validators and delegators are voting on two economic proposals that could accelerate SOL disinflation and sharply increase transaction-fee burns. Summary SIMD-0550 would double Solana’s annual disinflation rate while preserving the network’s 1.5% terminal floor unchanged. The proposal projects 18.9 million fewer SOL issued across six years after eventual technical activation. SIMD-0553 would burn resource fees, potentially increasing daily destruction toward 7,500–9,000 SOL at present activity. Nominal staking yield could decline toward 2.25% by year three under 21Shares’ modeled network assumptions. Governance approval would establish direction, but neither economic change becomes active immediately following the vote. The formal votes cover…

Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] have asked the CFTC to permit regulated perpetual contracts tied to WTI crude, Brent crude, and Henry Hub natural gas after their markets recorded more than $500 billion in cumulative volume. Summary trade[XYZ] has operated perpetual markets on Hyperliquid since October 2025. The groups said continuous trading could help U.S. firms hedge energy exposure during weekends. Crude perpetual prices anticipated nearly 75% of the Sunday reopenings examined in a cited study. The filing proposes stablecoin margin, leverage limits, and regulated onchain market infrastructure. Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] said in an Aug. 26 joint filing…

Unstoppable Domains has dropped plans to seek ICANN recognition for its own Web3 domain extensions after finding that compliance, application, and auction costs would exceed the sales it expected to recover. Summary Unstoppable Domains did not apply for its Web3 extensions during ICANN’s 2026 round. Customers who bought affected blockchain domains will receive refunds, according to founder Matthew Gould. ICANN received more than 1,600 primary applications during its 15-week submission period. The company remains involved as a service provider for applications including Telegram’s proposed .gram domain. Unstoppable Domains says ICANN costs became too high Unstoppable Domains said it did not…

Chainalysis has estimated that potentially taxable onchain crypto activity exceeded $457 billion worldwide in 2025, while transactions within the practical reach of international reporting rules represented only 14% of the total. Summary Potentially taxable onchain crypto activity exceeded $457 billion globally during 2025. CARF-covered transactions represented only 14% of the activity identified by Chainalysis. The United States led individual countries with an estimated $112.6 billion. DeFi, private wallets, income streams, and peer-to-peer payments create reporting gaps. Chainalysis said in an Aug. 26 crypto tax report that the other 86% included decentralized exchange activity, peer-to-peer transfers, onchain income and crypto payments…

The U.S. government has transferred a small amount of Bitcoin seized from Alameda Research’s Binance.US accounts three years ago, renewing attention on how federal agencies will handle the remaining assets. Summary The transferred Bitcoin came from Alameda-linked accounts seized from Binance.US three years ago. Arkham reported the transaction but did not identify it as a sale. Earlier Alameda-linked transfers sent nearly $2.9 million in seized crypto through government-controlled wallets. Federal rules generally restrict sales of Bitcoin placed in the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Arkham Intelligence reported the transaction on Aug. 26, describing the amount as small and tracing the Bitcoin…

The US Treasury Department significantly expanded its ability to crack down on Iran’s digital asset activity on August 24, giving the Office of Foreign Assets Control new authority to go after foreign companies and individuals who support the country’s crypto industry. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the broader package of measures, spanning digital assets alongside technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, as part of what officials are calling an “economic D-Day” aimed at squeezing Iran’s revenue sources. Monday’s announcement brought sectoral sanctions determinations covering all five of those industries, giving OFAC a wider net to work with going forward. Alongside the…