Author: James Wilson

Ethereum price rose 3% to around $1,920 on Aug. 19, but weak trend strength and nearby liquidation clusters kept the recovery below $2,000. Summary Ethereum price gained 3% to $1,920 but remained below the $1,986 resistance level. 4-hour RSI reached 61 as the MACD moved further into positive territory. Liquidation liquidity is concentrated near $1,930, $1,950, $1,900, and $1,870. Analysts identified $1,850 and $2,000 as the key boundaries for Ethereum’s next move. According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) price traded at $1,919 at the time of writing after reaching an intraday high of $1,930 on Binance. The latest gain…

The GENIUS Act mandates Treasury bill reserves. FASB wants stablecoins counted as cash. The Treasury is writing enforcement rules for January 2027. Every provision points the same direction, and it is not toward protecting retail investors. Summary The GENIUS Act requires payment stablecoin issuers to hold reserves in U.S. Treasury bills, insured bank deposits, or Treasury repurchase agreements, turning every compliant stablecoin into a vehicle for dollar denominated sovereign debt distribution. Tether holds approximately $98 billion in U.S. Treasury bills as of its latest attestation, a position larger than the sovereign Treasury holdings of all but 18 countries, making a…

BitGo Europe and German stablecoin issuer AllUnity announced on Aug. 17 that they had formed a partnership covering three regulated, fiat-backed stablecoins. Summary BitGo Europe became a first buyer and institutional liquidity partner for three AllUnity stablecoins tokens. Eligible institutional clients can access EURAU, CHFAU and SEKAU through BitGo Europe’s regulated platform directly. BitGo Europe receives direct minting and redemption access through AllUnity’s Business Mint Account infrastructure service. AllUnity issues the tokens as MiCA e-money tokens backed one-to-one by corresponding fiat currency reserves. Retail customers are excluded because AllUnity’s services and communication remain directed exclusively toward business clients. The agreement…

Kaito AI’s new Kaito Pulse browser extension has drawn scrutiny after a source-code review claimed the software can fingerprint devices, track detailed activity on X, and access account data from several third-party platforms during user-initiated verification. Summary Kaito Pulse has come under scrutiny after an analyst reviewed the browser extension’s source code. The extension allegedly fingerprints devices and records X activity including viewing time, clicks, searches and bookmarks. ChatGPT, Claude and Binance access only occurs when users initiate verification, according to the analyst. Kaito launched Pulse on Aug. 18 alongside Aura, a metric combining attention with verified user activity. Kaito…

Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine said on Aug. 18 that the CLARITY Act has only a 10% chance of becoming law before the November midterm elections. Summary Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine assigns the Clarity Act 10% odds before November’s midterms. Senate leaders scheduled a cloture vote on proceeding to the bill for September 15 afternoon. Polymarket currently prices 2026 passage near 20%, with trading volume exceeding $7.2 million in total. The procedural vote would begin Senate consideration and would not constitute final passage of legislation. SEC proposed separate crypto offering rules while Congress continues debating broader digital…

BlackRock said in an August 2026 research report that Bitcoin’s decline of more than 50% from its October 2025 record did not change the asset manager’s long term investment case. Summary Bitcoin fell more than 50% from October 2025’s record before reaching June lows below $60,000. Futures open interest exceeded $90 billion, with offshore perpetual contracts representing approximately 80% at peak. Spot Bitcoin ETPs lost roughly $5 billion after attracting $60 billion through October 2025 previously. Strategy sold 1,690 BTC in August, using $108.6 million to repurchase preferred shares during weakness. BlackRock’s historical analysis found 1% to 2% allocations improved…

Citi has unveiled its Custody+ platform and confirmed plans to launch institutional digital asset custody later in 2026, beginning with Bitcoin. Summary Citi expects its institutional Bitcoin custody service to go live later this year. Custody+ brings digital assets and traditional securities into one custody framework. More than 80% of Citi’s asset-servicing events are now processed in real time. Citi invests over $2 billion each year in its Services platform strategy. Business Wire reported on Aug. 18 that Citi Investor Services had launched Custody+, a collection of near- and real-time custody services for institutional clients operating across continuous markets and…

Bitcoin has risen above $64,600 after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is not holding talks with Iran, while conflicting claims over the Strait of Hormuz kept oil above $91 per barrel. Summary Bitcoin traded at $64,611 after moving between $64,005 and $64,926 during the session. Trump said no U.S.-Iran talks are underway or scheduled as the conflict enters its sixth month. Iran maintained that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Washington meets its interim commitments. Strategy reported no Bitcoin purchases or sales last week after selling BTC for two consecutive weeks. In an Aug. 18 Truth Social…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed two registration exemptions, including a $75 million annual pathway, under its new Reg Crypto framework for certain crypto investment contracts. Summary The larger exemption would allow qualifying issuers to raise up to $75 million in 12 months. A separate pathway would permit offerings of up to $5 million across four years. The proposal includes a conditional safe harbor and disclosure requirements for participating issuers. Stakeholders will have 60 days to submit comments on the proposed framework. SEC Reg Crypto rules create two offering exemptions The SEC said in an Aug. 18 press…

Cypherpunk Technologies has acquired a 4.2 GSol/s Zcash mining fleet for $33.33 million, giving the Nasdaq-listed company about 18% of the network’s total computing power. Summary The acquired Bitmain Z15 Pro fleet produces roughly 7,800 ZEC per month. Cypherpunk paid through a pre-funded warrant covering 43.29 million common shares. The equipment operates at hosting facilities across the United States. Cypherpunk holds 323,394 ZEC, equal to about 1.92% of the circulating supply. Cypherpunk Technologies said on Aug. 18 that it had launched Cypherpunk Mining after purchasing the equipment and related hosting agreements from entities affiliated with Winklevoss Capital. The fleet consists…