Solana targets October 2026 for Alpenglow mainnet rollout Solana Foundation’s Agave 4.2 guidance says the Alpenglow consensus code is already included for testing, but it will not go live on mainnet in 4.2. The Foundation points to Agave 4.3 for activation, targeted for October 2026, with Alpenglow aiming to cut finality to about 150 milliseconds from roughly 12.8 seconds by replacing TowerBFT.
Blockchain Association backs Custodia Supreme Court bid over Fed account denial The Blockchain Association on Wednesday filed an amicus brief urging the US Supreme Court to hear Custodia Bank’s challenge to the Kansas City Fed’s denial of a master account, arguing the Monetary Control Act requires Fed payment services for eligible nonmember depository institutions and does not give regional Reserve Banks broad discretion to refuse. The Kansas City Fed must respond to Custodia’s petition by September 11.
Seoul court gives Delio CEO 15 years in crypto embezzlement case The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison after convicting him of embezzlement and using false documents to register Delio as a virtual asset service provider. The court acquitted him on the main fraud charge tied to about 250 billion won ($175.6 million) and 2,800 alleged victims, ruling key server evidence was illegally obtained, but still called the surviving crimes “extremely grave” and ordered him detained as a flight risk.
MSCI proposal would remove Strategy and Metaplanet from key global indexes MSCI is consulting on a rule change that would exclude “non-operating companies” from its Global Investable Market Indexes; under a May 2026 simulation, that would remove Strategy, Metaplanet and uranium holder Yellow Cake PLC. The proposal uses balance-sheet and financial-ratio screens to identify firms acting more like investment vehicles, with consultation open until Sept. 30 and a decision due by Oct. 16 for the November 2026 Index Review.
Deribit wins Dubai broker-dealer licence to route spot orders via Coinbase Dubai’s VARA has granted Deribit a Broker Dealer Licence, allowing the exchange to route spot orders through Coinbase Exchange and add Coinbase’s centralized orderbook to its execution options. Deribit said the move should deepen liquidity, tighten spreads and expand asset access for retail, qualified and institutional clients, while keeping its own spot orderbook for selected assets.
South Korea tax agency warns of crypto tax phishing emails South Korea’s National Tax Service on Aug. 14 warned that phishing emails posing as virtual-asset tax notices are spreading, including messages titled “Advance Explanation Notice on Virtual Asset Taxation.” The agency said users should not click links or open attachments, as the emails are designed to steal personal information, and advised people to verify any notice by logging into Hometax directly.
Ethereum Foundation drops Poseidon from planned post-quantum stack The Ethereum Foundation is moving away from the Poseidon hash function in its planned post-quantum architecture, with researcher Justin Drake saying it will instead use established options such as SHA or BLAKE. Drake said advances in SNARKs have removed Poseidon’s performance edge for systems like leanVM, which is targeted to be production-ready in 2027, with broader Ethereum deployments planned for 2028.
Conflux sets Aug. 25 deadline for mandatory v3.1.0 hard fork update Conflux Network said all node operators must install v3.1.0 before epoch 155140000, expected on Aug. 25, or risk falling out of sync with the chain and losing the ability to download blocks, process transactions or mine. The hard fork activates seven CIPs, including Ethereum compatibility changes, transaction and staking fixes, plus a private security patch that Conflux will disclose only after the upgrade; CIP-173 is expected to take effect on Aug. 26.
Norway sovereign wealth fund discloses $81.9M stake in BitMine Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global reported a 6,151,062-share position in BitMine Immersion Technologies worth $81,870,635 in a Norges Bank filing for the quarter ended June 30, giving the fund indirect exposure to Ethereum through BMNR stock rather than a direct ETH purchase. BitMine was absent from the fund’s December report and appeared in the June 30 filing; the disclosure does not show when the shares were bought or at what price.
CFTC moves on crypto rules as Senate delays CLARITY Act vote XRP traded at $1.009 on Thursday after the Senate left for recess without a floor vote on the CLARITY Act, which would codify the token’s legal status in federal law. The next Senate window opens in September, but the CFTC is moving ahead with an Aug. 20 Innovation Advisory Committee meeting on what it can address under existing powers; Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse sits on the panel.
Trezor data breach exposes details of nearly 13,700 customers Trezor said a breach at shipping partner ShipMonk exposed customer order data for about 13,700 users across seven countries after an unauthorized party accessed ShipMonk systems. The leaked data included names, emails, phone numbers and shipping addresses for 11,742 customers, while 1,947 others had names, cities and emails exposed; Trezor said its internal systems and hardware wallets were not compromised.
Ethena taps FalconX for overcollateralized stablecoin lending Ethena said Aug. 14 it has appointed FalconX as an institutional lending partner and will provide a revolving senior secured credit facility through a FalconX vehicle to buy crypto-backed institutional loan receivables. Ethena will hold a first-priority security interest over the vehicle’s assets, adding an overcollateralized stablecoin credit facility to the assets backing its synthetic dollar business; the facility size and pricing were not disclosed.
Trump authorizes vetted US firms for offensive cyber operations abroad President Donald Trump signed an Aug. 12 memorandum creating a DHS-led program that lets vetted U.S. companies carry out government-approved cyber operations against foreign criminal networks behind ransomware, phishing, financial fraud and sextortion. Firms must contract with DOJ or DHS, post a bond of at least $1 million, and act only under written federal approval; guidance is due within 60 days.
Sonatype flags six npm packages using Ethereum wallet to hide malware C2 Sonatype Research Labs said six npm packages used an attacker’s Ethereum wallet to fetch command-and-control server addresses, including three compromised real libraries: @kolbo/mcp@1.57.1, agentgui@1.0.1127 and godot-kit@1.0.1786316795. The same payload also appeared in envpack-conf@1.0.1, postcss-initial-provider@3.0.4 and tailwindcss-motion-advanced@1.0.1; Sonatype urged anyone who installed them to remove the packages and check for second-stage code execution.
Pi Network launches Testnet 2 on Protocol v26 Pi Network’s Testnet 2 went live on Protocol v26 on Aug. 13, leaving Protocol v27 as the final upgrade in its roadmap. PI traded at $0.0891, up 0.20%, while compressing between $0.075 and $0.10; analysts say a close above $0.10 could open a move toward $0.15, while a break below $0.075 could send it toward $0.04. The project’s white paper also completed ESMA registration on Aug. 10, an initial step toward EU MiCA compliance.
Ethereum ETFs post inflows as Bitcoin funds see mixed flows U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded about $7.38 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s ETHA, while Bitcoin ETFs saw mixed results, including a $46.8 million outflow from Fidelity’s FBTC and a $14.3 million inflow to BlackRock’s IBIT. The article says the shift may hint at a limited BTC-to-ETH rotation, but not a broad institutional repositioning, and Indian traders still largely favor Bitcoin.
Llamalend posts broad weekly growth as TVL climbs to $164M Curve’s lending protocol Llamalend grew across every major metric in the week to Aug. 13: TVL rose 12.3% to $164M, supplied funds jumped 22.7% to $77.1M, borrowing increased 13.3% to $97.7M, and open loans reached 1,094. Curve also launched the svZCHF/crvUSD market on Llamalend V2 on Aug. 12 with a 500,000 crvUSD borrow cap.
Trezor warns customer data leaked in third-party shipping breach Trezor said a third-party shipping partner exposed some customer phone numbers and shipping addresses, while its own systems, devices, private keys and wallet backups were not compromised. The company said only customers who received notification emails were affected, with the impact limited by a policy requiring partners to delete or anonymize order data 90 days after delivery. It is now accelerating an Anonymous Delivery option in the EU by September and in the US by year-end.
Sharplink deploys $200M in ETH treasury to Lido staking Sharplink (Nasdaq: SBET), one of the largest corporate ETH holders, said it is staking $200 million of its Ether treasury through Lido and will hold the resulting wstETH with Anchorage Digital. The move follows Anchorage’s wstETH integration last month and is aimed at making Sharplink’s ETH treasury more productive while keeping institutional custody in place.
OranjeBTC plans Brazil ETF DIGY11 for September launch Brazilian Bitcoin treasury company OranjeBTC plans to list DIGY11 on B3 in early September, offering local investors exposure to preferred shares of U.S. Bitcoin treasury companies Strategy and Strive. Exame reported the portfolio is expected to be 95% Strategy’s STRC and the rest Strive’s SATA; the ETF will hedge dollar exposure, target monthly payouts in reais, and charge a 0.90% management fee.
Monaco submits bill to replace 2022 crypto rules with MiCA-style regime Monaco has filed Bill No. 1131 with the National Council to replace its 2022 crypto framework and align oversight with the EU’s MiCA rules and FATF standards. The proposal would require crypto-asset service providers to obtain prior authorization from the CCAF, adds stricter governance and prudential requirements, and expands supervisory powers as authorities say the changes are meant to strengthen compliance and curb money laundering.
Seoul court gives Delio CEO 15 years as evidence ruling slashes fraud case A Seoul court sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison over the South Korean crypto platform’s collapse, but a flawed search of host Gabia gutted much of the prosecution’s case. After the court threw out Delio’s database and related evidence, the case shrank from about 2,800 alleged victims and 250 billion won to roughly 1,100 victims and 70 billion won; Jeong was also convicted of obtaining Delio’s VASP registration with a falsified accounting report.
Copper gains SEC-registered broker-dealer status in the US Copper has launched a regulated US foothold after Copper Markets (US) Inc. became an SEC-registered broker-dealer and a FINRA member, creating a path to offer institutional custody and trading-related services in the country. The company said the US entity will provide qualified custody, staking, financing and OTC services, plus access to its ClearLoop network, which lets institutions post crypto and tokenized assets as collateral without moving them onto exchanges.
SEC clears Franklin Templeton funds to buy BENJI money market fund Franklin Templeton’s registered mutual funds and ETFs can now invest in its blockchain-based OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) after the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter on the custody structure. The letter says the SEC would not recommend enforcement under Section 17(f) and Rule 17f-2 if those funds hold BENJI shares using Franklin’s transfer-agent records alongside blockchain data, with private keys kept under the firm’s control. In the latest filing, FOBXX had about $726 million in assets.
Researchers disclose Zoom flaws that enabled zero-click device takeover in meetings Israeli cybersecurity firm A Security said a researcher used fewer than 20 AI prompts to find three Zoom vulnerabilities and build a working “Zoomsday” exploit in under 24 hours, allowing code execution on another participant’s device with no click, download or approval. Zoom released fixes between June 22 and July 20, but users on older app versions still need to update because server-side protections cannot fully stop the attack in end-to-end encrypted meetings.
Goldman Sachs to buy Neos for up to $2.25B, adding crypto income ETFs Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire Neos Investments for up to $2.25 billion, bringing more than $30 billion in assets and 19 options-based income ETFs into its asset management business, including the Bitcoin and Ethereum funds BTCI, XBCI and NEHI. The three crypto-linked ETFs manage more than $1.1 billion combined, and the deal is expected to close in Q1 2027 pending regulatory approval.
Binance bStocks becomes No. 2 tokenized stock issuer in nine weeks Binance’s bStocks has climbed to the second-largest tokenized stock issuer by market cap just nine weeks after its June 11 launch, reaching $610.6 million and 22.1% of the sector, per Token Terminal. That puts it ahead of Backed’s xStocks at $601.2 million, while Ondo Finance remains first at $951.8 million and 34.4%.
SEC to vote Aug. 14 on first formal crypto rulemaking The SEC is set to vote Aug. 14 on “Regulation Crypto,” a 400-page proposal that would create three exemption pathways for token issuance and fundraising, including a startup route of about $5 million, a 12-month fundraising cap of $75 million, and a safe harbor letting tokens exit securities status once a network is sufficiently decentralized. If advanced, it would mark a shift from enforcement-driven policy to a codified framework the agency is attempting without waiting for Congress.
Forward Industries posts $69M Q3 loss on Solana writedowns Forward Industries reported a $69 million fiscal Q3 net loss, or $0.80 per share, after booking a $49.8 million digital-asset loss and a $15.2 million impairment tied to its Solana treasury under US GAAP fair-value rules. Despite that, the Nasdaq-listed company increased its holdings to more than 7.55 million SOL by June 30, while SOL per share rose 9% quarter over quarter to 0.0730 and revenue jumped to $10.8 million from $2.5 million.
Arizona crypto ATM law secures $171,332 in scam refunds for 35 victims Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the state’s new crypto ATM law has already helped 35 scam victims recover $171,332. Enacted in May as House Bill 2387, the law requires kiosk operators to fully reimburse new customers fraudulently induced into a transaction, including fees, if they report it to the operator and law enforcement or the attorney general within 30 days and obtain a fraud determination.
Philippines sets legal route for government imports of blockchain and AI tech The Department of Trade and Industry issued DAO 26-06, authorizing DTI to certify when blockchain, AI, deep tech, or related consulting services are unavailable in the local market. Once certified, Philippine government agencies can bypass domestic bidding limits and procure those technologies through international organizations, UN agencies, or international financing institutions.
LlamaRisk proposes Aave V3 cap cuts across four networks LlamaRisk recommended lowering supply and borrow caps on selected Aave V3 reserves across Plasma, Mantle, Avalanche and Arbitrum, saying current limits leave excess headroom over demand while still preserving room for growth. The biggest proposed change is Plasma sUSDe’s supply cap, cut to 225 million from 450 million; the updates are set to be implemented through the Risk Steward process.
Uniswap redirects test-token creator fees to buy-and-burn contract Uniswap founder Hayden Adams said the team has renounced all creator fees tied to tokens created during “Uniswap employee testing” for Pools after the tokens were discovered, redirecting past and future fees to an automated buyback-and-burn contract. TradePools said the fees are released as ETH that can be claimed by burning the corresponding token; Adams did not name the tokens or say how much had accrued.
Coinbase to roll out 170+ leveraged derivatives for UK professional investors Coinbase will start offering eligible UK professional investors more than 170 derivative contracts across crypto, commodities, equities and FX, with rollout beginning in the coming weeks and expanding over the following months. The lineup includes futures, perpetuals and crypto options, with leverage of up to 50x, following Coinbase’s UK investment services authorization.
OCC returns Zerohash trust bank charter application The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency returned Zerohash’s application for a U.S. trust bank charter, ending the process because the filing was “materially deficient” under OCC policy. Zerohash, which provides crypto infrastructure for firms including Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade, said the move was coordinated with the regulator, does not affect current operations, and it plans to refile this month seeking a swift resolution.
Boltz founders exit as veteran Bitcoiners take over suspended swap service Boltz said all original founders stepped down effective immediately and an unnamed group of “veteran Bitcoiners” will take over the suspended Bitcoin swap service, providing capital and engineering resources while vulnerabilities are fixed. Swaps remain offline after Aug. 3 attacks that Boltz said grew in frequency and sophistication and caused losses, though it added user funds were never at risk because the service is non-custodial.
Hawaii signs statewide ban on crypto ATMs and kiosks Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed House Bill 1642 into law in July, setting a full ban on crypto ATMs and kiosks that take US dollars in exchange for digital assets. The state cited scam losses, including FBI data showing 826 Hawaii crypto complaints in 2025 and about $80 million in losses. CoinATMRadar data showed 57 machines were operating across four main islands as of Wednesday.
USDT supply drops $4B as stablecoin demand weakens USDT’s 60-day supply change has fallen by $4 billion, with about $870 million disappearing in 11 days, while its market cap slipped to around $183 billion, CryptoQuant data highlighted by Green Dot founder Stacy Muur shows. USDC supply is also shrinking, suggesting weaker stablecoin demand rather than a simple rotation out of USDT, even as Tron added $10.8 billion in stablecoin market cap this year.
Anchorpoint starts beta issuance of Hong Kong’s first regulated stablecoin Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint has launched the beta phase of HKDAP with licensed Hong Kong exchanges HashKey and OSL, marking the first issuance of a Hong Kong-regulated stablecoin after the HKMA granted issuer licenses to Anchorpoint and HSBC in April. For now, access is limited to institutions, corporates and professional investors, with cross-border payments and tokenized securities settlement as the initial use cases.
SEC staff clears Franklin funds to use onchain money fund as cash vehicle The SEC’s Division of Investment Management said it would not recommend enforcement action if Franklin Templeton’s U.S. registered funds hold shares of its onchain money market fund, FOBXX, through an affiliated blockchain-based custody and recordkeeping system. The no-action relief lets the funds use FOBXX for cash management and securities-lending collateral, provided Franklin meets 12 conditions on segregation, controls, reconciliation, board oversight and independent checks.
Gnosis Chain votes to become first Ethereum Economic Zone rollup Gnosis Chain has opened voting on GIP-153 to rebase the network from a standalone Layer 1 onto Ethereum as the first Ethereum Economic Zone rollup. If approved, it would keep the same chain, addresses and xDai gas token, while shifting validation to Ethereum and ending the GnosisDAO staking subsidy in favor of a fee-capture model; the first phased deployment could come as early as December 2026.
Malwarebytes spots $500 kit for fake Tesla token presale scam Malwarebytes said a cybercrime forum seller known as xrep is offering a $500 “scam-in-a-box” that lets low-skill operators launch a fake $TSLA presale using Tesla branding and X account details. The kit includes phishing pages, a fake dashboard and a control panel that can collect 12-word recovery phrases, log usernames and locations, and prompt victims to send BTC, ETH, USDT or DOGE to attacker-controlled addresses.
BlackRock’s IBIT lifts U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs back to net inflows U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs posted a $4.89 million net inflow on Tuesday as BlackRock’s IBIT added $50.20 million, offsetting $45.31 million of combined outflows from Franklin Templeton’s EZBC, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB, VanEck’s HODL, Fidelity’s FBTC and Hashdex’s DEFI. Spot ether ETFs stayed slightly negative with a $1.76 million net outflow, while Solana ETFs drew fresh money led by Morgan Stanley’s MSOL.
DTCC completes live blockchain trading pilot with JPMorgan and Goldman DTCC said it has completed a four-hour live test of tokenized securities trading with about 40 major Wall Street firms, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, simulating stocks, ETFs and Treasuries trades, collateral pledges, margin calls, repo transactions and asset transfers on its Besu private blockchain and the Canton Network. DTCC plans a phased rollout starting in October, though broader adoption still depends on regulatory alignment and integration with existing systems.
Slovenia gets first MiCA-listed stablecoin issuer via Dinaro ESMA’s latest MiCA register update added Slovenia-based electronic money institution Dinaro to its EMT stablecoin list, the first issuer from Slovenia to appear in the dataset. The move brings the EMT register to 43 entries; ESMA also added CASPs Partners Banka and Volksbank Beilstein-Ilsfeld-Abstatt, while Czech firm Altlift was removed, leaving 325 authorized CASPs.
Anchorpoint starts phased rollout of HKD-backed stablecoin HKDAP Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint has opened beta access to its Hong Kong dollar-backed HKDAP stablecoin for institutional distributors and professional investors, starting with cross-border payments, fiat conversion and tokenized asset settlement. HashKey Exchange joined as a distribution partner and completed its first HKDAP mint and redemption, as Anchorpoint expands the rollout after securing HKMA licensing approval in April.
Singapore finalizes crypto tax reporting rules from 2027 Singapore has issued final rules requiring crypto exchanges, brokers and trading platforms with a local nexus to collect user tax residency data and report annual per-user, per-token transaction aggregates to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore from Jan. 1, 2027. IRAS will share the data with foreign tax authorities under tax treaties, and from Jan. 1, 2028, platforms cannot execute trades for users without valid self-certification on file.
Kraken to take MEXC’s Netherlands clients as exchange exits market MEXC is referring its Netherlands users, including spot and derivatives clients, to Kraken as it winds down services in the country as part of a broader regional realignment. Kraken said it has held MiCA authorization through the Central Bank of Ireland since June 2025 and also has MiFID approval for derivatives, offering referred clients a licensed venue with more than 600 crypto assets, EUR rails and quarterly verified proof of reserves.
Fidelity seeks staking and cash payouts for $898M Ethereum fund Fidelity has asked the SEC to let its $898 million Fidelity Ethereum Fund stake up to 100% of its ETH under normal conditions and make quarterly cash distributions from staking rewards. The fund would keep 85% of gross rewards, with 15% going to the sponsor, custodians and node operators; payouts would not be guaranteed and could be suspended if liabilities exceed rewards.
Brazil sets Oct. 30, 2026 deadline for crypto security and AML audits Brazil’s Central Bank will require existing virtual asset providers to file a “reasonable assurance” report from a CVM-registered auditor by Oct. 30, 2026, going beyond proof of reserves to verify AML/CFT, sanctions screening, asset segregation and cybersecurity controls. Under rules effective Feb. 2, 2026, firms must also keep separate client wallets, perform regular penetration tests and maintain incident records for five years.
