Crypto World
Bitcoin’s Rally Faces Fresh Test as Rate Fears Grow: Bitfinex
Bitcoin’s August rally is facing a tougher test as fresh ETF demand meets growing expectations for tighter U.S. monetary policy. The cryptocurrency is holding above $77,100, but its next move may hinge on whether fresh liquidity can offset rising rate risks, according to Bitfinex Alpha.
This tension was evident in Bitcoin’s recent price action. Bitcoin closed above $80,000 on August 27 for the first time since May, ending at $80,256 after briefly reaching $81,500. It later fell to $76,857 after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole remarks pushed markets to reassess the outlook for U.S. rates.
Bitcoin Holds Up Despite Rate Fears
The pullback came as markets raised the implied probability of a September rate increase from the mid-30% range to about 60%. Warsh also stressed the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target and suggested that monetary policy may not yet be restrictive enough.
Despite the shift in rate expectations, Bitcoin showed some resilience. It closed Friday only about 3% lower and remained above previous range highs through the weekend. Bitfinex identified $77,100 as an important volume-node support level after it helped define the cryptocurrency’s August breakout.
Continued ETF demand may have helped support that resilience. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $924.5 million in net inflows last week despite $202 million leaving the products on Friday. The funds had attracted $3.04 billion during the previous nine sessions, showing continued demand despite shifting expectations around U.S. monetary policy.
Beyond ETFs, stablecoin liquidity also remains relevant to the broader crypto market because it can provide capital for digital assets. However, the Bitfinex report points more directly to ETF demand as a key driver of Bitcoin’s current liquidity conditions.
Market Positioning Remains Stable
Bitcoin’s derivatives market has remained relatively controlled during the rally, according to the report. Perpetual futures open interest reached $55.6 billion, about 20% above the start of August, while funding rates and futures basis remained contained.
Meanwhile, on-chain data points to a shift in Bitcoin ownership. Wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC have reduced their balances by about 50,500 BTC since late June, while exchange and ETF custodial wallets have added roughly 59,100 BTC.
The post Bitcoin’s Rally Faces Fresh Test as Rate Fears Grow: Bitfinex appeared first on CryptoPotato.
A Trump Jr.-linked investment firm is reportedly preparing to put roughly $300 million into Polymarket as part of a much larger funding effort that could value the prediction market platform at $21 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal, 1789 Capital—where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner—would participate in a $1 billion round that includes the additional $300 million commitment.
If the reported terms are accurate, the investment would lift 1789 Capital’s total disclosed exposure to Polymarket to about $500 million, potentially positioning the firm among the platform’s most significant backers.
Key takeaways
- 1789 Capital is reportedly set to invest about $300 million in Polymarket as part of a reported $1 billion fundraising round.
- The reported round could value Polymarket at $21 billion, according to information attributed to people familiar with the matter by the Wall Street Journal.
- ICE remains the largest disclosed investor, with a July 30 10-Q filing citing $1.6 billion invested and about 22% of outstanding shares on a carrying-value basis.
- Polymarket’s funding momentum is unfolding amid escalating regulatory pressure affecting prediction markets in the US and abroad.
1789 Capital’s reported entry and what it signals
For Polymarket, the reported $300 million commitment from 1789 Capital underscores continued institutional interest in prediction markets, even as the sector faces scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal report frames the investment as a portion of a broader $1 billion financing effort, with the implied valuation at $21 billion.
While Polymarket’s prior fundraising discussions have already highlighted how competitive the space has become, the latest report suggests investors are still willing to price the platform at a level that reflects expectations of growth. If 1789 Capital’s investment plan proceeds as described, it would also concentrate influence among fewer large holders—meaning future outcomes for Polymarket could be shaped by a smaller set of major investors.
ICE’s disclosed stake highlights the ownership concentration
Beyond new participation, Polymarket’s investor base already includes heavyweight capital. In a July 30 10-Q filing, ICE said it had invested a combined $1.6 billion in Polymarket preferred shares. ICE also reported that the holdings carried an approximate value of $2 billion as of June 30.
The filing further indicated ownership shares at two measurement points: about 22% of outstanding shares and about 14% on a fully diluted basis. This matters because it provides a clearer baseline for how control and economics might be distributed if Polymarket adds new investors at a high valuation.
Earlier fundraising benchmarks and the valuation race
Polymarket’s latest reported fundraising push is not happening in isolation. Earlier coverage noted that Polymarket had begun discussions to raise $400 million in fresh capital around April, at a time when it was seeking financing at a potential $15 billion valuation—an implied step up from later figures being discussed.
That earlier valuation was reportedly below the $22 billion valuation of Kalshi, Polymarket’s main competitor referenced in the prior reporting. While these figures reflect fundraising expectations rather than market trading prices, they do provide context: prediction market platforms appear to be competing not only for users and contracts, but also for investor attention and balance-sheet strength.
Regulatory pressure remains a central risk factor
One reason investors may be scrutinizing prediction markets more closely is the growing regulatory friction described in recent developments. The sector has faced mounting legal and operational challenges in the United States and other jurisdictions.
Cointelegraph reported that JPMorgan Chase ended a banking relationship with Polymarket over regulatory concerns, while also saying it would remain open to an underwriting role if Polymarket pursued a public listing. That juxtaposition—loss of a banking relationship contrasted with interest in underwriting—illustrates how regulators and compliance expectations can shape which financial services are offered to prediction market operators.
Legal actions have also broadened. More than a dozen US states have taken steps targeting Polymarket, Kalshi, or both, related to sports event contracts. Elsewhere, authorities in several countries have blocked or restricted access to Polymarket over gambling-related concerns, highlighting how regulatory boundaries differ across jurisdictions.
These pressures matter for the fundraising narrative because they can influence timelines, corporate structuring, and the practicality of certain growth plans—particularly where a company’s ability to onboard customers, settle contracts, and maintain banking relationships is at stake.
Cointelegraph has also reached out to 1789 Capital and Polymarket for comment regarding the reported investment plan, but no response is included in the available information.
Investors and market participants should watch for whether the reported $1 billion round moves forward on the cited valuation terms and how Polymarket navigates the regulatory issues affecting banking access and legal exposure. Any additional clarity on compliance, partnerships, and potential paths to public markets could determine how sustainable the current momentum is—especially as major investors like ICE already hold substantial disclosed positions.
Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, is leading a $1 billion funding round that values Polymarket at $21 billion, contributing roughly $300 million in fresh capital on top of the $200 million it had already put into the prediction market platform.
The new round lifts Polymarket’s valuation 40% above the roughly $15 billion mark it carried earlier this year, and it comes as the Trump family’s footprint in prediction markets keeps growing even as regulators in multiple countries and at least one US city move to shut the platforms out.
1789 Capital’s Stake Keeps Growing
1789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning said the firm’s total investment in Polymarket now sits at around $500 million combined between the new money and what it put in previously. The $21 billion figure is a jump from the roughly $15 billion valuation Polymarket was working with back in April, when the platform first opened talks on a new funding round.
Polymarket, alongside similar platforms like Kalshi, lets users bet on outcomes ranging from what a president says in a speech to who gets married on a reality show, and both have grown quickly over the past year.
Trump Jr.’s ties to the prediction market industry go beyond Polymarket. He became an adviser to Kalshi in 2025 and received shares in the company worth more than $300,000, and he separately advises Polymarket too.
His father’s administration has also moved in the industry’s favor, with Michael Selig, who heads the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), responsible for regulating prediction markets, speaking favorably of both companies.
However, Polymarket has run into trouble, with Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the City Council suing both it and Kalshi last month, accusing them of offering unlicensed sports betting dressed up as event contracts and marketing their products in ways that could make people think they’re legal, regulated sportsbooks.
The city is seeking penalties and restitution for residents it says were exposed to unregulated gambling.
Trouble Overseas Too
Things are also heating up abroad. As CryptoPotato reported, South Korea ordered domestic access to Polymarket blocked, with regulators there saying the platform’s structure “encourages gambling behavior.”
France, Germany, and Australia have also imposed similar restrictions, and more than 30 countries in total have blocked or limited the platform.
Despite the legal troubles, money has kept flowing into Polymarket, as months before Trump Jr. upped his stake, the firm took on a $600 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Exchange, as part of a plan to put up to $2 billion toward expanding into event-based trading.
The post Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital to Put $300M Into Polymarket appeared first on CryptoPotato.
The euro is closing out August with genuine momentum, having climbed to $1.1697 against the dollar, its strongest level in three months, on the back of ECB hike bets that keep gaining traction. French and Spanish inflation both surprised to the upside, with Spain's harmonised reading hitting 4.5%, its highest since 2023, reinforcing market expectations that the ECB deposit rate could climb to 2.80% by next March, from 2.25% currently. A September hike is now seen as roughly 60% likely.
Sterling, meanwhile, is navigating a genuinely awkward domestic backdrop. The Bank of England's July decision, a 6–3 hold with three members pushing for a hike, initially read as hawkish, but Governor Bailey used his press conference to firmly close the door on near-term hike bets anyway. UK inflation eased to 2.9%, yet the labour market cooled more sharply than expected, with private-sector wage growth hitting its softest pace since 2020, leaving the BoE genuinely torn between growth resilience and a weakening jobs picture.
The result: an ECB gaining real conviction towards further tightening, versus a Bank of England sending increasingly mixed signals just as political uncertainty around Downing Street's succession continues to simmer in the background.
Technical Analysis of EUR/GBP
As the EUR/GBP chart shows, the pair has been compressing into a tightening symmetrical triangle since mid-August, with a descending trendline from the 0.8587 highs converging with an ascending trendline off the 0.8480 lows, both meeting right around the current price near 0.8569, exactly where the 100-period EMA also sits.
Bullish Scenario
Should buyers break above the descending trendline, the path would open towards a retest of the 0.8587 highs, the 0 Fibonacci level marking the origin of the recent pullback. A confirmed breakout above that level would signal genuine bullish continuation for the euro.
Bearish Scenario
Conversely, a break below the ascending trendline and the 100-period EMA would expose the 0.382 retracement near 0.8536, with a deeper slide risking a retest of the 0.5 level around 0.8521.
With price coiled right at the apex of this triangle, sitting exactly on the 100-period EMA, EUR/GBP looks primed for a decisive break. Will the ECB's hawkish momentum finally push the euro through resistance, or will sterling's political noise keep the pair capped?
The bitcoin funds took $217 million Monday, one session after an outflow ended their nine-day run. Ether ETFs have not posted a red day since mid-August.
Trump celebrated the legal victory in a Monday post on Truth Social.
“I am pleased to report that the United States Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the Ballroom/Military Complex being built without any further contingency, doubt, or threat,” Trump wrote. “We are living in the Golden Age of America, and this Building will be one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C.”
The President said the ballroom will be completed in the summer of 2028.
Legal battles
The trust filed the lawsuit in December on behalf of one of its members, Alison Hoagland, an architectural historian and preservationist who lives in Washington. Hoagland said in a declaration that she would “suffer both professional and personal injuries, including to my aesthetic, cultural and historical interests, if a ballroom of the proposed form and scale were constructed.” She argued that “an adjacent structure overshadowing the White House, exceeding it in height and massing, would diminish the primacy of the White House.”
Crypto recorded 50 major hacks in August, the highest monthly count of 2026. Total losses fell to $136.3 million, down 49.5% from July.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield published the tally on Tuesday. The figures show attackers striking far more often while extracting less from each incident.
Cronos Halt Blunted the Month’s Largest Exploit
A single incident dominated the month. Tectonic is the largest lending protocol on Cronos (CRO). It reportedly lost roughly $74 million, the fourth-largest crypto theft of 2026 to date.
The attacker moved only about $6 million to Ethereum (ETH) before validators froze the network.
“The exploiter has since started laundering the stolen funds, bridging them to #BTC (~200K so far),” PeckShield said.
Cronos then restored the chain state to a point before the attack and resumed block production.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
Attack Volume Rose as Individual Hauls Shrank
August’s 50 incidents topped the 40 recorded in April, May, and June. PeckShield counted 16, 15, and 20 hacks in January, February, and March, respectively.
The average loss per hack fell to about $2.7 million, down from roughly $9 million in July. PeckShield’s top ten incidents accounted for $123.34 million of August’s total, leaving around $12.9 million across the other 40 hacks, per BeInCrypto calculations.
April remains the year’s costliest month at $646.89 million, driven by the Drift and KelpDAO exploits. Those two incidents alone accounted for $577 million.
Moonwell followed Tectonic in August with $8.7 million in losses. Term Labs lost $8.5 million, Coinsbuy $7.9 million, and TAC $7.5 million. Injective, MANTRA, BounceBit, Cosmos Labs, and aquifer rounded out the top ten.
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The post August Broke 2026's Monthly Hack Record Even as Losses Fell 49% appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Donald Trump Jr.-linked investment firm 1789 Capital is reportedly investing about $300 million in Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction market.
1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, will make the $300 million investment as part of a $1 billion round that would value Polymarket at $21 billion, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The investment would bring 1789 Capital’s total investment in Polymarket to about $500 million and make it one of the platform’s largest backers.
Cointelegraph has approached 1789 Capital and Polymarket for comment.
ICE remains Polymarket’s largest disclosed investor. In a July 30 10-Q filing, ICE said it had invested a combined $1.6 billion in Polymarket preferred shares. The holdings had a carrying value of approximately $2 billion as of June 30 and represented about 22% of outstanding shares, or 14% on a fully diluted basis.
Polymarket reportedly started talks to raise $400 million in fresh capital in April, when it was seeking to raise the funds at a potential $15 billion valuation, below the $22 billion valuation of its main competitor, Kalshi.
Prediction markets are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny in the US and worldwide. On Aug. 14, JPMorgan Chase reportedly ended a banking relationship with Polymarket over regulatory concerns but said it remains keen on a potential underwriting role should Polymarket attempt to go public.
More than a dozen US states have taken legal action against Polymarket, Kalshi, or both over sports event contracts, while authorities in several countries have also blocked or restricted access to Polymarket.
Related: NY judge denies CFTC motion to halt enforcement action against Kalshi
Bitcoin price rose 24.95% in August, and still trades 9.62% below where it started the year. The month was bought almost entirely by funds.
Everyone else was selling into it.
Why Did the Price Rise 25% in August?
US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $3.52 billion during August, per SoSoValue data. Only five of 21 sessions saw money leave.
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That single month outweighs everything before it. Across January to July, the same funds lost a net $5.30 billion. August did not just beat the year, it reversed it.
The problem is what months like this have preceded.
Will the Price Crash in September 2026?
Twelve months since these funds launched have drawn $3 billion or more. Bitcoin fell in the month straight after seven of them. The average return in those following months is 0.13%, against 2.93% for an average month.
Seasonality points the same way. Bitcoin has closed August green only two times since 2020 (before this year), and on both the occasions, September fell 7.30% and 7.96%.
One thing argues back. The last three Septembers all finished higher, so September’s reputation as Bitcoin’s worst month is out of date.
Who Was Selling While BTC Surged?
Hodler Net Position Change, which measures whether long-term holders are adding coins or releasing them, stayed negative for the whole rally. It turned red on August 2 and stayed there for four weeks.
Then it flipped. August 31 printed the first green bar since July, at 2,044 BTC.
Large wallets did the same thing and have not reversed it. Addresses holding more than BTC fell from 1,963 on July 31 to 1,908, a loss of 55 wallets during a 25% rally.
So the rally was funds buying what holders and whales were handing over. That matters, because it means the selling side was working through supply rather than reacting to bad news.
Are Big Traders Still Betting Big?
Their futures book says yes. Bitcoin’s positioning divergence score sits at 21.2, with top traders holding 111 points more long exposure than the average account.
The reading is specific to Bitcoin. XRP scores 2.7, meaning no meaningful gap between top-traders and everyone else.
That confidence is also the risk. Binance alone carries $3.00 billion in long liquidation leverage below the price against $1.80 billion in short leverage above it.
Therefore, a small BTC price drop could hurt the price prediction more going into September, as it might trigger a long flush.
Bitcoin Price Prediction: The Levels That Decide September
Bitcoin trades near $79,108. Everything rests on $77,057, the floor this range has held since the breakout, because losing it removes support all the way to $62,207.
Upside needs proof. A daily close above $82,656 opens $91,719, and only a move through that level would argue the bull phase is back, with $100,782 beyond it. Volume has to come with it, and buying volume only began recovering between August 29 and 31.
Analyst’s View: The pattern says funds buy late, and August’s money arrived after a 25% move in a year Bitcoin is still down. Against that, holders stopped selling on the final day of the month and the largest traders are positioned long. Which side wins in this Bitcoin price prediction war will be decided by the tussle between the historical bearishness and the current bullishness.
The post Bitcoin Price Prediction for September 2026: What Follows a $3.5 Billion ETF Month? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
The LSE is working with Kraken owner Payward, the developer of the xStocks tokenized equities framework, to bring top U.K.-listed stocks onchain.
Crypto World
Frogbet Launches Crypto Casino With 70 In- House Original Games, Instant Withdrawals and a $10,000 Weekly Race
[PRESS RELEASE – Garabito, Costa Rica, September 1st, 2026]
Frogbet, a new cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook, has officially launched at frogbet.com, debuting a catalog of 70 original games developed entirely in-house alongside more than 7,000 titles from providers including Pragmatic Play, Hacksaw Gaming and BGaming.
Every Frogbet original is provably fair, allowing players to cryptographically verify the outcome of any bet at any time. The proprietary catalog spans in-house slots, eight blackjack variants, poker, and a full range of instant games including Mines, Dice, Plinko, Crash, Limbo and Keno — none of which areavailable on any other platform. According to the team, Frogbet’s proprietary slots are the first original games in the industry to ship with built-in bonus buys, letting players purchase direct entry into feature rounds.
The originals suite is built around a high-volume betting engine. Players can place up to 100,000 instant bets in a single click, with all rounds settled immediately, and a built-in strategy builder lets players define their own rules and automate their play hands-free.
“Original games are usually a side menu at crypto casinos — at Frogbet they are the product. We built all 70 games ourselves, made every one of them verifiable, and then built the tools serious players actually want: bonus buys on originals, six-figure batch betting, and a strategy builder. And when you win, the money is in your wallet in seconds, not days, ” said a Frogbet spokesperson.
Withdrawals are processed instantly, 24 hours a day, with payouts typically reaching players’ wallets within seconds of the request. The platform is fully crypto-native, supporting deposits and withdrawals in more than 50 cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, USDT and SOL, and pairs the casino with a complete sportsbook offering live in-play betting.
New players receive a 150% deposit match plus 100 free spins on their first deposit. Ongoing promotions at launch include a $10,000 Weekly Race, a $500 Daily Raffle and a Weekly Jackpot Lottery. Frogbet’s six-tier VIP program runs from Bronze to Elite with weekly cashback of up to 25%, and rakeback that accrues on every bet and can be claimed every 15 minutes.
Through the platform’sVIP Transfer program, players who hold VIP status at another casino can wager $500, share their current level with support via live chat, and be upgraded to the matching Frogbet tier instantly.
“The crypto gambling audience has become the most sophisticated betting audience in the world. They check the seeds, they hunt bonus buys, they automate strategies. Frogbet is built for exactly that player,” the spokesperson added.
Frogbet’s originals lobby, sportsbook and full game catalog are live now at frogbet.com.
About FrogbetZ
Frogbet is a crypto-native online casino and sportsbook offering 70 provably fair original games built in-house, more than 7,000 titles from leading providers, a full sports betting product, and instant cryptocurrency withdrawals, 24/7. Frogbet is intended for players aged 18 and over. Players are encouraged to gamble responsibly. Learn more at frogbet.com, or follow Frogbet on X at x.com/frogbetcom and on Telegram at t.me/frogbetcom.
The post Frogbet Launches Crypto Casino With 70 In- House Original Games, Instant Withdrawals and a $10,000 Weekly Race appeared first on CryptoPotato.
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