Crypto World
Kalshi US Visits Jump 1,500% as Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies
Kalshi’s prediction markets business is drawing sharply more attention from web users—at the same time as legal challenges intensify over how certain contracts should be regulated. New traffic estimates reviewed by Cointelegraph show that US visits to Kalshi surged over the past year, reflecting the platform’s rapid mainstream reach.
According to Similarweb traffic data analyzed by Cointelegraph, Kalshi logged 15.4 million visits from the United States in July, up about 1,520% from just under 1 million in August 2025. The US also remained the dominant source of site activity, accounting for nearly 80% of Kalshi’s traffic in July versus 72.8% in August 2025.
Key takeaways
- Kalshi’s US web traffic reached 15.4 million visits in July, roughly a 1,520% jump versus August 2025, based on Similarweb estimates.
- US users remained the largest share of traffic, at nearly 80% in July compared with 72.8% a year earlier.
- Trading growth appears to be outpacing traffic growth, with monthly notional volume rising to about $40 billion in August from $874 million a year earlier, per Dune Analytics.
- Sports-related contracts represented 83% of Kalshi’s trading volume in July, underscoring why regulatory scrutiny remains focused on event terms.
- Even as traffic increased, Canada and the UK—jurisdictions where Kalshi’s member agreement restricts direct access—still contributed a small share of visits.
Traffic surges as the legal fight escalates
The visibility boost comes during a period of heightened scrutiny of prediction markets in the US. Kalshi has faced legal challenges tied to whether its sports contracts should fall under federal oversight or instead be treated as state-regulated gambling. The dispute has reached the US Supreme Court, after New Jersey took the matter to the Supreme Court, according to earlier coverage.
While web traffic is not the same thing as regulatory status, the strong jump in US visits helps explain why the company’s expanding contract catalog is attracting both user interest and legal attention. The geographic concentration also matters: with the US supplying most of Kalshi’s traffic, any ruling affecting how Kalshi structures or offers certain contracts could quickly reverberate through its core customer base.
Trading volume grows faster than visits
Kalshi’s traffic gains have coincided with even larger growth in trading activity. Dune Analytics’ prediction market data dashboard, as cited by Cointelegraph, shows that Kalshi recorded about $40 billion in monthly notional trading volume in August. That compares with roughly $874 million a year earlier, an increase of around 4,500%.
Looking across the broader prediction-market sector, the same Dune Analytics dashboard indicates that monthly notional volume rose to $50.7 billion from about $2 billion over the same period. Kalshi accounted for nearly 79% of that latest total, meaning the company is not only growing but also increasingly dominant within the category.
Sports contracts were central to this activity. Barron’s reported Thursday that sports-related contracts made up 83% of Kalshi’s trading volume in July. That skew is notable because it aligns with the regulatory focus of the ongoing court dispute—raising the stakes for what happens next if courts determine that certain event contracts should be handled differently.
International interest rises, even where access is restricted
Kalshi’s audience has expanded beyond the United States, though its traffic footprint remains heavily weighted toward the US. Similarweb estimates reviewed by Cointelegraph show that Canada generated about 450,000 visits to Kalshi’s website in July, up from roughly 50,000 in August 2025. UK visits also increased, reaching 296,000 in July from 31,000 a year earlier.
However, both countries fall into a category of restricted jurisdictions under Kalshi’s member agreement, which currently prohibits users from directly accessing or trading on the platform. Kalshi previously addressed this by partnering with Canadian financial services firm Wealthsimple in June to provide access to nearly 4,000 eligible Kalshi contracts through a separate app, as described in Kalshi’s announcement.
Even with visit counts increasing, the share of traffic from these restricted jurisdictions declined over the same period. From August 2025 to July 2026, Canada’s share slipped to 2.3% from 3.8%, while the UK’s share fell to 1.5% from 2.4%—suggesting that Kalshi’s overall growth is outpacing growth in these regions or that US traffic is rising even more quickly.
Cointelegraph reached out to Kalshi for comment on traffic from restricted jurisdictions but had not received a response by publication.
What investors and users should watch next
Kalshi’s traffic and volume growth point to strong demand for event-based markets, especially sports-driven contracts, but the company’s legal situation remains the key uncertainty. With the Supreme Court dispute now in view, readers should watch how court outcomes or compliance changes affect Kalshi’s product offerings—particularly contract types that have drawn the most regulatory attention.
Crypto World
American Outdoors Soars 35% After Recovering From Tariff Losses
The great outdoors is leading to a great stock rally. On Friday, shares of American Outdoor Brands (AOUT) shot up roughly 35% after a blowout earnings call, as it recovered from a tariff-stricken fiscal year. American Outdoor Brands sells hunting and fishing equipment, gun accessories and camping gear under a variety of different brands. It had formerly been the parent…
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Crypto World
Trezor Data Breach Impacts 67,000 More US Customers
Trezor says the fallout from a data exposure tied to its shipping partner is wider than it first indicated. In a Friday post on X, the hardware wallet provider updated the number of potentially impacted US customers, saying an additional 67,000 people may have had their full order details exposed.
The company stressed that its own systems were not breached. However, it warned that exposed information—such as names, email addresses, shipping addresses, and order specifics—could still be used by criminals to target victims with convincing phishing attempts. The goal, Trezor said, would be to trick users into revealing seed phrases, the credentials that control funds stored in hardware wallets.
Key takeaways
- Trezor’s latest update suggests the shipping-related exposure may involve an additional 67,000 US customers.
- Company systems were not compromised, but order records were reportedly not deleted by the shipping provider for certain customer orders.
- Trezor believes the main risk is impersonation-based phishing aimed at extracting wallet seed phrases.
- Earlier estimates put the exposure at 14,000 users, indicating the scope expanded after further information from ShipMonk.
- Investors and wallet users should treat any “Trezor support” messages as suspicious until verified through official channels.
Updated scope: more US customers at potential risk
Trezor’s Friday X update referenced a new report from its shipping provider, ShipMonk. The hardware wallet firm said the affected population includes US customers who placed orders between November 2019 and August 2021. According to Trezor, these customers may have had their complete details exposed, including identity and contact information, delivery addresses, and order-specific data.
This revision matters because it changes the number of people who may need to take additional precautions. Trezor initially estimated in August that only 14,000 users had their data exposed through ShipMonk. The new figure indicates that the problem’s reach was underestimated at the time—or that additional affected orders were identified as the investigation progressed.
What was exposed—and why it can still be dangerous
Trezor said the exposed records included the full set of personal and purchase information that bad actors typically need to make impersonation scams credible. That includes users’ names, email addresses, shipping addresses, and order specifics.
Even though Trezor said its systems were not breached, the company argued that the exposed information could be used to carry out more targeted social engineering. The concern is not just general spam or list-based fraud; it is the possibility of messages that appear to come from Trezor, designed to pressure recipients into revealing their seed phrases or otherwise compromising their wallets.
In other words, attackers may not need technical access to a wallet to cause loss. If a scam convincingly imitates the legitimate support process—or references a customer’s order to establish trust—victims may be more likely to comply.
Why impersonation scams keep costing the industry
Security research underscores how effective phishing and related social engineering can be in crypto. In the first quarter, blockchain security firm Hacken reported that social engineering and phishing drove most of the industry’s losses. According to Hacken, these attacks accounted for $306 million of $482 million total losses in that period.
The mechanics are often straightforward: fraudsters send messages that mimic trusted brands, then guide victims toward actions that compromise accounts or keys. Trezor’s warning fits that pattern, targeting the most sensitive asset in self-custody setups—the seed phrase.
Earlier coverage also highlighted how phishing can lead to direct on-chain loss. In July, a crypto investor reportedly lost nearly $1 million after signing a malicious phishing token approval transaction on Ethereum.
Trezor’s prior communications and what remains unclear
While the latest update expands the number of potentially impacted customers, it aligns with earlier disclosures that Trezor had been tracking risk tied to contact and support interactions. In January 2024, Trezor reported that about 66,000 users were at risk of phishing attacks if they had contacted the company’s support team since December 2021.
That earlier statement focused on a different slice of risk—support-related contact—whereas the new update centers on order-related data tied to shipping. Taken together, the communications suggest that Trezor’s threat model evolved as more information became available and as different parts of the customer journey were assessed.
One important point remains: Trezor continues to state that its systems were not compromised. The danger appears to come from information that may have been retained or not deleted by the shipping provider for certain orders, enabling third parties to craft more personalized scams.
What readers should watch next is whether Trezor provides further detail on mitigation steps—particularly how it plans to reach potentially exposed customers—and whether additional countries or time ranges are affected. The company’s current update is limited to additional 67,000 US customers in the November 2019 to August 2021 window, but future revisions are possible if ShipMonk’s findings expand again.
For now, the practical takeaway for hardware wallet holders is to be especially cautious of any outreach that claims to be from Trezor, especially if it references an order. Verify through official channels before taking any action, and treat requests involving seed phrases as an immediate red flag.
Crypto World
Binance flags 4 tokens and removes 14 from Alpha
Binance placed four cryptocurrencies under its Monitoring Tag on Sept. 4 while separately removing 14 tokens from the Binance Alpha recommendation list.
Summary
- Binance added AVA, GNS, SCR and TOWNS to its Monitoring Tag list on September 4.
- Tagged tokens remain tradable but face additional reviews and possible delisting if standards are unmet.
- Binance Alpha removed fourteen tokens from recommendations while preserving users’ withdrawal and selling functions afterward.
- The Alpha removals do not automatically remove those assets from Binance’s main spot exchange listings.
- Monitoring decisions consider liquidity, development, network security, communications, tokenomics and project team conduct during reviews.
AVA, Gains Network, Scroll and Towns Protocol received the Monitoring Tag following the exchange’s latest project reviews. The designation warns users that the tokens carry higher volatility and risk than other assets listed on the main Binance exchange.
In a separate notice, Binance Alpha removed MTP, BDXN, TALE, BOS, MAIGA, TIMI, SAROS, U, SERAPH, RVV, AIAV, PENGUIN, ODOS and SN3. Selling and withdrawals remain available for those assets.
Binance Monitoring Tag places four tokens under review
The Monitoring Tag does not immediately remove AVA, GNS, SCR or TOWNS from trading. Related Binance services also remain available following the designation, according to the exchange.
Instead, Binance will review the four projects more frequently. A token could eventually be delisted if the exchange determines that it no longer meets its listing requirements. Binance did not identify a separate violation or specific weakness for each project.
The exchange’s review criteria include trading volume, liquidity, development activity and the project team’s continuing commitment. Binance also examines network security, smart contract stability, public communication and responses to its due diligence requests.
Other considerations include token supply increases, changes to tokenomics and evidence of fraudulent, unethical or negligent conduct. Binance said it could add or remove the tag after future reviews.
Users trading Monitoring Tag assets on Binance Spot or Margin are generally required to complete a risk-awareness quiz every 90 days. They must also accept the exchange’s applicable terms. These requirements are intended to ensure traders understand the possibility of heightened volatility or delisting.
Binance Alpha removes 14 recommended assets
The Binance Alpha removals took effect at 16:30 UTC+8 on Sept. 4. Alpha is an early-stage token discovery feature within Binance Wallet rather than the exchange’s main spot market.
Removal from Alpha therefore differs from a full Binance spot delisting. It means the assets no longer appear on Alpha’s selected-token list, but it does not automatically terminate listings or services available through other Binance products.
The affected projects include Multiple Network’s MTP, Bondex Token’s BDXN, PrompTale AI’s TALE, BitcoinOS’s BOS and Maiga.ai’s MAIGA. MetaArena’s TIMI, Saros, Union, SERAPH and REVIVE were also removed.
The remaining assets are AI Avatar, Nietzschean Penguin, Odos and Nebula3. Binance said the projects did not meet Alpha’s standards following its latest review but did not publish individual reasons for each decision.
Users can withdraw the tokens through the Alpha assets page. They can also sell them using Alpha’s instant-order function or trade supported assets through Binance Wallet’s market interface.
Alpha removal is different from spot delisting
Binance Alpha provides access to early-stage projects that can carry limited liquidity and sharp price volatility. Inclusion does not guarantee that a token will receive a full Binance spot listing.
Likewise, removal does not mean the main exchange has delisted the token. Binance advised users to conduct independent research before trading the affected assets outside Binance Wallet.
A full spot delisting normally includes separate deadlines for trading, deposits and withdrawals. It may also affect futures, margin, loans, Earn products and other services. None of those broader deadlines were announced for the 14 Alpha tokens.
As crypto.news previously reported, Binance removed 20 other tokens from Alpha in May while separately preparing five assets for spot delisting. The two processes followed different notices and user deadlines.
Monitoring Tags can precede delisting without guaranteeing it
Monitoring Tags serve as warnings rather than final delisting decisions. Binance can remove a tag if a project addresses identified concerns and satisfies subsequent reviews.
However, tagged tokens face a heightened possibility of removal. In August, Binance delisted six cryptocurrencies after four had previously received Monitoring Tags. As crypto.news reported, withdrawals for those six assets remained open until October.
The latest announcement did not provide a deadline for the next review of AVA, GNS, SCR or TOWNS. Their project teams can respond publicly, but Binance retains control over its exchange listing decisions.
No verified market data established a common price reaction across all 18 affected assets when the notices were published. Price changes should therefore not be attributed to Binance’s decisions without token-specific trading evidence.
Crypto World
Crypto Price Analysis Sep-04: ETH, XRP, ADA, BNB, and HYPE
This Friday, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid in greater detail.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum was flat this week. Still, the price held well above the support at $2,400. However, the volume has been falling since the initial rally, and volatility has decreased significantly compared to the early days.
While a consolidation period is normal, this is also a period of weakness in the price action when sellers could make their return. Nevertheless, as long as the key support is not challenged, buyers continue to have the upper hand.
Looking ahead, ETH must stay above $2,400 if it wants the rally to continue. So far, buyers appear in control, but the road towards $2,800 could be bumpier compared to the past few weeks.

Ripple (XRP)
XRP was also mostly flat this week, booking a modest 2% gain. The price has been moving sideways between $1.3 and the resistance at $1.6. This range also kept the price in check between February and May this year.
To get momentum back, this cryptocurrency will need to break away from this range. That will likely see volume and volatility return as well. Based on the current price action, buyers have the advantage, but this could change if they fail to clear $1.6.
Looking ahead, the market is showing some indecision here after a strong pump. While a continuation would put an end to the bear market, it is still too early to say this is it. That’s why buyers may be hesitating here.

Cardano (ADA)
ADA closed 5% higher this week after a good push from buyers, with the price retesting resistance at $0.23. At the time of this post, the resistance remains intact but could be put under pressure by any renewed buying.
For Cardano to confirm a bottom under $0.15, the price has to move beyond its current resistance. Buyers were rejected there in August. However, another push in September could be successful.
Looking ahead, this cryptocurrency is ripe for a strong rally as soon as $0.23 turns into a key support. That can easily see ADA move towards $0.30 and $0.40 if buying volume picks up.

Binance Coin (BNB)
This week, Binance Coin held well above the support at $690, but did not manage to distance itself much beyond that. That’s the reason why the price is up only 1% in the past seven days.
While momentum has been decreasing, BNB is very close to making a higher high. Any price above $745 would confirm it and likely see this cryptocurrency continue its rally towards $900 next.
Looking ahead, the market may be taking a pause right now before momentum returns. While the price action favors a continuation of the rally, a higher high is needed to give it confidence.

Hype (HYPE)
This week, Hyperliquid managed to break above the $85 resistance and closed 4% higher. This both confirmed a higher high and new price record. The question is if this level can hold as support or sellers will turn it into a resistance again.
If the latter, then buyers will likely move to the support at $76 next to defend the recent gains. Still, HYPE has been in a rally for weeks without any significant pullback or correction. One should be expected eventually.
Looking ahead, HYPE could continue its push higher until it hits the psychological level at $100. Sellers could be making a stand there if buyers decide to go for it. But for now, best to watch the price reaction at $85 in the coming days.

The post Crypto Price Analysis Sep-04: ETH, XRP, ADA, BNB, and HYPE appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
FinCEN flags $12.7B tied to Southeast Asia crypto investment scams
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has linked approximately $12.7 billion in suspicious financial activity to digital asset investment scams largely run from overseas scam compounds, based on nearly 34,000 reports filed over more than two years.
Summary
- FinCEN linked roughly $12.7 billion in suspicious activity to crypto investment scams after reviewing 33,904 reports filed from September 2023 through December 2025.
- Money services businesses, mostly crypto firms, filed 55% of the reports and flagged $5.5 billion, while banks reported another $6.4 billion.
- Scammers used at least 22 digital assets, but proceeds were usually converted into stablecoins and almost exclusively into USDT before being moved through DeFi protocols or overseas exchanges.
- Older adults appeared in about 25% of reports, while victims across all 50 states funded losses through retirement accounts, mortgages, home equity and personal loans.
- Many operations were tied to scam compounds in Cambodia, Laos and Burma, where hundreds of thousands of workers have been trafficked through fake job offers.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Thursday that its analysis covered 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed by roughly 1,300 financial institutions between Sept. 8, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2025, giving regulators a view of how money moved through banks, crypto businesses and securities firms as victims were drawn into fraudulent investment schemes.
FinCEN described the operations as digital asset investment scams, sometimes called pig butchering, romance baiting or cryptocurrency confidence schemes. Criminal groups commonly use fake identities and relationships to gain victims’ trust before directing them toward fraudulent crypto investments.
The activity identified in the filings reached victims across all 50 states and several U.S. territories.
Crypto firms and banks flagged billions in scam activity
Money services businesses submitted 55% of the reports reviewed by FinCEN and identified $5.5 billion in suspicious activity. Most of the firms in that group were digital asset businesses.
Banks accounted for 41% of filings and reported $6.4 billion, while securities firms and other financial institutions made up the remaining share, with $784.5 million flagged.
Reporting increased throughout the period covered by the analysis. The monthly number of filings rose by an average of 10.9%, while the amount of reported suspicious activity increased by an average of 18%.
In October 2023, financial institutions submitted 590 reports involving $485.7 million. By December 2025, the monthly total had climbed to 2,482 reports covering $833.5 million.
FinCEN cautioned against treating the $12.7 billion total as a direct measure of victim losses. Suspicious activity reports can include attempted transactions, transfers reported by more than one institution and mistakes by filers, creating the possibility of double counting. The rise in filings may partly stem from increased use of the search term introduced in the agency’s 2023 alert on pig butchering scams.
Scam operators relied on familiar digital assets instead of creating tokens specifically for the fraud. At least 22 cryptocurrencies appeared in the filings, with Ethereum, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC among the most commonly identified assets.
Regardless of what victims initially purchased, blockchain analysis cited by FinCEN found that proceeds were usually converted into stablecoins, almost exclusively USDT. The funds were then routed through decentralized finance protocols or digital asset exchanges outside the United States.
Repeated use of the same collection addresses provided another trail. Some financial institutions identified addresses receiving transfers from multiple victims at the same time, helping them connect seemingly separate transactions to the same scam network.
The use of stablecoins has appeared repeatedly in enforcement actions involving the same type of fraud. As crypto.news previously reported, the U.S. Secret Service worked with Coinbase to trace and recover USDT tied to pig butchering schemes in 2025. The Department of Justice sought the seizure of $225 million in USDT after investigators linked the funds to Southeast Asian fraud networks.
FinCEN finds older Americans were not disproportionately targeted
Older Americans appeared in roughly one-quarter of the suspicious activity reports, close to their share of the U.S. population.
FinCEN found elder exploitation in around 25% of the filings, compared with the 24.4% share of the population aged 60 or older. Based on that comparison, the agency concluded that older adults were neither disproportionately victimized nor disproportionately deprived of funds within the dataset.
Financial damage could still be severe. The FBI recorded $4.8 billion in fraud losses among Americans over 60 in 2024, a figure later cited by senators who introduced the GUARD Act to provide resources for blockchain tracing by local law enforcement.
Victims frequently financed transfers with money outside their regular savings. FinCEN found cases involving retirement accounts, home equity lines of credit, second mortgages and personal loans. One woman transferred nearly $640,000 from her retirement fund, while another victim lost more than $1 million over six months.
The agency devoted part of its analysis to the psychological toll of the schemes, warning that some victims may face a risk of self-harm after discovering that their money has been stolen. FinCEN directed people in crisis to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Southeast Asia scam compounds rely on trafficked workers
Many of the criminal organizations identified by authorities operate from industrial-scale compounds in Cambodia, Laos and Burma, where workers can be recruited through fake employment offers before being confined and forced to participate in fraud.
The United Nations has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into such operations, while Interpol has warned that the scam-center model has spread outside Southeast Asia.
Crypto transactions connected with human trafficking rose sharply in 2025. A February 2026 Chainalysis study found that crypto-linked trafficking payments increased 85% during the year across tracked services, including labor recruiters associated with Southeast Asian scam compounds. Stablecoins, laundering networks and regional escrow platforms were among the payment channels identified by the blockchain analytics firm.
Authorities have since pursued the financial infrastructure supporting the compounds. In March, the FBI and Thai police froze roughly $580 million in cryptocurrency and seized around 8,000 phones in an operation against organized pig butchering groups accused of targeting Americans.
The networks can extend beyond the people directly contacting victims. FinCEN said scam-center operators use online “guarantee marketplaces” to buy services including phishing tools, online accounts and money laundering. Professional money launderers can create shell companies and financial accounts, recruit money mules and route stablecoins through exchanges outside the United States.
Cambodia-based Huione became one of the most prominent examples of that infrastructure. Chinese authorities took custody of a former Huione Group chairman in April after the network had been linked to more than $89 billion in crypto transactions. U.S. authorities had previously designated Huione Group a primary money laundering concern over its alleged role in processing proceeds connected to Southeast Asian scams and other illicit activity.
U.S. authorities have expanded efforts to recover scam proceeds
American agencies have increasingly used blockchain tracing, asset freezes and cooperation with foreign law enforcement to pursue funds tied to the compounds.
FinCEN said its Rapid Response Program has interdicted $1.8 billion since 2015 and recovered just over $1 billion for 5,790 U.S. victims. The program allows the agency to quickly share financial intelligence with foreign financial intelligence units and seek intervention before suspected fraudulent transfers are moved beyond recovery.
The agency’s latest alert gives financial institutions indicators for identifying transactions connected to scam centers and encourages voluntary information sharing under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act. FinCEN said such sharing can help institutions identify activity involving money laundering while providing qualifying participants with liability protections.
The scale of enforcement has continued to rise in 2026. U.S. prosecutors have pursued networks accused of combining investment fraud with forced labor, including the Cambodia-based Prince Group. Authorities sought forfeiture of more than 127,000 Bitcoin linked to its founder Chen Zhi, while prosecutors alleged workers confined in scam compounds were forced to contact prospective victims and direct them toward fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.
In January, Cambodian authorities detained Chen and transferred him to China. U.S. and U.K. authorities have accused him and Prince Group of involvement in cryptocurrency fraud, money laundering and forced-labor operations, allegations the company has denied.
FinCEN urged victims of cyber-enabled fraud to contact their financial institutions immediately and file complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or their nearest U.S. Secret Service field office.
Crypto World
Token Buybacks Are Booming. Are They Good For Crypto Projects?
As the industry matures and borrows more pages out of TradiFi’s playbook, crypto projects are starting to adopt some of the behaviors of public companies.
The latest craze rocking cryptoville is token buybacks: using revenue to buy back your own token.
So far in 2026, crypto projects have spent about $640 million on the practice, up around 17% from the same period the year prior, and an order of magnitude more than the $366,000 spent in 2024. Hyperliquid and Pump.fun accounting for almost 90% of the current spend.
So what’s the sudden appeal?
Buybacks can create demand for a token, while burns can reduce the supply making each token more valuable. That dynamic can cause upward pressure on the token price.
It also gives holders a more tangible connection to the economic activity on the underlying protocol. Orest Gavryliak, chief legal officer at decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch, tells Magazine:
“When projects implement revenue-funded buybacks and burns, they typically have one of two objectives in mind: either to decrease the token supply in circulation or to demonstrate the rationale for investing in protocol revenues.”
Gavryliak says that telling users a project has “bought and burned tokens” is “much more straightforward” than explaining how governance rights work, how fees are set, or how the protocol is used.
Related: Pump.fun laid off workers before they received millions in PUMP tokens: Report
But there’s a flipside: every dollar a protocol spends buying its token is a dollar it could have spent hiring developers, expanding the business, strengthening its balance sheet or building the product.
So, as buybacks become one of crypto’s hottest tokenomics tools, are they actually good for the projects using them?
Why crypto projects are buying themselves
You might wonder if projects buying their own token is counterproductive. After all, projects typically sell tokens to raise funds to cover costs.
Almost, but with an important caveat. Using revenue generated to buy back tokens (and then to hold them or burn them) creates an implicit connection between the success of the protocol and the value of its token. That’s something crypto projects have long struggled with. As Max Shannon, senior research associate at Bitwise Europe, explains:
“Buybacks and burns remain an effective way to accrue value to tokenholders: they create a continuous bid in the open market for the token, directly tethering token success to the platform’s adoption.”
That marks a sea-change for an industry that has spent the past couple of years chasing narratives or speculating on the greater fool theory — users who bought Fartcoin or Peanut the Squirrel didn’t do so for their sound economic models.
Some protocols are taking the idea much further than others. Hyperliquid, for example, has used 99% of its revenue to buy back and burn HYPE and 50% of Pump.fun’s revenue goes toward buying and burning its token, with $446.65 million worth of PUMP already removed from circulation.

HYPE Burns. Source: Hyperliquid
DeFi infrastructure protocol Spark offers a slightly different model, acquiring over 143 million SPK through open-market buybacks funded by protocol surplus, according to co-founder and chief executive Sam MacPherson.
But those tokens were not burned, and instead remain in the Spark treasury to reward long-term participants in the ecosystem. MacPherson tells Magazine the point is not simply to reduce supply:
“Tokenholders should participate in the long-term economic success of the protocol, rather than simply receive a distribution every time it generates revenue.”
He says buybacks allow Spark to create that alignment while “retaining flexibility over how and when the acquired SPK is ultimately deployed,” allowing the protocol to make its token economically relevant rather than “a simple dividend mechanism.”
Token buybacks are also a highly tax effective way to return revenue to holders, because users don’t cop a hefty tax bill on dividends or rewards.
Is buying the token really the best use of the money?
While that all sounds perfectly rational, the bigger question is whether buying your own token is really the best use of a project’s funds?
Probably not in every case. MacPherson says:
“The question should be: what is the highest-value use of the next dollar of surplus?”
If a protocol can reinvest capital at attractive returns, he says, that can be “far more valuable” than simply distributing revenue as it arrives.

PUMP Burns. Source: Pump.fun
Buybacks can support token economics without actually improving the underlying business.
There is also no ironclad guarantee that buybacks will translate into higher token prices. Pump.fun has been aggressively buying and burning PUMP since July 2025, but the token is still hovering 50% below its September 2025 all-time high. UNI has also given back around half of the gains it made after Uniswap unveiled its UNIfication proposal in November 2025.
Related: Robinhood Chain nears $1B TVL as Uniswap drives liquidity: Standard Chartered
Shannon points out that “many factors” contributed to those price movements, so they don’t prove buybacks failed, but:
“They have prompted investors to debate whether these startup-like projects would be better served by reducing the share of revenue committed to buybacks and burns and reinvesting more in the team and the project itself.”
Investors should make a careful distinction between a buyback scheme that pumps prices, and a successful business model.
A sustainable protocol that generates genuine surplus may decide that buying its token is the best use of some of that money, but equally a project that’s limping along might simply attempt to buyback tokens to move the price. MacPherson notes:
“A buyback doesn’t make an unsustainable protocol sustainable.”
When a token starts looking like a stock
While token buybacks may superficially resemble share buyback program, that doesn’t mean tokens are becoming more like stocks.

UNI is down around 50% since it started buybacks and burns. Source: Coingecko
A shareholder owns part of a company and may have voting rights, dividends or a claim on its residual assets. Tokenholders generally do not have those same legal rights, and Orest says that distinction is critical. “This is a market mechanism, not a legally enforceable entitlement,” he says.
MacPherson describes SPK as a form of “pseudo-equity” for an onchain protocol. While there isn’t a legal ownership structure in the traditional corporate sense, economically Spark is “trying to create many of the same characteristics: participation in governance, long-term alignment, and a mechanism through which those most committed to the protocol can benefit from its success.”
When buybacks start looking like dividends
But as crypto starts to emulate TradFi buybacks, storm clouds may be gathering on the horizon, as regulators consider what those mechanisms actually amount to.
While the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act of 2025 remains a draft and should not be treated as settled law, Gavryliak says its proposed framework highlights the key question of where a token’s value comes from:
“If it stems from the functionality of the network itself, then the asset looks like a commodity. But if the value is based on the efforts of the project’s team in matters of shipping, marketing, or providing returns to token holders, then it is already a security. In the end, don’t put the clothes of a stock on the token and expect it to be a commodity.”
At the end of the day, crypto investors want to know what sits underneath a token — revenue, users, sustainable economics — and some credible way for the token to benefit from those things.
While buybacks may offer a solution, they can also be just another piece of financial engineering that makes a token look more valuable than it actually is without fixing the issues underneath, as Gavryliak points out:
“If the buybacks stopped, would there still be a reason to hold the token? If the answer is no, the problem runs deeper than tokenomics.”
Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.
Crypto World
Bitcoin and Gold Crash As US Payrolls Crush Forecasts
Bitcoin (BTC) and gold both dropped within minutes of Friday’s US jobs report, after August payrolls came in at nearly three times what economists expected.
The print revived bets on a September Federal Reserve rate hike. That hit the two assets that had spent the week rallying on expectations of a hold.
Payrolls Triple Forecasts and Flip July Positive
The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, against a consensus near 56,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the prior 12-month average monthly gain at just 31,000.
Revisions did more damage to the slowdown case than the headline did. July’s reported loss of 23,000 jobs became a gain of 21,000. June moved up to 31,000 from 20,000.
Unemployment held at 4.1%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% to $37.75, lifting the annual pace to 3.1% and beating the 3.0% forecast.
Bitcoin Loses $80,000 in a Single Candle
Bitcoin traded at $81,340 before the release. It fell to $79,661 inside one five-minute candle, a 1.80% drop, and last changed hands near $79,860.
Gold offered no shelter. The metal slid from $4,473 to $4,376 an ounce, a 1.75% loss, in the same window.
Leverage magnified both moves. CoinGlass logged $201.33 million in liquidations in one hour, $186.01 million of it in longs, taking the 24-hour total to $750.29 million.
BeInCrypto reported hours earlier that Fed hike odds had slipped to a coin flip, and asked whether Bitcoin’s move above $80,000 would hold. It did not.
Warsh Fed Back in Play Before CPI
Hike odds sat near 66% at the end of August. They halved this week after Governor Christopher Waller signaled support for a hold, a shift that carried Bitcoin and gold higher together.
August reverses that logic. Firm wages and upward revisions hand Chair Kevin Warsh the tight labor market his hiking case needs.
The mirror image came a month ago, when a weak July print drove gold futures higher on Binance. Friday ran the trade in reverse.
Consumer price data lands September 11, five days before the Fed decides. A soft inflation print could still undo Friday’s repricing.
The post Bitcoin and Gold Crash As US Payrolls Crush Forecasts appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
Bitcoin price stalls near $82K as key resistance holds
Bitcoin price pulled back after briefly breaking above $82,000 on Sept. 4, as traders took profits following a short squeeze driven by softer Federal Reserve expectations and renewed demand for US spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Summary
- Bitcoin price retreated toward $81,150 after reaching an intraday high above $82,000.
- The 4-hour RSI reached 67.3, while the upper Bollinger Band stood near $82,034.
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs reportedly attracted $730.8 million in net inflows on Sept. 3.
- Liquidation clusters sit near $82,000 above price and between $79,800 and $80,300 below it.
Bitcoin price pulls back after testing $82,000
According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price traded near $81,150 at the time of writing, having failed to hold an intraday move above the $82,000 psychological level. The pullback left the asset about 1% below its local high but still well above the $80,000 mark reclaimed during the previous session.
The rally accelerated after Bitcoin moved out of a range around $77,000–$79,000. Short sellers were forced to close leveraged positions as the price crossed $80,000, adding automatic buy orders to the market.
CoinGlass data cited by market reports showed that the broader crypto market recorded more than $500 million in liquidations during the rally, with short positions accounting for most of the total. Bitcoin shorts reportedly absorbed about $415 million of those losses.
Price action has since slowed near a technically important area. Galaxy Research data shared by analyst Quinten François placed Bitcoin’s 50-week moving average near $81,041, almost level with the current market price.
According to François, Bitcoin has not closed a weekly candle above that moving average since November 2025. He said a move through $82,800 would also produce the first higher high of the broader downtrend and bring $90,000 back into consideration.
Fed expectations and ETF inflows supported the rally
Bitcoin’s recovery followed a drop in expectations for another US interest-rate increase in September. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said policymakers could keep rates unchanged if incoming inflation data confirms that price pressures are cooling.
The probability of a September rate increase fell from about 63% to nearly 50% after Waller’s comments, according to CME FedWatch. Lower Treasury yields and a weaker dollar accompanied the shift, improving conditions for risk assets.
The move also followed softer US private employment figures. ADP reported weaker job growth than economists expected, adding to the view that the Fed may have less room to tighten monetary policy further.
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs provided another source of demand. François, citing Galaxy Research data, said the products recorded $730.8 million in combined net inflows on Sept. 3. The figure marked a sharp improvement from the mixed flows recorded at the beginning of the month.
US investors will now focus on the August employment report and upcoming inflation readings. Waller has not ruled out a hike, meaning stronger inflation data could reverse part of the market’s recent repricing.
Bitcoin technical indicators favor buyers above $78,000
The daily chart shows that Bitcoin has recovered above its major moving averages. The 20-day simple moving average stands near $75,700, while the 50-day and 100-day averages sit at approximately $68,845 and $66,405, respectively.

Bitcoin is also above its 200-day moving average near $69,665. The separation between price and the shorter moving averages reflects the strength of the rebound, but it also leaves room for a larger correction if buyers fail to defend the breakout.
The daily Aroon Up reading reached 92.86%, while Aroon Down fell to zero. The indicator shows that a recent high occurred much more recently than a fresh low, supporting the current bullish trend.
Shorter-term readings are less decisive. On the 4-hour chart, Bitcoin is trading close to the upper Bollinger Band at $82,034. The middle band near $78,678 acts as the first mean-reversion target, while the lower band stands around $75,321.

The 4-hour relative strength index was 67.3, just below the conventional overbought threshold of 70. Momentum remains positive, though the reading helps explain why the first move above $82,000 attracted profit-taking.
Liquidation levels frame the next Bitcoin move
The 24-hour CoinGlass liquidation heatmap shows a dense group of leveraged positions between approximately $81,700 and $82,300. A move back through that range could force additional short liquidations and help Bitcoin challenge the next supply area near $83,000–$84,000.

A larger concentration of liquidity is visible below the market between $79,800 and $80,300. Another band sits near $78,900, making both areas possible targets if Bitcoin loses $80,000.
The heatmap does not indicate which level the price will reach first. However, the concentration of leveraged positions on both sides raises the risk of sharp intraday swings as traders approach the weekly close.
Analyst Dami-Defi said Bitcoin had reclaimed a weekly exponential moving-average ribbon extending roughly from $71,000 to $78,000. According to the analyst, weekly closes above $78,000 would preserve the improved structure, while another loss of the ribbon would invalidate the reclaim.
The immediate bullish case requires Bitcoin to close above the 50-week moving average near $81,000 and clear the local high around $82,800. Such a move would expose $84,000, followed by the wider resistance zone between $95,000 and $96,000 identified by Dami-Defi.
Failure to hold $80,000 would instead put the $78,700 Bollinger midpoint and the weekly EMA region near $78,000 back in focus. A deeper decline could extend toward the 20-day moving average around $75,700.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Crypto World
U.S. added stronger than expected 162,000 jobs in August as labor market bounced back

This morning’s report will be key as the Fed considers whether to raise interest rates at its September policy meeting.
Crypto World
Bitcoin Price Plunges After Blowout US Jobs Report: Here’s Why
The US economy added almost three times as many jobs as expected in August, triggering an immediate sell-off for risk-on assets like bitcoin as investors reassess the chances of another Federal Reserve rate hike.
The cryptocurrency’s price had risen to over $81,000 before the news went live, but plunged immediately by $2,000 to $79,200.

More specifically, the US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, according to data shared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The general expectations were for roughly 55,000-58,000 new jobs, which means that the actual numbers were significantly higher. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%.
The July reading was also revised sharply higher, from a previously reported loss of 23,000 jobs to a gain of 21,000. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% monthly and 3.1% annually.
A strong labor market gives the Federal Reserve more room to keep monetary policy tight, which, given Kevin Warsh’s hawkish speech from last week, spells trouble for risk-on assets like bitcoin.
The blowout jobs number weakens one argument for keeping rates unchanged: that the US labor market needs protection from tighter monetary policy. Higher interest-rate expectations typically push Treasury yields and the greenback north while reducing the relative appeal of risk assets.
Although the jobs report does not guarantee a September rate hike, as inflation remains the biggest concern for the US central bank, it certainly gives investors a lot to think about ahead of the CPI data next week.
The post Bitcoin Price Plunges After Blowout US Jobs Report: Here’s Why appeared first on CryptoPotato.
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