Crypto World
America’s Best Incubators and Accelerators of 2026
Accelerators can also become a vital local hub for businesses with good ideas in cities without well-established business networks. Linda Olson, CEO of Tampa Bay Wave (no. 3), founded the nonprofit accelerator because she realized there was no local startup ecosystem in Florida at that time when she was working on her tech startup. “I started a meetup group for fellow founders like me because there was nowhere else just to even get together to talk, and it was really impactful,” she says. “Out of that experience, as an entrepreneur, you want to fix things.”
Her goal was to build a world-class accelerator in a region that has almost no real density of technology startups, no track record, no capital, but a lot of potential. Since 2008, they’ve hosted companies from 30 different countries, and attracted new talent to the region leading to the creation of thousands of jobs. One startup, Refactr, led by a husband and wife pair, was struggling with fundraising and was on the verge of shutting down when they got accepted to Tampa Bay Wave’s program. Within months of completing the program, they landed significant funding that eventually led to an acquisition by British cybersecurity firm Sophos. South Florida is now becoming one of the fastest growing startup hubs.
The new map, signed into law by DeSantis in May 2026, redrew 21 of the state’s 28 districts, looking to reduce the number of Democratic-leaning districts from eight to four—affecting Democratic incumbents like Kathy Castor in Tampa, as well as Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Mokowitz in South Florida.
While District 7 was not radically redrawn, Aubrey Jewett, professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, says that since this new map favors Republicans, flipping the 7th District could help offset any losses elsewhere in the state.
Elijah will go up against Democratic candidate and military veteran Bale Dalton in November, who is endorsed by Pete Buttigieg. Jewett says Dalton could be a viable candidate.
And if Dalton were to win, he says: “That might help not only the Florida congressional delegation pick up a Democratic seat, but of course, yeah, maybe at the national level, might offset some of these losses that they’re expecting.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled proposed rule changes aimed at giving clearer regulatory treatment to certain crypto assets that the agency views as investment contracts. The announcement comes after Congress failed to advance a major market-structure bill before lawmakers entered a month-long recess, leaving the industry to navigate overlapping agency approaches.
In a Tuesday notice, the SEC said it is proposing a “clear and fit-for-purpose framework” for specific investment contracts involving crypto assets. The regulator framed the proposal as a “tailored securities offering regime” designed to let compliant issuers raise capital while maintaining investor protections.
Key takeaways
- The SEC’s proposal would create a tailored offering pathway for some crypto-related investment contracts, emphasizing investor protection obligations.
- There is no “innovation exemption” in the proposal—an element some market participants had expected to be included for tokenized or crypto-adjacent equity products.
- The SEC outlined token issuance limits under exemptions and stated that issuers would need to provide financial statements and ongoing reporting.
- The comment period is set at 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
- The announcement lands amid stalled progress on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, raising the prospect of continued regulatory patchwork.
SEC proposes a tailored securities offering regime for certain crypto assets
The SEC said the rules are intended to offer a “clear and fit-for-purpose framework” for “certain investment contracts involving crypto assets.” According to the agency, the approach would preserve investor protections while providing a more defined compliance route for issuers.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins linked the SEC’s rulemaking effort to the need for legislation, arguing that durable “rules of the road” require congressional action rather than agency-driven fixes that could later be overturned. In remarks cited alongside the proposal, Atkins said legislation remains “indispensable” for future-proofing regulatory guidance.
No innovation exemption—and new rules arrive as CLARITY stalls
A notable omission from the SEC’s proposal is an “innovation exemption” that had been expected by some observers, including in reporting about a possible carve-out for innovation-related structures tied to tokenized stock trading. The absence of that exemption makes the new SEC approach feel more incremental: rather than relaxing classification risk for a broader class of crypto-linked products, the proposal concentrates on providing a structured securities offering pathway where the SEC views investment-contract risk as present.
The timing also matters. The SEC’s notice followed closely after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a bill widely discussed as a way to clarify how federal agencies would oversee and regulate crypto. With that legislation not moving forward, agencies have less congressional direction and more room to pursue their own frameworks—often creating uncertainty for market participants.
Exemptions, token issuance limits, and reporting obligations
According to the proposal, the SEC would provide exemptions for entities that issue tokens under defined caps. The notice describes limits of up to $5 million in tokens over a four-year period and up to $75 million during a 12-month period.
In addition, the SEC said it would include a safe harbor meant to exempt cryptocurrencies from being treated as “investment contracts.” While the details of how that safe harbor would apply are central to investor and issuer decision-making, the SEC’s stated goal is to reduce classification uncertainty for at least some categories of assets.
The SEC also indicated that token issuers would be required to make financial statements and would be subject to ongoing reporting requirements. For issuers evaluating whether they can structure token offerings in a way that reduces regulatory risk, these recurring disclosure duties could be as important as the stated issuance limits.
The SEC’s proposal is open for public feedback: the agency said the public will have 60 days to comment after the rules are published in the Federal Register.
Regulatory coordination pressure: SEC proposal before CFTC crypto meeting
The SEC’s action arrives ahead of a scheduled meeting of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on crypto, AI, and prediction markets. The CFTC has said it planned to address areas where regulatory action can “complement” future congressional legislation.
This sequencing underscores the current dynamic in U.S. crypto regulation: when Congress does not deliver comprehensive market-structure reforms, agencies fill the gap—sometimes in ways that are difficult for issuers and exchanges to anticipate or map to a consistent national framework.
SEC Chair Atkins had been scheduled to speak at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium on Tuesday, but canceled amid the SEC announcement. Separately, White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt told attendees at the event that regulators could act more aggressively if Congress cannot move forward on CLARITY—another signal that the regulatory environment may continue shifting even without new statutes.
CLARITY prospects as Senate calendar narrows
As the SEC moves forward with its own rulemaking, the prospects for the CLARITY Act depend on a tight legislative window. Before the Senate broke for August state work periods, Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture to take up the CLARITY bill when lawmakers return in mid-September.
After the August recess, senators reportedly have just 14 days in session before another break ahead of the November election. If a floor vote cannot be secured within that timeframe, the Senate would have another 22 days in session before 2027, when new members of Congress would be sworn in. That calendar structure could affect how quickly—if at all—CLARITY is resolved during the current Congress.
What to watch next
Issuers and investors should focus on how the SEC justifies the boundaries of its safe harbor, the mechanics behind the token issuance caps, and what ongoing reporting the proposal would require. With CLARITY still uncertain and comment periods now looming, the next signals to watch are how industry participants respond in filings—and whether the CFTC’s upcoming agenda further clarifies how crypto markets will be regulated across agencies.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the CLARITY Act is key to linking crypto and traditional markets.
Bonds are slamming stocks just days after Wall Street set fresh records. A global bond selloff is now pushing borrowing costs to multi-decade highs.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell to two-week lows on Tuesday. In contrast, long-dated Treasury yields jumped to their highest levels in nearly two decades.
Records, Then a Reversal
The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,798.99 on Aug. 13. Cooling inflation data and strong AI-linked earnings had powered that rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had also set an AI-earnings record close alongside the S&P 500 on Aug. 5. However, the mood flipped just days later.
The Nasdaq Composite slid to a two-week low as semiconductor stocks tumbled, denting a record-setting 2026 rally.
How Bonds Are Slamming Stocks
The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.748%, its highest since January 2025. The 30-year yield reached 5.33%, its highest level in 19 years.
The rout is not just American. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield reached a 30-year high of 2.945% this week.
The gap between short-term and long-term US yields is now the widest in four years. That steepening signals investors are demanding more compensation for long-run risk.
Renewed doubts over a Middle East peace deal pushed oil prices higher, fanning inflation fears. Meanwhile, a record wave of corporate bond issuance is competing with government debt for investor cash.
Issuance has totaled nearly $1.7 trillion so far in 2026, according to SIFMA data. That pace is on track to top last year’s record of $2.2 trillion.
A Moving Market is Worth a Look
Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.5% and Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.5% in sympathy. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index tumbled 5% as investors reassessed AI-linked valuations.
In contrast, the pullback lends weight to Fundstrat’s Tom Lee. He has said a 10% market correction may be needed before the S&P 500 can sustainably clear 8,000.
Wednesday’s Federal Reserve minutes may decide whether this pause holds or the selloff deepens. Investors are already positioning for that Fed minutes preview, the next major catalyst for both stocks and bonds.
The post Wall Street Notches Records, Then Bonds Slam Stocks Back Down appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Andrew Yang, the 2020 presidential candidate, renewed his call for an AI tax on CNBC’s Power Lunch. He argues the government should tax artificial intelligence (AI) instead of payroll.
Yang co-founded the Forward Party and now runs Noble Mobile as chief executive. He said firms skip payroll taxes and healthcare costs by choosing AI over new hires.
Andrew Yang’s AI Tax Push
Yang built his political brand on automation warnings during his 2020 campaign. He proposed a universal basic income plan he called the Freedom Dividend. He also backed cryptocurrency adoption and clearer digital asset rules as a candidate.
His comments echo remarks from March, when he told CNBC’s Squawk Box the government should stop taxing labor. That debate has also drawn similar AI job displacement concerns from sitting US senators.
Yang pointed to Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, who floated a 3% AI revenue tax in 2025. Amodei said the levy would apply each time a model generates revenue.
Yang said the same logic should apply broadly. However, he argued it would force firms to weigh AI costs against payroll costs.
What the Data Shows
A CNBC and Generation Lab survey published August 13 polled Americans aged 18 to 34. It found 45% expect AI to hurt their careers, while only 10% expect it to help.
Bridgewater Associates executives Greg Jensen and Nir Bar Dea wrote a New York Times opinion piece. They estimated AI could displace 18% of current US jobs within five years.
The pair used that estimate to back their own AI token tax proposal, echoing Amodei’s earlier idea. Meanwhile, the shift is already visible in customer service. The sector employs roughly 2.9 million Americans, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Yang proposed sending the tax revenue directly to workers as checks. He said retraining programs rarely help displaced workers find new careers. He pointed to past efforts aimed at coal miners and warehouse staff as examples that largely failed.
The post Ex-Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Pushes for AI Tax Over Payroll Tax appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Taken as a whole, the methodology rewards what can be observed from the outside. Capital raised, deals done, and marquee portfolio names are all visible; the money actually returned to limited partners, for the most part, is not. Firms that are big, busy, and prominent will therefore do well, and on the whole they deserve to. But the ranking is best read as a measure of franchise strength rather than of skill per dollar invested.
Every ranking methodology reflects the objectives of its creators. I also co-created a methodology for assessing VC firms, with an emphasis on the economically relevant portions of the net profits generated by individual VCs’ investments. What the two lists agree on is as informative as where they part. Both put the same handful of firms, which have been prominent for a decade or more, at the very top; firms such as Sequoia, a16z, and Lightspeed. That agreement is real: the elite of the American VC industry is very select, relatively stable, and well capitalized. Below that, of the roughly 110 firms in TIME’s top 200 that do not appear in ours, only fifteen are ones we rule out by definition: accelerators such as Plug and Play, angel networks, corporate vehicles, asset managers. We include some VC firms that are ineligible for TIME’s ranking (Meritech, Dragoneer, Addition, and Inflection Ventures all place in our top 100). We agree on the other firms: we simply score them lower. In other words, the industry has reached consensus on its top performers but not on the tier beneath it. For a founder or an allocator, that is the practical lesson: past the first twenty names, “top firm” is a claim about which yardstick you picked.
Bybit intercepted more than $700 million in potential user losses between January 1 and June 15, blocking over 30,000 suspicious withdrawal requests and protecting close to 20,000 users, according to a risk and security report it published on August 18.
That compares with $300 million intercepted across the whole of 2025 under what the company then called a new AI-driven risk framework. CryptoPotato reported the earlier tally alongside the 3 million credential-stuffing attempts Bybit said it blocked that year, when its recovery work covered roughly 4,000 users.
The company said the metrics should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or as a comparative ranking of exchanges.
“The cybersecurity arms race has entered an era of minutes,” said David Zong, Head of Group Risk Control and Security at Bybit, who noted that human judgment remains “at the center of critical security decisions.”
AI-Assisted Auditing
Bybit said AI-assisted auditing identified high-severity vulnerabilities at three to five times the rate of manual review, and that automation cut the time from security assessment to testing from about two weeks to two hours.
An automated red-team platform assessed 1,489 public-facing assets and flagged more than 100 high-severity vulnerabilities, with discovery to first penetration test down to under 24 hours. More than 100,000 alerts were processed with AI assistance. Monitoring now reaches 100% of business-relevant on-chain activity, including listed token contracts and the exchange’s cold, warm, and hot wallets. Also, the initial risk reviews averaged 4.7 minutes, with 95% finished within 10 minutes.
Bybit said it handled 10 incidents involving listed token projects with no platform losses, completing emergency responses ahead of other major exchanges in eight and detecting two before the affected projects did.
Lawsuit Freezes $30.5 Million
This comes shortly after Bybit sued North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the Lazarus Group in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, announcing on August 8 that it had secured a preliminary injunction freezing identified stolen assets.
It has recovered about $48.4 million and frozen more than $30.5 million across over 28 exchanges and custodians.
“Our focus has never changed: protect our users first, recover what we can, and make sure the people behind these attacks are held accountable,” stated Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit.
In February 2025, attackers drained roughly $1.46 billion, by Bybit’s count, after compromising a cold wallet signing process. As reported, the FBI attributed the theft to the Lazarus Group, which US agencies valued at $1.5 billion and traced to more than 41,000 ETH.
Security firm Blockaid counted $1.1 billion stolen across 212 incidents marketwide in the first half of 2026.
The post Bybit Intercepts $700 Million in Potential User Losses During First Half of 2026 appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
Arthur Hayes’ New Token Will Airdrop Before Its Blockchain Exists: What Do Holders Get?
Arthur Hayes says he is ending his retirement to lead Flop Labs, a new startup building a token for AI agents. The FLOP airdrop lands in Q4 2026, while the blockchain behind it only arrives in Q1 2027.
In other words, the token will exist before the chain it runs on. Almost nothing else about the project is on paper yet.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
FLOP Airdrop Comes Before the Blockchain
Hayes revealed the plan on X (Twitter) on Tuesday, hours after the official Flop Labs account introduced the project. He also rewrote his bio to read CEO of Flop Labs.
Flop Network calls itself a proof-of-useful-inference protocol. In plain terms, AI agents would pay FLOP for computing power and memory. Miners supply that power, while validators check the work, according to the project’s website.
Here is the catch. The airdrop arrives a full quarter before the network’s first block. Until then, recipients would hold a claim on a chain that does not exist.
The paper trail is just as thin. The project has published one landing page, three application forms, and one overview graphic. There is no whitepaper, no supply schedule, no named chain, and no audit. Meanwhile, Hayes brings roughly 806,000 X followers to a Flop Labs account that counted 570 at launch.
Fair Launch Promises and Missing Details
The pitch leans on the absence of insiders. No presale, no venture capital (VC) allocation, and a 100% fair launch. It echoes Bittensor (TAO), the best-known AI network to launch without investors.
Yet one group already knows how it will get paid. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) will earn FLOP based on their communities’ activity. That role is the most detailed part of the project so far.
Hayes also carries heavy history into this launch. He co-founded BitMEX in 2014 and co-created the perpetual swap, the contract that now dominates crypto trading volume. He pleaded guilty to a US Bank Secrecy Act charge in 2022 and received a presidential pardon in 2025.
BitMEX announced its closure in July after an 11-year run, and BeInCrypto examined why BitMEX shut down. Hayes’ retirement therefore lasted less than a month.
His recent trades add tension. In June, tracking firm Lookonchain tied a $2.09 million Hyperliquid (HYPE) purchase to Hayes days after he sold the token. He denied the disputed HYPE buyback.
The problem FLOP targets is real, however. Deutsche Telekom is helping build AI agent payment rails, and Hayes himself has warned an AI credit bust could reshape markets.
For now, FLOP is a promise attached to a famous name. The next tests are simple. Publish a whitepaper, name the chain, and show what airdrop recipients actually receive.
The post Arthur Hayes’ New Token Will Airdrop Before Its Blockchain Exists: What Do Holders Get? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Bitcoin (BTC) pushed against $65,000 on Tuesday. At the same moment, two Wall Street giants deepened their commitment. BlackRock repeated its call for a 1-2% portfolio allocation, and Citi confirmed its Bitcoin custody service will arrive this year.
The timing is striking. Bitcoin still sits about 50% below its October 2025 peak, yet the firms building institutional access keep expanding.
BlackRock Sticks With Its 1-2% Bitcoin Allocation
BlackRock re-examined Bitcoin in a note published Monday. Digital asset executives Robert Mitchnick and Will Su wrote it after the market’s steep slide. Their verdict? The selloff came from forced selling inside crypto markets, not a weaker long-term case.
The refreshed 10-year analysis matched guidance from June. Back then, the firm first told institutions exactly how much Bitcoin to hold.
A 1-2% slice, funded from stocks, would have improved risk-adjusted returns in a classic 60/40 portfolio.
The authors also pointed to Bitcoin’s low long-term link with stocks and bonds. Periods when it trades in lockstep with equities tend to fade, they argued.
The stance matters because of BlackRock’s scale. It is the world’s largest asset manager. Its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) held over $47 billion in assets by March 2026.
Moreover, BlackRock client buying rebounded in late July, even with the average US spot ETF buyer sitting 22% underwater.
Citi Puts BTC Inside Its New Custody+ Platform
Meanwhile, Citi answered a different question. Where do institutions actually keep the bitcoin they buy? The bank unveiled Custody+ on Tuesday, a platform built for markets that never close.
Digital asset custody goes live later this year, starting with Bitcoin. Clients will hold stocks, bonds, and crypto inside one setup, with no separate crypto systems.
The scale behind the build is real money. Citi says it spends over $2 billion a year on its platform strategy. Its custody network covers more than 100 markets.
“Custody+ is the product of a multi-year commitment to building infrastructure that matches the speed of our clients’ strategies,” Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi Investor Services, said in the announcement.
The launch also feeds the race among major banks for institutional Bitcoin demand. Fidelity currently leads Strategy’s Bitcoin Banking Adoption Index, which ranks how far big lenders have moved into bitcoin. Citi sits among the chasers.
Bitcoin traded near $64,708 at press time, having pulled back from an intra-day high of $65,058, levels last tested over a week ago.
However, the bigger story sits behind the chart. Institutions have long cited two practical barriers, sizing and safekeeping. BlackRock now supplies the math. Citi supplies the vault.
The post Bitcoin Tests $65,000: Will BlackRock and Citi Fuel the Next Rally? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
How do you capture a new territory and expand your country in 2026? In ancient times, it happened through war, invasion, physically overthrowing a government, and claiming the land. But in modern times, one apparently just needs to post on social media. That is what the POTUS did today.
Donald Trump and the White House posted an image today showing the Strait of Hormuz as a brand-new US Territory. Perhaps the 51st state. Hormuz is open for all ships – the POTUS claimed, but maritime data would disagree.
To be clear, there has been no transfer of sovereignty. Hormuz remains an international strait between Iran and Oman. Trump’s claim may be political theatre. Or something more strategic, like an attempt to turn US military control into negotiating leverage.
Hormuz is Nowhere Near Open
Kpler data cited by Reuters showed just six commodity vessels crossed on Monday. Before the war, almost 140 ships would pass through every day.
So, yes, Hormuz might be technically open, but it’s not operational. Among the six ships that crossed, no VLCC crude supertankers or LNG carriers were recorded crossing.
Oil prices clearly reflect that. Brent crude oil has jumped nearly 15% in August. And global pressure is reaching a boiling point.
Market
Risk
Why
Bangladesh
Critical
Gas shortages and power-saving measures; reduced LNG availability
Pakistan
High
Heavy dependence on oil and LNG moving through Hormuz
India
High
Dozens of Qatari LNG cargoes disrupted
EU/Germany
High
Elevated gas prices and unusually weak storage ahead of winter
Then there is Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Price Could Care Less About Hormuz, More About Fed Action
BTC trades near $64,700, almost exactly where it stood a month ago around $63,900. During that period, oil surged, Hormuz talks broke down, and US Treasury yields climbed.
Bitcoin, for the most part, didn’t care. The slight uptake on BTC price this week came from positive ETF flow returning to the US spot and confirmation that the Fed won’t likely increase interest rates.
But there is also little room for easing interest rates. Continuous Hormuz disruption (despite Trump’s claim of liberation) keeps oil elevated, which feeds inflation and higher bond yields, reducing the Federal Reserve’s room to ease.
So, the US President can call Hormuz American territory. Oil traders clearly care about who actually controls the ships.
Bitcoin, for now, seems more interested in the Fed.
The post United States of Iran: Trump’s Delusion or Strategy? Bitcoin Doesn’t Care appeared first on BeInCrypto.
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