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BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital accused of hiding data breaches

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BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital accused of hiding data breaches

On-chain investigator ZachXBT alleged this morning that BitcoinIRA and iTrustCapital suffered data breaches this year without disclosing the incidents to their customers.

ZachXBT claimed that threat actors accessed personal details from the crypto retirement services, such as customers’ portfolio holdings, banking details, custodian details, and verification status.

Once he was confident that the breaches occurred, the researcher emailed both platforms on August 21. After three days of no response, he published the alert publicly today.

iTrustCapital responded to the allegations via X, writing, “ITrustCapital has not experienced and is not aware of any recent third-party vendor data breaches affecting our platform.

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“Our multi-step closed-loop system is designed to mitigate losses for clients who may be targeted, phished, scammed or compromised at a personal level.”

BitcoiIRA hadn’t responded publicly by publication time.

Who are the businesses involved?

Chris Kline, Johannes Haze, and Camilo Concha started BitcoinIRA a decade ago out of Sherman Oaks, California, according to a BBB business listing. 

The company markets itself as the ‘original’ service to hold bitcoin (BTC) inside a retirement account and it has claimed more than $14 billion worth of assets.

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iTrustCapital, meanwhile was founded in 2018 by Todd Southwick and Blake Skadron. It was based in Long Beach, California when it announced a $125 million Series A round in January 2022. 

The company has claimed to have processed more than $10 billion in cumulative transactions across roughly 53,000 accounts, and iTrustCapital’s own homepage now claims more than $17 billion worth of transactions across over 300,000 accounts.

Read more: ZachXBT slams Bitget execs over suspicious $480M withdrawals

California breach database does not list BitcoinIRA nor iTrustCapital

Both companies have been headquartered in California, a state that recently tightened its data breach disclosure rules. 

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Senate Bill 446 was signed into law in October 2025 and took effect this January. This new law gives businesses 30 days to notify residents after discovering a significant data breach. A further 15 days are allowed to notify the state attorney general, once a company has notified more than 500 residents. 

Neither BitcoinIRA nor iTrustCapital appears in that registry. BitcoinIRA, despite having a California address in its corporate history, also lists a subsequent Nevada base of operations that might exempt it from the requirements of this registry.

However, this registry only publishes breaches that clear the 500 resident threshold, or that a company volunteers. So, although the absence is conspicuous, it is not necessarily indicative of wrongdoing.

When the alleged breach occurred

The exact date of the data breach(es) is unknown, but ZachXBT dates at least one attack as early as June 2026.

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The investigator wrote an August 10 thread about a threat actor using spoofed BitcoinIRA emails allegedly acquired through that data breach.

iTrustCapital’s own help center says that even if a client’s email, SIM card, password, or two-factor login is compromised, crypto “can not be drained from an iTrustCapital account as there is no connectivity to external wallets.”

Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on XBluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Super League secures $2.3M through first ATM offering

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Hawaii crypto ATM cash deposits banned from Oct. 1

Super League Enterprise has raised approximately $2.23 million through its first at-the-market stock offering since announcing a deal that would turn the Nasdaq-listed company into Metaplanet’s U.S. Bitcoin treasury platform.

Summary

  • Super League sold 475,598 shares for approximately $2.23 million in gross proceeds.
  • The company has opened another $2.27 million of capacity under the ATM program.
  • Metaplanet plans to contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million to the company.
  • Super League is expected to become Superplanet after the transaction closes.

According to an Aug. 21 prospectus amendment filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Super League sold 475,598 common shares for gross proceeds of approximately $2.23 million under an agreement signed three days earlier.

The filing did not disclose the average selling price for the shares or the net proceeds after commissions and other offering costs. Dividing the reported gross proceeds by the number of shares sold gives an average of roughly $4.69 per share, although the individual sales may have occurred at different prices.

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With the first allocation completed, Super League amended the offering to make up to another $2.27 million of common stock available for sale. The added amount is new capacity rather than completed financing, leaving the company able to raise approximately $4.5 million in total if it sells the full second allocation.

Super League has expanded its ATM after selling 475,598 shares

Under the original Aug. 18 sales agreement, The Benchmark Company and StoneX Financial act as agents for the ATM program. Super League authorized sales of up to $2.229 million at prevailing market prices through methods permitted under Rule 415 of the Securities Act.

Rather than selling a fixed block to one investor at a negotiated price, the arrangement lets the agents place shares into the market over time. Super League can issue placement notices that set the number of shares, selling period, and any price limits applied to an order.

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For each completed sale, Benchmark and StoneX receive a commission equal to 1% of the gross proceeds. Super League also agreed to reimburse specified expenses and provide the agents with standard indemnification rights under the contract.

The initial program could end after all $2.229 million of shares were sold or after either Super League or Benchmark terminated the agreement under its terms. Having sold approximately $2.228999 million, the company filed an amendment that authorizes up to $2.27 million of additional common stock.

Super League based the added capacity on a public float of approximately $13.5 million. Its calculation used 2,454,537 shares held by non-affiliates and a price of $5.50, the highest closing price for SLE during the preceding 60 days as of Aug. 18.

Because its public float was below $75 million, the company said General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3 limited public primary offerings to no more than one-third of its public float during any 12-month period. SLE closed at $4.03 on Aug. 21, according to the prospectus amendment.

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Metaplanet’s Superplanet transaction remains subject to closing

Super League started the ATM program on the same day it announced a proposed investment from Metaplanet. As crypto.news previously reported, the Japanese treasury company has agreed to contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash for a controlling interest in Super League.

Valued at approximately $134.6 million when the agreement was signed, the investment will give Metaplanet 44,859,400 newly issued common shares priced at $3 apiece, 100 shares of convertible perpetual preferred stock, and warrants covering up to 381 million additional common shares.

The Bitcoin portion was valued at roughly $132.1 million using BTC’s closing price on Coinbase at 4 p.m. New York time on Aug. 14. While Bitcoin’s price may change before closing, the companies fixed the number of Super League shares that Metaplanet will receive.

After the transaction closes, Super League will take the name Superplanet and is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker SUPA. Metaplanet would own approximately 95.7% of its outstanding common stock, or about 93.6% if existing pre-funded warrants are exercised.

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Common shares issued to Metaplanet at closing, through warrant exercises, or from preferred-stock conversions will carry a five-year lock-up. Metaplanet will also have the right to appoint five directors to the initial nine-member board, while four existing Super League directors will remain.

For 24 months after closing, the Japanese company may purchase up to 2.1 million non-convertible junior preferred shares with a stated value of $100 each. Full use of the subscription right would provide Superplanet with another $210 million.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to approval from Super League shareholders, Nasdaq requirements, customary closing conditions and applicable procedures in the United States and Japan.

Superplanet would give U.S. investors Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin exposure

Once completed, the transaction would place 2,100 BTC inside a U.S.-listed company. The coins account for approximately 4.9% of Metaplanet’s reported 43,000 BTC holdings and would remain within the consolidated group rather than leaving Metaplanet’s balance sheet.

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For American investors, SLE already provides exposure through the Nasdaq Capital Market. Superplanet would retain that listing while adding a Bitcoin treasury to Super League’s existing advertising and playable-media operations, which will continue as a separate business segment.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich described the planned structure as a way to raise capital through listed companies in Japan and the United States.

“Superplanet is how we build in America, the deepest capital market in the world,” Gerovich said when the transaction was announced.

Metaplanet expects the U.S. company to use its Bitcoin as collateral for possible perpetual preferred-stock offerings. According to the joint announcement, such securities could provide permanent capital without increasing the number of common shares, although no future preferred offering has been finalized.

At the parent-company level, Metaplanet has also been adding other financing channels in Japan. Days before revealing the Superplanet agreement, the company launched its BitBonds program through a 200 million yen private placement carrying annual interest rates of 4% to 4.3%.

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Metaplanet will keep its treasury split across two markets

Metaplanet reported 43,000 BTC after adding 2,823 BTC during the second quarter. Its average acquisition price stood at approximately 15.3 million yen per coin, while the 2,100 BTC allocated to Superplanet will remain part of the Japanese company’s consolidated holdings after closing.

Questions about the balance arose in August when 5,014 BTC moved between addresses linked to the company. Gerovich later confirmed no sale had occurred, saying the coins had moved between custodians while the treasury remained at 43,000 BTC.

Metaplanet’s first-half financial statements showed total assets of 418.18 billion yen and net assets of 340.88 billion yen as of June 30. The company also reported that it had drawn $414 million from a $500 million credit facility secured by Bitcoin.

Super League will keep Matthew Edelman as chief executive after adopting the Superplanet name, while Metaplanet will select the board chairman. Metaplanet’s initial board appointees will include Gerovich, Frederick Towfigh and John H. Whitehouse III.

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CFTC, US soldier accused of illegal Polymarket bet spar over interpretation of prediction markets

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CFTC, US soldier accused of illegal Polymarket bet spar over interpretation of prediction markets

CFTC, US soldier accused of illegal Polymarket bet spar over interpretation of prediction markets

A judge stayed the CFTC’s civil case against a soldier who allegedly used nonpublic information for a Polymarket bet, but the regulator is trying to weigh in on the criminal case.

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Bitcoin Stalls a Cent Below $80,000 as Altcoins Give Back Weekend Gains

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Bitcoin Stalls a Cent Below $80,000 as Altcoins Give Back Weekend Gains


Bitcoin came within a cent of $80,000 on Monday before stalling, extending a rally that has run for four sessions on catalysts that all predate the weekend, while the altcoins that led last week's advance gave back their Sunday peaks. Nothing new arrived to carry it. No federal agency published a… Read the full story at The Defiant

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Iranian Rial Hits Record Low as the U.S. Unveils New Sanctions

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Iranian Rial Hits Record Low as the U.S. Unveils New Sanctions

Trump last week threatened that the U.S. would target Oman next if it cooperated with Iran on this matter, telling Fox News: “We’ll bomb the s— out of them.” Experts have said, however, that this is an idle threat and that bombing Oman would be a mistake

Continuing to enforce its blockade on the Strait does, however, come at a cost to Iran. A June analysis from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies estimated that Iran may be incurring economic damages of about $435 million per day while enforcing it. 

How is the plummeting value of the rial affecting Iranians?

Ryan Costello, the policy director at the National Iranian American Council, tells TIME that implementing additional sanctions may not achieve the desired result—but will likely hurt Iranians. 

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“Regrettably, it has had very harsh impacts on ordinary Iranians—pushing millions out of the middle class, which is often seen as an engine for successful democratic change over time,” Costello says. “This currency depreciation has a real cost for ordinary Iranians, making their life ever more unaffordable.”

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Coinbase tokenized stocks go live on Base with 1:1 backing

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Coinbase opens Luxembourg MiCA hub as EU deadline nears

Coinbase has brought four 1:1-backed U.S. stock products to Base, allowing eligible non-U.S. investors to trade Apple, NVIDIA, Meta and Alphabet exposure around the clock.

Summary

  • Four Coinbase tokenized stocks have launched on Base under the network’s B20 standard.
  • Each token represents a beneficial interest in a real share held in segregated regulated custody.
  • Eligible holders can trade the tokens or use supported products in Base-based lending and DeFi protocols.
  • The securities remain unavailable to U.S. persons and have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act.

Base said in an Aug. 25 announcement that Coinbase Tokenized Stocks are now available natively on the Ethereum layer-2 network, moving a product previously offered by the exchange into an open onchain environment.

The initial list includes NVIDIA under the ticker NVDAc, Meta as METAc, Apple as AAPLc, and Alphabet as GOOGLc. Base published a separate prospectus and contract address for each asset, asking users to verify the address before buying because tokens outside the official list were not issued by Coinbase.

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Coinbase tokenized stocks use beneficial ownership structure

Under the product’s legal structure, each B20 token represents a beneficial interest in an underlying share rather than a synthetic contract that only follows its market price.

Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd., a Coinbase-controlled company incorporated in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, formally issues the securities. According to the NVIDIA prospectus, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority approved the document on Aug. 4 under ADGM rules.

For every token issued, the special-purpose company initially holds one corresponding share through a segregated custody account. The prospectus identifies Alpaca Securities, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA and SIPC member, as the broker and custodian responsible for buying, selling, and holding the underlying equities.

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Deposited shares are held in trust for tokenholders, according to the filing. Subject to the validity of the trust arrangements under ADGM law, the assets would not form part of the issuer’s property if the special-purpose company entered bankruptcy or insolvency.

Base describes the tokens as beneficial claims that provide direct economic exposure to the listed companies. Although Coinbase has promoted the structure as “real 1:1 backed tokenized stocks,” the prospectus draws a distinction between beneficial exposure and direct registration as the legal owner of each underlying share.

Holders also do not receive automatic voting rights in the underlying company. The filing states that verified, or “vested,” holders may send voting instructions to the issuer, which may try to vote the custodied shares on their behalf, subject to applicable law, timing, and practical limits.

In July, crypto.news reported Base’s preparations after network founder Jesse Pollak acknowledged that Robinhood had moved first by placing stock-linked products in an Ethereum-compatible setting.

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“We’ve been behind on this on Base and I’m frustrated that’s the case,” Pollak said at the time, adding that the companies were close to introducing 1:1-backed equities.

B20 brings tokenized stocks into Base DeFi

Once issued as B20 tokens, the stock products can sit in self-custodial wallets and interact with supported decentralized applications. Base lists Aerodrome for tokenized-stock liquidity, while Aave, Morpho, and Euler provide or plan lending and borrowing functions.

Other listed integrations include 0x, 1inch, KyberSwap, and CoW Swap for token exchanges. Chainlink supplies price data infrastructure, while LI.FI and Jumper support services connected with cross-chain transfers and swaps.

Such integrations allow one token to move through several applications. For example, an eligible holder may trade a stock token through a decentralized exchange and later use it as collateral within a supported lending market, depending on the rules and availability of each protocol.

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Trading can continue outside regular U.S. exchange hours, including weekends and American market holidays. Traditional shares listed on Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange still trade within their established sessions, meaning prices on decentralized venues could move when the primary market for the underlying security is closed.

Base said additional tickers will be introduced over the coming weeks, subject to regulatory approval. New listings would use the same B20 framework, allowing applications already integrated with the standard to support subsequent assets without building a separate system for each stock.

The launch follows Coinbase’s June rollout of tokenized exposure tied to NVIDIA, Alphabet, Strategy, BitMine and SpaceX. At that time, Coinbase said its products would support onchain trading, redemption, and distributions connected to the underlying shares.

Dividends are reinvested after taxes and fees

The prospectus does not provide for dividends to be paid directly to holders as cash. Instead, the issuer generally reinvests distributions received from the underlying company into additional shares, increasing the amount of underlying equity represented by each token through an adjusted deposit ratio.

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Before reinvestment, the structure applies U.S. withholding tax. According to the NVIDIA filing, dividends paid to non-U.S. holders are currently subject to a 30% withholding rate unless an applicable tax treaty lowers it.

The issuer also charges a distribution fee equal to 5% of the gross value of dividends or other distributions before withholding taxes and reinvestment. Corporate actions, fees, and other costs can also change the deposit ratio over time.

Verified holders may request redemption in the underlying stock, U.S. dollars, or an accepted stablecoin such as USDC. A 0.05% redemption fee applies, while the issuer, broker, and custodian may conduct identity, anti-money laundering, sanctions, and jurisdiction checks before processing the request.

Redemption is not the same as immediately selling the underlying stock at the price shown when an order is filed. The prospectus warns that compliance reviews, settlement procedures, and market transactions can delay payment, while the price received after a sale may differ from the value available when the holder submitted the order.

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Users who acquire tokens through unregulated DeFi markets may remain “unvested” until they satisfy the issuer’s compliance requirements. According to the filing, unvested holders cannot redeem their tokens, receive the underlying shares, or submit voting instructions.

U.S. investors cannot access the Base stock tokens

Despite representing shares of U.S.-listed companies, Coinbase Tokenized Stocks on Base are not available to U.S. persons. The securities have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or with any U.S. state securities regulator.

Coinbase offers the products under Regulation S, an SEC registration exemption covering certain securities transactions conducted outside the United States. The prospectus prohibits offering, selling, or delivering the tokens within the country or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person.

American customers can separately use Coinbase’s regulated brokerage service for conventional stocks and exchange-traded funds. Coinbase Capital Markets offers those securities through a FINRA-member broker, with execution, clearing, and custody handled by Apex Clearing, but the arrangement is separate from the B20 products available on Base.

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Competition outside the U.S. has continued to grow. An August tokenized-market comparison placed the total value tracked by Token Terminal near $2.7 billion, with Ondo Finance leading issuers while Binance bStocks and xStocks each held more than $600 million.

A separate July volume analysis found that tokenized stock trading had risen 288% during the month, although a tokenized QQQ product accounted for most decentralized secondary-market activity.

Coinbase’s prospectus warns that holders may lose their entire investment and that token prices can diverge from the underlying shares because of liquidity, market closures or disruptions. It also states that SIPC rules do not directly address the custody structure, leaving uncertainty over whether protection in an Alpaca insolvency would apply separately to each holder or only at the issuer level.

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RWA Market and Tokenized Assets Beat Meme Coins With a 50% Rally

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Top Real World Assets (RWA) Coins by Market Cap

The real-world asset (RWA) market cap reached $71.02 billion on Monday, a gain of 48.7% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Meme coins fell 2.2% over the same day.

The sector added $23.26 billion. One token accounts for almost all of it, and it is not a tokenized stock.

Top Real World Assets (RWA) Coins by Market Cap
Top Real World Assets (RWA) Coins by Market Cap. Source: Coingecko

One Listing Explains the Whole Jump

Figure Heloc is the largest RWA holding at $22.81 billion. That is 32% of the sector. Take it out of Monday’s total and $48.21 billion remains. The sector was worth $47.75 billion a day earlier.

The difference between those two figures is 0.96%. In other words, the RWA sector without Figure Heloc is almost exactly where it stood the day before.

Top Real World Assets (RWA) Coins by Market Cap
Top Real World Assets (RWA) Coins by Market Cap

Prices did not do this. Chainlink (LINK) rose 0.8% on the day, and Stellar (XLM) fell 3.3%. Figure Heloc itself gained 4.5% across the week.

A token added to a list can raise a sector total. Nobody has to buy anything.

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What Figure Heloc Actually Is

The token is a pool of home equity credit lines. Figure, a Nevada lender, issues them on its own Provenance blockchain. Figure is not a fringe operation. It listed on Nasdaq in September 2025 and earned $191 million on $619 million of revenue over the past year.

The scale is the striking part. Figure’s shares are worth $8.66 billion. Its tokenized loan book is worth $22.81 billion, or roughly two and a half times the company itself.

Those tokens barely move. They turned over $14.9 million in 24 hours, about 0.065% of their value. CoinGecko’s own data returns no 24-hour price change for them at all.

So the largest asset in crypto’s RWA sector is a securitized mortgage book that almost never trades. Researchers have tracked this gap between value and liquidity for months.

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Tokenized Stocks See Modest Gain in Crypto Rally

Tokenized equities sit in a separate pool worth $8.25 billion. That is roughly a third of the jump they are credited with causing.

They also cannot outrun the shares they copy. MicroStrategy xStock (MSTRX) trades at $122.69, while Strategy’s Nasdaq-listed shares sit at $122.63.

MicroStrategy xStock (MSTRX) Stock Performance. Source: Coingecko
MicroStrategy xStock (MSTRX) Stock Performance. Source: Coingecko

It rose 27.9% over seven days because the stock did. The wrapper simply followed.

Meme Coins Fell While RWA Rose

Almost every large meme coin lost ground on Monday. Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 4.1%, Pump.fun (PUMP) dropped 7.9% and Official Trump (TRUMP) slid 9.9%.

The sector ended the day down 2.3% at $32.82 billion. Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk (BONK) and FLOKI all finished lower.

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Top Meme Coins by Market Cap
Top Meme Coins by Market Cap. Source: Coingecko

So Monday set a listing against a selloff. RWA gained on paper while meme coins lost real value. Turnover separates the two:

  • Meme coins traded 13.2% of their market cap in 24 hours.
  • The RWA sector managed 4%, and Figure Heloc just 0.065%.

Meme coins are the smaller market that actually changes hands. RWA is the larger one that mostly sits still.

The Seven-Day Picture Is Different

Widen the window, and meme coins lead on price. Official Trump gained 73.5% over seven days, Pump.fun 66.3% and Pepe (PEPE) 54.2%.

RWA tokens were steadier. Stellar climbed 22.1% and Chainlink 21.9% across the same week.

Meme coins also traded harder, turning over $4.35 billion against $2.82 billion. That extends the meme coin season rally.

BeInCrypto Intelligence research on the real state of tokenization tracked roughly $60 billion across 7,000 products. Most of it sits inactive on-chain.

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The RWA sector grew by $23 billion on Monday. It grew by counting something new, not by anyone buying it.

The post RWA Market and Tokenized Assets Beat Meme Coins With a 50% Rally appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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GTA VI leak investigation video raises crypto scam suspicions

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GTA VI leak investigation video raises crypto scam suspicions

Users on X suspect that a recorded interaction between representatives of GTA VI publisher, Rockstar Games, and a pseudonymous X user was staged to pump a crypto scam amid the game’s ongoing leak scandal.

The clip appears to show the representatives knocking on the door of X user “@LewisBi94895348” who, via Reddit account “Pilotx1970,” appeared to predict major GTA VI leaks.

Last month, they posted “August 18 — don’t ask me how I know,” along with, “If you don’t believe me, come back on that date and we will see.” 

They also claimed to know the identity of “CyberLeek,” the main X account that’s been leaking footage of GTA VI gameplay since August 18.

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In footage posted by the Lewis X account today, one of the alleged Rockstar reps can be heard saying, “They’re not happy with it,” before asking, “Do you know certain individuals under certain handles, and who are the associates?” 

Footage of the apparent Rockstar representatives.

Read more: Bitcoin spikes after GTA VI trailer leak says ‘Buy $BTC’

They later express doubt that his August 18 post was pure chance. 

User’s doubt legitimacy of GTA VI investigation

The Lewis account also promoted their “GTA insider” cryptocurrency across several posts before deleting them. 

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Shortly after, users discovered that the account holder has previously been accused of scamming RC plane buyers on Facebook Marketplace, fueling speculation that the video might also be fake.  

One user said there’s no subpoena for [Rockstar Games parent company] Take-Two to pursue Reddit before claiming that the video uploader is just “trying to get a piece of the pie.”

Others suggested that he hired some random people in order to get “millions of views on Twitter.”

Read more: Steam Workshop wallpapers found spreading crypto malware

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Who is CyberLeek?

CyberLeek claims to be using his cryptocurrency $CYBERLEEK to raise funds for a “secret project” while advocating for better consumer rights across the video game industry. 

However, gaming advocacy group Stop Killing Games has criticised the leaks, claiming the illegality of it “risks tarnishing the reputation of our communities and our chances to make change.” 

Read more: GTA creator Rockstar Games bans NFTs and crypto

CyberLeek has continuously threatened to leak more content, and is now using $CYBERLEEK as a voting mechanism for buyers to determine what he leaks next.

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One poll suggested he would leak content related to a group of nudists, while another suggested that he’ll move on from leaking free roam gameplay footage to leaking story content. 

CyberLeek’s site also offered companies the chance to advertise on his page, but only if they pay $162,000 in Monero. 

Take-Two appears to adopt “Sharkbux” virtual currency

What appears to be an SEC request filed this week by Take-Two’s Chief Legal Officer Daniel P. Emerson also reveals that GTA VI will include a virtual currency system. 

It won’t have the hallmarks of a cryptocurrency, however, with no public ledger, secondary trading, or volatile pricing.

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The request stresses that under the Howey test, Sharkbux will “not be viewed as the offer or sale of a security.”

Online users have spotted, however, that the SEC filing is addressed to the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, a government crypto authority disbanded and replaced in 2025.

Beyond this legal action, Take-Two has also filed several subpoenas over the weekend demanding Microsoft, X and Discord give up details related to the CyberLeek accounts.

Protos has reached out to Take-Two for comment on the apparent investigation and Sharkbux and will update this piece should we hear anything back.

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Coinbase Launches Tokenized Stocks On Base

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Coinbase Launches Tokenized Stocks On Base


Coinbase's tokenized US equities went live on Base on Monday, putting four technology stocks onchain as transferable tokens that eligible users outside the United States can hold in a self-custodial wallet, with no brokerage account required. Coinbase is issuing the assets, running the chain they… Read the full story at The Defiant

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The Woolly Mammoth’s Comeback Is Taking Longer Than Expected

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The Woolly Mammoth’s Comeback Is Taking Longer Than Expected

No more. In a recent conversation with TIME, Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm concedes that those goal posts have moved more than a little. “We are thinking it will be in the early 2030s,” he says. “We don’t have a hard date. Not 2036, but not 2030 either.”

In just the past year, Colossal has learned vastly more about both the mammoth and the elephant genomes than has ever been known before, not only improving the odds that the mammoth can be brought back to life, or de-extincted, but also unpacking basic genetic science that could one day have knock-on effects for humans—including potentially increasing resistance to cancer.

Bringing back the dire wolf

Colossal proved its de-extinction chops in the spring of 2025, when it announced that it had brought the extinct dire wolf back to life, editing the genome of the closely related gray wolf to replicate the features of its vanished cousin—including a white coat, larger size, more powerful shoulders, wider head, larger teeth and jaws, more-muscular legs, and characteristic vocalizations, especially howling and whining. 

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USDC growth could restart; sets $140 Circle target

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Crypto Breaking News

Circle is catching the attention of Wall Street analysts again, with Bernstein arguing that USDC is entering a fresh growth phase that could lift the company’s performance over the next year. In a research note published Monday, the firm said USDC is showing signs of what it called “digital dollar reflation,” after supply jumped by roughly $2 billion in seven days—an apparent turnaround from a six-month period of stagnant or declining growth.

Bernstein maintained an Outperform rating on Circle and set a $140 price target, implying around 60% upside from current levels. The stock has reportedly risen about 40% over the past month, underscoring how quickly market sentiment can shift around stablecoin issuance and adoption.

Key takeaways

  • Bernstein cited USDC supply increasing by roughly $2 billion in seven days, reversing a prior stretch of flat or falling growth.
  • The firm expects a potential “next phase” for stablecoins to be driven by market momentum, U.S. regulatory clarity, and tokenized capital markets.
  • Bernstein said USDC’s share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose from about 40% in 2025 to more than 60% so far in 2026, overtaking USDt by that measure.
  • Analysts highlighted early signals of stablecoin payments being used by artificial intelligence agents.

Why Bernstein thinks USDC momentum matters

Stablecoin growth is often measured in multiple ways—issuance, liquidity, and real-world transaction usage. Bernstein’s central argument focuses on issuance acceleration: a $2 billion increase in USDC supply over just one week suggests demand for dollar-denominated on-chain settlement is picking up again. The note frames this as “digital dollar reflation,” implying that the on-chain dollar supply is expanding in a way that may support broader ecosystem activity.

For investors, the implication is straightforward: renewed stablecoin issuance can translate into more business for Circle, particularly if new supply is associated with greater on-chain usage and related enterprise adoption. Bernstein also points to a broader set of catalysts beyond one-week supply growth—elements that, if they materialize, could help make the rebound more durable rather than episodic.

Drivers: regulation, tokenized markets, and payments

Bernstein outlined several potential contributors to a stablecoin “growth cycle.” First, it pointed to renewed momentum in crypto markets, which can raise risk appetite and increase the volume of on-chain activity where stablecoins serve as settlement rails. Second, it highlighted the possibility of greater regulatory clarity in the United States—an area that has long been a variable for stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and payment integrators trying to scale compliant services.

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Third, Bernstein linked stablecoin expansion to tokenized capital markets—an umbrella term for the use of tokenized instruments and on-chain infrastructure for financial services. If more of these workflows use stablecoins as a unit of account or settlement asset, transaction volume could increase meaningfully. Finally, Bernstein pointed to growing stablecoin adoption for payments, suggesting that stablecoins are moving beyond trading and into everyday transfer use cases.

The analysts also referenced “early signs” of stablecoin use in payments made by artificial intelligence agents. While still emerging, the idea matters because AI-driven workflows could introduce new automation patterns for transfers—potentially increasing the frequency and diversity of stablecoin payment demand over time.

USDC’s transaction share rises while USDt slips in that metric

Although USDC is still the second-largest dollar-backed stablecoin by market capitalization—behind Tether’s USDt—Bernstein argued that USDC is gaining ground in actual transaction activity. According to the firm, USDC’s share of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose from roughly 40% in 2025 to more than 60% so far in 2026. On that basis, USDC has reportedly overtaken USDt.

This distinction is important because it separates “size” from “usage.” A stablecoin can lag in total market cap yet still lead in transaction throughput if it becomes the preferred settlement asset for certain applications or platforms. For Circle, a rise in transaction share can signal improvements in distribution, integrations, and user behavior—even if headline supply growth is the first datapoint drawing attention.

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Circle stock performance and fundamentals since IPO

Bernstein’s bullish view arrives during a period of noticeable stock volatility for Circle. The company went public in June 2025, pricing its shares at $31 and raising about $1.1 billion in its initial public offering. After a strong early period, the shares slid back toward their IPO level by November 2025 as broader crypto market weakness weighed on publicly traded companies exposed to the sector.

Despite that volatility, Circle has continued to report improving results on an annual comparison basis. In its most recent quarter, the company reported $701 million in revenue and $48 million in net income, both up from a year earlier. The persistence of year-over-year improvement can matter for how equity markets interpret a stablecoin growth rebound—especially when traders are trying to balance short-term issuance trends against longer-term profitability.

As stablecoin demand patterns evolve, investors may focus not only on supply but also on which networks and use cases drive transaction volume. Bernstein’s emphasis on USDC overtaking USDt on adjusted transaction share suggests that, at least for now, usage dynamics are shifting in Circle’s favor.

What to watch next is whether the “digital dollar reflation” signals translate into sustained growth beyond a one-week supply jump—particularly as policy clarity and payment and tokenization adoption progress. If USDC continues to lead transaction share while issuance remains steady, Bernstein’s thesis could gain more traction; if not, the current rebound may prove temporary.

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Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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