Crypto World
How CEX listings work and what they actually cost
Getting listed on Binance, Coinbase, or OKX is the single most consequential event in most tokens’ histories. The price reaction can be immediate and dramatic. What almost no one explains clearly is what happens before that listing announcement, how much it costs, who pays, and why the price so often falls after the listing pump. This guide covers the complete picture.
Summary
- A centralized exchange listing involves multiple parties beyond just the project and the exchange: market makers, legal counsel, compliance teams, and often a broker intermediary who facilitates the application process.
- Listing fees are the visible cost, but they are often the smallest one. A top-tier exchange listing can require a combination of listing fees ($100,000 to $3 million), market making retainers ($15,000 to $50,000 per month), and security deposits held by the exchange for compliance purposes.
- The “listing pump and dump” pattern, where a token’s price spikes on listing announcement and then falls below pre-announcement levels, is not random. It follows directly from the structure of pre-listing accumulation and post-listing distribution by insiders and market makers.
- Tier 1 exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken) have formal listing processes with legal review, security audits, and compliance due diligence. Tier 2 and Tier 3 exchanges have lighter requirements and lower fees but offer less liquidity and credibility.
- Some exchanges, including Coinbase, list tokens without charging listing fees, but this does not mean the process is free. Projects still incur market making costs, legal fees, and compliance preparation that can total hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Every week, dozens of tokens announce listings on major exchanges. The announcement is almost always framed as a milestone: validation from a respected institution, a signal that the project has arrived. What the announcements do not mention is the months of preparation, the legal and compliance documentation, the market making arrangements that must be in place before the exchange will approve the listing, and the economic dynamics that determine who actually profits from the listing event.
The listing pipeline from application to announcement
A major exchange listing does not begin with a formal application. It begins with a relationship.
Most successful Tier 1 listings start with an introduction through an existing relationship between the project team and someone connected to the exchange’s listing team. Cold applications submitted through public listing request forms are rarely approved for projects without established networks. The first step for any serious project is building connections at industry events and through mutual introductions from investors or advisors who have prior relationships with the exchange.
Once contact is established, the formal process has several stages:
Initial screening. The exchange’s listing team evaluates the project’s fundamentals: team background, token economics, trading history on existing venues, community size, and legal structure. Projects with anonymous teams, unaudited smart contracts, or regulatory red flags are rejected at this stage. Coinbase, which publishes its listing criteria publicly, evaluates factors including legal compliance, technology security, market supply and demand, and team quality.
Due diligence. Projects that pass initial screening enter a formal due diligence process. This includes legal review of the token’s regulatory status (is it a security? a commodity? a payment token?), a technical security assessment of the smart contract or blockchain, and a review of the project’s tokenomics including vesting schedules, insider holdings, and inflation rate.
Compliance documentation. The exchange requires KYC documentation for the project’s key personnel, AML (anti-money laundering) policy disclosures, and legal opinions on the token’s regulatory status in major jurisdictions. For US exchanges, this is particularly important given the SEC’s enforcement activity around unregistered securities. The legal fees for preparing this documentation typically run between $50,000 and $200,000 for a Tier 1 listing.
Market making arrangement. Before approving a listing, Tier 1 exchanges require confirmation that the project has market making coverage. The exchange needs assurance that the order book will have meaningful slippage-free depth from day one. Projects without an established market maker are typically required to arrange one as a condition of listing approval.
Listing fee negotiation. After due diligence passes, the exchange and project negotiate the listing fee. For Tier 1 exchanges, publicly disclosed listing fees range from $100,000 to $3 million depending on the exchange, the trading pair, and the project’s strategic value to the exchange. Some exchanges, particularly during bear markets or for tokens with existing substantial trading volume on competitor venues, reduce or waive listing fees.
Integration and testing. The exchange integrates the token contract, sets up withdrawal and deposit infrastructure, and runs testing before the public listing announcement. This typically takes two to eight weeks and requires technical cooperation from the project team.
What listings actually cost across tiers
The full cost of a major exchange listing is rarely disclosed publicly, but the components are well-documented through industry sources, court filings, and whistleblower disclosures.
Tier 1 exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX). Listing fees range from $100,000 to $3 million. Market making retainers add $15,000 to $50,000 per month. Legal and compliance preparation costs $50,000 to $200,000. Some exchanges require a security deposit of $500,000 to $2 million held in escrow, which is returned if the project meets listing requirements over a set period. Total first-year cost for a Tier 1 listing: $500,000 to $5 million.
Tier 2 exchanges (Bybit, KuCoin, Gate.io, HTX). Listing fees range from $20,000 to $300,000. Market making requirements are less rigorous. Legal review is lighter, and compliance documentation is less extensive. Total first-year cost: $50,000 to $500,000.
Tier 3 exchanges (smaller regional or niche venues). Listing fees range from zero to $50,000. Some small exchanges list tokens for free in exchange for marketing commitments, trading volume guarantees, or token airdrops to their user base. The liquidity provided is typically minimal, and trading volume may be wash-traded to appear more active.
The geography of listing matters as well. Binance is the global leader by trading volume but has faced regulatory challenges in several major markets including the UK, Netherlands, and Canada. Coinbase is the preferred venue for US regulatory compliance and Nasdaq-listed institutional legitimacy. OKX dominates in parts of Asia. A project building for a specific geographic audience may prioritize a regional leader over the global volume leader.
The listing fee controversy came to a head when Changpeng Zhao (CZ), then CEO of Binance, publicly stated in 2019 that Binance did not charge listing fees, contradicting widespread industry reporting. He later clarified that projects could donate to Binance Charity instead. In 2023, leaked documents and court filings in Binance’s regulatory proceedings revealed that listing arrangements were more complex than public statements suggested, with multiple forms of financial consideration exchanged between projects and the exchange.
Why Coinbase listings are different
Coinbase occupies a unique position in the listing landscape because of its publicly stated no-listing-fee policy and its status as a publicly traded US company subject to SEC oversight.
Coinbase publishes its listing framework online through its Digital Asset Framework, which outlines the criteria the exchange evaluates: legal compliance, technology security, market supply and demand, and team quality. The exchange states it does not charge listing fees and that listing decisions are made independently of commercial relationships.
This policy has made Coinbase listing announcements particularly powerful market signals. When Coinbase announces it is considering a token for listing, the price often jumps significantly before the formal listing, a phenomenon known as the “Coinbase effect.” The pre-announcement price action has attracted regulatory attention, including SEC allegations that Coinbase employees front-ran listing announcements. One former Coinbase employee was convicted in 2022 for trading on insider knowledge of upcoming listings.
Even without a listing fee, the process of achieving Coinbase listing is expensive. Legal counsel to prepare US compliance documentation, the cost of passing a technical security audit, and the market making arrangements required to support trading post-listing still total hundreds of thousands of dollars. The absence of a direct fee does not mean the listing is free.
The anatomy of a listing pump and dump
The pattern is consistent enough to have a name: list, pump, dump. Understanding why it happens requires looking at who knows what and when.
Before a listing is announced publicly, several parties know it is coming: the project team, the exchange’s listing department, the assigned market makers, and any brokers or advisors involved in the process. This information asymmetry creates predictable trading behavior.
In the weeks before a major listing announcement, the token typically sees quiet accumulation in its existing trading venues — a decentralized exchange or smaller CEX. This accumulation often happens in wallets connected to project insiders or people with access to the listing timeline. The accumulation phase is visible on-chain but rarely analyzed by retail traders watching price charts.
When the listing is announced publicly, retail buyers flood in, pushing the price up dramatically. This is the moment when the people who accumulated during the quiet phase begin to distribute their holdings into the buying pressure. The market makers who were given token loans to provide exchange liquidity may also use this moment to sell borrowed tokens at elevated prices, intending to buy them back cheaper after the announcement excitement fades.
The result is a characteristic price shape: a spike on announcement, a period of volatile trading during the first days of listing, and then a gradual decline as selling pressure from pre-listing accumulators overwhelms the diminishing flow of new buyers. Tokens that maintain post-listing price appreciation are the exception, not the rule. The ones that do tend to have genuine demand fundamentals that exist independent of the listing event itself.
The market maker compound dynamic amplifies this pattern. During the first weeks on a new exchange, market makers typically build their inventory by buying the token on existing venues and selling it on the new exchange at a slight premium. This cross-venue arbitrage brings the prices into alignment but also increases selling pressure on the new exchange as the market maker’s inventory stabilizes. Retail buyers who purchased at the listing price often find themselves holding a token that is quietly declining while the price appears stable on the chart.
The geographic dimension of listing strategy
Where a token lists first matters as much as where it eventually lists. The sequencing of exchange listings across geographies reflects both regulatory strategy and market building priorities.
A project targeting US retail investors will typically prioritize Coinbase, which is the dominant US retail crypto exchange and provides the regulatory legitimacy that US institutional allocators require. A project targeting Asian retail investors may prioritize Binance or OKX, which have deeper penetration in markets where Coinbase is not available.
Projects with regulatory uncertainty around their token’s status — particularly those that might be classified as securities by the SEC — often list first on non-US exchanges that operate under different regulatory frameworks. This approach allows the project to build trading volume and price history before addressing US compliance, but it also limits access to US retail capital and signals regulatory caution to sophisticated investors.
The sequencing from Solana DEXs and smaller CEXs to Tier 2 exchanges to Tier 1 exchanges is the standard path. Each step up the tier ladder increases liquidity, visibility, and credibility, but also increases cost and regulatory scrutiny. Projects that try to shortcut this ladder by paying for a Tier 1 listing before building genuine trading volume often find that the listing fails to deliver sustained price appreciation because the organic demand foundation is not there.
What this does not cover
This guide covers the process, costs, and economics of CEX listings. It does not cover:
- Perpetual futures and derivatives listings, which have different requirements from spot listings and are often easier to achieve on exchanges that want to offer leveraged trading products.
- Decentralized exchange listings, which require no application or approval. Any token with a deployed smart contract can be added to Uniswap or similar protocols immediately and without cost beyond the gas fee to seed a liquidity pool.
- The regulatory legal analysis of whether a specific token qualifies as a security, commodity, or other asset class. This is highly fact-specific and requires qualified legal counsel in each relevant jurisdiction.
- Delisting mechanics and criteria, which are different from listing but equally consequential. Exchanges delist tokens for low volume, regulatory concerns, security issues, or failure to pay ongoing compliance fees.
Practical checks before buying a newly listed token
The listing announcement is the beginning of the analysis, not the end of it.
Check where the token was trading before the listing. If a token has minimal trading history before a major exchange listing, the listing price may be entirely artificial. Compare the listing price to the price on smaller venues where the token has traded for weeks or months.
Check the token unlock schedule relative to the listing date. Project team tokens, investor tokens, and market maker loans often have lock-up periods that expire in the months after listing. Selling pressure from unlocking insiders is predictable and will weigh on the price.
Look for on-chain accumulation before the announcement. Wallet activity in the weeks before a listing announcement often shows quiet buying from wallets connected to project insiders or market makers. This pre-announcement accumulation means the listing pump is already partially spent before retail buyers see the announcement.
Understand the exchange tier. A Tier 1 listing is meaningful. A listing on a Tier 3 exchange with wash-traded volume provides no real liquidity benefit and may signal that the project could not meet Tier 1 requirements.
Check the project’s market making disclosure. Some projects disclose which firm is providing market making services. If the market maker is one known to take aggressive directional positions, the post-listing price action may be more volatile than expected.
Wait for the initial volatility to pass. The first 48 to 72 hours after a listing announcement are the period of peak price distortion. Retail buyers who wait for the initial excitement to subside often find better entry prices, and by then the on-chain data from listing day trading is available for analysis.
What to watch
SEC enforcement against listing fee arrangements. The SEC has taken the position that some token listing arrangements constitute unregistered securities activity. Further enforcement against exchanges or projects that structure listing fees as investment contracts could reshape how listings are negotiated.
Regulatory harmonization. As more jurisdictions develop crypto asset frameworks, the compliance requirements for exchange listings are converging. EU MiCA compliance may become a baseline standard that reduces the legal uncertainty around listing in European markets.
Exchange consolidation. The failure of FTX and subsequent regulatory pressure on Binance have reduced the number of credible Tier 1 exchanges. Fewer top-tier venues mean more competition for listings and potentially higher listing costs as the remaining exchanges gain pricing power.
Algorithmic listing criteria. Some exchanges are experimenting with objective, data-driven listing criteria that reduce the role of relationship-building and fee negotiation. If this approach scales, it could lower barriers for projects with strong on-chain fundamentals but limited industry connections.
Cross-listing coordination. Several projects have secured simultaneous listings on multiple Tier 1 exchanges, coordinating the announcement to maximize attention. This approach concentrates the listing pump into a single event and then distributes the selling pressure across more venues, which can reduce the severity of the post-listing decline relative to single-venue listings.
How much does it cost to get listed on Binance?
Binance has not published official listing fees, and the terms of individual listing arrangements are typically confidential. Industry estimates and court disclosures from Binance’s regulatory proceedings suggest that listing fees, market making arrangements, and compliance costs for a Binance listing can total $500,000 to $3 million or more. Binance has publicly stated that projects can make charitable donations instead of paying fees, but the full cost picture is more complex than that framing suggests.
Does Coinbase charge a listing fee?
Coinbase states publicly that it does not charge listing fees and that listing decisions are made independently of commercial relationships. However, a Coinbase listing still requires significant investment in legal compliance documentation, security audits, and market making arrangements, which can total hundreds of thousands of dollars in preparation costs.
What is the Coinbase effect?
The Coinbase effect refers to the price appreciation that typically occurs when Coinbase announces it is evaluating a token for listing or confirms a listing decision. Because Coinbase is a publicly traded company with a reputation for regulatory compliance, a Coinbase listing is seen as a credibility signal. Prices often rise significantly before the formal listing as traders anticipate increased retail demand from Coinbase’s large US user base.
Why do token prices often drop after a listing?
Token prices frequently fall after the initial listing excitement because the listing event is when pre-listing accumulators, including project insiders, early investors, and market makers, distribute their holdings into the buying pressure from new retail investors. The asymmetry of information between those who knew about the listing in advance and those who learn about it from the announcement creates a predictable pattern of accumulation before and distribution during the listing event.
What is the difference between a Tier 1 and Tier 2 exchange listing?
Tier 1 exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX) have the highest trading volume, deepest liquidity, largest user bases, and most rigorous listing requirements. A Tier 1 listing provides the most significant price and liquidity impact but costs the most and requires the most compliance preparation. Tier 2 exchanges (Bybit, KuCoin, Gate.io) have substantial volume but lower requirements and lower costs. A Tier 2 listing is often a stepping stone toward a Tier 1 listing.
What does a market maker do in the context of an exchange listing?
A market maker continuously places buy and sell orders on the exchange’s order book for the newly listed token, ensuring that traders can execute transactions immediately without significant slippage. The exchange requires this arrangement before approving a listing because a token without market making coverage would have an empty order book, making it practically untradable. The project typically pays the market maker a monthly retainer and may provide a token loan to fund the initial order book inventory.
Can a token get listed without paying any fees?
Some exchanges do not charge explicit listing fees for tokens that meet their criteria through organic processes. Uniswap and other decentralized exchanges allow any token to be listed without permission or fees. Among centralized exchanges, some smaller Tier 3 venues list tokens for free in exchange for marketing commitments or trading volume guarantees. However, even fee-free listings incur indirect costs through market making arrangements, legal preparation, and integration work.
How can you tell if a listing announcement is worth buying?
Check whether the token has genuine trading history before the listing at prices comparable to the listing price. Look at the token’s unlock schedule for insider selling pressure in the months ahead. Examine whether on-chain activity shows quiet accumulation in the weeks before the announcement, which would signal that informed buyers have already acted. Compare the exchange tier to the project’s actual fundamentals. And consider waiting 48 to 72 hours after the announcement before buying, when initial excitement subsides and on-chain data from listing day is available for analysis.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Token listings and trading carry significant risks, including the potential for total loss of capital. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decision. Information current as of August 4, 2026.
The 40-year-old director became the first person to have her first three solo feature films—Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie—each nominated for “Best Picture” at the Academy Awards. The key to a Gerwig film, she says, has to do with her decision to take on ambitious projects, a topic which she expounded on before discussing the possibility of a Barbie sequel.
“Sometimes, because I write and direct, I write things that I genuinely sit back and think, ‘I have no idea how I’m actually going to accomplish that.’ And that’s actually the most exciting feeling. Because then you can gather people— gather your designers, your heads of departments—and everybody kind of figures out something that’s never been done before. And that’s thrilling.”
Gerwig said that when she works on a film she has to find an “undertow.” For Barbie, the undertow was the intergenerational struggle behind the doll. “I remember going to Toys R Us and looking at the Barbies, and I loved their hair. And I loved everything about them. And my mom was not sure about it. And I thought that’s the story,” Gerwig says. A sequel to the film would be dependent on her finding a similar element.
Gerwig remains tight-lipped about how that dynamic will manifest in her forthcoming adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia—“that’s just for me,” she jokingly says—but does share that it would be an honor to work with the Barbie cast and crew again.
For now, she says she’s choosing to focus on the other joys in life, monumentally her family, but also more trivial matters.
When asked what she wants her future self to remember about this moment in her life, Gerwig said, “I hope that the thing I remember is how amazing and fun it is,” before adding, “and how—and this sounds totally superficial but you know, when you go to these events and you put on clothes and part of me is like, ‘I don’t know’—I looked great.”
“That’s sort of a hard thing to feel all the time, and I think when I’m 80, I’ll be like, ‘Look at you! You’re 40! You look wonderful.’”
TIME Women of the Year was sponsored by P&G, Rolex, Ray Ban-Meta, Donna Karan New York, FIJI Water, Campari, and Mattel.
Whale Rock Capital Management’s flagship hedge fund fell 21.7% in July. The drop cut its 2026 gains roughly in half as artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks sold off.
Whale Rock’s year-to-date return dropped to 35.1% through July. That’s down from 72.5% at the end of June, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Alex Sacerdote runs the Boston-based, $19 billion firm.
A Rough Month for AI Stockpickers
Whale Rock’s long-only fund fell 18.8% in July but still holds a 36.8% gain for the year. The firm marks its 20th anniversary in 2026. It rode a chipmaker rally through the first half of the year, but conditions reversed sharply in July.
Regulatory filings show Whale Rock added to its stakes in SanDisk and Bloom Energy during the first quarter. Both names tumbled in July alongside CoreWeave. All three fell victim to a broader memory sector selloff that hit chip and AI infrastructure stocks hardest.
The damage spread beyond semiconductors. Mega-cap names like Google and Meta also saw minor declines in July. Meanwhile, investors grew wary of continued AI spending. That concern echoes a broader warning that the market now trades as one AI bet.
Not the AI Industry’s Only Casualty
Whale Rock wasn’t alone in taking a hit. Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness fund posted a 67% loss last month. That marked the sharpest hedge fund drawdown of July, following a forced unwind of its stock book.
The reversal fits a pattern playing out across Wall Street’s AI trade this summer. Some strategists compare it to the dot-com era. Others, however, see the pullback as a buying opportunity, not the start of a longer bust.
Whale Rock’s August performance may hinge on the current earnings season. Investor sentiment toward AI infrastructure spending will likely decide whether the fund stabilizes or extends July’s losses.
The post Whale Rock’s AI Bet Turns Volatile: July Losses Erase Half of 2026 Gains appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Institutional investors accounted for a record 72% of spot trading volume on Wintermute’s over-the-counter desk in the first half of 2026, up from 59% a year earlier. The shift marks the clearest sign yet that Wall Street, not retail traders, now sets the pace of crypto markets.
Wintermute’s OTC flow report ties the change to a prolonged bear market that pushed retail traders toward equities instead. That absence gave institutional flow more weight in shaping prices.
Wall Street’s Growing Crypto Footprint
Hedge funds, digital asset treasuries (DATs), asset managers, and family offices drove that 72% share. Wintermute called it the highest level on record.
The figure compares with 61% in the second half of 2025 and 59% in the first half of that year.
“At three quarters of volume, institutional flow defines market structure.”
Wintermute linked that dominance directly to falling volatility. Bitcoin’s (BTC) realized volatility has roughly halved across market cycles, sliding from about 70% to 45%.
Institutions increasingly sit through price swings instead of chasing them, and that patience helps explain the drop.
This concentration builds on a trend BeInCrypto has tracked before. Institutional crypto bets have narrowed toward Bitcoin, Ethereum and a handful of select DeFi names, rather than spreading across the long tail of smaller tokens.
Institutions Move Faster Than Retail in Crypto
Institutions and retail traders both pile into a token once its volume and price surge. However, the difference lies in how long each side stays.
Institutional activity typically fades within a day of a rally. Retail traders remain active for about three days.
Retail now makes up a smaller share of the market overall. That mismatch means altcoin momentum can fade faster than it did in past cycles.
Derivatives and Tokenization Pick Up the Slack
Institutional activity did not stop at spot trading. Altcoin options volume on Wintermute’s OTC desk grew roughly 3.4 times over the past year. The rise ran from the second half of 2025 into the first half of 2026.
The trend started as a yield trade in major tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH). It has since moved down the curve into altcoins.
Yield-seeking flow tends to dampen price swings rather than amplify them. Wintermute said that effect, long visible in Bitcoin and Ethereum, is now reaching altcoins too.
Meanwhile, tokenized real-world assets (RWA) are crypto tokens that represent ownership of off-chain assets like bonds or real estate. That sector grew nearly 50% to $31 billion in the first half of 2026.
That fits a broader trend. Tokenized assets have emerged as one of the market’s few growth pockets even as trading volumes elsewhere softened.
What It Means for Altcoin Season
Wintermute frames the shift simply. The market increasingly reflects its dominant participant. It is patient, selective in tokens, and inclined toward derivatives rather than spot trades.
Retail traders still spread their activity across a much wider set of assets than institutions do. If institutional flow keeps setting the market’s direction, the next rally may reward fewer winners than past cycles did.
The post Institutions Now Drive 72% of Crypto’s OTC Flow, Wintermute Data Shows appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Bitcoin treasury company Strategy sold another tranche of Bitcoin (BTC) last week, according to an 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Strategy sold 1,638 BTC for $104.7 million, using the proceeds to fund dividend obligations and repurchase STRC stock. The sale reduces the company’s total holdings to 842,138 BTC.
Strategy Selling Bitcoin Again
Strategy sold the Bitcoin (BTC) at an average sale price of $63,957, significantly lower than the average acquisition cost of $75,419. The company now holds 842,138 BTC, worth $52.6 billion at current prices. Strategy used the proceeds from the sale toward preferred stock dividend obligations and repurchased $52.3 million worth of Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC).
Monday’s 8-K filing also revealed that Strategy sold 3,011,361 MSTR shares, raising $290.6 million from the sale. The company used the proceeds to increase its USD reserve to $4 billion and repurchase $28.9 million of STRC. The remaining $11.7 million was redirected toward its cash balance. The company has $22.7 billion worth of MSTR shares available for issuance and sale as of August 2, 2026.
Strategy’s Bitcoin stash carries almost $11 billion in paper losses
Another Cryptic Saylor Post
Saylor took to X on Sunday, posting a Strategy Bitcoin tracker chart with the caption “Bitcoin Drive engaged.” Saylor’s weekend posts have typically hinted at an imminent BTC buy, but they’ve gotten cryptic in recent weeks as Strategy shifts priorities.
The company’s Digital Credit Capital Framework restricts its USD reserve to preferred stock dividends and interest payments. It also authorized a $1 billion repurchase program and adopted a flexible STRC dividend policy. Strategy also approved a $1 billion common stock buyback program, expanding its Bitcoin monetization program to allow the sale of up to $5 billion in BTC to fund its reserve, interest payments, securities repurchase, and dividends.
What Does Strategy Selling Bitcoin Mean For The Market?
Michael Saylor once claimed in February 2024 that he had “no plans to sell any Bitcoin,” calling Strategy’s Bitcoin push “accumulation without an exit.” A lot has changed since that bold claim, with Strategy now selling part of its Bitcoin holdings as STRC, its high-yielding preferred stock takes precedence.
While the sale represents a minuscule fraction of Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings, it is significant because the company built its identity around its Bitcoin reserve and is now selling to fund a USD reserve.
According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, Strategy currently holds 842,138 BTC, purchased for $63.51 billion, at an average cost basis of $75,419. Bitcoin is currently trading around the $64,000 mark, putting Strategy’s position roughly $10 billion in the red. The latest Bitcoin sale left the company with a realized loss of around $20 million.
STRC Taking Precedence
Strategy used $52.3 million out of the $104.73 million raised from its Bitcoin sale, along with a portion of the funds raised by selling its common stock, to purchase $81.2 million in STRC stock. Its USD reserve now holds $4 billion, which will be utilized to meet dividend obligations on STRC. STRC has a 12% annual payout, representing a significant outflow.
Strategy’s USD reserve helps cover its dividend obligations without forced selling of BTC at unfavorable price levels. Repurchasing STRC also helps reduce future dividend obligations while BTC trades at lower levels. While this is rational, it flies in the face of Saylor’s “never sell” claim.
Unsurprisingly, Saylor has come under heavy criticism for Strategy’s recent selling spree. The Strategy co-founder took to X to defend his decision, stating,
“When I say “Never Sell Your Bitcoin,” I speak as one saver to another. I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi. Strategy is a public company, not my wallet. Since 2020, it has disclosed it may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital. Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.”
However, the argument faced intense backlash, with Peter Schiff responding,
“You knew the impression you were creating, and you never bothered to clarify it. So either that was a deliberate attempt to deceive, or you actually meant that Strategy would never sell.”
Schiff called STRC an albatross around MSTR’s neck, forcing continued BTC sales and common stock dilution.
“In the past week, @saylor sold 1,638 Bitcoin & more than 3 million $MSTR shares to raise cash and buy back $STRC. This reduced Bitcoin YTD Yield to 3.5%, 74% below its May peak. STRC is now an albatross around MSTR’s neck, ensuring continued Bitcoin sales & common-stock dilution.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have asked the SEC to investigate whether the TRUMP meme coin facilitated fraud or improper enrichment after its value collapsed 98% from its peak.
Summary
- Warren and Blumenthal urged the SEC to investigate possible fraud involving the TRUMP token.
- Nearly 989,000 wallets lost a combined $3.81 billion, according to Nansen data.
- TRUMP trades near $1.47, down about 98% from its all-time high above $73.
- The request adds pressure to the CLARITY Act’s unresolved ethics negotiations.
Senators ask SEC to investigate TRUMP coin
Warren and Blumenthal sent a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins asking the agency to determine whether the president-linked token involved illegal fraudulent activity or allowed insiders to obtain improper gains.
“We are concerned that President Trump’s memecoin scheme may constitute an illegal scam,” the lawmakers wrote, according to CNN reporting cited by multiple outlets.
The senators reportedly asked the SEC to examine whether the project operated as a “soft rug pull.” The term describes a situation in which insiders or developers gradually withdraw support or extract value instead of abandoning a project in one sudden move.
Their letter does not establish that fraud occurred. The SEC would need to determine whether federal securities laws apply to the token and whether its promotion, distribution, or trading involved any legal violations.
TRUMP coin investors lost $3.81 billion
The lawmakers cited the scale of investor losses surrounding the Solana-based token, which launched shortly before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Data from blockchain analytics firm Nansen showed that 988,905 of the 1.48 million wallets that purchased TRUMP were carrying losses by the end of June. Their combined losses reached approximately $3.81 billion.
Trump reported earning about $636 million from the meme coin, while his wider crypto-related income exceeded $1.4 billion in 2025, according to financial disclosures reported by US media. Those figures have intensified questions about whether a sitting president should benefit from digital assets while shaping federal crypto policy.
TRUMP traded near $1.47 on Aug. 4, with a market capitalization of approximately $366 million and daily volume near $159 million, according to CoinMarketCap. Its price has fallen roughly 98% from an all-time high of $73.43, although the token was slightly higher over the previous 24 hours.
CLARITY Act ethics dispute remains unresolved
The SEC request comes as senators remain divided over an ethics provision in the CLARITY Act, a broader bill intended to establish US rules for digital asset markets.
As crypto.news reported on Aug. 4, the White House had not responded to a bipartisan counterproposal from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego. The compromise would allow state attorneys general to sue the Department of Justice if it failed to enforce restrictions on crypto activity involving federal officials.
Democrats opposed an earlier version that left enforcement solely with the DOJ. Warren has argued that passing the bill without stronger safeguards could expand conflicts of interest tied to Trump’s crypto businesses.
The delay pushed Polymarket’s estimated chance of the legislation becoming law in 2026 to an all-time low of 24%. The measure must still pass the Senate and resolve any differences with the House before reaching Trump’s desk.
Senate faces wider fight over developer protections
The ethics dispute is not the only issue slowing the CLARITY Act. The Blockchain Association sent an eight-page letter to Senate leaders on Aug. 3 disputing claims from the National Sheriffs’ Association that the latest draft creates broad exemptions from anti-money laundering rules.
The trade group argued that Section 10604 protects developers who create neutral software without controlling customer assets or transactions. It said intermediaries that exercise control would remain subject to the Bank Secrecy Act, sanctions and anti-money laundering requirements. The Blockchain Association’s response also rejected the view that earning revenue alone makes a developer a financial institution.
The Senate ended Monday without taking action on the bill, leaving it without a publicly announced vote as lawmakers approach the August recess. Warren and Blumenthal’s request could now place the TRUMP coin and presidential crypto conflicts more firmly at the center of those negotiations.
SpaceX shares rebounded ahead of the company’s first quarterly report since its June IPO, as investors looked beyond an expected $1.9 billion loss toward its AI infrastructure plans and Starlink growth.
Summary
- SpaceX is expected to report $6.8 billion in quarterly revenue and a $1.9 billion loss.
- Bernstein maintained its Outperform rating and $239 price target before the results.
- SPCX remains more than 50% below its $225.64 high despite its latest rebound.
- Investors are watching Starship reuse, Starlink growth, and AI computing demand for signs of long-term value.
SpaceX earnings put AI strategy in focus
SpaceX is scheduled to publish its second-quarter results after the U.S. market closes on Tuesday, marking its first earnings report as a public company.
Analysts expect the company to post revenue of about $6.8 billion and a net loss near $1.9 billion. Starlink growth is expected to offset some of the losses from SpaceX’s launch and artificial intelligence operations, according to estimates cited by CBS News.
The headline financial figures may receive less attention than management’s outlook for AI infrastructure. SpaceX has been developing plans to deploy space-based data centers, which would use satellite networks to provide computing capacity.
The company’s AI strategy also includes terrestrial infrastructure agreements. Anthropic agreed to pay SpaceX $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 for computing capacity, although the arrangement was expected to generate lower payments during its initial ramp-up period, Axios reported.
Investors will want details about when these contracts will contribute materially to revenue and whether they can offset the high spending required to expand computing capacity.
Bernstein keeps $239 target despite SpaceX stock slide
Bernstein SocGen Group maintained an Outperform rating and a $239 price target on SpaceX ahead of the report. That target implies substantial upside from the stock’s recent trading range.
The firm identified rapid Starship reuse as the most important factor supporting SpaceX’s long-term valuation. A reusable Starship system could lower the cost of deploying the satellites needed for orbital data centers and expand the company’s launch capacity.
Bernstein also identified semiconductor supply, regulatory approvals, and continued demand for computing power as major risks. These issues could determine how quickly SpaceX can develop its planned satellite-based AI network.
Competition from China, Starlink’s international broadband expansion, and the company’s direct-to-device mobile business remain other considerations. However, Bernstein said those areas are secondary to SpaceX’s ability to execute its AI infrastructure strategy.
The company’s first public earnings call could provide investors with clearer timelines for Starship development, satellite deployments, and capital spending.
SPCX stock targets $124 after its rebound
As reported by crypto.news, SPCX stock traded around $119.71 after gaining 4.6%, extending its recovery from a recent low near $105. The rebound came after the shares lost more than half their value from a 52-week high of $225.64.
Holding above $119.34 could allow the stock to challenge $124.15. A move through that level would place $130.67 in focus, followed by higher resistance at $138.63 and $146.58.
Failure to remain above $119.34 could expose the stock to another decline toward $114 and $110. The main downside level remains near $104.91, close to the floor established during the latest sell-off.
Despite the rebound, the broader trend remains weak. SPCX has fallen from above $172 in early July and remains below its June IPO price of $135.
Starlink and Starship could decide what comes next
Starlink remains SpaceX’s strongest operating business and the only segment consistently producing profits. Its broadband subscriber growth will be important because that cash flow helps fund Starship development and the company’s capital-intensive AI expansion.
Wall Street will also examine management’s spending plans. Building computing infrastructure, manufacturing satellites, and testing Starship require substantial capital before they can generate sustainable returns.
For U.S. investors, the report will provide the first detailed test of whether SpaceX’s public valuation can be supported by its operating results. Strong Starlink growth and clearer AI revenue guidance could support the recovery, while higher spending or delays to Starship reuse could renew pressure on SPCX shares.
Upbeat earnings from Caterpillar and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to record closes on Tuesday, easing concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) spending.
The Dow gained 907 points, or 1.71%, to close at 54,091.42. The S&P 500 rose 1.79% to 7,736.52. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.59% to a record 26,584.99.
AI Earnings Beat the Street
Caterpillar raised its annual revenue growth forecast as AI data center construction drove demand for its power-generation equipment. Its stock jumped 5.6%, the single biggest boost to the Dow.
Palantir’s blowout earnings drove an even bigger move. Shares climbed 29.5% after the company raised its own annual revenue forecast, marking its best single-day gain since February 2024.
Optimism extended well beyond those two stocks. Of the 304 S&P 500 companies that had reported second-quarter results, 85.2% beat estimates, versus a long-term average of 67.5%, according to Reuters.
Investors view semiconductor stocks as AI beneficiaries, and those shares rose for a fourth straight session. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 6.6% and extended its rebound after tumbling 20.6% in July.
The Rally Went Global
Technology shares and a wave of corporate earnings updates pushed the pan-European STOXX 600 to a record close, up 0.73% to 656.86. MSCI’s All Country World Index gained 1.30% and hit an intraday record too.
Oil added fuel to the rally. Brent crude fell 5.3% to $79.36 a barrel on hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to more shipping. The drop pushed September rate-hike odds down to 56.9% from 67.2% and sent two-year Treasury yields to a two-week low.
Not Everyone Is Convinced
Not every voice on Wall Street shared the enthusiasm. Jack Ablin, chief investment strategist at Cresset Capital Management, raised that note of caution even as records piled up.
“I don’t sense one ounce of skepticism among investors, from oil to interest rates to equities. The earnings reports were certainly supportive, and that’s great news, but I’m not sure a handful of earnings reports justifies new records in the S&P.”
Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, saw it differently, pointing to “stronger earnings and stronger expectations” behind the mood.
That split showed up again hours later. SpaceX’s debut earnings beat Wall Street on revenue, up 92% year over year, yet shares fell roughly 8% in after-hours trading once results landed.
Ablin’s caution points to a real question. Does a rally built on a handful of earnings beats justify fresh records, or is the market pricing in AI demand that has yet to prove durable?
Tuesday’s numbers don’t settle it, and the rest of earnings season should offer more evidence.
The post Dow and S&P 500 Hit Records on AI Earnings: When Will the Bubble Burst? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
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BNY is adding Galaxy’s staking infrastructure to its digital asset custody platform, giving eligible institutional clients access to custody and staking through one servicing model.
Summary
- Galaxy will provide institutional staking through BNY’s Digital Asset Custody platform.
- The service remains subject to regulatory review and will be limited to eligible clients.
- BNY is also developing onchain transfer agency and tokenized Treasury infrastructure.
- BNY’s Belgian subsidiary recently received MiCA authorization for crypto custody and transfers.
BNY adds staking to institutional crypto custody
Galaxy said it has entered a strategic collaboration with BNY to integrate staking into the bank’s Digital Asset Custody platform. The arrangement will combine asset safekeeping and staking within a single institutional workflow.
Eligible clients will be able to use staking alongside BNY services such as fund accounting, tax reporting, payments and client reporting, where applicable. Galaxy will supply the staking infrastructure and act as a design partner for BNY’s broader digital asset platform.
The companies said the model could simplify institutional participation in proof-of-stake networks by reducing the need to coordinate between separate custody and staking providers. Client assets would remain within BNY’s institutional custody framework while accessing Galaxy’s staking capabilities.
However, the companies did not disclose which proof-of-stake assets the platform will support or when the service will become available. The launch remains subject to regulatory review.
“As digital assets continue to evolve, clients want more than safekeeping alone — they want a broader set of capabilities delivered through an institutional-grade model,” BNY Chief Product and Innovation Officer Carolyn Weinberg said.
Why the Galaxy partnership matters for US institutions
The collaboration expands the services available through a major U.S. custodian as banks compete to support institutional demand for digital assets. BNY reported $62.6 trillion in assets under custody or administration as of June 30.
Institutional staking can generate protocol rewards by committing eligible crypto assets to proof-of-stake networks. Yet the activity also introduces operational, technical and regulatory considerations that differ from conventional asset custody.
Combining both services could give asset managers and other institutions a more familiar route into staking. BNY would provide the custody and reporting framework, while Galaxy would handle the underlying staking infrastructure.
For U.S. institutions, the regulatory-review condition remains important. The companies have not said which regulators must approve the service or whether access will vary by client type or jurisdiction.
“The future of financial markets will be built on open, programmable rails, and the institutions that move first will define the era that follows,” Galaxy Global Co-Head of Digital Assets Steve Kurz said.
BNY expands onchain fund infrastructure
The staking agreement follows BNY’s move in late July to bring investment fund ownership records onchain through a blockchain-enabled transfer agency platform.
The platform will allow fund transactions and official shareholder records to be maintained on a shared digital ledger. BNY will continue operating its traditional transfer agency services alongside the blockchain-based system.
Rather than only tokenizing investment products, the bank is applying blockchain technology to the record-keeping systems that support fund administration. The model is intended to create a shared source of ownership information for institutions involved in processing and servicing funds.
BNY has also completed after-hours U.S. Treasury transactions with stablecoin issuers. The bank reportedly plans to introduce tokenized U.S. Treasuries before the end of 2026 and conduct pilot transactions on a private blockchain during the year.
MiCA approval supports BNY’s European crypto push
BNY is also expanding its regulated digital asset operations in Europe. ESMA added BNY SA/NV, the bank’s Belgian subsidiary, to its interim Markets in Crypto-Assets register in July.
The National Bank of Belgium authorized the subsidiary to provide crypto-asset custody and transfer services. Its addition came as ESMA’s register reached 309 authorized providers following 15 new entries.
The approval gives BNY a regulated route to offer specified crypto services under the European Union’s MiCA framework. Combined with the Galaxy agreement and its onchain fund platform, the authorization shows BNY is building separate but connected infrastructure across custody, staking, tokenized assets and fund administration.
The next step will depend on regulatory clearance for the staking service and details about supported assets, client eligibility and launch timing.
Bitcoin pushed to fresh August highs as hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen calmed broader energy-market fears and lifted risk assets into Tuesday’s Wall Street open. While equities surged, crypto’s rally stayed more controlled—yet on-chain data suggested investors were accumulating rather than chasing.
TradingView data showed BTC/USD rising to $64,176 on Bitstamp, posting maximum daily gains of roughly 1% as market attention focused on US-Iran developments, oil price moves, and how those dynamics could shape expectations for the Federal Reserve.
Key takeaways
- Bitcoin extended gains toward $64,000 on Tuesday, with TradingView marking a peak around $64,176 on Bitstamp.
- US-Iran reopening signals for the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices lower; WTI and Brent were down about 4.8% and 4.6%, respectively.
- BTC traded between key moving averages on the hourly view, with the 21-day SMA near $64,388 acting as a near-term ceiling.
- CryptoQuant reported “strong accumulation,” pointing to investors taking positions in the $62,000–$65,000 cost-basis band.
- With rate expectations tied to oil and bond-market dynamics, FedWatch probabilities pointed to a 0.25% hike as a leading scenario for September.
Hormuz optimism lifts stocks—and pulls oil down
The crypto move was part of a wider risk-on shift driven by geopolitical headlines. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that there is “a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position” amid ongoing US-Iran discussions. The comments followed a day after President Donald Trump said reopening dialogue could happen “as soon as tomorrow.”
Oil reacted quickly. At the time of writing, WTI and Brent crude were trading 4.8% and 4.6% lower, respectively, with prices at their lowest levels since July 13. The direction of travel matters for markets not only because oil is a direct input for inflation expectations, but also because reopening assumptions can quickly change the probability of supply disruptions.
US stocks futures moved higher ahead of the open, and the S&P 500 topped a new milestone. According to market tracking cited in the report, the index reached a record high of 7,713 and achieved a $70 trillion market capitalization for the first time.
Fed expectations hinge on oil, bonds, and the market’s interpretation
Traders linked the Hormuz outlook to future Federal Reserve decisions. The report highlighted an environment of debate among policymakers, describing an “emerging hawkish split” regarding interest-rate timing and magnitude, while markets watched how energy prices could influence the inflation picture.
According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, investors were pricing in a 56.7% probability of policymakers approving a 0.25% rate hike at the September meeting. Earlier in the day, Bloomberg macro strategist Michael Ball was quoted emphasizing that Chairman Kevin Warsh’s limited guidance on the Fed’s reaction function means coming data—along with oil prices and the bond market—will have an outsized impact on how investors forecast the policy path.
For Bitcoin, the key takeaway is not that crypto is trading directly off oil headlines, but that macro expectations determine the liquidity and risk appetite that typically flows into high-beta assets. If the market believes reopening reduces inflation pressures, it can soften the “higher for longer” narrative that often weighs on speculative demand.
Bitcoin stays in a tight range, but on-chain shows buyers soaking up dips
Despite BTC/USD slipping into a comparatively narrow technical rhythm, the price still managed to break toward the low-to-mid $64,000s. On the hourly chart referenced in the report, analysts noted BTC was trading between two daily moving averages: the 21-day simple moving average (SMA) near $64,388 acted as an overhead reference, while the 50-day SMA provided support in shorter time frames.
In a market that appears to be waiting for a clearer macro catalyst, this kind of range behavior often reflects “positioning” rather than fresh momentum chasing. That’s where on-chain analysis came in.
CryptoQuant reported “strong accumulation” among investors. Specifically, the platform said 0.7% of the BTC supply—about 155,000 coins—now belongs to participants with a cost basis between $62,000 and $65,000. In CryptoQuant’s framing, the pattern signals absorption rather than capitulation: buyers were accumulating during weakness instead of selling under pressure.
For traders, the practical implication is that a stubborn local range can be consistent with accumulation, especially when there’s no broad liquidation wave. However, accumulation data doesn’t guarantee an immediate breakout; it mainly clarifies whether demand is present beneath the surface.
What to watch next as macro headlines evolve
As the Strait of Hormuz reopening narrative continues to develop, the next swings in oil and US bond yields are likely to remain central to how risk assets—including Bitcoin—trade. Investors should also monitor whether BTC can hold above the 50-day SMA on lower time frames and whether accumulation signals persist as price tests the $64,000 area and beyond.
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