Crypto World
If crypto goes back to the congressional drawing board, 3 Democrat women loom large
“I voted against the GENIUS and Clarity acts because they fail to adequately address abuse and instead open the door to corruption,” she said last year. “At a time when the current occupant of the Oval Office is personally benefiting from crypto and memecoin ventures, these bills do nothing to close conflict-of-interest loopholes.”
But if Waters and Brown are running the crypto show in the House, the White House will still have its same occupant. Even if the Democrats win a stronger majority than the narrow GOP advantage of the past two years, the next session could become a mess of go-nowhere, message-sending bills. If the party won the Senate majority, too, that wouldn’t help assure Democrats an ability to get legislation converted to law.
On the Senate side, Senator Warren has been among the crypto industry’s most prominent Capitol Hill detractors, trying to keep a steady spotlight on what she’s portrayed as the president’s crypto corruption. However, under her time as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, she watched her fellow Democrats go against her on crypto matters, gathering for negotiations on the legislation she opposed.
She may have more sway were she to lead the committee and control the advancement of her members’ bills. If she were to follow in the footsteps of the most recent Democrat who ran the banking panel, former Senator Sherrod Brown, she could go for years without allowing a crypto measure through the gate. (Brown, who was defeated by Republican crypto advocate Senator Bernie Moreno two years ago with the help of a massive $40 million crypto PAC boost, is also running again for the other Ohio Senate seat.)
Russia’s central bank has compiled a proposed list of crypto assets that could be admitted to public trading on exchanges under new rules approved last week.
The list includes Bitcoin, Ether and Tether’s stablecoin USDT, the Bank of Russia said Tuesday, adding that the assets meet criteria including market capitalization, average daily trading volume and at least five years of price history on overseas markets.
The proposal follows a new law, signed by President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 4, that gives the Bank of Russia authority to determine which digital currencies can be admitted to organized trading and set related rules.
Under the rules, non-qualified investors could buy up to 300,000 Russian rubles ($3,650) worth of cryptocurrency per year through each intermediary, including a broker, crypto exchange service or asset manager. Qualified investors would face no purchase limits for crypto assets traded on exchanges or over-the-counter markets.
“Before making transactions, all investors, regardless of their status, will have to pass a test and familiarize themselves with the risks of investing in crypto assets,” the Bank of Russia said.
The central bank said the restrictions are designed to protect non-qualified investors from sharp and unpredictable fluctuations in crypto prices. The regulator is accepting comments on the proposal until Aug. 24.
Related: Russia cracks down on 9 crypto exchanges in Moscow City
However, a loss in the U.S. Supreme Court could put a halt to the many other local cases seeking damages from fossil fuel companies. “If the Supreme Court were to really narrow and prevent claims like this from going forward, it could have a significant effect on whether other cases, grounded in similar arguments and on similar state law claims, could proceed as well,” says Reisch.
The case’s significance cannot be understated, says Reisch. “This is the biggest climate-related case that the Supreme Court has heard, and it really goes to fundamental issues of fairness about whether or not communities can hold the companies that have been major drivers of climate change, and contributors to climate harm through the deceptive marketing and [upstream production and sales] of fossil fuel products, … accountable [for their contributions to] the mounting losses.”
But a loss in court doesn’t mean the fight is over. Experts say they still expect to see cases brought against fossil fuel companies under other legal grounds, as well as cases brought in other countries.
Ripple’s cross-border token has performed quite poorly over the last week, dropping by more than 7%.
It just dipped below the psychological level of $1.00, and the analysts are split: some see this as a great buying opportunity, while others have declared the asset dead.
A Deeper Plunge Ahead?
Somewhat expected, XRP’s pullback to a 21-month low has infused panic across the community, while the pessimists have become more vocal. X user Crypto Bitlord, for instance, claimed that the asset is “basically dead,” adding that it has no future and “someone needs to fork it.”
The post caused mixed reactions, with some members arguing that XRP still has a bright future ahead, but others agreed with the thesis and envisioned heavy bleeding.
X user Diana also chipped in, projecting a drop to as low as $0.86 should the price decisively break below the $1 mark. On the other hand, they believe a strong reaction around that zone, followed by a reclaim of $1.036, could interrupt the bearish perspective and trigger a relief bounce.
Another crypto commentator who gave their two cents is ChartNerd. The X user opined that XRP must reclaim the $1.02-$1.06 range, or it is likely to head further south.
The Bullish Signals
Recent whale activity and other factors suggest that Ripple’s native cryptocurrency could rebound in the near future. Earlier this week, Ali Martinez revealed that large investors have accumulated over 380 million XRP (worth nearly $400 million at the time) in the span of just seven days.
This development reduces the number of tokens available on the open market and might trigger a price increase (if demand increases or remains constant). Additionally, it may encourage smaller players to follow suit, thus distributing fresh capital into the ecosystem.
Martinez provided another optimistic element, saying that XRP’s TD Sequential indicator (on a monthly scale) has flashed a buy signal. He noted that on previous occasions, such a setup has been a precursor to a triple or even quadruple price surge.
It is worth mentioning that prior to that, the analyst outlined $1.06 as a critical level, predicting a massive collapse to $0.62 if the price slips under it (as it happened).
The post Ripple (XRP) Just Dipped Below $1: Collapse Warning or Hidden Opportunity? appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Trading platform eToro plans to acquire US online brokerage TradeZero as part of its US expansion plans, the company announced Tuesday.
In its second-quarter report, eToro reported $1.59 billion in revenue, down from $2 billion in the comparable 2025 period. Of that, $1.34 billion was revenue from crypto assets, down about 30% from $1.9 billion in Q2 of 2025. However, eToro reported $1.35 billion in crypto-related cost of revenue and $19.7 million in net income from crypto assets. Total net income was $53.4 million.
Equities and commodities-related trading generated $141 million in net income for the platform.
The company has been expanding into digital assets as part of its plans to become a multi-asset platform. In April, it announced plans to acquire self-custodial wallet provider Zengo.
“More than 60% of users who traded commodities during Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 subsequently traded equities in Q2 2026, and nearly nine in ten of those users have also traded crypto on eToro,” said Meron Shani, the chief financial officer at eToro.
Total cryptocurrency trades on the platform fell to 1.4 million in July, marking a 73% decline year-on-year. The invested amount was down 50%.
TradeZero generated about $80 million of revenue with 81% gross margins in the last 12 months ended June 30, 2026. EToro expects the deal to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first year after closing, which is expected in the first half of 2026.
The Nasdaq-traded ETOR shares were down more than 5% in pre-market activity on Tuesday, poised to extend Monday’s decline, according to Yahoo Finance data.
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Crypto World
Crypto-friendly bank Erebor in talks for $1.5 billion fundraise at $9.5 billion valuation: FT
Tech-oriented lender Erebor Bank is in advanced talks to raise about $1.5 billion in a deal that would value the year-old firm at about $9.5 billion, the Financial Times reported.
Lux Capital, Human Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and SV Angel are expected to make large commitments in the fundraising round. Existing investors including 8VC and Haun Ventures are also set to take part, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The fundraising comes as Erebor expands its deposit base and starts lending activity. Deposits reached $4.6 billion by the end of July, up from $1.1 billion at the end of March, the FT said.
Erebor targets companies working in crypto, artificial intelligence, defense and manufacturing. It also serves payment companies, investment funds and trading firms and its planned services include deposits, credit, stablecoin products, treasury management and payments.
The bank received final U.S. approval to operate in February. Regulators require it to maintain a leverage ratio of at least 12% during its first three years, making the fresh capital important as its balance sheet grows.
Cole Villemain (aka “ColeThereum”), the Pudgy Penguins co-founder who left the project after allegations of misusing its treasury, is selling NFTs again.
On Sunday, the controversial founder previewed his new collection launching on Robinhood Chain to over half a million views.
That attention was split among those celebrating Cole’s return and an equally-sized population who remembers the disappointing crypto projects from his past.
Villemain faced allegations of treasury misuse at Pudgy Penguins, and he had plenty of earlier controversies. In August 2021, for example, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT profiled one of his pre-crypto ventures, a dropshipping site called eBoy Outlet.
That store’s online reviews, according to ZachXBT, were “filled with instances of customers not receiving orders, refunds, or responses from support.”
Villemain denied wrongdoing and claimed to have refunded customers who failed to receive the merchandise they ordered.
He also founded My Fucking Pickle, another NFT collection that crashed within weeks of his creation. “Have to love cash grab projects,” ZachXBT wrote.
The floor price of those NFTs is now $13, down 98% from their June 27, 2021 high above $540.
Villemain’s new Robinhood Chain collection seems to be themed around fantasy videogames, although details are sparse on its splash homepage. No NFTs are mintable, and Villemain cautioned, “No contract or site is live yet.”
Rather than Ethereum, Villemain chose a new blockchain by the Robinhood brokerage.
That venue is already problematic. Robinhood Chain failed to focus on its original mission of real world asset tokenization, per the CEO’s own admission, as memecoins overran the blockchain instead.
Robinhood pitched its blockchain, which launched on July 1, as a home for tokenized stocks and US Treasuries. Protos documented wallet drainers, phishing pages, rug-pulls, and collapsing memecoins proliferating across Robinhood Chain during early July.
Villemain’s X bio offers his own disclosure, “All tweets are sarcasm or theatrics and not financial advice.”
Read more: Pudgy Penguins removes ‘racist’ post after Manchester City complaint
Nostalgia for NFTs and their -98% returns
Nostalgia seems to be Villemain’s entire sales pitch. He described his own marketing plan as “running back one of the oldest tricks in the book of 2021 NFT projects,” and declared himself “delusional enough to believe I can drop the #1 NFT on Robinhood Chain.”
Not everyone is feeling wistful. “The space never changes,” posted one developer.
“Same guy who did early meme NFT cash grabs, co-founded Pudgy Penguins, then got kicked out after treasury-drain accusations is now launching a new NFT project on Robinhood Chain. Half of Crypto Twitter is acting like none of that ever happened.”
Another X user predicted a repeat disappointment, “This is not the first time he’s launched something and rug pulled it using his luck with PP as a cosign for legitimacy.”
“He disappeared long enough for you and many to have no clue who he is,” one skeptic posted, “Only to come back and do the same thing.”
Indeed, NFT trading volumes declined 97% by 2022 and many NFTs declined 98%, including once-six-figure NFTs that crashed 99%.
On January 5, 2022, an investor alleged Pudgy Penguins founders drained the project’s ETH. The next day, NFT holders voted the founders out through a community vote in the project’s Discord.
Villemain announced a January break from X to focus on “mental health.” By April 2022, the remaining leaders had sold Pudgy Penguins to a group led by Los Angeles entrepreneur Luca Netz for 750 ETH, then about $2.5 million.
Netz turned the underperforming NFTs into physical penguin toys that have moved more than a million units through Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and other non-blockchain sales venues.
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Dubai-based maritime asset tokenization platform Shipfinex partnered with ADI Chain to tokenize a pipeline of around 35 vessels worth $500 million, as it looks to open new financing channels for shipowners.
According to the company, the vessels will be placed in separate special-purpose vehicles, with the resulting tokens potentially representing vessel-backed credit, charter-linked income or other economic interests in individual ships.
ADI Chain, an Abu Dhabi-based blockchain focused on stablecoins and real-world assets, will provide the distribution and settlement infrastructure. Primary allocations and distributions are expected to use UAE dirham-, US dollar- and other currency-denominated stablecoins.
The planned tokenization represents a small share of the broader shipping market. The world fleet and orderbook were valued at about $2.1 trillion at the start of 2026, according to Clarksons Research data.
The partnership is still in the pilot and operational-readiness stage, with no Maritime Asset Tokens publicly issued and the regulated issuance route still being finalized.
The deal comes as the market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) continues to grow. Assets tracked by RWA.xyz totaled about $38.1 billion as of Aug. 9, led by $16.2 billion in US Treasury debt and $4.9 billion in commodities.
In a report released Monday, Standard Chartered forecast that tokenized RWAs could reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028, according to Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital asset research.
Magazine: 10 weirdest things ever tokenized… including farts
Bitcoin (BTC) whales and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are absorbing supply, yet on-chain data shows the wider recovery still lacks depth.
Strong accumulation now sits against weak network activity and thinning liquidity, suggesting the market has not yet moved from a fragile bounce to a durable trend.
The Accumulation Case Looks Strong
CryptoQuant data show that addresses holding more than 10,000 BTC accumulated 46,420 BTC over a 60-day period through August 9. That reading is the highest since March 15 and nearly double the mid-March peak of 23,238 BTC.
Wallets holding 0.1 to 1 BTC reduced balances by roughly 9,700 BTC over the same period.
“This is a notable shift in positioning. The largest holders are increasing their exposure while smaller holders are reducing theirs,” an analyst wrote.
Santiment separately counted 90 wallets holding at least 10,000 BTC, a six-month high.
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Institutional demand also strengthened last week. Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew about $853.54 million in the week ending August 7. That was their best week since April 17, according to SoSoValue.
Why Bitcoin’s Recovery Still Looks Fragile
Nonetheless, the latest signals look softer. Spot Bitcoin ETFs reversed to a net outflow on Monday, an early sign that the inflow streak may be losing momentum.
Glassnode also reported that active addresses, transfer volume, and fee generation have drifted toward lower bounds. Profitability has improved only modestly, and realized losses still exceed realized profits on-chain.
The report describes the market as a transitional recovery that has yet to broaden into a full expansion.
“Improving institutional flows, stronger taker demand, and less defensive options positioning provide a constructive backdrop, but subdued spot liquidity and weak network activity suggest the recovery has yet to develop into a broad-based expansion,” the firm said.
Liquidity also remains thin. One CryptoQuant analyst noted monthly trading volume on Binance fell about 45% year-over-year in July, while OKX dropped roughly 57%. Shrinking depth lets modest flows swing prices sharply.
Another CryptoQuant analyst flagged a bearish top formation, with a downside target near $51,336, about 21% below current levels.
With US inflation data due this week, the coming sessions may show whether accumulation can pull the recovery wider.
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The post Bitcoin Whales Add 46,000 BTC but Weak Network Activity Clouds Recovery appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy has sold 6,948 BTC in 2026, raising $431.8 million as part of its BTC monetization program.
Saylor first announced in May that Strategy would soon start selling its BTC. Then in late June, the company revealed it would sell its accrued BTC as part of a monetization program to raise $1.25 billion for its USD reserve.
The money would be spent on preferred stock dividends, digital credit securities or Class A common stock.
Strategy’s K-8 filings reveal that its first sale of 32 BTC took place in late May. This sale made the firm $2.5 million while BTC was worth $77,135 at the time.
The company then sold:
- 1,363 BTC between June 29 and June 30
- 2,225 BTC between July 1 and July 5
- 1,638 BTC between July 27 and August 2
- 1,690 BTC between August 3 and August 9
This most recent sale is reflected in Strategy’s latest filing.
Read more: Is a crisis brewing at Crypto.com?
These sales netted the firm $80.8 million, $135.2 million, $104.73 million, and $108.6 million, respectively. The price of BTC has fallen 13% since the selling began.
Before June 21, Strategy was mostly buying BTC, building up 163,554 BTC in 2026. These purchases cost the firm over $12.7 billion.
Strategy’s first BTC purchase was in August 2020, when it spent $250 million buying 21,454 BTC.
As of August 9, the company now holds 840,447 BTC, currently worth $53.82 billion.
It paid $63.36 billion for all this BTC, which means that it is down -$9.5 billion on its BTC investments.
Even with its $4.65 billion USD reserve included with its BTC horde, that’s still $4.9 billion less than it bought all the BTC for.
Read more: Every time Michael Saylor said he’d never sell bitcoin
Saylor’s pivot to offloading BTC was controversial among followers who believed him when he said he wouldn’t be selling.
Strategy had only ever sold BTC once back in 2022, before buying significantly more BTC two days later.
In February 2025, when BTC was above $84,000, Saylor famously said, “Sell a kidney if you must, but keep the BTC.”
The price of the asset has since fallen 24% to $64,042, while his advice was ultimately abandoned by his firm.
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