Source link

Bitcoin miner stocks have spent three weeks trading with a seller sitting on top of them. On Friday, Ken Griffin said that seller is nearly finished.

Griffin told Citadel clients the firm has unwound more than 80% of the risk it absorbed from Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness portfolio. The filings behind that book show miner bets that grew in dollars while shrinking to under 10% of the portfolio. The fund was buying miners fast and memory chips faster.

The Seller Nobody Was Watching

Situational Awareness is the artificial intelligence (AI) fund run by former OpenAI researcher Aschenbrenner. It gained 439% in the first half of 2026. Then July arrived.

Leveraged four to one, the fund lost 67% in a single month and handed roughly $10 billion of stock to Citadel on July 30, as BeInCrypto reported when it lost its stock book.

Its last filing before that sale is the one that matters. The 13F, a quarterly holdings report large investors must file with regulators, covered the period to June 30 and was lodged on August 14. It listed a $20.24 billion portfolio across just 26 positions.

Bitcoin miners made up $1.99 billion of it. Core Scientific was the biggest at $666 million. Riot Platforms held $468 million, IREN $433 million and CleanSpark $179 million. A fresh $152 million stake sat in Keel Infrastructure, the company Bitfarms became after rebranding in April.

Those positions grew fast. Miner exposure climbed 79% in a single quarter. Riot alone jumped 229%.

Why the Whole Thing Broke

Aschenbrenner was never buying Bitcoin (BTC). He was buying megawatts. Miners already owned grid capacity, and AI data centers needed it.

The real danger sat elsewhere. In March, the fund held $8.5 billion of put options against Nvidia, Oracle, Broadcom and other AI names. Those were its hedges.

By June 30, they had almost entirely gone. In their place stood $12.5 billion of outright long bets. Sandisk and Micron alone accounted for 55.6% of the whole book.

So the fund stopped hedging and doubled down instead. When chip stocks slid in July, nothing cushioned the fall. Miners were collateral damage in a memory-chip trade.

Griffin Cleared It in Three Weeks

Citadel moved quickly. It pushed through nearly 100 block trades worth more than $4 billion, including the largest intraday blocks of the year in 10 separate names.

“Our ability to distribute this risk was central to our investment thesis,” Reuters reported, citing Ken Griffin in the letter.

Citadel bought the portfolio at a discount, and three Citadel funds gained sharply afterward.

What Changes for Miner Holders

A large seller with no reason to care about price is now mostly out. That hands the sector back to its own numbers, from hosting deals like Riot’s Anthropic lease to heavy quarterly mining losses.

The tape is helping too. Bitcoin’s 7% daily gain lifted BTC to about $77,309 and its market value to roughly $1.55 trillion.

One question remains. Aschenbrenner loaded up on miners because he believed hashrate was really a claim on power. Citadel has now sold most of it. Whoever bought those blocks made the same bet, quietly, at a lower price.

The post Bitcoin Miners Had a $2 Billion Ghost Seller, Citadel Just Cleared It appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Gold surged past $4,600 per ounce on Friday, touching its highest level in three months and putting the metal on track for a nearly 5% weekly gain.

A weaker dollar and fresh debt concerns are driving investors toward safety.

What is Driving the Gold Rally?

Spot gold traded between $4,580 and $4,600 on Friday, while futures approached $4,650, according to TradingView data. The rally stems from two converging forces:

• A weaker US dollar, renewed concern over soaring American debt, and the Treasury’s decision this week to double long-term bond buybacks all pushed investors toward non-yielding assets.
• That buyback move aimed to stabilize the bond market after the 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since 2007. The announcement initially pushed yields lower and further weakened the dollar, adding fuel to gold’s advance.

Prominent market voices highlighted the significance of the move. Economist Mohamed El-Erian noted that gold ranked among the morning’s standout performers, topping $4,600 alongside Bitcoin’s rebound above $79,000.

Longtime gold advocate Peter Schiff pointed to the precious metal’s rally as evidence that the Federal Reserve has lost credibility on its inflation target.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens.

Sentiment among professional investors has also shifted markedly. Bank of America’s latest Global Fund Manager Survey showed a net 16% of managers now view gold as undervalued, the highest reading since March 2023 and up sharply from just 6% in July.

Structural support also remains strong. Central banks continued aggressive buying, with second-quarter purchases hitting a quarterly record.

US federal debt recently surpassed $40 trillion, amplifying fiscal concerns that favor gold as a hedge against currency debasement.

Rising Treasury yields typically signal investor concern about long-term debt sustainability, and gold tends to benefit when both yields and the dollar soften.

Where Does the Gold Rally Go From Here?

Analysts remain genuinely divided on gold’s next move. Some see the breakout above the 200-day moving average as confirmation of renewed bullish momentum, with potential targets toward $5,000 if dollar weakness persists.

Others caution that higher oil prices and sticky inflation could reinstate pressure on yields, limiting further gains in the near term.

“…Gold continues its strong run higher, gaining 1.8% on the day and 5.1% on the week to trade at USD 4,600, well above the 200-day MA which was the technical trigger for fresh momentum buying and now also above the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement of the January to June correction at USD 4,574. Next level being the 0.5 retracement and May local high around USD 4,770…,” analyst Ole S Hansen said on X.

Silver’s parallel move near $70 reinforces the broader precious metals narrative. Investors appear to be rotating toward tangible assets as confidence in traditional monetary tools shows visible signs of strain.

For now, gold’s return above $4,600 underscores its role as a preferred safe haven amid fiscal uncertainty and shifting monetary expectations across global markets.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch leaders and journalists provide expert insights.

The post Gold Price Hits 3-Month High Amid Bond Market Stress: Is $5,000 Next? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Oh, what a week it was in the cryptocurrency (and not only) markets. We will dig into all of that as finally, after weeks (and even months) of sideways action without any clear indication of a breakout, BTC skyrocketed to fresh peaks.

But before we go into details on that, let’s rewind the clock to last Friday, when the primary cryptocurrency was struggling a lot. Despite the positive US CPI data from a few days back, the asset slumped to $62,500 to mark a ten-day low. Again, little to no indication of what was about to happen soon.

The bulls tried to intervene and helped bitcoin recover to $63,000, where it spent the entire weekend with no actual volatility. The first minor signs of a bullish change came on Monday when BTC gradually increased to $64,000. It tapped $65,000 on Tuesday, but as it has frequently happened in the past few months, it was rejected and slipped back down to $64,000.

Then came Wednesday. Instead of another rejection, the bulls took the front seat. In fact, they took all seats, initiating a massive leg up that drove BTC to $70,000 within hours, liquidating over $1 billion in shorts in 60 minutes. After a brief correction to $68,000, bitcoin went on the offensive once again. This time, it flew to $72,000.

The scenario repeated a few more times, and the culmination, at least for now, took place earlier today. Bitcoin skyrocketed to almost $80,000 for the first time in over three months, gaining $15,000 in 48 hours.

Its massive run was finally halted, or at least paused, and BTC now sits at around $77,000. Nevertheless, the weekly gains are nothing short of mind-blowing, showing a 23.6% surge. Some altcoins have performed even better, with ETH touching $2.4K earlier today after a 30% pump. XRP stole the show as it rebounded from the $1.00 support with a spectacular 40% surge to $1.40.

Other massive gainers include SOL, HYPE, ZEC, DOGE, LINK, ADA, BCH, and many, many more. The chart below paints a very clear picture. After all, the total market cap has added more than $400 billion since Wednesday.

Market Data

Market Cap: $2.670T | 24H Vol: $350B | BTC Dominance: 57.9%

BTC: $77,300 (+23.6%) | ETH: $2,390 (+28%) | XRP: $1.40 (+40%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Why Did the Bitcoin Price Suddenly Spike Toward $73K? Let’s begin with perhaps the most important question: why did BTC rally so hard? The most obvious answer came just minutes before the Wednesday explosion when the US Treasury Department announced it would double the maximum size of liquidity-support buybacks for long-dated government debt, raising them from $2 billion to at least $4 billion.

Bitcoin Back Above $100K? Scaramucci Says the 2028 Halving Holds the Key. Given the latest developments, making bold price predictions is back on the table. Anthony Scaramucci noted, even before BTC’s surge, that the asset is likely to return to a six-digit price territory by its next halving, which is scheduled to occur in H1 2028.

Strategy Stays Put on Bitcoin but Sells a Massive 3.46 Million Shares. More positive news this week came (or didn’t) from Strategy, as the firm refrained from selling more BTC. It didn’t buy any, either, but at least the company has paused its offloads, for now.

Ripple Whales Go Crazy as XRP Price Can’t Stop Surging. As mentioned above, XRP is among the top performers in the past few days. There were some indications of a big move in the making, mostly coming from whales. These large market participants went on an accumulation spree in the past week, scooping almost 400 million tokens in total.

Polymarket Hit With Access Block in South Korea Over Gambling Allegations. The leading predictions platform continues to hit roadblocks in numerous jurisdictions, and South Korea has emerged as the latest one. The local regulator blocked domestic access to Polymarket after determining that its services facilitated activities considered illegal gambling.

Trump Wants the US to Lead Crypto: Here Are the Biggest Takeaways From the White House Meeting. US President Trump hosted leaders of numerous cryptocurrency firms at the White House on Wednesday (yes, around the time of the price surges), pushing for approval of the highly anticipated CLARITY Act. He also said his administration mulled buying sizeable amounts of bitcoin and other digital assets.

Charts

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid – click here for the complete price analysis.

The post BTC Hit 3-Month High, ETH Topped $2.4K, XRP Soared 40% in 48 Hours: Weekly Crypto Recap appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Source link

Source link

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

EX DeFi is attracting XRP holders seeking alternative income as regulatory optimism boosts interest in the digital asset.

Advertisement

Summary

• Trump urges Congress to advance the CLARITY Act as Bitcoin tops $79,000 and XRP surges more than 40% amid regulatory optimism.
• EX DeFi promotes XRP cloud mining with automated computing power contracts, aiming to help holders generate passive income.
• EX DeFi says its platform combines cloud mining with multi-layer security, compliance measures, and support for major digital assets.

Significant progress has been made regarding cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.

On August 19, U.S. President Trump met with representatives from the cryptocurrency and financial sectors at the White House and publicly urged Congress to accelerate the stalled “CLARITY Act.” Trump stated that the U.S. needs clearer, fairer regulatory rules for digital assets to maintain its competitiveness in cryptocurrency and financial innovation.

The meeting brought together representatives from the crypto industry — including Ripple, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken — as well as heads of the SEC and CFTC, drawing further market attention to the future direction of U.S. digital asset regulation. This move has further boosted investor interest.

Driven by positive regulatory news, the cryptocurrency market has seen a significant rebound. As of today, Bitcoin has surpassed $79,000, while XRP surged more than 40% in a short period, emerging as one of the standout mainstream digital assets in this rally.

Advertisement

As the regulatory landscape potentially becomes clearer, more investors are refocusing on XRP’s long-term value. For XRP holders, beyond simply waiting for price appreciation, the question arises: how can one participate in XRP’s long-term gains in a more efficient and sustainable way? The EX DeFi cloud mining platform has emerged as a noteworthy option.

Positive regulatory factors boost XRP market sentiment

Renewed market attention on the CLARITY Act serves as a key policy backdrop for the recent rebound in XRP prices.

The CLARITY Act aims to establish a clearer regulatory framework for the digital asset market and further define the respective regulatory responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC in this space. If the bill is ultimately approved, regulatory boundaries in the U.S. digital asset market are expected to become more distinct, thereby reducing some of the regulatory uncertainty faced by institutional investors entering the market.

This shift holds potential significance for XRP. A clearer regulatory environment could boost institutional investors’ willingness to allocate capital to digital assets and further drive the development of applications such as trading, payments, and asset tokenization.

Advertisement

Whale activity also a key indicator to watch for XRP’s rise

Beyond regulatory policy, on-chain activity is another crucial component of current XRP price analysis. Recent on-chain data indicates that large XRP holders have been consistently increasing their positions over a short period; this accumulation by “whale” addresses has drawn significant market attention.

While the simultaneous occurrence of accumulation by large holders and a price rebound is a positive signal, it does not guarantee a sustained rise in XRP’s price. However, if the regulatory environment improves and institutional capital alongside on-chain demand continues to grow, XRP could attract even greater market interest in the future.

EX DeFi cloud mining platform: A new option for XRP investors

To provide investors with a more convenient way to participate in the XRP ecosystem, EX DeFi has launched a cloud mining service powered by sustainable energy. Users do not need to purchase mining hardware or possess technical mining expertise; by simply selecting a computing power contract that suits their needs, they can generate stable daily returns and earn passive income.

In terms of operations, EX DeFi integrates hosting services, computing power management, and earnings settlement, utilizing automated systems to handle daily operations and profit distribution. For users who hold XRP long-term and wish to maximize the utility of their digital assets, this cloud mining model offers the potential for long-term compound growth while effectively mitigating the impact of short-term market volatility on returns.

Advertisement

About EX DeFi

Headquartered in the UK, EX DeFi operates in compliance with European regulatory frameworks such as MiCA and MiFID II, while continuously enhancing platform transparency, operational standards, and user protection mechanisms.

The platform employs a multi-layered security architecture, featuring:

• Annual financial and security compliance audits by PwC
• Digital asset custody insurance from Lloyd’s of London
• Cloudflare enterprise-grade network protection and McAfee® security systems
• Multi-layer encryption, AI-driven risk management, and 2FA verification

EX DeFi currently supports a wide range of mainstream digital assets — including XRP, BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, DOGE, LTC, and SOL — offering users a flexible and convenient service experience.

Affiliate program

EX DeFi offers an affiliate program that allows users to earn commissions of 3% + 2% (up to a maximum of $50,000) by inviting friends, enabling them to generate stable passive income without requiring an initial investment. 

Advertisement

Get started with cloud mining in just four steps

1. Register an account

Sign up for a free account using an email address on the official EX DeFi platform to receive a $17 trial bonus.

2. Deposit cryptocurrency

Advertisement

Deposit XRP or other cryptocurrencies into the account (minimum deposit: $100).

3. Select a mining package

Choose a cloud mining contract that fits a particular budget and timeframe, then start automated mining with a single click.

4. Start earning returns

Advertisement

Once the contract is activated, earnings are settled automatically every 24 hours. Users can choose to withdraw their earnings at any time or reinvest them for compound returns.

Popular mining contracts

BTC (Beginner Trial Contract): Investment $100, Duration: 2 days, Daily Return: $4, Total Profit: $100 + $8

DOGE (Gold Shell Mini-Doge Pro): Investment $500, Duration: 6 days, Daily Return: $6.5, Total Profit: $500 + $39

Advertisement

BTC (Canaan-Avalon-A1466): Investment $1,000, Duration: 10 days, Daily Return: $13.4, Total Profit: $1,000 + $134

LTC (Bitmain Antminer L7): Investment $5,000, Duration: 20 days, Daily Return: $73.5, Total Profit: $5,000 + $1,470

BTC (Bitmain S19K-Pro): Investment $10,000, Duration: 30 days, Daily Return: $161, Total Profit: $10,000 + $4,830

Click here to visit the official EX DeFi website and view more mining contracts.

Advertisement

Conclusion

Trump’s public urging of Congress from the White House to advance the CLARITY Act has sent a new policy signal regarding US cryptocurrency regulation and reignited investor interest in mainstream digital assets like XRP. XRP’s recent strong rebound indicates that investors are reassessing the potential long-term impact of regulatory clarity.

For long-term XRP holders, exploring additional digital asset profit models via the EX DeFi cloud mining platform — while keeping an eye on policy and price fluctuations — can lay a solid foundation for long-term wealth accumulation.

XRP is already surging; join EX DeFi now to earn up to $10,000 in daily passive income using XRP holdings.

Advertisement

Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. Neither crypto.news nor the author of this article endorses any product mentioned on this page. Users should conduct their own research before taking any action related to the company.

Source link

The crypto exchange you trust with your hard-earned money can suddenly delete your account and freeze all the funds without any warning. That’s what happened to a user on Crypto.com last week. Alarmingly, its customer support initially denied that the user account even existed.

On August 13, the user “Bradley Peak” received a reassuring email with the subject line: “Crypto.com Exchange – Successful Login.” His credentials had been accepted. Similar to what anyone would receive when trying to access their account. 

While the email claimed a successful login, he couldn’t actually access the exchange. Peak was pushed back toward Crypto.com’s main app or its UK login flow. When he inspected the browser traffic, he said a request to an Exchange endpoint returned “401 Unauthorized.” 

So, basically, Crypto.com was showing that the user doesn’t have an account. Yet his money was locked inside. 

Note: It has been 8-days since the incident, and Crypto.com are yet to resolve the issue. After BeInCrypto’s probe, the exchange did ask the user for an external wallet address to send his funds. However, that hasn’t happened yet, at the time of writing. Peak is a journalist at BeInCrypto. He took no part in reporting or writing this article. BeInCrypto independently reviewed the screenshots and correspondence he supplied, then gave Crypto.com a detailed right of reply.

A Successful Login to Nowhere

Peak says he had used the Crypto.com Exchange account normally for several years. He sent funds to the same established deposit setup he had used before. Access disappeared afterwards.

There was no suspension email. The login page showed no account-status warning and didn’t request any documents. 

Customer support was a bigger problem. Crypto.com could not give Peak a consistent description of his account.

In one chat, a support specialist told him, “After checking, I can see that your exchange account is rejected.” The agent did not define “rejected” or say when that status had been applied. The case was escalated, followed by a familiar line: “I can’t give you an exact timeframe.”

“Rejected” Became “There Is No Account”

A different support agent gave a weirder answer. After asking Peak for the email address he used to log in, the specialist replied: “Apologies, but there’s no Exchange account under that specific email.”

Peak responded with Crypto.com Exchange messages tied to that address, including successful login notifications and an earlier email stating that he already had an Exchange account. The screenshots reviewed by BeInCrypto show no explanation for the contradiction.

The exchanges then settled into a loop. Support said the case was “still in progress,” that another team had it, and that no timeframe was available. 

Peak asked for updates across two chats for weeks. His funds remained inaccessible.

Crypto.com Answered With a Vague Compliance Statement

BeInCrypto sent Crypto.com 12 questions. They covered the account’s status, the meaning of “rejected,” the location of the funds, and the steps required to withdraw them. 

Crypto.com asked for extra time and then issued a very vague on-record statement:

“Crypto.com follows strict regulatory protocols and as such we do not comment on individual customer accounts. As a registered MLR firm, we are required to comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations, including the monitoring and review of customer activity. We may place restrictions on accounts while such reviews are ongoing. Crypto.com Customer Support will continue to engage with the user in question as appropriate.”

The statement identifies a reason why the exchange may restrict an account during review. It does not confirm that Peak’s account is under such a review or state whether it currently exists. 

The company gave no status for the funds and no route or deadline for release.

Crypto.com’s reference to its regulatory status also needs context. Foris DAX UK is registered by the Financial Conduct Authority for certain cryptoasset activities. The current registration sits under the UK’s money-laundering rules. 

The FCA says the wider authorization regime is expected to begin in October 2027 and MLR registration does not guarantee authorization under it. 

An FCA notice naming Foris DAX UK also says customers do not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme for these services.

Cases involving inaccessible exchange accounts therefore raise a practical custody issue.

Other Users Found the Same Maze

Peak’s complaint is not the only 2026 account-access claim visible in Crypto.com’s public forum. The accounts below are anonymous and BeInCrypto could not independently verify them. Their details echo parts of his experience.

Earlier this year, a Canadian user said withdrawals and Exchange access were blocked after a “routine review”. The user later reported that a formal complaint led to access being restored within days, without an explanation for the original restriction.

Another long-time customer reported an account lock, an unauthorized error, and repeated referrals to a support queue. A Crypto.com community representative offered to escalate the case manually. In a separate thread, a user said a phone-number change triggered a four-day lockout; other commenters described similar loops.

The anecdotes do not establish how common the problem is. They show the same failure mode: access stops, the chat escalates the case, and a public complaint opens another escalation route.

Earlier in March, Crypto.com also cut about 12% of its workforce, roughly 180 roles, as it integrated AI across the business. The company has not said customer support was affected. The evidence reviewed by BeInCrypto does not link the cuts to Peak’s case.

The Account Still Has No Name

Centralized exchanges can have legal reasons to pause transactions, and financial-crime reviews can limit what they disclose. That power makes an accurate account status and a working escalation path essential.

Peak is one of the several users who remain caught between Crypto.com’s systems. One accepted his login, while another denied authorization. Support called the account “rejected” and later said it did not exist. The press office described restrictions that may occur during reviews, while declining to say whether that explanation applied here.

As of August 21, Peak still had no access to the funds, no deadline, and no account-specific explanation. Crypto.com says support will continue to engage with him. For now, that engagement ends where the story began: in a chat window asking him to wait.

The post Crypto.com Deleted User Account With Funds, Gave No Reason For Weeks appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

XRP has emerged as one of the best-performing crypto assets this week after surging by over 35%. In the past 24 hours alone, it rose by almost 20%.

The latest push has revived talks of all-time highs.

Bulls Find Fresh Fuel

The token broke through several major levels before reaching $1.42 on Friday, including the previously identified $1.293-$1.302 range. Despite attempts from sellers to push the price a little lower, XRP held on. According to Diana’s findings, this may represent a “confirmed breakout” which could bring the previous all-time-high zone back into focus.

However, the 4H RSI remains around 83, indicating extremely overbought conditions. A failure to hold $1.30 could cool momentum and make $1.20 the key support to defend.

Meanwhile, analyst Crypto Patel said that a move toward $10 for XRP should not be dismissed, while pointing to the token’s past price action as evidence of its potential for sharp gains. The crypto asset traded around $0.006 in 2017, when a move to $3 was considered impossible, before eventually reaching more than $3 in 2018. XRP was also being described as “dead” in 2023 before surging from $0.50 to $2.60 in November 2024.

Taking factors such as fast transactions, low fees, and real-world payment adoption into account, the analyst therefore said that “$10-$20 is absolutely on the table.”

Adding to the bullish backdrop, XRP whales have also continued accumulating. Data cited by analyst Ali Martinez revealed that large holders acquired more than 300 million tokens since the start of the current business week.

Long Bets Surge on Binance

Activity in the XRP derivatives market on Binance is also picking up. CryptoQuant revealed that the funding rate reached 0.0101, its highest level since October 2025. The current funding rate is also well above its 30-day moving average, demonstrating how much stronger the demand for long positions is compared with the recent average.

However, as more traders build long positions, the cost of maintaining those positions rises. This leaves the market more exposed if XRP suddenly moves lower. A sharp decline could trigger liquidations among leveraged traders and add pressure to the price. For that reason, the funding rate could become an important gauge of whether the crypto asset’s current momentum is sustainable.

If funding stays elevated while XRP remains stable or continues moving higher, it would point to steady demand in the derivatives market. On the other hand, a decline in funding could signal that speculative interest and bullish momentum are starting to weaken.

The post Ripple (XRP) Hits $1.42 After Breaking Crucial Resistance Zone: Is the ATH Now Back in Sight? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Source link

Source link

Copyright ©2026 Investor’s Business Daily, LLC. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Source link