BitMine Immersion Technologies added 9,926 Ethereum over the week ending Aug. 16, raising its reported holdings to 5,815,164 ETH.

The U.S. company valued the tokens at approximately $11 billion using an ETH price of $1,893. BitMine said the position represented 4.8% of Ethereum’s estimated 120.7 million supply in its Aug. 17 release.

BMNR stock closed 3.68% higher at $18.73 on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 17. It gained another 0.37% to $18.80 in after hours trading, according to Google Finance data.

BitMine stock opened Monday at $18.20 and traded between $18.11 and $19.00. Approximately 30.95 million shares changed hands, compared with its reported average volume of 32.51 million.

Google Finance placed BitMine’s market capitalization at approximately $11.3 billion, based on 603.23 million outstanding shares. The market value was close to the company’s reported $11.4 billion in crypto, cash, marketable securities and other investments.

BMNR remained well below its 52 week high of $65.60. The stock was also above its 52 week low of $12.80. Those figures show that BMNR has experienced a wide trading range while BitMine expanded its Ethereum strategy.

BitMine ETH holdings approach the 5% target

BitMine calls its objective of holding 5% of Ethereum’s supply the “Alchemy of 5%.” Using the company’s stated supply estimate, the target would equal approximately 6.035 million ETH.

The current balance leaves BitMine roughly 219,836 ETH short. Its holdings represent about 96.4% of the tokens required. Changes in Ethereum’s supply could alter the final amount needed.

BitMine has reported weekly Ethereum purchases since adopting its treasury strategy on June 30, 2025. As previously reported, its Ethereum balance reached 5.74 million tokens in early July.

The latest acquisition was smaller than several earlier weekly purchases. In related coverage, the company previously added more than 100,000 ETH during a single week in May.

BitMine did not disclose the average purchase price for the latest 9,926 ETH. It also provided no deadline for completing its 5% supply target.

Staked ETH produces variable rewards

BitMine reported that 5,067,309 ETH was staked as of Aug. 16. The tokens were worth about $9.59 billion at the company’s reference price and represented 87.1% of its holdings.

Approximately 747,855 ETH remained outside staking based on the disclosed figures. BitMine said some of its tokens are staked through MAVAN, its Made in America Validator Network, alongside other staking partners.

The company projected $250 million in annualized staking revenue using a seven day yield of 2.61%. This is a company estimate rather than guaranteed revenue. Ethereum staking returns vary with validator participation, network activity, execution rewards and other factors.

Applying the same yield to BitMine’s entire ETH balance would produce approximately $287 million annually at the cited price. BitMine described that amount as a projection for when its treasury is fully staked.

The staking position has grown rapidly since December. As crypto.news reported, BitMine initially deposited 74,880 ETH for staking before expanding the program during 2026.

Share repurchases reach 20.8 million

BitMine repurchased 1.7 million common shares during the latest week. That raised total repurchases since July 1 to more than 20.8 million shares, according to the company.

The board increased its repurchase authorization from $1 million to $4 billion in April, an SEC filing shows. An authorization sets a spending limit but does not require BitMine to use the entire amount.

The announcement did not disclose the average price paid for the latest shares or the total amount spent. At Monday’s closing price, 1.7 million shares would have a market value of approximately $31.8 million. That calculation is an estimate, not the company’s reported cost.

Repurchases reduce the share count when the acquired stock is retired or held as treasury stock. However, future equity issuance or preferred stock conversions could offset that reduction.

The reported portfolio is valued at $11.4 billion

BitMine valued its combined crypto, cash, marketable securities and other investments at $11.4 billion as of Aug. 16. In addition to Ethereum, the company reported holding 210 Bitcoin and $78 million in cash and marketable securities.

The total included a $180 million position in Beast Industries and a $73 million stake in Nasdaq listed Eightco Holdings. BitMine refers to those investments as “moonshots.”

The reported total is not necessarily equivalent to assets calculated under accounting rules. Its value can also change quickly because Ethereum accounts for most of the portfolio.

Investors will next be watching BitMine’s SEC disclosures for further information about the repurchases and investment valuations. The company’s weekly updates will also show whether it continues acquiring ETH as it approaches its 5% target.

Binance reportedly plans to apply for authorization from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, seeking a potential return to the British market when the country’s comprehensive crypto rules begin in 2027.

The exchange intends to submit an application after the FCA opens its authorization gateway on Sept. 30, according to an Aug. 15 report from The Telegraph. Binance has not publicly confirmed that it filed an application or identified which legal entity would apply.

A successful application could allow Binance to resume regulated services for UK residents after the new framework takes effect on Oct. 25, 2027. Approval is not automatic, and the FCA has not said it expects to authorize Binance.

The regulator’s existing restrictions on Binance Markets Limited remain in force.

Binance must address restrictions dating from 2021

The FCA imposed requirements on Binance Markets Limited in June 2021, preventing the company from conducting regulated activities without the regulator’s prior written consent.

The watchdog’s current warning states that no other Binance Group entity holds UK authorization, registration or a license to conduct regulated activities in the country.

The FCA previously said Binance Markets Limited was not capable of being effectively supervised. It cited the wider group’s structure and complex, high risk products among its concerns.

Binance later withdrew an application to cancel unused UK permissions in 2023. The move left no Binance entity authorized to operate a regulated cryptocurrency business in Britain.

The exchange also stopped accepting new UK customers in October 2023 after the FCA introduced expanded financial promotion rules. Binance initially relied on an authorized company, Rebuilding Society, to approve its UK marketing.

The FCA later restricted Rebuilding Society’s ability to approve crypto promotions. Binance then announced through an official update that it would pause new registrations while searching for another compliant arrangement.

The FCA application window opens September 30

Britain’s new crypto authorization window will run from Sept. 30, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2027. The full regulatory regime starts on Oct. 25, 2027.

As crypto.news reported, companies operating in Britain must obtain fresh authorization before providing activities covered by the new framework. Existing registrations under anti-money laundering rules will not convert automatically.

Firms that apply within the window may qualify for transitional arrangements while the FCA assesses their applications. Those submitting applications after Feb. 28 will not receive the same protection and may need to stop relevant services until authorization is granted.

The FCA encourages applicants to file early. Its guidance says earlier applications provide more time for assessment and increase the period during which eligible companies can rely on transitional provisions.

An application is not a temporary license. Applicants must satisfy the regulator before receiving permission, and companies cannot assume they will be approved because they met the filing deadline.

FCA authorization would impose broader requirements

The new framework expands the FCA’s oversight beyond financial promotions and anti-money laundering registration. It covers trading platforms, dealing, arranging transactions, custody, staking, lending and certain stablecoin activities.

Authorized companies must follow prudential rules, operational resilience standards and financial crime controls. The framework also applies the Consumer Duty and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to businesses conducting regulated crypto activities.

Trading platforms will face requirements involving disclosures, market abuse controls and asset admission standards. Custodians must meet rules governing client asset ownership, record keeping, reconciliation and private key management.

David Geale, the FCA’s executive director for payments and digital finance, said the regime would hold crypto companies to “similar standards” as other British financial services businesses.

The application review is therefore expected to examine Binance’s governance, ownership, compliance systems and ability to meet continuing supervisory requirements. The FCA can reject applicants that fail its minimum threshold or “fit and proper” tests.

Binance has not disclosed which UK services it would seek permission to offer. It also has not said whether a relaunch would cover spot trading, custody, staking or other products.

Binance faces competition from registered UK firms

Binance would enter a market where several competitors already hold FCA registrations under the existing anti-money laundering framework.

Coinbase, for example, secured permission to offer cryptocurrency services directly through its British entity in February 2025. IG Digital Assets later joined the FCA’s cryptoasset register.

Those registrations do not guarantee authorization under the 2027 framework. Every company conducting newly regulated activities must submit a fresh application or request a variation of its existing permissions.

Binance’s UK effort also follows regulatory setbacks elsewhere in Europe. The exchange withdrew its Greek application for authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation in June.

In related coverage, Binance suspended most services for European Union residents after missing the licensing deadline. The company said it remained committed to finding another route into the European market.

The UK process is separate from the EU framework. FCA authorization would only address Binance’s position under British law and would not provide operating rights across the European Union.

A filing and FCA decision come next

The first verifiable development will be Binance’s submission of an application after Sept. 30. Neither the exchange nor the FCA has published an application notice.

The regulator does not guarantee that applications submitted during the window will receive decisions before October 2027. Eligible firms can continue specified activities under transitional provisions while awaiting a determination, but only if they satisfy the relevant conditions.

A Binance relaunch would require an affirmative FCA decision and any necessary removal or amendment of existing restrictions on Binance Markets Limited. The legal entity receiving authorization would also need to appear on the FCA register.

Until those steps occur, the reported application remains a plan rather than an approved UK return. Existing consumers should not interpret it as evidence that Binance currently holds an FCA license.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is preparing to request public input on futures tied to artificial intelligence computing capacity, according to an Aug. 17 Bloomberg report.

The agency reportedly sent a draft request to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. Once that review ends, the CFTC could open a public comment period lasting 30 or 60 days.

No request had appeared on the CFTC’s public comment pages or in the Federal Register by Aug. 18. The exact questions, comment deadline and effect on pending contracts therefore remain unconfirmed.

The regulatory process comes as CME Group reportedly targets Oct. 5 for two compute futures contracts using Silicon Data benchmarks. The planned launch remains subject to regulatory review.

CFTC review could define compute as a derivatives market

Compute futures would allow market participants to trade contracts linked to the future cost of renting graphics processing units. GPUs provide the processing capacity needed to train and operate many artificial intelligence systems.

The market could give AI developers, cloud providers and data center operators a way to manage changing rental prices. Financial traders could also gain exposure to compute pricing without owning chips or operating data centers.

The CFTC’s reported request is broader than approval of an individual contract. It could seek information about benchmark reliability, market manipulation, settlement methods, liquidity and how exchanges define a standardized unit of compute.

A request for comment would not constitute a proposed rule or a final regulatory decision. It also would not automatically block CME’s target date unless the CFTC separately objects to the contracts or requires further review.

Bloomberg reported that the public consultation could complicate launch plans for CME and Intercontinental Exchange. The CFTC has not publicly confirmed a delay.

CME plans contracts using Silicon Data benchmarks

CME and Silicon Data first announced their partnership on May 12. The exchange said the planned futures would use daily benchmarks tracking on demand GPU rental rates.

Silicon Data collects pricing information across GPU markets, where costs can differ by hardware, provider, region and contract duration. CME argues that standardized benchmarks could make those fragmented prices easier to compare and hedge.

“Compute is the new oil of the 21st century,” CME Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Duffy said in the official announcement. His description represents CME’s assessment of the market rather than a regulatory classification.

Silicon Data CEO Carmen Li said existing compute prices can “vary dramatically” between providers and regions. The company claims its benchmarks provide consistent pricing for a market that has historically lacked transparent reference rates.

Reports now place CME’s intended launch on Oct. 5, but the date does not appear in the exchange’s original May announcement. CME has consistently stated that any launch remains subject to regulatory review.

Contract specifications, including size, expiration months and settlement procedures, will be needed before traders can assess the products fully.

ICE is developing competing compute contracts

Intercontinental Exchange announced separate plans in May to list U.S. dollar denominated, cash settled contracts using Ornn’s Compute Price Index.

Ornn’s index tracks transaction prices across GPU models including Nvidia’s H100, H200, B200 and RTX 5090. ICE said its contracts could provide price discovery across multiple types of computing hardware.

ICE later announced another planned product using NativX’s COIL Index. The benchmark tracks tokenized, energy normalized compute and connectivity. The related contracts would trade alongside ICE’s existing electricity and natural gas products.

Power is a major cost for data centers, making energy prices closely connected to compute economics. ICE said placing the products on the same exchange could let operators manage electricity and GPU price exposure together.

Both ICE projects remain subject to regulatory processes, and the exchange has not announced a fixed launch date. The development of several competing benchmarks could give users more choice but may also divide liquidity across contracts.

Crypto infrastructure is increasing AI capacity

The emerging derivatives market follows rapid investment in U.S. data centers and GPU infrastructure. External forecasts cited by Forbes place AI infrastructure spending near 2% to 2.5% of U.S. gross domestic product in 2026, although those figures are private estimates rather than government data.

Several cryptocurrency mining companies have converted power infrastructure to AI workloads. Their access to electricity, cooling equipment and large industrial sites makes some mining facilities suitable for high performance computing.

As previously reported, TeraWulf generated more revenue from AI hosting than Bitcoin mining during the first quarter of 2026.

In related coverage, Galaxy Digital delivered 133 megawatts of computing capacity to CoreWeave under a 15 year agreement at its former Bitcoin mining campus in Texas.

These long term arrangements show demand for tools that can measure and manage compute costs. They do not establish whether a standardized futures market will attract enough trading activity.

Public questions and contract filings come next

The next formal development would be OMB completion of its review and publication of the CFTC’s request. Only the published document can confirm the questions and response deadline.

CME must also complete the applicable CFTC contract filing process. Registered exchanges can submit new products through self certification, but the CFTC can review contract terms and require additional action where permitted by law.

Public feedback may focus on whether the underlying benchmarks resist manipulation, represent executable rental prices and remain reliable when newer GPUs replace older hardware.

Market participants may also address settlement disruptions, regional pricing differences and whether compute contracts resemble energy, commodity index or financial futures.

The Oct. 5 launch remains a target rather than a confirmed trading date. Regulatory review, contract filings and operational readiness could still change the timetable.

“$57,000 is a key region to watch. If Bitcoin trades down into that area, we could see a massive wave of long liquidations,” Joao Wedson, CEO of crypto analytics platform Alphractal, said.

The risk is amplified by thin trading volumes. As CoinDesk reported Monday, the number of active contracts is unusually large relative to trading volume. That combination matters a scenario, where a large batch of leveraged longs get liquidated and thin order books make it harder to absorb those liquidations at stable prices. The result could a sharper, faster drop rather than a orderly pullback.

The question is whether BTC will fall to $57,000.

Past crypto bear cycles have seen severe crashes of 76% to 84%. The latest one, which began at highs above $126,000 last October, has so far only cut prices in half. If history is any guide, there may be another leg lower still to come.

Analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex noted that bitcoin is showing mid-to-late bear market characteristics, with price trading between the long-term holder realized price of $52,699 and the short-term holder realized price of $67,176. The realized price median, near $63,200, has provided support over the past two weeks; a break below that level could put the June low of $57,803 back in focus.

Investors were allocated about 19.7 billion MON, nearly 20% of the original supply. Those tokens were locked when Monad’s public network launched last November and begin unlocking after a one-year wait, followed by monthly releases over the remainder of a four-year schedule.

That makes November the first point at which early investors begin receiving tokens they can sell normally.

MON traded around $0.021 on Tuesday, about 16% below the $0.025 price of last year’s public sale. Roughly 11.8 billion MON are currently circulating, giving the token a market value near $250 million against a fully diluted value of about $2.1 billion.

As such, the token price has struggled while activity on the network has grown.

The amount of money deposited in Monad-based decentralized finance apps has climbed to about $895 million from roughly $360 million on July 2, according to DeFiLlama, an increase of almost 150% in about six weeks. Stablecoins on Monad are worth about $707 million, while decentralized exchanges on the network handled roughly $79 million of trading over the past day.

That growth does not explain why investors rejected the Foundation’s offer. And without knowing how steep a discount they were asked to take, the lack of sellers cannot be read simply as a bullish call on MON.

Compound Foundation announced a new leadership team and a DAO approved $52 million development program on Aug. 17, targeting institutional credit and real world assets.

Aaron Schnarch, a former Coinbase Custody chief executive, will serve as executive director. Christopher Donovan joins as chief operating officer, Steven Liu as chief product officer and Leo Eikelman as chief technology officer.

Compound described the allocation as the largest development program in the protocol’s history. However, the DAO has not made the entire $52 million immediately available for operating expenses.

The two year program releases $14 million at commencement. A further $38 million will remain in reserve and can only be released after the Foundation meets specified development and institutional adoption milestones.

Compound’s $52 million program uses milestone funding

The Compound V4 funding proposal divides the total budget into a $28 million operational program and a $24 million growth and incentives program.

The initial $14 million allocation will finance approximately 12 months of execution. Compound expects to direct 45% to 55% of the operational budget toward engineering and product development. Other funding categories include infrastructure, security, governance, partnerships and administration.

The remaining $38 million will be placed in a separate reserve wallet. A planned Treasury Management Committee will control that wallet through a five of seven multisignature structure. The Foundation will not control the reserve independently.

Under the approved framework, a second $14 million operational payment requires completion of all first year deliverables. Those include a staffed engineering team, a production ready V3 integration kit and a new liquidation engine operating on mainnet.

Compound must also complete V4 core smart contracts to an audit ready standard and launch a limited private alpha. The Treasury Management Committee will review the evidence and either certify or reject the Foundation’s milestone submission.

Institutional adoption controls later payments

The $24 million growth program will be divided into three payments. The first $10 million becomes available after the first operational checkpoint.

That payment starts a six month deadline for securing a top tier institutional integration partner. Compound must provide evidence of either a live integration or a formal commitment with a defined deployment plan.

Another $7 million requires the onboarding of a top tier curator to a V4 lending market within 180 days of the previous milestone. The final $7 million becomes available after Compound launches its public V4 testnet.

The committee may stop later transfers if the Foundation misses the conditions. Undeployed funds can also be returned or reassigned following DAO review.

Compound committed to publishing monthly reports, holding community calls and providing more detailed quarterly reviews. Program wallet addresses will be public, allowing governance participants to monitor balances and transfers onchain.

The reserve may earn yield through separately approved treasury strategies while awaiting release. Any forecast concerning that yield remains an estimate rather than guaranteed revenue.

Compound targets banks and tokenized assets

Compound plans to add native support for real world assets and tools allowing financial institutions to embed lending services into their products. It also wants to improve capital efficiency and provide infrastructure for banks, asset managers, exchanges and fintech companies.

Schnarch said current DeFi products “fall short of meeting the traditional finance bar,” particularly in compliance and technical requirements. His assessment represents the Foundation’s explanation for the strategic change.

Steven Liu previously worked at Maple Finance, where Compound said he helped scale assets from $500 million to $5 billion. Donovan formerly served as chief operating officer at the Near Foundation. Compound said other team members have experience at Anchorage Digital, HSBC and Broadridge Financial.

The strategy places Compound in direct competition with lending protocols already developing services around tokenized assets. As crypto.news reported, Aave expanded its institutional lending infrastructure onto Avalanche in July.

Institutional collateral is also entering other lending markets. In related coverage, VanEck’s tokenized Treasury fund became available as collateral on Euler lending markets in May.

These projects show rising competition for asset managers seeking blockchain based credit services. They do not guarantee that Compound will secure institutional partners or increase deposits.

Compound faces a smaller position in DeFi lending

Compound helped establish algorithmic lending when it launched in 2018. The Foundation says the protocol has processed approximately $480 billion in cumulative deposits and borrowing volume.

It also claims the protocol has recorded “zero bad debt since launch.” The statement is a company claim and differs from total losses or distribution errors, which use separate measurements.

Current deposits remain well below Compound’s 2021 peak. DeFiLlama data showed approximately $1.25 billion in total value locked on Aug. 18, compared with a peak near $12 billion in September 2021.

Ethereum accounted for about $1.14 billion, or almost 92%, of the current total. Compound also had approximately $575 million in active loans.

Aave V3 held about $14.4 billion, while Morpho Blue held roughly $8.1 billion. Those figures placed Compound sixth among lending protocols tracked by DeFiLlama.

The comparison provides context for Compound’s institutional strategy but does not measure revenue, credit quality or capital efficiency. Total value locked can also fluctuate with token prices, withdrawals and borrowing activity.

Compound will release its first product within weeks

Compound said the first product from its institutional roadmap will arrive “in the coming weeks.” It did not provide a launch date, product name or confirmed institutional partner.

The next verifiable steps include publication of the program wallets and the first monthly progress report. The Foundation must also provide evidence for each development milestone before the committee authorizes later payments.

The V3 integration kit and liquidation engine are due before the first operational anniversary. Compound must also advance V4 contracts to an audit ready stage and open its private alpha within that period.

No verified market movement could be attributed solely to the leadership announcement. COMP’s price and Compound’s deposits remain exposed to broader cryptocurrency market conditions and activity across competing lending platforms.

XRP fell below $1 on Tuesday, down over 1% on the day and more than 2% on the week, the weakest of the major tokens on both views.

The slide came as Ripple, the company most associated with XRP, announced its third Korean partnership of the year, with Jeonbuk Bank becoming the first regional bank in the country to deploy Ripple Payments for cross-border transfers.

This follows custody and wallet infrastructure deals with Kyobo Life Insurance and Kbank earlier in 2026.

Bank transfers today hop between intermediary banks over the SWIFT messaging network and can take days to arrive. Ripple says its route settles in seconds to minutes and runs around the clock, which the bank will offer to business customers including importers, exporters, IT startups and online content creators.

In a release shared with CoinDesk, Ripple called describes the service as delivering near real-time stablecoin cross-border settlement, without specifying which asset moves the money.

Fiona Murray, Ripple’s managing director for Asia Pacific, said the deal reflects growing momentum across Korea’s institutional financial sector, with banks building digital asset capability and looking for long-term infrastructure partners. Regional banks play a vital role in the real economy, she said.