Veteran trader Peter Brandt said he remained long Bitcoin on Aug. 28 as the cryptocurrency traded near $80,000 after another unsuccessful attempt to establish a decisive breakout above $82,000.

The crypto traded at approximately $79,771 at the time of writing, up about 1.2% during the session. It reached an intraday high near $81,280 before retreating, keeping the closely watched $80,000–$82,000 area unresolved.

Brandt disclosed his position in an X post listing several active trades. Alongside Bitcoin, he reported long positions in wheat, soybeans, corn, soybean meal, sugar and the Mexican peso. He was short lean hogs.

The trader did not disclose his BTC entry price, position size, leverage or intended exit level. He also warned that his positions could change within one day, limiting the statement’s value as a longer-term price forecast.

Peter Brandt remains long after buying the breakout

Brandt’s current position follows a major change in his technical outlook. On Aug. 20, he said he bought Bitcoin after an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern completed and the price broke above its neckline.

The pattern normally consists of three troughs, with the middle decline extending below those on either side. Technical traders often interpret a move above the neckline as a possible bullish reversal, although the formation does not guarantee further gains.

Brandt had previously assigned a roughly 60% probability to another BTC decline. He abandoned that view when the pattern completed, saying price action had changed the setup rather than continuing to defend his earlier scenario.

As crypto.news previously reported, Bitcoin entered Brandt’s projected $58,000–$62,000 range before later breaking higher. The cryptocurrency fell to about $57,717 on July 1 and then recovered toward $79,500 by Aug. 21.

That sequence matters because Brandt’s earlier bearish target was reached before his long entry. His latest position therefore represents a response to new price information, not necessarily a reversal of a failed forecast.

Bitcoin’s $82,000 level blocks another breakout

The crypto moved above $80,000 on Aug. 25 for the first time since mid-May. The price reached approximately $81,238 before losing momentum.

Friday’s intraday high near $81,280 produced another test of the same region. However, BTC had not recorded a sustained move above $82,000 at the latest snapshot.

Repeated tests make the zone technically relevant, but describing it as resistance remains a chart interpretation. A brief intraday move above the level would not necessarily confirm a breakout. Traders commonly look for a daily close and continued trading above the range.

Bitcoin’s session low was approximately $78,828. That leaves the market within a relatively narrow band between immediate support around $78,000–$79,000 and overhead resistance extending toward $82,000.

A decisive move outside that range could provide clearer evidence about short-term direction. Until then, both bullish continuation and another consolidation remain possible outcomes rather than confirmed forecasts.

August rally drew support from ETFs and macro conditions

The crypto has gained approximately 28% during August, putting it on course for its strongest monthly advance since November 2024. The move followed a decline of more than 50% from its October 2025 peak.

Institutional flows supported the recovery. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted approximately $1.92 billion across five trading sessions during the week ending Aug. 21, with BlackRock’s IBIT receiving the largest portion.

The rally also followed changes in U.S. Treasury bond markets. Treasury officials announced larger buyback operations for older long-dated securities, while the dollar weakened and long-term yields declined.

In related coverage, Bitcoin gained 27% as debt concerns and Treasury buybacks returned to focus. Short liquidations accelerated the advance as bearish derivatives positions closed.

These forces provide context for Brandt’s position but do not prove that the rally will continue. ETF flows can reverse, short-covering provides temporary demand and macroeconomic conditions can change quickly.

What confirms Brandt’s Bitcoin setup next

The first test is whether BTC can close and remain above the $80,000–$82,000 range. Such a move would strengthen the breakout structure Brandt cited when opening his position.

Failure to hold the upper range could return attention to Friday’s low near $78,828 and the earlier breakout area. The exact invalidation level cannot be confirmed because Brandt has not published his stop or risk parameters.

His statement that positions may change within a day is also important. It means followers cannot assume he remains long after the disclosure without a newer update.

Brandt’s trade confirms only his position at the time of publication. BTC’s price behavior around $82,000, rather than the trader’s reputation, will determine whether the technical breakout continues.

Ripple has recommended withdrawing the XRP Ledger’s pending XChainBridge amendment after concluding that its primary use case is already served by Axelar and broader developer demand has not emerged.

Mayukha Vadari, a senior software engineer at RippleX, announced the recommendation on Aug. 27. XChainBridge, also known as XLS-38, remains in the XRPL validator voting process and has not activated on the mainnet.

Ripple estimated that withdrawing the proposal would allow developers to remove more than 10,000 lines of code from xrpld, the server software that powers the network. No code has been removed yet, and Ripple cannot complete the process independently.

XRP Ledger no longer needs XLS-38 for its EVM sidechain

XLS-38 was designed to provide a protocol-level framework for moving XRP and issued assets between the XRP Ledger and connected networks. Its intended users included public sidechains, private ledgers, permissioned networks and experimental chains.

The system relies on independent witness servers to monitor events on each connected ledger. Witnesses submit attestations confirming that assets were locked or destroyed before corresponding assets become available on the destination network.

One of the proposal’s main use cases was connecting the XRPL mainnet with its Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible sidechain. Ripple later selected Axelar to provide that connection instead.

The XRPL EVM Sidechain launched with Axelar as its mainnet bridge in June 2025. Axelar’s validator network verifies cross-chain messages and connects the sidechain with XRPL and other supported blockchains.

Ripple said the EVM sidechain is now “better addressed” through Axelar. That remains the company’s technical assessment rather than a finding reached through an independent security comparison.

Weak developer demand changed Ripple’s assessment

Ripple initially kept XLS-38 available because developers could still use it for private sidechains and specialized networks that Axelar was not designed to support.

However, the company said it found little evidence of active projects requiring the native bridge. No production deployment has publicly identified XLS-38 as essential to its planned operations.

Maintaining the inactive implementation still requires reviews, tests and compatibility work whenever developers update xrpld. Ripple argued that this creates an ongoing maintenance burden without providing a corresponding mainnet benefit.

The recommendation does not mean the broader XRPL ecosystem has abandoned interoperability. Ripple pointed to Axelar, Wormhole, zero-knowledge systems and layer-2 designs as alternative approaches suited to different security and privacy requirements.

Cross-chain systems also introduce distinct risks. As previously reported, bridge exploits have caused more than $4 billion in reported losses since 2021, making verification design and operational security central considerations.

Ripple cannot remove XChainBridge by itself

The official XRPL registry lists XChainBridge as a pending amendment with a default “no” vote. Ripple operates only one validator vote among the network’s independent participants.

An XRPL amendment normally requires support from more than 80% of trusted validators for two continuous weeks before activation. With 35 validators in the current default configuration, at least 29 affirmative votes would exceed that threshold.

Ripple’s recommendation therefore neither withdraws the amendment immediately nor forces other validators to oppose it. Validators decide independently which amendments their infrastructure supports.

That separation is consistent with other XRPL proposals. In related coverage, Ripple’s support for lending amendments did not establish their activation because the proposals still required the broader validator threshold.

Withdrawal would proceed through staged software changes

Ripple proposed beginning with a pull request that marks XChainBridge as obsolete in the xrpld codebase. Servers upgrading to that release would automatically vote against activation.

Support would decline as validators install the updated software. Once active validators recognize the amendment as obsolete, developers could remove the XChainBridge implementation and the related fixXChainRewardRounding code in a later release.

No pull-request deadline, software version or final removal date has been announced. The timing depends on community feedback, code review and validator upgrades.

Ripple has asked developers or organizations building with XLS-38 to present specific use cases. A credible active deployment could lead the company to reconsider its recommendation before the staged withdrawal begins.

Bitwise’s U.S. crypto exchange-traded products attracted approximately $100 million in net inflows on Aug. 27, led by demand for Solana, Bitcoin and Hyperliquid funds, according to company CEO Hunter Horsley.

Horsley said Solana products received about $40 million, the largest share of Bitwise’s daily intake. Bitcoin products followed with approximately $22 million, while Hyperliquid and XRP funds attracted about $20 million and $12 million respectively.

Ethereum products received approximately $1.4 million. The five disclosed categories total about $95.4 million, indicating that other Bitwise products or rounding accounted for the remainder of Horsley’s roughly $100 million figure.

The numbers are preliminary issuer disclosures. Bitwise had not published a fund-by-fund daily creation report alongside Horsley’s post, leaving independent confirmation dependent on later fund data.

Solana leads Bitwise crypto ETF inflows

Solana products captured approximately 40% of Bitwise’s reported daily inflows. Horsley did not identify every product included in that category, although the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, or BSOL, is the company’s main U.S. Solana fund.

BSOL recorded more than $126 million in trading volume during the session, its highest total since launching on NYSE Arca in October 2025. The fund previously recorded about $108 million in volume on Aug. 24.

Trading activity has risen as BSOL has expanded beyond basic price exposure. The fund stakes most of its Solana holdings and distributes the resulting rewards after fees and expenses.

In related coverage, a major bank approved BSOL shares as collateral for loans with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 25%. Bitwise reported at the time that BSOL held 8.18 million SOL and staked approximately 99% of its assets.

Those features may help explain why Bitwise’s Solana products outpaced its Bitcoin and Ethereum funds during Thursday’s session. However, one day of flows does not establish a lasting preference among institutional investors.

Hyperliquid and XRP capture another $32 million

Bitwise’s Hyperliquid products ranked third with approximately $20 million in reported inflows. Its XRP products added another $12 million.

Together with Solana, the three altcoin categories attracted roughly $72 million. That represented more than seven times the approximately $9.4 million combined difference between the disclosed Bitcoin and Ethereum figures.

The Hyperliquid total follows earlier demand for Bitwise’s BHYP fund. As previously reported, BHYP became the largest Hyperliquid ETF after a $19 million daily inflow in May.

XRP exchange-traded products have also experienced increased activity. In related coverage, XRP ETF cumulative flows crossed $1.57 billion as trading volume reached a record.

The daily distribution shows investors were adding exposure beyond Bitcoin. It does not reveal whether the buyers were financial advisers, hedge funds, retail brokerages or other institutions because exchange-traded fund creation data do not identify beneficial owners.

BSOL’s $126 million volume was not a $126 million inflow

Trading volume and net fund inflows measure different activity. Trading volume counts the total value of ETF shares exchanged between buyers and sellers during a session.

A share can trade several times without changing the number of shares outstanding. High volume therefore indicates liquidity and investor activity, but it does not mean the issuer received an equal amount of new capital.

Net inflows generally occur when authorized participants create additional ETF shares to meet demand. Outflows occur when shares are redeemed and assets leave the fund.

BSOL’s reported $126 million volume was consequently more than three times the approximately $40 million attributed to Bitwise’s entire Solana product category. The remaining trading involved transfers of existing shares or transactions that did not produce net creations.

This distinction is also relevant to Horsley’s broader $100 million figure. The amount describes reported inflows across Bitwise products, not the combined trading volume of those funds.

Bitcoin ETF streak supports broader crypto demand

Bitwise’s inflows came during a wider recovery in U.S. crypto investment products. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded eight consecutive sessions of net inflows through Aug. 26, attracting approximately $2.8 billion, according to SoSoValue data.

BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for about $2.02 billion, or 72%, of that streak. The funds received approximately $232 million on Aug. 26, below the $606 million daily peak recorded on Aug. 20.

Bitcoin traded near $79,770 on Aug. 28 after reaching an intraday high around $81,280. It has gained about 28% during August as ETF demand, a weaker dollar and changes in long-term Treasury markets supported its recovery.

The flow backdrop does not ensure continued price gains. ETF creations can reverse, and inflows may follow price momentum rather than predict it.

The next confirmation will come from official fund-level data showing whether Thursday’s creations raised shares outstanding and assets under management. Investors will also watch whether Solana continues leading Bitwise’s product lineup or whether the allocation returns toward Bitcoin.

DeFi Development Corp. resumed Solana purchases on Aug. 27, acquiring approximately 19,000 SOL at an average price of $98.14. 

The transaction cost about $1.86 million based on the figures disclosed by the Nasdaq-listed company.

The purchase expanded the DeFi Development SOL treasury to approximately 2,333,432 SOL and SOL equivalents. That was about 21,909 more than the 2,311,523 SOL and equivalents reported in the company’s Aug. 12 business update.

DeFi Development’s SOL treasury reaches 2.33 million

DeFi Development said it intends to hold the newly acquired SOL as a long-term treasury asset. The company plans to deploy the tokens through its staking and onchain treasury infrastructure, where they may generate staking rewards and other revenue.

The reported treasury figure includes both SOL and “SOL equivalents.” DeFi Development did not provide an updated breakdown showing how much of the 2.33 million total consists of native SOL, liquid staking tokens or other SOL-denominated positions. Investors therefore cannot calculate the precise composition from Thursday’s announcement alone.

The latest transaction follows a longer accumulation program. As crypto.news previously reported, DeFi Development held more than two million SOL after a $40 million purchase in September 2025. The company stakes tokens across its own and third-party validators.

Staking can produce recurring rewards, but returns are not fixed. They can change with validator performance, network inflation, fees and the market value of SOL. Onchain deployments can introduce added smart-contract, liquidity and counterparty risks.

ZeroStack divestment helped finance the SOL purchase

Proceeds from DeFi Development’s ZeroStack divestment partially funded the transaction. The company did not disclose the divestment proceeds or specify how much of the SOL purchase they covered.

DeFi Development and ZeroStack announced a strategic partnership in September 2025. Thursday’s release did not give further details about the disposal, including its completion date, buyer or any gain or loss recorded by DFDV.

Using divestment proceeds allows the company to expand its Solana position without saying it relied entirely on new equity or debt. However, DeFi Development has previously used capital raises to support its treasury. Its $200 million at-the-market equity program permits periodic share sales.

Such financing can increase the total SOL balance while diluting existing shareholders. Management consequently tracks SOL per fully converted share, or SPS, alongside the headline treasury total. In related coverage, crypto.news reported that SPS increased 24% year over year by August, according to company figures.

DFDV shares respond to renewed SOL accumulation

DFDV shares advanced after the purchase announcement. Nasdaq market data showed the stock continuing higher on Aug. 28 after closing the previous session above its pre-announcement level. The company’s shares remain sensitive to SOL prices, financing activity and changes in the value of its treasury.

DeFi Development said its month-to-date return had been more than twice SOL’s return. It also said DFDV had outperformed SOL by 1.8 times quarter-to-date. Those comparisons came from management’s analysis of publicly available market data and were not presented as audited financial measures.

Chief Executive Joseph Onorati said DFDV was designed to give investors “leveraged exposure to Solana.” He added that the company believes its shares can “amplify” SOL’s performance when the cryptocurrency rises.

That relationship can work in both directions. A falling SOL price can reduce the value of the company’s treasury while placing additional pressure on its shares. Debt, operating expenses, equity dilution and the premium or discount between DFDV’s market capitalization and treasury value can also produce returns that differ sharply from SOL.

Staking deployment is the next disclosed step

DeFi Development’s next stated action is to deploy the purchased SOL across its staking and onchain systems. The company expects that process to produce additional revenue, although it gave no deployment deadline or projected return.

The firm also launched its State of Solana research platform shortly before announcing the purchase. As crypto.news reported, the Solana dashboard tracks network, validator and staking data alongside market and ecosystem measurements.

Future company releases and SEC filings should show whether the purchase raises SOL per fully converted share. They may also provide more information about the ZeroStack divestment and any gains, losses or expenses connected with it.

DeFi Development did not announce a target date for its next SOL purchase. It also did not disclose a fixed acquisition budget. Further accumulation will depend on available capital, treasury asset sales and management’s assessment of market conditions.

Stacks’ growing role in Bitcoin DeFi could strengthen demand for STX, positioning the token as a high-potential Bitcoin investment.

The strongest crypto investment cases usually begin with a simple question: what creates demand for the token beyond speculation?

For STX crypto, the answer comes from a growing set of roles tied to Stacks (STX), a Bitcoin layer built for smart contracts and Bitcoin-native financial applications. STX pays network fees, participates in the Proof of Transfer consensus system, can earn rewards paid in BTC through Stacking, and is set to serve as the capacity asset for Stacks’ proposed self-custodial Bitcoin Staking product.

That combination places the STX token in a different category from assets whose utility depends mainly on governance or incentive emissions. Its investment case rests on whether Stacks can attract more Bitcoin capital and activity, then translate that growth into recurring demand for STX. That gives STX a potential role as a higher-beta Bitcoin play. Its price can respond to changes in the broader Bitcoin market while adding exposure to the growth of Bitcoin-native applications on Stacks. This can amplify upside when both narratives strengthen, but it can also increase downside volatility. 

The opportunity is large, but execution remains the key variable. Bitcoin currently carries a market capitalization of roughly $1.32 trillion, while Stacks has about $86 million in DeFi total value locked and STX trades at a market capitalization of roughly $300 million. Bitcoin Staking, arguably the most important future demand driver in the STX thesis, was still operating on a private testnet as of July 16, 2026.

What STX actually does in the Stacks economy

Stacks extends Bitcoin with smart contracts and financial applications while using Bitcoin as its settlement layer. STX is the native asset that keeps that economy operating.

Its utility can be divided into three main functions.

The first is transaction fees. Every transaction executed on Stacks requires STX, including swaps, lending activity and smart-contract interactions. That creates a straightforward relationship between network activity and demand for the token as gas.

The second is Stacking, the network’s existing mechanism for earning BTC rewards. STX holders can temporarily lock their tokens and participate in the Proof of Transfer system, or PoX. Stacks miners commit BTC while competing to produce blocks and receive newly issued STX rewards. The BTC committed by miners is then distributed to eligible Stackers.

That structure separates Stacking from many conventional proof-of-stake models. The rewards paid to Stackers come in Bitcoin rather than newly issued STX. New STX issuance still exists, but Stacking rewards themselves come from the BTC that miners commit through PoX.

The third function is still being developed. Under the proposed Bitcoin Staking system, BTC holders would create protocol bonds by locking BTC on Bitcoin Layer 1 and pairing it with an STX commitment worth approximately 5% of the BTC position. STX would therefore determine how much Bitcoin Staking capacity a participant can access.

Together, those roles give STX three distinct sources of potential demand: network transactions, existing Stacking participation and future Bitcoin Staking capacity.

In May this year, UTXO Management allocated BTC to Bitcoin Stacking on Stacks as its inaugural institutional participant. The integration enables institutional BTC holders to earn BTC-denominated yield without moving assets off the Bitcoin base layer.

Stacks also attracted early backing from investors including Union Square Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Lux Capital, Winklevoss Capital and Naval Ravikant. STX exposure is available through the Grayscale Stacks Trust, while 21Shares operates a physically backed Stacks ETP that incorporates Stacking rewards. STX is also currently included among assets tracked in the Coinbase 50 Index category.

Those products do not guarantee adoption or price appreciation. They do, however, provide investment and custody routes that many smaller tokens lack.

STX tokenomics offer strengths, but supply is not fixed

Any serious STX price prediction needs to address the supply side rather than focusing only on potential demand.

One favorable feature is the limited gap between reported circulating supply and current total supply. CoinMarketCap recently reported approximately 1.815 billion STX in circulation, while market data providers showed market capitalization and fully diluted valuation at nearly identical levels. That means STX does not currently carry the kind of large reported circulating-to-total-supply gap often associated with future venture or team token cliffs.

At the same time, describing STX as having a fully fixed or fully distributed supply would be inaccurate.

STX has no hard maximum supply. The network continues issuing tokens through its mining reward schedule, and supply parameters can change through the Stacks Improvement Proposal governance process. The Stacks Foundation also notes that separate ecosystem treasury emissions were introduced through SIP-031.

An indicative comparison shows why headline inflation figures need context:

How STX generates BTC yield, and Bitcoin staking changes the demand equation

The most established utility behind STX is its ability to generate Bitcoin-denominated rewards through Proof of Transfer.

Unlike a staking system that creates more of the same token to reward participants, PoX connects two different assets. Miners compete for the right to produce Stacks blocks by committing Bitcoin and receive STX block rewards plus transaction fees. Eligible STX Stackers receive BTC from that miner activity.

Stacks says the mechanism has distributed more than 4,200 BTC to stakers since the network launched PoX in January 2021. The figure demonstrates that BTC-denominated rewards are not merely a planned feature; although actual returns for individual participants vary with miner commitments, the amount of STX participating and the chosen Stacking method.

The current Stacking dashboard recently displayed a reward APY of about 7.17%, based on the previous full cycle, alongside more than 581 million STX locked. That rate changes between cycles and should not be treated as a guaranteed return.

Bitcoin Staking would expand the same economic system to BTC holders.

In its planned self-custodial configuration, participants would lock Bitcoin directly on Bitcoin Layer 1 using a timelock while retaining control of their keys. They would then pair the BTC with STX worth approximately 5% of the Bitcoin position. Stacks currently targets around 3% annualized BTC yield during the bootstrap phase, although realized returns can vary with miner economics and available reward capacity.

For the STX token, the approximately 5% pairing requirement is the central feature.

At a Bitcoin price of roughly $65,960, 5,000 BTC entering protocol bonds would represent about $330 million in Bitcoin. A 5% STX requirement would correspond to approximately $16.5 million in STX value.

A live DeFi economy gives STX another source of demand

STX combines exposure to the broader Bitcoin cycle with token-specific demand from activity on Stacks. That combination can make it a higher-beta expression of Bitcoin: improving Bitcoin sentiment may support STX alongside the wider market, while growth in Stacking, Bitcoin Staking and Stacks-based finance can add a separate source of demand. The same dynamic can produce greater volatility when either side of the thesis weakens. 

The Bitcoin Staking thesis becomes more relevant if incoming capital has somewhere productive to move after reaching Stacks.

That ecosystem already exists, although it remains small relative to major smart-contract networks. DeFiLlama currently tracks roughly $86 million in Stacks DeFi TVL. Zest Protocol accounts for about $68.5 million of that figure, making lending one of the network’s largest existing use cases.

Zest reports around 800 BTC deposited and says it has processed more than 1,500 liquidations without bad debt. Its Stacks market allows assets including sBTC, STX and liquid-staked STX to serve as collateral for borrowing.

Stacking DAO provides liquid Stacking products that allow STX holders to retain DeFi liquidity while participating in Stacking strategies. DeFiLlama recently recorded approximately $13.8 million in value locked in the protocol.

For STX holders, the important connection is not simply that these applications exist. Every onchain transaction across that economy requires STX for network fees.

A larger lending market means more transactions. More trading activity means more transactions. More stablecoin use, liquid Stacking, and Bitcoin-focused financial products also add network activity. That gives STX a demand channel that operates separately from the protocol-bond mechanism.

STX powers the Stacks economy today and is designed to provide capacity for Bitcoin Staking as the network expands.

FAQ

What is STX and what is it used for?

STX is the native token of Stacks. It pays transaction fees across the network, can be locked through Stacking to participate in the Proof of Transfer system and earn BTC rewards, and is expected to serve as the paired capacity asset for Bitcoin Staking protocol bonds.

How do investors earn yield with STX?

STX holders can participate in Stacking, either independently or through supported pools and services. Proof of Transfer distributes BTC committed by Stacks miners to eligible participants. Holders can also use liquid Stacking products and other DeFi applications, although those strategies introduce additional smart-contract, market and protocol risks.

Is STX a good investment?

The answer depends on an investor’s risk tolerance and view of Stacks adoption. The fundamental case includes existing network utility, BTC-denominated Stacking rewards, substantial STX participation in Stacking, established investment products and a proposed Bitcoin Staking mechanism that could create direct token demand. Risks include ongoing token issuance, governance changes to emissions, STX price volatility, relatively modest current DeFi activity and the fact that self-custodial Bitcoin Staking has not yet launched on mainnet.

What does it mean to call STX a higher-beta Bitcoin play?

It means STX may make larger price moves than Bitcoin in either direction. Its price is sensitive to the broader Bitcoin cycle, but it also reflects expectations around activity and adoption on Stacks. When Bitcoin conditions and Stacks adoption improve together, those two forces can amplify demand for STX. When sentiment weakens, its smaller market capitalization and liquidity can also contribute to sharper declines.

How does Bitcoin Staking affect STX demand?

Under the current design, a Bitcoin Staking protocol bond requires BTC to be paired with STX worth approximately 5% of the Bitcoin position. That means greater BTC participation would require greater STX capacity. The paired STX would also remain locked during the approximately six-month bonding period, potentially reducing immediately usable supply while the bonds remain active.

Where can you buy STX?

STX trades on major centralized exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Upbit and KuCoin. Availability, trading pairs and regulatory restrictions differ by jurisdiction, so investors should check the requirements of their chosen platform before purchasing.

California lawmakers have passed AB 2409, which would prohibit state and local public officials from issuing meme coins and restrict digital asset platforms from offering certain official-linked tokens to California residents beginning in 2027.

The California Legislature’s latest text for Assembly Bill 2409, introduced by Assembly Member Avelino Valencia, sets separate rules for public officials and digital asset service providers as the measure heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.

The Senate passed the bill on Aug. 26, and the Assembly later concurred with the Senate amendments in a 78-0 vote. The measure was sent for engrossing and enrolling after clearing both chambers.

AB 2409 would prohibit California officials from issuing meme coins

Under AB 2409, a public officer or public employee would be prohibited from issuing a meme coin. The legislation defines issuing as making a token available for public purchase, donation or exchange for anything of value, regardless of whether it is promoted.

Its definition of a public officer covers state and local elected or appointed officials, including members of the California Legislature. Members of government boards, commissions, committees and bodies with only advisory powers are covered as well.

The public employee provision is narrower. It applies to employees of state or local government entities who have decision-making authority over bids and contracts for their entity.

California lawmakers wrote in the bill that public officials should not use government authority for private financial gain. The legislative findings state that officials issuing or promoting financial instruments can create conflicts of interest and opportunities for pay-to-play arrangements, while raising risks involving exploitation and foreign influence.

Valencia gave a similar rationale when the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee considered the legislation in April. He said digital asset platforms had made meme coins easier to create and could allow bad actors to circumvent existing financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest rules.

The bill would add the restrictions to a new chapter of California’s Government Code covering prohibited digital financial transactions.

California meme coin restrictions would reach service providers

AB 2409 contains a separate provision for companies serving California residents.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, a digital asset service provider would be prohibited from listing for sale on behalf of, or for purchase by, a California resident a meme coin issued on or after that date when the token is offered by, or in partnership with, a federal public official or a state or local public officer.

The restriction does not amount to a general California ban on meme coin trading. Its listing provision applies to the specified category of official-linked meme coins issued from Jan. 1, 2027.

The Aug. 21 amendment changed the language used to identify the tokens covered by the listing restriction. An earlier version focused on meme coins containing the likeness or image of a federal, state or local public official. The final Senate language instead applies when a meme coin is offered by, or in partnership with, one of the covered officials.

Federal public officials are defined to include elected and appointed federal officers, along with elected or appointed members of federal government boards, commissions, committees and other bodies, including advisory bodies.

The bill uses a relatively detailed definition of a meme coin. It covers digital assets marketed or recognized primarily through their association with internet memes, public figures, fictional characters, animals, cultural phenomena, current events, shared humor, celebrities, noteworthy people or events, or social trends. Their value must be derived primarily from public interest, speculation or community engagement.

Its definition of digital assets extends beyond cryptocurrencies to digital representations of value recorded on cryptographically secured distributed ledgers, including stablecoins, fungible tokens and nonfungible tokens.

California prosecutors could seek disgorgement

Enforcement would take place through civil actions instead of creating a new criminal offense.

California’s Attorney General could file a civil action seeking an injunction against violations and include a claim for disgorgement. Courts would have jurisdiction to order the return of funds covered by such a claim.

District attorneys, city attorneys and county counsel could enforce the prohibition against public officers and employees issuing meme coins. They would have the same ability to seek an injunction and disgorgement for violations of that provision.

The Assembly Banking and Finance Committee’s April analysis listed California Common Cause and the Consumer Federation of California as registered supporters, with no opposition received as of April 16.

The committee analysis specifically discussed President Donald Trump’s Official TRUMP meme coin while laying out the background behind the proposal. Lawmakers cited concerns raised over public officials using tokens for financial gain and access.

Trump launched the token shortly before returning to the White House in January 2025. Political scrutiny later intensified around a private event for major token holders.

In April 2026, the president held a Mar-a-Lago event restricted to leading TRUMP holders, with the top 297 qualifying for the gathering and the top 29 receiving access to a separate VIP reception. The event drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers who argued that token ownership was being tied to access to the president.

Financial disclosures subsequently placed the token back into the congressional ethics debate. As crypto.news previously reported, Trump reported about $636 million tied to the TRUMP meme coin while blockchain analysis cited in the report estimated that nearly 989,000 wallets had collectively lost about $3.81 billion by the end of June.

Political meme coins have drawn federal ethics proposals

California’s legislation comes as federal lawmakers have spent much of 2026 debating restrictions on government officials’ digital asset activities.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called for members of Congress and their spouses to be prohibited from issuing or promoting meme coins as negotiations continued over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Her proposal followed Trump’s disclosure of about $1.4 billion in crypto-related income for 2025, including income connected to TRUMP and World Liberty Financial.

The ethics dispute became one of the main unresolved issues in the CLARITY Act negotiations. Senate negotiators later developed revised ethics language that would allow state authorities to enforce restrictions involving federal officials’ crypto activities.

Updated Senate text released in July contained a government ethics provision barring the president, vice president, members of Congress and certain senior federal officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets while in office.

Efforts to restrict political meme coins began before the latest CLARITY Act negotiations. Rep. Ritchie Torres proposed legislation in May 2025 that would restrict digital assets using the names, images or likenesses of covered political figures when the arrangement produced direct or indirect financial gain.

California’s AB 2409 was introduced on Feb. 20 and amended several times as it moved through the Legislature. The latest Senate amendments were adopted on Aug. 21 before the measure cleared the Senate and returned to the Assembly for concurrence.

Ethereum price held near $2,500 on Aug. 28 as buyers defended the gains from its mid-August breakout, but an overbought daily reading and a dense band of leveraged positions around $2,550 left ETH facing a key resistance test.

Hotter US inflation limits Ethereum’s breakout

According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) price opened at $2,442.49 on Aug. 26 before recovering toward $2,500 over the next two days. ETH traded around $2,500 at the time of writing, leaving it close to the upper end of its three-day range.

The recovery followed an initial reaction to the latest US inflation report. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said headline Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation rose 0.2% monthly and 3.7% annually in July.

The annual figure exceeded the 3.6% increase expected by economists polled by Reuters. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, matched forecasts at 0.2% monthly and 3.3% annually.

The hotter headline figure lifted the market-implied probability of a September Federal Reserve rate increase to 44% from 36%, Reuters reported. Higher rate expectations can weigh on speculative assets because they raise the relative appeal of interest-bearing investments and tighten financial conditions.

ETH nevertheless avoided a deeper reversal after falling toward $2,430 on Aug. 26. Buyers moved back into the market below $2,500, allowing the token to retain most of the advance that began near $1,870 in mid-August.

The rebound has also followed the US Treasury’s decision to expand its long-dated debt buybacks. The Treasury said it will increase the maximum size of liquidity-support operations for 10-to-30-year securities from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, beginning Sept. 9.

However, the program is designed to support Treasury market liquidity rather than directly inject money into crypto markets. Its influence on ETH therefore depends on how bond yields, the dollar, and broader risk appetite respond.

Ethereum price forms an ascending triangle below $2,533

The 4-hour ETH/USDT chart shows Ethereum forming an ascending triangle after its rapid move from below $1,950. Price has repeatedly tested horizontal resistance near $2,533 while producing a sequence of higher lows.

An ascending triangle usually favors buyers when the price closes above its horizontal boundary with increased volume. A confirmed move through $2,533 would also clear the nearby $2,550 resistance area, where ETH has faced several rejections since Aug. 21.

The Aroon Up indicator stood at 57.14%, compared with an Aroon Down reading of 21.43%. The gap suggests that recent highs are more dominant than recent lows, although the Aroon Up reading has declined from earlier levels.

Chaikin Money Flow remained positive at 0.06. The reading points to modest net buying pressure, but it does not show the forceful inflows normally associated with a decisive breakout.

Crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades said in an Aug. 28 X post that ETH had produced a “solid breakout” and established a higher high on the weekly chart. He warned that a return below the former range around $2,300 would weaken the improved market structure.

A 4-hour close above $2,533 would strengthen the triangle setup and place $2,600 in view. Failure to clear the barrier could send ETH back toward the rising trendline, which sits near $2,470 and moves higher over time.

Daily RSI warns Ethereum may be overheated

The daily chart shows ETH trading above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level at $2,453.95. The level is measured from the January high around $3,399 to the June low near $1,509 and now acts as the closest major support.

The next Fibonacci barrier sits at $2,677.04. A break above that area could open a path toward the 23.6% retracement at $2,953.07, placing the psychological $3,000 level within reach.

Trader Ted Pillows also identified $2,550 as the immediate resistance zone. In an Aug. 28 post, he said a weekly close above the level could support a move toward $3,000, while repeated rejection could expose the $2,000–$2,100 region.

Momentum indicators remain bullish but stretched. The daily Relative Strength Index stood at 77.4, above the 70 level commonly used to identify overbought conditions. Its RSI moving average was lower at 72.42.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator remained positive, with the MACD line above its signal line. However, the shrinking positive histogram suggests that upward momentum has started to ease as ETH tests resistance.

An overbought RSI does not guarantee an immediate decline. It instead shows that the advance has moved quickly and leaves the price more vulnerable if buyers fail to produce a breakout.

ETH liquidation map puts $2,550 and $2,470 in focus

The three-day CoinGlass liquidation heatmap shows leveraged positions building on both sides of Ethereum’s price.

The nearest concentration above ETH lies around $2,540–$2,550, aligning with the horizontal resistance visible on the 4-hour chart. Additional liquidity appears between approximately $2,570 and $2,600.

A move through $2,550 could force short sellers to close positions, adding market buy orders and accelerating a push toward the higher clusters. The technical breakout would still require confirmation because a brief sweep of leveraged positions can reverse quickly.

Below the market, the closest liquidation concentration sits around $2,470–$2,480. A larger and brighter pool appears near $2,410–$2,420, making that region a possible downside target if ETH loses the 50% Fibonacci support at $2,454.

US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds provide a mixed near-term backdrop. The products recorded about $192 million in net inflows on Aug. 26, but SoSoValue data showed roughly $11.4 million in net outflows during the following session.

Ethereum’s next move, therefore, rests on a narrow technical range. A confirmed close above $2,533–$2,550 would favor an extension toward $2,600 and $2,677, while a loss of $2,454 would expose $2,410 and potentially the former breakout area around $2,300.

Bitcoin’s push back above $80,000 has done more than lift prices—it’s reignited a broader rebound in crypto-linked equities and refocused investor attention on how digital-asset companies are financed, regulated, and integrated with traditional capital markets. The latest surge arrived alongside a US Treasury plan to increase certain long-dated bond buybacks, a macro tailwind that helped drive risk appetite across financial markets.

This week’s Crypto Biz also highlights three threads investors are watching closely: growing momentum behind stablecoin issuance, the structural funding risks facing institutional Bitcoin holders, and accelerating on-chain activity on Solana tied to real-world assets.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin’s move above $80,000 pulled crypto stocks higher, with miners and crypto treasury/digital-asset platforms among the biggest weekly gainers, according to CoinMarketCap-tracked market moves and related coverage.
• Bernstein says Circle’s USDC supply grew by roughly $2 billion in seven days, ending a six-month period of stagnant or declining growth and potentially supporting a new 12-month growth cycle.
• Regime Intelligence frames Strategy’s main vulnerability as access to capital markets—not a direct Bitcoin price collapse—given its large obligations and reliance on continued financing conditions.
• Solana recorded a record 4.2 billion on-chain transactions in July, and SOL rallied about 40% afterward; tokenized real-world assets are also growing on-chain.

Bitcoin above $80,000 lifts crypto equities as macro tailwinds return

Bitcoin’s weekly advance pushed it above $80,000, lifting a range of crypto-related shares. Cointelegraph’s market coverage links the move to broader equity-style risk-on behavior, and specifically notes that miners and digital-asset treasury companies posted double-digit gains.

Canaan, MARA Holdings, and Strive were among the standout performers over the past week, while Coinbase and Robinhood also climbed. CoinMarketCap data cited in the original reporting shows Bitcoin extending its weekly gain past 23%, and Ether rising nearly 30% to trade above $2,500.

Macro factors reportedly played a role as well. The rebound coincided with the US Treasury’s plan to double certain long-dated bond buybacks—an effort expected to support bond-market dynamics that can influence broader liquidity and risk appetite. At the same time, regulatory expectations remained a narrative driver: President Trump renewed calls for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, though the bill was still stalled after lawmakers failed to move it before the August recess. Trump also revived the idea of government Bitcoin purchases, but neither prospect has a guaranteed path forward.

For investors, the practical takeaway is that crypto equities appear increasingly sensitive not just to crypto-specific headlines, but to the conditions that govern traditional markets—particularly financing, yields, and liquidity. When those factors turn, correlations can tighten quickly.

Circle’s USDC momentum becomes a central equity thesis

While much attention usually centers on price action, Bernstein’s latest assessment of Circle focuses on stablecoin growth dynamics—specifically the supply trajectory of USDC. In a Monday research note, the firm argued that a renewed growth cycle for USDC could provide a meaningful tailwind over the next 12 months as supply growth picks up again.

Bernstein reported that USDC supply increased by roughly $2 billion in seven days, ending a six-month stretch where growth was stagnant or declining. The firm maintained an Outperform rating on Circle and a $140 price target, implying approximately 60% upside in its framework. Circle shares, per the original reporting, had risen about 40% over the past month prior to the note.

Beyond the headline increase, Bernstein tied potential future growth to a set of reinforcing drivers: renewed crypto market momentum, regulatory clarity in the US, expanding tokenized capital markets, and broader payments adoption. The report also pointed to early signals of demand from “AI agents,” though the original coverage did not specify where that demand is showing up in measurable metrics.

The stablecoin market share angle is also important. The original reporting states that USDC’s share of adjusted transaction volume rose from roughly 40% in 2025 to over 60% so far in 2026, overtaking Tether’s USDt on that measure. That kind of shift matters because stablecoin activity is increasingly treated as an on-chain indicator of where settlement and payments flows are actually concentrating.

Circle shares have been volatile since its June 2025 IPO, which priced the stock at $31. After an initial surge, shares declined back toward the IPO level by November 2025 as the broader crypto market downturn began. Bernstein’s view effectively suggests that if USDC supply growth and transaction dominance continue, the equity narrative could shift again—from “stablecoin as infrastructure” to “stablecoin as measurable growth engine.”

Strategy’s exposure is more about financing than Bitcoin drawdowns

Institutional Bitcoin holders have long been evaluated through the lens of Bitcoin price sensitivity, but a Regime Intelligence report argues that Strategy’s real vulnerability may lie elsewhere: the ability to access capital markets. According to the report, losing that access could threaten Strategy’s capacity to meet annual obligations—without necessarily being forced to sell BTC immediately.

The context is significant. Strategy holds 840,447 BTC backing roughly $22 billion in debt and preferred claims, as described in the original reporting. The report states that there are no margin calls tied directly to Bitcoin’s price. Its stress tests suggest Bitcoin would need to fall 96% for Strategy’s holdings to no longer cover its convertible notes—placing the most immediate pressure not on a short, moderate drawdown, but on extreme scenarios.

Regime Intelligence also highlighted buffers Strategy already maintains: cash reserves equal to 2.6 times its annual obligations, and a valuation/cost comparison of its BTC holdings in the cited coverage. The original piece further quoted Komodo Platform co-founder Kadan Stadelmann, who argued that Strategy holds far more Bitcoin than its annual cash obligations, leaving it “in a good situation to weather most any storm,” even if equities weaken.

However, the report’s central warning is about the mechanics of funding. If financing conditions deteriorate—particularly alongside a prolonged Bitcoin downturn and pressure on Strategy’s share price and mNAV—raising fresh capital could become harder. In that setting, the company might face a choice between drawing down reserves or selling BTC as part of its operating structure.

The tension here is clear: Strategy may be structurally insulated from simple price shocks, but not immune to liquidity and market access risks. The original reporting notes that Strategy has sold BTC four times since May. Yet CEO Phong Le stated the company accumulated 25 times more BTC over the same period and planned to resume purchases—an important nuance that suggests sales may be functioning more as a financing tool than a strategic retreat.

Solana’s record activity and tokenized RWA growth keep the rally grounded

Solana’s network activity is providing another supporting pillar for the market’s broader rebound. The original reporting cites on-chain data presented by The Kobeissi Letter, stating that Solana processed a record 4.2 billion on-chain transactions in July. That activity preceded a roughly 40% rally, with SOL moving above $100 for the first time since February.

According to the same coverage, transaction counts rose 13.5% from June and 91% from December—adding roughly 2 billion transactions over that period. These metrics matter to traders and builders because they indicate that price momentum is being accompanied by measurable usage, rather than being driven purely by speculation.

Tokenization also figures prominently. The Kobeissi Letter cited RWA.xyz data indicating nearly $4 billion worth of real-world assets are now tokenized on Solana, up 11.8% over the past month. Across tracked networks, distributed RWAs reportedly surpassed $38 billion—again positioning tokenized assets as a key narrative for where capital is expected to move as settlement becomes more on-chain.

The rally reportedly received additional momentum after the US Treasury Department announced plans to double certain long-dated bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation. Lower yields and improved liquidity can lift risk appetite broadly, but SOL’s gains still hinge on whether network usage continues to grow—particularly whether RWA adoption expands and attracts more capital and application-level demand.

Going forward, the market will likely watch two things closely: whether the macro-driven risk-on backdrop persists and whether stablecoin supply growth, institutional financing conditions, and on-chain activity metrics continue to align with price performance. The next set of signals may determine whether this rebound stays confined to rallies—or consolidates into a more durable trend.

Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF has surpassed $1 billion in assets less than ten months after its launch, becoming the first individual Solana ETF to reach the level.

Bitwise Solana ETF crosses $1 billion

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an Aug. 27 post on X that the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF had become the first Solana ETF to exceed $1 billion in size.

Balchunas placed the milestone within a Solana fund category that has attracted about $1.7 billion. According to his assessment, the products have returned very little of that capital through sustained redemptions, even though SOL suffered a steep decline during the first half of 2026.

Bitwise’s official fund data confirmed that BSOL had $1.0175 billion in net assets as of Aug. 26. Its portfolio contained 9.33 million SOL with a market value of $1.0176 billion, or about 0.137 SOL for each outstanding share.

At the end of the same session, BSOL reported a net asset value of $14.95 per share and a market price of $15.03. The closing market price placed the shares at a 0.56% premium to their underlying net asset value, while the fund’s 30-day median bid-ask spread stood at 0.10%.

The $1 billion figure refers to assets under management, which change with investor subscriptions, redemptions and SOL’s market price. Cumulative net inflows measure the amount investors have added after subtracting withdrawals, so the two figures should not be treated as interchangeable.

BSOL has dominated Solana ETF demand

Launched on the NYSE Arca on Oct. 28, 2025, BSOL was the first U.S. exchange-traded product to offer 100% direct exposure to SOL, according to Bitwise. The product also incorporates rewards earned from staking its holdings.

Bitwise set the fund’s management fee at 0.20% and waived it for the first three months on the first $1 billion in assets. Its early access to the U.S. market helped BSOL collect about $420 million during its first trading week, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters in November 2025.

First-mover status can have a lasting effect on how ETF assets are divided among issuers. Reuters reported that competing firms, including Grayscale, VanEck, Fidelity and Invesco, adjusted their Solana fund plans after BSOL began trading.

By mid-May, BSOL controlled about 81% of the assets held by the Solana products tracked at the time. As crypto.news previously reported, BSOL held approximately $861 million out of $1.06 billion across the category, although SOL’s falling price reduced the value of the fund’s holdings.

Fresh data showed BSOL continuing to lead the latest round of subscriptions. SoSoValue recorded $33.5 million of net inflows into U.S. spot Solana ETFs on Aug. 24, their largest daily intake of 2026 and their fifth consecutive positive session.

Of the daily total, BSOL received $25 million, while Fidelity’s FSOL added $4.8 million and Grayscale’s GSOL collected $3.7 million. The five-session run beginning Aug. 18 brought $61.8 million into the products, according to SoSoValue.

Trading activity rose with the subscriptions. Combined volume across the tracked funds reached $166.8 million on Aug. 24, the highest level since October 2025, while BSOL generated about $108 million of the total.

On Aug. 27, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley reported approximately $100 million in daily inflows across the firm’s U.S. crypto products. Solana vehicles received about $40 million, the largest amount among the asset categories he listed, while BSOL generated more than $126 million in trading volume.

Horsley’s figures were preliminary issuer disclosures and did not provide a separate creation total for every Bitwise fund. Trading volume represents shares exchanged during a session, whereas inflows measure net capital entering a product through share creation and redemption activity.

Investors added BSOL during SOL’s decline

BSOL’s growth has continued even though the value of each share fell during much of 2026. Bitwise’s performance data showed a 39.07% year-to-date NAV loss and a 60.15% decline since inception as of July 30.

An Aug. 7 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed that investors contributed $267.1 million in net subscriptions during the first six months of 2026. Share issuance increased the fund’s holdings from approximately 5.15 million SOL at the end of 2025 to 8.05 million SOL by June 30.

Falling SOL prices still reduced BSOL’s net assets from $641.3 million to $592.3 million during the period. Its NAV per share dropped from $16.37 to $10.01, producing a negative return of 38.85% for the first half.

As reported earlier in August, the filing recorded $19.2 million in gross staking rewards and about $17.7 million in net investment income after expenses. BSOL also recognized $333.8 million in portfolio losses, consisting of $262.9 million in unrealized depreciation and $70.9 million in realized losses.

A major U.S. bank later approved BSOL shares as collateral for loans with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 25%, according to Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley. The arrangement gives eligible investors another use for their ETF shares, although the bank was not identified in the announcement.

Staking adds SOL to the fund’s holdings

BSOL’s structure allows Bitwise to delegate most of its SOL to validators and add the resulting rewards to the fund. The product does not distribute the rewards as a separate cash payment; earned SOL becomes part of the portfolio and affects the value backing each share.

As of Aug. 26, Bitwise reported that 96% of BSOL’s assets were staked, compared with its stated target of 100%. The fund listed a gross staking reward rate of 6.17% and a net rate of 5.80%, calculated as a 90-day average using data from Helius.

Bitwise cautioned that staking rewards can change and are not guaranteed. Its fund disclosures also state that BSOL is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and does not receive all the protections that apply to mutual funds and ETFs registered under that law.

The SEC filing identifies BSOL as an exchange-traded product whose sole asset is SOL. Its main investment objective is to follow the value of the tokens it holds after operating costs and liabilities, while earning additional SOL through staking serves as its secondary objective.

For American investors, the NYSE Arca listing provides SOL exposure through regular brokerage accounts without requiring direct token custody or validator management. Fund investors still face SOL price volatility, management expenses, tracking differences and staking-related operational risks identified in Bitwise’s disclosures.

SOL climbed from an Aug. 26 opening price near $96.60 to an intraday high around $110 on Aug. 27. In recent technical coverage, the daily chart placed initial support near $104.41, while a confirmed break above $110 could expose resistance around $114.88 and $127.83.