Strive, a publicly traded asset manager and Bitcoin treasury company, added 1,800 Bitcoin to its balance sheet last week, accelerating a buy program that has helped it rank among the world’s largest publicly traded corporate holders of the asset.

The company bought the BTC between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28 for roughly $143 million, paying an average price of $79,431 per coin (including fees and expenses). CEO Matt Cole confirmed the acquisition on Monday via X: https://x.com/ColeMacro/status/2094396002308440227.

Key takeaways

• Strive purchased about 1,800 BTC over Aug. 24–Aug. 28 for approximately $143 million at an average of $79,431 per BTC.
• Total holdings rose to 23,156 BTC from 21,356 BTC a week earlier, showing faster accumulation across a short window.
• The latest inflow increased Strive’s BTC exposure by roughly 8.4% in five business days, according to Adam Livingston.
• With the new buys, Strive moved ahead of Bullish to become the fifth-largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder, based on industry data from BitcoinTreasuries.net.
• Strive’s purchases align with a broader market rebound that followed a U.S. Treasury announcement on bond buybacks.

Strive’s accelerated accumulation lifts it into the top tier

Strive’s latest acquisition expands its Bitcoin strategy beyond a slow, incremental approach. The purchases increased its total holdings to 23,156 BTC, up from 21,356 BTC reported a week earlier. Earlier reporting from Cointelegraph noted that Strive had added 1,110 BTC the previous week for about $81.5 million at an average of $73,409 per coin (Cointelegraph).

Adam Livingston, an adviser to Saturn Credit, highlighted the pace of change after the most recent buys. In his post, he said the latest purchase increased Strive’s holdings by approximately 8.4% within just five business days (https://x.com/AdamBLiv/status/2094404735474295249).

For investors tracking corporate treasuries, the key point isn’t only the size of the purchase, but how quickly it is happening relative to recent baselines. Rapid accumulation can also signal that a company sees improved risk conditions, more favorable liquidity, or a strategy shift from opportunistic buying toward consistent treasury scaling.

Surpassing Bullish for fifth-largest publicly traded holder

The updated Strive balance also changes the standings among listed Bitcoin treasuries. According to industry data compiled at BitcoinTreasuries.net, Strive’s latest buys pushed it past Bullish—an exchange and digital asset infrastructure firm—making it the fifth-largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin.

This matters because position in these rankings is closely watched by market participants: it can affect perceived credibility of treasury strategies, influence how investors interpret management discipline around Bitcoin exposure, and contribute to the narrative of institutionalization across the sector.

Corporate buying follows a market rebound

Strive’s purchases come as Bitcoin and risk assets rebounded broadly after Aug. 19, when the U.S. Treasury Department announced plans to double the size of certain long-term bond buybacks. The move helped reduce Treasury yields and supported a return of risk appetite, with Bitcoin rallying more than 23% to a recent high above $81,000, as noted in Cointelegraph’s market coverage (Cointelegraph markets).

While treasury purchases do not need a specific catalyst, correlations between macro conditions and corporate activity are frequently discussed in crypto markets. When yields fall and liquidity improves, companies that treat Bitcoin as a treasury asset may find it easier to justify additional exposure—particularly if market volatility cools.

Strategy’s renewed buying underscores the broader trend

Strive is not alone. Michael Saylor’s Strategy—described as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder—announced Monday that it resumed buying BTC for the first time since June. Cointelegraph reported that Strategy acquired 4,603 Bitcoin at an average price of $80,318, per its announcement (Cointelegraph).

That purchase lifted Strategy’s holdings back above 845,000 BTC after four Bitcoin sales since May, reversing a temporary reduction in exposure. Together with Strive’s accelerated accumulation, the renewed buying from a major benchmark treasury adds weight to a theme seen across the corporate segment: listed companies appear willing to increase Bitcoin exposure when market conditions are supportive.

At the same time, the Strategy example also highlights an important tension. Corporate treasuries can be both active buyers and occasional sellers, meaning investors should pay attention not just to net accumulation, but also to the operational or capital-planning drivers behind any reductions.

For the near term, traders and long-term holders will likely watch whether Strive sustains this faster pace of buying over the next several weekly reporting windows, and whether other large corporate treasuries continue to add after recent rebounds—especially as macro conditions that helped fuel the move in yields remain in focus.

Diversify your protein sources

Kalshi has permanently banned former U.S. Representative George Santos and imposed a $71,356 penalty after finding that he manipulated an attendance market to earn $17,839.57.

Kalshi’s Aug. 28 disciplinary notice said Santos placed large trades between Feb. 2 and Feb. 25 in contracts that paid according to whether he attended President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address.

Kalshi says Santos traded an outcome he could control

As the person whose attendance determined the contracts’ result, Santos had direct influence over the event. Kalshi Rule 5.17(z) prohibits members from trading contracts when they can affect the underlying outcome.

Despite the restriction, Santos bought and sold contracts tied solely to his own attendance, the compliance department found. His trades involved both “Yes” contracts, which would pay if he appeared at the event, and “No” contracts, which would pay if he did not.

During the trading period, Santos published several statements about his travel and attendance plans. Kalshi said some of the posts were false or misleading and were made to move prices before he purchased or sold the relevant contracts.

The exchange determined that the statements had their intended effect on the market. By moving between “Yes” and “No” positions while controlling information about his plans, Santos generated $17,839.57 in profit, according to the notice.

Kalshi cited violations of rules against market manipulation, trading with material nonpublic information, trading on an outcome a member can influence, and using a deceptive scheme connected to exchange activity. Its compliance department also found that Santos failed to cooperate promptly and fully with the internal investigation.

Under the settlement, Santos cannot access Kalshi directly or through another person or account. The exchange also assessed a $71,356 penalty, exactly four times the profit amount listed in its notice. The document took effect on Aug. 28.

Social media posts moved Santos attendance contracts

A separate Commodity Futures Trading Commission order issued on July 31 provided a more detailed timeline of the trades. According to the regulator, Santos opened his Kalshi account on Feb. 11 and deposited about $7,000, using the funds exclusively to trade on his own attendance.

From Feb. 12 through Feb. 22, he accumulated 30,874 “Yes” contracts at a total cost of $6,695.94. While holding the position, Santos asked his X followers whether he should wear a serious suit or a bedazzled one to the address.

Following the post, the “Yes” contract rose from about $0.15 to $0.70. Santos then sold the full position for a $3,448.43 profit and withdrew $10,146.07 through a Venmo account created four days earlier, the CFTC said.

Later on Feb. 22, an airline notified Santos that his flight to Washington, D.C., had been canceled. He booked a train that night, then posted the next morning that bad weather had made his trip difficult and suggested the address might not take place. The “Yes” price fell from $0.63 to $0.28 after the post.

On the evening of Feb. 23, Santos posted that he would attend from the House gallery. A video repeating his attendance plans sent the contract from $0.40 to $0.70, according to the federal order.

About 40 minutes after publishing the video, Santos began buying “No” contracts. He eventually acquired 23,855 contracts for $8,650.66. His train was canceled about an hour after he began building the position, but he later responded, “I am” when another user asked if he was still going.

With both his flight and train canceled, Santos had not bought another ticket when he posted on Feb. 24 that he was watching the address on an airport television. The “Yes” contract fell from $0.73 to $0.02, increasing the value of his opposing position.

Santos closed the “No” trade early on Feb. 25 for a $14,390.57 profit, the CFTC found. Combined with his earlier gain, the two positions produced the amount later addressed by the exchange’s disciplinary action.

Federal penalties remain separate from Kalshi’s lifetime ban

The Kalshi sanction is separate from the CFTC settlement, which imposed different payment amounts and a shorter restriction covering all federally registered trading venues.

As crypto.news previously reported, the CFTC ordered Santos to disgorge $17,569.98, pay a $17,500 civil penalty, and stop trading on any CFTC-registered entity for three years. Santos consented to the July order without admitting or denying its findings or legal conclusions.

The regulator applied Section 6(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act and Regulation 180.1, which prohibit manipulative or deceptive conduct involving swaps. Its order classified the State of the Union event contracts as swaps because their payouts depended on a future event with possible financial, economic or commercial consequences.

Although Kalshi cited Santos for failing to cooperate with its inquiry, the CFTC recognized his cooperation in the federal investigation. The findings concern two separate reviews conducted by the exchange and its regulator.

Earlier in June, federal investigators were examining the trades after Kalshi froze the account and referred the activity to authorities. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission later resolved its part of the matter through the July settlement; the reported Justice Department inquiry has not received a publicly announced resolution.

Prediction markets add controls after insider cases

Kalshi operates as a designated contract market under CFTC oversight, making its event contracts subject to federal derivatives rules and exchange-level restrictions. Users trade contracts priced according to the perceived chance of outcomes involving politics, sports, economic data, and other public events.

Concerns about privileged information have increased as contracts tied to speeches, political decisions, and unpublished content attract more trading. In February, Kalshi imposed a $20,397.58 penalty and a two-year suspension on a MrBeast-affiliated editor over trades involving unreleased YouTube videos.

A separate federal case involves U.S. Army Special Forces member Gannon Ken Van Dyke, whom prosecutors accused of using classified information to earn about $409,881 from Polymarket contracts linked to the capture of Nicolás Maduro. A federal judge paused the CFTC case in August while the related criminal proceeding continues. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty and disputes whether the contracts qualify as swaps.

Kalshi has also added employer-disclosure rules, a whistleblower channel, and risk reviews for proposed markets. In June, it partnered with StarCompliance so participating financial firms could connect employee accounts to internal monitoring systems.

The exchange said it conducted more than 150 investigations during the first quarter of 2026, blocked over 100 suspected insider-trading attempts and referred 20 cases to law enforcement.

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Hyperliquid Labs and Kraken parent Payward have entered advanced talks to offer selected Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures to U.S. traders through CFTC-regulated exchange Bitnomial.

Hyperliquid could reach U.S. traders through Bitnomial

Bloomberg reported on Aug. 31 that Hyperliquid Labs and Payward are discussing a structure that would place selected crypto perpetual futures on Bitnomial, a U.S. derivatives exchange owned by the Kraken parent.

Under the proposed setup, eligible American customers would trade the contracts through Bitnomial rather than connect directly to Hyperliquid’s decentralized platform. The companies have not disclosed which assets would be included, how many contracts could be listed, or whether HYPE would be among the underlying tokens.

Payward has already presented the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with an outline of the arrangement, according to Bloomberg. Regulatory clearance is still required, and no launch date or commercial terms have been announced.

Bitnomial would handle the U.S. trading venue, customer access, and compliance requirements. Hyperliquid technology would support the assets or markets linked to the selected products, allowing the arrangement to separate the regulated contracts from the permissionless platform used by the protocol’s existing customers.

American users remain unable to access Hyperliquid directly. An August filing cited in earlier protocol coverage said the platform continued to restrict U.S. users and that Hyperliquid Strategies was unaware at the time of any pending CFTC approval process for the network.

The discussions do not amount to approval for Hyperliquid itself to operate as a U.S. exchange. Bloomberg’s reported structure instead places any American trading activity inside Bitnomial’s regulated system and limits access to contracts selected for that venue.

Payward already controls a full U.S. derivatives stack

Payward completed its acquisition of Chicago-based Bitnomial on May 1 after first valuing the transaction at up to $550 million in cash and stock. The final price was not disclosed.

Through the acquisition, Payward gained control of a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization, and a futures commission merchant. The three CFTC-regulated entities allow Bitnomial to combine exchange trading, clearing, and brokerage services within one corporate group.

As crypto.news previously reported, Bitnomial spent more than a decade building the licenses needed to operate that structure. Payward said at the time that Bitnomial would keep its regulatory framework and continue providing services to third parties after joining the company.

The infrastructure has already supported Payward’s U.S. expansion. Kraken introduced perpetual futures for eligible American clients through Bitnomial in June, placing the contracts alongside spot, margin, and traditional futures products on Kraken Pro.

Kraken said customers could use one collateral pool across perpetuals and other derivatives positions. John Palmer, Kraken’s global head of derivatives, said the setup reduced the need for traders to divide capital and positions among separate platforms.

Perpetual futures differ from dated futures because they do not have a fixed expiration. Recurring funding payments between long and short traders are used to keep the contract price close to the value of its reference asset.

Although the format is common on offshore exchanges and decentralized platforms, U.S. access has historically been limited by federal derivatives rules. Bitnomial’s involvement would give American traders access through a supervised exchange, but it would not open Hyperliquid’s full selection of onchain markets to them.

CFTC review will determine the permitted structure

The CFTC would serve as the main federal regulator for the proposed crypto derivatives because Bitnomial operates under the Commodity Exchange Act. Depending on the final structure and referenced assets, regulators would need to determine how the contracts are classified and whether their listing process meets applicable exchange requirements.

Hyperliquid-linked groups are already engaging U.S. regulators on related questions. In an Aug. 24 comment letter, the Hyperliquid Policy Center asked the SEC and CFTC to recognize qualifying cash-settled equity perpetuals as security futures.

The group argued that regulators should first examine how a derivative is structured and traded before using its underlying asset to divide oversight. Under its proposal, futures-like perpetual contracts tied to individual stocks would come under the security futures framework jointly administered by the SEC and CFTC.

HIP-3 markets using Hyperliquid infrastructure processed more than $480 billion in cumulative notional volume during their first 10 months, according to the policy center. Positions on the markets use central limit order books and continuous margin, while funding payments help align perpetual contract prices with their reference assets.

The proposed Payward arrangement concerns selected crypto contracts rather than unrestricted access to HIP-3 or the rest of Hyperliquid. Bloomberg did not report that the SEC is involved in the discussions, and neither Payward nor Hyperliquid has published the proposed contract list.

U.S. regulators would also expect the regulated venue and its intermediaries to apply customer identification, anti-money laundering, and sanctions controls. Such requirements differ from the permissionless access model used by decentralized trading protocols.

HYPE extends its August rally after the report

HYPE traded at about $84.50 when checked, rising roughly 3% over 24 hours after recovering from an earlier decline. The token had gained more than 60% since the start of August, though available reports did not establish that expectations of U.S. access caused the entire monthly advance.

Hyperliquid processes more than $4 billion in daily trading volume, according to figures cited in the original report. Any Bitnomial offering would cover only a selected portion of Hyperliquid-linked markets, while the companies have not disclosed whether revenue from the U.S. contracts would flow to the protocol or affect HYPE’s existing token-buyback system.

The most important week in Solana’s history is about to begin, and Jacob Creech, Vice President of Technology at the Solana Foundation, has released the announcement the Solana community has been eagerly awaiting.

Solana is about to enter a period of intensive technical upgrades: The first phase of gas fee reductions will begin this week, followed by the launch of Transaction V1 on September 9. Block times will continue to be reduced, the Alpenglow consensus upgrade will be rolled out in October, and the community is set to come together at the “Scale or Die” conference in November. Solana’s development will take on a whole new look from this point forward.

A series of upgrades will reshape Solana’s infrastructure in several areas, including cost, transaction capacity, confirmation speed, and validator architecture. However, technical upgrades do not necessarily mean that the price of SOL will rise; ultimately, this depends on developer adoption, user growth, and genuine on-chain demand.

For ordinary investors, however, in addition to keeping an eye on the evolution of public blockchain infrastructure, it is equally important to consider how to maximize the efficiency of their Solana assets. ASDeFi addresses this need by offering an automated yield mechanism that allows users to access potential returns on their Solana assets without having to run their own validators or wait for public blockchain upgrades.

Solana is accelerating its infrastructure upgrades, while the asset efficiency sector is also evolving in parallel. In the future, what will truly be worth watching may not just be which blockchain is faster, but rather which one can enable users and assets to create more tangible value.

ASDeFi: Continuously accumulate SOL without upgrades

From the V1 trading upgrade on September 9 to the Alpenglow mainnet, which is expected to launch in October, Solana is undergoing a major technical upgrade. For ASDeFi users, you can continue to accumulate rewards through cloud mining without having to wait for blockchain upgrades, validator registration, or governance processes. At the same time, ASDeFi has integrated with the Solana ecosystem, including SOL payments and the listing of related tokens on Orca DEX, so its cloud mining business complements the Solana upgrade.

ASDeFi: How it works

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in the United Kingdom, AS DeFi is a cryptocurrency asset service platform specializing in AI-powered cloud mining. Through an AI-driven computing power scheduling system, it combines green-energy mining facilities with automated yield management to enable round-the-clock automated operation. Users can start mining cryptocurrency without having to purchase mining equipment or bear the costs of equipment maintenance, electricity, or complex technical management.

How do I join ASDeFi?

1. Go to register a cloud mining account: https://asdefi.com

Enter your email address and password to create an account. You’ll receive a $15 bonus upon registration, and a $0.60 bonus for logging in every day.

2. Deposit cryptocurrency

The platform supports deposits and withdrawals of more than a dozen cryptocurrencies, including SOL, XRP, BTC, ETH, DOGE, BNB, and USDT.

3. Purchase hashrate contracts

Purchase a $15 contract. The platform also offers a variety of hashrate contracts; choose one with the return that best fits your investment budget.

Examples of common contracts:

Check-in Contract: $15 — 1-day cycle — Total profit of approximately $15.6

Introductory Contract: $100 — 2-day cycle — Total profit of approximately $108

Basic Contract: $1,000 — 10-day cycle — Total profit of approximately $10,140

Stable Contract: $6,000 — 20-day cycle — Total profit approximately $8,040

Stable Contract: $30,000 — 30-day cycle — Total profit approximately $47,100

(For more contract details, please visit the official website.)

4. Start mining and earn rewards

Once the contract purchase is complete, the platform automatically allocates computing power resources, and the system begins running. You can view your earnings in real time on your phone and withdraw them to your wallet at any time.

Summary

With upgrades such as Transaction V1 and Alpenglow rolling out, Solana continues to optimize transaction efficiency, confirmation speeds, and network infrastructure. For investors, while keeping an eye on the technological advancements of public blockchains, there are also opportunities to explore new possibilities in terms of asset efficiency and participation methods.

ASDeFi offers SOL holders a way to participate without having to purchase mining equipment themselves, through cloud mining and automated computing power management. As blockchain infrastructure continues to upgrade, the integration of technological innovation with asset use cases will remain a key focus for the market.

For more details, visit: https://asdefi.com

Download the app: https://asdefi.com/xml/index.html#/app

Customer service email: [email protected]