Crypto World
Solana Cuts Blockchain Slot Time to 350 Milliseconds
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Crypto World
Judge Keeps Sun's World Liberty Claims In Court
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A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday kept TRON founder Justin Sun's individual claims against World Liberty Financial in a public courtroom, declining the Trump family crypto venture's request to route the whole dispute into private arbitration. The forum decides how much of the dispute… Read the full story at The Defiant
Crypto World
Trump admin taps JPMorgan alum Matt Zames to advise Social Security agency
Matt Zames, then-chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase, center, in New York, Feb. 27, 2017.
Kholood Eid | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Former JPMorgan Chase executive Matt Zames will join the Trump administration as an advisor to the Social Security agency, CNBC has learned.
Zames is taking an unpaid position to help his former JPMorgan colleague Frank Bisignano, who became Social Security Commissioner last year, tackle modernization of the agency, said people with knowledge of the move.
He starts Monday at Social Security Administration headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, where an office placard bearing his name has already been installed, said one of the people familiar. CNBC’s sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the move publicly.
Zames, a former hedge fund trader who rose to prominence at JPMorgan after helping clean up the bank’s $6 billion “London Whale” mess, was its chief operating officer for about five years. He spearheaded technology and cost-cutting projects at the lender and was seen as a top contender to succeed CEO Jamie Dimon until his departure in 2017.
The next year, Zames became president of private equity firm Cerberus, where he oversaw tech investments and helped turn around the firm’s Deutsche Bank stake. After leaving Cerberus in 2021, Zames started an advisory and restructuring firm.
Zames — who has also had positions on key Treasury and Federal Reserve advisory groups tied to the debt markets — is joining an agency that relies on decades-old technology systems.
Beyond the technology issues, the SSA is projected to exhaust its retirement trust fund in less than a decade, which could require benefit cuts to millions of Americans.
As a special government employee, Zames can hold his new position for 130 days, but that could be spread over a longer period of time because he won’t be working full-time, said one of the sources.
Crypto World
63% of Americans Believe President Trump’s Crypto Profits Are Inappropriate
A Reuters survey found that 63% of respondents believe President Trump and his family profiting from crypto is inappropriate, while 32% believed it was appropriate. Breaking down the respondents further, 69% of Republicans considered the profits appropriate, while an overwhelming 92% of Democrats believed they were inappropriate.
Survey Results
The nationwide survey was conducted between August 14 and August 17 by Reuters and Ipsos, and interviewed 1,166 adults. The survey has a margin of error of around three percentage points. The survey reignited the ethical debate around President Trump and his family’s crypto investments while he is in office. Understandably, views were divided by political leanings, as Republican supporters found the earnings appropriate, while Democratic Party supporters called them inappropriate.
“New Reuters/Ipsos poll: 69% of Americans, including 48% of Trump’s own voters, say his business interests are influencing his presidential decisions. His crypto ventures alone pulled in $1.4B last year.”
The poll also asked respondents about President Trump’s private commercial interests and found that 69% believed the president’s business interests have influenced his decisions. The survey only gauges public opinion about President Trump’s business interests and does not state or establish whether he violated laws or influenced government policy. The White House has also consistently rejected allegations of a conflict of interest. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated:
“There are no conflicts of interest. The President only acts in the best interests of the American public.”
Over $1.4 Billion in Crypto Income
President Trump’s annual financial disclosure was published in June. An analysis by Reuters revealed President Trump reported over $1.4 billion in income tied to cryptocurrency ventures in 2025. However, the figure is the reported income, not the current value of President Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings. According to a report by crypto.news, the disclosure included over $1 billion in crypto-related income, including World Liberty Financial and the Trump memecoin.
Trump-family linked companies have received nearly $800 million from World Liberty Financial, including over $520 million linked to token sales and over $250 million linked to the sale of various business interests. President Trump also reported $635 million from licensing agreements linked to the TRUMP token. The revenue went through several companies, and some of the proceeds were distributed among Trump family members and business partners.
Ethical Debate Rages On
The survey comes as lawmakers remain divided over whether crypto legislation should restrict officials and their families from investing in crypto-related businesses. The ethics provisions have become a significant stumbling block during negotiations to advance crypto legislation through Congress. Adding to the debate is the conditional approval given to World Liberty Financial to establish the World Liberty Trust Company as a national trust bank. Congressional scrutiny and conditions for the proposed trust bank will be a significant test of the separation of President Trump’s duties as President of the USA and family business interests.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Crypto World
Bitcoin short-seller staged a $6 million liquidation
Yesterday, an influencer pretended to suffer a $6 million short liquidation on bitcoin (BTC) to attract followers and clout. The stunt fizzled after some basic fact-checking.
Crypto trader Laanie posted fake evidence of a leveraged wipeout long enough to attract a few hundred thousand views, then deleted the claim a few hours later.
The engagement farmer then hosted a social audio space on X to discuss the non-existent trade, which attracted over a thousand attendees amidst a particularly bullish day for crypto markets.
Indeed, BTC was enjoying one of its steepest, single day gains of the year, rallying from $64,000 to $75,000 in under 24 hours.
A proposed Community Note on X challenged the $6 million loss. It explained that the trading display Laanie shared had Bybit’s Demo mode enabled, a subtle yet unmistakable label for the crypto exchange’s simulated trading view.
One skeptic explained the difference between a real Bybit trading account and Laanie’s paper money account. Another trader noted that Laanie’s screenshots cropped out the webpage tab, indicating their use of Bybit’s Demo mode.
The intraday, 17% rally in BTC made the claim plausible at first glance, especially due to Bybit’s large leverage offerings that would have amplified losses for short-sellers.
As unsophisticated observers happily engaged with the post and reposted across social media for clout, the engagement farmer won the prize of attention.
This short bitcoin liquidation never happened
Replies to Laanie’s follow-up post called the trader a LARPer, short for Live Action Role Player. Another skeptic wrote that Laanie is a “liar with a demo account.”
‘QE Lite,’ a multi-billion dollar expansion of US Treasury buybacks, plus positive BTC commentary from Donald Trump’s crypto meeting in Washington DC, drove the rally on August 19 and the dramatic follow-through yesterday.
Read more: Jim Chanos is calling for another MSTR short
Bybit’s Demo Trading feature auto-creates a simulated account for every user. Its demo mode seeds all customers with a fixed portfolio of virtual assets. Demo mode traders can adjust the funds in that account and flip to live trading with a single toggle.
A large enough leveraged position inside that sandbox produces the same liquidation math and shareable screenshot as a genuine trade. However, the underlying capital never exists, and trades never fill.
Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Crypto World
Ethena price jumps 65% as Arthur Hayes backs breakout
Ethena price extended its weekly gain to about 65% on Aug. 21, reaching $0.142 after a $1 billion lending deal with FalconX and bullish calls from Arthur Hayes fueled demand for ENA.
Summary
- Ethena price gained about 65% in seven days and reached an intraday high near $0.145.
- A $1 billion FalconX facility will fund overcollateralized loans using assets backing USDe.
- 4-hour RSI reached 93.97, warning that the near-vertical rally is overheated.
- A break above $0.1465 could expose $0.1587, while $0.1343 is the first support.
Ethena price action today
According to data from crypto.news, Ethena (ENA) price traded near $0.140 at press time, up about 20% on the daily chart. The token briefly reached $0.1448 after opening the session at $0.116, extending a rally that began near $0.082 on Aug. 18.
The move carried ENA through several resistance levels in less than three days. Buyers first reclaimed $0.10, which had limited previous recovery attempts, before breaking through $0.1099, $0.1221, and $0.1343.
ENA’s 4-hour chart shows that most of the advance occurred through consecutive large green candles. The token has gained more than 70% from its Aug. 18 low, leaving little consolidation between the previous trading range and its current price.
The breakout also reversed a longer period of weakness. ENA had fallen from above $0.21 at the start of 2026 and spent much of June through mid-August between $0.07 and $0.10.
What is driving the ENA rally?
The immediate catalyst was a $1 billion secured warehouse facility announced by FalconX and Ethena.
Under the arrangement, assets backing Ethena’s USDe synthetic dollar can fund overcollateralized loans to institutional borrowers. FalconX will originate and service the loans while also managing the collateral, which will be held with qualified custodians.
Ethena will hold a first-priority security interest over the assets in the lending vehicle. The structure gives the protocol another potential source of returns beyond crypto basis trades, whose yields can weaken when demand for leveraged futures positions declines.
The $1 billion figure describes the facility’s total capacity rather than confirmed capital deployed on its first day. Interest rates, eligible collateral, borrower requirements, and the initial amount drawn have not been disclosed.
Bullish commentary from BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes added to the momentum. Hayes wrote in an Aug. 21 X post that an “$ENA 5 bagger is just too easy,” alongside a chart pointing toward roughly $0.50.
Hayes had previously argued that stronger US dollar liquidity could lift Bitcoin, improve derivatives basis yields, and attract capital back into USDe. On-chain reports earlier in August also linked him to purchases totaling 22.64 million ENA worth about $2 million.
Trader Daan Crypto Trades separately identified $0.14 as an important level after ENA gained more than 30%.
“Could see some resistance there. If it breaks higher we’re off to the races,” the trader said in an Aug. 21 X post.
ENA has now reached that area, making its reaction around $0.14–$0.1465 central to the next move.
ENA indicators warn the rally is overheated
Momentum remains strongly bullish, although the 4-hour indicators show a growing risk of short-term profit-taking.

ENA’s 4-hour Relative Strength Index reached 93.97, far above the 70 level commonly associated with overbought conditions. Its RSI moving average stood at 75.97, confirming that momentum has remained elevated across several candles rather than during one brief spike.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator also supports the uptrend. The MACD line rose to 0.0114, above the 0.0062 signal line, while the positive histogram expanded to 0.0052. The widening gap shows that buying momentum was still accelerating when the chart was captured.
Daily Aroon readings provide another bullish signal. Aroon Up stood at 100%, consistent with ENA recording a fresh high, while Aroon Down was at 64.29%. The readings favor buyers but also reflect the speed and volatility of the reversal from ENA’s earlier lows.

Overbought readings do not guarantee an immediate decline. However, an RSI near 94 means traders entering after the vertical move face a greater risk if momentum slows or early buyers begin taking profits.
ENA price targets $0.1587 if $0.1465 breaks
The daily chart places $0.1465 at the next major resistance. ENA traded just below that level after its intraday high reached approximately $0.1448.
A daily close above $0.1465 would confirm a breakout from the current trading range. The next technical targets would be $0.1587 and $0.1709, followed by $0.1831 if momentum remains strong.
Failure to clear $0.1465 could produce a retest of $0.1343, which previously acted as a reversal level. Lower support sits at $0.1221, followed by $0.1099 and the former breakout area around $0.0977–$0.10.
CoinGlass’ three-day liquidation heatmap shows substantial leverage concentrations below the current price. The strongest nearby clusters appear around $0.118–$0.120, with additional liquidity between $0.104 and $0.116.

A decline through $0.1343 could therefore accelerate as leveraged long positions face pressure. Holding that level would allow ENA to consolidate without breaking the short-term bullish structure.
US market context remains tied to risk appetite
ENA’s rally has also benefited from a broader recovery across the crypto market as Bitcoin moved toward multi-month highs. Rising demand for higher-risk DeFi tokens often follows strength in Bitcoin and Ether, although such assets can also record sharper losses when market sentiment reverses.
FalconX’s US presence gives the lending agreement an institutional connection for American markets. FalconX Bravo, an affiliate of the prime broker, is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a swap dealer focused on crypto derivatives.
The warehouse facility does not remove the risks attached to USDe or ENA. Borrower defaults, collateral declines, custody arrangements, smart-contract exposure, changing derivatives yields, and future token unlocks could still affect the protocol and its governance token.
For now, ENA’s breakout remains intact above $0.1343. A close above $0.1465 would support another leg toward $0.1587, while a rejection combined with the extreme RSI reading would raise the probability of a pullback toward $0.1221.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Crypto World
Bitcoin Moved 140x Faster than Stocks This Week: $80,000 this Weekend?
Bitcoin (BTC) gained more than 20% in five days, delivering the stock market’s average annual return about 140 times faster. The run then stalled at $79,500, just 0.6% short of $80,000.
BTC traded near $76,750 on Friday, up 6.6% on the day. That leaves $80,000 about 4% away. The daily relative strength index (RSI) sits at 84.64, its highest reading of 2026.
How Bitcoin Outran the Stock Market by 140 Times
The math is simple. Since 1928 the S&P 500 has compounded at 10.02% a year, dividends included, per New York University’s Stern School dataset.
Spread across five days, that yearly gain works out to 0.137%. Bitcoin did 20% in the same window. Call it 140 times the pace.
Low to high, the run reached 27%. BTC is heading for its strongest weekly close in two years.
Speed is not recovery. BTC still trades 39% below its record $126,080, set in October 2025.
Washington lit the fuse. The Treasury said on August 19 it would at least double its long-end bond buybacks, from $2 billion per operation to $4 billion.
The purchases cover 10-year to 30-year debt and run from September 9 through November 4. Long yields had just touched 20-year highs. Bond desks read it as a backstop.
Leverage did the rest. Bearish traders lost $1.06 billion in a day as short positions unwound.
Spot buyers showed up too. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) took $517.2 million on August 19, then $606.3 million on August 20. That was August’s biggest day, per Farside Investors.
Three Resistance Layers Block Bitcoin’s Path to $80,000
Friday’s candle opened at $73,027 and ran to $79,500. Then sellers took over. That high hit the rising trendline drawn off February’s lows. Bitcoin climbed it all spring. June’s slide to $58,000 broke it.
Friday’s rally returned to the line from below and failed. Old support now works as resistance.
Two more walls sit in the same pocket. A shelf at $79,427 capped May’s high. The round $80,000 sits just above.
Bitcoin’s current price has to clear all three. Support starts at Friday’s $73,027 open.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
Weekend Odds Favor Digestion Over a Breakout
Jamie Coutts of Helios Analytics weighed the jump against how calm the market had been. It ranks fifth since 2018.
He found 14 comparable moves. Bitcoin sat higher 71% of the time 30 and 90 days later. The median gain was near 10%. A random day since 2018 returned 1.2%.
The extremes run wide. A similar jump in April 2019 led to a 118.7% gain over 90 days. One in October 2019 led to a 23% drop in 30.
Coutts calls 14 examples a thin sample. His own significance tests came back short of proof.
His table prices the pain too. In the median case BTC dipped 8.4% below entry within 90 days.
“There is a wall of overhead supply at the low $80k range it needs to work through,” wrote Coutts, chartered market technician at Helios Analytics.
On-chain data leans the other way. CryptoQuant shows spot and futures demand positive together for the first time since October 2025.
A separate quicktake ties the bounce to MVRV, which compares price with what holders paid.
Analyst Darkfost put net new demand at a 2026 high of 25,000 BTC. That weighs new coins against coins idle over a year.
“BTC looking strong here. Rallies like this in bear markets usually signal the bottom is in. Might see a dip, but the bear phase is pretty much done imo,” said Ki Young Ju, founder and chief executive of CryptoQuant.
So can Bitcoin reach $80,000 this weekend? Possible, but not likely.
Weekend books run thin. Fewer large buyers trade Saturday and Sunday. Clearing three walls with RSI at 84.64 (overbought) takes size.
A slide back toward $73,000 would cool that reading without wrecking the week. Bitcoin’s longer-term outlook now rests on whether the low $80,000s give way.
The post Bitcoin Moved 140x Faster than Stocks This Week: $80,000 this Weekend? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
Bitcoin faces $80,000 test as thinner weekend liquidity looms

Your day-ahead look for Aug. 21, 2026
Crypto World
Important Ripple (XRP) Price Update: August 21st
XRP is up 20% in the past 24 hours, and it gives no signs of stopping!
Ripple (XRP) Price Predictions: Analysis
Key support levels: $1, $1.3
Key resistance levels: $1.6, $2
Bulls Return with a Vengeance
In an unexpected move, XRP has rallied by over 20% in the past 24 hours. This comes after the price nearly lost its support at $1. The ongoing rally is market-wide, and XRP has made the best of this opportunity.
At the time of this post, the price has just moved past the resistance at $1.3, which is likely to act as key support. If the rally is sustained, then the next major target is found at $1.6.

Buy Volume Explodes
After months of consolidation just above $1, buyers are finally back, and the volume has spiked to levels not seen since the February crash. The difference now is that buyers are dominating instead of sellers.
This rally is very strong and has erased most of the losses since the start of the year. If it can manage to claim $1.6 as well, then XRP will make a higher high and officially end its downtrend.

Daily RSI Enters Overbought Zone
This very aggressive buying has pushed the daily RSI above 80. That places it in the overbought area and signals caution for late buyers. Most of the move could be behind us even if XRP does eventually hit $1.6.
Whatever happens going forward, XRP has already made a big statement that could turn the price action bullish for the remainder of the year. Ideally, this cryptocurrency will consolidate and confirm the recent gains before going higher.

The post Important Ripple (XRP) Price Update: August 21st appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
XRP Price Prediction: 22% Rally, But Ripple Still is Undervalued
XRP price is changing hands at $1.3, up 18% on the day, extending a violent 22% rally that carried the token to $1.26 in a single 24-hour window days earlier, shrugging off bearish prediction. But what’s driving it, and more importantly, where does the smart money rotate once the easy gains are booked?
The rally wasn’t XRP-specific. It traces back to two August 19 announcements: the U.S. Treasury doubling its longer-term bond buyback program to inject market liquidity, and President Trump reiterating his push to make the U.S. a Bitcoin superpower while pressing Congress to pass the CLARITY Act.
Following all the catalysts, the total crypto market cap responded with an 8% jump to $2.5 trillion in 24 hours. XRP simply rode the wave harder than most large-caps.
That macro tailwind explains the spike, but it doesn’t answer whether XRP holds these levels or gives them back. The technical picture underneath the headline number tells a more complicated story.
Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio
XRP Price Prediction: Hit $1.50 This Week?
XRP printed an intraday high of $1.32 in the 24-hour session that shook out short leveraged positions. Recent rally analysis points to resistance clustering near $1.30–$1.34, the exact zone price is testing now, while support has shifted up to $1.10–$1.00 after repeated tests of the psychological $1 level earlier this month.
Momentum data, however, shows downside risk toward $0.62 if momentum fails, while Standard Chartered maintains a longer-term $2.8 target, a split that underscores how unsettled sentiment remains even mid-rally.
- Bull case: a clean break and hold above $1.34 opens room toward $1.60–$1.80.
- Base case: consolidation between $1.10 and $1.30 while the market digests the move.
- Bear case: a fade back below $1.10 invalidates the breakout thesis and re-tests $1.00.
Wave-count analysis suggests the reclaimed $1 level needs to hold as a floor for any of the bullish targets to stay credible.
Trade XRP Market on Kalshi and Get a $25 Signing-up Bonus
Bitcoin Hyper Targets Early Mover Upside as XRP Tests Key Levels
A 22% pop validates anyone who bought the dip below $1. But XRP is a multi-billion-dollar asset now, and a repeat of that percentage gain from here requires enormous capital inflow, not just sentiment.
That math is exactly why traders chasing outsized returns increasingly look toward earlier-stage infrastructure plays where the market cap ceiling hasn’t been tested yet. Some of that rotation lands on Ripple’s broader valuation story; some of it lands on presales building the next layer of crypto infrastructure entirely.
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is positioning itself as the first Bitcoin Layer 2 with native SVM integration, smart contract execution at speeds it claims outpace Solana itself, while settling back to Bitcoin’s base layer for security.
The presale is priced at $0.013685 and has raised $33 million so far, with staking rewards on offer for early participants. The pitch: solve Bitcoin’s slow, expensive, non-programmable core through a decentralized canonical bridge and low-latency execution layer.
Traders can research Bitcoin Hyper directly before the round progresses further.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
The post XRP Price Prediction: 22% Rally, But Ripple Still is Undervalued appeared first on Cryptonews.
Crypto World
Laser Digital Secures Japan Crypto Registration
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All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.
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