Solana validators and delegators are voting on two economic proposals that could accelerate SOL disinflation and sharply increase transaction-fee burns.

The formal votes cover SGP-0002 and SGP-0003, which correspond to technical proposals SIMD-0550 and SIMD-0553. Voting runs through epoch 1023, expected to end around 15:30 UTC on Aug. 27, although epoch timing can shift.

Solana disinflation could reach its floor by 2029

SIMD-0550 would double Solana’s annual disinflation rate from 15% to 30%. The proposal would not immediately halve the current inflation rate.

Instead, it would accelerate the annual decline toward Solana’s existing 1.5% terminal rate. The proposal estimates the network would reach that floor in approximately 2.8 years, during the first half of 2029, rather than around 2032.

Its authors project that Solana would issue approximately 18.9 million fewer SOL over six years than under the current schedule. Based on the SOL price used by 21Shares, the difference would be worth approximately $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion.

The dollar estimate is not a guaranteed reduction in value. It changes with SOL’s price, activation timing and the final implementation schedule.

SIMD-0550 remains under review in Solana’s improvement-document repository. Even a successful SGP-0002 vote would provide a governance mandate rather than immediately activate the new inflation curve.

Lower issuance would reduce staking rewards

21Shares estimates that nominal staking yield could fall from around 5.25% to 4.34% in the first year, 3% in the second and 2.25% in the third under the faster schedule.

Those estimates include more than protocol inflation. Validator and delegator returns can also include transaction fees, priority tips and maximal extractable value. Changes in network usage could therefore cause actual yields to differ from the projection.

The lower reward path has divided institutional participants. Solana Company, a Nasdaq-listed SOL treasury operator, voted against both economic proposals, arguing that changing core parameters could make institutional revenue and cost forecasting harder.

As crypto.news reported, staking produced nearly all Solana Company’s quarterly revenue. The company earned $2.512 million from staking during the second quarter, making lower issuance directly relevant to its business.

SIMD-0553 could increase daily SOL burns

SIMD-0553 would replace the existing 5,000-lamport per-signature base fee with two components. A 2,500-lamport inclusion fee would go to the block leader, while a resource fee would be burned completely.

The resource fee would depend on the computing capacity and account data requested by each transaction. Its rate would increase through three feature gates before reaching one-half lamport per requested cost unit.

Temporal, which submitted the design, estimates that the terminal rate could increase daily burns from about 648 SOL to between 7,500 and 9,000 SOL at current activity. That would represent a roughly twelvefold to fourteenfold increase.

The burn estimate assumes current transaction activity continues and the final fee rate becomes active. Actual burns may be lower or higher.

The technical document was merged into the repository on July 20 after review by Anza and Firedancer teams. However, merging the document did not activate the fee system. Implementation is expected in version 4.3, followed by testing and staged feature activation.

Solana vote will not immediately change supply

The proposals need participation from at least one-third of network stake and support from two-thirds of participating stake, excluding abstentions, under the proposed governance rules.

As previously reported, Solana’s earlier 80% inflation-reduction proposal failed despite receiving 61.39% support. It fell below the required 66.67% threshold.

Approval of SGP-0002 and SGP-0003 would authorize continued technical work. Developers would still need to finish code, testing, validator coordination and feature-gate scheduling.

Final vote totals will show whether Solana supports both changes, only one proposal or neither. The eventual supply effect will depend on activation dates, SOL prices, validator economics and future network demand.

StarkWare researcher Avihu Levy has tested an experimental quantum-resistant transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet, in what the company described as the first transaction of its kind. 

According to StarkWare, the transaction was confirmed Wednesday in Bitcoin block 964,199. Onchain data shows that it spent a 10,000-satoshi output protected by Levy’s Quantum Safe Bitcoin (QSB) scheme, with MARA Pool mining the block after receiving the transaction through its Slipstream service. 

Levy’s paper and code repository said QSB combines hash-based one-time signatures with computational searches that bind an authorization to a specific transaction. The construction is intended to prevent forgery even if a quantum computer breaks the elliptic-curve cryptography Bitcoin uses.

The test moves Levy’s April proposal from theory to an onchain demonstration, showing that Bitcoin’s existing consensus rules can accommodate one form of quantum-resistant spending without a protocol change.

Quantum-resistant Bitcoin method remains costly

In March, Google researchers estimated that a sufficiently capable quantum computer could theoretically derive a Bitcoin private key nine to 12 minutes after its public key becomes visible. Google said that could allow an attacker to replace a pending transaction during Bitcoin’s confirmation window. 

Levy then introduced QSB in April, estimating at the time that generating a transaction would require between $75 and $150 in GPU computation. He described it as a last-resort measure rather than a replacement for protocol-level protections.

StarkWare spokesperson Nathan Jeffay told Cointelegraph that the completed transaction cost “low hundreds of dollars,” estimating the expense at around $150 to $200. StarkWare’s release said the process took hours of computation.

Related: Banks, regulators join quantum-resistant crypto transfer pilot

Levy’s repository also classifies QSB transactions as nonstandard under Bitcoin Core’s default relay policies. StarkWare said ordinary nodes therefore would not propagate the transaction before confirmation, requiring it to be submitted directly through MARA’s Slipstream service.

QSB applies to individual Bitcoin transactions rather than upgrading cryptography across the network. “A soft fork should happen, and I believe it will,” StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said, adding that QSB provides a safety net while protocol-level protections are developed. 

Bitcoin developers are separately considering proposals including BIP-360, a proposed soft fork that would introduce a Pay-to-Merkle-Root output type while removing Taproot’s quantum-vulnerable key-path spend.

Magazine: Supply absorption ‘key question’ as Bitcoin fails to reclaim $80K: Analysis

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit announced on Aug. 26 that it will add PolySwarm’s NCT token to its Korean won market. 

NCT/KRW trading is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. Korea Standard Time.

The listing gives NCT a direct fiat trading route on South Korea’s largest crypto exchange by reported domestic volume. NCT already trades against Bitcoin on Upbit, with the exchange using that market’s previous closing price to set its initial KRW trading controls.

Upbit will open NCT/KRW with temporary restrictions

Upbit’s official notice listed NCT’s previous BTC market close at 0.00000006 BTC, equivalent to approximately 6.55 won. This figure serves as a reference for early order restrictions rather than a guaranteed opening price.

Buy orders will be blocked for approximately five minutes after trading begins. Sell orders priced 10% or more below the reference price will face the same restriction. Only limit orders will be available during the first two hours.

The exchange warned that the opening “may be postponed” if deposits and withdrawals do not produce sufficient liquidity. At the time of research, Upbit had not announced a delay, and the market remained scheduled to open at 9:00 p.m. KST.

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These controls follow the structure used for other recent additions. As crypto.news reported, Upbit also restricted early orders after adding LIT to its Korean won market on Aug. 24.

NCT price jumps before the Upbit listing

NCT recorded a sharp market response before the Korean won pair opened. The token traded near $0.0146 as of 7:43 p.m. KST, gaining approximately 200% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.

Its 24-hour trading volume reached about $15.36 million, while its market capitalization stood near $24.28 million. NCT traded between approximately $0.004626 and $0.01384 during the period.

The increase occurred after Upbit published its listing announcement, although market data alone cannot prove the exchange decision caused the entire move. NCT was also trading on Bithumb, Coinbase, Gate and smaller venues.

Korean exchange listings have previously coincided with sharp short-term price moves. In related coverage, Upbit’s decision to add three GRVT trading pairs was accompanied by a 23% increase before trading opened.

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Upbit will waive NCT/KRW fees for 24 hours

Upbit will reduce its standard NCT/KRW trading fee from 0.05% to 0% during the market’s first 24 hours. The promotion is scheduled to run from 9:00 p.m. on Aug. 26 until 8:59:59 p.m. on Aug. 27.

If Upbit delays the listing, the zero-fee period will instead begin when trading opens. The waiver applies to standard order fees and does not remove the risks associated with rapid price changes or thin liquidity.

NCT deposits and withdrawals will be supported only through Ethereum. Upbit identified the supported contract as 0x9e46a38f5daabe8683e10793b06749eef7d733d1, matching the address shown by Etherscan and major market-data providers.

Transfers through unsupported networks may not be credited automatically. Upbit also requires customers to follow its Travel Rule and personal-wallet ownership verification requirements.

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PolySwarm uses NCT in its malware marketplace

PolySwarm describes itself as a decentralized threat-intelligence marketplace. Security engines compete to identify malicious files and receive NCT based on their performance.

Project documentation states that NCT also provides access to threat intelligence generated through the platform. The ERC-20 token has a fixed maximum supply of approximately 1.886 billion NCT, with nearly all tokens reported as circulating.

Attention will now move to the NCT/KRW opening price, early trading volume and whether Upbit extends any restrictions. The zero-fee campaign is scheduled to end on Aug. 27 unless the exchange postpones the market launch.

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

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Havenex, an Austrian company advised by Sui co-founder Kostas “Kryptos” Chalkias, said on Aug. 26 that its Series A financing round was nearing completion as it pursued regulatory authorization.

Chalkias announced the project through an X post. He described Havenex as infrastructure for financial institutions offering digital and traditional financial assets. The company has not disclosed the round’s size, participating investors, valuation or expected closing date.

Havenex awaits Austrian regulatory authorization

Havenex’s website says the platform is undergoing authorization with Austria’s Financial Market Authority. The company also states that it cannot provide regulated services before receiving approval.

That distinction means Havenex should not yet be described as a licensed exchange. No public authorization number or regulatory approval appears on its website. Chalkias said the company had applied for every required license and some additional permissions, but he did not identify individual license categories.

Havenex AG lists a registered address in Vienna and Austrian company registration number FN 673083d. Its public disclosures identify Gregorios Siourounis as the management board member. Chalkias, Adeniyi Abiodun and Petros Pyloridis sit on the supervisory board.

The company describes its intended customers as professional and institutional clients. Its approval process will determine which services it can provide, the assets it can support and whether it can operate across the European Economic Area.

Series A details remain undisclosed

Chalkias said the Series A allocation was already “quite packed” and invited interested investors to contact him. That statement remains a fundraising update from an adviser rather than confirmation of a completed transaction.

“Series A is underway and closing soon,” Chalkias said.

Havenex has not released supporting documents naming investors or specifying committed capital. It has also not announced a closing deadline. Until the company completes the round, its financing terms remain subject to change.

Chalkias said Havenex originated from his idea but clarified that he would participate as an adviser. He said his main focus would remain Mysten Labs and Sui. His formal position on Havenex’s supervisory board gives him an oversight role, while Siourounis appears responsible for management.

Havenex proposes verifiable institutional custody

Havenex plans to provide white-label infrastructure through which banks and other financial companies could offer crypto and traditional assets. Its proposed services include trading, custody, staking, tokenization, settlement and wallet infrastructure.

The project says it will support verifiable custody, continuous proof of solvency, multisignature controls and hardware-based two-factor authentication. It also plans self-custody and key-recovery protections.

Chalkias called Havenex the “most transparent, safest, institutional-grade, fully regulated exchange possible.”

Those descriptions express the project’s objectives. Havenex has not published an independent security audit, a live proof-of-solvency system, custody addresses or technical documentation demonstrating the planned controls. There is therefore no public on-chain data available to verify the proposed solvency model.

Institutional custody providers are increasingly combining controlled asset storage with blockchain services. As crypto.news reported, HashKey Cloud and BitGo connected institutional staking while keeping customer assets within BitGo’s custody framework.

Sui will form only part of Havenex’s technology

Chalkias said Havenex would use Sui technology where appropriate, but the platform would not operate as a Sui-only exchange. It plans to integrate assets, infrastructure and bridges from multiple blockchain ecosystems.

The promised quantum-resistant key system could connect with Sui’s wider cryptographic work. In related coverage, Sui targeted a 2027 rollout for native quantum-safe account authentication using NIST-approved signature schemes.

However, Havenex has not identified which post-quantum standard it will implement or when the feature will become available. Its use of Sui, bridges and real-world assets also remains under development.

The next verifiable milestones will be an FMA authorization, final Series A disclosures and detailed technical documentation. A launch date has not been announced. Until authorization arrives, Havenex will remain a development-stage infrastructure provider rather than an operating regulated exchange.

NVIDIA reported fiscal second-quarter 2027 revenue of $96.2 billion on Aug. 26, beating analyst expectations as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continued expanding.

Revenue for the quarter ended July 26 increased 18% from the preceding quarter and 106% from one year earlier, according to the company’s official release. Visible Alpha analysts had expected approximately $92.2 billion.

NVIDIA revenue beats estimates as Data Center sales surge

NVIDIA’s Data Center business generated $89 billion, rising 18% quarter over quarter and 117% year over year. The result also surpassed the Visible Alpha estimate of roughly $85.7 billion.

Non-GAAP diluted earnings reached $2.22 per share, compared with analyst expectations near $2.09. GAAP earnings were $2.46 per diluted share, while GAAP net income more than doubled to $59.7 billion.

Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were 75%. NVIDIA returned approximately $26 billion through share repurchases and dividends during the quarter. It retained about $99 billion under its share repurchase authorization.

The results arrive as Bitcoin mining companies increase spending on AI infrastructure. As previously reported, nine public miners spent $5.11 billion on capital assets during the first half of 2026 while recording $341.2 million in AI and high-performance computing revenue.

$108 billion NVIDIA outlook excludes China compute sales

NVIDIA projected fiscal Q3 revenue of $108 billion, plus or minus 2%. That forecast exceeded the approximately $104.2 billion consensus estimate cited before the results.

The company expects both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of 74%, plus or minus 50 basis points. Its outlook assumes no Data Center compute revenue from China, reflecting continuing restrictions and uncertainty surrounding sales of advanced AI processors.

NVIDIA shares initially fluctuated following the release as investors considered the lower margin forecast. The stock later rose approximately 4.1% in extended trading after the company’s earnings call.

“Customer forecasts point to NVIDIA’s growth doubling next year,” CFO Colette Kress said, but the company expects approximately 70% growth because available supply may not satisfy all forecast demand.

The 70% figure is management’s fiscal 2028 expectation, not a guaranteed result. Customer forecasts also represent demand indications rather than binding revenue commitments.

Supply commitments rise to $279 billion

NVIDIA’s supply and capacity commitments increased from $119 billion in the preceding quarter to $279 billion as of July 26. Its 10-Q filing attributed the increase mainly to memory and manufacturing capacity required for current and future products.

The commitments include $92 billion due during the remainder of fiscal 2027, $87 billion in fiscal 2028 and $88 billion in fiscal 2029. Some supplier agreements may be canceled, rescheduled or adjusted before firm orders are placed.

The filing also disclosed total future commitments of $366 billion across supply, cloud services, leases, equity investments and capital expenditure. The company had another $29 billion in cloud service agreements and $25 billion in data center leases that had not commenced.

Crypto-linked infrastructure providers are participating in this expansion. In related coverage, IREN signed a $3.4 billion NVIDIA contract covering managed GPU cloud services over five years.

Vera Rubin enters production as capacity expands

The firm said its Vera Rubin platform had entered full production, with systems running at CoreWeave, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Nebius.

Meanwhile, the company also announced partnerships with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR intended to mobilize more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure. The initiative remains subject to definitive agreements and therefore does not represent secured funding.

The company’s next financial test will be converting its expanded supply commitments into delivered systems while protecting margins from higher memory and manufacturing costs. Investors will also watch whether the company can meet its $108 billion Q3 forecast without Data Center compute revenue from China.

Ethereum price traded near $2,450 on Aug. 26 after a sharp weekly rally stalled below $2,550, while its 4-hour chart formed a potential bull flag that could decide the next major move.

Ethereum price consolidates after its weekly surge

According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) price was trading at $2,452 at the time of writing, holding most of the gains produced by last week’s sharp breakout.

ETH opened at $2,251.44 on Aug. 20 and rose to an intraday high of $2,545.88 the following day. Its move from the Aug. 20 opening price to the weekly high represented a gain of about 13%.

The advance becomes larger when measured from the consolidation zone near $1,900 that preceded the breakout. Ethereum gained nearly 34% between that level and the weekly peak before buyers and sellers reached a temporary balance.

Price has since remained largely between $2,400 and $2,500. That tight range shows that traders have not fully reversed the rally despite the failure to extend above $2,550.

The recovery also marked a clear shift from Ethereum’s earlier weakness. ETH had spent much of August moving sideways below $1,950 before breaking through $2,000 and accelerating toward $2,500.

US investors are also watching broader liquidity conditions after falling bond yields supported a recovery across risk assets. Crypto traders will now assess whether those conditions can sustain spot demand after the initial rally and market-wide short squeeze.

Ethereum bull flag points to $2,550 resistance

The 4-hour ETH/USDT chart shows price consolidating within a downward-sloping channel following its near-vertical move from approximately $1,900.

Such a structure can develop into a bull flag when it follows a strong advance. Confirmation would require Ethereum to close above the channel’s upper boundary, currently located around $2,510 to $2,530.

A successful breakout would bring the recent $2,546 high into focus. Buyers would then need to establish support above $2,550 before targeting higher levels.

Crypto analyst Ted Pillows identified the same area as the main barrier to another leg higher. In an Aug. 26 post on X, Pillows said Ethereum needed a weekly close above $2,550 to open a possible move toward $3,000.

The $3,000 target is not confirmed by the current chart because ETH remains below the breakout level. A weekly rejection around $2,500 to $2,550 could instead keep the price inside its short-term consolidation pattern.

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The lower boundary of the 4-hour flag currently sits between $2,330 and $2,360. A break below that area would weaken the continuation setup and raise the probability of a deeper pullback.

Momentum cools as daily RSI reaches 75

Ethereum’s daily chart remains bullish, but its momentum readings show that the rally has become stretched.

The daily Relative Strength Index stood at 75.59, above the commonly watched overbought threshold of 70. Its RSI moving average was lower at 68.56.

An overbought RSI does not guarantee that the price will fall. It shows that buying accelerated quickly and that Ethereum may require consolidation or a pullback before attempting another sustained advance.

The Supertrend indicator remains positive and places broader trend support at approximately $2,158. ETH is trading almost 14% above that level, leaving room for a correction without fully reversing the daily bullish structure.

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Shorter-term momentum has already started to weaken. On the 4-hour chart, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence line stood at 33.60, below its signal line at 47.59. The histogram had fallen to negative 13.99, reflecting slowing momentum after the initial breakout.

The Average Directional Index remained elevated at 40.76, which indicates that the preceding trend was strong. However, the ADX has turned lower from its recent peak, adding evidence that the rapid advance is losing force while ETH trades sideways.

Together, the indicators suggest that Ethereum’s larger recovery remains intact, but the next move may depend on whether buyers can absorb profit-taking above $2,500.

Liquidation clusters frame Ethereum’s next move

CoinGlass’ one-week Ethereum liquidation heatmap shows substantial leveraged positions on both sides of the current price.

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The nearest major pool above Ethereum appears to be around $2,530 to $2,560. A move into that zone could force leveraged short positions to close, potentially adding buying pressure as ETH retests its weekly high.

The heatmap’s brightest band above the market sits close to $2,550, aligning with the technical resistance identified on the price charts. That overlap makes the level important for both spot and derivatives traders.

A larger downside liquidity cluster is visible around $2,300 to $2,330. If Ethereum loses $2,400 and the lower edge of its flag, price could move toward that area as long positions face liquidation pressure.

Additional liquidity is distributed near $2,200, while larger but more distant clusters appear around $2,000 and $1,900. Those lower levels would become relevant only if ETH loses its newly established daily trend support.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe said on Aug. 26 that an attractive area to buy an Ethereum dip could be approaching. His chart placed the potential demand region below the current price, broadly matching the support visible between approximately $2,300 and $2,400.

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Ethereum therefore faces two clear short-term scenarios. A close above $2,550 would confirm renewed strength and could support an expansion toward higher resistance, while a loss of $2,330 would invalidate the 4-hour bull flag and expose the Supertrend support near $2,158.

Until either boundary breaks, ETH is likely to remain in consolidation as traders decide whether the seven-day rally has enough demand for another leg higher.

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

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