In today's crypto landscape, the regulatory environment continues to be a key driver of market behavior. The Solana Policy Institute's pledge of $500,000 to support the legal defenses of Tornado Cash developers convicted of money laundering-related crimes in the US and the Netherlands is a prime example. This move, seen as a response to the chilling precedent set by prosecuting developers for creating neutral software tools, highlights the ongoing tension between innovation and regulation in the crypto space.
The recent surge in Ethereum's price, and speculation about whether Solana will follow suit, underscores the importance of market dynamics and strategic positioning. As Ethereum ETFs surge past $30 billion, Bitcoin ETFs have seen a decline, indicating a possible shift in institutional interest. This trend, coupled with Mastercard's expansion of its collaboration with Circle to EEMEA, suggests that the adoption of crypto in mainstream wealth management is gaining momentum.
In other news, a disturbing trend of crypto-related kidnappings in France highlights the potential risks associated with crypto holdings. This underscores the need for robust security practices and international law enforcement cooperation to protect crypto investors.
Meanwhile, the potential of Thailand as a hub for Bitcoin as a treasury asset across the ASEAN region is an exciting development. This strategic move could create resilience and modernization pathways for economies in Southeast Asia, tapping into a market worth over $3.8 trillion.
Lastly, Tether's plan to launch its digital currency on the Bitcoin network using the RGB protocol is a significant step towards expanding Bitcoin's functionality beyond its traditional role as a store of value. This integration could enable scalable, private transactions directly on Bitcoin, reinforcing the belief in Bitcoin as the foundation of a freer financial future.
In conclusion, the crypto landscape continues to evolve, driven by regulatory shifts, market dynamics, and strategic positioning. As legal and financial professionals navigate this space, understanding these developments is crucial for informed decision-making.
The following article summaries have been sourced from Decrypt, CryptoSlate, NewsBTC, and Crypto Briefing. Each summary includes a direct link to the original source.
The recent surge in Ethereum's price has led to speculation about whether Solana will follow suit. Solana has been leading the recovery among major cryptocurrencies, while HYPE has reached a trading volume that surpasses Robinhood. In other news, KindlyMD is planning to raise $5 billion in equity to purchase Bitcoin, and Sharplink has bought $252 million worth of Ethereum. Meanwhile, US economic data is set to be published on the blockchain.
In a recent survey, it was found that 82% of US investors have not yet invested in cryptocurrencies. Trump Media and Cryptocom have launched a $1 billion CRO DAT. MetaMask has introduced a social login feature, and Bitcoin's 2-week bollinger bands are at their tightest ever. Google Cloud has launched an L-1 blockchain, and Pham has been appointed as the leader of CFTC, following Johnson's departure. LBank and WLFI have collaborated to launch a USD1 points program, and Trump Jr. has invested in Polymarket. Mastercard has expanded its collaboration with Circle to EEMEA, and Thailand has partnered with KuCoin for a tokenized bond program. Finally, cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly mainstream in Venezuela.
A former crypto trader, identified only as Alexandre, was allegedly kidnapped and tortured in Paris, with his captors demanding a €10,000 ransom before releasing him. The incident is part of a growing trend of crypto-related physical attacks in France, which recorded the highest number of such incidents in Europe. Cybersecurity experts warn that these incidents are just "the tip of the iceberg" as organized crime groups increasingly target crypto holders as high-value victims. The victim was released early Wednesday morning, with a swollen face after being strangled unconscious by his captors.
The incident adds to a disturbing trend of crypto-related kidnappings. According to cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek, many such cases are not reported publicly as victims choose silence to protect their reputation or avoid becoming repeat targets. France alone recorded around 10 incidents in 2025, accounting for one-third of the 29 cases reported across Europe. Karan Pujara, founder of scam defense platform ScamBuzzer, pointed out that the cross-border nature of crypto often leads to ransom demands in crypto. He also warned traders and investors against revealing or flaunting their gains. Baek predicts that without significant changes to personal security practices and international law enforcement cooperation, the trend of such attacks will continue to escalate.
The Solana Policy Institute, a prominent crypto lobbying group, has pledged $500,000 to support the legal defenses of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. Both developers were convicted of money laundering-related crimes in the United States and the Netherlands respectively. The move by the Solana Policy Institute is seen as a response to the chilling precedent set by prosecuting developers for creating neutral software tools, which they argue threatens innovation. The donation also demonstrates Solana's willingness to support Ethereum-based initiatives, countering critics who doubted whether the blockchain communities would unite to defend developers.
Storm was convicted earlier this month in Manhattan for operating an illegal money transmitting business and could face up to five years in federal prison. Pertsev was sentenced to over five years in prison last year after a Dutch court found him guilty of money laundering. The legal issues faced by both developers have raised concerns within the crypto and broader tech industry, with advocates warning that their convictions could have significant implications for software developers. The Solana Policy Institute's CEO, Miller Whitehouse-Levine, expressed concern that if the government can prosecute developers for creating tools that others misuse, it could fundamentally alter developers' risk assessment.
Despite the Trump administration's generally pro-crypto stance, the Department of Justice continued with criminal charges against Storm, initially filed in 2023 by the Biden administration. However, a recent policy shift indicated that federal prosecutors will no longer pursue charges against developers of "truly decentralized" software that doesn't take custody of user funds but is used by criminal entities to launder digital assets. The crypto industry is closely watching Storm's appeal, which will reveal if the Trump DOJ has genuinely changed its stance on decentralized software developers and criminal liability. The Solana Policy Institute, along with 114 other crypto companies and tech lobbying groups, has warned the Senate Banking Committee that they will collectively protest an upcoming crypto market structure bill if it doesn't explicitly exempt decentralized software developers from criminal liability.
An international consortium, which includes Sora Ventures, UTXO Management, and Kliff Capital, has met with former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to discuss Thailand's potential as a hub for Bitcoin as a treasury asset across the ASEAN region. The consortium, which is following a model previously tested in Japan by Metaplanet, aims to position Thailand at the heart of regional digital asset reserve development. The group has already made acquisitions of listed companies in Thailand and South Korea, setting them up as vehicles for Bitcoin treasury deployment.
The consortium's meeting in Bangkok focused on aligning corporate treasury initiatives with national policy. Thaksin highlighted that a Bitcoin-based digital asset reserve could enhance Thailand's long-term financial stability, foster financial inclusion, and attract international capital under a regulated framework. The consortium believes that integrating Bitcoin into sovereign-style treasury strategies can create resilience and modernization pathways for economies in Southeast Asia, a region with over 680 million people. The ASEAN's ten member states collectively represent an economy worth over $3.8 trillion, underscoring the scale of reserves that a Bitcoin treasury strategy could tap into.
AsiaStrategy, a product of Sora Ventures' merger with Nasdaq-listed Top Win, serves as the consortium's listed investment platform, providing a public-market presence with access to international capital flows. The company is also exploring the integration of Bitcoin payments into its retail subsidiaries. The strategy is based on treasury shifts that previously boosted Metaplanet’s valuation significantly in Japan, demonstrating how Bitcoin allocation can become a driver of equity performance. The consortium views these moves as both corporate finance innovation and strategic positioning for national economies. The meeting with Thaksin marks the first step toward formal alignment between Thailand’s political leadership and the digital asset treasury consortium.
Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the US have seen a significant surge in inflows, with an addition of $307.2 million on August 27. BlackRock's ETHA accounted for the majority of this, bringing in $262.23 million, which is nearly 85% of the day's total. Other contributors included Fidelity's FETH and Grayscale's ETH, which added $20.52 million and $15.05 million, respectively. This marked the fifth consecutive day of gains for these products, with spot Ethereum ETFs attracting approximately $1.83 billion in inflows over this period. As a result, Ethereum ETFs now hold $30.17 billion in net assets.
In contrast, Bitcoin ETFs have seen a decline, recording over $800 million in outflows this month. Despite this, they still hold a larger cumulative footprint, with $54.19 billion in net inflows since their launch and $144.57 billion in assets under management. This can be attributed to the significant institutional interest recorded in the past. According to Kronos Research, financial advisors' BTC ETF holdings suggest that the top cryptocurrency is becoming more embedded in mainstream wealth management, which could support its liquidity and potentially lower its volatility over time.
Solana's token, SOL, has seen a significant price increase, reaching a six-month high of over $215. This rise, according to data from CryptoSlate, is attributed to renewed community confidence in a major network proposal, despite a slowdown in activity on Solana’s decentralized exchanges. Analytics firm Santiment reports a sharp increase in positive retail sentiment, with nearly six bullish comments for every bearish one, the highest ratio recorded in over two months. However, the number of daily active traders on the network has dropped by more than 80% from January's peak, reflecting a shift among retail investors towards other blockchains like Ethereum.
The price momentum coincides with early community support for SIMD-0326 Alpenglow, a significant consensus upgrade proposal in Solana's history. The proposal aims to simplify the network's architecture by eliminating legacy components, potentially reducing block finalization times to about 150 milliseconds. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has publicly supported the proposal, and early voting data shows strong backing from the community. This response suggests growing confidence in the network's ability to deliver faster and more reliable performance at scale, despite a reset in retail trading activity from its memecoin-driven highs.
The momentum indicators for Dogecoin are quietly resetting, according to two widely followed chartists. They suggest that the setup that preceded Dogecoin's largest gains is about to reappear. A new monthly chart by Kevin (@Kev_Capital_TA) reveals a repeating structure of long, descending consolidations that resolve into impulsive breakouts, followed by measured Fibonacci 1.618 extension targets. The current cycle has already cleared its multi-month falling wedge on the 1-month chart and completed a clean throwback, with the price pushing through the descending trendline, retesting it from above, and turning higher.
Kevin's analysis hinges on momentum. He notes that any time there were Monthly Stoch RSI crosses on Dogecoin outside of the bear market, along with an uptrending Monthly RSI, it led to significant rallies. The goal is to get the StochRSI to cross the 20 level and show follow through, as anything below that level indicates weak momentum. The 1-month RSI shows a rising diagonal, highlighting that longer-term momentum troughs have been stepping up even as the price coiled inside the wedge. Kevin also notes that if Bitcoin can move higher and Ethereum enters price discovery with a dropping Bitcoin Dominance, Dogecoin's biggest move of the cycle is likely.
With the structural breakout and retest complete, the remaining confirmation on Kevin's checklist is mechanical—seeing the monthly StochRSI reclaim and hold above 20 while the monthly RSI preserves its pattern of higher lows. Kevin has previously mapped an aggressive trio of Fibonacci extensions above the last cycle’s peak: 1.618 at $3.97, 1.65 at $4.33, and 1.703 at $5.00. These levels now serve as forward waypoints should trend acceleration resume. A complementary analysis from Cantonese Cat (@cantonmeow) using 2-week candles with Ichimoku Cloud to track the transition aligns with Kevin’s higher-timeframe momentum trigger. If these momentum thresholds are secured against a supportive majors tape—firmer Bitcoin, Ethereum in discovery, and declining Bitcoin dominance—the Fibonacci extensions at $3.97, $4.33, and $5.00 could be Dogecoin's price targets for this cycle. At press time, Dogecoin traded at $0.223.
Bitcoin's market sentiment remains uncertain despite the cryptocurrency successfully holding above the $110,000 support level. Analysts suggest that the selling pressure is increasing and further declines may be imminent if buyers do not regain momentum. Axel Adler, a top analyst, points out that Bitcoin's Normalized Address Activity (NAA) has dropped from 60% to 30%, indicating a decrease in transactional intensity and a reduction in short-term supply. However, this also raises questions about the sufficiency of demand to fuel another rally.
Adler also notes that while Bitcoin's short-term supply activity has cooled, the long-term dynamics tell a different story. The annual NAA has risen from 30% to 40%, suggesting that more holders are willing to sell at higher levels, thereby expanding the seller base. Despite Bitcoin holding above the critical support level of $110,000, it has not yet reclaimed higher supply zones, leaving the market at a crossroads. The ability of buyers to overcome the expanding long-term selling pressure will likely determine whether Bitcoin stabilizes for another rally or faces a deeper correction.
Bitcoin is currently trading near $112,900 after a series of volatile swings. The cryptocurrency has struggled to reclaim lost ground, with short-term momentum still capped by resistance levels. Bitcoin remains below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, which are between $113,000 and $115,000. These levels form the immediate barrier for bulls, and breaking above them would be crucial to altering momentum in favor of an upside push. On the downside, failure to break higher could lead to another retest of the $110,000 support level, with deeper risks extending toward $108,000. The next few sessions will likely determine whether Bitcoin can reclaim bullish momentum or remain under pressure.
Bitcoin is entering the final days of August with a familiar seasonal question: will September once again be a drag or a reset into Q4 strength? As of August 28, Bitcoin hovers near $112,900 after a fluctuating month that has left investors uncertain. The Federal Reserve's September policy meeting, market positioning, and Bitcoin's own statistical quirks are converging in a narrow window, making the next few weeks unusually consequential. The Fed's rate-setting FOMC convenes on September 16–17, and futures markets currently price a high probability of a cut, though officials continue to emphasize data-dependence.
Seasonality is the first prism through which traders are reading the tape. Historical data shows that Bitcoin has never closed both August and September in the green. CoinGlass-based compilations show that across the past 12 years, September has delivered an average negative return for Bitcoin of roughly 3.8%, making it the worst month on the calendar. However, Q4—and especially October and November—has historically outperformed on average. Despite this, Bitcoin has closed in the green in September on four occasions—most notably in 2015 and 2016, and again in recent years.
Anthony Pompliano attributes the late-summer doldrums in part to investor behavior and in part to unresolved macro questions from traditional finance. He suggests that a straight line from last November’s ~$69,000 to six-figure prices would risk a large dump on the other side. Instead, the market might want some sort of correction and resetting, flushing leverage and setting a foundation of the price. This aligns with the way many systematic funds and discretionary crypto desks treat September: as a month to reduce risk into thin liquidity, then rebuild as Q4 flows approach. The FOMC’s September 16–17 meeting is now the key waypoint, with rate futures implying a high chance of a cut and some odds of a second move by year-end. The question for Bitcoin will be whether a cut validates the existing bid or merely meets expectations and fades.
Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, is set to launch its digital currency on the Bitcoin network using the RGB protocol. This integration will allow for private, scalable stablecoin transactions directly on Bitcoin wallets. The announcement comes following the launch of the RGB protocol on the Bitcoin mainnet in July, which introduced support for tokenized assets such as stablecoins, NFTs, and custom tokens. The protocol provides tools for creating, sending, and managing digital assets while leveraging the Lightning Network for scalability and cost efficiency.
The RGB protocol uses client-side validation to maintain privacy and reduce blockchain congestion. Tether's USDT will be the first major implementation of this, enabling scalable, private transactions directly on Bitcoin. Users will be able to hold and transfer USDT alongside Bitcoin in the same wallet, with features including private transactions, offline transfers, and scalable asset issuance. Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, stated that this integration reinforces their belief in Bitcoin as the foundation of a freer financial future. The aim of this integration is to combine Bitcoin's security features with Tether's stability, making stablecoins native to the Bitcoin ecosystem and expanding Bitcoin's functionality beyond its traditional role as a store of value.
ZachXBT, an on-chain investigator, has criticized holders of Ripple's XRP, Cardano, and Hedera, arguing that they bring no value to the crypto industry and merely serve as exit liquidity for insiders. He also expressed his refusal to assist the XRP community with scam investigations or tracking stolen funds, stating that he would ridicule anyone who approached him for such assistance. His comments were in response to a community discussion about the need for improved security and forensic tools to guard against scams and thefts on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
The discussion also involved Vet_X0, an XRPL validator, who pointed out that XRP lacks a system to freeze stolen funds or blacklist scammer addresses quickly after a theft. Vet_X0 proposed the creation of an XRP Ledger Forensics group and suggested that the XRP Ledger Foundation could allocate resources towards this project in the future. In response, ZachXBT accused the Ripple Foundation of being "cheap" and discontinuing the funding of public goods that support or protect its community, unlike other blockchain projects. He advised potential investors to learn more about the industry and scams before holding assets via self-custody, as it is not an easy task for most people.
The Sandbox, a prominent metaverse and NFT platform backed by Animoca Brands, is undergoing significant restructuring and executive changes, according to a report by The Big Whale. The company is cutting its global workforce by half, affecting teams in Argentina, Uruguay, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey, and plans to shut down its office in Lyon, France. Co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget are stepping back from daily operations, with Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung taking over as the new CEO.
The Sandbox is reportedly shifting its focus from metaverse projects to web3 applications, with plans to launch a meme coin launchpad on Base. Once a leading metaverse project where users could buy virtual land, build structures, host events, and trade NFTs, The Sandbox is changing its direction due to declining engagement in metaverse platforms after the boom of 2021–2022. The company's native token, SAND, was trading at $0.28 at the time of the report, a significant drop of about 97% from its peak of $8.4 in November 2021.
