Author: John Smith

NFT sales volume fell 44.70% to $63.33 million over the past seven days, even as the number of buyer and seller addresses increased sharply across the market. Summary NFT sales fell 44.70% to $63.33 million, while transactions declined 14.13% to 802,330. Buyer addresses rose 30.48% to 227,316, while seller addresses climbed 54.64% to 247,373. Ethereum led with $35.56 million in sales despite recording a 49.01% weekly decline. Bitcoin placed second with $8.68 million as sales fell 59.53% and buyers rose 41.11%. Courtyard led collections with $6.09 million, while a Bitcoin NFT sold for $2.14 million. According to data from CryptoSlam,…

Nine consecutive sessions of net inflows have narrowed the gap with Bitcoin ETFs to almost nothing. But spot volume tells a different story, and one that matters more. Summary U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $225.8 million in net inflows on August 28, their strongest single day in 10 months, extending a buying streak to nine consecutive sessions worth $1.42 billion. BlackRock’s ETHA fund absorbed $1.02 billion of that total, or 72% of all category flows, without missing a single day of net buying across the entire run. The gap between Ethereum and Bitcoin ETF daily inflows narrowed to just $16.5…

A research paper published this week quantifies what happens when bank deposits move at blockchain speed. The number is large enough to reshape how banks fund the economy, and the crypto industry is building the pipes without acknowledging the consequences. Summary A research paper published on August 25 found that tokenized deposits could reduce U.S. bank lending capacity by $580 billion if the technology reaches widespread adoption, roughly 5% of total bank lending. The mechanism is straightforward: banks lend against stable deposits, and if deposits can move on chain in minutes instead of days, the deposit base becomes less stable,…

The Bank of Russia is building a surveillance apparatus for digital assets at the same time the Russian state relies on those assets to circumvent Western financial restrictions. The contradiction reveals how governments actually think about crypto. Summary The Bank of Russia added 2,600 crypto wallets to a monitoring system used by banks and law enforcement after more than 1 billion rubles flowed into the addresses during the first half of 2026. More than 74% of pyramid schemes identified by the regulator used cryptocurrencies to attract funds, down from 84% in 2025 but still the dominant payment channel for financial…

Two U.S. fund filings dated Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 have listed three XRP-linked ETFs, adding fresh evidence of the token’s growing presence across regulated investment products. Summary ProShares’ filing lists its unlevered XRP ETF and the 2x leveraged Ultra XRP ETF. Morningstar Funds Trust’s amendment includes a live fund combining S&P 500 stocks with XRP exposure. Seven U.S. spot XRP ETFs had attracted $1.57 billion in cumulative inflows by Aug. 24. XRP traders face an escrow unlock on Sept. 1 and a Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15. Two filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission identify…

President Donald Trump has announced an oil agreement that would give the United States a 55% effective output share in a new venture controlling 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves. Summary The planned venture covers 17 Venezuelan oil fields with an estimated 65 billion barrels. A U.S. official said the United States would receive equity and rights to buy crude at cost. Venezuela expects the projects to attract $100 billion in investment and generate $209 billion in taxes. Damaged infrastructure, political uncertainty, and unresolved legal questions could delay any production increase. According to Trump’s Truth Social announcement, Secretary of State…

INTERPOL has reported 58 arrests, 263 identified suspects and $2.67 million seized after a 22-country operation targeted crypto investment scams, romance fraud and money laundering networks. Summary Operation Jackal IV involved 22 countries across six continents between November 2025 and June 2026. Police arrested 58 people and identified 263 suspects linked to West African organized crime networks. South African authorities seized $2.67 million and blocked 257 bank accounts after raids in Johannesburg. Romanian police arrested 11 suspects in an investment scheme linked to an estimated €143 million. According to an official INTERPOL release published on Aug. 25, Operation Jackal IV…

Hyperliquid has received its first reported builder-deployed HIP-4 outcome exchange after OUT completed deployment through the network’s permissionless market framework. Summary OUT has become the first reported outcome DEX deployed through Hyperliquid’s HIP-4 framework. Deployers can create YES/NO markets using templates approved by Hyperliquid validators. HIP-4 contracts are fully collateralized and operate without leverage, funding payments or liquidations. Hyperliquid’s current developer documentation lists permissionless deployer actions as available on the testnet. Hyperliquid’s block explorer shows that a successful on-chain transaction registered the Outcome DEX under the name OUT through the HIP-4 deployment framework. The transaction confirms OUT’s deployment but does…

A regional UK police force has seized 20.21 Bitcoin and other assets valued at more than $1.4 million after tracing the funds to darknet marketplaces active between 2016 and 2019. Summary Police recovered 20.21 BTC, other cryptoassets, and bank funds valued at £1.03 million. Investigators traced the holdings to unnamed darknet markets that operated from 2016 to 2019. A court forfeited the assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act earlier in 2026. The recovery is the force’s largest since new crypto freezing powers took effect in April 2024. UK police recover 20.21 Bitcoin and other assets Avon and Somerset Police…

Trump Digital Gold has crashed 99% from its peak after wallets controlling 82.45% of the Solana token’s supply sold their holdings for about $1.01 million. Summary Connected wallets sold 824.54 million GOLD tokens for 9,784.6 SOL, according to EmberCN. GOLD briefly reached a $66 million market cap after a Trump-affiliated merchandise account promoted it. The token’s market cap fell from $55 million to $1 million in about 30 seconds. U.S. regulators warn that social media promotions are frequently used in crypto pump-and-dump schemes. GOLD wallets sold 82.45% of the token supply On-chain analyst EmberCN reported on Aug. 29 that wallets…