Author: John Smith

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…

Eight years after the ICO boom, the regulator is offering a path that the market already abandoned. The capital it is trying to regulate now flows through channels the proposal does not touch. Summary The SEC proposed a framework allowing crypto projects to raise up to $75 million annually through public token sales without full securities registration, using an expanded version of existing Regulation A+ exemptions. The proposal arrives roughly eight years after the 2017 to 2018 ICO wave that prompted it, during which projects raised over $20 billion through unregistered token sales before the SEC began systematic enforcement. In…

Crypto and blockchain companies disclosed $184.1 million across eight funding rounds between Aug. 22 and Aug. 28, led by RQD* Clearing’s $74 million growth investment. Summary Eight crypto and blockchain projects disclosed a combined $184.1 million in new financing. RQD* Clearing secured a $74 million minority growth investment led by Bain Capital. Fasset raised $68 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion valuation. Hivemind Digital Group completed a $17 million strategic round led by M&G Investments. Infrastructure, stablecoin banking, and onchain trading attracted most of the disclosed capital. Stablecoin neobank Fasset followed with a $68 million Series C…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a rule amendment that would exempt European Union debt from futures trading and open a 60-day public comment period. Summary The SEC wants to add EU debt obligations to the exemption under Rule 3a12-8. The exemption would apply only to the marketing and trading of qualifying futures contracts. EU debt futures would fall under the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction if the amendment takes effect. Federal securities laws would continue to govern offerings of the underlying EU debt. SEC proposal would cover EU debt futures The SEC, in an Aug. 28 proposal, said it…

HyENA has announced plans to close every market between Aug. 31 and Sept. 2 after processing more than $4 billion in trades for over 12,000 users. Summary HyENA will remove one market each hour from Aug. 31 through Sept. 2. Open positions will settle automatically, while margin will return to users’ spot balances. HLPe depositors can redeem their holdings and earned rewards through Upshift at a 1:1 rate. HyENA generated nearly 2.5 million USDe in rewards but will not issue a token. HyENA will remove markets over three days HyENA said in an Aug. 28 shutdown announcement that it would…