News linked to both this project and an event.
According to QCP, the preliminary U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for August dropped to 51.0, July retail sales fell 0.6% month-on-month, and combined with previously weak employment data, market expectations for the Fed's short-term policy tightening have declined, with federal funds futures showing a probability of about 30% for a 25 basis point rate hike in September.
Odaily News, August 14 — The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) announced a €70,000 fine against crypto asset trading platform Bitpanda. The FMA stated that this is the first legally binding penalty case under the MiCA framework. The FMA noted that Bitpanda violated Article 8 of MiCA by failing to notify the authority and submit a whitepaper at least 20 days before the relevant crypto assets were approved for trading. Additionally, Bitpanda issued marketing notices without first publishing the required whitepaper, in violation of Article 1 of MiCA. The FMA stated that MiCA has moved from mere regulation to the enforcement phase, emphasizing that even though Bitpanda is the first publicly penalized case, it will not receive special treatment. Markus Miller stated that a license can only build trust if the relevant rules are continuously complied with. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a post on X that the Bitcoin community deserves recognition for advancing related technical concepts, including UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) state optimization solutions such as Utreexo. The scaling roadmap Ethereum is currently exploring is precisely about integrating the advantages of different blockchain state models in practice.Vitalik Buterin pointed out that Ethereum hopes to simultaneously possess the advantages of UTXO-mode state, dynamic state, and solutions in between, enabling the vast majority of network activity to achieve "hyperscale" without sacrificing decentralization, node operation convenience, or censorship resistance.Vitalik Buterin stated that future Ethereum scaling is not about simply replicating a single architecture, but rather about combining different design philosophies to improve throughput while maintaining network openness and security.Among these, Utreexo is a state compression solution proposed by the Bitcoin ecosystem that reduces node storage burden by introducing accumulator technology, making full node operation more lightweight and considered helpful for improving Bitcoin's long-term scalability.
Odaily News: As Wall Street and global financial institutions accelerate their entry into the digital asset space, the boundaries between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are gradually blurring. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated that the era of "going long Bitcoin and short bankers" is over, and financial institutions are pivoting to the other side of the crypto industry, driving digital asset adoption.Hunter Horsley noted that this summer, two financial institutions, each managing over $1 trillion in assets, approved the launch of crypto products in a bear market environment, showing that large institutions are expanding client access to digital assets. "Everyone put on the crypto jersey this year. Now, everyone is working for the crypto industry," Horsley said. He pointed out that these institutions, managing over a trillion dollars in client assets, would not have opened such services during the 2022 crypto market downturn, but are now actively embracing this sector.Fabian Dori, Chief Investment Officer at Sygnum, also believes the relationship between banks and the crypto industry has undergone a structural shift. "The trade of 'going long Bitcoin and short bankers' is over. Banks have moved from resisting digital assets to building, supporting, and distributing them through custody, tokenization, and compliant trading," a change driven primarily by growing client demand and gradually clarifying regulatory rules, rather than short-term market cycles.Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital, said that over the past two years, its client base has increasingly reflected the convergence of traditional and crypto finance. Large financial institutions typically choose to partner with specialized crypto infrastructure companies rather than building their own technology systems.In recent years, a growing number of financial institutions have entered the crypto space, including Swissquote, DBS Bank, BBVA, BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse-affiliated entities, as well as Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News, Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm stated that if the logic behind the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) case against him holds, tech companies Google and OpenAI should also be held liable for North Korean hackers abusing their products. Those involved reportedly used ChatGPT to write code and Google Gemini for forgery and image manipulation. Storm was convicted in August 2025 of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He pointed out that the Tornado Cash case could set a legal precedent where software developers are penalized for criminal acts committed by users, emphasizing that criminals should be held accountable rather than the developers of tools. The CLARITY Act for digital asset markets is intended to provide protections for software developers by distinguishing developer liability from the potential misuse of protocols for illegal activities. However, although a final motion for consideration of the bill has been scheduled for a vote, its current chances of passage remain low. (Bitcoin News)
Odaily News: A survey conducted by the European Central Bank (ECB) across 8,205 companies in the eurozone shows that only 0.2% of surveyed businesses accept cryptocurrencies or stablecoins for online payments, while the acceptance rate at physical points of sale stands at 1%. Among businesses with physical points of sale, 92% accept cash payments and 88% accept card payments. Mobile payment acceptance rose from 36% in 2024 to 68% in 2026. (Bitcoin.com News)
: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing a rule change proposal submitted by Cboe BZX Exchange, involving six leveraged commodity ETFs that track 3 times the benchmark's single-day performance. The SEC's initial review period is 45 days after publication in the Federal Register. Volatility Shares LLC is the sponsor of the relevant funds, with products including 3x Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas ETFs, all of which are intended to operate as commodity pools and are not registered as investment companies. Among these, the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs will primarily invest in near-month and next-month futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rather than directly holding Bitcoin or Ethereum, and will allocate cash and cash equivalents as collateral or margin. Before the relevant products can be listed, the SEC must approve the exchange's rule change, and the trust's Form S-1 registration statement must also become effective. Each fund must have at least 100,000 shares at the time of listing, and authorized participants may submit cash creation or redemption orders in increments of 10,000 shares. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will stop processing transactions involving 16 crypto asset service providers, with restrictions taking effect in three batches on August 7, August 13, and August 23. Users will not be allowed to send or receive assets directly or indirectly with the relevant entities after the corresponding dates. The affected platforms include Shelbit, Aban Tether Exchange, A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, HTX, EXMO, Rapira, Bitpapa, and Exnode, among others. Transactions initiated after the effective dates may be temporarily withheld and subject to compliance review, and affected wallets may face temporary restrictions. The United States has imposed sanctions on Shelbit and Aban Tether, which are linked to an Iranian crypto network; the UK has also imposed sanctions on Russia-related trading platforms and the A7 network. A7 claims it transferred over $90 billion in funds last year. (Bitcoin.com News)
: Digital asset firm Galaxy Digital has lowered the probability of the CLARITY Act passing this year from 75% in May to 10%. The bill proposes that two U.S. federal regulatory agencies each oversee crypto asset regulation separately. U.S. Senators will return to Washington on September 14, followed by a working period of approximately three weeks. According to the Senate schedule, the motion to invoke cloture to advance the bill will be eligible for a vote at 2:15 PM on September 15. The motion requires the support of at least 60 senators. Republicans currently control 53 seats; if all Republican senators support the bill, support from at least 7 senators from other parties would still be needed. Galaxy Digital stated that unresolved ethics concerns, declining Republican support due to banking lobbying, and the shorter legislative window in September constitute the main obstacles to the bill's passage this year. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Bank Leumi, Israel's largest and oldest commercial bank, has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency company Galaxy Digital, planning to launch Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana trading services on the Leumi Trade investment app and mobile banking platform PEPPER in early 2027, subject to approval from the Bank of Israel. Customers will be able to buy, hold, and sell related crypto assets through their bank accounts, without needing to open accounts on separate exchanges or use personal wallets. Galaxy Digital will provide institutional trading platforms and custody infrastructure, while Bank Leumi intends to operate under a white-label model where customers do not hold private keys. Bank Leumi previously announced a partnership with Paxos in 2022 to offer crypto trading services, but it did not receive regulatory approval. Fees, trading limits, the asset list, and external wallet withdrawal rules for this service have not yet been disclosed, and custodied crypto assets do not enjoy the same deposit insurance coverage as shekel deposits. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Cboe BZX Exchange is seeking approval from the U.S. SEC to list a group of leveraged commodity ETFs, including daily leveraged products with 3x long exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum.According to a proposed rule change filed on Friday, Cboe plans to launch a 3x Gold ETF, 3x Silver ETF, 3x Bitcoin ETF, 3x Ether ETF, 3x Crude Oil ETF, and 3x Natural Gas ETF. These funds will primarily hold CME or COMEX futures contracts, with cash and cash equivalents as collateral, aiming to achieve 3x the daily performance of the corresponding underlying assets.Since these products do not meet the restrictions on leveraged products under the exchange's general listing standards, Cboe needs to obtain approval through a special rule filing. Such highly leveraged funds are typically geared toward sophisticated investors for short-term tactical trading and are not suitable for long-term holding.The filing also shows that these funds will operate as "commodity pools" and fall under CFTC regulation, rather than being structured as investment companies under the 1940 Act regulated by the SEC, as many traditional ETFs are. Commodity pools typically pool capital from multiple investors to trade derivatives or other commodity-related instruments.
Odaily News: Goldman Sachs has disclosed the acquisition of ETF management firm NEOS Investments in a deal valued at up to $2.25 billion, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 pending regulatory approval. The market views this move as a way for Goldman Sachs to quickly enter the Bitcoin yield ETF space, potentially putting it ahead of BlackRock in the Wall Street crypto asset competition.NEOS currently manages approximately $30 billion in assets, with its most notable product being the Bitcoin yield ETF BTCI (NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF), which holds about $1.1 billion in assets. The fund generates monthly income for investors by holding Bitcoin-related ETFs and selling call options, currently offering a distribution yield of approximately 27%.Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that by acquiring NEOS, Goldman Sachs gains BTCI, effectively bypassing the need to build a similar product from scratch and "beating" BlackRock's previously launched Bitcoin yield ETF product, BITA.Goldman Sachs' deal is seen by the market as a new phase in Wall Street's crypto asset positioning. Industry insiders believe that Bitcoin spot ETFs represent the "first phase," while active management products based on Bitcoin, such as yield enhancement and options strategies, will become the focus of competition in the next phase.However, BTCI's high yield comes with risks. The product does not directly hold Bitcoin but instead generates returns by selling call options on Bitcoin-related ETFs, potentially sacrificing some upside when the market rallies. Analysts note that BTCI's net asset value has fallen approximately 43% over the past year, and part of its high distribution yield may come from return of capital.BlackRock has already launched a competing product, BITA, but its current scale is approximately $59 million, significantly lower than BTCI's roughly $1.1 billion in assets. The market is watching whether Goldman Sachs will maintain BTCI's existing structure after the acquisition is completed and further expand its competitive advantage in the Bitcoin yield product market. (Forbes)
According to Calcalist, Israel's Bank Leumi announced a cooperation agreement with Nasdaq-listed company Galaxy Digital, planning to launch cryptocurrency trading services within the Leumi Trade application, allowing customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The service is expected to go live in early 2027, but requires regulatory approval from the Bank of Israel. This collaboration will integrate Galaxy's Galaxy Custody (formerly GK8) blockchain infrastructure and custody services to provide customers with access to regulated digital assets.
Odaily News: Strategy has responded to MSCI's proposal to remove bitcoin treasury companies from its indexes. Strategy stated: "Index providers should measure the market, not dictate what assets companies hold. MSCI's proposal is inconsistent with the stance of regulators, the market, and clients. Bitcoin doesn't need MSCI, and neither does Strategy." (BitcoinTreasuries)
Odaily News: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again postponed its plan for a tokenization "innovation exemption." The framework was intended to allow companies to test blockchain-based tokenized trading of U.S. stocks without meeting full exchange and broker-dealer standards. The delay is tied to unresolved negotiations over Section 10505 of the draft CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate. That provision stipulates that tokenized securities remain securities and requires the SEC to study custody, consumer protection, cross-border issues, and regulatory coordination. The SEC also postponed a vote scheduled for Friday on a proposed exemption for crypto startup fundraising, citing scheduling issues, with no new date announced. The House version of the CLARITY Act passed in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee version advanced by a 15-9 vote in May of this year. A procedural Senate vote is not expected before September 15. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News, according to Bitcoin News monitoring, new research released by @PraveenPerera shows that the Coldcard attacker appears to have first identified vulnerable addresses, then sorted them by BTC balance, and began transferring funds in batches starting from the addresses with the highest holdings. The actual transfer software used was relatively crude. One address had 225 spendable UTXOs, and the attacker happened to extract the most recent 200, leaving the earliest 25, including one UTXO worth 0.16 BTC. This is fully consistent with the 200-record limit that a blockchain API investigated by the researchers returns by default, suggesting the attacker may have failed to load the next page of data. The software even spent a 294-satoshi UTXO, reportedly increasing transaction fees by approximately 2,040 satoshis, with the spending amount clearly exceeding the UTXO's own value. Based on this, the study's author believes the tool's builder may have a stronger understanding of account balance systems than of Bitcoin's UTXO model. Although the attacker appears to have obtained victims' full seeds, at least 75 BTC remain in other addresses derived from the same seeds. The biggest mystery at present is that 132.95 BTC still remain across the 153 compromised addresses, and researchers have been unable to reproduce the seeds behind these addresses, so they cannot rule out the possibility that the attacker obtained undisclosed private device data or candidate data.
Odaily News: Cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute plans to invest approximately $1 billion over the next five years in AI infrastructure and high-frequency trading systems, while expanding into equities, commodities, foreign exchange, and prediction markets. The company aims to increase non-crypto revenue to more than 50% of total revenue by the end of 2027. Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said the company plans to fund the investment with retained earnings. Wintermute's average daily trading volume this year is around $10 billion, down from approximately $15 billion last year; non-crypto businesses currently account for about 10% of revenue. The investment projects will cover computing power, storage, network, and data center infrastructure, supporting quantitative strategies that rely on large-scale datasets and models requiring continuous training and retraining. Wintermute has already expanded into exchange-traded funds, real-world asset perpetual futures, and prediction markets. Wintermute's U.S. affiliate recently completed its broker-dealer registration, allowing it to trade equities and stock options for its own account and serve as an authorized participant for exchange-traded products. The registration provides a pathway for the company to enter regulated securities markets. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News According to a report by blockchain compliance analysis firm TRM Labs, following the full implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), only 281 of the original 1,343 crypto asset service providers applied for and received operating authorization, accounting for roughly one-fifth. Among the more than 1,800 crypto organizations previously registered in Poland, none obtained MiCA authorization; in Lithuania, only 8 of more than 400 received approval. Germany's regulator BaFin authorized 55 entities, while French and Dutch regulators each licensed 29. TRM Labs' assessments show that among firms that failed to obtain authorization and exited the market, 12% were rated as high-risk or severe-risk, compared to 2% among authorized firms. The former sent $5 billion to sanctioned counterparties, while the latter sent $1.7 billion. The report notes that unauthorized firms' sanctions exposure is approximately four times that of authorized firms. MiCA has also raised concerns about restricted access to stablecoins in Europe, and the EU is planning a comprehensive framework revision to address stablecoin issues and bring tokenized assets under regulatory scope. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Bitcoin News posted on X platform stating that MSCI has proposed new rules targeting "non-operating companies." According to a simulation conducted by MSCI in May 2026, Strategy would be removed from its global investable market index. Strategy, along with Metaplanet and Yellow Cake, are the three companies listed in the simulated removal from the MSCI ACWI IMI. The proposed methodology would screen companies based on their operating assets, expenses and cash flows, non-operating fair value changes, and the extent to which they rely on accumulated assets raised through financing. The final criterion would directly target Strategy's model of accumulating Bitcoin through issuing equity and debt. The rules have not yet been finalized, with the comment period ending on September 30. MSCI is expected to make a decision by October 16, and related adjustments could be implemented during the November 2026 index review.
Odaily Planet Daily: Crypto asset trading platform Bullish has announced its financial results for Q2 2026. The company stated that as global securities markets gradually migrate to public blockchains, Bullish is planning to build a comprehensive issuer-supported tokenized securities service system covering issuance, listing, trading, and tracking.Bullish CEO Tom Farley stated that the global securities market, valued at nearly $300 trillion, is transitioning to public blockchains, and Bullish aims to work with issuers to drive this process. Upon completion of the proposed acquisition of Equiniti, the company will form an integrated platform covering tokenized securities issuance, listing, trading, and tracking.Financial data shows that Bullish's Q2 digital asset sales reached $32.6 billion, down from $58.6 billion in the same period last year; the net loss was $280 million, compared to a net profit of $108.3 million in the same period last year, corresponding to a diluted loss per share of $1.78.However, the company's core business performance improved. Q2 adjusted revenue (non-IFRS) reached $92.6 million, up 62% year-over-year from $57 million in the same period last year; among which subscription, services, and other revenue hit a record $62.7 million. Adjusted trading revenue was $29.9 million, up 24% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA was $29.5 million, compared to $8.1 million in the same period last year; adjusted net profit was $14.3 million, compared to a loss of $6 million in the same period last year.In terms of business progress, Bullish stated that the acquisition of UK fintech company Equiniti is progressing and is expected to be completed in early 2027, subject to customary conditions including regulatory approvals. Additionally, Bullish's CoinDesk indices continue to gain institutional adoption. Morgan Stanley has launched Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana-related trading products based on CoinDesk benchmark indices, attracting over $400 million in inflows during Q2.On the regulatory front, Bullish has received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to provide secondary trading services for tokenized securities, becoming one of the first regulated platforms to offer issuer-supported tokenized securities trading.The company has also raised and refined its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting subscription, services, and other revenue (non-IFRS) of $225 million to $245 million, adjusted operating expenses of $225 million to $230 million, and financing costs of $52 million to $60 million. (Globenewswire)