News linked to both this project and an event.
Galaxy Research stated that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this week issued guidance on "Mention Markets," which involve prediction markets tied to individual statements, event attendance, and interactions. The agency noted that unlike traditional event contracts such as whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, where individuals cannot easily control the outcome, mention markets settle on the autonomous behavior of specific individuals—for example, "whether Musk will mention Bitcoin on the next SpaceX earnings call"—and therefore carry higher manipulation risk. The CFTC's Division of Market Oversight (DMO) believes that such markets should be presumed to be "susceptible to manipulation" and requires exchanges to assess them across four dimensions: independent constraints controlling the individual, external pressure risks, independent verification and public scrutiny, and trading rules and surveillance measures.Galaxy Research noted that the guidance does not constitute binding rules and does not prohibit exchanges from listing mention markets. However, even when the above criteria are met, it remains difficult to fully address the manipulation risk arising from individuals voluntarily triggering market outcomes without economic incentive, and the First Amendment also limits regulators' ability to impose prior restraints on individual speech.
According to PR Newswire, Bitcoin application layer platform Citrea has announced the acquisition of Crest, a self-custody private Bitcoin wallet. Backed by Founders Fund and Galaxy Ventures, Citrea states the acquisition aims to bring Zcash-style zero-knowledge privacy pools into the Bitcoin ecosystem. Crest founder Meliksah Gurtemel will join Citrea as head of product. Over the next few weeks, Crest will launch a Bitcoin mobile wallet supporting automatic shielding, private BTC transfers, and cross-chain private payments (enabling BTC to be privately swapped for USDC or ETH for payments to EVM addresses). Citrea co-founder and CEO Orkun Mahir Kılıç noted that addressing Bitcoin privacy represents the largest breakthrough for Bitcoin layers to meet genuine user demand, with Crest serving as the primary gateway for both users and liquidity flowing into Citrea.
Odaily reports: Galaxy's head of research posted on X that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an "innovation exemption" establishing a pathway for on-chain secondary trading of tokenized stocks. The exemption will be in effect from September 17, 2026, to September 17, 2031, and applies to specific tokenized securities trading venues that offer permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools; trading venues must be deployed on public, permissionless blockchains, but trading is limited to verified or authorized participants.Eligible tokens must correspond to actual U.S. National Market System stocks and confer the same shareholder rights as traditional stocks; the exemption does not cover primary issuance, synthetic exposure, or products that do not carry legal or beneficial rights to the underlying stock. Galaxy stated that it is studying the next steps to enable on-chain secondary trading of GLXY.
Odaily News: Samsung Electronics America is hiring a Senior Manager of Business Development for Samsung Wallet payments in New York. The job posting explicitly lists stablecoins as a payment partnership area, alongside card issuers, payment companies, fintech firms, and "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) providers. The role will be responsible for Samsung Wallet payment business development, market launch strategies, and partner management, including negotiations on commercial terms, data usage, and product requirements, as well as launching new features. Samsung previously announced plans to support stablecoins in Samsung Wallet at its Galaxy Unpacked event in July of this year. (Digital Asset)
According to Odaily, monitoring by Galaxy's Head of Research revealed that Liquid's white hat hacker stated they would return most of the 4,000 BTC after the Liquid Network vulnerability is patched. The hacker communicated with Blockstream through OP_RETURN messages and PGP-encrypted text: In block 965,822, a Blockstream address sent 1,000 satoshis with the message "Please contact the security team via the Blockstream website"; in block 965,865, the hacker sent an encrypted message to their own key, accompanied by a detached PGP signature that can be verified using the key published by Blockstream; in block 965,869, the hacker sent 1,000 satoshis to the Liquid federation peg-in wallet via a self-spend transaction with the message "Can we return the majority of the funds to the federation address?"; in block 965,875, the hacker conducted another self-spend transaction, sending 1,000 satoshis to the federation peg-in wallet and leaving an OP_RETURN message: "Please fix the vulnerability first. As of the latest commit, there is risk on-chain. Please ensure every node completes the patch update. Once the fix is confirmed, we will securely transfer the funds back." Relevant technical details were encrypted via PGP messages to the key published by Blockstream, readable only by Blockstream.
Odaily News: Over the past 18 years, the Bitcoin market has repeatedly seen the narrative of "this time is different," yet the structure of each cycle has largely continued. In 2014, 2017, 2020-2021, and 2024-2025, BTC’s maximum drawdowns were approximately 85%, 84%, 77%, and 53%, respectively, showing a gradual narrowing trend.Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, released a chart stating that the current BTC drawdown is significantly smaller than those of previous cycles. Analyst Willy Woo noted that as the supply shock from halvings diminishes, Bitcoin may be transitioning from a four-year cycle to a six-to-eight-year cycle, although this assessment cannot yet be confirmed.In previous cycles, gains from the low point to the next all-time high were approximately 580x, 130x, 22x, and 8x, respectively. Analyst James Check pointed out that Bitcoin’s price floor has risen each cycle, while its peak has remained relatively stable. Jesse Myers stated that BTC may have just entered a two-to-three-year bull market. (Bitcoin.com News)
According to Bitcoin.com, Bitdeer subsidiary Dory Creek will deploy its proprietary Sealminer A2 Pro Air miners starting in September 2026 at Project Kati 1, a wind-powered data center operated by Soluna in Willacy County, Texas, utilizing an expected 28 MW of power and generating approximately 1.93 EH/s of Bitcoin mining hash rate. The collaboration operates on a revenue-sharing model: Soluna manages the site, power supply, and daily operations, while Bitdeer provides and retains ownership of the mining equipment, with both parties splitting the Bitcoin revenue generated by this portion of the hardware. Project Kati 1 has a total capacity of 83 MW, with Galaxy Digital currently utilizing 48 MW for Bitcoin mining.
: Galaxy's Head of Research posted on X, stating that on August 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed the "Regulation Crypto Assets," abbreviated as Reg Crypto. The proposal aims to establish a legal pathway for certain tokens to be offered to the U.S. public and to set up a mechanism for terminating investment contracts. Its applicability is limited to crypto assets that are not themselves securities but were previously issued or sold as part of an investment contract; tokenized stocks, bonds, and arrangements bundling tokens with equity or other securities are not covered by the framework.The proposal sets out four stages: offering, disclosure, build-out, and exit. A one-time startup exemption allows issuers to raise up to $5 million over a maximum of four years; a higher-threshold exemption modeled on Regulation A permits raising $20 million or $75 million within 12 months. Such offerings must pass SEC qualification review and involve ongoing disclosure, with non-accredited investors capped at 10% of the higher of their annual income or net worth. Issuers are also required to disclose token supply and unlock schedules, minting and burning mechanisms, governance and smart contract permissions, source code, as well as project construction commitments and progress.Once an issuer completes or permanently ceases the relevant build-out obligations, makes no new construction commitments, and submits a transition report, the related investment contract will be deemed terminated, and the crypto asset will no longer be subject to securities laws under that investment contract. Issuers that did not use the above offering exemptions may also use this safe harbor. The SEC estimates that approximately 475 issuers per year would use the investment contract safe harbor, and about 130 issuers would use the two new exemptions. Offerings that qualify would not be considered restricted securities and could be resold immediately without contractual restrictions.The proposal also excludes covered initial offerings and certain secondary transactions from state registration and qualification requirements, but it does not address exchanges, brokers, dealers, or custody, nor is it a standalone innovative exemption for tokenized securities and on-chain transactions. The comment period is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda all issued statements of support. The article was written by Alex Thorn.
: 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)
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 – Israel's Bank Leumi has announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital to offer clients bitcoin and other digital asset trading services starting in 2027. The initial offerings will include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and others, making Bank Leumi the first bank in Israel to provide digital asset trading services to its clients. In addition, Leumi will integrate Galaxy's digital asset custody infrastructure platform to provide underlying security architecture support for the bank's digital asset services. (PRNewswire)
According to CoinDesk, Fidelity plans to add ETH staking functionality and a quarterly cash distribution mechanism to its spot Ethereum ETF—the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH). FETH currently has a net asset value of approximately $898 million and can stake up to 100% of its held ETH under normal circumstances. Under the arrangement, Fidelity will retain 85% of the staking rewards, with the remaining 15% allocated to the fund sponsor, custodian, and node operators (including Blockdaemon, Figment, and Galaxy). Net staking rewards will be prioritized to cover fund operating expenses, with the remainder distributed to investors as cash on a quarterly basis. This move is driven by a safe harbor announcement released by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in November 2025, which allows eligible crypto trusts to stake without losing their grantor trust tax status.
Polymarket data shows that the probability of the CLARITY Act becoming law by December 31 stands at 21%, with related contract trading volume exceeding $5.5 million as of August 9. Galaxy Research had previously lowered its expectation for the bill's passage in 2026 from 50% to 30%. On August 8, the U.S. Senate filed a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to advance the bill, but no full chamber vote was held. Senators will return on September 14, and per procedural rules, the first cloture vote is scheduled for September 15. The CLARITY Act aims to delineate the regulatory authority of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over digital assets. Senate negotiations still involve three unresolved issues: ethics enforcement, illicit financial activity provisions, and stablecoin yield. The bill will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
Odaily News Galaxy Digital and Sharplink have announced the joint launch of the Galaxy Sharplink Onchain Yield Fund. The fund is managed by Galaxy and has secured $125 million in committed capital at launch. Among this, Sharplink provides $100 million in staked ETH treasury backing, while Galaxy contributes $25 million.Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz stated, "We are entering a new phase of institutional adoption, with capital shifting from passive holding to active participation in blockchain-based markets." Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom added that the fund represents part of the strategic upgrade of its ETH treasury management.
Odaily News Nasdaq-listed financial services firm Marex Group has made an investment in institutional-grade crypto infrastructure provider Digital Prime Technologies, with the amount undisclosed. The investment will support Tokenet, a digital asset lending platform developed by Digital Prime in collaboration with EquiLend, and will be used by Marex to expand its institutional digital asset business. Digital Prime disclosed last week that lending inventory from Tokenet's launch partners has surpassed $1 billion, with borrowing demand exceeding $1 billion. The data refers to the scale of digital assets available for lending on the platform and the borrowing intentions expressed by participating institutions, not completed loans. Tokenet's launch partners include Galaxy Digital and Ripple Prime, among others. Marex's investment is part of its broader initiative to expand its digital asset business through investments in crypto market infrastructure.
Galaxy Digital released its financial report for the second quarter of 2026, with a net loss of $85.31 million, significantly narrowed from $216.3 million in the first quarter; adjusted EBITDA loss was $77.26 million. As of June 30, the company's total equity was $2.72 billion, and cash and stablecoin holdings were $2.459 billion.
Circle announced the founding validator lineup for its open blockchain network Arc and confirmed that the public mainnet will launch on September 16, 2026. Currently, Arc has onboarded over 100 ecosystem and institutional builders on the private mainnet.
Odaily News: Samsung plans to add native stablecoin features, including fiat-pegged savings and payment accounts, to 800 million new Galaxy smartphones through Samsung Wallet, with the functionality potentially covering tokens such as USDC. The plan is based on Samsung's existing crypto wallet infrastructure and the nearly 19 million Samsung Wallet users in South Korea. Samsung intends to integrate payments, rewards, and digital assets into a single ecosystem across 61 countries. Samsung holds a $408 million stake in Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, and is advancing its digital asset infrastructure strategy. As South Korea drafts its Digital Asset Basic Act, Samsung's initiatives encompass support for both USD- and KRW-denominated stablecoins.
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn stated that based on new victim reports received following the incident, the number of attackers exploiting the Coldcard vulnerability has reached at least 15.Thorn noted that information provided by victims helped the research team uncover previously unidentified attack activity. Unlike thefts from centralized exchanges, correlations between the attackers in this vulnerability exploit require confirmation through on-chain analysis and victim feedback.He added that a single victim reporting less than 1 BTC stolen helped the team discover a previously unknown attack, which siphoned approximately 12 BTC from 126 addresses.According to Galaxy Research's earlier estimates, the Coldcard vulnerability has led to at least three rounds of attacks, with losses amounting to approximately $100 million in BTC. Additionally, Galaxy has identified a suspected fourth round of attacks, which could bring total losses to approximately $130 million.Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked discussions regarding the security of Bitcoin self-custody. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that "AI security hardening costing around $2" could potentially have prevented this vulnerability, and noted that some AI models were able to rediscover related vulnerabilities within a relatively short timeframe. However, industry insiders pointed out that current claims about the speed of AI discovering vulnerabilities lack rigorous blind testing and verification.Researchers believe that as AI model capabilities improve, the costs of vulnerability discovery and attacks in the crypto industry may continue to decline, requiring wallet developers to further strengthen code audits and security protections. (Cointelegraph)