Crypto News Digest: August 24, 2026

Crypto political group details list of U.S. congressional allies its backing this year

Stand With Crypto, a member group that rates the crypto friendliness of politicians, is supporting 32 U.S. House incumbents, with more endorsements coming.

Bitcoin nears $80,000, but analysts say the next pullback will be key

Analysts say consolidation could strengthen bitcoin’s rally, while thin trading above $80,000 may set up sharper price moves.

Hugging Face Explores $13 Billion Sale a Month After a Rogue OpenAI Agent Hacked It

The open-source AI hub is fielding buyout interest at nearly triple its 2023 valuation, weeks after a security breach and days after Stripe's OpenRouter deal reset the price of AI infrastructure.

Strive Buys $81.5 Million in Bitcoin After Issuing More Shares

The company increased its Bitcoin holdings by 5.5%, but its Bitcoin per fully diluted share rose only about 1.4%.

CFTC, US soldier accused of illegal Polymarket bet spar over interpretation of prediction markets

A judge stayed the CFTC’s civil case against a soldier who allegedly used nonpublic information for a Polymarket bet, but the regulator is trying to weigh in on the criminal case.

Gemini plans to distribute crypto prediction markets through Apex brokerages

The proposed deal would make Gemini the exclusive venue for crypto event contracts offered through Apex’s FCM, expanding its prediction-market reach to brokerage clients.

Why the Bitcoin Rally Looks Like a Vote Against the Dollar

Bitcoin and gold rose as the dollar weakened following expanded Treasury bond buybacks, reflecting concerns about U.S. fiscal policy, analysts say.

AI Model Ox Alpha Is Free, Beats Claude Fable, and Nobody Knows Who Built It

Ox Alpha is topping benchmark scores, reads a million tokens, takes video as input, and has developers guessing who's behind it.

Bernstein sees new USDC growth cycle, sets $140 Circle price target

USDC supply increased by roughly $2 billion in seven days, with Bernstein citing higher transaction activity and several factors that could support further growth.

Coinbase tokenized stocks go live on Base with Chainlink price feeds

Coinbase’s B20 equities bring stocks including Apple and Nvidia onchain, allowing eligible non-US users to trade them 24/7 and use them across DeFi.

Coinbase-affiliated advocacy group endorses candidates for US midterms

With just over two months until the US general election, Stand With Crypto announced its pick for politicians in its efforts to “elect the most pro-crypto Congress in history.”

US escalates Iran pressure with sanctions on crypto, aviation, shipping and gold as part of ‘economic D-Day’

The U.S. Treasury Department is zeroing in on digital assets it says are being used to bolster Iran’s economy.

Coinbase Brings Tokenized Stocks to Ethereum L2 Base

The tokens represent shares held by regulated custodian Alpaca and can be traded or used in decentralized finance applications on Base.

Crypto exchange volumes double in five days as market activity rebounds

Monthly volume tells a similar story, with $490 billion traded so far in August compared to $670 billion in July.

Hyperliquid Hits Record High as $1.2 Billion Token Unlock Looms

Hyperliquid's token is riding a record into its largest remaining supply release.

Bitcoin price hits $80K as 24-hour crypto short liquidations pass $220M

As BTC tops $80,000 for the first time since May, price analysis warns that the market still needs to sustain higher levels to challenge the bear-market thesis.

Zcash Hits Eight-Year High as Futures Bets Nearly Double

ZEC broke above $880 while open interest in perpetual futures climbed to $1.8 billion.

Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs Grew $23 Billion Last Week—Only $2.6 Billion Was New Money

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs booked their strongest inflow week since October, but most of the gain came from coins investors already owned getting more valuable.

Coinbase debuts tokenized stocks on Base network, joining race to bring equities on blockchain

The crypto exchange is starting with tokenized versions of Apple, Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet, issued under its new Abu Dhabi framework.

Stand With Crypto ramps up midterm push with 32 House endorsements

Stand With Crypto is backing more than 30 House candidates as it looks to flex its political influence once more in the upcoming elections.

Hyperliquid Policy Center urges SEC, CFTC to harmonize rules for perpetual contracts

The push comes as Hyperliquid's multi-asset perpetuals gain scale and draw scrutiny from traditional exchanges.

Strive buys 1,110 Bitcoin for $81.5M, holdings top 21K BTC; ASST shares surge 11%

Strive’s Nasdaq-traded shares surged more than 11% as the Bitcoin treasury company said it paid an average of $73,409 per BTC, pushing its holdings to 21,356 Bitcoin.

Crypto advocacy groups oppose Illinois digital asset tax in court

Following a similar lawsuit filed by the Digital Chamber in July, two digital asset advocacy groups challenged Illinois’ 0.2% crypto tax on constitutional and due process grounds.

Bitmine extends 14-month ETH buying pace as Ether breaks above $2.5K

Ether’s breakout above $2,500 has put the spotlight back on corporate ETH treasuries, with Bitmine now nearing its long-stated accumulation target.

Strive acquires 1,110 bitcoin for $81.5 million as total holdings reach 21,356 BTC

Strive purchased 1,110 bitcoin for $81.5 million, raising its total holdings to 21,356 BTC as the seventh-largest public company holder.

Bitmine Buys Another $81M in Ethereum as ETH Outperforms Bitcoin

Bitmine is about 187,000 Ethereum short of its 5% of supply target.

‘Upside move in ETH was overdue,’ Tom Lee says as Bitmine buys another 32,447 ether

Bitmine's total crypto, cash, and other investments currently stand at $14.9 billion, and it owns over 4.8% of Ethereum's circulating supply.

Zondacrypto boss seeks leniency for testimony on political ties: Report

Przemysław Kral reportedly faces a fraud charge and is cooperating with Polish prosecutors as estimated customer losses reach $650 million.

Strategy raises $2 billion through MSTR sales and creates new USD Cash pool

The company sold 18.26 million MSTR shares, increased its USD Reserve to $5.1 billion and repurchased another $136.4 million of STRC.

New Solana vote could ramp daily SOL burns to $800,000 and slow new token creation

Two of the three proposals would reduce SOL supply growth by speeding up Solana’s inflation decline and raising daily fee burns from about 650 SOL to as much as 9,000 SOL.

Tom Lee's Bitmine buys $81 million of ETH in largest weekly haul since early July

The treasury firm stepped up its ETH buying as Tom Lee said the crypto’s 30% weekly rally could signal a larger move ahead.

Bitget CEO isn’t buying the Bitcoin rally — She’s waiting for $50K

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen doesn’t believe the current Bitcoin rally is sustainable, and she aims to buy more BTC around the $50K mark later in 2026 or early next year.

Gemini strikes Apex deal to widen prediction markets reach

The planned tie-up would make Gemini the exclusive CFTC-regulated venue for crypto event contracts offered through Apex’s futures commission merchant.

Financial repression: The new buzzword for bitcoin bulls

Your day-ahead look for Aug. 24, 2026

Pakistan kicks off crypto licensing regime with Sept. 5 registration deadline

PVARA said companies have until the deadline to submit their application for a no-objection certificate or otherwise cease operating.

Standard Chartered becomes first bank to distribute Hong Kong dollar stablecoin

The London-based multinational bank with $850 billion in assets announced it will distribute Anchorpoint's HKDAP to eligible clients and partners.

Strategy sells $2 billion in MSTR shares, makes no bitcoin purchases, establishes $1.6 billion ‘USD Cash’ pool

Strategy's total holdings account for roughly 4% of the 21 million bitcoin supply cap — worth around $66 billion.

Pakistan Sets September 5 Deadline for Crypto Firms to Register

Anyone serving Pakistani users since March must apply for clearance by September 5, then incorporate locally to keep going.

Strategy pauses BTC buys, launches $1.6B cash pool after $2B raise

Strategy held off on new Bitcoin buying, maintaining holdings at 840,447 BTC as it launched a $1.59 billion cash pool after raising $2 billion from MSTR stock sales.

Strategy Raises $2B Selling MSTR Stock, Establishes 'USD Cash' Pot

The company has not bought Bitcoin since June, and has now created a liquidity account it said may be spent on more of it.