Daily digests
Crypto News Digest: August 25, 2026
The stories that moved crypto on August 25, 2026.
40 stories
All crypto news
Zerohash back for second effort at OCC trust bank charter
The crypto infrastructure firm failed to get approval when it first sought a U.S. charter, and the company is quickly back with what it said would be a narrower effort.
U.S. state banking associations plan to launch their own nationwide blockchain network
The "BankChain Alliance" is aiming for a 2027 launch, and would foster stablecoins, payments and tokenized deposits inside the banking system's regulatory sphere.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Plans $100 Billion Louisiana Spaceport
The 10-year project in Vermilion Parish will include five launch complexes and infrastructure for Starship missions.
XRP Hot Streak Cools as Traders Hit a Wall: Where Does It Go Next?
XRP has given back two days of gains after a vertical recovery, and the charts say the bounce just met a wall.
Alibaba to Release Qwen 3.8-Flash-Next as a Preview of What Qwen 4 Will Offer
Alibaba's Qwen team is teasing its next architecture a day early—and the specs say it runs near-frontier scale on a fraction of the power.
World Liberty Financial launches USD1 natively on Canton Network
USD1 is the sixth-largest stablecoin, with a market capitalization of more than $4 billion, according to industry data.
These Researchers Just Shrunk an AI Model and Somehow Made It Smarter
A smaller, cheaper AI usually means a dumber one. A new technique flipped that—and your phone might be the winner.
Bitcoin Open Interest Collapses to 12%. Is the Short Squeeze Over?
Crypto-margined Bitcoin futures have collapsed from near-total dominance to about 12%. But leveraged traders are still placing big bets.
South Korea trade giant POSCO brings trade receivables to Avalanche in latest tokenization move
The $22 billion trading company worked with Olea and Intain on the transaction, following an Injective pilot with LG CNS last month.
What's the Deal With Nancy Pelosi and the Bloom Energy Stock Surge?
Pelosi disclosed millions of dollars in Bloom Energy investments weeks after shares and options were purchased through her husband's accounts, including a purchase just before the company reported record earnings.
Crypto Market Flips From Fear to 'Extreme Greed' for First Time Since 2024
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index was at 36, firmly in the fear zone, just a month ago.
Solana transactions hit record 4.2B as SOL rallies 40%
Tokenized real-world assets on Solana are nearing $4 billion as network activity accelerates alongside a broader recovery in crypto markets.
Bitcoin enters ‘initial phase’ of new bull market, but $83K remains key: CryptoQuant
CryptoQuant says Bitcoin’s 24% rally has flipped key market indicators bullish, though rising profit-taking could bring near-term turbulence.
Mistral and HUMAIN Are Building 'Sovereign AI' in Saudi Arabia
Mistral and HUMAIN announced plans to build sovereign AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and across the region—a tie-up valued in the hundreds of millions of euros that deepens Gulf money flowing into European AI.
ZRO token surges as LayerZero unveils ATLAS exchange infrastructure built on Zero blockchain
LayerZero has announced ATLAS, new exchange infrastructure built on its Zero blockchain for trading platforms and financial institutions.
Gold Hits Three-Month High as Bitcoin Tests $80,000
Gold extended its August rally as a weaker dollar and falling yields boosted demand, while Bitcoin briefly climbed above $80,000 for the first time since May.
LayerZero unveils trading infrastructure for crypto and tokenized markets, ZRO surges
The trading infrastructure runs on LayerZero's Zero blockchain, backed by Citadel Securities with DTCC and ICE exploring institutional market applications.
Bitcoin Rally Is Outrunning the Rest of the Market: Here’s Why
Bitcoin gained roughly 24% this week while the broader crypto market grew by less, a mismatch that shows up clearly in Bitcoin's rising share of the total crypto market.
Strategy’s $66B Bitcoin machine hinges on capital markets, not BTC price: Report
Strategy’s biggest risk may not be a Bitcoin crash, but losing access to the capital markets that help it service $1.76 billion in annual obligations.
DGrid AI token jumps 93% after launch as decentralized AI network goes live
DGAI nearly doubled in its first day of trading as DGrid expands its distributed AI inference network and rolls out hardware for its personal AI agent.
Galaxy expands retail crypto lending with new BTC, ETH and SOL-backed credit line
The crypto-backed portfolio line of credit lets eligible GalaxyOne clients borrow cash against BTC, ETH & SOL without selling their holdings.
Crypto Group Warns Regulators Against Expanding Stablecoin KYC
The crypto trade group warned that forcing issuers to verify identities for peer-to-peer wallet transfers would “cripple the industry” as regulators implement the GENIUS Act.
Bitwise launches self-custodied tokenized stock portfolios with Coinbase
Bitwise’s new portfolios automatically rebalance Coinbase tokenized stocks while allowing eligible non-US investors to keep the assets in their own wallets.
Bitwise turns Coinbase's tokenized stocks into automated AI, robotics and tech portfolios
The crypto ETF issuer is pushing deeper into onchain asset management as tokenization create new ways to build and manage investments.
Bitcoin slips from $80K as gold cools with falling US bond yields
Bitcoin bulls battled for control of the $80,000 zone as gold came off its highest levels since mid-May on falling US bond yields.
Robinhood Chain DEX Arcus launches pTokens to turn perp accounts into transferable ERC-20s
Each pToken represents a pro-rata ownership stake in an underlying Arcus perpetuals account at a fixed market and leverage level.
Bitwise launches automated tokenized stock portfolios for Mag 7, AI and robotics themes
The portfolios, powered by Coinbase and implemented through Glider, will initially target themes including the Mag 7 and AI.
Crypto Fund Founder Convicted of Fraud Over Fake Trading Bot
Japheth Dillman told investors that Block Bits Capital's "Autotrader" software was finished and running, and took nearly $1 million.
Chainalysis-run sting targets child exploitation networks with aid of Binance, Coinbase
'Operation Lighthouse' went after child sex abuse materials, working with law enforcement to round up more than 14,000 investigative leads.
MiCA revolutionised European crypto, and left Poland licking its wounds
Many in Poland may look back at 2026 as the year European crypto finally grew up, and one of Poland’s brightest economic ambitions faded into darkness, writes Mateusz Kara, founder and CEO of Morphic Financial Group.
Hugging Face hack exposes the open-weight AI cybersecurity paradox
Hugging Face relies on open weight Chinese models to defend itself from rogue AI agents. But a lack of safety guardrails makes those models potentially dangerous too.
Crypto custody firm Copper has potential buyers. But offers are way below its $500 million asking price
Once valued at $2.5 billion, Copper was being marketed by investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald at around $500 million in May this year.
Arcus launches tokenized perp positions on Robinhood Chain
Arcus introduced transferable ERC-20 tokens for perpetual positions and lets tokenized stocks back leveraged trades without requiring users to sell their holdings.
Dozens of Fake Firefox Wallet Extensions Linked to Crypto-Stealing Malware
Forty are confirmed malicious, impersonating OKX, Rabby and TronLink to harvest recovery phrases from anyone who types one in.
Grayscale debuts first Zcash ETF of its kind as privacy coin surges
On Tuesday morning, Grayscale launched the first ETF to offer direct exposure to Zcash, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
Chainalysis-led operation flags 7,700 accounts in child abuse probe
Operation Lighthouse generated 14,300 investigative leads across 11 crypto exchanges and payment services and flagged over 7,700 suspect accounts.
Bitcoin's surging price faces 1 key level that could signal if the bear market is really over
Your day-ahead look for Aug. 25, 2026
Las Vegas businessman convicted in $24 million 'AI supercomputer' crypto Ponzi scheme
Brent Kovar has been found guilty of running a crypto Ponzi scheme, defrauding at least 400 investors out of $24 million.
Shipyard winds down IPFS work after Protocol Labs ends funding
The funding loss leaves InterPlanetary File System software without dedicated maintainers and puts the future of key public services in Protocol Labs’ hands.
Morning Minute: Coinbase Puts Tokenized Stocks on Base
These aren’t derivatives tracking stock prices; each token has a direct claim on a share including its rights.