Daily digests
Crypto Week in Review: August 17, 2026 – August 23, 2026
The week that was, in one read.
40 stories
All crypto news
DeFi lending protocol Term Finance loses an estimated $8.5 million to governance exploit
Term vault proposals face a seven-day delay and can be vetoed by liquidity providers, yet those controls apparently did not stop the exploit.
Regulation Crypto is here: State of Crypto
The SEC published its Reg Crypto proposal last week, giving the public 60 days to comment.
Tether’s $120 million Uruguay bitcoin mining project collapsed over a power contract dispute: Reuters
UTE cut power to Tether's mining sites in July 2025 after Tether representatives did not attend the signing of a revised contract, per the report.
63% of Religious Books on Amazon Are Likely AI-Written, Study Finds
Witchcraft books had the highest rate of likely AI-generated content at 78%, according to an Originality.ai analysis of more than 2,000 titles.
Crypto’s next billion users might be AI agents, and they’re paying with stablecoins
According to Coinbase’s head of AI product, we’re currently in the “Napster/LimeWire era” of agentic payments.
Crypto card spending tops $1 billion as stablecoins move into everyday purchases
Tracked card volume more than tripled in a year, with USDC and USDT funding over 70% of spending as users increasingly paid for groceries, rides and subscriptions.
XRP on track for biggest weekly gain in 21 months as Treasury buyback spurs 'curve control' hopes
XRP’s price has surged by 50% this week, the best performance since November 2024. Here's what's driving the rally.
Fed study finds crypto investors driven by beliefs, easily swayed by returns
A Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland study finds crypto investors hold sharply different views on returns and risk, while information about Bitcoin’s past gains can increase both desired allocations and actual crypto purchases.
Robot Brains Could Have Their ‘ChatGPT Moment’ by 2027, ACE Robotics Chairman Says
The breakthrough could come from AI models that help robots understand and interact with the physical world, though widespread adoption may still be years away.
Bitcoin and ether ETFs draw $2.6 billion in strongest inflow week since October, tripling volume
Combined ETF weekly trading volume more than tripled to $29 billion as bitcoin and ether prices rallied, though both categories are negative on the year.
Zcash hits eight-year high near $850 with futures volume near $10 billion amid Grayscale ETF push
CoinGlass recorded nearly $10 billion in 24-hour futures volume and $1.76 billion in open interest, indicating that derivatives made up much of the trading.
Microsoft Fixes 'Perfect 10' Exploit That Could Have Let Hackers Run Code Remotely
The Entra ID flaw earned the highest possible severity score, but Microsoft says it patched the bug before publishing the CVE and found no evidence it was ever exploited.
Solana cuts mainnet slot time to 350 milliseconds in first step toward 200ms goal
The change should lead to faster transaction confirmations but is not designed to increase the overall throughput of the network.
Crypto exchange BitMart weighs partial restart and creditor payouts weeks after announcing shutdown
The exchange has hired White & Case as restructuring counsel, with a detailed roadmap expected by Sept. 9.
AI Has Made Bitcoin Software a Target—This Group Is Fighting Back
A group of 20-odd developers is scanning the Bitcoin ecosystem for AI-discoverable flaws, warning that cheap, powerful models have handed attackers unprecedented reach.
Kalshi off-limits in multiple states as prediction markets, CFTC team up for battle
Washington state is cut off for Kalshi customers while the company combats the development in court and its federal regulator keeps pursuing new rules.
Tokenized stocks risk repeating Wall Street’s 1960s ‘paper crisis,’ Fairmint CEO says
Fairmint CEO Joris Delanoue warns tokenized stocks risk recreating Wall Street’s 1960s paper crisis through fragmented systems and standards.
Web3 gaming network Sandbox stops Base and BNB chain bridging after exploit
The Sandbox disabled bridging on affected networks to isolate tokens and warned users not to trade SAND on Base and BNB, citing an impact of under 0.01% of supply.
MiCA is coming for DeFi vaults, but regulation will be difficult
Brussels is reviewing whether crypto lending should fall under MiCA, but DeFi lending vaults are making it harder to determine who, exactly, should be regulated.
A Third of the Post-ChatGPT Web Is AI-Written, Pew Finds
Pew Research scanned nearly half a million webpages with an AI detector and found the fingerprints concentrated on .com domains—and multiplying fast.
Bitcoin and Ether bears get decimated amid 'squeeze-led' rally and Musk's X wants to pay creators in stablecoins: Crypto week in 5 stories
Bitcoin and crypto staged their strongest rally in months as Treasury intervention, regulatory moves and a historic short squeeze collided, while banks and technology companies pushed deeper into stablecoins.
How a Treasury buyback tweak helped bitcoin surge 25% to nearly $80,000 in days
Treasury buybacks are not QE, analysts said, but the move helped pull long-term yields off 19-year highs and triggered a record short squeeze in a market already leaning too bearish.
Zcash jumps 48% to over $800 as Grayscale spot ETF push adds to ‘next bitcoin’ buzz
ZEC traded above its January 2018 peak as futures volume hit billions of dollars and a Grayscale filing showed fresh progress toward converting its Zcash Trust into a spot ETF.
Crypto advocates join in suing Illinois over digital asset tax
The Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association added another lawsuit against the state for its recently approved 0.2% crypto tax.
Coldcard Adds New Security Measures After $130 Million Bitcoin Exploit
Coinkite's latest firmware requires users to add their own randomness when generating wallet seeds and fixes additional security issues uncovered during a three-week review.
Grayscale moves closer to launching first Zcash ETF in US with fresh amended SEC filing
Grayscale is inching closer to launching its Zcash ETF, filing another amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Bitget CEO sees Bitcoin near current levels at year-end, doubts US will buy BTC
Gracy Chen says macroeconomic uncertainty could keep Bitcoin within $10,000 to $20,000 of current levels, while US government purchases remain unlikely within the next two years.
Ray Dalio says to buy ‘a bit’ of Bitcoin amid potential debt crisis
The hedge fund founder with an estimated net worth of $15 billion recommended that investors overweight Bitcoin and gold rather than bonds.
Wall Street and Washington Fuel Bitcoin Rally: Here's What's Going On
Institutional buying, improving macro conditions and a friendlier regulatory outlook are supporting Bitcoin's rally, while billions in short liquidations have accelerated the move.
Solana Just Got Faster—Is It Bullish for SOL?
Solana has activated the first reduction in its block timing since launch, speeding up transactions on the network.
Washington Goes All-In on Crypto: Trump Pushes Clarity, SEC Rules, and CFTC Warnings
Trump urged executives to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act, the CFTC warned it would write its own rules if the bill stalls, and the SEC abruptly advanced its first crypto fundraising framework.
Ethena's ENA token surges 48%, but altcoin season will have to wait
ENA is rallying on a $1 billion FalconX deal, while HYPE tests its record, though flat dominance shows this is no broad alt season.
XRP leads broad altcoin rally as bitcoin’s biggest weekly gain in two years lifts crypto
Amid this week's crypto rally, HYPE is up nearly 40%, while other altcoins such as XRP, ZEC and LINK have risen over 30%.
BounceBit to sunset blockchain, migrate to BNB Chain after $3 million exploit
The attacker transferred approximately 286.5 million BB from nine wallets before block production was eventually halted.
Strategy Swings From $13 Billion Bitcoin Loss to $1.4 Billion Profit as BTC Rallies
The Bitcoin treasury giant is sitting on roughly $1.4 billion in unrealized gains after Bitcoin climbed above its average acquisition price.
Bitcoin rally sends crypto stocks soaring as miners, treasury companies jump
Bitcoin’s rally above $79,000 lifted miners and treasury companies, with Canaan, Strive and Metaplanet posting double-digit gains as crypto stocks surged.
Digital Asset, Paul Ryan foundation target US state benefits with Canton pilot
The RISE program would use the Canton Network to combine and distribute state-administered benefits across three US states beginning in 2027.
Bitcoin ETFs Just Had Their Biggest Day Since May—BlackRock Took 83% of It
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $606 million Thursday, the biggest haul since May. And altcoin funds finally showed up too.
Strategy shares hit two-month high as STRC rebounds toward $100 alongside bitcoin
Amid a two-month puase on BTC buys, Strategy shares (MSTR) rallied alongside bitcoin as STRC continued its recovery toward its $100 target.
XRP Erases Its Most Bearish Signal—And the Ripple-Linked Coin Is Flying
The token spent all August trapped under a bearish crossover. Today it closed above both moving averages for the first time since the pattern formed.