CoinPhoton

OpenSea Adds Solana NFT Trading as Marketplace Expands Multi-Chain Support
OpenSea has added support for Solana NFTs, allowing users to buy, sell and trade Solana-based digital collectibles directly on the marketplace.
The integration follows OpenSea’s earlier Solana NFT beta in 2022 and the addition of Solana fungible-token trading through OS2 in 2025. Solana is now OpenSea’s first non-EVM blockchain supported for NFT trading since the original beta ended.
Users can access major Solana collections including Claynosaurz, Mad Lads, BoDoggos, Collector Crypt and Phygitals.
The expansion comes amid a prolonged NFT market downturn. Monthly NFT marketplace volumes, which reached billions of dollars during the 2021–2022 boom, have fallen to only a few hundred million dollars, while platforms including Binance NFT, Nifty Gateway, Kraken NFT and X2Y2 have shut down their services.

Robinhood Chain DEX Volume Hits Record $989M as TVL Nearly Doubles
Robinhood Chain recorded a record $989 million in daily DEX trading volume on Friday, while total value locked reached an all-time high of $708 million, nearly doubling month over month.
Stablecoin supply on the network also climbed 47% to around $770 million as trading activity shifted from memecoins toward utility and infrastructure tokens.
Launchpad PONS saw its market capitalization surge from about $20 million to more than $200 million in August. Meanwhile, memecoins paired with tokenized stocks now account for roughly 25% of stock-linked trading volume on Robinhood Chain.
Several infrastructure projects, including Delta, UP and NetNet, also saw their valuations increase roughly 10-fold during August.

Bitcoin Holds Near $78K as US Bond Yields Approach 20-Year Highs
Bitcoin traded around $78,000 on Monday, gaining roughly 1% as investors reacted to renewed pressure in the US bond market.
BTC briefly rebounded after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government had not yet begun buying long-term bonds, despite plans to at least double Treasury debt buybacks to $4 billion from September.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.76%, while the 30-year yield reached 5.269%, approaching its highest level since 2007. Rising yields continued to pressure risk assets, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both down around 0.4%.
Bitcoin remained above its key 50-week EMA near $77,269, while August gains approached 25%, its strongest August performance since 2017.
However, analysts warned of weakening momentum. Rekt Capital identified a hidden bearish RSI divergence on the daily chart, with Bitcoin’s RSI at 70.7, still in overbought territory.

Mystery Bitcoin Holder Burns 107 BTC After $1M Custodian Round Trip
Blockchain analysts are investigating a mysterious early Bitcoin holder who deliberately burned 107 BTC, worth about $8.5 million at the time, by sending the coins to an unspendable address.
Chainalysis found five wallets showing strong signs of common ownership, with most of their funds traceable back to Mt. Gox. All five were funded in April 2014 and later interacted with the same large centralized crypto custodian.
One wallet had remained dormant for nearly 12 years before sending its entire 20 BTC, worth about $1 million, to the custodian in March. Almost exactly the same amount was returned three weeks later, minus roughly $3 in fees. Seven weeks later, the Bitcoin was permanently burned.
Another wallet made 60 transfers between 2022 and 2024, with 58 transactions worth roughly $10,400 each, suggesting a possible fixed-dollar liquidation strategy.
However, neither Chainalysis nor independent researchers can explain why the owner retrieved the long-dormant Bitcoin from the custodian only to destroy it weeks later. Theories range from custody testing and privacy considerations to a wealthy holder intentionally reducing Bitcoin’s circulating supply. $BTC

Strive Buys 1,800 Bitcoin, Becomes Fifth-Largest Corporate BTC Holder
Strive purchased 1,800 BTC for approximately $143 million between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28 at an average price of $79,431 per Bitcoin.
The acquisition lifted Strive’s total holdings to 23,156 BTC, making it the fifth-largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder, surpassing Bullish.
The company has accelerated its accumulation recently, buying 1,110 BTC for $81.5 million the previous week. Its latest purchase increased its Bitcoin holdings by roughly 8.4% in five business days.
The buying comes as Bitcoin has rebounded more than 23% since Aug. 19, recently trading above $81,000. Strategy also resumed accumulation, purchasing 4,603 BTC for $370 million.$BTC

Russia’s Regulated Crypto Trading Volume Could Hit $46.4B in First Year
Russia’s regulated domestic crypto exchanges could generate around 4 trillion rubles ($46.4 billion) in trading volume during the first year after legalization, according to estimates from Sber.
Sber Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said regulated crypto trading volume could rise to about 7.5 trillion rubles by 2029, although a significant share of activity is expected to remain on platforms outside Russia’s regulatory framework.
The forecast comes as Russia’s new crypto market rules take effect on Sept. 1. The Bank of Russia has proposed allowing assets including Bitcoin, Ether and USDT to trade publicly under the new regime.
Non-qualified investors will be allowed to purchase up to 300,000 rubles worth of crypto per year through each intermediary, while qualified investors will face no purchase limits for eligible crypto assets.

Solana Fees Near 9,200 $SOL
as Network Activity Hits Record High
Solana’s network fees climbed to a seven-day average of nearly 9,200 SOL on Aug. 27, up more than 80% from three months earlier, as onchain activity continued to accelerate.
Seven-day non-vote transactions reached a record 191 million, more than double the 88 million recorded a year ago. Meanwhile, Jito validator tips averaged 2,073 SOL per day over the past week, rising 26% week over week.
At the same time, Solana’s SGP-0002 “Double Disinflation” proposal passed with 67.001% support. The change is projected to reduce staking yields from around 5.25% to 2.25% by year three.
Lower inflation rewards could put pressure on validators that depend heavily on staking issuance rather than transaction-fee revenue, particularly smaller independent operators.

Japan FSA Seeks Tax Filing Exemption for Trust-Type Stablecoins
Japan’s Financial Services Agency has proposed exempting trust-type stablecoins from certain mandatory tax reporting requirements beginning in fiscal year 2027.
The FSA argued that these stablecoins circulate among large numbers of users, are frequently transferred and do not generate income simply from being held, making beneficiary-by-beneficiary trust reports unnecessarily burdensome.
If approved by lawmakers, the exemption could take effect on April 1, 2027.
The proposal comes as Japan continues integrating crypto into its traditional financial framework. In July, parliament approved revisions classifying crypto assets as financial assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Ireland Excludes Crypto From New Tax-Advantaged Investment Accounts
Ireland plans to launch a new tax-advantaged retail investment account in 2027, allowing residents to invest in stocks, bonds, ETFs and other investment funds under a preferential tax structure.
However, cryptocurrencies and derivatives will be excluded, with the Department of Finance classifying them as “highly complex and risky” products.
The government has not yet disclosed the applicable tax rate or tax-free threshold, with those details expected in Budget 2027.
The exclusion highlights Ireland’s continued cautious stance toward digital assets even as the country expands its regulatory oversight of the crypto sector.

Crypto Token Buybacks Hit Record $638M in 2026, Led by Hyperliquid and Pump.fun
Crypto projects have spent a record $638 million on token buybacks so far in 2026, surpassing $545 million during the same period last year, according to Allium Labs data cited by the Financial Times.
Hyperliquid and Pump.fun accounted for nearly 90% of the total, with Hyperliquid spending roughly $370 million on HYPE buybacks and Pump.fun nearly $200 million on PUMP.
The strategy has coincided with strong token performance. HYPE has gained 145% year-to-date and PUMP 109%, while Bitcoin is down about 10% and the overall crypto market capitalization has fallen 11.9%.
Hyperliquid directs about 99% of its revenue toward token buybacks, while Pump.fun allocates roughly 50% of net protocol revenue. The trend is spreading across the industry, with Ethena recently proposing to use 95% of net revenue from its core businesses to repurchase $ENA $PUMP
tokens. $HYPE

Bitmine Adds 53,501 ETH, Nears 5% of Ethereum Supply
Bitmine Immersion Technologies purchased another 53,501 ETH last week, extending its Ether buying streak to 65 consecutive weeks.
The acquisition lifted Bitmine’s holdings to more than 5.9 million ETH, worth about $14.8 billion at an Ether price of $2,511. The company now controls roughly 4.9% of Ethereum’s 120.7 million circulating supply, approaching its target of owning 5%.
Chairman Tom Lee said ETH, Bitcoin and Solana have been the best-performing major assets since June 30, potentially encouraging institutions to increase crypto exposure.
Despite the rally, Bitmine is still sitting on approximately $5.1 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether position. Meanwhile, NYSE-listed BMNR rose 1.3% to $24.09, putting the stock on track for an almost 40% monthly gain. $ETH

Strategy Buys 4,603 Bitcoin for $370 Million
Michael Saylor’s Strategy acquired 4,603 BTC for $370 million at an average price of $80,318 per Bitcoin, marking its first Bitcoin purchase in more than two months.
The acquisition brings Strategy’s total holdings to 845,050 BTC, purchased for about $63.3 billion at an average cost of $75,413 per BTC.
The purchase was funded primarily through a $602 million sale of MSTR common stock. Strategy also allocated $30 million to its cash reserves and $151.8 million to repurchase STRC preferred shares.
Strategy last bought Bitcoin in mid-June, when it acquired 1,587 BTC for roughly $100 million. The latest purchase came after Saylor teased the return of Bitcoin accumulation over the weekend with a “We’re Back” post on X. $BTC $MSTRB

Attackers exploited a critical Cosmos EVM vulnerability to steal assets from six blockchain networks between Aug. 20 and Aug. 25, ultimately selling roughly $5.7 million worth of tokens.
The flaw involved an integer underflow bug that allowed attackers to manipulate balances to effectively enormous values, then use those inflated balances to drain tokens from target accounts. Cosmos Labs said no new tokens were actually created and total supply was effectively unchanged.
A researcher first reported the vulnerability in April, but Cosmos Labs initially concluded that live networks were not exposed and fixed it through a silent patch process without issuing a public advisory. Independent research in August later showed that all Cosmos EVM chains were affected.
MANTRA Chain suffered the largest disclosed loss at about $3.6 million, while TAC and KiiChain were also exploited. MANTRA criticized the disclosure process, saying the security patch was released only about 20 hours before the first attack and without enough information for validators to coordinate an upgrade.
Cosmos Labs said it later coordinated with around 40 chains and helped 13 others patch or halt before they could be attacked.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alleging the agency improperly steered a $94.66 million contract to rival TRM Labs.
Chainalysis claims ICE relied on requirements that closely matched TRM’s existing products and commercial relationships, even though several of those criteria were not disclosed in the final Statement of Need given to competing vendors.
ICE gave potential rivals just three days to submit a one-page capability statement. Chainalysis says it was the only company to respond, but ICE rejected its submission the following day without asking follow-up questions or explaining several of the criteria used in its decision.
The company alleges the process was effectively designed around TRM capabilities, including automated asset-freeze notifications, a large proprietary scam-victim database and partnerships with stablecoin issuers.
Chainalysis is asking a federal court to block the TRM contract and require ICE to conduct a full and open competition.
TRM Labs has intervened to defend the award. The court has not yet ruled on the case, with oral arguments scheduled for Sept. 2.

Layer 1 blockchain Fogo halted its mainnet after an attacker obtained 400 million FOGO tokens, worth roughly $3 million at the time of the incident.
The compromised tokens represent about 4% of FOGO’s 10 billion genesis supply and more than 10% of its current circulating supply.
Fogo said the network was paused to prevent further movement of the affected assets while validators deploy an upgrade designed to restrict addresses linked to the unauthorized activity.
The halt came around 15 hours after the Fogo Foundation initially said it had been compromised but claimed the blockchain itself was operating normally. The project has not yet disclosed the attack vector or provided a timeline for restarting the network.
Bitget and KuCoin have temporarily suspended FOGO deposits and withdrawals following the incident.

Vietnam’s new crypto market regulations take effect on September 1, but the country has not yet licensed a single cryptocurrency exchange.
Five companies have passed the initial assessment to operate crypto trading platforms. They must now satisfy Level 4 cybersecurity standards and maintain at least VND 10 trillion ($383 million) in capital.
Once the first exchange receives a license, Vietnamese investors will have a six-month transition period to move their trading activity onto licensed platforms.
After that, trading through unlicensed exchanges could result in fines of VND 30–50 million ($1,140–$1,900).

The Cronos blockchain halted operations after an exploit hit Tectonic, its largest lending protocol, with an onchain researcher estimating roughly $75 million in assets were affected.
Researcher Weilin Li said the attacker manipulated the price of TONIC, Tectonic’s relatively illiquid governance token, pushing it roughly 100x higher within 20 minutes. The inflated TONIC was then used as collateral to borrow other assets from the protocol.
Tectonic had around $121.7 million in TVL and $82.7 million in active loans before the incident. The protocol has not yet confirmed the final losses or the exact root cause.
According to Li, the attacker managed to bridge only about $6 million to Ethereum before Cronos halted the blockchain, potentially preventing most of the affected assets from leaving the network.
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marsalek said the Crypto.com app and exchange were not compromised, while the company’s security team is assisting Cronos with the investigation.
The exploit resembles recent attacks on other DeFi lending platforms involving manipulation of thinly traded collateral assets, including the $8.7 million Moonwell exploit on Base.

Kalshi has reportedly signed an exclusive partnership with the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) to become the official prediction market platform of the US Open.
According to Front Office Sports, the agreement was finalized shortly before the tournament’s main draw began and takes effect immediately. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, competing prediction market platforms are reportedly barred from advertising at the US Open venue and across ESPN broadcasts of the tournament.
The partnership comes as prediction markets deepen their ties with professional sports. Kalshi and Polymarket already have partnerships across the NHL and MLB, while Kalshi has recently signed deals with several major baseball teams.
Kalshi has also become the dominant prediction market by trading volume. Kalshi, Polymarket and Polymarket US generated a combined $41.2 billion in volume in August, with Kalshi accounting for about $33.7 billion.
The expansion comes despite growing regulatory pressure. The Ninth Circuit recently ruled against Kalshi in its dispute with Nevada over whether federally regulated sports event contracts can still be subject to state gambling laws, deepening a legal split between federal and state regulators.

Russia’s largest bank, Sber, plans to expand its crypto-backed lending business by accepting USDT and Ether alongside Bitcoin as collateral.
Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said Sber will gradually introduce the additional assets after the Bank of Russia approves them for trading on regulated exchanges.
The expansion follows a new cryptocurrency law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 4, with key provisions taking effect on Sept. 1. The legislation gives Russia’s central bank authority to decide which digital assets can be traded through regulated venues.
The Bank of Russia has already proposed Bitcoin, Ether and $USDT for regulated trading, citing factors including market capitalization, liquidity and at least five years of overseas price history.
Meanwhile, Sber remains more skeptical about Russia’s digital ruble. CFO Taras Skvortsov said the bank sees little evidence of strong demand for the CBDC among consumers, companies or financial institutions ahead of its broader rollout. $BTC $ETH

Trump-linked Real Trump Coins denied launching, promoting or authorizing the Solana-based Trump Digital GOLD token after it briefly appeared across the project’s online channels before crashing.
The denial came after the Real Trump Coins X account promoted GOLD and directed users to RealTrumpCoins.com, where the token was also advertised. The posts were later deleted, and the account now links to a different domain, TrumpCoins.com.
Real Trump Coins blamed the incident on “third-party bad actors” and said it is working with authorities to investigate.
Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that the token’s developer and newly created wallets controlled 82.45% of GOLD’s supply. Fifteen wallets linked to the team allegedly sold tokens for about $330,000, generating an estimated $312,000 profit.
The incident has raised questions over how both the X account and associated website appeared to promote the token. At the time of publication, RealTrumpCoins.com was reportedly still displaying the GOLD promotion.
Donald Trump also continued to follow the Real Trump Coins X account, one of only 53 accounts he followed on the platform. $TRUMP