CoinPhoton

RedotPay Delays U.S. IPO as Regulatory and Binance Legal Issues Mount
Stablecoin payments firm RedotPay has reportedly delayed its planned U.S. IPO while seeking regulatory approvals and dealing with legal disputes involving Binance.
Bloomberg reported that the Hong Kong-based company postponed its U.S. listing plans as it works through regulatory requirements. RedotPay declined to comment on the IPO timing but said it secured a U.S. money transmitter license this week and is preparing to launch its services in the country.
RedotPay had reportedly been working with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Jefferies on a New York listing that could raise more than $1 billion, targeting a valuation above $4 billion.
The delay comes amid a major legal battle with Binance. Binance affiliates recently sued RedotPay’s founders in Hong Kong, seeking nearly $473 million in damages over allegations that they used confidential information from their previous work at Binance to build a competing payments business and divert customers.
RedotPay has rejected the allegations and said it will vigorously defend itself. The dispute has also extended to Singapore, where the two companies disagree over the status of a related lawsuit.
Separately, RedotPay has reportedly explored raising up to $150 million in new private funding as it expands internationally and prepares for a potential future IPO. $BNB

Bitcoin Longs Face Liquidation Pressure as Binance Open Interest Falls
Bitcoin leveraged long positions are coming under increasing pressure as BTC prices move toward fresh August lows, according to analysis published on CryptoQuant.
The analysis highlighted a simultaneous decline in Bitcoin price and Binance futures open interest, suggesting leveraged longs are being stopped out, closed or liquidated. The correlation between BTC price and Binance open interest rose to 0.25 on Thursday, which the analyst interpreted as evidence that the expected leverage cleanout had begun.
Binance Bitcoin open interest had climbed to around $8.15 billion on Wednesday as futures activity increasingly dominated while spot traders remained relatively inactive.
CryptoQuant said the market initially saw open interest rise even as prices fell, indicating both dip-buying longs and new short positions were entering. More recently, however, both price and open interest have declined together, pointing to long-position capitulation.
CoinGlass data showed about $236 million in total crypto liquidations over 24 hours at the time of the report.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju also remained cautious about the broader market outlook, saying conditions for a renewed Bitcoin bull run have not yet aligned, with several onchain indicators still signaling bearish conditions. $BTC

Nigel Farage Faces Renewed UK Parliament Probe Over Crypto-Linked Donations
UK Reform leader Nigel Farage is again under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards after winning reelection as MP for Clacton.
The probe concerns an alleged failure to register financial interests involving millions of dollars in donations and benefits from figures linked to the crypto industry. The investigation had been paused after Farage resigned from Parliament in July but resumed following his return.
Investigators are examining roughly $6.7 million provided by crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, as well as staff and security expenses reportedly funded by George Cottrell, who has ties to a crypto casino and a prior fraud conviction.
If Farage is found to have breached parliamentary rules, he could face suspension, potentially triggering another by-election.
Farage won the latest Clacton by-election with 63% of the vote, while major UK parties did not field candidates.
The controversy has also intensified calls from Labour lawmakers to make the UK’s temporary ban on crypto political donations permanent, amid concerns that digital assets and certain donation structures could facilitate foreign or undisclosed political funding. $BTC

Ireland Unveils Stricter AML Rules for Private Crypto Wallets and Overseas Firms
Ireland has released its first national anti-money laundering strategy, proposing tighter controls on cryptocurrency transactions involving private wallets and overseas digital asset companies.
The government said crypto service providers would face new AML obligations, including enhanced checks on transfers to and from private wallets and stricter due diligence when dealing with foreign crypto firms.
The strategy also outlines plans to implement AML and counter-terrorist financing rules under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
Ireland is also considering new industry standards governing the acceptance of crypto-related funds in gambling activities.
The measures are part of a broader effort to reduce the risks of digital assets being used for money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activities. Ireland previously said it aims to introduce additional crypto risk-management standards by the second half of 2027.

Gen Z on Binance Shifts More Equity Trading Toward ETFs
Gen Z traders on Binance are allocating a growing share of their equity activity to exchange-traded funds while trading less frequently and using less leverage than older working-age groups, according to Binance Research.
ETFs accounted for 25% of Gen Z equity trading volume in early August. Their share of net equity inflows rose to 21.9% in July from 18.5% in June, while the share going to individual stocks declined.
Gen Z also traded less frequently. The cohort averaged 13 monthly TradFi perpetual trades, compared with 17 for Millennials and 16.5 for Gen X.
Among Gen Z direct-equity accounts, 22% had never placed a sell order, suggesting a stronger buy-and-hold tendency. Popular assets among these buy-only accounts included Broadcom, Tesla and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF.
The group also showed limited interest in leveraged or inverse ETFs, with 88.2% of Gen Z TradFi perpetual accounts recording no activity in such products.
Separately, Binance’s tokenized-stock platform bStocks briefly surpassed Kraken’s xStocks this week before falling back behind it. By Friday, xStocks held about $610.7 million in tokenized assets versus $579.6 million for bStocks, while Ondo Finance remained the largest issuer at roughly $971.8 million.

Cboe Seeks SEC Approval for 3x Bitcoin and Ether ETFs
Cboe BZX Exchange has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list a new suite of 3x leveraged ETFs, including products tied to Bitcoin and Ether.
The proposed lineup includes 3x Bitcoin, 3x Ether, 3x Gold, 3x Silver, 3x Crude Oil and 3x Natural Gas ETFs. Each fund aims to deliver three times the daily performance of its underlying asset, primarily through futures contracts traded on CME or COMEX.
Because the products use leverage, they do not qualify under Cboe’s generic ETF listing standards and therefore require specific SEC approval.
The funds would operate as commodity pools overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than traditional 1940 Act investment companies. Volatility Shares LLC would sponsor the products.
The proposed ETFs are designed mainly for short-term tactical trading, as daily 3x leverage can produce significantly different long-term returns due to compounding and volatility.
Volatility Shares already offers 2x Bitcoin and Ether strategy ETFs in the U.S., while 3x crypto ETFs have previously launched in Europe.

France Tax Data Breach Exposes 678,000 People as Crypto ‘Wrench Attacks’ Surge
Hackers reportedly stole sensitive French taxpayer data affecting around 678,000 people, potentially giving criminals a new database for identifying wealthy targets amid a surge in violent attacks against crypto holders.
The compromised records reportedly include names, birthdates, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, income information and tax identifiers. Nearly 27,000 victims reported income above €100,000, while 386 earned more than €1 million and eight reported over €10 million.
The stolen database is reportedly being offered for sale on dark web marketplaces. Although the breach does not specifically identify crypto owners, security experts warn that combining wealth and personal-location data could facilitate fraud, home invasions and kidnappings.
France has become a major hotspot for so-called “wrench attacks,” in which criminals use violence or threats to force victims to surrender cryptocurrency.
Chainalysis recorded 30 publicly known violent crypto attacks in France during the first half of 2026, with more than $30 million stolen. At the current pace, 2026 could surpass the record $58 million lost in 2025.
The incident follows other personal-data leaks affecting crypto users, including a recent breach at Trezor shipping provider ShipMonk that exposed information belonging to nearly 14,000 customers.

Mizuho Cuts BitGo Price Target but Says U.S. Crypto Bill Delays Could Strengthen Its Lead
Mizuho analysts cut their price target for crypto custodian BitGo to $11 from $14 but maintained an Outperform rating, arguing that delays to U.S. crypto market-structure legislation could actually benefit the company.
The analysts said BitGo’s existing federal regulatory position gives it a head start while competitors wait for clearer rules. Every additional quarter of legislative uncertainty could strengthen the value of being “trusted and already licensed,” they said.
BitGo recently reported $4.33 billion in Q2 revenue, up 79.6% year over year, while its net loss narrowed to $19 million from $60.7 million in the previous quarter.
Mizuho described BitGo as a high-growth, recurring-revenue business, citing a 27% year-over-year increase in customers and 7% sequential growth in subscription and services revenue.
The analysts also highlighted BitGo’s work with DTCC, Canton and Figure as evidence that the company could become important infrastructure for tokenized securities and other onchain financial products.
BitGo shares were trading around $5.61 when the research note was published. $BTC

World Liberty Financial Wins Preliminary OCC Approval for U.S. National Trust Bank
World Liberty Financial (WLF), the crypto venture backed by President Donald Trump, has received preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish World Liberty Trust Company, National Association.
The decision brings WLF one step closer to securing a final national bank charter, though the company must still satisfy OCC conditions before receiving full approval.
WLF created the trust company to support services including stablecoin issuance and redemption, fiat on- and off-ramps, custody and asset conversion. Its USD1 stablecoin has a market capitalization of about $4 billion, making it the fourth-largest stablecoin.
CEO Zack Witkoff said WLF aims to build “the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world” while strengthening the U.S. dollar’s role in the global economy.
Other crypto companies, including Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple and Circle, have also received conditional approvals from the OCC.
WLF’s ties to the Trump administration have drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren previously urged the OCC to halt its review until Trump divests from the company, citing potential conflicts of interest.

Tether CEO Dismisses Critics After KPMG U.S. Clean Audit
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino dismissed continued criticism of the USDT issuer after KPMG U.S. issued an unqualified, or clean, audit opinion on Tether International’s 2025 financial statements.
“Honestly, I don’t care. We proved ourselves many times,” Ardoino said, pointing to Tether’s ability to process $7 billion in redemptions within 48 hours during 2022 without suspending withdrawals.
The audit showed Tether International’s reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.8 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. Ardoino said Tether International is the sole entity issuing USDT.
Some critics have questioned why Tether has not publicly released the full audited financial statements and KPMG report. A source familiar with the matter told The Block that Tether keeps them private because it is a privately held company, while providing the documents to regulators and banking partners when requested.
Tether plans to conduct a full financial audit annually while continuing its quarterly reserve attestations.
Ardoino said criticism would not distract Tether from its mission, noting that the company claims USDT is used by roughly 650 million people, particularly in emerging markets. $USDT

Metaplanet Says No Bitcoin Was Sold After $322M BTC Transfer
Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich denied speculation that the Japanese Bitcoin treasury company was selling its holdings after it transferred 5,014 $BTC
worth about $322 million between custody addresses.
Gerovich said the transaction was a routine custody operation and that Metaplanet’s holdings remain unchanged at 43,000 BTC. The company paid only about $8 in Bitcoin network fees for the transfers.
Metaplanet is currently the third-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company globally and the largest in Asia. Arkham data indicates the company is sitting on an unrealized Bitcoin loss of roughly $1.4 billion.
The company aims to increase its holdings to 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.
Metaplanet also reported first-half revenue of 4.94 billion yen, up 134% year over year, and operating profit of 3.33 billion yen, up 136%. However, it posted a 182.8 billion yen net loss, largely due to a non-cash Bitcoin valuation loss.

Delio CEO Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison Over $49M Crypto Fraud
A South Korean court sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison after finding him guilty of fraud and embezzlement tied to the collapsed crypto lender.
The Seoul Southern District Court said Jeong falsely obtained a virtual asset trading license and defrauded customers of about 70 billion won ($49.3 million) in crypto assets. The court said victims suffered significant financial losses that would be difficult to recover.
Delio launched in 2022 as a “digital asset bank,” offering high yields on crypto deposits. It froze customer withdrawals in June 2023, filed for bankruptcy in November 2024 and Jeong was indicted in April 2025.
The court did not order detention over a separate allegation involving roughly $175 million in customer losses.

Trezor Customer Data Exposed in ShipMonk Breach
Nearly 14,000 Trezor customers had personal information exposed after a breach at shipping provider ShipMonk, including names, emails, phone numbers and home addresses.
Trezor said 11,742 customers had their names, email addresses, phone numbers and shipping addresses compromised, while another 1,947 had names, cities and emails exposed. Customers across the U.S., UK, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy and Portugal were affected.
The company said its own systems were not breached and that Trezor hardware wallets remain secure.
However, the leaked contact and address information could make victims more vulnerable to targeted phishing, impersonation scams and potentially physical attacks aimed at stealing cryptocurrency.
The incident highlights the growing security risk from third-party data leaks. Chainalysis recently estimated that more than $30 million was stolen in violent crypto-related attacks during the first half of 2026. $ETH

Gemini Shares Fall After $107.7M Q2 Loss Despite Revenue Growth
Gemini shares fell more than 7% after hours after the crypto exchange reported a $107.7 million net loss for the second quarter, despite total revenue rising 37% year over year to $45.5 million.
The loss narrowed from $133.2 million a year earlier as Gemini cut operating expenses and diversified beyond crypto trading.
Credit card revenue surged 231% to $16.2 million, while staking revenue rose 50% to $4 million. By contrast, exchange revenue dropped 38% to $12.5 million as trading volume fell to $3.8 billion from $11.3 billion.
Gemini’s prediction market business also expanded rapidly, with event-contract volume up 93% quarter over quarter and cumulative contracts traded surpassing 225 million, though quarterly revenue from the segment remained modest at $500,000.
The company is increasingly positioning itself as a broader financial platform, adding prediction markets, derivatives infrastructure and commission-free U.S. stock trading as activity on its core crypto exchange weakens.

Citigroup CEO Backs CLARITY Act Despite Stablecoin Reward Concerns
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said she supports passing the U.S. CLARITY Act, even as banks continue pushing for changes to its treatment of stablecoin rewards.
Fraser warned that allowing crypto platforms to offer rewards could pull deposits away from traditional banks, potentially reducing their ability to provide loans and credit. Still, she said a well-crafted crypto market structure bill would be beneficial for the financial system overall.
A Senate compromise currently prohibits platforms from paying rewards solely for holding stablecoins, while allowing incentives tied to transactions and payments.
The issue remains one of the biggest points of contention between banks and the crypto industry. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has taken a tougher stance against the legislation, while crypto groups argue that excessive restrictions on stablecoin rewards would undermine competition and innovation.
The debate is expected to intensify ahead of the CLARITY Act’s upcoming Senate procedural vote.

Hyperliquid User Loses $550,000 in Google Ad Phishing Scam
A Hyperliquid user appears to have lost about $550,000 in USDC after clicking a malicious Google search ad that led to a fake Hyperliquid website, according to FlashRescue co-founder Darcy.
Blockchain data reportedly shows three transfers from the victim’s wallet to addresses linked to the attacker.
Crypto security group Security Alliance (SEAL) has previously warned that scammers use paid Google ads to impersonate major crypto platforms and trick users into revealing credentials or granting malicious wallet approvals. In April, SEAL said it blocked 356 malicious Google ad URLs over several weeks, including ads impersonating Hyperliquid.
The group said attackers frequently target high-value protocols and applications such as Hyperliquid, Jupiter, Raydium and Pump.fun, sometimes using compromised or illicitly acquired advertising accounts to bypass automated checks.
Google and Hyperliquid had not immediately commented on the latest incident. $HYPE

Baltimore Sues Kalshi and Polymarket Over Alleged Illegal Sports Betting
Baltimore has sued prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket, alleging that their sports-event contracts effectively amount to unlicensed sports betting.
The city argues that markets on game winners, point spreads and player performances resemble traditional sportsbook wagers while avoiding Maryland’s licensing, taxation and consumer-protection requirements.
Baltimore’s case against Kalshi also names Coinbase, Robinhood and Webull, alleging the platforms distribute Kalshi sports contracts directly through their apps. The complaint also claims “combo” contracts offered by Kalshi and Robinhood operate similarly to sportsbook parlays.
The separate Polymarket lawsuit alleges the platform blurred the distinction between a prediction market and a sportsbook, including through an internal market-making operation that may take positions against users.
Baltimore is seeking statutory penalties, customer restitution, disgorgement of allegedly unlawful proceeds and a court order blocking unauthorized sports betting in the city.
Kalshi said it is federally regulated and will fight the claims in court. Polymarket had not immediately commented.

Tether Completes First Full Financial Audit With Clean KPMG Opinion
Tether has completed its first full independent financial audit, with KPMG U.S. issuing an unqualified, or “clean,” opinion on Tether International’s 2025 financial statements.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed that Tether International is the entity that issues the USDT stablecoin, while KPMG separately confirmed that its audit was conducted under AICPA standards for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025.
The audit covered Tether International’s complete financial statements, including its balance sheet, reserves backing issued USDT, liabilities, income statement, equity changes and cash flows. Tether said KPMG also independently tested transactions, systems, valuations and counterparties, and physically inspected every gold bar held by the company.
The audited accounts showed Tether’s reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.8 billion at the end of 2025.
The milestone comes nearly nine years after Tether first promised a full audit in 2017. Until now, the company had relied primarily on periodic reserve attestations, which provide snapshots rather than a comprehensive audit of its financial statements. $USDT

Ethereum Foundation Drops Poseidon Hash for Post-Quantum Roadmap
The Ethereum Foundation is moving away from the Poseidon hash function for its planned post-quantum architecture, researcher Justin Drake said Thursday.
Drake said recent advances in SNARK proving have erased Poseidon’s previous performance advantage, allowing Ethereum to use more established hash functions such as SHA or BLAKE instead.
Poseidon had been considered for systems including leanVM, designed to efficiently verify large amounts of blockchain computation. Drake said a production-ready leanVM is targeted for 2027, with broader deployment across Ethereum’s consensus, data and execution layers tentatively planned for 2028.
Eigen Labs CEO Sreeram Kannan said established hash-based approaches have undergone years of security scrutiny and may offer fewer known attack paths. He added that joint work involving Eigen Labs, the Ethereum Foundation and Succinct has improved proving speeds by about 2.5 times.
$ETH

Harmony’s $ONE
token plunged about 40% after an apparent exploit created roughly 4 billion new tokens, increasing the cryptocurrency’s supply by around 26%.
Harmony confirmed the attack and instructed network operators to install an emergency software update intended to prevent further unauthorized minting. The project also paused its token bridge and asked exchanges to freeze funds linked to four addresses associated with the incident.
The network said it is evaluating both a software patch and possible rollback options. A rollback would return Harmony to a blockchain state from before the exploit, potentially eliminating the newly minted tokens but also reversing legitimate transactions made afterward.
Around 15 billion ONE tokens were in circulation before the incident, making the unauthorized issuance particularly significant.
Harmony has not yet disclosed how the attacker was able to mint the tokens or confirmed the final amount created.
The network has suffered major security incidents before. Its Horizon bridge was exploited for about $100 million in 2022 in an attack later attributed by the FBI to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Harmony also dealt with an unauthorized issuance of roughly 146 million ONE in 2023 caused by a staking-system bug.
Unlike the 2022 bridge attack, the latest incident appears to involve the direct creation of new ONE tokens on the Harmony network itself.