CoinPhoton

The number of tokenized stock holders has more than doubled over the past month to 1.31 million, highlighting accelerating demand for blockchain-based equities.
According to RWA.xyz, monthly transfer volume surged 179% to $23.13 billion, while monthly active addresses increased 34.6% to nearly 572,000. The total distributed value of tokenized stocks rose 5.9% to $2.38 billion.
Ondo currently leads the sector with about $872 million in distributed value, followed by Kraken’s xStocks at $557.8 million and Binance’s bStocks at $521.8 million. Binance launched bStocks only in June, but it is already within roughly $36 million of overtaking xStocks.
Among individual tokenized assets, some of the largest include Securitize products worth $145.2 million, Strategy PP Variable xStock at $135.6 million and Ondo’s tokenized Circle shares at $99.7 million.
The expansion follows a broader push by crypto platforms into tokenized private-market and pre-IPO exposure earlier this year. Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, Bitget and Blockchain.com all introduced products linked to SpaceX ahead of its June 12 public-market debut.
Demand was substantial, with one Binance campaign attracting about $557 million. However, Binance, Bybit and Bitget Wallet later canceled some tokenized SpaceX IPO allocations after xStocks was unable to secure enough underlying shares to meet investor demand, resulting in refunds.
Despite those setbacks, tokenized SpaceX exposure through Binance’s bStocks has grown to about $67.9 million in distributed value since the listing, making it the seventh-largest individual tokenized asset tracked by RWA.xyz.
The rapid growth in tokenized equities is part of a much broader expansion of real-world asset tokenization. Standard Chartered has forecast that the tokenized RWA market could reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028.

Bitcoin reaching $1 million by 2030 is “mathematically impossible,” according to Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, who argues that the enormous capital inflows required make such forecasts unrealistic.
With Bitcoin trading near $63,900 and carrying a market capitalization of roughly $1.28 trillion, Thielen estimates that pushing BTC to $1 million would require around $15 trillion in additional capital. That would be equivalent to roughly a quarter of the total value of the U.S. stock market flowing into Bitcoin within about four years.
“It takes trillions and trillions of dollars to move the price materially higher,” Thielen said, arguing that Bitcoin’s historical inflows over the past 15 years are nowhere near sufficient to support such a rapid increase.
He also believes Bitcoin’s growing nominal price creates a psychological barrier for retail investors. As one $BTC
becomes increasingly expensive, investors may be less attracted to buying small fractions of a coin, even though Bitcoin is divisible into satoshis.
Thielen cautioned against assuming Bitcoin will quickly repeat the recovery patterns of previous market cycles. After reaching a record above $126,000, he said even a recovery to around $100,000 next year would represent a significant achievement rather than expecting an immediate return to new all-time highs.
His view contrasts sharply with bullish forecasts from prominent crypto figures including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Jack Dorsey and ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, who have suggested Bitcoin could reach $1 million around 2030.
Thielen said extreme price targets often generate attention but can also encourage unrealistic expectations among retail investors. While he would not rule out Bitcoin eventually reaching $1 million, he said the target is unlikely by 2030 and may remain far further away than many investors expect.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend a White House meeting on Wednesday with executives from the cryptocurrency and prediction market industries, according to people familiar with the plans.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig is also expected to attend. The meeting is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and is intended to serve as a kickoff for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting the following day.
Invitees reportedly include executives from Coinbase, a16z, Ripple, Chainlink, Kalshi and Paradigm, as well as representatives from The Digital Chamber. SEC Chair Paul Atkins is also expected to be at the White House.
The CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee will meet Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Its agenda includes three major areas: crypto asset regulation, artificial intelligence and prediction markets.
The 35-member committee includes Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, alongside executives from traditional financial institutions including Cboe, CME, DTCC and Nasdaq.
The meetings come as major U.S. crypto legislation remains unresolved. The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the Clarity Act on Sept. 15, with 60 votes required to invoke cloture and move the legislation forward.
Prediction market regulation is also expected to be a major focus. The CFTC and several U.S. states are disputing whether federal regulators have exclusive authority over event contracts. Selig has argued that the CFTC holds exclusive jurisdiction, while states have pursued enforcement actions against platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket.

Harvard University’s endowment stopped reducing its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) during the second quarter of 2026, ending two consecutive quarters of selling.
Harvard Management Company reported 3.04 million IBIT shares worth $101.4 million as of June 30, unchanged from the previous quarter. The endowment had previously cut its position by 21% in Q4 2025 and another 43% in Q1 2026.
Harvard now holds more exposure to gold-related ETFs than to Bitcoin. Its disclosed gold positions totaled about $171.2 million, compared with $101.4 million in IBIT. Bitcoin represented roughly 2.4% of Harvard’s $4.26 billion portfolio disclosed through 13F filings.
Abu Dhabi sovereign investors also maintained their Bitcoin exposure. Mubadala Investment Company held 14.72 million IBIT shares worth about $490.1 million, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Council retained 8.22 million shares worth $273.6 million. Together, the two entities held roughly $764 million in IBIT with no change in share count during the quarter.
Among major Wall Street institutions, JPMorgan increased its reported IBIT holdings from roughly 8.3 million shares to 10.4 million, while Morgan Stanley reduced its position by about 4.5% to 16.5 million shares.
Tudor Investment Corporation, founded by billionaire macro investor Paul Tudor Jones, increased its IBIT position by 109,446 shares to 688,529 shares worth approximately $22.9 million. The fund also reported significant put and call option positions linked to IBIT.
Dartmouth College also left its crypto ETF holdings unchanged during the quarter, maintaining exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana-related funds.
The filings suggest that several prominent institutional investors maintained or increased Bitcoin ETF exposure despite the sharp market downturn. Bitcoin was trading near $63,000, almost 30% lower year-to-date and roughly 50% below its October 2025 record above $126,000. $BTC

JPMorgan Chase ended its banking relationship with prediction market Polymarket in October 2025 over regulatory concerns, according to reports from the Financial Times and Reuters.
Polymarket subsequently moved its accounts to another unidentified lender. However, the split was not complete: Polymarket says it still maintains a “close, active relationship” with JPMorgan, and the bank reportedly wants to remain in contention for an underwriting role if Polymarket eventually launches an IPO.
At the time JPMorgan closed the accounts, Polymarket’s original platform was not serving U.S. customers following a 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Polymarket later returned to the U.S. through its $112 million acquisition of derivatives exchange QCX and clearinghouse QC Clearing.
The FT also reported that the CFTC has an ongoing investigation involving Polymarket, although the regulator has said it cannot confirm or deny whether such an investigation exists.
Despite the account closure, JPMorgan continues to have other ties with Polymarket. CEO Shayne Coplan has spoken at several JPMorgan events, including a private banking conference in Miami, and Polymarket says JPMorgan remains involved across multiple entities, integrations and customer fund flows.
The development comes as Polymarket reportedly explores raising about $1 billion at a valuation above $20 billion. The company was valued at $9 billion in October 2025 after NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange agreed to invest up to $2 billion.
Prediction markets are meanwhile facing intensifying regulatory pressure in the U.S. Baltimore sued Polymarket and rival Kalshi over sports contracts this week, Washington state ordered Kalshi to halt most offerings there, and New York City opened an investigation into the marketing practices of Polymarket, Kalshi, Coinbase and Gemini Titan.
Polymarket and Polymarket US generated a combined $12.9 billion in trading volume in July, well behind Kalshi’s roughly $40 billion.

Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten expects Bitcoin to potentially bottom in October 2026 before recovering toward $130,000 ahead of the 2028 halving.
Klippsten said Bitcoin, which peaked above $126,000 in October 2025, has historically reached bear-market lows roughly 12 months after a cycle peak. He said BTC could fall as low as $57,000 or even $53,000 before staging a rapid recovery, while acknowledging that past cycles provide only a limited sample.
Other analysts are more optimistic. 10x Research founder Markus Thielen said Bitcoin could confirm a bear-market bottom as early as August if it closes the month above $63,000.
Klippsten also argued that altcoins are effectively “dead” as competitors to Bitcoin as money and said the strongest long-term outcome for crypto and DeFi is integration into traditional finance.
He cited Hyperliquid as an example, saying centralized crypto businesses with tokens could eventually be regulated and treated more like traditional exchanges or banks.
Hyperliquid generated about $5.9 million in weekly revenue, while its HYPE token has gained roughly 130% year-to-date, compared with a 28% decline for Bitcoin over the same period.
Wintermute has similarly argued that growing institutional participation is reshaping the altcoin market, with liquidity increasingly concentrated in a smaller group of institutionally favored assets rather than producing broad-based “altseasons.” $BTC $HYPE

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.