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Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Ghana) has expanded its virtual asset regulatory sandbox to 20 firms, up from 11 when the programme launched in March 2026.
The SEC added nine companies in an updated list published on August 19 2026, broadening the sandbox to cover crypto trading, brokerage, tokenisation, trade finance and commodities markets.

REGULATION | SEC Ghana Announces 11 Participants in Virtual Asset Regulatory Sandbox

The 20 participants are:
Africoin
The Blue Penguin Company Limited (Blu Penguin)
Ghana Gold Board (Goldbod)
HanyPay
Hyro Exchange
HSB Global
KoinKoin
WhiteBit
Vaulta
XChain
Bsystem
GFX Brokers
One Africa Securities
WeWire Ghana
Sage Advance Global Services
Mojo Pay Ghana
Yellow Card Ghana
Ghana Commodities Exchange
Mamoru Digital Ghana
BSystems
The new entrants include:
Yellow Card Ghana, one of Africa’s largest crypto platforms, as well as
GFX Brokers, which is testing tokenised Treasury bills;
One Africa Securities, focused on tokenised bonds; and
WeWire Ghana, which is testing trade-finance tokenisation.
The expansion comes as Ghana prepares to move from its sandbox-based approach toward permanent, activity-based licensing under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154).

REGULATION | Ghana Launches Crypto Regulatory Sandbox and Admits 6 Entities to ‘Validate Proposed Regulatory Frameworks’

The 12-month sandbox is designed to give regulators real-world data on crypto exchanges, brokerage, custody and tokenisation before finalising the licensing framework. Firms that demonstrate market readiness and meet regulatory requirements can transition to full licences after six months.
Ghana is therefore moving beyond simply regulating crypto exchanges. The latest cohort shows a broader regulatory focus on tokenised securities, Treasury bills, gold, trade finance and commodities, pointing to an attempt to build a regulated digital-asset market around both crypto and traditional financial assets.

STABLECOINS | ‘Ghana, Rwanda, Namibia, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire Among Strongest Candidates for Local-Currency Stablecoins,’ Says StanChart



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The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time underscoring growing pressure on the federal government’s finances as spending continues to outpace revenue.
The debt has doubled since January 2017 when President Donald Trump first took office, rising from $19.95 trillion, according to Treasury Department data.
About one-third of the increase came during the two years following the COVID-19 pandemic when the Trump and Biden administrations borrowed heavily to fund economic relief and recovery measures. U.S. debt has risen by $3.8 trillion since Trump returned to office in January 2025, while it increased by $8.4 trillion during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The federal government reported a $432 billion budget deficit in July 2026, its 4th-largest monthly shortfall on record. The deficit for the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year has already exceeded the total gap recorded in fiscal 2025.

2025 RECAP | U.S National Debt Grew By $2.2 Trillion to Hit $38.5 Trillion in 2025

Interest payments are also becoming an increasing burden.
The United States is spending about $1.1 trillion annually on interest, with debt-service costs surpassing Pentagon spending in fiscal 2025. Interest payments have since overtaken Medicare spending to become the second-largest federal budget item after Social Security.
The $40 trillion debt load is equivalent to about $117,000 per person in the United States and $297,000 per household, according to figures cited by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates Trump’s flagship second-term tax and spending package, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will add another $4.7 trillion to the national debt.
The rising debt has renewed debate over Washington’s fiscal sustainability with mandatory programmes such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid accounting for about 60% of annual federal spending.


EXPERT OPINION | No, Stablecoins Will Not Erase $35 Trillion of U.S. Debt




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Two more global cross-border payment firms have stopped cash transfer services to and from Kenya, adding to growing pressure on the country’s financial sector amid heightened scrutiny over money laundering and illicit financial flows.
U.S.-based Sendwave and
UK-based money transfer company, Wise,
have suspended cash transfer services for most Kenyan users since August. Sendwave has attributed the disruption to technical difficulties.
They join crypto firm, Kolan (formerly HuruPay), which has frozen its Kenya operations following AML scrutiny, while U.S. payments giant, PayPal, suspended services for some Kenyan users.

CASE STUDY | Lessons from HuruPay’s Exit from Kenya Amid Crypto AML Scrutiny

Kenya has faced increased scrutiny over illicit financial flows and was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list” of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring for weaknesses in measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

REALITY CHECK | Fintech Restrictions Begin to Bite as Kenya Remains on the FATF Grey-List

The heightened checks require international payment firms to invest heavily in transaction monitoring and other compliance measures, increasing the cost and risk of operating in affected markets.
For some providers, the growing compliance burden can make suspending or exiting services preferable to risking regulatory breaches and potentially heavy penalties.

CRYPTO CRIME | Kenyan Court Freezes Over $2 Million in USDT in a Binance Wallet for Money Laundering





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Cryptocurrency markets surged in the last 24 hours with Bitcoin climbing above $69,000 and Ether gaining 18% to more than $2,250 as a broad-based rally gathered momentum.
Bitcoin rose nearly 8% over 24 hours to trade above $69,100, after briefly approaching $69,900 overnight. The move represented a rebound of more than $5,700 from Wednesday’s low of about $64,100.



Ether outperformed, rising about 18% in 24 hours and extending its weekly gain to roughly 20%, making it the strongest performer among major cryptocurrencies.


The rally extended beyond Bitcoin and Ether, with most major cryptocurrencies posting strong weekly gains. Crypto-related stocks also advanced as investors increased exposure to digital assets.
A sharp unwinding of bearish bets added to the rally.
Nearly $1.4 billion of short positions were liquidated as prices moved higher forcing traders who had bet on further declines to buy back assets to cover losses.
The surge also followed the U.S. Treasury’s decision to double its long-term bond buybacks to $4 billion, a move that has helped improve liquidity expectations and investor appetite for riskier assets.
The broad advance marks a sharp reversal from the weakness seen earlier in the week when Bitcoin traded near $64,000 and major tokens remained under pressure.
The rally suggests improving risk appetite across crypto markets although the scale of short liquidations means part of the move may have been amplified by forced buying rather than fresh demand alone.


MILESTONE | Bitcoin Futures Trading Now 8x Spot Volume on the World’s Largest Crypto Exchange




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Ethiopia has spent about $2.2 billion in 2026 supporting the Birr but the currency has continued to weaken highlighting persistent pressure on the country’s foreign exchange market.
The birr has fallen 3.2% against the U.S. dollar in 2026 to nearly 162 per dollar making it the weakest-performing currency over the past year among 23 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The pressure has intensified as higher oil prices have raised Ethiopia’s import costs and increased demand for scarce foreign currency. A recent central bank intervention attracted bids for roughly four times the amount of dollars offered, underscoring the strength of demand for hard currency.

REGULATION | Binance Birr (ETB) Trading Suspension Triggers Backlash, Exposes Ethiopia’s Hidden Crypto Economy

The birr has been under pressure since Ethiopia allowed a major devaluation in 2024 as part of IMF-backed economic reforms. Higher fuel and fertiliser costs linked to the Iran conflict, along with weaker remittances from Ethiopians working in Gulf countries, have added to the strain.
The gap between official and parallel-market rates has also widened. The dollar was trading at around 180 birr in Addis Ababa, about 15% above the official rate.
Continued intervention risks putting further pressure on foreign-exchange reserves. The central bank has not disclosed its reserves in dollar terms, but the IMF estimated them at about $5.9 billion in July 2026.
The government is also expecting a wider budget deficit in the fiscal year that began in July 2026 partly because of additional spending on fuel subsidies.


REGULATION | Ethiopian Central Bank Expands Crypto Ban to Include Exchange, Transfer, Custody, and Issuance




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A Washington state judge has ordered prediction market operator, Kalshi, to stop offering most of its event contracts in the state, ruling that the products likely constitute illegal gambling under state law.
The preliminary injunction is the latest setback for Kalshi as U.S. states challenge the company’s argument that its federally regulated event contracts fall under federal commodities law rather than state gambling rules.
The ruling requires Kalshi to restrict Washington users from trading the affected contracts escalating a broader regulatory fight over whether prediction markets should be treated as financial products or gambling services.

“We’re holding Kalshi accountable for running an illegal gambling operation,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said, citing a recent court ruling.

REGULATION | ‘Gambling by Another Name is Still Gambling,’ Says New York as It Sues Coinbase, Gemini Over Prediction Markets Offerings

The ruling bars Kalshi from offering contracts tied to
sports,
elections,
politics,
entertainment,
culture,
tech and science, and
“mentions.”
Contacts exempt from the ruling including:
commodities,
climate,
economics, and
finance.
Kalshi has faced similar challenges in other states, including Nevada, where the company is disputing regulatory action over its failure to fully geofence its platform.

MARKET ANALYSIS | This Prediction Markets Valuation Hits $40 Billion Leveraging Compliance Over Competitors

The disputes come as prediction markets have expanded rapidly beyond politics into sports, economic indicators and other real-world events, drawing growing scrutiny from state regulators and lawmakers.
The Washington case could have wider implications for Kalshi and rivals such as Polymarket as U.S. authorities continue to debate the boundary between federally regulated event contracts and state-regulated gambling.


REGULATION | CFTC Invokes Emergency Powers Ordering Kalshi to Continue Operating amid New York Lawsuit




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Israel’s largest crypto broker, Bits of Gold, said hackers stole personal data belonging to roughly 200,000 customers after gaining unauthorized access to a third-party data analytics network.
The exposed information includes
names,
national ID numbers,
email addresses,
phone numbers,
IP addresses,
bank account details, and
public wallet addresses.
The company said no funds, private keys, passwords, CVV codes, or scanned ID documents were exposed.

“Upon detection of the incident, we blocked access and disconnected the system from the information sources, so this access ended,” Bits of Gold said.
“Our security team has begun a comprehensive investigation of the incident, with the assistance of a company specializing in cyber incident investigation and response,” it added.
“It is important to emphasize: your digital assets and funds are safe and were not involved in the incident.”

Bits of Gold was founded in 2013 and became the first crypto company in Israel to receive a permanent Financial Services Provider (FSP) license and holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification. The company has more than 250,000 customers.
Bits of Gold said the breach appeared to be part of a wider global attack affecting multiple companies.


DeFi | Crypto Wallet, SafePal, Data Breach Exposes Order Information of Nearly 40,000 Customers



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Binance’s disclosure of customer information to Russian authorities underscores the exchange’s position that it applies a global compliance framework when responding to lawful law-enforcement requests, regardless of jurisdiction.
Reuters reported that Binance provided Russian investigators with personal and transaction data belonging to Yuri Belenkiy, a Russian IT specialist accused of sending more than $700 in cryptocurrency to the Ukrainian military and Azov Brigade, also referred to as the Azov Regiment, which Moscow designates as a terrorist organisation.
Binance said it cooperates with law-enforcement agencies globally, subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements. Its current privacy policy similarly allows disclosure of customer information in response to legally valid law-enforcement and regulatory requests, while requiring such disclosures to comply with applicable data-protection laws and internal legal review.

The case is notable because Binance announced a complete exit from Russia in 2023, saying operating there was incompatible with its compliance strategy.

CRYPTO CRIME | Russia Shuts Down 9 Crypto Exchanges Over Alleged Fraud Links

That does not necessarily mean the exchange abandoned its compliance obligations toward Russian authorities.
Rather, the case highlights Binance’s broader approach:
Compliance requirements are applied across jurisdictions, with customer information potentially shared when the exchange determines that a request meets applicable legal and regulatory standards.

Binance’s compliance regime has undergone a major overhaul since its 2023 U.S. settlement, which included
a $4.3 billion penalty,
enhanced anti-money-laundering controls, and
a five-year independent monitorship.

REGULATION | Binance Admits to Wrongdoings, to Pay $4 Billion Penalty as Founding CEO Steps Down

U.S. authorities said the reforms included
stronger sanctions controls,
dedicated law-enforcement teams, and
expanded compliance resources.
A crypto regulatory lawyer told Reuters that Binance may have faced restrictions under European data protection rules if Belenkiy was registered as an EU resident. Russia is not considered to provide an adequate level of personal-data protection under EU law.

Binance disputes this view.

“Binance does not make or enforce the laws of any jurisdiction, determine charges, or decide how any government uses information in legal proceedings,” a Binance spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Like other global financial institutions, we cooperate with lawful information requests from law enforcement globally, ​subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements. Those decisions rest solely with the relevant Authorities.”

REGULATION | Binance Was Reportedly Cut Off from The European Union Due to a ‘History of Financial-Crime Violations’

The central question in the Russian case is therefore not whether Binance follows different compliance standards in different countries, but whether the specific disclosure satisfied the competing legal requirements governing law-enforcement cooperation and data protection.
Binance has declined to comment on the individual case, saying it does not discuss confidential law-enforcement requests.


REGULATION | Russia Introduces Crypto Bill With Severe Criminal Penalties and Prison Time for Unregistered Operations




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Austria’s financial regulator has fined crypto platform, Bitpanda, €70,000 ($82,000) for breaching the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) marking the country’s first published final penalty under the new framework.

REGULATION | Europe Now Has Over 300 MiCA-Approved Crypto Firms – Custody Services Dominate at ~70%

The Financial Market Authority (FMA) said Bitpanda failed to submit a required crypto-asset white paper at least 20 working days before its publication. The company also distributed marketing material before the white paper was published.
Another marketing communication lacked mandatory disclosures stating that it had not been reviewed or approved by a regulator and that Bitpanda was responsible for its contents. It also omitted required contact details.
The proceedings were concluded under an expedited procedure and the penalty is final.
The fine highlights the increasing enforcement of MiCA as EU regulators move from establishing the framework to policing compliance. Bitpanda has been authorised by Austria’s FMA as a MiCA-regulated crypto-asset service provider since April 2025.
The penalty comes about a month after Gate Europe CEO, Giovanni Cunti, said that crypto firms that have secured licenses under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework may still struggle to survive as the cost of staying compliant continues to rise.

“I think there are going to be quite a few more of the ones that acquire MiCA license that will not be capable to sustain the cost and the resources that are needed to carry on this business in the long term,” said Cunti.


REALITY CHECK | ‘Long-Term Survival Not Guaranteed for MiCA-Licensed Firms Due to Compliance Costs,’ Says CEO, Gate Europe




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The blockchain forensics battle is moving into court.
Chainalysis is challenging a $94.7 million ICE contract awarded to rival TRM Labs, arguing the U.S. government improperly used a sole-source process.
The dispute is more than a procurement fight. Chainalysis and TRM Labs are the two leading names in crypto investigations, competing to provide the tools governments use to trace illicit funds, identify wallets and support financial-crime cases.
Chainalysis has the longer track record and deeper penetration across U.S. law enforcement. TRM, meanwhile, has emerged as a serious challenger and is now winning major government mandates.

So, who is better?

The ICE decision suggests TRM has gained ground. But Chainalysis taking the fight to court shows just how fiercely the two firms are competing for control of blockchain intelligence.
The winner may ultimately be decided not by marketing, but by whose forensic technology governments trust most.


AI | Blockchain Analytics Firm, TRM Labs, Deploys AI Agents to Assist in Tracking Illicit Crypto Activity




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Altcoins are “basically dead” as competitors to Bitcoin as money, according to Swan Bitcoin Founder and CEO, Cory Klippsten, who argued that the longer-term future of crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) may be tied to its integration with traditional finance.
Asked which altcoins could outperform the broader market, Klippsten pointed to Hyperliquid while arguing that centralized crypto businesses will ultimately face the same regulatory framework as traditional financial institutions.

“Hyperliquid is a business and it has a token. If it’s a business that’s centralized, it will eventually just get sucked up by TradFi and be thought of as an exchange and a bank,” Klippsten said.

STABLECOINS | 8% of the Entire USDC Circulating Supply is Now Held on One Decentralized Exchange

Hyperliquid generated about $5.9 million in revenue over the past week ranking fifth among DeFi protocols by weekly revenue, according to DefiLlama.
The HYPE token has also significantly outperformed Bitcoin in 2026 rising about 130% year-to-date while Bitcoin has fallen 28%, according to TradingView data.
But the broader altcoin market is showing signs of becoming increasingly selective as institutional capital takes a larger role.

EXPERT OPINION | Crypto Has Split into 4 Major Segments @Bitwise CEO says the crypto market has effectively split into four major segments:
stablecoins and payments, Bitcoin as a macro asset, tokenization and on-chain finance, and blockchain infrastructure.
Bitwise CEO:… pic.twitter.com/fNtxmpOBgD
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 17, 2026
A July 2026 report from crypto market maker, Wintermute, found that institutional counterparties accounted for a record 72% of spot trading flow across all tokens on its OTC desk during the first half of 2026. That was up from 61% in the second half of 2025 and 59% in the first half of 2025.
Wintermute said institutional activity was becoming concentrated in a narrower group of tokens while liquidity across the market’s “long tail” was weakening. The firm also reported that altcoin options notional traded on its desk increased about 3.4 times from the second half of 2025, largely driven by yield strategies.

REPORT | Institutions Accounted for Over 70% of Crypto Trading Volumes in H1 2026, Says Latest Research

The shift suggests that future altcoin rallies may look very different from previous cycles. Rather than capital broadly rotating from Bitcoin into Ethereum and then into smaller tokens, institutional money is increasingly concentrating on assets with deeper liquidity and stronger market demand.
That trend has also been reflected in BitKE’s coverage of institutional crypto adoption, including the growing share of Bitcoin held by institutions and the increasing role of regulated investment products.

INSTITUTIONAL | Europe’s Second-Largest Bitcoin Holder Set to Raise Over $100 Billion in Equity Issuance to Accelerate Bitcoin Holdings

Wintermute’s findings therefore support a broader thesis:
Crypto may not be disappearing, but the market is becoming more institutional. The result could be fewer altcoin winners, narrower rallies and a growing convergence between crypto businesses and traditional financial markets.

Klippsten and his company have been quite accurate and correct in a lot of their analysis before.
Swan published an analysis titled “Dark Moon: The Inevitable Collapse of Luna” before Terra/Luna collapsed in May 2022. Klippsten was openly attacking the sustainability of the Terra ecosystem well before its eventual implosion.
LUNA/UST subsequently went from roughly $50 billion in combined market capitalization to essentially zero.
That was a very strong call.

$LUNA Crashes by 99% Raising Fears of a Network Takeover

In June 2022, shortly before Celsius froze withdrawals, Klippsten publicly argued that Celsius didn’t have sufficient liquidity to meet customer withdrawals. Reuters quoted him during the crisis describing crypto as essentially a highly leveraged system with contagion risk.
TechCrunch also reported Klippsten warning that Celsius could become insolvent if it had to meet all customer redemption requests.
Celsius subsequently froze withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy. The company’s founder, Alex Mashinsky, later pleaded guilty to fraud.

CASE STUDY | This Crypto Crime Could Set a Precedent Leading to Permanent Financial Ban for Founders

Before FTX collapsed, Klippsten was publicly criticizing Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. When CoinDesk published its November 2022 investigation into Alameda’s balance sheet, Klippsten pointed to the extraordinary dependence of Alameda’s equity on FTT, a token controlled by FTX itself.
FTX subsequently collapsed, and investigations established that customer funds had been improperly diverted to Alameda.

FTX Token ($FTT) Plummets By Over 90% in 7 Days as FTX Files for Bankruptcy

Swan’s and Klippsten’s strongest track record is in identifying structural risks, not predicting Bitcoin’s price.

For Bitcoin, that may reinforce its position as the industry’s primary monetary asset while other crypto networks increasingly compete on their ability to function as financial infrastructure rather than alternative forms of money.


BITCOIN | America’s Largest Bank Says Bitcoin Dominance as Institutional Crypto Asset is Unlikey to Change




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Cryptocurrency wallet provider, SafePal, has disclosed a data breach that exposed order information belonging to about 39,798 customers, including
names,
addresses,
contact details, and
purchase data.
The breach was caused by an authorization flaw in SafePal’s order-tracking system that allowed users to access another customer’s order information between March 2 2025 – April 11 2026, the company said.

SafePal said the incident did not expose cryptocurrency funds, seed phrases, private keys, wallet passwords, bank account or payment card information, or government-issued identification numbers.

The company warned that the exposed information could nevertheless be used in targeted phishing and impersonation attempts, particularly because customer addresses and purchase details were involved.
SafePal said it has fixed the vulnerability and introduced additional security measures. It also said it had identified and removed more than 30 fraudulent websites and phishing links associated with the incident.
The company plans to retain customers’ personal information in its order-processing system for only 90 days as part of measures introduced following the breach.



DeFi | Another Popular DeFi Platform Warns Users to Avoid the Interface After a Security Breach




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Tokenized equities reached 1.31 million holders over the past month, as monthly transfer volume surged 179% to $23.13 billion and distributed value rose 5.9% to $2.38 billion.
The number of tokenized stock holders has more than doubled over the past month to 1.31 million, according to RWA.xyz data.
Monthly transfer volume surged nearly 180% over the same period to $23.13 billion, while
monthly active addresses increased 34.62% to nearly 572,000.
The total distributed value of tokenized stocks also rose 5.9% to $2.38 billion.
At the time of writing,
Ondo leads the market with about $872 million in distributed value, followed by
Kraken’s xStocks at $557.8 million, and
Binance’s bStocks at $521.8 million.
bStocks launched in June 2026 and is already within roughly $36 million of xStocks in distributed value.

INSIGHTS | Why Real-World Assets (RWAs) Became the Largest Trading Category on the Leading DEX

According to RWA.xyz, the largest individual tokenized assets by distributed value include:
Securitize at $145.2 million,
Strategy PP Variable xStock at $135.6 million, and
Ondo’s tokenized Circle shares at $99.7 million.
The recent growth in tokenized equities follows a wave of crypto platforms pushing into private-market and pre-IPO products in early 2026, particularly around SpaceX ahead of its June 2026 public-market debut.
In the months leading up to the listing, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, Bitget and Blockchain.com rolled out products tied to SpaceX ranging from tokenized pre-IPO exposure to perpetual futures and proxy tokens.

INTRODUCING | You Can Now Access and Trade Pre-IPO SpaceX Contracts on Coinbase

Despite substantial demand, including $557 million drawn by a Binance campaign ahead of the listing, the push did not go entirely to plan. Binance, Bybit, and Bitget Wallet canceled their tokenized SpaceX IPO campaigns after xStocks failed to secure enough underlying shares to meet demand, triggering refunds for subscribers.

CASE STUDY | The SpaceX IPO On-Chain Allocations Failure Exposes the Biggest Underlying Risk Plaguing Tokenization

Despite the failed pre-IPO allocations, tokenized SpaceX exposure through Binance’s bStocks has grown to $67.9 million in distributed value since the company’s June 12 listing, ranking seventh among individual tokenized assets tracked by RWA.xyz data.
The growth in tokenized equities comes amid a broader expansion in real-world asset tokenization, which Standard Chartered forecasts could become a $4 trillion market by the end of 2028.



MILESTONE | Real-World Assets (RWAs) Match Bitcoin Volumes on the Largest Perpetuals Exchanges




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Israel’s largest bank, Bank Leumi, has partnered with Galaxy Digital to offer customers cryptocurrency trading, marking the first such service announced by an Israeli bank.
Customers of Leumi and its digital banking unit, Pepper, will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through the bank’s Leumi Trade investment app, with the service expected to launch in early 2027.
Galaxy will provide the trading and custody infrastructure for the service, according to a statement.
The move will give Leumi customers direct access to digital assets through their existing banking relationship as traditional financial institutions increasingly expand into cryptocurrency services.
The launch is subject to regulatory approval from the Bank of Israel.


REGULATION | Israel Approves Shekel-Pegged Stablecoin After Solana Pilot




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Publicly-traded Bitcoin miners are cutting computing capacity as rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) makes data-center operations more attractive.
Realized hash-rate among a group of public miners fell 13.4% to 319 exahashes per second (EH/s) in the second quarter from 368.3 EH/s in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to BlocksBridge Consulting.

Excluding Bitdeer, the decline was 21.2%.

The shift comes as miners repurpose power and infrastructure for AI-related workloads. Core Scientific reported $136.7 million in second-quarter colocation revenue, compared with $27.5 million from Bitcoin mining, while TeraWulf generated $31.9 million from HPC leases versus $12.8 million from mining.
Bitcoin’s network hashrate declined 10.6% over the same period, highlighting the faster retreat by some publicly traded miners.


REALITY CHECK | Keel, Formerly BitFarms, Shuts Down U.S Bitcoin Mining Operations After Q2 2026 Revenue Drops Over 50% YoY




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CIMG Inc. has said it needs to raise capital immediately after reporting a $7.38 million working-capital deficit despite holding 1,145.4 Bitcoin worth about $67.19 million at the end of June 2026.
The company had just $5,397 in cash and $1.87 million in current assets against $9.25 million in current liabilities, according to its Aug. 13 quarterly filing.
CIMG said it could monetize its Bitcoin holdings to raise funds, but warned that the asset is volatile and that its Bitcoin reserve does not represent assured financing.
The company also said plans to raise additional equity or debt had not resolved doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern.

REALITY CHECK | Another Bitcoin Treasury Company Capitulates, Sells Half its Bitcoin Holdings

CIMG used $10.35 million in cash for operations during the nine months ended June 2026 and reported a net loss attributable to the company of $10.49 million for the quarter and $45.36 million for the nine-month period.

The situation highlights a key risk for corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies:
A large cryptocurrency reserve can boost a company’s balance sheet while providing limited immediate liquidity to meet operating expenses and other short-term obligations.


CASE STUDY | The Financing Model that Fueled Rapid Expansion of Bitcoin Treasury Companies is Showing Signs of Strain




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The Securities and Exchange Commission (“the Commission” or “SEC”) has cleared three additional Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) for admission into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP). This milestone reinforces the Commission’s ongoing commitment to fostering responsible innovation that deepens Nigeria’s capital market while rigorously safeguarding investor interests.

The newly admitted entities include:
Pisi Payments Solution
BC Access (Nigeria) Limited
Yellow Card (YC) Financial Limited

This development means that these entities would receive the Commission’s Approval-in-Principle (AIP), permitting them to operate within the defined scope of the Programme and subject to conditions stipulated by the Commission. An Approval-in-Principle confirms that an entity has satisfied the Commission’s requirements for admission into the Programme. Please Note that it is not a final licence and remains conditional on the entity’s continued compliance with all applicable regulatory, operational, and supervisory obligations.

About ARIP
ARIP is an innovative regulatory environment designed to fast-track the on-boarding of digital asset and other investment service providers (like Virtual Asset Service Providers and tokenized product platforms) through a controlled regulatory sandbox. It allows the Commission to assess novel business models and technologies in a controlled regulatory environment to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect investors and preserve market integrity before these products and services are offered to the investing public.
For more information please visit the Commission’s official site at FinPort Programs (RI and ARIP) – Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria.
The Commission remains committed to enabling innovation that advances efficiency, transparency, financial inclusion, and sustainable growth in Nigeria’s capital market. Through initiatives such as ARIP, SEC continues to encourage responsible technological advancement alongside investor protection guardrails and market discipline. Members of the investing public are strongly advised to verify the regulatory status of anyone promoting investment product or services through the Commission’s official channels before engaging with them.

REGULATION | SEC Nigeria Approves 7 Digital Assets Exchanges and Offering Platforms Onto its Regulatory Incubation Program

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Binance said it will stop processing transactions involving 14 crypto-asset service providers and platforms as part of compliance measures tied to recent regulatory developments.
The restrictions are being implemented in phases. Users will no longer be permitted to send funds to, receive funds from, or otherwise transact through Binance with the affected entities after their respective effective dates.
Affected platforms
Effective Aug. 7, 2026
Shelbit (Shelbit General Trading LLC)
Aban Tether Exchange
Effective Aug. 13, 2026
A7 Nigeria
A7 Africa
PilotFinance Ltd

STABLECOINS | The Fastest Growing Stablecoin in 2025 Pushes into Africa

Effective Aug. 23, 2026
Rapira
Aifory Pro (Sooty Ltd.)
ABCeX (Nueva Cryptologia S.A.S DE C.V.)
WhiteBird
NoOnecrypto INC.
Tradex (Brightum LLC)
Monease Ltd
BitPapa
Exnode / Exnode Pay (Arvix)
HTX (Huobi Global SA)
EXMO Ltd

~3 months ago, the U.K imposed banking sanctions on a number of crypto entities.
Among the sanctioned firms were:#Huobi Global S.A., operator of #HTX, along with Rapira Group, Aifory, Open Joint Stock Company#Arvix, and peer-to-peer crypto platform, #Bitpapa.
Details:… pic.twitter.com/S7Gc4hG3ai
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 14, 2026
Binance warned that any transactions attempted on or after the applicable dates may be held for compliance review. The exchange said restrictions could be placed on affected wallets while reviews are ongoing and that such activity may constitute a breach of its terms of use.
The company said the measures are necessary to comply with regulatory requirements in jurisdictions where it operates and are intended to help maintain a secure environment for users and their assets.


CRYPTO CRIME | Binance Processed Over 70,000 Law-Enforcement Requests Worldwide in 2025 Alone




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The European Central Bank’s 2026 Study on the Use of Cash by Companies in the Euro Area examines how businesses across the euro area accept and use cash, how they compare it with digital payment methods, and how cash infrastructure is evolving. The study covers companies in retail, restaurants and cafes, hotels, and arts, entertainment and recreation across all 21 euro area countries.
The report finds that cash remains a widely accepted payment method despite the continued growth of digital payments. In 2026,
92% of companies selling goods or services at physical locations said they accept cash, up from 90% in 2024.
Physical cards were accepted by 88% of companies, while
mobile payment acceptance rose sharply from 36% in 2024 to 68% in 2026.


Cash acceptance varies significantly across countries and sectors.
Greece and Italy recorded the highest cash acceptance rates among euro area SMEs at 99%, while
Belgium and Cyprus had the lowest rates, at 81% and 76%, respectively.


Retailers, restaurants and hotels had an overall cash acceptance rate of 93%, compared with
84% for arts, entertainment and recreation businesses.


Of all companies selling goods online in 2026,
82% accept payment cards and
74% accept credit transfers .
Only a very small share of companies (0.2%) accept crypto-assets.


The ECB also found that cash is likely to remain part of the payment mix.
Among companies that currently accept cash, 92% said they plan to continue accepting it over the next five years. Companies that reject cash most commonly cited low customer demand and the inconvenience or difficulty of depositing and withdrawing cash as reasons.
Businesses have mixed preferences over payment methods.
One-third of companies have no preference for how customers pay at physical locations, while
24% prefer debit cards,
21% prefer cash, and
14% prefer credit cards.
Companies generally rated cash more favourably than digital payments for privacy and reliability as well as for factors such as overall costs, transaction speed, ease of handling, and security.
The study also highlights the continued modernization of cash infrastructure.
Around 13% of companies have introduced self-checkout terminals, with
more than half of those businesses operating at least some self-checkouts that accept cash. Meanwhile,
38% have introduced cash registers at the point of payment and
37% have smart safes.
Bank counters remain the most common method for both withdrawing and depositing cash.
Overall, the ECB study suggests that the shift toward digital payments has not eliminated the role of cash for businesses. Instead, cash and digital payment methods are increasingly operating alongside each other with businesses balancing customer preferences, cost, security, reliability, and operational convenience when deciding which payment methods to accept.

Source: European Central Bank, Use of cash by companies in the euro area in 2026. Read the full ECB report.


REALITY CHECK | Why Cash Still Dominates Many African Economies




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JPMorgan Chase ended its banking relationship with prediction-market platform Polymarket in October 2025 over regulatory concerns, the Financial Times reported. The bank told Polymarket to find another lender, which it has since done.
Polymarket had been fined $1.4 million by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022 for operating an unregistered derivatives platform and later returned to the U.S. market as regulatory conditions eased.
Despite ending its banking relationship, JPMorgan continues to maintain other ties with Polymarket, including operational relationships and potential capital-markets business, according to the report.
Polymarket has similarly seen enforcement measures against the platform with France being the latest to restrict access to its platform by blocking access within the country.

REGULATION | France Gambling Regulator Labels Polymarket Illegal, Orders Internet Service Providers to Block Access

About 2 months ago, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) expanded its investigation into Polymarket to examine allegations of staged trades and fabricated winning bets widening regulatory scrutiny beyond previously reported concerns over undisclosed influencer marketing.

REGULATION | CFTC Expands Polymarket Probe as Scrutiny Shifts from Advertising to Market Integrity




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