Bitmine increased its ether treasury to 5,901,112 ETH after acquiring 53,501 tokens over the past week. Chairman Tom Lee called ether the best-performing macro asset. The company said its ether holdings were worth about $14.8 billion at $2,511 per ETH.
Crypto projects spent a record $638 million on token buybacks this year. Hyperliquid and Pump.fun accounted for nearly 90% of the total and more than doubled since January. Four other projects posted results ranging from a 20% gain to a 39% loss.
South Korea reportedly plans free, unlimited AI access for all citizens
South Korea reportedly plans to give every citizen free access to generative AI with no token limits. The services will connect to government systems and support tasks such as tax advice and medical appointment bookings. Beta testing will start in September, with a full rollout later this year.
DeFi protocols lose $83 million in attacks using a strategy regulators targeted
Malicious actors exposed two DeFi lenders to over $84 million in losses over four days. The larger attack affected Tectonic on Cronos, where GoPlus estimated roughly $75 million was affected. Moonwell's MAMO market on Base suffered about $9.1 million in residual debt three days earlier.
Metaplanet moved 4,800 BTC worth nearly $377 million to Coinbase Prime today. The company transferred 10,270 BTC worth approximately $806.3 million to Coinbase Prime this week. The transfers triggered speculation that Metaplanet may be selling its holdings.
A dormant Bitcoin wallet moved $1 million in Bitcoin through an unidentified large custodian and later burned it. The wallet sent 20.00010537 BTC and received 20.00006037 BTC back about three weeks later. Five wallets that burned 107 BTC in May appear to have common ownership.
Ireland bars crypto from new tax-advantaged investment accounts
Ireland is preparing to exclude cryptocurrencies from new government-designed personal investment accounts due to launch in 2027. The accounts would allow savers to invest in listed stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds. A low flat tax would apply annually to average value above a threshold that has yet to be set.
Japan's FSA requests 2027 tax exemption for trust-type stablecoins
Japan's Financial Services Agency requested an exemption from mandatory tax filings for trust-type stablecoins starting in fiscal year 2027. The request is subject to legislative approval, and the exemption could begin April 1, 2027. The FSA said the change would improve stablecoins' use as transaction tools.
Strategy acquired 4,603 BTC for approximately $369.7 million between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30. The company now holds 845,050 BTC at an average purchase price of $75,412 per bitcoin. Strategy funded the acquisition with proceeds from sales of its Class A common stock.
Bitcoin fell almost 5% from last week's high after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech. Gold fell 5.6% from Tuesday's peak to around $4,432 an ounce. CME FedWatch data put the probability of a September 16 rate increase at 62.6%.
Bitmine bought about $131.3 million of ether in its largest purchase since June. The purchase lifted Bitmine's ether holdings to 5,901,112 ETH. Bitmine now owns about 4.9% of Ethereum's token supply.
Strategy buys $370 million in Bitcoin in first acquisition since June
Strategy acquired 4,603 Bitcoin for $370 million in its first corporate Bitcoin acquisition since June. The purchase increased Strategy's holdings to 845,050 BTC. Strategy funded the purchase with proceeds from a 602 million MSTR common stock sale and used additional proceeds to increase cash reserves and repurchase STRC preferred stock.
USBC registers 92.7% of shares for resale and pledges 34.1% of Bitcoin
USBC registered 359,815,000 already-issued shares for potential resale, equal to about 92.7% of its outstanding common stock. USBC would receive no proceeds from sales by the stockholders. USBC also reported that about 34.1% of its Bitcoin treasury was pledged for options trading.
Longsys is seeking up to HK$6.28 billion through a Hong Kong share sale. The Hong Kong offer price is 45% below the company's Shenzhen share price. Longsys reported half-year net profit growth above 71,000% earlier this month, supported by soaring memory prices.
Morning Minute roundup: Robinhood Chain surpasses Ethereum and Base in fees
Robinhood Chain collected $3.13 million in fees over 30 days, exceeding Base's $2.89 million and Ethereum's $2.47 million. Over the past day, Robinhood Chain collected $495,477 in fees, compared with $71,703 for Base and $25,746 for Ethereum. Robinhood Chain apps earned $1.84 million over 24 hours, ahead of Ethereum's $1.14 million, although Ethereum led the 30-day app revenue total.
Strategy bought 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million in its first Bitcoin purchase since June. Its holdings now total 845,050 BTC. Strategy financed the purchase by selling MSTR shares through its at-the-market program.
Coinbase CEO says onchain reputation could replace credit scores
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said onchain reputation could soon replace traditional credit scores. The FICO score is used in 90% of top United States lending decisions. Armstrong made the comment while replying to Base creator Jesse Pollak, who highlighted progress in undercollateralized onchain credit.
Strategy bought bitcoin worth $369.7 million last week. The purchase added 4,603 bitcoin. The average price was $80,318 per bitcoin. Strategy funded the purchase through a sale of common stock.
A CoinGecko report found that crypto platforms suffered $3.63 billion in losses across 245 documented incidents between January 2025 and July 2026. Audited protocols were involved in 147 incidents and accounted for 88.44% of the capital drained. Infrastructure and supply chain vulnerabilities caused more than $1.8 billion in losses.
Robinhood Chain apps beat Ethereum in daily revenue as memecoin trading dominates
Apps on Robinhood Chain earned about $2.66 million in 24 hours, surpassing apps on Ethereum. Solana ranked first with $5.07 million, while Robinhood Chain ranked ahead of every other network. The chain processed 5.52 million transactions on Aug. 30, and decentralized exchange trading reached roughly $875 million. Pons launched about 22,600 tokens that day, most of them memecoins.