Author: James Wilson

Coinbase has pulled trading support for five cryptocurrencies after giving holders a month to prepare. Summary Coinbase disabled trading for IDEX, LRC, OMNI, PIRATE and FIS across major trading platforms Friday. Customers can still access and withdraw affected tokens, while Coinbase has not announced conversions yet. Coinbase first announced the five suspensions July 7, giving holders one month of advance notice. Six non-dollar pairs were separately suspended August 6, but their underlying tokens remain supported elsewhere. Coinbase says routine reviews determine whether listed assets continue meeting its standards across trading services. On Aug. 7, the exchange confirmed that trading had…

Domestic stablecoins designed to strengthen the role of national currencies could have an unintended effect: making it easier for users to move into digital dollars.  Summary IMF says local stablecoins could accelerate dollar-token adoption by making onchain currency conversion easier globally. Nearly 99% of stablecoins remain dollar-denominated, reinforcing network effects that local tokens struggle to match. South Africa shows limited dollar-stablecoin use while rand-linked tokens have attracted weaker demand so far. IMF recommends regulating onramps, offramps and onchain exchanges when stablecoins expand access to foreign currency. BIS found stablecoin inflows broadly similar across economies with and without cross-border usage restrictions…

Galaxy Research Vice President Lucas Tcheyan said on Aug. 7 that Ethereum and Solana are confronting a similar policy question: how much token issuance is needed to pay for network security, and when does that security budget become more costly than useful? The debate is moving through proposal processes on both networks, but neither blockchain has approved an inflation change. Summary Ethereum’s tapered issuance proposal is now EIP-8363, after editors reassigned its initially reported proposal number. EIP-8363 would burn rising validator rewards and remove issuance incentives near a 50% staking ratio. Solana’s SIMD-0550 would double annual disinflation to 30%, cutting…

Brazil’s central bank has ordered virtual asset service providers to hold certain crypto transfers for up to 24 hours from Jan. 1, 2027, adding a new anti-fraud layer to the country’s expanding digital asset rulebook.  Summary Brazil will require 24-hour holds on qualifying crypto transfers above $10,000 beginning January 1, 2027. Transfers to overseas crypto providers and self-custody wallets fall within the central bank’s new safeguards. Providers may release transfers early after completing risk reviews under parameters established by Brazil’s regulator. Virtual asset providers must notify customers and maintain records covering fraud attempts and corrective actions. Brazil’s latest rule follows…

Bitcoin climbed above $65,000 after the July U.S. jobs report showed an unexpected decline in payrolls, weakening the case for another Federal Reserve rate hike. Summary U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000, missing forecasts for an increase of roughly 80,000 to 85,000. Revisions removed a combined 103,000 jobs from May and June payroll figures. Bitcoin rose nearly 2% to around $65,200 as traders lowered their expectations for another rate increase. Options traders remain cautious, with geopolitical and inflation risks still limiting conviction in further upside. US payrolls record third-largest decline since 2020 The U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July,…

Firmus, a former Bitcoin mining company that has repositioned itself as an AI infrastructure provider, has secured $2 billion in new equity funding, lifting its post-money valuation above $10.5 billion as it expands AI factory projects across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Summary Former Bitcoin miner Firmus has raised $2 billion in fresh equity, lifting its valuation above $10.5 billion. Blackstone, Nvidia, Coatue and Jane Street participated in the funding round to support the company’s AI infrastructure expansion. The new capital will accelerate Project Southgate in Australia while funding early expansion into Indonesia and other Asia Pacific markets. The raise…

Blanket, an independently developed AI tool, is using Kalshi’s regulated event-contract markets to help small businesses identify and hedge operational risks. Summary Blanket analyzes business risks tied to weather, energy prices, tariffs, elections and other events. The tool recommends relevant Kalshi event contracts but does not execute trades or hold customer funds. Independent fintech entrepreneur Lauris Zminsky developed Blanket, which is not an internal Kalshi product. The launch comes as Kalshi expands its institutional services and strengthens its market-surveillance controls. Blanket matches business risks with Kalshi contracts Blanket is designed to evaluate the risks facing a business and identify Kalshi…

BTCPay Server has urged users to install version 2.4.2 immediately after discovering that attackers are actively exploiting a critical vulnerability that could lead to stolen funds. Summary BTCPay Server v2.4.2 contains the required security update. The vulnerability is already being actively exploited, according to the project. Operators unable to update should shut down their servers immediately. BTCPay Server has not disclosed the attack method or total financial losses. BTCPay Server tells users to install v2.4.2 BTCPay Server issued the warning through its official X account on Aug. 7, describing the vulnerability as critical and saying successful exploitation could result in…

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said crypto adoption will continue through stablecoins, tokenization and expanding digital asset markets despite the Senate delaying the CLARITY Act. Summary Armstrong said crypto momentum continues regardless of the congressional timetable. Senate leaders postponed the CLARITY Act vote until September after negotiations failed to produce an agreement. Stablecoin rewards, political ethics and illicit finance safeguards remain central points of dispute. Coinbase shares closed Friday at $153.60, gaining about 5.7% during the session. Armstrong points to adoption beyond Congress Armstrong described the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act before its August recess as disappointing but argued…

A wallet linked to the Aztec Private Rollup Bridge exploit deposited another 300 ETH into Tornado Cash, bringing its total transfers to the mixer to 500 ETH. Summary The exploiter sent another 300 ETH, worth about $572,000, to Tornado Cash. Total deposits linked to the wallet have now reached 500 ETH, worth about $953,000 at the reported price. The Private Rollup Bridge lost approximately $2.165 million in a June exploit. Aztec said the affected legacy product was separate from its current network and AZTEC token. Aztec exploiter deposits 300 ETH into Tornado Cash Blockchain security firm PeckShield reported on Aug.…