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Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (September 25) as of 11:00 p.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$84,005.87, trading 0.1 percent lower over the past 24 hours.Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, argues that Bitcoin holding up because big investors keep buying through funds and the US economy is stronger than expected. That strength helps offset the risk from Middle East conflict, which is keeping oil prices volatile and adding to inflation worries.The catch is that a hot economy may push the Fed to raise interest rates again, which traders increasingly expect before year-end. Massabni’s view is that steady fund buying can absorb that pressure for now. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, September 25, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,692.64, trading 0.9 percent higher over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.57, up 2.1 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$121.78, trading 4.5 percent higher over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:CoinMarketCap acquires CoinglassFed unveils proposed stablecoin issuer rulesHackers drain over US$350 million from BitgetNew York sues Polymarket US over unlicensed gamblingCoinMarketCap acquires Coinglass Crypto price tracker CoinMarketCap announced that it has acquired Coinglass, a platform that tracks crypto derivatives data such as leverage, funding rates and liquidations across major exchanges. The deal has closed, and terms weren’t disclosed.Derivatives are where most of the market's risk is taken, and Coinglass is where most people go to see it," said Rush Lu, CEO of CoinMarketCap. "Coinglass built the most trusted view of positioning in crypto by doing one thing very well. Our job is to make that view available to many more people, not to change it. Coinglass stays Coinglass, and nothing changes for its users.""Coinglass led the way in showing traders worldwide why derivatives matter to market movements," said David Salamon, chief product officer at CoinMarketCap. "Open interest, funding and liquidations are where the market's risk is actually taken, and Coinglass made that visible to everyone." "Coinglass will continue to operate as an independent business under the Coinglass brand," Coinglass said in a statement. "Our website, app, free tools, API and pricing are unchanged, and our team continues to build the product our users rely on every day."Fed unveils proposed stablecoin issuer rulesThe US Federal Reserve opened two regulatory proposals for public comment on Thursday (September 24) to establish capital and reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025 to create the first federal regulatory framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins. The first proposal requires Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to back their tokens entirely with high-quality, liquid assets like short-term Treasury bills. It also sets standardized capital requirements to cover credit and operational risks, establishes risk-management standards, and outlines custody rules for backing assets. Meanwhile, the second proposal creates a tailored application process for Board-supervised banks seeking to issue payment stablecoins, requiring business plans and financial disclosures. The public comment period will remain open for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is racing to finalize its own stablecoin rules by November, while the Treasury Department proposed rules barring platforms from selling noncompliant tokens to US customers.Hackers drain over US$350 million from Bitget Hackers drained more than US$350 million in crypto assets from hot wallets belonging to cryptocurrency exchange Bitget in a confirmed exploit late Thursday (September 24). Bitget CEO Gracy Chen confirmed that company cold wallets held offline remain fully secure and that the security breach affected only internet-connected trading wallets. "User funds are safe. The full amount of this loss falls within the coverage of Bitget's User Protection Fund, which currently holds over $464 million," Chen wrote on X. On-chain analysts at Bubblemaps and Arkham initially flagged suspicious outflows as a newly created wallet address withdrew US$19.67 million in USDT0 and swapped it for 7,111 ETH in six minutes. The attacker subsequently executed swaps through UniswapX and 1inch Fusion at a 5 percent premium over market rate. The hacker then transferred additional wallet reserves containing ETH, AVAX, BNB, USDC, USDT, and gold-backed XAUT tokens to the same address. Outflows from Bitget's labeled wallets stopped six minutes after the initial trade, indicating that the exchange froze withdrawals to investigate the intrusion.The US$464 million User Protection Fund will absorb all losses from the breach, which ranks among the largest exchange hacks following Bybit's US$1.4 billion loss in February 2025.Roman Prudnikov, co-founder of Rubin, a financial infrastructure platform for the onchain economy, pointed out in an email to INN that the latest hack is the second nine-figure hack of centralized infrastructure in three weeks, after attackers drained Blockstream's Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain, on September 6. In that case, most of the funds were returned.He expects the withdrawal freeze to run longer than first announced, since restoring confidence "requires an overhaul of the entire internal transaction verification model — a process that could take weeks." If the internal spoofing is confirmed, he said, "it will set an alarming precedent for any exchange using a similar withdrawal-verification architecture, which applies to most of the market."New York sues Polymarket US over unlicensed gambling New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Polymarket US on Thursday (September 24) for allegedly operating an unlicensed gambling business within the state. The state lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting Polymarket from operating in New York, demanding fines, asset forfeiture, and user restitution.Governor Kathy Hochul backed the action, stating, “Polymarket has done more than just knowingly violate state law, they have put New Yorkers at risk, especially those underage who are most vulnerable to problem gaming,” Polymarket counter-sued New York hours later in federal court, alleging that state enforcement oversteps federal authority because the CFTC oversees its US operations. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has actively defended federal preemption over prediction markets, suing states that attempt to enforce local gaming laws against CFTC-regulated venues. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (September 28) as of 10:00 a.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$82,630.38, trading two percent lower over the past 24 hours. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News NetworkBitcoin price performance, September 28, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,640.60, trading 1.4 percent lower over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.48, down 2.1 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$117.69, trading 3.7 percent lower over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Citigroup, Coinbase partner on corporate stablecoin paymentsCitigroup (NYSE:C) partnered with Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) to allow its institutional clients to accept stablecoin payments from retail customers, a Wall Street Journal exclusive reported. Coinbase supplies the underlying blockchain technology and payment rails that automatically convert stablecoins into fiat currency before Citigroup settles the transactions as the bank of record. The partnership builds on an initial October 2025 collaboration between the two financial firms that streamlined fiat pay-ins and pay-outs across global networks. Merchants can hold incoming funds at Coinbase in bank-account-like vehicles that earn an annual interest-like reward rate of 3.75 percent. The move expands an October 2025 collaboration where the two firms joined forces to streamline fiat pay-ins and pay-outs for Coinbase's on/off-ramps. Citigroup concurrently expanded its proprietary Citi Token Services network to Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), bringing its live blockchain infrastructure footprint to seven global jurisdictions.Bitget begins phased withdrawal restorations following hackCryptocurrency exchange Bitget began restoring user withdrawal services on September 28 following a major security breach that compromised US$387.5 million in digital assets. The exchange suspended all withdrawal activity on September 24 after detecting unauthorized transfers from "some of our hot wallets." Bitget CEO Gracy Chen confirmed that emergency protocols contained the breach and that the exchange's US$464 million User Protection Fund will fully cover all lost assets. The exchange initiated its phased rollout with Bitcoin network withdrawals at 08:00 UTC on September 28, with Ethereum following on September 29 and Tether on September 30. Bitget expects to fully restore all remaining assets, fiat services, and peer-to-peer trading operations by October 2. The phased rollout allows Bitget to resume withdrawal services in an orderly manner following the incident. The same approach applies consistently across users without preference," the company outlined in a statement. Ethena, Binance partners to back USDe stablecoinEthena announced a partnership with Binance to expand the delta-neutral basis trade backing its USDe stablecoin into tokenized equity markets. The strategic expansion allows Ethena to execute basis trades across tokenized stocks and equity perpetual futures, expanding its underlying target market from US$2.5 trillion in crypto assets to over $US150 trillion in real-world assets. Binance provides both tokenized spot stock collateral through bStocks and USDT-denominated equity perpetual contracts on a single trading venue. The exchange offers eligible delta-neutral accounts like Ethena lower priority under its auto-deleveraging system, reducing liquidation risks during periods of market volatility. Ethena will activate its protocol fee switch to direct a portion of system revenue toward ENA token buybacks once USDe achieves a US$7.5 billion 14-day average supply. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (September 25) as of 12 noon. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$84,579.76, trading 0.6 percent lower over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin price chart​ Chart via the Investing News NetworkBitcoin price performance, September 25, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,717.83, trading 0.6 percent higher over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.60, up 5.1 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$120.85, trading 3.4 percent higher over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Federal Reserve unveils proposed rules for stablecoin issuersThe Federal Reserve opened two regulatory proposals for public comment on Thursday (September 24) to establish capital and reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025 to create the first federal regulatory framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins. The first proposal requires Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers to back their tokens entirely with high-quality, liquid assets like short-term Treasury bills. It also sets standardized capital requirements to cover credit and operational risks, establishes risk-management standards, and outlines custody rules for backing assets. Meanwhile, the second proposal creates a tailored application process for Board-supervised banks seeking to issue payment stablecoins, requiring business plans and financial disclosures. The public comment period will remain open for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is racing to finalize its own stablecoin rules by November, while the Treasury Department proposed rules barring platforms from selling noncompliant tokens to US customers.Hackers drain over US$350 million from Bitget Hackers drained more than US$350 million in crypto assets from hot wallets belonging to cryptocurrency exchange Bitget in a confirmed exploit late Thursday (September 24). Bitget CEO Gracy Chen confirmed that company cold wallets held offline remain fully secure and that the security breach affected only internet-connected trading wallets. "User funds are safe. The full amount of this loss falls within the coverage of Bitget's User Protection Fund, which currently holds over $464 million," Chen wrote on X. On-chain analysts at Bubblemaps and Arkham initially flagged suspicious outflows as a newly created wallet address withdrew US$19.67 million in USDT0 and swapped it for 7,111 ETH in six minutes. The attacker subsequently executed swaps through UniswapX and 1inch Fusion at a 5 percent premium over market rate. The hacker then transferred additional wallet reserves containing ETH, AVAX, BNB, USDC, USDT, and gold-backed XAUT tokens to the same address. Outflows from Bitget's labeled wallets stopped six minutes after the initial trade, indicating that the exchange froze withdrawals to investigate the intrusion. The US$464 million User Protection Fund will absorb all losses from the breach, which ranks among the largest exchange hacks following Bybit's US$1.4 billion loss in February 2025.New York sues Polymarket US over unlicensed gambling New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Polymarket US on Thursday (September 24) for allegedly operating an unlicensed gambling business within the state. The state lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting Polymarket from operating in New York, demanding fines, asset forfeiture, and user restitution. Governor Kathy Hochul backed the action, stating, “Polymarket has done more than just knowingly violate state law, they have put New Yorkers at risk, especially those underage who are most vulnerable to problem gaming,” Polymarket counter-sued New York hours later in federal court, alleging that state enforcement oversteps federal authority because the CFTC oversees its US operations. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has actively defended federal preemption over prediction markets, suing states that attempt to enforce local gaming laws against CFTC-regulated venues. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a conditional exemption on Thursday (September 17) that allows tokenized versions of US-listed stocks to trade on blockchain-based venues without those venues registering as national securities exchanges. The measure, dubbed the “Innovation Exemption,” runs for up to five years, the agency framing it as a temporary bridge to permanent rulemaking rather than a final rule. ​What the Clarity Act would have done The move swiftly followed the collapse of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the Senate. A cloture vote on the bill fell short on September 15, with senators voting 49 to 50, 11 votes shy of the 60 needed to advance. The Clarity Act would have assigned crypto regulatory authority across agencies, including new powers for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over crypto spot markets. As it currently stands, the CFTC’s reach is limited to anti-fraud and anti-manipulation enforcement on derivatives; the agency has no authority to register or oversee crypto spot trading. The bill would have given the CFTC exclusive federal jurisdiction over spot-market trading in tokens that qualify as digital commodities, and created three new registration categories: digital commodity exchanges digital commodity dealers digital commodity brokers Those registrants would have had to meet Commodity Exchange Act-style principles of trade surveillance, minimum capital, public trade reporting, conflict-of-interest controls and cybersecurity standards, as well as segregate customer funds. Most importantly, digital commodities would have been subject to a mature blockchain test: if a token’s value comes substantially from network use rather than a promoter’s efforts, no single party controls the system or holds special insider privileges, and insiders collectively hold below roughly 20 percent of the supply, a token would fall to CFTC oversight rather than SEC securities oversight. Tokens that don’t clear that bar would stay under SEC jurisdiction as securities. The bill also would have added a new SEC capital-raising exemption tailored to digital-commodity issuers, with its own disclosure regime. ​What the innovation exemption requires The SEC’s Innovation Exemption, issued two days after the vote, sets its own conditions for tokenized stocks that remain SEC-regulated securities. Under the exemption, qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) can trade tokens representing real ownership of US-listed stocks without registering as traditional exchanges. Their liquidity providers are also exempt from certain dealer-registration rules. To qualify, tokens must carry the same economic and governance rights as the shares they represent, including dividends and voting. Robinhood’s Stock Tokens, Kraken’s xStocks and Ondo Global Markets’ offshore notes all give holders price exposure without shareholder status, so none would qualify as currently structured. Without that exemption, a platform wanting to run this kind of venue must register as a national securities exchange, or as a broker-dealer operating an alternative trading system, which itself requires broker-dealer registration, FINRA membership and ATS-specific disclosure and fair-access rules.Liquidity providers - protocols like Uniswap, Aerodrome and Raydium that use pooled funds to algorithmically quote both a buy and sell price at all times - trigger broker-dealer registration under Exchange Act Section 15(a) through that same two-sided quoting, which imposes net capital, recordkeeping, FINRA membership and best-execution requirements designed for discretionary traders rather than automated smart contracts or passive DeFi pools. ​Industry reaction  The exemption drew swift reaction from across the industry, with reception split between welcome for the regulatory clarity and skepticism about how much it actually changes for investors.Ryan VanGrack, Coinbase’s vice chairman and a former SEC adviser, welcomed the decision. “Tokenization is the biggest upgrade to financial infrastructure since Wall Street ditched paper for electronic trading,” VanGrack tweeted, adding, “It’s no longer a question of whether tokenization will reshape finance - it’s a question of where.” Chris Hayes, executive director of the Coalition for Tokenized Markets, said the issuer-objection requirement helps “curb synthetic tokenization” and gives investors clarity on what they’re actually buying. Additionally, some observers noted the exemption could put blockchain-based trading venues in more direct competition with traditional exchanges, which remain subject to the fuller exchange-registration regime. “The exemption could allow multiple tokenized versions of US - listed securities to trade in parallel, lightly regulated markets, in ways that could lead to investor confusion and harm, as well as price and liquidity fragmentation,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., president and CEO of SIFMA, the securities-industry trade group representing exchanges and broker-dealers. In a statement, Bentsen added that “any innovation exemption should be narrowly drawn, open to all market participants, technology neutral and subject to appropriate guardrails”. Beyond questions of market structure, others zeroed in on what actually qualifies as a real tokenized stock in the first place. In an email, Bitget Wallet COO Alvin Kan noted the crucial distinction between stock ownership and a token that tracks a stock price. “Putting both on a blockchain doesn’t erase that difference,” he said.In Kan’s view, investor rights, not 24/7 trading or faster settlement, may become the real dividing line in the tokenized-stock market. “Under the SEC exemption, a tokenized National Market System stock must give holders the same rights and privileges as the equivalent traditional share. Synthetic exposure is explicitly outside the scope of the exemption, and issuers can object when an unaffiliated third party tokenizes their stock.“That is materially different from many crypto-native tokenized equity products globally, where the token may instead represent price exposure or a contractual claim against an intermediary. For users, the potential improvement is meaningful: self-custody, fractional ownership, around-the-clock trading and near-instantaneous settlement. The SEC itself identifies these as potential benefits.“But tokenization does not automatically create a better product. If access remains heavily permissioned, liquidity is shallow and users still face multiple intermediaries, blockchain may mainly modernize the back end without materially changing the front-end experience. The real test is whether tokenization reduces settlement, reconciliation and distribution friction, not simply whether the stock has been put onchain.”Kan also drew a line between statutory and agency-level reform. “The Senate failed to advance Clarity in the September 15 procedural vote, while two days later the SEC used its existing Exchange Act authority to create a narrower pathway for tokenized securities. That means the SEC does not need Congress to resolve every crypto classification issue before experimenting with areas already clearly inside its securities jurisdiction.“For institutions, however, this is operational clarity rather than permanent legal certainty. The exemption expires five years after publication, remains subject to symbol and volume limits and modification, and is explicitly intended to inform future rulemaking. That is enough clarity to justify pilots, integrations and modular infrastructure today, but long-duration capital will still distinguish between a five-year exemptive order and a framework embedded in final rules or legislation,” Kan said. ​The bottom line Whatever happens with the Innovation Exemption over the next five years, tokenized US stocks are arriving on more than one track at once. The NYSE, which already meets every registration requirement the exemption exists to bypass, has been building its own tokenization capability since April, when the SEC approved a routine rule change letting it trade tokenized shares directly on its existing exchange. That timeline complicates any narrative that pits crypto-native platforms against Wall Street incumbents. What remains unresolved is which path wins. The exemption gives blockchain venues and their AMM liquidity providers a five-year runway to prove the model works without full exchange or dealer registration, but it’s explicitly a bridge, not a destination. Meanwhile, Congress’s own attempt to settle these questions legislatively remains stalled, with the Clarity Act’s fate no clearer now than it was before the cloture vote failed. For now, tokenization of US equities is moving forward on regulatory improvisation rather than a single settled framework, a gap that issuers, venues and investors will be watching the SEC’s forthcoming rulemaking to close. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Bitwise Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan outlined what he believes will power a new bull cycle in crypto, one he said has the potential to be more durable than the boom-and-bust runs that preceded it.Bitwise, founded in 2017, is one of the larger crypto-focused asset managers and builds its business around exchange-traded funds and research aimed at financial advisors.Speaking on a September 9 webinar hosted by financial advisor Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DACFP), Hougan argued that, unlike past cycles driven by a single catalyst, this one is being driven by five forces compounding at once - regulatory tailwinds, institutional adoption, stablecoins and tokenization, on-chain finance and revenue-generating tokens - each reinforcing the others rather than standing alone. Regulation: From headwind to tailwind On regulation, Hougan said the SEC under current Chair Paul Atkins has dropped the enforcement actions the agency brought against major exchanges during Gary Gensler’s tenure and ended what he described as “debanking” pressure on crypto firms.Under Gensler, the agency sued nearly every major exchange and treated most crypto assets other than Bitcoin as unregistered securities, pushing firms to debank and entrepreneurs offshore. Atkins’ SEC has dismissed those suits, as well as litigation against Coinbase and Kraken, and his Project Crypto initiative has continued loosening rules around token trading. For institutions, Hougan argued that regulatory clarity lets firms like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Nasdaq, NYSE and DTCC operate in the space, building businesses in crypto markets rather than just allocating to them. “When that happens, what gets built stops being crypto-specific,” he said. Hougan pegged the crypto market at roughly US$2 trillion against a global stock market worth over US$150 trillion. “Bringing even a fraction of that onto blockchain rails multiplies the market that platforms like Uniswap or Aave can serve many times over.”Edelman raised the SEC’s floated plan to let blockchains serve as the official record-keeper for securities, and the London Stock Exchange’s stated intent to move its top 100 stocks on-chain for 24/7 trading as evidence that this shift is not just theoretical. Further reinforcing the narrative, wealth managers’ capital market assumptions have moved from debating whether to hold any crypto at all to allocations that, according to Hougan, roughly double what many portfolios held a few years ago even at the lowest end. He pointed to the billions that have poured into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs over the past month alone, with hundreds of millions more into funds tied to XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid and Chainlink. Bitwise’s own Bitcoin ETF, (NYSEARCA:BITB), charges a mere 0.20 percent expense ratio. Institutions favor ETFs specifically, Hougan argued, because crypto custody differs enough from equity custody that most aren't equipped to manage it directly. “That's why you see folks like the Harvard Endowment using an ETF to gain exposure to Bitcoin or the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund using a Bitcoin ETF to gain exposure to crypto.”A retail investor being able to own the same fund Harvard does adds a level of access, Hougan said doesn’t exist in comparable institutional markets like venture capital. ​Money and markets move on-chain Stablecoins and tokenization are an entirely different mechanism from how money and securities currently move.In Hougan's telling, both will help drive the next phase of crypto forward. “I think that what the world has woken up to is the fact that blockchains are the best tool for moving financial assets that's ever been created.” Hougan cited stablecoin transfers settling in seconds for a fraction of a cent on Ethereum. Every major financial firm, from Stripe and Visa (NYSE:V) to the largest banks, is now positioning to build in the stablecoin market, which Citibank has forecast will reach US$4 trillion within four years, according to Hougan. Meanwhile, tokenized stocks, which also settle almost instantly, have been growing 600 to 700 percent annually, and the SEC’s chair has said all stocks could be on-chain within a couple of years. Recent trading activity also suggests that demand for market access outside regular trading hours is growing: an analysis by The Defiant, using public on-chain data, reveals that trading over the 42 largest tokenized equities traded US$1.01 billion over Labor Day weekend, roughly matching Friday’s US$1.02 billion session while markets were open, with US$398.3 million more added on Labor Day for a US$1.41 billion three-day total during an 89.5-hour NYSE closure.By platform, Robinhood Chain took 57 percent of the weekend total at US$572.8 million, ahead of Binance’s bStocks (US$303.5 million), Backed Finance’s xStocks (US$87.1 million and Ondo Global Markets US$43.8 million. Important caveat: Ownership vs. exposure The tokenized-equity trend also comes with a caveat investors should understand, and a public dispute between AMC and Robinhood shows exactly what’s at stake for investors.Last week, AMC CEO Adam Aron demanded Robinhood halt its tokenized AMC products, which are structured as debt securities issued by a Robinhood subsidiary that track AMC’s stock price but confer no ownership stake or shareholder rights in AMC itself. Aron’s objection is similar to one OpenAI raised in 2025 over Robinhood’s tokenized OpenAI shares, a dispute EU regulators looked into but never publicly resolved. Robinhood’s general counsel rejected the call to desist and told Aron to “send (his) lawyers”. The situation is unfolding, and regulators have not issued a public comment on the matter as of press time. The SEC’s own staff guidance, issued in January 2026, specifically addresses this kind of product, saying tokens that track a security’s value without conferring ownership could qualify as “security-based swaps,” triggering added regulatory requirements.On September 15, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said on X that "in-kind redemption and voting are coming for Robinhood Stock Tokens," with the company's head of crypto adding that 1:1 redemption is in active development and voting rights are on the roadmap. Neither feature has a launch date or defined eligibility criteria, and Robinhood hasn't said whether AMC token holders specifically will be included.The takeaway here is that many tokenized-equity products offer price exposure, not the legal ownership that comes with holding the underlying stock, an important nuance that investors must understand. ​On-chain finance takes shape Tokenized stocks, bonds and dollars will also trade against each other directly on protocols like Uniswap rather than through traditional foreign-exchange desks or clearinghouses, a wrinkle Hougan said is why investors are buying into the protocols powering that infrastructure, not just the tokens themselves.While stock exchanges may be “at risk,” Hougan said they’re not doomed, noting exchanges could be preserved by regulatory requirements or simply adapt. “I think the traditional role of exchanges and broker-dealers will morph dramatically over the next handful of years. So I don't think it will look quite like what it looks today.“For what it's worth, that's actually already happened. Nasdaq is a data company masquerading as an exchange, and it’s morphed its business over time, and I think you’ll see it do it again.“Certainly NASDAQ and NYSE and CBOE and others see it coming; some of them will succeed in making the transition, and probably some of them won’t. I think that’s just what happens in these disruptive environments.”That same pattern, Hougan said, extends well beyond exchanges to all of finance. “We think finance will just be on-chain finance. We don’t think we’ll even call it crypto; we just think all finance will move into these on-chain environments.”Hyperliquid and Uniswap are already trading entirely on-chain rather than through a centralized institution. Both also earn real revenue from it: trading fees from users swapping tokens, a share of which they now route into buying back their own tokens on the open market, the same logic as a corporate stock buyback: fewer tokens in circulation means each one left represents a larger claim on the protocol’s revenue.Under past SEC regulations, tokens that generated revenue and bought back tokens risked being treated as unregistered securities offerings, forcing protocols to rely on governance tokens instead. This next stage, said Hougan, will create new opportunities as market participants update their views on token utilityIt’s important to note that these buyback structures are a workaround and lack official regulatory clearance. The CLARITY Act, which failed a Senate cloture vote on September 15, would give mature tokens firmer footing as commodities rather than securities, but Hougan argued that passage is not a prerequisite for regulatory clarity to continue, as the SEC has signaled it would deliver equivalent protections through rulemaking regardless of whether Congress acted. Two bets on where this goes For Hougan, none of these forces stands alone. Regulatory clarity is the thread running through all of them, giving institutions room to build, protocols room to pay their own token holders, and Wall Street room to move markets on-chain. That compounding effect, more than any single catalyst, is what he argues sets this cycle apart from the ones before it.Both he and Edelman are betting on it: Hougan’s US$1.3 million Bitcoin forecast for 2035, and Edelman’s US$500,000 for 2030, remain unchanged. For now, neither is backing down. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (September 16) as of 10:00 p.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$76,001.56, trading 1.9 percent lower over the past 24 hours.Bitcoin dipped during the CLARITY Act vote before steadying. Glassnode called that performance resilient given the headline risks, putting US$76,700 as the level where buyers are currently stepping in the most. The firm points to US$71,300 and US$62,000 to US$65,000 as deeper levels of support, and US$80,500 and US$83,000 to US$86,000 as levels where sellers are likely to cap gains.However, Glassnode notes that “resilient” isn't the same as “strong." Buying demand had already been drying up before the vote, with Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows turning negative after 27 straight days of gains. Corporate treasury buying is down to a fraction of last year’s pace, and options traders are now leaning toward expecting further declines rather than a rebound.Cryptocurrency prices continued dropping ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point, lifting the target range to 3.75 to 4 percent. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, September 16, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,405.96, trading 2 percent lower over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.30, down 9.2 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$98.13, trading 2.6 percent higher over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:Senate blocks landmark CLARITY Act in close voteCrypto industry reacts to CLARITY Act voteBitget Wallet adds tokenized stock access via RealityBUZZ HPC partners with ProCogiaCrypto exchange CoinEx announces closure after nine yearsCircle launches Arc Layer 1 BlockchainSenate blocks landmark CLARITY Act in close voteThe US Senate blocked the CLARITY Act from advancing on Tuesday (September 15) as the procedural cloture motion failed in a 50 to 49 vote, falling short of the 60 votes required to clear the procedural hurdle. Three Republicans — Senators Susan Collins, Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran — joined Democrats in voting against the motion to proceed. Senator Thom Tillis also voted against cloture, a procedural move that let him immediately file a motion to reconsider, since only senators on the prevailing side can do so.Key Democratic negotiator Senator Ruben Gallego charged that Republicans care “more about making sure the president keeps making money than actually bringing regulations” and consequently are “failing the whole system.” Senator Elizabeth Warren also slammed the final draft's ethics rules, calling them “a weak fig leaf that will do nothing to stop him from making his next $1.4 billion in crypto profits.” Despite the defeat, Senator Thom Tillis said in a Facebook post that there is still a future for the landmark regulation: “This is not the end for the Clarity Act. We've made substantial bipartisan progress in large part because of the White House. This procedural motion allows us to continue working towards a positive outcome.” The legislative failure immediately triggered market selloffs, pushing Bitcoin below US$76,000. US Securities and Exchange (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins promised that regulators will continue modernizing digital asset rules, declaring at a Washington summit that “with or without that legislation, this Administration will deliver for American investors and technological innovators.”Crypto industry reacts to CLARITY Act voteThe failed vote didn't rattle an industry that's largely stopped waiting on Congress. Anchorage Digital's head of policy, Kevin Wysocki, made that plain hours before the vote even closed: "Clarity would be really nice to have. It's the big, beautiful present with a bow on top of it. But there's a lot of stocking stuffers that are out there too,” he wrote in an emailed statement, pointing to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency guidance and charter pathways that companies are already building under. Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, a former commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), put the same point in historical terms: FIT21 passed the House in 2024 and died in the Senate without ever coming back, and the cryptocurrency industry kept moving regardless.Where the reaction gets more pointed is on what, specifically, still doesn't work without a law. In an email, Trace Finance CEO Bernardo Brites said the failure leaves stablecoin issuers stuck— rules built under the GENIUS Act remain "disconnected" from anything resolving how the SEC and CFTC actually split jurisdiction. Theorem founder Vladimir Tikhomirov raised a narrower but sharper gap for tokenized real-world assets specifically, explaining that there's still no "regulatory blueprint for how these assets can be traded, how liquidity is formed around them, and how investors can actually exit their positions." In his view, that means tokenization can keep growing while the market for trading tokenized assets stays underbuilt.Moon Pursuit Capital's Courtney Olujobi argued that for investors the cost isn't the vote itself — it's what uncertainty does to a company's decisions years before any legal bill arrives. For example, whether an early hire is an engineer or a compliance lawyer, or whether a token launches to US users first. "You can't build an investment thesis on a bill," he said. For his part, XYO co-founder Markus Levin tied that same uncertainty to Wednesday's price action, noting that Bitcoin has absorbed the setback better than altcoins and crypto equities because the SEC and CFTC have already been clarifying pieces of the framework on their own — meaning the real cost isn't whether crypto gets regulated, but how long companies keep paying a "regulatory discount" while it isn't.Of course, not everyone is betting on a quick second act. "We may see any further progress on the CLARITY Act delayed through much of 2027,” said TransFi CEO Raj Kamal.Bitget Wallet adds tokenized stock access via RealityBitget Wallet has integrated Reality, a tokenized asset issuance protocol, giving its self-custodial wallet users access to more than 1,700 tokenized versions of US stocks and ETFS, including companies like NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The tokens, called rTokens, cover roughly 600 underlying securities and are backed 1:1 by real shares held at Alpaca Securities, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer that is a Securities Investor Protection Corporation member. Reserves are attested daily by a third-party accounting firm, according to a joint press release. Reality joins two other tokenization providers, Ondo and xStocks, that are already available on the wallet. The integration is initially live on the Arbitrum and Morph networks.Dividends on the tokenized shares are paid to users' wallets in stablecoins, and the tokens can reportedly be used as collateral in other DeFi protocols. Bitget said tokenized asset trading volume on its wallet grew 27 percent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of this year and cited a user base of 100 million. The expansion comes as the SEC continues refining its stance on tokenized securities, having issued guidance in January distinguishing real, custody-backed tokens like these from so-called synthetic equity products facing tighter scrutiny.BUZZ HPC partners with ProCogiaBUZZ High Performance Computing (BUZZ HPC), a subsidiary of HIVE Digital Technologies (TSXV:HIVE,NASDAQ:HIVE), announced a strategic partnership with ProCogia on Tuesday. Under the agreement, ProCogia, an applied artificial intelligence (AI) and data engineering firm, will procure dedicated GPU capacity from BUZZ HPC's Canadian data centers to power enterprise workloads across Canada, the US and Europe. In turn, ProCogia will act as a preferred applied AI services partner for BUZZ HPC clients, offering specialized LLM development, custom model training, agentic systems and environment integration.The collaboration will also serve as the primary cloud launchpad for ProCogia's proprietary ZeroBoxx AI framework. Additionally, ProCogia's vertical AI products, including healthcare voice AI solution CallYeah and code migration LLM PolyKode, will run directly on BUZZ HPC infrastructure as the two companies co-sell Canadian sovereign compute and applied AI solutions to international enterprise and public sector clients.Crypto exchange CoinEx announces closure after nine yearsCrypto exchange CoinEx announced on Tuesday that it will shut down operations on December 22, 2026. Founder and CEO Haipo Yang blamed the exit on market weakness and mounting regulatory demands, writing on X that “the security and compliance risks of running a crypto exchange have become increasingly difficult to contain.”Yang rejected potential sale offers, choosing instead to deliver a “clean ending” for platform staff, users and token holders. The exchange immediately stopped new user registrations and shifted futures trading into reduce-only mode. CoinEx will terminate non-spot services on September 22, end spot trading on September 29 and as mentioned will close withdrawals permanently on December 22 of this year. Circle launches Arc Layer 1 BlockchainStablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) launched its public mainnet for Arc, an open Layer 1 blockchain that was purpose built for financial markets and real-time money movement. CEO Jeremy Allaire described Arc as “the single most significant launch in Circle's history since USDC itself,” framing the network as an open economic operating system for the internet. The blockchain requires users to pay transaction fees directly in USDC, eliminating the need for a volatile native network token.Major global financial institutions, including BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Visa (NYSE:V), joined Arc as founding network validators. Circle integrated its payments network and Circle StableFX directly into Arc to enable 24/7 cross-currency settlement across multiple fiat-backed stablecoins. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

CoinShares (NASDAQ:CSHR) reported lower revenue and profitability for the first half of 2026 as digital-asset prices fell sharply, though the company said positive client flows and a debt-free balance sheet positioned it to participate in a market recovery. The company’s first e

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (September 14) as of 10:00 a.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$78,113.22, trading 2 percent higher over the past 24 hours. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News NetworkBitcoin price performance, September 14, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,523.21, trading 1 percent higher over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.40, up 3.9 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$101.92, trading 1.3 percent higher over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Coinbase to bring stablecoin payments to community banksCoinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) announced its partnership with payments infrastructure provider Moov to deliver stablecoin acceptance, settlement, and real-time funding to over 1,000 community banks and credit unions. The integration embeds Coinbase's stablecoin technology directly into Moov's existing payments platform, saving financial institutions from building separate crypto technology stacks. The combined infrastructure supports consumer stablecoin payments, merchant acceptance, merchant settlement, and payouts using Coinbase's regulated custodial accounts and Payments API. Moov CEO Wade Arnold noted that business customers are already asking for stablecoin acceptance capabilities, and this integration ensures their primary financial institution can fulfill that demand. "Merchants need acceptance and disbursement now. What comes next is bigger: funding that doesn't stop for weekends or holidays, because the rail doesn't close. Institutions that add this now will be positioned for both," Arnold added in the joint company announcement.Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack emphasized that the partnership provides local banks the tools to compete with large players while preserving the customer relationships they have spent decades building. India to tokenize corporate bond market on digital rupee ledgerThe Securities and Exchange Board of India launched a pilot program dubbed "Demat 2.0" to issue and settle corporate bonds as blockchain tokens on a private ledger. Three companies have already utilized the framework to raise a combined US$107 million in tokenized corporate debt. State-owned lender REC initiated the pilot by raising 500 crore rupees, followed immediately by Larsen & Toubro and non-bank lender IIFL Finance. The system links the tokenized bond ledger directly to the Reserve Bank of India's wholesale digital rupee through a Unified Market Interface to execute atomic settlement. Atomic settlement allows bonds and payments to change hands simultaneously, delivering proceeds to issuers on the day of bidding while using smart contracts to automate interest payouts. Regulators confirmed that tokenized bonds retain their exact legal status, credit ratings, and investor protections without fragmenting the US$620 billion corporate bond market.Canada clarifies legal coverage on tokenized bank depositsCanada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions clarified that tokenized bank deposits are legally equivalent to traditional bank deposits under existing regulations. "The underlying technology of a financial product or service does not determine its legal nature. To be clear, we focus on what the product or service is, not how it is built or delivered. Tokenized deposits are, for example, not legally distinct from traditional deposits," the OSFI clarified in a statement.The federal banking regulator confirmed it will take a technology-neutral approach, meaning the use of blockchain infrastructure does not create a new legal category of financial products. Federally regulated banks can now develop tokenized deposits within the existing banking framework rather than waiting for a specialized crypto rulebook. The regulatory clarification distinguishes tokenized bank deposits, which represent a direct claim on a regulated financial institution, from non-bank stablecoins. While the guidance removes significant legal ambiguity, OSFI stressed that banks remain fully subject to existing capital, cybersecurity, technology, and supervisory requirements when deploying blockchain products. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (September 11) as of 10:00 p.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$77,320.28, trading 0.4 percent lower over the past 24 hours.In commentary shared with the Investing News Network, Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, said that while mega-holders continue accumulating tokens, heavy selling by mid-tier holders is creating persistent overhead resistance, as well as a net supply surplus.“Unless mid-tier selling pressure abates or institutional spot fund inflows reaccelerate to absorb incoming exchange supply, Bitcoin price action will struggle to maintain upward momentum," he said. "Persistent energy shocks and hawkish interest rate expectations keep macro headwinds strong, leaving the asset vulnerable to deeper downside pullbacks in the near term.” ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, September 11, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,538.99, trading 2.8 percent higher over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.36, down 0.6 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$102.04, trading 1 percent higher over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:Senate Republicans release revised 630 page CLARITY ActRipple expands treasury platform with AI agentsNasdaq invests US$100 million in Kraken parent PaywardBitwise announces liquidation of Bitwise Dogecoin ETFSEBI launches Demat 2.0 pilot project for tokenized corporate bondsSenate Republicans release revised 630 page CLARITY ActSenate Republicans released a 630 page revised CLARITY Act on Thursday (September 10) ahead of a pivotal September 15 procedural vote. The updated bill targets "decentralized-in-name-only" crypto protocols controlled by individuals or groups, requiring them to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) stated that the text incorporates over 100 changes requested by Democrats, writing in an X post, "This updated Clarity Act text reflects bipartisan hard work over August — specifying when decentralized-in-name-only DeFi protocols must register with the CFTC and limiting the DeFi provisions to spot and cash transactions, in response to Native American concerns about prediction markets." The revised draft directs the CFTC and Department of the Treasury to establish rules for controlled trading protocols, while leaving ethics provisions prohibiting public officials, employees and spouses from issuing digital assets largely unchanged. Senate Democrats continue to push for broader restrictions addressing President Donald Trump's crypto interests, with Politico reporting that no Democrats currently support the new bill.Ripple expands treasury platform with AI agentsRipple expanded its enterprise corporate treasury platform, GSmart, on Thursday by introducing specialized artificial intelligence (AI) agents. The new AI agents identify financial risks, recommend specific corporate actions and explain the internal organizational policies behind their conclusions. Ripple designed the technology as "treasury-native AI" that requires human approval before executing any recommended transaction.Conventional calculation engines handle underlying financial math, while the AI interprets policies and presents explanations to finance teams. The expansion introduces Knowledge Studio for defining governance controls and Analytics Studio's Ask GSmart conversational assistant for generating data insights.The AI technology operates across Ripple Treasury, following Ripple's US$1 billion acquisition of GTreasury in October 2025 and its April 2026 launch of Digital Asset Accounts. Nasdaq invests US$100 million in Kraken parent PaywardNasdaq Ventures announced a US$100 million investment in Payward, the parent company of the Kraken crypto exchange, valuing the firm at US$21 billion. The two companies plan to launch the Equity Token (NET) framework by the second quarter of 2027 to advance tokenized equity trading within existing regulatory frameworks."The next era of market evolution will be defined by how efficiently and seamlessly capital and assets move across the financial system with durable liquidity," Nasdaq President Tal Cohen stated in a press release. "Expanding our relationship with Payward reflects our conviction that the company can play an important role in building the infrastructure that supports this evolution," he added. Over US$2 trillion in daily US stock trades net down by 98 percent, requiring clearing houses to hold US$10 billion to US$20 billion in collateral during settlement delays. Payward will integrate Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its trading venues covering crypto, equities, tokenized stocks, futures and options.Bitwise announces liquidation of Bitwise Dogecoin ETFBitwise Asset Management has announced plans to liquidate its Dogecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in October, concluding operations less than one year after the product's inception.In a statement on Thursday, the firm indicated that the closure of the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (ARCA:BWOW) is intended to optimize its overall product offerings in response to evolving investor preferences.According to fund metrics provided by Bitwise, BWOW held approximately US$688,000 in net assets as of Wednesday (September 9). The initiation of the fund was originally announced on November 25, 2025.Trading of the fund on NYSE Arca is scheduled to conclude on October 14. Bitwise will halt the issuance of new shares prior to the market open on October 15. Shareholders may execute sales of their positions through the close of that trading session, after which all operational activities of the fund will cease.Subsequent distributions to remaining shareholders will be based on the net asset value of their holdings as of October 21, with disbursements anticipated on or about October 22.SEBI launches Demat 2.0 pilot project for tokenized corporate bondsOn Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched Demat 2.0, a tokenized corporate bond pilot, with three companies issuing a combined 10.25 billion rupees through the new market infrastructure.The regulator said the pilot will allow corporate bonds to be issued and held as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by statutory depositories. The system connects to the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency through its Unified Markets Interface.On Monday (September 7), public sector lender REC raised 5 billion rupees from 18 investors in the first issuance. Larsen & Toubro raised another 5 billion rupees from four investors on Wednesday, when non-bank lender IIFL Finance also issued 250 million rupees in bonds to a single investor.SEBI said the infrastructure allows atomic settlement, removing the delay between the movement of money and bonds, while smart contracts will automate interest and redemption payments. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Tokenization is shifting from hype to infrastructure, but adoption is limited because platforms can't communicate seamlessly across jurisdictions, exchanges and compliance frameworks. Without shared standards, tokenized real-world assets become isolated inside proprietary systems, restricting secondary market liquidity and institutional confidence.Chris Turner, co-founder of KULA, argues that overcoming this fragmentation requires legally enforceable, interoperable standards that travel directly with the asset.To address this issue, KULA has introduced six modular Ethereum Request for Comments (ERC) standards, released as open-source public goods under Creative Commons Zero. They cover crucial layers such as asset-to-token binding, documentation flow, valuation tracking, impact metrics, compliance review and travel rule enforcement.By breaking these requirements into modular components, institutions can adopt only what they need while preserving legal clarity across secondary markets. Building on Ethereum, where most real-world asset volume currently resides, these open standards aim to create a unified framework.Rather than rebuilding legal and compliance structures for every transaction, open interoperability enables tokenized assets to move fluidly and securely across global markets.Ultimately, establishing these standards is the essential bridge that will transform fragmented tokenization efforts into a cohesive, scalable global financial ecosystem.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (September 9) as of 10:00 p.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$78,212.77, trading 0.3 percent lower over the past 24 hours. Cryptocurrencies traded mostly flat while stocks fell and oil prices surged, with Glassnode’s latest on-chain report attributing the pause to more technical, structural factors. Those include a cluster of resistance between US$83,000 and US$86,000 where long-term holder cost basis, derivatives liquidation levels and the US spot exchange-traded fund breakeven point all converge.Moves this week are being driven by escalating US-Iran tensions, which pushed Brent crude above US$100 per barrel after US strikes on Iranian oil tankers, alongside anticipation of Thursday’s (September 10) consumer price index data. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, September 9, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,464.63, trading 0.8 percent lower over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.40, down by 1.4 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$102.33, trading 0.9 percent lower over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:Hunter Biden's LAPTOP token debutsCLARITY Act vote hinges on ethics talks, says Coinbase execRobinhood teams up with Crypto.com and OG.comVisa integrates on-chain lending infrastructureCircle to acquire TazapayDubai launches first tokenized Guinness record silver barHunter Biden's LAPTOP token debutsLAPTOP has debuted on Coinbase Global's (NASDAQ:COIN) Base network. Total supply is set at 1 billion tokens, with 30 percent held by founders — locked for six months, then vesting over two years — and 20 percent earmarked for airdrops split across two groups: wallets that lost money on the TRUMP memecoin, and Hunter Biden’s Substack subscribers.The token hit US$190.81 within about 2 minutes of trading opening, followed by a roughly 98 percent collapse to a low of US$3.70. It was trading around US$4.77 about an hour after launch. Multiple outlets attribute the collapse to thin order-book depth.Pre-launch, a project-tagged multisig wallet holding 100 million tokens reportedly offloaded about 42.5 million tokens before trading began; market maker GSR received 15.5 million tokens four days before launch; and an unidentified wallet received 14.5 million tokens roughly two hours before trading started.The numbers point to a token that established a large paper valuation almost instantly, despite having very little real liquidity behind it. LAPTOP is trading at US$1.29, giving it a market cap of US$452.9 million — but that figure rests on just US$851,000 in on-chain liquidity, a ratio of roughly 532 to one. Trading volume of US$13.8 million over the same period points to active, rapid in-and-out trading rather than steady, deep-pocketed buying support.CLARITY Act vote hinges on ethics talks, says Coinbase execFaryar Shirzad, Coinbase Global's chief policy officer, stated that the CLARITY Act faces two potential outcomes ahead of the Senate's scheduled September 15 procedural vote. Shirzad emphasized in a recent conversation with Scott Melker that the the bill could fall just short of the 60 votes required for cloture, or a late bipartisan shift could provide enough support to clear the threshold. Coinbase does not assume all 53 Senate Republicans will support the motion to proceed, meaning Republican defections increase the number of Democratic votes required. While lawmakers expect to resolve technical disputes over decentralized finance and exchange rules, ethics provisions concerning President Donald Trump's crypto interests present the central risk. Senate Democrats criticize the proposed ethics language as insufficient, while Republicans maintain the bill contains meaningful safeguards.Shirzad described a potential "jailbreak" scenario where initial Democratic support provides political cover for other lawmakers to vote yes. If the vote fails, Shirzad expects federal agencies to pursue over 100 administrative rules to replicate elements of the legislative framework.Robinhood teams up with Crypto.com and OG.comRobinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) is expanding its prediction market business by adding a new venue to route event contracts through Crypto.com’s spinoff platform OG.com, which clears trades through an exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The move will add to Robinhood's existing routing partners Kalshi, ForecastEX and Rothera, its joint venture with Susquehanna.Starting on Tuesday (September 8), Robinhood will route college and pro football event contracts to OG.com, alongside a new midterms-election prediction hub.As part of the deal, Robinhood is taking equity stakes in both Crypto.com and OG.com, priced off Crypto.com’s US$20 billion valuation set by Citadel Securities' recent investment in the company.JB Mackenzie, Robinhood’s VP and general manager of futures and prediction markets, framed the multi-venue routing as building “a stronger, more diverse and resilient marketplace." On scale, Robinhood says it traded 13.6 billion event contracts in Q2, more than 5 billion during the World Cup window, over 30 billion year-to-date through August, and over 45 billion total since the product launched about two years ago.Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com and OG.com, said the goal is to make OG.com “the most liquid venue globally for innovative derivative instruments.”Visa integrates on-chain lending infrastructure Visa (NYSE:V) announced a new on-chain credit framework that combines VisaNet settlement data with blockchain lending infrastructure to supply working capital for stablecoin-linked card programs. Over US$694 billion in stablecoin-denominated loans have moved through on-chain protocols since 2020, yet most credit activity remained isolated within crypto markets. Visa currently supports over 160 stablecoin-linked card programs, with payment volume surging nearly 200 percent year-on-year. The card giant's annualized stablecoin settlement volume recently passed US$20 billion, marking a 15-fold increase year-on-year.The collaborated collaborated with fintech Credit Coop to automate funding, collateral management, and repayment through smart contracts. Credit Coop combined Visa settlement data with on-chain records to finance over US$2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023 with zero defaults across participating facilities. The system executed more than 3,000 borrow events and 9,000 repayment events programmatically on-chain. Circle to acquire TazapayUSDC issuer Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) announced a deal to acquire cross-border financial platform Tazapay. The acquisition merges regulated stablecoin issuance with compliant fiat-to-stablecoin bridging infrastructure across Singapore, the US, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. Tazapay maintains local payout rails across more than 100 markets and processes around US$25 billion in annualized payment volume, with over 60 percent already involving stablecoins. The transaction expands the Circle Payments Network and integrates with Arc, Circle's enterprise-grade blockchain designed as an economic operating system for the internet. Tazapay will maintain its existing brand, operations, contracts, management team, and regulatory licenses without disrupting current customer workflows. The parties expect the transaction to close in 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and other global authorities.Dubai launches first tokenized Guinness record silver barThe Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC) has launched the world’s largest silver bar as the first tokenized commodity asset under a tokenization framework setup by the DMCC and Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), marking a significant milestone for Dubai’s real-world asset economy. The underlying physical asset is a 1,971 kilogram Guinness World Record silver bar, manufactured in the United Arab Emirates by SAM Precious Metals to commemorate the country's founding year of 1971.From Monday (September 7), eligible retail and institutional investors can acquire fractional digital interests in the bar, offering access to an asset class that was previously out of reach for most investors.The fractional interests will be issued as an asset-referenced virtual asseton the BNB Chain by Tokinvest, a virtual asset platform regulated by Dubai’s VARA. The Brink's Compnay (NYSE:BCO) is providing logistics and vault custody for the physical silver bar, which is verified and registered through the DMCC Tradeflow platform.Regulated secondary market trading for the fractional interests is scheduled to open shortly after the initial issuance.This launch advances DMCC’s broader strategy to connect traditional commodities markets with new sources of capital and digital infrastructure. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The SEC’s delayed innovation exemption has created a fresh round of questions for firms building in tokenized securities, digital assets and on-chain market infrastructure. What was supposed to be a key next step for trading, custody and broader market access is now on pause, and that pause may say as much about congressional timing as it does about SEC policy.The proposed innovation exemption was designed to give firms a conditional path to issue, custody, and trade tokenized assets without having to fit neatly into the existing Securities Act or Exchange Act framework.In this conversation, Ryan Louvar, WisdomTree’s CLO and head of business and legal affairs and digital assets, explains why the delay matters, where the SEC can move on its own and where Congress still needs to step in. Louvar’s key point is that this was never just about one product. It was about creating a broader on-chain trading environment for products on chain and the infrastructure around those productsThat distinction matters. Some companies, including WisdomTree, are already operating tokenized funds within the current rule set. The innovation exemption, by contrast, was meant to open up a more complete on-chain experience where tokenized securities could be traded more broadly and with less friction. In Louvar’s view, the exemption was intended to focus on a time-limited and scope-limited framework for tokenized security trading, not a permanent rewrite of securities law.The SEC’s delayed innovation exemption shows that tokenized securities are moving forward, but the biggest breakthroughs will come from durable rules on custody, market structure and congressional clarity.Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (September 4) as of 10:00 a.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$81,049.94, trading 1.3 percent higher over the past 24 hours. Earlier in the day, the popular cryptocurrency plunged by US$2,000, falling to US$79,200 immediately after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released a blowout August jobs report. Bitcoin had climbed above the US$81,000 level before the economic data triggered a sudden selloff across risk assets. The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly tripling Wall Street expectations of 55,000 to 58,000 new positions.The bureau also revised July jobs data sharply higher, converting a previously reported loss of 23,000 jobs into a gain of 21,000. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent, while average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent month-on-month and 3.1 percent annually.A resilient labor market provides the US Federal Reserve additional flexibility to maintain tight monetary policy. The strong employment data follows hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh last week. Traders are now turning their focus to next week's consumer price index report to gauge the central bank's next policy move. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, September 4, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,521.17, trading 1.3 percent higher over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.45, up by 1.3 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$104.06, trading flat over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:Coinbase files SEC application to offer equity perpetual futuresFinCEN ties US$12.7 billion to crypto investment scamsCoinbase files SEC application to offer equity perpetual futuresCoinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) filed registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer equity perpetuals, according to a social media post from Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad. "This week, Coinbase took the first step to offer them in the U.S on our derivatives exchange by filing notice registration documents with the SEC," Shirzad wrote on Thursday (September 3). Equity perpetuals operate as derivative contracts tracking underlying assets that never expire, allowing traders to hold positions indefinitely without rolling over contracts. The proposed product will require approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before launching to American traders. "Equity perps have proven demand internationally, and we're excited at the prospect of a regulated pathway for U.S. investors," Shirzad further noted. Coinbase secured CFTC approval to offer perpetual crypto futures earlier this year alongside prediction platform Kalshi. FinCEN ties US$12.7 billion to crypto investment scamsThe US Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network tied roughly US$12.7 billion in suspicious activity to crypto investment scams operating out of Southeast Asian compounds. In a report published this month, FinCEN analyzed 33,904 suspicious activity reports filed by approximately 1,300 financial institutions between September 2023 and December 2025. Crypto money services businesses submitted 55 percent of all reports flagging US$5.5 billion, while traditional banks submitted 41 percent flagging US$6.4 billion. Monthly reported sums rose by an average of 18 percent over the analyzed timeframe as scam operations expanded. Criminals accepted 22 different digital assets from victims before systematically swapping proceeds into USDT to process through offshore exchanges and DeFi protocols.Furthermore, elder exploitation appeared in 25 percent of reports, matching the general elderly population share and contradicting assumptions that scammers disproportionately target older adults. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

As the US midterm elections approach, the digital assets industry finds itself at a critical regulatory inflection point. Gone are the days of speculative wild-west debates; today, blockchain technology, stablecoins and tokenization are rapidly integrating into the core plumbing of global financial systems. Despite notable progress, regulatory uncertainty persists. To understand the stakes and specific legislative needs, the Investing News Network gathered commentary from several prominent founders, investors and industry leaders, who shared their perspectives on what the next Congress must prioritize. The investor’s perspective: Seeking long-term predictability For venture capitalists and asset managers, regulatory flip-flops across different administrations create an inhospitable environment for long-term planning. Utkarsh Ahuja, founder and managing partner at Moon Pursuit Capital, highlights that the debate in Washington has matured, but durability remains the missing ingredient. “I think we’re past the point where the industry is simply asking Washington to give it rules. There has been real progress, particularly around stablecoins, and the broader conversation in Washington is much more sophisticated than it was a few years ago,” he wrote in comments sent to INN. “What matters now is making that progress durable. The Clarity Act and the broader push around market structure are important steps in that direction. We need to resolve some of the fundamental questions that have been hanging over the industry for years, particularly around asset classification, the respective roles of the SEC and CFTC, and what regulatory requirements apply as projects and markets mature. “Founders are building companies on five- and ten-year timelines, and investors are deploying capital on similar horizons. From an investor’s perspective, it is very difficult to make those decisions confidently if fundamental questions around market structure, asset classification or jurisdiction can shift significantly from one administration to the next. Regulatory uncertainty ultimately gets factored into where capital gets deployed. “I’d like to see the next Congress finish that work and give the market clearer boundaries. That doesn’t mean weakening consumer protection or giving crypto a special set of rules. It means creating a framework where serious companies understand what is expected of them and can build, raise capital and scale accordingly. “For the US, there’s also a much bigger competitiveness question here. Digital assets are increasingly becoming part of the broader financial infrastructure through stablecoins, tokenization, payments and programmable finance. Capital and talent can move very quickly in this industry, and so can the companies being built around these technologies. The US doesn’t need to be the easiest jurisdiction for crypto, but it should aim to be the most credible and predictable. If Congress gets that balance right and provides durable market structure, I think we’ll see more institutional capital enter the space and a lot of the next generation of digital asset companies choose to build here.” Infrastructure and access: lowering the barrier for innovators While macro-level predictability is essential, early-stage startups face immediate operational hurdles. Without clear rules on custody and direct access to payment rails, young fintechs are forced to spend unsustainable portions of their early capital on compliance and legal overhead. Ryan Kirkley, co-founder and CEO of Global Settlement Network, outlined three highly specific demands that Congress must address to allow builders the space to innovate. “My ask for the next Congress is specific. First, pass market structure legislation: clear jurisdictional lines between the SEC and CFTC, and durable rules for issuance, custody and settlement of tokenised assets. Ambiguity is a tax on every founder building here. “Second, create federal regulatory sandboxes so startups can test new settlement infrastructure and tokenised products under supervision — without needing a megabank’s compliance budget on day one. “Third, keep stablecoin rules workable for new entrants, not just incumbents, and modernise charters and payment-rail access so fintechs can plug into core financial infrastructure directly. Financial infrastructure is being rebuilt globally. The US has the capital, talent and institutions to lead and Congress just has to give builders certainty and room to build." Technical realities: Commodities, micro-payments, and non-custodial licensing When crafting legislation, Congress must avoid broad strokes that accidentally crush highly technical and beneficial use cases. In fields like decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and energy web applications, treating digital receipts or micro-payments as securities or taxable events under legacy frameworks is practically and economically impossible.Parth Kapadia, CEO of OpenVPP, discussed the granular, technical fixes required to prevent compliance costs from eclipsing the value of the technology itself.“First, finish market structure. The Clarity Act has a cloture vote scheduled for September 15, and the House passed its version over a year ago. What we need out of the final text is confirmation that tokenized attributes tied to measured physical performance, things like renewable energy certificates and flexibility credits, sit on the commodity side of the line. These are receipts for verified megawatt-hours. Treating them as securities would put more compliance cost on a settlement than the settlement is worth.“Second, fix the tax treatment of machine-scale payments. Every de minimis proposal currently moving, including Lummis’s US$300 threshold, carves out property held for income production. A homeowner’s enrolled battery is exactly that. So the one household actually earning crypto-denominated income from physical infrastructure is the one household the exemption does not reach. We need an aggregation rule that treats a year of micro-settlements as a single basis event.“Third, give non-custodial settlement platforms a federal path. Orchestrating a payment we never hold should not require money transmitter licenses in fifty states. The Genius Act was the hard part, and it is done. The next Congress should build on it rather than reopen it.” During an August interview with INN, Raj Kamal, co-founder of Transfi, said the payments landscape remains highly fragmented, with emerging markets across Asia and Africa facing higher transaction costs and less predictable settlement times than more integrated regions such as Europe. Listen to the full interview above. Navigating the political calendar: Midterm risks and capital on the sidelines As the legislative clock ticks, the threat of electoral gridlock looms large. The impending midterms mean that major legislation like the Clarity Act is running out of floor time, creating a holding pattern where massive amounts of institutional capital remain frozen.Bernardo Brites, co-founder and CEO of Trace Finance, detailed how regulatory delays keep vital capital out of the US economy. “With midterms coming up, it’s important to note that not every corner of crypto carries the same political risk. Bitcoin’s thesis holds regardless of who’s in Washington; scarcity doesn’t care which party controls Congress. But market structure, stablecoin oversight and the rules governing how issuers and platforms actually operate are a different story entirely, and that’s the part that’s on the line right now.“At this point, most people tracking the Clarity Act aren’t betting on passage this year; they’re bracing for it to slip. The bill has a procedural vote coming up that’s basically its last realistic shot before the floor time gets consumed by midterm politics, and the honest read is that the odds aren’t good. That’s not a reason to stop pushing, but to recalibrate the strategy.“What founders want from the next Congress is a market structure framework that connects to what GENIUS already did for stablecoins, as well as access to FedNow and FedWire for compliant payment providers. There is a tremendous amount of capital on the sidelines waiting for regulatory clarity to enter the markets. Every month this stays unresolved is another month that capital sits on the sidelines waiting for a rulebook that was supposedly close to done. The US can only truly cement itself as a leader in digital assets when we have bipartisan support for a clear regulatory framework.” ​Global flight and the institutional reality  The reality of the modern digital landscape is that capital and talent are highly mobile. While Congress delays, other major economies are stepping in. Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is already live, while financial hubs like Singapore and Dubai are offering clear, predictable legal environments. Meanwhile, the actual underlying growth of blockchain is being driven by the largest financial institutions.Alex Witt, a founding general partner at Verda Ventures, cautions that a failure to act quickly could relegate the US to a bystander, holding the plumbing while other nations build the actual products.“The one thing I’d ask of the next Congress is to finish the Clarity Act - it’s cleared the House with (over 70) Democrats and cleared Senate Banking, and every month it sits on the Senate calendar is another month capital and talent drift to Dubai, Singapore and Europe. The bigger point is that the debate has moved on: stablecoin volume overtook (Automated Clearing House) this year, DTCC is launching tokenized settlement in October with NYSE Composite (INDEXNYSEGIS:NYA), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) in the pilot, and 21 banks just announced their own stablecoin, so Congress is still legislating “crypto” while the growth is now in the banks and payment networks adopting blockchain rails. That means settling the SEC/CFTC line once and for all, writing rules for tokenized securities and 24/7 settlement, and resisting the temptation to make those rules something only a licensed bank can satisfy — otherwise the US ends up with the plumbing and none of the products. Founders aren’t asking for a pro-crypto Congress; they’re asking for a boring, predictable one.” ​Conclusion: The mandate for the next congress  The consensus among digital asset leaders is clear: the industry is not looking for a “crypto-friendly” Congress that offers special regulatory exemptions or shortcuts. Instead, the mandate is for a professional, “boring” Congress that can resolve jurisdiction, streamline tax treatments for modern technologies, and establish a level playing field.The upcoming midterms will determine who sits in the legislative seats, but they should not alter the strategic focus. The groundwork has been laid with bills like the Genius Act and the Clarity Act. The next Congress must carry this legislation across the finish line. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (September 2) as of 10:00 p.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$77,155.36, trading 0.1 percent higher over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has spent the last few days giving back ground from the US$80,000 area it hit during August’s short-squeeze rally.Over the weekend and into this week, Bitcoin has drifted from the low US$80,000s down into the high US$70,000s, pressured by growing bets that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting later this month, as well as a renewed flare in the US-Iran conflict; these events have boosted bond yields and added to inflation worries.Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pulled in US$3.52 billion in August, their best month of 2026, while the Bitcoin price gained about 25 percent; however, roughly 80 percent of those inflows landed in the two weeks following the US Department of the Treasury's August 19 bond buyback announcement. Those same ETFs saw US$236.46 million in net outflows on September 1, per SoSo Value, the largest single-day withdrawal since July 31.Glassnode analyst Frederik Theissen describes the market as rangebound, noting that sentiment has cooled from euphoria to neutral, and flagging rising bond yields as the main headwind going forward.Bitcoin is currently capped below the US$83,000 to US$86,000 zone, while support holds near US$62,000 to US$65,000. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, September 2, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,386.77, trading 1 percent lower over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.34, down 1.5 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$99.18, 1.1 percent lower over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:SEC proposes first transfer agent rule overhaul in 40 yearsStrategy resumes Bitcoin purchases with US$369.7 million acquisitionHyperliquid reportedly planning US market entryInternational financial institutions to establish stablecoin enterpriseTreasury releases G20 chair's statementRobinhood Chain daily DEX volume surges past US$1.5 billionSEC proposes first transfer agent rule overhaul in 40 yearsThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a 421 page proposal on Tuesday (September 1), marking its first substantive rewrite of transfer agent rules since the early 1980s.The updated regulations directly address market participants building blockchain-native transfer agents for tokenized fund administration and distributed ledger recordkeeping. Under proposed changes to Form TA-2, transfer agents must report issues that maintain master securityholder files on distributed ledgers.The proposal also rescinds an older exemption rule, sets a single record retention period and redefines safeguarding rules around cybersecurity risk management.SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins confirmed that the overhaul ensures that regulations reflect agents' adoption of "electronic communications and blockchain technology."The commission set a 60 day comment period following Federal Register publication and separately scheduled a September 17 roundtable on 24 hour trading.Strategy resumes Bitcoin purchases with US$369.7 million acquisitionMichael Saylor's Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) ended a two month Bitcoin-buying pause by acquiring 4,603 BTC for US$369.7 million at an average price of US$80,318 per coin. The company raised funds by selling US$602.8 million worth of common stock and allocated US$369.7 million of those proceeds directly to the Bitcoin purchase. Executive leadership used US$151.8 million of the remaining proceeds to repurchase STRC preferred stock while adding the balance to corporate cash reserves. The latest acquisition brings Strategy's total holdings to 845,050 BTC, with a total purchase cost of US$63.73 billion. This updates the firm's all-time average acquisition price to roughly US$75,412 per coin.Hyperliquid reportedly planning US market entryBloomberg reported that decentralized exchange Hyperliquid is in advanced talks with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, to get crypto perpetual futures in front of US retail traders legally.According to unidentified sources, Bitnomial, a derivatives firm licensed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that Payward acquired earlier this year, will provide the regulated infrastructure — the exchange, the clearing and the brokerage accounts — needed to offer Hyperliquid’s contracts to US customers legally.Hyperliquid itself operates offshore and has no direct US regulatory standing, so it needs a licensed US partner to reach American customers. Ashley Ebersole, former SEC senior counsel and current co-founder and chief legal officer at real-world assets platform tx, told the Block that both the SEC and the CFTC may need to be involved in writing revised interpretive rules involving custody and mechanics for current routing standards in order for Hyperliquid to operate in the US. That's a process that could take at least 10 to 12 months.Payward has reportedly shown the CFTC an outline of the structure, but nothing is approved yet. The CFTC approved Kalshi and Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) to list crypto perpetual futures in May of this year, so there is regulatory momentum in this direction.International financial institutions to establish stablecoin enterpriseA group of 21 major banks and financial firms, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), UBS Group (NYSE:UBS), Santander and others across the world, have agreed to set up a new stablecoin company.While crypto-native firms such as Tether and Circle currently dominate the stablecoin market, traditional, regulated banks are pushing to introduce their own alternative as a more compliant and reliable option. A press release detailing the initiative states:“The initiative will draw on the expertise of the participant institutions to offer a safe, robust and trusted solution that combines bank-grade compliance, strong governance, distribution and institutional risk management.”The new, unnamed company would be formally established in H2 2026, subject to closing conditions, with the stablecoin itself expected to launch in the first half of 2027. It would be pegged to the US dollar, and aimed at institutional and retail use for cross-border payments and settling digital asset trades. There are plans to eventually expand into other major currencies down the line, with the euro mentioned as the next priority.Treasury releases G20 chair's statementThe US Department of the Treasury, which is chairing the G20 this year, released its chair’s statement on Tuesday from the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held in Asheville, North Carolina. It covers five priority areas: promoting global economic growth, addressing global imbalances, advancing financial literacy, improving how countries restructure sovereign debt and modernizing financial sector regulation around innovation.The statement also references coordination with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Financial Stability Board and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In addition, it notes several upcoming dates: the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok this October, an OECD interim report due by the end of the year and an FATF forum later in 2026 in Dallas.A footnote in the statement says China objected to specific paragraphs covering economic growth concerns, global imbalances and sovereign debt treatment, including language about disruptions to energy trade and a debt-restructuring mechanism known as the Common Framework.Robinhood Chain daily DEX volume surges past US$1.5 billionDaily trading volume on Robinhood Chain's decentralized exchanges jumped 61 percent between August 28 and Tuesday, climbing from US$989 million to US$1.595 billion. The network held US$738.11 million in DeFi deposits and nearly US$797 million in stablecoin balances as of September 1. DeFiLlama also recorded US$353.96 million in daily perpetual futures volume and US$2.52 billion in total assets bridged onto the chain.Robinhood Chain launched its mainnet on July 1 to enable round-the-clock trading, lending and collateral usage for tokenized equities. Total value locked in DeFi protocols on the network now sits nearly eight times higher than July levels, while stablecoin capitalization has roughly tripled. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (August 31) as of 10:00 p.m. UTC.Bitcoin price updateBitcoin price chartEther and altcoin price updateToday's crypto news to know Bitcoin price update Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$78,895.39, trading flat over the past 24 hours.After falling at the start of the US trading session, Bitcoin recovered slightly after Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent hinted at further interventions in the American bond market. ​Bitcoin price chart Chart via the Investing News Network. Bitcoin price performance, August 31, 2026. Ether and altcoin price update Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,480.81, trading 1.1 percent lower over the last 24 hours.XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.39, down 2.2 percent over the past 24 hours.Solana (SOL) was trading at US$103.66, 1.6 percent lower over the past 24 hours. ​Today's crypto news to know Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:Saylor's Strategy shifts into US$2.8 billion profitCronos halts blockchain operations following Tectonic exploitBillionaire bets big on Bitcoin miners pivoting to AICoinbase and Webull expand partnershipSaylor's Strategy shifts into US$2.8 billion profitMichael Saylor's Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) holds a paper profit of more than US$2.8 billion following a recent Bitcoin price rally that lifted the company's 840,447 BTC stash to roughly US$66.4 billion. The company's holdings achieved a 4.4 percent gain over its average purchase price of US$75,653 per token when Bitcoin climbed to around US$79,007 on Sunday (August 30). Early that morning, Saylor posted a chart of the company's holdings on X alongside the message: "We're Back." Bitcoin's recent five day price surge erased roughly US$13 billion in paper losses from July, when the popular cryptocurrency dropped toward US$58,000.Saylor's upbeat post sparked social media speculation that Strategy plans to resume weekly Bitcoin acquisitions after a two month buying pause. The company raised US$334 million by selling shares, but has also sold small amounts of Bitcoin in recent months, departing from its historical buy-and-hold approach.US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh warned on August 28 that inflation remains stubborn, pushing September interest rate hike odds higher and pulling Bitcoin down to US$76,877. Cronos halts blockchain operations following Tectonic exploitIn an X post on Sunday, Cronos announced that it temporarily shut off its entire blockchain to contain a US$75 million exploit on decentralized lending protocol Tectonic. Tectonic allows users to deposit crypto assets and borrow against posted collateral while earning interest on their holdings. The lending protocol holds roughly half of all capital deposited across decentralized finance applications on the Cronos network.An attacker manipulated the price of Tectonic's illiquid TONIC governance token, driving its price up 100-fold in 20 minutes before borrowing heavily against the inflated collateral. Tectonic assigned TONIC a 20 percent collateral factor despite its tiny US$1.34 million liquidity pool, enabling the attacker to borrow funds the market could not support. Total capital deposited in Tectonic collapsed from US$121.7 million to roughly US$3 million following the attack. Cronos coordinated the network shutdown through its capped set of 100 validators, immobilizing roughly US$60 million of the stolen funds on-chain.Billionaire bets big on Bitcoin miners pivoting to AIBillionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Seth Loeb reportedly invested in four Bitcoin-mining companies transitioning into artificial intelligence (AI) during the second quarter of this year.According to a 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point, increased its position in Hut 8 (TSX:HUT,NASDAQ:HUT) to US$151.8 million. Third Point also established new stakes in Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) at US$7 million, Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) at US$1.38 million and Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) at US$820,000. Hut 8, Riot Platforms and Applied Digital have signed multibillion-dollar long-term lease agreements with major tech firms and AI companies like Anthropic. Higher electricity costs, lower Bitcoin prices and reduced mining rewards forced miners to pivot their data center infrastructure toward AI hosting.Coinbase and Webull expand partnershipCoinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and Webull Canada announced an expanded partnership under which Webull Canada will offer crypto trading and custody in Canada, with Coinbase serving as the infrastructure partner powering those services through its crypto-as-a-service platform, on which Webull Canada is building its crypto product. “Canadian investors expect access to a growing range of asset classes, and crypto has become an increasingly important part of that mix,” said Michael Constantino, CEO of Webull Canada, in a joint press release. “Our partnership with Coinbase provides the infrastructure needed to deliver this offering with the scale and reliability our clients expect. As adoption continues to grow across the country, we remain focused on giving investors secure, regulated tools to build their portfolios on their own terms," he added. The two companies also referenced a recent survey by the Ontario Securities Commission that shows ownership of crypto assets has increased to 25 percent, up from 10 percent in 2023.Webull said it selected Coinbase due to its comprehensive offering of assets, global coverage, flexibility and scale, as well as its position as a trusted and compliant publicly traded company and its competitive pricing.Crypto assets are not covered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, a nonprofit compensation fund that protects clients of Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization-regulated investment dealers if the dealer becomes insolvent. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

As the market for digital assets continues to grow, investors are looking for new ways to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies. Spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be an easy way for crypto enthusiasts to benefit from the price movements of Ether, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Bitcoin.Almost immediately after the historic approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 10, the discussion turned to the possibility of spot ETFs for other cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum being a prime candidate. On January 12, Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) CEO Larry Fink said during an interview with CNBC that he saw “value” in offering spot ETFs for Ethereum. “These are just stepping stones towards tokenization,” he said.However, despite the demand for spot Ether ETFs, the SEC’s position on approving them has remained ambiguous.Due to the potential for Ethereum’s underlying crypto asset to be classified as a security, the approval process has not been as straightforward as Bitcoin’s was, which is saying something — spot Bitcoin ETFs were only approved after years of litigation. In this article, the Investing News Network (INN) will delve into the world of Ethereum and explore expert predictions on the future of spot Ether ETFs. ​What is Ethereum? Ethereum is a decentralized open-source blockchain platform. While Bitcoin legitimized the concept of peer-to-peer (P2P) digital money, Ethereum expanded on the idea. The platform enables software developers to create decentralized applications that run on the blockchain — called dApps — and smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements with the terms directly written into code. The network also supports a digital currency called Ether (ETH), which is used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the Ethereum network.The Ethereum Virtual Machine is a runtime environment that uses smart contracts for various applications on the Ethereum blockchain. Some popular use cases for smart contracts on Ethereum, as well as other platforms such as Solana and Cardano, include decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, decentralized autonomous organizations, digital wallets and gambling.Ethereum has undergone several changes to its network since its inception, each aimed at improving scalability, security and functionality. The Merge, the Shanghai Upgrade and the Dencun Upgrade, which took place in September 2022, March 2023 and March 2024 respectively, have all made significant changes to its operation.The Merge marked Ethereum’s transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which is how Bitcoin operates, to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, which requires validators to put up some of their own Ether as a stake in the network’s consensus process. It involved merging the Ethereum mainnet with the PoS based Beacon Chain, a separate blockchain in which users can deposit the 32 Ether required to become validators.The Shanghai Upgrade in 2023 enabled the withdrawal of staked Ether from the Beacon Chain, which wasn't initially possible following the Merge. Several Ethereum Improvement Proposals were included in this upgrade, laying the groundwork for future progress and resulting in enhanced network functionality and performance. The most recent upgrade, Dencun, introduced a new process to lower energy consumption and fees for Layer 2 networks operating on the Ethereum blockchain. In fact, transaction fees on leading Layer 2 networks dropping significantly in the aftermath of the Dencun upgrade may have laid the groundwork for increased investor interest in Ethereum-based financial products. ​What is an Ethereum ETF? An ETF is a type of investment fund that holds a collection of underlying assets and trades like an individual stock on an exchange, giving investors exposure to the performance of a particular market, commodity or asset class without requiring them to invest directly in it. In this case, Ethereum ETFs track its cryptocurrency Ether's financial performance and allow investors to use traditional, regulated stock exchanges to benefit from Ether’s price movements. This means they can avoid complicated technical processes like setting up and managing cryptocurrency wallets, navigating decentralized exchanges or understanding underlying blockchain technology. Cryptocurrency ETFs can also offer a more cost-effective way to invest compared to purchasing tokens directly. This makes them an attractive option for risk-averse investors who are interested in the crypto market but have concerns about volatility and security. Spot ETFs and futures ETFs are the two distinct types of ETFs that differ primarily in the way investors gain exposure to underlying assets. Spot ETFs hold the underlying assets they aim to track, while futures ETFs do not. Instead, futures ETFs gain exposure by tracking the price of futures contracts, which are financial derivatives that represent an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price and date in the future. Futures ETFs tend to carry additional risks, such as price discrepancies between futures and spot markets. Ethereum futures ETFs have been available since the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF, the Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF and the ProShares Ether Strategy ETF made their debut on October 2, 2023. Due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, investor sentiment has shown a strong preference for spot ETFs over futures-based ETFs, but spot ETFs for Ethereum have not yet been approved by the SEC. The debate over Ethereum's classification The debate on how to classify cryptocurrencies is at the center of the dispute between the regulatory agency and the cryptocurrency sector.In 2018, William Hinman, who served as the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance from 2017 to 2020, classified Bitcoin and Ether as non-securities on the grounds that their decentralized nature, as well as their functional characteristics used for storing value and conducting transactions, didn’t meet the definition. Since then, Gary Gensler, who took over Jay Clayton’s role as SEC chairman in 2020, has argued that cryptocurrencies meet the definition of securities, which would subject them to more stringent regulations. In contrast, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has classified crypto as a commodity, which would place it under a different regulatory regime. Many contend that cryptocurrencies don’t neatly fit into existing regulatory categories, a position that Gensler disagrees with.In an article for Coin Telegraph in January, Lucas Kiely, chief investment officer of Yield App, wrote that the justifications for the SEC’s decade-long fight against a Bitcoin ETF were nothing short of political. With the recent approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, Kiely asserted that the SEC has now settled the debate over crypto’s classification as a commodity. He contended that there should be no reason to delay the approval of Ethereum ETFs, given the similarities between Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of their decentralized nature and widespread adoption. Kiely’s argument raises a question about the consistency of the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency classifications. If the SEC has provided clear guidance on classifying Bitcoin as a non-security, it would seem logical that this classification could also apply to Ether. However, the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs depended on the SEC allowing specific rule exceptions to be made, instead of reclassifying Bitcoin as a security. The rule change was not automatically extended to other cryptocurrencies, and SEC Chairman Gensler indicated that the agency would take a case-by-case approach in evaluating ETF proposals for other cryptocurrencies.Additionally, there are several differences in the function of the two cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is primarily seen as a decentralized digital currency, whereas Ether is tied to Ethereum’s blockchain platform, smart contracts and dApps, leading to classification complexity. Ether’s use as a working currency, unlike Bitcoin’s primary function as a store of value, may pose additional challenges. Which firms have applied to offer spot Ethereum ETFs? Eight institutions are awaiting SEC approval for spot Ether ETFs: BlackRock, VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Grayscale, Fidelity, Invesco and Galaxy Digital through a joint proposal, as well as Franklin Templeton, which is the most recent financial firm to apply, having done so in February.VanEck was the first institution to file in July 2021, but the SEC has repeatedly delayed deciding on its spot Ether ETF application and others on multiple occasions. Cboe Digital, the cryptocurrency arm of Cboe Global Markets and one of the few US exchanges approved to offer margined Bitcoin and Ether futures, submitted VanEck’s most recent application, along with the proposal on behalf of ARK 21Shares, on September 6, 2023.Also in September, shortly before also applying for spot ETH ETFs, Grayscale applied to offer futures Ether ETFs, a move some analysts believed was strategic, meant to strongarm the SEC into approving spot Ether ETFs. Grayscale’s subsequent application to convert its Ethereum trust into a spot Ether ETF in October 2023 caused shares to jump 6.15 percent, indicating demand. SEC regulators announced just days before the original December 26 deadline that they would postpone the decision for VanEck’s spot ETF and Grayscale’s Ethereum Futures ETF applications until May 23, wth Graysclae's being pushed again to June 23, citing the need for further consideration of the complex regulatory issues involved. Other spot Ether ETF applications that have been delayed are the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF and the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF, an ETF that was created through a collaboration between Brazilian asset manager Hashdex and the Nasdaq stock exchange. Recently, representatives from Coinbase met with the SEC to present Grayscale’s proposal, hoping to sway the regulators in their favor. During the meeting, Coinbase said it has partnered with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to closely monitor trading activities for fraud and manipulation. They have agreed to share information to ensure transparency and regulatory compliance. Will the SEC approve spot Ethereum ETFs? Early on in 2024, analysts predicted that Ether ETFs would have a “clear path” to approval following the sweeping approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. At that time, the odds of a spot Ethereum ETF by May were pegged at 70 percent by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who later reduced his estimate to 35 percent on March 11.“All the signs/sources that were making us bullish 2.5mo out for BTC spot are not there this time,” he posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He isn’t the only one reigning in expectations. FOX reporter Eleanor Terrett had tweeted a day prior that optimism surrounding approval is “waning” amidst one-sided talks between issuers and the SEC and opposition from a group of lawmakers who want the SEC to halt crypto ETF approvals. Despite these challenges, some reacted to the 21-day public comment period commenced by the SEC on April 2 with optimism. However, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart was quick to curb enthusiasm, pointing out that the SEC was merely following standard procedure. “Every single 19b-4 ETF filing goes through the same process (whether approved or denied). It's not ‘bullish’ in any capacity for Ethereum ETFs,” he posted on April 3. The most recent development happened on May 20, when CoinDesk and Reuters reported that the SEC asked the Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to update their 19b-4 filings for the ETH ETF applications “on an accelerated basis.” The price of Ether jumped from US$3,143 to US$3,472 in just over 20 minutes following the news breaking. With this recent development, many analysts are more optimistic that Ether ETFs will be approved. Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart increased their odds of VanEck’s 19b-4 form being approved — a crucial step in the process of launching a spot Ether ETF — from 25 percent to 75 percent. A litigation process could reverse the regulator's decision even if the SEC rejects the applications. Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, a managing director and global market strategist at JPMorgan, told the Block that even if the SEC does reject the pending applications, the regulator is unlikely to win any legal battle brought to it by these financial institutions. Notably, exchanges would also need S-1 applications approved, a process with no set timeline, meaning it could still take months for spot Ether ETFs to begin trading. “We believe that the most likely scenario is that the SEC eventually loses this litigation (similar to what happened with the Grayscale and Ripple legal battles last year), which means that eventually, the SEC will approve spot Ethereum ETFs (but not as soon as this May),” he said. The regulators have also been tight-lipped regarding any progress made, a noticeable deviation from their more open dialogue in the weeks leading up to the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Since the meeting with Coinbase on March 6, the SEC has not provided any updates on an Ether ETF approval. Additionally, there has been less media coverage compared to the nearly daily updates of the Bitcoin ETFs approval process. X user @chiefingza posited that the lack of intense media coverage might be due to the similarity of the Ether ETF story to that of the Bitcoin ETF, causing a sense of news fatigue among outlets and the public. Furthermore, they argued that the exact date of approval, whether in May or later, is less important than the fact that it will happen eventually, as the crypto industry continues to mature and gain mainstream acceptance. Importantly, as reported by Bloomberg, analysts at Standard Chartered have predicted that Ether will likely not experience the immense selloffs that Bitcoin experienced in January. When Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust was converted to a Bitcoin ETF, holders were able to make redemptions, leading to a significant outflow that resulted in a 20 percent drop in the price of Bitcoin. Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust holds far less of Ether’s market cap, making it less prone to significant losses from a sell-off than Bitcoin was. ​What is the Ether ETF approval date? The deadlines for the decisions on the VanEck and ARK Invest 21Shares Spot Ether ETFs are May 23 and May 24, respectively. A decision for a spot ETH ETF offered by Franklin Templeton is due on June 11, while Grayscale Investments Ether ETF application has a deadline of June 23. News that the SEC asked multiple exchanges hoping to list spot Ether ETFs to update their 19b-4 filings “on an accelerated basis” caused both optimism and the cryptocurrency's price to soar on May 20, but approval is not guaranteed. Investor takeaway In January, financial services company Standard Chartered predicted that the price of Ether would reach US$4,000 by the approval deadline of May 23, a price it has not seen since December 2021. It has since surpassed that landmark, going as high as US$4,070 on March 11, according to data gathered from CoinGecko. Ether's price had cooled to just below US$3,000 as of mid-May. However, fresh optimism around the upcoming spot ETH ETF approval decision has caused Ether's price to surge from its May 19 price of US$3,070. As of 1:30 p.m. PDT on May 21, Ethereum was valued at US$3,741 per ETH.While spot ether ETFs are still pending in the US, they have been available in Canada since 2021, when Purpose Investments launched the Purpose Ether ETF (TSX:ETHH). Purpose's chief investment officer Greg Taylor shared his thoughts on the upcoming potential approval date with INN."Not only do I expect the SEC to rule in favor of launching spot Ethereum ETFs—I welcome it. Seeing our US neighbors embrace this innovation means that more people will have safe and secure ways to get access to the Ethereum ecosystem."That was our goal with launching the world’s first spot Ether ETF back in 2021, and with C$3 billion of assets in our crypto suite and nearly C$400M in ETHH, our investors have enjoyed an optimal experience getting exposure to this asset class without getting caught up in things like FTX or Quadriga. I’m eager to see innovation continue in this space."Given Ethereum’s recent price momentum and the anticipation surrounding the SEC’s upcoming decision on spot Ethereum ETFs, investors and market observers are closely watching to see how these factors might influence the future growth and mainstream adoption of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) is rumored to be in talks to offer spot Bitcoin trading in the near future. Meanwhile, lawmakers voted to roll back a crypto policy introduced by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2022, a move that President Joe Biden has said he plans to veto, and OpenAI has gained a new partner. Stay informed on the latest developments in the tech world with the Investing News Network's round-up. 1. Reddit to bring content to ChatGPT The Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) was up 1.93 percent this week, with a 0.7 percent bump seen on Tuesday (May 14) following April’s higher-than-expected producer price index data. Its ascent continued until midday on Thursday (May 16), when three US Federal Reserve officials separately suggested that interest rates should remain where they are until there is sufficient data supporting a decrease in inflation to the central bank's 2 percent target.Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) share price, which has shown a generally positive trend this year, increased by a modest 0.19 percent after Tuesday’s keynote presentations at the Google I/O event. The company was trading at US$165.78 at the start of the week and closed on Friday (May 17) at US$177.29. Finally, shares of Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) got a big boost on Friday on the news that it will be bringing its content to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Through the partnership, Reddit will gain access to OpenAI’s technology, allowing it to build new tools and features for the community, and OpenAI will be able to access Reddit’s content. The press release announcing the deal does not mention Reddit’s data being used to train large language models. 2. CME may offer spot Bitcoin trading CME Group is planning to offer spot Bitcoin trading to clients, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, CME, which already hosts trading for Bitcoin futures, has been in talks with traders who are eager to trade crypto for immediate delivery in a regulated marketplace. The introduction of spot Bitcoin trading via CME could have a significant impact on the market, as evidenced by the success of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were approved in the US in January after a lengthy battle with the SEC. Spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold 90 percent of the market share of Bitcoin exchange-traded products compared to only 10 percent held by Bitcoin futures ETFs, which were approved in 2021. Introducing spot Bitcoin trading on the CME would also allow for basis trading, which involves a trader selling Bitcoin futures contracts while also purchasing Bitcoin at the current price. Basis trading is a common strategy within the US Treasury market, and its goal is to make a profit from the difference between the price of the futures contract and the spot market price. Aside from that, investors would be able to trade Bitcoin around the clock. The CME is already the top Bitcoin futures exchange, having overtaken Binance in November 2023, and it currently has over 26,000 open positions worth around US$8.5 billion, according to the Financial Times. CME’s entry into spot Bitcoin trading could further solidify its position in the crypto market. 3. AI developments dominate at Google I/O Google I/O, Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) annual conference for developers, took place on Tuesday. The keynote presentation centered on Gemini 1.5 Pro, with a 1 million token context window for enhanced multimodal understanding. The new system will be brought to Gemini Advanced, Google’s AI assistant, in June.During the two hour event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and several developers discussed how AI is being integrated into various Google products. The company introduced new AI features for Google services, including AI Overviews, Ask Photos and Search with Video, as well as Gemini’s incorporation into Workspace services and NotebookLM.Google’s DeepMind team introduced its latest AI endeavor, Project Astra, which aims to replace Google Assistant on the Android network. Astra's capabilities echo those of OpenAI’s GPT-4o, and include capturing and organizing video input to “recall” past events. Astra is still being refined and is not yet available to the public.DeepMind also presented a suite of AI-enabled creative tools including Imagen 3, an advanced image-generation model; Music AI Sandbox, a platform that offers musicians creative support and sound-mixing tools; and Veo, Google’s newest AI-powered video-generation software capable of generating 1080p videos over a minute long. Google also teased Gemma 2, the newest addition to its family of lightweight open models built on the same foundation as Gemini. Gemma 2, a 27 billion parameter model, will be optimized to run on NVIDIA's (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPUs and will offer enhanced performance and efficiency on a single tensory processing unit host in Vertex AI. 4. Oracle and Qualcomm partner to build AI computer Ampere Computing, a chip startup backed by Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), announced on Thursday that it is partnering with Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) to develop computers for AI applications. These computers will be powered by Ampere’s AmpereOne central processing units (CPUs) and Qualcomm’s AI 100 Ultra accelerator chips. As part of this collaboration, Ampere is expanding its AmpereOne CPU lineup to include a 256 core variant, which will provide a 40 percent improvement in performance compared to other units on the market. A 12 channel memory version of the AmpereOne CPU is expected later this year. Both of these improvements will enhance the capabilities of the computers being developed by Ampere and Qualcomm, according to Ampere's press release.The move may challenge NVIDIA's dominant position in AI infrastructure. In a company update included with Thursday's news, Ampere shared performance data for Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) Llama 3; according to the firm, it used a third of the power and delivered the same performance running on the 128 core Ampere Altra CPU without a GPU compared to running on a NVIDIA A10 GPU paired with an x86 CPU. 5. Lawmakers support resolution to roll back SEC policy A resolution seeking to overturn the SEC's Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB-121) received bipartisan support in the Senate on Thursday. The 60 to 38 tally saw 12 Democrats and 48 Republicans vote in favor of killing the policy.SAB-121 was issued in 2022 and provides guidance on how firms should account for crypto assets held in trust by platform users. The main stipulation of SAB-121 is that if a firm is responsible for safeguarding assets held for users, including maintaining the cryptographic key information necessary for electronic access, then the firm should present a liability on its balance sheet. The policy has been controversial since its inception as Republicans have argued the SEC “has not promoted process, transparency, or public engagement” in establishing crypto regulations. Several lawmakers have sought to overturn SAB-121 through legislation, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo). On May 8, a bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 109, which was presented by Representative Mike Flood of Nebraska and overturned SAB-121 under the Congressional Review Act; the resolution was then passed along for a Senate vote.While the resolution won enough votes to pass, it fell short of the two-thirds majority needed in both the House and the Senate to prevent a veto, which Biden has stated that he will do. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Cryptocurrencies have become an appealing opportunity for investors with medium to high risk tolerance. They are largely speculative, but emerging markets and new use cases are helping to realize their full utility.The crypto market is no stranger to intense volatility, making it a risky investment that can work for or against your portfolio. However, you can minimize risk by sticking to the top cryptocurrencies that have earned their place.There are over 9,800 cryptocurrencies, and a good starting point is those with the highest market caps. In fact, research from Statista shows that the top 20 cryptocurrencies make up approximately 90 percent of the sector's total market cap.The list below offers a look at the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap as of May 6, 2024, using data from CoinMarketCap.com. You’ll learn why they’re appealing, the important people associated with them and when they were created. For reference, market cap is a better statistic to focus on than price when it comes to cryptocurrencies because each coin has different mechanics behind it. Bitcoin, for example, has a maximum amount of 21 million coins that will ever exist, while Ethereum has no maximum amount. 1. Bitcoin Market cap: US$1.25 billionBitcoin is the original cryptocurrency that launched the entire asset class. The anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, made the software open source, allowing others to create new cryptocurrencies without reinventing the wheel.The Bitcoin price has gone from near zero at its inception to an all-time high of more than US$73,000 in March.Created: 2008Important people: Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknown and anonymous founder who stepped away from the project in its early years, is the prominent name behind Bitcoin. The Bitcoin Foundation now guides development alongside an open-source community of developers.Why it’s popular: The core innovation behind Bitcoin is the ability to conduct transactions without a trusted third party, such as a bank or central entity. Since then, it’s exploded in popularity as a store of value and a means of transacting in a peer-to-peer nature.Maximum supply: 21 million 2. Ethereum Market cap: US$369.7 billionEthereum was announced in 2013 and became publicly available in 2014. Ethereum introduced the new concept of "smart contracts," which allow programs to be deployed on the blockchain and executed when certain conditions are met. This innovation catalyzed a series of other new cryptocurrencies and use cases.A theorized point called "the flippening" describes when Ethereum will overtake Bitcoin in market cap and become the top crypto coin. This change has yet to happen and is up for debate, but many crypto enthusiasts think it's inevitable. Now that spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), investors are hopeful that spot Ether ETFs will be next. Eight institutions are awaiting SEC approval for spot Ether ETFs: BlackRock, VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Grayscale, Fidelity, Invesco, Galaxy Digital and Franklin Templeton. Created: 2014Important people: Vitalik Buterin developed Ethereum and remains involved with the project and the crypto community. Five other developers are credited as co-founders. The Ethereum Foundation guides development.Why it’s popular: The introduction of smart contracts launched an entirely new era for cryptocurrencies and paved the way for non-fungible tokens. New use cases continue to emerge as adoption increases.Maximum supply: No maximum 3. Tether Market cap: US$110.9 billionTether, or USDT, is the most prominent stablecoin on the market. A stablecoin is pegged to a specific asset to maintain its value. Tether is pegged to the US dollar and maintains a consistent value of US$1, although it can vary by a few cents as markets fluctuate.Created: 2014, known initially as RealcoinImportant people: Brock Pierce, Reven Collins and Craig Sellars.Why it’s popular: USDT works by allocating US dollars to the organization's reserves whenever a new USDT coin is issued. This system results in a cryptocurrency backed by fiat currency, which many investors appreciate as a foundation for their portfolio. While its value will not change, USDT is ideal for financial transactions in which neither party wants the volatility of other coins. Evidence of USDT's popularity was on display in its record net profits of over US$4.5 billion in Q1 of this year. Maximum supply: No maximum 4. BNB Market cap: US$86.79 billionBNB is a cryptocurrency developed and maintained by Binance, one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. The BNB coin is used throughout the Binance ecosystem, including the exchange itself and other Binance projects, which gives the coin a strong use case and user base.Created: 2017Important people: Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, and He Yi spearheaded the development of BNB and integrated it into the Binance exchange. Zhao was recently sentenced to four months in a US prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act for failure to establish procedures to prevent illegal trading and money laundering on the platform.Why it’s popular: BNB gained momentum as Binance users could opt to pay fees with BNB in exchange for lower percentages on trade fees. This remains the core use case of the coin, but the introduction of smart contracts and related features have helped it gain additional popularity.Maximum supply: No maximum ​5. Solana Market cap: US$68.5 billionSolana (SOL) uses proof-of-stake and proof-of-history mechanisms to provide smart contract functionality, transaction settlement and token issuance. As with Ethereum, the plan is to grow an ecosystem of cryptocurrency-powered products and services. Created: 2020 Important people: Solana Labs founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal. Why it’s popular: SOL is a cheaper option to older blockchains, and transactions can be completed at a faster rate as well. The Solana ecosystem’s many applications and tools provide a lot of utility for coin holders, including the ability to lend tokens to a liquidity pool. It also has a thriving developer community that has given rise to many memecoins.Maximum supply: No maximum 6. USD Coin Market cap: US$33.51 billionUSD Coin, or USDC, is the second most popular stablecoin, and it operates similarly to USDT. The coin is supported by major players in the crypto industry who continually advocate for transparency and compliance.Created: 2018Important people: Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville launched USDC, and it was later adopted by major players Coinbase and Circle.Why it’s popular: USDC is prized over other stablecoins for its transparency. Coinbase and Circle, two organizations heavily involved in the coin, are leaders in compliance and advocate for crypto regulation.Maximum supply: No maximum 7. XRP Market cap: US$29.4 billionXRP is the native token of the Ripple platform. XRP was created as a more energy-efficient and faster alternative to Bitcoin. The company has been locked in a legal battle with the SEC about whether or not it is a security, which has impacted the coin's popularity and future. However, it remains in the top 10.Created: 2012Important people: Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto co-founded the coin in association with their company, Ripple.Why it’s popular: XRP and Ripple gained popularity by being much faster and cheaper than Bitcoin for conducting transactions. However, whether that advantage has remained relevant is arguable as newer coins have emerged that provide similar benefits with additional functionality.Maximum supply: No maximum 8. Dogecoin Market cap: US$22.63 billionDogecoin is interesting in that it is functionally the same as Bitcoin, with the only difference being the removal of a maximum supply. The coin was originally launched as a memecoin, i.e. a joke, leveraging the then-popular meme of a Shiba Inu with grammatically incorrect captions. It was designed to be a low-value, high-supply coin for community uses.The coin remained relatively obscure until Elon Musk began tweeting about it, beginning boom-bust cycles powered primarily by Musk’s tweets and other public statements. Its latest big bump came in early May, with Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) announcement that Dogecoin is now a payment option on its website. Created: 2013Important people: Musk, while having nothing to do with the initial development of the coin, adopted it for unknown reasons and began promoting it. His interest catalyzed a significant increase in value and gave new life to the dying memecoin. The actual founders are Billy Markus and core developer Max Keller, who returned to the project in its recent resurgence.Why it’s popular: Musk, memes and theorized widespread usage.Maximum supply: No maximum ​9. Toncoin Market cap: US$20.57 billionToncoin (TON) was originally created as part of Telegram’s blockchain project known as Telegram Open Network. The goal of TON is to build out a fast, scalable blockchain that allows for smart contracts and decentralized applications. It is used for network operations, transactions, games or collectibles built on the platform.Created: 2018Important people: Telegram founders Pavel Durov and Nikolia Durov. Revived by Anatoly Yakovenko and Kirill Emelyanenko.Why it’s popular: TON is able to leverage Telegram’s more than 900 million monthly active users, as well as its channels that generate more than 1 trillion views each month. In February, Telegram announced that it plans to share advertising revenue with channel partners and reward users with Toncoin.Maximum supply: 5.11 billion 10. Cardano Market cap: US$16.29 billionCardano, or ADA, prioritizes scientifically backed development. Rather than rushing new features and intense marketing campaigns, developers conduct peer-reviewed research before implementing new features.Some believe Cardano is a long-term winner, while others criticize its slow development process. Ultimately, Cardano is the only top coin with a well-documented and strict development process that gives confidence in its long-term success.Created: 2017Important people: Founded by Charles Hoskinson, a mathematician, and maintained by a series of scientifically driven foundations.Why it’s popular: The token has a strong base of "true believers" due to Cardano’s deliberately slow, scientifically backed development methodology. Currently, the proof-of-stake coin is used by agricultural companies to track produce supply chains; it is also used to store education credentials, and it enables retailers to combat counterfeit products. Its solid technical backing could give rise to new use cases.Maximum supply: 45 billion ​Investor takeaway Cryptocurrencies are still relatively new, meaning the risks around investing are heightened. However, looking at the top 10 coins by market cap minimizes risks as these cryptocurrencies have already proved themselves and have a solid user base and existing use cases. Even so, investors should keep in mind that cryptocurrencies overall require caution. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.