Events

U.S. Banking Regulator OCC Lifts Enforcement Order From Anchorage Digital
U.S. Banking Regulator OCC Lifts Enforcement Order From Anchorage Digital
Anchorage Digital has moved out from under its U.S. banking regulator's order that it institute a compliance program to protect against money-laundering abuses, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announcing the removal of the cease-and-desist order originally issued in 2022.
"The OCC believes that the safety and soundness of the bank and its compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence of the order," it said in the termination announced on Thursday.
Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley, who has emerged as a high-profile representative of crypto interests in Washington, framed the enforcement action as regulatory "feedback" in celebrating its removal.
"We received — and have now resolved — feedback from regulators as we set the standard for federally chartered custody of digital assets," he said in a Thursday missive on the company's website, in which he called Anchorage Digital "the world’s most regulated digital asset bank."
The OCC and other U.S. banking regulators have, since the start of President Donald Trump's second administration, sought to relax constraints on crypto industry businesses. New OCC chief Jonathan Gould, who was sworn in last month, was an agency veteran who has also worked in the private sector as chief legal officer for Bitfury.
Anchorage Digital was the first crypto bank to win a full-fledged banking charter from the agency that regulates national banks, and after it did so, that window had closed for a time as the regulators during President Joe Biden's tenure viewed the industry with more suspicion.
More recently, digital assets issuers including Circle, Ripple and Paxos have again started applying to the OCC to start the bank-charter process.

Fed's Hammack Says 'No' to Rate Cut; Bitcoin Slips to Session Low Below $113K
Fed's Hammack Says 'No' to Rate Cut; Bitcoin Slips to Session Low Below $113K
Markets are quickly recalibrating previously lofty odds of an imminent rate cut as the jets touch down in Jackson Hole for the Kansas City Fed's Economic Symposium.
The current data does not make the case for a September ease, said Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, speaking with Yahoo News in Wyoming.
"We have inflation that’s too high and has been trending upwards over the past year," she said. "If the meeting was tomorrow, I would not see a case for reducing interest rates."
She further argued that inflation numbers are only beginning to show the impact of tariffs and that the full effect wouldn't be seen until next year.
Hammack's comments are notable, showing Fed Chair Jerome Powell continues to have plenty of support in his hawkish stance despite two dissident dovish votes at the last central bank policy meeting and President Trump's continuing campaign for lower rates.
Her remarks also come after a series of potential Powell replacements appeared on the airwaves in recent days to argue for sharply lower interest rates. The latest this morning was former St. Louis Fed boss Jim Bullard, who argued for policy rates 100 basis points below the current level.
Just one week ago, bitcoin touched a record high above $124,000 alongside a nearly 100% expectation that the Fed would trim rates next month. Seven days later, those odds have slipped back to 71%, according to CME FedWatch and bitcoin (BTC) has plunged nearly 10% to the current $112,800.
Markets will get to hear from Powell himself at his keynote address on Friday morning and at this point it's nearly certain he'll not turn dove. Instead, he's likely to emphasize that inflation continues to remain too hot and thus the need to take a wait and see approach towards adjusting monetary policy.

XRP Whipsaws on $2.84–$2.99 Range as Bulls Eye Breakout Above $3
XRP Whipsaws on $2.84–$2.99 Range as Bulls Eye Breakout Above $3
XRP rallied toward the $3 mark in the past session, with trading volume spiking more than 6% above its weekly baseline.
News Background
• XRP’s rally comes amid broader crypto stabilization, with altcoins tracking modest inflows after last week’s drawdown.
• On-chain data flagged institutional-sized flows, with nearly 155 million in XRP turnover during recovery periods, far above the 63 million daily average.
• Market chatter initially suggested XRP was hitting new highs, though the actual all-time peak remains $3.84 from January 2018 — underscoring that this is a recovery test, not price discovery.
Price Action Summary
• XRP swung 5.1% between $2.84 and $2.99 in the 23-hour window from Aug. 20 13:00 to Aug. 21 12:00.
• The strongest push came around 19:00 UTC on Aug. 20, when the token surged from $2.84 to $2.99 on 80.6 million volume.
• Subsequent sessions showed consolidation, with repeated bounces in the $2.89–$2.93 range, confirming it as interim support.
• A sharp whipsaw in the final hour (Aug. 21 11:03–12:02) saw an 8.6% swing: from $2.916 to $2.901 on 960,000 units, before stabilizing.
Technical Analysis
• Support: $2.89–$2.93 zone shows multiple strong bounces on above-average participation.
• Resistance: $2.99–$3.00 psychological ceiling caps momentum; repeated rejections visible.
• Volume: 80.65 million during the rally vs. a 24-hour baseline of ~63 million.
• Pattern: Sideways consolidation following bullish impulse; momentum tilting slightly downward.
What Traders Are Watching
• Whether $2.93 support holds in the short term or gives way to a retest of $2.82.
• Break above $3.00 as a potential trigger for trend continuation.
• Volume sustainability — if flows taper, bulls risk losing control.

Stablecoin Market Could Hit $1.2T by 2028, Maybe Affecting U.S. Government Debt Yields: Coinbase
Stablecoin Market Could Hit $1.2T by 2028, Maybe Affecting U.S. Government Debt Yields: Coinbase
Stablecoins, digital tokens tied to predominantly fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, will balloon to a $1.2 trillion market by 2028 and even have an impact on U.S. debt markets, Coinbase analysts projected in a Thursday report.
The forecast, published by the exchange’s research arm led by David Duong, is based on a stochastic model simulating thousands of growth paths for the stablecoin sector.
To swell almost five-fold from the current market size of $270 billion, the asset class "relies on incremental, policy-enabled adoption compounding over time," the report said.
Stablecoin issuers such as USDC (USDC) issuer Circle (CRCL) and Tether, the firm behind USDT (USDT), typically hold large portfolios of U.S. Treasury bills to back the tokens' value. The growth to $1.2 trillion would translate into roughly $5.3 billion in new T-bill purchases every week, the report projected.
Such inflows could shave 2-4 basis points off of the three-month Treasury yield over time, a small but noticeable effect in the $6 trillion money market where marginal moves can sway institutional funding costs, the analysts said.
Redemption surges, on the other hand, could have an adverse effect. A $3.5 billion outflow in five days could lead to a cascade of forced selling, tightening liquidity on the T-bill market, the report noted.
Coinbase analysts pointed to the recently passed stablecoin regulation, dubbed GENIUS Act, as critical to containing that risk. The law, which will come into effect in 2027 for issuers and tokens, mandates one-to-one reserves, audits and bankruptcy protections for holders.
While the law doesn’t grant stablecoin issuers direct access to Federal Reserve facilities, it could reduce the likelihood of a destabilizing run, the report said.
Read more: Stablecoins, Tokenization Put Pressure on Money Market Funds: Bank of America

XLM Eyes Bullish Continuation After Rising From Support
XLM Eyes Bullish Continuation After Rising From Support
XLM traded in a narrow band between $0.39 and $0.41 over a 24-hour stretch ending Aug. 21, reflecting a consolidation phase ahead of a potential move. Sellers repeatedly capped upside at $0.41, while buyers defended support at $0.40, keeping volatility subdued. A gradual dip in volume suggested traders were positioning for a breakout attempt.
That breakout came in the final hour of trading, when XLM rallied from $0.396 to $0.399. Strong buying momentum pushed through the $0.398 resistance level, accompanied by a sharp spike in volume exceeding 1.5 million tokens traded. The push set fresh intraday highs, reinforcing a short-term bullish setup.
Broader market currents also support rising demand for payment-focused tokens. Shifting trade dynamics, evolving stablecoin frameworks, and heightened inflation risks tied to supply chain pressures are reshaping the global payments landscape. Against this backdrop, XLM’s recent strength reflects growing interest in blockchain-based settlement alternatives.

Technical Indicators Signal Bullish Momentum
- Price action broke through key $0.398 resistance level with strong volume confirmation.
- Trading range of $0.01 or 3% indicates contained volatility before breakout.
- Volume spike exceeding 1.55 million during final hour suggests institutional interest.
- Support established around $0.40 level with multiple successful bounces.
- Declining volume trend reversed during breakout, indicating renewed conviction.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries Could Raise Credit Risks, Morningstar DBRS Says
Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries Could Raise Credit Risks, Morningstar DBRS Says
The corporate use of cryptocurrencies is evolving beyond payments, with a number of businesses adopting bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets as core treasury reserves. A report Thursday from rating company Morningstar DBRS cautions that this strategy could heighten credit risk profiles.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, roughly 3.68 million BTC (worth about $428 billion as of Aug. 19) are held across companies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), governments, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and custodians. This is about 18% of bitcoin’s circulating supply.
Funds dominate with 40% of holdings, followed by public companies at 27%. That exposure remains highly concentrated. One firm, Strategy (MSTR), controls over 629,000 BTC, accounting for 64% of all public-company treasury holdings, the report noted.
Morningstar DBRS highlighted a range of vulnerabilities in corporate crypto treasury strategies, including regulatory uncertainty, liquidity challenges during periods of volatility and exposure to exchange counterparties.
Heavy reliance on bitcoin reserves could strain liquidity management, while the asset’s sharp price swings add further risk.
The firm also noted that different tokens carry distinct technological and governance issues, and custody, whether handled in-house or through third parties, remains a critical security concern.
Corporate adoption of crypto treasury strategies is expected to grow, led by companies like Strategy and MARA Holdings (MARA). Morningstar DBRS warned that concentration, volatility, and regulatory complexity mean such strategies could materially reshape how credit markets assess corporate risk.
Read more: Bitcoin Treasury Firm Semler Scientific Still Has 3X Upside: Benchmark

Majority of Dual-Asset Investors See Crypto Outpacing Stocks Over Next Decade: Kraken Survey
Majority of Dual-Asset Investors See Crypto Outpacing Stocks Over Next Decade: Kraken Survey
A majority of investors who hold both cryptocurrencies and stocks say digital assets will outperform equities in the long term, according to a new survey from crypto exchange Kraken.
The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, published Thursday, found that 65% of dual-asset investors expect crypto to deliver stronger growth than stocks over the next 10 years. Just 35% favored equities.
Nearly 70% said they plan to increase their crypto allocations in the coming year, with men showing stronger conviction than women (74% versus 59%).
Over the past 12 months, digital assets have also outperformed for many investors: 42% reported their crypto holdings beat their stock portfolios, compared with 31% who saw equities perform better.
Confidence levels are tilting toward crypto as well, with 61% of those surveyed saying they’ve grown more confident in digital assets, versus 53% for stocks.
Crypto also appears to be emerging as a “crisis trade.” When asked where they would allocate fresh capital during global uncertainty, 33% chose crypto, 20% said equities and 19% picked cash.
Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s global head of consumer, said the data reflects a shift in portfolio construction.
“Dual-asset investors are no longer treating crypto as a speculative outlier. They’re viewing it as a core growth driver,” he said in emailed comments
The findings come as crypto exchanges, including Kraken, move further into traditional finance by offering equities trading alongside digital assets, a sign of how the lines between the two markets are increasingly blurring.
Read more: Kraken Debuts Derivatives Trading in U.S., Plans Expansion to Commodity, Stock Futures

Crypto for Advisors: From Equities to Crypto
Crypto for Advisors: From Equities to Crypto
In today's Crypto for Advisors newsletter, Patrick Murphy from Eightcap, provides insights on the maturation of crypto as an asset and compares the evolution of Indices to the S&P’s early days.
Then, Leo Mindyuk from MLTech answers questions about indices in Ask an Expert.
Happy reading!
What the S&P 500 Did for Equities, Indices Will Do for Crypto
Much like crypto today, equities in the early 20th century were an emerging and largely unregulated market, characterized by significant fragmentation and a lack of widespread public understanding. In 1957, when the S&P 500 was introduced, it revolutionized the financial landscape, providing a benchmark for investors. Not only did this legitimize equities as an asset class, but it also paved the way for mainstream adoption. Are we at similar crossroads with cryptocurrency? With indices poised to play a transformative role in its maturation, it appears to be so.
Cryptocurrency’s maturation and the evolving role of indices are making indices catalysts for wider crypto adoption. For example, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) serves as a benchmark for the broader crypto market, helps provide market insights and acts as a building block for products to expand investor opportunities.
A fragmented and volatile market?
The crypto market is a fragmented landscape, a paradox of innovation and instability. While over 23,000 cryptocurrencies exist, the vast majority suffer from low trading volume and limited liquidity. This “long tail” includes a significant percentage of projects that never gained traction; estimates suggest over 50 percent of cryptocurrencies launched since 2021 have ceased to exist. A stark example: 1.8 million tokens became “dead coins” in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
Despite this sheer volume, trading activity remains heavily concentrated in a handful of top cryptocurrencies, highlighting the market's true fragmentation.
High volatility is a defining characteristic of crypto's fragmentation, vividly demonstrated by bitcoin's dramatic crashes and bull runs. Price “pumps” often appear out of the blue, and paradoxically, the market can remain stagnant even in the face of significant news. Prices frequently defy logical movement following major announcements, only to suddenly spike or drop without an obvious catalyst. This unpredictability underscores how structurally thin and concentrated trading remains across the market.
An example of this phenomenon is the SEC's approval of Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May 2024. Despite being a major regulatory milestone, ETH barely moved on the day of the announcement. A week later, however, it surged 15 percent with no discernible new information. These kinds of delayed and illogical reactions are surprisingly common, highlighting how thin liquidity, concentrated holdings, and sentiment-driven trading continue to dominate large segments of the crypto market.
Signs of maturation
Despite its current challenges, the crypto market is showing clear signs of maturation. Institutional interest is surging, with major financial players investing, partnering, and developing crypto-focused products. Regulatory clarity is also improving globally.
Key regulatory & institutional milestones
- ETF approvals: Beyond the initial spot bitcoin (BTC) and ETH ETF approvals, they now extend to Solana and other cryptocurrencies.
- MiCA regulation: The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework represents the first comprehensive crypto licensing in a tier-one market. OKX was the first global exchange to secure a MiCA license, enabling it to offer regulated services to over 400 million Europeans. Since then, Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, and Bybit have also obtained MiCA licenses, signalling industry growth and broader adoption.
- Stablecoin Genius Act: This new US Federal framework for stablecoin issuers aims to provide regulatory clarity, foster innovation, and protect consumers. Circle's recent listing on the NYSE, coupled with central bank digital currency (USDC) becoming the EU's preferred compliant stablecoin (adopted by exchanges like Coinbase, OKX, and Binance), marks a pivotal moment for stablecoins.
Growing stablecoin adoption
Eightcap's 2025 data shows stablecoin payments now account for 18 percent of monthly deposits, and the most popular of these deposits are in Tether (USDT), reflecting a broader trend. In 2024, stablecoins processed an estimated $27.6 trillion, surpassing Visa and Mastercard's combined transaction volume by 7.7 percent.
The role of indices
The current crypto market parallels the equities market before the S&P 500. The introduction of broad-based indices coming into the market marks a significant step forward.
A call to action
The time is critical for developing cryptocurrency indices that can bring order to the current chaos. CoinDesk 20, now available in over 20 investment vehicles globally through Eightcap, ML Tech, WisdomTree and others, exemplifies how indices can provide clarity, transparency and diversified exposure to digital assets. The industry must build on this foundation, creating even more robust tools for traders and investors. The full integration of digital assets into the global financial ecosystem is not just a possibility, but an inevitability.
- Patrick Murphy, chief commercial officer, Eightcap
Ask an Expert
Q: Why are crypto indices the logical next step for institutional adoption, similar to what the S&P 500 did for equities?
A: The S&P 500 simplified complexity, bringing structure, benchmarking, and ease of access. Instead of needing to underwrite every individual stock, investors could access a broad, rules-based proxy for U.S. stock market exposure. That unlocked trillions in capital inflows. Crypto today remains fragmented, noisy, and challenging to benchmark. It needs the same evolution. Institutional allocators and many retail investors aren’t asking “Which token should I own?” — they’re asking how to access diversified, well-balanced exposure to the asset class. Index products are how crypto becomes investable at scale. It’s not about picking particular coins but about delivering exposure through rules-based systems that meet compliance, liquidity, and transparency standards. The emergence of crypto-native indices and systematic strategy wrappers is the necessary evolution to move from speculation to scalable allocation.
Q: Why does the absence of crypto indices hinder adoption by institutional allocators and financial advisors?
A: Indices are essential tools for allocation, benchmarking, and communication. Without them, it’s nearly impossible for institutional investors or advisors to justify crypto exposure within traditional asset allocation frameworks. They lack a reference point for performance, volatility, and risk contribution. Advisors can’t model it; CIOs can’t underwrite it; committees can’t approve it. The result is friction across investment, compliance, and operational layers. Indices are what translate crypto from an abstract opportunity into a defined, investable exposure.
Q: How does indexification of crypto reshape the opportunity set for both allocators and systematic strategies?
A: Indices create the structure that both allocators and quant managers need. For institutions, they offer benchmarkable exposures that can be modelled, monitored, and approved within traditional investment frameworks. For systematic strategies, indices become usable components: inputs for factor models, hedging layers, or allocation signals. But to fully unlock this potential, the participants need an institutional wealth management infrastructure: real-time P&L and risk dashboards, customizable strategy access via API, and secure, non-custodial deployment across top-tier exchanges. With the help of the right wealth platform, indices transition from passive benchmarks to dynamic building blocks: ready to be allocated to, traded systematically, and embedded directly into institutional quant workflows.
Keep Reading
- Wyoming becomes the first U.S. state to issue a stablecoin.
- SoFi announces it will use the Bitcoin Lightning Network for payment remittances.
- Google becomes the largest shareholder in bitcoin mining company TeraWulf.

Stablecoins, Tokenization Put Pressure on Money Market Funds: Bank of America
Stablecoins, Tokenization Put Pressure on Money Market Funds: Bank of America
Bank of America’s (BAC) rates strategy team said the U.S. Treasury market is increasingly shaped by two emerging forces: stablecoin demand for T-bills and the tokenization of government debt-related assets.
BofA views stablecoins as less of a game-changer for Treasuries than for money market mutual funds (MMFs), where their higher-yield potential represents a competitive challenge, the Wall Street bank said in a report Monday.
The bank's analysts expects stablecoin demand for Treasury bills to grow gradually, in the order of $25 billion to $75 billion over the next 12 months, but not enough to meaningfully shift bill market dynamics.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar or gold. They play a major role in cryptocurrency markets, providing among other things a payment infrastructure, and are also used to transfer money internationally.
According to BofA, some MMF clients are showing increased interest in tokenization, viewing it as a defensive move against stablecoins.
The report noted that in July, BNY Mellon (BK), alongside Goldman Sachs (GS), rolled out blockchain-based technology to maintain records of ownership in select MMF shares.
The effort, spurred in part by stablecoin growth and the GENIUS Act, marked the first rollover of tokenized MMF shares.
With stablecoins currently restricted from paying yield, money market funds see a narrow window to tokenize and offer competitive rates before regulatory changes or workarounds erode that advantage, the report added.
Read more: Stablecoin Supply to Grow as Much as $75B Following Passage of GENIUS Act, BofA Says

Hyperliquid Now Dominates DeFi Derivatives, Processing $30B a Day
Hyperliquid Now Dominates DeFi Derivatives, Processing $30B a Day
Data provider RedStone has released a new report on Hyperliquid, the decentralized perpetuals exchange that has quickly become the category leader.
In just a year, Hyperliquid has grown to capture more than 80% of the decentralized perps market, with daily trading volumes now topping $30 billion, rivaling some of the largest centralized exchanges, according to the report.
RedStone highlighted three structural advantages that underpin Hyperliquid’s surge.
The first is its fully on-chain order book that now delivers spreads and execution speeds on par with centralized platforms.
Second, HIP-3, Hyperliquid’s new permissionless market creation framework, has created one of the most active builder ecosystems in DeFi, with revenue-sharing economics that pay developers more than the protocol itself.
And third, its dual architecture of HyperCore and HyperEVM enables entirely new financial primitives, including tokenized perp positions, delta-neutral strategies, and novel liquidity engineering tools.

Hyperliquid’s rise is an indication of how a lean, self-funded team can outcompete venture-backed peers by focusing on technical execution and builder-first incentives. By coupling CEX-level performance with permissionless technology, Hyperliquid is positioning itself not just as a trading venue but as a potential backbone for the next phase of on-chain trading.
The Hyperliquid network, on which the Hyperliquid DEX is based, currently has around $2.2 billion in total value locked, with the DEX notching $330 billion in cumulative trading volume in the past 30 days, according to DefiLlama.
“Hyperliquid is setting a new standard,” the RedStone report notes, arguing that the platform’s dual-layer design and community-driven growth model are creating "unprecedented opportunities for builders and institutions alike.”

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: SUI Drops 3.9%, Leading Index Lower from Wednesday
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: SUI Drops 3.9%, Leading Index Lower from Wednesday
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 4005.12, down 1.4% (-55.83) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Seven of 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: AAVE (+1.2%) and BCH (-0.2%).
Laggards: SUI (-3.9%) and XLM (-2.5%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

Optimism Taps Flashbots to Supercharge OP Stack Sequencing
Optimism Taps Flashbots to Supercharge OP Stack Sequencing
Optimism is teaming up with Flashbots to revamp how transactions get processed across its OP Stack ecosystem, aiming to make some of Ethereum’s most popular layer-2 networks faster and more customizable.
The partnership centers on sequencing, the behind-the-scenes process that determines how quickly a transaction confirms, which trades are prioritized, and how much users ultimately pay. Optimism says Flashbots’ infrastructure, which is already responsible for building more than 90% of Ethereum’s blocks, will now bring near-instant confirmations and user-friendly transaction ordering to every chain in the so-called Superchain.
This matters because the OP Stack underpins more than 60% of all Ethereum layer 2 activity, the Optimism team claims, including some of the most well-known layer-2 chains like Base, Unichain, World Chain, Ink and Soneium. Until now, advanced sequencing features such as ultra-fast settlement, frontrunning protection and custom compliance rules were only available to the largest chains with resources to build them in-house. With Flashbots on board, those features will be available via tools for any project building on Optimism’s OP stack.
Flashbots is best known for its work on MEV, or maximal extractable value, where its MEV-Boost tool has reshaped how blocks are produced.
Some of Flashbots’ sequencing technology is already live on OP Stack chains: Base and Unichain use “Flashblocks” to deliver block times as low as 200 milliseconds, while Unichain and World Chain are experimenting with verifiable transaction ordering and priority blockspace, which proves transactions are ordered fairly and prevents frontrunning.
In the coming months, Optimism and Flashbots plan to roll out the flashblocks and advanced sequencing R&D to Optimism’s mainnet and other chains using the OP Stack.
“With Flashbots as a core technology partner, we’re accelerating the roadmap for fast, cheap, and customizable sequencing across the OP Stack,” said Sam McIngvale, head of product at OP Labs. “This is part of our broader mission: giving builders the freedom to design their chains their way, with infrastructure that’s open, flexible, and battle-tested in production.”
Read more: Optimism’s Jing Wang and the Widely Adopted OP Stack

Ether Outpaces Bitcoin as ETF Inflows, Corporate Buying Accelerate: JPMorgan
Ether Outpaces Bitcoin as ETF Inflows, Corporate Buying Accelerate: JPMorgan
Ether (ETH) has outperformed bitcoin (BTC) over the past month, buoyed by strong inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and growing corporate treasury allocations, Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a report on Wednesday.
The move comes in the wake of U.S. stablecoin legislation (the GENIUS Act) and ahead of an anticipated vote on a broader crypto market structure bill by the end of September, the report said.
In July, spot ether ETFs saw record inflows of $5.4 billion, nearly matching bitcoin ETF inflows over the same period. While bitcoin ETFs have posted modest outflows in August, ether funds continue to attract capital, JPMorgan noted.
The bank's analysts pointed to four main factors behind ether’s recent strength.
Investors are betting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will eventually permit staking for spot ether ETFs, which would turn them into yield-generating products while lowering technical barriers for participation.
Corporate demand is also rising, the analysts noted, with about 10 publicly traded firms now holding ether equal to a total of 2.3% of the circulating supply. Some of these companies may seek additional income through staking or decentralized finance (DeFi) strategies.
At the same time, the SEC has signaled that liquid-staking tokens may not qualify as securities, easing institutional concerns, and its approval of in-kind redemptions for spot crypto ETFs is expected to reduce costs, improve liquidity and limit forced selling during large withdrawals.
JPMorgan suggested ether holdings in both ETFs and corporate treasuries could rise further, pointing to bitcoin’s higher share of circulating supply locked up across both categories as a benchmark.
Read more: Ether Resurgence Gains Steam Backed by Spot ETF Demand and On-Chain Growth: Citi

MetaMask Joins Stablecoin Race With mUSD, Backed by M0 Protocol and Stripe's Bridge
MetaMask Joins Stablecoin Race With mUSD, Backed by M0 Protocol and Stripe's Bridge
MetaMask, the popular crypto wallet developed by Consensys, confirmed on Thursday it will debut its proprietary U.S. dollar token (mUSD) later this year, joining the booming stablecoin market.
"MetaMask USD is a critical step in bringing the world on-chain," said Gal Eldar, product lead at MetaMask, in a blog post.
Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrencies pegged to external assets like the U.S. dollar, have grown into a $250 billion market, often touted as a faster, cheaper option for international payments. Interest in the sector has accelerated since U.S. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, setting new federal standards for stablecoin issuers.
MetaMask's stablecoin project was already known to be in the works due to a prematurely posted governance proposal earlier this month. In the official announcement, the firm said that the mUSD token will be launched first on Ethereum (ETH) and Consensys-developed layer-2 network Linea, and closely integrated within the app and services.
Users will be able to on-ramp fiat, swap between tokens, and move value across blockchains, with the stablecoin later becoming spendable through the MetaMask Card at Mastercard merchants worldwide. Further plans include extend utility across decentralized finance (DeFi) and payments.
The token is issued by U.S.-licensed issuer Bridge, now part of payments giant Stripe, and underpinned by stablecoin platform M0’s blockchain infrastructure.
"With MetaMask USD, users can bring their money onchain, put it to work, spend it almost anywhere, and use it like money should be used," Eldar said. "It will allow us to cut through some of the most stubborn barriers in web3 and reduce both friction and costs for people onboarding directly into a self-custodial wallet."
Custom stablecoin issuance
MetaMask's stablecoin is the first example of the partnership between M0 and Bridge to help businesses roll out custom digital dollars.
The two firms said on Thursday the partnership combines Bridge’s regulatory and reserve management expertise with M0’s blockchain infrastructure designed for application-specific stablecoins.
The idea of application-specific stablecoins has been gaining traction as the market for digital dollars is booming with improving regulatory clarity. Payment applications, crypto wallets or DeFi protocols can create their own branded dollar token while outsourcing compliance, reserves and infrastructure to providers.
For instance, Paxos issues PayPal's PYUSD token, while BitGo is behind the Trump-affiliated DeFi protocol World Liberty Financial's USD1. Earlier this month, U.S. fintech Slash launched its own stablecoin with Bridge.
Partnering with M0 and Bridge, MetaMask can offer a built-in digital dollar for its users without managing the complex work of issuance, compliance and tech plumbing.
Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Bridge, said that they reduced the development time for custom stablecoin issuance from "more than a year of complex integrations" to "a matter of weeks. This means apps like Metamask "can realize benefits more rapidly and efficiently than ever before."
With the partnership, M0 and Bridge are now seeking to replicate the work on MetaMask's token for more issuers.
"Applications want to control their dollar infrastructure," M0 founder and CEO Luca Prosperi said in an interview with CoinDesk. "What is important is that they will not have to build it themselves."
Read more:
UPDATE (Aug. 21, 12:30 UTC): Adds MetaMask's official stablecoin announcement, updates headline and lede.

Markets Today: Bitcoin Bears Start to Emerge, Ye's YZY Surges Then Slumps
Markets Today: Bitcoin Bears Start to Emerge, Ye's YZY Surges Then Slumps
Bitcoin's late Wednesday bounce to $144,700 was fleeting as a gauge of long-term market sentiment flipped bearish for the first time since June 2023. DOGE, XRP and SOL followed suit, while ether traded more resiliently.
Still, the CoinDesk 20 Index was up about 0.7% on a 24-hour basis at press time while the CoinDesk 80 Index gained 0.4%.
Analysts said they nevertheless remained optimistic about BTC's long-term prospects.
"Donald Trump’s approval of crypto assets being included in 401(k)s adds a further structural support although this will take time to be felt in the market," said Jag Kooner, head of derivatives at Bitfinex. "The net effect is that over time, this will shift flows from speculative to strategic, pension-style allocation, embedding crypto deeper into U.S. capital markets."
Derivatives Positioning
- The growth in BTC and ETH futures open interest stalled at levels above 700K BTC and 14.2 million ETH, which is consistent with the directionless trading in spot prices before the start of the central bankers' confab at Jackson Hole.
- Open interest in LINK futures remains near record highs, with the token price rising to nearly $27 on Wednesday, the most since January. Other top 10 tokens, excluding BNB, saw open interest fall in the past 24 hours.
- HYPE leads crypto majors with annualized funding rates exceeding 25%. That shows traders are increasingly seeking bullish exposure in the token.
- On CME, the recovery in the BTC futures noted on Wednesday has stalled, with the three-month premium receding to nearly 7%. Meanwhile, ether futures OI continues to grow and is nearing the 2 million ETH mark. These diverging trends point to a growing institutional preference for ether over bitcoin.
- On Deribit, the 180-day bitcoin options skew dipped to -0.42, indicating the strongest demand for put options, or downside insurance, since June 2023. Longer-dated ETH options continued to show a bias for calls.
- Flows over the OTC network Paradigm featured demand for BTC puts financed by selling calls and mixed activity in the ether options market.
- Volmex's seven-day implied volatility indices for bitcoin and ether have remained steady at around 36% and 70%, respectively, indicating that the market does not anticipate a significant volatility spike from the Jackson Hole event.
Token Talk
- YZY Money, a Solana memecoin tied to Ye (formerly Kanye West), debuted Thursday with a 6,800% surge in price before slipping under $1, indicative of the speculative churn around celebrity tokens.
- The token announcement on Ye's X account sparked speculation of a hack before posting a video it which he appeared to confirm the launch. Questions remain whether the clip was AI-generated.
- The token structure mirrors the TRUMP coin: 70% supply allocated to Ye, 10% to liquidity, 20% for sale. Insiders said Ye initially demanded 80% before agreeing to 70%.
- Wallet data shows clear advance access. Wallet 6MNWV8 spent 450,611 USDC at $0.35, later selling some of its holding for $1.39 million to reap a $1.5 million profit when price gains on the remainder are included. Another whale bought $2.28 million worth and sits on $6 million in gains.
- Liquidity was seeded single-sided with only YZY, allowing developers or large holders to withdraw value at will — a design critics liken to the controversial LIBRA token in Argentina.
- Retail buyers absorbed the losses: One wallet lost nearly $500,000 within two hours after buying at $1.56 and exiting at $1.06.The episode highlights how insider-heavy allocations and liquidity gimmicks expose fans and traders, even as hype briefly drove the token's market cap toward $3 billion.
- Wormhole challenged LayerZero’s $110 million bid for Stargate with plans for a higher counteroffer, asking the community to delay its governance vote for five days to complete due diligence and ensure token holders evaluate both proposals on fair terms.
- Stargate’s appeal lies in scale: $4 billion processed in July, $345 million locked, and a treasury with $92 million in stablecoins and ether plus $55 million in STG and other assets.
- LayerZero’s proposal would transfer treasury and future revenue to itself, which critics say undervalues Stargate and shortchanges token holders.
- Wormhole argues STG holders “deserve a more competitive process” and positions its bid as delivering greater long-term value.
- A merger would fuse Stargate’s unified liquidity pools with Wormhole’s integrations across dozens of blockchains, creating one of the largest cross-chain hubs.
- The Wormhole Foundation claims such a combination would “unlock unrealized value” and drive both immediate and lasting benefits for STG and Wormhole token holders.

Bitcoin Falters in Choppy Market, Ether Stays Resilient: Crypto Daybook Americas
Bitcoin Falters in Choppy Market, Ether Stays Resilient: Crypto Daybook Americas
By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
Crypto majors continue to trade in a choppy manner, with bitcoin (BTC) retreating to $113,600 after reaching $114,800 late Wednesday. Ether (ETH) and most major tokens also erased overnight gains as derivatives traders looked for downside protection ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.
Long-term sentiment for bitcoin, measured by an options market indicator, turned bearish for the first time since June 2023. Technical signals also point to a weakening short-term outlook.
In a notable move, an OG wallet sold 660 BTC and opened long positions in ether worth $295 million across four wallets, reflecting growing preference for ETH over bitcoin and echoing a trend seen in derivatives markets.
Heightened concerns over bitcoin’s decentralization emerged after popular X account "WhaleWire" revealed that two mining pools, Foundry USA and Antpool, now control over 50% of the network’s hashrate — the computing power validating transactions. This follows Qubic's recent claim it was able to make a 51% attack on Monero and planned an attempt on Dogecoin.
Financial services platform Swan highlighted that market confidence was shaken by recent guidance from bitcoin holder Strategy, which said that it may issue equity to pay debt interest, fund preferred dividends or when deemed advantageous.
Swan urged investors to focus on Strategy’s $73 billion in BTC holdings and strong balance sheet, suggesting the company could cover dividend obligations for decades even if bitcoin’s price fell more than 50%. “Hardly the picture of imminent collapse,” Swan said on X.
Rapper Kanye West launched a memecoin called YZY, which skyrocketed to a $3 billion market cap within minutes before quickly dropping back below $1 billion. This rapid surge and fall contrast with previous celebrity tokens like TRUMP and MELANIA, which held their hype for a day or two before crashing, indicating a steep decline in appetite for speculative tokens.
In traditional markets, yield on Japanese government bonds continued to rise, increasing the risk of injecting volatility into global financial markets. Stay alert!
What to Watch
- Crypto
- Aug. 21: Layer-1 blockchain Viction (VIC), formerly known as TomoChain, finalizes the Atlas hard fork upgrade on mainnet. The update launched on July 23. All node operators must complete the upgrade by Aug. 21 to ensure full network functionality.
- Macro
- Aug. 21, 8:30 a.m.: Statistics Canada releases July producer price inflation data.
- PPI MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.4%
- PPI YoY Prev. 1.7%
- Aug. 21, 9:45 a.m.: S&P Global releases (flash) August U.S. data on manufacturing and services activity.
- Composite PMI Prev. 55.1
- Manufacturing PMI Est. 49.5 vs. Prev. 49.8
- Services PMI Est. 54.2 vs. Prev. 55.7
- Day 1 of 3: The Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, which is hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and held annually in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, brings together global central bankers and policymakers to discuss key economic challenges and monetary policy.
- Aug. 22, 8 a.m.: Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography releases (final) Q2 GDP growth data.
- GDP Growth Rate QoQ Est. 0.7% vs. Prev. 0.6%
- GDP Growth Rate YoY Est. 0.1% vs. Prev. 0.8%
- Aug. 22, 10:00 a.m.: Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers his keynote speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
- Aug. 22, 5 p.m.: The Central Bank of Paraguay announces its monetary policy decision.
- Policy Rate Prev. 6%
- Aug. 22, 8 p.m.: Peru’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics releases Q2 GDP YoY growth data.
- GDP Growth Rate YoY Prev. 3.9%
- Aug. 21, 8:30 a.m.: Statistics Canada releases July producer price inflation data.
- Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
- Aug. 27: NVIDIA (NVDA), post-market, $1.00
- Aug. 28: IREN (IREN), post-market, $0.18
Token Events
- Governance votes & calls
- Aavegotchi DAO is voting on a Bitcoin Ben’s Crypto Club Las Vegas sponsorship: a $1,000/month corporate membership (logo on sponsor wall, team access, newsletter feature, one branded meetup/month) or a $5,000, 90-day Graffiti Wall mural with promo. Voting ends Aug. 23.
- Aug. 21: Flux (FLUX) to host an X spaces event on "DePIN and more" at 15:00 UTC.
- Aug. 21: Bio Protocol (BIO) to host a livestream exploring the first BioAgent Ignition Sales on Bio V2 at 17:00 UTC.
- Aug. 22: Basic Attention Token (BAT) to host an X spaces event at 17:00 UTC.
- Unlocks
- Aug. 25: Venom (VENOM) to unlock 2.34% of its circulating supply worth $9.45 million.
- Aug. 28: Jupiter (JUP) to unlock 1.78% of its circulating supply worth $26.36 million.
- Sep. 1: Sui (SUI) to release 1.25% of its circulating supply worth $153.1 million.
- Token Launches
- Aug. 21: Aria.AI (ARIA) to list on Binance Alpha.
- Aug. 21: Epic Chain (EPIC) to list on Coins.ph.
- Aug. 21: Akedo (AKE) to list on KuCoin and LBank.
Conferences
The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off your registration through Aug. 31.
- Day 5 of 5: Crypto 2025 (Santa Barbara, California)
- Day 4 of 4: Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2025 (Jackson Hole)
- Day 1 of 2: Coinfest Asia 2025 (Bali, Indonesia)
- Aug. 25-26: WebX 2025 (Tokyo)
- Aug. 27: Blockchain Leaders Summit 2025 (Tokyo)
- Aug. 28-29: Bitcoin Asia 2025 (Hong Kong)
Token Talk
By Shaurya Malwa
- YZY Money, a Solana memecoin tied to Ye (formerly Kanye West), debuted Thursday with a 6,800% surge in price before slipping under $1, indicative of the speculative churn around celebrity tokens.
- The token announcement on Ye's X account sparked speculation of a hack before posting a video it which he appeared to confirm the launch. Questions remain whether the clip was AI-generated.
- The token structure mirrors the TRUMP coin: 70% supply allocated to Ye, 10% to liquidity, 20% for sale. Insiders said Ye initially demanded 80% before agreeing to 70%.
- Wallet data shows clear advance access. Wallet 6MNWV8 spent 450,611 USDC at $0.35, later selling some of its holding for $1.39 million to reap a $1.5 million profit when price gains on the remainder are included. Another whale bought $2.28 million worth and sits on $6 million in gains.
- Liquidity was seeded single-sided with only YZY, allowing developers or large holders to withdraw value at will — a design critics liken to the controversial LIBRA token in Argentina.
- Retail buyers absorbed the losses: One wallet lost nearly $500,000 within two hours after buying at $1.56 and exiting at $1.06.The episode highlights how insider-heavy allocations and liquidity gimmicks expose fans and traders, even as hype briefly drove the token's market cap toward $3 billion.
- Wormhole challenged LayerZero’s $110 million bid for Stargate with plans for a higher counteroffer, asking the community to delay its governance vote for five days to complete due diligence and ensure token holders evaluate both proposals on fair terms.
- Stargate’s appeal lies in scale: $4 billion processed in July, $345 million locked, and a treasury with $92 million in stablecoins and ether plus $55 million in STG and other assets.
- LayerZero’s proposal would transfer treasury and future revenue to itself, which critics say undervalues Stargate and shortchanges token holders.
- Wormhole argues STG holders “deserve a more competitive process” and positions its bid as delivering greater long-term value.
- A merger would fuse Stargate’s unified liquidity pools with Wormhole’s integrations across dozens of blockchains, creating one of the largest cross-chain hubs.
- The Wormhole Foundation claims such a combination would “unlock unrealized value” and drive both immediate and lasting benefits for STG and Wormhole token holders.
Derivatives Positioning
- The growth in BTC and ETH futures open interest stalled at levels above 700K BTC and 14.2 million ETH, which is consistent with the directionless trading in spot prices before the start of the central bankers' confab at Jackson Hole.
- Open interest in LINK futures remains near record highs, with the token price rising to nearly $27 on Wednesday, the most since January. Other top 10 tokens, excluding BNB, saw open interest fall in the past 24 hours.
- HYPE leads crypto majors with annualized funding rates exceeding 25%. That shows traders are increasingly seeking bullish exposure in the token.
- On CME, the recovery in the BTC futures noted on Wednesday has stalled, with the three-month premium receding to nearly 7%. Meanwhile, ether futures OI continues to grow and is nearing the 2 million ETH mark. These diverging trends point to a growing institutional preference for ether over bitcoin.
- On Deribit, the 180-day bitcoin options skew dipped to -0.42, indicating the strongest demand for put options, or downside insurance, since June 2023. Longer-dated ETH options continued to show a bias for calls.
- Flows over the OTC network Paradigm featured demand for BTC puts financed by selling calls and mixed activity in the ether options market.
- Volmex's seven-day implied volatility indices for bitcoin and ether have remained steady at around 36% and 70%, respectively, indicating that the market does not anticipate a significant volatility spike from the Jackson Hole event.
Market Movements
- BTC is down 0.84% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday at $113,434.22 (24hrs: -0.4%)
- ETH is down 1.68% at $4,283.19 (24hrs: +1.23%)
- CoinDesk 20 is down 1.44% at 4,019.84 (24hrs: +0.69%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 1 bp at 2.93%
- BTC funding rate is at 0.0074% (8.0548% annualized) on Binance

- DXY is unchanged at 98.22
- Gold futures are down 0.20% at $3,381.60
- Silver futures are down 0.13% at $37.72
- Nikkei 225 closed down 0.65% at 42,610.17
- Hang Seng closed down 0.24% at 25,104.61
- FTSE is unchanged at 9,280.80
- Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.3% at 5,455.71
- DJIA closed on Wednesday unchanged at 44,938.31
- S&P 500 closed down 0.24% at 6,395.78
- Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.67% at 21,172.86
- S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.2% at 27,878.76
- S&P 40 Latin America closed up 0.41% at 2,648.47
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 1.4 bps at 4.31%
- E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.11% at 6,406.50
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are unchanged at 23,315.75
- E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index are down 0.26% at 44,880.00
Bitcoin Stats
- BTC Dominance: 59.5% (+0.2%)
- Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.03772 (-0.58%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 946 EH/s
- Hashprice (spot): $55.47
- Total fees: 3.41 BTC / $388,249
- CME Futures Open Interest: 143,050 BTC
- BTC priced in gold: 34.0 oz.
- BTC vs gold market cap: 9.62%
Technical Analysis

- The daily chart for e-mini futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 show that the longer duration MACD (50,100,9) has turned negative for the first time since April. The negative crossover indicates a bullish-to-bearish shift in momentum.
- The RSI recently diverged bearishly as it produced a lower high last week, contradicting the new peak in prices. The indicator is on the verge of falling below 50 to suggest strengthening of the downside momentum.
- Together, the two indicators suggest more losses ahead for technology stocks.
- Cryptocurrencies are known to closely track movements in Nasdaq.
Crypto Equities
- Strategy (MSTR): closed on Wednesday at $344.37 (+2.32%), -0.69% at $342 in pre-market
- Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $304.39 (+0.77%), -0.55% at $302.73
- Circle (CRCL): closed at $137.81 (+1.91%), unchanged in pre-market
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $24.51 (+1.72%), -1.51% at $24.14
- Bullish (BLSH): closed at $62.89 (+5.68%), -1.57% at $61.90
- MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $15.45 (+1.85%), -1.49% at $15.22
- Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $12.52 (+4.68%), -1.28% at $12.36
- Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $14.08 (-1.88%), -1.99% at $13.80
- CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.49 (+1.39%), -1.05% at $9.39
- CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $27.27 (+2.52%)
- Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $31.21 (-2.12%), unchanged in pre-market
- Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $25.45 (-6.09%)
- SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $19.47 (+5.93%), -1.95% at $19.09
ETF Flows
Spot BTC ETFs
- Daily net flows: -$315.9 million
- Cumulative net flows: $53.99 billion
- Total BTC holdings ~1.29 million
Spot ETH ETFs
- Daily net flows: -$240.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $11.82 billion
- Total ETH holdings ~6.25 million
Source: Farside Investors
Chart of the Day

- The chart shows two mining pools, Foundry USA and Antpool, account for nearly 50% of the computing power dedicated to the Bitcoin blockchain.
- The concentration of hashrate has raised concerns about centralization on social media.
While You Were Sleeping
- Talk of Boots on the Ground in Ukraine Sparks Unease in Germany (Reuters): German Chancellor Merz kept the option of sending troops to Ukraine open, but the country's history, past overseas setbacks, economic strain and fears of military overextension make it a politically fraught move.
- Key Bitcoin Indicators Hint at Bearish Regime Shift as Jackson Hole Nears (CoinDesk): Options markets show stronger demand for downside protection, while bitcoin has slipped beneath key trend levels, pointing to weakening sentiment despite only a modest price pullback.
- Canada Cultivates Nordic Connections to Offset Its Reliance on U.S. Trade (Financial Times): Canada is boosting defense and trade ties with Finland and Sweden, including icebreakers and fighter jets, to lessen reliance on the U.S. following Trump’s annexation and tariff threats.
- DBS Launches Tokenized Structured Notes on Ethereum, Expanding Investor Access (CoinDesk): The Singapore-based bank is breaking down $100,000 structured notes into $1,000 tokenized units on Ethereum, making them tradable for accredited and institutional investors via Singapore exchanges ADDX, DigiFT and HydraX.
- Windtree’s BNB Treasury Bet Collides With Nasdaq Delisting Order (CoinDesk): Windtree’s sub-$1 share price forced a Nasdaq delisting, leaving its $200 million BNB treasury plan in limbo as it scrambles to shift trading to over-the-counter markets under its existing "WINT" ticker.
- Trump Orders Pentagon to Deploy Three Warships Against Latin American Drug Cartels (The Wall Street Journal): The Navy’s guided-missile destroyers will be tasked with intercepting drug shipments off South America’s coast, including near Venezuela, marking a shift from their usual supporting role to the Coast Guard.
In the Ether







Harvard Professor Who Predicted Bitcoin Crash to $100 Says Regulators Were Too Lax
Harvard Professor Who Predicted Bitcoin Crash to $100 Says Regulators Were Too Lax
In 2018, Kenneth S Rogoff, professor of economics at Harvard University and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, predicted bitcoin (BTC) was more likely to be worth $100 than $100,000 in a decade.
In reality, bitcoin's price rose above $100,000 this year, a 10-fold increase from March 2018's sub-$10,000 level when Rogoff predicted the crash.
On Tuesday, with bitcoin hovering around $113,000, Rogoff reflected on how he had missed the mark, saying he had been "far too optimistic about the U.S. coming to its senses regarding sensible cryptocurrency regulation."
In a post on X, Harvard economist Ken Rogoff expressed said he'd expected policymakers to adopt a firm stance to curb the use of cryptocurrencies in tax evasion and illegal activities. He was, indirectly, criticizing the regulatory environment as being less than prudent and allowing cryptocurrencies like BTC to flourish in ways he did not anticipate.
Rogoff underestimated how bitcoin would compete with fiat currencies to serve as the transaction medium of choice in the 20 trillion-dollar global underground economy.
"This demand puts a floor on its price, as I discuss at length in my new book Our Dollar, Your Problem," Rogoff said.
He also flagged a "blatant conflict of interest," with regulators "holding hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in cryptocurrencies seemingly without consequence."

Stargate Draws Second Acquisition Bid With Wormhole Topping LayerZero's $110M Buy Offer
Stargate Draws Second Acquisition Bid With Wormhole Topping LayerZero's $110M Buy Offer
Wormhole has jumped into the bidding plans for bridging service Stargate, promising a bid above LayerZero’s initial $110 million token-swap proposal.
It wants the Snapshot vote delayed so the community can weigh its offer.
Stargate’s numbers explain the interest. The bridge processed $4 billion in July, holds $345 million in TVL, and sits on a treasury of $92 million in stables and ether, plus $55 million in STG and other assets. The annual revenue is approximately $2 million.
“Based on our initial review, we believe that STG holders deserve a more competitive process, and we are prepared to submit a meaningfully higher bid,” the proposal said.
LayerZero’s proposal would transfer both the treasury and future income, which critics call a discount. Wormhole says the terms shortchange tokenholders and that “STG holders deserve better.”
A Wormhole–Stargate tie-up would create one of the largest cross-chain hubs in crypto, pairing Stargate’s unified liquidity pools with Wormhole’s integrations across dozens of networks. The foundation argues this would boost volume and long-term resilience for both ecosystems.
“The Wormhole Foundation sees unrealized value in the Stargate brand, protocol, and protocol assets,” the proposal said. “The Wormhole Foundation is confident that a successful combination of Stargate and the Wormhole ecosystem will lead to the most immediate and long-term value for current holders of STG, as well as current and future holders of Wormhole (W).”
Wormhole has requested a five-day delay in the vote, seeking more time for due diligence and a fairer process.
Read more: LayerZero Proposes $110M Stargate Token Merger in Consolidation Play