Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

White House plans crypto meeting as CLARITY odds hit 21%

The White House has reportedly planned an Aug. 19 meeting with crypto and prediction market executives as Polymarket traders place the CLARITY Acts 2026 passage odds at 21%.　　White House meeting may address unresolved crypto disputes　　Politico reported on Aug. 13 that the White House is expected to host executives from the crypto and prediction market sectors on Aug. 19, citing people familiar with the planned gathering.　　According to the report, the White House has not disclosed a formal agenda or released a list of participants. Executives from traditional financial companies may also attend, while it remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will take part.　　The scheduled gathering would place administration officials and industry leaders in the same room while the Senate remains away for its August recess. Crypto companies have continued pressing lawmakers to pass the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, which would establish federal rules for digital assets and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.　　For U.S. investors and crypto companies, the legislation would determine which regulator oversees different types of tokens, exchanges, brokers, and dealers. The bill would place digital commodity spot markets under the CFTC while leaving assets classified as securities within the

08-14Industry

Washington court orders Kalshi to halt most prediction market offerings in state

Quick TakeA Washington court has ordered Kalshi to stop offering prediction markets related to sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology and science, or “mentions” in the state.Kalshi must geofence Washington users by Sept. 2.　　A Washington court issued a final order requiring Kalshi to cease offering a wide range of event contracts in the state, after finding the company likely violated its gambling regulations.　　The order directs Kalshi to stop accepting or facilitating bets on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology and science, or “mentions” in Washington.　　Kalshi must adopt an IP address and residency-based geofence by Aug. 19 and a multi-source geofencing system by Sept. 2 to prevent users in Washington from accessing the restricted markets on Kalshi. The court also barred Kalshi from advertising the restricted wagers to Washington consumers, ruling that the companys marketing of illegal gambling activities constitutes unfair or deceptive practices.　　“Kalshi has gotten rich promoting wagers on sports, elections, natural disasters, events related to the Iran War, and more. Under this order, Kalshi is banned from offering wagers on most of those topics in Washington,” said Attorney General Nick Brown. “As this case moves forward, we will continue to enforce Washington law and hold Kalshi accountable for misleading

08-14Industry

XRP Slides 69% From Peak While Existing Wallet Activity Climbs

XRP closed near $1 on Aug. 13, about 69% below its January 2025 peak. Daily active addresses rose roughly one-third in August, while new-address creation remained virtually unchanged from July.　　Key TakeawaysXRP recorded its lowest daily close since November 2024.Active addresses rose about 35%, while new addresses stayed flat.Higher activity does not confirm growth in individual users.　　XRP Price Weakness Collides With Higher Ledger Activity　　XRP traded near $1 on Aug. 13, its lowest level since November 2024 and roughly 69% below its January 2025 peak near $3.30, as ledger activity increased despite the steep retreat. Santiments analysis showed active addresses rising sharply in August while new-address creation remained virtually unchanged from July.　　Amid favorable regulatory momentum, XRP climbed even higher in July 2025, reaching a new peak of approximately $3.65. The summer rally briefly pushed its market capitalization above $200 billion, cementing it as one of the top-performing assets of that period.　　“Price closed at ~$1.00 on Aug 12, the lowest daily close since Nov 2024 and roughly 69% below the January 2025 peak near $3.30,” Santiment wrote, demonstrating how far the asset has retreated during the prolonged decline. The firm added:　　“Activity picked up anyway. Active addresses averaged ~35,700 a day in August against

08-14Industry

Tether completes first full financial audit, receives clean KPMG opinion

Tether completed the first full independent audit of its annual financial statements, with KPMG US issuing a clean opinion on the stablecoin issuers 2025 accounts.　　The audit covered Tethers balance sheet, income statement and cash flows for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, including the assets backing its issued tokens and the liabilities they represent. Tether said the audited statements showed reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion.　　Unlike Tether‘s quarterly reserve attestations, which it has published for years, the full audit subjected the company’s broader financial statements and underlying evidence to independent examination, including transactions, systems, ownership records, valuations and counterparties.Source: Paolo Ardoino　　As part of the audit, KPMG physically inspected and counted Tethers gold holdings, verifying each bar rather than relying solely on custodian records.　　Tether said KPMG issued an unqualified opinion on the statements, finding they fairly presented the companys financial position, results and cash flows in all material respects under US accounting standards.　　Related: Tether signs tokenization deal with Nairobi Securities Exchange　　Tethers growing financial footprint　　Tether launched its USDt (USDT) stablecoin in 2014 and has since grown into one of the crypto industrys largest companies, generating more than $10 billion in net profit in 2025. In the second quarter of this year, the

08-14Industry

U.S. SEC to again delay 'innovation exemption' for tokenization amid Wall Street, White House concerns

The source also said SEC staff have become increasingly focused on the agencys legal authority to issue such broad relief, including whether it has completed sufficient economic analysis and followed the procedural steps required to justify an exemption. Industry insiders have been instructed that this effort may need to wait for the outcome of the Clarity Act.　　Resistance came from traditional financial institutions as well.　　SIFMA, the Wall Street trade group whose members include major broker-dealers and investment banks, has emerged as one of the main groups halting the SECs initiative, according to an industry source familiar with the discussions. SIFMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.　　The groups concerns centered on how blockchain-based trading venues would fit within existing equity-market rules, particularly brokers obligations to seek the best execution for customers, the source said.　　Under todays market structure, Regulation NMS links prices across exchanges and generally requires brokers to execute trades at the best available protected quotation. That framework becomes less straightforward if tokenized securities trade through decentralized venues or automated market makers (AMM), where pricing and execution costs may differ from traditional exchanges.　　In June, the SEC proposed eliminating Rule 611 of Regulation NMS — the so-called Order Protection Rule

08-14Industry

Delio CEO sentenced to 15 years in prison on crypto fraud in South Korea

A judge in South Korea reportedly sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of defrauding users out of about $50 million in crypto.　　According to a Thursday report from South Korean news outlet Newsis, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Jeong after his conviction on charges related to embezzlement and the use of a false trading license, but the CEO received no detention for defrauding users of $175 million.　　“While operating Delio, [Jeong] falsely obtained a virtual asset trading license and defrauded victims of approximately 70 billion won [$49.3 million] in virtual assets,” said the court, adding:　　“Numerous victims have suffered significant economic damage due to this case, which is difficult to recover.”　　Launched in 2022, Delio marketed itself as a “digital asset bank” that offered high interest on crypto deposits. However, the exchange froze customer withdrawals in June 2023 and declared bankruptcy in November 2024, leading to Jeongs indictment on fraud charges in April 2025.　　The ruling impacting Delio was the latest example of crypto-related fraud among South Korea-based exchanges. Notably, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon escaped authorities for almost a year following the companys collapse in May 2022. He was

08-14Industry

City of Baltimore goes after prediction markets for sports betting

The City of Baltimore and its mayor, Brendan Scott, filed lawsuits against Kalshi and Polymarket over allegations that the companies violated local gambling laws.　　In a Thursday notice, the Baltimore mayor‘s office said that the two prediction market companies operated “illegal, unlicensed sports-betting platforms” and misled users about the “legality and regulatory status of their products.” The lawsuits are centered on claims disputing Kalshi’s and Polymarkets characterization of event contracts, arguing that the trades amount to unlawful wagers under state laws.　　“These companies are running sportsbooks without licenses and betting that a new label will put them above the law,” said Scott. “It wont. Baltimore will not let multibillion-dollar companies put profits over people and harm our communities through illegal gambling.”　　Notably, the citys complaint against Kalshi included Robinhood, Webull and Coinbase as partners with the prediction market platform. All companies were accused of deceptive practices by marketing sports contracts as something that can “lawfully be purchased and traded in Maryland.”　　The legal action against prediction market companies was the latest conflict between US state and federal authorities, and many experts expect it to end with an appeal to the Supreme Court. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), under Chair Michael Selig, and

08-14Industry

Tether says it completed long-promised 'Big Four' audit of finances behind $180 billion USDT stablecoin

The audit is a step up from the quarterly attestations Tether has published for years after settling an investigation with the New York Attorney Generals office. An attestation checks specific information, such as the amount and composition of reserves at a given date. A financial audit takes a broader look at a companys books, testing transactions, assets, liabilities, income, cash flows and the evidence supporting them.　　Tether said in March that it had hired a “Big Four” accounting firm to conduct its first full audit. KPMG is one of the Big Four, the group of accounting giants that also includes Deloitte, EY and PwC and audits many of the worlds largest companies.　　KPMG examined Tethers transactions, systems, valuations, counterparties and ownership records, according to the company. Auditors also physically counted and inspected its gold bars.　　Tether has repeatedly promised a full audit while relying on reserve attestations, leaving critics asking why a company of its size hadnt undergone the same level of scrutiny common among large financial firms.　　Concerns about the stability and backing of its USDT token, a key piece of infrastructure for crypto trading and markets, have surfaced from time to time as a potential systemic risk for digital assets. The recurring

08-14Industry

How Pokémon Cards Outpaced the S&P 500 and Bitcoin

Pokémon trading cards outperformed both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin over the past three months, posting a 22.8% gain while the cryptocurrency fell sharply.　　The divergence highlights how collectibles are behaving as an asset class largely disconnected from financial markets.　　Sponsored　　Sponsored　　The Numbers Behind the Outperformance　　A card index tracks the aggregate value of graded collectibles, functioning like a stock index but built around physical items. Rand Group compiled the figures behind this comparison.　　The three-month numbers show a wide gap. Pokémon cards climbed 22.8% while the S&P 500 advanced 4.7% and Bitcoin declined 20.7%.　　Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens.　　The pattern extends across the year. Card indices posted gains of nearly 28% year-to-date, compared with roughly 13% for the S&P 500 and losses of 27%-29% for Bitcoin.　　Retail data confirms the underlying demand. Target reported trading-card sales jumping nearly 70% during 2025, tracking toward more than $1 billion.　　Sponsored　　Sponsored　　Pokémon drove much of that volume. Walmart‘s marketplace registered even steeper increases in sales of the franchise’s products. Two forces explain the appetite. Nostalgia among millennials and Gen Z adults who grew up with the franchise combines with the genuine scarcity of high-grade vintage cards.　　High-profile sales amplified the attention. Influencer Logan Paul sold

08-14Industry

'Bitcoin Is Burning': Red Team Turns to Chinese AI to Find Flaws

In briefThe Bitcoin Red Team is using Chinese AI models to search Bitcoin projects for security flaws.Calle said developers have confirmed numerous critical and high-severity vulnerabilities.They warned that unmaintained projects should not be trusted.　　The Bitcoin Red Team is using Chinese AI models to search nearly the entire Bitcoin open-source ecosystem for security flaws, according to pseudonymous developer and Red Team lead Calle.　　The volunteer group combines AI tools with human review to examine wallets, Lightning applications, software libraries, and other Bitcoin projects. Researchers privately report credible findings to developers so the flaws can be fixed before details are released.　　Myriad: Bitcoins next move？ Click to make your prediction.　　“Were experiencing a massive collision between decades of human open source slop against 2 weeks of Kimi K3,” Calle wrote Thursday on X. “Everything is broken, Bitcoin is burning.”　　Kimi K3 is an AI model from Chinese startup Moonshot AI that developers can download and run on their own systems. It can analyze large codebases and complete lengthy software tasks with little supervision.　　The Bitcoin Red Team has also used Chinese developer Z.ai‘s GLM 5.2, as well as models from OpenAI and Anthropic. American models, though, come with limitations, and developers frequently run up against restrictions imposed

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