Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

New Ethereum proposal would cut issuance to zero if staked ETH reaches $112 billion

Validators would still be paid the same way for doing the same work, and they keep all the transaction fees and tips they earn from building blocks. Only the newly created ETH gets burned. The deduction from validator rewards arrives slowly, phasing in over 18 months, with about six months before that while the upgrade ships, so roughly two years to adjust.　　The current curve never switches off. The proposed one hits zero at 50%. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)　　Six researchers signed the proposal, including Justin Drake of the Ethereum Foundation. It landed days before the deadline for smaller changes to be considered for Hegotá, Ethereums next network upgrade.　　The problem, as the authors see it, is that staking never stops paying. Even if every ETH were staked, the yield would still sit near 1.5%, so there is always a reason to add more.　　Jérôme de Tychey, one of the proposals authors, projects more than 70 million ETH staked by January 2028 if nothing changes. Past a certain level, the proposal states, extra stake makes Ethereum less secure rather than more, because the ETH ends up held by exchanges and staking providers instead of its owners, while small individual stakers get squeezed out.　　About 41 million ETH

08-05Industry

Proof of Play shuts down despite a16z backing

Proof of Play announced on Aug. 4 that it will cease operations after failing to turn its blockchain gaming vision into a scalable and sustainable business.　　The studio said it could not build a product or business model that validated its Web3 gaming thesis at scale.　　The company did not disclose a final closure date, the number of employees affected or its remaining financial position. It also did not identify the buyer of mobile game Shiba Story Go or reveal the acquisition terms.　　The closure follows earlier efforts to preserve elements of Pirate Nation, Proof of Play‘s flagship blockchain game. The studio released the game’s client, smart contracts and artwork through public GitHub repositories rather than leaving all development materials inaccessible.　　Proof of Play could not make its Web3 model sustainable　　Proof of Play launched with a thesis that blockchain technology could give players lasting ownership and allow games to survive beyond their original developers. Its seed round was led by a16z and Greenoaks. Fortune reported that the company raised $33 million in September 2023.　　The studio focused much of that funding and development work on Pirate Nation, a fully onchain role playing game. Proof of Play described the title as both a game and a

08-05Industry

CLARITY Act may stall, but crypto can grow: Bitwise

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said on Aug. 4 that the crypto industry would continue expanding even if the U.S. Senate fails to advance the CLARITY Act before its August recess.　　In a new investor memo, Hougan said crypto “will be fine” without immediate congressional action. He argued that Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking could provide an alternative path while traditional financial companies continue adopting digital assets. His assessment is a forward looking industry view, not a confirmed regulatory outcome.　　The bill‘s immediate prospects remain uncertain. The Senate’s Aug. 4 floor schedule did not include H.R. 3633, and the chamber‘s official list of pending cloture motions named two unrelated matters. No cloture filing for the CLARITY Act had been announced by the end of Tuesday’s session.　　CLARITY Act Delay May Not Stop Crypto After All　　Crypto can continue growing even if the CLARITY Act stalls this week, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says.　　He expects the SEC to introduce rules that could prove even more crypto friendly.　　Hougan cited recent comments from SEC Chair… pic.twitter.com/NOlzePaFUI　　— BSCN (@BSCNews) August 5, 2026　　CLARITY Act faces an Aug. 5 procedural test　　Hougan identified Wednesday, Aug. 5, as the practical deadline for Senate leaders to file cloture and preserve a possible Friday

08-05Industry

Bitcoin flat at $64,000 as stocks print records and Hormuz deal nears

SK Hynix rose 6.4% after the Seoul open and Nvidia added over 2% after hours, though AMD dropped 9% on a soft sales outlook and SpaceX fell 7.5% on higher projected AI spending.　　Brent crude fell 1.1% to about $78.50 a barrel after Axios reported Washington, Tehran and Oman were close to an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with an announcement targeted for Wednesday. Treasuries and gold both advanced as traders trimmed bets on further rate hikes.　　Equities are printing records while bitcoin sits roughly 49% below the $126,000 it reached last October, and the second-largest asset is falling on the week.　　Cheaper oil, easing rate expectations and a risk-on equity bid have now failed to move crypto for three straight sessions, which points the drag inward rather than at the macro.　　Watch what happens if the Hormuz announcement lands Wednesday as reported. That is the cleanest macro catalyst crypto will get this week, and a market that cannot rally on a confirmed deal after failing to rally on the prospect of one is telling you the buyers are elsewhere.

08-05Industry

Bybits EU payments arm secures Austrian e-money license

Bybits European payments subsidiary has secured an electronic money institution license in Austria, providing the exchange with a regulatory basis to add payment and e-money services to its regional platform.　　On Tuesday, Bybit said Bybit Payments GmbH received the license from Austrias Financial Market Authority. The authorization provides a legal basis for future payment capabilities, which may include person-to-person payments, merchant payment solutions, open banking features and card products.　　The payment services will be offered through Bybit.eu alongside services provided by Bybit EU GmbH, a separate Austrian entity authorized under the European Unions Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation since May 2025. Bybit.eu serves users across the European Economic Area (EEA), with Malta excluded.　　Bybit has not specified the reason why Malta was excluded, but said on its website that services are available only in jurisdictions where applicable MiCA passporting requirements have been met.　　Bybit said the two entities will maintain distinct regulatory permissions and responsibilities. Bybit EU GmbH is authorized to provide crypto custody, exchange, placement and transfer services, while Bybit Payments GmbH will handle regulated electronic money and payment products as they are introduced.　　The exchange said the new regulatory milestone could help strengthen its relationship with banks, payment providers and enterprises while reducing its

08-05Industry

Western Union launches USDPT Visa card with Rain

Western Union and stablecoin payments company Rain launched Stablecard on Aug. 4, giving customers in 37 markets a way to receive, hold and spend Western Unions USDPT stablecoin.　　Summary37 markets now offer Western Union Stablecard access, with expansion targeting more than 60 markets.USDPT remittances can fund a Visa card for spending online, in stores, or at ATMs.Anchorage Digital Bank issues USDPT on Solana and publishes monthly independent reserve attestation reports online.Western Unions second quarter digital transactions rose 25%, supporting its wider shift toward digital services.Solana Explorer showed 5.92 million USDPT outstanding, above the amount covered by Junes attestation report.　　The product combines a digital wallet with a Visa card and is available through dedicated applications on Apples App Store and Google Play.　　USDPT is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on Solana and is redeemable at a one to one rate for U.S. dollars. Customers can receive eligible Western Union transfers into the Stablecard wallet, transfer USDPT from compatible wallets or exchanges, and spend through Visa merchants or ATMs.　　BREAKING: Western Unions Stablecard is live.　　Spend instantly anywhere Visa works, across 175M merchant locations in 37 markets at launch. 　　The card runs on USDPT, @WesternUnions own stablecoin issued onchain on Solana and powered by @raincards. https://t.co/A0ycTQP68X

08-05Industry

Polymarket reportedly seeks $1 billion at $20B

Polymarket is reportedly in preliminary talks with prospective investors about raising roughly $1 billion at a valuation above $20 billion.　　Bloomberg reported the discussions on Aug. 4, citing people familiar with the private negotiations.　　The company has not announced a deal. A Polymarket spokesperson declined to comment on the report. The fundraising amount, valuation and investor group should therefore be treated as “preliminary” rather than completed financing.　　A successful round would place Polymarket near Kalshi, its largest prediction market rival, which secured a $22 billion valuation in May. It would also continue the rapid rise in private valuations across an industry expanding from election contracts into sports, economics, crypto and other real world events.　　Polymarket funding talks remain unconfirmed　　The reported transaction remains at an early stage. No term sheet, closing date or final investor list has been released. Private funding discussions can change before completion, including the capital raised and the valuation investors ultimately accept.　　Comparisons with Polymarket‘s October 2025 valuation also require care. Bloomberg referred to a valuation of about $9 billion. However, Intercontinental Exchange’s official announcement said its planned investment reflected an approximate $8 billion valuation before the new capital was added. The figures may use different valuation bases and are not necessarily

08-05Industry

US, UK reaffirm support for stablecoins, tokenization in joint financial regulation talks

The United States and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their commitment to closer financial regulatory cooperation during a recent bilateral working group, signaling continued policy alignment on digital assets as US authorities move to implement landmark stablecoin legislation.　　During the 13th meeting of the UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG), held in London on July 8, officials discussed stablecoin regulation, digital asset market structure in the United States, tokenization and the UKs Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.　　An Aug. 4 joint statement summarizing the meeting said US officials updated their UK counterparts on implementation of the GENIUS Act, the countrys landmark stablecoin law, as well as ongoing work on digital asset market structure. Participants also discussed payment modernization and the G20 Cross-border Payments Roadmap, an international initiative to improve cross-border payments.　　Although the meeting did not produce new policy measures, it underscored a shared commitment to coordinating regulation across key areas of the digital asset industry. The statement struck a broadly supportive tone toward “responsible” digital asset innovation while emphasizing financial stability and international regulatory cooperation.　　That commitment was also reflected on July 14, when the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future — a joint US-UK initiative focused on strengthening cooperation on financial innovation

08-05Industry

Ethereum researchers want to rein in staking, critics say it could backfire

A group of six Ethereum researchers and developers, including Ethereum Foundation‘s Justin Drake, has proposed changing the network’s issuance policy to cut validator rewards more sharply as the proportion of staked ETH rises.　　The draft, called the Tapered Issuance Burn and currently being assigned the provisional number EIP-8363, would burn an increasing fraction of validators consensus rewards as the amount of staked ETH approaches a fixed threshold of 60.25 million ETH (around 50% of the current ETH supply), at which point the deduction hits 100%. The changes would phase in over 18 months.Tapered Issuance Burn Ethereum Improvement Proposal. Source: Github　　The proposal has triggered backlash from developers, stakers and DeFi founders, who warn that the reward cuts could force out solo validators before larger institutions are affected, weaken institutional demand for ETH, and disrupt DeFi markets built around staking yield.　　One of the proposal‘s authors, Jérôme de Tychey, said the changes are needed to address the rising share of Ether being staked, which passed 33% in April. The authors argue continued staking growth could concentrate ETH in large custodians and liquid staking providers, while unchecked issuance erodes Ether’s role as a neutral, trustless store of value.　　“Ever-growing issuance is a dilution tax on every

08-05Industry

Crypto 'will be fine' even if Clarity fails to pass this week, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says

Quick TakeBitwise CIO Matt Hougan said crypto will still march forward even if Clarity Act fails to pass this week.The U.S. Congress is entering a month-long recess next week, giving Clarity a three-day window to advance through the Senate.　　Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said crypto will continue to march ahead even if the U.S. Clarity Act fails to pass this week — a deadline widely seen as a critical juncture before Congress takes its August recess.　　The Senate is scheduled to begin its summer break from Aug. 10 to Sept. 11, giving Clarity a three-day window to clear the chamber before lawmakers depart for the recess.　　In a Tuesday blog post, Hougan wrote that the crypto industry will “find a way forward” without the passage of Clarity, arguing that the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely establish rules in place of the bill that are even more crypto-friendly.　　Hougan cited recent comments by SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who said the agency is willing and able to push out rules that address many of the same issues as Clarity.　　“In the short term, rules from Atkins SEC are likely to be more crypto- and innovation-friendly than those that would emerge from a bipartisan bill

08-05Industry

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