Latest Crypto News & Market Updates

WikiBit Exchange Exit Scam Risk Ranking #12 — CoinUp: The Exchange Personally “Called Out” by Yi He — Would You Still Keep Your Money There?

Introduction: An Exchange Named by the “Crypto Industry Inspector”　　In the previous 11 editions, we investigated HashKey (the compliance top student), HTX (a sanctions hotspot), UZX (the DAO penny-stock case), Phemex (the “Morgan Stanley elite” narrative), Tapbit (the MSB registration king), Coincheck (Japan‘s crypto phoenix), Deepcoin (the El Salvador makeover), Upbit (South Korea’s national exchange), Azbit (the Seychelles FSA regulatory embarrassment), FameEX (the three-country license collector), and Bitvavo (Europes compliance champion).　　Each one had its own set of problems.　　Today, in the 12th edition, we are looking at one of the most explosive cases — CoinUp.　　This exchange has an impressive-sounding resume:　　“Founded in Silicon Valley in September 2021,”　　“Registered in the Cayman Islands,”　　“Operating centers in Singapore, Canada, and Hong Kong,”　　“Ranked No.29 globally in derivatives trading volume on CoinMarketCap,”　　“More than $12.98 billion in 24-hour derivatives volume,”　　“Over 15,000 daily active users,”　　“300+ spot trading pairs, 700+ spot markets, 100+ futures products,”　　“Daily trading volume reaching billions of dollars.”　　Sounds like the profile of a top-tier exchange, right？　　But on the other side of the story:　　Binance co-founder Yi He publicly accused its “operator” of impersonating others for fraud, and even Justin Sun was reportedly deceived by him; WikiBits assessment shows “questionable regulatory credentials” and “no valid regulatory information found”; numerous users complained

09-01Deep Dive

5 top embedded verification SDKs for DeFi in 2026

Identity verification is becoming a core part of the DeFi stack as developers look to embed reusable credentials, privacy-preserving proofs and compliance checks directly into lending, payments, stablecoins and tokenized asset platforms.　　SummaryEmbedded verification SDKs are bringing identity, credentials and compliance checks directly into DeFi applications.AIR and zkMe focus on reusable credentials and privacy preserving verification that can work across applications and blockchains.Privado ID uses verifiable credentials and zero knowledge technology for decentralized identity and conditional access.Sumsub offers a more traditional compliance stack covering KYC, KYB, AML screening and transaction monitoring.Civic is now primarily focused on Web3 authentication and embedded wallet onboarding following its move away from Civic Pass verification products.　　As decentralized finance expands into lending, payments, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, applications increasingly need ways to establish whether users meet specific requirements without turning every interaction into a traditional onboarding process.　　That is driving interest in the embedded verification SDK: infrastructure developers can integrate directly into an application to handle identity, credentials or access requirements without sending users through disconnected experiences.　　The strongest solutions for DeFi go further. They are increasingly focused on reusable credentials, privacy-preserving proofs and interoperability across applications and chains.　　Here are five embedded verification SDKs and identity platforms worth

09-01Industry

Zcash Leads August Rally With Massive 82% Surge

In August 2026, the cryptocurrency market staged a strong recovery, adding approximately $500 billion to reach an aggregate valuation above $2.7 trillion. The primary catalyst was macroeconomic policy—specifically, the U.S. Treasurys decision to double bond buybacks alongside supportive comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.　　Key TakeawaysU.S. Treasury policies pushed total crypto market capitalization past $2.7 trillion in August 2026.Bitcoin rose nearly 25% to breach $81,000, while Zcash outpaced all major coins with an 82% surge.Analysts project nitcoin could close 2026 with net gains if policy-driven market momentum holds.　　Bitcoin Rebounds Toward Year-End Profitability　　Following a rocky opening, August delivered one of the crypto markets strongest performances of 2026 so far, injecting roughly $500 billion into total market capitalization. Key drivers behind the rally included a U.S. Treasury announcement to double its bond buybacks, coupled with dovish commentary from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which together pushed the aggregate crypto market cap beyond $2.7 trillion.　　While critics warned that the U.S. Treasurys strategy posed dire risks to the American financial system, crypto advocates—and bitcoin maximalists in particular—viewed the policy shifts as ultimate vindication. To the crypto faithful, the moves echoed the aggressive monetary expansion and ensuing currency debasement that ultimately prompted Satoshi Nakamoto to launch bitcoin

09-01Industry

Cronos restarts network after emergency halt over Tectonic exploit

Cronos has resumed block production after validators halted the network during an exploit targeting Tectonic and restored the chain state to a point before the attack.　　SummaryCronos resumed block production after validators halted the network during an exploit targeting the Tectonic protocol.The chain was restored to its state before the exploit, with block production restarting from block 90,896,189.Cronos remains under observation, while some protocols, RPC providers, explorers and bridges may take longer to return.A full postmortem covering the Tectonic exploit and the networks response will be released soon.　　Cronos Network said the blockchain was fully back online after the validator set coordinated an emergency halt designed to protect users while the Tectonic incident was being contained. The restart followed a rollback of the network state, effectively returning Cronos to its condition before the exploit.　　The Cronos Network is producing blocks again and is fully back online.　　The Cronos Network halted earlier today. This was a validator-consensus emergency action to protect users from an exploit on the Tectonic protocol. The chain state was restored to before the Tectonic exploit…　　— Cronos Network (@CronosNetwork) August 31, 2026　　Block production resumed at 23:49:01 UTC on Aug. 30 from block 90,896,189. Node operators have been instructed to restart using Cronos

09-01Industry

Trump Jr.-linked 1789 Capital leads Polymarkets $1B raise: Report

Donald Trump Jr.-linked investment firm 1789 Capital is reportedly investing about $300 million in Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction market.　　1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, will make the $300 million investment as part of a $1 billion round that would value Polymarket at $21 billion, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.　　The investment would bring 1789 Capital‘s total investment in Polymarket to about $500 million and make it one of the platform’s largest backers.　　Cointelegraph has approached 1789 Capital and Polymarket for comment.　　ICE remains Polymarkets largest disclosed investor. In a July 30 10-Q filing, ICE said it had invested a combined $1.6 billion in Polymarket preferred shares. The holdings had a carrying value of approximately $2 billion as of June 30 and represented about 22% of outstanding shares, or 14% on a fully diluted basis.　　Polymarket reportedly started talks to raise $400 million in fresh capital in April, when it was seeking to raise the funds at a potential $15 billion valuation, below the $22 billion valuation of its main competitor, Kalshi.　　Prediction markets are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny in the US and worldwide. On Aug. 14, JPMorgan Chase reportedly ended a banking relationship with Polymarket

09-01Industry

Ripple unlocks 1B XRP as escrow falls to 31.28B

Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP on Sept. 1 through three transactions involving 500 million, 400 million and 100 million tokens.　　Blockchain monitoring account Whale Alert reported the transfers from Ripple-controlled escrow accounts.　　The release formed part of Ripples programmed monthly XRP escrow schedule. It did not show that the company sold the tokens or transferred the entire amount to exchanges. The XRP became available to Ripple after the underlying time locks expired.　　Ripples XRP unlock leaves 31.28B in escrow　　Approximately 31.28 billion XRP remained inside active on-ledger escrow objects after the September release, according to an independent tracker that queries validated XRP Ledger data. The figure represented about 31.28% of XRPs original 100 billion supply.　　The tracker recorded approximately 32.28 billion XRP in escrow before the three September transactions. Completing escrow objects containing a combined 1 billion XRP reduced that balance to 31.28 billion.　　This figure should still be attributed to the tracker rather than presented as a new company disclosure. Ripple had not published an updated official escrow balance at the time of reporting. Different data services can also show temporary discrepancies when they rely on cached figures instead of active ledger objects.　　The remaining balance does not represent Ripples entire XRP position. Ripple also controls

09-01Industry

Solana AMM Aquifer hit by $2.5 million exploit, offers 20% bounty

Solana-based automated market maker Aquifer has lost roughly $2.5 million in an exploit involving wallets on Solana and Ethereum, with the protocol offering the attacker a 20% bounty for returning most of the funds.　　Blockchain security monitoring service Defimon reported the attack on Aug. 31, identifying separate Solana and Ethereum addresses controlled by the suspected exploiter. Aquifer later sent an on-chain whitehat offer seeking the return of at least 80% of the assets linked to the incident.　　Solana prop AMM @_aquifer_ (https://t.co/Ht8ZLFgSDM) exploited for ~$2.5M　　Attacker (Ethereum): https://t.co/EsfR5KFiQK　　Attacker (Solana): https://t.co/UozUOIj3sX https://t.co/gV1FFq9Mmw pic.twitter.com/UWJAM7FCGX　　— Defimon Alerts (@DefimonAlerts) August 31, 2026　　The offer gives the attacker until Sept. 3 at 14:00 UTC to transfer the assets, or their equivalent value, to recovery addresses provided by Aquifer. The person controlling the wallets may retain up to 20% of the funds as a whitehat bounty if the conditions are met.　　Aquifer said it would not pursue civil claims arising from the exploit if the attacker complies with the terms, subject to applicable law. The agreement would not bind law enforcement agencies, regulators, sanctions authorities or other government bodies.　　Aquifer exploit involves wallets on two chains　　Aquifer operates as a proprietary automated market maker on Solana, where its liquidity is used to facilitate

09-01Industry

How Saylors $2 billion capital loop is quietly rewriting the rules of Bitcoin ownership

Michael Saylor recently published an essay arguing that institutional custody and securities can expand Bitcoin without eliminating self-custody. On the same day, Strategy reported $2.0065 billion of net MSTR share-sale proceeds, $5.10 billion in its USD Reserve, $1.59 billion in a new USD Cash pool and a $136.4 million repurchase of STRC preferred stock.　　Related Asset Bitcoin #1 BTC · $78,743.22 24-hour change: up 0.87% 24H Up 0.87% 7D Down 2.44% 30D Up 24.17%　　Saylors “The Bitcoin Reformation” defines sovereignty as the ability to choose among direct ownership and transparent institutional claims. Strategys Aug. 24 Form 8-K shows the company raising, protecting and reallocating capital through exactly those layers while holding 840,447 BTC.　　The essay remains attributed directly to Saylor; Strategys formal policies appear separately in its filings. Shared timing doesnt establish a motive; it does place a broad adoption doctrine beside the capital system that benefits most directly from investors accepting Bitcoin-linked equity, preferred stock, debt, and custodial products as legitimate but distinct claims.　　Related Person Michael Saylor Executive Chairman · Strategy　　Saylor describes self-custody as a vital exit right and a check on intermediaries. He rejects turning that right into an obligation for every person and institution.　　The distinction rests on risk allocation. Direct

09-01Industry

WikiBit Exchange Exit Scam Risk Ranking Issue #11 — Bitvavo: The “Compliance King” of Europe Powered by MiCA, Why Are Users Still Complaining?

Introduction: Finally, a “Serious Player”　　In the first 10 episodes, we investigated HashKey (Hong Kong licensed), HTX (sanctions hotspot), UZX (DAO penny-stock style exchange), Phemex (Wall Street elite background), Tapbit (MSB registration collector), Coincheck (Japan‘s “immortal phoenix”), Deepcoin (El Salvador’s new regulatory outfit), Upbit (South Koreas national exchange), Azbit (the Seychelles FSA officially calling it out), and FameEX (the three-country registration collector).　　Throughout the series, the number of red flags was overwhelming.　　But in Episode 11, we finally encounter a completely different type of exchange — Bitvavo.　　Compared with the previous cases, Bitvavos resume looks like a breath of fresh air:Founded in Amsterdam in 2018Registered with the Dutch Central Bank (DNB)Obtained an EU MiCAR license in 2025Ranked No.1 in European euro spot trading volume (44% market share)Quarterly independent Proof of Reserves (PoR) audits€7.55 billion theft insurance coverage€100,000 account protection　　Every item appears to follow the rhythm of “compliance.”　　However, on the other side of the story:　　Bitvavo has a Trustpilot score of 4.1/5 (“Great”), yet some users complain about:“Withdrawals delayed for 29 days”“Accounts frozen without clear explanations”“Customer support responses feel like AI-generated replies”　　So how can an exchange with one of Europes strongest compliance frameworks still receive user complaints？　　Today, we will break it down layer by layer.1. Regulatory

09-01Deep Dive

Crypto hacks rise 67% as August losses hit $136M

Crypto hacks increased sharply in August, although the estimated value stolen fell by nearly half compared with July, according to blockchain security company PeckShield.　　PeckShield reported on Sept. 1 that it recorded 50 major incidents during August. That was a 67% increase from the 30 incidents counted in July.　　Estimated losses reached $136.3 million, down 49.5% from approximately $270 million in July. The figures represent PeckShields estimates and may change as affected projects investigate transactions, freeze assets or recover funds.　　The Tectonic lending incident dominated the month, accounting for approximately $74 million, or more than half of PeckShields total.　　#PeckShieldAlert n August 2026, the crypto industry experienced 50 major hacks (+67% from Julys 30 hacks), resulting in total losses of $136.3M – a 49.5% month-over-month decrease from Julys $270M.　　The Tectonic.cro incident, which resulted in ~$74M in losses, was the… pic.twitter.com/QtQUy8czdZ　　— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 1, 2026　　Crypto hacks became more frequent but less costly　　The August figures show a growing number of attacks with losses concentrated in one large incident. Excluding Tectonic, the remaining 49 incidents generated estimated combined losses of about $62.3 million.　　PeckShield identified Moonwell as the second-largest incident at $8.7 million. Term Labs followed at $8.5 million, while Coinsbuy and TAC recorded estimated losses of

09-01Industry