Summary
gm, The CFTC announced new guidance allowing foreign cryptocurrency exchanges to legally operate in the United States through the Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT) framework, potentially benefiting exchanges like Binance and enhancing market liquidity. Meanwhile, the crypto market experienced a downturn with Bitcoin dipping below $109,000 and Ethereum falling below $4,400, triggering over $500 million in liquidations. On the institutional front, venture investors allocated nearly $100 million to stablecoin startups, including M0 and Rain, highlighting growing interest in programmable money infrastructure. Additionally, Solana validators commenced voting on the landmark Alpenglow consensus protocol, which aims to significantly reduce transaction finality times from 12.8 seconds to approximately 100-150 milliseconds.

News Headlines
📊 Bitcoin Whales Send BTC Price Under $109.5K Amid Market Uncertainty

  • Bitcoin dropped by $3,000 within hours, reaching a low of $109,436 as significant whale selling pressure emerged, with traders identifying manipulative "spoofy" transactions influencing the price movement.
  • Market attention is now focused on the upcoming US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, which is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve and expected to significantly influence crypto prices in the near term.

🏦 There Are Now More Than 90 Crypto ETFs Pending SEC Approval

  • The SEC is evaluating 92 applications for crypto ETFs, primarily focused on popular altcoins like XRP and Solana, with industry experts anticipating several approvals by the end of October.
  • Following the successful launches of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, this influx of applications signals a deeper integration of cryptocurrencies into traditional finance, though some skeptics question whether all funds will attract sufficient investor interest.

🐳 Bitcoin Whale Sitting on $5 Billion Dumps More BTC to Buy Ethereum

  • A major Bitcoin whale with holdings worth $5 billion converted $216 million worth of BTC to Ethereum on August 29, systematically selling 2,000 BTC in small increments on Hyperliquid.
  • This whale has previously purchased $2.5 billion of ETH, reflecting a broader trend of large Bitcoin holders reallocating portions of their portfolio to Ethereum as the latter recently reached new all-time highs.

🚀 Lombard brings yield-bearing LBTC to Solana

  • Lombard Finance has launched its liquid-staked Bitcoin token, LBTC, on Solana, enabling users to access yield-bearing Bitcoin that offers approximately 1% yield in BTC.
  • LBTC is backed by a decentralized consortium of 14 regulated custodians with a circulating supply of about 1.5 billion tokens, aiming to enhance Solana's liquidity after significant success on Ethereum where it reached over $2 billion in supply.

💼 The Sandbox co-founders ousted from exec roles amid mass layoffs

  • The Sandbox is undergoing major restructuring with layoffs affecting over half of its 250 staff members and co-founders being stripped of executive powers and reassigned to ambassador and chairman roles.
  • Despite raising substantial funds, the company struggles with user adoption and is pivoting toward crypto applications, including a new memecoin-focused platform, raising questions about the viability of its metaverse vision.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. OrangeX (Series B, $20M) - Global crypto trading platform
2. Almanak (Public Token Sale, $2.5M) - Web3 platform for building, optimizing, and deploying financial strategies
3. Suzaku Network (Undisclosed, $1.5M) - Decentralization hub for L1s

Regulatory
📝 Senate Eyes September 30 for Crypto Market Structure Bill Review

  • The US Senate is planning to consider a revised version of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act by September 30, following the House's passage of the CLARITY Act.
  • The bill aims to clarify the SEC's role in regulating crypto markets and revise the definition of investment contracts, potentially resolving longstanding jurisdictional uncertainties.

📑 Unicoin Disputes SEC's $100M Fraud Case

  • Unicoin has responded to the SEC's $100 million fraud lawsuit, claiming the commission deliberately distorted the company's regulatory filings and ignored risk disclaimers.
  • The company argues the SEC selectively quoted communications and mischaracterized routine financial optimism as deceit, seeking dismissal based on failure to meet securities fraud proof standards.

💼 Strategy Bitcoin Lawsuit Dismissed as Investors Withdraw

  • Investors have voluntarily dismissed their class-action lawsuit against Bitcoin treasury company Strategy with prejudice, meaning they cannot refile the case.
  • The lawsuit had claimed Strategy misled shareholders about its profitability and the impact of switching to fair value accounting for its Bitcoin holdings.

🔐 El Salvador Redistributes Bitcoin Holdings Across Multiple Wallets

  • El Salvador has split its 6,274 BTC (worth approximately $678 million) across 14 new wallet addresses as a security measure against potential future quantum computing threats.
  • The strategic redistribution aims to reduce vulnerability, as Bitcoin addresses become more exposed to potential quantum attacks once transactions occur from them.

🏦 FinCEN Report: US Banks Processed $312B in Chinese Money Laundering

  • A FinCEN report revealed that US banks facilitated $312 billion in money laundering by Chinese criminal networks from 2020-2024, supporting Mexican cartels and other illegal activities.
  • This finding contrasts sharply with criticism of cryptocurrency for illicit finance, as crypto-related money laundering totaled only about $189 billion during the same period.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin is in a falling trend channel in the short term. Falling trends indicate that the currency experiences negative development and falling buy interest among investors. The currency has support at points 101300 and resistance at points 110000. The short term momentum of the currency is strongly negative, with RSI below 30. This indicates increasing pessimism among investors and further decline for Bitcoin. However, particularly in big stocks, low RSI may be a sign that the stock is oversold and that there is a chance for a reaction upwards. The RSI curve shows a falling trend, which supports the negative trend. The currency is overall assessed as technically negative for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum has broken through the floor of a rising trend channel in the short term. This indicates a slower rising rate at first, or the start of a more horizontal development. The currency has support at points 3880 and resistance at points 4800. The currency is assessed as technically neutral for the short term.