Author: John Smith

Ireland has excluded crypto and derivatives from tax-advantaged investment accounts due to the launch in 2027, while allowing listed stocks, bonds, ETFs and retail investment funds. Summary Ireland’s new investment accounts will become available to eligible residents in 2027. Crypto assets and derivatives will not qualify for the account’s preferential tax treatment. Budget 2027 will set the tax-free threshold, flat tax rate, and annual contribution limit. Each eligible adult may open one account through an approved financial provider. Ireland’s Department of Finance said in its retail investment roadmap that crypto assets and derivatives will remain outside the new account because…

Hyperliquid Labs and Kraken parent Payward have entered advanced talks to offer selected Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures to U.S. traders through CFTC-regulated exchange Bitnomial. Summary Payward has presented the CFTC with an outline of the proposed arrangement. Bitnomial would list selected contracts rather than provide access to Hyperliquid’s decentralized platform. The parties still need regulatory clearance before making the products available. HYPE traded near $84 after gaining more than 60% since the start of August. Hyperliquid could reach U.S. traders through Bitnomial Bloomberg reported on Aug. 31 that Hyperliquid Labs and Payward are discussing a structure that would place selected crypto…

Wallets linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group have sold more than $30 million in Bitcoin through Hyperliquid over three weeks as U.S. officials and Payward explore regulated access to the platform. Summary Lazarus-linked wallets sold more than $30 million in Bitcoin through Hyperliquid, Arkham data showed. The wallets used the proceeds to buy Ethereum and Solana before transferring the assets to exchanges. Payward is reportedly discussing a structure that could offer selected Hyperliquid perpetuals to U.S. traders. Hyperliquid has processed $5.19 trillion in cumulative perpetual trading volume, according to DefiLlama. Lazarus-linked wallets convert Bitcoin into ETH and SOL Arkham blockchain…

Kalshi has permanently banned former U.S. Representative George Santos and imposed a $71,356 penalty after finding that he manipulated an attendance market to earn $17,839.57. Summary Kalshi permanently suspended Santos from accessing its exchange either directly or indirectly. Santos earned $17,839.57 from contracts tied to his State of the Union attendance. Public statements by Santos moved contract prices in favor of his positions, Kalshi found. A separate CFTC order imposed a three-year trading ban and over $35,000 in payments. Kalshi’s Aug. 28 disciplinary notice said Santos placed large trades between Feb. 2 and Feb. 25 in contracts that paid according…

GRAM has rebounded toward $1.40 after Telegram began releasing its self-custodial Gram Wallet to selected users, while trading volume jumped about 137% around the announcement. Summary GRAM gained about 2% over 24 hours after briefly approaching $1.46. Telegram will release Gram Wallet gradually to its billion-plus users. The wallet supports self-custody, fee-free transfers, and Telegram Collectibles. GRAM faces immediate resistance near $1.39, followed by $1.45. Telegram begins phased Gram Wallet release Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said the company had started giving selected users access to Gram Wallet before expanding availability over the next several weeks. “We’ll be gradually rolling it…

Hyperliquid has faced a potential 10-to-12-month regulatory process to enter the U.S. market even if federal agencies move quickly, according to former SEC senior counsel Ashley Ebersole, after President Donald Trump said regulators were working on a compliant route for the perpetual futures platform. Summary Ebersole told crypto.news that bringing Hyperliquid to the U.S. would require more than a single CFTC registration or approval. The CFTC would likely oversee most crypto perpetuals, while securities-linked contracts could fall under SEC jurisdiction. Ebersole estimates that building a regulatory pathway could take 10 to 12 months even if both agencies actively pursue it.…

Strive has purchased 1,800 Bitcoin for about $143 million, raising its treasury to 23,156 BTC and moving past Bullish into fifth place among public corporate holders. Summary Strive paid an average of $79,431 per Bitcoin between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28. The company’s Bitcoin treasury increased from 21,356 BTC to 23,156 BTC. ASST and SATA issuance continued as Strive financed purchases through its at-the-market programs. ASST gained more than 5% on Monday after nearly doubling during August. Strive Bitcoin holdings reach 23,156 BTC The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K filing, submitted on Aug. 31, showed that Strive acquired…

XRP price traded near $1.36 on Aug. 31 after falling roughly 7% over seven days, as fading momentum and leveraged position unwinding offset record weekly demand from U.S. spot exchange-traded funds. Summary XRP price retreated from $1.48 to $1.36 but remained above its 4-hour Supertrend support at $1.341. U.S. spot XRP ETFs attracted $110.49 million during their strongest inflow week of 2026. CoinGlass data shows major liquidation concentrations near $1.35, $1.38, and between $1.44 and $1.50. A break below $1.34 could expose $1.28, while reclaiming $1.40 would improve the recovery setup. XRP price pulls back 7% after August rally According…

Bitcoin developers supporting BIP-110 are preparing a separate BLAKE2b proof-of-work chain for a proposed Sept. 1 launch after an earlier minority branch failed to attract enough SHA-256 mining support. Summary Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr’s supporters plan a BLAKE2b breakaway chain after BIP-110’s minority branch stalled. The original BIP-110 proposed temporary restrictions on arbitrary data, not a proof-of-work algorithm replacement itself. The first enforcing branch produced only two blocks initially, showing that miners withheld meaningful support. Developers scheduled the BLAKE2b chain for September 1, although its final launch remains technically conditional. No major exchange, wallet, or Lightning implementation had publicly committed…

XRP Ledger validators are considering two amendments that would add single-asset vaults and fixed-term lending directly to the network’s core protocol. Summary XLS-65 and XLS-66 remain below the 80% validator threshold required before XRP Ledger mainnet activation. Single Asset Vaults would pool one token, while XLS-66 would issue fixed-term uncollateralized institutional loans. Ripple joined Clearpool and Cicada as an investor, but does not guarantee the fund’s losses. RLUSD would serve as the credit asset, while XRP would pay transaction fees and reserves. Activation requires validator support above 80% for two consecutive weeks, leaving the launch date uncertain. The amendments, XLS-65…