🔖 Ondo Finance weighs a $500 million acquisition as tokenized securities cross $36 billion

➡️ The largest tokenized securities platform cleared its SEC probe, secured FINRA authorization, and put BlackRock’s IVV onchain. Now it is shopping for a target worth up to half a billion dollars while the market it helped build outgrows it.

📣 Ondo Finance spent the first half of 2026 clearing every regulatory hurdle that has historically killed tokenization platforms. It closed an SEC investigation without charges. It secured FINRA authorization for tokenized equities. It put BlackRock’s flagship ETF onchain under a framework the SEC itself endorsed. And now, with $2.5 billion in assets under management and a market that has tripled in eighteen months, it is looking to spend up to half a billion dollars on an acquisition that would transform it from a tokenization protocol into something closer to a financial conglomerate.

❗️ The acquisition report, first published by CoinDesk on July 30, described Ondo as exploring targets in wealthtech and adjacent sectors valued between $250 million and $500 million. The company’s response was carefully calibrated: “We are not in conversations with any party at this time.” The denial did not say the exploration was not happening. It said no specific target had been engaged. The ONDO token rose approximately 6% on the news, a move that valued the company’s circulating supply at roughly $1.5 billion.

🔔 BitMEX spent two years seeking buyer before shutdown

❗️ BitMEX reportedly spent two years seeking a buyer before deciding to close the crypto derivatives exchange, as founder control, declining activity and legal baggage deterred potential acquirers. BitMEX explored a sale with several potential acquirers over approximately two years but failed to secure an agreement, CoinDesk reported, citing a person familiar with the private discussions.

⚠️ According to CoinDesk’s source, the structure concerned at least one prospective buyer and made negotiations more difficult. Acquirers often reserve part of a transaction’s consideration for current managers, giving executives an incentive to remain with the business after a takeover.

⭐️ BitMEX was said to be seeking a valuation of approximately $1 billion. However, it remains unclear whether any interested company submitted a formal bid. The reported sale attempt ended without a deal before BitMEX’s parent company, HDR Global Trading, completed a strategic review and approved the exchange’s closure.

➡️ GnosisDAO approves Gnosis Chain’s move to Ethereum L2

🔖 GnosisDAO approved GIP 153 on Aug. 19, authorizing Gnosis Chain to transition from a standalone layer one network into a ZK proven Ethereum Economic Zone rollup. The final vote recorded 123,158 GNO in favor, 115 GNO against and 151 GNO abstaining across 54 voters, according to a Gnosis Chain announcement. Total participation reached 123,425 GNO, well above the required quorum of 75,000 GNO.

📣 The decision gives Gnosis developers a mandate to begin designing the change. It does not immediately convert the chain into a layer two network. The initial version is scheduled around the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027, subject to the required technology being ready. Gnosis Chain currently operates its own proof of stake consensus system and validator set. Following the transition, the network will publish proofs and settle transactions on Ethereum, relying on Ethereum validators for settlement security.

‼️ GIP 153 described the current model as difficult to sustain because fee revenue covers only a small part of the chain’s security costs. According to the proposal’s authors, Gnosis issuance dilutes people who do not stake by approximately 2.3% annually, while the DAO also supports infrastructure and liquidity incentives. Those assessments come from the proposal’s authors and should not be treated as independent financial findings. However, the vote establishes that GNO holders accepted the strategic direction and authorized work on a different security model.

⚠️ Binance founders used ‘The Simpsons’ codenames, former employees share

📣 Former Binance employees say CZ and Yi He used Homer and Marge Simpson codenames in internal communications. According to former employees familiar with the practice, the pair followed the company’s long-running association with the colour yellow by adopting the names of television’s most famous yellow couple — Homer and Marge Simpson.

📊 The choice was particularly fitting given that CZ and Yi are not only Binance co-founders but also long-time romantic partners. Their personal relationship was kept largely out of the public eye for years, despite the pair working together closely as they built Binance into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

⚠️ Yellow has long been one of the defining colours associated with Binance, appearing prominently throughout its branding and visual communications. Against that backdrop, The Simpsons — perhaps the world’s most instantly recognisable yellow family — provided an obvious source of inspiration for an informal internal naming convention. According to the former employees, the connection was understood internally, turning Homer and Marge into playful alter egos for the company’s two co-founders.

📊 Bitcoin adds $4.6B as onchain liquidity rebounds

🔖 Bitcoin’s realized capitalization increased by more than $4.6 billion during the week ending Aug. 30, according to CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost. The increase accompanied BTC’s sharp recovery from around $63,000 earlier in August to above $80,000. Darkfost described the increase as the strongest short-term realized-cap movement since the current bear market began. However, the analyst warned that the 30-day average growth rate remained just 0.4%, meaning the data does not yet confirm a sustained liquidity expansion.

➡️ Realized capitalization values each Bitcoin at the price recorded when it last moved onchain. This differs from standard market capitalization, which values the entire circulating supply at the latest market price. When older coins move at higher prices, realized cap generally increases. Analysts often interpret that change as capital entering the market because coins are transferring to buyers with higher cost bases.

✨ The latest $4.6 billion increase followed an extended period of declining or weak realized-cap growth. Darkfost said the reversal suggests incoming liquidity helped support Bitcoin’s recent price advance. The analyst nevertheless stopped short of identifying the move as a confirmed market regime change. “This move still needs confirmation,” Darkfost said, pointing to the modest 30-day growth rate.

➡️ Ethereum price targets $2,550 if key EMA holds

❗️ Ethereum price fell below $2,400 on Sept. 2 as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran pushed oil and Treasury yields higher, weakening demand for risk assets. According to data from cryptonews, Ethereum price traded near $2,372 at the time of writing, down about 1.9% on the day after reaching an intraday low of $2,356. The latest decline extended a pullback from the Aug. 27–28 highs near $2,510.

📊 ETH has now lost about 5.5% from the upper end of that range. Sellers also pushed the token through the $2,400 psychological level, which had limited several declines during the previous two weeks. The 4-hour chart shows that Ethereum formed a series of lower highs after its final attempt to regain $2,500 on Aug. 31. Selling accelerated on Sept. 2, with the latest 4-hour candle opening near $2,418 before falling as low as $2,356.

🌐 The decline has not erased Ethereum’s broader August recovery. ETH remains above the daily 20-day simple moving average at $2,299, as well as its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day averages at approximately $2,054, $1,903, and $2,030, respectively.

➡️ Boyaa Interactive adds 205 Bitcoin, taking total holdings to 4,316 BTC

📣 Boyaa Interactive has purchased approximately 205 Bitcoin for $14.3 million, raising its total holdings to roughly 4,316 BTC as the gaming company continues to deploy crypto assets across its Web3 projects. Boyaa Interactive International Limited said in a Sept. 4 Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement that the purchases were completed through a series of open-market transactions between June 24 and Sept. 4. The company spent HK$110 million, equivalent to approximately $14.3 million, using idle cash reserves generated from its business operations.

🌐 Following the transactions, Boyaa holds around 4,316 Bitcoin at an average purchase cost of $68,280 per BTC. The purchases were carried out through regulated and licensed trading platforms, with prices based on prevailing bids and asks in the open market.

⚠️ The latest acquisition was not conducted under the shareholder approval granted at Boyaa’s annual general meeting on June 18 for a separate major Bitcoin transaction. Since applicable percentage ratios for the new purchases exceeded 5% but remained below 25%, the deal was classified as a discloseable transaction under Hong Kong listing rules.

⚠️ Ripple targets $13T treasury market with RLUSD

📌 Ripple has identified corporate treasury clients handling roughly $13 trillion annually as a potential distribution channel for its $2.4 billion RLUSD stablecoin. The $13 trillion figure describes annual transactions touching Ripple Treasury’s customer base. It is not an RLUSD volume forecast, revenue projection or commitment from those customers to use the stablecoin.

🌐 Ripple entered corporate treasury management through its $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury in October 2025. The business now operates as Ripple Treasury and serves approximately 1,200 corporate treasurers and chief financial officers. According to McDonald, companies using the platform move money domestically, across borders and between their subsidiaries. “That customer base hadn’t been onchain,” he said. “They touch roughly 13 trillion dollars worth of transactions on an annual basis.”

⭐️ Ripple has not disclosed how much of that activity could move into RLUSD. The figure defines the existing transaction base served by the treasury platform, leaving any stablecoin conversion as a company target instead of confirmed future volume. “So that opportunity set is just massive,” McDonald said. His assessment represents Ripple’s commercial view and does not show that Ripple Treasury clients have agreed to replace bank deposits, wire transfers or other payment methods.

📌 Kevin O’Leary buys crypto again as he eyes next blockchain adoption wave

❗️ Kevin O’Leary has returned to buying new cryptocurrency positions for the next market cycle while watching for a major stock exchange to adopt blockchain infrastructure, a development he expects could influence which network gains institutional traction. His investment approach is focused less on picking individual crypto assets in isolation and more on determining which underlying network could become a standard for a major industry. Conversations with executives have yet to produce a clear answer, he said, because companies across different sectors are considering different blockchains.

⚠️ O’Leary said he can speak directly with chief executives about the networks their companies are evaluating, but “none of them are saying the same thing.” A major stock exchange could provide one of the clearest signals, according to O’Leary, who described the first exchange to adopt a blockchain as a potential “watershed moment” for the crypto industry.

🔔 Once an exchange settles on a network, companies and financial institutions that interact with the venue could have an incentive to work with infrastructure that meets the same technical and compliance requirements. O’Leary presented that scenario as one possible route through which a particular blockchain could gain wider use.

➡️ Ripple’s Schwartz compares Glock case to SEC fight

⚠️ Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has compared a new Connecticut firearms lawsuit with Ripple’s former SEC battle, arguing that both disputes raise questions about businesses determining whether their conduct complies with unclear regulatory standards. Schwartz said on Sept. 23 that the situation described in the Glock litigation appeared “grossly unfair,” after attorney Kostas Moros drew attention to Glock’s claim that Connecticut officials had not clearly told the manufacturer whether redesigned pistols comply with a law taking effect Oct. 1. Schwartz added: “Ask me how I know.”

📊 His comparison refers to Ripple’s years-long dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but the Connecticut case does not involve cryptocurrency, securities law or the SEC. No court has found that Connecticut officials used the same legal strategy as the federal securities regulator; Schwartz’s comments describe his personal interpretation of the two disputes.

⚠️ Glock filed Glock, Inc. v. Griffin et al. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on Sept. 21, naming Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin and state prosecutors responsible for enforcing the law. The company brought the case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and challenged Connecticut’s new restrictions on “convertible pistols.” The manufacturer has asked the court for emergency relief before the statute becomes effective. Judge Kari A. Dooley ordered Glock to serve the complaint and injunction papers by noon Sept. 24, gave defendants until 5 p.m. Sept. 28 to respond, and scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 29 in Bridgeport.

⚠️ Tether and Shiga plan self-custodial wallets for Africa and the GCC

🌐 Tether and Shiga have announced plans to bring self-custodial wallets for USD₮, Bitcoin, and Tether Gold to individuals and institutions across Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Under the new plan, ENTA will serve individuals, high-net-worth users and businesses. Tether said customers will be able to add funds using local currency, U.S. dollars, or Bitcoin, then hold and transfer USD₮, Bitcoin and XAU₮ from self-custodial wallets.

🔔 The funding options and the assets held in the wallet serve different roles. A customer adding local currency, for example, would use it to fund access to the supported digital assets; the announcement does not say that ENTA will hold local currency as a wallet asset. Tether also did not give a launch date, list the countries where ENTA will first be available, or set out the fees customers would pay.

⭐️ Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said WDK would let companies build products in which users retain control of their assets. “Together with Shiga, we are bringing that infrastructure to markets where people and businesses face real challenges protecting savings and moving money across borders,” Ardoino said.

📌 Chainalysis AI traces $387M Bitget hack in under 10 minutes

🔔 Chainalysis has used its in-house AI to cut more than 20 hours of manual bridge reconciliation to under 10 minutes while investigating the $387 million stolen from Bitget. Chainalysis said in its Oct. 1 report that investigators built custom automation to connect transactions across blockchains after the Sept. 24 breach. The reported time saving concerned matching bridge deposits with payouts, one part of an investigation involving Bitget and law enforcement partners.

📣 Working around the clock, the firm’s investigation team used the tools to follow fragmented transaction trails and share findings with the exchange and authorities. According to the report, newly identified addresses received stolen-fund labels within minutes, making the information available to compliance teams through its data platform. Under the process described by the firm, investigators set the matching rules, checked the results, and decided which leads to pursue. Its AI helped them build tools for the specific case rather than taking control of the investigation.

➡️ Drawing on more than a decade of cross-chain attribution data, the automation connected deposits on one network with payments on another. The firm said the approach helped reconstruct activity that could otherwise appear unrelated when viewed on separate blockchains. In the stolen XRP trail, investigators identified transfers through a cross-chain liquidity protocol that paid out Bitcoin instead of sending the XRP directly to an exchange. According to the report, tens of millions of dollars passed through that route over roughly a day and a half.

📌 Tether’s reserve custodian faces Senate questions. What can it see or stop?

📣 Senator Richard Blumenthal has asked Cantor Fitzgerald to explain its Tether relationship by October 23. The inquiry separates control over reserve assets from control over USDT on public blockchains. Its questions cover the Treasury assets held for Tether, the firm’s reported ownership stake, due diligence and possible exposure to sanctions violations. The request follows a report prepared by Democratic staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. It is an inquiry, not a finding that either company breached the law.

🔔 A bank or broker holding assets behind a stablecoin can see the securities and cash entrusted to it. A token issuer can see transactions on public networks and, for USDT, can freeze specified addresses through its controls. Neither view automatically gives the other firm a complete picture. The distinction is central to the letter’s question about what Cantor knew, what it was obliged to investigate and what it could have stopped.

🌐 Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, addressed the letter to Cantor chairman Brandon Lutnick. He requested information about annual revenue from Tether, the value and terms of Cantor’s ownership interest, reserve custody arrangements, audits, sanctions practices and communications concerning Tether’s regulatory affairs. The letter asks for responses by October 23 and calls on Cantor to preserve relevant records.

❗️ Starknet launches 7-day vote on leaving Ethereum over quantum risks

🔖 Starknet has launched a seven-day community vote on October 15, 2026, asking STRK holders whether the network should explore leaving Ethereum’s Layer 2 ecosystem to become an independent Layer 1 blockchain designed to resist future quantum computing threats. The proposal confirms that STRK would remain the network’s native cryptocurrency under either arrangement, with no replacement token planned. Existing bridges connecting Ethereum and Starknet would remain available.

⚠️ Starknet currently operates as an Ethereum Layer 2 network, processing transactions using its own infrastructure while relying on Ethereum for certain security and settlement functions. The proposed move would allow Starknet to operate as an independent Layer 1 blockchain, giving it more direct control over the systems responsible for its security. According to the governance proposal, concerns about future quantum computers have prompted developers to examine whether maintaining the current relationship with Ethereum could delay certain security improvements.

📊 Quantum computers could eventually threaten widely used cryptographic systems, particularly some methods used to protect blockchain accounts and authorize transactions. StarkWare believes its existing technology provides a foundation for addressing those risks. However, the proposal acknowledges that parts of Starknet remain dependent on Ethereum’s infrastructure. The network currently uses Ethereum for functions including data availability and its main blockchain bridge. Changes to the security of those components depend partly on Ethereum’s own upgrade plans. Moving to an independent Layer 1 could allow Starknet developers to set security requirements for those functions without waiting for Ethereum.

➡️ Sophon to shut down mainnet on November 30, sets earlier withdrawal deadline

❗️ Sophon has given users until November 25, 2026, to withdraw assets from its blockchain before the network’s planned shutdown on November 30. Sophon confirmed the final timetable for closing its mainnet and warned that infrastructure and related websites would begin shutting down after November 25. Assets remaining on the network after the withdrawal deadline could become permanently inaccessible.

🔖 The announcement follows the project’s June decision to stop operating its own Ethereum layer-2 blockchain and concentrate on consumer finance and artificial intelligence applications on Base. Sophon instructed users to withdraw SOPH, ETH, USDC and any other assets still held on its blockchain before the deadline.

⭐️ The five-day gap between the withdrawal deadline and the final shutdown is important because users may lose access to essential services before the blockchain stops operating entirely. Sophon warned that key websites and network infrastructure would begin closing after November 25. It did not promise that withdrawals would remain possible until November 30. The project urged users to rely exclusively on official links and watch for fraudulent migration websites. Such sites may imitate legitimate withdrawal portals to trick users into connecting wallets or approving malicious transactions.

⚠️ UK banks draw 10,092 crypto complaints as payment limits face scrutiny

⭐️ British banks have faced 10,092 complaints over restrictions on cryptocurrency payments during a 90-day period, as customers question why some lenders block transfers to crypto platforms despite the government’s plans to attract digital asset businesses.

🌐 According to a report by advocacy group Stand With Crypto UK, 9,803 individuals used its online complaint tool between May and August 2026 to challenge blocked or restricted transfers. Submissions came from all 650 parliamentary constituencies, with Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and NatWest receiving the largest numbers. Lloyds Banking Group accounted for 2,297 complaints, covering customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland. Barclays followed with 1,569, while NatWest Group received 1,278.

🔔 Together, the three banking groups attracted 5,144 complaints, equivalent to approximately 51% of the total. HSBC UK received more than 1,000 submissions, according to the report. At the other end of the list, Virgin Money recorded 103 and the Co-operative Bank received 76.

📣 Trezor warns of suspected hardware implant in CryptoBilis wallet

⭐️ Trezor has warned customers who purchased hardware wallets from former reseller CryptoBilis to move their funds after receiving a report of a suspected malicious implant inside a Trezor Safe 5 device. The device was bought by a customer in Indonesia, who reported finding an additional circuit board inside the wallet that could potentially expose sensitive information, including the recovery phrase used to access cryptocurrency holdings.

📊 Trezor said it has reviewed photographs and interviewed the customer through a video call, but has not yet physically examined the device. The company considers the report credible and has advised customers who purchased any Trezor model from CryptoBilis since March 2026 to take precautions. No customers who bought Trezor devices through the reseller have reported losing funds, according to the company.

📌 The suspected implant reportedly consists of an extra circuit board positioned between the wallet’s main board and its screen. It contains a cellular module and an antenna that could allow information displayed on the device to be transmitted through a mobile network. Based on the customer’s description, the additional hardware appears capable of reading the screen, including the recovery phrase generated during wallet setup, and transmitting that information whenever the device is connected to power.

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📌 US Treasury, Fed withdraw $250 crypto Travel Rule proposal. What does it mean?

🌐 The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Federal Reserve have withdrawn a proposal to lower the reporting and recordkeeping threshold for cross-border transfers from $3,000 to $250, leaving existing requirements unchanged. The agencies cited the time that had passed since the original proposal, along with changes in the digital asset industry and its regulatory environment, as reasons for abandoning the planned amendments.

❗️ The existing $3,000 threshold will continue to apply to qualifying transfers handled by banks and other covered financial institutions, including cryptocurrency businesses subject to FinCEN’s money transmission rules. Under the proposed changes, financial institutions would have been required to collect and retain identifying information for qualifying international transfers worth $250 or more, compared with the existing $3,000 threshold.

🔖 The agencies had proposed explicitly bringing convertible virtual currencies and digital assets with legal tender characteristics into the regulatory language, removing uncertainty about their treatment under the existing framework. For cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians, the changes would have meant handling customer information for a much larger number of transactions, including smaller international payments that currently fall below the threshold.