Ransomware group Embargo has pulled in at least $34.2 million in various tokens since its emergence in April 2024, according to TRM Labs. The blockchain analytics firm says the ransomware group’s infrastructure and coding overlaps suggests it may be a likely rebranding of the defunct BlackCat (ALPHV) operation. The group operates a ransomware-as-a-service model, providing affiliates with tooling while controlling the infrastructure and negotiations. U.S. healthcare, manufacturing, and business services have been primary targets as sectors where downtime is costly and ransom leverage is high. Demands have reached $1.3 million, with victims including American Associated Pharmacies and multiple regional hospitals. In its Monday report, TRM traced on-chain links between historical BlackCat wallets and addresses tied to Embargo victims, alongside off-chain similarities such as Rust-based ransomware builds and near-identical data leak sites. Affiliates appear to operate fluidly between campaigns, a common RaaS pattern. Funds are typically moved through intermediary wallets into high-risk exchanges and sanctioned platforms like Cryptex.net, bypassing heavy reliance on mixers. Roughly $13 million has reached global VASPs, while $18.8 million sits idle in unattributed wallets — likely to slow detection and await more favorable movement conditions. Embargo employs double extortion, combining file encryption with data theft and public leak threats. TRM believes the group may be experimenting with AI to scale phishing campaigns, mutate payloads, and speed reconnaissance — tactics increasingly common among ransomware operators. The targeting bias toward U.S. healthcare mirrors a broader shift in ransomware strategy: hit services where operational disruption risks spill over into public safety, increasing the pressure to pay quickly. If Embargo is indeed BlackCat under a new name, it would mark yet another high-profile ransomware pivot designed to preserve affiliate networks and payment channels while evading law enforcement focus, keeping crypto as the core rail for ransom settlement and laundering. Read more: Ransomware Payments Fell 35% in 2024 as More Victims Refuse to Pay: Chainalysis Powered by WPeMatico

BNB Network Company, the treasury arm of CEA Industries (BNC), has announced the purchase 200,000 BNB tokens in a $160 million bet, making it the largest corporate holder of BNB. The move is part of the company’s new treasury strategy that will center exclusively on BNB, and comes after a recent $500 million private placement led by 10X Capital and YZi Labs. BNC has overhauled its leadership to support the shift, the company said in a press release announcing the acquisition. David Namdar, co-founder of Galaxy Digital, is taking over as CEO, joined by Russell Read, former CIO at CalPERS, and Saad Naja, a former Kraken director. 10X Capital’s Hans Thomas and Alexander Monje have also joined the board. The company plans to continue acquiring BNB until its treasury funds are fully deployed. If warrants tied to the fundraising are exercised, BNC could have as much as $1.25 billion to invest in the token. CEA Industries’ shares are up 22.2% in pre-market trading at $20.9. Powered by WPeMatico

Chainlink (LINK) has teamed up with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, to bring foreign exchange and precious metals pricing data to blockchain networks. The partnership adds ICE’s Consolidated Feed, a dataset sourced from over 300 exchanges and marketplaces worldwide, to Chainlink Data Streams, which serve over 2,000 on-chain applications, financial institutions and infrastructure providers. By incorporating ICE’s data, Chainlink aims to deliver pricing feeds that meet the accuracy and latency requirements of traditional capital markets. That standard could help support a new generation of tokenized assets, automated settlement systems and other institutional-grade blockchain applications. The move fits into a broader trend of connecting blockchain rails and traditional financial instruments as large banks, asset managers tokenize real-world assets (RWA) like bonds, commodities and funds. Maurisa Baumann, VP of Global Data Delivery at ICE, said in a statement that the collaboration with Chainlink offers “trusted, structured multi-asset class data” from traditional markets for crypto applications, a key step toward growing the blockchain economy. “This collaboration signals a pivotal shift towards a unified, globally accessible on-chain financial system, with hundreds of trillions in assets on a clear path to tokenization,” said Fernando Vazquez, president of capital markets at Chainlink Labs. Read more: NYSE-Parent ICE to Explore New Products With Circle’s Stablecoin, Tokenized Fund Powered by WPeMatico

Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this article owns shares in Strategy. Strategy (MSTR) adopted a bitcoin standard five years ago today, on Aug. 11, 2020, with its first purchase of 21,454 BTC for $250 million. The acquisition marked a historic shift in corporate treasury strategy. To that point, former AI and software development company had seen its share price stagnate for two decades after the early 2000 tech boom-and-bust, falling over 95% from its peak. However, since August 2020, MSTR has delivered 100% average annual returns, compounding to over 3,000% cumulative gains, while bitcoin itself has returned nearly 1,000% over the same period. To fund its BTC accumulation, the company has employed diverse strategies, raising $46 billion via equity and credit, which includes $8.2 billion in outstanding convertible debt and four perpetual preferred stock offerings, STRK, STRF, STRD, and STRC, designed to appeal to different segments of the yield curve. Fresh buys continue The company Monday morning disclosed the purchase of another 155 BTC for $18 million — a rather small weekly buy, but nevertheless bringing its total stoack to 628,946 coins valued at about $76 billion. That representis 3% of bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply. With an average cost of about $74,000 per BTC, the company sits on unrealized gains of roughly $30 billion, or 65%. MSTR is today one of the most actively traded stocks, posting $4.4 billion in daily trading volume just behind Google (GOOG) at $4.9 billion. Open interest in MSTR options totals $90 billion, also second to Google at $99 billion. Despite a $112 billion market cap compared to Google’s $2.4 trillion, the trading activity reflects the intense focus on MSTR. Its success has inspired a wave of bitcoin treasury strategies among other corporations. The top 100 public companies now collectively own 964,314 BTC, much of it financed through capital raises that follow the MSTR playbook. Powered by WPeMatico

Ether’s (ETH) recent rally has pushed a vast majority of its addresses into profit, a development that could slow its ascent. According to analytics firm Sentora, 97% of ether addresses are now “in-the-money.” In other words, the average acquisition costs of these addresses is lower than ether’s going market rate of $4,225. This high profitability figure suggests that the current price rally could run into a significant increase in the sell-side pressure, a dynamic that could slow the price ascent. According to data by Glassnode, profit-taking is already happening. ETH profit realization, measured by a seven-day simple moving average, is ramping up again, with the tally climbing to $553 million per day. The profit taking peaked a $771 million per day in July. Further analysis reveals a shift in the source of this selling. While long-term holders, or those holding coins for over 155 days, are realizing profits at levels consistent with the peak in December 2024, it is now short-term investors who are driving the current wave of profit-taking. Read: Ether to $4.4K? This Hidden Signal Suggests a Possible Quick Fire Rally Powered by WPeMatico

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) The current bull market is emulating a bicycle race’s paceline, where the front rider expends energy to drive forward, creating a slipstream for the riders behind before rotating to the back to rest while another rider picks up the effort. Ether (ETH) took the leader’s duties over the weekend. The second-largest cryptocurrency rose from $4,000 to over $4,300, dragging along bitcoin (BTC), which had been struggling to extend gains. Early this morning, BTC rotated to the front, rising from $119,000 to $122,300. “This is one of the few times when a rally in major altcoins has inspired BTC to break through. It’s usually the other way around,” Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior analyst at the FxPro, said in an email. “Altcoins are mostly staying out of this race for now, taking a break after last week’s rally.” BTC’s ascent continues to be driven by spot market demand, as evidenced by the narrowing ratio between trading volumes in futures and spot markets. The ratio has dropped to the lowest since 2022, according to Swissblock Technologies. Still, at least two factors call for caution on the part of the bulls. Firstly, according to Coinglass, bitcoin is still trading at a discount on Coinbase relative to Binance, a sign of weak demand from U.S.-based institutions. Secondly, cumulative spot and futures trading volumes are notably lower than in July (see Chart of the Day), when prices first topped $120,000, according to Swissblock Technologies. This negative volume divergence indicates weaker buying pressure. The bullish mood remains more pronounced in ether than bitcoin. On Deribit, the notional open interest in ether calls is nearly 2.3 times greater than in ether puts. The figure for bitcoin is well below 2. ETH’s rise is supported by on-chain activity, with daily transaction volume on the network hitting records and the number of new addresses nearing the high reached four years ago. Still, ether appears vulnerable to pullbacks because 97% of ETH-holding addresses are “in-the-money,” according to Sentora. In other words, the current price is above the acquisition cost of most addresses, which means there is a strong incentive for these holders to take profits. A similar trend exists for XRP, the payments-focused cryptocurrency, which lagged over the weekend but rose 3% early Monday. Speaking of the broader altcoin market, it could soon have its time because BTC’s dominance rate is close to breaching a key support. (Check the Technical Analysis section.) In traditional markets, the U.S. two-year Treasury yield, which is sensitive to short-term interest-rate expectations, held below its 200-day average for the first time since 2022. The decline is consistent with expectations for Fed interest-rate cuts. The case for a September reduction has strengthened, with some analysts suggesting that even a hotter-than-expected CPI release this week would not deter the Fed from easing. Stay alert! What to Watch Crypto Aug. 15: Record date for the next FTX distribution to holders of allowed Class 5 Customer Entitlement, Class 6 General Unsecured and Convenience Claims who meet pre-distribution requirements. Aug. 18: Coinbase Derivatives will launch nano SOL and nano XRP U.S. perpetual-style futures. Aug. 20: Qubic (QUBIC), the fastest blockchain ever recorded, at over 15 million transactions per second and powered by Useful Proof of Work (UPoW), will undergo its first yearly halving event as part of a controlled emission model. Although gross emissions remain fixed at 1 trillion QUBIC tokens per week, the adaptive burn rate approved by the network’s Computors, the key validators and decision makers, will increase substantially — burning some 28.75 trillion tokens and reducing net effective emissions to about 21.25 trillion tokens. Macro Aug. 12: The U.S.-China trade truce, which temporarily reduced reciprocal tariffs from triple-digit levels to about 30%, is set to expire. Many analysts say they expect President Donald Trump to extend the truce by another 90 days as both sides seek to avoid escalating the trade war. Aug. 12, 8 a.m.: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) releases July consumer price inflation data. Inflation Rate MoM Prev. 0.24% Inflation Rate YoY Prev. 5.35% Aug. 12, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases July consumer price inflation data. Core Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.2% Core Inflation Rate YoY Est. 3% vs. Prev. 2.9% Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. 0.3% Inflation Rate YoY Est. 2.8% vs. Prev. 2.7% Aug. 13, 3 p.m.: Argentina’s National Institute of Statistics and Census releases July inflation data. Inflation Rate MoM Prev. 1.6% Inflation Rate YoY Prev. 39.4% Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) Aug. 11: Exodus Movement (EXOD), post-market, $0.12 Aug. 12: Bitfarms (BITF), pre-market, -$0.02 Aug. 12: Fold Holdings (FLD), post-market Aug. 14: KULR Technology Group (KULR), post-market Aug. 15: Sharplink Gaming (SBET), pre-market Aug. 15: BitFuFu (FUFU), pre-market, $0.07 Aug. 18: Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR), pre-market, -$0.12 Token Events Governance votes & calls Compound DAO is voting to appoint ChainSecurity and Certora as joint security provers with ZeroShadow handling incident response under a $2 million, 12-month COMP-streamed budget starting Aug. 18. Voting ends Aug. 13. Aug. 14, 10 a.m.: Lido to host a tokenholder update Call. Aug. 14, 10 a.m.: Stacks to host a townhall meeting. Unlocks Aug. 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 2.2% of its circulating supply worth $53.38 million. Aug. 15: Avalanche (AVAX) to unlock 0.39% of its circulating supply worth $40.35 million. Aug. 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.53% of its circulating supply worth $17.36 million. Aug. 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 0.96% of its circulating supply worth $17.81 million. Aug. 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.8% of its circulating supply worth $42.77 million. Aug. 18: Fasttoken (FTN) to unlock 4.64% of its circulating supply worth $91.6 million. Token Launches Aug. 11: SatLayer (SLAY) and Celeb Protocol (XCX) to be listed on Binance Alpha. Conferences The CoinDesk Policy & Regulation conference (formerly known as State of Crypto) is a one-day boutique event held in Washington on Sept. 10 that allows general counsels, compliance officers

NEAR Protocol fell 0.98% in the final hour Monday, sliding from $2.755 at 09:14 to $2.730 by 10:13 as selling pressure intensified. Attempts to reclaim $2.765 resistance failed, even after an 81,064-unit volume spike at 09:56, leaving sellers in control. Support at $2.729–$2.730 halted the drop, with consecutive zero-volume minutes into the close hinting at near-term consolidation. The late decline capped a volatile 23-hour stretch from August 10–11, with NEAR swinging between $2.696 and $2.817. Despite recovering from early lows, it closed at $2.729, down 1.25% overall. The whipsaw action reflects broader caution in crypto markets, where geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies have kept traders on edge. Even as short-term sentiment wavered, digital asset investment products drew $572 million in inflows—led by Ethereum ($268M) and Bitcoin ($260M)—signaling institutional confidence after recent payroll-driven outflows. Apex Invest Digital’s partnership with Coinbase Asset Management for a Swiss institutional program added to signs of accelerating mainstream adoption. NEAR’s ability to hold support suggests potential stabilization if selling eases, though traders may wait for fresh catalysts before re-engaging. Strong institutional inflows could help offset macroeconomic headwinds, but the token remains sensitive to global developments, making it a key gauge of broader crypto sentiment. Key Technical Indicators NEAR exhibits significant volatility during 23-hour August 10-11 session, trading $0.12 range (4%) between $2.70 low and $2.82 peak. Cryptocurrency demonstrates recovery pattern, declining to $2.71 before staging rally to $2.82 at August 11 02:00, supported by elevated 3.99 million unit volume. Key resistance emerges at $2.82 level triggering reversal on high volume, while support materializes near $2.70-$2.71 with multiple successful bounces. NEAR continues volatile trajectory during final 60 minutes from August 11 09:14 to 10:13, experiencing pronounced $0.027 (-1%) decline from $2.76 to $2.73. Session characterized by persistent selling pressure with failed recovery attempts, notably around $2.77 at 09:32 despite elevated 81,064-unit volume at 09:56. Key support levels emerge around $2.73 zone stabilizing decline, while session concludes with consecutive zero-volume minutes suggesting market exhaustion and potential consolidation ahead. Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. Powered by WPeMatico

Bitcoin’s (BTC) implied volatility (IV) has moved from 33 to 37 on Monday, a notable uptick from multi-year lows and a possible signal that the market’s long stretch of calm is nearing an end. The Deribit Volatility Index (DVOL), modeled after the VIX in traditional markets, tracks the 30-day implied volatility of bitcoin options and now sits at its highest level in weeks. Implied volatility represents the market’s forecast for price swings, calculated from option prices. In formal terms, IV measures the one-standard-deviation range of an asset’s expected movement over a year. Tracking at-the-money (ATM) IV offers a normalized view of sentiment, often rising and falling alongside realized volatility. Last week, BTC’s short-term IV fell to around 26%, one of the lowest readings since options data began being recorded, before rebounding sharply. The last time volatility sat this low was August 2023, when bitcoin hovered near $30,000 shortly before a sharp move higher. Over the weekend, bitcoin jumped from $116,000 to $122,000, hinting at what can happen when volatility starts to expand. August is traditionally a period of low volumes and muted market activity, but rising IV suggests traders may be positioning for larger moves ahead. Checkonchain data shows this latest rally was a spot-driven move, which is a healthier market structure than a purely leverage-fueled surge. Open interest has been declining through August, meaning a sudden influx of leverage could amplify price swings if sentiment shifts. Read more: Bitcoin Bulls Take Another Shot at the Fibonacci Golden Ratio Above $122K as Inflation Data Looms Powered by WPeMatico

Bitcoin (BTC) may find itself fighting gravity after a surge over the weekend took it to within striking distance of its $123,000 all-time high while leaving a gap in the price of CME futures between Friday’s closing price and Monday’s open. CME bitcoin futures, cash-settled contracts that track the price of the largest cryptocurrency, settled at $117,430 on Friday, only to open on Monday at $119,000. Historically, bitcoin has shown a tendency to fill these gaps, meaning the price often retraces to cover the difference between the two levels. This can happen within days or even within hours of the gap forming. “Most previous gaps that were created did close within the same day, but this one moved a bit further than those,” Daan Crypto Trades, a crypto trader and investor, said in a post on X. Unlike spot markets, which trade around the clock, CME futures operate from Sunday evening through Friday evening for 23 hours a day. Any significant price movement during the one-hour daily pause or over the weekend can create what traders call a CME gap. Daan noted that bitcoin is now close to price discovery, a market phase that begins when an asset surpasses its previous all-time high and trades in uncharted territory. In such situations, gaps can become “runaway gaps” instances where momentum is so strong that the market continues to trend in the same direction without returning to fill the gap, at least in the short term. “I’d recommend keeping an eye on this gap,” Daan said. “If price were to close it, it could make for a decent reversal area. But I wouldn’t fully bet on it closing until price gets at least within a one to two percent proximity again, below $120,000 or so.” Heading into Monday’s U.S. open, traders will be watching closely to see whether the gap begins to close or whether bitcoin’s bullish momentum carries it straight past $123,000 into new all-time highs, potentially leaving the gap behind at least for now. Powered by WPeMatico

Crypto market maker GSR has partnered with regulated tokenized asset exchange DigiFT to launch secondary over-the-counter (OTC) trading for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The move comes as the real-world asset sector has been grown to over $13.4 billion worth of assets, according to data from DeFiLlama. The bulk of that comes in the form of tokenized treasury funds and gold-backed cryptocurrencies. The service, available during Asian market hours seven days a week to eligible institutional investors, enables accredited institutions to trade tokenized units of funds including Invesco’s US Senior Loan Strategy (iSNR), UBS’s USD Money Market Investment Fund (uMINT), and Wellington’s Ultra Short Treasury On-Chain Fund (ULTRA), per a press release shared with CoinDesk. GSR will provide systematic bid-ask pricing, while DigiFT’s platform facilitates settlement under Singapore and Hong Kong regulatory oversight. By introducing live secondary pricing, the partnership is designed to address transactions based on delayed net asset values, a long-standing issue in RWA markets. “Our price discovery capabilities and systematic infrastructure support a healthy secondary market to help this asset class mature,” said GSR’s Head of Systematic OTC Business, Aravind Srinivasan. Real-time price discovery, the firms said, could allow wallets to process redemptions more efficiently, enable decentralized finance protocols to integrate RWAs, and help investors adjust positions based on current market conditions. Trades will settle directly on-chain, with GSR filling orders placed through DigiFT’s OTC channel and transferring tokens and stablecoins via smart contracts, the document adds. The companies stated they plan to expand liquidity to additional RWA tokens over time. Powered by WPeMatico