Ripple is buying Rail, a stablecoin payments platform, for $200 million, the firm said on Thursday. The deal is likely to close in the fourth quarter of this year, the statement said. Rail is a Toronto-based payments platform backed by Galaxy Ventures and Accomplice. The Rail acquisition is a way for Ripple to delve deeper into the fast-growing stablecoin ecosystem after launching its RLUSD stablecoin in December last year. RLUSD has a market cap of over $600 million, placing it in the top largest stablecoins, according to data tracked by CoinMarketCap. Ripple previously had offered to buy Circle (CRCL) for $4 billion-$5 billion, but that stablecoin giant ended up going public several weeks back. It’s since delivered amazing returns for its IPO investors. Ripple acquired multi-asset prime brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.25 billion in April, with plans to expand its clearing and finance operations, to the end of creating the world’s largest non-bank prime broker. Now the acquisition of Rail will allow Ripple to deliver a more comprehensive stabecoin payments service, the company said in Thursday’s announcement. Rail’s capabilities include virtual accounts and automated back-office systems, enabling customers to transact in digital assets without the need to open dedicated crypto bank accounts or wallets on exchanges. “Stablecoins are quickly becoming a cornerstone of modern finance, and with Rail, we are uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of innovation and adoption of stablecoins and blockchain in global payments,” said Monica Long, Ripple President. The deal was first reported by Reuters. Read more: Ripple Offered $4B-$5B for Stablecoin Issuer Circle: Bloomberg UPDATE (Aug. 7, 12:41 UTC): Updates headline and story with Ripple’s confirmation. UPDATE (Aug. 7, 14:15 UTC): Adds paragraph on Ripple’s Hidden Road acquisition and more detail on RLUSD, Circle’s IPO and what Rail adds to Ripple. Powered by WPeMatico

Leading stablecoin issuer Tether has acquired a minority stake in Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me, leading a 30 million-euro ($35 million) investment round to support the exchange’s growth in Europe and Latin America. Bit2Me said it recently became the first Spanish-speaking fintech to be authorized by Spain’s securities regulator under the EU’s new MiCA framework. The approval opens the door for operations across the European Union. Tether’s investment comes through its El Salvador-based venture arm, Tether Ventures, which deploys profits and reserves into tech infrastructure and other projects. The firm has invested in numerous companies in a wide range of industries. These include Italian football club Juventus, major Latin American producer Adecoagro, blockchain forensics firm Crystal Intelligence, YouTube competitor Rumble, and gold-focused investment firm Elemental Altus. Bit2Me plans to use the funding to deepen its reach in Latin America, particularly Argentina, where demand for crypto services continues to grow and where it received a Virtual Asset Service Provider license last year. “We’re excited to support their role in developing regulated crypto-asset services in Europe and beyond,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. Bit2Me is already backed by Telefónica and other major Spanish institutions. These, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk, include banking giants like Unicaja, BBVA, and Cecabank. Other terms of the deal, including the exact size of Tether’s stake and Bit2Me’s new valuation, were not disclosed. Powered by WPeMatico

The revived Salomon Brothers announced on Thursday that it has completed the process of inserting OP_Return notices to bitcoin (BTC) wallets assumed to have been abandoned. According to a press release shared with CoinDesk, the New York-based investment bank are sending the notices to prevent “rogue states and criminal organizations with significant resources” from potentially accessing these wallets in future. The process itself has created a wealth of debate, with speculation suggesting the Salomon Brothers have ties to people like Craig Wright. “[They] are using Bitcoin’s own infrastructure as a bulletin board,” David Carvalho, CEO of Naoris Protocol, told CoinDesk. “It’s very clever. And they’re going big, targeting some infamous wallets like the “1Feex” address, which holds around 80,000 BTC.” According to the Salomon Brothers website, assets left untouched for 14 years may be considered legally abandoned under a “Doctrine of Abandonment,” thus leaving the front door open in terms of repossession. The method of gaining access to those wallets remains unclear, Carvalho told CoinDesk that the bitcoin community “isn’t doing what needs to be done” to prevent methods like Quantum hacking. “The draft BIP proposals are entirely inadequate, and achieving consensus on a hard fork will take so long that it will be too late. Considering 6.51 million bitcoin worth of $700 billion is at stake, it’s staggering how slow the Bitcoin community is moving,” he added. The Salomon Brothers said that its client, who remains anonymous, plans to allocate a portion of the recovered bitcoin to a fund intended for wallet owners who lost their keys, details of which will be released over the coming months. The notices sent to wallet holders give a 90 day deadline, within which they can “claim ownership” of the wallets by sending a transaction or filling out a form on the Salomon Brothers website. The press release notes that “some owners responded to the notices by moving their digital assets to new wallets.” Powered by WPeMatico

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) Bitcoin (BTC) rose to the highest this month, touching $116,430 and establishing itself more firmly above the $115,000 level on renewed demand for risk assets as the implications from Friday’s weaker-than-expected jobs market data sink in. The Federal Reserve is now widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points in September, with the CME’s FedWatch tool weighing a 93.4% chance of that happening. On Polymarket, traders are slightly less convinced, seeing a 79% chance of a cut. Traders are positioning for reductions at the following two meetings as well. Add in strong earnings from major companies and a weakening U.S. dollar, and the outlook is looking a little stronger for equities and other risk assets. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.65% today, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 1.2% and the S&P 500 closed up 0.73% on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.2% on news of chip tariff exemptions and President Trump signaling he may appoint dovish members to the Fed. In a sign of long-term institutional interest, the State of Michigan Retirement System (SMRS) said boosted its bitcoin exposure through spot ETFs in the second quarter. Yet the real story may be how little BTC is moving. The cryptocurrency’s 30-day implied volatility, as tracked by the BVIV index from Volmex, has dropped to 36.5%, a level not seen since October 2023, when bitcoin traded under $30,000. The pattern resembles Wall Street’s bull markets, where implied volatility tends to shrink as optimism grows. In previous cycles, bitcoin’s price and volatility moved in tandem. Structured crypto projects that allow investors to sell out-of-the-money call options to generate yield may be playing a part in reducing the volatility. Still, geopolitical risk isn’t going to go away. Trump levied an additional 25% tariff on India over its Russian oil purchases, which could lead to a “mini crunch in supplies if Delhi draws on other crude sources instead,” Hargreaves Lansdown said in an emailed note. That would likely force OPEC+ members to amp up production to avoid a crisis, Hargreaves Lansdown said. On top of that, while peace talks on Ukraine have been advancing, recent nuclear rhetoric suggests there’s a long way to go. Stay alert! What to Watch Crypto Aug. 7, 10 a.m.: Circle will host a webinar, “The GENIUS Act Era Begins,” featuring Dante Disparte and Corey Then. The session will discuss the first U.S. federal payment stablecoin framework and its impact on crypto innovation and regulation. 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. Macro Aug. 7, 7 a.m.: The U.K.’s central bank, the Bank of England (BoE), announces its monetary policy decision. Bank Rate Est. 4% vs. Prev. 4.25% Aug. 7, 8 a.m.: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) releases June producer price inflation data. PPI MoM Prev. -1.29% PPI YoY Prev. 5.78% Aug. 7, 8 a.m.: Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography releases July consumer price inflation data. Core Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.39% Core Inflation Rate YoY Est. 4.23% vs. Prev. 4.24% Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.28% vs. Prev. 0.28% Inflation Rate YoY Est. 3.53% vs. Prev. 4.32% Aug. 7, 3 p.m.: Mexico’s central bank, Banco de México, announces its monetary policy decision. Overnight Interbank Target Rate Est. 7.75% vs. Prev. 8% Aug. 8: Federal Reserve Governor Adriana D. Kugler’s resignation becomes effective, creating an early vacancy on the Board of Governors that allows President Trump to nominate a successor. Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data) Aug. 7: Hut 8 (HUT), pre-market, -$0.07 Aug. 7: Block (XYZ), post-market, $0.63 Aug. 7: CleanSpark (CLSK), post-market, $0.30, Aug. 7: Coincheck Group (CNCK), post-market, N/A Aug. 7: Cipher Mining (CIFR), pre-market, -$0.07 Aug. 8: TeraWulf (WULF), pre-market, -$0.06 Aug. 11: Exodus Movement (EXOD), post-market, $0.12 Aug. 12: Bitfarms (BITF), pre-market, -$0.02 Aug. 12: Fold Holdings (FLD), post-market, N/A Token Events Governance votes & calls Arbitrum DAO is voting to renew its partnership with Entropy Advisors for two more years, starting September 2025. The proposal includes $6 million in funding and 15 million ARB for incentives for Entropy to focus on treasury management, incentive design, data infrastructure, and ecosystem growth. Voting ends Aug. 7. BendDAO is voting on a plan to stabilize BEND by burning 50% of treasury tokens, restarting lender rewards, and launching monthly buybacks using 20% of protocol revenue. Voting ends Aug. 10. 1inch DAO is voting on a $1.88 million grant to fund its participation in nine global crypto events through late 2025. The proposal aims to boost developer engagement, grow institutional ties and expand adoption across ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana. Voting ends Aug. 10. Aug. 7, 12 p.m.: Celo to host a governance call. Aug. 8, 11:30 a.m.: Axie Infinity to host a town hall on Discord. Unlocks Aug. 9: Immutable (IMX) to unlock 1.3% of its circulating supply worth $12.66 million. Aug. 12: Aptos (APT) to unlock 1.73% of its circulating supply worth $48.18 million. Aug. 15: Avalanche (AVAX) to unlock 0.39% of its circulating supply worth $37.2 million. Aug. 15: Starknet (STRK) to unlock 3.53% of its circulating supply worth $15.40 million. Aug. 15: Sei (SEI) to unlock 0.96% of its circulating supply worth $16.52 million. Aug. 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.8% of its circulating supply worth $36.52 million. Aug. 18: Fasttoken (FTN) to unlock 4.64% of its circulating supply worth $91.4 million. Token Launches Aug. 7: TaleX (X) to be listed on Binance Alpha, BingX, MEXC, and others. 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 and regulatory executives to meet with public officials responsible for crypto legislation and regulatory oversight. Space is limited. Use code CDB10 for 10% off

U.S. president Donald Trump is set to sign a an executive order that aims to allow cryptocurrency, private equity and real estate in 401(k)s, according to Bloomberg. While the details of the directive remain under wraps, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the order would direct the Department of Labor to ease fiduciary restrictions that currently deter plan administrators from offering such products. Bitcoin (BTC) rose from $114,900 to $15,670 within the hour of the announcement, as traders interpreted the news as bullish for long-term crypto adoption. Though still shy of the psychological $120,000 level it briefly touched last month, the rally reignited speculative momentum, with derivatives markets also showing a jump in open interest and volume. There were concerns about including cryptocurrencies in retirement plans at the tail end of 2024, with The Department of Labor reportedly “lacking the data” to oversee the growing prevalence of crypto holdings. Read more: Bitcoin’s Volatility Disappears to Levels Not Seen Since October 2023 Powered by WPeMatico

BOB, a bitcoin (BTC) decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol combining the security of Bitcoin with Ethereum’s DeFi capabilities, has raised $9.5 million in a strategic funding round. The investment bring BOB’s (“Build on Bitcoin”) total funds raised to $21 million, following previous raises in 2024. The latest raise will be used to fund BOB’s vision of building the “Gateway to Bitcoin DeFi” by launching a mainnet BitVM bridge and enabling Bitcoin finality via staked BTC later this year. This will allow users to bridge BTC from the Bitcoin network and deploy it across DeFi protocols on BOB. Castle Island Ventures, which led BOB’s $10 million seed round, also contributed to the latest raise, alongside Ledger, RockawayX, IOSG Ventures and Bankless Ventures. Anchorage, Amber Group, and Sats Ventures joined as new investors, according to an emailed announcement on Thursday. “By combining BitVM and BTC staking, we’re proving how Bitcoin can secure an entire DeFi ecosystem,” said co-founder Alexei Zamyatin. “A bet on BOB is a bet on Bitcoin DeFi itself.” The mainnet launch is expected by the end of the year. Powered by WPeMatico

Over $1 million has been siphoned from unsuspecting crypto users through malicious smart contracts posing as MEV trading bots, according to a new report by SentinelLABS. The campaign leveraged AI-generated YouTube videos, aged accounts, and obfuscated Solidity code to bypass basic user scrutiny and gain access to crypto wallets. Scammers appeared to be using AI-generated avatars and voices to reduce production costs and scale up video content. These tutorials are published on aged YouTube accounts populated with unrelated content and manipulated comment sections to give the illusion of credibility. In some cases, the videos are unlisted and likely distributed via Telegram or DMs. At the center of the scam was a smart contract promoted as a profitable arbitrage bot. Victims were instructed via YouTube tutorials to deploy the contract using Remix, fund it with ETH, and call a “Start()” function. In reality, however, the contract routed funds to a concealed, attacker-controlled wallet, using techniques such as XOR obfuscation (which hides data by scrambling it with another value) and large decimal-to-hex conversions (which convert large numbers into wallet-readable address formats) to mask the destination address (which makes fund recovery trickier). The most successful identified address — 0x8725…6831 — pulled in 244.9 ETH ( approximately $902,000) via deposits from unsuspecting deployers. That wallet was linked to a video tutorial posted by the account @Jazz_Braze, still live on YouTube with over 387,000 views. “Each contract sets the victim’s wallet and a hidden attacker EOA as co-owners,” SentinelLABS researchers noted. “Even if the victim doesn’t activate the main function, fallback mechanisms allow the attacker to withdraw deposited funds.” As such, the scam’s success has been broad but uneven. While most attacker wallets netted four to five figures, only one (tied to Jazz_Braze) cleared over $900K in value. Funds were later moved in bulk to secondary addresses, likely to further fragment traceability. Meanwhile, SentinelLABS warns users to avoid deploying “free bots” advertised on social media, especially those involving manual smart contract deployment. The firm emphasized that even code deployed in testnets should be reviewed thoroughly, as similar tactics can easily migrate across chains. Read more: Multisig Failures Dominate as $3.1B Is Lost in Web3 Hacks in the First Half Powered by WPeMatico

KakaoBank is preparing to enter South Korea’s fast-growing stablecoin sector, according to local reports. In its first-half earnings call on Tuesday, KakaoBank CFO Kwon Tae-hoon said the firm is “actively considering” roles in both stablecoin issuance and custody, with participation aligned to the country’s shifting digital asset policies. “We plan to engage actively in line with market changes,” Kwon said, adding that KakaoBank’s internal task force is working with other Kakao units to consolidate strategy. Join the crypto policy conversation Sept. 10 in D.C. — Register now for CoinDesk: Policy & Regulation. The move adds a regulated online bank to the list of Korean fintechs jumping into the stablecoin race after the Bank of Korea (BOK) shelved its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in June. The project, as CoinDesk previously reported had reached the testing phase with commercial banks and abruptly halted after President Lee Jae-myung’s administration submitted legislation enabling the local issuance of stablecoins. Kwon emphasized KakaoBank’s technical readiness, noting the firm had participated in both phases of the now-cancelled BOK pilot. “We built and operated wallets and handled exchanges and transfers,” he said, pointing to operational experience most firms in the sector can’t yet claim. He also cited three years of compliance work issuing real-name accounts for crypto exchanges, giving the bank a head start in implementing the kind of KYC and AML frameworks regulators are likely to demand for fiat-pegged tokens. KakaoBank is part of a weekly stablecoin-focused task force within the Kakao ecosystem, working alongside KakaoPay and the parent group. CEOs Chung Shin-ah (Kakao), Shin Won-keun (KakaoPay), and Yoon Ho-young (KakaoBank) are leading the initiative. The stablecoin pivot has ignited a wave of speculation and retail activity in Korea’s markets. Circle stock, which went public in June, became the most-purchased foreign equity among Korean retail investors. This move is happening in parallel Hong Kong’s stablecoin plans, where local firms are lining up to get an issuance license after interest in the People’s Bank of China’s CBDC failed to materialize. Powered by WPeMatico

XRP rose 3% in the 24 hours through August 7, advancing from $2.91 to as high as $3.02 before closing at $2.98. The move broke through multiple short-term resistance levels and coincided with high-volume buying activity, particularly on Korean exchanges. Technical momentum aligns with key macro developments: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is set to deliberate on Ripple’s appeal withdrawal, while Japan’s SBI Holdings has filed for a Bitcoin-XRP ETF. News Background The SEC is expected to deliberate Ripple’s decision to withdraw its appeal at 03:00 UTC on August 7, ahead of a broader ruling expected by mid-month. The hearing could lock in XRP’s non-security status under U.S. law—an outcome that removes a longstanding regulatory overhang. Meanwhile, SBI Holdings’ ETF application highlights international institutional interest, with treasury diversification efforts gaining momentum from corporates reportedly pledging up to $1 billion in XRP purchases. Price Action Summary XRP traded in a 24-hour range between $2.91 and $3.02, a 3.7% band. The strongest upward movement occurred between 15:00 and 16:00 UTC as the token surged from $2.95 to $3.02, propelled by buying volumes exceeding 110 million tokens, or three times the daily average. The bulk of this flow originated from Upbit, which processed over $95 million in XRP trades. The asset later consolidated between $2.98 and $3.00 into the session close. Technical Analysis XRP broke through resistances at $2.87, $2.92, and $2.97 during the rally. The final hour showed a failed attempt to breach $3.02, with a reversal back to $2.98 as volume spiked to 2.11 million in a 10-minute window. The $2.98 level is now acting as short-term support. If bulls defend this zone, upside targets remain at $3.05 and $3.14, with $3.25 in view should ETF approval or SEC commentary turn favorable. What Traders Are Watching The SEC’s 03:00 UTC session and whether Ripple’s appeal withdrawal gets formalized Follow-through from SBI’s ETF filing and potential inflows Price reaction to $3.05 if XRP re-tests local highs on Upbit and Binance volume trends as indicators of retail and institutional engagement Any near-term regulatory commentary ahead of August 15 XRP legal status review Powered by WPeMatico

The crypto market cap is holding within a tight $3.6 trillion–$3.8 trillion range as traders pull liquidity and shift focus to micro-cap tokens in the first week of August, with some warning of a summer lull to continue. Bitcoin (BTC) tested its 50-day moving average again on Tuesday, signaling exhaustion, while broader market capitalization remains above the trend, currently at approximately $3.72 trillion, versus the 50-day SMA of $3.57 trillion. “The support received in the area of previous peaks suggests a temporary pause to lock in profits,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, in a Thursday note to CoinDesk. “But sluggishness is turning away the most active traders, who’ve now moved on to very small projects.” “Bitcoin was again approaching its 50-day moving average. Such frequent testing of the medium-term trend signal line indicates accumulated fatigue in the first cryptocurrency,” he added. That retreat by short-term speculators stands in contrast to continued institutional accumulation. Gaming company SharpLink added 83,561 ether (ETH) last week (approximately $264.5 million), bringing its reserves to 522,000 ETH. In total, now 64 corporates hold 2.96 million ETH, or 2.45% of supply, worth $10.81 billion. Bitcoin also saw meaningful institutional inflows. Strategy acquired 21,021 BTC ($2.46 billion) in July, contributing to the 26,700 BTC added by large entities throughout the month. Public and private companies now collectively hold 1.35 million BTC, or more than 6% of the total circulating supply, according to BitcoinTreasuries. At a market level, BTC is holding steady around $114,570, while ETH sits at $3,650 as of the Asian morning hours on Thursday. XRP (XRP) is trading near $2.97, up 2% over the past 24 hours. Solana’s SOL (SOL) and dogecoin (DOGE) led gains among majors with a 3.5% bump, while total volumes and volatility remain muted. Meanwhile, Ethena’s USDe earlier this week became the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, surging 75% since mid-July to reach $9.5 billion, likely driven by yields ranging from 10%–19% (based on specific markets or strategies). The total stablecoin market cap is nearing $275 billion, marking its seventh consecutive month of growth. Rising stablecoin flows are indicative of fresh fiat entering the crypto ecosystem, which may be considered a precursor to further market volatility as traders exchange currency-pegged assets for tokens. Powered by WPeMatico