CBDCs threaten more central bank control over money, including potential expiry dates on personal savings, Bitcoin Policy UK’s CEO said. Global central bank digital currency (CBDC) efforts are threatening to give financial institutions more control over the money supply and personal savings, as the transatlantic divide between the US and Europe widens in terms of financial technology. CBDCs are digital versions of fiat money issued on a permissioned, private blockchain, usually controlled by a central bank, as opposed to decentralized blockchain networks. “Not all digital currencies are the same,” said Susie Violet Ward, financial analyst, co-founder and CEO of think tank Bitcoin Policy UK, warning that CBDCs represent the “weaponization of money in its purest form.” Read more
Draining volume has dropped from 2024, but a new scam service tool called Vanilla has been turning investigators’ heads with $5 million stolen in three weeks. A blockchain investigator has attributed at least $5.27 million in crypto stolen over three weeks to a rising scam service known as Vanilla Drainer. Drainers are entities that provide scam software to fraudsters, often paired with phishing tactics to access victims’ funds. Vanilla is part of a new generation of these groups and has largely flown under the radar, but recent high-value thefts have drawn attention from blockchain sleuths. Draining scams peaked in 2024, when victims lost almost $500 million to top services, such as Angel, Inferno and Pink, according to Scam Sniffer. Draining still occurs frequently, though volumes have dropped due to new security technologies. However, blockchain investigator Darkbit warns that drainers are adapting. Read more
Before investing in any cryptocurrency, it’s crucial to do your homework. That’s where you can use ChatGPT to help break down coins, analyze risks and make smarter decisions. ChatGPT helps simplify complex crypto projects by summarizing white papers, explaining use cases and breaking down tokenomics. Researching the team, partnerships and security risks is crucial before investing in any crypto token. Comparing projects with competitors highlights strengths and weaknesses for better decision-making. Read more
Michael Saylor’s Strategy announced a $356.9 million Bitcoin purchase last week, bringing total BTC buys in August to just 3,666 BTC. Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, added more BTC to its balance as the price tumbled to $112,000 last week. Strategy acquired 3,081 Bitcoin (BTC) for $356.9 million during the week ending Sunday, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday. Saylor’s business intelligence software company purchased its latest Bitcoin batch at an average price of $115,829 per coin, as BTC started the week at around $116,700 and slipped to $112,000 on Thursday, according to CoinGecko. Read more
Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said crypto deserves a spot in portfolios, while pledging to build a sound trading environment for the sector. Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato recognized that cryptocurrencies deserve a place in diversified investment portfolios. According to a Monday Bloomberg Japan report, Kato acknowledged the role of cryptocurrencies in a diversified investment portfolio during a speech. He was addressing the public from the stage during his keynote at Web3 Conference WebX 2025 in Tokyo. “While crypto assets carry the risk of high volatility, by establishing a proper investment environment, they can become an option for diversified investment,” Kato said. Read more
Bitcoin leveraged positions grew over the past 24 hours, and many of these late longs have been wiped out as the BTC price dropped below $112,000. Key takeaways: Bitcoin price is down 11% from its all-time high, dropping to $111,000 on Monday. $108,000 is a short-term target for the bears, with some BTC analysts predicting a drop to $95,000. Read more
The Avalanche ETF filing marks another step in Grayscale’s expanding suite of crypto investment products, following XRP and DOGE filings earlier this year. Major cryptocurrency investment company Grayscale Investments filed an S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot Avalanche (AVAX) exchange-traded fund (ETF). Grayscale filed with the SEC on Friday to convert its existing Avalanche Trust into a publicly traded ETF, according to a registration statement released on Monday. The proposed fund uses the same wording as the underlying ticker of the Avalanche (AVAX) cryptocurrency. It is designed to provide investors with direct exposure to the asset through traditional brokerage accounts. Read more
The heir to the Thomson Reuters fortune is suing her former best friend after a psychic’s recommendation led to massive crypto bets costing millions. Billionaire heiress Taylor Thomson reportedly lost over $80 million in digital assets after following investment advice linked to a psychic. According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on Monday, Thomson, who’s part of the family behind the media and financial giant Thomson Reuters, invested millions in crypto assets with the help of her former best friend, Ashley Richardson. The move came after both women reportedly consulted a celebrity psychic and other spiritual advisers. Richardson became deeply involved in Thomson’s crypto portfolio. During the 2021 bull run, Richardson reportedly managed over $140 million in crypto for Thomson across multiple wallets. Read more
The whale locked in $33 million worth of profit from Ether long opened last week, after selling $2.6 billion worth of Bitcoin held for over seven years. A multi-billionaire Bitcoin whale is closing his recently opened Ether long positions and buying hundreds of millions worth of spot Ether, signaling that big investors are expecting more upside from the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Last week, a Bitcoin whale worth over $11 billion sold 22,769 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $2.59 billion, rotating the funds into 472,920 spot Ether (ETH) or $2.2 billion and a $577 million Ether perpetual long position on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, Cointelegraph reported. On Monday, the whale closed $450 million worth of his perpetual long position at an average Ether price of $4,735, to lock in $33 million worth of profit, before acquiring another $108 million worth of spot Ether, according to blockchain intelligence platform Lookonchain. Read more
XRP price failed to decisively break above the $3 psychological resistance in the past week, but most analysts are confident about a breakout soon. Key takeaways: XRP bulls are targeting $4.40–$5.80 if $2.95 support holds. Losing $2.95 risks a deeper correction toward $2.40. Read more