China’s split renminbi system suggests a rumored yuan stablecoin won’t mark a crypto shift. The cryptocurrency industry is abuzz with speculation after recent reports suggested China may soften its stance on a yuan-backed stablecoin, but law experts caution against overinterpreting the news. Reuters reported Wednesday that Beijing is considering approving a stablecoin pegged to the renminbi as part of a roadmap to boost the currency’s internationalization. It was the second report this month, following a similar Financial Times story on Aug. 5. Despite the news, Chinese officials have yet to confirm whether it’s considering a stablecoin push. Even if Chinese authorities move ahead, analysts stress that such a stablecoin would almost certainly circulate offshore, not in the mainland. Read more
Apple patched a zero-click vulnerability that allowed sophisticated attackers to compromise devices and could have led to cryptocurrency theft; it urged immediate updates. Apple is urging users to immediately update their devices to patch a zero-click vulnerability that allowed attackers to compromise iPhones, iPads and Macs, a flaw posing heightened risks for cryptocurrency holders. In a Thursday advisory, Apple said the image processing vulnerability allowed sophisticated actors to compromise Apple devices. The vulnerability disclosure page notes that it was fixed as part of the macOS Sonoma 14.7.8, macOS Ventura 13.7.8, iPadOS 17.7.10, macOS Sequoia 15.6.1, iOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 18.6.2 updates. “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals,” the company said. Read more
In 2025, Dubai is showing how crypto can work for real-world housing, letting residents legally pay rent with Bitcoin through regulated channels. Dubai’s clear rules now let tenants rent apartments with Bitcoin through approved channels. Risks like volatility and landlord limits are managed with AED locks and licensed platforms. Fast payments and low fees make Bitcoin real estate in Dubai increasingly appealing. Read more
Andrew Tate is back on the memecoin bandwagon but hasn’t nailed the trading game as his wallet approaches losses of $700,000 on Hyperliquid. Former kickboxing champion and controversial influencer Andrew Tate is among the latest celebrities to dive into Kanye West’s newly launched YZY token, but his bets are already deep in the red. A wallet address linked to Tate opened a 3x leveraged short position on the recently launched, West-linked YZY token at $0.85 and was sitting on a $16,000 loss on the position. Tate “doesn’t seem to be good at perps trading,” as his cumulative losses are nearing $700,000 on this single Hyperliquid account, wrote blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain in a Friday X post. “So far, he's made 80 trades on #Hyperliquid — only 29 were profitable (win rate: 36.25%) — with total losses of $699K.” Read more
SBI partners with Circle, Ripple and Startale to launch stablecoin ventures and a tokenized asset trading platform in Japan. Japanese financial conglomerate SBI inked new blockchain partnerships with USDC issuer Circle, XRP developer Ripple and the Web3 company Startale. SBI Group announced the three separate partnerships on Friday, including stablecoin-related collaborations with US companies Circle and Ripple, and a new tokenization project with Singapore-based Startale. In cooperation with Startale, SBI plans to build an onchain trading platform for tokenized stocks and real-world assets (RWAs) to enable 24/7 trading. Read more
Taiwanese prosecutors reportedly indicted 14 people accused of orchestrating the country’s biggest money laundering case involving cryptocurrency. Update, Aug. 22, 12:54 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include CoinW exchange’s response to the indictment. Taiwanese prosecutors reportedly indicted 14 people in what they say is the country’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency money laundering case, involving more than 1,500 victims and over $70 million in illicit funds. The Shilin District Prosecutor’s office indicted the 14 on charges related to fraud, money laundering and organized crime, requesting the confiscation of 1.275 billion New Taiwan dollars ($39.8 million), which was allegedly obtained from victims through fraud, according to a Friday report from local media outlet UDN. Read more
AUSTRAC has ordered Binance Australia to appoint an external auditor after identifying serious shortcomings in the exchange’s Anti-Money Laundering controls. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) ordered the local unit of crypto exchange Binance to appoint an external auditor over concerns about its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) systems. The regulator said Friday the decision was made “after identifying serious concerns” with Binance’s AML/CTF controls. Matt Poblocki, Binance Australia and New Zealand general manager, told Cointelegraph, “Binance Australia acknowledges AUSTRAC’s decision,” adding that the move was “one of their supervisory review measures and not an enforcement action.” Read more
Spot Ether ETFs now hold 6.42 million ETH worth $27.66 billion, equal to 5.31% of the asset’s circulating supply. US spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) funds drew $287.6 million in net inflows on Thursday, snapping a four-day outflow streak, according to data from crypto ETF tracker SoSoValue. The rebound follows a period of sustained outflows, with funds shedding over $924 million between Aug. 15 and Wednesday. The largest withdrawal came on Tuesday, when spot Ether (ETH) ETFs saw $429 million exit, the second-largest daily net outflow seen this month, following the $465 million that left the market on Aug. 4. Asset manager BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) led Thursday with $233.5 million in inflows, while the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) followed with $28.5 million. Other ETFs averaged around $6 million in net inflows for the day. Read more