Hello crypto thinker,
It’s only the second week of September, but the Cryptoverse isn’t slowing down. From protest-driven adoption of Bitchat and Ethereum’s slashing drama to a $41M DeFi exploit, a $41M DeFi exploit, and even talk of Bitcoin payments between Earth and Mars—yes, you read that right. Throw in stablecoin battles, market rallies, and fresh regulatory shake-ups, and you’ve got one packed week of headlines.
No stress about keeping up; we’ve rounded up the biggest highlights just for you.
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Let’s walk you through the standout crypto news this week.
Protesters in Nepal Turn to Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat Amid Deadly Unrest and Social Media Ban
Over 48,000 Nepalese citizens downloaded Jack Dorsey’s peer-to-peer app, Bitchat, after the government blocked Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube during anti-corruption protests. The surge dwarfed prior adoption levels and even outpaced Indonesia’s protest-driven downloads last week. The blackout and ensuing censorship crackdown spotlighted how quickly decentralized apps can gain traction when centralized platforms are silenced.
The protests, led largely by Gen Z, turned deadly with 19 killed, hundreds injured, and Prime Minister Oli resigning under corruption allegations. The crisis underscores a global shift toward encrypted, decentralized “freedom tech” as trust in traditional communication platforms erodes and governments move to restrict privacy tools.
Other News Making Waves
- A new Proof-of-Transit Timestamping (PoTT) proposal could enable Bitcoin transfers between Earth and Mars in as little as three minutes, using satellites and lunar relays to create an auditable trail for interplanetary payments. (More)
- Ethereum faced one of its largest slashing events since moving to PoS, as 39 validators were penalized due to operator errors linked to SSV Network’s DVT, losing about 0.3 ETH each. (More)
- A Texas bankruptcy court barred Ponzi scheme operator Nathan Fuller from discharging $12.5M in debts, after finding he concealed assets, falsified records, and used investor funds on gambling, luxury items, and real estate. (More)
- Polygon suffered consensus delays after a bug in Bor and Erigon nodes disrupted RPC services and validator syncs, though block production continued as engineers worked on a permanent fix. (More)
- Kiln Finance began an “orderly withdrawal” of Ethereum validators after a SwissBorg-linked hack, pushing the exit queue past 1.6M ETH, though most funds are expected to be restaked rather than sold. (More)
- Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan criticized US banks for lobbying against stablecoins, urging them to raise deposit rewards instead, as stablecoins offer yields up to 5% compared to banks’ 0.6–4%. (More)
- Ethereum volumes have plunged from $122B to $41B while futures open interest stays firm, leaving leveraged longs at risk of costly liquidations ahead of U.S. inflation data and the Fed meeting. (More)
- Avalon Labs completed a $1.88M AVL token buyback and burn on Bybit, removing 13.9M AVL and bringing total burned to 93.9M (37% of supply), funded entirely by protocol revenue to reinforce ecosystem value. (More)
- Christie’s has shut down its standalone NFT department and folded sales into modern art, after a 12% drop in global art sales, sparking criticism of its high-fee model and warnings of a potential “Kodak moment.” (More)
- SwissBorg’s Bitcoin app was hit by a $41M exploit in a Solana network hack, exposing DeFi vulnerabilities and prompting the firm to work with global agencies and white hat hackers to investigate and block transactions. (More)
- A California man was sentenced for running a $37M crypto scam, as the DOJ intensifies its crackdown on fraud in the digital asset sector, signalling growing legal risks for scammers in the DeFi ecosystem. (More)
- Sonic Labs will issue 633.9M new S tokens to fund U.S. expansion, ETF plans, and a NASDAQ PIPE, while introducing stronger burn mechanics, after winning near-unanimous community approval. (More)
- Kinto Network will shut down after a $1.6M hack and failed fundraising, with its token plunging over 80%, though a recovery plan promises partial repayment for lenders and grants for hack victims. (More)
- Crypto markets are rallying on expectations of aggressive Fed rate cuts, with Standard Chartered forecasting a 50 bps move in September, fueling bullish Bitcoin bets despite diverging Wall Street views. (More)
Around the World: Bold Moves and Crypto Regulations
- Russia is weighing the creation of a national crypto bank to curb shadow settlements, boost tax revenues, and provide miners with legal selling channels, following Belarus’s regulated model. (More)
- Ant Group’s Ant Digital is tokenizing $8.4B in Chinese energy infrastructure on AntChain, having already raised $42M in clean energy financing, with plans for offshore token listings and stablecoin integration with Circle. (More)
- Tether and Circle executives are in advanced talks with South Korea’s top banks to distribute USDT and USDC and issue won-backed stablecoins, aligning with the government’s pro-crypto agenda and upcoming regulations. (More)
- The U.S. SEC has formed a crypto task force to address financial surveillance and privacy risks, targeting privacy coins, mixers, and anonymous transactions while exploring new rules to balance transparency with innovation. (More)
- Over 77 firms, including ICBC, Standard Chartered, and PetroChina, have applied for Hong Kong’s stablecoin licenses, but regulators warn that only a few approvals will be granted amid rising fraud complaints. (More)
Market Trends: Winners and Losers
Top 5 Gainers 📈
According to data from CoinGecko, these are the five biggest gainers of the week:
- Ethernity Chain +963.0%, from $0.164675 to $1.75
- MYX Finance +1,063.8%, from $1.16 to $13.50
- Naoris Protocol +199.8%, from $0.02418568 to $0.072500
- Ket +153.9%, from $0.03747403 to $0.095158
- OpenVPP +91.5%, from $0.073672 to $0.141108
Top 5 Losers 📉
According to data from CoinGecko, the five biggest losers of the week are:
- Acet -60.8%, from $0.057625 to $0.02259609
- Four -27.5%, from $3.67 to $2.66
- Euler -5.8%, from $9.63 to $9.07
- Camp Network -24.5%, from $0.071422 to $0.053914
- Neiro on ETH -7.1%, from $0.063729 to $0.059234
Project Spotlight
Archax Launches Pool Tokens on Hedera for On-Chain Fund Management
Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange, has introduced Pool Tokens on the Hedera network, enabling tokenised multi-asset portfolios to be created and traded on-chain. The first Pool Token includes equal allocations of money market funds from Aberdeen, BlackRock, State Street, and Legal & General, offering a natively digital “fund of funds.” This innovation allows real-time portfolio assembly, instant settlement, and composability, streamlining fund creation while reducing intermediary friction.
Why It Matters:
By embedding regulated fund structures directly on-chain, Pool Tokens bridge traditional finance and DeFi, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and institutional adoption of tokenised assets.
Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein should be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrencies carries a considerable risk of financial loss. Always conduct due diligence.
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