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Metaplanet’s Bitcoin Treasury Swells to 18,888 BTC With Fresh Buy

by admin August 18, 2025

In brief

Metaplanet has bought a further 775 BTC for $93 million to bolster its corporate treasury.
The Japanese firm’s Bitcoin stash is now worth roughly $2.17 billion, despite Bitcoin’s downturn over the weekend.
Analysts told Decrypt that steady buying can tighten liquidity and raise near term volatility.

Metaplanet Inc. bought an additional 775 Bitcoin for $93 million (¥13.733 billion) Monday, lifting the Tokyo-listed firm’s holdings to 18,888 BTC as it extends its Bitcoin treasury program.

The company said the tranche was executed at an average $120,000 (¥17,720,023) per coin, lifting its aggregate cost basis to $1.94 billion (¥284.097 billion) and its overall average purchase price to $102,000 (¥15,041,118) per Bitcoin.

“18,888 BTC. Onward and upward,” Metaplanet President Simon Gerovich tweeted, sharing the announcement.

Hours before the announcement, Gerovich commented that the company hears the “disappointment in the recent pullback” of Bitcoin’s price to just over $115K over the weekend.

“It’s natural to feel that way. But what gives us conviction is the foundation we are building,” Gerovich said.

Metaplanet’s Bitcoin treasury strategy

Metaplanet’s transformation represents one of the most dramatic corporate pivots in recent history. Founded in 2010 as Red Planet Japan, the company operated a pan-Asian budget hotel chain, but the COVID-19 pandemic broke its business model, forcing property closures and resulting in six consecutive years of losses.

By early 2024, the company’s stock languished around $1.32 (¥190), before its adoption of the corporate Bitcoin acquisition playbook originated by Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

Yet the same dynamic isn’t something peculiar to Japan, according to Hank Huang, CEO of Asia-focused quantitative trading firm Kronos Research.

“Metaplanet’s latest buy shows corporate Bitcoin treasuries growing globally, with firms increasingly using BTC as a strategic reserve.” Huang told Decrypt. “At this scale, near-term liquidity could tighten, adding short-term volatility, while also serving as a hedge against fiat currencies. “

Rewards and risks

Huang noted that the primary risk to Metaplanet’s ambitions is volatility, with equity dilution as a secondary factor.

“The biggest risk for corporate Bitcoin treasuries is price volatility, with sharp BTC drops straining balance sheets and confidence,” Huang explained. “Equity dilution is a secondary concern if share-funded purchases don’t see bullish moves in both BTC and stock.”

Equity dilution happens when a company issues new shares, reducing each holder’s stake and weighing on the stock. Despite it, Metaplanet continuously amassed Bitcoin for its balance sheet, announcing plans for a $3.7 billion stock raise earlier this month to buy more.

For other Asian companies, the rules may not be the same.

“It’s hard for all Asian companies to copy Metaplanet’s Bitcoin buying. Asia’s rules vary, and companies face different challenges. No one can easily follow this move,” Jay Jo, senior analyst at Asian quantitative trading firm Tiger Research, told Decrypt.

At Metaplanet’s scale, steady buying can briefly add liquidity, but persistent bids may drain supply and amplify price swings, Jo explained.

“A company’s stock may track Bitcoin closely and often moves more wildly. For example, Strategy’s Beta is 3.78, while Bitcoin’s is normally about 1.5 to 2,” he said.

Too much reliance on Bitcoin price “without steady cash flow” may cause “sudden cash crunches,” Jo said, adding that such factors “puts heavy stress on a company’s financial health.”

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

NewGenIvf to invest $30m in Solana staking strategy

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Privacy is not a core factor of product-market fit

by admin August 18, 2025

Solana Labs founder Toly, says that privacy alone does not make a crypto product or feature compelling enough to alter how users engage with it.

In a recent post, the Solana (SOL) founder contributed to a thread on X discussing the biggest hurdles facing the DeFi industry. He does not recognize privacy as a “killer feature” in that sense.

“There is lack of pmf for privacy. In of itself it’s not a killer feature that would change user behavior,” said Toly in his post.

There is lack of pmf for privacy. In of itself it’s not a killer feature that would change user behavior.
— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) August 18, 2025

In this context, concepts such as privacy may have technical or ideological significance, but it doesn’t guarantee widespread adoption. For a feature to drive adoption, it must solve a tangible problem, offer clear utility, and encourage ongoing user engagement.

According to Toly, privacy fails to meet these criteria on its own. It is not a standalone “killer feature” that fundamentally changes user behavior or adoption patterns when it comes to crypto projects.

In the discussion thread, the trader on X that started the discussion tried to counter Toly’s point by saying that privacy is still a pretty determining factor, considering there have been incidents on-chain where the system doesn’t hold up to technical attacks like the case of the Hyperliquid whale which triggered mass liquidation due to the sheer size of the perp.

“Are there not cases where privacy is preferable for certain trades?” asked the trader.

“No. Complaining about a problem doesn’t mean that that there is pmf for the solution,” said Toly.

In an earlier post, former Solana Head of Growth Matty Taylor suggested that the achieving PMF would involve other criteria that are based on features centered on more economic and utility, such as sustainable revenue, demand, and liquidity instead of privacy.

How does Solana’s privacy stack up against other chains?

Solana offers native privacy features through its Token-2022 standard, which supports confidential transfers, encrypted balances, and optional auditor keys. However, these features are opt-in and require token migration.

Solana also hosts early-stage privacy projects that employ zero-knowledge proofs, such as Elusiv, Arcium, and Light Protocol.

Compared to other leading chains in privacy, Solana is pushing innovative native and app-layer privacy. However, it is still behind Ethereum (ETH) in terms of institution-grade privacy infrastructure and ecosystem maturity.

Ethereum doesn’t offer privacy at the base layer. Instead, it relies on a mature Layer 2 ecosystem zk-Rollups, zkEVMs, and protocols like Tornado Cash for privacy tooling.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

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CBDT Contemplates If India Needs New Virtual Digital Assets Law

by admin August 18, 2025

India’s top tax authority, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has begun extensive consultations with cryptocurrency exchanges and industry participants to assess if a new digital asset law is needed.

As per a report from the Economic Times, the CBDT has asked crypto players if India requires a fresh law for Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs). And if a new law is needed, the CBDT also wants to know which regulator should oversee it. Options include SEBI, RBI, MeitY, or FIU-IND.

The agency is also probing how much Indian crypto trading has moved offshore, particularly to hubs like Dubai. It also wants to understand why traders are leaving India. The initiative indicates that the government might be rethinking its stringent approach to taxing and regulating cryptos.

India Crypto Tax Concerns

At present, crypto gains face a steep 30% flat tax with no loss set-off, plus a 1% TDS on every trade. Industry players say this has crippled liquidity and pushed volumes abroad. The Indian government admitted it currently lacks a real-time system to track income from cryptocurrency transactions, even after collecting over ₹700 crore in taxes in two years.

CBDT is now asking whether this 1% TDS is too high, and what the ideal rate should be. Further, the agency is deliberating whether disparate TDS norms should be adopted for retail traders, institutions, and market makers.

The survey also addresses operational concerns, such as checking counterparties’ domicile, correctly valuing VDAs, and dealing with peer-to-peer transactions. CBDT has also asked whether Indian exchanges are ready to comply with the OECD’s global crypto reporting framework (CARF), designed to prevent tax evasion across borders.

Expert Opinions and Outlook

Interestingly, some Indian exchanges have started offering futures and options trading, where TDS is lower, but there’s still no legal clarity on derivatives, offshore transactions, or even the precise definition of “VDA.”

Purushottam Anand, Founder of crypto law firm Crypto Legal, said India will likely bring in a complete VDA regulation. He also stated that the government is doing a thorough examination of VDAs this year, based on global issues such as G20 papers and recent legislative studies. Anand stressed that India feels that any rule or ban will be most effective when implemented with strong international collaboration.

Experts believe this consultation could be the first step toward a comprehensive VDA law. According to legal experts, global consensus today is moving towards regulation, not bans. With advanced markets embracing crypto as a legitimate asset class, there’s hope that India may ease taxes and set clearer rules to retain traders.

Also Read: AKTU Becomes 1st Indian Uni to Use Blockchain for 50K Degrees

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

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Ripple CTO Unveils Behind-the-Scenes of New XRP Project

by admin August 18, 2025

David Schwartz, Ripple’s longtime chief technology officer, has been running a new experiment on the XRP Ledger, and over the weekend he decided to show what has been going on under the hood.

This time the focus was far more practical: a hub server he has been running that could soon become part of XRPL’s production infrastructure.

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The update came with several charts — bandwidth, latency, peer counts, even disconnection rates — all pointing to a network holding good over a full day of monitoring. There was a single bump in latency, something Schwartz noted only affected a few weaker links, and a small data dropout that he dismissed as a monitoring glitch.

Here’s the past 24 hours. All good. There is one spike in latency that only affected a few links that were already poor. The tiny drop in network b/w appears to be a monitoring dropout and doesn’t show on the switch port’s monitoring. I think we’re nearly production ready. pic.twitter.com/1GNCqF8EBc

— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) August 17, 2025

Everything else looked clean enough for him to suggest that the system is “nearly production ready,” words that carry some weight given XRPL’s history of uptime and stability.

What is it for?

For Schwartz, the server is designed to help important XRP Ledger nodes stay more reliably connected, making the network less prone to sudden drops or sync issues. Yes, it had been some time since he last handled live infrastructure, but the work was both fun and useful, he says.

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For a blockchain that has been running since 2012, reliability may not sound like the most exciting breakthrough, but it matters. The closer the ledger gets to enterprise and payments use cases, the more every connection counts, and adding a layer that quietly strengthens the backbone could end up being more important than headline-grabbing features.

Schwartz’s update does not announce a launch date, but the takeaway is simple: the groundwork for XRPL’s next phase is already being tested.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

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Tourist Wallet Rolls Out, With Crypto Link Still Stuck in Sandbox

by admin August 18, 2025

Thailand introduced its Tourist Wallet for foreign-currency-to-baht QR payments, but the crypto conversion feature is suspended pending a regulatory review through mid-August.

The Bank of Thailand said the Tourist Wallet is meant to solve a practical problem: Cross-border QR links are only live with eight partner countries including Singapore, Malaysia and, soon, China via UnionPay. Travelers from elsewhere still face friction when paying in Thailand, something the new wallet aims to address.

Tourists will be able to top up their wallets with cash at provider counters, foreign debit and credit cards, or overseas bank transfers. Spending caps apply: 500,000 baht ($13,800) a month for merchants with card terminals and 50,000 baht for small shops. Cash withdrawals are prohibited, and accounts can be closed only through redemption.

The crypto angle, however, remains conditional. The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission is testing whether regulated exchanges and custodians can safely let foreign tourists convert crypto into baht balances for use in the Tourist Wallet.

The scheme would require full passport-based know-your-customer identification (KYC), with regulators citing concerns over mule accounts and money laundering. Until the regulatory review process, called a sandbox, closes and regulators publish results, currently scheduled for later this month, crypto holders won’t be able to spend directly.

For now, the Tourist Wallet is a fiat play dressed in QR code convenience, with crypto adoption still pending the outcome of the sandbox process.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

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New Solana Consensus ‘Alpenglow’ Enters Community Vote

by admin August 18, 2025

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Solana core developers have pushed a sweeping consensus overhaul, “Alpenglow” (SIMD-0326), into the ecosystem’s formal governance track, setting up a validator vote that, if approved, would replace TowerBFT and re-architect finality and validator incentives on mainnet-beta. The proposal’s authors—Quentin Kniep, Kobi Sliwinski, and Roger Wattenhofer—describe Alpenglow as “a major overhaul of Solana’s core consensus protocol,” designed to supplant “the existing Proof-of-History and TowerBFT mechanisms” with a design that targets block finalization “as low as 100–150 milliseconds.”

Voting Process For Solana ‘Alpenglow’ Starts

The governance post lays out a three-phase timeline: discussion through epochs 833–838, stake-weight capture in epoch 839, and a binding vote across epochs 840–842 using claimable vote tokens sent to “Yes,” “No,” or “Abstain” accounts. Passage hinges on a supermajority threshold: Yes must be at least two-thirds of Yes+No, with a 33% quorum that counts abstentions. As of today, Solana is in epoch 834, making the discussion window active and the vote window scheduled several epochs out.

At the heart of Alpenglow is Votor, a direct-vote, leader-pipelined finality protocol that shifts Solana away from on-chain vote transactions and heavy gossip toward off-chain vote exchange with local signature aggregation. Validators vote to notarize or skip blocks; leaders aggregate those votes eight slots later and submit compact proofs. The authors argue this design cuts latency dramatically and reduces bandwidth, while a “20+20” liveliness model aims to tolerate up to 20% adversarial and 20% unresponsive validators without halting progress. “Alpenglow… enables much lower latency, improved fault tolerance, and generally greater protocol efficiency,” the post asserts.

The upgrade also rewires validator economics. Because voting moves off-chain, the SIMD introduces a Validator Admission Ticket (VAT), a fixed per-epoch fee “initially set to 1.6 SOL per epoch,” burned to maintain an economic barrier roughly comparable to today’s on-chain vote-fee regime. Validators are “required to cast exactly one valid vote per slot”; conflicting votes are detectable, and persistent non-participation renders a validator ineligible for rewards and at risk of removal from the active set.

Leaders receive compensation equal to the per-slot vote rewards of the votes they aggregate, plus a flat bonus when they include fast-finalization/finalization certificates. In a follow-up thread post, Wattenhofer explains the 1.6 SOL figure as approximately 80% of current vote costs to ensure no operator is worse off at the “AlpenSwitch.”

If adopted, Alpenglow would make a visible semantic change at the client layer: the authors note that optimistic confirmation would be superseded by actual finality at sub-second timescales. The stated aim is to bring confirmation latencies in line with Web2 user expectations while tightening safety guarantees that were harder to formalize under TowerBFT. The proposal’s documentation points readers to a 50+ page white paper and independent analyses, but emphasizes that the initial rollout focuses on finalization and voting; a new data dissemination protocol, Rotor, would follow in a separate SIMD.

Governance mechanics for the vote mirror Solana’s prior advisory processes but with higher stakes. Vote tokens will be claimable via an adapted Merkle distributor; validators then send those tokens to the designated choice accounts during the epoch-bounded window. The foundation’s governance post states, “If the sum of Yes votes is equal to or greater than 2/3 of the total sum of Yes + No votes, the proposal will pass,” and “Abstain” contributes to quorum but not to the supermajority tally. Stake weights and a public tally script will be published for independent verification.

Community feedback has quickly homed in on operational risk and rollout discipline. One validator-oriented response urges the SIMD authors to embed “a testing, deployment and fallback plan” before a mainnet decision, likening the scope of change to other industry-scale protocol transitions. Others probe specifics around the VAT level, transaction expiry in a post-PoH world, leader equivocation handling, and effects on MEV auctions and client UX when slices of a block are ignored under certain failure modes. These threads underscore that while the performance headline—150 ms finality—is eye-catching, the vote will likely hinge on the comfort level with safety proofs, incentive edge-cases, and the migration path.

At press time, SOL traded at $181.89.

SOL rejected at the 0.786 Fib, 1-week chart | Source: SOLUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

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The 10 Public Companies With the Biggest Bitcoin Portfolios

by admin August 18, 2025

For many years, the idea that publicly traded corporations might buy Bitcoin for their reserves was considered laughable. The top cryptocurrency was considered too volatile, too fringe to be embraced by any serious business.

That taboo has been well and truly broken, with a number of major institutional investors buying up Bitcoin in recent years.

The floodgates first opened when cloud software company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) bought $425 million worth of Bitcoin in August and September 2020. Others followed suit, including payments processor Block and electric car manufacturer Tesla.

Per BitcoinTreasuries, public companies holding Bitcoin now account for nearly 4.5% of the total supply of 21 million BTC. These are the biggest holders as of this writing.

1. Strategy

Strategy, a prominent business analytics platform turned Bitcoin treasury company, has adopted BTC as its primary reserve asset. The company is perhaps better known as MicroStrategy, but changed its name in February 2025 with co-founder Michael Saylor citing the “power and positivity” of “strategy.”

The firm, which produces mobile software and provides cloud-based services, has aggressively pursued a Bitcoin buying spree, scooping up millions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency. As of this writing in August 2025, it holds 628,946 BTC in reserve, equivalent to more than $73 billion and more than 2.8% of the total number of Bitcoin that will ever be issued.

At one point, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said, he was buying $1,000 in Bitcoin every second. In the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call, Saylor claimed that the company’s adoption of a “Bitcoin strategy” had enabled it to deliver 10x to 30x the performance of rival enterprise software companies in the business intelligence sector.

Unlike other executives who typically shy away from discussing their personal investments, Saylor has made it public that he personally purchased 17,732 BTC—currently worth over $1.6 billion and still holds them as of September 2024. It’s something of an about-face for the Strategy co-founder, who in 2013 claimed that Bitcoin’s days were numbered.

“We’re at the beginning of the stage of rapid institutional adoption of digital property in the form of Bitcoin,” Saylor said during the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call. He added that in the future, Bitcoin won’t compete against other crypto assets, but against, “gold, art, equities, real estate, bonds, and other types of store-of-value money in wealth creation, wealth preservation, and the capital markets.”

Strategy plans to buy even more Bitcoin in the near future, as it’s in the midst of raising a planned $42 billion to do just that, and Saylor is making the pitch to other public companies as well—like Microsoft, though shareholders ultimately voted against the proposal.

Perhaps the loudest Bitcoin proponent out there, Saylor has already said the firm will be “buying the top forever.”

2. Marathon Digital Holdings Inc.

Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital, unsurprisingly, is also a large holder of Bitcoin, with 50,639 BTC in its corporate treasury according to a recent social update. That’s worth nearly $6 billion at today’s prices.

The company, which aims to build “the largest Bitcoin mining operation in North America at one of the lowest energy costs,” originated as a patent holding firm (and was often referred to as a patent troll) before its pivot into crypto mining.

The firm noted that it is accelerating its growth plans following the 2024 Bitcoin halving, in a bid to “mitigate the impact” of receiving half the BTC rewards per each successfully mined block. The firm had said that it aimed to double the scale of its mining operations in 2024.

The company increased its revenue by 64% in Q2 2025, marking its highest ever revenue quarter at $238.5 million. It recently raised nearly $2 billion via convertible notes, most of which has been used to buy Bitcoin.

3. Twenty-One (XXI)

The Jack Mallers-led Twenty One (XXI) expects to hold 43,514 Bitcoin—over $5 billion worth currently—when transactions are finalized and it begins trading publicly.

Set to launch via a planned SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners, the firm is also working alongside stablecoin giant Tether, crypto exchange Bitfinex, and Japanese investment firm SoftBank to build its Bitcoin treasury.

Unlike other treasury firms that may accumulate Bitcoin for their balance sheets while operating non-crypto businesses, Twenty One’s primary focus will be on acquiring BTC and providing Bitcoin-related services to help differentiate itself from others.

The firm pledges a long-term focus with plans not to “outperform inflation,” but instead “render the concept of inflation irrelevant.”

4. Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company

Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR) is another soon-to-be public entity that will launch with more than 30,000 Bitcoin when its transactions finalize, expected to take place in Q4 2025.

The firm, which will be led by early Bitcoiner and BTC whale Adam Back, is the result of a merger between BSTR and the Cantor Fitzgerald-linked special purpose acquisition company, Cantor Equity Partners I.

As part of the merger, Back and founding shareholders will contribute 25,000 Bitcoin to the company, with another 5,021 Bitcoin provided via an in-kind PIPE, or private investment in public equity.

“We are putting unprecedented firepower behind a single mission: maximizing Bitcoin ownership per share while accelerating real-world Bitcoin adoption,” Back said of the firm, in a statement.

In addition to its 30,031 Bitcoin, currently valued at $3.5 billion, the firm also announced it could raise up to $1.5 billion in funding for more purchases.

5. Riot Platforms, Inc.

Another crypto mining outfit, U.S.-based Riot Platforms, holds 19,273 BTC—worth $2.25 billion at today’s prices.

With its valuation surging from below $200 million in 2020 to highs of over $6 billion in 2021, the Nasdaq-listed company went on an aggressive expansion drive. In April 2021, it spent $650 million on a one-gigawatt Bitcoin mining facility in Texas, eventually expanding further in 2022 before rebranding to Riot Platforms to diversify its business model in 2023.

In 2024, it warned shareholders that there was “no guarantee” the Bitcoin halving would improve profitability and while RIOT shares traded briefly around $18 in the early part of the year, the stock fell gradually before ranging below $10 from August until late October. After such, it gained alongside a resurgence for Bitcoin mining stocks and the broader cryptocurrency market after Donald Trump was named President-elect in November.

The company also reached a settlement with Bitcoin mining firm, Bitfarms, as it attempted a hostile takeover of the rival in 2024.

6. Metaplanet

Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed firm nicknamed the “Asian Strategy,” now holds 18,113 Bitcoin after its latest purchase, worth over $2.1 billion at today’s prices.

Outside of its Bitcoin operations, the company owns and operates a hotel that is being rebranded to the “Bitcoin Hotel,” and claims that it is the first and only publicly listed Bitcoin treasury company in Japan.

Following in Strategy’s footsteps, the firm has aggressively added to its Bitcoin holdings of late, increasing its reserves more than 10x from less than 400 BTC in September 2024 to more than 4,500 in April 2025. It then more than tripled that number in just a couple months as it heads towards a goal of owning more than 210,000 Bitcoin by 2027.

In other headline news, the company added President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump to a Strategic Advisory Board in March.

7. Trump Media & Technology Group

President Trump’s publicly traded media and technology firm is the 7th largest holder of Bitcoin with an estimated 15,000 BTC, according to data from Bitcointreasuries.net.

That number is likely derived from the firm’s recent $2 billion purchase of Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related securities in July—although it has not publicly detailed exactly how much of that purchase is denominated in BTC itself.

Trump Media has been leaning into crypto heavily since the president returned to the White House in January.

In addition to its Bitcoin purchases, it also teased the launch of a crypto token and wallet for its Truth Social platform, and has filed to launch multiple crypto ETFs.

8. CleanSpark

U.S. Bitcoin mining firm CleanSpark holds 12,703 BTC as of July 31, worth just under $1.5 billion at today’s prices.

Ahead of the 2024 Bitcoin halving, the firm expanded its operations, snapping up three Bitcoin mining facilities in Mississippi for $19.8 million and adding up to 2.4 EH/s to its mining capacity. The company also added a third facility in Dalton, Georgia to its lineup, with a further 0.8 EH/s.

Today $CLSK reported fiscal year third quarter 2025 results (ended 6/30/25).

*Quarterly revenue: $198.6 million (up 90.8% from same prior fiscal quarter)

*Quarterly bitcoin production: 2,012

*Quarterly average revenue per coin: $98,753

Full press release here:… pic.twitter.com/PcZ0wXPUZA

— CleanSpark Inc. (@CleanSpark_Inc) August 7, 2025

In June 2024, CleanSpark revealed that it had mined 417 BTC in the month of May, claiming to have “outperformed industry expectations” in its first full month of production following the halving. The company added that it would further expand to a site in Wyoming.

While other public companies on the list have made it a habit of buying Bitcoin for their treasuries, CleanSpark CFO Gary Vecchiarelli said in February 2025, “We continue to invest in ourselves, because why buy Bitcoin at current spot prices when we can mine it for $34,000?”

9. Coinbase

Arguably the best-known crypto firm in this list, crypto exchange Coinbase went public in a landmark direct listing on the Nasdaq in April 2021.

Ahead of its listing, in February 2021, Coinbase revealed that it held $230 million in Bitcoin on its balance sheet. As of its most recent 10-q filing, it holds 11,776 BTC in its treasury for investment, currently worth nearly $1.4 billion.

The company’s stock has charged back towards its previous all-time high in the wake of the 2024 Presidential election, later surpassing the mark in June 2025 and pushing to a new high again in July.

It continues to innovate with Bitcoin, recently announcing its own wrapped Bitcoin product, cbBTC. Coinbase also recently restarted Bitcoin lending services.

10. Tesla

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla joined the ranks of companies holding Bitcoin in December 2020, with an SEC filing revealing that the company invested “an aggregate $1.5 billion” in Bitcoin. Today the company holds 11,509 BTC according to its July 2025 10-Q, or about $1.35 billion worth.

After its first purchase, the company sold 10% of its Bitcoin holdings in Q1 2021; according to CEO Elon Musk, this was “to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.”

The company’s Bitcoin play followed months of speculation, after CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter (aka X) to discuss the cryptocurrency. In late 2020, Strategy’s Saylor offered to share his “playbook” for Bitcoin investing with Musk, after arguing that a move into Bitcoin would be doing Tesla shareholders a “$100 billion favor.”

However, Musk and Tesla have had an on-and-off relationship with Bitcoin. After announcing that Tesla would accept payments in Bitcoin for its products and services in March 2021, just two months later the CEO abruptly announced that the company would no longer accept the cryptocurrency for payments.

Arkham Intelligence believes the acceptance of Bitcoin payments fueled a jump in the Tesla Bitcoin holdings, placing its current treasury at 11,509 BTC compared to a once widely reported 9,720 BTC based on its previous purchases and ensuing sales. Tesla’s latest financial reports validate the total of 11,509.

It remains to be seen whether Tesla will add to its balance sheet, but Musk has said that “he’s open to increasing its Bitcoin holdings in the future.”

Musk is perhaps best known as a keen advocate of another cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. Tesla has enabled Dogecoin purchases for some merchandise, plus Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year, spawning new meme coins and a swift movement upward for Dogecoin.

Additional reporting by Daniel Phillips

Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2022 and last updated with new details on August 15, 2025.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

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Little Pepe emerges as high-conviction memecoin for 2025

by admin August 18, 2025

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

The memecoin sector is fueling the latest crypto rally, with top tokens like Little Pepe, Fartcoin, Pudgy Penguin, and Bonk leading a fresh wave of high-risk, high-reward momentum.

Summary

Meme coins are driving the latest crypto rally, with the sector up 10% in 48 hours as capital rotates into high-risk plays.
Little Pepe’s $17.5m presale, Pudgy Penguin’s ETF buzz, Fartcoin’s whale-backed surge, and Bonk’s Solana-fueled momentum highlight unique growth catalysts.
Analysts see 2025 as a breakout year where these memecoins could deliver outsized returns, with Little Pepe’s presale offering the most urgent entry point.

The crypto market is shaping up for another big rally, and memecoins are taking the lead. The sector has risen 10% in the past 48 hours, pushing another frenzy narrative. As capital rotates into high-risk, high-reward investments, here are four memecoins that benefit from unique catalysts, explosive community hype, and bullish momentum, which could make missing out on them painful by year-end.

Little Pepe (LILPEPE): The memecoin shaking up the space with sniper-bot resistant tech, zero taxes, and a presale that’s already raised over $15m.
Fartcoin (FARTCOIN): Billion-dollar market cap token riding a fresh wave of whale accumulation
Pudgy Penguin (PENGU): The NFT-born token is making waves in U.S. crypto policy circles and riding ETF approval speculation.
Bonk (BONK): Solana’s leading memecoin, fresh off a 160% monthly surge and expanding across exchanges like wildfire.

Little Pepe: The meme that means business

Pepe’s got jokes, but Little Pepe has a business plan. Unlike most memes that rely purely on hype, LILPEPE is mixing its humor with genuine utility and infrastructure upgrades that could change the memecoin game. The project is already in Stage 10 of its presale, selling at $0.0019, up 90% from Stage 1, and has raised over $17.5 million with 11.7 billion tokens sold.

Demand has been relentless, making it one of the fastest-growing presales of 2025. One of its standout features is its sniper-bot-resistant EVM chain, which helps protect launch prices from instant manipulation, a problem that has tanked many promising memecoins in the past. Add zero buy/sell tax and near-zero trading fees, and you’ve got a setup that traders love. Little Pepe is also building a meme-only launchpad, which will serve as a breeding ground for future viral tokens.

This positions LILPEPE not just as a coin, but as an ecosystem hub for the next wave of memecoin mania. The roadmap is ambitious: top-tier CEX listings, ongoing marketing blitzes, and community competitions (including the current $777k giveaway) are all in motion. With these factors combined, hitting a 100x to 500x run post-launch is on the cards if momentum holds. With its humor-driven brand, strong backers, and a business model built for sustainable meme hype, Little Pepe could be the meme market’s best gainer in 2025.

Fartcoin: The billion-dollar wild card

Fartcoin’s name might make you laugh, but its price action is no joke. With a market cap of $1b and a current value of around $1.05, whales have recently acquired 100m coins in just 30 days. That kind of big-money interest is a strong signal for upside potential.

Source: CoinGecko

Analysts are focusing on the $2.36–$5.25 range as the next upward trajectory for the project, which has already recovered over 150% from its recent lows. Its liquidity and growing retail interest create the perfect setup for a sharp rally. With meme culture’s love for shock value and its strong community base, Fartcoin has all the ingredients to pull a headline-grabbing surge in this cycle.

Pudgy Penguin: From cute NFTs to Capitol Hill

What started as a wholesome NFT project became a political and financial powerhouse. Pudgy Penguin’s token, PENGU, recently joined a U.S. federal advisory group shaping digital asset policy, a near-unprecedented move for a meme-origin asset.

This policy-level engagement comes alongside massive market hype. The SEC is reviewing a spot ETF application for PENGU, filed by Canary Capital, which has driven a 120% price rally in the past month to around $0.037. ETF speculation alone is enough to turn small-cap tokens into market sensations, and PENGU is perfectly positioned to benefit.

Source: CoinGecko

Beyond politics and ETFs, Pudgy Penguin’s brand continues to expand globally through merchandise, media deals, and NFT collaborations. Should the ETF receive approval, everything will change. Or even if anticipation builds further, $1 in 2025 is a realistic short-term target.

Bonk: Solana’s memecoin meteor

With a 160% surge in just one month, Solana’s top memecoin delivers a remarkable performance. BONK has leveraged Solana’s lightning-fast transactions and low fees to build a loyal and active community.

Source: CoinGecko

The coin is now listed on over 33 exchanges, massively boosting liquidity and accessibility. Celebrity endorsements, new exchange listings, and even early-stage ETF product talk have all contributed to BONK’s recent momentum.

Trading around $0.000036, BONK’s bullish run shows no signs of slowing down. If Solana’s ecosystem growth continues in DeFi, NFTs, and gaming, BONK could realistically aim for a 5x to 10x climb in 2025, putting it far ahead of many larger-cap competitors, including XRP.

2024 meme portfolio top picks

Little Pepe, Fartcoin, Pudgy Penguin, and Bonk are all proving that price-per-token is no indicator of growth potential. With unique catalysts, from presale momentum and launchpad utility to policy influence and exchange expansion, these meme assets could deliver massive returns in 2025. For investors seeking the biggest bang for their buck, Little Pepe’s presale is the most time-sensitive play on this list. It’s already 93% through Stage 10, and with the launch price locked at $0.003, the window for early entry is closing fast.

Join the Little Pepe presale now at littlepepe.com before Stage 10 goes live.

Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. Neither crypto.news nor the author of this article endorses any product mentioned on this page. Users should conduct their own research before taking any action related to the company.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

XRP Rally Brings 94% Holder in Profit, Chart Warns of 20% Fall

by admin August 18, 2025

XRP, the cryptocurrency launched by Ripple Labs in 2012 to power fast global payments, has surged above $3, sending nearly 94% of its circulating supply into profit, data from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode shows.

The token has gained more than 500% in the past nine months, climbing from under $0.40 to $3.11. XRP is now the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to CoinMarketCap.

Such widespread profitability has historically marked overheated conditions. When more than 90% of holders were in profit in early 2018, XRP peaked near $3.30 before losing 95% of its value. The same configuration was seen in April 2021 when the token fell 85% after reaching the peak of $1.95.

Profitability Metrics Signal Warning Signs

One key indicator, Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL), which tracks the gap between unrealized gains and losses, has now entered the “belief–denial” zone. Analysts note this phase often comes before major tops.

In both 2017 and 2021, XRP reached its highest prices when the NUPL was similar While investors today are heavily in profit, the market has not yet entered the “euphoria” stage, where heavy selling typically begins.

Chart Pattern Shows 20% Downside Risk

On the charts, XRP is consolidating inside a descending triangle pattern, with repeated retests of support near $3.05. An actual breakdown may drive the token to $2.39 by September, a 23% drop.

Nevertheless, in case bulls manage to break above the resistance line, XRP might recover momentum, and some analysts propose targets of up to $3.50.

The next few weeks will determine whether new inflows, which are being spurred by institutional demand and momentum within the broader altcoin market, can soak up possible profit-taking.

Also Read: Wellgistics Health Launches XRP Payments for U.S. Pharmacies

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Grim Death Cross Stuns Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Chart: Possible Scenarios

by admin August 18, 2025

Shiba Inu (SHIB) meme coin has just entered a zone that’s usually enough to make even the most casual meme coin followers nervous. On the daily chart, the 23-day moving average has now slipped under the 50-day line, a formation that is colloquially known as the “death cross.”

It’s not uncommon, but it often has a reputation for signaling that a rally has run its course and that selling pressure could take over, unless market momentum switches quickly.

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The crossover comes after a stretch where SHIB tried to build on its July recovery, only to find resistance just above $0.000015. Since then, the price has had a hard time keeping up, dropping back under the 200-day moving average and settling into a sort of sideways pattern where neither side is making a strong move.

Source: TradingView

The coin is still stuck between two levels — resistance at $0.00001698 and support at $0.00001107. This has been the case for weeks, with neither level giving way.

Scenarios

If the SHIB price drops below $0.000012, it will probably make the market more bearish, since that zone has already been tested a few times this summer. The path to $0.00001107 might become more likely with this move, and if the price drops through that floor, we could see even deeper retracements.

In contrast, there’s a chance that if SHIB can get past the moving averages and rise above $0.000014, the technical outlook might get a bit more favorable, allowing for a reexamination of the swing highs from July.

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For now, the death cross doesn’t seem like a final judgment, but more like a cautionary sign. It shows that SHIB’s recovery is slowing down and it is pretty fragile. This is especially true when you look at other big names like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are also stuck in indecisive ranges.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments