Category:

GameFi Guides

Ethereum ICO Whale Stakes $646M ETH After Three Years Dormant

by admin September 5, 2025

An early ether {{ETH}} investor just rejoined the market’s economic layer with one of the largest staking deposits in recent memory.

On-chain data flagged 150,000 ETH, worth about $646 million, moving from three wallets tied to Ethereum’s 2014 initial coin offering into a staking address on Thursday evening.

The wallets had been inactive since February 2022, when they processed non-ETH transactions.

The investor originally received 1 million ETH during the ICO for a $310,000 outlay — effectively buying ether at $0.31. That position is now valued near $4.3 billion, according to Lookonchain data.

Even after this week’s movement, two wallets still hold another 105,000 ETH, worth $451 million.

It’s the latest in a string of resurfacing ICO whales. Last month, one participant transferred $19 million in ETH to Kraken, while another moved 2,300 ETH to the exchange.

Traders view such transactions as signals of long-dormant supply entering circulation, though in this case the funds were staked rather than sold.

Ethereum’s staking layer has swelled past 33 million ETH this year, with older investors increasingly participating as yields stabilize and the network’s proof-of-stake model matures.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Tether, El Salvador Deepening Ties to Gold, the ‘Natural Bitcoin’

by admin September 5, 2025

In brief

Stablecoin issuer Tether has held talks on investing in gold miners and royalty firms, after already acquiring $8.7 billion worth of bullion.
Meanwhile, El Salvador bought nearly 14,000 ounces of gold for $50 million, its first central bank purchase since 1990.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has previously described gold as “natural Bitcoin,” and suggested in a separate interview that if a global “reset” were to occur, it would “happen in gold.”

Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, has reportedly been in discussions with mining and investment groups to deploy billions into the gold industry, according to a Financial Times report late Thursday.

The talks reportedly span mining, refining, trading, and royalty companies, following chief executive Paolo Ardoino’s view of gold as “the natural Bitcoin.”

“I prefer to think in Bitcoin terms, and I think gold is kind of a resource of nature and is almost like the natural Bitcoin,” Ardoino said onstage at the Bitcoin 2025 conference back in May.

Tether is also moving to deepen its role in the sector, planning to spend about $100 million more to increase its previous 37.8% stake in Toronto-listed Elemental Altus Royalties, a Canadian firm that buys future revenue streams from gold mines, according to a report from Bloomberg early Friday.

“Access to capital is one of the key constraints in the royalty and streaming business; Tether’s support is fully aligned with our growth strategy,” David Baker, CFO at Elemental Altus Royalties, said in a statement shared with Decrypt. He added that, “Since their first investment in June, Tether has been very supportive of the company and management,” noting that prior to the merger announcement the firm had announced almost $70 million of gold royalty acquisitions in Australia and Liberia.

Tether is already among the world’s biggest private holders of the metal. The company disclosed $8.7 billion in gold bars held in a Zurich vault in its Q2 2025 attestation report, collateralizing part of its operations. In 2020, the firm launched Tether Gold, a gold-backed stablecoin backed by more than 7.7 tons of the precious metal, according to an April 2025 attestation report by accounting firm BDO Italia.

Tether did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comment.

El Salvador’s first gold buy in 35 years

Tether’s gold push comes as Banco Central de Reserva, El Salvador’s central bank, announced its first bullion purchase in 35 years, buying 13,999 troy ounces for $50 million, raising the country’s holdings to 58,105 ounces, worth an estimated $207 million.

The central bank characterized the purchase as a diversification play for its $4.7 billion in foreign reserves, according to a syndicated report from Agencia EFE.

El Salvador has already accumulated more than 6,200 bitcoin, now valued at over $706 million based on current prices, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries. Earlier this week, the country’s Bitcoin Office confirmed that it has moved its crypto holdings to new addresses, following security concerns.

These moves suggest that large sovereign Bitcoin holders, such as El Salvador, and major crypto industry names, including Tether, are beginning to frame gold as a complementary hedge, treating it less as a rival asset and more as a partner in diversification strategies.

A source working on Tether’s regional expansion efforts declined to comment, citing internal policies, and instead directed Decrypt to Ardoino’s interview with Anthony Pompliano in August, where he argued that gold could be viewed as a counterweight to fiat, not a rival to Bitcoin.

In the interview, Ardoino suggested traders might choose to rotate into bullion at cycle peaks, given its 6,000-year history and scale as a reserve asset.

“There is time for everything, and I think that when […] if the world will go to hell in the next 5 years, there’s good chances that part of the reset will happen in gold,” Ardoino said.

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

RedStone crypto price jumps 80% after South Korea’s Upbit listing

by admin September 5, 2025

RedStone’s trading volume rose to $700 million on a wave of retail enthusiasm.

Summary

RedStone’s price rose 80% to a daily high of $0.7988, before stabilizing at $0.6803.
Listing on South Korea’s Upbit exchange was the major catalyst for the price increase

RedStone (RED) crypto price has gained significant momentum following major listing news. On Friday, September 5, the South Korean exchange Upbit officially announced the listing of RedStone on its Korean Won market. This was RedStone’s debut in the large South Korean market, giving it exposure to a large retail user base.

Following the announcement, the price of RedStone rose 80% to a multi-month high of $0.7988 before stabilizing at $0.6803. This surge pushed RedStone’s market capitalization to $192.1 million. Additionally, trading volume skyrocketed to $700 million, reflecting significant retail interest.

To ensure market stability, Upbit implemented several trading restrictions. First, during the first five minutes, buy orders were restricted, and sell orders were capped at 10% below the previous day’s closing price. These measures aimed to prevent bots from immediately rushing in and distorting the market. Additionally, for the first two hours of trading, the exchange allowed only limit orders.

Can Redstone crypto price reach $1?

Redstone is a multi-chain an oracle network, which provides external data to other blockchains. This data includes asset prices in traditional finance, which blockchains typically don’t have access to. It caters to DeFi protocols, RWA platforms and other dApps that require accurate, real-world data.

Its oracle network also offers flexibility for developers. For instance, developers on other chains can pull data from RedStone when needed, reducing the cost of on-chain data storage and gas fees. The protocol also works across several blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Avalanche, and Polygon.

RedStone’s token supply is capped at 1 billion RED, with a 280 million circulating supply. It is the utility token for its oracle infrastructure, enabling users to earn staking rewards. The low supply, coupled with utility, means that the RedStone price has the potential to reach $1. However, traders should be mindful of future token unlocks and concentration.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Why Crypto Is Here to Stay: The Debate That Matters

by admin September 5, 2025

A detailed debate on the future of cryptocurrencies in India and around the world took place on Zerodha and True Beacon Co-Founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast. He spoke at length with Ruchir Sharma, the investor, author, and head of Rockefeller Capital Management’s international business.

The conversation covered India’s regulatory approach, the potential of stablecoins, and Bitcoin’s growing role compared to traditional assets like gold.

“Crypto is here to stay”

Ruchir Sharma, who has long tracked global financial trends, underlined that digital assets have survived skepticism and entered the mainstream. “I think Bitcoin is here to stay. Crypto is here to stay. This has lasted long enough. It’s getting mainstream,” he said.

Sharma pointed out how global institutions have changed their stance. He noted that banks and asset management firms, which five years ago had dismissed crypto entirely, are now starting to invest in it, showing growing acceptance.

India’s regulatory hurdles

Kamath turned the discussion to India’s cautious approach to crypto. He recalled his time in the U.S., where he met the founders of Kalshi and Polymarket, two prediction markets—one on the blockchain and the other using fiat currency. He observed that even there, regulators treat them differently, regulating Kalshi, but not Polymarket.

He argued that India risks curbing innovation with restrictive policies. “The big hindrance seems to be the 1% tax deduction at source for any kind of crypto or stablecoin in India,” Kamath said, questioning whether the country was “regulating ourselves out of a market which can be really big tomorrow.”

Stablecoin alternatives

Kamath suggested that if India were to issue a stablecoin, it should not be tied to the U.S. dollar. He proposed that the collateral could be a mix of gold and the Indian rupee, while also acknowledging the country’s strict capital controls.

Ruchir Sharma agreed, stressing the need to develop alternatives to the U.S. dollar. He noted that while he is optimistic about Bitcoin and the wider crypto market, the world’s dependence on the dollar needs to decrease, and new solutions should emerge.

The two also discussed how such a stablecoin could help manage remittance flows into India, though they recognized there would be challenges in both adoption and regulation.

Gold vs Bitcoin

The debate also touched upon the enduring comparison between Bitcoin and gold. Ruchir, who revealed he holds substantial gold, noted how Bitcoin’s value relative to gold has risen sharply. “The amount of gold that a Bitcoin could buy X years ago… today, a Bitcoin is able to buy a lot more gold,” he said.

While acknowledging gold’s historical significance, Sharma described crypto as a more advanced form of value storage. He admitted, however, that its use for everyday transactions remains limited, noting that it has yet to be widely adopted in this way. Despite this, he reaffirmed its legitimacy as an asset class, giving “two cheers for the Bitcoin bulls.”

A market too big to ignore

Globally, more than 659 million people now hold crypto, while India has ranked number one in grassroots adoption for three consecutive years, according to Chainalysis. Boston Consulting Group projects that tokenized assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030.

Sharma summed it up bluntly: “I think that it is here to stay. I think that debate is over now.”

Also Read: Zerodha’s Kamath Flags India’s Crypto F&O Boom on Tax, Leverage

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

XRP Heavily Mispriced If This Bollinger Bands’ Chart Is True

by admin September 5, 2025

The Bollinger Bands, a volatility and relative pricing tool, are showing an intriguing signal on XRP right now: the token looks cheaper than the broader chart noise suggests.

It all starts with the daily time frame, where currently, the XRP price is trading at around $2.83; meanwhile, the Bollinger Bands’ midpoint stretches at $2.91. When prices are below average, it is often seen as a sign of weakness.

XRP price: Weekly outlook

XRP is still well above the $2.60 median, but the upper band goes up to $3.46, leaving a wide zone where the price could travel without being overstretched. In practice, that means the coin can rise almost 20% before the model says it’s expensive.

Undervaluation is not just about today’s level but also about how much room there is before the top of the band is tagged.

MARA Boosts Bitcoin Holdings to 52,477 BTC After August Production

by admin September 5, 2025

MARA Holdings (MARA) reported that its bitcoin BTC$112,224.94 holdings climbed to 52,477 BTC as of Aug. 31, after the crypto mining company produced 705 BTC during the month.

The company mined 208 blocks, maintaining a 4.9% share of network rewards. Energized hashrate rose 1% month-over-month to 59.4 exahashes per second (EH/s). MARA opted not to sell any BTC in August, with management noting that the price decline provided an opportunity to grow reserves.

The largest cryptocurrency fell more than 6% in August, the worst performance since February.

“Given the decline in bitcoin price during the month, we took the opportunity to strategically add to our treasury and currently hold over 52,000 BTC,” said CEO Fred Thiel.

MARA remains on track to complete its Texas wind farm buildout by the fourth quarter, with all miners on-site and connected. Internationally, the company signed an agreement to buy a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of EDF, with the option to increase to 75% by 2027. The deal aims to integrate MARA’s infrastructure with AI and edge solutions.

MARA also opened its European headquarters in Paris, reinforcing its focus on sustainability, grid partnerships and the repurposing of unused energy.

MARA shares fell 5% on Thursday and are down 14% year to date.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

BoE Governor Shares ‘Multi-Money’ Vision

by admin September 5, 2025

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor for Financial Stability has shared her vision for a “multi-money” system that includes stablecoins and other traditional assets in the UK ahead of the upcoming consultation on its crypto policy proposals.

BoE Eyes ‘Multi-Money’ System With Stablecoins

On Wednesday, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden affirmed that the central bank must keep up with the global developments as innovative technology paves new ways of making pavements.

In a conference in London, Breeden detailed her vision for a system where multiple forms of money, including traditional and tokenized commercial bank deposits, stablecoins, and central bank money, are freely interchangeable, “with technology driving faster, cheaper, and more innovative payments for the benefit of business, households, and users of financial markets; and – critically – with the whole system underpinned by trust in money itself.”

To achieve this, the deputy governor outlined that the BoE must provide the necessary underlying infrastructure, deliver proper regulatory frameworks, and establish an overall strategy to facilitate innovation and economic growth while protecting financial stability.

She emphasized the need for a robust regulatory framework that enables innovation to thrive, as appropriate risk management will support broader adoption and the sector’s development. However, Breeden noted that designing those regulatory regimes in a fast-moving world isn’t an easy task, forcing officials to be open to “learning as we go.”

According to Bloomberg, the deputy governor also stated that UK officials have “an eye” on US regulation following the enactment of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in July.

“US dollar stable coins will have an influence all around the world,” she affirmed, adding that it is “absolutely essential that we produce a regime that supports the issuance of sterling stablecoins.”

She noted that “stablecoins, for a long time the preserve of crypto markets, are beginning to go ‘mainstream’. Given they are an existing form of ‘digitally native’ money, their safe adoption could unlock faster, cheaper settlement for cross-border transactions as well as supporting trading of tokenised securities.”

Crypto Regime Consultation In Q4

During her speech, Breeden highlighted that the UK “set out the necessary legislation for a regulatory regime for stablecoins in 2023,” while the BoE and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have been engaging with the industry to develop more detailed rules of that regime.

Notably, the FCA has been working to establish a more comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets starting next year, releasing a Discussion Paper on the features of the upcoming crypto regime as part of its crypto roadmap.

The HM Treasury has also published a draft of proposed provisions to establish a complete regime for cryptocurrencies, which are expected to set clear transparency, consumer protection, and operational resilience standards.

Nonetheless, the UK’s former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has criticized the government’s approach, affirming that they must “catch up” or risk being “left behind” during the second crypto wave.

As reported by Bitcoinist, Osborne slammed Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey’s crypto strategy, noting that, some of the proposed rules, including requiring sterling stablecoins to be backed only by central bank reserves, guarantee that the UK doesn’t lead the sector, as major financial players will continue to innovate “regardless of the Bank of England’s stance.”

Nonetheless, BoE’s deputy governor affirmed that the central bank has been listening to feedback on its proposals for a regulatory regime for systemic stablecoins, like allowing the digital assets to hold a portion of their backing assets in a subset of high-quality liquid assets (HQLA), such as short-dated government securities.

This change aims to address feedback that the initial approach “would not support the predominant business model amongst stablecoin issuers, which relies on income from backing assets.”

Breeden added that the BoE will set out some of the reviewed proposals for consultation later this year before finishing its regime.

Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $109,431 in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

SEC Watchdog Blames Tech Failures for Loss of Gary Gensler’s Texts in 2023

by admin September 5, 2025

In brief

Gensler’s text messages between October 18, 2022 to September 6, 2023 are now lost.
A 45-day wipe policy and a rushed reset led to a permanent deletion, the agency’s watchdog said Wednesday.
The loss may affect FOIA responses, with the National Archives being notified of the loss in June.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lost nearly a year of text messages from former Chair Gary Gensler, according to a review by the agency’s Office of the Inspector General released on Wednesday.

The SEC’s OIG is responsible for conducting audits, evaluations, and investigations into the SEC’s programs and operations.

On July 6, 2023, Gary Gensler’s SEC-issued smartphone stopped syncing with the agency’s device management system, even though it “otherwise functioned normally and was used regularly,” the report said.

For the next 62 days, it appeared “inactive,” a status that went unnoticed by IT staff.

A month later, on August 10, the Office of Information Technology introduced a policy to automatically wipe any device that had not connected for 45 days, assuming it was lost or stolen.

Under that rule, Gensler’s phone was wiped.

When he arrived at SEC headquarters on September 6, 2023, and discovered agency apps missing, Gensler approached staff for help.

Investigators said personnel, unaware of what had occurred, tried to restore the phone and instead performed a factory reset that permanently deleted nearly a year of text messages, covering October 18, 2022, through September 6, 2023.

Missed warnings, poor vendor coordination, and weak change-management practices were also cited as factors that compounded the failure.

The Office of the Inspector General serves as the agency’s independent watchdog under the Inspector General Act of 1978, reporting both to the SEC Chair and to Congress.

Lost legacy

Nearly a year of Gensler’s lost text messages coincided with the SEC’s war on crypto.

In January 2023, the agency charged Genesis and Gemini over unregistered offerings, while lender Nexo agreed to a $45 million settlement.

The following month, it fined Kraken $30 million for its staking service and warned Paxos that its Binance-branded stablecoin could be an unregistered security.

By April, Gensler told Congress that most crypto tokens meet the Howey Test, reinforcing his stance that they fall under securities law. Internal records later revealed the SEC had already labeled Ethereum a security in March 2023.

After his tenure at the SEC, Gensler returned to MIT, where he now teaches and does research on artificial intelligence, financial technology, and public policy.

Daily Debrief Newsletter

Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Boerse Stuttgart launches first pan-European blockchain settlement platform

by admin September 5, 2025

Boerse Stuttgart Group has launched Seturion, a blockchain-based settlement platform designed to handle cross-border tokenized asset trades in Europe.

Summary

Boerse Stuttgart Group has launched Seturion, a blockchain-based settlement platform.
The platform supports settlement across public and private blockchains, with cash settlement in central bank money or on-chain currencies.
Senturion has been tested by major European banks.

Seturion is being touted as the “first digital pan-European settlement platform,” which hopes to unify Europe’s fragmented post-trade infrastructure and eliminate cross-border barriers, Boerse Stuttgart said in a Sept. 5 announcement.

The platform uses a “modular settlement solution” and therefore can be integrated across both private and public blockchains. It also supports cash settlement in either central bank money or on-chain digital currencies.

According to Boerse Stuttgart, Seturion will offer faster and cheaper settlements within any asset class.

“With Seturion, market participants across Europe can tap into new business opportunities around tokenized assets. Our partners benefit from significant cost savings in settlement of up to 90 percent,” Seturion CEO Dr. Lidia Kurt was quoted as saying.

Seturion will be accessible to all banks, brokers, trading venues, and tokenization platforms across Europe through its open architecture that can be easily integrated into a business’s existing infrastructure.

Upon integration, these platforms will be able to offer trading and settlement of tokenized assets without needing a dedicated DLT license by connecting directly to venues already linked with Seturion, Boerse Stuttgart explained.

Leading European banks have already tested the platform during a 2024 trial, and it is currently leveraged by BX Digital, a FINMA-regulated DLT trading facility.

Trading venues operating under the Boerse Stuttgart umbrella will become the platform’s first integrated clients, with additional partners expected to join eventually.

The Boerse Stuttgart Group is the sixth-largest exchange group in Europe, and it became the first German firm to secure a crypto-asset service provider license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulations in January this year.

Today’s launch also follows the group’s partnership with DekaBank, a key player in Germany’s financial sector and part of the Sparkassen group, to enable cryptocurrency trading services for institutional investors.

Europe’s focus on tokenization

Seturion launches just as Brussels has signalled it wants to take tokenization from experiment to policy priority. Later this year, the European Commission is expected to present proposals under its Savings and Investment Union (SIU) plan that would bring equities, bonds, and derivatives onto blockchain rails.

Officials are also preparing an upgrade to the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime, which has provided the testing ground for projects like Seturion.

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Fireblocks Launches Stablecoin Network Amid $200B Monthly Volume Surge

by admin September 5, 2025

Crypto custody firm Fireblocks has rolled out its own stablecoin payments network, targeting the inefficiencies of today’s scattered infrastructure. The platform connects issuers, banks, fintechs, and liquidity providers, and already handles over $200 billion in transactions monthly, according to the company.

The move positions Fireblocks at the center of one of 2025’s fastest-growing segments: enterprise-grade stablecoin settlements.

A SWIFT-Style Push for Stablecoins

Described by Fireblocks as a “stablecoin SWIFT”, the new infrastructure is designed to eliminate fragmentation across current stablecoin systems. Instead of routing transactions through disconnected on/off-ramps and opaque platforms, Fireblocks’ network offers a unified payments layer for digital dollars.

The company said more than 40 participants have already onboarded, including Circle—issuer of USDC and Bridge, a stablecoin platform acquired by Stripe in 2024. Combined, these partners already process over $200 billion in monthly stablecoin payments.

“The existing rails are too scattered to support institutional scale,” Fireblocks said in Thursday’s announcement. “This network is built to fix that.”

Stablecoins Surge Past $280 Billion

The timing aligns with explosive growth across the stablecoin sector. According to data cited by Grayscale, total monthly stablecoin settlement volume hit $800 billion in June. Meanwhile, the market cap of stablecoins jumped from $200 billion in January to $280 billion in August, reflecting institutional demand for fast, dollar-pegged settlements.

Competing players such as Circle and Stripe are also building side infrastructure. Circle rolled out its own stablecoin payments network in April, while Stripe has leaned heavily into Bridge, acquired to support stablecoin and tokenized asset flows. Both companies are also building their own proprietary blockchains.

Broader Impact

Fireblocks’ move puts it in direct competition with some of the biggest names in stablecoin infrastructure. As transaction volumes climb and compliance frameworks tighten, whoever controls the payments backbone stands to define how digital dollars scale globally.

If the SWIFT comparison holds, Fireblocks may be setting the foundation for a cross-border, bank-grade standard in stablecoin settlement—and claiming a first-mover edge in the next phase of crypto-native finance.

Also Read: Mega Matrix Files $2B Shelf to Buy Governance Tokens

Source link

September 5, 2025 0 comments