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Treasury seeks public input on detection of illicit activity in digital assets

by admin August 19, 2025

The United States Department of the Treasury is seeking public feedback on innovative methods and tools for detecting illicit activity in the digital assets industry.

Summary

U.S. Treasury has asked for public comments on tools used to detect and monitor illicit activity in the digital assets ecosystem.
The public have until October 17, 2025 to share their input as required under the GENIUS Act.

The U.S. Treasury said in a press release that interested members of the public have an opportunity to provide comments on the techniques or strategies that regulated institutions use to detect and mitigate illicit finance risks in the crypto space.

Focus areas of the public input will be on four key aspects of the ecosystem. These are: application programming interfaces, digital identity verification, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology use and monitoring.

Why public input?

The notice fulfills a requirement under GENIUS Act, the landmark U.S. stablecoin law President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025. According to the government agency, the public have 60 days from the date of publishing the request for comment notice in the Federal Register to give their input, with this deadline set for October 17, 2025.

Public feedback on this matter helps the administration’s quest for policy that supports responsible growth and use of cryptocurrencies. Treasury’s move aligns with Trump’s executive order on “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” signed on January 23, 2025.

“Today’s request for comment fulfills Treasury’s obligation pursuant to section 9(a) of the GENIUS Act, which creates a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers in the United States. The GENIUS Act and E.O. 14178 together promote U.S. leadership in digital assets and bolster U.S. national security,” the U.S. Treasury noted.

The GENIUS Act requires the Treasury to use feedback from the public input to inform its research on aspects such as effectiveness of tools, costs involved, privacy features, and the cybersecurity risks of the tools.

In the cryptocurrency and blockchain security and analytics ecosystem, platforms such as Chainalysis and TRM Labs have become critical components with tools to detect and alert on potential threats and risks.

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

AI Agents Are Taking Over Game Development: Google

by admin August 19, 2025

In brief

While AI speeds up coding and playtesting, devs worry about privacy, cost, and creative control.
Small studios see AI as a chance to compete, while larger publishers struggle to adapt.
From smarter NPCs to new jobs, developers say AI is remaking game development.

Nearly nine in 10 game developers say they’ve already built AI agents into their work, according to a new Google Cloud survey. These autonomous programs don’t just generate images and assets; they are inside the game, reacting to players and reshaping virtual worlds.

The survey, conducted in collaboration with The Harris Poll, polled 615 developers across the United States, South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It found that 97% of respondents believe that AI agents—autonomous programs that can act without human input—are already reshaping the industry, with most already using them to speed up coding, testing, and localization.

For smaller studios, AI is helping level the playing field, with 29% saying AI is lowering the barrier to entry and allowing them to compete with larger publishers.

“If you’re not on the AI bandwagon right now, you’re already behind,” Kelsey Falter, CEO and co-founder of indie studio Mother Games, told Decrypt. “Being small means we can adapt faster. Bigger studios have legacy codebases and senior engineers resistant to change. For us, AI is baked in from day one.”

In the study, 87% of developers said they’re using AI agents that adapt to players in real time. These agents are being deployed to control non-player characters, guide tutorials, and even moderate online communities. In 2023, Call of Duty publisher Activision rolled out ToxMod, an AI-powered tool that monitors online chat for toxic and hate speech.

Developers say players now expect more dynamic, responsive environments and richer, more reactive worlds, with 35% saying AI-driven tutorials are speeding up player onboarding.

Matias Rodriguez, chief technology officer at Globant, a tech firm that works with major game studios, said gamers are open to AI when it deepens storytelling or immersion—but wary if it feels like a shortcut.

“Gamers are a selective audience when it comes to authenticity,” Rodriguez told Decrypt. “But they’re also some of the most open to innovation when it enhances the immersion.”

AI, he said, is being used as “a creative copilot and a productivity multiplier,” aimed at enhancing—not replacing—the creative process.

Falter agreed that the tools can boost productivity, but said the lack of industry standards means mistakes happen quickly.

“It’s still the wild west,” she said. “A year ago, we saw AI generating soupy code at a faster pace than humans could check it. Without guardrails, you can make a mess faster than you can clean it up.”

Still, most developers are betting on AI’s long-term value. For Falter, the challenge is maintaining human creativity while using AI to unlock new types of gameplay.

“We don’t use AI to generate artwork or churn out clones,” she said. “Our models are trained on scripts written by human writers, and our terrain generators have a specific style unique to our game. It’s about maintaining creative integrity.”

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

U.S. Treasury Starts Work on Stablecoin Law, Gathering Views on Illicit Activity

by admin August 18, 2025

The U.S. Treasury Department is seeking new ideas for detecting and cutting off illicit crypto activity as it begins to put the new stablecoin law into effect.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act — the first major U.S. law to erect a regulatory system in the crypto space — called for government action on limiting dangers from bad actors in digital assets, and the Treasury Department is asking for public comments “to identify innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies that regulated financial institutions use, or have the potential to use, to detect illicit activity, such as money laundering, involving digital assets.”

The crypto sector will have a 60-day comment window to share industry views on clamping down on shady crypto use, according to the department’s request on Monday.

The GENIUS Act is now entering into what is typically a protracted period of implementation when a new financial-regulation law enters the arena of the federal agencies that need to put it into effect. The U.S. banking regulations, such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will also have policies to work out in the future oversight of stablecoin issuers.

But GENIUS was only the first and less significant piece of the two-part legislative priority for the crypto industry. The sector still awaits further action from Congress on the bill that would set up guardrails for the wider digital assets markets. The House of Representatives was in the lead in recently passing its Digital Asset Market Clarity Act with a wide bipartisan vote, but when the Senate returns from its summer break, it’ll take the reins in shaping that legislation under a slightly different approach than the House.

President Donald Trump has pushed his administration into rapidly crafting crypto-friendly policies, issuing multiple executive orders and statements driving federal regulators to set standards after years of resistance and legal challenges from the U.S. government. Agency heads such as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins have suggested that they can get some of the work done even before Congress finishes its crypto tasks.

Read More: Trump Signs GENIUS Act Into Law, Elevating First Major Crypto Effort to Become Policy

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Ethereum Floods Exchanges As Bitcoin Remains Unshaken: Market Braces For Volatility

by admin August 18, 2025

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

Ethereum is navigating renewed volatility after weeks of relentless gains and bullish momentum. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency surged to its highest levels in years, but bulls are now locked in a battle to defend the $4,200 mark. This price point has emerged as a crucial short-term support, with institutional buyers continuing to accumulate ETH despite recent turbulence in broader markets.

What stands out in this phase is Ethereum’s exchange inflow activity compared to Bitcoin. Over the past month, the two assets have displayed sharply different patterns. While Bitcoin’s inflows have remained relatively moderate, signaling stability and limited selling pressure, Ethereum has seen a significant uptick in coins moving onto exchanges.

This divergence suggests a more dynamic market structure for Ethereum. Rising inflows could indicate profit-taking by long-term holders, or repositioning by large investors preparing for volatility or upcoming catalysts in the ETH ecosystem. Still, institutional interest, alongside strengthening fundamentals such as declining supply on exchanges, continues to support Ethereum’s long-term outlook. Traders now watch closely to see if ETH can hold $4,200 and stabilize for another leg higher.

Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: Divergence in Exchange Inflows

According to on-chain data from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are showing a clear divergence in exchange inflows, signaling very different dynamics at play in the market. Bitcoin inflows have remained moderate, fluctuating between 12,000 and 70,000 BTC per day.

While there have been brief spikes in mid-July and around August 1st, these movements have not persisted long enough to suggest a broader trend. This steadiness implies that BTC holders are not rushing to exchanges, which reduces immediate selling pressure. It also reinforces the idea that sentiment around Bitcoin remains relatively stable despite recent volatility in price action.

Ethereum, however, is telling a different story. Over the past several weeks, ETH inflows have surged significantly, with daily exchange inflows repeatedly climbing above 2 million ETH in mid-August and peaking near 2.6 million ETH. This marks a sharp increase compared to late July, when inflows often sat below 1.5 million ETH.

Ethereum Exchange Inflow | Source: CryptoQuant

Such elevated activity suggests large-scale repositioning among major holders or increased profit-taking following ETH’s strong rally. The data highlights that Ethereum is entering a more active trading phase, potentially introducing short-term selling pressure that could influence price direction.

The divergence is striking: Bitcoin inflows suggest relative calm, while Ethereum inflows signal heightened market activity. This imbalance means traders should watch ETH closely, as sustained exchange inflows could either spark a corrective pullback or serve as a stepping stone for a renewed rally, depending on how the market digests the additional liquidity.

Technical Details: Key Price Levels

Ethereum’s recent price action shows a notable retracement following weeks of strong bullish momentum. After peaking near $4,790, ETH has pulled back to around $4,272, reflecting an 11% decline. This move has brought the price back toward a critical support zone at $4,200, where bulls are currently attempting to defend against further downside pressure.

ETH consolidates around key levels | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView

The chart highlights that Ethereum remains well above its key moving averages (50, 100, and 200-day), which are all trending upward and reinforcing a broader bullish structure. Despite the sharp retracement, the longer-term trend still favors buyers, as ETH has maintained higher highs and higher lows since its reversal earlier this year.

A breakdown below $4,200 zone could open the door to $3,800–$3,900, while a successful defense could set the stage for another attempt at the $4,800–$5,000 region. Overall, Ethereum’s chart continues to show bullish strength, though volatility remains high.

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Faraday Future pivots to crypto and AI as car sales falter

by admin August 18, 2025

Amid struggles in its EV business, cash-starved Faraday Future is pivoting to crypto and AI.

Summary

Faraday Future is pivoting to crypto and embodied AI
The firm hopes its crypto treasury will attract capital and help it raise cash for its business
So far, Faraday Future has produced only 16 of its FF 91s vehicles

The struggling EV startup Faraday Future is pivoting to crypto and AI. On Sunday, August 17, EV startup Faraday Future announced the launch of a treasury product, as well as a new focus on embodied AI.

Faraday Future is launching the C10 Treasury product, a weighted basket of the top 10 crypto assets, excluding stablecoins. The fund will allocate 80% of the funds according to the index and actively manage the other 20% for greater returns.

The fund is aiming for $500 million to $1 billion in initial crypto asset purchases, with an initial purchase of $30 million. Moreover, the company hopes to earn an estimated 3% to 5% in staking yields, which it will use to fund stock buybacks and innovation in its core business.

Faraday Future’s business struggles

Faraday Future hopes to leverage crypto and AI to reinvigorate interest in its business. According to the firm, the goal is to combine the short-cycle crypto business with the long-cycle embodied AI for electric vehicles.

“The next decade could be a super long bull cycle for the crypto market,” said Ian Calderon, FF Co-Creation Officer. “FF is building a dual-engine circular growth system — combining the long-cycle, high-value EAI EV ecosystem with the short-cycle, high-velocity Crypto ecosystem. These two flywheels will empower each other, redefining what’s possible in mobility and financial innovation.”

Once dubbed a potential Tesla competitor, Faraday Future’s business has been struggling. By January 2025, the company had only produced 16 of its flagship FF 91 vehicles. Most were given to employees and advocates.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Ethereum Treasury Aims to Foil Short Sellers With ‘Loyalty Payment’ as Shares Trade at Discount to Holdings

by admin August 18, 2025

In brief

BTCS is paying investors a “loyalty payment” to make shares illiquid.
The company’s shares are trading below the value of its crypto holdings.
BTCS CEO Charles Allen said short sellers are targeting the firm.

Ethereum treasury firm BTCS has offered investors a one-time payment for making their shares illiquid on Monday, saying that it would help them foil Wall Street short sellers.

Those who hold BTCS shares with the company’s transfer agent will receive a “loyalty payment” of $0.35 per share in January, the company said in a press release, while unveiling a $0.05 dividend that will be payable in Ethereum in September as well.

BTCS shares rose nearly 9% to $4.81 on Monday, according to Yahoo Finance. Shares have cooled from a three-year high of $8.49 last month but are still up 83.4% year-to-date.

BTCS’ shares trade at a discount relative to its crypto holdings. Although the company held 70,000 ETH worth $303 million on Monday, its market cap stood around $215 million, yielding a so-called mNAV of 0.75, the lowest among firms tracked by Strategic Ethereum Reserve.

Experts say that discounts can spell danger for crypto treasury firms, constraining their ability to raise funds in a way that would increase the amount of crypto they own per share.

BTCS CEO Charles Allen told Decrypt on Monday that the discount stems from hedge funds betting on a drop in BTCS’ stock price, as opposed to a lack of investor confidence in BTCS or its $100 million Ethereum-buying plan unveiled last month.

“People are betting against us,” he said. “If 90% of our shares are held by retail shareholders in four brokerage firms, and those brokerage firms pull all the shares together and loan them out to the short sellers, [then] we have a major problem.”

BTCS’ short interest represented 7.4% of the company’s float, according to Fintel. That was relatively higher than Ethereum treasury firms BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming, totaling 4% and 6.5% on Monday, respectively.

Allen’s call for investors to move shares to “book entry” with the company’s transfer agent is reminiscent of a scheme devised by GameStop’s community, in which the meme stock’s devotees organized to directly register shares with Computershare.

By registering shares with the company’s transfer agent, investors can effectively restrict how those securities are used. Platforms like Robinhood and Charles Schwab typically allow customers to opt out of stock lending programs, albeit to varying degrees of difficulty.

As BTCS shareholders tap the company’s transfer agent, the hope is that “shares available to borrow are going to get squeezed out,” making it more costly to short the stock, Allen added

BTCS uses an Equity Stock Transfer agent as its record keeper, and Allen acknowledged that there may be drawbacks for certain investors because they can’t readily sell their shares. Processing a transfer may take three to five business days.

Allen noted that BTCS, established in 2013, runs Ethereum validators and a block-building business, in addition to its Ethereum treasury strategy. The company has also leveraged decentralized finance protocols, such as AAVE, to raise capital, he added.

BTCS shareholders have to fill out a form on the company’s website and provide a digital wallet address in order to receive the dividend, dubbed a “Bividend,” in the form of Ethereum. If shareholders take no action, they will receive $0.05 per share through traditional means.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Circle (CRCL) Acquires Malachite to Power Its Upcoming Blockchain Arc

by admin August 18, 2025

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) has acquired Malachite, the consensus engine that is set to underpin payments-focused blockchain Arc, from software development firm Informal Systems, according to a Monday press release.

Several people from Informal Systems will join Circle as part of the acquisition. The firms didn’t reveal details about pricing.

The deal comes as Circle, the company behind the $65 billion USDC (USDC) token, announced last week it’s building its own layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin finances, a recent trend among asset issuers aiming to capitalize on the booming sector. Stablecoins, a set of cryptocurrencies with prices tied to an external asset like the U.S. dollar, are projected to become a trillion dollar market and disrupt cross-border payments.

Malachite was built around the Tendermint consensus algorithm and was designed for flexibility and correctness in decentralized systems. Informal Systems developed it as a reusable foundation for blockchain infrastructure, with a focus on performance and security.

Malachite will remain open source under the Apache 2.0 license, leaving developers free to use and extend the technology, the press release said. Informal will continue supporting other use cases for Malachite and advance its other projects, including tools for distributed systems and cross-chain infrastructure.

Read more: Why Circle and Stripe (And Many Others) Are Launching Their Own Blockchains

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Circle’s Jeremy Allaire on GENIUS Act: ‘Internet of Money Has Arrived’

by admin August 18, 2025

Jeremy Allaire, cofounder of Circle, the company behind USDC stablecoin, has dropped a motivational post on X. Allaire emphasized the importance of persistence in the cryptocurrency industry in the post. He did this by highlighting his role in the birth of the GENIUS Act.

Jeremy Allaire reflects on Circle’s early struggles

The Circle CEO recalled how many stakeholders, including investors, regulators and even family members, doubted him when he conceived the idea of Circle in 2013. According to him, the idea that money could move just like information on the internet, cheaply, instantly and globally, was unbelievable to many.

Circle’s market position

Circle currently ranks second on the stablecoin market, with a market capitalization of $68.14 billion. It is surpassed only by Tether, whose market cap stands at $166.81 billion.

Expert Predicts XRP ETFs Could Be the Spark That Changes The Token’s Market Course

by admin August 18, 2025

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Even though XRP ETFs are yet to enter the crypto market, the potential upcoming fund is witnessing robust optimism from the sector, with analysts predicting approval in the next few months. In the event of approval, an expert has declared that the fund will have a notable impact on the crypto sector, especially on the trajectory of the token.

XRP ETFs Will Be A Game-Changer

As the crypto community awaits the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on the XRP ETFs, AllinCrypto, a crypto expert, has delved into the impacts of the fund once it gains approval from the regulatory watchdog.

The expert offered his insights on the funds in a recent interview with Paul Barron on the XRP Podcast. In the video shared by the expert on the X platform, he pointed to the possible launch of XRP Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) as a game-changing catalyst for the token’s future trajectory.

This bold statement suggests that ETFs have the potential to change the way XRP is viewed and traded in international markets. In contrast to previous momentum generators, ETFs may open up a flood of institutional capital and offer mainstream investor access, bolstering liquidity.

AllinCrypto’s remarks about the token’s future trajectory hinge on the ramifications of the ETFs, the 401(k)s, and widespread access to these investments. According to the expert, these developments could draw in a significant portion of liquidity into the fund, thereby reshaping the token’s role within the digital asset landscape.

With 401(k)s having a market value worth trillions of dollars, the expert believes that a notable part of this capital might flow into the fund after gaining approval from the US SEC. AllinCrypto declares that the large capital inflow would be a game-changer for the token, comparing it to its Bitcoin and Ethereum counterparts.

The Fund Is Hitting The Crypto Market Very Soon

While Bitcoin Spot ETFs have become the most successful in the financial landscape, with Ethereum ETFs gaining notable traction, XRP ETFs could be the next big thing for crypto. “I think XRP ETF is going to surprise everybody,” the expert stated. His claim is backed by the fact that institutional participants are aware of the token and its role in the sector.

In the meantime, AllinCrypto remains bullish about the fund gaining approval from the US SEC by September this year, as most ETP providers predict. “I think we are going to see miraculous things, and I think that is going to set us up for a pretty explosive backend of 2025 and beyond,” he added. In his opinion, crypto goes more of a broad trajectory than following the abiding 4-year cycle notion.

Ripple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse, sharing his take on the XRP ETFs, also predicts that the fund will be accepted and start trading soon. According to the CEO, an approval from the US SEC is inevitable, considering the historic introduction of the Bitcoin Spot ETFs. Furthermore, the CEO stated that the XRP ETFs represent the transition from speculative retail trading to institutional adoption, reinforcing its potential for approval.

XRP trading at $2.9 on the 1D chart | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

Avalanche gains momentum as monthly transactions surge 326% but this chart signals a cold front

NFT Gaming

Avalanche activity spikes despite AVAX price pullback

by admin August 18, 2025

Avalanche network activity continues to show robust growth despite the native token hitting a snag and slipping from highs above $25 as a pullback across the crypto market engulfed most coins.

Summary

Avalanche price pulled back from highs above $25, retreating slighty amid broader market sell-off pressure.
Nansen data however shows Avalanche’s onchain growth momentum remains.

The Avalanche (AVAX) token rose to highs of $25.64 on Aug. 18, extending the uptick that had bulls off support levels around $23.40 over the past week.

However, with cryptocurrencies down in the past 24 hours amid widespread profit taking, AVAX pared gains to hover around $23.61. The altcoin was down 5% in 24 hours as Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $115k and Ethereum (ETH) retreated to near $4,200.

Avalanche network activity rises

While Avalanche’s price is facing the same downside pressure that currently engulfs the broader risk-asset market, data shows network strength that supports the long-term outlook. Other than the key metric of stablecoin growth, onchain data from Nansen suggests the past two weeks have been huge for Avalanche in terms of transactions.

An update by the multichain artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform shared on August 18 shows that Avalanche’s daily transactions grew by more than 100% in the past month. From about 500,000 transactions per day, Nansen data shows the network rose to hit over 1.3 million in daily transactions.

Avalanche activity is on the rise. 🔺

Over the last 30 days, transactions jumped from ~500K/day lows to 1.3M+ daily transactions, more than doubling in just two weeks!

Momentum on @avax is definitely heating up. pic.twitter.com/iDIW8Vihw3

— Nansen 🧭 (@nansen_ai) August 18, 2025

Notably, most of the uptick came in a two-week period in which Avalanche witnessed significant network growth.

Momentum for AVAX is cooling, but with the bullish fundamentals in place, analysts say Avalanche’s price setup suggests a breakout. Stablecoin growth and decentralized finance traction are driving this outlook.

TVL and other metrics

As the onchain metrics point to increased user activity, DeFiLlama data indicates total value locked is ticking up from April 2024 lows.

The TVL aside, Avalanche is also attracting attention as a platform for real-world asset tokenization. In the tokenization market, the latest development related to Avalanche is the move by Bowmore, among the oldest distilleries in Scotland, to launch its first-ever tokenized whisky bottles on the AVAX blockchain.

In July 2025, Avalanche attracted headlines as it announced that $250 million in RWAs was coming onchain via Grove. The platform also struck a deal with Visa for global stablecoin settlement.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments