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Not Very Bullish? Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Stock Is Overpriced, Says Compass Point

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In brief

  • Crypto exchange Bullish debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in August.
  • Its stock soared to more than triple the initial offering price.
  • But analysts at Compass Point say it’s currently trading too high.

Analysts at investment bank Compass Point initiated coverage of crypto exchange Bullish with a neutral rating and a $45 price target, about 16% below its current price, and amid wariness about its ability to crack the U.S. market.

Ed Engel and Abdullah Dilawar wrote that the U.S. Congress had yet to pass the CLARITY Act, market structure legislation that would clarify the jurisdictions of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. New York State’s restrictive BitLicense could also hinder Bullish’s efforts, they wrote.

“We have a hard time seeing Bullish entering U.S. markets until Congress passes market structure legislation,” the analysts wrote. “Until then, NYDFS [New York Department of Financial Services] is viewed as the industry’s de facto U.S. regulator.”

They added: “NYDFS is historically less hospitable to novel blockchain technologies which leaves us cautious towards Bullish’s Bitlicense approval. While the company is extremely transparent with its AMM [automatic market maker]  liquidity and algorithm, we have a hard time seeing NYDFS issues a Bitlicense to an exchange that acts as a market maker on its own exchange.”



Bullish shares (BLSH) closed down 12% Wednesday to trade a little over $54. The Peter Thiel-backed exchange debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last month, with shares hitting as high as $118 after being offered for $37 in the IPO. The analysts noted that BLSH seemed overvalued with shares trading at 110 times their core operating profit and 68% over its IPO price.”

Despite their concerns, the analysts wrote that if Bullish secures a U.S. license, it could become a formidable competitor to Coinbase, which dominates institutional trading in the U.S., noting Bullish’s low fees. 

“We think there could be a better buying opportunity within 1-2 quarters,” the analysts wrote.

They also wrote: “We believe competitive pricing can help it take market share from Coinbase which dominates institutional spot markets,” the analysts wrote. “COIN’s institutional fee rates are above international exchanges alongside limited competition domestically.”

Bullish allows clients to buy, sell, and bet on the future price of digital coins and tokens, with a focus on institutional investors rather than retail traders. It currently targets traders in Europe and Hong Kong.

Coinbase—America’s biggest exchange (COIN)—went public in 2021. Its share price is down more than 11% since then, despite reaching an all-time high of $444 in July. 

Bullish’s debut follows closely after other public offerings by crypto-focused companies. San Francisco-based Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, had a roaring June NYSE debut when its stock tripled from its original IPO price of $31 per share to a peak of $299. It was recently trading at close to $119. 

And brokerage platform eToro’s stock closed 29% higher following its Nasdaq debut in May.

Bullish CEO Tom Farley, who previously was NYSE’s president, said in August that the firm timed its IPO to the intended to IPO as “the digital assets industry is beginning its next leg of growth.”

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Compass Point Starts Coverage at Neutral
NFT Gaming

Compass Point Starts Coverage at Neutral

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Wall Street banking and research firm Compass Point has initiated coverage of crypto platform Bullish (BLSH), the parent company of CoinDesk, with a neutral rating and a $45 price target.

Despite a belief that Bullish’s lower fee structure could help it chip away at Coinbase’s (COIN) U.S. market share in the future, the analyst Ed Engel cited concerns about the timing as well as the stock’s valuation.

“We have a hard time seeing Bullish entering U.S. markets until Congress passes market structure legislation (i.e. the CLARITY Act),” Engel wrote. The CLARITY ACT, a bill aiming to clarify jurisdiction between the CFTC and SEC, however, might not be passed until the first half of 2026.

Even then, New York’s notoriously strict BitLicense regime could pose a hurdle, according to Engel. Regulators may be wary of Bullish’s model, which allows the company to act as its own market maker via its automated market maker (AMM) — a setup that could raise conflict-of-interest concerns, he said.

“We think there could be a better buying opportunity within 1-2 quarters,” wrote Engel, pointing to the stock’s current 110x multiple on 2026 projected EBITDA.

Bullish also holds a $2.7 billion crypto treasury, mostly in bitcoin BTC$108,783.53, which ties the stock’s performance closely to BTC price swings. That can be a double-edged sword, said Engel, reminding of bitcoin’s notorious volatility.

Engel’s $45 target assumes bitcoin hits $160,000 and includes a 50% probability that Bullish will break into the U.S. market. That potential expansion alone could add an estimated $12 per share in value, according to Engel.

Bullish went public in August at $37 per share and shot sharply higher before closing at $68 on its opening day.

Shares were down 4.6% Wednesday to $59.20.



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(CoinDesk Data)
NFT Gaming

XRP Bullish Patterns Point to $5 as Korean Buyers Start to Accumulate

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News Background

  • XRP fell sharply alongside broader market weakness, retreating 4.3% in the 24-hour session from August 28 at 13:00 to August 29 at 12:00.
  • On-chain data showed Korean exchanges absorbing 16 million XRP (≈$45.5 million) during the selloff, pointing to regional institutional demand even as retail wallets reduced exposure.
  • South Korea has historically been a driver of speculative crypto trading, often leading price action in certain altcoins (sometimes called the “Kimchi Premium” effect).
  • If large wallets associated with Korean exchanges or institutions are accumulating at support, it suggests regional demand is stepping in to absorb retail selling pressure, effectively putting a floor under XRP.
  • For global traders, that sets up a narrative of distribution vs. accumulation: while some whales were moving $200 million in DOGE to Binance (a distribution signal), Korean desks were adding XRP exposure (an accumulation signal).
  • XRP Ledger activity picked up, with active addresses climbing 20% in three days ahead of the Sept. 12 Decentralized Media launch.
  • Chinese fintech firm Linklogis integrated its trillion-dollar supply-chain financing platform with XRP Ledger, boosting its equity 23% and underscoring enterprise adoption.

Price Action Summary

  • XRP slid from $3.02 to $2.89 in the 24-hour window, a 4.30% decline across a $0.17 (5.75%) range between $3.02 peak and $2.85 low.
  • Heavy selling at 15:00 GMT on Aug. 28 drove prices down to $2.77 on 96.19 million volume, more than double the 24-hour average of 43.48 million.
  • Buying support emerged at $2.85–$2.86, with volumes above baseline during the 07:00–09:00 GMT recovery push on Aug. 29.
  • In the final hour (11:56–12:55 GMT), XRP bounced from $2.87 to $2.89, touching $2.91 at 12:31 on a 19.6 million spike.

Technical Analysis

  • Support: Key base at $2.77, reinforced by strong volume absorption; $2.85–$2.86 now acting as an accumulation zone.
  • Resistance: $2.91 short-term cap; $3.02 remains the dominant ceiling from repeated rejection.
  • Momentum: RSI lifted from 42 (oversold) into the mid-50s, showing recovery momentum.
  • MACD: Histogram tightening toward a bullish crossover, indicative of potential upside if buyers sustain pressure.
  • Patterns: Symmetrical triangles and double-bottom setups align with a broader cup-and-handle formation that some analysts see extending toward $5–$13 targets.

What Traders Are Watching

  • Whether $2.85–$2.86 support continues to hold against renewed selling.
  • A confirmed break above $3.02–$3.04 resistance as the first trigger for a run toward $3.20.
  • Downside risks open if $2.77 fails, with $2.70 as the next support.
  • Institutional accumulation on Korean exchanges and corporate flows remain the key driver for sustaining momentum into September’s event calendar.



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Elon Musk's DOGE Point Man is Now An MDMA Consigliere
Product Reviews

Elon Musk’s DOGE Point Man is Now An MDMA Consigliere

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Antonio Gracias, Elon Musk’s close ally and Tesla (TSLA) board member, has pivoted to a controversial takeover of Lykos Therapeutics, a biotech firm developing MDMA-based therapies once rejected by the FDA for safety concerns, The Guardian reports.

As the psychedelics industry inches toward mainstream acceptance, new developments reveal how politics, science, and industry interests are shaping the future of mental health treatments.

But Gracias’ involvement in the regulatory body of the company he is now boosting is raising eyebrows, The Guardian reports.

Lykos, which announced a $50 million recapitalization earlier this year, has been at the front of pioneering some of the most promising research into MDMA-assisted therapy. But the firm’s recent FDA rejection of its clinical trials, which cited flaws linked to bias and trial design, has cast doubt on its prospects for approval.

Thanks largely to debates about scientific rigor, the agency ordered new Phase 3 testing, a process likely to take several years and cost millions.

The company’s opponents argue that flawed science led to the rejection, while supporters believe in the therapeutic potential of MDMA under proper regulation.

Neither Lykos nor Gracias responded to a request for comment.

‘Greasing the wheels’ for regulation?

Gracias’s recent leadership of Lykos, financed with a $50 million infusion backed by wealthy investors including hedge funds and veteran executives, arrives as Republican and Democratic officials alike are warming to the idea of faster approval for psychedelic medicines.

Some top Trump-era health officials, such as former officials and lawmakers, have publicly supported reevaluating the regulatory process, citing promising early results and patient demand.

This is raising alarm bells with ethics experts.

“You can’t be greasing the wheels and then say, ‘OK, now I’m going to quit and go pursue that approval,’” said Cynthia Brown, senior ethics counsel at the non-profit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told The Guardian.

This political backing fuels concerns about politicizing the science. Critics warn that relaxing FDA standards or fast-tracking approvals under the influence of industry insiders could undermine the integrity of scientific research, risking future setbacks if safety is compromised.

“The challenge is ensuring that enthusiasm doesn’t outpace the evidence,” As Mason Marks, a Harvard law professor specializing in drug policy, told The Guardian. “Science must remain independent from politics to avoid bringing the entire industry into disrepute.”

Meanwhile, Gracias’s ties to Musk and the military, along with his past work in government, have raised questions about conflicts of interest amid the push for regulatory reform.

So will the FDA now reconsider?

The FDA now has broad discretion to reconsider its previous decisions, potentially issuing emergency authorizations or expedited reviews, creating opportunities for firms like Lykos to accelerate their path to market.

“Maps and Gracias are going to try to seize the moment that we’re in,” Ifetayo Harvey, a former Maps employee and executive director of the People of Color Psychedelic Collective, said. “I think the aim is to get MDMA-assisted psychotherapy approved by the FDA by any means necessary.”

Gracias’ involvement raises quite a few questions for the burgeoning psychedelics industry.

It stands at a crossroads: Whether to forge ahead under politicized but promising conditions or to proceed cautiously to ensure long-term safety and efficacy. As political figures harness deepening public interest in mental health and wellness, industry insiders and regulators face a delicate balance between hope and harm, progress and prudence.

“With the lack of transparency, it leaves us really grasping at what it even means to be Doge,” said Faith Williams, a policy director at the Project on Government Oversight, a non-profit watchdog group, told The Guardian.. “We have seen so many, if not outright conflicts of interest then potential for conflicts of interest, and if not outright corruption, potential for corruption.”

The magic of Burning Man

Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and a prominent, longtime advocate for the research and therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs. Doblin said he immediately saw a partnership.

“It was the magic of Burning Man,” Doblin said. “I was sort of looking for a white knight that would come in and would be more focused on healing and on public benefit.”

That spring, Lykos Therapeutics has announced a major leadership shakeup, appointing a new CEO and chief medical officer and restructuring its board of directors. These moves arrived as Gracias and investor Christopher Hohn assumed control.

“Gracias is actively involved in the company’s day-to-day operations,” an unnamed Map director and industry insider, told The Guardian. They said that was emphasizing the influence Gracias now wields over the firm’s strategic direction as it aims to regain regulatory confidence and accelerate clinical trials.

This leadership shift underscores the high stakes and intense industry interest in psychedelics, with supporters and critics alike watching closely as the company navigates complex regulatory and scientific hurdles.

But even more unusually, backers of the the company have been accused of a fundraising effort that allegedly involved doing drugs with investors.

“Definitely part of their fundraising strategy is ‘Meet rich people at Burning Man, do psychedelics with them and get Maps money,’” Harvey, who was Doblin’s executive assistant in 2015, told The Guardian.

Maps addresses allegations of drugs with investors

Maps denied that it used drugs to as a means of drumming up investment.

“MAPS conducts all fundraising activities with the highest integrity and maintains strict ethical boundaries in all donor relationships and fundraising activities. MAPS does not supply controlled substances at any events or gatherings, nor do we use substances as a fundraising tool or strategy,” Maps said in a statement.

Doblin also told Business Insider last year that giving drugs to donors was “not common”.



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Rolls of dollar bills of varying denominations. (NikolayFrolochkin/Pixabay)
GameFi Guides

DOGE Price Declines 5% as 'Lower Highs' Point to Further Declines

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News Background

  • Between August 24–25, a whale shifted 900 million DOGE (worth over $200 million) to Binance, sparking fears of distribution from long-term holders.
  • Corporate treasuries and institutional funds have reduced meme-coin exposure as regulatory uncertainty and global macro headwinds mount.
  • Network security strength remains elevated, with Dogecoin’s hashrate topping 2.9 petahashes per second, reflecting robust mining participation despite price volatility.
  • Broader crypto markets remain supported by expectations of Fed policy easing, but DOGE continues to lag majors like BTC and ETH.

Price Action Summary

  • DOGE fell 5% during the 24-hour session from August 28 at 09:00 to August 29 at 08:00, sliding from $0.22 to $0.21.
  • The token traded within a narrow $0.011 range, marked by a high at $0.23 and a low at $0.21.
  • Institutional selling was evident, with 626.3 million tokens transacted during morning trade as $0.22 support gave way.
  • The sharpest move came in the 07:24–08:23 GMT hour on August 29, when DOGE dropped 0.57% from $0.22 to $0.21 on a 27.36 million spike in volume.

Technical Analysis

  • Support: Initial stability around $0.22 was lost; $0.21 now serves as the immediate floor.
  • Resistance: $0.23 remains the near-term cap, repeatedly rejecting rallies.
  • Momentum: RSI hovers near mid-40s, showing neutral-to-bearish bias with limited upside strength.
  • Volume: Daily turnover exceeded 280.5 million tokens; institutional flows were concentrated during peak selling phases.
  • Indicators: MACD lines are diverging bearishly, suggesting further downside risk unless price reclaims $0.22.
  • Pattern: Tight $0.21–$0.23 corridor signals consolidation, but repeated lower highs point to a potential continuation lower.

What Traders Are Watching

  • $0.21 as the critical support — a break risks exposing $0.20.
  • A push through $0.23 could reframe near-term momentum and open the path toward $0.25–$0.30.
  • Monitoring whale exchange inflows after the $200 million transfer to Binance.
  • Futures open interest trends, down 8% earlier this week, as a gauge of speculative conviction.



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Microsoft’s employee protests have reached a boiling point
Gaming Gear

Microsoft’s employee protests have reached a boiling point

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Some Microsoft employees are willing to risk everything to protest their employer. No Azure for Apartheid, a group led by current and former Microsoft employees, started last year as a petition to Microsoft executives. It demanded that Microsoft end all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government, disclose all ties, call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and protect pro-Palestinian speech.

Microsoft hasn’t met any of these bold demands, so the group has turned to increasingly brazen actions at Microsoft events, the company’s headquarters, and now the homes and offices of Microsoft executives to get results. Microsoft downplays how many employees are involved, but many are quietly working behind the scenes to help get the message out.

While the petition failed to have an impact, a louder protest outside Microsoft’s headquarters kickstarted a wave of public activism. Two of the organizers of No Azure for Apartheid — Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr — were fired for disrupting colleagues with “bullhorns and speakers.” They’ve been recruiting Microsoft employees, other tech workers, and community members ever since. The group has since made headlines for interrupting Microsoft executives during a 50th anniversary celebration and at the company’s Build developer conference earlier this year.

The protests have escalated dramatically in recent weeks. Microsoft executive Teresa Hutson was targeted on August 7th by the group, which gathered more than 30 people carrying Palestinian flags and signs reading “WANTED for PROFITING from GENOCIDE” outside her house. The group covered the sidewalk in front of her home in red paint and scrawled “Teresa Hutson kills” in chalk on the road.

The chalk and red paint outside a Microsoft executive’s home (blurred and cropped to remove details). Image: No Azure for Apartheid

Huston is Microsoft’s CVP of the Trusted Technology Group, and not an EVP or senior executive at the company. “She publicly describes herself as the owner of the human rights work at Microsoft and delivers the Responsible AI Transparency Report, making her one of the key complicit executives,” says Abdo Mohamed in a message to The Verge.

The group had previously targeted Hutson on June 18th at an ethics and tech conference at Seattle University, where she was due to speak. “When no Azure for Apartheid disrupted the first Microsoft speaker, she ended up leaving the conference to avoid us,” says Mohamed.

The rally outside Hutson’s house — which included speeches and protesters carrying wanted signs with the executive’s headshot — marked a serious escalation in what the group was willing to do to get Microsoft to respond to its demands.

Protesters also carried wanted signs and banners (blurred to remove details). Image: No Azure for Apartheid

Days later, protesters arrived at Microsoft’s headquarters to start an encampment. A group of current and former Microsoft employees, as well as community members, took over a plaza at Microsoft’s headquarters. Protesters were moved to a public area outside of Microsoft’s campus on the first day of those protests last week, but things got heated when they returned on the second day.

A current Microsoft employee was arrested in an ugly scene at the company’s headquarters on day two, where red paint was spilled over a Microsoft sign and there were struggles with police. Redmond police ended up arresting 20 people after some protesters allegedly “became aggressive.” Mohamed disputes that and says police “violently dismantled” the encampment at Microsoft’s headquarters. The group distributed footage of a cop using a pepper ball gun at point blank on a protester who appeared to already be restrained on the floor.

Microsoft’s approach to the protests also changed after this incident. This spring, Microsoft issued the brief type of corporate statement you’d expect at any sign of trouble. But in recent weeks, Microsoft has begun to hit back at protesters with its own footage and images, released to members of the media hours after the disruption at the company’s headquarters in an attempt to upend the narrative. The company provided CCTV footage of protesters dragging a security fence and briefly ensnaring a cop inside it, as well as protesters confronting a DJ and disconnecting equipment. Microsoft also released images of a fake Microsoft ID used by at least one protester, as well as an arrest list for the day.

Anna Hattle, a software engineer in Microsoft’s cloud and AI team, was arrested at last week’s protests, alongside former Microsoft employees Hossam Nasr, Vaniya Agrawal, and Joe Lopez. All three former employees helped disrupt Microsoft’s Build conference, and Agrawal was the Microsoft worker who interrupted cofounder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on stage at the company’s 50th anniversary event.

Protesters also targeted Nadella’s and vice chair and president Brad Smith’s houses during a rally on Lake Washington over the weekend. The group used around 20 kayaks to unfurl banners reading “Microsoft kills kids” and “Satya + Brad = War Criminals” on waters close to Nadella’s and Smith’s homes. Former Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad was also part of the lake protest, after disrupting Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event in April and calling Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman a “war profiteer.”

Protesters used kayaks outside Satya Nadella and Brad Smith’s homes. Image: No Azure for Apartheid

While the protests on Lake Washington were carried out on public waters, things reached a boiling point this week after a group of seven activists “stormed a building” and managed to get access to Brad Smith’s office inside Building 34 at the company’s headquarters. Current and former Microsoft employees performed a sit-in protest in Smith’s office, and Microsoft was forced to temporarily lock down its executive building.

Microsoft employees Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle were part of the protest, alongside former employees Vaniya Agrawal, Hossam Nasr, and Joe Lopez. They were also joined by a former Google employee and another tech worker.

Smith then hastily held an emergency press conference in his office, just hours after protesters had barricaded themselves inside with chairs before they were arrested. Smith said that Microsoft is “committed to ensuring its human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East.” He said the company launched an investigation earlier this month after The Guardian and others reported that Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform was being used for surveillance of Palestinians.

Microsoft said in May that it had found no evidence through an internal and external review that the Israeli military has used its Azure and AI technology to harm Palestinian civilians or anyone else in Gaza. Microsoft’s previous review was delivered just days before its Build conference was disrupted multiple times.

Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Microsoft asked the FBI for help tracking the protesters after the disruptions to its 50th anniversary. Microsoft also coordinated with local officials and ramped up security for its annual Build developer conference in Seattle, but protesters were still able to disrupt Satya Nadella and other executives.

Sources tell me Microsoft is ramping up security across its campus in response to the escalation in protester tactics. Microsoft employees were told last week not to take a pedestrian bridge on its headquarters nearby the protests, and I’m told that a big event at its new campus that was supposed to take place last Thursday was canceled. Redmond police were on the scene instead.

Microsoft acknowledged the Building 34 lockdown in a message to all employees late last night, reassuring them that the “safety of employees is our top priority” at every Microsoft building worldwide. “Enhanced security measures are now in place across campus, including increased patrols and monitoring to ensure the safety of all employees and visitors,” says an announcement posted last night on Microsoft’s internal news and events page.

Microsoft isn’t sharing a statement beyond Brad Smith’s latest press conference, but I’m sure that these employee protests won’t be the last we see, especially as we’re just months away from Microsoft’s big Ignite conference in San Francisco. Microsoft has tried to downplay these latest protests as just a handful of current and former employees, but there are many Microsoft workers anonymously helping to organize the direct actions we’ve seen over the past week.

Microsoft’s response will be important, particularly because the company has stumbled in the past by blocking emails that contain “Palestine,” and not properly addressing worker concerns. Smith’s hasty press conference was highly unusual, but it’s the type of transparency that Microsoft needs more of right now, before things get out of control.

  • Windows 11’s latest update might be bricking some SSDs. A new update, KB5063878, appears to be causing issues for some SSDs. Windows 11 users report that SSDs have been failing when writing a large number of files at once after this update is installed. Microsoft hasn’t managed to reproduce the issues yet, but that hasn’t stopped people from compiling lists about affected SSDs.
  • Microsoft reaches a settlement with Virtru over patent infringement. Data protection and privacy software company Virtu announced this week that it has reached a settlement with Microsoft over a patent infringement lawsuit that was filed in 2022. Virtu claimed Microsoft’s Purview Message Encryption feature infringed upon three of its patents, but the terms of the settlement remain confidential.
  • Windows 11 now has better Bluetooth audio quality. Microsoft has enabled a new feature in Windows 11 that allows Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices to play in high-quality stereo while using a microphone. It should greatly improve gaming audio when you’re talking to friends simultaneously, or meetings conducted through Microsoft Teams. “When using an LE Audio device with a Windows 11 PC that supports super wideband stereo, the switch into game chat no longer causes an abrupt drop in audio quality,” explains Mike Ajax, a principal program manager lead at Microsoft. All you need is a Bluetooth headset that supports Bluetooth LE Audio, as well as a Windows 11 PC that also supports LE Audio and has the latest drivers and Windows 11 24H2 update. Existing PCs should get driver updates later this year, and Microsoft expects “most new mobile PCs that launch starting in late 2025 will have support from the factory.”
  • Musk prods at Microsoft again. xAI owner Elon Musk says he’s building a “purely AI software company called Macrohard.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek name designed to take on Microsoft. “Given that software companies like Microsoft do not themselves manufacture any physical hardware, it should be possible to simulate them entirely with AI,” says Musk in a post on X.
  • Copilot is breaking audit logs, but Microsoft won’t tell you. Microsoft 365 Copilot has been found to allow access to a file and return the information without providing an update to the audit log that IT admins use. Zack Korman, CTO at Pistachio, a startup building a platform to “manage human cyber risk,” discovered the issue last month and immediately reported it to Microsoft’s security teams. While Microsoft has now fixed the issue, the company is refusing to issue a CVE for the problem — an industry standard for classifying vulnerabilities. Customers are automatically protected as Microsoft 365 Copilot is a cloud-powered app, but they won’t know that this ever happened without a CVE. Microsoft did a similar stealth update for another AI security issue earlier this month, and refused to issue a CVE.
  • Microsoft tests letting you resume Android apps on Windows 11. Microsoft is testing a new Windows 11 feature that will let you resume using your Android apps right on your PC. Initially it only supports the Spotify app right now, and Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels can get early access to the feature. Microsoft isn’t saying how it will expand this Handoff-like feature in the future, but the company has been gradually improving its Phone Link software to better integrate with Android phones in recent years.
  • Microsoft is bringing PC gaming apps and stores to its Xbox app on Windows. Microsoft has started testing another handheld-friendly addition to its Xbox app, allowing PC gamers to quickly install and launch third-party apps like browsers, gaming utilities, and even rival storefronts. A new “My apps” feature is being tested in the Xbox app for Windows 11, and it looks like another way to avoid having to launch the main Microsoft Store or hunt for downloads online if you’re on a gaming PC. I’m liking the improvements Microsoft is making to the Xbox app for handhelds, but I still think the company needs to greatly improve the core store experience if it truly wants to compete with Steam.
  • Microsoft’s new NFL deal could let you blame Copilot AI for terrible play calls. The NFL and Microsoft have extended their arrangement that makes Surface tablets a familiar fixture on gameday sidelines, but with a new AI twist. NFL teams can use a GitHub Copilot-based feature that filters plays to make strategy calls based on situations. There’s even a Microsoft 365 Copilot-based dashboard that sorts spreadsheets for analysts to filter through game data quickly. The Surface devices are also being upgraded to Copilot Plus PC-capable ones, with a giant Copilot logo on the case carrying strap.
  • Microsoft is rolling out personalized ads on Xbox consoles. If you boot up your Xbox console this week you’ll probably be greeted with a new prompt about selecting personalized ads. You can opt in so that game and DLC recommendations will be tailored for you, or you can disable personalized ads. If you opt out, you’ll still see ads, but they’ll be less relevant.
  • Forza Horizon 6 to be unveiled soon. A leaked document has been circulating in recent weeks that reveals Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan. I understand the next installment of the franchise will be announced at the Tokyo Game Show next month and will indeed be set in Japan. The leak also mentions a potential tie-in with Honda, which might be another reason why Microsoft has picked the Tokyo Game Show for such a big announcement. Xbox chief Phil Spencer already revealed “the next Forza” is coming in 2026, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it as early as the first half of the year. The big question is whether PS5 players will have to wait a little longer to play the next Forza.
  • Microsoft expands Xbox Cloud Gaming to Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers. Microsoft is expanding its Xbox Cloud Gaming technology to Xbox Game Pass Core or Standard subscribers, dropping the requirement for the highest tier of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for access to cloud games. As part of an Xbox Insider test, Microsoft is also providing access to some PC games for Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers. Microsoft currently restricts access to Xbox Cloud Gaming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, meaning you have to pay $19.99 a month to get access to xCloud, so this is a great change. It comes just weeks after Microsoft hinted that it was about to make Xbox Cloud Gaming “more affordable” and accessible.

I’m always keen to hear from readers, so please drop a comment here, or you can reach me at [email protected] if you want to discuss anything else. If you’ve heard about any of Microsoft’s secret projects, you can reach me via email at [email protected] or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I’m tomwarren.01. I’m also tomwarren on Telegram, if you’d prefer to chat there.

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GameFi Guides

Ethereum, ETH Treasuries at ‘Good Entry Point’ After Market Pullback: Standard Chartered

by admin



In brief

  • Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick sees Ethereum’s pullback from its all-time high as a “great entry point” with $7,500 target by end of 2025.
  • Treasury companies and ETFs have purchased 4.9% of circulating ETH since June, with buying pressure driving the recent surge to $4,953 all-time high.
  • Ethereum ETFs attracted $444 million inflows Monday vs $219M for Bitcoin ETFs, as Ethereum outperforms BTC 32.6% vs 17.3% year-to-date.

Ethereum’s pullback from all-time highs creates a “great entry point” for investors, according to Standard Chartered.

The bank’s head of digital assets, Geoffrey Kendrick, believes Ethereum will reach $7,500 by the end of 2025 as institutional interest grows.

In a research note seen by Decrypt, he explained that Ethereum treasury companies and exchange-traded funds have purchased 4.9% of the ETH in circulation since June.

Kendrick argues that this buying pressure has played an instrumental role in helping the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency surge to $4,953 on Sunday—eclipsing the previous all-time high set in November 2021.

“Although these inflows have been significant, the point is that they are just getting started,” he added.

Last month, Kenrick had predicted that treasury companies will soon own 10% of all ETH in circulation—and now, he says that target is well on track to be met.

“ETH and the ETH treasury companies are cheap at today’s levels,” he wrote.

At the time of writing, CoinMarketCap data shows Ethereum is now trading at a 10.9% discount to the record highs set just two days ago.

Kendrick previously argued that it makes more sense for treasury companies to hold ETH rather than BTC as a reserve asset.

“ETH corporate treasuries can capture both staking rewards and decentralized finance (DeFi) leverage opportunities, which U.S. Ethereum ETFs currently cannot. As such, we think ETH treasury companies have even more growth potential than BTC ones,” he wrote in a note on July 29.

That hasn’t deterred investors from gaining exposure to ETH ETFs. SoSoValue data shows inflows stood at $443.9 million on Monday—more than double the $219 million that flowed into BTC-focused alternatives. And while BTC ETFs suffered outflows throughout the whole of last week, ETH funds managed to attract more than $628 million of capital across Thursday and Friday.

ETH has rallied by 32.6% in the year to date, considerably ahead of Bitcoin on 17.3%.

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Two Point Museum getting spoof video game exhibits in free Digiverse update next week
Game Reviews

Two Point Museum getting spoof video game exhibits in free Digiverse update next week

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Two Point Museum is set to receive a free update next week adding digital exhibits.


Two Point’s latest management game has players discovering a variety of exhibits to add to their museums, from prehistory to marine life and science.


From 28th August, players will be able to take on expeditions in The Digiverse to add exhibits based on Meat Wizard, Two Point County’s in-game video game spoof. The studio has even hinted at a dark secret in the games.

Two Point Museum: Digiverse Trailer | Free Update Coming August 28th!Watch on YouTube


Here’s what you’ll find, according to a Two Point blog post:

  • Explore a nostalgic trip into the County’s video game history
  • Adventure in Meat Wizard 1 & 2, and perhaps discover the franchise’s darkest secret…
  • Discover seven new Exhibits across four new Points of Interest
  • Build two new Interactive Displays: Meat Wizard Arcade Machines
  • Find and unlock Power Ups, a new boon-giving project for the workshop


The new expedition map will become available once players complete City Act 2 (Memento Mile).


The Digiverse will arrive as part of update 5.0, bringing further quality of life changes, bug fixes, and other optimisations.


Two Point Museum released earlier this year and has already received a number of updates. “Come for the clowns and cavemen, stay for the zombie capitalism,” reads our review.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.



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At This Point, It’s Impossible to Know What the Trump Phone Looks Like
Product Reviews

At This Point, It’s Impossible to Know What the Trump Phone Looks Like

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It’s been over two months since Trump Mobile announced the T1 Phone was being “Made in the USA” designed “with American values in mind,” and it seems that anyone deciding to preorder it still can’t be sure exactly what phone they might receive.

In posts on X and Instagram on Wednesday, the Trump Mobile account encouraged followers to place their preorder, promising them that “the wait is almost over.” This was joined by an image that looks nothing like the one of the T1 phone that’s currently on the Trump Mobile website. It instead looks rather suspiciously like the rear side of a Samsung Galaxy S25.

Not just that, it actually appears to be the back of a third-party S25 phone case from Spigen that has been Photoshopped gold and stamped with the T1 logo and trademark American flag. Still visible, just behind the flag, is the Spigen company logo.

Spigen’s social media account commented under the post on X with an apt “??? bro what,” before writing on its own page that it had a “lawsuit incoming.” WIRED has reached out to Spigen for comment.

This isn’t the first time that questions as to what the T1 Phone will actually turn out to be have been raised. Not long after it was announced in June, the specs of the phone changed on the Trump Mobile website, along with deleting claims that it would be made in the USA.

Currently, the Trump Mobile website claims the T1 Phone will have a 6.2-inch punch-hole AMOLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate, 50 MP main camera with a 16 MP selfie camera, and a 5,000 mAh battery. There’s also 256 GB of internal storage, an in-screen fingerprint sensor and “AI face unlock.”

It’s priced at $499, which includes a $100 deposit that apparently covers shipping and handling as well as your first month of Trump Mobile service. This suggests buyers will be required to use Trump Mobile with their T1 Phone, with no clear details before you authorize payment of any ongoing commitment to the service.

Users can, at least, wait to receive the phone before activating the service, and can request a full refund “at any time prior to the shipment of the phone.”

As to what the phone will look like when (and if) that ever happens though, it’s currently impossible to know—and Trump Mobile seems as unsure as the rest of us. All of which isn’t helping to curb suspicions that, right now, the T1 Phone—initially pegged to arrive in August—probably doesn’t exist in any shape or form.





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UK BTC ETNs Are a Turning Point for Britain's Role in Crypto, Industry Participants Say
Crypto Trends

UK BTC ETNs Are a Turning Point for Britain’s Role in Crypto, Industry Participants Say

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After four years in the wilderness, bitcoin

exchange traded notes (ETN) are set to return to London and the change could prove more significant than many expect.

Starting Oct. 8, crypto ETN products, which allow retail investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies without buying the tokens themselves, will become available after being banned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in January 2021. The regulators argued at the time that extreme volatility, susceptibility to fraud and the difficulty of valuation made them too risky for retail investors.

But the ban also left the U.K. lagging behind developments elsewhere. The U.S. spot exchange-traded funds have been a resounding success, with more than $65 billion dollars flowing into bitcoin and ether (ETH) ETFs since their inception in January last year, data from SoSoValue show. European investors also have access to a range of exchange-traded products. U.K. investors were forced to look abroad for regulated exposure, often turning to Strategy (MSTR) stock as a proxy.

“The importance of bitcoin exchange traded notes coming to London is being underestimated,” Charlie Morris, the founder of digital asset investment firm ByteTree, said in an interview. “London is the world’s second-largest financial center, and many funds have touch points with London, whether it be custody, trading, legal or settlement.”

The ban, for example, locked products complying with UCITS, the European framework for regulated mutual funds and ETFs, from accessing crypto if they wanted to have contact with the London-based financial system.

“This will change. Bitcoin is about to be opened up to the global fund market, and there will be legal clarity. This could be as important as the USA launches last year, and possibly more so over time. Sustained demand for bitcoin remains underpinned for years to come through exchange traded notes,” Morris said.

The reversal signals a recalibration. Britain, once an early crypto hub with initiatives from then Chancellor Rishi Sunak and firms like Jersey-based CoinShares, is moving to reassert relevance. Industry figures such as former Chancellor George Osborne, who is now an adviser to Coinbase, have warned that London risks falling behind if it does not embrace innovation.

“The Financial Conduct Authority’s reversal signals more than a rule change. It is a clear sign that the winds are shifting in the U.K.’s financial landscape, with policymakers now keen to keep the country relevant in a fast-evolving global market,” said Bitcoin OG Nicholas Gregory.

Even so, the complex structure of the country’s investment-advice industry may mean take up is slower than proponents assume, said Peter Lane, CEO of Jacobi Asset Management. Just because the products are legal, doesn’t mean they will be offered to clients.

“The U.K. adviser network is highly fragmented, with IFAs [independent financial advisers], restricted and tied advisers all operating under different models,” he said. “It will take time for firms across these groups to evaluate the implications of the crypto ETN ban being lifted, assess suitability frameworks, and build the necessary due diligence processes before they are in a position to consider offering or recommending such products to clients.”

UPDATE (Aug. 20, 07:48 UTC): Adds wider unbanning of crypto ETNs in second paragraph.



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