bitcoinist.com

Custodia CEO and key crypto figure Caitlin Long has questioned the readiness of traditional finance firms for their first-ever crypto winter. Speaking with CNBC on Friday at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2025, Long emphasized that while Wall Street’s increasing involvement has fueled the current market cycle, its legacy systems and risk models may prove inadequate when the inevitable bear market returns.

Wall Street Titans May Not Be Ready For A Crypto Market Downturn –  Custodia Boss

In answering a question on the significance of institutional involvement in the crypto market, Long contrasted the early days of crypto, when retail investors and grassroots participants worked to expand decentralization and secure networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum, with today’s landscape dominated by institutional finance. According to the Custodia founder, the cycle is now largely driven by Wall Street titans who are building financial wrappers, derivatives, and corporate treasuries around digital assets.

Notably, institutional participation in crypto has hit record highs in recent years. The Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which launched early last year, have been TradFi’s biggest digital asset success, boasting $53.80 billion in cumulative inflows. Meanwhile, Spot Ethereum ETFs are beginning to gather momentum, registering $8.20 billion since the beginning of July alone.

While this influx has undoubtedly brought credibility and capital to the sector, Long warned that the traditional playbooks of these institutions are not suited to assets with finite supply, e.g, Bitcoin. The former Morgan Stanley executive and Custodia CEO said:

….They (TradFi) are perfectly comfortable taking more leverage than you would take with an asset of finite supply because they have all these mechanisms to bail them out in the event that supply for an asset becomes too tight. They have discount window. They have fault tolerances built into the securities system so that if the books don’t balance, it’s okay. They can always go the next day and get the shares from the market the next day.

By contrast, crypto operates in real time with no external buffers. Caitlin Long explains that this structural difference could leave TradFi firms exposed if they attempt to apply conventional leverage and hedging strategies to a market that behaves rather differently. Having witnessed multiple boom-and-bust cycles since 2012, the Custodia boss expressed certainty that another downturn will come despite the remarkable market growth in the present cycle, and questions whether traditional players will be able to withstand its impact.

Crypto Market Overview

At the time of writing, the total market crypto cap is valued at $3.95 trillion, following a minor 0.94% decline in the past day.

Arthur Hayes believes that Ethereum will push to $10,000 or even $20,000 this cycle, fueled by Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies.

Hayes’ prediction came during an interview with Crypto Banter where he said that Ethereum breaking through its previous ATH could push it to $20,000 before the end of the cycle.

Once it’s broken through, you have a massive gap of air to the upside.

—Arthur Hayes, Crypto Banter interview

As Hayes explained, two major factors will fuel Ethereum’s next bull cycle: Trump’s pro-crypto legislation and the increase in institutional adoption.

The first signs of a bull move should become obvious this fall, as the GENIUS Act takes effect, which could push the best altcoins in frenzy mode.

Ethereum’s Marathon Fueled By Institutional Adoption Craze and Favorable Legislation

Trump’s GENIUS Act is the main catalyst behind Ethereum’s 2025 ATH of $4,880 reached yesterday, which may signal the beginning of the alt season.

The GENIUS Act seeks to bring clarity, security, and transparency into the cryptosphere by forcing stablecoin issuers to back their tokens with liquid assets like dollars and governmental bonds.

The Act also protects crypto enthusiasts against illicit activities and scams.

This is what drove the Department of Treasury to issue a Request for Comment on August 18, asking for the public’s opinion on how to tackle illicit activity in the crypto sphere.

This endeavor is part of the implementation process of the GENIUS Act and the comment section will remain open until October 17.

Institutional adoption is another strong case for Ethereum’s next bull cycle, given the accelerated rate at which public companies buy $ETH.

According to CoinGecko, almost 2.8M $ETH are already in public treasuries, making up for 2.31% of the total Ethereum supply. BitMine is the primary investor, with over 1.5M Ethereum, worth over $7.2B.

These factors potentially lay the foundation for a $20,000 Ethereum this cycle, which would kickstart the next alt season. If that happens, the best altcoins of 2025 might see massive gains.

Here are three that you should keep on your radar.

1. Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) – Bitcoin’s Layer 2 Promising Faster and Cheaper Transactions

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is the Layer 2 upgrade that promises to change Bitcoin’s network performance.

Hyper’s Canonical Bridge is the link between Layer 2 and Bitcoin’s Layer 1 and is responsible for minting the users’ Bitcoins into the Hyper layer. The Bitcoins are then accessible for use on Layer 2 or can be withdrawn back to Layer 1 whenever necessary.

The Canonical Bridge’s role is to decongest Bitcoin’s native network, circumvent the 7-TPS native cap, and deliver near-instant finality.

Together with the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), which enables the ultra-fast execution of smart contracts, the Canonical Bridge brings Bitcoin’s performance to modern standards, with high throughput and Solana-level scalability.

If you want to invest in the $HYPER presale, now’s the perfect time. The presale has raised almost $11.8M so far and it promises to push $HYPER into wealth-building territory.

Based on the project’s utility, our analysts’s price prediction for $HYPER considers a price point of $1.50 by 2030 which translates to a growth of 11,623% based on today’s price of $0.012795.

Check how to buy $HYPER right now and buy your tokens while Bitcoin Hyper is still in the presale phase.

2. Snorter Token ($SNORT) – The Telegram Bot That Turns Coin Hunting Profitable

Snorter Token ($SNORT) fuels the Snorter Bot, the ravenous Aardvark whose sole mission is to detect and snipe hot tokens on the blockchain.

The Bot finally turns coin hunting profitable thanks to its accuracy and timing, being able to snipe the target tokens in milliseconds after liquidity becomes available. This makes Snorter Bot more effective and reliable even than standard pro UIs like Raydium and Jupiter.

You also no longer need to juggle multiple wallets and browser extensions, because Snorter Bot does it all from its Telegram chat.

And no more watching over your shoulder for scams like honeypots or rug pulls, as the Aardvark’s native scam detectors highlight any suspicious project.

Snorter Token is the $3.3M presale that’s pushing $SNORT into mainstream adoption. Given Snorter Token’s utility, our analysts price prediction for $SNORT is $0.94 by the end of 2025. This is an 818% return rate based on the token’s current presale price of $0.1023.

If you want to invest, read our ‘How to buy $SNORT’ guide and secure your place at the table before the project goes public.

3. Altura ($ALU) – The Perfect Toolset for Game Devs

Altura ($ALU) is one of the most comprehensive toolsets for game developers, offering a multitude of end-to-end solutions designed to streamline the development process.

Aside from tools like Java, Typescript, and Unity SDK, Altura also offers Altura API, which allows you to ‘manage all user, item, token, and collection data, including the developer wallet, and even Smart NFTs’.

The platform also offers you the opportunity to launch your own marketplace on any chain in minutes via Altura’s native dashboard.

$ALU went public in 2021 and went through two peaks so far, with the first one pumping the token by up to 4,839%.

$ALU is now trading at $0.06669 and it’s pumping again, currently up 87% over the last 24 hours and a 24-hour trading volume 160% into the green. Given the 93% positive community sentiment, this may be your buy signal.

Go to your favorite exchange and buy your $ALU while it’s hot. However, don’t forget to visit the official website first to learn more about the project before investing.

Will Ethereum Reach $20,000?

Based on the current legislative support and the growing institutional interest, it’s not impossible that Ethereum could reach $20,000 by the end of the cycle?

Will it? Nobody can tell for sure.

What we can tell for sure is that the next alt season is upon us, at which point we’ll see Ethereum enter a sustained bull phase, once it pushes through its past ATH.

When that happens, projects like Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) and Snorter Token ($SNORT) will see a massive influx of investors as well.

Don’t take this as financial advice. Do your own research (DYOR) and invest wisely.

Bitcoin may have established itself as the ultimate store of value, but Ethereum is quietly building the rails for the future of digital finance. This technological edge positions ETH not just as a competitor to BTC, but as the platform that could lead the next phase of the crypto revolution.

Many Developers Choose Ethereum Over Bitcoin

Bitcoin is powerful as a store of value, but Ethereum is where real technological innovation resides. According to BitDigital_BTBT’s post on X, Bitcoin can’t tokenize equities, issue stablecoins, or host complex decentralized applications, which is why companies like Robinhood are leaning on ETH to tokenize stocks. This is not a matter of preference, but because BTC simply lacks the capability.

The more developer activity that flows into ETH, the stronger and more resilient its network becomes. It is worth noting that this compounding effect is making waves, as some of the brightest engineers, builders, and innovators in crypto are zeroing in on ETH. 

Presently, institutions are following suit, and Blue-chip players from asset managers to fintech leaders are going all in on ETH because they recognize that it represents an infrastructure layer for the future of finance.

As companies are turning to ETH to tokenize stocks, crypto analyst BOB has revealed that liquid staking has hit a record of $86 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL) last week, a milestone that underscores the market’s growing interest in yield maximization. This shows only a tiny fraction of the contribution by BTC LSTs.

Currently, only 0.3% of the BTC supply is being used in DeFi, compared to Ethereum, where nearly 30% of its supply is staked and actively generating yield. This disparity represents an over 100x gap. At today’s prices, the analyst highlighted that this gap is equivalent to $750 billion opportunity for BTC. The infrastructure is only just emerging, and the new $86 million is just the warm-up.

Why Ethereum Matters Beyond Bitcoin

Ethereum just hit a new all-time high, its first in nearly four years, underscoring a renewed wave of momentum in the crypto markets. While being the second-largest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin, analyst Holger Zschaepitz has noted that the growing adoption of stablecoins is fueling the ongoing ETH rally, the majority of which run on the Ethereum blockchain. This development is driving demand for network capacity and transaction fees.

Beyond its price action, Ethereum is now being considered as the backbone of the decentralized economy. With thousands of applications operating on its network, ETH has emerged as the crypto’s most important commercial platform and serves as the highway on which much of the emerging digital economy is built.

Trish Turner’s sudden exit from the IRS digital assets unit has sharpened attention on how the US will handle crypto tax enforcement going forward.

Based on reports, Turner stepped down roughly three months after taking the post, closing out a career that spanned more than 20 years at the agency.

What The Resignation Signals

According To LinkedIn posts and media reports, Turner said she looks forward to “continuing this mission from a new vantage point” and to building ties between industry and regulators.

Reports have disclosed she will join the crypto tax firm Crypto Tax Girl as tax director, a move confirmed by founder Laura Walter.

Bloomberg Tax first reported the hire. For industry players, the move is a reminder that public-sector know-how is in high demand in the private market.

Turnover At The Top

Turner follows two prior leaders who left the IRS crypto unit after roughly a year. Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks both exited before Turner’s appointment in May.

That pattern raises questions about leadership continuity as Congress and oversight bodies push for clearer policy and improved enforcement.

On July 11, House committee leaders scheduled hearings aimed at creating a formal tax policy framework for digital assets. These hearings will test the IRS’s ability to keep up while staff and senior leaders change.

Political And Oversight Pressure

Several recent developments have fed the urgency around crypto tax work. On July 4, US President Donald Trump signed a joint resolution that rolled back a Biden-era rule requiring some DeFi protocols to report transactions to the IRS.

On April 11, the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration urged reforms after finding failures in how IRS criminal investigators handled digital-asset cases.

And in March, the Department of Government Efficiency, or D.O.G.E. proposed cutting the IRS workforce by 20%, a plan that would reshape capacity across the agency.

Industry Reaction And Next Steps

Economist Timothy Peterson greeted Turner’s move with levity, saying, “Trish Turner left the Dark Side to become a Crypto Jedi Knight.”

The quip points to a wider trend: regulators are being recruited by private firms that need help navigating new tax rules and growing compliance demands.

IRS Director Trish Turner left the Dark Side to become a Crypto Jedi Knight. Also to make 10X what the IRS paid her. Bio listed within hours. Don’t hate on her. One less of them. One more of us. pic.twitter.com/AgzjXWn1I9

— Timothy Peterson (@nsquaredvalue) August 22, 2025

For taxpayers and companies, that means better access to specialist advice. For the IRS, it may mean a steeper challenge in keeping institutional knowledge inside the agency.

What Comes After Turner

Based on reports, Turner did not list a start date in her announcement. The IRS has not publicly detailed a replacement plan.

With hearings planned and inspector general recommendations on the table, the agency’s work on digital assets is unlikely to slow.

How quickly leadership is restored, and whether the IRS can retain senior talent, will matter to lawmakers and to the businesses that must follow evolving tax rules.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView

In the latest development, an Illinois judge has granted a motion to pause proceedings in a lawsuit against US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. This decision would suspend further actions in the crypto company’s court case involving alleged violations of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

How Another Case Could Decide The Outcome Of Coinbase Lawsuit

According to an August 21 filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman approved a motion submitted by Coinbase to stay a lawsuit accusing the exchange of violating the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. The motion asked the court to wait for a ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on a similar case.

The Court of Appeals case involves Nuance Communications and Charles Schwab, with the intricacies around supplying voice identification technology forming the foundation of the legal battle. The decision from this particular lawsuit could set precedent for how BIPA affects financial service providers, including cryptocurrency exchanges.

The court document read:

[T]he Court finds that the stay would simplify the issues and streamline the trial […] reduce the burden of litigation on the Court and the parties […] [and] would not unduly prejudice or tactically disadvantage Plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2025 by a group of users, accused Coinbase of the “wholesale collection” of biometric data for its Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements without notifying the users, thereby violating the Illinois law. The plaintiffs also alleged that the crypto company inappropriately shared the faceprints with third-party verification providers. 

Under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, private firms or organizations can face damages of up to $5,000 for each instance of reckless or intentional violation of the law and $1,000 per negligent violation of the BIPA. The plaintiffs also sought relief to cover their legal costs.

Coinbase Under Pressure From Data Security Breach

Due to a separate incident, Coinbase has been under scrutiny over the security of customer data. The crypto company revealed in May that a group of customer support contractors in India accessed account data for users in exchange for bribes.

While the customer contractors were eventually dismissed, the individuals behind the data breach tried to extort $20 million in Bitcoin from Coinbase. Ultimately, this incident has put Coinbase under pressure and called into question its process of handling personal user data.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has successfully conducted a continent-wide cybercrime crackdown in Africa, targeted against illegal cryptocurrency mining operations, inheritance scams, and fraudulent investments. Coordinated under the code name Serengeti 2.0, the three-month operation ran from June to August 2025, leading to more than 1,200 arrests and the recovery of close to $100 million in stolen funds and confiscated assets.

Operation Serengeti 2.0

According to Interpol’s press release on August 22, investigators from 18 African countries, working alongside the United Kingdom and supported by private-sector partners, dismantled 11,432 malicious infrastructures linked to almost 88,000 victims  of targeted high-impact online crimes, including ransomware, scams, and business email compromise (BEC). Notably, law enforcement authorities in Angola shut down 25 illegal cryptocurrency mining sites operated by 60 Chinese nationals while also commandeering 45 unauthorized power stations feeding these operations. In addition, officers also confiscated IT and mining machinery worth over $37 million. Meanwhile, in Zambia, officials uncovered a massive crypto investment fraud with 65,000 victims and $300 million in total losses. The operation led to 15 arrests, alongside the seizure of domains, SIM cards, and bank accounts tied to the scam, which had promised investors sizable returns. Notably, another sting in Lusaka disrupted a suspected human-trafficking network, where 372 forged passports of seven countries were confiscated.

Interpol also reports that the Ivorian police dismantled a cross-border inheritance scam believed to originate in Germany. Unsuspecting victims were deceived to pay fees for fake inheritance claims, generating around $1.6 million in illicit gains. The primary suspect in this case has been detained while authorities seized cash, jewelry, and vehicles, among other valuables.

Commenting on the successful Serengeti 2.0 operation, Interpol’s Secretary General, Valdecy Urquiza, emphasized the importance of cooperation in amplifying results:

Urquiza said:

Each INTERPOL-coordinated operation builds on the last, deepening cooperation, increasing information sharing, and developing investigative skills across member countries. With more contributions and shared expertise, the results keep growing in scale and impact

Operation Serengeti 2.0 was conducted under the African Joint Operation Against Cybercrime with other participating nations, including Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, etc. Meanwhile, private partners of this operation are TRM Labs, Trend Micro, and Team Cypru, among others.

Related Reading: Coinbase’s US Training & Citizenship Rule To Thwart North Korean Threat Crypto Market Overview

At the time of writing, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $3.95 trillion, reflecting a 3.87% increase over the past 24 hours. Daily trading volume has climbed to $157.12 billion, signaling heightened activity across major tokens. Market leader Bitcoin is currently priced at $115,811, while Ethereum trades at $4,700, both maintaining strong momentum amid broader market gains.

 Featured image from Interpol, chart from Tradingview

According to the latest report, a group of asset management firms submitted S-1 amendments for a spot XRP ETF (exchange-traded fund) in the United States. These movements reflect the ramped-up interest of these institutions to get the approval of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer this crypto-linked investment product.

What Changed In The Proposed Spot XRP ETFs?

On Friday, August 22, a slew of asset managers, including Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary, CoinShares, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and WisdomTree, filed amended S-1 statements for their proposed spot XRP ETFs. According to experts, this round of filings might be in response to the US SEC’s feedback on their original applications. 

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said on X:

Bunch of XRP ETF filings being updated by issuers today. Almost certainly due to feedback from [the] SEC. Good sign, but also mostly expected.

Similarly, the ETF Store President, Nate Geraci, shared a similar sentiment, saying that it is very significant to see the various asset managers roll out their amended S-1 filings at once and on the same day. “Very good sign IMO [in my opinion],” Geraci wrote on X.

For a security or ETF to be listed on an exchange, it needs an S-1 filing, which provides a brief prospectus of the proposed security. Meanwhile, the S-1 form is amended as material information changes regarding the structure of the exchange-traded fund.

Hence, it is no surprise to see some changes in the structure of proposed spot XRP ETFs. For instance, the amended S-1 filing appears to switch the exchange-traded products from simply cash creations and redemptions to allow for XRP or cash creations and cash or in-kind redemptions.

It is worth mentioning that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm and manager of the largest spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded fund, has still not made a move to join the race for the spot XRP ETFs. As reported by Bitcoinist, the trillion-dollar asset manager revealed earlier in August that it has no intentions to launch an XRP fund.

XRP Price At A Glance

Following a torrid start to the week, the XRP token fell beneath the $3 mark to as low as $2.8 on Friday. However, the altcoin jumped back above $3 on the back of the news of the complete dismissal of Ripple’s lawsuit and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech. As of this writing, the XRP token is valued at around $3.01, reflecting an over 5% price jump in the past 24 hours.

In a rather shocking development, hackers took over the Instagram accounts of some music celebrities to promote a fraudulent Solana-based memecoin. This incident comes after another high-profile market controversy involving Kanye West’s YZY token.

Celebrity Profiles Hacked, Memecoin Crashes After $900,000 Pump

In an X post on Friday, popular media outlet NFR Podcasts reported that Instagram accounts belonging to the late Michael Jackson, as well as artists Adele, Tyla, and Future, had been simultaneously compromised to promote a scam memecoin. The fraudulent posts shared across the accounts featured an image of Future holding an oversized coin branded FREEBANDZ — the same name as the rapper’s music label and clothing brand. The imagery appeared designed to create a false sense of endorsement and legitimacy for the token.

Although the posts have since been removed, Future’s Instagram account was ultimately disabled. And as of now, none of the affected parties has issued public statements regarding the incident. According to data from Dexscreener, the token briefly surged upon launch, reaching a market cap of nearly $900,000 before collapsing to around $15,000 in about 30 minutes.

Michael Jackson, Future, Tyla, and Adele’s Instagram accounts were hacked simultaneously pic.twitter.com/MCMPcU41Ww

— NFR Lite (@NFR_Lite) August 22, 2025

On-chain data suggests the scam’s orchestrator may be linked to a wallet address ending in zcmPHn, which dumped 700 million FREEBANDZ tokens, securing 251.41 SOL valued at approximately $45,600. Another wallet, ending in bTp, also walked away with an additional $13,300 after swapping 85.6 million FREEBANDZ. The rapid pump-and-dump underscores the risks surrounding memecoins and the ease with which hackers exploit high-profile names to lure in unsuspecting investors. In late 2024, for instance, rapper Drake’s X account was also compromised to promote a Solana memecoin called $ANITA, which generated around $5 million in trading volume before collapsing. Meme coins remain largely unregulated, and the SEC has previously clarified that most do not qualify as securities, likening them instead to speculative collectibles with no underlying promise of profit. This regulatory gap has made memecoins fertile ground for these kinds of scams, highlighting the need for caution among traders.

Kanye West’s YZY Under Scrutiny For Insider Trading

In other developments, rap legend Kanye West has become embroiled in another memecoin controversy. According to Bitcoinist, the YZY token skyrocketed to a $3 billion market cap at launch before plunging more than 70% within hours. On-chain data shows several wallets were pre-funded and primed to buy immediately after Ye’s announcement, fueling suspicions of insider trading. Notably, 13 wallets collectively walked away with $24 million in profits from the YZY frenzy. The token now trades at $0.705, with a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $699.3 million.