CFA Report Pegs US Crypto Fraud Losses at $80.7B

Riot Platforms received upgrades from JPMorgan and Citigroup, with price targets raised due to its pivot into artificial intelligence and cloud services. JPMorgan also downgraded IREN and maintained buy ratings on Cipher Mining and MARA Holdings.

Vanguard, with $10 trillion in assets under management, is considering allowing access to third-party crypto ETFs on its brokerage platform due to strong client demand and a changing regulatory environment. The firm, led by CEO Salim Ramji, is taking a methodical approach in response to the evolving dynamics.

Bitcoin experienced fluctuations as inflation rose 2.7% year-over-year in August, slightly higher than July's 2.6%. The cryptocurrency dipped to $109,000 but rebounded to $109,300, falling 1.5% in the past day and 5.9% over the week.

An abnormal withdrawal of $3.6 million from Hypervault Finance to Tornado Cash has raised concerns. The incident led to the inaccessibility of Hypervault Finance's website and deletion of social media profiles, following the project's rise in popularity among yield farming investors.

Kraken recently closed a $500 million funding round, preparing for a potential IPO in 2026. The round valued the firm at $15 billion and included various backers such as investment managers and venture capitalists.

Users affected by abnormal price movements on the XPL token on Aster have been fully refunded in USDT stablecoin after a couple of compensation rounds. The incident led to a spike in XPL's price on the exchange's perpetual futures contract.

Yield Basis, a new decentralized protocol by Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov, aims to address impermanent loss in decentralized finance, offering sustainable yield opportunities for Bitcoin holders. The protocol eliminates IL risk, providing deeper Bitcoin liquidity and attractive yields for institutional investors through a reengineered AMM model.

The SEC and FINRA have contacted certain companies due to unusual trading activity before announcements on digital asset treasuries. The outreach followed sharp price swings and heavy volumes leading up to firms disclosing their strategies for digital assets.

Hwang Jung-eum received a two-year suspended prison sentence for embezzling $3 million to invest in crypto. The court showed leniency due to her repayment of the full amount and first-time offender status.

The convergence of the quarterly options expiry and a key U.S. inflation reading this week will determine the momentum of the crypto rally. Bitcoin's short-term moves are influenced by options dealers and institutions hedging their positions.