CFA Report Pegs US Crypto Fraud Losses at $80.7B

In 2025, crypto startups have raised a total of $13 billion, with Pump.fun leading the pack by raising $590 million in July. OSL Group secured $300 million, while Upexi announced a $200 million deal. These fundraising efforts are expected to continue growing throughout the year.

Coinbase accuses the FDIC of obstructing the disclosure of Operation Chokepoint 2.0 documents despite court orders. The crypto exchange filed a motion for additional discovery to challenge the FDIC's actions.

XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin experienced declines of 5%, 5.9%, and 7% respectively, coinciding with Bitcoin's brief dip. Analysts attribute the retracement to cautious sentiment and excess leverage in altcoins, leading to liquidations exceeding $250 million daily for the past five days.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has positioned the company's Bitcoin-backed preferred stock as a high-yield alternative for retirees, offering 9.5% returns compared to traditional savings rates. Saylor emphasized the product's appeal to risk-averse investors seeking stable income during the earnings call.

XRP surpassed Ethereum in consumer transaction revenue on Coinbase in Q2, with a 13% share compared to Ethereum's 12%. Despite a legal win in Q1, XRP's rally was short-lived as Ethereum regained ground due to institutional flows and DeFi interest.

Bitcoin is experiencing a battle between profit-taking whales and long-term holders, with on-chain data indicating a potential market-shaping standoff. The recent pullback, marked by significant whale profit-taking, aligns with historical patterns of a cooling phase in a mature bull market.

Hong Kong has implemented a licensing regime for stablecoins, requiring companies to obtain a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue stablecoins to retail investors. The new law includes compliance areas such as reserve asset management, anti-money laundering protocols, and fit-and-proper tests for operators.

Visa announced an expansion of its stablecoin settlement capabilities, now supporting PayPal's PYUSD, Paxos-issued USDG, and Circle's EURC, as well as tokens on Avalanche and Stellar blockchains. This move comes as stablecoins gain interest from banks, major companies, and U.S. states for faster payments using blockchain technology.

Eric Trump and Hut 8 executives discussed a bitcoin mining alliance over pizza in Florida, leading to the creation of American Bitcoin. The company, with Trump as a co-founder, aims to leverage the Trump family name for capital markets access and strategic partnerships.

Over the past four months, Bitcoin whales holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have accumulated 0.9% of the total supply, with an additional 30,000 BTC acquired in the last 48 hours. Despite recent profit-taking, remaining investors are still largely in profit.