Strategy’s potential removal from MSCI indexes and a U.S. Treasury bond sale that may set the highest 30-year borrowing cost since 2001 led the day’s crypto-adjacent headlines on Aug. 14.
CEX hot tokens and 24-hour movers
The top 10 tokens by CEX trading volume posted the following 24-hour changes:
- BTC: 0.16%
- ETH: 0.59%
- SOL: 0.62%
- BNB: 0.08%
- XRP: 0.74%
- TRX: -0.48%
- MMT: -2.99%
- DOGE: 0.59%
- ZEC: 1.28%
- XAUT: -1.85%
The top 24-hour gainers on OKX were:
- AEON: 25.03%
- STORJ: 23.15%
- ACE: 20.75%
- AVNT: 17.97%
- ETHFI: 15.34%
- xSNDK: 12.68%
- CATI: 10.77%
- ZBCN: 9.67%
- PUMP: 8.53%
- ATOM: 8.40%
The top 24-hour gainers among crypto-related equities on msx.com were:
- SNXX: 34.51%
- VCX: 24.65%
- WDCX: 17.03%
- SNDK: 16.78%
- SKUU: 16.31%
- RDDT: 15.89%
- FFAI: 15.71%
- XE: 14.1%
- STXX: 12.25%
- MUU: 12.13%
Top on-chain memes
GMGN’s top five on-chain meme names were K-HOME, SAOF, LOOKSMAX, Qenis and PLANSEM.
Top stories
Strategy may be removed from MSCI indexes under proposed rule change
Bitcoin News reported that MSCI has proposed a new framework targeting “non-operating companies.” In a simulation run by MSCI in May 2026, Strategy would be removed from its global investable market index.
Strategy appeared alongside Metaplanet and Yellow Cake in a simulated removal list for the MSCI ACWI IMI. The proposed methodology would screen companies based on operating assets, expenses and cash flow, non-operating fair value changes, and the extent to which a company relies on fundraising to accumulate assets.
That last criterion directly touches Strategy’s model of issuing stock and debt to accumulate Bitcoin. The rule has not been finalized. The consultation period ends on Sept. 30, MSCI expects to decide by Oct. 16, and any related changes could be implemented during the November 2026 index review.
U.S. 30-year borrowing cost may hit highest level since 2001
The U.S. Treasury is set to auction $25 billion in 30-year bonds on Thursday, with expected financing costs at the highest level since 2001.
For the current fiscal year through the end of September, U.S. government interest expense has already reached $1.17 trillion, up 15% from a year earlier. According to U.S. congressional data, national debt rose by $2.25 trillion during the first year of Donald Trump’s second term, and that figure had climbed to $3.16 trillion by July this year.
Industry developments
Only 281 European crypto service providers approved after MiCA rollout
Compliance analytics firm TRM Labs said that after the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, took full effect in the European Union, only 281 of the previous 1,343 crypto asset service providers applied for and obtained operating authorization, or about one-fifth.
In Poland, none of the more than 1,800 previously registered crypto organizations received MiCA authorization. In Lithuania, only 8 of more than 400 were approved. Germany’s BaFin authorized 55 firms, while regulators in France and the Netherlands each licensed 29.
Forward Industries resumes buying SOL
Forward Industries resumed purchasing SOL. Identified as the largest Solana treasury holder, the company bought an additional 254,000 SOL between July and Aug. 3 at an average price of $75, lifting its total SOL holdings to more than 7.8 million tokens.
Baltimore sues Kalshi and Polymarket
The city of Baltimore and Mayor Brendan Scott filed suit against Kalshi and Polymarket, accusing the two companies of violating local gambling laws and deceptive business practice rules.
The mayor’s office said Thursday that the companies were operating “illegal, unlicensed sports prediction platforms” and misleading users about the legality and regulatory status of their products. Baltimore argued that Kalshi and Polymarket describe event contracts as trading, while the transactions in substance amount to illegal wagering prohibited under state law.
The complaint against Kalshi also names Robinhood, Webull and Coinbase as partners on its prediction-market platform, and says the related companies promoted sports contracts as products that could legally be bought and traded in Maryland.
Wintermute plans roughly $1 billion investment over five years
Crypto market maker Wintermute plans to invest about $1 billion over the next five years in AI infrastructure and high-frequency trading systems, while expanding into equities, commodities, foreign exchange and prediction markets. The firm is targeting non-crypto business to contribute more than 50% of revenue by the end of 2027.
Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said retained earnings would fund the investment plan. Wintermute’s average daily trading volume this year is about $10 billion, down from about $15 billion last year, while non-crypto operations currently account for about 10% of revenue.
Bullish reports 62% rise in adjusted second-quarter revenue
Digital asset exchange Bullish released financial results for the second quarter of 2026. CEO Tom Farley said the nearly $300 trillion global securities market is moving onto public blockchains, and Bullish wants to work with issuers to help drive that shift.
If its proposed acquisition of Equiniti closes, the company said it would have an integrated platform covering tokenized securities issuance, listing, trading and tracking.
Financial data showed Bullish recorded $32.6 billion in digital asset sales in the second quarter, down from $58.6 billion a year earlier. Net loss came to $280 million, compared with net income of $108.3 million a year earlier, equal to diluted loss per share of $1.78.
Project updates
Tether completes full independent audit
Tether said KPMG U.S. completed a full independent audit of the financial statements of Tether International, S.A. de C.V. as of Dec. 31, 2025. KPMG U.S. issued an unqualified audit opinion.
The audit covered transactions, systems, ownership records, valuations, counterparties and financial statement evidence, and reviewed the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity and cash flow statement. KPMG U.S. also physically counted and inspected every gold bar held by Tether.
Chief Financial Officer Simon McWilliams said the audited 2025 financial statements showed reserve assets exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion.
OpenAI annualized revenue surpasses $40 billion
OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate has surpassed $40 billion, nearly doubling from more than $20 billion at the end of 2025. July revenue alone rose by more than 20% month over month.
Beyond ChatGPT subscriptions, revenue from AI coding products such as Codex has been increasing, and the company’s early advertising business has started to contribute revenue. Demand has also risen for newer agent products including ChatGPT Work and Codex.
For comparison, Anthropic disclosed in May that its annualized revenue had exceeded $47 billion, though the two companies may be using different reporting methods and the figures are not directly comparable. Both have confidentially filed for listings, and Anthropic could move first with an IPO as early as this fall.
Solstice Finance launches strcUSX on Solana
Solstice Finance launched strcUSX on Solana, splitting the dividend income and price risk of STRC, the Series A perpetual preferred stock of Nasdaq-listed Strategy, into senior and junior tokens. STRC carries a 12% annualized dividend rate.
The senior tranche, SR-strcUSX, targets an annualized yield of about 7% and gets priority on dividend income and principal repayment. The junior tranche, JR-strcUSX, absorbs the first loss from changes in market value and receives residual income after the senior tranche is paid, with a target APY above 20%.
Gemini posts fourth straight quarterly loss
Gemini Space Station Inc., the digital asset platform led by Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss and listed last year, reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. Net loss in the second quarter was $108 million, or diluted loss per share of $0.89, compared with a loss of $133 million a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue rose 37% year over year to $45.5 million.
Robinhood Chain nears $1 billion in TVL
Robinhood Chain’s total value locked has approached $1 billion. Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick said nearly all of its liquidity is provided by Uniswap V2, V3 and V4, making it the fastest-growing blockchain by that measure.
Protocol fees generated through Uniswap on Robinhood Chain have become the largest source of UNI burn. After a Robinhood-related fee switch was enabled on July 27, UNI’s annualized burn rate reached about $90 million. At roughly $3.50 per token, that equals about 25 million UNI burned per year, a little over 4% of circulating supply.
Funding and deals
Kalshi seeks at least $750 million at $40 billion valuation
Prediction market platform Kalshi is in talks for a new financing round that would raise at least $750 million at a $40 billion valuation. People familiar with the matter said Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management are in discussions to serve as co-lead investors, with Wellington potentially joining as a new backer.
AMD plans bond sale of up to $5 billion
Chipmaker AMD plans to raise as much as $5 billion through a four-part bond offering. If completed, it would rank among the largest bond financings in the company’s history.
AMD has been increasing capital spending to meet fast-rising demand for AI computing. It previously reached major cooperation agreements with Anthropic and Microsoft and committed up to $5 billion in support for Anthropic. Proceeds from the bond deal will be used for general corporate purposes, including possible debt repayment. About $875 million of AMD bonds mature next month.
Databricks closes $5 billion financing
AI data infrastructure company Databricks said it completed a $5 billion strategic financing, giving the company a post-money valuation of $190 billion. That is above a previously disclosed valuation plan of $188 billion. The capital will be used for AI infrastructure, product development and potential acquisitions.
Coatue led the round, with Blackstone, MGX and T. Rowe Price participating. Sixth Street Growth joined as a new investor. Co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi said Databricks now has an annualized revenue run rate above $7 billion, up more than 80% year over year.
Several AI startups announce fresh rounds
AI architecture developer Pathway raised a $30 million seed round with participation from Id4 Ventures, TQ Ventures, Red Bridge Ventures, Kadmos Capital, WS Investment, an investment arm under Wilson Sonsini, and others. Databricks Chief AI Scientist Jonathan Frankle joined as an angel investor.
AI safety startup Corma raised a $60 million seed round led by Sequoia Capital, with Khosla Ventures and Coatue participating.
AI code verification startup Blacksmith raised $45 million in a Series B led by Peak XV Partners, with GV and Y Combinator also investing. The company was valued at $550 million.
Nvidia-backed AI code review platform CodeRabbit raised $143 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. Atomico and Smash Capital co-led the round, with BMW i Ventures, Datadog and others participating. CodeRabbit has now raised more than $200 million in total.
AI investment platform Thrive Holdings raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation, with SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners and Altimeter Capital among participants.
Regulatory developments
CFTC advisory committee to meet on Aug. 20
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig released the agenda for the first meeting of the agency’s Innovation Advisory Committee. The meeting will be held in Washington on Aug. 20 and will focus on crypto asset regulation, artificial intelligence and prediction markets. It will also be livestreamed on the CFTC website.
Selig said he looked forward to discussing with committee members how emerging technologies and financial products are shaping markets and driving financial innovation. The public may submit comments on meeting-related matters through Aug. 27.
SEC delays meeting on “Regulation Crypto”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had planned to hold a meeting on Friday to propose a rule called “Regulation Crypto,” but the meeting has been postponed.
The SEC said the cancellation was due to “unforeseen scheduling issues” and did not provide a new date.
People and policy
Citi CEO says work on Clarity Act changes continues
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said in an interview that while she is concerned about how the Clarity Act handles stablecoin rewards, she believes the legislation would be beneficial overall.
“We have not given up on trying to drive some improvements to the bill, but we want to see a good bill passed,” Fraser said. She added that it would be very beneficial for the system as a whole. Debate over how to treat stablecoin yield is still continuing, and the bill is scheduled for a procedural vote next month.