The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured first place in the Saxony-Anhalt state election with 43.8% of the vote, winning 39 out of 83 seats, while the CDU plunged to 17.2%. Although the victory does not directly affect federal tax law, it bolsters the AfD's influence in Berlin's crypto tax reform discussions. The party advocates retaining the 12-month holding period tax exemption for Bitcoin and opposes classifying private mining and Lightning Network node operations as business activities. In contrast, the German Finance Ministry plans to abolish the exemption, targeting at least €1 billion in additional annual revenue.

Cole Villemain, the Pudgy Penguins co-founder removed by holders in January 2022, sold out a 44,444-piece NFT collection called Spritehood on Robinhood Chain in less than an hour on Aug. 11. An onchain breakdown shared by X account 0xlaplaced said the paid mint ran for 53 minutes and 48 seconds, with 37,430 tokens sold at $17 and 5,526 sold at $117, bringing the total to $1,282,852, or 684.28 ETH at mint-time pricing. The same analysis also said 1,488 tokens were issued for free across 20 zero-price transactions before the paid sale began. The contract has drawn attention because its source code is not verified on Robinhood Chain’s Blockscout explorer. The Spritehood Wisp ERC-721 token, under the symbol WISP at address 0xd6577124F96394faee65AfD2408f2ffA88445f63, shows a total supply of 44,444, but buyers cannot inspect published code for the pricing and distribution logic. Critics on X called the sale a cash grab, while scrutiny around Villemain’s history was amplified by his past removal from Pudgy Penguins and an earlier thread from blockchain investigator ZachXBT. What buyers ultimately receive for $17 or $117 remains unclear.

This article uses the assassination of Charlie Kirk as a starting point to explore how political violence and legal censorship threaten free speech, offering lessons for the crypto world's decentralization ideals.

The article argues that free speech is increasingly threatened by political violence, legal tools, and opaque takedowns. Together, these forces narrow public debate, deepen self-censorship, and weaken democratic resilience.

On-chain data shows that Jasmy's largest holders are mainly exchange wallets and suspected custody cold wallets. Binance holds 4.2 billion JASMY in the top address, highlighting token concentration and liquidity implications.