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    Bitcoin Treasury KindlyMD Stock Dives Following $679 Million BTC Buy – Decrypt

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    Bitcoin Treasury KindlyMD Stock Dives Following 9 Million BTC Buy – Decrypt



    In brief

    Healthcare company KindlyMD said Tuesday that it spent $679 million to buy over 5,743 Bitcoin.
    The firm pivoted to a Bitcoin treasury strategy earlier this year when it merged with holding company Nakamoto.
    It is the latest company to morph into a crypto treasury.

    Bitcoin treasury KindlyMD has added $679 million in BTC to its holdings, the company said Tuesday—though the firm’s stock has taken a plunge following the announcement.

    The Nasdaq-listed company said that it had bought 5,743.91 BTC via its wholly owned subsidiary, Nakamoto Holdings, Inc, for an average price of about $118,205 per coin.

    Bitcoin was recently trading for $113,200, down 2.4% over a 24-hour period and by more than 5% over the past week after hitting a new all-time high mark above $124,000 last week.

    “This acquisition reinforces our conviction in Bitcoin as the ultimate reserve asset for corporations and institutions alike,” David Bailey, the company’s CEO said. 

    KindlyMD’s stock—which trades under the ticker NAKA—was down by more than 13% Tuesday to a price of $10.41. The firm, which focuses on providing healthcare data, in May announced a merger with holding company Nakamoto. 

    Nakamoto is a holding company co-founded by Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey with the intent of purchasing Bitcoin. Bailey advised President Donald Trump on crypto policy while the Republican candidate was campaigning last year.

    KindlyMD said on Monday that it had closed a $200 million convertible note offering as part of its Bitcoin-buying strategy. It raised another $540 million in August via a private placement in public equity (PIPE) to buy the cryptocurrency.

    

    The move is straight out of Strategy’s playbook: Raise cash to buy Bitcoin so investors can buy shares of a publicly traded company and get regulated exposure to the asset.

    Strategy shifted from software development to focus on Bitcoin accumulation in 2020. It is the largest corporate holder of the asset with 629,376 BTC worth over $71 billion.

    Some 168 public companies now have Bitcoin treasuries, according to bitcointreasuries.net, holding a total of more than 983,000 Bitcoin.

    Some experts have warned that the crypto play has its risks, and that pivoting to crypto won’t necessarily save a failing business. But companies keep popping up, and some are amassing billions of dollars’ worth of digital assets.

    Other notable treasuries include Twenty One, started by a combination of crypto and traditional finance powerhouses—Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank. It holds 43,500 BTC—almost $5 billion worth as of this writing—although it has yet to begin trading. 

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    Wyoming’s ‘Frontier’ Stablecoin Debuts on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche – Decrypt

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    Wyoming’s ‘Frontier’ Stablecoin Debuts on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche – Decrypt



    In brief

    Wyoming’s Frontier Stable Token debuted on seven networks, including Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche.
    The token could offer a yield in the future, while funding local education.
    It could theoretically be issued on more than 110 networks through LayerZero.

    Wyoming’s stablecoin debuted across seven blockchains on Tuesday, a new milestone for the Cowboy State as it officially enters the $285 billion sector.

    Issued in partnership with LayerZero, the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) will operate across Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, along with four Ethereum scaling networks—Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base—the blockchain infrastructure provider and Wyoming Stable Token Commission said in a joint statement.

    Although the stablecoin sector has been dominated for years by crypto-native firms like Tether and Circle, FRNT, previously known as the Wyoming Stable Token (WYST), represents the first state-backed token issued in the U.S. Wall Street firms, meanwhile are mulling their own offerings. 

    The Commission and LayerZero described FRNT as a “constitutionally-protected public asset” that’s not subject to “arbitrary usage restrictions,” unlike many alternatives.

    

    Like most stablecoins, FRNT will be backed by cash and U.S. Treasuries—but instead of benefiting a business, interest generated by FRNT’s reserves will be diverted to Wyoming’s School Foundation Fund on a quarterly basis, serving its citizens as a public good.

    Individuals tied to FRNT’s introduction told Decrypt last month that the token will be unique because it’s not regulated under the GENIUS Act. The framework for stablecoins that passed last month does not apply to FRNT because Wyoming is a sovereignty—not a business—they said.

    That means FRNT could eventually share a portion of the revenue its reserves generate with holders. That feature won’t be enabled on Tuesday, as it’s still being ironed out, Wyoming Democratic State Senator Chris Rothfuss told Decrypt in July.

    The initiative has caught flack from some U.S. conservatives., who have compared FRNT to a central bank digital currency, but Anthony Apollo, executive director of Wyoming’s Stable Token Commission, has pushed back against concerns over users’ financial sovereignty.

    Apollo has maintained, for months, that FRNT is not a CBDC because it can’t be issued in the same way that central banks create cash. On top of that, the state may challenge requests to seize or freeze funds, if they conflict with the state’s constitutional mandates.

    One example: A company issuing a stablecoin could change their policies to prohibit the purchase of firearms with their token, while Wyoming wouldn’t be able to do the same because of its obligation to uphold the Second Amendment, Apollo said.

    The stablecoin’s debut came amid the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, an invite-only event at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole in Teton Village, where U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins is expected to speak.

    FRNT was built using LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard, which also powers PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin. Tokens issued under the standard can theoretically exist on over 110 blockchains that LayerZero supports.

    A constitutionally-protected asset may not mean much to someone purchasing a cup of coffee in New York, but it could matter to people overseas who face high inflation or authoritative governments, LayerZero co-founder and CEO Bryan Pellengrino told Decrypt.

    Not long ago, it was unclear whether something like FRNT would even be allowed in the U.S., he said, pointing to the regulatory scrutiny that followed the $40 billion collapse of Terra’s ecosystem in 2022—marked by the meltdown of its TerraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin.

    “It’s a crazy bellwether for the industry that I’m not sure people fully recognize,” he said, referring to FRNT’s debut. “Just a couple of years ago, all that people were talking about is that stablecoins are going to be banned.”

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    SEC Punts on Trump Media Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Decision, Plus XRP and Dogecoin Funds – Decrypt

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    SEC Punts on Trump Media Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Decision, Plus XRP and Dogecoin Funds – Decrypt



    In brief

    The SEC will decide on the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF on October 8, likely after a rules change request from two exchanges that could shorten approval processes.
    The agency delayed decisions on XRP funds from Grayscale, Bitwise, CoinShares, Canary Capital, and 21Shares.
    It also pushed back deadlines on separate Dogecoin and Litecoin ETFs, and a proposal to add staking to an existing spot Ethereum ETF.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decisions on an exchange-traded fund proposed by Donald Trump’s media and technology company to track the performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum and seven other ETFs based on single digital assets.

    In a filing Monday, the regulator said that it moved its deadline back 45 days for weighing in on the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF to October 8.

    It announced identical delays for applications filed for spot XRP funds by Grayscale, CoinShares, Canary Capital, Bitwise and 21Shares, a spot Dogecoin ETF from Grayscale, and a spot Litecoin product from CoinShares, although the dates for potential approvals of those funds vary.

    It also held up resolving a request to add staking to the the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, which tracks the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.

    

    The delays comes four days after the agency delayed decisions on Solana ETFs from Bitwise, 21Shares, and VanEck, and a Dogecoin fund from 21Shares.

    The SEC is weighing a wave of proposals tracking cryptocurrencies. Those submissions have resulted from the dramatic success of 11 spot Bitcoin and nine Ethereum ETFs, a more favorable political environment for cryptocurrencies ushered in by the Trump administration, and growing interest by traditional finance giants who were formerly resistant to the asset.

    The filings also follow roughly three weeks after two major U.S. exchanges asked the SEC to approve amendments that could significantly shorten the approval process for future crypto exchange-traded funds, automatically listing certain products without requiring case-by-case filings.

    In separate filings, Cboe BZX and NYSE Arca requested changes to their listing standards that would allow certain crypto ETFs to be listed without enduring the SEC’s rigorous evaluation under Rule 19b-4, a process that requires exchanges to submit proposed rule changes. Under current guidelines, such reviews of proposed changes to funds could take 240 days.

    Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas told Decrypt that the SEC’s filings Monday were “nothing significant,” and were likely timed to follow a probable SEC green light of Cboe and NYSE’s amendments next month following the conclusion of a comments period.

    “Even though it feels like ‘Isn’t this SEC supposed to approve all this stuff?’, the listing standards are out for comment,” Balchunas said. “So just in the nick of time, these listing standards should be approved. And then we’re anticipating a batch of approvals based on the listing standard starting in October.”

    “So this delay feels discouraging, but it’s just a little more patience,” he added. “It’ll all happen soon.”

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    AI Agents Are Taking Over Game Development: Google – Decrypt

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    AI Agents Are Taking Over Game Development: Google – Decrypt



    In brief

    While AI speeds up coding and playtesting, devs worry about privacy, cost, and creative control.
    Small studios see AI as a chance to compete, while larger publishers struggle to adapt.
    From smarter NPCs to new jobs, developers say AI is remaking game development.

    Nearly nine in 10 game developers say they’ve already built AI agents into their work, according to a new Google Cloud survey. These autonomous programs don’t just generate images and assets; they are inside the game, reacting to players and reshaping virtual worlds.

    The survey, conducted in collaboration with The Harris Poll, polled 615 developers across the United States, South Korea, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It found that 97% of respondents believe that AI agents—autonomous programs that can act without human input—are already reshaping the industry, with most already using them to speed up coding, testing, and localization.

    For smaller studios, AI is helping level the playing field, with 29% saying AI is lowering the barrier to entry and allowing them to compete with larger publishers.

    

    “If you’re not on the AI bandwagon right now, you’re already behind,” Kelsey Falter, CEO and co-founder of indie studio Mother Games, told Decrypt. “Being small means we can adapt faster. Bigger studios have legacy codebases and senior engineers resistant to change. For us, AI is baked in from day one.”

    In the study, 87% of developers said they’re using AI agents that adapt to players in real time. These agents are being deployed to control non-player characters, guide tutorials, and even moderate online communities. In 2023, Call of Duty publisher Activision rolled out ToxMod, an AI-powered tool that monitors online chat for toxic and hate speech.

    Developers say players now expect more dynamic, responsive environments and richer, more reactive worlds, with 35% saying AI-driven tutorials are speeding up player onboarding.

    Matias Rodriguez, chief technology officer at Globant, a tech firm that works with major game studios, said gamers are open to AI when it deepens storytelling or immersion—but wary if it feels like a shortcut.

    “Gamers are a selective audience when it comes to authenticity,” Rodriguez told Decrypt. “But they’re also some of the most open to innovation when it enhances the immersion.”

    AI, he said, is being used as “a creative copilot and a productivity multiplier,” aimed at enhancing—not replacing—the creative process.

    Falter agreed that the tools can boost productivity, but said the lack of industry standards means mistakes happen quickly.

    “It’s still the wild west,” she said. “A year ago, we saw AI generating soupy code at a faster pace than humans could check it. Without guardrails, you can make a mess faster than you can clean it up.”

    Still, most developers are betting on AI’s long-term value. For Falter, the challenge is maintaining human creativity while using AI to unlock new types of gameplay.

    “We don’t use AI to generate artwork or churn out clones,” she said. “Our models are trained on scripts written by human writers, and our terrain generators have a specific style unique to our game. It’s about maintaining creative integrity.”

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    How Hackers Are Using Fake Captchas to Spread Lumma Stealer Malware – Decrypt

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    How Hackers Are Using Fake Captchas to Spread Lumma Stealer Malware – Decrypt



    In brief

    Hackers are using fake Captchas to distribute Lumma Stealer malware, new research has found.
    Once installed by an unsuspecting user, the malware searches infected devices for credentials, including crypto wallet data.
    Lumma Stealer is an example of Malware-as-a-Service, which is effectively run as a “sustainable cybercriminal business,” experts told Decrypt.

    Bad actors are using fake Captcha prompts to distribute fileless Lumma Stealer malware that can steal crypto wallet credentials, according to research from cybersecurity firm DNSFilter.

    First detected on a Greek banking website, the prompt requests Windows users to copy and paste it into the Run dialog box, and then to press Enter.

    DNSFilter reports that the firm’s clients interacted with the fake Captcha 23 times over the course of three days, and that 17% of the people who encountered the prompt completed its on-screen steps, resulting in the attempted delivery of malware.

    The malware in question is Lumma Stealer, which according to DNSFilter’s Global Partner Evangelist, Mikey Pruitt, searches an infected device for credentials and other sensitive data.

    “Lumma Stealer immediately sweeps the system for anything it can monetize—browser-stored passwords and cookies, saved 2FA tokens, cryptocurrency wallet data, remote-access credentials, and even password-manager vaults,” he told Decrypt.

    Pruitt clarifies that the bad actors use lifted data for a variety of purposes that all usually boil down to monetary gain, such as ID theft and accessing “online accounts for financial theft or fraudulent transactions,” as well as gaining access to cryptocurrency wallets.

    Lumma Stealer has a wide reach according to Pruitt, and can be found on a wide variety of websites.

    “While we can’t speak to how much might have been lost through this one avenue, this threat can exist on non-malicious sites,” he explained. “This makes it incredibly dangerous and important to be aware of when things seem suspicious.”

    Malware-as-a-Service

    Lumma Stealer is not only malware, but an example of Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS). Security firms have reported it’s responsible for a rise in malware attacks in recent years.

    According to ESET malware analyst Jakub Tomanek, the operators behind Lumma Stealer develop its features, refine its ability to evade malware detection, while also registering domains to host the malware.

    “Their primary goal is to keep the service operational and profitable, collecting monthly subscription fees from affiliates—effectively running Lumma Stealer as a sustainable cybercriminal business,” he told Decrypt.

    Because it spares cybercriminals the need to develop malware and any underlying infrastructure, MaaS such as Lumma Stealer has proven stubbornly popular.

    In May, the U.S. Department of Justice seized five internet domains that bad actors were using to operate Lumma Stealer malware, while Microsoft privately took down 2,300 similar domains.

    Yet reports have revealed that Lumma Stealer has reemerged since May, with a July analysis from Trend Micro showing that “the number of targeted accounts steadily returned to their usual levels” between June and July.

    Part of the appeal of Lumma Stealer is that subscriptions, which are often monthly, are inexpensive relative to the potential gains to be made.

    “Available on dark web forums for as little as $250, this sophisticated information stealer specifically targets what matters most to cybercriminals – cryptocurrency wallets, browser-stored credentials, and two-factor authentication systems,” said Nathaniel Jones , the VP of Security & AI Strategy at Darktrace.

    Jones told Decrypt that the scale of Lumma Stealer exploits has been “alarming,” with 2023 witnessing estimated losses of $36.5 million, as well as 400,000 Windows devices infected in the space of two months.

    “But the real concern isn’t just the numbers – it’s the multi-layered monetisation strategy,” he said. “Lumma doesn’t just steal data, it systematically harvests browser histories, system information, and even AnyDesk configuration files before exfiltrating everything to Russian-controlled command centres.”

    Heightening the threat of Lumma Stealer is the fact that stolen data is often fed directly into “traffer teams,” that specialize the theft and resale of credentials

    “This creates a devastating cascade effect where a single infection can lead to bank account hijacking, cryptocurrency theft, and identity fraud that persists long after the initial breach,” add Jones.

    While Darktrace suggests a Russian origin or center for Lumma-related exploits, DNSFilter notes that the bad actors making use of the malware service could be operating from multiple territories.

    Mikey Pruitt said, “It is common for such malicious activities to involve individuals or groups from multiple countries, especially with the use of international hosting providers and malware distribution platforms.”

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    Solana smashes 107,000 TPS milestone sparking questions about real world use

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    Solana smashes 107,000 TPS milestone sparking questions about real world use


    Solana processed more than 100,000 transactions per second during a recent stress test, marking a new milestone in the network’s scaling efforts.

    The mainnet block briefly peaked at 107,540 TPS through high-load “noop” program calls, according to data shared over the weekend, showing the upper bound of Solana’s current infrastructure.

    Developers clarified that the test did not involve real transfers or complex state changes, meaning the throughput figure reflects theoretical limits.

    Co-founder of Helius, Mert Mumtaz, explained that transactions such as transfers, Oracle updates, or similar operations could still reach 80,000 to 100,000 TPS in practice. This compares with Solana’s current day-to-day throughput of around 1,000 to 3,700 TPS, much of which comes from validator vote activity rather than user-initiated transactions.

    The results contribute to a broader narrative around Solana’s technical capacity and ecosystem positioning. Firedancer, a validator client written in C and C++ by Jump Crypto, has already produced testnet benchmarks exceeding 1.2 million TPS, though it is not yet deployed on mainnet.

    Further architectural changes, such as separating execution from consensus and introducing localized fee markets, are designed to allow applications to operate at scale while avoiding congestion events that have historically affected the chain.

    Earlier this summer, Firedancer test environments demonstrating throughput exceeding one million transactions per second put Solana on the radar of both government and corporate treasuries.

    As previously reported, an executive order in March created a U.S. “Digital Asset Stockpile” funded by seized crypto, where Solana was cited in the broader strategic framework. Corporate treasuries have also begun shifting reserves into SOL, a trend aligning with the network’s ongoing performance milestones.

    The 100,000 TPS figure adds a concrete benchmark to ongoing debates about throughput ceilings across competing Layer-1 platforms. Ethereum and Avalanche, which handle far lower throughput under load, have sought to scale through rollups and modular designs.

    Solana’s approach emphasizes single-chain performance and validator efficiency, a strategy that continues to shape its developer ecosystem. Bitwise, in a separate research note, pointed to stability during prior stress tests as an important factor in supporting infrastructure for use cases that demand high-frequency activity such as trading and gaming.

    For developers, higher capacity opens pathways to previously impractical applications. Real-time gaming, decentralized order books, AI interactions, and on-chain auctions are examples of workloads that could benefit from throughput at the tested levels.

    Such use cases have historically faced bottlenecks from chain congestion and fee spikes, conditions that Solana’s team is attempting to mitigate with client diversity and runtime optimizations.

    The milestone arrives at a time of heightened attention toward altcoins. Reads across related markets have increased substantially, and performance-based narratives have been a key driver. The stress test outcome adds to this momentum, offering evidence of progress in an area where Solana has consistently differentiated itself.

    While the event highlights what is technically possible, sustained performance remains lower in practice and is subject to the complexities of real transaction execution. Vote inflation within current throughput numbers also complicates direct comparisons with user activity.

    Firedancer and other engineering efforts have not yet been fully integrated into mainnet, leaving questions around how quickly peak test throughput can translate into production-ready infrastructure.

    Despite these caveats, the 100,000 TPS benchmark sets a new reference point in Solana’s development and reinforces its push toward higher-capacity blockchain design.

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    Apple’s Robot Plans Resurface—Here’s the Latest – Decrypt

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    Apple’s Robot Plans Resurface—Here’s the Latest – Decrypt



    In brief

    Internal concepts include a swiveling screen nicknamed the “Pixar Lamp” that tracks user movement.
    A home display could launch in 2026, while the robot device may arrive in 2027.
    While rumors persist, Apple has not officially commented on developing humanoid robots.

    Apple is once again exploring robotics behind closed doors, as the company continues to shift focus from Apple Intelligence.

    According to a recent Bloomberg report, the company is internally evaluating several AI-powered hardware concepts, including smart home displays, security devices, and a tabletop robot that could use facial recognition and motorized movement to interact with users. None of the devices are officially in development, and sources caution they may never reach the market.

    One prototype, codenamed J595 and purportedly targeted for a 2027 launch, features a swiveling screen mounted on a robotic arm. It’s been nicknamed the “Pixar Lamp,” a nod to the animation studio and the expressive, lifelike motion of its mascot.

    The robot is envisioned as a more personal version of a smart assistant—able to track users during video calls or respond physically to conversations. Apple is also exploring mobile bots with wheels and humanoid robots for industrial use.

    “Apple has long been great at integrating hardware and software, and at human interface too,” Gary Marcus, an AI authority and professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University, told Decrypt. “I don’t personally think that reliable humanoid domestic robots are at all close to hand, but if I ever buy a humanoid for the home, I hope it will come with Apple’s care for privacy, reliability, elegance, security, and thoughtful design.”

    Rumors around Apple launching a line of robots emerged last year as Apple made a series of AI-focused announcements and upgrades. In February, longtime Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple is exploring both humanoid and non-humanoid robots “for its future smart home ecosystem, and these products are still in the early proof-of-concept (POC) stage.”

    At a recent all-hands meeting, CEO Tim Cook reportedly told employees that Apple needs to “win in AI,” describing the company’s product pipeline as “amazing” and hinting that some devices would be revealed soon, while others remain further out. He did not mention robotics specifically.

    

    The goal is to make artificial intelligence feel physically present. While the robot is still in early development, it represents the centerpiece of a broader push to put Apple back in the AI arms race.

    A home display for smart automation, video calls, and an upgraded Siri that can engage in conversations with users is reportedly further along and could debut in 2026. Both the display and the robot would run a new software platform internally dubbed “Charismatic,” designed to handle voice-first commands, facial recognition, and personalized content.

    Apple did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

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    The 7 Largest Publicly Traded Ethereum Treasury Firms – Decrypt

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    The 7 Largest Publicly Traded Ethereum Treasury Firms – Decrypt



    In brief

    Publicly traded companies are now racing to accumulate Ethereum.
    Firms with strategic ETH reserves now account for more than 3% of the entire ETH supply.
    The top holders include BitMine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink Gaming, and Coinbase.

    The trend of publicly traded companies adopting crypto treasury strategies may have started with Bitcoin, but it has since expanded to a wide variety of digital assets—including the second-largest crypto asset by market cap, Ethereum. 

    Now the race to accumulate ETH is on, led by key figures like Fundstrat’s Tom Lee and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, who are championing public firms as they rally around Ethereum and its future. 

    Per StrategicETHReserve.xyz, public entities with Ethereum treasuries maintain more than 3.7 million ETH valued at nearly $17 billion, as of this writing, and more than 3% of the entire supply. These are the biggest holders as of this writing.

    1. BitMine Immersion Technologies

    Led by crypto bull and Fundstrat CIO Tom Lee, BitMine Immersion Technologies burst onto the scene at the end of July when the firm detailed plans for an Ethereum treasury. 

    Formerly focused on Bitcoin mining, BitMine (BMNR) first secured a $250 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) fundraising round to begin its ETH purchases. 

    Since that time, it hasn’t looked back, acquiring 1,150,263 ETH or more than $5 billion worth as of this writing.

    The aggressive buying spree has coincided with Lee’s seemingly unfathomable ETH price predictions, which include calls for $60,000 ETH. That’s a sizable multiple of the current price.

    After planning a raise of $4.5 billion to accumulate the asset, Lee and company upsized their offering by $20 billion in August as BitMine aims to expand its already industry-leading Ethereum treasury. 

    2. SharpLink Gaming

    Gambling marketer turned Ethereum treasury company SharpLink Gaming holds the second-largest publicly traded ETH treasury. 

    The firm maintains 728,804 ETH, or $3.2 billion as of its latest release—around 73% of the way to its first stated goal of accumulating 1 million ETH. 

    While SharpLink’s existing business did not have immediate ties to crypto, it brought on direct ties to Ethereum when it shaped its board of directors. The firm’s chairman Joe Lubin is the co-founder of Ethereum itself, and founder and CEO of Ethereum software company, Consensys, the maker of popular crypto wallet, MetaMask.

    (Disclaimer: Consensys is one of 22 investors in an editorially independent Decrypt)

    Lubin and company have followed BitMine in a relentless pursuit of Ethereum, raising funds in a variety of ways including a recent $400 million direct offering, plus plans to collect up to $6 billion via stock sales. 

    In July, the firm added BlackRock’s former head of digital asset strategy Joseph Chalom as its newly appointed CEO. 

    3. The Ether Machine

    There’s no questioning the business of The Ether Machine, a firm made public via a merger of The Ether Reserve, LLC and a blank-check company earlier this year. 

    The third-largest treasury on the list, The Ether Machine currently holds 345,362 ETH, or $1.5 billion at today’s ETH prices. 

    Funded with startup capital and approximately 170,000 ETH from co-founder and chairman Andrew Keys, the Ether Machine stated a mandate to put its ETH to work on-chain or create a “machine” to grow its stash, differentiating it from more passive accumulation vehicles. 

    It most recently acquired around $40 million worth of ETH using cash from a previously established private placement. At the time of inception, it expected to pull in around $1.6 billion in total proceeds to use to fund Ethereum purchases.

    4. Coinbase

    Leading American crypto exchange Coinbase maintains an investment of around $602 million or 136,782 ETH, according to its most recent 10-Q filing. That is more than 20,000 ETH greater than it ended 2024 with when it held 115,700 ETH based on an end of year 10-K filing.

    The firm also holds more than 11,000 Bitcoin as an investment, placing it among the top publicly traded holders of the largest crypto asset, as well.  

    First hitting the public markets in 2021, shares in Coinbase made a new all-time high in July 2025 as crypto firms continued a streak of success alongside traditional equities. 

    

    5. Bit Digital

    Bitcoin miner Bit Digital formed an Ethereum treasury strategy during Q2 2025. In just a few short months, it’s quickly added to its stash, jumping from 30,663 ETH at the end of June to 121,076 ETH as of August 11—now valued at more than $530 million. 

    As part of its transition, the firm is ending its Bitcoin mining operations and redeploying funds towards ETH accumulation. Public markets didn’t react strongly to the strategy shift, as shares of BTBT have gained just 2.63% year-to-date. 

    6. ETHZilla

    Biotech firm 180 Life Sciences rebranded its company to “ETHZilla,” as it shifted focus to a digital assets treasury centered on Ethereum. 

    The firm raised $425 million in late July to kickstart its treasury and quickly jumped up the holder rankings, acquiring 82,186 ETH as of August 12, valued around $362 million at today’s ETH prices. 

    A few weeks later, shares in ETHZilla (ATNF) quickly tripled after it was revealed that billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel and related entities had purchased a 7.5% stake in the company. 

    As for its unique name? Chairman of the board McAndrew Rudisil told Decrypt in July that it  “comes from our focus to be one of the largest holders of ETH in the world.”

    7. BTCS Inc.

    Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions (BTCS) holds 70,140 ETH, worth around $309 million as of mid-August.

    The firm boasts a proactive strategy to acquire more Ethereum, putting its ETH to work on-chain using what is described as a “powerful DeFi/TradFi financial model” to generate value for shareholders. 

    In addition to acquiring ETH, the firm also bolstered its treasury with three Ethereum-based Pudgy Penguins NFTs in August.

    BTCS posted record revenues in Q2 of $2.77 million, marking a 394% increase year-over-year. Shares are up nearly 90% year-to-date.

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    Stablecoin Boom Has Made Crypto Ramps ‘Sexier’ M&A Targets, Says VanEck VC – Decrypt

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    Stablecoin Boom Has Made Crypto Ramps ‘Sexier’ M&A Targets, Says VanEck VC – Decrypt



    In brief

    On- and off-ramp companies are attractive M&A targets, according to VanEck Ventures’ Juan Lopez.
    They are increasingly being viewed as valuable touch points for facilitating payments through stablecoins, he said.
    In the past, they were viewed primarily as a way to fund crypto exchange accounts.

    Companies that serve as connective tissue between digital assets and legacy payments systems are getting a glow-up from stablecoins this year, according to VanEck Ventures Managing Partner Juan Lopez.

    As companies continue to explore new use cases with dollar-pegged tokens, those that help customers swap between cash and crypto are becoming some of the hottest targets for mergers and acquisitions, he told Decrypt in a recent interview.

    Although they were mostly perceived as a way to let customers easily purchase crypto in the past, Lopez said that on-and-off ramps are increasingly being viewed as valuable touch points for facilitating everyday transactions through stablecoins.

    “On-and-off ramp companies initially were the ones that were connecting the legacy payment systems with the sort of blockchain-adjacent systems that exchanges pioneered,” he said. “Now they can go from simply calling themselves on-and-off ramps to full-fledged payments providers built on this really novel infrastructure, which is a lot sexier.”

    With last month’s passage of stablecoin legislation in the U.S., experts anticipate an explosion of stablecoins under the GENIUS Act. With a federal framework in place, Citigroup said this week that it’s exploring a stablecoin, months after Bank of America signaled the same.

    Lopez said that stablecoins emerged within the crypto industry primarily as a way for exchanges to overcome long settlement times that customers faced when funding accounts, but experimentation has pushed their utility far beyond that.

    “On-and-off ramps have been a large driver for some of the new use cases that we hear around stablecoins,” he said, pointing to cross-border remittances and business-to-business payments.

    

    Earlier this year, crypto payments service MoonPay acquired Helio and Unstoppable Finance, “underscoring the vision for crypto payments,” according to a report from Architect Partners.

    The move followed payment giant Stripe’s acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge last year, one of the largest deals in the industry’s history valued at $1.1 billion.

    Ripple said earlier this month that it would purchase Rail, a Toronto-based payments platform, for $200 million. Ripple highlighted the firm’s ability to offer “comprehensive stablecoin pay-ins and pay-outs” without requiring a company to hold crypto on its balance sheet.

    Lopez noted that the licenses on-and-off ramp companies own could be a factor as well, letting companies expand into new businesses or jurisdictions than they could otherwise.

    “It’s really a time-to-market value,” he said. “If there’s a particular player that wants to enter a particular business, they can do so much faster they can acquire a business that’s gone through all the regulatory hurdles to actually be licensed to operate.”

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    Canary CEO Predicts Bitcoin Will Hit $150K This Year—But Ethereum Surge Won’t Last – Decrypt

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    Canary CEO Predicts Bitcoin Will Hit 0K This Year—But Ethereum Surge Won’t Last – Decrypt



    In brief

    Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg sees Bitcoin hitting $150K by year’s end before a 2026 bear market sets in.
    McClurg dismissed Ethereum, backing newer blockchains like Solana and Sui.
    Another analyst warned against dismissing Ethereum due to its app and developer dominance.

    Bitcoin could climb as high as $150,000 before the end of the year, followed by another bear market in 2026, according to Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital. But he’s not convinced that the recent Ethereum surge will continue.

    The BTC prediction comes as crypto markets flirt with record highs and institutional investors pile into exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $124,128 on Wednesday.

    “There’s a greater than 50% chance that Bitcoin goes to the $140,000 to $150,000 range this year before we see another bear market next year,” McClurg said in a Friday interview with CNBC.

    McClurg attributed the rally to rising demand from ETFs and an expanding base of institutional buyers, including sovereign wealth funds, pensions, and corporate treasuries.

    

    “These inflows are creating a higher price in Bitcoin,” he said.

    The forecast comes as Canary Capital has filed ETF applications tied to several altcoins, including XRP, Sui, Cronus (CRO), Hedera (HBAR), and President Trump’s official meme coin on Solana.

    The firm has not filed an ETF application related to Ethereum, which McClurg criticized as an outdated network—though ETH has been the biggest gainer in recent weeks among major cryptocurrencies, nearing an all-time high on Thursday before cooling off alongside the broader market.

    “I’m not a big fan of Ethereum, only because it is an older technology,” he said. “There’s a lot of other protocols that are faster, cheaper to transact, and fundamentally more secure.”

    McClurg credited Ethereum with “a great run over about a five-year period,” but said newer blockchains like Solana and Sui have eclipsed it. “I do expect it to wane and not see all-time highs,” he added.

    One analyst that Decrypt spoke with questioned McClurg’s skepticism toward Ethereum.

    “Ethereum will be extremely hard to compete with despite what some call ‘older tech,’ because Ethereum owns the developer ecosystem,” Amberdata Director of Derivatives Greg Magadini told Decrypt. “It’s like the iPhone platform that enables developers to build apps directly on its infrastructure. Those network effects only compound over time.”

    Magadini predicts Ethereum will catch up to Bitcoin on a relative basis, with ETH/BTC reaching 7%—implying an ETH price between $8,000 and $10,000.

    Despite this, Magadini agreed that Bitcoin could exceed $150,000 in 2025, driven by inflation hedging and investor appetite for risk.

    “Given the combination of an equity market rally and political pressure on the Fed to cut rates while inflation remains high, we have the perfect context for higher Bitcoin prices,” he said. “Bitcoin moves like a mix of digital gold and a risk-on asset—and right now, both those sentiments are helping prices move higher.”

    Canary’s McClurg also floated the idea of a Litecoin comeback, comparing it to “silver” alongside Bitcoin’s “gold.” The firm has also filed with the SEC to launch a spot Litecoin ETF.

    “Litecoin has the ability to process Ordinals a lot faster,” McClurg said, referring to the digital art and data inscription that critics say has strained the Bitcoin network (though less so lately). “So I do expect Litecoin to come back in a major way and to be used for smaller transactions.”

    McClurg further noted that crypto’s seasonality could add volatility in the months ahead.

    “August is historically a bad month for any risk asset, especially cryptocurrencies,” he said. “September and October are usually very strong.”

    Canary Capital did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

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