Ethereum Hits Record Above $4,900 as Powell Fuels Risk-Asset Rally

Ethereum broke its 2021 all-time high on Aug. 22, touching $4,946–$4,953 after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a September rate cut. The Sandbox contained a bridge exploit that minted 14.9B unbacked SAND, Zcash surged 49.5% on a Grayscale spot ETF filing, and Ripple's RLUSD passed $2B market cap. US banks also urged FinCEN to extend KYC rules to stablecoin secondary markets.

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Ethereum hits record above $4,900 after Powell hints at September rate cut ETH broke its November 2021 peak on Coinbase on Aug. 22, touching $4,946–$4,953 after a nearly 15% daily surge. The rally follows Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole remarks, with institutional ETF inflows and proof-of-stake issuance cited as structural differences from the 2021 cycle. 1

Sandbox bridge exploit mints 14.9B unbacked SAND; Coinbase delists futures An attacker exploited The Sandbox's Base and BNB Smart Chain bridges to mint roughly 14.9 billion unbacked SAND — nearly five times the token's 3 billion cap. The project disabled bridging and is preparing LP compensation, while Coinbase plans to delist SAND futures on Aug. 26. 2 3

Zcash jumps 49.5% to $849 on Grayscale spot ETF filing ZEC broke above the $800 level for the first time since January 2018 as spot volume surged 131% to $2.7 billion. The Grayscale filing is not an approval, and overbought signals suggest pullback risk. 4

Ripple's RLUSD tops $2B market cap as institutional stablecoin demand grows The NYDFS-regulated stablecoin has become Ripple's fastest-growing product, with nearly $1B of RLUSD circulating on XRP Ledger. Growth comes as GENIUS Act implementation approaches, boosting prospects for bank adoption. 5

US banks urge FinCEN to apply KYC rules to stablecoin secondary markets The Bank Policy Institute, representing JPMorgan, Citi, BofA and Wells Fargo, wants customer identification requirements extended to crypto exchanges and DeFi operators. BPI argues most illicit stablecoin activity occurs in secondary markets. 6

Coinbase lets USDC holders take rewards in Bitcoin with weekly payouts Users can now receive USDC rewards as Bitcoin, with Coinbase One members offered a temporary 6.5% APY on up to $500,000 for eligible US customers adding at least 1,000 USDC. The move adds another yield option as stablecoin competition intensifies. 7

Circle mints $250M USDC on Solana as weekly issuance hits $1.25B The Aug. 20 mint is part of a wave of fresh USDC issuance on Solana, reflecting growing institutional and DeFi demand. Ethereum remains the largest stablecoin venue, but Solana's share of Circle minting is rising. 8

TON Bridge v3 shuts Sept. 1; wrapped TON and j-tokens must return Holders of Wrapped TON on Ethereum or BNB Smart Chain and jUSDT/jUSDC/jDAI/jWBTC on TON have until Sept. 1 to bridge back before the official route closes. The operator cites newer messaging-based transfer routes and residual cost/risk. 9