Bitcoin tops $80K, then slips below $78K as PCE inflation bites

Bitcoin tops $80K, then slips below $78K as PCE bites The US Treasury's decision to double long-dated bond buybacks triggered a short squeeze that pushed BTC past $80,000, but hotter-than-expected July PCE inflation data knocked it back under $78,000. Traders now watch the $80,000–$83,000 resistance zone ahead of Jackson Hole and Nvidia earnings. 123

First quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction mined on mainnet via MARA Slipstream The QSB scheme, disclosed by StarkWare, uses hash-based signature grinding to create quantum-safe outputs without changing Bitcoin's base protocol. The milestone moves the method from research paper to live block, though the cost puts protection out of reach for most holders. 4

Ethereum researchers propose quantum-resistant deposit contract for staking A draft proposal would let validators gradually adopt quantum-safe cryptography while keeping BLS compatibility, with an irreversible switch to retire BLS signatures later. It targets the roughly 37 million ETH staked and follows Google research suggesting elliptic-curve breaking needs far fewer qubits than thought. 56

CLARITY Act odds collapse as SEC sends custody overhaul to White House Polymarket odds for the stalled market-structure bill fell from 82% to 16%, with the Senate returning September 14 for just 14 working days. Meanwhile, the SEC submitted its crypto custody rule amendments to OIRA, advancing regulation by rulemaking. 78

UK Treasury to give Bank of England digital currency innovation mandate The proposed 'secondary objective' would require the BoE to support innovation in payments, stablecoins and digital currencies and report annually to parliament. Ministers are pushing for faster progress on tokenisation and a digital pound blueprint due by end-2026. 910

Blockchain Association urges FinCEN to keep KYC off stablecoin wallet transfers In a comment letter, the trade group endorsed customer identification programs for stablecoin issuers but warned that extending KYC to downstream wallet transfers could cripple the industry. It said rules should cover only primary-market relationships issuers directly intermediate. 11

Circle mints $5B USDC in a week as stablecoin supply grows On-chain data shows Circle gross-minted about $5 billion USDC over seven days, with USDC market cap up 2.67% to $73.88 billion. Total stablecoin market cap rose to roughly $303.7 billion, signaling fresh dollar liquidity entering crypto. 12

Strategy cuts net leverage to near zero as cash matches convertible debt The Bitcoin treasury company now holds about $6.7 billion in cash against $6.7 billion in convertible debt after selling $2 billion of MSTR shares. With more than 840,000 BTC on its balance sheet, equity holders now get unencumbered Bitcoin exposure without net debt amplification. 13

Coinbase and Better launch crypto-backed mortgages with $10K rebates Coinbase One members can pledge crypto during mortgage underwriting without selling, and receive a lender credit of up to $10,000. The Fannie Mae-compliant loans follow a waitlist representing over $260 million in projected volume. 14

Dallas Fed warns tokenized deposits could drain $700B from bank lending New research from the Dallas Fed warns that a shift to tokenized deposits could pull up to $700 billion out of bank lending. The finding adds a cautionary note to the tokenisation push in banking and stablecoin markets. 15

Ngrave ZERO firmware adds Polygon tokens and open-source QR protocol Firmware 1.8 replaces Ngrave's legacy QR system with an MIT-licensed Universal QR Protocol and adds USDC, USDT, WETH, WBTC and other tokens on Polygon. The update also drops BNB Beacon Chain and over 100 inactive assets. 16

DeFi Development Corp launches State of Solana analytics dashboard The Nasdaq-listed SOL treasury company, holding about 2.29 million SOL, launched stateofsol.com with live network, staking and ecosystem metrics. It also tracks its SOL Per Share target of 1.0 by December 2028. 17