DAOs are sitting on $7.5B, and how they store it splits them into two camps
Single-token treasuries keep almost everything in their own coin. Uniswap holds $1.05B, mostly UNI. That looks great when the token is up and becomes a trap when it is not, because the treasury and the token crash together.
Diversified treasuries spread the risk instead. Mantle leads at $1.59B across multiple assets, and 310 DAOs now store this way versus just 50 that stay single-token.
The gap says a lot: 310 diversified DAOs holding $4.40B already outweigh the 50 concentrated ones on $3.17B. The market is slowly learning that a treasury denominated in your own token is not really a treasury.
Single-token treasuries keep almost everything in their own coin. Uniswap holds $1.05B, mostly UNI. That looks great when the token is up and becomes a trap when it is not, because the treasury and the token crash together.
Diversified treasuries spread the risk instead. Mantle leads at $1.59B across multiple assets, and 310 DAOs now store this way versus just 50 that stay single-token.
The gap says a lot: 310 diversified DAOs holding $4.40B already outweigh the 50 concentrated ones on $3.17B. The market is slowly learning that a treasury denominated in your own token is not really a treasury.
Fidelity Plans to Add Staking and Quarterly Payouts to $898M Ethereum ETF
Fidelity is preparing to add Ethereum staking and quarterly cash distributions to its Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), which currently holds around $898M in net assets.
Fidelity would retain 85% of gross staking rewards, with the remaining 15% going to the fund sponsor, custodians and node operators. Blockdaemon, Figment and Galaxy are named as FETH's node operators.
If approved, Fidelity would join Grayscale and 21Shares in adding staking to existing U.S. Ether products, while BlackRock has opted for a separate staked-ETH ETF.
👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/08/12/fidelity-moves-to-add-staking-quarterly-payouts-to-near-usd900m
Fidelity is preparing to add Ethereum staking and quarterly cash distributions to its Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), which currently holds around $898M in net assets.
Under normal conditions, FETH could stake up to 100% of its ETH, while keeping enough assets available for redemptions, expenses and liquidity needs.
Fidelity would retain 85% of gross staking rewards, with the remaining 15% going to the fund sponsor, custodians and node operators. Blockdaemon, Figment and Galaxy are named as FETH's node operators.
Net staking rewards would first cover fund expenses, with the remaining amount distributed to investors at least quarterly. Fidelity may also sell some ETH to fund the payouts.
If approved, Fidelity would join Grayscale and 21Shares in adding staking to existing U.S. Ether products, while BlackRock has opted for a separate staked-ETH ETF.
👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/08/12/fidelity-moves-to-add-staking-quarterly-payouts-to-near-usd900m
Miden Introduces Privacy-Focused USDCx Stablecoin Ahead of Mainnet
Zero-knowledge blockchain Miden is preparing to launch USDCx, a privacy-focused stablecoin backed 1:1 by Circle’s USDC through its xReserve infrastructure.
The stablecoin is expected to launch alongside the Miden Mainnet, targeted for the end of August.
Miden spun out of Polygon in April 2025 and is backed by a16z crypto, 1kx, Hack VC and others.
👉 coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/12/miden-bets-on-privacy-stablecoins-with-introduction-of-usdcx
Zero-knowledge blockchain Miden is preparing to launch USDCx, a privacy-focused stablecoin backed 1:1 by Circle’s USDC through its xReserve infrastructure.
USDCx will allow users to hold and transfer stablecoins without publicly exposing balances, counterparties or transaction histories, while Miden’s selective-disclosure system enables users to reveal transaction details when required for compliance.
The stablecoin is expected to launch alongside the Miden Mainnet, targeted for the end of August.
Miden uses client-side proving, allowing transactions to be executed and proved on users’ devices rather than exposing transaction data to the network. The project aims to bring privacy to institutional use cases including B2B payments, payroll, cross-border payments, private trading and corporate treasury management.
Miden spun out of Polygon in April 2025 and is backed by a16z crypto, 1kx, Hack VC and others.
👉 coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/12/miden-bets-on-privacy-stablecoins-with-introduction-of-usdcx
Goldman Sachs to acquire NEOS in $2.25B crypto ETF deal
Goldman Sachs has agreed to buy ETF manager NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion in cash and stock, handing the Wall Street giant a ready-made Bitcoin and Ether income ETF business.
The deal, expected to close in Q1 2027 pending regulatory approval, lifts Goldman's active ETF business to roughly $80 billion inside a $130 billion ETF platform, making it the eighth-largest active ETF manager and pushing it deeper into the crypto race with BlackRock.
👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/08/12/goldman-sachs-leaps-into-bitcoin-income-etfs-with-usd2-25-billion-neos-buyout
Goldman Sachs has agreed to buy ETF manager NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion in cash and stock, handing the Wall Street giant a ready-made Bitcoin and Ether income ETF business.
NEOS runs about $30 billion across 19 options-based income ETFs, including its Bitcoin High Income (BTCI), Boosted Bitcoin (XBCI) and Ethereum High Income (NEHI) funds. Rather than holding the coins, they run options strategies on crypto-linked exposure to pay out monthly income, with yields driven largely by selling option premium. Co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella join Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
The deal, expected to close in Q1 2027 pending regulatory approval, lifts Goldman's active ETF business to roughly $80 billion inside a $130 billion ETF platform, making it the eighth-largest active ETF manager and pushing it deeper into the crypto race with BlackRock.
👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/08/12/goldman-sachs-leaps-into-bitcoin-income-etfs-with-usd2-25-billion-neos-buyout
South Korea tightens crypto transfers to offshore platforms
South Korea is tightening how money moves to offshore crypto platforms, after Bybit, MEXC and HTX had their apps pulled from the local Google Play store.
The move tightens oversight of capital leaving regulated Korean venues for offshore platforms and personal wallets, extending Seoul's push to keep crypto flows inside supervised channels.
👉 crypto.news/south-korea-tightens-crypto-transfers/
South Korea is tightening how money moves to offshore crypto platforms, after Bybit, MEXC and HTX had their apps pulled from the local Google Play store.
Under revised rules, exchanges can require proof of account ownership, the purpose of a transaction and the source of funds, and can delay or reject a transfer when that information is insufficient. Transfers of 10 million won (about $7,000) or more to overseas exchanges or self-hosted wallets will face enhanced suspicious-transaction monitoring.
The move tightens oversight of capital leaving regulated Korean venues for offshore platforms and personal wallets, extending Seoul's push to keep crypto flows inside supervised channels.
👉 crypto.news/south-korea-tightens-crypto-transfers/
VanEck launches a trading card game to teach investing
Investment manager VanEck has launched Market Forces TCG, a physical trading card game built to make investing concepts stick with younger audiences by teaching them through play rather than lectures.
It builds on Syncd Collect, the collector app VanEck rolled out earlier this year, and is open for pre-order now. VanEck frames the game as education and entertainment, not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell anything.
👉 finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/vaneck-launches-trading-card-game-123000865.html
Investment manager VanEck has launched Market Forces TCG, a physical trading card game built to make investing concepts stick with younger audiences by teaching them through play rather than lectures.
Matches surface real principles like diversification, risk management, portfolio construction and time in the market versus timing it. The debut run is capped at 12,000 units with serialized collectible chase cards, made with Orange Cap Games and illustrated by Marvel alumni Chris Wahl and Max Ward.
It builds on Syncd Collect, the collector app VanEck rolled out earlier this year, and is open for pre-order now. VanEck frames the game as education and entertainment, not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell anything.
👉 finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/vaneck-launches-trading-card-game-123000865.html
Mirae Asset pumps another $35M into Korbit
Mirae Asset is putting a further $35 million into Korbit, weeks after the Korean financial group took control of the crypto exchange and began rebranding it as Digital X.
The move deepens Korea's TradFi push into digital assets, with one of the country's largest financial groups betting that regulated crypto rails belong inside a mainstream investment house.
👉 theblock.co/news/business/2026-08-13-mirae-asset-35-million-korbit-411677
Mirae Asset is putting a further $35 million into Korbit, weeks after the Korean financial group took control of the crypto exchange and began rebranding it as Digital X.
July's takeover made Mirae the first Korean financial group to control a licensed crypto exchange, lifting its stake to about 97% for roughly $96 million (141.4 billion won). The new capital funds the plan to rebuild Korbit into an "intelligent investment platform" that blends real-world assets, security tokens, stablecoins and traditional markets with crypto.
The move deepens Korea's TradFi push into digital assets, with one of the country's largest financial groups betting that regulated crypto rails belong inside a mainstream investment house.
👉 theblock.co/news/business/2026-08-13-mirae-asset-35-million-korbit-411677
2026's Network Halts: Who Stopped, Who Nearly Did
On Wednesday, Solana came 33 minutes from stopping. A single routing fault at one hosting provider, which held over a quarter of all staked SOL, knocked 28.83% of the network offline. At 33.34% the chain loses finality. Solana got 86% of the way there, then recovered.
On Wednesday, Solana came 33 minutes from stopping. A single routing fault at one hosting provider, which held over a quarter of all staked SOL, knocked 28.83% of the network offline. At 33.34% the chain loses finality. Solana got 86% of the way there, then recovered.
And it was the lucky one. In 2026 four chains actually went dark:
• Sui, twice (about 6h, then 6h44m)
• Base, twice in a single week
• Starknet, at the start of the year
Ethereum, BNB, Aptos, Hyperliquid and Avalanche never flinched.
The International 15 started today in Shanghai, and Dota's biggest tournament just became a prediction market
For a decade TI has been about one thing: sixteen teams, one Aegis, the highest stakes in esports. Now the crowd is not just watching, it is pricing the outcome in real time.
The bigger story is who is paying attention. predict.fun just launched its first on-chain esports event around TI15: a $100,000 plus 5M Predict Points prize pool, running Aug 13-23.
For a decade TI has been about one thing: sixteen teams, one Aegis, the highest stakes in esports. Now the crowd is not just watching, it is pricing the outcome in real time.
Team Vision (PARIVISION) leads at 25%, fresh off winning the Esports World Cup 2026. Team Yandex sits second at 20%, then it drops off fast: Falcons 15%, BoomBoys 14%, and and Spirit at 8%, and a long tail of dark horses down to LGD at 3%.
The bigger story is who is paying attention. predict.fun just launched its first on-chain esports event around TI15: a $100,000 plus 5M Predict Points prize pool, running Aug 13-23.
Kalshi in Talks With Sequoia, Wellington to Raise $750M at $40B Valuation
Kalshi is reportedly in advanced discussions with Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management to raise at least $750M at a $40B valuation, nearly doubling its May valuation.
Sequoia is already an existing investor, while the round would mark Wellington’s first investment in Kalshi as the prediction-market platform eyes a potential 2027 IPO.
The new round could exceed $750M, with Sequoia and Wellington potentially leading the investment. Kalshi now reportedly holds around 95% of the U.S. prediction-market share, while rival Polymarket is targeting a $20B valuation. The discussions remain ongoing and terms could still change.
👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/08/13/kalshi-in-talks-with-sequoia-wellington-for-usd750-million-fundraise
Kalshi is reportedly in advanced discussions with Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management to raise at least $750M at a $40B valuation, nearly doubling its May valuation.
Sequoia is already an existing investor, while the round would mark Wellington’s first investment in Kalshi as the prediction-market platform eyes a potential 2027 IPO.
Kalshi raised $1B at a $22B valuation in May and has since seen rapid growth, with annualized revenue reportedly reaching $4B in July, driven largely by sports contracts and 2026 World Cup betting.
The new round could exceed $750M, with Sequoia and Wellington potentially leading the investment. Kalshi now reportedly holds around 95% of the U.S. prediction-market share, while rival Polymarket is targeting a $20B valuation. The discussions remain ongoing and terms could still change.
👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/08/13/kalshi-in-talks-with-sequoia-wellington-for-usd750-million-fundraise
Cryptomarket Check-In. Major Events & Headlines
Institutional finance, tokenization and crypto-linked investment products shaped the week’s biggest developments. Activity ranged from ETF expansion and a new Middle East tokenization hub to large Bitcoin treasury sales and miners pushing deeper into AI infrastructure.
Recent Updates & Developments
- Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire NEOS for $2.25B
- Fidelity prepares to add staking to its ETH ETF
- Strategy sold 1,638 BTC below its cost basis
- Riot signed a $9.1B AI deal with Anthropic
- Coinbase opened an Abu Dhabi tokenization hub
- Bybit sued North Korea over its $1.5B hack
- Crypto.com launched derivatives on 1,500 U.S. stocks and ETFs
- MARA sold 23,093 BTC for roughly $1.6B
Institutional finance, tokenization and crypto-linked investment products shaped the week’s biggest developments. Activity ranged from ETF expansion and a new Middle East tokenization hub to large Bitcoin treasury sales and miners pushing deeper into AI infrastructure.
Recent Updates & Developments
- Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire NEOS for $2.25B
- Fidelity prepares to add staking to its ETH ETF
- Strategy sold 1,638 BTC below its cost basis
- Riot signed a $9.1B AI deal with Anthropic
- Coinbase opened an Abu Dhabi tokenization hub
- Bybit sued North Korea over its $1.5B hack
- Crypto.com launched derivatives on 1,500 U.S. stocks and ETFs
- MARA sold 23,093 BTC for roughly $1.6B
Trezor Confirms Data Breach Affecting 13,689 Customers
Trezor has confirmed that one of its logistics partners, ShipMonk, suffered a data breach exposing customer order information.
Customers in the US, UK, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy and Portugal who received orders between May 10 and August 8, 2026 may be affected.
Trezor says its own systems and devices were not compromised, but affected users could face more sophisticated phishing attempts. Affected customers have been notified directly by official email.
👉 trezor.io/blog/news/recent-customer-data-exposed-in-shipping-provider-incident
Trezor has confirmed that one of its logistics partners, ShipMonk, suffered a data breach exposing customer order information.
The incident affected 13,689 customers, including:
- 11,742 with full exposure: names, emails, phone numbers and shipping addresses
- 1,947 with partial exposure: names, cities and emails
Customers in the US, UK, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy and Portugal who received orders between May 10 and August 8, 2026 may be affected.
Trezor says its own systems and devices were not compromised, but affected users could face more sophisticated phishing attempts. Affected customers have been notified directly by official email.
👉 trezor.io/blog/news/recent-customer-data-exposed-in-shipping-provider-incident
CXMT Overtakes Tencent to Become China’s Most Valuable Company
CXMT has overtaken Tencent Holdings to become the world’s most valuable Chinese company, highlighting the growing investor appetite for AI-related hardware and semiconductors.
The Chinese memory-chip maker is now valued at $524B, surpassing Tencent’s $510B market cap.
CXMT is also the world’s fourth-largest producer of DRAM, a critical component for smartphones and advanced AI servers.
Meanwhile, Tencent’s shares are down more than 26% this year amid concerns over its growing AI investments and pressure to catch up with competitors.
👉 bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-13/deepseek-increases-prices-for-ai-services-by-multiple-times
CXMT has overtaken Tencent Holdings to become the world’s most valuable Chinese company, highlighting the growing investor appetite for AI-related hardware and semiconductors.
The Chinese memory-chip maker is now valued at $524B, surpassing Tencent’s $510B market cap.
CXMT’s shares surged 467% on debut and have gained another 8%, as investors view the company as a key proxy for China’s AI ambitions and semiconductor self-sufficiency.
CXMT is also the world’s fourth-largest producer of DRAM, a critical component for smartphones and advanced AI servers.
Meanwhile, Tencent’s shares are down more than 26% this year amid concerns over its growing AI investments and pressure to catch up with competitors.
👉 bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-13/deepseek-increases-prices-for-ai-services-by-multiple-times
Tether clears its first full financial audit by KPMG
Tether says KPMG U.S. has completed a full independent audit of its 2025 financial statements and issued an unqualified opinion, the most positive verdict an auditor can give.
It is the first full financial audit in Tether's history, going beyond the quarterly attestations it has published for years, and lands as regulators lean harder on stablecoin issuers that now move money for hundreds of millions of people.
👉 tether.io/news/tether-completes-the-largest-inaugural-financial-audit-in-history
Tether says KPMG U.S. has completed a full independent audit of its 2025 financial statements and issued an unqualified opinion, the most positive verdict an auditor can give.
The Big Four audit went through Tether's entire balance sheet, income statement and cash flows, with KPMG physically counting and inspecting every individual gold bar in the reserves rather than trusting custodian reports. Tether's audited statements show reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.814 billion. CEO Paolo Ardoino called it "a defining moment for the stablecoin industry."
It is the first full financial audit in Tether's history, going beyond the quarterly attestations it has published for years, and lands as regulators lean harder on stablecoin issuers that now move money for hundreds of millions of people.
👉 tether.io/news/tether-completes-the-largest-inaugural-financial-audit-in-history
Lighter turns on live points for Robinhood Wallet
Lighter has switched on its points program for Robinhood Wallet users, who now earn rewards in real time as they trade perpetuals, with an extra boost for referring friends.
It is a direct pipe from Robinhood's roughly 24 million funded accounts into onchain perps, though the product stays off-limits in the US, UK, Canada and other restricted regions.
👉 x.com/Lighter_xyz/status/2087934194202575265
Lighter has switched on its points program for Robinhood Wallet users, who now earn rewards in real time as they trade perpetuals, with an extra boost for referring friends.
The two went live together on July 1, letting Robinhood Wallet users post Robinhood Chain collateral such as USDG as margin for Lighter's perps without leaving the app. Trades earn 2x points through the wallet versus 1x on Lighter's own web app, and Lighter has earmarked $11M in LIT tokens for the Robinhood community.
It is a direct pipe from Robinhood's roughly 24 million funded accounts into onchain perps, though the product stays off-limits in the US, UK, Canada and other restricted regions.
👉 x.com/Lighter_xyz/status/2087934194202575265
FG Nexus exits its ETH treasury after a $45M loss
FG Nexus, the Nasdaq-listed merchant bank formerly known as Fundamental Global, has wound down its Ethereum treasury less than a year after launching it, selling every token and holding no crypto by June 30.
The board now plans to reallocate that capital into cash-flowing real estate, targeting manufactured-housing parks and a possible tie-up with FG Communities, though that deal is still preliminary.
👉 cryptoslate.com/fg-nexus-dumped-all-its-ethereum-at-a-45-million-loss-to-buy-mobile-home-parks-after-earning-just-144000-in-staking-rewards
FG Nexus, the Nasdaq-listed merchant bank formerly known as Fundamental Global, has wound down its Ethereum treasury less than a year after launching it, selling every token and holding no crypto by June 30.
An Aug 12 SEC filing shows its discontinued digital-asset operation lost $45.2 million in the first half, against just $144,000 of staking revenue. That figure is the total loss from the wound-down unit, including ETH markdowns and impairments, not a clean realized sale loss. The firm held more than 50,000 ETH at its peak and pulled in roughly $61 million of cash from the sales.
The board now plans to reallocate that capital into cash-flowing real estate, targeting manufactured-housing parks and a possible tie-up with FG Communities, though that deal is still preliminary.
👉 cryptoslate.com/fg-nexus-dumped-all-its-ethereum-at-a-45-million-loss-to-buy-mobile-home-parks-after-earning-just-144000-in-staking-rewards
SharpLink to stake $200M of ETH through Lido
SharpLink, one of the world's largest corporate holders of ETH, is putting $200 million of it to work through Lido, the biggest liquid-staking protocol on Ethereum.
Lido already accounts for the majority of liquid-staked ETH, with roughly $16.5B staked through it, so a treasury this size leaning in further concentrates staked ETH in the market's dominant protocol.
👉 x.com/Sharplink/status/2087874346698076224
SharpLink, one of the world's largest corporate holders of ETH, is putting $200 million of it to work through Lido, the biggest liquid-staking protocol on Ethereum.
The allocation is roughly 106,000 ETH, about 12% of SharpLink's 888,938 ETH as of Aug 3. It comes back as wstETH held in custody with Anchorage Digital, and adds Lido to the company's existing staking and restaking strategy as it pushes to make its treasury maximally productive for shareholders.
Lido already accounts for the majority of liquid-staked ETH, with roughly $16.5B staked through it, so a treasury this size leaning in further concentrates staked ETH in the market's dominant protocol.
👉 x.com/Sharplink/status/2087874346698076224
Databricks raises $5B at a $190B valuation
AI data company Databricks has closed a $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, a sharp jump from around $134 billion just six months earlier.
The step-up cements Databricks among the most valuable private companies in the world and shows investor appetite for AI infrastructure leaders is still running hot despite bubble worries.
👉 cnbc.com/2026/08/13/databricks-funding-round-190-billion-valuation.html
AI data company Databricks has closed a $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, a sharp jump from around $134 billion just six months earlier.
The round was led by Coatue, with Blackstone, MGX and T. Rowe Price joining alongside existing backers like Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and Temasek. Databricks' annualized revenue run-rate has passed $7 billion, growing more than 80% year over year, as CEO Ali Ghodsi leans hard into the AI boom.
The step-up cements Databricks among the most valuable private companies in the world and shows investor appetite for AI infrastructure leaders is still running hot despite bubble worries.
👉 cnbc.com/2026/08/13/databricks-funding-round-190-billion-valuation.html
Plume and Shinhan to build a tokenized Won bond fund
RWA blockchain Plume has signed an MOU with Shinhan Asset Management, one of Korea's leading managers with about 133.6 trillion won under management, to develop a KRW-denominated tokenized fund.
It is another step in Korea's fast-moving push to tokenize won assets, and follows Plume's earlier work on a KRW1 stablecoin with BDACS as it builds out won-denominated onchain infrastructure.
👉 x.com/plumenetwork/status/2088051107431948450
RWA blockchain Plume has signed an MOU with Shinhan Asset Management, one of Korea's leading managers with about 133.6 trillion won under management, to develop a KRW-denominated tokenized fund.
The proof of concept will put a fund backed by ultra-short-term Won bonds onchain, testing how won-denominated products can move onto blockchain rails. The pilot is set to run in an offshore jurisdiction outside South Korea, working around local restrictions while the two prove out the model.
It is another step in Korea's fast-moving push to tokenize won assets, and follows Plume's earlier work on a KRW1 stablecoin with BDACS as it builds out won-denominated onchain infrastructure.
👉 x.com/plumenetwork/status/2088051107431948450
