Bitcoin tops $72K, Trump backs CLARITY, SEC unveils crypto rules

In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, Bitcoin climbed above $72,000 as more than $3 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass a “fair” CLARITY Act, and the SEC proposed new crypto offering exemptions covering raises of up to $75 million.

Bitcoin clears $72,000 during $3 billion short squeeze

• Bitcoin surged from about $64,100 to more than $72,000 as liquidations across major crypto derivatives exchanges exceeded $3 billion on Aug. 19 and 20. Short positions accounted for approximately $2.77 billion, or 92%, of the forced closures.
• The move followed the U.S. Treasury’s decision to increase the maximum size of long-dated bond buybacks from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation. Binance recorded about $518 million in liquidations, while Hyperliquid processed roughly $513 million.

Trump urges Congress to approve a fair CLARITY Act

• Trump called for a “fair version” of the CLARITY Act during an Aug. 19 White House event attended by executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, Chainlink Labs and other technology companies.
• The bill would divide oversight of the U.S. digital asset market between the SEC and CFTC. Senate negotiations remain divided over ethics provisions, decentralized finance and stablecoin rewards ahead of a Sept. 15 procedural vote requiring 60 votes.

SEC proposes crypto exemption for raises up to $75 million

• The SEC proposed two registration exemptions under Regulation Crypto Assets. One pathway would allow eligible issuers to raise up to $5 million over four years, while another would cover up to $75 million during a 12-month period.
• The proposal also includes a conditional safe harbor that could allow a crypto asset to exit investment-contract treatment after meeting specified conditions. Stakeholders have 60 days to comment, meaning the framework has not taken effect.

Citi prepares institutional Bitcoin custody service

• Citi unveiled its Custody+ platform and said it expects to begin offering institutional digital asset custody later in 2026, starting with Bitcoin. The bank has not disclosed a precise launch date or named participating clients.
• Custody+ will place cryptocurrency and traditional securities within a shared framework that also supports real-time settlement, liquidity services and market information. Citi said more than 80% of its asset-servicing events are already processed in real time.

CFTC prepares crypto rules despite congressional uncertainty

• CFTC Chair Michael Selig said crypto market structure work would continue even if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act. The agency has prepared proposals, although Selig did not identify their content or publication dates.
• Existing law allows the CFTC to regulate derivatives and pursue fraud in spot commodity markets. Congress would still need to expand the agency’s authority before it could routinely supervise crypto spot exchanges under the broader framework envisioned by the bill.

Ethereum reaches $2,448 as ETF inflows return

• Ethereum rose above $2,400 after gaining more than 20% during the week. ETH reached an Aug. 21 intraday high near $2,448 as short liquidations, broader risk appetite and spot ETF demand supported the breakout.
• U.S. spot Ether ETFs attracted $189 million on Aug. 19, their highest daily inflow since October. The daily relative strength index reached 86; however, placing ETH in overbought territory as it approached resistance around $2,450.

XRP gains 17% as Ripple backs XRPL amendment

• XRP gained 17% and reached an intraday high of $1.43 as Ripple voted in favor of the PermissionDelegationV1_1 amendment. U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded $13.24 million in daily net inflows.
• Seven of the 35 validators on the XRP Ledger’s default Unique Node List supported the amendment at the latest count. The proposal must maintain support above 80% for two continuous weeks before it can become active.

Ethena rises 65% following $1 billion FalconX deal

• Ethena’s ENA token gained about 65% during the week and reached an intraday high near $0.145 after Ethena and FalconX opened a $1 billion overcollateralized lending facility using assets backing USDe.
• Bullish comments from BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes also supported demand, according to crypto.news. ENA’s four-hour relative strength index reached 93.97, indicating that the rapid rally had moved into heavily overbought territory.

Securitize launches tokenized high-yield fund

• Securitize launched the HINC tokenized fund with Neuberger serving as subadvisor. The fund will invest mainly in high-yield bonds while also permitting exposure to collateralized loan obligations and leveraged loans.
• Tokenized fund interests will be issued across Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Sui. Access will remain limited to accredited investors and qualified purchasers who complete Securitize’s identity and compliance checks.

FASB proposes stablecoin cash-equivalent treatment

• The Financial Accounting Standards Board proposed three conditions that could allow U.S. companies to present qualifying stablecoins as cash equivalents without changing the existing definition under generally accepted accounting principles.
• Eligible stablecoins would require direct on-demand redemption rights and one-to-one reserves held in segregated accounts containing short-term, highly liquid assets. The proposal remains open for public comments until Nov. 19.

Swift connects two bank tokenized deposit systems

• Swift, HSBC and Standard Chartered completed the first live interbank transaction on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, connecting the banks’ separately operated tokenized deposit platforms.
• The ledger matched and netted payment obligations before final settlement occurred through existing banking systems. Seventeen banks across six continents have joined Swift’s broader pilot, but the organization has not announced a commercial launch date.

X considers USDC for creator payments

• Elon Musk’s X is considering USDC and other stablecoins as possible payment methods for creators while preparing to replace its existing revenue-sharing program.
• X has not selected a token or confirmed that stablecoin payments will launch. The platform’s Original Content Rewards program is scheduled to replace Revenue Sharing on Sept. 8.

Solana Company opposes inflation and fee proposals

• Nasdaq-listed Solana Company supported Solana’s proposed constitution but opposed separate plans to accelerate disinflation and change network fees. Voting on the first three Solana Governance Proposals was scheduled to begin Aug. 22.
• The disinflation proposal could reduce projected issuance by 18.9 million SOL over six years. Solana Company said changing staking and fee rules could discourage institutions, although successful governance votes would guide policy rather than activate the proposals automatically.