Finance and Business News page 18

The state-backed stablecoin drops its prior cross-chain protocol in favor of Chainlink following an audit of its infrastructure. Wyoming has completed a migration of its state-issued Frontier Stable Token to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, known as CCIP. The change was reported by CryptoBriefing and crypto.news on August 18 and 19, 2026, respectively.

The asset manager attributes the crash to excess leverage, not a failure of Bitcoin's investment case. Bitcoin has lost half its value from recent peak levels, a decline severe enough to test the conviction of even its largest institutional backers.

The crypto market structure bill is stuck in what the executive calls 'August recess purgatory,' with midterm elections looming. The Solana Policy Institute's chief executive has offered a blunt assessment of the Clarity Act's prospects. He said the bill is sitting in what he called August recess purgatory.

The prediction market platform is asking regulators to greenlight perpetual contracts tied to the US500 index and copper prices. Kalshi has submitted a filing to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission seeking approval to list perpetual futures contracts.

Crypto derivative markets flagged a valuation four times Unitree's $9B IPO price, but the actual stock opening outran even that forecast. Unitree, a robotics company known for humanoid machines, priced its initial public offering at roughly $9 billion.

The joint petition seeks a formal regulatory framework covering derivatives tied to private company valuations before they go public. The Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] have petitioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create a formal framework for pre-IPO perpetual contracts.

The US accounting standard-setter has outlined conditions under which certain stablecoins could be classified as cash equivalents on corporate balance sheets. The Financial Accounting Standards Board, the body that sets US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, has proposed new guidance addressing how stablecoins should be classified on corporate financial statements.

CoinTurk News EN and CryptoBriefing both report Bitcoin's fall below $60,000 amid ETF outflows and AI-driven equity rotation, but give different figures for the total ETF outflows. CoinTurk News EN and CryptoBriefing both report Bitcoin's fall below $60,000 amid ETF outflows and AI-driven equity rotation, but give different figures for the total ETF outflows.

The initiative signals a fresh push to bring traditional finance players into Compound's lending markets. The Compound Foundation has announced approval of a $52 million program directed at institutional decentralized finance activity. Coinfomania and crypto.news both reported the development, framing it as a new institutional-focused initiative tied to the Compound protocol.

A new swap engine aims to connect Canton's institutional ledger with major public blockchains and Robinhood's in-house chain FalconX has partnered with Interstice to link the Canton Network to three separate blockchain environments. The connections cover Ethereum, Solana and Robinhood Chain, according to reports from Cointelegraph and CryptoBriefing.

A political action committee funded by the two crypto firms spent heavily on a Florida congressional contest while campaign messaging largely avoided digital asset policy. A political action committee funded by Ripple and Coinbase has spent about $2 million on a congressional race in Florida, according to reports from Cointelegraph and CryptoBriefing.

Ripple's chief legal officer says the mid-September date will signal whether the crypto market structure bill can clear the Senate. Ripple's top lawyer has put a specific date on the calendar for anyone tracking crypto's biggest pending piece of legislation.

The agency's plan includes new fundraising exemptions, marking a notable shift in its approach to digital assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission has put forward a proposed rulebook for crypto assets, according to Bitcoin Magazine. The plan arrives as the Clarity Act, legislation designed to settle jurisdictional questions over digital assets, remains stuck in Congress.

A $56 million short squeeze added fuel as Bitcoin tracked a broader recovery in equities tied to easing US-Iran tensions. Bitcoin reached $65,000 on Tuesday, moving in tandem with a rebound in US equities.

The bank's analysts point to sustained demand for AI processors as the driver behind their bullish call. Bank of America has issued a price target of $350 per share for Nvidia, according to a report cited by CryptoBriefing on August 18.

The bank plans to fold digital asset custody into its Custody+ platform, with a rollout targeted later in 2026. Citi is preparing to launch a bitcoin custody service for institutional clients, according to reports published August 18.

The agency's plan arrives as lawmakers remain stalled on broader digital asset legislation. The Securities and Exchange Commission has put forward a new set of proposed rules addressing crypto asset investment contracts. Investing.com Crypto reported the proposal on Monday, framing it as a formal regulatory step for digital asset offerings.

With comprehensive market-structure legislation stuck in the Senate, federal regulators are moving to write their own crypto rules Federal financial regulators under the Trump administration are moving to shape crypto policy through agency action rather than wait for Congress.