SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

KuCoin Pay rolled out a Gift Card letting businesses send USDT and USDC in bulk via API for rewards, payroll, and loyalty. What it means for stablecoin payments. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kucoin-pay-gift-card-stablecoin-distribution-august-2026/

Nasdaq-listed SharpLink Gaming staked another 39,319 ETH, per Lookonchain, deepening a corporate bet on Ethereum as ETH trades near $2,424 on August 21, 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sharplink-gaming-stakes-39319-eth-treasury-august-2026/

Bitcoin trades near $77,600 as of August 21, 2026, up 21% since a Treasury buyback announcement revived the dollar-debasement trade. Glassnode data breaks it down. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-21-percent-treasury-buyback-dollar-debasement-august-2026/

US prosecutors added defendants to an Iran-linked hacking case, tying six to HBO's 2017 breach and a Bitcoin ransom demand that climbed to about $6 million. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/doj-iran-hacking-case-17-defendants-hbo-bitcoin-ransom-august-2026/

Japan approved Laser Digital Japan for a crypto license, its first new grant in four years, clearing the Nomura-backed firm to supply liquidity to domestic providers. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/japan-first-new-crypto-license-four-years-laser-digital-august-2026/

Trump says CFTC Chair Michael Selig is working to bring the $200B on-chain venue Hyperliquid onshore, forcing regulators to define a legal on-chain exchange. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/trump-cftc-onshore-hyperliquid-onchain-exchange-rules-august-2026/

Bitdeer AI has contracted roughly half its new Malaysia data center under a 5-year, ~$400M offtake deal and is targeting 350MW of AI cloud capacity by Q1 2028. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitdeer-400m-malaysia-data-center-ai-offtake-august-2026/

MANTRA Chain stopped block production and froze every transaction on August 21, 2026 after an unidentified incident, leaving OM holders locked out mid-rally. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/mantra-chain-halts-network-freezes-transactions-august-2026/

The SEC cleared Franklin Templeton's ETFs and mutual funds to invest in its blockchain-based money market fund, a US first that folds tokenized assets into mainstream portfolios. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/franklin-templeton-sec-tokenized-money-market-fund-etfs-august-2026/

CFTC Commissioner Mike Selig says the agency will use existing authority to regulate crypto asset markets if the CLARITY Act stalls. Here is what that means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/cftc-mike-selig-unilateral-crypto-regime-clarity-act-stalls-august-2026/

Nexo named Buenos Aires its regional hub, betting on Argentina where it says only 2% of tech workers are paid in pesos. What it means for cardholders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/nexo-buenos-aires-regional-hub-argentina-august-2026/

Injective says it is the first Layer 1 blockchain registered as an SEC transfer agent, a records role that could let tokenized securities settle on-chain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/injective-first-l1-sec-transfer-agent-rwa-tokenization-august-2026/

Kraken froze as much as $4.2M in user funds tied to an HTX-linked address-poisoning campaign. Here is how the scam works and how to avoid it. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kraken-freezes-4-2m-htx-address-poisoning-august-2026/

13F filings show 12 of Strategy's top 15 institutional holders added to their MSTR positions in Q2, a vote of confidence in Saylor's Bitcoin bet. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/strategy-top-institutional-holders-add-mstr-q2-august-2026/

BitGo Korea is the first foreign majority-owned firm to secure VASP registration from South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit, opening a tightly guarded market. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitgo-korea-first-foreign-vasp-registration-august-2026/

Changpeng Zhao pushed back on Trump's reported plan to bring Hyperliquid to the US, arguing crypto policy cannot be written for a single company or project. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/cz-challenges-trump-hyperliquid-single-company-policy-august-2026/

President Trump says he terminated Operation Choke Point 2, the alleged pressure campaign that cut crypto firms off from US banks. Here is what changes. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/trump-ends-operation-choke-point-2-war-on-crypto-august-2026/

Nexo says it secured a lending authorization in Australia and launched crypto-backed Credit Lines, but its announcement did not identify the regulator, licence number, entity, or scope. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/nexo-lending-license-australia-credit-lines-august-2026/

A sharp market reversal wiped out $1.74 billion in bearish bets, the second-biggest short squeeze in crypto history, as ETH jumped 17.8% and BTC reclaimed $69K. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-short-liquidations-1-74-billion-second-largest-august-2026/

Kraken's Krak Card is now available to US customers, the exchange said, after issuing nearly 135,000 cards across its earlier markets. Here is what changes for spenders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kraken-krak-card-us-launch-135000-issued-august-2026/

HSBC and Standard Chartered completed the first live tokenized deposit transaction on Swift's blockchain ledger, per CoinDesk. Here's what it signals for settlement. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hsbc-standard-chartered-tokenized-deposit-swift-ledger-august-2026/

Ethena has added a $1 billion FalconX facility to back USDe collateral, cutting its reliance on volatile funding rates. Here is what changes for the stablecoin. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ethena-usde-falconx-1-billion-facility-august-2026/

Fidelity Digital Assets says Bitcoin's volatility is now lower than roughly 98.5% of all days in its history, with BTC near $64,600 as of August 19, 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-volatility-historic-low-fidelity-august-2026/

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt says he is optimistic the CLARITY Act will pass, with a September 15 cloture vote now the target for the market structure bill. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/clarity-act-cloture-vote-september-15-white-house-bullish-august-2026/

Bitcoin fell 14.2% in Q2 2026 yet institutional ETF holdings rose 7.5%, per CryptoSlate. Banks added, hedge funds trimmed and sovereign holders sat still. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-q2-selloff-banks-bought-hedge-funds-cut-august-2026/