SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

Federal prosecutors charge Edward Zimbardi over a $165M crypto Ponzi scheme after his deportation from Fiji. What the case says about custody and fraud risk. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/edward-zimbardi-165m-crypto-ponzi-fiji-deportation-august-2026/

The Blockchain Association wants the SEC to rescind Rules 611 and 610(e), arguing the two-decade-old market structure rules cannot handle tokenized securities. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/blockchain-association-sec-rescind-rules-611-610e-tokenization-august-2026/

Coinbase now lets traders go long or short on all 500 largest US companies in a single perpetual contract, pushing crypto derivatives deeper into stock exposure. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-us500-perps-launch-august-2026/

Ether Fi reports its self-custody crypto card has crossed $2B+ in annualized spend, with steady growth since August 2025. What the milestone means for cardholders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ether-fi-2-billion-annualized-card-volume-august-2026/

Ether Fi expanded its on- and off-ramp network to support 30+ new currencies, giving cardholders more local ways to fund and cash out. Here is what changes for users. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ether-fi-adds-30-currencies-on-off-ramps-august-2026/

Austria's FMA fined Bitpanda EUR 70,000 in the country's first published MiCA enforcement case, a signal that EU regulators are moving from guidance to penalties. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitpanda-mica-enforcement-austria-70000-fine-august-2026/

Goldman Sachs calls a September Fed rate hike very unlikely, citing soft retail sales, cooling inflation and weak jobs data. Here's what it means for Bitcoin at $63,281. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/goldman-sachs-september-fed-rate-hike-unlikely-bitcoin-august-2026/

Stablecoin card top-up volume passed $1 billion in July for the first time, per CryptoRank, as USDC and USDT spending moves from niche to routine. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/stablecoin-card-topup-volume-1-billion-july-august-2026/

Ondo Finance says Ondo Stocks passed $1B in TVL and $27B in cumulative trading volume since its September 2025 launch, a marker for tokenized equities going mainstream. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ondo-stocks-tokenized-1b-tvl-27b-volume-august-2026/

Binance gave Moscow authorities transaction data used to charge a Russian IT specialist over donations to Ukraine, Reuters reports, years after it exited Russia. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/binance-client-data-russian-prosecution-ukraine-donor-august-2026/

Nansen's new API executes trades directly: spot on Solana and Base, perps on Hyperliquid. The on-chain analytics firm now closes the loop from signal to fill. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/nansen-trade-execution-api-solana-base-hyperliquid-august-2026/

Chainalysis has taken the US government to court over a federal contract awarded to rival TRM Labs, escalating a fight over who watches the blockchain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/chainalysis-sues-us-government-trm-labs-contract-august-2026/

Polygon has joined the Bank of England's Digital Pound Lab, adding a public blockchain to the central bank's research into a UK CBDC and digital money infrastructure. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/polygon-bank-of-england-digital-pound-lab-august-2026/

Sono Group's June 30 filing shows $4.1M in Bitcoin against just $166,000 in cash, and auditors have flagged a going-concern doubt over the treasury pivot. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sono-group-bitcoin-treasury-going-concern-166k-cash-august-2026/

The CLARITY Act faces a final Senate vote in September, with banks lobbying to block crypto platforms from paying rewards on stablecoin holdings. Here is the fight. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/clarity-act-stablecoin-yield-senate-vote-september-2026/

EU regulators warn of migration scams as more than 1,700 crypto platforms stop serving the bloc under MiCA. Here is what changed and how fraudsters exploit it. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/mica-migration-scam-warning-1700-platforms-halt-eu-services-august-2026/

SafePal disclosed a breach exposing order information for nearly 40,000 customers, the latest self-custody security incident to hit crypto users in 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/safepal-wallet-data-breach-40000-customers-august-2026/

A Bitcoin mining site saw power prices jump from $10 to $1,000/MWh in 60 minutes, showing how grid shocks can erase mining margins instantly. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitcoin-mining-power-price-spike-100x-single-hour-august-2026/

Israel's largest regulated crypto broker Bits of Gold faces a reported data leak affecting up to 200,000 customers, raising KYC and phishing exposure questions. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bits-of-gold-data-breach-200000-customers-august-2026/

Grayscale's July SEC filings convert Ethereum and Solana staking rewards into cash ETF distributions, just as both networks weigh lower issuance and staking yields. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/grayscale-staking-etf-dividend-ethereum-solana-yield-august-2026/

Payward, Kraken's parent, reported $508M in Q2 2026 revenue but adjusted EBITDA dropped to just $23M, a sign of sharp margin pressure at a top exchange. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kraken-payward-508m-q2-revenue-ebitda-fall-august-2026/

Real-world assets drove 31.7% of Hyperliquid's new users in H1 2026, pulling in 169,000 wallets and signaling real product-market fit for tokenized assets. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/rwas-hyperliquid-fastest-growing-user-driver-august-2026/

The Coinbase Premium Index has stayed negative for a record 90 straight days, per CoinGlass, signaling soft US spot demand as BTC trades near $63,000. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-bitcoin-premium-record-negative-streak-august-2026/

Bitget is rolling out enhanced compliance controls on 16 sanctioned entities in three waves through August 23, mirroring Binance. Here is what it means for users. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitget-sanctions-compliance-controls-htx-exmo-august-2026/

Paul Tudor Jones' investment firm increased its stake in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF after a year of selling, a notable reversal from a macro trader who called BTC a hedge. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/paul-tudor-jones-firm-increases-bitcoin-etf-stake-august-2026/