The past seven days were quite tumultuous, to say the least. The cryptocurrency market went through a period of enhanced volatility, and even though Bitcoin is trading flat at the end of it, this doesn’t show the full picture.

This time last week, BTC was going through a considerable correction, which resulted in a crash to around $112,000 on August 2nd. From there, the price attempted to recover and pushed above $115K a day later, but the sellers weren’t having it and initiated another serious assault, which resuled in a drop below $113,000.

That’s when the situation started to turn. Bitcoin was able to recover and started consolidating above $114K before the first important news of the week took place. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, which aims to permit Americans to include Bitcoin and other digital assets in their 401(k) retirement plans. The policy wants to expand individual investment freedom, while also reducing government control over retirement assets, citing the potentially greater returns alternative investments can deliver.

Bitcoin, alongside the rest of the market boomed on the news, but what happened next was a sight to behold for a huge community within the crypto industry.

Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reached a turning point. Both parties filed a joint stipulation seeking a dismissal of the appeals. The case is more or less over, pending an approval of the court. This ends a more than 5-year old legal dispute which has put the classification of crypto assets as securities or commodities in the spotlight. A lot of it took place during Biden’s administration, when the former Chairman of the US SEC – Gary Gensler – was regulating by enforcement.

In any case, many of the altcoins have charted considerable gains during the last seven days. Ethereum is up by 9% and is currently trading just slightly below $4,000, while XRP itself is up by about 6%. Cardano’s ADA is up by 9.6%, Stellar’s XLM i sup by 11%, and so forth.

it’s interesting to see if Bitcoin will continue losing its grounds or if another rally would leave the altcoins in the dust.

Market Data

Market Cap: $3.92T | 24H Vol: $154B | BTC Dominance: 58.8%

BTC: $115,977 (+0.5%) | ETH: $3,937 (+9%) | XRP: $3.22 (+6%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Trump Signs Executive Order to Allow Bitcoin and Crypto in 401(k)s. US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to allow Bitcoin and other digital and alternative assets into US 401(k) retirement plans.

XRP’s Price Skyrockets by 13% as Ripple and SEC Drop Court Battle. The case between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs, spanning for more than 5 years, is about to end. Both parties have agreed to withdraw their appeals.

Bitcoin Miners Weather the Storm: No Capitulation in Sight at 7.4% Price Surge. Bitcoin miners are holding strong as prices increase by 7.4% from the last difficulty bottom. They are showing no signs of capitulation, despite the ongoing market turmoil.

Massive Bitcoin Price Prediction by Arthur Hayes: Calls for BTC at $250K. The co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, has made yet another massive Bitcoin price prediction, calling for $250,000 because of incoming money printing in the United States.

Roman Storm Convicted in Tornado Cash Case. Tornado Cash developer, Roman Storm, has been found guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He wasn’t found guilty on the two other counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Vitalik Buterin, Anders Elowsson Propose EIP-7999 for Ethereum Fee Overhaul. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and developer Anders Elowsson have introduced EIP-799, which aims to overhaul the network’s fee structure by unifying multiple resource costs under a single maximum fee.

Charts

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Hyperliquid – click here for the complete price analysis.

[PRESS RELEASE – New York, USA, August 8th, 2025]

Streamex Exchange Corporation, a gold-tokenization platform integrating physical bullion into the digital economy, announced today its plan to integrate the stability of physical gold into the digital economy, introducing a regulated, blockchain-based asset designed to be programmable, liquid, and borderless.

The company’s leadership combines financial market strategy and mining industry expertise. Henry McPhee, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, oversees the platform’s macro-financial direction, while Morgan Lekstrom, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, brings more than two decades of international mining experience. Together, their combined backgrounds in Wall Street strategy, global mining operations, and blockchain infrastructure provide Streamex with a foundation for advancing its gold-tokenization initiative.

Henry McPhee – The Strategist Behind the Vision

McPhee has established a reputation for anticipating macroeconomic turning points and building compliant, investor-ready platforms to address them. Under his leadership, Streamex has:

• Secured over $1.1 billion in financing commitments to build its gold-backed digital currency platform.
• Executed a strategic merger with BioSig Technologies, shifting the NASDAQ-listed company from biotech to digital asset infrastructure.
• Acquired a FINRA- and SEC-registered broker-dealer to ensure full regulatory compliance for issuance, trading, and custody of tokenized assets.

“Henry is building the foundation for a parallel financial system,” noted one market analyst. “It’s gold’s return to center stage, but in a way that will integrate seamlessly into both existing financial networks and emerging digital economies.”

Morgan Lekstrom – Mining Expertise Driving Digital Gold

Mr. Lekstrom brings over 20 years of mining industry experience spanning executive leadership, project development, operations, and engineering. He has a proven track record of delivering growth and transformation, most recently building NexGold Mining Corp. into a near-term Canadian gold producer with a clear path to constructing two new Canadian gold mines.

This was achieved through strategic deleveraging, debt restructuring, and a new corporate direction that included multiple back-to-back mergers and acquisitions, first of Blackwolf Copper and Gold Ltd., then Treasury Metals Inc., and later Signal Gold Inc. in 2024.

His career also includes senior technical and leadership roles at major international projects:

• Contributing to operations at Freeport McMoran’s Grasberg site in Indonesia.
• Supporting engineering and development at Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi Project in Mongolia.
• Leading redevelopment efforts for an underground mine in Ghana, West Africa, with Golden Star Resources.
• Serving as Engineering Manager at Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. in Canada.

Mr. Lekstrom’s breadth of experience across continents and mining methods ensures Streamex’s gold-backed tokens are supported by robust sourcing, operational integrity, and industry best practices.

Advancing a New Monetary Instrument

Streamex’s gold-tokenization platform is designed to offer a programmable, liquid, and borderless store of value, backed by audited, vault-held physical gold. Tokens are fractionalized, instantly transferable, and built to integrate seamlessly with both decentralized finance (DeFi) networks and traditional financial markets.

“This is more than a technology initiative, it is a shift in how gold can participate in global capital flows,” said Henry McPhee, Co-Founder and CEO of Streamex. “Morgan’s depth of mining expertise strengthens our ability to connect physical reserves with the transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of blockchain technology.”

By securing a NASDAQ listing, Streamex operates under established U.S. regulatory oversight, positioning itself uniquely among tokenization initiatives. This structure provides institutional investors with a compliant pathway to engage in real-world asset tokenization, while reinforcing market confidence.

Why the Timing Matters

Global macroeconomic conditions, marked by inflationary pressures, currency volatility, and increasing demand for stable, asset-backed digital instruments, create a fertile environment for gold-based tokenization. Streamex’s model addresses these conditions by delivering a compliant, scalable bridge between commodity markets and the blockchain economy.

About Streamex

Streamex Exchange Corporation is a real-world asset tokenization company specializing in commodities. The company’s infrastructure supports the issuance, trading, and settlement of blockchain-based assets backed by physical reserves, beginning with gold. Led by a team of seasoned executives from the financial, commodities, and blockchain industries, Streamex’s mission is to bring commodity markets on-chain, enhancing liquidity, accessibility, and transparency for investors and institutions worldwide.

About Streamex Exchange Corporation

Streamex is a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization company focused in the commodities space. With the goal to bring commodity markets on chain, Streamex has developed primary issuance and exchange infrastructure that will revolutionize commodity finance. Streamex is led by a group of highly successful and seasoned executives from financial, commodities and blockchain industries.

Streamex believes the future of finance lies in tokenization, innovative investment strategies, and decentralized markets. By merging advanced financial technologies with blockchain transparency, Streamex has created infrastructure and solutions that enhance liquidity, accessibility, and efficiency. Streamex’s goal is to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital economy, unlocking new opportunities for investors and institutions worldwide.

Paxos has agreed to pay $48.5 million to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

This is to resolve allegations related to inadequate due diligence on its former partner, Binance, and failures in its anti-money laundering program.

NYDFS Probe Finds Paxos Lacked Oversight

According to an August 7 press release, the terms of the settlement require the stablecoin issuer to pay a $26.5 million fine and invest $22 million in its compliance program. Paxos previously issued the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin until 2023, when the NYDFS ordered it to stop over the exchange’s poor geofencing and sanctions controls. According to the regulator, the action was the “first orderly wind down of a stablecoin.”

“Regulated entities must maintain appropriate risk management frameworks that correspond to their business risks, which includes relationships with business partners and third-party vendors,” said Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris.

Paxos, licensed in 2015 as a limited-purpose trust company, was authorized to operate in the virtual currency space. It later entered a partnership with Binance to issue, market, and distribute BUSD.

As part of its regulatory obligations, the firm was required to conduct regular due diligence on Binance. However, New York’s financial watchdog found that it did not have proper controls in place to monitor for serious illegal activity happening on or through the exchange. It also failed to escalate red flags to its senior management and board.

One key issue was Binance’s “lax geofencing,” which allowed users in the U.S. to access its unlicensed exchange. A review of historical transactions between 2017 and 2022, focusing on selected digital assets, revealed that approximately $1.6 billion that moved through it was linked to criminal activity. The investigation also found that the platform had processed payments involving entities that had already been sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Compliance Issues

Beyond its shortcomings with Binance, the New York regulator also found that Paxos had been running a weak compliance program for years. The company’s Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures were described as “unsophisticated,” allowing users with shared addresses, overlapping documents, and suspicious behavior to open multiple accounts undetected.

Its poor transaction monitoring system also failed to catch clear signs of money laundering. Authorities noted that the firm had no clear rules for launching investigations after receiving law enforcement requests, which further delayed the detection of illicit activity on the platform.

Paxos has since moved to rebrand itself as a compliance-focused blockchain infrastructure provider. The company has stated that the issues identified were historical, have been fully resolved, and did not impact customer accounts. It continues to operate other regulated stablecoins, including Pax Dollar (USDP) and PayPal USD (PYUSD).