Friday’s tape mixed soft U.S. jobs chatter with a denser policy and security stack. Treasury’s OFAC designated Iranian-linked crypto rails under its Economic Fury campaign, while the CFTC warned event-contract venues that casino-style “American” odds can mislead customers. A Michigan federal judge denied Coinbase’s bid to block state enforcement over sports event contracts, and Trump Media filed to unwind its Crypto.com / Yorkville CRO treasury plan.
Operators also had homework: BTCPay told LND users to patch to 2.4.2 after live theft via exposed macaroon credentials. Product news stayed busy too, from VanEck adding BitGo as a second BNB ETF custodian to Fold naming Lead Bank, Sui’s post-quantum key path, and Flash Trade shopping a Solana perps exit. As of 00:25 UTC on Aug. 8, our market snapshot showed Bitcoin near $64,810 (+0.9% 24h), Ether near $1,912 (+0.5%), and Solana near $73.59 (+1.4%).
OFAC sanctions Shelbit and Aban Tether in Iran crypto crackdown
The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC designated Shelbit Exchange networks tied to Siavash Kayvanpour and Iran-based Aban Tether, saying the platforms helped launder digital assets linked to the IRGC and other illicit finance. Treasury said IRGC-linked wallets moved more than $3 million equivalent through Shelbit corridors in both directions, and it flagged secondary sanctions risk for counterparties. The action sits inside the administration’s Economic Fury / NSPM-2 pressure campaign and was coordinated with IRS Criminal Investigation.
CFTC warns event markets against casino-style American odds
CFTC Market Oversight and Market Participants staff reminded firms that list, solicit, or accept event contracts not to mislead consumers on pricing. The Aug. 7 release says displaying “American” bookmaker odds is likely to confuse users about whether they are trading a CFTC-regulated event contract versus a high-margin gambling product, and that misleading pricing can implicate anti-manipulation rules. Staff pointed markets to a related Misleading or Deceptive Practices letter for the detailed standard.
Michigan judge denies Coinbase injunction on sports event contracts
U.S. District Judge Shalina Kumar (E.D. Mich.) denied Coinbase Financial Markets’ preliminary injunction seeking to block Michigan gambling enforcers from acting against sports event contracts offered via Kalshi. The Aug. 6 order finds Coinbase did not show a likelihood of success on its claim that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts the state’s Lawful Sports Betting Act. The ruling keeps state pressure alive even as federal prediction-market oversight tightens elsewhere.
Trump Media and Crypto.com unwind CRO treasury and ETF plans
Trump Media’s Aug. 7 Form 8-K says the parties mutually terminated the business combination meant to create Trump Media Group CRO Strategy with Yorkville Acquisition and Crypto.com, citing market conditions. A companion press release also drops the plan for Crypto.com to service certain Yorkville America ETF offerings. Separately, Crypto.com and Trump Media said they will replace a direct Truth Social prediction-market integration with a marketing agreement aimed at Truth Social users.
BTCPay Server’s Aug. 7 advisory tells operators on LND to update immediately to version 2.4.2 after confirming a critical flaw that let unauthenticated attackers pull .macaroon credential files and move Lightning funds. The project says attackers already exploited the bug and stole funds, while on-chain BTCPay wallets are not the impacted surface. Non-LND Lightning setups are outside the credential theft path, but BTCPay still urges everyone below 2.4.2 to upgrade.
VanEck BNB ETF names BitGo as second BNB custodian
VanEck BNB ETF filed an Aug. 7 Form 8-K saying sponsor VanEck Digital Assets, as agent for the trust, signed a custodial services agreement dated Aug. 5 with BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. BitGo becomes a second BNB custodian alongside the trust’s existing setup, with deposit and withdrawal rails to public blockchain addresses. The filing attaches the BitGo agreement as Exhibit 10.1 for the full commercial terms.
Fold Holdings said in an Aug. 6 press release filed on Form 8-K that it selected FDIC-insured Lead Bank to support accounts, deposits, withdrawals, and bitcoin trading as it expands everyday bitcoin financial products. CEO Will Reeves framed the tie-up as infrastructure for a fuller financial-services platform rather than a one-off rail swap. The company is the first publicly traded bitcoin financial services firm to highlight this banking step in the current print.
Sui adds NIST post-quantum signatures without new seed phrases
The Sui Foundation said the network is adding two NIST-approved post-quantum signature schemes so accounts can move to quantum-safe keys derived from the recovery phrase users already hold. The Aug. 6 post frames the change as a wallet-address-preserving upgrade path rather than a forced key rotation. That matters for long-lived accounts that want quantum readiness without reshuffling recovery UX.
Flash Trade plans Solana perps wind-down unless a buyer appears
Solana perpetuals venue Flash Trade said it will wind down unless it finds a buyer for its tech stack, brand, and IP, arguing the call is about market direction and ethics rather than cash needs. Any sale proceeds would go to FAF holders pro rata, with team tokens excluded, and withdrawals stay open while timelines get set with token holders. The team also lifted its three-month staking delay so holders can unstake immediately while it explores the exit.
