Category: Business

OKX has scheduled the removal of six GODS, PRCL and DUCK spot trading pairs while suspending deposits for the affected tokens from Aug. 7 and setting Nov. 7 as the withdrawal deadline.

According to an OKX announcement, the exchange will remove three margin-settled spot pairs GODS/USD, PRCL/USD, and DUCK/USD, between 16:00 and 18:00 UTC on Aug. 14. Three additional spot pairs quoted in $USDT and EUR will follow three days later, with GODS/$USDT, PRCL/$USDT and DUCK/$USDT scheduled for delisting during the same two-hour window on Aug. 17.

The exchange has also introduced a phased timeline for the affected assets. Deposits for GODS, PRCL and DUCK stopped at 16:00 UTC on Aug. 7, while withdrawals for the three tokens will remain available until 16:00 UTC on Nov. 7.

OKX has split the trading pair removals across two dates

Rather than removing all markets at once, the exchange has divided the delisting into two stages.

On Aug. 14, users will lose access to GODS/USD, PRCL/USD and DUCK/USD trading pairs. Three days later, OKX will remove GODS/$USDT, PRCL/$USDT and PRCL/EUR alongside DUCK/$USDT, completing the process for all six spot markets listed in the notice.

At the same time, the exchange has already halted deposits for the related assets, preventing users from transferring additional GODS, PRCL or DUCK tokens onto the platform. Withdrawals remain available for another three months before closing in November, giving holders additional time to move their assets elsewhere.

The announcement did not state the reason for removing the trading pairs.

Deposit suspension starts before withdrawal deadline

The published timetable separates trading, deposits and withdrawals into different stages.

Deposit services for the affected cryptocurrencies ended first on Aug. 7. Trading activity will continue until the scheduled delisting windows in mid-August, after which the listed spot pairs will no longer be available.

Withdrawal support, however, will continue until Nov. 7, providing a longer period for customers who still hold the affected tokens after trading ends.

Crypto exchanges commonly separate delisting from withdrawal deadlines, allowing users to transfer assets after markets have been removed. In this case, OKX has provided nearly three months between the end of deposits and the final withdrawal cutoff.

OKX continues operational changes across multiple markets

The latest asset removals come during a period of operational updates across several regions.

Earlier in July, Digital Asset reported that the OKX Android application had returned to South Korea’s Google Play Store after a four-day suspension, making it the first recently restricted overseas crypto exchange to regain access on the platform. The restoration followed Google’s temporary removal of the app, while exchanges such as Bybit remained unavailable in the Korean Play Store.

Digital Asset had previously found that dozens of overseas exchange applications became inaccessible on Google Play as South Korea tightened oversight of overseas virtual asset service providers operating without local registration.

Although some exchanges had been identified by the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit as unreported VASPs, the publication reported that Google’s restrictions also affected several platforms that were not included on the FIU’s published enforcement list.

Outside South Korea, OKX has continued expanding regulated services in Europe. In July, the exchange launched a one-way $USDT-to-$USDC conversion service for eligible customers across 30 European Union and European Economic Area countries operating under its Markets in Crypto-Assets license.

The service allows users to deposit $USDT and voluntarily convert their holdings into MiCA-compliant $USDC as European exchanges reduce support for Tether’s stablecoin following the regulation’s implementation.

OKX has also expanded its institutional strategy

Operational changes have coincided with new corporate developments at the exchange.

Last month, OKX appointed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to its board of directors after he had advised the company on U.S. regulatory and institutional strategy since 2023. According to the company, the appointment formalized an existing relationship as OKX continued expanding its U.S. operations following the relaunch of its U.S. exchange and self-custody wallet in 2025.

The company has also continued working with Intercontinental Exchange through a planned joint venture focused on blockchain-based financial products. According to OKX, Cuomo will remain co-chair of the initiative, which is intended to combine ICE’s market infrastructure with the exchange’s blockchain technology, subject to regulatory approvals.

Upbit and Bithumb, two leading cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, have announced differing decisions regarding the popular meme coin Bonk ($BONK). Upbit announced it will end support for $BONK trading on its platform, while Bithumb announced it has removed the token from its delist watchlist.

According to an announcement by Upbit, $BONK will be delisted from the exchange on September 7th at 09:00. Following this decision, users will need to follow the processes related to $BONK transactions and asset transfers. Delisting means that the trading pairs for the cryptocurrency are removed from the platform, and users will no longer be able to trade with that asset.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea regularly evaluate the digital assets they list based on specific criteria. Factors such as trading volume, liquidity, project activity, investor protection, technical developments, and market conditions can influence listing and delisting decisions.

On the other hand, Bithumb took a more positive step regarding $BONK, unlike Upbit. The exchange announced that it had removed $BONK from its delisted watchlist. This marks a step towards ending the trading warning previously applied to $BONK on Bithumb.

The fact that two major South Korean exchanges made different decisions about the same asset reveals that cryptocurrency projects are evaluated individually by exchanges. A delisting decision by one exchange does not automatically mean that the token will be removed from other platforms.

$BONK, as one of the leading meme coins in the Solana ecosystem, particularly attracts the attention of individual investors. Since meme coins generally exhibit high volatility in price movements, listing or delisting decisions on major exchanges can have significant effects on token price and trading volume.

As Upbit’s delisting decision on September 7th approaches, market participants are expected to closely monitor $BONK’s trading status on other South Korean exchanges and any potential new announcements. Bithumb’s decision to remove it from its watchlist indicates that the token’s current trading support on that platform continues.

*This is not investment advice.

The U.S. Senate’s decision to postpone a vote on the Clarity Act until September has drawn a measured response from the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), with CEO Ji Kim emphasizing that the setback will not derail the industry’s push for clearer regulations. The delay, first reported by The Block, marks a procedural hurdle but not a change in the broader legislative trajectory, according to Kim.

Context: What the Clarity Act Aims to Address

The Clarity Act, formally known as the Clarity for Digital Assets Act, seeks to define which federal agency—the SEC or the CFTC—has jurisdiction over digital assets, a long-standing ambiguity that has created compliance headaches for crypto firms. The bill’s proponents argue that clear rules would foster innovation while protecting consumers, and its progress is closely watched by industry stakeholders. The Senate’s decision to push the vote to September reflects the crowded legislative calendar, but Kim stressed that the CCI’s advocacy efforts remain active.

Industry Response and Strategic Implications

Kim’s statement, “our efforts will not stop here,” underscores the crypto industry’s resilience in the face of legislative delays. The CCI, which represents major players like Coinbase and Circle, has been a vocal advocate for tailored regulation. While the delay is disappointing, it does not signal a loss of momentum; rather, it provides additional time for lawmakers to refine the bill and for industry stakeholders to engage in further dialogue. The postponement also comes amid broader global discussions on crypto regulation, with the European Union’s MiCA framework serving as a comparative model.

Why This Matters for Crypto Adoption

Regulatory clarity is critical for institutional adoption and mainstream confidence. The ongoing uncertainty has led some firms to relocate or pause operations, and each delay extends that period of ambiguity. However, the fact that the bill is still on the legislative agenda indicates bipartisan interest in addressing the issue. For everyday users and investors, the outcome of the Clarity Act could influence everything from trading platforms to tax reporting requirements.

Conclusion

The Clarity Act’s postponement to September is a tactical delay, not a strategic defeat. Ji Kim’s reaffirmation of the Crypto Council for Innovation’s commitment signals that industry efforts will persist, with the goal of achieving a regulatory framework that supports innovation while ensuring consumer protection. As the legislative process moves forward, stakeholders will be watching closely for any amendments or new developments that could shape the final outcome.

FAQs

Q1: What is the Clarity Act?
The Clarity Act is a proposed U.S. law designed to clarify whether the SEC or the CFTC has regulatory authority over digital assets, aiming to reduce uncertainty for crypto businesses and investors.

Q2: Why was the vote delayed?
The Senate postponed the vote to September, likely due to a crowded legislative calendar and the need for further deliberation, though the exact reasons were not specified in the initial reports.

Q3: How does the delay affect the crypto industry?
The delay extends the period of regulatory uncertainty, but industry leaders like the CCI remain committed to pushing for clear rules, and the postponement provides more time for advocacy and refinement of the bill.

$SKYAI is showing little sign of slowing down. The token has recorded another 30% surge in price over the past 24 hours. This builds on yesterday’s breakout and extends one of the strongest short-term advances in the market.

Notably, the latest move has pushed $SKYAI out of its pennant consolidation pattern that has held since the 3rd of May, confirming a bullish continuation after weeks of compressed price action.

The breakout is also being backed by improving sentiment beyond the chart.

Social activity and derivatives are moving together

Investor attention around $SKYAI has also accelerated sharply this month.

The token’s social dominance has climbed steadily since the beginning of August, reflecting a growing share of discussions across crypto communities.

Moreover, $SKYAI’s rising social activity accompanies a strong trend. This alignment usually comes before an explosive price move.

The derivatives market metrics speak the same language. $SKYAI’s OI-Weighted Funding Rate has doubled to 0.0219%, indicating traders are increasingly willing to pay a premium to maintain long positions.

The Funding Rate surge comes alongside expanding Open Interest. In turn, this suggests fresh capital continues entering the market instead of existing traders simply rotating positions.

When combined, the two metrics point to strengthening the altcoin bullish conviction.

Can buyers keep control?

The technical structure remains firmly in favor of the bulls.

After breaking above its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), $SKYAI has now completed a bullish pennant breakout. This has turned a former consolidation into a launchpad for higher prices.

The unfilled market gap between $0.150 and $0.245 stands out as the main target. The next challenge is whether buyers can sustain the pace of the advance without triggering widespread profit-taking.

All in all, a confirmed breakout, rising social engagement, and strengthening derivatives positioning all support the bullish bias.

If fresh demand continues flowing into both the Spot and Futures markets, $SKYAI could extend its recovery. It could also continue working toward the $0.15 imbalance zone, the next major area where sellers are likely to emerge.

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Final Summary

• $SKYAI breaks from pennant as social dominance and bullish momentum strengthen across markets.
• Funding Rate doubles, keeping the $0.15 imbalance zone firmly within bulls’ sights.

Negative trading fees are rare in crypto. They are practically unheard of outside futures markets, where makers get tiny rebates for providing order-book depth. Offering users cash back on spot trades of traditional finance assets is a different play entirely. That is exactly what $HTX runs now. On August 5, the exchange launched the second phase of its TradFi Trade to Earn campaign, the original announcement confirms, bringing negative fee rates to 28 handpicked TradFi assets and dangling an $80,000 prize pool for participants.

The structure is built to pull traders who normally sit on broker platforms. By letting them trade tokenized stocks, ETFs, and similar instruments with negative fees, $HTX is essentially paying customers to provide liquidity on pairs that historically struggle for volume on crypto-native venues. That flips the standard exchange model: the venue absorbs the cost to seed activity while hoping to lock in market share before competitors catch up.

Negative Fees and a Market Share Grab

Most exchanges responded to the last bear market by cutting fees to near zero. Crypto.com and Binance stripped maker fees on certain pairs; Bybit and OKX layered zero-fee zones into their spot offerings. But going negative on TradFi instruments marks a new level of aggression. It suggests the cost of acquiring a trader now outweighs the near-term revenue from their transactions. $HTX is not just promising to reduce friction. It is paying cash out of pocket to attract volume.

For a market where liquidation volumes are thin and directional conviction is weak, campaigns like this act as pump-primers. The 28 assets selected likely include synthetic stock exposures, major commodity-linked tokens, and proxy instruments on U.S. and European equity indices. If $HTX can keep the feeds stable and settle fast enough, retail traders may overlook the hidden costs common in tokenized equity products: wider spreads, funding rates that drift overnight, and tracking errors that eat into returns.

The TradFi Push on Crypto Exchanges

The move fits a larger pattern. Centralized exchanges are racing to offer real-world asset exposure now that real-world assets on-chain crossed $20 billion in total value locked. Stock-settled tokenization is still a regulatory minefield outside specific jurisdictions, but the appetite from traders is real. $HTX, like other offshore venues, can experiment with synthetic exposure in ways that U.S.-domiciled platforms cannot. If regulators eventually clarify tokenized security rules, exchanges with existing TradFi order books will have a first-mover advantage.

At the same time, the campaign reveals an uncomfortable reality about the exchange sector. Traffic is increasingly driven by incentives rather than product quality. When Binance launchpad draws billions, copycat platforms rush their own token-sale events. When Solana-based DEXs flaunt zero-fee trading, centralized venues answer with negative fees. The danger is that margins keep compressing until only the largest players survive, making the market look more like a utility than a growth sector.

What Traders Should Watch

The immediate question is sustainability. An $80,000 prize pool is manageable marketing spend, but sustained negative fees across 28 pairs implies a real cost base against thin revenue elsewhere. If $HTX cannot convert these users into fee-paying customers on perpetuals, options, or its $HTX token ecosystem, the campaign becomes a cash drain. Past trade-to-earn rounds on other platforms often led to a brief volume spike followed by a decay once rewards ended.

Liquidity providers will also watch the spread environment. When a venue pays traders to take liquidity, it must attract market makers willing to hedge quickly. Without deep liquidity, even negative fees cannot protect a trader from slippage that exceeds the rebate. $HTX has not disclosed which market makers will support the pairs, leaving participants to check depth charts themselves before trading size.

Still, the campaign signals that the next exchange battle is not about which coin to list. It is about who can offer the cheapest on-ramp to assets that lie outside the crypto spot universe. Negative fees are an expensive way to make that point, but in a market starved for new narratives, they at least get attention.

Bitcoin miner MARA swung to a net loss of $611.3 million from a year-earlier profit in the second quarter of 2026, driven primarily by a change in the value of its Bitcoin holdings, despite reporting its highest quarterly Bitcoin production in more than a year.

The net loss, equivalent to $1.60 per diluted share, is down compared to a net income of $808.2 million, or $1.84 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the company’s 10-Q SEC filing. MARA mined 2,422 Bitcoin in the quarter, 3% more than the prior year period, but higher production was more than offset by a 28% decline in the average Bitcoin price.

“Two things defined Q2 for MARA. Bitcoin prices created a challenging revenue environment [and] we used the quarter to fundamentally transform our power portfolio and capital structure,” said MARA chief financial officer Salman Khan during an earnings call on Thursday.

The quarter highlights MARA’s exposure to Bitcoin prices even as it expands mining capacity and pursues AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. As of June 30, MARA held a total of 35,577 Bitcoin, with a total fair value of $2.1 billion, making it the fourth-largest public Bitcoin holder after Strategy, Twenty One Capital and Metaplanet.

MARA eyes continued AI expansion

In February, the company acquired a majority stake in Exaion SaS, which operates high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and secure cloud and AI infrastructure.

In the same month, MARA also announced a partnership with Starwood Capital Group and its data center development platform Starwood Digital Ventures to enable the conversion of select MARA sites to meet demand from “enterprise, hyperscale and AI customers.”

Related: Bitcoin miners’ AI pivot loses Wall Street’s wow factor

MARA said it is targeting at least two AI/HPC lease signings by year-end.

“Working alongside Starwood, we are progressing lease discussions across multiple sites, and we remain confident in our ability to sign at least 2 leases before year-end,” MARA CEO Fred Thiel said on Thursday.

In July, MARA also agreed to acquire a 1,200-acre powered land site in Matagorda County, Texas, with expected access to up to 2 gigawatts of grid capacity by April 2028. The company said it intends to develop the site for AI and HPC workloads as well as Bitcoin mining.

MARA’s expansion plans also include its pending acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power in Ohio, a $1.5 billion deal that MARA has said could support up to 600 megawatts of AI and critical-IT load over time.

Related: Galaxy, MARA Holdings deepen Texas expansion with land acquisitions

Bitcoin mining remains foundational

In a letter to shareholders on Thursday, Thiel said Bitcoin mining still represents the core of MARA’s business and will continue to generate cash flow that supports its other investments.

“Ultimately, we do not view Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure as competing businesses,” said Thiel.

“Our capital allocation philosophy remains straightforward. Every megawatt should be deployed into its highest-value application. In some markets, that will continue to be Bitcoin mining. In others, it will be AI infrastructure, sovereign cloud, or enterprise computing.”

Magazine: 10 weirdest things ever tokenized… including farts

MetaMask has officially launched Agent Wallet, a self custodial wallet that allows AI agents to execute onchain transactions while operating within rules established by the user.

Your agent finally gets its own wallet.

MetaMask Agent Wallet is now live for everyone. pic.twitter.com/F81PZ7etxv

— MetaMask 🦊 (@MetaMask) August 6, 2026

The wallet lets users connect AI frameworks including Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, OpenClaw, Hermes, OpenCode, and Cursor. Agents can then monitor markets, prepare transactions, and execute trades through MetaMask’s command line interface.

Users can establish daily spending limits, allowlisted protocols, and risk preferences before granting an agent permission to transact. MetaMask offers two operating settings called Guard Mode and Beast Mode.

Guard Mode requires agents to remain within approved protocols and spending limits. Transactions outside those rules are paused and presented to the user for two factor approval through email or the MetaMask mobile app.

Beast Mode removes some of the policy restrictions for advanced users, although transactions identified as malicious are still blocked and sent for human approval. Agents cannot bypass MetaMask’s security checks, according to the company.

The wallet supports execution across Hyperliquid and supported Ethereum Virtual Machine networks, including Robinhood Chain and Monad. It can complete token transfers, swaps, batch transactions, and other decentralized finance operations.

MetaMask said users do not need to hold a network’s native token to pay gas fees when completing eligible transfers and swaps. The wallet can instead settle the network fee using the token involved in the transaction.

Supported EVM transactions pass through a three stage security process before execution.

The first stage simulates the transaction and displays expected balance changes, token approvals, and gas routing. The second scans for threats using technology powered by blockchain security company Blockaid. The final stage uses MetaMask’s Smart Transactions system to limit value lost through maximal extractable value activity.

Eligible transactions that pass the security process but still result in a covered loss may qualify for MetaMask Transaction Protection of up to $10,000 per month, subject to the program’s terms and conditions.

Agent Wallet supports server wallets, where keys are secured separately from a user’s primary wallet, and a bring your own wallet option that keeps keys on the user’s device. MetaMask said users retain control of their keys and can export their secret recovery phrase.

Developers can access the wallet through MetaMask’s CLI and install dedicated skills that translate natural language requests into wallet commands. The system returns structured information that can be processed by compatible AI models and agent frameworks.

MetaMask first introduced Agent Wallet through a limited early access release in June. The company announced its official launch on August 6, opening the product to traders and developers testing agent driven onchain workflows.

Step App, a move-to-earn focused blockchain project, has announced its closure after four years of operation. The project team stated that all services will cease as of August 21st, urging users to unstake their locked tokens and manage their open positions before that date.

Step App stated in a press release that the decision to shut down had been under consideration for a long time and that completely ending operations was not an easy one. The team added that the project had reached over 1 million downloads, tracked billions of steps, and established various partnerships that brought together the Web2 and Web3 worlds.

Step App, which combined blockchain technology with fitness applications, was among the prominent projects of the Move-to-Earn model, where users could earn digital assets in exchange for physical activity. However, despite the user and activity data collected, the team decided to discontinue the project.

The project’s governance token, FITFI, had previously reached an all-time high of approximately $0.73. Considering the token’s IDO price of $0.0049, FITFI had gained approximately 150 times its value compared to its initial sale price during its peak period.

Step App’s decision to shut down comes after exchange announcements regarding FITFI. South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb announced on July 16th that they would end support for FITFI trading. With the project’s closure, FITFI holders need to check their token locks and other positions on the platform before August 21st.

*This is not investment advice.