Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Ronald Spektor, 23, pleaded guilty to all 31 counts after prosecutors said he impersonated Coinbase and convinced about 100 users that a hacker was targeting their crypto, draining nearly $16 million. He now heads to prison.

TREE NEWS update: Bitwise Asset Management and wealth-management technology platform Vise launched diversified crypto model portfolios for hundreds of wealth-management firms on the Vise platform, covering more than 135,000 accounts. The portfolios use Bitwise research to select crypto-themed ETPs by risk appetite, spanning a broad “core” allocation and narrower thematic sleeves, with systematic monitoring and rebalancing. Vise oversees over $140 billion in platform assets; Bitwise manages more than $9 billion in client assets.

TREE NEWS reports: Two whales opened long positions totaling 2,031.58 BTC, worth $171 million, within four hours even as the market fell, Lookonchain monitoring shows. The combined position was established on September 24. The size of the leveraged bets stands out against the broader market decline.

TREE NEWS reports: Unipcs, known as Bonk Guy, pushed back on claims that his refusal to sell holdings signals market-maker or fund manipulation, saying he holds high-conviction positions for the long term. He noted PONS and USELESS are currently valued at about $400 million and $270 million, below the $1 billion mark, and that he has a different investment time horizon.

TREE NEWS reports: US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of 3,824 BTC on September 24, bringing seven-day net inflows to 28,862 BTC. US spot ether ETFs took in 49,304 ETH on the day, with seven-day net inflows reaching 211,638 ETH.

TREE NEWS reports: DeFi researcher Ignas said FOMO generated about $320,000 in fees over the past seven days through its Hyperliquid Builder integration, ranking second behind Phantom. Ignas said the figure reflects FOMO’s adoption among retail users and noted he had not previously promoted a FOMO referral link.

TREE NEWS update: The Solana Foundation has hired Rachel Conlan, Binance’s former global chief marketing officer, as its chief strategy officer, part of an institutional push. Polygon Labs’ Jamal Raees also joins to take over payments, with both hires recruited from elsewhere in crypto.

TREE NEWS update: Decrypt Media and FOMO HOUR’s Farokh Sarmad will take the main stage at the NEXTPredict NY conference, under a premier partnership that will livestream the main stage via Decrypt Media and bring Rug Radio and FOMO HOUR programming onsite. No dates or financial terms were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Elliptic has launched an AI-assisted tool called Pulse that lets any law-enforcement officer enter a wallet address or transaction hash and receive a plain-language summary in seconds. The London-based blockchain analytics firm said the tool is designed to extend crypto tracing beyond specialized units to general-duty officers.

TREE NEWS update: The Solana Foundation appointed Rachel Conlan as chief strategy officer and former Polygon Labs executive Jamal Raees as general manager of payments, moves aimed at driving institutional adoption and payments on the network. Conlan’s role covers strategy, while Raees, who previously worked at Polygon Labs, will lead the foundation’s payments push. The hires bring Binance and Polygon experience to Solana’s institutional effort.

TREE NEWS update: Hsin-Ju Chuang, a former partner and platform lead at Hack VC, was found dead in a vehicle near an I-15 off-ramp in California’s Mojave Desert on Aug. 24, 2026, at age 37. The cause of death has not been released and the case has not been classified as criminal. Chuang had publicly detailed a yearlong labor dispute with Hack VC and said she would release evidence on Aug. 26.

TREE NEWS update: CFTC Chairman Selig said it is “go time” for the agency’s crypto rulemaking, signaling the commission will accelerate its work after the Clarity Act failed its vote. The CFTC has been highly active on crypto matters since that vote, and Selig’s remarks indicate rule-writing will now move faster.

TREE NEWS reports: NEAR nearly doubled in a week and is up 178% since mid-August, with NEAR Intents now accounting for about 85% of protocol revenue after the fee switch activated in February 2026. Execution fees fell 83% since January 2025, from $120,000 to $20,000 weekly, while token burns dropped from 100,000 NEAR to 20,000. SwapKit drives 35% of Intents volume but 61% of fees, and NEAR cannot see which wallets the flow comes from.

TREE NEWS reports: Bybit’s chief executive said the era of pure crypto exchanges is ending, as the platform runs a global campaign positioning itself as a broader financial platform. Bybit already offers stock, gold and forex derivatives alongside its crypto business.

TREE NEWS update: The European Union warned that the quantum-computing threat known as Q-Day could arrive before quantum computers become commercially useful, and set member states a deadline of the end of 2026 to plan for it. The warning frames the migration risk as a near-term planning problem rather than one tied to commercial quantum hardware timelines.